High-security prison cell number 9. The sharp sting of a whip cutting across the scarred skin of his back jerked Jez out of his stupor. He barely flinched, far too accustomed to the pain. The woman holding the whip – his mother, Bellatrix Lestrange – seemed determined to break him once again. Her ragged black hair framed a gaunt, pale face, wild with madness. Dark eyes, burning with cruelty, gleamed in the dim light, and her lips curled into a twisted smile. Her tattered, threadbare robes hung loosely off her thin frame, the fabric torn and frayed from years in Azkaban, yet she carried herself with the same arrogant grace as always. He had no idea where she kept getting the whip; every time he hid it, she somehow obtained a new one, each sharper and more painful than the last. Eventually, he gave up hiding them. There was no point.
As he braced himself for the next strike, he recognized the light, hesitant footsteps of his siblings creeping closer, and his tense shoulders slumped. Vespera stood at the entrance, her white hair disheveled, tangled from neglect, and her torn, ragged clothes hanging loosely from her thin frame. Her violet eyes burned with barely restrained fury, yet beneath the anger lay a glimmer of worry. "That's enough, Mother! If you don't stop, I'll call one of the Aurors!" she threatened, her voice sharp and unyielding.
Her twin brother, Zephryth, stood behind her. He was a head taller and wore his usual stoic expression, yet the anger in his eyes was unmistakable. His hair was shorter but equally as unkempt as both of his siblings'. Seeing her other two children Bellatrix snorted, "Whatever... get out of my sight you filthy little Half-bloods... What was I thinking when I bedded that man..." she muttered to herself as she walked away.
The children quickly slipped through the bars of the cage, which were clearly not meant to restrict six and seven year olds. The Aurors standing guard turned a blind eye to their existence, many of them feeling sorry that such young children had to grow up in such a demented place. Despite their mothers hair being black, all 3 kids had white, almost silver hair. Some of the older Aurors recognised it – the same hair colour as that wizard that single-handedly escaped Azkaban 3 years ago. He single-handedly wiped the floor with a team of 50 Aurors tasked to capture him, but that wasn't even the most shocking part. What was truly unbelievable, was that one of those Aurors was the infamous Alastor Moody. Alastor-freaking-Moody, bested by a wizard who had been living in the dementor inhabited prison for years. And if the rumors were true, he didn't even have a wand! That was the day Moody lost one of his eyes, and became known to the world as Mad-eye Moody.
The incident had been quickly covered up by the ministry of magic, due to fear of public outrage, but not before the story had become widespread amongst the inmates of Azkaban though. To every inmate residing on this island, that man – Deus, as he called himself – was a legend. And he was also Jez's father, the father of Bellatrix Lestrange's kids and the "mudblood who bewitched her" as Bellatrix claimed.
What was even stranger, was that during the ministry's investigation of this incident, they found no record of this man, not his name, not the duration of his sentence, not even the crime he'd been imprisoned for, nothing. If it weren't for all the Auror casualties, many would have started to doubt he ever existed.
It was during the investigation that the existence of these three children was discovered by the ministry. Jezabeth was four at the time, his siblings only five. The Ministry had ultimately decided to leave them there – choosing to avoid explaining their origins to anyone and risking the truth about the escape coming to light.
Jezabeth, Zephryth and Vespera knew about this story like the back of their hand. It was almost a fairy tale in Azkaban, even the guarding Aurors talked about it, the older ones telling those who newly transferred to the facility. It was a sort of urban legend.
Jez still remembered the day his father left them with perfect clarity. His father's handsome yet worn-out face had looked down at him, his eyes filled with nothing but worry and care. "My dear son, Jezabeth, one day you will understand why I had to do this. Stay safe and take care of your siblings, for families stick together. One day, we shall see each other again. That is my promise to you." And with those hypocritical words, that man had left him—left his three children to fend for themselves in the hell known as Azkaban.
Shortly after his departure, all three of them noticed a parting gift that had been left for them. A burning sensation could be felt at the back of their right hand, where a tattoo had appeared. A circle, enclosed in a triangle and the whole thing neatly cut him half by a straight line. Neither Jez, nor his siblings knew what these tattoos were but they made the wise choice not to tell anyone about them.
"Dad is hated by the ministry right now, it would do us no good to show them a mark that could be linked to him in any way," Vespera had said as she ruffled Jez's hair. She had always been spoiling her younger brother, her two siblings were all she had left in this world. Luckily, Zephryth had managed to find a way to hide the tattoo, which he haughtily showed off before he taught it to the other two. It wasn't too hard, so they soon mastered it. "Just keep a steady flow of magic to the tattoo, and it will disappear," he exclaimed, his hand clenching in triumph. "Aren't I a genius?"
"Dad is hated by the Ministry right now. It would do us no good to show them a mark that could be linked to him in any way," Vespera had said as she ruffled Jez's hair. She had always spoiled her younger brother—her two siblings were all she had left in this world.
Luckily, Zephryth had managed to find a way to hide the tattoo, which he haughtily demonstrated before teaching it to the other two. It wasn't too hard, so they quickly mastered it.
"Just keep a steady flow of magic to the tattoo, and it will disappear," he explained, his hand clenching in triumph. "Aren't I a genius?"
"Yes, yes, very impressive," Vespera chided in an amused voice. "Anyways, I'm feeling a bit hungry, lets go and steal some food from the warehouse for lunch!" she declared as she bounced up, ready for an adventure. And just like that, the three siblings started sneaking towards the food storage, after all its not like they got fed meals since they weren't officially recorded as prisoners.