Beautiful Death

Changed ~ 17

Bellatrix tried to remain attentive to what the Dark Lord was saying, but she couldn't help but become immensely bored with what the Dark Lord had to say. All he ever talked about in the Death Eater meetings was the foolish Potter boy and killing him. Just as she was about to let her mind wonder in yet another fantasy where Voldemort was still her Voldemort, her ears perked up when she heard "Longbottom."

"...if I had chosen to go after the Longbottom boy instead of listening to my amazing right-hand, this would not have happened," Voldemort said, voice sarcastic.

Bellatrix's face fell. The man she knew would never ever say those things to her, and would never blame her for anything. Maybe he really had changed.

She remembered the day she tortured the Longbottoms. It was absolutely wonderful, watching the Crucio curse play out in front of her. It was funny how she absolutely loved the curse on someone else, but hated it when done on her. The more she thought about it though, the more she realized she enjoyed that pain on her. The pain took away all her current problems and only made her worry about one thing: the pain itself. It was strong enough for people to betray their own family, betray secrets, and so much more. She let out a small laugh there, knowing if the Longbottoms really had information, they would've gladly betrayed their fellow Aurors and Dumbledore, only for the torture to stop. The Cruciatus curse really did make everyone weak. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she enjoyed pain and torture, even on herself. She didn't mind the stinging pain; in fact, she enjoyed it, not only on other people. Her heart really was as dark as everyone said, and her mind equally insane.

The only reason why she was so affected when Voldemort had done it was because he was Voldemort. He was not supposed to hurt her, which was why she was so hurt.

As she was thinking about the Cruciatus curse, she felt a sharp pain go through her, and she let out a giddy laugh. Just in time. She then started doubling over with laughter as it felt like her brain was being ripped in two, and her body was on fire. She only laughed harder when the pain increased, and it now felt like she had burned and was now being chopped up into tiny pieces, only to be burned again. She let out that scary laugh that sent shudders down everyone's spine, and just couldn't stop laughing.

"Ahem."

Bellatrix was suddenly brought back to reality, and she rubbed her eyes, blinking. That was when she realized she was still in the middle of a Death Eater meeting, and everyone was looking at her with either a confused or fearful look on their face. A few people were staring at her awkwardly, unsure what the hell the witch was thinking. Gulping, she glanced up at the Dark Lord, and she gave him an apologetic smile, but he only gave a cold stare back. Her heart sunk. The Voldemort she knew's eyes would've lit up with amusement.

"Lestrange, may I ask you, what the hell was that?" he snarled.

Her heart broke again when she heard him call her Lestrange instead of Bellatrix.

It now occurred to Bellatrix that Voldemort had been the one to use the curse on her, probably for not paying attention, and then she had humiliated him by laughing.

"Er- I'm sorry my Lord, I had gotten lost in thought," she mumbled.

"Lost in thought?" he sneered, "I ought to kill you right now. This behavior is not to be tolerated."

Bellatrix hung her head down, ashamed of herself, but most of all, hurt. He had let her down three times in one night. She knew Voldemort would very well go through with what he had just told her, even though a tiny part of her refused to believe it.

"But I won't, because you are my right-hand and I need you for the next raid. So please, Lestrange, pay attention to the meeting or I will make Snape the next right-hand," he sighed, rubbing his temple.

Bellatrix's head shot up, and she glared at Snape. He merely stared back at her, completely unphased. She snarled, remembering that she was the one who pitied him enough to ask Voldemort to not kill Lily so long ago. She supposed Lily had died anyway, but that wasn't the point.

After a few moments had passed of just Snape and Bellatrix glaring at one another, Voldemort continued the discussion, which Bellatrix learned had in fact not been about Potter like she suspected. It was about something that would happen tomorrow evening. Voldemort planned to attack and kill as many Aurors as possible in Diagon Alley, to show the world that he was back and he was in control. The rest of the meeting dragged on, and boring as it was, this time Bellatrix was careful to not get distracted by the events that had occurred.

As soon as they were dismissed, Bellatrix Apparated to Malfoy Manor, and collapsed onto the floor in a heap, sobbing. Moments later, a worried Narcissa came rushing into the living room.

"Whatever is the matter, Bella?" she asked.

"It's the Dark Lord, he's changed Cissy!" she sobbed, "He would've never done this to me before, he would never have looked at me like I was only a servant. Oh, I hate that Potter boy! If he never existed, nothing would've happened!"

Narcissa looked at her with sympathy, wrapping her elder sister into a comforting hug. Usually Bellatrix would never permit hugging, but today was an exception. 

No one noticed that Voldemort himself was there in the fireplace, green flames surrounding him as he felt his heart crack. He couldn't stand Bellatrix like this, but he knew there was nothing he could do. He had to stay strong until he killed Potter. Voldemort quickly Flooed back to his manor before the sisters could see him.

Bellatrix cried for hours, until she finally fell asleep, eyes puffy and red, mouth twisted into a permanent frown. Narcissa sighed, carrying Bellatrix into the guest room. Lucius looked at her questioningly.

"It's the Dark Lord," she explained, and Lucius nodded his head in understanding.

Merlin, everyone knew that Bellatrix was obsessed with the Dark Lord.