As Bella rushed to the Forbidden Forest for lunchtime, she passed the girls lavatory and went inside to check her hair. The usual mess of curls she never felt like brushing, so it remained a puff of tangles and ringlets and some straight strands pulled back with two emerald green bows. Her skirt was definitely short enough for her to be yelled at by Professor McGonagall. At about four inches above the top of her knee, she unrolled and pulled it down a bit. She was one of the best students in her year and did not want to end her academic career (and detention-free record) solely because she rebelled against uniform regulations. Her white oxford blouse was a bit boxy, but it didn't make Bella appear any less attractive than she already was. Her green and silver tie almost ended where her skirt did, but she managed to make it work. Overall she appeared "okay" and definitely not ugly. Wisteria appeared beside her, "What. Trying to look good for Rodolphy??"

"Shut up. I just want to look okay. Not ugly. Not overly pretty… just okay, yet still attractive."

"For your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend. As a matter of fact, " she turned around from the mirror and looked Wisteria straight in the eye. "I have a meeting today with someone important."

"Afterschool?"

"Yes." She flipped her hair and walked quickly with her bag and lunch down to the forest. Wisteria questioned her the entire way with, "With who?" "How are you going to get off campus?" "Is it a politician?" "Is it the minister of magic?" "Are you and Rodolphus running off and getting married?!" Finally, they arrived at the group's usual meeting place, about five feet into the forest at the giant tree stump. The area was a clearing in the middle of thousands of trees, and the stump was big enough to be a sitting area and a table. Already there was Edmund Rosier, Lucius Malfoy, Athena Vaisey, and Rodolphus Lestrange. Edmund and Athena were snogging, Lucius was bragging about a girl he knew during the summer to Rodolphus, who wasn't listening, but instead was fervently reading a book.

"Get a room!" shouted Wisteria, as she and Bella entered the forest.

Rodolphus looked up and smiled at them both, "Hey" he said softly.

Bella waved at him, but he quickly looked away. She sat down next to him and sighed. The entire group just stared at them intently.

"What?" Bella asked as she took out the chocolate frog from her lunch pail.

"You two are sitting next to each other?" Edmund shouted.

"Soooooo?" Bella asked. Rodolphus blushed and put his book further up to his face.

"Well, you guys are technically together, and you technically-" Edmund was cut off.

"Shut up. Nothing is going on between me and Rodolphus."

Rodolphus closed his book and put it in his bag and stood up. "I have to go study." He announced to the group. "See you tonight." He said to Bellatrix as he walked away.

"Oooooooh, what's tonight?" Lucius poked Bella and laughed.

"We have a meeting with a teacher."

The group was silent. They were disappointed that nothing was really going on between Bella and Rodolphus. For years they had always suspected that there was something going on, but never had they suspected that they actually weren't together.

After a long awkward silence, Bella got up and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" Wisteria pestered.

Bellatrix stopped and turned around to say, "Class is starting soon, and I have to get some homework done because I'm going to be busy tonight." She shrugged and turned around to keep walking.

"Wait," Edmund stopped her. "We're having a little party with some Durmstrang people and sixth and seventh year Slytherins tomorrow in the common room."

"How the hell are you getting Durmstrang people here?"

"They're apparating here, duh!" (The apparition ban spell at Hogwarts hadn't been put on yet because there was almost no need for security)

That night, Bella went up to the Astronomy tower, looked around, and apparated to the Lestrange Chateau in Southern rural France. As she appeared at the front large oak door, she tapped with her wand four times in a clockwise triangular manner and the door swung open. Inside the chateau was a large winding marble staircase with gold embellishments on the banister and on the ceiling was a grand chandelier with white and emerald crystals. Like the Black Mansion, there seemed to be small touches of silver and emerald (the Slytherin colours) everywhere. She turned to the left to look around, but was quickly met with a tall man in a black suit.

"Mademoiselle, who do you wish to visit?" he asked in a strong French accent.

"I'm here for the meeting."

"Ah, yes, right this way." He led her up the stairs and into the fifth door on the left, in which there was a large table filled with twenty guests, most of them her relatives or family friends.

Her father stood up and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is my daughter, Bellatrix Black." She curtsied and her father went over to greet her. "My dear, just sit down beside me." he pulled out an empty chair beside him, in which she sat down.

The man sitting at the head of the table, to the direct left of Bellatrix, was Mr. Thomas Riddle. He stared shortly at her and announced, "Why, Miss Bellatrix, are you late?"

"I apologize greatly, my lord," as she had been instructed to call him, "I was informed that the meeting began at seven, but I guess I heard wrong."

"Yes, you did. This meeting began promptly at six thirty." He smiled at her. "However… the meeting I scheduled with you and the young Mr. Lestrange was scheduled to begin at seven."

She smiled and he smiled coyly right back at her. He turned to the man who had showed Bella to the room and ordered, "Would you show Miss Black to my private office?"

"Certainly sir." The man responded, and Bellatrix was escorted to a dark study, very similar to her father's down the hall. As the door was opened and she sat down, she spotted Rodolphus sitting in the other chair, beside the desk.

"Hi." He said.

"Hey. Do you know what this meeting is for?"

"No, I just received an owl from my father asking that I come home tonight at seven because he wanted to speak to me and you about certain things."

"My father said that same thing… except that I meet here, instead of at my home…yeah."

Awkward silence.

"Do you think it's about… you know.."

Rodolphus shook his head, "No. I think it's about our training."

"What training?"

"You mean, you don't know?"

A shape appeared at the door and both teenagers turned around.

The Dark Lord stood like a statue, his dark eyes beating down into the young students' souls.