Chapter 11

When Rodolphus finally arrived, panting, to Voldemort's side, he found that Bellatrix was already there, kneeling before her master. He took up the familiar position beside her, and bowed her head, not daring to shoot her a questioning glance. Not that she would return it: when they were in Voldemort's presence, all of Bellatrix's attention was focused on her master, to proving herself a most devoted servant. It seemed that Bellatrix and he were the only ones summoned, for Voldemort began to speak without waiting for anyone else to enter his mansion.

"I have a mission for the two of you to complete." Bellatrix inhaled excitedly, Rodolphus sighed nervously, too silent for his master to hear. Both raised their faces questioningly to Voldemort's eerie grin.

"It should only take you one night, maybe two. Go back to school during the day if you need another night. Begin tomorrow, after your classes. Term resumes, I believe?" when they nodded, he continued. Rodolphus became perplexed and nervous as he listened to the detailed instructions of their mission. It seemed simple, yet terrifying. They were to go to a certain cave near the coast of a certain place, Rodolphus couldn't be sure of where, and create inferi, which they were to leave in the lake that already existed in the cave. They were to instruct the inferi to guard the center of the lake. The bodies which they were reanimating were already at the location, and Rodolphus had a feeling he knew now what his brother and his friend had been doing for the past week. They were assured that there was nothing there yet to guard, that this was a work in progress, but this was a very important project of Voldemort's. Bellatrix grew more and more eager as she understood more of Voldemort's plan, and she was quick to praise and thank him for giving her such an occasion to prove herself to him.

"For your own sake, you should hope I am not disappointed in your work. I can have nothing but the best magic at work in this cave." He said, as means of dismissal. Bellatrix and Rodolphus got up and left the room. They apparated back to Hogsmeade and did not speak until they entered the tunnel.

"I think I'll head to the library when we get back." Said Bellatrix, with the haughty air Rodolphus was used to hearing.

"Yeah, I'll probably join you. I need to do some research too."

"Have you ever…?" she trailed off, but Rodolphus understood her implication.

"Yeah, I did it a few times with Him."

"Me too. It's hard." Rodolphus grew more anxious. He didn't like to hear that making inferi was hard for the infamous Bellatrix Black, who mastered all magic very quickly. "That's why I need to read up on it." She finished.

Bellatrix went right to the library when they returned, and Rodolphus joined her after eating some dinner. He placed a plate with a slice of pie on it next to her open book, in front of about nine other books she had gathered on the table. She was sitting out of the view of the librarian, so Rodolphus didn't worry about the strict woman seeing the food. Bellatrix was at the corner table because she was reading books solely from the restricted section. Rodolphus picked one up, and found a chapter on inferi. The illustrations gave him chills, and the writing was most definitely by a most dark wizard. Bellatrix ate the pie slowly as she flipped through the pages of the largest tome, eventually making a sound of understanding, or stopping to yawn.

Finally, they gathered their belongings and went back to the dormitories. Bellatrix let her hair out of the bun she had it up in all day, and let her guard down as well, once they were safely back in the common room. Her shoulders fell forward a bit, and her face went slack, showing how small she actually was, and how exhausted she felt on the inside. Rodolphus said goodnight to her, placing his hand on her arm. She grabbed his arm gently, and after checking that they were alone, turned him towards herself, and lowered her forehead to just below his shoulder. He felt her sigh.

"Rod, what if we fail this mission?" Her confidence was temporarily gone. Worry lines etched themselves onto her face, and her dark eyes bore into his, probing him for an honest answer.

"Well, if we fail, He will be very upset, and punish us for our failures. He won't value us as much, or trust us with great missions. It wouldn't be good, but we could survive it. But, come on now, you're Bellatrix Black. If anyone can pull off this mission, it's you. You'll get the hang of it, and make him so proud of you. He already loves you."

She laughed despite her outward worry. "I think love is the wrong word, Rodolphus. The Dark Lord does not love anyone." Rodolphus could swear he heard a wistful sigh in there somewhere. As they both muttered their conversation, they began to take note of their closeness. Rodolphus looked down at their hips which were touching, and then up higher at Bellatrix's face, gazing at his own.

"I love you, Bella." She looked surprised, then incredibly pleased. She kissed him languidly on the lips, and then whispered, "Goodnight, Rodolphus," before walking up the dormitory stairs, leaving him staring in her wake.

The next day, classes began again. Rodolphus did not have time to think about anything but schoolwork as he tried to stay organized between handing in holiday assignments, jotting down new assignments, and transcribing notes for the coming semester in each of his classes. Each professor gave a long speech about the importance of getting a head start on studying for N.E.W.T. exams, and that only caused Rodolphus to panic even more. He saw Bellatrix twice, in potions and transfiguration. She gave him a jaunty smile each time; the words exchanged the night before still running through Rodolphus's head each time he looked at her.

At dinner, Rodolphus told his brother and Rosier of the mission he was going on with Bellatrix. A few people stopped by the table to congratulate his brother and friend on their recovery from scrofungulus. Bellatrix told the girls in her dormitory she would be in the library late, so they shouldn't worry if she's not in bed at a reasonable time.

At seven thirty, they left the castle. They took the tunnel to Hogsmeade, and then Bellatrix took Rodolphus as she apparated to the location of the cave. She could concentrate on the place better than he could, so they figured he shouldn't try it on his own. As soon as Rodolphus could shake off the lingering effects of Apparation, he noticed it was pouring rain. In just a few seconds, Bellatrix, who had been wearing thin black robes, was already drenched, her hair clinging to her face. She pointed towards a massive rock about four hundred yards away. He took her hand and they began to run at it. Once they were inside the cave, she looked along the back wall for a smaller entrance. Once she found one, they both entered and gazed upon a beautiful yet horrific scene.

A pristine lake lay inside the deeper room of the cave, reflecting eerie patterns on the walls. Beautiful crystals hung from the ceiling. Yet beside the lake lay the sordid corpses of hundreds of people. Bellatrix took a step back, and both she and Rodophus instinctively raised their wands. After a moment of investigating the morbid scene that lay before them, both slowly walked forward. Bellatrix cast the spell which reanimated the closest cadaver, and it began to tremble. Slowly, it rose into a crooked standing position.

Rodolphus looked at Bellatrix, her whole body was shaking, and the color was drained from her face. She exhaled a shaky breath and concentrated harder, directing the inferius with her mind. It made a jagged few steps to the edge of the water, and sunk below the surface. When it got to the opposite shore, it remained underneath the water and sunk into a protective crouch, guarding the land with nothing on it. Rodolphus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Bellatrix turned back towards him and smiled triumphantly, and he matched her smile, although there was a bit of anxiety splayed across his features. He looked at the piles of bodies, graying, with the scent of decay flowing off of them. He set to work, and after a few tries, managed to make an acceptable inferius. After about an hour, Bellatrix could make two at once, and Rodolphus was making strong, able inferi. After some time longer, he could feel himself growing weaker. The cave was cold, and he was still wet from the rain. The powerful magic was draining, and he could see its effects on Bellatrix too. She looked upon the remaining corpses sadistically, but had to try the spell a few times before it worked. She placed her hand up to her forehead, and he ran up behind her, grabbing her slim waist to support her.

"We can finish tomorrow." He said, gazing at the remaining corpses. Less than half were left.

"No, I can keep going, I just…" her voice faded away and she swayed a bit. She had created more inferi than he had, yet she had much less experience with the dark arts. He held her tighter and interrupted her.

"No, Bell. We'll come back tomorrow. Let's go home and get some rest." he said firmly

"Alright," she finally agreed.

They walked out of the cave together and apparated back to Hogsmeade. They walked slowly, tiredly, through the tunnel back to the castle. They managed to sneak into the common room unnoticed, for it was very late at night.

"Are you feeling alright?" Rodolphus asked Bellatrix concernedly.

"Yeah, I'm great." She said slowly, avoiding his eyes.

Rodolphus looked at her in disbelief, but let it go. "Goodnight, Bella." He said, as they climbed the stairs to their dormitories. Rodolphus collapsed into his bed and let sleep overtake him.

Then suddenly, things weren't alright. He saw his brother, and Evan, and Bellatrix. He saw himself, reflected in the cool calm of the lake, a chill creeping up his spine. He felt clammy, vice-like hands grabbing onto him and his companions. He couldn't see them anymore, the inferi were dragging them under the water. He felt dirty, he could smell the intoxicating stench. He could feel the grime coat him, and the dark power drag him down. He was screaming and yelling. He couldn't breathe. He was drowning, he was drowning!

He was shaken awake, and Rosier looked down at him with concern.