Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and her various corporate partners. Keldorn Firecam is owned by BioWare, Atari, or whoever it is that owns the rights to Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn these days, although I have taken several liberties with his character. I own nothing, and I am making no profit by my little ventures into the shadowy realms of fanfiction. I do so purely for enjoyment. I would, however, like to thank JKR for allowing us all to play in her sandbox.
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Harry Potter and the Knight of the Radiant Heart
Interlude
The room was cold.
Only the flickering flame of a lone candle provided any sort of heat to the chamber. The scant light of the candle illuminated an old tome of nearly forgotten wizarding lore. The room was silent save for the ragged breathing of the deranged witch Bellatrix Lestrange. The wound that she had suffered in the battle at the Department of Mysteries had nearly cost Bellatrix her life. The Reductor Curse had blasted apart her shoulder and rendered her left arm nearly lifeless. More than that, it had forced slivers of broken bone into her lungs, wounds that had been slowly drowning the witch in her own blood. If her master hadn't found her as quickly as he had, there was no doubt that she would have died. This fact only served to deepen the fanatical devotion that she had for her Dark Lord.
Voldemort closed the tome he was reading with a sigh and rose from his seat.
Bellatrix stood a little straighter in her place in the corner of the room. She tried to quiet the wheezing noise that her breathing created without much success. While her master's magic had saved her life, he couldn't actually heal her. Healing wasn't something that really interested the Dark Lord. He was able to keep her from dying, but painful, labored breathing would be Bellatrix's constant companion for the rest of her life.
Her eyes followed the Dark Lord as he crossed the room and opened the wooden door. Bellatrix turned and followed him through it without uttering a word.
She had followed her Lord without a second thought for as long as she could remember. It wasn't her place to question his actions or motives. She was aware that some of the other, less avid Death Eaters had begun grumbling about the Dark Lord's activities of late. They couldn't see why he was spending so much time in research. They wanted to be out causing trouble. While Bellatrix enjoyed savoring the pain of lesser beings as much as the next person, she would never question her master's supposed inactivity.
The Dark Lord had his reasons for what he was doing, and that was good enough for Bellatrix Lestrange.
As they walked down the dark corridor, Bellatrix began to hear the screams emanating from the room at the end of the hall. Her heart began to beat faster as she drank in the wails of anguish.
Oh how she loved listening to the sound of someone suffering.
She followed her master into the room to find a man covered in blood and strapped to a table. His abdomen was sliced open and his intestines were strewn about the table around him.
Yet he was still alive.
Bellatrix raised one eyebrow in appreciation and looked over to Alecto Carrow, who was sporting a pleased grin.
"Well?" questioned the Dark Lord.
Alecto bowed her head before responding.
"I think you'll find him much more manageable now, my Lord," said the Death Eater.
Voldemort turned his attention and his wand to the man on the table.
"Let's see how the vaunted Occulmency of the Unspeakables holds up now," said the Dark Lord. "Legilimens!"
Bellatrix watched with rapt attention as the man writhed in silent agony on the tabletop.
After several long moments, the Dark Lord lifted his spell and with a puzzled look, turned to leave the room.
"He is yours, Bella," he said as he passed her.
A smile erupted on Bellatrix's face as anticipation flooded her. Her pupils dilated and her breath quickened as she raised her wand and took aim.
"Avada Kedavra!" she hissed and then watched as the bright green light stole the unfortunate man's life.
Bellatrix closed her eyes, tilted her head back and giggled as she savored the euphoria that filled her. Only the knowledge that her master was walking away from her was able to pull her back to the present. With her steps unsteady as she reveled in the bliss of casting the unforgivable curse, Bellatrix turned to follow her Lord.
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Bellatrix looked at the glassy-eyed security guard in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic with distain. The fool was so easy to exploit. He didn't even deserve to bear the name of wizard. Someone who could lose their will to the Imperious Curse so very easily deserved whatever fate that befell them.
The Imperious Curse. It was surprising to some that it was not one of Bellatrix's favorite spells. No, it was too easy and too unfulfilling. It failed to provide the euphoria that the other Unforgivables did. It was too mechanical to simply subvert someone's will with a mere spell. Using pain as a motivator, on the other hand, now that was truly enjoyable. It brought far more pleasure to Bellatrix to know that her victims were completely aware of what they were doing. She liked to savor the pain she inflicted, and bask in the triumph of driving someone to betray their most deeply held principals to simply bring an end to their suffering.
That Bellatrix normally provided the end to the suffering with a quick flash of delightful, green light was another source of pleasure entirely.
Bellatrix eyed the security guard as if he was a wasted opportunity, but continued on her way nonetheless.
The Ministry of Magic was almost deserted as she wound her way through the various levels and hallways. Few of the government's fat, bureaucratic employees bothered to put in even an extra minute of overtime once the day came to an end. The fact that the Ministry relied on one, easily Imperiused security guard as their sole measure of protection spoke volumes of the government's incompetency. They didn't deserve to rule. Thus they would easily and rightly fall whenever her master chose to subject them.
Bellatrix made her way into the Department of Mysteries and travelled down a long, twisting corridor. She finally stopped in front of a relatively new wooden door and took a moment to glance down at a dirty, brown rat near her feet. Bellatrix suppressed the urge to quickly stomp on the creature. She hated Peter Pettigrew. He was weak. But killing him here and now on a whim would displease her master.
So instead, she merely whispered, "We are here."
With that, the Dark Lord appeared at her side.
With a wave of his wand, the door opened and he stepped through. Meanwhile, the rat grew and took on the form of a short, balding man with a pasty complexion. Pettigrew kept his eyes on the floor as he first waited for Bellatrix to follow their Lord before he too entered the room and closed the door.
"I can feel the magic still in the air," whispered Voldemort as he took in the dark little room. There were fewer glowing crystal pendants to be found hanging on the walls at this point. So many of them had been destroyed in her fight with the Potter brat.
The Dark Lord moved to stand in the center of the room, extended his hand and closed his eyes.
Bellatrix's attention was drawn to a small whimper that she heard in the corner. She glanced over to see Pettigrew, cowering like the simpering fool he was. Oh, how she wished that her master would let her play with him while they waited. She would make him scream in the most delicious of ways.
Instead, she closed her eyes and concentrated on quieting her labored breathing. It would not do to disturb her master's concentration.
Bellatrix was unsure how much time had passed when the Dark Lord finally stirred again.
"Bella," he said as he turned his attention and his wand to her, "look at me."
Bellatrix glued her unblinking gaze upon her master's red eyes. She was well aware of what was coming.
"Legilimens!"
She lowered her defenses even as the pain began to throb in her skull. She did not fight as the Dark Lord ravaged and raped her thoughts.
It was his right to do so, after all.
Soon the pain spread from her mind to her body. Her breathing became difficult and tortuous. But she would not fight the invading presence in her mind. She would rather die where she stood than displease her master.
Finally, he relented. Bellatrix doubled over, her hands on her knees as she struggled to fill her damaged lungs with air. When she was finally able to look up again, she saw her master placing a large, bright crystal on the floor in the center of the room. He stood back a few paces and leveled his wand as he began to chant in some long-dead tongue.
As the chant grew louder and faster, the crystal began to throb with light. Finally, with a dramatic flourish, a bright yellow beam of light burst from the Dark Lord's wand to connect with the crystal.
Immediately the stink of sulfur enveloped the room. A great roar of noise filled the chamber as a powerful wind whipped at their robes. Peter's fearful whimpers were lost to the noise as the Dark Lord's chanting turned to shouting.
Finally, with a deafening boom, Bellatrix as thrown from her feet. When she looked up, she saw triumph on her master's face. She was therefore filled with glee as she turned to see the gaping hole that hovered in the centered of the room. It appeared to be a tear in reality itself. Small bursts of lightning danced around the jagged edges of the unnatural opening. Nothing could be seen within except a brightness that brought pain to her eyes.
"You first, Wormtail," stated the Dark Lord as if he had simply commanded his servant to bring him a cup of tea.
All color fled the cowardly Death Eater's face as his gaze shifted between his master and the gaping hole in reality.
Bellatrix snarled at the other man as he hesitated. He wasn't worthy of such an honor.
"Do not make me order you again."
With a whimper, the fat man walked up to the portal. He slowly reached out a hand, only to draw it back with a painful yelp as the lightning arced out to meet him.
Pettigrew cast one last look behind him at his now impatient Lord. He took a deep breath as if steeling himself, and then leaped into the bright opening.
The Dark Lord stood still, staring at the tear in reality for a moment. He watched as the opening slowly began to shrink before striding forward and quietly slipping into the unknown.
Bellatrix followed immediately after without hesitation. Wherever her master went, she would follow without question.
As she crossed the jagged edge of the portal, every nerve ending in her body exploded with pain. It was like the Cruciatus Curse, but a thousand times more intense. Her breath was ripped from her and her mind was laid waste. Bellatrix allowed her laughter to bubble up from within her before all conscious thought was surrendered to darkness.
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A short update. I warned you all that I wouldn't have much time to write. But worry not, this story will continue as long as I draw breath.
We shall return to Harry and Company next chapter.
Thanks for the reviews, and thanks for reading!