Prologue
Wait….how did I get in here?
Hurts….my kneee….
Rodolphus Lestrange thrashed and fought as he got sucked into the nails and spring locks. He had to get out. But he's seen what happens if you make a wrong move. A spring lock snaps, and one after another, the spring locks began to cut into your skin, piercing you until you slowly bleed to death.
"HELP!" He screamed, hoping someone would hear him. He didn't know how he got in there, where he was, or who put him in there. He couldn't get in or out on his own. "HELP!" He hollered again, and felt a spring lock snap. It was starting.
If Rodolphus didn't get help immediately, the rest of the locks will snap. "PLEASE! SOMEONE! HELP ME!" Rodolphus screamed.
His head hurt too much. His body hurt too much. He shut his eyes closed as blood dripped down his face. He thrashed and screamed as he felt a searing pain in his right shoulder. Or was it his left shoulder? All his brain could process was the cuts and bruises, the blood and pain. Suddenly, he heard his wife, Bellatrix, running over to him.
"Rodolphus?" Bellatrix asked. He felt her soft touch. It motivated him to except he was dying. "Rodolphus, how did you get in here? We have to get you out!"
"No. I'll die either way." Rodolphus opened his eyes. He saw her pure black hair, her shiny green eyes, the tears falling down her pure white cheeks, and her horrified look. He remembered that they were going to be parents. Well, Bellatrix was. Rodolphus realized he couldn't survive.
"You HAVE to get out of there!" Bellatrix's heart wouldn't stop pounding. She felt the kicking of her baby, but ignored it. Her husband was stuck in a spring lock. And no matter what, Rodolphus had to get out of there. Bellatrix tried calling for help. "HELP!" She screamed louder than she's ever screamed before. "HELP!" She turned to Rodolphus. "I love you, Rodolphus, and you are going to get out. I promise you."
She felt her voice go silent. The popping sound of the spring locks made her too scared to call for help. Rodolphus, still stuck in the spring lock, smiled at her. "I love you." He whispered.
Before Bellatrix could process what happened, the animatronic fell over, crushing Rodolphus into a gushing stream of blood with only a few bones remaining.
"Help." Bellatrix attempted to yell, but it only came out as a faint whisper. She felt someone else's presence. Someone else was there. But Bellatrix couldn't think. She felt her head spinning, and the world threatening to disappear on her. She felt as if she was the one lost in the spring locks. Her eyes began to close, her head began to pound, and her heart began to threaten to bounce out of her chest. She closed her eyes slowly, only to see a tall figure approach her.
Chapter 1
The Alliance
Tanabus Army…worse than the Death Eaters?
The Tanabus army has attempted multiple times to take over Hogsmeade, stopped once by an organization that call themselves the Order of the Phoenix, the second time, stopped by the dreaded Death Eaters.
Death of Rodolphus Lestrange was now proven to be of Tanabus plans.
Newspapers cluttered 12 Grimmauld Place over the Christmas Holiday. There were endless stacks of books, Daily Prophets, Quibblers, and even Muggle radios. The Order of the Phoenix had to get every piece of information possible.
For once, the Tanabus Army wasn't interested in Harry Potter. They didn't want to destroy or recruit him. Harry felt almost relieved. The front page of one of the newspapers had something Harry had just merely skimmed over while it was in Harry's godfather's hands. And now Harry found himself picking it up…and reading it.
Death of Rodolphus Lestrange was now proven to be of Tanabus plans. A picture of a tall brown-haired green-eyed man was smack in the center. Rodolphus Lestrange…did he have anything to do with Bellatrix Lestrange? Harry continued reading, until he was interrupted by a voice.
"Don't fret too much," Albus Dumbledore sat down next to Harry. "Times may be different, now. The Death Eaters seemed to have focused their attention on the Tanabus Army."
Harry studied Dumbledore's face. Not a single flake of fear projected in his eyes, as he stood up straight. Harry said, "Is the Order focusing on the Tanabus Army?"
"It appears we may have to," Dumbledore bowed his head. "You see, Harry, there is only one weapon that can defeat the Army. Both we and Voldemort want it. And whomever gets it first will destroy the army."
"Rodolphus Lestrange…did he have any relations to Bellatrix Lestrange?" Harry asked, meaning it to be for Dumbledore to answer.
But instead, Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, came into the room. "Her husband," He stated. "They didn't love each other very much at first, but after they've went through Azkaban together, it seems as if they connected more. But Bellatrix is alone now, with child."
"You mean she's having a baby?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Sirius responded. "But that gets rid of Bellatrix. We won't have to deal with her…."
"There's a message for you," Nymphadora Tonks walked toward Dumbledore, holding a piece of paper. "I wouldn't think too much of it. It's not formally addressed or anything."
Dumbledore took the letter from Tonks, and scanned it over, picking at the paper. "That's strange," He muttered, and pulled it open.
Harry leaned in to see what the letter was. When Dumbledore opened the paper, an orange ribbon fell out, along with what looked like a small potion. Dumbledore noticed the eyes staring in his direction, and grabbed his wand, pointing it toward the potion. "Revelio," He whispered softly, and the potion expanded, the ribbon becoming at least the height of Harry. The potion disappeared, and left just the ribbon, floating in the air. Dumbledore stood up, and the ribbon moved toward the door. "I've seen something like that before," Dumbledore muttered. "It wants me to follow."
"Follow you where?" Sirius asked, causing Harry to instinctively look in his direction.
"To someone, I'm not sure whom. Nor if I should trust it," And Dumbledore started to follow the ribbon, adjusting his coat.
The night was colder than Dumbledore had expected, but it was nothing the ribbon couldn't handle. Therefore, Dumbledore decided, whomever requested his presence would expect Dumbledore be able to handle.
The ribbon didn't wander far. It stopped in an alleyway Dumbledore could not recognize, still in the muggle city of London. The sign next to the alleyway was labeled 'Flowsturn Way'. Something didn't seem right about this place. It in fact felt so wrong that Dumbledore's wand was again taken out. "Lumos," He whispered, his wand casting a dim light.
"Nox," A raspy whisper snapped, causing his light to disappear. "It's not wise to illuminate yourself in a time like this," The voice belonged to a tall man in a black hooded robe, the hood shadowing his face enough to only see red eyes. Voldemort.
"What is it you want, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.
Voldemort gazed toward him, taking slow steps forward. His wand was gripped just as tightly as Dumbledore's wand was gripped. But Voldemort stopped walking suddenly, and placed his wand on a metal crate sitting in front of them. He waited patiently, eyes glaring into Dumbledore's, until Dumbledore slowly put his wand on the metal crate.
"I will not harm you at all during these moments," Voldemort stated. "If you agree you will not harm me."
"Fair enough," Was all Dumbledore could say. "Again, what is it you want?"
"I want to request a temporary peace," Voldemort stated, putting his hands behind his back. "With the Tanabus Army around every corner, it must be as much of a pain to you as it is to me to worry about our quarrel."
"You call this a quarrel?" Dumbledore looked down at the floor.
"Of course," Voldemort acted as if he's never used a different word. "Whatever you are trying to do, I've never understood more than to consider it a variance."
"Well then," Dumbledore muttered.
"But to continue, you must've assumed I would take sides with the Tanabus Army," Voldemort's hood blew off of him, revealing his pale skin. There was no color on it at all except for his red eyes, which appeared glossy, as if he'd been crying.
"That I cannot deny," Dumbledore responded, realizing he was studying Voldemort's eyes.
"But I would never ally with such a despicable army," Voldemort's tone grew sharp again, as if he was trying not to yell.
"This must be about Lestrange," Dumbledore raised his eyebrow.
"That is very much part of the reason," Voldemort nodded. "But enough of my reasons. I request to be at peace with you, that is, until one of us, or possibly both of us, defeat the Tanabus Army."
Dumbledore turned from Voldemort's eyes to his wand, and then to the floor. "Being at peace? Meaning, you can't hurt me and I can't hurt you, or meaning you nor the Death Eaters will be hurting the Order, and the Order will not hurt you or the Death Eaters?"
"Both," Voldemort smirked.
"And Potter. Will he be involved in this?" Dumbledore asked.
"Whatever you say," Voldemort scowled. "He will not be touched by me or any of my….followers, not just Death Eaters…..as long as he does not interfere with me."
"And the weakness. You're after the weakness, aren't you? If we find the weakness, we will alert you immediately. And I suspect you may do the same thing?" Dumbledore asked.
"Precisely," Voldemort looked him in the eyes, fighting back a grin. "Is it a deal, or not?"
Dumbledore quickly scanned Voldemort over for any sign of a lie. He got so far as to make sure Voldemort's fingers weren't crossed. And he saw Voldemort doing the same thing. And Dumbledore slowly raised his right hand. Voldemort copied, and they shook hands. "Deal."
Voldemort let go. By the time Dumbledore could look up, he was gone, replaced by a few puffs of black smoke. Dumbledore gazed back down at his wand. Voldemort had grabbed his own wand, but not the Elder Wand, shockingly, giving Dumbledore a small pocket of hope. Voldemort…..in a way…quite possibly….could be trusted.
As he began his walk to 12 Grimmauld Place, the only thing he could think of was Bellatrix Lestrange. Something about her has always been different, from the moment she was sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had always shook off the feeling with 'she's a Death Eater, that's what was different', but now, he felt as if he knew Rodolphus Lestrange's death was coming. No, it couldn't be that. She's a Death Eater. That's what is different.
"Who was it?" Harry turned around from a conversation with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
"Carry on with your conversation, Harry," Dumbledore continued to the table he was originally sitting on, and approached Molly Weasley. "I don't want to hear one plan about sabotaging the Death Eaters until the Tanabus Army is defeated." Molly turned around, alarmed. Dumbledore continued, "We are at a temporary peace with Voldemort. I need you to help me spread the word."
"Temporary peace? Why? What happened?" Molly asked. Dumbledore shaking his head caused Molly to walk toward Sirius. Dumbledore watched the reactions vary between shocked and relieved.
The only thing Dumbledore knew was that the Death Eaters reactions would not be as calm as the Order.
Chapter 2
Bellatrix awakens
…..cold…
Where is Rodolphus?
Consciousness slowly returned to Bellatrix.
….was it a dream? Was I dreaming? Is Rodolphus really dead? NO! He can't be. I was only dreaming.
As Bellatrix opened her eyes, the truth hit her. "No, please," She whispered silently, scanning the room for any sign of it not being true. No Rodolphus in her bed. The room decorated with flowers. Notes stacked up on the desk next to her, obviously pre-read by someone. "No…it's not true," She whispered sharply, feeling her nose and jaw begin to hurt, and her eyes begin to water as her eyes darted around the room.
He's dead. It's true. He's dead.
As Bellatrix turned around to sit up in the bed, reality hit her. She touched her stomach gently, feeling the soft kicking of her baby. "He's gone, and he's not coming back," She whimpered, leaning closer to her stomach, as if the baby understood what she was saying. "We're on our own now. It's just you and me," The words choked out of her mouth, and she closed her eyes, and laid back down.
"You HAVE to get out of there!" Bellatrix's heart wouldn't stop pounding. She felt the kicking of her baby, but ignored it. Her husband was stuck in a spring lock. And no matter what, Rodolphus had to get out of there. Bellatrix tried calling for help. "HELP!" She screamed louder than she's ever screamed before. "HELP!" She turned to Rodolphus. "I love you, Rodolphus, and you are going to get out. I promise you."
She felt her voice go silent. The popping sound of the spring locks made her too scared to call for help. Rodolphus, still stuck in the spring lock, smiled at her. "I love you." He whispered.
Bellatrix opened her eyes furiously. "I love you to, Rodolphus," She kept repeating, feeling an ache in her leg. When she went to check what was hurting her, she noticed a familiar mark on her leg. Two deep cuts, looking almost like bite marks, were pierced into her skin. Bellatrix could recognize that mark anywhere. She had period a spring lock off of Rodolphus neck, and it left that kind of mark. And she had thrown the spring lock. It must've hit her leg, but she was too worried about Rodolphus to even feel it.
The thought of a spring lock made her shudder. They were about the size of her palms combined, yet they could crush a whole bone if needed. They almost looked like widened staple removers. Bellatrix shuddered again, and then remembered Rodolphus last words. "I love you," Was the last thing he said to her. And the last thing he heard her say directed to him was, 'I'm going to get you out. I promise you'.
"I failed you, Rodolphus," Bellatrix choked out, and let out a long, horror-filled scream. "It's all my fault," She cried, burying her head in her pillow. With her right arm, she banged her mattress until her arm grew tired. Her hair reacted poorly to the static electricity, puffing up into a mess, but Bellatrix ignored it. The salty feeling of tears would not leave her cheeks and eyes for weeks, maybe even months. She stood up, basically ignoring her leg, and approached Rodolphus closet, in an almost furious matter.
"I WILL avenge you, Rodolphus," She snarled, seeing in the mirror her eyes flickering a glowing green, and back to her normal shade of green. "I will prove to whomever killed you that they've made a costly mistake."
"And I will firmly support whatever you will do about it," A voice Bellatrix instantly recognized came into that closet.
"Lucius!" For a moment, seeing Lucius was like that day she broke out of Azkaban. Until she remembered Rodolphus by her side, the two helping each other escape and at last, reaching Malfoy Manor. Her excitement turned to grief, and her body wanted to collapse onto the floor. She allowed her legs to give out, and she collapsed onto the floor.
"Bellatrix," Lucius bent down, and tried to help her sit up. She ignored his offers, and let herself curl into a ball and cry. "It's my fault. I should've been able to hear you! I would've been able to help you!" He, too, was tearing up.
"No," Bellatrix responded coldly. "It was mine. I could only get a few spring locks off of him. I should've been loud enough to save him."
"That is in the least bit true, Bella. It's just….we were in the right place, but in the wrong time," Lucius bowed his head.
Bellatrix found herself resting her head in between his knees. Lucius moved her hair out of her face, and peered down at her.
"Why was it him?" Bellatrix asked, feeling a sudden naivety.
"The Tanabus Army, they could've picked any one of us, and they thought Rodolphus was the greatest threat. At least, that is what I understood. But the Dark Lord, he has made multiple alliances and peace treaties in order to focus on the defeat of the Tanabus Army. Rodolphus will be avenged. I can promise you that."
"Peace treaties?" Bellatrix sat up. "Do you mean the Order of the Phoenix? Are we at 'peace' with them?" The word made Bellatrix uncomfortable.
"Yes," Lucius seemed to be calculating something in his mind. "That's what it sounds like."
Bellatrix looked to the floor, finding a way it could benefit her. "Rodolphus…..I can avenge him, without the Order interfering?" She thought out loud.
"Precisely," Lucius looked toward the door. "I'm not saying that Dumbledore is in any way superior to him, but having Dumbledore on the side of, or at peace with, Voldemort, could give us a large benefit in defeating the Army."
"I know," Bellatrix replied. "In any way we can, we need power."
"But this isn't about the Army now, it's about you," Lucius responded.
"No, it's not about me," Bellatrix motioned to her baby. "I want my child to be safe. And this much emotion could harm him or her. I need to be strong for my child's sake."
"Of course," Lucius sighed, his long blonde hair appearing even more flat than before. "But you're still my sister-in-law, and I work as a perfect pillow to cry on, punching bag to punch, and I can wear a Tanabus mask if you ever want to get out your anger." He smiled.
Bellatrix copied his smile, her spirits rising by a centimeter. "Thank you, Lucius. I'm glad you came now. I would've destroyed the room if you didn't come now."
"I know. The second I heard you scream I knew you needed someone," Lucius helped her stand up. Her legs wobbled, but she bit her lip until her leg stopped stinging.
She was wearing only a bathrobe and shorts, for she had been unconscious for… "Lucius, how long have I been asleep for?"
"A week and a half," Lucius responded flatly.
….A week and a half. A WEEK AND A HALF? "That long?" She startled. "Did I miss any important meetings, or tasks, or anything else?"
"There she is," Lucius turned around. "I knew Bellatrix would come back. You missed a mission, but I doubt you would be eligible to go, anyways," He motioned to her child.
Right. I would've been stuck on emergency backup job. But it's still work, isn't it?
"You must be starving," Lucius stated. "Come on. I'll find you something to eat and drink."
Bellatrix searched for any feeling of hunger. Her stomach felt as if it was replaced with a rock, her jaw was sore from crying, and the tears that fell into her mouth rung a salty feeling through her taste buds. She was most positively not hungry for food.
More so, for revenge. And she had everything she needed.
Chapter 3
The Tanabus Army