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Bellatrix sat on the arm of Harry's chair, her dark eyes and darker hair as imposing as her presence always was since the day he'd won her over to his side. Since then, every week like clockwork, they'd have some sort of game where she'd test him or encourage him to use the cunning side of his mind that he wasn't all that fond of. It was tedious, mentally draining and at times, physically worrisome on account of her aggressive affection.
In the weeks that he spoke with her sisters, Andromeda or Narcissa, it didn't matter which so long as he spoke with them, he'd earn a great deal of extra attention. She was very possessive of him for a girl that kept testing him. When he'd asked why that was, Andromeda had said that Bellatrix hated being bored and Narcissa had said that she was just testing him, each week seeing what she could get away with and where his limits were.
Needless to say, he wasn't at all fond of her games despite how much she enjoyed playing them, hence his plan for this evening. Tonight was the only night they'd managed to get to themselves for the week and while he did intend to treat her to something special, he'd first have to ensure that she didn't go completely insane or play the part of doing so while he wasn't expecting it or didn't want it to happen.
She'll be surprised, he promised himself, smiling at the new runes he'd only just finished before her abrupt and early arrival as well as the presence of his hidden friend who'd aid him in his goal should he give the signal — that was the riskiest part of the entire plan and it relied on a dobby-like friend.
He really hoped it didn't go tits up.
"Well well, now that we're finished waiting for dinner, why don't you show me to your dining room, toy?" Bellatrix all but demanded, her arm held out to him as she raised her nose, the picture of aristocracy despite her still vaguely… unique personality.
Nevertheless, Harry looped his arm through hers as she requested and led her towards his dining room, a place that had already been filled with food that he'd made for them since the morning and kept warm by heating charms. He had done an excellent job and it'd helped to work out a great deal of the stress he was under.
"Did you hear anything recently?" Harry asked in the way of small talk as they navigated through his fairly decent home; it wasn't her ancestral home, but it wasn't too far removed from the life of luxury she expected to live.
Some deeper, more sinister part of his brain compared his current home to Voldemort's. Bellatrix had told him that her former master lived in a small, insignificant home that didn't do much to impress his less loyal followers. It was clearly old with patch jobs done to its structure and furniture, he didn't even have a library or large office which meant in Bellatrix's eyes he wasn't as worthy a leader to follow on account of his lacking something as basic as that.
"Tommy's been very quiet, Harry," Bellatrix said, pouting and turning abruptly to face him, her bottom lip wiggling. "It's boring. We should just kill him and all of those tethers you've gathered, then we could really start playing!"
"I think we have different ideas of how that word is supposed to be used," Harry commented, blinking at her and resisting the urge to flick the shorter girl on the forehead.
"That sounds awfully boring of you," she warned casually, flipping a lock of curly hair over her shoulder as her smile grew. "I bet you're waiting for me to reach for my wand too, huh? You're more on edge than usual, it reminds me of our first time when you were really scared of getting me angry. I loved how nervous you were back then, now you're so much more confident and readily alert for whenever I d—"
Bellatrix stopped, her hand bolting towards her wand and then… she stopped. Her hand had fallen an inch beside it, her smile growing when she noticed that he hadn't reached for his. He knew her enough to know that the first time she reached for her wand was never the time that she'd use it, but he also knew that she'd eventually change that. Harry's knowledge about his girlfriend in all but officiality told him that day would only come when she was incredibly annoyed by the time she visited him.
"You're no fun!" She declared, huffing and standing up on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek, her teeth biting down just hard enough for a pinch before she pulled back to continue their walk.
The first time she'd bit him while they were kissing or being a bit more intimate, he had been completely caught by surprise. No other witch that he'd liked enough to approach romantically had done something like that but he was foolish to think Bellatrix wouldn't be into the more painful side of affection; she was Bellatrix and while the crazy act had been greatly exaggerated… he reckoned there was still a bit of insanity behind those dark, lustful eyes of hers.
"Our feast, my lady," Harry said with his best butler impression in jest, knowing that it annoyed her since he never meant it when he called her using that title or her favourite one of 'mistress'.
"It looks plentiful enough and moderately expensive, so I suppose it works — one of these days you'll mean it too," Bellatrix said, her pupils larger as she calmly looked at him with one of her hands reaching out to drag a finger lazily across his chest. "I can't wait for that day to come and all that it'll mean. You'll be such a good toy by then, won't you?"
He didn't like the way she all but cooed that into his ear and so very quickly, he moved to wait beside her chair, ever the gentleman.
Dinner had gone by without much in the way of anything happening. The occasional tease, the talking of politics and her jealousy showing itself were all usual events. Well, the lattermost was typical on a biweekly basis, for he would see Andromeda and oftentimes Narcissa to learn from them. His intentions weren't romantic, not in regards to the other two women but he figured it helped him in dealing with Bellatrix since her sisters knew all of the same spells.
"Excellent, lover," Bellatrix said as she pushed back her seat and ran her tongue across her lips lecherously, her eyes assuring that he never once looked away. "You have dessert prepared too, don't you?"
"I d—" he flicked his wand to his hand at the same time he pushed his glass in front of his face, the thing shattering and sending bits of the sharp material all over the place — she'd chosen then to catch him by surprise and in a far more aggressive, violent manner.
"Aww, did I get you anywhere?" she asked, still seated in her spot only this time with her wand lazily pointed at him just as she'd done in their first meeting all those weeks ago. "You're so fast, I knew I picked the right man for my tastes."
He resisted the blush that desperately wanted to make its way to his face and kept himself at the ready for her next action. She wasn't patient and her word games wouldn't work on him, in fact… Harry chanced a glance over his shoulder and decided now was a perfect time. Bellatrix would never expect him to flee and if he sold it well, she'd be very angry with him. In her mind, fleeing was accepting defeat in a cowardly way which meant, finally, he'd become boring.
She's given me the perfect opportunity and she doesn't even realise it, Harry thought with a grin, a burst of laughter nearly escaping him as he grimaced visibly, her eyes drinking in the expression he made.
That sultry, eager smile faded when he cast a spell at her and tore off towards the nearest door, his body flinging through it right as a spell impacted where he would've been had he moved a half-second slower. "Not tonight, Bella," he called to her, feigning exhaustion. "I'm deadly tired, tonight should be an easy night, not one where we play this game of yours. Merlin, I knew I should've agreed with Andromeda."
He added the last sentence on the fly, knowing it would activate that possessive part of her and force the girl into action. It probably wasn't the smartest plan of action he could've had, but it was a surefire way to make her chase after him blindly. He knew it worked when she didn't respond and a few seconds later, burst through the door with a twisted, still vaguely lustful expression on her face.
"Hi, pet," she cooed, grinning as if she were a spider who'd just caught her first fly. "Did you take a little tumble? Should your mistress kiss it all better for you after she hurts you in ways you never knew you'd like?"
Her tone was off, the insanity now left unchecked as he slowly pulled himself across the floor and towards his office. It was the place he'd planned to go to and the one where he'd set up all of his traps — it was especially helpful since it was right across from his favourite bathroom in the whole house, the one that was the most ornate and fanciful.
Bellatrix suddenly laughed, shaking her head with her curly hair going all over the gaff as she tutted at him. "Awww," she started off, moving closer and reaching out to pinch at his cheek as he finally pressed himself against the door. "You thought you could trick me, didn't you, cute little toy, you!"
"No," Harry said quickly, maybe a bit too quickly, as she started laughing at him — he wouldn't be stopped from reaching towards the door regardless of what she thought she knew and so his hand suddenly made a jab towards the handle of his office.
Had he been a second faster, half even, he bet he could've avoided her intercepting appendage. That wasn't to be, however, and so he found himself in the grasp of a strengthened Bellatrix, her muscles only just overpowering his.
"I took a few potions before I came this evening since I'd given you nearly a week to prepare. I'd been expecting a fight that'd go all over the house until it ended with you, victorious and in your bed," Bellatrix shook her head and leaned in to lick at a small cut on his face. "I guess mummy's going to be leading tonight, isn't she?"
That was all Harry needed to hear before he pushed backwards and cast a spell, sending the both of them crashing through the bathroom door and truly into the traps he'd made. Bellatrix was frozen immediately, unable to move or do much of anything aside from thinking about her actions.
"Come on, Bella," he teased as he stood up and went face to face with her, kissing the tip of her nose since he knew it'd set her off. "Did you really think you'd managed to get into my mind? You should know I have more willpower and mental fortitude than anybody you've ever met. I reckoned you would've thought that was weird but you must have been studying a lot if you thought you'd finally gotten me. Ah well, I suppose we'll just sit here for a little bit, maybe I'll even go through your memories like you offered to do with me, yeah?"
When he saw the emotions behind her eyes change, he sighed and dropped the first set of wards he'd made — there were multiple on account of her tricky personality.
"You'll be unavailable for a week," Bellatrix said, her chest heaving as she flexed her fingers.
"Why's that?" He asked, eager and nervous that he'd have to activate the next batch within seconds of cancelling the first; usually dialogue would occur for five or ten minutes after her first loss.
Bellatrix looked up at him, her eyes and the expression she wore more seductive than he'd ever seen before. "You've been mine since the day you tried to make me yours, but now, you've finally succeeded — I hope you're ready for everything that entails, lover."