The Fall
by somekindofwildgirl
Chapter 11 – The Perfect Murder
News of the dead body spread like wildfire throughout the school. The school had not made a statement, so the students were left to speculate. No one knew if it had been a student or a stranger, if it had been murder or suicide. Had the serial killer targeted someone at Hogwarts? Some people said that a new Dark Lord had murdered one of the students. Others claimed a centaur had killed someone for trespassing at night. The most ridiculous claim was that the body was chopped into little pieces and fed to the mermaids. Everyone knew that a whole body was found in the Great Lake. The speculation was endless and it was all anyone could think or talk about.
A strict curfew was implemented and no student was allowed to walk outside of the common room without another student. The investigation was still ongoing; the two students that discovered the body were sent home. Some students were keeping a tally to find out if anyone was missing, but with the chaos of the unknown, it was hard to keep track of everyone. Classes had been cancelled for the week.
The crime scene was blocked from view by a spell the Headmaster cast. Only the faculty had access, but this did not discourage students from attempting to sneak in. James Potter and her cousin had tried unsuccessfully. Bellatrix heard that Lucius had also tried, but failed as well.
Without classes to go to, Bellatrix found herself falling into a slump. She was having one of her low moods and made herself go through the motions of getting ready, eating though she was not hungry, and sat with her friends. She wanted Rodolphus to notice, but he did not. It frustrated her that she wanted his attention, and that he chose to spend the extra free time with Winters.
"Evelyn, where is Charles?" Bellatrix asked at dinner. She hoped that things would die down between them, but it seemed like Charles was still avoiding her.
The brunette rolled her eyes. "Now you want to talk to him after you publicly embarrassed him? He is at home with his parents."
"He told you this himself?"
"No, Professor Dumbledore did. There was urgent family business at home," Evelyn said. "You'll have to excuse me. I seem to have lost my appetite." The girl's friends started to laugh and they left the Great Hall gushing over the wedding Evelyn and Charles would have next summer.
"She is pathetic," Bellatrix said as she finished the rest of her food.
Evan laughed as he went for second helpings. "Did you want to go down to the Pitch after dinner?"
"Not tonight. I have a letter that I need to send. Thanks for the offer," she said.
They left the Great Hall together, but went their separate ways. Bellatrix did not understand how he could play after eating so much food. The common room was full, so she retreated to her room. None of her roommates were there. Grabbing a piece of parchment, Bellatrix composed her letter. It took her three tries before she was satisfied with it. Bellatrix needed answers and this was the only way she could get some. Pressing a seal onto the roll of parchment, she made her way uninterrupted to the owlery. She was surprised to find a letter waiting for her. Bellatrix sent the letter she composed before opening the one she received.
Her hand was shaking by the time she had finished it. The smell of owl shit and mustiness overwhelmed her. She descended the stairs and only made it two steps before she heard someone call out to her. This was the last person she wanted to talk to. Bellatrix sped up trying to pretend that she did not hear him, but he caught up to her.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?"
She stopped and bit her lip before turning around. "I forgot something in my room. Did you need something?"
He looked at her, really looked at her in a way that was both thrilling and terrifying. Bellatrix did not want to deal with this, but she knew that he would harass her until she confided in him. Where was Winters when you needed her? "What is wrong?"
"I am not in the mood. I will see you later."
"Bellatrix, what happened?" Rodolphus asked, reaching out to grab her arm.
"Let go of me! Do you always have to touch me? Merlin, you have a girlfriend!" Bellatrix snapped, wrenching her arm away from him.
Rodolphus was not fazed. "Is that any way to talk to a friend?"
"Who says that we are friends? I cannot do this anymore."
"Then what was the point of training you if you were going to give up halfway through? It is pathetic," he said as she turned to walk away.
Her blood boiled at his words. "Pathetic? I will show you who is pathetic."
Bellatrix threw a curse at him, but he sidestepped it easily. She threw one curse after another and screamed in anger when none hit her target. He disarmed her, her wand landing at the base of the windows. Not willing to be defeated, she ran at him and knocked his wand away in his surprise. They fought hand-to-hand combat, before she hooked her leg around his and brought him down to the ground. She wanted to hurt him, a feeling that both terrified and delighted her.
Before she could savor her victory, he flipped them over, his forearm pressing against her collarbone. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. His eyes were like an angry sea, ready to drown her into its depths. She didn't know who leaned forward or if it had been both of them, but suddenly, the sound of laughter trickled down the hallway.
They sprang apart quickly. She looked at him with wide eyes before running away. She ran past the group of girls that walked like they had no care in the world. Maybe they didn't. It surprised her how much hate she felt in that moment for those innocent girls. Wasn't she supposed to celebrate the fact that they were safe? That they had been untouched by the harsh reality of the world?
Instead she hated them. Why couldn't she have been innocent of the darker ways of the world? Why was this her burden to bear? It was like the simplicity of being an adolescent was lost on her. She envied Narcissa and her relationship with Lucius. It was simple, as simple as a relationship could be. But anything that related to her was tainted with darkness.
It took a lot for her to admit her attraction - and unfortunate feelings - for the man. It had slowly crept up on her and therefore she had been vulnerable to being struck by him. Despite the fact that he was with someone else and the fact that just mere months ago, she had been attacked.
Was it wrong for her to feel this way? To want a man in that manner? It made her sick to her stomach. She entered the common room and was surprised to see it practically empty. Then she realized why. Lucius and Narcissa were standing yelling at each other. Evan quickly ushered her over to the couch near the window. Bellatrix wanted to leave, but knew she would catch their attention so quietly made her way over to Evan.
"I am not Andromeda!"
Lucius rubbed his eyes angrily. "I never said that you were!"
"You might not say it, but I know that's what you think. I will not run off with the first man that I see," Narcissa said with teary eyes.
"Is it such an impossible fear for me to have after what your sister did?" Lucius asked.
"No, it's not," she said sitting down. "But if you knew me, then you would realize that you have nothing to worry about. I have had a crush on you for ages and I wouldn't mess it up. But you're treating me like a child, like I'm one step away from being like Andromeda."
He sat down across from her. "What do you want me to do?"
"Take me out on a date once a week. We barely know each other and are to be married as soon as I graduate. I would like to get to know you properly."
Bellatrix forced herself to look away. Evan also looked uncomfortable. Listening to their conversation distracted her from her own problems, a welcome reprieve. She was proud of Narcissa for standing up for herself. Lucius and her sister left the room shortly after that and Bellatrix released the breath she had been holding.
"I thought we would be stuck here all night," Evan said getting up.
Bellatrix smiled. "I am happy for them."
"At least one of us is lucky in love."
She took a seat next to him. "I thought that things were going well between you and Gabrielle."
"I thought so too. I asked my father if we could discuss a betrothal. He talked to her father and I found out that she has been betrothed this entire time," Evan said, staring at the fireplace.
"Do you know to whom?" Bellatrix asked.
"No. When I brought it up to her, she told me that things between us were never supposed to be serious. She broke up with me."
She frowned. "Love sucks."
"Rodolphus has not realized that you are crazy about him?" Evan asked with a smirk.
"Charles was murdered. That is the body that was found in the lake," Bellatrix said, unable to keep it to herself. Rodolphus was the last person she wanted to talk about right now and her mind kept drifting to the letter she had received.
He sat up straighter and gave her his full attention. "How do you know?"
"His parents sent me a letter. I think they blame me for it, but he was the one that broke up with me," Bellatrix said. It did not make any sense. She had seen Charles the night before the body was discovered. His body. "I feel guilty. He fucked up, but maybe I should have forgiven him. Now I will never get the chance to find out if we could still have been friends."
"Do they know if it was a suicide or murder?"
"They did not say. How can you be so calm about this?" Bellatrix asked when did not answer her immediately.
His brow furrowed. "I am not calm. Someone that we grew up with is dead. It is called shock, Bellatrix."
"No, this is not what shock is like."
"How would you know?" he asked. "And why are you so defensive?"
"Are you seriously implying that I had something to do with it?"
"You had motive, means."
Bellatrix stood up. "You are ridiculous. I never wanted this for Charles. Did you have something to do with his death?"
"No," he said also standing up.
"I am going to go before you say something you will regret."
"Good idea," Evan said angrily. This was the first time she saw this side of Evan and it scared her.
Bellatrix strode out of the common room with a confidence she did not possess, keeping a grip on her wand in case Evan tried to do something. She was being paranoid, but there was something off about the whole exchange. Bellatrix avoided the boys for the next couple of days, hiding out in a remote classroom hoping that things would return to normal. But how could they if the person that she had grown up with and almost married had been killed?
The next few days went by uneventfully. Classes had resumed, but everyone was distracted. Bellatrix decided to miss supper, not ready to talk to either Rodolphus or Evan, but had taken a wrong turn in her anger. She was about to turn around, but a force drew her up by her right foot. Her skirt was flipped over, exposing her underwear to the world. What made her livid was that her wand had fallen to the ground with a clatter and she wasn't able to reach it.
Looking around, she saw the people behind her precarious position.
"Bellatrix Black. What a coincidence running into you here," James Potter said twirling his wand.
Peter Pettigrew giggled. "What are we going to do to her?"
"I can think of a few things," Sirius said with a smirk.
"Maybe we should take her down and let her go," Remus Lupin said, his prefect badge shining.
"I think you would be wise to listen to your friend," Bellatrix said in a dark voice.
She tried to stay calm. Her heart was racing and she cursed herself for being stuck in a vulnerable position again. Hadn't she learned from the last time? Apparently not. She tried to use her magic but her wand didn't move towards her. A shiver ran down her spine as one of the boys changed her hair to a bright red. Peter changed her uniform into a revealing dress. She struggled against the magic holding her up. Their laughter at her failure to escape echoed down the hall and she knew it was a sound she would forever remember.
Bellatrix caught Sirius's eye and pleaded with him to let her down. They had always respected each other despite his disownment. He performed a tickling jinx and kept it up over and over again. Although she was laughing, it hurt. She thought her ribs would crack with the force of her laughter and prayed that it would stop soon. A trickle ran down her abdomen.
"Look, she's wet herself!" Peter squealed.
That was enough.
Ignoring her thoughts and feelings, she sought her magic like Rodolphus had shown her and let it build within her. She heard their laughter and taunts and without thought, the magic burst out of her. She fell to the ground with a thud and was surprised to see the Marauders stuck against the wall like there were invisible chains around them. Their eyes were wide with fear at the display of her power.
Picking up her wand, she cleaned herself and changed the dress back into her robes. She stared at each of them for a full minute before addressing them.
"I have never been more disgusted with a group of wizards. How many girls have you cursed while they were vulnerable," she said her voice trembling with fury.
Peter gulped and stayed silent.
"Slytherin scum like you that deserve it," James said, his hazel eyes blazing with fury.
"How would you like it if I cursed you while vulnerable? Tickled you until you wet yourself and laughed?" She said, raising her arm and sending a tickling curse his way.
She stepped towards Remus and his pants disappeared. "Nice scars, Remus. How does it feel to be undressed without your permission? On display for all to see?"
"You are pathetic," she said when she saw that Peter wet himself when she stepped towards him.
She took her time walking towards Sirius. He looked lost, like he didn't know whether or not to be angry or scared. There was guilt in his expression, but she knew that it was only because he was the helpless one now.
"You," she said, her fury boiling in her veins, fueling her magic to do her will. "I expected more from you little cousin, expected respect if nothing else. After all this time of spewing righteousness, here you are acting like those you turned your back on. You have gone too far. As far as I'm concerned, you are dead to me."
Twirling her wand around her fingers, she decided on a spell to use. She stuck them to the wall with a spell that Severus Snape had shown her to make sure that they would stay up all night. She walked towards the end of the hallway before turning around.
"If you try to attack, talk, touch, or look at me, I will make sure you live to regret it. You have taught me an important lesson tonight. There are no lines I am not willing to cross to in order to hurt you."
She took her time walking away and ignored their protests and their apology. They had gone too far in their pranks, had grown cocky with their power. And she had been vulnerable once more. Bellatrix made herself a promise: No man would ever successfully attack her again. She would go to any required length to ensure that.
Bellatrix told Rodolphus what had happened the next day. He had asked her if she wanted to resume her lessons, so she met him one evening in their usual classroom. When she finished telling him about it, she asked the question that had been plaguing her all night. "What is it about me that screams victim?"
"Nothing does. You are the strongest woman I have ever met. No matter what life throws at you, you have never once given up. I hope that you showed them you are not one to mess with," he said putting a hand on her shoulder.
She put her hand on his. "I was surprised with how powerful my wandless magic has become."
"Anger and adrenaline has an interesting effect on magic," Rodolphus said.
She turned away from him. "Then why do these things keep happening to me?"
"Because you show your vulnerabilities more than you think. But each day that passes, you show that you are stronger. You remind me of myself last year."
"What happened to you? You were never this confident," she asked.
His blue eyes looked away from her. "My mother has hated me from the day I was born and wishes for my death daily. She used to push me around, but last summer, I realized that I was more powerful than her. I was letting her treat me badly. I had to stay with my uncle last summer to learn his part in the family business as he has no heirs and I will absorb his part."
"I'm so sorry Rodolphus. I had no idea," she said, putting a hand on his cheek.
"You have a choice, Belle. You can choose to be the predator or the prey."
She wrapped her arms around him and was surprised when he held her against him. There was nothing sexual about it like there had been the previous day, but there was less of a wall between them. Rodolphus rarely revealed anything about himself and she was honored that he was slowly opening up to him.
The next day, Professor Dumbledore made his announcement.
"I am sorry to announce that Charles Selwyn was found dead in the Great Lake. We had the Ministry's best Aurors and Magical Law Enforcers investigating the cause of his death. He has committed suicide. We ask that you give his family privacy in these difficult times. I would like to remind you that we do offer counseling -
She tried to focus in on his words, but couldn't. Was it normal to feel numb? To feel like the world was cruel and that death was inevitable? Rodolphus' blue eyes watched her and she focused on eating, embarrassed at the direction her thoughts had taken.