Being Approched (Open)

Bellatrix was on top of the world. Honestly, she had never felt better as she strolled out of Professor Riddle’s office after their little...chat. Well, she supposed that she could call it a lesson inside of her mind. It had been one of the most interesting and exciting moments of her life; she was in the heat of danger and darkness, in the midst of such spells that she would have never dreamed to be playing with at Hogwarts and yet...she hadn’t for a moment been afraid. That was what Professor Riddle did to her. He gave her strength beyond anything that she had ever dreamed possible. She stopped a few feet from the classroom door and took a moment to adjust her hair and fix her robes, making sure that her tie was just loose enough to bother every other Professor in the school. She slung her satchel over her neck and then began moving down the corridor yet again, humming to herself as she did.

Bells ran her fingertips down the side of the wall, letting the pads graze the stones that were unevenly placed there. She was so absentminded as she moved through the hallways that she took a wrong turn and ended up somewhere on the forth floor that she rarely went. Somewhere that she didn’t think was possible to get from where she had been previously...‘Damn this bloody school-’ She growled mentally as she turned around, her eyes scanning the hallway, looking for a way back. It was then that she realized how much the school seemed to live and breath like a regular wizard and consequently seemed to move that way too. That, or she simply didn’t pay enough attention to where she was going to keep herself on track. She bit down on her lip becoming more and more aware of the fact that she no longer had any idea where she was.

She was tempted to pout, or better yet, pull out her wand and start hexing everything within a ten foot radius of herself until someone found her and managed to show her the way back, but she figured that wasn’t such a good idea considering that she was inexplicably out past hours. Being a Prefect could only save her arse so many times and she would hate to have to explain that she was coming from one of her sessions with Riddle. She thought about Eden catching her out after hours and felt her blood instantaneously boil, ”Flity little-” She paused, something catching her hearing. She strained for a moment to listen closer, but it seemed to be the sound of hissing...or the ocean...or something odd. Something that did not normally fit into Hogwarts.

She moved in the direction of the sound, not really sure what she expected to find until Lexus Phoenix came into view. She stood there for a moment, marvelling at the girl that was hissing at a snake that was on her arm. Her first thought was how beautiful the snake was that she held. She could tell from the markings on it’s head that it was a male; probably about a couple of months old. She bit down on her lip to hide her excitement, ”Jesus bloody fu.ck, Lex-” She muttered as she leaned against the wall, throwing some of her dark hair over her shoulder, ”You realize you’re hissing at it like you can talk to it right?” She practically snorted.

A pang of jealously seemed to hit Bells straight on as the girl told her that she was a Parselmouth. That was something that was extremely rare in the wizarding community. And definitely something that made Lex’s bloodline something of interest to Bellatrix Black. If it wasn’t inherently obvious, Bells had a certain love for looking at other people’s bloodlines and assessing them and this new admission and most certainly gotten the Phoenix’s on her radar. Slowly the jealously began to melt away, however, replaced with something else entirely. Something like a feeling of honor in knowing the girl and being able to say that they were close aquantiances. She wouldn’t exactly call them friends - because Bellatrix tried not to do girl-friends - but if she did, Lex was the one that would come the closest to fitting the bill. The pair of them had so much in common that it was hard for her to not be drawn to someone that seemed to be so much like her. She grinned wickedly at the girl, gauging the appropriate response, ”You mean to tell me that you’ve been hiding this big of a secret from me for seven years now? You’re such a b.itch!” Her voice was shrill as she came closer to observe the snake that Lex had just introduced.

It bowed at her. For a moment Bells raised both of her eyebrows in surprise, but then it made sense. Communicating with snakes was an interesting talent to say the least, ”Well-” She bit down on her lip, ”Pleasure to meet you Gage.” She was going to say something else, but Lex continued, talking about how she had met with Professor Riddle. For a moment, Bells thought that it might have been a trap. Riddle had specifically told her not to discuss their meetings with anyone, so she kept her mouth shut, wondering what else Lex was going to tell her.

”Lost-” Bells answered her question about why she was out. She still wasn’t sure if she was going to trust Lex with the information about where she had really been. Plus, she liked the idea of keeping the information about her and Riddle’s private lessons to herself. They made them feel more powerful and more special. Just like that look that he got in his eyes every time that he said that he was proud of her. She bit down on her lip trying not to smile, ”I was just coming from a study session. Happened to run down the wrong hallway in a fit of excitement. Rare for me, I know.” She cackled as she held out her hands for the snake, rather excited to be able to hold one, ”He’s beautiful.” She said as the snake coiled around her arm and softly flicked his tongue across her skin. He was smelling her, trying to figure out who this new person was that was holding him, though Bells was sure that Lex had already explained it, ”How old is he?” She asked curiously.

Bells was playing with Gage, letting the snake wind up her arm and then smell her skin. It tickled slightly and she almost burst out laughing, but managed to keep it in at the last minute. Her eyes shot up, however, when Lex mentioned something about Professor Riddle. That was definitely a subject that she should have expected the girl to bring up. If there was ever someone else that she would have expected Riddle to pick up as well, it would be Lexus Rose. She bit down on her lip, wondering if she should confirm or deny what the girl was saying, but the longer that she spoke, the more that Bells wanted to talk about it. She wanted to share everything that they had talked about. She wanted Lex to know just how much she idolized the man that she had been spending so much time with, ”Oh, I should have figured that he picked you up too-” She said with a wicked grin as she slid her back down the wall. Eventually she reached the floor and looked up at Lexus, ”Isn’t that man perfect?” She gushed - well, it would have been gushing if it was any normal girl. When the words came out of Bells’ mouth, they sounded devilish and dangerous.

”I swear Lex, that man is perfection walking,” She breathed and then closed her eyes as she remembered the last lesson that they had had. It was perfect in her mind; nothing could have been better, ”What did you guys talk about in your lessons? Did he say anything interesting to you?” She had learned things about the man that she had been wondering since the moment that she met him. Realizing that she had grown quiet and contemplative she bit down on her lip to re-focus her attention on Lex, ”Don’t worry-” She shook her head at Lex’s apology, ”I couldn't have expected you to tell me something like this. It’s definitely something that you should keep secret. A...secret weapon of sorts-” Bells was excited by the very idea, her eyes lighting up with possibility. Lex had a secret weapon and that...that was wicked cool.

”Males are always more loyal then females. That’s why we don’t normally make friends with one another. Too much backstabbing-” Bellatrix said as she stared at the markings along the snake’s back. Gage really was beautiful and Bells was suddenly jealous that she didn’t have a pet of her own. She had accidentally killed her owl last year when she had decided to try out some of her fire-conjuration spells during the summer months. Her parents had been less than happy, but decided against buying her another pet because they feared that she would do the same thing again. The thought made her laugh and she held her arm out to Lex, ”You can have him back now. He’s trying to strangle my arm-” She said dully and let her wrist go limp as she watched Lex with careful eyes.

”I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want you-” Bellatrix said as she leaned forward slihgtly and then drew in her knees so that they were pressed against her chest. She wasn’t sure why she was all of a sudden nervous about Riddle wanting her in his little club, but she knew that it probably had something to do with the fact that she was obsessed with him. Clinically obsessed. She loved every little thing about him, the quirks, the power, the way that he looked when he was using spells. He was an enigma; an enigma that she so desperately wanted to be allowed to get lost in. She wanted to know everything about him and be the person that he knew everything about. It was almost creepy how much she wanted these things...then again, a lot of things about Bellatrix Black were creepy these days. Bells bit down on her lips, trying not to think about it too much lest she lose her train of thought completely, ”I’m pretty sure that he can do it too-” She mused, her voice trailing off into somewhere unthinkable.

Would Riddle like Lexus more than her because they shared a similar trait? For a moment, her eyes narrowed and she felt the competition beginning, but she managed to hold it in. She didn’t want to get into a fight with Lexus, on the contrary, she wanted to get to know the girl better. She didn’t have many female friends because of this very problem. She was over jealous of all of them. But, in this moment, she vowed that she would attempt to be a little more understanding when it came to girls, ”I’m sure he was just stunned. It is, after all, the sign of a bloodline completely untainted.” She could only imagine what Riddle had thought when Lex had dropped the bomb like this.

She said something about Riddle being an inspriation and Bells grinned wickedly, ”Of course he’s an inspiration. I heard that once he fought off an entire band of centaurs using only his wand. Merlin’s beard he’s the most perfect man in the universe.” The rumor had been circulating around school since the first DADA class and Bells couldn’t have been more excited to hear something about Riddle floating about school, ”I can only hope that they continue to get interesting.” She grinned and then winked in Lexus’ direction, letting her know that she felt the exact same about thier years at Hogwarts.

Bells could feel her mouth falling open in surprise as Lexus said that she was the favorite of her most beloved Tom Riddle. It was then that she realized just how over her head she had really become about the whole thing. All that she wanted was for Professor Riddle to see her and the talent that she had and it appeared that she was already off to a good start; after all, if he had mentioned her to Lexus, then there must have been some sort of something going on inside that perfect mind of his. She bit down on her lip, unsure of what to say to the girl that sat in front of her. Bellatrix was never very good at consoling anyone; in fact, her version on consoling went a little something like setting the entire Slytherin Dorm room on fire her second year. No, she was not very good at feelings in general. She couldn’t help but see that the girl was so obviously hurt by what had transpired.

Awkwardly, she raised her hand and put it on the girl’s shoulder, giving her a quick pat and then drawing her hand back more quickly than she had put it there. No, that was most certainly not her strong suit. She hated touching other people...unless of course, they were male, ”Now now-” She breathed into the silence, trying to find something of consequence that was worth mentioning. She was racking her brain, but she couldn’t come up with anything...it was as if she was hitting a brick wall, ”You know-” She paused yet again, her voice fading back into nothingness and the sound of rain falling on the window pane.

”I heard that Lucius Malfoy had a crush on you.” She offered, shrugging her shoulders and mentally slapping herself. It was something silly that had been the first thing that had come to mind...however, she knew that it was completely made up. Lu was going to kill her for that and she knew it, but she had to say something to the girl to get her to stop pouting. Merlin only knew that Slytherins did not get upset about anything. They were strong and they were devilish....they weren’t the kind of people that were bogged down and had bloody mental breakdowns in the middle of the hallway, that was for the Gryffindorks and Hufflesluts, ”Just saying-” She said and reached up to push some of her dark hair behind her shoulder.

Bellatrix could feel the frustration in the girl’s demeanor; the way that she pushed her back against the wall and closed her eyes gave away just how sorely frustrated she was with everything. The static that rose through the air was almost as thick as lightening, but Bellatrix fed off of it. She could sense the dangerous feeling of challenge rising in her lungs, but she pushed it back slightly, not wanting to completely put Lexus off, ”Alright, you’ve caught me. I was lying. But for good reason, you need to get out of this slump you’re in Little Lex. You’re beginning to get as boring as a Hufflepuff.”

It was like a petty temper tantrum to Bellatrix, the way that she behaved sometimes. She let her anger get the best of her and then attempted to throw it all in someone’s face. Usually it worked to her advantage and they left her alone; but today, it was her who had sought out the company of Lexus. Therefore it was her who could leave any time that she pleased. Bellatrix rolled her eyes, ”Of course I don’t talk to her. My sisters only come to me when there’s something dutiful to be discussed. Like a letter from mummy and daddy Black. Conversation is a two-way street.”