A/N: took me a while to get around to writing chapter 2, but here it is. I have a feeling the next chapter's going to be difficult to write.

Slowing as she reached an old, disused church, Bellatrix studied the snake's head knocker and smiled to herself

Slowing as she reached an old, disused church, Bellatrix studied the snake's head knocker and smiled to herself. Her master had a flair for the dramatic when it came to choosing his meeting places. She took hold of the snake's tail (which curled round to end in the creature's mouth) and knocked three times. It didn't come as any surprise when the snake came alive and hissed something at her.

"Very funny," she muttered, rolling her eyes. The Dark Lord was the only Parseltongue among them, a fact that he knew full well. In this case, it hardly mattered – the creature was clearly asking for a password.

"Marvolo," she muttered reverently, and as quietly as possible. The vampire had tracked her all the way here, and the Dark Lord would be less than pleased if it found its way into the meeting. Bella intended to deal with it later; her life had been lacking in simple pleasures since her master had sent her to live like a Muggle, and it was about time she got to have some torture-y fun.

Shaking the rain off her hood, Bella entered the church, eager to hear what news or assignment the Dark Lord had for her now.

The rain stopped. In the branches of an ancient tree, Drusilla turned her attention away from the church door to pout up at the sky, as if that would bring the pretty noise back.

"I was enjoying that," she muttered to herself. "Hssssssh. Like droplets of terror, all lined up in a row."

Witchy had been in there for hours and hours, long enough for Dru to wonder whether it might be time to go home. Her dolls were having a tea party, and it would be frightfully rude of her to miss it.

"Sunrise is winking at me, over the horizon," she told the spider that had crawled onto her hand. Picking it up by one spindly leg, she dangled it in front of her face, watching as it waved at her hypnotically, struggling to be free. "But I won't let him stick his claws in. Skitter, scatter – off to bed, don't look back or he'll catch you!"

The creak of the old church door snapped her attention back to the witch. Placing the spider carefully on a branch, Dru slipped silently out of the tree, landing like a cat and drawing back into the shadows.

Head so full of the memories her master had given her, pleasurable memories of pain and suffering, Bellatrix almost forgot about her undead stalker. It wasn't until she was halfway across the churchyard and felt that empty, soulless presence of a demon that she remembered she'd have to be careful.

Pushing the cries of pain that her master had shown her to the back of her mind, she started to consider how she would go about bringing similar cries to the lips of her soon-to-be prisoner. She wondered whether it was male or female. Male vampires were often terminally stupid and reacted best to physical torture. Bella enjoyed switching from Sectumsempra to Crucio, watching them withstand the pain at first, eventually breaking down until they were a weeping, gibbering wreck, begging for a quick dusting.

Yes, male vampires were fun toys to play with, but Bellatrix was in the mood for something a little more elaborate. Females were full of beautiful little neuroses. If you pushed the right button, the breakdown would be so much more exquisite than any reaction a male could give you. Perfection.

Smiling to herself, Bellatrix checked the vamp was still following and turned a corner with a spring in her step.

Mistress Witch was taking a different route from the way she'd come, and Dru had no doubt that it was for her benefit. She let a tiny giggle escape her as she crept from shadow to shadow, following the witch on her Easter egg hunt.

Round and round we go, where we stop no-one knows…

Drusilla had decided that she wouldn't kill the witch straight away. When she caught her, she'd snatch her up and drain her until the poor kitten fell asleep. Then, when she awoke, Dru would claw at her pretty eyes and listen to the music of her screams. She'd whisper in her ear, sing pretty songs until all the kitten could do was mew pathetically.

Then she'd kill the bitch.

What was this now? Mistress Witch had stopped at a playground and in one fluid motion had climbed over the fence. Dru stayed where she was and watched the witch saunter over to the swings and sit down, crossing one leg over the other delicately.

"You can come out now, Luv," the witch called, looking over in Dru's direction. The vampire drew back, suddenly fearful. She knew the witch was aware of her presence, but hadn't guessed that she knew exactly where she was. Now how was she going to sneak up on her?

"Don't you want to play?" the witch called out. "Sun'll be out soon and I'd hate to miss the party."

Whimpering softly, Dru looked up at the rapidly lightening sky and wondered again if it might be time to go home.

Tapping her wand against her leg, Bella started to wonder whether the vamp was going to turn up at all. It was clear she was dealing with one of the more intelligent members of the species. Could it be smart enough to run and hide?

A smile came to her face. The vamp wasn't as clever as she thought it was; she could sense the demon coming tentatively closer. A dark shape appeared from behind a tree, and Bella was pleased when she realised it was a pretty, dark-haired female. Keeping still so as not to frighten the girl, she beckoned the vamp over.

Drusilla walked cautiously up to the furthest swing away from the witch and stopped. She kept her eyes on the magick stick in the witch's left hand as dark brown eyes swept over her body.

"You'll not curse me with that thing," she said defiantly. "Hex me all you want; I'll 'ave your heart in the end."

The witch smiled in amusement. "You're different," she said, eyes still roaming over Drusilla's body. Could witches control you with their eyes? Dru suddenly felt very naked.

"What's your name?" Bellatrix asked the vampire. Until now, all of the vamps who'd tried to eat her had been badly-dressed, snarling, cliché-spouting examples of the stereotype. Something in the eyes of this one intrigued her.

"What're you gonna do if I tell you?" the vamp asked. Bellatrix couldn't help but laugh.

"There's no power in knowing someone's name, Luv. I only want to know what name I should get written on your collar."

That remark got her a response she liked: the vampire blinked in surprise and a small pink tongue flitted out for a second to lick her lips.

"Come on, Vampire," the witch insisted, her voice suddenly hardening and her eyes becoming sharper. "You know there's no escape, at least for now. What's the harm in telling me?"

With this last question, her voice reverted to the playful tone she'd used earlier. Having realised that she'd been heading into a trap before she'd showed herself, Drusilla knew that the witch was right. She calmly sat down on the swing next to her captor and pushed off with her feet, swinging gently.

"Your name first," she insisted, turning to smile confidently at the other woman.

Amused by the vampire's behaviour, Bellatrix started her seat swinging back and forth with an unspoken spell, matching the arc of the swing next to her. Winking at her new plaything, she replied:

"Of course, you'll need to know what to call me when you beg for mercy." Tilting her head, she singsonged: "My name's Bellatrix, what's yours?"

Kicking her legs into the air and tucking them under, Dru swung higher and higher, the witch's enchanted swing following her. When she reached the highest point of the arc, she jumped off the swing and turned in the air, landing with her knees bent in a parody of a curtsy.

"Drusilla," she said, closing her eyes and straightening. The next thing she heard was a softly murmured, "Stupefy!" and the world went all wonky for a while.