Search results
People also ask
Who is Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter?
Why was Bellatrix Lestrange enraged?
Why does Bellatrix say 'crucio' in Harry Potter?
What does Bellatrix mean?
May 21, 2019 · In Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, Bellatrix taunts Harry for his inability to cast the curse: Hatred rose in Harry such as he had never known before; he flung himself out from behind the fountain and bellowed, "Crucio!"
- Overview
- Biography
- Physical description
- Personality and traits
- Magical abilities and skills
- Possessions
- Relationships
- Etymology
"Potter, you cannot win against me! I was and am the Dark Lord's most loyal servant. I learned the Dark Arts from him, and I know spells of such power that you, pathetic little boy, can never hope to compete!"
— Bellatrix about her loyalty and skills in the Dark Arts
Bellatrix "Bella" Lestrange (née Black) (1951 – 2 May 1998) was a British pure-blood witch and a member of the noble House of Black. She was the eldest daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black, the elder sister of Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy and the cousin of Sirius and Regulus Black. Bellatrix started her education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the early sixties (either 1962 or 1963), and was Sorted into Slytherin House.
After graduating from Hogwarts, Bellatrix became a Death Eater. She was fanatically loyal to Lord Voldemort and was among the most dangerous and sadistic of his followers. All the Black sisters married pure-blood wizards, except for Andromeda who married Muggle-born Ted Tonks and was disowned by the family.
After Voldemort's fall from power, Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus Lestrange, her brother-in-law Rabastan Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jnr captured and brutally tortured the Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom, seeking information about Voldemort's whereabouts which eventually drove the two Aurors insane. The four Death Eaters were caught and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. Voldemort eventually returned to full strength in 1995 and Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan escaped from Azkaban in the 1996 mass break-out, along with seven other Death Eaters.
Bellatrix participated in several battles of the Second Wizarding War, making it a particular goal to murder any relatives who were members of the Order of the Phoenix. She successfully murdered two, her cousin Sirius Black and niece Nymphadora Tonks. She also murdered the Malfoy family's former house-elf, Dobby, who had become a firm ally of Harry Potter. During the final battle, Bellatrix was the last Death Eater standing. She was eventually killed in a duel by Molly Weasley after her attempted murder of Ginny Weasley.
Early life (1951–1962/1963)
"Snape... was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters. Rosier and Wilkes — they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges — they're a married couple — they're in Azkaban." — Bellatrix's time at Hogwarts was spent among a select group of Slytherins. Bellatrix was born in 1951 to Cygnus Black III and Druella Rosier, who gave her a rich lifestyle and raised her to be proud of her pure-blood heritage. She was the elder sister of Andromeda and Narcissa Black.
Hogwarts years (1962/1963-1969/1970)
Bellatrix attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was Sorted into Slytherin House, a pattern followed by her sisters. Whilst at Hogwarts the three sisters were very close, and they shared their most prized possessions in a keepsake box which had been given to them by their parents just before they went to Hogwarts. Bellatrix would eventually curse this box with powerful Dark Magic to prevent intruders from accessing the contents, and before she left school she would destroy her keepsakes within the box, reducing them to ashes and hiding the box in the Duelling Club room.
After Hogwarts (1969/1970)
Along with the rest of her family who held pureblood supremacy beliefs, Bellatrix cut off contact with Andromeda when she married Muggle-born wizard Ted Tonks, causing her to be disowned from the House of Black. Neither she nor Narcissa had "set eyes on Andromeda since she married the Mudblood Tonks". She also held her cousin Sirius Black in contempt for being a "blood traitor", due to his different opinions on Muggles and Muggle-borns. Bellatrix eventually married Rodolphus Lestrange, a fellow wealthy pure-blood and Slytherin, marrying out of obligation of fulfilling her family's pro pure-blood mentality and tradition. Unlike her sisters, she never displayed any love nor affection for her husband whatsoever, never even mentioning him in conversations nor bearing him any children.
"A woman with thick, shining dark hair, long eyelashes and heavily hooded eyes... was sitting in the chained chair as though it were a throne."
— Bellatrix's outward appearance at her trial
Bellatrix had the classic "great good looks" and arrogant bearing common for members of the House of Black. She was a tall woman with long, thick, shiny dark hair. Her face had a strong jaw, a thin mouth, and dark, heavily lidded eyes with long eyelashes.
As a Death Eater, Bellatrix bore the Dark Mark on her left inner forearm. However, (like her cousin Sirius Black) her lengthy imprisonment in Azkaban took a toll on her appearance. Her face became gaunt and skeletal, but she still managed to retain vestiges of her great beauty.
"Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I'll do it."
— Bellatrix gleefully threatens to torture Ginny Weasley
Bellatrix was a criminally insane witch with intensely sadistic and brutally violent tendencies. She possessed a fierce and dangerous temper, a trait that she shared with her cousin Sirius and her aunt Walburga and which was likely a result of the inbreeding that plagued her birth family. Bellatrix was one of Voldemort's cruellest Death Eaters, always eager to inflict the Cruciatus Curse on enemies. Harry Potter noted that she was as "mad as her master." Likely for these reasons, Bellatrix was slavishly devoted to Lord Voldemort and was willing to do anything for his cause. She believed to have proven her loyalty by her time in Azkaban, an event which had seemingly furthered her mental decline. Despite her loyalty towards her master, she was able to disagree with him on occasion. She did not trust Severus Snape and believed that Voldemort was mistaken in doing so, though she showed shame and fear when expressing this.
Overall, Bellatrix was obsessed with blood purity and took immense pride in the aristocracy of her family since a young age. Like all the rest of Lord Voldemort's followers, she was vehemently against all half-bloods, Muggle-borns, Muggles, and half-breeds. She had a particular disdain for blood traitors, not being above killing members of her own family who displeased her, including her cousin Sirius and her younger sister's daughter Nymphadora, whom she sought to kill with great determination. Given her reaction to Harry's words that Voldemort is a half-blood, it is likely that she didn't know that her master wasn't a pure-blood or at least was in denial.
Bellatrix was intelligent and a natural leader, taking charge in tricky situations. These traits were shown during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. The latter event was a mark of her decisiveness and ruthlessness, as she took no unnecessary prisoners (preferring to kill them instead) as she planned to do with a group of Snatchers who attempted to defy her. However, Bellatrix could be easily distracted and reckless, especially in battle with opponents that appeared to be (or were) weaker than herself.
Bellatrix was also egotistical and arrogant, described by Harry as "treat[ing] everyone like scum" in a rather taunting way. She had immense confidence in her skills and never hesitated to jump into battle against any auror or Order of the Phoenix member. Furthermore, she was immensely proud of her status as the most loyal and devoted follower of Lord Voldemort. However, Bellatrix chose to flee when Dumbledore arrived, suggesting that, like her master, she held a degree of fear and caution for the powerful wizard.
"She was a witch, as Harry knew, with prodigious skill and no conscience."
— Harry Potter regarding Bellatrix's duelling skills
•Magical mastery: Bellatrix Lestrange was an extremely powerful and dangerous witch, trained by Lord Voldemort himself. She was a mistress of the Dark Arts, an incredibly skilful duellist, and an experienced Occlumens. Her unbalanced mental state, anger ,and emotional instability seemed to feed her power, and her prodigious magical skill was proven by her many victories over numerous talented wizards and witches, including experienced Aurors.
"That was just a taster! Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch your little friend die the hard way!"
— Bellatrix after having tortured Neville Longbottom with the Cruciatus Curse
•Dark Arts: Bellatrix claimed to have been trained in the Dark Arts by Voldemort himself, boasting to Harry Potter that she had knowledge of "spells of such power that you, pathetic little boy, can never hope to compete!", a claim supported by her status as Voldemort's "best lieutenant". Bellatrix displayed particular proficiency with the Cruciatus Curse, which was her signature spell. She preferred to torture her victims rather than killing them straight away, doing so with such skill her victims would pass out or would lose their sanity after prolonged exposure to the curse. Following her first duel against Nymphadora Tonks, the latter had to spend some time at St Mungo's, suggesting that her aunt cursed her in such a way that couldn't be cured easily. Like her master, Bellatrix was capable of casting the Killing Curse with no regard for the life she wished to extinguish. She effectively killed a fox on her way to Spinner's End in 1996 with this curse and nearly killed Ginny Weasley with it in the Battle of Hogwarts.
•First wand: Her first wand was 12¾" inches long, made of walnut wood, with a dragon heartstring core. When Harry shows it to Garrick Ollivander, it was described by him as "unyielding" in nature. Bellatrix purchased her wand from Garrick Ollivander, who was its manufacturer, his wand shop Ollivanders in Diagon Alley. Bellatrix used her wand heavily throughout her life as a Death Eater and throughout the First Wizarding War and Second Wizarding War, using it heavily to perform the Dark Arts. She used it to perform the Cruciatus Curse which tortured both Alice and Frank Longbottom, along with the murder of Sirius Black during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. She lost her wand after the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor, after which it was taken by Hermione Granger.
•Knife: Bellatrix owned a small, sharp knife which was made of silver. She used her knife to hold Hermione at knifepoint during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor and later to kill Dobby when he and the others were escaping from Malfoy Manor by throwing it at him, proving herself to be competent in knife fighting.
•Lestrange Vault: Although this Gringotts vault and its contents were technically owned by her husband's family, Bellatrix was shown to have as much authority of it, and kept many of her own valuable personal items in there.
•Replica of the Sword of Gryffindor: Bellatrix owned a replica of the Sword of Gryffindor, which was kept in her vault at Gringotts and which she mistakenly believed to be the real sword.
Family
Lord Voldemort: "I'm talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And yours, Lucius and Narcissa. She just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud." Bellatrix: "She is no niece of ours, my Lord. We — Narcissa and I — have never set eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood. This brat has nothing to do with either of us, nor any beast she marries." — Voldemort discussing blood purity with fellow Death Eaters Bellatrix took the pure-blood values of her family very seriously, as indicated by her marriage into a known pure-blood wizarding family and her zealous belief in Death Eater ideology. She had no feelings of affection for those in her family deemed blood traitors by disgracing and dishonouring her family by not fanatically honouring the prejudiced values she did, and readily attacked and killed them on many occasions.
Lord Voldemort
"She sat beside her sister, as unlike her in looks, with her dark hair and heavily lidded eyes, as she was in bearing and demeanour; where Narcissa sat rigid and impassive, Bellatrix leaned toward Voldemort, for mere words could not demonstrate her longing for closeness." — Bellatrix demonstrates her obsession with Voldemort during the Meeting at Malfoy Manor Bellatrix was obsessively in love with Lord Voldemort, which extended to her being (sexually) attracted to him. More than just being a fanatic, she shared his ideas of blood purity and fascination with the Dark Arts. Unlike many of the other Death Eaters, Bellatrix never attempted to deny her loyalties when her master fell in 1981. Instead, she proudly claimed that she was his most loyal and trusted servant, and stated that he would rise again. She seemed to view Azkaban prison as a mere place to wait for his return. Bellatrix was described as being slavishly devoted to her master, regarding him with "worshipful fascination" and speaking to him in a romantic way. On at least one occasion, during the 1997 meeting of Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor, her cheeks flushed and her eyes welled up with tears when she thought he was praising her. Satisfying him was of the utmost importance to her. She was perfectly willing to kill her niece, Nymphadora Tonks, as a way of "pruning" her "family tree", though she would most likely have done it without his orders, anyway. Bellatrix was outraged by anyone showing her master even the slightest disrespect. When Harry called him by his name in 1996, she became enraged, feeling that he was unworthy of speaking the name. She was also furious when Harry spoke of Voldemort's half-blood status and Muggle father. Despite agreeing with her master's ideology of blood purity, she apparently didn't care that he himself was a half-blood, if she believed this at all. Voldemort might have falsely told his subordinates that he was a pure-blood, something which Harry Potter suspected. If so, she believed her master's lie over the truth from the enemy. Voldemort respected her talents and skills and considered her of greater importance than most of his other servants. At the conclusion of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, he grabbed her and Apparated away with her. She was the sole Death Eater whom he bothered to help, though this may have been done out of convenience, as she was much closer in proximity than the other captured Death Eaters. However, Voldemort didn't reciprocate her romantic feelings, as he didn't know love. Due to his egotistical and self-centred nature, it is possible that he was at least pleased with her desire for him. Their sexual relationship and the honour of bearing his child could have also been a reward to Bellatrix for her loyalty to him, as he believed that he had found a way to cheat death and didn't need to leave an heir behind. When she was killed by Molly Weasley during the final battle, Voldemort's fury was said to "explode like a bomb". Her death was the only one that he attempted to avenge before Harry Potter intervened. It is unlikely, though, that he truly cared about her as a person, rather than being angry about losing someone who was very useful to him.
Severus Snape
Severus Snape: "Well, continue, Bellatrix. Why is it that you do not trust me?" Bellatrix Lestrange: "A hundred reasons! Where to start! Where were you when the Dark Lord fell? Why did you never make any attempt to find him when he vanished?" — Bellatrix questioning Severus Snape's loyalty, showing her distrust of him Bellatrix was acquainted with Severus Snape, a fellow Death Eater prior to the end of the First Wizarding War, changing sides shortly before Voldemort's 1981 downfall, and becoming a double agent for Albus Dumbledore. Their relationship prior to Snape's defection is unknown, Bellatrix was highly suspicious of him due to Severus's alliance with Dumbledore and his spotty record of fervent loyalty to the Dark Lord. Although she was genuine in her mistrust of Snape, she was possibly also envious of the position of trust and respect Snape enjoyed under Voldemort. It is also possible that Snape's half-blood status was a point of derision on Bellatrix's part. In 1996, Bellatrix followed Narcissa to Snape's house, trying to dissuade her from seeking his help in guiding and guarding Draco in the task of killing Albus Dumbledore. She was taken aback by Snape's conformance in making the Unbreakable Vow, for which she acted as a bond-maker. Both she and Snape fought and died at the Battle of Hogwarts. However, Bellatrix's death didn't allow her to discover that her initial mistrust of Snape had been valid after all.
Like many members of the House of Black, Bellatrix's name is derived from that of a star. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion. It is also known as the Amazon Star, which is one of Orion's seven brightest stars. In fact, it's the twenty-seventh brightest star in the night sky. The Amazons were warrior women in Greek mythology, which is presumably an allusion to Bellatrix being among the most dangerously skilled Death Eaters. Her name likely has Latin, French and English origins: Bella is Latin both for the plural of bellum, meaning war, and the feminine singular adjective meaning "beautiful;" trix is Latin feminine suffix (i.e. Bellatrix is the Latin word for a female warrior or a personification of feminine beauty). 'Bellatrix' also translates directly to 'war-like'.
is likely a play on l'étrange, which is French meaning "the strange one". Her name thus alludes to her own mental instability, although technically Lestrange came from Bellatrix's husband Rodolphus.
Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. She evolved from an unnamed peripheral character in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire into a major antagonist in subsequent novels.
- IN "CURSED CHILD", SHE AND VOLDEMORT HAD A DAUGHTER. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child dropped a major revelation: Bellatrix and Voldemort have a secret illegitimate daughter together.
- HER WAND IS KNOWN TO BE UNYIELDING. Wands with dragon heartstring produce the most flamboyant spells and easily are turned to the Dark Arts. Bellatrix lost her wand in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the fight at Malfoy Manor when Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Dobby escaped with it.
- SHE WAS AN OCCLUMENS. Occlumency is the art of magically closing your mind against Legilimency, or mind-reading. It's a rare and difficult skill. Snape calls it "An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one" in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
- BELLATRIX CARVING "MUDBLOOD" INTO HERMIONE'S ARM WASN'T SCRIPTED. In the scene in which Bellatrix tortures Hermione and interrogates her about Godric Gryffindor's sword, she carves "mudblood" into Hermione's arm with a knife.
May 16, 2021 · A particularly enthusiastic member of Voldemort’s inner circle of Death Eaters, Bella relishes causing pain, especially when her victims are powerless; her specialty is the Unforgivable Cruciatus Curse. She is also capable of tremendous loyalty.
Bellatrix Lestrange (1951—2 May, 1998) also known as Bella, was a pure-blood witch, the daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black and elder sister to Andromeda and Narcissa. She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1962 and was sorted into Slytherin house.
Oct 4, 2016 · One of Voldemort’s most devout followers, Bellatrix gets some of the best lines and scariest scenes in the books. Here’s our lowdown on Bellatrix...
