A short knock on his door had Delton snap up from his paperwork. "Come in."

"Hello Sir," Mary stepped in, clumsily carrying a large box in her arms and shaking her head to the left and right to remove her curly black locks out of her eyes. "I've got what you requested, I think," She dropped the box in the empty chair in front of his desk. "I hope."

"You hope?" He questioned, raising one eyebrow at her. He got up from his chair, rounding his desk and leant against it, arms crossed.

"Well.. Yes," She huffed. "It's not that easy to find a stuffed animal in avada green, Sir."

"Hmm.."

Mary hesitated, scratching her cheek with the finger that still had the smear of nail polish on it. "What do you even need this stuff for?" She eventually asked, knowing she might be overstepping boundaries. If the boss asks you to do something, you do it no matter the reason, she knew, and she hadn't mind. She was just curious. She loved shopping and doing it during work hours only made her love it just that tad bit more.

"None of your business," He replied and eyed her for a moment. "I trust this stays between us?"

Mary huffed again, mimicking his stance. "Only if I get my nail polish back."

The head Auror tutted, scratching his chin in thought. He looked at her for a moment before he moved towards a blue box in the corner. Inside it were many things he had confiscated and he honestly didn't remember which of the many bottles of nail polish was hers so he motioned her close. Mary gaped and looked at him incredulously before snatching hers out.

"You're not the first one who thinks her desk is an extension to a beauty salon." Delton gave as explanation.

"Sorry, Sir." And then she was gone.

Delton waved his wand, locking the door and opened up the box she brought in.

One bag pack. Check. One bib and a rattle. Check. One soft plastic car to chew on. Check. One set of stacking cups in rainbow colors. Check. One stuffed animal, medium size, in avada green. Check.

He stuffed everything in the bag, shrunk it and hid it. The little package burned in his pocket. Not literally, it just felt that way, breaking the rules never came easy to him. No interaction and whatever else was said would probably also mean that he wasn't allowed to stuff the baby with gifts. He did it anyway. The idea was that the baby could only have them when he was there. Who knows who might think to check into the cell and find the stuff. Delton shook his head, he would be in so much trouble.

Delton passed the guards with a mere wave and when he stepped into the cell, the baby was fast asleep. He woke it up, took it through the routine and after the bottle and a burp that coated the back of his robes in white stuff he laid the baby back into the playpen.

The baby yawned, stretching out his arms to grasp at Delton. "Dee! Dee!"

"Go back to sleep, kid," He glanced from him to the door and back, making a split second decision. "I'm probably getting my ass busted for this." Delton sighed and retrieved the stuffed animal from the bag. A rabbit. It looked happy with long, floppy ears and already brightly colored, it practically glowed in the all white room.

"Look what I've got for you." He held the rabbit by the back, two fingers at each side of the stuffed animal's head so he could wiggle the head from side to side. Slowly he lowered it down and the baby giggled happily. As soon as the rabbit was in reach the little man pulled it close and in a hug. He tumbled to the side, burying his face in the rabbit that was just a bit bigger then himself.

"I take it, you like it," Delton murmured fondly. He tucked the baby back in. "See you later, kid."

Delton quickly enough created a rhythm. His registered visits, short and 'impersonal' like the minister wanted were set before, in the middle and after his working day. The kid however, was put to sleep at the morning visit. He slept through the lunch visit while Delton took his own nap and nine out of ten times, he just woke up when Delton came in for his after work visit. He only made one personal visit through the emergency entrance each day. He stepped in a little past nine O'clock in the evening after being a short time at home and stayed the night often to leave and immediately to return through the registering entrance and a short chat with the guards.

Delton made naps on his desk during the day and naps on the ground of the cell during the night when the baby was busy with the toys he had gotten. His wife, supportive of his choice and pregnant with their second child, had taken time off from her work and dutifully brewed cauldrons full of pepper-ups to keep him awake. The lack of sleep didn't do wonders for him but he managed and that was all that counted.

Throughout the months and years to follow, Delton kept it up. Although, with the little man growing older, he came in later at nights and left a bit earlier so he could catch breakfast at home. Often enough he thought about the origins of the child, who he was and why he was there, why this sweet and despite his confinement happy child was labeled oh so dangerous. However, with time and several more threats from the minister when ever he tried to find his answers he had eventually let it go and simply did what he could.

During his long visits Delton taught him his colors and animals, he taught him to speak, read and write. He taught him his manners, the difference between good and bad and everything else he could come up with. He told him stories of him home and life, about the world and everything in it.

The older the little man got, the more reading material Delton had to snuck in and out on daily basis. The little man often asked for books on one thing or another and Dee, as the child still called him even though at one point the child had learned to perfectly well say his name, only obliged to the requests when the child promised that, if someone else other then him, would ever enter, he would fake and let them think he didn't knew a thing. After all, Delton hadn't forgotten and the child couldn't ignore the fact that Delton's job was on the line.

One day however, in the middle of the summer of what Delton guessed was the child's eighth year on earth, he walked in on a sight he never hoped to see.

The room looked horrible. The child was nowhere in sight. He was gone and Delton paled considerably. His eyes scanned the room, signs of struggle everywhere. The bed was rumpled. The glass of water on the nightstand was knocked over, wetting the blanket that lay in a heap on the floor. The pillow, still on the bed, was ripped. A bunch of feathers scattered around. The child's most priced and only possession, the rabbit he so fondly called Bunny was on the floor, looking like it was thrown in the corner with one of its ears ripped off. The ear lay innocently just beside the door not far from the last book Delton had brought in. The book, open and upside down, lost some pages. They were poking out the cover in odd angles.

"Fuck!" Delton managed to say through gritted teeth and punched the door.