"That's a nice lot of friends you have." Bellatrix commented when Harry finished telling her the events of the past twenty-four hours that had led to his incarceration. Too say the least, she was horrified, but voicing that probably wouldn't do any good. "At least they didn't torture you and all that fun stuff."
Harry's lips quirked. "That's one way to look at it."
The two sat in companionable silence mulling over their own thoughts for a few hours. Harry was just barely considering asking Bellatrix about the normal prisoner routine when she abruptly drew a ragged breath. "What's wrong?"
"The Dementors are coming." she gasped as she slowly slumped sideways from her sitting position to the floor. She instinctively curled up into a ball.
"Oh." Harry instinctively thought of a happy thought, but then realized that without his wand, it would do no good. He also then realized that he couldn't feel anything that he normally associated with the presence of the evil creatures. "Are you sure?"
Before Bellatrix could respond the door opened and two plates of some sort of food were shoved into the cell. Apparently it was the evening meal. The door slammed and within a few seconds, Bellatrix had recovered from her fit. The Dementors must have left..
Harry wasn't thinking about why they hadn't affected him because Bellatrix was staring at him with a confused expression on her face. "Don't they affect you at all?"
"Yes." Harry said nervously. "I usually faint." He stood up, grabbed the two plates, and gave one to Bellatrix before returning to his sitting position next to her.
She dug in, but Harry decided to study the feed before eating. It didn't look like anything he had ever eaten before. It didn't smell particularly good either. "What is this slop?"
"It's best if you don't wonder."
"I don't think I want to eat it." Harry said, giving the stuff on the plate a revolted glance.
Bellatrix stopped eating for a moment and gave Harry a very stern glare. "It's the same every day. Whether or not you want to, you will eventually get used to it. You can get used to it now or later. I suggest now unless you want to suffer more than you have to." She returned to the pitiful meal.
"Cheers." Harry muttered.
After they had finished eating, the Dementors returned and took the plates away. Once again, Bellatrix was instantly affected by their powers and Harry did not feel a thing. Harry shrugged it off and thanked his lucky stars. However, Bellatrix who was ever curious, couldn't help but wonder, so she returned to her favorite corner and pondered silently.
Harry had just discovered that it was possible to scratch impressions on the dark walls and was about to take on an artistic project when Bellatrix finally broke her silence. "The Dementors don't affect you, and they are somewhat afraid of you."
Baffled, Harry looked at her. "Afraid of me?"
"Yes, afraid of you." Bellatrix confirmed. "They almost always loiter near this cell to torment me before or after mealtime. I guess I have more guilty memories than other prisoners. However, they must be afraid of you. But why?"
"Umm, I don't know."
She didn't answer for several moments. Finally she beckoned Harry to come over and sit next to her. Having nothing better to do, Harry complied. She stretched forth one of her hands and gently traced the scar on Harry's forehead.
Harry shivered slightly as her cool fingers remained on his forehead after she had traced the scar as if she was checking for a fever. He didn't ever remember someone touching him in that way and it made him nervous. Finally she gave a defeated sigh. "It's not that."
"Okay then." Harry said, not quite sure what she was talking about.
"It's a mark that serves as a link, but it isn't associated with power." she muttered absently, unsuccessfully attempting to explain her thoughts to Harry. Before he could ask what she meant, she spoke again. "Roll up your sleeves."
Harry rolled up his long sleeves until they were very close to the shoulder. Bellatrix took his right hand and slowly stroked his arm from the wrist to shoulder. Finding nothing, she took his left hand and did the same.
As her hand got a few inches above the elbow, Harry started. She had touched something and it was making him feel really strange. Bellatrix had also discovered something because she began to trace something on his arm with a finger. "Bingo." she whispered.