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Chapter 1

No Ordinary Man

Bellatrix Black stood in the middle of the crowded room listening somewhat half-heartedly to the man addressing the group. Her eyes scanned the room and she recognized a few of the faces but most were still strangers to her. In the world of the Death Eaters, it was not prudent to reveal yourself to too many people, even those who were your own kind. Just when she thought there was no one of real interest, a man caught her eye. He was no ordinary man and that was obvious. Tall and broad shouldered with long, sleek chestnut colored hair, he radiated power and authority. Bella studied his features more carefully. Though he appeared to be many years older than herself, he was still fit and possibly the most handsome man she had ever set her gaze upon.

"Bellatrix, I'm pleased to see you that you are so knowledgeable that you don't need to PAY ATTENTION"

Bella snapped out of her trance only to find herself face to face with an agitated Lord Voldemort.

"I'm sorry Master, please forgive my moment of weakness. I am a bit tired this evening" Her voice was quiet but unwavering, if she was fearful, she did not show it.

Voldemort stared her down momentarily before glancing ever so briefly at the man she had been so mesmerized by. She saw his eyes narrow as he and the man looked at each other and then, just as quickly he turned back to her.

"I want your undivided attention Miss Black"

She nodded "Yes, Master" and Voldemort returned to his place in front of the crowd.

Bella slowly faded back to the rear of the room. Many were staring at the young girl, probably thinking she was lucky to have escaped more severe punishment for the time being. She looked down at the drink in her hand and swirled the rich amber liquid around the glass. The man had disappeared into the masses and what did it matter anyway? Lord Voldemort had publicly admonished her like a silly little girl. No man of maturity would find that attractive. She downed the last swallow of scotch in bitter disgust and disappointment.

Rodolphus Lestrange met the eye of Lord Voldemort and understood, in that brief encounter, that the girl he was addressing was off limits. He, Rodolphus, had been unaware that the young beauty had turned her attention to him until his master informed him in a singularly warning glance. The girl, that he now knew was called Bellatrix, was not wholly unknown to him. He had seen her once before, though only briefly. And he had noticed her tonight as well, but what man would not noticed such a beautiful girl. Long, dark hair and full, red lips were an intoxicating combination for many men and Rodolphus was no exception. His fingers twitched slightly at the thought of grabbing that hair and kissing those lips with her helpless to stop him. The girl had now moved to the back of the room and Rodolphus watched as she swirled the liquor in her glass and then threw it back like a woman who was no stranger to the soothing effects of a stiff drink. Forbidden fruit was what she was, not only was she way too young, she had also been singled out by the Dark Lord. That danger made her a thousand times more beautiful.

"You knew that the Dark Lord would not punish you, didn't you?" A smooth voice purred over her shoulder and into her ear. A chill went down Bella's spine, she knew who was speaking without turning to look.

"I only hoped he would not." She replied with her back still to him.

Slowly, Rodolphus walked around until he was facing her. Up close it was even more apparent that she was easily twenty five years younger than himself. However, the defiance in her eyes was more than just a youthful twinkle, it was deep and powerful.

"Bella, come here. Lucius has someone he wants you to meet"

The connection was broken by a blond girl who resembled Bellatrix so closely he was sure they were sisters. Without another word, Bella turned away from him and followed the girl over to a group of young men. Rodolphus stood there staring, dumbfounded. No person had ever just walked away from him like that, man or woman. He watched as she shook hands with a skinny boy who had the most disgusting greasy hair he had ever seen. This girl walked away from him to meet that? He never knew the Dark Lord to fancy stupid women but there is a first time for everything.

"This is Severus Snape. Severus, this is Narcissa's sister Bellatrix"

Bella gave a weak smile and reluctantly shook Severus's hand. Why in the world did Lucius want her to meet him?

"Bella, Severus is quite ambitious, much like you" Narcissa was nudging Bella forward with her hand on the small of her back. That's when it all became clear; it was Narcissa that wanted her to meet this greasy git. Bella smacked her sisters' hand away.

"Damn it Cissa, I was in the middle of something else and you dragged me away for nothing!"

Severus's eyebrow went up in offense and Lucius rolled his eyes at this rude outburst.

"Do you mean Rodolphus Lestrange? You should thank Narcissa for getting you away from him, he is way out of your league."

Bella looked as if she was going to slap Malfoy and he knew it and hastily explained.

"He is dangerous, an inner circle Death Eater that was at school with the Dark Lord. Even you are no match for his level of deviance. Plus, he is way to old for you"

Bella snorted in irritation "I can take care of myself, Malfoy. Then she turned to her sister, " And I can get my own dates, Narcissa"

She turned her back on them and went to find a fresh drink. The man, who she now knew was named Rodolphus, was nowhere to be seen. Voldemort, it seemed, had left as well. Since she had better scotch at home anyway, she decided to call it a night.

After several hours of lying awake in her bed thinking about the events of the evening, Bella finally fell asleep only to be awoken again by a searing pain. The mark on her arm was burning and at this hour of the night she was sure something serious was going down. She quickly dressed and Apparated to Voldemort's current base of operations only to be somewhat unnerved by the lack of other Death Eaters. Surely others were coming; no one would be foolish enough to ignore the call of their Master. Bella found Lord Voldemort standing in front of the fire in a parlor on the first floor. She approached timidly, this was the first time she had ever been completely alone with him

"Master, you summoned me?"

Voldemort turned at the sound of her voice and beckoned her to come closer. She obeyed and joined him at the hearth.

After a few moments silence she asked, "Are there no others coming?"

He gazed at her so intensely that she felt herself blush under his scrutiny.

"I wanted to see you Bellatrix, alone"

"Me?" She barely had enough breath to speak.

"I want to know what is between you and Rodolphus" Voldemort demanded quietly.

That was not what Bella was expecting at all. A Crucio to punish her for her lack of attention earlier in the night, yes, a question about her personal life, no way.

She stammered "I..we…I just met him tonight and we hardly really met, two sentences was the extent of our conversation"

"You were staring at him, utterly oblivious to anyone or anything else around you" His tone was accusatory and angry.

Bella didn't know how to respond without sounding like a stupid schoolgirl.

"He…I mean….it was just that…" She moaned and closed her eyes, it was no use even trying, "He was just so handsome, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I'm sorry"

"I know you are young Bella, and that is why I am letting this little transgression be swept under the rug, so to speak. But I do not want you getting involved with Lestrange, he has more than enough women to keep him satisfied, he does not need or deserve one such as yourself. Do I make myself clear?"

Bella nodded quickly and replied "Yes Master, very clear"

"You may go then, goodnight Bellatrix"

"Goodnight my lord" and she hastily retreated and apparated back home.

Back in bed, Bella's mind was spinning. Why did Voldemort care if she saw Lestrange? Lucius had warned her away from him as well, was there something that they were not telling her? Rodolphus Lestrange was going from just a brief encounter with a handsome man to an enigma that was sure to lead her into trouble. She sighed as she drifted off to sleep; she had spent most of her life getting into trouble, why stop now?

Weeks had passed since Bella and Rodolphus first met but they were not destined to stay apart for long. It was nearly Christmas and Bella was in a shopping frenzy. Having been so busy serving Lord Voldemort she was now trying to get gifts for her rather long list of friends and family. She was walking out of Borgin & Burkes with her arms full of packages when she collided with what seemed like a brick wall. Bags and boxes scattered everywhere as she was knocked off her feet and flat on her bum.

"I'm so sorry, are you hurt?" a man asked with a concerned tone.

Bella looked up in horror, she recognized his velvety voice even though he had only ever spoken one sentence to her. There she was, on the cold, wet ground, looking up into the handsome face of Rodolphus Lestrange. He began to laugh when he recognized the girl.

"Oh, it's you. I guess this is payback for you being so insufferably rude to me the night we met"

He held out his hand to help her up but she smacked it away and got up on her own.

Bella brushed the snow off her skirt as she spat out "Do you often go about knocking girls to the ground or am I special?"

She began to gather her scattered items as Rodolphus laughed again.

"I think you know you are special Miss Black, and usually when I'm knocking girls down they are falling into my bed, not on a dirty, wet sidewalk"

Once she had all of her presents gathered together, she waved her wand and sent them on their way home and then turned and began to walk away.

"Oh no you don't, not again!" Rodolphus had caught her by the arm. "You are not getting away that easily"

Bella's eyes were blazing "I will thank you to let go of my arm!"

"Not until you say you will have dinner with me" His eyes had a naughty twinkle.

"No" She replied hotly "I have other plans and I'm not allow-" She stopped short.

Rodolphus smiled slyly "You're not allowed to see me, are you? Who forbid you, your father, a boyfriend, that ghost of a sister, hmmm…?"

The fire in her eyes was quickly extinguished as she replied solemnly "It was the Dark Lord"

He let go of her arm, his composure ruffled a bit "You're joking"

She shook her head.

"You are shivering like mad Miss Black, come on, you need to get in front of a fire and have a whiskey. I'll leave you once you are settled, if that is what you want"

Bella nodded, she knew she should walk away but she was freezing and her teeth were chattering too much to speak.

Once inside the Sneaky Goblin pub, they settled next to the roaring fire with two fire whiskeys and Rodolphus pressed her for details.

"Lord Voldemort summoned you at 3:00 am to tell you not to get involved with me? Why?" He already knew why but he was curious to hear what the Dark Lord actually told her about him.

Bella sipped her drink and felt the warmth spreading through her veins but it wasn't just the spirits, Rodolphus was so close she could hardly stop herself from leaning in and pressing her lips to his. Why did this man affect her so?

"He said you had plenty of women to satisfy you and you didn't deserve me. I have no idea what he meant by that. I don't know why he would care if I fell victim to one of his womanizing followers and as far as deserve me, I'm at a total loss there"

He gave her a disbelieving look "Bellatrix, you can't possibly be that naïve, he wants you for himself!"

Bella gasped, her eyes wide "That's just wrong" she whispered "You are going to get yourself in trouble saying stupid stuff like that"

"Trust me Bellatrix, I have known him since our days at Hogwarts and he has warned me away from women he marked as his own before. That night, with only a look, he told me you were off limits"

Bella was still skeptical, "Just because he doesn't want us together doesn't necessarily mean it's because he wants me for himself. I think he feels you might be a bad influence on me, that's all."

Rodolphus leaned back in his chair with a mischievous smile.

"Do you think I would be a bad influence, and if so, in what way?"

Bella leaned towards him seductively; she had not missed the suggestive tone in his voice. She slowly licked her lips before she responded to her now completely captive audience.

"I'm already pretty bad, so I'm not sure how much worse I could get. Though I wouldn't mind finding out"

The lecherous smile slid off Rodolphus's face as he realized that this girl may not be as naïve as he first thought. He watched as her tongue slowly traced her full lips making them moist and ready. He scarcely realized she was speaking but when he did, it made his heart skip a beat. Voldemort be damned, this girl was too irresistible to pass up. He had a feeling that the pleasure she had to give would far out weigh the torture he was likely to receive if they were caught. Rodolphus leaned forward until their lips were barely an inch apart.

"Do you think I am worth disobeying the Dark Lord?" he asked.

"Kiss me" was her breathy reply.

He hesitated for only a moment before softly pressing his lips to hers. Bella closed her eyes and was so lost in the deep, sensuous kiss that when he pulled away she momentarily forgot where she was.

"Well, is it worth continuing or do I walk away?" Since Bella's eyes were still half closed, he was pretty sure of her answer.

She took a deep breath. To disobey the Master would be so incredibly foolish…..

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