Chapter 25
A True Death Eater
Bella could hardly contain her glee on the train ride back to London, she was going to spend the whole summer in the city and she knew it was going to be a blast. How could it not be? She got to ruin Sirius's summer, probably would get to hex all of his friends too and the best part, no ever watchful Dumbledore waiting to punish her. Her aunt thought she was a girl who could do no wrong and never told her 'no', she could have a limitless amount of fun, what more could a wicked girl want? She made plans to get together with Lizzie as soon as possible.
"Ok Lizzie, this Saturday we should hit that new club, Inferno, I heard they have the best DJ's."
Lizzie frowned "Oh I was saving that for your birthday!"
Bella waved her hand dismissively "Oh by the end of June that place will be a bore, something newer and hotter will take its place and we will go there"
Bella loved the thought of celebrating her birthday in London, it was so sophisticated and chic, and as this would be her seventeenth, it made it all the more special. The only thing that gave her a pang of sadness was the fact that this birthday, unlike last years, would not be celebrated with Lord Voldemort. He had held true to his word and severed his ties with her; it was as if he had forgotten her completely these last six months. Bella wished she could forget so easily. As the train pulled into Kings Cross she saw her aunt and Kreacher waiting for them on the platform and with much grumbling about slow muggles and the poor dress of today's teen wizard they finally got into the ancient Rolls Royce and made their way to 12 Grimmauld Place.
12 Grimmauld Place was a shrine to Slytherin pride, nearly every fixture had some serpent theme to it and the house was like a museum of rare and dangerous dark objects, home sweet home to the Blacks. Well, all the Blacks except Sirius, Bella gave him a smirk and a bit of a chortle, she could hardly wait to whip out her wand and he knew it.
"Bella, you are not of age until June 25th, so just give it a rest" Sirius grumbled at her as he started up the stairs, he tried to spend as much time shut away from his family as possible.
To his dismay, Bella followed him "So when are your friends coming to visit?"
"I don't know if they will now that you are here" he snapped back at her, he had an aching desire to shove her snotty little ass right back down the steps.
"Oh Potter will be here, you couldn't keep him away and you know it"
Sirius clenched his fists, it galled him to know she was right; James loved a challenge, especially when it was gorgeous and wouldn't give him the time of day. And Remus would be here too, he would never leave Sirius to suffer alone for the whole summer, he was too loyal of a friend. The only one who would stay away was Peter, he was terrified of Bella (though not without good reason!) he claimed to be going to Belgium for the summer and regretfully would not be able to see any of them until the fall.A likely story, especially since the guys let him spout off for days about how well he was learning to speak Belgian before they informed him that they spoke French there.
When Sirius reached his bedroom he tried to shut the door in Bella's face but she pushed past him and flopped down on his bed.
"Hey!" Sirius cried out in disgust "Get off my bed, you disease-ridden cow! I have to sleep there you know!"
Bella was enjoying tormenting him, it was so relaxing she decided to stretch out and get comfortable.
"You know this is a great bed for shagging, would you mind if do Potter on it, I bet he likes it with a bit of spring"
That did it; Sirius jumped on top of her and grabbed her around the throat, his face, purple with rage, was just inches from hers.
"I swear to god, I will kill you, you disgusting, vile little hag!"
Bella grabbed the back of his hair and pulled his head forward, their lips were almost touching as she taunted him.
"It's not my fault your friends are hot for me, I bet Lupin would be keen to get in on the action too" She could not resist baiting him, even as his hands tightened around her neck.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?"
The two teenagers broke apart and turned to face Sirius's father, who was obviously not sure of what he had walked in on, all he knew was his son was straddling his female cousin on his bed, not an acceptable position no matter what the reason. He marched over and grabbed Sirius by the collar of his robes and yanked him to his feet. Bella jumped up, rubbing her neck and backed away from her furious uncle.
"By god, you have been back less than a hour and you are already bringing shame to this family" He was shaking his son as he spoke.
Sirius tried to defend himself "She barged in here and started it! She is nothing but a filthy whore and a pureblooded bitch!"
His father pulled him closer and growled "You were a pureblooded waste of my seed, if you even are of my seed, no son of mine should have ever ended up in Gryffindor" he shoved him backwards and Sirius fell on the bed "The next time Bellatrix tries to kill you, I hope she succeeds" and he stormed out of the room. Bella was still against the wall, breathing hard and fast, she looked at her cousin and he glared back.
"Get out, you stupid bitch, just get out!"
Bella had had enough for the moment, her uncle, at six foot three inches, was an intimidating man in a normal circumstance, enraged, he was pure terror. Bella decided not to push her luck and scurried from the room, she heard the door slam forcefully behind her. Bella went back downstairs and as she walked past the drawing room someone called out her name, she turned back and Regulus Black was lounging on a sofa, smiling like the cat that ate the canary. The younger Black was the spitting image of his older brother when it came to looks, but that is where the resemblance ended.
"Regie, I didn't know you were back!" Bella exclaimed with a smile as she settled herself next to her cousin.
"Just got back in time to hear dear old dad telling Sirius, yet again, what a disappointment he is to the family line, ahhh..music to my ears, really feels good to be home."
Bella giggled "And it was all thanks to me, love, and plenty more where that came from. So how's Durmstrang been treating you?"
Regulus grimaced "Like total shit, I'm not used to living like an elf, cold all the damn time and god forbid you light a fire, I'm not going back."
"Are you coming to Hogwarts then?"
He clapped his hand down on her thigh and gave a devilish grin "Yep, I'm all yours Slytherin girl, teach me all you know"
She pushed his hand away "The first thing you need to know is I'm a 7th year and you are a 3rd year, thus you are little more than filth on my boots in the grand scheme of things"
Regulus frowned "What if I have special talents that I may be willing to share?"
Bella was intrigued, "Such as?"
"Such as I can perform the incantation to turn water into rum perfectly and I have knowledge of a former, older mate who now resides in Hogsmeade that grows some very interesting plants"
Bella nodded approvingly "There is no denying that you are a true Black, we need to discuss your talents further"
Bella grinned to herself, how could two brothers be so totally different?
Before she knew it, it was the week of her 17th birthday and it was time to celebrate in grand style. (As if Bella would celebrate in any other way) The week ended with a huge party her parents threw at their home and even though relations had been strained, it was going surprisingly well. Bella wore a shantung silk dress in pale lavender with delicate rhinestone studded stilettos, her hair was loosely curled about her shoulders and a champagne glass was seemingly permanently attached to her right hand. All of her friends were there and Lizzie had even brought a date, Bella could not believe her eyes.
"Antonin Dolohov! You sly dog you."
He flashed her his most winning smile and kissed her cheek.
"Hope you don't mind me crashing your party?"
Bella grabbed his ass as he leaned in and she giggled,
"Gorgeous men are always welcome at my parties"
She hugged Lizzie and whispered in her ear "I knew you'd snag him! I'm so happy for you!"
Dancing and hearty alcohol consumption was the order of the evening and the party was still going strong at one a.m. Bella had stepped outside to cool off and something, a flash of light, caught her attention far down on the lawn, she went to investigate. It disappeared briefly and lit up again, she felt compelled to follow it. She ended up outside a tumbled down stone church at the edge of the estate that was nearly buried in a tangle of overgrown weeds and wildflowers. The building had been built around a sacred stone alter that was used by an ancient and bizarre druid sect; they were the ancestors of her mother. All that remained of the medieval church was a couple of walls and the large alter, the wood ceiling had long rotted away giving a view of the night sky. She walked over to the alter and ran her hand across the cool granite, if this slab could speak it would tell tales of virgins united in marriage, against their will, with powerful wizards to make the bloodline strong and pure, then ritually and publicly deflowered to bring strength to the priest and priestess. It made Bella very thankful to be a witch in the modern age.
"Many important and sacred rites happened on that stone"
Suddenly the church was bathed in the light of a hundred candles floating above her head, Bella's heart skipped a beat, at first in surprise, and then in realization of who was speaking, she turned to face him.
Lord Voldemort stood in the shadows, barely illuminated by the moonlight, pale as a wisp of fog, his pallor in sharp contrast to his dark robes. He walked up to her slowly, his gaze unwavering, his eyes locked onto hers.
"I didn't think you would come," she gasped in awe.
He stopped just a few inches away from her, pulled a small, red velvet box from his robes and opened it. Nestled on a black velvet cushion was a silver bangle. It was about a quarter of an inch wide and ornately engraved with a Celtic knot design encircling it. Voldemort took it from the box and held it out to Bella; she took and saw that there was an inscription engraved on the inside, the word 'Forever' with a coiled snake and a script 'V'. Bella looked up at him wordlessly, he took it from her and slipped it on her right wrist, it shrank to fit her, just small enough that she could not take it off.
"I would never forget your birthday, my beauty, especially this one"
He then took her left arm in his hand and turned it so her palm was facing upwards. His deep, quiet voice whispered in her ear,
"Bellatrix, are you ready to commit yourself to me, to be totally possessed by me in every way?"
Bella could not form the words to speak out loud; she could only nod slowly as she looked deeply into his dark, mesmerizing eyes.
He wrapped his other hand around the inside of her arm, just above her wrist and squeezed. A searing, burning sensation made her take a sharp breath but she refused to flinch, her gaze remained steady as he burned his mark deep into her flesh. When he lifted his hand, she saw a black skull with a snake coming out of its mouth; the Dark Mark, she was, at last, a true Death Eater, there was no turning back.
"I am your Master now Bellatrix, speak it to me, tell me I am your master" His lips brushed against her ear as he urged her to say the words he wanted to hear since the first day he had laid eyes on her.
She could hardly find her voice but she replied quietly yet unwaveringly, "You are my Master, Lord Voldemort"
The lust that that phrase, spoken by her, had inspired in him was overwhelming. He wanted take her on that alter, just as so many other powerful men had done to beautiful, young girls in the past. He took her in his arms and pulled her against him, the kiss was unlike any she had experienced before, no other man had ever desired her this intensely, this urgently. The words of Dumbledore echoed in her head His hunger for supremacy will devour you. Bella did not care, she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss ardently; she wanted nothing more than to please him, to show him that he did possess her completely, her hunger was just as great as his. He slipped off her dress as they kissed and she lay back on the alter, he did not have to tell her what he wanted, she knew his every desire like no other woman he had known. Like an ethereal spotlight was shining on her, Bella's naked body glowed in the moonlight, her dark hair spilled over the edge of the ancient slab as Lord Voldemort towered over her.
"Take me Master, I am yours" She raised her arms above her head so he could see his brand upon her skin. He pulled off his robes and laid on top of her, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him inside of her. A moan escaped his lips as he grabbed her wrists and held them above her head. He looked at her beautiful face in the throes of passion, she was like a drug to him; he could not satisfy his craving for her; he always wanted more. And Bella was more than willing to give him all that he could take.
They could see the first golden rays of morning breaking above their heads as they lay together, Bella never wanted this moment to fade from her memory, she never wanted the night to end. But it did have to end.
"Bella, I have to go soon" he was stroking her back gently as she lay on top of him. He had conjured a feather mattress and a blanket to make the alter a bit more comfortable, they were really quite cozy.
Bella had closed her eyes, she knew he had to leave but she made no effort to move. "What if I refuse to let you?" she murmured sleepily.
He pinched her bottom just hard enough to get her to open her eyes.
"You are the only Death Eater in my ranks that would even think of refusing me"
Bella lifted her head, looked him in the face and raised a questioning eyebrow, she purred in a knowing tone,
"I bet I'm the only Death Eater that makes you moan like you did last night"
He pursed his lips; she did have a point there. Voldemort pulled her towards him and kissed her deeply before he answered.
"You are my favorite Death Eater, I won't deny that. When is your Apparation test?"
"The second week of August" she replied.
"I assume you will pass on your first attempt"
"I plan on it" her voice full of confidence.
"Good, I plan on being able to see you often this up coming school year"
Bella laid her head back on his chest and he continued to speak as he twirled a lock of her hair around his thin, white finger.
"You will never betray me, will you, Bellatrix?"
She reached down to his free hand and intertwined her fingers in his "I will always be your most loyal servant and you will be the only man that I will ever call my master"