) Chapter Ten - Family (
"So, Cissy dear, how was the start of your third year?" Walburga asked, handing the peas to her husband.
Bella's and Sirius' whole families were gathered for dinner at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, eating in the grand, dark dining room. The Hogwarts Express had arrived that evening, and Kreacher had a wonderful meal waiting for them when they arrived. Everyone except Sirius was there, for obvious reasons; this was the first holiday break he wouldn't make an appearance, but his absence wasn't remarked upon. Even Bella's quiet father Cygnus was there, as was Sirius' handsome father Orion; Cygnus, as a Death Eater, was often gone on the Dark Lord's business, and Orion was a high-level Ministry official who worked constantly.
"It was all right, Aunt Walburga," Narcissa replied dutifully, eating daintily.
Andromeda smirked as she forked the breaded pork into her mouth. "Cissy went to Professor Slughorn's Christmas ball! Lucius Malfoy asked her."
At this, all of the adults at the table stopped and looked at Narcissa in surprise.
"You did, daughter?" Druella asked, looking surprised and impressed. "You went with Lucius Malfoy?"
Narcissa blushed and glanced at Bella, who nodded at her encouragingly across the table.
"Yes," Narcissa answered, looking at the adults for their reactions.
The women raised their eyebrows and looked at each other. Bella could see the wheels turning for a pureblood match already.
"Isn't Lucius in Reggie's year?" Orion asked, smiling at his only remaining son who looked like a younger version of him.
Regulus nodded jollily, his mouth full. Bella avoided looking at him; things had been very strained between them since their conversation on the Hogwarts Express that afternoon. She had not forgiven him for calling her a slut, and knew she never would.
"Well done, Narcissa," Cygnus praised his youngest daughter in a rare display of approval.
The blonde girl reddened with pleasure, not seeming to completely understand the conversation within the conversation. "Bella and Regulus also went to Slughorn's ball!" she offered.
The adults once again looked interested.
"Oh?" Druella asked. "And who did you go with, daughter?"
Bella had pointedly started drinking from her goblet when her mother started speaking, so she was spared from answering. She did, however, chance a glance at Regulus, who was looking uncomfortable at the question. Andromeda spoke, looking smug.
"Bella and Regulus went together. It was the talk of the whole school for a week!"
There was complete silence at the table. Bella was the only one picking at her food, for she could not look up. Her back was straight and her expression passive.
Druella broke the shocked silence by saying, "To think, 'Burga, we've been turning ourselves grey trying to come up with a solution, and it's sitting before our eyes!"
"Indeed!"
Bella looked up. "A solution for what?"
"Who you should marry when you graduate, of course!" Druella said.
"Yes, Bella," Andromeda interjected, "the pure Black line must continue."
Missing her daughter's sarcasm, Druella nodded. "Exactly. And since your last prospect is no longer available, we've taken it upon ourselves to secure a match."
"Unfortunately, pureblood males are hard to come by these days," Walburga added. "We were fearing for your options."
Bella's wide eyes locked with Regulus'. She saw her same horror reflected in him. Their mothers wanted them to marry!
"Mum," Regulus quickly, "I'm not so sure this is a good idea. I've still got another year of school after this—"
"He's right," Bella added. "I don't think—"
"Tut, tut," Orion said amusedly. "There's no need to get worked up!"
"Nothing's been arranged," Walburga added.
But Bella's aunt and mother locked eyes and winked. Nothing had been arranged...yet.
When dinner was over, both Regulus and Bella bolted, choosing not to partake in the family gossip around the fire. Regulus firmly locked himself in his room without a word when they reached the first landing. Bella meandered down the hall, not tired enough for bed and unsure what to do.
I should be performing Termino Fetusium on myself, she thought, wishing she had done the Abortive Spell before she had left Hogwarts. The book may have said it was too dangerous to perform on herself, but it was worth the try. After all, she was normally a stellar witch, and magic had advanced since the book had been written….
Determined to finally get rid of Sirius' spawn, she straightened her shoulders and marched down the hallway, ready to find a secluded room where no one would hear if she screamed from pain.
Then suddenly she stopped short. The door to the right had caught her eye. The sign on it read "Sirius." Surprised to see that her aunt and uncle hadn't removed the plaque, curiosity led her to reach for the knob and turn it. It wasn't locked, and with a pounding heart she entered the messy room that apparently hadn't been touched since Sirius had been there last summer.
It was very spacious, with a chandelier and a large four-poster bed. The walls were plastered with Quidditch posters and pictures with his friends. Bella stopped in front of one picture with Sirius and his three best friends smiling up and her, looking happy and utterly full of themselves, messing up each other's hair.
Her lip twisted with scorn. She pulled out her wand and sent a curse flying at the photograph; the curse bounced off of it harmlessly and hit the bed, burning into the messy quilt atop it.
Bella suddenly understood why her relatives hadn't cleaned up the room; Sirius had made it damn near impossible to remove his things.
Snorting, her eyes trailed over the wall as she slowly wandered over to the bed. Her eyes fell upon Muggle posters of nearly-naked women with impossibly perfect bodies.
Irrational anger boiled up in Bella as she was reminded of how much she resented and hated Sirius...and most of all how she hated herself. She had allowed herself to think that there was something special between her and her cousin, and that he was only putting on a show with the other girls. In reality, Sirius had no more regard for her than any other person—and no doubt much less now that she had shown her vulnerability and had been foolish enough to—what? Care for him? Had she cared for him? Had she loved him?
You loved him, her thoughts taunted her. You loved him, even though you knew better.
"This will end here," she whispered, and shoving away her thoughts, she pointed her wand at the door and locked it. She then performed a Muffliato charm on the room to cover up any sounds.
Taking in a deep breath, she went before the mirror in the wooden wardrobe and unbuttoned the top of her pants. She rolled up her shirt, leaving her still-flat stomach exposed. She raised her wand, but hesitated. Would it be better if she lay down?
She quickly went over and hopped onto the bed, which had the faint, tantalizingly familiar smell of her former lover. Hate swelled through her, and she replayed the steps of the Abortive Curse in her mind, which she had read so many times.
1: Visualize the fetus.
There had been a picture in the book to give her an idea of what she was supposed to be thinking of. It had looked like a deformed baby.
2: Place the tip of your wand in the umbilicus.
It was rather awkward and terrifying to be pointing the wand directly at her belly button.
3: Utter the incantation Termino Fetusium.
Bella swallowed and closed her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak when there was the sound of a small pop and—
"Mistress Bella?"
Shocked, Bella put her wand aside and sat up. Kreacher was at the side of the bed.
She blinked. "Yes?"
"Your parents request your presence in Master Orion's study," he bowed.
"Oh." She was too stunned to care that she wasn't completely buttoned up; Kreacher was only a house-elf, anyway.
"Shall I tell them you're coming, Miss Bella?" he asked eagerly.
"Uh—yes."
Kreacher disappeared with another pop, and Bella slowly lay back down on the bed. She stared at the ceiling.
A moment later, she rose and fixed herself up, determined that she would finish what she had started later. At least now she knew that she had the courage to do it. Now she just had to find a place where she couldn't be interrupted!
She made her way downstairs, past where Orion was playing checkers with Andromeda in the living room. She knocked on the study and entered, finding her father and mother leaned against the front of the large mahogany desk in close conversation. They stopped as Bella approached.
"You asked to see me?"
"Yes, Bellatrix, please have a seat," Cygnus said, indicating towards the seats in front of the desk. Bella obeyed as he continued. "You know how I like to get an update on your studies every once in a while—"
"Oh, school's going great!" Bella assured him.
He smiled, which was a rare sight for him. "As I have no doubt. You have never had anything less than stellar grades. I would like to receive an update on your...extracurricular...progress that I may relay to the Dark Lord when I see him." He held up a parchment. "I have word from your partner Severus Snape on what you have been working on, but I would like to hear your own account."
Bella gripped her chair at the mention that Snape had written her father. Snape hadn't mentioned her slacking, had he? He had promised he wouldn't yet, and there was no trace of suspicion on her parents' faces, so she relaxed.
"Well, we've mastered the Imperius Curse, Cruciatus Curse, and Avada Kedavra on small animals—the only things we could use without raising suspicion," Bella said. "Snape's perfecting Sectumsempra, and we're close to figuring out a counter-spell for it—"
"Yes, yes, you told me all this last summer. What new things have you been working on? Have you been able to uncover any useful spells in the Restricted Section of the library or come up with any of your own?"
"I—um," Bella faltered, "Uh, well...I've mastered Serpensortia and we've gotten really good at Shield Charms..."
Druella stood up, brow furrowed in concern. She glanced at her husband before asking softly, "Daughter, has your magic been irregular lately?"
Bella froze.
Her mother knew! After what Pomfrey told her about the cause of her irregularities, there was no doubt her mother was an expert on the subject, what with having three children.
"Uh—I—um..." she stuttered, trying to buy time.
She had to choices: to lie, in which case it would be easy for her parents to prove otherwise if Snape or someone else that knew her even a little could expose it. Or she could tell the truth, in which case there would be a whole host of follow-up questions and answers that she wasn't ready to face.
If only I had performed the Abortive Spell sooner! she lamented furiously. It would have been so much easier to deal with her parents' questions if the issue was already dealt with.
"Daughter?" Cygnus pressed.
"Uh...yes, yes...My magic has been a little unpredictable."
Druella gave Cygnus a knowing look, as if she had just proved a point to him. With bright eyes, she knelt beside Bella.
"Dear, are you expecting?"
"Expecting?" Bella repeated dumbly, unnerved by her mother's loving tone.
"A baby?"
"A baby," Bella repeated, eyes flickering between her parents.
They both nodded, leaning forward. To Bella's puzzlement, they didn't seem on the verge of fury; they seemed almost excited as if they were about to hear if their Quidditch team won the World Cup.
"What makes you think I'm having a baby?
"Bella, please," Druella said. "You have the look, and the way you were acting at dinner..."
There was a silent pause.
"Yeeeees..." Bella said, taking the risk. She braced herself.
Druella released her breath. She stood and looked to Cygnus triumphantly. "I told you, dear!" She clasped her hands together. "Oh, this is very good."
Bella's eyes bulged. "Good?"
"Now we have to go forward with the wedding!" she said. "Walburga has been eying some other girls for Regulus, but now she'll have no choice."
"We—wedding?"
"Yes, wedding," Druella said in a patronizing tone of voice.
"To who?"
Her parents frowned at each other confusedly.
"Why, to Regulus, of course," Cygnus said. "Who else?"
"Why would he want to marry me?" she laughed.
"Because you're having his baby!" Druella said, starting to look worried at Bella's confusion.
Bella stared at them. "You think Regulus is the father?"
Cygnus leapt to his feet. "You're telling us he isn't?"
"Of course he isn't!" Bella exclaimed, standing up. "Why in the world did you think he was?"
"You went to the ball with him!" Cygnus pointed out.
"And the way you were looking at each other at dinner—I was sure you were both just worried about how to tell us!" Druella said.
"No, no, no," Bella said firmly. "No."
"Then who is the father?" Cygnus demanded. "Is he pureblood?"
"Of course!" Bella exclaimed. "You think I would let a Mudblood touch me?"
"Then who is it?" Druella cried.
Bella faltered. She had been so worked up by her shock at first her parents' knowledge of her condition and then their thinking she would marry Regulus that she had almost forgotten the thing she could never tell them: who the father really was.
When Bella didn't answer, Druella pressed: "You do know, don't you?"
"Yes!" Bella snapped, but turned away and walked to the window.
"Bella..." Cygnus said in a warning voice.
Druella inhaled resignedly. "Kreacher!"
Kreacher apparated into the room. "Yes, Mistress Druella?"
"Get me that tea I asked for."
"Yes, Mistress." The house-elf was gone with a pop.
"It looks like we have a long night ahead of us," Druella said to Bella's back. "But make no mistake, you will tell us who the father is."