A/N: Enjoy! Also, I checked the wiki, apparently Voldemort began to truly act in 1970 so it sticks. Oh, and keep in mind that this Bellatrix, completely-obsessed-with-Voldemort-Bellatrix, will-become-crazy-Bella. Her way of thinking is absolutely horrible.

Warning: contains death and torture, degrading terms for Muggleborns.

WC: 1,222

Bella feels the Mark burn when Aunt and Uncle with her little cousins get to the house. It's the most exquisite feeling, having that dark fire course through her veins. It's an equal feeling of pain, fear, anticipation and excitement. It makes her feel exhilaratingly free and powerful.

So, when the Dark Mark burns, the snake coiling round the skull spitting at her, she wishes Aunt and Uncle hello, but then excuses herself immediately. Father gives her a stern look, but she ignores him. He knows she's getting involved, but he wouldn't like to know just how much. He's still awfully conservative on the role women should have, staying at home, birthing heirs and other things Bella doesn't give a fig about.

She wants to be outside, with the air blowing through her hair and the magic flowing through her fingertips. She wants adventure. She wants justice. She wants revenge. She wants power. And she's finally found something – someone – who can give it to her. So, a stern look from her father won't make her change her behaviour in the least.

One of her cousins, ickle baby Sirius asks her where she is going. Bella glares at him and doesn't answer. She's got other things to do.

There's also another reason she can't wait to go see her Lord; Rodolphus. And why exactly he's planning on proposing. A proposal she won't be able to refuse when he asks, Father has let her know. It will be somewhere public with every one watching him, and saying no will cut her off from the Pureblood society.

When she had learned the news, she had cursed every single object in her room and been moody for an entire day. She could have written to Rodolphus, true, but he was his brother 'settling some unfinished business' that had to be done before Yule. Needless to say, she's rather frustrated at him at the moment. The call of their Lord can't be resisted, any 'unfinished business' be damned, and the pain on her arm becomes almost unbearable as she finally detaches herself from her pesky family.

Bella hurries off the ground and apparates away, to wherever her Dark Lord is calling her, and she's off in a cloud of black smoke.

When she appears, she sees that they're in the middle of the countryside, not too far from where her parents live, but much farther from main headquarters. But when Bella sees this, she gets excited. Most of their business is dealing in the shadows, underground, building relationships, finding funds, blackmailing here or there, spreading their ideology.

There was a kidnapping last year, just of a couple of Muggles, before Bella has truly proved her worth, and the Dark Lord has taken an interest in her. And then there is all the things they do out of England, that the British authorities can't track in countries without magical governments. But apart from that, there is very little action. But Bella lives for the action.

What she also sees, is that there are very little of them, and she is of the last to arrive. Inner circle, of course, and she feels a shot of pride, of finally having been fully accepted, despite the fact that she is 'only a woman'. She spots Rodolphus, who raises her eyebrows, to which she replies with a smile, a dangerous, fake smile. His air of confidence shrivels up.

And then he comes in.

All thoughts of Rodolphus disappear when she looks upon him. Dark shadows, piercing red eyes, but traces of past beauty. Bella is enthralled as usual and she sinks to the ground, like all of his followers around her, in reverence.

"Rise," he says and Bella almost leaps to her feet, eager to please.

"Bellatrix," he calls. Bella almost shudders with delight at being called first.

"My Lord," she replies.

"You are staying with your family for Yule." It's a question, but he says it like a statement.

"Yes, my Lord."

He nods. "Very good."

For any other person, having the Dark Lord know you are spending time with your family would be a source of worry and fear. But Bella is not one of those people, the people who have to fear. (Oh, she fears, she does. But the fear is a fear of wonder, of respect. She doesn't fear for her life). Instead, she takes it like a compliment, the Dark Lord is interested in her.

He exchanges some small talk with a couple others of the inner circle, the few that are present, and Bella basks in his words, privileged that he chose her first.

"As a gift to you, my most loyal, we will be attacking," he announces, waving over to a small house. There is smoke coming out of the chimney, and Bella can see a tree behind the window. She reels with excitement.

"Whatever you should wish, my Lord," Antonin Dolohov said. The Dark Lord frowns.

"Who are they, my Lord?" Bellatrix asks. The Dark Lord smiles. She knows he likes submission, but he also likes to be confronted from time to time, and unlike most around her, she knows that if she doesn't push things, she'll never get any results.

"Oh, just a Mudblood and her filthy Muggle husband," he says, "She might have seen a little more than what is good for her."

"Very well, my Lord."

"Oh and," he turns to his Death Eaters, "Let Bella have the man."

Bella smiles. She's never been on anything like this, but she can't wait for it, to prove her worth.

They attack.

It's beautiful really. Mass destruction and chaos, but in the most perfect silence. There are only screams from time to time, from the middle-aged women and her husband as some of them perform some rather creative spells. Bella wrecks havoc, but doesn't touch what's hers till the very end.

They've set the house on fire, and the flames are creeping down the stair. Smoke is in her eyes. The Mudblood died a couple of minutes ago, and now her husband is on the floor, weeping over her dead body. The flames are coming close to the two of them.

She pulls out her wand, hesitates. The flames will engulf the two of them before she can get to him, but…

"If you wait too long for the perfect moment, the perfect moment will pass you by," a voice whispers in her ear.

The Dark Lord.

She doesn't turn around, but instead focuses her eyes, which turn darker, and tenses. The spell slips out of her lips, for the first time, easy, naturally, almost: "Avada Kedavra."

She expects to feel her soul rip. And maybe it does, but what she does feel is complete euphoria, and the urge to laugh fills her, until they're big guffaws heaving out of her chest in delight. She's been pulled out of the burning house and out into the cool winter air. Her laughs echo in the cold street. Cold apart from the flaming house.

"Well done, Bella," he tells her and she glows.

When he disappears, a few of them go too, but Rodolphus stays. She's still giddy, so the deathly stare doesn't come. But she still marches over to him.

"We need to talk," she demands.

He nods and they are whisked away.