A/N: Thank you very much for your reviews! It really means a lot to me since this is my first attempt to write a fanfiction story! I hope the fact that English is not my native language is not that obvious in my writing. Feel free to correct my English! :)

Chapter 2

Crack.

She appeared in her bedroom stumbling and she barely managed to maintain her balance. She hurried to reach the bed, sat on its edge and, hopelessly, tried to put her thoughts in some order. She was overwhelmed with so many different feelings and was feeling rather dizzy. All the things that took place in her meeting with Voldemort had caused her a great deal of frustration and made it unable for her to relax.

"Love"? That's impossible! No. I must certainly have misheard what he said. No matter how much Voldemort trusted her, he undoubtedly would never get connected with her, or with any of his followers, in that way. It was ridiculous even thinking about it.

"He is my master for goodness sake! That's absurd!" she sighed in an attempt to rationalize herself.

She stood up and started walking back and forth in the room. All these thoughts made her feel restless. She had to take all that distress out on something… or somebody… She gave a strong kick to a small wooden chest that was lying next to the bed as she was passing by and it cracked open with a deafening sound. Smaller boxes, pieces of parchment and some photographs got scattered all over the floor.

"Shit!" she groaned and took out her wand. "Reparo" she murmured and with a slight move of her hand the broken chest was fixed. The moment she bent down to put the things that had come out of it back to place, she heard a low voice coming right out the door.

"Bella? Is that you?"

"Yes! It's me!" she yelled and rolled her eyes in despair. Oh no! Not him! she thought. Not now!

Rodolphus entered the room with a wide smile on his face. With all that stuff going on Bellatrix had totally forgotten that her husband was waiting for her to return after Voldemort had called her in the middle of the night. He was the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

Although they had been married for a couple of years now, she'd never had the slightest tender feeling for him. She married him only because her family pressured her as he was coming from a fellow pure-blood family. He was more like a friend and, when it came to fight, a capable partner to her. However, he seemed to have very strong feelings for her and he was unwilling to accept that she would never return them.

"What happened, darling?" Rodolphus asked her curiously.

She hurried to put the things back to the chest and then she stood up.

"I heard some noise and I thought that this stupid house elf would have broken something again. Is everything alright?" he added while giving examining looks to the wooden chest.

"Yes. Everything is okay. I was just tidying up a little bit." she replied indifferently.

Rodolphus gave her a suspicious look but he had more important things to ask in his mind. Besides, he was used to his wife's eccentric behavior and he preferred to stay out of her personal matters as he was aware of her bad temper.

"So how did it go? What did he want?" he asked impatiently "Was it what we had expected?"

"Yes!" Bellatrix exclaimed in delight and she hitched up her sleeve to show him the Dark Mark that was glowing on her left forearm.

"I am now a Death Eater!" she added and her whole face shined with excitement.

Only now that she had said it out loud she truly realized what had happened and suddenly she was flooded by a wave of relief and happiness. A childish smile was painted on her face and tears of contentment sparkled in her eyes.

"That's great!" Rodolphus said smiling. "I knew he would accept you!" he added with pride and made a few steps to get close to her.

"I think that we might get another call from him soon. I believe that you are next." Bellatrix said apathetically. She didn't care about anything else now. She had become a Death Eater and it was a fact.

Rodolphus noticed the dreamy expression she had and decided to remain silent. Instead, he took her one hand into his and with his other hand he wiped off a tear that ran down her cheek. Bellatrix got surprised by his touch and it was like she woke abruptly from a deep sleep. It took her a few moments to realize what was going on and then she set her eyes on Rodolphus rather disappointed, with a blank expression on her face.

They stayed there for a while staring at each other and then Rodolphus inclined his head and kissed her gently. Bellatrix reluctantly returned his kiss. She had been through a lot that day and even though she was not interested in Rodolphus it was nice to have someone there to take her distress away. Rodolphus astounded by his wife's reaction to his display of affection deepened the kiss and tied his arms around her. She responded and tightened his hug.

"What a pleasant surprise, love!" Rodolphus whispered a few moments later while stroking her hair.

She did not reply but she slipped her one hand in his and grabbed it decisively. She led him to the bed and pushed him down on it.

Bellatrix climbed on top of her husband and started undressing him under his surprised look… She could think nothing but Voldemort.

A faint glow lit the sky near the horizon. The sun was rising.