She saw the green light. She heard his yell of pain. And, worst of all, she heard the crunch as his body hit the stone floor.

Her mind reeled. He couldn't be dead. That wasn't possible. All she could see was the red stain seeping across his shirt. She screamed and lashed out wildly. Two Aurors fell, and Rastaban was duelling furiously with the other one.

Thoughts spinning in slow motion, she dropped to her knees and stared. She could see his ribs where the spell had sliced him, and the blood was making her feel ill.

How strange. Blood had never sickened her before. Normally, it made her feel elated and strong. It made her queen. But not his blood. Why was that? It looked no different.

Common sense kicked into gear. He needed healing. Now.

She groaned and clutched her head. Her mind had gone blank. Why did she not know a simple healing spell? She had never needed one before...

His dark eyes flickered open. "Bella..." he rasped. Bellatrix grabbed his hand.

"I'm here Rodolphus." She whispered.

"Bella," he breathed, a flicker of a smile at the corner of his mouth, "I lost our bet."

"Bet?"

"Yes, our bet. We had a bet on who...would be first to draw blood...remember?"

"Yes, yes, of course." She nodded, "Our bet."

"Well," he chuckled, then grunted softly in pain, "I think...I've lost."

Bella closed her eyes, grimacing. He raised his hand and cupped her cheek.

"My regret? I don't think...I'm in much of a state...to give you...your reward."

Bellatrix laughed bitterly. "I don't need a reward, Rodolphus." She choked.

"That's my Bella," Rodolphus breathed, "Always thinking of...the cause. This is...your finest hour...my love..."

"Not without you!" she pressed his hand to her mouth, fighting back the flood of grief, blinking furiously. "You said we'd fight together. Me and Mia Bella, remember? Rodolphus!"

His arm was growing weaker. She felt sick to her stomach. Rodolphus was always so firm and level-headed. He couldn't be dying. Not now. They were about to win!

"Bella..." his eyes were starting to glaze over. "You were...always...the strong one..."

"No!" she clutched his hand desperately, "After the war, the Dark Lord promised me a fertility spell, remember? If we stayed loyal to him. An heir, a spare and a little girl, remember? We planned it all out..."

"And now I've...crushed your dreams...I'm...sorry..."

"It's not your fault!" Bellatrix squeezed his hand, as if trying to squeeze life back into him. "Rodolphus, look at me! We can still save you!"

Rastaban's victory shout echoed through the air as the Auror fell.

"No...It's...too late..." Rodolphus smiled weakly at her, fingers tightening briefly on her hers, "My...Bella..."

This his grip went slack.

"Rodolphus?" She shook his arm, "Rodolphus, wake up! Stop playing around! RODOLPHUS!"

"Bellatrix," Rastaban's eyes were wide with what looked more like surprise than sorrow, "He's...he's dead."

"NO!" Bella howled, still shaking him, "NO!"

A loud crash shook the room and the ceiling began to cave in. Small stones peppered their backs and the wall separating them from the next room crumbled.

Amidst her wild grief, Bellatrix was vaguely aware of Rastaban yelling her name and dragging her away. She kicked and screamed, fighting against him, but he was stronger than her.

As the last remains of the dungeons crumbled, Bella, bloody and bruised, cried.

Bellatrix Lestrange cried six times. Once when Andromeda left, one after every miscarriage, and once when her husband died. She never cried again.