Black's House for Little Witches

28

A/N: This has Bellatrix POV and Hermione POV because I said so.

Hopefully you read and enjoy. :)

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Bellatrix looked over reports from the Gringotts vault manager. Some of the investments were down, including Narcissa's potions venture. That might have had to do with the fact Narcissa didn't have the time to take larger orders, and she hadn't taken any at all since Hermione came to stay with them. There wasn't anyone to blame. It was just a fact. Narcissa was using the potions' lab for lessons, and with looking after both of the girls, there wasn't much time for her to brew custom orders. There would be even less time when Bellatrix returned to work.

If she returned to work, anyway. She'd requested another month of leave, agreeing to come in on a consultation basis if needed, but she also seriously considered resigning altogether, or permanently moving to a consultation by request position. She'd originally returned part time to the Department of Mysteries, but within six months was back to full time work when it was clear Andromeda was comfortable with Bella being out of the manor for the day.

Bellatrix had always felt a little guilty about the fact she got to return to work while Narcissa did not, but every time it came up, Narcissa had assured her she wasn't upset. Still, Bellatrix felt slightly guilty, and a part of her had considered resigning even earlier. There was a lot she missed out on when she was working. Andy had made so much progress over the last few years. Bellatrix learning of said progress through updates Narcissa gave her after the fact wasn't quite the same as seeing said developments happen spontaneously herself. The day would come when Andy would be almost entirely independent, and Bellatrix didn't really want to miss out on anything more. Plus, she didn't really need to work. She had all of the Black Family businesses to look after, and there were other investments and ventures she could make if she really needed something to do.

She shook her head and set the paperwork aside. She'd think more about it later. Maybe this time she would actually talk to Narcissa about her thoughts. She checked the clock in the corner of her study. It was nearing noon, and their guests should be arriving any minute now. It would be best to check in on the lunch preparations. She'd just barely gotten Andy to eat a bit of her breakfast that morning, her little sister was bursting at the seams with excitement, and a delay in lunch would not bode well for Andy's mood the rest of the afternoon.

Just as she reached the bottom of the staircase, the chime for the Floo went off. She heard Andy screech in delight, and then her sister's heavy, stampeding footsteps followed.

Bella called out in warning, "Andromeda, I better not find you running inside."

She was greeted with silence in return, and then a few seconds later Andromeda appeared slowly around the corner. Her sister had the decency to look sheepish. "Wasn't running," she mumbled.

Bellatrix was not in the slightest bit convinced, but she let it drop. "Let's go greet our guests, hm?" she said as she held a hand out to the girl.

Andromeda nodded as she took the woman's hand. "Cissy and Mione are in the garden."

Bellatrix hummed her acknowledgement. "Yes, that's probably the best place to be today." She was sure Sirius would let his alter ego out to either terrorize or play with the cats. She didn't know which would occur, but she did know that either option would lead to disaster if they stayed indoors.

Mr. Tonks stood in the receiving room, brushing soot off of clothes. He looked up and grinned at Andromeda, but his smile quickly turned into a more reserved, hesitant expression as he noticed Bellatrix. "Madam Black, Andy," he greeted politely with a small bow. It was an acceptable greeting; he at least made an attempt to follow traditional greeting customs. "Thank you for letting me come over, Madam Black."