Totally loved writing this chapter! (And every chapter) Do enjoy!

Dora

The next morning when Dora woke up, she lay still in her husband's arms for a while, not willing to let him know she was awake and see the hurt in his eyes again. It wasn't until he squeezed her gently and kissed her hair softly, murmuring her name, that she realised he knew she was awake. "Rab," she sniffed, clenching her fists, and he held her close, kissing her head again.

"It's okay, Dora," he said softly. "I love you."

"I'm sorry," she sniffed.

"It isn't your fault," Rabastan murmured. "We don't have to talk about it. I know it hurts; it hurts both of us."

She cringed against him, and he berated himself mentally as she whispered, "I didn't want to be a disappointment."

Rabastan sat up, pulling her onto his lap. "You are not a disappointment, Nymphadora," he said quietly. "You are not allowed to believe such things of yourself. You've done far more for me and our family than your mother would have, and for that, I will not let you say that."

Nymphadora clung to him, wanting to cry all over again, though she forced herself to remain calm. "What-what do I say to Andromeda? And Rodolphus?" she asked him. "I-I saw that he was upset last night. The look in his eyes-" She fell silent for a moment before saying, "I know he was comparing me to Bella. And I know I'm different, but-I can't help worrying that he'll say something to me about it."

"He had better not say anything wrong to you," Rabastan said firmly, "or I will have some strong words for him. If he does anything, Dora, don't be afraid to come talk to me."

"Okay," she gave a weak laugh.

"Andromeda should understand how you feel and all that," Rabastan said. "Since she's a woman, and all that." He shuddered, and Nymphadora couldn't help laughing, throwing her arms around him and kissing his cheek.

"I love you," she whispered, and he turned his head, his lips finding hers.

"I love you too," he answered after a moment. "Are you going to breakfast this morning?"

She turned her head away from the morning sun and sighed. "I don't want to," she said. "But Rigel and Delphi will expect me to be there. They didn't know about-but they saw me injured... I'm surprised Rigel didn't try to come talk to us."

Rabastan frowned slightly. "Yeah," he said thoughtfully. "You know, maybe I should go see what he's doing right now..."

Nymphadora sighed, reluctantly pulling away from him. "I'll go talk to Andromeda, then," she said. "And maybe check on Delphi."

She saw him frown and murmured, "Rab, she's my sister. Be careful...you know she means a lot to your brother."

"She should mean nothing," Rabastan hissed, and Nymphadora turned away from him as tears came to her eyes. "Dora," he said, immediately apologetic, "I just want my family to be safe. That girl is not...I can't keep allowing her to get away with things."

"Please," Dora said softly, walking up to him and placing her hands on his arms. "Let's not talk about this right now. I...I just wish we could all be happy together, including Delphi and Rodolphus and Andromeda. It's just awkward between them."

Rabastan nodded, hugging his wife again. "Well, let's dress and go," he said softly. "I'll meet you at breakfast. And don't come in all crying and everything or I'll have to curse whoever you walk in with."

Dora giggled a little, hugging him in return before she pulled away and changed her robes, quickly morphing her hair black from its mousey brown state. She hurried down the hall toward Andromeda's room, glad that no one had seen her as she knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the woman's voice, and Nymphadora took a deep breath before entering the room. Andromeda looked up from putting a final pin in her hair. "You're all right," Andromeda sighed thankfully. "Good. I'm sorry I wasn't more help, Dora."

"Mum," Dora sniffed, hurrying to hug the woman before she muttered, "I mean, Andromeda."

"Shh," Andromeda said softly. "I know what you mean."

"I haven't slipped up for years," Dora pouted, pulling back and turning away. "Were Delphi and Rigel okay last night?"

Andromeda nodded. "Rodolphus put Rigel to bed, and I had a few words with Delphi before she left. I kind of got the feeling she was going to go listen outside your room."

Nymphadora shook her head, a slight smile on her lips. "She's just like me. It's a good thing Rabastan warded the room. I feel like I cried my soul out."

The older witch gave her a sympathetic smile. "No more than I did when Ted was killed, I'm sure," she said quietly.

Dora stared at the woman. "You acted like it didn't bother you," she said, stunned.

"I'm a damn good pretender," Andromeda smirked, then sighed. "Dora, I cried my eyes out for days. He was everything to me. I wanted to die, and I thought I would, but of course Bella wanted me to suffer instead." She bit her lip at Dora's expression. "Sorry. I knew I had to convince you that you had to let go of me and Ted, so I pretended it didn't matter. But it mattered to me, and I still miss him."

"I love you," Dora sighed, hugging the witch tightly. "I'm sorry that happened to you and Dad...Ted. It's so strange that I never knew my real father."

"It was better that way, trust me," Andromeda said firmly. "I'm glad he's gone though, may he burn in hell."

"Andromeda, did you wake up cranky this morning?" Nymphadora laughed at the witch.

"I'm still sore from the duel last night," Andromeda admitted. "Willing to take it out on whomever I'm talking about, as well."

Nymphadora grinned and hugged the witch tightly. "Okay. Come on; let's go make sure Delphi's awake and getting ready for breakfast."

The two witches walked down the hall laughing together before they knocked on Delphi's door at the same time. The instant Delphi opened the door, she hurried to give Dora a hug. "You're okay!" she said in relief. "You were hurt...we didn't know if you were all right..."

"I'm fine," Dora said, biting her lip as she returned the girl's embrace. "I'm sorry to worry you."

"Rigel was crying," Delphi frowned as she looked up at her sister. "But R-Rod took care of him. I don't know what happened after they went away...I haven't seen either of them since."

"Then I'm sure he'll be fine," Dora told the child. "Come here: we need to brush out your hair."

"No!" Delphi groaned as Dora led her back to the mirror, going to help her. "You know I hate when you do it!"

"Better she do it than I, remember?" Andromeda asked the child with a small smirk. "I will pull your hair out."

"But you do it fast," Delphi complained, whimpering as Dora pulled the brush through her hair. "Practise being someone else's mother!"

Andromeda's hand gripped Nymphadora's shoulder before the witch could react, and Delphi turned to look between the two. "What?" she demanded. "I didn't say anything that bad! Don't you two start acting like Rabastan, because I will run away."

The brush fell from Nymphadora's hand as she stared at the girl. Andromeda wrapped her arm around Nymphadora and pulled the witch into her side gently. "Delphi..." she looked at Dora for a moment before continuing "you know that Dora was cursed last night."

Delphi nodded, and Dora looked at her sister tearfully. "I-I was going to have another baby, but-the baby died last night-when I was injured. That's why I had to be closeted away last night. I was hurting too much." Dora sniffed, tears dripping onto her face as she looked at Delphi. "I'm not trying to be your mother. I could never be our mother, Delphi."

"You...you had a baby?" Delphi frowned, reaching out her small hand to touch the front of Dora's dress. "But it's gone?"

Nymphadora nodded, a small sob escaping her, and Delphi wrapped her arms around her sister, hugging her gently. "I'm sorry, Dora," she whispered. "I'd kill them for what they did to you if I could."

The witch squeezed Delphi tightly, whispering, "Thanks. I...I'm sorry I'm so emotional, but I can't help it."

"It's okay," Delphi nodded. "Dromeda says that happens to girls sometimes."

Nymphadora smiled through her tears, and felt Delphi press a tissue into her hand. "Here," she said.

"Thanks," Dora sniffed, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. "Okay. Shall we go to breakfast now?"

The three girls left the room together, walking toward the dining room to meet the boys.

Rabastan had found his brother sitting in Rigel's room, the two looking up innocently as Rabastan walked into the room without knocking. Rodolphus grinned as the boy said, "I knew it was you! Is Mum okay?"

The boy's father nodded, a faraway look in his eyes. He quickly said, "She's still recovering, but she'll be all right."

"Is she sad?" Rigel asked hesitantly.

"Rodolphus?" Rabastan said suspiciously, shooting a glare at his brother. "You told him!"

"I wanted to know what happened!" Rigel protested, looking between the two before asking his father, "Was I really going to have a little brother or sister?"

Rabastan looked at his son for a moment, then nodded numbly. "The child was an innocent victim of the Aurors that were here."

Rigel seemed to accept this. "So Mum's upset? Are you sad too?"

Rodolphus watched his brother closely, and Rabastan wanted to yell at him to go away, but forced himself to sit calmly beside Rigel on the bed. "Your mother," Rabastan said quietly, "cried for a very long time last night, as she was very upset and scared. I'll explain more when you're older, but she thought I would blame her for losing the baby."

Reminded of things Dora had said, Rabastan glared at his brother. "And if you ever say such things to Dora again about how you and I would treat our wives, there will be pain."

"Sounds entertaining," Rodolphus nodded.

"Rigel," his father said softly, "it is very sad, to lose a child like this. Your mother and I have wanted a second child for a little while, as we thought we were finally safe enough to protect another. I...I cannot deny that I hurt when I think about what we lost, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened. I did not sleep last night."

Rigel nodded, glancing between the two men again and deciding against asking whatever he had been thinking. "Can we go see Mum, then?" he asked, looking at his father.

Rabastan got to his feet and motioned the boy forward. "We're meeting at breakfast," he said. "You can see her there."

Rodolphus silently followed the two, Rigel glancing around to look at him once or twice. As they entered the room, all six of them sort of just traded looks and all until Rigel walked over to his mother and kissed her cheek, hugging her around the neck. "I love you, Mum," he told her firmly. "I'm sorry."

Nymphadora looked up at Rabastan in alarm, but he gave her a reassuring nod, motioning her toward Rodolphus. The man to blame glanced at Delphi, then Rigel and gave his brother a pointed look.

Delphi motioned Rodolphus to sit on her other side as she hurried around the table and sat next to Andromeda, facing her sister's family across the table. "I'm hungry," she said with a little shrug. "May we begin now?"

Dora agreed, the food appearing before them almost immediately. They were mostly quiet as they ate, Andromeda checking the paper to make sure that they had succeeded in properly obliviating the four Aurors. "No mention," Andromeda said, looking up at Rab and Dora.

"And you got healed?" Dora said with a frown. "I forgot you were cursed, even after what you said..."

"Yeah," Delphi nodded knowingly. "Rodolphus healed her after they yelled at each other in the hallway like Rigel and I weren't there."

Andromeda ignored the girl's words, but Dora raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Rodolphus looked across the table at the witch. "We talked," he said. "Instead of ignoring each other."

"Talked?" Rigel sputted, almost choking on his breakfast. "You call that talking? I thought they were going to kill each other."

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Andromeda sighed, nudging Delphi who had a smirk plastered across her face. "There were just...things, that I didn't realise. It's okay now, though. We've got things sorted."

"I'm curious," Rabastan smirked, but his brother was unfazed.

"They were worried about Dora, and Dromeda yelled at Rodolphus, and he yelled back, and then they were arguing about who would put 'the children' to bed," Delphi rolled her eyes at them. "I stopped them before they could make Rigel cry."

The boy's hair flashed red, and Rabastan looked shocked, Dora biting her lip slightly as she looked at the three on the other side of the table. Rodolphus glanced at the girl. "Delphi, you ought not to say such things."

Delphi rolled her eyes, but Andromeda reached beneath the table and nudged the girl warningly. Rodolphus finally said, "We talked enough to put our differences aside," he said to distract his brother, who was glaring at Delphi. "But it's still unusual to have her speak so freely in a place that isn't hers."

Andromeda's eyes lit angrily for a moment before she pressed her lips together tightly and refused to comment. She did no such thing, though Rodolphus had no right to simply walk in and tell her he was going to talk to Rigel before he put the child to bed. She shook her head slightly as she pushed her plate away, finishing her tea.

"I'll be elsewhere," she sighed. "Delphi, you're done. Come with me." The girl did not protest, for which Andromeda was very thankful.

Moments later, Andromeda sat the child down on her own bed, looking down at her with a sigh. "Why do you purposely try to upset Rabastan?" she asked the girl. "You know that he will be upset at anything that upsets Rigel, Delphi."

The girl frowned for a moment, then said, "Rigel's a crybaby, and Rab worries about him too much."

Andromeda shook her head. "Delphini. As much as Rabastan tries to leave you alone for Dora's sake, he will hurt you if you do not behave. Dora will try to stop him, and I will protect you, but you need to not taunt Rigel and his father so much. Do you understand?"

Delphi nodded, and Andromeda said, "No. Say 'Yes, Andromeda.'"

The girl glared at her, then said the words sullenly. "Do you think Rodolphus would protect me?" she asked after a moment.

"Is that what you want to find out now?" Andromeda said in astonishment. "To see if you can make two brothers fight? Delphi...you shouldn't do that to them."

Delphi pouted, then grabbed Andromeda's hand and pulled the witch to sit next to her on the bed, curling into her side. "I talked to him. He said he would never hurt me because I'm Bella's. But I don't know if he would care if something happened to me."

Andromeda hugged the little girl, sighing in despair that the child needed to know if Rodolphus cared about her enough that he would protect her from her own stupidity. "You know, Delphi," she said softly, "I care about you, and I would never let anything hurt you if I could help it."

"Yes," Delphi bit her lip, then looked up at the witch with bright eyes. "But...he's the closest thing to a dad that I've ever known—"

"Delphi, don't you ever say that to him," Andromeda said sharply, then shuddered.

"I know better than that," Delphi said haughtily. "But...it's different than the way you care, Dromeda. I think...I think I can teach him to just love me, instead of hating and loving me."

Andromeda shook her head. "So much like Bella," she sighed. "Just be careful about teaching Rod anything, do you understand?"

Delphi nodded eagerly. "I will," she said. "Don't worry." She hugged Andromeda quickly before jumping down from the bed and running out of the room.

Andromeda sighed softly. She would never not worry about her young niece.

A few days later, Andromeda was teaching both Rigel and Delphi in their designated spell-proof room when a knock came on the door. "Enter," Andromeda called, soon frowning as Rodolphus entered the room. "What do you want?" she said, too late to make herself sound more polite.

Rodolphus gave her a slight look of disdain, then said, "I would simply like to watch, if you don't mind."

"Rigel will probably curse you accidentally," Delphi giggled. "Be careful."

"I will not!" Rigel protested, his face turning red. "Dromeda, make her stop saying that!"

"Shh," Andromeda told him. "Delphi, I have already told you not to say such things. Now both of you, try it again."

Delphi turned back to the scarf she'd been attempting to change the colour of, tossing her silver hair over her shoulders. It took her a few minutes before she had even got the scarf a darker green, but she knew that it needed to be black. Scowling in concentration (and trying not to giggle at Rigel because he'd nearly set his scarf on fire), Delphi pointed the wand at the scarf and tried the spell yet again.

Rodolphus was watching the young girl and frowning slightly before he said, "Delphi, I don't think that wand likes you. It's not a good match...you need a wand that understands you."

She looked up at him. "And where should I get that?" Delphi asked him, frowning. "We can never leave this place, you know."

The man drew a second wand from his pocket, sighing softly as he stroked it for a moment. "This was your mother's wand," he said quietly, looking straight into the child's eyes. "Try it." He held it out to her, and she reached for it, her mouth open slightly in wonder as she inspected it.

"It's beautiful," Delphi breathed. "May I use it?"

"For today," he answered. "I may give it to you when you are older."

Delphi curled her fingers around the wood, quiet for a moment before she turned back to the scarf. She couldn't help drawing a breath of amazement as she felt the wand awaken in her hand. She spoke the spell, her magic flowing through the wand easily, and she stared proudly between the wand and the black scarf, then looked up at Rodolphus.

He nodded at her. "Good. Now change it back."

Delphi did it several times, grinning at her success. "It's easier to make it black," she said. "I think the wand likes it."

"Probably," Rodolphus said, a small smile touching his lips. "That wand hasn't been used in years. I last used it at of the Battle of Hogwarts."

"To protect Dora," Delphi sighed. "And Rab. But mostly to keep them here for Rigel's sake. Because we all know—"

"You shouldn't finish that," Rodolphus told her. "You need to be more discreet, Delphi. Bella would want you to."

The seven year old girl looked down at the wand in her hand. "She would. So, can you show us that last few spells that were done with this wand? Before me?"

Rodolphus nodded and motioned Delphi closer as he drew his own wand, touching the wandtips together before muttering the spell. He watched as Delphi's spells faded away, Andromeda biting her lip slightly as the spells Rodolphus had done with it began to show up. The man began to explain some of the spells, the girl staring as he told her of the shielding spells and the curses he'd thrown back at those who opposed him before he had fallen.

Rigel's eyes were wide as he heard of the different spells, but Delphi drank in every word, eager to hear about it all. Rodolphus sighed deeply, then said, "These—these are Bella's spells now: she was full of fun that entire day."

"Will you help Dromeda teach me to be that powerful?" Delphi asked Rodolphus, breaking off the spell as she looked into his dark eyes. "I want to be like Mother."

"I have no doubt that you will be," Rodolphus answered. "Though for now, you will continue to learn with Andromeda, and I'm sure she has lots of things for you to learn. When Rigel goes to learn the Lestrange grimoires with his father, I'm sure that you can learn special spells with me."

"I will be teaching both of them the Black grimoires," Andromeda said promptly, giving him a stern look. "They are both descendants of our House."

"I didn't say anything against that," Rodolphus frowned at her. "Though I am surprised that you can remember your family's grimoires, and that a blood-traitor like you would want to teach such things."

"Master Lestrange," Andromeda smirked at him, her wand in her hand, "there is almost nothing I wouldn't do anymore. Teaching family history to my niece and my nephew is hardly distasteful to me. And I am no more a blood-traitor than Dora. Or Bella, for that matter."

Rodolphus glared at her, jumping to his feet. "Don't. You. DARE!" he hissed at her, seething in fury. "Don't you dare speak of her that way!"

Andromeda merely looked at him. "Then do not try to insult me."

Delphi walked up to the man, pressing her mother's wand back into his hand. "Thanks," she said quietly, squeezing his fingers a moment before she hurried from the room, leaving the three alone.

Rodolphus glanced at Rigel, then sighed. "I'm sorry," he said to the boy. "It's got to be difficult with Delphi around. Trust me, though, her mother was a lot worse than she is now. The thing is, Rigel, you've got to learn to stand up for yourself."

"She tries to embarrass me all the time," Rigel sighed. "And I'm too stupid to do anything right. She always does it first!"

"Well, girls do that," Rodolphus admitted to his nephew. "But I'm sure you can do this, boy. You've got two very powerful parents, you know."

Rigel grinned doubtfully, but encouraged, and nodded. Andromeda, however, rolled her eyes at Rodolphus. "Since you've got everything under control," she said to Rodolphus, "I shall leave you to handle it. Good day."

The witch walked out of the room and Rigel looked up at Rodolphus. "She really doesn't like you."

Rodolphus laughed. "I know. It's okay. I'm used to that with women." Rigel seemed to be trying to understand that, but Rodolphus continued, "Let's work on this scarf, shall we? Perhaps not black...what colour would you like it to be...?"

Andromeda was relaxing in the sitting room and perusing one of the books in the grimoires that Dora had released from its special wards when she heard the sound of a door slamming and Dora shouting, "Delphi!"

She got to her feet, hearing the sound of the young girl crying heartbrokenly, and stepped out of the sitting room to see the girl disappeared into her bedroom, Delphi's hair pure white. Andromeda looked back at Nymphadora, who was standing in the doorway of her room, her own hair white. "What happened?" Andromeda demanded of the witch.

"I'm not exactly sure," Nymphadora bit her lip, sniffing back tears. "Rabastan was scolding her, and I think she provoked him—I know he Cruciated her, Dromeda. Please, go help her. I've got to stay with him."

"Of course," Andromeda answered, then hurried down the hall, touching the door of Delphi's room. "Delphi?" she called through the door, still able to hear the child's sobs.

A sob and some other sounds came from the room, but there was no answer. Worried, Andromeda went to open the door when she found herself rejected by the wards. Shocked and even more concerned, she inspected the magic of the wards and found that Delphi had warded the room against her somehow, even if it hadn't been on purpose.

"Delphi!" Andromeda called, frightened at her inability to reach the child. "Delphi, let me in! I want to help you!"

Again, there was no answer, though someone said, "What's happening?"

Andromeda looked to see Rodolphus and bit her lip nervously. "Rabastan Cursed her," she said to him. "She's warded herself in, and I can't break the ward."

Rodolphus stepped forward, reaching out his right hand, and Andromeda hissed, "You can't go in there!"

"I wanted to touch the ward," Rodolphus said in annoyance. "Do you really think I want to burst in on her after whatever it is that Rab did? She's Bella's daughter; I'm sure that wouldn't be safe."

"Merlin knows what you'd do, either," Andromeda muttered.

Rodolphus smiled slightly as he felt the ward, ignoring Andromeda. "So much like Bella," he said, shaking his head. "She used to do this to me all the time when she was pregnant with Delphi. It's a Parselmouth Ward, and she's probably done it on accident."

"Oh." Andromeda bit her lip, staring from Rodolphus to the door. "Well, I knew she probably would be, but I never thought of her warding the door like this..."

"Delphi," Rodolphus called softly, his hand on the door as he touched the ward with his magic. "We want to help you. We need you to allow one of us through the wards so we can heal you. Neither Andromeda nor I know exactly what happened to you, but we need to make sure that the curses aren't hurting you further."

A moment later, he looked up triumphantly, pushing the door open and entering the room, smirking back at Andromeda as the ward continued to reject her. Rodolphus looked at the white-haired child sitting in the middle of the bed and sighed, "He got you good, didn't he?"

Delphi sniffed, looking at him cautiously. "Please," she whispered. "I wasn't being bad. He just...he tortured me."

Rodolphus sighed. "Let me work on healing you, and then you can talk if you want, okay?"

Delphi nodded, scooting closer to him the moment he'd sat down on her bed. He trailed his wandtip down her back, carefully relieving her of the pain of the Curse and shaking his head as he realised the force of anger and hatred behind the spell. "Thank you," she sniffed, curling into his arms when she realised he was finished.

Rodolphus frowned for a moment, then cradled the child closer to his heart, kissing her head. "You're safe now," he sighed. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"He—he said he wanted to talk to me," Delphi muttered, her hair black and brown together. "But he threatened me, and I tried to tell him that I wouldn't listen if he was going to be an idiot, but he yelled that he would teach me to be good. Dora came into the room just a second before Rab Cursed me, and she yelled out, going to stop him."

The girl clung to him tightly, her face buried in his shoulder. "She...she tried to stop me from leaving, wanting to talk to me, but I couldn't stay with Rabastan so angry. He—he really hates me. I didn't even try to upset him, and he hurt me. I didn't mean to ward my room, or answer Andromeda and you in Parseltongue, but—it felt right."

"You were scared," Rodolphus nodded. "It was one of your most natural instincts, then, Delphi. I think you should be proud of that."

"Yes," Delphi nodded, though she still clung to the man. "I don't want them to be upset. Please...don't let Dora and Rab hurt me. I can't help being special."

"I know," Rodolphus sighed, pressing a kiss to her black curls. "Look, Delphi: I know that you and Rab will probably not get along, but you probably need some help to talk to him. Never face him alone, especially after this."

"I wanted to kill him," Delphi bit her lip, looking up to see his reaction.

Rodolphus looked at her for a moment, then said, "You needn't be like your mother enough to go murder your sister's husband. I don't think Nymphadora would like that, and I might even miss him slightly."

Delphi giggled, then sighed deeply. "Will I have a chance to show the world my special powers?"

The man shrugged. "Perhaps. But you need experience. Shh, now. Do you think you could talk to Andromeda now? If she's still waiting in the hall—I'm sure she's still waiting in the hall."

"I'll see her," Delphi said with a shrug. "She is the nicest witch, though, Rodolphus. It's just that she gets upset if she thinks you've insulted her or your family."

"Well, let me go out and tell her, and then she can talk to you," Rodolphus answered. He stood from the bed, releasing her reluctantly.

"Thanks," Delphi muttered, then lay back and relaxed as he left.

Rodolphus motioned Andromeda toward the door. "She should be all right now," he told her. "Just needs a word of encouragement, though I'm sure Nymphadora will deal with Rabastan."

Andromeda seemed to ignore him, brushing right past him into the room, and Rodolphus turned away, walking back to his room. He almost wished that Nymphadora would pull a Bellatrix and just curse her husband. Rodolphus chuckled to himself: Rabastan was no less of an idiot than himself. He only hoped that he, Andromeda, and Dora could keep Delphini safe until Rabastan settled down.