It was the second day back, everyone was up and in the hall early for breakfast before the first classes of the term began. There was a lot of chatter amongst the students as their post came. Letters were being dropped for first years who were being congratulated for their houses they were put into, and even some parcels of forgotten cloaks, jumpers and toothbrushes came too.

Narcissa, the youngest of the three Black sister's was sat opposite her older sister who was looking at her new sixth year timetable and sat next to her eldest sister who was looking over the Daily Prophet newspaper which had just been dropped beside her by her large eagle owl which was now sat beside her on the table, grooming his feathers between helping himself to a small plate of water Bellatrix had just made appear in front of him.
"You'll be fine," Andromeda said calmly to her younger sister who's eyes were wide in fear as she looked at her own timetable, "Just ask someone if you get lost."
"Only if they're wearing Slytherin colours." Bellatrix murmured, not looking away from her paper.
"Bella," Andromeda said as Narcissa frowned even more, "anyone. It's a big castle but you'll learn. Look. Just go with the other Slytherin first years, you'll be fine. Go now. You don't want to get lost. Look, they're leaving."
"Okay..." Narcissa said uncertainly, her large brown eyes on the group of Slytherin first years who stood up.

No sooner had she left than three more people joined them; Regulus Black and the two Lestrange brothers Rodolphus and Rabastan. Rabastan was good friends with Regulus, they oftened remained together as they were in the same year and all of the same classes.
Bellatrix was so busy focussing on the front page, she hardly said hello, though Regulus, Rabastan and Andromeda began talking immediately about their first class they had together.
"Have you seen this?" Bellatrix asked, tuning the paper to Rodolphus slightly to give him a look at the main headline and the under title as he poured himself a drink and helped himself to toast, which read:

"MORE MASS KILLINGS ENSUE. IS THE WIZARDING WORLD AT THREAT?"
How many more must be killed? The mark which the Ministry are now referring to as the Dark Mark has been found again, this time above Hertfordshire.

"Yeah. I saw it when I got in this morning. Didn't get a chance to read it though." Rodolphus answered quietly, little did everyone know, the picture of the mark in the sky had been left by none other than Bellatrix herself.
Bellatrix looked up, and almost everyone seemed to be fixated on the headline and the picture of the dark mark in the sky, which was an exact copy of the tattoo on her forearm. A lot of conversations were being brought up and conversations of 'who is he?' and 'what the hell is that?' in many tones were being asked along all four tables.
"Look, 'this mark has appeared now for the third time. The Ministry have warned, should anyone see this mark, they should contact the Ministry directly and immediately.'" Bellatrix said almost under her breath, though Rodolphus was listening to her carefully. Lucius was quick to join the table, and immediately, he was roped in to the conversation.
"I don't understand. How are you able to do that? You're not eighteen yet, they can still trace you surely." Lucius said quietly as he poured himself a drink and straightened his tie.
"No. As long as it's not my wand, it's fine. I don't want to talk about this here."
"You have to tell us." Rodolphus added curiously.
"No I don't." She said, helping herself to a drink, which Lucius had refilled for her.
"Lay low Bellatrix, he's got to understand this is more dangerous for you than him."
"I know that. But I don't care. I won't get caught. I'm too good. Besides, I never use my own wand."
Both boys continued to look at her with curiosity and she rolled her eyes to continue, "I never use a wand to kill, and well as for this, let's not go into details." She said, gesturing mildly to the front paper, where the Dark Mark was still glowing brightly.
"You're not letting on enough... I don't understand..." Lucius frowned.
Rodolphus sighed as he finally understood, "don't be stupid. Surely you get it. He's given her the mark. Hasn't he, Bella? He must've if he's letting you do this type of stuff."
Clearing her throat suddenly as Narcissa came running back as she realised she had forgotten her book, Bellatrix said no more.

"I don't know where I'm going." She whined to her older sister.
Bellatrix sighed a little, "What class do you have?" She asked as her sister's eyes welled up.
"Potions." She sniffed.
"We're going past there, we'll take you..." Bellatrix said, putting the paper down and picking up her books on the table beside her before she rolled her eyes, "Well be nice then." Bellatrix added, looking at the two boys beside her before gesturing to her sister.
"Oh, hi Cissa." Rodolphus said, standing up beside Bellatrix as he too grabbed his books.
"You remember Rodolphus," Bellatrix said as she stood up beside her sister who nodded. Narcissa went ever so slightly pink as she turned to the other boy in front of her. Lucius smiled at her, both boys knew her of course, as they were good friends of the family, "And your favourite, Lucius."
Narcissa turned a shade of red as she looked down. Bellatrix grinned as Lucius smiled at her youngest sister. Most people were now leaving the hall to get to their classes, and small crowds of people were dribbling out of the hall a few people at a time, going their various ways to their classes.
"You'll be fine," Lucius said as nicely as he could, which was hard because as Bellatrix liked to remind him, he always looked like he had a pole up his ass and came from the fifteenth century with his fur coats and his perfectly slicked back white blonde hair. Lucius continued, "Slughorn is nice, he'll understand why you're late. And he always favours Slytherins, naturally."

Narcissa nodded, she may have only been eleven, but at the Christmas Ball the family had held the previous year she had heard her mother talking to Abraxas, Lucius's father about the two potentially being married. Abraxas of course was completely taken to the idea and agreed to meet with Druella to talk about it. She doubted Lucius knew, but she intended to make it happen, and as soon as she was eighteen. He may have been six years older than her, but he had a huge inheritance and was extremely good looking, as her mother had said –'a win on both ends and usually very rare', so she was not about to throw away the opportunity quickly.

Rodolphus and Bellatrix listened as Narcissa swooned, complimented and sweet talked the whole way to potions with Lucius. Rodolphus was finding it hard to hold back his laughter, and Bellatrix rolled her eyes ever time her sister giggled or complemented. His ego was already so big, it didn't need any more inflating.

Turning around after closing the door and of course being the perfect gentleman who had held the door open and bid her a kind farewell and a promise to see her at dinner, Lucius was faced with Rodolphus who was stood back away from Bellatrix who had her arms folded and her lips pursed. He knew that look.
"What?" he asked while shrugging his shoulders.
Bellatrix cocked her head slightly before she hit him hard over the head with her large textbook, "She's eleven, Lucius." She hissed as he cowered, attempting to protect himself.
"My father told me to be nice to her!" he said, attempting to defend himself.
"I don't care! That's my little sister." She said, hitting him with her textbook once more.
"Ok, okay!" he said, holding his hands up in attempt to protect himself again, "I'm sorry!"
She nodded briefly, holding her books back in her arms and smiling as she walked away, "good."
Rodolphus, who was still a few steps behind her said nothing though his eyebrows were raised in a sort of fear for his own life should he say anything.

It was just their luck, that none other than James, Remus, Sirius and Peter were listening in and walking to class the same way they were.
"You know..." James said to Lucius suddenly as he caught up, slipping his arm around Bellatrix's shoulders to push between her and Lucius to press into her as she walked, "The feisty ones are always more fun, Lucy-boy. And I know just as well as you do, that this one is more than just feisty."
"James-" Sirius began, knowing it wasn't a good idea to do what he was doing.
Both Rodolphus and Sirius moved as quickly as they could, and just in time or the book would have hit him as Bellatrix hardly gave him a sideways glance before she took a massive swing and hit James as hard as she could over the head with it. He groaned and fell back.
"How's that for feisty? Believe me you'd get a lot of it if that's what you want," She said, raising an eyebrow as he backed up against the wall and she followed but shoved her books into Rodolphus's arms and lifted the sleeves of her shirt, "You like that? I can give you a lot more."
"Fuck, Black" he groaned, pressing into the wall, "I was just kidding."
Bellatrix naturally was a very tactile person, there was no denying and so when she grabbed the scruff of his collar to which his friends started towards her, Bellatrix pushed James back into the wall and leant in close to him and lifted her hand to stop them coming any closer, "Well I wasn't just kidding," she purred in a whisper so only he could hear her, raising an eyebrow and licking her lower lip –of course she was messing with him and clearly it was working as he went red and gulped, though Rodolphus grinned and leaned against the opposite wall watching with complete amusement, "If that's what you're into sweetie, I'd be happy to help any friend of my dear cousin's."

Bellatrix took a look to her cousin who was standing closest to her.
"We don't need this in our first week back. James. Apologise and let's go. We're going to be late." Remus said calmly. Sirius watched his cousin, whose lips were pursed as she looked at him.
"I don't need to apologise to this insane slut." James said cooly, though he was clearly scared.
Bellatrix looked back at him and pressed him harder to the wall, "Now there is no need for name calling. And you're right Potter, you don't need to apologise," she said innocently before she leant once more to his ear but spoke loud enough so that at least her cousin could hear, "you need to thank me, for all those dreams and those nightmares that you don't understand; the dreams that send a chill down your body in the middle of the night when you're laying there awake and alone, only wishing it was my tongue running down your body instead of a cold, lonely chill, with nothing but your hand for company." She was sudden in letting go, shoving him back into the wall once more.
Half turning, Bellatrix only took a split second contemplating, before she turned again and her fist landed hard on his face. He groaned loudly as his head hit the wall and Sirius sighed loudly.
"Bellatrix." Sirius growled angrily, grabbing James before he slipped down the wall, almost unconscious with the force of the punch and holding his nose which was bleeding.
"What?" she said innocently with a shrug, "I thought he liked feisty."

Bellatrix turned to walk away, still standing proud with her demeanour, her head in the air and Lucius and Rodolphus both shocked and extremely happy about what they had just witnessed.

As soon as they were out of sight, Sirius conjured a large handkerchief and handed it to James, whose robes were covered in blood.
"Go to class, I'll take James to Madam Pomfrey." Sirius said. The other two boys walked away after some deliberation and Sirius began walking with James, who had his arm around his shoulder and was clearly feeling dizzy.
"In my defence, I did say not to." Sirius murmured as James gave him a sideways glance which said 'I hate that bitch'.