A/N: This was an idea I had about a month ago, a Bellatrix story and a little about the type of person she is - power hungry. RxR. FxF. It was meant for a challenge as well, but it no longer fits the prompt.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
To survive in the world, you must abide by the law of the land. You must befriend those who wield the most power and use them for protection and as means to your own doing.
Bellatrix learnt this at a young age. Using her captivating good lucks and her easy charm and her wily tongue, she got anything she wanted, from her parents, her 'friends' and any boy she had her eye on. She never wanted them for anything more for what they could give her. Once their usefulness was up, Bellatrix did not hesitate to let them know. And even spurned, those would always try to get back in her good graces, to allow themselves to be used again. Their pitiful desire always made her smile and that made it all the more easy to use them again.
To use someone with no remorse took years of training and detachment from worrying about the consequences of any actions. The only thing that mattered were results and self-preservation. Any transaction only resulted in a profit, never giving too much of yourself compared to what you got back. She had to learn quickly how to analyze any situation to evaluate its merit else she lose in the long run. Loss was detrimental to her survival in this world, and Bellatrix was not one to lose.
Then she heard of the man who was rising among wizards. He was all powerful and unafraid to use any means necessary to ensure that no one stood against him. Bellatrix admired the man's dedication and passion towards his belief, his knowledge of the dark arts and his callous regard for those around him. It was evident that he thought all less than him but he knew how to make them feel important. He swayed them with his silver tongue and promises of great fame and fortune, and Bellatrix knew it was hard for any ambitious person to turn away from such promises.
She wasn't attracted to fame and fortune however, she was attracted to the power. And through the power, she was attracted to the man. The man who seemed to have surpassed worldly faults and flaws. The man who had become so immersed and poisoned by the power that he became more animal than man. The man whose love of power destroyed his power to love.
Love was a weakness. Anyone with power knew this. Love gave others power over you and as a lover of power, you are very selfish with the power you hold. Which is why every time Bellatrix felt any flicker, any lick of flame, any bright spark, any flutter or warmth in her heart at the sight of this man, she claimed it was her love of his power. Better that power have power over you than love. She may have fooled herself, convinced herself that she was not weak like Narcissa or heaven forbid, Andromeda, but he was not a fool. He took the power she so unwillingly gave. He used her as his right hand woman, to commit the murders, tortures and captures he needed, feeding the little part of her who basked in his approval in bite-sized, addicting morsels.
It wasn't until it was too late that Bellatrix realized just how much of her power was lost, just how far her love of power had gotten her into his clutches, and just how beyond saving she was. She finally realized that she wasn't surviving, she was merely being kept alive until she was no longer useful.