1st July, 1895 — Grimmauld Place, The Garden

Ursula's track record being what it was Elladora had always kept a healthy skepticism about the paternity of the children. She had never asked - and never would - but as there was the possibility she might become fond of three boys of potentially dubious parentage if she let her guard down Elladora had strictly kept her fondness for the two she was sure of.

Nobody who saw Belvina could ever doubt she was one of them. She was Ursula in miniature and even though Phineas didn't see much use in a daughter Elladora had quite a different outlook on the matter - despite herself she forgave her brother this opinion and put it down to his equating female behaviour with Ursula and Iola, neither of whom were paragons.

Not that he knew the extent of either, of course. Some things were best kept between women.

"You must never, and I cannot stress this enough, never allow your brothers to know about this," Elladora said severely, slightly undermined by a frog ribbiting as it jumped out of the mildewing pond behind her and towards the cool, clear water of the ornate, fountain she had made bigger with a flick of her wand. The result was an edge large enough to seat oneself on comfortably, with a jug of lemonade between them, and the privacy to dip their bare feet into the water.

"Or your mother," she added for good measure.

Belvina Black | Daffodil Grimstone

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   Belvina Black

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There were few people in her life she would follow with blind faith; it was just Auntie Elladora. Her mother was of course, a strong candidate, but even so even at (barely) nine, Belle knew that her mother did not always demonstrate the most common sense. It was with this in mind that she followed her aunt into the garden, delighted by whatever they were going to do already.

She watched in awe as they made their way toward the fountain near the edge of the garden itself. It was a little hidden, but one of Belvina's favorite spots, even if she knew she wasn't supposed to spend that much time outside. Not like the boys anyway. Auntie Ella made the fountain bigger, a little gasp of excitement her reward as Belle realized what was happening. "Never," she breathed out, grinning. It wasn't ladylike, but since Auntie was instigating, it had to be alright.

"What did you bring?" Belle giggled, excited, hoping there were some sort of biscuits or sweets in there she wasn't supposed to indulge in too often.

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It was impossible not to be charmed. Belvina’s delicate features looked up at her with trust and fondness and if Elladora had ever entertained the notion of having children at all, she might – only might - have thought about a little girl like this. One she could mould to disdain the world as she did.

“Just this,” she replied promptly, tapping the lemonade with a fingernail. It wasn’t good for children to have too much sugar; Elladora was the very last person who could be called indulgent. She still maintained the same lean figure she’d had as a debutante and it would be a cold day in hell before she allowed her niece to rot her teeth.

She took a sip of the lemonade and grimaced? Stupid elf – who had told her to put sugar in this?!

“You should never indulge too much, my dear. Once they have you in their hooks vices will never leave you.”

  

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Only slightly put out there were no snacks to go with the lemonade, Belle trusted Auntie's judgement. She took a glass eagerly, taking a sip and relishing in how sweet it was. Normally it was a little sour, but this was good. "It's sweet, I like it." She admitted with a wide smile.

Her aunt's warning was one she'd heard before. Never too much, don't be too much, ask too many questions, be too loud, none of that. Belvina was well aware of the expectations, even if they were sometimes terrible. Leaning down a little, she dipped her fingers into the cool water of the pond, relishing in the sensation. The heat of the day wasn't too bad, but Belle didn't spend much time outside and didn't really enjoy when it was too hot out.

"Mama's going to let me start learning the harp." She announced unprompted in the following silence.

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“It’s always good to have a goal for oneself,” Elladora said, approvingly, though not without making a mental note to brush up on muffling charms. It promised to be a noisy household for a while, though if Belvina did indeed take after her mother then her fancy would likely change to something else with haste. Elladora had learnt to enjoy this aspect of Ursula’s character and she decided she would extend the same courtesy to the youngest woman in their household.

“Why is that?” She asked Belvina with a raised eyebrow, waiting to hear the answer that education was good for the soul rather than what she suspected Ursula’s reason would be: it was pretty and looked accomplished.

  

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"I asked!" The harp had been her idea. Piano was fine, but everybody played it. Belle didn't want to be like everyone else her age. "She's fussing over me wearing gloves though. Which is silly." Belvina did not think that playing the harp was going to ruin her fingers. Besides, who cared all that much? She always had gloves on outside of the house anyway.

She took another sip of her lemonade and dipped her fingers into the little pond, making swirls in the water. "I thought it would be fun to learn a different instrument." She explained, still stuck on separating herself from her peers.

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It was not quite the reply she had anticipated but Elladora approved of the independence of spirit. It was not seemly for young women to try and break free of the expectations of society, but then most young women were not part of their ancient and noble house. If Belvina wanted to play the harp then it was quite right that she should do so.

“I think you have made a sensible decision,” Elladora said, reaching out to take her niece’s small hand. She turned her fingers over and examined them with a perfectly serious expression. “You must wear gloves though. Otherwise your fingers will wear away like the house elves do.”

  

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fabulous set by Lady <3