Bellatrix Lestrange

**Bellatrix Druella Lestrange** (née **Black**; born May 26, 1951) was an English Pureblood witch, the eldest daughter of Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier, who gave her a rich lifestyle and raised her to be proud of her pure-blood heritage. She was a member of the House of Black, an old wizarding family and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight

### Hogwarts (1962-1969)

Bellatrix Black was, like the majority of her family before her, sorted into Slytherin, a patron followed by her younger sisters Andromeda and Narcissa.

Along with the rest of her family who held pureblood supremacy beliefs, Bellatrix cut off contact with Andromeda when she married Muggle-born wizard Ted Tonks, causing her to be disowned from the House of Black. Neither she or Narcissa had "set eyes on Andromeda since she married the Mudblood Tonks". She also held her cousin Sirius Black in contempt for being a "blood traitor" due his different opinions on Muggles and Muggle-borns.

Bellatrix eventually married Rodolphus Lestrange, a fellow wealthy pure-blood and Slytherin, marrying out of obligation of fulfilling her family's pro pure-blood mentality and tradition, Unlike her sisters, she never displayed any affection for her husband whatsoever, never even mentioning him in conversations nor bearing him any children.

When Lord Voldemort first rose to power, Bellatrix and Rodolphus joined the Death Eaters. At some point, she received training in the Dark Arts from Voldemort himself.[4] He was the one to whom she spoke in a romantic manner. However, he never returned her feelings as he was incapable of understanding love and disliked the idea of being emotionally attached to anyone.

### The First Wizarding War (1978-1981)

When the First Wizarding War broke out, Bellatrix and her husband Rodolphus along with her brother-in law Rabastan became Death Eaters and fought for Voldemort. The pair remained loyal to the Dark Lord throughout the war, even after he was "defeated" by the infant Harry Potter.

#### Following October 31, 1981

After the Dark Lord's fall on 31 October, 1981, Bellatrix and a group of Voldemort's followers, including Rodolphus, her brother-in-law Rabastan, and Barty Crouch Jnr, managed to avoid capture or execution by Aurors. Seeking to find and revive their master, the group kidnapped Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members Alice and Frank Longbottom, just new parents to Neville Longbottom. She and her partners used the Cruciatus Curse to torture the couple for information on Voldemort's whereabouts, until the two captives were driven into insanity when they refused to divulge anything. This happened when Neville was only a baby. Frank and Alice were placed in the Janus Thickey Ward for irrevocable spell damage at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and, due to them undergoing extreme torture, were rendered unaware that they had a son together.

### Post 1981 (1981 - current)

This crime caused a wave of fury upon the wizard community of such ferocity that the Ministry of Magic were critically pressured to find the culprits. When the four were captured, they were tried before the Council of Magical Law and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. Unlike many other Death Eaters, Bellatrix didn't lie about her loyalty — she proudly claimed that she was loyal to Voldemort and that she would wait for his return.

Marked as Prisoner 93, Bellatrix was sentenced to life in Azkaban with no chance of release. For her actions, she later described herself as the Dark Lord's most loyal follower and even Lord Voldemort, whom she admired the most, gained a considerable amount of respect for her. Her fifteen years in a maximum security cell took a toll on her mentally, as it did with so many, as well as hollowing out her appearance until only the faintest traces of her familial beauty remained.

## Physical Appearance

Bellatrix had the classic "great good looks" and arrogant bearing common for members of the House of Black: She was a tall woman with long, thick, shiny dark hair. Her face had a strong jaw, a thin mouth, and heavily lidded eyes with long eyelashes. As a Death Eater, Bellatrix bore the Dark Mark on her left inner forearm. However like her cousin Sirius Black, her lengthy imprisonment in Azkaban took a toll on her appearance - her face became gaunt and skull-like, but she still managed to retain vestiges of her great beauty. here was a remarkable resemblance between Bellatrix and her sisters - at first glance.

## Personality

Bellatrix was an intensely sadistic witch with brutal, violent tendencies. She possessed a fierce and dangerous temper, a trait that she shared with her cousin Sirius and her aunt Walburga and which was likely a result of the inbreeding that plagued her birth family. Bellatrix was one of Voldemort's cruellest Death Eaters, always eager to inflict the Cruciatus Curse on enemies. Harry Potter noted that she was as "mad as her master." Likely for these reasons, Bellatrix was slavishly devoted to Lord Voldemort and was willing to do anything for his cause. She believed to have proven her loyalty by her time in Azkaban, an event which had seemingly furthered her mental decline. Despite her loyalty towards her master she was able to disagree with him on occasion. She did not trust Severus Snape, and believed that Voldemort was mistaken in doing so, though she showed shame and fear when expressing this.

Overall, Bellatrix was obsessed with blood purity and took immense pride in the aristocracy of her family since a young age. Like all the rest of Lord Voldemort's followers, she was vehemently against all half-bloods, Muggle-borns, Muggles, and half-breeds. She had a particular disdain for blood traitors, not being above killing members of her own family who displeased her, including her cousin Sirius and her younger sister's daughter Nymphadora, whom she sought to kill with great determination. Given her reaction to Harry's words that Voldemort is a half-blood, it is likely that she didn't know that her master wasn't a pure-blood or at least was in denial.

Bellatrix was intelligent and a natural leader, taking charge in tricky situations. These traits were shown during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. The latter event was a mark of her decisiveness and ruthlessness, as she took no unnecessary prisoners (preferring to kill them instead), as she planned to do with a group of Snatchers who attempted to defy her. However, Bellatrix could be easily distracted and reckless, especially in battle with opponents that appeared to be (or were) weaker than herself.

Bellatrix was also egotistical and arrogant, described by Harry as "treat[ing] everyone like scum" in a rather taunting way. She had immense confidence in her skills and never hesitated to jump into battle against any auror or Order of the Phoenix member. Furthermore, she was immensely proud of her status as the most loyal and devoted follower of Lord Voldemort. However, Bellatrix chose to flee when Dumbledore arrived, suggesting that, like her master, she held a degree of fear and caution for the powerful wizard. Despite her cruel personality, Bellatrix was not incapable of caring for a few people. She was obsessively in love with her master, Lord Voldemort. She had a close relationship with her younger sister Narcissa Malfoy, grudgingly going with her to Snape's house to ask his help and didn't tell her master of her sister's deception. She also showed affection for her nephew and student Draco Malfoy, but didn't seem to be too concerned about his safety as she would "be glad to give [her own sons] up to the service of the Dark Lord".

## Abilities and Skills

*See Power Scale for more information.*

*Bella's Abilities and Skills*
 Dueling Experience
 Durability
 Non-verbal magic
 Magical Knowledge
 Charms

### Other Skills

* **Occlumens**: Bellatrix was an experienced Occulmens, trained by her grandfather Pollux. Likewise, she was talented in Legilimency, given her dedication to the Dark Lord and her ability to penetrate minds is next to none.
* **Apparition:** Bellatrix was proficient in Apparition, although her sister Narcissa may be even more skilled than her
* **Teaching skills:** Bellatrix taught Draco Occlumency and (non-verbal spells, the Unforgivable Curses and other branches of the Dark Arts.
* **Dark Arts Savant**: Sirius achieved an O in D.A.D.A. during her time at Hogwarts. Through her skill, she mastered the Dark Arts.

## Possessions and Properties

* **First wand**: Her first wand was 12¾" inches long, made of walnut wood, with a dragon heartstring core. Wands with dragon heartstring produce the most flamboyant spells and easily are turned to the Dark Arts.
* **Knife**: Bellatrix owned a small, sharp knife which was made of silver.
* **Lestrange Vault:** Although this Gringotts vault and its contents were technically owned by her husband's family, Bellatrix was shown to have as much authority of it, and kept many of her own valuable personal items in there.

## Relationships

### Family

Bellatrix took the pure-blood values of her family very seriously, as indicated by her marriage into a known pure-blood wizarding family and her zealous belief in Death Eater ideology. She had no feelings of affection for those in her family deemed blood traitors by disgracing and dishonouring her family by not fanatically honouring the prejudiced values she did, and readily attacked and killed them on many occasions.

### Narcissa Malfoy

Bellatrix seemed to have had a fairly close and affectionate relationship with her younger sister Narcissa, whom she called "Cissy." Narcissa and Bellatrix occasionally clashed over the former's protectiveness towards her son; She argued that Narcissa should be proud that her son was a Death Eater, while Narcissa consistently demonstrated that the safety of her son and husband were her first priorities.

### Draco Malfoy

Bellatrix's relationship with Draco seemed to have some affection; though she seemed to disapprove of his inability to kill and his dislike for torture. She taught him Occlumency, non-verbal spells, and several branches of the Dark Arts, making her already talented nephew a powerful wizard.

### Lucius Malfoy

Her brother-in-law Lucius was antagonistic with Bellatrix due to usurping his place within the Death Eater ranks despite the fact she had been imprisoned in Azkaban for fourteen years, unlike Lucius. Their differences in loyalty in the Dark Lord fuelled their antagonism for each other even more.

### Rodolphus Lestrange

Bellatrix attended Hogwarts with Rodolphus Lestrange and were part of a gang of other Slytherin students which also included Lucius Malfoy, Evan Rosier, and Severus Snape, all of whom became Death Eaters. She later married him in order to make a "respectable pure-blood marriage", as it was expected of her. There is no indication that their relationship went beyond this. She never expressed any love or concern for him. No children appear beneath their names on the Black family tapestry. It could be surmised that she made no attempts to produce children with her official husband, as she adored her master only and concentrated on pleasing only him.

However, Bellatrix and Rodolphus did seem to work effectively together as Death Eaters, suggesting their partnership is strictly professional. Both were some of the most loyal and valued Death Eaters, so it is likely that they would've felt a connection from their mutual devotion to their master.

### Corvus and Araminta Lestrange

Bellatrix appeared to have good relations with her parents-in-law. Her mother-in-law Araminta, was a distant cousin of her father Cygnus, and as such was childhood friends with her Aunt Walburga. Bellatrix shared her views with her mother-in-law, whilst Corvus was more reserved on his daughter-in-law, feeling the match was not ideal. Nevertheless, it was agreed as it seemed a respectable pure-blood marriage as was expected of her. Corvus was dismayed that no children were born from Bellatrix's union to Rodolphus.

### Andromeda Tonks

As children, Bellatrix was fond of her look-alike younger sister, nicknaming her "Dromeda". The sisters were close, yet Andromeda differed with her more mild, reserved views, while Bellatrix was more abrupt and harsh. After her sister Andromeda married a muggle-born and was disowned, she never saw her again.

### Sirius Black

Bellatrix shared a mutual loathing with her "dear cousin" Sirius Black, who had a similar temper. Bellatrix was brought up to believe that Sirius would be an ill-suited Heir to the House of Black, a view passed on by her father Cygnus, who grudged at the fact that he and his wife sired no male issue.

### Regulus Black

Bellatrix was on good terms with her other cousin, Regulus, who was also a Death Eater during the First Wizarding War. Regulus initially espoused the pure-blood supremacist line associated with his family, and like Bellatrix, was sorted into the Slytherin house during his time at Hogwarts.

### Lord Voldemort

Bellatrix was obsessively in love with Lord Voldemort, which extended to her being attracted to him. More than just being a fanatic, she shared his ideas of blood purity and fascination with the Dark Arts. Unlike many of the other Death Eaters, Bellatrix never attempted to deny her loyalties when her master fell in 1981. Instead, she proudly claimed that she was his most loyal and trusted servant, and stated that he would rise again. She seemed to view Azkaban prison as a mere place to wait for his return.

Bellatrix was described as being slavishly devoted to her master, regarding him with "worshipful fascination" and speaking to him in a romantic way. Bellatrix was outraged by anyone showing her master even the slightest disrespect. Voldemort respected her talents and skills and considered her of greater importance than most of his other servants.

### Severus Snape

Bellatrix was acquainted with Severus Snape, a fellow Death Eater prior to the end of the First Wizarding War, changing sides shortly before Voldemort's 1981 downfall, and becoming a double agent for Albus Dumbledore. While their relationship prior to Snape's defection is unknown, Bellatrix was highly suspicious of him due to Severus's alliance with Dumbledore and his spotty record of fervent loyalty to the Dark Lord. Although she was genuine in her mistrust of Snape, she was possibly also envious of the position of trust and respect Snape enjoyed under Voldemort. It is also possible that Snape's half-blood status was a point of derision on Bellatrix's part.