A/N: Ok, I know this isn't exactly a Bella-Snape ship chapter, but please bear with me, I have a vague plan, and I'm trying to explain Narcissa's behavior toward Bella in the Spinner's End chapter, which I will get to in time, promise.
Chapter 16
The clock chimed six o'clock in the evening.
My day had passed in a slow crawl of time spent in the library.
I shrieked in frustration, flinging the book I had been reading against the wall of the library. It made a very satisfying thud against the wall, and I threw another. When I ran out of nearby books, I screamed and grabbed a lamp. It crashed loudly against the wall, flinging small bits of glass and ceramic about the room.
Tears began falling down my cheeks and I sank to the floor, weeping desperately.
Staying inside the manor was driving me insane. I had to put up with visits from Rodolphus, lust from my master, derision from Severus, adoration from my nephew, neglect from Lucius, and what was growing into blind hatred from Narcissa. I pressed the back of my shaking hand to my lips. I drew a deep, shaky breath, trying to regain my composure before...
"Bella, darling."
Lucius.
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly. I hadn't counted on anyone being home when I had started shrieking and throwing things. Lucius was wonderful, and I adored him, but our current situation made me less than ecstatic to see him.
"What is the matter?" he asked quietly, walking to me, pieces of glass and ceramic crunching beneath his shoes.
"Nothing, Lucius." I said quickly, standing up and wiping at my cheeks.
"If you can't talk to me, who can you talk to?" he asked, smiling at me encouragingly.
The problem was, that ever since that night with Narcissa and Rodolphus, I hadn't really felt as comfortable around Lucius as I wanted to. I didn't know how he felt about me, and I didn't want to confide things in him that might cause him more pain. But, for as long as I could remember, he had been the one I went to about everything. He had shared all of the important moments in my life. I felt as though I had lost my best friend and only confidant.
"Nobody."
My eyes squeezed shut tightly. I felt strong arms wrap around my slim form, and I pressed my face against Lucius's chest, breathing in his comforting scent. I finally felt like I was someplace I belonged. Lucius and I had been wonderful friends for as long as I could remember, and these past few weeks of avoiding him had been so difficult. Even if it was entirely appropriate.
"Well, then, don't waste my time, tell me what's wrong," he joked, one of his hands coming up to stroke my hair.
"Oh, Lucius, everything is wrong!" I wailed, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. "Rodolphus comes to visit me, and spends the whole time telling me about how I am his property. When I go to our master he has tasks for me...tasks that none of you know about," I whispered. "Severus...he won't even be in the same vicinity as me. Draco spent all of Christmas holidays asking me to teach him things and following me around."
"Is that everything?" He asked, apparently trying to lighten my mood.
"No!" I wailed, pounding one fist on his chest. "Cissy hates me!"
He didn't respond. I lifted my teary face to look up at him.
"Why do you think Narcissa hates you?" he asked, after clearing his throat uncomfortably.
"Because of you," I whispered, staring up at him. "She thinks that you don't love her."
"I don't," he growled, turning away from me and walking over to the book I had thrown against the wall.
"Yes you do," I replied desperately. "She loves you. You married her."
"Bellatrix, you of all people know that not everyone can, or does, marry for love."
My cheeks flushed slightly.
"Why don't you love her?"
He shrugged, his back still to me. "I don't know. I've never loved her. I've always been in love with someone else."
My heart was pounding. What was he saying? I didn't want to believe what he was telling me.
"Lucius, who do you love, then?" I asked hesitantly.
He turned to face me.
"Bella, I asked you not to ask me about that."
"Tell me."
"You know the answer to that already," he said quietly, walking over to the window.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" I demanded in anguish. "Things could have been so very different. For both of us," I whispered, rubbing my face with my hand. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
When I opened my eyes again, Lucius was looking at me. I took a deep breath.
Before I could say another word, I was in his arms and he was kissing me soundly. It didn't feel as...right as when I kissed Severus, but it was certainly pleasant. His lips traveled down my jaw line, and I sighed softly. One of his arms remained wrapped firmly around my waist while the other slid to cup the back of my head gently. My fingers toyed with the hem of his shirt, before my hands slid up his sides, the material being pushed up to reveal his bare flesh. One of his hands slid up under my shirt, his fingers playing lightly over the skin of my back. I moaned softly, leaning into his touch, and stretching up to recapture his lips with mine.
"Do you think you could step away from my husband, Bella?"
The voice was pure ice.
I froze. Lucius dropped his arms from my body, and I turned slowly to see my sister standing in the doorway.
"What do you want, Narcissa?" Lucius asked frigidly.
"You aren't even going to try to think of some story or excuse?' She asked incredulously.
"Why would I do that? You saw what was going on. Any excuses would simply be a waste of my time and yours. Not to mention an insult to your intelligence, and mine. So now, since you came looking for either Bella or myself, I assume that there was something specific you wanted from one, or both, of us." He was the perfect master of the house.
"Lucius! You were in here...snogging with my sister!" She shouted.
"Do desist with the hysterics, Narcissa, they don't become you," he said firmly. "Now, are you going to spit out whatever it is you would like? I am a busy man, my dear."
I sighed and walked to the window, setting my trembling hands on the windowsill. Had I really just been kissing my sister's husband? I rested my forehead against the cool glass.
They continued in that vein for quite sometime before Lucius swept from the room, ignoring his wife's continued shrieking. That left Narcissa and I completely alone.
"Cissy, I am sorry," I said calmly.
"Yes, well, I don't really believe that," she snapped. "But as you are here at Lucius's invitation, I can't very well throw you out onto the street."
I stood up straight and turned to face her.
"Cissy, as soon as I am able, I will be leaving your home," I said quietly. "I promise you."
She nodded once, before walking down the hall. I walked over to the couch in the center of the room and sank into it. My gaze lingered on the fire. My thoughts drifted to Sirius. I knew that he had been sentenced to Azkaban at about the same time as myself. I had also heard of his escape. What was he doing now? I felt irritation flood through me. Why was I thinking about my worthless blood-traitor cousin?
"You do a very poor job of closing your mind when you are upset, Bella," a silky voice came from behind me. "Jumping your own sister's husband. That is in extremely bad taste, my dear."
"Now is not a good time, Severus," I said listlessly.
"Ah, but I think it is, Bella. You see, I need to tell you and Lucius about the plan that has been worked out for the Department of Mysteries," he whispered, leaning close to my ear.
I didn't react to his close proximity to me.
"This is a first," he commented. "You aren't trying to jump me and I'm well within arms length."
I turned my gaze to him and sneered.
"Miss it?"
He stared at me for a moment, a sneer twisting across his face. He shrugged and straightened, looking down at me impassively. I stood and faced him, wishing that he would take me in his arms. Or shout because I had kissed Lucius. Or react at all.
"Why don't you just admit that you only want what you can't have?" he asked suddenly, pain flashing in his eyes once. My eyes widened slightly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, confused.
"It's not difficult to figure out, Bellatrix," he snarled, sweeping to the door, his robes billowing behind him ominously.
"Why do you care if I only want what I can't have? Are you saying I could have you now?" I called at his retreating back.
He didn't respond.
I grinned.
A/N: Ok, at this point I have no more pre-written chapters left to post, and I've only got about 600 or 700 words of Chapter 17 written. So it's going to take me a while to update, hopefully not more than a week, but since I amtaking more credit hoursthan a full-time student, it's hard to say.
Electra de Lioncourt: Well, I'm glad that you enjoy these chapters! I'm thinking that I'll have to end a couple of the romantic dramas soon, simply because it's getting difficult for me to keep them all straight, haha. Not that I don't have plenty of inspiration for them. And...I knew it! I love Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles too and Lestat is AMAZING, although I'm a bit more partial to Marius, myself.
Dancer 8428: Well thank you! I knew when writing it that Bella-Lucius isn't really a very new or exciting idea (Not that Bella-Snape is, necessarily) so I'm glad that it was interesting enough to hold your attention!
