Bellatrix Lestrange (character)

name=Bellatrix Lestrange |birth_name=Bellatrix Black |Birth_Date_and_Place= 1951, United Kingdom |Died=May 2nd 1998 (aged 47), Hogwarts, United Kingdom |Relatives=Narcissa Malfoy (Sister), Andromeda Tonks (Sister), Regulus Black (Cousin), Sirius Black (Cousin), Nymphadora Tonks (Niece), Draco Malfoy (Nephew) |Spouse=Rodolphus Lestrange |Children=None |Featured_in=Harry Potter, Harry Potter (film series)

Bellatrix Lestrange (Born Bellatrix Black) (1951-2nd May 1998) is a Pureblood Witch and Death Eater in the Harry Potter series. She was one of the most Loyal, dangerous and powerful servants of Lord Voldemort. She was highly skilled at magic and the Dark Arts able to battle and defeat her opponents and is considered Voldemort's most faithful and useful Death Eater. She is one of the few female Death Eaters and more advanced than almost all her male counterparts.

Early Life & Family

Bellatrix Black was born in 1951, the daughter of Cygnus Black III and Druella Black (née Rosier) and the older Sister of Andromeda Tonks (Black) and Narcissa Malfoy (Black), however she cut off contact with Andromeda after she married a muggle-born, Ted Tonks. She was part of the proud, pure-blood, Black family and was raised to be very proud of her pure-bloodedness and to despise muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards. She is the cousin of Sirius & Regulus Black, however she held Sirius in contempt as he didn't share the same views of muggles and pure-bloods as she did. She is the Aunt of Draco Malfoy and Nymphadora Tonks, however she hated Nymphadora as she was the daughter of her blood traitorous sister Andromeda. She went on to murder the family members of Nymphadora and Sirius during battles of the second Wizarding war.

Schooling

She went to Hogwarts from either 1962-1969 or 1963-1970 depending on what month of 1951 she was born and like almost all of the black family was sorted into the Slytherin house. She is described as having been with the same crowd as Severus Snape but he would have started school in 1971 making this impossible, however it could mean that she was with the same sort of people, some of whom may have overlapped depending on age.

Marriage

Bellatrix married Rodolphus Lestrange, she married a pure-blooded wizard, making the pure-blood marriage that was expected of her. She however does not appear to be in love with her husband, her true love is for her master, Lord Voldemort, however he doesn't reciprocate as he is incapable of feeling proper love. In Marrying Rodolphus she made a pure-blooded marriage as she had been expected to by her family, and there is little evidence their marriage was anything more than just this. It is likely the two were never in love and they simply worked together in their endeavours as Death Eaters. Bellatrix rarely mentions her husband and shows no affection for him and his feelings for his wife are unknown. Unlike her 2 sisters, Bellatrix and her husband had no children.

Death Eater Career

She finished Hogwarts and became a Death Eater, working for lord Voldemort and even received training from him which lead to her becoming an extremely powerful witch and an incredibly skilled duelist.

Downfall of the Dark Lord and Imprisonment

After the Downfall of Voldemort on October 31st 1981; Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rodulphus' brother Rastaban & Barty Crouch Junior all remained faithful to him and began to search for their master. Bellatrix and the others captured Frank & Alice Longbottom and tortured them with the Cruciatus Curse to gain information about the whereabouts of their master and the other death eaters. The Longbottoms never gave up any information and were driven insane by the extreme use of the Cruciatus Curse, to the point that they now reside in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and are unable to remember the existence of their son Neville.

The 4 were captured and brought to trial for this and other crimes. Unlike many other Death Eaters, Bellatrix did not deny her actions and proclaimed her loyalty to Voldemort. The 4 were convicted of their crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban prison. Bellatrix proudly boasted she would be rewarded for her loyalty and that Voldemort would rise again:

"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!"

She would spend the next 14years in Azkaban prison, until the breakout that freed her.

Breakout and Department of Mysteries

When Voldemort returned to power in 1995, he said that Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan were 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 joined the Dark Lord. As a result, Bellatrix became a wanted witch and lived in hiding to avoid being captured by the Ministry.

Later that very same year, Bellatrix participated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in a plot to steal a prophecy regarding Harry Potter defeating the Dark Lord. Bellatrix was second-in-command with the leader being her brother-in-law Lucius Malfoy. When the Order of the Phoenix members arrived, Bellatrix duelled and defeated her niece, Nymphadora Tonks. She began fighting her cousin, Sirius Black. Bellatrix then Struck Sirius with a Killing curse causing him to fall back into the death chamber. Later, Harry started to chase her in revenge for killing Sirius. He attempted the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix, but only knocked her over and caused her a few seconds of pain. Bellatrix taunted Harry because he could not use an Unforgivable Curse. Just then Voldemort arrived at the ministry and was about to kill Harry when Dumbledore began to duel with him. After the Duel The minister for magic arrived and Voldemort and Bellatrix escaped, the remaining death eaters were rounded up and sent to Azkaban.

Later Career

In July of 1996, Bellatrix reluctantly accompanied her sister, Narcissa Malfoy, to the house of Severus Snape at Spinner's End. Once there, Bellatrix began to interrogate Snape and voiced her distrust of him. Snape replied calming and gave consistent, answers that addressed each of her points, this rendered her dissatisfied, but temporarily without retort. Narcissa, however, proceeded to beg Snape to look after her son Draco's welfare while he attended Hogwarts and tried to fulfill Voldemort's orders to kill Albus Dumbledore. Snape shocked Bellatrix by asking her to bind him and Narcissa with an Unbreakable Vow to assist Draco. Bellatrix also assisted her nephew in his task by teaching him Occlumency. Bellatrix showed her obsessive loyalty to her master's cause in telling her sister that she should be proud, Bellatrix went on to say that if she had sons, she would have gladly handed them over to Voldemort's service.

Although neither are mentioned in the book, during the movie she participates in burning down the Weasley house and killing Dumbledore. Fenrir and Bellatrix burn down the Weasley house (The Burrow) and Bellatrix is chased through a corn field by Harry and Ginny. She is part of the Group accompanying Draco when he attempts to murder Dumbledore, after this she runs through the great hall, trashing the Gryffindor table and smashing the windows, then burns down Hagrid's hut.

She stayed at Malfoy manor and when Voldemort was staying there, Bellatrix was the only resident happy to have him there, even offering herself for the task of killing Harry Potter. This was rejected as Voldemort stated he must be the one to kill Potter. She again fights Nymphadora and her husband as they move Harry with multiple decoys to a safe house before his 17th birthday. She steals the sword of Gryffindor hiding it in her Gringotts vault, but it is later removed by Harry and the others.

When Scavengers find and capture the protagonist Trio, they bring them (Harry, Ron & Hermione) to Malfoy manor where Bellatrix is located, Bellatrix sees the sword and panic's as she thinks they have gotten into her vault and there is a Horcrux of Voldemort, the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff. She orders Harry and Ron to be taken down to the cellar while she tortures and interrogates Hermione. Hermione claims the sword is fake and Bellatrix sends for Griphook (the goblin) to examine it, he lies and says the sword is a fake.

"You're lying, you 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 as told in the book

Dobby shows up and transports the others out of the cellar, during this time Harry attempts to rescue Hermione but fails to do so. Dobby returns, dropping the chandelier causing Bellatrix to run out of the way, letting go of Hermione. Harry manages to wrestle the wands out of Draco's hands and as they prepare for Dobby to apparate, taking them away, she throws the knife which is sucked up as the apparate, killing Dobby.

Final Battle and Death

In the first round of the battle of Hogwarts, Bellatrix fought against and killed her niece Nymphadora Tonks, daughter of her sister Andromeda. Voldemort then malled a temporary retreat as he waited for Harry Potter to turn himself in, which he did. When Harry "died" Voldemort fell unconscious, Bellatrix offered him assistance when he awoke but was rebuffed. She then offered to check Harry for life, but her sister Narcissa was sent instead, Narcissa lied stating Harry was dead. Bellatrix then accompanied the others back to the castle to show them Harry had been killed.

Once at the castle she battled Hermione, Ginny & Luna all at once, but even the three of them were not able to match Bellatrix's skills. When Bellatrix sent a killing curse that almost Killed Ginny, her mother, Molly Weasley, became enraged and and began to battle her. Bellatrix did not take Molly seriously and laughed at her, in the book she also taunted her about the death of her son Fred. Molly became enraged, hitting Bellatrix with a curse which killed her. In the book, Voldemort was furious and attempted to kill Molly but was stopped by Harry, revealing himself not to be dead. Voldemort was then defeated and killed by Harry, but Bellatrix did not live to see this.

Etymology

Like many of the Other Members of the Black family (Cygnus, Andromeda, Sirius, Regulus) Bellatrix is named after a Star Bellatrix is the 3rd brightest star in Orion, it also is Latin Bella probably coming from the word Bellum meaning War and also the Feminine term for Beauty, with -trix being the Latin feminine suffix. Therefore her name likely alludes to both her described appearance of Beauty and to her skills as a female warrior.

Physical Appearance

Like many of the other Black family members she is attractive and has a vestige of beauty. She is described in the books as a tall, thin woman with heavy lidded, dark coloured eyes, thick, dark curly hair, a strong jaw and thin lips. She closely resembles her younger sister Andromeda, however Andromeda has lighter hair, a kinder face and nicer eyes. Her lengthy Stay in Azkaban took a toll on her appearance leaving with a gaunt, skull-like face, however she still retains some of her beauty. In the movies she is played by Helena Bonham Carter.

Personality and Traits

She was intensely sadistic, with brutal and violent tendencies. She along with many other Black family members has a very fierce and dangerous temper. She is easily distracted but is Highly Intellegent, Helena Bonham Carter describes her as having "a personality disorder." Bellatrix was profoundly devoted to Lord Voldemort, believing that she proved had her loyalty by the time she spent in Azkaban, but this time furthered her mental decline. She was Voldemort's most trusted and loyal follower, as well as one of his cruelest Death Eaters, she was a complete master of the Cruciatus curse, constantly inflicting it on her enemies, including her family members; Harry Potter noted that Bellatrix was as "mad as her master."

Bellatrix was extremely narcissistic and imperiously arrogant. She was obsessed with blood purity and took immense pride in the aristocracy and pure blood of her family. Like all the rest of Lord Voldemort's followers, she was vehemently against all "blood traitors," half-bloods, Muggle-borns, and Muggles, but was not above killing members of her own family who displeased her. Another mark of her decisiveness and ruthlessness, Bellatrix took no unnecessary prisoners, preferring to kill them instead.

"She was a witch, as Harry knew, with prodigious skill and no conscience." —Harry Potter on Bellatrix.

Bellatrix however is capable of feeling affection for others, however, especially for her sister Narcissa and Nephew Draco, about both whom she seems to care deeply. She taught her nephew Draco some magical abilities in his quest to defeat Dumbledore. She is deeply and obsessively in love with her Master Voldemort, even though he does not reciprocate these feelings.

Magical Abilities

Bellatrix Lestrange was an extremely powerful and dangerous witch. She was a mistress of the Dark Arts, an incredibly skilful duellist, and an Occlumens. Her prodigious duelling skill was proven by her many victories over numerous talented wizards and witches, including experienced Aurors.

Dark Arts- Bellatrix claims to have been trained by Lord Voldemort Himself, and she has particular proficiency with the unforgivable curses, especially the Cruciatus curse. She is most remarkable in that unlike her master, she prefers to torture her victims before killing them, skilled so that in some cases her victims become unconscious or are driven into insanity. She could summon the dark mark and often tossed out Killing Curses with little regard for the souls on the receiving end. As Voldemort's "best lieutenant" she was said to have knowledge of spells that few could comprehend. Duelling- Bellatrix Lestrange was an incredibly talented duellist, and defeated and seriously injured 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 spell from Albus Dumbledore himself. Just before her death, Bellatrix duelled Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley all at once, and was described as being equal in skill to all three of the trained, if inexperienced (compared to her), witches. Despite her years of captivity within Azkaban, Bellatrix displayed incredible reflexes that outmatched the much younger and physically-fit Harry Potter. She was also able to throw a knife with lethal accuracy across a room to strike her target (Dobby) as he was apparating. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Bellatrix was the last Death Eater standing, apart from Lord Voldemort, and it should be noted that she was wielding a wand which she had most likely not won the allegiance of, which is further evidence of her extraordinary duelling skills. Her death at the hands of Molly Weasley was due to her vastly underestimating the witch, who was fuelled by grief over the murder of her son. Non-Verbal Magic-Bellatrix also seemed highly adept at using non-verbal spells. She ferociously duelled Molly Weasley with such intensity that the floor around her became "hot and cracked" without mentioning a single incantation. She also decimated the Great Hall non-verbally, and used an unknown spell to bring Greyback to his knees at Malfoy Manor. She also fired a curse at Harry, non-verbally, which caused a tank of brains to lift and tip itself onto him whilst he chased her in the Thought Chamber and furthermore fired several destructive curses at him without speaking in the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic, some of which were possibly Cruciatus curses. Charms- Bellatrix displayed a proficiency at Charms, given how she was the only Death Eater besides Voldemort to successfully block an attack from Dumbledore. However, she could not perform a Patronus Charm as she lacked the ability to think of a thought positive enough for the Charm to work.

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 Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

Differences between books and movies

She appears in the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, however in the movie the scene she was in was edited and she was not shown. In the book, all four of the members who tortured the Longbottoms were brought to trial and all were found guilty.

In the 6th movie (Half Blood Prince) an extra scene is added where she and Fenrir Greyback attacked the "Burrow" where the Weasley's, Remus Lupin & Tonks were staying, she set it on fire and was chased through a corn field by Harry and Ginny.

Also in the Half Blood Prince movie, she is part of the group of death eaters at the Astronomy tower, where Snape kills Dumbledore, however in the book there is no mention of her in this scene. In this scene, she sends a dark mark into the clouds and goes downstairs, trashing the Great hall's Gryffindor table and casting a spell to break the windows. She then proceeds to set fire to Hagrid's hut. In the book, Gibbon uses the spell to create the dark mark in the clouds and Thorfinn Rowle burns down Hagrids hut. The scene where the great hall is trashed does not occur in the book.

References

http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0000990/bio http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Bellatrix_Lestrange http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bellatrix%20lestrange