Bellatrix Lestrange

"He knows how to play! Itty, bitty, baby, Potter!"

- Bellatrix Lestrange

Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black), also known as Bella is a pure-blood witch and a follower of Lord Voldemort in the world of Harry Potter. She is portayed by Helena Bonham Carter.

History
She was born to Druella and Cygnus Black in 1951. After graduating from Hogwarts, she became one of Voldemort's largest and possibly most sadistic followers. She was one of the few females in the group of supporters and was the wife of Rodolphus Lestrange. She was imprisoned in the wizard prison called Azkaban after torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity.

During Voldemort's second rise to power in 1996 she escaped along with many other followers of Voldemort.

She participated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in 1996 where she taunted Neville Longbottom and killed her cousin, Sirius Black. Bellatrix was killed by Molly Weasley at the Battle of Hogwarts on May 2nd, 1998. Her specialty spell was the Cruciatus Curse, a curse which causes immense pain, and the curse she used on Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Appearance
Bellatrix was described as beautiful in the pensieve, with sleek (straight) thick, shining black hair. She was tall, and proud. After Azkaban, Bellatrix was still beautiful, but hollowed out.

Plot
In the films, Bellatrix serves as one of the main antagonists in Order of the Phoenix and the main antagonist of Deathly Hallows: Part 1. She is also the secondary antagonist in the series overall due to her arguably being Voldemot's most evil, violent and loyal supporter.

Her role is expanded a bit in the films, although she did not appear in the trial scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with Karkaroff testifying against Barty Crouch Jr., the only Death Eater equal to Bellatrix in insanity and loyalty to Voldemort, who took part in the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom. Bellatrix was the main torturer, as mentioned by Neville.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Bellatrix was broken out of Azkaban by Voldemort and some of his Death Eaters, along with Antonin Dolohov and many other Death Eaters. Bellatrix and Lucius Malfoy led the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries to take the Prophecy from Harry when Voldemort tricked him into retrieving it. Eventually Sirius arrived with Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, and Mad-Eye Moody, and he and Harry defeated Lucius and Dolohov. Bellatrix then killed Sirius with Avada Kedavra, and he fell into the archway and disappeared. Harry attempted to use Crucio on Bellatrix, but was unable to perform the spell correctly as, according to Voldemort, he had to "mean it". When Dumbledore arrived to duel Voldemort, Bellatrix escaped through the fireplace.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bellatrix and Narcissa Malfoy had Snape make the Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco Malfoy and kill Dumbledore should he fail to do so. She also burned down the Burrow at one point, although it was later rebuild afterward. After Snape killed Dumbledore, Bellatrix attacked the Great Hall and Hagrid's hut, setting it on fire despite it being made of stone.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Bellatrix wanted to kill Harry, but Voldemort said that he must be the one to kill him. At some point before his death, Dumbledore gave a fake Sword of Gryffindor to Snape, who gave it to Voldemort, who entrusted it to Bellatrix, who kept it in her vault at Gringotts. When Snatchers, led by Scabior, took Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix saw the Sword of Gryffindor and thought that Harry had broken into her vault, so she tortured Hermione for information, carving the word "Mudblood" into her arm. Then she questioned Griphook the goblin about the sword, and decided to kill Hermione. However, Ron disarmed her before she could. Later, Dobby send a chandelier crashing down toward Bellatrix, who avoided it, and as Dobby Disapparated with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook, Bellatrix threw her knife at him, killing him.

Hermione Granger later on disguised herself as Bellatrix to get into her vault in Gringotts, wich was guarded by a dragon. Bellatrix never knew of this.

It is presumed that in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Bellatrix is the one to kill Tonks, as in the book, since her death is never shown onscreen. When she nearly kills Ginny with Avada Kedavra, Mrs. Weasley fights Bellatrix in a rage, petrifies her and destroys her with what is likely Reducto. Bellatrix never thought that Mrs. Weasley would defeat and kill her.



Trivia

 * During the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Helena Bonham Carter also filmed for The King's Speech. She was glad about this. 'Cause at those moments she could spare her voice and didn't have to scream all day.
 * Bellatrix's death was the last scene that Helena Bonham Carter filmed for Harry Potter.