Harry Potter - The Black Pearl: Chapter One
Title: The Black Pearl
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and characters are the property of JK Rowling, I am merely using them for the purposes of entertainment.
Rating: Mature (for later chapters)
Pairing: Bellatrix Lestrange/Rodolphus Lestrange
Warning/s: Torture, Incest, Graphic Sex
Word Count: 3,390
Summary: Bellatrix Lestrange's desperate need to have a child leads her into the ever consuming darkness of insanity. As she races towards her ultimate demise, with Voldemort's faith in her fading fast, she is forced to question everything she has dedicated her life to fighting for. The descent into madness is a dark and twisted one, but what if you discovered it had been forced upon you? (AU)
--
A sharp crack pierced through the silence that filled the old Lestrange Manor. For a moment there was nothing else aside from the occasional groans accustomed to older houses which, due to the silence, sounded a great deal louder than they ought to be. Standing in the centre of the entrance hall, Narcissa hesitated. She wasn't sure what to do. It had taken her long enough to get away from her appointment, part of her worried that they'd taken her sister somewhere else and not informed her. But there was nowhere they could take her. Death Eaters were starting to be named in the Prophet and she was sure it wouldn't be long until Aurors gathered enough proof to accuse Bellatrix. It wasn't as if she had tried to hide her behaviour.
In an instant the hush that hung in the air was flooded with an ear-splitting scream. Narcissa moved swiftly, lifting the front of her dress as she took to the stairs. The painful cry continued, sounding eerily like someone being tortured. She followed the harsh screams as they began to subside - heading straight towards the grand double doors, the doors she knew led to the master bedroom. Before she reached them, however, she was treated to the sight of them bursting open as the body of Rodolphus flew out into the corridor. She stepped to the side quickly, narrowly avoiding being bowled over by the much larger figure.
Rodolphus groaned as he pushed himself up, stretching his back as he did so. He bent his head to one side and then the other, causing a soft crack to ease his neck. Noticing his sister in law standing not far from where he landed he shrugged. “Second time she's done that,” he admitted as she held out her hands to help him up. “I've heard it could be worse.”
“She hasn't set you on fire yet?” Narcissa asked, a small smirk on her lips.
“No,” there was an air of anxiety in the way he chuckled. He motioned for her to follow him back towards the bedroom. “Though she managed to torch the curtains early on, the first two hours were far from being tedious.”
She stopped in her tracks, overwhelmed with the strong urge to either throw up or faint. “The first two hours? How long has this been going on?” the colour began to slowly drain from her face, she looked absolutely horrified. It seemed the mere knowledge that it could last any longer than that was making her rethink her desperate attempts to have a child.
Somewhat amused by her reaction he pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open. “We're moving into the fifth hour...” he quickly grabbed her arm as he noticed her pale considerably. “Stay with me, Narcissa, Bella needs you in there.”
“I don't think...” she was interrupted as another tortured cry erupted from the bedroom.
“Narcissa,” he spoke harshly, trying to get her to come to her senses. He understood that she was still relatively young but surely she could grasp the concept that her sister needed her now more than ever. He pulled her towards him slightly in an attempt to get her to move. “My child is coming into this world and my wife is going through hell convinced that it won't survive. You need to be in there with her, she won't listen to me and she needs someone she trusts to tell her this will be alright.” He pulled gently on her arm again causing her to stumble beyond him towards the open doors.
Another scream made her quickly move backwards again, stopped only by her brother in law as he half dragged her to the bedroom. She wasn't ready to see a child being born. A lady liked to be prepared for such things - instead she was being thrown in the deep end. She had no clue what she was supposed to do. There was no possible way she could provide any support for her sister when she clearly didn't know the first thing about...
“Rodolphus!”
The deep cry assaulted Narcissa's ears as she found herself standing in her sister's bedroom. Instantly her eyes were on the bed as Rodolphus left her side and returned to his wife. Her heart beat violently within her chest as she looked at her older sibling propped up on the bed with her legs bent and a Healer seemingly studying her womanhood intently. It slowly dawned on Narcissa what she was looking at and she quickly averted her eyes, feeling a hot flush covering her cheeks.
The elder of the Black sisters had more important things on her mind than propriety. She breathed heavily as her hands gripped the covers of the bed, her eyes on nothing but her husband as he swiftly returned to her side. “I'm sorry...” she breathed out as the pain began to subside. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean it...”
“I know, love,” he whispered as he ran his hand up and down her taut arm.
“No, no, Rodolphus...” she shook her head quickly but whatever she was trying so desperately to say to him was cut off. A guttural moan filled the room as another nauseating wave of pain hit her, her whole body tensing until finally the contraction subsided.
“This is it, Mrs Lestrange,” the Healer suddenly spoke, her hands on both her patients' knees. “With the next contraction I need you to start pushing.”
With her eyes tightly shut and her lower lip quivering slightly, Bellatrix nodded her head firmly. All she wanted to do was lay, cuddling one of her pillows, and cry until there was no water left inside her. Anything would have been better than this. She definitely would have had more confidence doing anything else. The problem was she knew how badly it could potentially end, she was well aware of the stakes.
“You can do this,” Rodolphus whispered against her ear before moving to press a firm kiss against her temple.
She nodded again quickly, trying to focus on what was about to happen rather than anything else. As her muscles began to tense involuntarily she clenched her fists, her nails almost digging through the bedding to reach her own flesh. It was really going to happen. In that split second she wasn't sure if she was more scared of losing another child or finally bearing a healthy one.
Narcissa watched, her eyes wide, as her sister started trying to push the baby out. Her face was going an unnatural dark red, her barely covered skin was glistened with a fine layer of sweat, and she was getting bodily fluids all over a rather expensive set of towels. She covered her mouth with her hand, feeling an extremely strong urge to throw up. As her sister steadily became vocal again, she turned her back on the view. She really, really, did not want to see what was happening.
Collapsing against the pillows, Bellatrix tried to catch her breath. She felt a cold cloth being pressed to her forehead but she couldn't find the strength to open her eyes and find out who was behind it. Not that she needed to. She could smell who it was. She could smell her husband's familiar musky scent. The Healer said something about a head but she wasn't listening, she didn't care. As her breath continued to come and go in short bursts, she focused on everything that was naturally calming about having her husband sitting beside her. His scent, his hands, his lips... It was sweeping through her again, the pain. It burnt her muscles as though they were being smothered with hot coals. This time she cried. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she cried through clenched teeth.
When it was finally over she forced herself to open her eyes. “I don't want to do this anymore,” she barely managed to whisper. It was beginning to gradually drain the life out of her, she wasn't sure she could even find the strength to continue.
“A little longer, my love,” Rodolphus told her softly, brushing her curls away from her face. “We've waited almost ten years. A few more minutes won't seem long at all.”
“I can't do this again,” she looked into his eyes, choosing that moment to speak honestly with him about their whole situation. Her dark eyes expressed the pain and sadness she was feeling deep down. “No matter what, Rodolphus, I cannot do this again.”
He tilted her head to face him and kissed her lips tenderly. “It's alright, Belle, I understand,” he assured her. He couldn't bear the thought of putting her through it all again any more than she could bear actually doing it. If it meant they didn't have more children he could live with that - if it meant they didn't have any he would learn to live with it.
Before she could say any more she was pushing again, the Healer and her husband spurring her on. The pain was almost unbearable. It seemed worse than it had four years earlier, which only served to further convince her that it would not end well at all. She screamed out all her anger and frustration. Everything she was feeling, every piece of her heart and soul, was vocalised to become the most heartbreaking sound filling the large room and echoing down the corridor.
And then there was silence.
Bellatrix fell back against the pillows exhausted, her pale skin glistening with a fine sheen of sweat. Every muscle in her body screamed for rest but her eyes followed the Healer like a hawk hunting its prey. After clenching her fists for so long it took some effort to let go of the bed spread and reach for her husband as he began to move from her side. “Don't...” it was all she could manage to say in that moment, the only word she could use to express her fear. Her eyes followed the bundle wrapped in the towel as the Healer turned away and transfigured an armchair into a small table. She wasn't sure what was happening, or why it was so quiet. All she knew was that her husband was gradually gravitating away from her and she couldn't handle whatever was coming on her own.
“I'm not going far, love, I'll be back before you know it,” he promised her quietly, leaning towards her again to kiss her lips. He gently removed her hand from his wrist and placed it back down on the bed, pushing himself away from her in one fluid motion and heading towards the Healer.
She waited in the silence, her heart pounding painfully against her chest. It was starting to become clear to her that she'd been right all along. When it came to having children she was simply defective. The fact that she'd managed to carry a baby to term was a miracle in itself, she'd been far too thin from beginning to end. It certainly wouldn't have helped the baby's development. In fact she knew it hadn't, she'd been told on five separate occasions. So she waited for the moment she could finally give up all hope. She waited for Rodolphus to turn back to her with that familiar haunted look in his eyes. She closed her eyes and waited to be told her baby was dead.
The bed dipped and a strong smell of orchids indicated that Narcissa had decided to join her. She refused to open her eyes. If she kept them closed then she wouldn't have to face reality, she wouldn't have to give in.
“Bella, are you alright?” Narcissa's voice was soft and hesitant, she was wary of upsetting her sister. She recognised her sister was at her most vulnerable. If Aurors arrived in that moment to cart them off she was sure Bellatrix would just let them take her. “Bella, are you...”
She slowly shook her head, if only to silence her little sister, her eyes remaining firmly shut. She could feel Narcissa's hand taking hers, holding it supportively. Not that it made a difference. 'This is it,' she thought to herself. 'I'm done. No more.' As much as she wanted a child she couldn't deal with it any more. At first falling pregnant had been so exciting, of course they were young and had only just married then, and the pain of miscarrying had been great. Yet in time it gave way to hope. It was easy to convince their selves that they could try again, that there was still the prospect of carrying on the Lestrange name. But by the third time, when she was forced to deliver a stillborn foetus, she hadn't wanted that ridiculous sense of optimism to linger any more. Four years later and she was in the same predicament. Only this time she hadn't dared to hope in the first place. She gave in to the lectures about staying in bed and relaxing, but she made no effort to prepare for the baby's arrival.
Why should she? All her children died eventually.
The bed dipped again and Rodolphus leant over her, kissing her closed eyelids. “Everything's alright, my love,” his voice spoke softly, coaxing her from the darkness. “Look at me.”
In that instance she finally opened her eyes, finding him staring down at her with a childish grin on his face. She wondered how he could smile in the face of death, her brain not quite up to speed with what was happening. “I'm so tired,” she breathed out as he caressed the side of her face.
“You were amazing,” he whispered against her ear, pride evident in his voice. “That was amazing.”
“You should try it from my position,” she muttered sarcastically, though too tired for her tone to sound anything but playful. She tried hard to push herself up but between her weak muscles and both her husband and sister holding her down she had no luck. “I want to see...”
“Rest a moment, Bella,” he said softly.
“Rodolphus,” she turned her head to look at him, her glare lost somewhere between vacant and firm. “I want to see. I saw the last one so I fail to comprehend how this would be any different.”
“Belle...” Rodolphus frowned, realising why she was acting so nonchalant about what had just happened. He looked to Narcissa and nodded his head towards the Healer, silently asking her to bring the baby to them. “It's not like last time, Bella. The baby survived.”
She looked away from him, trying to understand what he was telling her. Everything in her mind was hazy. She could only see one truth and it was the one she had convinced herself of so resolutely over the past four months. “I don't understand...” she told him honestly as she tried to navigate through the fog.
“Bellatrix Lestrange,” he grinned again, looking more childish and less noble than ever before. He ran his hands up and down her arms soothingly. “You just gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl. She's small but she's healthy and, Bella, she's perfect. You're perfect.” It hadn't occurred to him that she would assume the child hadn't made it. He wasn't sure how she'd missed the crying that had been happening for the past few minutes, though he supposed his wife wasn't exactly in her right mind. Every time they'd talked about the baby during her pregnancy she had been hesitant to plan anything. He knew that deep down she had lived every day since she found out terrified of suffering another miscarriage. Even down to the fact that she'd expected something had gone drastically wrong when her water broke.
Slowly a smile began to spread across her lips, her dark eyes lighting up in a way they hadn't done for years. “A baby girl...” she said softly. A new surge of energy swept through her at the thought. She had a daughter.
“A baby girl,” he repeated, just to be sure the message was sinking in.
“You're not disappointed she's a girl?” she asked suddenly, her tone changing in a flash. Some tiny part of her suggested that even though she had finally had the child they'd dreamed of she had still failed as a wife. After all she knew very well that it was a male heir that most pureblood families insisted on. Only the very old families still valued females highly in their line.
Rodolphus tilted her face towards his allowing himself the pleasure of kissing her lips once, then twice, and a third time for good measure. “How could I possibly be disappointed? Wait till you see her,” he kissed her once more, enjoying the familiar taste of her lips and the way her smile widened each time he pulled back. Though his attention was diverted as her eyes moved to Narcissa moving towards their bed, or rather the small life cradled in her arms. He helped his wife sit up a little more, trying his best to make her more comfortable. “Come now, love, see a beauty to rival all but your own!” he declared with boyish enthusiasm as Narcissa leant forward to lay the child in her mother's waiting arms. Rodolphus watched both his girls with deep fascination evident in his eyes. The sight was such a wonder. No words could truly express the joy he was feeling at seeing his wife holding their newborn daughter.
“Promise me this is not a dream,” Bella whispered as she stared down at the baby in awe. Holding the child close to her with one arm she let her fingers trail over the little girl's face. “I don't think I could survive waking up from this.”
His heart almost broke at the tone of her voice. She was his everything - he hated to hear her so apprehensive. “It's not a dream,” he assured her, his softly spoken words sending shivers down her spine.
At his words she dared to believe it. All at once she let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding, and she leant down to kiss her daughter's head. “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and you're mine,” she whispered against the child's soft skin, nothing but sincerity in her expression. Hesitantly she traced her finger over her daughter's nose and lips, admiring the adorable tiny features that still managed to look so familiar. “She has your nose.”
“I think she looks like you,” Rodolphus responded quietly, reaching out brush his fingers through the thick black hair on his daughter's head.
Narcissa sat back with a bright smile on her face, seeing the whole process in a new light as she watched her sister's reactions closely. “Are you willing to name her now?” she asked curiously. It had been the one thing she'd wanted to know from the moment she knew Bella was pregnant.
A cheeky grin appeared as Bella glanced at Rodolphus.
“Anything you want,” he promised her as his blue eyes met her brown.
She'd verbally cursed at anything or anyone who suggested such a thing for months. But now that she held her perfectly healthy baby girl she could name her without hesitation. “Cassiopeia,” she said quietly.
“Cassiopeia Lestrange,” Rodolphus addressed his daughter seriously. “May you grow up with your mother's strength and determination...”
“And your father's good looks and charming disposition,” Bellatrix cut in.
“And your Aunt's fashion sense,” Narcissa added, smirking as her sister raised an eyebrow.
“If I could move without pain or the risk of falling asleep, I would kick your arse right now,” the elder of the two Black sisters warned.
“No fighting in front of my daughter,” Rodolphus told them both firmly, his eyes remaining on the small child he could call his own. “There's plenty of time for her to learn the ways of the Black women, but for now she is my little girl - sweet and innocent.”
“Darling,” Bellatrix pressed her free hand against his cheek and looked at him with pity. “If that's what you were looking for, you shouldn't have married me.” She punctuated her statement with a slight slap to his cheek and smiled brightly as he began to laugh.
Their good spirits, however, did not last long.
>> Chapter Two
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and characters are the property of JK Rowling, I am merely using them for the purposes of entertainment.
Rating: Mature (for later chapters)
Pairing: Bellatrix Lestrange/Rodolphus Lestrange
Warning/s: Torture, Incest, Graphic Sex
Word Count: 3,390
Summary: Bellatrix Lestrange's desperate need to have a child leads her into the ever consuming darkness of insanity. As she races towards her ultimate demise, with Voldemort's faith in her fading fast, she is forced to question everything she has dedicated her life to fighting for. The descent into madness is a dark and twisted one, but what if you discovered it had been forced upon you? (AU)
--
A sharp crack pierced through the silence that filled the old Lestrange Manor. For a moment there was nothing else aside from the occasional groans accustomed to older houses which, due to the silence, sounded a great deal louder than they ought to be. Standing in the centre of the entrance hall, Narcissa hesitated. She wasn't sure what to do. It had taken her long enough to get away from her appointment, part of her worried that they'd taken her sister somewhere else and not informed her. But there was nowhere they could take her. Death Eaters were starting to be named in the Prophet and she was sure it wouldn't be long until Aurors gathered enough proof to accuse Bellatrix. It wasn't as if she had tried to hide her behaviour.
In an instant the hush that hung in the air was flooded with an ear-splitting scream. Narcissa moved swiftly, lifting the front of her dress as she took to the stairs. The painful cry continued, sounding eerily like someone being tortured. She followed the harsh screams as they began to subside - heading straight towards the grand double doors, the doors she knew led to the master bedroom. Before she reached them, however, she was treated to the sight of them bursting open as the body of Rodolphus flew out into the corridor. She stepped to the side quickly, narrowly avoiding being bowled over by the much larger figure.
Rodolphus groaned as he pushed himself up, stretching his back as he did so. He bent his head to one side and then the other, causing a soft crack to ease his neck. Noticing his sister in law standing not far from where he landed he shrugged. “Second time she's done that,” he admitted as she held out her hands to help him up. “I've heard it could be worse.”
“She hasn't set you on fire yet?” Narcissa asked, a small smirk on her lips.
“No,” there was an air of anxiety in the way he chuckled. He motioned for her to follow him back towards the bedroom. “Though she managed to torch the curtains early on, the first two hours were far from being tedious.”
She stopped in her tracks, overwhelmed with the strong urge to either throw up or faint. “The first two hours? How long has this been going on?” the colour began to slowly drain from her face, she looked absolutely horrified. It seemed the mere knowledge that it could last any longer than that was making her rethink her desperate attempts to have a child.
Somewhat amused by her reaction he pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open. “We're moving into the fifth hour...” he quickly grabbed her arm as he noticed her pale considerably. “Stay with me, Narcissa, Bella needs you in there.”
“I don't think...” she was interrupted as another tortured cry erupted from the bedroom.
“Narcissa,” he spoke harshly, trying to get her to come to her senses. He understood that she was still relatively young but surely she could grasp the concept that her sister needed her now more than ever. He pulled her towards him slightly in an attempt to get her to move. “My child is coming into this world and my wife is going through hell convinced that it won't survive. You need to be in there with her, she won't listen to me and she needs someone she trusts to tell her this will be alright.” He pulled gently on her arm again causing her to stumble beyond him towards the open doors.
Another scream made her quickly move backwards again, stopped only by her brother in law as he half dragged her to the bedroom. She wasn't ready to see a child being born. A lady liked to be prepared for such things - instead she was being thrown in the deep end. She had no clue what she was supposed to do. There was no possible way she could provide any support for her sister when she clearly didn't know the first thing about...
“Rodolphus!”
The deep cry assaulted Narcissa's ears as she found herself standing in her sister's bedroom. Instantly her eyes were on the bed as Rodolphus left her side and returned to his wife. Her heart beat violently within her chest as she looked at her older sibling propped up on the bed with her legs bent and a Healer seemingly studying her womanhood intently. It slowly dawned on Narcissa what she was looking at and she quickly averted her eyes, feeling a hot flush covering her cheeks.
The elder of the Black sisters had more important things on her mind than propriety. She breathed heavily as her hands gripped the covers of the bed, her eyes on nothing but her husband as he swiftly returned to her side. “I'm sorry...” she breathed out as the pain began to subside. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean it...”
“I know, love,” he whispered as he ran his hand up and down her taut arm.
“No, no, Rodolphus...” she shook her head quickly but whatever she was trying so desperately to say to him was cut off. A guttural moan filled the room as another nauseating wave of pain hit her, her whole body tensing until finally the contraction subsided.
“This is it, Mrs Lestrange,” the Healer suddenly spoke, her hands on both her patients' knees. “With the next contraction I need you to start pushing.”
With her eyes tightly shut and her lower lip quivering slightly, Bellatrix nodded her head firmly. All she wanted to do was lay, cuddling one of her pillows, and cry until there was no water left inside her. Anything would have been better than this. She definitely would have had more confidence doing anything else. The problem was she knew how badly it could potentially end, she was well aware of the stakes.
“You can do this,” Rodolphus whispered against her ear before moving to press a firm kiss against her temple.
She nodded again quickly, trying to focus on what was about to happen rather than anything else. As her muscles began to tense involuntarily she clenched her fists, her nails almost digging through the bedding to reach her own flesh. It was really going to happen. In that split second she wasn't sure if she was more scared of losing another child or finally bearing a healthy one.
Narcissa watched, her eyes wide, as her sister started trying to push the baby out. Her face was going an unnatural dark red, her barely covered skin was glistened with a fine layer of sweat, and she was getting bodily fluids all over a rather expensive set of towels. She covered her mouth with her hand, feeling an extremely strong urge to throw up. As her sister steadily became vocal again, she turned her back on the view. She really, really, did not want to see what was happening.
Collapsing against the pillows, Bellatrix tried to catch her breath. She felt a cold cloth being pressed to her forehead but she couldn't find the strength to open her eyes and find out who was behind it. Not that she needed to. She could smell who it was. She could smell her husband's familiar musky scent. The Healer said something about a head but she wasn't listening, she didn't care. As her breath continued to come and go in short bursts, she focused on everything that was naturally calming about having her husband sitting beside her. His scent, his hands, his lips... It was sweeping through her again, the pain. It burnt her muscles as though they were being smothered with hot coals. This time she cried. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she cried through clenched teeth.
When it was finally over she forced herself to open her eyes. “I don't want to do this anymore,” she barely managed to whisper. It was beginning to gradually drain the life out of her, she wasn't sure she could even find the strength to continue.
“A little longer, my love,” Rodolphus told her softly, brushing her curls away from her face. “We've waited almost ten years. A few more minutes won't seem long at all.”
“I can't do this again,” she looked into his eyes, choosing that moment to speak honestly with him about their whole situation. Her dark eyes expressed the pain and sadness she was feeling deep down. “No matter what, Rodolphus, I cannot do this again.”
He tilted her head to face him and kissed her lips tenderly. “It's alright, Belle, I understand,” he assured her. He couldn't bear the thought of putting her through it all again any more than she could bear actually doing it. If it meant they didn't have more children he could live with that - if it meant they didn't have any he would learn to live with it.
Before she could say any more she was pushing again, the Healer and her husband spurring her on. The pain was almost unbearable. It seemed worse than it had four years earlier, which only served to further convince her that it would not end well at all. She screamed out all her anger and frustration. Everything she was feeling, every piece of her heart and soul, was vocalised to become the most heartbreaking sound filling the large room and echoing down the corridor.
And then there was silence.
Bellatrix fell back against the pillows exhausted, her pale skin glistening with a fine sheen of sweat. Every muscle in her body screamed for rest but her eyes followed the Healer like a hawk hunting its prey. After clenching her fists for so long it took some effort to let go of the bed spread and reach for her husband as he began to move from her side. “Don't...” it was all she could manage to say in that moment, the only word she could use to express her fear. Her eyes followed the bundle wrapped in the towel as the Healer turned away and transfigured an armchair into a small table. She wasn't sure what was happening, or why it was so quiet. All she knew was that her husband was gradually gravitating away from her and she couldn't handle whatever was coming on her own.
“I'm not going far, love, I'll be back before you know it,” he promised her quietly, leaning towards her again to kiss her lips. He gently removed her hand from his wrist and placed it back down on the bed, pushing himself away from her in one fluid motion and heading towards the Healer.
She waited in the silence, her heart pounding painfully against her chest. It was starting to become clear to her that she'd been right all along. When it came to having children she was simply defective. The fact that she'd managed to carry a baby to term was a miracle in itself, she'd been far too thin from beginning to end. It certainly wouldn't have helped the baby's development. In fact she knew it hadn't, she'd been told on five separate occasions. So she waited for the moment she could finally give up all hope. She waited for Rodolphus to turn back to her with that familiar haunted look in his eyes. She closed her eyes and waited to be told her baby was dead.
The bed dipped and a strong smell of orchids indicated that Narcissa had decided to join her. She refused to open her eyes. If she kept them closed then she wouldn't have to face reality, she wouldn't have to give in.
“Bella, are you alright?” Narcissa's voice was soft and hesitant, she was wary of upsetting her sister. She recognised her sister was at her most vulnerable. If Aurors arrived in that moment to cart them off she was sure Bellatrix would just let them take her. “Bella, are you...”
She slowly shook her head, if only to silence her little sister, her eyes remaining firmly shut. She could feel Narcissa's hand taking hers, holding it supportively. Not that it made a difference. 'This is it,' she thought to herself. 'I'm done. No more.' As much as she wanted a child she couldn't deal with it any more. At first falling pregnant had been so exciting, of course they were young and had only just married then, and the pain of miscarrying had been great. Yet in time it gave way to hope. It was easy to convince their selves that they could try again, that there was still the prospect of carrying on the Lestrange name. But by the third time, when she was forced to deliver a stillborn foetus, she hadn't wanted that ridiculous sense of optimism to linger any more. Four years later and she was in the same predicament. Only this time she hadn't dared to hope in the first place. She gave in to the lectures about staying in bed and relaxing, but she made no effort to prepare for the baby's arrival.
Why should she? All her children died eventually.
The bed dipped again and Rodolphus leant over her, kissing her closed eyelids. “Everything's alright, my love,” his voice spoke softly, coaxing her from the darkness. “Look at me.”
In that instance she finally opened her eyes, finding him staring down at her with a childish grin on his face. She wondered how he could smile in the face of death, her brain not quite up to speed with what was happening. “I'm so tired,” she breathed out as he caressed the side of her face.
“You were amazing,” he whispered against her ear, pride evident in his voice. “That was amazing.”
“You should try it from my position,” she muttered sarcastically, though too tired for her tone to sound anything but playful. She tried hard to push herself up but between her weak muscles and both her husband and sister holding her down she had no luck. “I want to see...”
“Rest a moment, Bella,” he said softly.
“Rodolphus,” she turned her head to look at him, her glare lost somewhere between vacant and firm. “I want to see. I saw the last one so I fail to comprehend how this would be any different.”
“Belle...” Rodolphus frowned, realising why she was acting so nonchalant about what had just happened. He looked to Narcissa and nodded his head towards the Healer, silently asking her to bring the baby to them. “It's not like last time, Bella. The baby survived.”
She looked away from him, trying to understand what he was telling her. Everything in her mind was hazy. She could only see one truth and it was the one she had convinced herself of so resolutely over the past four months. “I don't understand...” she told him honestly as she tried to navigate through the fog.
“Bellatrix Lestrange,” he grinned again, looking more childish and less noble than ever before. He ran his hands up and down her arms soothingly. “You just gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl. She's small but she's healthy and, Bella, she's perfect. You're perfect.” It hadn't occurred to him that she would assume the child hadn't made it. He wasn't sure how she'd missed the crying that had been happening for the past few minutes, though he supposed his wife wasn't exactly in her right mind. Every time they'd talked about the baby during her pregnancy she had been hesitant to plan anything. He knew that deep down she had lived every day since she found out terrified of suffering another miscarriage. Even down to the fact that she'd expected something had gone drastically wrong when her water broke.
Slowly a smile began to spread across her lips, her dark eyes lighting up in a way they hadn't done for years. “A baby girl...” she said softly. A new surge of energy swept through her at the thought. She had a daughter.
“A baby girl,” he repeated, just to be sure the message was sinking in.
“You're not disappointed she's a girl?” she asked suddenly, her tone changing in a flash. Some tiny part of her suggested that even though she had finally had the child they'd dreamed of she had still failed as a wife. After all she knew very well that it was a male heir that most pureblood families insisted on. Only the very old families still valued females highly in their line.
Rodolphus tilted her face towards his allowing himself the pleasure of kissing her lips once, then twice, and a third time for good measure. “How could I possibly be disappointed? Wait till you see her,” he kissed her once more, enjoying the familiar taste of her lips and the way her smile widened each time he pulled back. Though his attention was diverted as her eyes moved to Narcissa moving towards their bed, or rather the small life cradled in her arms. He helped his wife sit up a little more, trying his best to make her more comfortable. “Come now, love, see a beauty to rival all but your own!” he declared with boyish enthusiasm as Narcissa leant forward to lay the child in her mother's waiting arms. Rodolphus watched both his girls with deep fascination evident in his eyes. The sight was such a wonder. No words could truly express the joy he was feeling at seeing his wife holding their newborn daughter.
“Promise me this is not a dream,” Bella whispered as she stared down at the baby in awe. Holding the child close to her with one arm she let her fingers trail over the little girl's face. “I don't think I could survive waking up from this.”
His heart almost broke at the tone of her voice. She was his everything - he hated to hear her so apprehensive. “It's not a dream,” he assured her, his softly spoken words sending shivers down her spine.
At his words she dared to believe it. All at once she let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding, and she leant down to kiss her daughter's head. “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and you're mine,” she whispered against the child's soft skin, nothing but sincerity in her expression. Hesitantly she traced her finger over her daughter's nose and lips, admiring the adorable tiny features that still managed to look so familiar. “She has your nose.”
“I think she looks like you,” Rodolphus responded quietly, reaching out brush his fingers through the thick black hair on his daughter's head.
Narcissa sat back with a bright smile on her face, seeing the whole process in a new light as she watched her sister's reactions closely. “Are you willing to name her now?” she asked curiously. It had been the one thing she'd wanted to know from the moment she knew Bella was pregnant.
A cheeky grin appeared as Bella glanced at Rodolphus.
“Anything you want,” he promised her as his blue eyes met her brown.
She'd verbally cursed at anything or anyone who suggested such a thing for months. But now that she held her perfectly healthy baby girl she could name her without hesitation. “Cassiopeia,” she said quietly.
“Cassiopeia Lestrange,” Rodolphus addressed his daughter seriously. “May you grow up with your mother's strength and determination...”
“And your father's good looks and charming disposition,” Bellatrix cut in.
“And your Aunt's fashion sense,” Narcissa added, smirking as her sister raised an eyebrow.
“If I could move without pain or the risk of falling asleep, I would kick your arse right now,” the elder of the two Black sisters warned.
“No fighting in front of my daughter,” Rodolphus told them both firmly, his eyes remaining on the small child he could call his own. “There's plenty of time for her to learn the ways of the Black women, but for now she is my little girl - sweet and innocent.”
“Darling,” Bellatrix pressed her free hand against his cheek and looked at him with pity. “If that's what you were looking for, you shouldn't have married me.” She punctuated her statement with a slight slap to his cheek and smiled brightly as he began to laugh.
Their good spirits, however, did not last long.
>> Chapter Two