Bellatrix Lestrange

Cissy, Lucius -

I regret that I bring bad news. However, I bring it with the intent that you may prepare yourself for what's to come.

Tomorrow morning, they will put out an arrest warrant for Draco.

Now. If you have recovered from that unpleasant shock, I will share with you my knowledge of the various reports, as I feel it only right that you know precisely what was found in the course of the investigation. I am aware that you both have held fast to the hope that Draco was taken from the castle as captive. Perhaps there is even some truth to that, as the connection between Draco and Snape remains purely speculative rather than certain. However, what has become certain is that Draco will be charged with willfully engaging in miscegenous activities and exposing a legal nonperson to the magical arts.

Minus official jargon, the evidence is as follows:


PHYSICAL


Letters - The mudblood's correspondence could not be determined as authentic, since there are few samples of its handwriting. Handwriting analysis, parchment-matching, and ink-matching all determined that Draco's was authentic and non-forged. The contents of the letter (which I will spare you) leave no doubt as to the writer's romantic intent.

Recordings - These were obtained by Teddy Nott Jr., who before his death claimed to be collecting them out of a suspicion that Draco was romantically interested in the mudblood, or vice-versa. Only after capturing the recordings did Nott Jr. determine that Draco was teaching it magic. The recordings are both visual and aural, and of good quality. They were captured using magically charmed mirrors similar to those used by MLE in our own surveillance, and feature a tamper-proof time and date stamp. Nott Jr. claimed to have cut out the "insignificant bits." What is left confirms that Draco and the mudblood were in a "hidden" room together on at least fourteen occasions in the last six weeks. They usually arrived and left this room separately, but on two occasions arrived together, and on one occasion left together. In those times they left and arrived together, they can be seen speaking to one another. The transcript of their conversation was not determined as condemnable; the frequency of their meetings, however, was, as was the fact that it took place in a location that was inaccessible to others. After much searching Investigators did find this hidden room; it seems to be a storage space of sorts, full of abandoned rubbish. Experimentation with the room revealed that the room is only accessible to others when it is empty, or when the occupant is expecting someone else to arrive.

Colocation Devices - A set of boxes, one transfigured into a ring, designed to allow the passing of objects from one box to the other. The ring-box was found on Draco's finger, and a second box was found in the mudblood's sleeping area. Harry's testimony confirmed he also owns a box of this nature (given to him by Regulus Black), which he has not used in some time, and that a fourth box was stolen from his trunk some months ago. Nott Sr suggested that his son intercepted the letters (see above) using the fourth stolen box.

Wand - The mudblood's illegal wand, which it claimed to have stolen from Buckingham, is over one-hundred years old (Ollivander's work) but is in good keep. There are no records of a wand having been stolen from Buckingham since the mudblood came under Harry's ownership. P.I. indicated that the last five spells ranged from intermediate to highly advanced, suggesting that the mudblood had been either well-trained in magic, or (more likely, I think) had someone else demonstrate advanced spells to it using the wand.

Rings - Draco and the mudblood both wore rings on their left ring finger. On first glance they appear to have nothing in common. In-depth study revealed that they are in fact made from the same materials, only designed to look different; both, too, were imbued with a spell to make them largely unnoticeable. On my first search of the mudblood, I in fact missed the ring, and did not see it until it later animated. Draco's ring was in the shape of a dragon, and quite expensive in appearance. The mudblood's was a snake, and quite plain. The rings are designed so that the wearer can, in effect, poison and kill him or herself through nonverbal magic, should the need arise. These are not toys: the wearer must be in genuine fear for their life, at which point the animal comes to life and bites the wearer, injecting him with three poisons. Not only did both rings have the same function, they were also crafted by the same person: a witch, young in age. Possibly with the guidance of one extremely skilled at potions.


TESTIMONIAL:


Various Students - For brevity's sake, I won't list them all here. In the course of questioning, Penderyn determined that Daphne Greengrass, widely accepted as Draco's current girlfriend, was aware that Draco was keeping dangerous secrets from her, but was unaware of what those secrets were. Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson were also questioned extensively about their romantic interactions with Draco; neither felt he had any unnatural impulses, but neither have had sexual relations with him, either. Hydra Lestrange revealed that she was giving Draco occlumency lessons at his request, but that when they began those lessons, he already had some skill in the area. She did not know whether he came by the skill naturally or had been taught by someone else.

Bellatrix Lestrange - In the course of my initial questioning on Saturday, 7 June, Draco occluded rather than submitting to legilimency. Even when I assured him that he had nothing to hide, he continued to occlude, though denied that he was doing so. The mudblood did not successfully occlude under Hydra's interrogation, though Hydra did report that the mudblood made an attempt at it. It is well known that Severus Snape was a master occlumens who was also skilled at spell-cast legilimency, providing him with the means to effectively teach occlumency.


OTHER:


- The journal archive was torched. Enough said.
- There are multiple anecdotal reports of Draco being called in to assist "Milland" in unspecified ways, often involving detention; however, there are no official records of those detentions, nor any record of Draco having lost house points.



When taken as a whole, the above evidence is more than enough to justify arrest, interrogation, and a hearing with the Wizengamot, who - barring veritaserum evidence that reveals otherwise - would surely find Draco guilty of all charges held against him.

I apologise that I must be the one to deliver you such unpleasant news. Know that aside from my own testimony, I have been only peripherally involved in the investigation, lest my involvement only serve to further incite Nott and Mulciber.

Mrs Ponds,

It came to my attention some time ago, right around the time of your daughter's birth, that Hydra has an interest in becoming better acquainted with you. She asked for permission to write to you, and after assurances from my sister and my husband, I reluctantly agreed to the exchange.

Since then, Hydra has expressed further interest in meeting your infant and your husband, and seeing the cafe and shop where you make your living. Naturally, such a visit not be possible until she is on holiday from school - Christmas, perhaps.

Still, I have some concerns about such a visit. I do not know what kind of household you and your husband keep, and I shouldn't want my daughter to be exposed to any paraphernalia or practices which may cause her to become upset or confused. Before I can agree to such a visit, I think it necessary that I assess for myself whether this is an acceptable environment for Hydra.

As such, you may expect me for tea tomorrow afternoon. I shall bring Rigel along, as I don't believe you've seen him since he was an infant. He's well past two years old now, and walking and climbing into everything. I am quite amenable to become acquainted with your own little growing family, while at the same time determining whether or not it is in Hydra's best interests to become acquainted with it, too.

Expect me at 4 o'clock.

Sincerely,
Mrs Lestrange

Rodolphus, Cissy, Lucius...

Do any of you have an inkling as to what's happening at the school today? From what I can piece together it's something to do with a dangerous incident, as all students have been recalled to their Houses. And since the incident must surely be more than a flooded loo, it would be helpful if those in charge at the school could say more instead of leaving journal-reading parents in the dark.

Also, the Bulstrode girl said that Hydra was initially missing. Surely someone at the school will at least have the courtesy to let her parents know that she was found.

Mother, Cissy and I just finished tea, having settled on the details for Sunday's festivities. It looks as if the weather should be fair enough to hold the naming ceremony outside in the gardens, while the ritual of ancestral trees will be carried out in the grand hall. After all, we wouldn't want any of those tapestries to be sullied by a rouge rain shower.

Walburga has already brought up the Black tapestry from Grimmauld Place, and Rodolphus convinced Rabastan to bring round the Lestrange tapestry when he was up from Hampshire on Monday. And, after much Owling back and forth, Rodolphus' cousin Cornelius has promised to bring the Jugson's early on Sunday morn. He had best keep his word, especially as I am not entirely convinced that the Jugson side of Rodolphus' ancestry has proper respect for tradition. When they brought the tapestry over for Hydra's ritual of trees, the thing looked like it had been stashed up in the attic, for I am certain I spied bits of cobweb and such on it. I made my disapproval on the matter entirely clear, so perhaps Cornelius delays now only because he is wisely making sure that the tapestry is in immaculate condition before presenting it to me.

Stephen, I hope that you will consider bringing your young charge along with you on Sunday. It would do the small one good to see the Rosier tapestry, I think, so that he knows how fortunate he is to have been taken in by such a significant and established pureblood family.

As much as I am looking forward to Sunday's events, I will admit that I am just as eager to get back to work. Early reports indicate that the new Auror training programme will pay off very well, but I do feel that my presence is a necessary component of the MLE's eminence, and thus a benefit to the fruition of our Lord's vision for Britain.

Fortunately, we've had a nanny lined up for Rigel for some time now - Mrs Baylock, who also looked after dear Harry when he was an infant, and as such was unavailable for Hydra. How funny that we should acquire the perfect Nanny now, with a child as peaceful and easy as Rigel, when we couldn't do so with Hydra, who wailed so much that I often considered sealing her gob off with spellotape. 'Twas like living with a howler.

Rodolphus has been trying to convince me that Hydra feels neglected with a new baby in the house, but since I haven't been able to find her all day, I will conclude that he's likely projecting.

Professor Sinistra, I've sent you an Owl this morning and I do hope that it has arrived in due course. It mostly includes detailed plans for the project, as well as a copy of the recommendation I penned for you following my observation of your class. Two others that I know of have been recommended for the position as well, but the fact that it is I who am recommending you should put you in good favour, I think. Please look the materials over and do not hesitate to Owl in return if you have any questions.

Along with that business, I've got to meet with Hoppykirk about the changes to the training programme, get her siggy all over everything before passing it on. Harkiss and Dawlish are feeling quite nervous, I believe. As they should be, a pair of lumps like that.

My Lord has asked to be left alone this week. Time spent with the new pet project, no doubt. I only wish to be of service on that count, but if it is solitude He desires, He shall have it. Praise.



Ah, Cissy... we did the charm last week. It's a boy.

Yes, for all of you reading along: I'm pregnant. Almost into the third trimester. All looks safe and well this time, and Hydra is beside herself at the thought of having a brother. A son! I'll have to begin thinking of suitable names right away.

The time has come for me to go a courting.

I have procured several goblin-made items (dagger, chalice, and something that looks grossly like a chamber pot but...surely not) from families looking to take up residence in the New Wizarding London. Homes and flats in Mayfair and Belgravia are being sought after by many who have hidden too long in the drear country, in draughty estates disguised as rubble heaps.

With the Lord's blessing, my committee for the Re-population of New London has almost completed the long and arduous task of making the city habitable for our good, upstanding citizens. So many things needed to be rid of, too: disgusting monumentry and useless bric-a-brac and all those poxing double-decker buses. Not to mention more shops full of foul-looking food than I could ever imagine. If there be something left off the long list of muggle inferiorities, it's surely that they are slovenly, wasteful creatures who consume at much greater speed than they produce.

We have a much cleaner - in all ways - London to inhabit now. These days I spend far more time at Saint James than I do at Le'Strange Hill, and find it quite marvellous to stroll through the peaceful, empty streets, dressed proudly in the clothes that mark me as a Witch. One day, I shall live to see these streets filled with young Wizarding children at play.

Now and then I'll stumble across a reminder. A stairwell leading to the underground trains. But it will make me smile all the more, to think of what we have won. Praise the Lord, and all the countless miracles He has wrought.



Cissy, Mother has owled me about some new young man in her life. What do you know of this? He best not be another one who's come after her money.