I sat in the common room with Rodolphus, Evan, Aaron, and Lucius. They stared at me as soon as Bella walked out of the common room.
"Why is it that every time Bella walks out of the room, everyone stares at me?" I asked in a bemused tone.
They shrugged and all turned to look for something else constructive to do. Evan and Aaron got up and discreetly made their way out of the common room.
"We'll see you at breakfast, Cissa," Evan informed me before shutting the door with a snap.
"Rodolphus, why did you and Bella do that to me today?" I asked curiously while I played with the loose string on the end of my chair.
"Bells said something about you sneaking off with him," Rodolphus replied, pointing his thumb in Lucius' direction.
"What?" Lucius asked, shocked, "Cissa and I are just friends."
"Yeah, I told Bella that already," I told Rodolphus in an annoyed voice. I rolled my eyes and Rodolphus just shrugged.
"Well, she obviously doesn't believe you two. I'll talk to her and see if she'll lighten up," he murmured in a calm voice. It worried me; Rodolphus was never usually quiet. He was always irritatingly the exact opposite.
I tried looking into Rodolphus' eyes, but his eyes were downcast staring at the ornate rug's design patter. His face was washed over with a mixture of fear and anticipation.
"Rod, what's wrong?" I asked him, brooded. When he didn't immediately answer, I moved from my place on the chair next to him on the sofa.
He said nothing but instead pulled out a black ring box and opened it to reveal a wedding ring grand enough to make the Queen jealous.
"Rod, that's amazing! When are you going to ask her?" I squealed in excitement. Lucius looked overjoyed for his friend's news.
"Tonight, I'm going to ask her to go for a walk by the Black Lake," he mumbled, "do you think she'll accept, Cissa or am I just going to make a fool out of myself?"
"I'm positive she'll say yes, Rod! She loves you as much as you love her for Godric's sake!" I reassured. I smile and looked at the ring once more. It was exceedingly pretty: there were two stones, a large blood red ruby set in the center and a smaller black diamond set on top of the ruby. It was set on a white gold band that had the words 'amour pur' engraved in it.
We all sat back and marveled at its beauty for another good fifteen minutes, conversing what we wanted in a marriage.
"When I marry, it will be as an equal, nothing more nothing less," I told them.
Rodolphus chuckled and replied, "Taking after Bella, I see. She doesn't make it easy, but it is her that I want to spend the rest of my life with."
"That's sweet, Rod. That's the kind of relationship I want to have before I'm married. What about you, Lucius? You've been oddly quiet. Don't you want to get married?"
"Yes, but Malfoy marriages have always been arranged. He has probably already picked out my future wife, so there's no point in trying to contradict his decisions," he replied glumly.
"That's not exactly fair. What if you find someone you really want to marry, and he doesn't approve?" I asked him. My voice came out hardly above a whisper.
"I'm not sure. My best guess would be that I would have to break it off or be disinherited," he replied. His voice sound hoarse and strained.
"Well, let's go join everyone at breakfast. I'm sure they're wondering just what happened this morning. Maybe Bella went to breakfast after she finished meeting with McGonagall," I chimed in an attempt to ease everyone's minds of stressful thinking.
I grabbed their arms and pulled them off the couch and towards the door. Finally, after relentless tugging, they submitted to joining me at breakfast. The three of us walked arm in arm, with myself in the middle, back to the Great Hall.
When we entered, most of everyone was still there, seeing as it was Sunday. Bella was among those of who stayed at Slytherin table. She broke into a smile when she saw us coming towards her. She shooed the surrounding girls away and made three spots around her available.
Rodolphus sat down next to Bella, and Lucius and I sat down across from her. We shared a knowing smile as Rodolphus asked Bella to go for a walk later tonight.
"Of course, Rod," she started, "anything to get away from all of these tarts." The girls who overheard her glared, but turned away and finished whatever session of gossip they were discussing.
"So, Bella, how much trouble did you get into?" I asked her between sips of my pumpkin juice.
"Well, McGonagall brought me to Dippet, and he said that if I screw up one more time, he would expel me," she replied in a nonchalant tone while swiping jam over her toast.
I just about spit my pumpkin juice when I heard her, "WHAT?"
She shushed me and continued, "Apparently, they heave been lenient these past years, and that they wouldn't stand for it. Everything was going fine until I started laughing when they told Phineas to inform our parents that I was on the verge of expulsion."
"What happened?" I asked eagerly.
"That drove McGonagall over the edge and she insisted that I be expelled for my 'rudeness', but good ole Phineas helped me out with that. He said that he wouldn't have it, and that he would straighten me out if I went out of line again," she finished with a smirk.
"Is that all?" I asked in shock. Her news left the tips of my fingertips numb. Sometimes Bella was overwhelming, and I had known her all my life!
"Phineas sends his greetings. He would like to talk to you sometime this week, also. I think it was something about upholding the Black tradition. He never did get to talk to Andy because of her ending up in Ravenclaw, so he is eager to meet you," she told me.
"Fine, but Bella, I swear to Merlin if you get expelled this year!" I warned her maliciously.
"Don't overwork yourself, Cissy, you have nothing to worry about," she replied lightly with the flip of her hand.
We finished breakfast discussing the upcoming Quidditch tryouts. Apparently, all of us, excluding Evan, were going to go to the tryouts this year.
"When are tryouts?" I asked, trying to hide my keenness from the rest of the Slytherins.
I remember when I first learned to play Quidditch. I was eight years old and Sirius and Regulus had come over for a visit with their parents, my Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion. Bella, Andromeda, Sirius, Regulus and I were outside in the infinite gardens of the House of Black. It was a bright clear day, and we were all submitted to 'play together' as my aunt had put it.
Bella, being the eldest of all of us, decided that she wanted to play Quidditch, but she and Sirius were the only two who knew how to actually play, though. We all grabbed our brooms and divided into teams: Bella and I versus Andromeda and Sirius. Bella enchanted extra brooms to fly by themselves to serve as the missing players.
Bella played chaser while I played seeker, seeing as I was the lightest. Sirius was chaser while Andromeda was their seeker. Poor Regulus was still too young to play and wandered off to bother the house elves. The game lasted three hours before I caught the snitch three hours after we started.
For the next three years, Sirius and Regulus came over once a month to play a match against us and give us pointers on how to improve our skills.
"Tryouts are this Saturday," Rodolphus answered proudly. This year, Rodolphus had made captain and was part of the team selecting the Slytherin Quidditch team. Each year, Professor Slughorn, the Quidditch captain, this year being Rodolphus, and the previous Quidditch captain from the preceding year chose the team unanimously.
"Perfect. Bella, try not to get detention this weekend," I told her. She shot me an icy glare that turned into laughter as soon as Rodolphus, Evan, and Lucius started snickering behind their hands.
"Fine, fine, I'll be the perfect little angel that everyone loves. So, where do I start? This is more of your department, Cissy," she said in all seriousness; although, I could see a glint in her eye suggesting wit was silently implied.
I said nothing, but instead merely threw my toast across the table, hitting her straight in the chest. She pretended to writhe in pain while Rodolphus was pretending to mourn his loss by weeping fake tears. Before long, they couldn't take it any longer and they burst out laughing. We received glares from Violet and her group of vile gossiping friends.
"Try to keep it down over there," one of the girls dared saying with a snarl curling on her lips. Violet smirked and looked down at us from her spot beside the girl who spoke.
"Sod off, Parkinson," Bella shouted down to her, making a move to grab her wand from the inside of her robes. Fortunately for Violet, Rodolphus stopped Bella's actions mid air and replaced Bella's anger with the contempt of Rodolphus' kissing her hand that was still trying to dart to her wand despite his efforts.
"Violet Parkinson is not worth detention and possible expulsion, Bella," Evan reminded her, miserably failing at trying to hide the amused smile that was creeping up at the sides of his mouth.
"No, but I'm sure it would wipe that proud smirk off her face once and for all, now wouldn't it, Evan?" I said with a smirk. Bella laughed and ceased her actions of trying to retrieve her wand.
"See, even Saint Cissy thinks that hexing Parkinson wouldn't be a bad thing!" she practically shrieked through bites of her tart.
"Yes, in fact, I wouldn't hesitate to consider hexing Parkinson an act of God," I responded while looking down the table at Violet. She glared at me, and I just flashed her a bright smile and gave her a little wave.
"You're asking for it, Cissa," Aaron muttered with a small grin.
"If she can bring it, I'll take it," I replied with a haughty smirk. Bella looked absolutely gleeful while Rodolphus, Evan, and Lucius all shared an amused expression on their faces.
"That sounds like a challenge," Rodolphus said.
"Yes, well I'll take care of her after Quidditch tryouts," I told them.
Breakfast swept by as we continued our conversation of Quidditch once again. Once breakfast was over, we all trudged back to the dungeons to scrounge the remainder of our blissful Sunday.
We all plopped down onto our spots in the Common Room and tried to figure out how to spend the remainder of this Sunday. I splayed out across my chair, resting my head on the arm rest. Bella and Rodolphus lounged on the sofa opposite of me, practically on top of each other, while Rodolphus ran his fingers through Bella's hair. Bella let out a small sigh and surprisingly made no move to stop him.
Lucius sat in the arm chair next to me, feet propped up on the ottoman in front of the fire and Evan and Aaron shared a couch and took turns jabbing each other with their feet.
All was peaceful until a second year Slytherin nonentity stormed into the Common Room crying with her clothes ripped and mascara running down her face. She subconsciously stopped when she saw us sprawled out across the Common Room. She made to move past us, sniffling the entire way, until I stopped her.
"Wait," I called out before she could make it to the staircase. She turned around cautiously to see who had called out for her to stop. Bella looked at me curiously but said nothing and made no move to stop me. I got up and made my way over to her.
"What happened?" I asked her warily; I didn't want to risk making her start crying like she so obviously already had.
"Oh, nothing. James Potter and his friends just pulled one of the stupid pranks on me again," she said, "they called themselves the Marauders."
"What did they do, exactly?" I asked her timidly. I motioned for her to sit on the empty sofa nearest the fire. She obliged conservatively. It was obvious that she was either intimidated or had the lowest self esteem I had ever seen.
She let out a big huff of breath and started, "I was walking back from breakfast when they came from behind and immobilized me. I had no idea who it was until I heard James' voice calling out for some people named 'Wormtail' and 'Moony'. Anyways, they cast some non-verbal spell that lifted me off my feet and they flung me around in the air. After awhile, they just got bored and left me hanging upside down until some Ravenclaw fifth year helped me down."
I gave an exasperated sigh before replying, "Why would they do that? Bella, any thoughts?"
Bella's head shot up and she started pacing around the Common Room, "We need to get revenge on the Gryffindors, more specifically the Marauders, but yes, we need to retaliate. They don't get the satisfaction of just being allowed to mess with a Slytherin without the consequences, especially not a second time."
"What kind of revenge did you have in mind?" Rodolphus asked from his lounging place on the sofa.
"I'm not sure yet, we'll have to come up with something by tomorrow. I don't want them to expect it, though," she replied, still pacing the room with anticipation as thoughts were whizzing through her mind. I could practically hear the imaginary cogs in her head already churning.
"By the way, what's your name?" I asked the girl who was now wiping the mascara off her face with the end of her damp sleeves.
"I'm Wilhelmina Mulciber," she replied softly, barely audible over the footsteps of Bella's inane pacing back and forth.
"Oi! She's Mulciber's little sister. Mulciber was always talking about his younger sibling, just never told us that she was attending Hogwarts already, the git," Rodolphus muttered. Wilhelmina blushed a little at his words but otherwise stayed silent.
"You're a second year, correct?" Bella finally spoke. Her voice was harsher from the concentrating she had been through.
"Yes," she mumbled, keeping her head down and still saying solemn.
"Okay, from now on, you sit with us. As far as anyone is concerned, you're part of us now," Bella said, still thinking up ways to plot against the Gryffindors. Wilhelmina just nodded her head and made to get up. I stopped her before she could go anywhere.
"Bella, you can't just tell her what to do! Wilhelmina, do you want to sit with us?" I asked her cordially. Bella rolled her eyes before bounding up the stairs to the boy's dormitories with Rodolphus following suit.
"And Rodolphus, good luck tonight," I reminded him with a sincere smile and a wink.
"Yeah, we wish you the best of luck, you'll need it," Lucius piped in with a smirk. Once Rodolphus was out of earshot, Evan and Aaron turned to them.
"What was that about? No wonder Bella worries about you two; you're both always in cohorts with each other with secrets and what not," Evan replied surprised by the secretive outburst.
"One, Bella shouldn't worry about him because he's my best friend and Two, you'll find out what we were talking about later on tonight," I told him vehemently. He seemed to understand the initial message of what I was trying to say and left it at that.
"Back to what we were discussing before we changed subjects, Wilhelmina, are you going to be sitting with us? I think that once the 'Marauders' see that you're with us, they might back off for awhile," I told her convincingly.
"Umm, sure," she mumbled nervously. She turned and climbed the stairs to the second year girls' dormitories and shut the door with an audible click.
"Well, she sure knows how to strike up conversation," Aaron said sarcastically.
"Well, I'm going for a walk; anyone want to come?" I offered while I sauntered across the Common Room.
"No thanks, I'm going to go study for Transfiguration. That damn animagus exam is going to kill me," Evan said nonchalantly.
"I have to go finish Charms homework," Aaron said reluctantly. The two brothers strode to the stairs and parted their ways to their own dormitories.
"Well, Lucius, feel up to a walk around the Black Lake?" I asked in an almost hopeful tone.
"Sure, there is too much madness surrounding everyone down here. It seems to be blocking everybody's rational thoughts," he said, grabbing our cloaks and opened the door for me to walk through.
We walked through corridors, talking of Rodolphus and Bella's engagement before we made it outside.
"Do you think she'll say yes?" he asked me as we exited through the grand mahogany doors.
"I'm extremely confident that'll she'll accept his proposal," I answered him in a dreamy tone.
"What if she declines his proposal, though? What will happen to our group?" he asked worriedly.
I stopped near the banks of the Black Lake and sank to the sand. I could scarcely see the sun as it was now sinking behind the mountains, now.
"I'm not sure," I answered honestly, "maybe we shouldn't exclude so many people from our 'network'."
"Such as?" he inquired further. His hair was blowing in rhythm with mine and the waves were sloshing to and fro to where my legs were being sprayed by the salty water of the Black Lake.
"I was thinking the sons of the major matrons and patrons of society, such as the Yaxleys, Mulcibers, Crabbes, Goyles, etc..."
"They would be a great asset for the future once we're out of school. We should start acting friendlier, I suppose," he finished with a sigh. It wasn't a haughty or conceded sigh, either. It was a sigh that only escapes one's lips when your surroundings are truly peaceful and tranquil.
"That will definitely be the hardest part, won't it?" I said, not even trying to suppress the laugh.
Lucius just laughed back and looked out towards the lake and narrowed his eyes in concentration. I looked over to where he was turned and saw what he was looking at- Bella and Rodolphus were walking on the opposite side of the lake. We could vaguely see Rodolphus setting Bella on a tree stump, and he was getting down on one knee! I heard a sharp intake of breath and a tug at my hand and was surprised to see that it had come from Lucius. Ignoring the new pressure on my hand, we continued to watch the couple before us only a mere fifty feet away.
I heard a shriek of delight and saw that Bella snatched the ring and launched herself at Rodolphus. She was laughing and Rodolphus was finally smiling after a day's worth of frowning.
"I think she said yes," I said once I was sure Bella and Rodolphus couldn't here us. They were already back on their way to the castle. Rodolphus was carrying Bella bridal style without faltering or losing any strength.
"I think she did, too. Either that or Rodolphus takes rejection very well," he joked. It certainly lightened the atmosphere.
"We better be getting back, I guess," I said after Bella and Rodolphus disappeared from my view, "if Bella finds out that we're missing, she'll never stop her assumptions. You know that, right."
"Yeah, let's get back," he replied. He unfurled his hand from mine and we slowly made our way back to the castle. We took in the scenery while we were strolling back.
Once we got back to the dungeons, we entered the Common Room that was now in full blown out party mode. There were streamers and shooters. People were passing around Firewhisky and pulling out sweets that they picked up at Honey Duke's.
Evan came running up to us once he spotted us enter, "Where have you two been? You just missed the announcement, but wait," he said, faltering over his own words, slowly coming to a conclusion, "that was the secret, wasn't it?"
"Of course, what else what it be, Evan?" Lucius interrogated, bemused.
"Oh, nothing of importance anymore, but Cissa, Bella was asking where you were," he finished with a slight smirk.
"Well, good night all," I told them, "after I congratulate Bella and Rodolphus, I'm going to catch up on some well needed sleep."
Evan had already left by the time I finished and was making his way towards the people passing around the Firewhisky.
"Goodnight, Cissa," Lucius bid me, "I'm going to go to sleep. Give Bella my congratulations for me. I'll see her in the morning."
"Okay, goodnight," I shouted over the music. I found Bella and Rodolphus snuggled together on their couch, gazing at the ring on Bella's finger.
When she saw me, she shrieked and stood from the couch, "I'M ENGAGED!"
"I know, Bella," I replied calmly, a smile breaking over my face. I had never seen Bella so happy in her life; it was certain, Bella loved Rodolphus and she was showing the whole Common Room now, if not a little too inappropriate.
Bella and Rodolphus had stumbled backwards and landed on the couch. The whole Common Room had a nice view of their little snogging now.
"Goodnight Mr. And Mrs. Lestrange," I teased, "I'll see you in the morning if you're not too hung over."
There was a jumble of noises coming from both of them that I could only take would be a 'good night'.