Finally back with another chapter! I apologize for the delay and would like to thank my reviewers for the reviews on the last chapter and those who favorited/followed by story. As always, they are really appreciated. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 4
The gleaming rays of the sun were slowly engulfed by the all too familiar clouds surrounding the Black family's West England mansion. It was mid-August and all three Black sisters had been home for the summer holidays for over a month. After seven years, Bellatrix had finally parted ways with Hogwarts marked by the symbolic departure from the castle's oak doors on the same boats she had taken seven years prior to meet them. Bellatrix had certainly made a memorable exit through sneaking a flask of fire whiskey onto the boat with her friends with the after-effects, to her family's horror, almost causing her to tumble off. Bellatrix was later received at home by the deafening shrieks of her father.
"BELLATRIX BLACK WE WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR FOOLISH BEHAVIOUR TO TARNISH OUR NAME. YOU BETTER START BEHAVING BEFORE I DO SOMETHING I WILL REGRET"
Such threats were common from Cygnus Black and the Black sisters were aware they were referring to the ruthless Black custom of blasting members off the family tree. Bellatrix, however, would merely nod and acknowledge the threats with a smirk knowing well that she would never be banished. Bellatrix was a reckless and free-spirited witch but firmly, with all of her fiery passion, believed in the pure-blood ideals to which she was rooted and would take them to the grave. Narcissa smiled to herself at the realization that Bellatrix's flamboyant personality, outbursts, and short temper were clearly a more nuanced product of her father.
Bellatrix was set to wed Rodolphus Lestrange at the Lestrange estate the following week. The wedding was a formidable new tie between two of Britain's respected pure-blood families and was warmly welcomed by the Black and Lestrange families. As a father of three daughters in a pure-blood society, it was Cygnus Black's duty to ensure each daughter was wed into a worthy and affluent pure-blooded family.
Bellatrix sat on a bench in their vast gardens and began mindlessly gazing at the large oak trees erected in straight lines at the entrance of the estate. Marriages in pureblood societies were a complicated, or rather straight-forward matter, depending on the perspective of the onlooker. Earlier in the days, they were typically arranged by the parents of the newlyweds before their attendance at school. Bellatrix's parents had been arranged at the mere age of 11 and wed at 18. Love was a luxury that either blossomed after the marriage once the pair became acquainted with each other or was absent from the marriage altogether. They were to fulfill their duty in producing heirs and extending the family's bloodline. Nowadays in the late 1960s, arranged marriages were growing out of fashion and comprised a smaller percentage of marital ties. Pureblooded youth now commonly chose their own suitors and marriage straight after graduation was no longer expected. The same expectations of marrying into an affluent pureblooded family, however, was stronger than ever with the growing threat against their numbers due to the infiltration of dirty blood massacring their once pristine family trees. Once shunned from society, with the appointment of tolerant individuals in high positions of power, such as Albus Dumbledore and the new Minister for Magic, muggle-borns, squibs, and half-breeds began marching for their rights causing growing tensions amongst the powerful and wealthy purebloods.
Rodolphus Lestrange was in Bellatrix's year at Hogwarts, however, she only began speaking to him in her second year. Bellatrix and Rodolphus agreed to marry upon graduation as a demonstration of loyalty and duty towards the pureblood supremacy movement pioneered by Lord Voldemort. Their union had nothing to do with love. Bellatrix recalled her conversation with her youngest sister Narcissa who at the tender age of 13 had lost her innocence.
"I never got the impression that you were in love with Rodolphus", stated Narcissa in an accusatory and surprised tone.
Bellatrix crouched to Narcissa's level and caressed her face.
"Love? I'm not in love with him and I never will be. Cissy, love cannot be found where it does not exist. Don't go chasing love for it is the most dangerous thing in the world",
Narcissa remained composed with her usual icy exterior but being her sister, Bellatrix could have sworn she witnessed a shred of disappointment in the depths of her sister's blue eyes.
"But then how are you going to make children?"
"Oh Cissy, love is not needed for that particular act. Besides, I do not have any intention of having kids anytime soon. They are a distraction from what is truly important", Bellatrix replied with a chuckle.
Bellatrix and Rodolphus were intending to devote their time in its entirety to Lord Voldemort's cause. Rodolphus Lestrange's father had been one of Lord Voldemort's first servants in their Hogwarts days. Master Lestrange had arranged for Bellatrix and Rodolphus to meet him on the eve of their graduation along with Thomas Avery and Alecto Carrow. Lord Voldemort, however, did not just meet any potential recruits. Prior to the meeting, they had to prove their abilities by performing the Cruciatus curse on a first-year muggle-born student kidnapped from Diagon Alley. The student was later left crippled on a side alley with her memory removed. They were also tasked to break into a muggle's house and use the Imperius Curse on a man forcing him to slit his own wife's throat with a dagger gifted to Bellatrix Black by her father. Death Eater recruits needed to be referred to Lord Voldemort by an existing Death Eater. They would then perform the smaller missions, overseen by the Death Eater who referred them, to separate worthy from incapable potential recruits. Only those deemed worthy would be graced by the presence of Lord Voldemort and complete the initiation process.
It was a dark and somber evening in South West England. Bellatrix could feel the air becoming cooler as she approached the agreed-upon meeting point. The rumbles of the frosty wind swept through her thick raven black locks. The colder her surroundings became, the greater the flame of excitement ignited through Bellatrix Black's body. She glided across a dimly lit cobbled street lined with dark Victorian buildings. When they had finally reached the end of the road, they were standing in the middle of an empty square with rumples in the air suggesting the presence of a muggle-repelling charm circling the area.
Bellatrix, Thomas, Alecto, and Rodolphus stood in silence and did not dare to move as they waited in the chilling emptiness. They suddenly heard a crack in the darkness and swiftly turned around to find each other faced with a brown rabbit. Bellatrix groaned at the sight of the creature's intrusion into her frantic anticipation of meeting the Dark Lord.
"Avada Kedavra", she grumbled as a blanket of green engulfed the rabbit causing it to topple to the ground.
"Remarkable. One needs true skill, power, and intent to be able to cast the killing curse. And at that age? Yes… exactly what I am looking for", hissed a cool and menacing voice coming from behind them.
Bellatrix's eyes widened as she spun around to be faced with Lord Voldemort himself. He was draped in a long black hooded cloak fully concealing his appearance. As he slowly lifted his head to face the group, the light began creeping on his face and revealed a set of hollow green eyes. Bellatrix felt a shudder of both fear and exhilaration. She had never seen such emotionless and void vessels in her life. It had almost felt like being in contact with a dementor, however, this time the encounter was at your will and the ice towering over you was empowering. She felt like she could do anything. She turned back to face the dead rabbit and was overwhelmed with a brewing sense of bloodlust, she wanted more.
"Lestrange, Avery, Black, Carrow. All wizards from formidable families. It is a pleasure to meet you", stated Lord Voldemort in a slow and cool tone that almost faded into a whisper. He began carefully scanning the group of four as they stood still amidst the deadly tension in the air. Rodolphus mustered the courage to speak and cleared his voice.
"The pleasure is ours, my lord. It is an honor to be serving you and to be in your presence, my lord", croaked Rodolphus with his head bowed down before Lord Voldemort.
"Serving me? You will have to prove yourself before you join my ranks, surely you understand?" he replied with a sadistic chuckle and a venomous hint of mockery.
Bellatrix did not dare turn her head to face Lord Voldemort. She recoiled in shame from Rodolphus' stupidity and took a step away from him. Lord Voldemort's fingers swiftly crept up his left sleeve exposing strokes of black ink hugging a skull on his forearm. Rodolphus' face turned white in fear of Lord Voldemort grabbing his wand from his cloak and killing him for insulting the prestige of his followership. Instead, he hovered his finger over the mark on his arm and Bellatrix marveled at the sight of the skull's mouth beginning to open. Nothing happened for the next minute and as quickly as the silence appeared, it dissipated. Multiple sources of wind began swirling in the air leading to 'woosh' sounds followed by loud cracks. Bellatrix's thick curls were soon sent on a flight in all directions. After each loud crack, a cloaked wizard in a silver embroidered mask appeared behind Lord Voldemort. Eventually, ten cloaked figures stood their ground. The four fresh graduates were shifting nervously but remained composed for their safety. The air was tense and beginning to suffocate them.
"My noble Death Eaters. Meet today's recruits", he declared while slithering over to the group of cloaked figures.
"Good evening. I am Alecto Car-", chimed in Carrow who was quickly interrupted by the cloaked Lord Voldemort
"Yes, we all find you very fascinating", he stated with a sarcastic tone followed by roars of laughter from his cloaked followers. He enjoyed the laughter for a couple of seconds and then rapidly returned to his stern and menacing expression.
"Enough. Now that introductions are complete, bring our lucky guests for tonight forward", he declared. His followers whom he referred to as 'Death Eaters' instantly silenced their laughter and dispersed to make way for two cloaked figures. They emerged from the shadows dragging along four people. They seemed to be a family with an adult male, female, and two young children, a girl, and a boy, appearing to be between 5 to 8 years old. Bellatrix surveyed their clothes and quickly crumpled up her nose. Muggles in the flesh, she thought to herself. How disgusting. The muggles were crying and the look of terror in their eyes due to their presence gave Bellatrix a rush of satisfaction. The cloaked Death Eaters began howling in laughter and two of them started spitting on their rolled-up bodies. Bellatrix gazed over the muggles begging for their lives in disgust but when she finally shifted her attention to the children, the little girl had eyes the same vibrant shade of brown as Andromeda's. She instantly cursed herself internally for feeling any form of pity for the child. That was not Andromeda, it was a filthy muggle child.
Voldemort gestured for the four to approach the muggles. Bellatrix slowly understood their next task in the initiation. It was to prove their ability to cast the third and most difficult unforgivable curse. She had cast it earlier on a rabbit, however, the level of skill and intent is incomparable to that required to kill a human. Fortunately, Bellatrix saw no difference between muggles and animals. Muggles were subhuman to her.
"I am building an army of Inferi. This army will consist of worthless muggles. These are homeless filth we found whose disappearances would not be noticed by anyone. Being a muggle is already worthless, however, these four are so meaningless that their own species would not be searching for them", explained Voldemort. This was followed by sounds of Death Eaters retching and grumbling in disgust. Bellatrix was slowly growing feverish due to the overwhelming feeling of eagerness bubbling within her. An army of Inferi. Reanimation of the dead. She had to be a part of this. It would be an honor to slaughter a muggle for his army.
"Let me kill the first. It would be an honor, my lord", she exclaimed secretly hoping she would be given one of the adults and the children would be left to the last two. She could not risk her little sister's face clouding her intent to kill the child and failing to perform the killing curse. An emotionless smirk crept upon Voldemort's face as he turned to face Bellatrix.
He nodded and slowly approached the girl with Andromeda's eyes. Bellatrix felt a shudder of fear brew within her but retained her wide-eyed sadistic expression on her face.
"Who do you prefer child? Mom or dad?" he asked.
The child had a terrified expression on her face. Her parents were now sobbing and pleading for them to take their own lives instead of hers.
"Answer", pressured Voldemort softly with a slight smile on his face. This smile quickly evaporated and was replaced by the most nefarious and terrifying expression Bellatrix had ever seen. It was beautiful.
"Or die", he continued in a deep cool tone. Her parents let out loud cries and begged their daughter to answer.
"Mum", the child whimpered. Bellatrix knew exactly what she had to do. She approached the mother and absorbed her sobs and pleas for mercy. She absorbed the terror in her eyes and it felt so good. The feeling of being in a position of power to ignore someone's pleas of mercy was euphoric. The woman began screaming as she saw Bellatrix's once vibrant eyes turn soulless. She extracted her wand from her robes and towered over the shriveled-up muggle. She had to mean it for the curse to work and oh how she wanted to end this disgrace to society's life.
"AVADA KEDAVRA", she roared as a blast of green erupted from her wand straight into the woman's heart. Her eyes widened as she waited to see if her curse was successful. The woman's motionless body tumbled to the ground and her eyes remained opened as the final tears escaped from them. Bellatrix glared down on her with satisfaction and pride.
Rodolphus cast the killing curse successfully on the male muggle and Alecto Carrow cast it successfully on the little boy. Voldemort, however, skipped Thomas Avery's obligation to kill the young girl and ordered two of his Death Eaters to capture her instead. He said that the torture of her witnessing her family being killed would be stronger if she were alive. He cruelly explained that she did not deserve an abrupt escape from her pathetic life. As the final task prior to the initiation ceremony, the four were ordered to perform the Cruciatus curse. The four were relieved and confused at the simplicity of their final task as they had already successfully performed the curse on muggles to prove their abilities. Lord Voldemort, however, had laid his own ruthless spin to the task. He needed to confirm their intent transcended personal relationships.
"You will perform the Cruciatus curse… on each other", he hissed while pacing behind the four of them.
Bellatrix was assigned to Thomas Avery. Upon cursing him, a golden beam exploded from the tip of her wand. He began shrieking in pain and for some reason, his pain made Bellatrix's curse even stronger. The louder his cries of agony became, the more aggressive her intent to torture and inflict pain became. Thomas Avery's father, Master Avery, did not flinch at his son's agony. Avery's shrieks began faltering as a result of fatigue. This snapped Bellatrix out of her trance and she broke the curse.
"You're a Black, correct?" asked Voldemort with his head standing tall.
"Yes, my lord. Bellatrix Black"
"Careful Bellatrix, we do not have enough purebloods to spare at this moment", he said with a smirk referring to her close murder of her friend Thomas Avery.
Rodolphus was tasked with torturing Bellatrix. As soon as the golden flash penetrated her, she felt an indescribable surge of pain. It felt as though every single nerve in her body was forced to feel maximum pain. She felt as though her body would split in half and every bone was ambushed in flames. For the first time in her life, Bellatrix Black screeched in agony. The pain was so immense, she would have taken the killing curse over it. Bellatrix Black believed that this curse was even worse than the killing curse. She became overpowered with fascination and the desire to inflict it on others. This pain was unmeasurable, and she wanted those unworthy to feel it. When Rodolphus finally retracted his wand, she collapsed onto the surface of the ground and a sadistic smile took over her face covered by fresh tears escaping her eyes. She was going to master this spell until it became hers.
After their successes, the Dark Lord branded the four of them with his Dark Mark. As Bellatrix mustered the strength to apparate home, she realized that Lord Voldemort had only asked for her name. A smile of satisfaction plastered her face as she collapsed on the stairs before the entrance of the Black mansion due to the effects of the Cruciatus curse.
It was the last week of August prior to Narcissa's departure to Hogwarts for her fourth year. She was perched onto her vanity bench preparing for a long day ahead. It was the day of Bellatrix Black's wedding to Rodolphus Lestrange. Narcissa examined her appearance in the mirror. Her features had matured immensely since she had departed Hogwarts following her third year. Her hair grew longer and her once golden-tinted blonde hair began fading into a more mature silvery blonde. Her cheekbones and jawline were carefully sculpted to adhere to the Black family's signature aristocratic looks. She remained slim, however, began developing subtle curves marking her entrance into womanhood. She grew taller and reached the height of her oldest sister Bellatrix. She stood up and carefully surveyed her body internally hoping she would be as curvy as Bellatrix by her age. Narcissa picked up the gown she had purchased with her mother and sisters earlier at Twilfitt and Tattings. It was the deep blue of her eyes with silver embroidery on the bust and gentle ripples gracing the gown from the waist to the floor. The embroidered front had a large, yet elegant, V-neck cut showing a patch of Narcissa's milky skin. She now lived up to the ice princess reputation on the exterior as well.
The wedding was to take place at the gardens of the Lestrange estate. The Lestranges were an ancient and wealthy pure-blood sacred 28 wizarding family with origins in France. They had a massive vault full of riches and treasures in Paris that would be later inherited by Rodolphus. Amongst their high society counterparts, they were known for their exceptional talent and ties to the Dark Arts as well as their outspoken support for pureblood supremacy. To the delight of the Blacks, Bellatrix was marrying into a family of equal stature and prestige as her own. The wedding had attracted a wide array of prestigious guests from different fragments of society including the Notts, the Mulcibers, the Yaxleys, the Averys, the Parkinsons, the Greengrasses, the Rosiers, and the Malfoys. With these families came centuries of strategically crafted connections to build a sustained influence in wizarding politics, economics, and society.
Bellatrix had already left for the Lestrange estate in the morning with her mother to take care of last-minute adjustments and preparations. Around noon, Narcissa, Andromeda, and their father arrived at the Lestrange estate through the floo networks. Narcissa stared intently at the large, but plain mansion. She secretly hoped she would grow to live in an even larger and exquisite mansion more suited to her expensive taste. The gardens were magnificently decorated. A set of large round tables draped in white cloth were scattered across the garden. Upon each table, there was a neatly crafted bouquet of flowers, goblets, golden cutlery, and large white plates with golden seams etched in the Lestrange family crest. Large glass bulbs hanging from the trees cascaded over the tables creating a spectacular aesthetic. The chairs were tall and majestic with a white base and golden trails tickling their edges. Each tree was embraced with a network of bewitched fireflies blasting their golden bulbs and coiling around the trunks up to the tree's leaves. Narcissa's mesmerized gaze was suddenly interrupted.
"Cissy, can I borrow your wand? I haven't got mine yet and Regulus is annoying me", whined a little voice while tugging on her dress. Narcissa looked down to find her younger cousin Sirius gazing up at her with the trademark dark eyes of the Black family.
"So you can destroy something on Bellatrix's wedding day and be the center of attention as always? Absolutely not. And let go of my dress this instant before you crease it", she replied haughtily with a stern look in her eye before grabbing her dress and walking away.
Narcissa had never shared a particular liking to her cousin Sirius. The thought of him being the Black family's heir was unsettling to her. Walburga had caught him attempting to play with muggle children living nearby twice. She punished him by locking him up in the cellar of 12 Grimmauld Place without food or drink for two days. She, along with Orion, would visit three times a day shrieking at him about the importance of blood purity and the inferiority of non-magical beings. She saw Sirius approach Andromeda next as an attempt to take her wand. Andromeda smiled at him and gestured to follow her. Narcissa rolled her eyes at the sight internally cursing Andromeda for being too soft on him. She hoped he was not poisoning her sister with his shameful ways. Andromeda and Sirius had always been close.
Narcissa paced around the garden searching for her much more sensible cousin Evan Rosier or her best friend Nancy Parkinson. As she walked inside the mansion to look for them, she heard whispers in the small study across the ballroom. She tiptoed in her silver heels and peeked into the study to find Master Lestrange, Master Avery, and Abraxas Malfoy engaging in what looked like to be serious discussions. Abraxas Malfoy was standing proudly in lavish attire with his tall cane in his right hand. He managed to make Lestrange and Avery look middle-class with an effortless expression of superiority permanently seizing his face. A wave of curiosity took over her and silenced her mother's voice in her head lecturing about the rudeness of eavesdropping. She could hardly hear what they were saying. She thought she heard the words 'minister for magic' until-
"Hearing anything interesting?", a voice drawled behind her. Her eyes widened in shock as turned around to find herself faced with Lucius Malfoy's cold gray eyes. She quickly regained her composure and assumed a confident body posture.
"I would appreciate it if you did not sneak up on me like that", she hissed with her blue eyes piercing his.
"Judging by your current actions it seems you have no issues intruding on others. Surely your parents taught you better," he remarked snidely raising an eyebrow. How dare he, she thought to herself. Narcissa paused as she continued glaring into his eyes. She had never seen Lucius Malfoy from this close before. His eyes were so intimidating yet so alluring. She quickly snapped herself out of it and remembered his earlier rude remarks.
"If you excuse me, my sister is getting married. I have more important matters to attend to", she replied coldly with her signature frosty glare in her eyes. Her impenetrable barrier never cracked. She kept her head high and walked back towards the garden with an elegant sway to her hips that those her age would never be able to master. Lucius gazed over her curiously. Girls had never spoken to him like that, they normally worshipped him. He scowled and entered the study to greet his father.
This was the first time she had ever spoken to Lucius Malfoy, the last she spoke to him that day, and hopefully the last time she would for the rest of her life.
The wedding ceremony was a dashing success and Bellatrix had officially become Bellatrix Lestrange. Narcissa was happy for her yet internally devastated that she would both be losing her oldest sister at home and Hogwarts. Unlike Narcissa, Andromeda had trouble keeping her composure and allowed several tears to silently escape her eyes. Despite being polar opposites, Bellatrix was the closest person to Andromeda's heart growing up. They had drifted apart over the years at school due to mixing up with very different people, however, this did not make seeing her sister go any less painful.
Following the vows, Narcissa joined Nancy and Evan on one of the lavish garden tables to entertain in gossip and to reveal what she had seen in the study. Evan was certain that Abraxas Malfoy was responsible for the mudblood Minister's premature departure from office and believed that Lestrange and Avery's presence suggested he committed the act in coordination with the Death Eaters. Narcissa had heard of Death Eaters and their pureblood supremacist leader through whispers in the Slytherin common room. She admired his political views and wondered if anyone she knew was involved. Narcissa was interrupted with a gentle tap on her shoulder from Augustus Rookwood. He held out his hand gesturing for her to dance with him. Nancy let out a quiet squeal and Narcissa was furious that her friend could not hold herself together. She shot her a deadly glare followed by a little smile before taking Augustus' hand and joining the center of the gardens where all the other guests were dancing. She saw Bellatrix and Rodolphus, who both seemed to have had too much to drink, eagerly dancing. Her parents were dancing as well. She even saw Lucius Malfoy with his hand draped gently on the Slytherin brunette's waist that she had seen him with at the Three Broomsticks.
Augustus was an exceptional dancer. They glided in perfect unison to each fragile note of the music playing. Augustus gently brushed a kiss on her gloved hand before retreating to his family's table. She could have sworn she saw a flicker of Lucius Malfoy's piercing eyes observing her in Augustus' arms but was not sure. When she looked back he was watching his dancing partner and tracing his hand across the curvature of her waist. Perhaps he had looked because he was friends with Augustus. Maybe he did not even look at all. She cursed herself internally for even giving him an occupancy in her thoughts and forced him out.
As always, thank you for reading! The next chapter will be about Narcissa's fourth year where Lucius becomes prefect, the First Wizarding War begins to brew, and the Marauders/Severus Snape join Hogwarts as first years.