Bellatrix walked into the dining room, for she'd been summoned by a message through Dobby, alerted that her presence was needed for an emergency meeting. She had dressed quickly in a knee-length sleeveless black dress with a wispy black belted robe over the top, and she'd yanked her curls up above her head in a bun, not bothering to apply any makeup. There didn't seem to be time.

When Bellatrix came into the dining room, she was surprised to see Lord Voldemort at the head of the table, Rodolphus and Rabastan on one side of the table beside him, and her parents on the other side of the table. Bellatrix paused, for this felt like some sort of awful intervention, and she moved slowly as she entered the room. Rodolphus and Rabastan stood, and everyone's faces were very serious.

"Come and sit, Bella," Voldemort said. "We have much to discuss."

"Hello, Mum. Daddy," Bellatrix nodded. Her parents looked like they'd been upset for some time, and they both glanced from Bellatrix to Voldemort. Druella seemed very anxious in particular as Bellatrix sat beside her. Bellatrix frowned, and when she found Rodolphus' eyes, he looked very sad.

"Your parents received a detailed letter from your sister Narcissa," Voldemort said tightly. "They made a mistake; instead of immediately coming to me after receiving the letter, they went to Rodolphus. But your husband is very loyal, and he brought your parents here. I have already explained reality in due course. Here is the letter, Bellatrix."

He flicked his wand and sent three pieces of parchment fluttering down the table toward Bellatrix. She caught them and felt her heart start to race as she began to read Narcissa's letter out loud.

"Dear Mum and Daddy,

This morning, Professor Slughorn told me that Professor Dumbledore wanted to see me privately in the Headmaster's Office. I went there, and what happened frightened me to my core.

First of all, you should know that Andromeda has been dating a Mudblood, Ted Tonks, for some time now. She swore me to secrecy about it, but Dumbledore opened his meeting with me by offering me sweets and congratulating me on my sister's engagement. I was very confused until he proudly declared that Andromeda and Ted Tonks intend on marrying over the summer, since they'll both be seventeen by June. I could tell that he was measuring my reaction. I tried to stay calm, but I began to cry. He asked why I was crying, and I confessed that Ted Tonks is not the sort of boy our family believes to be an acceptable husband for Andromeda, and that she was promised to Alesso Mulciber. Dumbledore said that our family has very skewed views on many things, including so-called 'blood status.' Then he asked me about my 'other sister.'

He began to explain that there had been a skirmish involving Aurors, Lord Voldemort, and others at the house of Mr Avery, and he claimed that Bellatrix attacked him with a Cruciatus Curse. I said I didn't believe him, that Bella would never do anything like that. He was quiet for a while, and then he asked me if Bellatrix had been behaving strangely lately. I asked him what on Earth he meant. He asked whether she'd been getting nicknames wrong, whether it seemed like she'd been remembering things oddly. I said carefully that Bellatrix had suffered a recent injury. Dumbledore said it was more than that.

He claimed that an Auror called Pinky Tarlington had been murdered by Lord Voldemort, but that before her death, she had, on the orders of the Ministry, Obliviated Bellatrix of all her lifetime experiences."

Bellatrix stopped then, raising her eyes to Voldemort in fear. He stayed calm, but she could see rage in his gaze. Bellatrix looked to Rabastan and Rodolphus, who stared at the table, and then at her parents to see that her mother was crying quietly. Bellatrix took a shaking breath and asked quietly,

"May I have some wine, please?"

Voldemort rose slowly and walked over to a drinks table in the corner of the dining room, and the others seemed surprised to watch him pour from a decanter of red wine into a glass on the table. He brought the goblet over and set it before Bellatrix, who nodded her thanks and kept reading the letter aloud as Voldemort went to sit back down.

"I insisted that Dumbledore was lying, that he was making things up. But he showed me letters that he'd exchanged with Pinky Tarlington confirming plans to immediately target Bellatrix for Stunning and Obliviation at the next opportunity. Dumbledore asked me again if Bellatrix had been 'off' recently, and of course she has been, most notably at Gran's funeral.

Mum and Daddy, I know you must be in shock. I know I am. Between Andromeda marrying a Mudblood this summer and Bellatrix apparently pretending to remember things she really doesn't, I don't know what to think. I feel lost. I have not told Lucius any of this, and I promise not to, but I am frightened. I thought I needed to let you know immediately.

All my love,

Cissy."

Bellatrix set the letter down and picked up her goblet of wine, sipping very deeply from it. She shut her eyes and just sat in silence, and finally Cygnus Black said to her in a gentle tone,

"Darling, if there is anything… anything we can do…"

"I've told them," Voldemort said tightly, and Bellatrix raised her eyes to him. "I've told them that you didn't even know who Andromeda was, that you only knew Narcissa as a baby. I've told them that you didn't know their names. I've explained the depth of your memory loss. It is best now that they understand the truth."

Bellatrix turned to her parents and shrugged. "I'm very sorry."

"No, dear. We are the sorry ones." Druella threw her arms around Bellatrix and squeezed tightly. She pulled back, tears dribbling from her dark eyes, and she asked helplessly, "You don't remember things like… like drinking tea with your Gran out on her country house lawn, then? You really don't remember?"

"No. I'm sorry." Bellatrix shook her head, and Rodolphus insisted from across the table,

"She's doing her best."

"We know she is, Dolph," Cygnus assured him, but Druella seemed more upset than ever as she asked,

"Do you know what our home is like in London? Your childhood bedroom?"

"She may visit, to regain a sense of it," Voldemort said, and Druella choked out a desperate little sound as she shook her head.

"You don't remember. You don't remember Pooky."

"What's Pooky?" Bellatrix asked curiously, and Druella sobbed into her hands as Rabastan said gently,

"Your House-Elf."

"Oh." Bellatrix gave Voldemort a serious look, then turned to her father. "I wish I had memories of my childhood, but I don't. I'm sorry for that. I hope you know that I… I care deeply for you and Mum. I do."

"Oh, Bella." Druella tossed her hands round her daughter again, and Bellatrix rubbed at her mother's shoulder as Cygnus cautiously asked Rodolphus,

"Did she know you? After the… after she was Obliviated?"

"She knew hardly anyone, but she retained all her knowledge of magic," Voldemort said, almost sternly. "Dumbledore was not lying when he said she'd cast a Cruciatus Curse on him. She did."

Cygnus' cheekbones went a little pink, and he nodded. He turned his face to Bellatrix, his eyes shimmering with tears, and he said sadly,

"I'm so sorry, sweet girl."

"So am I." Bellatrix nodded, releasing Druella back into her father's arms. She swigged from her wine and set the empty goblet down, and she asked Voldemort, "What are you going to do about this, Master?"

"Do about it?" He raised his eyebrows and Vanished Narcissa's letter from the table. "There is nothing to be done. Dumbledore is trying to sow chaos, to create a weakness here. Little does he know that you're stronger than ever. Little does he know that Andromeda will simply be burned off the Black family tapestry when she marries a Mudblood. We are all stronger than this, are we not?"

"Yes, Master," Bellatrix said, nodding, and Rodolphus and Rabastan joined her in agreement. Druella sobbed against her husband's shoulder, and Voldemort snapped,

"Enough histrionics, Druella. You have one daughter who's a blood traitor and another who's a competent soldier despite having her memory wiped. Assure me that you are stronger than this."

"I… I will try to be, sir." Druella sat up straighter, wiping at her tears. "I will try. If Andromeda chooses that Mudblood, then she is dead to us. And if Bellatrix does not remember her upbringing, then we shall make new memories with her. We are your loyal servants."

"Good." Voldemort nodded and said to Cygnus, "Why don't you take Druella home? Get her some Draught of Peace?"

"Yes, Master." Cygnus stood slowly, holding Druella, and Bellatrix rose, embracing each of them. She stroked at her mother's bobbed hair and murmured,

"We'll make new memories, Mum. Like you said."

"Goodbye, Bella." Druella nodded, kissing at Bellatrix's cheek, and she let Cygnus lead her out of the dining room. Rabastan left with them, muttering reassurances in a kind voice to help comfort Druella. Once they'd gone, Voldemort glanced between Rodolphus and Bellatrix, and suddenly she realised that he was using Legilimency. Whether on her or Rodolphus, she couldn't tell, but she could see it in his eyes. His eyes always gave him away, she thought distantly.

"Will you excuse me for a moment?" he asked quietly, and Bellatrix frowned, for he hardly needed their permission to leave the room. He stood, and so they both did, too, and he said, "I'm going to go reassure Cygnus and Druella about Andromeda in particular. I'll be back."

Bellatrix scowled, watching him go, and once he'd gone, Rodolphus cleared his throat a little and walked round the table toward Bellatrix. She tensed up a little until he told her,

"I'm really sorry that your parents had to find out. I know you had no intention of telling them."

"The Dark Lord didn't want anyone else to know, but of course Dumbledore will try to weaken him by publicising this," Bellatrix shrugged. "It won't work; I'm strong enough in battle to cast an Unforgivable and more loyal to the Dark Lord than ever."

"I know." Rodolphus nodded, standing before Bellatrix and looking down at her. He reached to hold her face in his hand, but when she flinched, he pulled his hand away and looked ashamed. "I'm sorry to hear about Andromeda. You may not care too much, but the two of you were somewhat close, once upon a time."

"I don't care. You're right. If she gets wiped off a tapestry for being a blood traitor, that's her fault and her choice," Bellatrix snapped. "She's no sister of mine if she marries a Mudblood. And, anyway, she's the one I didn't remember at all. That probably says something."

"Someone else is getting married," Rodolphus said cautiously, and when Bellatrix shrugged and shook her head, Rodolphus' throat bobbed. "Stella's marrying… erm… she's marrying… Maximus Malfoy."

His eyes welled heavily, and Bellatrix could see he was on the verge of tears. She huffed a sigh and reached up to cup his face in her hands. She brought his head down and kissed at his cheekbone, and she whispered,

"I'm so sorry. I know you love her."

"It hurts worse that I thought it would," Rodolphus admitted. A single tear squeezed out of his eye, and Bellatrix swiped it away. He shook his head and insisted, "She says we can't keep things up; she intends on having children with Maximus straight away and… I don't think she actually loves me, so…"

"Bitch," Bellatrix whispered, and Rodolphus snorted a little laugh. He snared his arms around Bellatrix's shoulders and shook his head, looking so sad that Bellatrix actually felt a little yank of sorrow in her chest. She shrugged and insisted,

"There's got to be someone else out there to make you happy. I… you know that I…"

"You and I are very good friends," he said firmly, and he brought her close to his chest for an embrace. He pulled her back and shrugged again. "We'll have to go to Stella's wedding together, you and I. It's a Pureblood wedding, and you and I are a married Pureblood couple, so we'll have to attend the wedding together. Isn't that bizarre?"

"It is." Bellatrix laughed a little, knowing Voldemort wouldn't be anywhere near that wedding, and she promised Rodolphus, "I'll dance with you, and I'll tell her she was a moronic bitch to give you up."

He smirked at her, shaking his head. "Nobody actually wants me, I don't think."

"That can't be true," Bellatrix snapped. "We'll find you someone wonderful."

"We?" Rodolphus licked at his bottom lip and then whispered, "You really are the best wife any wizard could ever want, Bella."

"I think Druella will be fine eventually," said Voldemort's voice from behind Rodolphus as he came back into the room. Bellatrix took her time stepping away from her husband, letting Voldemort see his arms wrapped around her, and she nodded.

"Dumbledore's an idiot," she said firmly, "to think that revealing this reality to my sister and parents will do any harm. I'll just torture him or worse the next chance I get."

"Good girl," Voldemort nodded. "Rodolphus, you may go."

"Yes, Master," Rodolphus nodded, bowing respectfully. He smiled a bit at Bellatrix and said warmly, "See you, Bella."

Once he'd walked briskly out of the dining room, Bellatrix approached Voldemort and stared up at him.

"Well," she said, "I've received so much news today I feel like I've read a year's worth of the Daily Prophet."

"None of it matters," Voldemort said, tipping his head and raising his eyebrows. "Your blood traitor sister, Dumbledore revealing your being Obliviated, your husband's mistress marrying… absolutely none of it matters, you understand? Eyes forward."

Bellatrix gave him a single, sharp nod. "Yes, Master."

Author's Note: Dumbledore was definitely up to something in having Bellatrix Obliviated in the first place, but it seems like maybe it's backfiring on him a bit. That seems to happen a lot to both Voldemort and Dumbledore, no? Now, once Andromeda's and Stella's marriages roll around, things are going to get interesting. Maybe Rabastan will get in on helping to find a new girlfriend for Rodolphus. ;) And I think we are more than due for a good, long, proper Bellamort lemon, no?

As always, thank you very much for reading and reviewing.