AUTHOR'S NOTE: Looking for inspiration! Please send requests!
Though the windows and doors were all wide open, and enchanted fans were blowing cool wind at all of the members of the Black family, the whole Black manor was stifling hot. Everyone was feeling particularly lazy, even Sirius in his animagus form was lying on the cool ground outside in the shade. His cousin, though she had been nice enough to him wasn't quite herself. He knew it would take a lot more to make her feel better –plus it didn't help that he was constantly as his animagus form and not in his human form where he could talk to her.
Standing up from his spot on the floor, Sirius walked inside to find his cousin. He hadn't heard her or seen her all day, and she had been gone since Sirius had woken in the morning. Pushing his way into Bellatrix's room, he looked around and found she still wasn't back. Sighing slightly and jumping up onto her bed, he lay down on top of her cool sheets and closed his eyes once more. He was bored, and wanted to know where she was.
He had been staying with Bellatrix for a little over a week now, and this was the third time she had disappeared without warning. Perhaps that was what made him think she was not quite herself with him. Normally they shared everything, but she had been acting secretive for some time now. He knew this wasn't new either as he recalled the conversation he had with Andromeda close to the end of their term before summer.
Just at that moment, none other than Andromeda peered into Bellatrix's room, "Bella?" she called before she noticed the large black dog on her older sister's bed. Andromeda walked in, smiling a little at the animal. Sirius lifted his head as Andromeda ran her fingers through his fur, "You poor thing, you must be sweltering with all of this fur. Not the mention it's black." She chuckled before she realised she was talking to a dog and she stood up straight and made her way to Bellatrix's closet, staring at it for some time. Sirius was watching her with some curiosity, wandering what she was doing. He watched as Andromeda looked through her things, drumming her fingers on the door of her sister's wardrobe as she stood once more to look at it. She closed the door and instead went to her bedside table to open the first draw. Although Sirius got on well with Andromeda, he knew she was up to something. Immediately, he assumed it was the same thing he was thinking. Where was his cousin going all the time? Where did she keep disappearing? And though he also wanted to know, he stood on the bed and let out a low growl. Immediately Andromeda jumped up to standing. The large black dog was bearing his teeth at her; she was clearly doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing. Furrowing her eyebrows slightly, she closed the draw before she had even had a chance to look through it properly.
"Fine." She said, rolling her eyes, "I won't look through it."
Sirius remained standing until Andromeda had taken a step back and then he lay back on the bed where he had been before, calming himself immediately, though he continued to watch her.
With a huff, and a murmur of something under her breath, Andromeda left the room, shutting the door behind her.
"Sirius?" Bellatrix whispered, leaning over the bed.
Immediately his ears pricked up and he looked up at her. He didn't know how long he had been asleep –though he guessed a few hours judging by how dark it was outside, but at that moment he didn't care, he was simply very happy to see her.
"Hi." She smiled at him, kissing the top of his head. Immediately he smelt multiple things on her. It smelt like she had been outside in the grasses and a faint tinge of something else he couldn't quite place. She looked outside of her door to see how deserted the house was and locked her door as she shut it once more. He knew that meant it was possible for him to finally, after days become his normal self again.
"Where have you been all day?" he asked as he picked up the whiskey bottle on the bedside cabinet and stretched out his human body.
"Father and I were out visiting a friend of his and their daughter. He thought it would be nice for me to come along, so I did." She said, quick to lie easily and simply. She was smart, and had placed a noise concealing charm on her room, so no noise came out of it but noise could come in.
"And you were gone the whole day for that?" he asked, not at all believing the story she gave him.
"They live in France. And I don't know why you care anyway." She said raising an eyebrow. Of course she knew she couldn't tell her cousin, though she more than anything wanted to see the look on his face if she did. He'd hate her more than he did now.
"I was bored without you." He shrugged before rubbing the back of his head and collapsing back onto her bed.
"I've got some good news," Bellatrix said, pulling off her heels and walking around to the bed where she turned to show him her back to which he unzipped the back of her crimson red, figure hugging dress. "Mother is going away to visit her brother, she's taking Narcissa too. She'll be gone until the final two weeks of summer. That means the next month is all just you and I. And Andromeda of course, but she won't get in our way if we don't get in hers."
"So you won't be disappearing off randomly?" he asked as he unzipped her dress.
"I may have to go places with father every now and again." She said coolly as she slipped out of the dress and hung it back into her wardrobe. Of course, she wasn't wearing anything under the dress.
Totally distracted by her body, Sirius sat up and on the edge of the bed, "Well..." he said, cocking an eyebrow and giving her a cheeky grin, "that view never gets old."
Ignoring his comment though she couldn't help but smile as she turned away from him, she pulled on her silk black robe that fell just above her ankles, tying it tight around her waist and walking into her private bathroom.
He followed her in, watching her as she took of her makeup and shook out her hair which by this evening was already very messy.
Noticing a twig in her hair, Sirius pulled it out and cocked an eyebrow, holding it up to show her, "So did you have to trek through the forest to get to these friends?"
"Not quite. His daughter and I did go for a walk though." She said innocently as she began to run the huge bath. It was similar to the one at Hogwarts in the prefect's bathroom, but much nicer. It was white marble and had layers of golden taps, which poured out beautiful colourful water, and beautiful smells with it. The bubbles started filling up, and Bellatrix ran her hands through her hair, opening the curls that were done into her hair.
Sitting on the side of the bath to make sure the water was as hot as she usually liked it, Sirius caught a glimpse of her legs as the robe slipped away from her body slightly in her position. He also caught sight of her thigh, which had a large cut on it and looked very sore.
"What happened there?" he asked, leaning against the marble of the sink and gesturing to her leg.
"It's old. One of our many trips into the forest –play fighting." She said simply, only taking a glance at what her cousin was gesturing to.
"And you didn't think to heal it while we were in Hogwarts?" he asked.
"Too busy with final exams." She stated bluntly.
"I'll bandage it at least." He said as he shrugged, walking over to his cousin and crouching down in front of her.
"It's fine." She said with a shrug.
Sirius could tell the wound was new. If what she was saying was correct, it would have had to have been at least a month old, and the way in which it was looking as raw as it was done the same day, was making Sirius really doubt his cousin.
"I insist." He said as he went to one of her few cupboards.
"The far left." She said as she watched him.
Of course she wouldn't tell her cousin but she had gotten it indeed, that very same day. She was unable to use magic outside of school and therefore this fight had been one against a mudblood couple in West Yorkshire who simply needed to be killed, as they were petitioning their rights to be treated as purebloods were. Bellatrix had immediately volunteered for the job as nothing made her more furious than mudbloods who thought they had the same rights are purebloods.
Bellatrix watched as her cousin cleaned the wound. The potion he was using stung but Bellatrix only flinched the slightest bit. She was getting used to pain. Her threshold for it was getting higher. That's why, when the husband of the couple attempted to attack her, she hardly felt the kitchen knife he had grabbed in desperation, cut into her skin. It was no wonder Tom was training her to endure pain, she hardly felt a thing and was hardly slowed down.
She had killed them both in a matter of minutes. The woman had been easy, she was weak and wasn't quick enough to get her wand. Bellatrix had gripped her by the hair as she had crawled away screaming for help and slit her throat. The husband was next. She had to resort to a lot of physical fighting, as her dagger was slippery from blood –the thing she had to learn next how to avoid in case of exactly what had happened to her, she had been slowed. Tom would have been furious if he found out, so of course she couldn't go to him to tell him and she had no time to spend scowling and licking her wounds. Her blood lust was increased tenfold after watching the filth's blood spray everywhere. She had wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, wiping some of the blood on her face. She didn't care. She loved it. His knife had caught her skin as she went after him, luckily she had just about pulled away to decrease the damage done to her, but he still caught her skin and tore a wound into her flesh.
"I told you I'd be kind enough to let you watch exactly what I was going to do to your filthy mudblood wife. You're next, filth, and this time I won't be so kind." She had snarled.
She was quick to grab his wrist as he went for her again, between her hands and break it swiftly, forcing him to scream out in pain and drop the knife. She watched as he dropped to his knees, holding his now splintered wrist, he had tears down his face.
"Don't worry. I'll let you join your beloved." She cooed sweetly as she cleaned the handle of her dagger on her shirt. She crouched low to face him as she brought the blade up to her mouth to lick some of the blood off before she spat it out beside him, "tastes as dirty as I thought it might. How about yours?"
She gripped his shoulder and was quick to push her dagger straight into his chest and into his heart. His breath had caught, and the moment she had pulled it out of his chest, he dropped down on the floor at her feet, dead.
"Where you belong." She murmured, stepping back to admire her work before she disapparated back to her Master, "It's done."
"I see you're not a time waster when it comes to such things." He said, his eyes running over her blood stained arms, his expression in a sort of approval.
Bellatrix had said nothing, she simply nodded and left after his praise.
Her father had cleaned her up the moment he got back with a simple spell, removing all of the blood stained onto her body and changing her into a red cocktail dress and the heels with a simple flick of his wand. He had asked her to tell him everything, and he had even let her drink a glass of his favourite whiskey he was so pleased. He was quick to pick up on her mistake of her dagger, and promised to teach her exactly how to avoid the problem.
And so there she found herself, sitting with her cousin in her bathroom, waiting for the bath to fill up and watching him as he so carefully cleaned the wound. She stood as he finished, dropping her robe to the floor. Still on his knees in front of her, a sort of boyish happiness found his face as he looked up at his cousin's perfect body. He could tell she had certainly been working out. Her body was even more lean and toned, muscles slightly more defined on her arms and legs, not to mention how good her abs were looking. She turned as he stood, and sat in the bath as it was about full enough.
"Well?" she asked, pouting her lips ever so slightly and gesturing to the bath, "since when do you not want to get in with me?"
Though Sirius knew he would be playing with fire if he got in with her, she didn't have to ask twice. Immediately he stripped as she sat back against one edge of the tub, watching him as he removed every garment and then finally stepped in to the tub with her. He sat back against the side of the large, square type tub beside her, to which she relaxed further and allowed her head under the water for only a moment to soak her hair. Sirius was quick to get her shampoo and conditioner.
"So tell me," he said simply, as she moved between his legs in the tub to let him start washing her hair for her, "where did you really get that huge gash in your thigh?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows slightly as he lathered it up and massaged her hair through with his fingers.
"I know a hex when I see one, and I also know a dagger cut when I see one. And I can assure you, this is no hex, it's the latter." He said bluntly, now massing down to her shoulders and rinsing out her hair from the shampoo.
"Stop asking me questions, I'm trying to enjoy myself." She murmured, not sure what to say to him. She could not tell him the truth, he'd freak out.
He started on the conditioner, working it through her dark hair. He left it in for a few moments more, used to this routine and aware of the way she liked to take a bath. He picked up her bath sponge, dipping it in the hot water and rubbing it across her back and shoulders before pulling her back to his chest and running it across the rest of her body.
"Fine," he said calmly while rubbing the sponge over her breasts and to her stomach before he washed her hair free of the conditioner, "don't tell me. But you know I'll find out."
Ignoring him, and after some time enjoying her bath, she made her way out, wrapping herself in her towel. He stayed in for a few more minutes, thinking hard. He knew she had lied to him when she had said she was out with her father. How? He had seen Cygnus sneaking from his study to the liquor cabinet in the library as he had run out of whiskey. Of course, Cygnus was only trying to hide from his wife and his daughters as he had given them the same excuse as Bellatrix –and naturally, he hadn't thought he would have to hide from the dog. Little did Cygnus know...