When Arthur Weasley had returned home from the meeting with the Order, he found his wife in tears on the couch, while Alice cradled Charlie in her arms, the younger witch shooting sympathetic looks at Andromeda. "Arthur," Alice said hopefully, looking at him, "did they come up with a plan?"

The man shook his head slightly. "We aren't...going to try it," he said.

"What?" Alice gasped, staring between Arthur and Andromeda.

"I want Dora!" Charlie cried, sitting up and looking at his father. "Dad, bring Dora back!"

"She's staying with her aunt, Charlie," Arthur said quietly, and Alice let him take the boy from her arms.

"I don't want Dora gone!" Charlie yelled.

"Well, I think I'll be going," Alice said awkwardly. "There's no need to see me out." And she hurried from the house.

Arthur sat down next to his wife, holding Charlie on his lap as Will walked into the room. "Dad, Dora isn't coming back, is she?" he asked knowingly.

He sighed. "I don't know, Will," he replied finally. "You might just have to see her at Hogwarts."

Andromeda could not stop her tears, though she endeavoured not to let out any sobs as she looked at her sons' worried faces. "You'll see her again," Andromeda whispered. "You will see her at school, boys."

"That's a long time!" Will protested, beginning to look upset as well.

"I know," Andromeda sniffed, reaching out and drawing her oldest son close. "Dora's gone to live with Auntie Bella."

"I don't like Auntie Bella," Charlie snapped, and his mother gave him a weak smile.

"It'll be okay," Andromeda reassured her sons as she wiped away her tears.

Charlie began to cry in earnest again for his twin, and Arthur hugged the boy tightly, holding him until he'd cried himself to sleep. Will followed his father and brother up the stairs after a while, and Andromeda was left to wait until her husband returned.

When Arthur came back, he helped her to her feet, then assisted her up the stairs to their room. "Dromeda," he began, but she held up her hand.

"I know you don't really agree," she whispered, "but Bella won't hurt her...though Dora will have to learn some hard lessons—but she's safer if we—if we don't—" Andromeda began to weep again softly. "I want my daughter back too, but for her sake...we can't." She looked up at her husband, and he sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"I wish we could do something," Arthur muttered as his wife leaned into his side, her head on his shoulder.

"I'm going to write Bella a letter," Andromeda whispered through her tears. "Tell her things about Dora that might keep Dora from having such a hard time over there."

"It's going to be awful for her, isn't it?" Arthur murmured. "What will they do to her?"

"Teach her proper pureblood manners," Andromeda said with a choked laugh. "Attempt to make her behave." Fear shot through her at her own words, as she suddenly thought of something that terrified her more than anything else. "She's going to meet Father," Andromeda breathed in terror.

Arthur realised what his wife was saying, and said, "But Bellatrix surely knows about that, doesn't she?"

Andromeda nodded. "She suffered at his hands too, so she ought to be able to protect Dora."

"Perhaps you should include that in your letter," Arthur said, and Andromeda nodded, waiting a few more moments before summoning parchment, quill, and ink and beginning to write.

Will and Charlie became much quieter over the next few weeks, their mother observed. Neither of them understood why their sister was gone, and Andromeda couldn't bring herself to explain it fully.

Percy was almost a year and a half old, and was learning many new words and phrases, which irritated Charlie for some reason. Andromeda often had to separate the two boys because of Charlie's teasing, and his mother fully appreciated, for the first time, that he was Dora's twin.

They were gentle with Charlie, but firmly disciplined him, and the boy soon took to playing alone because Will grew wary of his angry outbursts. Arthur often spent time with the distraught child, but he told Andromeda privately that he was sure that Charlie would be forever effected by the loss of his twin.

On April 1st, Andromeda gave birth to her twin sons, and after she had rested for an evening, Arthur brought Will and Percy to see their new brothers. As the two inspected the newborns, Andromeda looked up at her husband and asked, "Where's Charlie?"

Arthur's face seemed to twitch, and he answered simply, "He wasn't ready to see them yet."

Andromeda knew what he must mean, and her heart sank as she thought of Charlie not wanting to meet his little brothers. Percy frowned at the twins thoughtfully. "They're little," he said doubtfully, and his mother smiled at him.

"You were this little once," she told him. "And so were Will and Charlie."

"What are their names?" Will asked curiously, looking at the two babies curled up against their mother.

"This one is Silas," Andromeda said, indicated the baby who was sleeping soundly. "And his twin is Regis."

"Silas and Regis," Arthur mused, shaking his head. Andromeda pretended not to notice this and continued to talk to Will and Percy. "Are you going to send your sister a birth announcement?" he asked his wife after a few moments.

Andromeda frowned. "I might," she answered. "I don't know."

Arthur nodded, leaving Andromeda to ponder whether she should. It wasn't as if she were writing an actual letter, but she still didn't know if Bella would keep it or burn it immediately.

After a little while, Andromeda said to her husband, "Would you take the picture so I can send out the announcement?"

He did so without asking questions, calling Will and Percy away from their mother for a few moments, and later that night, Andromeda hastily scribbled a few words on a piece of parchment, folded the picture into it, then sent their owl off to Lestrange Manor.

It was not a pleasant surprise for Bellatrix to receive the Weasley twins' birth announcement, and she scowled at the picture for a few moments, seeing her sister smiling tiredly at the camera, both baby boys in her arms. She was about to burn the picture when one of the babies did something that made her stare in shock: he had turned his hair black.

"Another one?" she breathed, staring at the babies, and soon learned that both twins were Metamorphagi. Two more. Well. She knew that Rodolphus would be entirely against kidnapping any more Weasleys—especially because of all the trouble Dora had already given them in two months—and to be honest, Bellatrix was not interested in kidnapping Weasley boys.

Without a knock, Rodolphus entered the room, a look of suppressed anger on his face, and Bella glanced up. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Your niece," he huffed, "is the most disobedient child I have ever seen."

"What happened now?" sighed Bellatrix.

"Bellatrix." Rodolphus looked strained. "She found that toy broom I got Ronan for his birthday and was flying it up and down the stairs and through the hallways."

"Was she?" Bellatrix giggled in amusement, then stopped at the look on her husband's face. "Roddy, she's a child; let her have a bit of fun."

Rodolphus crossed his arms and scowled. "She's not flying brooms in the house, and especially not his broom."

Bellatrix ignored his statement and mused, "I did that when I was a little girl...but of course Father put a stop to that."

"How long has it been and she still refuses to behave?" Rodolphus hissed, uncrossing his arms and clenching his fists. "Yet you think we shouldn't Curse her, but I think it would help—"

"I told you we can shock her," Bellatrix reminded him, "though I doubt you can shock her while she's zooming around the house."

"She wouldn't understand if we did," Rodolphus scowled. "Have you seen how protective Ronan is of her? He tried to interfere with my reproving the brat!"

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"He tried to take the blame," the man huffed. "Said that he'd given Dora a turn and he actually tried to stand between us—except she pushed him out of the way."

"Did you take him aside and talk to him?" Bella asked, and Rodolphus gave a short nod. "You know it's best if they get along as siblings, Rodolphus. Did you tell them to go outside with the broom?"

"No...I gave it to Ronan and told him to..." Rodolphus stared at his wife. "They're going to sneak out and fly it, aren't they?" he said in realisation, his anger returning. "She's a bad influence."

"She's just like I was as a girl," Bellatrix burst out in the girl's defense. "She wants to explore and have fun, and not be bothered with stupid, boring adults and their rules. You know where she comes from, Roddy: it can't be easy for her to change her behaviour on top of how she was raised in the first place.

"Why don't you ever scold her, then?" Rodolphus challenged his wife, pointing a finger at her. "You never correct her, never try to make her behave—"

"You think scolding and punishment is the only way?" Bellatrix smirked. "I know. And I would have agreed, but Andromeda's letter mentioned that that doesn't work with Dora, and that only kindness will make her change her mind or her ways. Nymphadora is more like me than you can imagine, Rodolphus. Let me handle her."

"She's going to do something stupid and hurt Ronan," Rodolphus snapped.

"No, she's not," Bellatrix answered. "She has decent magical control, and I don't think she would purposely use magic against him, so it's very unlikely she could really hurt him."

Rodolphus sat down on the bed. "I can't stand her; I really can't."

Bellatrix watched him, then shrugged. "She probably can't stand you either."

He looked up to scowl at her, then noticed the letter in her hand. "What's that?" he asked her.

"Birth announcement. Andy's had twins," Bellatrix pouted, rolling her eyes as she handed over the letter. "Sons, both Metamorphagi. She just can't stop."

Rodolphus looked from the letter to his wife, his face filled with horror. "No," he said, as if fighting off a plague of thoughts. "No, no, hell no."

Bellatrix held up both hands. "I agree," she answered simply. "Don't worry about it."

"Silas and Regis," Rodolphus read from the parchment. "April 1st, 1978. Well, isn't that sweet?"

"I think they're named after Sirius and Regulus," Bellatrix said with a longsuffering sigh. "Andromeda's way of remembering her family."

"You would think she would have named Nymphadora after Narcissa or something instead," Rodolphus said, rolling his eyes.

"She's named after me," Bellatrix said haughtily. "Her name is Bellatrix Nymphadora, though few people know that."

Rodolphus gaped at her. "Really?"

Bellatrix nodded sympathetically. "Apparently Dora had nearly killed herself, her twin, and her mother before she was even born," she explained. "Andromeda told me herself. She thought it was fitting to name her after me—and you know, I think she was right." Bellatrix gave a small laugh.

Rodolphus set down the paper. "Get rid of this."

"I will," Bellatrix answered. "But I think I'm going to go have a chat with Dora first."

"If you show that to her," Rodolphus warned, "she might start screaming or crying again. Merlin knows she's overdue for a tantrum about her stupid twin."

"I can manage the mini Bellatrix," scoffed the witch with a smirk, "but thanks for your concern." And she swept out of the room, wanting to find Dora and have a little talk with her.

Nymphadora was in the playroom, Ronan informed his mother. The girl had yelled at him and told him to leave her alone. "Dora's mad because Dad made me put the broom away," he told his mother. "She was throwing things."

"Thank you, Ronan," Bellatrix said, pausing as he seemed to want to say something more. "Yes?"

Ronan shook his head with a sigh, and Bellatrix gave him a small smile. Her son understood way too much for how young he was. "I understand," she told him. "Dora will be all right."

The boy looked up gratefully, then hurried away. Bellatrix walked to the playroom, entering without knocking. She was greeted by a scream of anger and a crash before the four year old whirled around, looking scared but defiant in spite of the smashed toys she'd been throwing against the wall. Bellatrix did not speak for a few moments, studying the red-haired child.

"You like flying, Dora?" Bella asked the girl.

"No—yes," Dora mumbled, remembering that she must tell her aunt the truth. "I had a broom at home...me and Charlie…." The girl clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

"We can get you your own broom," Bellatrix told the girl, moving closer. "You'll just need to fly it out in the grounds."

"That's boring," Dora sniffed. "It doesn't go high outside."

Bellatrix smiled. "We can change that, Dora; you just have to ask," she answered, then settled into one of the comfortable chairs and motioned the child to her. "Come here: I've got something to show you."

Dora hesitated, then approached. "What is it?" she asked tentatively, climbing up beside her aunt.

"Look," Bellatrix said as if it were a great secret. "Here."

She handed the picture to Dora, who immediately gasped and clutched it tightly. "Mum," Dora whispered, staring down at the woman holding the two babies.

"She's had more babies," Bellatrix told the girl, who seemed to be on the verge of tears. "And they're just like you: they can morph, too."

"No," said Dora firmly. "I'm different."

"Yes, you are," her aunt said quietly. "You're a very special, very powerful little girl."

"I want Mum," Dora sniffed, looking down at the picture. "I don't want the other twins."

"You don't have to see them," Bella promised Dora.

Tears began to slide down Dora's cheeks. "I want Mum," she said again. "Please. I don't want to be here."

Bellatrix watched the little girl looking up at her pleadingly, then pulled the child onto her lap and embraced her. "You're my little girl," she told Dora, who let out a sob. "Your mother has other babies."

Dora cried, "No! She's my mum first!"

"She is busy with the new twins," Bellatrix said softly. "You're here with us, Dora."

"No!" Dora cried, looking down at the picture through her tears. "Mumma!" She turned to glare at Bellatrix. "Take me back!"

Bellatrix did not answer, and the little girl started screaming and yelling as she tried to get away from the woman, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want you—I hate you! I want to go home! I want Mum!"

It was several minutes before Dora stopped struggling, crying hysterically in her aunt's arms. "Mumma," she was whimpering over and over. "Mumma."

"I'll take care of you," Bellatrix said quietly, kissing the girl's black curls.

"You're mean," Dora sniffed. "You're mean like Rodolphus."

"No, I care about you," Bellatrix told Dora, the child leaning into her resignedly since she couldn't get away. "I wouldn't send you away, even if I had more babies."

Fresh tears trickled down Dora's cheeks. "I don't want you."

Bellatrix was quiet for a moment, then said, "Don't you think Ronan would miss you if you were gone?"

Dora didn't care what Ronan thought, and told Bellatrix so. The woman gave the child a small smile. "He likes you, Dora. He doesn't have any brothers or sisters, and he's glad that you're here. He told me so."

"He...did?" Dora sniffed.

"Ronan tried to stop his father from yelling at you, didn't he?" Bellatrix asked with a knowing smile. "He wouldn't do that for just anyone. He likes to have you here."

"He's boring," Dora mumbled. "Will and Charlie are better."

"But you take him along on your adventures, and he's not so bad, is he?" Bellatrix grinned. "He doesn't always follow the rules."

Dora got a knowing look on her face, then caught her aunt's eye and immediately began to rub her eyes to hide her face. Bellatrix hugged the girl slightly. "Let's go for a walk," she said to the child. "Out in the grounds."

Dora shook her head, and Bella added, "I'll show you where we keep the real brooms, and you can fly those, okay?"

"I don't want to fly any more today," Dora muttered.

"Then just come see so you know where they are," Bellatrix coaxed the little girl. "Or Ronan can show you, if you want."

The black-haired child looked around, almost hopelessly. "I'm tired," she said.

"All right," Bellatrix murmured, getting to her feet. "I'll take you to your room."

Dora lay her head down on her aunt's shoulder, tears seeping out of eyes and into her aunt's dress as she tried not to make a sound. She saw Ronan silently peek out of his room as Bellatrix carried her down the hall, and didn't look away from him as long as he was in sight.

"If you're hungry, come find me, okay?" Bellatrix murmured to the child when she set her on the bed. She noticed the girl's fresh tear tracks and felt the tiniest stab of regret. She reached out to brush the girl's hair out of her face, but Dora wrapped her arms around herself and looked up at her with such an expression that Bella withdrew her hand without touching the child. She recognised the look on the girl's face and knew through the miserable expression, Dora meant to give her a deathly glare, and now was not the time to challenge the poor girl.

"If you need anything," the woman murmured, then turned and left Dora in her room.

Nymphadora curled up on the bed, trying to hush her sobs by pressing her fist to her mouth. She was confused at what her aunt had said about her mother, and didn't want anything to do with the Lestrange family. She caught her breath mid-sob a couple minutes later, hearing the door open.

Shuffling footsteps made their way to the side of her bed, and she heard Ronan ask tentatively, "Dora?"

"Go away!" she snapped angrily, but her hair stayed black.

"No," Ronan answered simply. This infuriated the girl, and she opened her mouth to scream at him, but he asked, "Did she hurt you?"

"N—no," Dora answered after considering what had just happened.

"Good," the boy sighed in relief, and Dora felt the bed sink slightly as he climbed up beside her. "I'm sorry you're sad."

Dora closed her eyes again, unable to answer, and the boy reached out, patting her back gently. "I think...maybe you should stay away from Dad."

"He's stupid, and mean," Dora spat, and Ronan frowned at her back, but didn't contradict her.

"But Mum's nice to you," Ronan said. "Isn't she?"

"No," Dora sniffed. "She won't take me home."

Ronan did not know what to say to this, but continued to pat her reassuringly as he sat next to her. Finally, he said, "I want you to stay."

Dora let out a small sob. "I don't want to!"

The little boy hesitated, then said, "I think...you have to. But I'm your friend, Dora. I'll help you."

Dora was overcome with tears, and Ronan moved around her to look at her face, which she did not like. "Hey," he said, catching her hand so she couldn't turn away. "You can be my sister, okay?"

She didn't answer, and he curled up beside her, her hand still firmly held in his until she fell into a much needed sleep.