Bellatrix Lestrange had a bad feeling as she entered the dark chamber where Lord Voldemort was waiting for her. She knew he was furious with her for failing to capture Harry Potter and his friends at the Ministry of Magic. She had taken a potion that suppressed her emotions, hoping it would help her endure his wrath.
"Ah, Bellatrix," Voldemort said in a cold voice. "You have finally arrived. I have been expecting you."
Bellatrix bowed low and said, "My Lord, I beg your forgiveness for my incompetence. I have no excuse for letting Potter escape."
Voldemort's red eyes flashed with anger. He raised his wand and pointed it at her. "Crucio!" he shouted.
Bellatrix felt a surge of pain that tore through her body. She fell to the ground, writhing and screaming. The potion did nothing to dull the agony. She wished she could die.
Voldemort lifted the curse and watched her with contempt. "You are pathetic, Bellatrix," he said. "You are a disgrace to the noble house of Black. You are a weak and worthless servant. You have disappointed me for the last time."
He raised his wand again, ready to deliver the final blow.
Bellatrix looked up at him, her face twisted with pain and fear. She tried to say something, anything, to appease him. But no words came out.
Voldemort smiled cruelly and said, "Avada Kedavra!" As Voldemort uttered the killing curse, Bellatrix saw a glint of silver in his hand. It was the potion she had taken earlier, the one that suppressed her emotions. She realized he had stolen it from her when he tortured her. He must have planned to use it on himself, to make himself immune to curses and hexes.
She acted on instinct. She rolled to the side, dodging the green jet of light that flew from his wand. She reached for her own wand, hidden in her sleeve. She pointed it at him and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Voldemort was caught off guard. He dropped his wand and the potion. Bellatrix quickly grabbed them and ran to the other side of the chamber. She turned around and faced him, holding the potion in her hand.
She uncorked it and drank it in one gulp. She felt a wave of numbness wash over her. She felt nothing. No pain, no fear, no love, no hate.
She looked at Voldemort with a blank expression. He looked back at her with rage and disbelief.
He said, "How dare you, Bellatrix? How dare you betray me? You are a traitor. You are a fool. You have sealed your fate."
He reached for another wand, hidden in his robes. He pointed it at her and said, "You will pay for your insolence, Bellatrix. You will die by my hand."
He shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort fired the killing curse at Bellatrix, but it had no effect. She stood there, unmoving, unblinking, unfeeling. She did not flinch or scream or beg for mercy. She did not show any sign of life.
Voldemort was stunned. He had never seen anyone survive his curse, let alone resist it. He wondered what kind of potion she had taken, and how she had obtained it. He felt a surge of curiosity and fear.
He tried again, and again, and again. He used different spells, different wands, different words. He tried to break her, to make her feel something, anything. But nothing worked. She remained as still and silent as a statue.
He grew frustrated and angry. He shouted at her, insulted her, threatened her. He called her names, mocked her loyalty, cursed her blood. He tried to provoke her, to make her react. But nothing worked. She remained as calm and cold as ice.
He felt a pang of regret and sorrow. He remembered how she used to be, how she used to serve him faithfully and passionately. How she used to love him and fear him and worship him. How she used to be his most loyal and devoted follower.
