Yikes, guys, I didn't realize it had been a MONTH since I had updated. School and stuff. Blah. My apologies, but if you're patient you will get your story! And this chapter is longer than my usual, so maybe that makes up for it. A little? Okay, okay… here's the fanfiction you came for.

EDIT: I just realized I made a major error in here. It's updated now. If any of you caught it, you know what it was and I apologize. If not, carry on.*

"Bellatrix?"

Of course. Sirius, of all people, was the first to see me.

"You came back!" he squealed. "HEY! Bella's back!"

I heard footsteps.

Sirius looked at me funny. It took me a moment to realize he was analyzing my appearance, which was admittedly less than what must have been expected of a pureblood daughter at a dinner party. "You're dirty. What did you do?"

My mother appeared behind him. "Yes, for goodness sakes, Bellatrix, what happened?"

Oh, not much. I just made out with some complete stranger. Some superpowerful wizard lord who is questionably older than I am. All of this took place in those woods back there while you all were being your usual vapid selves.

I thought fast. "I needed some air so I went outside and I tripped on a branch."

My mother raised her eyebrows. "A branch?"

"Yes, there was a branch," I repeated. Because, technically, there had been a branch. Multiple branches, in fact. I didn't want to have this conversation with her. I walked back into the dining room.

"Young lady," she said sharply. "Are you sure you want to go back in there looking like that?"

"Yes," I said. "I am hungry." Sullenly, I took my place in between Andromeda and Rodolphus.

Rodolphus smirked as I sat down. "Look what the cat drug in," he scoffed. He lowered his voice. "And what I wouldn't give to be the cat who had his way with you."

"Shove off, Rodolphus," I said, willing my cheeks to not blush red. "Nobody had his way with me, I fell."

"I'd imagine you'd be hard to have," he whispered.

"I said I fell, and that's the end of it!"

"Oh, sure," Rodolphus said condescendingly. "You're an angel, Bella. An absolute angel. Toujors pur."

Andromeda kicked me under the table. "You can lie to Rodolphus if you want," she whispered. "But you better tell me and Cissy the full story later."

"There's nothing to tell," I insisted.

Andromeda just laughed. "Oh. Okay. Because falling down makes you look like that, and is definitely the reason you're staring off into space with the same expression Cissy makes when she looks at Lucius. Speaking of, she's a complete nincompoop around him when you're not here to stop her."

"Are you surprised?" I whispered back. "I love the girl to death but she's a total airhead. She'd be lost without me."

Later that night, after the guests had finally gone home and Sirius had been put to bed, I sat up with Narcissa and Andromeda.

"I'm going to marry Lucius," Narcissa declared.

"You're an idiot," Andromeda replied.

"But he loves me," Narcissa insisted. "And I love him. So we're getting married."

"You're not old enough," Andromeda argued.

"Well, it isn't like we're getting married tomorrow," Narcissa said with an eye roll. "But we will, one day."

"How do you know?" Andromeda insisted. "You're thirteen years old. You don't know what love is."

"Just because no one will ever love you—" Narcissa began.

"Oh!" Andromeda shouted. "There you go again! Always jealous because I'm smart and get good marks. Well, I'd rather be smart than a shallow, empty-headed beauty queen!"

"Would both of you shut up?" I cried. I was sick of this conversation. This wasn't a new argument. Ever since my youngest sister had started school, she and Dromeda's sibling rivalry had escalated. Narcissa was classically pretty and instantly popular. Andromeda was the more quiet and studious of the two. Neither one of them saw me as much of a threat. I was just weird. I didn't even own a hairbrush. (Despite being one of the most commonly said things about me, it was A: not a very good insult and B: utterly false. There is a distinct difference between not owning a hairbrush and not caring to use one.)

And yet it was I, the least popular of the Black sisters, who had caught the attention of a wizarding lord.

"Tell us about your evening, Bella," Narcissa said.

I recounted in detail how I had met Lord Voldemort, and all of our conversations and… affections.

"That was really stupid," Andromeda declared. "You don't even know this man."

Narcissa sighed. "Honestly, Andromeda, you're so boring!" she declared. "It's incredibly romantic, Bella. But think about Rodolphus. He loves you so much, and you two are absolutely perfect for each other!"

"How?" I asked. "In what world are Rodolphus and I 'perfect' for each other? What do we have in common?"

Narcissa shrugged. "You're both purebloods," she said.

"Oh. Well. In that case." I rolled my eyes.

"And he obviously adores you," she continued.

"He doesn't even know me," I said.

"Nonsense," Andromeda said. "You've grown up together. Of course he knows you."

I shook my head. "He knows who he thinks I am," I explained. "But he doesn't know me, know me."

"And this… Voldemort fellow—he knows you, knows you?" Andromeda asked, condescending air painfully apparent.

"It was like he could see right through me," I said. "I don't expect you to understand, Dromeda."

"He's a complete stranger," Andromeda said disdainfully. "I really thought better of you. He could see right through you, alright, and see that you were just a naïve little girl who wants to play tough because she's got something to prove."

"You don't understand, Dromeda," I insisted. "You weren't there. You don't know what he's like."

"Enough of this 'no one understands me' act, Bella," Andromeda snapped. "If being born into a privileged family was so rough, you'd think Cissy and I would be at least a bit damaged. But we're not. You know why? Because there is absolutely nothing wrong. You're such a little drama queen! Running away like we keep you enslaved. Coming back without even bothering to tidy up. And then you wonder why nobody thinks you're anything but a brat and a whore."

Tears stung the back of my eyes. "I hate you. You're as bad as Mother is. I'm going to bed."

An owl from Lord Voldemort came the next day. Everything about his writing was poetic and wild and reminded me of him.

Sirius had purchased some Muggle game called an Ouija board and snuck it in without Mother noticing. While I thought the game was dumb, I admired his guts for bringing a Muggle artifact into the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and agreed to play it with him and Narcissa.

"It can tell the future," Sirius explained. "You hold this little thingy and ask it a question and it spells out the answer with magic."

"It isn't magic," I said. "Wizards have magic. Muggles just have cheap tricks."

Narcissa went first. "Who am I going to marry?" she asked.

L U C

"Oh for goodness sakes!" I cried. "She's pushing it!"

I U S

"I was not!" Narcissa exclaimed. "It says I'm going to marry Lucius!"

"Wow, there's a surprise," Sirius muttered under his breath.

I laughed. As much as the little brat annoyed me, he was the only one in this family whose sarcasm could rival mine. "Okay, let me try," I said, taking the little reader. I didn't want to ask who I would marry. Because truth is, unless I could figure out a way to run off and be with Voldemort, I would probably marry Rodolphus. I didn't want to face the reality of it. So I decided to have fun with it. Not, of course, that I believed in it. "Who do I belong with?"

For a moment, it didn't move. Of course it didn't move. It wasn't real. It was a cheap Muggle toy.

T

It startled me.

O M

"T… O… M…" Sirius said. "Who's Tom?"

Narcissa and I exchanged glances. "I don't know any Toms…" she said.

"I take back what I said. It's real. Now who the hell is Tom?"

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