The Pensieve of Bellatrix Black

The Yule Ball, Seventh Year: Part I

When you're in a moment that will determine the course of your life, it doesn't often feel significant at the time. It does, however, serve as a filter for all your memories from that time forth. I remember it more vividly than my Hogwarts graduation, and I do believe it will be of even more paramount importance. Let me begin:

I was trying desperately to get my hair to stay in its bun, as my Sleekeasy's had chosen a most inopportune time to run out. With only twenty minutes until guests were due to arrive, I really needed to be downstairs, prim and proper and waiting in the foyer to greet them. My mother would be sorely disappointed if I were to appear sloppy for our biggest Black Family Yule Ball in twelve years.

I could hardly even remember the last Yule Ball we had like this. Most consisted of small get togethers, or ventures to other mansions. The Malfoys were particularly known for having the best eggnog, while the Notts gave out superb treats. The Blacks were known for a great many Yuletide greetings, however. Namely, a most delicious holiday wine that was prepared especially from some of our Italian relatives, the Zabinis. This Yule Ball was particularly exciting for Cissy and me since it would be the first of our family's Yule Balls where we'd actually be allowed to drink it.

So I return now, to the case in point: my progressively sloppy hair contrasting ever so dreadfully with my wonderful dress, matching shoes and sophisticated make-up. Resorting to desperate measures, I recalled a spell I had seen a classmate using in the Prefects bathroom some three years prior. With a swish of my wand and a quick incantation, I crossed my fingers and my toes, hoping it wouldn't create an even larger disaster. After a few seconds I realized I had closed my eyes tightly, and forced them slowly open. The image in the mirror stunned me. The spell had worked perfectly, and my hair looked excellent. Finally, this would be a ball where my mother wouldn't complain about my unruly dark locks the entire evening.

With a last quick survey of my entire outfit, I quickly glided down the stairs with the grace that only years of excellent breeding, pure wizard lineage and quidditch can provide.

"Nice choice of necklace, Cissy," I called out while walking up to my parents in the entry room. My younger sister turned around and smiled.

"Well, special occasions call for special jewelry from my favorite sister, now don't they?"

"Indeed. Especially if it requires a low-cut gown and will help attract the attention of a certain male wizard."

Narcissa blushed, hoping that her motives hadn't been too transparent, and that our father wouldn't look too far into the exchange and ban her from wearing makeup for a year. With a surveying look, our mother shushed us, and made sure we were up to par. Well, it didn't take long, since Nars and I had had plenty of years of practice. My mother even included a welcoming, "Beautiful hair Bella. I'm glad you finally found a way to put it up nicely. A pity you had to inherit that trait from my good sister. It seems her son Sirius also has unruly dark hair."

"Yes well, I think cousin Sirius is unruly in all manners of his life, and luckily his hair is the only one that is a family trait," my sister piped in. It was true, though. Siriusly Deluded had landed himself into Gryffindor, which was appalling in and of itself. And then he had poured salt into the wound he had left on the family by choosing to become friends with other pure blood traitors like that Potter boy. Needless to say, common sense can't always will out, no matter blood lineage.

Our discussion of horrid relatives ceased when there was a firm knock on the door, informing us of our first guests. Our house elf Gibby answered the door, and in stepped the Malfoys. Lucius gave a slight nod towards my sister, as he always did. Rather uncanny, if you ask me, since it looked like he already knew they would be arranged to be married to each other. I can't say that he would have been a poor choice, he was quite handsome, talented and wealthy, but I knew there was also a factor in my sister's love life: Severus Snape. This thought had only been spoken in between the two of us. As talented as Severus was, he would never be allowed to marry into the Black family. His muggleborn father, Tobias Snape, was the undeniable cause. Perhaps this idea of a doomed relationship from the start helped Narcissa get over it, and allow Lucius to subtly work his way into our lives. He was a couple years older than even me, but as far as marriages were concerned, age differences really held no warrant.

It was not the fact that my sister's probably future husband had walked through the door that evening that made it so crucial, however. It was the guest that the Malfoys had brought with them. A student who had been one of the best Hogwarts had ever seen. Incredibly handsome, he had attracted the attention of almost the entire female population while he had been at Hogwarts. This combined with his remarkable magical abilities had earned him the title of Head Boy. He had graduated and gone on to become a very powerful wizard, mixed parentage aside. He was one of the few half-bloods that our family had respect for. He was becoming an icon for the purification of the Wizarding race with every passing day. He had been on my mind for years, and I had obsessively kept track of every move of his that was documented in the papers. I had even gone so far as to engage the interest of the eldest son of our French friends, the Lestranges, so as to get more information on him. With a sharp, but silent intake of breath, I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Tom Riddle himself walk through my family's doorway into our house for what I was sure would be an exquisite Yule Ball.

Like I said before, moments of significance usually pass by quickly and uneventfully. This one, however, is as ingrained in my memories as strongly as my family name. It served as a rallying point for all my future ambitions, and was what inspired me to lead my life the way I have. More of my passion was evoked from this meeting than in any other point in my life combined. I had found a goal. I had found an icon. I had found an opportunity. And for the first time in my life, I had fallen in love.