Maddy stumbled onto the hearth rug, mouth dry, stomach churning. There was no graceful way to travel by Floo powder. The room around her spun for a moment, then resolved itself into lush carpets, dark polished woods, and heavy wine-coloured velvet drapes. Boughs of fir and sprigs of holly, twinkling with golden fairy lights, festooned the mantle and windowsills. A gleaming silver candelabrum stood on a low table before the sofa, lending its warm glow to the weak winter light that filtered in through three tall windows.

Lounging on the sofa, Rabastan gave Maddy and appreciative look. She lowered her eyes demurely, smoothing clammy palms over the dark blue velvet of her new robes.

A tall woman rose from a high-backed chair beside the fireplace, her face alight with welcome. She was in her mid-twenties, with heavy-lidded grey eyes, and dark, shining hair that hung almost to her slender waist. She was by far the most beautiful woman Maddy had ever seen - lovelier even than her own mother had been in her youth.

"You must be Maddy," the woman said, taking her by the hands and kissing her on both cheeks. Her voice was warm and musical. "I'm Bellatrix, Rab's sister-in-law. I am so pleased to finally meet you."

Maddy was glad that she had taken special care with her own appearance, traveling home for a night, so that she would have something finer to wear for the occasion than her plain school robes. Squeaker had curled her hair, and her mother had helped her apply the barest hint of makeup, and allowed her just a dab of a sophisticated scent on her wrists and behind her ears.

"I - ah - I'm honoured to meet you, Madam Lestrange," Maddy stammered, bending her knees in an awkward curtsy. Rabastan's brother's wife had been born into the Black family, which made her practically wizarding royalty. "Thank you for inviting me. Your home is lovely."

"Oh, just 'Bella', please," Bellatrix laughed prettily. "You're very kind to say so, my dear. I only just finished arranging the Yule decorations this morning. Our elf's talents do not lie in that direction, unfortunately, so I must do it myself if I want it done properly. Scuttle!" she clapped her hands sharply, raising her voice.

With a crack, a house-elf appeared in the middle of the parlour. It had drooping ears and a snubbed nose, and wore what appeared to be an old flour sack, tied with a cord about the waist.

"Take Mistress Maddy's things up to the guest bedroom," Bellatrix ordered, "then you may serve us tea."

The elf bowed, its gaze never rising higher than Bellatrix's satin slippers. "Yes, Mistress," it murmured in a low voice.

"Rab, where are your manners?" chided Bellatrix, turning to her brother-in-law. "Aren't you going to come say hello to your little friend?"

Dutifully, Rabastan rose. "Hey, Yaxley. You look great."

Maddy's cheeks turned pink. "Cheers," she mumbled. Something about Bellatrix's presence made her feel strangely shy.

"Please, make yourself at home." Bellatrix gestured gracefully toward the sofa. "The elf will return presently with refreshments."

Sitting close beside Rabastan made Maddy feel more at ease. She wished she could hold his hand, but she did not know whether such on open display of affection would be considered socially acceptable.

"I'm sorry my husband isn't here to welcome you," said Bellatrix, settling back into her seat by the fireplace. "Rodolphus is meeting with a representative from Gringott's about some investments, but he should be home by teatime."

"I look forward to meeting him," Maddy said politely. "And, um, his and Rab's parents ...?"

Rabastan snorted. "Small chance of that."

"Mother and Father Lestrange are traveling in America," Bellatrix explained kindly. "It will be a cosy holiday; just the four of us, getting to know one another."

"Oh." Maddy struggled to hide her disappointment. "I had just thought -"

"Don't fret," said Rabastan, patting her knee. "If Dolph and Bella like you, they'll talk Mother and Father around."

Maddy winced at his frankness. Their prospective betrothal was a matter which she had hoped to approach with some delicacy and care. She did not want to seem overeager or presumptuous, nor for them to think her no better than a fortune hunter.

But Bellatrix only laughed. "I'm sure we'll soon be the best of friends."

The house-elf returned with the tea things, pouring out the steaming beverage into delicate burgundy-and-silver painted china cups, before vanishing once more. Maddy took her tea with milk and sugar, sipping cautiously.

"Those are lovely robes, Maddy," said Bellatrix. "By whom were they made?"

"Our house-elf made them." Maddy smoothed the rich blue velvet with demure pride. Not every family could afford a house-elf, especially not one so highly skilled. "Squeaker is an excellent seamstress. Lots of witches used to commission robes from her."

The robes had been an early Yule present from her mother - her blessing for Maddy's hoped-for match with Rabastan. The neckline was a little higher and the sleeves a little fuller than Maddy would have preferred, but the robes were fashionable and well-fitted.

Bellatrix looked amused. "How quaint that you call it by its name when you're not summoning it. But yes, it does appear to have some skill at sewing. You and your mother must find that most convenient."

Maddy flushed. She should have known that house-elf-made clothes would not impress a queen among witches like Bellatrix Lestrange, nor would unseemly familiarity with a servant.

"Yes," Maddy echoed faintly, fingering the silver brooch at her throat self-consciously, "most convenient."

"That's pretty," said Bellatrix, nodding toward the brooch. "Is it a family heirloom?"

"Yes," Maddy said again, a little louder this time. She sat up straighter and raised her chin to show it off better. It was shaped like a plump bird with a long tail and a short beak. "It's the sigil of the Yaxley family. At least, that's what my mother told me."

"No doubt she's correct. I believe I've seen Corban Yaxley wear a similar sign once or twice. You must be closely related to him. I can see the family resemblance."

Maddy swallowed. She had known this was coming. Discussion of family connections was an essential part of the matchmaking process. She set her cup down carefully, hands trembling, not wishing to spill tea on her new robes.

"I - um - he's a-a cousin. I think."

Bellatrix's finely-arched brows drew together. "You haven't met him?"

"Maybe when I was little," said Maddy hesitantly. "We're, um, not very close with my father's family."

That was an understatement. The rest of the Yaxleys had not spoken to Maddy and her mother since her father's disappearance.

"My parents were a-a love-match," she explained. "My father's parents didn't approve, even though my mother is a pure-blood witch."

"Family can be difficult sometimes," Bellatrix said sympathetically. "But you've done nothing to be ashamed of."

Maddy lowered her eyes. "You're very kind to say so."

"Oh, pooh!" Bellatrix's long, white fingers made a dismissive gesture. "There's not a pure-blood family around that doesn't have a boggart or two under the bed, if you dig a little. Perhaps Rab has told you how both of my sisters made love-matches without waiting for our parents' blessing?"

"Oh! I - maybe I heard something ..." Maddy stammered.

It was widely whispered that one of the Black sisters had debased herself with a muggle, and been disowned by the family amidst shame and scandal.

Bellatrix gave her a tight little smile. "But we're not responsible for our relations' choices, are we? At least my younger sister had the good sense to choose the Malfoy heir for her ... indiscretion. And he had the decency to marry her, after."

"My great-aunt Lysandra Yaxley married into the Black family," Maddy volunteered. "Or maybe she was my great-great-aunt?"

"Yes, of course!" Bellatrix's smile bloomed, dazzling Maddy once more. "She married my great-grandfather's elder brother, Arcturus Black. It's such fun finding all these connections! They had three girls, if I recall my family tree correctly. The Longbottoms and Crouches are descended from them. Oh yes, and the Weasleys." Her lips formed a delicate pout of distaste.

"This may be your idea of 'fun'," grumbled Rabastan, "but it's my idea of a sleeping potion. What does it matter whose great-aunt married whose second cousin twice removed? All that really matters is who your parents are."

Maddy bit her lip. All she had were well-bred cousins and great-aunts; her own parents were nothing to brag about. If Rabastan truly believed that, why would he waste his time in courting her?

"All that weeeeeally matters is who your paaaawents are," Bellatrix mimicked, in a sing-song baby-voice that startled Maddy out of her melancholic reverie. "Families aren't exactly lining up to offer you their daughters' hands in marriage, are they, little brother? So maybe when a pretty, well-mannered girl who is descended from one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families shows an interest in you, you could demonstrate some evidence of good breeding on your part."

Rabastan scowled. "She knows I didn't mean anything by it. Don't you, Yaxley?" He gave her knee a squeeze.

Maddy flushed at the intimacy of his touch, but took heart from it. He wouldn't have invited me if he wasn't serious about me, she reminded herself. And Bellatrix thought her pretty and well-mannered. Surely that was an encouraging sign.

"I-I know you didn't." She glanced up at Bellatrix in shy appeal. "Rab just makes jokes sometimes."

Bellatrix raised her elegant brows. "It's not much of a joke if no one laughs, is it?"


Rodolphus Lestrange, when he arrived home just before teatime, proved to be a tall, thickset man with the same face and dark hair as his younger brother. Maddy greeted him timidly, wondering if she were looking at her future. Rabastan might look very like this man in a few years' time.

Apart from a brief explanation over the soup course of the financial arrangements he had discussed that day with the representative from Gringott's, Rodolphus said little, and his face gave away few of his thoughts. It was his wife who kept up the bright chatter, asking Maddy question after question about herself and her family. Only Bellatrix's warm smiles and open expressions of affection kept Maddy from feeling self-conscious.

"Now, your mother's people, my dear," said Bellatrix, as she passed Maddy a basket of warm bread rolls, "remind me who they are?"

"They're - the Venutis are an old Italian wizarding family," said Maddy. "My grandparents settled in England before the Great Muggle War. My mother and her sister were both born here."

"Foreigners," Rodolphus muttered darkly into his wine cup.

"Fowenners," mimicked Bellatrix, in her sing-song baby-voice, giving her husband a disdainful look. "As if the Lestranges are as proper and British as can be!"

Rodolphus scowled. "My great-grandfather was Minister for Magic."

"And his father was Guillaume Lestrange, who sold dodgy brooms on both sides of the Channel," Bellatrix sneered. "Don't try to pretend your family are better than hers on that account."

Maddy would have felt sorry for him, if he had not just mocked her ancestry. She gave Bellatrix a shy look of gratitude for rallying to her family's defence.

"What was it your Grandfather Venuti did for a living, Maddy dear?" Bellatrix asked kindly.

"He studied old wizarding manuscripts in Latin, to rediscover lost spells."

Bellatrix nodded. "An honourable profession, if not a profitable one. And what of your mother's sister? Did she marry well?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Auntie Boudica married a Corbet," Maddy informed her. "I have two cousins on that side; Ravenna and Venice. We're very close. Almost like sisters."

"Ah, I think I recall the Corbet girls," said Bellatrix thoughtfully. "One of them was considered as a possible match for my young cousin Sirius at one time. But then my aunt and uncle decided to wait until he's matured and settled down a bit to find him a wife. I hope your cousin wasn't too disappointed."

"I-I don't think Venice minded so much," Maddy said hesitantly.

Rabastan laughed. "She dodged a hex. That bloke's mental. Probably a queer, too. His parents are lucky they have another son."

Bellatrix gave him a sour look. "You'll keep a civil tongue in your head at this table, little brother. Especially when you speak of my family. There's still plenty of time for a lad of Sirius's age to get his head on straight and be a credit to his name. You'd do well to remember that."

Maddy did feel sorry for Rabastan. She touched his hand under the table in reassurance, but he only scowled down at his plate.

After the meal, Bellatrix led them back to the parlour for mulled wine and gingerbread dragons, which she said she had made herself. As Bellatrix bent to stoke the fire in the hearth, Maddy could not help admiring the shape and sway of her hips. She wondered whether she would ever be as graceful and as self-assured as this beautiful pure-blood goddess.

"A toast!" declared Bellatrix, raising her crystal goblet. "To Maddy. We are so blessed to have you here with us this Yule, my dear. Let's make the most of it, shall we?"

"To Maddy," murmured Rabastan and Rodolphus.

Maddy flushed with pleasure as the four goblets chimed softly against one another. The taste of the hot spiced wine reminded her of the firewhisky she and Rabastan had tasted in Hogsmeade. The wine was sweeter and richer, and Maddy liked it much better. She took another swallow of it.

As she and Rabastan settled onto the sofa in front of the crackling fire, Rabastan and Rodolphus, and even Bellatrix, began to discuss politics. Maddy had nothing to contribute to this conversation, but she did not feel excluded. The Lestranges had made her feel welcome, and the wine made her feel relaxed and sleepy. She listened to the sounds of their voices, letting the talk wash over her.

"But I don't understand why the Dark Lord doesn't just step in and take over the Ministry now," said Rabastan, slinging an arm lazily about Maddy's shoulders.

"If you push too hard, people will push back," grunted his brother.

"Dolph is right; these things must be managed delicately, little brother," Bellatrix chided. She sat on the hearth rug, leaning back against her husband's knee, her long legs stretched out in the flickering firelight, dark hair cascading over her shoulders in shining waves. "If you push your way in and start ordering people around, you'll just make trouble for yourself in the long run. But if you take your time, make friends, install your people in key positions, and quietly deal with the loudest troublemakers, one day those who would oppose you will look around and find that the world has changed, and there's little they can do about it."

"I don't think there are that many people who would object to a new pure-blood order," objected Rabastan. "At least, not that many people who matter."

Bellatrix smiled lazily, nudging his foot with hers. "Patience, Rab. Your day will come. By the time your children are grown, everything will be different. You'll see."

A shiver of warmth bloomed in Maddy's chest at the mention of Rabastan's children. They would be her children, too; she knew it. She could feel it in her bones. Their names were already written upon her heart. Maddy could almost see their faces in the glow of the firelight. A boy, to be Rabastan's heir, and a girl, too. And maybe even more than that, if they were blessed.

The conversation faded away, but the silence between them felt comfortable. Maddy rested her head on Rabastan's shoulder, lacing her fingers through his, overcome by a deep sense of contentment and belonging. The scents of fir boughs and spiced wine filled the air, twinkling fairy lights glinted from delicate silver and gold ornaments, and soft music played from some darkened corner. Glancing out one of the tall windows, Maddy saw that it had begun to snow. Everything was perfect.

She had a tall, strong man who desired her, and would one day soon be her husband, and the father of her children. He would protect and defend them from all mugglish threats to their world and their way of life, and she, in turn, would be able to look after her mother, and give her the life they both deserved. The privations and uncertainties of Maddy's youth would soon be nothing more than a fading memory. This, what she felt right now, would be her everyday. She would be safe. She would be loved. She would be home. What romance novel heroine could ask for more?

Maddy wished she could kiss Rabastan, to communicate to him without words everything she felt in that moment, but she knew she dared not do anything so bold in front of his family.

Glancing over to where they sat, she saw that Rodolphus was watching her. His blank, flat expression gave away none of his thoughts, but something about his eyes made her feel ill at ease. Maddy tore her gaze away. She did not even know why she felt so odd. Rabastan's brother had not said or done anything to warrant her wariness.

It's only that he's a man, and I don't know him, she told herself.

Rodolphus was Rabastan's brother, and Bellatrix's husband, and surely Maddy was safe with them.

Pushing away her uneasiness, Maddy looked instead at Bellatrix, eyes in the firelight, cheeks delicately flushed with wine. Everything Bellatrix did was graceful and elegant, even when she sat perfectly still, a dreamy expression on her lovely face. Maddy sighed. Bellatrix was everything she had ever wanted to be. Beautiful. Sophisticated. Self-assured. Prosperous. The perfect pure-blood woman. The perfect pure-blood wife.

At the sound of Maddy's sigh, Bellatrix turned her face toward her, and gave Maddy a conspiratorial smile.

Maddy blushed and quickly looked away, then wondered why she had done so. Bellatrix was the one who had welcomed her so graciously into her family - the one who had made Maddy's dreams of the future feel close enough to touch. Why should Maddy be shy of letting this glorious woman know the depths of her gratitude and adoration? Soon, they would be family. Maddy could think of nothing she wanted more.