Lord Voldemort (deathflight) wrote in an_ill_wind, @ 2009-06-24 23:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | - 1980/06 june, bellatrix lestrange, lord voldemort |
24 June 1980
Who: Bellatrix and The Dark Lord
What: Punishment for Narcissa being kidnapped
When: Wednesday evening, 24 June
Where: The Batcave Voldemort's lair (?)
Rating: R
Status: Completed log!
Pettigrew's owl was more than disconcerting to the Dark Lord. Certainly a lapse in judgment had resulted in Narcissa Malfoy being made aware of more information than she was both entitled to, and capable of protecting. At six that evening he summoned Bellatrix as he had old her he would, hoping her mark would feel not only the burn of his calling for her, but also the anger he felt at being betrayed not only by a daughter of the House of Black, but by a whelp of a woman who should not have been able to sell more than her sister and husband. Bellatrix would pay for this oversight, and so would Lucius. The Dark Lord would see to it that this would not happen again.
To be summoned by her Lord was never something Bellatrix could dread. Even at his most furious - and he was a vengeful and angry Lord whose wrath she had felt on more than a few occasions - Bellatrix remained blindly devoted to him. She would endure whatever punishments were handed down, accepted as deserved whether they truly were or not. But she had no notion of the reason for her summons, only that her Lord desired her presence. At the receipt of his owl, Bellatrix had readied herself so that she would be able to apparate without delay. And then she waited. Attempting to accomplish anything while she waited would only be an exercise in futility as she was far too consumed with anticipation. It was only the strength and fury of the burning in her arm that suggested something was amiss and the slightest frown briefly flickered across her face as she moved out to the Manor grounds and apparated to her Lord's side.
"My Lord," she said, her voice adoring and reverent as she fell to her knees before him, bowing her head in a submissive display that only her Lord and Master could bring from Bellatrix Lestrange. The awareness of his anger was nothing in the face of the awe she felt from merely the honour of being in his great presence.
"Bellatrix," he said coolly. "My most devoted. I trust you with my secrets, do I not?" he asked, wand twitching between his fingers.
Bellatrix lifted her head, looking up at the Dark Lord with confusion flickering across her face. Secrets? The idea that she might in any way betray her Lord in either word or deed was so unfathomable, she did not have the slightest idea what he was speaking of. "Yes, my Lord. And I am honoured to be so trusted. I have no greater loyalty than to you." She sat back on her heels, her hands folded in her lap and her mind left completely bare to him as she waited for what explanation he might choose to offer. Or what punishment he had determined she had earned.
Bellatrix's bewilderment only served to further antagonize the Dark Lord. He pursed his lips, quiet for a moment before speaking again, his voice low. "But how then, I wonder, did your sister come to possess such a well-rounded understanding of our ranks?"
Her sister? The mention of Narcissa was not exactly helping with her confusion as Bellatrix wondered what she could have possibly done to have so displeased their Lord. Bellatrix did her best to shield Narcissa from much of the Death Eaters' activities but she was not a stupid woman and had spent much of her life surrounded by Death Eaters, whether through Bellatrix herself, her new husband or their father. Truthfully, Bellatrix did not actually realise just how much Narcissa knew as it was not a conversation they had ever had and Bellatrix did not wish to put herself in the position of being asked to confirm or deny any suspicions on her sister's part.
"She is aware of my own involvement, my Lord. She has seen me return home from fighting for your great cause too many times to remain unaware. Rodolphus as well, and Lucius for, I suspect, the same reasons. But I have provided no confirmation for her beyond my own status. It is not something we discuss," she said honestly. "She is aware of my involvement in the attack on Hogsmeade as it became necessary to use her as a bit of cover for my own actions but I did not speak of it with her until after the fact." It was a completely truthful confession of, as far as she could remember, all that she had revealed to Narcissa. She would never lie to the Dark Lord, after all. Nor attempt to conceal her thoughts from him.
"Might I ask what she has done to displease you so that I might remedy the situation?"
"She was kidnapped by the resistance and then interrogated, during which time she provided them all requested information," he elaborated in an even voice, though his patience with the situation was waning considerably. "She was then returned, her memory modified. Do explain how she was able to provide such extensive insight into those who serve our cause."
"What?" was Bellatrix's stunned reply, her deference forgotten as fury filled her senses. Fury that anyone would dare to touch her sister, fury that her sister would breathe a word of their work. "Who, my Lord, has dared to set their hands upon her? I do not know what she knows, nor how she has learnt it - I can only assume she has managed to pick up some knowledge from her surroundings over the years. But I ask that you give me only their names and I will see to it that what knowledge they have taken from her dies with them."
"Retribution against the resistance is not an area in which I have seen success from you or from the ranks," he replied, raising his wand. "Nor is it my priority. All in due time, my pet. I see now that I cannot trust Rodolphus to do the job of a more experienced man, and that further action against Dumbledore's little group must be planned by myself. Crucio," he finished, tone unchanging, channeling all his frustrations with the day's events into hurting Bellatrix. Into making her truly feel his anger.
It was not the first time Bellatrix had felt her Master's cruciatus, nor was it likely to be the last. And yet no matter how many times she was subjected to his wrath or how willingly she accepted her punishment as deserved (even if truly she still did not understand what had happened) it did not make the agony tearing through her body any less. She may have been practiced at holding herself together under the weight of this curse, but not his. There was no point in even trying. Instead she cried out as she fell to her hands, her body shaking as it felt as if her very blood was boiling. And it only grew worse from there as she fell to ground, screaming without any sense or reason.
His lips curled into a slight smile at her reaction, pleased to see her writhe and scream. "I am exhausted by your carelessness. By your husband's carelessness. By the complete and utter uselessness I have seen my Death Eaters capable of," he hissed. "I bore of excuses and idiots." He let the crucio fall. "Should this happen again, my pet, I will not be so understanding."
For the longest moment, Bellatrix did not move, she just laid on the floor, gasping for breath. And then slowly she managed to regain what composure she could, slowly nodding in acceptance as she pushed herself up on one arm. She had failed him and therefore was to be punished. It was a simple enough thing to understand. "Yes, my Lord," she said, this time not daring to look up at him in his anger. "But please... I ask that you give me a way to set things right. To show my devotion to you and your great cause."
"I will consider it. And I will speak to Lucius. Perhaps between you both you might devise a way to keep your sister quiet," he emphasized. "Go."
"Yes, my Lord," she repeated, slowly pushing herself back to her feet. She wanted to ask a million questions, to try and figure out what precisely had happened as she was still as confused as she had been when she arrived, but she knew better than to attempt to linger. "It will be done, you have my word," she said before apparating away, her mind still spinning. First she would figure out just what Narcissa did know. And then she would make sure such a thing could never happen again. One way or another.