Madness (a Bellatrix fanfiction)

Chapter 10

     "Honey, where are you going?"

     "Hogwarts. You remember my sister, Narcissa? She invited me to come to the school dance with her," Bellatrix explained to Rodolphus.

     "I see. And how long will you be gone?"

     "Just for the night. I'll be back in the morning, don't worry."

     "Okay. Let me know if you need anything, Bella. Have a nice time," Rodolphus said, embracing her quickly before heading up to his study.

     "Good night!" Bellatrix said before disapparating.

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Because of the charms placed on the magical school forbidding students to use apparation, Bellatrix apparated right outside of the boundaries of Hogwarts. She had arranged to meet Tom here at exactly 7 pm sharp. Because he wasn't here, Bellatrix assumed she was early, as he was never late. She looked down at her dress. She chose a floor length, dark green dress that sparkled even in the dark of the night. The strapless bodice clung to her every curve and her pale, bare shoulders made for a striking contrast against the dark green color of the dress. The bottom of the dress was layered, and the smooth green fabric that was draped across the top of the skirts gave the dress a dark, elegant look. Bellatrix managed to make every strand of her curly hair straight as a board, and the absence of the curls made her hair seem twice as long as it usually was. To top off the look, Bellatrix paired the dress with black heels and smoky black eye makeup. Bellatrix heard the soft pop! of Tom apparating behind her and she turned around slowly to face him. She smiled when she saw that he wore the same tuxedo and tie from the wedding, as he knew how much she loved it. His eyes widened when he saw how beautiful she looked, and Tom stood there, speechless.

     "Tom?" She said softly, giggling at his reaction.

     "Bella..." he stepped towards her slowly, looking into her eyes. "You...you took my breath away," he said. Tom reached out and ran his fingers through her perfectly straight hair. "Your hair looks amazing. Don't get me wrong, I love your curls, but I've never seen your hair like this." Tom took a step back and held her hands, looking her dress up and down. "This dress...it's absolutely stunning. You're absolutely stunning." Bellatrix smiled, blush rushing to her face, and for the first time in her entire life, Bellatrix saw tears in Tom Riddle's eyes. He tried to hide them, blinking to push them away, but a single tear escaped and rolled down his face. Bellatrix reached out and brushed it away gently.

     "Tom, what is it?"

     "Nothing, nothing. We should go inside."

     "Tom, please. Just tell me."

He shook his head. "Let me show you," he said, and Bellatrix understood. When he closed his eyes, she entered his mind.

"Narcissa, what are you doing here?"

"Tom, you need to come to Bella's wedding."

"I can't," he said, looking away from Narcissa.

"Why? We both know you're not busy. And she could really use the support. It's going to be a hard day for her," Narcissa said.

In that moment, something broke inside of Tom Riddle. Something that he had kept oppressed inside of himself for a long time.

"Let me ask you something, Narcissa. What makes you think it's not going to be a hard day for me, too? First, I have to watch her cry her eyes out because her mother is forcing her to marry someone she doesn't love. Then, she tells me to leave. Me. I'm her best friend. And now you want me to go and watch her get forced into a marriage? You don't get it." Tom said sharply, turning away from Narcissa completely, who was staring at him with wide eyes.