With the wedding over, the couple arrived at Lestrange Manor, both of them knowing what was coming next.
The newlywed couple made their way down the hall of rooms on the manor's second floor. At last, Rodolphus opened the door to his bedroom and made his way to his four poster bed, carved with the Lestrange family crest. His neck was bright red. He opened his mouth to speak. "I—"
"I'm not sleeping with you tonight, Rodolphus," Bellatrix snapped abruptly.
Rodolphus felt his heart sink. "But...but our pureblood duty is to carry on our bloodline and—"
Bellatrix took her wand from the fold of her wedding robes and pointed it at him. "Be quiet. Our pureblood duty at the moment is to go and join the Dark Lord, which we can't do if we're looking after children."
Rodolphus furrowed his brow. He suddenly realized who Bellatrix must have been talking about: Tom Gaunt, a family friend of the Lestranges who Bellatrix had met at a pureblood dinner party hosted by the Malfoys. Rodolphus's bride had instantly taken a liking to Tom, and he seemed to have liked her in his own strange way. He was a cold and calculated man, the stereotype of a Slytherin. He himself was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, as his surname proved.
"Mr. Gaunt?" Rodolphus scoffed. "I forgot that's what he's calling himself... And anyways, I was going to tell you in the morning, but I suppose that I must tell you now that I've been officially been admitted into the Knights of Walpurgis as my father was before me. In case you're forgetting, I've known Mr. Gaunt my whole life, and you only know him through Lucius and Narcissa.
Bellatrix's face turned scarlet. "And yet I have more talent and loyalty than you ever will!"
Rodolphus sighed. Nothing was going as he had wanted it to. "Bella," he said, "can we please just stop arguing? We don't even have to try and conceive a child at this point..."
"You just want his power and glory, to look good for your father and for your stupid, petty friends. You could care less about fighting for him," Bellatrix hissed.
"Why are you so obsessed with him?" thundered Rodolphus.
Bellatrix stood there, stiff as a board.
"I'm not," she huffed, and after a moment of hesitation, climbed into bed and laid down, her back facing Rodolphus.
Rodolphus looked up at the ceiling. There was still time for her to love him, of course...