Bellatrix Lestrange

Контекст

Bellatrix has two younger sisters, Andromeda and Narcissa, and is a first cousin of Sirius Black. She married Rodolphus Lestrange after leaving Hogwarts "because it was expected of her" to marry a pure-blood. However, Rowling stated in an interview that Bellatrix truly loved Voldemort. At Hogwarts, she, along with her sisters, was sorted into Slytherin. It is suggested in the novels that, as a student, Bellatrix associated with a group of students – including Rodolphus Lestrange, Severus Snape, Avery, Evan Rosier and Wilkes – who nearly all became Death Eaters. Bellatrix and her husband were active Death Eaters during Voldemort's rise to power, and evaded capture and suspicion until after his downfall. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Albus Dumbledore's Pensieve reveals that Bellatrix was part of the group of dark wizards – along with Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Barty Crouch Jr – that tortured well-known aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom to try to gain information about Voldemort's location. For using the Unforgivable Cruciatus Curse to torture the Longbottoms until they went insane, Bellatrix and her three associates were sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. At her trial, Bellatrix proudly and defiantly proclaimed that Voldemort would rise again.

Собственная история

Thirteen years after Voldemort's fall, Bellatrix was one of many Death Eaters who escaped Azkaban and rejoined him. After escaping, she was at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in the climax of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Neville Longbottom attempts to kill Bellatrix, who is with Lucius and other Death Eaters to confront Harry. Rowling let Bellatrix prove her magical prowess during the mission when she overpowered her niece Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt in one-on-one duels, killed her cousin Sirius by blasting him through a veil in the Death Chamber, and deflected one of Dumbledore's spells as she made her escape. Harry tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on her in revenge for killing Sirius, but the curse was ineffective due to the lack of real cruelty behind it. Bellatrix was subdued by Dumbledore in the Ministry of Justice's Atrium while he duelled Voldemort. Voldemort interceded on Bellatrix's behalf, grabbing her and taking her with him as he Disapparated. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Bellatrix is the guardian of Helga Hufflepuff's cup (though she is unaware that it is a Horcrux), which Voldemort has entrusted the Lestranges to keep in their Gringotts vault. Bellatrix and the Malfoys detain Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger at Malfoy Manor; and Hermione is tortured by Bellatrix when she suspects the trio has broken into her vault. Dobby appears and saves the prisoners, though not before being hit by a knife thrown by Bellatrix as they disapparate to safety. Later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione use a stray hair of Bellatrix's to disguise Hermione as Bellatrix using Polyjuice Potion, to gain access to the Lestrange's Gringotts vault. Bellatrix fights for her master in the Battle of Hogwarts. When the battle resumes inside the Great Hall after Harry's supposed death, Bellatrix simultaneously duels with Hermione, Ginny, and Luna Lovegood, none of whom is a match for Bellatrix, who nearly hits Ginny with a Killing Curse. An enraged Molly Weasley engages Bellatrix in a duel and fires a curse that hits Bellatrix right over the heart, killing her.

Путеводитель

Bellatrix Lestrange personifies fanaticism within the Harry Potter saga. Serving not from political necessity but deep psychological obsession with Voldemort, her character arc remains static in its devotion: she begins as a feared fugitive and ends as a martyr for the Dark Lord's cause, never wavering even when faced with death. She possesses immense magical talent, particularly in the Dark Arts. A master duelist capable of holding her own against skilled opponents like Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks, her signature style involves using multiple curses simultaneously with terrifying precision. Beyond combat, she is proficient in Legilimency and the Unforgivable Curses, wielding them without hesitation or remorse. Ultimately, her legacy is cemented by three key moments: the torture of the Longbottoms (establishing her cruelty), her escape from Azkaban (showing resilience), and killing Sirius Black at the Ministry. Her story concludes in the Great Hall during the Battle of Hogwarts, where she is slain by Molly Weasley after threatening Ginny Potter—a moment of poetic justice proving even a monster can fall to a mother's protective fury.

А вы знали?

• Bellatrix's given name comes from Latin as the feminine form of the noun 'warrior', and like many members of the Black family, she is named after a celestial body—one of the brightest stars in the constellation Orion.
• Actress Helen McCrory was originally cast as Bellatrix in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix but dropped out due to pregnancy and was replaced with Helena Bonham Carter; McCrory was later cast as Bellatrix's sister Narcissa.
• While filming the scene in the Department of Mysteries in Order of the Phoenix, Helena Bonham Carter accidentally perforated the eardrum of Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) with her wand during one of the outtakes.
• The play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child reveals that Bellatrix is the mother of Delphini (Delphi), conceived with Voldemort during their stay at Malfoy Manor prior to the Battle of Hogwarts.
• Bellatrix's name has been translated into other languages in ways that accentuate her evil nature, such as the Dutch 'Bellatrix van Detta'.