[SS] Crucio: Blood is Everything[Part 2][25th Oct]

Hello everyone! 😳

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Crucio: Once Upon A Time

It was never always like this. Once upon a time, my Bella and I were in love. Oh, we were madly in love. Once upon a time, I would have died for her. Once upon a time, I would have done anything I could to save her.

They were both young, just out of Hogwarts.

They lay on a bed of grass, staring up at the stars. His fingers were interlaced with hers, and smiles played on both their lips as they shared their hopes for the future.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone this," Bella asked him, letting go of his hand and propping herself up onto her elbow so she looked down at him.

He smiled, reaching out to tuck strands of dark curly hair behind her ear. "I promise, Bella."

"I've always dreamed of writing for the Daily Prophet," she breathed excitedly, sharing with the love of her life a secret that no one else knew.

He sat up, looking at her. "And I've always dreamed of being Rodolphus Lestrange, the best Seeker the Falmouth Falcons ever had!"

"Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful," Bella mused, flopping back down on the grass again, "if ten years down the road, we were married and you were a Seeker and I was a reporter and we had Bellatrix Junior and Rudy junior'"

A serious look came over his face as he watched Bella, her eyes closed. "Marry me, Bella."

Her eyes flew open, chocolate brown orbs staring at him in surprise. "What?"

"Marry me. Tomorrow. No, tonight! Let's run away tonight and get married!"

Bella laughed, sitting up. She slipped a hand into his brown hair, ruffling it lovingly as she rested her forehead against his chest. Rodolphus put his arms around her, never wanting to let her go. "There's no need for all that, Rudy, you know my parents love you."

"Is that a yes, then?"

She grinned into his chest. "It's a yes."

For a while everything was fine. We were married two years before Bella got pregnant. We hired a house elf nanny. That turned out to be our biggest mistake.

"Binky!" Bella sat up, missing her daughter. "Binky! Bring Cassie here!" She pulled her pillow up, fluffing it up behind her and leaning against it. "Binky! Binky, where are you?"

A bat ear peeped out from the side of the door, followed by a brown face with wide brown eyes that seemed wider than usual. "Y-y-y-yes, Ma'am?" she squeaked.

"Binky, I told you to bring Cassie here. Where is she?" Bella demanded, getting more and more annoyed with the house elf by the second.

The little house elf squeaked again, looking down at her hands and nervously picking at her tea cozy with her long, spindly fingers.

A curious feeling of anxiety started to creep over Bella. "Binky, if my daughter is not in my arms by the time I count to five, I swear I will not hesitate to hurt you! 5'"

As the countdown began, the house elf once again squeaked, then scurried away hurriedly.

"3'2'1!"

Just in time Binky hurried back into the room and gently pushed the baby into Bella's arms.

Bella settled back into her pillow, looking at her sleeping daughter. She was so beautiful. Bella smiled as she stroked Cassie's head, running her hand over her dark brown fuzz.

She frowned. Something was wrong. Cassie was still. Too still. And Binky was whimpering in the corner of the room, mumbling to herself.

A rush of panic washed over the new mother: Cassie wasn't breathing. She wasn't breathing. SHE WASN'T BREATHING.

"Why isn't she breathing?" Bella managed to scream. The poor house elf's whimpers grew louder and more frantic.

"Binky is sorry, she is! Binky didn't mean to! The baby drowned! It wasn't Binky's fault!" By now Binky was crying, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

Without thinking Bella drew her wand, pointed it at the house elf. A flash of green light, and the elf was no more.

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Rodolphus put his arms around Bella, hugging her from the back. Her tears fell silently, and behind her, Rodolphus rested his head against her back, slowly soaking her black dress with his own tears.

Just a few hours earlier they had buried little Cassiopeia Lestrange. And still the voices from the Death Eaters drifted into the Lestranges' bedroom, Narcissa's the most prominent one as she kept them company.

"Bella," Rodolphus whispered, his voice hoarse. "We should go down."

The room lapsed into silence again. Neither of them moved.

After that, things weren't the same with her. That was the day I lost my Bella. In her place remained Bellatrix, the woman you've heard so much about. She perfected the Cruciatus Curse and made it her trademark. She tortured. She devoted her entire life to the Dark Lord. She stopped caring for me. We stopped caring for each other. You would think she went crazy. But we both did. It was the only way we saw to move on.

That's why I never mourned for my Bella.

awesome.....!!!! and welcome to the Hp forum!!

-Asha

Hello again! Here's the second part of Crucio. Guess who's perspective this one is from! 😃 Hope you guys like it! 😃

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Crucio: Blood is Everything

Bellatrix? No, not right now, please. I've got too much going on right now and Teddy is crying and needs to be fed and the casserole is in the oven… Maybe you could come back…never. Please. Thank you.

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Please come inside. Would you like some tea?

No, don't think even for a moment that I am going to give you an interview. I just can't stand to see you stand in the rain waiting for me to agree.

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Fine, where would you like to start?

Let's see. Bella as a child…We were always really close, the three of us. For a while we would do everything together…

"Bella! Bella!" Andy and Cissy ran into Bella's room, where the 10-year-old girl was laid out on her bed, poring over Hogwarts: A History. She looked up promptly as her sisters entered, and a grin broke out on her face. She sat up, crossing her legs, and Andromeda and Narcissa clambered onto her bed and sat beside her.

"You wanna play with us?" Cissy took her thumb out of her mouth long enough to ask Bella.

"What are you playing? And Cissy, stop sucking your thumb," Bella reminded her. "You're six now, you shouldn't be doing that anymore."

Cissy pouted, taking her thumb out and sitting on it.

"We wanted to play Quidditch but Mum didn't want us to fly today. So we were hoping you'd have some ideas," Andy said, bouncing lightly on the bed.

Bella bit her lip. She twirled her black hair around her finger, a habit she had recently picked up. Her face lit up. "Let's play Exploding Snap!"

"I'll get the pack!" Andy shouted, jumping up and running to the game cupboard.

Cissy's bottom lip trembled. "I never win at Exploding Snap," she said quietly, hugging her doll.

"I'll let you win, 'kay Cissy?" Bella offered, smiling.

Cissy peered up at Bella with wide, watery blue eyes. "Promise?"

Bella grinned. "Promise."

Of course, it was of the most utmost importance to her that the three of us acted like perfect Slytherins and noble Blacks. When she found out I wanted to take Muggle Studies she threw such a fit!

"Andromeda, please!" Bella paced around in Andy's dorm room. "Muggle Studies? There are so many better subjects you could study, why in the goddamned world would you want to waste your time on something as stupid and pointless and all-round ridiculous as MUGGLE STUDIES?!" She spun around to face her younger sister.

Andy picked at her bedspread, not daring to meet Bella's eyes. "Because, Bell, I just don't care for things like Divination or Arithmancy."

"So don't take them! Take Care of Magical Creatures! Take Ancient Runes! Just take anything except for Muggle Studies!" Bella plonked herself down on the bed beside Andy's, glaring daggers at Andy.

"Just leave me alone, Bella," Andy mumbled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Andy," Bella began, her voice much softer. She moved to Andy's bed. "Andy, have you thought about what Mum and Dad will say?" Before Andy could even answer, she continued: "Dad will blast you off the family tree as soon as he finds out. And neither of them will even look at you after this. Look at me, Andy."

Andy did.

"Do you really think you'll be able to put up with all that silence for the rest of your life?"

"That's the thing, Bella," Andy replied, swiping a hand across her eyes. "It's my life. And…and…and I don't care what you or anyone else says. I'm taking Muggle Studies."

Bella stood up. "Then you're on your own, Andromeda Black." She turned and walked out of the dormitory.

After that I was entirely on my own. I moved out when I was 17. I started working for the Ministry of Magic, in the Obliviator Headquarters.

That was when I met Teddy. I mean, Ted Tonks, my husband. Not little Teddy Lupin. But you probably know that.

Where were we?

Right. Obliviator Headquarters.

Out of courtesy I sent wedding invitations to Bella and Cissy and Mum and Dad. Oh, my, that was such a mistake. The riot that Bella created at my wedding! She turned the cake into an entire family of cats, the decorations became bats and spiders, oh! The Obliviators had a field day cleaning up that mess.

Of course she was never supportive of Ted and me.

If you ask me, she still cared for me. Or she cared for the family name, at least. She hated the thought of her sister betraying her blood status.

Blood is never always thicker than water, you know. Especially when water is all people see when they look at you.