distrust & distaste || alastor & bellatrix

       ❛   bellatrix.❜

        name is spat in contempt, eyes narrowed in distrust and distaste. tone is one not often heard from the other. the most he often regards others with is indifference. yet hate is clear in his eyes and in his voice. 

                                              нє ∂єтєꜱтꜱ тнιꜱ ωσмаη

          “Mr Moody. Such a pleasant surprise, stumbling across you like this.”

          She can hear the contempt in his voice, can feel his dislike weighing heavily upon each word, and it amuses her. So very typical of a man like him – his sort never seemed particularly bothered about following the rules of polite conversation. 

          “Tell me, what brings you to Diagon Alley today? Surely a man of your profession is too busy for shopping.”

   The boy crossed his arms, and eyes her suspiciously, although for only a moment. He wasn’t sure if he lied the strange witch - she wasn’t much like his mother, and most definitely not like Winky, so he couldn’t really be sure.

   Still, she wasn’t like the other adults there, either, that was true, admittedly. She didn’t ask him about his father, for once, or about his ‘readings’, and she wasn’t at all annoying about talking to him.

   He hesitated for another moment.

   ”Okay”, he wrinkled his nose, “As long as you promise not to pat me on the head”

          Bellatrix returned his suspicious glare with a cool smile, only narrowly avoiding the temptation to burst out laughing. There was something far too amusing about just how adult the child seemed to think that he was.

          “I shall do my best to remember,” she said, smiling more warmly. “And I give you full permission to thoroughly chastise me if I forget. Just because I am a grown-up doesn't mean you should hae to tolerate me doing things that you don't like.”

beginnings || barty & bellatrix

   All the constellations in the sky must have been shining in his eyes at this moment. He was like a fly, captivated by a bright light, not quite realising that he was flying directly into the fire. And his eyes -  they grew he wider with each passing second, his gaze glued on her like there was no other sight in the whole wide world.

   If only he could reach out…

   His left knew only barely brushed against the wooden table, and with that, Barty became aware of his surroundings once more, the implication of them crushing down on his subconscious like a sudden storm.

   The boy was standing in her house, in her very living space, and yet, he could not touch her, could not truly enter her sphere just yet. It was almost frustrating to him to be standing so close to her, so close to his goal, and still see so much distance between them.

   Her words, meant to lure, meant to draw him in, only served to make him more impatient, to fill him with more wanting. He realized it, and yet, he did not care for it - he loved it, the fact that she cared about winning him over, yet he was too eager to move beyond that. Couldn’t she see that he was right there already, right where she wanted him? What else would it take for her to get to the next step, to get started with him already.

   He yearned for progress, to be more than just a desperate pupil, waiting to be picked. He wanted - no, he needed more than that, needed to stand right beside her, to be part of it all, to act for the Dark Lord.

   Still, Barty did not think himself naive. He had yet to show her all of his potential, had yet to live up to the promise he knew she could see in him, and for a place in the ranks, to get where he wanted to be, he needed to earn it.  

                                 potent, invulnerable, and unstoppable

   It was more than momentary power that he wanted from the Death Eaters - and he knew that she could sense this - nor did he  only want power for himself. In his point of view, there was much selflessness in his desires, contradicting as this might sound. He was not one of those impulse-driven apes who only longed for pleasure and power for themselves, without seeing the long term, without a single thought for the greater cause. No, Barty knew his vision was much greater than that.

   ”I want to… I want to serve Him. Your teachings… There is more… um… There is more than just myself. There is a goal to be reached.”

   The boy almost wanted to bite off his own tongue for all his damned awkwardness and stuttering. It was unlike him to feel so insecure, so vulnerable in conversation, and yet, he laid himself open for her. For all the rush to go further, he ended up stumbling over his words, still he needed to get a hold of himself, despite the heat of his body.

   ”I can be of great use”, he added, his voice much steadier, backing up his words with much greater force - perhaps a bit more than necessary. Though he did not know why, Barty still felt the urge to convince her to consider him, to justify his presence, even though she had already chosen him for a potential member, even though it was her who invited him here.

                                 You are a very special young man.

   He looked up to Bellatrix as the expression in his eyes betrayed only for a second the plea he was forming in his mind, but did not dare to say out loud. It took him a moment to catch his breath again.

   ”Just say the word - how - what I need to do.                                                     I will not back down”

          She had him now.

          She could see the hunger in his eyes, could hear the urgency in his voice. He was chomping at the bit now, beyond eager to take all that she had offered to give as quickly as he could.

          Well. He would have to learn to be patient.

          Bellatrix was a woman of her word; she would not make promises that she did not intend to keep. But they had a long path ahead of them, and the boy would need to learn to control his impatience if they were to succeed.

          Teaching him spells would not prove to be the difficult part of their endeavour. As long as one had the talent, and she had strong reason to believe that the boy did, learning new forms of magic was simplicity itself. But to command the dark forces that Bellatrix had learned to marshall, one needed more than skill. A wizard had to fortify himself from within, to build up his endurance and gain mastery over his mind. He must be strong, and such strength would not come easily, especially to one as young and inexperienced as Barty.

          The boy had potential. It was her responsibility that he achieved all that he was meant to do.

          “Your dedication impresses me,” she said, offering him a genuine smile. “Your determination to accomplish your goals likewise. What I have proposed requires great strength of will, and I am pleased to see that you appear to possess that quality.”

          More than all of that, she was pleased to see just how readily he had fallen under her influence. It was almost as though he wanted to be controlled.

          She settled back on the couch, allowing her shoulders to slump slightly, her eyelids to droop. In actuality, she wasn't remotely tired –– she was positively buzzing with anticipation after their conversation. But she needed to pace herself, to take her time with the boy, and if she allowed herself to get caught up in the excitement of the moment, she could very well end up pushing Barty towards things he was not yet ready to face.

          “But I am tired,” she said. “You will forgive me if I postpone our first lesson until the morning. You can return tomorrow at ten o'clock, I trust?”

if the leg is broken || andromeda & bellatrix

“Perhaps I truly am a fool, if I put up with being treated   like this for any longer. If it matters so little to you, we   have nothing more to discuss. Feel free to go and find   another idiot that would care for those poor little souls   that risk their lives day after day for who knows what.   I should’ve left when I had the chance.”

                 “Leave? You haven't the courage to leave, sister. Please,      by all means –– set out on your own. Make your own life. You'll      see how far you get before you come crawling back to us.      Because –– ” Here she stared intently into her sister's eyes.      “ –– You are nothing without us, Andromeda. Nothing.”

   As the young boy stepped back from his impulsiveness, he slowly started to regret his decision a little, if only because the aftertaste her hand had left in his mouth was absolutely terrible. Seriously, what was it with all the salt?

   He spit and coughed into the ground a few times just to get rid of it, as he silently vowed to himself to never ever become a cannibal.

    “Does that mean I get to leave the party?

               Bellatrix smiled in amusement, shaking her head at      the boy's antics. Oh, but he was precious, wasn't he?

               “I'm afraid not, little one. But it does mean that you      get to pass the rest of the evening in my company, and      I'm terribly interesting. Far better company than the rest      of these adults.”

Iris's Accounts

Arthur Pendragon – pratquefuturus – BBC Merlin

Bellatrix Lestrange – gammaxorionis – Harry Potter

Lt. Commander Data – pxsitronic – Star Trek: The Next Generation

Elena Bones-Prewett – introspectixn – Harry Potter OC

Fabian Prewett – theflyingfox – Harry Potter

Kitty Jones – kittyxjones – The Bartimaeus Trilogy

Malcolm Avery – cowxrd – Harry Potter

Phoebe Bones-Prewett – theretrogrademoon – Harry Potter OC

Sévérine Snape – howtostopperdeath – Harry Potter Rule 63

beginnings || barty & bellatrix

    The boy had not noticed that he had, step by step, slowly been walking closer to her while she spoke, until he had already closed almost half of the distance between them and he was standing only a few inches away from the large coffee table. When he became aware of it, Barty couldn’t bring himself to feel embarrassed by the accidental display of his own eagerness - too distracted was he by the way of her words, too taken in by her compliments, too intrigued by her promises.

    She could teach him more.

    For a moment he was at a loss of words, not because he did not know what to say, but rather, because he did not think to say anything at all, while his eyes were still locked on her lips, his ears entranced by her words, and his mind drowning in anticipation.

    Yes, she would teach him more, she would teach him what she knew, and he would rise, and rise above. All he had to do, was show her who he was, and his wishes were to come true. He knew.  

    Yet, he was not one to keep his head in the clouds, and strive for nothing more than knowledge for knowledge’s sake when there were higher things to aim for. No, he was practical - he wanted a place within the Death Eaters, and he would come by this goal only with her approval.

    “That’s what I’m here for”, he said, “I don’t care if it won’t be easy… I will.. I’m here for it”

          Bellatrix did not make any outward indication that she had noticed the boy's approach. Drawing attention to his seemingly unconscious act could spook him, halting him in his tracks. Inwardly, though, she was bursting with the exaltation of the hunt, her eyes alight as she stared unblinkingly at her prey.

          He was almost within her grasp now. She needn't even give chase, so willingly did he stumble into her jaws.

          “I can help you attain power beyond imagining,” she said, voice low. “I can show you how to strike fear into the hearts of your enemies, to take what you want from this world and brush aside those who dare to stand in your way without a second thought. I will give you the education you have always known that you deserve, and with me to guide you, you will grow into the wizard you are meant to become – potent, invulnerable, and unstoppable.”

          The bait was placed. She could see how he burned with desire for all that she promised.

          It was time to spring her trap.

          This final stage was the most delicate of all. To secure a man's service was simplicity itself if one had the means to give him what he wanted. Dangle a carrot before a horse and the beast would follow blindly. The ranks of the Death Eaters brimmed with that sort – those seeking power, those desperate for protection, those drawn to the opportunity to act out their most sadistic of fantasies. But she would not allow the boy to become just another follower. 

          To earn his unconditional loyalty would be a different matter entirely. She had won his mind already, that much was clear, but she needed his heart, his soul. She wanted him to surrender himself to her completely, and she wanted him to do it of his own free will.

          She simply had to give him reason enough.

          Rising to her feet, she said, “You are a very special young man, Mr Crouch. So wise, so driven for one so young. I would not offer what I have to just anybody – I would not waste my time attempting to enrich the mind of fools like Malcolm Avery or Evan Rosier – but I can see your potential.”

          Staring intently into his eyes, she said, “The sorts of things that I hope to impart are beyond the grasp of lesser minds. The magic I will teach would haunt the nightmares of those too weak to stomach real power. If I am to invest my time and energy in you, I must know that I have not put my faith in the wrong man. You must earn my respect, prove to me that you are worthy.”

          She smiled sweetly. “I know that you will not disappoint me.”

playing nice || augustus & bellatrix

 “I'm more surprised that you're here in the first place.  You’ve never shown any signs of rebelling from the  family standards. Not like your brother.”

 “No, you not trusting me was expected. You always had your nose too high in the air to see what was in front of you. Of course, you would have liked me far more as I was raised to be.” Rookwood picked up his wine glass. As if by some magic in the crystal he suddenly changed. The Augustus now was more postured and had a distinct air of grace. Even his accent changed to acknowledge the pristine manner in which the purebloods ought to talk. ”Is this more fitting for someone of my status? Or perhaps I need to add more prejudice to my image? I could go into the city and turn my nose up at the muggle population. That is what you do, correct?”

          At first, all Bellatrix did was smile. Even as she raised her glass for another dainty sip, the corners of her mouth remained stubbornly quirked up. But as amused as the expression made her appear, her eyes were cold, calculating, and completely untouched by her mirth.

          After a long and heavy silence, during which her gaze never left Rookwood's face, Bellatrix finally spoke. “I am a pureblood, Mr Rookwood, and I was raised to follow certain standards of decorum. I will not apologise for these facts. It is simply the reality of who and what I am.”

          She raised her chin slightly, staring haughtily down at the man opposite. “Do not mistake my public diffidence for complacency, or my place in pureblood society as acceptance of its values. I play my part and I play it well, enabling me to aid the Order in ways that no one else can. As admirable as my dear cousin's little rebellion was – ” Here she curled her lip. “ – cut off from our family as he is, there is little of use that he can offer besides himself. I am capable of more.”

still my home || bellatrix & narcissa

☽gammaxorionis☾

"Despite what you may think, Bella, this is still my home.           And you cannot talk to me this way.”

               “As always, Narcissa, you are entirely too sensitive.      You are not a child, and I will not coddle you as though      you were.”

beginnings || barty & bellatrix

   In the dulled light of her laughter, the boy allowed the brief flicker of a smirk  to dance over his lips.  He made sure to extinguish that with the next moment,  still,  for the boy was far too eager to get to the point, far too aware  of the profound meaning of the situation,  far too anxious  to impress to be able to humour her properly.

   He tried to tell himself to have patience,  to hide his desperation from her - it would be foolish of him to show that kind of weakness, now that everything depended on her being convinced of his strength.

   ”My methods have improved  beyond just biting,  you know”,  he said, trying his best to keep the pitch of his voice from betraying the intensity of his feelings, “I’m not a child anymore”

          “That much is clear. You're a young man now, Mr Crouch.”

          Bellatrix was toeing a delicate line, talking to the boy. On the one hand, she could not allow the slightest hint of condescension to creep into her voice, or she would push him away completely. They were all like that, these young recruits – staggering under the weight of their own perceived self-importance and demanding to be met with respect that they had yet to earn. But on the other, though she could not treat him like the child he still was, she would not speak to him as like the adult he believed himself to be. He was still a novice, inexperienced and untested, and he needed to learn his place.

          Fortunately, she was nothing if not a master of the subtleties of conversation.

          “I'm sure you have learned much since then –– wise beyond your years as you are, I'm sure you've taken full advantages of all that Hogwarts has to offer. No doubt you've knowledge beyond what any mere student could hope to attain.”

          Here her eyes lit up, and her smile became almost predatory.

          “I can teach you more.”

aftermath || barty & bellatrix

  The boy finally seemed to be able to relax a little, after he had spotted the creeping smile on her lips, though it was a thoroughly irrational action. He knew that to see her smile in such context couldn’t mean a good thing, and that bitterness was the least that could be hiding behind it right now.

  It made sense, too. Bellatrix just for the way she held herself, was prone to inspire respect wherever she went. It was not all too surprising that someone like her was not used to being regarded with such scrutiny and suspicion.

   Still, he leaned back, and gave her a smirk in return, as was his nature.

   ”What would you have them go through, then, if they weren’t so lucky”, he asked, half curious, half attempting to distract her with more interesting thoughts.

               “You've an impudent face and an impudent tongue to match,” Bellatrix said, though the corner of one mouth was slightly turned up, betraying her amusement. “You should take care – not everyone is as tolerant of insolent young wizards as I am.”

               She did not respond to his question immediately. For several long moments, she busied herself with a carafe of wine, pouring a glass for both herself and for her guest.

               It was not until she had set Barty's drink down on the table in front of him before settling herself on the sofa opposite that she finally spoke.

               “I am a woman of honour,” she said, toying with the stem of her glass. “A woman of integrity. I would never be so infantile as to give in to the temptation to seek revenge over something as insignificant as a social snub. Were I otherwise?” She grinned, the malice in her eyes utterly at odds with the expression. “With my connections to members of both the Ministry and the Dark Lord's followers, it would be the work of an hour to bring each and every member of the Order of the Phoenix to ruin without even having to leave my bedroom.”

disappointment || bellatrix & lucius

"It is very hard for anyone to appear devoted next to your fanaticism, Bellatrix," Lucius snapped at his sister-in-law.  He attempted to play nice for Narcissa’s sake, but in truth, he couldn’t stand the woman.

                 Bellatrix stared back impassively.

                 “You confuse loyalty with fanaticism, Lucius,” she said icily.      “That you evidently cannot distinguish between the two makes me      question your own commitment. For all your fine words, I cannot      believe that you place as much import on anything as you do on      your own wellbeing.”

family ties || bellatrix & andromeda

[ gammaxorionis ]

It was the first time Andromeda was in the middle of it. She kept in the background, just like Narcissa. Being out there, fighting and possibly getting hurt, was not her cup of tea. It had taken her long enough to convince her parents just how much more useful she would be if she were allowed to become a Healer. She would not risk that by foolishly mingling with the foot-soldiers. However, today was different. Today, the battlefield was not the Ministry, or the house of an Order member, nor the Burrow. Today, they were in her living room, here to free some of their friends Snatchers had brought to Malfoy Manor to gain information.

Wand raised, she stood in front of her older sister for the first time in what felt like a century. The moment mother had burned her name off the tapestry, she was as good as dead to the family, and the growing frustration had only made it worse for Andromeda to accept her sister’s betrayal in the past years.

“You dare to come here? After everything you’ve done to us?” With every Stunning Spell she threw Bella’s way, she ruined the interior, rather than hitting her sister. After the fifth time, it was questionable whether she was even aiming for her. There was a lot of anger she had never been able to let go of, and she rather felt like throwing Narissa’s expensive china at her than using her wand.

“You’re not going to get away like this again! I’ll make sure of that!”

                 She hadn’t initially been assigned to go to the Manor.      It would be too hard, they reasoned, for her to keep her mind      on the job when faced with those who had, long ago, been      her family. It would be too dangerous for her. 

                 She had insisted that she go. Who else but she could      carry the mission to a successful conclusion?

                 As she stood before Andromeda, she knew that all      these concerns had been for naught. Though she could      remember with perfect clarity their years of sororal intimacy,      though her face was as familiar as Bellatrix’s own, all emotion      had faded out of existence. It was as though she knew her      sister only from sifting through someone else’s pensieve.

                 It was as it should be. Andromeda was nothing to her      now. And if the time came, she would do what needed to be      done to ensure that she and the captives escaped safely.

                 She dodged the spells with ease, realising after the      first few just how erratic Andromeda’s aim seemed to be. 

                 How touching. After all this time, she still could make      an emotional impact on her sister.

                 Pathetic.

                 “Do not try to stop me, Andromeda.” The words were      not accompanied by any threat. She didn’t have to say anything.      The unspoken implication that Bellatrix would make her suffer if      she stood in her way came across loud and clear.