Bella Dearest

1

Bellatrix stared out the window of her bedroom. It had been only a few months since her mother's death and things had begun to change. Frost had coated the pane of the window, as November had arrived. It seemed that the mood of the house had become dark and gloomy as everyone mourned Druella's death.

Bellatrix could tell that her youngest sister had begun to understand what had happened since she had been less cheerful than usual. Andromeda had been trying to lighten the mood, but she knew that things would never be the same.

Bellatrix looked around her room, it was slightly larger than her two younger sister's rooms and was darker. Bellatrix had barely any decoration in the room. Unlike other eight-year-old girls, she preferred to have dark colours. The only pictures that hung on the wall of the room were some family pictures and the Black family coat of arms.

She had never really noticed how quiet the house was until that moment. Usually, the voices of Andromeda and Narcissa talking and laughing filled the house, but now their mother was dead and it seemed that all happiness has disappeared from the world.

Bellatrix stared back out the window at the cold landscape. It was early in the morning and she was the only one awake. She decided that she would go see if there was anything she could read that would ease her from boredom. She stood up and walked towards a large bookshelf that stood in one corner of the room. As she walked the wood floor beneath her feet creaked.

Bellatrix wasn't looking for any specific book, so she grabbed the first book she noticed and brought it back to her seat by the window without even bothering to look at the title. The book was labelled, The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Bellatrix looked at it with sorrow. She always used to read the book with her mother when she was younger.

Bellatrix sighed as she opened the book, knowing that whatever she did her mother's death would always haunt her. She looked down at the table of contents and flipped the pages to her favourite story, The Warlock's Hairy Heart.

Before Bellatrix could start reading she noticed that Narcissa had walked into the room. Bellatrix glanced up at her youngest sister.

"Bella, can I sit in here with you?" Narcissa asked as she began walking towards her sister. Her face was soft and kind, although she didn't smile. She was dressed in a periwinkle coloured nightdress that was soft against her unique blonde hair.

"Yes, come sit. We can read this story together, Cissy." Bellatrix replied. She could tell that her sister had probably experienced a nightmare. It wouldn't be the first time since their mother's death.

Narcissa continued walking forward and sat down gently on her sister's lap.

"What's the story called?" Narcissa questioned curiously. Her light blue eyes stared into her sister's dark brown ones with interest.

"It's called The Warlocks Hairy Heart. I don't think you've heard this one before." the two sisters read the story together as morning slowly arrived. It had been a while since they had actually spent time together since their mother's death had caused the family to break apart.

By the time their father had awoken and found the two girls reading, Bellatrix and Narcissa had gotten through almost the whole book.

"Bellatrix, Narcissa, we're going to go see your aunt and uncle today, so get ready." their father had told them before he went downstairs. Narcissa left the room to go to her own and Bellatrix had already gotten dressed. She had guessed that Andromeda was probably still asleep. It wasn't surprising that Andromeda wasn't awake yet. She usually was the last one awake.

Bellatrix took one last look around her bedroom before she walked into a long hallway that circled around the second floor of the house. The hallway was more of a balcony since it overlooked the bottom floor and you could see the other side from wherever you stood. A golden chandelier hung from the middle of the high ceiling lighting up both stories of the house.

"BELLATRIX!"

Bellatrix jumped as she heard Andromeda scream her name in anger. She had remembered that she had decided to play a prank on her the night before and had forgotten all about it.

Bellatrix quickly rushed into Andromeda's room to find her sister with her face covered in whipping cream. A feather that seemed to be alive floated by Andromeda's head.

"Bella! Why did you have to do that for?" Andromeda asked angrily.

"Because, I wanted to, and Papa told me to wake you up," Bellatrix replied.

"Well, I'm up now, thanks a lot Bella. No wonder you're such a disappointment to the family."

"Well, you're more of a disappointment than I am. I'm sorry if I was just trying to do as I was told."

Bellatrix quickly walked out of the room to avoid an argument.

'I'm not a failure. She is.' Bellatrix kept telling herself.