Happy Saturday all!

So after deciding to move house in the middle of a pandemic and all of the other things I may have forgotten to update. Sorry!

Hope you are all staying safe and well, as always please read, enjoy and please do leave a review!

Bella


Nymphadora sat on the edge of her bed, her eyes closed as she wrapped her hand around the cold steel handle of the knife she had swiped from the kitchen. It was true she still had her wand, though for some reason when she had gone downstairs in search of some sort of nourishment she had decided the metal blade was far more suited to the task. True, her wand would have made things easier, though nothing Nymphadora did anymore made much sense. She took a deep breath before she slowly rose to her feet and slowly made her way out of her room.

It was nearing midnight and Nymphadora assumed most of the residents within the walls of the prisoner's wing to be asleep, she noted her mother's door for a moment with the faint light of a candle seeping out of the door frame. She hesitated for a moment, staring at the small light for a minute before with a shake of her head she decided to continue on her mission. It was now or never. One hand grazed the wall of the hallway as the other still gripped tightly onto her weapon, concealed under her robes as she tiptoed down the corridor. As she reached her destination she looked around the hallway one last time, unsure what she was even looking for anymore as she was sure what she was doing was right and Rodolphus was nowhere to be seen to try and stop her. She pushed open the door, quickly slipping inside the room and freezing on the spot. Her gaze rested on the sleeping figure of Reuben Lestrange, his arms above his head as the young boy sprawled out on his bed in his seemingly innocent slumber.

Though as Nymphadora stared down at the young boy she could not see her youngest and innocent child, she merely saw the depiction of Rodolphus Lestrange. He was so similar, with his dark hair, dark eyes and even small mannerisms of his father she could not see a young boy. All she could see was Rodolphus, all he had done to her, all he had put her through and continued to put her through, not even mentioning what he had done and would continue to do to countless others. Surely if she didn't stop this boy now he would only grow to be a carbon copy of his father. Who would little Rueben Lestrange grow up to harm? She could barely even separate him in her mind from the monster who had fathered him. As the boy let out a small groan in his sleep she gathered her resolve, walking the few steps across the room to boys sleeping form she gently lowered herself to sit on the bed next to him.

"You're a Lestrange . . ." Dora whispered, tears now flowing down her cheeks as she leant forward and brushed the hair from his face, "I can't . . ."

Dora winced as she looked away from the boy, lifting the hand holding onto the knife to rest on the bed, "I can't . . ." Dora repeated, "you'll be better off this way . . . This is what's right . . ."

Dora took a deep breath, looking at the sleeping child one last time before she tightened her grip on her knife yet again and closed her eyes in preparation as she raised her blade.

"No!" the screech didn't stop Nymphadora, already determined to see her task through, but as she was thrown to the floor by the surge of a spell she let out an infuriated scream. She quickly went to jump to her feet again before the weight of her mother had jumped on top of her.

"No!" Dora screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks as the two women wrestled for the knife still firmly grasped in her hand, "Get off of me! I have to! Get off!"

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda yelled, "You're not in your right mind!" She yelled in frustration as she managed to pin the arm holding the knife to the floor whilst her daughter hit out at her back with her free hand, "Stop it now!"

"Mum?" the small frightened voice of Reuben Lestrange called out, "Nan?"

The two women paused, Nymphadora's expression of anger and frustration turning into one of fright and realisation. Silence hung in the air for merely a moment before Nymphadora Lupin released her grip on her knife, her body going limp as she cried hysterically.

"I-I'm sorry . . ." Dora cried, "I d-didn't . . . R-Rodolphus . . . I-I'm sorry . . . H-He's my son . . . I would never . . ."

Andromeda loosened her grip on her daughter, at a loss for what to do as she watched the witch unravel beneath her.

"N-Nan?" Reuben called again, "I—W-What's wrong with Mum?"

"I—" Andromeda tried to gather herself as best she could, forcing the panic from her face as she turned to look at her grandson. The boy was sat right up against the head of his bed, his duvet pulled right up to his chest as if trying to gain some small protection from the material.

"It's okay, Rueben," Andromeda very slowly let go of her daughter, standing up only when she was sure the sobbing witch was not going to move. She quickly vanished the knife before she turned back to the boy. "Why don't you go to Aunt Cissa?"

Rueben shook his head, sitting still on his bed as he stared at the woman mumbling on the floor as she tried to calm herself "What's wrong with Mum?"

"She'll be okay," Andromeda said, walking over to the boy and holding her arms out for him as he quickly shuffled from his spot to his grandmother's arms, "she's just . . . tired."

"Mum?" Reuben called out to his mother, freezing as the witch looked up at him through her tear-filled eyes.

"I-I can't . . ." Dora screwed her eyes shut, yet more tears falling, "I-I'm sorry . . ."

"Reuben go to your Aunt Cissa," Andromeda spoke more firmly as the boy went to speak again, "now. I need to help Mum and then I'll come to find you."

". . . Promise?" the boy asked.

"Promise," Andromeda nodded, "now go."

Rueben looked to his mother one last time before he slowly got up from his bed, his gaze lingering on the sobbing witch before he sped from the room to find Narcissa Malfoy.

"Dora . . ." Andromeda sighed, she had grown far too used to her daughter's mental breakdowns of late, though she had never for a moment feared that she could become a danger to her own children. The younger witch continued to sob, her eyes closed tight as she curled in on herself.

"I-I can't . . ." Dora cried, peering up at her mother and noticeably calming slightly as she realised her son was no longer in the room, "I-I don't want to hurt him . . . but . . ."

"He's the embodiment of it all," Andromeda gave a small nod, slowly walking over to her daughter as if scared to make a sudden movement, "more so than Elara. Elara can morph and she's a girl, Rueben . . . he looks the spitting image of his father at his age."

Dora's sobs renewed, collapsing into her mother's arms as she knelt next to her.

"I-I can't hurt him . . ." Dora cried, "I can't live like this . . ."

"He isn't his father," Andromeda said quietly, knowing that her daughter would always compare the two, "he's sweet, innocent, he's a good child . . ."

"R-Rod was a good child," Dora breathed, "you said so yourself . . ."

Andromeda merely sighed, stroking her daughter's hair as she sobbed into her robes, "Let's get you to sleep . . ." Andromeda murmured.

"I-I can't sleep," Dora shook her head, "I'm so tired but I can't sleep. The nightmares, the thoughts—my mind is too busy to stop itself from running and running until it drives me insane!"

"Shh," Andromeda held the girl closer to herself, "it's okay. I'll stay with you, you can stay in my room, let's just get out of here. Come on . . ."

The younger witch hardly protested between sobs as her mother helped her rise to her feet, slowly walking her back to her room.


Nymphadora instantly froze in fear the moment she woke the next day, feeling the weight of someone laying beside her and immediately fearing the worst. It took her far too long to gather the courage to slowly open her eyes, though as she did and her memories of the previous night came flooding back to her she was hardly any happier. Andromeda Tonks was sat up on the bed next to her, giving the girl a sad smile and brushing the wild white curls from her face as she had clearly been watching her sleep.

"Are you feeling any better?" Andromeda asked.

Nymphadora wasn't sure how to answer the question, she never felt better anymore, in a perpetual state of disorder in her own mind never quite sure how to handle her emotions anymore. She took a breath before she decided to avoid the question entirely.

"Where's Reuben?" Dora asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"He's with Teddy," Andromeda answered with a sigh.

"Does Teddy . . ." Dora shook her head, "Is he okay?"

"He will be," Andromeda nodded, "I don't know if Teddy knows . . . but he's looking after his brother well."

Dora gave a small nod, looking down and letting the silence fill the room as a thousand thoughts ran through her mind.

"Dora . . ." Andromeda spoke softly, as if trying to coax the girl out of the mess of her mind.

"I almost killed my son . . ." Dora barely whispered, "I almost killed Reuben . . ."

"But you didn't," Andromeda said, "he's fine."

"Because you stopped me," Dora shook her head.

Andromeda was unsure of what to say, the thought of what may have happened if she had not heard her daughter enter her grandsons room the previous night had been at the forefront of her mind all night. "He's fine," was all Andromeda could think to say.

"He's going to talk . . ." Dora winced, "he's going to tell Rodolphus. He's going to kill me. This is it . . ."

"I'll talk to him," Andromeda sighed.

"No," Dora shook her head, pulling herself up to sit, her hands going to pull at her hair "you can't. He'll tell, or Rod will guess that he's hiding something. Teddy will get upset and do something stupid again. Reuben will hate me now. I—I—"

"Dora breathe," Andromeda spoke firmly, "you need to calm down."

Dora shook her head frantically, pulling away from her mother as she tried to take her arm and jumping from the bed, "I need to think, I need space, I need to get out of here."

"No," Andromeda stood, stopping herself from walking towards her daughter as the younger witch went straight for her wand, "Dora . . . stop this."

Dora shook her head, "I just need to breathe . . ."

"You need to calm down," Andromeda said, "pass me your wand."

"No!" Dora screamed, pointing her wand directly at her mother as she walked towards her "Incarcerous!"

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda yelled in frustration as she was bound, falling over onto the floor, "Dora untie me! I'm trying to help you!"

"No," Dora shook her head, "I need to fix it . . . I need to stop myself . . ."

Nymphadora ignored her mother's yells as she ran from the room, nor did she listen to the sound of her Aunt going out into the hallway to see the commotion, she merely kept running. Dora was not sure as to where she would need to go, but in a small sliver of clarity within her warped mind, she knew what she had to do. The moment she exited the barrier of the wards of the prisoner's wing she froze, looking both ways down the corridor before she ran off with determination. She sped through the corridors, not caring about the stares she was getting from the odd death eater she passed. She turned the last corridor quickly, yelling out as with a thud she fell backwards to the floor. A groan left her lips as she tried to overcome the intense pain in her head.

"Nymphadora," Rodolphus growled, reaching forward and grabbing the witch by the neck of her robes and pulling her to her feet, "what are you doing?"

Dora's eyes widened as she met the dark gaze of Rodolphus, struggling for a moment before she was thrown against the wall, the man attempting to hold her still as she struggled.

"Get off!" Dora screamed, all thoughts as to why she was out of the ward leaving her mind temporarily, "Get off! Get off!"

"Calm down woman!" Rodolphus hissed, trying to hold the struggling woman still for a few moments before with a yell of annoyance he wrapped his arms around the witch and lifted her off of her feet. She kicked and screamed as he carried her down the corridor, only putting her down once he had closed the door behind him.

Dora scrambled away from the man, leaning against the opposite wall as her chest rose and fell rapidly with her heavy breathing. As she realised where he had taken her she fell down the wall to sit on the floor. "Where's Bellatrix?"

"Out," Rodolphus narrowed his eyes, "what are you doing here? Were you looking for Bella? Because if you were this is the last place you're going to find her, she rarely stays here anymore."

"N-No," Dora shook her head, swallowing hard as she tried to steady her breathing, "w-wanted you . . ."

"Oh really?" Rodolphus smirked, laughing as the girl cringed against the wall, "What do you want?"

"R-Reuben . . ." Dora breathed.

"What about him?" Rod's expression changed near instantly, "Is he sick again? What's wrong?"

"He's fine," Dora shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks again, "y-you need to take him."

"What do you mean?" Rodolphus asked.

"I-I can't," Dora cried, "I can't!"

"You're his mother," Rodolphus snapped, "you can and will look after him—if not your mother and Narcissa can help you."

"You don't understand," Dora leant forward, her hands running through her white hair, "he's not safe . . ."

"What do you mean?" Rodolphus asked, fear suddenly hitting him as he watched the woman falling apart infront of him, "What have you done?"

Dora merely shook her head, trying to calm her breathing "You need to take him . . . take him away . . ." she screamed as Rodolphus lunged forward, grabbing her arms and pushing her against the wall as he shook her to try and get some sense back into her.

"What did you do?!" Rodolphus asked, ignoring her squirming to get out of his grasp.

"I-I didn't . . ." Dora shook her head, "I stopped . . . I—"

"What did you stop?" Rodolphus asked, yelling in rage as he realised he was not getting any sense out of the woman. Nymphadora screamed again as he drew his wand, "Stop it!" he hissed, raising the wand to her temple "Legilimens!"

Nymphadora leant back against the wall, almost going limp in the mans arms as she whimpered at the memories playing through her mind in a mess of confusion until she finally focused in on the previous nights event. She cringed as the moment of her mother entering the room played, barely noticing the vice like grip on her arms as Rodolphus still held her against the wall. She gasped for air as the man finally left her thoughts as the memories played out, barely reacting as Rodolphus stared into her eyes, his own filled with horror and fury at what he had just seen.

"Take him out . . ." Dora eventually whimpered, "I can't stop it . . . Take him out of the ward, l-like you did Elara . . ."

"You tried to kill my son . . ." Rodolphus breathed.

"No," Dora whined as she shook her head, "I didn't mean to . . . I wasn't thinking, I—"

"My son would be dead if your mother hadn't have walked in!" Rodolphus bellowed, causing the girl to cower in his grasp.

"I—"

"You're an awful mother," Rodolphus growled, surging a curse through the woman though her screams of pain brought him little joy.

"I didn't mean to!" Dora cried as he threw him away from her and she hit the floor with a thud, "I wouldn't have told you if I meant to do it! I wasn't in my right mind! I'm never in my right mind! I need him safe! You can make him safe . . ."

"Have you talked to him?" Rodolphus asked, gritting his teeth as the woman shook her head, "You're pathetic, I don't why I ever allowed you to mother my children."

"Allowed me!?" Nymphadora screamed, her hair turning red, "I never asked for this, you monster! You forced this onto me! You made me this way!"

The girl cried out as he threw a hex at her, causing her to skid into the wall behind her with a thud and cry out as he bound her to the wall.

"Stay here," Rodolphus spat, "I'll deal with you later."

Rodolphus ignored the screams from the woman, paying no attention to her mad pleas to be released as he stormed out of the room and made his way quickly towards the prisoners wing. He barely stopped to compose himself as he entered the ward, too concerned for the wellbeing of his son he immediately went to the boys room.

"Dad," Reuben smiled up at the man from his seat on the bed as he looked away from his grandmother.

"Rodolphus . . ." Andromeda nodded as she stood from her seat next to the boy, "I take it you were the one Dora ran to? Or did you simply find her?"

"She's in my room," Rodolphus said dismissively, "detained."

"Right," Andromeda sighed, ". . . I'll leave you to it."

Reuben smiled at his grandmother as she squeezed his shoulder, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

"Reuben," Rodolphus walked over to the boy, sitting on the bed next to him as he looked over him checking for any sign of injury even though he knew from Dora's memories that he had not been harmed.

"Is Mum okay?" Reuben frowned, "She's been acting weird—I found Nan tied up in her room, Aunt Cissa came in after she'd yelled after Mum and had to untie her. She said it wasn't Mum but I know she's lying, I'm not a baby."

"You don't need to worry about your Mother right now," Rodolphus said, "are you okay? I saw . . . Your mother told me what happened last night."

"Yeah . . ." Reuben frowned, staring down at the floor, "I don't think Mum's okay though . . . but I'm okay."

"It must have been scary," Rodolphus sighed, placing his hand on the boys shoulder, "there's no shame in admitting that."

Reuben shook his head, "No . . . I knew it was going to happen."

"Your mother has acted this way in front of you before?" Rodolphus asked with concern.

"No . . ." Reuben bit his lip, "but—" the boy shook his head, "don't worry."

"Tell me," Rodolphus said, watching the boy in concern for a few moments before he decided to kneel down on the floor infront of him, taking his hands in his own, "Reuben you can tell me anything, I'm your father. I'll always protect you and do what's best for you no matter what."

Reuben looked down at the man, taking a deep breath before he finally murmured, "I dreamed it . . . I dreamed it exactly how it happened—a few nights ago. I wasn't scared because I knew Nan was going to calm down Mum and take her away, I was just worried for Mum. I tried to stay with her the last few days and make her happy but . . ."

"You dreamed it?" Rodolphus repeated, ignoring all else the boy had said, "Like a prophecy?"

"I was asleep," Reuben shrugged, "Mum said you can see the future sometimes but you're awake."

"Your mother knew about this dream?" Rodolphus asked.

"No," Reuben said, "I didn't tell her about this one."

"This one?" Rodolphus asked, a slight anger rising within him though he tried to hide it from the boy, "You've had dreams that have come true before?"

"A few," Reuben nodded, "they feel different to normal dreams, but not all of them have come true yet."

"How often do you get these dreams?" Rodolphus asked.

"At least once a month I suppose," Reuben shrugged, "sometimes more. Sometimes it's just little things but sometimes it's stuff like last night . . ."

"Like what?" Rodolphus asked, though he tried to stop himself from pressing the boy as he looked down clearly uncomfortable, "Why haven't you told me this before?"

"I didn't think . . ." Reuben sighed, "Mum said to keep them to myself, that they could be dangerous if the wrong person heard them."

"I'm your father," Rodolphus said a little too firmly as the boy winced at his tone, he sighed, "I would never put you in danger . . . unlike your mother."

"She didn't mean it," Reuben shook his head, "she's not well."

Rodolphus considered the boy for a moment, the boy had been through enough in the last twenty four hours to want to put him through anymore unnecessary stress, though he made a mental note to attempt to speak to Nymphadora about this once he went back to her.

"I think," Rodolphus spoke slowly, smiling at the boy as he tried to reassure him with his tone, "it's time for you to get a new room."

"I have a room," Reuben frowned.

"Yes," Rodolphus said, "though I think it would be best if you had a room outside of the prisoner's wing . . . like your sister does."

"Is this to keep me away from mum?" Reuben frowned, "Because I need to stay close and make sure she's okay."

"We need to do what's best for you, Reuben," Rodolphus said, "Your mother agrees that you're old enough for your own room now. It's exciting when you think about it, you'll have so much more room and I'll buy you new things. You'll be close to your sisters room—and close to me."

"I like my room . . ." Reuben frowned.

"You'll like this room better," Rodolphus sighed as he stood up and took a step away from the boy.

"Can I keep this room too?" Reuben asked.

"Yes . . . though I don't want you staying here overnight for a while," Rodolphus said.

"This is because of Mum," Reuben said, "I don't like it. She needs me."

"It was your mother that told me to do this," Rodolphus shook his head, "though I have been thinking about it for a while. You're young, Reuben, you shouldn't have to worry about your mother. This is what's best for you."

"But—"

"No," Rodolphus interrupted, "I need to go speak to your mother and sort your new room. This isn't up for discussion."

Rodolphus didn't leave his son the chance to interrupt him any further, leaving the boy sad and confused on the bed as he went to leave him. Reuben Lestrange was sure he had said something wrong, sure he shouldn't have mentioned his dreams or his concern for his mother as it only seemed to anger and worry his father further. Reuben was sure that his parents did not get along, and he was also sure that he had not helped the situation at all.