Bellatrix Black

## Bellatrix Lestrange

Lady Lestrange

**Bellatrix Druella Lestrange** (née **Black**; 1951-1998) was a Death Eater and eldest daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black. She was well-known for her strong belief in blood purity and her most infamous crimes: torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom for which she was sent to Azkaban and killing her own niece, Nymphadora Tonks shortly before her own death.

## Personality

Bellatrix was a fiery, passionate and hotheaded woman. Traits she shared with her father, aunt Walburga and cousin Sirius. She was also highly intelligent and interested in the Dark Arts from a young age. As a child and teenager she was rebellious and was often abused by her father who used memory charms on her, which caused and worsened her mental instability. Her mental instability and wrecklessness also made room for sadism. Bellatrix believed in extreme pureblood supremacy, and didn't hestitate to torture or kill those she considered inferior because of their blood status.

Her imprisonment in Azkaban worsened her mental condition. Even so, she was able to show a lot of love and tenderness for her younger sister Narcissa and her master, the Dark Lord.

## Appearance

Bellatrix was known for her classic beauty in her youth with long, black curls, heavily hooded dark eyes (inherited from her mother), a strong jaw and thin lips. She lost a lot of her beauty during her time in Azkaban, but managed to still look relatively attractive. As a Death Eater, she bore the Dark Mark on her left wrist.

She looked very similar to her younger sister Andromeda Black, only being darker in her colouring.

## Biography

### Childhood

Bellatrix was born in 1951 to young newlyweds Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier. Cygnus worked for the International Magical Office of Law as magical lawyer for France, where the Rosier family originated from. Bellatrix was named after the star, meaning "female warrior".

She was soon joined by sisters Andromeda (1953) and Narcissa (1955). The three sisters were incredibly close in childhood. They were raised to believe in pureblood supremacy and the nobility of their family. Bellatrix would rebel against her father when he emotionally and verbally abused her younger sisters, after which he would often hit her and use memory charms on her. This caused mental instability which would plague Bellatrix for the rest of her life.

### Hogwarts

Bellatrix was accepted into Hogwarts aged 11 in 1963 and was sorted into Slytherin House. She did very well at Hogwarts, and her intelligence was praised by her teachers as she gained top O.W.L's. She wasn't chosen to be a prefect, however, as Hogwarts teachers thought her too wreckless, prone to anger and impatient to soothe younger students.

She was part of a gang of Slytherin students that was interested in the Dark Arts and who associated with Lord Voldemort. This also included her future husband, Rodolphus Lestrange (1950), Lucius Malfoy (1953), her cousin Evan Rosier (1960), Severus Snape (1960) and her cousin Regulus Black (1961).

She graduated Hogwarts in 1970, a year before her cousin Sirius Black III would attend.

### First Wizarding War (1970-1981)

The First Wizarding War started right as Bellatrix left Hogwarts to start her career as Auror at the Ministry of Magic, a job her father had procured for her. Bellatrix was already a Death Eater at this part, but still kept it a secret. Originally a spy for Lord Voldemort at the ministry, she eventually joined his missions to torture and kill muggles, the earliest one in 1971 after her twentieth birthday.

In 1972, she tried gaining the Dark Lord's favour by offering her family home as a gathering place for the Death Eaters. Her parents initially didn't agree on this, thinking the Death Eaters too vulgar and violant to welcome them at their noble home, but agreed after Bellatrix promised them to marry a pureblood. At the end of 1972, she married her fellow Death Eater Rodolphus Lestrange aged 21. At this point, she had already fallen in love with Lord Voldemort.

In 1973, her sister Andromeda left home to marry muggleborn Ted Tonks. Bellatrix attacked both her sister and Tonks, but they outwitted her and ran away to elope. Bellatrix lost all contact with her sister after this and hung even more closely to her youngest sister Narcissa. She tried to convince Narcissa to become an official Death Eater, but Narcissa always refused.

For the next 8 years, she fought on Lord Voldemort's side and frequently tortured and killed muggles, muggleborns, blood traitors and members of the Order of the Phoenix. In early 1981, she tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity with her brother, brother-in-law and Barty Crouch Jr. She was very unhappy to work with Crouch Jr., as she thought him unprofessional and too young. He got them caught and during their trial he denied everything, while Bellatrix shamelessly admitted her crimes and her connection to Lord Voldemort. She was sent to Azkaban prison, which worsened her mental instability even more.

### Second Wizarding War (1995-1998)

After growing mad in Azkaban, Bellatrix was freed by Lord Voldemort to join the second Wizarding War. She did so eagerly and immediatly joined her fellow Death Eaters on missions to kill and torture. She killed her cousin, Sirius Black III, in 1996 without remorse. In the final battle, she killed her own niece, Nymphadora Tonks and was killed herself minutes later by Molly Weasley.

## Victims

* Dozens of Muggles (killed, 1971-1998)
* Frank Longbottom (tortured into insanity, 1981)
* Alice Longbottom (tortured into insanity, 1981)
* Sirius Black III (killed, 1996)
* Nymphadora Tonks (killed, 1998)
* Hermione Granger (tortured, 1998)