hello this is my baby so i hope you enjoy. This is an AU where Bellatrix is Dumbledore's spy not Snape. i have also made the Black Sisters about about 4 years younger so I can have them in Hogwarts with Sirius & co. Any other changes will be explained as we go along. It will eventually be Bellamione but not right away, give it time. okay that is all - robin
( big thank you to type-writes for helping me 3 )
Chapter One - A change of ways.
The rain poured in through the small window of her cell. Bellatrix lied awake. 'How am I here?' Her skin was dry, tight, and simple movements caused old wounds to rip a new. Crusted blood, her own blood, covered her clothing and skin. 'Where did it go wrong?' The witch slipped of the bed, cringing at the feeling of wet moss on her feet. Hungry, thirsty, cold, empty, scared. They were coming. Bellatrix could feel it, so cold. It was all consuming.
She tried to focus on something else, anything else. Physical pain, it was an escape, something to block out the fear, the cold. Wounds above the skin could heal; some left scars but still healed. Emotional pain was different. It would still sting well after it had finished and could never truly heal.
The dark shadow turned the corner, ready to serve its duty. She'd always put on a brave face but right now how she just couldn't. Bellatrix closed her eyes like a child she hoped it would make the monster go away. Monsters can get you if you turn on the light, but there was no light, only icy cold.
She wanted to hide away to never see its face again, but how can you forget it. Dark, almost black, no eyes, no nose, not even a real mouth. Only a hole, a hole that would look into her mind. It brings up the worst and takes away the best. Happy thoughts would slip away and despair would remain.
She saw her mother yelling, her sisters crying, her father pointing his wand. She couldn't take it! "So cold please, PLEASE MAKE IT STOP, I'M NOT ONE OF THEM I DIDN'T DO IT, please..."
It was morning, the sun shone on the horizon as the moon bid fair well. A summer breeze found its way through the window making the thin currents flap gently.
Bellatrix blinked quickly adjusting to the light, sighing in relief when she realised where she was. She had become rather uses to waking up in a sweat with the sheets on the floor form another night of tossing and turning. A dream, it was only a bad dream. Pull yourself together Bellatrix you a BLACK for heaven sakes! She would tell herself this most mornings after a night of bad memories, that what they really were, memories. Deciding it would take too long to fall back to sleep she pushed herself out of bed and on to the plush carpet bellow.
The dark witch hurried to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She had to check over her skin to be certain that her skin was no longer cracked, to make sure she wasn't coved in blood. Azkaban hadn't done her any favours, her teeth were the worst of it, once pure white they now were black and yellow, the witch almost broke the mirror the first time she saw them. Her skin was littered with cuts and burses, and at 39 but her hair was already going grey. She felt dirty, but No matter how many baths she took or how hard she scrubbed the feeling stayed, as if it was underneath the skin. Sirius hadn't faired any better either. He was just as dishevelled as she was.
It had been a long week since Bellatrix and Sirius had escaped their prison of 12 years. It felt odd to be able to watch day blend into night once more since, while in Azkaban, the only real indicator of time was the house elf that brought stale bread and water for every meal. At first, Bellatrix had counted each day, but a month into her sentence she'd stopped.
A part from the nights she was surprised with how quickly she had adjusted to the freedoms she now had. Perhaps it was the familiar environment they were staying in. It was the first thing that had come to mind as a place to hide, the LeStrange family cottage.
Bellatrix had spent almost every Easter here since she could remember. The purpose of her time her was to get to know her promised, Rodalphus. The only saving grace of her visits was her sisters. Andromeda had also been arranged to marry a LeStrange brother but Narcissa simply went because she didn't want to miss out. Not that, in her opinion, there had been much to miss out on.
The brothers were insufferable at best. Always droning on about quiddich or other things Bellatrix didn't care for. A smile snuck on their lips as she remembered they were both still at the hands of the Dementors, locked up tight in Azkaban. And it serves them right, she though, it was their fault I ended up in that hell hole. Her smile was short lived as memories once again flooded back to her. The stale air, the cold nights, the screams.
What made it worse was she was innocent. Bellatrix had started working with the order 4 years prior to her capture. She would spy for Dumbledore and in return he would look out for her sisters and their children, her family. Only a select few about their arrangement as Dumbledore thought it better that way.
Not even Narcissa had any idea. She was far too close to Lusius not to mention her occlumency shields weren't as strong as they needed to be but that wouldn't stop her from protecting her form the dark lord, her and little Draco that is.
Draco... how old would he be now? 13? 14? He'd at least be in his 3rd year at Hogwarts. I wonder what he's like. Another child came to mind. However instead of just questions this girl made her heartache. Nymphadora had been around 8 when she went to Azkaban but the last time she saw her properly the girl was 4.
Bellatrix had spent a month with the Tonks before finding Dumbledore and on his orders she was to never return as it would only make the chances of being found out greater. Put Andy and everyone else she loves in danger as well. Still she would forever cherish the time she had with them because for the first time in forever she felt at home, even if it hadn't started with the warmest welcome. The witch laughed at that as she hadn't even managed to set a foot on her sister's land before she was disarmed and immobilised.
"What are you doing here Bellatrix" the middle black child sneered "Finally been sent to kill us, by your beloved dark lord?" It was scary how much she could sound like her older sister when she wanted to. It was the infamous black family temper in all its glory.
"No, Andy I would never hurt you," It was a feeble attempt at best, not even Bellatrix herself believed it. But it was true, she knew she'd never hurt her baby sister but sometimes she didn't feel like herself, she needed to get out, it was the only way. "I need—I need to talk to you, I'm- I made a mistake, lots of mistakes and what I'm trying to say is..." But the brunet was already leaving, she'd heard enough. Bellatrix went to yell for her to come back but Andromeda has already stopped.
"I want to believe you, I really do," she faced away looking down the field towards her home, her obscured face and steady voice made her emotions unreadable. "You've just been working for him for so long, how can I trust you?" turning around Bellatrix could now see the tears on her sister's face, sticking loose hairs to her cheeks.
All she wanted to do was wipe them away, to tell Andy everything was okay, just like she would when they were children. "I'll prove you can trust me. Andy, please, let me go. I'm not going to do anything to you!" the eldest black tried to sound as honest as possible.
"What about Ted?" Andromeda took a step forward. "How do I know this isn't a trick to get to him? You're only not hurting me because I'm family because I'm pure, but in your eyes he's just 'filth'! You don't care about my family, do you?" Bellatrix didn't know what to say.
Yes, for a long time she had gone along with her parent's beliefs and opinions, so long that they started to become her own. She hated Ted because he was everything she supposed to hate. In reality, the eldest black quite liked the Hufflepuff. She could tell Andy loved his and admired her sister's bravery in going against their parents, she wished she could have been that strong.
"I don't" Bellatrix finally managed to get out "he's not, I mean, Ted is a wizard, just like you or me." It felt strange to say it out loud but Bellatrix deep down had always known it was true. Andromeda opened and closed her mouth, unable to possess what her sister was saying right away.
"He's family too, you love him and you married him. It may have taken me time, and I'm still learning, but I understand now. All I can say is" she paused for a second wanting to look her sister in the eye.
"I'm sorry Andy. I-" but she couldn't finish, Andromeda had darted forward wrapping her in a warm hug. She felt her muscles relax and found she could move again, quickly returning the embrace. Tears were pooling at the dark witches eyes threatening to fall, it had been far too long since she had hugged her little sister.
"Pick up your wand" Andy said stopping the hug much sooner than either of them wanted, "follow me, we can have a talk in the kitchen. Don't worry. Teds not home, he's at work, but there is someone else I'd like you to meet."
The young Metamorphmagus had been terrified at first, but soon enough she was sporting long black curls as she cuddled next to her new favour pillow. She would do anything to hear that little girl giggle again.
Bellatrix had been so lost in thought she didn't hear the door open and close or a scruffy dog turn into an equally messy man. "TRIXY!" He yelled and she jumped to her feed, ready to attack.
"Sirius! What have I told you about sneaking up on me? If I had my wand you'd be a dead man." A pang of sadness entered her at the thought of her missing wand. It had most likely been snapped after she had been sent to rot in Azkaban. Sirius had kept the one they had stolen while escaping.
"Also what have I told you about calling me that, if you must shorten my name it's Bella." She huffed, Bellatrix always hated her name being shortened and only allowed family to do so and that was something Sirius defiantly was. Even if he had been burned off the tree they'd been through too much together to not consider each other family angain. The cousins had been neighbours in Azkaban. She heard him cry, scream and beg in that nightmare of a place, but he had never lost hope.
He still had hope he would be proven innocent, hope he would be set free, hope he would be able to meet Harry, his god son. He had kept her from losing hope, losing herself. It was this hope had eventually lead them to freedom.
"I know, I know" the wizard mumbled walking them back into the bedroom to sit in a dusty arm chair. "I've got some news! It could be good or bad depending on who looks at it" he said eagerly pulling out a newspaper from his robes and handing it to his cousin, who was perched on the windowsill. "They seem to have alerted the muggles of my escape."
Bellatrix had never held a muggle newspaper before; it seemed exactly the same as a normal one, apart from non-moving images and much more pointless headlines. "I don't understand how can this possibly be good news? Half the wizarding world is after us and now muggles will be too."
"Bella, the profit I stole yesterday said nothing about you and neither has this one." It was true; the only name that had been mentioned was 'NOTORIOUS MASS MURDERER SIRIUS BLACK' "this means either, they haven't noticed you're gone," Bellatrix let out a cackle at that "Or the ministry is too scared to tell the public, it would be an up roar at best."
This was also true; news of Sirius' escape already had the public on edge but news of hers would send them into a panic. She was after all, in their eyes, the dark lord's right hand.
"Bellatrix," the uncommon use of her full first name caught her attention as well as the tone of his voice. It sounded much more serious. "I'm going to find Harry, I don't care what you think, I need to see him. He needs to know the truth." He finished before the older witch could comment. Bellatrix however had no intention of stopping him.
She knew Sirius well and nothing she could do or say would change his mind but if Sirius was going she would have to as well. Sadly going with him wasn't an option. The witch would be killed on sight if she even came close to the Potter boy. Even with her ties to Dumbledore, the rest of the wizarding world saw her as evil, something she hoped to change.
"I'll need to find a place to go as well." With her cousin's dog form gone there would be no way for her to get food. She already found it embarrassing to eat muggle leftovers but she would starve to death before she went out to get them herself. "I can't go to home, they'll probably still be grading Lestrange manor, and you couldn't pay me to play nice with that blond slime Narcissa married." She took a deep breath, every time she remembered how Lusius had gotten out of Azkaban it made her hot with anger. God I hope Draco's nothing like his farther!
"Bella, you're forgetting someone." Sirius said as a smug smile crept on his face.
"No, I can't, I shouldn't. Don't you remember how much they questioned her when she was merely suspected of hiding me?" after the fall of the dark lord, it had been her plan to stay at Andromeda's while she waited to hear from Dumbledore, but thanks to the Lestrange brothers all four of them were caught immediately. Ted almost lost his job at the profit and rumours had spread like wild fire.
However, Bellatrix had put an end to the conspiracies when she cursed out the Tonks family before her hearing. Hopefully they knew she didn't really mean it.
"It's the only place you have. Bella she loves you. Her and ted will welcome you with open arms, just you watch" He moved to place an arm around the visibly conflicted witch "Okay, I'll go, but so help me Sirius if this causes her anymore grief you are responsible."
And with that the two blacks began to plan for their journeys ahead as they would soon be parting ways.
thank you for reading I've almost finished chapter two so stay tuned