Bellatrix and her Master

The Breeder

January 1970,

At the bedroom clock, the twelve strokes of midnight echoed. With her mind full of dark thoughts, Bellatrix immediately rose from her bed and slipped on a dressing gown. Settling into the Lestrange Manor had not been without difficulties for Bellatrix. She had to get used to the idea of sharing the home of her unloved husband, Rodolphus, but also of her parents and her younger brother, Rabastan (the latter having to return to Hogwarts for his final year). Unwilling to share the same bed as her husband, Bellatrix had resorted to an old tradition among Pure-bloods, which involved sleeping separately. To say that Rodolphus felt betrayed was an understatement. Since their marriage over six months ago, he had continuously demanded his conjugal rights – and Bellatrix continued to deny him.

She knew she couldn't escape indefinitely. Moreover, if she were honest with herself, the prospect of sleeping with her husband didn't overly frighten her, even if she felt no desire for it. What she dreaded, however, was pregnancy. Rodolphus had once mentioned that he naturally expected her to bear his heir, but that was a subject on which Bellatrix would not compromise. Becoming a mother was inconceivable to her: she had never seen herself and would never see herself as a breeder – her two sisters could take on that burden in her place. As for the Lestranges, they could always count on Rabastan to expand the family. If she had to spread her legs to keep the peace, she would consent, but she had to ensure that no foetus would claim her womb.

Armed with her wand and an old grimoire, Bellatrix ventured into the manor's underground to reach her father-in-law's private potion laboratory. The place was vast and filled with countless multicoloured vials with terrifying properties. Bellatrix had never been very skilled in potions, even though she had worked hard enough to receive an Outstanding on her OWLs – this branch of magic was an undeniable weapon for a wizard, but it seemed so tedious to her to mix ingredients for hours. Bellatrix much preferred feeling the magical flows through her wand. However, this time, she couldn't find a spell powerful enough to guarantee the result she wanted. She made an effort to be quiet, but she knew that only her mother-in-law was present in the manor – the male members of the family had been summoned by Lord Voldemort early in the evening and had not yet reappeared.

This had become common since the past summer, and each time Bellatrix had observed the same look of discomfort on the arms of the two Lestranges while hers remained sadly painless. It affected her deeply. Many of her nights were haunted by the worry of being forgotten by the Dark Lord... She obviously knew that Lord Voldemort couldn't have forgotten her, but he seemed to think that her presence by his side wasn't necessary. Bellatrix had long believed, before becoming a Death Eater herself, that all of the Dark Lord's servants were called at the same time through the Dark Mark, but that was not the case. Often, only Rodolphus was called; Reginaldus didn't disappear every evening. Bellatrix had no trouble imagining why: even though Reginaldus was more powerful and experienced, he no longer had the youth for field missions. Moreover, it was unthinkable to involve him in sordid affairs, risking tarnishing his influence within the wizarding families. On the other hand, she knew perfectly well that Rodolphus's main role was to torture and massacre targets chosen by the Dark Lord. She had often seen him return in the middle of the night, his clothes stained with blood, staggering with fatigue but intoxicated by a certain morbid frenzy that almost every night drove him to push open Bellatrix's bedroom door. He always came out sheepish and frustrated.

To this day, Rodolphus still didn't know that Bellatrix had also become a Death Eater, but Reginaldus seemed to suspect something. During the dinners they shared as three, Bellatrix, Reginaldus, and his wife – which happened very often due to the son Lestrange's nocturnal missions – he often lingered on the dresses she wore, especially on her sleeves. Bellatrix had not once revealed her forearms since her arrival in the manor and had to wear tightly sleeved dresses for many months. This had been particularly unpleasant during the scorching heat of summer. Fortunately, one day she saw Rodolphus apply a concealment spell on his forearm before going to a meeting at the Ministry of Magic. It wasn't a spell that Hogwarts students learned; it must have been an invention of the Dark Lord directly related to the tattoo. Bellatrix was now capable of hiding her mark, but she feared that Reginaldus might have been informed by someone else. The only people who knew were Lord Voldemort, of course, and Enguerrand Avery through whom she had gone to speak with the Dark Lord last year. She didn't know if she had the right to reveal her status as a Death Eater to her relatives now. She had received no directives on that matter. In reality, Lord Voldemort hadn't contacted her since that night... since that infamous night in her old bedroom at her parents' house.