Chapter 2
She never told anyone not even her sisters, but now she saw Sirius. She saw him with that Lupin boy. She saw him flirting with him as if they were in the romance book. She saw herself and Rita.
“Bellatrix?”, Andromeda who was sitting next to her at the slytherintable asked.
“Hm?”
“I wanted to know if you had time to help me with my defence essay.”
“Oh… sure sorry I had my mind somewhere else”, she excused herself.
“I noticed that! Did something happen?”
Serious at the Gryffindor table stood up. She had to talk to him. Gryffindor or not, he was still her little cousin.
“Everything it’s fine, Andromeda. I’m right back”, she said grabbing her back. Before her sister could say anything Bellatrix already headed to the door, following her cousin. She found him in the entrance hall to run by his little friends.
“Sirius!”, she called. He and also his three little friends turned around.
Bellatrix stormed into the entrance hall, her pace brisk and purposeful. Her sharp gaze locked on Sirius, who was laughing with his friends near the staircase. She didn’t hesitate.
“Sirius,” she snapped, her voice cutting through the chatter.
Sirius turned, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Bella?”
“Now,” she said sharply, her tone leaving no room for argument.
James opened his mouth to intervene, but Sirius waved him off. “It’s fine. I’ll handle it.”
Once they were alone in a shadowed corner of the hall, Bellatrix grabbed Sirius by the arm, her grip firm.
“Hey!” Sirius protested, pulling back. “What’s gotten into you?”
Bellatrix leaned in, her voice a low hiss. “You need to stop being reckless. I saw you. With him.”
Sirius stiffened, his eyes narrowing. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb,” Bellatrix snapped. “Lupin. The way you were looking at him, the way you touched him—do you think no one else can see it? Do you think it’s safe?”
Sirius’s expression darkened. “What I do and who I care about is none of your business, Bella.”
“It’s my business if you’re putting yourself in danger!” she shot back, her voice trembling with urgency. “Do you have any idea what they’ll do to you if they find out?”
“They?” Sirius sneered. “Oh, you mean the Black family council? Let them try. I’m done caring about what they think.”
Bellatrix’s hand shot out, grabbing his collar and pulling him closer. Her voice dropped to a whisper, trembling with fury. “You think this is a game? That defying them comes without consequences? You think you’re invincible, but you’re not.”
Sirius blinked, startled by her intensity.
“I’m telling you this because I know what they’ll do to you,” she said, her tone quieter but no less fierce. “I know because they’ve done it to me.”
“What do you mean?” Sirius asked, his bravado cracking.
Bellatrix released him, stepping back as if the memory itself burned her. Her voice wavered, but she pressed on. “They found my letters, Sirius. Letters I wrote to someone I loved. Someone I thought I could trust to keep it hidden. My father… he read them aloud, every single word. He mocked me, made sure I knew exactly how much I’d failed them.”
Sirius’s smirk vanished, his eyes widening. “Bella…”
“And then he used the Cruciatus Curse,” she continued, her voice trembling but her posture unyielding. “Again and again until I swore to end it. Until I swore to forget her. Until I swore to be the perfect little Black daughter they wanted. I had to stand there, broken, and say the words they demanded of me. And when I did, he smiled and said, ‘That’s better. That’s the Bellatrix I know.’”
Sirius inhaled sharply, his fists clenching. “They tortured you?”
“Yes,” Bellatrix said bluntly. “And they’ll do the same to you. Or worse. Because you’re the heir. You’re supposed to carry on the name, the legacy. You think they’ll just let you go because you don’t care? They’ll drag you back. They’ll break you like they broke me.”
Sirius stared at her, his usual defiance replaced by something softer—something almost like fear. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I won’t let them hurt you,” she said fiercely. “You’re my cousin, Sirius. And no matter how much we argue, no matter how much you despise this family, you’re still mine. I don’t care if you hate me for it—I’m not letting them destroy you.”
He swallowed hard, the weight of her words pressing on him. “I didn’t know,” he said quietly. “Bella, I… I’m sorry. For what they did to you. For not seeing it before.”
Bellatrix’s expression softened for a moment, the walls she always kept up cracking just slightly. “You don’t have to be sorry. Just be smarter than I was. Don’t give them a reason to notice. Don’t give them a chance to hurt you.”
Sirius nodded, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions inside him. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”
Bellatrix studied him for a long moment, then nodded curtly. “Good. And if you need someone… someone to protect you…” Her voice softened, her protective instincts overpowering her usual sharpness. “Come to me. I’ll handle it. I’ll handle them.”
Sirius blinked, surprised by the offer. “Bella…”
“Just don’t be reckless, Sirius,” she said, stepping back. “You’re stronger than you think. But you’re not invincible.”
And with that, she turned and walked away, her back straight and her resolve unwavering. Sirius watched her go, the weight of her words settling deep in his chest. For the first time, he truly understood that her sharpness wasn’t just cruelty—it was armor forged from pain, and now, she was trying to use it to shield him.