Bellatrix Lestrange decided that she needed to rest after spending so long helping her daughter bring her grandson into the world. The woman shook her head, she could not be a grandmother, that sounded strange to think. Though when she realised who would be in her bedroom at this time a small smirk hit her lips as she opened the door. Rodolphus Lestrange was sat on the bed, staring at the floor blankly as his fists were clenched in his lap. It was laughable. Bella was sure she could have some fun with the man before she rested, she would go check on Delphi after—though she was sure she was more than fine with the House Elf and Narcissa's promise of checking in on her regularly (perhaps it was an old habit left over from when Nymphadora was a baby, though she appreciated it none the less). The woman was lost in her own thoughts, having moved over to sit at her dressing table to take off her make-up when Rodolphus spoke.
"Hmm?" Bella asked, a look of disinterest in her pale features.
"I said," Rodolphus sighed in annoyance "What is it?"
"What is what?" Bella sighed.
"You know what." Rodolphus growled.
Bella let out a small chime of laughter before she turned to look at her husband, taking in each of his features carefully before she took a deep breath "You will simply have to be more specific, Rodolphus."
"Don't play games with me Bellatrix," Rodolphus hissed "I'm not in the mood. What is the child?"
"A metamorphmagus." Bellatrix smirked, holding back a giggle at her husbands bubbling anger.
"Bellatrix . . ." the man growled.
"Well, Rodolphus," Bellatrix sighed, rising from her seat and slowly walking over to the bed, staring at the picture of herself and Nymphadora as a baby next to the photograph of Delphi before she looked back to her husband with a smirk "It seems—despite my best intentions—the Lestrange name does not end with you. You have a Nephew." The man didn't move an inch for what felt like a small eternity to his wife, she watched him carefully; her hand resting on her wand holster on her hip. She had expected a reaction, anger, acceptance, happiness for his brother . . . but nothing. Perhaps she'd finally broken him? Refused his wish for so long that he simply had no feeling towards the subject anymore. Surely that couldn't be the case, Bellatrix Lestrange Nee Black could always find a way to rile up her husband. In some strange way she enjoyed it, it made her feel alive somehow. The woman gave a cold smirk as she slipped onto the bed next to her husband, a hand crawling up his back as she gave a deep sigh. "Oh Roddy," Bella spoke in her best taunting voice "What's the matter? You should be happy—Rigel is the Lestrange heir now. Rigel Rabastan Lestrange."
"Good . . ." Rodolphus muttered "At least someone knows how to carry out their wifely duties. Act dutiful, do as they're supposed to . . . Are you sure she's you're your daughter?"
Bellatrix scoffed at the man's pathetic attempt to rile her up "Nymphadora is happy. She didn't produce a male heir on purpose, not because she had to, I'm most certainly sure she wasn't trying to get pregnant. Hmm . . ." Bella mused "Your younger brother, produced an heir to The House of Lestrange without even trying."
"Yes well," Rodolphus rolled his eyes as he spoke, not even looking at his wife "it's not my fault I was landed with the disobedient Black."
"Ha!" Bellatrix looked to him, raising an eyebrow in astonishment "Do you honestly think it's my fault you do not have a child? All you had to do was let a two-year-old into your home, let that child have her mother! All you had to do was not force me from the one thing I had ever loved in my life! I would have considered giving you a child if you wouldn't have ripped me from my own!"
Bellatrix didn't even let out a yelp of surprise when Rodolphus grabbed her, pushing her down into the bed as her pinned both of her hands down by her wrists so she couldn't try anything. She was used to this, either one of them would say harsh words to each other, either one of them would get their revenge. Her marriage was a vicious circle.
"You are the worst kind of person, Bellatrix." Rodolphus hissed, his face so close to her own she could feel her breath on her cheek.
"Why thank you, I do try." Bellatrix smirked "What are you going to do about it, hmm? You can't touch me. I'll tell The Dark Lord."
To her surprise Rodolphus laughed coldly, letting go of on of her wrists as he surprisingly gently caressed her pale cheek "Oh Ma Belle, you would not. You wouldn't dare. For how could you willingly admit to your master, that his 'most faithful' couldn't even hold her own against her own husband?"
"I hate you." Bellatrix hissed, her eyes full of fury.
"I love you too." Rodolphus chuckled, planting a soft kiss on Bella's lips before he stuck his wand into the woman's gut "Crucio."
Bellatrix sucked in a breath, gritting her teeth as she writhed under Rodolphus. She was unsure if the groans she let out as her husband feathered kisses down her neck were those of pleasure or pain. Her mind was too fucked up to care about the shattered pieces of her marriage. She clenched her fists around the fabric of his robes as he deepened the curse, she had barely registered that he had let go of her wrists. It was far too easy to fall into her old ways of teasing and torture with her husband.
Nymphadora took a deep breath as she took one last glance at the sleeping boy in his crib, she couldn't help but smile no matter how many nerves were running through her. With his hair currently a soft blue, his little belly rising up and down gently as his fingers clasped around the fur of the teddy bear that his father had given him, Rigel Rabastan Lestrange was perfect. The woman pulled her traveling cloak closer around her as she gently closed the door behind her. The witch looked both ways down the corridor, determined that nobody could follow her as with a determined stance she walked the halls of Malfoy Manor. Nymphadora ignored the curious glances of the portraits she passed on her way to the main hall, instead staring straight ahead with a steady stride.
A sigh of relief left her lips as she closed the front doors of the manor behind her, glad that no-one had bumped into her in the many hallways of the Manor. She screwed her eyes shut, making her hair mimic her mothers, growing slightly taller before she mimicked the stride of her mother as best she could as she walked to the main gates. If anyone spotted her leaving now she could easily be mistaken for Bellatrix from behind, no-one would dare question where Bellatrix Lestrange was going in the middle of the night. If Bellatrix herself saw her . . . well, she did look a lot like her already in her natural form, so what if she wanted to go for a stroll in the middle of the night. Bellatrix Lestrange would understand that feeling of being trapped in one place, Dora had to get out sometime . . . Who was she kidding? If Bellatrix caught her she was utterly fucked. She would have to explain where she was going and hope to dear merlin she wouldn't flip out. Dora shuddered at the thought as she quickened her pace, finally getting out of the gates. The witch hesitated for a moment before she decided to walk further from the Manor, probably an excessive distance further as she realised she had been lost in her paranoid thoughts when the Manor looked small in the distance.
She screwed her eyes shut, turning on the spot and disapparating. A small groan escaped her lips as she clasped onto her stomach. She knew apparating so soon after giving birth was not the wisest idea, though the sudden urge to vomit along with the dull ache of her insides. She had appeared some distance from her destination, determined that the wards she knew would be placed around the place wouldn't detect her. When she caught a glimpse of the Tonks home the witch bit her lip. Why couldn't it be simple? Why couldn't she just walk in there, say hello—show the woman who had raised her for the most part of her life her new child? Dora shook her head, swatting a tear away as she withdrew the small envelope from her cloak. It was blank. For the life of her Nymphadora had tried to write 'Andromeda' on it, but for every time she tried to write it she just kept on wanting to write the word 'mum' instead. She knew that Andromeda wasn't her real mum, didn't dare want to think what Bellatrix would say or do if she got an inkling that Nymphadora still thought of the woman that way.
"Snap out of it and hurry up." Dora muttered to herself, shaking her body as she tried to regain her composure. She didn't dare try to put the letter through the door by hand, she couldn't risk sending an owl from Malfoy Manor—merlin knew who would undoubtedly intercept that. This was the only way she could think of doing it with the least risk. She pulled the piece of parchment out of the envelope, smiling instantly at the picture of her little boy staring up at her from her arms as she talked nonsense at the infant. She flipped it over after a moment, reading the words that she had written merely an hour previously.
'Rigel Rabastan Lestrange, Male heir to The House of Lestrange born to Nymphadora and Rabastan Lestrange on the 10th of June 1997' She shook her head as she put it back in the envelope, she had mimicked a traditional pureblood birth announcement, something she was sure Andromeda would find amusement in. The witch gasped as she heard a rustling in the bushes to her side, though quickly cursed under her breath as a fox emerged. With a sudden sense of urgency Nymphadora charmed the piece of parchment, insuring only Andromeda could see it before she sent the envelope zooming past the wards of the Tonks house and through the slightly open window of Andromeda's bedroom.
Without a second thought she disaparated. She kept her head down as she presented her left forearm to the gates, slipping quickly through the wards. She morphed her hair to a sleek blonde, regaining her natural height. It was only as she got to the corridor of her room that she realised she may have not gotten away with her secret plight. Rigel was crying.
"Shit." Dora muttered before she went to the door, taking a deep breath before she turned the handle and went in.
Rabastan turned to face his wife, his eyes just barely open as he rocked the crying child "I thought you'd gone to the toilet or something . . ."
Dora sighed before took off her traveling cloak, walking over to her husband once she had placed it on the back of the door and gently taking their son "Shh, Mummy's here." She kissed the crying child's vivid red locks as she walked over to the bed "What's that for, hmm?" Dora sighed, adjusting her dress before she placed her son on her breast, letting him feed. She sighed as his hair turned to his natural dark curly tuft "See, you're not angry. Just hungry." The woman closed her eyes as she leant back against the headrest, stroking the babes arm. She had almost forgotten about her husband until she felt the weight of his body sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her. She forced herself to look at him.
"Dora?" Rabastan looked to his wife's attire before he met her gaze, a look of confusion on his face "Where have you been?"
"I—" Dora shook her head as she looked back to the child in her arms "I went for a walk."
A finger soon hooked underneath the girls chin, gently rising her gaze back to the concerned looking Death Eater "Dora. You don't have to hide anything from me. Where have you been?"
"Nowhere." Dora forced a smile, leaning her head down to kiss his wrist.
"Dora." The man's tone carried more of a warning as he pulled his hand away. Though as Dora looked to her husband she only saw confusion mixed with a glint of hurt.
"Fine . . ." Dora mumbled before she took a deep breath "I wanted to get a picture of Rigel to Andromeda—I didn't see her." Dora protested as Rab went to speak, swallowing before she spoke again "I just didn't want to send an owl, risk mum intercepting it and getting hurt, so I went to the house and sent it through the window. It's not that big of a deal, Narcissa sent one of Draco to her when he was born . . ."
"Why?" Rabastan sighed, moving his gaze to his suckling child "She's not your mother, Nymphadora. She's—"
"She raised me." Dora interjected "I know she's not my mum, Bellatrix is my mum. But Andromeda raised me, I do— . . . I still care for her. Is that so bad? I'm sure if you asked Mum or Aunt Cissa they'd say the same—well maybe they wouldn't admit it. But they do."
"Dora," Rabastan frowned, reaching out and wiping the single tear that Nymphadora hadn't realised she had cried away "I know. But what if Bellatrix had seen you leaving and followed you? What if The Dark Lord found out you had visited a blood traitors home? You have greater responsibilities now, not just being a Death Eater, not just being my wife . . . you're a mother. You have to put Rigel first in everything. Think of how he would fair without you."
"He wouldn't lose me just because I went to send a letter!" Dora protested, wincing when her child let out a small cry of shock, she bit her lip as she lifted the child to her shoulder to wind him.
"You don't know that." Rabastan sighed, watching the woman for a few moments until the child was satisfied, holding his arms out for the child as Nymphadora passed him over. She looked away as Rigel was placed back in his crib, wiping more tears away "Dora." Rabastan sighed, walking over to his wife and sitting down on the bed next to her again, enveloping her in his arms "Shh . . . If you make too much noise Rigel won't go to sleep and as the perpetrator you have to stay up with him whilst I get my beauty sleep." Rabastan smirked as Dora let out a small laugh.
"I'm sorry." Dora sniffed as she looked up to her husband with watery eyes and mousey brown hair "I'm shit."
"No, you're not." Rabastan kissed her gently for a few moments before he looked back down to her "You're perfect." Dora shook her head and Rabastan couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he stroked her hair "Dora, you are. You are funny, strong, determined, a loyal wife, daughter and Death Eater. You produced the perfect son to be the perfect heir to the House of Lestrange. How is that not perfect?"
"I suppose I get some stuff right . . ." Dora sighed, snuggling into her husband as she closed her eyes.
"You do." Rabastan smiled as he laid back onto the bed, adjusting the woman in his arms "Do you want to get a nightdress on?"
Dora hesitated for a moment before she pulled out her wand and laid back on the bed, after she had managed to compose herself she flicked her wrist and soon she was no longer wearing any clothes. She let out a small laugh and rolled her eyes at her husbands look before she looked to the abandoned shirt on the floor Rab had been wearing that day, summoning it as she sat up and put it on. She did up one button to cover her chest before she crawled under the sheets and into her husbands arms, ignoring his amused chuckle as she buried her head in his chest.
"I love you, Dora." Rab sighed, kissing her head.
"I love you too, Rab." Dora sighed in reply before she finally let sleep take her. Though no matter what was said, she would never regret going to send the letter to Andromeda, it was far too easy to fall back on old ties.
Nymphadora sighed as she sat on the bed, cradling their small child in her arms as he slept contentedly. Rabastan looked back to her for a moment before he pulled on his black cloak.
"Do you have to go?" Dora sighed.
"Why wouldn't I go?" Rabastan frowned.
"You are going on a mission led by a seventeen-year-old." Nymphadora rolled her eyes "I'm aloud to have my doubts."
Rabastan couldn't help but laugh as he walked over to his wife, leaning down to kiss his son on the head before he placed a small kiss on the boys mother's lips "I'll be fine."
Dora kissed him back after a moment before standing up as he went to leave "Rab?"
Rabastan stopped at the door "Yes, Dora?"
"Stay safe . . . and keep Draco safe too." She looked to the Death Eater, innocent fear on her pale features "Please?"
Rabastan hesitated for a moment before he nodded, leaving the room and the manor. Nymphadora let out a large sigh, looking down to her sleeping son as a small sad smile graced her lips "Daddy has it under control, Rigel." Dora whispered "Don't you worry . . . Mummy isn't worried . . . Let's go see Nanny."
The black haired witch rocked her child as she walked the halls of the manor, she paused for a moment as she adjusted the child in her arms to knock on her mother's door. To her surprise it was Narcissa who opened the door to the room, a small sad smile on her lips as she greeted her and opened the door to let her in. Nymphadora hesitated for a moment before she went to sit on her mother's bed, the older witch moving her feet to give her space, stroking the back of her own silver haired babe.
"You okay, Cissa?" Dora asked before shaking her head and sighing "Sorry, stupid question."
"He'll be fine, Cissa." Bellatrix sighed, rolling her eyes "Snivelus will make sure it works . . . or Snivelus will die, that would also be nice."
Narcissa shot a glare at her sister "Draco is in danger."
"He'll be fine." Bellatrix glared back.
"Okay, let's not dwell on what's going on." Dora sighed "Easier said than done, I know. Let's just . . . try to relax a little. Arguing isn't going to do anyone any good." Dora looked between the two sisters, the high running emotions practically visible between the two. The woman bit her lip for a moment before she looked to Narcissa "Want to hold Rigel?"
Narcissa stared at the girl blankly for a moment before with a nod she smiled slightly, walking over to her niece "Of course." Narcissa leant down, taking the child from his mothers arms before she slowly walked over to the chair in the corner of the room. She kissed the boys head as she gently rocked the sleeping boy. Hours passed and the three barely spoke, each witch coo'ing over the individual children as both Narcissa and Nymphadora clearly tried to ignore what their families were up to whilst Bellatrix was thankfully distracted by the children. Nymphadora had entirely lost track of the time when she felt the wards around the building adjust to let a group in. Narcissa immediately looked up, running over to her niece and giving her her son back as she ran from the room to find her son. Dora looked to her mother as she slowly got up from her bed, placing Delphi in the crib before she leant down and gently took Rigel off of Dora and placed him down next to her.
"Come on, let's go see what trouble the boys have accomplished." Bellatrix giggled as she took her daughters hand, waving her wand to cast a sleeping charm on the two children before she was pulled from the room.
Dora didn't say a word, silently following her mother, matching her stride step for step. As her mother stopped outside the main dining hall where she knew the men would be giving The Dark Lord a debrief of the mission she couldn't contain her excitement, giggles erupting from her. Dora freed her hand from her mother's grasp, crossing her arms as she waited for the room to empty, though she barely waited long as the door soon opened. Bellatrix was near enough dancing as Rodolphus left the room, smirking as he took his wife in his arms.
"Well?" Bellatrix murmured, gauging the mans reaction.
"Dumbledore . . . is dead." Rodolphus laughed, kissing his wife.
"Rab." Dora let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as Rabastan left the room, a large grin on his face as he walked up to his wife and took her in his arms.
"See?" Rab chuckled, resting a hand on the woman's hip "Not a scratch on me."
"Good." Dora grinned, kissing his cheek as she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. Dumbledore was dead. This was good. Though as she stood there in the moment, taking in the joy of having her husband safe and sound with her, she couldn't help but wonder how long the success of their cause could last, when someone would get really hurt.