CHAPTER: Meeting Tom Riddle: Battle of the D.o.M. Part II

After a quick "Incarcerous," from Delphi, the two were off. It was only sensible to restain Bellatrix with more than just an immobilization spell; chains worked too. Pansy jogged behind and Delphi ginned eagerly as they ran through the different rooms, arriving in the room that spins all the doors. Delphi rolled her eyes and just chose one and rushed through it. She was confident enough in her reflexes that she'd be able to dodge curses even if she was making herself a target. In a room with floating planets she encountered a few Death Eaters who were apparently shite at hide-and-seek. She didn't spare these ones. She didn't even give them a decent chance; craters formed where here blasting curses landed, splattering the unfortunate servants of the Dark Lord around the floor and the walls. The craters turned the rock to glowing liquid rock. "Holy shit," Pansy breathed, astonished at the casual display of unadulterated power; but Delphi just raced past the fresh corpses, cursing herself. She took too long with her mother, and now some the kids might die. Not that she liked them all that much, but it would be harder to explain herself after the fact if say…half of them died.

They ran through a room full of shattered tanks. The water was ankle deep and Delphine flew across the room without soiling her shoes. Delphi was ecstatic she learned how to fly without using anything but her own power. Pansy wasn't so lucky. She muttered a few filthy words in response to her socks becoming drenched. But before Pansy and Delphi got to the next room Delphi paused, levitating above the water, hearing her 'caretaker's' husband, Thorfin Rowle, growling at someone.

"Hey there Ginger! You think you can take us on? I promise we'll start with you, so you won't have to watch what we do to Xeno's little bitch after you've had your fill!" Delphi heard a voice taunt as she passed another door. She turned and nudged it open, revealing a room that had taken much damage. There was a brain with tentacles floating around, and it was carrying one of the students, whose spine was bent at an unnatural angle.

He was dead. It was Ron Weasley. Fuck.

Delphi raised her wand at the brain who's tentacles were really beginning to mangle Ron's corpse even further, and announced her presence with, "Avada Kedavra." The verdant jet caught the eye of everyone else in the room as it smashed into the brain, knocking it out of the air. It landed in a heap with Ron's body. Pansy nearly wretched at the squelching snap the brain and Ron's corpse made hitting the floor. If he was alive before, he wasn't going anywhere with his spine now sticking out of his back.

"Fuck." Delphi muttered aloud as she took stock of the two other kids in the room, taking cover behind the overturned desk: Ginny and Luna. Ginny was sobbing uncontrollably as Luna fired stunners over the overturned desk. Pansy rushed over to help her Ravenclaw classmate, while Delphi stood by the door, sending a couple covering hexes so Pansy could move to her fellow-students unmolested.

Delphi lithely dodged another couple bone-breaker curses Rowle threw her way as she made her way over to the kids. "Hey! Get your head back on your shoulders!" she yelled at Ginny, slapping her lightly as she sat down next to her, avoiding a nasty cutting curse that gouged deep into the wall.

"He's dead, he's dead," Ginny whimpered. Delphi looked down at the devastated young woman with a flicker of pity. One of the other Death Eaters in the room who yelled something truly vile that made even Delphi shudder. Ginnny seemed to regain a little composure and turned, rising to her knees as she screamed out "Crucio!"

Her spell connected with force, but no control, at all. So instead of writing on the ground, the Death Eater that was now screaming was thrown backwards hard into one of the shelves filled with books. "You'll have to do better than that, you filthy little blood traitor! You really need to enjoy the screams, otherwise you might as well just not bother," Rowle shouted as his comrade got back to his feet. And the bookshelf he had smashed into toppled over. He screamed before he disappeared from sight. Everybody heard the horrific crunching noise as his voice abruptly cut off. He was gone. And Ginny was looking in horror at what she'd done. Rowle raised his wand, but Delphi was faster; yanking the ginger girl back behind cover as yet another Killing Curse soared through the space she occupied a second earlier. Delphi closed her eyes in frustration. On one hand, she could reveal how strong she really was, probably get everyone else out alive, but then things might go badly later. She had no idea if Dumbledore would set his acolytes on her. Granted, she could swat them down like flies, even Moody. But she really didn't want Nymphadora Tonks to hate her. She was family, and the only other Metamorphagus she'd ever heard of. Maybe they could talk about it? She never really had a friend like that before. Delphi shook her head, she was distracting herself again. For now, she'd keep her strength under wraps unless something drastic happened in front of her.

Firing a couple cutting hexes and a gout of flame Rowle's way to keep him busy, Delphi looked at Luna, "How did Ron die?" Ginny resumed her sobbing even more intensely than before.

Luna replied quietly, "When we were in the last room with the tank, one of the Death Eater's killing curses broke the tank. The rush of water distracted us. It was only for a moment. Ron pushed me out of the way as another Killing Curse was about to hit me. Ron was looking right at me when it happened." Luna's eyes were dangerously wide now, "After that, the brain grabbed his body and started breaking it. I'm going to miss him. I haven't felt like this in years." Luna's voice was emotionless, which really just made her words haunting. And Delphi knew the death hadn't really hit her yet. Oh boy. She didn't particularly want to be there for the fallout.

"Then stay alive and make his sacrifice worthwhile," Delphi replied. It probably wasn't the best advice, definitely a little callous; but she really didn't know what else to say.

"I'm with you," Pansy said to the younger blonde as she put a hand on Luna's shoulder. Delphi looked at them both, baffled at the closeness the girls were exhibiting, but decided to ignore it for now. It really wasn't her business after all. And if it helped the little shits get out of here alive, all the better.

Rowle's bellowing 'Avada Kedavra' over and over was getting annoying. Delphi had never actually met Thorfin Rowle when she was 'raised' by his wife for all those terrible years. He had died during her cousin Draco's assassination plot the night Dumbledore died, according to what Delphi was able to find out years later.

But the Dark Lord's daughter was pretty certain Mr. Rowle was as much of an asshole as his wife, and having met him, she was very glad she wasn't raised in the same house as him. "Oi, Rowle, do you know what Euphie's favourite colour is?" Delphi shouted over the makeshift barricade.

"Wh–," Rowle was in the middle of replying before Delphi stood from cover, advanced on him, and laid down a barrage of dark purple curses that the three teenage girls could feel the malevolence of from behind the desk. They didn't dare peek over the desk, so they were both sitting straight staring at the wall in front of them.

The girls were "AVADA KEDAVRA!" Thorfin Rowle screamed. Green magic flared brightly, and for an instant the girls saw Delphi's shadow silhouette illuminated on the wall, her arm looked like it was reaching toward him. And then there was silence.

There was a muffled thump as the girls looked at each other in fear. Did Delphi just die? But it was for naught, "Hey, you three should probably come out, we've got to find the others, yeah?" Delphi's unmistakable voice sounded out. Ginny was first to peek out from under cover and saw Rowle's body lying unmarked with cold dead eyes wide in an expression of surprise. Ginny looked to Delphi, but she looked fine, so what the hell happened? She hadn't said the curse herself.

"What?" Pansy started but then stopped because Delphi was on the move again.

They didn't have to get far before they heard more voices shouting spells, but none louder than Harry Potter bellowing "Hermione!" and Hermione Granger's keening scream.

"Hermione!" Ginny started sprinting as she heard her friend's screams.

The room they entered was the room of the Veil of Death. Hermione was lying on her back, twitching as Neville ripped off his over shirt and was obviously trying to staunch the bloody wound on her chest. "You two keep Granger alive, Ginny, Harry and I'll deal with the filth," Delphi growled as she started slinging spells at Antonin Dolohov, who was the one who downed Granger. Ginny fired stunners at him, having decided to downgrade from using Unforgivables. The Veil's spectral whispering seemed to grow louder in their ears, like Death was just closer in this room.

Harry Potter was sending more advanced jinxes, but Dolohov was quick and talented; far more so than the fifteen-year-old. Neville Longbottom were still standing, sort of. Neville had obviously broken his nose, and was holding half a wand, great, Delphi thought while Neville Pansy, and Luna tended to Hermione. Purple flames erupted from Dolohov's wand, following his non-verbal slashing movements. Harry had the good sense to dodge out of the way, but without Delphi conjuring stone masonry to intercept the final wave of flame, Potter would have been in trouble.

That was when Lucius and another four Death Eaters in masks entered from the door behind Dolohov. "Good work Antonin," Lucius clapped his comrade on the back as she stepped forward and undid the silencing jinx. "So, you're Bellatrix's whelp. My Lord will reward me when I bring your traitorous self before him in chains," he sneered. "Did you kill her?" he asked with a smirk. Delphi just glared at him behind her mask. Of course he was delighted with Bellatrix's 'death', since now he was truly one of her father's only reliable lieutenants. Delphi knew then she was really going to struggle keeping her promise to Draco.

"Pansy!" one of the masked men yelled across the room. He ripped off his mask to reveal a man who looked an aweful lot like the female Parkinson in the room. Same nose, same jaw, and same hair, albeit far less well groomed than Pansy. Men, Delphi internally sneered. Lucius looked annoyed at Parkinson the Death Eater for stealing his thunder. "What are you doing! Get away from those fucking Blood Traitors! Strike them down like the mudblood loving filth they are!"

Everyone sort of stopped and had at least one eye on Pansy and the other on her father as she straightened up. Her hands were drenched in Hermione's wet blood and said, "No. You're the traitor. Your Lord doesn't serve Purebloods! How many of us did he send here to die tonight anyway? You're a fool if you think we'll ever become unquestionably superior with him for a leader. Might makes right, isn't that what you taught me all those years ago when you made me listen to their screams when you fucking ruined that family in the basement! That little girl's pleas for you to get off her still give me nightmares! You're a fucking monster! You're the real traitor to everything purebloods are supposed to be! Pansy was almost crying now.

Everybody was sort of shell-shocked by Pansy's outburst. Even the Gryffindors were looking at her in a new light. Delphi didn't realise the Parkinson girl had this much built up hatred. As far as she knew in the future, the girl left Britain after the war for Canada and nobody who knew her on this island ever heard from her again. She left everyone behind to find a new life for herself. Maybe this was why? Delphi turned her head back to the girl's rapist father.

Mr. Parkinson's incoherent shriek of rage caught everyone by surprise as he sent a brutal blasting curse at his daughter, who was frozen in horror at her father's sudden wrath.

There was a gut-wrenching keening as Luna reached out and shoved Pansy out of the way just in time, only to have her arm blown apart at the elbow. The blonde teenager's continuous screams of pain were jarring on a spiritual level. Luna Lovegood the one that everyone tacitly relied on to be cool, the composed one, the weird one yes, but always in control But she had completely lost her composure from the pain of having her arm destroyed, understandably so. Pansy's front was covered in gore as she pulled a nearly convulsing Luna into her arms, and picked up her wand with a sudden clarity she'd never experienced before. Pansy was quite an image, half her face face splashed in Luna's blood, her hair dark as coal, as she held onto her new friend who was well on her way to damaging her vocal cords. Luna's remaining hand unconsciously clasped onto one of Pansy's in a grip the Slytherin barely registered fractured two of her fingers. Pansy didn't care.

Pansy Parkinson looked into Luna's wild grey eyes darting around in frenzied pain, her mouth wide in another sobbing scream. And suddenlty, for the first time in Pansy's life there was absolute clarity of purpose.

Meanwhile, everyone else took a breath. "You really are a bastard aren't you?" Delphi declared as she raised her wand toward him. It turns out she needn't have bothered. But her words and subtle movement turned Mr. Parkinson's attention and his wand from the devastation he'd wrought upon Luna Lovegood to Delphi, just for a moment. But it was enough.

"Avada Kedavra." Pansy almost prayed. It was as if she was excising the dark magic from her body. The silent scream of darkened emerald flew across the space between combatant groups and nailed her father in the face. Mr. Parkinson didn't even whimper as the light left his eyes and he fell sideways onto Lucius, who threw the corpse off of him gracelessly.

There was a beat of silence (save for Luna's mewling groans) before every Death Eater raised their wand towards the daughter that just slew her father. Delphi jumped in between them, and drew her hidden second wand with a feral grin. She held out her arms to her sides, wand in each hand as if to say, 'resistance will be entertaining, but futile'.

Interlude

Now, Delphi had done her homework before she made her trip into the past. Breaking out of Azkaban was easier than it should be. After she killed that one idiot guard that thought he could have his way with her like he did with some of the other more vulnerable new prisoners…well, nobody really wanted to go near her again anyway. She was moved to the basement of the prison, permanent solitary; which was exactly what she needed to plan her inevitable escape.

Breaking into Potter's house after her flight from that shitty island prison and taking both of his wands as he and his wife slept was even easier. Middle age had made him embarrassingly complacent. Sure, he left some protections up, but nothing that could challenge her.

She left the Potters alive. After all, they had beat her fair and square, mostly. Well not really. His declaration of 'I've never been alone' during their fight basically was saying, 'You're far too strong for me, and I'm shitting myself right now! So I brought my friends to bail me out yet again!' Whatever. She let him, his son, his daughter, and Albus Severus, the cheeky little fuck live. She used Legillimency on him as he slept, seeing all his memories for research in preparation for her own leap to another timeline.

Delphi actually respected his wife. Ginny survived a duel with her mother on sheer talent (and help), but Delphi could admit she was impressed with any teenager who could do that. So she let the insufferable Ginger live. Delphi would never admit it, but before she knew who she was, and subsequently who Ginny Potter was, young Delphi treasured a Holyhead Harpies Ginny Potter action figure. It was the one toy she had, and she had to fucking steal it, because Euphemia fucking Rowle sure as shit didn't spend Rodolphus Lestrange's stipend on the little girl she was supposed to be raising. She couldn't wait until she got her hands on 'Uncle Rudy'. She'd fucking destroy him in this timeline as badly as the last one.

Delphi's respect and previous admiration for Ginny Potter didn't stop her from absconding with the family Invisibility Cloak. She waited a whole year in Azkaban ensure his children would be home for the summer so that she could steal that fucking life-hack. Disillusionment was fine and dandy, but having the sexiest of the Deathly Hallows with her back in time was something that was too hard to resist.

She also obliterated the second time-turner after she jumped timelines so they couldn't follow her again. And she destroyed the one that brought her here to ensure a one-way trip.

As soon as she arrived on this alternate timeline, she sought out the knowledge that would allow her to triumph over her parents and Dumbledore if she ever had to fight them alone. Her studies in her native timeline were vast, but ultimately failed her. Granted, she was stronger than her mother, and probably her father, and possibly Dumbledore.

She knew that Lovegood, Granger and Ginny had stalemated her mother when they were teenagers. She was able to fight Minister Granger, Ginny, Head Auror Potter, Draco, Retired Auror Ron, and two pretty competent teenagers besides for nearly ten minutes until they got the better of her. Delphi was pretty sure she was strong enough to fight her father on level terms.

But all the same, she lost that day when she needed to win. And she spent time in Azkaban because of it, until she decided to leave that fucking island. So this time, she'd prepare. And that meant taking a trip to Nurmengard Castle: Grindlewald's prison. She needed advice from a master, and Gellert Grindlewald was eager to teach an apprentice. She arrived in this timeline just after Sirius Black escaped Azkaban. She'd worked her way onto the Nurmengard prison staff, and for a little over a year had near constant access to Grindlewald. And after a quick and brutal demonstration of her power, he saw her potential; a level of raw power he never had, but distastefully unrefined. 'So sloppy', he told her. So naturally, he taught her everything he knew, provided she take an oath. What he asked for was very surprising to Delphi, but she eagerly agreed, and the pact was made… für das größere Wohl.

So now Delphi was faced with several angry men, and one other woman, (Alecto Carrow, if Delphi was remembering names right. She also died in the final battle). Unfortunately for the Death Eaters, she was educated at the Grindlewald School of fighting multiple opponents like a badass and making it look like nothing, circa 1926, New York City.

Interlude over: Back to the Violence!

Delphi just laughed Bellatrix's laugh as she had tore two massive sections of the ground from their places and levitated them around her and the kids like moons around a planet to divert any Killing Curses. Everything else was stopped or turned back by Grindlewald's Medusa shield specifically designed to deal with men without scruples like these. It was Dark magic, and no Auror that she knew of would be permitted to use it. And she imagined very few if any Death Eater were powerful enough to use it.

One of the Death Eaters met quite a spectacular end as she reflected his relatively harmless Petrificus Totalus back at him, and followed it by sending Lucius' dark fire spell at the poor man too. It wasn't anything like Fiendfyre, but it was the combat variant of Incendio, so that poor immobilized Death Eater died screaming. Delphi made sure to keep the others sufficiently occupied as to not have time to both negate the fire curse on their comrade and protect themselves. Delphi let out another laugh that seemed to reverberate around the huge room, chilling her foes to the bone. Potter's reductor curses were turning the wall behind the Death Eaters into a shambles. His aim wasn't the best. But he was no slouch in the power department; though nowhere near where Delphi's level was at his age.

That was when Mad-Eye Moody, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Nymphadora Tonks blasted through the door leading back to the main Ministry building. "About time you dawdlers showed up. Protect the students!" Delphi yelled at them with a grin. She turned back to the Death Eaters and fired a particularly nasty cutting hex that pierced one of their shields and cut through one of them to the spine. His intestines lurched out of his abdominal cavity and he fell, toppling down the massive steps to land in a gory heap at the foot of the Veil.

The Order Members decided to work for a living and joined in, sending a barrage of stunners while Lupin and Sirius rushed to the wounded children. "What happened?" Lupin asked as he hunched over, weaving healing spells to seal the wound on Luna while Sirius made sure Hermione was still breathing. There would be scars, and a lengthy stay at St. Mungo's, but the kids would make it. "Where's Ron?" Lupin asked.

Ginny just shook her head violently as tears ran down her face. Neville gasped, and Sirius swore. Lupin's jaw twitched. "I'm so sorry, Ginny." Lupin fixed Neville's nose while he was distracted with a quick Episkey. A Killing Curse slipped past the fight happening on the other end of the Veil, but Delphi's boulder intercepted it, shattering. But the kids were fine, and so were Lupin and Sirius.

A few minutes later, Dumbledore showed up. The day was basically won. The last few Death Eaters were being cornered by a stream of curses and charms by Mad-Eye, Tonks, Kingsley, and a woman he'd never seen before. Delphi would've finished them sooner, but didn't think tossing around Killing Curses like candy would endear herself to the Order.

Dumbledore looked over to where the children were. His heart clenched as his eyes found Hermione and Luna, both grievously injured. Harry was thankfully unhurt; he was just catching his breath. The boy was at Hermione's side. Neville went over to where Pansy and Luna were.

Then everything changed when two things happened at once: Voldemort appeared. And Harry learned from one of his friends that his dear Ronald was dead.

Potter let out a guteral scream while Voldemort apparated right between the groups of people, having a direct line of sight towards Harry. He considered for a second, Black and Lupin were right next to Harry, surely one would take the hit for the boy. He wouldn't be making that mistake again. Hell no.

But the Mudblood, she's still breathing…Voldemort made his presence known in the most dramatic way possible. He aimed a killing curse at the fallen Hermione…because he was an arse like that. From there, things happened predictably, Harry dove in front of Hermione, and took the curse straight to the spine. Since his head was face down, almost nobody saw the black smoke ooze from his scar and dissipate harmlessly. Ginny saw. And if she wasn't shell-shocked, she'd have some serious questions to ask.

"HARRY!"

Delphi turned around to see Lupin, Sirius and Dumbledore fighting…her dad. Dad was here. Oh my stars. Oh my stars. Oh my stars. Oh my stars. Get it TOGETHER Delphi! She turned her attention back to the current fight. It's time to stop fucking about. Ugh, I suppose it's time to be a bloody hero. Coalescing a ball of sheer kinetic power in front of her for about three seconds while her shield repelled the cutting curses sent her way, she released it, dropping her Grindlewald-taught shield at the same time, the remaining Death Eaters were blasted into the wall behind them as easily as chess pieces swept from a board by a sore looser. Malfoy only survived because there happened to be another man behind him who took the brunt of the blunt trauma. But he wouldn't be getting up soon either.

The three men were good, but Voldemort had power they simply didn't; and Dumbledore could only protect them so much. "Holy fuck," Tonks breathed as she saw the devastation from Delphi's finisher.

Delphi paid the Aurors no mind as she turned to face her father. Sirius had fallen. Not fatally, but he was groaning on the ground while smoke curled off of he shoulder. Dumbledore's expression was grim. The old man got a shot in, Voldemort hissed as his right hand began to bleed from the cutter that glanced it. "Is that all you've got? This is for the Potters! AVADA–," Sirius was blasted back hard, in the middle of a killing blow on the Dark Lord. He crashed down the stairs before righting himself. But then he tripped backwards over the Death Eater corpse splayed out at the foot of the Veil. And with a frightened whimper, Sirius Black fell right through the Veil of Death.

Lupin roared in despair, showing off his werewolf side a little bit, and right before a Killing Curse struck him down, he was blasted out of its path by a nearly feather-soft kinetic spell.

"Not today, Satan," Delphi muttered as she walked toward where she blasted Lupin away from her father. She pointed her wand at her father, getting his attention, and said, "Tom Riddle III! I always wish I could've met Merope." The simple sentence temporarily shocked the Dark Lord, who was not prepared to hear his mother's name in anything resembling a situation like this. Especially not from a child! Delphi took her chance where she saw it, "LEGILLIMENCE!" The spell connected, and she plunged into Voldemort's mind.