Regulus Black- Drowning

The Wedding

Bellatrix paced nervously up and down the room she'd gotten ready in. She felt what she could only describe as jittery, something she scarcely was.

She knew she did not love Rudolphus, she'd go as far as to say she hated him. But he was powerful, he was a death eater, something Bella would quite literally kill to be. Rudolphus was simply a way of getting there.

She could marry him, she could be calm and she would be a loyal follower of the lord.

She rather surprisingly enjoyed getting ready for her wedding. Her dark coils of hair had been pinned up strategically and her inky dress spilt down her. Her dress fit so perfectly as if she'd been born only to wear the grand garment.

She now stared in the mirror and practiced her smiles. She knew she was pretty, she'd been told so her whole life but she had not anticipated just how different she would look now.

Her pale skin contrasted rather stunningly with her raven dress and deep red lipstick. She traced her sharp features with her dainty finger, allowing herself to feel each and every pore or slight blemish on her practically porcelain skin.

She no longer had to fake her smile. As far as she was concerned she was staring into the face of pure beauty and power.

And she loved it.

Regulus sat in-between his mother and Sirius. Orion sat next to Sirius, not by choice but by obligation.

The ceremony was due to begin soon. You could feel the tension brewing in the air. The way the room filled with dark and dreary figures, who Regulus had never met in his life.

This was not the celebration of love it had been made out to be, it was a business deal at best. The whole affair seemed rather odd to Regulus, he'd only met Rodolphus Lestrange once and to put it lightly (something Regulus found himself doing far too much for his age) he wasn't a person Regulus could picture Bellatrix with.

To make matters worse his cumbersome attire itched like, as Sirius so politely put it "Bigfoot wearing pantyhose".

Andy and Siri had practically burst with almost obnoxiously loud laughter. Reg, still feeling rather sour about Sirius abandoning him to play with Andy, had not allowed even a semblance of a smile to grace his features.

Sirius's tasteful remark had resulted in him and Andromeda being separated and practically guarded by their respective parents to avoid any further unpleasantness.

And though Regulus would never admit it, Sirius was right. Reg desperately resisted the urge to scratch his whole body as the music began to play.

He rose to his feet sensing Walburga's silent demand, and stood, his back unnaturally straight and poised.

The classical music seemed to go on forever, Regulus himself played piano, violin and harp, and even he had to admit the mini orchestra was a tad overkill even for a Black.

A Black. His thoughts looped. Bella would no longer be a Black.

He found this rather curious, would she maintain the qualities so fiercely associated with the Blacks? Would she change..conform?

The silent question he wished he had not thought about then arose, would he conform?

Before Reg could have a full blown midlife then and there, Rodolphus took his place at the grandiloquent altar. He was sharply dressed in a fitted Black suit, his matte black hair had been combed through yet still fell messily infront of his chocolatey eyes.

The eyes he'd gazed longingly at Bellatrix Black for so long. The eyes which would finally get to look at her own.

Rudolphus had become positively besotted with Bella. Even back at Hogwarts he'd tried to stick up conversations with her, he'd even gone as far as to send her anonymous gifts on Valentine's day. (What he hadn't known is she'd simply chucked them on a pile from other star struck boys without a thought.) Though she was quite short with him, he had learned to love her snappy speach and harsh gaze.