Dear Bellatrix,

As the end of term quickly approaches, I feel like an only child. I realise that you don't remember me very well. You don't remember climbing apple trees in Gran's back garden with me. You don't remember reading me stories before I could read to myself. You don't remember when Mum and Daddy took us all to Venice. You don't remember the life we all had together, and you never will, and so it's like I've lost you. I feel like I'm mourning your death, even though you're still here.

Then there's Andromeda, who told me today that when she gets on the Hogwarts Express the day after tomorrow, that'll be it. She knows that Mum and Daddy have already wiped her out of our family for being a blood traitor. She's written to Mum and asked that her belongings be sent to the Muggles' house - to Ted Tonks' parents. They're going to live with the Tonkses, apparently, after whatever little wedding they put together happens. Will we ever see Andy again? In passing, perhaps. I suppose you're not as broken up over losing her as I am, but I know Mum and Daddy are devastated. Please try to understand our heartache.

This is a very difficult time for us all. I'm sure you're confused and having your own struggles. Know that I love you deeply as your sister, and nothing Albus Dumbledore says or does will ever change that. I wish it weren't true, what he said about you casting a Cruciatus Curse. I hope you didn't do anything like that. But if you had to do it to someone, I'm rather glad it was to that old git. I'm beginning to loathe him.

See you soon.

Cissy

Voldemort rapped gently on the door of Bellatrix's suite, and when the door swung open, his breath caught in his chest and he cleared his throat.

"You're still here. I thought you'd have gone to Castle Lestrange," he said, and she shrugged.

"All of my cosmetics and clothes are here," she said. "Rodolphus said he knows I'm more comfortable staying here for now. So he's coming here since the Malfoys are hosting the wedding. I'm just finishing my hair. Will you come in? I was just about to start braiding."

Voldemort frowned, confused, and came into her sitting room. He sank down onto the sofa and folded his hands in his lap, and he watched Bellatrix retreat into her bathroom. She looked so beautiful, he thought, in her tightly fitted black silk gown with its long wispy cape. Her makeup was aggressive, with heavy, smokey eye makeup and matte black lipstick. She wore a diamond pendant and a silver cuff that looked like a jacket of armour round her wrist. She hummed a little from the bathroom, and Voldemort said tightly,

"I'm coming to the wedding."

There was silence for a moment then, and Bellatrix called out from the bathroom,

"I think that's a bad idea, if I may say so, Master."

He scowled down at his hands and informed her, "I do not much care if you think it is a bad idea. If I want to attend a wedding, I will."

Bellatrix appeared at the doorway of the bathroom and sighed. "Neither Maximus Malfoy nor Stella Nott are Death Eaters. The nearest relatives to either of them that are are her uncle and his second cousin. You'd be out of place, and you're the one who's lectured me about how important your image is. Why do you want to come to the wedding? Master?"

He did not answer her. He turned his face away and said, "I do not owe you an explanation."

She went back into the bathroom, and he could tell she knew. He was uncomfortable with the idea of her going on Rodolphus' arm, dancing with him, being his wife right there in front of everyone. He heard her voice say quite firmly,

"I intend on telling Stella she was a fool to let my husband go. She had a good man and she let him go. And then I intend on scoping out a new girlfriend for him."

Voldemort smirked a little and shook his head. "What an odd marriage you have, Madam Lestrange."

"No thanks to you, My Lord." She came out for good at last, her hair pulled into a braided bun at the back of her head. She stepped into high black heels and did a little spin, asking, "How do I look?"

He shut his eyes and shook his head. "Don't."

When he opened his eyes, she was frowning, and she asked seriously, "Should I change something?"

"You look magnificent, Bella," he snapped, rising from the sofa and heading for the door. "Stop torturing me. Enjoy your evening."

"Do you, Stella, take this man, Maximus, as your husband, promising to love and to honour him from this day until your very last?"

"I do," Stella said with a grin, and Bellatrix reached for Rodolphus' hand. She squeezed a little, giving Rodolphus a sorrowful look, and Rodolphus' eyes welled as the officiant bellowed,

"Now with rings and vows exchanged, it is my joy to declare you husband and wife. Maximus, you may kiss your bride!"

Everyone applauded and flew to their feet as trumpets sounded in the ballroom of Malfoy Manor, which was the largest family home either the bride or groom could access. Bellatrix forced her hands to clap, though she felt devastated for Rodolphus. When she saw that he was not applauding, she stopped. As Stella passed by, her eyes flicked to Bellatrix and then to Rodolphus. She looked stunning in her flowing ivory silk gown, her caramel waves falling round her head with a flower crown and airy veil drifting behind her. Bellatrix scowled at Stella's white roses, at her pale pink lips, thinking she was pretty and that she didn't deserve Rodolphus.

"You're too good for her," Bellatrix whispered, leaning up toward Rodolphus. He smiled sadly, and as the guests dispersed, she clung to his arm and walked with him toward the high tables that had been set up for hors-d'oeuvres and drinks.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked. "Red wine?"

"That's fine. Thank you," Bellatrix said. She suffered with Rodolphus through Stella's sister and Maximus' brother giving toasts about their future together, and then she stood beside her husband, popping mushroom tarts into her mouth as Stella and Maximus had their ceremonial first dance.

"You don't have to watch them," Bellatrix murmured. "She looks ugly in that dress; it makes her stomach look lumpy."

"She looks beautiful, and you know it," Rodolphus grumbled. He was right, of course. Bellatrix huffed and ate another tart, and she started looking round the room. Her eyes settled on Katarina Shacklebolt, and she asked,

"What about Katarina? She's gorgeous, with that flawless dark skin of hers and her black eyes. Lovely."

"Oh, are you a good judge of witches now?" Rodolphus teased. He sighed. "She's twenty-seven and single by choice."

"So? Good on her," Bellatrix said, but Rodolphus shook his head.

"An eight-year age difference in that direction? It's… not the same as you and him."

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "What a stupid double standard. Katarina's lovely. You should speak to her."

"She seems rather cold," Rodolphus said, eating a tart. "Next?"

Bellatrix giggled softly and eyed a somewhat plump, short witch further down the ballroom. She had a sweet face and auburn hair that reached her shoulders. She wasn't the prettiest witch in the room by far, but Bellatrix knew damned well that she was sweet. She'd been a Hufflepuff in their year - Clara Abbott.

"Clara," Bellatrix said warmly. "Nobody wants to marry her because she's a little plump, but she's so kind, isn't she?"

"She is." Rodolphus sipped his wine and shrugged. "Who cares if she's a little plump? She's got pretty eyes."

Bellatrix grinned. "You should dance with her."

"I have to dance with you," he said, as if mocking her a little. Bellatrix nodded.

"Right. Dance two dances with me and then hand me off to Rabastan and ask Clara Abbott to dance, all right?"

"All right." Rodolphus led Bellatrix toward the dance floor, since the first song had ended. Maximus and Stella were coming over toward the drinks, and Rodolphus squeezed at Bellatrix's hand.

"Don't," he said in a low voice, but she murmured back,

"You can't stop me."

"Don't!" he said, but he sounded almost amused. Bellatrix rushed over toward Stella, who seemed halfway between surprise and dread, and she leaned in toward the bride and hissed,

"Oh, Stella. You beautiful, foolish bitch. You gave up my dream of a husband for this ridiculous lump. I wish you all the best."

Stella looked shocked, but Bellatrix just dragged her thumb over the bottom of her matte black lipstick and walked away quickly with Rodolphus. She let him sweep her into his arms on the dance floor, and he shook his head as he scolded her,

"Telling her off on her wedding day? Really."

"She should know that she was an idiot," Bellatrix said defensively as they started to move, and Rodolphus shrugged.

"Was she? I'm married. She wants babies. A house. I couldn't give her any of that. She's better off married to a Malfoy, isn't she?"

Bellatrix scowled. "Well, maybe she's better off. And you're better off without her. Still, it angers me. I want you to be happy."

"I am happy, because I'm married to you," Rodolphus said, and Bellatrix's eyes welled a little as she confessed,

"I've spent six of the last ten nights in the same bed as him."

"Good," Rodolphus nodded. "It's good to sleep with someone when you love them. Sleeping in someone's arms is very restorative, I find."

Bellatrix curled up half her mouth and shook her head. "Well. I love him, but I don't think it goes the other way round."

"No?" Rodolphus cocked up an eyebrow. "I suspect it does."

"You should dance with Clara Abbott before someone else gets to her," Bellatrix insisted as the song ended. "I'm going to go drink some more wine and then find Rabastan and make him dance with me, and I want you to make Clara Abbott feel very pretty. You understand?"

"Yes." Rodolphus kissed Bellatrix's knuckles, and she gave him a little smile before she walked away quickly.

Voldemort could hear the strains of the dance music from downstairs, and he could hear that the crowd was dispersing. The rattle of dishes and the cacophony of conversation had quieted, and now the party seemed to be fading into oblivion.

She'd been right about him not making an appearance at the wedding. It would have debased him to do so. Still, he'd wanted to tell her this whilst dancing with her, for some reason. He'd come to this conclusion days ago after realising that it was indeed possible. He'd resisted this for weeks, the idea of this, but now he knew it was true, and there was no use fighting it, much less denying her the truth of it. So he sat in her sitting room and drummed his fingers on the arm of the sofa, waiting for her to come back.

When she did, he stood, and he watched her give her husband an embrace in the corridor and murmur a goodnight to him before coming into the suite. She shut the door, looking entirely unsurprised to see him there. She was still positively stunning in her black caped gown, her black lipstick, her hair yanked back into a braided bun. She began to take her necklace off and stepped out of her high-heeled shoes as she walked toward her bathroom, and she asked,

"Did Dobby get you some of the food, at least, Master?"

"The tarts were mushroom. You'd have preferred gruyere, I think," he said, and he heard her laugh a little from the bathroom. He walked toward her and asked, "Did you find a suitable replacement for your husband's mistress?"

"I hope so," she said. "He'd danced with Clara Abbott thrice by the end of the night, and she seemed entranced. I embraced her before we left, just to show her goodwill. I did call Stella a bitch. Couldn't help myself."

Voldemort snorted a little laugh and rolled his eyes. After a moment, Bellatrix came out of the bathroom, having pulled the pins out of her curls and Scoured her face, and she asked worriedly,

"What's wrong?"

He shrugged, shaking his head, but she walked toward him and put her hands on his chest, saying quietly,

"Your eyes give you away, Master. What's wrong?"

"I…" He covered her hands with his, then finally bent to kiss her forehead, and he forced the words out from between his lips.

"I love you."

She breathed in sharply, and her hands tightened on his chest, and she just nodded as she reached up for his face, silently encouraging him to kiss her.

Author's Note: Gahhh. Everyone's either in love or needing it. But Druella and Cygnus are definitely going to be in meltdown mode pretty soon here, and it sure feels like we're due for a battle, doesn't it? Eek.