(Arcturus Black - PoV)

Fudge stares at me in incomprehension.

"I...I'm sorry, you can't mean..." he mumbles. "I-I mean, of course, you were right about Sirius, but, but surely not her too!?" he exclaims, sounding panicked.

"Heavens no!" I assure the pudgy lump before he hurts himself thinking too hard. "No, nothing of the sort," I say again, causing our esteemed Minister to relax, wiping his brow.

"Ah, good, good, whew." He gives a blatantly fake laugh. "Lord man, you nearly gave me a heart attack! Oh!"

I patiently wait while he wipes the sweat from his brow.

"So, if she is not innocent, why would you ever want to speak to her? I have heard she is absolutely..." he pauses, remembering who he is talking to, the great idiot. "Well, rather, extreme, yes?"

That is certainly one way to put it. "A rather delicate family situation has come up, and I believe she has important information I need. And honestly, even besides that, she always was my favorite grandniece. She made her choices and will pay for them, have no doubt, but I think it is fair to at least check in on her after all these years, no?"

It is so amusing watching the fat worm squirm as he attempts to figure out a polite way to respond to that when the woman in question is such an infamously unstable and unrepentant mass murderer.


"Careful not to get in arm's reach," one of the guards, a lanky, pockmarked fellow, warns me when we get close to the cell.

I raise an eyebrow at the comment, and he shrugs in response.

"I know she's yer kin or somethin but..."

He shrugs again.

"She always has been something of a troublemaker, even as a child," I admit.

All three guards snort simultaneously.

"Ain't that an understatement," the shortest one mutters, before the large one, the leader, claps him upside the head.

It seems dear Bella is still making friends.

There are a few jeers from the various cells, but a couple of brutal spells from the likely troll-blooded brute of a guard quickly silence them. Efficient.

Bellatrix is clutching at the bars as I approach, seemingly curious to see what all the fuss is about.

She blinks when she finally catches sight of me.

"Grandfather?" she asks.

"Indeed, little Bella."

"No, no...that's not right..." She shakes her head, backing away from the bars. "You can't be here, why are you here?"

"I am Lord Black, dear. I go where I want to. I have some questions for you, so I told the Minister I wanted to see you. And here I am." I give her my 'I am a Black and you are a worm beneath me' smile.

"If you had chosen your position more wisely, then perhaps you would be out here, instead of in there."

That sets her off, all hesitation is gone.

She lunges at the bars with fury, attempting to claw at me.

"Master will return!" she screams.

I quietly wait for her to settle down before replying.

"Perhaps, perhaps. But not today, and we have matters to discuss while we wait."

Bellatrix glares at me from the floor where she sits, clutching at the bars.

"The Heir of House Black has come to me with a problem of significance that needs redress. A problem you were involved in."

The witch before me blinks, before sneering.

"Sirius? You really care what that fool wants?" She spits on the floor. "I don't care how he managed to get out, the Black name will be worse than dirt with him as heir. He is unworthy." She looks at me with fire in her eyes, daring me to argue.

"Ah, but Sirius did manage exactly one accomplishment. The only one he really needed to." I counter.

She stares at me, doubtful, but less certain. Even after all these years, she remembers what it is like the argue with me.

"The same that his otherwise useless father, Orion, managed."

I can see her mind struggling before she finally connects the dots.

"Sirius had a child? When!? How!? He has been in here for...for...ever!"

"Over a decade, yes."

She opens and closes her mouth, unable to form words, until I take pity on her.

"One of his youthful, ah, "conquests" I believe. With a Ms. Lilian Moon. So yes, they are Pureblood."

Seeing the crease of her forehead I elaborate.

"Twins. A boy and a girl. Technically the boy is the heir, but they tend to act in tandem, you know how magical twins can get. They both have the Sight as well, to some extent. But I do believe we are getting rather sidetracked."

Bellatrix huffs, sliding back down to the floor.

"What do you want then?" she asks.

"Names."

I sit silently, watching while she processes. While she tries to figure it out.

"Andromeda," she spits the name like a curse.

Really, that little to go on, and she figured out exactly what I wanted...

"Ah, Bellatrix..." I start, with a sad smile, "why did it have to be you?" I ask.

She looks up at me, questioning.

"You were by far the greatest of your generation, and yet look at you..." I say, shaking my head.

"Such a waste."

She growls.

"And yes, Andromeda. She has looked after the twins since their mother died, and they are rather offended that some of your old crowd tried to attack her and her family, and want payment in blood."

That is a deliciously complicated expression on your face dear.

"They were raised by the light worshiping muggle lover...and want proper revenge?" she asks.

I give her an indulgent smile.

"Bella, do you really think I would name them heir, my full heir, if they were unworthy?" I withdraw my wand and brandish it, causing her to flinch, just a fraction.

"Do remember exactly who you are talking to, my dear."

Her eyes flicker to the guards, who watch, casually leaning up against the walls outside the barrier of silence.

Visitors are very rarely allowed in Azkaban. They are never allowed to carry wands. They are most certainly not allowed to use them.

"They won't interfere. Especially not for you. It seems you haven't made any friends during your time here."

She stares up at me but doesn't move. Doesn't crawl away, or beg. Strong-willed as ever.

"Now, tell me, Bellatrix. Who attacked our family?"

...

"There is an easy way to do this, and a hard way. The easy way shows loyalty to our family and means that if your master ever does rise again, you may yet return to their side a useful witch. The hard way?"

I look at what used to be one of my favorite people in the world. The girl who I never named successor because I wanted and expected her to one day take the title from me, rather than my worthless heirs.

"I can get the information I need from your mind. You cannot stop me, especially not after all this time in here, and you know it. But it will break you in the process. By the time I am done? You will be lucky to be able to hold a wand, much less be the talented witch you were in the past."

I crouch down, closer to her, and speak softly

"You do remember the Longbottoms, don't you? What you did to them? They are in the Long-Term Care Ward of St Mungos. They can walk around and make noises. Eat, drink. Even go to the bathroom on their own, most of the time at least. Occasionally, they almost seem to recognize people. But they cannot cast spells. Or read. Or speak. Or even remember their own names, at times. I might be able to get you transferred there, afterward. How does that sound, hmm?"

Now I can see it. Fear.

Pain? Torture? Death? Bellatrix is a big girl, she laughs in the face of those. But to have her mind broken? To have her talents erased. To be useless? Helpless?

She speaks.

It is very nearly a waste of time and effort.

As expected, she grabbed and bullied a handful of the weakest and lowest-ranked Death Eaters for a spur-of-the-moment attack. None of them survived the war. As expected for a bunch of non-entities with a sense of entitlement. Typical Knockturn Alley trash.

There were a few mid-level names who joined in out of some foolish attempt to curry favor, or in an attempt to gain prestige, or whatever other idiotic reasons they had. They are all also dead or imprisoned. All but one.

Hugo Flint.

I had hoped for a couple more, to make a stronger statement, but I suppose it will suffice. I will just have to make sure it is suitably dramatic.

"Very good, dear. Was that really so hard?"

She glares up at me, baring her teeth like an animal.

I don't bother to hide my sigh.

"You have what you want now. Begone then, coward! Master will return, and you will beg for forgiveness!" she shouts.

"Bellatrix, we both know I will die before I ever allow that to happen. You are the one who bows and begs before the powerful for scraps."

She doesn't answer, but her grip on the bars increases to the point her fingers turn white.

"You could have been so much more. So much more than me, or them. You could have easily become a Dark Lord yourself if you wanted. Instead, you chose to become a slave."

"I AM NOT A SLAVE!" she shouts, standing up properly.

I tap my arm, right where a certain mark lies on her own. One which she covers with her other hand.

"You have another word for the branded property of a lord? You live, serve, and die at the whim of your master. You are a slave, girl. You have never been one for self-delusions, do not start now."

Turning away, I leave her alone in that miserable rotten cell, in this miserable, rotten prison.

That girl...that stupid, stupid girl. She had everything, everything! She was the perfect Black, and she blew it all, chasing after the skirt tails of a maniac. Really, she was doing so well, until...

My steps slow. The guards pace ahead before they stop and turn around, looking at me in confusion, but my focus is on the cell next to us. Or, more specifically, the occupant.

Rodolphus Lestrange. Bellatrix's husband. And very likely the fool that introduced Bellatrix to the Death Eaters, and the Dark Lord, in the first place. The one that ruined her life, her potential.

He looks up at me from his dirty cot.

"Huh? The old Black coot? Still kickin, huh?"

He sits up.

"Finish talking with crazy Bella then? Actually get anything useful outta her then? Or just more ranting about Dark Lord this and Dark Lord that?"

His laughter is cut off by the Asphyxiation Curse.

"You were never worthy of her. I knew I should have stopped your marriage, from the moment it was proposed, but I allowed my fool of a brother to push it through. No more. I will dissolve it when I leave here."

"Rodolphus?" A voice calls out from behind me. "Hey! HEY! What the fuck are you doing! Stop him!"

Turning, the other brother, Rabastan, is in the cell across from us, shouting at the guards.

They watch me warily but make no move to interfere as I make my way across the corridor, Rodolphus slowly dying behind me, desperately struggling in his cell.

Rabastan finally recognizes me as I make my way to his cell.

"You...you...Arcturus...I..." He backs away as far as he possibly can, up against the wall.

A simple, First-Year Full-Body Bind and the man falls down. Another spell animates the blanket on his bed. It slithers down into the floor, before forcing its way into his mouth and down his throat.

I watch patiently until the light leaves his eyes before releasing the binding and canceling the animation.

It won't bring my Little Bella back. It won't change the fact these two worthless sacks of shit took the greatest witch our family has ever produced and turned her into...that. But they took something precious to me. And retribution must be had.

Putting my wand away, I resume my pace down the corridor, handing the large guard a sack of gallons as I pass.

"Terribly unfortunate, the suicide rate here."

It takes several moments for the footsteps to follow.