Bellatrix's Sacrifice
They found Bellatrix's Twin sister in the lake, her Talitha , to this day only Bella knew what happen to her and the events that led up to her drowning when they were both sixteen.
In fact even if she told who and why she was sure no one would believe that a Pureblood man was capable of molesting his children, much less murder them.... That is until she told Lily Potter nee Evans, she wasn't sure why she told that mudblood anything to be certain , but she did.
When the Auror Lilly Potter came to check in on her while being held in the Ministry holding cells to bring her her dinner. The Auror woman listened to her calmly and with out judgement as she relayed what her father did to her sister, to her and why.
Lily lingered Bellatrix as she ate the tray of food that with her, only asking a few questions about her Father and his habits.
When Bella is later release she finds out that her Father was killed in a disreputable area in Knockturn Alley, he had been castrated and left to bleed to death upon a pile of garbage......... And Bella knew what Auror Potter had done for Talitha, for her.
She didn't get to repaid the debt that Lily owe her until a drunken fraud rambled about a Prophecy about a baby that could destroy her Lord.
Unfortunately both her Lord believed the false hood and Lily's son fit the terms of the Prophecy as did the Longbottom's baby. Bella had been stalking Alice for the new mother had remind her so much of Talitha, and keeping a subtle guard near little Neville. So it was obvious that She had to take steps to protect them as the men in her life and theirs could not be trusted......
~*ME*~
There were three ways that Bella could protect the beautiful and kind women whose sons matched a Prophecy that would destroy them.
The first would be that Bella could torture the Fraud until she announced in public that she lied about the Prophecy. However, that may work against Bella in the long run as the Fraud could claim torture made her lie.
The second would be to announce Voldemort's plans in public as well, however this too could backfire as many knew that Bella was not exactly mentally stable since the death of her beloved sister.
The last was to do a Ritual so old that very few actually knew it existed. It would require the aide of a mated Werewolf and someone tied to both boys.
Bella knew that in the end there was no choice on what she had to do, even if Sirius simply killed her rather than listen to what Bella had to say.
!*!
Sirius looked up, his eyes narrowed as Bella walked into the room where she was holding him and Remus. "What is going on Bella?" Sirius asked. Despite what people would believe he did love his cousin and knew what terrible deeds had been done against her.
It was why he did not want her to marry her husband and why he had left his family. Bella did not need to be under the control of a man so foul and dark. A man that was a perfect mirror to her father.
"I need you to help me save Pretty Neville and Harry. You and your Wolf. You are their Godfathers and your Wolf is mated to you. If I do the Ritual of Cleansing it will do away with the Dark and protect them from a lie of Prophecy." Bella said, her eyes glinted with madness, but they also carried the agony of desperation.
"Why would you wish to save them?" Remus asked, gently. He too knew of the horrors of Bellatrix's life. He and James had helped give Lily an alibi when she killed Bella's father.
Sirius had gotten drunk and cried in relief that the man was gone. Three weeks later Alice killed Sirius's father for doing nothing and beating his sons nearly to death for trying to stop it.
"Bella if you do this it could kill you, please there has to be another way." Sirius begged, his eyes dark with their own agony.
"I have to save my Pretty boys Sirius." Bella said gently.
Remus made a choked sound of pain. "Please Bella, don't please."
"I have too." Bella said wonderingly. She had no idea that anyone cared for her with such pained love.
Sirius tried to struggle free of his chair, Remus mirroring, but it was to late, to late to save Bellatrix, to late to stop her.
Sirius screamed in loss as his Cousin chanted the words of the Rite and burned herself to ashes. The ashes spread in the room and rushed out of the house they were locked in spreading through the magickal world and destroying everyone and everything that would be a blind or open mind following the Path of Voldemort.
It was shocking, haunting, and agonizing.
In the process it saved everyone, it saved Harry and Neville and the people they loved or would one day love from greed and corruption.
Albus Dumbledore gasped awake and felt free for the first time in decades. Cornelius Fudge and Deloris Umbridge burst into ashes.
Severus Snape watched as many of his so called elite friends died in moments, along with the Dark Lord. He felt the mark on his arm vanish.
Lucius Malfoy watched as well and marveled at being free. Whatever happened they were all free for the moment.