I. Bellatrix stares at her mother's swollen belly, her lip trembling. "I don't want it!" she says shrilly. "Make it go away!"
It isn't fair. She already has to fight with perfect little Andy for her parents' attention. But another sibling? No, no, no, no! She doesn't want it, and if she screams loud enough, Mummy will make her happy.
But she knows Mummy and Daddy will love the baby more. Mummy and Daddy will forget all about poor little Bella.
"Take it back!" the child demands, stamping her foot, her features forming her winning pout.
"Hush, Bellatrix."
"But, Mummy!"
"I will not have you being nasty to the baby already," her mother says firmly, her tone leaving no place for argument.
Still fuming, the little girl stomps off, muttering darkly under her breath.
II.
Bellatrix hates the baby. The baby is hurting Mummy and making her scream.
Swears and curses fill the air. Bellatrix sits in her little corner, her tiny hands covering her ears to drown out the noise.
She would never hurt her mother like that. She's a good girl, Daddy's special big girl.
But her parents will still love the stupid baby more. They'll make those ugly adult faces whenever they look at it and say it's such a precious, perfect thing.
"Not fair," she grumbles. "Not fair!"
III.
Her parents call the baby Narcissa, and they say she's beautiful. Bellatrix thinks she's ugly, all pink and squirmy, and she smells.
"Do you want to hold your baby sister?" her mother asks.
"No," Bellatrix sniffs, folding her arms over her chest. "It's stupid. Take it back!"
Her father leads the distraught young girl out of the nursery, instructing the elves to make her a soothing tea. "You have to be a big girl, angel," he tells her.
"I don't want it," she says for probably the twentieth time that day.
Her father chuckles. "You said the same thing about Andromeda, you know."
Bellatrix remembers. She still doesn't want Andy around either.
IV.
After a few days of sulking and pouting, the child gives in. She wants to know what's so special about the screaming little monster, and she grudgingly allows her mother to place the baby in her arms.
Narcissa is so tiny, so light. Bellatrix stares in fascination, rocking the infant gently. "What if I break it- her?"
"You won't," her father laughs, patting her cheek.
Bellatrix moves her fingers over the baby's soft, smooth skin and through the silky puffs of pale hair, trying to comprehend what's happening. She doesn't know what's changed, but she can feel the shift as Narcissa gurgles and wiggles in her arms.
Maybe Bellatrix loves this little sister she hadn't wanted. Maybe Narcissa is a precious, perfect thing that her parents will love more. But it doesn't matter. Narcissa is hers, and Bellatrix will love her and keep her safe.
"Bella, it's time to put Cissy down for a nap," her mother says.
Bellatrix doesn't want to let go, not yet. She's only just learned to love the little one. Shaking her head, she cradles the baby protectively, making those stupid faces that adults always make.
"Bella." Narcissa is taken from her arms. "Go play."
But Bellatrix doesn't want to. She climbs up beside her mother, watching the precious, perfect thing fall asleep.