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Chapter 7 -
"So, besides Dumbledore having the key, is there anything else you've learnt from Gringotts?" Andromeda asked with a small frown on her face, she couldn't help but get the feeling that her crazy sister was hiding something. Past experience had taught her that whenever Bellatrix had news she would like to save the worse news for last.
"Well, there is one thing," Bellatrix wrinkled her nose angrily. "It's pissed me off to no end,"
"Well, what is it?" Narcissa asked impatiently, rolling her eyes.
"There's a marriage contract for Hydrus," Bellatrix growled furiously.
"There's a what?" Andromeda blinked as Narcissa merely raised an eyebrow.
"A marriage contract!" Bellatrix snapped. "Some stupid little bint is trying to steal my boy from me!"
"And just whom is the contract with?" Narcissa asked calmly.
"The Greengrass family," Bellatrix grunted, a sour look on her face.
"Bellatrix, the girl is near enough Harry's age," Andromeda pointed out.
"It's Hydrus! And I don't care, she's trying to steal him from me!" Bellatrix hissed.
"Don't be dramatic, she's five," Narcissa sighed. "I am sure that she won't be trying to steal him from you, we will make it perfectly clear to her that you are always going to be part of Hydrus's life."
"Damn right, I will be!" Bellatrix exclaimed.
"I'd like to know just why Hydrus is contracted with the girl in the first place?" Andromeda asked.
"Bloody Regulus was supposed to be contracted with the Greengrass family because Sirius ran away," Bellatrix replied. "But he's gone, and there were no women in the family by the time the contract got passed down to Regulus seeing as the last one had died. The contract has since passed onto my sweet and innocent, Hydrus. They're to be wed if they are of age."
"Relax, sister," Narcissa sighed. "I'm sure the contract has an escape clause."
"There is an escape clause," Bellatrix huffed. "They simply just must not want to marry each other once they're of age and then the contract is cancelled."
"Then why are you so upset?" Andromeda couldn't help but ask, wondering why her sister was so upset when there was such an easy way out of the contract.
"Because it's a blatant attempt to steal my boy from me!" Bellatrix shouted.
"Merlin help me with a thousand wands," Narcissa closed her eyes and took a very long and incredibly deep breath before she looked at her sister. "Bella, Hydrus is not leaving you, nor will we allow anyone to steal him from you. As for the girl, she'll be raised a pureblood and should understand how this world world works and we can explain everything to the both of them. If they got along then they can have a future together, if not then it's possible that they can just be friends."
"She's not taking my boy away from me," Bellatrix muttered.
"Of course not," Narcissa said patiently.
"Okay, so then Rocky is just in the corner of the ring and his covered in all this blood!" Tonks all but yelled at her captivated audience consisting of Draco and Hydrus. Draco had a slightly disbelieving look on his face while Hydrus was listening to her with such attention that it was like she was revealing the secrets of the universe. "And then they fight for a few more rounds and Apollo is looking at him like he's crazy because he won't give up! And then they keep fighting and fighting and then it's the last round and the two keep fighting and punching each other really hard and then the bell rings! The round ends and the whole crowd cheers! People run into the ring, all cheering and taking pictures and stuff like that. And Rocky just starts yelling for Adrian! And they do this romantic thing where she runs into the ring."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Draco said impatiently, waving her off. "Who won the fight?" He asked, deciding to cut to the big question.
"Apollo won," Tonks shrugged.
"What?!" Draco blurted out with disbelief. "We went through all of this for some loser who does all this training and doesn't even win?"
"It wasn't about winning," Tonks began.
"Father says that that's what losers say,"
"It was about him doing his best and fighting to the very end," Tonks continued as if Draco hadn't spoken.
"I think it sounds nice," Hydrus spoke up.
"Ask your mum if you can come to my house," Tonks told Hydrus. "You can watch it on our TV." Tonks added just before a knock was heard on the door, a second later the door slowly opened to reveal Kreacher standing in the hallway.
"Mistress requests your presence downstairs," Kreacher told the kids before giving them a low bow and walking away.
"Your elf is creepy," Tonks whispered to Hydrus.
"No, he's not," Hydrus frowned.
"He looks it," Tonks shrugged before they all stood up and walked downstairs where the three Black sisters were waiting for them
"Ah, Hydrus, we have some news for you," Narcissa said, deciding to be the spokesperson here.
"What is it?" He asked curiously.
Around ten minutes and a lot of questions later, Hydrus had a fairly good idea of what was happening. Apparently there was this girl and if they both wanted to then the two of them could become married when they were older, he wasn't entirely sure what that had meant but Tonks had explained it simply enough for him.
"It means you become a 'mummy' and 'daddy'," Tonks explained with the air of a teacher explaining a subject to a student.
"Shut it, Pinkie," Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "That's not what it means, that's just what normally happens." Bellatrix frowned before she considered the possibility of a future where Hydrus would give her grandbabies and her frown lightened quite a bit.
"When you're married that means you become best friends," Andromeda spoke up, settling on what she thought was a fairly family friendly explanation that would do for now.
"Oh," Hydrus frowned as he thought on what Aunt Andromeda had told him. "Hmm, that sounds fun," He smiled, happy at the idea of having a best friend.
The next day it had been decided that Bellatrix would go and have a meeting with the Greengrass family, Narcissa insisted on coming, mostly to make sure that curses didn't fly but also since she was a fountain of knowledge when it came to pureblood customs. Though this brought another problem since Bellatrix didn't want to bring Hydrus with her to the meeting, afraid that the experience would trouble him, not to mention that she didn't want him there in case curses did end up flying despite Narcissa being there. Bellatrix had intended for Hydrus to stay at home under the care of Kreacher, but Andromeda had quickly volunteered to look after him.
Bellatrix had protested, not wanting to let her son stay in a mudblood's house, but her protest quickly died down when Hydrus begged to go, having remembered Tonks's offer to watch Rocky. Meaning, Bellatrix had reluctantly allowed him to go to the Tonks house.
"So, here we are," Andromeda said as she and Hydrus flooed into the Tonks family home. Hydrus stepped out of the fireplace, stumbling slightly but altogether sticking the landing. He paused and looked around, seeing what looked like a regular house, but it was even bigger than the Dudley's house, it smelled nicer too. "Nymphadora is in the next room," Andromeda told him, gesturing to the room after using her wand to remove the dust from both of them. "My husband is there as well, they'll look after you for a bit. I've just got to finish some paperwork and then I'll start making some lunch for you."
"Okay, thanks Aunt Andi," Hydrus smiled at her before he walked into what was apparently the main room of the house. Once inside he spotted a fancy looking ceiling light, a big and surprisingly clean window, a black sofa placed against the wall opposite the fairly large TV, a second sofa on the right side of the room and a big, comfy looking armchair next to the first sofa. The walls were all a simple looking cream colour, while the floors were grey hardwood. Sitting in the armchair, was Ted Tonks who was relaxing in a red tracksuit, meanwhile Tonks was sitting on the sofa opposite the TV, dressed in purple pyjamas.
"Hi," Hydrus said softly as he walked in.
"Oh, hello Harry," Ted greeted him.
"It's Hydrus," Hydrus reminded him.
"Oh, right, sorry," Ted apologised as Tonks grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him onto the sofa she was sitting on.
"Glad you're here!" She grinned before turning to her father. "Dad, Hydrus hasn't seen Rocky yet, can we put it on? Please?" She begged.
"Alright, alright," Ted grinned as he got up and walked over to the TV. "If it'll keep you both happy and quiet and in one place for more than half an hour then it'll be worth it."
"Were you exercising?" Hydrus asked, looking at Ted's tracksuit.
"Yeah, a little," Ted answered. "Now, the TV's set, I'm going to go get changed and have a quick shower, I'll be back in fifteen minutes, I expect the house to be standing when I come back." He sent an amused look at Tonks before leaving the room.
"Honestly," Tonks huffed once he was gone. "He has no trust in me, I haven't even broke anything this week." She said before the film started.
"So, do you like it?" Tonks asked once the film was done, staring at Hydrus.
Hydrus, for his part, had barely even noticed that Ted had returned partway through the film. Having never been allowed to do more than glance at the TV when living with his relatives, he had cherished the opportunity to actually watch a film and had wanted to make the most of it, putting his full attention into watching the screen in front of him. Though it wasn't very fast paced and he sometimes found it hard to understand what they were saying, he loved it! Except the icky parts with Rocky and Adrian, which Ted had thankfully fast forwarded through for him. By the final fight, a storm could have probably blown through the house without Hydrus being any the wiser, given how focused he had been on the screen.
"It was amazing!" Hydrus grinned. "That was the best film I had ever watched!" He told them, choosing not to mention that it was the only film he had ever watched.
"I had heard that the film was inspired by Muhammad Ali," Ted spoke up.
"Who?" Hydrus blinked.
"You don't know who he is?" Ted blinked. "He's only like one of the greatest boxers of all time!"
"My uncle didn't let me watch TV much," Hydrus admitted.
"Wait here, I've got some recordings of him," Ted said before he got up, seemingly excited to show it to Hydrus.
"Before you do that," Andromeda spoke up as she entered the room. "Perhaps it's best for the children to have some lunch first," She said, sending a look to Ted who nodded sheepishly.
"Probably best," He agreed.
"Do you think I could ever be that fast?" Hydrus asked, as he stood next to the fireplace.
After an enjoyable lunch, Hydrus had all but run to the TV so that Ted could show him the boxer he was talking about. Hydrus had practically devoured the tapes that Ted had showed him. Even now he struggled to get the images of Muhammad Ali dodging punches out of his mind.
"Maybe, if you train hard enough," Ted said thoughtfully. "Though, I doubt your mother would want you to take up boxing. If she was ever going to let you go into any combat sport then it would be duelling."
"Duelling?" Hydrus blinked.
"Basically you fight with your wand," Tonks explained. "Mum says that your mum is a duelling champion."
"She is?" Hydrus gasped and quickly looked at Andromeda who was looking annoyed with both Ted and Tonks.
"Yes, she is," Andromeda confirmed. "My sister has always been good at duelling, but personally I think it'd would be better if you chose a different hobby, like...painting." She said hopefully, but that hoped had died down when she the look in Hydrus's eyes, reminding her very much of the look Bellatrix had when she had learnt about the violent sport. 'Crap, I've already lost him to duelling.'
"Is there something wrong, Hydrus?" Bellatrix asked at dinner.
The two had been sat at the table, eating their dinner quietly and comfortably. Bellatrix had at first had been very quiet, thinking about her meeting with the head of the Greengrass family. But as the dinner continued, she would spot Hydrus glancing at her and quickly looking down when she looked back. Her mind had jumped to several conclusions about why he looked bothered, and that lead to her considering how good it would be if she stormed down to the Tonks home to demand an explanation.
"Um..." Hydrus coughed as he looked up from his food, looking quite nervous. "...Aunt Andi said that you're a duelling champion,"
"Yeah, I am," Bellatrix said slowly, nodding along as she tried to work out what the problem was.
"Um...could...could...could you teach me?" Hydrus asked hopefully.
"What?" Bellatrix blinked, her whole body freezing. "You...you want to learn duelling? From me?"
"If it's alright," Hydrus said quietly, wondering if he was in trouble whilst sincerely hoping he wasn't.
"You really want to learn duelling?" Bellatrix asked quietly.
"Um...yes, please," Hydrus said hesitantly.
"That's great!" Bellatrix burst out excitedly, causing Hydrus to jump in his seat.
"Really?" Hydrus asked.
"Yes!" Bellatrix cheered before she got up, she quickly rushed over to him and pulled him into a big hug. "Of course, I'll teach you! My little boy's going to be the best!"
"Really?" Hydrus repeated himself, causing Bellatrix to let go and look him in the eye.
"Oh yes," Bellatrix licked her lips. "I'm going to train you up, make you the strongest wizard ever!" She said, looking mad with excitement. Hydrus stared at her for several seconds, taking in what she said. He imagined his wand in his hand, Bellatrix standing next to him, images of Rocky and Muhammad Ali flew into his head, he imagined the look of pride Bellatrix would have on her face. Slowly, his lips curved up into a smile that just provided more proof that he was indeed the son of Bellatrix Black.
A.N: Hi guys, hope you liked the chapter.
For the record, I'm not a massive boxing fan, I don't hate it, I just never had anyone in my house who watched it so I never got into it. But despite that, I obviously know who Ali was, I find it hard not to know who he was. The reason I put this whole boxing thing in is because I rather like the idea of the heir to the most famous pureblood house being inspired by the most muggle of sports imaginable.
Also, for the record, I was born in the year 2000 so I do know what a VHS tape is, though I don't remember much about them since the only thing I ever did with them is pop them into the old VHS player and pray that they work. Still, I'm fairly sure you can record stuff onto them and if I'm wrong then that's how VHS works in this universe, shut up.
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