Chapter 2
Luna sat for a minute, staring at the wall while she tried to control her tears. She tried to think of Bellatrix and how strange she acted on these visits. She took a deep breath to steady herself then got up and walked to the door. Bellatrix never left before the potions wore off before, and certainly not when tears formed. Luna wondered what she was trying to do, why she wanted to get to know her victim for once… Luna began to cry again. This woman was going to drive her insane with this game of hers.
Bellatrix left the dungeons and walked straight to her room without looking back. She locked the door behind her and flopped onto the bed. She laid there for a few moments trying to sort through her thoughts.
Since when did I think that prisoner was pretty? She is tragic. She is beaten. Well, that is kind of my fault… or all my fault… She isn't healthy enough to be called pretty. She doesn't look it. Bellatrix sighed. Even to her, it sounded like she was being defensive of her own thoughts. There should be no reason for her to think that she would need to talk herself out of complementing a prisoner in her own mind. Thank goodness I am not the one who took the potion. Damn! The potion is still in her system. I guess I will just leave her be for tonight. I need a stronger plan now that I think- now that I know her weak point. Bellatrix got up and moved to the window, using her reflection to regain her frightening demeanor.
"Zill!" She called out. There was a small pop sound and a house elf appeared at the foot of her bed. "Tomorrow night I want you to make a meal for the blonde prisoner. A filling one, complete with salad and dessert. You can ask her what she wants tomorrow, and let her know that I won't be joining her for this one. Ask her what she wishes to eat early in the morning and do not serve her until the moon shines through the kitchen windows. Understand?" Bellatrix didn't bother to turn around as she gave orders.
"Yes Mistress Bellatrix." Zill bowed deep enough for her nose to touch the ground. "Is that all?"
"Yes, now leave." There was another pop and Bellatrix was along again, although not for very long.
There were three strong knocks on her bedroom door before it opened to show her husband, dirty and unkempt, with a paper in hand. "For you, from the Dark Lord." Bellatrix quickly walked over and snatched the paper from his hand. It simply said for her to be in the library as soon as she received the note, so she waltzed from the room without a second glance at her husband.
Luna sat silently in the dark for the longest time, waiting for the potion to wear off. She wondered whether it was morning or night now, what the sky looked like, how long she had been here, how much longer she would be here, she thought about everything other than Bellatrix.
"Luna?" Olivander called out, "Are you still at the table?" He began to wander around their cell to try to find his way to her.
"No, I'm over here by the door." She stood up and started to walk toward the graceless figure.
"What are you doing over there?"
"I wanted to be there." Luna froze, the potion was still working, so Bellatrix must not have been gone for very long. Since when did she want to be by the door?
"I was wondering what happened to you. I woke up and you were gone so I assumed to your dinner, but then you didn't come back and I couldn't hear voices. I got worried." Olivander bumped into Luna and smiled. "There you are!"
Luna held her tongue, fighting the effects of the potion the same way she did when she was with Bellatrix. She wasn't going to say anything unless she was asked a direct question. This helped her to keep from saying the wrong thing, even though it's what she honestly thought. She smiled back at him and took his arm to walk him back to the make-shift cot in the cell.
Olivander was far worse off than she was. He was only fed once a day and it was the smallest and most un-healthy thing that their captors had. The house-elves would pop down in the morning with a tray of two glasses of water and one plate of some grain. In the beginning, they had to share, but ever since Bellatrix started these strange visits, Luna had been letting Olivander eat more of the food and water since she would get her own later. Which reminded her-
"Hold on! I will be right back!" Luna let go of his arm and ran back to the table she previously had been at. There was still a few bits of food left and the cup. She quickly grabbed what she could and went back to where Olivander was standing. "Here, it's probably laced with potion but it tastes wonderful and it won't hurt you." She hands him the food and looks into his eyes. The man is frail, but his eyes show his smile brighter than ever. She helps him back to the prison bed and sits quietly as he eats.
The Dark Lord was not known for his patience, and who knows how long her dearest husband waited to give her the note. The two of them were never meant to be, but must be to keep their lines pure and to keep the families in the good manners of their Lord. Her Lord.
Bellatrix moved as swiftly through the halls on her way to the library as she could while still looking dignified and frightening. She did not need anyone stopping her for any reason, so she put on her "leave-me-be" airs as she made her way. However, the façade slipped just a little once she was in front of the door to the library. With a deep breath, she raised her hand to knock twice and waited for the doors to open and allow her in.
The sudden movements of the door were expected, but the person smirking at her from the other side was not. Wormtail looked quite proud of himself as he moved around her and gestured for her to enter the room before closing the doors behind him. She never liked the scum, for anyone who would turn-tail once would do it again. She glared at the rat for as long as she could and at the doors for a little while after before turning and kneeling to greet her Lord.
"Bella," He moved toward her from his place at the window, "you don't have to kneel. Please come sit by me." The Dark Lord motioned for her to take a seat at the high-back chair opposite the desk in the center of the room. She moved to the chair and waited for him to sit before she did, then kept her eyes downward as he spoke again. "It has been brought to my attention that you are spending a lot of time down in the dungeons, with the girl. May I ask why?"
"Boredom, my Lord." She stated simply, eyes still down.
"It seems that way yes, but I know you and you are never just what you seem." The Dark Lord stood from his chair behind the desk and moved behind her. "Dear Bella, you are so much more than that."
Bellatrix sat straighter in her seat and lifted her head to look out the window. The Dark Lord placed his hand on the top corner of the chair and looked down at her. She was his most loyal, most faithful, and one of the strongest fighters he had. He knew she had a secret but wanted her to say it, for he knew she would never work against him. He saw her gazing out the far window, to the moon, and the perfect trap presented itself. "Have you taken a liking to the young girl?"
She stiffened, more if possible. "Pardon, my Lord?" She turned to look him in the eyes, to be sure she heard him properly.
"If I can trust my sources, she is of pure blood. It would not be inconceivable for the two of you to be together. That is, if you wish it so." Her Dark Lord, speaking of love, she was shocked silent. Bellatrix sat staring up at her master wondering what he was trying to do.
"I have no secrets from you, Lord. I simple grew tired of doing nothing here in the mansion and decided to play with the prisoners. When I was down there, she turned out to be the strongest with the best connections to the 'golden trio'. I only wish to play until she breaks. Nothing more, my Lord." Bellatrix watched as the Dark Lord moved back to his seat behind the desk and looked her over.
"Until she breaks?" Bellatrix nodded. "Then what? Would you kill her? Send her back to her friends?" His figure loomed over her in the moon light. "No, dear Bella, I have a better idea."
