Malfoy Manor, December 25th, 2010
Scorpius is the first to come through her doors that morning. He nearly flies across the floor, flinging himself onto her bed, sending Vicious running off from under the quilt.
"I missed you", he tells her once he lands on the covers, "I was afraid you wouldn't come back home." He is curled up on his own, by her side but not looking at her. So she uses her fingers, just out of their childhood and into the long elegance of youth, to raise his chin and guide his eyes to hers.
"I'll always come back to you, Scorpius. And that's a promise."
He gives her his best smile. One that is very much like that rare smile of hers.
"Happy Christmas, Delphie. Can we go downstairs now?"
Her laughter is mirthful, and her arms around him are warm and loving. Unknown to her, that laugh is carried over the doorframe, down hallways and through walls, settling on the hearts of those who love her.
The tree is set by the piano this year. According to Scorpius, there is a veritable mountain of gifts by it. Of course, being seven, anything taller than him – and his pile of gifts is taller than him – looks like a mountain. Delphini's only hopes that a certain present is not on her pile.
They are the last to arrive. Delphini smirks at the sight they make for. No one in the whole of Wizarding Britain would expect them, the o-so-above-you Malfoys, to gather wearing pyjamas and dressing gowns. Except they do. Once a year, and only once, the Malfoys put propriety aside for the course of an entire morning, and exchange gifts.
Scorpius immediately proceeds to open all of his presents in frenzy, after an almost absent greeting. Her Aunt watches him rip open the first one with a smile on her lips. But it only reaches her eyes when Delphini approaches her, a smile on her lips and a little box on her hands. Narcissa tucks one of her rebellious curls behind her left ear and can't help but let a tear fall. The happiness in her mind is so evident that Delphini cannot stop hers from understanding the words there.
My little bird came back.
Delphini smiles all the brighter at that thought. Of course she did. What else could she do? Pretend she doesn't love them? Pretend she didn't miss them? Never cross the doors to this house again? This is home, this is her lair. She will always come back.
"Happy Christmas, Aunt Cissa."
"Happy Christmas, little bird."
She can feel the hand of Uncle Lucius on her shoulder. That gesture that belongs to the two of them exclusively. The one that means she is right and he is proud. He presents her with a velvety box. This is not new, she can tell. The velvet isn't quite so soft at the edges and around the corners anymore. Nor is its colour so vivid. A family heirloom she understands.
"My Mother's?" She asks as she unravels a pair of earrings. Two small squared emeralds with tear shaped pearls hanging from them, held together by silver.
"Yes, it was your Mother's, my sweet star of darkness. Happy Christmas."
And with that, he pulls her towards his body, planting a single, soft kiss on the crown of her head. She responds by leaning into him. She did miss them horribly. That old fear of hers had resurfaced and stayed afloat the whole time she was gone, but in that embrace she puts it to rest. Once and for all. She belongs here.
"I left that gift on your desk." Draco tells her, while they watch Scorpius peel away the wrapping of what is, very obviously, a new broom, "so you can decide what to do with it." She notices the nervous bite of his teeth into his bottom lip, but that is something she will not touch.
"Go get it. Get rid of it. I'm not opening it and I'll toss it in the fireplace if I ever see it."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Astoria's voice comes from behind them. She too tucks a wild curl behind Delphini's ear, and extends a present to her. "This one is from the two of us."
The unease in the air is broken just like that. Soothing words and hands that remind her of what she has missed for so long. Not just these last few days but every day since the 1st of September. She has missed home, and comfort. Not the luxurious possessions, there are plenty of those in the green and silver common room. She has missed this particular comfort of being transparent to people around her and not caring about it.
X
Teddy shows up the gates on Boxing Day, bearing gifts and cookies, as promised.
"Is it safe for me to traverse these gates, oh mighty damsel? Shall thou unleash furious peacocks on me and have the bushes strangle me?"
"Yes, it is safe. No, I will not let the peacocks have your eyes."
"Good, my Grandmother is already having me fleeced when I come back." They both laugh at the jape.
"Why? Did she tell you not to come?"
"Yes, she did. She doesn't really like that the two of us actually get along."
He scrunches his eyebrows, frowning, and smirks when he sees the same expression in Delphini's face, whose smirk is also like his. He thinks his Grandmother dislikes that too. That they are alike in appearance. Like she and Bellatrix were.
"And you came anyway?"
"Well, I vowed that I would. And I count on my godfather to keep me out of trouble," he shrugs his shoulders, not a care in the world, "but I don't think he'll make a difference. My Grandma can be quite the dragon lady."
Delphini looks at him, a gleeful glint extending from the green to the brown. They say nothing, but share the same thought as Teddy makes his way inside. Andromeda is a Black after all.
X
Malfoy Manor, January 2nd, 2011
Draco and Astoria have been pale all day. Astoria actually went upstairs to lie down for the afternoon and Delphini will never forget the look of sheer panic that crossed Draco's face. It's been years since the last time she had to rest over the course of a normal day, and almost as long since they last saw her looking this pale.
Delphini is worried, but that is mostly at the back of her mind. She has been staring down the clock on the mantle for quite a while. She has been taking peeks at the clocks around the house for several hours now, with the added stress of having to keep it unnoticed.
She needs to keep it unnoticed for the duration of dinner still. Before she retreats to her rooms and starts filtering through her notes on the Chamber. And that means keeping her body still but not stiff, and her mind focused but not just on her thoughts. Because she thinks she finally knows. But they can't.
Her family knows of Parseltongue. They are fine with it as long as she keeps it a secret from the outside world.
Her family knows of Guivre. They are fine with him as long as he keeps from biting them. They don't really mind his nibs at the house-elves, but Delphini has made it crystal clear that servants and meals are different things. Even if they are all alive, as the snake quickly points out every time she touches on the matter.
Her family knows of her proclivity in the Dark Arts. They are fine with her experimenting within certain boundaries. Most of the time, they take the "if you can get away with it" approach to her feats. If no one knows, and no one is harmed, and no one can trace it back to her, they do not oppose.
Her family does not know of her recent obsession with the Chamber. They would not, most definitely, be fine with it should they know she means to open it again. The monster inside has long been dead. The only thing crawling out of it would be her secret. Their secret. So they cannot know.
Inspiration came to her this morning, after Scorpius' close encounter with the Reaper. Scorpius, like his cousin, albeit several years older, managed to fly a broomstick square into a wall. Unlike his cousin though, Scorpius actually made a dent on said wall.
That is why Astoria needed to lie down. That is why Draco won't let his son out of his sight. That is why Uncle Lucius takes a peek from behind his newspaper every so often, trying to make sure Scorpius isn't asleep. And why Aunt Narcissa keeps combing his soft hair with empty eyes, lost in considerations of mortality, no doubt.
When Scorpius came to his senses again, Delphini was there to help him up. And to tease him in a way only she is allowed.
"Trying to become a ghost are you? If you're lucky, you'll get to join the ones at Hogwarts and follow me around."
"I'd very much prefer it if my grandson kept to his mortal path instead of becoming a ghost child," came Uncle Lucius deep voice, accompanied by the tapping of his cane.
And then Delphini's mind was ablaze. Still is.
A ghost child that followed people around. How did you not see it before? She lives in the bathroom of the floor where the Basilisk petrified its victims.
She needs to get back to Hogwarts.
X
Hogwarts, January 23rd, 2011
As much as she wanted to go there sooner, she couldn't find enough time and enough quiet. The second floor is always too busy and every girl in the school knows to use another lavatory. So she has been biding her time. Until tonight.
It's past curfew and she is sure all of her roommates are fast asleep. Delphini slithers her feet from under the covers, touching them to the floor. She forfeits slippers and shoes, she likes the feeling of cold stone against her bare skin. She always puts her feet down on the icy floors when the nightmares with the red-haired witch come. She lays her whole body on it when the dream comes with silver blonde.
She rushes out of the dormitory, pulling on her dressing gown as she goes. She places her feet carefully, so as not to make a sound. The ball of her feet, then the heel, a demure little panther moving through the dungeons, up the staircases, down the second floor corridor. Peeves stops mid-air at the sight of her, knowing better than to raise the alarm.
"Keep Filch and the freaking cat away."
A command, a stern order, the likes of which the poltergeist is used to coming only from the Bloody Baron. And the Headmistress. He simply nods and proceeds to depart. When Delphini is out and about at night, Peeves makes sure to stay out of her way.
Entering the girls' lavatory, she immediately hears the sobs from Moaning Myrtle. She almost rolls her eyes. Delphini needs to be alone to explore at will. The needy ghost must leave, but she may know something useful to her endeavor. So the young witch will strive for a balance.
She makes sure to make some noise closing the door. The still weeping ghost pokes her head around one of the stalls.
"Wha-what are yo-you doing here," she asks while she wipes transparent, silvery tears off her equally transparent cheeks, "don't you know a-about the curfew?"
"I wanted to talk to you, but I needed to do it alone."
Myrtle stops her crying, hovering away from the stall, levitating before Delphini, her eyes transfixed on the girl. She tilts her head, and smiles.
"You have eyes like him," she says with a little giggle, "he has very pretty eyes, you know?"
"Eyes like who? My Father?" Another giggle answers Delphini and she is tempted to be rude to the ghost and just have her gone.
"Who was your father? Never mind," she shakes her head dismissively, "he's not the one I'm talking about. Harry Potter. You have eyes like Harry Potter."
Delphini's eyebrows go up in clear contempt. Auror Potter is one of the people that kept the truth from her, and she has no ties to him to help forgiveness along.
"Right. Well," she huffs as she throws her loose braid over her shoulder, "let's get started then. How did you die?"
The ghost is frazzled by her blunt question and automatically stretches the distance between them. The subject strikes a nerve, as Delphini expected it to, but she wants to move things along and will either get her answer or drive the ghost girl away from the bathroom. One or the other, to hell with compromise.
"There was a boy that had eyes like yours too. He was older than me, very handsome, I think he was a Prefect-"
"Enough about my eyes! How did you die?"
That does it. Moaning Myrtle is in tears again, wailing about how insensitive her questions are, how everyone is always so mean to her, how the girls only come inside to tease her… And with a final loud sob, wiping tears behind her glasses, she flies over a stall door and takes a plunge into the school pipes.
Good riddance. Now where is it?
She starts checking the walls for marks, the mirrors for errors of refraction, the ceiling for some sort of sign. There is nothing. She lets her fingers caress the cold porcelain of the sinks, as she investigates them too. She can't be sure, she never found anything that confirmed where the entrance to the Chamber is, but given the hint from the Baron, she figures this must be it.
Her hearts jumps in her chest when she sees a snake engraved on one of the taps. She caresses it with reverence. Her brain is working at full speed, all her senses dulled in concentration. There must be a password of sorts.
Or not… only Parseltongue could open the Chamber right?
She can hardly believe it, but her brain seems to agree that she should just tell the tap what she wants. Just ask it to open. If that doesn't work, she will think of something else.
"Open."
She hisses the word with ease, delighted by the sound of it, and watches in amazement as the snake moves and the sink drops away, revealing the entrance to a large pipe. She takes a few careful steps inside, but quickly slips on the moist surface, and ends up sliding down the pipe, unable to stop or even slow down her descent. She is not afraid though, she is ecstatic. She finds herself on brittle bones at the end of the slope. The prey of the beast that used to live here, she understands.
For the first time tonight, she regrets being barefoot. The broken bones pinch and press into her soles, and she is forced to thread a painful path to the comfort of cold stone. There's a corridor ahead. Or the remains of it. The ceiling has caved in at several places. She makes her way through the rubble, clutching her pale wand, taking gasps of air when her lungs refuse to work properly from sheer excitement. She has found it. She is here.
Her wide green eyes are drawn to something beneath the rubble. She crouches next to it, reaching with her left hand as she brings her right one, still clutching her wand, to her heaving chest. It's so fragile now that it crumbles away at her touch, but she recognizes it. A shedding. The skin of the Basilisk. She can only see parts of it, occluded as it is by rubble and eaten away by time, but there is enough here to have an idea of the sheer size of the beautiful beast that used to rule here. She is absolutely enthralled by this place already when she reaches the doors to the Chamber.
They are tall and heavy looking. The elegant snakes there speak of superiority, of exceptionality. Of her rare, rare gift. Of the secret she and her family keep. To the snakes she speaks her plead once more. To open up.
"Hesha-hassah."
And the doors move, allowing her inside the green hued chamber. It's flooded, but she can still see the top of Salazar Slytherin's statue. More importantly, she can see a huge skeleton. Vertebrae and ribs contorted in the curves she associates with Guivre, except these are much, much larger. She walks towards it unafraid, a smile on her lips. She takes notice of all the snakes on the pillars and the walls, of the inky hue to the stone. It's different, but this place feels a bit like home.
She belongs here. This feeling of cold and wetness is the one she craves when she needs soothing.
She stops before the mighty skull. There are several fangs missing, but she caresses one from the base to the tip, careful not to disturb it. Careful not to let the still sharp tip gnaw into her flesh. Death has not taken away from the creature's magnificence. She takes in the sight of the Chamber one more time. She will come back later, often, and explore at will. She will turn this place into her sanctuary. Here, she will be free to experiment with magic. Here, she will be free to become herself.
X
Hogwarts, February 19th, 2011
She tells no one of the Chamber. The Baron does ask her one night, up in the Astronomy Tower, with a knowing glint in his eye. She has been taking things to the Chamber. Books mostly. In there, she can perfect her duelling skills. She will take no furniture down there. She will learn to Conjure everything she might need. That is a decision easily made. That chamber was built from powerful magic, for powerful magic. So she will rise to the challenge and become better.
Her thoughts scatter when Teddy takes a seat across her. There is a little pinch at her conscience. Maybe she should tell him too, about her gift and the place she calls home inside Hogwarts. Her considerations of the implications fall to pieces as her eyes focus on what he is wearing.
"What on earth are you wearing?" Delphini sounds outraged as she takes in the sight of her cousin clad in a new sweater.
"Oh, Mrs. Weasley knitted this for me this year."
"Alright… But it's green! And the T is grey!"
"I guess she wanted to go for a change. The Houses don't change colours, she must have grown bored."
"Sure. The woman knits sweaters for an entire village, she probably messed up her wool threads."
"Well, it's green and you're playing today. So I'm wearing it," he declares, shrugging his shoulders and dismissing the subject, "I'll also be turning my hair green." Delphini laughs wholeheartedly.
"Don't expect me to turn my hair yellow during your games."
"Your hair is already black. I can compromise," Teddy chuckles, almost choking on his juice, "now finish your breakfast and go whack some birds of their brooms."
"Will do. And come March I'll have the chance to see you be whacked off yours."
They share a smile, the one that belongs only to them. Teddy has made the Hufflepuff Quidditch team this year, as a Chaser. He couldn't be there for the first match, as one of their shenanigans had landed them both in detention for the entire weekend, but he'll play against Gryffindor in about two weeks' time. Of course, the one game they truly look forward is in May, when the badgers and the snakes confront each other on the pitch. But that is still to come. The entire school is looking forward to the game really, and whether or not the vicious Beater will play by the same book once her cousin is on the opposing team.
X
Hogwarts Express, June 30th, 2011
The school year feels morose to Delphini. The Quidditch matches, the duelling club, the classes, her practice in the Chamber, the visits to the Baron in the tower, even the late nights with Teddy are not enough. She cannot wait to go home. She misses her family, yes, but she needs to talk to them about something else too.
During Easter break, she wasn't ready to touch on the subject. She couldn't even bring Guivre back with her, despite her plan of concealing him in the Chamber. He is no Basilisk, but he keeps growing. He is well beyond what other snakes of his species grow to. In the end, the Chamber is too cold, too wet. He needs warmth, and she couldn't go around Hogwarts with him wrapped around her body for heath. So she decided to leave him behind again, even if that meant she had no one to discuss her nightmares with. Darkie is no help. And putting her thoughts on parchment is absolutely out of the question.
Because her nightmares have lingered all year long. She sees her Mother at the mercy of Molly Weasley, she sees Molly at her mercy sometimes too. But the sight of her family under her wand is the one that scares her the most. The one that drove her to the Chamber again and again, in search for some peace, some closure in her books. The one that saw her stealing from Professor Slughorn's storage, phial after phial of Dreamless Sleep until she mastered the potion, when not even the rose essence on her pillow and the cold floors would ease her back to sleep.
She sees the highlands change to greener countryside and the countryside turn to urban skylines and her mind is a blur the entire time. She needs to talk to her, she understands. There is a dangerous darkness rising inside her, drowning her heart, and she must put it to rest before it becomes unhinged and lashes out at someone. Before she hurts her family.
She says her goodbyes to her friends, promising to write and visit. They promise to meet her on her birthday, but she is beyond caring about such matters. When Teddy hugs her on the platform, feeling her unrest, she snaps out of her trance momentarily. She is becoming transparent in a place that is not home and that cannot be. She steals her mind and walks to her family, fighting the urge that tells her to run to them, to bury her face in her Uncle's chest and lean towards the caresses of her Aunt's. She can't stop the words from running out of her mouth, past her lips.
"Will you help me reach Auror Potter? I need to talk to Mrs. Weasley."
Her eyes are a plea all on their own, beneath the turmoil in the green.
X
Malfoy Manor, July 13th, 2011
She picks up her quill and dips it in the ink. She hesitates before putting it to parchment. Taking a deep breath, she steadies her hand and puts words to parchment. A simple letter, a note really, is all she needs to write. She has talked about all the details of her dreams with Draco, she allowed herself to seek refuge in his lap, shielded from the world by his arms, even if she doesn't quite fit anymore. Now is the time to steel herself and face her choice.
She has chosen not to shut Molly Weasley out forever. Auror Potter will take her to the Burrow tomorrow, but she has to write this note and send Darkie on his way to deliver it.
This is her seventh attempt. She is not asking for permission, she will not. But she cannot order the Weasleys to receive her. She is struggling to find the words, the tone. With one last steading breath, she decides for a notice.
"Mrs. Weasley
I will be visiting at the Burrow tomorrow. I must talk to you about my Mother.
Delphini"
That's it. That's all. Telling nothing and yet telling everything. She has chosen forgiveness, as her family seems to have done years ago. All she can do now is wait.
She points her wand at the note to dry it. Then she folds it, dropping some crimson wax where the ends overlap, and pressing her crest into it. Not the Lestrange crest. The crest of the House of Black. It has always been the one which feels like hers. Then she moves quickly, rising from her place at the desk and walking towards the window. She needs to send the note before she regrets her words and shreds them to pieces again. She looks out for the raven, calling him to her. Her scaly familiar slowly winds a path from his branch to her shoulder, coiling his body once around her neck, loosely, and draping his body down her arm. She pets his head with her right hand, while the left one taps the note to the windowsill. The second Darkie lands, she ties it to the bird's foot and sends him on its way, with a promise of many treats upon his return.
She rushes from her rooms, snake still wrapped around her shoulders. The Malfoys have come to understand that she finds comfort in her familiar and don't mind it. Most portraits gasp when she walks past them, as if she were a vision of something they fear. She doesn't even listen to them. She walks quickly and with purpose, but does not run. She finds her Aunt in the sunroom tending to her flowers under the content gaze of Uncle Lucius. They are having a conversation, but cease when she approaches. She pulls Guivre from her shoulders and lays him on the marble table now warm from the sun. He hisses a thank you and slides away to hunt. Then she walks towards her Aunt and wraps her arms around her waist.
Narcissa worries at the dark circles under the girl's eyes. They have been dosing her with all sorts of potions in attempt to keep the dreams at bay, but nothing seems to work anymore. She presses her palm to Delphini's cheek, caressing the angle of her jaw. They say nothing. Delphini doesn't need words, only gestures. She smiles to her husband as he lays a hand on his niece's shoulder and rubs circles with his thumb there.
"Am I doing the right thing?" Delphini's voice is hoarse from lack of use. "Would my Mother be proud of me? Would my Father?"
Narcissa brings her closer, hugs her tighter. But leaves the words to Lucius.
"If it feels right to you, then it is," he tells her in his deep voice, moving his other hand to her curls, to move them away from her face, "despite what others may think. Do what you feel necessary, Delphini, and you will always be right." Delphini turns her head slightly, so that she can look into his eyes.
"Do what you must to feel better, to be able to sleep at night. Don't live your life under the shadow of what people already gone would have you do."
There is only truth there. A hard truth, but all the more pacifying for it. Her Aunt seems to stiffen a bit in her stance, and she assumes the words are what caused it. Her mind is too tired to pay attention.
Lucius barely keeps from gulping. A slip of the tongue, one that went unnoticed fortunately, but still one that could bring their house of cards down. Narcissa just stares at him with wide eyes, hoping that her little bird won't fly through their web of lies.
X
Ottery St Catchpole, July 14th, 2011
She has not slept, Harry thinks as he watches Delphini hold her Mother's necklace tight in her hand for the hundredth time. The Auror Department would stage a riot should they know what he is up to. But they would never understand the need for closure Delphini has. Not like he does, anyway.
"Queasy? Side-along Apparition does that." He gives her a comforting smile.
"I'm fine, thank you," she raises her head to the pile of spare rooms that seems to make the Burrow, "can we just go?"
If they take too long now, Delphini might regret her decision and run. She cannot Apparate back home, but she will surely find a wizarding home with a fireplace she can use. So Harry Potter nods and points his chin to the weird looking house. They start walking, no words between them. They stop only before the small wooden gate, catching their breaths. He knows she isn't doing as bad as she looks when he observes her composing herself. Straightening her skirt and shirt, making sure the pleats fall right, pushing her curls over her shoulders and rearranging the hairpin that keeps them off her face. They walk past the gate and to the front door.
comes to them immediately, wringing her hands. None of them seem to know what to do, so Harry takes it upon himself to start a conversation.
"This place is very quiet today, . Where's everyone?" The Burrow is empty by the looks of it.
"Oh, I sent them all off to do something. Figured you'd prefer some peace and quiet dear," Molly smiles in earnest at Delphini, and the girl can't help but smirk a little, "it's only me and Arthur. Care for some tea? I have biscuits too."
Harry is astonished that Molly can handle the spitted image of Bellatrix Lestrange standing at her doorstep with so much ease. Tea and biscuits! She is already mothering Delphini and the girl isn't inside yet.
They sit quietly at first, as Delphini takes in her surroundings. It's very, very, different from Malfoy Manor, but the same indelible feeling of home is present within these walls too. They have been sitting in the kitchen for a while now, sipping from their mugs. Arthur seems to think his presence here is not necessary, and that he might be hindering progress, so he excuses himself. The silence returns, after the scratching of his chair on the wood floor. But not for much longer.
"Why did you do it?" Delphini breaks the ice with her clear voice. It's not an accusation, merely a question. A true and honest inquiry.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you existed then-"
"No, not that. I know why you killed my Mother. You were defending your family. I would've done the same," only then does Delphini look Molly in the eyes, "I understand. I mean, why did you send gifts?"
"Because I was sorry for taking your Mother from you. Because I deprived you from her love," Molly sighs at that, as if doubting herself, "so I felt like I owed you some love too. I'll stop sending you presents, though."
"No. Don't. Or do, I didn't mean to tell you what to do. I'm just," Delphini takes a deep breath, clutching her necklace once more, "I'm just trying to say that you're welcome to do as you like."
Delphini uses the chance to probe Molly's mind. She knows she shouldn't, but she doesn't have any barriers up. Her mind is wide open. She can feel the sorrow there, the remorse over the taking of a life. This woman did what she had to do, protected her family in the face of danger, and still regrets her actions. Delphini doesn't really understand regretting something that had to be done, but there's nothing but honesty in the woman's words.
"Well, I'd like to keep sending you, and little Scorpius, a present every Christmas. I'm sorry for taking your Mother. No child should be left orphan."
Harry can't help but raise his eyes to Delphini's face at that. Molly does not know just how truthful that sentence is, but he still fears that the girl may uncover their lies. That the future he fears may come to pass.
It goes utterly unnoticed.
He realizes there isn't much more to say. This was about closure, and they seem to have found it in that short exchange.
"Actually, if you'll have it, I have your Christmas present here."
Delphini asks Molly a question with only her eyes. She smirks when the answer comes.
Toria sent it, of course. Toria, who made sure Scorpius wouldn't wear his mittens around me either.
She puts her mug aside when Molly places a soft package wrapped in brown paper on top of the table, sliding it towards her. Then she proceeds to open it and pull her out-of-season Christmas present up, showing it to Harry too. Her grin is a wonder. Harry chokes on his tea and Molly gasps, but Delphini keeps her smile as she thanks her.
"Oh, I'm sorry dear. I-I-I don't know what happened."
The sweater Delphini is holding up is yellow, and the usual D is black. She can't help the smile from sticking to her lips. And she does not regret it at all.
"Don't worry. Teddy will be thrilled next time I show up for one of his matches wearing this."
Author's Notes: I'm so very sorry for the huge delay. This is over 5k, so sorry for not sticking to a solid word count too. I wrote this chapter the first time, read it, decided it was the crappiest thing and scratched it from existence. Then real life got in the way and I needed to do some purging before I got back to it (hence all the forum works I posted), but here it is now. Rewritten, hopefully much better. Anyway, let me know what you think, reviews keep me going.
I still have quite a chunk of writing from Lucius POV mostly, on the happenings of Ch39, and I might publish it. I edited the whole thing out of the previous chapter, since it's 3k words long, but I figure it makes for a decent side piece. Let me know your thoughts on some Lucissa angsty fluffiness and I'll make a decision.