I'll be honest . . . I completely didn't realise it was my turn to load the chapter and I've only just realised as I've gone to write chapter 63 . . . Which I also didn't realise was my chapter to write. Quarantine has played with my mind, clearly.

Anyway, please read, enjoy and please do leave a review.

Bella


Teddy Lupin had tried not to let his emotions get the better of him, though as the rest of the castle revelled in the days celebrations he could not help but get angry and upset by it all. It wasn't right, celebrating the deaths of innocent people. Though it was something that Teddy Lupin had come to get used to over the years, what with living in what was once Malfoy Manor of all places, today it seemed to get to him that little bit more. May 2ndshould be a day for mourning, regardless of what side people stood on in the war so many years ago both had had casualties. But no, yet again he had to listen to another speech about how they must celebrate the day that they 'bravely overthrew the Dumbledore terrorists'. Teddy was about to hex the headmistress if he had to listen to her fawning over the Voldemort Day celebrations one more time. The boy had instead decided to leave the castle over lunch, instead deciding to sit at the edge of the black lake under the hidden shade of a large tree as he tried to make sure his hair could not give up his emotions.

"Teddy Bear," the young woman's voice sounded sickly sweet, though Teddy Lupin knew better as he merely rolled his eyes at her presence.

"Delphi," he murmured in acknowledgement.

"Hiding out here now, are we?" Delphi mused, leaning against the tree as she glanced down at the boy casually.

"I—" Teddy took a deep breath, shaking his head, "no."

"Liar," Delphi scoffed, waiting a moment before she moved to sit down next to the boy, "not one for the 'celebrations'?"

"I'm not feeling a large feast or party today," Teddy shrugged, "I have homework to catch up on."

"Yes," Delphi nodded sarcastically, "sitting and staring into the lake sounds like great homework. What class is that for, hmm?"

"Shouldn't you be inside?" Teddy snapped, "Rather than out here harassing me?"

"Teddy," Delphi sighed dramatically, "I am offended that you take my conversation as harassment, I was merely checking up on you. I know that today isn't exactly a joy now, is it?"

Teddy remained silent, choosing to ignore the girl beside him as he concentrated on the distant appearance of the giant squid.

"I get it," Delphi mused, "it's not my favourite holiday, to say the least."

"Oh yeah," Teddy couldn't help it as he turned to glare at the young witch, "I'm sure it's horrible, having everyone telling you how amazing your parents are for all the horrific acts they committed—and continue to commit. People worshiping the ground you fucking walk on—must be so hard for you."

Delphi stared at the boy, her face lacking in any emotion as she waited for the boy to calm down slightly. "You're upset," she said quietly, "I'll let the little outburst slide. It must be hard for you, even though your father didn't die on this day he may as well have. It was the day that cemented your future as a prisoner, the day that condemned your mother to her life." She couldn't help the slight smirk that reached her lips as the boy flinched in annoyance, "Calm down, Teddy Bear, or you'll get in trouble."

Teddy glared at the ground as Delphini slowly pulled herself to her feet, turning to the castle she stopped for a brief moment, "For the record . . . the worship, all of the attention, the standard of my parents to be compared to all the time . . . it does get a little irritating actually."

The boy frowned, thinking on what the girl had said, though as he turned to look at her once more she had already walked half of the way back up to the castle. He shook his head, he wouldn't feel sorry for Delphini Riddle.

"Teddy . . ." Elara frowned as she looked at her brother across the table of the great hall, ignoring the buzz of chatter and excitement at the grand feast of the evening as her brother seemed less than entertained by it all. "Teddy talk to me . . ."

"What, Elara?" Teddy snapped at his sister, sighing at the girl as she continued to frown at him.

"Nothing . . ." Elara sighed, "You just . . . you're quiet."

"Well sorry I'm not the best of entertainment today," Teddy rolled his eyes, "maybe you should go sit with your Slytherin friends, they seem to be having enough fun at the moment."

"You know I don't have many Slytherin friends," Elara rolled her eyes, "besides Delphi is busy at the moment, I thought I'd keep you company." She sighed as Teddy huffed, watching him as he pushed his pees around his plate, "Teddy come on, it's supposed to be a happy day today, it's a celebration. I—" Elara bit her lip as her older brother looked up from his plate to glare at her, watching his hair tinge red, "I'm sorry, I didn't think."

"This shouldn't be a celebration," Teddy hissed, "this should be a day of mourning or not a day at all."

"Well, you can't blame people for turning it into a celebration," Elara shrugged, "I mean, today is the day that the war was won—"

"Lost, more like it." Teddy spat.

"Teddy!" Elara hushed him, "Be careful what you say."

"I won't," Teddy said, "this is sick, Elara. Think about it, Mum was in that war. She fought for her life, lost so many people, watched children die, got seriously injured in it from what I can remember her telling me. Do you think she'd be happy about you celebrating today?"

"Mum talked to you about the battle?" Elara frowned.

"Don't change the subject." Teddy narrowed his eyes, "Elara if it weren't for that day our mother wouldn't be a prisoner, my dad would be alive."

"He didn't die at the battle—the three of you didn't get captured there." Elara said in a lowered tone of voice, shuffling awkwardly on her seat as she discreetly looked around to make sure no one was within earshot of them.

"It's what triggered it," Teddy said, "it's what triggered his death, what triggered everything."

"Teddy, please calm down." Elara bit her lip, "Please don't cause a scene."

"Really?" Teddy scoffed, "That's what you care about? Elara people are here laughing and joking about children dying, about pointless deaths of innocent lives and you're telling me not to make a scene"? — No," Teddy raised his hand as Elara went to speak, "I get it, you don't care. You don't care because if it wasn't for that day you wouldn't even be born. You don't care about the death and destruction or the pain that people went through and continue to go through, because your little brain has been infected with the ideals of Delphi Riddle. That's wrong. Your own Mum fought for what was right and lost so much for it and you don't give a shit."

Elara couldn't help but glare at the boy, losing her patience as the roots of her hair began to match his own current red shade, "Don't talk to me like that. I haven't been 'infected', I understand what Mum did—but who's to say that was the right side? She clearly didn't fair very well because of it, did she?"

"So you're saying the killing of children was justified?" Teddy asked.

"It was unfortunate," Elara sighed, "it's sad but I understand what each side was fighting for . . . we're on the right side now and that's all that matters."

"It's evil." Teddy shook his head.

"Perhaps necessary evil," Elara sighed.

"Necessary evil that kills children?" Teddy raised an eyebrow "Necessary evil that hurts our mother? That makes her watch her lose her sanity just a little more each day? You can't be blind to how unhappy she is and how much it affects her, you can't be that stupid even if you were stupid enough to not realise your own father for the monster he is for all those years. But then maybe you're just like him, just as much as a monster."

"Take that back!" Elara snapped.

"No," Teddy shook his head, pushing his plate away, "I only speak the truth."

"You—"

"Is everything okay?" the pair looked up at the casual tone of Delphini Riddle, the boy wrinkling his nose at her as she gently placed her hand on Elara's shoulder.

"In your twisted mind, I suppose it would be," Teddy said as he stood and collected his bag from under the table, pulling himself to his feet.

"Teddy!" Elara hissed, "Don't talk to her like that! Don't walk away either!"

Delphi shook her head, a bemused smirk on her face as she stopped Elara from standing up to go after the boy as he sped from the hall.

"Sorry about him," Elara sighed, shaking her head as she looked away from the doors of the great hall.

"Don't be," Delphi shrugged, "he's his own person . . . it's amusing."

"That's one word for it," Elara sighed, returning her attention back to her food.

Teddy wasn't sure where he was going, all he knew is that he had to get away from the rest of the students. He had been tolerating their glances, their quiet whispers and not so quiet opinions all day and he had had enough. He eventually decided on leaving the castle, unsurprised to see that no-one bothered him as he walked straight out to the front of the castle. He walked a little ways along the castle walls, thinking of the few stories his mother had told him, wondering where everything had happened, how it happened, how many people had died that night . . . He let out a grunt of pain as he walked straight into something, standing back and rubbing his head.

"Watch where your—" The older Slytherin boy grinned as he turned and saw the boy, "Well, well, well, it's the little prisoner cub."

His friends chuckled, though Teddy was far too focused on the first boy to speak, the older boy slowly reaching for his wand. "What are you doing out here, cub?"

"I'm not a cub," Teddy spat.

"Ooh," another boy taunted, "the cub bites back."

"Watch out Thompson," yet another boy laughed, "he might have diseases."

Teddy glared at the boys, his hand slipping into his robes to discreetly take hold of his wand. He paused for a moment then tried to walk by, hissing in annoyance as one of the boys grabbed his arm. He quickly turned, drawing his wand and pointing it between the three of them despite their laughter.

"Looking for a fight?" The first boy raised an eyebrow, "We could do a re-enactment of the battle! Who will you be? A pathetic little Hufflepuff? Perhaps one of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Maybe his pathetic Mum," one laughed, "I heard Bellatrix got her good that night—My father said he saw her being practically carried from the place by the werewolf."

"Really?" another asked, smirking as Teddy Lupin's hair grew red, "I heard she was pretty good in her day. You wouldn't think it, what with the pathetic life the slut leads now. I heard she's starting to lose the plot. Apparently—Hey!"

Teddy gritted his teeth as the boy jumped out of the way of his hex just in time, "Don't talk about my mother like that!"

"I'll do what I like!" he laughed, "It's a good thing your mutt of a father died when he did, I dread to think what he'd think of her—of the both of you now!"

"Shut up!" Teddy yelled, "Stupefy!"

It was all it took to start a duel by the castle walls, at first Teddy managed to hold himself well, fighting off the boy admirably. Though as the other two seemed to realise that their friend was about to be defeated by 'the little prisoner cub' it was apparently decided that a fair fight wasn't good enough. Teddy stumbled backwards as the other two joined in, barely putting up shields up quickly enough to defend himself forget fighting back. He hissed in pain as he fell backwards onto the grass, yelling out as they managed to break his defences and he felt the sharp sting of the cut on his cheek.

"What's going on here?!" Teddy was not comforted to hear the voice of Professor Carrow, knowing that if anything once the man noticed who was on the floor he was more likely to let them get on with it as a lesson.

The boy tried to catch his breath as the others turned to the man now walking towards them, he didn't like his chances and he was fed up with playing the victim. Without thinking he jumped to his feet, though instead of waiting patiently for his professor as was expected he turned and ran. He ignored the calls of the man, ducked as a curse whizzed past his head to try and stop him, running and running until he couldn't hear the yells or running footsteps on the damp cold grass. He was within the boundary of the Forbidden Forest before he realised, unsure as to why he had thought it smart to run into one of the more dangerous parts of Hogwarts (though in recent years, that could be seen as debatable). He was finally stopped without a choice, crying out as his foot got caught in a wild tree root and he promptly fell flat on his face.

He didn't move, clutching onto the muddy forest floor and turning his head to his hand as he felt it grasp on something sharp. With a deep breath he sat up, shaking his head as he saw a small cracked stone in his muddy hand. He closed his eyes, absentmindedly distracting himself with the small object as he turned it around in his hand and used the sharp sting of its edges to focus his thoughts again. It was pathetic, he shouldn't have ran, he should have hadto run. The boys were right, he dreaded to imagine what his father would think of him. He had protected them, fought for them and died for them. All so that his wife could end up slowly losing her sanity at the hands of the Death Eaters and he would spend his days either locked up in a Manor or running away from duels and hiding from students at Hogwarts. He sniffed loudly, using his dirt covered sleeve to bat away his tears.

"Teddy . . . ?"

The boy froze, wondering who had come to find him in the forest. He tightened his grip on the stone in his hand, sure that he could not reach his wand as it had skidded a few metres on his fall but certain that a careful aim to the face with the stone would distract the person long enough for him to grab it. He bit his lip in concentration as he quickly turned, though he was not prepared for what he saw. Though he had no real memories of the man, he instantly recognised the man stood a few feet from him in between the trees from the worn folded page of the Hogwarts text book he had kept with him since the day he found it. He couldn't help but let out a gasp of shock, instantly dropping the stone in his hand to the floor in surprise.

"No!" he cried as the man disappeared, then shook his head viciously, "I must have hit my head . . . I'm going insane . . . I—" Teddy's eyes widened, his gaze returning to the forest floor and the small cracked stone, "It can't be . . ." he picked it up again, his heart pounding in his chest as he saw the small symbol etched within the stone.

"He went this way!" Teddy's head snapped up as he heard the voice of Professor Carrow.

He quickly stuffed the stone within his pockets, rising to his feet and thanking merlin that his foot seemed to have sustained little injury from his fall. He ran back towards the castle and away from the coming voices.


Nymphadora sat curled against the window of her bedroom, looking blankly out to the night sky. She had been sat there for hours, twisting the edge of her cardigan sleeves in her hands as thoughts swam so rapidly through her mind she was drowning within them. It never got better. Each year this day would come, each year she thought it would become easier, she would miss her husband a little less, she would long for everything she had lost a little less, she would be that little bit closer to getting away from everything . . . but it never did and she never was. She had nearly lost all hope, becoming increasingly more lost in the abyss of her thoughts. Where she had once fought for everything, defied everyone and never given up she now barely fought back, rarely openly uttered a word of defiance and more often than not accepted her fate rather than fight it. She barely flinched as her bedroom door opened, not bothering to move her gaze to see the reflection of the newcomer in her bedroom.

"Mum?" Rueben called out to the mousey brown-haired witch, though still she didn't move, "Mum I haven't seen you today . . ." Rueben spoke quietly, as if worried he was going to scare the woman. He moved towards her, stopping at the edge of the window. He could see her glassy stare, see the tracks of recently fallen tears and the grip she held on her cardigan sleeves. "Mum . . ." he spoke timidly, taking a step closer and gently reaching out for the woman's hand.

She moved her glance to him momentarily, settling on his dark eyes before she let her head rest against the glass of the window, closing her eyes and pulling her hand ever so slightly away.

"Mum?" Rueben whispered, hurt in his young voice.

"Rueben," Rodolphus Lestrange called firmly as he walked into the room, the young boy not missing the slight flinch of his mother's expression, "come on now, you should be asleep."

"But Mum—"

"Isn't well," Rodolphus said simply, "leave her be."

"I can look after her," Rueben shook his head, "she looks after me . . ."

"Because you're her son," Rodolphus said, "it's her job to. Whereas it is your job to be in bed at this hour, is it not?"

"Yes . . ." Rueben sighed, looking to his mother for a moment before he gave his father a small smile of defeat, "Goodnight . . ."

"Goodnight," Rodolphus said back, squeezing the boys shoulder as he walked out of the room. The man waited until he heard the click of his son's bedroom door closing before he closed Nymphadora's door behind him, looking to the witch still curled against the cool glass of the window. "Whatever thoughts are going through your mind, Nymphie, you should not be upsetting my son over them."

Nymphadora didn't respond, still sitting in silence lost deeply in her thoughts. She didn't hear the man's words, barely noticed him walking towards her until suddenly she felt his grip on her chin, her head moved to look towards him.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you," Rodolphus hissed, though as the woman eventually moved her dead gaze to look into his eyes he couldn't help but let out a huff of laughter, "Oh Nymphie, you really are feeling sorry for yourself lately, aren't you? Answer me."

"What?" Dora breathed, trying and failing to shake the thoughts from her mind.

"Do not upset my son," Rodolphus growled, surging a small curse through the woman though she merely let out a small groan at the pain.

"He's your son . . ." Dora breathed.

"Obviously," Rodolphus rolled his eyes.

". . . He looks like you . . .just like you . . ." Dora sighed.

Rodolphus frowned slightly, "What is wrong with you?" it took the man a moment, though eventually he realised the things he had seen in his own wife when she was trapped within her darkest thoughts. Dora's mousey brown locks were slightly messier than usual, her eyes staring aimlessly through him as tear tracks stained her cheeks. "Oh dear, Nymphie," Rodolphus pouted, "have you finally had enough? Or is it simply the day? . . . No, I always come see you on this day, we have fun, don't we?" the woman gave no sign of a reaction, though she shook her head ever so slightly, "Oh, come now Nymphie," he teased, letting go of her chin as he pulled the witch into his arms and stroked her hair, "poor little Nymphie . . ."

"Stop it . . ." Dora murmured, screwing her eyes shut as she could feel her heart rate increasing at what she knew was to come though knew deep down that there was nothing she could do, nothing that would save her. She didn't move as the man chuckled, going limp as she fell into the pit of her mind as he lifted her from her seat, not making a sound until her screams of agony soon filled the room not minutes later.