A/N: This was written for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Forum: Herbology Assignment 10, Fire Seeds.
Task: Write about someone who is very passionate (be it passionate anger, passionate love, or another emotion) and who is 'conquered' or calmed by another character.
I am now starting to keep them all in a collection of one-shots for this particular forum because otherwise I'll be overloaded. This particular story is going to be an idea I don't think has been thought of very much, so let's hope it works! Here we go!
She stared out the windows, glowering at the world outside, wishing she had nothing to do with this horrible place. How dare they throw her into this place! How dare they disgrace the Dark Lord's most faithful servant! Why was she here and not helping collect the Death Eaters together again so they could become once more powerful? Her hate for the good side of the wizarding world grew to an obsession.
As Bellatrix Lestrange continued to wonder why her life had been so wonderful one minute and horrible the next, she pulled out her wand-they hadn't taken it away yet- and looked around for a target. Seeing that the door was open, by some lucky chance, she took the opportunity and grasped it. Screaming and then laughing, then screaming again, she took off down a hall, trying to avoid people who had seen her run away and were trying to get her back to her little room. "Well I won't go, I refuse to and I will not, not by their dirty half-blood, and even, ugh, Mudblood hands." she thought as she ran down the hallways.
"Catch me now, you filthy half-bloods!" she yelled, not wanting to say what she was thinking, and then threw a stunning spell at a wizard who popped right in front of her.
Here she was, at 12 in the night, running through the Ministry of Magic, feeling wonderful.
"If you move any farther, I will be forced to kill you." screamed a witch who seemed to be trying to appear happy and not terrified -and had just popped up out of nowhere as they all seemed to be doing- but Bella could almost smell the fear coming off of her.
"So the little Mudblood witchy wants to play with me?" she cackled, not actually knowing if it was a Mudblood or not but not caring in the least, and screamed "Avada Kedavera!"
The woman crumpled with a look of utter shock on her face and Bella kept moving, she was very close to her target; getting out. A group of shady looking wizards stepped in front of her suddenly. Bella squinted, eyeing each of them carefully. Each looked like they wanted to fight her, and she grinned.
"Come at me if you dare." she said.
Each nodded at each other, and she continued to grin wickedly as the first man stepped forward. Screaming "Crucio!" she sent the man into horrible positions as he screamed and cried out in pain. She flung him to the far corner of the room, then stood waiting for the next person to come forward. He did in time, and she yelled "Avada Kedavera!" killing the man the instant he raised his wand.
The other men were now standing, struck with terror, and stared at her. Bella laughed, and nodded to the next man in line, as if asking him to come forward and meet her. How they were working for the Ministry, she didn't know, as they seemed terrified of her.
"Well, are you coming or not? I don't have all day." she said in as sweet of a voice she could manage at the time with the rage boiling up inside of her quickly.
The men didn't come forward at all. She smirked again and then blasted each of them with spells, some falling down dead, others being flung back with stunning spells or various other things. Once all were down, Bella screamed in such a high pitch that she was sure to have hurt all of their ears. Running onward, she spotted the area where she was headed. The fireplaces were right there, and she was so close to it- and then a white haired man stepped out in front of her.
"Albus Dumbledore." she growled through gritted teeth, hating the cold hard truth that was before her. Her hatred boiled, overflowed for this man.
"Bellatrix, I don't mean any harm to you. Now please, stop." he said.
"No way, old man. I didn't get this far to be stopped by you!" she screamed, laughing as she sent a spell his way. He easily deflected it with a flick of his wand.
"Don't force me to do this, Bellatrix, or I and you will regret it. Just step back and relax. Stop the anger, and let us take care of you." Dumbledore said, shaking his head at what he thought foolishness.
"Oh, I'll show you foolishness old man."
"Let me go! NOW!" she screamed, and sent a Crucio curse his way, but he ducked and it missed. Cursing her luck at being challenged by one of the best, if not the best, wizards of all time, she realized that of course it had to be now, when she was trying to escape a life in prison.
"Don't tempt me, or I will make sure you get to prison even faster." he said.
"THEN DON'T MAKE ME SO ANGRY!"
"Bellatrix Lestrange, I will be forced to destroy you if you continue on your way. Nor am I making you angry, it is simply your actions, and as I said, destruction is the only way this will end in a fight. Neither of us want that. Especially if you don't want him to be involved."
She shuddered and stopped for a moment, hating the fact that she had just been frightened by Dumbledore.
"Just take it easy and it will make this all easier. Or you will be forced to relive the past." he said.
As she heard this, everything from her childhood flashed in front of her eyes. Every torture, every pain and every word she had been told in a whisper flashed in her brain. She hated it. Her breathing slowed down, and her head became clearer.
"So, you're finally calming down. That is good." he said, and put his wand in his pocket. "You might think I'm using your mind against you. I'm not, and I do not do that on my victims, not that you're a victim, but a being."
"Why-how are you doing this?" she asked, staring wide-eyed at him.
"Just breathe. I'm sure it will all be fine soon."
"NO! IT WON'T!" she screamed, but found that there wasn't enough energy left in her to keep up her rage.
"Yes, it will." he whispered, his half-moon glasses glinting in the light of the dimly light hall.
Bella shot a stunning spell at him but he blocked it, and then she fell to the ground, feeling lost. For now, she was relaxed, calm. At the quietest point in her life she would ever be in, for every other one had been constant rage and bursts of anger from her. Now she was on the floor, and tears slowly began to spill out of her eyes. She wiped them, not willing to let him see. Bellatrix Lestrange was a stubborn woman, and an angry one, and now she wasn't thrilled to find that Albus Dumbledore had not only calmed her down but caused her to cry as well.
"That's it, now come along and let us go back to your cell. I'm sure you will want to get away after all this commotion you've caused." Albus said, approaching her.
She stood up, and didn't nod, but stared at him, showing that she was relaxed but not willing to give in that easily. Then she stomped her way back to the cell, a wand pointed into the small of her back-hers was in Dumbledore's other hand- and once she got in, he didn't give it back to her. He smiled slightly, and then closed the door. Bellatrix Lestrange lay down on a cot and cried her eyes out at her deteriorated position, and wondering how this had all happened, now as calm as ever but as cracked and insane as she ever would be.
A/N: Well, I think that worked pretty well, actually. I hope you enjoyed it and please, review, review, review!