Gringotts, July 5th, 2009
Delphini admires Gringotts' hall. Not gasping nor looking up mouth agape. No, that would not be proper. She observes everything, taking in all and any minute details. The engraving on the wood; the play of light cascading down from the glass ceiling; the black and white pattern of the marble floor; the shimmering gold of the lamps upon the dark wood desks; the goblins perked up there, focused solely on the pilling and counting of their riches.
She keeps her steps steady and quiet. There aren't that many people around yet. It's early in the morning and it looks like they were the first wizards through the doors. Steps and her Uncle's cane tapping the floor; the song of coins and gems; quills running unending marathons over parchment. Those are the only sounds she hears. The absence of voices is eerie. Today feels solemn, albeit she does not know why. She knows about Gringotts, but has never been here before. Her family didn't explain much, but there was no deceit and no hiding in their words.
There is a vault that was her Mother's and is now hers. Her presence is required to open it. Everyone sounded worried when she asked about the vault's contents. They did not know, and yet, for some reason, they were deeply concerned, almost afraid. She could feel their minds running to old fears, scrambling at the last moment to guard her from such sights. Something evil must be in those memories, something they wish to keep her safe from.
They come to a halt before the desk at the very end. An ugly goblin moves forward to look over the edge of his desk, so that he can observe her.
"Is this the Lestrange heiress?"
"She is." Her Uncle's concise answer makes for the first comforting sound of the day.
"Well, Miss Lestrange, I shall require your wand."
When Delphini takes a step back at the mention of being parted from her wand, Lucius places a reassuring hand on her shoulder, searching for her eyes with his.
"It's how the goblins certify the identity of wizards and witches requiring admission into their vaults. They won't take your wand away, Delphini, they will simply take note of it and give it right back."
There is a note of impatience to her Uncle's words. Reassured, however, Delphini extracts her pale wand from her robes and extends it, on both hands, like a sacred offering, to the goblin up above.
"Yew, am I right? And dragon heartstring? A powerful wand, I see. Well, well, Miss Lestrange."
He steps down from his desk, disappearing for a second, only to come back into view right beside Delphini. She notices then just how small the goblin actually is, as she takes her wand back, hiding it away in her robes.
"If you will do me the favour of following me." The goblin is asking as much as he is ordering them. Although it doesn't settle well with either of them, they have no choice but to follow him out of the hall, through the golden gates at this end, into a smaller room.
A ginger man smiles at them. His face is badly scarred, as if some huge creature took claws to his face, she thinks. He walks towards them, greeting, as some more people come inside, from a door on the opposing wall.
Delphini isn't sure of what to do, but the sight of another set of green eyes is calming. Auror Potter, as he is referred to here, takes over the introductions. Besides himself and the ginger man, a curse breaker he says, two more Aurors and two goblins will escort them to the vault.
They split into two groups to board the open carts. Harry makes sure to take the same as Delphini, who is looking quite suspiciously at the contraption.
Lucius is slightly concerned at the glee his niece exhibits through the ride into darkness. She doesn't make a sound, but the grin in her face is self-evident. She likes speed and wind in her hair, that is rather obvious to anyone who knows her, but the thrill of danger is something she should be too young to like. It's not like she's Gryffindor material.
The halt is sudden, and his hair slithers over his shoulders as he huffs his impatience. But she giggles as her curls go over her head and cover her eyes. She uses both her hands to toss them back in a gesture that he saw many, many times in his youth. When he shared the halls of Hogwarts with Bellatrix.
Bellatrix. Hers is the memory that brings his mind back to the present. She is the reason they are here. Her name seems to be the pebble fated to disturb the waters time and time again.
The goblin walks ahead of them, apologizing before picking up a very loud rattling artefact from a shelf and instructing the Aurors to do the same. "The dragon" he justifies.
So they got the white dragon back, Lucius figures, or not, he adds as a dark and equally blind dragon comes into sight. This one is larger and his scales still shine. His reaction to the noise is the same though.
He concedes himself a moment in this mission he wants to fulfil as quickly as possible. He concedes it so that Delphini can stop and observe. She is mesmerized by the large dark scaly creature unlike anything she has ever seen. It's not even the most magnificent dragon he has seen. Nor the best exemplar he could show her. This dragon is bruised and battered, flinching under the noise, moving as far away as its chains allow, broken so thoroughly that the prospect of fighting back never emerges on its mind. He is not completely foreign to such a feeling.
But she is still transfixed by the raw power the creature manages to exude. She revels in the presence of something so magical, so powerful, so strong. Lucius looks on as the girl becomes bright eyed, as her smile expands and her body leans forward, as if craving closeness. He watches still when understanding dawns on her and her features change. She is no longer in awe, she has realized just how broken the spirit of this would-be-mighty creature is. Then she comprehends the whole truth. One she has known at heart for a long time but that now becomes evident in the dim light of Gringotts' belly. Power in itself means nothing. Power requires control to be effective.
Her eyes turn to the goblins accompanying them. There is a spark of red in her glance, too subtle and too fast for others to notice. She loathes what they have done to this beast, almost loathes the beast itself for allowing it, instead of burning them all to a crisp at the first instance. She cannot help, though, to feel some degree of admiration towards the goblins. At how these short, ugly and apparently inferior creatures have managed to rule the will of this animal. She forces that feeling down, deep into her, and takes one last look at the dragon.
There is no reverence in her eyes anymore. No more awe. Only pity.
Lucius is proud of that last look of hers. This girl knows empathy. This girl is capable of caring for other beings outside of her family and tight circle of friends. And that is no small feat when it comes to Lord Voldemort's daughter.
She starts walking again, and everyone else follows suit.
They stop before a heavy dark metal door, profusely decorated on the outside. Lucius knows that every apparent decoration is in fact a lock, a hinge to be turned on the inside. Delphini moves to touch it, and his hand is immediately on hers, pulling her back, not without tenderness. A slow shake of his head and she takes a step back.
The goblin moves between them and the door, placing his own hand against the cold metal. The noise of everything that turns and slides on the hidden side of the door echoes up and down the corridor. Lucius hopes his pounding heart is not audible. Something else is: the girl's gasp.
Delphini does not know where to look first. Too many things shine, too many things crave her attention. There are books, and golden things, and jewellery, and velvet pouches and cases, and objects that she cannot name.
Her Uncle's hand is at her shoulder the same moment it seems, restraining her will to step inside, while puling her away from the door. She can't see into the vault anymore, but still he moves her away from the door. She knows then that her time here is over. That Mother's treasures will remain a secret to her.
"Can't we just-"
"No, Delphini. We are not staying." His voice is stern and clear, and she knows there will be no arguing. But she is not folding yet.
"Do you think my Mother would leave anything capable of harming me in there?" She doesn't mean for it to sound like a plea, but it does. So she lets her eyes widen and decides to use it to her full profit.
No, my sweet star of darkness. Your Mother would see the world to its end in order to protect you. If only you knew what keeps you from the vault… But she does not know and he cannot risk it.
"No, I do not. But our part here is done."
Her shoulders stand a little lower, she doesn't look so tall. She even allows a small sigh of disappointment past her lips. She also allows one last question.
"Do you think my Father would?"
He has never tried so hard in his life to keep his face, his whole body, from reacting. Unable to speak, he gives her a look that says enough. Amazingly enough, she drops the subject and starts walking. That is how he knows he didn't manage to hide everything.
Her mind is alight with the memory of what she could see in the vault. She will come back one day, soon she hopes. There was a dark blue velvet box with a silver D on the lid. Her Mother left her a gift. Her eyes glisten with a new spark.
His mind is deep in thought as they follow one of the goblins back, past the cowering beast, up to the light. He could hear Potter's voice in the background as they left.
"Careful, Bill. Last time I was in there, the whole thing turned on me."
The last time you were in that vault, Potter, you were a thief.
Even so, Lucius trusts him to keep Delphini's best interests at heart during this inspection. He will know what to take and what to leave. Lucius could not stay behind, nor allow her to stay. He does not know if her Father left spells and wards that would recognize her. If He had left curses that would recognize him.
X
July 28th, 2009
The festivities over, the last guest gone, Delphini lies on top of her bed. It's late at night and she told her family that she was tired. They all pretended to believe her. She knows that there are some people she simply cannot fool. She doesn't mind it though. They are family; there is no need for deceit under this roof.
She takes deep breaths, wondering if she can make the clock go any faster. She has been flying to the creek every night. She likes the wind in her face, and the cold water on her feet, and the humming of the leaves high up on the trees. It became a ritual over summer. Something she came to crave. It's her peaceful place outside; the one she can retreat to when the protection of her veil isn't enough, when piano notes aren't enough to soothe her mind. Because her family knows to look for her in her bedroom and by the piano but that place by the water is her secret.
The clock eventually strikes one and she knows her path will be clear now. She runs to her new broomstick, a gift from Draco. The last Firebolt model, the veneer shinning even in the darkness of the slumbering corridors. Vicious follows her steps until her bare feet touch the grass outside. He will either sit here and await her return or meet her by the stream. Darkie likes to fly with her, but never stays. Vicious is too fond of the hunt for that.
She takes her chance to try a few manoeuvres she knows her Aunt and Astoria would never allow and that Draco would cheer for. Then she experiments with speed and finds herself by the stream faster than ever. She sits with her feet in the water, dangling from a rock. Vicious comes to her from the shadows and the bushes, only his yellow eyes are visible for a moment, before his fur comes into the moonlight. He lies beside her, tucked under her arm, as her fingers draw circles on his back.
She sits there until she loses track of time. Her mind keeps dwelling on the contents of the vault. She has brought the matter up twice so far. She wants to go back, she wants that box which she knows is meant for her. But all they tell her is that the Ministry isn't done yet, for there are too many objects requiring careful investigation in her Mother's vault. Her vault, she corrects.
Vicious' audible distress and the rising of his fur startle her. She is up instantly, wand out and at the ready. Keenly aware that this time the Ministry will know if she uses her magic, she makes the decision to use it only if absolutely necessary. Vicious is by her side, growling furiously at something in the bushes.
"Hi will not harm yousss, sschild."
Vicious makes for the voice, claws out and a paw ready to strike. She stops him at the last instance, crouching down next to the kneazle, and pushing branches aside. A snake that she cannot make the colour of, with slit yellow eyes, turns its head in curiosity. They stare at each other for a few seconds, as Delphini pupils grow larger with understanding.
The snake spoke.
Snakes speak?
She understood it.
I speak snake?
Vicious lunging forward again breaks the spell, and she moves to hold him with both hands. Reassuring him with soft hands coursing through the riled fur, she moves the kneazle away from the snake. Accepting that Delphini does not feel threatened, he complies. The moment she answers the snake though, he bolts back the way he'd come earlier.
Delphini is puzzled by his reaction, but far more intrigued by the talking snake in front of her.
"Am I dreaming?" She feels like she's losing her grasp at reality, more and more as the seconds go by.
"No, ssschild, you are not. You hhhhave a rare giffft. Mighty wizards hhhad it before. I'vvve been waiting a long time to sssspeak to you."
She quickly learns that the snake cannot approach the Manor, but that she doesn't know why. When she was little, she couldn't approach her even when she was this far away. She notices that once again she instinctively knows the snake to be a she. She stops listening.
Her mind is connecting dots at the speed of light. This isn't new. She has been able to hear snakes when no one was before. Another pair of yellow eyes, on a maze.
"Why can't others hear you?"
She thinks the snake is laughing. She explains that everyone can hear them, but only very few wizards and witches can understand the meaning behind the hissing. Only then does she realize that she has not been talking at all. It isn't that snakes can talk; it's that she can hiss. There are no hissing dorms at Hogwarts. She was the one hissing in her sleep.
It's too much. So much that she gets up, grabs her broom and flies directly to one of her bedroom windows. She sits on the floor, embracing her legs, for what seems like hours. The pain that eventually overcomes the numbness forces her to lie on the bed again.
There's sunlight coming through the curtains when she manages to finally fall asleep. She is still trying to make sense of things in her mind, but the same thoughts kept creeping up to the front of her mind.
This can't be right. Why can't I be like the others?
Her only certainty is that this matter is to be kept a secret. She cannot explain it, but she knows that this is not a skill to brag about. There is need for deceit under this roof.
X
The next morning, Narcissa finds her by the piano. She likes to watch her from the doorway.
This dark child of hers likes to play the piano when no one is watching, but likes the nods of approval from others watching even more.
This dark girl of hers likes to enchant things to dance mid-air in front of her, while she is deep in her thoughts, but likes the compliments her skill earns her much more.
She likes to charm people, knowing she can get into their minds and pull some strings. Being well aware that she can do the same with her smile and big wide eyes, and no mind tricks whatsoever. She likes control, more specifically, she likes to be in control.
She is now. Sitting cross legged on the cushioned piano bench, bare feet with toes wrinkling. A swirl of her right hand commanding a blue shiny mist of sorts to spin just above it while her left hand turns another page of an old leather-bound book opened on her lap. The blue mist spins just a little slower when she moves her hand to reach for a glass of iced tea. The glass levitates from the floor into her awaiting hand while the straw moves itself to be aligned with her lips. She takes a couple of sips and sends the glass levitating back to its place on the boards.
Narcissa admires her ability to focus so hard on something she completely shuts off everything else. There is a remembrance there, but she leaves it undisturbed. In normal circumstances, Delphini's mind would have picked up on hers long before she reached the door.
This dark child of hers is different, she knows. She likes the Dark Arts and is curious about them, but there is no power thirstiness in her. She cannot deny that no one finds old and forgotten dark books in the Malfoy library faster than Delphini on a rainy day. But she is truly seeking knowledge, control perhaps, not dominance over others. Not a way to conquer those weaker.
The truth of this dark girl of hers cannot be denied. She and darkness go hand in hand. She seems to find comfort in the dark. She refrains from practising it thoroughly in the Manor, being well aware of the trouble it would cause. But she revels when she succeeds. Her most prized possessions all carry minor curses, Narcissa is sure of it. In the rare occasions she removes the bird skull necklace that was her Mother's, the pendant hums when others approach it. Narkey hasn't been able to touch her hair brush since she came home from Hogwarts. The matter has been discussed with both Lucius and Draco. Everyone has come to agree that her nature is not to be denied. Her hearth is in the right place and they will keep it there, but they will not force her to become someone she is not.
Narcissa decides to break the enchantment that seems to have befallen the room. Delphini is startled by her Aunt's steps, hurriedly closing the book and turning on her seat. She swallows before talking.
"Aunt Cissa. I hadn't noticed you were there."
There is unease about her today, Narcissa notices. She very seldom lets others into her state of mind, and this combined with her previous distraction means something disturbing is on her mind.
"What is it Delphini?" She moves toward the girl, reaching for her chin with one long-fingered hand. She turns her face upwards, so that grey and green can meet. Her question is almost commanding, but she knows her smile will be enough to remove the cutting edge.
"It's nothing." Delphini answers, as she tries to avoid her eyes. Narcissa will have none of it, and keeps hold of her chin as she lowers herself to meet her eyes again.
"I said it's nothing!" There is a true edge in the girl's voice, punctuated by a red glare. She forcibly removes her chin from Narcissa's soft hand.
So she will not tell her what's got her in such a state and the matter is upsetting enough to bring her anger forward. Narcissa knows not to push her further, but the unease now sets within her too. Delphini must have learned something meant to stay secret. And she is not telling.
For the first time since the Battle, Narcissa regrets the web of lies they constructed. They may just be helplessly tangled.
Author's Notes: Hello people, sorry it has taken me so long to come back. There was getting home, jetlag, a heavy duty storm and not having electricity for a day, a bit of a writer's block, and my personal favourite: locking myself out of the house for nearly 48 hours. Brilliant, I know.
To the amazing guests who left reviews: thank you for acknowledging my efforts and THANK YOU for the "I wish your Delphi was canon". You guys made my day.
This chapter turned out to be really long when compared to others, but it may just be the new norm, I don't know. To the people wishing for Teddy, sorry but I had to delay him by a chapter ;) Else this thing would be over 5k or something