DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

Friday, Oct 11, 1968

Abhimanyu and Bellatrix were having their potions examined by Professor Slughorn. Both were hoping that they would be perfect.

The professor analyzed their homework and said, "Very good job, excellent. Mr. Pandey, you need to be a little faster, but other than that, very good. Ten points to Slytherin and Gryffindor, Ms. Black and Mr. Pandey."

Abhimanyu replied, "Thank you Professor. Should I have stirred it a little more or less?"

Slughorn assured him saying, "What you did was alright. You did your best."

Bellatrix said, "Thank you Professor."

Slughorn called out, "Now just wait a moment. I just need to tell something to all Slug Club members."

They waited until the other students minus members of what was known as the Slug Club, of which Abhimanyu and Bellatrix were members, had left.

Slughorn then announced, "Tomorrow night, I am planning to hold a dinner party. I know this year, you will all have to work very hard, but you are all good students, and a little fun here and there is always necessary."

Abhimanyu asked, "Professor, what time will it be?"

Slughorn replied, "8 pm. And Abhimanyu my boy, please do come. I want you and Bellatrix to be present. You can bring a partner if you wish to."

Abhimanyu asked, "Sir, can I bring my friends Ginger Hebblethwaite and Molly Prewett?"

Slughorn answered, "Mr. Hebblethwaite and Ms. Prewett? Sure, whoever you want. That's alright with me. I understand."

As Abhimanyu and Bellatrix walked out of the potions classroom together, Bellatrix grinned wickedly at him and whispered, "Teacher's pet!"

Later on, after classes, Bellatrix went to her dormitory to put her books away. As she was taking out a scarf from her trunk afterwards, she suddenly noticed Avril standing right next to her.

"Avril," Bellatrix spoke, "What do you want?"

Avril spoke accusingly, "Bellatrix, what has gone wrong with you? Ever since May, you've been hanging out with that Mudblood and his friends, that know-it-all Prewett and that pesky Hebblethwaite. What happened to Toujours Pur? And why have you been staying away from Rodolphus? He's our friend, and he's more worthy of you than that filthy Mudblood Pandey…"

"SHUT UP!" Bellatrix suddenly yelled in Avril's face.

Avril looked angrily at Bellatrix and said, "So this is how you treat your friend? One day, Pandey will deceive you, show you his true colors, and you will regret it. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to touch you. Who knows what he may do?"

Bellatrix replied angrily, "Abhimanyu would never treat me like that! And as for what's going on between us, it's none of your business. As for Toujours Pur, I no longer find Muggleborns to be below me as you do!"

With that, she stormed out of the dorm.

A few minutes later, she was sitting somewhere by the edge of the lake, throwing stones into the water.

Just then, she heard a familiar voice calling out, "Bell, are you okay?"

She turned to see Andromeda who had just spoken and Narcissa standing nearby.

Andromeda and Narcissa walked over to her and sat on either side of her, Narcissa on her left, and Andromeda on her right.

Narcissa said, "You look upset."

Bellatrix said, "Tell me, why am I different from our family? I seem to be losing everyone. All that Avril does is to lecture me and be rude to me because I'm friends with a Muggleborn."

Andromeda said, "Bellatrix, don't blame yourself. We're with you. And you know we both accept you and Abhimanyu being friends, even together."

Narcissa added, "Don't worry about Avril. Honestly, I don't like her. She's mean and condescending."

Bellatrix said, "I was once that way too."

Andromeda said, "You never were."

Bellatrix replied, "Oh I sure was. I sneered at Abhimanyu for six years and let Rodolphus and Avril pounce upon him. I laughed at him many times, I was mean to him, and I often told him to go away."

Andromeda said, "Well now you're not at that level anymore. And honestly, I feel Abhimanyu is a much better choice of a friend than Rodolphus. Abhimanyu doesn't treat others badly, he's nice and he saved me from getting raped."

Bellatrix asked, "Andi, if suppose I don't want to marry a pureblood, and I choose a Muggleborn, what will you do?"

Andromeda replied firmly, "Then it's your choice. As long as it makes you happy, and as long as you don't leave us, which you won't. You are our big sister. We're with you."

Narcissa placed her head in Bellatrix's lap and said, "I'm your baby sister. I love you and I won't stop loving you."

Bellatrix kissed her baby sister's forehead and said, "I love you my baby sister. I'm supposed to protect you and Andi and I will. But what will Mother and Father say?"

Andromeda said, "I don't think they'll listen. This summer, all that they have done is to yell at us that we have to comply, that we have to marry elite pureblood wizards, carry on the powerful line, and that we'll be disowned if we don't obey. Maybe not every day; sure, they have appreciated our marks and achievements, but now Mother won't stop Father when he goes on and on. All she says is, 'Be quiet, are you listening?' How can we live like this? If I have to choose between their wishes and love, then I choose love. And if I have to go against their wishes to help you, then I will."

Bellatrix hugged Andromeda and said, "Thank you Andi."

Narcissa said, "Cheer up my big sister. Remember when I was small and you used to scare me and devour me? Don't you want to eat this silly baby sister of yours?"

Bellatrix playfully glared at Narcissa and 'thundered', "If that is what you want, then so be it!" With that, she pretended to tear Narcissa apart with her nails and devour her.

Afterwards, Narcissa sat up.

Just then, they heard a voice calling out, "There you are guys. I've been looking for you."

They turned to see Abhimanyu approaching them, clad in his robes and a red Gryffindor scarf.

Abhimanyu moved over to them and sat down behind Bellatrix.

He said, "Are you okay?"

Bellatrix said, "Avril thinks she can tell me who I should be friends with. She is so…"

Abhimanyu said, "I don't like her. She won't change. Neither will Rodolphus for that matter."

Andromeda said, "They want to be with the Dark Lord. That's what they want. You can't expect them to suddenly change."

Just then, Bellatrix said, "Abhimanyu, why don't we duel?"

Abhimanyu said, "Sure, but…"

Bellatrix silenced him with a glare.

A few weeks after the start of the term, Abhimanyu had started trying to study more and so had not been hanging out much. In fact, he had hardly even come out of his dorm. After a week of this, Bellatrix and Molly had finally spoken to him saying that he needed to be out or it would not be good for him. He was studying hard enough. Bellatrix had even told him that she would help him in his studies, especially in dueling.

Bellatrix now stood up, moved over to Abhimanyu, pulled him up by his shoulders, moved a little distance from the lake and holding his shoulders, she spoke fiercely, "Listen here, I have had enough of you keeping to yourself in the tower like this. Studying theory alone will not help you. You need to be able to duel properly. You are one of the smartest students in my year. You are my best friend and I am going to make sure you live instead of being dead while alive!"

Abhimanyu looked at her with wide eyes and spoke, "Did you just call me your best friend?"

Bellatrix said, "Yes I did. Now prepare to duel with me."

They drew their wands out, acknowledged each other, and then moved away from each other.

Bellatrix shouted, "Everte Statum!"

Abhimanyu cried out, "Expelliarmus."

Their spells connected and formed a red link.

They broke the connection at once.

Bellatrix said, "I forgot, we have the same wand core, so obviously, we'll need a different one."

Pulling out one from her robes, she said, "This one is mahogany and dragon heartstring. I'll use that against you this time. Then next time, you will use that wand. Got it?"

"Got it," Abhimanyu replied.

Bellatrix cried out, "Tarantallegra."

Abhimanyu responded, "Incarcerous."

Their spells flew by and both managed to dodge. Bellatrix then cried out, "Rictusempra."

Abhimanyu responded, "Protego," barely before the spell could hit him.

Bellatrix's spell rebounded towards her and it struck her.

She fell to the ground laughing.

A minute later, she got up and said, "That was good! You're getting even better Abhimanyu. Now come on, time for you to use the mahogany wand."

Even as Bellatrix and Abhimanyu went up to each other, Narcissa said, "He's perked up."

Andromeda whispered, "You know what, I think Bella's in love!"

Bellatrix who had backed away from Abhimanyu to duel suddenly turned around and sharply said, "Andi, Cissy, what was that?!"

Andromeda simply replied, "I think you're in love."

Bellatrix turned away to face Abhimanyu, even as her sisters began laughing.

The next day, 7:55 pm…

Abhimanyu, Ginger, and Molly were on their way to an office on the sixth floor which had belonged to Galatea Merrythought in her days as a teacher before her retirement. Due to the fact that Slughorn wished to host a big party, and that his own office was cramped and like a water closet, Dumbledore had given permission to use this room for that night but had warned him to be careful about what he was doing as there were students who had to prepare for their NEWTs and OWLs.

They reached the double doors leading to the office and knocked.

The door was opened by Professor Slughorn who looked delighted and said, "Oh it's you. Come on in, some people have arrived early."

They entered the room to hear some music being played. Abhimanyu looked and saw a gramophone on the side.

Molly spoke, "Pretty nice Professor."

Just then, Abhimanyu heard someone call out, slightly seductively and wickedly, "Hello, dear Abhimanyu Pandey."

He turned around to see Bellatrix looking at him evilly with a wicked grin, dressed in a black lace dress.

Abhimanyu was surprised and he exclaimed, "Bellatrix it's you! Wow, you look beautiful, and you look like you could…"

"Eat you up?" Bellatrix replied, "Tickle you till you beg me for mercy? Oh Abhimanyu, you know me."

With that, she gave him a high five.

Just then, they heard a cute voice saying, "Excuse me, but are you the Head Boy and the Head Girl?"

Both of them turned in the direction of the voice and saw a Hufflepuff girl with yellowish brown hair.

Abhimanyu replied, "That's us. What's your name?"

The girl replied, "My name is Amelia Bones."

Bellatrix replied, "Bones as in the Bones family? That's interesting. I'm Bellatrix Black the Head Girl and this is my friend Abhimanyu Pandey, the Head Boy. He's Muggleborn."

"Oh," Amelia replied, "And did Professor Slughorn call you too?"

"Yes he did Amelia," Abhimanyu replied, "It's nice to meet you. If you're having any problems, come tell us."

Amelia spoke up, "Oh yes, some big Slytherin boys have been troubling us. Some of my friends in my year are Muggleborn, and, one of them went back to her dorm in tears because some big boy called her a Mudblood."

Abhimanyu and Bellatrix looked at each other. The former knelt down to Amelia's level and asked, "Who is it? What did the boy look like?"

Amelia replied, "Apparently, he had a prefect badge and he had black hair."

Abhimanyu, feeling suspicious, asked, "Is his hair long and dark? Is it Lestrange?"

Amelia replied, "I've seen him a couple of times. I think that's who it is."

Abhimanyu looked around, and saw Rodolphus who also happened to be a part of the Slug Club, having a drink and coming closer to Bellatrix, striding in an arrogant manner.

The Head Boy marched up to Rodolphus and yelled, "RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE!"

Startled, Rodolphus yelped and muttered, "What do you want?"

Abhimanyu spoke, raising his voice, "Is it true that you've been going around and picking on first years, especially Muggleborn girls?"

Rodolphus said, "What are you talking about? I'm a prefect doing my duty."

Abhimanyu retorted, "Or rather using your position to bully others behind my back. Don't think I don't know about it. I've just heard from Amelia that you made a Muggleborn first year go to her room in tears. You're cruel and arrogant!"

Rodolphus said, "Just mind your own business. This is a party, not a time for…"

"SHUT UP," Abhimanyu shouted, "That's it! I'm putting you in detention! Not just one, three for your misbehavior; and those detentions will be starting from tomorrow night, and I'll make sure you're working with Filch! Be prepared to lose your position!"

Rodolphus protested, "You can't do that! Bellatrix say something!"

Bellatrix looked at Abhimanyu with her arms folded and said, "You shouldn't not take points because your friend happens to be in the same house as this bully."

Abhimanyu replied, "You're right. Rodolphus, five points from Slytherin for every person you've bullied so far this year."

"Bu… but…" Rodolphus stuttered, but Abhimanyu was having none of it.

He said, "Don't you dare try to bully others behind my back, because if you do, you will regret it, Lestrange."

With that, he walked off, with Bellatrix and Amelia following him.

Just then, they saw Professor Slughorn coming over to them.

Slughorn waved and joyfully exclaimed, "Ah, I see you've met Amelia Bones already. She is very talented."

Abhimanyu said, "That's nice, and she's quite nice."

Amelia said, "Thank you."

Slughorn then said, "Well, the others have arrived. In another few minutes, we shall eat. It's going to be very interesting."

Just then, Ginger came over with a tin and said, "Professor would you like a few sugar coated pineapples? I've got plenty in here."

Slughorn took a piece out and exclaimed, "Sugar coated pineapples, my favorite! Thank you! I love these!"

Abhimanyu pulled a box out of his robes and presented it to the professor saying, "That reminds me, my mom sent some snacks that you really like. There's some really good chakli in here."

Slughorn opened the box and was delighted to see the contents. He took a chakli and ate it. Afterwards, he said, "Your mother's snacks are delicious! I haven't forgotten her sweets you once gave me. They melted in my mouth!"

A few minutes later, everyone was sitting around a dinner table, with Slughorn flanked by Lucius and Narcissa who were also at the party, and Bellatrix and Abhimanyu sitting together, Abhimanyu next to Lucius and Bellatrix next to him. Ginger and Molly were next to each other, with Bellatrix on Molly's other side.

There were menus in front of each person. Slughorn took his menu, looked at it and called out, "Pork chops!"

At once, pork chops appeared on the professor's plate.

Abhimanyu asked, "Sir, can we ask for something but without a part of it, like chicken pizza but without the chicken?"

Slughorn replied, "You can, but you have to say it very clearly. But don't worry. There are plenty of vegetarian options, really good ones."

"Thank you," Abhimanyu said before turning to his menu.

A minute later, he called out, "Spinach olive pizza and garlic bread."

At once, spinach olive pizza and garlic bread appeared on his plate.

He looked at Bellatrix, who had ordered some cream mushroom soup, a spinach cheese puff, and some salad.

Bellatrix said, "My, that looks delicious."

"Want to share?" Abhimanyu offered.

Bellatrix replied, "Sure, let's share although, I'm stealing from you."

With that, she gave Abhimanyu a piece of her puff plus some salad and poured a little of her soup into a bowl in front of Abhimanyu even as he gave her a couple of pizza slices and some of his garlic bread.

Rodolphus looked desperately at Bellatrix, seeing this sight, but she did not even look at him.

They ate their meal happily, exchanging jokes as they did so. Finally, when it was time for dessert, they all referred to their desert menus.

Abhimanyu looked at it and suddenly, his eyes widened.

He looked at Slughorn and exclaimed, "There's carrot halwa with chocolate ice cream! Wow!"

Slughorn happily replied, "Of course there is. I couldn't not have it on the list, especially after that carrot halwa you gave me last year. The chocolate ice cream though, was my idea."

Abhimanyu said, "Sounds cool."

He and Bellatrix, as well as Ginger and Molly ordered carrot halwa with chocolate ice cream, and their desserts appeared in cute looking glass bowls.

After everyone had finished dessert, the Professor looked at his watch and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! It's almost 10 pm! You'd better run to your dormitories or we will land in trouble! Time to go! This was a very enjoyable party and I hope you all had a good time! Thank you for coming!"

As the students got up to leave, Abhimanyu turned to Lucius and said, "Lucius that was a splendid party. Oh and just one more thing. Watch Rodolphus and see what he does. He's going behind my back and abusing his power."

Lucius politely nodded in response before saying goodbye.

Soon, Abhimanyu and Bellatrix left themselves after saying goodbye to their teacher. However, just as they exited the office as the last students, Bellatrix suddenly spoke, "Abhimanyu wait, can I talk to you?"

Abhimanyu turned to look at her and said, "Of course. Come on."

Bellatrix and Abhimanyu walked over to a large open window on the sixth floor and stood there in the moonlight.

Abhimanyu asked, "Bellatrix, are you alright? What is it?"

Bellatrix was looking at him deeply.

And then she spoke, holding his arms, "It's the way I feel about you. I mean, you're my friend. You're not like Rodolphus or… You're kind, caring, determined, and you wouldn't give up trying to be my friend. I…"

Abhimanyu held her arms and said, "What is it?"

Bellatrix replied, "I'm falling in love with you!"

And then, she pulled him towards her and kissed him.

Abhimanyu and Bellatrix, holding each other, maintained the kiss, their eyes closed in romantic bliss.

Rodolphus Lestrange was walking around on the sixth floor, hoping to find Bellatrix and attempt to talk to her about what was going on. He still thought he could convince her to leave that Mudblood and go out with him instead.

He turned around a corner, into a wide corridor, at the end of which, there was a large open window.

And then, he suddenly froze at the sight before him, and swooned in horror.

Abhimanyu and Bellatrix did not notice the sound of someone falling even as they ended the kiss and opened their eyes. Abhimanyu, pressing his forehead to Bellatrix's, whispered, "I love you too Bella."

Bellatrix whispered, "I love you too, Abhimanyu."

They hugged each other, and then they turned to see Rodolphus Lestrange nearby, lying on the floor.

"Uh oh," Abhimanyu said, "I think we should leave."

Just then, they heard some cackling and a notorious voice singing,

"HEAD BOY AND HEAD GIRL SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

OOH, SHOULD TELL FILCH, IT IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD AFTER ALL," the last line in a saintly manner.

Abhimanyu groaned even as the notorious school poltergeist, Peeves, hovered some distance near them and then flew off.

And then, they saw a cat coming round the corner even as a voice rang out, "Students, out of bed! I'll get them yet!"

"Oh shoot, it's Filch!" Abhimanyu exclaimed.

Bellatrix said, "I think we should leave."

Abhimanyu said, "I think we should run. Goodnight Bella. I love you."

With that, they took off in different directions, down two passageways, and just managed to avoid being caught by Argus Filch, the spiteful caretaker of the school and a squib.

Rodolphus Lestrange came out of his stupor and slowly got up, and when he did, he found himself face to face with Filch and his cat, Mrs. Norris.

Sometime later, he was lying on his bed, panting in horror.

Rabastan who was standing next to him spoke, "Rody, big brother, what's happened?"

Rodolphus replied in a terror-stricken voice, "It's impossible! Bellatrix is in love, with that…"

"Who," Rabastan asked, "in love with that what?"

Rodolphus gasped, "With that pesky Mudblood, Pandey!"