Author: Cassiel Black

Challenge: The 61 themes

Theme: the destruction of Beauty

Character: Bellatrix Lestrange

Title: For the small things

"Bellatrix, Mrs. Lestrange?" The woman breathed. Her condemning squabbling had been ebbing at Bellatrix's nerves for a while now. She craved solitude, to wallow in self-pity with only thoughts of her lord to comfort her. Instead this pukes existence for a human being was nagging her like worried house elf. Dark spells were running threw her head like the water that ran from an over flowing mug. She craved the power of the dark spells that were never far from her tongue. "Mrs. Lestrange, I've come to speak with you."

"Miss Lestrange I've come to speak with you," she mocked nastily, her face curling up in a sneer. She clutched at the itching cloth even tighter and stared at the dark walls, not blinking as the moist air seeped into her eye balls.

"Do you feel no remorse for what you did to me?" The incessant voice breathed again. She scoffed.

"Feel remorse for a filthy little mudblood like you? Bah, I don't know the meaning of the word," she hissed, her voice cracking from lack of speech over the years she had been locked away.

"You know, I always dreamed of the day I'd come back here; to talk to you." The insufferable girl kept going on. Did she understand that her useless words could not touch her? Only the Dementor's kiss held any solid place in Bellatrix's future, and the only reprimands that had ever fazed her were that of her lord; and he was dead now.

"I thought maybe I would scream at you, pull out my wand and hex your sorry arse to pieces; it's not as if anyone would care. Does that bother you Bellatrix? That no one would care?" the girl screamed at her, Bellatrix cackled at the fact that this girl was trying to get a reaction from her. Did she not understand that she was talking to the dead? Bellatrix felt nothing, that's who she was and that's who she would always be.

The disgusting mudblood was obviously frustrated with the woman in front of her. The least she could do was look at her, which would have been what a decent person would have done; perhaps she had given Bellatrix too much credit. The girl walked over, her bushy hair streaming out behind her as she shoved her forearm into the woman's face and watched Bellatrix rebound as if the arm would turn into a snake and strike her; this she would have welcomed that more.

"Get your disgusting mudblood skin away from me," she hissed.

"You stupid purebloods love that word don't you, fancy taking the mickey out of me with it?" the girl screamed, not lowering her sleeve and practically thrusting the arm in her face. "Guess what Bellatrix, being a pureblood didn't get you anywhere, you're still foul and disgusting like your master; and I hope you die like him." She hissed, her words striking out like pure venom. Had they been directed at anyone else Bellatrix might have deemed them a rival of the slash hex. But they were wasted on her cold dead heart.

The girl huffed, and with a sigh started to make her way out of the prison which contained the woman who had tortured her years ago. She did not help but to spare a backward glance as she looked back at the woman who sat staring out of the prison cell, looking at the cold dead stars as thought the dark mark would suddenly appear up in the sky.

Just as the girl was about to exit the door, the woman said something that called her attention.

"I didn't always used to be ugly you know?" she murmured, but it seemed as though she were in a lucid daze, recalling the memories of her past with vivid memory, the people, the faces and her time before she had ever met the dark lord Voldemort.

"Cissy, I give, you win, you win," Bellatrix, or Bella as she like to be called, laughed. She could feel the grass tickling her in the orchard of their manor. The Black family mansion was huge, filling out many acres of land and the field consumed many more.

Bella lay bellow her sister, who had tackled her to the ground and they roll around on the earth covered ground happily. Her sister seemed to like to partake in straddling her and holding her limbs at her sides then letting a long drabble of spit hang from her mouth right in front of Bella's face until she would scream in terror and shout 'I give'.

"Narcissa, what would father say?" their sister would shout upon seeing this. Andromeda was the Bella's identical twin. Though her features where kind and placid, they were never wrinkled in despair or anger. Where Dromeda was softer; Bellatrix had a fixed look of determination and wit. She was always laughing, and always getting in to trouble. Still no one could ever deem her anything but beautiful. Her smooth skin, her playful features and her smooth black hair was something that not many could compete with. Bella couldn't help but make friends were ever she went, she openly trusted and confided in people and this seemed made her easy to talk to.

"Guy's come on, the train is leaving, we have to go," screamed a frustrated Andromeda as he she rushed her sisters along. The sighed realizing their fun was over and ran toward the house, though it soon turned into a race that Bella won. Brushing of her clothes she walked to her trunk that sat idly by the door, under the looming presence of her father. Cygnus Black fixed her with a very stern expression then looked at her with disgust and she bowed her head.

"Grass stains on your back Bellatrix, rolling around like a common whore at 16; go change before you disgrace this family with your ways," the man snapped. This elected a sort of instinctive response as Bella ran up the stairs quickly changing her jumper and skirt in for collared dress that was black and white. She then ran down stairs quickly, not wanting to miss the train that would take her to Hogwarts. She loved her father, but his stern gaze made her uneasy and since their mother had died when she was seven he was all they had.

Once she was back down she huddled next to her family at the port key; a simple brown mug with a Quidditch team on it. She felt the tugging sensation and then she was amongst a crowd of people, all bustling with full carts and different color owls in cages. She sighed looked at the cat that twirled around her legs. She then looked at her father and noticed how he wasn't full of hugs and smiles like the others, weary to see their daughters off.

Instead Cygnus leaned down, his roughly shaven chin coming into view and cold dark eyes fixed onto hers, then her other sisters who stared at him as if waiting for a terrible storm to come.

"You will not embarrass the family name," he hissed with such conviction that Bella paled even thinking of the repercussions. "You are Black's and as such you will be as well-disciplined as I have taught you to be or face the unfortunate consequences." He said further. He fixed his pointed gaze on Bella and if possible drained her skin of more color; she was sure she looked oddly like death right now.

"Yes father," they muttered back, bowing their heads as though they had already inflicted shame upon the entire family.

"Good, now get on the train before you're late," he ordered, and this was the end of his fair well.

Bella bustled on the train and was forced to fix the frown on her face that oddly resembled the one her father wore on his all the time.

Once on the train, Bella sat by herself. Cissy had gone off to flirt with some boy on the Quidditch team, and Andromeda spent so much time with her little nerd friends that she didn't dare be seen with her sister. Of course nobody else seemed to bother her either; her mother used to say it was because she was strong willed. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. Pulling out her potions book she studied it, her eyes roaming the pages. It had been her life's ambition to become a healer and produce remedies that would save people's lives. She had the foolish notion in her head that if she studied hard enough in this field them maybe she might be able to cure death all together. But like she said, it was foolish.

Still she gazed at her books and studied any way. Suddenly she heard the compartment open and snapped her head up to face the black haired boy. His hair was cropped short and combed neat and face was very attractive with his structured jaw and strait teeth. He was followed by three other boys, one she recognized to be her cousin, Sirius his name was. She had never been fond of him, being that he always seemed scruffy and mis happen.

"Mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full," the black haired boy asked, she felt as if she should know his name. Instead she just nodded, staring at him

She then noticed that all the boys, excluding the one who extremely pudgy, had on Gryffindor robes and she grimaced. Being in sixth year she knew enough about the houses to know that there was a rivalry between her house an theirs.

"Do you fancy being alone?" the boy asked her, a question she had almost missed.

"Serves its purpose," she muttered. She had now closed her book as the boy in front of her seemed more enchanting. Great she fancied a bloody Gryffindor; she could hear Andromeda's voice now, 'what would father say?'

"You're quite beautiful not to have anyone one to sit with," the boy went on. She blushed at this; she realized she was not as immune as she thought to flattery.

Sirius regarded his friend with disdain. "Fancy my cousin do you James? Don't bother she's one those nose in the air types, she's even in bloody Slytherin."

James, she had heard that name. James Potter, he was a pure blood as she knew them all. He was also a known catch with the ladies and, from what she heard, a very good Quidditch player.

"She probably had her nose in the air to avoid looking at you Padfoot," she heard the other boy jibe. His hair was a plain brown and he seemed to have a litter of scars running down his neck that his robes failed to cover.

"Oi," Sirius yelled as though he was surprised and not used to jest. As they bickered back and forth her eyes fixed on James and she couldn't help but blush at the scrutiny of the stare and wondered if his glasses blocked some of the force of his eyes.

She had thought that would be the last time she saw James and his friends until he found her by the lake one day. She had been studding furiously for charms and potions at the same time, her mind consumed with passing the bar and getting her license when she left Hogwarts. James would often come there to think and get away. His friends were great but they had gone too far. Severus Snape hadn't deserved what Sirius had tried to do, and if James hadn't been there…. He shook his head to clear the thoughts. He couldn't even imagine it and was surprised Dumbledore had not expelled his sorry ass.

He needed a distraction and figured the beautiful Slytherin girl would do just fine. She was a Slytherin after all and they were used to using people, she would know it was a onetime thing. He moved to sit next to her.

Bella could feel him there, leaning over her like a gray cloud. But when she looked at him she didn't see him like that, he was sort of like the small ray of sunshine in an otherwise petty life. "Alone again I see?"

He whispered, his breath blowing warm on her face. She reveled in his presence, he seemed the epitome of fair, and he was handsome and nice to others. He was of course a bloody Gryffindor but she didn't exactly see that as a hindrance.

It seemed as though time passed and the unanswered question loomed between them like a tide waiting to come in. She breathed in his woodsy scent and looked into the clear, blue smoldering eyes of the deepest waters.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered, his voice as lucid and floating as a ghost. She believed him, every word he said she ate it up as though it was the air she breathed.

Then there lips were together and they were kissing and his strong arm pulled her flush against his chest and she smiled into the kiss as he moved his hand under her shirt, fingering the soft skin of her waist and up further.

Bella could easily see herself loving James Potter; he was everything her father was not. She couldn't help but to trust him. Couldn't help but to trust his kisses and is soft voice in her ear and his hand coming further up her torso to cup her breast in his warm hands. He had paid more attention to her in Hogwarts then her sisters ever had, and he praised her more than her father ever had.

The kiss turned feverish now and she struggled to grasp air as James assaulted her neck and reached his hands up her skirt. She lay in the grass, not realizing it was as her father had said, and lost her virginity. But it was different, James cared for her. They would date, and get married, and have children because he wouldn't be doing this if he didn't actually care for her. It didn't matter now if she lost her virtue if it meant that she could spend the rest of her life with James.

Bella made her way to Charms with a smile on her face, still thinking about yesterday were she had given herself to James. She felt on top of the world. She felt as beautiful as James had said she was, and she smiled as she thought about what they had done. She had secretly laughed inside at the seventh year in her house that had said she wouldn't mind having a go at James; she laughed because he was hers now.

However a sight on her way to class caught her by surprise. Mudblood Evans and James were outside on a bench next to the building. He seemed to be pleading with her about something and she had a resilient look on her face. Bella was about to go see what the little mudblood wanted from her James when he grabbed Evan's hands. Why was he touching her? And then he said something, giving her a look that Bella couldn't recognize but it was sweet and looked intimate. But that couldn't be, she would just go over there and talk to James and-

Evan's smiled and then they were moving closer and time seemed to stop and then go agonizingly slow. And then James kissed the mudblood, she couldn't help but notice how tender it was. He pulled her closer as though he would never get enough of her and Bella felt her heart break in that instant. She found it odd how it could take so long to build up a heart, and to love. And only seconds to break it.

She tore away from the scene and unknowingly to her she walked passed a group of people. This group hadn't decided a name just yet and was recruiting; recruiting people mad at the wizarding world as a whole. Mad that muggle born witches and wizards who stole power from others.

Bella had never heard of them but she was shocked when Tom Riddle had approached her. She had been sobbing and she was angry and she was vulnerable; just like Tom liked. She followed him to the outskirts of the forbidden forest. Tom wasn't a trouble maker like James, he just broke the rules. Tom's goal was to defy everything because he deemed it right; and Potter's was to fuck up everything because he saw it fun.

She was shocked when she saw male figure in Gryffindor robes and a bag tucked over his head. He was mumbling but she couldn't hear any more of it as Tom started to speak.

"James Potter, you wronged one of our own," Tom breathed. His voice was smooth like liquid. Not like James had been. No, this voice was full of power and conviction; and seemed to be able to convince you of anything. The voice under the sack screamed and mumbled.

"Bellatrix," Tom whispered in her ear, his breath cool and it sent shivers down her spine. It didn't help that he was very attractive. "James has betrayed your trust and honor is the first key to feeling sure of one's self. Surely you cannot allow him to live knowing he did this to you."

"You want me to kill him?" Bella breathed. She couldn't believe this; she had never killed a person before, though everyone knew the unforgivable curses.

"No, I want you to want to kill him," he stated simply. "It's your choice, think about it. Think about that mudblood whore who insulted your pureblood honor."

Bella hissed at the mention of Lily Evans. She hated her; what did she have that Bella didn't? Had she not loved James just as much if not more?

"Think about this boy who took your honor so assertively and then threw you away as though you were trash; as though you were less than a filthy mudblood." Tom whispered in her ear.

She had been wrong; James was exactly like her father. He didn't give shit whether Bella hurt or not; so she wouldn't either.

She fixed her face in hard sneer and lifted her wand and pointed it right in James Potter's covered face. The steel in her voice she never knew she had, she whispered the words. "Avada Kedavra." A jet of green light, the likes of which she had never seen, came out of the tip of her wand. It shot straight at James with a blinding speed, and then he slumped and was no more. One minute he was there, and the next gone.

Tom smiled, she felt an odd sensation having pleased him. She sealed off the remorse in her heart at having just taken a life; she wouldn't allow it to consume her. He then motioned at blond boy who moved forward with a black haired boy on the other side. They then pulled the sack off and Bella gasped.

"That's not him," she breathed. "That's not James."

Tom made tisk sound and moved to her side. "No, this is Harry Wimbledon of Ravenclaw, a very rambunctious fifth year. Sometimes death is not as good of a punishment, it's swift and ends one life. The guilt James Potter will feel over this boy's death will haunt him the rest of his life. He'll feel so much remorse that he caused someone death, that it was his fault; he might even name his filth of a half blood son after him."

Bella had to admit Tom was right. James was that noble and this would crush him, she would crush him. She smiled at this; the felling of getting revenge was in fact sweet.

"There are people like James everywhere, this world is corrupt. Purebloods should be at the top of the social standing, not wallowing under a blood traitor. That's what I wish to change, even if war is how I change it. And I will change it." He hissed, determined. "What you need to decide right now dear Bellatrix, is if you wish to change it with me."

Bella thought about it. Of course her rational thought was screaming that she had just killed someone, but the other part of her was elated that she seemed to fit. Her hate had manifested seven fold. Who would care? Her father was disgusted with her, and would be even more so when he found out she no longer held any virtue. Her sisters only cared when it was convenient for them. The only question was, should she devote her trust to another man who might break her heart? But Tom had helped her get even, convinced her that instead of crying she would make them pay.

"Yes, I will join you," she nodded, and never looked back.

Hermione marveled at Bellatrix's story, and her involvement with Harry's dad.

"You got hurt, so you turned ugly, shut the world out."

"Oh, you're still here mudblood?" Bellatrix crooned, coming into her thoughts.

Hermione bit her tongue and walked to face Bellatrix. She stared at the women in front of her and instead of feeling anger, she felt pity. "You were beautiful; you had the kind heart of a healer. James came along and wounded it. But before you could repair yourself Voldemort was there and he walked on in."

Bellatrix laughed. "Don't be naïve girl, my lord may have whispered directions in my ear, but I am the one that held the wand; held the power."

"And look where it got you. You're going to die Bellatrix; your lord as good as killed you. So in your final days, or hours, think; and try for some remorse."

"That word is foreign to me," she hissed.

"Then I'll do you favor," Hermione stated, walking to the door. "Bellatrix, I forgive you, and I hope the goodness in you is enough to counter balance the bad. If not; well I wish you luck in the afterlife."

With that Hermione left, back to her husband, and her kids and her life. And Bellatrix went back to the lone cell, dust being the only thing keeping her company and against her will did as Hermione said. Thinking about all the lives she had taken and tried for some remorse.

Hoped you liked it, I've never wrote Bellatrix before and I thought it was pretty cool, she's a bit of a dark character either way you write her so of course I liked it. Even though it's a challenge tell me what you thought.

Eternal love~ Cassiel Black