It was a gray day, lightening were tearing the sky and the roar of thunder resounded in the eardrums of the citizens of London, while the rain pounded on the windows with a steady beat. A young eleven years old girl was finishing to pack up her things to go to the station 9¾ of the train station of her hometown. She had received her acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her dark brown hair had been neatly curled and her black dress, casual but still elegant, had been prepared by her mother. After she had closed her luggage, she took her wand which was laying on her bed and examined it again with her deep brown eyes, with a spark of excitement. Her face of a wild and astounding beauty was impassive and hid the emotions she felt deep down in her heart. Only her eyes betrayed her few, very infrequent weaknesses. Today was the beginning of the life of Bellatrix Black.

A seven years old girl passed the door frame and stopped, looking at the bags on the wooden floor. Her features were similar to Bellatrix's. Her long blond hair were shiny and her skin as pale as the eleven years old girl. Her little frail body trembled and tears threatened to flow down on her cheeks. "Don't leave me with them." simply said the little blonde with a shaky voice.

Bellatrix turned and saw her sister in tears. "Cissy ..." But she had no time to continue because Naricissa was already running to her and wrapped her arms around the bust of his sister. "Andromeda and I won't have any chance. You're the only one who's able to stand against them or calm them down." Bellatrix closed her arms on the back of her sister and let her cry on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through Narcissa's pale hair. "Shh... Cissy, everything will be okay. Everything will be okay." For a moment, the silence of the room had been replaced by the sobs of the youngest witch. Bellatrix released her grip and looked in her sister's puffy eyes. "Listen, Narcissa, I'm coming back in three months for Christmas holidays. If something worst than usual had to happen, you only have to send me an owl and I'll see what I could do, alright?" The youngest looked at her and nodded as she wiped her eyes. Bellatrix put her hands on her younger sister's shoulders. "But, until then, I need you to be strong." Narcissa's blue eyes transpierced Bellatrix's, imploring her to stay, but the girl finally nodded. "Good." whispered Bellatrix. She sat up and put her last suitcase on the floor. She left her younger sister in her room and then crossed the corridor to open the door that was in front of hers. Bellatrix found herself in the bedroom of her other sister of 9 years old. She was sitting in her chair and was reading a storybook.

Andromeda strangely looked like Bellatrix, even though Bellatrix had always denied it. Andromeda's hair was lighter and her eyes larger, but the structure of their faces was similar. But their personalities were very different. Andromeda was the sociable type, who could have an interesting conversation with everyone she met, whereas Bellatrix was more likely to put herself on a pedestal and snub others. Andromeda had more facility to open up herself to others while her sister preferred to handle her feelings alone.

"You'll have to take care of Narcissa when I'll be gone." Bellatrix said quietly. Andromeda looked up when she heard her older sister's voice. She rose from her chair and left her book on the desk next to her as she kept on looking at Bellatrix. "I know." She murmured. "She is afraid that... You know... Mom and Dad become worse than they already are." Andromeda nodded, understanding her sister's explanation.

They stayed like that a few seconds, looking at each other across the room and Bellatrix finally sighed. "I think I'd better get going if I don't want them to be angry." Andromeda nodded silently once more. Bellatrix turned back to go back to her room to take her luggage, but she heard a "Wait!" behind her and turned again to face her sister, who was coming towards her rapidly. Andromeda opened her arms and hugged Bellatrix. "Have fun." She whispered in her ear. It was now Bellatrix's turn to nod. "I will." She said as she withdrew from Andromeda's embrace. She gave her a reassuring smile and returned to her room. Narcissa wasn't there anymore and probably had left downstairs.

Bellatrix took a deep breath and observed her room one last time before her departure. The room was as big as a small muggle house. The ceiling was high and the immense window let in the light to illuminate the walls with dark red highlights. A large crystal chandelier was hanging in the center of the room. Two dark wooden nightstands were placed on each side of her bed in black and red bedding, in perfect harmony with the walls. Two lamps had been deposited on the night tables and a vanity was on the other side of the room with an elegant mirror. Some frames with moving pictures representing her family were on the walls. If a stranger had entered the bedroom, he would never have guessed it was a child's room.

Bellatrix sighed and took her luggage. She was happy to finally do something for her, to stand on her own feet. But leaving her sisters was still making her feel a little twinge of sadness. She went downstairs with her bags in her hands, seeing her parents down the stairs. When they heard a sound of footsteps in the stairs, they turned to admire their eldest daughter. Druella was a tall and skinny woman, with long auburn hair, dark transpiercing green eyes and defined cheekbones, the whole everything making this woman look cold and haughty, but stunningly beautiful. Cygnus was a man with black hair and blue eyes. His aquiline nose and his thick eyebrows gave him a condescending look. From the first sight, it was possible to notice the size of the family wealth and its imposing status in the wizarding world.

The mother of the girl handed her her hat without saying a word. Bellatrix placed it on her head and then seek for approval in her parent's eyes and only found a spark of it in her mother's eyes. "Let's go if you don't want to miss your train." Her father said firm as he opened the door. The girl picked up a black umbrella on her right hand and opened it as soon as she passed the doorstep. Bellatrix was now on her way to her to her destiny and the excitement gradually gained her. She couldn't disappoint her parents. She had to honor the purity of her blood and the reputation of her family.