"You know I think it's strange
Just a bit deranged
That you think I'm gonna change."
-Emilie Autumn, "How Strange"
Alice has hopes and dreams, ever the sweet little Gryffindor optimist. She tells Bellatrix about the beautiful future they can have together, painting such a pretty picture with only her words.
"We could run away, you know. Never look back. Just you and me," she says with a small smile. "Find a nice little house in the country and just live."
Bellatrix doesn't return the smile. Pleasant as the dream may sound, it's just that. A dream. Wishful thinking that will never manifest beyond the younger witch's skull.
"And we could- What's wrong? You're scowling."
"You know I can't do that. I'm joining the Dark Lord the moment I leave Hogwarts."
Alice almost deflates, but she catches herself, a fresh, broad smile on her lips. "You don't have to. It isn't as though you're bound to him, right? No contract signed in blood, no soul sold at the crossroads," she insists. "You could change your mind."
You don't understand how she thinks you could change. You've never shown any interest in her little utopian fantasy. You've always worn your desires on your sleeve, right next to your prejudices. You will join the Dark Lord because you know that it is right.
"I can't."
"You mean you won't," she guesses.
"Yes. And you can't change that."
Alice bites her lip, looking down at her feet. "That means-"
"That I will join the Death Eaters as I've always planned to do. And you will join the order and find some nice bloke who can give you your dream of a pretty house and someone to grow old with."
"We'll have to be enemies."
Bellatrix sighs. "I know."