Last chapter, thank you so much for reading my little story!
"Then what happened?" Harry was on the edge of his seat. The grown up man looked so excited and curious that Maggie had to stifle a giggle.
"Well, you've met the child…" she smiled. "You know that it was a little girl…"
"It's out! It's a girl!" I said as I wiped off the new born baby, lying there on the mattress between her mother's thighs. "A beautiful girl, just perfect."
I was incredibly relieved to conclude that the child was in fact beautiful and, seemingly, completely normal. I hadn't been sure what to expect, but this little witch didn't have any scary, unexpected features. She was large, but not abnormally so. There wasn't a hair on her pink, round head, but that wasn't very unusual either. All in all, the creature looking up at me with big, dark eyes seemed no different from the many babies I had delivered before her.
"Give her to me!" Bellatrix reached out with both hands. All of a sudden she was apparently bursting with energy; the exhausted witch from a moment ago was gone. I hurried to lift the child up and place it in her grip. Most new mothers that I'd seen before this would immediately hold their new baby close to them, lay it on their chest, protect it in every way. But Bellatrix did no such thing. Instead, she held her new daughter up high, as if she were a Quidditch trophy. Then she laughed, a cackling, evil-sounding laugh which I would have assumed could have made most children burst into tears. But the baby didn't cry, she didn't seem frightened at all. Most likely, she'd gotten used to the sound of that particular laughter in the womb.
"She's magnificent," Bellatrix declared.
"She has your eyes, Bella," Narcissa said. Unlike her sister, she spoke softly, and seemed to be moved by the sight of the new member of the clan. Bellatrix didn't seem moved at all, she just seemed immensely proud.
"She may have my eyes, but she has his presence, his nature…" The new mother looked up at her child as if she was admiring someone far more dignified and noble than a naked, little baby. "You, my dear, are a star. And that's why I'm naming you Delphini. After one of the great stars in the sky. Soon, your star will be one of the brightest of them all, my little darling. It won't be long now, until we rule the world."
"I guess Bellatrix had it all planned, "Harry said. "She'd be Voldemort's queen, and they would raise their child in their own pureblood society…"
"Yes..." Maggie agreed. "Scary thought. I was starting to hope that it was all over at that point; that I could leave, you know, get away from them. But then…"
"He has to see her!" Bellatrix said, eagerly. She was sitting up in bed, looking almost disturbingly alert and spirited. Narcissa had pulled the rocking chair over and was sitting by the bed, with her new niece in her arms, as I was flicking my wand around the room to tidy up after my work.
"Now? Oh, Bella, are you sure that's such a good idea?" Narcissa asked. But Bellatrix was already rolling up the sleeve of her nightgown and revealing the mark on her skin.
"Of course it is. He promised me this day would come a long time ago. Now it's finally here… And my daughter wants to meet her father, don't you, my dear?" The dark-haired woman gestured to her sister to give her the baby back, before she looked in my direction. "Are you scared now, Ms. Miller? Well, I hope you have good nerves, because you're about to meet someone very special. Someone who little, unworthy witches like you usually don't get a chance to meet in their entire lifetime!"
"Voldemort?!" Harry's jaw dropped. "You mean… he actually appeared?"
"Oh yes," Maggie nodded her head. "Yes. He came to the manor when Bellatrix called upon him. The Dark Lord."
He looked nothing like I had expected. I had heard rumors about this wizard ever since I was a child, but when he suddenly stood there, in the room, I felt more horrified than I ever had in my life up until then. There was something about the way he radiated authority that made me feel like I had ice cubes rolling slowly down my spine.
I tried to make myself as invisible as possible, standing in a corner, hoping he wouldn't even notice me. In the beginning, it seemed like it was successful; he turned all his attention to Bellatrix. Not that she gave him much of a choice.
"My lord – we have a daughter! The child is finally here!" She held the baby out for him.
"So I see." His voice was as frightening as the rest of him, very contained and calm, but still somehow full of terror.
"I have named her Delphini, my lord," she continued. "I mean, if it pleases you?"
"I suppose that is a first name as good as any, "he said, sounding rather disinterested. He did, however, extend a finger over to the little bundle she was so eagerly holding up for him, and let it run down the child's right cheek. "A family name can be decided later, when she is returned to your care. She will manage fine without one for now. I trust that she will be taken from here before long?"
"Yes, my lord. All the arrangements have been made," she confirmed.
"Good. You know that the upcoming battle will require your full attention, Bellatrix. I can't let you lose you focus."
"Absolutely not, my lord. I will be by your side, nothing could ever keep me from you!" she assured him.
"Good." He turned towards Narcissa, who had been sitting quietly in her chair. I wondered if she, too, tried to remain invisible. "Narcissa. I suppose this makes me even a bit closer to your family than I was before."
"It's an… an honor, my lord," she said, her voice weak and stuttering.
"I suppose you'll be glad to know that young Draco should be getting ready to fulfill his deed as we speak. I expect we'll have him here by sunrise." He looked at Bellatrix again. "The child will be gone by then?"
"Yes, my lord!" she nodded. Narcissa's face had lightened up considerably, and it was about to get even lighter.
"Also, I will collect Lucius and the others from Azkaban by the end of the week. It is, of course, unnecessary for me to mention that none of them are to be told a word about the child?"
Narcissa nodded, unable to completely hide a relieved, little smile.
"Of course, my lord. Not a word to anyone, I promise."
Then, I almost fainted, as The Dark Lord suddenly turned around and looked straight at me.
"As for you…" he said, in a colder, harder voice. "You will make a good witness, in time, but if I hear as much as a whisper from anyone, saying that you have revealed this child's identity before I ask you to do so, you will not live to see another morning. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes…" I squeaked, like a little mouse. I could see that he was waiting for me to say something more. "Yes, my lord."
Then, with a flash, he was gone. He had seen his daughter for a minute or so, and apparently that was enough.
"Wait a minute…" Harry had just realized something. "The day that Draco… was it…?"
"Yes." Maggie looked him straight in the eyes. "Delphini was born on the same day that Albus Dumbledore died. June 30th, 1997."
"But… I saw Bellatrix not that long after that. She seemed… well, she didn't seem like someone who had just had a baby!" Harry said.
"She had her mind set on fighting for her cause. And she was incredibly feisty shortly after the birth. It was as if it hadn't affected her at all." Maggie took another little sip from her glass before she continued. "I left as soon as I could, and I suppose someone came to get the baby right after that. That little thing barely got to arrive in this world before it was time to move on to a new place…" She sighed. "And I understand she's kept moving on since then, all the way to Azkaban…"
"Yes, that's true," Harry confirmed. "She committed a murder, and… well, several other crimes."
"You know, Mr. Potter, as crazy as it sounds, something good came from that horrible day," Maggie said.
"Really?"
"Yes, you see… When I got home that day, I couldn't get one thought out of my head; how terribly unloved that little girl was. She was a prize in her mother's eyes, and from what I could see, she was completely insignificant to her father. And I thought to myself 'I could do things differently. I could do better than that.' So I did!"
"How do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well, I decided to give this one young man a second chance. A very nice muggle who I'd met on vacation earlier that year. I was going to let him remain a nice little summer memory, and focus solely on my career, but that evening… I went over to his house. The year after, we married, and, well, then we had three lovely little so-called "half-breeds" after that!" she said, with a little laugh. "And I can honestly say, I don't think I would have taken that first step, if it hadn't been for…you know. That day at the Malfoy Manor."
Harry closed his notebook.
"Ms. Miller, you've been very helpful." He put on a half-mocking, overly dignified tone in his voice as he continued. "And I find it only fitting that we, in light of what you just told me, end this interview with a toast." He raised his glass of water, and she did the same. "To that day at the Malfoy Manor!"
"Hear hear!" she agreed. They both smiled, as they drank. And unknowingly to them both, they shared the same thought – that this was one of those days when they'd make sure to tell their respective children how much they loved them.