Expecting Joy

After a very calm and peaceful lunch, Harry and Bellatrix mutually decided that they needed to separate so that he could take care of his daily business and so that she could work on her various projects and studies.

When Harry entered his office humming a cheerful tune, he found a letter from Cuthbert Mockridge awaiting him. Harry eagerly took his seat and broke the seal holding the heavy parchment shut. He unfolded the letter and read:

Dear Mr. P-

My wife and I have decided that your generous proposal would be beneficial to all concerned, therefore I accept. Avoid using owl post until further notice. To work out the necessary details, feel free to call on me during the late hours of the evening on any night.

'B'M

Harry smiled as he crumpled up the letter and wandlessly incinerated it. It was good to know that Mockridge was smart and cautious enough to realize that owl could be intercepted. Although he doubted that any letter mailed using Nair'icaix's unique postal system could be intercepted, he had to give way to the fact that it was best not to have secrets on paper anyway.

"That's wonderful!" Narcissa squealed, reacting as if she was a much younger woman as she hugged her sister who had just arrived in her new and vastly more comfortable bedroom. It had been a long time since she had been involved with a family member's pregnancy. "What did Harry say when you told him?"

Bellatrix smiled happily, sat on the edge of Narcissa's bed, and fell back. "He was quite surprised. After all, how many men his age find out their wife is pregnant? The first thing he asked was if I was okay. Then we kissed and cuddled the whole morning!"

"I wish that I was married to a man who treated me like that. When I told Lucius that I was pregnant, the first thing he asked was whether or not it would be a boy. I don't know what he would have done if Draco had been a female." Narcissa said as she joined Bellatrix on the bed.

Bellatrix smiled and gave a vague answer due to the fact that she was still cherishing the time spent between her and Harry that morning. "He probably would have neglected the child and gotten you pregnant again as soon as possible."

"Probably." Narcissa agreed. "Of course this is a better reaction than the one you would have received from Rodolphus. I imagine that he would have been greatly disturbed by the prospects of fatherhood."

"Yes, he would have." Bellatrix stated sadly. "But now I have someone who, just like me, wants children." Bella paused as tears of joy once more come to her face, "I still can't believe that he wants children with me... and that we're going to be parents. I'm going to be a mother."

Narcissa simply held her sister as they lay in silence, contemplating the subject until the blonde haired older sister decided to speak up. "I'm a mother, but not a very good one."

"You shouldn't blame yourself for Draco..." Bellatrix said slowly. "Lucius never really gave you a chance to be a real mother to him."

"Maybe you're right." Narcissa sighed. "But I'll never know, will I? Let's move onto a happier topic though. Have you thought of any good names yet?"

Mockridge entered his living room and smirked when he saw Harry sitting in one of the chair located in a dark corner. "You're not going to give me a chance to change my mind, are you?"

"No," Harry said, "I'm not. I also want to get the plans moving as soon as possible. Timing will play a significant role in how things turn out. If you save the day too soon, then they won't appreciate your efforts as much. On the other hand, if the bank doesn't open in time, what's the point?"

"All right then." Bert acknowledged. "Your reasoning is certainly sound."

"Where is your wife?" Harry inquired.

Bert shrugged as he sat down. "She has decided that it is best if she can remain ignorant of our dealings. Plausible denial, if you will. Then of course, I get the impression that she is still suspicious of you."

"Naturally." Harry muttered. He understood the attitude of Mockridge's wife, but it still stung somewhat. Being treated as an outcast of society by people that he held basic respect for hurt him.

Mockridge sat down and immediately launched the discussion into making plans. "The Ministry, or rather, Fudge- now controls the media. WWN has always been under control of the Ministry and the Ministry Chronicle has assumed the delivery of newspapers to all of the former subscribers of the Daily Prophet. If the bank opens, like you seem to think you can arrange, how are we to communicate to the general public that it was 'my' doing?"

"That is a difficult obstacle." Harry said quietly as he pondered the problem. "We'll have to communicate directly to the public and hope that whatever we tell them spreads by word of mouth."

A wand was produced from Bert's robes and a platter of biscuits was conjured. "A crowd must be gathered then. It must be some sort of public event or conference. In order to gather they must have a motivation to do so. Who would a great deal of people come to listen to?" Mockridge mused aloud as he helped himself to some of his own cookies and motioned for Harry to do so as well.

"I don't think that you'll be able to attract many as the Head of the Goblin Liaison Office." Harry said dryly as he reached for the platter.

"True." Mockridge confessed.

...

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