A\N: Sorry to all the readers of this fanfiction as I had accidently updated Chapter 9 again but replaced it with the original chapter on the same day. Thank you to Blackguard83 for notifying me of this mistake. So if you have not read Chapter 10 yet, please read that first before reading this chapter.

To Blackguard83: Bellatrix has two spirits inside her body, one of eleven-yr old Bella and the other is the future Bella. Bellatrix is not aware of the fact that it was 11-yr old Bella who was feeling sad on Lucius and her sister's doubt while future Bella was feeling insulted that Lucius who knows her so well could ever dream that a person like her joined the wimpy so-called 'Light' side. It goes against her Dark image. These two feelings merged together giving rise to Bellatrix's thoughts after the argument.

To VampyressArrow39: Thank you so much and keep on reading and reviewing!!

DISCLAIMER: I own Harry Potter only in my dreams and not in reality.

Chapter 11.

'Bellatrix Black.' called out Professor Watson. 'You have achieved an 'Outstanding' in the previous assignment.'

He approached her seat and handed out the paper. 'Your essay on the uses of curses, hexes and jinxes was very original and descriptive. Well done. You have again received top marks for this assignment.'

'Thank you Professor.' said Bellatrix smiling. After much practicing, she had learnt how to put a perfect smile on her face when required.

Professor Watson moved on to Sirius and James's table. 'As for you two, you do have brains but I have no idea why you don't bother to use them. James, your essay clearly shows lack of research. Sirius, you have worked harder on this assignment but it hardly has enough details. You need to be more specific.'

'But Professor, what does it matter? DADA is a practical class after all. You said it yourself.' protested James.

Professor Watson pursed his lips. 'Yes, Defense Against the Dark Arts is a mostly practical subject but the first-year DADA syllabus is mostly theory based where you do not do much of practical work as your magic is still unstable to a certain extent. This year is mainly based on giving you a sound theory foundation in DADA so that you will be able to cast offensive and defensive spells in the later years. I relented a bit by teaching you the Disarming Charm which many of you still have not been able to master. But I do not want any more complaints. Is that clear?'

'Yes Professor.' said James in a resigned voice.

'Now, I know that the both of you are talented but your essays are not quite up to the mark. So I think I need to ask Miss Black to oversee you a bit on your assignments and help you out. Is that okay, Miss Black?

'Certainly Professor. After all, I'm just happy to help.' said Bellatrix with a truly evil smile on her face as she looked at James and Sirius's faces who looked too horrified for words at the thought of Bellatrix 'overseeing' them on their assignments.

'But Professor, you can't let her oversee us!!' protested Sirius, wringing his hands.

James joined him. 'Please, please, please don't do that! We promise we'll get 'Outstanding's in every assignment and be perfect goody-goodies, just please don't do this to us!! Please!!'

Professor Watson looked astonished by James and Sirius's vehement protests. At the end, when Sirius even proposed to do the assignments of the entire class instead of just their own, Professor Watson finally relented. 'All right, all right! Miss Black will not be overseeing you. But I'm expecting excellent work from the both of you, is that clear?'

Sirius sighed in relief while James looked absolutely overjoyed to be free of the impending torture that was sure to come if Bellatrix had anything to do with overseeing them. They burst out in a flow of never-ending gratitude.

Thank you Professor, you really are the best!

We'll never ever trouble you again!

Oh how can we repay you?

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

'Okay, enough of the drama or I'll make sure that Miss Black does oversee you on your assignments!' said Professor Watson, getting irritated at James and Sirius's behavior. James and Sirius immediately sealed their lips at the threat. 'Though I am confused about one thing, most students would be delighted to get any kind of assistance with their assignments from the best student in the subject, seeing that they hate doing assignments. You two really surprise me by your behavior.'

'Trust me Professor, no one, absolutely no one would like to have Bellatrix assist them on their assignment, even if she offered to do the entire assignment by herself.' said Sirius receiving a glare from Bellatrix in the process.

'That's enough.' said Professor Watson in a reprimanding voice. 'Now moving on, Mr. Lupin, your essay was also very good. It was extremely informative but you also need to provide your own opinion on this topic. So, you'll be receiving the second-highest marks on this assignment after Miss Black.'

'Thank you Professor.' said Remus.

'Now Miss Evans, you'll be receiving an 'Exceeds Expectations' for the essay. You researched extensively but your essay had small portions copied from 'Curses and Jinxes for Amateurs' so be more original next time. The other parts are fine.'

The bell rang loudly signifying the end of the lesson. The students filed out of the class in groups. Bellatrix still sat alone. Remus hardly talked to her and mostly hung around with Peter but at least he didn't display any form of hatred or dislike towards her unlike the remaining student population of Hogwarts. During their conversations, which were extremely rare, he was oddly formal and didn't bother to say much. However, Bellatrix preferred this neutral behavior to the usual kind of behavior that she had to deal with on a daily basis. Everybody was either hostile to her or avoided her. Even her own twin sister didn't look eye to eye with her anymore. As for Andromeda, Bellatrix hadn't seen her since the starting feast. Bellatrix couldn't even meet her in the common room.

Bellatrix fingered her Defense assignment, looking at the tiny O scribbled on the corner of the paper. She smirked a little. How very ironic, the Dark Lord's most feared supporter is the top student at Defense Against the Dark Arts. She couldn't deny that she enjoyed writing down about little-known, often lethal curses, hexes and jinxes, describing their effects with amazing accuracy as she had often performed these curses on Muggles, Aurors and the like. These assignments helped to refresh her knowledge and keep her memory sharp about the spells she knew. Sure, she could hardly perform them anymore but with enough practice in the Room of Requirement, she was sure that she could catch up soon enough.

Bellatrix had been walking for quite some time, perusing her thoughts when she paused outside an empty corridor on the fifth floor where Barnabas the Barmy was teaching trolls how to do the ballet. She walked up and down the corridor three times thinking about a place to practice. To any random student, it looked like Bellatrix was aimlessly parading through the corridor but her mind was filled with one purpose. A door popped into being after Bellatrix completed her march. She put her hand on the doorknob and pulled the door to enter.

The huge room had stone walls with wooden bookcases lined up at the sides filled with books about nasty spells and gruesome curses. There was a large cupboard in the extreme corner containing flasks filled with healing elixirs and poison antidotes. There was a door at the far end of the room leading to a larger room where stone armors were standing beside the wall. There was a large, empty space in the middle of the room which looked like it was designed for dueling. A large statue of a robed and cloaked wizard stood beside the right corner in a defensive stance with the wand pointed at the ceiling.

Bellatrix stood in the middle of the room and motioned to one of the armors. Almost instantly, the armor seemed to come to life. It set off in a dragging walk towards the middle of the room and paused there.

Bellatrix carefully pointed her wand towards the armor and shouted, 'Relashio!' Sparks shot out of her wand and hit the armor straight in the middle leaving a scorch mark on its chest.

'Relashio! Relashio! Relashio!' Bellatrix danced and weaved around the armor. Soon, the armor was covered in scorch marks. Bellatrix gestured towards the remaining armors that joined their partner in the middle of the large room. All of them raised their stone swords and with the clanking of chains, an army of stone armors proceeded towards Bellatrix.

'Relashio! Incarcerous! Stupefy! Stupefy! Impedimenta!' Bellatrix's wand knew no limit. The short walnut wand soon reduced the armors to a heap of stone. Bellatrix was kneeling in the middle of the room, wiping the sweat dripping from her brow. Still panting, she made her way over to an armchair which had suddenly popped out of nowhere and collapsed on top of it.

Drat. If I get tired so easily, then there is no way I'll ever be able to reach the level of my future self. I can hardly cast too many spells at one go. This way, I'll never be able to summon the power to cast an Unforgivable by summer, let alone cast volley of Unforgivable curses like I used to. Oh, I never thought the time would ever come when I would not be able to cast my favourite curse. Uurgh, I want to Crucio someone so badly!

After some time, when the bell rang signifying the end of lunch; Bellatrix left the Room of Requirement to attend Transfiguration class. As usual, she sat all alone right at the back of the class. Professor McGonagall entered the class and began the lesson.

'Now class, last week we learnt how to transform a match into a needle. We'll progress a little further this time. All though almost all of you managed to transform a match into a needle in the end, but transforming it back into a match also requires quite an amount of work. So I will be giving your needles back to you and you can begin your work.'

'Professor, can I distribute the needles please?' asked Bellatrix in the politest voice she could muster.

Professor McGonagall looked at Bellatrix. She didn't know why, but Bellatrix's presence always made her feel uneasy. 'Okay Miss Black, you can distribute.'

'Thank you Professor.' said Bellatrix, with a half-concealed smirk on her face. She walked to the front of her classroom and received the box of needles from McGonagall. McGonagall winced suddenly when their hands brushed while giving the box. She stared at Bellatrix who looked her straight in the eye and smirked openly.

'Professor is there something wrong?' asked Bellatrix with false concern on her face.

'No, no, nothing.' said McGonagall, trying her best to appear unaffected. Bellatrix saw through McGonagall's façade and couldn't but feel proceeded back to her seat.

As predicted, James was the first to transform his needle back into a matchstick earning ten points for Gryffindor, followed closely by Sirius. They shot Bellatrix a triumphant look. Both of them resented that Bellatrix was effortlessly the best at DADA, one of the best subjects in school.

'Okay, the lesson ends here but I'm expecting all of you to transform your needles to matchsticks by the nest class. Dismissed.' said Professor McGonagall. As she gathered her books and swept out of class, Bellatrix passed by her. McGonagall could have sworn that she heard Bellatrix whisper distinctly, 'Good to see you again, Minerva.' Before McGonagall could say anything, Bellatrix was already out of sight.

Feeling edgy, McGonagall walked through the corridors, pondering on Bellatrix's strange behavior and her own strange reaction when she came near her. She was so lost in thought that she barely heard a voice calling her name. Suddenly, a wizened hand tapped her on the shoulder startling her out of her reverie.

'My dear Minerva, it is most unlike you to blunder through the corridors, completely unaware of your surroundings and lost in another world. A penny perhaps, for your thoughts?' Albus Dumbledore smiled benignly at her.

'Albus, I don't know why, but I'm feeling particularly uneasy. There is a certain student whose behavior………troubles me. The expression on her face while she's looking at me…… it makes me apprehensive for no reason. I know it's probably silly but…..'

'One should never dismiss one's own gut feeling as a foolish thought, Minerva.' said Dumbledore. 'It has an odd tendency of being accurate most of the time. I myself made a great mistake in the past by disregarding my apprehension for a certain student. I have regretted it ever since.' Dumbledore let out a great sigh. 'Ah well, we can't change the past, can we? Tell me, what is the name of this student?'

'I….well….' McGonagall hesitated for a second before saying, 'Gryffindor first-year, Bellatrix Black.'

'Ah yes, Miss Black. I had heard from Professor Watson about her actions in class but……….this puts a different turn to things. Could you tell me more about her?'

'Well, she is a talented student but doesn't seem to care much about her classes.' Professor McGonagall said. 'Actually, she doesn't seem to care for anything. Even her own house hates her. She has no friends but the hatred and dislike of the people around doesn't seem to affect her in the least. Mr. Black and Mr. Potter are the leaders in this wave of hostility against her. Her own sisters don't talk to her anymore.'

'But that isn't the real reason for your worries, isn't that right?' said Dumbledore, peering over his half-moon glasses. McGonagall sighed.

'You are correct. Her behavior is what really troubles me. I really have no idea why but it seems as if……..as if……..'

'Go on.' said Dumbledore with a nod of encouragement.

'As if.....as if I've known her before.' McGonagall whispered. She looked at Dumbledore, half-expecting him to declaim that he was crazy. 'And it also seems that………my acquaintance with her was….not so pleasant.'

'Hmm.' said Dumbledore, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 'Now that, is really interesting.'

A\N: Review, review, review!!

Oh and btw, James and Sirius are not scared of Bellatrix or anything. They just don't want her to 'oversee' them on their assignments. That would just be awful.