Bellatrix released a low growl as she narrowly avoided being snagged by a hex. A jet of red light flew past her shoulder, and she suddenly felt a tug at her cloak. Although she would have rather held her own on the battlefield, she also knew that they were outnumbered. Her dark eyes met the other ones behind the mask, and she wrestled herself free, ducking down once again as a spell zinged over her head.

"We need to leave," Snape remarked, crouching down behind the stone hedge that they were currently hiding behind, "otherwise they'll have us."

"It's not like they're the Ministry, Snape," Bella snapped, readjusting her cloak as she too crouched nearby. "We can take them!"

"I'd rather live, Bellatrix," he fired back, and a moment later he vanished with a loud 'crack'. Disgusted, she gathered herself together, ensured nothing had been hit or damaged in the scuffle, and then studied the area. There were Death Eaters fleeing the scene everywhere she looked with wizards in hot pursuit. This had turned into such a waste, and the Dark Lord was going to have someone's head over it.

Bellatrix, and several others within the upper ranks, had been assigned a recruiting mission once more. There was a powerful Ancient Runes expert that had become somewhat of a recluse after leaving the Ministry earlier in the year, and had taken to hiding out on a farm in northern Scotland. The Dark Lord had been looking for someone like him for some time now, and short of taking the current professor for the subject out of Hogwarts, he seemed like the best way to go. The mission would be simple, much like it had been with Fenrir. They would go to the farm, remove the man, then bring him back to the Dark Lord so he could make further propositions for the man's servitude. He, like Fenrir, had turned down the Dark Lord twice already, and Bella had a sinking suspicion that his move to this remote sheep-infested hellhole had a lot to do with the fact that many of the men in the lower ranks had taken to harassing him in his home in London. So, that September evening, a group of them left the comforts of home to venture up north for the retrieval. Rodolphus was exempt, as he was developing strange back problems as of late, which Bellatrix teased him for relentlessly. Snape had been in the group, along with Lucius, though at the given moment she was unsure as to where her brother-in-law was.

Everything had started off perfectly fine. There were no protection spells around the property to keep the Death Eaters out, and their arrival was smooth and supposedly unnoticed. Then, out of nowhere, they were ambushed. They had come in a group of around ten, the Death Eaters, simply because of the man's rumoured brilliance, and they wanted all hands on deck. The Order of the bloody Phoenix came with at least twenty people, all of whom were bent on making sure that Bella's target stayed safe within his home. They were outnumbered two to one, and it didn't help that a few fled at the first slew of spells from the seemingly empty field. That left fewer to fight amid the massive bales of hay on the evening late in September, an evening with harsh wind and a sky threatening to pour at any given moment.

The Order of the Phoenix seemed harmless when they first came into existence. In fact, the only way she really knew about them was from rumours. However, over the past year, they had been popping up more frequently than anyone would like to admit, and their only real mission was to ensure that the Dark Lord failed. And for that, Bellatrix hated every single one of them, and should the opportunity arise, she would hardly see anything wrong with killing them on the spot. However, much like the Death Eater's themselves, the Order members were very good at keeping their identities a secret, as well as their headquarters, which made them difficult to track. The Dark Lord had already assigned a specific group that was on that issue, so Bellatrix did her best to ignore them.

Tonight, unfortunately, they were making it bloody well impossible. Bellatrix hated turning her back on a mission, and she absolutely loathed the idea of failing the Dark Lord, but it seemed like there was nothing further she could do. It had been confirmed by a fleeing comrade that the house was protected by Runes in the windows and around the doors, old ones with powerful magic, magic none of them were knowledgeable enough to really understand. That meant apparating directly into the house could have been fatal, and who knew how many more Order members were in there lurking? As she eased herself up, she hurled a string of hexes out into the oblivion, hoping that she might have hit her attacker without actually being able to see them. When no further spells were launched her way, she gingerly poked her head up, the mask hiding her identity knocking against the stone hedge slightly. Nothing. Her former attacker was either down in the grass - which she didn't see - or they had made a run for it, like her 'faithful' Death Eaters were doing.

Frowning, she studied the emptying field on the other side of the stone hedge for a second time, trying to pick out where that sod had gone. Honestly, unless they had vanished into thin air - plausible - they had to be somewhere around here. Her eyes narrowed, completely focused on finding her target, until suddenly a face popped up directly in front of her, accompanied by a man's shout. She released a surprised shriek and tumbled back in shock, landing roughly on her back. A hiss of pain slipped from her lips as a pair of pointed rocks dug into her, though before she could get to her feet, the man had vaulted over the wall and somehow managed to clamp his legs around her waist, sitting victoriously atop her as though he had just won some sort of wrestling match. She groaned, fumbling to get a good grip on her wand, but he managed to knock it out of her hand before she could end his miserable life.

"And behind mask number one..." he chuckled, in a voice that somehow seemed familiar, as he reached forward and dragged loose her mask. A shocked puff of air slipped from his lips, "Bellatrix?"

"Sirius?!" she snarled, finally eyeing the family outcast from beneath that matted brown hair atop his head, "Get off of me!"

"No can do, cousin," he sighed, "I-"

"Don't you dare call me that!" she shouted, her voice indignant as she glared at him murderously, "You filthy bloodtraitor! Abandoner! You-"

"Spare me, Bellatrix, I've heard it all before," he mused, leaning back to keep her swiping nails at bay as she tried desperately to scratch at his eyes. "Now, I'm sure the Ministry would love it if we handed in wealthy socialite Bellatrix Lestrange-"

"Socialite?" Bellatrix snorted darkly, her actions halting for a moment, "What world do you live in, Traitor?"

"Clearly not the same as you," he replied in an equally morbid tone, "and I'm damn happy to be free of it."

She rolled her eyes, visibly disgusted to even be touching him, but before she could retort with the witty comment that was on the tip of her tongue, a spell whizzed right past the man's ear, and he quickly tumbled off her, turning back to return fire.

"Back to base!" the Death Eater, who she recognized as Lucius, shouted, "It's done."

Rolling over, she hastily grasped her wand and mask, and a heartbeat later she left that miserable scene with a loud 'crack', one that no doubt echoed across the field. When her world stopped spinning, she was laying on her stomach on the floor of the Dark Lord's office, surrounded by several others. Some looked as though they too had just arrived - Lucius was dragging his mask off to her right - while there were others who had cowered back against the farthest wall, and she assumed they had been there since the moment the Order broke up their attack. She quickly rolled over and got to her feet, her eyes only meeting the Dark Lord's once before becoming permanently glued to the carpeted floor. He was angry. No wonder they were all cowering.

"This was the last of us, my Lord," Lucius stated in a soft tone. "The Order must have known we were coming."

"And none of you thought to stay and fight?"

"We tried, my Lord, but we were outnumbered after several among us decided to flee at the first opportunity," Bellatrix interjected before Lucius could respond, her eyes still cast down respectfully. "They want to turn in whoever they capture to the Ministry."

"And you know this how?"

"The one that got me in the end told me," she answered honestly, though somewhat irritably. The Dark Lord's jaw was clenched when she glanced up at him, and he demanded to know the name. Without hesitation, she informed him that it was her estranged cousin, Sirius Black, and she hoped that his name would be blacklisted, if he wasn't already. When she had finished speaking, an uncomfortable silence settled within the small room, and it was as though they were all waiting for him to do something. Punish them. Yes, that was what they were waiting for. However, nothing came. Instead, he calmly informed them to get out, unless they wished to stay for some sort of punishment, which he would more than willingly give.

It was probably worse that he was so calm about this, because it meant that any tiny thing would officially make him boil over. He was dangerous when he was like this, and Bella figured she knew it better than anyone. And yet, she stayed. She remained silently as the rest filed out of the room, and she pointedly ignored Lucius' tug on her cloak for her to get moving. Instead, she waited until everyone had left, silently hoping that he wouldn't turn her away. Her hopes, however, seemed to be in vain, and she actually flinched when she caught the look in his eye as he turned around.

"Are you staying here to be punished, Bella?" he demanded quietly, his hands clenched into fists, "Or do you wish to further explain your incompetence to me?"

"I... I..." she stammered, trying to find her wording after his words began to sting, "No, it's just, you're angry, and I wanted-"

"Wanted to soothe me, did you?" he sneered, shaking his head at her, "Go home, Bellatrix. I have neither the time nor patience to deal with you tonight."

She felt the colour drain from her cheeks at the sharpness of his tone, one that was clearly intent on hurting her, and she decided that there was no use in trying to reason with him. Sometimes she could talk him into things, yet she also knew that should she wish to continue what they had right now, she would have to give him space, and in the end keep him happy. So, with a curt bow, she vanished from the room within seconds of his dismissal, and found herself in the main entrance of her country home.

With his words still biting at her, she angrily shoved her cloak in the closet and began to make her way up to her bedroom. Honestly, what idiots ran away from a fight?! It was their fault they had to pull out of the mission, and it was their fault that the Dark Lord was now cross with her! She could wring their necks at the given moment! It was a shame that they had their faces covered, since she wasn't completely sure as to who the cowards were among the fray. The only one she knew that stayed behind was Lucius, along with a few others that were masked. It was a shame that they all had to suffer because of a few spineless twats. Perhaps if they had all stayed and fought longer, and maybe some back with the man's finger or something... Oh, who knows. The Dark Lord's temper was shorter than ever these days, especially with the rise of the Order, and it was very difficult some evenings to get him to talk about anything at all.

Her heels clacked noisily on the tile floor down the corridor to the master bedroom, and she angrily ripped her hair out of its bun and let the frizzy curls bounce loose around her face. All she needed now was some good sex, sex where she could almost beat Rodolphus to a pulp (in her mind she did, anyway) and he would just take it. He was very perceptive when she wanted sex like that, and by the look on her face, it would take a moron to not understand what sort of mood she was in that evening. She could honestly care less about his back problems... They were having angry sex, even if she had to force him. In the end, she always felt at least a touch better.

Pushing open the double doors, she stalked in, only to come to an abrupt halt. Rodolphus was already in bed. With someone else. Her nostrils flared angrily as they both froze with her sudden appearance. The girl in question was young, some petite brunette with mousy hair and doe eyes. It was sickening. Even more sickening than the fact that he was fucking some other girl in her bed! Livid, she felt her breathing pick up, "Who the fuck is this?!"

"This is Maeve," Rodolphus replied smoothly, his own breathing heavy, though for a completely different reason. "We work together."

Her slightly crazed eyes darted down to the girl that he was hovering over, and the young thing swallowed thickly, looking more frightened than anything. How could he seem so casual about this?! Furious, she drew out her wand and pointed it toward them, "Get that whore out of my bed, now, Rodolphus, or it will be the end of both of you!"

Her shriek echoed shrilly within the large room, and before he could say anything else, she stomped out, her heels clacking louder than ever. How could he do this to her?! He supposedly loved her, and yet he brought underage little interns back to bed with him?! This was why he was so happy to go to work, she surmised as she marched down the hall.

"Where the Hell are you going?" she heard him call as he too stalked out of the bedroom, tying his house robe around his waist furiously, "You have no bloody right to be angry, Bellatrix!"

"I have no right?!" she echoed manically, turning on her heel sharply to face him, "You brought in some teenager to defile on my bedsheets! How can I not be furious with you?!"

"So you can have your little affair, but when you figure out mine, you're livid?!" he demanded, reaching out and grasping her arm tightly as she went to stalk off, "You see?! This, right here, is you being a bloody hypocrite!"

Her eyes flashed dangerously as she shoved him off, "Don't even go there. Don't you dare even compare your little romp with the teenager to my ..."

"Your what?" he demanded, following her closely as they moved down the corridor, "You see, you can't even bring yourself to say it, because you know it's the exact same thing!"

He couldn't compare them. Her connection with the Dark Lord was deep and profound, and he honestly made her feel like a whole person. Rodolphus could, in no way, be satisfied on the levels that she was with that little tart that he was fucking. His was pure sex, hers was something much greater. Enraged tears sprung to her eyes, and she carried on away in silence, until she finally felt him grab her arm again near the top of the stairs, "Talk to me, Bellatrix!"

"No!" she snarled, her cheeks red, "No! You... I would never do anything in this house with him! I would never do something like that. You crossed a line."

"I crossed a line?! How about when I see you mooning over him at meetings? Or waiting afterward to speak with him privately? As if I don't know what happens there!"

"We don't shag, if that's what you want to know," she cried, emotion plain on her face. "We talk. He listens to me, appreciates me-"

"Does he love you like I do?!"

"Well he wouldn't flaunt some teenager in my bed, would he?!" she snapped, "He wouldn't do that just to find a way to hurt me."

"It's to make you see, Bella," he stated, his voice wavering. "Can't you see how much it kills me? How you feel now, in this moment, is how I feel all the time!"

"Don't try to make it out like this is some lesson, you prat," she snarled, her voice rising with the angry shield she was used to using with Rodolphus, "because it's pathetic. You're pathetic, and you can find yourself a comfortable spot on the couch somewhere, because you aren't getting back into my bed!"

"It's my bed too, Bellatrix-"

"Not anymore! Now let go of me-"

"No-"

"Rodolphus, let go!"

She twisted furiously, freeing herself from him, only to have the heel of her shoe slip off the ledge of the top stair. Before either of them knew what was happening, she had lost her balance and was falling backward. Each step was felt as she tumbled down the solid staircase, and the sheer pain of it all only came to a stop when she reached the bottom, and her world fading. The last thing she remembered hearing was Rodolphus shouting for her before everything went black.