Harry Potter Poster #78 FRAMED Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange Helena Bonham Carter

Description

Bellatrix Lestrange is the first female Death Eater introduced in the books, and the most faithful member of Voldemort’s inner circle. She is described as being highly attractive yet emaciated due to her time in Azkaban. Bellatrix is portrayed as paranoid and fanatically devoted to Voldemort. She takes an obvious pleasure in acts of torture and cruelty, as demonstrated when she kills her cousin, Sirius Black. She is a witch of prodigious ability, as demonstrated by her many victories in duels against other characters, and as noted by Harry in the final book.

Bellatrix was born Bellatrix Black to Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier in the year 1951 and has two sisters, Andromeda (who was blasted off the Black Family tree for marrying Muggle-born Ted Tonks) and Narcissa. She is also a first cousin to Sirius and Regulus Black, and an aunt to Draco Malfoy and Nymphadora Tonks. Bellatrix 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’s true love was Voldemort. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rowling uses Dumbledore’s Pensieve as a plot device to reveal that Bellatrix, rather than deserting Voldemort after his downfall like many other Death Eaters, is part of the group of dark wizards – along with Barty Crouch Jr, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange – that tortured well-known Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom in an attempt to gain information about Voldemort’s location. For using the Unforgivable Cruciatus Curse to torture the Longbottoms to insanity, Bellatrix and her three associates were sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. During the trial, she said Voldemort would rise again and reward them. When Voldemort rises again, he says the Lestranges went to Azkaban rather than renounce him and that they will be deeply rewarded when Azkaban is broken open.

Fourteen years after Voldemort’s fall, Bellatrix is one of the many Death Eaters who escapes Azkaban and rejoins him. She is present at the battle of the Department of Mysteries in the climax of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which a group of Death Eaters attempt to steal Sybill Trelawney’s prophecy pertaining to Voldemort’s downfall. Rowling let Bellatrix prove her magical powers during the mission when she overpowers her niece Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt in one-on-one duels, kills her cousin Sirius by blasting him through the veil in the Death Chamber, and deflects one of Dumbledore’s spells as she makes her escape; this demonstrates the immense power that she truly possesses. Harry attempts to use the Cruciatus Curse on her in revenge for killing Sirius, but the curse is ineffective due to the lack of real cruelty behind it. Before she can do any more, Bellatrix is subdued by Dumbledore in the Ministry of Magic’s Atrium so he can duel Voldemort. Voldemort however rescues Bellatrix and takes her with him as he disapparates.

At the beginning of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bellatrix attempts to keep Narcissa from confiding Draco’s secret mission to Snape at Spinner’s End. Rowling used the conversation between Snape and Bellatrix to imply that Voldemort is still furious at Bellatrix’s failure in the previous book. That conversation also suggests that Bellatrix mistrusts Snape not only because of his low birth, but also for many valid questions about his loyalty to the Dark Lord. Snape surprises Bellatrix by replying to each of her arguments and by agreeing to create an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa to assist Draco in his mission to assassinate Dumbledore. Later in the book, it is mentioned by Snape that Bellatrix had been teaching Occlumency to Draco, in an effort to aid him with his mission. In the film, she and Fenrir Greyback arrive at the Burrow (the Weasley house) and burn it down. Harry and Ginny chase after them, with Bellatrix taunting “I killed Sirius Black!”. Her wand is walnut, 12 3/4 inches, dragon heartstring, unyielding and according to Ollivander should be treated carefully.

The first chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows implies that Voldemort is still angry with Bellatrix, as evidenced when he makes fun of the fact that her niece Tonks married werewolf Remus Lupin. However, Voldemort gives Bellatrix a chance to “prune” her family tree during the Death Eaters’ attempt to capture Harry as the boy departs from the Dursleys’ home, during which Bellatrix unsuccessfully tries to kill Tonks. In this book, Rowling reveals that Bellatrix is the guardian of Helga Hufflepuff’s cup (though she is unaware of its true nature), which Voldemort has entrusted the Lestranges to keep in their Gringotts vault. Bellatrix and the Malfoys capture Harry, Ron, and Hermione at Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix then tortures Hermione with the Cruciatus Curse, believing them to have sneaked into her vault at Gringotts, but Dobby appears and saves the prisoners, though not before being hit by a knife thrown by Bellatrix as they disapparate to safety. Later in the book, Harry, Ron, and Hermione use a stray hair of Bellatrix’s to disguise Hermione as Bellatrix using Polyjuice Potion, to gain access to the Lestranges’ Gringotts vault. Though Voldemort apparently punishes Bellatrix and the Malfoys severely for interrupting his Elder Wand side quest only to have Potter escape and steal the cup, she nevertheless fights for her master in the Battle of Hogwarts towards the end of the novel. Rowling stated in an interview that, during the battle, it was Bellatrix who killed Tonks. When the battle resumes inside the Great Hall after Harry’s supposed death, Bellatrix simultaneously duels with Hermione, Ginny, and Luna, 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. Rowling has stated that she had Molly kill Bellatrix to show Molly’s great powers as a witch and to confront Molly’s consumption with “maternal love” and Bellatrix’s obsession with Voldemort.

In the film series, Bellatrix is played by Helena Bonham Carter.

Helena Bonham Carter, CBE (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton’s A Pattern of Roses before her debut film role as the titular character in Lady Jane. She is known for her roles in films, such as A Room with a View, Fight Club, The King’s Speech, and playing Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series. She frequently collaborates with her domestic partner, director Tim Burton, in films Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland, and Dark Shadows. In 2012, she played Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, and Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables.

A two-time Academy Award nominee for her performances as Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove and as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in The King’s Speech, Bonham Carter’s acting has been further recognised with seven Golden Globe nominations, an International Emmy Award for best actress, three Primetime Emmy Award nominations, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 New Year honours list for services to drama, and received the honour from the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 22 February 2012.

Bonham Carter played Bellatrix Lestrange in the final four Harry Potter films (2007-2011). While filming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, she accidentally ruptured the eardrum of Matthew Lewis (playing Neville Longbottom) when she stuck her wand in his ear. Bonham Carter received positive reviews as Lestrange, described as a “shining but underused talent”.

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