Disclaimer: I do not own Sweeney Todd or Harry Potter. They were both made by extremely talented people.
Her destination was clear, Mrs Lovett's Meat Pie Emporium down on Fleet Street, however as she walked down the dark street she couldn't help but wonder why she, she of all people had been sent. She had stood by the Dark Lord's side for little under a year now and already she was one of his most trusted, one of his most faithful of his Death Eaters. Surely this object, this goblet must be of significant value for her to be sent to retrieve it for him, by any means necessary. By her understanding there was no one of magical blood currently in the vicinity, besides her of course. The crowd had long since disappeared from the street, retiring to the warmth of their homes. This made her task that much easier, being able to disappear as suddenly as she had appeared down the street towards the shop. Taking the goblet shouldn't be much of a task, especially if she was correct in believing that she was the only one of magical heritage in the area, still the daunting fact that she had been sent hung on her shoulders, a weight she couldn't seem to shake.
To her right a slight movement caught her eye from the bushes. As soon as the movement registered to her mind her wand was out, a small flash of green light erupting from the end, causing all movement from the bush to stop. As she got closer she saw not a man, or even a woman but a scraggily looking cat. Prodding it with the tip of her shoe she disregarded the animal, continuing her journey down the street hoping she would be back by her Master's side in no time at all.
She found the pie shop easily enough, a crazed beggar woman stood on the other side of the road, pointing at the black smoke which was practically streaming out of the chimney. On any other occasion Bellatrix may have given the beggar woman another thought but not tonight. Extracting a rather long, pale arm out she tapped lightly on the door. The light which leaked through the door lighting up her youthful features as she did so. She knew, even at this early stage in life that her looks weren't something which would last through the years. It didn't matter, by that stage she would be His most faithful, the most feared out of all the Death Eaters, His most fierce. With an almost lazy brush of her hand she pulled back her hood, fully illuminating her face.
Would this Mrs Lovett character be expecting her? She doubted it. Even in her short time working for the Dark Lord she knew that he liked to do a majority of His work in secret, in the shadows, hidden from the eyes of the magical community. And so she waited, a toy statue hidden from the unforgiving gusts of wind which made its way down the long street, waiting for someone to answer the door so she could finish the task assigned to her. Of course she could have simply burst through the door, stunned the pie maker with an expertise flick of her wand, searched the house, found His precious goblet and be back in no time. Bellatrix Lestrange however was nothing if not creative. That's what those back home expected her to do. No, as she stood on the doorstep Bellatrix planned her next move, something she hadn't done since joining the Death Eaters. She would play the part of a perfect houseguest, even if she was an unexpected one.
Light spilt out from the shop as slowly the woman opened the door looking Bellatrix up and down for a moment, obviously not knowing what to make of the woman. After a few seconds of silence Mrs Lovett's attention turned to gazing up and down the street, apparently checking to see if her guest was alone. The look of confusion turning into a slight smile the pie maker took a step back, opening the door further as she did so, inviting the woman inside.
"Come in 'ere love, you'll catch a cold out 'ere in this weather." Mrs Lovett said warmly as slowly Bellatrix took her first few steps inside the surprisingly warm shop as the woman closed the door behind her.
The house was quite unlike what Bellatrix was used to, its small yet tidy area was a big difference to the vast Manor she had grown up in, she was a Black after all and as far as she was concerned at the time that made her practically royalty. Her bedroom alone as a child was the size of the living room in which she now stood, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took as slowly she brought the cloak down around her shoulders, letting it fall over her arm as the heat from the fire instantly warmed her body. "Would you like 'omething to eat, love?" the pie maker asked as she herself entered the room, her auburn curls falling from the pins which tried their hardest to hold her wild hair up but at the end of what Bellatrix guessed had been a long day by the weary look on the pie makers face, they had given up, slowly letting her hair down. Curl by curl.
"I'm fine." Bellatrix said in what she hoped was a polite tone as she hung the cloak over the back of an armchair. Her attention was drawn to the roof as she heard the sound of footsteps pacing in what she guessed must be the shop upstairs. "Who's that?" she asked, a bit harsher than she intended to, her gaze never leaving the roof, her dark eyes following the movement of the footsteps by the sound.
"Up there? That's Mr Todd." The pie maker said softly as she too turned her attention to the roof of the living room. Bellatrix, hearing the affecting in the woman's voice as she spoke about the man upstairs smirked, lowering her gaze to Mrs Lovett.
"I would like to speak to him." Bellatrix said matter-of-factly as she picked up her cloak and draped it over her arm, her piercing gaze never leaving Mrs Lovett who slowly turned her own gaze to the witch on the other side of the room.
"I don't think that's... wise love." She said quietly, quite obviously choosing her words carefully which only made Bellatrix suspicious. What did they have to hide? What was up there that the pie maker didn't want her to see?
"I would like to speak to him." Bellatrix repeated, her expression becoming impatient as she watched Mrs Lovett who opened her mouth to say something but thought against it almost instantly.
"'ome on then." Mrs Lovett said wearily, definitely unwillingly as she herself gathered a shawl, draping it around her porcelain shoulders as she headed towards the door, Bellatrix following in her wake.
As the two women stepped over the threshold Bellatrix noted a very different scene to what she had seen before. From where she stood she could see at least three cheap whores standing in the shadows, simply inviting men to them. Wearing torn dresses and dirt covered stockings. Seeing the women Bellatrix raised an eyebrow and smirked. This simple gesture was not missed by Mrs Lovett who wrapped her shawl closer around her own chest. "Time is 'ard, love."
Saying nothing Bellatrix followed suit up the metal steps, both the ladies high heels sending echoes throughout the area with their high heels. There really was a most wonderful view of London from up the top of the stairs, the whores hidden in the shadows, hidden from view. The unfamiliar ringing of a bell caught Bellatrix's attention as Mrs Lovett pushed the door open slightly revealing the shadow of a man, pacing by the window, a glisten of silver catching the moons light in his hand.
"Mr T, you've got a visitor." the pie maker said slowly and by the way he had ignored her as she entered the room Bellatrix could only guess that it wasn't an unusual for Mrs Lovett to come up to his room for one reason or another.
She didn't know what she expected as the man turned around but it definitely wasn't that. He hadn't led a happy life, the expression he wore told her that much. A blood stain on his white sleeve caught her attention as she glanced at it in surprise, then down to the razor in his hand. If he was surprised to see another woman standing behind Mrs Lovett he didn't show it. This was going to be harder than she first thought.
Bellatrix Lestrange however was nothing if not creative.
A/N: The first chapter is a little shorter than the rest will be (hopefully). I would like to thank Amy for giving me the idea, even if it wasn't intentional. Kiah, who has helped me through that much it's not funny and Steph who is just generally awesome in every way.