Days passed at Lestrange Manor, and Dora stayed close to Ronan, rarely leaving his side unless Rodolphus was teaching him something. During those times, Dora would attempt to hide herself out in the grounds until Ronan came and found her again. She did her best to avoid Bellatrix, and Ronan helped her as much as he could, though his mother clearly wanted to befriend Dora again—Dora wouldn't have any of that.
Rodolphus left Dora alone for the most part, as she seemed to be far happier when she was away from him and Bella. He was slightly concerned that Dora would turn out to be opposed to their cause, but he didn't doubt for a moment that Bellatrix would find a way to turn Dora in her favour.
Bellatrix and her husband had argued over whether Ronan should be in trouble for telling Dora the truth, but they had come to the conclusion that it was safer to just not tell him certain things in the future. Bellatrix definitely blamed Rodolphus for teaching Ronan things beyond his age and making him too smart for his own good.
Dora had taken to sleeping in Ronan's room every single night, and he never turned her away, appreciating the idea of a sibling that he had never truly had. Sometimes he woke up with Dora with her back to him, and other times he woke up with her snuggled next to him.
Eventually, he learned that when she had trouble getting to sleep, he could stroke her hair and she would fall asleep, returning to her completely natural form as she relaxed. He had been surprised to learn that she had dark red hair instead of the black she normally wore, but every time Dora woke up and saw herself in the mirror, she changed it—in spite of his telling her that she looked fine. He also appreciated the freckles on her face, which were strange to him, as neither he nor his parents were blessed with them. Dora didn't like them very much and morphed them away, refusing to show them.
Late one evening when Bellatrix and Rodolphus were out of the manor, Desmond found Dora and Ronan still laughing together in the playroom and scolded them both, telling them to go shower and go to bed. Dora frowned but walked from the room and was nearly at her bedroom door when there was a loud crack and a shriek filled the manor.
"LET GO of me, Rodolphus Lestrange—I'll kill you myself!"
Ronan's eyes widened in fright and he turned around, running back toward the entrance hall with Dora right after him. They stopped in their tracks, seeing Bellatrix as they never had before. The woman was still shrieking in her fury, tears in her dark eyes as she fought her husband's grip and tried to make him release her, her wild hair flying all around her face.
Neither child spoke, and both ignored Desmond's order for them to go to their rooms as Rodolphus hissed, "Bellatrix, you can't—"
"Can't?!" Bellatrix screamed. "He's out there, and he needs us, and you want to lock me up here—LET ME GO!"
"Bellatrix!" Rodolphus said as she managed to get a hand free. In a flash, he moved and slammed her against the wall, holding her firmly so she couldn't really reach him.
"Father!" Ronan gasped in horror. "What are you doing?" Dora moved closer to Ronan and said nothing, but watched them in contemplation.
Both Ronan's parents ignored them, and Rodolphus grabbed his wife's other wrist, speaking into her ear. "We have a family to think of," he snapped. "We can't go running off when the Ministry is already investigating tonight's events, and we're already suspected Death Eaters!"
Bellatrix yelled in fury. "He's your baby, you're raising him! You can stay here and hide like the coward you are if you really think that Ronan won't be okay if we stand by our master!"
"We can do something, Bella, but we've got to be careful!" Rodolphus insisted, jumping when she tried to bite his hand on her wrist. He grabbed a handful of her dark curls and pulled her head back. "Stop it!" he hissed. "I will never forsake the Dark Lord, Bella, but we can't go out without some kind of plan. We don't really know what happened tonight; we shouldn't do something unprepared."
"Rodolphus, we have to—" Bellatrix gasped as tears trickled down her cheeks. "We've got to do something. Please—"
"We will," Rodolphus promised, still holding her tightly. "We will find out what's happened and if the Dark Lord is still alive—"
"He is!" cried Bellatrix. "Can't you feel it?"
"I know," Rodolphus said soothingly. "We'll do everything we can to restore him, Bella."
Bellatrix went limp and he lowered her to the floor, cradling her in his arms. "We have to," she whispered. "Rodolphus...he needs us."
"We will," he murmured. "We are faithful."
Ronan was still in shock at the scene that had unfolded before him, but Dora had reached a decision and had cautiously approached the couple on the floor. "Aunt Bella?" she whispered tentatively.
Bellatrix looked up, seeming to realise for the first time that the children were there, but she couldn't bring herself to care. "Dora," she whispered, trying to quickly wipe away her tears anyway.
"Something happened to the Dark Lord?" Dora asked, and Bellatrix closed her eyes as if something was hurting her terribly and nodded. "I'm sorry. You loved him, didn't you?"
Dora did not like the look on Rodolphus' face, but Bellatrix let out a small sob of anguish and Dora hurried to her aunt, wrapping her arms around the woman. "Don't cry," she said to her aunt. "You're strong—I know you can help him."
"Oh, Dora," Bellatrix cried, hugging the girl tightly, "I don't know what to do!"
"We'll figure it out, Bella," Rodolphus said, watching his grieving wife cling to her bloodtraitor niece.
Ronan did not move a muscle, though when he met his father's eyes, he couldn't help being confused and upset by what he had seen. Dora was right: his father could be very mean—and Ronan had seen his parents argue quite a few times down through the years, but he had never seen his father throw his mother against a wall, nor his mother attempt to bite his father.
Dora stayed with Bellatrix, far more concerned for her tears than her anger, and as she tried to reassure the woman, Bellatrix slowly calmed herself and looked around. "Oh...where did they go?"
"Rodolphus took Ronan," Dora sighed. "I was about to take a bath and go to bed."
"Shall I stay with you tonight?" Bellatrix asked her niece, and Dora gave her aunt a smile.
"Like a sleepover?" she asked.
"Yes," answered Bella, rubbing her eyes and scowling at the makeup that rubbed off on her hands.
Dora reached out. "Here, I'll help," she said, and shortly, after a moment's hesitation by Bellatrix, Dora had restored her aunt's face to its natural state. "You're beautiful," she told her aunt simply. "You—you do look like Mum a bit."
Bellatrix wasn't sure what to think of this statement, but finally smiled weakly. "I could never be like your mother, Dora."
"I know," Dora answered. "You're Auntie Bella. Come on." She got to her feet and took the woman's hand. "You always say I'll feel better after a bath. Maybe it'll help you too."
"Dora," Bellatrix began, touched at this kindness from the girl she had ripped away from her family. "Well...okay."
Later that night, Bellatrix and Dora lay awake in Dora's room, Bellatrix telling Dora stories of things that she and her sisters had done in their childhood. When Dora had at last fallen asleep with a grin on her face due to the information that Bella had told her about her mother, Bellatrix looked down at the nearly eight year old and shook her head in wonder at Andromeda's daughter. No one else would have been able to do anything with her in that situation, but little Bellatrix Nymphadora somehow knew how to handle the adult Bellatrix. It was then, and with a twinge of concern, that she fully recognised Dora as Andromeda's daughter.
"What?!" Andromeda cried at the news Arthur brought home the next day. They had already been shocked enough that the Dark Lord had managed to find and murder James and Lily and that the Potters' little boy had seemed to make the Dark Lord disappear.
"He killed Muggles, Andromeda," Arthur said, shaking his head in disbelief. "And his friend—Pettigrew went to confront him, and Sirius killed him too."
"I don't believe it," Andromeda snapped, turning away from her husband.
"Andromeda," Arthur sighed, "I know it's a shock—"
"He wouldn't have betrayed James Potter," she snapped at her husband. "He was closer to that idiot than his own brother, and Sirius would have died rather than betray them."
"They only found one of Peter's fingers," Arthur told his wife, shaking his head still. "Dromeda, Sirius was the Secret Keeper—"
"He wasn't!" Andromeda snapped, whirling to glare at the father of her children. "We talked about being Secret Keepers for the Potters and the Longbottoms, and both of us declined to do it."
Arthur hesitated, then said, "You don't think he lied to you?"
Andromeda scowled. "I think I know my family, Arthur." She stalked away from her husband, picking up her three month old little girl and holding the child close to try to clear her mind and make some sense of what was happening. "When is his trial?"
"They...took him straight to Azkaban," Arthur mumbled. "Crouch has authorised taking known Death Eaters straight to prison without a trial."
"That bastard," Andromeda breathed. "If I believed in killing…."
Arthur seemed rather concerned at this statement, but was wiser than to try to scold his wife. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I knew it would upset you, but...yeah."
Andromeda scowled out the window as if she could see Barty Crouch Sr sitting in his office at the Ministry. "Why hasn't Dumbledore done something about it?" she demanded.
"He believes Sirius was the Secret Keeper," Arthur answered, hearing Tommy yell and moving toward the door.
"He—Arthur, don't you see?" Andromeda said, turning to face him. "He doesn't care about the people who get hurt by his stupid ideas! He should have taken the protection of both families on himself—that would have been a far more intelligent move."
"Surely he was there when they did the protections," Arthur said, a hint of stubbornness in his face. "He would have known whether—"
"Sirius is innocent," Andromeda said angrily. "I don't care what you say, and I don't care what Dumbledore thinks, and my poor cousin is in Azkaban FOR LIFE, thanks to his pathetic little friends in the Order!" She stormed to the door of their room, ignored his calling for her, and left the room, moving down the stairs to the living room.
It was when her sons all looked up at her that she realised her voice must have risen a little too much. She didn't look at them, but sat down on the couch, holding Elsie and trying to breathe as suddenly all she wanted to do was cry.
"Mum," Charlie said, at her side almost immediately, his hand on her shoulder. "Mum, what's wrong?"
Will and Percy joined Charlie, and the twins presented themselves at their mother's knee as Andromeda shook her head. "Sirius," she whispered. "They've sent Sirius to Azkaban."
Will and Charlie and Percy gaped at their mother. "Why?" they all demanded together.
"They think he betrayed his friends, and killed Muggles," Andromeda sniffed. "But I know he wouldn't do that. He's innocent—he shouldn't be in prison."
"Of course not," Will said immediately. "But won't he tell them that?"
"They didn't ask him questions, Will, they just locked him up," Andromeda sniffed, and Charlie wrapped his arms around his mother.
"Oh, Mum, I'm sorry," he said to her. "Poor Sirius."
"I wish I could do something," Andromeda whispered. "But I can't."
The boys all looked up as their father came down the stairs, and Will asked, "Dad, can't we help Sirius?"
Arthur sighed, walking over to them and patting the twins on the head. "The Ministry wouldn't listen to us, Will. Are you hungry, boys?" he asked them. Most of them nodded, and he motioned them toward the table, where dinner had been waiting since he had arrived home.
"Come on, Mum," Charlie said, looking at her bright brown eyes.
"I can't eat right now, Charlie," Andromeda murmured. "Go on."
"You make me eat when I'm sad," Charlie answered, stroking his mother's hand and giving her a painfully understanding look. "Come on. Just a little bit, Mum."
Andromeda gave him a sad smile and got to her feet, following him to the table and sitting down with Elsie. She did manage to eat a little bit, but soon had to take her baby girl out of the room and retreated back upstairs to her room. She could only imagine how happy Bellatrix was at their cousin's misfortune—and then she wondered if Bella really was happy since her master was gone. Andromeda just hoped that Dora was smart enough to stay out of the way.
One day after lunch, where Bella looked sullen and merely picked at her food, and Rodolphus seemed very annoyed, Ronan and Dora escaped out to the grounds of Lestrange Manor. "I'm worried about Mum," Ronan told Dora. "She's always mad at Dad and she doesn't care that we know."
"She's sad, Ronan," Dora sighed.
"They're up to something," Ronan said firmly. "And Dad doesn't want to do it, but she's making him."
"How do you know?" Dora asked.
"Because they always do that," Ronan huffed. "One of them is always making the other do something. And Mum's been trying to get Dad to agree to go out and find where the Dark Lord has gone."
Dora's eyes widened. "Really?" she breathed. "Does she know?"
"She's heard a rumour," Ronan shrugged. "I don't know if it's true. I don't know if Dad even believes her."
"She just wants him back," Dora sighed.
"I'm worried about her," Ronan said again.
"It'll be okay," Dora told him. "She'll get the Dark Lord back and then she'll be happy again."
"I hope so," Ronan said, and shook his head.
It was with great delight that Andromeda received a letter from Alice, telling her that their charms were being lifted and that she should come over for tea in a couple days. Andromeda had done her best to get all of her children ready early, but because of Silas and Regis' shenanigans—instigated by Charlie, who had learned that the other twins liked his ideas—she was running about twenty minutes late.
She spared a couple of minutes to catch her breath, then gathered her children and apparated with them to the point nearest the Longbottom house. It did not take long as they approached for Andromeda to realise that something was very, very wrong.
"Mum," Charlie said, "why are there Aurors here?"
"I don't know," Andromeda said, her heart sinking as she wondered whether she should take the children home right away. "Stay back, okay?"
She walked forward, leaving the children a few paces behind her, and one of the Aurors whirled and threw a spell at her, making her yell in outrage and block it as Will and Charlie both let out yells of protest. "What's wrong with you?" Andromeda snapped at the Auror angrily. "I've got children with me!"
"Blimey," said one of the other Aurors. "That's Bellatrix's sister."
"What are you doing here?" Moody growled at her.
"Alice invited me for tea," Andromeda answered icily. "She's my friend. What's going on?"
"Death Eaters," Moody said darkly. "Things not fit for children to hear." He eyed Charlie, who had come to his mother's side.
"Are they dead?" Charlie asked, unperturbed.
"No, but they might as well be," said one of the others. "We've got Healers on site at the moment, and they're saying it was extensive use of the Cruciatus. They're going to be moved to St Mungo's, but we're sure they'll never be the same."
Andromeda was horrified at this statement, wondering how badly Alice and her husband had been injured. At this moment, a Healer walked out the front door and said, "They're not responding. We've got to move them." The man did a double take at the image of Andromeda, then placed his hand over his heart and seemed to be recovering from some kind of terrible fright.
Andromeda stared at him in horror. Her best friend, tortured so badly that she wasn't responding to the work of a Ministry Healer? "Where's their son?" she asked, turning to look at Moody again.
"Warded in," Moody answered. "We haven't been able to crack the wards—think Alice used a blood ward. They knew they were going to be attacked."
"May I try?" Andromeda asked. "Neville's only a year old: he needs—"
"We're aware of that, Weasley," sighed one of the others. "It doesn't take us seven children to know."
"I have eight children," Andromeda said reprovingly. "May I try to remove the boy from the ward? I'm his godmother."
"Really?" the Healer said, shaking his head. "I don't know why people trust any of you Blacks. You've all turned out bad."
Andromeda raised an eyebrow at the man. "I'd be very careful what you say about the House of Black, if I were you."
"Yeah," muttered one of the Aurors. "You've just seen what they can do."
"Who did—?" Andromeda began, but before she could finish the question, she knew. "Bellatrix," she breathed.
"And her husband, and his brother," Moody agreed.
"Aunt Bella hurt Alice?" Charlie asked, looking up at his mother. Andromeda wasn't too shocked at the revelation, but was horrified all the same and nodded slowly. "She hurts everyone," Charlie said angrily. "She's evil."
"That she is," one of the Aurors said, following the Healer back into the house. "We'll remove Frank and Alice, and then Andromeda can try to free the boy."
Andromeda conjured a sofa for her children in the front yard and told them all to sit down. "Don't move from here," she ordered them. "Silas. Regis. Tommy. I will put you to sleep if you do not obey me."
When it was time, she held Elsie carefully and crossed the threshold into the house, immediately seeing the scars of battle upon the house. Shattered glass, chunks of the wall and ceiling, and pieces of broken furniture were everywhere, and Andromeda had the distinct impression that it had been a furious battle. The wall was pocked with burn marks from the Cruciatus and other spells, and more than one bloodstain was apparent on the ripped and charred carpet.
Making her way back to the bedroom, Andromeda placed her daughter on the bed, then went straight to the cot where Neville Longbottom sat, a frightened expression on his face. "Hello, beautiful," Andromeda murmured, immediately imagining Bellatrix to coo the same thing at the poor child. She felt a stab of amusement and bit her lip to keep herself from smiling, feeling guilty.
Getting down to the child's level, she said, "You're an awfully brave little boy, not to be crying."
"Ma," the boy said, reaching out and grabbing the bars of the cot.
"Are you hungry?" Andromeda asked him softly, pulling a bottle out of the bag she was carrying. The seventeen-month-old child looked at it, then held out his hands to her. Andromeda touched the ward and immediately jerked her hands back as the ward crackled. "Ouch!" she gasped. "I'm not Bellatrix!"
The Auror behind her sniggered, and Neville looked at him and sniffed, "Ma."
Andromeda took a deep breath and settled herself in front of the cot. "All right, baby, you'll have to do this yourself." She knew it annoyed the Auror behind her as she persisted, trying to get the little boy to reach out and collapse the ward so she could take him. Andromeda knew once he was hungry enough, his magic would do its best to get what he needed, and she hoped that it would work.
Twenty minutes went by with her sitting there next to the child until he was crying in frustration. Andromeda felt sorry for the boy, and hoped her own children were doing all right, but almost in that moment, Neville let out a yell of frustrated anger, and the ward crackled and dissolved in a burst of his child magic.
"Very good, Neville!" Andromeda breathed proudly, scrambling to her feet and taking the boy into her arms, giving him the bottle that she'd brought for Tommy.
She turned and picked up Elsie in her other arm, quickly carrying both of them through the house and out into the front yard, followed by the Auror that had been watching her. "Mum!" her sons called out in relief, and she saw that Tommy looked as if he were in a very bad mood.
"Are they okay, Mum?" Charlie asked. "Is Neville okay?"
"Neville's okay," Andromeda answered. "But I don't think his parents are doing very well. Come on, boys. Let's go home."
"You can't just take the kid," one of the other Aurors said to Andromeda. "He ought to—"
"He needs good care and a stable home until it's decided where he's going," Andromeda said sharply. "I'm his godmother, and if he doesn't go to his grandmother, he'll be staying with us anyway. He'll be safe at the Burrow."
"Someone will be checking in on you soon, then," Moody told her as her other children gathered around her.
"Very well," Andromeda answered, kneeling down so that she could have her wand arm free. She vanished the sofa she'd conjured, then held out her arm to Tommy. "Come here, Tommy. You need to hold on tight to Mumma, okay?"
"Will's mean," the child sniffed, and Andromeda held back a sigh.
"I told you to stay on the sofa," she replied. "Did he make you stay?" Her youngest son didn't answer, but the twins chorused a yes and she motioned Tommy closer. "Hold on tight," she said to him, feeling the five older boys grip onto her. "Will, Charlie, keep a grip on the twins just in case."
They obeyed, and she disapparated, her arms around the three little ones on her lap. She was relieved to see that all eight of the children had made it, and told her children to go on in, lifting Neville and Elsie in her arms and carrying them into the house.
Silas and Regis seemed to be anticipating Tommy getting in trouble, hanging back and grinning, but Will, Charlie, and Percy were all worried about the things that they had heard and were waiting for their mother to explain what was happening.
"Well," Andromeda sighed as she set Neville down in Tommy's highchair and conjured a second one for her own son, "it seems that Bella, Rod, and his brother went to Alice's house and hurt her and Frank. Boys, do you remember that talk your father and I had with you about the Unforgivables?"
The older three nodded seriously. "Bellatrix and her family used the Cruciatus on Neville's Mum and Dad," Andromeda said, shaking her head as the reality of the situation sank in and she realised how truly awful it was. "And now they're in St Mungo's—possibly forever."
"Really?" Percy said in horror.
"Yes," Andromeda sighed, brushing Neville's dark hair out of his eyes. "That's the power of those kinds of spells and curses, boys. Always remember how much damage they can cause."
"Yes, Mum," Charlie murmured, looking at the little boy. "What's going to happen to him?"
"He'll probably go to his grandmother," answered Andromeda, secretly hoping that she could keep Alice's little boy. She wondered what on earth Arthur would say to her if she surprised him with an already made little boy. She held back a giggle of amusement and frowned slightly, trying to figure out what she was going to say to her husband.
"He should stay," Percy said, watching Neville.
Will grinned. "That would be cool," he said. "Can we keep him, Mum?"
Andromeda smiled at the two. "We'll have to see what happens," she told them. "And whether your father likes the idea."
"He should," Charlie muttered. "What's another little kid in the house?"
"Don't be stupid," Percy said to Charlie. "His Mum and Dad are sick: he needs a new Mum and Dad."
"Percy, don't call your brother stupid," Andromeda sighed, though she was amused at her third son's stand on the situation. "I do sort of agree that once a family reaches a certain amount of children, whether they have eight or nine doesn't matter anymore."
"Is the Ministry going to arrest Bella, like they did Sirius?" Will asked his mother with a frown. "They ought to: they know she did it."
Andromeda sighed. "I don't know, Will. She does really bad things, but she's still my sister—Bella hurt my best friend."
"Bella took my twin," Charlie said shortly, crossing his arms. "She ought to be in Azkaban. Not Sirius."
"Lots of people loved Frank and Alice," Andromeda answered. "I'm sure the Ministry will do something." She walked into the kitchen and began to prepare a snack for her children and herself since it seemed that tea with Alice was cancelled.
Andromeda was not shocked by Augusta Longbottom's appearance on her doorstep a few hours later. Accompanied by a Ministry worker, the older witch had showed up to retrieve her grandson, who was currently napping in the same room as Tommy and Elsie. "It was very difficult to get him to sleep," Andromeda said softly, leading the two to the room. "The room is sound-warded to keep out the noise of the others, but normally I don't have it like this."
Augusta Longbottom did not say very much, merely picked up her sleeping grandson, said thank you through her tears, and was on her way. Andromeda did not think it was the best way for the child to be raised, by a single old woman, but she had no legal rights to the child and kept her mouth shut.