Who: Bellatrix and Padma When: Wednesday afternoon, immediately following her session with Charlotte Where: Azkaban prison What: Picking up her new slave Rating: Just a bit of violence Status: Completed log
It was fortunate for Padma that Bellatrix had decided to take her aggressions out on the Montgomery girl before going to retrieve her slave. And so she was in a much more pleasant mood as she made her way through the corridors of Azkaban to Padma's cell than she had been when she arrived. Oh she still detested this place but that thought was secondary to the sound of Charlotte's screams that were still echoing in her ears. No, she still was not pleased with the Ministry's assignment of Padma as her slave but she figured she'd be able to make a use out of the girl one way or another. If nothing else, she planned on trying to use her to get at the other Patil twin, not that Bellatrix could care the two of them apart. Or cared to, really.
As she arrived outside Padma's cell, she unlocked the door and stepped into the doorway, not moving any further into the cell. There was no need to, after all. She fully intended on just taking the girl home, locking her in her room and ignoring her until she served a purpose. "Get up," she demanded harshly, her wand trained on Padma. "The Ministry has seen fit to assign you as my new slave. I do hope you will be more suitable than the last. Now come with me."
Bellatrix was not a patient woman and she was not willing to wait long for Padma to get herself together, a fact that was quite obvious from the sound of her voice and the way she was standing there, just staring expectantly at the young woman who was now her property. Even if she didn't intend on torturing her now, that could easily change if she took too long.
Padma had been minding her own business for the most part, not that you can really do anything else in the tiny cell, so when the door opened, she was startled to say the least. Looking up from her journal that she had been filling the endless hours with, her eyes grew wide as she saw Bellatrix Lestrange in her cell, while she didn't know from personal experience, it didn't take much intelligence to know that seeing Bellatrix at all was never a good thing. For a moment, nothing registered. She sat there on the cold floor of her cell, her eyes wide obviously scared staring up at the woman, it took her another second to realize that the wand was pointed at her. Even longer to realize that Bellatrix had been talking to her, demanding actions of her, and she wasn't stupid enough to not imediately obey them.
She wanted to protest of course, she wanted to scream and cry and refuse to leave the cold, hard cell (at least she knew what to expect there) and let Lestrange leave with some other person, but she knew that would only serve to get her in more trouble and possibly killed. So, she stood up, slowly of course in part because she didn't want Bellatrix to think that she would be forward enough to physically attack her unarmed and in part because she hadn't been used to moving a whole lot and she certainly had no where to rush to these days so movement of her body had gotten used to a slow pace.
"I... You... I'm your slave?" She said, just to clarify it in her own head, wincing at the way her voice sounded cracked and unused. It was a stupid question, she knew and it probably wouldn't do her any good, but it still she had already said it. "I'm glad I have been assigned to someone as honorable and prominent in the society as you." She added, casting her eyes down away from looking directly at Bellatrix. This was not going to be good, Padma knew it.
Bellatrix had been about to curse her out of sheer impatience when the girl finally stood, moving entirely too slowly for her tastes. But at least she was moving. Padma's initial shock was more than expected and Bellatrix had been about to offer a cruel retort when she covered it with a submissive and respectful acceptance of her situation. And Bellatrix really was not entirely certain how to handle that. She was so accustomed to prisoners being defiant in some way or another, at least until she beat them into submission, that this reaction threw her for a bit of a loop.
Still, she did not let her surprise show on her face and instead stepped into the cell itself only to roughly grab Padma's hand. "Yes, you are very fortunate," she replied. Pulling the portkey out of her robes she held it out in her other hand before clamping Padma's hand down on top of it. She did not want to remain at Azkaban any longer than necessary and while she did not have any consideration for Padma's feelings, it seemed reasonable to assume that the girl would share Bellatrix's sentiments.
Bellatrix really wasn't a fan of travelling by portkey, but it was more efficient than dragging Padma down to the floo and through the Ministry before returning home so instead she resigned herself to that familiar unpleasant tugging sensation in her stomach for a moment before they landed on the grounds of Lestrange Manor. (Bellatrix wasn't so foolish enough as to create a portkey that would take them directly into the Manor after all, even for her own use.) Shifting her grasp to the girl's arm, she pulled her across the grounds and through the wards protecting the house until they were inside the foyer. "Do not bother trying to escape," she warned. "The wards will only allow you to pass when you are escorted by either Rodolphus or myself. And I do not particularly wish to have your limbs scattered across the grass."
Padma started to back away when Bellatrix came towards her, out of sheer habit more than anything else and she cringed when Bellatrix grabbed her hand, expecting something far worse to follow and honestly surprised when her hand was simply placed on what she could assume was a portkey. Despite the fear that took Padma, there was a small bit of hope that lay at the bottom of her stomach thinking that it might not be so bad. Sure, it was a Lestrange and not someone to mess with, but Padma never messed with anyone any way. She could only hope that she would not be attacked unprovoked, but it would never really be certain, Padma would go and do the work that she was provided with and as a result she could only pretend that she wouldn't be hurt for no reason. At least she wouldn't be in Azkaban.
She closed her eyes as the Portkey lurched before they landed at what she had to assume was the home of the Lestranges. She was assessing the home, getting familiar with it the best she could from the outside, she had her doubts she would be on this side of it very often. She let out a small, startled yelp when Bellatrix grabbed her arm, it didn't hurt at all and for a second, out of habit, she tried to resist being dragged to wherever she was being taken. Of course, she loosed her stance almost instantly and allowed herself to follow.
Escape? Honestly, the thought hadn't crossed Padma's mind, not entirely anyway. She had thought about the possibility of escaping, but knowing that she was unarmed and unfamiliar with the area surrounding the mannor, she wasn't silly enough to think that she would get out alive if she tried that, not that she would try to escape, and even if she did it wouldn't be so impulsive. "I would not try to escape ma'am, I realize that my place is here serving my better in hopes that I might be reintegrated into society after a successful rehabilitation." She said softly, she could barely believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. She wanted to cry. "What are my duties?"
Once they were safely inside the house, Bellatrix dropped her arm as if it might in some way contaminate her and she turned to give her a look that made it quite clear that she disapproved of Padma's very existence. At least the Ministry had not attempted to give her a Mudblood, she thought to herself, although Bellatrix was not terribly interested in the Ministry's goals of rehabilitation. She had yet to meet a blood traitor who could be persuaded to recognize the folly of their choices and she did not expect the Patil girl would be any different, considering the recalcitrance of her sister and father. "Your duties are to obey my husband and I. You will do as I tell you, when I tell you and without argument," she replied simply. "I have house elves to manage the Manor. But if you manage to please me, you may be granted your own responsibilities"
Bellatrix began walking quickly down the hall, glancing over her shoulder only to issue a brusque "come along" as she led the way to Padma's new quarters. She had considered simply locking the girl in the dungeon and ignoring her but in the end had decided she might attempt to take a page out of Rabastan's book and try to make use of her through incentives rather than punishments. For now. Undoubtedly at some point she would grow irritated with her and she would be banished to the dungeons. Or just killed, Bellatrix wasn't particular. After leading her through a seemingly endless maze of halls and doors, Bellatrix finally stopped and tapped her wand against what would have been a perfectly ordinary door if it had not been for the lack of a handle. The door swung open to reveal a rather lavishly appointed suite. The large, high bed dominated the room although there were also two comfortable armchairs, a writing desk, a small table and chair for meals and a closet containing several sets of plain black work robes. With the attached bathroom, it was everything Padma could possibly need, which was fortunate since Bellatrix had no intention of letting her out of this room, at least not in the immediate future.
"This room is a privilege," she explained. "I have far less comfortable accommodations that I will not hesitate to move you into if I do not think you properly appreciate my generosity. The house elves will bring you your meals and you are free to occupy your time as you please. Although should you desire to follow in the footsteps of some of your fellow slaves and use your journal to complain about the Ministry or your treatment here, I will not hesitate to confiscate it and you will be punished. But I would much rather be able to leave it in your possession so you can make yourself useful to me."
Padma drew her arms back, close to her body making her harder to grab, mostly out of habit than disrespect for Lestrange, she knew that if Bellatrix truly wanted to grab her than she would. She nodded her head slowly as she spoke, her eyes darting around taking everything is. "I understand, ma'am." Padma said softly, it was the first time in a long time that she had been able, or even desired to use her voice as often. "Believe me, I have no desire--nor am I daft enough--to disobey you or your husband. I hope that I please you so that I may have some responsibilities, I've hated being out of use for so long." She ran a hand through her own hair, sighing, she probably shouldn't even be speaking to Bellatrix.
Padma was nervous as she made her way behind Bellatrix, her hands held in front of her clutched to each other as she tried to the keep her head tall. She tried to keep her eyes focused, in hopes of being able to find her way through the maze in the future, but her eyes were tired and blurred, rendering any mental map she was making inadequate. She smiled when she viewed the room, it was much better than her room had been in Azkaban, there was no denying that and the room looked so comfortable and she couldn't wait to lie in bed, something that wasn't made out of stiff wood. She listened to Bellatrix speak, her eyes still exploring the room. Basically, from what she was understanding, was that she was taken from one prison and put into an entirely different one, though she would not voice that sentiment, this prison was much more comfortable looking and didn't have Dementors.
She entered the room slowly, though she noted that there was no doorknob, which while it wasn't comforting was certainly didn't put her off. She turned and looked at Bellatrix, a small content smile plastered on her face, it was an odd feeling to be grateful and frightened at the same time. "I... Thank you for allowing me to have such a comfortable place in your home. I assure you that I will not be complaining about my accomidations here." She sighed a little bit, "Do you mind that I ask what I will be doing for you that will be useful?"
Bellatrix was not paying a lot of attention to her assurances and platitudes. Instead she was watching the girl critically, waiting for some sign of distress or disobedience that might belie any true feelings beyond the image of resigned acceptance that she was putting forward - any sign of weakness that could be exploited. So far she was rather sorely disappointed, but then again she had shown Padma nothing but kindness (relatively speaking, for her) so far. She hoped that was about to change.
"I expect you will find your sister for me," she replied simply. To be honest, she didn't pay much attention to either of the Patil twins and was only vaguely aware that perhaps they weren't the closest of sisters, but she didn't care. They were still sisters and Bellatrix was not concerned with what excuses Padma might wish to offer. It was the only real use she had for her. She would either find Parvati - or some information that Bellatrix could use herself to find her - or she would be punished.
Padma froze on the spot when Bellatrix told her what he task would be. Her eyes grew a bit wide and she stumbled over different things to say. There was no way to hold her composure at that very second. Her mouth hung open and she blankly stared at her owner. She took a few steps back and slunk dejectedly into one of the arm chairs. It was obvious that she was completely lost. Taking a deep breath, her hands folded in her lap and her face as calm as she could make it, Padma cleared her throat and tore her brain apart for the best words she could think of.
"I... I can't do that. I am not sure how familiar you are with they dynamics of my family, but we do not talk, my sister and I are polar opposites. She is a vapid, reckless Gryffindor and I... well, I'm not. She hates me, we don't talk. She wouldn't believe me if I tried to befriend her now. She just... it wouldn't work." Padma said, controlling the urge to scream at her. She took another deep breath and looked up at Bella. "It just wont work." She said, cringing, expecting the worse.
Laughing as she took a couple of steps closer to Padma, Bellatrix trained her wand on the girl. Her laughter stopped as abruptly as it had started and a cruel smirk spread across her face instead. These silly girls and their sisters. "I don't care," she replied as if that should have been the most obvious thing in the world to Padma. "You seem like a resourceful little girl. You will figure out a way to find her. Or you will be punished. Do not think that I will not use you as the sacrificial lamb to bring your sister out of hiding. Does she hate you enough to see you tortured? To know that you are in pain because of her actions?"
Of course it was distinctly possible that their relationship had deteriorated to the point where the other twin would not care about her sister's suffering - after all, Bellatrix actually wanted to kill her own unacknowledged sister - but judging by Padma's initial reaction to the request, it seemed as if there was still feeling there, whether or not they actually spoke. And feeling was something Bellatrix was more than happy to exploit.
Padma's entire body tensed as Bella laughed and came toward her, her wand pointed at her. Padma dropped her head as to not look at the lady, she did not want to see what was coming at her, she was not brave enough for that. But instead of feeling any sort of pain, there was nothing. Only Bella's words lifting over the room. She wasn't sure what to say really, there is no way that Padma could lure her sister to the manor and get her captured, she would not play that sort of game with her sister, she would not put her in that kind of danger. But she didn't want to die either and in refusing Bellatrix, she knew that is what would come. For the first time that day, tears started to fall from her eyes. She tried to push them back of course, but she couldn't, they woulds still slowly trickle down the side of her face and suddenly she wished she were back in Azkaban.
"I do not believe that she will care if I am hurt, she thinks that I have betrayed my family by staying loyal to the Ministry while they alligned themselves with terrorists. They find me to be nothing more than a blemish on their record of bravery and good. She would not care if I died." Padma said, bitterly as if she were upset about the fact that her family hated her. In reality, she was lying, of course. Padma was all too worried about how her family would react to the news of her being enslaved to Bellatrix Lestrange and her Husband. She lifted her head again to look back at Bella. "But you, you must do what you must. I understand." She said softly, she was obviously terrified of what Bella might do.
"We will just have to test that theory, won't we? I should warn you, if you try to lie to me, I will learn the truth. And I really do not like being lied to," she said. There was almost a hint of girlish sullenness to her voice but she really did have a strange thing about honesty, even if her own ideas of just what actually constituted honesty were likely more than a bit different from the norm. She gave an almost imperceptible flick of her wand, sending a cruciatus flying at Padma. Even if she hadn't been planning on torturing the girl, clearly some sort of lesson was required so they could move beyond this ridiculous insistance of hers that she wouldn't be able to lure her sister in. And without even trying!
She didn't let the curse last long, no more than a brief jot really - to show that she was quite serious in her demands and the penalties for disobedience would be severe. "Now," she declared. "If your sister proves to be indifferent to your suffering, you will simply have to find another way to get her to me. I do not care how you do it. Bring her here, tell me where she is hiding or how I can find her, but failure is not an option."
Padma hadn't noticed Bellatrix had really even moved her wand, she had been looking up at the woman, trying to think of something that she could possibly say to her when the curse ripped through her. Her body locked up, tightening and she wrapped her arms around herself as a fresh burst of tears fell from her eyes and a short, cry of pain tumbled from her lips. Sure, the spell had not lasted long but Padma counted herself among the lucky few who had not been tortured, or had a wand lifted to her and actually hit with something. THis was likely though because she had always been so careful about speaking out until that moment. She took a deep breath to try and steady herself, pushing the pain out of her mind the best she could when the spell had been lifted.
"I am sorry. I will try. I will keep you updated with everything that I find out from her. She might be hard to break, I doubt she will trust me, but I will do my best, ma'am." Padma pulled her legs close to her, curling up against herself in the arm chair slightly, as if that would protect her from whatever Bellatrix had planned to do next. She felt sick, there was no possible way that she could turn in her sister. She just had to think of a way around all of this that would keep the both of them safe.
"Much better," she replied. She had the distinct impression that she was not going to get much more than snivelling excuses out of Padma, at least at first, but everyone could be broken. And this girl seemed easier than most. "I expect regular updates on your progress. You may notify the house elves when you have news for me or send a message through the journals and I will come speak with you. This is your only responsibility. For now. As I said, if you are able to prove yourself, you may be trusted with greater tasks and freedoms. But if I think you may be lying to me or hiding information from me, I will not hesitate to interrogate you to determine the truth. And I prefer much more entertaining methods than veritaserum." That didn't mean she wouldn't use the truth serum if she thought it was necessary, but it just wasn't as fun.
"Any questions?" It was more of a dare to her to ask than a sincere offer to actually answer any questions but she did have at least some interest in making sure there were no misunderstandings with regard to her expectations.
"Yes, Ma'am." Padma said slowly. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this one, but as Bellatrix had said, she was resourceful. For now, all she could do was agree, soon, she was sure, there would be a way out of this but at the moment, it almost seemed as hopeless Azkaban. There was a fear in the pit of her stomach that her sister would try to barge in, in some strange attempt to rescue her. Padma couldn't really keep her back after all and then they would both be in this awful place or worse, Parvati would be killed for any number of illegal activities that she had been a part of.
"I have no questions..." Padma said slowly, her eyes falling to the floor again, she couldn't look at her keeper for too long without wanting to cry, "I understand."
"Good," Bellatrix replied. "The elves will bring a proper meal for you shortly. And clean up, you look disgusting." Despite her admittedly unconventional attitudes about propriety, Bellatrix hardly wanted some girl smelling of the filth of Azkaban in her house, even if she did not intend to come into much contact with her anytime soon. With that, Bellatrix turned on her heel and strode out of the room, locking the door behind her and leaving Padma alone. Although the girl had not been her preferred choice of slaves, she was beginning to think that she might very well have some use after all.