Bellatrix's dueling practice was going well. Her powers had not been too affected by her stay in Azkaban even though her reactions were perhaps a bit slower than they were when she was young. Still, considering the fact that she had not held a wand in her hand for fifteen years she was satisfied with her performance against Dolohov. He too had aged somewhat but was still very much a capable duelist. Bellatrix was sure that then Dark Lord was also pleased with them and he told them that they would soon get put their powers to good use in their first mission since their escape from Azkaban.
The Dark Lord had been secretive as usual about why he wanted what he wanted them to get but they did know he desired a Prophecy from the Ministry of Magic. They also knew that his plan was to lure Harry Potter to the Ministry with the information he got from Kreacher about how much Potter cared about Sirius Black. This amused Bellatrix. Of course the family traitor would become attached to the Dark Lord's greatest enemy. If this scheme of her Master's also led to some suffering for Sirius she would be more than happy to be part of the plan. It had annoyed her immensely to read the Daily Prophet articles about how Sirius Black had helped her and her fellows escape from Azkaban and how they had rallied around him. As though she would ever serve her treacherous cousin in any way! But it helped her Master, this insistence from the Auror Department to ignore his return and pin the blame on Sirius so she supposed it was worth whatever frustrations it was causing her. She knew there might not be that many opportunities for dueling in this mission as they would only be facing Harry Potter and they had strict orders not to touch the boy. She hoped however that some Ministry workers might catch them at trying to break in and that a fight could ensue so that she could use her powers in more than just a training session where she was not supposed to hurt her opponent and her opponent was not really going to harm her. She was born for the battlefield and it thrilled her how close she was to a potential battle again.
Bellatrix noticed that Lucius looked less than pleased at the favor the Dark Lord was bestowing upon him. He seemed nervous and unsure how to get the Prophecy. She knew that he had led a peaceful and quiet existence for the past years and was not to eager to get back in the midst of the action no matter how much he claimed so to the Dark Lord. Bellatrix didn't understand why the Dark Lord made Lucius the leader of this mission and not one of his faithful Death Eaters who had endured so much for him. But she supposed he was still wary of how much their imprisonment had damaged them. That was all right. All she needed to do was show him her usefulness, show him that she had not been affected in either her loyalty or her powers by that dreadful prison. The next mission will be led by her, she was sure of it.
Narcissa was helping Lucius put on his Death Eater robes. They had not been worn for over fourteen years and she sensed her husband being tense under her touch.
"Everything will be fine, my darling" she said. "I will wait up until you get back. If you encounter any danger promise me that you will flee."
Lucius stepped away from her, sighing. "Narcissa, the Dark Lord does not care what dangers we are facing. He only cares about retrieving the Prophecy. Indeed, I would be in much graver danger were I to return without it than by facing the Aurors."
"All right," she said. "But at least make sure no one recognizes you. Not even Potter."
"Potter already knows I'm a Death Eater. He saw me at the graveyard. No one believes him."
"Let's keep it that way," said Narcissa giving her husband a kiss on the cheek.
He cupped her face in his hands. "I will succeed in this and bring us so much honour, my love. The Dark Lord will reward us greatly, it shall all be worth it."
She smiled and then turned her head towards the door where Bellatrix had just come in wearing her robes without her being hooded yet.
"Are you ready, Lucius?" She asked coldly. "You are our leader so lead."
Lucius clenched his jaw. "We shall Disapparate in a few moments. I hope I do not need to remind you of the importance of this mission, Bellatrix. Do try to keep your wits about you and follow the plan."
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at him. "Ah yes, the plan. What is the plan again, Lucius? How will you get Potter to give us the Prophecy?"
Narcissa intervened. "I'm sure everything will work out perfectly," she said towards her sister. She turned to Lucius, "I'll wait up, don't be long." They kissed one more time and she left the room. Bellatrix turned her back heading towards the door. Lucius grabbed her arm roughly, "Do not ruin this for me, Bellatrix! The Dark Lord gave me this mission, you will do as I say."
Bellatrix wrenched her arm from him. "Of course," she said disdainfully. They Disapparated to London, eager and ready to do their Master's bidding.
Bellatrix was not sure what had happened exactly. They had finally got control of the situation and Lucius had almost grabbed the Prophecy from Potter. However, now the game had changed with Order members firing spells at them. She supposed it was all very exciting even though her opponent was a young Auror by the looks of it who most likely had not seen that many battles considering how she was acting. Bellatrix soon got tired of her and dispatched her with a simple spell. Now, there were probably more worthy opponents around here somewhere. Suddenly, Sirius Black was running towards her. She smiled. Perfect.
The next thing she knew, the battle was over. She had defeated yet another Auror who tried to achieve what her cousin could not and hand her back to the Dementors. She looked around, scanning the room. Potter was being held down by a man who belonged to the Order. Her fellows were tied up in the middle of the room, including Lucius. His mask had fallen off. She tried to make eye contact with Rodolphus but he was staring at his feet, with a head wound that was dripping blood on his cheek. Then she remembered. Dumbledore. In a split second, one of his spells came speeding towards her but she deflected it. There was no other option now but fleeing. She was certain of one thing: Prophecy or no Prophecy she was not about to get recaptured, sent back to Azkaban, not when she had finally regained some of her powers and sanity.
She was running on the corridors, the boy chasing her. Perhaps there might yet be a chance to retrieve the Prophecy. Potter had it, she knew he did. She tried to persuade him to hand it over all the while knowing that Dumbledore was close by and that the old man would not let his favourite student face her all by himself. If she was going to get the Prophecy and leave the Ministry before Dumbledore got to them, she would have to move quickly. She knew her Master was watching and hearing everything she said and did.
The boy laughed and she felt herself shaking with both fear and anger at the same time. She knew he was not lying but she had to believe that he was. Otherwise…
With a soft pop, her Master appeared with cold fury in his scarlet eyes. Bellatrix felt some relief, seeing him and knowing that the boy could not escape. If he at least managed to kill the boy, he might forget all about the Prophecy and go easy on them all for failing him. But then Dumbledore joined them and she knew all hope was lost.
Bellatrix and Voldemort Apparated back to the Death Eater headquarters. They were silent for a few moments. Bellatrix considered her situation and felt that in many ways, she would have been safer in Azkaban. She was caught here with a displeased and furious Master who had no one besides her on whom to unleash his wrath. She felt herself shaking and started to regret that she had run away from her captured fellows, now wishing she could join them. She inhaled deeply and tried to brace herself. It had been a long time since she had been tortured by anyone and she had only felt her Master's Cruciatus curse on her skin just once before. But she remembered it very clearly and knew all too well the pain he could inflict. The thought that he might kill her also crossed her mind but she didn't consider this alternative too likely as she knew she held value to him still and that he would not have bothered rescuing her just to kill her later. She hoped at least that her victories against several Order members in this battle would count towards him showing her some leniency. After all, she had managed to inflict some damage upon their enemies.
The silence was starting to feel oppressive. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the window at the darkness outside. She knew what was coming and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
"My lord, I—" she began, but was soon interrupted by him rushing towards her as though he had been expecting her to give him an opening, putting his hands on her shoulders and slamming her hard against the wall. She could hear her pulse in her ears and did not dare look at him. She closed her eyes waiting for excruciating pain and suddenly felt his long, cold fingers tracing her collar bone. Her chest was heaving rapidly, Any time now, the pain would come. But he let go of her and spoke in a threatening voice, "Leave. Now."
She did not wait to hear it twice, and breathed a sigh of relief when she shut the door behind her.
Narcissa had kept her promise of waiting up for Lucius. He had now been gone for more than two hours. She wondered why he dithered so long as the mission had seemed pretty straight forward from his description. A part of her was starting to wonder whether something had gone awry. Maybe the Potter boy had help? Maybe instead of Potter they were met at the Ministry by an army of Aurors? Before she knew it, her mind was already imagining the worst scenario possible. Lucius could be dead. Or about to receive the Dementor's Kiss. No, surely that could not happen. Lucius could handle his way out of a tight spot, she knew this. He was hardly a novice at carrying out the Dark Lord's orders.
The front door opened, and Narcissa ran downstairs to the hall. This is it, he's back. She was met there by a disheveled Bellatrix who looked like the worst catastrophe imaginable had just occurred.
"Where is my husband?" said Narcissa, in a shaky yet determined voice.
"Cissy, we— there were problems—", her sister said, hesitantly.
"Where is Lucius, where is my husband?" Narcissa repeated with tears in her eyes.
"He got captured. They all did. Except me," said Bellatrix.
Narcissa ran into the drawing room and sunk into the sofa. Bellatrix followed her.
"Cissy, it's going to be okay," said Bellatrix holding her hand.
Narcissa pulled her hand away. "Oh really? How so?" she asked derisively.
"The Dark Lord will break everyone out of Azkaban, "said Bellatrix, "it is only a matter of time."
Narcissa laughed hysterically. "Oh well then I suppose that makes everything all right, doesn't it? How did you escape by the way?" asked Narcissa, narrowing her eyes at her sister.
"I ran away from the Order and Dumbledore and then the Dark Lord brought us both back."
"Of course he did!" spat Narcissa. "He rescued you because you're his…his… well, whatever you are and he left my husband to rot in Azkaban."
Bellatrix stared at her indignantly. "My husband is also in Azkaban, dear sister. You are not the only one who has lost someone."
Narcissa laughed again. "Oh don't even try. Like you care about Rod. I actually love my husband and he loves me which is something you will never understand or experience for yourself."
"I can see you are upset," said Bellatrix, jaw clenched. "Let us rest now and speak more of this in the morning." And before Narcissa could add anything else her sister left the room, heading upstairs to her own bedroom.