The Changeling

Con·san·guin·i·ty- the fact of being descended from the same ancestor

Black Family Manor, Unplottable (but probably in Great Britain)

The backyard was full of shouts and giggles, the twins having started an all-out snowball war against the woman they had been eyeing with distrust just an hour before. It had started with them pelting Bella with snow, leading to a massive everyone-for-themselves war, even Percy and Remus joining in.

Spring was sitting curled up against Charlie's side, as he'd come with them for the holidays, hot chocolate in both their hands as they watched the chaos consume the group.

Bellatrix was trying to defend herself against the twins and Bill, with (surprisingly) Percy and Maria at her side, Sirius wrestling with Remus in a snowbank off to the side, both of them laughing.

It ended with the twins and Bill dominating the other three, but she could tell some of the animosity and distrust had faded, the last inkling of distrust being when Bill flopped onto the woman with a faked groan and over-dramatic complaints of 'I swooned!' when Bella made a loud outraged noise.

Charlie hummed, hand around her shoulders drawing her in closer. "You know we're not dumb or blind, right? We've all seen pictures of Bellatrix Lestrange before..."

"Have you seen her play with children and not even blink when they came to cry on her later with some small injury? Or seen her cry herself to sleep because she can't have children? Did you know that she had been sold into an abusive marriage and that her husband would crucio her for voicing her doubt of her insane lord's ideals?" Spring took a long sip of her hot chocolate, not looking away from where the twins had sat down in the snow, watching in a strange sort of awe as Bella bullied Bill into letting her braid his hair while telling the twins about prank spells that were a bit more on the unconventional side of things. "Bellatrix Lestrange died, lost and insane in her inability to be heard and loved. Belladonna Eden Black rose from her ashes."

Charlie was silent for a while, watching the scene in front of them before he nodded. "I guess I can accept that."

She smiled up at him, eyes mirthful. "Do you think I would let her stay around me if she would hurt any of you?"

"No... I suppose not."

They drifted back into silence, and she tucked her head against his chest once more, watching with similar chuckles as the woman in question moved to dump a pile of snow on Remus and Sirius, who had ended up sucking at each other's faces.

As they'd been invited for both to the Yule Ball and to stay the night for Christmas the next morning- Sirius was being the 'group dad' and had gotten them all shrunken bags that would duel as charms to go on her bracelet, with similar necklaces for both Maria and Bella.

Sirius was making Remus be his date, Maria with Bill, and she was going with the other Black.

In a pale blue dress that was almost silver in the light, with hair straightened and neutral makeup, Bella looked like a different woman. Except her need to mother Spring was still the same, fluttering around her like a butterfly and adjusting the blue bow around the middle of Spring's dress. "You look so cute! Now do a twirl for me- okay now one more for good luck!"

"No more." She narrowed her eyes on the woman, letting the air cool a bit around them when her glare did nothing to the woman.

Sirius stepped in. "Bells are we sure that that dress isn't too short? It's a bit- well- she's only fifteen for magic's sake!"

Maria waved the man off. "Spring can handle herself- plus those high socks and pretty shoes are too cute with that dress to make her go change!"

Spring thought she looked a bit like one of those porcelain dolls, with her white dress and high socks, the pale blue shoes, and bow around her waist, but it made Bella smile so she put up with it. Sighing for what seemed to be the millionth time in the last half hour, she just took Bill's hand, pulling him to the floo. "We're leaving. Now. I'm going to do something violent should we stay here a moment longer."