We Desire Increase: AU
Authoress's Notes:
I usually don't do AUs. I swear. But this one occurred to me as a result of something that came up in an rpg... and then in my medieval history class we were discussing the vertical tie of mutual aid between lord and vassal, and it occurred to me that if Voldemort won, he'd probably reinstitute feudalism in the wizarding world, which would be weird but kind of cool. I only have a vague idea of how this could have all worked out, so just don't think about it too hard. Assume that Voldemort won the war back in 1981 and things went on from there. Accept this, move on. ;)
It's hazy, it's random, and Heavens help me, it's DE fluff.
Oddly enough, I rather like it.
Dedicated, as everything with Rodolphus is, to Heather, who finally has the little Lestranges she's been pestering me about.
"From fairest creatures we desire increase, that thereby beauty's rose might never die." -- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 1
The first, born in mid-November 1982, was the son and heir Rasalhague Medraut Black-Lestrange. Bellatrix hated the name, but it had been the only one they could agree on, and so mostly she called him Ras, as did everyone else after a while. The second, the surprisingly light-eyed Rigel Arnaud, followed soon thereafter, in the spring of 1984. Rashaka Brigitte, an image of her mother from her first day, came along the following August.
The Lestranges had intended to stop at three. Bellatrix had always sworn she would provide her husband with the heir and the spare, and then produce a daughter to be her own child, and she had fulfilled this goal splendidly. She was not so callous a mother as she pretended to be; Rashaka was her favourite, to be sure, and was denied absolutely nothing, but she doted on her sons as well. Ras, heir of Black and Lestrange both, was from an early age allowed to observe his parents at work, that he might learn all he would need to know to take over the family traditions someday. Ras was a quiet child, shrewd and observing, unlike either of his passionate parents but admired by them. Rigel, however, had the famous Black spirit, and Bellatrix spoiled him excessively. There as a reason she would never admit, that he reminded her, with his dark hair and pale eyes and barking laughter, of another Black, one she never expected to see again. And then Rashaka, the jewel of the household, adored by both parents and indulged every whim.
Bellatrix could not have been happier. This was how life was supposed to be. She and her husband were working to build the world they had always dreamt of, a perfect, pure world for their three beautiful children to grow up in. They had many playmates, as the other families in the Black-Lestrange social circle had been quite prolific as well, and it was not at all unusual for the children of one family to spend days at a time at the home of another. Nor was it extraordinary to see the Black-Lestrange family walking in Diagon Alley, purchasing huge amounts of sweets and toys for the children: Rashaka riding on her father's shoulders, dark spiraling curls bouncing with each step, quiet Ras holding his mother's hand, and Rigel running circles around them all.
When Ras was nearly nine, Bellatrix unexpectedly found herself pregnant again.
There was a fight about the name. Thus far, the couple had kept peace by managing to preserve both the celestial Black naming tradition and the Lestrange beginning-R tradition. But after three children, they had rather run short on names that could not be considered child abuse. Bellatrix threw one of her famous tantrums (with Rashaka listening and learning as she did so), shouting about all she had compromised, about her work in bearing and bringing forth the children into the world, and, one of her favourite arguments, how lucky Rodolphus should consider himself for the Black alliance and that he ought to honour it and her. Eventually Rodolphus gave in (not particularly wanting to name a child Rotanev anyway), and early in the summer of 1991, Alcyone Carmine joined the family. She was followed in February of 1993 by Rhea Silvia, as Bellatrix had conceded that with any future children, she and Rodolphus would alternate naming privileges. That following winter, Bellatrix was expecting again.
By the end of July, she rather wished she wasn't.
"This really must be the last one, Rodolphus," she told her husband as she settled herself in a chaise on the porch and snapped her fingers for a house elf to fan her. "I'm getting too old for this."
"You are as young and vibrant as the day we married, mia giosa," Rodolphus replied, dropping a kiss on her forehead.
"And we already have more children than most families."
"Because I just can't keep my hands off of my gorgeous wife," he drawled, kissing her neck.
"It's not your hands that are the problem," she said dryly, swatting half-heartedly at him. "Besides, Rodolphus, at this rate, we're not likely to ever be without children in the household. By the time this one goes off to school, we could be grandparents."
"Oh, don't say that, my dear. You'll make me feel old."
Bellatrix sighed heavily. "Summer. Why is it always summer when I'm pregnant?"
Rodolphus smiled and gently reminded her, "It was winter the last time, mia Bella." Bellatrix glared at him, and was about to respond when Evvie, the porter house elf, appeared.
"Forgive Evvie, sir and missus, but Lady's sister is here. She tells Evvie be quick, is very important."
Bellatrix furrowed her brow in concern. "Send her out here."
A moment later, a distressed Narcissa appeared, wringing her pale hands. "Bella," she said in a strangled voice. "It's Father. He's—he's—"
Bellatrix started from her chair, and Rodolphus took her arms, helping her to rise. "What is it, Cissa?"
"He's sick, Bella. He's—he's dying."
Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Rodolphus were at Ebony Manor, the ancestral Black home, in moments. Bellatrix did not notice the absence of Narcissa's husband, but Rodolphus did. The sisters went to their father's side, and Rodolphus waited in the adjoining sitting room.
Several hours passed. Rodolphus could, at times, hear murmured conversation, but could make out no words.
Sometime after sunset, he heard a muffled cry that he was fairly certain was Narcissa's. Considering this the appropriate time to intervene, Rodolphus opened the door. He had seen enough death in his time to know that Orion Black had certainly passed on, and at the bedside, a sobbing Narcissa was clinging desperately to a stunned-looking Bellatrix. Recognising that his very pregnant wife could not much longer support the weight of a crumpling woman, Rodolphus eased Narcissa into holding onto him instead, in lieu of her own husband. Bellatrix, he felt sure, would not have accepted his help if he'd offered it, but Narcissa was the kind of woman who needed managing and directing, who needed support in dark hours. Bellatrix, as ever, stood strongest alone.
By the morning of the funeral, Bellatrix had spent a ridiculous amount of time with Orion's solicitor, going over her father's last wishes. Rodolphus knew she had hardly slept, but he didn't think he had yet seen her cry. He couldn't decide whether or not this was healthy. He knew Bella always had her own way of coping with adversity, but he also knew that she had wept for each one of the children they'd lost before birth, even if she had done so briefly and when she thought he wouldn't notice. Rodolphus would have been worried about how much Bellatrix was trying to handle amidst her own grief, but he had faith in her. His Bella was a strong woman. He'd never known her to fail at handling any problem.
"Is everything settled, then?" he asked her.
She sighed, passing a hand over her forehead. "Yes, yes... The will is... lengthy, as you might imagine. Ras is the primary heir, though all of our children and both of Cissa's got plenty as well... inheritances for the boys, dowries for the girls, and provisions for any future children Cissa or I might have... and, until Ras comes of age, the estate falls to me to manage." Her voice was heavy, wearied as Rodolphus had rarely heard it. He had seen her grieve before, for three miscarriages over their sixteen years of marriage, but every time she had managed to pull through and do whatever work needed doing, regardless of her own feelings. Sometimes his wife really did amaze him.
She took a deep breath and continued. "Rodolphus, I know how you love the Lestrange estate, but... I'd like to move back to Ebony Manor for a while." She rubbed at her temple. "There's so much to take care of, and I'd... I'd like to be home while I'm taking care of all of it." Bellatrix adored Areles Hall as well, but Ebony Manor would always have her heart.
Rodolphus clasped her shoulders and kissed her gently. "Of course, mia Bella. As long as you need. After all, our son is lord of that house as well. He ought to know it."
The funeral was large, and lavish. Orion Black had been a bastion of society, a powerful and important man. Bellatrix and Narcissa stood together, and amidst the large crowd, no one paid any notice to the black-haired, middle-aged woman standing on the outskirts, her features obscured by a black veil. Certainly no one noticed when, after everyone else had gone, she went to the grave and dropped a single white lily in, before the dirt was piled on the coffin.
Rodolphus never did see Bellatrix cry over her father's death, but very soon afterwards they had other things to be concerned with, and life, as ever, moved on.
Bellatrix went into labour late in the evening of 19 August, and remained so all through the night and into the next morning. Rodolphus was, of course, not allowed in the birthing room. He stood outside, trying very hard not to pace. Lucius sat nearby, unconcernedly reading a newspaper, present only because his wife considered it her sisterly duty to help Bellatrix. Narcissa had been present for all the previous five births as well, as Bellatrix had been for the arrivals of Draco and Altair.
Another door away, four children were gathered, listening to the screams and curses. All were present except Rhea, who was not old enough yet to be interesting and thus still with her nurse. Little Alcyone, who had only just become interesting, was sitting on Rashaka's lap. She removed her fingers from her mouth long enough to ask, "Is Mama dying?" She said this in a dispassionate voice, for which the other three forgave her. Alcyone had not yet spent enough time with their parents to love them as the older children did. Bellatrix and Rodolphus typically did not notice their children until the age of three or four, but Bella had been so preoccupied with her pregnancy and then her father's death that she had not spared much energy for Alcyone even since the girl had turned three back in June.
"Of course not," said Rigel. "She screamed a lot louder than that when she had Rashaka."
"How would you know?" Rashaka snapped. "You were still in swaddling clothes then."
"Nurse Delia told me," he replied defensively. "She said Mama howled like the gates of hell had opened, and that's why your name means 'demon'."
Rashaka looked ready to dislodge Alcyone and pummel her brother, but Ras hushed them. "I hear Aunt Cissa." They all pressed their ears to the door, except Alcyone, who trusted Rashaka to relay any important information to her, and continued sucking on her fingers calmly.
"It's very exciting!" Narcissa said, giving a little hop. "We'd been wondering why this was so much harder for her than the others... it's quite simple, really, and, oh!" The blonde woman was nearly beside herself, and her husband rolled his eyes.
"Narcissa, put the poor man out of his misery."
She beamed. "It's twins, Rodolphus! A boy and a girl!"
Rodolphus blinked. "Twins?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes! Oh, it's not exactly common in our family, but it's not unprecedented, either, there are a few of them dangling along the tree in different places. Oh, they're beautiful, Rodolphus!"
He grinned. "Of course they are. All our children are." Another door away, four children puffed themselves up pridefully.
"I'll come fetch you when they're cleaned up a bit. Oh, Rodolphus!" She flung her arms around his neck. Rodolphus, bewildered, patted her back hesitantly, before she bounced off back into Bellatrix's room.
By the time Rodolphus was allowed in, the babes had been washed, and Bellatrix's appearance had been mended as much as it could be. Narcissa had braided her hair and helped her to wash her face and get into a scarlet dressing robe, while the house elves changed the sheets on her bed. When Rodolphus came in, she was tucked neatly into bed, looking exhausted but radiant. One child was in her arms, and Narcissa was flouncing around the room with the other. Smiling, Rodolphus sat down on the bed beside her and slipped an arm about her shoulders. "Is this—"
"The girl," she answered. "Cissa has your new son."
"Ooh, but I'll turn him over to his proud papa," Narcissa cooed, easing the boy into Rodolphus's arms. "And I'll leave you two alone." She winked and traipsed out of the room.
The Mediwitch set a pale green potion down on Bellatrix's nightstand. "And I'll be back in a few minutes," she said, and left.
Rodolphus still had a mild expression of disbelief. "Twins..." he breathed.
"We were getting too good at this," Bellatrix said in a tired voice. "Someone decided we needed a new challenge."
Rodolphus looked down at the boy in his arms, whose eyes were closed in sleep. He touched the downy black hair, grateful that so far all seven had turned out looking like both parents. Rhea's hair was a touch more towards the lighter brown shared by her Uncle Rabastan, but by and large, Bella and Rodolphus had produced a dark-haired passel. He supposed it was possible that they could have turned out a blond; both their mothers had been fair-haired, after all, but he was glad the traditional dark looks of each family had been preserved. Not to mention that a blond child probably would have subjected him to talk of cuckoldry. He and Bella had both had their dalliances over the years, and each pretended not to notice the other's, but Rodolphus trusted Bella never to bring scandal upon the family by bearing another man's child. She valued the sanctity of bloodlines far too much for that.
He ran his finger over the newborn's soft, pink cheek. "I suppose this means we each get to name one."
"S'pose so." Bellatrix blinked when Rodolphus looked at her expectantly. "Oh! Me first, then? Alright." She lifted the little girl in her arms and declared, "Meissa Beatrice Black-Lestrange."
"Meissa..." Rodolphus said with a smile. "I like it. Almost alarmingly simple for our family."
"I could add a few syllables if you wanted," she murmured, an exhausted attempt at wit. "Your turn."
Rodolphus looked the boy over again, and said gently, "Orion."
Bellatrix sat up a little. "Really?"
Rodolphus nodded. "Orion Gareth. I think it's appropriate."
She leaned over and kissed his cheek, an uncustomary soft look in her eyes. "Thank you."
"Well, Rabastan's taken all the good r-names for his brood, anyway," Rodolphus teased. Bellatrix laughed, and kissed him again.
Linguistic notes (because I'm a sucker for name symbolism):
Rasalhague – "head of the snake", the brightest star in the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer; Medraut – the archaic form of "Mordred"
Rigel – second brightest star in the constellation Orion, Arnaud – French, "eagle, ruler"
Rashaka – any one of a set of demons of Indian origin, associated with seduction, blood, murder, and the stars, Brigitte – French, "strong, resolute"
Alcyone – the brightest star in the Pleiades, Carmine – Italian, "song, crimson"
Rhea Silvia – mother of Romulus and Remus
Meissa – "shining", a star in Orion, Beatrice – Italian, "joy"
Orion – one of the most prominent constellations in the northern sky, Gareth – "strong spear", Anglo-Saxon, one of Morgause's children
Altair – "flying one", star in Aquila
mia giosa – my jewel