I paced back and forth across the floor of the seventh year girl's dormitory.

"I can't believe you, Bella. I really can't believe you!" I told her, not even stopping my pacing, "How many times have I told you since I've been here at Hogwarts that under absolutely no circumstances should you let yourself be expelled? How many, Bella? Surely more than enough!"

Bella was sitting on her bed, sorting and folding the clothes from her drawer with her wand so that they would fit into her trunk at the end of her bed. She didn't seem the least bit worried; in fact, she seemed almost relieved, proud.

It was only an hour ago that Bella and Lupin had marched off to Headmaster Dippet's office. For Bella, that meant that she had confessed that she was the only one who had attacked Potter. The meeting was short; Bella only took a half hour and then left for Lupin to tell on behalf of Potter.

As soon as Bella came back to the Common Room, she told a waiting Rodolphus and me what the headmaster had said. He'd given her an ultimatum: Apologize to Potter and his family in person or leave Hogwarts. Bella, being Bella, flat out refused to apologize for her actions against Potter and would not try to console his family with remorse in any way.

"Like I told Rod, I'm not expelled- I'm leaving. If I was going to be expelled, they would've gotten the Ministry to snap my wand," she corrected, emphasizing her statement by again flicking her wand to pack away her things.

Bella tried arranging her clothes to sit perfectly symmetrical to where she would have enough room for all of her other things. After many fruitless attempts, she gave up, letting the clothes drop where they were and said, exasperated, "Oh well. I never was any good at any household spells."

"I know; Andy's superb at them, though," I replied, moving over to her trunk and manually fixing them to Bella's liking. I looked back up at Bella once I was done, only to find her face darkened, eyes now slits.

"Fine, fine," I said, "act like a baby, then. I won't say her name!"

"I wasn't being a baby!" she scowled, "mother said in her letter that we were supposed to go about our lives like she doesn't exist; I'm simply following the rules."

"Since when do you follow anyone's rules beside your own?" I asked with a snort of laughter.

"That's not the point!" she said lamely.

"Then what is the- " I said before Bella cut me off.

"Right now I'm trying to pack. You said you wanted to talk with me, or did you just want to lecture me?" she snapped.

"Yes," I replied, now irritated, "Why didn't you just apologize?"

Bella gave a cackle of laughter and said matter-of-factly, "To apologize would mean that I would have to be sorry for what I did to the Potter kid, but I'm not; therefore, I cannot and will not apologize to him or his blood-traitor family."

"Also," she continued, "What example would I be setting for my child if I showed remorse for such a hopeless cause of a person?"

"She's a fetus, Bella," I replied, "I'm pretty sure she won't care. She has no worries with anybody and spends her days just trying to bother you; I feel like my spot has been taken."

"Now," I said when she only replied with a laugh, "what about that one little girl you wanted me to get to befriend Potter and his friends or whatever your plans were; I did it, and it wasn't easy at all."

"You can continue the plan without me. You'll have Malfoy, Wilhelmina, and Evan's little brother to help you," Bella said, her eyes gleaming at the thought of her favorite little sister becoming a mini-Bellatrix.

"Yes, that's all good and thought out," I said sarcastically, "but what if Lucius, Mina, and Aaron don't want anything to do with it?"

"I know for a fact that Malfoy would help you, as would, who was it, Aaron? I'm sure Wilhelmina would help you if you asked," she said indignantly.

"Well what if I don't want to continue with your plan?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and started putting her books, most of which were untouched and unopened, on top of her clothes.

"Do what you wish," she finally said, "This was my last year, anyway."

"Which is why I think you should just go apologize, Bella! ," I said, now infuriated at her lack of common sense and decency, "At least take your exams and finish your education."

"Why bother?" she huffed as she attempted to close the lid on her now too full trunk. After a few more tries, she slumped back against the trunk and said in an almost feeble voice, "Help."

I crossed back over the room and sat on top of the trunk and waited while she attempted to shut the lid of the trunk again. After another two failed tries, Bella climbed onto the trunk herself. With the combined weight of both of us, it snapped with a satisfying click.

While still on the trunk, Bella turned to me and, to my surprise, hugged me without an explanatory word.

When she released me, she just jumped off and headed for the door leading back to the Common Room.

Just as I was about to open my mouth, regardless of whether or not I knew what I could or would say, Bella said, "I'll see you in a month." and shut the door.

Before I heard her go down the stairs, I shouted/laughed back, "Take care of your fetus!"

Still perched on her trunk, I listened to her dying footsteps and laughter on the staircase, falling back onto her bed and closing my eyes, trying to imagine how she could have let this happen and why she was too bloody proud to apologize to the Potter kid.

Later that night at dinner, there was an odd feeling of emptiness hanging over us with Bella gone. The seat beside Rodolphus was unusually empty.

Rodolphus was extremely irate and aggressive about the fact that Bella was now gone. Every time an unfortunate first or second year ever attempted to scoot their way down and claim her seat, he'd snap at them and order them down at least three seats away from Bella's.

Every time this would happen, Wilhelmina would try to console the cowering group, seeing as those were the people who used to stand up to Potter's group when they used to torment her.

Finally, once another Slytherin was banned from Bella's empty seat, Evan said, "Lestrange, stop it. You're scaring off all the first years."

Rodolphus didn't say anything, but instead kept stabbing at the leftover food on his plate.

Evan gave me a help-me-out-here look once Rodolphus had completely stabbed through the plate due to his forcefulness.

Flicking a few peas off of my plate, I gave a discreet cough and said tentatively, "She had a choice, Rod."

Rodolphus let his fork clatter to his plate and said, "No she didn't!"

Evan took this as another stepping in point and said, "She did have a choice, she just decided- "

"No," Rodolphus cut him off ferociously, "Dippet knew that Bella would never apologize for what she did. He knew she would be too proud. He might as well have driven her out of the castle himself. No, Bella didn't have a choice," he finished softly, picking his fork back up, resuming his food puncturing.

There was a silence as he said this. It hadn't occurred to any of them that Bella leaving would've affected Rodolphus, Bella's fiancé, the most brutally.

"She didn't seem too upset about leaving, mate," Evan said once Rodolphus was finished ranting."

I jabbed Evan in the ribs with my elbow once he said this. Did he have no feelings? Couldn't he see how crestfallen his words had made Rodolphus?

I motioned for him to look at Rodolphus: he'd averted his eyes to his plate and stopped abusing his food, now instead simply pushing it around.

Evan gave an apologetic look and said, "I didn't mean it like that, Rodolphus."

"No, no. You're right; she wasn't too upset, was she? She seemed quite excited at the prospect, actually," he replied gloomily.

"How could you say that?" Lucius said from beside me, "She loves you, doesn't she?"

"Exactly," I said before Rodolphus could get another word in, "Now let's get back to the Common Room; it's getting late, and I'm tired."

The walk back was quiet and strained with Rodolphus in tow. We descended into the dungeons and entered the Common Room, assuming our places in front of the fire.

As we were seated, I looked over at Rodolphus, who looked rather lonely sitting by himself on the couch. I could only hope that another first year didn't try to sit by him, but by the looks he was receiving across the room from the first years themselves, it seemed very unlikely that they would try it.

I looked back over at the fire as it curled and whipped around in its usual green flicker. It was a comforting feeling to look at it. The magic cast on it to keep aflame took over the fire's usual smell of burning wood, all for the better; now it smelled of a sweet mixture between amber and lilies, hazing my mind with the heat.

A grunting noise from the couch made me look away: Rodolphus sat rigid, still crestfallen.

"What?" I asked him, moving cautiously to his side, taking Bella's spot. Lucky for me, he didn't swat me away.

"Did Bella love me?" he asked hopefully, looking me dead in the eye.

"Of course," I assured him, "She's your fiancé, isn't she?"

"Just because she's marrying me doesn't mean she loves me," he said bitterly, "Just look at my mum and dad: they hate each other, look at Violet Parkinson- don't laugh- do you think she's looking for someone to love? No, she's looking for someone with a huge Gringott's vault. Marriage is nothing but paperwork and signatures."

"Now you know that isn't true!" I said, recovering from my laughter, "Bella loves you very much."

"Then why did she leave me, then?" he asked bemused and frustrated, "Why'd she so gladly leave?"

"Because she's Bella," I laughed, "And you know her well enough that she feels she left on good terms: hospitalizing Potter."

"Still," he tried to argue, still not convinced.

When he couldn't think of a fault in my argument, I said, "It's only a month - four weeks - thirty days- that's it. I'll think you'll live."

"Not comfortably," he grumbled under his breath.

"Rod," I chastised, "Go to bed; you need some sleep."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"It's what Bella would say," I replied with a squeeze of his hand, "Now go, you grouch."

With that, he left and ascended the stairs. I strained my ears for a click of a door, and once I heard it, I finally relaxed.

A/N:

Alright, my little pretties, what did you think of it? There is a reason it is so short, or else you know that I wouldn't dream of writing you a weak chapter. I'm using a tool called foreshadowing. I propose a contest- see who can guess what happens next. Winner gets a brownie point!

As always, stay lovely.

xxallisonxx