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On that Halloween night, the night Lord Voldemort came back to the manor with a wrapped bundle in his arms, everyone was confused. Surely, he had killed the child, right?
Right?
"My Lord?" Bellatrix questioned when he stepped in, carefully shushing the little bundle. He looked up, face stoic.
"Yes, Bellatrix?"
She glanced at the bundle in her Lord's arms and looked back up. "Is this the Potter child?" She asked, even when she knew the answer. One simply does not go on a journey to kill a child and come back with one.
"Yes. He shall reside here from now on." He said firmly, glaring at Rabastan when he tried to catch a peek at the child's face. Potter had started fussing, making her Lord's glare intensify. Rabastan flinched away, bowing down. After this had happened however, something strange took its place.
The child stopped crying, instead looking up at Lord Voldemort calmly, gurgling in laughter. Impossibly, her Lord smiled back, shocking Bellatrix. This child is truly special if he can get her Lord to smile so openly.
"I take it you will have him as your charge, M'lord?" She averted his eyes, staring at the ground.
"Yes Bellatrix. Do spread word to the others. I trust you will inform everyone accordingly." Her Lord repositioned the child in his arms and began walking back to his quarters.
As he walked away, Bellatrix finally caught a glimpse of the child's face. His eyes were hauntingly green, reminiscent of the killing curse. Much too like the killing curse. She was ashamed to say that it unnerved her if even the slightest bit.
Her Lord Voldemort brought the boy everywhere. He took care of Potter, not trusting anyone else to take charge when he was there. It wasn't like anyone had a choice as anyone who even met the child's eyes were rewarded with an unsettling cry and their Lord's wrath. Honestly, it made his followers fear him even more. Bellatrix had intelligently stayed away from the child, not wanting to increase her Lord's temper any further.
It was on one fateful night that that had changed.
It was another raid, except her and Dolohov were tasked with watching the Potter child. It was supper time and she smirked at Dolohov who was trying and failing to give the kid his sippy cup. Harry was wailing his tiny little arse off, and Antonin looked just about to snap. She snickered when Harry flung his porridge at the man, hitting him square in the face.
Dolohov sighed, cleaning his face with a flick of his wand before standing up. He turned to Bellatrix and sneered. "I'm done, Bella. Here, I've done my part, time to do yours." He spat out before turning away, leaving the dining room.
"Antonin, don't you dare!" Bellatrix shouted after the retreating figure. She swallowed, noting that the crying had stopped. She turned to the child and was surprised that he was just, staring at her. She exhaled carefully, rising out of her seat. She ordered the house elves to clean everything up before approaching the child.
"Well, hello there." She greeted, sighing in relief when Harry had smiled at her, gurgling happily. Okay, she can deal with this.
Voldemort marched into the manor in the dead of night. The raid had gone successful, of course, and all his Death Eaters had retired for the night. His only concern was Harry, and how Bellatrix and Antonin handled him. He trusted the two, but Harry is a possessive child and seldom—if at all—let Voldemort out of his sight.
He only hoped that the manor stayed intact.
He reached his private quarters and braced himself before opening the door. Surprisingly, everything was just as he left it. Even more surprising is Bellatrix rocking Harry back and forth in front of the fireplace. She looked at him as he entered and bowed as low as she could with Harry in her arms.
"My Lord," she greeted, straightening up again. Voldemort assessed her for a moment. No burns, no tears on her clothing, she seemed perfectly fine.
"Where's Antonin, Bella?" He asked, stepping forward.
"He left after dinner, my Lord. He fed little Harry here and I took care of the rest." She smiled at the little boy.
Well, that certainly went far better than expected. Voldemort paused.
"And, there's no long lasting injuries?" He raised a brow.
"If you consider Antonin getting a face full of porridge being seriously injured then I will say that yes, he's seriously injured." Bellatrix snarked sarcastically, though with a smile on her face. Her Lord rolled his eyes, jutting his arms out to take Harry from her.
She lifted the babbling boy to her Lord, stopping when Harry gripped the sleeve of her dress. "No no." He gurgled, tugging the sleeve. Bellatrix stared at him, shocked, and looked up at her Lord who seemed equally as shocked.
"It seems as if Harry has taken a liking to you." Her Lord smirked. Bellatrix nodded, looking back down at Harry.
"Look, Harry, it's our Lord." She murmured, lifting Harry until he saw Voldemort's face. Harry giggled, making grabby hands at the older man. Voldemort smiled, at Harry, taking him in his arms. The child latched onto Voldemort's robes, burying his head into the soft material.
"Thank you Bella, you shall be graciously rewarded for keeping Harry calm."
"No problem my Lord, after all, if anything happened to Harry, I'd just about kill everyone in this Manor and then myself." She smiled sweetly. Ah, Voldemort nodded, there was the infamous Black madness.
"My father just got a promotion in the ministry." Draco, ever the snooty little bugger he is, said one day in the playroom.
"Well, Mommy learned a new cutting hex." Harry smiled, cuddling his snake plushie.
"Auntie Bella learns a new cutting spell every week though," Draco pointed out.
"Yeah, you're right," Harry pouted. "But! Cousin Voldy wants to personally tutor me!" He said proudly.
Draco hummed, stacking up his blocks into a neat tower. "Do you ever wonder why your cousin has red eyes?" He whispered.
Harry shook his head. "I never really asked. Maybe he's an albino." He whispered back.
"That would explain it and the reason he's pale too."
"Maybe he's half snake! That would explain the patches of scales on his face." Harry whisper-shouted, huddling closer to Draco.
The two boys tossed theories back and forth until Narcissa checked up on them.
"Mom! Mom! I'm going to be Voldemort's wife one day!" Harry announced one day at breakfast, smiling widely. All conversation at the table hushed, eyes darting to Harry amusedly. Bellatrix sighed, clenching her spoon. Harry had gone on and on about how he was the perfect candidate to marry their Lord all night.
"That's cute, Harry." Narcissa smiled, continuing to cut up her pancakes while Lucius chanced a chortle.
They all heard a clang and turned their heads to the head of the table. Voldemort pinched his nose bridge, squeezing his eyes shut. Whether it be in frustration and embarrassment, nobody knew. Bellatrix looked at her son, saw the sheer determination in his eyes and sighed.