Kolybel'naya

The Malfoy Manor

Bellatrix Lestrange was a determined woman. When she joined the Death Eaters, she was determined to be loyal to her master until the very end; when she discovered that her cousin Sirius ran away from home to go live with that Potter boy, she was determined to make his life a living hell after that. When she heard about the Dark Lord's return, she was determined to do anything to join him again... And she managed to accomplish all those things. Now, as she stood in the middle of her sister's drawing room, wand pointed at the girl sprawled on the floor and almost hysterical screams of accusation escaping from her lips, Bellatrix Lestrange was determined to discover how that Mudblood had gotten her filthy hands on the sword of Gryffindor.

"We found it... We found it! PLEASE!" The girl sobbed, curling up into a ball as she tried to recover from the Cruciatus curse.

The woman took a deep breath, putting her wand back in its holster and bringing her hand up to the handle of a small knife hanging on her belt. Lestrange had never used it before, as it seemed to be useless when she could simply use her wand to torture someone, but now, as she watched the dirty Mudblood, she thought that maybe little Ms. Granger would enjoy its blade... After all, a Muggle weapon for a Muggle girl.

"You'll tell me," Bellatrix whispered, approaching the younger witch, the heels of her boots making loud noises that echoed in the room when they hit the wooden floor. "How you found it." Granger looked up, staring at the woman with her tear-filled eyes and red face. "How did the sword." She kneeled down next to Hermione's body, grabbing the girl's hand, lifting it from the floor. "End up in your filthy little hands?"

"Please." Hermione tried to pull her arm from Bellatrix, but the witch kept a strong grasp on it, yanking and pressing it to the floor once again. "I don't know!"

"Little Miss Granger." Lestrange chuckled, pulling the knife from her belt and bringing it to the other's arm. The younger witch's eyes widened and she tried to get away from it. "I've heard about you... The insufferable Know-It-All Mudblood... You always know the answers to all the questions, my dear." The tip of the blade was now lingering only a few millimeters from the skin of her forearm. "So, I bet you know the answer to this one. Come on, make Bella proud!"

"I have no... N-No idea!"

"Oh, wrong answer," whispered Bellatrix with a disappointed look on her face. "Ten points from Gryffindor." A wicked smile spread across her lips as she lowered the blade, dragging its tip across the girl's forearm. Hermione bit down on her lower lip, trying hard not to cry out; not to give that madwoman the joy of hearing her scream, but it only took a moment until her voice came out of her mouth, almost unwillingly. Lestrange's laugh was the now mixed with the sound of her own scream in her ears and the girl didn't know what terrified her more... The disturbing sound, the burning on her forearm or proximity of the woman. "Shall we try again?"

"P-Please..."

The Death Eater tutted and moved the knife again, making the burning pain shoot up through Granger's arm. More screams, more laughs. The younger witch was now was trying to free herself from her torturer by kicking her legs and trying to hit Bellatrix, but the other didn't seem to notice anything as she was concentrated on carving something into her skin.

"Tell me. Tell me, Mudblood." The woman stopped once again and Hermione turned her head to look at her own arm. There was an angry red mark where the other had hurt her but her blurry vision made it impossible for her to read what was written there. "How." The hand that was holding her wrist grasped her hair, yanking her head back so that she was staring straight into the Death Eater's face. "Did." Bellatrix's face was now very close to hers. Her dark eyes seemed to be burning into hers. "You." The woman's breath against her face was starting to make her feel sick. "Put." A long nail dug into her cheek, running down it slowly. "Your hands." She grabbed Hermione's chin, letting her nails dig into it. "On that sword?"