Let me breathe a moment of peace

This last draught of fresh air

I want to dedicate myself only

To my dearest feelings…

~Eros Ramazzotti, "Un Attimo di pace"

Bellatrix didn't know what to do. She must obey to the Dark Lord, this she knew, but something held her back from fulfilling his wishes and simply kill the baby now growing inside her. She had never disobeyed him before in her life, and she had always known she never would. She couldn't object to him; if killing the baby was what he deemed to be right, then that was what she ought to do.

Perhaps, she thought, he was right. After all, he was always right, and he never took decisions without fully knowing the consequences, and he had proven that to her many times in the past.

Bellatrix thought he must have had his reasons for not wanting the baby. Of course, after all, she was the one who had thought of abortion so many times in the past, before she had told her master. And what had changed now? Maternal instincts, perhaps? No, that was stupid.

Bellatrix had no idea why she had suddenly wanted to keep the child, but what she did know was that she should take that absurd idea out of her mind and do what her lord had asked -no, ordered- her to do. She had no choice, after all. But even if she had, she should comply with what the Dark Lord told her, and never object him. She should get rid of the baby, without any further hesitations.

But there was also something else tormenting her, something she desperately wanted to find out. She still didn't know who the father was, and yet she was almost completely positive that it was the Dark Lord, since she had only slept with Rodolphus once, after whole months of being careful not to even touch him every time they lied on their bed. But still, she couldn't be entirely sure.

There was no way to find out, anyway, since she should get rid of the fetus as quickly as possible, is she did not wish to upset her master. However, there was also something else. She didn't know how, but she just knew that the Dark Lord was going to tell Rodolphus, or her husband was going to find out in some other way.

If she wanted to prevent misunderstandings and possible arguments, she had to tell him herself.

Rodolphus was desperate. It had only been a few hours since he had watched Voldemort remove his wife's clothing and devouring her against the wall, ignoring his cries of protest and shame.

He now didn't know what to believe. He didn't know whether he was doing this to punish him, or his Bella. But he did know that this had to stop, one way or another.

Threatening the Dark Lord had had no results, apart from a well-served round of cruciatus curses, that had made him writhe in agony for over an hour. He still felt as if parts of his body where on fire, and it had taken all of his willpower to stand up and be able to apparate back to his manor. However, he did not mind about the physical pain; the pain in his heart was far, far worse. Once again, he had been unable to protect Bella, and he had left her there, with him.

He felt like a failure. He had failed at everything, and there was nothing, no one to reassure him that he hadn't. Now, all he had to do was to wait. Wait for Bella to return home, after Merlin knows what she would have been through. And yet, he could do nothing to help her.

He didn't know how much time had passed since his arrival at home, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped on his seat and his hand flew to grab his wand from the floor, where he had thrown it, before he realized it was his wife. He quickly turned around to look at her, and blinked before standing up to hug her.

"Bella," he whispered as his arms clung protectively around her, and he was slightly surprised to see that she did not stop him; she did not hug him back, either, she simply stood there, allowing him to hold her in his arms, which he did for several long seconds. Once he pulled back a little, he looked into her deep brown eyes, never letting go of her.

"I'm so sorry," he said desperately, "I didn't do anything, I know I should have-"

"Rod, I'm fine," she cut him off and pulled away from him, straightening her dress.

"Are you sure?" he asked, worrying for her, and perhaps in an attempt to make her feel better. "I could make you something to drink, or eat, and-"

"Rod, we need to talk," she cut him off again, and sat down on one couch, motioning him to do the same. He obliged and took a seat next to her, still feeling a stinging pain through his body as he did so, as the after-effects of his previous punishment.

Bellatrix did not seem to notice the grimace of pain that briefly spread across his face, much to her husband's relief. Rodolphus patiently waited until she finally started to talk.

"Look, Rodolphus," she said after talking a long breath, "there's something you need to know."

He nodded, and waited for her to continue. "Bella, you can tell me anything," he told her after realizing that she was hesitating.

"Yes, I… I know," she said sharply, but then her face softened once again. "But first, rod, you have to promise me something."

"Of course, whatever you want," he replied, wondering what she wanted to tell him that she looked so worried about.

"Just… Just promise me that you won't overreact, alright?"

"Alright," he said, frowning.

She took a deep breath. "Rodolphus, I'm pregnant," she said as quickly as she could, and then bit her lower lip, observing his reactions with worried eyes.

Rodolphus needed a few seconds to realize what she had just told him. After he did, he felt a huge smile spreading across his face, and he instantly felt as if all the pain, both physical and mental, disappeared.

He had wanted a child since the day he had married Bella, and the fact that she had never shared his wishes had upset him, but he had been forced to comply, after she had made clear she did not intend to bear him any heirs. But now, now everything had changed, and he could easily be the happiest man alive, despite all the torments he had been through.

"Bella, that's…That's wonderful," he said, his smile never leaving his face. "It is so wonderful, we are going to be-"

"I'm not keeping it."

"What?" the smile now disappeared, and it was replaced by a grimace of confusion and disbelief.

"I am not keeping it," Bellatrix replied sharply, looking at him through her heavy lidded eyes.

"Bella," Rodolphus started, now feeling as if everything had crashed down around him. They had to keep the baby, it was the only thing that could keep them together through all this madness that was their lives, he couldn't let her kill it! "Bella, you can't do this."

"Of course I can. Tomorrow there will be no fetus, and that's final."

"Bella, please, think rationally! You can't-"

"I am thinking rationally, and that's why there is no way I am going to give birth to it!"

"But think how beautiful it will be, how beautiful we will be all together, we will be parents, isn't this wonderful?" he asked her, fully aware of the fact that his voice now sounded more like a plead. "Bella, we will be parents, we-"

"We won't be parents, Rodolphus!"

"Of course we will, and we will be happy with our child, why don't you just give us a chance?"

"It is not yours, Rodolphus, you are not the father!" she snapped, finally fed up with him. She stood up from the couch and glared down at him. "The Dark Lord is, and he doesn't want it, so I am not going to keep it!"

With those words, she turned her back to him and left the room, without saying anything else, leaving him alone.

He could not believe it. Only a few seconds before he was so happy, he thought he was going to be a father and finally get closer to his Bella, and now he knew that the baby wasn't his. It was Voldemort's, and that man had ordered his wife to get rid of her baby. After everything he had done, after doing all of this, he had gotten her pregnant and now he wanted her to kill the child growing inside her.

He stood up and tried to relax. The baby wasn't his, but he could bear with that. What he had to do now was to comfort Bella. He knew she probably would not be broken, for his Bella was always strong, but he couldn't let her go through this alone. He wanted to be by her side, he wanted her to know that he would support her.

He ran up the stairs and headed to their bedroom, where he supposed she would be. Indeed he found her there, sitting on the edge of the bed, and, to his great surprise, crying. Once she saw him, she stopped abruptly, and awkwardly wiped away her tears.

Without wasting any time, he sat down on the bed next to her, and put an arm around her shoulders. She tried to push him away, but he gently stopped her from moving.

"Bella, don't cry," he said softly, and stroked her hair with one hand, looking straight into her teary eyes.

"Rodolphus, you don't-"

"Shh, you don't have to say anything, Bella, you don't have to cry," he whispered softly, caringly, and she soon seemed to calm down and relax in his arms. "Look, Bella, if you don't want the baby, I am not going to stop you from doing what you want," he told her, and it was the total truth.

"But don't you mind that it is not yours? Don't you mind that I… I-"

"No Bella, it's not your fault," he reassured her and smiled at her. "I love you, and I'm not going to lame you for something that is not your fault."

"You really love me?" she asked through her tears, her voice cracking. Being held like that was something somehow new to her. Oh, how she would want the Dark Lord to hold her like that, whisper like that to her, reassure her that he loved her… But she knew the Dark Lord would never, ever do anything like that. Rodolphus, on the contrary, loved her. He really, honestly, loved her. She didn't know how to feel about this, since she did not share those feelings. But she did feel protected, safe right now, with her husband whispering to her like that. She felt that maybe, just maybe, she did care slightly about him, after all. But she wasn't sure.

"Of course, my love," Rodolphus told her softly, and kissed her tenderly on her lips. "I love you more than anything in this world, and I will never let anyone harm you from now on. I love you, Bella," he whispered, and he was telling her everything he had wanted to tell her since the day they had married, but had always thought that she would laugh at him and leave him.

Bellatrix didn't know what to say. She had no idea. And, despite not being sure about what she was saying, she decided she could tell four words. "I love you, too," she whispered back. When he saw him smile, a smile of pure love and happiness across his face, she regretted saying that. She didn't want to lie to him like that, but, perhaps it wasn't entirely a lie. Perhaps she did care about him, but she knew she ha long ago given her heart to someone else, and she knew she could never take it back.

A.N/ Yay, I updated! *bows once again*

Wow, I feel I went too lovey-dovey towards the end, but, oh well… I just wanted to write some Belladolpus… I'm once again not entirely satisfied with the outcome, I feel I could have done much more with it, but I'm saving it for the next chapter, that will be much longer, since it will probably be the last one… (I'm not sure yet, but maybe it will be).

Anyways, I hope you guys liked the 12th chapter! Thanks to everyone who reads this, and many many special thanks to everyone who takes the time and leaves a review :)