Bellatrix stared at the clock in her room at Lestrange Manor. She slowly watched the hand approach one o'clock. Why wasn't he back by now? Had something gone wrong? Had the Potters escaped and her Lord had to chase them across England now? Yes, that must be the explanation. Because what should have happened to the most powerful wizard in the world?
She walked downstairs to the hall where the assembled Death Eaters were waiting. Lestrange Manor was the current headquarter of the Death Eaters. She tried to hide her own anxiety while she noticed it on the faces of the others.
Lucius Malfoy was quietly talking to Rabastan. Narcissa was waiting to return home to little Draco, whom she had reluctantly left with Dobby at Malfoy Manor. Mulciber was drinking firewhisky with Travers and Dolohov. Severus was sitting there, without any expression on his face, but staring at the clock, thereby giving away that he was just as worried as the others. Or he was just bored. With Severus, you could never tell. That was why Bellatrix would never trust him.
The Potters were powerful wizards, and the Order would have given them a lot of protection. Bellatrix wasn't the only one who quietly questioned the wisdom of their Lord's decision to go there alone. But Wormtail, that treacherous feeble creature, had assured them that they had no additional protection once the Dark Lord had gotten past the wards, and that they mostly relied on the Fidelius Charm, which had been rendered useless by Wormtail's treachery.
Walden Macnair was pacing up and down the corridors. He had never been good at concealing his emotions.
"How come he hasn't returned yet?" Yaxley asked. "I thought he was supposed to be back by midnight?"
"How dare you question the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix snapped at him. But Yaxley was right.
By midnight, I'll be back, and Harry Potter… will be dead.
That's what the Dark Lord had said to them before leaving. Now it was quarter past one, over five hours since he had left the manor, and they were still waiting for him.
None of the assembled Death Eaters dared to go home. Any moment, their Lord could return, and no one wanted to incur his anger by not being present.
"Fetch some more firewhisky for Mister Mulciber, Travers and Dolohov." Bellatrix commanded one of her house-elves.
Two o'clock, and there was still no sign of the Dark Lord. Bellatrix' worry grew every minute. She was biting her nails in anxiety. One of their spies in the ministry, Augustus Rookwood, came rushing into the Hall of Lestrange Manor.
"Aurors are in an uproar. No, Rodolphus, I can't tell you more, I'm only working in the Deprtment of Mysteries. But I overheard that young Auror, Shacklebolt, saying something about the Potters."
Bellatrix marched towards him. "Augustus, what did he say about the Potters? I want to hear everything!" she spoke commandingly.
"He said something about a failure to protect them. And that a team of them were on their way to Godric's Hollow."
"When was that?" Bellatrix asked.
"As I was leaving the ministry, maybe fifteen minutes ago."
Then he had been successful. The Potters were dead. But why had he not returned to them, as he had promised? Something was off here.
A great eagle owl flew through the window, and landed in front of Bellatrix.
Madam Lestrange,
I fear we're in real trouble. Somehow, the Imperius curse on Edward Greengrass has broken. I don't know why or how, but as I'm writing this, he is telling Minister Bagnold everything he knows about our plot to overthrow the ministry.
Yours, Abraxas
But… the curse had been cast by the Dark Lord himself, as Greengrass was so vital to their plans. How could it have broken? In any case, the Dark Lord had to be informed immediately of this development.
She pulled up her left sleeve and touched the Dark Mark etched into her skin. But the burning sensation she had expected didn't occur. The Mark remained as cold and black as it had been before.
Bellatrix was lost for words. How could it be? How could the charm have broken? She pressed the dark mark again, more forceful than before. She felt her nail carve into her skin, but no burning.
Rodolphus turned towards the assembled Death Eaters and spoke: "We must react to the news Abraxas brought us. Return to your own business, and try to cover up any of your involvement in the Ministry Plot. As soon as the Dark Lord returns, you will be called back here. I am taking the risk to disobey his orders in the hope that once he returns, he will understand that I had to act on my own, considering the unforeseen development during the time of his absence."
The Death Eaters rushed out of the Manor. Soon, Rodolphus, Rabastan and Bellatrix were left alone. She returned to her room. She pushed her finger onto the Mark again in her desperation, but no change. Again and again, and again. She watched the skin around the mark turn blue as the night went on. It couldn't be true. The Dark Lord couldn't have fallen. Not now, now they were so close to their goal. The ministry had been infiltrated; the Order of the Phoenix had been picked out one by one. Two more weeks, and magical Britain would have been theirs.
Bellatrix didn't find any sleep that night. The sun already began to rise when Rodolphus knocked on the door. Normally, they shared a room for the night, but not tonight. Rodolphus knew when his wife was better left alone. But now it was morning, and he had to break the terrible news to Bella.
"NO!" Bellatrix shrieked. "Leave me alone until the Dark Lord returns!"
"Bella." Rodolphus said through the door. "He will not return. The Morning Prophet just arrived. It's all over the news. The Dark Lord has fallen and Harry Potter is alive."
"LIES!" Bellatrix shrieked. "THE DARK LORD HAS NOT DIED!"
"Bellatrix." Rodolphus said, not daring to enter. "How else do you explain last night? We have no time to lose. We have to run for it. People like Travers or Karkaroff would sell us to the ministry in exchange for their own lives without hesitation."
"THE DARK LORD CANNOT DIE!" Bellatrix screamed. "HE SAID SO HIMSELF! HOW DARE YOU DOUBT HIM?"
"The Dark Mark doesn't work anymore. The Imperius Curse on Greengrass is broken. And Harry Potter is alive. The evidence is overwhelming. It appears that the Dark Lord was mistaken in his assumption he was invincible. Now we've got to save our own skins."
"If you think I'll abandon him now, you're mistaken!" Bellatrix shouted. "Now he needs us most. He may have suffered a defeat at Godric's Hollow, but he isn't dead. We, his most faithful, have to find him and restore his power."
"You're talking nonsense. You can't revive the dead. It's impossible." Rodolphus argued.
"But the Dark Lord hasn't died." Bellatrix insisted. "He's still out there, waiting to be found. Think about how he will reward us when we find him."
"At the moment, our reward will likely be a cell in Azkaban. Now pack your most important things and let us run before the Aurors are here."
He had a point. Whether they were running away to save themselves, or seeking to find the Dark Lord, they had to get away from the manor.
She took a bag and quickly shoved some clothes and some valuable powerful artefacts into its magically enlarged interior. Then, the grabbed her wand, and met Rodolphus and Rabastan in the hall.
"Where are we going?" Rabastan asked.
"I don't know. We can always take a random muggle house and change location every day." Rodolphus answered.
"I don't want to live in the shacks of the muggle filth." Bellatrix spat. "Aunt Walburga was always sympathetic towards our cause. She might take us in. Uncle Orion placed every ward he knew on the house, adding to those of my ancestors. Even a bunch of Aurors will not be able to find us there."
"But the blood traitor Sirius knows how to get there, right?" Rabastan objected.
"My traitorous cousin has not set foot there since he ran away." Bellatrix answered. "And while he could get there himself, he cannot tell others how to get there. Because Orion is secret-keeper."
Bellatrix lifted the anti-apparation wards on Lestrange Manor for a second and they disappeared. They reappeared in front of Number 12, Grimmauld Place in London. They rang the bell and Kreacher, Walburga's old house elf, opened.
"Lady Bellatrix. What an honour to meet you again." The little elf croaked. "And you too, Masters Rodolphus and Rabastan."
They entered the hall, where Walburga Black awaited them. She certainly hadn't been coping well with the loss of her son and her husband. She seemed to have aged a lot, looking far older than her fifty-six years.
"So is it true?" Walburga asked. "Has the Dark Lord fallen?"
Rodolphus showed the fading mark on his forearm to Walburga. "It's fading away. The Dark Lord has fallen. Bella insists he's alive, but if he is, he has lost all of his power. We're wanted by the ministry now, I assume. And since your house is among the best guarded in Britain, we ask you for refuge until we know our next plans."
"We pure-bloods have to stick together in these days." She said to Rodolphus. And turning to Bellatrix, she said: "And how could I refuse refuge to my niece, who has always made our family proud? But you know that I have no love for the Dark Lord any more. Not since… you know. Save your own lives. There are others that can take over from him to advance the pure-blood cause."
After that advice, she told Rodolphus and Bellatrix to take the guest room, while Rabastan would have to set up a bed in Orion's old study room.
Bellatrix collapsed onto her bed in the guest chamber. In the last twelve hours, her entire life had crumbled around her. The Dark Lord had fallen. She still refused to believe he really had died, but there was no point denying his reign had ended. The plot to overthrow the ministry had been uncovered, and the Death Eaters had been scattered across Britain. And there she was, second in command to him, now hiding in the house of her aunt.