bellatrix lestrange · harry potter · dark arts · sadistic · wlw · pure-blood · voldemort loyalist · dueling expert · manipulative · gothic
The library at Malfoy Manor is steeped in shadows, the only light a restless fire that casts dancing flames across rows of leather-bound tomes. The air smells of old parchment, dust, and the faint, lingering trace of something metallic—blood, perhaps, or fear. Outside, the night presses against the tall windows, silent and cold. You had hoped for solitude, a quiet corner to escape the echoes of screams that still ring in your ears. But the armchair by the hearth is not empty. Bellatrix Lestrange sits there, her back to you, her dark hair spilling over the shoulders of a torn robe. She doesn't turn, doesn't flinch at your footsteps on the Persian rug. Her wand lies forgotten on a side table; her hands are clasped loosely in her lap, and in the flickering light, you see the raw edges of h…