Submitted for The Houses Competition Forum - Round 2
House: Ravenclaw
Subject: Transfiguration
Category: Standard
Prompt: 6. [Dialogue, Multi-line] "No." / "That's not the correct response."; 15. [Word] Empty
Word count: 1,940
Warnings: AU Good Black Family
Thanks to Ash, Becca, Charlotte, Drish and Lor for telling me about your childhoods and inspiring these adorable children.
Blacks Babyz
Cygnus and Druella Black had just wanted to celebrate the second birthday of their daughter, Bellatrix, and that meant obviously throwing a party for the little girl. The birthday girl was currently sitting with her uncle Orion, who seemed to have given something to Bella. She was basking at the attention that she was receiving from her uncle and the rest of the family.
"Orion seems to orbit towards Bella whenever we're together," Walburga—Orion's wife and Cygnus' sister—said to her sister-in-law, noticing the faces her husband was making at Bellatrix. "What did he give her to eat?"
"I don't have a clue, but I'm going to find out what's happening there," Druella said, moving towards her daughter and pausing behind Orion to hear what he was saying.
"Look, Father, no matter how much she tries, she never makes a face! It's incredible!" Orion was saying enthusiastically to his father, Arcturus. "I've never seen anything like this before, but I think this means that she's truly a Black."
"Indeed, I agree with you," Arcturus replied, smiling at Bellatrix, who only stared back at him.
"What are you doing with my daughter?" Druella asked, spotting something in Orion's hands. "What are you making Bella eat?"
"Did you know that she doesn't even make a face when she eats lemon? It's remarkable!" Orion said with a twinkle in his eyes like he had discovered something extraordinary. "Look, look!"
Orion proceeded to hand Bellatrix a piece of a lemon and the girl just chewed on the lemon with a straight face, and once she was finished, she lifted her head and smiled at her mother. Druella couldn't help but giggle at both her daughter and Orion's reaction.
"All right, I see your point, but could you please try to refrain from giving my daughter lemons?" Druella said, picking Bellatrix up and looking at Orion. "The way you talk, it seems like you would want a child soon."
"Who knows? Maybe in the future," Orion replied with a shrug. "In the meantime, I'll just have to keep feeding Bella some lemons. Her reaction is amazing."
Druella shook her head at his antics and left him talking with his father, while she carried Bellatrix towards the cake. Although her daughter had a strange preference for lemons, of all things, she would have her cake now.
Shortly after Bella's second birthday, Druella gave birth to another daughter, Andromeda, and just like Bellatrix, Andromeda was her father's little girl. But unlike Bellatrix, Andromeda tended to be a quiet child, sometimes, too quiet.
"Love, have you seen Andromeda? I can't seem to find her, and I don't like it when she's too quiet," Druella asked her husband, seeing that he was holding their oldest daughter. "Every time the house is too quiet, I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen."
"I'm sorry, Ella, but the last time I saw Andi, she was sitting by the Christmas tree," Cygnus replied, looking at his wife with a frown on his face. "But Andi generally is so quiet, so why are you worrying?"
"Because she's too quiet, that's why. When you've been a mum for long enough, you realise the true enemy works in silence," Druella replied, leaving her husband and going to the living room where their Christmas tree was. And just like Cygnus had said, Andromeda was there, staring at the tree without blinking. "There you are, sweetie."
Andromeda turned her head and looked at her mother. Druella smiled at the look on her daughter's face until Andromeda's face lit up with a smile. Druella screamed and lunged forward to pick Andromeda up, and Cygnus barged into the room with Bellatrix in his arms.
"Ella? What happened? Are you alright? Is it Andi?" Cygnus asked, looking at his wife desperately clutching Andromeda to her chest.
"Look at Andromeda's mouth! She tried to eat an ornament from the tree!" Druella said, pointing to Andromeda's mouth that was filled with the red glass shards of the ornament. "We need to go to St. Mungo's now!"
Druella may have seemed desperate and on the verge of a breakdown, but Andromeda was just laughing and showing everyone her 'red' mouth. Cygnus tried to stifle his laughter, while Bellatrix giggled at her sister.
"Stop laughing and do something! My baby could have cut her mouth! What are you waiting for? A formal invitation?" Druella screeched before marching towards the fireplace and throwing floo powder into it. She shouted, "St. Mungo's," with a dirty look directed at her still-laughing husband.
"Let's go, Bella, before your mum makes me sleep on the couch tonight," Cygnus said while following his wife to the hospital. After all, the Black family had never had a calm morning.
Nearly two years after Andromeda was born, another addition arrived in the Black family. Narcissa was different from her older sisters, and hardly gave her parents any trouble. At times, it looked like Narcissa had received all the calm genes in the Black genetic pool; she was the darling of the family, their little princess, and at times, she behaved just like that.
It wasn't until her fourth birthday that Cygnus realised how easily his little princess could manipulate him to do everything she wanted. Her aunt Walburga had given her a little chalkboard that didn't need chalk to work, just a wand. And Narcissa knew that her father would always have time for her if she demanded it.
"Dad! Dad! Unicorn! Unicorn!" Narcissa said, dragging the chalkboard for her father to draw on. "Unicorn!"
Cygnus laughed at his daughter but started drawing the unicorn that she wanted, making it look like it was almost alive. Narcissa smiled at the intricate unicorn that her father drew for her. When Cygnus finished, Narcissa smiled and handed him a cloth.
"Wibble! Wibble!" Narcissa demanded, and Cygnus wiped off the unicorn, ready to draw something else, but then, Narcissa demanded, "Unicorn! Unicorn!"
Cygnus sighed and knew that this was going to be a long morning, with Narcissa asking, better yet, demanding he draw a unicorn and erase it over and over again. Bellatrix and Andromeda were watching from the doorway, laughing at their sister's antics and their father's plight.
"What's making you laugh?" Druella asked her daughters, seeing how they were trying to stop their giggles.
"Cissa has father wrapped around her little finger and it's so funny," Bellatrix answered, motioning with her head to the duo. Narcissa was demanding that her father draw a unicorn for the seventh time already.
"And you two didn't think about telling him that?" Druella asked, trying to hide a smile.
"Nope," Bellatrix and Andromeda answered in unison. Druella couldn't help but laugh at her daughters; she let the duo watch their sister and father. She needed to go visit Walburga and see if she needed any help with Sirius, now that he was going to be a big brother.
Sirius was Orion and Walburga's first-born and the Heir of House Black. When he was born, the family rejoiced at the prospect of a son and everyone was happy with the new addition. Sirius already had three older cousins, but since he was the only boy, he was spoiled like a little prince.
Sirius basked in the attention, much in the same way Bellatrix did, that he received, smiling at everyone that came to visit him; he knew that he wanted to be the center of attention forever, but he didn't expect to hear that he was going to gain a little brother.
When his father brought a crib to the room across from his, Sirius decided that he was going to do something about it. Making sure that he was stealthy enough to not get caught, he entered the empty room and aimed for the empty crib. He climbed in it and decided that he was going to stay there forever.
Walburga looked for Sirius in his room, but when she didn't find him there, she started to worry until she looked into the room that was being prepared for the baby. There, she found Sirius, lying inside the crib, his arms crossed under his head.
"Sirius, what are you doing in your baby brother's crib? I need you to climb out of it," Walburga said, coming near the crib and looking at her son.
"No." Sirius was defiant; he wasn't going to leave the crib anytime soon.
"That's not the correct response," Walburga said, sighing to steel herself. She knew that Sirius could be stubborn when he wanted, just like herself. "Sirius, leave the crib now."
"No!" Sirius sat down and crossed his arms, looking at Walburga with a glare—who made her snicker instead of having the desired effect he wanted.
"That's not the correct response, Sirius." Walburga knew that she was going to have to tread lightly around Sirius, but she was pregnant and was tired, and she wasn't going to let her almost-two-year-old son get the better of her. "Now, climb out of the crib."
"NO!" Sirius was almost yelling at her mother, and she wasn't taking it well.
She sighed again before she picked up a crying Sirius and almost dragged him back to his own room. "You're going to get a brother, Sirius, and you need to show him that you love him."
"No," Sirius said petulantly, shaking his head, pouting at his mother, who only looked at him sternly. "NO!"
"I know that your brother isn't born yet, but you're sure that you aren't going to love him?" Walburga asked Sirius, who only looked away and jutted his lip out more; Walburga had to stifle a laugh at this sight. "I know that you're being stubborn now, but I have a feeling that you're going to like having a brother."
Sirius just huffed and avoided looking at his mother; Walburga knew that Sirius would change his mind once he met the baby, but for now, she would keep the baby's room closed just as a precaution.
Walburga's prediction came true: Sirius absolutely loved his baby brother, and more than once, she found Sirius taking care of Regulus like he was the most precious thing in the whole world. But when they grew up a little, Walburga realised that Sirius' way of taking care of Regulus was a little... unusual.
"Sirius Orion Black, what do you think you're doing?" Walburga almost screeched, seeing Sirius carrying his three-year-old brother in a bucket. "Why is Regulus in a bucket?"
"Because, Mother, it's easier to carry him around. See, it has a handle too," Sirius said, lifting the bucket and showing his mother. Regulus peered up at her with wide eyes, and he even waved his chubby little hand at her, a toothy grin on his face. "Reggie is small and the bucket is small, so he can watch people, and he likes it."
Walburga sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She realised that Regulus often watched his brother and his cousins instead of interacting with them, but she never thought that Sirius would do something about it.
"All right, Sirius. You may go, and please, take care of your brother!" Walburga said, looking at Sirius, who only smiled at her and started to run towards the back garden, where his cousins were waiting for him. "No running!"
Walburga just watched Sirius walking fast-paced towards the door, and she shook her head at her sons' antics. She knew that they were going to take care of each other. In the meantime, she was going to invite Druella for tea, and maybe they could discuss the next generation of Blacks and their quirks.