The door of the bedroom burst open and Rose woke with a start.
"Get up, sleeping beauty! This is your big day!" Bellatrix Lestrange exclaimed and went to the window to unveil the curtains.
She was followed by another woman, a beautiful woman, Rose noticed. She had long blond hair, blue eyes and a perfect figure. Her face, though, seemed to be carved in ice. She didn't even look at Rose when she placed a couple of boxes on the bed.
Bellatrix came closer and tilted the girl's head to the side with her cold hand.
"She looks awful, Cissy!" she said with a frown.
Of course I look awful, you stupid hag! I've been tortured and threatened by your precious master! thought Rose, but kept her mouth shut.
It was then, that she realised what these two witches were actually saying.
"My big day? The wedding is today?!"
"And when would you want it to be? Next year? No, no, we have to make sure that your dear Dumbledore won't make it in time to save you... Personally, I hoped that the Dark Lord would torture you to get information about the Order but this is going to be much funnier! I wonder for how long will you survive..."
Rose was on the verge of tears. Bellatrix noticed.
"Oh, please! Enough of your whining! You must look presentable this afternoon. You'll eat breakfast now and then we'll start preparations. Ministry official will be here at 4 p.m. You will not cry. You'll say the vows and you'll eat and smile at your wedding reception. It'll be just a dinner, Barty doesn't want anything showy."
Rose ate her meal in silence and waited for the women to come back. She was still in shock and couldn't think properly. There was no chance for her to escape, so she just sat there, her mind blurry from fear.
After one hour, the blond woman entered the bedroom, pointed at the door opposite the bed and said quietly,
"There's a bathroom. Take a shower and wash your face. When you're done, come here immediately."
Rose got up and headed towards the door. While in the shower, she seriously considered committing suicide.
Maybe I could drown myself, or cut my veins... It would be no use, though, because the Ice Queen would 'save' me in no time and then I'd suffer something worse than Cruciatus. The girl chuckled at the thought.What is going on with me? Am I becoming mad just like Crouch?
When she exited the bathroom, she noticed that Bellatrix had joined the blond woman. The crazy witch was sitting on a window sill, grinning widely. The other one was preparing cosmetics on a dressing table near the window.
"Come", she said, "I'll try to do something about those swollen eyes of yours. You can't show yourself before our Lord while looking like that."
Rose sat in the chair and glanced at her reflection in a mirror. She looked terrible. Bellatrix smiled at her mischievously.
"Who are you?" Rose asked the blond witch, ignoring the mad one as she didn't want to provoke her.
Sadly, her companion wasn't very talkative. She hadn't responded to any of Rose's questions, pretending to be busy with doing the girl's hair and make-up. Bellatrix, however, was eager to 'cheer up' the bride, and related every dreadful thing she and Crouch had done during summer. Most of her stories contained hunting and torturing mudbloods, some of them were about rapes which many Death Eaters liked to commit on their victims. She told her about Greyback, the cruel werewolf on Voldemort's command. After that, she went on to tell Rose, and spared no detail, about the Longbottoms and how they'd lost their minds.
The girl sat silently through whole ordeal, clenching her fists but not dropping a tear. She knew that Bellatrix had been waiting for her to crumble so she could torment her further. Time had seemed to slow down and every passing minute felt like an hour.
"You've made her very pretty, Cissy," said Bellatrix with a smirk, when the other witch had ended her work on Rose's hair and make-up. "It will be real shame to ruin such good work... Let's hope Barty won't leave any bruises on her face. I have to remind him to cover everything before letting her go outside. If someone were to see her beaten up, it would be a huge problem for us."
The woman's smile grew wider, when she continued, "Well, maybe he'll keep her in his house until she bears him a child, without letting her go anywhere, and then he'll kill her. I wouldn't want some ungrateful blood-traitor to rear my child. I bet he'll dispose of her just after she gives birth."
Rose felt goosebumps on her arms. Desperately, she tried to hide her fear but deep inside she knew that both women were perfectly aware of her panic. Her head felt heavy and the room started to spin when 'Cissy' ordered her to get up and undress. She removed her clothes obediently behind a screen which the older woman had earlier conjured. They gave her white, lacy lingerie and started to dress her in her wedding gown. It was simple, with few small pearls embroidered on the corset. Bellatrix bound the laces on Rose's back so tight, that the girl could barely breathe.
"Don't you worry, dear", she sneered, "Barty will get you free, when he rips it off."
They pinned on a white flower in Rose's hair.
"A rose for Rose," Bellatrix whispered mockingly near the girl's ear.
Someone knocked at the door.
"It's time," came masculine voice from the hallway.
"We're ready, Lucius," responded the blond witch.
The door was opened and Lucius Malfoy strode into the room. He quickly appraised Rose's appearance and said,
"Well done Narcissa, I'm sure that Bartemius will appreciate your work."
"Aren't you forgetting about someone, dear brother-in-law?" said Bellatrix with a frown.
"Yes, Bella, you did good job too, but something tells me that you were rather a bother than a help here," he said with a smirk.
"Let's not argue now," Narcissa quickly interrupted when Bellatrix opened her mouth to talk back.
Lucius gave the dark-haired witch a dirty look and offered his arm to Rose.
"Come, I shall lead you to the altar."
You mean gallows, thought Rose, but took his arm obediently and proceeded with him down the hallway, Bellatrix and Narcissa close behind them.
It all felt like a dream. Nightmare, in fact. She barely noticed when they'd entered a big room where Voldemort, Crouch and some man unknown to Rose stood. The man must have been a ministry official as he stood in the centre. Crouch was waiting in front of him with indifferent expression. Voldemort stood nearby, observing calmly the whole situation.
"Ladies and gentlemen. We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls..." said the official.
Faithful souls? Was he blind? Didn't he see that it was all a farce? Rose wanted to shout at him to stop this nonsense, to beg him for help, but she knew that it would be useless.
The ceremony wasn't long. For Rose it went almost too quickly.
"I, Bartemius, take you, Rose, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part."
She had no choice but to repeat his words,
"I, Rose, take you, Bartemius, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part."
Tears brimmed her eyes when it was all over and the ceremony official declared them to be husband and wife.
"You may now kiss the bride," the man said with a sickening, sweet smile.
Crouch leaned forward and Rose shut her eyes when he gave her a quick kiss. When she opened them he offered her his arm without sparing her a glance and led her to a room where Voldemort have been threatening her the day before. They sat at the table in silence. Voldemort congratulated them as if they were a perfectly normal couple. Bellatrix looked at Rose from time to time, grinning widely.
Rose barely touched her food. She was afraid that her fork would fall from her grip, her hands were shaking so violently. She hid them under the table, glancing nervously at her new husband. He looked completely calm, he wasn't smiling, but he didn't have a frown on his face either. He was eating his meal slowly, speaking only to answer a few questions from his master. To Rose, he appeared awfully normal. If she saw him on the street, she would never consider him an insane person. He was actually quite handsome.
No, no, no, he's not handsome. Monsters are not pretty, thought Rose.
After all, Dumbledore said once that Voldemort had been a very handsome young man too, before he destroyed himself with Dark Magic. He had been using his good looks to manipulate people and get what he wanted from them.
Will he beat me tonight? wondered Rose, Will he take me by force? He hasn't spoken a word to me. Will he ever talk with me? Will I be tortured? Humiliated? Will he respect me just a little?
It was dark outside, when Voldemort stood up and spoke,
"Thank you for your company, my friends. I presume it's time for the newlyweds to spend some time alone, at their home."
After that he exited the room. Everyone, except Rose, bowed at this.
Crouch took her by the arm and stepped into the large fireplace, leaving the rest in silence. They swirled and turned for a minute, than came out on a carpet in a large living room. It was furnished with dark green. There was a baroque couch and armchairs, and a table and bookcases with glass shelves, these pieces looked like they were made from oak and a couple centuries old, for sure. The room would be quite pleasant if it wasn't for the feeling of it having not being inhabited for a long time. There was an unsettling silence in the house.
"Where are we?" asked Rose quietly.
"At home," her husband responded and without another word led her out of the room.
They climbed the stairs and after some time they stopped in front of wooden door. Crouch opened them and pushed the girl inside. The room contained large, four-posted bed, a desk, a dressing table, a wardrobe and small bookcase. The curtains of the bed and on the windows, the upholstering of armchairs were all cream-coloured. The walls were painted purple, the ceiling was also cream-coloured as was the fluffy rug which lay on the floor. The bedroom was lit by a small lamp on the bedside table.
Rose was standing in the middle of the room when she heard the door close. She turned around and saw her new husband, who was now grinning widely, slowly approaching her. He flicked his tongue in a snake-like way. She stepped back and immediately burst into tears.
"No, no, you don't have to be afraid of me," he told her, taking slow steps towards her.
His expression, though, showed that she had every right to be terrified. Rose sobbed when he leaned forward to took the white rose out of her hair. He held it in front of her eyes when he spoke to her. His smile was gone now, and he looked at her seriously.
"If you'll be obedient, I won't have to hurt you. Try to escape and I'll punish you severely. Fight back and you'll know what real pain is."
After these quiet words, he crushed the flower in his hand. White petals fell on the floor. Rose trembled uncontrollably and sunk onto her knees.
"No, please, I beg you, don't do it! Don't! Wait just one week, one day, but not now, please!" She cried while clutching his legs. She didn't care that she looked pathetic, all that she could think of was to somehow avoid the unavoidable. Crouch seemed to be unfazed by her pleadings. He bent down and lifted her up in his arms, before placing her on the bed.
"It has to be done now," he whispered as a wicked smile of before returned on his face now.
Then he kissed her gently. She tried to push him away, but he just held her tighter.
"Don't fight," the man purred. "You belong to me. The Dark Lord said so. Nothing is going to change that."
Rose let out a small whimper but stopped resisting. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the warm feeling of her mother's arms, the safety of her little flat, Sirius's jokes and Dumbledore's smile...Everything, just to shut herself off from the man in front of her.
The night went on peacefully as Barty Crouch Jr. claimed her as his own.
That's it, please let me know what you think :)
Thanks to my beta for making corrections, it's really helpful:)
