Bellatrix smirked as Harry came from behind and wrapped an arm around her waist, standing alongside her. Even after three months, it was still funny to watch the subtle reactions. Lucius narrowed his eyes slightly. Cissy frowned slightly; either out of dislike of Harry or jealousy that her sister did indeed have a lord-husband that is younger and fitter and has more stamina. Draco looked like he wanted to walk away as he stood next to Astoria. Andi and Nymphadora looked like they were about to bust out laughing.
Bellatrix had to admit that the whole situation was pretty funny. She still got a kick out of every time Harry told Draco “so, nephew…”
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” Lucius said in his best smooth business voice. He was clearly trying to be on his best behavior. For most people, standing next to Bellatrix and Harry felt like being in the presence of a Dark Lord and Lady. A couple you do not want to piss off. “It is a true travesty that Yule is being replaced by Muggle Christmas. Say what you will about muggle-borns, but they should not be allowed a say in how we celebrate our holidays.”
“They don’t,” Harry said.
Lucius blinked once. “Pardon me?”
“Well, do you celebrate Christmas?”
Lucius adopted a (probably well-practiced) look of offense on his face. “Of course not!”
“Then muggle-borns aren’t having a say on what holidays you celebrate. They’re just influencing people that you don’t know; and let’s be completely honest, don’t care about.”
Lucius opened his mouth to respond but Harry pulled his ace trick - he let his magic out a little bit. It was wild, and dark, and primal, and for most people, fear inducing. Lucius quickly closed his mouth and mumbled something unintelligible. Everyone else in the little cluster - except Bellatrix of course - got a shade whiter as well.
Bellatrix stifled a little laugh. She still found it funny how most people were so afraid of her husband’s magic. Even if she felt somebody of extreme light like Dumbledore, it would physically hurt but she felt no fear.
Harry turned to his wife. “My parents wanted to ask you a question really quickly. They’re over by the drinks right now.”
“Well it would be rude of me to ignore my in-laws,” Bellatrix said before turning to her family. “Excuse us.”
They were currently on the grounds outside the Malfoy Manor for the Yule celebration the Malfoy’s hosted every year. Around them were dozens of Ministry dignitaries, family friends, and pureblooded Lords and scions. Next to a table dozens of feet long covered by forty fountains of various alcoholic beverages stood the Lord and Lady Potter talking to the Longbottoms. Lily’s dark red hair stood out vividly against both her white dress and the black and blonde hair of everyone around her making her easily identifiable from halfway across the grounds.
As the couple got closer Bellatrix could see that both elder Potters were sipping wine; Lily a white with some sort of fruit floating around the top and James a red. Bellatrix couldn’t stand red wine personally. Bellatrix made sure she had a tight rein on her magic and noticed that Harry was doing the same. Like most Potters historically, James and Lily both had firmly light magic and didn’t mix well with Harry and Bellatrix. Bellatrix didn’t know how Harry was able to stay sane growing up. It was hard enough for her and she was from a dark-oriented family.
She also didn’t know how Harry had such dark magic, in fact nobody did. The current top theory was that a dark Squib had married into her family at some point and that she carried dark recessive genes. Nobody really knew. The Potters never had any dark members of their main branch. It was only when somebody dark married into the family, like Bellatrix herself. Only she was the first dark person to marry into the main line.
James and Lily turned to their son and his wife when the couple stopped behind them. “Ah, Bellatrix,” James said with a grin on his face. “I need to know. Do you also think that the Malfoys look like somebody shoved a stick up their asses whenever they talk to you and Harry?”
“James,” Alice said reproachfully. “Mind your manners.” Frank was doing an almost perfect job of keeping a straight face. Lily looked like she’d already given up.
“Seems like a perfectly reasonable question to me.” Bellatrix turned around and saw her favorite cousin walking over.
“I said it looks more like how’d they look if somebody actually laughed at one of their parties. After all, it’d be completely unexpected and almost unprecedented.” Unlike the Lord Longbottom, Harry actually was keeping a completely straight face as he said that.
“I don’t know,” James refuted. “I feel like their looks are so practiced they’d barely break if somebody actually did shove a stick up one of their asses.”
Everyone knew that the Potters and Malfoys had no love between them. In fact, this was the first of the famous Malfoy functions the current two generations of Potters had ever been to, and it was only because they were now related by marriage. “I’m going to side with Harry here,” Bellatrix said, leaning into her husband slightly. “His reasoning is more thought out.”
“Naturally,” Harry said.
“Maybe,” the Potter Lord mused. “But now I actually want to find out-”
“And we’re stopping right there,” Lily said firmly. “Whether we like the hosts or not, we have to at least pretend to be polite.” She turned to Alice. “Why is it that only women ever have any sense?”
“It’s because all women are always so boring,” Sirius answered, after taking a half step away from the group to get a little safety space. “Right guys?”
“Sirius,” Harry said. “All of us are currently standing within an inch or two of our wives. Basic survival instincts dictate we disagree with you.”
“Mhm,” Bellatrix hummed happily. “Good boy.”
“I knew I raised a smart son,” Lily said.
“Traitors.” Sirius threw his hands in the air. “Traitors the lot of you.”
“Ooh, they brought out the desserts,” Bellatrix said. “Harry, escort me over there would you.”
“As My Lady commands,” he replied.
As the Heir and Heiress Potter walked over to grab desserts Lily sighed sadnessly. “My own son and daughter-in-law and I barely restrain myself from grabbing my wand whenever they come near.”
“I don’t,” Sirius supplied helpfully.
Lily glared at him. “Shut up Sirius.”
“Oh. Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m just going to grab desserts as well.”
“In all my life I’ve never seen him as at ease as he is around her,” Lily continued. “And it makes me sad to know that in twenty-two years as his mother I’ve never made him as happy as she has.” Lily was holding back tears at this point as she clung to James, who was clearly blinking slightly faster than normal as well.
“All you can do is be glad that at least he found somebody that can make him that happy,” Alice said, trying to comfort her friend. “I know that for years you were worried he never would.”
“The day he sent a letter home saying the imperius curse had no effect on him I just about gave up hope of it ever happening,” James said. “At least of him finding somebody we wouldn’t have to disown him for.”
“You never told me that before,” Lily said, sounding surprised.
“There was no beneficial purpose to,” James said with a shrug.
“And what beneficial purpose is there now?” she asked angrily.
“To show you that even when we aren’t sure, Harry is going to be fine,” James said calmly, unfazed by his wife’s anger. “Yes, Bellatrix is older than we are. Yes, the two are one step away from being straight up dark. Yes, I almost choked when Harry told us the news. But he’s going to be alright.”
Lily’s anger slowly melted away. “I know. It's just…”
“I know.”
Perhaps it wasn’t strictly within pureblood code to lead your wife off to a dark and private area behind some tall hedges during such a prestigious event but it wasn’t strictly against it either. Bellatrix certainly wasn’t resisting anyway.
As Harry moved his lips to his wife’s neck he thought about everything that had changed in the last three months.
His whole life he’d felt like nobody could actually understand him. Almost instantly rumors started swirling that he was a surefire future Dark Lord. Dumbledore had to tell Harry and his parents during Harry's first year that several second and third generation wizards at Hogwarts and written to their parents, telling them how blatantly evil Harry was. Their parents had in turn asked for meetings with Dumbledore, imploring him to protect their children and “take care” of Harry before he became a threat.
Dumbledore of course had refused without considering the possibility and notified all three Potters. Blood feuds had been declared, duels had been fought, James had won all of them. Harry knew that his mother would have fought fiercely for him, but his father had better instincts in the dueling ring.
Of course many purebloods and older non-pure wizarding families probably wanted to do the same thing. They just knew better than to challenge the Potters.
His parents, Sirius, Lupin, they had all tried their hardest but none of them had been able to understand or help him. Even Sirius, who was dark himself, was still leagues away from where Harry was. It was exhausting, trying to keep his magic tightly reined in twenty-four/seven, especially during classes when he was actually performing magic. During a Hogwarts feast with all staff and students in attendance, just by completely relaxing his magic he could leave hundreds comatose and hundreds more in unreasonable states of panic and terror. Of course, with people like Dumbledore, Flitwick, and McGonagall in the room it would hurt like the devil for him too.
It was a really lonely way to live. Constantly searching for somebody; even for simple platonic companionship, and immediately flinching back. He lost track of the number of formal letters he had to send, apologizing for sending somebody’s kid to the hospital wing briefly after seeing if their magic could stand his. Even those from dark families felt weak, not worthy of him. Greengrass, Parkinson, Moon, younger Greengrass, nothing.
Bellatrix had changed all of that. Her magic was a match for his; not only in orientation but in power as well. They’d been strong enough to last long enough to find each other and now they were reaping the rewards.
And he was getting pretty regular sex as well. That was definitely a big change too.
Twenty minutes later the couple cuddled together on the ground, both unwilling to break the moment to rejoin the dull party.
“For so long, I thought I’d never have this,” Bellatrix said contently as she nuzzled into Harry’s side.
“I can’t even imagine what it was like,” Harry said as he clutched his wife tighter.
“Yes you can,” she said. “You went through Hogwarts the same way I did; always searching, but never finding anybody. Never being able to relax.”
“Yes, but I didn’t have the decades of loneliness afterwards as well,” Harry answered. “The amount of strength that would take is incredible. It’s what I admire most about you.”
“You’ve told me that exact same thing before. Dozens of times, in fact.”
“And I’ll continue to,” Harry said, staring straight into her eyes, “for the rest of our lives together.”
“Good. I like it when you tell me that.” There was a comfortable silence for a few seconds. “But what about my ass? You seem to admire that quite a bit as well,” Bellatrix said with a giggle.
Harry laughed as well. “Your ass is a very close second,” he assured her.
“Good.” Another short silence. “Harry, I’m not sure if you’ve realized this yet but my period was supposed to be two weeks ago.”
He sat upright abruptly and looked down at Bellatrix, who was pouting that she couldn’t use her favorite pillow (Harry’s chest) anymore. His vibrant green eyes shone bright. “You mean that you’re pregnant?”
“It’s too early to tell. But I’d be shocked if I wasn’t by now.” Merlin knows they’d been trying their hardest.
“Well then,” Harry said as he straddled Bellatrix. “Why don’t we make sure. Just in case. After all, we have a duty to produce a new generation of Potters."
Bellatrix didn’t argue. She was raised a proper pureblood. And every pureblood knows that you can’t shirk your duty to her family. Not that she was complaining, at least in this case.