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Bella
Rabastan grinned broadly, wrapping his arms around his new wife as she gently leant her head upon her shoulder, the pair swaying around the dance floor as their peers watched. Dora let out a hum of contentment as her husband stroked the delicate white lace on her hip, blushing as Rabastan let out a soft chuckle. She closed her eyes as he leant down and kissed her hair, the black locks turning pink.
"I love you, Nymphie."
"Dora." She couldn't help but scoff in amusement, looking up to see into her husband's eyes.
"Dora," Rabastan smirked, pressing his lips to her own "I love you. I'll always love you."
Dora smiled wistfully at the small silver frame on her bedside table, her fingers tracing the edge of the frame. She felt her husband's pulling her closer to himself, kissing her tinged pink black hair before he rested his cheek against her own to look at the two figures lovingly swaying around in their little frame.
"It seems like yesterday you know, in some ways." Dora whispered, bringing her husbands hand up to gently kiss his knuckles.
"I'm old now . . ." Rabastan murmured.
"If you're old I'm old." Dora laughed slightly.
"No, I'm in my fifties, you're not even in your forties yet."
"You're 51." Dora scoffed. "And I'm not far off 40."
"Mmm," Rab shrugged slightly, kissing Dora's cheek. "Still look as young and beautiful as the day I met you."
Dora couldn't help but laugh at that, shifting in his arms to turn and look into his dark eyes "Well, I'd like to think we've matured since then—or do you still just want to get in my pants?"
"You'll never let me live down telling you that, will you?" Rab rolled his eyes in amusement before feigning serious "No, Madame Lestrange, that is simply one of my many goals with you at this moment in time." Dora hit his shoulder playfully, accepting his kiss for a few moments before pulling away. She bit her lip slightly as he frowned down at her. "We need to talk Rab . . ."
"About?" Rabastan asked, though she was sure he knew what about.
"About earlier," Dora sighed "I know you don't want to, but I'm worried about you."
"Worried that The Dark Lord will rise and curse me for my 'reluctance' to bring him back?" Rabastan rolled away from Nymphadora as he laid staring at the ceiling.
"No." Dora shook her head, pulling herself closer to him again as she rested her head on his chest "I'm worried about you now, not for what may or may not come later . . . I'm worried about your— . . . Your mind."
"I'm fine, Dora." Rabastan murmured, letting his hand rest on his wife's back.
"No, you're not." Dora spoke more firmly, sitting up suddenly as she looked to her husband's confused expression for a moment before turning away with a shake of her head. "I—I'm worried about you. You're my husband, the father of my children, one of the few people in this world I can't live without—I don't want you to suffer. I know your mind isn't . . . isn't untouched, from Azkaban . . . But I want you to be okay and I don't—I don't want you to—I—"
"You don't want me to turn out like your mother." Rabastan finished her sentence for her, sitting up to meet his wife and encircling his arms around her. He kissed her head as his hearted ached at her quite sobs. "Shhh, love. I won't. I have you . . . You keep me grounded. I—I just can't cope with the idea of losing you, that's why I got a little . . . upset."
"You won't lose me." Dora insisted, turning and wrapping her arms around her husband's neck, wiping her tears on the shoulder of his robes. "But we need to help—"
"Dora," Rab winced "please—I—I don't want to think about it. Please . . . Just lay with me?"
Nymphadora hesitated for a second, sniffing back more tears until she eventually nodded. As her husband laid back on the bed with her in his arms, pulling their sheets over them she wished she could lay cocooned with only their love forever. Though she knew she was naïve to think that there were not difficult times ahead that would no doubt test everyone in their house.
"Hello." Delphini Riddle's voice called out as she walked down the corridor towards her sister. There was an eerily smug grin on her face that made the elder witch raise an eyebrow at the girl, she had seen that look one too many times on their mother to not know that the teenager was up to something.
"Hello, Delphi . . ." Dora said cautiously, stopping as the girl reached her.
"Lovely day, isn't it?" Delphi mused.
"Not particularly." Dora replied. It wasn't a lovely day, not at all. Not only was it raining outside tomorrow would be the anniversary of the battle of Hogwarts, a time of year that she could never enjoy, not one bit.
"Spoil sport." Delphi rolled her eyes. "Cheer up, Nymphie."
"Don't call me Nymphie." Dora rolled her eyes.
"Rab does." Delphi shrugged.
"Well that's different."
"Because that's his pet name for you?" Delphi teased, "Is that what he uses in the bedroom?"
"Delphini!" Dora gawped at the girl, not expecting to hear such things from her littler sisters mouth. It was true she was sixteen now, but still it seemed . . . weird.
Delphini merely laughed, "See you later, Nymphie." She called, walking off in the opposite direction to her sister.
Dora shook her head, trying to put her sisters strange behaviour out of her mind as she continued her walk down to the library. Chances were if she were up to something particularly dangerous or stupid that Rodolphus would already know about it or be able to put a stop to it quite quickly when he undoubtedly found out. Though the mere existence of Delphini Riddle had been difficult for Rodolphus to begin with, he had now seemed to have formed some strange close bond with the girl. Dora sighed at the thought as she walked into the library though she frowned in confusion as she felt wards on the room that were not her. Without a second thought she removed the wards, walking in though she soon stopped in her tracks the moment she saw the figure sat in one of the armchairs glaring furiously at a book. Delphini Riddle no longer seemed happy.
"Delphi?" Dora spoke catiously.
"Leave me alone." Delphi snapped, "I'm not in the—What are you doing!?" the girl stared wide eyed at her sister as she stared at the point of her wand, scrambling for her own though she was soon bound to the seat. "Stop it!"
"What did I get you for your eleven birthday?" Dora demanded of the girl.
"Wha—"
"What did I get you!?"
"Marvolo!" Delphi cried, "You got me my snake, Marvolo. You and Rodolphus woke me up with him on my eleventh birthday."
Dora hesitated for a moment before she released the bonds on the girl, "There's two of you . . ." she went to turn to leave the room, adamant to find the other Delphini before she felt her sister grab her hand.
"I know there's two of me!" Delphi hissed. "That's why I'm hiding in here. I used the time turner."
"You—I—Ergh!" Dora yelled in frustration before she placed wards in the room, locking the two of them in and soundproofing it, "Delphini, do you have any idea how dangerous that is!"
"It's fine." Delphi scowled, rubbing her arms where the bonds were moments before.
"You can't let—"
"People see me, I know." Delphi rolled her eyes again. "That's why I'm hiding away in here. I did ward the room."
"And what if Rodolphus took down those wards and came in, or Rabastan? Even Andromeda?" Dora let out a groan of frustration as she sat in one of the other armchairs. "They might not think to question you before they came to their own conclusions. What if you'd gone too far back? What if we saw you before we knew of the time turner and did something unthinkable? Even if we thought it was a morph or polyjuice potion you would not enjoy the methods used to reverse those affects, only pinpointed extreme agony can force someone out of a morph for starters—and that doesn't even work all of the time."
"It doesn't matter." Delphini snapped, "It's broken, it can't go back more than a few hours at most. It's useless." The girl glared at her sister as she pulled the time turner out of her pocket, throwing it on the woman's lap. "It needs fixing, see? I tried going back at five, it's half three now, I've been sat here since two."
"Delphi . . ." Dora sighed, looking at the thing in her hand before she looked back to her sister. The girl looked upset, a sadness that was carefully covered by the anger on her features though Dora knew her too well. Perhaps now wasn't the time to reprimand her. "Where you simply testing it out? Or were you trying to get somewhere specific?"
"I— . . ." Delphi stared at her sister for a moment before she averted her gaze back to the book in her lap, "Both."
"So you've solved some of the prophecy?" Dora asked curiously.
"No . . ." Delphi mumbled, "I— . . . I thought I could make it go back years . . . It's May 1st today."
Dora felt a lump in her throat, she knew exactly what her sister had been trying to do. "You can't go back to 1998 . . . It was dangerous, for starters. You would never be able to stop your father starting that battle anyway, darling."
Delphi continued to stare at her book "But . . . I might be able to stop mum . . . I— . . . It would be easier with her here."
It was like a dagger in her heart, though the thought of the day her mother had died had grown less painful throughout the years hearing it from her sister in such a way was not something she could easily cope with. "No." Dora swallowed, closing her eyes for a moment before she looked to her sister again, waiting for her dark eyes to meet her own, "she was utterly devout to him. There would be no way that she would not answer his call to fight—perhaps even if that request came from you . . . I loved her, Delphi and she loved you—both of us—so much, albeit in her own strange way. Though as much as I loved her," Dora bit her lip, unsure of how to put her thoughts into words without causing her sister upsert, "I don't think we would have lasted so long in hiding if Mum was with us too. She would have been too hell bent on getting your father back—going all the wrong ways about it, it is precisely what got her caught the first time she went to Azkaban. She got Rabastan, Rodolphus and Barty Crouch Jr to come out of hiding and torture these Aurors into insanity thinking she could get information out of them. It didn't work . . . I love her and I miss her terribly, I watched her die and it was one of the most horrible things I have ever had to experience . . . but I don't know what would happen if she were here."
There was a long pause in the room, neither witch saying a word as they stared into each others eyes, the younger girls expression unreadable. Dora was about to give up on her sister ever speaking to her again when the girl finally breathed "Andromeda wouldn't be here, for starters."
"No," Dora couldn't help but laugh in relief, "she most certainly would not. I remember the day of the battle I suggested if anything were to happen to all of us Andromeda might take Rigel, the reply from your mother—and Rabastan—was not pleasant."
"I can imagine." Delphi smirked, "Tell me about mum . . ."
"Tell you what, Delphi?" Dora sighed as she leaned back in her seat, though she smiled slightly at the teenager, "You've already asked everyone a million and one questions, delved into our memories; what more could you want?"
Delphi shrugged, closing the book on her lap. "Tell me something you wouldn't know unless you knew her, something I haven't seen."
Dora thought for a moment, her eyes wondering around the room until she rested her gaze on an old portrait of her mother and Rodolphus. The pair were clearly recently married and the witch was obviously not enjoying being stood in the frame with the man. She nodded to the portrait as she spoke "See that necklace she's wearing in that photograph?" Delphi nodded as Dora continued, "It's an Augurey skull. Mum used to have a bit of a fascination with them, they say that the Augurey cry foretells death—complete nonsense really, they actually sing when it's going to rain. But she much preferred the myth to the truth, said that they would evoke fear into people and she liked that, plus the fact that there was something 'beautifully sad about them'."
"I think I prefer the myth too . . ." Delphi smiled sadly, staring at the portrait whilst both girls silently reminisced about their late mother.
Rodolphus Lestrange opened his bedroom door with a flick of his wrist, not looking up from his book on his bed as his visitor let their selves in and closed the door behind them. "What can I do for you, Rigel?" He said.
"How did you know it was me?" The boy asked.
"Delphi just lets herself in of late, your father would not have come to my room unless it was urgent, Andromeda never comes to my room and your mother would have tested the room to see if it was warded before she knocked." Rodolphus sighed, putting his book down on the side as he stood to look at the boy, "You don't usually come here unaccompanied though. So I ask again, what can I do for you, Rigel?"
"I—" Rigel swallowed hard before he drew himself up, trying to seem as proper and sincere as he had been trained to be by his Uncle and Father over the last few years. "You're going for supplies later, aren't you?"
"Yes." Rodolphus raised an eyebrow, "Do you need something? I'm not about to go out and get you magazines that your mother wouldn't approve of if that's what you're after."
"No!" Rigel spluttered, sometimes he swore his Uncle just said things to try and get a reaction out of him.
"Then what?" Rodolphus smirked.
"I want to come with you." Rigel spoke with all seriousness.
Rodolphus paused for a moment before he spoke again, "Have you asked your parents?"
"No." Rigel said, "Though I'm seventeen next year, Delphi has been out of the manor and I haven't. If you and father are trying to teach me to be the head of the Lestrange house and 'be a man', then I must be given the opportunity to actually act like one. I want to help provide for us."
Rodolphus considered the boy for a moment before without a moments notice he walked over to his bedroom door, opening it and only stopping when the boy didn't move. He nodded impatiently for the boy to follow him though when he went to speak he merely shook his head, leaving the boy to rush behind his long strides to keep up with him. Rodolphus couldn't help but be amused as the boy couldn't help but show his nerves as he entered the library where his parents were currently sat going over old parchments.
"Rod?" Rabastan frowned slightly, looking between his brother and son.
"What's wrong?" Dora asked, sitting up to no longer lean into her husband's arms as she frowned at her son "Are you okay, Rigel?"
"Yes," Rigel nodded, "I—"
"Rigel wishes to join me in my supply venture out of the manor for supplies." Rodolphus said casually, "I did consider just taking him, though I was sure Dora would have a heart attack the minute she felt him leave the ward."
"No." Rabastan immediately got to his feet, narrowing his eyes at his brother "He is a child, what are you thinking even considering it?"
"He makes the point, the very valid point, that we expect him to be the head of the House of Lestrange one day. That we are trying to encourage him to 'be a man', his words, so we should apparently treat him as such." Rodolphus shrugged, "I can't help but agree. Delphi has been out of the manor before—"
"That's different!" Rabastan snapped.
"How?" Rigel couldn't help but glare at his father slightly as he stepped towards him.
"Rigel, your father's right, it's not safe." Dora sighed, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder as she tried to stop him from turning his fear and anger onto their son. "You need to stay here—"
"For how long?" Rigel interrupted, his hair tinging red now, "Delphini got to go out. I have spent my entire life locked away, I spent—what was it, two days?—out of Malfoy Manor when I was one then I've been locked here for the rest of my life!"
"Rigel, it's for your own safety—"
"No, Mum, no it's not!" Rigel couldn't help but yell at his mother, "I'm not a wanted criminal! You are! Dad is! Uncle Rodolphus is! Andromeda is! Hell, even Delphini would be screwed if anyone found out who she really is. But I'm safe, no-one would hurt me. No-one would hurt Bella for that matter! Yet here we are, missing out on Hogwarts, missing out on friendships, missing out on having a life because decisions you made! I have just as much a right to leave and help and do something, whether it be to help or to simply get some air, as anyone under this roof and you can't deny me that as you have everything else in my life to date!" Rigel panted in his anger as he finished speaking, trying to calm himself. Though the minute he saw the crestfallen look on his mother's usually happy features he couldn't help but feel a stab in his heart. He hadn't intended to upset his mother, it just came out. He knew why they were in hiding, he didn't disagree with his parents service to The Dark Lord . . . he just wished he hadn't worded it that way.
"Well . . ." Dora breathed, suddenly averting her gaze from her son, "I—It's up to your father, isn't it. Now, if you'll excuse me, Bella will wake up from her nap soon."
"Mum—"
"Excuse me." Dora said, not looking at her son as she rushed out of the room, though he was sure he could see her hair turning to a mousey brown as she quickly shut the door behind her.
"You've upset your mother." Rabastan stated matter of factly, "Was it worth it?"
"Answer your father, boy." Rodolphus said after a few moments.
"I didn't mean to upset her, sir." Rigel said, more hesitant than before, "I just . . . I'll be 17 next year, legally an adult. You want to train me and teach me to be strong, be the head of a household . . . though you won't even let me step foot outside of the wards."
Rabastan stared at his son for a long while before he nodded, his expression stiff as he looked to his brother. "You plan it carefully, you make sure he morphs and you do not let him out of your sight." He waited for his brother to nod in agreement before he looked at his son one more time. "I need to check on your mother, I have no doubt you've probably made her cry."
The eldest and youngest Lestrange men didn't say a word until the sound of Rabastan's footsteps disappeared down the corridor. Rodolphus let out a deep sigh, the boy waiting for him to have a go at him as well. "Come on then."
Rigel couldn't help but frown at the man, "Come on?"
"Well, you wanted to go out, didn't you?" Rodolphus raised an eyebrow, "I have no doubt your father will be stealing the last of my Whiskey after that little episode anyway, the sooner we leave the sooner we come back."
Rigel didn't question the man, simply nodded as he led him from the room. He tried not to think about how he had upset his parents, he wanted to forget the whole ordeal. Though he was sure Delphini would be taunting him about it as soon as she heard of it.