judge, jury and executioner

The outlines of the plan were known. But that was about it. A few days ago she had learned about the owner’s plans however and Lucinda was far from happy with it. The planning that they had, was not based on the fact that she would have to babysit a Quidditch Player with a bad attitude. She had sent the information in a letter to Bellatrix Lestrange. That she would have to go along with her work plans, so she would not throw away her cover. But there was no way she was going to drop her task altogether.

Lestrange Manor was a building you heard about a lot, rumors mostly. Lucinda hadn’t been there often. Only from time to time whenever she would need more information on what to do for the cause. And only then she would see just bits and pieces of the Manor. Just like the case was right now. A House Elf had opened the door for her and told her to wait in the large hall of the manor. It was decorated beautifully with a dark touch. There was not one piece that was dusty or in the wrong place. It didn’t take long before the House Elf returned again, ready to bring her to the office of Bellatrix Lestrange.

The young woman pushed the door open slowly as if she didn’t want to intrude. It wasn’t until Bellatrix let her know that she was welcome to come in, that she quickened her motions a little. Lucinda closed the door behind her and took in the office she had entered. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the office from Bellatrix, but she had not expected the many papers scattered around, the many books opened on the desk.

“I actually did send an owl ahead,” Lucinda started as she took a seat in the chair on the other side of the desk. She sat straight as her gaze was focused on Bellatrix in front of her. “Unfortunately my boss decided I need to babysit McKinnon on the exact same day as the mission. It’s in Hogsmeade so it will be busy. I’ll be able to ditch the girl quite quickly and I’ll be all available for the mission. Of course.” There would be no doubt about her loyalty there, she was certain about that. She wasn’t going to let Marlene McKinnon get her into trouble with the woman sitting in front of her.

If Lucinda had to pick who intimidated her more; the boss of the team or Bellatrix, it was a quite easy choice she would never admit out loud.

Bellatrix sometimes forgot that the manor might be quite intimidating to those who had never lived in it. For herself, for Rodolphus and even Rabastan, the shadowy halls were familiar. Bellatrix could hardly imagine living anywhere else these days, and relished in the privacy and safety that the manor offered. Lucinda slowly pushing the door open made her wonder precisely what the young woman knew of this place. She wondered whether Lucinda had heard whispers of the Beast who roamed the place, entirely unruly - a creature that no magic could seemingly keep out. She wondered if Lucinda had heard whispers of the war decisions that had been made within these walls, or whispers of the prisoners of war that might be underneath their very feet in the basement. 

Or perhaps, Lucinda had merely heard rumours that Bellatrix’s office was truly fit for a madwoman. 

“Coffee?” Bellatrix asked, not waiting for a reply before snapping her fingers for a house elf. “Bring a pot of coffee and two cups.” Her nails rapped on the oak desk before her as she pondered the name McKinnon. A blood traitor, a friend to Sirius....and now someone that required babysitting. “What about Marlene McKinnon requires babysitting? I have heard she is an unruly soul, but she has never managed to rouse my curiosity before. You work with her, Lucinda? Tell me more about her....I know she is friends with my cousin, that alone makes her a fool hardly worth my time.”

“Regardless, I admire that you believe you will be able to be rid of her quickly enough. Stun her if needs be, do not kill considering your employer knows the two of you were together. I trust you are skilled enough,” Bellatrix drawled as the house elf reappeared with a tray of coffee. She poured two cups, pushing one towards Lucinda. “You know your role? Keep watch over the grounds while I breach Hogwarts, take out anyone who may be seeking the same prize. The goal is for us to capture Hogwarts, the less people that I have to combat within its walls the more likely it is that we will be successful.”

“For the love of Merlin, as soon as you have given McKinnon the slip....I recommend that you wear your mask, and tread carefully. The Dark Lord has not mandated it for you this mission, but I will leave it up to your discretion. My heavy recommendation is that you remain masked - it may help you to avoid difficult questions about why you had breached the grounds when masked Death Eaters were seen inside, and of course, will obscure your identity. I will be masked, for my own security.”

With the time until the swearing in rapidly disappearing, Sinistra found herself worked into something of a frenzy. In truth, big events such as this were where she thrived – not that there was ever a time where she didn’t thrive – there was something about having no time to think, constantly focused and moving from one task to another, that allowed the journalist to prosper. Flourish though she might, Sinistra still found room to hate the crazed energy that had settled over the office as the wait grew shorter. The excuse to skip town and make her way over to the Lestrange Manor was a perfectly orchestrated plot to escape her coworkers, and so her lunch break found her on board the Knight Bus and heading away from town.  

Luckily – for though she’d leaped at the chance to flee her office, she truly did have limited time to spare – Bellatrix did not keep her waiting long. “Not today, I’m afraid,” Sinistra said with a sigh, primly taking a seat across from the other woman in one fluid motion. Legs crossed, quill and parchment in easy reach within her bag, and already mourning the lunch she was skipping to be there, she smiled in response to the woman’s questioning gaze. “Unfortunately,” Sinistra said, scrunching her nose in distaste. The Knight Bus, it seemed, was quite the regrettable necessity at the moment. “It beats flying - I was never one for a broom.” Let her classmates play Quidditch to their heart’s content, Sinistra had always kept her feet firmly on the ground, thank you very much.

“Anyways – I’m here to talk about press questions for tomorrow. Is there anything specific you need me to ask, or avoid?” Hand reaching down to her bag, her expression shifted from her usual bored indifference to something purely business. “Don’t want to throw off Lucius, and, well, didn’t want to bother the Dark Lord with it personally,” she offered by way of explanation, shrugging her shoulders. A lie, of course; loyal though she was, she avoided the Dark Lord’s presence as much as she reasonably could out of something she refused to call fear. No matter though; Bellatrix was a much-preferred substitute.

Bellatrix quirked her brow, a small twinge of a smirk playing at the corner of her lips as Sinistra confessed that it was not a social visit. The last social visit Bellatrix had received must have been her brother-in-law, even her own sister didn’t come to visit these days. It was a sad fact of life, but it was simply the demands of war. Bellatrix couldn’t see that her own actions had caused this - forcing away the few that she might call friends, till only her husband and her brother-in-law could even stand her company. There were plenty who feared her, plenty who admired and respected her strength and power....but very few liked her. 

“The Knight Bus is disgusting. You’d have thought that by now the ministry would at least have sorted out the floo system so there isn’t such a backlog, but alas....that would mean the ministry actually doing some work,” Bella drawled. “I confess I’m rather fond of flying. I find it rather freeing...but still, some journeys are impossible to make on a broom. One cannot truly fly the whole length of the country, or at least it would take such a significant amount of time that you may as well have gotten the Knight Bus in the first place. I am beginning to truly curse my husband’s choice of Yorkshire for us to make our home....it is so far north, so far from London,” Bellatrix shook her head, though she had become very fond of Lestrange Manor in recent years. 

“No....one wouldn’t want to throw Lucius off his game,” Bellatrix snorted. “There are many questions I would like to ask Lucius Malfoy, but the prerequisite to those questions must be that we’re not at a press conference and he is under the influence of veritaserum,” she muttered. Ideally, he’d be tied up too so he couldn’t escape - he’d always been far too slippery. “Keep the focus on how much of a failure Alastor Moody was. Perhaps question Harold Minchum’s lack of security detail? If we hone in on Moody and Minchum, it may leave the greater public wondering precisely what security the ministry can really offer them. If the Minister himself is confident in the aurors but they are failing, then how can the public be confident in the ministry?”

“They will soon come to realise that only the Dark Lord can offer what they need. One day, they will all bow. What a glorious day that shall be.”

In retrospect, Lucius sort of deserved this. Not that he’d ever admit it, but it wasn’t like he’d even thought to check for glamour spells in the area when he’d traipsed along the treeline of the Forbidden Forest, testing any gaps for breaks in the security wards he was warned would be present. The first chink he’d found, he’d immediately stepped forward without question, proud of himself for finding a hole in their seamless brigade, only to be tossed wand-over-ass into an…. actual sink hole. The resounding thump had knocked the wind out of him when his back connected with a boulder of some sort, a pause in his reflexes long enough to send his wand skittering across the dirt floor. 

It wasn’t until Lucius had sighed and gone to search for his wand, an accio on his lips that the snare was activated, tendrils wrapping around his chest and slamming him back against the trunk of wretched creature. He knew better than to panic, relaxing within the stupid thing’s grip with a soft sigh, settling into place. Getting out of this mess by himself would require controlled effort and composure, even the slightest twitch of his muscles alerting the Devil’s Snare that he was trying to escape its clutches. Good thing he had enough patience to wait here all night, if he had to. 

He hadn’t been there very long when company joined him - although it was difficult to gauge the passage of time in a pitch-black dirt cellar, he hadn’t caught a glimpse of sunlight when she’d fallen, meaning it was probably still night. That was good, at least. He wouldn’t have known who joined him if the familiar scent of burning spice, with a hint of something sinister and feminine, cedar perhaps, but that wasn’t the point; the point was that he was joined by none other than his least favorite Lestrange in the country, now that Rodolphus wasn’t around. 

“Bellatrix, darling, you must realize I have no clue, it’s not like I have the bloody stars to go by,” Lucius huffed quietly around a grin he didn’t have to hide, silently cursing the Dark Lord. Of course he hadn’t trusted Lucius with this mission - of course he’d send his favorite pet sniveling after him, waiting for him to fail, and look at that! They both were carelessly pompous enough to stride right into - he’d assumed Minerva’s - trap, Bellatrix not much wiser than him, it seemed. 

“There’s no point in struggling - it already knows you’re here,” but the warning was pointless, Lucius hearing the tell tale rustle of bark against stone, knowing she was about to be just as ensnared as he’d become - albeit, the Devil lessened its grip on Lucius as it focused on new prey, allowing the man to shake his shoulder once and causing the back up wand he always kept up his sleeve to fall into his hand, although he made no move to use it. Not yet, at least. He deserved a passing moment of joy, all things considered, to bother his sister-in-law.

In her immediate questioning of why the hell Lucius was here, Bellatrix hadn’t taken the time to survey her surroundings beyond taking in the blonde heap of shit directly opposite her in the brief flash of starlight before the hole closed up once more. She took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and if she were honest a creeping panic began to set in. Not only did she no longer have her wand, but she couldn’t see exactly how small the space was. Her claustrophobia was a weakness that Bellatrix had tried for years to train herself out of, but her efforts had been in vain.

It took all of her strength to remain somewhat collected. She knew that if she showed the slightest hint of weakness, the slightest tinge of fear, Lucius would never let her live it down. He had twisted since their school days, since their relationship - he had become cold and cruel, just as she had. Make no mistake, if Lucius had a similar weakness then Bellatrix would surely taunt him for it, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to have that particular piece of knowledge. 

Bellatrix’s spine was straight and rigid as tendrils of the devil’s snare began to wrap around her ankles, slowly creeping up her legs. It was an unwelcome tightness, an unwelcome weight as panic that the walls were closing in settled over her. “I assume the Dark Lord sent you here to scout? You have no other reason to be creeping around the grounds of a closed castle....or are you still upset that you were skipped for the last mission, perhaps hoping to make it up and find something that you think Rabastan and I missed.”

Bellatrix made a wild grab in an attempt to find her wand, and the tendrils of the devil’s snare tightened impossibly around  her, creeping further up her body. “I don’t suppose you have your wand?” Bellatrix asked, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to calm herself. The walls aren’t closing in, the snare isn’t going to kill you. If herself and Lucius couldn’t get out of this, then they hardly deserved their positions in the war at all.

The snare was covering almost her whole body now, as Bellatrix tried in vain to relax and stay still. The walls were closing in, it was going to cave around them. Bellatrix wouldn’t put it past McGonagall to make sure that those who tried to break into Hogwarts never actually made it. She was going to die in a hole, inches away from the man who should have been her husband.

“Tell me you have your wand,” Bellatrix’s voice was quiet and almost pained, an eerie sound coming from her lips. Her voice was usually strong and confident, but that moment of weakness had slipped through. She had entirely forgotten her ability to cast wandless magic, her mind largely blank aside from its panic. Any self control she might have had over herself faltered in the crushing fear that she was going to die here, and Bellatrix looked over at Lucius. If it hadn’t been so dark, he might have seen a pleading look on her face.

“I need to get out, I have to get out.” 

It wasn’t the first time Sirius felt the Cruciatus Curse. He never exaggerated when talking about growing up with his family (or if he did, it was never about this). Back when his mother was certain he’d be on the same path as Bellatrix, the two of them were trained under her, and she’d been the one to cast the curse on her own son. So you know how it’s supposed to feel, Walburga said at the time, and now, Sirius wasn’t sure that she wasn’t holding back anymore. It felt excruciating as a young kid, but Walburga didn’t feel the same hatred back then as Bellatrix felt for him now. Oh, and he knew she would savor every moment of his screams and cries–she was sadistic like that. 

The relief that came with the curse being lifted was short-lived, and he grunted as her boot went crashing into his rib cage, the sound of a few snaps ringing in his ears. He couldn’t even react to that properly because her foot came crashing down onto his chest, but that wasn’t what made him lose his breath. Confess to murdering Regulus Black.

She knew.

This was it. There was no way he was going to leave this confrontation alive, not when Bellatrix had that knowledge on top of her general desire to see him suffer. His eyes were wide, and doubtless any shock and fear on his face would give way to the truth, but if she wanted a verbal confession, he wasn’t going to give it so easily. “Andromeda only lives because you haven’t crossed paths with her yet,” he hissed. “I’ve–done–nothing.”

All he got in return for his defiance was a shallow cut to his collarbone, but it nevertheless made him cry out in pain; a moment later he felt the telltale signs of blood seeping into his shirt and sticking it to his skin. Sirius didn’t pay attention while Bellatrix monologued, eyes darting toward the stairs instead. He needed his wand. Nonverbal and wandless magic was simple enough when he could concentrate, so he stretched his fingers out and focused. It took a moment, but the wand came rolling up the stairs and landed an inch away from his fingers. Sirius lunged for it and scrambled back as fast as he could with broken ribs and a flesh wound, raising his wand and shouting, “Petrificus totalas!”

Sirius was more than likely going to die during this duel, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

The moment of hesitation, before the shock that was written so clearly across his face confirmed that she had come after the right traitor. She hadn’t been wholly certain whether it was Sirius or Andromeda after discovering the photograph in the field, but now she knew. Sirius Black had killed his brother. A cold laugh fell from her lips as Sirius spoke of Andromeda, and Bellatrix knew it was truth. She would kill Andromeda in a heart beat, given the shame that the filthy woman had brought upon them by being impregnated by a mudblood. “I know the truth, you spew lies and filth. Confess. Say the words ‘I killed Regulus Black’. I can dig through your mind, tear it apart and find what I want - I can leave you a mere shell of yourself. It’ll be much easier if you confess it yourself, Sirius.”

Bellatrix drew another cut across his skin, this time a shallow cut to his cheek. She didn’t notice his eyes darting towards the stairs, didn’t notice him extending his hand until he had lunged for his wand. The split second that it took for her to realise what happened was too late for her to react. Legs and arms bound to her side, rigid as a board, Bellatrix’s wand had rolled out of her fingers. She was unwilling to risk lying here for too long, lest Sirius kill her himself or deal too much damage. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. 

As she closed her eyes, focusing on drawing the strength she needed for wordless and wandless magic, she could feel Sirius beating her body. A warmth was spreading across her right leg, certainly blood from a cut and a firm blow hit her in the stomach. Focusing with everything she had, Bellatrix silently cast a reparifors which freed her from the curse. She grasped for her wand, casting a swift flipendo in order to get Sirius away from her. “Expelliarmus,” she yelled, not waiting to see whether it had worked before she scrambled to her feet. “A child’s curse, Sirius? I thought your dearest mother and I taught you better than to bring a knife to a duel. You have always been such a failure to us.”

Bellatrix laughed cruelly, tilting her head slightly to the side. “If it is children’s curses that you want, then so be it,” Bellatrix said, silently casting incarcerous. With Sirius bound on the floor, Bella crouched down and lifted her mask so that he could see the hatred written across her face. “I have waited for this moment for a very long time, cousin....for you to finally pay for all you did to us. It is simply what you deserve, and now there is nobody to save you.”

“I asked for a confession, things may have gone much simpler for you. I will draw it from your lips one way or another,” Bellatrix snarled, reaching for his right arm. She laid it out, reached for the dagger that was strapped to her thigh and got to work - drawing her cursed dagger over his skin. “You are filth, Sirius Black. Nothing but filth,” Bellatrix murmured as she worked, her heart full of hatred.

Stepping back after she was satisfied, Bellatrix stood straight and laughed cruelly at the incision of the word TRAITOR that would scar so beautifully. She was caked in his blood from the wound, but it was so worth it. 

“Now everyone can see who you really are, Sirius Black.”

She was brutal. 

       Crazy was the word that people like to say about her most, but Peter knew it was the cruelty that made her stick out in their memories. Whether it was the slicing words she knew stung or how to exploit your personal weakness. It was a futile quest to deny what she was. The echoed taunted flitted around the room and made his blood run cold. It was something he would have heard as a child, who was playing a game. However, there was no game insight and very real consequences to his actions. Peter struggled to find something to think of how to get him out of this, the panic already surging through him. His wand was in hand, but he was unprepared to make a move just yet. The idea of actually harming someone by his own hand was something he had not done yet. 

          Ever the bully Pettigrew had always made someone else do his dirty work for him. Enjoying the torment on their expressions without having to lift a finger to do it. That’s what had happened with Snape at least. It had been easy to watch as James turned him upside down or Sirius called him horrid names. While poor, cowardly, Pettigrew got to sit on the sidelines and enjoy the spoils of war. It was only the light from her wand that pulled him from such thoughts. The ways the harsh light hit his features and he realized that he had nowhere left to hide. He certainly could turn into a rat, but he feared that would do him more harm than good at the moment. 

        “B-B-B,” Was all that he was able to form before she shot a jinx his way. Peter staggered toward, narrowly avoiding it. He wasn’t quick enough to keep doing that though. Peter flicked his wrist and sent an expelliarmus toward her, brow furrowed in concentration. He knew he wasn’t out of practice, but his nerves still made him feel that way. Peter went to duck behind the corner of a nearby hallway, trying to move away from the supply closet if possible. “ I - I’m not w-w-worth your time.” He reasoned, lips quirking downward. Peter needed a plan. An appealing one at that. “Not worth your time.” 

Bellatrix felt like a cat that was batting a mouse around, but still had one hand firmly on his tail. Pettigrew would not escape this, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little fun with him before she killed him. He was good fun to poke at, to hear him stammer and stutter as he choked over his words. Truly, he was a failure of a man. Unable to keep up with his friends, unable to even speak properly. Sirius would certainly have tried, James Potter may have even put up a good fight. Bellatrix didn’t doubt that this would be a one-sided slaughter than a real battle. It was disappointing, certainly, but it was not a surprise. 

“Stuttering again? Pathetic,” Bellatrix spat, shaking her head in disappointment. “Sirius would put up a good fight. James would put up a good fight, even Remus seems like the sort who would try his best. You can hardly get a grasp on your own wand,” Bellatrix laughed cruelly, batting away his disarming jinx with ease. “Your cowardice will be what kills you in the end, Pettigrew. Your inability to fight back,” Bellatrix said, sending an avada after him. It missed narrowly, Peter’s swift ducking around the corner being the only thing that saved him. Bellatrix’s displeasure at her miss was audible as she took a few more steps towards where Peter had hidden.

“If you’re not worth my time then I can make it swift. No need for long, drawn out pain. Just a simple avada....I hear its just like falling asleep. It might even put you out of your misery,” Bellatrix crooned. “There nothing else more interesting right now, other than discovering why little Peter might be creeping around an abandoned Hogwarts all alone in the first place.”

Her lunch was all but abandoned.

Lucinda had been gone for about an hour and Bellatrix was finally settling back into her chair when an owl had arrived from Fenrir Greyback making another disgruntled threat that he was upset the werewolves had been excluded from not one but two Hogwarts missions and he wanted a private meeting with the Dark Lord to argue their case. The reply was a simple ‘no, fuck off’ before she threw his letter into the fire. Greyback made her skin crawl, but that little bit of dominance she had over him satisfied her to no end. Crossing her legs as she reached for her lunch once more, Bellatrix had taken a single bite when her house elf appeared once more.

“Miss Lowe is here to see you. Might I send her through?” Bellatrix frowned at her elf, glancing around her office. First she had missed an owl from Lucinda, had she missed one from Sinistra too? It wasn’t so unthinkable, but it was frustrating. She might have planned her day better if she had truly known how many visitors she might receive, but alas. “Send her through,” Bella sighed, levitating her plate of food away from her desk so she wouldn’t be distracted. 

The door swung open and Bellatrix fixed her eyes upon Sinistra with a hint of curiosity. “It appears that today I am a fount of knowledge for those seeking advice. I assume this is not a social call, Sinistra? I don’t get too many friendly visits these days, not that I am complaining too much. What can I do for you?” Bellatrix hummed, pushing some of her haphazard papers aside. “Did you have to get the bus here? I try not to leave the manor too much when it isn’t necessary these days, for I’m not sure how much longer I can stomach the Knight Bus.”

Sirius was staring at the Fat Lady for longer than he cared to admit, a frown on his face as she denied him entry to the Gryffindor Common Room yet again. “Oh come on, you saw my ugly mug for seven years. You know Dumbledore trusts me, and I have to get in there to search for… something.” Truthfully, he wasn’t sure what, but anything could be in there. Sometimes it was easier to ignore how eccentrically Dumbledore operated, even when he was missing in action.

He glanced at his watch as he was once again denied entry, frustration growing the later it got. He had a schedule to keep, and though he was prone to taking his own merry time doing things, this wasn’t something he was going to mess with. Sirius would have to leave with or without information, but he honestly didn’t want to leave empty-handed. He was about to open his mouth again to negotiate with the portrait when the hairs on his neck stood on edge, and that was all the warning Sirius had before his wand was flying out of his hand and down the steps (thankfully not a moving staircase). He immediately turned on the spot to face his assailant; wandless magic wasn’t his forte, but it would work enough until he had the proper opportunity to get his wand and cast with his full strength.

You have some questions to answer, Black, the masked figure shouted, and Sirius’ blood went cold. He knew that voice, would recognize it anywhere, and at once his suspicions were confirmed: Bellatrix was a Death Eater. He said before that he wouldn’t put it past her being one, but to have that information actually confirmed was shocking enough to freeze his vocal chords–a mistake he now regretted, falling to the floor and letting out a scream. It felt like thousands of knives were being stabbed into him repeatedly and without holding back, making his body writhe on the floor under the Unforgivable. 

He didn’t know how long the curse lasted–minutes, hours–but when there was a break, he coughed violently and managed to shout, “You fucking bitch. I don’t know shit.”

Power thrummed through her as Bellatrix closed her eyes briefly, allowing herself to really feel the dark magic flowing through her and out of the end of her wand. It had been far too long, and it was even more satisfying knowing that Sirius was the recipient. His screams were like music to her ears, and she was desperate for more. She had half a mind to snap his wand and make sure he certainly couldn’t escape, but that was much too easy. Letting him fight back, letting him think he stood a chance, no that was far more enticing. Bellatrix slowly released the curse with a satisfied sigh as she took another few steps up the staircase towards Sirius. She had finally caught him off guard, finally alone enough that nobody was going to interfere.

While Sirius was coughing, Bellatrix had closed the gap between them and kicked him swiftly in the ribs. She was sure she heard a crunch, but her boot was already moving to press down atop his chest to stop him scrambling for his wand. “I will not ask again, Sirius Black. Confess to murdering Regulus Black, confess to murdering your brother. You sling all sorts of insults at me, and yet....my sister still lives. It is your brother that is in the ground, dead at your hand. Confess,” Bellatrix hissed, pressing her foot down harder. 

“I would say this would be much easier on you if you confess, but I think we both know that’s not true. You’re long overdue this punishment, and now you’re a murderer,” Bellatrix lifted her foot from his chest, but drew her wand across his chest to cut across his collarbones shallowly. The cut was deep enough that he would feel it, but not deep enough that he would bleed out. “Nobody is coming to help you, Black. You can confess now, and I might make it a swift death. I might even imperio you so that you don’t know what’s really going on. Or you can keep pretending that you don’t know shit and I can just keep cutting. One cut for every lie that falls from your filthy lips.”

“Confess to your sins, traitor.”

“Messy.”

A twinge of a smirk curled at the side of Bellatrix’s lips. “A woman cannot be involved with men the sorts of Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus Lestrange and Fabian Prewett without things getting messy. You only have to spend two minutes in a room with Fabian before he starts talking about his feelings. He’s a very needy man, don’t you know?”

“Admittedly, overlap only came when Rodolphus and I married, but still it was entirely messy. Things have trailed off recently…in fact, I do not remember the last time I was touched romantically. Regardless, my romantic history is tinged with drama and pain and mess. Lucius exploding at my mother over my engagement to Rodolphus? Messy. Rodolphus sweeping in just before Lucius to propose? You can’t say he doesn’t have a flair for the dramatic almost on the same level as Malfoy.”

“If I could change things, I think I would have made things simpler. Forgone the affair, hell, even forgone the relationship with Lucius. It’s too painful. If Rodolphus and I had simply been an arranged marriage with no prior romantic history, life would be much simpler.”

“I suppose the answer depends on what type of love you mean. Platonic love? Of course. I love my sister, I love her dearly and if I am honest it hurts that we are not as close as we used to be. That is an effect of my role, I suppose….I have very little time for family gatherings. But I do love her, I think about her often.” Bellatrix frowned. “I loved Andromeda and Sirius once. I did. It may be hard to see that now, but the decisions I made in trying to keep them on the right path no matter how harsh came from a place of love and concern. But they made their choice, and my heart has turned cold. I will not apologise for that. Their loss has hurt me deeply, and I no longer have room in my heart for love.”

“I’ve only had three significant relationships that may be deemed romantic. One was purely sexual, an affair that may well have been a lapse in judgement. That was never going to go any further than carnal pleasure. One is my marriage to Rodolphus. The other…” Bellatrix trailed off for a moment. “It was perhaps the most important thing in my life at the time. I did love Lucius Malfoy at one point, after all, I planned on a future with him. I remember Saturdays at Hogwarts where we would sit beside the lake and whisper to one another, watching the sun gleam across the water. I don’t think there was a doubt in either of our minds that we would be married to one another. It was, however, not meant to be. And that is that.”

What Bellatrix didn’t add is that her heart had twisted towards hatred for Lucius because it was easier than accepting that deep down she always had loved him, and always would. It was easier than accepting that her heart would never feel whole in his absence. It was easier than accepting that sometimes she wanted to reach out to him, to feel his fingers fit between hers as they did so perfectly before. It was easier, and it would always be easier because he was not hers. And so turning her heart away from him was the easiest thing.

Burying those thoughts, Bellatrix glanced down at her hand where her wedding band lay. “In some way, I think I do love Rodolphus. Not romantically, but…he is my dearest friend and my closest partner. I trust him implicitly in all things, I trust his judgement and I trust him to have my back. He loves me in some way as well. He knows what is best for me, and takes steps to ensure that I am as great as I could be. Our marriage is all the proof I need of that. He freed me from a relationship that was holding me back, into a marriage where both of us would flourish. Rodolphus is perhaps the only person in the world that has my best interests at heart, and I have his. It’s not romantic….but it is something.”

“All this just to say yes. Yes I have loved, and I still do love. Those that might tell you otherwise clearly do not share the same concept of love as I.”

“Devastating.”

Bellatrix hesitated, a deep sigh falling from her lips. “It is my greatest failure. I am the eldest of our generation….now there is just myself and Narcissa left. Andromeda and Sirius were misguided, they clearly fell into the wrong crowds at Hogwarts and once the mudbloods had got their teeth into them there was no turning back. We did not do a good enough job of teaching them what is good and proper, and now they are dead to us. Of course, Andromeda’s crime is far worse than Sirius’. Allowing herself to be impregnated by one of the cockroaches is almost unthinkable. It sickens me to think I used to share a room with her, share everything with her.”

“Regulus, however, is not my fault. He had joined the Death Eaters, he was on the correct path, he was going to be great. Sirius robbed him of that, and Sirius will pay.”

“The loss of my family haunts me, and it will forever haunt me. It was my responsibility to ensure they were walking the right path, and my failure weighs upon me like a boulder on my shoulders that I must carry at all times. It is devastating, and it truly breaks my heart that my family has been split this way.”

“Alone, of course. Valentines Day is a con regardless and I refuse to partake in the festivities, but my husband is not even in the country for me to share a meal with. I spent my evening in front of the fire with a book, and a bottle of wine. Were you hoping for something racy and lust filled? Sorry to disappoint.”

The sight of the castle looming through a break in the tree-line was almost sickening. Bellatrix had graduated well over a decade ago, and yet twice in a month the castle was offending her gaze. It almost felt like a cage now - it had felt freeing, at the time. Being taught magic in an official capacity, as opposed to the illegal magic her parents taught her from a young age, initially it was very exciting. However, the longer she spent there the more it felt restrictive. The sort of magic Bellatrix wanted to explore, the magic that thrummed through her veins and made her heart beat was not simple charms and transfiguration. It was dark magic, darkness that only a man such as the Dark Lord could teach efficiently. Hogwarts was child’s play, and Bellatrix had grown to resent it quickly. 

Breaking in and damaging the school and Dumbledore’s office had almost felt like retribution - revenge for wasting so many years of her childhood where she could have been honing her skills in the necessary areas. Now she was frustrated - frustrated that she was back here once more, frustrated that the memories they had so carefully retrieved had proved useless. If the mission tomorrow was a failure, Bellatrix would surely find herself being seriously punished by the Dark Lord. The last thing she wanted was to feel his wrath, but she could almost sense it coming - like a wave of discomfort, washing over her.

Lost in all these thoughts as she approached the edge of the forest, Bellatrix set a foot wrong and found herself falling with a exclamation of surprise. As she fell she fumbled for her wand, which jolted from her hand as she landed with a thud. Taking in her surroundings, Bellatrix swore loudly as she looked up to see the gaping hole that had clearly been glamoured. She had been right - the teachers had set booby traps. A rustle of movement to her left had her head whipping around, and Bellatrix frowned in confusion. “Malfoy? What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Wait....how long have you been here?”

Who: Peter & @commanderlestrange​ When: February 29, 1980 Where: Hogwarts by Slughorn’s Supply Closet

A bead of sweat began to form on his forehead. 

         Lily and himself had been searching the lower levels of the castles. It made sense that she had gravitated to the potion’s supply closet. She had been so gifted at potions that she would know what to grab. Which left him with the terrifying task of standing lookout. So far the endeavor had been quiet, but that didn’t mean that it was going to continue to be so. Trouble seemed to pop up in the most peculiar of places, and the now-abandoned castle did not feel any safer. He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing over his shoulder at Lily when he felt like he heard something at the end of the hall. His lips quirked downward, The rest of the group was scattered around the castle, and none of them were supposed to meet Lily and him downward. 

        Peter went to walk away from the closet, telling Lily softly that he thought he might have heard something. Perhaps it was his nerves, or the idle peeves playing a trick. Either of those would be a preferable scenario to what awaited him. It was the figure of a woman who he recognized all too well. There were few people that sparked enough fear into him as Bellatrix was able to conjure, although she was masked there were few others who had held such a demeanor. It was a guess at the moment, but one that seemed plausible to his worried mind. He made himself flat against the stone wall, hiding in one of the shadows. Slowly his hand found his wand in his pocket. Peter was trying to imagine the scenarios that could take place. In each and everyone there seemed to be a power imbalance that he would be unable to overcome. 

        He had half a mind to call out for Lily, but that didn’t seem wise either. Not only would it pull her from her task, but it would only endanger her further. Which meant that he was left with the insurmountable task of having to face her himself. He was sure there was a way out of this. Peter just hadn’t thought of it yet.

Too many moving parts.

That phrase kept repeating through Bellatrix’s mind. It was risky, breaking into Hogwarts twice in the same month. The first mission had been successful enough, perhaps because they had been caught off guard. Now people would be anticipating it. Bellatrix had seen people throughout the castle, not large amounts, just enough to be concerned about. Her skill with magic was quite something, but even she couldn’t fight off twenty Order members alone. Picking them off one by one was going to be much easier, much cleaner. She’d already had to cast a silencing charm on her shoes lest she alert one too quickly. 

It was almost painful - the idea of killing so many without causing them real pain, but it was simple. It was unfortunate, she supposed, that the The Grey Lady had chosen to glide through the wall and exclaim in surprise at seeing her masked figure creeping through the halls. A whispered depulso sent him reeling away, but his yell echoed through the corridors. Bellatrix fell silent for a moment, standing still as she waited to see which Order cockroach might crawl out of the gutter to see what was occurring. The unmistakable sound of cautious footsteps followed, and Bellatrix extended her wand in front of her, a wicked smirk beneath her mask.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Bellatrix sung, her tone cruel. She was yet to come across someone after creeping in through a tunnel, and she was aching to leave a trail of bodies behind her. Wordlessly, Bellatrix sent cast lumos to illuminate the dark corridor and a cruel laugh fell from her lips as she saw who was cowering in the shadows. “Little Pettigrew....cowardly as ever. Face me like a man,” Bellatrix hissed, before sending an impediment jinx his direction. 

Righteous anger.

That’s all Bellatrix felt. Righteous anger. She hadn’t fully come to the conclusion that Sirius had killed Regulus, but he seemed the more likely candidate between himself and Andromeda. Andromeda simply didn’t have it in her to be a vicious killer, but Sirius had always had an angry streak within him. He had the wild Black temper that was almost so characteristic of those that spent an extended period of time with Walburga. It was the easier conclusion to make - and if she was wrong, she would merely go after Andromeda after dealing with Sirius in the first place. He’d had it coming for a long time.

Peter Pettigrew had been more than forthcoming, and now Bellatrix was climbing the stairs towards the Gryffindor common room. Her mask weighed heavily on her face, almost as heavily as the burden that she might finally find out what happened to Regulus and make him suffer for it. The climb towards the common room felt as if it took an age, but before she knew it she was just a staircase away....and Sirius was stood directly outside the Fat Lady. Casting a quick expelliarmus, Sirius’ wand shot from his hand and rolled down the staircase with a clunk. 

“You have some questions to answer, Black. Tell me what happened to Regulus, tell me the truth before I force it out of you,” Bellatrix yelled, before a brief moment of confusion washed over her that her glamour had dropped. It appeared that her fury had directed her focus entirely towards Sirius and less upon the glamours she usually wore to disguise herself. Sirius took too long to give an answer, and Bellatrix was already seeing red. It was the excuse she had needed for some time - they may have been in Hogwarts, but they were largely alone and she was masked. “Perhaps we shall go for punishment first and confessional later, hm? Crucio.”