Okay, so this chapter is the longest yet and I totally blame you guys for this. You see I have been told by a couple of people that they saw this story recommended on a group. Naturally, I found this group and got sucked into the void. I then played a 'Rat Race' writing game for a while and wrote a chapter that is 6390 words long. haha I honestly didn't intend for this chapter to be so long, though I knew it would be slightly longer as I've been looking forward to this chapter for a while.
Anyway, thank you so much for your lovely reviews, follows and favourites so far as always.
Please do read, enjoy and please do leave a review if you have a moment. :)
The Purple Black
"I don't like this." Bellatrix snapped as she finished pinning her last curl in place.
"You knew this would happen eventually the minute you had her come live here, Bellatrix." Rodolphus said, walking up behind his wife to adjust his robes in the mirror.
"She's not ready." Bellatrix hissed. "She's been here a week."
"You have known that your father's Christmas ball was today for a month—for years, in fact, it's always on the same date."
"Well, when I wrote to my father I assumed that he would agree with me and let her stay at home this evening." Bellatrix rolled her eyes, "I had Narcissa here most of the day yesterday teaching her how to be 'proper'—I mean, I barely kept with proprieties when I was her age but I—"
"You knew the rules." Rodolphus smirked, resting a hand on his wife's hip as he met her dark eyes in the reflection of the mirror "You knew just how to break them in all the right ways."
"Hmm," Bella giggled, leaning back into her husband as he rested his head on her shoulder "I still do—though it was slightly more thrilling at Nymphadora's age. There's not much fun in stealing a bottle of wine and hiding away in the grounds when we're of age and married."
"No?" Rodolphus pouted, "I'm sure I could make it fun if you'd like."
"Rodolphus." Bellatrix swatted away the mans wandering hands, turning to face him with a sudden look of determination. "No." She pecked him on the cheek, smirking as he tried to pull her close again only for her to step out of his reach. "I have to keep an eye on Nymphadora tonight . . . I'll make it up to you when we get back."
"I'll hold you to it." Rodolphus said.
"Oh, I know you will." Bellatrix sighed as she walked away from the man. "I'll meet you downstairs."
Nymphadora was standing in the middle of her room, staring at the floor length mirror as she inspected her emerald green gown and black hair now in a perfect tightly braided bun. She turned the instant she saw her Aunt, stumbling slightly in her heels as she bit her lip.
"I can't do this." Dora rushed, "I can't remember everything Aunt Cissa said—I mean, she's really tried and I don't want to let her down but it's a lot and—"
"Dora," Bellatrix smiled reassuringly at the girl, "you'll be fine. You look the part and that's half the work, women are mostly expected to stand around looking pretty and you do look rather beautiful in that dress."
"Thanks." Dora blushed. "Aunt Cissa picked it out . . . Do you really think I can blend in at a ball? I'm not sure I can deal with it all."
"Just be thankful you don't have my mother to deal with—she died a while ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Dora said.
"Don't be." Bellatrix laughed at the girl's small frown of confusion at her words. "You're not the only one who dislikes her mother." Dora couldn't help but let out a small laugh at the woman's comment, only causing Bellatrix to grin as she held her arm out to the girl. "Come on, Dora, it's time to leave."
Dora nodded, taking her Aunts arm in her own as they walked down to meet Rodolphus. Bellatrix walked rather slower than she would have liked, though Nymphadora was grateful as she felt more steady and oddly safe with her Aunt by her side. Rodolphus didn't say a word as the two women approached him, exchanging a small glance and nod with his wife. Suddenly Bellatrix gripped tightly onto the girl's arm, leaving her just enough time to squeeze her eyes tight in anticipation before the now familiar sensation of being forced through an extremely tight tube took over her. The girl stumbled slightly as she found her footing, the faint sound of her Aunt's laughter filling her ears, the cold winter's breeze hitting her bare arms.
"Will I ever get used to that?" Dora couldn't help but mumble.
"Eventually." Rodolphus drawled.
"Come on, Dora." Bellatrix chimed, "Just remember what Narcissa taught you—well, as much as you can."
Dora nodded, looking up to the house ahead of them. It was a large house, though she could clearly see that it was not as large as Lestrange Manor, still, it was just as intimidating. They walked up the pathway, lined with decorative candles leading up to the building. The closer they got to the entrance the more nervous the girl got, the butterflies in her stomach threatening to burst out which was not helped as Bellatrix let go of her arm. She took a deep breath as Rodolphus reached out to the ornate knocker, hitting it firmly as she swore she could feel the echo of the noise hitting straight to her bones. Nymphadora couldn't remember the last time she felt so nervous yet she couldn't understand why. Her Aunt Cissa would be there, with Draco and his father, she was with Rodolphus and Bellatrix, surely she had no reason to feel so nervous? She tried her hardest to 'put on a show' as her Aunt Cissa had taught her. Ensuring her face was devoid of emotion as she held her head high and stood up straight, her currently light brown eyes barely flickering to the old house elf that greeted them. The couple paid no notice to the scrawny creature, barely waiting for the door to be fully opened before they stepped over the threshold. The interior of the building looked quite the same to how Lestrange Manor looked in Dora's opinion. The entrance was a large room with the grand staircase in the centre, the walls were devoid of portraits though they held strange artefacts that the girl didn't want to linger too much on; she needed to stay focused.
"Father." Bellatrix spoke coldly as a familiar man walked towards them, a cold smirk on his features that Dora couldn't help but acknowledge had clearly been inherited by his eldest daughter.
"Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Nymphadora." Dora forced a slight polite smile at her grandfather, though truth be told the way he stretched out each syllable of her name did not help her nerves. "Don't you all look lovely, so nice of you three to be able to make it. Especially yourself, Nymphadora," Dora prevented herself from jumping as she felt her Aunt's hand return to her arm in a sudden protective notion. "there are a lot of people that are very . . . interested in meeting you."
"I take it they are all in the ballroom?" Rodolphus asked.
"Yes," Cygnus pulled his gaze from his granddaughter to look to his son-in-law, a slight tone of irritation in his voice as his train of thought was clearly disturbed.
"Well," Bellatrix said, a tone in her voice that Dora couldn't quite place, "we should join them. Wouldn't want them to wonder where their gracious host has gotten to, would we now?"
"I suppose not." Cygnus took one last look at the young girl before he gestured towards the faint sound of music, Bellatrix immediately pulling on her niece to get her to walk ahead with her.
As the doors opened Nymphadora would have sworn the hum of chatter below the music temporarily paused, though her Aunt continued to gently guide her and she followed suit without question to the corner of the room where a bar had been erected. Rodolphus came behind them just as the witch was pressing a glass of elf-made wine into the girl's hand.
"She's sixteen, Bellatrix." Rodolphus said, his eyes sweeping the grand marble room as he took note of the witches and wizards around them, of which Nymphadora thought there were at least one hundred.
"She'll be seventeen soon enough, I was drinking wine at these awful events when I was nearly seventeen. Merlin knows you need a little wine to survive these." Bellatrix rolled her eyes before looking to her niece. "Just be sensible with it."
"Okay." Dora nodded, taking a sip before she wrinkled her nose at the strong taste.
"It's an acquired taste." Rodolphus smirked.
"Rodolphus," Bellatrix snapped, glaring at the man for a moment before she forced a smile, "go see if you can find Lucius. If Narcissa is with him please tell her where we are."
"I'm sure she noticed our arrival." Rodolphus drawled before with a look of slight annoyance he did as his wife had asked him.
"Dora," Dora looked to her Aunt as she spoke her name, furrowing her brows in slight confusion at the slight concern that laced her tone, "be careful around my father."
"I—Okay."
"I mean it." Bellatrix spoke more firmly this time, "He's a nasty piece of work and it is best to stay away from him if it can at all be avoided. Promise me you will be careful?"
"I promise." Nymphadora agreed, though she was still unsure as to why her own grandfather should be someone she would need to avoid.
Narcissa came over to them moments later, kissing both her niece's and sister's cheeks in greeting. "You look troubled, sister." Bellatrix dismissed the woman's comment with a shake of her head.
"Where's Draco?" Dora asked, taking another sip of her wine. She had to admit it didn't taste as bad as she had initially thought and it did seem to drown the butterflies in her stomach ever so slightly.
"He's with the other children." Narcissa smiled at Dora, "You look lovely, Dora. You pull that look off quite well."
"Well, you picked it." Dora blushed, "If I had my way I most definitely wouldn't be wearing heels or have my hair pulled quite so tightly."
"The point of these events is definitely not to feel comfortable." Bellatrix smirked, ignoring her sister's scolding look. "Merely to get together, judge other people and show off your wealth."
"Bellatrix." Narcissa spoke warningly to her sister, though Dora couldn't help but let out a slight huff of laughter.
"What?" Bellatrix looked to her sister with feigned innocence "What did I say?"
Dora's gaze wandered as she looked around the room, ignoring her two Aunts discussion as to why Bellatrix should keep certain comments to herself in such places. She recognised a few people, though not many, mainly the odd high up official from the ministry that she had seen in the paper from time to time. She spotted Rodolphus and Lucius talking with some other men as an elf, a different one from the one that had greeted them, offered them appetisers. The only person that made her freeze for a moment was Rowle, the boy was staring at her from the dance floor as he seemingly effortlessly and unenthusiastically spun a girl around the floor. The butterflies were now absent though, as it now felt as if a pile of rocks had landed in their place once she recognised the boys dancing partner to be Ebony Rosier. Dora sipped at her wine again, though her wish to turn invisible was not fulfilled by the substance as to her horror the music came to a slow end and the boy gave his dancing partner a slight bow before he made his way straight to her.
"So, did you grow up here?" Dora said suddenly, determined to at least attempt to ignore the boy for a moment as she turned to her Aunts. Narcissa looked slightly taken back to be interrupted from her discussion though Bellatrix merely sighed.
"Unfortunately."
"Bella." Narcissa groaned before she looked to her niece. "Yes, we did. I—Oh, good evening, Master Rowle."
"Madam Malfoy, Madam Lestrange." Rowle nodded politely to the two women, though Bellatrix continued to look at her niece from the corner of her eye. "I was wondering, if you were both agreeable, I could talk to Nymphadora?"
Dora gritted her teeth, determined to listen to her Aunts lessons on propriety currently racing through her mind rather than simply yell at the boy to leave her alone.
"You should ask Nymphadora such questions, she has a mind and free will of her own." Bellatrix said, unable to hide her amusement as she watched her niece drink her wine to further attempt to stop speaking her mind at the boy.
"Well, Nymphadora?" Rowle asked, holding his hand out to the girl.
Nymphadora could have punched him there and then, the boy had always irked her to an extent and she had thought it was pretty obvious from her silence that she did not want to leave her Aunts company. She was afraid that she would do something to embarrass her family in one way or another tonight already, at least with Bellatrix or Narcissa there she had some sort of buffer for the inevitability of her saying or doing something stupid. It was Narcissa who made her give in though, a raise of her eyebrows and a nod to the boy clearly reminding her that this was the 'proper' thing to do and that she could not refuse such a forward invitation.
She nodded, taking the boys outstretched hand reluctantly "Fine."
Bellatrix bit back a laugh as she watched the pair walk away, swirling her wine around her glass. "Oh dear."
"She is too much like you, you do realise that?" Narcissa sighed.
"Well, I taught her well." Bellatrix shrugged "Perhaps I should keep an eye on her . . ." she finished her glass of wine, placing the empty glass on the bar with all intentions of following her niece—that was until she saw Rodolphus, Lucius, Crabbe Senior and Goyle Senior make their way to leave the ballroom. "On the other hand . . ." Bellatrix narrowed her eyes, leaving her sister to stare after her as she rushed to catch up with the men.
"Oh for Merlin's sake." Narcissa sighed, hesitating before she decided she would simply ignore what she had seen and instead return to her own socialising.
"Are you sure we should be out here?" Nymphadora asked, unable to keep the irritation from her voice as she pulled her hand away from the older boy whilst she looked around the grounds. They were alone out here, though the decorations from inside seeped into the exterior of the property as fake icicles hung from trees and real fairies, not unlike the ones that decorated the Great Hall at Hogwarts hovered around candlelit bushes.
"Well, I can't see why not." Rowle shrugged, "It's not like there's anything stopping us—besides this is your grandfather's home, I doubt there are many places you cannot go here now you have seemingly been welcomed into the family."
"I—" Dora shook her head, narrowing her eyes at the boy as she got over her momentary distraction at his comment, "What do you want?"
"So direct." Rowle laughed.
"You said you wanted to talk to me." Dora crossed her arms across her chest, mostly to attempt to gain some sort of warmth against the winter's air though it worked just as well to show her annoyance, "What do you want?" She repeated her question.
Rowle smirked, considering the girl for a moment before he nodded towards the bench. "Come." He placed a hand on her elbow, tutting as she pulled away before he allowed her to lead the way to the bench. "You look rather different tonight, Tonks." Rowle commented as he sat down next to the girl, "It suits you."
"Don't call me Tonks."
"No, I suppose I shouldn't now." Rowle sighed, "What with you living with the Lestrange's now. Will you be changing your name?"
"How do you know I'm living with my Aunt and Uncle?" Dora asked, deciding to ignore the comment about her last name. If she was perfectly honest with herself it was something that had crossed her mind briefly; she knew the Tonks name was one of Muggle heritage but she didn't know what else she would have. She had decided she wouldn't worry about it unless her Aunt brought it up to her.
"Purebloods gossip." Rowle said, "Besides, you're here and you came with them. Do you really think Cygnus Black would let you into his home if you were associating with a mudblood and a blood traitor? . . . What happened?"
"None of your business." Dora said abruptly. "Is this why you asked me out here? To get the gossip?"
"No . . . well, maybe a little bit but not about that." Rowle shrugged.
"Then what?" Dora asked, looking to the boy as he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Ebony said you used the Cruciatus on her." Rowle said bluntly.
"Did she whisper that in your ear whilst you had your little dance?" Dora mocked, "Don't trust a word that bitch says."
"Funnily enough she didn't." Rowle laughed, "She did seem quite annoyed to see you here though. No, I found out from Gibbon."
"He told Professor Dumbledore I didn't do it."
"Oh come on, Nymphie—"
"Don't call me Nymphie." Dora huffed.
"Dora." Rowle corrected himself, a smug look on his face that was dying to be hexed off in the girl's opinion, "We all know what we tell our Professors is rarely the truth in such circumstances. So? Is it true? Or is Gibbon spreading shit again?"
Dora hesitated for a moment, tearing her gaze away from the older boy as she decided to take interest in the nearby group of fairies, "The Cruciatus curse is illegal."
"Yes, it is." Rowle laughed, "That doesn't stop us using it though, does it? If I had a sickle for each time I'd used it or seen it used I'd be rich—well, richer."
". . . How do you know how to use it?" Dora asked carefully.
"Probably the same way that your Aunt knows it." Rowle shrugged. "I take it she was the one that taught you? I doubt the blood traitor taught you and I'm sure the mudblood would not know such spells."
"You're right there." Dora couldn't help but let out a breath of laughter.
"So you did use it on Ebony?" Rowle asked.
"Why do you care?" Dora asked after a moment of thought, she was undecided as to if Thorfinn Rowle was simply trying to coax her into admitting she'd broken the law merely to get her in trouble.
"I don't really."
"Yeah right." Dora scoffed.
"Well . . . If you did it . . . I'm impressed." Rowle said simply before he couldn't help but grin, "That Ebony Rosier is a piece of work if you ask me—someone needs to put the girl in her place."
"She goes around acting as if she's some hard nut badass," Dora groaned in annoyance, "demanding that people respect her and then the minute someone retaliates to a hex she goes crying to a professor."
"So you cursed her because she threw a hex at you?" Rowle asked.
"Did I say I did that?" Dora couldn't help but smirk slightly, "Though if I did . . . the bitch deserved it." Thorfinn Rowle couldn't help but laugh at the girl, shaking his head in amusement. "What?" Dora asked, though she was unable to wipe the small smirk entirely off of her features.
"You surprise me, Nymphadora." Rowle sighed, "Though it is a pleasant surprise, I admit. I remember when you first got sorted into Slytherin—a small half-blood, with a weird power and surprisingly quiet. You used to get teased in first year too if I remember correctly, though I never expected you to turn into the sort of person to use an unforgivable to solve their arguments."
"First of all I was not small—I was decidedly average height for an eleven-year-old, secondly," Dora huffed as Rowle continued to grin at her in his amusement, "you only call it a 'weird' power because you're either jealous or you're too dim-witted to understand it and thirdly, do not underestimate me."
"Oh, I don't." Rowle shook his head, "if anything you've proven you are most definitely not someone to be underestimated. Besides, I do understand your weird powers, it intrigues me." Dora raised an eyebrow at the boy, watching as his hand moved across her to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, "You can change anything you want to, be anyone you want to be. How could I not find that anything but intriguing and quite frankly impressive."
Dora looked to the boy, his dark eyes staring straight into her own as if he was trying to silently communicate with her though she knew he could not be attempting legilimency for the familiar attempt of a probing sensation was not there. It was only as he leant forward slightly she realised what he was trying to do. As the boy closed his eyes, snaking his hand behind her head she reacted instinctively as a smack echoed the otherwise near silent gardens.
"What did you do that for!?" Rowle yelled, putting his hand to his now red cheek as Nymphadora stood glaring at him now sporting tomato red hair.
"What did you do that for?" Dora hissed.
"Merlin Nymphadora!" Rowle glared back at her, "I was trying to kiss you, not curse you!"
"Yeah, after telling me how I can change my appearance to whatever I want—whatever you want more like." Dora scoffed in her anger, "Well if you think I'm that sort of girl you can piss off. I'm sure Ebony would gladly let you kiss her—all you'd have to do is bloody look at her, I've heard she's already making her way through the Slytherin Quidditch team, perhaps join that? Get fucking polyjuice potion or use spells if you want to force some poor girl to look how you please because I will not be giving in to your sick fantasies. You—"
"Nymphadora?" a man's voice called out, causing Nymphadora to stop herself from her next step of drawing her wand on the now alarmed and potentially frightened looking boy before her. She closed her eyes as she forced herself to take a calming breath, grateful that she had her back to her grandfather.
"Mr Black." Rowle said respectfully, immediately forgetting the red slap mark on his cheek as he stood and nodded his head to the older man.
"What, may I ask, are you two doing out in the cold night air alone?" Cygnus mused.
"Sorry sir," Rowle said, "I simply wished to talk to Nymphadora about school things and the party is so successful inside I could barely hear your granddaughter over the chatter and music."
"I see . . . Nymphadora?"
Dora took another steadying breath, forcing a polite smile onto her lips as she turned to face the man. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes as he looked at her, raising an eyebrow as he clearly waited for something from the girl. "Yes . . . sir?"
"Is this true?" he asked, "Were you both discussing school?"
"Yes," Nymphadora figured it was partially the truth, they had discussed events at school, though nevertheless, she felt herself bringing up her Occlumency guard almost on instinct as the mans probing gaze bore into her, "You see, I got rather good grades in my practice N.E. and Thorfin here was asking me about them, he didn't achieve such desirable results as mine when he was in his sixth year you see."
The girl had to hold back a smirk as she noted the boy holding down his outrage from the corner of her eye. In truth she didn't know what grades the boy had got in his sixth year (though she wouldn't have been surprised if she had achieved higher grades than him), though she highly doubted he was about to deny such a comment when she was seemingly forgetting to tell the host of the party that he had tried to kiss his granddaughter and gotten a slap in return.
"I see," Cygnus mused before finally looking to the boy, "perhaps you should go and find your parents, Master Rowle. I believe I saw your father wander off after Bellatrix and her husband."
"Yes, sir." Rowle nodded, practically running away from the pair as his ears burned red in his embarrassment.
Dora looked to the older man, trying to hide her unease as he took a step towards her "Follow me, Nymphadora." The man turned, taking a step or two before he turned to see the girl still stuck to the spot. "Nymphadora?"
"I—" Dora bit her lip before she forced herself to nod. Her Aunt had told her to stay away from the man if it could be avoided, but what with what Narcissa had taught her about the proper decorum and such she couldn't see a polite way that following the man could be avoided. Besides, the man was her grandfather, as much as he clearly held some hatred for her own mother and father she had forsaken them and if that was enough for him to want her to attend his annual Christmas Ball then surely he couldn't hate her, could he?
Dora followed the man through the manor, not uttering a word as she took in the place, nodding politely to her Uncle as she passed Lucius on her way up the staircase. The upper level of the manor was decidedly more personal, Dora thought. There were more portraits hung on the wall, each watching her curiously as she passed younger versions of her family. She couldn't help but realise that there seemed to be more portraits of her younger Aunt, though the majority seemed to be of older relatives and some of who she assumed could only be her grandmother standing with her two daughters and husband. Nymphadora wondered what had happened to the portraits of her own mother, maybe portrait Andromeda simply got up and abandoned the pictures as she had done her real family one day? The girl was lost in thought as Cygnus Black stopped at a door, drawing his wand to unlock the handle as he smirked back at her.
"At events such as this, you do not want your guests to be able to go quite wherever they please." He said as she looked curiously to the door. He opened the room, holding the door open to let the girl go ahead of himself.
"Of course." Dora said, attempting to hide the nerves from her voice as she tried not to wonder why on earth she was being led into what was clearly the man's study. She flinched as she heard the click of the door lock behind her, instinctively stepping away from the path of the man as he walked over to his liquor cabinet.
"Whiskey?" Cygnus asked. "You forgot your wine glass on the bench outside I see, perhaps Rowle's advances distracted you?"
"N-no thank you." Dora said, "I'm not even seventeen yet."
"No," Cygnus laughed, "but as I suppose it was your Aunt Bellatrix that handed you the wine in the first place I doubt she would mind if you had something a little stronger, she is technically your guardian now I suppose."
"I suppose . . ." Dora agreed.
"You didn't deny it, I notice." Cygnus said as he turned after pouring two whiskey glasses, walking over and handing the girl a glass despite the fact she looked as if she was ready to protest again, "So Rowle did make advances on you?"
"What makes you think that?" It was an automatic response, a defensive one that Dora almost immediately regretted once Cygnus laughed at her.
"Your hair is red." Cygnus shrugged, taking a sip of his whiskey, "I have been doing some research on your kind—metamorphmagus that is. I cannot seem to find one in our family from my research so far and there isn't much about them in textbooks. You are rather a rather rare creature-fascinating, but rare. From what I can decipher from what little writings there are on the subject, sometimes a metamorphmagus will unwilling change their hair or even eye colour to reflect their mood unwillingly. I suspect that Rowle angered you somehow and if you are anything like Bellatrix—which I suspect you are given her clear influence on you—a man making an unwanted advance on you could potentially anger you."
Dora stuttered for a moment, unable to think of something to say to deny the obvious truth. She took a sip of her whiskey to try and stall the need to answer him, this was suddenly and most obviously a mistake as she spluttered at the strong taste of it.
Cygnus black laughed as he walked over to the girl, rubbing her back. "Not used to the strong stuff, hmm?"
"Not really." Dora shook her head, wiping her mouth. It took a moment for her to realise that the man still had his hand on her back, now standing uncomfortably close to her.
"Your hair is still red . . ." He murmured, "Still angry?"
"I-no." Dora shook her head, forcing herself to morph the red out of her hair to instead replace it with a raven black like her Aunt Bellatrix. As she unscrewed her features though she couldn't help but feel her nerves were about to make an appearance in her hair all over again. Her grandfather had a smirk on his features that, if he was anything like his eldest child, clearly insinuated that he was most definitely up to something.
"You do look beautiful, Nymphadora." Cygnus purred, the hand that was not currently in the crook of her back reaching up to stroke her pale cheek. "You're cold."
"I'm fine." Dora gulped, her eyes trained on his own as she tried to decide if it was worth attempting legilimency on the man to try and find out what on earth was thinking.
"I can help you warm up if you would like?" Cygnus smirked, attempting to close the already impossibly small gap between the pair.
Dora instinctively tried to step back, though the man kept his hand on her back as she could feel him grasp onto the back of her corset. She continued to try to back away, unable to even think of getting her wand out and cursing him away from her as all of her instincts screamed at her to do until with a gasp her back hit into a bookcase and her whiskey glass shattered on the floor.
"I—"
"Shh, don't worry about it." Cygnus chuckled despite the girl's clear fright. "Relax . . . You know, I hold the power of you staying within my family . . . I could disown Bellatrix merely for talking to you let alone inviting you to live in her home. Why should you stay and sully my house with your impure blood, hmm? Though you are a curious specimen, able to change your appearance to be anything, anyone—as the Rowle boy said, but he is just that; a boy . . ."
"I—I don't—" Dora let out a yelp of fright as the older man pressed his body against her own, the edges of the bookshelf behind her beginning to stick painfully into her back. She screwed her eyes shut, sure her hair had already turned pure white though she found herself unable to move as she could feel the mans breath on her neck.
Suddenly she let out a scream as a bang and a crash echoed across the room, the man's weight near instantly flying off of her. She was panting heavily, snapping her eyes wide open to see what on earth had happened. Her Aunt had never looked so furious, towering over her father as he scrambled to get to his feet and draw his wand though he soon let out a yell through gritted teeth as Nymphadora watched her Aunt perform the Cruciatus curse with ease. Another yell escaped the girl as she felt a strong hand grab onto her arm.
"Nymphadora." Rodolphus spoke firmly, now gripping onto both of her arms as he forced the frightened girl to look up at him. He looked over her as if looking for something, eventually meeting the girl's wide-eyed gaze with his own firm look. It was only as Cygnus Black yelled in his pain that Rodolphus snapped his gaze to his wife. "Bellatrix!"
Bellatrix let out a yell of fury, cursing her father again until the man curiously became unconscious. She turned to her husband, glaring at him as she noted his now drawn wand pointed at her father. "Rodolphus." She growled.
"I believe it is time to leave, don't you?" it did not sound like Rodolphus was truly asking his wife for her opinion, though it did stop her for a long enough moment to look to her niece.
Within seconds the woman strode over to the girl, pushing her husband away as she took her arm and gave her the same inspection that her husband had already. The older witches gaze softened, though her previous fury was still blatantly present as she paused to take a breath. "Clean up this mess." Bellatrix barked, though she did not look at her husband as he nodded, first getting to the task of fixing the blown down door.
"I—" Dora began to speak, though Bellatrix shook her head, tightening her grip on the girl's arm as for the second time that night she apparated the girl with little warning, this time directly into the girl's bedroom.
The moment they arrived back at Lestrange Manor Bellatrix let go of her, running her hands through her own hair as she clearly tried to calm herself whilst she began to pace the room. "I told you to avoid him!"
"I—I—I couldn't." Dora breathed.
"You could!" Bellatrix yelled.
"He—I—He was—" Dora chocked, unable to speak anymore.
Bellatrix stopped and turned to look at the girl, instantly noting the tears in her eyes, her pale complexion, her still white hair. The dark witch couldn't help it as some of the anger at her father and the girls own stupidity was replaced with an unfamiliar emotion; sorrow. She felt sorry for the girl, clearly confused and in pain as she stood shivering on the spot. As tears began to escape the girl's wide eyes Bellatrix groaned internally before walking over to her, pulling her to sit on the bed as she wrapped her arms around her, resting her head on the girls own.
"Did he hurt you?" Bellatrix barely whispered.
"N-No . . ." Dora shook her head as she relaxed slightly into her Aunt. "He said he could get rid of me if he wanted—that he could disown you."
"He's a liar." Bellatrix hissed, wincing as the girl flinched at her tone. She stroked the girl's hair, attempting to calm her again. "Don't listen to a word that he says."
"I-I'm sorry." Nymphadora sniffed, gripping onto her Aunt as she hadn't done in years. "I-I should have listened to you better."
Bellatrix shook her head, closing her eyes as she sighed "Perhaps . . . Perhaps I should have warned you better."
"He . . . He was trying to—"
"Don't." Bellatrix stiffened, "Don't think of it . . . it's better that way."
Dora hesitated for a moment before she nodded. The two women didn't speak after that, Nymphadora slowly relaxing enough into her Aunt that she eventually became tired enough to let the older woman help her prepare for bed. Bellatrix only left the room when she was sure the girl was comfortable, slipping her a dreamless sleep potion.
When Bellatrix entered her bedroom she found her husband waiting patiently, already in his night clothes as he looked to her. She didn't say a word, carrying on with her nightly routine as if nothing had happened. It wasn't until she was in her own nightdress, her hair cascading freely down her back, her face clean of the evening's makeup and her gown already removed from the room to be cleaned by the elf that she acknowledged her husband. She slipped into the bed beside him, letting him wrap his arms around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You should have let me kill him . . ." Bellatrix mumbled.
"You've been saying that for years." Rodolphus sighed.
"The repetition of my request should only make you further understand the need for it to happen." Bellatrix rolled her eyes.
"Duly noted." Rodolphus said as he looked down to his wife, gently hooking a finger under his wife's chin to make her look up at him.
"What?" Bellatrix asked.
"You care for Nymphadora . . ."
"Shut up." Bellatrix frowned as she pulled her head away, adjusting herself to rest on his chest so he couldn't look at her. "She's a means to an end, nothing more."
"If you say so." Rodolphus said, though his tone did not imply that he was convinced at his wife's words.
Bellatrix decidedly ignored the comment, closing her eyes as Rodolphus turned out the lights of the room and pulled the duvet up to better cover the pair. Bellatrix didn't sleep well at all that night. Not only could she not help but dwell on the night's events and her wishes for a painful death for her father—preferably at her own hands—she annoyingly could not shun her husband's words from her mind. Though she would never admit it to herself, nor her husband, he was right. Bellatrix Lestrange had come to care for her niece as slightly more than just a weapon for her Lord.
So I hope you enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please do leave me a review if you have a moment, I love hearing your thoughts.
The Purple Black