Harry Potter and the Berserker

Chapter 36

Disclaimer- Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Berserk is owned by Kentaro Miura. I own nothing.

Finally, after nearly fourteen years of being locked up in Azkaban Prison filled with soul-sucking Dementors and the soulless husks of those who had been kissed; Bellatrix Lestrange was at last free. And her recently acquired freedom could not have come at a better time.

Bellatrix still remembered the feeling that night, the night that she felt the dark mark on her arm burn and bristle against her pale skin. That feeling was the happiest she had felt since her incarceration after her torture of the Longbottoms; it was a feeling that no dementor could suck out of her.

Her Lord and Master had returned at long last.

Picking up on Bellatrix's ecstatic mood, she was paid visits from a multitude of dementors who all sought to leech off of and deprive her of her sanity (not that she had much of that to begin with). But her unfaltering loyalty to the Dark Lord made it all bearable. Just the thought, the very idea that she might be reunited with her Master was a feeling that could never be taken away.

And how was her faith rewarded? By a visit from a man she thought long to be dead; Barty Crouch Jr.

A powerful disillusion charm had been cast over the former inmate – much too powerful than a wizard like Crouch could have cast. But Crouch was not alone. Thirteen muggles were under the disillusion charm as well; a dead glazed over look clouded their eyes, a clear indication of the imperious curse at work.

Dementors cannot see, rather, they feel. They detected thirteen people entering Azkaban, and by the time Crouch was done, they sensed thirteen people leaving. The human aurors who visited the isolated prison would not notice that a dozen of their prisoners were missing until it was too late. When they did, Bellatrix suspected it would be front page news; with wizards like Antonin Dolohov, Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange, Mulciber and Travers, and Augustus Rookwood now on the loose once again.

Once they were a safe distance from the island prison, Crouch took them by a side-along apparition to their Masters new base of operations. Un-strangely enough, they arrived outside of her brother-in-law's manor.

Lucius? Bellatrix thought with more than a hint of contempt. What has he done to deserve this honor? I will gladly offer my own if it were to please the Dark Lord.

Upon entering, the House Elf – Droppy, or something like that, bowed his head nervously to all of them; his large green eyes filled with fear.

"Good evening, honored guests," the elf addressed. "Master Malfoy and his most... esteemed guest awaits your arrival in the dining hall."

"Out of the way then." Bellatrix was already rushing past the short magical creature, eager to reunite with her master for the first time in years.

She was familiar enough with the layout of Malfoy Manor having been invited to parties by Lucius when he was courting Narcissa and when Death Eater meetings were held in secret, away from the prying Ministry investigations. The others followed behind her in suit; not as eager as her, but still willing and wanting to see for themselves.

Crouch was the one to open the dining room doors for them, licking his lips in anticipation as the newly escaped Death Eaters filed into the room. Instantly, the smell of food hit them. Plates and silverware had been set for them and a wide variety of food lined the length of the table. There were roast duck and pheasant, baked and mashed potatoes with steamed carrots and beans, three whole chickens with buttered rolls, sliced ham served with pineapple, and pudding for dessert. Compared to the dull grey slop that they had been served in Azkaban, this was a feast worthy of royalty.