The Delphi and Elara dynamic is just too much fun xD

Dora


Andromeda Tonks made her way to her daughter's room, leaving her newest grandson with Narcissa. She knocked softly on the door, hearing a sound of alarm from Elara. The woman frowned slightly, knowing that the poor girl had already been dragged before the Dark Lord by her own father.

"Dora, it's just me," she called softly.

"Come in," came Dora's reply.

Andromeda opened the door and stepped into the room. Her daughter and granddaughter both lay on the bed looking up at her, Elara in fright.

Nymphadora sighed, sitting up with a wince of pain as she continued to hold her daughter close. "Hi, Mum," she said tiredly.

"What happened?" Andromeda asked, looking Elara over in concern.

"The Dark Lord tortured her," Nymphadora hissed, the roots of her hair tinging red as the little girl shivered. "Bellatrix went to him and complained about what happened to Delphi."

"Well, I tried," Andromeda muttered, "but Bella doesn't listen to reason anymore." She turned to Elara. "Are you still hurting, dear?"

"N-no," Elara said, though she looked unsure. "Nan, Father didn't even try to help me! He didn't try to stop him from hurting me!" Tears filled the little girl's eyes. "Only Mum tried to help, but Dad stopped her!"

Andromeda sighed, knowing exactly what had taken place by the child's description. "Your mother and father are very different, Elara," she said quietly, giving a small smile at the child's agreeing nod. "Your father has always been more strict, more bent on following the rules."

"But Mum loves me," Elara said defiantly. "And she tried to help, even though Dad said she'd make it worse!"

"She loves you and will always try to protect you," Andromeda nodded. "Though, think of this for a moment. If you mother had got in the way, you would have been spared for the moment, but if the Dark Lord wanted you punished, he would do it no matter how much any of us tries to protect you."

Dora gave her mother a cautioning look, and Andromeda continued carefully, "If we try to stop the small punishment that the Dark Lord believes necessary, we will only bring greater pain on ourselves. Your father understands this: that's why he did nothing."

"But he's my dad!" Elara cried softly, dashing away more tears as Dora glared at her own mother, cradling her little girl. "He's supposed to protect me!"

"He serves the Dark Lord," Andromeda sighed, sitting down next to Elara. "We all do. We cannot stop him, cannot do anything against him. That's why we must obey him—to save ourselves, if nothing else."

"I don't like it," Elara sniffed.

"It's okay to be angry with your father," Andromeda said gently, "but he only did what was best even though I'm sure it didn't feel like it."

Elara nodded, still frowning as she said, "I don't want to see him right now."

Andromeda smiled. "Of course, dear. Are you sure you have no pain?"

"I gave her some of my numbing potion," Dora answered. "She should be fine."

"Why do you have a numbing potion?" Andromeda frowned in confusion.

"Difficult birth," Dora mumbled, holding her daughter closer as she lay back down. "But I'll be fine; she needs it more than I do."

"If you're sure," Andromeda said with a sigh, deciding not to question what she was certain was a half truth. "Rest well, both of you. Cissa and I will take care of Reuben."

"Thanks," Dora sighed.

Andromeda left the room, amused at Elara's reaction to her father, concerned for the girl's safety, as well as worried about what Dora might actually be hiding.


"No!"

Narcissa nearly fell out of bed at the sound of yelling outside her room.

"I don't want to see him!" came Elara's angry voice. "Tell him to go away!"

"Elara!" Andromeda said sharply.

The next sound was of scrambling footsteps plus the girl's protest of "You said I didn't have to see him!"

"He's your dad!"

Narcissa sighed at the sound of Teddy joining the argument and wondered how far behind Nymphadora was. To her knowledge, Rodolphus was not in the Prisoners' Ward, so she didn't know when or where the man was supposed to see his daughter.

"Teddy—Edward Remus Lupin—!" Andromeda's raised voice reached Narcissa's ears as Rodolphus crossed the wards.

Narcissa could only hear her sister hissing angrily at one or more of the children as they hurried past her room. Shaking her head, Narcissa rose from her bed and dressed for the day, berating herself for sleeping so long.

She waited until Rodolphus had gone into his daughter's room before leaving her own room and going down the hall to her sister's room. "Dromeda?" she asked, knocking on the door.

The door swung open, Andromeda motioning her sister to enter. Narcissa entered uncomfortably, the door shutting behind her quickly. She glanced around, seeing Teddy sitting on the bed just as quietly and mildly as possible.

"What's going on?" Narcissa asked in concern. "Andromeda? Teddy?"

"I'm not Teddy," the boy answered, his eyes glittering black with mischief, an out-of-place smirk on his face. "I'm Elara."

Andromeda gave her sister a look, and Narcissa breathed, "Teddy's with Rodolphus?" The witch nodded.

"I didn't want to talk to him, and Teddy said he'd help," the Teddy look-alike said.

"I see," Narcissa said. "Oh dear."


Teddy Lupin nodded seriously, his long black curls bouncing over his shoulders as he looked up at Rodolphus.

"So you see," the man said to the girl, "I did want to help; I just couldn't or you would have been hurt worse."

"Mum tried, and I'm fine," the child said stubbornly, though sighed and leaned into Rodolphus' side. "But Delphi's okay, isn't she? She's healed?"

Rodolphus frowned. "Elara, she was there when—of course she's fine, either Andromeda or Bellatrix healed her."

"Oh, yeah," the girl mumbled. Teddy barely hid a smirk as Rodolphus looked at him in concern. "I just forgot," Teddy lied. "I was worried about her..."

"Well," Rodolphus muttered after a moment, "between you and me, Delphi's a very strong little girl because she's Bella's. I doubt you really hurt her."

"But I did," Teddy said, immediately knowing he sounded too proud of himself. "I mean, she was crying and sent me to get Mum."

Rodolphus breathed a sigh. "Do you understand now why I didn't want you to play around with Delphi?" he said, almost too sharp in his concern.

Teddy glared at the man, allowing his roots to tinge red. "She wanted to play with me!" he snapped. "I was only obeying the Dark Lord's daughter!"

"You will not speak to me that way," Rodolphus said, grabbing the child by the arm and forcing her to look at him. "I am your father—"

"You can't tell me not to obey her," Teddy yelped, knowing he had to be very careful. "You can't tell Delphi what to do, and I belong to her—she said so!" He glared at Elara's father defiantly. "You always say we have to obey the Dark Lord, and now Delphi, and I did."

Rodolphus stared at Elara in shock, at a loss for words. "I only want you to be safe, Elara," he whispered finally. "I love you."

Teddy huffed. "Mum loves me too," he said. "And Delphi's my friend." He paused a minute, then added, "I will be safe, Dad. Delphi will protect me if I behave."

"If you had behaved as I told you to, you wouldn't have been hurt," Rodolphus sighed.

"You're mean," the little girl said, her lower lip quivering. "Nan was right: you don't care."

Rodolphus' face went red with fury, though he merely got to his feet and walked away from the child, clenching his fists as he faced the wall. The man simply could not understand why his daughter was being so difficult, so...Nymphadora. If he could manage Nymphie, surely he could handle their daughter.

He drew a steadying breath and turned back to Elara. "I do care," he whispered, walking forward and kneeling before his daughter, who looked suddenly alarmed. "Look," he barely breathed, gazing up at her with his dark, haunted eyes, "I love you, and I'll do anything I can for you. I want you to be happy, Elara: you're my firstborn, the only daughter I will ever have."

Teddy sat frozen in shock and horror as the man rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. The boy could almost feel the darkness clouding the man's mind as Rodolphus breathed, "But I'll give you time. I'll let you have your space. I'll come back in a few days, Elara. Goodbye."

Rodolphus got to his feet, half stumbling toward the door until he forced himself to pay attention. He looked back at the child sitting on the bed and murmured, "I love you," then walked out the door.

Teddy waited for several long minutes, then jumped off the bed and ran to his grandmother's room, bursting in the door as his morph came undone and throwing himself at Andromeda.

"Teddy!" Andromeda said, barely keeping herself upright as she hugged the white-haired boy. "We felt him leave—are you okay? Did he find out?"

"I'm fine," Teddy mumbled. "He—he didn't know."

Elara ran over to him, already having dropped her morph long ago. "Was he mean to you?"

Teddy looked up. "Of course not, silly. I was you." The boy shook his head, then said, "He said he'd be back in a few days. I told him he was mean and that he didn't care about you."

"But he does!" Elara said, appalled.

"I know," Teddy muttered. "But I scared him. I think he'll be nicer to you about Delphi now, because I yelled at him."

Elara drew a quick breath. "Oh.

Andromeda looked between the children. "You cannot pretend to be each other like this very much," she said quietly. "It is very dangerous. He will be upset if he finds out it was Teddy, so we will not talk about this anymore."

"I won't tell," Elara said, rolling her eyes and hugging her brother. "Thanks, Teddy."

The boy returned the hug for a minute, then pushed her away. "Yeah, okay," he mumbled, then moved toward the door. "Come on: I want to see the baby finally."

Andromeda and Narcissa followed the two children down the hall, both wondering what Dora would say if she knew what the children had done.


Delphini Riddle stood in the middle of Elara's room, just a couple halls down from her own, checking the wards on the room. It took longer than she would have liked, longer than her father would have approved of, but she soon figured out that it had been several days since Elara herself had been there, though the girl's father had been there the previous day.

The silver-haired girl scowled at the mirror, pacing slightly as she tried to decide what she was going to do about her friend's absence. Delphi knew, of course, that it was because of fear that Elara still hadn't left the Prisoners' Ward since the whole incident with the wands had occurred.

There was nothing she could do but go retrieve the girl from the Wing, or at least talk to her. A small twinge of conscience reminded her that her father had forbidden her to visit the Prisoners' Wing, but she ignored this: she was angry at her father. She huffed in disapproval of it all and left the room, heading straight for the Prisoners' Ward and making sure she wasn't noticed.

She had no difficulty crossing the ward, though the moment she felt the magic close over her, a door opened and Nymphadora stepped out into the hall. "Delphi."

"Nymphadora," Delphi said, regarding the witch for a moment. "I wish to speak to Elara."

"We just received word that Rodolphus is on his way here to speak with her," Nymphadora said nervously. "And Elara's afraid of you being here at the same time."

Another witch stepped into the hall behind Nymphadora, and Delphi looked up at Andromeda. "She has nothing to fear from me, as long as she behaves," Delphi said. "And Rodolphus will not bother her while I am here.

Andromeda raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, and Nymphadora bit her lip. "Come along, then," the witch said, leading the way into the ward.

Relief flooded Delphi's mind and heart as soon as she saw her friend sitting beside Narcissa on the couch, though as soon as Elara saw the older girl, she yelped in slight fear and shrank into Narcissa's side. "No," she whispered. "Please."

"I want a private word with you before your father arrives, Elara," Delphi said formally. "You may learn something useful to tell your father if he tries to make you 'behave' again."

Delphi glanced to the side, hearing a snigger and seeing Teddy Lupin's face turn bright red. "I have little patience at the moment," she said, watching the little girl's hair turn white. "You've been hiding from me."

Narcissa whispered something into Elara's ear, and the girl vigorously shook her head, but Narcissa insisted, scooting the little girl off the couch. Elara glanced at the others in fright, following the older girl from the room obediently as her mother gave her a reassuring nod.

"An empty room for us to talk in?" Delphi asked the younger girl, and Elara pointed to a room, hurrying to the door and opening it. "Excellent." The moment the door shut behind them, Delphi raised her hands and concentrated for a moment, fashioning a simple ward on the door before locking it with a word of Parseltongue.

The two girls looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment until both of them blurted out, "Are you okay?"

Elara gave a nervous giggle and Delphi rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm okay," she sighed, dropping the pretences and walking over to her friend. "Once Andromeda healed me I was fine, but Mum discovered me while her sister was there, and it...wasn't good. But what about the Curse? Did your Mum or Dad heal you?"

"Mum gave me a Potion, and Nan made sure I was healed," Elara answered, still giving her friend a cautious look.

"Elara, I'm not mad," Delphi sighed, seating herself on the bed. "I tried to keep Mother from going to Father like she did, but she's mad at your father and wouldn't listen to me. I did what I could."

"You helped," Elara nodded. "When Dad didn't even try."

"Well, it's best that no one gets in the way of my father torturing someone," Delphi laughed, though managed to look solemn again when Elara seemed hurt. "Well, only Mum and I can get away with it, and that on a very rare occasion." She looked at her friend carefully, then patted the bed next to her. "Come sit," she said to her.

Elara obeyed hesitantly, clasping her hands in her lap and trying to seem as small and innocent as possible. "So you're not mad?"

"No," Delphi scoffed. "I'm only bored because you haven't come back to your room since this all happened. You can't just hide from me: I hate having to act so grown up all the time, and you're the only one I can really play with."

"I—I—" Elara stuttered. "Father doesn't want me to—he gets upset when I talk about playing with you."

"If he hurts you because of what I ask," Delphi said quietly, though there was a dangerous tone in her voice, "I want you to tell me exactly what happened, and what he did. Do you understand?"

"Okay," Elara mumbled, slightly cowed at the tone in her friend's voice. "But why?"

"To make him understand that you are mine, and that you answer to me," Delphi answered firmly. "Don't worry about it."

Elara jumped as the ward crackled, and Delphi scowled at the door of the room. "It's your father," she said darkly. "Well, he'd better not try that again."

The little girl looked around in concern, then turned to Delphi. "He only wants to see me," she whispered. "I haven't talked to him since Mum brought me back to the Ward."

"He'll be fine out there for a few minutes," Delphi told the girl. "He cannot tell you not to talk to me, Elara, because I have asked, no, ordered it from you. You are safe with me, as long as you obey me. I can protect you even more than your own father."

"I know," Elara nodded, a small grin breaking onto her face.

Delphi smirked. "Then I expect to see you out of this Ward soon," she said firmly. Delphi started in surprise as Elara suddenly hugged her tightly.

"Thank you," Elara whispered. "I will."

Delphi returned the hug slightly, unsure of whether she should allow such things from Elara, but accepting it all the same. "Good," she said, then disentangled herself and got to her feet. "See you later."

The silver-haired girl crumbled her ward, walking out into the hall where Rodolphus was waiting impatiently. The man looked up earnestly, though his expression darkened considerably when he saw his wife's child standing before him.

"Elara is mine," she said to him without prelude. "You will not interfere with my dealings with her, Lestrange. Do you understand?"

Rodolphus just stared at the girl, not at all what he'd expected out of the Prisoners' Ward when he'd only come back to see if Elara was still angry at him. He barely noticed his daughter scurrying out of the room behind Delphi until Elara had run at him and was safe in his arms, burying her face in his neck.

Delphi was still watching Rodolphus, waiting for an answer, and Elara finally lifted her head and whispered, "It's okay, Dad," into her father's ear.

"Yes, of course," Rodolphus breathed, holding his daughter protectively and dropping his gaze so that he was hiding his face in the girl's hair.

"Very good," Delphi said, then turned and left the two alone in the hall.

Rodolphus took the girl into her room, still holding her close as he stood in the middle of the room. "Elara," he murmured, unable to think of what to say to her.

"Dad," the girl whispered, hugging him tightly, "it's okay. I'll be a good girl for her, and she'll protect me."

"Be careful," Rodolphus breathed. "Elara, Delphi and her parents...they can't be trusted. You're not safe, no matter what."

"I will," Elara answered, sighing as she knew her father didn't believe her. "Delphi will teach me. She's just a little girl too, you know. She doesn't even know how to act all powerful, like her father."

Rodolphus drew a deep breath, then set Elara down on the floor. "Please...be careful. You're my only daughter."

Elara nodded, a little worried, but her father turned and walked out of the room without looking back. He walked down the hall to his son's room, entering silently and finding Nymphadora speaking to her mother as she cradled his son. "Out," he hissed at Andromeda.

Rodolphus waited until he and Nymphadora were alone with Reuben before he hissed, "Delphini needs to leave my daughter alone!"

Nymphadora glanced at Rodolphus warily, then sat down on the couch to cradle the sleepy child. "Please speak softly," she said. "Reuben's almost asleep."

Rodolphus shot Nymphadora a glare, though he didn't seem to have the energy to maintain it and walked over to sit next to her and their son. "It's too dangerous," he muttered with a near groan. "She's going to get hurt. Again." The man rubbed his hands over his face, trying to make sense of all the thoughts rushing through his mind.

Dora frowned at him, wondering what on earth could have upset the man so much that he couldn't really be angry at her. "Here," she said after a moment. "Why don't you hold Roo? You haven't seen him much since he returned home."

The man carefully took the baby boy Dora placed in his arms and held him close, murmuring, "Reuben..."

"You're worried about Delphi claiming Elara as hers?" Dora asked, feeling Rodolphus tense next to her.

"It puts her too close to Bella and the Dark Lord," Rodolphus muttered. "If she does, or says something wrong, they could just..." He shook his head in horror. "I can't lose her."

Nymphadora shifted her position on the couch, leaning closer to him with a hand on his shoulder. "Delphi has claimed Elara as her own," she reminded him. "To praise and punish how she sees fit. It's Delphi's place to do these things, and remember: Delphi's still a little girl too."

Rodolphus winced. "Children are fickle, Nymphie. They do not see clearly. Delphi's judgement cannot be trusted."

"She's hardly a normal child, and can barely be allowed to think like one, what with her father's training," Dora answered. "I think Delphini will treat Elara fairly, especially since the two seem to act like friends."

"Delphi isn't allowed to have friends," Rodolphus muttered. "Bella told me that once when she was complaining about the girls. She said the Dark Lord said it was a sign of weakness."

"Well, he would say that," Dora huffed. "But it's a protection for Elara, even if she and Delphi can't claim friendship. Elara's her protege, so to speak. Delphi's now responsible to make sure she grows up a perfect little Death Eater, just like I always hoped. It might be dangerous sometimes, but we live in constant danger, Rodolphus. Nothing is certain. Being close to Delphi—a friend, even—might be helpful to Elara. We've just got to encourage Elara to behave, and be careful."

"You think...Elara will be okay?" Rodolphus asked her hesitantly.

"Yes," Dora nodded. "She's as stubborn as both of us, is powerful in her own right, a temper to place her among my mother's family, and the quiet propriety I occasionally see in you. She'll be fine."

Rodolphus snorted. "Quiet propriety," he muttered. "Well, I hope you're right this time."

He gave a slight start as they both felt Elara leave the wards, and Nymphadora squeezed the man's shoulder, murmuring, "She'll be fine, Rod. She's a good girl." The man shuddered, Nymphie leaning her head against his and looking down at their son. "And Reuben's a beautiful child, though he's small. I'm sure he'll grow up to be strong like his father."

The man didn't answer, though he took a deep breath and seemed to relax slightly. Nymphadora stayed there for a few minutes longer, then got to her feet. "Come get me when you need me to put him to bed," she said quietly.

"Nymphie," he said, reaching out and touching her stomach, making her flinch and draw away from him with a glare. "Are you still in pain?"

"I have two days of potion left," Dora muttered. "If everything's right, I shouldn't have any pain after that."

"Very good," he mused, looking up into her hurt, angry eyes. "I'll have to drop by soon, then."

"I did just have that baby," Dora snapped, pointing at the child in the man's arms as her roots shot red.

"This...very small, unhealthy baby," Rodolphus answered evenly.

Dora almost growled at him in her fury. "That wasn't my fault!"

Rodolphus leaned forward slightly, raising an eyebrow inquiringly. "Then whose fault was it, Nymphie?"

The witch was silent, biting her tongue as she refused to tell the man what had happened with Elara. Neither Rodolphus nor his daughter needed that sort of drama at the moment. Dora just shook her head, and Rodolphus chuckled darkly.

"It's usually just your fault," he whispered, reaching out and grasping her by the arm, pulling her closer once again. "And regardless of your healing state, I will return for your services, Nymphie. You've been occupied for far too long to be useless now." He pressed his lips to her cheek, letting his tongue slide along her cheekbone. "Just think: you can't get pregnant now. You have nothing to worry about."

"Oh!" Dora yanked her hand away from him, turning away as tears sprang to her eyes. "I hate you," she wept, then threw the door open and left him alone with their son.


Bad Roddy. You shall pay for your sins. XD

Dora