So I'm sorry this is a little bit later than usual, but it turned out to be a much longer chapter than I thought it would.
Anyway, thanks for all of your reviews, follows and favourites so far and please do read, enjoy and leave a review if you have a moment!
The Purple Black
"She will be fine," Bellatrix said, staring down at her young child in the arms of her niece.
"I'm sure she will be," Dora smiled, stroking the little girl's tuft of silver hair, "Narcissa is more than capable of looking after her for a few hours. She's used to looking after a baby, remember?"
"Yes . . ." Bellatrix sighed, "but she's used to looking after little Draco, not my Delphi. Draco was a baby years ago now and Delphini is far more precious and special than her little brat."
Dora merely rolled her eyes, holding back a smirk at the comment. It was true that Narcissa hadn't looked after a newborn alone for many years, though she had seen her help with Delphi multiple times so she knew her to be adequately capable. Besides, she did not want to point out the fact that she was sure looking after an infant Draco Malfoy was no different to looking after Delphini Riddle, heir to the Dark Lord or not, she was still just a baby and hadn't exactly started showing extraordinary powers (or any powers for that matter) that would deem Narcissa incapable of caring for her.
"I offered to stay," Dora said quietly as if scared her Aunt would hear her.
"You can't stay," Bellatrix hissed, "you need to come with me. Why do you seem so intent on not going? This is important, as any task for The Dark Lord is, but this is most definitely important."
"I know," Dora bit her lip, "it's just . . . the idea of swerving around on a broom a hundred feet in the hair makes my stomach turn right now."
"Nonsense," Bellatrix huffed, "I've seen you fly, you used to fly loops around the grounds for fun when you were younger . . . What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing, just feeling a bit sick," Dora shook her head, forcing a smile as she walked over and put Delphi in her cot, "she's asleep, why don't we make our way down? We can find Aunt Cissa on the way?"
"And leave her alone? For Merlin knows how long until Narcissa is here?" Bellatrix gave the girl an incredulous stare, going to continue to yell at the woman before a knock came at the door. She narrowed her eyes at her niece for a moment before she walked to the door, opening it the tiniest amount before with a groan she opened it fully to let Narcissa in, "Finally."
"I'm early, Bella," Narcissa sighed, walking over to her youngest niece and allowing herself to smile at the young infant.
"She's just had a feed," Bellatrix began, "her nappies are in the dresser, top drawer, spare clothes are below it, if she cries and you can't settle her try her stuffed bear—the brown one, not the black one, if—"
"I'll be fine, Bella," Narcissa sighed.
"But—"
"Come on, Aunt Bella," Dora bit back a smirk of amusement, "we'll be late. We mustn't keep the others waiting."
Bellatrix bit her lip, staring at the two women for a moment before with a breath of defeat she walked over to her sleeping child. It was a strange sight to see as the most powerful dark witch of her age leant down over her innocent child's cot, whispering her love and kissing her silver locks. Though soon the moment was forgotten about as they were headed to meet their fellow Death Eaters.
"Watch out!" Barty screamed.
The sound barely getting to Nymphadora as she swerved out of the way of an oncoming hex aiming to knock her out of the air just in time. She gritted her teeth against the oncoming winds, tightening her left hand on her broom as she flung a hex in retaliation as quickly as she could. Though she grazed the wings of the thestral it barely touched it, the creature was uninjured and further to that the threat of being attacked merely spurred the creature to fly faster.
"Nice aim, Nymphie!" Rabastan chided as he zoomed past her, almost having caught up with the pair ahead he focused on a flurry of spells to try and catch them off guard.
But something didn't seem right. Why was the Potter on the thestral clinging to the Weasley boy in such a way? Yes, he was still reflecting spells and sending the odd curse back towards them but something didn't seem quite right. She couldn't help but think that the Potter the three of them had decided to chase after was not, in fact, the Potter they needed. She considered trying to convey her thoughts to the boys, though without screaming at them and giving away her suspicions to their two prey she had no idea how to do so. So she continued to pursue them.
She swerved, ducked and looped out of the way of oncoming spells, giving just as good as she got. It was only when she heard the yell of Barty Crouch Jr that she faltered, looking to him in concern only to have that brief moment of distraction taken advantage of as she felt the sharp sting of a spell grazing her side. She hissed in pain, though steadied her grip on her broom as she became determined to look forward at the pair in front of them. But it was too late. Her eyes widened as Rabastan collided with an invisible force and without warning went plummeting towards the earth. She didn't have to think, she immediately went after him, only vaguely registering that Barty had done the same. The odds were against them. Barty pointed his wand at the man, screaming some spell that Nymphadora could not quite make out above the rushing of wind in her ears but thankfully the falling figure slowed. They reached the man at the same time and each grabbed a hand to pull the apparently unconscious form of Rabastan Lestrange towards them. Nymphadora felt her broom jump at the sudden weight and pain seared through her injured side but she ignored it as best as she could. Barty looked at her, it seemed that he was also in pain as blood trickled from his head, with a quick nod they reached a silent understanding and both slowly lowered their selves to the floor. They landed in a small clearing, letting Rabastan lower fully to the ground Nymphadora winced at the man's broken broom which had apparently hit a large tree on its way down to the floor and now lay in two.
"Idiot," Dora sighed.
"Don't worry, I reckon I got that Weasel good," Barty huffed, "the 'Potter boy' they had with them let out a rather feminine yell—I think I hit their arm?"
"Well, that's something," Dora shook her head, kneeling beside Rabastan and looking to see if he had any visible physical injuries, "are you okay? You're bleeding."
"You're bleeding too," Barty rolled his eyes.
"Am I?" Dora frowned, but looked quickly looked down to her side and saw the ripped fabric and blistering red exposed skin, "Shit . . . I don't think it's blood."
"Bet that stings though," Barty said, his eyes flashing to the woman's side for a moment before he knelt down on the other side of Barty and pointed his wand at him, "Rennervate."
Rabastan groaned, scrunching up his features as he brought his hand to his head, "What . . .?"
"You ran head first into a barrier," Barty snicked, "like the smart little shit you are."
"Piss off," Rabastan mumbled.
"Think he'll be alright to apparate himself?" Dora sighed.
Barty shook his head, "Come on, idiot," he chimed as he leant down and grabbed the other man's arm and pulled him to his feet despite his protests. He supported his weight as he propped him up against himself, "I'll apparate him."
"What about those two?" Dora asked, nodding in the direction of their lost prey.
"Long gone," Barty rolled his eyes, "you go back and report to The Dark Lord should you need to, I'll get this plonker in bed and get his brother to take a look at him."
"Right—" Dora went to continue, though the man had already apparated. She rolled her eyes and followed.
She waited on the porch of Malfoy Manor, leant up against one of the pillars as she closed her eyes to the dark night around her. No-one had come back here yet, she was unsure if they even had to, she had taught herself to become more in tune with the wards of the manor and was sure she would know when they did arrive. She was almost growing concerned now, she had been stood there for around twenty minutes and not even her Aunt and Uncle had returned. Surely they couldn't still be out there? Nymphadora winced slightly as she tried to put her hand on the wound on her side, she had tried to heal it already but with no success (though perhaps that was more down to the fact that she couldn't see the damned thing properly enough to heal it and she had the rising urge to vomit rapidly progressing in her depleting her will to focus).
"Fuck," Nymphadora gasped as she put her hand to her mouth, she tried to run back inside but it was no use and soon Nymphadora Tonks was spewing her guts up in the pristine flowerbeds over the side of Narcissa Malfoy's porch. Minutes later she groaned, wiping her mouth with her sleeve and trying to regain her standing as she went to draw her wand to clear up her mess.
"Beautiful," Bellatrix huffed, causing the girl to jump and almost swear again as she turned to face her Aunt, "Cissa will be pleased."
"Sorry," Dora mumbled, vanishing the mess, "where's Uncle Rod? And the others?"
"Rodolphus decided to walk in without saying hello when he noticed your little display," Bellatrix sighed, "the rest . . . Merlin knows. The Dark Lord is not happy, though he was there for Potter—the true Potter . . . The boy still lives . . . There's no need to report. Come on."
Nymphadora didn't argue as her Aunt took her elbow and guided her into the manor, watching her gaze slide down to her injured side she merely rolled her eyes. She only spoke again when they were both safely in Nymphadora's room.
"How did you get that?" Bellatrix asked as she lifted the girls arm to get a better look at the injury, wrinkling her nose, "Are those boils?"
"I don't know," Dora groaned, "Barty got hit—he's okay, I think—I got distracted for a split second and got hit. Rabastan got knocked out too, he flew into a ward when he wasn't paying enough attention, but we woke him up and Barty made sure he got back okay."
"Hmpf," Bellatrix drew her wand, running it over the injury "bloody Order, they never use the spells to kill you—just the ones to cause great annoyance. I'll heal it as best I can, there's a potion I can get for you for the rest of it. Though I can't see anything in these that would make you vomit."
"Thanks," Dora replied, biting her lip at the strange sensation of Bella's spells running through her side.
"You felt sick earlier though, didn't you?" Bellatrix hummed, "And if I remember correctly you told me you couldn't be around Delphi a few days ago as you'd been sick and didn't want to risk giving her a bug . . . "
"Probably nerves," Dora sighed, "today at least, maybe a stomach bug earlier. Who knows?"
"You've also looked pretty run down and tired recently."
"Thanks," Dora scoffed.
Bellatrix stood upright after she had repaired the girls dress, narrowing her eyes at her for a moment as she considered her. After a few moments of awkward silence, the younger witch awkwardly shuffling on the spot under her piercing gaze, Bellatrix finally spoke again.
"Lay down," she said simply and clearly.
"Why?" Dora frowned in confusion.
"Because it can make you go a bit dizzy if you're not laying down," Bellatrix said.
"What ca—"
"Lay down," Bellatrix repeated more firmly.
"Fine," Dora rolled her eyes, going to lay down on the bed. She had a slight fear of what Bellatrix was about to try, what she thought she might know. Dora wasn't sure if her Aunt was just a master detective or if she had been trying to read her thoughts again, but she had a good idea of what she thought she may be about to try. She gave her Aunt one last hesitant look before she laid back on the bed, shifting her gaze to her Aunts wand as she drew it. Though this time her wand did not go to her side, slowly but surely, she moved its tip to her abdomen. Nymphadora screwed her eyes shut.
Her Aunt was right, as she heard her Aunt mutter a spell she did not recognise a strange sensation took over her. It was if her very insides were being inspected by thin creeping tendrils and although she did not feel dizzy she felt the overwhelming urge to be sick again. But as quickly as it had begun, it was over and Nymphadora Tonks gasped at the sensation of the spell leaving her.
She waited a moment before slowly opening her eyes, though she dared not look at her Aunt, "Well?" she practically whispered, "Am I pregnant?"
Bellatrix wrinkled her nose slightly, thinking for a moment before the girl met her gaze and she gave a deep sigh, "Yes,"
"Shit," Dora's voice broke slightly as she held back tears.
"I take it you didn't know?" Bellatrix asked, pocketing her wand.
"No," Dora shook her head, sitting up on her bed as she let a hand rest on her stomach, "I mean, I'm late . . . really late, I suppose. I had started to wonder a little, but— . . . Shit," Dora ran her hands through her now white hair in disbelief, "I—What the hell is Barty going to say? What's The Dark Lord going to say?"
Bellatrix shook her head, sitting on the end of the bed, "I do not know about Barty . . . The Dark Lord? Well . . ." Bellatrix let out a breath and shrugged, "It's potentially another metamorphmagus . . . which would be useful . . . but you may get to a point where you can't carry out your duties—I doubt you will have to hide away or be banned from duty all together as I was but . . . it does get to a point in pregnancy where you can't exactly battle anymore . . ."
"Shit," Dora breathed.
"Your vocabulary is depleting," Bellatrix smirked, "The Dark Lord should be fine. Like I said; it's another metamorphmagus potentially and if not a metamorphmagus then it is still a child born from two well respected and talented Death Eaters. So a useful servant nevertheless."
Dora winced, though she was scared and totally unprepared for this unplanned child she didn't quite like the way her Aunt was already talking about it; like it was just another pawn in The Dark Lord's plans, to have its choices made before it was even born. True, she wouldn't exactly mind any future children serving The Dark Lord, but not without choice and certainly not so soon.
"I don't think Barty will be too happy . . ." Dora bit her lip.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Bellatrix said casually, in truth she agreed with her niece's assumption.
"He'll freak," Dora shook her head.
"He cares for you, a lot, he'll stand by you," Bellatrix said simply, again unsure if she was entirely telling the truth.
"I hope . . ." Dora murmured, "I need to tell him . . . I need to tell The Dark Lord," she paled noticeably.
"Let me talk to The Dark Lord for you," Bellatrix offered, moving closer to her niece and taking the girls hand, although she hated to admit it the scared and upset look on Nymphadora's face was making Bellatrix feel sorry for her, making her want to take off some of the burden even, if she could.
"You'd do that?" Dora looked up, slightly surprised at the older witch, "Will he not be . . . I don't know . . ."
"I can talk to him," Bellatrix said, "you can deal with Barty."
"Thanks," Dora said, though, at the prospect of having to tell Barty Crouch Jr that he was going to be a father, she sounded far less enthusiastic.
Bellatrix merely laughed, wrapping an arm around the girl and letting her rest her head on her shoulder. She had to admit, she was interested to see Barty's reaction to all of this, though she was unsure of how the man would react one thing was for certain; he would be standing by Nymphadora whether he liked it or not.
"Idiots," Rodolphus hissed, shaking his head as his wife merely rolled her eyes at him.
"I don't think they did this on purpose, Rod," Bellatrix sighed, "Though yes, I agree with your sentiment."
"Does The Dark Lord know?" Rodolphus asked.
"Yes—and for Merlin's sake stop pacing!" Bellatrix huffed, adjusting herself on the edge of the bed, "You're annoying me,"
"Well, I am sorry, Bellatrix," Rodolphus spoke mockingly, turning his nose up at the woman, "What did he say when she told him? Do you know?"
"I told him," a small smirk played at the corner of her lips, "he seemed pleased, believe it or not."
"Pleased?" Rodolphus raised an eyebrow, "You have got to be joking. She's not going to be able to go out on missions in her condition, she'll have hormones flying all over the place—which if she's anything like you will not be pleasant. She's essentially made herself useless for nine months."
"Not quite nine months," Bellatrix said, "we figured she would be around six weeks, though she wouldn't be much use for at least a week or so after, I suppose."
"And The Dark Lord was pleased with this?" Rodolphus asked, astonished that this could be seen as anything but a bad thing.
Bellatrix laughed slightly, getting to her feet and walking over to her husband she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up into his dark eyes, "It is likely to be a Metamorphmagus, Rodolphus. Even if it is not it will be the child of two powerful Death Eaters and so we can only assume it will be more than competent itself. It will serve The Dark Lord, just as its parents do, be brought up knowing only of his ways."
"It is a baby," Rodolphus sighed, though he allowed himself to rest his hands on his wife's hips as she leant into him, "how will it serve The Dark Lord?"
"Delphini is a baby," Bellatrix said simply, ignoring the man's flinch at the sound of her daughter's name, "babies grow up, Roddy. We will not be around forever, though the Dark Lord may very well be . . . we need to ensure that The Dark Lord has followers for generations to come."
Rodolphus stiffened slightly, trying to suppress his distaste at his wife's words. If The Dark Lord needed followers for generations to come, why could he not have an heir? It was true that Bellatrix had never been fond of the idea of children, though she was already a mother now and if more children could further aid The Dark Lord surely she should be willing to help in any way she could? By giving Rodolphus what he wanted? He took a deep breath as Bellatrix kissed his shoulder, moving his hand to the small of her back he tried to suppress his anger. It seemed the closest he was ever going to get to having a child to care for would be the care he had helped Bellatrix give Nymphadora since she had lived with them at sixteen. Though he tried not to admit that he did care for the Metamorphmagus. He decided it was best to try to steer the conversation back to Nymphadora, rather than future generations of any sort.
"Does Barty know yet?" He asked.
"Nymphadora said that she would tell him," Bellatrix said.
"I—"
Both Rodolphus and Bellatrix turned to face the door, a loud bang of a door slamming echoed throughout the hall. Both drew their wands on instinct, Rodolphus storming straight to their own door and tearing it open to see who had made such a noise. Bellatrix growled in annoyance as she followed him.
"I swear if that woke up Delphini I will kill you, Barty Crouch!" Bellatrix hissed as she spotted the man making his way to the exit of the wing.
"Piss off!" Barty sneered, stopping to glare at the woman.
"Do not talk to my wife like that, Crouch," Rodolphus narrowed his eyes, "Do you have a death wish?"
"Maybe," Barty raised his eyebrows, "want to try it?"
Bellatrix glared at the man for a moment, looking down the corridor she realised that the door to the man's room was open ever so slightly, so therefore it could not have been the door that had slammed shut. A thought came to her mind, "Where have you been?"
"None of your business," Barty scoffed.
"You've been with Nymphadora haven't you?" Bellatrix narrowed her eyes, "So help me, Barty Crouch, if you stormed out on that girl—"
"What do you care?" Barty interrupted, "Why has it got anything to do with you, Bellatrix? This doesn't affect you!"
Bellatrix pointed her wand at the man, her face lit with fury as she tried to decide if it was best to kill him instantly or let him suffer. To her surprise, it was Rodolphus who stood forward, his glare trained on the man.
"Go and see to Nymphadora, Bella," Rodolphus breathed, waiting for a few moments before he carried on, "Now!"
He didn't take his eyes off of the younger man, waiting until he heard Bellatrix snarl and storm to the girl's room. Barty let out a huff, shaking his head before he went to leave the wing. He jumped back as a spell went flying in front of him.
"What the fuck, Lestrange?" Barty snarled, turning to hex the man though before he could even raise his wand to him he was disarmed.
"What happened?" Rodolphus asked, his voice sounding much calmer than his appearance let on.
"You know what happened," Barty spat, "Bellatrix knows, so I'm sure she's been whispering all of her secrets in your ear."
"Nymphadora told you?"
"Yes,"
"And?"
"And what?" Barty asked.
"What did you say to her?" Rodolphus spoke slowly and clearly as if he was trying to get through to a small child.
"Nothing," Barty shrugged.
"Nothing?"
"Are you deaf?" Barty asked, "She told me she was pregnant, I left. Now if you'll excuse me,"
Barty went to leave the wing again, though as he reached down to pick up his fallen wand on his exit he let out a yell. Rodolphus had run at him, grabbing him by the scruff of his robes with one hand as he pressed him up against the wall, the other hand directing his wand directly into his throat.
"Well, isn't this cosy," Barty spoke mockingly, though hissed as the man pulled him back from the wall slightly only to slam him back into the stone.
"You need to go back in there," Rodolphus said.
"No, I—"
"You got yourself into this mess!" Rodolphus yelled, "You face the consequences of your actions!"
"Wise words coming from the man who skipped out on his consequences when me and your brother went to Azkaban—Ah!" Barty writhed under the man's grip as he sent the Cruciatus curse storming through his body, panting for breath when he released it what felt like hours later though was truly only seconds.
"Nymphadora is pregnant with your child," Rodolphus hissed in the man's ear, "you are going to become a father whether you like it or not."
"She can get rid of it," Barty said, "The Dark Lord—"
"Is happy to have future soldiers, pleased at the prospect of another Metamorphmagus Death Eater, even pleased that two talented Death Eaters would produce a child together," Rodolphus curled his lip at the man, "though I see no power in you, you are pathetic."
Barty merely glared at the man, gritting his teeth as he refrained himself from throwing another insult his way. "The child is made," Barty said simply, "he has his soldier, I do not have to be there."
"Yes, you do," Rodolphus said, "You should be grateful you have a child! You should be standing by Nymphadora wanting to raise that child alongside her! Or was she always just a distraction for you? A little bit of fun? I've seen you care about her, so there must be something there."
Barty glared at the man for a moment, unwilling to give the man any of the information that he wanted from him. Instead, he merely rolled his eyes, "I will not be forced into marriage,"
"We wouldn't force you on poor Nymphadora," Rodolphus sneered.
"You care about her," Barty asked, intrigued, "don't you? I mean, it's obvious that Bellatrix cares about her but you . . . I thought she was more of something you would put up with, rather than someone to care for. Are you growing soft in your old age, Lestrange?"
"My wife cares for Nymphadora," Rodolphus replied, "and I care for my wife. The woman has been living with us since she was a girl, I have had to look out for her more than once over the years and no, I suppose some of that was not purely because my wife would be upset if she came into harm's way. See, I'm a man, Barty. Not a boy like you, who cannot admit to the simplest of things. Though I warn you, if you hurt Nymphadora—emotionally or otherwise, it will not just be Bellatrix that you will have to look out for. I assure you that, between the two of us," he leant in slightly closer, breathing in his ear and smirking as Barty stiffened beneath him, "if you see that girl wrong you will be sleeping with one eye open for the rest of your very short life." Rodolphus let his words hang in the air for a moment, snickering as he eventually released the man and took a step back. "I suggest that—if you have any sense—that you go for walk. You return in say . . . less than an hour. When you get back here you go to Nymphadora and you tell her you were simply shocked, scared even, that you wanted to clear your mind. I imagine it's a frightening thing to become a father in the middle of a war without being prepared. Nymphadora is scared herself no doubt so she will not question it. You apologise for frightening her further and assure her that you will stand by her. Do you understand me?" He gave the man an opportunity to respond, though as the man merely glared at him he lifted his wand again, gritting his teeth as he snarled, "Do you understand me? Or do I have to make you understand me?"
Barty remained silent, though gave a single and barely noticeable nod.
"Good," Rodolphus smirked, "Do not disappoint me."
With that Rodolphus turned and went back towards his own room, suppressing a chuckle of amusement as he heard the younger man scramble from the ward to 'clear his mind'.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my little plot twist, it's been planned since before I wrote the first chapter so very glad to be getting to this bit. Please do feel free to leave me a review (I absolutely love reading them) and if you'd like head on over to my Tumblr (user is the same as here) where you can ask me anything you want and see some of the other Harry Potter stuff I get up to!
Thanks again!
The Purple Black