Thank you so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews! I'm so glad you're liking it so far. This chapter is kind of short and might seem a bit like a filler, but I really wanted to take the opportunity to write a little bit more backstory for Narcissa. I hope you like it! Reviews definitely help me get new chapters up quickly. ;)

-Mid-November, 1997-

Nearly three months had passed since the morning Narcissa had discovered her sister alone and injured in the library. Three months since she had learned that Bellatrix was pregnant with the Dark Lord's child and every day Narcissa watched her sister closely, waiting with bated breath for Bella to realize what was happening.

Narcissa had not uttered a word to anyone about her discovery, but grew more and more anxious and exasperated by the day. Sitting alone in her quiet drawing room, she listened to the sound of the fall breeze against the windowpanes. She had been going over the expenses of the house before thoughts of her sister overtook her once again. She'd had to remind herself more than once over the last few weeks that Bella's mad obsession with the Dark Lord and his schemes had often distracted her from ordinary matters, including her own well being. Still, it could not be long now before Bella noticed either the physical or magical presence of the infant growing inside her.

That was the interesting thing about magical children. While many did not display outward signs of magic until they were toddlers, or even older, their mothers could almost always sense a sort of magical quickening before even the first real movements were felt.

Narcissa remembered experiencing that feeling with each of her children very early on, perhaps because she, so eager to become a mother, had waited for it with rapt attention. She had only just begun to notice the faint stirring of magic during her first pregnancy when everything had suddenly gone terribly wrong. That child, a daughter they had planned to call Cressida, was born far too early and never stirred or drew breath. Narcissa had only caught a brief glimpse of her still, tiny form before she had been hurried out of the room by the healer.

Wracked with grief and still desperate for a child, Narcissa would wait more than four years to find she was expecting again. Her doubts and fears were tempered a bit when she experienced both the magical and physical signs of Draco's presence, which began with astonishing strength in the first few weeks of her pregnancy. Her son had arrived without complication and brought indescribable joy and relief to both his parents.

Narcissa had loved motherhood from the first moments and was elated to find that she was expecting again only a few months after Draco was born. That child, another daughter, had exhibited much of the same early magical vigor as Draco and was carried to full term without incident. Narcissa had been sure this child would be just as strong and full of life as her brother, but tragedy struck again. For reasons no healer could properly explain, little Aurora had quietly slipped away in her heartbroken mother's arms only minutes after her birth. It had initially revealed each of them to her in turn, but magic had not been able to save either of Narcissa's daughters in the end. There would be no more children after that and Narcissa could only console herself through fierce dedication to the wellbeing and happiness of her one surviving child.

A crooked branch was blown against the nearby window and the harsh scraping sound pulled Narcissa out of her reverie. She had tried to avoid dwelling on her lost children in the past, but found herself thinking of them more and more lately as she considered how to best handle her sister's situation. She worried about how Bellatrix would take the news and, even more concerning, how the Dark Lord would react when he found out. Narcissa had often wondered whether this had not been his plan all along, but then he was always so dismissive and even contemptuous toward Bella's fawning. It seemed unlikely he was counting on her to provide him with an heir. After carefully, quietly watching each of her houseguests over the past several weeks, Narcissa was fairly certain that no one had foreseen this outcome and that only she currently knew about it.

Deep down, buried beneath the layers of fear and anxiety that plagued her, Narcissa had begun to notice the smallest sensation of warm anticipation. It took her a while to realize it, but the thought of her sister having a child, albeit the Dark Lord's child, had given Narcissa a tiny glimmer of hope for Bellatrix. Maybe this would be the catalyst Bella needed to let go of the hatred and frenzied passion that fueled her obsession with her master. Maybe her sanity and compassion were not so far gone that her own child's needs could not bring her back to reality.

Laying her quill down on the desk with a sigh, Narcissa stood and tried to push that thought away. That kind of wishful thinking would only distract her; she needed to remain focused and alert if she was going to help her sister through this. Bearing the Dark Lord's child would be a dangerous undertaking in this time of upheaval and resistance, and Narcissa knew that Bella would need the influence of a level head more than anything else.

Narcissa turned from her work and the darkened windows and quietly left the empty room, silently going over her plan again:

First, Bella's condition would need to be concealed from untrustworthy eyes. Then they would determine how to hide the child from the rest of the wizarding world...

There you go! Don't forget to let me know what you think!