It's challenging to determine who the most beloved villain is in the Harry Potter franchise. An obvious first thought would be that Voldemort is the clear winner. After all, he was the biggest baddie in the series by far. He sits up there with Joker and Darth Vader as one of the great villains. However, fans seem to have a particularly special relationship with Voldemort's most loyal follower, Bellatrix Lestrange.
It could have something to do with Helena Bonham Carter's utterly unhinged performance or maybe with the fact that we love to attempt to understand why people follow horrific leaders such as Voldemort. After all, Bellatrix is pretty much the epitome of a sycophantic follower. However, this is all just scratching the surface of things. Realistically, there's a number of reasons why everyone loves to hate this wicked witch.
One of these reasons is the fact that so much of her remains a mystery. Little is known about her life before she struck fear in the hearts of Voldemort's enemies during the Second Wizarding War. Sure, she had a bad reputation, but just how did she earn it? Fans loved learning about some of the most wicked things Voldemort did before the event of Sorcerer's Stone (originally The Philosopher's Stone), so it makes sense that we would delve into some of the most horrific things that Bellatrix Lestrange did before she was freed from Azkaban.
Without further ado, here are the 20 Most Wicked Things Bellatrix Did Before Sorcerer's Stone.
20 Disowned Her Sister
Bellatrix was born into the wealth Black family who were a part of "The Sacred Twenty-Eight". The Sacred Twenty-Eight were the magical families in the United Kingdom that have had the longest lineage of pure-bloods. Although not every family in this group were prejudice against Muggles and half-bloods, the Blacks certainly were. They took pride in the fact that none of their own married a muggle. However, one day, that changed.
The youngest of the Black sisters, Andromeda, decided to marry a muggle named Ted Tonks.
This caused Bellatrix, Narcissa, and their parents to completely cut Andromeda out of the family. Not only was her face burnt off the family tree, but she was never spoken to again. Bellatrix even tried to take out her sister's daughter, Nymphadora, during the Second Wizarding War.
19 Joined The Death Eaters
It's unknown when exactly Bellatrix Lestrange joined Voldemort's inner circle of Death Eaters. However, it's presumed that she quickly became one after she graduated from Hogwarts. She was quite a few years younger than Voldemort (once Tom Riddle), so the pair didn't go to school at the same time. By the time she would have graduated, the First Wizarding War had begun. Thus, it makes sense that she joined his ranks soon after.
Due to her pure-blood mania, her ideology was very much in-line with that of Voldemort. Additionally, she grew to be a fanatical supporter of him individually. In short, she adored how powerful he was and wanted to be on his side because of it.
18 married someone she didn't love
Although there's little information on Bellatrix's past, even less is known about her husband, Rudolphus Lestrange. Bellatrix could have met her future husband at Hogwarts, although chances are he was a few years older than her. Regardless, Bellatrix was forced into a marriage with him. This is because the Lestrange family was also a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. The statusmade Rodulphus an acceptable match in the eyes of Bellatrix's parents. Bellatrix stayed married to him, but clearly had no romantic feelings for him. It was a union of duty, not love.
Not only does Bellatrix never mention her husband in the series, but J.K. Rowling rarely did, either.
However, he did fight in the First and Second Wizarding War alongside his wife. Additionally, he was captured with her and sent to Azkaban.
17 Trained With Voldemort
Although Bellatrix was already a very talented witch by the time she graduated, she became even more powerful once she became a Death Eater. This is all thanks to Voldemort. He decided to take Bellatrix under his wing once she joined his ranks. He clearly saw great potential in her as well as appreciated her fanatical support.
When Voldemort took Bellatrix under his wing, he taught her much about the Dark Arts. Her dueling skills became even better since she learned his ways. Presumably, she also learned other impressive abilities. During this time, her obsession for the Dark Lord grew, as did her disinterest in her own husband, Rodulphus.
16 Fought The Order Of The Phoenix
Bellatrix Lestrange made quite a name for herself during the First Wizarding War. This is because she was at the forefront of Voldemort's attacks on Muggle-borns and the Ministry of Magic. The war thatVoldemort raged against the Wizarding World in Great Britain caused Albus Dumbledore to create the Order of the Pheonix to aide the Ministry in their attempt to defeat him.
Bellatrix relished in the opportunities to battle those who she deemed "Blood-Traitors."
Other than the Longbottoms, it's unknown which members of the Order she battled. Given the fact that almost all of the other Order members seemed to fear her, it's easy to presume that she battled many of them previously.
15 Received The Dark Mark
Bellatrix Lestrange was also branded with the Dark Mark. This was a significant honor that Voldemort bestowed upon his most loyal Death Eaters. It was placed on the inner left forearm of a Death Eater and could be used to call Voldemort directly. All they needed to do was use the spell "Morsmordre."
Voldemort could also use the Dark Mark to summon his followers to him. If he wanted to call any specific one of them or all of them, he could cause the Dark Marks to burn on the wearer's arm. This signaled that they were being summoned. Voldemort was also closely linked to the Dark Marks. When he had his first downfall, they started to fade, but once he returned, their vibrancy did too.
14 Randomly Attacked The Wizarding World
Bellatrix and her fellow Death Eaters were instructed to carry-out random attacks on the Wizarding World in Great Britain. Voldemort was hopeful that these attacks would cause the Ministry of Magic to fall and the citizenry to bow down to him.
A lot of these attacks were on Muggle-Born witches and wizards as well as on Muggle themselves.
Bellatrix also went around attacking Order of the Phoenix members as well as Aurors under the employment of the Ministry of Magic. The Death Eaters also carried out attacks on landmarks, like they did during the Second Wizarding War, when they took out the Millennium Bridge. Bellatrix and her accomplices got away with most of these activities as they wore masks to protect their identities. This changed during the Second Wizarding War, when most of the Death Eaters exposed their identities.
13 Fell In love With Voldemort
Everyone and their dog knows that Bellatrix Lestrange was actually in love with Voldemort. Her love for him was outrageously obsessive. There wasn't anything true or deep within it. It was just pure fanaticism and a dash of desire for power.
When exactly Bellatrix fell for The Dark Lord is unknown. Presumably, this happened when Voldemort took Bellatrix under his wing and trained her in the Dark Arts. This training took her away from her husband and allowed her to spend one-on-one time with Voldemort. In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it was revealed that Bellatrix eventually had a secret child with Voldemor, but the seeds for this were planted before The Sorcerer's Stone.
12 Discriminated Against Mudbloods and Muggles
Prejudice isn't something one is born with, it's something one learns. Bellatrix was a child who learned to hate those different from her at a very young age. This was because her family was part of a sacred lineage of pure-blood witches and wizards. They didn't associate with Muggle-borns let alone marry them into the family. In fact, they even had a challenging relationship with half-bloods.
Bellatrix's hostility toward Muggles and Muggle-borns witches and wizards continued as she got older.
She would constantly discriminate against them, bully them, and even attack them once she joined Voldemort's ranks. There's no telling what kind of awful things she did to them before she passed.
11 Manipulated Kreacher
During Kreacher's time serving the Black family, he mimicked a lot of the family's Pure-Blood supremacist values. The shared values are one of the reasons he connected to the family so much. Although he served Sirius' side of the family, he adored his cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa. He even kept pictures of them in his sleeping area and was upset when the one of Bellatrix broke.
Bellatrix made sure to keep Kreacher close to her as she could manipulate him into doing things for her. She knew that his allegiance would be worth something, and it was. After she escaped from Azkaban in Order of the Pheonix, she convinced Kreacher to harm Sirius' Hippogriff, Buckbeak. The seed for this was planted years before when she was far younger.
10 Learned Occlumency
Bellatrix was known as being an exceptionally skilled duelist, but she also had another skill that few witches and wizards have. That skill would be Occlumency.
Occlumency is the magical ability to block one's mind off from mental attacks called Legilimency.
This was an extremely useful skill as many would have wanted to use Legilimency to invade Bellatrix's mind as she remained close to Voldemort throughout his years. It's unlikely that Bellatrix learned this skill while studying at Hogwarts. She probably learned it from Voldemort himself while he trained her. Bellatrix would later teach the same skill to her nephew, Draco, in order to block Snape and Dumbledore from accessing his mind.
9 Upheld Her Family's Reputation
Bellatrix is best known for being loyal to Voldemort. However, she was loyal to someone else as well: her family. Although she took the Lestrange name, she was fiercely dedicated to upholding the Black family traditions. This included perpetuating a disdain for everyone who didn't share her pure-blood status.
Not only did Bellatrix marry into another pure-blood family to honor the Blacks, but she was adamant that her siblings do the same. Although Andromeda betrayed the family by marrying a Muggle-born, Narcissa married Lucius Malfoy. Bellatrix was happy that her brother-in-law shared her opinions as well as her dedication to Voldemort. Ever since then, she tried to make sure Voldemort knew that her family supported him fully. Not only did this protect them, but she thought it would honor their legacy.
8 Tried To Bring Down The Ministry Of Magic
Lord Voldemort's main campaign during the First Wizarding War, aside from the persecution of Muggles and Muggle-born witches and wizards, was the complete take-over of the Ministry of Magic. He knew if he could bring the Ministry down and replace the existing cabinet members with his own, he could maintain control over the Wizarding World in Great Britain. Therefore, he tasked Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, and his most loyal Death Eaters to wage war against the Ministry. The Death Eaters conducted various attacks on the Ministry.
They hoped that these attacks would scare Ministry workers away, or push them to join Voldemort's cause.
Bellatrix loved doing everything the Dark Lord commanded of her, but she particularly loved attempting to bring down the power structure that had allowed Muggle-born witches and wizards to exist.
7 Pressured Those Who Questioned Their Loyalty To Voldemort
Although there were completely dedicated Death Eaters such as Bellatrix, the Malfoys, Yaxley, and MacNair, others weren't as sure. Some Death Eaters questioned their loyalty to Voldemort, especially once the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic fought back against them.
Bellatrix and the other dedicated Death Eaters would often bully these wavering supporters into sticking to the cause. Such bullying tactics were the use of harmful curses and charms. Sometimes they would even take out people they were close to in order to keep them afraid. Knowing Bellatrix, she probably took great joy in harming those who wavered from Voldemort's cause. After all, she was his best lieutenant. Bellatrix would show this trait during the Second Wizarding War as well.
6 Hid The Hufflepuff Cup In her Vault
One of the things that Voldemort did before the events of The Sorcerer's Stone was collect valuable magical objects and use them as Horcruxes; a vessel to hold part of his soul. These items were incredibly important to him as they were the secret to his ever-lasting life. Even when his body was destroyed, these objects kept him alive. In order to keep these objects safe, he hid them in various places such as Bellatrix Lestrange's Gringott's vault.
Though Bellatrix didn't exactly know what Voldemort wanted to keep in her vault, she jumped for joy at the opportunity to please him.
The item that Bellatrix allowed in her vault was Helga Hufflepuff's golden cup. It was placed safely amongst cursed items that would protect it from being seized.
5 Placed People Under The Imperius Curse
As we all know, Bellatrix Lestrange was particularly talented at using the three Unforgivable Curses. In the movies, she plays around with the latter two. Prior to that, she helped Lord Voldemort use the Imperius Curse on various people.
During the First Wizarding War, Voldemort encouraged his Death Eaters to use the Imperius Curse on Ministry workers, Aurors, and various citizens that could help his cause. The curse made these people the puppets of those who used the spell on them. They would do anything and everything that the caster wanted until the curse was broken. Due to Bellatrix's proclivity for causing harm, she relished the opportunity to make others do her bidding.
4 Remained Loyal To Voldemort After He Fell
After Voldemort's downfall when confronting baby Harry Potter, the vast majority of the Death Eaters abandoned their posts. They either went into hiding or pretended to have been placed under the Imperius Curse in order to avoid doing time in Azkaban or being ostracized from the Wizarding World. However, a few of Voldemort's most loyal followers attempted to find him-- among them was Bellatrix.
She didn't believe that Voldemort could truly be gone.
In fact, she was convinced that he would return and reward those who stayed loyal to him. Therefore, she continued to wage war against the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic until she was eventually caught and sent to prison.
3 Attacked The Longbottoms
Bellatrix was certain that Voldemort wasn't truly gone after he vanished after the incident with Harry Potter. She led a small group of loyal Death Eaters to find him. This group included her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, his brother Rabastan, and Barty Crouch Jr.
Knowing that Voldemort was last seen at the house of the Potters, the Death Eaters decided to focus their attention on other members of The Order of the Phoenix. They managed to capture Alice and Frank Longbottom and used the Cruciatus Curse on them in order to retrieve information on Voldemort's whereabouts. However, the Longbottoms had no clue. Bellatrix then used the horrible curse on them until they completely lost their minds. This removed all memory of their newborn son, Neville, and sentenced them to a life in hospital.
2 Threatened Barty Crouch Sr.
After the incident with the Longbottoms, Bellatrix, the Lestrange brothers, and Barty Crouch Jr. were captured by Aurors and sentenced to life in Azkaban. At their trial, they came face-to-face with Barty Crouch Sr. Crouch, who decided to cut ties with his son, came down hard on the Death Eaters. However, Barty Crouch Jr. didn't seem to care too deeply about this as he aligned himself Bellatrix and Lord Voldemort. During their trail, Bellatrix claimed that she would always be loyal to Lord Voldemort and happily pled guilty to her charges.
She said that the Dark Lord would return and that he would destroy Barty Crouch Sr. and everyone else who stood in his way.
Eventually, this threat came to pass as Barty Crouch Jr. ended his father after he escaped from Azkaban.
1 Went Crazy In Azkaban
Unlike many others, Bellatrix wasn't unhappy to be sentenced to life in Azkaban. She knew that Voldemort would return and reward her beyond comprehension. During her stay in the remote prison, Bellatrix withered away both physically and mentally. During the First Wizarding War, Bellatrix remained quite elegant, as she was part of the aristocracy. She also was known as a beaut, but this beauty rotted while she was imprisoned in her dark cell. Her teeth spoiled. Her hair frayed. Even her nails became sickly.
Her mind was hit the hardest. She became even more obsessed with Voldemort as she had nothing else to do but think about him and wait for his return. This experience is what created the utterly deranged Bellatrix we so love to hate.
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What do you think is Bellatrix most wicked act before Harry Potter began? Let us know in the comments!
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