June 1st, 2008
The Manor is awakened by Delphini joyous loudness. There's profuse laughter coming from the piano room. Then running steps approaching.
"I have my letter! I have it! Can we go buy everything today?" She is hopping before Narcissa the moment she opens the door of her bedroom. "Can we? Can we? I'll be good, really good. I'll change my looks so that no one will know it's me, Aunt Cissa, and I'll-"
"Hem-hem" A stern look from her Uncle, above Narcissa's shoulder and she is done with the hopping and the talking. She stands upright, makes sure her bed gown is straight enough, and extends the letter to her Aunt. That earns her a nod from Lucius. She tries to compose her hair, but loose as it was during the night, there isn't much to be done. That earns her a smile from both her Uncle and her Aunt.
"This came in just now. I've been accepted into Hogwarts. I know I only start in September, but I was wondering if we could buy somethings today. Please. Can we go to Olivander's in the afternoon?" She can't keep her enthusiasm from leaking through her voice in that last sentence.
A wand of my own. I'll have a wand of my own.
She is not even sure her hair is still the same colour, she is so excited.
"We will wait a little longer," Narcissa answers her, watching the eager smile disappear from her niece's porcelain face, "and you will have your wand as a birthday present." The smile is back on. That incredible smile that hurts her heart because there's so much Bella in it she can hardly bear it. So much Bella in it that she does her best to bring that smile forth anytime she can.
With a date set, Delphini asks for the letter back and takes off running, all propriety forgotten, straight for Draco's quarters. Narcissa looks on, smiling, as her husband encircles her waist and pulls her closer, back inside. She turns her head to kiss him.
"I just bought us two more months of peace. You need to find something to keep her entertained until then."
"No good morning then?" He replies, with a smug smile, kissing her back. "I much rather entertains us both for now."
He shuts the door, taking them both back to warm sheets. Somewhat amused by the fact that his son will have no such chance.
X
July 28th, 2008
Draco can only smile at the sight of bright-eyed Delphini taking in Diagon Alley like she has never been here. She was so excited they nearly had to dose her with a sleeping potion last night. There are witches and wizards walking up and down the street, carrying a multitude of school supplies, accompanied by equally bright-eyed children that read aloud from their letters, naming everything they already have and everything they still need to get. Some are glued to windows bursting with books, others to the sight of future familiars, quite a few to shiny new brooms or perfectly hanging school black robes and cloaks.
Some people are looking, someone always does. Part fear and part admiration, their eyes linger. She delights in it, he knows, but she is now a usual sight around the Malfoys, no need to hide, and, slowly, the world is getting used to her existence.
"Where would you like to start birthday girl? Potion's supplies, books or wand?"
"Wand! I want my wand!"
As if anything else was to be expected.
He still doesn't quite believe they managed to hold her back for nearly two months, and still have a ceiling over their heads. Narkey and Delphini's tutor have taken the worse of it, he supposes, having been pranked at the very least every other day, in turns. Less than a prank a day has meant, so far, that something big and probably destructive was being thoroughly planned.
X
Olivander raises his eyebrows when they approach the front desk.
"Mr. Malfoy," he greets, nodding, "I was wondering when I would get to meet Miss Lestrange here." He greets her with a warm smile. "Let's see now… what would be fitting…" He lets his words slide into silence as he takes to measuring Delphini, musing over the wands in the shelves.
It takes him a little while. Most wands shy from Delphini's nature, and the girl says none have felt right in her hand. The old wizard's eyebrows jump on his forehead, as he mumbles something about having just the right thing. He comes back with a sleek black box, rimmed with silver paint, and carefully extracts a pale wand from deep blue velvet.
"Thirteen inches, yew and a core of dragon heartstring. Flexible enough. Give it a try will you? Just don't point it at the shelves please, not a day goes by without someone making a mess."
Delphini takes a moment to adjust her grip, taking in the sight of the carefully sculpted wand, somehow both magnificent and almost menacing looking. Draco cannot help but think that the wand matches her perfectly. A luring exterior bursting with power, a beautiful coat to a strong will. The girl uses her index finger to lightly caress the wood, then points it to the box lid and effortlessly lifts it, turning it in the air, until it's over the bottom, sliding down.
"Well done, Miss Lestrange! Remarkable show of control. Looks like we have found the right one for you." There is a smile on his face, but a glint of something akin to worry in his eyes. He is probably wondering just how much the Malfoys have taught her.
She smiles back, putting her wand away in the box, carefully, with reverence, and holding it to her heart.
X
August 15th, 2008
Delphini is pestering Draco about Hogwarts.
And Astoria.
And Lucius.
And her.
Delphini has everything ready, despite the fact that there are still two weeks to go. Her wand is in her trunk, locked until they reach King's Cross Station, for good measure. It took her only three hours, after coming home from Olivander's, to get another Ministry warning about under aged use of magic. So all of her magical supplies are now safely locked inside her shiny new trunk, with engraved silver initials on the lid.
Delphini sulked at first. She was truly enthusiastic about taking a peek into her books. All but the now mandatory Muggle Studies course book. She did not like reading that piece of information on her niece's Hogwarts letter and Lucius had been properly shocked, but times had changed.
Narcissa sighs at the perspective of dealing with Delphini for the next two weeks. They do need to tell her that she can't take Vicious Mist with her. Looking like a cat and being one are two very different things. She will leave that task to Draco; he got her the kneazle after all. In the meantime, she is trying to convince Harry and Hermione into pulling some strings about the owl permission. Maybe Delphie can take Darkie with her instead.
X
September 1st, 2008
Delphini barely slept. Lucius had to give her a stern look to stop her from wearing her school robes before reaching the Hogwarts Express. Now, they stand before the scarlet train. Darkie seems happy, even if he doesn't like being caged, but Delphini bought his acceptance with treats.
Poor Scorpius was dismayed when they told him he couldn't come, but he was running a fever and Astoria was relentless. So it is up to Narcissa, Lucius and Draco to send Delphini off.
Despite the grin on her lips, the girl manages to keep her poise while evaluating her surroundings. The station, the parents, the students. She is secretly seeking familiar faces, people from the gatherings at Malfoy Manor that she can talk to.
She spots Syrianna in the crowd. A quick glance at her Uncle and a simple nod from him and she is off to meet her. She basks in the delight that the whispers bring her. "That's her", "the Lestrange girl", "Mad Witch Lestrange's daughter". She is used to it now; it's a pleasure for her to be recognized. Bellatrix Lestrange is a legend, always next to the Dark Lord but ever standing in her own. They almost never mention her Father, but neither does her family.
No wonder. He didn't fall in battle. He is rotting in Azkaban.
She should probably regret how few a thought she spares for him, but he was never part of her life, not that she can remember. She should feel bad for not being sorry that he is in a cold, damp cell. But her Mother died for her beliefs and he was caught. He didn't fight to the very end, only she did.
She snaps her mind back to the station. Her friend is next to her parents, smiling at her. Happiness in her brown kind eyes. The same excitement too.
"Delphini! Are your things on the train already? We should get on now; pick a nice cabin before they are all taken..." Syrianna's father laughs at that. True to first year spirit, the girls cannot wait to say their goodbyes. They won't miss their families until later, when they find themselves in strange beds inside a vast castle, with the whole of three months ahead of them.
Draco lowers himself to her eye level. Tells her, once again, that her parents do not determine her future or who she is. That despite what everyone might say, she is not dark, nor evil. She is comforted by his care, by his hug, by his kiss on her forehead. Then he smiles, that smile only the two of them share, the one that means "Be naughty all you want, just don't get caught. Whatever you do, try not making such a commotion that you will be middle-named. If you do inflict such a commotion, make it memorable, because it better be worth the punishment". They say absolutely nothing. There is no need. Delphini catches a glint in Draco's eyes and uses her best don't-you-dare-glare on him, but he still messes up her curls. She huffs, but smiles.
Lucius looks down on the scene, thinking of how inappropriate that behaviour is. Yet his heart feels warm, even if he can never tell his own son just how proud he is of him. He smiles at Delphini, a truly rare sight, his way of acknowledging his pride of her, and of silently thanking her for Draco's happiness.
X
Headmistress McGonagall is acutely aware of the girl with the mane of dark curls amongst the batch of new students. She is chatting gleefully with other eleven year olds, the Hogwarts Express still making sure to take long enough for some acquaintances to be made. Her eyes shine in an almost feverish way. This girl was born during the height of war to two of the most dangerous followers of Lord Voldemort. And yet, she is just one more newcomer between these walls, eager to be sorted.
"Delphini Lestrange" Professor Hooch has been reading the first years' names aloud for the sorting. The Great Hall is riddled with whispers at that one, right after a general gasp.
"Lestrange"
"Her father is locked up in Azkaban"
"…Mad Witch Lestrange daughter…"
"Her parents fought for You-Know-Who…"
"You can say Voldemort!"
"She is evil, just look at her. Landing in Slytherin for sure."
Delphini merely walks toward the stool, again delighted to already have a reputation.
The Sorting Hat never touches her curls, bellowing "SLYTHERIN!" and then "Wait…" when Professor Hooch makes to move it away.
"Uhh, very interesting… Very, very interesting" the room hears as the Hat prolongs its stay on her head. A whisper in Delphini's ears adding that although she is as Slytherin as they come, that does not mean her path is determined. Telling her it remembers her parents, and weirdly enough, refering to her as Miss Black. Delphini smiles at that, showing her perfect white teeth and strolling happily and proud toward her housemates. They cheer, loud and long, already taken by the charming girl of the big green eyes. Syrianna is there already, so are the Rothley twins she already knows from the train: Radagast and Freya, of golden hair and dark blue eyes, the perfect matching pair. Others were there too, and others follow. A boy named Sigmund Morton asks to join them on the table, settling down next to Freya, across Delphini.
"So it's you! I heard of you on the train, but couldn't find you. Is it true that you're a Metamorphmagus?"
She turns her eyes the same shade of blue as his, then Rothley blue, then dark brown like Syrianna, and resumes her natural green. He admires her ability. Not like she is a freak creature for his enjoyment but like someone who wishes he could mimic her. He doesn't ask for the usual stuff her friends already know not to but that others like to. She doesn't do funny hair colours, nor animal parts, or anything silly. Her abilities are mastered with a purpose, and amusing others is not it. Except for Scorpius, but he's not just someone. At his look of wonder, and the table's gasps of admiration, Delphini decides she likes him. Already approved, the others take him in their ranks.
When she is in bed, not much later, tucked beneath shiny green covers, she misses her veil. And her pillow doesn't smell the same. But then again, she reminds herself, this is not home. This is Hogwarts. And she sleeps with a smile on her lips.
Author's Notes: To the lovely people leaving me reviews, following and favouriting this story, you are awesome and the reason I was able to upload this chapter today.
So here's the thing, I'm taking a ten day vacation next month and I'll be pretty much off-grid. As a result, there will be no uploading of new chapters. However, I'll try to leave as much writing done and posted before. That means the rate of posting for the next five days should be seen as somewhat of an exception.
Thank you so much, don't forget to leave me your thoughts