Æffect
tradiferis

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter. The plot of this story is the only thing that I own in this here endeavor.

Summary: What happens when your greatest enemy can offer you your heart's desire, no strings attached, when your greatest ally never has? AU

- Chapter One -

January, 1980

Bellatrix Lestrange looked at the blue potion that was in front of her. It held the sum of her fears.

"Please don't be right," she muttered, staring at the potion, willing it to be incorrect. She whipped her hand out and violently threw the potion at the wall, "No! No, no no! This can't be happening!"

She collapsed down next to the worktable, sobbing. Her black tresses fell over the front of her face, her shoulders were slumped forward, and the Death Eater was holding onto her stomach as if she wanted to strangle it.

"No, it can't be right, I must have made it wrong," the woman said, suddenly standing. However, before she could move any further, a wave of nausea swept over her, and she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor next to her. Waving her wand, she cleaned it up, and then walked over to a chair that was on the other side of the room, near a simmering cauldron.

"I thought morning sickness was only in the morning," Bellatrix muttered to herself, peering into the cauldron to look at the liquid, which was the perfect color, texture, and viscosity of the potion she had wanted to make, "Face it Bella, you got an O on your Potions NEWT for a reason."

The witch looked down on herself, and cradled her stomach, "You're pregnant Bella, believe it or not."

Once again, the witch broke down in tears, for this was the one thing that she didn't need. It was obvious that the child wasn't from her husband, who she hadn't seen in over a year – not that she minded. It wasn't the fact that the child wasn't her husband's that her her worried though. That prize went to Voldemort.

"What am I going to do?" Bellatrix whispered to herself, "I can't let him find out. He'll take you from me, make you his pawn, the perfect weapon. He'll poison you. He'll take you from me. He'll take you from me. HE'LL TAKE YOU FROM ME!"

Bellatrix looked at her left forearm, an almost blind rage apparent in her eyes. She slowly stood up this time.

"It may be to late to save you me," she said, talking to and cradling her stomach at the same time, "But I will not let your chance be taken from you my son."

She slowly made her way out of the basement room. She would have to be careful. Narcissa and her pompous husband were visiting, and woe behold her if she ran into her aunt as well. She would need to be extra careful, for no one could know that she was gone until she actually was.

"How did you do it Andy?" Bellatrix murmured to herself, thinking about her sister. She paused as she reached the staircase that led up to the main floor. She couldn't just leave, she had to have some place that she could leave to. Slumping against the wall, she gave some thought to this.

'I can't go to Andy's house,' she thought, 'She has a little child to worry about as it is, and doesn't need to have to worry about me. Besides, it would be the most obvious choice, because she's my sister.'

Going over her options, she quickly came upon the one, and only, option that she had in hiding herself away from her family and the Dark Lord, 'He has enough power, he knows the right people, and no one would ever suspect that I would go to him of all people. I just hopes he doesn't kill me as soon as he sees me.'

Her choice of where she was escaping to now made up, she still had one vital choice. How was she going to escape? Muttering a low level sensory charm, she quietly implored her magic to seek out if there was anyone in the vicinity of the door that led out into the house proper. She couldn't Apparate inside the house, but the minute that she got out the front door, she could be on her way to seek her asylum.

Not feeling anyone in the immediate vicinity, she slowly made her way up the stairs, still with the charm activated. Once she made it up the stairs, she could make a mad dash to the front door. It was only a short distance, surely no one would hear her and come wondering why such a lady was moving in such a way.

All her worry was for naught, however, when she suddenly heard the voice of her Aunt.

"Bellatrix," came the voice. Bellatrix couldn't feel her, so she started to walk faster up the stairs. When she got to the top, she heard her Aunt's voice once again, "Bellatrix! Where are you? I need to talk to you!"

Bellatrix crept along the edge of the walls, she could now feel her Aunt. She was in the drawing room. Which meant that she had approximately twenty seconds before her Aunt saw her.

'It's now or never,' Bellatrix thought to herself, running towards the door, which was almost mocking her for it seemed to get further away the more she ran.

"Bellatrix will you answer me and stop making that racket?" her Aunt shrilled in a lour voice, in a voice that implied she was moving quickly. Waving her wand, Bellatrix opened the door magically.

"There you are!" Bellatrix froze and turned around, and saw her Aunt at the top of the stairs, "What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago," Bellatrix answered back, sending off a loud explosion with her wand that created a ton of smoke. She dove through the door, and as soon as she was through it, a 'pop' sounded and Bellatrix LeStrange was no longer at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

-

Sirius Black couldn't have been happier. He had just found out that his best friend in the world, someone that he considered to be more of a brother than his own, was going to be a father. He was almost skipping as he walked down the lane in Hogsmead to his house.

Life was good for Sirius Black. He enjoyed his job very much as a consultant for Zonko's joke shop. He also was called in from time to time as a consultant to the Auror's because of his reputation from Hogwarts on 'there being no ward that Sirius Black couldn't crack.' The money wasn't anything spectacular, but it afforded him a nice and comfortable living, something he could do until he was finished with his research on wizarding communication that would surely set him up for life.

Yes, life was good for Sirius Black, which is why when he walked onto his porch and saw his cousin, he immediately knew something was wrong.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked Bellatrix, who looked really nervous. She seemed to shrink back under his cold tone, which surprised Sirius for a moment, before she started talking.

"I know you don't trust me, and that you hate me," Bellatrix said, looking down at the ground, cradling her stomach, before looking at Sirius right in the eye, "But I need your help. Please, cousin, I know that you owe nothing to me, but I beg of you, this is more important than me. Please help me."

Sirius gave the witch an appraising look, as if wondering if this was some sort of a trap. He finally decided he might as well hear his blood out, "I will listen to you, as long as you swear to me that you mean me no harm and that by letting you into my house no harm terror will be brought onto me."

"I swear on my magic Sirius!" Bellatrix almost yelled, "Please!"

"Alright," Sirius said, putting his wand on his door, "Come in, the kitchen is in the back, please wait there while I change."

And wait Bellatrix did, for over ten minutes while her cousin changed. Bellatrix also assumed that he most likely was standing in his room wondering why he even allowed her to enter into his home in the first place. She was a known Death Eater! So why did she all but get down on her hands and knees as beg of his help?

"I realized something a few moments ago," Sirius said, walking into the room, "We haven't been in the same room since the Great Hall at Hogwarts."

"No we haven't," Bellatrix whispered, looking at the table, and not at her cousin. She heard Sirius sigh, and looked up at him.

"Why are you here Bella?" Sirius said, cutting right to the chase, "I know it isn't to kill me, because I would already be dead by now if indeed that was your prerogative. So, enlighten me, why are you here?"

Bellatrix was silent for a moment, looking back down at the table, before looking back up at Sirius with tears threatening to fall from her eyes, "I'm pregnant Sirius."

Sirius looked slightly gob smacked for a moment, a range of emotions going through his eyes, before stating, "It's not your husband's is it?"

"No," Bellatrix said, shaking her head, the tears still being held in her eyes, "It isn't, and I don't want to pretend otherwise."

She looked up at Sirius, the tears now falling down her face, "Sirius I want my child to have an even shake at life! I don't want him branded from birth! I want him to be able to choose his own destiny, not have it chosen for him!"

She completely broke down, and Sirius moved over and wrapped one arm around his cousin. Sighing, he asked, "So I take it that's why you came here?"

"Yes," was the response, "You were the only one that I knew who I could go to that could help me hide, because as you said, we haven't even been in the same room for many years."

"Why not Andy?" Sirius said, more as a formality, as plans were already forming in his head.

"She already has a young daughter to worry about," Bellatrix responded, "Much less her grown sister."

Sirius stood up suddenly, and started speaking in an authoritative voice, "We're going to have to act quickly, as any charms you placed on yourself are likely going to be fading soon. We will need to get you keyed into the wards of this house, and I will need to put a slightly modified version of the Fidelius on you, until something better can be set up."

And so Sirius helped his cousin hide in his house. He charmed a closet in his bedroom to slightly expand, till it was no more than sixty four square feet. Under the version of the Fidelius that he had put on Bellatrix, she would be able to leave the closet for short periods of time each day, and unfortunately until circumstances changed, this would be all that would be safe.

The months were hard for Bellatrix. She was used to moving around, and these conditions, not much better than the German Jews hiding in the second great muggle war in her eyes, did not allow her to do much moving. She spent most of her time writing down a list of all the spells, potions, wards, and such that she knew. One day, she knew, the list she was making might come to be useful.

She talked with Sirius as much as possible, and they started to make amends for everything that had happened between the two over the years. Sirius couldn't talk with her a lot though, as he had many appearances to keep up so he wouldn't fall under suspicion of anything, and possibly lead the someone finding that he was harboring a known Death Eater in his house.

For as much as her conditions were not ideal, every time she felt something different in her stomach, something associated with the life that was forming inside of her, she realized that these sacrifices were worth everything, and were quite possibly her penance for everything that she had done through the years. The coming birth of her child excited Bellatrix, and she was constantly dreaming of taking it on long walks enjoying the simple pleasures of life. She dreamed of when it would do it's first magic. She dreamed of taking it to Diagon Alley and showing it off for the world to see. She dreamed...

One morning as the seventh month of the year died, she woke up feeling something different than all the other mornings that she had woken up. She instantly knew what it was. She was about to have her baby. She quickly alerted Sirius by banging on the wall, as she was to 'swollen' to walk. When Sirius found out what was going to happen, he quickly sprung into action, following a plan that he had worked out months ago. Part of the Fidelius that he had made it so that if anyone glanced at Bellatrix while in the room wouldn't recognize her, even if she had known the person for years. Thus he was able to call a Healer that he knew from school that wouldn't ask any questions, and would deliver Bellatrix's baby.

A quick four hours later, Bellatrix was holding her son in her arms. He had a swatch of black hair upon his head, and blue eyes like all babies did. Bellatrix gazed upon her son with joyous tears falling down her face.

"I love you my son," Bellatrix whispered, placing a kiss upon his forehead.

"What are you going to name him?" Sirius asked, looking at his first cousin, once removed.

"Circinus Black," Bellatrix said, looking at her son with a proud look on her face, "who has guided me out of the dark."

-

A few days later Sirius received an urgent fire call, he was needed at the Potter's house. It seemed that they were having a child of their own. Bellatrix nodded as Sirius reminded her that if she was in trouble, to just use the port key that was keyed to him.

A few hours later, Bellatrix walked around the small room that she and Circinus occupied, singing a low song under her breath to her son, who was crying from what appeared to be a bad nightmare.

"Shh, Circi," Bellatrix whispered to her child, "Momma is here, don't worry, everything is going to be fine."

Suddenly, a searing pain went ripping through Bellatrix's arm, causing her to almost drop Circinus. A wave of panic washed over Bellatrix as she carefully set her son down in his cradle, before rolling the sleeve up on her arm to reveal the vile Dark Mark.

"Oh no," Bellatrix said, fear starting to wash over her, "Voldemort's found me...No! Circi...no!"

She quickly grabbed Circinus, and the port key and tried to activate it, but a searing pain went ripping through her body. It appeared as if Voldemort has keyed a ward over the house so that she could not escape.

"NO!" Bellatrix shouted as she heard the sound of glass shattering. She looked at her son with a determined look on her face, "He can get me, but he will not get you!"

Quickly writing a note to Sirius telling him what happened, she rolled it up and attached it and the port key given to her by Sirius to her son. Knowing she didn't have much time she gazed upon her son for what might be the last time.

"I love you my beautiful baby boy," Bellatrix said, kissing him on the forehead above the eyebrow, "Mummy will always love you. I know that one day you will free me from my curse."

Hearing a spell hit the house, and feeling the Mark burn harder, she activated the port key and watched her son disappear. Feeling tears fall down her eyes, she felt the door behind her be blasted open...

Meanwhile, at the home of Lily and James Potter, Sirius Black was trying to console his best friend on the death of his son. In a shocking twist of fate, the Potter child had died during childbirth, and no amount of magic was able to save it. Sirius was currently trying to help James figure out how to confront Lily, who didn't yet know that her son had died. Suddenly, a child appeared in Sirius' lap.

"What in the world," Sirius said, looking down at the child, and suddenly recognizing it, "Oh no..."

Sirius saw the note on the child, and quickly unrolled it, his eyes filling with tears as he read it. Suddenly though, he got an idea, and looked up at his best friend who was looking at him in confusion.

"James, do you trust me?" Sirius asked his best friend. James nodded with a confused look on his face. Sirius closed his eyes as he slid his wand down his arm, thinking of the past three hours, before looking up at James with a determined look on his face, "OBLIVIATE!"

James' eyes quickly became cloudy, before they started to come back into focus. Sirius quickly put a grin on his face, and looked at James.

"Thank you for letting me hold your son James, he is so beautiful," Sirius said, handing Circinus over to James.

"Yes, he is," James said, looking down at the baby, "Come on little guy, let's show you to your mum."

Sirius looked on with a sigh. If anyone was to know what happened, Bellatrix's wishes for her son to live without being marked from birth would be all for naught. Thinking of everything that had happened since the day his cousin appeared on his porch, he pointed his wand at himself and, with one last sigh, said, "Obliviate!"

-

"How is she doing?" Lord Voldemort said to the Death Eater that was following him.

"She should be awaking right now," the Death Eater said.

"Perfect," Voldemort said with a smile, thinking of the magical brainwashing that he had put the powerful witch through for the past few days. With a grim smile he walked into the room where Bellatrix was starting to wake up.

"Arise Bellatrix," Voldemort said with an evil laugh, "My most faithful servant."

- End Chapter -