Bella Luna, beautiful moon. She wondered if her ward was thinking the same thing...probably not since she couldn't see the moon. Bellatrix sighed, if only the girl could see things her way, such a waste of talent. Luna had potential to be so much greater than she already was, but just as Bellatrix was to her Lord, Luna was to each of her friends.

Bellatrix took one last look at the moon before pouring a vial into some tea and picking up the tray. She carried the small thing of snacks and tea down to the dungeons whenever she was bored. It started three weeks ago, when she was ordered to stay hidden until her Lord needed her. She was too important to risk in the field while he prepared, and she was to reckless to not be a risk herself. After a few days, she grew so bored of her stuck-up brother in-law's house that she went down to the dungeons for some fun. That's when she met her, officially anyway. Her little moon, her Luna.

The girl was strong for her age. She tried to fight Bellatrix the instant the door opened and for the first few minutes of her torture. Impressive, but not good enough to free herself. That first day, that first fight, was exactly what Bellatrix needed to spice up her time trapped in the manor and she decided to do that every day from then on.

But of course, that got boring as well after the third day, when the girl realized that this was going to become a regular thing. There was no more fighting, no more resistance when it came to magical threats and torture. Bellatrix needed to come up with something else, something better. She needed to not only entertain herself from now on but surprise the blonde and keep her on her toes. That's when it came to her; talk the girl over. Make her doubt her friends, her family. Break her mind with the painful truth of it all and have her go after the ones she loved. Take advantage of the situation in more ways than one. So on her next visit, Bellatrix brought down some tea and sandwiches for the girl, laced with Veritaserum. It took a little while, okay, a great while, for Bellatrix to convince the young with to eat and drink her fill. There was no trust, and no right to trust, but there were also no other options.

Once Luna had cleaned the tray, Bellatrix began talking. About the way Hogwarts was when she was a student, asking how things have changed. The two of them had a nice conversation about the Great Hall during the holidays and the competition between the houses. Even though she was being forced into the conversation, Luna found herself liking the company and the lack of interest in her friends for once. Bellatrix gave a good show, even if that's all it was.

When the potion began to wear off, Bellatrix left. A simple wave and "Until next time" was said before the doors to the dungeon closed once again, and both witches were alone. Two days later, Bellatrix returned with her tray, and Luna cautiously ate and drank her fill before the conversation would strike up and they spoke about the many professors, sharing stories and notes. Luna had no idea whether anything Bellatrix said was true or not, but it was interesting to listen to and become a part of so she went along with it. Yet again, when the potion wore off, Bellatrix left.

It had been weeks of these random visits, pointless chats. But Bellatrix felt herself getting closer to the heart of it all. She learned enough about Luna and her oddities to know what to say and had a pretty good guess of how tonight was going to play out. She opened the doors and walked into the darkness.

"Hello~" a sweet voice called out from the far corner.

"Luna," she answered with a smile, greetings were a sign of trust, "Sorry I haven't been down for a while, I had some business to attend to." She left it at that and saw the girl shiver involuntarily. Bellatrix really had just been waiting the girl out and growing more bored with each day, but she did have a reputation to keep and didn't want the girl to think she was a priority. "I brought you tuna today, and your favorite tea." She placed the tray down on the table she had conjured when these visits started.

"Thank you." Luna moved out of the corner and sat across from Bellatrix. "What are we going to talk about today?"

"Well, I have been thinking about how much we talk about things that aren't us. I know so much more about how the school is and how the professors are, and how you're doing in class, but I know so little about you."

Luna paused in her meal. She didn't like where this was going but had no clue what to say. She looked up at Bellatrix, who was smiling with her chin on her hand. It was a strange mixture of pretty and cruelty that was looking back, waiting to go on. She swallowed then spoke up, "What would you like to know?" Immediately she regretted it, but it was curiosity that killed the cat.

"Who are your parents? You've spoken so little of them even with the potion."

"My mother died when I was nine so I don't really have much to say about her. My father is Xenophilious Lovegood. Both of them were magical and went to Hogwarts, but I think is was at a different time than when you were there." Luna looked down and grabbed another sandwich. She didn't want to be willingly sharing these things, but she also knew that it was dangerous to not entertain Bellatrix. Today, the potion was going to help her as much as hurt her.

"You might be right about that. But then again I never really socialized outside of my pureblood friends, unless harrassment counts?" Bellatrix smirked at her memories. "You said your mother died when you were nine? How?"

"She was trying to perfect a spell she created, but it didn't turn out right. She liked to experiment with her magic. It backfired and killed her instantly, but I am not sure exactly what happened. I was too young to do anything about it."

"You were there?"

"yes."

"Did she know?"

"yes."

"Did your father?"

"i don't remember."

"So not only was your mother experimenting with magic, dangerous magic, but she put you at risk?" Bellatrix looked incredulous as she spoke but knew she had finally found the trigger. This girl had power coursing through her veins. It takes a lot to create a spell, even if it backfires that takes a lot. She watched as Luna ate the remainder of the sandwiches quietly, wondering how far she should push the girl tonight. "What do you remember about her?"

"her hugs..." Luna said softly, "her smell...like bunch of flowers...her laugh was so pretty..." She stared off at the wall with a sad smile and tears began to run down her cheeks.

"Did she look like you?" Bellatrix pushed, she knew that she had to make the happy memories hurt if this plan was going to work, but the transparency of Luna's emotions was starting to get to her.

"My father says she did, but I remember her with darker hair and deeper eyes." Luna put the empty tea cup on the now clean tray.

"She sounds lovely." Bellatrix commented, meaning every word and that shocked her. If the mother was powerful and half as pretty as the girl than there was much to be gained from changing her side. Half as pretty as the girl...well that's a new thought...must be the lighting in this place... I need to leave now. She thought as she watched the young witch cry towards the wall. "But I can see that this is too much so I think we're done. Until next time." And she got up and walked out without a glance back.