*hangs head in shame* I'm slow…very very slow. I'm aware of it and I'm working on it. I'm still not finished chapter six but it's about half way done. Now about chapter 5…I kind have a love/hate relationship with it. I'll let you guys decide if it's good or not.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing, for a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell-broth boil and bubble." -William Shakespeare (Macbeth)

In a lion's den

5: Trick or treat

Ah Halloween…is there anything more exciting and more amusing then Halloween? No, other day could a child consume inhumane amounts of candy without being scolded. No other day could a child get away with playing pranks on their elders without ending up punished. Halloween was every child's favorite day…except for Bellatrix, that is.

In fact, Halloween would soon become one of the young Black's least favorite days of the year.

It was noisy, too noisy for a Friday morning. Why were there so many voices in her room? The voices were making it impossible for her to catch the few last minutes of sleep she had before she would have to get up for breakfast. Too late, she was awake and would never be able to fall back into that pleasant dreamless sleep. Now, Bellatrix would be forced to get up and make sure to severely hex whoever was ruining the only thing she loved these days; sleep.

Waking up was a tricky thing for a Black. Having to wake up in a room occupied by three other girls only made things worse. Before the young witch could sit up, she had to discreetly make sure her hair was acceptable, wipe the dust from her eyes and make sure she didn't have (Merlin forbid) bad morning breath, all the while pretending to be asleep. Having completed all the aforementioned ordeals, Bellatrix sat up, appearing to have just woken up. Her eyes ran across three faces that she was not particularly pleased to see. The first was of the very stubborn Alice. So stubborn, in fact, that she rivaled Bellatrix in that domain. The second face was that of stuck-up Giselle Rousseau, the French beauty who had been brought up by her aunt and uncle in Britain. The last and very least was that of little blond 'angel' Sarah; the filthy mudblood. In short, Bellatrix was far from pleased.

"Good morning Black." Alice smiled. She sat on the end of her own bed, swinging her short legs back and forth as if waking up this early was fun.

Luckily, the two other girls quickly stopped talking, 'subtly' moving away from Bellatrix. They never knew how to act around the Black. Giselle, surprisingly shy for a Gryffindor, never dared speak to her. Sarah, always eager to meet new people, had tried to befriend her at first…she did not try for very long. Now, whenever they were confined the same room, Sarah and Giselle resorted to avoid her as much as possible while Alice continued to be, well…Alice.

"Alice." Bellatrix gave her a curt nod having decided many days ago that it would be easier to acknowledge the girl's existence rather then put all the effort into ignoring her. This task was made slightly more tolerable by the fact that she was a pure-blood.

"Excited?"

Bellatrix frowned as she got out of her bed, already regretting having to wake up.

"For?"

"Halloween! Our first Halloween at Hogwarts! I heard Dumbledore's organizing something special for the feast tonight. Aren't you excited?"

"Ecstatic."

That was the end of their brief conversation. Alice was never one to like sarcasm that much. "Sarcasm is a cheap form of humor." That's what she always said whenever Bellatrix resorted to it as a reply. The black-haired witch didn't mind, though. In fact, she often used sarcasm to get Alice to stop talking to her.

Unfortunately, the nervous silence that the room had falling under did not last long. Inspired by Alice's confidence, the other girls resumed their conversation, deciding to ignore Bellatrix instead of avoiding her.

"So Sarah, what's Halloween like in the Muggle world?"

Bellatrix stiffened. Muggle life…It was about as taboo in her family as disowned family members. Hearing her three roommates talk about it now was unnerving. She picked up her pace, eager to be out of there.

"Well I couldn't compare it to wizard Halloween seeing as this is my first..." Sarah began, running a brush through her blond curls.

"But we basically get to celebrate it by dressing up."

"Dressing up?" Giselle repeated, puzzled. She was trying to straighten her tie with little success.

"Well yes. Originally, you were meant to dress up as something scary; like a werewolf or a vampire or even a witch."

Bellatrix froze. Were muggles parading around as witches this very moment? She had never heard of anything more ridiculous or more insulting in her entire life!

"-but these days, lots of kids like to dress up as other things like their favorite television character or a princess or a ninja or even the tooth fairy. Stuff like that. And you go around door-to-door and people have to give you sweets or you get to trick them! That's why it's called Trick or Treat!"

Bellatrix stood there, comb in one hand and wand in the other, watching the girl in disbelief. She knew muggles were disgusting creatures but begging? They actually went around like beggars? And for what? Sweets?

"What's called Trick or Treat?" Alice questioned, going over to aid Giselle in her hopeless attempt at fixing her tie.

While Sarah continued to explain about the muggle world, Bellatrix stood still, frowning. At first, she had only been horrified and disgusted but now, getting over the shock of hearing more about muggles, she was slowly noticing something else about this situation. Both Alice and Giselle seemed captivated by her muggle stories, as if they hadn't heard anything quite so amazing. But that didn't make sense…why would they be when they had her, a pureblood right there in front of them. Why were they paying so much attention to a mudblood who wasn't worth the dirt on her shoe? For two months now, everyone had ignored her (except for Alice) and yet, Sarah was getting along perfectly fine! It simply did not make sense. Not only that, but it also infuriated her. It wasn't fair! She was a pureblood. A Black! She had been blessed from birth with everything! So why was it that the little mudblood seemed happier then she did? Why was she the one with all the friends?

Outraged, Bellatrix snatched her bagpacks from the foot of her bed and stormed out of the room, her wand creating red sparks and a loud bang as she slammed the door behind her.

The three girls stared at the closed door in shock.

"Did I say something wrong?" Sarah asked, brow creased with worry.

"Nah…"Alice assured her. "She's been grumpier then usual ever since Gryffindor won the Quiditch game."

xxxxxxx

Lessons went by slowly that day. Bellatrix went from class to class, determined to only waste her energy on things worth her while; like getting the best grades possible. Bellatrix didn't care if it was Halloween. She didn't care if this morning used to be saved for dressing up in pretty dresses with her sisters and doing her hair. She didn't care if Halloween evening used to mean a party where she and her sisters used to go explore their Host's house. She did not care if the evening would always end with the trio on the floor, rolling around laughing. She didn't care if Halloween was one of the rare occasions she saw her father laugh and her mother smile. She didn't care at all. To her, this year's Halloween would be like any other day; terrible.

And so far, her intuition proved to be right. In fact, it seemed like someone somewhere was personally making sure to ruin her day. In one single day she had tripped over her robes and sent tumbling down the last few steps; choked on her pumpkin juice; gotten into a fight with a bunch of Ravenclaws during Transfiguration for being forced to pair up with them; gotten into a fight with a bunch of Gryffindors during Charms for no reason whatsoever; ridiculed by her cousin and his friends during Potions. The list went on and yet Bellatrix stood tall and proud…with a runny nose, that is.

xxxxxx

Herbology; the single most useless class ever. The only thing that could make this class worse was the fact that it was freezing outside and couldn't possibly be any warmer in the greenhouse. Bellatrix traipsed towards the conservatory, wishing she hadn't burnt her Gryffindor scarf.

The days were growing shorter and colder. Bellatrix could tell that the sun would soon begin to set, just in time for the Halloween feast; the very feast she was dreading. She didn't want to sit with the Gryffindors and share their food. She didn't want to put the effort into making everything about her look so effortlessly perfect. But she had to. Almost a week ago, Professor McGonagall began to notice the lacking appearance of her most troublesome student during mealtimes and ordered her to attend every meal under the threat of noticing her parents. So now Bellatrix was forced to join her fellow classmates in the oh-so-happy time that was Halloween.

"Now who can tell me what this is?"

The Herbology professor, Herbert Beery, waddled his way through the rows of children holding a large dirt-filled pot with leaves sticking out of it.

Bellatrix looked around at the others and was completely exasperated when nobody raised their hand to answer. Well it wasn't a surprise really. After all, she was in a room full of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Once again, Bellatrix would be forced to answer all the questions, 'unintentionally' proving how well-educated she was.

"Yes Black?" The teacher said as Bellatrix raised her hand.

"I believe that is what we call a Mandrake, sir, also known as a Mandragora. The cry of a fully-grown Mandrake is fatal while that of a young one will only knock you unconscious."

"Right answer." Beery said, delicately putting down the pot "Five points for Gryffin-"

"Uh sir?"

"Yes Black? Anything to add?" He flicked his wand, sending a pile of earmuffs in every direction; one for each student.

Bellatrix nodded.

"I don't think points are necessary for answering such an easy question."

There was a large amount of angry hisses and furious glares from the Gryffindors and some confused whispers and raised eyebrows from the Hufflepuffs. Beery stared at his student with a puzzled expression stretched across his face.

"I'm afraid it's not for you to decide. You should simply be happy you won your House some points."

"But honestly sir! I really don't think you should give me points!"

The teacher stared at her for a moment, in puzzled silence.

"Five points for Gryffindor. This discussion is over now, Black. Although I cannot fathom what would make you want to keep your House from winning the House cup…" The large professor began passing out the pots, all the while mumbling under his breath something about modesty and Hufflepuff.

Much to Bellatrix's great annoyance, Alice took advantage of the teacher's inattention in order to discreetly make her way towards her and whispered angrily in her ear:

"What was that? You're a Gryffindor so start acting like one and help us get some points!"

Bellatrix shrugged, giving her an icy smile. If Alice was ready to accord more respect to a mudblood then to a Black, then she was unworthy of Bellatrix's time.

"I'm not a Gryffindor, you daft girl. I'm a Slytherin."

Luckily for her, at that very moment the teacher instructed them to put on the earmuffs allowing her to easily ignore Alice's angry whispers.

Xxxxxxxx

"Hey Black!"

Bellatrix, who has been heading for the exit, having been dismissed by Beery, stopped with a heavy sigh and turned to see who was trying to pick a fight with her this time. Three young first years stood together, fuming. Of course, Bellatrix instantly recognized Alice Thompson. Next to her stood Collin Wood and a Hufflepuff who went by the name of Marlene McKinnon. Further away, Giselle watched with apprehension.

"What?" Bellatrix replied, deciding to keep her cool.

"You know very well what!" Collin exclaimed. "You better start acting like a Gryffindor or you'll have to deal with us!"

Bellatrix gave a humorless laugh, knowing it would only enrage them more.

"Is that a threat? You should be careful, Wood." She spat his name as if it were an insult. "Even a brainless fool like yourself knows how dangerous it is to disrespect a Black."

She could almost feel the hate radiating off of the boy's body. For a moment, his hand hovered over his wand pocket and Bellatrix was almost certain he would attack her. Surprisingly, after a moment's hesitation, he dropped his hand to his side and said with a surprising amount of control:

"One day, Black…you'll need our help and we'll see then how powerful you really are when you're alone."

Xxxxxxx

Bellatrix was hurrying down the empty hallway, all the while cursing McGonagall for making her attend the Halloween feast. She was late once again, having just escaped another tiring quarrel with her fellow Gryffindors in the greenhouse. She didn't see why she would have to help them get points. It wasn't like she was forced to compete against Slytherin just because she was in the wrong House. Now all she had to do was get to the Gryffindor tower, drop her schoolbag and get to that damn fea-

Splash!

Bellatrix froze in horror. Her eyes dropped to watch tiny rivers of water running down the cracks in the stone floor between her feet and the piece of rubber lying limply in the middle of the puddle. She could almost feel him behind her, just waiting for her to turn to get her right in the fac-

Splash!

The young witch let out a small cry as a water balloon hit her in the back of the head, soaking her.

"PEEVES!" She roared, reeling around with a look of murderous intent. Anybody else would instantly stop smiling at the sight of Bellatrix's scariest glare but not Peeves; he simply went on grinning, holding another water balloon in his hand.

Onyx eyes traveled towards the rubber balloon and then back up to meet the poltergeist's devious smirk.

"You wouldn't dar-"

Splash!

xxxx

"We should hurry or all the good food will be gone." Collin Wood muttered as he and his two friends hurried down the hallways.

"Yeah." Giselle agreed. "I can't believe the Fat Lady decided to change the password today of all da-"

A high pitched shriek echoed through the hall, bringing the three students to a stop.

"What was that?" Marlene McKinnon gasped, glancing behind them as if expecting the answer show up at any moment.

"No idea. Maybe a banshee?"

"You know…" Giselle murmured. "That sounded an awful lot like Bl-"

"Help meeeeee! Black is going to kill Peevsieeee!"

The poltergeist zoomed past them, howling madly with laughter.

"What the-?"

Marlene never had the time to finish her sentence because something short and wet collided with her, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Get out of the way mudblood!" A soaking Bellatrix screamed; wand out and looking absolutely furious as she skidded around the corner and out of sight.

The three first years stood (well except for Marlene who was, in fact, sitting) in silence, staring at the last place they'd seen Bellatrix. Giselle wasn't certain if she wanted to laugh or shout. Bellatrix had, after all, just called her friend a mudblood and pushed her quite brutally to the ground but on the other hand…it was a rare threat to see the gloomy girl soaking wet and looking quite positively mad. Apparently even the Blacks lost their cool.

"Wow…" Wood breathed, holding out his hand for Marlene to get back up. "I guess Peeves found himself a victim after all."

"Should we go-?"

"Help?" Marlene grinned, rubbing her backside. "No way am I helping Her Highness. I might be a Hufflepuff but I still deserve respect. Anyways she's 'pure' enough to deal with him by herself."

Giselle glanced at Wood and then back at Marlene, resisting the urge to laugh.

"Come on…we'll miss the feast." Wood smirked, taking her hand and pulling her forwards.

xxxxx

"PEEVES!"

Bellatrix tore down the flight of stairs and ran down another hallway, after the laughing poltergeist who was flinging water balloons at her as he flew backwards.

"Help I'm under attack! Somebody come save me from the Black!" He sang.

Bellatrix had finally cracked and was now putting up a good chase; determined to make the ghost pay. Sure it wasn't his fault that her day had been the absolute worst of her life but Bellatrix wanted revenge and he would be the one to suffer it.

She shot spell after spell hoping to hit him eventually but Peeves simply zoomed out of the way, sticking his tongue out at her. She was catching up on him. She was getting closer to her goal when-

"Bellatrix Black?"

Bellatrix skidded to a stop right beside with her would-be-victim.

"Peeves…"

Before the pair stood the Bloody Baron and an older Slytherin student who looked awfully familiar to the Gryffindor. The student stared at her in mild shock and amusement while the ghost watched Peeves with a look of annoyance and boredom.

"What are you doing?" The Slytherin ghost asked in a low irritated voice.

The question was directed at the poltergeist whose eyes were wide with what was supposed to be innocence.

"Peeves had his fun now it's time to run!" He chirped, sinking into the ground and out of sight.

If it wasn't for the fact that the rather imposing ghost and his Slytherin companion were standing in front of her, silently evaluating her pathetic state, Bellatrix would have already been down the next flight of stairs and after Peeves again. But she couldn't very well leave now, not when there were some Slytherins to impress (she seemed to have forgotten how terrible she looked). So she simply stood still, fuming.

"Baron you should go on to the feast." The student said, keeping his cool eyes on the young witch. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Very well." The ghost sighed, gliding slowly away. "But don't be too late and make sure this young lady comes as well. We can't leave those Gryffindors alone for a second without them poking their noses in other people's business." And with that he disappeared into the stone wall leaving an awkward silence in his wake.

Bellatrix glanced up at the older boy cautiously. She was furiously thinking of interesting topics to discuss with him and what to reply if…or actually when he decided to start making fun of her. The Slytherin, on the other hand, simply watched her with mild amusement and curiosity. He didn't look thrilled to see her, true enough, but at least he wasn't wrinkling his nose in disgust and calling her names.

"Bellatrix Black, right?" He broke the silence, holding out his hand.

Even that simple gesture of respect nearly sent Bellatrix into a state of shock. A hand shake? She hadn't been offered one of those in months!

"Y-yes." She stuttered, silently cursing herself for sounding so nervous. After all, he was an older Slytherin boy who had just offered to shake her hand as an equal.

"So why are you soaking wet?" He asked as they began to make their way down the hallway.

"Umm…I had herbology and I got caught in the rain." She lied, thankful for the fact that there were no windows in that particular hallway.

"Rain?" His eyebrows rose in slight disbelief. "It looked like a clear sky when I was out."

"Yes well…you know what autumn's like; one moment it's sunny the next it's pouring." Not that that was exactly true but hopefully he wouldn't stick to the subject for much longer.

He frowned and opened his mouth to reply when Bellatrix quickly blurted out:

"I'm sorry but do I know you? You look familiar."

Luckily he decided to drop the subject. He nodded.

"Yes you've been to my house a couple of times for some social events… In fact, I do recall one particularly boring cocktail during which I found you exploring my little brother's room."

"Little brother?"

"Well yes. Rabastan Lestrange? He's in your year."

Bellatrix mentally kicked herself for not spotting the resemblance sooner. Of course! He was Rodolphus Lestrange! The eldest son of the Lestranges! Being out of touch with the rest of the pureblood world really was taking its toll on her. The similarity was remarkable although Rodolphus seemed a couple years older; around 13 or 14 and she had to say that he was also slightly better looking.

"Yes of course! I know him!" She exclaimed.

"Rabastan was actually quite excited about going to Hogwarts with you."

Bellatrix couldn't keep a look of utter shock off her face. It was strange to consider the fact that Rabastan might have wanted to be her friend when now all he ever did was laugh at her.

"Well that was before the whole Gryffindor fiasco." He added bluntly. "I don't know what you were thinking but obviously you weren't thinking much if the Hat placed you in Gryffindor."

"I was thinking!" Bellatrix replied, turning pink. "It's Dumbledore fault! The old fool obviously wanted to make his House more powerful by integrating more purebloods into it."

Rodolphus nodded but said nothing. Bellatrix wasn't certain what he was thinking but she was fairly certain he didn't believe her. Surprisingly enough, still he walked beside her without complaint which not only pleased her but also puzzled her immensely.

"So why were you chasing Peeves anyways?" Rodolphus asked as they drew closer to the Great Hall. Bellatrix was beginning to catch whiffs of what she assumed was the Halloween feast. For the first time in what seemed like ages, her stomach answered to the irresistible call of the feast, aching uncomfortably.

"He-I…He was insulting some Slytherins." She spluttered, getting a sinking feeling that she was digging her own grave but was unable to stop. "I thought I'd teach him a lesson to respect his superiors."

They entered the Great Hall which was decorated with giant pumpkins, animated bats and orange streamers, the delicious aroma of food wafting pleasantly in the air and the sound of laughter filling the room.

For the first time, Bellatrix actually felt glad as she walked beside Rodolphus, heading towards the Slytherin table where its occupants watched the pair curiously.

"Hey Rab." Rodolphus said as he drew near his little brother and his friends. "Did you hear what Bellatrix did? Apparently Peeves was disrespecting some Slytherins so she decided to teach him a lesson. Isn't that right Bellatrix?"

The young witch felt herself turn slightly pink as she shook her head.

"So…is that why he decided to throw water balloons at you?"

"Yes. And he-"

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself and Bellatrix went pale as she realized what a terrible mistake she had made. She looked up at him with wide horrified eyes and was greeted by a sneer.

"No I meant that I-"

"It's raining…right." He jeered, his eyes narrowed with malice as the others laughed along, uncertain of what was going on.

"Peeves comes down the hallway with a water balloon in hand and you follow, dripping wet. Do you honestly believe that I cannot put two and two together?"

"No that's not it…" Bellatrix struggled to find a reasonable explanation but she knew that she had already lost.

"It's bad enough that you can't even dodge one of Peeves' pitiful attacks but then you try and lie to me. And what a pathetic excuse for a lie it was. You know, if you can't even come up with a simple lie then you really do deserve to be in Gryffindor."

And with that, he went to sit with his fellow third years, leaving the young girl alone with a group of laughing Slytherins.

It took every bit of strength Bellatrix Black had left in order to keep her bottom lip from trembling. She turned on her heels and stormed back out of the Great Hall with her head held high but heart in pieces. She passed professor McGonagall who called out to her, ordering her to stay where she was but the little witch did not listen. She had lost her appetite anyways.

Halloween had definitely turned out to be Bellatrix's worst day of the year.

Once again a big thanks to xoxLewrahxox. Please don't forget to REVIEW! You all probably know how great it is to receive feedback for your work. Next chapter: Bella and Evans have a... talk?

Happy New Year people! Lots of love from the Silly Frog!