So, I am so sorry that this update has taken longer than usual! It's been a pretty hectic time and on top of all that I lost about a third of this chapter when I was almost done and had to re-write! Anyway, I hope to get back on track with the updates now.
As always, please read, enjoy and leave a review if you have a moment as I love hearing your thoughts!
The Purple Black
The minutes turned into hours, the hours into days, the days into weeks, all in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Such was the way in Malfoy Manor. Nymphadora had thought that once the Ministry had fallen that there would be more to do, that she would be out of the Manor most days reeking havoc with her Aunt or helping rule the country in their new regime. But this was not the case. At first she thought it was the fact she was pregnant, unable to live up to her full duties with a stomach now the size of an overgrown pumpkin at eight and a half months pregnant, but it seemed the case for everyone. Yes the rest got to go out on the occasional raid, though she had only stopped going on these in the last couple of months and even these seemed few and far between. She was in the middle of a war and had hardly anything to do or show for it, ferreted away in Malfoy Manor barely better off than she had been as a wanted criminal.
She walked the hallways to pass the time, nodding in acknowledgement to the odd Death Eater she would see within the manor. She did this most days, walking around until her feet were swollen and she had to resign herself to bed. But Nymphadora Tonks was not the sort of person to sit around doing nothing all day.
"Nymphadora!" Narcissa raised her voice as she saw the younger witch attempting to sneak out of the back door to the manor, "What did I tell you about running around the Manor alone?"
"I'm hardly running now, am I?" Dora scoffed, turning to face her Aunt with a raised eyebrow.
"You're due any day now." Narcissa sighed, shaking her head.
"I have a few weeks left," Dora said, resting against the door frame and hiding a small wince of pain.
"That means nothing," Narcissa scoffed, "Draco was nearly a whole month early and apparently all of my mother's children were too, it runs in the family."
Dora frowned, furrowing her brows, "I don't think going into labour early is something that can be hereditary, Aunt Cissa."
"Well, best to be careful," Narcissa rolled her eyes, walking up to the witch and taking her arm in her own, "I know for a fact that you are clumsy enough without carrying that child around, being so pregnant is enough to throw any woman off balance."
"Thanks," Dora scoffed, she winced again, though this time she was not as skilled at hiding the gesture.
"What's wrong?" Narcissa frowned, "Baby kicking?"
"No . . ." Dora sighed, shaking her head, "just cramps."
"Cramps?" Narcissa looked at the girl carefully, "What sort of cramps?"
"They're nothing," Dora shook her head, "barely twinges, I've been having them all day."
"Nymphadora!" Narcissa hit the girls arm.
"Hey!" Dora whined, "Don't go hitting pregnant women, I'll hit you back you know."
"Save your strength," Narcissa said, shaking her head as she took her arm back in her own and began to direct her away from the back door, "you'll need it."
"Where are we going?" Dora huffed, getting irritated at the woman though she followed her regardless, "I want to go out in the garden, I need fresh air."
"You need your bed," Narcissa said firmly, helping her niece as she got to the stairs, "you can't have a baby out in my gardens."
"What?" Dora frowned, grunting slightly as another wave of pain came over her, "Aunt Cissa I'm not going to—" her face paled and she froze as she looked to her Aunt with wide eyes and a hint of fear, "I'm not in labour. It's just cramps."
"I don't think it is," Narcissa shook her head, "Come on, we'll get a better idea of it once we've gotten you into bed."
Nymphadora didn't argue, stunned into silence as she followed her Aunt without another word.
"I swear to fucking Salazar if you do not get me a pain killing potion right now I will make sure both of you feel every single inch of pain I'm experiencing tenfold!" Nymphadora screeched, her hair a mess of white and red, her face covered in sweat and the nightdress she had changed into what seemed like days ago now bunched up to her waist.
"Charming," Bellatrix scoffed, looking to her sister with a small smirk, "and here we are trying to help you."
"If you are trying to help me then get it out of me!" Nymphadora cried, shaking as she gripped tightly onto Bellatrix's hand she rested her head on her shoulder in her exhaustion.
"Dora, you're not far off now," Narcissa said softly, trying to reassure the girl, though she winced as she replied.
"You said that an hour ago!" Dora growled, turning her head to glare at the blonde witch, "And the hour before that!"
"Well . . ." Narcissa sighed, "babies come in their own time, Dora,"
"So stop telling me I'm nearly there if you don't know when it will be!" Dora cried, tears now streaming down her face, "Where's Barty?"
"He's been called out, darling," Bellatrix said carefully. In truth she had no idea where he was, she had tried to look for him a few times since Dora had gone into labour, the last time being told by Rab that he was last seen drinking in the library. But when she went looking she couldn't find him there.
"I-Ah!" Dora screamed in agony, gripping onto her Aunt's hand even tighter as she gritted her teeth through the pain.
"That's it, Dora!" Narcissa encouraged her, "Oh—I can see the head!"
"I can't!" Dora cried, falling back on the bed, panting for air as she shook her head at the pain.
"You have to!" Narcissa said, "They're almost—!"
"Don't you dare!" Dora hissed.
"Dora," Bellatrix sighed, taking the flannel from the side and wiping away the girl's sweat from her forehead, "you've endured worse pain than this, you can get through this, you just need to work at it."
"I can't," Dora whimpered.
"Fine," Bellatrix shrugged, "be weak, it's only your child's safety you're putting at risk by not doing what your body tells you to."
Dora hesitated for a moment before she growled, sitting up as best she could she gripped onto the bannister with her spare hand, pushing down on her Aunts hand with her other as she didn't realise the small triumphant smirk her Aunt gave. It took a mere minutes after that. Soon the screams of the mother died and the cries of a new babe entering the world began. Nymphadora fell back into her pillows, releasing her Aunt's hand as she looked at her other Aunt, now cradling a scwalling, red-haired baby in her arms as she wrapped her in a towel. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight and as Bellatrix adjusted her pillows for her with a casual flick of her wand and Dora knew her hair had gone bright pink without having to see it.
"What is it?" Dora asked, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
Narcissa smiled, looking to her sister for a moment as she walked over to take a closer look at the child before went over to its mother. "It's a girl, Nymphadora," Narcissa spoke softly, placing the little girl in her mother's arms.
"A-A girl?" Dora breathed, though the minute the child was in her arms she could think of no more words to speak. The moment the girl was put in her arms she calmed as if she knew she was her mother. Her hair calmed with her, the red soon fading into what must have been her natural dark brown and she looked towards her mother as she grabbed tightly onto the finger she offered. "She's beautiful . . ."
"Cassiopeia . . ." Bellatrix hummed, tilting her head as she looked at the pair, ignoring her sister as she cleaned the mess, "bit of a mouthful."
"Cassie for short . . ." Dora said, not once taking her eyes off of her little girl as she smiled, "it's not like Nymphadora isn't a mouthful."
"I think it's pretty," Narcissa said, "I—"
The women froze as the door swung open, Rodolphus pushing in Barty Crouch Jr "Get off me!" Barty growled though Rodolphus had already closed the door on the man before he could get a view of what was going on within the room himself.
"Barty?" Dora called softly to the man, smiling as he turned and all anger from his face disappeared.
"Better late than never," Bellatrix hissed under her breath.
"Come on, Bella," Narcissa said quickly before her sister began an argument with the man (though from the dazed look on his face as he stared at Nymphadora and their child she thought it unlikely), "let's leave them to it."
Bellatrix gave the man a final glare before with a nod and without another word she left the room with Narcissa. Nymphadora tried to sit up in the bed slightly better, wincing at her pain and shushing the little girl in her arms as she made a small whine of protest.
"Shhh . . ." Dora murmured as she kissed her head, "it's okay, Mummy's here . . . and Daddy, albeit a little late."
"I—I didn't know," Barty murmured, regaining the ability to move from his stunned state to slowly approach the bed, "What is . . ."
"It's a girl," Dora smiled as Barty gingerly sat on the bed next to her, "little Cassiopeia Dora Crouch."
"Can I . . . ?" Barty nodded to the child, unable to help his smile as he carefully took her in his arms, "Cassie . . . she has my eyes."
"For now," Dora smirked, resting her head on Barty's shoulder as she stared down at the small child, "takes after me."
"Of course . . ." Barty rocked the girl in his arms for a few moments, staring deeply into her eyes as she clung to his robes, "I'm sorry I wasn't—"
"It's fine," Dora shook her head, sighing as she closed her eyes, "just stay here now, okay?"
"Okay . . ." Barty murmured in reply, watching his little girl long after Nymphadora had even fallen asleep.
"She's so peaceful when she's sleeping . . ." Dora murmured as she stared down at her blonde haired child sleeping peacefully in her cot, "she's beautiful."
"She is," Bellatrix agreed, adjusting her nearly one-year-old daughter on her lap as the little girl tugged a little too harshly at her mother's long black curls, "How are you coping, Dora?"
"Fine . . ." Dora said casually, walking over to her bed to sit next down her Aunt, "Tired . . . I haven't slept much the last few weeks."
"Do you not have Barty to help you?" Bellatrix raised her eyebrow, sighing as her daughter wriggled down to get to her previously abandoned toy on the floor.
"He . . ." Dora shook her head, "he isn't around much. He has a lot of raids to go on of late."
"He should be here," Bellatrix said firmly, "Cassiopeia is his responsibility as much as she is yours."
"It's fine, Aunt Bella," Dora sighed, forcing a slight smile, "Aunt Cissa said men don't see their children too much anyway, it's just the way it is. I mean . . ." Dora looked down to little Delphi playing on the floor, wondering if she dared to say what she was thinking.
"The Dark Lord is a completely different situation," Bellatrix said, a tone of warning in her voice as Dora did not have to speak her thoughts for her to know what she was thinking, "as are you and Barty. He spent nearly every day with you before . . . and most days when you were pregnant."
"It's fine, I—"
"It is not fine!" Bellatrix hissed.
"Ma!" Delphi snapped from the floor in protest of the woman's sudden shouting.
Nymphadora quickly threw a silencing ward around her daughter's cot, biting her lip as she watched her stir for a moment she only addressed her Aunt again when she was sure she was not going to wake.
"He should be helping you," Bellatrix said firmly, "how often has he seen Cassie since she's been born?"
"I don't know," Dora said.
"Liar," Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at the girl.
"Fine," Dora rolled her eyes, "probably five? Maybe six?"
"She is three weeks old, Nymphadora!" Bellatrix said, "He lives in the same Manor as you!"
"He's been busy!" Dora yelled back. "I—"
Both witches paused as cries could be heard from the floor, the young girl was seemingly not happy to see her cousin and mother argue. Bellatrix did not hesitate to pick up her child, kissing her head and stroking her hair as she gradually calmed her. Delphi had her arms wrapped around her mother's neck, her head resting on her shoulder as she sniffed every now and then.
"I'll have words with him," Bella practically whispered.
"Don't," Dora rolled her eyes, "it's fine, Aunt Bella."
"Rodolphus warned him . . ."
"Warned him about what?" Dora asked, her eyes widening slightly in concern, "When on earth did Uncle Rod talk to Barty about me and Cassie for?"
"Don't worry yourself over it," Bellatrix shook her head, standing up as she cradled her daughter in her arms, "Delphi is tired, I'm going to put her to sleep and maybe go out for a little while. You can join me if you want to? Cissa would be more than willing to babysit both of the girls."
"No," Dora murmured, her gaze falling back to her sleeping daughter, "I might have a sleep. They say you should sleep when they sleep, don't they?"
"They do," Bellatrix agreed, hesitating for a moment before she leant down and kissed her niece's hair, "rest. I'll come check on you both later."
Dora nodded and watched the pair leave her room. She tried not to think about what on earth her Uncle had said to the father of her child, though thought she may have to talk to him about the matter soon to find out. She laid back onto her bed, staring at her daughter she was sure she could watch her all day and not become bored of the pastime, but soon the sleep deprivation caught up on her. Within a matter of minutes, Nymphadora Tonks was fast asleep.
Bellatrix came back to the manor a few hours later. There was blood on her robes and her hair was wild from her antics but she had a satisfied smirk on her cold features all the same. It had helped to blow off some steam, to watch the pathetic muggles squirm and die at her own hand as she relished in the freedom this new regime in the wizarding world allowed her. She had calmed considerably. Though as she made her way back towards her room she was soon reminded of the reason she had gained the need to blow off some steam in the first place. Barty Crouch didn't look at her as he walked out of his room, she waited to see if he was going to see Nymphadora, though the man kept his head down and walked with purpose as he went straight past the door.
"Where are you going?" Bellatrix asked, raising an eyebrow at the man as he turned to face her with an almost defensive look on his features.
"Out," Barty said, "not that it's any of your business."
"Why are you going out?" Bellatrix asked, her previous satisfied smirk now completely gone.
"Again, don't think that's any of your business." Barty rolled his eyes, going to turn to leave the witch behind him before he hissed in pain. He turned to see Bellatrix glaring at him, her wand drawn from the small stinging hex she had thrown at him, "What was that for?"
"I was talking to you," Bellatrix sneered, "do not walk away from me. Why aren't you with Nymphadora?"
"Why would I be with Nymphadora?" Barty asked, "I have things to be doing."
"You do not," Bellatrix yelled, "you are creating things to be doing so that you can leave Nymphadora alone with the baby and shirk your responsibilities!"
"Excuse me?" Barty scoffed.
"You have seen that child no more than six times in the three weeks she has been alive!" Bellatrix tightened her grip on her wand, not missing the fact that Barty had now drawn his own wand, "She needs you."
"Cassie is three weeks old, as you have said," Barty sneered, "she has her mother and that's all she needs right now."
"Her mother is not getting enough sleep! She needs help! You should be the one to help her, this should not be Nymphadora's responsibility alone when it was the both of you that created that little girl, no matter how careless you were being and no matter if it was a mistake or not!"
"Why do you care?" Barty laughed, "Why on earth are you so concerned if Dora has had a little less sleep?"
"She needs your help," Bellatrix glared furiously, considering if she should just curse the man where he stood, especially as he walked closer to her, "she can't do this alone."
"You didn't answer my question, Trixie," Barty laughed, "Why do you care? You've never cared about Nymphadora, not truly—not as much as she thinks you do at least."
Bellatrix merely glared more furiously at the man, her eye twitching slightly in her anger at his accusation though unwilling to admit her feelings for Nymphadora (or any other person for that matter) to Barty Crouch of all people.
"Don't deny it, do you?" Barty laughed yet again, "You pretend to care, you help her and care for her and took her in when she was a child. But that wasn't for her benefit, was it? It was for yours."
"How dare you—"
"There's no need to deny it," Barty shrugged, "Rod told me and Rab one night when we were drinking. How you didn't even know she existed until you saw her as a child, how you saw her powers and decided that she would be the best little tool for The Dark Lord when he came back to power—how proud he would be of you for presenting him with a servant with such abilities! How you manipulated her into thinking that you were the only one she could trust, how you were so proud when you finally got her away from your blood traitor sister. Though no, I suppose you care for her a little, but Rod said that only began when she was a teenager—what happened there to melt your ice heart a little Bellatrix?"
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Bellatrix gritted her teeth.
"I think I do," Barty said, his gaze flickering behind Bellatrix for a split second before he carried on, "you only wanted Dora for her powers, you would have killed her the first chance she got for being your blood traitor sisters offspring if she was just another half-blood witch."
"You think you're so clever," Bellatrix snarled, "I could kill you the first chance I get if you're not careful. I care for Dora a hell of a lot more than you do."
"I doubt it," Barty raised an eyebrow, "I took an interest in Dora because I liked her as a person, you took an interest in her because of her magic. You tricked her, used her, played her like a fool, she—"
"Stop it," the voice was calm, so quiet that it was barely audible, though Barty saw the woman's lips move and couldn't help but smirk at the wide-eyed look of horror that fell over Bellatrix Lestrange's features as she clearly heard her niece as well.
Bellatrix attempted to compose herself, closing her eyes for a moment to gather herself before she slowly turned to face her niece. The woman stood in the doorway of her bedroom, her expression void of emotion in such a way that Bellatrix was sure Narcissa would be proud of. She stared at her Aunt, not saying a word.
"Dora, I—"
"Cassie's due to wake up soon," Dora said casually as she moved her gaze to look at Barty, "I was going to give her bath. Will you help me?"
"Of course," Barty said without hesitation.
He walked straight past Bellatrix, trying to keep at least some of the amusement off of his features as he walked over to Dora. He pressed a kiss on her cheek, lingering there for a moment though her gaze was now firmly fixed upon her Aunt again. Dora waited for Barty to enter her room, letting herself stare at her flustered Aunt for a few more moments before without another word she turned away and closed the door behind her.
Thanks for reading! Please do leave a review if you have a chance or head on over to my Tumblr (same username as here) if you have any questions, comments and to find some fanart of this story ;)
The Purple Black