Chapter Three: Dusting

"Doesn't that woman keep any food in this house?" Bella muttered, looking in the fridge. She settled for making herself some toast, and ate that at the kitchen table quietly.

It was still raining out. It was coming down harder, if that was at all possible, than it had been the previous night. Bellatrix grabbed the list to see what to do next.

Dust- living room, dining room, sitting room

"Dust and sort. What fun!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "Isn't there a charm for dusting? Oh, if only I remembered it..."

There was a duster in the living room, waiting for her. "What, am I serving another detention?" she asked herself bitterly. She'd served plenty of those, but she had deserved them.

"Hey, you! No, the little prat behind you, of course you!" Bella yelled to a Slytherin first year. "Come here! We already went through this, yes, YOU!" she cried. "What's your name, little girl?"

"I'm...I'm Alessa Green." the small girl stuttered.

"Wonderful, simply splendid. I'm Bella. Now, will you do me a favour? Great, thanks! Do you see that girl over there?" she pointed to Andromeda, who was talking with another girl. "That's...my friend, Andromeda. When I give you the signal, I need you to throw this dungbomb at her and her stupid mudblood friend. I'm going to go over there, when I give you the signal, throw it." Bella said, walking towards a far away tree.

Bellatrix hated when her sister(a Black!) was nice to the filthy mudbloods. She didn't want to be anywhere near Andry when the dungbomb was thrown, it wasn't really a dung bomb.

She and Rodolphus had cleverly emptied out dungbomb shells and filled them with red ink, symbolizing blood. Bella had charmed it so that it would turn muddy when it touched a mudblood. It was genius.

Bella waved her hand to the little girl, Alexa was it? Alena? Alicia? It didn't matter, really. The little girl smiled quickly and unsurely at Bella before throwing it directly at Andry and her friend.

Andromeda was soon covered in sticky red ink and her friend was covered in sticky, muddy, red ink. They both shrieked and looked around for who had done the dirty deed. The little girl was standing ten feet away, eyes wide, just staring at them. Andry and the mudblood didn't think it had been her, first years couldn't do this sort of magic so early. And besides, first years didn't often take on third years for no reason. Bella laughed wickedly for a few minutes before her Potions master stood in front of her.

"Bellatrix Black, I saw that! Conning innocent first years into attacking your sister and her friend?" the teacher scolded. Bella rolled her eyes. She had gotten two weeks of detention for that.

Bella laughed at the thought of that. It had been so much fun torturing her Gryffindor sister. A Black in Gryffindor! It was preposterous. So, Bellatrix had taken it upon herself to torture Andromeda.

She finished the living room and moved to the dining room. They had had Christmas dinner there every year as far back as Bella could remember. And, as far back as Bella could remember, the dinners had been a disaster.

"We should say grace." A six year old Andromeda stated.

"Umm, okay. Say grace everyone." Bella's uncle said, uncertainly.

"Grace." everyone said at different times. Sirius, who was only one, continued to cry and wouldn't stop. Narcissa, who was five, was already stuffing cranberry sauce into her mouth with her bare hands. There were splots of cranberry in her beautiful blonde locks. Andromeda smiled, happily.

"That was stupid." Bella muttered from next to Andromeda. She was nine years old.

"It was not!" Andromeda shouted at her older sister.

"Yes, it was." Bella replied, coolly.

"Was not!"

"Was too."

"Was not!" Andromeda picked up some of her own cranberry sauce and threw it right in Bella's face.

"Andromeda Black, don't throw food at your sister!" Andry and Bella's mum exclaimed.

Bella grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and mushed it into Andromeda's brown hair. Little Narcissa, seeing the older girls throw food, joined into the food fight. Someone hit Sirius in the face with a handful of mashed potatoes, gravy, and butter and he began to cry even louder than before.

"Girls! GIRLS!" Sirius' mum yelled at her neices. They didn't listen to her and continued to throw food at each other, hitting various adults in the process. "STOP!" she yelled and everyone looked at her.

"Bellatrix Araminta Black, I expected more out of you. You three, go upstairs and clean up. Then sit quietly in the living room and wait for us to be ready to go. Do you understand me?" Bella's mum said sternly.

"Yes, Mother." Bella and Andromeda said, and the took Narcissa by the hand and walked up the steps and cleaned themselves up.

"I'm so sorry...I don't know what got into them." Bella heard her mother tell her aunt as she walked down the stairs.

"It's fine." her aunt sighed. "You should probably be going, it's getting late."

"Come girls, we're leaving." Bella's mum sighed. Her mother was covered in mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Her new black dress was completely ruined. Her father had cranberry sauce smeared in his hair and on his suit. His face was stern and he stared at Bella, silently scolding her. They stepped into the fire, going back to their own home.

The sitting room was next. It was dusty from lack of use. The large couch and the chairs were a picture of perfection. The ancient coffee table, which had been passed down throughout the Black family for at least ten generations, was perfect. Except for the thick layer of dust that made Bella sneeze uncontrollably. She hadn't been allowed in that room when she was younger.

A young, three year old Bellatrix hobbled throughout the house. Her parents, aunt, and uncle weren't watching her. They were somewhere, Bella didn't care. She hobbled into the sitting room and climbed up onto the couch. She smiled a little and begun to jump up and down.

"Bellatrix! Get down!" her aunt screamed when she walked by the room. She ran in, picked her up and put her down outside of the room. Her aunt slapped the three year old across the face. "Bellatrix Black, you are not allowed into this room. Do you understand me?"

The startled Bellatrix nodded, her eyes wide.

"Done." Bella muttered, leaving the room. She looked for the list again.

Sort through the boxes I left for you in the spare room on the second floor

"More sorting?" Bellatrix groaned, but climbed the steps anyway.

A/N: I rather liked this chapter. I like the flashbacks. I like it in general. What about you, did you like it? Review PLEASE! And remember, CONSTANT VIGILENCE!