The days were getting shorter, and the school's workload was getting bigger. Bellatrix had yet to pick an extracurricular and was feeling the pressure to do so. Her mother had sent her a letter that morning demanding an explanation as to why she hadn't picked one yet and had informed her that she was disgracing the house of Black by not putting the effort in to absolutely excel at Hogwarts.
She was walking from transfiguration to the greenhouses for herbology with Rita. They walked down the halls of the school and as they got closer to the courtyard, Bellatrix pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, attempting to shield herself from the autumn chill.
"What's got you so bothered?" Rita asked her, head cocking to the side the way she so often did when her curiosity got the better of her.
"My darling mother." Bellatrix muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Rita gave her a sympathetic smile. "Merlin, I thought my mum was bad until I heard about yours. Now she seems like a saint."
Bellatrix frowned slightly. She never knew what to do when people sympathized about her parents with her. She always had this instinct to immediately tell them to shut up, that they didn't know anything, and they should mind their own business. Rita was okay though. Bellatrix knew she meant the best.
"What does she want from you this time?" Rita asked.
"Same as before. Picking a club."
Rita nodded. "There's always knitting club." she offered, a smirk growing on her face.
Bellatrix put on a fake smile and pitched her voice higher. "Oh perfect! I can sit there and make little sweaters and baby clothes and talk about how I love being a girl and can't wait to get married and have babies! Amazing idea Rita!"
Rita laughed at that and knocked Bellatrix's shoulder with her own, causing her to bump into the wall of the courtyard.
Bellatrix scowled at her, and Rita smiled.
The girls fell into a comfortable silence as they walked down the worn-out path through the grass off the grounds and down to the greenhouses. As they got closer more students joined them on the path, headed the other direction.
"Must be the fourth years." Bellatrix muttered and Rita nodded her agreement.
One boy was a bit taller than the others around him and was walking briskly up the path. As he passed, he knocked Rita's shoulder.
"Watch where you're going." He snapped at her.
Rita opened her mouth to protest, and he continued. "And smile more. I hate seeing girls walking around scowling all the time it's so unpleasant."
Bellatrix felt a cold rage flowing through her veins as she stared down at the taller boy.
"That was incredibly foolish." She whispered.
"What did you say?" The boy said voice even more irate than before.
"I said." Bellatrix began, enunciating every syllable like she was speaking to her baby cousin, "Facticsuntcorno" she flicked her wand in a motion and both girls watched as the boy's' tongue slowly transforming into a large horn growing out of his tongue.
The boy's eyes bugged out of his head as he attempted to speak around the horn protruding out of his mouth.
Rita let out a small laugh and Bellatrix walked closer, staring the boy down with a cold stare.
"You should learn to be more polite."
"Yr gonna regret at" The boy mumbled, still struggling to speak, "m a lstange."
Bellatrix raised her eyebrows in mock fear. "Oh, my Merlin, a Lestrange. Whatever will I do?" Then as she reversed the spell and stared the boy down:
"Probably remind him that I'm a Black and worth twice as much as him."
The Lestrange boy's eyes widened. "You're a Black."
She nodded, twirling her wand and noticing the boy keeping his fearful eyes on it.
"Yes. And I think if my memory serves me correctly, your' father works for mine. So, unless you want to lose your families miniscule fortune, that allows your inflated ego to grow, I suggest you don't tell anyone about this."
Lestrange nodded his head up and down quickly, and as he quickly made to leave, Rita spoke up.
"I suggest you stop telling girls to smile more or you may find yourself losing more important parts of your body than your tongue."
The boy nodded and ran up the path as the rest of the second year Slytherins began coming down for Herbology.
Rita turned her head slowly to stare at Bellatrix. "That was brilliant."
Bellatrix gave a small shrug. "He was being an asshole."
Rita smiled appreciatively at her. " I do have an idea to solve your extracurricular dilemma."
"Oh?" Bellatrix said in response, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah!" Rita said cheerfully. "Dueling Club."
Bellatrix nodded in acquiescence. "That's actually a really good idea. I don't know why I didn't think of it."
"I suppose you're just lucky you have a friend who is gifted with such brilliance Trix" Rita teased.
Bellatrix nodded as they walked into the greenhouse. "Yes, and such humility.'
Laughing Rita shot back "You know you love me."
YOU ARE READING
A million little times
FanfictionDon't call me kid, don't call me baby. Look at this idiotic fool that you made me. You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else, and you know damn well for you I would ruin myself a million little times A tale of three sisters and...
