A/n: This installment and one more in Bella's part… I really enjoyed writing from her perspective… it is a rare pleasure for me, getting to be so evil. Narcissa's installment will be the longest, most likely, and also the most explicit in a number of ways. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Continuity note: I've been writing this fic on and off for the past two years, and that means I sometimes forget things when I go back to add stuff. In the last chapter, Bella's wedding went from being ten days away to three weeks away. That was a mistake, and I'll fix it soon. Not now… soon.

Enjoy, and please review. I see the hits… make with the comments.

-N

Part 2: Bellatrix iii

"May I kiss the bride?" I turn slowly at the sound of the voice.

"You were not invited," I say coldly. Beside me, Rodolphus chuckles.

"Of course he was." I turn to stare in awe at my new husband, thus far the only person in my life who has the ability to surprise me. "I invited him. And yes, Malfoy, you may." I narrow my eyes at Rodolphus. What kind of game is he playing? I have told him of my exploits with Lucius, in morbid detail, up to and including the latest installment, during my husband's initiation. We have laughed together about the man's uselessness, his pointless infatuation. What is my husband thinking? He gives me a pointed look and tilts his head towards Lucius. I frown and then turn, again face to face with Lucius Malfoy. He leans in and I grant him a quick peck. He does not seem to be searching for more, and I find myself wondering why. Lucius Malfoy has never been able to resist me.

"Lucius is one of many brothers and sisters in our great order," Rodolphus says magnanimously. "How could I even consider denying him the privilege of witnessing our vows." It hits me suddenly that Rodolphus has realized what torture it must be for Lucius to be present at our wedding, and in that moment I love my husband even more. Such a brilliant and diabolical mind. Lucius extends his hand to Rodolphus, who takes it confidently.

"Brothers," Lucius says firmly. "I couldn't have said it better myself. Let us be one family from now on, Lestranges, Blacks and Malfoys." Rodolphus shakes heartily, and I can tell that he has lost control of the ship; he does not know what Lucius is doing. For that matter, neither do I. This worries me. This worries me greatly.

"Bella," Lucius says, using the friendly diminutive with ease. I am not fooled. His anger with me has not been dissolved, and I do not know what it is that he's doing, but I intend to remain alert. I do not trust him. "Your sister—Narcissa, is it?—I was not aware that she was such a stunning young woman. She looks quite grown up. In a few years she'll be almost as beautiful as her older sister."

I am taken aback by his mindless banter. I've known Lucius to be moody, petulant, and petty, but I've never seen him act like this much of a simpering fool before. And I don't appreciate his talk about my sister. I don't even appreciate the idea of him noticing her at all. "She is seventeen years old," I say warningly. "Hardly a stunning young woman yet." Lucius shrugs.

"We shall see." He nods at both of us. "Best of luck," He says before walking away. I turn to Rodolphus. He is scowling openly.

"I thought it would have amusing results," He says quietly. "I didn't expect him to be so…"

"Baffling," I finish, mimicking his frown. He nods.

"I may have made a mistake."

oooOOOooo

It is three months after the wedding when we realize exactly what Rodolphus' mistake was. During our obligatory monthly visit to my parents' estate, Lucius' plan for revenge is brought to light with a most startling degree of clarity. About an hour into our afternoon visit, my mother pulls me aside.

"What is your opinion of Lucius Malfoy?" She asks in a hushed tone. I sniff and roll my eyes.

"Mother, please," I say derisively. "Lucius Malfoy no longer exists to me."

"That is what I thought you would say," She says thoughtfully. "Well, you know I never liked the Malfoys. I was always wary of your spending time with that boy. However…"

I look at her sharply. "What? What is this, Mother, this sudden interest in Lucius?" She scrunches up her face in an appallingly hideous manner and leans in closer to me.

"Bellatrix," She says conspiratorially, "Lucius Malfoy is vying for your sister's hand in marriage."

For a moment I am stunned into silence. "Absolutely not!" I say firmly, when my voice returns to me.

"That is what we told him," My mother replies. "But he wouldn't take no for an answer. He has been sending formal letters to your father and I, peppering us with compliments and gifts for Narcissa. It seems he's rather smitten with her." She looks almost pleased, and I want nothing more than to throttle her. I've already figured it out. It's not Narcissa that Lucius is trying to get at; it's me. He's trying to take a stab at me for turning on him, for marrying Rodolphus, and for making sure he had a front row seat through the whole ordeal. He's out for blood. It is a plan that, were I ever pathetic enough to be in his position, I would have thought of myself, and I am furious that I have not seen it coming. How could I allow Lucius Malfoy, of all people, to blindside me like this?

"Of course he's smitten with her," I say contemptuously, "He like pretty things, and Narcissa is a pretty thing. Leave him be, he'll tire of her." I know better, but it can't hurt to have my mother refusing his requests to marry Narcissa.

"Well now, that may not be quite so relevant." I again turn a sharp glare on my mother. "You see, I've given this matter a great deal of thought. With you married to Rodolphus, we have managed to forge a very strong alliance to one of the few pureblood families left. The Lestranges are prominent and powerful. But the Malfoys…" She narrows her eyes in delight. "They are a whole different league. With you as a Lestrange and Narcissa as a Malfoy, our family will once again be one of the more powerful in the wizarding world. Just think… the Blacks, the Malfoys and the Lestranges, united as one." She gives me a shadowed grin. "Bellatrix, we could rule."

I shake my head. "No. You can't let her marry him." My mother shrugs.

"I don't see how it's any of your concern."

"Then why in the name of the D—why in God's name would you tell me?"

She rolls her eyes. "Don't be dramatic, Bellatrix. It's not as though I'm giving away something that's yours. I'm simply allowing a very powerful man the right to your sister's hand. I only told you because you know both Lucius and Narcissa the b—where are you going?"

But I am in too much of a hurry to be bothered answering her. I almost run down the hall. I have to see Narcissa.

Her door is locked when I get there, and so I pound on it, screaming at her. "Let me in, I know you're there. The door only locks from the inside. Open the door, Narcissa." The door flies open faster than I had expected it to, and she's standing there in its place. For a moment I have to restrain myself from pounding her like I did the door. And then I do it anyway, one loud, hard slap right across the cheek. Narcissa barely flinches.

"Hello, darling sister," She says, oozing the same sardonic charm that I have practiced to perfection. "How nice to see you again."

"You didn't even tell me!" I shriek, pushing her into the room and slamming the door behind me. "How could you keep this from me?"

She glares back at me, her gray eyes steel. "What with all you've kept from me, I've decided to even the score."

I bite back my furious words, knowing that my anger will incense her but my understanding will make her feel guilty and ashamed. "I keep nothing from you," I say, allowing a hint of sadness into my voice to mask the cold fury. "I thought it was mutual."

"It was," She says.

"What happened?" I try my best to sound desperate, and to tell the truth, I am, just a little. Desperate not to lose control again, of myself and of her. She shrugs, still hostile. "He's not good enough for you," I say, bringing a hand up to her face. To my shock, she turns her face away.

"He was good enough for you."

I feel the hard rage rising in me again. "He was never good enough for me. There was only ever one person who was good enough for me, and that person was my heart, my soul, my blood." I have not lied to her; Rodolphus is my life and everything in it. But I know she will not hear it that way. I watch her carefully, and I can pinpoint the exact moment when her guilt rises up to hit her. Her face crumples, and her shoulders slump in an oh-so-familiar way.

"Oh God," She whispers, horrified. "You're right. I can't. I can't marry him." I stand there, cold and unmoving, for a moment more before opening my arms to her. She stumbles towards me and into them, and a sob tears loose from her throat. "Bella, help me."

"I can't, lovely," I say, petting her hair. "You know I can't. I've never been able to change mother's mind. And as for Lucius…" I pause, unable for a moment to form words around my disgust, "He will not change his mind. And because of your stubbornness, everything is probably arranged already." Another sob.

"I didn't mean to be stubborn," She says through her tears. "Only, I was so angry with you…"

"That is no reason to marry," I say firmly. "Marry out of strategy, not out of anger." She is still sobbing weakly into my chest. I half-heartedly pat her on the back. "Every mistake is a lesson, Narcissa."

"Much good may it do me now." The bitter tone is back, but this time it is not directed at me. "What do I do? If I marry him, I'll never be rid of him!"

I hold her at arm's length. "Darling, don't worry. You leave everything to me." I will crush Lucius for this. He cannot win against me… he should know that by now.

oooOOOooo

And so it was that Lucius and Narcissa were married almost immediately after her graduation from Hogwarts. By the next time I saw her after the wedding, she was already pregnant with his child. It gave a sort of glow that I'd never seen in her before, and it made me furious. Lucius knew this, and so he made a point of parading her around in front of me as often as he could. Proud as a bloody peacock he was, and twice as irritating. At every chance during our down time at the Dark Lord's estate, he would go on and on about being the first Deatheater of our level to provide our Lord with a suitable pledge; the soul of his unborn child, the perfect offering for our master. And then he'd stare pointedly at my husband and I, eyeing my firm, flat belly. He always fell short of making emasculating comments about Rodolphus, and the two of them actually managed to keep up a horribly fake friendly veneer, but I knew that he felt that either my husband or I was unable to reproduce, and thus considered himself to be a notch higher than us in the chain. We never told him that we purposely chose not to bring a child into the world; we were free, and we had each other. A child would slow us down in both our work and our love. Although we both would have liked to have a child we could promise to the Dark Lord as a lifelong servant, neither one of us could see raising one until they were old enough to serve him, and so we chose to remain childless.

Narcissa gave birth on a gray March morning to a child whose eyes perfectly matched the sky outside the hospital window. He was fair, like both of his parents, and beautiful, almost immaculate. Lucius named the boy Draco, an idiotic name if I've ever heard one. The child was nothing like a dragon, he was beautiful and light, like a star. Our family is rife with star names. But I suppose the Malfoys are a bunch symbol-happy idiots. So Draco it was.

Rodolphus and I quickly climbed to the very top of our Lord's ranks. We had the deadliest aim, and the cruelest hands, and working with each other, we never failed. Lucius always fought almost at our sides, just a step behind. He was of some worth; he could hold a steady curse for hours and not break a sweat, and his aim was nearly as precise as my husband's and mine. Rodolphus had long since breached the Dark Lord's inner circle, and was now almost as well-loved by our master as I was. There were four of us; Malfoy, our indispensable Potions Master Severus Snape, Rodolphus, and myself, and together, we were the strongest and best of all the Dark Lord's followers. Others would occasionally enter into the inner circle, including Rodolphus' younger brother Rabastan, a promising child who would have followed my husband off the edge of the planet, and applied that same love to the Dark Lord. But despite the others, the four of us were the indisputable favorites. We had a solid routine worked out; Severus would poison our target through injection, ingestion or some sort of topical absorption, and while the poison was taking effect Lucius would bind them while Rodolphus and I sent a steady barrage of torturous curses at them. Sometimes we would change up positions, but we mostly stuck to what we were best at; Snape enjoyed watching the effects his potions had, Malfoy like experimenting with different ways of binding the captive, pulling ropes or chains tighter, watching them squirm beneath his power. Rodolphus and I had the curses with the most sting, and it became like a game, seeing who could make them scream the loudest or writhe the most. It is impossible to say which one of us won most often, but we both enjoyed it anyhow.

It was only in times like these that I had any sort of respect for Lucius Malfoy. He was good at what he did, and what's more, he enjoyed it thoroughly. That was what made the difference between us and the other death eaters. They all had moments where they became disgusted at themselves for the things they did. We never got anything but pleasure from it. He was Malfoy at those times, and it was not Malfoy that I hated. It was Lucius who plagued my existence, my whiny, petulant former lover, my snide, boisterous brother-in-law. Malfoy was my extremely competent co-worker, and I could not begrudge him that small bit of respect.

I suppose Rodolphus and I always knew that Lucius had something big in store for us, but after a while that began to fade into the background. We did our work with skill and efficiency, and none of us could complain about the others. We never saw each other outside of our late-night missions, and so we never had any reason for outright hostility. Rodolphus and I remained ensnared in our passion for each other, and Lucius was simply a shadow in the past, gently fading into the gray that was the world outside of the two of us.

And that, eventually, was what made it all the more shocking.