Work Text:
“I know you’re there, Skeeter.”
Bella was sat in a narrow window, her feet in heavy boots propped on the wall, knees almost reaching her nose. She was holding a notebook bound in black leather, although she hadn’t written a single word in twenty minutes; that was how long Rita was watching her, waiting for Bella to do something other than just nibble on her quill.
Rita scoffed, coming out of her hiding spot just a few steps above. “Why are you just sitting here, doing nothing?”
“You’re literally spying on me.” Bellatrix sneered, her eyes narrowing. Rita turned her head in the other direction, suddenly interested in the empty staircase. “I was wondering how long you can sit here, just looking at me. Bit too long for me, I got bored.”
“I was thinking you’re a bit too still,” Rita murmured, stepping closer to Bellatrix. She sat down on the step below the window clumsily.
Bellatrix was looking at her, amused, her head cocked to the side. She was playing with Rita, making sure she knew – Bellatrix was laughing at her, not with her. It annoyed her to no end. Rita had to train herself to make that face, the mix of contempt and amusement, so good at keeping people at arm’s length. Bellatrix was a natural.
“I hope you know I wasn’t really watching you..” Bellatrix laughed, surprisingly softly, her freckled nose wrinkling. “Whatever. You’re really not that interesting. I have to get back to the dorm, anyway.”
Bellatrix watched her get up, and when Rita got up and actually started walking away, she shouted behind her in an unusually high-pitched tone, “Wait for me!” She jumped two steps at a time until she reached Rita, until she reached her and grabbed her arm, a bit too strongly. “What are you in such a hurry for?”
“Careful, there might be people around,” Rita said, pushing her glasses up her nose. “The common room is right behind you.”
Bellatrix looked behind her and moved away, just to the right of the entrance, leaning on the wall. “So what did you write about me, Skeeter?”
Rita ignored her, heading to the common room. Bellatrix followed her inside reluctantly.
“You’ll see once it gets published,” she said, and despite her previous protests, she sat down on the plush sofa instead of heading to her dorm. Bella grinned, taking it as an invitation enough, and sat next to her, kicking her shoes off. “Don’t worry, I’ll write plenty of good things about you. Bellatrix Black – used to be such a sweet girl at school, teachers loved her, but no one expected her to go on to murder babies and curse puppies.”
“Funny.” Bella curled next to her, so close her curls were tickling Rita’s shoulder. “Am I at least special, or are you spying on everyone now?”
“I wasn’t spying on you!”
Rita straightened on the sofa, moving away from Bellatrix. She noticed and frowned, leaning back closer.
“I know you’re looking for gossip for that little newspaper of yours,” she whispered, her hot breath too close to Rita for comfort. “Or you’re just looking for trouble. So which one is it?”
“Maybe I was just bored, since I have no friends, apparently.”
Rita smiled, realising Bella was getting genuinely curious now, and with each second Rita was refusing to give her a straight answer, her patience was tested. She was itching to get a rise out of her, knowing Bellatrix’s temperament.
“I quite like you, Skeeter.”
“Rita’s smile vanished immediately, making Bella explode with laughter – this time sounding almost genuine. Rita battled the desire to get the red lipstick off her teeth.
“Merlin, you look shocked! I thought you were having a laugh, do you really have no friends?”
“Piss off.” Rita turned away from her, hiding the blush creeping up her face. “You’re not exactly a prom queen material, either.”
“I’ve no clue what that is, but I know I have a better shot at it than you.”
“My profession is not conducive to making friends,” Rita said very seriously. “People get offended easily.”
“Profession?” Bellatrix giggled.
“Not what I meant with…”
“I think it’s time for me anyway!” Bellatrix got up suddenly, her long robe flowing around her waist, and she strolled out of the room before Rita could even think twice about saying something to stop her.
If there was one thing Rita liked about herself, it was her curiosity, which some people took as her being nosey. She was confident, even too much at times, which was precisely why she did not care if she was not the most liked person at school. And yet, the second Bellatrix was concerned, all of that was leaving her immediately. Bella was like a hurricane, always in the centre of the room; she was raised to believe she could have everything she wanted, and she wholeheartedly believed it.
“Are you done with Black?” Penelope looked up at Rita from the huge tome she was reading, following her around the room as she was getting ready for bed hastily. “I could hear her from the common room, you know. She couldn’t be quiet if she tried.”
“Well, you have a hearing of a bat,” Rita murmured. Penelope ignored it, taking her thick reading glasses off.”
“Whatever.” Rita should have learnt to ignore her in the past five years of living together. Penelope had so much potential – always complaining and hating everything and everyone. She should have loved gossip; and yet, the only interesting information she could bring Rita was about who the loudest person in the library was, which was hardly news-worthy. What a waste. “I’m going to shower.”
“Don’t drown,” Rita muttered.
“I heard that!” Rita rolled her eyes.
***
“Morning.” Bellatrix slid onto a bench next to Rita.
The great hall was almost empty, with few people getting up before seven on Saturdays. Rita left her homework too long, as she’d chosen to instead busy herself with editing the mediocre articles for the school paper all week instead. Now she had one day to finish seven scrolls about the properties of Veritaserum.
Bellatrix was full of energy, which only made Rita more mad. Who in their right mind was this lucid at seven in the morning?
She yawned loudly. “Why are you up so early?”
Bellatrix looked at her, surprised. “It’s seven in the morning, not the crack of dawn. I always get up at this time.” she said, leaning over the table for the jam. Skeeter glared disapprovingly at Argus Dodderidge, who was staring hungrily at Bella’s cleavage. She turned to look at Rita, still staring daggers at the boy on the other side of the table. “What is that face for?”
Rita pointed with a nod of her head at the boy on the other side of the table, who started blushing furiously. “Some people can’t stop being disgusting even at seven in the morning.”
“Jealous?” Bellatrix grinned at her, making no effort to cover herself.
“Of you or him?”
She laughed. “I like you like that. Throw in some interesting gossip and we can be best friends.”
“You’d need to have a friend at all to have the best one.” Rita poured herself a second cup of coffee.
“So?” Bellatrix drummed her fingers on the table. “Anything worth my time?”
“A sixth-year Slytherin has got a tail,” Rita said plainly. “Metaphorical tail. And she can’t seem to shake it off.”
Bellatrix shrugged. “Already knew that one. It’s the girl’s fault, she started it.” Bellatrix turned to straddle the bench and face Rita. She was holding a half-eaten piece of toast, crumbs going all over her dress. “I was looking for some friends who I wasn’t related to in Slytherin, and it seems you might be the only one.”
“Go bother Penelope, she’s not your cousin.” Rita started getting up from the bench, avoiding physical contact with Bellatrix, who seemed to have no respect for personal space. “I’m going to study.”
“Penelope is also the most annoying person in our year.” Bellatrix shot up behind Rita, still holding her breakfast. “Or, in Slytherin. I don’t know that many people outside of it.”
“Right, it’s a wonder you didn’t find a best friend among the twelve Slytherin students in our year.” Bellatrix snickered.
“Can I come with?”
Rita stopped and turned to Bellatrix, her arms folded on her chest. She sighed. “Only if you stay quiet.”
***
“I didn’t think you were actually going to study.”
Bellatrix propped her feet on the arm of the chair Rita was sitting in. She got bored of studying after half an hour and was now busy making origami. She had already made two swans for Rita, when she decided to attempt a rabbit, struggling considerably.
“I told you I was going to study.” Rita frowned at her. “You’re free to go. I would actually really appreciate it if you left.”
“But you don’t have to spy on me now! I’m saving you trouble.” Rita hid behind her book to cover her blush.
“You can help me with the paper if you want,” Rita murmured. “I have some new articles to look over and edit.”
“Not sure if I’m that bored.”
Rita reached under the table to grab the file of hand-written articles out of her bag, taking the opportunity to hide her blush. She handed them to Bella without a word, who resisted for a while, until the curiosity got the better of her. It made her busy for thirty minutes, during which Rita got as much done as possible, while still nervously glancing in Bella’s direction and observing her reactions to the articles.
“This is exactly why I don’t read the school’s paper,” she said, putting down the pile of papers on the table. Rita already knew she would have to sort through them again, as Bellatrix mixed all the pages up. “Pitiful excuse for journalism. There are maybe two actually interesting articles in the whole thing.”
Rita marked the page in her textbook and put it away, turning towards Bellatrix. “I’m aware. Which one do you think is good then?”
Bella looked at her curiously, perhaps having expected more of a protest from Rita, who had been fighting for the paper for months now. “I like the one about the new Hufflepuff chases. I agree, he’s even worse than the previous one, if that’s even possible.”
“That one’s mine.”
Bella smirked, rocking on the chair. “Is it? I suspected so.”
“How come?” Rita raised her eyebrows and pushed her reading glasses onto her head.
“You never cared about people liking you, didn’t you?”
Rita chuckled. “As long as it gets me a good story. I’m not interested in being friends with people too fragile to take any criticism, anyway.”
Bella regarded her curiously but stopped herself from any rude comments this time. “Will they let you publish this?”
Rita was taken aback by the question a bit. She still wasn’t sure what Bellatrix’s intentions towards her were, but so far, she suspected Bella was mostly interested in mocking her. Everyone knew she refused to be friends with anyone below her status – rich and pureblood, of which Rita was neither. The genuine interest in her stories was the last thing she expected, making her drop her guard for a bit. “No, of course not,” she answered when Bella started tapping the table impatiently, waiting for her response. “McGonagall refuses to publish anything moderately more interesting than your run-of-the-mill articles about school events. But writing keeps me in shape for when I can do the real thing.”
“Which is what? Writing for the Witch Weekly?” Bella giggled, surprising Rita with how sweet she could sound when she wanted to.
“Maybe.” And then, because it was just the two of them, hidden from the rest of the library, and because no one cared to ask her before, “I want to publish my own book someday. A biography of some famous person, a huge exposé.”
“Well then, fuck McGonagall.” Bella grinned at her. Rita bit her lip and turned away. “Why, are you scared?”
“She’ll fire me as the editor,” she said shyly, aware that Bellatrix would never care about that, making her ashamed. Bella was raised to never care about what others thought, so used to getting what she wanted.
“And that would be a shame!” Bella chuckled. “No more editing articles about the menu for the week.”
“The elves don’t make the menus, actually.”
“Interviews with Filch, then.” Bella got up from the armchair. “The sheer shock of seeing this article would make everyone in the school remember you. In my opinion, that’s worth more than years of editing the sorry excuses for articles submitted by the barely literate third-years.”
***
The printer kept spitting the pages, which Rita then organised into piles and bound with a spell. The room smelled like ink and was tiny, windowless, but somehow filled with white light, which made their skin look deadly white. Bellatrix could not find the source, as it seemed there were no lamps in the room.
“What’s that?”
“I said, thanks for forcing me to do this,” Rita said, her back to Bellatrix. She couldn’t see the smile on the girl’s face.
“Don’t you dare put this on me.” Rita chuckled. “If it goes badly, remember, it was all your decision.”
“Yes, I know.” Rita turned around, just to have the air knocked out of her, as her nose almost touched Bella’s, leaning on the printer. She moved away quickly, cursing the tiny room. Bellatrix blushed, barely noticeable in this light. “It’s good to be pushed, sometimes.”
“Well, I told you,” Bellatrix mumbled. “Felt bad for you. With no friends and all.”
Rita just laughed at that, ignoring the novel feeling in her stomach.
***
So that was how Rita ended up pinned to the wall by a boy towering at least seven inches over her and with a bicep the size of her head. She couldn’t know it was just the beginning of her streak of people angered by her articles, landing her in less-than-ideal positions over the years. She smiled.
It was exhilarating.
She could probably sneak under his arm and escape. She could be fast. Maybe not as fast as him, but if she surprised him… But then, maybe this conversation was worth any potential bodily harm.
“What the hell is this, Skeeter?” he hissed, pushing the crumpled newspaper into her chest.
“Oh, come on, Zachary,” she tutted. “Nothing everyone in this school hasn’t already thought of.”
“The one time this pathetic paper publishes something other than bad poetry and Quidditch results it must be about me?” He was a bit red in the face, a vein pulsing on his forehead.
“You know, I thought Hufflepuff was supposed to be full of sweet, friendly people!” She shook her head dramatically. “And you were supposed to be humble. This is all just constructive criticism!”
“Well, constructively criticise someone else, you… wench!”
“It could have been worse,” she said innocently. She leaned closer to him and whispered theatrically, “I could have published how you’re snogging Julie Dedworth in broom cupboards… Isn’t she dating the Hufflepuff team captain? Naughty!”
Rita snuck under Castor’s arm, using the moment of his surprise.
“Don’t worry, Castor, there’s no way he’ll keep dating her! I heard rumours he’s set to inherit his spinster aunt’s fortune, he will not even glance at Julie after that. She’ll be all yours!” And then, she turned on her heel and left a shocked Castor, leaning on the cold wall, even more red in his face than earlier.
She made it to the corner of the corridor with her head held high and then sprinted when she lost sight of Castor. It would probably be a good idea to find something on his Quidditch team friends, just in case they also turned out less than sympathetic to the freedom of speech in journalism.
***
“I’ve been officially fired from my position as an editor.”
Penelope glanced at her in the reflection of her mirror, still working on her elaborate hair updo. Rita was looking at the precise construction with some concern, mainly due to the sheer number of bobby pins she was unsure Penelope would ever be able to get out of her hair after that night.
“Is there anyone left to publish it, now that you’re gone?”
Rita sighed and shook her head. Vivianne closed the book she was reading with a thud and looked at Penelope disapprovingly.
“Of course there is, you muppet. Do you ever listen to a word we say, or can you not hear through that mop on your head?
“No reason to be rude,” Penelope said, unbothered. “I told you many times, I have a bad memory. It’s all because of that head injury from when I was little.”
She turned around to face the mirror and secured the last loose strand of hair, then shook her head slightly to make sure her hair wouldn’t budge even if she got caught in Scottish wind. Vivianne turned onto her stomach and looked at Penelope curiously.
“What’s with the hair?”
“What do you mean?” Penelope asked innocently.
“Don’t be daft,” Vivianne answered without faltering. “What are you getting all done up for?”
“I’m just meeting someone,” Penelope said nonchalantly, before a wide grin spread on her face and she turned towards them excited. “Marcus, from Ravenclaw. He’s a year older so you might not know him.”
Rita rolled her eyes. Penelope always took any disapproval from Rita as a sign that the other girl is jealous and Penelope should, of course, feel bad for her. This was partly due to Penelope’s parents doubling down on the message that no one could possibly dislike her, and anyone who might have anything against her is simply jealous; and partly because, well, poor Rita was just a bit awkward and uniquely looking, definitely not to everyone’s taste.
“If you wanted to, I could ask him if any of his friends are interested,” she said, looking at Vivianne, too, who blushed lightly.
“Well, I’m not interested in snogging some boy just because he’s older!” Vivianne, who was a natural blonde with a perfect olive skin, was decidedly more attractive than either Penelope or Rita. Unfortunately for her, she was too smart for her own good and didn’t bother pretending not to be to appease a man. Rita highly doubted Marcus’s friends would need any convincing to take her out, if it wasn’t for the fact that they were bound to be too intimidated to even try.
“And very handsome.” Penelope sent them a kiss on her way out. “I must go. Wish me luck!”
Vivianne looked at Rita, who was pretending to read when the door closed. Skeeter raised her head, fixing her glasses out of habit.
“I’m sorry they kicked you out of the paper,” Vivianne said gently. “But at least you could publish what you really wanted, if just once.”
“Thanks, Vi,” Rita said awkwardly, unused to her friend showing her this much sympathy. “You know I don’t care. I’ll show them when I leave this dump and become a real journalist.”
“I know you will.” Vivianne smiled at her brightly. “What do you want to write about?”
Rita sighed. “I’m not really sure yet. I just want to be honest and make a difference with my journalism, you know?”
Vivianne nodded with seriousness. Rita would go on to do great things, no doubt.
***
“They kicked me out of the paper.”
“Congrats, Skeeter!” Bellatrix put her arms around Rita’s neck and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Bravo! First worthwhile thing in your journalistic career!”
“Getting kicked out of my job? And not successfully starting a paper and running it for years?” Rita shuffled out of Bella’s embrace.
“Ah, bollocks that,” Bella said, waving her hands. Her mum would give her a proper talking to if she heard the vulgar language her daughter was using; that was part of the appeal, she supposed. “And now you’ll have more free time.”
Rita scoffed. “To do what?”
Bellatrix looked at her curiously. “Are you upset that I pushed you to publish that article?” She turned her head to look ahead, avoiding Rita’s gaze. “That was the best advice you could get. No one will remember a girl who wrote a series of the most forgettable articles for a school paper. Do you know what they will remember, when they pick up a biography you wrote, in ten years?”
Bella stopped ahead of Rita, looking at her. “They’ll think, “this girl always had the balls to say the truth and didn’t give one fuck about the consequences”. And then they’ll pick up your stupid book, because they’ll know you’ll tell them the truth.”
“I don’t to just be the person who’s stirring the controversy everywhere she goes, either,” Rita huffed quietly. “I want to be honest, but I’m just wondering if maybe that article was a bit much. I wanted to do something more meaningful.”
“Oh, boo-hoo,” Bella said, smirking. “No one wants to read about justice or whatever you’re thinking about, Rita.”
“What does it matter what people want?”
“Because you want everyone to know your name.” Bella grabbed her elbow, linking their arms together. “And they will. But only if you keep writing like you did in that article.”
Rita pulled away from Bella’s grasp. “Why the sudden interest in me, Bella?” She wanted to sound nonchalant, but the quivering tone of voice revealed her real stakes in the friendship. “So many years in the same school, and I don’t think we’ve talked more than ten times.”
Bellatrix looked at Rita with her huge black eyes, her dark curls flying in all directions in the autumn wind. “Do I bother you?” she asked, because it was easier than explaining that she had been watching Rita for months, for years maybe even, always imagining them so similar at their very core. And then, “Are you aware you were the first one to follow me?”
Because it was easier than explaining that she was glad she found Rita, how different Rita was to everyone that Bellatrix knew; not smothered under the weight of all that she had been taught to do, the connections she had to maintain and the ones she had to keep away from.
“I just wanted to know.” Rita sniffled, the cold biting her cheeks and making her nose runny. “It came out of nowhere.”
“You were there,” Bellatrix said coldly. “It was something different, I suppose.”
“So it’s an experiment, then?” Rita frowned. “To see, what? How far you can push me? You’re a bad influence.”
“I’m the best person you could have influence you,” Bella said, leaning into Rita. “You’ll see in twenty years, when we’re the most successful witches of our generation. That’s one thing my family knows how to do – becoming successful.”
***
It was almost completely dark when they headed towards Hogsmeade. Narcissa slid her slim hands into the pockets of her burgundy coat, pulling the scarf all the way up to her nose. They walked in silence, just the sound of snow crackling under their feet.
“I would love winter if it wasn’t so bloody cold,” Narcissa said, her teeth chattering.
“Mum wouldn’t be happy hearing you speak like that, Cissy,” Bella tsked at her. “Vulgar like a muggle.”
“Ah, you’re the one to talk.” Bellatrix smirked. “Hanging out with a half-blood girl all the time… Don’t think I haven’t noticed!”
Bellatrix ignored her, picking up the pace just to make sure they can make it to Hogsmeade and back before the curfew. Narcissa chased after her. “Oh, Bella, slow down, I didn’t mean anything by that! You know that me and Andromeda don’t really care about all that.”
“Well, you should. They have completely different customs to us, and the more of them there are, the more our traditions suffer. Trying to stay a pureblood is already seen as too traditional, soon they’ll start looking down at us,” Bellatrix said sternly, but stopped as she noticed Narcissa rolling her eyes, probably hearing this speech not for the first time. “Besides, Rita’s mum is a very important witch in the Ministry. Thank Merlin she had the foresight to raise Rita in our world.”
“Yeah, yeah, Bella, preserving traditions, bla-bla-bla,” Narcissa answered, earning a light slap on the head from her sister. “Anyway, why were you in the castle today?”
“Why were you?”
“Oh, Lucius felt a bit unwell today, I offered to keep him company.” Narcissa smiled. Her rapidly blossoming crush was making Bellatrix want to gag, but she was happy with her sister – not everyone is lucky enough to find someone who is not only an acceptable husband material, but also someone they actually like. “But then he went to sleep, and I saw you’re moping around the castle, so I thought, as a good sister, I should take you out. You look like you could do with some fresh air.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Bellatrix mocked, linking their arms together.
“I’m a very thoughtful, sensible person.” Narcissa smiled at her. “So, why didn’t you want to go to Hogsmeade today? I know some of your girlfriends went. I even asked Eleanor if you all fell out or something, I haven’t seen you guys together in a while. I was worried about you.”
“You weren’t worried, you were just nosey, you sneaky little bugger,” Belatrix laughed, ruffling her little sister’s hair. She rarely afforded herself the freedom to act like this with anyone but her youngest sister. “I was just busy lately, all those NEWTs preparations… And honestly, you know how tiring they can be. More pretentious than our own mother.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Narcissa giggled. “Well, I can’t say they aren’t a bit pretentious, but they’re still lovely girls! And besides, you didn’t seem to care about it the last six years, Bella!”
“I always minded a bit,” Bella murmured. “I just didn’t have an alternative.”
“And now you have Rita.” Narcissa smiled at her.
“Well, yes,” Bella answered reluctantly. “She’s quite interesting, that one. Probably not someone I can be friends with outside of Hogwarts, but…”
“Why not?” Narcissa shuffled minimally closer to Bella, leaning on her heavily now. “She’s smart, she’s a great writer, she has so much audacity! She could rival you.”
“She’s a bit grumpy.”
“You won’t be friends with her because she’s grumpy?” Narcissa laughed.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Bellatrix sighed. “I just don’t know if that’s such a good look on me.”
Narcissa shrugged. “Who cares? It’s not like you’re marrying her.”
Bellatrix felt a cold shiver run down her spine before she hurried with her response. “No, of course not!”
Narcissa looked at her funny. “O-okay. Well, then what’s the problem? She’s going to become some big time writer and no one will even care about her blood status, Bella.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Bella turned to her sister. “And what will you be, my darling sister?”
“A mum, of course.” Narcissa laughed with delight. Then, after a moment of silence between them, she pointed into the distance, “I think that’s Rita! What a coincidence. Come, let’s say hello to her.”
Narcissa tugged at their interlinked arms to drag Bellatrix further down the road to where the first shops of the village started. Rita waved at them awkwardly, her hands busy with shopping bags. Bellatrix waved her wand at her, the bags ripping away from Rita’s hands and levitating by her side. It was so peculiar to Bella how being raised by muggles could affect a person. She would never even think to carry all of that herself.
“Did you see a ghost?”
Rita shook her head quickly, peeling her eyes away from Bella smirking at her. “I saw you and got scared. I thought you’d be too busy sulking in the castle.”
“I wasn’t sulking,” Bella said defensively.
“Can we go sit somewhere? I’m freezing,” Narcissa said, already tugging at Bella’s arm.
“Right, I won’t be disturbing you then,” Rita said quickly, turning to look at her shopping bags, as if making sure they’re still there.
“Don’t be silly,” Bella said, turning towards her sister. “Narcissa, do you mind if Rita joins us?”
“I don’t mind if McGonagall herself joins us, as long as I don’t have to stand out in the cold anymore.” Narcissa’s teeth chattered, as if to make sure everyone is aware of how uncomfortable she is.
“Right, that’s settled,” Bella said. “Rita, this is your first opportunity to meet my family. Let’s hope you make a good impression.”
And as she turned to lead them to the Three Broomsticks, she couldn’t ignore the deep blush that crept up Rita’s face.
***
Her cardigan was thrown on the floor carelessly, so soft to touch Rita was certain it must have cost more than a good chunk of her own wardrobe. She picked it up and brought up to her chest before folding it, then putting on Bella’s blanket. She didn’t want her to notice that Rita cared about clothes like that; Bella would never get it, not when her whole life she only ever got the best quality. Rita’s fingers brushed against the soft yarn hastily, savouring how soft the yarn felt. She felt a bit reckless, letting Bella glimpse into Rita’s wants like this – how much she desired the luxury, how she longed for the nicer things in life that she didn’t have herself, what with her mum opting for the cheaper, less obnoxious in her eyes muggle clothes. The soft, charmed fabrics of everything Bella owned was the dream.
Bella herself was sprawled on the bed, pretending to be absorbed in a novel. She watched Rita like a hawk from above the edge of her book and she moved reluctantly to make space for her. Rita slid under the blanket, immediately relaxing after its weight.
“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Rita said, her voice just above the whisper as she tried desperately not to sound too needy. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah.” The book was laid abandoned in Bella’s lap now. She sighed and turned to face Rita, their faces just inches away. “I don’t want to go back home.”
“Why?” Rita sounded bewildered. Bella’s house was not the dream, but it was far from bad, from what she heard. Everyone knew how wealthy the Blacks were, Bella could get lost on her family’s estate and avoid seeing her parents for hours if she wanted to, although Rita couldn’t imagine they’d be so bad. What she’d do to be able to escape like that, when her own house had two bedrooms and parents who wanted to spend each evening playing board games. Not to mention two weeks without magic, the established rule in her house. No doubt Bella never had to worry about that.
“It’s so boring in there,” she said. “I’ll have to entertain at stuffy Christmas parties.”
“I thought you might want to see your family.” Rita was inching closer to what she really hoped Bella might say. Her heart was beating so fast, betraying her nervousness.
“They can get a bit tiring,” she muttered, shifting slightly to move closer to Rita. She held her gaze. “I’ll miss you.”
There it was – Rita’s heart up in her throat, suddenly feeling nauseaus. She could feel her cheeks burning up, and as she avoided answering, Bella just frowned and turned away from her a bit.
“What happened to your arms?”
“I tripped on the gravel,” she said, turning her arm to look at the nasty scratch on her elbow. “I saw Rudolph with a girl from Hufflepuff. Got spooked a bit. It looked like he might not want other people to see them.”
“Lestrange?” When Rita confirmed, Bellatrix laughed. “I can always rely on you to know the gossip.”
“Who is she?”
Bella shrugged. “I’ve no clue. It seems like this really isn’t a union he might want to proudly announce to his friends. But do not worry, I’ll make sure to bring it up and use it as blackmail against him.”
Rita looked at her curiously. “Would his parents not approve?”
“Unless there’s a pureblood, noble woman in Hufflepuff that has somehow escaped me in the last six years at Hogwarts, then I can’t imagine they’d be very happy.”
“And that’s what they want for him? A noble pureblood?” Although really, the question playing on Rita’s mind was whether that was also what they wanted for Bella, and if she could ever entertain the thought of disobeying these wishes. “Like you?”
“Well, yes.” Bella smirked. “Of course, they’d be ecstatic if he could marry me. But don’t worry, it’s not the 1800s. We don’t get engaged at the age of 16 anymore.”
“I knew that,” she murmured, even though she really hadn’t been certain before, Bella’s world outside of school so foreign to her and riddled with rules and expectations Rita would never know. “You could visit me over the break, if you’d like. My parents wouldn’t mind. That is, if you get too bored at home.”
“I’m not sure they’d allow me to,” Bella responded, pondering it for a bit. Rita feigned nonchalance. It was a long shot anyway; they didn’t belong in each other’s worlds really, not outside of this school. She wanted to laugh at the thought of Bellatrix, in her deep purple, velvet robes, sat on her living room sofa, sandwiched between Rita’s dorky dad and overeager mum, stuffing herself on finger sandwiches. “Nothing to do with your family, Rita, just… There are things I’m expected to do when I’m at home, that’s all. I don’t think you can really imagine it, but it’s not much of a relaxing school break for me.”
Bellatrix laughed humourlessly as Rita nodded, trying not to look too disappointed. She knew it was because of her family. It was left unsaid in the invitation for the Christmas party that was never extended to Rita. That was clear as day; Rita would be too out of place there, there really was no point in even pretending like she could come. Their friendship was confined to school grounds, and Rita should be happy with that. “That’s fine. Your loss.” This earned a real laugh from Bella this time. “I’ll write you letters, just in case you have some spare fifteen minutes in your busy schedule.”
“I’ll write you back.”
Rita extended her pinkie finger to Bella, who looked perplexed for a second before she got the gesture and shook it with her own pinkie. The tension diffused quickly, and everything was back to normal, except for the shy fluttering in Rita’s chest as her heart pattered around.
***
“I really didn’t think you’d come here.”
Bellatrix sat on the desk in the corner of Rita’s room, her knees crossed and back straight. She looked so confident, entirely at ease in this room she’d never been in before. Rita couldn’t comprehend how she could just be there, in her childhood bedroom with the walls painted a painful shade of blue and a stuffed toy discarded in the corner. Bella looked so expensive and regal, out of place in the room decorated with cheap pine furniture and yet unbothered with how much her expensive velvet robes didn’t fit with the surroundings. Her big, black eyes shone in stark contrast to her pale complexion, untouched by the biting cold outside, and her curls were wild and frizzy because she had to stand outside in the wind.
Rita was wearing a pair of navy pyjamas and heavy-rimmed glasses. She reached to fix her hair discreetly, even though nothing could escape Bellatrix.
“Just for a bit,” she said, smirking and reaching to ruffle Rita’s hair she’d just tried to tame. “Your parents were surprised.”
“Well, so am I,” Rita huffed, leaning on the desk right next to Bella. She tried to avoid her gaze. Bella leaned forward to look at her closely.
“Should I not have come?” Just for a moment, a hint of anxiety played in her voice. Rita revelled in the knowledge she could make Bella nervous, even if for just a short while.
“No, I’m pleased you’re here.” Rita turned her head towards Bella, startling herself when she realised how close they were now. She wondered if Bella could smell the mulled wine she had earlier on her breath, if she could see the pimple on her forehead that just popped up earlier that day. Rita savoured the scent of cold and snow on Bellatrix. Up close, she could see her freckles, so light they were barely there.
And then, because she got bolder, she said, “I missed you.”
Bella turned her gaze to her lap. “I wanted to come give you a gift.”
“Owls are off for the holidays?”
Bella snorted. “Bugger off,” she said, amused. “I wanted to see you, too.”
Rita smiled and shouldered her gently. “I got you something too. I was just going to wait until I see you at school.”
“Good,” Bella said hastily. “My parents wouldn’t be very happy. Gift giving and Christmas in general is a…”
“A muggle tradition,” Rita said, reaching over Bella for a drawer in her desk to retrieve the small package. “I know, my mum tells me every year. That was probably her favourite part about marrying into a muggle family. The novelty still hasn’t worn off for her.”
“Well, I don’t usually like bringing muggle traditions into our world,” Bella said and smirked. “But it’d be unlike me to reject a gift.”
Rita laughed, full of warmth. She looked down, taking in the sight of the two of them; her, barefoot on her plush carpet, and Bella, in a heavy formal robe and leather knee-high boots. What a sight, to have Bellatrix Black in her bedroom, still giddy from a party that Rita could never even dream of being invited to. And yet, Rita was the person on her mind, important enough to leave whatever ball she was at to wait in front of her humble townhouse in Southampton for Rita’s muggle dad to get up from the couch and open the door.
“Well, what is it then?”
“Oh no, me first,” Bella said, reaching for the package Rita dug out of her drawer.
She tugged at the ribbon impatiently and tore into the decorative paper, letting it fall to the floor carelessly. Under it, she found a heavy box of watercolours, the colours on the metal packaging twinkling.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it.” Bella smiled at her, gripping the box closer to her chest. “I’ve never used watercolours before.”
“I know.” Rita grinned widely, unable to contain her excitement. “I’ve seen your drawings. You’ll be good at it.”
“I’ll paint you the biggest portrait you’ve ever seen. And charm it to never shut the hell up.”
Rita laughed, out loud and genuinely. “You better do. It wasn’t easy to convince my mum to take me to Diagonal Alley in peak Christmas shopping time.”
Bella put the box on the side and handed her a much smaller box.
“Open yours now.”
Rita turned it around in her hands, awed by the box glimmering as if covered in stardust. She opened it gently, scared it might shatter under her touch, even though Bella had it disguised without any care in her coat pocket this whole time. Inside, she found a gold necklace with a star-shaped pendant, adorned with gems on the sides. It shone so intensely it must have been charmed.
“Wow,” Rita said, her eyes open wide. “Way to upstage me.”
Bella giggled, exhaling the breath she’d been holding this whole time.
“I wanted it to remind you of me,” she said shyly. “That’s why it’s a start.”
“Why would I need to be reminded of you? You’re right here.” Rita didn’t even notice Bella averting her eyes with guilt. “It’s beautiful. I love it.”
Bella smiled and leaned towards her to take the necklace gently from her hands. Her hair tickled Rita’s neck as she reached to secure the necklace. Rita raised her head as she toyed with the clasp, and watched as Bella observed the necklace twinkling with the rhythm of her heart. She grabbed her chin gently and raised her head so that they were at the same level. Her heart beat fast and her stomach was in knots, and Bella looked so scared, so unlike her usual self.
The whole time they knew each other, Rita wasn’t sure if Bella was playing a game or an elaborate joke on her. She always knew Bella had the upper hand and Bella knew it too, that Rita was at her whim, ready to take the chance that this might all be a huge ploy to embarrass her if there was the slightest chance Bella actually just wanted to get to know her.
She smiled at Bella and leaned it, hand still on her chin, the other one clutching Bella’s hand. She kissed her for the first time.
***
Her office was as simple as possible. Just a white, plush sofa, a black table and a bookcase filled with magazines and a handful of books. She hung her own portrait above her heavy, mahogany desk. Portrait Rita watched the guests while the real Rita was busy making teas or retrieving even more visitors from the door, making sure none of them put their grubby little hands on any important, unreleased work waiting to be finished. These days, Rita was getting too many people who couldn’t handle a little media attention and tried to sneak in and meddle with her articles, or steal things altogether. It was futile, of course, as she could never forget a story, no matter how deep you tried to bury it; nonetheless, it was annoying and added extra work she would much rather annoy.
“So what’s bringing you to my office?” Rita peered at her suspiciously from above her half-moon glasses. She clicked her tongue and added quickly, “I’m not taking on any apprentices. No offence, darling, but your generation is absolutely killing me.”
An overzealous young woman smiled widely and took a deep breath. “Well, actually, I was wondering if I could interview you.”
Rita smiled, delightedly. “Me?” She tapped her fingers on the desk. “And what, may I ask, are you writing about me?”
“Not about you, exactly.” Rita almost rolled her eyes; waste of time, then. Rita was not in the business of giving interviews about other people. If she had anything interesting to say about another person, she either already had written about them, or she was planning to in the near future.
“I usually don’t share my information, or my sources,” she said, her voice growing high-pitched. “But who is it about, then?”
“Bellatrix Lestrange.”
Rita froze, just for a brief moment. She looked at the girl curiously.
“She died recently? I was attempting to write her biography, and I found that the two of you were friends.”
“Well, Diane,” Rita felt her mouth dry up. “We were friendly, certainly, although I’m surprised anyone told you, really. Most of her friends didn’t approve of our friendship.”
“It was Narcissa Malfoy who led me to you,” Diane said, taking out her notebook. Rita eyed the pad suspiciously. “She seemed to be under the impression the two of you were very close for a while.”
“For a while, sure.” Rita chuckled. “She never contacted me again after Hogwarts and never responded to my letters. It was like she disappeared from the face of the Earth, except I could still see her around and most definitely heard about all that nonsense she got herself in, but she pretended like we never met. Just like an extremely realistic hallucination that makes you doubt two years of your life.”
“Sounds difficult, then.”
She looked at Diane. Fuck it, she thought. She really should be giving a leg up to new women in the industry, shouldn’t she? She’ll smear her ex she was still not over in what might be the worst publication of the year, looking at Diane’s pitiful interviewing skills.
“Well, it sucked,” she said. She paused for a second and Diane leaned forward, betraying her excitement. Rita sighed. “Oh, fucking hell. I have next Tuesday evening free, pay me for a nice meal and I might just give you the story that’ll get you a book deal even with the worst writing of the decade.”
Diane almost squealed, thanking her profusely. Rita reached for her necklace, too gorgeous to take off even after Bella broke up with her unceremoniously by simply ignoring that they were ever an item after they finished school. She smiled. Fucking Bella.