Noble Burdens, Fall of a Family. (BellaSiri, others)

[[Ren The Ryoko]]

AN: So this fic is basically my fanfic baby. I spent nearly 9 months from when I was asked to write this to finishing it. Part of that is because it's massively long, and the other part is that due to school I had to take long breaks where I couldn't work on it at all. I can't remember the last time I spent this long on one single fic. But it was fun. I got to play with a lot of characters I like in some fairly painful ways. It's hard to get into Bella's head, as I've never really been that drawn to her before this project.

But all the same, I hope you like it.

X x x
x x x

Noble Burdens;
Fall of a Family
Rating: R



X

It's not easy being the oldest, Bella always thought. It's a lot of responsibility, making sure that one's younger sisters and cousins learn to uphold the family honor, how to act among polite society, in public and behind closed doors. It's a bit like herding cats, honestly, and it could be quite dull much of the time. Bellatrix found it a bore, trying to make sure that Cissy always remembered to braid her hair and trying to keep Andromeda away from the wrong sort of boys. It was a dreary task. She felt like she was just killing time before her Master needed her. It was boring. Boredom is the obtrusive crux of the rich and needy, and it plagued her with its incessant nagging aches. What a perfectly awful thing to be bored.

Sirius, however, was never boring. He had always showed so much promise, so much defiance, and a deep penchant for trouble. He was the boy who would probably become the salvation of the Black family, or he could be their terrible downfall. It was so hard to tell with Sirius. He burned so brightly, a red giant on the verge of super nova, and all their hopes and dreams were in a precarious orbit. One false move and all would be lost, all the correct moves and there was so much to be gained.

Bella, never one to play without jinxed dice, took it upon herself to make sure that her stunning, glorious, charismatic little boy-cousin became the man he needed to be. Call her a martyr to the cause. The people who are worth anything in society would understand. They would not call her a monster, or a beast. The wrong sort of people might not but the wrong sort of people's opinion didn't matter anyway.

“Sirius,” she cooed, beckoning him towards her with a wiggle of her finger. She was sitting by the window, hair done up in pearls, heavy eyeshadow on her eyes. Her dress, dark red silks, slid against her skin as she moved to face Sirius.

He looked at her, shoulders slouched, looking bored and unhappy in his well fitted clothes. Regulus, only seven years old, sat by the fire looking perfectly regal next to Sirius. Both of them looked like perfect little princes, Sirius in rubies like he was born in fire, Regulus in sapphires like he came from the ocean; her fire and ice little cousins. Sirius sighed and said a few soft words to Regulus before turning to Bella.

“Happy birthday, Bella,” Sirius said, obviously displeased with having to leave Regulus's side. He was protective of his younger brother, an admirable trait. It suited him. But it was not Regulus who was her family's heir. It is Sirius, wonderful little Sirius.

“Why thank you, Sirius.” Oh yes. Her birthday. Glorious 17 years old now, a woman by any measure. “I know it's unconventional, but I have a present for you as well.” She told him, taking his hand and standing up.

She turned absently to the rather plain young man beside her, who had been talking to Lucius Malfoy, “Rodolphus, hold my drink,” she said. He glanced at her and took the drink without a word. Rodolphus, for all his money and good breeding, was a boring albeit obedient fiance. He was nothing like Sirius. He was not charming, or daring or even interesting in any way. However, he made a decent cup holder.

Sirius was nine years old. He would be ten in a month and in school the following year and already Bella could feel his budding need for dominance rolling off him in waves. He, already so young, hated to be bossed around and controlled. He didn't let himself be pulled along at first. It wasn't until she laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek that he consented to being led away from the party into the deeper recesses of the house.

They finally reached Bella's bedroom and the door was locked behind them.

“So, you have a present for me?” Sirius asked. Innocence still unspoiled had made him curious for what his elder cousin could have in store for him. Bella found it precious, but that innocence would make him weak.

She smiled wickedly, pulling her younger cousin onto the bed. She knelt on the floor in front of him, her dress billowing out beneath her as she looked up at her young cousin. She rested her hands on his knees, her nails tracing circles in the expensive fabric.

“You're growing up so fast, Sirius,” she said softly, fingers tracing higher and higher up his thighs. “I have to wonder if you have a girlfriend yet.” This was a cruel game to play, but she was grinning as she felt shivers run up and down his legs.

“No, Bella,” Sirius said, a look of uneasiness blossoming over his face along with a small blush.

“Well, how about we play a little game, Sirius?” she cooed, a sinister kind of teasing dripping from her voice. “So that when you do get a girlfriend, you know what to do.” She flicked her wand at the door and a silencing charm clicked into place. She ran her nails up and down Sirius's legs, making him quiver more. Bella saw that flash of fear in her cousin's eyes.

He looked terrified of her. “Well that look won't do,” Bella said. “You shouldn't show any fear, Sirius, no matter how scary I am.”

“I'm not scared,” he said softly, but Bella placed one of her taloned nails on his lips to hush him. She slid her hand down his neck, and slowly pluck at each of his dark ruby buttons, opening his jacket. Sirius scooted back slightly. “B-bella?”

“Come Sirius. I'm giving you a present. Don't spoil it by talking,” she chuckled darkly as she began to undo the buttons on his under shirt, leaving his pale skin exposed. He shook against the cold air. Bella leaned forward, her breath wine bitter as it slid between her pouting red lips. “Stay very quiet,” she whispered, brushing Sirius's ear as she spoke. The boy's body went still, scared like deer.

Sirius froze as his cousin kissed a trail down his neck and chest, leaving blood red lipstick marks on his too pale skin. With the silencing charm on the door there was no one to come to his rescue. She wanted to mold him into the perfect aristocrat, experienced, in control and always, always loyal to her.


X

It was her wedding day. She stood in the hallway, her white dress laced in black, staring into the slightly concave, distorted mirror on the wall. Any minute now the music would begin and she would walk down the aisle to that mole of a man, Rodolphus. She would pass by her sisters, their mother, his aunt and uncle, little Regulus and bold Sirius and sign away the Black name to take on “Lestrange” of all things.

But such is the way that the world works. Such is the manner of nobility. It would have been nice, Bella mused, to have put off the wedding a bit longer. There was much of the world she hadn't seen, and Rodolphus detested travel. But travel, like love, was an abortive dream in her political life. There was work to be done, and no time to waste.

“All dressed up, Bella?”

“My lord,” Bella breathed out, turning. Voldemort, her lord, stood in the hallway, looking her up and down. His hair was slicked back behind his ears, showing off his unnaturally pale skin that simply radiated power. His eyes, that deep deep scarlet, sent a small rush through her. She let out a small laugh. “Yes, I'm a bit dressed up. I'm going to be married within the hour.”

“To a noble house, and breed noble heirs for the new and noble world we will build, I know,” her lord said with only hints of emotion in his voice.

“Do you want me to get married, lord?” Bellatrix asked. “To Rodolphus?”

“He's noble,” her lord said, an amused smirk on those thin lips of his.

“ A noble marriage I need, I know,” she smiled at him, taking a step forward. Oh how she burned for him. Her master. Her lord. “But...there are....other,” she looked up at him, close enough to touch. “men,” her eyes locked with his, shivers running through her body, “Other...wizards of the...greatest strength that could....have me.” Suggestion dripped on every word as Bella stood before him in her wedding gown. That foolish dream, love, was woven into each caressed syllable.

Voldemort let out a chuckle. “Do return quickly from your honeymoon, Madam Lestrange,” he said and walked away, leaving Bella's words floating in the air. “You are the best soldier I have.”

And then the organ began to play that dreaded prisoners march.

X x x

Sirius being sorted in Gryffindor was not good news. This fact should be pretty obvious to anyone. Blacks were not in Gryffindor. It simply didn't happen. It didn't do. The heir to the Black family could not be associating with that batch of blood traitors and muggle loving scum. It was awful. Bella knew that in light of this terrible joke of fate she would have to redouble her efforts with the boy.

That Christmas Bella made a point to get Sirius alone in the pantry. He had been foolish enough to wander into the enclosed space in search for some snacks for him and Regulus. Bella has been waiting for just such an opportunity. She slipped into the cupboard behind him and clicked the door shut. “Silencio” She said, pointing her wand at the door as she closed it.

Sirius spun around quickly, his hands full of sugary snacks that his mother rationed so carefully for him. His panic at getting caught by his mother in the midst of his thievery quickly morphed into a new kind of terror. “B-bella,” he said. Being caught eating a weeks worth of sugar at one time would have earned him a beating. Being locked in a closet with Bella posed a different kind of threat.

“Ah, hello darling,” she said softly, grinning at him like a lion grins at a lamb. “Stealing biscuits, Sirius? Really?”

Sirius flushed a dark red and dropped the biscuits. He shoved his hands in his pockets and took a step back until his back was pressed against the shelves. “Yeah well...Reggie wanted some, ya know. So I figured-”

“Tsk, tsk,” Bella said and stepped forward, crushing one of the packages under her foot. Sirius winced at the sickening crinkle of paper and snap of the sweets breaking into crumbs as Bella's heels destroyed the coveted snacks. “First you get sorted into that horrible, nasty Gryffindor house,” she said, her voice suddenly ooozing with anger, “and now you're stealing biscuits?” She reached forward, running her long nails down the side of Sirius's face. “Is that anyway for an heir to behave?”

“I...well...” Sirius' face paled as she touched him. “Um...An heir can do what he likes?” Sirius said, testing out the answer. Bella could tell that Sirius was trying to pick the right reply. Maybe, just maybe, if he said all the right things, she would let him go. But his answer was more of a question, and that wasn't good enough.

“Nice try, Sirius,” she breathed, another heel crunching into a packet of sweets as she stepped closer to him, her body barely inches from his own, her heat filling his space. “But your confidence is lacking. The world only respects commands given in confident tones, love, and I am a woman in the world's own image.”

“Bella....Reggie...I told him that I would be right back,” Sirius said, looking past her towards the door. Locked and silenced, he knew.

Bella grabbed Sirius' face forcefully, her nails digging into his soft boyish cheeks with malice. He let out a cry of pain as the skin on his face began to redden. “ It's very rude not to look at someone when you speak to them, Sirius,” she hissed, something dark and wild in her eyes. “Now don't worry about sweet little Regulus. He can wait. First, I have to teach you what happens when you don't act like you're supposed to.”

With her free hand she reached over and flicked off the lights.

X x x

The truth was, Bella wasn't always cruel. Cruelty was a mood, as was generosity.

She found Sirius sitting on the roof of the old Black house, staring up at the stars, looking sullen. Regulus hadn't wanted to tell Bella were his brother was. It took a lot of promises and sweetness to convince the boy to tell her where Siriuss “thinking place” was. Regulus was a good brother that way. Loyal to family, and a Slytherin down to his bones.

His father had been hitting Sirius again. Uncle Orion could be like that when he'd had too much to drink, and Sirius insisted on talking about his awful mudblood friends and the insufferable blood traitor Potter. Even from her view point behind Sirius she could see the marks his father had left on the boy's arms. She could only guess what injuries lay under his shirt as well. Of course the boy's bruises would be gone by morning with a bit of potion, but right now they stood out on his skin like he was a toddler that had played in the fire place ash.

“Sirius,” she said softly, stepping out of the attic window. “You've gotten so much bigger since I saw you last.It was your last birthday, wasn't it? 12 years old. You'll be an old man in no time.” Her voice was gentle as she sat next to him.

Sirius didn't move. He kept staring out at the London lights, his hair blocking Bella's view of the bruises she knew were around his eyes.

“Your hair is getting awfully long. Is that the fashion at school now?” she asked, brushing the hair out of his eyes with her nails. “It looks very handsome.”

“What do you want Bella? Are you here to teach me another of your lessons?” He asked, his eyes still not moving from some far off point. There was no fear in his voice. That was good. Very good. It made Bella smile. Sirius was overcoming his fear of her.

“I brought you something,” she said, reaching into her purse. She pulled out a new album and handed it to Sirius. “It's the new Macbeth's Witches album. You like them right?”

Sirius took the record and stared down at it. Suspicion flitted across his face. Bella knew it was because she was rarely kind to him. It was a shame. Sirius wasn't a bad boy. He was just wayward. Easily influenced, that was all.

“I also brought you a bit of Pain brew to help with the bruises,” she said, pulling out a small bottle. “And I slipped a bit of whiskey in there, as it does help the pain,” she added with a conspiratorial wink.

“Why?” Sirius, for the first time, looked up at Bella. “Father hates this band. Father hates all my music actually. Why would you get this for me? Isn't it....improper or some rubbish?”

“An heir can do what he likes?” She asked, making it sound like a question. It drew a small amused snort from the boy. “Just try not to fight with your father so much Sirius. In no time at all, you'll be head of our family. Then you can have more freedom. For now, pick your battles. Okay? Just be a good boy.”

Sirius snorted once more, but his mood did seem improved. “You sound like Reggie, always telling me to pick my battles,” he said and looked back down at the coveted album in his hands. “I'll try, Bella.”

“Good,” she said and kissed his cheek.

x x x

The back parlor of the old Lestrange house was airy and comfortable. It's white fluttery curtains danced in the breeze through the large high windows. Sirius was sitting there alone waiting for her, his knees pulled up to his chest as he nursed a cup of tea. He had mud on his boots, rubbing into the white cushions of the chair without any care. As if he gave a damn about Rodolphus's furniture.

Bella slid up behind the boy. He was 13 years old and growing more gorgeous by the hour. “Well, well, I nearly didn't believe the little house elf when he told me that you'd come to pay me a visit Sirius,” she said softly in his ear. The boy gave a shudder. “What brings my darling cousin to my parlor?”

Sirius didn't respond to her at first. Instead he took a shaky sip of his tea.

“Did you miss me?” Bella cooed softly. “Why did you come all the way here just to see me?”

Sirius gave a small helpless shrug. “I dunno.”

“Come now, Sirius, you came all the way here,” Bella whispered, running her hands through his hair. “Tell me.”

“...there are times when I can't stop thinking about you,” he whispered, his voice cracking slightly. “It's like a poison.” He looked up at her. “You're a poison.”

Oh what wonderful words. Yes, Sirius wanted her. Sirius missed her. She had planted that seed of need and fear deep into his mind and now he craved her just as much as he hated her. “Have you been listening to the album I gave you?” she asked.

Sirius gave a small nod. “Mostly at school. They have a new one coming out soon though.”

“I'll buy it for you,” Bella whispered and ran her nails through his hair. “Sirius?” She said sweetly. “Would you like to come to my bedroom? We can just kiss if you like. I won't hurt you this time, since you came here all on your own.”

And Sirius, wrestling with his horrible twisted feelings, gave a slow nod and got up out of the chair.

X x x

“You know,” He said, his voice slithering into Bella's brain. “Some people find me repugnant now.”

Bella stood, leaning out the window of her bedroom, hair dangling around her face. She glanced behind her, where her Lord was sitting at her desk, rolling a quill between his fingers.

“The more powerful I become it seems the more my school boy looks... fade away.” He gestured to his face. It was true. His skin was waxy and pale, his eyes darker and more red than ever before. There seemed something inhuman about him now. Something distorted. “I am feared, but no longer adored by all.”

He stood up, looking at her. “But that's not true for you, is it, Bellatrix?”

“My lord,” Bella said, turning to face him, leaning against the wall. Merlin, she adored him. Her master, so dark, so glorious. The first time she had met him, Voldemort had commanded every fiber of her being. It wasn't that he was beautiful (though he was). It was so much more than that. The loss of his school boy looks didn't dim his regal aura. She loved him, foolish woman that she knew she was.

“Do you find me repugnant?”

“My lord,” she walked over to him. “May I?” He nodded. Slowly, Bellatrix placed her hands upon his chest. “My lord, you are ethereal,” she said softly, staring up at him, heart pounding. “Those who are too weak of mind to understand are worthless,” she said. “I would...give anything to be in your presence. To...feel you.”

“Bellatrix,” he smirked, cupping her cheek. “Your husband would not be happy about this kind of talk.”

“I don't give a damn what Rodolphus would like,” Bella said, her mind lost in her master's eyes, ringed in red, inhuman, irresistible. “My loyalty is to you first, above all others.”

“You really are my best solider, aren't you?” He chuckled and, with a small flick of his wand, locked the door to the study.

x x x

The older Sirius got, the more rebellious he became. Bella knew that it was that damned James Potter's fault. The weakness of Blood treachery was contagious, and Bella felt that she had failed to protect Sirius from his nasty Gryffindor class mate's influence. The boy was fighting increasingly often with his father, clashing with him as his 16th birthday got closer and closer.

Sixteen is a big year for a pure blood. It's the last year of childhood for a wizard. It is the year when a father has to instill in his son a sense of importance and urgency, for soon he will be eligible to be man of the house. Sirius was not making a good impression as the future heir at the moment and that had to be fixed.

Bella understood now that this was a drastic situation, requiring more drastic measures. His official 16th birthday party would be a high society affair, and the last chance she really had to see him before he was back at school for another three months with nothing but those dirty so called friends of his to influence him. Well, she'd gotten him alone at parties before. She could easily do it again.

But if eight years of getting Sirius alone hadn't had the results she wanted, perhaps a different approach was needed now. No amount of secret wizard rock albums was bribery enough to make him behave better either. Both vinegar and honey had failed. Perhaps a little demonstration for the boy to see just what would happen to his brother if this rebellious behavior continued was what the healer ordered. It was risky. It was a coin flip and could backfire, but she had to risk it. Bella hated to play without jinxed dice, but there were no other good options left.

Her lord, her love, her Voldemort, needed Sirius in his army. Sirius would be such an asset, such a tool for good and for their glorious cause. Her lord asked about her cousins at times, wanted to know when she could get them to join their war. She had to do her best to bring her cousins, especially Sirius, the heir of the family, into the right kind of power., for her family, and for her lord. This was a labour of love.

Poor little Regulus, wreathed in his sapphires. She had pretty much left him alone for all these years. He was such a good boy, growing up well on his own. He really didn't deserve to be punished for what his brother had done. Oh well. The boy was a Black. He could survive a little emotional trauma, right? Of course he could. All great men had a little bruising on their souls.

“Oh, Regulus,” Bella said sweetly, beckoning him over to her with a clawed finger. Regulus looked up from his conversation with Rabastan, her dull little brother in law. Although Rabastan was older than Regulus by a good 7 years, the two boys looked incredibly similar. Both slight of build, and thin of face, very noble. Though Rabastan's hair was a mousy brown and drawn into a pony tail, while Regulus's was cut shorter and ebony. Regulus was clearly the more regal of the two, but they seemed to get along well enough.

Odd, Bellatrix thought, how the younger brothers could be so similar, while the older brothers so different. Sirius, glorious fiery rebellious Sirius was nothing like her pathetic puppet of a husband.

The two boys exchanged a few spare words before Regulus walked over to her, answering her summons. “Yes, Bella?” he asked softly. Bella could only wonder what kind of thoughts and fears hid beneath the boy's eyes. He must have known what dark secret things she had done to his older brother in the past, but unlike his brother, Regulus kept his emotions well regulated and strictly rationed.

“A word alone in my chamber, Regulus? I need to talk to you about Sirius,” she told him, cupping the boy's cheek. “Oh, and Rabastan, darling, when Sirius comes along, as he will any minute, could you send him along to my bedroom too?” she added.

Rabastan had no love for Sirius, and had a healthy amount of fear for his sister-in-law. He gave a small shrug, and went back to his drink.

Regulus gave a tired kind of sigh, as though talk of his brother weighed heavy on his heart. Poor dear. No one suffered more from Sirius's chronic disobedience than Regulus had. He had been forced to grow up trying to stay out of the way while his father and Sirius rabidly fought, watching his brother become corrupted at school with no way to help. Regulus, perhaps hoping Bella could offer him a way to help his older brother, gave a nod and followed her into the dark of the hallway and the dim of her bedroom.

Regulus, unlike his brother, was not a game. This, unlike with Sirius, was not a seduction. This was not meant to control him. There was no need to be gentle, no need to be slow, no need to whisper sweet things in his ears and try to make him enjoy the dark way she would eek pleasure out of his body and into her own.

“Just remember, little Regulus. This will teach your brother that he must behave. If he wants to protect you, he'll have to act right,” was all she told him as the bonds around his wrists were pulled tight around her bed posts. Then came darkness. Then came whimpering, and pain, and the gleeful knowledge that this was for a greater good.

And then, at long, long last, came that moment. The moment which all this rested on.

The door slammed open, and Sirius, with an older brother's panic on his face, stood in the door way. He was panting hard, his hair falling in his flushed face, looking disheveled like a common plebeian. “No...no, no, Reg...” he whispered running forward and pulling at the ropes that held Regulus to the bed. The younger boy, a rag shoved in his mouth, tears on his face, lay limp on the sheets. His robes were torn open, leaving him revealed, with bleeding claw marks across his chest. The sheets were dark with blood, sweat, semen and God knew what else. “Bella you monster. Why? Why him?” he looked over at her, sitting by her mirror. His eyes were a cloudy storm of anger and hurt.

Bella was staring at Sirius's reflection in the mirror as she brushed her hair, her back to him. “Do leave little Regulus there, Sirius,” she said, reapplying some lipstick, completely nude. “I'm not done playing with him yet.”

There was a flash of anger across Sirius's face as he stepped away from his brother and drew his wand. He was more than just angry and protective. Deep in his eyes, Bella could gleefully detect a hint of jealousy as well. He was always the one Bella focused on, the one she 'played' with. Even if he hated it, losing that attention must have sent such conflicting signals through him.

But his protective nature for Regulus was more powerful than any amount of twisted jealousy. “Playing with him!? Why are you going after Regulus, Bella? He's everything you want him to be already,” he spat, the bitterness of his own abuse clear in his voice. “What kind of sick game is this?”

“Oh yes. Little Reggie is a good boy. Unlike you,” Bella said and placed her hair brush down slowly. “You Sirius, are not a good boy. You, Sirius, are a rebellious awful boy. And this is a lesson,” she said and turned around, her legs spread slightly, hair falling over her shoulders and breasts. “There are rumors you know. That you've been having packages of your things mailed away to your friend's houses.”

“What?” Sirius said, his eye twitching. “What does that have to do with Regulus?”

“You aren't planning on running away, are you?” She stood up slowly and stepped towards Sirius. She kept her eyes locked with his, paying no mind to his wand.

“I...” He took a step back, his eyes wide. “But Regulus has nothing to-” His confidence and anger were in danger of failing, succumbing to a clearly building fear. He had been found out. His secret plans, held so close to his dreams of a free and happy future, were uncovered.

“You know that would be very stupid of you,” Bella said softly, walking closer and closer to the bed and to Sirius.

“That's none of-” He took another few steps back towards the door, his wand still raised at his cousin. He was beginning to panic. So much of his plans must have rested on secrecy, sending his things away slowly and quietly so that his leaving would barely be noticed until it was too late. Being found out threw a wrench into the whole sordid business.

“You're the heir to our family, Sirius,” she said, tilting her head to the side. She reached the bed now, where Regulus still lay.

“I don't-” Sirius was finally back in the doorway, shoulder blades pressed against the frame. He had both hands on the handle of his wand, eyes wide as the panic ran through him. Bella could only guess what was going through his head.

“And if you run away,” she gave a predatory grin, and looked down at Regulus, still tied to the bed. “Who will keep poor little Regulus safe from me?” She let out a laugh and ran her nails down Regulus's chest slowly, dragging across his fresh wounds. The boy gave a small whimper. “Do you know what I will do to your sweet little brother if you leave? Can you guess? He's not as big as you are, you know. But he gets the job done if you don't mind the crying,” she let out an evil kind of giggle.

This was the moment that everything rested on. “Now, come here, Sirius,” she said softly, her nails still dancing across Regulus's blood soaked skin. “Come to me, and I'll cut his bonds and never, ever touch little Regulus again. If you behave, I won't even ever touch you again. Just do as I say.” She dug her nails into Regulus's chest wounds then, making the boy cry out painfully. “Or will you run?”

Sirius's eyes darted back and forth from his cousin to his brother. He was so full of fear, full of anger. His hands shook, and his wand with them. What a horrible place to be, a horrible choice. Bella watched him carefully, hoping he would make the right choice. Sirius was frozen, torn, run or stay, freedom or his brother. Life or death. How could he choose?

And then he ran.

X x x

Bella stood over her sink, washing the blood out of her nails. She was frustrated. How dare he? How dare Sirius run like that? Leaving little Regulus to cry on her bed, terrified that now his torture would never end because his older brother had just abandoned him. Some heir to the family Sirius was turning out to be. She slammed the bar of soap into the soap dish, cracking it.

“I heard your cousin ran.”

Bella spun around to face her master, her lord. Rodolphus stood behind him by the doorway. “My lord...” Bella said and grabbed a towel to wipe her hands. “....yes. Sirius ran. He will come back though,” she assured him. Her lord needed Sirius in his army. Sirius was so strong. “He's just...wayward. I will bring him back for you.”

Voldemort held up his hand to silence her. “Never mind. We have no time to chase down one wayward recruit. Focus on the other one. Regulus. Lucius has told me he is promising.” He walked over to her and, right in front of her husband, cupped her cheek. “you are my best soldier, Bella,” he said with a smirk before stepping back. “Very soon we will becoming much more public. Get Regulus and get ready. We won't be in the shadows much longer. Don't let me down,” he said, looking at Rodolphus before walking out of the room.

Rodolphus didn't move until Voldemort was gone for sure, and even then, it was only to cross his arms across his chest. “So, how exactly do you plan on getting Regulus after you left him bleeding on your bed like that?”

“Your brother's taking care of him, isn't he?” Bella said, still smug over the extra attention from their lord.

Rodolphus wasn't a jealous man, to his credit. He understood that their marriage was a political agreement. But he was a prideful man, and Bella's public nonchalance towards their wedding vows made him look bad. Such a silly sullen creature, her boring little husband. Oh yes, after the war, she'd get the divorce she wanted. She wouldn't give this man any children. The world didn't need any more Lestranges. When the world was new, it would be her lord who would need children, need heirs. His best little solider indeed.

“Rabastan can get the blood off him, sure. But-”

“Rodolphus, do stop being such an obnoxious bore,” Bella said and turned back to the sink, looking at her make-up. “I can handle Regulus. He is much tamer than his brother. He will understand that what I did was good intentioned.” She glanced over at him. “Besides, I need to get my orgasms someway. You're always so busy doing Merlin knows what with your little brother to pay me any mind.”

“You're sick,” he spat.

“You're boring.”

With a huff, Rodolphus slammed the door and left.

x x x


“My dear little Regulus, heard from your brother lately?” Bella asked sweetly, sweeping into the room where Regulus sat next to Lucius Malfoy. The boy visibly shrank back a little when he heard her speak. What a shame. It was sad that Regulus had to be so bruised and for Sirius to still run away.

Oh well. Still, Regulus showed no signs of rebellion in him. He was a good, loyal child on a good track for being a Death Eater as soon as he was old enough.

“No Bella,” Regulus said, emotion not crossing his face as he spoke, though his dark eyes glimmered with a deeper sadness then he let on. “Sirius hasn't spoken to me since he left. He avoids me at school.”

“Oh well. He's not the heir to the family any more is he? You are,” Bella laughed, kissing Regulus's cheek. That too was kind of a shame. Regulus was a good boy, but he didn't have the same charisma as Sirius, the same confidence. According to Severus, Regulus put on a good act at school, walking around in his snappy little shoes, scoffing at mudbloods and ignoring commoners unless it was absolutely necessary to speak to one. But unlike Sirius's easy confidence, Regulus's was a mask he had been taught to wear. It would do, but he wasn't Sirius. But then, no one else was Sirius.

But her Lord told her to leave Sirius be, and she couldn't act against Voldemort. After all, not even Sirius was her Voldemort. In her hierarchy of loyalty, Voldemort had to sit on top, even if it meant neglecting the bottom rungs.  

[[Ren The Ryoko]]

X x x

Time passes differently when the world is changing. It stops and starts, slows down and skips unpredictably. The three years leading up to the next time Bella saw Sirius snapped by in what felt like moments, while the very second that, through the smoke and the screaming, they realized who the other was, slowed down to a crawl.

Hillend was burning. The magical community there had become so polluted, almost entirely mudbloods, that her master had told her to cleanse it. One night, one fire, kill all the mudbloods and any muggles they saw.

They hadn't counted on the blasted Order showing up though, wands flashing. The damn Order was always causing them trouble. As if avoiding Aurors wasn't bad enough already. If the Death Eaters was where the crème of the crop rose up, then the Order was where the loose ragged ends of misplaced noble sentiments fell together in the most revolting annoyance. In the chaos of the impromptu battle, Regulus's hand had slipped out of hers. Dammit all, Regulus was it. He was their heir. If she lost him...well, it couldn't be tolerated. She had to find him.

“Rodolphus!” She yelled, grabbing her husband. “Get the others out. I have to find Reg.” She yelled and took off into the smoke, her breath hot inside her mask. She hoped Rodolphus could at least get Rabastan and Barty out of here safely. He was worthless, but probably not that worthless.

Where in the world did Regulus get to? Her fragile little cousin made of sapphires. He wasn't suited to this kind of fray, not the way Sirius would have been. But Sirius had to be forgotten. She had to find Regulus. Their last hope for another generation of Blacks.

She turned a corner quickly and there, pinned against an alley wall of smoke stained brick, was Regulus. His mask lay shattered on the ground, his eyes wide with fear. Sirius held him by the collar. Time stopped.

Sirius. He'd grown up so much in the last three years. He was nearly 20. Order tags hung around his neck. He looked ragged, like he had been living as a commoner. But still he had a noble build and his face was contorted with rage, with fear. He'd caught his darling little Regulus in a Death Mask, running through the fires. The two brothers were staring at each other in horror, terrified that the other was here.

“Regulus,” Bella said his name calmly, letting both boys turned to her. She pulled her mask off, letting her hair fall down her shoulders. “We're leaving.”

Sirius's face twisted, his grip on Regulus slipping slightly. “Bella,” he breathed while the world burned around them. His eyes, grey like dirty snow, slid over her, the nightmare from his childhood.

“Hello Sirius,” she said, walking closer. “It's good to see you're still alive. But Regulus and I have to leave before your Auror friends show up, you see.”

“How could you let Regulus do this!?” Sirius spat at her. Of course he blamed her for this. Sirius never could grasp that his pretty little brother had a mind of his own, and Bella was the nightmare who had left scars on the both of them. Sirius looked torn between hugging Regulus to his chest and launching himself at her.

Regulus pulled free from his distracted brother's grip. “I...I'm not a child Sirius. I chose to do this. I'm the heir to the family....” He said, his voice shaking. Defiance, not his forced mask that he wore in public, but real honest defiance burned in him.

Sirius stared at him in horror. “No...no you shouldn't have to do this.”

“You left me.” Regulus said, slipping away from the wall. The pain from that night Sirius ran was so clearly remembered. “I needed you, and you left me. So now I don't need anyone. This is what I have to do!”

“Regulus...” Sirius looked around frantically. The world was burning, and here was Regulus with such poison in his words. But there was no time for this.

“Regulus,” Bella said firmly, interrupting the brothers in their heart to heart. “As sweet as this is, we need to go. Come here.”

“Reggie...” Sirius protested.

But Regulus stepped back until Bella could grab his arm and they apparated away with a pop. When the world stopped spinning, Regulus sunk to his knees and didn't speak to anyone the rest of the night.

x x x

It was storming outside and Sirius paced in the parlor of her house, his muddy boots crushing mud into the white carpet without a care. He was dripping wet, haggard looking, hounded. It was clear he hadn't been sleeping. He was restless.

“A surprise indeed,” Bella said, leaning against the door frame. She knew why he was here. She knew why he wasn't sleeping. She knew what had ripped open a hole in his heart.

Sirius turned to her, gritting his teeth, but didn't speak. So many thoughts burned in his eyes, but the man couldn't find his tongue. Sad. But Bella could understand. She had been hurting too. Their family was dead, after all. Their name. The long line of Blacks was broken, it's last two heirs gone. One disowned and one...

“My brother is dead,” Sirius said painfully. “How?” He stormed over to her, grabbing Bella's arms. He had gotten so much stronger than when he was a child. Bella could feel that strength, re-enforced by his anger and no doubt alcohol to numb the pain. “Bella, how did my brother die?” he hissed. He really could hurt her, she realized. And in his state, he might.

“I don't know,” she said softly. “Sirius, I don't know exactly how it happened. You know I didn't want Regulus to-”

“Don't say his name!” Sirius yelled and slammed Bella back against the wall. “Don't....don't say his name...” Sirius hung his head. Bella had to fight down the most unfamiliar emotion: fear. Sirius was unpredictable, and he was strong, and his brother was dead.

“The Dark Lord gave him a task. A test to prove himself,” Bella said softly. She could feel Sirius tightened his grip on her, his head still bowed. “But he was having a hard time of it. He was scared. The last time I saw him, he was preparing to...try though.”

“What test?” Sirius said weakly, though his grip was still so crushingly strong.

“He had to kill someone,” Bella said, wishing that Sirius would unpin her hands so she could better comfort him. A traitor and a coward, maybe. But Sirius...her glorious little ruby studded Sirius...

“You tried to make him a murderer.”

“It's possible that the man he was trying to kill...killed him.” Bella said, not sure she wanted to tell him this. Not until he was less volatile at least. In a perfect world, this would be Bella's chance to win Sirius back. The guilt Sirius felt over Regulus dying, over leaving him, was no doubt killing him inside. He was vulnerable, but also unpredictable. Bella longed for a pair of jinxed dice.

“Who was it?” Sirius's voice was barely a whisper.

“Sirius....”

“Who did your lord try to make my brother kill?”

“Remus Lupin,” Bella said softly. “We know he's a werewolf. It's possible the beast was able to get the better of Regulus.”

“Lying b***h,” Sirius growled, his nails digging little holes through her sleeves now. His voice was growing stronger, the tides of his emotion changing again. “Remus...he wouldn't. Remus never would have...” But there's that little seed of doubt in his voice. It is a seed that would grow and grow until Sirius wouldn't know which of his friends he trusted and which ones he didn't. The werewolf, always a little secretive, always a little quiet, always sneaking off to be alone at odd times...how much trust would Sirius need to not begin to doubt?

“I'm not saying he did. I'm saying I think he did. Rabastan said he saw Regulus and Lupin talking at some downtown bar. That was the last anyone ever saw of him.” Bella said. Rabastan had let the matter drop after Regulus had stormed away from Lupin, instead of staying with him, offering to help with the kill. No, Rabastan decided to get drunk instead, worthless lump.

“Remus never said he talked to Reg.” Sirius's grip loosened slightly. “But Remus wouldn't kill my brother.” He shoved Bella back again and stumbled away from her. “You're lying. I bet one of you lot killed him. My brother couldn't kill anyone. Killed him to make a point did you? Make an example of little Regulus, too scared to kill?” He was rambling, unstable and unraveling.

“How could you accuse me of killing Regulus?!” Bella demanded. “You think I don't mourn him? My cousin? The last of our family?”

“You're a lying b***h, Bella, and you always chose your master over your family,” Sirius snapped. “Regulus tried to run, didn't he? And I bet he was hunted down like a deer by your precious master.”

“That's not true,” Bella said. She had to try to win Sirius back. She had to calm him down. “Sirius, listen to me. You can come back to us. You can be the heir our family needs. All will be forgiven. We'll find out what happened to Regulus. If you stay on the wrong side of this war, everyone you love will die. Come with me. ” But her words were falling on deaf ears. Sirius's body had gone slack as he pulled himself back together through the drink.

Sirius looked at her, his eyes empty and full of pitch-burning hate.”I won't listen to your lies any more,” he said darkly. “Pray we don't meet on the battle field, Bella. Because I will kill you,” he hissed and stormed out of the house, purposely smashing a vase on the ground on his way out.

x x x

The aurors were rough with her, pulling her through the halls of her new prison. She could hear the whimpering of her worthless brother in law, and the weak protests of Barty behind her. Rodolphus, to his credit, was silent, but Bella could feel the way he worried over Rabastan. The boys weren't handling the new environment well. Stupid boys.

Bella didn't care. What was this prison when a world without her master was prison enough? She knew her master had to be out there, waiting for her, needing her to find him. Being stuck in these stone walls might just drive her crazy.

And yet...there might be some entertainment here. Something to pass the time. She began to laugh, and stopped walking. The aurors tried to force her forward, but Bella refused to be moved, laughing as she stared into the cell that was going to sit just catty-corner to her own.

“No....” The word hung in the air, dangling off the lip of another prisoner.

Bella ripped herself away from her captors and wrapped her hands around the bars of the cell. Her hair fell in her eyes, gleaming with wicked glee. “Hello Sirius.”

“No...you...” Sirius was sitting on the floor, his eyes wide and shaking. His hair was longer than the last time she'd seen it, and mangy now, just like a stray.

“I told you didn't I? That if you didn't come with me, everyone you loved would die. I was right!” The aurors grabbed hold of Bella's arms, pulling her away from the cage where Sirius, his face grey, eyes wide, trembled where he sat. “I was right! Dead, dead, dead, and they all know you're the killer!” Bella's laugh broke into a sinister, hysterical peel. Her lord was gone, and she stuck in these stone walls unable to search for him. But Sirius was here.

Oh yes. Sirius was here. Darling Sirius, stripped of his rubies, his brother, his lover, his best friend. Broken and blamed. Sirius, just as broken as she was.

“They all think you were loyal all along, but if you really HAD been loyal they wouldn't be dead!” Bella screamed, the mirth leaving her voice as the aurors managed to shove her inside of her cell and slam it closed. “You should have listened to me Sirius!”

x x x

Nights in prison are dark, and cold, and long. Bella didn't dream any more. The dementors ate any dreams she could have clung to. In fact, Bella rarely slept any more. It was much more fun, as it were, to sit at the very front corner of her cell, and wait for Sirius to move into her line of sight.

Most of the time she wouldn't even say anything. She'd just smile at him.

Her cousin. He had finally been broken.

Sometimes, she would sing. Taunting songs, viscous songs. Songs about little boys who killed their friends, and songs about little boys who's brother let them die. Songs that would drive Sirius to screaming, raging against the bars, as if he could just reach over and strangle her to silence the horrible noise.

Rodolphus and Rabastan didn't speak. Well, not to Bella anyway. Put into separate cells where they couldn't even see each other they whispered back and forth when the dementors were far enough away. Barty was dead. No one spoke to Bella. No one but Sirius when he cursed her.

x x x

Sirius was gone now. Bella sat on the floor of her cell, rocking back an forth slightly. Oh yes. Sirius had gotten out. He had escaped. Clever, awful little Sirius. But she was still here. Still locked up with her whispering husband and his whispering brother and the nightmares in her own head that whispered even louder.

Her master would come for her. She knew he would. Her Voldemort. He would come. He wasn't dead. She knew he couldn't be dead. The ethereal, the immortal don't die.

She just had to wait.

X x x

There was a far off explosion that rang in her ears. Then another, and another. Bella thought that maybe she was imagining it. But the explosions and yelling got louder and closer until the bars of her cell were pulled open.

“My best solider.”

Bella looked up, the fog in her head clearing slightly. “My lord,” she breathed, staring up at him. He was here. Voldemort. Her Voldemort. She knew it. She was right. Ever since the first time she met him, his eyes burning through her soul, she knew it. He couldn't die. He would rule the world, and now he was here for her. “You...you are ethereal.”

He laughed, pulling her up off the ground. Rodolphus and Rabastan, their hands tightly clasped together, as if after years of nothing but whispers they needed non-stop physical contact, stood by the door. “Come Bella. We have work to do. We have a world to burn.”

“Of course.” She said, and the fires inside of her heart began to burn brightly again.

x x x


Narcissa was sitting on her bed, with tears on her face. She looked like she had after father died. Bella walked in, still covered in scratches from the fight at the ministry. Damn, they still hadn't healed. It had been two days now and she hadn't even been able to go to the store to buy a healing potion to help with them since they all had to lie low. She really shouldn't have been here, at Malfoy Manor anyway, what with Lucius mucking things up for himself.

But Bella had a responsibility to her sister. It's not easy being the oldest after all. Like herding cats.

“Cissy, get up.” She said, having little patience for her weepy sister at the moment. “Come, what's gotten into you?” she asked, annoyed. Cissy always had been a drama queen, weeping over everything. Crying when a house elf died, crying when Andromeda betrayed them and ran off with that horrible horrible mudblood, crying when Sirius ran away from home, always crying.

“My husband is being put on trial, Bella,” Cissy said, hugging her legs like a child. “Lucius will go to....to....and poor Draco. What will he do without his father?” She sounded so hopeless and lost.

“The same as we did without ours. Lucius deserved to get caught. The fool. You're a grown woman, Narcissa. Act like it,” Bella snapped. Her patience for her weepy sister had steadily decreased with time. Of course she still loved her but, Merlin's beard, couldn't she act more reasonable?

“How...how dare you...You can't just say things like that.” The younger woman said, staring at her, offended.

“I'm the older sister. I'll say what I want Cissy,” Bella said, her annoyance growing more and more.

“.....you've changed. Being locked up in that place has...has changed you Bella...They say you killed Sirius. They say you laughed when you did it.”

Yes. She could remember the way her little cousins body arched as her stunning spell hit him, flying through the air until he disappeared behind the veil. How he never came back out. Glorious little Sirius in his rubies. Gone. Had she laughed? She didn't remember. It was all a blur now. It was... so hard to keep her memories straight these days. “So what?” Bella said, letting a smile flutter across her face.

“But Sirius was our cousin!” Cissy protested.

Yes. Yes he was. Her glorious little boy cousin born in fire. She hadn't meant to kill him. It was just a stunning spell. She had rather loved Sirius. Loved his smile. His grey eyes. Such a shame. Such a waste. “He was disowned, Cissy. He was dead to us for a long time. Now pull yourself together. The Dark Lord won't let Lucius rot in prison. He got me out did he not? Just be patient. Pray to our Lord,” Bella said and gave a little twirl. Yes. Their Lord. Her Lord. Burning the world. Ashes to Ashes. No time for being sad.

Cissy looked down at her hands, but didn't say anything.

Bella had stayed too long here. She had to leave, go back to her proper hiding place and wait for her master to come find her. Her master. Yes, just thinking about him helped. In her hierarchy of loyalty, he always always came first. The lower rungs would just have to deal with it, or die.

Do not think about Sirius, she told herself. The boy she was so fond of was not that man who fell through the curtain. Such memories are like nightmares.


X x x

x x x

((A/N: So that's it. Thank you everyone for reading. Reviews always make my day.))