"You're such a disappointment."
These words echoed through Bellatrix's head. Even though they were not spoken out loud, she could still hear her father's voice when she read the letter he had sent to her that morning.
She tried, she had tried so hard to be what they expected her to be. She studied as hard as she could to top every class. She restricted herself from talking to people who might ruin her reputation. She watched her every move to make sure she didn't slip up.
But she had been careless, hadn't she? She messed up. She let her emotions take control of her. Maybe it was her fault.
Her parents forgot all about how she had scored "outstanding" for all her subjects. They forgot about how she managed to make the muggle-loving headmaster have a bad reputation amongst a lot of the students. They forgot about how she has tried her best to keep her sisters in line. They seemed to have forgotten everything, just because she had hexed Rodolphus.
But what was she supposed to do? He was being an idiot. Why did she even hex him? Because he had insulted Rita. Was it worth it to hex him? Was it worth all this trouble? Just to stand up for Rita?
Almost as if on cue, Rita tapped Bellatrix's shoulder to get her attention, interrupting her thoughts. Bellatrix was so caught up in her thoughts that she had forgotten she was sitting in the common room, with the person who caused this mess.
Correction. The person who made her cause this mess.
The weird thing was, she wasn't angry at Rita. Instead, she felt a sense of pride at how she stood up for her. Yet that pride wasn't enough to bury the feeling of failing her parents.
Rita was always good at reading people. She could tell Bellatrix was feeling overwhelmed. She thought about leaving her alone to work things out herself, as she didn't want to make things worse. But she knew Bellatrix didn't need that at the moment.
Rita knew Bellatrix wasn't used to failure, and when she did fail, she didn't know how to deal with her emotions. Rita took Bellatrix's hands and waited a moment, allowing her to pull away if she was uncomfortable. When Bellatrix didn't do anything, Rita stood up, encouraging Bellatrix to do so too. Rita began swaying their arms to the music that was playing on the radio.
Bellatrix knew this song, it was a classic. Her parents had made her learn it before. Her parents made her learn dancing because they wanted her to set a good image at formal balls. Bellatrix never particularly enjoyed dancing, so she was reluctant to start dancing with Rita. She just let Rita guide her arms.
Slowly, Bellatrix relaxed. There was something about this that just felt right. Maybe it was how their movements synchronised with the melody of the song. Maybe it was the warm feeling of Rita's hands touching her skin. Maybe it was the fact that, with no one else around, she could be herself around Rita.
Whatever it was, Bellatrix found herself eventually matching the grin on Rita's face. Her movements became less stiff and more pronounced. Her arms were moving of her own accord and were no longer being guided by Rita. Rita raised her right arm, still holding Bellatrix's hand, allowing Bellatrix to do a turn.
Everything else seemed to melt away. Everything Bellatrix was worried about, her parents, Roldolphus, didn't matter at this moment. All Bellatrix cared about was Rita. She didn't have to think about anything else tonight.
They continued dancing and were basically hugging by the end of the song. When the song finished, the two girls sat down and laughed.
Bellatrix Black didn't like dancing, but she liked dancing with Rita Skeeter.