Authoress: Stormy Llewellyn

Chapter: Five, Claim What's Ours

Authoress' Note: Please take the time to review! Magical Quest is sort of the wizarding version of Capture the Flag.

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Perhaps the reason they fought so much was because ever since a young age they had been forced to compete with each other. As the eldest children of two different Black families their parents constantly egged them into fights and 'friendly' competitions. Sirius' parents wanted to prove that he belonged as the rightful heir to the Black fortune. Bella's family (which had been cursed with two many daughters and not one son) wanted to show that their daughter (who had shown much promise in her youth) had just as much worth as the young man who was to carry on the family name.

Or perhaps it was the fact that Bella had once stolen her mother's wand and turned her cousin's hair pink and no one had been able to turn it back so they'd been forced to wait for it to wear off. Of course Sirius was never one to take such things lying down. For retribution he had set of dungbombs at Bella's eleventh birthday, which was an important day in a young witch's life.

Then again it could be the fact that they were so very much alike. Stubborn, brash, headstrong. Neither had the subtleness that was the trademark of the pureblood families and for this reason they both drove their parents half mad. As long as Narcissa could remember her parents had been worried that Bellatrix would never make a respectable marriage and that she would always be a tomboy.

See, Bellatrix saw the world in black and white, right and wrong, love and hate. Of course her opinions of right and wrong would make most wizards and witches blanch, but to her there was no grey area. There were those she hated (Frank Longbottom, Dumbledore, their father) and those whom she loved (Narcissa, Andromeda, Lucius Malfoy).Sirius seemed to have a habit of being the exception to every rule. The only Black to be sorted into Gryffindor, a black who was willing to stand against Voldemort (something that even Andromeda had never had the courage to do), and the only person to be both hated and loved by Bellatrix. Both were done with passion, she either adored him or was cursing him.

A good example of them getting along (although that's not to say that night was completely void of any fights) came during a summer celebration at the three sister's home. Their cousin was in attendance as well as several of the other purebred children that their parents deemed worthy of coming to the party. The adults were all congealing around the ballroom, pretending to be interested in what each other were saying. After suffering being strutted around like a prized horse most children had escaped to the outside.

The girls had been taught only manners and mostly sat giggling or playing with dolls, especially if, unlike Narcissa and Andromeda, they had not had an older sister and younger cousin to teach them how to cause a little bit of trouble. Most of the boys were looking for a little bit of fun and were gathering together to plan. Bellatrix lifted her chin and strode to the center of the circle to take charge of the group. Enough of them had been put on play dates with Bellatrix to know better then to argue with this.

"I say that we play Magical Quest." Bella stated and most of the boys nodded their agreement and started making bets on who would win. A sandy haired boy leaned over to a boy who looked like him but was younger, it could only be his younger brother and whispered, "Well, whoever has that savage hag of a Black on their team is sure to win."

Andromeda and Narcissa backed away from their sister whose eyes were flashing. Hands on her hips she demanded, "Does that include you, sir?"

Well that had done it, on one hand he had just stated all would lose to her because she was not a proper young witch. On the other hand he had that horrible male pride that so many wizards seemed to carry and had trouble admitting that he, the heir of the Lestrange family, could be beaten by a mere girl. Saving face he purred, "Was that a challenge, my dear lady?"

"It very well could be. Would you accept it?"

"But Bellatrix, that's a boy's game!" Complained Narcissa, quivering at the idea of such rough housing and what it would do to her dress and hair which had taken a while for their mother to perfect. Her older sister had no concerns though and shook off the eight year old girl.

"Let's say you be captain and I'll be captain and we'll see who can run a better team." She suggested, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder.

"Fine but remember that there is no shame in a witch losing to a wizard." At this the girl's dark grey eyes flash and her sisters have no doubt in who will win this battle.

Most girls chose to sit out of this competition, including Narcissa and Andromeda who both sat near the group and watched in awe as their older sister commanded the boys into her group. Rodolphus picked Sirius, hoping to annoy Bella but the dark haired girl merely shook her head. That way was better anyway, she could win and hold it over both their heads. Andromeda, always the kind one and knowing what it was to be left out of her siblings affairs called, "Sirius? Where is Regulus, perhaps he would like to play."

The heir of the Black family turned to scowl at her, "Probably curled up on mother's lap as always." His bitterness was not lost on her, even at that age he had begun to show signs of being a Gryffindor and their mother had began to focus her attention on Regulus, hoping the neglect would bring her older son into line. It only made him rebel further. "It doesn't matter, he whines whenever he gets hurt. Just leave him out of it."

He dutifully ignored Andromeda's disapproving look and turned back to plan with his team captain. In the end Bella ended up sending Rabastian Lestrange to hide their glowing orb and Rodolphus sent Sirius to hide their, they probably made this decision because of the size of the two boys. After three minutes they were all off and their was the laughter and rowdy shouting that accompanied the game. Andromeda and Narcissa watched as an older girl was captured by the other team and imprisoned in the magical prison that would hold her until the end of the game.

Bellatrix moved silently and cheated just a bit. It was a little known fact that purebloods had a good sense for magical sources (magic calls to magic) and her mother had been one who was still aware of this old power. She had taught it to her oldest daughter in secret, not wanting her father to protest teaching such a skill to a girl, and taught it to her alone. Not her cousins, not her sisters, just to her and it confirmed her belief that she was special to the wizarding world and that she was meant for something great. Closing her eyes, she let the gentle pulse of the orb lead her towards it and smiled when she saw it. The ball of light had been hidden among a thicket where she could not possibly reach without getting her hair and dress captured.

With a sigh she ran down to where her team was half-guarding their orb and she grabbed Rabastian who could easily fit through the thicket with minimum damage. She dragged him along and into the woods to where the orb was located. The little boy was excited to get to be the hero but froze when he saw that Rodolphus was guarding it. Bellatrix was amused by this, knowing that her sisters would never go against her either. Then again the heir to the Lestrange was not nearly as frightening as her and she figured that his little brother just needed a little convincing to take one for the team.

"Come on Rabastian! It's not that hard, you can slip past him, you're small." She insisted, putting a hand on the thirteen-year-old's shoulder, flattering him with the attention.

"Easy for you to say! You don't have to live with him!" Shrilled the boy, making an attempt to be reasonable but sounding rather cowardly.

Rolling her eyes she let out a rather unladylike sigh and nodded, "Fine, fine. I'll take care of your brother as long as you get the orb."

"Why don't you get it?"

"I'd rather. Believe me, I would and my dear cousin knew this." A smile tugged at the edge of her lips, "So, him being the clever little boy he is, put it where he knew I couldn't go tonight. Usually I wouldn't mind getting a little scratched up if it means I win, but tonight my dress and hair would be caught and I would be sent to the prisons. Now, go on."

The little boy tentatively made his way forward and looked back to get the raven haired girls approval but she was no longer there. Panicking, he whirled around in a full circle looking for her but to no avail. In the process he managed to make quite a bit of noise and his brother looked in his general direction. Breath catching, he stumbled behind a tree and hid there. Just when he thought he was done for there came a loud thump from over in the opposite direction. Rabastian let out a breath of relief and ran to the orb of light, bramble scratching along his skin. He was reaching, reaching, and his hands closed around it. Letting out a yelp of victory, he tore back off towards their side of the forest.

Meanwhile Bella put her hands on her hips and looked out after the young teen wondering why she picked someone so stupid to be on her team. Rodolphus had lost interest in her hiding place and took off after his brother, forcing her to follow. Excitement coursed through her veins as she ran the older boy down, crouching low she leapt and landed square on his back. With a growl low in her throat and determination running through her mind she dragged him to the ground and fiercely pinned him to the ground. Rodolphus was momentarily stunned by the girl shoving his shoulders into the ground.

"Geroff!" He shouted, although it came out strangled since she had knocked the air out of him on the way down.

Bellatrix gave him a rather feral grin and bared down harder. Coming to his senses he rolled upwards and struggled to shove off the girl which was no easy feat as she employed her legs and nails to stop him. Rodolphus was trying to remember his manners the best he could but the newly bleeding gash on his cheek was making that difficult. Finally he managed to shove her about a foot away and she looked ready to jump him again, until she heard the cheers of her teammates and knew that they had won. With a triumphant grin, she turned her back on him and took off running in the direction of her team, lifting her dress up to keep from tripping on it. With a shake of his head, he followed her. When he got there his little brother was amidst his team being congratulated and patted on the back.

A rather sullen looking Sirius approached him, "Why didn't you stop your brother?"

"Excuse me? Besides your beast of a cousin?"Snapped Rodolphus.

Gloating, Bella held her head up high and laughed, "Not bad for a mere witch, huh?"

Sirius leaned forward with a smirk and whispered something in the boy's ear. With a wicked grin he said, "No, not bad at all Trixie."

Her smile instantly faded at the use of the disrespectful and patronizing nickname. "Take that back."

"Why should I?"

With that she snapped and hit him across the face and soon they were rolling around on the ground and all of the young witches and wizards were gathering around and shouting out their preferred champion's name. Things suddenly went quiet although the two on the ground were oblivious to it, Mr. Lestrange moved through the group of children followed closely by Mrs. Black. Something that should be understood about Bella is that she lives to the letter of the law in the presence of authority figures and will only rebel when she can't be caught. So the minute their mother stepped into the circle the girl disentangled herself for Rodolphus.

"Rodolphus! What have you mother and I always told you about hitting girls?" Asked his father sharply. The girls' mother simply walked and put a gently hand on her oldest daughter's shoulder.

"That," he said, pointing an accusing finger at Bellatrix, "is not a girl. That is a bloody Hellion." Mr. Lestrange sharply cuffed his son for the language and gave their mother an apologetic smile before dragging the boy off towards the house.

"Come on dear," whispered Mrs. Black with what looked like it could be a smile forming on her cold face. Which completely beat Andromeda, their mother never smiled, their mother had no sense of humor. "Let's go inside and talk."

On the way to the house Bellatrix worried that she was in trouble for fighting and behaving in an unladylike manner. If her father had been there she certainly would have been in trouble for exactly that reason. However, if anything the woman seemed pleased with her for some odd reason. Gently, she led her daughter to the couch and sat her down, then she began to pace, lost deep in thought.

"Love, I'm pleased with you. Do you know why?" She said staring down at her daughter. Bella was no fool, she knew that this was not an innocent question but a test. Not sure of the answer, she stared down at her feet and completely ignored the question. "Bellatrix! Answer me."

"No. I don't."

She got down on her knees and grasped the girl's hands in her own and held them tight, "Because you stood your ground. You're different love, different from the rest of the girls. You're meant for something more and no one can stop you. All these wizards are working so hard to bring glory to the wizarding world and if they think we witches are going to roll over and take the backseat in this new order they are sadly mistaken."

Standing up she walked over to a locked cabinet and removed a beautiful necklace. "Bellatrix, this necklace contains the power and protection of the Black family. In the past it has been passed down from heir to heir but it was 'lost' many generations ago. We both know who truly should represent this family. We both know who deserves this power." She stroked the Black crest at the end of the chain and gently pulled it over her daughter's head. Planting a kiss of the girl's forehead she whispered, "Make us proud. It's time that Black women claim what's ours."

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Bellatrix returned to her room that night beaming and refusing to tell her sisters what she had talked about with their mother. That night she had odd dreams full of swirling power and blood and she felt something she couldn't describe flowing through her. When she awoke she didn't remember the nightmares from the night before. The nightmares that would shape her future. The nightmares that would ultimately be her downfall and would haunt her in a way the demeantors never could.

Hope you liked this chapter! The next one should be up in a few days, please review!