Rowan was the first to greet her coming out of the office.
"Did you get in trouble?"
"Nothing that I couldn't get out of," Delphi replied. There was a silence, each waiting for the other to say what they already knew.
"I guess there's one more way we're alike," Rowan said semi-awkwardly. "Our fathers."
"Rowan, I didn't know-"
"I know," he said with his faint, bitter smile. "I read it. I also heard you and Tahlia."
"I don't understand why she's in a row," Delphi muttered as she began to walk with him to somewhere-anywhere else. "I didn't get mad at her when she told me her little secret."
"You didn't care-the information you gave-she cares about that," Rowan said, carefully explaining in a an almost-irritatingly patient tone. "Everyone's going to care about what you told them."
"I didn't think anyone cared about Lord Voldemort," Delphi said. Dully, she thought of how people still feared him-yet she couldn't. Thinking of how he was her father. . .
"They will-especially the other dark wizards in the nation," Rowan pointed out.
"Dean Delancey mentioned something about that," Delphi said. "What do you know about other dark witches and wizards?"
"I'm the son of two generations of dark wizards," Rowan said sharply. "Don't you think there would've been recruitments and kidnappings?"
"What?" Delphi's jaw dropped, completely caught off guard. "Rowan. . . I'm so sorry."
"Nothing you could've done," he said with a shrug. "Even my aunts, they couldn't protect me from all of it."
"I can't even imagine. . ." Delphi shook her head to clear it. "So it's not just the Celestials we have to worry about?"
"Of course not!" Rowan cried. "There will always be darkness!"
He softened, as if he was reassuring himself, not just Delphi. "Of course, there will always be light to blot it out."
"And you'll fight for it-won't you?" Delphi asked, knowing her dark eyes might be red again-red for rebellion, red for Gryffindor-how long it had been since she'd thought of Hogwarts!
"You know I will," Rowan scoffed. "I'm not going anywhere, not when I have a duty to do!"
Some might've asked why he felt it was his duty but Delphi understood. The sins of the father rest on the child, and that was enough for children of Dark Lords.
They walked out to the front lawn, and Delphi realized with a dread that they were coming into the orbit of Guinevere. She braced herself as she approached the redhead and promised herself she wasn't going to provoke her-this time.
"Lestrange-I mean, Riddle, if that's even true," Guinevere called out. "What's it like, having such delusions that you think you're some British Dark Lord's kid?"
"None of your business, Guinevere!" Delphi screeched before she could get a grip.
"You've got a lot of nerve, claiming what you do-and you've got so little to back it up," Guinevere crowed.
"Well I'm sorry I wasn't born in a hospital for your pleasures," Delphi retorted, forcing herself to regain what was left of her composure.
"And claiming you're Slytherin's descendant?" Guinevere barreled on, as if she hadn't heard Delphi. "What a load of b-"
"Really Gwen?" Rowan demanded. "Are you serious? Why do you always have to act like you've got to put her down? She's been here for us since day one and quite frankly, your crap is getting kinda old!"
"She's just jealous," Delphi said, a small part of her enjoying the red flush to Guinevere's face, enjoying the feeling of control. "Jealous that I've got the power, the following, and the glory!"
"You don't understand!" Guinevere shouted, a desperation in her green eyes. "You never did! Not when your mom yells at you because you didn't make Thunderbird Champion-"
"For the love of Merlin, Guinevere, it was a popularity contest!" Rowan interrupted. "Of course Delphi would win one of those-everyone in America knows what she's done and who she is!"
"And now they know who she really is!" Guinevere crowed. "Destined to go psycho like Mommy and Daddy-"
Delphi motioned to punch her, but Rowan grabbed her arm, his gray-green eyes glaring at her like ice.
"This isn't going to solve anything," he warned her. "Think, Del. You're a Triwizard student. You can't do this."
Slowly realizing her second was right, she lowered her hand, still clenching it. Guinevere smirked, seeing that she had regained the power.
"Going soft, Delphini? All for a boy?" she crooned.
She'd hit a point Delphi herself hadn't realized was there until she found her cheeks flushing bright pink.
"Come on, Del," Rowan pleaded.
"Fine," Delphi said, aware of how her face was now red. "Fine. Fine!"
She threw her hands up and stomped away, only to get a tap on the shoulder when she'd walked away a few feet.
"What-"
She whirled around to see Rowan, not Guinevere.
"I was also supposed to tell you that we need to go for the Weighing of the Wands ceremony at ten," he explained.
"What time is it now?" Delphi asked.
"I don't know-you're the one with the watch!" he pointed out.
Delphi looked down and saw that it was nine-fifty.
"Where are we going? We've got to go right away!" Delphi cried.
Rowan took her by the hand and the two of them dashed into the castle. In the same chamber where they'd told them of the first challenge, there were a multitude of reporters, photographers, and MACUSA officials.
"Welcome to the Weighing of the Wands," Dean Delancey declared. "We will be checking the wands of our champions and their seconds to make sure they are in fine working order! We have here today wandmaker Penelope Pennykettle!"
Indeed, a girl who looked like she could be one of Alexa's cousins stepped forward. She had rather large blue glasses, several baubles dangling from her ears and neck, and old-fashioned clothing.
She brushed a bushy red lock behind her ear. "I'm happy to be here," she said. "I'd like to begin with Kirk Spacek?"
The golden boy from NASA stepped up and handed Miss Pennykettle his wand.
"Moondust and cedar, inflexible, 12' 3/4 inches,-is that correct?" Miss Pennykettle asked in her soft, unimposing voice.
"Yes ma'am," Spacek responded, his voice dripping with charisma.
"Oh my, your wandmaker at the Space Academy has such a talent," Miss Pennykettle said, caressing the wand. "Such a beautiful style. . . Expecto Patronus!"
A small silvery dragon shot out of Spacek's wand, and Miss Pennykettle handed Spacek's wand back to him. She then went through the rest of NASA's wands. Delphi noticed that all of them had the same core type-Moondust.
How curious that we can use the dust of the moon for a wand core, she thought. I wonder if it has any special properties?
Still, she began to stand up straighter when Dorcas Springs and her second approached Miss Pennykettle with their aristocratic pride.
"Dragon heartstring and silver lime, rigid, 9'1/2 inches," Dorcas said before Miss Pennykettle could say another word. Still, the young wandmaker's eyes widened as she examined the wand.
"You ordered a wand from Ollivander's?" Miss Pennykettle cried in surprise.
"My grandmother says they are the best," Dorcas said quietly, a power lurking beneath her words. Miss Pennykettle shot a few sparks in the air, and handed the wand back to Springs, taking her second's.
Soon, it was Delphi's turn to give her wand up. She gave up her main wand willingly.
"Rougarou hair and swamp mayhaw, 13 inches, flexible," Miss Pennykettle said. "Interesting-very dark."
"Is that a-"
"Neither bad nor good," Miss Pennykettle. "Just like you, eh, Miss Riddle?"
"Indeed," Delphi said, hesitating. "I'd like to use dual wands. May you examine my second wand?"
"Of course," Miss Pennykettle said, looking appropriately in awe of what she was touching. "The Slytherin wand. Snakewood, basilisk core, fourteen inches, unyielding. I'd be careful with this, Miss Riddle."
"Oh, I will be," Delphi said as Miss Pennykettle handed her back the Slytherin wand first, knowing the legend-the wand would only respond to a Parselmouth. She created sparks out of the main wand, and Delphi was all-too happy to retrieve it.
Rowan then offered up his wand.
"Quite the team," Miss Pennykettle murmured. "Two children of Dark Lords. . . Phoenix feather and rowan-how funny-11'1/2 inches, pliable." She cast her Patronus again, then handed the wand back to Rowan.
There were then pictures and a few reporters scribbling away, but after a time, Dean Delancey ordered the students out and Delphi followed Rowan, exhilarated by the morning's events.