Hogwarts, November 13th, 2010
She is desperately trying to keep her head in the game, but so far she is not succeeding. Gryffindor has the lead and she can't be bothered by it. She dodges a Bludger, but doesn't raise her bat to direct it at one of the red and gold shadows flying about. She can hear the cheering from the crowd, but it sounds as if something coming from very far away, like she were inside the castle.
She can't stop her mind from running, and running, and running. She feels betrayed. She has been denied the truth for years. Her own family lied to her.
And then she is hit.
Nothing but darkness and gravity for some moments, and then something hard against her bones and she knows no more.
X
She is slowly gathering her bearings again, trying to establish where she is now. Beneath her there is something soft. Over her there is something warm. On her is no longer her Quidditch attire but something smooth and long. So she has been out for long enough to be carried to the infirmary and changed into a nightgown.
She props herself up on her elbows and opens her eyes, closing them immediately under the aggression of the lights. She lets out a grunt at how sore the right side of her face feels. She can taste blood in her mouth. And a small whimper leaves her lips involuntarily when she tries to move and turn her back to the light. The left side of her body feels even worse.
"Now, hold still, Miss Lestrange. No sudden movements. You took quite the fall from your broom. Are you dizzy? Nauseous?" Madam Pomfrey is promptly by her side, a worried look on her face, a tender hand on her forehead.
Delphini shakes her head and regrets it instantly. She is dizzy now.
"Alright, darling. Let's get you back under the covers. You will be spending the night here, while the Skele-Gro takes care of your broken ribs. I'll give you some more Dittany to help with the pain."
So that's what hurts… you idiot, you let yourself be knocked off a broomstick by a Bludger. Now that's dignified! Wait, did we lose to the buggering lions?
"The game, Madam Pomfrey… ouch, who won the game?"
"You Quidditch players are all the same. Broken and battered but your heads still in the game the moment you can talk! No, you did not lose. Your teammates used your accident as a chance to rally. I've had to tend to quite a few players today, but you were the only unconscious one." Her eyebrows drift up on her forehead as she huffs her exasperation. "Now, I'll go and inform Professor Slughorn that you are on the mend. I'll also bring something for you to eat. I will leave you with Mr. Lupin, but you must stay in bed, lying down, for the entirety of my absence. Once I'm back, your cousin will be off to dinner in the Great Hall. No arguing!"
Arguing is not even a possibility. The second he hears his name, Teddy is pushing through the doors and shooting questions about Delphini's wellbeing.
"The others wanted to come too, but Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let them until tomorrow."´
"Have you been waiting outside since the game ended?"
"I've been there since you were brought in! I was about to go to Headmistress McGonagall and demand entry." Delphini attempts a laugh but her pain prevents it.
"And how were you going to get her permission?"
"I would charm her, obviously. Plan B was to take a page off your book and let your family hear about this." His grin subsides almost immediately. He can see that her eyes are sombre now.
"Don't write to my family. I'm not writing to them again."
"Why not?"
"Do you know how my Mother died?"
"In the Battle. Like mine."
When she tells him who killed her Mother in the battle, he is not surprised at all. He has heard the tale of the battle many times over from several Weasleys. He never realized what made them so proud of Mrs. Weasley.
Before they can tackle the matter seriously, Madam Pomfrey is back with Delphini's dinner and stern glares for Teddy.
After food and some more Dittany, Delphini is left alone in the dark, enveloped in silence. Her pain is giving way to the grogginess of the potions, but her mind keeps fighting the mist, wanting to stay sharp. She cannot win, though. And in the end, she lets her heavy-lidded eyes shut.
Unable to think properly, her mind creates images through the night. The usual dreams of stars and serpents quickly fade and make way for blood and smoke, darkness, and a faceless red-haired woman that points her wand at a beautiful woman with grey eyes and a mane of dark curls. The dream restarts, but this time, out of the smoky darkness, the image that emerges is that of the red-haired woman at the mercy of the one with the curls. She has green eyes.
She wakes up panting.
X
King's Cross Station, December 18th, 2010
The Malfoys fear the second Delphini sets foot off the train.
But she does, none the less. She looks serious, her face closed. Her friends keep their distance, exchanging no more than polite nods. Even Teddy reels in his characteristic joy.
The only news they received of her this past month were those of a broomstick fall during a Quidditch game. And by the hand of Professor Slughorn at that. None of her polite letters home, with hints at how much she misses them, openly disdaining Muggle Studies, telling tales of how she ended up in detention once more, keeping them updated on the Quidditch matches, and all the small little things that assure them that she is alright. Something is very wrong, they know.
She is nothing if not polite when she reaches them. Kissing and receiving kisses. Giving the world nothing but serenity and poise, a proper Malfoy gathering. Narcissa tries looking into her eyes and almost flinches at what she finds there. Steel under the green.
The same steel that shone through Bella's eyes every time she spoke of the Dark Lord and his deeds, every time she found justification for the atrocities. The same steel she saw is Dromeda's eyes every time she stood for her beliefs. The last time she saw that steel, Andromeda was leaving their gathering at Grimmauld Place to never come back. She saw it once more, many years later, and Bellatrix never came back either.
She looks into Lucius eyes and finds the same fear under the ice there. What if she knows? How do we protect her now? Those are the questions their eyes scream at each other. Only Scorpius is given some warmth. For them, there are only cold shoulders.
She keeps silent all the way home. She keeps silent when Astoria tells Scorpius to go and play for himself for a while. She keeps silent as they all walk into the piano room. She keeps silent as she watches dread overcome them.
She breaks her silence the moment Draco takes a deep breath, as if gathering momentum to raise the subject.
"Why?" The word is both a snarl and a hiss. They remain silent. Narcissa raises her hands in an appeasing gesture, but Delphini takes a step back and snarls again.
"Why!? She killed her. I have been getting those sweaters every Christmas. I've been wearing them on the weekends at Hogwarts... I even wear them at home! How could you say nothing to me?"
"Delphi-"
"Don't Delphini me! I have been wearing clothes made by the murderer of my Mother! I have been thanking her!"
"Delphi-" her Uncle tries once more, and once more she cuts him off.
"How come you've allowed her to send me gifts every Christmas and never told me who she really is? The killer of my Mother has been sending warm cosy sweaters to buy me off-"
"Stop it, right now." The warning in her Uncle's tone is palpable, she recognizes it, but she is not afraid. "Everyone struggled to make amends, Delphini. We couldn't say no and we did not want to. You must understand-"
"I must understand nothing!" She is seething, the words are hissed through her teeth now. "You betrayed my Mother. You betrayed me!"
Delphini doesn't wait for their reaction. She knows the hurt her words will cause even before she said them. She turns on the balls of her feet, marching out of the room, straight for the staircase.
"You're not going to the Weasleys!" She spins in place, turning her eyes, red for a second, to her Aunt, who follows her.
"Why would I want to go to that place?"
Narcissa doesn't answer her question. She focuses every bit of magic she possesses into keeping her Occlumency shields high up around her mind, so that they conceal that, even if only for a moment, she judged Delphini for her Mother, that she thought the girl capable of seeking revenge from those who wronged her. That she doubted her nature. And her nurture.
The steel remains in Delphini's eyes, but it is scorching now. The scorn is visible in her porcelain face, and her hands ball into fists. Narcissa recognizes that. She has seen this before. It was 1972 and a girl of nineteen was burnt off a tapestry the following day. She looks on as her niece turns again. Narcissa does not move. She knows there is nothing she can say, nothing she can do, to make things better. She will endure the storm, as she must, and wait for her little bird to come back.
She does not know that she is not breathing until her husband hugs her from behind.
"Breathe, love. She doesn't know. This we can solve." Albeit he has no idea pertaining to how they will do it. What he does know is that this could be much worse. That his niece could do much worse in her anger. He doesn't understand why his son runs from the room minutes later.
Not until he hears the clear words his niece speaks. Not until his flower crumbles in his arms, hiding her tears in his robes.
X
In her rooms, Delphini scribbles a little note for Scorpius. Her Kneazle knows that something is up and watches her movements from atop her bed. She changes into a simple dress, something less Malfoy and more commoner. She packs a bag, making sure to include all of her school books and the picture of her Mother. She retrieves Guivre from his branch by the window, and feels a bit better as his scales roam her skin in his path to the inside of her shirt, settling coiled around her waist. He hisses to her about how much he has missed her, about how the crow is a despicable nuisance. Darkie is nowhere to be seen, but she figures he will find her. She throws the bag over her shoulder, casts a spell over the note, making it so that only Scorpius will be able to read it, and picks up Vicious from the bed.
The portraits all tell her to think about it, and wait, and not go. She never hears a word, simply walking into the library and the fireplace connected to the Floo Network.
"Knockturn Alley!" And she is gone in the green flames before anyone can stop her. Her last sight is of Draco calling her name. It means nothing.
X
After coming to Knockturn Alley, her surname and her glare won all the silence she needs at first. Her skill does the rest.
She disguises herself. For the first time in her life, she is forced to hide her looks and does so willingly, happily. A bit giddy with the sense of power that comes from manipulating everyone into believing her gone, lost. She makes herself a little older, as if she were in her early twenties, taking cues from young women in the street. She makes sure to look plain, erasing all of the good breeding from her features while keeping them pleasant enough. She turns her hair blond, silvery, almost the same shade as her Malfoy persona from all those years ago. She adds blue tips on a whim, burying the feelings that come at the association of blue and silver in her mind. She makes her eyes a dull dark brown that is sure to go unnoticed. She dresses in a mixture of muggle and wizarding fashion. She looks like an older student of Ravenclaw. A bit whimsical but low-key enough not to be bothered. She looks like an older Hufflepuff too. Kind but shy enough that people will refrain from approaching her.
She gets a room over Olivander's for a week at first. Not just over his shop but also in his house, meaning she can practice magic freely, since Mr. Olivander´s experimenting and wand crafting is sure to befuddle her trace. Mr. Olivander is nice to the girl he believes is trying for an apprenticeship at the potions supplies shops. She makes sure to keep her wand hidden at all times, as well as warning Guivre not to show himself to the man.
X
Malfoy Manor, December 20th, 2010
"Potter, Granger," Draco greets them with a little nod, "we need your help. You have to locate Delphini for us. Please." The other Malfoys in the room bow their heads too, but utter no words.
"What? Why?" Potter seems baffled. "You don't know where she is?"
"She left two days ago. She was barely home actually." Narcissa is fiddling with her fingers, and that gesture seems very unlike her, Hermione thinks. It's obvious she has been crying.
"That won't be that simple. Her trace is kept secure with those of other under aged wizards and witches." She takes a step forward to Narcissa. "But why did she leave the day she was back from Hogwarts?" Her sharp mind is skipping ahead of their words, trying to determine what would be the reason for Delphini's departure. And she does not like the most probable answer.
"It's not that," Narcissa assures her, "she learnt of Molly Weasley's role in the death of her Mother."
Draco watches both Harry and Hermione take a deep breath. The day they fear the most, all of them, should it ever come to pass, is not upon them. Yet. This they can deal with, or so they appear to think.
"And she feels betrayed because of the Christmas gifts she has been sending. It's nothing we can't handle, but we need to find her first. We understand her need for distance at this time, but we need to know that she is safe." He is offering information they have not requested, but he knows Granger and her need to get to the bottom of things.
"But you had hoped she would be back sooner." Harry has found his voice again. There is a haunting within his eyes. He supposes they all have it, this shadow of future fear. "All right, I will go to the Department for the Under Aged Use of Magic and see if I can access her trace." He looks to Hermione at the end, clearly hoping she will be able to help him.
"What do you mean? Can't we access it?" Lucius comes into the conversation, hands on Narcissa's shoulders. "As her legal guardians, we have access to it, do we not?"
"Delphini's trace is kept separate. With those of the sons and daughters of high profile Ministry workers, all considered to be at risk because they could be a way to reach their parents. I managed to move her trace there because… well, because of the Lestranges. And everyone knowing about her after Rita's article." Hermione hugs herself and Harry puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"You feared someone could get revenge on them through her?" Narcissa seems terrified by the possibility of such a thing. She takes a hand to her lips, dwelling in that possibility. When her eyes rise again, there are grateful tears on them. "Thank you for thinking of it. Thank you for keeping her safe that way too."
Plans are hastily but thoroughly made. Once the trace is available to them, one and only one Malfoy will go to Delphini and attempt to bring her back. And then Potter has an idea. It's ludicrous but it might just work. It will give Delphini the time she needs, but it will also, hopefully, end her need for distance. Tempting her just enough that she may come back home.
X
Diagon Alley, December 21st, 2010
She is having lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, wondering about her days here. She is not very good at cooking, yet, and she will not risk being exposed over food boiling out of pots. Vicious is happy enough with the food she buys him from the Menagerie and Mr. Olivander is happy to see the mice in his shop reduced. Of course, that is not Vicious Mist at all and Delphini is now dealing with a moody snake that's about to shed again from all the growing. The cherry on top of the cake is Darkie, who is bored because he has no letters to deliver and hasn't been able to find a quiet place to perch on without being jumped on.
She is quite sure Darkie will not be around when she returns. He's only around at night mostly, when Delphini is there to keep her other familiars in check. For now, she will meander back to her room and read from the books she purchased form Obscurus earlier. She is about to get up from her table when Teddy saunters in the pub. She almost waves to him before she remembers she cannot blow her cover. He would not even recognize her like this.
Flustered, she picks up her books, tosses some coins on the table, not really caring to check, and walks out. Instead of meandering down Diagon Alley, she angrily trots to Olivander's, making her way to the back of the shop, with only a shy little smile for a greeting, and up the twisting narrow stairs. Vicious is quick to nuzzle her, but Guivre hisses his acknowledging of her presence and goes back into his nook between the books on the shelf.
She has to give up on reading, her mind simply won't abide. She misses them all. She is furious at all of them, and her anger has been simmering for over a month now. She needs closure, but the way to that includes talking to them, to the family who lied to her, and she is afraid. Because her dreams have changed and she has seen the beautiful woman with green eyes turn her wand on silver heads too. And she does not want that. She will not turn on her family. She would rather never see them again. So she keeps her distance and hears her heart rip a little more every day.
She finds herself curled on the windowsill, watching the snow fall silently, watching the flakes drift in the soft wind, and wishing to be soothed by the cold. She opens the window, just a slit, but it's enough. The cold sweeps in, she welcomes the pain that comes from taking deep breaths, and runs her hands through her hair. It still feels very foreign to her. Her hair is smooth now and doesn't have a bit of fight in it. She pulls some tresses forward, admiring the blue tips, for the first time admitting to herself that that blue is precisely the one from Draco's room. That the silver is also precisely the Malfoy shade of it. Even the brown in her eyes, it's not dull, it's the same warm brown that she sees in Astoria's eyes.
Delphini lifts her gaze from her hair and looks to the horizon. She sees Gringotts vaulted roofs from her window and she has to focus, hard, on not going to her vault right now. She knows there's a box there, waiting for her, from her parents. She could feel it the first time she saw it, she simply knew it. But going into Gringotts disguised is not an option, and neither is breaking her cover. She closes the window and lets her forehead meet the glass. She points her wand to the other end of her room, setting a small kettle to boil. When it's ready, she levitates the cup of tea towards her, leaving a misty trail behind. Vicious settles over her feet, purring his obvious pleasure.
She does not know for how long she has been there when a small pebble hits the window. She blinks out of thoughts. Another hit.
"What the-" She never finishes that sentence. There's a boy outside, with blue hair barely concealed under a knitted cap, with a black and yellow scarf around the lower half of his face. His eyes, she can tell, are smiling.
"Found you!"
The scream is muffled by the scarf, but she can't have him scream her name in the middle of the street. She rushes downstairs, stops, goes back up and removes Guivre from his nook, hiding him in a trunk at the feet of the bed. He is not happy at the sudden movements.
"Hiss once more and I'll leave you outside in the snow!" Her Parseltongue is harsh and commanding. She doesn't linger to hear the answer. She runs to the front door of Olivander's.
"We are closed!"
"It's not a client, Mr. Olivander, just a friend of mine. He'll be quick."
Delphini drags Teddy inside.
"How on earth did you find me?"
"I'm a Hufflepuff," he shrugs his shoulders, "and I had some clues to follow. Your trace put you somewhere in Diagon Alley for several days. There aren't many places to actually live around here. I was going to check the Leaky Cauldron first, but then I saw a certain girl with silver and blue hair holding books from Obscurus."
"And how did you know it was me? I never take my wand out in public, no one knows my name-"
"You tossed some coins on the table, not really caring about how much you were paying. Not many people are that indifferent to money, and most that are do not eat at the pub." He has a winning smile. "And then I tossed a pebble at your window and you completely lost it."
"You sly…" She can't even be mad at him. She hugs him, truly and tightly. She knows he will always keep her secret. So maybe she doesn't have to give up all of her family. Her true appearance is back when she lets go of him.
"Did Potter tell you about my trace? You must promise me that you won't tell him about where I'm living. I'll change my looks and move into the Leaky Cauldron after Christmas and then I'll go back to Hogwarts and they'll know I'm fine."
"Okay then. I won't tell Potter where you are."
"Nor Draco. Nor your Grandmother."
"I won't tell them."
That was easy. Way to easy!
"Are you really going to spend Christmas in here?"
"Yes, I am."
"Then I'll be stopping by on Boxing Day bearing gifts and cookies. And that is the end of it, or else I shall be stepping outside to scream about you at the top of my lungs."
And she knows he most definitely will, so she gets him a cup of tea too and talks the afternoon away.
Three days later, she realizes just how much Teddy wishes for her to spend Christmas with her family, and not alone with books, a Kneazle and a raven. And a snake, but he doesn't know that. Mr. Olivander is gone for the holidays and her only responsibility is to finish her homework. She cannot perform magic freely now, and that's upsetting because she can't even try to cook her lunch. She is leaving her place to have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, once more, when a familiar voice surprises her.
"Hello, Delphini."
Draco is waiting for her. Pristine in his black cloak with silver clasps, the snowflakes simply sliding down, never sticking like they do to her purple one. She feels like killing Teddy, and hugging him, and torturing him for a week straight, and thanking him many, many times over.
"He told you, didn't he?"
"No, but he wrote to Scorpius. Who requires me to give you this."
He extends a small package. Chocolate, she knows. And a note.
"I miss you. Come home.
Please.
Scorpius"
And she knows she is going home now. She could never stay away, not after this tiny bit of parchment. And Draco knows it too.
"Can I help you pack your things?"
"Only if you promise to not peek into the closet. I have your gifts in there."
His right eyebrow goes up, in challenge.
"I was going to have Darkie deliver them in the morning. Don't flatter yourself, I bought them at Hogsmeade during one of the trips, they were in my Hogwarts' trunk and I wasn't going to let Scorpius find them and ruin the surprise!"
He chuckles and signals for her to go back inside. When all of her things are securely stored, a note left on Mr. Olivander's working bench, Guivre wrapped around her left arm and Vicious held by her right one, Draco picks up her extended bag and brings her closer by her shoulders. He Apparates them to just outside the Manor's gates.
"Thank you for bringing me home. I'm sorry I left." She tells him as they walk past the gates.
She repeats those exact words to Scorpius, who eyes her suspiciously at first and then runs to hug her. She receives a kiss on the forehead from Uncle Lucius, and warm embraces from Astoria and her Aunt. Except Narcissa holds on for much longer and leaves tears on her cheeks and doesn't let go of her face for a long time, twirling one of her curls on a spindly finger.
"I could never lose you too." And Delphini knows, without even looking, that both her Mother and a woman who looks a lot like her are on her mind.
Author's Notes: So this chapter got a bit away from me and ended up being much longer that I meant. This means some things had to be pushed into Ch40, including solving the Molly issue. It will come, don't you worry.
In the meantime, keep the reviews up, they keep me writing. Hope you liked this one.
Because of the rearrangement, I shall be uploading the notes on the second chapter of "The Guilt of the Mother"
UPDATE: 16/02/2018 New side piece up, it's called The Curse of the Flower. There is a request for some reader's help at the end, in the notes, if you could take the time I would be very thankfull