Prickle Ⅳ

On the outskirts of the village of Fernburgh, the Weasley home is filled with the laughter of children. In the dining room, a short, curved fiery red-haired witch with warm eyes smiles widely at her eldest son, William, (known to all as Bill Weasley, who had turned five in the past month). Bill gently played with his younger brother, Charlie, and cousin, Dora (Nymphadora). Bill was tall and thin like his dad with red hair, blue eyes, and ever so handsome. Molly Weasley (nee Prewett) just knew that Bill was going to be a heartbreaker when he went to Hogwarts.

Molly's second-born son had only just turned 3 years old only just days ago. Not that her Charlie was not an ugly child. He was a short, sweet, stocky lad with throngs of energy. He was freckled and tanned with longer hair than Molly approved. Not that Molly didn't attempt to keep Charlie's hair short, but Charlie would wail inconsolably each time his hair was trimmed short. It saved her a great deal of trouble to leave Charlie's hair just a tad long even if it offended her inner sensibilities.

Molly's eyes dart over to the adorable Dora, (Andromeda), whose hair had currently turned bright red to match that of her cousins. She lets out an envious sigh before taking a sip of her tea. She so dearly wanted a little girl of her own, and she and Arthur had immediately begun trying after the birth of Aurora. If lady luck would have it, they'd have their own wee lass in nine months' time. She could hardly wait!

Molly turns her attention back to her dear friends and cousin-in-law via her husband, Arthur. The lighter brown-haired sister is Andromeda Tonks (nee Black). Andromeda's face is slightly scrunched up as she pushes away a piece of lemon. Her gray eyes are filled with emotions as if she had a secret of her own. Andromeda was a beauty in her own right, but a lesser beauty than that of her deceased sister, Bellatrix. Though the two sisters had looked remarkably alike, Bellatrix and Andromeda could never be confused by those that knew them as their characters had been very different from each other.

Molly's mind darts to the lemon and turns over the nugget of information in the back of her mind. Something was up and she would get to the bottom of it. But for now, she would put that juicy tidbit away to later be taken apart.

The soft disgruntled snuffle causes Molly to turn her gaze to the elegant figure of Narcissa Malfoy (nee Black). Despite recently just given birth, Narcissa had returned to her previous slim figure of before. Her pale, blue eyes are filled with an unusual tenderness as she removes her daughter from the warm cradle. Her long blonde hair is neatly pulled up in a simple updo lest the baby chews on it or wrap tiny fierce fingers around it. A painful lesson that she and Lucius had quickly learned.

With care, Narcissa reaches into the basket at her feet and removes a warm enchanted bottle from the side pocket of the basket to feed her daughter. Her daughter is no longer a bright shade of pink, but a lovely fair color. Her cheeks and lips are rosy, pink, and her little head is covered in tufts of pure blonde hair that has a tiny pink bow on top. An adorable baby or so everyone thought.

With a practiced motion, Narcissa tucks her baby in the crook of her arm. Aurora impatiently smacks her lips in hunger and begins to make soft chuffing-like wails. Narcissa hides a smile at her daughter's impatience, before putting the tip of the bottle nipple to her daughter's lips. The baby instantly begins to eagerly suckle the bottle letting out a tiny little grunt of relief.

All three witches affectionately gaze at the delicate baby, before their attention is pulled to the figure descending from upstairs having freshened up, Druella Black (nee Rosier). The mother of Narcissa and Andromeda was still only a middle-aged witch having given birth to her eldest daughter, Bellatrix at a fairly young age. She was a great beauty with blond hair and blue eyes that Narcissa had inherited. A stern pureblood at times, but she wholly loved her daughters all the same.

"All of you must eat to keep your strength. Mothering is a tiring business," Druella matter-of-factly stated, before gesturing to the house elf following closely behind her. "Dobby, if you would?"

Narcissa's face turns rosy, pink in embarrassment, while Andromeda arches her brow at her mother in a similar fashion to that of Bellatrix. Andromeda knew for a fact that it was rude to bring in another family house elf into the home of another pureblood. Then again, her mother certainly would not care about offending the sensibilities of her others when it came to her daughters. It was the reason why Bellatrix was able to grow up so unruly despite the brutality of their father, Cygnus.

Andromeda subconsciously rubs her arm as if recalling something unpleasant. Thankfully, she is interrupted by the shrill voice of the house elf.

"Dobby is pleased to serve Mistress and family!" Squeaked, a tiny creature with large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis bulbs eagerly hurries forward with a tray of food intended for nourishment. The Malfoy house elf no longer wore an old pillowcase, but rather wore neat little sandals, a tuxedo jacket, and an elegant white tunic closed shut with a silver emblem of the Malfoy crest. The house elf bows one last time, before vanishing into the kitchen with a loud pop.

Cooling the flush on her face, Narcissa crisply arched her brow at her mother in disbelief. "Mother, this type of food is appropriate for me, but it is overly nutritious for Andromeda and Molly."

Druella snorts as she sits down and elegantly waves her fan at her daughter. "Narcissa, it is not your place to question me. And I am certain that neither Andromeda nor Molly will turn the platter down," she knowingly said with a gleam in her eyes. She had been a mother to three daughters, and she had not missed the glow nor change in the appetite of the two witches.

Andromeda and Molly both flush in shock and embarrassment at being found out. In Molly's case, she hadn't even had time to tell Arthur yet being so new and all. Seeing that neither her sister nor Molly protested her mother's words, Narcissa's mouth purses open in slight shock. Her eyes dart to each of their still flat stomachs and back to their rosy flushed faces.

All three witches glance away in embarrassment as if perturbed by the thought. Druella rolls her eyes at the sudden shyness between the witches. It was ironic that older witches were called prudes and yet these young married witches could not discuss the simple acts of life without blushing outrageously. Truly nonsensical. How else were fertility practices to be discussed by pureblood witches? The topic was a serious one as the matter of heirs was important to all pureblood families. It was one of the reasons, why fertility charms were worth fortunes. Yet even they were no guarantees of an heir. As such the main reason as to why other family's fertility practices were eagerly shared between the older witches to pass down to the next generation.