A/N: Have been BLOODY busy, my (3 or so) readers, so sorry for the delay in updating. But here's a chapter so be happy, etc.?
Disclaimer: No, in fact I've been too busy with a million other things to contemplate wangling them out of JKR's little paws...
~*~
Fall had turned to winter before Bellatrix saw him again.
From the Solstice til Christmas were days of celebration for the Blacks. Dead cold winter, and long, dark nights. But in the mansion, there was the brilliant light of countless chandeliers that gleamed like ice crystals.
Narcissa and Andromeda were both home for the holidays, and it was Christmas Eve that HE made an appearance.
Bellatrix wore crimson, the colour bright and bold in a roomful of daintier pastels, but though Aria Black had initially disapproved of the gown, it wasn't to be denied that it became her eldest daughter well, and besides, it WAS Christmas.
And so it was that the three of them, Andromeda in brocade the shade of mint ice and Narcissa barely coming up to Bella's shoulder, in pale blue organdie, stood in a group next to their mother and father and greeted the guests.
Bellatrix had just finished the required dainty curtsey to the Rookwoods when the voice of her mother snapped her out of the semi-stupor of required courtesy with the force of a whip.
"Why, how kind of you to visit, Mr. Lestrange! Where might your brother be?"
Bellatrix glanced up sharply then, unable to hide her surprise, and her eyes met the mockingly bright ones of Rodolphus Lestrange.
"Rabastan will be arriving later," he was telling Aria even as he inclined his head respectfully. "Staggered portkeys and all. Now, who might these LOVELY young ladies be?"
"My daughters," Aria said regally, waving her hand at the three. "Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa. You might remember Bella; the others are probably too young."
Narcissa and Andromeda both sank into graceful, fluid curtseys, but Bellatrix, her thoughts reeling with the sudden, unbidden thought of "No blonde tart hanging on his arm", only did so as well after a sharp look from her father. Narrowing her eyes, she noticed him smirk down at her.
"I do remember Bellatrix, yes," Rodolphus drawled. "She's rather... hard to forget."
Bellatrix felt her back stiffen as she straightened up, and stared the insolent man in the eye with a challenging glare. Her mother merely beamed, before turning to greet the just-arriving Lucius Malfoy.
Rodolphus handed his outer cloak to one of the House Elves, and just before he walked away and out of sight, he gave the eldest Black girl what could only be described as a leer, and raised an elegant finger to his mouth. Slowly trailing the digit across his lips, he stared at her, forcibly reminding her of that time in the library of this very house, that from the appearance of it, no one else knew to this very day.
And he watched in satisfaction as a faint flush of crimson entered her cheeks. He knew that it was not of maidenly shame or modesty, though. Bellatrix was angry, and perhaps that was his intention all along.
~*~
Dinner was an uneventful affair for the most part, with Mordred Black presiding at the head of a table and keeping a very dignified stream of polite conversation, giving sharp looks every once in a while towards the House Elves and his daughters to ensure perfect behaviour from both groups. It was one of these looks that stopped Burney the House Elf from dropping a very large, very complicated array of champagne glasses on a tray (muffled sounds of the House Elf's head being bludgeoned with something or another came shortly afterwards from the direction of the kitchen). It was also one of these looks that forced Bellatrix to lower her eyes demurely, broken out of what could only be called a "staring contest" with the dark, sneering Rodolphus Lestrange who sat across the table from her. Bellatrix picked at her food and silently seethed.
After the dessert had been served, and the guests ushered into the ballroom, Bellatrix found herself leading her sisters (and dragging along an unruly, unwilling bratty cousin Sirius) after them, her head held high and regally. Almost as soon as she'd arrived, a charmingly smiling Evan Rosier asked her to dance.
Bellatrix accepted with a graciously cool nod and flung an icy look of disdain in the general direction of Rodolphus Lestrange. He was standing indolently with his brother Rabastan, and smirked back before allowing himself to be led by an effulgent Annabella Wilkes for an introduction to her daughter Desdemona.
It was when the sensual strains of a tango started playing that Bellatrix found herself-- not politely tapped on the shoulder, but swept up into his arms. Her expression icy, she pulled herself away as her face flushed tellingly, venom in her eyes.
He merely used that and maneuvered her into his arms once more, his hands gripping her waist and pulling her close enough that they were almost locked together, and his eyes were hot as hers were cold, and Bellatrix felt limp in his arms.
It really wasn't fair, and she wasn't supposed to be dancing THIS particular dance anyway. It became a tug-of-war, or perhaps a war of wills, as she pulled away only to be pulled back, and her scarlet skirts swirled around her ankles as her temper flared and her eyes blazed with what-she-hoped-was-hatred. She didn't even notice that several of the others had paused in their dancing to watch them, or that they were in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded.
Off to the side, Andromeda and Narcissa were standing demurely, and the middle sister whispered to the younger one, "They're quite good."
"Father will be furious," Narcissa whispered back, eyeing the crimson-clad sister warily, "A young lady of her upbringing shouldn't be dancing that dance with a single male, in his opinion."
"Let her have her fun," Andromeda sighed softly, "She'll pay for it later, but... there's no stopping her now, I don't think."
Almost on cue, even as the music started to die away, Bellatrix felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, and stiffened as she was pulled away by an unsmiling Mordred Black. Even as she, the picture of obedience, followed her father out of the circle, she spared a glance back at Rodolphus, her face more like a girl's than before now. His expression was solemn, no longer mocking, and some of the dark and twisted brilliance of the night seemed to have faded like black to gray.
~*~
Bellatrix spent the rest of the evening sipping champagne and demurely nodding and smiling at the various people who approached her, dancing once in a while slowly and sedately, Carmen turned to a china doll. Her face remained carefully blank as Erasmus Parkinson twirled her around in excruciating propriety, and kept glancing about the ballroom, seeking out her sisters.
Andromeda was sitting out this one, half-hiding her bored face behind the lace fan she carried. Bella allowed herself a dreary sort of smirk as the greasy Augustus Rookwood asked her to dance. So at least... she wasn't the only one.
Narcissa, though, where was Narcissa? True, she was just a child, merely thirteen, but a thirteen-year-old angel was still allowed to attend. Bellatrix fancied that she might have caught sight of a small blonde near the doors that led to the balcony, but... that was definitely Lucius Malfoy who was WITH said blonde.
Erasmus Parkinson caught her attention again for a moment, twirling her around, and then she wasn't facing the blonde with Malfoy any more, and didn't see what happened next.
~*~
The blonde girl, her face doll-like sweet as she glanced up, threw back her blonde hair as she tugged on the young man's robes in an almost impish manner. "Look up," Narcissa said a bit coyly.
Even as Lucius Malfoy glanced up and noticed the mistletoe strung upon the ceiling, the feylike girl stood up on tiptoe and brushed a light kiss upon the corner of his mouth. "Happy Christmas, Mr. Malfoy," she said cheerfully, and then she was walking away without a backward glance, pale blue skirts floating behind her, leaving Lucius surprised and unaccountably intrigued.
Most girls several years older than her wouldn't have had the audacity to do that, much less with such an angelic facade.
~*~
With the advent of midnight came the end of the ball, and the tired sisters, wearing smooth smiles, decorously stood in their thin gowns by the door and bid their guests farewell. Bellatrix didn't look up as she dipped into one curtsey after another, and only FELT a lean, elegant hand seize hers for a kiss. She knew who it was, but right now it would be downright reckless to take direct, noticeable action. She curled her fingers and raked at his palm with her nails, but his hand remained steady, even as he released hers.
About fifteen minutes after that, they were all gone, and even as Aria led the two younger girls off to bed, Mordred summoned Bellatrix to his study.
~*~
Bella went to bed two hours later, her cheek burning and her jaw clenched, as House Elves rushed to clean up the mess and she vindictively kicked one of the little creatures out of her way.
Reaching her bedroom, she found Andromeda and Narcissa, both in their celestially white nightgowns, and as the youngest sister handed her a cold towel for her burning cheek, the middle sister helped her to unlace the gown and unpin her hair.
They were silent through all of this, and though gentle, not affectionate. And then five minutes later, Andromeda and Narcissa walked back out of her room to sleep the slumber of the unburdened, and Bellatrix scowled at the murky night sky. There was a full moon that night, the silvery surface of which seemed to have a face.
It, like another, seemed to be mocking her.
Disclaimer: No, in fact I've been too busy with a million other things to contemplate wangling them out of JKR's little paws...
~*~
Fall had turned to winter before Bellatrix saw him again.
From the Solstice til Christmas were days of celebration for the Blacks. Dead cold winter, and long, dark nights. But in the mansion, there was the brilliant light of countless chandeliers that gleamed like ice crystals.
Narcissa and Andromeda were both home for the holidays, and it was Christmas Eve that HE made an appearance.
Bellatrix wore crimson, the colour bright and bold in a roomful of daintier pastels, but though Aria Black had initially disapproved of the gown, it wasn't to be denied that it became her eldest daughter well, and besides, it WAS Christmas.
And so it was that the three of them, Andromeda in brocade the shade of mint ice and Narcissa barely coming up to Bella's shoulder, in pale blue organdie, stood in a group next to their mother and father and greeted the guests.
Bellatrix had just finished the required dainty curtsey to the Rookwoods when the voice of her mother snapped her out of the semi-stupor of required courtesy with the force of a whip.
"Why, how kind of you to visit, Mr. Lestrange! Where might your brother be?"
Bellatrix glanced up sharply then, unable to hide her surprise, and her eyes met the mockingly bright ones of Rodolphus Lestrange.
"Rabastan will be arriving later," he was telling Aria even as he inclined his head respectfully. "Staggered portkeys and all. Now, who might these LOVELY young ladies be?"
"My daughters," Aria said regally, waving her hand at the three. "Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa. You might remember Bella; the others are probably too young."
Narcissa and Andromeda both sank into graceful, fluid curtseys, but Bellatrix, her thoughts reeling with the sudden, unbidden thought of "No blonde tart hanging on his arm", only did so as well after a sharp look from her father. Narrowing her eyes, she noticed him smirk down at her.
"I do remember Bellatrix, yes," Rodolphus drawled. "She's rather... hard to forget."
Bellatrix felt her back stiffen as she straightened up, and stared the insolent man in the eye with a challenging glare. Her mother merely beamed, before turning to greet the just-arriving Lucius Malfoy.
Rodolphus handed his outer cloak to one of the House Elves, and just before he walked away and out of sight, he gave the eldest Black girl what could only be described as a leer, and raised an elegant finger to his mouth. Slowly trailing the digit across his lips, he stared at her, forcibly reminding her of that time in the library of this very house, that from the appearance of it, no one else knew to this very day.
And he watched in satisfaction as a faint flush of crimson entered her cheeks. He knew that it was not of maidenly shame or modesty, though. Bellatrix was angry, and perhaps that was his intention all along.
~*~
Dinner was an uneventful affair for the most part, with Mordred Black presiding at the head of a table and keeping a very dignified stream of polite conversation, giving sharp looks every once in a while towards the House Elves and his daughters to ensure perfect behaviour from both groups. It was one of these looks that stopped Burney the House Elf from dropping a very large, very complicated array of champagne glasses on a tray (muffled sounds of the House Elf's head being bludgeoned with something or another came shortly afterwards from the direction of the kitchen). It was also one of these looks that forced Bellatrix to lower her eyes demurely, broken out of what could only be called a "staring contest" with the dark, sneering Rodolphus Lestrange who sat across the table from her. Bellatrix picked at her food and silently seethed.
After the dessert had been served, and the guests ushered into the ballroom, Bellatrix found herself leading her sisters (and dragging along an unruly, unwilling bratty cousin Sirius) after them, her head held high and regally. Almost as soon as she'd arrived, a charmingly smiling Evan Rosier asked her to dance.
Bellatrix accepted with a graciously cool nod and flung an icy look of disdain in the general direction of Rodolphus Lestrange. He was standing indolently with his brother Rabastan, and smirked back before allowing himself to be led by an effulgent Annabella Wilkes for an introduction to her daughter Desdemona.
It was when the sensual strains of a tango started playing that Bellatrix found herself-- not politely tapped on the shoulder, but swept up into his arms. Her expression icy, she pulled herself away as her face flushed tellingly, venom in her eyes.
He merely used that and maneuvered her into his arms once more, his hands gripping her waist and pulling her close enough that they were almost locked together, and his eyes were hot as hers were cold, and Bellatrix felt limp in his arms.
It really wasn't fair, and she wasn't supposed to be dancing THIS particular dance anyway. It became a tug-of-war, or perhaps a war of wills, as she pulled away only to be pulled back, and her scarlet skirts swirled around her ankles as her temper flared and her eyes blazed with what-she-hoped-was-hatred. She didn't even notice that several of the others had paused in their dancing to watch them, or that they were in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded.
Off to the side, Andromeda and Narcissa were standing demurely, and the middle sister whispered to the younger one, "They're quite good."
"Father will be furious," Narcissa whispered back, eyeing the crimson-clad sister warily, "A young lady of her upbringing shouldn't be dancing that dance with a single male, in his opinion."
"Let her have her fun," Andromeda sighed softly, "She'll pay for it later, but... there's no stopping her now, I don't think."
Almost on cue, even as the music started to die away, Bellatrix felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, and stiffened as she was pulled away by an unsmiling Mordred Black. Even as she, the picture of obedience, followed her father out of the circle, she spared a glance back at Rodolphus, her face more like a girl's than before now. His expression was solemn, no longer mocking, and some of the dark and twisted brilliance of the night seemed to have faded like black to gray.
~*~
Bellatrix spent the rest of the evening sipping champagne and demurely nodding and smiling at the various people who approached her, dancing once in a while slowly and sedately, Carmen turned to a china doll. Her face remained carefully blank as Erasmus Parkinson twirled her around in excruciating propriety, and kept glancing about the ballroom, seeking out her sisters.
Andromeda was sitting out this one, half-hiding her bored face behind the lace fan she carried. Bella allowed herself a dreary sort of smirk as the greasy Augustus Rookwood asked her to dance. So at least... she wasn't the only one.
Narcissa, though, where was Narcissa? True, she was just a child, merely thirteen, but a thirteen-year-old angel was still allowed to attend. Bellatrix fancied that she might have caught sight of a small blonde near the doors that led to the balcony, but... that was definitely Lucius Malfoy who was WITH said blonde.
Erasmus Parkinson caught her attention again for a moment, twirling her around, and then she wasn't facing the blonde with Malfoy any more, and didn't see what happened next.
~*~
The blonde girl, her face doll-like sweet as she glanced up, threw back her blonde hair as she tugged on the young man's robes in an almost impish manner. "Look up," Narcissa said a bit coyly.
Even as Lucius Malfoy glanced up and noticed the mistletoe strung upon the ceiling, the feylike girl stood up on tiptoe and brushed a light kiss upon the corner of his mouth. "Happy Christmas, Mr. Malfoy," she said cheerfully, and then she was walking away without a backward glance, pale blue skirts floating behind her, leaving Lucius surprised and unaccountably intrigued.
Most girls several years older than her wouldn't have had the audacity to do that, much less with such an angelic facade.
~*~
With the advent of midnight came the end of the ball, and the tired sisters, wearing smooth smiles, decorously stood in their thin gowns by the door and bid their guests farewell. Bellatrix didn't look up as she dipped into one curtsey after another, and only FELT a lean, elegant hand seize hers for a kiss. She knew who it was, but right now it would be downright reckless to take direct, noticeable action. She curled her fingers and raked at his palm with her nails, but his hand remained steady, even as he released hers.
About fifteen minutes after that, they were all gone, and even as Aria led the two younger girls off to bed, Mordred summoned Bellatrix to his study.
~*~
Bella went to bed two hours later, her cheek burning and her jaw clenched, as House Elves rushed to clean up the mess and she vindictively kicked one of the little creatures out of her way.
Reaching her bedroom, she found Andromeda and Narcissa, both in their celestially white nightgowns, and as the youngest sister handed her a cold towel for her burning cheek, the middle sister helped her to unlace the gown and unpin her hair.
They were silent through all of this, and though gentle, not affectionate. And then five minutes later, Andromeda and Narcissa walked back out of her room to sleep the slumber of the unburdened, and Bellatrix scowled at the murky night sky. There was a full moon that night, the silvery surface of which seemed to have a face.
It, like another, seemed to be mocking her.