Bellatrix wished she had brought a camera to capture the journey Narcissa and Lucius’s faces went on when the Dark Lord suggested they all go on a double date together. Not that he had used that phrase, of course. Lord Voldemort didn’t like to refer to his and Bellatrix’s relationships with such common, lowly terms as “dating” or “boyfriend and girlfriend.” Instead of “dates” the two of them went on “outings” and when pressed to define exactly what she was to him, he described Bellatrix as “my most faithful servant” “my fiercest warrior” or simply “my Bella” instead of his girlfriend. He so far was refusing to acknowledge being anything to her other than “Lord” or “Master” but occasionally described their situation as “romantic entanglement” which she had decided was good enough for now.
But after the Dark Lord had finished explaining how, given that Narcissa was Bella’s sister and Lucius was one of his top Death Eaters and the Malfoys were the only people aware of their relationship, it might be a good idea for the four of them to have an opportunity to socialize in a less formal setting, Bella couldn’t help adding,
“You know, like a double date!”
At this, the Dark Lord rolled his eyes but did not object and Cissy and Lucius’s jaws dropped.
There was a long, heavy silence. Bellatrix kept her eyes on her sister and brother-in-law but she could practically feel the Dark Lord smirking beside her, relishing their discomfort.
Narcissa recovered first.
“Of course!” she said quickly, her voice a bit more high-pitched than usual. “We would be honored to spend an evening with you and Bella, my Lord. Wouldn’t we, Lucius?”
As she spoke, the hem of her robes shifted slightly, and Bella was sure she was stepping on Lucius’s foot.
“How could we say no?” Lucius replied weakly, the look in his eyes making it clear that he was genuinely looking for a way to say no.
“Excellent,” the Dark Lord said smoothly. “How does a week from today at sundown sound?”
The Malfoys looked even more alarmed at the date being so soon, but both quickly agreed and began rattling off a number of restaurant suggestions.
“I’m afraid none of those are going to work for me,” the Dark Lord said, shaking his head.
“Oh. Apologies, my Lord,” Lucius said. “What do you usually prefer to eat—”
“Food is not the issue. I cannot be seen in a Wizarding restaurant unless we want every Auror at the Ministry’s disposal descending upon the place and ruining our meal.”
Narcissa frowned.
“But you and Bella go out to eat together all the time. How—?”
“We go to Muggle restaurants and kill them all once we’re done!” Bella said happily. “Dinner and entertainment all at once!”
There was another silence. The Malfoys did not seem happy with this idea.
“Oh, come on, Lucius, don’t look so shocked. I’ve seen you slaughter plenty of Muggles yourself.”
“Yes, but I would never eat at one of their establishments!”
Bellatrix shrugged.
“Food is food. I just think of them as less capable house-elves.”
“That’s it!” Cissy cried. “We can have our house-elves set something up! Find some nice, deserted spot, have them serve us dinner there. That way we could avoid such…strenuous activity on a full stomach.”
This time, Bella met the Dark Lord’s eyes as they both smirked. Although Narcissa was a fervent supporter of the Dark Lord’s mission of Pureblood supremacy, she lacked the conviction to back it up with bloodshed that the rest of them had.
Still, it was a good idea and the Dark Lord readily agreed to it.
“I have just the place in mind,” he said. “Send the elves to me and I will tell them what to do.”
“You’re not going to tell us where we’re going?” Bellatrix asked.
“No. I want it to be a surprise.”
That made Bellatrix grin and Lucius and Narcissa exchange a worried look.
A week later, the two Black sisters met at Malfoy Manor to get ready together. Bellatrix was in high spirits, but Narcissa seemed on edge.
“What’s the matter?” she asked as she wove her sister’s blonde hair into elegant braids. “When we were younger, you were always saying you wished I had a boyfriend so we could go on double dates!”
(Technically, Cissy’s fantasy had been a triple date with both her sisters but neither of them mentioned that.)
“That’s true, but I wasn’t exactly picturing the Dark Lord as your boyfriend in that scenario.”
“Well, I have extremely high standards. You should have realized I’d never settle for anyone less.”
Cissy rolled her eyes.
“I’m not denying he’s a great wizard or an impressive speaker. I’ve just always felt he was best admired from a distance. Socializing with him feels…dangerous. And wrong, somehow.”
“But you’ve done it before. He’s visited Malfoy Manor plenty of times.”
“Yes, and every time, I’m terrified that if Lucius and I aren’t absolutely perfect hosts, if we slip up in any way, he’ll torture us—or worse. I don’t need to worry about that with any of our other guests.”
“I torture Lucius all the time,” Bella objected, starting to twist Cissy’s braids around each other.
“Not seriously. And I trust you not to kill him, no matter how many times you threaten to. But the Dark Lord always seems a second away from killing anyone, for any reason, even his allies. It’s like he has an aura of menace that fills any room he walks into.”
“Yeah,” Bella said dreamily. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Narcissa sighed.
“Aren’t you even a little bit intimidated by him?!”
“Of course, although I prefer to think of it as being in awe of him. But the thought of not being with him is more terrifying than anything he could ever do to me.”
Cissy started to shake her head, then stopped, wincing, when that led to Bella inadvertently pulling her hair.
“We’re never going to see eye-to-eye about the men we love, are we?”
“After years of fruitlessly hoping that you would one day wake up and realize Lucius is a vapid creature whose pompousness far exceeds his talents, I have to conclude that, no, we won’t.”
Narcissa glared coldly in the mirror of her vanity.
“At least I don’t have to worry about him killing me.”
This time, Bella pulled her hair on purpose.
“He will only kill me if I disappoint him, which I would never do.”
“I hope not,” Cissy said seriously. “To be honest, Bella, I have a hard time reconciling the Dark Lord, your lover whom you always speak of so tenderly with the Dark Lord that I have met myself.”
“Well, maybe the chance to see the two of us together as a couple tonight will help you relax a bit.”
“Perhaps,” Narcissa said doubtfully.
As the sun met the horizon, the sisters and Lucius gathered at the front gate to await the Dark Lord. Bellatrix wore bright red robes embroidered with black thread that formed thorny vines which twisted around her body. She had accessorized with a matching necklace and headpiece that both looked like golden snakes.
“I haven’t seen those before,” Lucius commented. “Gift from the Dark Lord?”
Bellatrix smiled like a leopard about to pounce.
“Yes, actually. Gorgeous, aren’t they?”
Lucius shrugged.
“A bit ostentatious.”
“That’s rich, coming from you!”
Lucius was dressed in robes so white, they almost glowed in the fading light, with silver woven into the hems to complement Narcissa’s sparkling silver gown that seemed to flow down her body like a waterfall, sleeves and train hanging as close to the ground as possible without actually touching the dirt. Lucius had also pinned an elaborate brooch featuring the Malfoy family crest to his lapel and tucked a peacock feather into it.
“Behave, you two,” Narcissa said sternly. “I don’t think the Dark Lord will think too highly of your constant squabbling!”
“On the contrary, Narcissa, I actually enjoy some healthy debate amongst my servants.”
Lord Voldemort seemed to melt out of the shadows, wearing simple but well-made robes of black satin.
“My Lord!” they all cried in unison, bowing to him. On the way back up from her bow, Bellatrix took one of his pale hands in hers and kissed it. With a smile, he caught hold of her wrist and pulled one of her hands to his mouth to return the gesture.
“Good evening,” he said, eyes dancing over Lucius and Narcissa before returning to Bellatrix and looking her up and down.
“Sharp outfit,” he joked, tracing one of the threaded thorns with a finger.
They all laughed at the pun, although the Malfoys’ laughter was much more forced than Bella’s.
“Good to see you as always, my Lord,” Lucius said. “I do hope you’ve had a pleasant day?”
“I’ve spent most of it planning our evening, honestly. I hope it will prove to be worthwhile.”
“I am sure it will be, my Lord,” Narcissa said nervously. “Might I ask where we will be going?”
“Why don’t I show you?”
The Dark Lord offered his arm to Bella, who took it and looped her free arm around Cissy’s, who took Lucius’s hand.
“Shall we?” the Dark Lord asked but did not wait for an answer before Disapparating.
A moment later the four of them appeared on a cliff about halfway up a mountain overlooking a lake that reflected the darkening sky like a mirror.
Lucius and Narcissa looked around nervously as if they were expecting a basilisk or a hoard of Inferi to emerge from the shadowy forest behind them, but their master simply led them to a table with a white cloth and a candelabra upon it and four chairs around it. They all sat down and a moment later the Malfoys’ house-elf, Dobby, and Bellatrix’s house-elf, Twilly, appeared and poured them drinks, then quickly disappeared again.
Bellatrix and the Dark Lord each took a sip, but Narcissa and Lucius glanced at their glasses, then each other and then at the Dark Lord nervously. He sighed.
“If I wanted to kill you,” he said calmly. “There would be much easier and more interesting methods than inviting you to dinner and poisoning you. And why would I want to kill you when you are such great supporters of mine?”
“Of course, my Lord,” Lucius said, hurriedly taking a big gulp. “I didn’t think—that is, I didn’t mean to accuse—this is quite good.” He drank some more. Narcissa watched him closely for a moment, then had some as well.
“I’m glad you approve,” the Dark Lord said with a smirk. “It was a gift from Bella, actually.”
“Which means we stole it from Rodolphus’s wine cellar,” she said, with a smirk of her own. “So really, it’s his taste you should be complimenting—except you can’t, since he’s not supposed to know about us.”
“Right.” Lucius slowly took another sip, looking as though he were debating something with himself. As he put his glass down, curiosity seemed to overcome him.
Leaning across the table, he asked conspiratorially,
“So…does Rodolphus really have no idea about the two of you?”
Bellatrix and the Dark Lord laughed. As disturbing as he found their relationship, of course Lucius couldn’t resist the urge to gossip or suppress his pride in being privy to information few others knew.
“No, he doesn’t,” the Dark Lord replied. “And you are not going to tell him if you know what’s good for you.”
“Certainly not! You know you can trust me with anything, my Lord.”
“Yes, I’ll admit I have found your advice about how to go about…all of this—” he took Bella’s hand to demonstrate what “all of this” entailed— “…quite useful. Seeing as it’s about the only area where you have more experience than me. I’ve been grateful for your guidance and I’m sure Bella has benefited from it too, haven’t you Bella?”
“Indeed, my Lord.”
Bellatrix turned to admire the view below them, sure that if she meant anyone’s gaze, she would burst out laughing. She found the Dark Lord’s habit of asking Lucius for relationship advice downright hilarious. His logic was that, since Lucius was happily married to Narcissa, he was the best qualified to educate the Dark Lord as on his own journey into romance with a Black sister.
While Bella maintained that she had fallen for the Dark Lord because of who he already was and there was nothing Lucius could possibly have to offer him, she still made a point of mentioning any upcoming anniversaries or other significant dates to her brother-in-law, knowing he would remind her lover of them and possibly even come up with some good suggestions on how to celebrate.
Lucius frowned slightly.
“You can trust me with other things as well! I am of course happy to serve you in whatever way you need, my Lord but—”
“Of course. I expect no less,” the Dark Lord cut him off smoothly.
Lucius fell silent, looking mopey but knowing better than to argue.
A minute later, the house-elves returned, each carrying two plates which they set down in front of the couples. Each plate contained a large slab of seared salmon with asparagus, potatoes, and a fresh-baked roll on the side. The Dark Lord glanced around almost nervously as they started to eat, wondering what they’d think of the dish he’d selected.
Bellatrix quickly took a bite.
“Oh, my Lord! This is delicious!”
He smiled, then, glancing apprehensively at the Malfoys, who were still cutting very tiny pieces off the salmon and cautiously lifting them to their mouths, replied,
“Of course, I merely selected the menu. If there’s any problem with the actual cooking, the blame lies with your own elves.”
“While Dobby is, in many respects, a disgrace and a waste of space, we’ve always found his cooking to be satisfactory,” Lucius said, sticking out a foot to trip the elf as he retreated from the table.
“You settle for ‘satisfactory’?” Bellatrix asked scathingly as Dobby picked himself up off the ground and scurried away. “Twilly’s cooking—and service in general—is always exemplary. Because she knows I’d kill her for anything less, don’t you Twilly?”
“Of course, Miss Bella!” the elf replied brightly, before also taking her leave.
“I would have to agree that you have the superior elf, Bella,” the Dark Lord said thoughtfully. “I tend to enjoy my stays at Lestrange Manor much more than my time at Malfoy Manor.”
“I doubt that has much to do with the house-elves there, though,” Narcissa muttered.
“Whatever do you mean by that, Narcissa?” he asked innocently.
She looked uncomfortably between the Dark Lord and Bellatrix, who only offered her a smug grin.
“I must say, this salmon really is quite good!” Lucius said quickly. “Excellent choice, my Lord!”
The Dark Lord smiled and turned back to his own dinner.
“Yes, a fine fish. Salmon is said to be good for one’s brain.”
“So Lucius could really use some then!” Bella joked.
Normally, Lucius would have snapped back a sneering retort or just thrown something at her but with the Dark Lord present, all he could do was glare.
“Now, now, Bella, that isn’t very nice,” their master chided but his red eyes sparkled with amusement.
A moment later, music began to drift out of the trees. Bella and the Malfoys looked around in confusion, but the Dark Lord said calmly,
“I thought you would all appreciate some entertainment while we dine. While trying to figure out what form that should take, your house-elves volunteered the surprising fact that they are musically gifted.”
Sure, enough, Dobby and Twilly were just barely visible behind a bush, playing an elf-sized accordion and fiddle.
“Not all house-elves are,” Narcissa said proudly. “but the best families make sure theirs receive that extra training so that live music can be available at a moment’s notice. You know, if unexpected guests arrive or you need to sooth a crying child. Twilly and the other Black estate elves used to play us lullabies all the time.”
Bellatrix glared at Narcissa, not wanting the Dark Lord to picture her as a wailing child in need of lullabies but he simply nodded and said,
“Infinitely useful creatures, aren’t they?”
Was that a note of jealousy in his voice? Bella knew that, despite how proud and sure of himself the Dark Lord acted, he still wrestled with deep insecurities over having grown up poor and worse, in the Muggle world. He had never been able to rely on a house-elf to take care of menial tasks for him and she doubted anyone had ever played or sang him a lullaby. She wanted to give his hand a gentle squeeze but knew that anything that could be read as pity would only anger him. As much as she hated the thought of his suffering, Bellatrix had to accept there was nothing she could do to fix her master’s past. But she could bring more happiness to his future, so she decided to let him know in future that Twilly was as much his as hers. It made sense for a couple to share a house-elf anyway.
They listened to the music in silence for a few minutes until the Dark Lord, apparently determined to keep up a conversation, asked Lucius and Narcissa,
“So, how did you two meet? I feel like I don’t know very much about your lives outside of Death Eater business.”
Narcissa pursed her lips and shared an uncomfortable glance with Lucius, clearly not wanting to discuss their personal lives, but he replied affably,
“It’s hard to say when we first met, my Lord, as we bumped into each other at a number of parties and such as children, but we didn’t really start to get to know one another until Hogwarts.
“Ah, yes, of course. Excellent place, Hogwarts. Both to receive an education and to meet people. I met most of the first generation of Death Eaters during my time there—Lestrange—Radomir, that is, obviously Rodolphus and Rabastan weren’t born yet—Dolohov, Rosier Senior, Nott, Avery—also Senior, of course.” He paused and chuckled slightly, looking back and forth between Bellatrix and Lucius. “It’s curious—there were a few Blacks and a Malfoy whose time at Hogwarts overlapped with mine. They never showed any real interest in joining me but in years to come, their families would produce two of the best servants I’ve ever had.”
Bella beamed proudly but Lucius looked uneasy.
“My father was gravely mistaken in not joining you, my Lord. I am sure he realizes that now—”
“I am less sure of that, given that you remain the only Malfoy who bears my Mark, but I do not complain,” Voldemort replied calmly. “My goals do not require every member of every notable Pureblood family to join me. On the contrary, I only want—and only accept—the best. The both of you are a testament to your families’ lofty reputations.”
Lucius dipped his head.
“Thank you, my Lord.”
“But out of the two of us, who would you say is the best?” Bella asked slyly, hooking her ankle around the Dark Lord’s under the table.
“I couldn’t possibly play favorites like that,” he replied sternly, although the way he looked at her made his answer clear. “Every Death Eater has the chance to become my favorite at any moment, depending on their performance and loyalty. And every Death Eater has the potential to lose my favor at any moment, should they prove incompetent. My opinions of you are not set in stone.”
“Very wise, my Lord,” Lucius said.
“So! Hogwarts! Tell me about your time there,” Voldemort said, returning to their earlier conversation. “Did you share a boat on your way to the castle for the first time and decide to get married then and there or was it not until fifth year, when you were Slytherin prefects together, that you decided you worked well together and your partnership should extend beyond school?”
Narcissa turned pink. Lucius drank more wine.
“Well,” Narcissa said tentatively, “we did sit in the same boat on our first day and we were prefects together but…it’s hard to say exactly when we started dating. I mean, we liked each other from the start—”
“Absolutely!” Lucius chimed in, throwing an arm around her. “It was clear from the beginning that Cissa and I had a lot in common—both members of sacred twenty-eight families, with a taste for the finer things in life and an eye for fashion and beauty that many others lack.”
“We were pretty much always friends,” Narcissa agreed. “Except on the few occasions one of us went out with someone else—then we ended up having some rather vicious rows!”
“Which of course was the point,” Lucius added with a little laugh. “None of those relationships ever meant anything or lasted very long—we were just trying to make each other jealous!”
“I see,” said the Dark Lord, although he looked confused. “And is ‘making each other jealous’ a standard part of teenage courtship?”
“For some people,” Lucius shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to make it clear you have options.”
Narcissa nodded.
“I always knew we’d end up together, though,” she mused. “None of my other brief flings could compare to Lucius—he was by far the most beautiful boy at Hogwarts.”
“And you were by far the most beautiful girl there,” Lucius told her. They shared a dewy-eyed look that made Bellatrix want to vomit.
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” the Dark Lord said, sounding similarly disgusted. “Perhaps once Bella had finished school.”
“My Lord!” Bella cried in a voice of shocked delight. She had never much felt the need to compare her looks to her sister’s, content in the knowledge that they were both stunning in different ways, but she was the oldest, boldest, smartest and most powerful. But anytime her master implied he thought her beautiful, and in front of other people, at that, was a treat. Impulsively, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Normally, such a gesture of affection would never have been permitted in front of an audience, but the Malfoys already knew of their relationship, which provided a certain freedom. Wasn’t that the entire point of this evening? Apparently, since the Dark Lord responded not by chastising her, but by giving her a soft smile and tucking a loose curl behind her ear.
Lucius took another drink, squared his shoulders, and opened his mouth. Bella had a feeling he was about to argue that his wife was indisputably the best and most beautiful of the Black sisters, a feeling Narcissa clearly shared, as she quickly shifted in her seat, probably kicking him under the table. Lucius, like most wealthy wizards, loved to brag about his wife and often got into drunken arguments about her superiority. Rodolphus was the same, which Bella always found annoyingly patronizing. She knew her worth far better than he did and was happy to fight her own battles. Cissy, on the other hand, seemed to find being shown off flattering and was happy to return the favor by talking up Lucius at any gathering of witches she joined. But if Lucius was about to attempt to one-up the Dark Lord, that would end very badly. And as irritating as she found Lucius, she didn’t want him to end up dead, if only for Cissy’s sake.
Before he could speak, Bellatrix said,
“I just glad I did leave before you two got too insufferable. I don’t think I could have survived watching you walking down every corridor hand-in-hand and snogging in the common room. Not if I wanted to keep my meals down, anyway.”
Narcissa rolled her eyes.
“It wasn’t just us. That was a traditional part of the Hogwarts experience!”
Bellatrix shrugged.
“Not for me.”
“Nor me,” Voldemort agreed. “Although, I do sometimes wonder….” He trailed off, looking embarrassed, then took a deep breath turned to look her in the eyes and finished,
“I do wonder what it would have been like if we had been closer in age and able to go to school together. It might have been…pleasant to have your companionship earlier in life.”
Bellatrix felt like her heart was about to burst.
“I’ve often had those exact thoughts myself, my Lord! Spending the evenings snogging you in the common room would have vastly improved my school years.”
“I don’t know that I would have been up for something quite so public, but I could see us doing some snogging deep in the Forbidden Forest or quiet corners of the library,” he said, leaning in and giving her a teasing smile. “…or in the Chamber of Secrets.”
“Oh!” Bella grabbed the Dark Lord’s hand and nearly jumped out of her chair with excitement. “I wish I could have seen the Chamber of Secrets, my Lord! I would have deeply, deeply enjoyed it.”
“You will someday,” he promised, twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers. “Hogwarts will eventually fall to us and then we can visit together and have free run of the place. I’ll show you the Chamber and you can show me all your favorite parts of the castle and grounds. We can relive our school days while planning how to improve the curriculum for the students of the future.”
“I would like nothing better, my Lord!”
“You’d be welcome to join us and share your thoughts on what direction education should take, as well,” Voldemort said to Lucius and Narcissa, who had been watching their exchange with the look of magizoologists discovering some strange new beast. “Except in the Chamber. I cannot share my ancestor’s private sanctuary with just anyone.”
Bella smirked proudly. The Malfoys seemed unsure how to respond to that and after a moment, Narcissa just nodded and said,
“Of course, my Lord.”
“Is the basilisk still in there?” Bella asked.
“Yes, probably hibernating, as it had been for centuries before I discovered the Chamber,” the Dark Lord replied. “I hope to free the poor creature one day, allow it to feel the sun on its scales. Besides, I believe it will be a great aid in enforcing our reign. I’ve been considering riding into battles and public events on its back.”
“That would be a truly magnificent site to behold, my Lord.”
“Really? You don’t think it would be too much?”
“Master, nothing you do could ever be too much for me.”
Lucius rolled his eyes.
“You think it would be too much Lucius?” The Dark Lord asked sharply. “Do speak up; I want to hear all my followers’ opinions. Although be aware that if you present them disrespectfully, you will be punished.”
Lucius swallowed nervously.
“I have no problem with your idea my Lord. It’s Bellatrix who I think is too much. You don’t ever find her flattery over-the-top or insincere?”
“How dare you!” Bella snapped. “The Dark Lord knows I fully mean every word I say to him, from the deepest depths of my—”
She went silent as he placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
“Perhaps you’ve forgotten, Lucius, but I always know what those around me are thinking,” he replied with a thin smile. Lucius swallowed nervously.
“I know Bella is genuine, not just because I’ve been inside her mind but because she actually has the nerve to disagree with me on occasion. It’s infuriating, but I’ve come to value her counsel, as she’s the only one advising me whose intelligence comes near my own. If her devotion seems too extreme to you, perhaps that simply means that yours is lacking.”
Bellatrix resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at Lucius for half a second, then went ahead and did it.
Narcissa sighed and took a deep drink from her glass.
“Apologies, my Lord,” Lucius said quickly. “I meant no disrespect; I have only your best interests at heart—”
“Of course, you do,” the Dark Lord said dryly. “In that case, I suggest you and every other Death Eater strive to follow Bella’s example—except when it comes to the things I allow her to do to me in private. That I wouldn’t welcome from anyone else.”
Lucius squirmed in his seat.
“I assure you, Master, I have no desire to—” He faltered under the red-eyed stare. “Not that you aren’t—it’s just that I don’t…um. Yes, understood.”
He grabbed his glass and threw back more wine.
Bella laughed. The Dark Lord winked at her.
The house-elves paused their performance briefly to clear their plates and serve dessert, then picked their instruments back up and launched into a jaunty tune. As the group dug into their tiramisu, the Dark Lord once again tried to strike up conversation.
“So, Narcissa, do you have any pets?”
“Why do you ask, my Lord?” she replied suspiciously.
“Well, our discussion about my basilisk got me thinking: Bella has her cats, we all know how proud Lucius is of his ridiculous peacocks—”
“Quite proud, my Lord!” Lucius cut in excitedly. “You know, my two prize-winners, Diamond and Crystal, just had some chicks—”
“And I,” he continued, glaring at Lucius, “can of course form an alliance with any snake I come across. So, I was just wondering if there were any creatures you had a particular affinity for.”
“Oh, well…I do have three spiders, my Lord.”
“Really?” he asked, sounding genuinely interested. “I would not have taken you for an arachnid fanatic.”
She shrugged, looking embarrassed.
“I’ve always liked them. They’re so clever and elegant; the way they weave such intricate webs.”
“When we were kids, I once tried to prank Cissy by hiding a spider in her dresser,” Bella said. “But the joke was on me because it ended up becoming her best friend! She was heartbroken when Father stepped on it.”
Narcissa sighed, still saddened by the memory.
“It was an accident. He bought me a lovely toy spider the next day, but it wasn’t the same. That was the day I learned magic couldn’t reverse death.”
The Dark Lord stiffened, a somber look covering his face.
“Yes,” he said softly. “A horrific realization indeed.”
Tentatively, Bella lay a comforting hand on her master’s thigh. To her relief, he didn’t push it away but instead placed his own hand on top of it, weaving their fingers together.
“But an important one,” he added, “as it has been the inspiration for most of my work. And now, at last, I believe I have made myself invulnerable to such a fate.”
“A most impressive feat indeed, my Lord.” Lucius said. “One that I hope you will perhaps consider sharing the secret of with your most loyal followers one day, if you are feeling generous….”
The Dark Lord’s eyes glittered dangerously, and his hand tightened around Bellatrix’s.
“The most loyal only, perhaps,” he said softly.
Bellatrix, who indeed knew the Dark Lord’s secret, smiled. Unbeknownst to Lucius, they both held one of the keys to their master’s immortality but only she had been given an explanation of exactly what the object she had been given to protect was and how it worked. What a fool Lucius was, to think that the Dark Lord would ever grant him immortality when he didn’t even fully comprehend the importance of the item he was already storing in his house!
“It would be nice if I could make my peacocks immortal,” Lucius said wistfully. “And myself and Cissa of course. And our children. If we have children. I mean, we’re trying, but no luck yet.”
He stopped suddenly as a new idea occurred to him then peered at Bellatrix and the Dark Lord in horrified fascination. “Would you two ever have children? What do think they’d look like? Would they be born without—?”
“Well, this has been a lovely evening,” Narcissa said, grabbing Lucius’s hand and starting to rise from her chair the moment she had shoved the last bit of tiramisu into her mouth. “but it’s getting rather late—”
“Is it?” The Dark Lord asked unconcernedly, glancing at the sky, which was now fully dark and studded with stars. “I suppose so.”
He got to his feet as well and Bellatrix followed suit.
“Still, I thought you might like to join me for a stroll down to that lovely lake we’ve been admiring all evening. It would help our digestion and I believe time spent in these rare parts of the natural world that remain unsoiled by Muggles does a wizard’s soul good.”
“My Lord, I would be delighted,” Bella said, wrapping both of her arms around his.
“Well, yes, Bella, I had been counting on you accompanying me. And you two?”
“Of course!” Lucius said, taking a final swig from his glass and getting to his feet, swaying slightly. “It is always an honor to spend time with you, my Lord—”
“It is, certainly,” Narcissa said quickly, “but we’re rather tired and I think Lucius has had a bit too much to drink—“
“Nonsense!” Lucius waved a hand airily. “I didn’t even empty my glass.”
“I’m fairly certain they were enchanted to never empty. Isn’t that right, my Lord?”
The Dark Lord’s mouth twitched with amusement.
“Yes. I didn’t want the house-elves to have to stop their serenade in order to provide us with refills. But Lucius seems to be the only one who had enough for that to matter.”
“Yes, most embarrassing. I apologize on his behalf, my Lord, and I will take him home and out of your sight right away—”
“Hardly the first time I’ve seen one of my Death Eaters drunk. But I suppose it’s a useful excuse to get away from me,” the Dark Lord replied, fixing her with a cold stare.
Narcissa froze.
“Not—not at all, my Lord! As Lucius said, it is an honor to stand in your presence! It’s just that….”
She looked to Bella for help. She let her sister squirm for another half-second, then said,
“Master, I think perhaps you’re underestimating the effect you have on others. Prolonged exposure to your magnificence, especially in such an intimate setting as this, can be overwhelming for some people.”
“Is that so?” He smiled wryly. “You seem to handle intimacy with me just fine.”
Lucius guffawed at that, nudging Cissy and angling his eyebrows toward the two of them suggestively.
“I’ve had more practice,” Bella said, leaning close to her lover’s face. “And I like to think I’m made of stronger stuff than these two.”
“Both very good points,” he murmured, eyes traveling around her face.
“Besides, I’d rather like to be alone with you right now.”
“Oh, don’t fret about that, Bella. I was never going to let the morning come without having gotten you to myself. Very well.” He turned back to the Malfoys.
“Since you are so easily drained, I suppose you should retire to your manor and get some rest. But this was quite enjoyable. We should do it again someday.”
Cissy’s eyes bulged at that.
“Absolutely, my Lord!” Bella said enthusiastically. “This was wonderful. Don’t you think so?”
Lucius nodded drunkenly. Narcissa’s jaw and fists were clenched tightly, but she managed a polite smile and nod before quickly bowing and Disapparating with her husband in tow, leaving Bellatrix and the Dark Lord behind, arm-in-arm and laughing.