I do not own anything execpt the way this story turned out, and I'm not sure if this is a good thing.

The story: The continuation of what I first thought it would be a one-shot of Bella's punishement. If you don't like it/have suggestions of how this could continue/like it/don't likethe characters/etc,please let me know with reviwing it. :)

I actually wanted to write something else, but as it usually happens, when I sat behind the computer the story took a different turn. Hopefully for the better.Again, let me know what you think.
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Chapter 2:

The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow ---
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now. –Byron (When we two parted)

A brown sparrow made a hasty escape from the bush in which he was hiding as a branch snapped not very far away. The small bird flew like a bullet towards the cloudy sky only to suddenly freeze in mid-air, his body glowing in green light, and drop to the ground like a stone.

Bellatrix watched with satisfaction as the tiny body hit the floor almost without a sound and she moved closer to examine the now dead bird.

Sparrow's eyes now held a blank look; it was as though they absorbed the light, instead of reflecting it. Bellatrix saw this all the time, in humans, animals,…they all looked the same when they were dead. Just an empty corpse with light-less eyes….
A strange excitement filled her as she watched the blank look of the sparrow. When dealing with death or pain always caused her to feel a strange, exciting curiosity about it, a certain sadistic pleasure to be in control, to have the power over someone's life. It didn't matter if it was an animal or a human she was dealing with, the excitement was always as strong.

She needed this now. She needed to get rid of the unpleasant thoughts which haunted her ever since she woke up this morning and this bird was unfortunate enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

As she felt she has delayed long enough, she started walking forward. Of course apparating directly into the house was out of the question for there were wards placed all around the place and also it was being monitored by the Ministry, which was inconvenient for her as she had to find the secret passage quite far away from the house to get in.

Bellatrix grimaced. All this trouble just to get that little brat to her Lord. A short mission indeed…

Her mind wandered back to the discussion between her and the Dark Lord a few hours ago.

She was standing in his office, a frosty silence between them almost felt solid. Voldemort's eyes were watching her every movement. She didn't dare to move a muscle on her face in fear of giving her feelings away. After a while of this silent war of the wills the Dark Lord decided to stop wasting time and he addressed her in his usual low, cold voice.


"As I said yesterday, I'm sending you on a short mission."

She wondered what mission would he entrust her now after what happened.


"After this little incident which ruined, or rather delayed, my plans I decided to change my tactic a little." he continued, his redeyes boring into her dark ones.


Bellatrix didn't dare to open her mouth, she only bowed her head, determined to prove herself and thus restore his former trust in her, no matter what the mission will bet.


"So, Bella, you will go to Malfoy's home and bring young Draco Malfoy to me. I have plans with him and I need to speak to him as soon as possible."

Bellatrix didn't move at first. She was still waiting to hear what her real mission was until her Lord dismissed her and it dawned on her that indeed her mission was to bring Malfoy to him. It felt like she just received a slap in her face. Was her failure really so heavy? What about all the other times she proved herself worthy of being his most loyal servant?---

Bellatrix snapped back to reality as she made her way towards the mansion where the Malfoy's lived. She didn't dare to speak her mind to her Lord at that time yet she knew he could see what went through her head. He didn't say anything though, only followed her with his red eyes as she made her way out of his office.

Well if this is the way to gather his trust again, she thought, she would do it without complaining.

She was and has always been devoted to him with her whole persona

How proud she felt every time he commended her before other Death Eaters and when he shared his plans with her alone.

There were times in the past when she felt her husband (though she loved him) was a distraction who prevented her to devote all her life to the Death Eater cause.

His word was the law and she has always followed it no matter what. The only desire in herdark life was to serve him and to be number one in his eyes

For her, the word of her Lord was law and she would obey him even if he would order her to go to the Warewolfs at the full Moon. For him she already sacrificed her freedom and happiness when she was sent into Azkaban and she knew she would do it again if it came to this.

Though for now, she must do this mission without a flaw and only then she might hope to restore his former trust in her. Losing his trust was for her equal to losing everything she always fought and lived for.

Through the woods she came to the clearing where she stopped. Everything after the woods belonged to the Malfoys and she looked around to see any sign of Ministry spies. Nothing stirred and she quickly ducked behind a thick bush on her left. For several more minutes she waited and when she was certain there is no one, she pointed her wand at the biggest root which was sticking out of the ground a little and wordlessly casted a spell. Suddenly ground underneath her opened and she was swallowed by thick darkness of the passageway which Bellatrix knew to lead directly to Malfoy's cellar.

…

TBC

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This is happening in the summer before HBP and is strictly from Bella's POV, which means that not everything we know happened in that summer will be mentioned here. Also, as I mentioned before, this fic is mostly about her thoughts about/relationship with Voldemort and it does not focus on outside world so much, though this might change in the next chapter if I continue it. Please review:)