The baby fussed in her bassinet, begging for attention. Bellatrix eyed the child coldly; she wanted nothing to do with it. She had wanted a son; they had all wanted the girl to be a boy. And yet here she was, screeching infernally for attention she would not get. Not from Bellatrix.
Bellatrix pushed her curls from her face, tugging her hand from Narcissa's. "Will you take the brat away?" she snapped. "I want to sleep."
"She is hungry, Bella," Narcissa said softly, glancing between her sister and her newborn niece.
Bellatrix scowled. "Well, you feed her then! You've still got milk from Draco, don't you?"
Narcissa flinched at her sister's rage, and bit her lip. "Bella, she needs her mother -"
"I don't want her," Bellatrix said petulantly. She had never wanted the child to begin with. When she found out she was pregnant, she wished the child was a squib so it would not be taboo to get rid of her; and yet there the baby's magic was, wrapped tight around her own. She had felt the magic grow as the baby did. Bellatrix would never have gotten rid of a magical child - such would be against everything her Lord believed in. "I should have hexed Rodolphus' bollocks off the minute I married him."
The baby wailed, and Bellatrix relented. She would feed the child, if only to shut her up. She gestured for Narcissa to pass the child to her, and placed the baby at her breast. She felt no love for her daughter, even as the child settled warmly in her arms, even as she fed it. She had never hated her husband more. It was his fault, after all, that she had birthed the child; if it weren't for his relentlessness, his greedy hands, his lust potions, she would have never gotten pregnant.
"Where is Rodolphus?" Narcissa asked.
"Out," Bellatrix said shortly. "As I should be." Her husband and his brother had been sent out by the Dark Lord - a mission that should have been hers. She was better than them, smarter than them, more powerful than them; she was the best servant the Dark Lord had. Rodolphus had stolen this from her; as soon as she was able, she swore to make him pay for what he had done.
"You gave birth four hours ago, Bella, surely you understand you cannot be on the battlefield."
"I understand perfectly. That is why she never should have existed in the first place," Bellatrix spat. She was wasted, being a mother; she should be out serving her lord, not wallowing away with a child at her breast. She knew it was important for magical society as a whole, for those who could to birth Pureblooded children; but Bellatrix had never wanted that. She had never wanted to be a wife, a mother - she preferred to help the Pureblood cause in her own way. But it couldn't be helped; she had done her part. Narcissa would look after the child, and Bellatrix would be able to go back to serving her lord.
The baby finished feeding, and Bellatrix handed her back to Narcissa, glad to be rid of the brat. The baby began to wail, and Narcissa cooed at the girl, rocking her gently. "I will care for her, Bella. I will feed her and look after her so you might serve the Dark Lord. But she needs a name, first."
Bellatrix paused to think. "Lydia Columba. A pure, noble name so she does not forget where she came from." At least now that the brat was out of her, she wasn't her problem any more.
Narcissa smiled down at the baby, smoothing down the child's already curly head of hair. "Lydia Columba Lestrange. A strong name. A fine name for her to grow into." Lydia quietened as her aunt cooed down at her, and was gently rocked back to sleep.