Written for a challenge at livejournal where I had to include Voldemort testing Bella's loyalty, poison and Wormtail.
No matter what, Bellatrix always swore she would obey the Dark Lord. From the age of nineteen to forty five, she maintained that ideology. She was ordered to kill, she was ordered to torture, she became his whore, she discredited herself and she suffered in Azkaban Prison for him.
She never regretted it for one moment. The only thing she repented were the times she had failed him.
This was one time.
The raid in the Department of Mysteries to gain the prophecy had failed. While she had killed her blood traitor cousin, Dumbledore had appeared capturing everyone other than her, Potter had destroyed the prophecy and the Dark Lord's presence had been revealed to a previously ignorant public.
The Dark Lord may have saved her, but, in his fury, he had punished her. The pain from the Cruciatus Curse had been bearable, but disappointing him had not been. She could not stand to wither in his gaze when she had upset him in any way.
The only thing worse was his avoidance. Since the night they had returned, he had not summoned her nor had she even been able to catch sight of him.
It ate at her. Every moment of every day she looked behind walls hoping to glance upon her master and longed for her mark to burn.
It never did.
Instead, after two weeks, there was another, unexpected, sign.
Lying alone in her room at Malfoy Manor and frustrated by her current situation, she twirled her wand rapidly between her fingers until she heard a timid knock on her door. If she was not so bored she may have ignored it, but, desperate for stimulation, she rose and wrenched it open.
Standing at only Bella's chin with a pointed nose and watery eyes, the pathetic ugly figure of Wormtail stood before her.
"What do you want?" she snapped taking pleasure in watching the cowardly man step back in fear.
"The Da- Dark Lord told me to sa-say-" he replied in a stutter.
Her previous irritation had both flared and disappeared simultaneously. "What did the Dark Lord say?" she demanded, unable to hide her curiosity.
With shuddering and filthy hands, Wormtail slid one into his robe pocket. On instinct Bellatrix tensed, but he only withdrew a vial. Immediately she snatched it from his grasp.
"What is it?" she demanded, her eyes focused on the glass vial filled with clear liquid and without any labels.
It took Wormtail a while to respond and, when he did, she was still glaring at him fiercely. "Poi-poison."
Bellatrix almost dropped the poison from her hand as her gaze sharpened. "What? Why?"
The rat was shacking so much she thought his legs would give out. His reply was so blubbered she could not even discern what his said. Growling in annoyance, her wand was in her hand in a moment and digging into his pudgy neck.
"Do not test me."
"I- h- he-" Wormtail finally replied in a vibrant stutter. "He wanted you to dri- drink it."
It did not make any sense to Bellatrix. "You told me it was poison."
"It is."
Bella was very tempted to just curse him. "You are not making any sense. You just told me the Dark Lord wanted me to drink poison."
"He did."
She was perplexed. A faint lingering feeling flared that maybe Worrmtail was right and that the Dark Lord really did ask her that, but he was her Lord. She was loyal. She was faithful. One failure could not mean he wanted her dead.
"You are lying," she accursed trying to remain logical and keep faith.
"He did," Wormtail whined like a spoiled child only a little calmer. "He was just downstairs! He just told me."
Before Wormtail could even finish, she had already pushed past him to rush along the corridor and down the elaborate grand staircase. It had been weeks she had seen her Lord and her desperation to do so was high. Especially now she needed to confirm Wormtail was a liar.
She almost thought the Dark Lord would not be there, but he was. Standing by the bottom of the spiral staircase framed in dark robes as if he expected she would arrive, his eyes skated over her figure as she descended.
"Master!" she cried desperately as, before she could stop herself, she rushed towards him. Near the bottom, she threw herself to her knees ignoring how much it would bruise later. "Wormtail came to me. He said terrible lies about what you told me to do."
"Which were?" The Dark Lord said coolly with little emotion in contrast to Bella's passion filled pleas.
"He told me you wanted me to drink poison," she said as if she thought it was the most foolish thing she had ever heard. "I knew it was a lie."
"It was not a lie."
Dark eyes widened and everything within her seemed to freeze and crumple at once. "You want me to drink poison, my Lord."
There was no shame or hesitation in his cold red eyes as he stared down at his follower. "Yes. I trust you will not disobey me."
Her heart quickened and her grip on the vial became sweatier and tighter all at once. He wanted her to drink poison. He wanted her dead. She had failed him so much she was now disposable to him.
"Master," she murmured softly. "Please, Master do you really want me to do this?"
The only sign from Lord Voldemort was his lips pursing slightly. "Yes. Do not disappoint me, Bellatrix."
It was like a knife was shoved into her heart: He was finished with her. The barest flicker of tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. The strange thing was disobeying him was not considered: If her Lord wanted her dead what use was there for her? She had dedicated her life to him. He was all she had.
Her eyes looked at him once more in hesitation. She only received an impatient glare. Mouth drier than it had ever been before, she pulled the cork from the vial. The potion was clear and innocent. She could not identify it, but it did not matter. She knew what it would do.
Raising it to her lips in a strange form her mouth moved into a genuine smile. "Thank you, my Lord," she murmured her eyes never leaving him. He was the last thing she wanted to see before she died. For one foolish moment she considered saying something she had sworn to never tell him, though she managed to contain herself. "Thank you for allowing me the honour of serving you. I can only offer my sincerest apologies for failing you."
Voldemort did not reply and she did not expect him to. He only watched.
There were no more hesitations from Bellatrix.
Lifting the vial, she wrapped her lips around it and swallowed it in one gulp as she stared at her Lord with worship while her thoughts remained focus on him.
The potion slid down her throat as easy as water.
Her entire body tensed and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And Waited.
Until...nothing.
The strangest look of confusion passed over her face as she looked at her Lord who was smiling even further.
Nothing had happened.
It was only water.
Still smiling, the Dark Lord turned from her and started to walk past her. When he was near the top of the stairs, he called without facing her. "Despite your failure you are still my most faithful. No one else would have drunk what they thought was poison."
This time even Bellatrix smiled.
It had only been a test.