Soul Bound 28

“Here comes the dragon. You better eat him up.”Andromeda moved the spoon full of baby food around in the air before putting it to Hermione’s mouth. Hermione stubbornly kept her mouth closed causing Andromeda to frown. She was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table trying to feed a one year old Hermione who was sitting in her high chair. It had been going well until now with Hermione eating everything Andromeda presented her. Hermione’s stubbornness was a new personality trait that Andromeda blamed Bellatrix for. Bellatrix was constantly encouraging Hermione to act out no matter the situation. Andromeda was both excited and dreaded when Hermione finally learned to walk because she knew that Bellatrix was going to get Hermione into all kinds of trouble once she was more mobile. 

“She doesn’t like when you feed her Andy.”Bellatrix said.

“She is just fine with me feeding her. It’s your fault that she refuses to eat without a fight.”Andromeda told her.

“How is it my fault?”Bellatrix didn’t do anything.

“You keep telling her that the food Cissa makes her is gross and she deserves better.”Andromeda had heard Bellatrix say it many times.

“The food I make her is gourmet baby food.”Narcissa made all of Hermione’s baby food from scratch with only fresh ingredients. She did it all by hand without the use of magic. Narcissa only used muggle gadgets to make it.

“It’s gross mush. Hermione should be eating steak and lobster not liquid peas.”Bellatrix thought Hermione deserved better.

“Bella she has no teeth. She can’t chew steak or lobster.”Andromeda thought that Hermione’s food was fine. Andromeda had fed Nymphadora baby food she bought at a grocery shop in the magical world. She doubted that the same amount of care went into it that Narcissa put into what she made Hermione.

“Denis said she will start getting teeth soon.”Bellatrix was going to make sure when Hermione could start eating solid food that she only ate the best foods.”Once she does it’s only high quality foods for her. No cheep cuts of meat or common vegetables.”

Narcissa rolled her eyes at her sister.”And people say I’m a snob.”

“You are a snob but so is Bella. Something she has always been.”Andromeda was one as well. She just had to push her standards aside when she married Ted.

“That is true Bella has been a snob since we were children.”Narcissa agreed.

“I’m not a snob.”Bellatrix wasn’t a snob.

“Bella you refused to wear a sweater our aunt Flora gave you because she made it herself. Your reason being that it’s wasn’t a high enough quality for you to wear.”Andromeda thought Bellatrix was the biggest snob out of all three of them. Turning her attention back to Hermione Andromeda tried to feed her again.”Come on Hermione take a bite for Andy.”

“Andwey.”Hermione said.

Narcissa looked at the baby in shock.”Did she just say her first word?!”

“Yes she did and it was my name!!”Andromeda could be happier hearing it. Putting down the spoon she kissed Hermione on the forehead.”Say it again Hermione. Say Andy.”

“Andwey.”Hermione repeated.

Andromeda kissed her again.”That right sweetheart I’m Andy.”

“Andwey.”Hermione yelled before reaching towards the food.

“I can’t believe that her first word was Andy. It should have been Bella.”Bellatrix was not happy that Hermione’s first word wasn’t her name.

“That just means she likes me the most.”Andromeda picked the spoon back up and held it to Hermione’s mouth. This time Hermione opened it for her. Filling the spoon again Andromeda began feeding Hermione without resistance.

“Well I’ll just have to make sure she says my name next.”Bellatrix was going to work with Hermione on getting her to say Bella the first chance she got.

“I’m just happy she is talking.”Narcissa would prefer Hermione said her name first but like Bellatrix would work with Hermione to get her to say Cissa as her second word.

“What was Dora’s first word?”Bellatrix asked.

“Her first word was Niffy. It was the name of the stuffed niffler I got her that she was obsessed with when she was younger. She took the thing everywhere to include the bathtub when she took a bath. I learned a lot of cleaning and mending spells just to keep the thing from being destroyed. She actually still has it.”Andromeda had gone out of her way to make sure that Nymphadora never had to lose her toy.

“You are such a good mother.”Narcissa had seen the way Andromeda interacted with Nymphadora and it was obvious how good of a mother her sister was.

“I try being one. It had been hard to give her the attention she deserved with having to play my role before we moved in here. Learning about what kind of a parent Ted was when he was supposed to be looking after her really pissed me off. It also makes me feel guilty I didn’t protect her from his selfishness.”Andromeda would have stepped in if she had known how Ted was treating Nymphadora.

“You wouldn’t have known unless Dora told you and Ted and the people around him had her believing that his behavior was normal. Then those same people lied about what they saw when the pair were around them. Sometimes lying about even seeing Nymphadora when Ted sent her to the babysitter instead of watching her. It was a very elaborate ruse.”Narcissa had been impressed with the amount of people who lied for Ted.

“They only lied because they didn’t want you to get divorced. If you did Ted wouldn’t be able to spend the gold he was getting from you on them anymore. That being the only reason most of them were really his so called friends.”Bellatrix didn’t think anyone would be Ted’s friend unless there was some kind of incentive given.

“He did like to treat his friends to gifts and outings. It made him feel wealthy and important.”Andromeda knew that Ted wanted everyone to be jealous of him. That was why he bought the items he did and spent gold on people. It was to give the illusion he was living better than all of them.

“Well now is broke, unemployed and living in his parent’s home with his parents, Molly Weasley and the two children she was able to get full custody of.”Bellatrix thought that the man deserved no less.

“He is also on his fifth lawyer. Why the lawyer took the case I don’t know. The first four failed miserably in trying to reopen the divorce case and they didn’t even get to the point of a trial before the defamation case against us was thrown out.”Narcissa wondered if Ted would ever give up.

“At least we know how he is paying for it. Though the lawyers are incredibly stupid if they truly think they would be able to take a percentage of the gold from the Lestrange and Malfoy family vaults if Ted by some chance won in the divorce case. The fact that only one of the lawyers was willing to file the defamation suit should have shown them that Ted’s cause was destine to fail.”Bellatrix didn’t understand why anyone would think that Ted would be entitled to anything that didn’t belong to Andromeda. The middle Black sister didn’t even have access to either pureblood estates.

“I don’t really care what he does. The courts are obviously on our side so I doubt we will get dragged into some stupid lawsuit. Even though our lawyer really does enjoy making a fool out of him every chance she gets.”Andromeda had thanked Augusta many times for recommending her lawyer to Andromeda. The woman was literally the best lawyer in Britain in the sisters’ opinion.

“I like that she discounted her rates for us due to all the new clients she got from representing us.”Narcissa had appreciated the fact their lawyer acknowledged that the sisters were the reason her law practice had gotten so many new clients.

“She is an outstanding person.”Bellatrix thought the woman was probably the only honorable lawyer in the country.

“You don’t want anymore?”Andromeda asked Hermione when the baby pushed the spoon away from her. Hermione had eaten most of the food so Andromeda wouldn’t push her to finish if she didn’t want to eat it.”Let’s get you cleaned up then.”

“I got a letter back from that historian I requested information on the Fawley family from yesterday.”Narcissa and her sisters had finally gotten the chance to devote some time to researching the Fawley family. They were hoping that they could find the reason why the last Head of Household chose Hermione to continue his family line.

“What did she say?”Andromeda took a warm, wet cloth and wiped the food from Hermione’s face. Once Hermione was clean Andromeda took her from her high chair and held her in her arms. Hermione immediately started playing with Andromeda’s hair. For some reason the baby was fascinated with all three sisters’ hair. Just their hair though. Hermione didn’t play with anyone else’s.

“She sent me a book on the family that I read last night. It didn’t say anything about magical creatures but hinted that the Last Lord Fawley was attracted to men and had been in a longtime committed relationship with a man at the time he died. I think that is why he never got married or had children of his own.”Narcissa at least figured that was the reason.

“He could have adopted a child.”Bellatrix said.

“Maybe due to the visions his mother had of Hermione he didn’t bother adopting a child. During the time he was alive he wouldn’t have been able to go public with a homosexual relationship and the stigma of a single man adopting a child might have been too much for him. Then again he might not have wanted children.”Andromeda knew many people who didn’t want children of their own. She just hoped Hermione did because all three sisters wanted to have children with their soulmate.

“You’re right even now homosexual relationships aren’t as accepted and if a single man adopted a child it would cause the public to think he was some kind of sexual pervert.”Narcissa was ashamed to admit she would think the same thing.

“We are going to make headlines when our relationship with Hermione becomes public.”Bellatrix wasn’t sure exactly how the public would react when they found out.

“We have known all our lives that the public will have a lot to say about our relationship. The only thing we can do is try to shelter Hermione from the attention the best we can.”Andromeda didn’t want Hermione to have to deal with people gossiping about them.

“What else did you find out about the Fawley family?”Bellatrix asked Narcissa.

“They apparently have a royal title in muggle England. Centuries ago a Fawley family member helped one of the former kings with something and he gifted the Fawley family with some land and a dukedom. It didn’t say what they helped the king with just that the monarch was so grateful he gave the Fawley family a title.”Narcissa wished she knew what the event was that led to it happening.

“Do they still own the land and have the title?”Andromeda would like for Hermione to be a muggle duchess.

“Yes the land is being held in some kind of family trust that the last Lord Fawley set up. The trust pays for all the repairs and upkeep of the property. For Hermione to get the title she will have to legally claim the land from the trust.”Narcissa explained.

“I think she should definitely do that.”Bellatrix like Andromeda would like for Hermione to be a muggle duchess.

“Other than Lord Fawley being gay and the title I learned about some of the estates the Fawley family owned. All of them I am led to believe that Hermione is going to inherit when she takes over the family. Based on the what I saw a lot of the properties aren’t on the list we were given by the goblin.”Narcissa told them.

“I hate that we can’t actually visit any of the estates until Hermione is older.”Andromeda had wanted to see what treasures the family left behind.

“It’s not Jean’s fault that she isn’t magically related to the Fawley family. I’m just happy we don’t have to wait until Hermione is Head of Household to visit all of them.”Bellatrix was planning on taking Hermione to the estates when she was old enough to understand that they belonged to her.

“That would be torture.”Narcissa didn’t want to wait that long.

“Speaking of estates. When is the pool going to be finished at Malfoy Manor?”Andromeda wanted to start getting in shape. Narcissa had been running every morning and Bellatrix had signed up for karate classes that were starting the following week. Andromeda didn’t want to slack off.

“I’ll check in on it later today but I expect it to be done in a week maybe two. It depends on if they have anymore problems.”Narcissa had been more than happy to have a pool built at Malfoy Manor. It was just another thing she knew the Malfoy family would be furious about if they ever found out.

“Did you find anything other than the muggle title in the other Fawley estates?”Bellatrix asked.

“Most of them were interesting and some would be ideal for magical creatures to live on. Like there was a manor and guest houses built into the side of a mountain that the grounds are a crowded forest. I think it would be perfect for vampires.”Narcissa thought that it was an ideal location for vampires.

“It would be better than the caves they live in now.”Andromeda thought the vampires would jump at the chance to live in an actual home instead of a damp, dusty cave.

“It would probably get them to agree to side with us if we offered it to them.”Bellatrix said.

“I saw another estate that I thought would be good for the giants. It is over two thousand acres of land with no structures built on it. Next to a large lake that they could use as their water source and plenty of wildlife for them to hunt.”Narcissa knew that the giants’ biggest complaint was lack of space and anytime they tried to get more land they were denied.

“Anything else?”Andromeda thought those were two good estates that would benefit them when trying to make an alliance with the two groups.

“I don’t know enough about other magical creatures to know if any other estates could be used.”Narcissa told her.

“I’ve been studying them so I’ll take a look at the book and see if I can find anything.”Bellatrix had been reading any book on magical creatures she could get her hands on to prepare for the future when Hermione claimed the Head of Household title for the Fawley family. She had actually taken to reading them out loud to Hermione. Along with the many children’s books Bellatrix had ordered so she could read Hermione the stories the sisters grew up hearing.

“Andwey.”Hermione said before hitting Andromeda in the face with her tiny fist.

Andromeda grabbed the hand and held it in her own.”We don’t hit people Hermione.”

“She needs to learn how defend herself. That starts with hitting people.”Bellatrix was just fine with Hermione hitting her sisters. They deserved it.

“Bella she needs to learn it’s not appropriate to use violence. If she doesn’t it will get her in a lot of trouble.”Narcissa didn’t want Hermione to hurt random people who didn’t do anything wrong.

“She needs to practice at least.”Bellatrix was going to encourage Hermione to hit people who upset her.

Andromeda released Hermione’s hand and smiled when the baby wrapped her arms around Andromeda the best she could then laid her head on Andromeda’s shoulder.”I love you sweetheart.”

“She is adorable.”Narcissa liked the fact that Hermione was becoming more expressive because she was now showing the sisters affection.

“She is our little heartbreaker.”Bellatrix was looking forward to the many rejections Hermione was going to hand out when she was older. The eldest Black sister was planning on making a game out of it for her and Hermione. She hadn’t decided exactly what the game would be yet. Bellatrix knew regardless of what she picked it would be fun.

“I hope she makes a few purebloods cry.”Andromeda would like to see them put in their place.

“She no doubt will.”Narcissa bet that Hermione would make more than just purebloods cry when she rejected them.

“There are going to be a lot of them attending Hogwarts with her because the Dark Lord was big on his followers having children.”Bellatrix had to deal with pressure from Rodolphus to have a child but she told him no every time he brought it up. No matter how angry he got or what threats he made she never gave in.

“Most of them are going to be brought up by a single parent.”Andromeda said.

“A few of them will see both their parents after they finish their stint in Azkaban.”Narcissa was upset that not all the people accused were sentenced to life in Azkaban but that was the law.

“As long as the ones who get released leave us alone I don’t care what they do.”Bellatrix expected to be targeted by a few of the ones who got short sentences.

“They will try to get revenge but there is really nothing they could do to us. Even if they attacked us we are more than able to protect ourselves. Plus we never leave the house without using enough spells on our clothing that they could block even the killing curse if they had to. After Greyback’s failed attempt to gain access to our vaults it should deter some people from coming after us.”Narcissa wasn’t worried about being attacked.

“I think that people will still be stupid enough to try. Even knowing that the pair of you permanently crippled a werewolf and ripped all his teeth out.”Andromeda was sure people would be stupid enough to go after her sisters.

Bellatrix smiled thinking about their fight with Greyback.”That what a lot fun. I just hate that we had to hold back to confirm our story that I don’t like blood and gore. That and Cissa is weak and harmless.”

“Cissa.”Hermione said causing Bellatrix to groan and Narcissa to cheer.

“That’s right darling. I’m Cissa.”Narcissa was incredibly happy that her name was Hermione’s second word.

“Cissa.”Hermione yelled in Andromeda’s ear.

Andromeda rubbed her ear.”She’s got quite the set of lungs on her.”

“Hermione say Bella.”Bellatrix wasn’t going to have Hermione’s third word being anything but Bella.

“Cissa.”Hermione yelled again.

Narcissa laughed.”I don’t think she wants to say your name.”

“Hermione I’m your favorite person. Say Bella.”Bellatrix really wanted to hear her soulmate say her name.

“Andwey.”Hermione said.

Andromeda laughed this time.”I don’t think you are her favorite Bella.”

“Of course I’m her favorite. Hermione say Bella and I will give you a big hug and a kiss on the forehead.”Bellatrix told her. In reply Hermione reached out her arms towards Narcissa.

Narcissa laughed again as she leaned forward and took Hermione from a reluctant Andromeda.”It’s alright little one. You don’t have to say Bella.”

“Hermione say Bella.”Bellatrix desperately want to hear Hermione say her name. She pointed to herself.”Bella.”

Hermione seemed to think about for a minute before saying.”Belwa.”

“That’s right I’m Bella.”Bellatrix was so proud to hear Hermione say her name.

“Belwa!”Hermione yelled.

Bellatrix leaned forward and gave Hermione a kiss on the forehead.”You are magnificent sweetheart!”

“Cissa.”Hermione said before snuggling into Narcissa’s body.

“That’s right I’m Cissa.”Narcissa wrapped her arms around Hermione and ran her fingers through the baby’s curls. It was like a living entity of its own and was almost to the point of needing to be cut.

“I think she’s tired.”Andromeda could see Hermione’s body start to sag a little bit.

“Well she has had a bit of excitement.”Bellatrix was the opposite of Hermione. She was energized after hearing her soulmate say her name for the first time. An event Bellatrix had been waiting for since she learned from Sofia she had a soulmate.

“Hopefully she will start adding new words soon.”Narcissa said.

“She said three within an hour of saying her first one. If we go off of that example she will be talking in complete sentences in no time.”Andromeda expected Hermione to excel at speaking due to all the time the people in her life were going to dedicate to helping her learn.

Seeing Hermione yawn Narcissa sighed.”She needs to lay down to nap.”

“And it’s my turn to lay with her.”Bellatrix reminded everyone.

“I’m after you.”Andromeda wished it was her night to sleep in Hermione’s room but she would settle for the next nap.

Bellatrix stood from her seat and held her hand out to Narcissa.”Hand over the baby Cissa.”

“Cissa.”Hermione mumbled sleepily.

“Yes, I’m Cissa.”Narcissa kissed Hermione’s curls then gently handed her to Bellatrix.

“Come on love let’s go snuggle in my room.”Bellatrix told Hermione as she walked out of the kitchen. Hermione was too big to get comfortable enough to sleep if they were cradling her in their arms like they did when she was a newborn. That being the case for Hermione’s nap time the sisters would each take Hermione to their own rooms and lay her on their beds where they would lay next to her while Hermione slept. Hermione slept alone at night. Something that Jean and Denis insisted on. Though they still let the sisters sleep in Hermione’s room with her. Bellatrix cherished the time she spent with Hermione when she was napping. It touched her deeply that Hermione felt safe enough around her to sleep. Walking into her room Bellatrix shut the door behind her then laid a sleeping Hermione on her bed and tucked her under the blankets. Slipping under the blankets next to her Bellatrix grabbed the book off her nightstand and began reading silently to herself. Looking down Bellatrix smiled when a little body rolled over and snuggled into her. Bellatrix just hoped that Hermione never grew out of seeking her out to cuddle with. It would depress Bellatrix if she did because Bellatrix found that cuddling Hermione was one her favorite things to do. Then again who wouldn’t want to cuddle with their soulmate.