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 Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:51 pm
 EXTREMELY AU!! For generations the Blacks have been ruled by the Head of the Family. It started with Phineas Nigellus's father, Sirius. It went to the favorite son of every generation, until the position landed on Orion Black. With each generation, the Family Head grew more brutal. The only question is: Which son will be chosen to head the Black Family next? Sirius or Regulus? The day of his daughter's birth, Ted Tonks abandoned his family. With nowhere else to go, Andromeda returned to the Blacks, promising on her daughter's life that she would never again disobey the Family rules. Young Nymphadora and the Marauders grow up struggling against House Rule, especially when Orion dies, and a new Head is to be chosen. Plot Inspired by the manga Fruits Basket.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:54 pm
Prologue
“You remember Cousin Andromeda, widdle Sirius?” Bellatrix cooed to the young child in her lap. She didn’t sound warm, she sounded slightly insane.
“No,” Sirius muttered absently, fiddling with the new toy Cousin Bella had brought him. His tiny fingers fumbled and the toy locomotive tumbled to the floor. He made a lunge for it, but Bella held him tighter to her chest.
“Well, just after your first birthday last year, Cousin Andromeda ran away, and made your mummy very sad,” Bella continued to say in her demonic coo.
“Mummy’s sad?” Sirius asked, his brow furrowing as he turned to face Bella.
“Not anymore widdle cousin,” she said absently, now beginning to run her fingers through her young cousin’s silky locks of midnight black hair. She summoned the toy back (illegally, as she was 15) and handed it back to the tot, who promptly forgot she was there. “Surely her new little monster will have the family hair,” she muttered darkly to herself.
Sirius whipped around again with wide frightened eyes. “Monster?” Bella smiled to herself conspiratorially.
“Yes Sirius, a horrible, dirty little monster. When you go to Hogwarts you may see it and it may be beautiful, but do not let it deceive you. It will ensnare you with its beauty and false kindness, and then it will lure you away from home and those who love you to live as a disgusting Muggle forever and ever!” Bella said as if telling a ghost story. Sirius covered his eyes with a whimper. He hated monsters, and he loved his mummy. He didn’t want to ever leave them forever and ever.
“Don’t want,” he whined loudly.
“I know, I know,” Bella said soothingly. “Don’t worry; you’ll be safe so long as you stay away from the little creature, understand?”
“Uh-huh,” Sirius said, sounding as if he was going to cry.
“That’s my special boy!” Bella said happily, finally sounding remotely like a human with feelings other than hate. She began tickling her little cousin, and he shrieked happily and ran away.
They played for several hours more, until the sounds of Uncle Orion returning home met their ears. They instantly fell silent, and adopted a demeanor of reverence as the head of the Black Family entered the room. As head of the Family, everyone who lived on the inside had to obey him. Those headstrong enough to leave Grimmauld Place to live on the outside, usually parts of Black Family land that were uninhabited, still had to obey if he directly ordered them. It would be an act of utmost dishonor to be causing uproar in his home when he wanted quiet. Sirius was still too young to know that someday he would take his father’s place.
“How long have you been here, Bellatrix?” he asked, removing his son from Bella’s arms and placing him in his own.
“I’ve been here since noon, Orion,” Bella said with a dutiful bow. “Auntie was not feeling well, and requested that I look after young Sirius until you returned home.” Orion’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Thank you for your troubles. The Noble and Most Ancient Family must look after one another, mustn’t we?” he asked vaguely. Bella placed a hand to her chin, first with thought, then surprise.
“You have heard from my sister?”
Orion nodded. “The Mudblood left her. She has returned home with the child.”
“She’s returned!?” Bella squawked with surprise. “You permitted her to bring the monster along!?” Sirius, with his young developing mind, did not even remember the story of Cousin Andromeda and her monster child.
“She has agreed to raise the child within Familial walls, as a pureblood. She has sworn upon the child’s life that she will follow Family rules until her final breath,” Orion said patiently. Bella’s hand slid up from her chin to cover her mouth. There were tears of happiness in her eyes.
“My sister has come home? After so long?” she asked in a hushed voice. Orion nodded stiffly.
“She and the child are at your home. If you listen carefully you can hear the abomination’s cry.” Bellatrix became quiet, and heard the weak wails of a small infant. Her hands started shaking.
“I should be going home now.”
“Yes, you should. Oh, and Bellatrix?”
“Yes Uncle?”
“Do not harm the child. It is not its fault it was born impure.”
“Of course, Uncle.” Bella bowed to her uncle respectively, then dashed out the door and ran to the next door down: home. The thought of harming the child had not entered her mind from the moment she heard that Andry was at home.
She burst through the front door and threw her cloak at Hattie, their house elf. She tore through the entrance hall and opened the door to the parlor. The first thing she saw was Andromeda, nineteen and an absolutely beautiful sight for sore eyes, looking tired and glum as she rested quietly on the sofa. Narcissa, now eleven and having just received her Hogwarts letter, was sitting in an armchair and practically hanging off the edge of a frilly bassinet, waggling her fingers and making all sorts of cooing noises at the bundle inside.
“Andry…you’re home for good?” Bella asked uncertainly. Andry opened her eyes—they were bloodshot—and smiled.
“I’m back,” she said simply, opening her arms to her sister. Bellatrix rushed forward and embraced Andry fiercely, making her elder wince and gasp with pain. Bella drew back with an inquiring look. “Bella, I bore a child only a day and a half ago, I’m very sore.”
“Why did you come back? Why did the Mudblood leave?” Bella asked as if her sister had not spoken at all. Andry’s face contracted with sadness at the mention of the Mudblood.
“I went into labor, and Ted got scared. I suppose he realized that he didn’t want to be a dad after all,” she said quietly, folding her hands in her lap and gazing down at them demurely.
“Does labor hurt Andry?” Bella asked curiously. Andry turned red.
“You are far too young for me to be telling you about such things,” she said stiffly. She was already becoming a Black again, Bella could feel it. She didn’t like it. She liked the fun Andry better, even if she did make bad decisions and run away to marry Mudbloods because she loved them or some other foolishness.
“I’ll be of age in two years! It’s not like I’m asking what it was like, I just wanted to know if it hurt!” Bella pouted. Andry softened slightly.
“You’re right, I’m sorr—Narcissa, be careful! She’s not one of your dolls!” She pushed herself up from the sofa and protectively lifted the bundle from the bassinet. Narcissa mirrored Bella’s previous pout and sulked off to her room to play where she wouldn’t be scolded with her nose high in the air. Bellatrix inched closer to her sister cautiously, wanting a look at the tiny baby. Auntie Walburga had had another baby boy six months ago, but she rarely saw the children at such a young age as this one. Infants were usually left to the care of the house elves, but two of their house elves had recently died, so Andry would have to care for her child. Not that it seemed to bother her; she looked quite comfortable with her little one. Andry looked up and saw Bellatrix’s curious gaze.
“Would you like to hold the baby, Bella?” she whispered as the baby was asleep. Bella nodded quietly and sat on the sofa as her sister instructed. Very slowly and carefully, Andry lowered the sleeping bundle into her little sister’s arms. She had never seen a baby so pink and small and soft. Bella loved it immediately.
“What’s its name?” Bella asked, raising her black eyes to meet Andromeda’s brown ones. She wondered if this young one would have black or brown eyes. What if the Mudblood had blue? Would this child end up with its father’s cursed eyes? Andromeda smiled.
“Her name is Nymphadora,” she said pointedly. Bellatrix wrinkled her nose. “What, you don’t like the name?”
“It seems awfully big for such a little one,” Bella said with a shrug. Andry smiled yet again.
“That just means that my daughter will grow into it, and she will grow into a strong, fine woman. She is a gift to me, and just look at her. She is a Gift of the Nymphs.” At first Bella didn’t understand what Andry meant, but when she gazed back down at the child she realized why she had never seen a baby so pink. Nymphadora’s hair was pink. The infant opened her eyes (that seemed almost reproachful to Bella, as if she knew she was not gazing at her mother), and they were violet.
“A Changeling!” Bella yelped in surprise her arms going stiff with shock. Nymphadora started wailing from fear of the sudden noise, causing Bella’s panic to further. Sensing her sister and child’s distress, she scooped little Nymphadora out of Bella’s arms and started marching around her room, rocking her gently. She walked to the window and stared out at the dark sky for a long time. Bella could tell she was deep in thought as she gazed from the window to her daughter’s face.
“…Andry…you promise you’ll never leave again?” Bella felt the urge to ask. She could sense her sister’s longing to be free already. And yearning for open space and clear skies, where she could marry whoever she wanted. Andry stared back down at her daughter as she turned around, and now Bella could see the cogs turning in her sister’s head. She was thinking about something very hard.
“I promised to Orion, on my child’s life, that I would never again leave the Familial walls.” Bella breathed a sigh of relief. “But, that does not mean I can’t ensure that my daughter does not meet the same fate that Sirius and Regulus surely will if they remain in the family all their lives. I do not want her to grow up to be like Auntie.” Even Bella shivered; Auntie Walburga had been prone to fits of rage since Regulus’s perilous birth, when the Healers informed her she would not be able to have any more children. “My child is special, I can feel it. She will go on to do whatever she desires. She will not be held down by the House, even if that means I remain here for all my days. I’ll do it, as long as it keeps her alive and happy.”
“You’re sacrificing too much.”
“I’m sacrificing what’s necessary.” With Andry’s resolute tone and posture, Bella knew it would be pointless to argue. She bowed her head.
“I…understand, I suppose. I’ll be going to bed now. Goodnight Andry, I’m glad you’re home.”
Despite the fact that she was nearly throwing her life away, Andry managed a watery smile. “I’m glad to be home; I missed you and Cissy. To see how much you’ve both grown in only a year…I’m sorry to have missed it.” Being very careful of the baby, Bella embraced her sister.
“Goodnight Andry.”
“Goodnight Bella.”
After Bella vanished up the stairs to her bedroom, Andromeda gently placed the Nymphadora back into the bassinet. Before completely withdrawing her hand she ran a finger along the baby’s smooth cheek. So beautiful. She was sad that Ted left, she couldn’t deny that, but she at least understood why he left. They were young, very young. All she wanted was for Ted to be happy, and if he would be happier without the burden of a family on his nineteen-year-old shoulders, then so be it. She would always love him, but if she saw him in the street the next day she would not look at him. She would be occupied, entranced by her Gift of the Nymphs.
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 12:39 pm
Chapter 1
Sirius Black did not hate his second cousin—quite the contrary, really—but he hated that she got to go to Hogwarts early because of her uncontrollable Metamorphmagus powers. It just so happened that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was a Metamorphmagus from Sweden, and Cousin Andromeda would not let an opportunity to have her daughter learn from an experienced Shape-Shifter slip away. Nymphadora—or referred to as Dora because her name was still too cumbersome for her—was only nine years old when she joined Sirius on the Hogwarts Express. A very surly Regulus saw her off at the Platform.
“Sirius, may I sit with you please?” Dora asked, tugging at Sirius’s sleeve as he made his way to a compartment. Her hair went from blue to green to yellow within the course of a few seconds, Dora being unable to control it. She was much smaller than Sirius, having to jog to keep up with him, but she was very bright for such a young age.
“No you may not. I don’t want to be seen hanging around with the nine year old Changeling,” Sirius said stiffly. Dora slowed and came to a halt halfway down the train corridor. Sirius continued on without taking notice of her. She bowed her head dejectedly, her hair growing long and turning a cornsilk blonde. She resembled a little veela with her head down, and she still hadn’t moved when the train puffed and jerked to life. With the jerk, Dora was lurched forward and fell to the train’s floor. Her hair turned tomato red with the impact, and people in their compartments who had been about to rush out and help her slowly backed away.
“I think you dropped this,” a voice behind Dora said as she picked herself up. She turned around, eyes wide and long black hair flying, to see a boy of Sirius’s age holding out her coin purse. He was small like her, but still taller. He looked at the trunk on her feet and his brow furrowed. “Don’t you have anywhere to sit? I’m sitting by myself, if you’re interested…” He was thin as a pole and pale, and his sandy brown hair was unruly, and there were scars on his hands, but to Dora he was perfect. He was an angel to her.
Without giving it a moment of thought, Dora reached out and took the boy’s hand. She thought that maybe he would flinch away like the others, but he smiled slightly and picked up her trunk for her. “My name is Dora, Dora Black. I’m nine.”
“I’m Remus Lupin, and I’m eleven. Why are you going to Hogwarts if you’re only nine?” her new friend asked shrewdly.
“Because of this,” Dora said, pointing to her hair just as it turned purple and shrank back into her skull until it reached her collarbone. “I’m a Shape-Shifter, or at least that’s what everyone calls me. I can’t control it, so Mother arranged for me to come here earlier than I would have.” Suddenly a broad smile illuminated her face. “Also, I get to be with Sirius for seven whole years!”
Remus gave another wan smile, and Dora felt as if someone finally understood her shape-shifting problem. “Is Sirius your older brother?”
“Oh, no!” Dora laughed. “Sirius is my cousin!”
“Oh, I beg your pardon,” Remus said apologetically. Dora stopped walking, her head tilted slightly as she stared curiously. “Is something wrong?”
“You’re just…so polite…I’ve never met anyone so polite before…” she said thoughtfully. Remus was surprised to see that she was completely serious, her eyes wide and round. “…it’s nice…to feel valued enough to deserve such language. Thank you.”
“Er…”
“Hey you!” Remus and Dora both turned, seeing Sirius leaning out of a nearby compartment and looking at Remus. “You should come and sit with us; you don’t want to be around her. Shape-Shifters are untrustworthy, you know.” Remus’s brow furrowed with distaste, but Dora could tell that he was yearning to join him and the two other boys with him. She felt herself grow small (literally); this year would be very lonely.
“You should go sit with them,” she said quietly. She released Remus’s hand and took her trunk. Remus raised his eyebrows.
“…Are you sure…?” he asked, looking guilty already.
“Of course I am. You have shown me a great kindness, and for that I should repay you by relieving you of your burdens.” She bowed deeply, dark brown hair creating a curtain around her sad face. “Thank you for your kindness.” She then walked away, hearing the two other boys laughing at her odd behavior. It wasn’t her fault she was so formal; it was a combination of her upbringing, and it was just her nature. She didn’t have many friends, so for one person to show her any sort of kindness made her extremely grateful.
The next few years were lonely for Dora. She, Sirius, and Regulus were raised together like siblings, and she was unaccustomed to being alone. The girls in her dorm were kind, but not so much that she actually made friends. Sirius would sometimes talk to her at mealtimes, but in their third year, when Regulus joined school, he stopped talking altogether for weeks at a time.
Dora wanted to talk to Regulus, to be his friend, but he adamantly refused. She asked why he was mad at her, as they had always been close before, but Regulus just pushed her roughly away, speaking of abandonment. She tried to argue, tell him that it wasn’t her choice to go to Hogwarts early, but Regulus walked way from her. The very next morning, near Christmas, Dora got a letter in the post. Sirius knew this because she rushed to him in the corridor, looking pale and frightened.
“Sirius, Sirius!” she cried, tugging on his sleeve as he tried to walk away from her. He brushed at her hand and sped up.
“What do you want?” he asked lazily, even though Dora had stopped walking. Remus looked at her, and saw that her head was again bowed in dejection. She was clutching a letter in both hands.
“O-Orion…wrote me a letter…. He wants to see me privately during the Holiday,” she mumbled, her hands trembling. Sirius shook his head and sighed heavily, giving his friends an awkwardly apologetic look.
“So what? Go talk to him if that’s what he wants.”
“B-but Sirius, you know he hates me! He’ll have me Kept again!” Dora cried, tears spilling from her eyes. Sirius stopped walking so abruptly his friends hadn’t even noticed for another second. His shoulders slumped and he suddenly sighed heavily, turning back and walking to his cousin.
“Dora, I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “I forgot that Orion isn’t too fond of you. Come on with us until you feel better, okay?” Dora nodded tearfully, and allowed Sirius to wrap an arm around her shoulders to lead her away. The others heard him whisper to her “You have to remember that we can’t talk about home, Dora. Now stop crying…please?” Very slowly, Dora raised her head out of her hand, and smiled tearfully up at Sirius. “There’s my girl. Let’s go to the Owlery or something, eh lads?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure.”
“Whatever, let’s go.”
Once up in the Owlery, Dora seemed to cheer up immensely. Sirius, James Remus, and Peter leaned against the tower wall and watched her play with several owls at a time. That first year with the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had taught her enough to keep control over her powers when she had to, but if she got overexcited she would accidentally morph. Now, as the birds all got nervous about something and burst into flight simultaneously around her, her hair turned bright pink. Watching her, Remus thought the color suited her.
Amongst themselves, the Marauders decided to go out to the grounds for a snowball fight by the lake. Sirius took initiative, striding forward and hoisting a shrieking Dora up like a potato sack to carry her down to the grounds.
“This is so undignified!” Dora laughed, hitting Sirius’s back with open palms.
“That’s the point, cousin!” Sirius said, breaking into a run. The Marauders laughed and followed the panicked shrieks of young Nymphadora.
Christmas in Twelve Grimmauld Place was always very formal. As were birthdays, christenings, and anniversaries. The only time that was more formal than these events was when Orion called someone into his study. He sat behind his desk, his back pin-straight and eyes narrow. Dora sat across from him, a good meter of empty space between them, and her posture mirroring his but for the fact that her head was bowed.
“How do you like school, Nymphadora?” Orion asked in a voice that was both soft and raised the hair on the back of Dora’s neck. The girl swallowed tightly before answering.
“I like it very much, Orion,” Dora said quietly. She had to force her voice not to shake. Orion hated that.
“And have you made any friends?” Orion asked in the same manner. Dora wasn’t sure she wanted to answer this particular question, and immediately began analyzing anyone she’d met. James Potter: blood traitor (though he was Sirius’s friend), Peter Pettigrew: Half-blood, and Remus Lupin: Poor Pureblood. Perhaps Remus would be alright.
“Um…a few, sir. I mostly stay with Sirius, but I’ve also made friends with…Remus Lup—” Orion stood up, his tall stature towering ominously over the eleven year old girl.
“You will not speak to a Lupin, Nymphadora, understood?” he demanded, his voice no longer quite as gentle as before. Dora fought not to flinch.
“B-but sir…is something wrong with him? He’s a pureblood, so I thought…m-maybe—?” Orion reached out and struck her face, not hard enough to cause visible damage, but enough to shake her.
“You do not understand the delicate nature of this family’s honorability, do you Nymphadora?” he asked rhetorically. “Remus Lupin is one who cannot be associated with, understand?” Dora didn’t answer immediately. Orion reached out to strike her again, and then seemed to rethink it. His tone became cold and gentle again. “No, perhaps you are simply too young to understand. Perhaps you are not ready to be in fourth year next year, you’re simply too immature.”
“But sir, I—!”
“Silence. Next year you will not return to school. You will be Kept again, until I see fit that you have learned your lesson and are old enough to understand what it means to obey me.” Dora felt her head drop again, and her hands began to shake. She hated being Kept.
The basis of being Kept was to crush her spirit and make her believe she was alone in the world. It usually worked. It was a single room in the basement of the House. It was large, but completely empty, and there were no torches or candles to be lit, and no windows. Dora was expected to remain in that room twenty four hours a day, eating sparingly and using the only conjoined room to bathe and use the toilet, until Orion saw that she had been punished enough. She had spent much of her childhood there.
“Yes Orion,” Dora finally said quietly. Her great-uncle gave off a steely smile that held no warmth.
“Good girl. Now run along and leave me to my work,” he said as if Dora had interrupted him instead of him calling her. Dora bowed deeply before scurrying out of the room, trying to hide her tears as she went. Sirius was waiting for her downstairs.
“Dora, how’d it—Dora!” Dora rushed past him and through the door conjoining their houses. He pressed himself against the door and listened to Dora’s panicked crying into her mother’s ready embrace. He didn’t need to understand her words to know what Orion had done.
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