Dear readers, I know this type of story has been written a million times, but I had one in my head for some time and I wanted to share it. I try to make it canon and as much in character as I can. Changes have been made for the purpose of the story. But please leave a review to let me know if something doesn't add up or is bothering in any way. Or just to tell me what you think. Enjoy!

Prologue

December 1981

With a soft popping sound a woman dressed in a long black cape appeared out of nowhere in the street of a village just outside of London. With a fast pace she walked past a row of terraced houses, their gardens prepared for Christmas with trees and bushes decorated with numerous lights and ornaments. It was already dark outside and the cold December wind made the woman shiver. She suddenly she came to a halt. The light coming through the curtains of the living room window told her that she was at the right house. She opened the garden fence and walked up the short footpath that led to the front door. The ginger cat inside laying curled up on the windowsill opened its eyes for a moment. The woman took off her hood and knocked on the door. Through the opaque glass of the front door she could see a light in the hallway switched on. A few moments later a chubby man appeared and opened the door.

"Good evening, Narcissa. What a surprise."

"Where is she? I know she's here."

Without waiting for an invitation to come in the witch made her way through the hallway into the living room. An eight-year-old girl in pyjamas sat on her knees in front of the coffee table. She was drawing a detailed picture of a mother and baby unicorn with all kinds of coloured pencils scattered on the table. She looked at her mother who was sitting on the couch behind her, holding a sleeping baby wrapped in a pale green blanket.

"Narcissa? What are you doing here?"

"Give her to me."

"No, Cissy. Ted and I will take care of her."

"She is supposed to be mine." Narcissa walked a few steps closer and drew her wand. The little pink haired girl came to her feet and cuddled up against her mother on the couch.

"I'm her sister too, Cissy. Whatever she thinks of me. The Aurors did nothing wrong bringing her child here," Andromeda said. "And please go, you're scaring Nymphadora."

"Dora. Bedtime. Go brush your teeth." Ted spoke, standing in the doorway.

Nymphadora kissed her mother goodnight, then gently caressed the baby's cheek and gave her a little kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight little one," she whispered. She got up and walked in a big curve around Narcissa. She kept her eyes fixed on her aunt nervously, almost walking into the Christmas tree.

"They did wrong by Bella," Narcissa continued when the girl had disappeared in the hallway. She lowered her wand. Trying to intimidate her sister wasn't going to be successful, it never had been. "She never would've let you touch her."

"Bella will be in Azkaban for the rest of her life. She won't know. A child shouldn't be blamed for her mother's faults. She shouldn't be burdened with that family name."

"Did you even know she had been born before today? I'm the one who has been taking care of her."

"And after their arrest? They found the girl home alone."

"That's not a reason to dismiss me as her gardian."

"Do you think they would have given her to you and your husband? To be raised by another Death Eater?"

"How dare you!" Narcissa turned red. "Lucius is not a Death Eater!" Her yelling woke up the sleeping baby, who started crying and stretched her little arms into the air. "The war is over, the Dark Lord is gone and there is no proof at all that Lucius did anything for him of his own free will!"

"It doesn't matter, Cissy. We'll care for her and love her as much as you would, I swear." Andromeda rocked the bundle back and forth a little bit and the crying turned into soft murmuring. "You already have a little one yourself and you don't think Lucius would treat Bellatrix's daughter like one of his own, do you? He is too proud of his own name to call her a Malfoy."

Narcissa knew Andromeda was right. Lucius and Bellatrix had never gotten along. He had always envied her status, her place in the ranks of the Dark Lord. He probably wouldn't be able to hide his feelings towards the girl while raising her together with his own son. Lucius hadn't been happy with Narcissa visiting the Lestranges regularly since Bellatrix had given birth. But the help her oldest sister desperately needed to take care of her baby, she had often waved away. "We have House-elves for a reason," Bellatrix had said. "Right now I have more important things to do than caring for a baby." Narcissa felt she had been the only mother figure to the little girl. No love, no attention, not even a name. So she did it herself. Leaving her with others now felt like giving up her own child.

Narcissa finally tucked away her wand and nodded. "Her name is Freya. Can I hold her one more time?"

"Freya." Andromeda repeated as she got up from the couch and carefully handed the little bundle over to her younger sister.

"She looks so innocent." Narcissa watched the sleeping baby in her arms. "It breaks my heart to think that people would not give up their own life for such a little wonder. If only she knew what her parents left her for."

"She must never know. Keep this quiet, Cissy. Bellatrix's daughter is gone."

Narcissa nodded again. If the Lestranges cared so little for their child to leave her with only their house elves, she wondered how many of their allies would even know Freya was born, let alone go looking for her. No one would ever know or care she failed in retrieving the child and raise her with pure-blood views.

"She is gone."

Ted opened the door to his daughter's bedroom a chink and peeked inside. Nymphadora was still awake, reading by the light of her bedside lamp. She put her book down when he entered, then lay down and disappeared under her duvet, only her head sticking out.

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Again?" He sat on the side of her bed. "Are you okay, Dora?"

Nymphadora nodded.

"Do you know who that lady was?"

"Aunt Narcissa. Mum said they never speak to each other because she's a nasty mean woman."

"Something like that," Ted said. Andromeda rarely spoke of her family, but when she did, she could be rather blunt, he thought. Too much in front of their daughter.

"Why did she want the baby? It isn't hers, is it?"

"Their other sister. But not anymore. She is our baby from now on. So you will protect her, right? As a big sister?"

Nymphadora nodded fervently.

"Never mention her birth parents to anyone, okay? Just pretend your mum and I are. I know you can do that for her."

"I promise. And I won't be scared anymore, dad, I can fight them. Once I have a wand and do magic. I will protect her."

"You'll do a great job, sweetheart." He said as he ruffled her pink hair. "And clean your room tomorrow, okay?" He said, looking around at the mess in her room.

"Ugh, why do I always have to do that? It's not fair I can't use magic yet." Nymphadora yawned and turned off the light on the night stand. "I can't wait to get to Hogwarts. No parents around to tell you to clean your room all the time."

"Only three more years," Ted said. "And it doesn't hurt to get some chores done with actual work sometimes. Household spells are not my best anyway."

"I guess," Nympadora yawned and snuggled deeper under the duvet. "Good night, dad. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

Thank you very much for reading, I hope you liked it. Leave a comment if you wish, I'm always happy to get some feedback.