October 1978

Castle Lestrange

"Come on, Bella. You're so slow!"

Bellatrix giggled like mad as she chased Rodolphus through the gardens. She was breathless and her stomach hurt. She reached for her wand and yelled,

"Accio Broom!"

Her Cleansweep Six came soaring out from a storage hut, and Bellatrix caught it. She mounted it quickly and kicked off the ground, soaring up and over Rodolphus' head, and she called down to him,

"Catch me, Dolph!"

She and Rodolphus were so much more like friends than like lovers, and during these rare down periods between battles, they liked to have fun together. They'd been married for six years, and they were always messing about.

"Oi!" Rodolphus Summoned his own broom and mounted it, chasing Bellatrix as she raced through the gardens of Castle Lestrange. Up and up and up she flew, then plummeting downward. This broom needed replacing; it was rickety under Bellatrix in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. She frowned as she looked over her shoulder and called to Rodolphus,

"This broom is demolished, Dolph."

"Then land, scaredy cat," he yelled back, but before Bellatrix could make that decision, her broom stopped midair, bucking her forward and sending her tumbling forward through the air.

"Bella!" yelled Rodolphus. She screamed as the air rushed in her hair, as the wind blew in her face, as she tumbled end over end. Then suddenly everything went black and cold and quiet.

"You were playing. Like children."

"Master, I do apologise for our folly," murmured Rodolphus, and then his voice - his voice - replied,

"I need you both in battle. Both of you, but her most of all. And you were playing like children. What did the Healer say?"

"He said her broken legs and arms needed Ferula spells - healing and splinting for a week. She has a Concussion, so she's not to fly for some time."

"Well, that seems wise, considering the fact that the two of you fly on broomsticks like complete maniacs around your own property," snapped Lord Voldemort. Bellatrix's eyes watered where she lay in bed. She could hear her husband and her lord and master talking out in the corridor. She felt shame and guilt wash up inside of her. She'd be useless to Voldemort because of mucking about with Rodolphus. She scowled and looked at the splints binding her two broken forearms and wrists, the casts on her broken legs and ankles. She'd only need a week to heal, the Healer they'd brought in had said, but… still. A week out of commission in the middle of a war was everything. Anything could happen in a week. Everything could happen in a week.

"My Lord?" Bellatrix called weakly, and the chatter between the wizards in the corridor stopped. Voldemort's voice said harshly then,

"She speaks. Hmph."

His boots clacked on the stone floor as he came stalking into the bedroom where Bellatrix was convalescing. She slowly sat up, bowing her head to him, and he gave her a cold, hard stare.

"You bloody idiots," he scolded her. "Both of you, idiots. But you most of all. Flying a broom you knew needed maintenance so that you could get away from the husband who was chasing you like a child playing tag? We have more important things at hand, if you weren't aware."

"I'm aware, My Lord," Bellatrix said, feeling tears boil up in her eyes. Voldemort glared over his shoulder and then slammed the door shut with wandless, nonverbal magic. He pulled the heavy wooden chair beside the bed up and sank into it, sighing as he stared daggers into Bellatrix's eyes.

"You could have been killed," he noted. She stared back at him and retorted gently,

"Master, with all due respect, I could be killed in any and all of the battles that we fight."

"Better you die a soldier than a fool," he spat back. His eyes welled strangely then, and he said quietly, "Rodolphus wrote to me that you had four broken limbs and had been unconscious for three hours, and all I could think was… What if she'd died?"

Bellatrix's mouth fell open a little, utterly shocked, and she found herself at a loss for words. She asked quietly,

"Would you have minded?"

"Of course I would have minded!" Voldemort hissed. "You are my best soldier. You are my bravest warrior. You are my most devoted servant. You are my… yes. Yes. I would have minded, Bellatrix, if you had died falling off a broomstick."

"But I didn't die," Bellatrix reminded him, her heart racing all of a sudden. "I didn't die, Master."

"No." He cupped her jaw in his hand and stared straight into her eyes. His gaze was burning cold, piercing, and he whispered, "You didn't die."

"I won't be foolish like that again." Bellatrix wished abruptly that her arms had been free to reach out. She wanted to put her palms to his chest. Would he have allowed it? She was immobilised by her four broken limbs; the best she could do was lean near him a little. He pulled her face closer to him, bent down a bit, and let his lips get so close that his breath was warm on Bellatrix's skin.

"You're better than that," he mumbled. "You're my bravest soldier; you're not a little fool. Don't ever behave like that again. I forbid it."

"Yes, Master," Bellatrix replied softly, and then he shocked her.

He kissed her.

It was just a little brush of his lips against hers, just a little touch of one human mouth to another, but when he pulled back, he sucked air in hard through his nostrils and seemed to decide that he wanted more, so he brought his mouth back and did it again, but this time he urged Bellatrix's lips open with a little swipe of his tongue. She parted her lips in surprise and gasped, and then suddenly her mouth was invaded by his tongue.

She liked it. It had been so long for her since a first kiss, and to get one from him of all people… here, now, this… him, kissing her… she couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

Before she knew what was happening, he'd pulled back and was dragging his thumb over his lip, but his pink cheekbones gave him away. He shut his eyes for a moment and whispered,

"Well."

"Master…" Bellatrix breathed the word, still shocked. She wanted to touch at her lips. She wanted to touch him. She glared down at her splinted arms and wrists and then looked up at Voldemort again and promised,

"I'll never be so foolish again. I vow it."

"See that you're not. I need you," he nodded. He rose and cleared his throat, and he said sharply, "Feel better quickly, Bella. Keep me apprised. Good day."

As he opened the door to the corridor where Rodolphus was probably still waiting, Bellatrix said meekly,

"Good day, Master."

Author's Note: Wanted to get one fun one-shot in before Fantastic Beasts comes along… this is my farewell to Bellamort for the time being!