Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter.
A/N: I managed to get this up quicker than I thought, but FanFiction seems to be having a problem with updated stories today. Anyone else got this problem? Anyway, this chapter we will be hearing Bellatrix's story and how she ended up in Azkaban. I've taken small parts from other fics and mixed them together to create a (hopefully) reasonably original scenario. On with the chapter.
Percy Weasley almost charged into the Minister for Magic's office.
"Mr Fudge sir! I have some excellent news!"
After picking himself up off the floor in a much undignified manner and recovering from the shock that comes with a lanky red-head entering one's office shouting, Cornelius Fudge inclined his head, motioning for the boy to continue.
"I've received word from Azkaban. The Dementors decided to place Potter in a cell with a very interesting person."
"Well Weatherby? Don't keep me waiting! Who is it?"
Then just as soon as she started the embrace she jumped back, mumbling something about getting carried away, and diverting her stunning dark brown eyes. Harry laughed off her apologies, but his laughter soon died away as he realised who those eyes belonged to.
Harry just stared at her in shock. His green eyes were wide and his jaw agape.
It was only when the petite woman began to shy away from the piercing gaze that he shook himself free from his stupor. His mouth closed with an audible snap!
All sorts of thoughts were cascading through his mind. Anyone attempting to use Legilimency on Harry at that moment in time would have come away with a serious headache and nothing to show for their troubles.
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Harry had never actually been able to see if silence could in fact be deafening, but here, in this tiny cell, with only the woman's shallow breathing making a noise, he was able to see why it was described as 'deafening'.
He continued to stare before he cleared his throat and tried again.
"Bellatrix Lestrange," he croaked.
Bellatrix could tell it was more of a statement than a question but she forced herself to nod slowly along with a meek, "yes."
With this conformation, Bella could only watch as Harry's facial expression turned from shock, to anger, confusion, back to anger, thoughtfulness and then finally settle back on confusion.
To say she was relieved was an understatement. She could feel the raw power crackling around him. She could feel the change in his emotions as the temperature in the cell changed and became hotter, even with the Dementors presence outside. She could feel the density in the air change as suddenly felt like she was trying to breathe through treacle.
Bellatrix could finally understand why her former master feared the young man in front of her.
She could tell that Harry Potter was an extremely powerful wizard.
Harry's emotionless mask forgotten, he finally settled on confusion.
What was Bellatrix Lestrange doing here? She was one of Voldemort's Inner Circle. She was supposed to be his most loyal, his most faithful.
Voldemort had already proven that he is easily capable of breaking his followers out of Azkaban, and Harry had seen Bellatrix escape the Ministry of Magic last year during Dumbledore and Voldemort's duel. He asked himself again, why was she here?
After drawing a complete blank, he managed to voice this question to his new companion.
"Why are you here Bellatrix?" He asked softly, sounding a lot more confident than he felt.
Bellatrix seemed to be gathering her courage because she suddenly sat up straight and said proudly;
"I am here because I betrayed the Dark Lord."
Harry's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, before, once again, confusion clouded his features.
"Would you care to elaborate on that?" He asked, uncertainty creeping into his voice.
Suddenly, Bellatrix slumped into a ball and began sobbing softly. This wasn't the same person that Harry had tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on last year. This was an open, emotional Bellatrix, not the insane, cold, hard killer that he had met before.
He made his way over to the sobbing ball and crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her back. Harry was pretty inexperienced when it came to women, but he knew that he had to be patient, she would tell him when she was ready.
So wait he did. Minutes passed and Bellatrix had long since stopped sobbing, now only occasionally letting out a quite sniffle. She sat up slowly and murmured her thanks.
"That's quite alright. Can you tell me why you're here now?" He asked, concerned. This only confused him even more.
'Why am I concerned about this woman?' He reminded himself that he was not alone, and diverted his attention towards the woman in front of him.
He noticed the Bellatrix was nodding defiantly.
"Yes, I will tell you everything." She launched into her tale.
"I come from a very upstanding family in England; the Blacks. We were considered one of the many 'dark' families during the Dark Lords first reign.
"I was sixteen when the Dark Lord came to the Head of House Black requesting to recruit the young members of the family. As I was a woman, the only way I would have been able to join would have been if my husband wanted me to, or if he was already a Death Eater. So it was that my head of house arranged to marry me off to Rodolphus Lestrange.
"I had met Rodolphus and his brother, Rabastan, previously and, whilst he was quite the gentleman, I had no wish to become a Death Eater and I wanted to be able to choose who I married. I came to the conclusion that the only way I could get out of the marriage was to get disowned from then family."
Harry was reminded painfully of how Sirius had been disowned because he ran away to escape becoming a Death Eater. He had ended up staying at his best friend's house; James Potter. This brought a smile to Harry's face as he realised how close Sirius and James had been.
Bellatrix saw this smile and put 2 and 2 together.
"Yes, your Godfather, my cousin Sirius managed to escape the Dark Lord by running away, although he didn't have to be married into the Death Eaters.
"This seemed to work for Sirius. He name was blasted off of the family tapestry and he was disowned as a Black. With the marriage scheduled to take place in a month, I decided to follow his example and began to plan to run away.
"Unfortunately, I didn't have the same amount of luck as Sirius. The wedding was brought forward two weeks due to a cancellation, and I was never able to follow through with my plans.
"I arrived at where the marriage was to take place, only to find that the only people there were Rodolphus, my Aunt Walburga and the Dark Lord himself. Before I could say anything to anyone, I was bound to Rodolphus. I was little more than a house-elf with a wand!
"I was forced to do whatever my husband wanted, which, indirectly, happened to be whatever the Dark Lord wanted.
"Rodolphus knew that I didn't love him and, thankfully, respected that. He never forced himself on me, despite him having complete control, and he prevented the other Death Eaters from harming me as well.
"In-between raids and missions, I was able to think for myself. Sometimes I was even able to do things without permission from my husband. Those times never lasted long though, soon enough I was left to watch as my body performed deed that I never would have even deemed possible. I was forced to watch through my own eyes as I slaughtered countless Muggles and Muggle-borns, all the while I was begging for it to stop. Occasionally, it got so bad that I couldn't see anything, for that I was grateful. It was as if my whole mind was permanently shrouded in a thick layer of fog.
"Then, Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus and I, were told to lead a mission into the Ministry of Magic to capture you. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you what happened, but during all the fighting, Rodolphus was killed. For the first time in twenty years, the fog around my mind began to recede.
"I was able to do what I wanted. I went back to my memories of my carefully laid out plan from twenty years ago, adapting it to the current situation where appropriate. However, it would seem that I was once again out of luck. Just hours before I made my escape, Severus Snape came into my quarters and, seeing the room stripped of all my belongings, reported to the Dark Lord.
"I was brought forward as a traitor. Lord Voldemort's most loyal servant becoming a traitor. The idea was inconceivable. The Dark Lord was less than pleased. I was subject to the Cruciatus curse for up to 10 minutes at a time. The worst was still to come though. Once the Dark Lord had had his fun, I was handed to the masses of Death Eaters to punish 'as they see fit.'
"Without Rodolphus there and with the Dark Lord in possession of my wand, I was a sitting duck." Tears began to stream down Bellatrix's face, but she continued.
"Eventually, the Dark Lord summoned me once again. John Dawlish was there. He is one of the Dark Lord's many spies in the Ministry and he was told to call his colleagues in the Auror department and take me into custardy.
"So I was arrested for being a Death Eater, and on murder charges of countless Muggles. I was found guilty and I changed my name back to Black. That is how I ended up here."
Harry was speechless. Bellatrix Lestrange, no Bellatrix Black, was right in front of him, tears running down her face. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had pulled her into his arms and was whispering into her ear comfortingly.
Bellatrix Black was a vastly misunderstood character. Harry could tell that what Bellatrix had told her was all true. There was too much emotion shown in her voice for not to be true. One doesn't lie with emotion. A quick mental probe confirmed this.
Harry pulled back slowly from the embrace and looked into Bellatrix's eyes. They begged him for forgiveness. He answered her pleas by responding:
"I don't blame you Bellatrix, I know that it wasn't you that carried out those crimes."
Her eyes widened in disbelief before she hugged Harry with all of her strength.
"Thank you Harry! You don't know how much this means to me! Oh and since we are probably going to be spending a lot of time together in this cell, call me Bella."
Harry smiled. "Okay Bella, but I wouldn't bet on the time we will be staying in this cell."
She looked at him blankly.
"You, er, might want to turn around," he said, his cheeks reddening slightly.
Reluctantly, she turned her back on him.
"Scourgify, engorgio"
The sound of spells being cast wandlessly caused Bella to whip her head round sharply.
Harry was standing, looking rather sheepish, with a large leather-bound book. Bella shuddered to think where it had come from and how he had smuggled it past the guards.
He held it up to her. In the dim light, the title was just about readable. 'The Marauders Guide to Animagus'
Bella's jaw hit the floor.
"So, Bella, how would you fancy escaping with me?"
A/N: So now you know Bella's story and how they're going to escape. R&R. Thanks for reading!