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Chapter Text

Bellatrix hadn’t meant to do it, but here she was, standing over a dead body. She really hadn’t meant to kill the guy and she tried to find an ounce of sympathy within herself, or atleast the smallest hint of regret; but she found she felt neither. She only found herself thinking about Rita Skeeter.

It had all started at the beginning of the new school year, that’s when Bellatrix had seen her for the first time. It hadn’t been love at first sight, gods no, Bellatrix had taken one look at Rita Skeeter and her prissy walk and decided then and there that she would stay as far away from her as possible.

It was a few weeks later, when Bellatrix had stumbled upon a gossip blog outing the secrets of other studens, that things changed. It was when she realized that Rita Skeeter was the one behind the blog that her interest had piqued. Bellatrix was a lot of things. People didn’t tend to like her, and they tended to dislike her even more if they tried to get to know her better, but Bellatrix didn’t care. She had her two younger sisters and that was enough for her. She hadn’t ever really cared for anyone else but them, anyway, so she really didn’t feel like playing nice with people when in all honesty, she just wasn’t a very nice person to begin with. Turns out, neither was Rita Skeeter.

So Bellatrix started reading her blog every day. She updated the page almost every hour. She laughed out loud when Rita Skeeter outed people's secrets and laughed even louder if the secrets were so vile as to get them expelled from university. In all honesty, Bellatrix was becoming a little bit obsessed with Rita Skeeter. Rita was beautiful, she had long blonde hair and dressed in bright colorful clothing. She appeared to be the exact opposite to Bellatrix whose hair was black and messy and the same could describe her sense of style; but now she had found this thing they seemed to have in common. This desire for destruction and ugliness and seeing people go down head first. They were both, just a little bit, morally corrupt.

So Bellatrix had offered her services to Rita Skeeter and Rita had looked at her up and down and questioned exactly what it was she could possibly bring to the table. And why.

“People fear me.” Bellatrix had said. They had been standing in the corridor inbetween classes.

“I’ve noticed,” Rita replied and Bellatrix had shivered at the sound of her voice up close. They had never even spoken before. Not directly, anyway.

“So use me.”

“Maybe I will.” Rita had said and trailed off, prissy walk and flowy blonde hair. Bellatrix hated her. Bellatrix wanted to hate her.

And that’s how their so-called friendship had started. Bellatrix would help Rita get information out of people and in return Rita Skeeter wouldn’t write anything about her. It was when people had started to send threatening notes and left threatening comments on her blog that things took a turn. Rita hadn’t been bothered in the slightest but Bellatrix had been fuming. She felt protective over Rita. She was the only person Bellatrix had ever liked besides her sisters and now people were out right threatening her life? Bellatrix couldn’t allow that and so she found the source of one of the people sending her death threats and followed him home one night.

So here she was, standing over a dead body. She hadn’t meant to kill him, only to cause him a little bit of harm to scare him off threatening Rita ever again.

Here she was, and she couldn’t find it within herself to even regret it even a little bit. It had been for Rita after all and as it turns out, she would gladly kill for her.

“Did you hear about the student who was murdered in his dorm room?” Rita asked, holding out her cigarette to Bellatrix. They were sitting together on their usual bench on campus.

Bellatrix hummed dismissively and tried her hardest not to freak out.

“What do you know about him?” Rita asked.

Bellatrix took a drag from the cigarette and handed it back. ”Not much,”

Too much, she thought. Like the shades of red of his blood when he bleeds out on his livingroom floor, and how it had stuck to the carpet, “His name was Gilderoy Lockhart, I think. The most ridiculous name I’ve ever heard” Bellatrix scoffed.

“Most of your family members are named after stars.” Rita deadpanned and took the cigarette from her. Her fingers brushed Bellatrix's own only for a second but it was enough to make shiver.

“Sod off.” Bellatrix sneered. Rita only laughed.

“I want to solve it.” Rita said and grinned mischievously.

“What? Why?”

“I want to be a reporter, Bella, you know this.” Rita said, “This could be my big break. A murder on campus grounds? It’s too good to be true!” She beamed.

“Only you would see cold blooded murder as a good thing.” Bellatrix teased and returned the smile.

“Oh, like you care.” Rita said and winked. She lit up another cigarette.

“That's why I tolerate you.” Bellatrix said quietly, feeling her cheeks go pink and hating herself for it.

“You don’t tolerate me,” Rita teased back and blew smoke in Bellatrix’s face, “You’d do anything for me.” Bellatrix took the cigarette back from her instead of saying something in return. Like the fact that she was right.

Bellatrix put her lips around the cigarette where Rita’s had been only a moment ago. Bellatrix would do anything and everything for Rita, and even if they had bonded over being morally corrupt she wasn’t entirely sure that their bond would survive one of them being a murderer. She would kill for Rita, and maybe, if she asked nicely enough, Bellatrix would also go to prison for her. “I don’t know much about him. He was a first year student, I think.”

“Find his friends, do your thing.”

“My thing?”

“Intimidate them, darling.”

Bellatrix blushed. It made her furious.

Bellatrix had done just that. She was confused to find out that Gilderoy actually did have friends, having been as vain and insufferable as he was. Even in his final moments with his own kitchen knife stuck in his stomach he’d been more concerned with his interior being splattered with his blood than his own inevitable death. She already knew they wouldn’t know anything since the killer at loose was in fact herself, but she needed to be able to give Rita something. Anything.

“You can tell that Rita Skeeter you follow around like a lap dog to leave us the fuck alone! She doesn’t even deserve to say his name.” They had sneered at her and Bellatrix had acted before thinking. As usual. She had pushed him, hard, against the wall and he hit his head.

“Don’t you ever say her name again” Bellatrix threatened and crouched down on the floor next to him. He had already passed out. ”And I won’t say his ridiculous name again either.” She finished quietly. His friends looked shocked and immediately fled the scene.

“They don’t like you.” She said and led Rita to an empty classroom.

“No one likes me.” Rita smiled, “Except for you.”

“Do you like me?” Bellatrix asked, because she honestly didn’t know for certain. Their friendship was a strange little thing and she suspected other people weren’t friends the way her and Rita were. Their friendship had started off as an alliance where Bellatrix had offered to help Rita scare dirt or information out of students who proved too difficult for Rita’s approach. Rita had gotten herself quite the reputation with her journalistic tactics. People had gotten better at hiding their dirty laundry since Rita started her gossip blog.

Eventually they had become friends though, of sorts. They met by their usual bench on campus every day to share cigarettes, occasionally they went out together but mostly they texted. Or spoke on the phone. Bellatrix tried to remember what life had been like before she forced her way into Rita Skeeter's orbit, but she couldn’t quite picture it. She had become such a huge part of Bellatrix’s daily life and she was her first actual friend. It felt special to Bellatrix and she wanted desperately for Rita to actually like her. She had killed for her, after all.

“Surprisingly, I do.” Rita said and took Bellatrix's hand. Bellatrix was standing against the door and Rita was standing in front of her. Closer than what other pairs of friends would consider platonic, Bellatrix thought, though Bellatrix’s judgment seemed to completely abandon her when it came to Rita.

“Surprisingly?” Bellatrix asked and glanced at where their hands were touching.

“I don’t like people.” Rita said, “That’s why I’ll be a good reporter. I don’t care about people's feelings.”

“I don’t either.” Bellatrix replied, “But I like you. My sisters and... and you.”

They looked at each other for what felt like forever, the moment charged with things untold between them. Feelings, murder and friendship.

“So what did his friends tell you then?” Rita asked, breaking the moment and removing her hand from Bellatrix’s. Bellatrix felt it’s absence.

“That they don’t like you. And that I’m your lap dog.”

“You sort of are. Or my bodyguard, perhaps.” Rita replied and smiled shyly. Rita wasn’t a shy person, but sometimes she was. When she was with Bellatrix. No one else was allowed to see these sides of Rita. “You protect me.” Rita said and Bellatrix found it amusing that Rita didn’t know just how true that was. Bellatrix wouldn’t mind being Rita’s lap dog, as long as she was anything at all to her.

“They don’t want you writing about him.” Bellatrix said, “I knocked one of them out and the rest of them fled the scene.” She finished and Rita started laughing.

“I wish I could’ve seen that,” Rita said between laughter. Bellatrix relished in the sound of it. Not a lot of people got to see Rita laugh, either, but Bellatrix did. She was even allowed to make her laugh. Sometimes it blew Bellatrix’s mind how she could be herself with Rita, but mostly it blew her mind that she actually seemed to amuse Rita. Apparently Rita even liked her.

“Besides, I don’t care if they don’t want me to write about him or not. I’m still going to.”

Chapter Text

Bellatrix was often bored. She hated being alone and she didn’t live on campus like most other students did. Instead her parents had bought her a huge apartment close by to the university because, according to them, she had a reputation to uphold.

“Bellatrix dear, obviously you can’t stay on campus with the ordinary people.” Her mother had told her, “We are an esteemed family. What would people say?”

Bellatrix hadn’t cared either way, she very rarely did care about anything, she just hadn’t expected to feel as lonely as she did. Bored and lonely. Maybe she would have been lonely in a dorm room on campus as well but atleast she would’ve been closer to Rita. She wondered if maybe Rita would come visit her more often if she lived on campus like she did.

Bellatrix had been so relieved to finally get out of her childhood home, but now that she finally had she found that she missed her sisters a lot of the time and it wasn’t always the easiest thing in the world to find time to talk to them, or even see them unless she was coming home for a weekend. Her family lived in London so Bellatrix had decided to apply to university in London as well for the simple reason that she wanted to stay close to her two younger sisters. They had very strict parents and had been brought up in a quiet home. You had to learn early on to obey and to be good and to be quiet, so Bellatrix didn’t often feel like going home unless she really missed her sisters.

Even if Bellatrix had learned how to act good and obedient and quiet, it definitely didn’t come naturally to her. It had felt like a breath of fresh air to finally live on her own and get out of her childhood home. To finally stop acting good and obedient. Even if it did get lonely.

Rita

7:16: Call me.

“Try being bloody nice about it .” Bellatrix sneered when Rita finally picked up the phone.

“Nah,” Rita said, “What are you up to?”

“Not much. I just got home. I should probably make something to eat.”

“Just now? Your class ended at four.” Rita said with a clipped tone.

“I had things to do.” Bellatrix said and put her phone on speaker. The things in question had been freaking out in a public restroom after class had ended about the fact that she had murdered a person in cold blood and could possibly get caught. The investigation was ongoing and a couple of weeks had passed since the murder of Gilderoy Lockhart. She had eventually ended up laughing hysterically at herself in the bathroom mirror, feeling both impressed by and terrified of herself. Still not an ounce of regret though and Rita’s voice just now only confirmed to her further how far she was willing to go to protect her. “How the fuck do you know when my class ended?”

“I know everything, darling.” Rita teased, “You know this.”

“Whatever. What are you up to?”

“Researching.” Rita said, “Having dinner.”

“Do you want to stay on the phone with me while I make dinner? You can tell me about your research.”

And that’s how they spent the night, like they spent most nights. They would call each other and do whatever it was they were doing while staying on the phone with each other. Mostly Rita would go on and on about her research while Bellatrix cooked or cleaned or just sat around in her apartment. Other times they would do their uni work while on being on the phone together. Other times they’d just talk. Bellatrix liked listening to Rita talk, she could do it for hours and hours on end. A few times they had even fallen asleep together on the phone, and once Bellatrix had woken up in the middle of the night and heard the sounds of Rita sleeping. Snoring ever so slightly and breathing evenly. When Bellatrix had closed her eyes she could imagine Rita next to her, in person. Could almost feel her body next to hers, in the bed that war entirely too big for just one person.

Rita told Bellatrix about how she had made a post on Gilderoy Lockhart a couple of months ago. Bellatrix already knew this. Rita had found out that Gilderoy cheated on most of his exams and that he had paid other students to write his papers for him. She had learned that he was in fact a first year student and the son of parents with new money. His parents expected him to do great things and so he had made sure of it instead of actually trying. She had also found out that he didn’t have many friends but that he was close to a few people. One of them being the guy Bellatrix had knocked out. People didn’t really like him, Rita had said.

“Like us?” Bellatrix had laughed then.

“He was an insufferable fraud.” Rita had scoffed but Bellatrix could hear her smile through the phone.

“And we’re not insufferable?”

“Atleast we’re the real deal, darling.”

There wasn’t much else Rita had found on him. She told Bellatrix that her next step forward would be going through his social media platforms and possibly finding his friends from his old school.

“Spoken like a real journalist.” Bellatrix said and smiled to herself.

“That’s the dream.” Rita confirmed.

They were quiet for a while. Bellatrix had finished her dinner and Rita didn’t have anything else to share about her research on Gilderoy Lockhart. They didn’t have a reason to stay on the phone with each other anymore and Bellatrix desperately tried to find a reason to make Rita stay, but couldn’t find one.

“I was asked out on a date today.” Rita eventually said.

Bellatrix froze. “Oh?”

“I was at the store getting new pens and pads and some guy started talking to me.” She continued, “He’s a writer for The Daily Prophet.”

Bellatrix hummed in response, feeling irritation building in her chest.

“I figured..” Rita began but she sounded unsure, “I figured why not, you know? He’s a journalist already and he could help me get ahead." she trailed off, ”What do you think?”

“Think about what?” Bellatrix managed, tone short.

“Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“What the hell do I care?” Bellatrix snapped and hung up the phone. Once again she acted before thinking. Once again her lapse of judgment had completely abandoned her when it came to Rita.

She was sitting in the armchair in her living room and felt her entire body burning up. She couldn’t sit still so she got up and started pacing the room. She threw her phone away and screamed into a pillow. She screamed again, louder this time. It wasn’t as if Rita hadn’t been asked out on dates before. She was beautiful, ofcourse men continuously asked her out but Rita always turned them down. It was as if Rita simply wasn’t interested in dating. She never talked about boys, or atleast not with Bellatrix, but she didn’t really have any other friends to talk to about boys either. And she didn’t have siblings like Bellatrix did. Either way, Belltrix didn’t want to hear it. Not now, not ever. She didn’t want to hear Rita talk to her about boys. She didn’t want her to go out with boys. She didn’t want her to go out with anyone. Anyone other than her.

She felt herself getting erratic and losing all sense of all logic and reason. The feeling was familiar, it was the same feeling she had when she had stabbed Gilderoy Lockhart in his dorm room. She felt so protective over Rita and didn’t want anyone or anything to come between their strange little friendship. She didn’t want anyone threatening Rita and she didn’t want men asking her out. She wanted to kill him. Not an ounce of regret, not and ounce of doubt. She wanted to find whoever had asked Rita out and she wanted to kill him. Extract him completely from Rita’s point of view. She wanted Rita to look at her. She wanted to be in Rita’s point of view and she didn’t want anyone else to come inbetween. Rita was hers. She wanted Rita to be hers.

Bellatrix heard her phone buzz from the other side of the room. She stopped pacing the living room floor and realized she was breathing heavily. She went to pick up her phone.

Rita

9:32: Goodnight.

Bellatrix felt herself slowly coming back. Rita’s text grounding her from her nervous breakdown. She took a deep breath. And another. And another. She tried not to think about Rita and the faceless man she was considering going on a date with. She was fine. They were fine. They had to be fine.

Bellatrix:

9:40: I’m sorry. Goodnight.

Bellatrix didn’t apologize to people. She only ever apologized to her sisters, if necessary. She apologized to her family if she had disappointed them, but she rarely did as far as they knew. She didn’t apologize when she got violent. Didn’t apologize when she was being mean. She never apologized for anything, but apologizing to Rita felt important. It felt like something she had to do and she found that she actually wanted to. She wasn’t sorry for wanting to kill whoever tried to get into Rita’s orbit, but she was sorry that she had snapped at Rita. Bellatrix wasn’t a very nice person, but Rita seemed to like that about her. She wasn’t very nice, but she was never mean to Rita.

An entire month had gone by since Gilderoy Lockhart was murdered in his dorm but no one had been arrested yet. The school board had sent out an email to all the students telling them to be careful and to lock their doors at night. Bellatrix found the whole thing amusing. She was getting away with murder, after all. She wished she could tell Rita about it. In her wildest dreams Rita would even find the whole thing desperately romantic. Bellatrix thought it was.

Bellatrix:

11:13: I’m bored.

 

Rita:

11:20: You’re always bored.

 

Bellatrix:

11:23: Not with you.

 

Rita:

11:28: Really?

 

Bellatrix:

11:29: Really.

 

Rita:

11:30 Your class ends in 15 minutes. Meet me by the bench?

 

Bellatrix:

11:32: Are you stalking me?

 

Rita:

11:34: You wish, darling.

 

Bellatrix:

11:35: See you soon, sunshine.

“Maybe it could've been a jealous ex?” Rita said and passed Bellatrix the cigarette. She had her pen and pad out, writing down anything that came to mind.

“The police think it’s a man.” Bellatrix replied. The police had gone out with limited information about the killer, but apparently they were certain it was a man who had done it. Bellatrix had scoffed when she read it. Ofcourse they would think it was a man, because a woman couldn’t possibly do something so vile and bloody. There really had been a lot of blood.

“They always do, darling.” Rita said and took the cigarette back. Bellatrix loved it when Rita called her darling. She did it often and Bellatrix was certain she didn’t say it as an endearment, but Bellatrix liked to think she did.

“I heard it was quite the violent scene when the police arrived.” Bellatrix said then and remembered Gilderoy's still body on his living room floor once he had finally stopped breathing. Bellatrix recalled feeling shocked at how still he was. She recalled the sense of accomplishment, having protected Rita.

Rita scoffed. “He probably deserved it.”

“You think?” She definitely did not expect that and felt completely caught off guard. She did know that Rita wasn’t the most sympathetic person but her lack of sympathy towards a murder victim did surprise her. It made Bellatrix feel warm inside. Like they were on the same side of the same coin. Like they belonged.

“He was one of the people sending me death threats. After I wrote that blog post about him paying other students to write his papers for him.” Rita said and seemingly avoided Bellatrix’s gaze, “I guess he didn’t take it well.” she shrugged.

“You know who sends you those threats?” Bellatrix asked and felt her eyebrows raise in shock. She hadn’t known that Rita knew. The threats were always anonymous and Bellatrix had gone through great lengths to figure out who had sent them. It had taken her weeks.

“You underestimate me.” Rita mused and handed Bellatrix the cigarette, “Ofcourse I know.” she said eventually and finally met Bellatrix’s gaze. Bellatrix thought she could sense a question in Rita’s gaze but she couldn’t be sure what answer she wanted from her. Sure, she knew who was sending her the death threats but that didn’t necessarily mean she knew that Bellatrix had killed him. Once again Bellatrix’s judgment had conveniently fled the scene when she was alone with Rita.

“Well then,” Bellatrix replied slowly, “Good riddance.”

“Good riddance.” Rita agreed.

You never could be sure of what Rita Skeeter was thinking or what she was up to, which is what had caught Bellatrix’s interest all those months ago. Maybe Bellatrix had underestimated her. Maybe Rita really did know that Bellatrix had killed someone in her name. But if that was the case, Bellatrix didn’t think that Rita would sit here with her, on this bench, every day and share a cigarette with her. Unless maybe she really was going to solve the case, and maybe it didn’t matter to Rita if she had to stab Bellatrix in the back in order to get to the truth. Rita had stabbed a lot of backs for secrets way less interesting than this one. Bellatrix just didn’t want it to be true.

She looked over at Rita who was finishing the cigarette. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Nothing seemed different. She had the same determined look on her face, like she always did, and she was beautiful. Bellatrix loved her and had killed for her. She had always hoped that Rita would come to love her back. Bellatrix wasn’t the type of person to pretend. Not with anyone and even less so with Rita. Maybe she hadn’t told her out right that she loved her but she was sure Rita knew. She must know. Even if Rita didn’t end up loving Bellatrix the way Bellatrix loved her, maybe she would atleast honor their strange little friendship and not stab her in the back. Maybe. Maybe she knew and maybe she didn’t.

Chapter Text

It was a saturday night and Bellatrix found herself in a pub. It was loud and the music sounded like inconsistent noise to her ears. She absolutely hated it but Rita had begged her to come out with her tonight and Bellatrix never could say no to her. She didn’t even want to.

“I, well, I’ve decided not to go on that date.” Rita said and took a sip of her wine, “I just don't feel like it.” she shrugged. Bellatrix turned to her with a quick head turn and raised her eyebrows. She felt the relief washing over her and she could feel the murderous anger towards Mr. Faceless slowly slip away. She still hated him. She still hated anyone who wanted to get close to Rita.

“Why?” Bellatrix demanded.

“I told you.” Rita countered.

“Good.” Bellatrix said then and meant it. She sat back on her chair and felt Rita's questioning gaze pierce through her. Maybe she didn’t have the right to say things like that but she didn’t care. She was glad that Rita wouldn’t go on that date and she wasn’t afraid to let her know that. Rita only hummed in response and finally teared her gaze away. Bellatrix wanted it back.

“Do you see that guy over there?” Rita asked and pointed towards a guy at the bar. He stood with his back towards them but Bellatrix thought she recognized him.

“Severus Snape?” Bellatrix asked, “I’d recognize his greasy arse anywhere.” she scoffed.

“You know him?” Rita asked then and moved closer towards Bellatrix across their table.

“He’s a family friend.”

“Really? That’s brilliant!” Rita beamed.

“Why?” Bellatrix asked and felt her cheeks heating up as Rita continued to get closer to her.

“He went to the same school as Gilderoy Lockhart before he started university.” She said, close to a whisper. Bellatrix could feel her breath brush her ear as she tried to make herself heard through the noise of the pub. Bellatrix shivered at the sensation.

“Really?” Bellatrix asked, “I don’t remember a Gilderoy Lockhart from school.”

“You’re a bit older, aren’t you?” Rita said, a little louder as she leaned back on her chair again and winked at her. Bellatrix blushed, “Could you talk to him?”

“Is that why you dragged me out here?”

“I didn’t drag you out,” Rita smiled gently, “But yes. However, I also wanted to treat you to cheap wine, you overprivileged arsehole.” Bellatrix laughed.

“I’ll give it a go.” Bellatrix said and got up from her seat.

She went over to the bar. It’s not like her and Severus were friends by any means. Bellatrix didn’t even like him. She had always found him strange and bordering on creepy. If he did speak he only ever spoke of “Lily Evans”. Bellatrix had never met this Lily Evans but she was sure she probably knew more about her than she knew of him, judging by how much he went on and on about her.

“Fancy seeing you here.” she said and knocked his shoulder with her own.

“Bellatrix.” Severus greeted and glanced at her before turning his gaze back again. Bellatrix followed where his eyes landed. He was watching a table on the other side of the bar. Bellatrix realized that Severus was trying to be discreet. He was watching someone. Two someones, she realized, as she followed his gaze.

“Who are you watching?” She asked.

“None of your business.” He scoffed.

“Whatever. What can you tell me about Gilderoy Lockhart?” She asked. She sometimes forgot that she was the one who had killed him, when she helped Rita gather information about him. She forgot that the killer she was looking for was actually herself.

“He was murdered.” Severus said.

“No shit. Did you know him?” She asked.

“No.”

“What do you know about him?”

“That he was insufferable. He got caught cheating on his exams a couple of times.” He didn’t move his gaze from the table. He was watching what looked like two people on a date with each other. A red haired girl and a boy with unruly hair and glasses. Maybe it was Lily Evans, Bellatrix thought.

“What else?”

“Why do you care?”

“Does it matter?”

“I guess not,” Severus caved, “He was reported for harassment a couple of times. Lily Evans and her group of friends reported him for bothering them. I don’t know the specifics.”

“Is that Lily over there?” Bellatrix asked and nodded towards the table Severus kept watching.

“Yes.”

Bellatrix hummed in response.

“Anything else?” She asked.

“No. People didn’t like him much.”

“Thanks, old chap,” She said and patted his shoulder, “I’ll leave you to your stalking.”

Severus only grunted in response. Bellatrix laughed, turned around and walked back to where Rita was waiting for her. Beautiful, beautiful Rita.

Bellatrix could see her from where she had been standing at the bar. She stood out compared to everyone else at this god forsaken pub. Bellatrix thought she was wonderful. She wanted to give her the world. As she got closer to the table, the warmth in her chest only spread. Being near Rita did that to her. It made her warm inside and so she was always cold when she was away from her. Rita was like her own personal corrupt burst of sunlight.

“Gilderoy has been reported for harassment.” Bellatrix said as she said down opposite from Rita, “People didn’t like him. He cheated on exams before university as well.”

“Shit, really!?” Rita said and raised her eyebrows, “That’s interesting.”

“How so?” Bellatrix asked and took a sip from her own wine.

“Motive, darling.”

They stayed at the bar a couple more hours after that. They didn’t talk about Gilderoy and they didn’t talk about boys. They drank wine and got drunk and laughed and Bellatrix was having a wonderful time. Rita often got touchy when she was drunk, but Bellatrix didn’t mind. She kept reaching for Bellatrix’s hands and Bellatrix even dared to remove a string of hair from Rita’s face. Rita only watched her as she did so and the moment felt charged with something electric. Belltrix wanted to kiss her so badly and she just couldn’t resist herself from glancing at Rita’s lips. Her perfect lips in shades of pink, so so close to Bellatrix’s in that moment.

But Bellatrix hadn’t kissed her. Bellatrix wasn’t scared of anything, but Rita seemed to have the ability to make her scared. She had never been scared of her parents, she hadn’t even been scared to get caught for murder, but Rita made her feel things that she hadn’t ever felt before. She was so scared of losing Rita that she didn’t dare risk their strange little friendship in case Rita didn’t feel the same way she did. So she had gone home at the end of the night and fallen asleep dreaming of shared cigarettes and a world where only the two of them existed. No one else but the two of them.

A couple of weeks went by and still no one had been charged for the murder of Gilderoy Lockhart. Another student, a friend to the deceased, had been taken in to be questioned but there had been a lack of evidence so they had to let him go. Rita had been writing extensively about him. Rita had sent Bellatrix to find dirt on him. It turned out to be the same guy she had knocked out that day Rita had first sent her to gather information.

Bellatrix had been honest with Rita that one day she offered her services, people did fear her. She had a reputation for being a little crazy and for turning to violence when things didn’t go her way. It turned out that this guy had been sort of the leader of this little friend group and with him out of the way it had been much easier to intimidate information out of them.

Rita

12:10: Can I come to yours tonight?

 

Bellatrix:

12:12: See you there, sunshine.

 

Rita

12:30: Sod off, darling

Bellatrix and Rita didn’t often hang out outside of sharing a cigarette on campus at their regular bench. They did, sometimes, and every time they did Bellatrix had to bite her tongue so she wouldn’t accidentally tell Rita that she could stay forever if she wanted. That she thought Rita was what was missing from the dark and depressing decor in her apartment. That her bed was too big for one person and maybe they could share it, sometime. Bellatrix never had known how to control her feelings. They were either entirely too overwhelming or they weren’t there at all. She didn’t know how to be normal around someone she loved. Never had. There was always tension when they hung out alone in either of their apartments and Bellatrix never could tell if the tension was one sided or not.

Rita showed up at Bellatrix’s door with a bottle of wine, “Hi, honey, I’m home.” She said and kissed her cheek. Bellatrix blushed furiously. Rita had never kissed her cheek before. They had never even hugged before.

“Wine?” Bellatrix asked and inspected the bottle. She came from a large family of old money, so there were certain things she knew. Wine, being one of them and the second being that she would bring eternal shame on the Black household if she was ever caught as a cold blooded murderer. Though, her family had fazed quite a lot of scandals throughout the years and she was certain she wasn’t the first family member to do something questionable that could possibly ruin the family name. “Expensive wine.” She confirmed and looked towards Rita.

“Only the best for you.” She said with a mischievous smile dancing on her lips. “We have a lot to discuss.”

Rita was like a burst of color and life in her apartment and it’s dark and depressing decor. Rita had once described Bellatrix's apartment as a “ gothic villa ”. Rita still looked like she belonged, even if she did stand out as something bright and beautiful. Bellatrix knew the real Rita and though she did look like sunshine, she certainly wasn’t that at all.

“If you say so, sunshine.” Bellatrix said then and took two wine glasses from her kitchen and sat down with Rita in the living room. Rita was sitting on the armchair so Bellatrix sat down on the sofa. She desperately wanted Rita closer to her. It was always harder being alone with Rita. They were always alone. People didn’t like them but they liked each other. They were almost never alone like this. Walls separating them from the rest of the world.

“Cheers,” Rita said and raised her glass to Bellatrix.

“Cheers,” Bellatrix replied and took a sip. It was good wine.

“They think he did it.” Rita eventually said after taking a sip from her own wine, “That guy, you know, that you knocked out.” she said and winked.

“I thought they let him go?”

“They did.” Rita assured her.

“So?”

“I don’t think he did it.” Rita said.

“No?” Bellatrix asked, curious now.

“I think..” Rita started off slowly, “I think Severus Snape would fit the bill perfectly.” She finished and looked towards Bellatrix, eyes wide. Bellatrix burst out laughing.

“I’m sure he didn’t do it.” She managed to get out inbetween her laughing.

“I know.” Rita agreed firmly and Bellatrix stopped laughing then and instead started choking on air. Rita was smiling mischievously at her again now.

“What do you mean?” Bellatrix finally asked.

“Gilderoy Lockhart isn’t the only person from your old school who's been reported for harassment,” Rita said with a smug look, “Severeus Snape has been reported too.”

Bellatrix wasn’t really surprised, the way he spoke about Lily Evans. The way he had been hiding behind the bar and watched her on what seemed like a date. Maybe Bellatrix could kill him too. Maybe Bellatrix could kill all men.

“What would be his motive?” Bellatrix asked.

“I did some digging. They both had the hots for the same girl.”

“Lily Evans.” Bellatrix said and felt her confusion growing.

“That’s the one.” Rita confirmed and nodded. Bellatrix took a sip from her own wine.

“But you don’t think he did it?” Bellatrix was properly confused now. She had no idea where this conversation was headed and she had no idea why Rita seemed to be so over the moon about it. She felt as if she was on the outside of a joke at her own expense. She felt stupid and confused.

“No.” Rita beamed.

Rita got up from her seat and put her wine glass down. She walked over to Bellatrix until she was standing right infront of her. Bellatrix felt trapped by her gaze but didn’t want to move. Rita was standing over her with a mischievous grin on her face and Bellatrix desperately wanted to be in on the joke. Wanted desperately for Rita to lower herself and get closer.

“I couldn’t get a hold of you that night, you know.” Rita said, looking down at Bellatrix, “Where were you?”

“Er,” Bellatrix tried to come up with something. Anything. ”Well I, I-”

“You always reply to my texts impossibly fast.” She said, “But not that night.” Rita did lower herself then. She sat down on the coffee table right across from Bellatrix.

“I think you did it.” Rita finally said and took Bellatrix’s wine glass from her hand and put it down on the table next to her. Rita’s fingers brushed against Bellatrix’s lightly as she did so.

Bellatrix didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to say or what to do. Was there a way out of this? Did she even want a way out of this? Rita certainly didn’t seem upset or put off by the possibility. If anything she looked impressed.

“Yeah?” Bellatrix said.

“Yeah.” Rita said and Bellatrix thought she didn’t imagine Rita’s eyes darting to her lips for a quick second. “Did you?”

“And what if I did?”

“If you did, I’d want to know why.”

“He sent you death threats.” Bellatrix said and felt daring. She lifted her hand to move a string of her from Ritas beautiful face. She was so close.

They were quiet again. Bellatrix had the slightest fear that maybe the reality of it would be too much for Rita. Maybe she had a suspicion and would bring it to Bellatrix but hadn’t thought further than that. Maybe the cold hard truth would scare her. Maybe she hoped she was wrong.

“Well then,” Rita said and got up from the coffee table, Bellatrix felt a moment of panic but then quickly learned just how much she really had underestimated Rita after all. Rita put her knees down on both sides of Bellatrix and straddled her to the sofa.

“Well what?” Bellatrix asked and it came out as hardly even a whisper. Rita had never been this close to her before. She had never felt so much of Rita all at once before and every inch of her that she felt was like electricity.

“Like I said, I think Severus Snape is the perfect murderer.” Rita said and officially closed the distance between their lips. Bellatrix felt every ounce of her coming to life. She kissed her back and felt the relief wash over her. Relief that Rita really did care for her. Relief that she was finally kissing her. Relief that the tension hadn’t been one sided. Bellatrix had killed someone who threatened the woman she loved and Rita wanted her.

“So you're not upset?” Bellatrix asked, out of breath.

“I’m incredibly turned on.” Rita replied, equally out of breath and put her lips on Bellatrix again.

Chapter Text

Bellatrix woke up the next morning from the sounds of light snoring. Rita was next to her and she was snoring against Bellatrix’s skin. Rita’s naked body was being pressed against her own and she just couldn’t believe her own bloody luck. She couldn’t believe that this was real. She had admitted to killing for Rita and what Rita had done in response was take her to bed. She had undressed and kissed her and felt her tongue on her.

She had told Bellatrix that no one had ever cared for her the way she did and continued to touch her in places Bellatrix had only dreamed of before. She remembered that one time she had woken up in the middle of the night after having fallen asleep with Rita still on the phone. She had closed her eyes then and pretended that Rita was lying next to her. Wished it, and now here she was and it was real. Rita had seen Bellatrix's dirty laundry and decided to kiss it. To not only accept it, but to love it. Bellatrix felt her light breathing on her neck and smiled to herself. It was too good to be true. Rita really was hers.

“Morning,” Rita said with a croaky voice and Bellatrix was so unbelievably fond of her.

“Morning.” Bellatrix whispered back and turned around. She had never seen Rita without her bright colorful clothing or without makeup. She had never seen her undone like this. It felt so special to Bellatrix that she was allowed to see all these sides to Rita that she never showed anyone else. She only showed Bellatrix. Rita looked messy and unruly and naked and beautiful. So unbelievably beautiful. As if she belonged right here, in Bellatrix’s bed. Bellatrix never wanted her to leave. Wanted to keep Rita right here next to her where no one would ever bother them again.

“Kiss me,” Rita demanded and Bellatrix obliged without question. She knew now that she would always do what Rita told her to. She would give Rita whatever she wanted for the rest of her life and nothing would, or could, ever stop her. She kissed her in all her morning glory, the sun peeking through the bedroom window making Rita glow golden and perfect right next to her. ”Told you I’d figure out who did it.” Rita finished with a smug voice, slurring a little bit from sleepiness.

“Are you sure about this?” Bellatrix asked.

“About what?” Rita asked and started kissing her neck.

“I killed someone. I wanted to, ah, kill that guy who asked you out.” Rita stopped kissing her neck abruptly and looked up at Bellatrix, ”I probably would have if I knew who he was” she admitted.

“Really?” Rita asked, eyes shining bright with lust. And maybe, possibly, with love.

“Yeah.” Bellatrix said. All cards on the table.

“Fuck, that’s so hot.” Rita said and straddled Bellatrix in quick motion. Bellatrix wasn’t ready for the view of Rita sitting on top of her like this now that they weren’t hidden in the darkness from last night. It was morning now and Rita was messy and beautiful and bright and Bellatrix wanted to touch her everywhere but didn't know where to start. She put her hands on Rita’s hips. "Kill all men for all I care. Kill to protect me if you must. I'd protect you from getting caught. I'll always protect you and you'll always protect me." She smiled down at Bellatrix and Bellatrix felt her breath hitch. She loved her so much.

“So now what?” Bellatrix asked with a grin.

“Now we’re going to shag again.” Rita said and rolled her hips in a sinful way that made Bellatrix lose her breath for a second, “Then we’re going to frame Severus Snape. Good riddance, they were both despicable men and the world is better off without them. He won't bother you or that Lily Evans girl ever again. And Gilderoy won’t bother me.”

Bellatrix felt warm. She felt cared for. Rita wanted her back and she wanted to protect Bellatrix like Bellatrix wanted to protect her. She felt loved and fuzzy and entirely too turned on with Rita rolling her hips the way she was.

“Alright,” Bellatrix said and chased Rita’s mouth with her own.

So here they were. Several months after the death of Gilderoy Lockhart and Severus Snape had been arrested and charged with the murder. A lot of things have changed since then. Rita was still running her blog and determined to become a reporter. She had posted the dirt she had on Severus Snape and gone to the police with the information. They had acted immediately and it hadn’t taken long until he had become a person of interest and eventually charged.

Bellatrix was no longer referred to as Rita’s lap dog following her around, but instead people referred to her as Rita’s scary girlfriend following her around and now that they were officially together, the death threats had become less frequent. Her blog had started reaching a wider audience now that she had been involved in Severus's arrest. Especially her posts about him and Gilderoy Lockhart.

She had even gotten an interview with Lily Evans and her group of friends which had gained quite a bit of attention. Turns out that Bellatrix’s own cousin, Sirius, was friends with both her and the guy she had been on a date with at that pub. Lily and her group of friends, a group of girls, had agreed to do and interview for Rita's blog and Sirius had been insufferable throughout the entire thing, no doubt trying to convince his friends not to get too close to Bellatrix or her girlfriend. Bellatrix only rolled her eyes at his insults, it wasn't as if he was even involved. Thankfully, they probably hadn't heard of Bellatrix before, or Rita, so the group of girls had gladly said yes to an interview about the murder and arrest of two men who had previously been reported for harassment.

Rita had been so pleased, so Bellatrix had been pleased too. She didn't care that Sirius had been reluctant towards her. They weren't very close, anyway, and Bellatrix didn't care about anyone other than Rita and her two younger sisters. She didn't hate Sirius or his younger brother Regulus, but she also didn't care if they didn't like her. Most people didn't so she was used to it by now. She even preferred it most of the time.

“Here you go, darling.” Rita said and handed Bellatrix her coffee and sat down next to her on their usual bench. Rita kissed her and Bellatrix felt her cheeks heat up. Everything she wanted was right here. Her own personal corrupt burst of sunshine.

It was part of their love language now. That they would kill for each other. That they would help the other bury the body. They protected each other, no matter what. Bellatrix hadn’t scared Rita off and she had found the thing desperately romantic. Just like Bellatrix had wished she would but never dreamed of hoping. They trusted each other and they loved each other.

”Cigarette?” Rita asked and Bellatrix nodded in response and took one out from her pack and lit it. She took a drag, looked over at her beautiful beautiful Rita and handed it to her. She was so glad that she could kiss her whenever she wanted now, instead of chasing and imagining the sensation through the sharing of cigarettes on their favorite bench.

They were both vile women with corrupt morals and they had found each other.