Yes, this took aeons to write. Not only do I have a bit of trouble characterising Bellatrix (which there is a lot of in this chapter), but I (Dora) meanwhile have quit two jobs, spent some time in the hospital with my grandpa, and am running off to London in a couple days to see Bella. XD These past few weeks have been tumultuous, but now that most of it is calming down, things should be getting back to normal.
Hope you enjoy, and as always, leave us a comment or review! We love you for it all! :D
Dora
A few days later, Nymphadora found herself standing in front of the door to the study of the old Manor, sighing as she thought of what she needed to do. She couldn't help but feel nervous, as Andromeda's refusal to go near the room had half rubbed off on her. Finally, she reached out and touched the door, it recognising her magic and swinging open at her touch. Biting her lip, she walked into the room, shutting it softly behind her.
She tried not to think of what Andromeda had hinted about the place as she walked across the room to a cabinet. With a small sigh, she drew her wand, slitting her finger and letting a single drop of blood dispel the wards locking the cabinet. Nymphadora then opened it, sighing as she saw the rows of vials of memories that it contained. "Now which ones...?" Dora sighed to herself. She wasn't sure which memories she wanted to share with Delphi, but she was sure that if Delphi saw the entire cabinet, she wouldn't be able to stop the girl from looking at them all.
Dora shuddered slightly. She wasn't even sure what kind of memories that were in it, probably some from generations back. Dora really did not want to go exploring into them too much...though if she had Andromeda to guide her, and tell her who was who, it might be a bit better. Nymphadora rolled her eyes at the idea of trying to convince Andromeda to enter the study. She was sure the witch would not appreciate that at all.
To her surprise, she felt a slight tap on the wards of the room and looked up to see the door open, Andromeda standing in the doorway. "Merlin, I hate this room," the witch said with conviction. "But I had to see what you're doing. Something to do with Delphi? She is becoming a bit much to handle, isn't she?"
"She...thinks she deserves our servitude," Nymphadora sighed, turning to the brown-haired witch. "Nothing we say can convince her otherwise. And she wants to learn Dark Arts...she's so young, Andromeda..."
"No younger than most pureblood children," Andromeda answered. "But Rigel isn't ready for such things, Dora. You know he's a bit gentle yet for learning what Delphi wants to know."
"Do you know what she wants?" Dora asked as Andromeda walked into the room, wincing as the door shut behind her.
"She wants to know her parents," Andromeda sighed. "And Delphi wants to learn the Dark Arts of her mother."
"She isn't ready," Nymphadora said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "She proved that to us."
Andromeda raised an eyebrow at the younger witch. "She needs to know about her parents first. Her training comes after. She needs to know how her mother was in order to be who she should be. And of course, none of us well knew her father..."
Nymphadora bit her lip slightly. "Mum left memories locked in a drawer in our room," she said quietly. "I...I haven't seen them. I don't even know what they are. Will you look at them with me, and help me decide what to show Delphi?"
Andromeda nodded with a small sigh. "Which ones are they?"
A long while later, the two witches emerged from the Pensieve, Andromeda's arm around Nymphadora's shoulders as the witch sniffed. "I don't understand," Nymphadora whispered, swatting away her tears.
"Shall I go get Delphi?" Andromeda said. "It'll give you a moment to yourself. I think we can show them all to her."
"No," Nymphadora muttered. "Not all." She drew her wand and removed a single memory from the Pensieve, locking it back into the cabinet.
"Which one was that?" Andromeda asked thoughtfully.
"Mother and I torturing some helpless member of the Order," Dora muttered. "Oh, and this one—when she went after Remus—I don't understand why she kept that. These Delphi definitely cannot see."
Andromeda nodded. "Well, clear it all out, whatever you think. You can't remove any while Delphi's here, or she'll set to asking questions neither of us want to answer."
Nymphadora bit her lip as Andromeda left the room, purposefully walking down the hall to Delphini's room. She sighed slightly before knocking on the door. "Delphi?" she called.
The door swung open after a moment, Delphi curled up on her bed, Marvolo wrapped around her arm. "What's going on?" she asked her aunt, looking up at the witch.
"Well," Andromeda said thoughtfully, "Dora reminded me today that your mother left memories to you and her. We've set them up for us to look at in the study."
Delphi's mouth opened slightly, the girl sitting up quickly. "Okay," she said, swinging her legs off the bed and putting the wand she'd been using in her pocket. "Let's go."
Andromeda led the way down the hall, knocking on the door to the study before she opened the door and entered the room. Nymphadora looked up at them, motioning them to join her next to the Pensieve, and Delphi immediately stepped up next to her sister. "What kind of memories are they?" she asked Nymphadora.
"Mostly Mother after I was brought back to her," Dora said, biting her lip slightly. "There's a bit of her and me at first, and then...you."
Delphi reached out and entered the memories, Andromeda quickly following, leaving Dora to sigh and join them. The three watched the scene unfold before them
The owner of the memory was half-running down the hall, skidding to a halt before she nearly collided with Narcissa Malfoy. The witch tried to persuade her to stop, to wait a moment, but Bella refused, throwing open the door to the dungeons and disappearing down the steps.
She cautiously looked into one of the larger cells, her joy at seeing her daughter grown up marred by sorrow that she had missed most of the witch's life, anger that Rodolphus had done this to her-she would see that he suffered for that-and concern that the girl seemed to be injured. "Nymphadora," she breathed, surprised to see her daughter's white hair suddenly blended with red.
Bellatrix couldn't understand for the life of her why Nymphadora was scared and angry at her, panicked at the thought that Andromeda might have turned the girl against her. "I would never hurt you," Bella breathed, reaching out to tuck a strand of Dora's hair behind her ear. "You're mine." She gave a small laugh, reaching out and touching the chain on the girl's neck, pulling the locket out. "You have my locket!"
Her daughter looked surprised, then nodded uncomfortably, the girl not seeming to take too well to the news of her true mother. Bellatrix did not comment, hoping that Nymphadora would understand in time and accept that they had had to be apart for a time. She loved her daughter, but could hardly bear the thought that the girl had not known the truth. Anger filled her, and she determined to have her revenge on both Rodolphus and Andromeda, but for now, she would do her best to convince Nymphadora that she meant her no harm.
The scene changed, Bellatrix lying curled on her bed, her eyes wide open in worry. Delphi frowned and was about to ask what was happening when the other two shook their heads at her. They all turned toward the door of Bella's room as it opened.
Bellatrix cried out slightly, jumping back toward the head of the bed, only relaxing slightly as Narcissa entered the room. "Bella..." the witch sighed. "What is it now?"
"D-Dora," Bellatrix breathed. "She's gone to get her things...she'll find out—I can't have her leave—I could have gone to get her things—"
"Find out what?" Narcissa frowned. "Bella, what is it?"
"I—I went back and killed the Mudblood," Bellatrix blurted out, immediately cringing into the pillows. "I had to! I had to keep her from going back! But...Dora will be angry...she thought he was—Cissa, what will I do? She'll hate me for it, and probably never come back, and I couldn't bear to lose her—oh Dora!"
Narcissa watched her sister tremble for a few moments, then went over and stood next to her. "She has been very understanding, Bellatrix," the blonde witch said softly. "Even if she is angry, it can't be changed, and she will accept it."
Bellatrix sat up in alarm. "What if she doesn't come back! She has to come back! Andromeda can't keep her from me, even if I've got to kill her too!"
"No," Narcissa said, almost too quickly, and closed her eyes a moment before saying, "Nymphadora will come back. Andromeda will not try to convince her to stay, especially since the girl has already lost her the Mudblood. Dora will return, Bellatrix."
"I'll have to Obliviate her," Bella muttered, curling up on the bed again. "Or something. I'll do what I have to." She sniffed, whimpering her daughter's name as she planned what to do for whatever mindset Dora came home in. Bella did not notice when Narcissa left the room, too distracted by her varying levels of hysterics.
Bellatrix jumped in shock, as her daughter suddenly leaned over the bed, looking sorrowful. "Dora," she gasped, cringing against the head of the bed.
"Mother, come off it," Dora sighed.
"I'm not sorry!" Bellatrix hissed at her. "Just...sorry it hurt you too." She glared at the girl defiantly, her emotions all tangled together and making her sniff a little.
Dora's soft words broke through her fears, the black-haired witch looking at her daughter with a slight hope. "Come here, Mum," Dora said softly, reaching out for her. "It's okay; I understand."
After a moment of doubt, Bellatrix scooted closer to her daughter, tensing slightly as the witch embraced her carefully. Finding she was trembling, Bella leaned her head on the girl's shoulder so she didn't have to look into the girl's sorrowful face.
"It's all right," Dora murmured, squeezing her mother gently. "I love you, Mum."
Bellatrix couldn't help remembering Andromeda screaming in horror as she tortured the witch's lover delightedly. She cringed, clinging to her daughter tightly. "She—she loved him, didn't she?"
Nymphadora hesitated before replying, "Yes—and he loved her."
Bellatrix only wondered how Andromeda felt about that for two seconds before she shut the thought out of her mind. "Good," she said. She didn't know exactly how she meant that, whether she was glad they had loved each other, or glad that she'd picked the perfect punishment for her wayward sister.
She sniffed as she and Dora lay down in the bed together, the older witch trying to calm enough to rest her mind. It wasn't until she startled awake from a full-on nightmare that she realised she had cried out in fear, her daughter looking at her sleepily. "Stay," Bellatrix pleaded in a whisper, reaching over to grasp her daughter's hand as the girl sat up. "Stay with me. I—I'm sorry that I'm keeping you awake...please stay."
Nymphadora reached over and brushed her mother's hair out of her face. "I'm not leaving you alone tonight," she said firmly. "I'll watch over you as you rest."
Bellatrix shivered slightly to see her daughter's brown eyes looking at her with compassion, the girl probably more influenced by the whole situation than she realised. It was almost as if she had a new Andromeda: one that was loyal, and didn't go running off. "Thanks," she whispered, reaching out to touch Nymphadora's dark brown curls, so much like Andromeda's. "Thank you."
A third scene began, and Bellatrix was striding down the hall of Malfoy Manor once again, this time with great purpose.
She hummed to herself as she half skipped down the hall toward her brother-in-law's room. She had decided that with the lack of Rodolphus, Rabastan might do just as well for Dora to experiment with. She would just round up the man, then go find her daughter.
Stepping up to the door, she gave a firm knock, then pushed the door open, not giving the man time to fortify the room against her. She stopped for a moment, seeing he was with someone, and then yelled in shock and fury as she spotted her daughter, mostly naked beneath the man.
Rabastan straightened up, a look of shock and embarrassment on his face. "Bellatrix..."
"What—what are you doing?" Bellatrix said, her eyes narrowing in anger. She glared at her daughter to silence her protest, yelling, "What do you think you're doing with my daughter?"
"Well, uh—we were just—" Rabastan stuttered, trying to think of something uncondemning to say.
"I know what you were doing!" Bellatrix screeched in rage.
"Mum, I'm a grown woman," Nymphadora said hurriedly as she slipped back into her dress.
Bellatrix whirled on her. "You are my child!"
Nymphadora looked at her for a moment, then stepped toward her, trying to get between her and the man she was with. "Mum," she said, as if she were talking to a child herself, "calm down."
Bellatrix saw her daughter wince at the look she was sure was not calm at all. "Look," Dora continued. "It's okay. We—we like each other. It's consensual. It's okay."
The black-haired witch stared from one to the other, and back to her daughter. It couldn't be, that her daughter had decided she wanted Rabastan Lestrange...could it? She couldn't believe her ears, yet she saw her daughter's earnest expression, and could pick up no sign of distress or harm on the girl.
"Well, Bellatrix," Rabastan laughed awkwardly, the sound grating on her nerves, "you did originally want her to be a Lestrange."
This instantly infuriated her, and she whirled and punched him straight in the nose, greatly satisfied as he staggered backward with a yell and half sank to the floor. "Mother!" Nymphadora yelled, running to the man instantly.
Bellatrix glared down at the girl. "You have terrible taste in men!" she snapped at the younger witch. "Do you have a thing for men twice your age or something? First a werewolf, and now—him!"
Rabastan seemed surprised at this news, but Dora's mouth fell open in shock. "What?"
"At the Ministry!" Bella hissed at the girl. "Remus Lupin! You deflected a curse from him, I saw you!"
"Mum, that was a mistake..." Nymphadora breathed, too aware of everyone staring at her. "I—I was engaged to him, but when I found out that I was your daughter and got the Mark I called it off." She refused to look at Rabastan.
"Don't worry, I fixed it," Bellatrix said with a smirk, proud that she'd covered her daughter's mistake.
"You—you what?" Dora said, a look of trepidation coming to her face.
"He's dead," Bella proclaimed, rolling her eyes.
"Y—you killed him?"
Bellatrix heard her daughter's voice crack slightly, and drew a small breath at the pang it gave her: Dora had loved the man. She had loved Remus Lupin just like she had loved Andromeda's Mudblood, and now Dora had twice as much reason to hate her. Why did she always do that?
Fright rose in Bellatrix, the witch stuttering, "He—he was a distraction. You couldn't go back to him. I couldn't risk it!" She stepped forward, wincing as her daughter cringed away from her. Bella willed the girl to understand as she breathed, "He was scum, Nymphadora. He was an Order member and you are a Death Eater."
Nymphadora was trembling, Bellatrix could see that easily enough even though the girl did her best to put on a pureblood mask. "You're right," the girl said, trying to gather her thoughts and emotions together, though Bellatrix could see the girl crumbling inside. "That's why I took him out of my life. But—"
Bellatrix almost groaned as Dora continued, "Rabastan is a Pureblood and a Death Eater and if I wish to pursue a relationship with him you should not respond by punching him in the face. Rabastan wouldn't hurt me. I'd kill him if he tried before you could even think about it."
Helplessly, she looked from the girl's firm gaze to the man whose nose was now crooked, probably broken. "...do not hurt her."
It was only after Rabastan nodded to her, that she nodded back uncomfortably. With a final look at her daughter, Bellatrix turned and left the room. She fled from that hall, running back toward her room in horror and fear.
"Bella!"
The witch jumped, letting out a sound of fright before she rushed into her room and slammed the door. She couldn't talk to anyone: she'd hurt her daughter deeply. Again.
She could hear Narcissa on the other side of her door, trying to feel the wards in order to override them and get in, but she knew that with the Death Eater wards in place, Narcissa couldn't override much of anything. "Bella, let me in!" Narcissa called through the door firmly. "Bellatrix!"
"Leave me alone!" she yelled at the door hysterically, tears beginning to stream down her face. She really was going to lose her daughter, out of her own naivety and as much as she did her best to protect the girl from outward influences. "I'm sorry," Bellatrix sobbed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I thought it was for the best."
"Bellatrix!"
"Go away!" Bella screamed, her magic crackling wildly though she kept it from lashing out at anything. She couldn't imagine anything that would hurt more than losing someone she loved, but she hadn't lost Dora. Or at least, she had her back. "Don't leave," Bellatrix cried into the pillow. "I'm trying to protect you...I can't let you love all the wrong people anymore. Getting rid of them is the only way!"
"Bella," Narcissa called to her, sounding worried. "Let me in. It's going to be okay."
"No, no, it's not," Bellatrix cried out. "I've killed everyone that Dora loves, and now she's going to leave me, and be like Andromeda—I don't want her to leave!"
"I know, Bella," Narcissa said through the door, sounding impatient.
"You don't know anything!" Bellatrix practically screamed, feeling the magic explode from her hands in an uncontrolled burst of fear and anger.
Instantly, the door flew open and Narcissa rushed into the room, Bellatrix sitting up and screaming for her to go away, reaching for her wand. "No," Narcissa said firmly. "Whatever you've done, Bella, cursing me over it will not help anyone."
Bella's entire body shook before she sobbed, "Cissa, she's going to leave me!"
Narcissa sighed and sat down on the bed, wrapping her arms around her sister and holding the hysterical witch. "She knows there were reasons," she told Bella firmly. "She will understand."
"She'll hate me!" Bellatrix whimpered. "She'll run off and be like Andromeda! I can't let her go back to her old ways—I just wanted to fix everything!"
"Who—what happened?" Narcissa changed her question, but Bellatrix knew she was wondering who had died this time.
"I—I killed Dora's old love," Bellatrix sniffed, clinging to her sister for comfort. "She couldn't go back to him! He was in the Order, and a werewolf—"
"Lupin?" Narcissa said in shock. "Our Dora—?"
"Yes!" Bellatrix yelled, pulling away from Narcissa. "No. My Dora! So I made sure she couldn't go back."
Narcissa shook her head, disgust plain on her face. "She can definitely do better," the witch said with conviction. "How did she find out about it, though?"
Anger bubbled up in Bellatrix, and she hissed, "Rabastan! That man—I swear to Merlin I'm going to kill him—that man has been sleeping with my daughter—and when I found them—" Bellatrix shuddered in horror. "I told her she has terrible taste in men. And I can do away with Rabastan just as well as I did her werewolf!"
"No one wants to learn that someone they loved was murdered," Narcissa sighed, shaking her head slightly.
"I know!" Bellatrix cried, pulling away from her sister and throwing herself back onto the bed. "I didn't know she cared so much, but I can't help it! I had to do it!" She whimpered, wrapping her arms around herself as she gasped, "I—I'll make sure no one harms her. No one will hurt her. But I have to protect her. I have to make sure she chooses the right path." Her tears broke through again, and she wept, "Dora, I'm sorry. I can't change anything, but I want to do what's best for you. Oh, Dora!"
She barely felt her sister's hand on her back as she cried and muttered into the sheets. There was no comfort for her, nothing that could be said or done. She would have to try to persuade Dora—but she'd hurt the girl terribly. There would be no convincing her that her mother had meant well.
Nymphadora and Andromeda looked around in surprise as they were drawn out of the memories, Delphi frowning at both of them. "It's just Dora," she scowled. "There's nothing about me!"
"Nothing?" Dora rolled her eyes. "It was on my wedding night that Mother conceived you with the Dark Lord."
"Ugh," said Andromeda before she could stop herself, looking away from Delphini. "Sorry, Delphi. I love you, you know."
"Yeah," Delphi smirked at her. "Let's see about Mum and me, okay?"
Dora shrugged, motioning the girl back to the Pensieve. "It goes into that next. If you only had an ounce of patience—" she half yelled out as Delphi reached out and pulled her into the memories with her.
Bellatrix sat still in her chair as every other Death Eater scrambled to his feet to leave the room. She barely registered Rabastan half dragging Nymphadora from the room as she stared vacantly at the table. She had just shouted out seconds before because of something her Master had said to Nagini. She couldn't understand why, amidst the hissing, her mind had understood what the two had said.
The witch wasn't sure what it could mean, though she was awfully confused and sure she'd done something wrong. She knew she hadn't meant to do anything wrong. She was faithful.
"Bellatrix."
Her Master's voice broke through her jumbled thoughts and she scrambled to her feet, walking toward him. She hadn't done something wrong, had she? Of course she hadn't meant to, but...Bella moved to kneel before her Lord.
She shivered in delight at his touch when he grasped her left arm and kept her from kneeling all the way, raising her to her feet. "My Lord," she breathed, wanting to say something more, but finding herself at a loss for words. She couldn't look into the face of her master and not be filled with memories of their times together.
She was his, had been his since she had first taken the Dark Mark. It was her intense loyalty that had earned her the privilege, even before her stay in Azkaban and all. She shuddered, forcing herself to look into the man's eyes. It had all been worth it.
The Dark Lord looked into her eyes, letting a moment pass before he said quietly, "Bellatrix...you have been my mossst faithful ssservant for yearsss..."
"Alwaysss, my Lord," Bellatrix whispered, her breath catching in her throat. She didn't understand why he was using such a strange tone with her, why he was speaking the way he was. "My Lord," she said desperately, "what isss it? What have I done?"
"Oh, Bella," the man suddenly laughed, and reached out to cup her face in his hand. "Bellatrix—you have done everything right, exactly asss I have asssked you to."
She leaned into his touch without a word, watching his face as she longed for him to explain to her what he meant. He stroked her face gently with the tips of his fingers, then smirked, "I believe, Bellatrix, that we have conceived a child."
Bellatrix frowned at the words, not understanding what he meant until he pulled her closer, wrapping one arm around her back and placing his other hand on her side. Her eyes opened wide and she cried, "My Lord—"
He touched his wand to her stomach, and in a instant, the two knew the truth. "A child, Bellatrix," he said softly. "You are carrying my future heir."
Her mouth opened slightly in shock, and seconds later, her breath was taken away as her Master pressed a kiss to her lips. She returned it for a fraction of a second before he drew away from her. "My Lord," she groaned in longing, one hand reaching out for him. She merely giggled when a hex stung her hand, and she looked up at him playfully.
"You forget yourself, Bella," he said sternly.
"It's too easy," Bellatrix pouted at him.
"Easy?" the man raised an eyebrow. "Ah, Bellatrix. You have a higher duty now: to carry this child to life."
The immediate fear she felt must have shown on her face, because her Master continued, "Every caution will be taken. You will ward the child, and I will add protection as well. You will not be going out on any missions while you are carrying—there will be no disagreement on this, Bellatrix."
The witch pouted, though she couldn't help smiling as he touched her face again, a small smirk on his lips. "Only a handful of people can know," he continued thoughtfully, tracing his finger over the curve of her lips. "You and I, of course, Nymphadora and her husband will be told. That leaves your husband, whom I will deal with upon his return."
Bellatrix made a sound of disgust, and her Master chuckled. "You amuse me, Bella."
"Yes, my Lord," she answered willingly, then looked up at him again. "What about Narcissa? May I tell her?"
"Yes," he said. "Your sister must know, as she will have to be at the birth."
Bellatrix bit her lip slightly, then nodded. "My Lord, I am honoured," she breathed. "But—how did you know? What happened during the meeting?"
He regarded her for a moment, then smirked, "You understood the Parseltongue, Bella, and also spoke it as well. That is how I knew the child had been conceived, though I did not expect it to work so quickly..."
Bellatrix giggled, her Master's hand resting on her waist. "But you, as I said, have always been my Most Faithful," he said. "And this must be a fairly powerful child to affect your ability to understand Parseltongue. Especially so soon. I was not aware that this sort of thing could happen, though I expected the child to speak, just as I do."
"Of course, my Lord," Bellatrix breathed, realising even more the tremendous responsibility and privilege she'd been given. "I will do everything I can for this child."
"I expect nothing less," the man said, stroking her hair back from her face."You would not despise such an honour, would you, Bella?"
"Never, My Lord!" she cried in horror, though she did not move from the spot. She looked into his face even as his hand slowly wandered over her body. Her thoughts turned once again to their special nights together, of pain and passion freely flowing between them.
"Such lust, Bellatrix," came his voice of cold amusement. Their laughter subsided after a moment, and he leaned close to her. "We will have time for that later," he murmured against her cheek. "For now, you may tell the rest of your family of the child."
Nagini stirred from near the fireplace and hissed, "The Colourful One waitsss outssside! I can tassste her in the air!"
Bellatrix laughed at the description of Nymphadora, and said, "May I go, then?"
To her shock, he kissed her once again, this time strongly, dominantly, and she clung to him, returning the kiss for all she was worth. "Go," he said, finally pushing her away.
Her starry eyes cleared as she walked to the door, half-dazed. She looked back at her Master one more time before she opened the door and left the room.
She almost tripped over her daughter, who was seated against the wall and immediately asked, "Mum, are you all right?"
Bellatrix let out a small giggle and leaned down to pull her daughter to her feet. She would tell her daughter in their secret room.
Delphi was giggling, and started to say something to Andromeda and Nymphadora, but they both shushed her. "Just a couple more," Dora said to her. "This one is of you and your father."
Without argument, Delphi shut up and turned her attention to the memory.
Bellatrix lay back in the bed, cradling her newborn baby Delphini. She looked into the child's face, smiling in awe before she looked up to her first daughter. "Call Him."
She watched her baby closely for a moment, then looked up as her Lord entered the room. She scrambled to sit up more, but he motioned her to relax even as he sent Nymphadora out of the room. Bellatrix cradled her little one, wondering what the child's father would think of his daughter.
She waited, practically breathlessly, as he stood there, watching the sleepy child in her arms. Bellatrix wanted him to say something, anything. "She—she is a Metamorphmagus, my Lord," Bellatrix murmured. "She will be a very powerful Death Eater."
Baby Delphi gave a small yawn, her cheek against her mother's breast. Her mother smiled down at her before looking up to the man again. "Master? Your daughter..."
"Hush, Bella," he said firmly, stepping closer to them and reaching out toward his silver-haired baby girl.
Bellatrix almost held her breath as Delphi startled, looking up toward her father in surprise. The man's expression did not change, though as the child gripped his finger, he hissed softly to her in Parseltongue. "Already strong, my Young One? You will grow to be sssecond only to me...my daughter...my heir."
Delphi's dark eyes focused on her father's face for a moment before the man drew his hand away from her, but the first thing she did was to cry at the loss of his touch.
"Father," Delphi breathed, finding herself sitting on the floor near the Pensieve. "He...he cared."
Nymphadora's heart ached for her sister, though she didn't dare contradict the girl. "He wanted to teach you himself, to show you all the things he'd taught Mother and more," she said softly, glancing to Andromeda at her side.
Delphini sniffed slightly. "I wish I could have known him," she said. "I—I would have liked to have a real Father."
Andromeda stepped forward with a small sigh. "Well, his gift of Parseltongue remains with you," she told the girl, helping her to her feet and holding back a yell of surprise at Marvolo's sudden appearance from Delphi's sleeve. "Obviously."
The girl giggled. "Nagini called Dora 'The Colourful One.' Isn't that funny?"
Marvolo hissed to her, and Delphi listened intently before nodding. "I guess all serpents know you as that, then," she told her sister.
"At least it's true," Dora smirked.
"I—I guess Mum really loved us both," Delphi mumbled before finally reaching out to hug Nymphadora. "I understand why she did all those things to you and those you loved, but still..."
"It's difficult to understand Mother sometimes," Nymphadora said to Delphi. "But when we're both ready to discuss Mother's life in an adult way, then you will know everything. For now, I want you to know that she loved you, and protected you the best way she could. She even made me promise to take care of you in case anything happened to her. It's one of the reasons I was able to convince Rabastan that both you and Andromeda had to stay."
Delphi wrinkled her nose. "He never liked Mum."
Andromeda sighed. "No, he didn't. She's difficult to get along with, as she didn't even respect her own husband."
Nymphadora shook her head at the thought. "I'm just glad Mum's finally at rest. And shall we go get ourselves a snack? I'm starving!"
Delphi laughed, leading the way to the door as Marvolo hissed to her again. "As long as we have something for Marvolo."
"Of course," Dora agreed, the three leaving the study for the kitchens. "As long as you feed him elsewhere."
Delphi rolled her eyes at the stipulation, but didn't argue. After all, there was only so much to be gained from her sister and aunt in one day.
It was a few days after their little trip down memory lane that Nymphadora sought out Andromeda Tonks. She had of course had the chance to talk to her since then but not quite alone and she was still having an internal battle as to if she was in the right to seek Andromeda out or not without Rabastan knowing. The woman took a deep breath as she raised her hand to the dark wood of the door, mentally reprimanding herself for being such a chicken about the whole situation as she quickly knocked the door. As she waited for a reply Dora was beginning to consider if she could get away with running away and forgetting the whole thing. Of course it was at that moment that Andromeda decided to open the door.
She was already in her nightgown, her silk dressing gown wrapped around her, her curls tied back in a loose ribbon with a book clasped in the hand that wasn't currently ensuring her dressing gown remained tightly wrapped around herself. "Dora," Andromeda frowned slightly before she stood to the side to let the girl into her room "come in."
"Thanks . . ." Dora walked past the woman, unable to help but smirk slightly at her look "I haven't seen you looking this relaxed in a while."
"You spend a day dealing with Delphi wanting to learn every dark spell under the sun and tell me you do not deserve to relax a little." Andromeda sighed, walking over to put her book down on the bedside table before turning to Nymphadora.
"Oh she did that to me the other day. Asked me to teach her every 'Death Eater spell I've ever known' . . . maybe when she's a bit older." Dora shrugged.
"See how long that lasts." Andromeda smirked before she finally sat down on her bed, tilting her head slightly to look at her once daughter. "What's on your mind?"
"What makes you think I have something on my mind?" Dora couldn't help it as her cheeks went red slightly, walking over to the bed and sitting on the end, her hand subconsciously going to her stomach.
"I know you." Andromeda remarked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Dora frowned as she brought her legs up onto the bed, crossing them in front of her as she ignored Andromeda disapproving roll of her eyes. "Nothing's wrong . . . I'm . . . I'm pregnant." Dora watched Andromeda's face intently for her reaction, though she sighed at the knowing smile on her lips. "You guessed already, didn't you?"
"Perhaps." Andromeda nodded, holding back a smirk. "Rodolphus and I talked about it the other night actually."
"I'm not sure what to be more surprised at!" Dora's eyes widened slightly as she teased the woman before shaking her head. "What gave it away?"
"Well, Rabastan is sticking unusually close to you recently, you've started become very fussy with what you eat, you've stopped wearing corsets—little things." Andromeda said. "Rodolphus suspected it because apparently Rabastan is 'far too happy' at the moment. He asked my opinion on his reasoning and we both managed to put two and two together."
"Oh." Dora looked down to her lap, fiddling with the fabric of her dress.
"So," Andromeda began, looking to the woman on her bed with a sympathetic gaze "I take it there's a reason you've come to me about this. How far along are you anyway? Does Rabastan know you're here?"
"Almost three months and no." Dora bit her lip, looking to Andromeda with her deep brown eyes full of innocent fear and despair "I can't do this. I'm terrified. What if I lose it—again? What if he gets upset if it's a girl? I mean I know he has a boy but more than one boy is good, right? What if he gets annoyed if it's a girl? What if Rigel doesn't want a sibling? What if someone comes again and—"
"Nymphadora Lestrange, stop." Andromeda spoke firmly, hesitating for a moment before she held an arm out for the girl. She waited until Nymphadora crawled up beside her, resting on her shoulder as she let out a breath. "Calm down, you babble too much when you're not calm." The woman smiled slightly, stroking her hair gently as she hugged her close. She hadn't held Dora like this in many years, not since before Dora had been taken to live with her true mother, though she couldn't help but slightly enjoy having the girl in her arms as she comforted her. A fleeting thought of what her late sister would think of the pair right now flew through her mind for a moment before she snapped her mind back to reality. "Dora, you are a good wife, a brilliant mother. You've clearly made Rabastan very happy. It is true that most Pureblood husbands want more than one son—or even only sons—though I don't think Rabastan is very traditional in that sense. I daresay he may enjoy having a daughter. Rigel would love a sibling, that you can pretty much say is certain. And Dora—" Andromeda paused as she lifted her hand to Nymphadora's chin, raising her head slightly as she stared directly into her glistening eyes "losing the child was not your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself. Rabastan does not blame you—simply be happy in that. It just goes to show how much he loves you, I can assure you many other pureblood husbands have put their wives through hell when it was never their fault either. These things happen."
"B—But what if it happens again?" Dora couldn't help but let a few tears escape, trying her hardest not to let her emotions fully get the better of her.
"It won't." Andromeda kissed her head, hugging her into herself again as she let Dora close her eyes to stop her tears.
"But what if it does?"
"Don't think about it Dora." Andromeda sighed, rubbing her back comfortingly. "If you stress yourself you stress the baby . . . if something happens we will deal with it. For now, do not worry over something that may never happen."
"O—Okay . . ." Dora sniffed.
"Would you like to stay here for a little while?" Andromeda asked, smiling when Dora nodded slightly. "Okay . . . Congratulations by the way."
"Thanks." Dora murmured, keeping her eyes shut though the slightest smile came to her lips as she rested a hand on her stomach. Andromeda always knew the right things to say and for now she was more than happy to rest in the witch's arms and forget the worries that had been constantly running through her mind since she discovered she was pregnant.