The Diary of Bellatrix Black - Foreword

***Praise for The Diary of Bellatrix Black***

“Bellatrix Black didn’t live the life of an ordinary schoolgirl.” -Neville Longbottom, Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

“Almost as fascinating a read as my book on the same subject.” -Rita Skeeter, bestselling author of Before They Ate Death

“Spellbinding. I hope Melodius S Lestrange publishes another year soon.” -Betty Braithewaite, Daily Prophet

“That was freaking dark. I love it. Can’t get enough of this stuff.” -Sane Cassidy

***Foreword***

Surely, witches and wizards who have come of age in Britain after 2 May 1998 remember their first Hogwarts celebration of Harry Potter Day. The delight of treacle tart, the awesome heroism of schoolchildren and everyday citizens during the Battle of Hogwarts, and the beautiful wreaths laid upon the solemn white tomb of Professor Albus Dumbledore have impressed upon our hearts the magnitude of the Second Wizarding War.

For me, and a dozen others in my class, my first Harry Potter Day at Hogwarts also came with a great deal of confusion and a vague sense of guilt. In the tale of the Battle of Hogwarts, and all records of the First and Second Wizarding Wars, the villains have our surnames. We Rosiers and Carrows, we Goyles and Yaxleys, we Malfoys and Lestranges--can we possibly be related to Death Eaters, whom history teaches us are monsters? Some of the known Death Eater families have gone extinct in the male line. There are no Crouches, no Pettigrews, no Karkaroffs to outlive their ancestors’ shame. But the rest of us are left wondering: if we are human, surely our grandparents were human. If our infamous grandparents were human, what could have driven them to follow the most dangerous dark wizard of modern history?

Little did I know, on that first Harry Potter Day I celebrated at Hogwarts, that an answer lay in wait for me in the family vault at Gringotts. Like the Dark Lord she worshiped, my great aunt Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black kept a diary during her school years. Rather than transformed into an object of the Darkest Arts, it was shuffled amongst various other belongings of hers, and eventually came to rest for several decades in the Gringotts vault of my grandfather, Rabastan Lestrange.

You may imagine the trepidation with which I first handled the object. Have we not all learned the famous words of Mr Arthur Weasley? "Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain." However, a sense of duty called me forward. Surely, the document must be considered. It may prove enlightening! And if anyone were to be cursed in the attempt, who better to fall upon Bellatrix Lestrange's wand than a member of her family? Thankfully, the book was nothing more than her account of her schoolgirl years. I will admit: this was still enough to produce some unpleasant effects.

I've read and re-read every word of this diary. Bellatrix Black was an unpopular girl at school. Bullied and lonely, she took comfort in watching as an exceptional wizard rose to power--a man who prized qualities she possessed.

You may agree with history, as I do, that hers was a journey to madness and rightful defeat. Conversely, you may believe that Bellatrix Lestrange was a hero martyred for her pureblood cause. In either case, I hope you find the following pages as illuminating as I have. Surely, even the darkest wizards of history once faced the same challenges we all meet: schoolyard rivalries, young heartache, and personal growth.

Melodius S Lestrange, 21 March 2036

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This work of fanfiction was based on characters and settings created by JK Rowling for her Harry Potter series. I'd like to note that my fair use of this popularly known source material does not in any way represent an endorsement of Rowling's harmful public statements against the validity of trans identities. Trans men are our brothers.