Harry Potter - The Black Pearl: Chapter Two

[self_preserving]

Rating: Mature
Warning/s: Torture, Incest, Graphic Sex
Pairing: Bellatrix Lestrange/Rodolphus Lestrange
Word Count: 4,765
Summary: Bellatrix Lestrange's desperate need to have a child leads her into the ever consuming darkness of insanity. As she races towards her ultimate demise, with Voldemort's faith in her fading fast, she is forced to question

Comments

[kachingkaching]

Okay, first I have to say that I read parts of the next chapter before this chapter was finished, so I read what was going to happen even before I 'got to know' Druella, before I knew how exactly you'd portray her and how you'd write what she was to do to her eldest daughter. I was aware of the fact that this chapter was going to be hard to read and I can only say that it had the expected effect on me.
Remembering that we've talked about pureblood families and their behaviour/expectations several times before, I had to smile at your description and portrayal of Druella and Walburga. The first 2 paragraphs describe their manners and attitude perfectly, so with only 2 paragraphs you were able to underline how things worked in the Black house. I really like that you've included the house elves in TBP, because people seem to forget about them, and even if they were treated like the crap, they were an important part of pureblood society. I think with Kreacher telling Druella about Cassiopeia you've manage to introduce a certain distance between Bellatrix and her mother early on. Druella wasn't going to check on Bellatrix herself, (she wasn't trusting them to notify her) and it seemed to me like she wanted to get it over with quickly, so she sent an house elf instead. Not exactly the loving parent. And with the 'We shall see' paragraph you're making it quite clear what kind of relationship they have. I enjoyed that you brought Andromeda and Sirius into this with just a mere mention by the way.

The second part of this.. just one word: Belladolphus. Adorable, wonderful Belladolphus. I think it's really the cutest part of a fic that I've ever read. It's marvellously harmonic and Bellatrix and Rodolphus are just, simply, happy with their baby. All the details and descriptions of Cassiopeia's movements are beautiful, I can see her - right there - in Bellatrix arms. And the only thing surrounding her are her parent's voices; until Druella arrives. The whole scene just makes me want to melt.

Before I say something about Bellatrix and Druella, I want to point out that you can really see how much Rodolphus and Bellatrix love each other. They're talking to each other on an equal level, and that's what makes them, in my eyes, a perfect match. The playful way inwhich they speak to each other is one of my favourite things to read and it's making me smile every time again.

The portrayal of Druella. I must say - you already know that - that I loathe TBP-Druella with every fiber of my being. We've also had long conversations only about Druella and her connection to the Dark Lord. We talked about her relationship to every single one of the 3 Black sisters. It's quite clear that Bellatrix hates her mother, and I've always thought that it's highly interesting that she's - next to the Dark Lord - the only person Bellatrix fears. I don't even want to imagine what she's lived through. The situation grows extremely tense as soon as Druella enters the room, and it's just terrible to see how defenseless Bellatrix is in that moment. I think that's all I have to say about Druella's conversation with Bellatrix. When Rodolphus returns and Cassiopeia is taken from them, the only thing the reader can hope for is that nothing happens to the child, and it hurts to see Bellatrix so desperate. It hurts even more when Rodolphus leaves with the child and Druella tortures Bellatrix - the part is always going to make me feel weird, but that only means that it's believably and powerfully written.

The fact that Narcissa's the one - of course you're making sure how her mother views her - coming to help or comfort Bellatrix, is another move I really liked. She can't do anything about the situation, but she's still there when her sister needs her. So with the fear of her mother and her -younger- sister trying to calm her, we can already see that the connection between the Black sisters was probably strong.

At the end I'd like to mention what I've told you earlier on Skype: You're making clear how several people's relationships to others look like. Sometimes with only a single phrase. With all the background knowledge that I have I'm astonished every time I read one of those detailed, tiny - but still meaningful sentences.

[kachingkaching]

I forgot to mention that you're stressing the fact that Narcissa's always been Druella's favourite. With that, you emphasize that Druella's had a different view on Narcissa. Another interesting thing, just saying ...

[I really hate LJ sometimes. Y CAN'T I EDIT MY POSTS?! Y CAN'T I EDIT MY PICTURE? Well yeah.. w/e. 8D]