She could not believe how quickly time was passing. It was already almost the end of October and nothing could be better, well nothing could realistically be better. She had been out of Azkaban for four whole months. Bellatrix spent her days training with different groups of death eaters. Her mornings were spent with the newer members, the ones that the Dark Lord did not fully trust yet. They were the ones being sent out to kill muggles, almost like an initiation. Bella always volunteered to go but her master said he needed her safe, not that she could not handle it but he did not want her getting caught. He was sending the disposable followers, the ones that had yet to prove themselves like she had. Then in the afternoons, she trained with most of the members of the Dark Lord's inner circle. Then in the evenings, she trained with Rodolphus and Rabastan who she worked the best with. It was just like old times, except she was much more useful now. Her status as the Dark Lord's right hand was clear to everyone now as she was helping to manage a lot of what was going on. The power was infectious.
Today, however, Bellatrix had the day off. Her sister and brother-in-law were throwing a Halloween Ball in less than a week and Bella needed a dress. She could not remember the last time she was able to go shopping. Narcissa made special arrangements at a shop whose owner was a supporter of the Dark Lord so Bella could pick something out on her own. She was so absolutely excited, it had been so long since she had an excuse to dress up and party with her sister. While everyone was going to be wearing masks and costumes, it was only going to be followers of the Dark Lord so she would not have to keep her head down. It was difficult sometimes having to stay hidden away in the manor. Always worth it but not always easy.
She dressed warmly for the day and grabbed her long hooded dragonhide trench coat before heading down of breakfast. She was like a giddy school girl as she skipped downstairs into the dining room where her sister and brother-in-law were already eating. She smiled brightly.
"Good Morning," she said happily as she sat down at her usual spot next to Narcissa.
"Good Morning Bella," her sister said sweetly, "I see someone is excited about going out today!"
Bella simply nodded as she started eating. The quicker she ate the quicker they could go.
"Aren't you lucky going out during the day," Lucius said sarcastically having a little fun with his sister-in-law.
Bellatrix and Lucius were not particularly close but they loved to pick on each other. He was the brother she had never had. She turned to him and stuck her tongue out and made a sarcastic noise before returning to her food. It was not long before they had finished breakfast, Narcissa had said her goodbyes to her husband and Bella was hidden inside her coat. Then with a flash, the sisters were off.
When she opened her eyes they were standing in the middle of Knockturn Alley in front of an old shop that Bella recognized from her youth. Narcissa walked up and opened the door promptly, holding it open for her sister to skip inside. It was a small shop with some dusty old robes in the front window. A very old witch came out from the back and gestured for them to follow her. They followed her through the back of the shop which was clearly used for storage and down through a trapdoor into a large room underneath the shop. Inside were some of the most beautiful dresses and robes Bellatrix had seen in a very long time.
"Look around and let me know when you find something you like," the little old witch said before taking a seat by the large mirror. She smiled excitedly to her sister as she removed her hood from her head and made her over to one of the racks of long formal dresses. They both flipped through the racks of dresses looking for something they liked not saying a word until Bella stopped at one looking it up and down carefully.
"Cissy, what do you think of this one?" she said looking at her sister.
It had been so long since she had done anything like this she was a little nervous. It was floor length and the darkest emerald green she had ever seen. It had a full skirt, long sleeves, and a corseted bodice. It was very Victorian and knowing this place it was probably almost as old.
Her sister smiled, "It's perfect! Go try it on!" Narcissa was now almost as excited as she was.
Bellatrix turned to the owner of the shop, "I would like this one."
The old woman smiled at her as she shuffled over pulling it from the rack and taking her to go try it on. As the dressed was tied up the back she knew that it was perfect, she had not even seen herself in it and she knew. It fit perfectly like it had been made just for her. She smiled as she came back out into the main room, looking at her sister before turning to look in the mirror.
Narcissa sighed happily, "Oh Bella it is beautiful!"
Bella's smile only grew as she took in her image in the mirror. It was breathtaking. She kept her eyes on the mirror as the little old witch swished her wand, examining the fit on the dress. It needed very little done to it and soon she was back in her robes and was waiting for her sister. It was a lot harder for Narcissa as she already had so many beautiful dresses. Her sister finally picked out a long dark shimmery grey dress with a lace bodice with long sleeves. It hugged her slender body tightly and made her look even taller and more elegant than she already was.
"Oh Cissy you look stunning," Bella exclaimed when she came out in the dress.
She waited while her sister's dress was fitted and their gowns were wrapped up. Their next stop was to find masks over at McHavelock's. He always had a great assortment of masks this time of year. Picking out masks took a lot less time. Narcissa picked out a bright silver mask with a delicate crescent moon on it. Bellatrix meanwhile picked out a pearly black mask that was very reminiscent of a serpent. With their purchases complete they apparated back to the manor. She absolutely could not wait for the ball.
When they got back Bella went upstairs to her room where she hung her new dress up in the closet and placed her mask on her dresser. Then she saw the thin silver box sitting on the dresser with her name on it and a black bow. Who would have gotten her a present, it was nowhere near her birthday. She opened the box carefully, unsure of what she would find inside. She was completely shocked, inside was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was solid white gold with large emeralds and diamonds around the front. It also looked extremely old and she knew right away that it was not one of her family's' heirlooms. She pulled it out of the box and examined it closely before searching for a note or something that would indicate who had given it to her. There was nothing there, though. She placed the necklace back on her dresser as sat on the edge of her bed trying to figure out who had given her such a magnificent gift. She spent most of the evening trying to figure it out before heading down to dinner to ask her sister. Narcissa surely would know, she seemed to know just about everything that went on inside the manor.
Bellatrix flew down to dinner taking her normal spot next to her sister. As soon as she sat down she leaned over and whispered to her sister.
"Do you know who left the necklace for me in my room?"
Her sister looked at her stunned for a moment and shook her head, "Someone left you a necklace in your room?" Bella nodded as her sister asked, "Could it have been Rodolphus?"
Bellatrix rolled her eyes and shook her head, no matter how many times she had tried to explain their relationship to her sister she never fully understood. Besides how on Earth would he get his hands on something like that? It was very obviously and heirloom and not one she had ever seen which canceled out the Lestrange, Black, and Malfoy families. Narcissa finally shrugged a slightly worrisome look on her face. They eventually turned their attention to their dinners, but Bella's mind was still racing. She tried to keep up with the dinner table chit chat but was having a hard time as she got lost in her thoughts. She hardly ate she was thinking so much.
Finally,she gave up and tried to push it out of her mind. Maybe it was just Rodolphus,picked it up while he was out on an assignment. Other than wondering where hernew necklace came from she really was super excited for this party. Then asudden thought dawned on her, Rodolphus was going to end up being her escort.It had been so long since they had to put up the appearance of being marriedthat she had almost forgotten all about it. Not like it was a real marriageanyway. She supposed he could escort her in and have the first dance and thenhe would have to go on his way. She was going to enjoy this party no matterwhat. Her thoughts of the ball and her mystery necklace filled her head untilshe fell asleep, even sneaking their way into her dreams. Only six more days.