I am so so so sorry that I didn't update last week, it's been a bit hectic recently and there's just been so much going on, plus I was sick for a bit. But here's the latest update!
Please read, enjoy and leave a review if you have a moment!
The Purple Black
Long, wild hair tickled his bare chest, though his eyes remained closed. He could almost imagine he was anywhere, at any point in his life, if he just kept his eyes closed and continued to trace circles on his wife's back absentmindedly. He could imagine they were at the start of their marriage, happily curled in bed basking in the morning light beginning to seep into their room. He could imagine they were back at Hogwarts even, hiding away in the boy's dormitory in the calm bliss that followed their wild teenage hormones having run their course. But he could feel it. There was no use pretending, no use ignoring the matter or trying to imagine he was elsewhere when the enlarged stomach of his wife's bastard child was pressed up against him.
He used to enjoy these calm moments in the early hours of the morning, the moment's when Bellatrix was still asleep, having curled herself around him in her sleep as she nestled her head into his neck, but right now he could not enjoy this rare moment of calm. The thought of the unborn child of his master left too much of a bitter taste clinging to the back of his throat.
Rodolphus slowly opened his eyes, he had only been pretending to sleep for most of the night as the luxury of such rest was cruelly snatched from his grasp to be replaced by worry and thought. He had to forgive his wife, whether the woman wanted the child or not (and he had no doubt in his mind that she wanted it perhaps more than anything else) he knew that she had no choice in the matter. If their master wanted an heir then he would get one. Who was Bellatrix to even think of refusing that? Of course, she could have perhaps not started sleeping with the man in the first place, but that had just happened to start with . . . and again, who was she to refuse him? He knew he had to stick by her side and he knew (or perhaps hoped) that the woman did feel for him no matter how little she showed it. After all, she had admitted to missing him. In the world of Bellatrix that was as close as you were ever likely to get to professing her undying love for you. Part of the man wanted to hold his wife like this forever, to kiss her and love her and never let her go. Though the other part of the man wanted to see the woman writhe beneath him, screaming in agony as he cursed her for all of the wrongs she had done him and the pain he had put him through . . . it wouldn't have been the first time he had done such a thing. He shook the thought from his head though, now was not the time.
With a deep breath, Rodolphus slowly began to disentangle himself from his wife, a deep and sudden need to get some air taking over him. Bellatrix groaned in her sleep, clasping at his chest for a moment in protest he brought his hand to his lips and kissed her fingers softly before he carefully placed the hand onto the pillow as he slipped from their bed. He took a moment to look down at his wife, tangled in blankets as she groaned and pulled the pillow into herself. He was sure the slightest noise would bring her from her light sleep, though he preferred her this way somehow and was not ready to deal with the woman in anything but this peaceful state right now. So he slowly got dressed, his gaze flickering to the woman every few moments to ensure she was still sleeping, before slipping from the room as silently as possible and closing the door carefully behind him.
As he turned to leave Rodolphus was stopped by the sight of the witch before him. Nymphadora Tonks was stood outside her door, ready to leave her own room before she had caught sight of her Uncle. Her door was still slightly ajar though she quickly closed it, a look of distaste on her features as she looked at the man. She brushed her dark purple locks out of her face and drew herself tall.
"Uncle Rodolphus," Nymphadora spoke curtly.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes, smirking slightly to himself as he thought of how obvious the witch was sometimes with her emotions. "Nymphadora . . ." Rodolphus spoke casually, "hiding someone in your room, are we?"
"That's none of your business," Nymphadora narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her.
"No," Rodolphus shrugged, "if you don't want to heed my warnings—"
"Your warnings are a bunch of bullshit," she hissed.
"If you say so," Rodolphus sighed, going to leave the wing.
"You know," Nymphadora said, raising her voice slightly which caused the man to stop, turning to look to her out of curiousity, "just because you're pissed about Aunt Bella doesn't give you a right to feed lies to people to make you feel better about yourself."
"Oh?" Rodolphus raised an eyebrow at the girl, "Is that so?"
"Yes, that is so," Nymphadora glared, "I talked to Barty about it all."
"And I'm sure he told you exactly what you wanted to hear," Rodolphus rolled his eyes, his patience beginning to wear thin.
"He told me the truth," Nymphadora said, "he cares about me . . ."
"Did he though?" Rodolphus asked simply, "Did he tell you the truth? Does he care about you? Or is he simply playing you like a fool for his own needs?"
"I'm not stupid enough to let someone use me like that," she hissed.
Rodolphus couldn't help but laugh at that comment; if only she knew. "Nymphadora, you are so naïve at times."
"I am not!" she snapped, the roots of her hair beginning to tinge red.
"Oh Dora—"
"Rodolphus!" the hiss of his wife came from behind him, they had clearly roused the woman from her sleep (though he had reason to suspect she had merely been feigning sleep as he had previously by the time he had left the room).
He turned to see the woman, she had merely stuck her head around the door and her eyes darted to the other rooms of the wing for a moment before she settled her gaze on him. He couldn't help but wonder how many people were going to be trusted with the information of the bastard child, as she was clearly presenting herself in this way to cover the unborn child behind their door. He shook his head, flashed his wife the slightest ghost of a smile and walked from the wing.
Bellatrix stared at her niece for a moment, curious as to if Rodolphus had been correct in assuming that her niece had been hiding someone in her room though she soon decided she didn't care. The younger witch took a few calming breaths and looked at her Aunt as her hair returned entirely to its previous shade of purple. With a small incline of her head, the older witch gestured for her niece to join her in her room, waiting for the witch to slip into her room before she closed out the rest of the world.
It had seemed like months had passed in the blink of an eye, though at the same time it had also felt like they had spent an entire lifetime in the secret wing of Malfoy Manor. Though the minutes turned into hours, the hours to days and the days to months and soon Nymphadora Tonks found herself sat in the room of her now heavily pregnant Aunt. It was nearing mid-April and Bellatrix was officially overdue. The older witch spent most of her days holed up in her room now, flitting between bouts of rage and annoyances at the slightest of things and an almost comatose state of apparent uncaring as she tried to hide her newly found more sensitive side. Nymphadora had just had to deal with one of her bouts of rage as she could hear her screams at Rodolphus from the other side of the wing (apparently, he had made an offhand comment about her being rather large now), she had arrived just as the man had stormed out and after letting her Aunt rant to her about the man's idiocy she was soon docile enough as she laid in bed with complaints of not feeling well. Nymphadora had decided to stay with her, sat against the window as she pressed her head to the cool glass and watched the April showers falling down upon Malfoy Manor.
Nymphadora sighed as she heard her Aunt let out a small groan, turning her head ever so slightly to look at the woman stroke her stomach.
"Do you need me to call for the healer?" Nymphadora asked quietly, almost as if she was worried that if she were to speak too loudly her Aunt would soon turn on her as she had her own husband.
"I'm fine . . ." Bellatrix mumbled, forcing herself to open her eyes as she looked at her niece.
Nymphadora was unconvinced, though decided not to pursue the witch for her own safety.
"I'm fine," Bellatrix repeated, narrowing her eyes at the girl, "I can practically feel your worry from over here."
"Worry?" Dora smirked, "You don't need anyone to worry about you, you're Bellatrix Lestrange."
Bellatrix couldn't help but laugh at this comment, shaking her head slightly, "You amuse me,"
"Glad to be of service," Nymphadora shrugged, standing up from her seat and walking over to her Aunts bed. She sat herself down on the end of the bed, causing her Aunt to move her legs out of the way slightly, then crossed her leg and leant against the bedpost. "Game of chess?"
"No," Bellatrix wrinkled her nose.
"Walk in the grounds?"
"No,"
"I think we have some poor soul destined to die in the dungeons, could have some fun torturing them for a bit?" Nymphadora raised an eyebrow.
"No,"
"Ah-ha," Nymphadora leant forward slightly, a knowing look on her features, "Bellatrix Lestrange never passes that offer up, so clearly you're not fine."
"I could curse you to insanity before you even had a chance to understand what was happening," Bellatrix said airily.
"Nah you wouldn't," Dora leant back against the bedpost again, "or else you would have tried it by now—or at least sent a slight curse my way, I know you too well."
"So it seems . . ." Bellatrix considered the girl for a moment before she attempted to sit herself up slightly on the bed, letting out another gasp of pain as she manoeuvred herself.
"That's the fifth time,"
"The fifth time for what?" Bellatrix half-snapped.
"The fifth time in the last hour you've done something to indicate that you're in pain," Dora rolled her eyes, "but I, of course, know that you have a very high pain threshold so that probably means you've been in pain a little longer than that. Am I right? Or am I wrong?"
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at her niece, pursing her lips as she stared at her for a few moments before she gritted her teeth and let out a mangled cry of pain.
"Right," Dora sat up, putting her hands on her knees, "I'm going to get the healer."
"What healer?" Bellatrix hissed, "Get Cissa."
"I—" Dora frowned, furrowing her brow in confusion, "we have a healer."
"We're wanted criminals, Dora," Bellatrix rolled her eyes.
Dora spoke slowly, her confusion growing, "Which is why we have Healer Greer, he is loy—"
"I know who he is and who he is loyal to," Bellatrix hissed, trying to reposition herself in bed "You seem to have forgotten the secrecy of this!"
"I—"
"Go and get your Aunt, girl!" Bellatrix yelled.
Nymphadora didn't hesitate any further, she jumped to her feet, almost falling flat on her face as she grasped the bedpost ignoring the grunt of annoyance from Bellatrix. She ran as fast as she could, losing count of how many times she almost knocked something over or fell over herself before she found her Aunt in the main sitting room.
"Dora, what on earth are you doing?" Narcissa stood from her chair in fright, looking around as if expecting the Minister of Magic himself to walk into the room to see a wanted criminal in Malfoy Manor, "What—"
The girl panted for breath, putting a hand to her chest as she leant on the door frame, "I think Aunt Bella might be in labour,"
"Merlin," Narcissa murmured, shaking the shocked look from her face before she drew herself tall again, "Well, come on then, there's no time to lose."
Dora nodded, stepping aside to let her Aunt leave the room and following her back up to the wing. The young witch paused slightly as she saw her Uncle Rodolphus stood outside his bedroom door, though Narcissa simply acted as if he were not there and went in ahead of him, Dora couldn't help but be distracted by his cold stare.
"I wouldn't advise going in there if I were you," Rodolphus said.
"I—" Dora hesitated for a moment, considering the man's comment. It was true that she had no desire to go into that room at all, she knew her Aunt well enough to know that a lot of cursing of both the sorts of language and magic was sure to take place as she undertook the task of childbirth. Though the more she thought about how nice it would be to avoid all of that, the more she thought of how unfair it would be for her to leave her Aunt Cissa alone to it all. "I have to go in there."
"Really?" Rodolphus raised an eyebrow, "Glutton for punishment, are you?"
"What are you two doing out here?" Barty asked casually as he exited his room and walked up to the pair, Dora did not miss the look he gave her Uncle nor the hand he casually placed on the small of her back, "What shit are you peddling now, Lestrange?"
"None at all, that is your area of expertise," Rodolphus chuckled.
"I—"
"Enough," Dora said firmly, taking the mans hand from her back and giving it a quick squeeze before she walked towards her Aunts door, "I'll have none of you two starting fights in the corridors whilst I'm trying to help with Aunt Bella,"
"Is she . . .?" Barty raised an eyebrow, he had long since been told of the impending arrival of the heir of The Dark Lord. It was unavoidable for him to learn the truth, the same for Rabastan, though they were both sworn to secrecy the same as everyone else who knew.
"I think so . . ." Dora bit her lip, "Don't wait up," without another word the witch went into her Aunts room, closing the door firmly behind her.
"Must feel odd," Barty mused, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, "having your wife giving birth to a child that isn't yours,"
"I'm sure it will feel just as odd when I curse you to insanity for not shutting your mouth, Crouch," Rodolphus raised his eyebrows at the man, as if daring him to carry on. When he did not he simply let out a small huff, it was almost as if the man was looking for a fight at that moment in time, anything to take the edge off. "I will deal with my . . .unique relationship, you focus on your own."
"And what of my relationship with Nymphadora is unique?" Barty asked.
"All one sided relationships are," Rodolphus said simply.
Without giving the man a chance to respond (though from the look of both annoyance and his clenched fists Rodolphus could almost guess what the man was about to start to say), he left for his brother's room ready to hide from his Wife for as long as he could.
"You're doing fine, Bella," Narcissa encouraged her older sister from her position awkwardly knelt between her legs at the end of the bed, "Just a couple more pushes and I'm sure we'll be there."
"Oh, what would you know!" Bellatrix screamed, her face and hair wet with sweat as she glared furiously at her sister, "You've never seen it from that angle!"
"Aunt Bella, we're just trying to—"
"You're just trying to annoy me!" Bellatrix yelled in agony, "The both of you!"
"How about you direct a little of that rage into energy for a push, hmm?" Narcissa said, not daring to look directly at her sister as she focused on the task at hand.
Bellatrix let out another scream, enticing a whimper from her niece whose hand she had decided to grip onto as if she was trying to squeeze the juice from a sopophorous bean with her bare hand. Nymphadora quickly bit her lip to stop herself yelling out at the pain of it as her Aunt bore down and tried to bring life to her child.
"The head's out, Bella," Narcissa sighed with relief, "Just a couple more little pushes,"
"You said a couple before that!" Bellatrix screeched, though she quickly gritted her teeth and with an all mighty guttural yell she did as her sister told her.
Soon the cries of the child filled the room and Bellatrix fell back onto her pillows with a whimper of relief. Nymphadora watched intently as Narcissa summoned the child's blanket from the side, cutting the girl's cord before she carefully wrapped her in its warmth. It was a strange sight, Dora thought, as she stepped back and watched her Aunt Cissa bring the newborn over to Bellatrix, placing her in the woman's arms so gently she was sure she was worried she would hurt the thing. Bellatrix had tears falling from her eyes as she cradled the girl, pushing the blanket back slightly as she looked with wonder at her features. The girl had quietened the moment she had been placed in her mother's arms and now, laid on a bed in a hidden wing of Malfoy Manor, lay the most feared dark witch of her time cradling the seemingly innocent newborn heir of The Dark Lord.
"Dora . . ." Narcissa spoke quietly, coming up to her niece's side after she had finished cleaning up her sister a few minutes later, "We should leave them . . ."
"C-Call him," Bellatrix said, taking a deep steadying breath and looking to her niece, "I—. . . I would, but I don't want to move her to get to my mark . . ."
"Of course," Dora nodded, taking her eyes off of the little girl as she pulled up her sleeve. She shook her head to clear it before she quickly pressed her finger to the snake and skull on her arm, as if scared if she didn't do it quickly she would not do it at all. Instant pain radiated up her arm for a brief moment, though it was followed quickly by the undeniable knowledge that their Lord was on his way to them.
Narcissa hesitated for a moment before she went to her sister, leaning over her and kissing her head in a tender gesture of which Nymphadora had never seen the two sisters share. "Well done, Bella," the younger witch whispered, the elder giving a small smile of acknowledgement.
"Come, Dora," Narcissa said as she turned to her niece, she took her hand and gently guided her from the room, closing the door behind them. "She's not one for emotions, Bella, best to give her a moment before he arrives . . ."
Dora didn't need to hear the entrance to the wing open to know that it was going to be an extremely brief moment that her Aunt received. The woman bowed immediately as she saw her Lord approach the two witches.
"All went well?" he asked, his voice so void of emotion for a man who had just become a father.
"Yes, My Lord," Narcissa said, the pair looking up to see him give a slight nod of approval before without another word he entered his most faithful's room, the silencing wards clearly still firmly in place from the deathly silence in that now filled the air.
The two witches stood in the silence for a few moments, Narcissa soon making her excuses of exhaustion as she left her niece alone. She had to admit it was a valid point; Nymphadora felt like she could sleep for days. Though as she laid in her bed after washing and dressing for the evening she couldn't help but stare blankly up at the canopy of her bed, wondering what it meant for them (and the Wizarding World as a whole for that matter) now that The Dark Lord had an heir.
So thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, please leave a review if you have a moment as I love to hear your thoughts.
I also promise things are going to get a lot more fast paced very soon, oh the plans I have . . .
The Purple Black