A/N: I really can't apologise enough for the long delay in this update. I've had some big changes in my life and it meant I stopped writing, but I hope I'm back now. I'm determined to finish this story! Thanks to all of you who are continuing to follow Ariella's story. This chapter is dedicated to all of you! :)
"When I was in Azkaban, I gave birth to a daughter," Bellatrix started, warily watching her master. "They wouldn't let me keep her, for obvious reasons, but I was allowed to name her before she was taken away. I named her Ariella." She looked down at the girl at her feet. "My Ariella would be in her first year of Hogwarts, like this girl is."
"And you think–"
"They can't have given her to some filthy muggles, I requested a pureblood family! This cannot possibly be my daughter!" she seethed, cutting off her master and not noticing the cold glare he gave her.
"My parents are not filthy!" Ariella cried, earning her a shove from Rodolphus that sent her sprawling on the floor.
"It's not up to you to answer any of us back," he warned her.
"Carry on, Bella," Voldemort ordered. "But next time, do not interrupt me."
"I apologise, my lord, I–"
"I said to continue, Bellatrix!" At the use of her full name, Bellatrix looked startled, but began to speak.
"I never saw her after they took her away. I've never heard anything, however hard I tried. What would you like me to do with the girl?" Ariella noted that they weren't calling her a Mudblood anymore, but she wasn't sure whether she liked the reason behind it.
"Wormtail!" Voldemort commanded suddenly. "Fetch some parchment, we will do the test."
Test? Ariella thought faintly. She was supposed to take some kind of test?
"You don't need to do that, my lord. It won't be her. It can't be her. You don't need to waste your time on a prisoner," Bellatrix argued.
"Don't question my orders, Bella," was all he said before turning to Ariella. "Get up, girl," Voldemort ordered in a voice that made Ariella scramble up as quickly as she could. The door slammed behind Wormtail as he scampered out. "Go stand next to her."
Ariella did as she was told, however much she wanted to avoid the woman who had spent the last few hours torturing and threatening her. The woman that could be her mother. She felt sick. She couldn't be the daughter of the people who had tortured Neville's parents into insanity and had killed and tortured so many others! She just couldn't! And what about the Grangers? They couldn't have lied to her about looking like her grandmother, could they? Had they kept from her that she was adopted, or was this all a mistake?
Voldemort didn't say anything as he studied the two females, his snake-like eyes flickering between them. Ariella couldn't stop herself from shaking. She could feel the tenseness in the room as everyone waited for the Dark Lord to speak.
"This, Bella, could be the key," he finally mused, his long, slender fingers resting on his chin. "This could be the key…"
At that point, the main doors burst open and Wormtail ran back in, face red and heaving for breath. In his hand was clutched a roll of parchment, but it wasn't any ordinary parchment. Instead of the normal beige, this parchment was bright yellow.
"You know what to do, Bella," Voldemort told her as Wormtail unrolled the parchment and set it down on the table before retreating away.
Before Ariella even had the time to react to Voldemort's words, the female Death Eater took hold of her arm and dragged her to the table. However, when the girl saw the glint of Bellatrix's dagger winking at her in the light, she panicked. Was she going to die? Was Bellatrix about to kill her?
"Please!" she cried, struggling against the witch's grip.
"I only need a little blood," Bellatrix told her, grabbing her wrist while Rodolphus helped to hold her still. "Just a drop, now, don't move!" she brought the dagger across the girl's finger. Ariella flinched. The blade bit into her finger and she supressed a cry. Blood welled, and then Bellatrix seized her finger and pressed it tightly to the parchment.
Ariella jolted in surprise when a thin, red line started to curl its way up the page, eventually splitting into two, coiling in separate directions. Then, as it began to twist upwards, Ariella realised what it was. A family tree. One drawn in her blood.
She could have sworn her heart stopped when one line stopped and began to write the letter B, followed by an E and shortly after that, two Ls. Her head was swimming. It couldn't be right. She couldn't be her daughter! Everything seemed to blur. Voices just seemed to buzz in her ears. She could only see colours; colours mixing into one. They were turning darker, darker, until–
"Don't you dare!" A hand struck her round the face, bringing her back. "You don't fool me! I know you've bewitched it to save your own skinny neck! I know it!" Bellatrix screeched. Ariella looked down at the paper where the names Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange were written in her blood. And above them, Druella and Cygnus Black and Elladora and Arcturus Lestrange. Her grandparents.
"But I don't have a–" Ariella tried, staring at the parchment in horror.
"Don't lie to me! I'm not dumb!" She threw the young witch into the wall and grabbed her neck before she could slide onto the floor. "You. Are. Not. My. Daughter!
"I'm not lying, please! I couldn't have–"
"Shut up!" Bellatrix snarled.
"Bella, she's right. She can't have done it. You took her wand," Rodolphus told her gently, tugging on her arm to make her loosen her grip on what was most probably their daughter.
"Then one of you did it!" Bellatrix turned to the table of Death Eaters and letting Ariella collapse to the floor. "One of you has made a practical joke out of it and when I find out who it is–"
"Bella," Voldemort called softly. "Bella, no one has tampered with the parchment. That girl is Ariella Lestrange. Your daughter."
"No! It can't be! No!" Bellatrix shrieked once more, eyes furious as she scanned the occupants of the room once more as if expecting one of them to own up.
When no one did, she almost seemed to falter. Her eyes widened and Ariella almost saw fear flash in her eyes before they hardened once more. With a scream of frustration and one more glare around the room, she stormed out of the hall, the door slamming shut behind her. Everyone stared at the closed door in shocked silence. Bellatrix had never run from anything before. Then they all turned their gaze to the young witch huddled on the floor. The young witch who had just found out her entire life was a lie.