Prologue Part II: Change of Plans

The doors to the manor burst open, revealing the faces of Bellatrix and Lucius as they quickly stumbled inside, shutting the doors firmly behind them. Exultant expressions of triumph spread across their features as they both quickly made their way through the elegant foyer, past the stairs into Lucius's study.

"Finally." Bellatrix breathed in a relived sigh, pulling out the child from beneath her robes. She held it away from her in both her hand, looking on in disgust as tears continuously slid down the child's face.

"Worthless brat." Bellatrix muttered, walking over to a nearby chair. She dropped the baby from her hands, Ginny bouncing lightly on the black leather surface before falling to her side. Pushing herself up with her arms, she looked at the two once again and began to cry.

"Thank Merlin you have that thing silenced, I'd never be able to listen to it for a second." She complained, before noticing her reflection on a mirror hung on the opposite wall. Her face turned from loath to joy as she noticed her appearance, rushing over to the gold lined mirror.

"I'm back. Yes, I'm back." She nearly panted, fawning over her features in the mirror. Her long elegant fingers combed through her shimmering black hair, loving the feel of it in her hands. "That muggle was so filthy. And the way she walked, nothing but unbearable. I'm back." She whispered once again, staring unblinkingly at her own reflection.

"We're not done yet. We have to deal with…" Lucius's stormy cold eyes looked over the child, his nose twitching as he looked for a word, "this."

Bellatrix looked over her shoulder at him, seemingly snapping out of her daze.

"Oh that?" She questioned airily, making her way over to the baby. "Let's deal with it now then."

"So you'll do it?" Lucius asked, walking over to stand beside her.

"Of course I will, the Dark Lord wanted it done. I found her, I'll do it. I'll claim credit for it once he returns." She looked over to him, giving him a sly look, "Why? Too squeamish to kill an infant?"

Lucius did not answer, but looked on as Bellatrix pulled out her wand. The child, 'Ginny', looked up at them with honey brown eyes, and although she was only a year old, the fear and confusion in them was unmistakable.

"Hmm… what spell shall I use?" Bellatrix wondered, tapping the tip of the wand against her chin, studying the whimpering child before her.

Lucius's stomach turned, "Just get it done quickly and do it clean, there's no need to do any of that."

Bellatrix sighed exaggeratedly, lowering her wand. "Fine. What happens after I kill her?"

"What do you mean? Then it's over. There's nothing left for us to complete."

"I mean, what do we do with her? Toss her in the fire? I'm all for that, but you seem to be a bit more spineless and reluctant," she mocked, "about how it's done."

Lucius sighed as well, his brow creasing in thought, "We'll have Dobby dispose of her. Dobby." He called out in a commanding tone and in an instant a slight crack was heard and before him stood a small and skinny house elf in a worn and dirty pillowcase.

"Y-y-yes sir? Master called Dobby sir?"

"Stand there and keep quiet. You'll dispose of this child's body after we're through with dealing with her."

"Dobby… what?" The house elf asked in alarm, peeking from behind Bellatrix to look at the scared child. "Is sir going to, going to kill her?" Dobby asked in a choked voice, looking at Lucius with a pale drained face.

Lucius barred his teeth at the creature, causing him to flinch as he knew what was coming. Lucius was at him in less than two steps. With a swift kick, he sent the elf flying, crashing into a nightstand, causing the lamp atop it to waver before it crashed to the floor below, shattering the crystal into tiny pieces.

"Pick. It. Up," Lucius ground out, clenching his teeth together. Dobby staggered to his feet, hastily sweeping the broken glass together with his hands, small cuts appearing with pricks of blood as he did so. "And sit there until I need you."

The small elf quivered, huddling near the nightstand as Lucius turned away, giving his attention back to Bellatrix.

"Well, if you're going to do it, get on with it then."

"Fine," Bellatrix said, turning to the small child. "Any last words?" She asked Ginny, before snickering to herself at her own joke, whilst Lucius rolled his eyes once again. He looked at Bellatrix, then to the redhead on the chair, who sat gripping the cushion below her as if she knew what was coming. He looked away.

"Avada Ke-"

The door to the study burst open despite the numerous locking charms placed upon it.

"Lucius what on earth is going on down here? First I wake up and you've decided to disappear again, for what seems like the twelfth time this month, to Merlin only knows where, and now you-" The blonde woman stopped short, her jaw dropping open at the sight of her sister pointing a threatening wand at the tear stained face of a toddler on a chair.

"What's going on?" she asked hesitantly, staring back and forth between the baby and Bellatrix.

"Nothing Narcissa, this doesn't concern you." Lucius stepped forward, trying to usher his wife back through the doors but she strode past him and marched to her sister.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"What's it look like?" Bellatrix huffed, waving her arm towards the baby, "Just taking care of some last minute business."

"Bella," Narcissa continued, but her sister ignored her, turning back to the child, "Avada Keda-"

"Bella!" Narcissa admonished, "You can't- you… she's just a child, what good is going to come from killing her?"

"Something the Dark Lord wanted done, confidential information-"

"We're sisters Bella, I don't care if the information is confidential or not. Tell me what's going on." She saw the blank expression of her sister… cold, uncaring, and unresponsive. Thinking quickly, she stepped in front of the child to act as a shield between her and her sister.

"Narcissa move."

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

"That's confidential in-"

"I don't care; I won't let you hurt her until you tell me what's going on. In my house."

"Move." Bellatrix ordered in annoyance, her ire rising at her sister.

"No."

Bellatrix gave a dramatic sigh, lowering her wand.

"Lucius, get your wife to move."

"Narcissa-" Lucius began in a smooth tone.

"Don't even go there; I'll deal with you later." Narcissa declared, giving him a withering look, "I'm assuming you were a part of this, what were you thinking? She's just a child." She snuck a glance over her shoulder at the baby, who was batting her long blonde hair amusingly in front of her with her tiny fist. "Who is she?"

"Ginny Weasley."

Narcissa gave a thoughtful look, "Weasley? The muggle lovers? Why take their child?"

"She's involved in a prophecy concerning the Dark Lord. A possible threat that he wanted eliminated. That's what we're doing."

"But… Look at her, you can't just kill an innocent child. Lucius, how would you feel if someone had done this to Draco?"

Bellatrix turned her fixated eyes from the baby to Narcissa face, anger flooding within her, "She's no innocent child, she's a threat to our Lord-"

"She just a baby! Look at her, how can that be a threat to the Dark Lord?"

"Potter was." Lucius said coolly, interrupting the fight, "Potter was a threat and he was about the same age as this child when he took down the Dark Lord."

"Potter." Bellatrix growled, her fingernails digging into the flesh of her palm, "When I get my hands on him-"

"It's pointless to think that way Bellatrix, he's well hidden. Dumbledore's made sure of that. No one can touch him."

"Not now at least, but when I-"

As the two continued their talk of the Potter child, Narcissa's mind was in overload. They couldn't just kill a baby. Maybe she was crazy for thinking this, but since she had Draco, her motherly instinct had increased tenfold. She couldn't allow them to hurt a child, let alone a pureblood... a little girl. Something she had always wanted. Her head peeked over her shoulder at the baby, her heart aching as she spotted the shinning trail of tears that still resided on the child's face.

As the two Death Eaters continued their fight, Narcissa's voice came out resolutely.

"You can't do this."

"We can and we are Cissa, it's our duty to defend the Dark Lord and his ordeals."

"To carry on his beliefs, to defeat fully trained Aurors, or those who oppose him, not kill innocent children!" Narcissa argued back at her sister, the two glaring venomously at one another.

"She is a threat to our Lord, and therefore needs to be eliminated. Child or not. This is how it has to be done Narcissa, there is no other way." Lucius tried to explain, hoping to get through to his wife. "She will be brought up with the same thoughts and ordeals as the Weasleys and will therefore oppose the Dark Lord. We cannot let anything like this happen."

Narcissa swore, shaking her head at the cold-heartedness of the two people in front of her. She turned her eyes on the baby once again, an idea instantly forming in her mind.

"What if we kept her?"

Bellatrix took in a gasp of air, while Lucius's eyes traveled slowly from Narcissa to the child.

"No."

Narcissa smirked, and before the other two could react, turned around to pick up the child. It had stopped crying and was now sitting comfortably in Narcissa's arms, resting on her hip.

"Narcissa! Put that thing down at once!"

"What if we kept her?" She repeated once again but this time her voice held more confidence.

"You are not going to keep her. I found her, I retrieved her, and I am going to kill her. Now give her to me!"

"No Bella." Narcissa exclaimed strongly, looking down at the baby's rosy cheeks. She smiled and wiped a lock of hair from the girl's face.

"This is preposterous." Bellatrix yelled, kicking a nearby chair. The leg cracked from the force of the hit, causing the chair to collapse. "You cannot keep that child, she's mine."

"Not anymore she isn't." Narcissa said, running the idea over in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it.

"Lucius-" She began, turning to her husband. He stood stone still however, arms crossed and a mask of steel forming over his features.

"Wherever your mind is headed Narcissa, stop it right now. We cannot turn back. We cannot keep the child nor can we return her; the repercussion would be catastrophic for our family. From the Ministry and the Dark Lord."

"How? Look Lucius I won't let you kill this girl. If you don't want to keep her simply turn around and drop her back off at the Weasley's home, or at the Ministry. They'd never have to know it was you-"

"No Narcissa, we're following through with our orders."

Bellatrix gave a triumphant smirk, reaching her hands out to take the child, but Narcissa brushed past her, walking up to Lucius.

"It would be our only way to get another child Lucius. That's what we always wanted, one little boy and one little girl. We have Draco so why not this as our little girl? We can't have any more children of our own. She's a pureblood and Draco would love to have a sister-"

"There are other ways. We'll adopt."

"And just get stuck with any sort of child? A muggleborn? A half-blood? This is a prime opportunity to have a little girl. She's right here, she could be a part of this family."

"And what, my dear sister," Bellatrix began with a snarky tone, "will you tell the Dark Lord once he returns? He'll kill her, once the truth comes out, and you'll be crushed, unable to stop it."

"Well thankfully, I don't have to worry about that. The Dark Lord is gone, he's not coming back."

Her sister's eyes narrowed into slits, stalking over to her. "Don't you ever say that! He's the greatest and most feared Dark Lord in all of history. He will return. I'm going after the Longbottom's, they're powerful Aurors. They'll know a way. And once I'm through with them, they'll never talk again. They'll know of something. He'll never be gone, he'll return one day." Bellatrix was breathing heavily, and her hand twitched for her wand, but she did not grab it. Narcissa was deranged at the moment; she could not hurt her sister.

Narcissa remained calm, taking in her sister's threatening stance before turning her back to her and sitting down on a plush emerald green chair. She fiddled with the baby for a moment, conjuring a warm yellow blanket for the child and wrapping it around her. Ginny sigh contently, snuggling herself under the blankets and further into Narcissa. The blonde woman smiled, petting Ginny's head lightly, watching as the toddler fell asleep.

"Well if he does, someday, manage to return," Bellatrix barred her teeth at the words, "she'll be of no threat to him."

"And how do you figure that?"

"She'll be a Malfoy. A witch from a prominent pureblood family. She'll be of no threat to him. She'll have our beliefs and views on life, and whatever this prophecy pertains; it'll never come to pass. She will support the Dark Lord's ideals. She wouldn't grow up a blood traitor, eager to rid the world of Voldemort and his followers and therefore, will have no reason to turn. Besides," Narcissa said, smiling up at her husband, "Draco will love having a little sister."

Lucius saw the pleading eyes of his wife and sighed, rubbing his face with his ring clad hand. He mumbled to himself, shaking his head as he made his way over to a drink cart on the other side of the room. Taking time to pour himself a drink, he lifted the glass to his lips and drained the cup in one swallow. Pouring himself another, he sat down on a chair beside the cart, studying his wife and the child.

"And if word gets out she isn't ours?"

Narcissa opened her mouth to speak, but it was Bellatrix's voice he heard.

"You're going along with this?" She shrieked indignantly, her eyes nearly bulging out at Lucius. Ginny jolted up from her sleep at the noise, turning to the raven haired witch. She shrunk back into Narcissa and hid her face as the woman rubbed her back soothingly.

Lucius ignored her, "And if word gets out?"

"It won't, this will stay between the three of us. No one else will know. All the other's you had working on this assignment, tell them you never found her. Her identity will remain a mystery."

"And how will we explain that we suddenly have a child? People have seen you Narcissa, and you have obviously not been pregnant since Draco."

Narcissa's perfectly manicured eyebrows knitted together as she thought.

"Because of the miscarriages we have been having, we could simply tell people we tried once more and that it was successful. We told no one about it, because we didn't want to get our hopes up. So we used charms to hide my appearance. The baby came early and still we told no one until her health was better and she was stable. She's just now healthy to be out in public."

Lucius's hand swirled the ice in his glass, staring down at the brownish liquid below. Finally after some time, he gave a stiff shrug, raising the glass to his lips.

"Do whatever you like."

Narcissa beamed, but Bellatrix shrieked, jumping up from her own chair.

"I will not allow this to happen! Give me the child!"

"No Bella," But her sister did not listen. She came at Narcissa, arm raised with wand in hand, a mad look in her eye. "Bella, listen for a moment-"

"No, the Dark Lord asked a final request of me. I will not let him down."

"Think about it Bella, it would be beneficial to our kind. She's a pureblood, and how many more of us left are there? Truly? She could marry into another influential family. I heard the Nott's had a child, she could marry him. Theodore, I think his name is. Or what about Blaise Zambini, they're a very rich and powerful family, with high positions in the Ministry. It would be in the Dark Lord's favor and it would mean more wealth and power to the Black name."

Bellatrix froze mid-step, pondering this new outlook on the situation. She lowered her wand, staring calculatingly at the child in her sister's arms.

"It would never work, she looks nothing like you."

"Well we'd change her appearance of course."

"What? Continuously give her a polyjuice potion every hour? Transfigure her looks where a simple finite could reveal her true form?"

"No," Lucius interrupted, standing from his chair. He walked to a bookshelf, browsing through columns packed with books, clippings and scrolls. He came to a stop at a dark blue book, a red tassel hanging from the spine. Flipping it open, he ran his finger through the pages, skimming the words before stopping at a particular part. "There are potions we can use. Ones that will truly make her a Malfoy. No one would ever question it."

Both sisters looked intrigued, "What potion?"

"A blood bonding ritual. With a few drops of Narcissa's and my blood, it will transfigure her appearance, making her look as if Narcissa and I were her biological parents."

Narcissa rose from her chair, making her way to her sister.

"Please Bella." Narcissa begged, looking Bellatrix dead in the eyes. Both sisters stared at each other for quite some time, the tension in the room rising to a climactic height. Bellatrix finally looked away.

"Keep a close reign on her Narcissa. I would hate to have to kill your child in the future."

Narcissa grinned, setting Ginny down to hug her sister tightly.

"Believe me Bella, this will be a good thing."

Bellatrix shrugged, turning her back on the two. She walked towards the large oak doors engraved with the Malfoy insignia. "I've got plans with Rodolphus and Rabastan." She looked over her shoulder, flicking her hair behind her back, "I'll see the three of you later."

The soft click of the door shutting left the couple alone in the study. The sun had gone down some time ago, leaving a soft hue of colors in its wake. They stood in silence, the grandfather clock on the wall the only noise filling the room as Narcissa fussed with the baby in her arms, while Lucius looked on, an unreadable expression on his face.

The blonde haired woman pulled out her wand, conjuring a small crib for Ginny to sleep in. Summoning one of Draco's stuffed animals, a wolf he had received for his birthday, she placed the animal inside to occupy the child before turning to her husband.

"Thank you Lucius."

The man stared back at his wife, and then looked at the baby playing happily with the wolf. He watched as she pulled at its fur, giggling merrily as it growled softly. She looked up at Lucius for a moment with twinkling eyes, showing the wolf to him. He gazed at her for a moment before his lip curled back in a grimace, his eyebrows creasing together ever so slightly. He said nothing, turning around to sit back at his desk, pulling a parchment and quill towards him. He dipped the now restored eagle feather into the inkwell and continued his work, the scratching of the quill ending their discussion.

Narcissa picked up Ginny once again, adjusting the child in her arms as she made her way towards the door.

"Let's go meet your big brother."

Author's Note: Second chapter down, a lot more to go! I posted this chapter a lot fast than I normally will just to get the ball rolling into the story a bit quicker. I plan to update about once a week. What did you all think? Write a review and tell me your thoughts! Until next time.