November, 1991
The anticipation had left Leonora antsy all day, making her barely able to sit still for any longer than 5 minutes. The time was drawing nearer and nearer to six o'clock and eventually it was too much for Leonora to handle, so she set off to Snape's office twenty minutes early.
Once she got to the door, however, a strange fear washed over her. Not only was she about to spend time alone with the most intimidating teacher in the school, but she was also about to find out the truth of her family. The mixture of emotions was confusing so, before she could overthink it any further, Leonora raised a fist and rapped on the door.
"Enter," came the deep, slow voice from inside the room.
Leonora swung open the door slowly to see her potions professor sitting behind his desk staring at her with a look in his eye that she could not identify.
"Good evening, sir." Leonora spoke, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. She stood there with her hands behind her back, unsure how to proceed.
"Please enter and take a seat, Miss Lestrange." Snape pointed at a chair on the other side of his desk, gesturing for Leonora to sit down. "We have much to discuss."
Leonora quickly walked over to perch on the chair, very eager to hear what her teacher had to say.
"First things first, I need to know what you are already aware of," Snape asked, looking over his hooked nose down to the girl in front of him.
Leonora sifted her brain, searching through everything she had ever been told about her mother. "I know she did something terrible, but it was for the greater good. I also know she strongly supported the Dark Lord."
"Well, that is practically nothing. I shall have to start at the beginning. Before that though, I have to be certain of something. You are not to tell anyone else of things discussed in this room. Is that understood?"
Leonora was sure she was never going to discuss this with anyone outside of this room, so without hesitation she replied "Understood."
He looked down at her, his eyes almost looked pitiful, and then began talking. "Back when the Dark Lord was first rising to power your mother's family, the Black's, swore loyalty to him and his cause. Your mother in particular was a very strong supporter, some say she was the most loyal out of everyone. She believed in his ideals, that muggles and mudbloods should be segregated and even killed in favour of those with pure blood."
Leonora was on the edge of her chair listening, anticipating what was coming. She knew that the worst was yet to come and so she looked up at her teacher, took a deep breath, and nodded at him to proceed.
"Sometime before you were born, when the Dark Lord was at the height of his reign, there was a prophecy made-"
"Do you mean the one about Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom?" Leonora cut in, remembering something her mother had mentioned in the letter she had received.
"I don't know where you heard about that but I suggest you keep it to yourself, you could get yourself in a lot of trouble knowing of it. But, to answer your question, yes it is that prophecy. I won't get into specifics, but after that prophecy was made the Dark Lord took it upon himself to kill Harry Potter. As you know, this was unsuccessful and he killed only Harry's parents instead."
Snape stopped talking, prompting Leonora to look up at him to see what was wrong. For a second, regret passed over the professors face before he reverted back to his usual scowl. This made Leonora curious but before she could open her mouth to question the man, he had returned to his story.
"The Dark Lord was defeated, some say he was even destroyed. This was obviously devastating for your mother and, so, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She gathered a group of people, which included your father and uncle, Rabastan, and set them a task."
There was another pause, in which Snape looked like he didn't know how to proceed. Leonora could tell they were finally getting to it, that she would finally get to know after all these years. The anticipation was almost unbearable, and just as she was about to ask Snape to carry on, he continued.
"The task was, and still is, considered to be one of the most horrendous crimes committed in the modern wizarding world to many people. Your mother came up with an idea to get information on the Dark Lord's whereabouts from Frank and Alice Longbottom, Neville's parents. To do this, they used the cruciatus curse, a curse to torture its victims, until Frank and Alice were no longer sane."
Leonora felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. She had always been told by her aunt and uncle that what her mother had done had been for the greater good, to make life better for all pure-bloods. How could this heinous act possibly be done for good?
"What happened to the Longbottoms, sir?" Leonora asked cautiously, her voice shaking as she did so. She was dreading the answer, but knew she had to ask. "Did they die?"
"No. Some say they suffered a fate worse than death. They became clinically insane, unable to remember their lives. They don't even remember their own son, the only time Neville sees his parents is when he visits them in St. Mungos."
Leonora actually felt her heart shatter at that moment thinking of Neville and the terrified looks he gave her. Of course he was terrified of her, she was the daughter of the woman who took his parents away, and it couldn't help that Leonora looked exactly like Bellatrix.
"Sir, I've always been told that what my mum did was for the greater good, that it changed the lives of the witches and wizards for the better. How can something so horrible ever be good? Did she truly do the right thing?" Leonora needed guidance in this terrible time, someone to tell her that her mother was actually right, that everything she had known since she was a child was the truth.
"Miss Lestrange, I cannot make that decision for you. You need to decide your own opinions for yourself, I am merely here to tell you the facts." Snape looked down at her once again, the look in his eyes was unreadable, but the corner of his mouth twitched up into a small, sad smile before it fell to his signature snarl again. "You better get to bed, Miss Lestrange. The first Quidditch match is tomorrow so you shall want to be up bright and early."
Leonora left Snape's office in a trance. She walked through the hallways deep in thought, not remembering how she got back to her dormitory. The truth had finally been told to her, and it was worse than she ever imagined. How could her aunt not tell her something this important? Her mood worsened as she remembered that most others knew of the attack her mother had performed. Did everyone think that she was just as likely to commit an attack as her mother?
The thoughts plagued her all night, not allowing her to get a wink of sleep. One thing was for certain, she would not be attending the first quidditch match of the year.
A/N: Hi Folks! Hope we are all doing well in these crazy times. So, Leonora finally knows? How do you think she will react to this news? Is this enough for her allegiance to change? Let me know what you think! Sending love :)