CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
-Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Delphini looked impossibly small in her hospital bed.
Narcissa burst into tears upon sight of her. She leaned over the rail of the bed and kissed her niece's forehead, but the child did not stir.
"Is she in a coma?" asked Narcissa through her tears. "Does she know we're here?"
Severus reached out to stroke his daughter's hair. When he was in a coma, he flitted between consciousness and oblivion, but mostly existed somewhere between the two, in a dreamlike state in which the words of those in his room at times permeated his thoughts, but were not quite steeped in realism.
"We think she can hear us," said the young Healer, who had introduced herself as Abida Devi. "Suffering such a curse takes a lot out of anyone, but especially a child." She eyed the jagged red scar across Narcissa's throat, then glanced suspiciously at Severus. Being Legilimens, both Delphini's father and aunt knew what Healer Devi was thinking.
"He didn't do this," said Narcissa, at the same moment Severus said, "I did not hurt them."
Healer Devi continued in a flat tone. "The Cruciatus Curse is an Unforgivable for a reason. It should never be used as a punishment. The permanent harm that can be caused..."
"The man who did it was arrested by Aurors last night, led by Harry Potter himself," interrupted Severus. "We did not do this to punish our child. She was kidnapped and Cursed by my girlfriend's ex-husband."
"Your girlfriend's ex-husband," said Healer Devi slowly, wondering to whom she ought to report this obviously improper parental situation. "I see."
Narcissa shook her head. She reached across Delphini to grab Healer Devi's hand. "You don't understand. Severus and I, we're not... together. We... were... together, a long time ago, but... that's been over for a decade." This was, technically, not a lie. "I have no issues with his girlfriend. And besides, I'm married. The only person with an issue is the aforementioned ex-husband, who has since been arrested."
"And your throat?" asked the Healer.
"I was attacked," answered Narcissa. "In my home. But Delphini was away at school at the time. She was in no danger. And Severus had nothing to do with it."
"We believe the man who attacked her was under the Imperius Curse," Severus further explained. "But both he and the man presumed behind the attack are currently in Azkaban. We are not perfect people, Healer Devi, but Delphini's well-being is of the utmost importance to both of us, and..."
"And that's why we're raising her together," finished Narcissa. This, too, was close enough to the truth, she reckoned.
"Ah. Well." Healer Devi shrugged, letting it drop. "Good you can be here together for your daughter, then."
Narcissa and Severus exchanged a glance.
The Healer continued her explanation.
"Thankfully, Delphini does not seem to have suffered any permanent internal damage as a result of the Cruciatus Curse. Surprisingly, in some ways children are able to withstand it better than their adult counterparts. They're resilient; their bodies bounce back faster. Give her a month or two, and she'll likely be back to walking and running and even flying on broomstick, if she so desires."
"Two months?" Narcissa bent down to kiss the girl's cheek. "That seems so long."
"What about her mind?" asked Severus.
"Her mind... the minds of children are less fully formed than those of adults, too, but while this is good for the body..." Healer Devi placed her hand gently on sleeping Delphini's forearm, which was resting across her stomach. "We won't be able to properly assess the damage until she wakes up, but you should begin to prepare yourselves now: it could be severe. Until she's awake, it's impossible to tell."
-0-0-0-
When the children awoke, they were cranky, whiny, and hungry for breakfast. Hermione told Severus she would take them home and find a way to return later in the day, to be with him.
"Go to Spinner's End," he requested. "Pack a bag for me, and one for Delphini. I will come by this afternoon to retrieve them. We will need clothes..."
"I know what to pack," said Hermione. She kissed his cheek. He did not kiss her back. She felt a sharp pang in her stomach. So it was as she'd feared, then. He thought it was her fault. He was blaming her. He must be.
She understood.
She deserved it.
But it still hurt.
Draco helped her to get the children back to Severus' house by apparating with Henry so she wouldn't have to hold onto all three. She offered him eggs and toast before his return home and to her surprise, he accepted.
During breakfast, no one spoke much. Hero and Henry still seemed tired, despite having slept most of the night, and Helena was as oddly frozen as she'd been in the hospital waiting room the night before, hands folded when she wasn't eating, staring at her plate, mumbling one-word answers to any questions.
When the meal was done, Hermione sent the older children into the parlor to play and handed Hero a wooden spoon to entertain her in her high chair. She began washing the dishes, forgoing magic.
"Well..." Draco began awkwardly. He wasn't sure he'd ever had a civilized conversation with Hermione Granger, and they'd certainly never chatted one-to-one. "That's my half-sister?"
"I suppose so." She added dish soap to the sink full of hot water. "Did your father tell you or did you figure it out on your own?"
"I figured it out and confronted him. He confessed to having had 'one transgression.' But Severus..." He broke off, realizing he probably shouldn't tell her he'd spoken about this to her... whatever Severus was to her. He changed directions. "But I can't imagine you and my father had an affair. He's not your... type. And vice-versa."
"We did not have an affair." She grabbed a cloth and began rubbing it over one of the dirty plates, her back to Draco, unable to look at him.
"If you need money... for the child... I could..."
"I don't want your money, Malfoy," she snapped, scrubbing the plate with unnecessary vigor. "You don't have to pay me off like you must the mothers of any of your father's other transgressions. I'll keep her a secret for free. No sense in ruining what's left of your good name. Especially not if my boyfriend and your mother are going to be raising a child together. A potentially damaged child... damaged, because of me. Damn it. Damn it!" She rinsed the clean plate and placed it on the drying rack. She liked that Severus had never gotten around to updating the kitchen, with its low-hanging electric light fixtures, various 60's-made appliances, and bland Muggle decorations. It was strangely comforting, feeling free from magic while doing domestic duties.
"I didn't mean to insult you," he said softly.
"Have you any idea what a terrible mess this all is? My boyfriend and your mother are raising a child together, the child of her sister, who branded me with this slur in my arm." She turned her arm over to show him. He flinched. "Your mother and my boyfriend, who used to be a sort of covert item themselves, but aren't now, and who would have had their own child, less than a year younger than Delphini, had they not chosen to abort it. They're a bit like divorced parents, aren't they? With a child he created that she'd raised, a child whose mother... I can't think about her mother. Oh, it's all so terribly convoluted!"
Draco opened his mouth to respond but Hermione pressed on as if he weren't even present.
"Meanwhile, I have a baby with your father. My baby is your half-sister and if Severus and I were to marry, that would mean that your half-sister would be the stepsister of your cousin, who was raised as if she were your sister. And why does my daughter even exist? Because of a deal struck up between my second husband and your married father. But fear not! Your mother intends to divorce your father, at which time she can go public with her relationship with my ex-boyfriend, whom I introduced her to. Oh, and in ten years, my daughter will head off to school to share classes with her secret half-nephew, who looks just like her. We'll see if anyone notices the resemblance. Ugh!" She threw her washcloth down on the counter. "It sounds like the premise of the worst sort of soap opera!"
"Soap opera?" Draco recognized both of those words but had no idea what they meant when paired together. "Singing soap?"
"It's a type of Muggle television show."
"Muggle what?"
"Never mind." She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, getting bubbles in her eyebrows.
"Hermione..." Draco stared at Hero, who was waving at him. He waved back. "Hermione, did you say my mother dated Snape?"
"I don't know what I said." She plucked another plate from the soapy water, grabbed her cloth, and resumed washing. "Since the war ended, I've had more nightmares about your aunt Bellatrix than I can count. Your cousin looks so much like her, I was afraid I'd never be able to set aside what I feel about her mother and get to know her, but to my surprise, it was considerably easier than I'd imagined. She's a smart girl. A few days ago, the children were all sick. All four of them. And they were bored. Severus was reading to Henry and I had to give Hero a bath. I poked my head in Delphini's room because I was going to ask Helena to get in the tub with her sister, but they were sitting on the floor, having a tea party with their dolls. I don't know if dolly tea party is something Delphini would play on her own or if it was just for Helena's benefit, but it was rather sweet and it made Helena quite happy. She hasn't got any friends."
"They have that in common, then. Delphini was hoping to make friends at Hogwarts, but..."
"I know. Severus used to read her letters aloud to me. I'd help him translate them from pre-teen to adult. I wish I knew a way... I wish we could do something..."
"I think she should change Houses. To Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Get a fresh start." He retrieved the wooden spoon his half-sister had just tossed on the floor. She promptly stuck the handle in her mouth.
"That's not a bad idea." Hermione placed another plate in the dry rack. "I wonder if McGonagall would go for it."
"If she's allowed back in, that is."
"And if she's still able to learn," said Hermione.
-0-0-0-
Severus and Narcissa headed back to the waiting room, having been temporarily removed from Delphini's room when Panagiota Trantalis, an expert in the effects of Dark Magic on minors, arrived from Greece to examine her.
"Can you believe such an expert even exists?" Narcissa asked Severus as they made their way back to the waiting room.
"Yes," he answered. "If I'm not mistaken, that same expert cared for Neville Longbottom when he was a year old, after your sister Cursed his parents into insanity and then used a powerful Obliviation on him that permanently affected his memory. Had it not been for Ms. Trantalis, he might not have ended up as bad off as they were."
"My sister did that?"
"You didn't know about her torturing the Longbottoms?"
"No, I meant about their son..." She sighed. "I need a cigarette."
He looked her over with surprise. "Since when do you smoke?"
"It's been a couple of weeks now." She shrugged nonchalantly, then pulled a pack out of the pocket of her dress. "Would you like one?"
"No, I value my lungs. I need them to breathe. Especially as I intend to live to be a hundred."
She tsked at this. "You sound like Lucius. He hates smoking. Cigarettes, cigars, elven herbs, he hates it all. That's why I'm doing it. I want to do everything I haven't been allowed to do, and I only have one year in which to do it. On a related note... have you ever snorted powdered moonstone? I've heard that's something people do."
Severus cocked an eyebrow. "Narcissa, I think you may be taking this newfound freedom a bit too far. And what do you mean you only have one year?"
-0-0-0-
It hadn't even been eight hours and already prison was taking its toll on Reginald Park. Though Dementors only circled outside the rock on which Azkaban was built, leaving Aurors alone to guard the inside, the feelings of darkness and death and despair that came with their presence permeated the air.
"You've got a great cell," Auror Christopher informed him, once he was safely shackled inside. "You've got yourself a little window and a lot of history. See those crazy carvings on the wall there? Done by none other than Bellatrix Lestrange, You-Know-Who's most devoted Death Eater. This was her cell for some thirteen years. They say she held onto her sanity by writing letters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, scratched into the stone with her fingernails. Far as I know, no one's been able to actually read them, but hey, maybe you'll be the one to crack the code. If nothing else, gives you a way to pass the time."
Reginald, already pale from a mix of malnutrition, lack of exposure to the sun in recent months, and a general feeling of malaise, blanched.
"This was the cell of Bellatrix Lestrange?"
"That's right," said Auror Christopher cheerfully. "It's been vacant for years. Matter of fact, I think you're the first to be placed here since she broke out in '96. Oh!" A loud horn was sounding from somewhere far off on the small island. "That sound means my shift is ending. You look exhausted. Might want to get some sleep. Sweet dreams!"
-0-0-0-
Harry Potter brought pastries and coffee to the hospital and was at once disappointed and relieved to find that Hermione had taken the children home. He offered the breakfast to Severus and Narcissa, who accepted, though neither ate or drank much.
"We used Priori Incantatem on his wand," Harry informed them. "It confirmed what you already suspected: Reginald Park had Lucius Malfoy under the Imperius Curse when he attacked you. They'll be releasing him shortly."
"Lucius deserves a lifetime in Azkaban anyway," Severus said insistently. "He beats his wife."
Narcissa smacked him on the arm.
"I... I'm sorry," said Harry awkwardly, looking taken aback. "Would you like to press charges?"
"Of course not."
"I will," said Severus. "On her behalf."
Harry shook his head. "You can't press domestic abuse charges against an adult on behalf of another adult."
Severus sneered, knowing it was unlikely Hermione would want to press assault charges against him either, and frustrated by the knowledge that Malfoy would soon walk out of prison a free man... again.
"Did Park tell you why, Potter?" Narcissa leaned forward in her chair, her coffee mug in hand. "Did he tell you why he made Lucius attack me? I just want to know why."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Malfoy." Harry broke off a piece of cinnamon danish. "He didn't say."
-0-0-0-
"Do you hate me?"
Hermione let the last plate sink back into the dishwater. She finally turned around to face Draco.
"Pardon?"
"My family has... my family has not been kind to you, to put it mildly. I was a real prat back in school. My aunt literally tortured you. My father gave you a baby you didn't ask for. My mother... well... I don't know, I can only speculate about what you must think of my mother. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me. But I swear on the grave of my grandfather, I'm not the same person I was. Being almost made into a murderer by the Dark Lord had a profound effect on me. And everything that followed... It doesn't matter how much time or money I donate, it'll never be enough, and now that I have a son and my wife is ill... Time and experience have a way of changing one's perspective."
"Trust me," said Hermione. She placed the last dish in the dry rack and moved to lift her daughter from the highchair. "I know better than most people how time and experience can change a person."
"So do you hate me?
She thought this over for only a second before answering.
"No. No, Draco, I honestly do not hate you. How could I?" The words her daughter had spoken to Reginald last night came back to her: "I don't even know you."
-0-0-0-
Harry chatted with Severus and Narcissa for over an hour before Mediwitch Siobhan Carrigan came to escort them back to Delphini's room. Narcissa was pleased to see her, despite the circumstances, and they headed down the hallway together, arms linked. Severus hung back to speak to Harry alone. They walked slowly.
"Hermione feels guilty. I could sense it. She shouldn't."
"I know," said Harry. "I talked to her about it last night. She thinks it's her fault your daughter was attacked."
"It isn't."
"I know. But you and I both know that no amount of telling her not to blame herself won't stop her from doing precisely that."
"Do you still blame yourself for your godfather's death?" asked Severus, aware that young Harry had also blamed him for it, for having goaded Sirius.
"Yes," answered Harry. "But I try not to. Do you still blame yourself for my mother's?"
Severus was quiet for a long moment, such a long moment Harry thought he wouldn't answer. Finally, just as they reached Delphini's door, Severus turned to him.
"I blame myself for your mother's death because it was my fault. If I hadn't been eavesdropping and overheard half the prophecy then run off to tell my master like the pathetic lapdog I was, he never would have targeted you, and by extension, your mother. Your circumstances are different. Sirius Black was a grown man who made a choice to go to the Ministry to save his godson - a child. His death was at the hand of his cousin, orchestrated by an exceptionally talented and undeniably evil dark wizard. Sirius made a choice, and the outcome was not your fault. Similarly, what happened to Delphini happened because Reginald Park made a choice – a series of choices – and not because of anything Hermione did or did not do. I do not blame her."
"Does Narcissa?"
"No." He peered through the open door. Through the crack they could see Narcissa settling back in the wooden chair beside Delphini's bed, and taking the small girl's hand between her own and pressing her lips to the back of it. Siobhan stood beside her. He could not hear what the Mediwitch was saying. "I believe, though she has not said so, that Narcissa blames me. Delphini is my daughter. She was in my care. I should have been able to protect her."
"That doesn't seem fair," said Harry. Severus laughed.
"As I've told you before, and as I've told Delphini, it may have escaped your notice, but life is not fair."
Harry nodded, remembering having heard those exact words from the potions professor over a decade ago. "This Greek Dark Magic expert, she saved Neville, didn't she? If she could fix him, surely she can help Delphini."
Severus nodded, but the worry etched across his face could not be hidden away, not even by the strongest Occlumens.
"I hope you're right, Potter."
-0-0-0-
After Draco departed via Floo Network, Hermione packed overnight bags for Severus and Delphini, using expandable charms on both, as she'd done to the magic bag she'd carried around during the war. She sent all three children into Severus' childhood bedroom to play with the ever-increasing number of toys, though Helena chose to sit on the bed and read while Henry zoomed the trains around on the floor and Hero tossed stuffed animals out of her crib.
In Severus' bag, Hermione placed a week's worth of outfits, several extra pairs of socks, the Dragon's Nightshade pain potion, his toothbrush, a comb that she doubted he'd use (he was as bad as his daughter when it came to hair), deodorant, and some light reading material: Hamlet.
"No, Hermione, that's a ridiculous choice," she scolded herself aloud. She removed it and tossed in Les Miserables instead, but quickly plucked that back out too. "Don't you have any happy books?" she whispered, running her fingertips across the spines on the shelf of books in his bedroom. Just as she was considering running downstairs to grab one from the sitting room instead, she came across a worn old of Shakespeare's As You Like It: a comedy. "Perfect."
She then did the same for Delphini. Clothes, pajamas, toothbrush, etc., with a copy of the only children's book she could find in the room, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, her Charms textbook, her diary (Hermione struggled with the desire to read a little from it first, but ultimately put it in the bag without doing so) and her beloved doll, BELLA.
When he arrived to take the bags, Hero and Henry had just gone down for their naps and Helena was curled up on the end of the couch, hugging her own favorite doll, with a closed book beside her. She staring blankly at the fire cackling in the fireplace.
"Any news?" asked Hermione, hoping he couldn't tell how relieved she was by the fact that he kissed her hello.
"She opened her eyes for several seconds but her gaze was unfocused. Thank you for this." He gestured toward the bags, which were on the low table in front of the couch.
"Anything you need..."
"You," he said quickly, cutting her off. "All I need is to know you're here."
Even though she felt silly for it, she could feel tears forming in her eyes. She placed a gentle palm against his cheek. "I love you, Severus."
His lips pressed tenderly against hers. "I love you, too," he murmured when they parted. He reached for the bags, bent down to kiss Helena on the forehead, and bid them both goodbye.
"I will notify you as soon as I have any further information," he said. Then, with a resounding crack, he was gone.
-0-0-0-
On the second day, Delphini opened her eyes again.
On the third, she sat up.
On the fourth, she fed herself soup.
On the fifth, she stood and stretched.
On the sixth, she walked from her bed to the loo.
And on the seventh, thanks to the considerable combined efforts of Healer Panagiota Trantalis, Mediwitch Siobhan Carrigan, her encouraging father, her anxious aunt, and a rather vivid dream in which she was visited by her beloved, devoted mother, she finally spoke.
"I thought he was going to kill me."
-0-0-0-
Lucius Malfoy was released from Azkaban on Monday, the 23rd of November, disgraced and depressed, but cleared of all charges relating to the attempted murder of his wife.
When news that he'd been the one to have violated her and slit her throat while under another man's Imperius Curse hit the Daily Prophet, the wizarding world suddenly became considerably more interested in the arrest of Reginald Park. The kidnapping and Delphini's condition were now front page news.
Suddenly, instead of having to deal with one nosy reporter skulking about seeking a statement, there were half a dozen different ones on a daily basis. One persistent reporter even managed to sneak into her room in the middle of the night to take a picture before being removed from hospital property by a security troll.
The following day, the Daily Prophet used it to accompany an article that was more gossip than news.
"Did you see this story by Rita Skeeter?" Matilda Wood handed the paper across the Gryffindor table to Victorie Weasley.
"Mon Dieu!" exclaimed Victoire. "It says she could have died!"
"She got what was coming to her, far as I'm concerned," said Matilda coldly, tucking into her breakfast. "She used the Cruciatus Curse on you so this Park fellow used it on her. Seems fair, eh? She deserved it."
Victoire nodded, but staring down at the picture of Delphini in her hospital bed, looking impossibly small but with huge, terrified eyes, she couldn't help thinking it didn't seem fair at all.
No one deserved that.
-0-0-0-
Time passed slowly.
It was now the end of November.
Hermione and her children had spent the three weeks since the attack splitting their time between the London flat and Severus' home, though she returned to London less and less, especially once Severus started coming home after dinner most nights and leaving again before breakfast, though often he ended up sleeping on his couch, too tired to make his way upstairs and unwilling to be far from the Floo, just in case.
Helena was still oddly quiet, which was concerning to Hermione. She tried to talk to the girl about what had happened, but all Helena would say was, "It's alright, Mummy," even though, obviously, it was far from it.
During the third week of Delphini's convalescence, on one of the rare days that Hermione and the children were in London, Harry Potter and Kingsley Shacklebolt – the Minister himself – showed up unexpectedly to officially offer her the position Padma Patil was vacating in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Her old job, but with better pay, and the added benefit of being able to send her younger children to the childcare center the Ministry opened down the hall from Arthur Weasley's office over the summer.
"It's an attractive offer," she said honestly. "One I greatly appreciate. But I can't make that decision on the spot. I'll have to discuss it with... with my... with Severus first."
"Of course," said Kingsley in his deep, resonating voice. "Ms. Patil takes over her new position on the fifteenth of December."
Hermione's chest tightened. The fifteenth of December was the tentative date set for Reginald's Wizengamot trial. Harry realized this, of course, but the Minister was unaware.
"I would appreciate it if you could inform us one way or the other by the eighth, Ms. Granger."
That gave her almost two weeks to decide.
"Yes, yes of course. Thank you Minister." She shook his hand. "And thank you, Harry." He received a quick hug. "I will be in touch soon."
-0-0-0-
Delphini wanted to go home.
Though a part of her had liked having the constant attention of her aunt and her father during her weeks in the hospital, she was sick of the hospital bed, sick of the hospital food, and sick of the hospital smell.
Thus, as soon as Healer Devi, Dark Magic expert Trantalis, and Mediwitch Carrigan agreed that she was ready, she begged to leave.
Narcissa would not be going back to the convalescent center, but did not think it would be healthy for her niece to return with her to Malfoy Manor with Lucius there, thus it was she who suggested Severus take the girl back to his home on Spinner's End, to his great relief as he was worried they'd end up fighting over her.
"Are you certain you wish to return to Malfoy Manor?" Severus asked Narcissa once they were outside of Delphini's room. "Surely you could stay elsewhere."
"It's only for a month. Not even a month. I can move into my new chambers at Hogwarts right after Christmas. In the interim, I'm going to be living on the third floor, down the hall from Draco and Astoria, and I'm not worried."
"I'm worried."
"Don't be worried."
"Won't Lucius be angry about your relationship with Krum?"
She smiled. "Oh, dear Severus, I'm not seeing him anymore. It was nice while it lasted."
"While it lasted?" He looked at her incredulously. "How long did it last?"
"He didn't like that I'd started seeing someone else. I told him I wanted to continue seeing him too, but... The poor fellow, he was unwilling to share, and I was unwilling to commit to exclusivity, given my circumstances. It's a shame, really. I truly do love him."
Severus' jaw dropped. "You're seeing someone else? Already? Since when? And how? We've been here for almost a month."
"I know." She smiled at someone over his shoulder. He turned, expecting to find some new, handsome man, perhaps a Healer, but the only person he spotted down the hall was Siobhan Carrigan, the mediwitch. Siobhan waved. Narcissa waved back. Narcissa flashed a grin at Severus, who felt he'd missed something.
"What?"
"Severus, darling, I told you, I only have a year, and while Viktor is a sweet and wonderful young man, I want to try absolutely everything before my life's over."
He stared at her, too shocked to speak, for several seconds.
Then he threw his head back and laughed.
-0-0-0-
Hermione opened her eyes and stretched. She was alone in Severus' bed... but not alone in his house. She could hear footsteps downstairs, and whispers, and a soft whimper of pain.
She smiled.
Thank Merlin.
They were home.
-0-0-0-
Once Severus ensured Delphini was resting comfortably in her own bed in the bedroom that had formerly belonged to his parents, he headed for the bathroom. He was sore, exhausted, and emotionally drained. After a long, hot shower he threw on the pajama pants he'd left hanging on the back of the door with his robe and headed to his bedroom, ready to pass out.
But his bed was already occupied.
"You're here," he said. She shot him a shaky smile.
"Is it alright that I'm here? I haven't been going home much. Home hasn't... it hasn't felt much like home."
"It's alright that you're here." He stood with his back to the closed bedroom door, staring at her, waging a silent mental battle between wanting to crawl into bed to pass out and wanting to crawl into bed to make love to her.
"You must be exhausted," she said, drawing back the covers, making the decision for him. "Come here. You need to sleep."
He was out before his head hit the pillow.
-0-0-0-
Helena heard Severus and Delphini apparate home. She heard them talking on the stairs, moving slowly, and heard the creak of Delphini's bedroom door when he left her room. She heard him head to the bathroom and could even hear the whoosh of the water from the shower head.
She got up quietly, without disturbing Henry, and padded across the hall to Delphini's room. The door wasn't closed all the way, but it wasn't open enough for her to enter without making it creak. She crept over to Delphini's bed. Yellowy-pink light was streaming in through the window. It was just-past sunrise.
"Delphini?" Helena whispered. She stood beside the bed, peering at the girl's face. She looked normal. She looked like her regular self. Helena breathed a sigh of relief. She'd spent these three weeks secretly irrationally terrified that Delphini would as her father had after he'd been hit with the two hexes or jinxes or curses sent from her mother and Professor's wands, but the girl had no marks across her face, no blood on the front of her nightdress.
"Helena?" Delphini opened her eyes. "What're you doing here?"
"I was so worried!" Helena cried, sounding more maternal than childlike, as she threw herself dramatically across Delphini's upper body. The older girl grinned, rather enjoying this welcome. Though her arms were sore and tired, she pulled Helena into the bed with her and placed the BELLA doll between them.
"It's alright, Helena! I'm alright! They thought my brain might be broken or something but I'm too tough for that. Like my auntie used to say all the time, I am my mother's daughter."
"What does that mean?" asked Helena, sniffling. She patted BELLA doll's fine hair, relieved to see her again too.
"It means my mum was tough so I'm tough too. Don't tell anybody, Helena..." Delphini dropped her voice to a whisper. "But my mum came to me in a dream, before I could start talking again. She told me she knew I would get better. She told me no one can stop me from doing anything I put my mind to, because I'm a Black, and we get what we want no matter what. And she even told me she loved me." Delphini beamed. "That's the first time I ever heard her tell me she loves me. And that's all I've ever wanted, really. To know that she loves me. Isn't that nice? Now I know for certain."
"I love you," said Helena, snuggled up contentedly. "That's how come I was so worried."
A/N:
I know it's a day early, so I'm sorry, but I really wanted to get this out there, mostly because I'm super swamped with the work I'm actually supposed to be doing (final edits for my book are due back to my agent on the 24th - wish me luck!) and it's hard for me to concentrate on that when my head is full of HP fanfiction! (lol)
Coming Up in 53 & 54:
Reginald goes on trial, everyone testifies
Delphini is either expelled or allowed to go back
Lucius makes a final appearance
Narcissa prepares to start her new life as a professor
Henry says the F-word maybe once or twice more
Toddler Hero meets Toddler Scorpius - her nephew
Rolf and Luna return from Greece
Severus and Hermione try to figure out their future
And Christmas!
(Plus, the epilogue)
As always, thanks for reading, reviewing, following and adding to faves!
Your reviews makes me happier than a niffler left alone in a jewelry store.
-AL :)
PS: HenriettaV - I can't send a PM since you weren't logged in, but your review to Chapter 50 made me realize I'd made an error. In that, I said Bellatrix was fifteen when she first slept with Voldemort, but previously she'd told Severus she was thirteen, so I fixed it. The "too young" part meant too young for him, since she was barely a teenager and he was almost 40. :) Thx!
