Maya Brounstein
UW 1020-33
McClain
The Tale of Lestrange
I
She strode across the drive, kicking stubborn pebbles that were loosely stuck in the cement. The wind carried a leaf straight to her crown of stubborn black curls, and as Bellatrix Black went to open the gate, she cut her hand while distracted with the dead vegetation resting on her head. Druella Black, who had previously been watching her daughter's return eagerly from the window, burst out the front door and ran to her precious angel's side. Encouraged by her mother's dramatic efforts to soothe the minor, painless wound, Bellatrix began to cry. Perhaps this performance would earn her a chocolate frog, or if she was lucky, her very own bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Cygnus Black, who was observing this spectacle from the doorway, stood ready with a colorful bandage in hand.
Once the scene had ended, only after gaining a substantial amount of the neighbor's attention, the family headed inside to celebrate their darling's eleventh birthday. "Mummy, give it to me!" Bellatrix whined. Druella knew exactly what her daughter wanted. "Accio letter," the overbearing mother commanded. The thin envelope sliced through the air towards the young girl. Her spiny hands snatched it from the air and tore it open.
Dear Bellatrix Black,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress
Fire danced in the gawky tween's eyes. She could picture herself two months from that moment: sorted into Slytherin like her parents, the leader of her exclusive group of friends, and of course, she would be on the Quidditch team. Bellatrix had heard so much about the magically breathtaking Hogwarts from her parents her whole life, and finally it was her turn to experience the phenomenon. Delighted at her daughter's obvious satisfaction, Druella led Bellatrix to the adjoining room, which had been prepared with care in Bellatrix's absence. The room was adorned with everything the spoiled girl loved, from her favorite candies to three fully stuffed trunks marked for Hogwarts.
Clenching her daughter's shoulders as if for dear life, the mother carefully whispered in her ear, "Darling, what do you think?" Bellatrix turned, looked her mother straight in the face, and sternly said, "How could you pack my trunks without me? Are you trying to get rid of me sooner?" Druella looked as if she had been hit with the stupefy curse, and her eyes began to water. "Forgive me lovely, anything you'd like, anything and Mummy will make it happen." Bellatrix considered her mother's plead, "It's ok mum, just make this nonsense disappear." With one sweep of her wand, the decorations were gone and Druella embraced her daughter so tight that the scrawny figure appeared to turn a slight shade of blue.
II
Bellatrix turned around one last time to give her parents a final wave. Druella was sobbing hysterically into Cygnus' cloak, drawing looks of apprehension from those standing near by. With a dramatic roll of her eyes, the twiney figure slipped on to the Hogwarts Express, narrowly escaping another one of her mother's smothering embraces.
She strutted down the train aisle, looking for a familiar face to share a cabin with. She saw people she knew, but they were already in full cabins. It was curious to Bellatrix that upon waving to those she recognized, they paid her no attention. "Fine," Bellatrix thought, "I'll just sit in my own cabin, I should probably rest anyways."
Five hours and many miles later, Bellatrix woke up as she heard the old train screech to a halt. All of a sudden, cheers and chatter erupted from the train, and for a good reason: they had arrived. Bellatrix gathered her belongings and joined the meld of students pushing and shoving each other off the train with jittery excitement. "Do you think Professor Peregrinus will be teaching Muggle Studies again this year?" "Of course she's not bloody teaching again this year you bloody dimwit. You know she came down with a nasty case of barnicatum this summer!" Bellatrix, overhearing this conversation between the two fourth years, saw an entry for conversation. "Well, I don't think anyone should be teaching Muggle Studies at all. It's a waste of time, muggles are worthless creatures." The two boys heard the small first year's comment and shot her a snide look before turning their backs to her. Bellatrix was appalled, did not everyone feel the way she did about the lesser race? They must be mud bloods.
They were crammed like cattle waiting to be slaughtered, Bellatrix thought. At once, the doors opened, and Bellatrix marched into the great hall with the rest of her class. They were lined up alphabetically once they were all in the hall, and the sorting began. Because her last name was Black, she was near the front. When her name was called, Bellatrix walked up to the rickety stool, with the whole school watching her. She coveted this moment, but it was over before it began. For the moment the hat was placed on her head, it shouted "Slytherin!" The frizzy haired creature pranced over to her new house after a short burst of applause, and sat next to the one face she recognized instantly, Lucius Malfoy. Dying to share the abomination she had overheard on the train with someone, she turned to speak to Lucius, only to be received by the back of his head and hunched shoulders. Assuming he would notice her eventually, Bellatrix went on with her meal in silence.
After the uneventful meal, Bellatrix walked alone and in silence to the Slytherin common room, or to what she thought was the Slytherin common room. After an hour of roaming the hallways, the small girl realized she was lost. "Stupid moving staircases," Bellatrix muttered to herself. After asking a few of the ghosts for directions, she eventually ended up in the dungeons, in front of the entrance to the Slytherin common room. "Password," hissed the portrait. Confused and tired, Bellatrix simply sat down where she was, and waited for someone to come along.
She awoke to shuffling and whispers, and as she opened her eyes, Bellatrix realized she had fallen asleep outside of the common room. "Is it a house elf?" she heard one girl say. "No it's too ugly to be a house elf, you ignorant girl." Everyone snickered. Bellatrix just shut her eyes, and wished that everyone would just disappear. Curling up into an even tighter ball, the tiny thing on the floor prayed that if she made herself as invisible as possible now, no one would recognize her as this pitiful creature later on.
III
She sprinted down the hall, dodging flying curses and spells as she went. "Just make it to the dungeon, that's all," Bellatrix panted to herself. As the second year girl ran down the steps to the second floor, she heard the pounding of the Gryffindor's footsteps slowly die off. Once she was sure she was alone, Bellatrix stopped, breathing heavily. All of a sudden she felt herself tumbling down the staircase. Bellatrix hit the floor with a sickening thud, and peered up through her mangled hair and puffy eyes towards the top of the staircase. "How dare you try and steal from our common room!" she heard Frank Longbottom cry. She meekly wiped her nose with the bottom of her cloak as she began to regain her composure. Bellatrix could not explain to him that she only did it to try and fit in with the rest of Slytherin; the popular Mr. Longbottom would never understand. Bellatrix stood up and brushed herself off, her hands shaking with frustration and anger as a lone tear crept down her cheek. "This isn't supposed to be happening to me," Bellatrix thought, "I'm a Slytherin, I'm a pureblood. If only Lucius and the others gave me the time of day, they'd know I'm worthy…" Before she knew what she was doing, curses were spilling out of her mouth and spitting out the end of her wand faster than she could ever imagine possible. The feeling was intense, and confusingly wonderful. She was blind with power, and did not come back to her senses until she felt blood that wasn't hers splash onto her face.
Bellatrix staggered backwards, peering down in disbelief, she saw a mangled, but alive, Frank Longbottom. "Someone call the infirmary!" She shouted into the empty dungeon, only receiving her echo as a response. As Bellatrix looked down at her hands, she saw that they were shaking, and drained of all color. She felt as sting on her arm, and rolled up her sleeve to reveal a deep gash down her left forearm, but she was unable to recall how it happened. Bellatrix began to panic as she heard footsteps approaching slowly, what if it was one of her professors, or even worse, headmistress McGonagall? She felt as if her heart was about to explode in her chest. Two figures slowly emerged from the shadows. Bellatrix sighed heavily with relief when she saw that it was Lucius Malfoy and his friend, Rodolphus Lestrange. With a small nod from Lucius, Rodolphus gently took a confused and badly shaken Bellatrix by the arm, and led her into a deserted, dark Slytherin common room. "Don't worry, Lucius will take care of that dirty twit, Longbottom. No one will know it was you, except for Lucius and I. Really Bellatrix, don't look so afraid." Speechless, the frail girl collapsed on to the couch and into Rodolphus' arms.
Bellatrix did not expect her lowest point to also be her turning point. The next day at breakfast, Rodolphus motioned for Bellatrix to sit with him and his friends at the Slytherin table. Trying not to appear too grateful or too excited, Bellatrix strolled nonchalantly over to where they had saved her a seat. "You should come with us to the Quidditch match later," Evan Rosier told Bellatrix. She was slightly surprised at the invitation, especially since Rosier had never uttered a word to her before. Not knowing quite what to say, Bellatrix just smiled and nodded in response to the request. Rosier then turned to Lucius, "Ey Malfoy, want to hang our ol' friend Creepy Creevey on the goal posts again before the match? Bellatrix, join us, it'll be great fun." Eager to fit in with this exclusive gang, Bellatrix willingly accepted the offer. "Brilliant," sneered Rosier, offering Bellatrix a crooked smile.
IV
Bellatrix hastened her steps. It was mid afternoon, but there no wind, and the fog was starting to set in. She knew she was getting close to the Quidditch field, but she couldn't quite make out any distinctive shapes. All of a sudden, she heard a scream pierce through the fog. To her surprise, she was unaffected by the scream, and in fact took some comfort in it, knowing that her new friends were near by. Then she saw him. Bellatrix saw the boy from her potions class (it's possible that his name was Creevey but she couldn't be sure) swinging by his knickers from the center goal post on the field. The look she shot him was not one of pity or horror, but one of curiosity. She looked around, and Snape and Rosier were nowhere to be found, but there was a broomstick lying near by on the ground.
Without a second thought, Bellatrix mounted the broom and slowly elevated herself until she was face to face with the boy on the goal post. It was apparent the boy was frightened by the way he was shivering and twisting around like a puppet dangling from a string. Bellatrix continued to stare at Creevey, and she began to feel the same sensation that she had experienced while demolishing Frank Longbottom. This time it was different. She didn't feel out of control, spells seemed to roll off her tongue naturally, cutting interesting and complex patterns in the boy's white dewy skin. He cried in anguish, but Bellatrix could feel his screams and sense his fears. In complete control for the first time since she stepped into Hogwarts, Bellatrix let this feeling of power and darkness coil around every inch of her being. Eventually, when the cries had turned to breathless sobs, for the boy seemed to have no more tears left, Bellatrix descended to the ground, hoped off her broom, and walked away slowly and in each step there was a reminiscence of her new found abilities and confidence. As the small girl approached the edge of the field, she realized she couldn't wait to tell her friends about what she had done, and bask in the praise that was surely awaiting her. Bellatrix turned away one last time to glance at the now small, quiet figure swaying in the breeze, raised her wand, and shouted with all her might, "CRUCIO!" then turned away as the boy fell to the earth with a thud, shriveling and squirming in pain on the sodden ground.