Infatuation

She didn't get along with any of the girls in her year. Barbara Hailo seemed all right, but she didn't ever talk and usually hopped out of bed and into her school clothes in the morning, went to class, then was off somewhere else until she came in at night to shower and sleep. Bellatrix didn't see much of her, nor did any of her roommates. What annoyed her most was that her other roomies constantly talked about Barbara behind her back.

"She's so weird," Diana Till told Jane Stevens in a whisper.

"I know! If she'd just run a brush through that hair every once in a while, she might be pretty," Jane responded with a quick nod of her head.

"I wish I was as skinny as she is, though," Diana added, and Jane's head bobbled quickly.

"She doesn't ever show at lunch or breakfast, only dinner. Maybe we should just eat dinner from now on," Jane suggested, and Diana seemed to be thinking it over.

Barbara was really skinny, actually. She hardly fit in any of her clothes and she had to magic her uniform to fit her, though it seemed to just get baggier all the time. Bellatrix had wondered if she was bulimic or something, but followed her one day after dinner to see that she didn't even near a bathroom.

Bellatrix ran a comb slowly through her hair as the girls giggled on about Barbara.

"Her eyes are huge, aren't they?" Jane asked, and Diana nodded hurriedly. "Mother says big eyes take more makeup. More makeup, more money, so small eyes are better."

"Not like she actually wears makeup, anyway," Diana shrugged. "She probably doesn't even own any."

"She's only eleven," Bellatrix blurted from the vanity mirror, turning to see the reaction.

"Well, eleven is still old enough to wear makeup," Diana persisted, looking at Bellatrix's face. "You don't wear any either?"

"I don't have to," Bella sneered, setting down her comb and leaving the room, having a feeling that she would be added to their topics of gossip.

When she entered the common room, she was a bit overcome by the loud noise of chattering, Exploding Snap games, and other assorted activities that students were participating in.

As a habit, she scanned the room for Rodolphus and found him sitting amidst a group of friends, talking about something or other. Not wanting to be caught staring, she diverted her gaze to other people in the room, seeing Yvonne and Jackson sitting by the large arch fireplace.

Walking quickly to them, she sat down next to Yvonne.

"Hello," Bellatrix said quietly, and both her friends nodded in greeting.

"I'm telling you, the Cannons are lard. If any team is going to make it to the Cup, it's the Harpies," Jackson said, obviously carrying on the conversation that they had been having before Bellatrix came by.

She'd never been up to date with the teams, only busy with learning to be a proper lady and having the occasional secret Quidditch game with her sisters every once in a while.

"The Harpies are all women, Jack, they won't make it far," Yvonne persisted, flopping her hair over her shoulder and shifting positions.

"Aren't you supposed to be the one defending women in this case?" Jackson asked, tilting his head just slightly.

"I'm not implying that women can't play Quidditch, they're just not as good. We have more weak builds, and unless you're a bulky woman, you're bound to lose. And trust me, none of the Harpies are bulky," Yvonne continued.

"Williamson's got a pretty muscular build," Jackson contradicted, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty muscular, but put her up next to Donner and she'd look like a gerbil."

"Spring Donner? She's not even good enough for the Harpies, and hardly bulky," Jackson said, shaking his head.

"Yes she is! She's gotten twice her size since last season!" Yvonne persisted still, looking stunned.

Bellatrix tuned them out, her gaze drifting to where Rodolphus was sitting. He was listening to one of his friends, a handsome blonde boy, dropping in comments every now and then. If she could just be a little closer, she'd be able to hear them.

"Bellatrix, where are you going?"

She turned to Yvonne's voice, realizing she'd scooted several feet from the pair towards where Rodolphus was sitting.

"Err..." Bellatrix began, sounding stupid. "Nowhere," She quickly scooted back to their seat and Yvonne glanced over at where she had been scooting.

"You fancy one of those lot?" Yvonne asked, a sly, knowing grin on her face.

"No," Bellatrix lied miserably.

"You really ought to consider learning to lie," Jackson added in, raising his eyebrow again.

"I don't fancy any of them!" Bellatrix tried to continue, but sighed in defeat at the two's stares.

"Which one?"

"Rodolphus," Bellatrix admitted, glancing at the group again.

"That one with the dark complexion?" Jackson asked, squinting his eyes.

Bellatrix quickly turned their heads away from the crowd.

"They'll see you staring. And yes," Bellatrix worried, looking down at her fingers which were folded neatly in her lap.

"He's cute," Yvonne stated with a simple shrug.

"He's got nothing on me," Jackson grinned, and the two girls laughed.

It felt better, knowing that someone besides her insane family knew of her secret crush. And her friends didn't talk about him much, only mentioned to Bellatrix when he was around so she could go and talk to him. Not that she did, it just gave her the opportunity to stand there looking stupid.

On one particular evening while in the library, Yvonne nudged Bellatrix to where she could see Rodolphus sitting among more friends at a table nearby.

"Do it this time," Yvonne pleaded. "It's now or never."

Which was partially true, seeing as it was nearing the Christmas break, but two weeks hardly counted as 'never'.

Besides, there was a strong possibility that she'd see him at the Christmas Ball.

Bellatrix took a daring step towards the group, setting her book down and looking wearily back at Yvonne, who flashed an encouraging smile at her before Bellatrix turned her attention back to where she was walking.

When she finally reached them, Rodolphus had just stood up to get a book and for once, his friends weren't around him. They did seem to flock around him, she had noted.

"Hi Rodolphus," she greeted softly as she pretended to be looking for a book just below the shelf he was looking in.

"Bellatrix," he returned politely, getting his book.

"It's a good thing we were sorted into Slytherin, yes?" she continued, having a feeling she sounded like an idiot.

Yes, it is," Rodolphus responded, looking for another book a few rows down.

"The paintings here are nice," she tried again, pulling out some random book.

He shrugged, glancing down at the book in her hand.

"Daring Tales of Half-Beasts?" he asked, tilting his head. "I never thought you the type."

"Oh... Must've picked it up by mistake," Bellatrix muttered, feeling heat rush to her face as she slipped the book back in its rightful place and standing there awkwardly for a moment.

"I'll see you," he said, waving shortly before returning to his table.

Feeling like a moron, she sighed in frustration and headed towards her table, only to see that Lucius Malfoy had occupied her seat. He was sitting straight across from Yvonne, and Bellatrix could just imagine the look of horror on her face. She couldn't see her, as Yvonne's back was to her, but Jackson looked horrified enough.

"...wondrous things," Lucius seemed to be finishing as she approached. Bellatrix walked over to where he was sitting, surprised to see a somewhat dreamy look on Yvonne's pretty face.

"Lucius, you're in my seat," Bellatrix pointed out, not planning on being polite around him, of all people.

"Am I? My apologies, Bellatrix. It was a pleasure meeting you, Yvonne," Lucius said in an innocent sounding tone, smirking slightly before walking away.

Bellatrix took her seat and huffed slightly, resting her head in her hand.

"You know Malfoy?" Jackson asked, seeing as Yvonne was still staring off into space, apparently lost in thought.

"We're betrothed," Bellatrix admitted, seeing Yvonne's head snap over to Bellatrix's direction.

"You are?" she gasped, in shock.

"It's awful. We've always hated each other," Bellatrix sneered.

"You're lucky," Yvonne said, and Bellatrix had a fleeting sensation of gagging.

"No, I'm not," she contradicted, standing up. "I've got to go. See you."

They waved shortly and Bellatrix left the library, intent on going to the common room.

Christmas Break came too quickly, and the ball was a boring activity. Yvonne and Jackson were invited per Bellatrix's request and she had spent most of the time outside with them. Rodolphus had come, yes, but was occupied with other people the entire time. Bellatrix hadn't had the chance to even talk to him.

The end of the year came quickly. With promises to write and waves, the three friends departed at the train station and Bellatrix headed home to spend another summer dreaming of Rodolphus and being annoyed by her sisters. Andromeda would be joining her the next year at Hogwarts. Slytherin was going to be tormented. Hopefully, Andromeda wouldn't notice her obsession with Rodolphus.

She had been told that obsessions were never made out to be relationships. That anyone obsessed over was just an obsession, and there was someone better out there. Bellatrix was convinced that this was untrue.

When the beginning of the year came around, she met with Yvonne and Jackson, who were in another heated argument about Quidditch.

"Don't you two ever get bored of talking about Quidditch?" Bellatrix asked them as the train kicked into action.

"Bored? Why? Quidditch isn't boring, therefore, talking of it isn't either," Jackson replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Is there any room left?"

The three turned to the compartment door, which had just been opened. It was some bespectacled boy with brown hair and another boy behind him with blonder hair and a slimmer face.

Jackson, Yvonne, and Bellatrix exchanged looks. It couldn't be too bad. They looked like first years, judging by their height.

"Yeah, budge over, Yv," Jackson said, so Yvonne scooted over a few seats so she was sitting right next to him.

The two boys settled in, talking in hushed voices about something, receiving odd looks from Bellatrix.

"You can talk normally, you know," she finally said to them, and one looked up with a nod.

"Err, yeah... We were just talking about the school," the brown haired boy explained.

"Bellatrix?" A voice from the door asked, and Bellatrix turned to see her cousin, Sirius. He was annoying most of the time, but could be more interesting than her sisters at family gatherings.

"Sirius," Bellatrix greeted formally.

"You mind if I sit here?" he asked, scanning the two boys in there.

Bellatrix shrugged. "Yvonne, Jackson, this is my cousin, Sirius."

"Pleasure," the two said in unison, glancing at the other boys shortly.

"Who're they?" Sirius whispered in Bellatrix's ear, looking at the whispering boys.

"I don't know," she responded. At this, the boys lifted their heads, seeming to have heard the conversation.

"James Potter," the brown haired one said.

"Remus Lupin," the other added, a soft smile on his face.

"Pleasure," Yvonne and Jackson said in unison again.

The rest of the train ride, Sirius chatted with the two boys and Bellatrix had a feeling they'd all be excellent friends. Too bad, they'd probably be in another house, while Sirius would be in Slytherin. What would they do?

When the train finally stopped, the three older students were relieved to get away from the first years. Bellatrix realized she had been rather different from the first years last year, and was glad of it.

At the sorting ceremony, Andromeda was called up among the first few, sitting on the hat with her dazzling brown hair, the rim falling over her eyes, which resembled Bellatrix's.

The hat contemplated for some time, causing Bellatrix to tap her fingers on the table. She needed to find where Rodolphus was sitting, but she had to wait until her sister was sorted.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

She sat in stunned silence, ignoring the clapping coming jovially from Hufflepuff as they received their first new student. Hufflepuff? Andromeda was a leftover?

Sirius sat up next, and Bellatrix tried to clear her attention. At least he wouldn't be a disappointment. She cringed to think of how Mother would react.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

What was wrong with this bloody hat? Obviously, it'd been rigged or something. No possible way were two Blacks skiving off of Slytherin. She'd have a word with that Headmaster.

Sirius didn't even look disappointed. He sauntered on over and took a seat, waving at Bellatrix who scowled at him from across the room.

He looked a bit confused but was easily distracted when some of the older Gryffindors introduced themselves to him.

She sighed, leaning her head on her hand, though it was terribly unladylike.

"That your sister?" Jackson asked from across her as he blatantly ignored the sorting.

"Andromeda? Yes," Bellatrix replied with another sigh. "I can't believe she's in Hufflepuff, and Sirius in Gryffindor."

"Well, the tradition was bound to die eventually," Yvonne pointed out from her seat beside Jackson.

"I suppose," Bellatrix responded with no intention of believing it.

The rest of the sorting went by soon enough and the foolish Hogwarts song followed it. When the food was finally served, Yvonne and Jackson launched into a conversation about Hogsmeade.

"When's the first weekend?" Bellatrix asked, having resigned to the fact that she'd be spending that weekend alone or with her annoying roommates. Alone. Definitely.

"October."

She nodded. At least she had until then to worry about having to spend a weekend alone.

That night when she reached her dorms, she walked in just as Barbara was pulling down the blankets on her bed. The other girls were in the bathroom, giggling and catching up.

"Evening," Bellatrix said, deciding to make an effort to befriend her.

"Hello," Barbara softly replied, brushing her tangled hair behind her ears.

"So do you live in London?"

"Yeah."

Silence. Bellatrix didn't have much to ask of the quiet girl.

"Thanks for standing up for me," Barbara finally broke the silence, causing Bellatrix to turn to her.

"What do you mean?"

"Last year, in this room. I was trying to avoid those two by doing my leisure reading in the closet and I heard you," she explained, offering a weak and forced grin.

"Oh... You're welcome," Bellatrix replied, hardly remembering that afternoon. Jane and Diana had not been very kind to her since.

"Can I ask you something?" Barbara asked, seeming to be having trouble asking.

"Anything," Bellatrix responded automatically, moving to her trunk.

"Do I look too skinny?"

Bellatrix paused. This wasn't something she expected to hear out of her mouth.

"No. Well--a little bit. You don't come to lunch and breakfast," Bellatrix stated honestly as she rummaged for her pajamas.

"I go to the kitchens," Barbara explained. "I've been trying to gain weight since I was eight."

"Sounds bad."

"It is," Barbara assured her, running a hand through her hair but thinking twice about it when it reached a tangle.

And after that, the two became sort-of friends. Bellatrix helped her look up some disorders on the inability to gain weight, but most of the symptoms weren't found in Barbara. She finally discovered that the poor girl just needed to eat more sweets.

"But I hate sweets," Barbara whined, staring down at the book in frustration.

Bellatrix still didn't understand how the girl could hate sweets. Any 12-year-old girl loved them.

It was a week after beginning of term that Andromeda approached Bellatrix. She looked worried.

"Bella?" Andromeda asked, nervously twiddling her hair between her fingers.

"Yes?" Bellatrix snapped from her reading in the Library.

"D' you think Mum's angry with me?" she asked quietly, an expression of fear in her eyes.

"Has she not owled you?" Bellatrix asked, a bit stunned. The exact night after the sorting, she had received a letter from Holly concerning her pride over her daughter.

"No," Andromeda muttered, now wringing her hands together.

"You're in Hufflepuff. It's weird," the older sister admitted, placing a pale hand on her sister's shoulder.

"I couldn't control it! Please, will you owl her and suggest she owl me?"

Bellatrix sighed, contemplating it for a moment. "All right."

"Thanks, Bella," Andromeda said, an excited grin on her face. "I've got to go do homework, but I hope I'll talk to you soon then."

Bellatrix shrugged, waving to her sister and turning back to her reading.

"Such a shame, isn't it?"

Bellatrix turned her head to the voice, matching it with Lucius Malfoy who was hovering near her table.

"What, her being in Hufflepuff or you being such a prat?" She snapped, not looking back to him.

"Her being in Hufflepuff, of course," he chose with a sinister little smirk. "I just wanted to tell you to say hello to your lovely friend, but looks like I won't need to."

"What?" Bellatrix asked, turning to see that Yvonne was approaching.

"Ah, Ms. Statemore. Pleasure to see you again. You're looking lovely," Lucius began as she walked up, Jackson close behind her.

"Lucius," she began a smile on her features, "nice to see you too."

Jackson looked murderous, though his expression was nothing compared to the one occupying Bellatrix's face.

"If I'm not welcome here-..."

"No, of course you are, Lucius," Yvonne intercepted his words, tossing a glance at her friends.

"A walk on the grounds, then, Yv?" Lucius asked, and Bellatrix could tell Jackson was unhappy about it, his face was red and his fists were clenched. He was the only one she'd ever heard call her Yv, anyway.

"Actually, I've got some work to finish. Later, though," she promised, and Lucius smirked, dipping his head and leaving.

She looked to Jackson, who looked mad as hell and Bella, who looked steaming.

"What?" She asked, sitting down.

"He's such a prat, Yv. Stop bothering with him," Jackson huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, calm down. He's fine. And it's just shameless flirting, Bellatrix already has him."

"Disgusting," Bellatrix gagged, shutting her book and causing a giggle to escape Yvonne's mouth.

This was going to be an interesting year.