Beyond the Darkness

Date: 16/17 March 2005
Characters:Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, NPC (Surprise)
Location:Lestrange Manor, Upper Slaughter; Middle of High Street, Hogsmeade
Private/Public:Private
Rating:R
Warnings:torture, blood, gore, violence, murder-death-kill
Summary:The dark couple raised the stakes, and now have shown their first hand.
Completion:Complete

Already the wizard whom Rodolphus had captured was showing signs of fatigue and Bellatrix hadn’t even begun to warm up. She circled the nude, glowering man, taunting him as she raised her wand again.

“Where are your friends now, hm? Your precious Order? Here to save you???” she ended in a screech of vowels. She kicked the wizard between the legs, and he doubled over into himself like cooked shrimp. “I do not think so. Itty bitty big man...ooooo, so frightening,” she hissed, grinning widely. “Crucio!”

The wizard winced in pain, his very skin feeling on fire. Yet, he locked eyes with the witch, his voice coming in a rough growl. “You’ll have to do better than that, bitch, if you want anything out of me.”

Bellatrix continued the spell for a moment, then dropped it with a snarl. “Oh, I’ve only just begun. You haven’t seen my full powers, yet,” she assured, clipping the last consonant with an audible “click” of tongue on teeth. She grabbed the wizard by the hair, her fingers feeling a few strands becoming loose as she pulled his head back, exposing his neck. With her wand, she drew the tip up the side of his face, a non-verbal slashing hex causing his cheek to open up and bleed copiously. “I’ll get whatever I can from you - even if it means bleeding out every drop.”

Crossing the room, Rodolphus placed his hand on Bellatrix’s shoulder. “But my pet, if you do that we will learn nothing. I did not go through all the trouble of bringing this one here only to have him die without him telling me anything.”

Rodolphus had walked back over to a small cart that he had wheeled back into the room while Bellatrix pulled up the captured wizard from the floor and thrust him with unusual strength into a chair. She performed several binding spells on the wizard, while Rodolphus prepared his raven, which was pacing back and forth across his shoulders.

“You see my dear - despite his poor choice in sides, his mind and will are both incredibly strong. Especially against our particular talents. However, as the saying goes - there is more than one way to skin a cat,” Rodolphus told his wife.

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes, then sat on the nude wizard’s lap. She almost lovingly stroked the man’s injured cheek as he grunted and twisted, trying to throw her off though his arms and legs were bound. She pouted towards her husband. “You will leave the final details to me though?” With that request, a long nail dug into the opened flesh of the wizard’s wound, causing him to screech out in pain as Bellatrix scraped raw tissue gorily, grinning all the while.

“Do your worst you sick bastards,” the man panted, sweat streaming down his face, his jaw setting in defiance.

“Oh - we intend to,” Rodolphus assured, nudging Nicodemus - the large, loyal raven - from off of his shoulder. The bird flew high into the air as Bellatrix slithered off the captured wizard’s lap, putting the gory nail into her mouth and biting it in anticipation. Nicodemus landed gracefully on the man’s shoulder with a soft caw. The bird’s beak flashed out, sinking deep into the struggling wizard’s functional, original eye.

The man screamed out in pain as the bird wriggled and pulled until the orb plopped out juicily, hanging by its nerve endings - a succulent piece of jelly on a string.

“Yes, dark wizard-catcher Moody. We intend to do our worst,” Rodolphus hissed into Mad-Eye’s ear, suddenly very close as Bellatrix’s laughter rang out loudly throughout the room.

Several hours later, at the crack of dawn, the inhabitants of Hogsmeade began to wake to a strange sound. Further and hurried investigation revealed it to be the naked, battered and eyeless dead body of Mad-Eye Moody, bound like a scarecrow in the middle of High Street.

Moody’s lifeless lips and breathless lungs uttered a constant stream of words: “People of Hogsmeade. The Order and the Aurors cannot protect even one of their own. How are they to protect you? So will end all who stand against us.” The message continued over and over again in an unchanging speed, nor increasing in volume.

A few tried to take the body down, however upon attempts they were cast out of a circle violently. Rodolphus and Bellatrix had made sure that only three persons could discard their corporeal message - Harry Potter, Minerva McGonagall or Tiberius Ogden.

The dark couple wondered how long it would take for either the Headmistress or Head of Wizengamot to get their hands that dirty or if they would continue to use Potter as an errand boy.

Tiberius didn't run to the center of town, but it was a close thing.

"Step aside," he ordered as he reached the crowd. "I said step aside!" His voice carried all the authority and influence of his station, and the crowd jumped aside as if shocked.

"Dear Merlin," Tiberius said under his breath as he finally saw what they'd done. He didn't have time to be shocked though.

Moody deserved more respect than to be gawked at by a bunch of passers-by. "You there," he shouted a young Auror.

"Y...yes sir?" the boy stammered.

"Where is Robards?"

"He's on his way sir."

"Good." He drew his wand and sent a Patronus to Minerva. He couldn't be sure she would have heard.

When that was done he turned his attention back to the body. He gently cast a powerful Finite charm, and to his relief, the words spilling from Moody's mouth stopped.

He Transfigured a stretcher from a pebble, and conjured a white sheet to use to cover the body. Withholding his distaste for the job, he cut the cords binding Moody to the pole, and used a Levitating charm to situate the body on the stretcher, covering it with a sheet.

He turned back to the Auror and said, "Take him back to Headquarters, if you would. Tell him McGonagall and I will meet him there. There are things we must discuss."

Minerva was already up early. She had had a rather interesting meeting with Terry and Stephen, and was trying to come to terms with the idea of their warning about Dennis Creevey. She honestly didn't know what to think, but she would give it some serious consideration.

She was making making a fresh pot of tea when the Patronus came whizzing through the window. She instantly recognised the tiger, and as she heard Tiberius' voice coming from the tiger's mouth, she clutched at her chest and closed her eyes.

Moody.

It had sounded painful, but she had no time to lament the loss of an old ally. Within minutes she was fully dressed and had send a patronus to all Order members, asking them to mobilise.

She sent patroni to her heads of house, asking them to secure the school and to put up their defenses. As she bustled out the door she was speaking to the school ghosts, asking them to pass the word to any of the other staff to ensure they knew what was going on.

She practically ran the rest of the way to Headquarters, trying hard to forget the thought that Moody was gone. There would be repercussions.