"Crucio!" Bellatrix aimed her wand at Rosalina Lewis as a red web of light snared itself around the prisoner. A great flush of pleasure washed through her veins as she stood in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, holding her curse as she tortured the enemy.
Rosalina Lewis, who had been a Gryffindor schoolmate of Bellatrix's, had been caught spying on the Death Eaters. Now Bellatrix was using the Cruciatus Curse to find out just what Rosalina knew and who she was working with. Bellatrix gasped from the delicious way it felt to cast this spell. It was her favourite spell in all the world. She held it just a smidge too long, probably - she always did. As the red light snarled and crackled around her body, Rosalina Lewis shrieked bloody murder, her voice bouncing off the stone walls of the dungeon. She pounded the floor with desperate palms and fisted at her mousy brown hair. She clawed at the stone wall beside her and screamed ever more loudly. Finally, finally, Bellatrix let the spell go, snapping her wand up and storming over to where Rosalina Lewis lay collapsed on her stomach.
"Who sent you to the White Wyvern that day to spy on Rabastan and Abraxas?" she demanded, yanking on Rosalina's hair. The other witch drooled, her face drawn and weary. She'd taken ten minutes' worth of Cruciatus Curses at this point, and she was about to snap, Bellatrix could feel. She spat a little at Bellatrix, panting, and Bellatrix replied, "Right then. Another Cruciatus for you, sweetling. Crucio!"
She stepped back, dropping Rosalina's head and causing the witch to conk her face straight onto the stone floor. Her Cruciatus Curse came on hard and strong, wrapping her victim in red light again. Bellatrix heard footsteps on the dungeon stairs, and she glanced over to see a figure descending into the dimly-lit dungeons. She held the Cruciatus as Rosalina screamed, and she watched as the figure took shape in the dark orange light.
Him.
Lord Voldemort was walking into the dungeon, watching Bellatrix torture her prey. Bellatrix smiled a little at him as she held her Cruciatus, and she said politely,
"Good afternoon, My Lord."
"Bella." Voldemort folded his arms over his chest and leaned against a pillar. "I think she's had enough. Ask her again."
"Yes, Master." Bellatrix broke the curse and kicked her boot hard into the ribcage of Rosalina Lewis. She kicked again and again and then finally yelled, "Who sent you to the White Wyvern that day to spy on Rabastan and Abraxas?"
Rosalina was silent on the ground for a long while, and Bellatrix wondered if she had taken things too far. She eyed Voldemort, who had a strange look in his eyes. Bellatrix suddenly remembered the way he'd given her a kiss the night before, the way he'd wrapped his arms around her waist. Now he stared at her with a burn in his gaze that made Bellatrix shiver a little. Bellatrix stared at Rosalina and demanded again,
"Who sent you to the White Wyvern?"
"Albus… Dumbledore…" gasped Rosalina. She choked out a broken little sound and then admitted, "He sent me there to listen to Lestrange and Malfoy."
"I knew it. Finish her off, Bellatrix," said Lord Voldemort, and Bellatrix nodded. She aimed her wand at Rosalina Lewis and cast a Killing Curse, her wand exploding with a violent green burst of light. Then Rosalina lay slumped and silent, and Voldemort walked up beside Bellatrix and aimed his own wand at her.
"Corpus Evanesco," he muttered, and the body Vanished into Nonbeing. He stared down at Bellatrix, and she saw then that his chest was rising and falling rather quickly beneath his heavy black robes. He blinked a few times at her through the dim light, and then she could sense it rolling off of him.
Want.
She licked her bottom lip and stared up at him, and she asked carefully,
"Have I done you proud, My Lord?"
"You always make me proud, in battles and interrogations alike, Bellatrix," Voldemort replied. He reached out then, as if he meant to take her face in his hands, but he pulled his fingers back at the last second and whispered, "Sorry, I… anyway. Well done."
He turned on the ball of his foot and started to go, but Bellatrix called after him,
"Will you be at the party tonight, My Lord? Abraxas Malfoy's forty-fifth birthday party?"
Voldemort whirled round and nodded crisply. "Of course I will."
Then he turned again and pattered up the stairs, out of the dungeons, leaving Bellatrix behind in the empty space without a trace of the witch she'd tortured and killed for him.
The party was incredibly dull. Abraxas Malfoy was a Death Eater like Bellatrix, but he was also twenty-five years older than Bellatrix, so he was of her parents' generation. Therefore, the music being played over the Amplified record player was dreadfully out of style. The food was even boring - roast beef and mashed potato and carrots at a sit-down meal before people began to mingle and dance. Bellatrix sat beside her parents and found herself staring at the Dark Lord all throughout dinner. He was beside Abraxas Malfoy, at a place of honour at the head of the table. He glanced at her every now and then, his dark eyes flashing whenever he did.
Bellatrix had tried to look pretty. She'd worn a floor-length black sequin gown with a draping back and long sleeves. She'd used Sleekeazy's to tame her curls a bit, and she'd carefully applied makeup. She could feel Voldemort's eyes studying her face and her hair sometimes during dinner, and her cheeks would go hot. He'd kissed her. Did he actually want her? She would gladly give herself to him in her entirety, if that was what he wanted. Was that what he wanted?
"Bellatrix?"
She looked up to see her intended, the man to whom she'd been matched by happy fathers. Rodolphus was a little dull, but he'd probably make a fine husband, Bellatrix thought. He seemed to want to make Bellatrix happy, anyway. Now he stood beside her chair in his brocade dress robes, and he held out his hand.
"I know the music isn't the best," Rodolphus joked, "but I wonder if you wouldn't mind dancing with me just the same."
"Oh. Certainly." Bellatrix jarred all of a sudden. She'd been fantasising about giving herself to Lord Voldemort, but she was promised to Rodolphus Lestrange. How could she be sitting here thinking about stripping her clothes off for her master when in just a few short months, she'd have a husband?
Dancing with Rodolphus was as boring as the rest of the party. They barely spoke as they danced, until at last Rodolphus asked,
"Have you got your wedding dress yet?"
"Oh, yes. They're making it at Twillfit and Tattings," Bellatrix said. She thought of the gown, a delectable confection of lace and satin, and she smiled a little up at Rodolphus. "It'll be a nice wedding, Dolph."
"I'm looking forward to what comes after the wedding," he said rather slyly, and then he seemed to realise he'd sounded like a rogue. He quickly caught himself and stammered, "I - I mean to say, our life together. I'm looking forward to our life together. I didn't mean -"
"It's fine." Bellatrix leaned her forehead onto his chest as she laughed a little. She shook her head and murmured up at him, "Sweet man."
Rodolphus' cheeks went a little pink. He turned his face, and suddenly he looked rather afraid. He stopped dancing, and Bellatrix followed his gaze to see Lord Voldemort striding up to them.
"Mr Lestrange, do you mind if I cut in?" Voldemort asked primly, and Rodolphus just shook his head in silence, murmured an Of course, Master, and backed away from Bellatrix. Voldemort took Rodolphus' place in the dancing stance, and suddenly Bellatrix couldn't breathe.
She was dancing. With him. With him. She stared up at him and knew she'd never wanted anything in all the world as badly as she'd wanted to be held like this by him. She moved with him as a new song started, and she watched him carefully chew his lip and say,
"I'm bored."
Bellatrix choked out a little laugh and nodded. "It is a very boring party, My Lord."
"I should like not to be bored," Voldemort said, staring straight into Bellatrix's eyes. He tightened his hand on her back and rubbed at her thumb with his. "Come with me to my office."
Bellatrix felt her eyes go wide. She looked around the party. People didn't seem to be paying them any attention. Even Rodolphus had delved into conversation with his brother Rabastan. Bellatrix's parents were talking to Abraxas and Caroline Malfoy. The other guests were dancing, drinking, or talking. Bellatrix kept dancing with Voldemort and asked him softly,
"When?"
"Now," he answered simply. He let go of her back but kept hold of her hand, and he led her off the dance floor. Still, no one seemed to notice them. Had he Confounded them all? She wouldn't put such magic past him. They left the ballroom and walked down the corridor, his hand still around hers, and as they made their way toward Voldemort's office, Bellatrix trotted to keep up with him.
What did he want of her, she wondered? More kisses? More than that? Did he want sex?
"I only wish not to be bored," he said, and she realised he'd been inside her mind with Legilimency. She frowned and followed him into his office as he wandlessly shut the door behind them, and then she heard him mumble, "I disliked seeing you dance with the Lestrange boy."
"Master, I'm to marry him," Bellatrix said helplessly, but Voldemort whirled round on her in the centre of his office and shook his head.
"We'll see about that," he said, and he seized Bellatrix's face. He bent down and kissed her hard, so hard that her head spun. She arched her back and clutched at the chest of his robes as she kissed him back, tasting firewhisky on him. She moaned like a harlot into the kiss, wanting so much more as her ears went hot and she flushed between her legs. Voldemort's hands went everywhere. He touched at her bare back, exposed by the cut of her dress. He squeezed her waist. He fondled a breast. He grasped her backside in his hands. And then he pulled back and whispered,
"I do crave you."
"You… you do?" Bellatrix was breathless, swiping at her mouth with the inside of her wrist. She watched him stand there and touch at his head, and he shut his eyes as he whispered,
"You must belong solely to me. I have to crave you back. It's complex, and yet very simple, isn't it?"
Suddenly he sounded like a complete madman, and Bellatrix was concerned. She felt her mouth fall open a little. She had to belong solely to him? He had to crave her back? What was he on about? She walked up to him and put her hands to his chest, and she murmured,
"Even when I marry Rodolphus, Master, I'll be entirely yours. Solely yours."
"No. You won't be solely mine." He shook his head and tipped Bellatrix's chin up. He kissed her lips lightly and insisted, "You'll be his. In name. In bed. You'll be his, and you can't be. You simply can't be his, Bellatrix. So, I do apologise, I suppose, but your wedding is off."
Shock crashed through Bellatrix, and she just stood there as he kissed her again a few times. Her ears rung and her chest stung with surprise. She stepped back and stared up at him in wonder.
"The… the wedding is off?" she repeated, and he just nodded. He licked his bottom lip and shrugged a bit.
"I can not explain much further, Bellatrix, other than to tell you that it is an unacceptable outcome for you to become that boy's wife. I saw you dancing with him tonight. You would not just be his spouse in name alone. The two of you would love one another to a certain degree, and that I can not abide."
"But, My Lord," Bellatrix said confusedly, "may I ask… why not?"
"I do not need to explain myself any further to you," Voldemort snapped, and his demeanour had suddenly shifted. He snarled down at her, "I have my reasons for keeping you closer than I did before, Bellatrix. I have my reasons for ensuring that you do not become that boy's witch. I have my reasons, and they are important reasons, and they are my reasons. If you dare question me, you'll go the way of Rosalina Lewis. Do you understand me?"
Bellatrix felt her face flush cold. She nodded her assent and whispered cautiously, "I understand, My Lord."
He took her face slowly in his hands and bent down, brushing his lips against hers. He murmured gently against her mouth,
"I have my reasons for keeping you closer than I did before, Bellatrix. You must trust me. Do you trust me?"
"I trust you, Master," Bellatrix hummed as the sounds of the party droned from outside the office. Voldemort kissed her again, more deeply this time than he'd done yet, and when he'd finished, he pulled back and mumbled,
"I'll speak with Rodolphus and make up some excuse about the wedding. Don't worry your head over it, Bella. I have my reasons. Go back to the party; I'm staying here."
"Master." Bellatrix laced her fingers through his and nodded, and then she finally gulped and asked, "Are you still bored?"
"No, Bella." He squeezed at her hand and bent to kiss her forehead. "Thanks to you, I am no longer bored. But if you stay, I'll take this too far for tonight, hmm? So go back to the party, and sit and talk with your parents, and tomorrow I'll speak with Rodolphus, Rudy Lestrange, and your father, and inform them that your wedding is off."
"Because you have your reasons for keeping me closer than you've done before?" Bellatrix asked softly, and Voldemort hummed against her forehead.
"Mmm… because I have my reasons, Bellatrix. Go."
"Yes, My Lord." She finally obeyed him, feeling more confused than she'd ever felt in her entire life as she walked out of his office and down the corridor back toward the ballroom.
Author's Note: So, he's definitely starting to crave her a little more - that much is obvious. And he cracked a little bit and is calling off Bellatrix's wedding, but he refuses to tell her exactly why. What reason will he make up for calling off the wedding when he speaks to Cygnus, Rudy Lestrange, and Rodolphus? Hmmmm. Thanks as always so much for reading, and a gigantic thank you to those who take a moment to review.
Since tomorrow is Christmas Eve and the next day is Christmas, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update. I'll do my best over the holidays to update as rapidly and regularly as possible. Your patience and feedback is greatly appreciated.