Disclaimer :I do not own Harry Potter though I wish I owned Bellatrix Lestrange.
' ' – Thoughts
" " – Speaking in English
" " – Speaking in Parseltongue / Memory
S/N : This begins at the end of Harry Potter's 5th year.
Ghost Walker : Sorry to disappoint you but this is not Dumbledore bashing, at least not in the usual sense. In canon, Harry was displeased with Dumbledore at the end of 5th year. That is what I had potrayed in the first chapter. In the story, Harry, with Bella's help, becomes more independent and becomes the leader that he is supposed to be while Dumbledore will fade into oblivion in peace knowing that he hadn't screwed up too much.
chaos159 : You did not tell me what the website is.
N Flamel : Thank You for your complements and also for pointing out the grammar mistakes. I am appalled at my carelessness and will make sure not to repeat it.
I purposefully didn't mention about what Bellatrix did as a spy. I am sure you will know that when you read the next chapter. Harry Potter had just witnessed the death of the only family he had left after a long, strenuous year of enduring friends and enemies alike calling him a liar and an attention seeking brat, Umbridge's Blood Quill, Snape's Occlumency lessons and the side effects of a connection with Voldemort. Add to that his sufferings of the last 4 years and the abuse from his muggle relatives. He already has a huge emotional baggage that he needs to clear before he can take on any other responsibility. Add to that, two days after his godfather's death, Sirius' murderer walks into his house to tell him that she is actually a spy who is working for him now and that Sirius' murder was part of a cunning plot they both concocted together. Harry is a child not a cold hearted military dictator. He needs to work through the mess that his life is and get used to the fact that there is someone on whom he can lean on when life becomes too hard for him, a luxury he never knew until then. Bellatrix knows that he needs some time and space to grieve for everything that he had and so considers giving him the necessary support as her first priority. Only when he has moved on and is ready to be a leader will she place him as her boss and start giving him war reports. She had already scheduled one-third of their time together for this purpose. She knows that he will ask for it when he is ready to hear it.
Entoarox : thank you.
Everyone else who reviewed : Thank you for your reviews.
Sirius Black's Gambit
2 : First day of Training
Harry got up fresh after having a good night's sleep. He had a wonderful dream in which Bellatrix Lestrange came to his house and told him that Sirius' death was planned between them so that she will have a chance to personally train him. He took his glasses from his bed stand and put it on. He saw a mirror on his bed stand. He knew that he didn't own a mirror. He took it in his hands to check it and saw that it was the same mirror he remembered Bellatrix giving him. Then it suddenly struck him. It was not a dream. It had actually happened. That would mean that he can do magic inside the house now. He tried to decide which spell he should do first before he settled on something simple.
He took his wand from the bed stand and said, "Lumos"
A light lit up at the end of his wand.
"Nox"
The light extinguished itself. He waited for 15 minutes for the Ministry owl but none came. He quickly got ready and went down to have breakfast. He saw that his relatives had already started. His plate had less food compared to that of others.
"Uncle Vernon, I have less food on my plate. Can I take more?"
Harry saw that Vernon's face had turned purple and he was shaking with rage.
"You ungrateful boy!"
Whatever he was about to say next was not heard as Harry took out his wand and said, "Langlock"
Vernon's tongue stuck to the top of his mouth and he could speak no more.
"Whatever you were going to say would have been stupidity anyway. So, it is better left unsaid.", Harry said.
He then levitated the food towards him and ate his fill. He noticed that Vernon was eyeing his visible wand warily while Dudley and Petunia looked downright scared. After everything he had suffered at their hands, it felt good to be the one with power. Seeing them shivering in fear excited him. He could now understand why many people considered being a Death Eater a lucrative career option. He undid the charm on his uncle after he finished eating.
"I thought you were not allowed to do magic.", Vernon said rage mixed with fear in his voice.
"Circumstances changed, so did the rules.", Harry told him and returned to his room.
Harry remained in his room that day noting down the exact time of each guard's shift. Soon, it was time for Mundungus' shift. He was excited to see Bellatrix again. He waited with his wand in his hand for her to come. Suddenly, he found his wand flying away. He turned to see it fly straight into the hands of a smirking Bellatrix.
"I thought Moody had already drilled into you about the importance of constant vigilance."
Harry was surprised. He was waiting for her and still he hadn't seen her coming.
"So, did you do your homework?"
"Yes. Nothing happened. I just felt bored after some time and slept off."
"Exactly. You felt bored. So, boredom is your most constructive state. Your mind is the most powerful when you are bored. You are similar to Lucius in that aspect."
She saw him grimacing on hearing her words and smirked.
"So, you two are not on the best of terms, I assume."
"Of course not.", he said as if the very thought repulsed him.
"Alright. Now, we will focus on your dueling skills. I went through my memory of the Ministry incident to identify your strengths and weaknesses and have found out many things. You are a natural when it comes to dueling and will be a dangerous opponent with proper training. You have quick reflexes which I assume is due to Quidditch. You are quick at dodging but nowhere near as quick when it comes to casting a spell. Another problem is that you shout out a spell when you cast it giving the opponent plenty of time to defend or counter attack. I know that you would only be taught nonverbal in school this year but I aim to make you proficient in it before you get to school. If your opponent doesn't know which spell you are going to cast until you cast it, it gives you a split second advantage which will be crucial in the coming days. We also need to work on your stamina and your spell repertoire is very poor. I will be teaching you a lot of new spells. So, tell me, did you work out how to cast a proper Cruciatus curse?"
Harry shook his head.
"I have never tried after that day. Are you going to teach me Dark Arts too?"
"I will be teaching you mostly Dark Arts as that is my specialty. Remember, Harry, magic is a neutral entity. It knows no good or bad. It is just a tool. It is up to a person to decide how to use it. It is impossible to beat an unknown enemy. I will teach you the curses we Death Eaters use frequently and the counter curses for it. I will also tell many things about other Death Eaters that you will find useful later. It is said that strong offence is the best defense. But I would prefer if you have perfected the nonverbal shield charm. So, we will work on that."
She then sent a quick stinging hex towards him which he promptly blocked. She kept sending stinging hexes which he kept on blocking. Soon, the stinging hexes gave way to stunners. Soon, she started increasing the speed and frequency of stunners and he found that he didn't get the time to speak the incantation anymore. Soon, he failed to block a stunner and he was knocked out.
She then revived him and said, "I am expecting a better performance from you next time. Think the incantation. Don't say it."
She gave him 2 minutes to rest and then started a barrage of stunners. He kept blocking for some time until one stuck past his defenses and knocked him out. He was revived again.
"It was better than the last time. You were trying to fool me by saying the incantation quietly. But you did manage to cast silently a few times. We will try again."
She started again after letting him rest. This time he put his best effort in to it. He blocked every stunner nonverbally but the effort he put into each shield drained him and he was quickly knocked out.
"Even though you lasted much less than your first try, you blocked every stunner nonverbally. So, I will take it as an improvement. Now, we should work on your attack. I want you to attack nonverbally as quickly as possible and try to knock me out."
"STUPEFY"
He sent a stunner which she deflected with ease. He kept sending stunners with increasing speed. Soon, he started casting spells nonverbally. He got tired after some time and stopped. She had batted away everything effortlessly. He understood now exactly why she was considered the most dangerous woman in England. He considered himself lucky that she was on his side.
"Your performance was much better than I expected on your first attempt. Don't be too disappointed. This is just your first day after all. Now, I am going to try and hit you with a spell and you should make sure that you don't get hit. Do whatever is necessary, block it, parry it or dodge it."
She let him rest for a moment and then suddenly threw a stunner at him which he blocked. She continued sending stunners at him. He blocked all of them. She suddenly sent a familiar spell of green light towards him. He dodged it to find himself in the path of a stunner which knocked him down. She revived to see him glaring at her. She wondered what she had done to make him so angry.
"YOU JUST TRIED TO KILL ME! I thought you were on my side", he shouted at her.
She was confused for a moment and then she understood.
"I didn't use a Killing Curse on you. It was a first year spell called Slug Vomiting Charm though I do admit that I used the specific spell to fool you into thinking that it is a Killing Curse. You would have known that if you had observed my wand movements. Killing Curse doesn't have any wand movements. Did you really think that I was powerful enough to cast a Killing Curse nonverbally when the dark lord himself isn't?", Bellatrix replied.
Harry suddenly felt sheepish. He had just realized that he had made a fool out of himself. Having seen many Killing curses in his life, he should have been able to distinguish between a real one and a fake one. His unwarranted outburst had made him realize that somewhere deep within he still did not trust her.
"Don't beat yourself for it, Harry. It is a quite common mistake, especially among war veterans. It is something you should use the next time you fight a Death Eater and you will find it funny too.", she said with an amused smile.
She continued, "Getting to the matter at hand, you shouldn't expect everyone to cast one spell at a time. There are people who can cast three different spells at a time. There is a reason I have been training you to block quickly. You should be very careful in real fights. Instead of the stunner I used, Death Eaters might be using the Killing Curse or something else equally bad. Now, I believe it is time for you to learn some new spells."
She then thought for a moment and said, "Did you know that werewolves under the leadership of Greyback are supporting the dark lord's cause?"
Harry nodded.
"What will you do when you find yourself face to face with a werewolf? You would have already learned in school that werewolves are immune to most of the Light magic spells that you have learned about. Any idea?"
"No idea."
"What is a werewolf's well known weakness?"
"Silver."
"Correct. There is a spell which uses this fact. It is called Silver Arrow spell. It is actually a slight variation to the Arrow spell. I will teach you the Arrow spell and all of its variations."
Bellatrix conjured a dummy that looked like a werewolf. She then came behind him and held his wand hand.
"Now, just do as I say. The incantation is sagitto exeonero and wand movement is a throwing motion- something like this", she said while holding his hand and showing him.
As his back was turned towards her, she did not see him blushing. Even if Bellatrix was older than his mother, she was still a woman. For someone like him, who had had no romantic life to speak of, it was a big thing.
"I want you to start trying the spell nonverbally. Let us see how long it takes for you to master that.", she said seemingly unaware of the effect she had on him.
Harry did as she had asked and soon mastered the spell. Bellatrix vanished the arrows leaving behind a dummy with holes created by the arrows. She checked the holes properly before nodding her head apparently satisfied. She then vanished the damaged dummy and conjured a new one in its place.
"The wand movements are the same for the next few spells. You just have to add the appropriate word at the end to get the variation you want. You add caneo for getting silver arrows, inflammo for fire tipped arrows and inficio for poisoned arrows. Now, I want you to do all the three varieties nonverbally."
He practiced each variety one after the other until he was sure he could do all varieties nonverbally. She vanished the last dummy and sighed.
"You have done well and have earned a rest… for now. Our dueling time is over. Now, we are going to sit and talk. So, you can ask me questions which I will try to answer to the best of my ability and you will return the favor."
Harry had been thinking the whole day about what he had learned the previous day and had many questions to ask but didn't know which question to ask first. He asked the first question that came to his mind.
"What was Sirius like when he was a child?"
"Well, he was different from the rest of us. He always preferred red and gold to green and silver for some reason I never understood as those colors were an eyesore. It didn't sit well with others but his father let him have whatever he wanted as he was the heir of the family. As a result, he grew up arrogant, bigoted, whiny and spoilt child."
"It sounds a lot like Draco Malfoy."
"I have heard. I believe that Draco inherited it from Sirius. It is my turn to ask now. Which older woman did you have fantasies about the most?", she asked with a smirk on her face.
Harry blushed. He had never expected that question from her and was embarrassed. It was a secret not even his best friends knew about.
"I can't answer that question. Ask me something else."
Harry looked to see that she was shocked. He wondered what he had told that elicited this response from her. It then occurred to him that she might have read his mind. He hadn't told his best friends because he feared they would be disgusted with him but this was worse.
"You didn't read my mind, did you?", he asked tentatively.
"I had thought it would be my niece as you both are close in age. I now know you have set your sights higher.", she said with an amused smile on her face.
"So, you are not angry or disgusted?"
"Why should I be? You will be surprised how common it is. Aunt Walburga was 12 years older than Uncle Orion. The marriages between people of huge age difference is uncommon these days but still well accepted by the wizarding society. There is no need to be disgusted. I have to admit though that you choosing my baby sister of all people to fantasize on was a real shock to me. I now know why you hate Lucius so much. Harry Potter is jealous", Bellatrix teased with a girlish giggle that was quite uncharacteristic of her.
She continued with a mischievous smile on her face, "I am sure Narcissa will be flattered when I tell her of the famous Boy-Who-Lived 's crush on her."
"You are not going to tell her, are you? There is nothing to tell of course. It was during 4th year.", he said trying to hide the fear in his voice.
"If you insist, I won't tell her about your crush. Do you have any more questions?"
"I have another doubt. Why do some pureblood families hate muggle borns and half-bloods? Do they really believe that purebloods are more powerful magically?"
"Some do. Some act like they do. The number of muggleborns and half-bloods are increasing every year compared to that of purebloods. With the decline of purebloods, the values and traditions we hold dear are also declining as the non-purebloods who come into our world do not care enough to learn and respect our culture and traditions. Some are even arrogant enough to claim that their muggle culture was better than our 'barbaric' culture. Tell me, Harry, when you go to another country, will you learn their culture and traditions and adjust accordingly or will you expect them to change their culture and traditions for your convenience?"
"I get your point."
"How much do you know about our culture and traditions?", she asked.
Harry never met her eyes. He had to admit, even to himself, that he had been a lazy git till now. He had wasted away his time goofing off, playing chess or exploding snap. He had already started liking her and he didn't want her to start hating him.
"Do you even know what the wizarding festivals are?"
Harry thought about it. He recalled all the festivals he had heard about and eliminated those he knew to be muggle ones. He didn't want to look like an idiot in front of her.
"Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter …"
"Potter, Halloween is a muggle festival. Revertere anima is our festival. It is the time of the year in which the barrier between Realm of the Living and that of the dead is the weakest. The souls that hadn't left for the other world will leave then. The departed souls will come back to check on their living relatives. It is a very important holiday whose importance had been destroyed due to the headmaster celebrating a muggle holiday in its place. Also, we don't have Christmas as we do not believe in the muggle god. We only have Yule. We celebrate it by holding balls. Each pureblood family take turns in hosting the Yule Ball. Valentine's is celebrated by both while we don't celebrate Easter. Similarly, there are many things I could tell you about our culture but any other proper pureblood could tell you that. Ask me any question related to the topics that only I can answer."
"It is your turn now, Bellatrix."
"I know that you have had adventures before the Ministry. I would like to see the memory of your first practical application of the magic you learned."
Harry was surprised at first but on further thinking he understood that he should have expected it. She wanted to see how capable he was.
"I don't know how to take out memories.", Harry said.
"First concentrate on the beginning of the memory and touch your wand to your forehead. Imagine that you are pulling out the memory from your forehead. You will pull out a silver tendril which you will place in to the pensive. Remember that once you take out a memory, you will know the contents but you will not be able to access the memory itself. There are many memories which we would want to keep safe from a legilimens. They are stored in a pensive or in a separate vial."
"Can we alter the memories?"
"People well versed in mind arts like Dumbledore and Voldemort can not only alter memories to suit their tastes but also create fake memories of events that never happened. You already know that from your experience."
He knew that she was referring to Voldemort placing a fake memory in his mind. He followed her instructions and deposited the memory of Philosopher Stone incident. He saw her lower her face into the pensive and go inside. After some time, she came back up.
"For first years, you three did well. I am surprised Professor Quirell or was it Voldemort didn't think to shrink the creature or transfigure it into something else and wasted a whole year. If I may ask, how was Quirell at teaching?"
"There was not much of teaching. None of us could understand anything as he was always stuttering."
"The dark lord is a very good teacher when he wants to teach something. I would even go on to say that he is one of the best teachers ever. He is an unending well of knowledge and experience. He turned me from a young dueling prodigy to someone known to be the most dangerous woman in England. I almost feel bad for betraying him, almost being the key word of course. Another worrying thing I noticed is that you seem eager to throw away your life. Can I assume that it won't happen again?"
Even though it was said calmly, Harry detected the underlying threat in her tone.
"No, I won't act like that again. I promise."
Bellatrix nodded in acceptance.
"It is my turn to ask now. How does it feel to get a dark mark? Is it painful?"
He saw her grimacing as if he reminded her of an unpleasant memory.
"It is much more painful than the Cruciatus curse. We feel as if our skin is being peeled and acid is poured onto the flesh underneath. The initiation ceremony ends only when the person faints due to pain and exhaustion. The length for which a person can stand the pain is one of the criteria in which his/her status among Death Eaters depends on. The stronger a person is, the deeper and darker will be their Dark Mark."
Harry was the one grimacing now.
"I didn't need to know all the details.", he said causing her to smirk.
"Harry, did you know that the dark lord tried to take over Hogwarts once?"
"I heard that Dumbledore is the only reason he couldn't take over Hogwarts."
"Do you want to see the memory?"
Harry nodded.
She pulled a silver tendril from her forehead and deposited in the pensive. Harry went in followed by her.
Harry realized that they were just outside the gates of Hogwarts. He could see the Death eaters with Lord Voldemort in the lead. Voldemort was not the nose less demonic figure he was familiar with. This Voldemort had hair, eyebrows, lips and nose just like every other human being. But his face was twisted into a weird shape due to the numerous dark rituals he did. At the other side were a bunch of people with Albus Dumbledore in the lead. The group consisted of all types of people young and old. He looked though the unfamiliar faces in an attempt to spot a familiar face. He then saw a man who looked just like him and a red haired woman next to him. He was elated to see his parents among the group defending the school. He felt proud to call himself their son. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Bellatrix smiling down at him. She then indicated to him to concentrate on the memory.
"Move aside, old man. Your time is over and my time has come. Those who don't want to end up dead, remove yourself from my path.", he said in a high cold voice that sent shivers down his spine.
Nobody in the other group moved a muscle which enraged Voldemort.
"Go back, Tom. This is a school where young children learn about magic and grow up to become respectable citizens of our society. I won't allow you to destroy the sanctity of this institution.", Dumbledore said in a calm voice.
Voldemort bristled at being called by his real name.
"Don't call me that. My name is Lord Voldemort. You will speak to me with the respect I deserve.", Voldemort snarled.
Dumbledore sighed and said, "It must be one of the shortcomings of being an old man, I guess. Whenever I look at you, I can only see the young boy whom I had taught."
Even Harry, who had no experience in political war of words, could see that Dumbledore was mocking Voldemort. It was obvious who had the upper hand. This time, Voldemort could not control his fury.
He pointed his wand at Dumbledore and a thick black smoke came out of the wand and went towards the latter. When the smoke came close, Dumbledore did a series of complicated motions with his wand creating an invisible shield. As the smoke couldn't get past the shield, it spread sideways obscuring their view. Voldemort looked for any sign of them being alive.
"CRUCIO"
Voldemort kept the curse for sometime but didn't hear any sound.
"Avada Kedavra"
A green light left Voldemort's wand and went through the smoke to where Dumbledore was standing. The sound of something falling to the ground was heard. A victorious smile crept up to his lips which soon vanished. The smoke cleared to show that everyone were standing right where they used to be unaffected and there was a dead cat in front of them. Voldemort snarled in anger when he realized that he had used all that magic on a cat causing Harry to smirk.
'Take that, Voldemort', Harry thought.
Voldemort threw a spell at him which Dumbledore deflected with a lazy flick of his wand. Dumbledore sent a spell at Voldemort who deflected it the same way. The power of the spell was so great that Voldemort staggered slightly. It was so slight that Harry wouldn't have noticed it had Bellatrix not pointed it out to him.
"This is not over, old man. I will come back soon and no one will be able to stop me. Death Eaters retreat!"
Harry soon found himself being pulled out of the memory.
Harry felt his spirits lift up after seeing the memory. The Voldemort he knew was all powerful and Dumbledore had to struggle to keep up. It was a good confidence boost to see Voldemort receiving a humiliating defeat. He remembered that Dumbledore was calm and collected and pushed the right buttons while Voldemort struggled to keep his temper. Harry mused that the memory of Voldemort making a fool out of himself could be a good Patronus moment for him. His good mood vanished as remembered that he had been acting the same way whenever Malfoy called them some childish nickname. He had always drawn his wand or attacked with his fists every time Malfoy taunted him or his friends. After seeing Voldemort do the same thing, he realized that he had only succeeded in making a fool of himself. He decided that asking Bellatrix to teach him the art of playing political games too wouldn't hurt.
"Did you get the message that I tried to convey using the memory?", asked Bellatrix.
"War is not just about who is more magically powerful or who has the larger army. There is also a psychological aspect to it.", Harry replied.
Bellatrix gave a proud smile and said, "Exactly. Everyone who had died fighting the dark lord fought for some Gryffindor ideals like glory or something else. None of them had believed in their victory. If the enemy believes in their defeat even before the war, you have already won. As you have already seen in the memory, Voldemort is used to people running from him or doing everything he commands to save their pathetic hide. So, seeing a group of people who had the guts to fight him both surprised and scared him. He came expecting an easy victory but what awaited him was something he wasn't prepared for. So, he ran away or apparated away to be more exact. The important thing you have to remember about the dark lord is that he will fight only when he is sure of his victory. Seeing people ready to fight him causes him to have doubts and he tends to rethink his decisions. Being more magically powerful or having a larger army is an advantage not a guarantee of victory. If you believe in yourself and never let doubts fester your mind, you will have a huge advantage over Voldemort."
Harry nodded and thought about all that she had told him. For some reason he couldn't understand, knowing that Bellatrix is on his side had given him hope.
"I believe it is time for Occlumency. Get up.", she said.
He stood up and faced her knowing what was to come. He had to admit that he was nervous. Even if he wanted to believe that Snape had purposefully opened up his mind for Voldemort, he knew that part of his failure was due to his laziness and lack of interest. He had also allowed his personal feelings and prejudices to cloud his judgment. As he knew the consequences, he was very determined to learn Occlumency now.
"Clear your mind of all emotions and feelings. If you can't do that, just keep your boredom and clear out everything else. Are you ready?"
Harry took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He nodded to show that he was ready.
She pointed her wand at him and said, "Legilimens"
He was hiding behind a bench. He saw a group of boys and knew that they were looking for him. He felt fear creeping up his spine.
"LOOK! The freak is hiding there.", a boy with rat like face, Pier Polkiss said pointing at him.
They came running towards him and he ran off as quickly as he could. Apparently, he was not quick enough as the rat faced boy caught him. The others soon caught up with him. Dudley threw the first punch. He felt his nose break. He fell down and his glasses fell off rendering him unable to see anything clearly. Another boy gave a swift kick to his ribs. He felt his ribs snap. He got kicked on his face when he opened his mouth to shout.
He saw Bellatrix standing in front of him trying to restrain her anger. He felt as if he was actually beaten up. He was quite tired and was sweating profusely. He saw her school her features to nonchalance.
"Did these incidents happen often?", she asked.
His first impulse was to say no but he knew that an expert legilimens like her would know that he was lying.
"I am quicker than all of them and so most of the times, they cannot catch me. That is what usually happens when they catch me.", Harry said.
"How old were you when it happened?", Bellatrix asked.
"Nine."
Bellatrix nodded in understanding.
"I have to go little early tonight. I want you to practice everything you have learned. You know how to vanish things, don't you?", she asked.
Harry nodded.
She continued, "Good. I am giving you another assignment. I want you to imagine a castle, any castle though you can picture Hogwarts if you want. I want you to set any traps of your liking outside the gates. If you want, you can place an extremely dangerous mythical creature to guard the castle. It is up to you. After that, I want you to go through all the memories and sort them into different sections. How you want to sort them is up to you. Sort everything you remember into these sections. There would be some memories or some sections of memories which you would want to keep secret. Hide them in secret passageways or chambers and put some password or any other form of restrictions on the entrance to them so that only you or those you approve of can enter and access the memories inside. Other memories can be kept in places of your choice. It is alright if you can't sort all the memories of your life. The process of sorting is an exercise which strengthens your mind which in turn helps you master Mind Arts quicker. This is taught to us purebloods much before we go to Hogwarts and it serves as a foundation when we learn the real Mind Arts. I also want you to practice wand less magic. Start with something small like levitation and slowly move on to more advanced spells like summoning. That too should have been taught to you before Hogwarts. Wand less magic is very difficult to learn once you start channeling your magic through a wand or a staff. I will check your progress in the assignments I have given when I come on the day after tomorrow."
"Yes, Professor Bellatrix", Harry replied causing her to smirk.
"Considering that we are going to get to know each other more, I insist you call me Bella."
Harry rolled his eyes and said, "Good bye, Bella."
Bellatrix lowered her face and gave Harry a chaste kiss on the lips surprising him. He watched her go with a smile on his face. He really was looking forward to seeing her again.
As Bellatrix was leaving, she saw Harry Potter's obese cousin stuffing his face with chocolate. She remembered that his name was Dudley. Normally, she would have considered him beneath her notice. But after knowing what she did, she knew that he deserved to be put in his place. As she was under the Disillusionment Charm, he would not be able to do anything even if she went in front of him and punched him in the face. She waited until he finished the chocolate on his hand and then cast the spell. She left the house inwardly congratulating herself for the wonderful prank.
Narcissa Malfoy was a woman who prided on being a proper pureblood lady. She neither swore allegiance to some dark lord nor did she run off with some mudblood. She got married into a respectable pureblood family, produced a heir and was living a lavish life as the Lady Malfoy. Being the life and blood of pureblood society, she was very good at keeping a calm and collected appearance even in the most stressful situations. But recent return to life of someone she had thought long dead and the events that followed it had been testing her skills to its limits. To say that she was angry to see her sister Bellatrix dragging what looked like an immobile muggle into her house was an understatement. She loved her sister and was happy to have her back but some of her antics make her wonder who exactly is the Lady of the house. She wondered why Bella did all this in her house when she had Lestrange Manor. She was no muggle lover by any means but that doesn't mean she liked seeing her house being turned into a torture chamber.
"What is the meaning of this, Bella?", Narcissa asked.
"I have just brought this thing home for practice. This muggle will be very useful when I have to teach my nephew important things that are necessary for him to know considering his new position of power."
Narcissa kept her expression nonchalant with some effort. She knew that her sister was talking about her son becoming a Death Eater. On the day Draco came back from school, the dark lord had visited the Malfoy Manor to recruit her son into his fold. She had then tried to convey to him through her eyes to reject the offer but he was too full of pride and anticipation to see it. She couldn't exactly blame him as his father had been filling his head with tales of how glorious it was to be a Death Eater. She didn't understand that. They were a rich pureblood family who had money that lasts for many generations, power, status in society and everything else a person could ever want. She couldn't understand why her husband chose to throw away everything for a mark. Now, her son had chosen to follow the same path to his doom.
"Where is that elf?"
A pop sound was heard and an elf in a small pillow case appeared.
"Mistress Bellatrix called Blinky."
"Yes, lock this thing up in the dungeons.", Bellatrix said pointing to the muggle.
The elf apparated off with the muggle.
After dinner, Bellatrix took her nephew to the dungeons where the muggle was kept.
"Look Draco! That is what a muggle looks like."
Draco looked at the muggle. He looked 16 and had a rat-like face that reminded him of Peter Pettigrew. He was unconscious right now. Bellatrix revived him with a flick of her wand. He opened his eyes and looked around stupidly. He then focused his eyes on them.
"What is your name, boy?", Bellatrix asked.
"Pier Polkiss. Where am I?", the muggle said.
"You don't ask questions here, muggle", Bellatrix snarled.
The muggle looked scared for a moment and then asked, "What is a muggle?"
"What do you know about magical people?", Bellatrix asked calmly.
"Freaks! Those abominations should be put in their places.", the muggle said scrunching his face in distaste.
"Have you put any of them in their place?", Bellatrix asked with an inquisitive look on her face.
"Yes. There is a freak in our neighborhood. Whenever we see him, we catch him and give him a good beating. These kinds of people should be locked up and not be allowed to roam around normal people.", he said proudly.
"Muggle is a term we magical people use to describe your kind.", she told him.
The muggle looked thoughtful for a moment before the real meaning of the words set in. When it did, he had a terrified look on his face causing Bellatrix to smirk.
She then told her nephew, "Draco, the muggles are like that. Those who know of the magical world believe that they are superior to us. That dirty blood actually called us abominations. We should exterminate these uncouth, mannerless hooligans and clean up our world. But some people like Dumbledore and Weasleys believe in muggle superiority and worship this filth. We call them blood traitors. Has your father told you about the Muggle Protection Act that Arthur Weasley proposed and Dumbledore used his influence to pass it through?"
"I once heard father ranting to mother about it but he never told me anything about it.", Draco said with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Your father tried his best to stop it but he was no match for Dumbledore's influence. That act made it illegal for us magical people to defend ourselves against dirty scoundrels like him while it was perfectly legal for them to 'beat us up' or torture us to death. This dirt has already admitted to taking advantage of the law.", Bellatrix replied.
Bellatrix looked at Draco to see that he was looking at the muggle with loathing.
"Draco, don't you think we should teach this muggle a few lessons?"
He nodded his head.
"Draco, now look carefully and learn", she said.
She then pointed her wand at the muggle and said, "repans ignis"
The muggle started screaming in pain causing Bellatrix to let out a cold laugh.
She then cancelled the curse and said, "The spell I cast burns the outer skin of the target. Now, I want you to do it."
Draco pointed his wand at the muggle and performed the curse. The muggle started screaming again which sounded like music to her ears. She then told him to stop.
"For a first timer, you have done well. Now, I will teach you my favorite curse. CRUCIO"
The muggle was now screaming more than ever before. She kept it for some time and then cancelled the curse. She then indicated to him to do it.
"Crucio"
It had no effect on the muggle.
Bellatrix let out a sigh of frustration as silently as she could.
She went behind him and said in his ear, "Draco, you are a pureblood and a Malfoy. You are the one everyone is supposed to look up to. But, people are looking up to Harry Potter, a mere half-blood. Why? Because he has a stupid scar on his head? People only know you as Harry Potter's enemy. All the teachers and the headmaster blatantly favor him. You were always a disappointment not only to your father but also to your housemates because Potter always beat you in Quidditch. He broke every rule and, instead of being punished, was rewarded. He is the reason your father is suffering in Azkaban and the Malfoy name has gone to dust."
She looked at him to see that he was now practically shaking with fury.
"Imagine the muggle as Harry Potter. He made you suffer all these years. Now, it is your chance to take revenge. Do it."
Draco pointed his wand at the muggle and said, "CRUCIO"
The muggle immediately began writing in pain.
"Good work, Draco. Continue pouring your anger and hatred in to the spell. Imagine Potter on the floor writhing in pain."
The muggle was now screaming as loud as his throat will allow.
"Now, twirl you wand slightly and you can see the muggle jumping about like the pathetic creature it is."
Draco twirled his wand and soon the muggle was jumping about.
"That is enough for today. You can stop now."
He cancelled the curse and saw that she was healing him.
"Why are you healing him?", Draco asked.
He never cared what happened to the muggle but he was curious as to why his aunt would kindness to a muggle.
"Some people don't deserve to die. They should live to regret it. This muggle is your personal dummy now. You will come to the dungeons whenever you get a free time and tor … I mean practice everything you learned on him. Remember, he should remain alive at least until I bring another one. You can go now."
'That is more like the Aunt Bella I know.', Draco thought.
Draco left the dungeons leaving his aunt to her thoughts. Bellatrix made sure her nephew had left and sighed. She knew that she was playing a dangerous game that could easily backfire on her. She didn't want to lower herself to Lucius' level by putting the wrong ideas into his impressionable mind but it was necessary. Being a new recruit, the dark lord will constantly scan his mind. It is important that Draco doesn't have any doubts about the dark lord while he is here or anywhere else the dark lord can reach. It is necessary not only to keep her cover but also to keep him alive. She would be damned before she allowed him to end up like Regulus.
I have originally intended it to be a Harry/Bella pairing but I am confused now. I would like to know the opinion of everyone on whether I should continue this story as a Harry/Bella pairing or is Bella restricting herself to mentor cum guardian better for the story. With the present beginning, it can go either path without any fuss. I will read all the reviews and PMs and the majority will win. I am not much of a fluff person and so there wouldn't be much fluff either way.
Due to the recent events, I will not be having a sex scene if I am doing the pairing.
Please leave your reviews and suggestions as they inspire me to update faster.