FicWad

Thanks to lazy_neutrino, who not only beta'd, but also came up with the title.
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"If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord!" - Bellatrix Lestrange, HBP

*
"That is all. You are dismissed." There were pops of Disapparation all around the isolated clearing as the Death Eaters took their leave. Two ghostly white masks remained, however. The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed.

"Bella. Rodolphus. Is there something else you wish to speak to me about?"

They took off their masks slowly. Rodolphus swallowed once before speaking. "My lord, we wanted to tell you first."

Bella cut in, impatient as always. "It has been difficult conceiving, but we're having a baby, my lord. It's-he's due around the end of July."

"We thought you ought to know first, my lord. We know that someday he will be a great servant for you."

The Dark Lord studied them for a moment. Bella's nervous smile began to fade. "My lord-"

"Your approval would mean everything to us, my lord."

The Dark Lord did not exactly smile, but his expression softened slightly. "Raise him well, then, and when he is sixteen I will burn my mark into his arm." The Dark Lord stepped back a few paces, and Disapparated.

Rodolphus breathed a sigh of relief, just before Bella flung herself into his arms. "You see? I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"I wasn't worried," he said, laughing. "You were the one worrying about what he'd think."

"Oh, Rodolphus, he said he'd burn his mark into our son's arm! Can you imagine our son, fighting for the Dark Lord?" She clung to him, her warmth making the late autumn weather slightly more bearable.

"I imagine we'd better get home, before his parents expire from the cold." Grinning at each other, they Disapparated home.

*
Only a few weeks later, the Lestranges were summoned again. When they Apparated to his side, they found they had been the only ones called.

"My lord?" Rodolphus asked. The Lestranges had been summoned to a place they had never seen before: a cold sitting room with heavy drapes veiling the windows and a thick red carpet on the floor. The Dark Lord reclined in a green armchair, more regal than any Muggle king. Behind him stood a masked, dark-haired Death Eater; Rodolphus squinted, but couldn't figure out who it was.

"My lord, our mission is to be carried out next week," Bella added.

The Dark Lord barely spared them a glance. "Your child. Get rid of it."

Rodolphus blinked. Surely he had not heard correctly. Beside him, Bella gasped.

"But-but why, my lord? We have always been faithful to you. Our son will be as well."

"There has been a prophecy. The one with the ability to defeat me is to be born at the end of July. I am taking no chances. Get rid of the child."

"My lord, you can never be defeated. And even if you could, no Lestrange would ever betray you. You have nothing to fear from us, my lord!"

"Fear? You accuse me of fear?"

The Dark Lord spoke almost idly, but an icy chill went through Rodolphus. He hastened to apologize for his wife. "My lord, it was merely a mistake of words. You could never fear anyone." He shot Bella a quelling glance, but she was watching the Dark Lord intently.

"I am the Dark Lord Voldemort, and my decision is final. Leave my presence this instant."

And so, of course, they did.

Back at home, Bella paced their bedroom, wringing her hands. "How could he place so little trust in us? We are his most faithful servants. Our child would never betray him!"

Rodolphus was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands and his shoulders slumped. It simply didn't make sense. Defying the Dark Lord was unthinkable. And yet, in this situation, what else could they do? There had to be a way out.

Suddenly it came to him. He stood up; Bella came to a halt. "What is it?"

"We'll just have to hide it from him, then. Tell him we obeyed his orders, hide the pregnancy, foster him with someone else-your sister, perhaps, or call him one of Rastaban's by-blows."

"But-the Dark Lord-he is our Master, and we have to obey him."

Rodolphus stepped forward and seized her hands. "It was difficult enough getting pregnant in the first place. If we lose this child, we may never have another one. The Dark Lord is our master, but we are purebloods. There has to be a next generation. Isn't that what we're truly fighting for? Doesn't the cause outweigh the man?"

"The cause is the man," Bella whispered, but there was no conviction in it. She was always a woman in control of a situation-it was one of the things that had attracted Rodolphus to her in the first place--but now she simply looked lost.

"Perhaps you're right," she said finally, staring at their joined hands. "We could simply keep the child. For now. When he's born, the Dark Lord will surely see that there is no threat and allow him to live."

"Don't worry, Bella. Everything will turn out all right."

*
"Two of you have been lying to me," the Dark Lord said, glaring at the circle of Death Eaters. There was complete silence, and Rodolphus could feel the blood drain from his face.

Slowly, the Dark Lord stalked around the circle, looking intently at each Death Eater. "I will give the guilty a final chance to step forward, in honor of their previous service to me."

Rodolphus was quaking inside, but tried not to show it. There was no way the Dark Lord could know, really. It was all just a bluff. As long as Bella didn't do anything foolish, they'd still get away with it.

Of course, she chose exactly that moment to step forward. "My lord, we did disobey you, but-"

"THERE IS NO BUT," the Dark Lord thundered. "You willfully defied me. There is no explanation that can justify your betrayal."

Rodolphus stepped forward as well. Bella had given it all away, and there was nothing more to be gained by keeping silent. "My lord, we thought that perhaps you overestimated the threat. We were following the spirit of our organization, feeling that it took precedence over a single-"

"/Crucio/."

When the red haze faded from his vision, Rodolphus was lying on the ground with his arms and legs spasming. He could see Bella nearby, clutching her stomach. As the shaking faded, he managed to pull himself up to a sitting position. He crawled over to Bella and propped her against his chest. She was shivering so hard that Rodolphus thought she might break. He licked his lips and tried again. "M-m-my lord, we o-only wish to serve you and the p-purity of wizard blood."

"I won't hear any more of your excuses. Go home and obey my orders."

Bella coughed raggedly. The effects of the curse were wearing off, and now she clawed at Rodolphus' robes trying to sit up straight. "My lord, you cannot ask this of us! If you would only consider..."

"Fools! Still you disobey me?" The Dark Lord turned to the Death Eater at his left hand. "Malfoy, place them in your dungeons."

Malfoy visibly started. "But my lord, you know that my wife-"

"Do you wish to share their fate?"

"N-no, my lord. It is as you command."

*
They were allowed to share a cell, which was some small comfort, but they were not given food or water and they received no visitors. Rodolphus had no idea how long they had been there-more than a day, surely-before the Dark Lord came to see them in person. He brought with him a goblet of purple liquid, which bubbled continually.

"It has occurred to me that perhaps you do not entirely understand the situation."

"My lord," Bella whispered. She was looking at the floor.

The Dark Lord continued as if she had not spoken. "The prophecy tells of a boy, born at the end of the seventh month. He is the only one who can defeat me. It also says he will be born to parents who have defied me thrice."

"My lord, then it cannot possibly be our son. We would never disobey you, never defy--"

"You have already defied me twice."

Rodolphus felt as if he had been punched. Bella began to sob. "My lord, we would never, never... we will always be loyal to you."

"To me, or to your own blood? Make your decision." The Dark Lord set the goblet in front of them. He locked eyes with Bella. "I trust you will choose correctly."

After he left, Rodolphus turned to his wife. "What are we going to do?"

Her eyes were red-rimmed and her nose was running, leaving dirty streaks across her cheeks and mouth. Her hands were tightly clasped, and very still. "There's no choice, is there? Even more than our blood, the Dark Lord is most important. If there's any possibility at all that our--that anything of ours could bring harm to him, we need to... to put a stop to it."

There was nothing else to be done. Rodolphus leaned over, picked up the goblet, and handed it to his wife. Bella's face was pale in the candlelight, but her hands were steady as she took it. For one long moment she stared into its depths.

Then she tilted her head back, and drank.