The slow, torturous death of Bellatrix Black

Disclaimer: Bellatrix and any other characters, places etc belong to J.K.Rowling, not me. Also the 'slow and torturous death' thing comes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Bellatrix Lestrange, sister to Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks, slammed into the wall behind her and slumped down onto the floor. Her breathing was ragged and her wand lay broken at her feet. A shadow loomed over her.

"Where is Rabastan Lestrange?" A voice asked her.

Bellatrix remained silent.

"Answer me! Crucio."

She issued an ear-piercing scream. Right now, she understood what her previous victims had been through. Not that she cared. She had been on the run on the Ministry after seeing her master cut down by that filthy half blood, Harry Potter.

Now she was running from the mysterious person who's been systematically hunting down the Death Eaters. Her husband Rodolphus had been one of the first victims.

"Your brother-in law, where is he?"

"You killed Lucius." She let out a maniacal laugh. She knew this wasn't the best time to be arguing but right now it wasn't going to matter.

Lucius had died one month previously at the hands of the same man now standing in front of her. The Aurors were only doing a half-hearted job to catch this man. The fewer Death Eaters they had to deal with, the better.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. Where-is-Rabastan-Lestrange?"

"I don't know. Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"Crucio." Another high-pitched scream and maniacal laugh.

"I'm getting tired of this. I can tell you're lying and I can see you're not going to tell me. So, it appears I have to resort to desperate measures. Imperio."

'Tell me where Rabastan Lestrange is."

The command echoed through her mind. She wanted to obey. She wanted to tell him. So she did.

Her master had never taught her to shield her mind or fight off the Imperius curse. Never thought it necessary.

"That wasn't so hard, was it? But you still lied to me and I don't like liars."

The man bent down and retrieved a small dagger from his boot.

"For that you have to pay the price."

He plunged the dagger into her leg. She screamed.

"By the way, the dagger is coated with a slow-acting poison. It will paralyse and slowly and painfully kill you. You deserve it, though."

There was a slight pause, after which he continued.

"I did it for Sirius."

Without another word, the man disappeared into the night.

The next morning Ministry officials found Bellatrix Lestrange living out her last moments in agony. The killer had been true to his word. She had died in silent agony, unable to scream but not to feel.

They knew who the next victim would be and then hopefully the list would be complete.

The list ran thus:

Antonin Dolohov, Rodolphus Lestrange, Nott, Crabbe, Jugson, Lucius Malfoy, Avery, Macnair, Rookwood, Mulciber, Bellatrix Lestrange (as of that morning) and the next target, Rabastan Lestrange (he was found two days later).

No further deaths due to this man were reported. Nobody knew who he was. They never found out either. Truth was, everyone thought he was dead and he wasn't going to change it. You see this man's name was Harry Potter and in the end he really was the boy who lived.