Short, but I felt a brief change of scenery was a good idea! Bellatrix is always awesome to write, anyhow!

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter plots or characters. J.K. Rowlings does.

Chapter Six

The room was dark.

Not that Bellatrix had ever minded darkness- indeed, she craved it. Yearned for it like she had never yearned for anything else.

But this darkness was different. Rather than giving her life it drained her, stole away every ounce of determination within her. She knew why.

Dementors.

She had always pleaded with Him to use them. The Ministry of Magic didn't realize what dangerous creatures they employed to patrol Azkaban. Such power, the power of despair, would make her master nearly invincible. But He had always silenced her. There was not one Death Eater who would dare to lead a battalion of Dementors. And without a head, the Dementors could too easily rebel. And Rebellion…before He was established, could be fatal.

It was an obsession with her now. The only thing that kept her alive. She must master this weakness! She must resist them! How He would thank her then!

She couldn't give in. If she gave in she would loose control and do something- foolish. More than one prisoner had mastered the skill of a self-inflicted killing curse rather than succumb to the torments of the Dementor's despair. Or worse- the Kiss.

That was the only thing that haunted her. If somehow her master returned to his natural form- began a war before she had escaped- they might deem it best to finish off the Death Eaters still in Azkaban. To be killed before she had been of use to Him! How could she bear such a fate? Such a waste!

They sensed her despair. In the corridor outside her cell she felt two, than three faceless guards hovering. All of their energy was focused on her.

She gasped and shuddered. It grew both harder and yet simpler every time. She must think of Him. Surely, someday, He would be found. Bartholomew had escaped- she had heard the whispers in the adjacent cell. He would find the child and determine how to reverse the curse. Barty had never been exceptional as a Death Eater- but he was loyal. Not, perhaps, as devoted as herself, but still formidable. He would search the end of the earth to find Him- and then they would determine how to find the child and bring Him back to his fearsomely powerful state.

And then she would be free! And her only regret would be that she had not brought him back herself.

No, she must remember. Small. Insignificant. Yet it could be incredibly important. It could have concealed their secret all these years. It had been risky- perhaps it still was- but no risk was too great to take for Him.

None.

Chapter Seven is in the works! This week has been quite busy for me, and will likely be so for the next few days, but I hope to get a few more chapters up asap!