Beautiful Death

1 | Hogwarts

Whoosh!

The familiar red and black train of Hogwarts came at full speed, then to an abrupt stop. Bellatrix was used to this now — this was her last and final year at the filthy school that made up Hogwarts. Narcissa was a third year and Andromeda a fifth year. Bellatrix got onto the train, making sure not to get her long, black dress dirty as her mother Druella Black and her father Cygnus Black III looked on.

The only good thing out of going to Hogwarts was time away from her strict mother who found everything she did to be disgraceful and her father who took things physical when he was drunk— which was most of the time. And of course Bellatrix, being the oldest child in the family, was the one who suffered the most from her parents' frustration. And Bellatrix wasn't allowed to tell anyone about the beatings she got. At least her sisters didn't get beaten as much; Bellatrix would explode at this, because she secretly loved Cissy and Dromeda with all her heart. Her secret affection for them showed though. For one, she gave them childish nicknames. She had a ton of nicknames for Andromeda: Romy, Dromeda, Andi, etc.

Bellatrix found an empty compartment and sat down. Andromeda sat across her and Narcissa diagonal to her. That left an empty seat to Bellatrix's right. A few moments later, Bellatrix's best friend, Blair Beckett (Bella always made fun of her last name), plopped down next to her. As soon as Bellatrix saw Blair, she gave her a knowing smirk, and they started hexing students who walked by their compartment, while Narcissa and Andromeda rolled their eyes.

Bellatrix had a reputation in this school. She was known as the most powerful witch, but also known for her nasty temper and pranks. She was known for making life difficult for all the students. Everyone feared her, because she could easily humiliate anyone she came across. Blair had met Bellatrix in their first-year, both sharing a common interest of causing trouble. Now Blair was known as Bellatrix's side kick or best friend, which was pretty much true. Blair wasn't as good at spells, but she still knew how to kill a student's spirit.

An hour later, they walked into the magnificent school of Hogwarts. It was getting dark, and there were stars in the sky, giving Hogwarts an enchanted glow to it. The boats that took them to the school all had lamps, which made everything look like a beautiful, painted picture. The first-years, like they do every year, stared in awe at the school they would spend seven years in.

Bellatrix sat with the rest of the Slytherins, and watched the first-years get sorted. Everything was pretty boring, and Bellatrix recognized most of the new kids, either siblings of students she knew for a bad reason or families her parents talked about over dinner.

She still remembered when she had gotten sorted. All the students had gone silent. Her family had a reputation for being in Slytherin, and for being extremely evil, as people would put it. Her parents had connections with the Dark Lord.

"Black, Sirius." Bellatrix's cousin Sirius was up next. Everyone knew he was going to end up in Slytherin, like everyone before them in the noble house of Black. Sirius nervously walked up, and sat down on the chair. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head, and the whole hall was silent, like it was for all the other Blacks before him.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat announced.

Everyone stared in shock, and Bellatrix jolted out of her seat. Sirius had a sheepish grin, and the annoying James Potter (her parents had told her how he was a blood traitor) let out a whoop. Professor McGonagall was appalled, but broke into a smile. Everyone turned to Bellatrix, who was known for her angry fits of rage. Professor Dumbledore shot her a stern look. It took her all of her strength to not break into another one of her tantrums. To everyone's surprise, Bellatrix sat back down in her chair, straightened her back, and pleasantly smiled at everyone, while her eyes were as sharp as her wand's end. She glared at Sirius, who raised his chin in defiance.

As soon as the ceremony was over, Bellatrix wrote to her dear Aunt Walburga about Sirius' disgraceful placement. Bellatrix was close to her Aunt Walburga, for she was both stern and kind to her. She reminded Bellatrix of Professor McGonagall, but McGonagall was too kind, and was a Gryffindor. Not to mention downright annoying. And the fact that her Transfiguration class was boring as hell.

My Dearest Aunt Walburga,

I would just like to inform you that your son Sirius Black has been sorted into Gryffindor. Other then that, everything went very smoothly. I will be sure to keep an eye out for him.

Your Niece,
Bellatrix Black

Satisfied with her letter, Bellatrix took it to the owlery. When she reached the owlery, she had the sudden urge to torture something. Smirking, she Crucioed Sirius' owl. To Bellatrix's delight, the owl painfully screeched. She then walked over to her own owl and calmly gave her the letter. Without another word, Bellatrix left.

It was past curfew now, but Bellatrix didn't feel like going back to the dorms. She decided to go into the Forbidden Forest. There was a secret meadow there, where the grass was long and trees towered above. Bellatrix walked into the empty meadow, and sat down on the grass. She enjoyed the peace that this place had to offer.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps.

"Who's there?" she asked warily.

"Show yourself right now or I won't hesitate to kill you!" she yelled, drawing out her wand.

A mysterious, hooded man stepped out of one of the trees.

"Kill? Ha! You don't know any spells, young witch. This is the real world," the man chuckled.

"And that is where you're wrong," Bellatrix smirked. She suddenly turned around, so fast the man didn't know what was happening, and pointed her wand at a small creature that was observing the events of the meadow, who had the misfortune of doing so.

"Avada Kedavra!" she yelled. There was a flash of green light, and the creature lay dead. Satisfied, she gave a mad laugh, and turned once more to the man.

"Don't underestimate Bellatrix Black," she said calmly.

With a newfound interest, the man took off his hood. Bellatrix gasped. He was undeniably handsome. He was tall and had tousled dark brown hair. He had a strong jawline and sharp, red eyes. He gave off a powerful aura.

"Damn, who are you?" she whispered.

"Tom Riddle," he replied.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "Tom who?"

"Riddle."

"What are you doing in the Forbidden Forest anyway?" she asked.

"Personal business. You?"

"I didn't want to go back to the Slytherin dorms, so I just came to relax," she replied.

"And you don't get caught?" the man asked, intrigued.

"There are secret passageways around the school."

"You have a lot of potential for the Dark Arts," the man said, after a while.

"Yeah, I want to join the Dark Lord when the time comes."

"You really can't recognize me?" the man asked, genuinely curious now.

Bellatrix shook her head. "I gotta go back now, it's getting late and I'm tired. You can find me here tomorrow. I often come here in the night, right before I go to sleep."

And without another word, Bellatrix casually walked away, unaware that the man she had talked to was the Dark Lord himself. Bellatrix took one of the secret passageways back to her dorm, and whispered the password of that year: filthy mudblood. She creeped into the common room. The fire was still going on, and the familiar dungeon was dimly lit. She swiftly and efficiently crept her way to her bed, without anyone's notice. Even if someone saw her, they wouldn't dare speak a word that would anger Bellatrix Black, the most dangerous witch in the school.

It was a while before she fell asleep. She spent a lot of time that night thinking about the events that happened that day. Sirius, who had already become friends with Potter, and the man, who gave her a powerful vibe.

Today took a strange turn, she thought.