DISCLAIMER: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.
No fear of death,
But with fear of life,
Your weakness kills everyone. -AFI "Narrative of Soul Against Soul"
~ Your Weakness Kills Everyone ~
He could tell. The very moment their screams changed from ones of pain and fear to ones of madness, he could tell. But there was nothing he could do.
"Make her stop," Barty Crouch Junior said, his voice barely above a whisper as he seized his companion's wrist.
Rodolphus Lestrange shook off Barty's crushing grip.
"You're seriously asking me to get in the middle of that?" Rodolphus asked, eyebrows raised.
"They're too far gone now, we won't be able to get any information out of them!" Barty shouted, his voice colored with barely restrained panic. "We need to get out of here. Make her stop!"
Rodolphus looked over to where his wife was still torturing the Longbottoms, both of them with a single curse, despite the fact that their minds were already broken beyond repair because of her lack of restraint. In the next room, their child wailed pitifully.
Just when Barty had given up hope of getting a response from him, Rodolphus spoke.
"If you want her to stop, shut the kid up. That's what's driving her crazy."
Barty didn't question the instruction, just followed it and slipped into the next room. A moment later the crying stopped.
"That was fast," Rodolphus commented as Barty returned to his side.
"Silencing Charm," Barty replied tersely.
Bellatrix lowered her wand. Rodolphus came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders. She turned and collapsed into his arms, burying her face against his chest. But she did not cry. She did not cry as she tried to banish from her mind the thoughts of their child, taken from her by her cousin's curse. She hadn't even known she was pregnant when it happened, and now she could never have children again. Sirius was in prison now, but if he ever got out, she swore she would kill him will her own hands...
But because of her moment of insanity, the trio had lingered here too long. The next thing they knew, the Aurors were upon them and they were being dragged off to trial.
And their refusal to reject the Dark Lord landed them all in prison.
~end~