Four-year-old Bellatrix Black paced the parlor of the Black family manor. Andromeda played with her dolls in the corner, and Cygnus sat in one of the chairs. He was reading, but Bellatrix could tell he was scared. He was tapping the arm of the chair, and he occasionally took a few deeps breaths and looked at the clock. Upstairs in the master bed chamber, Druella Black was laboring, as she had been since early that morning. The Midwitches were helping with the birth of Bellatrix's newest sibling. Bella knew that Mother and Father wanted the baby to be a boy to carry on the family name and to inherit both the manor and Father's other assets. A little brother would be nice; Bellatrix could teach him how to duel, how to play Quidditch, and how to perform Dark magic—at least when she learnt all of that stuff. It would be better compared to having another little sister. All Andromeda wanted to do was play with dolls and pretend tea party sets.
A loud groan reverberated down the stairs, and Bellatrix winced from the noise. It sounded as if her mother was being tortured, and since Mother wasn't a Mudblood, a Muggle, a blood traitor, or a half-breed, Bella didn't enjoy the sound of her mother hurting. Cygnus placed the book on the coffee table and patted the seat next to him. "Bella, please come here." Bellatrix turned to her father and hesitantly walked over to the green, velvet settee, the color representing their proud allegiance to Slytherin House. "What's wrong, Bella?"
"I'm scared. Mother is making scary noises."
"I know. But if something was wrong, the Midwitches would tell us."
Bellatrix nodded and went back to pacing. She finally walked over to Andromeda and sat down next to her. As Bella watched her sister play with a baby doll, the former couldn't help but wonder about the baby their mother was having. Not only did Bella wonder if the baby was a boy or a girl, but also what the baby would look like. Bella figured Baby Black would have dark hair; with the exceptions of Cygnus's grandmother, Violet Black, and Druella's great-grandmother, Gwyneth Rosier, all members of the Black family did. Another shrill scream pierced the air, and the two Black sisters covered their ears. Andromeda whimpered a little, and Bellatrix attempted to distract the soon-to-be middle Black child. "Here, Dromeda." Bellatrix picked up the doll, not quite knowing what to do with it. "Fetch." She threw it across the room.
"Deep breath, Mrs. Black; you're eight centimeters dilated, which means you're in transition," said Annabelle, an older, blonde Midwitch in her mid-fifties who had delivered both Bellatrix and Andromeda.
"This is my third time giving birth. I know what transition feels like," Druella scolded before she took another huff of the gas and air to help take the edge off of the immense pain. As a pure-blood witch, Druella knew she needed to stay silent as she was taught, but a loud moan or a shrill scream would occasionally escape her. If this baby wasn't a boy, then her husband was just going to have to accept the fact that there would be no wizard to ensure the continuation of the Black name unless Walburga and Orion had children in the future. There was no way she was going through this agony again: the sharp back pain, the intense abdominal cramping, and the tremendous pressure down low. Druella used the remainder of transition to silently pray to Merlin that this baby was a boy so there wouldn't be a chance for her husband to convince her to "try for a boy one more time." That conversation was why she was currently in this situation. "I feel like I need to push," Druella announced.
Annabelle examined Druella and said, "You're fully dilated, Mrs. Black. You may begin pushing during your next contraction."
"Father, how much longer until Mother has the baby?" asked Bellatrix.
"I don't know. When Mother had you, she was in labor for thirty-six hours." Cygnus was getting concerned. This birth was Druella's third, and still no baby after nearly seventeen hours of labor.
"How many days is that?"
"A little less than two days."
"We may have to wait two days until Mother has the baby!"
Before Cygnus could answer, the other Midwitch, a young brunette witch named Geneviève, arrived in the parlor. "Your wife is getting ready to push, Mr. Black. It shouldn't be much longer." She turned and disappeared up the stairs.
"Father, I'm hungry," said Andromeda.
"All right. I'll have the house-elves make meals for you both," said Cygnus. He himself was too nervous to eat.
"Push, Mrs. Black," instructed Annabelle.
Druella did as instructed, and at this point, she didn't care much about being quiet. It wasn't like any high-society figures were around to observe her, not even Cygnus.
"Good job, Mrs. Black. It shouldn't be long now," said Geneviève.
Druella continued to push for about fifteen minutes, digging her perfectly-manicured finger nails into the pristine white sheets. Merlin did she always forget how painful this process was. "The baby's crowning," announced Annabelle. Of course, Druella didn't need to be informed of that fact as she felt the familiar yet strong burning sensation.
Druella delivered the head, and Geneviève said, "One more push for the shoulders, and then you'll have your baby."
Druella nodded and pushed with all her might, and soon she heard Annabelle announce, "Congratulation, it's a girl."
Druella swallowed thickly as a wave of disappointment washed over her—another failed attempt at producing an heir. Druella attempted to think positively over the fact that she was alive and that baby was alive and seemingly healthy as well, evidenced by the fact that the child's lung function demonstrated efficient power. The Midwitches performed an exam on the baby before wrapping her in a pink blanket and handing her to Druella. As Druella gazed at her youngest daughter, she was taken by surprise. This child looked nothing like the rest of the Blacks. Her skin was very pale, her hair was an extremely light shade of blonde, and her eyes were the brightest color blue one could ever imagine. But Merlin, she was beautiful. "Do you want me to get your husband and other daughters, Mrs. Black?"
"Yes," Druella answered and nodded.
Bellatrix saw one of the Midwitches, the brunette one, come down the stairs. She entered the parlor and said, "Mr. Black?" He turned to face her. "The baby's here. It's a girl."
Bellatrix looked over at her father, and she could see the disappointment on his face. However, he composed himself and asked, "How are Druella and the baby doing?"
"They're both doing just fine. Mrs. Black handled the birth well. The baby is healthy. Since she was born a month early, she's a little small, 2.5 kilograms, but she's strong. Annabelle was helping her deliver the afterbirth, but they should be finished by the time you get to the room."
"Thank you," Cygnus said gratefully. He ushered Bellatrix and Andromeda over to him and crouched down in front of them. "Are you both ready to meet the newest Black?"
Bellatrix nodded, while Andromeda stayed silent. Bellatrix didn't blame her; Dromeda was probably too young to understand much. As Cygnus led them up the stairs, Bellatrix vaguely remembered this moment from Andromeda's birth, though Bellatrix had just turned two a few months before Dromeda's birth, so her memories weren't great. Cygnus knocked on the door when they arrived, and Druella called, "Come in."
Cygnus opened the door, and Bellatrix looked at the baby in their mother's arms. As Bellatrix approached the bed, it took a few moments for her to realize that this baby was actually her newest little sister. The baby didn't look like a Black witch; her skin was so pale, her hair was so blonde, and her eyes were so light. She couldn't possibly be a Black. "Mother, are you sure this is the right baby?"
"I'm positive, Bella," Druella affirmed. Bellatrix went back to looking at the baby, still not sure about her being a Black. "I'm sorry, Cygnus. I know you wanted a boy."
Cygnus sighed and said, "It's all right, darling. As long as we have a healthy baby, that's the most important thing."
"I suppose we shouldn't name her Aries."
"No, we shouldn't," Cygnus agreed. "What names can we use?"
"There's Carina, Lyra, Ursa…none of those names seem to fit. She's just…so different from the rest of us."
"She is."
"Mother?"
"Yes, Bella?"
"I have a present for the baby." Bellatrix pulled a bouquet of daffodils out of her skirt pocket and handed it to Druella.
"Bellatrix Druella Black, are these flowers from my garden?"
"No," Bellatrix lied.
"Bella was bad," said Andromeda.
"I apologize. I took the girls outside so they could expel some restless energy. I didn't realize Bella was in the flower gardens," Cygnus said and scowled at his eldest daughter. Bellatrix looked down in slight shame. Druella handed the flowers to Cygnus, and Cygnus asked, "What if we break Black family tradition for once?"
"In what manner?" asked Druella.
"Well, this little one has already broken Black tradition by being born with blonde hair. What if we deviate from the tradition of naming her after a star or constellation?"
"What were you thinking?" asked Druella in apprehension. A Black witch without a star or constellation name? What was Cygnus thinking?
"How about a flower name, since our youngest daughter is a delicate little flower? How about Narcissa?"
Druella looked down at the baby and smiled softly when the baby's light-blue eyes met her own dark-brown ones. "Narcissa," Druella uttered. "Greek for daffodil."
"Exactly."
"I like it."
"What should be her middle name?"
Druella continued to gaze at the infant witch and said, "Well, since Narcissa is one of the few blondes in the family, I was thinking of making her middle name Gwyneth, after my great-grandmother: Gwyneth Rosier. She was also a beautiful and powerful blonde witch."
"Narcissa Gwyneth Black: an elegant name for a pure-blooded witch from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."
"Bella, would you like to hold Narcissa?"
"May I?" asked Bellatrix.
Druella nodded, and Cygnus led Bellatrix over to the rocking chair that was next to the bassinet where Narcissa would sleep. He placed a few pillows in the chair, and after situating Bellatrix, he took Narcissa into his arms and placed her in Bellatrix's. "Make sure you support her head and neck, Bella."
Bellatrix looked down at her baby sister snuggled in her arms. Bella still wasn't sure this baby was a Black. She was really pale. And she was so small. Bellatrix was certain Narcissa could fit in some of the clothes that were meant for the dolls that Bellatrix and Andromeda owned. But even though Narcissa didn't look like a Black, something inside of Bellatrix still registered that this baby was someone she was supposed to protect. They would both go to Hogwarts and be sorted into Slytherin. They would both learn how to be powerful witches who stood up for blood purity. They would both one day marry a pure-blood wizard and have babies of their own. But most importantly, they were both sisters. Narcissa began crying loudly and turning her head from side to side, so Bellatrix asked, "Does she hate me?"
"No, Bella, I promise you that Narcissa loves you. She just needs me right now," said Druella.
Cygnus took Narcissa back from Bellatrix and handed her to Druella so Narcissa could nurse. He went to usher Bellatrix and Andromeda out of the room, but not before Bellatrix kissed the top of Narcissa's head. Bellatrix wasn't quite sure she could pronounce the name right, so instead she said, "Bye bye, Cissy."