Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments):

April Monthly Challenge - HOUSE CHALLENGE - Going, Going, Gone!
80. Character - Bellatrix Lestrange

Insane House Challenge
Item - Doll

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe or any characters therein.

Beta Love to Alana - I don't know what I'd do without her!

Growing up, I always knew I was different from my sisters. Father took over my lessons when Mother decided that I was too much of a handful for her, and I became his little jewel. Really, that's what he called me, his little Bella-Gemma. Mother had screamed until a Healer was called to sedate her the one and only time she heard Father call me that; after that he told me it was our little secret and I couldn't tell anyone about his special name for me. I hated that I had to hide it from the world — after all, it was something that made me special.

My youngest sister, Narcissa, was my mother's little jewel - though she never changed her name, just shortened it. No, she was called Cissy by everyone. Cissy was the perfect little girl in Mother's eyes; she always sat up straight and never ever said the wrong thing to the wrong person. She could sit at the dining table with a blindfold on and never falter when it came to table manners. Seriously, she actually sat at the dining table one night wearing a blindfold and managed to eat without a crumb falling out of place; she even chose the proper fork for each course and could tell which was her wine goblet vs. her water glass. To this day I am astounded by the poise and grace Cissy shows in every social setting.

My other younger sister, Andromeda… well, she was always different. She loved her dolls more than she loved her family, or so it always seemed. As a young girl, she would bring her favorite doll to the dining table with her and serve it food from her plate. She would host tea parties for her dolls and never let me or Cissy play along. The elves loved her, nobody else could get the lemon creme biscuits that Andromeda always served at her tea parties. Even mother never had them served when she was entertaining. Father would always laugh with me about this; he said that the only reason the elves loved Andromeda so much was because she talked to them. What good is talking to an elf, though, when they listen so much better to commands?

Anyway, getting back to me. I was always different. When Father wasn't teaching me the rules of society or the different ways to address the various tiers of the Wizengamot, he would teach me all about magic. I learned how to cast a good Crucio when I was 8, and Father lent me his wand to practice on an elf that needed to be punished. It took me a few hours until I could actually have the creature crying in pain, but they were the most exhilarating hours of my life. I learned what true power was that day, and I loved it. I am different from not just my sisters now, but from everyone else, and I revel in the glory of it.

I am different. I am special. I am powerful.

Word Count: 509 by Google Docs