Teddy had difficulty sleeping throughout the next few nights, but he managed to avoid Rodolphus for that bit of time. Teddy wished that the summer was already over so that he could be back at school with Elara and Delphi. He sat with his little brother often, trying to keep his mind off of everything that was going on. Roo seemed to be doing better, but the younger boy's condition tended to vary by day.

"You're not paying attention," Roo groaned in annoyance. "Teddy!"

"Sorry, Roo," sighed Teddy, moving closer to explain to the boy how to solve one of the magical puzzles that Rodolphus had give his son for Christmas.

"Why are you so distracted?" Roo frowned at his brother. "Is it about Delphi and Elara?"

"No...well, yeah, some of it," Teddy answered. "I wish I could leave the ward like Elara does."

Roo rolled his eyes. "Then I'd never see you, either," he said with a huff. "Dad says he shouldn't have let Elara go out, anyway."

"Oh he did, did he?" The two boys jumped, turning to see Elara standing in the doorway. "Well, I don't think that would have helped."

"No," agreed another voice with a small laugh. Delphi appeared behind Elara, leaning against the wall with a smirk.

"What are you doing down here?" Teddy asked the Dark Lord's daughter.

"Well," Delphi said, raising an eyebrow, "I believe I can go wherever I wish, and Elara wanted an escort."

Teddy raised an eyebrow as well. "I see. Well, it's safe for the moment: Rod was here last night."

Elara went to Roo and sat down on his other side. "How are you?" she asked him.

"Better," Roo grinned, but turned to look at Delphi again. "You're the Dark Lord's daughter?"

"I am," Delphi agreed.

Roo nodded thoughtfully and Teddy grinned mischievously. "She's mean, Roo," he said to the younger boy. "You've got to be careful around her."

Elara scoffed at this and turned to her little brother. "If you behave, you don't have to worry."

Delphi approached the three, and Teddy got to his feet. "I would like a word with you, if you have a moment," he said politely.

"I don't know," Delphi said doubtfully. "I may be too mean for you to face alone."

Reuben laughed at this, Teddy grinning at him. "I'll risk it," Teddy told Delphi.

"Behave," Roo laughed at his brother. "Will you?"

"We'll have to find out," Delphi smirked, glancing at the younger boy before turning to leave. "Come along, Teddy Bear."

"Teddy Bear?" Roo said, looking from Delphi to Teddy with a laugh of delight. "She calls you Teddy Bear?"

The older boy blushed furiously, but answered, "She does what she wants, Roo." He turned and followed her from the room.

Delphi led the way, taking him through the ward and guiding him to her room. "What is so important that you have to risk being alone with me?" she smirked at the boy.

"Better here than in the loo," Teddy replied before blushing and attempting to morph it away before she noticed. He took a deep breath and faced Delphi squarely. "Would you-would you teach me to duel, Delphi?"

"You're a bit young to be a warrior," Delphi mused, turning to the only bookshelf in her room and looking through the titles.

"The sooner I start, the better I can be," Teddy replied firmly. "I'm fourteen, so no longer a child."

Delphi smiled to herself. "Would this have anything to do with you attacking a certain man the night we arrived home from Hogwarts, Teddy Bear?"

Teddy gave her a disapproving look. "I did not attack him," he said firmly.

"That's not what I heard," Delphi smirked, glancing at the boy before selecting a book and walking over to the couch, motioning Teddy to sit opposite her.

"Well, I didn't," Teddy said in annoyance. "All I did was speak words."

"And offer to kill him," she giggled.

"I didn't say that to him," Teddy said indignantly, rolling his eyes.

"But he heard you," Delphi replied, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Teddy crossed his arms and frowned at the girl. "Surely he didn't complain, now, did he? He should know most of us want to kill him."

Delphi acknowledged this with an expression not unlike her mother. "And if I teach you to duel, Teddy Bear, are you going to kill him?"

"Well, he belongs to your father, so not completely," Teddy shrugged. "Besides, after I'm trained, I can be useful for other things, too."

The door opened and Bellatrix entered the room unannounced. "That's doubtful," she said.

"Mum," Delphi said calmly, yet in exasperation. "I have asked you to knock."

Bellatrix was eyeing Teddy and almost immediately asked, "He wants to learn how to duel, doesn't he? Poor little cub can't protect his mum." She gave him a spitefully evil smile. "You will never be able to protect your mother, boy."

"Bellatrix." The sound of Delphini Riddle's voice saying her mother's name stopped Teddy from speaking and pulled Bella's attention away from him. "I am having a private discussion with young Lupin. I will speak to you when I am ready."

Teddy was impressed at the imperial expression on Delphi's face, but tried to seem small and insignificant as he immediately realised the danger he was in. Delphi's gaze did not leave her mother's astonished expression as she set her book aside. "Leave us."

Bellatrix's mouth opened slightly, but she said nothing, finally backing away to the door and leaving the room. A frown settled on Delphi's face, the girl seeming troubled by the situation before she looked across to Teddy, tugging (it seemed to him) rather painfully on a strand of her silver hair.

"I will train you," Delphi said quietly. "But for now, I seem to have other things to do."

"You're taking me back to the ward, then?" Teddy inquired, getting to his feet just as she did.

"Well," said Delphi after a moment, "it's best if I do, isn't it? Can't have you running around out here at the moment." She moved toward the door quickly and he followed her without question, close behind her as he was quickly learning to do.

They walked together in silence until they reached the Prisoners' Ward, and Delphi took his hand quickly and led him through the ward. The moment they were through, they were faced with Rodolphus on the other side, as Dora was trying to calm him down.

"What's going on?" Teddy asked, pulling his hand away from hers as his mother and Rodolphus turned to look at the two teenagers.

"Nothing important," Dora answered. "Teddy, can you please see to Roo? Elara ran out on him."

Teddy frowned, but agreed and moved toward the room where he'd left his brother and sister. He felt Delphi leave through the wards and sighed to himself.

The moment Teddy entered the room, Roo looked up and frowned. "What's going on with Elara?" the younger boy asked. "And what's so important that she's mad at Dad still? She hasn't talked to him since Christmas!"

Unprepared, Teddy sighed and replied, "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it's important to her."

"I know you know the truth about it," Roo said, crossing his arms. "Tell me."

"They had a fight," Teddy answered. "And now they don't talk."

"But whyyy?" Roo persisted.

"Because sometimes parents make mistakes," Teddy said darkly. "You're going to get me in trouble, Roo. Do you really think he wants us talking about it?"

Roo considered things for a moment, then said, "But he's sorry, isn't he?"

Teddy laughed before he could stop himself. "No," he said. "Don't ask me anymore questions, okay, Roo?"

"He's not sorry?"

"Reuben," Teddy said sternly. "If he was, do you think Elara would still be mad at him? Now I mean it: stop."

Roo looked at his brother for a moment, then grinned. "How did your talk with Delphi go?"


Teddy's first few lessons with Delphi were very difficult, as she was definitely more informed and experience than he was. He soon realised the reason that his mother hated training with Bella: it was easy to get hurt.

Delphi grinned wickedly, approaching the boy and saying, "You've got to be faster, Teddy Bear, or you'll keep getting hurt."

Teddy was still trying to recover from the hex when she hit him with another, more painful spell. He yelled out and fell back against the wall as she advanced toward him.

In a matter of seconds, she was right before him, her hand clenched on his shirt as she dug her wand into his neck. "Too slow will get you killed," she snapped at him. "No one will help you because no one cares. Pay attention!"

"I was," Teddy complained, then hissed in pain when the tip of her wand burned him. "Ah-" He unknowingly reached out and gripped onto her in his pain, and she crackled her magic to force his hands away from her.

"You'd better be careful what you do," Delphi warned him, and in the next second, he was flung to the floor, the girl staring at him in shock. "Impudent rascal!"

Teddy groaned painfully, then rolled over and onto his feet to dodge her next spell. "I just wanted to see what you would do," he said with a small grin as he attempted to shield one of her spells.

"You are the tool, not me," hissed Delphi, turning on the spot as she continued to throw curses at him.

Teddy was shocked to see the girl's hair shift black, as he had never seen her morph. This distracted him enough that he missed shielding a spell and tried to dodge it, though it hit him in the ribs. Teddy yelled in pain, hearing at least one of his ribs crack.

Delphi laughed coldly and continued to throw curses at him. It was not long before she had the boy shrieking and suffering on the floor, helpless to protect himself. "Next time you decide to experiment with me, Teddy Bear, you will receive more of the same."

He lay there in agony, groaning as she looked down at him, then casually touched her arm. "Do you know your hair is black?" Teddy gasped in pain. "It's very distracting."

"You'd better behave, Teddy Bear," Delphi said coldly, looking away from him as she morphed her hair silver again. "If you can't be trusted, you cannot be trained, just like your worthless mother."

There was a knock at the door, and Delphi raised her hand and opened the door as she raised Teddy to a sitting position with her other hand. Teddy stifled his cries of pain as much as he could, but still received a look of surprise and confusion from his sister's uncle. "Rabastan," Delphi said simply, waiting as he bowed to her slightly, waiting for her command. "Take the boy back to the Wing. Teddy."

Teddy looked up at her, trembling from head to toe and yelling in pain in spite of his best efforts when Rabastan pulled him up from the floor. "Yes, Delphi?"

"You are not to be healed at all, not even one potion until tomorrow at this time," she said quietly, then motioned Rabastan to take the boy away.

Teddy was in agony when he arrived, his mother running out to meet him and gasping, "Teddy, what has she done to you?"

Rabastan raised an eyebrow at this and let go of the boy, who collapsed onto the floor with a cry of pain. Nymphadora rushed forward, drawing her wand, but her son yelled out, stopping her from doing anything. "Delphi said no healing until tomorrow," Teddy gasped. "Don't, Mum. It's fine."

"It's not fine!" Dora snapped at him.

"That's what you always tell me," Teddy replied weakly. "Help me to my room, Mum."

"I'm curious to know what you did," Rabastan mused, watching the cub's mother help him to his feet as he gasped in pain.

"Pretty sure I stepped out of line," Teddy laughed, groaning as pain shot through his ribs. He was grateful for his mother's assistance, though as soon as they reached his room, Roo's door opened and the younger boy hurried down the hall toward them.

"Teddy!" Roo said in horror. "What did she do to you?"

"I didn't behave," Teddy said, continuing to laugh painfully. "Look, Roo, I need to rest. We'll talk later, okay?"

Reuben crossed his arms and frowned, but allowed Teddy and their mother to enter the room alone. Dora helped her son into bed, the boy lying there with his eyes closed as he simply breathed through the pain. "What did you do to anger Delphi?" she sighed. "I..." Dora shook her head. "I don't want you to always be getting hurt. Be careful."

Teddy gave her the tiniest smirk. "I Cursed her back to see what she would do," he admitted.

Nymphadora's mouth fell open. "Teddy Remus Lupin!" she said in horror. "That's asking to be tortured! Don't ever do that again!"

"I...probably won't," Teddy agreed faintly. "She was furious...have you ever seen her morph, Mum?"

"No," Dora huffed. "Don't change the subject."

"I'm not!" Teddy insisted, his hands twitching from the pain as he tried to control it. "But she was so angry that her hair turned black...she looks like her mother when she's like that. Was Bellatrix that beautiful when she was a girl?"

Nymphadora was deeply troubled at this question, though she answered, "Bellatrix is very beautiful, and no, I have never seen Delphi morph...I'm not even sure if I knew she could. That's terrifying, actually."

Teddy grinned. "She's not," he said. "It just hurts, you know."

"This is not a game," his mother warned him. "She will have to turn you over to her father if you do not behave for her."

"I'm the most well-behaved Teddy Bear there every was," he smirked.

"Well, I hope," Dora sighed, then carefully brushed his hair out of his face. "Do you want me to stay with you right now?"

"No," Teddy answered. "I think I'll try to sleep through some of it...I dunno. I'm pretty sure that she had mercy on me. I'm not in total agony, but it hurts to do anything."

"Lucky you," Dora smiled at him, then kissed his head and stepped back from the bed. "Let me know if you need anything or when you're allowed to be healed. No one will bother you until you are ready to talk."

Teddy gave her a smile. "Thanks."


Elara sneaked into her brother's room, having barely avoided her father on the way back to the Prisoners' Wing. She found him lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, perfectly still. "What happened?" she breathed.

Teddy barely glanced at her. "Mum said no one would bother me."

"Am I bothering you with my concern, Teddy Bear?" Elara pouted, coming closer to the bed.

"Elara, don't," the boy sighed. "It hurts, okay?"

"What did you do?" Elara asked.

Teddy closed his eyes again. "I...may have attempted a slight Crucio on Delphi."

Elara gasped. "Teddy Lupin!"

"She's fine," Teddy said in annoyance. "I just want to see what she would do-and I found out. Hey, did you know that Delphi can morph?"

"Yes," Elara sighed. "Teddy, that was really stupid of you."

Teddy just grinned, then said, "Oh, your dad's back."

Elara looked alarmed and annoyed, turning to him. "Pretend to be asleep."

"What are you going to do?" frowned the boy.

"Come on," Elara pleaded. "Do it for me! I don't want to meet him alone, even if he doesn't know. And for Merlin's sake, don't say or do anything."

Teddy huffed, winced, then settled in to pretend to sleep. Before long, the door opened ever so slowly and quietly, and Rodolphus stood in the doorway.

Elara looked up from her brother's bedside. "What do you want?" she whispered.

"I want to talk to you," her father murmured.

"I'm staying with my brother at the moment," Elara said, "but if you're quiet, you can talk."

Rodolphus frowned at this, but continued into the room, closing the door behind him. "What happened to him?" he asked, motioning to Teddy.

"I think he misbehaved," Elara mused. "So. What other things do you have to say to me?"

"Elara," Rodolphus sighed, "stop running away from me."

"I'm here," Elara said shortly, crossing her arms. "Talk."

Rodolphus seemed at a loss for words, and Elara continued talking. "Don't you dare make excuses or I will walk out," she warned him. "I'm not listening to that anymore. Nothing will help you regain respect in my eyes."

"What am I supposed to say?" Rodolphus asked finally. "What do I do?"

"Do?" Elara laughed too loudly, glancing at Teddy in alarm as she got to her feet and turned toward her father. "Well, you aren't going to change now, are you? No, of course not." She shook her head in disgust.

"I wouldn't have done it if Bellatrix had been faithful," Rodolphus said in a low tone. "I wouldn't have been driven to-"

"Bellatrix is awful to everyone," Elara replied, "but that's no excuse: you made the choice."

Rodolphus simply looked at her, then agreed. "Yes, I did," he answered. "She was beautiful, and helpless, and I took advantage of her." He raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "Anything else to add?"

Elara was angered at his words, but thought for a moment and said, "Roo's been asking questions." Her father's face darkened, and she continued, "Don't worry: no one's telling your dirty little secrets, but that's why I'm here right now. He's getting suspicious."

"No one is telling him?" Rodolphus asked sharply.

Elara rolled her eyes. "No one," she sighed with a pout in her voice. "But if they did, I wouldn't betray them. I'd trust my mother, my brothers, and even Delphi before I'd trust you."

"That's absurd," Rodolphus said, and shook his head.

"And now with Teddy injured, Roo was also worried about that," Elara added.

"Is Delphi training him?" Rodolphus questioned.

"I'm not sure," answered Elara with a frown. "I'm mean, he seems to be learning the hard way, if so."

"Just like his mother," Rodolphus chuckled, and his daughter shot him a look of rage. "This won't be the last time he ends up like this because of Delphi, you know."

Elara's expression didn't change. "Or you," she said simply. "But don't worry: no one tells me about these things. You know what? My mother is trying to protect you from me. Isn't that cute?"

The girl scowled. "They don't have to tell me. I know you: you don't care whom you hurt. You and Mum fight; you and Teddy fight, and I know you don't like Nan or the rest of them."

"How I am toward the others does not effect how I feel about or care for you and Reuben," Rodolphus insisted.

"But it does," Elara answered. "You think you have full control of us when I belong to Delphi. You think you can force your ideas on us and make us do things, but you can't. I'm not my poor, innocent mother. I'm not going to listen to you just because you're an Inner Circle Death Eater."

"Elara," her father said sharply, and she shrugged.

"I'm a disgrace," Elara said proudly. "just as much as Teddy-and you fell so much further than mother ever could. I'd be ashamed of my name, but thank Delphi that she offered to help me make something of myself-something more than a disgraced child of a fallen Death Eater."

Rodolphus looked at her and asked, "How long are you going to be upset, Elara?"

Elara crossed her arms again. "I'm always going to be upset with you," she told him. "But, as Mum says, I can't ignore you forever. We'll have to talk, and we'll have to halfway get along because of Roo, but you can't be trusted."

He didn't say anything for a few moments, then finally asked, "Are you staying here tonight?"

"Here with my brother," Elara replied, glancing at Teddy lying still in the bed. "He must have been hurt badly if he's still in so much pain."

"Your uncle told me that Delphi gave an order for him not to be Healed, or have a single Healing potion until tomorrow some time," Rodolphus said, shaking his head.

"And you asked me what was wrong with him," Elara scoffed at her father. "When Rab must have told you everything."

"He didn't know much," Rodolphus answered sharply. "Only that the cub had displeased Delphi and her orders on the matter."

"Why don't you just leave me alone?" Elara snapped. "You only cause problems when you're around, and I have enough to deal with anyway."

"I just want to know things," he said to his daughter. "Is that so bad?"

"Then ask," she hissed.

He merely looked at her. "You wouldn't tell me if I did."

She straightened up and returned his stare. "And whose fault is that? Now go away: I'm staying with Teddy now."

To her immense relief, Rodolphus watched her for a few seconds, then left her alone with Teddy. Elara collapsed onto the bed next to her brother, and they sat for a few moments in silence until they were sure Rodolphus had gone from the ward.

Elara jumped when she felt something touched her hand, and Teddy gave a slight whimper. "I'm so sorry," she breathed. "When are you allowed to be Healed?"

"Tomorrow sometime," Teddy muttered. "I'll be fine: don't worry."

"I won't worry if you won't do stupid things," Elara replied with a huff of annoyance.

"Delphi told me if I can't be trusted, I can't be trained," Teddy sighed. "She compared me to Mum."

"Then you'd certainly better be careful," Elara told him. "It's an honour for her to even agree to train you, Teddy. Don't throw away the opportunity."

"I won't," Teddy agreed. "Now, are you really going to stay here with me?"

Elara nodded. "I think Dad will leave us alone for a while if I stay," she said, "so I'm staying. I don't want to be in my room, though."

Teddy agreed. "Well, I hurt, so I'd really like to sleep now that I know Rodolphus isn't here."

The girl sighed, then quieted down to let her brother rest.