Thank you so much Aurora Bellatrix! Your review made me so happy, and it was my first review I've ever gotten! This chapter is dedicated to you.
The coldness sucked into me further as I was dragged upstairs by cold, clammy hands. "Surely we must be almost there," I thought. We went up 8 more flights of stairs to the topmost prison level. The place was flooded with dementors, the instant I stepped in, all of my happy memories seemed to float right out of my head, no matter how hard I tried to catch them. From something as mediocre as getting a toy broomstick from getting my first wand, they all left me. I screamed in horror and shock as I was thrown in a cell. Rodolphus was thrown into the cell next to me. "Bella," he whispered urgently. I heard from the Dark Lord. He says we are no longer his servants. We are henceforth branded as traitors. He never wants to hear from us again." The words echo in my mind as the cold, clammy feeling came back, stronger than ever.
Bellatrix awoke in a cold sweat. "Bella," Cissy said urgently. "Are you all right? I heard you screaming from all the way down the hall." "Nightmare," Bellatrix responded, still breathing heavily. "That didn't happen. He didn't say that we weren't his most devoted. Rodolphus told me that he had heard nothing from the Dark Lord."
"Bella," Cissy said urgently. "What on earth are you talking about? You haven't seen Rodolphus recently, he isn't even in here."
"Cissy, it was a nightmare. I was in Azkaban. When I first got there, Rodolphus told me that he had heard nothing, though he had pressed his Mark. But tonight, he said that the Dark Lord called us traitors. That he never wanted to hear from us again! I am his most devoted still. Not Lucius!"
Cissy went very still. Bellatrix realized maybe she shouldn't have said that last part about Lucius. "Never, ever speak about my husband like that AGAIN! If that's how you treat me when I try and help, I won't," she said angrily.
"Cissy," she screamed. "Get back here! I need you here!"
When Cissy turned around, Bellatrix could see sadness in her eyes. "My poor baby sister," she said with true kindness. Inside Bella bristled. Baby indeed. "Azkaban was hard. I understand. I forgive you, and I'm sure that you didn't mean it."
Bellatrix had meant it, every word, but she wanted her to stay, so Bellatrix let her sit with her, Bellatrix's back to her.
"What was it about Bella? You can tell Cissy," she said softly.
"It was when I was put in Azkaban for the first time. The dementors were smothering me with their clamminess, and they threw me in a cell. Then Rodolphus told me that the Dark Lord hated us, and that we were traitors. That's when I woke up. The dementors are so so scary! I can't stand it Cissy! They keep on making me overflow with sadness everytime I think of them. The chocolate doesn't help. Oh, but Cissy, don't tell the Dark Lord!"
She finished this with a high-pitched, sort of squeal, and realized how scared I was. The fear, worry, and hurt washed over her like a cold shower, and it was all she could do not to start crying. Cissy meanwhile, was looking at Bellatrix with a strange expression.
" Why should I not tell the Dark Lord? He will find out anyway, what with your weekly mind meetings. And what are you afraid of him knowing?"
"He can't know I was afraid. I don't want him to know. He can't see me as weak, not now. I need to be strong. I can't have fear," Bellatrix said in the same high-pitched voice she didn't know as mine.
"Bella, you are hysterical. He won't mind. I am sure of it. Now, you need your sleep. I will stay with you. Just try to sleep."
Before she knew it, Bellatrix was asleep, her last thought being her trying to banish my thoughts from my mind.