Bellatrix Lestrange

Bellatrix Lestrange

Bellatrix Lestrange

Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black)

Biographical information

Born: 1951

Died: 2 May, 1998 (aged 47) Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle

Blood status: Pure-blood[HP7]

Marital status: Married

Also known as: Bella

Lord Voldemort's last, best Lieutenant

Title(s): Death Eater

Physical information

Species: Human

Gender: Female

Hair colour: Black

Eye colour: Dark

Skin colour: Pale

Family information

Family members:

Cygnus Black III (father) † Druella Rosier (mother) † Andromeda Tonks (sister) Narcissa Malfoy (sister) Rodolphus Lestrange (husband) Pollux Black (paternal grandfather) † Irma Crabbe (paternal grandmother) † Sirius Black (maternal first cousin) † Regulus Black (maternal first cousin) † Ted Tonks (brother-in-law) † Lucius Malfoy (brother-in-law) Rabastan Lestrange (brother-in-law) Nymphadora Tonks (niece) † Draco Malfoy (nephew) Walburga Black (maternal aunt) † Orion Black (maternal uncle) † Alphard Black (paternal uncle) † Phineas Nigellus Black (paternal great-great grandfather) † Arthur Weasley (paternal second cousin) Lestrange family (in-laws) Rosier family (maternal relatives) Black family (paternal family)

Magical characteristics

Wand: Walnut, 12¾", dragon heartstring Unknown length, core and wood materials

Affiliation

House: Slytherin

Loyalty:

Death Eaters House of Black Lestrange family Voldemort

"...his last, best lieutenant..." —Description of Bellatrix Lestrange[src]

Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) (1951-2 May, 1998) also known as Bella, was a pure-blood witch, the daughter of Cygnus

and Druella Black and elder sister to Andromeda and Narcissa. She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in

1962 and was sorted into Slytherin house. After graduating from Hogwarts, she became a Death Eater who was fanatically

loyal to Lord Voldemort. She was one of the few females in the group, as well as among the most dangerous and sadistic

of Voldemort's followers. While Bellatrix and Narcissa married pure-blood wizards, Andromeda married a muggle-born and

was disowned from the family. At the end of the First Wizarding War, Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, his

brother Rabastan, and Barty Crouch Jr. tortured Aurors Alice and Frank Longbottom to the point of insanity searching for

information on Lord Voldemort after his first downfall.

Bellatrix was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban for the crime, but escaped in the 1996 mass break-out, along

with nine other Death Eaters. She participated in several battles of the Second Wizarding War, making it a particular

goal to kill any relatives who were members of the Order of the Phoenix, including her cousin Sirius Black and niece

Nymphadora Tonks. She also killed the Malfoy family's former house-elf, Dobby, who had become a firm ally of Harry

Potter. She was also the last Death Eater standing during the final battle, and was eventually killed by Molly Weasley

Biography

Early life

"... or dear Bellatrix, who likes to play with her food before she eats it." —Albus Dumbledore on Bellatrix.

Bellatrix was born in 1951 to Cygnus and Druella Black, who raised her to prize her pure-blood heritage. She was the

elder sister to Andromeda and Narcissa[1], though Bellatrix cut off contact with the former when Andromeda married

Muggle-born wizard Ted Tonks and was disowned, as she told Lord Voldemort in 1997 that neither she nor Narcissa had "set

eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood"[2]. Bellatrix also held her cousin Sirius Black in contempt for being

a "blood traitor".

Bellatrix came from the elite Black family, and as such she was given a privileged lifestyle. Bellatrix attended

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Slytherin House. She eventually married Rodolphus

Lestrange — a fellow pure-blood, as was expected of her — and when Lord Voldemort first rose to power, she and her

husband joined the Death Eaters. Unlike her sisters, Bellatrix displayed no outward affection for her husband

whatsoever, never even mentioning him in conversation. Her true love was Voldemort[3], who gave her some training in the

Dark Arts, which contributed to her incredible talent as a duellist.

First Wizarding War and imprisonment

"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!" —Bellatrix at her trial[src]

When the First Wizarding War broke out, Bellatrix and her husband Rodolphus both fought for Voldemort as two of his

Death Eaters, and remained loyal to Voldemort throughout the war and even after he had fallen.

After the Dark Lord's fall in 1981, Bellatrix and a group of Death Eaters, including her husband, brother-in-law, and

Barty Crouch Jr., captured Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members Alice and Frank Longbottom, new parents to Neville

Longbottom. Bellatrix and her associates used the Cruciatus Curse to torture them to insanity, a crime for which they

were trialled before the Council of Magical Law, and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. As a result of their

torture, Alice and Frank spent the rest of their lives at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, unaware

they even had a son together.

Unlike many other Death Eaters, Bellatrix did not attempt to lie about her loyalty — she proudly proclaimed that she was

loyal to the Dark Lord and that she would wait for his return.[5] Indeed, Bellatrix was so proud of her loyalty to the

Dark Lord that, during her trial before the Council of Magical Law, she was said to have sat upon the chair she was

chained to as if it were a throne. She would later describe herself as his "most loyal servant" and even Lord Voldemort,

whom Bellatrix admired most of all, gained a considerable deal of respect for her.

Second Wizarding War

Escape from Azkaban

"We have confirmed that ten high-security prisoners, in the early hours of yesterday evening, did escape. And of course, the Muggle Prime Minister has been alerted to the danger. We strongly suspect that the breakout was engineered by a man with personal experience in escaping from Azkaban; notorious mass murderer Sirius Black, cousin of escapee Bellatrix Lestrange." —Cornelius Fudge interview to the Daily Prophet regarding the 1996 Azkaban mass breakout[src]

When Lord Voldemort returned to power in 1995, he stated that the Lestranges were among the most faithful members of his

inner circle. In January of 1996, Bellatrix was one of the many Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban and rejoined

Voldemort when the Dementors defected to the Dark Lord. As a result, Bellatrix became a fugitive, and lived in danger of

the Ministry re-instating her imprisonment if she was ever to be captured.

Battle of the Department of Mysteries

Later that very year, Bellatrix Lestrange participated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in a bid to steal a

prophecy regarding Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, as second-in-command to Lucius Malfoy. She became enraged when Harry

had spoken Lord Voldemort's name, and when he stated that Voldemort was a half-blood. Later, she briefly tortured

Neville Longbottom with the Cruciatus Curse, in an attempt to coerce Harry into handing over the prophecy. It was clear

that, given the chance, she would have indeed enjoyed continuing to torture Neville to further punish his parents.

When the Order of the Phoenix arrived, Bellatrix duelled and then defeated her niece, Nymphadora Tonks, and then began

fighting her cousin, Sirius Black, who had taunted her as they duelled. She hit him with an unknown curse which knocked

him through a veiled stone arch in the Death Chamber, instantly killing him. She then defeated Kingsley Shacklebolt in a

duel and deflected a spell from Albus Dumbledore before fleeing. She was pursued by Harry, whom she taunted over his

godfather's death. Harry was enraged to the point that he attempted the Cruciatus Curse on her, though he only succeeded

in knocking her down and causing her a few seconds of pain. She then shouted at him that one had to "mean it" to use one

of the Unforgivable Curses.

"Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy? You need to mean them, Potter. You need to really want to cause pain — to enjoy it — righteous anger won't hurt me for long — I'll show you how it is done, shall I? I'll give you a lesson — Crucio!" —Bellatrix to Harry Potter[src]

Voldemort arrived at the Ministry shortly after, and he and Dumbledore began to duel in the Ministry Atrium. Bellatrix

was pinned to the floor by a statue animated by Dumbledore, while her master fought. After trying to possess Harry,

failing, and being spotted by arriving Ministry officials, Voldemort fled, taking Bellatrix with him as he Disapparated.

Plot against Albus Dumbledore

In July of 2008, Bellatrix reluctantly accompanied her sister, Narcissa Malfoy, to the house of Severus Snape at

Spinner's End. Once there, Bellatrix interrogated Snape and voiced her distrust of him. Snape's calm, reasonable, and

logical answers to her aggressive questioning rendered her dissatisfied, but temporarily without retort. Narcissa,

however, proceeded to beg Snape to look after her son Draco's welfare while he attended Hogwarts and tried to fulfil

Voldemort's orders to kill Albus Dumbledore. Snape shocked Bellatrix by asking her to bind him and Narcissa with an

Unbreakable Vow to assist Draco. Bellatrix also assisted her nephew in his task by teaching him Occlumency, a tool he

used against Snape in order to conceal the details of his mission. Bellatrix showed her obsessive loyalty to her

master's cause in telling her sister that she should be proud, instead of worried, that her son was not "shrinking away

from his duty." Bellatrix went on to say that if she had sons, she would have gladly handed them over to Voldemort's

service.

Battle of the Astronomy Tower

Almost a year later, in June of 2009, Bellatrix was among the group of Death Eaters who led an assault at Hogwarts

School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which ended with the death of Albus Dumbledore. Despite not witnessing it, Bellatrix

was delighted to hear of the successful assassination, and she escaped the castle through the Great Hall, where she

walked over the Gryffindors' table, breaking much of the tableware, after leering at a group of first years and scaring

them.[6] Before leaving the castle, she proceeded to smash the Great Hall's high windows, letting a gust of wind enter

the room, blowing all of the room's lights out.

Skirmish at Malfoy Manor

Bellatrix: "My Lord, it is an honour to have you here, in our family's house. There can be no higher pleasure." Lord Voldemort: "No higher pleasure... That means a great deal, Bellatrix, from you." Bellatrix: "My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!" — Bellatrix's delight at Voldemort staying at Malfoy Manor

By the next year, Bellatrix was living with Narcissa at Malfoy Manor so that she could be closer to Voldemort. She was

the only resident of the manor who was actually pleased beyond measure that he was staying there. When Voldemort

humiliated the Malfoys by bringing up their relative Nymphadora Tonks' marriage to werewolf Remus Lupin, Bellatrix

eagerly told her master that she would "prune her family tree". When the Death Eaters subsequently attacked the Order of

the Phoenix while they were moving Harry Potter out his relatives' home, Bellatrix and her husband targeted Tonks in

particular. Rodolphus was injured in the pursuit, and Tonks escaped.

Soon afterwards, a copy of Godric Gryffindor's Sword was secured in Bellatrix's family vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank

on Voldemort's orders, Voldemort and Bellatrix both unaware, at the time, that it was merely a copy. Thus when

Harry Potter and his friends were captured by Snatchers and brought to the Manor with the real sword,

Bellatrix panicked. This led to Harry thinking that there could be something else of Voldemort's in her vault — his

Horcrux, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, seeming most likely. Bellatrix Stunned all the Snatchers, intending to kill them later,

as Draco was unwilling to himself. Bellatrix then interrogated Hermione and tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse, but

Hermione managed to lie, claiming the real sword was only a copy.

Bellatrix attacking Greyback

Bellatrix also threatened Hermione with a knife, after Harry and Ron escaped from the cellar with the assistance of

Dobby and Ron disarmed her. While holding the knife to an unconscious Hermione's throat, Bellatrix demanded that the

boys drop their wands, and then pressed her Dark Mark, calling Voldemort. However, Dobby reappeared and caused the

chandelier to fall from above Bellatrix's head, prompting her to release Hermione and jump out of the way. As the house-

elf Disapparated with Harry, Bellatrix threw the knife at Dobby, fatally wounding him in the chest. She and her

relatives were severely punished by Voldemort for allowing Harry to escape. Bellatrix also lost her wand in the

skirmish.

Not long afterwards, Hermione used some of Bellatrix's hair, which had fallen onto her clothes while Bellatrix held her

hostage, to create Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Bellatrix. This made it possible for her, Harry and Ron to steal the

Horcrux from the Lestranges' vault.

Battle of Hogwarts and death

Bellatrix finally succeeded in killing Nymphadora Tonks, her estranged sister's daughter, during the Battle of Hogwarts.

When Voldemort called a temporary retreat, waiting for Harry Potter to turn himself in, Bellatrix waited by his side;

she offered him help when he was dazed after using the Killing Curse on Harry, but was coldly rebuffed. When the Death

Eaters marched back to Hogwarts with a "dead" Harry, she laughed at Minerva McGonagall's cry of despair.

When the battle resumed, Bellatrix fought Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Zoey Potter and Luna Lovegood all at

once.She used lightning to attack her opponents She shot a Killing Curse at Ginny, which missed by an inch, which

enraged Ginny's mother, Molly Weasley, who took over the duel. Bellatrix didn't take Molly seriously in the least, and

even taunted her over the death of her son, Fred. Molly hit Bellatrix over the heart with a curse, killing her.

After she shockingly toppled to the ground, an outraged Voldemort turned on Molly. This prompted Harry to reveal

himself, and the final showdown between him and Voldemort ensued. Bellatrix did not live to see her master finally been

defeated very mere moments later.

Physical appearance

Bellatrix was described as a tall woman with long, thick, shining black hair. She had thin lips, dark, heavy-lidded

eyes, and a strong jaw. She had the classic 'great good looks' and arrogant bearing common for members of the House of

Black, but like her cousin Sirius, time in Azkaban took a toll on her appearance. After her lengthy imprisonment, she

was described as having a gaunt and skull-like face, but managed to retain some vestige of her great beauty.[4]

Bellatrix was noted to physically resemble her sister Andromeda[2], as Harry mistook Andromeda for Bellatrix on one

occasion. Also, Harry noted that as much as Narcissa is fair as Bellatrix is dark, the two sisters still resembled each

other.