Descent
Bellatrix cannot believe her ears when is informed that the Dark Lord is dead. Cannot believe that the Death Eaters are disbanding without their Leader. Cannot believe that soon she will once again be nothing but an unambitious man's house-wife.
She refuses to even consider returning to that imprisoned sort of life and, grabbing her wand, swears that she will search the depths of hell if that is what is necessary to bring back the Dark Lord.
.o.o.o.
She does not manage to reach the depths of hell in her search for the Dark Lord. She only finds the Longbottoms, the Longbottoms who are being useless, who are lying and saying that they know nothing, lying and saying that the Dark Lord is dead.
Rodolphus tells her that they should move on, but she can't leave the Longbottoms, can't stop using the Cruciatus curse on them until they stop lying to her.
Even as the Aurors attempt to capture her, her only thought is to make the Longbottoms stop lying, as though that will somehow bring the Dark Lord back.
.o.o.o.
She does not know how long she has been in Azkaban, only knows that every line, every mite, every speck of dust in her cell has unintentionally been engraved in her brain.
Only knows that she cannot tell when she is awake from when she is asleep, because it is all one long nightmare.
.o.o.o.
Only knows that when she hears voices she cannot tell if they are from her memories, her nightmares, herself or her fellow prisoners.
Only knows that one day she wakes up and the stench of blood won't leave her nostrils, but she doesn't know if it's because one of the other prisoners is bleeding to death or because the Dementors are playing their cruel tricks on her again.
.o.o.o.
When she is finally released (released by the Dark Lord and his servants, released because she has been faithful oh so faithful and finally she will be rewarded and given her due respect and finally she will be in power and free again) she is directed to live with her sister and her brother-in-law.
When she reaches the Malfoy's manor she sniffs and tells her sister in a polite voice that she doesn't know what sort of scent her House Elf is using to perfume the manor, but it's absolutely repulsive. It smells like blood, what sort of potpourri is that?
Cissy has an almost scared look on her face as she quietly replies that their House Elf doesn't perfume the manor.
Bella opens her mouth but can't think of anything else to say.
.o.o.o.
That night she wakes her husband with a smack to his arm, asking him if he hears what she does. He grumbles something back but she doesn't hear it, just takes out her wand and whispers that someone is here that some people are here and that they have to be prepared to defend themselves because it could be aurors for all they know.
Rodolphus mumbles again and turns on the light only—
There's no one there. The voices she was hearing disappear immediately the hissing whispering humming muttering murmuring susurrations simply disappear.
"Just a nightmare," she adds her words to the ghostly chorus before trying to fall asleep again.
.o.o.o.
She doesn't tell her sister again that her house is perfumed with the scent of blood, doesn't wake Rodolphus again with whispered worries of phantom voices, doesn't tell anyone that she must be injury prone because how else could she explain the small smears dabs dashes trickles of blood that appear on her hands but don't seem to disappear no matter how many times she casts healing charms on them?
.o.o.o.
The Dark Lord doesn't want his escaped Death Eaters to make any appearances until he tells them to, and it makes Bella feel like she is imprisoned again until he finally calls them to the Department of Mysteries.
"Long time no see, cousin," Sirius taunts her. "If I recall correctly, I predicted that you were going to crazy about twenty years ago, and I seem to have been right."
With a shriek, she attacks him, and it is only after he has gone soaring through the veil that she starts laughing laughing and laughing because she knows what he is referencing, but she is a Lestrange and she knows she will never go mad like that filthy Muggle character in that filthy Muggle book.
.o.o.o.
She was sure so sure she doesn't know why but she was so sure that somehow killing Sirius would make it better but now the walls leak the same color of blood
as her hands
as her wand
as fills the voices of the people
people people who don't exist
She tells herself that once the Dark Lord is in complete power
(no more of that Potter brat half-blood scum who was responsible for the Dark Lord's anguish the Dark Lord's first downfall but would not be responsible for his second because he was not going to lose again)
everything will be better
because she will be
will be
b
e
.o.o.o.
she ignores the
of her
the doubtworryfear
focuses on the
except when the fear is about her not for her
eventual triumph
focuses on the battle
when everything seems to be
only its hard to hold it in her eye
slipping away
slipping away
away
covered in blood
blood
bl
o
o
d
b
l L D b o L O d
l
l o d
l l l d
l l l l l l l
l
l o L B d
l
o
o bl o o
d
but he's wrongwrongwrong
she's not a
filthy Muggle
going
going
going
the story ends with her suicide
but she's not
filthy Muggle
not going
going
never
kill herself
points her wand
at Weasley girlbratbloodtraitor
stallshesitateswaitspauses
sees attackcursespell
over.
.o.o.o.
Narcissa allows a few tears to carefully carve their way down her delicate face as she speaks. "I can't believe my sister's dead," she whispers. "I hope Weasley sees the blood on her hands." Lucius gently pulls her into a comforting embrace and feels the vibrations of his wife's quiet voice as she continues speaking. "What was the point?"
"Of what?" his deep voice replies.
"Of—of Bella! Of her life, her death! She's dead now, and for what?" More glittering tears slide down the wrinkles of her face.
"She died for what she believed was a valiant cause. I'm sure she would have asked for nothing more." He gently wipes a tear from his wife's face.
"But the Dark Lord died mere moments after she did. It was all—meaningless. Pointless. Nothing but sound and fury and—and nothing else. It means absolutely nothing."
Lucius hugs her tightly, gently rocking her back and forth without saying anything else.
.o.o.o.
Fin.
.o.o.o.
A/N: I kind of wanted to do a 'House of Leaves' sort of format for some of Bella's thoughts but, unfortunately, this site doesn't support that. Also, at the end Narcissa is paraphrasing Macbeth's quote: "Life…is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury/Signifying nothing."
Constructive criticism always appreciated!