Lucius raised his eyebrows. "Having heard stories of your childhood, I find that rather hard to believe, Bella. Neither my wife nor my son will mourn your passing."
"Draco тАУ my nephewтАж" Bella's eyes clouded over. "I only saw him the once."
"Yes, well, what did you expect? You decapitated all of Narcissa's dolls. Did you really think she would ask you to babysit?" Lucius raised his wand. "Goodbye, Bel-"
"Wait!" She flung a hand up as far as her shackles would allow. "You're right. I have been blind. I allowed my devotion to the Dark Lord to outweigh my family obligations. I can see that now."
"Yes," Lucius agreed drily, "being at wandpoint does lead to the most amazing epiphanies."
"Let me make it up to little Draco," Bellatrix begged. "I'm still a wealthy woman, you know."
A tendril of greed asserted itself in Lucius' brain. He knew the truth of Bella's words. "What are you saying?" he demanded, not lowering his wand.
"I left no will when I was captured," Bella said quickly. "If you kill me now, my fortune will revert to the LeStranges and go to some distant relative of theirs in Australia or Canada or some place like that. Let me write a will, naming Draco as my sole heir, and then all of my fortune will come to him." She gave him a knowing look. "If my husband and brother-in-law should predecease me, then Draco will inherit not only my own wealth, but the entire LeStrange fortune as well."
Lucius considered. He was already wealthy, but you could never be too rich. And the Lestranges were rumored to have almost as many Dark artifacts as the Malfoys themselves. If Draco inherited the lot, he would have an unparalleled collection, and the knowledge therein would cement his power base.
Lucius eyed the witch before him. She really was pathetic. A decade of Dementors had not been kind to Bella, and he supposed that unrelenting exposure to their effects might well have led the woman to experience remorse for the first time. Merlin knew there was plenty in her past life for the Dementors to torture her with, and perhaps they had managed to have an impact. As unlikely as it seemed, it was hard to imagine anyone тАУ even Bella тАУ remaining untouched by ten years of constant exposure.
And what was the risk? Yes, at one time Bella had been known as a top dueler, but she hadn't even held a wand in a decade, and the way she now shook and trembled, it was hard to believe her name alone had once been enough to strike dread into the heart of every Auror in the country.
And her making a will would only help convince everyone that her death was self-inflicted, presumably brought about by Dementor-inspired guiltтАж Lucius nodded to himself. It was worth the delay.
A quick flick of his wand and a quill and parchment appeared on the grimy bed next to the witch. "Thank you," she breathed gratefully.
Lucius grimaced. Pathos always disgusted him. "Hurry up."
"What is Draco's full name? Draco Lucius Malfoy? I don't want anyone to be able to prevent my nephew from getting his inheritance," Bella babbled, picking up the quill. She started to write, but the heavy chains defeated her. She looked over to Lucius helplessly.
He sneered. How the mighty had fallen. This was the pride of Voldemort? His most devoted servant? Now unable to figure out how to write a complete sentence and sign her name. Contemptiously, he Vanished the shackles from her wrists. "Do you need me to dictate the words to you?" he demanded.
He never saw her launch herself from the bed.
The next thing he knew, he was down on the ground, a screaming, spitting, clawing fury atop him. She had his wand before he really understood what was happening, and then it was digging into the soft flesh under his chin, Bella's cold eyes burning into his from mere inches away.
"You were always such an arrogant fool, Lucius," Bella spat. Her breath was as foul as a Dementor's. "Thinking yourself more clever than anyone else. Always poncing about, reluctant to get your hands dirty, so fastidious about cleaning spells and making sure than no one bled on your shoes. You never understood real power. You despised anything but magic. You used to sneer at poor McNair for his fondness for knives and you mocked Rastaban for using his bare hands. You never understood that sheer power is both magical and physical. You assumed that I was weak without my wand. That you could easily best me if I didn't use my magic. You are a blind fool, Lucius, and I will make that a reality by plucking out your eyes the moment we are free of this cursed place."
"You тАУ you'll never get off this island," Lucius gasped. "Too many guards тАУ"
Bella cackled and rubbed her cheek against his. "Oh, but my lovely brother-in-law will rescue me," she cooed. "And when I take the wand off this fool of an Auror whom you so kindly stunned, then both Rodolphus and I will be armed. Since you made it clear you came here to kill all of us, I rather doubt you alerted too many people to your presence here today. It will be easy, very very easy, LuciusтАж And then we will find My Lord and you shall see what punishments he reserves for traitors."
##
The next morning, Snape and Flitwick called the other Heads of Houses to a meeting. "Has everyone seen today's Prophet?" Flitwick asked, his tone for once somber as he brandished the paper.
FIRE AND DEATH AT AZKABAN screamed the headline. "We spoke with the Minister early this morning," Snape continued, "rather than rely upon the newspaper accounts. Unfortunately, it does appear that there is some truth to the story. A fire broke out in one of the cells and spread quite quickly. The warden and another Auror were killed, presumably trying to contain the blaze, and three prisoners were immolated in their cells. Auror Shacklebolt says that they are still trying to piece together what happened, but given the extent of the damage, it may never be fully understood."
"Oh, dear," Sprout shook her head. "This is terrible."
"The auror who was killed is the uncle of a Hufflepuff third year," Flitwick said gently. "Emma Foster's parents contacted me this morning. They'd like her to floo home later today."
"The poor thing," Sprout mourned. "I'll go break the news to her."
"As best we can tell, the warden had no immediate ties to Hogwarts, but the prisonersтАж" Flitwick trailed off.
"Who were they?" Remus asked.
"The three Lestranges," Snape answered shortly. "The Longbottom boy is likely to react to the news, whether positively or negatively remains to be seen."
Remus nodded. "I'll take him aside before it becomes public knowledge."
"His grandmother is probably dancing a jig," Flitwick commented wryly. "It will be interesting to see how the boy takes it, but given his, ah, high strung nature, he may need a day or two to cope with the news."
"From what we understand, the fire completely consumed the cells," Snape continued. "The bodies were essentially cremated; there aren't enough remains for Augusta Longbottom to spit upon."
Sprout looked green. "Really, Severus!"
"I'll let Sirius know as well. There's no telling how this might affect him either," Remus pointed out. "For all I know, his cell might have been nearby the affected ones. He might have had a lucky escape."
"Isn't Draco Malfoy the nephew of Bellatrix LeStrange?" Sprout asked. "I know Narcissa was never close to her sister, but will this news affect him?"
Snape inclined his head. "I will speak with him, but since Bellatrix was imprisoned before the boy was two, it's unlikely he feels any affection for her."