Chapter Nineteen:

Bellatrix's eyes wildly flung open, the pupils contracting to nothing but a pinprick. A black island lost in a sea of deep violet.

A shaft of pale moonlight graced her bed with its ethereal beauty, making her black hair shine silver.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins as the scent of blood filled her nose. Bellatrix jumped out of bed and crouched predatorily on the cold stone floor. Sniffing she crawled in the direction the scent was coming from.

Waves of it spilled forth over the sides of the garbage can. Excitedly Bellatrix dunked her head into the trash and just as quickly pulled out. An old bloody bandage hung limply in her teeth.

She let it drop to the floor and pawed it calmly for a brief second before losing interest and crawling back over to her warm bed.

Pushing off the ground with her legs Bellatrix leaped onto her bed and snuggled up into the blankets, purring contentedly.

She was drifting off into dreamland when a small squeak met her ears. Bellatrix looked down and saw a brown mouse scurry across the floor. Without a moments hesitation Bellatrix pounced landing directly in the rodent's path. Before it could change directions Bellatrix pinned it down with her white slender hands.

The creature squeaked in terror. Bellatrix just laughed, picking it up by its tail. She swung it back and forth, listening with glee as it screeched for its freedom.

"Bellatrix Black has caught a snack. Cute and brown with fur as soft as gosling down. Down it goes round and round. A dark, dank cave it has found. Acid burn, acid melt. Lots of pain the creature felt." Bellatrix chanted the poem as she stared transfixed at the swinging mouse.

In continued to squeal in terror. Angry at it for interrupting her Bellatrix flung it across the room. The mouse slammed into the far wall with a small crack. Its dead body fell limply to the floor.

Panting with excitement Bellatrix stared out through a dusty window into the face of the shimmering moon. Its pale light bathed the Forbidden Forest in an eerie glow. Mist rose up from the lake and wound around the trunks of the trees nearest to it.

A yearning to be down there filled Bellatrix's mind, pushing aside any other thought. Standing up on two feet she provocatively sauntered across the hospital wing and threw open its doors.

The night was hers for the taking. No one would get in her way now.

Outside the world was magical.

It was alive. The hoot of hunting owls, the squeal of it killing its prey, the lap of waves on the shore. Even the curling mist made a sound. It was very indistinct but Bellatrix could hear it, wet and shadowy as it glided above the green grass.

She howled in ecstasy, the power of her voice was wild and raw. All she wanted to do was run through the forest naked, feeling the leaves caress her bare skin. She wanted to feed; she wanted blood, warm blood, staining her sensual lips.

Growling Bellatrix ripped away her shirt, letting it fall wantonly onto the damp grass. Her skin prickled in the night air, but she was barely bothered by it. The fierce pounding of her adrenaline filled blood was more than enough to keep her warm. Next she shed her skirt and black lacy lingerie.

The moonlight softly kissed her skin, giving it the divine glow of a pagan goddess, powerful and ready to hold the entirety of the world in the palm of her slender hand.

Branches caressed her skin as she dashed through the night forest twigs and dried leaves snapping beneath her bare feet.

The scent of a small furry animal blasted up her nostril and within seconds she was hot on its trail.

Twenty minutes she curled up into a ball amongst a pile of fallen leaves. Her hungry had been sated and now she was groggy.

Sleep instantly overtook and for a brief instant she had a thought that all this was wrong and she was human. But then it disappeared with a soft southern breeze. And there she slept until the sun came over the horizon and a new day was born.

A/n: I know that was shorter than every other chapter I've written but I want it to be so. Her new animalistic behaviour rendered Bellatrix an even shorter attention span than she already had. The length simply reflects that. Read the last Bella chapter carefully to figure out why she is like this. Also her hair colour has changed from brown to black. I simply had a change of heart on the subject. I'll go back and change it in the already posted chapters.