The Greatest Lies (Remus/Bellatrix)
Here's a little something for pezzy387, who wanted a little Remus/Bellatrix for her birthday. Happy Belated Birthday dear! I hope this is what you were looking for. (Sorry it took me so long...everything seems to take me 10x longer than before!)
Title: The Greatest Lies
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: PG-13/R
Summary: Remus/Bellatrix. It's her eyes that he will always recognize. They remind him of Sirius.
Disclaimer: Not mine! I'm just a fan.
The Greatest Lies
Remus shivered and wrapped his cloak tightly around himself. The clasp around his neck dug into his flesh but he ignored it. The pain was welcome, as was the cold. It was helping to keep him grounded. Thunder crackled in the distance and some of the torrential rain found its way under his hood. It ran down under his collar, working to chill him from the outside in. He took a deep breath and steadied himself.
With quick determination, he rapped soundly on the door of the old mansion with his fist.
Silence greeted him for several minutes. Finally the door creaked open and Bellatrix Lestrange stood silhouetted in the doorway. Her gaunt face was cloaked in shadows; but Remus knew it was her. Her high cheek bones made her face look caved in and much of her old beauty was gone. But as the thunder bounced off of her eyes, it illuminated their darkness. It would always be her eyes that he recognized.
Initially she showed no response, except for an arched eyebrow. Then slowly, as she took in his appearance, his scars, his torn cloak, his old boots, a thin, cruel smile spread across her face. Remus forced himself not to think of what could possibly be flashing through her mind.
“Remus Lupin,” she stated matter-of-factly.
He responded with silence and prayed that she wouldn’t make him talk. It would be so much easier if she just didn’t make him talk.
She seemed to sense this because the corner of her mouth bent nastily. “You were my cousin’s friend?” She spit out the word cousin as if it were poison and then let her question remain in the air, the silence answering it better than any words. She laughed and crossed her arms in front of her. “And I thought tonight was going to be rather dull. What possible reason could you have for coming here?”
Remus should have known it wasn’t going to be easy. However, he clung to the silence in hopes that she would just let him be.
“Are you going to make me force you to speak?” Her voice was light as if she was teasing, but the madness made her eyes sparkle with delight.
“No,” Remus hung his head, trying to gather his strength. The rain still beat down upon him, never letting up. But then that was why this was his task. Only he could do this.
Only he had a reason to do this.
“If there were any other way, believe me, I would not have come. But I need your help, Bellatrix.”
For a moment she just stood there, staring at him. Then suddenly she let out a loud cackle. “And why would I help you?’ she asked with an amused grin.
Remus tried not to swallow nervously and then gave in when it proved to be futile. It didn’t matter if she knew he was scared. She would figure it out sooner or later, regardless. So he gathered what remained of his strength and pushed forward. “Because you’re a student of torture and cruelty. You enjoy studying it, watching it; whether you’ve exacted it, it’s self-inflicted or otherwise.”
“And you come here of your own volition because you wish to be my student, or because you wish to be my subject?” She leaned against the doorframe, relaxing a little. Her face brightened a little as she imagined the only possible outcome of this night.
Remus shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.” If he didn’t know exactly how this night would end, he understood the gist of it.
She tilted her head as if studying him. “Oh, but it always matters. The reason why you would choose to give up your pathetic life is as important as the method you choose to end it. Why come here? There must be something you want specifically from me, and I’m curious as to what it is.”
Remus felt whatever remaining resolve he had waver. He wasn’t strong enough for this to end painlessly. He wrapped his arms around himself. “There’s nothing here for me anymore. It’s all been taken away. All my friends…all those dear to me are dead. You took away the last person I cared about. You killed Sirius.”
Bellatrix didn’t look impressed with his answer. “He was a fool.”
Remus stared at her and was struck by the uncanny resemblance of her eyes to Sirius’s. They had similar bone structures, enough to know that they shared some bloodline but mostly it was their eyes that linked them. Darkened and hollowed by their stay in Azkaban, they could have been a perfect match to Sirius’s. And that was the heart of the matter. “You remind me of him.”
“You’re a fool,” she said in response. “I’m nothing like him and all you’ll get from me is pain.”
“That’s not unlike all I ever got from him either.”
She laughed again with his final admission and he noticed that her eyes settled on the ruby clasp holding his cloak around his neck. She brought her hand forward and traced its outline with her bony finger.
She extended her arms and opened the door wider but didn’t move out of the way. If he was going to enter the house, he was going to have to enter her embrace first. He lifted his head and stepped towards her.
Inside, he found her breath warm and slick against his throat and she smelled like stale sweat. Her fingers opened the clasp and let his cloak fall to the floor. She threw him down next to it, and he focused on the bright red ruby glittering in the dim light of the hall.
Blood spilled.
The hard part was done. All he had left to do was to exist through the rest and hope that Bellatrix kept trophies.
Sure enough, at the end of it all, she picked up the ruby clasp and affixed it to her own robe. Then she leaned over to him, almost tenderly and whispered in his ear. “I’ve never reminded anyone of anything remotely nice, so I’m going to hang on to this keepsake of yours. I hope you understand, but this doesn’t change anything.”
And then she left him lying on the floor, in the middle of her entrance hall.
The bug had been Hermione’s idea; a beautiful gem hiding a very Muggle sort of device. A trick that Bellatrix wouldn’t be expecting. But he’d insisted; it was one that only he could deliver. With her powers, the risk would have been too great to entrust to subterfuge.
The only reason he could do it, was because everything he had told her was true. She did remind him of Sirius. She had his eyes.
The greatest lies were always the ones hidden in many truths.
1/1
Title: The Greatest Lies
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: PG-13/R
Summary: Remus/Bellatrix. It's her eyes that he will always recognize. They remind him of Sirius.
Disclaimer: Not mine! I'm just a fan.
The Greatest Lies
Remus shivered and wrapped his cloak tightly around himself. The clasp around his neck dug into his flesh but he ignored it. The pain was welcome, as was the cold. It was helping to keep him grounded. Thunder crackled in the distance and some of the torrential rain found its way under his hood. It ran down under his collar, working to chill him from the outside in. He took a deep breath and steadied himself.
With quick determination, he rapped soundly on the door of the old mansion with his fist.
Silence greeted him for several minutes. Finally the door creaked open and Bellatrix Lestrange stood silhouetted in the doorway. Her gaunt face was cloaked in shadows; but Remus knew it was her. Her high cheek bones made her face look caved in and much of her old beauty was gone. But as the thunder bounced off of her eyes, it illuminated their darkness. It would always be her eyes that he recognized.
Initially she showed no response, except for an arched eyebrow. Then slowly, as she took in his appearance, his scars, his torn cloak, his old boots, a thin, cruel smile spread across her face. Remus forced himself not to think of what could possibly be flashing through her mind.
“Remus Lupin,” she stated matter-of-factly.
He responded with silence and prayed that she wouldn’t make him talk. It would be so much easier if she just didn’t make him talk.
She seemed to sense this because the corner of her mouth bent nastily. “You were my cousin’s friend?” She spit out the word cousin as if it were poison and then let her question remain in the air, the silence answering it better than any words. She laughed and crossed her arms in front of her. “And I thought tonight was going to be rather dull. What possible reason could you have for coming here?”
Remus should have known it wasn’t going to be easy. However, he clung to the silence in hopes that she would just let him be.
“Are you going to make me force you to speak?” Her voice was light as if she was teasing, but the madness made her eyes sparkle with delight.
“No,” Remus hung his head, trying to gather his strength. The rain still beat down upon him, never letting up. But then that was why this was his task. Only he could do this.
Only he had a reason to do this.
“If there were any other way, believe me, I would not have come. But I need your help, Bellatrix.”
For a moment she just stood there, staring at him. Then suddenly she let out a loud cackle. “And why would I help you?’ she asked with an amused grin.
Remus tried not to swallow nervously and then gave in when it proved to be futile. It didn’t matter if she knew he was scared. She would figure it out sooner or later, regardless. So he gathered what remained of his strength and pushed forward. “Because you’re a student of torture and cruelty. You enjoy studying it, watching it; whether you’ve exacted it, it’s self-inflicted or otherwise.”
“And you come here of your own volition because you wish to be my student, or because you wish to be my subject?” She leaned against the doorframe, relaxing a little. Her face brightened a little as she imagined the only possible outcome of this night.
Remus shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.” If he didn’t know exactly how this night would end, he understood the gist of it.
She tilted her head as if studying him. “Oh, but it always matters. The reason why you would choose to give up your pathetic life is as important as the method you choose to end it. Why come here? There must be something you want specifically from me, and I’m curious as to what it is.”
Remus felt whatever remaining resolve he had waver. He wasn’t strong enough for this to end painlessly. He wrapped his arms around himself. “There’s nothing here for me anymore. It’s all been taken away. All my friends…all those dear to me are dead. You took away the last person I cared about. You killed Sirius.”
Bellatrix didn’t look impressed with his answer. “He was a fool.”
Remus stared at her and was struck by the uncanny resemblance of her eyes to Sirius’s. They had similar bone structures, enough to know that they shared some bloodline but mostly it was their eyes that linked them. Darkened and hollowed by their stay in Azkaban, they could have been a perfect match to Sirius’s. And that was the heart of the matter. “You remind me of him.”
“You’re a fool,” she said in response. “I’m nothing like him and all you’ll get from me is pain.”
“That’s not unlike all I ever got from him either.”
She laughed again with his final admission and he noticed that her eyes settled on the ruby clasp holding his cloak around his neck. She brought her hand forward and traced its outline with her bony finger.
She extended her arms and opened the door wider but didn’t move out of the way. If he was going to enter the house, he was going to have to enter her embrace first. He lifted his head and stepped towards her.
Inside, he found her breath warm and slick against his throat and she smelled like stale sweat. Her fingers opened the clasp and let his cloak fall to the floor. She threw him down next to it, and he focused on the bright red ruby glittering in the dim light of the hall.
Blood spilled.
The hard part was done. All he had left to do was to exist through the rest and hope that Bellatrix kept trophies.
Sure enough, at the end of it all, she picked up the ruby clasp and affixed it to her own robe. Then she leaned over to him, almost tenderly and whispered in his ear. “I’ve never reminded anyone of anything remotely nice, so I’m going to hang on to this keepsake of yours. I hope you understand, but this doesn’t change anything.”
And then she left him lying on the floor, in the middle of her entrance hall.
The bug had been Hermione’s idea; a beautiful gem hiding a very Muggle sort of device. A trick that Bellatrix wouldn’t be expecting. But he’d insisted; it was one that only he could deliver. With her powers, the risk would have been too great to entrust to subterfuge.
The only reason he could do it, was because everything he had told her was true. She did remind him of Sirius. She had his eyes.
The greatest lies were always the ones hidden in many truths.
1/1