Infatuation

The night of the dinner was approaching far too quickly for her liking. She was trying with all her inner strength to forget the fact that she was betrothed to someone like Lucius Malfoy. She hated the git!

However, when her attempts proved unsuccessful, she went to bossing around house elves and taunting her younger sisters to take her mind off it. It worked, but as soon as she was done, her mind drifted back to the smirk on Lucius's face in Diagon Alley.

Her expression tightened as she thought of it, and she stormed into the kitchens where the house elves were working tireless on their dinner.

"What will you be serving Saturday evening?" she demanded of them, her dark eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Whatever it is that young Mistress wants!" the house elf squeaked, shaking with fear, his eyes wide and watering.

"Fine. Tell me, what is the best meal you worthless creatures can make?" she snapped at them, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot on the filthy tiles impatiently.

"Mutton, miss... If it is what young Mistress wants, Babette will make!" the house elf squeaked again and the others nodded in agreement.

"Mutton it is. Now get back to work!" she snarled to them angrily, storming out of the kitchens and to where her parents were sitting in the living room.

Her mother, who was nearly asleep with her head on her husband's shoulder, opened her eyes and awaited what it was that Bellatrix had to say. Her father tore his eyes away from the Daily Prophet, wondering why Bellatrix seemed so angry.

"What will we be wearing tomorrow night?" she demanded of them, sitting in one of the squishy armchairs, her legs just barely hanging over the edge.

"I suppose something nice," Holly began with the hint of a grin on her features.

"Nothing too flashy, I hope. And we can't look too dull either," Bellatrix ordered sternly, brushing her skirts.

"Something worthy to impress young Rodolphus, hm?" Remulus asked with a small smile. settling onto his features. He carefully folded the newspaper in his hand, setting it beside him and putting his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"I simply want to make a good impression!" Bellatrix nearly yelled at them, flopping ungracefully off the seat and stomping out of the room.

She entered her room, moving quickly to her closet and rummaging inside it for a moment. Her parents always bought her extremely expensive clothing and robes, fabric fit for a queen. She picked up the maroon one she had been supposed to wear to the ball, but had accidentally got mud on it.

Bellatrix took it off its hanger and placed the hanger back in the closet. Slowly, she brought it up and rested it on her figure, spinning a few times to get the feeling of it. A small smile crept onto her lips and she placed it delicately on her chair.

She quietly pulled the letter from her pillowcase, glancing at the door as if someone was going to walk in at any time. Quickly, she reread it and placed it back in, tossing her tangled hair behind her shoulder and heading downstairs.

When Saturday morning arrived, she woke up far before the maid came to wake her or her sister's annoying chatting next door began. As soon as her eyes opened without so much as a flutter, she knew she wasn't going to be able to go back asleep. Not that she wanted to. Bellatrix was entirely awake, and so she hopped out of bed.

The sun had just begun to rise, and she got into the bathtub and enjoyed a long, near hour-long bath. Thanks to their money, the water remained just warm enough to send tingles all over her. When she was finished, she quickly dressed and sat in front of her vanity.

Slowly and carefully, she ran the brush through her hair, cautious not to pull out any hairs. When she had finally run the brush through all her hair, she summoned the maid, who performed a drying spell.

"What would you like to have done to it today, Miss Black?" asked the maid, running the brush unnecessarily through her hair.

"Oh, I don't know," Bellatrix replied offhandishly, and the maid smiled lightly. She fixed it in ringlet curls, then pulled it out of her face entirely, discreetly fixing it in a way much like her mother often wore it.

By noon, Bellatrix was being particularly careful not to mess up her hair or her robes. She ate quite a bit in breakfast and then lunch, not wanting to seem like a pig at dinner.

At six-fifteen, Bellatrix was waiting in the foyer, sitting on a stair step and nervously checking the clock every few moments. She bit her lip in anticipation and began pacing the parlor, waiting for the bell to ring.

And when it did, she raced to the door, not knowing that a bit of her hair was hanging from her prim bun now, pulling the giant oak arched door open.

The Lestranges looked a little surprised to see the force with which she opened the door. Moments later, her father neared, followed by her mother.

"Ah, Mr. Lestrange," began her father, a polite smile on his lips. "And Mrs. Lestrange. Do come in," He opened the door wide for them to enter

"Y...your coats p-please..." a house elf muttered fearfully from nearby. The Lestranges slid off their coats and handed them to the elf.

Rodolphus looked gorgeous, as he had before. He wore navy blue robes that looked expensive from a mile away, and his hair was combed tonight. She wondered if he had combed it at the ball, but not for long, because she caught herself staring. He merely nodded at her, following his parents into the parlor as Remulus instructed them.

Bellatrix followed, and Holly called for Narcissa and Andromeda. Both wore simple robes that hardly suited the occasion (in Bellatrix's opinion) and their hair looked normal. Bellatrix merely tossed a glare at them before seating herself in the closest chair to where Rodolphus sat.

"Your manor is very beautiful, Mrs. Black," Mrs. Lestrange commented as she observed the room.

"Oh, do call me Holly. And thank you," Holly began a smile on her lips.

"Then by all means, call me Maria," Maria replied, sitting straight up in the couch, her dark skin that matched Rodolphus' looking particularly dark compared to her husband.

"I do believe you met our eldest daughter, Bellatrix," Holly greeted, waving her arm over to Bellatrix, who smiled slightly.

"I recall seeing her. How do you do?" Maria asked politely, nodding her head, her dark brown hair falling around her face.

"Quite fine, Mrs. Lestrange. Thank you," Bellatrix responded quickly, a blush rising to her cheeks as she noticed that Rodolphus was glancing over at her.

She noticed as the conversation went on that Maria Lestrange and her husband were sitting quite far apart on the couch, nearly a cushion in between them, and had not said anything to each other at all

Of course, it wasn't entirely polite to go off rambling to your husband at another's home, but they hadn't even looked at each other since they'd walked in. Her parents, however, were sitting quite close together and probably doing all they could not to lean on one another.

She had been exposed to very few families like this, where the parents seemed to hate each other. Rodolphus remained quiet most of the time, dropping in his thoughts

every once in a while.

"This painting is exquisite," he said at last when a moment of silence had overtaken them, looking to a painting behind them of a man.

"Ah yes, the Babelle Delicate. Glad you like it. I have heard you have a particular taste in paintings," Remulus mentioned with a dip of his head.

"It's very excellently done," Rodolphus complimented primly.

"Rodolphus had a particular interest in critiquing art," Maria explained, glancing for the first time to her husband.

"Yes, he does," Winston Lestrange replied quietly, looking to the painting.

Conversation drifted around paintings for some time after that. Bellatrix kept staring at Rodolphus and looking away moments before he noticed. Or perhaps he had, but didn't show any sign of it.

About fifteen minutes later, as Winston and Remulus were arguing calmly over a painting, an elf slipped into the door.

"Pardon Rinky for interruption, but dinner is ready," he squeaked, zooming out of the room before he could be yelled at and disappearing into the kitchens.

"Hm, good, let us proceed," Remulus directed, standing up and offering an arm to his wife, who took it and smiled lightly at him. They continued on to the dining room, with Maria and Winston standing nearly a foot apart as they followed.

The dinner table had never been fuller. Three girls, two sets of parents, and one young boy who had somehow been set next to Bellatrix for dinner.

"So, do you like it here?" she asked him as their parents carried on conversation.

"Oh, it's rather nice," Rodolphus replied as the first course was served.

"Mother and Father say Hogwarts is the best school of any out there. I'm sure you'll like it," Bellatrix carried on desperately.

"I believe I will... I took the time to read a book on it, and it was surprisingly in depth on the details of the castle. I suppose seeing it up close will be rather interesting," He continued, and she couldn't help but smile as she watched his profile, and the way his chin moved when he talked.

"Sort of a down side that Muggleborns and half-bloods make up nearly all the population," she told him and he turned to her at last, giving her more a chance to examine his features. She was certain her breath was caught in her chest.

"Yes, I suppose. I imagine I will do my best to ignore them entirely," Rodolphus mused with the tiniest of smirks on his face.

Bellatrix didn't think she'd be able to breathe ever again. He looked incredibly charming with that tint of a dark look on his face.

"So, Rodolphus! Have you any siblings?" interrupted Andromeda, tossing him a flashy grin.

"No... If I did, I'm sure they would be attending," Rodolphus replied, and Andromeda blushed, looking back down to her food.

Bellatrix, however, was not going to give up. There was so much she wanted to know about the mysterious boy that had stolen her heart!

"Is your home anything like this?" Bellatrix asked him, a sickly sweet smile on her face. Luckily, Rodolphus was too busy cutting his mutton to look to her.

"Not really... It's a bit dimmer. The colors in your home are rather bright and vivid." Rodolphus said, his eyes caught on a painting.

"Oh? I always liked brighter colors," Bellatrix replied with a shrug, but was doing all she could to not squeal in excitement. She had carried an exceptionally long conversation with him!

Rodolphus did not reply, and Bellatrix had an extreme fear that she had upset him or that he wouldn't reply. After giving him a good look, an excuse to really examine his features closer, she turned back to her food.

She slowly picked at it, taking a bit every once in a while but not feeling in the least bit hungry. When at last, she noticed she was the last one with food remaining on her plate; she set down her fork and allowed a house elf to collect it with the others.

"Shall we go to the den?" Remulus asked with a polite smile on his lips as he helped his wife from her chair, leading her and the guests to the sitting room.

"Bellatrix darling, why don't you show Rodolphus the gallery?" Holly suggested sweetly, her eyes glinting in an obvious hint.

"Of course, Mother," Bellatrix responded, immediately stiffening and worrying that her legs would not move. She looked over to Rodolphus, smiling.

He nodded, offering a polite and forced smile in return. Hers faded and she led him to the gallery, which proved to be a surprisingly long walk. When they finally reached it, he opened the door for her like any gentlemen would and the lanterns lit up immediately.

Rodolphus breathed a sigh of contentment, and Bellatrix went back to grinning.

"I used to come in here all the time," Bellatrix said, moving to the painting she loved of a harpy.

"We have a gallery of sorts back at home, but it's hardly as magnificent as this," Rodolphus said, moving beside her to look at the exquisite painting.

"Father takes great pride in every painting he owns," Bellatrix told him as she grew warmer because he was beside her.

"This one is certainly exquisite. The only mistake I can see so far is the little difference between the legs," Rodolphus told her, and Bellatrix squinted.

"I don't see it," she told him, glancing at the hooves in turn.

Rodolphus raised his hand, bringing it to the left front hoof of the harpy, then the other hand to the left back.

"You see? This one's got that tiny hook there, and the back one should be a bit darker since the light's hitting from there," Rodolphus told her, raising his hand to show her the light peeping from the left corner.

"How did you get so good at this? You're only eight, aren't you?" Bellatrix asked him incredulously. The tiny mistakes he had pointed out did seem to show a little if she squinted.

"I spent a summer with my uncle Jarron. He's an excellent artist, and thrice as good as I am at pinpointing errors," Rodolphus began, and Bellatrix turned her attention to him. "He showed me some mistakes he had made in his own paintings and then how to see them. It took me a few months to finally begin to see them on my own."

"Wow..." Bellatrix breathed, though wasn't even sure she cared all that much. She was just interested in the work and in Rodolphus.

They stood in silence for some time, while Rodolphus examined other paintings in the room. Some of the paintings didn't seem worth the time of day while others were all right.

Nearly an hour later, Mr. Lestrange's head peered through the door, taking in the gallery for mere moments before looking to his son. As he usually could be seen doing, Rodolphus was engrossed in examining a particularly large painting.

"Rodolphus, come," Mr. Lestrange barked coldly, and Bellatrix felt an ounce of sympathy for the poor boy. It was odd for her to see parents being cold to their children, when hers weren't.

"Pleasure meeting you, Bellatrix Black," Rodolphus stated, lifting her hand to his lips and briefly kissing the back of it.

She could've melted under that gaze, that dark, dark gaze that resembled nothing of his father.

"The pleasure's all mine," she responded, all she could manage to say without faltering pathetically.

She followed him to the foyer where the two families were arranged, the Lestranges applying their coats and scarves.

Her father always put Holly's coat on for her, and made sure she was warm and covered before he even began on his own clothing. However, Winston was completely clothed and ready before Maria had even attached her scarf. Rodolphus quickly suited up, smiling politely to the family.

"Thank you for having us, Holly. It was a wonderful evening," Maria said politely, waving her long , thin hand before walking out the door. At least Winston had the manners to open the door for her.

Bellatrix smiled broadly at Rodolphus before he returned it with a polite nod of his head, leaving the manor and shutting the door behind him.

"That went well, didn't it?" Holly asked without expecting a response. Remulus smiled at her, once more linking his arm with hers and leading her off to their bedroom to prepare for bed.

Bellatrix sauntered up to her room, hurriedly changing into her pajamas, noting that a good amount of her bun had fallen out and was hanging drastically down from it, plus there was a bump under it from bouncing about.

"Oh, Bella!" called Andromeda from the doorway as she sauntered in, clad in her long, white nightgown.

"What do you want, Andromeda?" Bellatrix asked, snapped rather, as she shoved the letter from Maria Lestrange into her pillowcase hastily.

"Just to say goodnight," Andromeda said, flopping ungracefully onto Bellatrix's bed.

"Goodnight then," Bellatrix told her, hastily pulling the bun down from it's clutches and letting the curly hair fall over her back.

"Did you have a nice time with Rodolphus?" Andromeda asked, a grin on her features.

"Why do you care?" Bellatrix snapped, not wanting to chat with her sister about the biggest crush she'd ever had. And only crush.

"I'm just wondering. I mean, you two were all alone in the gallery for ages," Andromeda continued, her grin broadening.

"Were not! Only an hour and we were just talking about paintings," Bellatrix replied defensively.

"Really? Well, Narcissa and I decided you two were kissing," Andromeda replied with a wild grin replacing her previous tame one.

"We weren't!" Bellatrix snapped haughtily. She was barely eight and already being accused of kissing someone. Rodolphus being that someone made her quite a bit less angry.

"Whatever you say, Bella," Andromeda finished, flopping off the bed and loping out of it, shutting the door tightly behind her.

Bellatrix glared after her sister, pulling out the letter and carefully smoothing out the creases she had accidentally made, then cautiously placing it in her bottom drawer.

She pleasantly fell asleep with a dream of Rodolphus and her inside the library, quietly sharing both their first kiss beneath carefully placed mistletoe. In her sleep, a smile crept to her pale face; the moonlight peering through her window would be the only one to see it. This wasn't a crush, it was an obsession.