She hangs onto life by a thread, misses Molly Weasley's curse by a hair's breadth, Disapparating a millisecond before it hits where her chest had been.
She is not dead. That's all that matters.
The scream that leaves her master's mouth is nothing compared to the tumult that occurs after his body hits the ground. People swarm towards their savior, engulfing him, praising the hero who brought an end to a reign of terror.
But she stays back. She stays hidden in the shadows, fury and disbelief mounting in her like scorching hot magma. She is a volcano ready to burst.
But she must bide her time. She will seize her opportunity when it arrives. She will avenge her master's legacy.
But she must wait.
The streets after the morning paper comes out are mayhem. People rush out of their homes, waving the paper and shouting the news gleefully for all to hear and it spreads like wildfire. Finally, it is over. Voldemort is gone, and so are their fears.
But little do they know, it's not over yet. It's a temporary reprieve. But soon, one vengeful witch's wrath will be unleashed.
It's only a matter of time.
She starts small, taking out unimportant Ministry officials and such, but no one makes a big deal out of it. The whole point of this string of murders is to garner attention and spark fear, but no one cares.
She needs to make a better move, a bigger one that will gain media attention. She just needs to make the headlines, that's all it will take for people to start noticing. The chaos will manifest itself.
And then, she finds her perfect opening.
A hero's wedding.
She does crash the wedding. Pandemonium ensues and she's at the center of it, cackling madly. The Dark Lord would be proud.
She is alone, but somehow, she's pulling off the magic of five skilled wizards. And the best part is, no one realizes it.
She can see Granger in her wedding dress, duelling with one hand as she pulls up her skirts with the other. She sees Weasley—or at least, a man with red hair and a tattered suit—by her side.
Time for revenge number one.
She weaves through the panicking crowd, perfectly concealed by the mass of bodies, and when she's directly behind Granger, she strikes.
No one sees her coming, nor do they see her fall, but they hear the piercing shriek that escapes her mouth and everyone turns in her direction.
Her body lays lifelessly on the ground and Weasley is by her side, shock painted on his freckled features.
Yes, her plan is coming along rather marvelously.
(Oh, deja vu is sweet, she thinks remorselessly. Some may say she likes playing with her food, but to her, eating it is more satisfactory.)
That attack on the wedding is one piece of the puzzle she calls total revenge. In order to complete said puzzle, she has to put together all the pieces.
This particular puzzle has four.
The attack is in the news the next morning. Of course, had it been another wedding, it would've not made the paper at all. Since it's the famous Weasley-Granger wedding, it makes the front page. Not the headline, but still better than nothing.
Perfect, she thinks. Now let the true terror commence.
Wreaking havoc is her speciality, and ultimately, her best weapon, but she can't use it. Her attacks have to vary, be inconsistent in how they're performed. If she uses the same kinds of attacks, people will know what to prepare for. She'll be given a "style."
So, she turns to alternative method. Poison.
Her previous attack had opened a new, unplanned opportunity. Ronald Weasley had been spotted at a certain bar in Wizarding London, and during all those occasions, he'd been drinking heavily. Butterbeer, gin, every alcoholic drink in existence.
And if poison is her new ally, then he'd just provided her with an opening.
She transfigures her looks into something she would never otherwise be seen in and travelled to that bar.
She poses as an inexperienced bartender, Stunning the one on duty and storing his body in a wine closet. She slips the poison into his drink and serves it, smiling enigmatically.
She doesn't stick around to witness his death, but she can hearing him choking as she exits.
Two down, two to go.
The last two pieces of her puzzle are a joint pair. And unfortunately, the hardest to kill.
It takes her hours to think of it. And when she does, she berates herself.
It's the simplest, quickest death, and it only takes seconds. Plus, it serves a dose of karma.
The Killing Curse.
She's a skilled witch and though age has softened her looks, her wits are still intact. She breaks through the wards around their home quickly—they've put up the simplest ones, to keep out nosy reporters—and unlocks their door with a simple Alohomora. It's astonishingly easy, she muses wonderingly. You would think they would have more security around their house, but apparently they've grown soft since the war.
It's not hard to find their bedroom—second floor, the third room on the left—and with the lightest footfalls, she creeps into the room.
She finds the couple sleeping peacefully on a large bed and thinks of how foolish they are, relying on the basic security and so assured of the peace—but they are unaware that their end is drawing near.
The girl is the first to die. She's another Weasley, the second killed at the hands of the same person. Such a shame, she's so pretty.
She raises her wand and in a bright green flash, the girl is dead. The boy bolts upright, his eyes darting immediately to his wife. He doesn't notice the stranger standing just a little way away from him until it's too late.
She looks into those emerald eyes, wide with fear, and triumph pools in her. Finally, he knows how she felt when her master fell. The boy falls backwards, his eyes green-colored glass and his flesh still warm.
And Bellatrix Lestrange looks down upon the Boy-Who-Lived, who is now the Boy-Who-Died, and she couldn't be more satisfied.
The Dark Lord would be proud, she thinks. She's finally avenged him.
1048 words
Assignment 1, Mythology, Task 12 - Write about someone getting their revenge.
Prompt of the Day - (drink) Butterbeer
Writing Club: Char App - 9. Ginny (bonus for Harry); Showtime - 29. Schuyler Defeated - (object) Newspaper