Bellatrix was ill for a few more days, and there was heavy rain in the Midlands, which combined to prompt Voldemort to instruct her to wait until after Rodolphus' engagement party to carry out her mission against the Muggles. He'd want to be able to have a big debriefing meeting afterward with all the Death Eaters, he said, and he needed the calendar to be clear. So Bellatrix waited.
The day before Rodolphus' party, an owl arrived at her parents' home, and Druella Black came flitting into the parlour carrying a sealed letter.
"Bellatrix, it's for you, sealed with the Dark Mark," she exclaimed. Bellatrix took the letter from her mother and rose from the divan, walking toward the window and staring out at the rain for a moment before cracking open the seal and pulling out the letter inside. She read slowly to herself, admiring the Dark Lord's spindly handwriting.
Bellatrix,
I shall be at your parents' house to take you by Side-Along Apparition tomorrow at six o'clock in the evening. Please be ready to go to the party at that time.
Lord Voldemort
"What did he say?" chirped Druella Black from behind Bellatrix. She turned round and clutched the letter to her chest, shaking her head.
"It's private."
Druella frowned, and finally Bellatrix admitted,
"He says he'll be here tomorrow at six to pick me up for the party."
"For Rodolphus' party? What do you mean, pick you up?" Druella stared at Bellatrix in wonder. "He's taking you to the party? The Dark Lord?"
"Yes. I'm going on his arm," Bellatrix murmured. She stared at the letter again, studying his script, dragging her fingers over the places where he'd pulled the nib of the quill, and she smiled just a little to herself.
"My, my, Bellatrix," Druella said, sounding impressed, "Colour me pleasantly surprised. Does Daddy know that you're going to the party with the Dark Lord?"
"Why would Daddy know?" Bellatrix snapped. Then, warming her tone a little, she shook her head and said, "No. I suppose I ought to tell him."
Cygnus' reaction to the news was slack-jawed shock. He was lost somewhere between disbelief and giddy glee at the idea of his own daughter being escorted to Rodolphus Lestrange's new engagement party on the arm of the Dark Lord himself. Bellatrix knew that Cygnus had been paid a great sum of money in exchange for calling off the engagement between Bellatrix and Rodolphus, but that her father had still been rather melancholy about it all. So had Druella; both of the Black parents had been looking forward to seeing their daughter wed Rodolphus. Narcissa gasped and grinned when Bellatrix told her the Dark Lord would be coming to pick her up for the party. Andromeda, who had fallen for a Mudblood and had been disowned by the family, was absent, of course.
The entire Black family, sans Andromeda, would be attending Rodolphus' and Agnes' engagement party at Castle Lestrange. It was a sign of goodwill between the Black and Lestrange families, Cygnus insisted, that they go. It would show that there were no hard feelings in having called off the engagement between Bellatrix and Rodolphus. The public explanation for that engagement ending was the same explanation Voldemort had given the wizards - he needed Bellatrix as a devoted soldier in the war and could not sacrifice her to marriage. So it was a no-fault situation.
Still, Bellatrix was determined to look as lovely as she possibly could as she readied herself the next day for the party. If she was going to be forced to mill about at a party with the man she'd been meant to marry celebrating his engagement to someone else, then she would at least look pretty. She wore a black party dress of lace and tulle. It had a plunging neckline that showed off the swell of her small breasts and long sleeves on its black lace bodice, and the knee-length skirts were of soft black tulle. Bellatrix wore black tights and black high heeled shoes, and she wore a diamond pendant necklace. She carefully styled her curls into a low chignon at the nape of her neck, with just a few stray curls let free. She wore scarlet lipstick, lined her eyes darkly, and wore diamond stud earrings. Bellatrix studied her own reflection in her full-length mirror and decided she did look rather pretty, after all. Her stomach churned with excitement as she looked at the clock and saw that it was three minutes to six.
There was a knock on her bedroom door, and Bellatrix said shakily,
"Come in."
The door opened, and Druella stood there in a plum-coloured silk dress robe with a matching hat perched upon her head. She breathed in deeply and declared,
"Oh, my eldest daughter. How lovely you look."
"Are you certain?" Bellatrix asked nervously, and Druella nodded firmly.
"It's perfect," she said. Just then, there was the sound of the door chime downstairs, and Bellatrix felt her eyes go round.
"He's a minute early!" she exclaimed. She shoved past her mother and careened down the stairs rather ungracefully as Mawky, the House-Elf, opened the door. Bellatrix slowed her steps and walked more elegantly as Voldemort came walking into the Black family home.
"Hello, My Lord," said Bellatrix from the third step from the bottom. She saw his eyes flash as he took in the sight of her, and he surprised her by saying immediately,
"You look magnificent, Bella."
"Oh. Thank you so much." Bellatrix flashed him an anxious smile as Druella followed her into the foyer. Druella asked gently,
"Master, may I offer you tea?"
"No, Druella; we're off to the party straight away," Voldemort said. His eyes were locked on Bellatrix. He held out his arm and murmured, "Shall we go, Bellatrix?"
Bellatrix glanced over her shoulder to her mother and smiled rather happily. "Tell Cissy and Daddy I'll see them at the party," she said. "Bye, Mum."
"See you there, dear," Druella nodded. She raised her eyes to Voldemort and bowed her head very respectfully. "My Lord."
"Goodbye, Druella." Voldemort watched as Bellatrix threaded her hand through his arm, and as soon as she'd taken hold of him, the two of them blinked out of the foyer with a little snap. Bellatrix was pulled into the black void of Apparition for a moment, pinched and whirled and squeezed, and then suddenly she came to, struggling not to trip in her high heels. She was standing on the grass outside of an elegant turreted manor house - Castle Lestrange.
"Oh, My Lord," she said quietly, "I genuinely do not want to be at this party. I am glad to be here with you, of course, but it is strange and unpleasant to be at the engagement party of my fiancé."
"He is not your fiancé anymore," Voldemort reminded her rather sharply. She nodded up at Voldemort and started to pull her hand from his arm, but he dragged her hand back and covered it with his hand. He told her, "You'll go in there on my arm, Bella."
Her throat felt rather tight all of a sudden, and she whispered, "Yes, Master."
The two of them walked up to Castle Lestrange, where the front door was unlocked and propped open for the party. Inside, they could hear talking and music coming from the castle's ballroom, and they headed in that direction. Bellatrix's heart hammered as they approached the ballroom, and when at last they did reach it, she thought her heart would stop. People caught sight of Lord Voldemort entering the ballroom, and they stopped what they were doing. They turned away from conversations; they stopped dancing. Witches curtsied and wizards bowed. The room went silent except for the music playing. Voldemort held up his left hand to greet and acknowledge people, and they rose. Bellatrix suddenly felt a hundred pairs of eyes upon her, taking note of the fact that she was being escorted into the party by Voldemort. She watched Rodolphus where he stood with pretty young Agnes Selwyn and read immediate shock upon Rodolphus' face.
She saw Lucius Malfoy and perceived a similar level of disbelief. In fact, that was what she saw from everybody - they were taken aback by the sight of Lord Voldemort, of all people, walking into the party with young, vicious Bellatrix Black on his arm. After all, she had been the intended of this party's feted wizard, and, after all, she was apparently his most valuable soldier.
"Would you care for something to eat?" asked Voldemort, as though he were completely unaffected by the stares and whispers that had broken out upon their entry. Bellatrix looked up at him and shook her head. Her stomach was entirely too anxious to be eating. She murmured quietly,
"Not hungry at the moment, Master."
"All right, then; let's dance." He led her out to the dance floor, and Bellatrix was completely shocked when he drew her into a very close dancing stance. He held her so near that she had to tip her head very far back to stare up at him; it was almost silly. She laughed a little and joked,
"I'm too short to dance like this with you."
He smirked a little and backed her up just a tiny bit. He shrugged and admitted, "I like keeping you close."
Keeping her close. There he was, talking about keeping her close again, just like he'd done a few times before. Bellatrix narrowed her eyes up at him, thinking again that there must be a prophecy. But Voldemort whispered down to her,
"There is no prophecy, Bella. I simply like to keep you close to me."
"Yes, Master." She nodded up at him, and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw her parents and Narcissa walk into the room. They watched her dance with Voldemort for a moment, and her parents said something quietly to one another about it as Narcissa hurried off toward Lucius. Bellatrix swayed with Voldemort and felt the warmth of his hand through the lace on her back, and she informed him, "Everyone has been talking about us since the moment we stepped into this ballroom."
"Good." Voldemort said the word firmly. "Let them all see."
"Let them see what, My Lord?" Bellatrix asked, and Voldemort raised his eyebrows.
"That you are entirely mine." He bent down to kiss her forehead, shocking her, but when she tipped her head back in surprise, he shocked her further by locking his lips onto hers.
Bellatrix gasped against his mouth. He stopped dancing and held her face in his hands, and suddenly Bellatrix could feel and hear her heartbeat in her ears. She saw spots behind her eyelids. Her chest pulled, and she thought she was going to explode. He didn't push his tongue into her mouth, but he held the kiss for a good long while - long enough for every single person in the room to look over and see what he was doing. He finally broke away, cradling Bellatrix by the small of her back, and he whispered,
"Let's go get some wine."
"Wine. Yes. Wine." Bellatrix was so dizzy she could hardly walk, so she let Voldemort hold her hand as he led her off the dance floor, past disbelieving couples who had paused in their own dancing. He took her to a table full of wine glasses and handed her some red elf-made wine, which she accepted and started sipping straight away. He took his own wine, and suddenly Bellatrix realised they were still holding hands. She started to pull her hand from his, but he squeezed her fingers and demanded,
"Have you some objection to holding my hand, Bellatrix?"
"What? N-No, My Lord." Bellatrix shook her head vehemently and looked around the room. She saw people staring, ogling, whispering. Her own parents were gazing at her in complete wonder, their mouths dropped open where they stood with the Malfoys. Rudy Lestrange and his wife looked like someone had just lit their hair on fire; their faces were twisted with confused incredulity. Bellatrix's cheeks went hot with embarrassment and something else - a sick sort of pride. She was here with him, and they were all in wonderment at that. She was his, and none of them could believe it. He'd kissed her, and they were all full of shock. She was holding his hand, and it was a scandal. Somehow, it felt just a little delicious. Bellatrix decided to lean in.
"Shall we congratulate the happy couple?" she asked, and Voldemort gave her a knowing smirk. He dragged his thumb over hers and bent to kiss her forehead, whispering,
"You want to torture them like you torture your victims."
"Of course not, Master," Bellatrix purred, though of course he was right to a certain degree. He let out a low rumble of a laugh and pulled Bellatrix over to where Rodolphus and Agnes stood chatting with Narcissa and Lucius. As soon as they approached, Narcissa dipped into a curtsy and Lucius bowed respectfully. Rodolphus and Agnes did the same. Agnes was a beautiful creature with blonde hair and green eyes, and under normal circumstances, Bellatrix would have been immensely jealous of the other girl's looks. But these weren't normal circumstances; she was here with Lord Voldemort. She had the upper hand here. Narcissa eyed the way Voldemort and Bellatrix held hands, and Bellatrix squeezed a little. She said politely,
"Rodolphus. Agnes. The two of you will make one another so very happy."
"Thank you, Bellatrix," said Agnes awkwardly. She glanced up to Voldemort and stammered, "M-My Lord, what an honour it is to… to have you here."
"Of course," he said lightly. He pulled Bellatrix's hand up to his lips and kissed it. "We wouldn't have missed it."
Bellatrix felt her eyes go round as saucers at that, but she tried to conceal her own stupefaction. Was he being possessive of her in front of Rodolphus? Was Lord Voldemort kissing her and holding her hand to be possessive? Bellatrix's heart thudded. She found she liked this development.
"Bellatrix, you look lovely this evening," Rodolphus tried, and though Agnes frowned, Voldemort agreed vigorously,
"She does, doesn't she?"
"Thanks, Dolph. My Lord." Bellatrix smiled at the two wizards, feeling breathless, and she sipped from her wine glass. "So, when is the new wedding date?"
"August," said Agnes, and Bellatrix balked a bit.
"That doesn't give you very much time to get a dress or anything."
"No, it doesn't, but we're going to rush," Agnes said, forcing a grin. She sipped deeply from her own Champagne and declared, "It'll be fine. Everything will be fine."
"Well, if you need any help, please let me know," Bellatrix offered.
"How very kind of you, Bella," Narcissa noted. Lucius Malfoy was just staring at the way Voldemort was holding Bellatrix's hand, and he finally jerked to attention. He nodded. Bellatrix shrugged.
"Well, we won't keep you. I think I might like to dance again, if it pleases you, Master."
"If that's what you want, Bella, then it pleases me." Voldemort smirked down at her, and she laughed a little up at him. She shook her head playfully and insisted,
"My master is far too kind. Sometimes I wish I were a Legilimens to see inside his head and figure out what he wants."
"Let's just say I'm grateful you can't see all the things I want, Bella." Voldemort raised her hand and kissed it again, and she shivered. He'd just been terribly, terribly suggestive, right there in front of everybody, and he'd had no shame in doing so. She smiled up at him and whispered,
"Shall we dance?"
"Yes, we shall," he said quietly. He Vanished his own glass of wine and seized hers, Vanishing it, as well. He started to lead her away from the group, and Bellatrix said over her shoulder,
"Congratulations, Dolph and Agnes."
"Thank you." Agnes Selwyn waved and looked shocked, and Rodolphus' eyes welled just a little bit. Suddenly Bellatrix felt the slightest bit sorry for him. Perhaps Agnes would make him happy enough, and she was indeed very pretty, but she knew that Rodolphus had been very much looking forward to marrying her. Now, not only had Bellatrix been taken from Rodolphus, but Lord Voldemort had made quite a show out of claiming her in front of the boy.
As Bellatrix danced with Voldemort for three more songs, though, she couldn't feel too sorry for Rodolphus. All she could feel was lost - lost in Voldemort's arms, in his eyes, in the scent of books and leather and the sea. She felt swallowed up by him as he kissed her again between the second and third songs. He devoured her right there in front of her friends and family, and she didn't care. She was his, in her entirety, and she quite liked the idea of that.
She was bleeding, which meant they couldn't have sex tonight. That was a damned shame, she thought, though she started to imagine all the other ways she could give him pleasure. She was obviously distracted by those thoughts, because halfway through their third dance, Voldemort leaned down and whispered into her ear,
"Why are you fantasising about having my cock in your mouth, Bella? Not that I mind."
"Sorry." Bellatrix's cheeks seared hot, and she pulled back a little as she admitted, "Bad time of the calendar, you see, and I was thinking of… alternatives."
"Mmm. I like that… alternative." Voldemort curled up half his mouth, and Bellatrix grinned at him.
"Well, you've more than earned it, Master, after what you've done here tonight."
"What I've done here tonight is simply that I've exhibited what I know to be true. You are mine. Wholly and truly and entirely mine. No one else's, and completely mine. This must be distinctly understood." Voldemort's face was serious, but his voice was playful then as he said, "Still, I quite like your alternative."
"Well, it's yours whenever you want it," Bellatrix promised him, and he narrowed his eyes as he looked around the dying party.
"How about now?" he suggested, and Bellatrix nodded.
"Now sounds good, My Lord."
"Good. Let's go," he said, starting to pull her off the dance floor. "I've got rather a powerful craving for you tonight, Bella. I just might need you to spend the night."
She let her mouth fall open in surprise at that, following him out of the ballroom and out onto the front lawn of Castle Lestrange.
Author's Note: Oh, my! PDA Possessive Voldemort really came through there, no? But he needed people to see that she was his. We'll have a small lemon (nothing ridiculous) and some serious fluff coming up, and then it's back to Crazy Torturing Murdering Bellatrix as she attacks Muggles in the Midlands. How long before Voldemort admits to Bellatrix that there is a prophecy, and what will that mean for the two of them? Hmm… Thanks as always for reading and a BIG GIANT THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!