[Rodolphus Lestrange]
[Bellatrix Lestrange]
We walked for a long time through the interior of Azkaban.
This was the place where the most vile of Azkaban's prisoners were kept.
Only after reaching the innermost section of Azkaban did Harry and I find the prison cells with those nameplates.
Screeech—
The atmosphere was even gloomier than the cells holding the other prisoners.
Woof woof! Woof woof!
The sound of a dog howling, growing louder and louder amidst the desolate atmosphere, made the place feel even darker.
It was a section so dark that not a single ray of light reached it; without the Lumos spell, you couldn't even make out your own shape.
The place was so neglected that the only boundary separating the criminals from society was a rusty iron gate, its red rust exposed, which let out an unpleasant scraping sound.
It was the most dilapidated gate in Azkaban, but it was more than enough to contain the weakened, worst of all witches and wizards.
The reason for this was that this place was more infested with Dementors than anywhere else in Azkaban.
So many, in fact, that even after seeing me devour a Dementor, the ones in this section did not leave.
Whoooosh...
However, as if to maintain their guard against me, they did not enter a hemispherical radius of several meters around Harry and me.
In any case, after crossing through the tight guard of the Dementors, we arrived at the cells.
The cells of the Lestrange couple were built facing each other. Naturally, they were both in solitary confinement.
I approached the cell with the nameplate that read Rodolphus Lestrange, who would be the head of the family.
His form, seen through the iron bars, was haggard.
He was so limp it was hard to tell if he was alive or dead; only the occasional rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was breathing.
"Lumos."
Rustle, rustle.
Rodolphus flinched as I shone the light from the Elder Wand on him.
"Ugh, what is this."
Unable to open his eyes to the sudden bright light in a place that had been utterly devoid of it, Rodolphus raised an arm to shield his face.
I asked him.
"You're Rodolphus Lestrange, correct?"
His mind must have been gone from the torment of the Dementors, as Lestrange just mumbled, unable to speak properly.
I let out a sigh at his pathetic state and pulled him toward me.
—Accio.
CRASH!
"Khak! Cough, what the!"
I used the Summoning Charm to pull him forward and slammed him into the iron bars.
He must have hit it hard, as blood was trickling from his forehead.
Of course, I had no need to show consideration for the injuries of a Dark Wizard.
As if the blow to his head had brought him to his senses, a glimmer of intelligence returned to his dazed eyes.
Indeed, he was a wizard worthy of being imprisoned in the deepest part of Azkaban.
Lestrange, having regained his senses, growled at me with eyes full of malice.
"Who the hell are you, you damn brat."
But that was brief. As he confirmed my young body, a look of surprise and contempt filled his face.
"Pfft, what a sight. Don't tell me a brat like this managed to get into the deepest part of Azkaban?"
After looking me over for a moment, greed began to well up in his face.
"I don't know what's going on, but this is perfect. I'll just take your wand and get out of this place—kyaaaargh!!"
Before he could finish his sentence, I flicked my wand and slammed his body into the ceiling.
How dare you covet my Elder Wand.
The wand itself trembled, as if the very thought of being held by such a man was repulsive.
With another flick of my wand, I opened the iron gate with Alohomora, went inside, and pulled down Rodolphus, who was groaning, embedded in the ceiling.
"D...mn... you... brat."
Blood was streaming down his face, and his words were slurred through his broken teeth.
I grabbed his face with the hand that wasn't holding the wand. My still-growing hand couldn't cover his whole face, not even his eyes, but it didn't really matter.
"I'm going to have a conversation with you now."
"Wha...t?"
"Ah, you don't need to say a word, so don't worry."
Did Rodolphus even understand what I was saying? It didn't matter either way.
I looked directly into Rodolphus's eyes.
—Legilimens.
Meanwhile, at the moment Aisen was having his 'talk' with Rodolphus.
For some reason, Harry's eyes were more drawn to the prison cell across from them, the one with the nameplate that read Bellatrix Lestrange.
In any case, it was less than twenty paces to Bellatrix's cell from Rodolphus's.
Under the assumption that his master would come to his aid at any moment from such a short distance, Harry made his way towards Bellatrix's cell.
Splash, splash. Only the sound of his footsteps in the shallow puddles of water on the Azkaban floor broke the silence.
Were these Dementors really that hard for even the Death Eaters to endure?
Not a single sound could be heard from within the cell, separated by iron bars.
With a little more confidence, Harry relied on the small flame at the tip of his wand and cautiously approached the gate.
Even as he got closer to the bars, he couldn't hear anything.
Moreover, the faint light from his wand wasn't enough to see what was inside the dark cell.
Harry cautiously imagined the light from his wand growing stronger and said.
"Lumos!"
Fwoosh.
As the light from his wand grew brighter, Harry was finally able to see that there was something in the cell.
So that woman must be a Death Eater.
A follower of Voldemort, one who had harmed his parents.
The moment Harry took another step towards the limp woman.
BANG!!
"Hmph!"
Bellatrix, who had been lying there as if dead, had lunged at Harry and was stopped by the iron bars.
Startled, Harry took a step back and almost fell on the slippery floor, but he managed to regain his balance.
Bellatrix licked her lips as she looked at Harry.
"Lucky little boy, aren't you?"
If you had just handed over your wand to me, things would have been so much easier.
A chill ran down Harry's spine at her words, mumbled with eyes glinting with madness.
Harry aimed his wand at Bellatrix and said.
"Shut up, Lestrange."
"Oh my. The little boy has some fire in him. You think you can do anything just because you have a wand? I have no idea why a kid is here, but... huh?"
Bellatrix's face, which must have been quite handsome before her time in prison, twisted in an instant.
This was because the light from Harry's wand had reflected off his scar and caught her eye.
The lightning-bolt scar, the mark of having survived the Killing Curse.
Her face contorted like a demon's, Bellatrix threw herself against the bars.
Shaking the rattling gate, Bellatrix screamed like a madwoman.
"Har-ry Potter! You cursed brat! So you've shown yourself before me!!"
The root cause of her master, Voldemort's, disappearance. The 'Boy Who Lived,' whom she would have gladly chewed to pieces, had appeared before her very eyes!
Faced with Bellatrix, who looked ready to escape the prison and kill him on the spot, Harry clenched his jaw.
Aiming his wand at Bellatrix, Harry shouted.
"Stupefy!"
A red flash shot out from his wand.
But Bellatrix, even weakened by prison, was a skilled and experienced duelist.
The hand gesture to cast the spell, the direction of the wand, the shape of the mouth as the incantation was uttered. All of it was a clue to Bellatrix.
No matter how talented he was, for Harry, who had been learning magic for less than a year, dodging his spell was a simple matter for her.
After dodging Harry's stunning spell, Bellatrix cackled and shouted.
"Potter! You think you can hit me with a pathetic spell like that?"
Harry, who had not expected her to dodge it, couldn't help but flinch. Seeing this, Bellatrix smiled wickedly and said.
"Ah, Potter! What a shame I couldn't torture your parents! If it weren't for my great master's mercy, I would have used the Cruciatus Curse to turn your parents into imbeciles right in front of you!"
At the mention of his parents, Harry's hands began to tremble with rage. Not backing down from Bellatrix's intensity, Harry shouted back.
"Yeah, and I bet your 'great master' was thinking the same thing right before he died! At the hands of me, a baby."
Those words struck a nerve with Bellatrix. She gritted her teeth and screamed like a madwoman.
"NO! The Dark Lord, my master, is not dead! He will return one day and execute all of you with your filthy blood!"
Screaming at the top of her lungs, Bellatrix then shot a cursed look at Harry and began to spew venomous words.
"If only I had a wand, I would have made a brat like you beg me to save you, writhing on the ground under the Crucio! And in the end, you would wish not for life, but for death."
"You? You dare to do what your master couldn't?"
"Oh, I can do it, easily! As long as you've inherited your mother's dirty bloodline, you won't be able to overcome the inferiority that flows in your veins!"
Harry didn't know much about his mother, Lily Potter. A year ago, he hadn't even known she was a witch, let alone that she was Muggle-born.
Therefore, Harry didn't understand what Bellatrix meant by 'dirty bloodline.'
Nevertheless, Harry could not bear to hear Bellatrix insult his mother.
"Lestrange! If you don't apologize for those words right now, I'll make you crawl on the ground in eternal agony!"
Bellatrix laughed mockingly at Harry.
"You? How? You can't even land a single spell, how are you going to give me eternal agony? Ha, are you thinking of using the Cruciatus Curse?"
Harry did not answer.
Confirming the affirmative meaning in his silence, Bellatrix burst out laughing as if it were the most absurd thing she had ever heard.
"Pfft, really? You're hilarious, Potter! Go on, give it a try!"
As if she had no intention of dodging, she stood before Harry with her arms spread wide and shouted.
"Go on and try, Potter! Can you even cast the Cruciatus?"
Harry gritted his teeth at her and shouted.
"Crucio!"
A beam of light, similar in its red color to Stupefy, but closer to the color of blood, shot out from Harry's wand.
"Kiyaaaaargh!"
For a moment, a pain as if her entire body had been electrocuted by a high-voltage current washed over Bellatrix.
And yet, Bellatrix tossed her disheveled hair and screamed.
"Not bad, Potter! But you have to mean it! You have to enjoy making me suffer to give me pain for a long time! You can't hurt me with such petty anger!"
Seeing Bellatrix like this, Harry remembered Aisen's teachings.
"Harry. The magic I am about to teach you is very dangerous."
Harry listened intently to Aisen's unusually serious tone.
"These spells are very dangerous things. They are curses that can take away a person's free will, cause them pain, and even take their life."
Even from a brief description, they were extremely dangerous curses.
Do I have to learn curses like these to go to Azkaban? Harry was a little taken aback. And yet, it didn't really sink in for him.
Noticing this, Aisen explained again, in a way that would be more suited to Harry, who had been raised by Muggles.
"Alright, to put it in a way that's easier for you to understand, what I'm about to teach you is how to fire a gun."
A gun. Compared to countries like the United States, where personal firearm ownership is legal, you would rarely see a gun in the UK.
Nevertheless, it was an explanation that resonated more with Harry. Learning how to fire a gun!
Aisen continued.
"Shooting a gun at another person, for whatever reason, means crossing an irreversible river with that person."
"That is why these three spells are called, collectively, the 'Unforgivable Curses'."
"The Unforgivable Curses are to be used on those whom you have absolutely no desire, nor reason, to be forgiven by."
Hearing the explanation, Harry's breathing quickened.
Harry stammered as he asked.
"Th-then, shouldn't I not learn a spell like that?"
At those words, Aisen's face turned as cold as ice, a rare sight.
"Of course, these curses are terrible things. You must never, not even as a joke, aim them at your comrades. But when your target is a Dark Wizard, the story is different."
"These spells will protect your friends from your enemies, and they are a means of counterattack that can return the pain your enemies have inflicted on others."
Even after hearing Aisen's explanation, Harry asked again in a trembling voice.
"But, you said these are unforgivable curses. If I use a curse like this, doesn't that make me unforgivable?"
Aisen leaned in and whispered to Harry, as if teaching him a secret.
"Of course, Harry. I respect that kind heart of yours. But think about it carefully, Harry. Do you have any reason to be forgiven by them? By those who have killed your parents or committed crimes of that magnitude?"
"...No."
The answer slipped from Harry's lips.
That's right. Come to think of it, why in the world would he need to be forgiven by them? He was the one who had the right to grant forgiveness.
As Harry came to this realization, Aisen continued.
"Some ignorant people misinterpret these Unforgivable Curses and use them, but there is no need to listen to such talk."
Saying things like you can't cast them without malice. Or that you have to truly hate your opponent.
Aisen declared it all to be nonsense.
"The way I see it, that's just a ploy by the Ministry to stop people from using the Unforgivable Curses. But, it's not entirely wrong. Even if it's not malice, you need a clear intent."
Aisen looked directly into Harry's eyes and said.
"When you use an Unforgivable Curse, you need a strong conviction. A conviction that the opponent is unworthy of being forgiven."
Even after Aisen's lesson, he had been unable to properly cast the Cruciatus Curse.
This was because there was still hesitation in Harry's heart.
Even if they are Death Eaters, are they really unworthy of being forgiven?
The result was the incomplete Cruciatus Curse from before.
But now, it was different. After hearing Bellatrix's words just now, Harry was finally able to find his conviction.
They were unworthy of being forgiven.
Having gained enlightenment from Aisen's teachings, the look in Harry's eyes changed.
The meaning in his gaze as he looked at Bellatrix transformed.
From the look one gives to an irredeemable villain, to the look one gives to an insignificant creature.
Sensing the subtle difference, Bellatrix flinched and was about to open her mouth, but Harry's wand was faster.
"...[CRUCIO!!]"
And the bursting, crimson flash of blood-red light.
That was the last thing Bellatrix remembered with a sane mind.