The Black family traditionally name their children after the stars. Cygnus Black and his wife Druella kept the custom strong in 1951 they had their first child, a beautiful darkly haired little girl with shiny green eyes. After much deliberation they agreed on the name Bellatrix meaning bringer of light, it is a star in the Orion constellation. Druella wanted to name her girls after flowers but agreed that Bellatrix suited the baby and was undeniably a lovely name. They were a happy little family molding their little girl into a pure blooded princess worthy of the black name.
Druella walked with Bellatrix along the grounds of their private manor, the baby seemed to shine with delight every single time she heard a bird call. She especially liked the garden, a fact which greatly pleased Druella as she did all the gardening on her own. She let the house elves cook and clean the house, she didn't care much for that type of drudge work. Gardening rarely felt like work to her and Bella seemed to enjoy being in the garden so she would have plenty of time to maintain her garden.
Druella laid Bellatrix down in the sweet smelling soft grass and pulled out her wand. She cast a basic barrier charm to keep Bella from rolling away and set to trimming the rose bushes back as they'd grown quite untidy in the few months since she'd had Bella so it took a while, she finished and walked back to her baby who had managed to sit herself up to watch her mother use her magic. Bella was so adorably excited, Druella didn't think she'd ever seen her smile so widely.
"Do you like that Bella dear? Watch mum now!"
She waved her wand about in a complicated manner saying the appropriate words she conjured a small stone mosaic fountain. Made mostly of onyx with lines of silver separating each piece. On the base of the fountain there were small stones depicting small family, Druella ended the barrier spell and picked Bellatrix up.
"Now we've just got to turn on the water beloved, you can help mummy. "
She arranged the grinning baby on her hip and walked up to the lovely fountain she had created, Bella trying to take her wand the whole time. After casting appropriate charms to make the water charm she would cast last and keep the water from turning mucky or growing any unsightly mold or moss she finally allowed Bella to finally get a grip on her wand and said, "Aquamenti" Bella squealed with delight as water began to flow from the top of the fountain and raining down on the stone images of her family.
Druella sat with her on the ledge of their new fountain, splashing a little water onto little Bella and then sitting her in the shallow pool and allowing her to splash in the water for awhile.
" You're both drenched!"Cygnus said sneakily.
Jumping at the unexpected sound Druella looked up and saw her husband walking towards them with a camera in his hands taking pictures every few seconds she picked up the wet baby and laughing ran to her husband jumping and making him drop the camera before pushing her and Bella's wet clothes against him.
" Now you're wet as well! Hahaha! Look what we've made my dear," she exclaimed pulling him in the direction of the fountain.
Bella was walking and talking by a year and a half old. One morning Bella woke up early, she got upset when her parents didn't come get her out of her bed and performed her first accidental magic. Cygnus awoke to his wife's scream, grabbing his wand and running to the sound he stopped short at the sight of his wife floating down the stairs and into Bella's nursery. He walked himself down the stairs and entered the nursery to find his wife holding Bella and telling her what a clever baby she was.
" She's performing accidental magic already Druella! She's going to be a powerful witch, and quite a handful it seems. Let me see her."
He took his daughter from his wife arms and hugged her tight
"When will you give me a little boy dear? We would have the perfect family then."
Druella smiled at the man she was lucky enough to marry and the beautiful daughter they had made together her eyes twinkled,
"Well I wanted to tell you tomorrow but I suppose since you've brought it up... I'm with child again Cygnus! Maybe you will get your boy this time."
Cygnus smiled and twirled Bella around, then he grabbed his wife and twirled her around ending with a kiss for both Druella and Bella, their family could only get better.
Just months into 1953 their second child was born, a daughter to Cygnus's dismay. This time with much less hair that was dark blonde, he immediately named her Andromeda, promising Druella if they had another daughter she could break the family tradition and she could name her whatever she wanted.
Having two small children was stressful to say the least, but they were decently well behaved as was proper for pureblood children. In 1955 Bella and Dromy got another little sister, true to his word Cygnus allowed Druella to name their third girl. She was much smaller than the first two babies and with pale blonde hair, pale hair and pale blue/grey eyes. Druella gave her the name Narcissa, after a flower and Druella's grandmother Maracissa.
A new tradition had grown around the fountain, small blood rituals were held with each girl and the fountain was imbued with all their blood. This caused their likenesses on the fountain to be much more realistic and was also a base of many wards around their home.
If Cygnus was displeased that he didn't get a son he didn't let it show, he was a doting father, though some would say Bella was his favorite. Bella would follow him around the manor during the day sitting quietly near him in his study as he sent and replied to owls and read his paper. He got in the habit of talking to her constantly about what he was doing and his duties as the head of the Black Family.
"Our family is the most important thing Bella, we have a duty to keep our bloodlines pure and to make sure the knowledge of dark magic is passed on to the next generation."
"Does dark mean bad father?"
"Well Bella, I don't believe so, some say we're bad but we just adhere to stricter guidelines to keep our bloodlines pure and we embrace the oldest most beautiful magic. People say our magic is bad because we still practice some of the more archaic pagan beliefs and because we do not limit our learning."
"That doesn't sound bad father I like learning from you, you teach me a lot everyday and I share everything I learn from you with Dromy and Cissa, even though they're barely old enough to understand."
"That's lovely darling, I have some exciting news, Cousin Orion is going to have a baby any day now, you'll have a new little cousin. Your mother and you girls will be staying with them for a few days to help Walburga get settled into motherhood. Go and share that with your sisters now Bella, there's a good girl."
Bella ran out the ignoring her fathers warning to slow down, straight down the stairs to the nursery. She slowed down as she got to the door and opened it Cissa was toddling around playing with her stuffed animals, and Dromy was sitting at a small table scribbling vivaciously on a leaf of parchment
"Look Bella! Look!" Dromy exclaimed, "Mum taught me how to write my name! And yours and Cissa's!"
She proudly held out the page for her elder sister to inspect.
" That's nice Dromy, your letters already look better than mine. Father will be so proud! Father shared some news with me and said I should tell you two that we're going to have a new baby cousin soon and we'll be staying at cousin Orion's manor for a few days with mum to help cousin Walburga take care of the baby! Cousin Walburga will need a lot of help, she's always so grumpy."
"I love cousin Orion!" Dromy exclaimed "He's so nice how did he end up with such a grumpy wife?" The very next day Halloween night 1959 their first cousin was born and named Sirius. Bella and Dromy adored him straight away, he was such a cute happy baby. Cousin Walburga did not take to motherhood, if anything it made her more grouchy then ever so they stayed for two entire months.
A month after Sirius's birth Bella awoke to cousin Walburga's screaming voice it scared her so she went into the room next to hers where Dromy and Cissa shared a bed. Dromy was still asleep but Cissa wasn't here. Panicking Bella ran towards her cousin in law's screaming, calling her little sisters name. When she reached Walburga's door she stopped to listen,
"Now you've soiled your pants you foul little girl! Hasn't your family taught you anything? Why won't you answer me child are you stupid."
Bella had heard quite enough she pushed against the door swinging fully open, the surprise had actually made Walburga shut her mouth for a moment. Long enough for Bella to hear her four year old sister sobbing in a corner, she had had an accident it seemed but that only made Bella more angry.
"What are you yelling at my sister for?" She demanded
" As if I have to explain myself to you little girl! You are sadly mistaken this is my house and you are my guests! It's hardly my fault your parents never bothered to teach you girls any manners!"
Bella was silent but her little eight year old self couldn't hold in all the anger she was feeling nobody had ever spoke to her like that, and nobody would again she thought defiantly letting the anger she had been holding in take form and shot it towards Walburga with her mind. She didn't know exactly what would happen, she just wanted her loud cousin to shut up her yelling.
It worked not another peep came from Walburga. Bella scooped Cissa up in her arms.
"It's okay Cissa it's okay she was mean for no reason you don't deserve that, go wake up Dromy and get yourself cleaned up, I'm going to talk to mum."
Cousin Walburga still didn't move and Bella began to fear she had done something very bad, she had to find her mother to help her! Running down the long hall she hoped Sirius had already woken mum finally she reached the doorway to Sirius's nursery she flung it open already exclaiming as she walked in,
"Mum I did something bad! Mum help! It's cousin Walburga, she was yelling at Cissa, she scared her so much Cissa had an accident! I asked her why she was yelling at Cissa and she said you and father weren't good parents, I accidentally used magic mum I just wanted her to shut up I'm sorry you've got to do something she isn't moving!"
"You take Sirius Bella, I'll go look at her and call a healer if it's needed don't worry, I'm not angry you shouldn't have to hear anyone speak badly of your family I understand you were mad. We will have to start working on containing your emotions when we go home to be safe..."
Druella faltered mid-sentence and walked calmly out the door and down the hall to Walburga's chamber