The Big Dipper

Daughter of the House of Black

"When your wife finds the girl, Lucius-"

"My Lord."

Voldemort turned as Narcissa interrupted him, standing in the doorway with Ursula in her arms. The Death Eaters seated at the table all swiveled to look at her.

"This is Ursula, my Lord."

"Where did your sister hide her?" Asked Voldemort.

"In the closet, my Lord."

"And there were no protective enchantments? Nothing that would have stopped Dolohov from finding her?" Voldemort turned back to Dolohov, who paled.

"I did not think she would be so foolish as to leave the child unprotected, my Lord," he said.

"Cassiopeia Black was always foolish," hissed Voldemort. He returned to staring at Ursula, who stared back at him with her mouth open.

"The only question that remains is what to do with her," he said quietly. He was close enough that Ursula reached out a tiny baby hand and poked his nose with a chubby finger.

"Nose," she giggled.

For a moment no one moved. Narcissa inhaled sharply, her grip on Ursula tightening ever so slightly. Voldemort seemed shocked for a moment, before he drew back and laughed softly.

"But of course," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "She is only a child." He pointed at Lucius. "You and your wife shall raise her."

"Yes, my Lord," said Lucius.

"Let us hope she is not the failure her mother was." Lord Voldemort's voice was soft, but his tone was cold. With those final words, he dismissed Narcissa.

"My Lord," she said with a bow of her head before swiftly leaving the room. The door swung shut behind her. Narcissa did not wait for her husband before leaving the Rosier estate and heading home to Malfoy Manor, where her own parents were watching her young son, Draco.

"Is this...?" her mother asked the moment Narcissa entered the drawing room.

"Ursula," said Narcissa, setting her niece gently on the floor. She picked up Draco from his crib. He was so tiny, just a few weeks old and so precious.

"Hello Ursula," cooed Druella, kneeling down next to her. Ursula stared up at her with large grey eyes. "I'm your grandmother."

"So this is Cassiopeia's bastard," grunted Narcissa's father, Cygnus disdainfully.

"This is your granddaughter," corrected Druella, at the same time that Narcissa said, "The Dark Lord wishes for Lucius and I to raise her to be a proper member of the House of Black."

Cygnus seemed pleased by this, though he refused to hold Ursula. "Your mother and I ought to get going," he said.

"I'll come for tea tomorrow," said Druella, kissing her daughter on both cheeks. "It's time we found you a suitable nanny."

With her parents gone, the manor felt very empty, and very quiet. She knew there were plenty of house elves about who could do her bidding, but for her sister Narcissa wanted to do this herself. The first thing she did was summon a house elf to watch Draco, and then she led Ursula upstairs.

There were many rooms in Malfoy Manor, many bedrooms that were empty or now only for storage. Narcissa chose an empty room, with bare, dust covered furniture that hadn't been touched in years. With a wave of her wand, the dust disappeared. The curtains snapped open, providing a lovely view of the gardens, and the sheet covering the vanity vanished. The mattress on the bed cleaned and repaired itself, and Narcissa conjured fresh sheets and pillows for it. She left the grey walls bare for now. In seconds the room was clean and well lit. Ursula sneezed.

"How about a nap before dinner?" suggested Narcissa, noticing how sleepy she looked. She produced the little stuffed bear Ursula had been holding when she found her in the closet and helped her climb onto the bed. Narcissa tucked Ursula in and impulsively kissed her on the forehead, feeling a strange mixture of grief for her sister and relief.

Soon after she was back downstairs with Draco, Lucius arrived home.

"Where is she?" His voice was tired, but he ran a thumb over Draco's head and smiled at him.

"Upstairs," she replied. "In the princess suite. I thought she should have a nap."

"So... what do we do with her?"

"I'm not giving up the only part of my sister left," said Narcissa softly, though her tone was not lacking in fierceness.

"No, no, I wasn't suggesting... I only meant, how do we raise her? When Draco is older, I mean," said Lucius.

"As his cousin, I suppose. How else? We'll raise her... correctly."

"Correctly," repeated Lucius in agreement.

"A proper daughter of the House of Black," said Narcissa, and that was the end of the conversation. Their attention was drawn back to Draco, and upstairs Ursula clutched her little stuffed bear and fell asleep for the first time in her home.