Bellatrix Lestrange

"...his last, best lieutenant..."

- Description

Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) (1951- 2 May 1998) also known as Bella, was a pure-blood witch and Death Eater who was extremely loyal to Lord Voldemort. She was one of the few females in the group. She was married to Rodolphus Lestrange, who was also a Death Eater. Bellatrix was related to other Death Eaters, such as her brothers-in-law Lucius Malfoy and Rabastan Lestrange and her nephew Draco Malfoy. Bellatrix was also related to members of the Order of the Phoenix who she eventually killed, such as Sirius Black, her cousin, and Nymphadora Tonks, her niece. Bellatrix's life of violence and malice was eventually ended when she was killed by Molly Weasley during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Early Life
Bellatrix was born in 1951 to Cygnus and Druella Black, who raised her to prize her pure-blood heritage. She was the oldest sister to Andromeda and Narcissa, though Bellatrix cut off contact with the former when Andromeda married Muggle-born wizard Ted Tonks and was disowned, as she told Lord Voldemort in 1997 that neither she nor Narcissa had "set eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood". Bellatrix also held her cousin Sirius Black in contempt for being a Gryffindor and a "blood traitor".

Bellatrix attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into the Slytherin House. She eventually married Rodolphus Lestrange — a fellow pureblood, as was expected of her — and when Lord Voldemort first rose to power, she and her husband joined the Death Eaters. Unlike her sisters, Bellatrix displays no outward affection for her husband whatsoever, never even mentioning him in conversation. It was revealed by J.K. Rowling that Bellatrix's true love was Voldemort. He also gave her some training in the Dark Arts, which contributed to her incredible talent as a duelist.



First Wizarding War and Time in Azkaban
"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"

- Bellatrix at her trial

Bellatrix and Rodolphus fought in the First Wizarding War on the side of Voldemort. After the Dark Lord's fall in 1981, Bellatrix and a group of Death Eaters, including her husband, brother-in-law and Barty Crouch Jr., captured Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members Alice and Frank Longbottom. Bellatrix used the Cruciatus Curse to torture them into insanity. She and her associates were tried for this before the Wizengamot and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. Unlike many other Death Eaters, Bellatrix not only did not attempt to lie about her loyalty — she proudly proclaimed that she was loyal to the Dark Lord and that he would return. She would later describe herself as his "most loyal servant".

Azkaban Escape
When Voldemort returned in 1995, he stated that the Lestranges were among the most faithful members of his inner circle. In January of 1996, Bellatrix was one of the many Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban and rejoined Voldemort when the Dementors defected to the Dark Lord.

Battle of the Department of Mysteries
"Shut your mouth! You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare -"

- Bellatrix to Harry Potter in the Department of Mysteries when he uses Voldemort's name.

Bellatrix participated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in a bid to steal a prophecy regarding Harry Potter and Voldemort. She became enraged when Harry spoke Voldemort's name and told her that he was a half-blood. Later, she briefly tortured Neville Longbottom with the Cruciatus Curse to try to coerce Harry into handing over the prophecy. It was clear that, given the chance, she would have enjoyed further torturing Neville to further punish his parents.

When the Order of the Phoenix arrived, Bellatrix dueled and defeated her niece, Nymphadora Tonks, and then began fighting her cousin, Sirius Black, who taunted her as they dueled. She knocked him through a veiled stone arch in the Death Chamber, killing him. She then defeated Kingsley Shacklebolt in a duel and deflected a spell from Albus Dumbledore, fleeing. She was pursued by Harry, who she taunted over his godfather's death. Harry was enraged to the point that he attempted the Cruciatus Curse on her. He only succeeded in knocking her down, however. She then shouted at him that one had to mean it to use the Unforgivable Curses in order to use them.

"Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy? You need to mean them, Potter. You need to really want to cause pain - to enjoy it - righteous anger won't hurt me for long - I'll show you how it is done, shall I? I'll give you a lesson - Crucio!"

- Bellatrix to Harry

Voldemort then arrived, and he and Dumbledore began to duel. Bellatrix was pinned to the floor by the statue through a spell of Dumbledore's while her master fought. After trying to possess Harry and being spotted by Ministry officials, Voldemort fled, taking Bellatrix with him as he Disapparated.

Plot Against Dumbledore
"...I don't trust you, Snape, as you very well know!... Where were you when the Dark Lord fell? Why did you never make any attempt to find him when he vanished? What have you been doing all thse years that you've lived in Dumbledore's pocket? Why did you not return at once when the Dark Lord was reborn? Where were you a few weeks ago when we battled to retrieve the prophecy for the Dark Lord? And why, Snape, is Harry Potter still alive, when you have had him at your mercy for the last five years?"

- Bellatrix questions Snape

In July 1996, Bellatrix accompanied her sister Narcissa to the house of Severus Snape at Spinner's End. Once there, Bellatrix interrogated Snape and voiced her distrust of him. Narcissa, however, proceeded to beg Snape to look after her son Draco's welfare while he attended Hogwarts and tried to fulfill Voldemort's command that he kill Albus Dumbledore. Snape shocked Bellatrix by asking her to bind him and Narcissa with an Unbreakable Vow to assist Draco. She also assisted her nephew in his task by teaching him Occlumency, and told her sister that she should be proud, instead of worried, that her son was not "shrinking away from his duty".

Malfoy Manor


A year later, Bellatrix was living with Narcissa at Malfoy Manor so that she could be closer to Voldemort. She was the only resident of the manor that was actually pleased that he was staying there. When Voldemort humiliated the Malfoys by bringing up their relative Nymphadora Tonks' marriage to werewolf Remus Lupin, Bellatrix eagerly told her master that she would "prune her family tree".

A copy of the Sword of Gryffindor had been secured in her vault at Gringotts, but nobody knew at the time it was merely a copy. Thus, when in 1998 Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were captured by Snatchers and brought to the Manor with the real sword, Bellatrix panicked. She accidentally revealed that her vault also contained another of Voldemort's Horcruxes: Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. Bellatrix interrogated Hermione and tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse, but Hermione managed to lie, claiming it was only a copy.

"You’re lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, tell the truth! What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife! What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!"

- overheard parts of Bellatrix’s interrogation of Hermione Granger

Bellatrix also threatened Hermione with a short knife, after Harry and Ron escaped from the cellar with the assistance of Dobby; she got close enough to get some of her hair on Hermione's clothes. This would come in handy later when Hermione used this hair to create Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Bellatrix, making it possible to steal the Horcrux from the Lestranges' vault. Dobby had caused the chandelier to fall from above Bellatrix's head, prompting her to release Hermione and jump out of the way. Bellatrix killed Dobby with a silver knife as the elf was Disapparating with Harry. She and her relatives were severely punished by Voldemort for allowing Harry to escape.

Battle of Hogwarts


Bellatrix was a fanatically devoted Death Eater, whose lifetime of wickedness and debauchery culminated in the murder of Nymphadora Tonks during the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998. When Voldemort called a temporary retreat, waiting for Harry Potter to turn himself in, Bellatrix waited by his side; she offered her help when he was dazed after using the Killing Curse on Harry, but was coldly rebuffed. When the Death Eaters marched back to Hogwarts with a "dead" Harry, she laughed at Minerva McGonagall's cry of pain.

When the battle resumed, Bellatrix fought Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood all at once, just as her master fought three by himself. Her reckless and wanton use of threats ultimately caused her death. After nearly hitting Ginny with a Killing Curse, she herself was killed by Ginny's mother Molly, who Bellatrix did not take seriously; instead, she taunted Molly over the death of her son Fred earlier in battle. Bellatrix merely laughed at Molly, allowing Molly to hit her over the heart, killing her. After she toppled to the ground, Voldemort was enraged and turned on Molly, which led to Harry Potter revealing himself to be alive, for the final showdown.

Physical appearance
Bellatrix Lestrange was described as tall, beautiful woman with long, thick, shining black hair. She had thin lips and dark, heavy-lidded eyes with pale skin and a strong jaw. She had the classic 'great good looks' and arrogant bearing common for members of the House of Black, but like her cousin Sirius, her time in Azkaban cost her some of her beauty. After her lengthy imprisonment, she was described as having a gaunt and skull-like face.

Personality and Traits
Bellatrix was an intensely sadistic witch who at certain points seems mentally unbalanced; for instance, she once killed a fox because she was paranoid it might be an Auror in disguise. Bellatrix could be easily distracted and had a fierce and dangerous temper, a trait that she shared with her cousin Sirius and her aunt Walburga.

She was fanatically devoted to Voldemort, believing that she proved her loyalty by her time in Azkaban, which seems to have furthered her mental decline. She was one of Voldemort's cruelest Death Eaters, always eager to inflict the Cruciatus Curse on enemies, and believed she was his most trusted and loyal follower. Bellatrix was a steadfast believer in the supremacy of blood purity, as was taught to her by her family, and seemed particularly eager to kill her own family members if they violated this ideology.

Bellatrix was a very talented witch, both an extremely skilled duelist and an Occlumens. She was described by Harry as a "witch with prodigious skill and no conscience", proven by her many victories over other characters. She defeated Aurors Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt in duels during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, as well as her cousin Sirius, and was the only Death Eater to deflect a bolt from Dumbledore himself. She also quickly and single-handedly defeated four Snatchers and Fenrir Greyback and killed her niece in battle. Just before her death, she dueled Hermione, Luna and Ginny all at once and was described as being equal to all three of the talented if inexperienced witches. It is likely that her death at the hands of Molly Weasley was due to her underestimating the witch, who was fueled by grief over the murder of her son, and the fact that Harry Potter's sacrifice of himself gave some protection to the soldiers on his side. Bellatrix also trained her nephew Draco Malfoy in Occlumency as part of his mission to kill Dumbledore, and thus was likely a Legilimens as well.

Lord Voldemort
"Potter, you cannot win against me! I was and am the Dark Lord's most loyal servant, I learned the Dark Arts from him, and I know spells of such power that you, pathetic little boy, can never hope to compete..."

- Bellatrix boasts to Harry Potter about her relationship with Voldemort

Lord Voldemort was unquestionably the most important person in Bellatrix's life. J.K. Rowling has revealed that she was both in love with him and sexually attracted to him; she is described as regarding him with "worshipful fascination" and speaking to him as if to a lover. He did not reciprocate, as Voldemort did not know love at all, but he considered Bellatrix among his most valuable and loyal Death Eaters. He trained her in the Dark Arts and when she was killed by Molly Weasley in the final battle, Voldemort was furious. Unlike many other Death Eaters, Bellatrix never attempted to deny her loyalties when Voldemort fell in 1981, instead proudly claiming that she was his most loyal and trusted servant and that he would rise again.

Bellatrix was slavishly devoted to Voldemort and flew into a mad rage if she ever felt he was being insulted, such as when she screamed at Harry Potter for using his name. When he praised her in Malfoy Manor in 1997, Bellatrix's face "flooded with colour" and "her eyes welled with tears of delight". Voldemort then turned this into humiliating her and the Malfoys for being related to werewolf Remus Lupin by marriage, which seemed to make Bellatrix even more determined to kill her niece, Nymphadora Tonks. She was also intensely afraid of Voldemort's displeasure, begging him for forgiveness when the prophecy he sought was smashed and screaming at her brother-in-law not to call him when she saw that Godric Gryffindor's Sword was not where Voldemort had instructed her to ensure it was.

Rodolphus Lestrange
In marrying Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix made a "respectable pure-blood marriage", as was expected of her. There is no indication that her relationship with her husband went beyond this, as Bellatrix loved Voldemort and never expressed any affection or concern for her husband. They were both Death Eaters and seemed to work together in this role, as Rodolphus tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom with his wife, as well as his brother and Barty Crouch Jr in 1981, and was paired with Bellatrix during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. He also seems to have been by her side during the Battle over Little Whinging, as Nymphadora Tonks mentions cursing him and being pursued by Bellatrix. Rodolphus's feelings for his wife are unknown.

Family
Bellatrix took the pure-blood values of her family very seriously, as indicated by her proper marriage and belief in Death Eater ideology. She seems to have had a fairly close and affectionate relationship with her younger sister, Narcissa, whom she called "Cissy". Despite distrusting Severus Snape and trying to persuade her sister otherwise, Bellatrix accompanied her to go see him to request that he help Draco in 1996. Narcissa and Bellatrix occasionally clashed over the former's protectiveness towards her son; Bellatrix argued that Narcissa should be proud that her son was a Death Eater, claiming that if she had sons, she would be "glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord!"

"Come out, come out, little Harry! What did you come after me for, then? I thought you were here to avenge my dear cousin!.... Did you love him, little baby Potter?"

- Bellatrix taunts Harry about killing Sirius

On the other hand, Bellatrix hated her "blood traitor" relatives. After her sister Andromeda married a Muggle-born and was disowned, Bellatrix never saw her again. She loathed her "dear cousin" Sirius Black; a mutual feeling. The two taunted each other as they dueled during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, and after killing him, Bellatrix mocked Harry Potter about it. Bellatrix also eagerly attacked her niece, Nymphadora Tonks, on at least three occasions — this was likely for a combination of reasons, including Tonks' being a half-blood, an Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix, and Voldemort's comments to her about "pruning her family tree". Bellatrix eventually killed Tonks.

Etymology
Like many members of the Black family, Bellatrix's name is derived from that of a star. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion; it is also known as the Amazon Star, and means "female warrior" in Latin. This is presumably an allusion to Bellatrix Lestrange being among the most dangerously skilled Death Eaters.

Behind the scenes

 * Originally, Helen McCrory was going to play the role of Bellatrix in the film version of Order of the Phoenix, but due to her pregnancy she opted out of the film and was replaced by Helena Bonham Carter. McCrory was eventually cast as Bellatrix's sister Narcissa in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film).
 * In the Order of the Phoenix film, Carter's costume reflected the mental state of the character, thus the torn gloves and dress.
 * In the book version of Order of the Phoenix, Bellatrix was grabbed by Voldemort as he disappeared from the Department of Mysteries. In the Film, as soon as Voldemort and Dumbledore started dueling, she escaped via the Floo Network.
 * The House elf Kreacher has a great fondness for Bellatrix. Harry comes to understand that Kreacher responds to respect, and Hermione realises that the Death Eaters with which Kreacher was in contact were over-indulging him in contrast with Sirius' abuse. Basically, when they were nice to him, he gave them the information that they wanted.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows