"Well, well, well… the elusive Bellatrix Black in detention? I'm shocked."
Bellatrix looked across the room. Filch escorted Rabastan Lestrange into the trophy room, a smirk on the younger boy's face. "I trust you know what to do, Lestrange, as often as you've done this. I'll be right back."
Rabastan rolled his eyes but moved to join Bellatrix. She was making a good show of polishing the silver placard in her hands, but he knew her better than this. "I know doing work like this isn't something you're accustomed to, but at least one of us actually has to do the work or he'll keep us here all night. Give me that."
She handed him the rag and award gladly, raising an eyebrow at him. "What did you do to land yourself here, Lestrange?"
"We were…exploring Merrythought's office," he said, not meeting her eyes but instead working on the tarnished silver. "Nott's idea—he's got some sort of vendetta against her."
"And you were dragged along?"
Rabastan waved a hand as though that were obvious. "What intrigues me is you, Black. What did you finally get caught at?"
Bellatrix shot him a look. "You no doubt heard about Macnair?" Rabastan gave her a knowing look, so she cut to the chase. "He's sleazy. I kicked him, and I told him I wasn't his whore. He's still limping and single now. He went from three girlfriends to none in a day; I think my job's done."
"And who caught you at that?"
"Dumbledore." She scoffed. "It was worth it, though. I think—" Her words died off as she noticed Filch re-entering the room. Bellatrix reluctantly picked up another rag—she cringed at the feel of it, greasy and threadbare. Though it seemed Rabastan was serious about his original statement, as he didn't leave her anything to clean for the rest of the night.
.
A/N: Written for Advent Calendar Day 27: (action) Cleaning;
Writing Club – Character Appreciation 26: (character) Bellatrix Lestrange; Disney Challenge S6: Write about doing the wrong thing because you're in a group; Showtime 29: (dialogue) "I kicked him and I told him I wasn't his whore."; Liza's Loves 5: Write about suspecting your partner isn't faithful;
Writing Month and Dragons: wc 313