Heart. Is. Broken.
I love Rodolphus XD
Dora
Bella approached her brother in the library of their home, clearing her throat softly. He looked up and motioned her to come sit by him, asking, "What is it, Belle?"
"Mum's really angry, isn't she?" Bella sighed, shaking her head. "I just saw them arguing again, but when they saw me, they stopped and pretended it was all right. I'm not a baby; I know Mum's not happy. None of us are."
"Well, Father put us all in danger," Rigel said with a frown. "Especially mother and the baby. And he got Rodolphus sent back to prison. He didn't stop to think that the Ministry could have lied to him and sent everyone to Azkaban, leaving you and me alone."
Bella rolled her eyes. "That's what they're been fighting over since everyone was released," she said.
"So what are you asking me?" Rigel mused, looking at his sister carefully. "If you know how everyone feels about this?"
"How long are they going to argue?" Bella groaned, putting her head in her hands.
"I don't know," Rigel answered truthfully. "They're both extremely stubborn, and could argue for months."
The girl huffed in annoyance. "It's stressful," she complained.
Rigel laughed at this. "Well, think of how mother must feel, then," he told her. "We've just got to wait out the storm."
Delphini Riddle paced the floor of her tiny holding cell at the Ministry of Magic, her eyes darting all around the place, ignoring the Aurors watching her every move. Apparently she wasn't to be trusted.
A small smirk crossed her face as she paused in her pacing and regarded the closest two Aurors thoughtfully. She had been taken to the memory wizards to pull some of her memories and learn of her past as well as what she'd been doing since she'd left Black Manor. Her defiance of the Aurors escorting her had earned her two or three Curses, something she was nearly certain that Potter did not know of, unless the boy was slightly less angelic than he proclaimed himself to be. She didn't really feel the Curses, as she was used to far worse from her training. It had been far more painful for them to make her relive her memories as she struggled to keep them out of her mind. She had resorted to cursing in Parseltongue as she tried to hold on, and quickly learned that her memories were no longer understandable to the memory wizards if she spoke Parseltongue. They had quickly given up after that.
Delphi stalked over to the bars, grabbing them and grinning out at the two she'd been watching. "Have any last words?" she said to them, her eyes alive with mischief.
"This is your ending, not ours," the one guarding the door shrugged.
"No fun," Delphi pouted at them, letting go of the bars. Without hesitating, she brought both hands up with a blast of magic and the two she'd been eyeing fell to the floor. "Who wants to be next?" she giggled as the others yelled in shock and rage.
"Ward her cell!" the senior Auror snapped as the girl danced out of the way of his spells, retaliating with her wandless magic.
Delphi huffed and crossed her arms when the ward went up, though she watched to make sure they weren't going to curse her. "Boring," she sing-songed, tapping her foot.
"We should just kill her," one of the men said, glaring at her in fury before he looked down at one of his fallen comrades.
"Well, I asked Potter if he would please kill me and he wouldn't," Delphi said, rolling her eyes. "His brat wanted to, though." She laughed at the thought.
"Go let Potter know we'll have to use magical restraints to get her out of here," the senior Auror barked at one of the others.
Delphi hummed in amusement and turned away from them, thinking of the past few days. She just couldn't get away from the memory of cursing one of the boys she'd tricked into helping her and hearing him say, "Well, maybe this is the test." She gave a scoff of laughter, thinking of the little Malfoy boy she'd met. She was sure that her mother would not even consider him her cousin, but it amused her to think that he suffered at her hands due to his family's rebellion and failure to remain faithful to her father.
She resumed her pacing around her cell until Potter came back with more Aurors. She went directly to the door of her cell and stared out at him intently. The man watched her for a few moments, then said, "The good news is, for the second time in my life, I no longer speak Parseltongue. Stun her."
The witch glared at them, but stood still and took two Stunning Spells directly to the chest. She woke up minutes later, a slight ache in her body but unhurt as she was pulled to her feet unceremoniously by two men. Delphi felt the magical restraints and grated at the indignity, but she said nothing, though she was vaguely curious as to whether she was about to be paraded through the Ministry Atrium.
Delphi was both relieved and disappointed that she was discretely taken from the Ministry and escorted to the prison boats. None of them spoke on the ride over, but all of them were greeted by the keeper of the keys.
"What have we got here?" the man said, peering at Delphini. "Welcome, girl."
She did not answer him as Potter motioned them to follow him and the keeper. "You have a cell chosen for her?" Potter asked him.
The man smirked. "Well," he said, "I thought we'd let the Heir of the Dark Lord choose her own tower." He turned to Delphi as they paused at the base of one of the staircases. "Perhaps you would like your mother's old cell up in the south tower...or a cold, dark cell in the west tower?"
Delphi looked away from him, and the keeper shrugged. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "Rodolphus Lestrange always talks about you in his sleep, you and Bellatrix. Perhaps you ought to keep him company."
She stared at the keeper. "What did you say?" she said in shock. "Rodolphus is here?"
"The Lestranges came forward with information regarding the past wars, and you," Potter told her simply. "He refused to make a deal with us, and acted nearly in the same way you just did."
"Dora wouldn't," Delphi breathed, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the Boy-Who-Lived. "She wouldn't do that to a sister."
"Her husband basically forced it on her and the rest of them, if they wanted to remain free," one of the Aurors holding her said. "He came to us asking to make a deal, then led us to his family. His brother simply didn't want to play along."
"Rodolphus has always been faithful," Delphi said, looking away as one of the prisoners yelled, setting off a cacophony of sounds in the prison.
"He isn't going to live much longer," the keeper confided to her and Potter. "He has refused to eat since he arrived here two weeks ago and has also become very ill. I don't think he'll last the week."
Delphi's heart pounded in her chest at these words, and she said, "May I see him? I don't care where I stay."
Potter gave her a searching look, then nodded. "Let's go," he said to the keeper.
Delphi climbed the stairs, feeling as if she was living someone else's life entirely. She wondered how Rodolphus had felt when he'd come back to this place for the fourth or fifth time. She was led to a small, dark corridor, and they stopped. She could hardly see into the cell, but this was not a problem as the keeper opened the door for her and shone a light into the cell.
"Leave me alone," came a weak, raspy voice from the back of the cell. A coughing fit followed this statement.
Delphi was pushed into the cell, but she caught her balance and hurried forward, stopping as she approached the man. "Rodolphus," she breathed, kneeling at his side. She could tell he was very weak as he barely moved his head to look at her, but she knew the look in his eyes. "Shh," she said as he went to speak, "what's done is done."
Rodolphus reached out and gripped her arm with surprising strength. "I was faithful."
"I don't doubt it," Delphi answered, reaching out to help support him as he began to cough again. When he was still once again, she looked around, blinking in the bright light as she said, "May I stay with him until he is finally free? I ask nothing else."
"Well," Potter began, then stopped, frowning at them. He thought for a few moments, then said, "I see no reason why not, especially if he isn't expected to live much longer.
"He refused treatment for his illness," the keeper said, shaking his head. "He wants to die."
Potter entered the cell, Delphi glaring at him as he approached them. "Your wrists," he said to her. "So the restraints can be removed. Don't try anything stupid."
Delphi held out her left wrist with a sigh. "You're one to talk, Potter." She held out the other wrist after a moment, then returned to looking down at Rodolphus' face.
He was watching her face too, studying her for some reason. They ignored the cell door clanging shut and the key being turned in the lock. After the dark had settled in, Rodolphus murmured, "Your hair is black, Delphi...is that on purpose?"
"No, but it's fine," she muttered.
"Don't worry about me," he breathed.
"You shouldn't be here," Delphi said in suppressed anger. "You're a good person; you don't belong in this place."
A crazed grin crossed his face. "The world disagrees," he said. "But no matter. It'll be over soon." Her face was blank, but he squeezed her hand. "It's okay, Delphi."
Her expression darkened. "It's not okay," she hissed between her teeth. "You believed in me; you trained me when everyone else refused. You didn't hate me even though I wasn't yours...Merlin knows why, but you cared."
She looked away, and he shifted his position, both of them moving to lean against the wall, Delphi still holding onto his hand. "No one knows our hearts and minds except those closest to us," he said, struggling to breathe after moving. "I left you alone out of duty, but when I went to Black Manor, I found that you're just as endearing as your mother."
Delphi laughed, but it was a broken laugh, and Rodolphus reached out, pulling her closer as she buried her face in his shoulder. "It shouldn't be like this," she sniffed, and he sighed, the young witch hearing the illness in his lungs and chest. "You deserve good things, Rodolphus; I know you never got what you wanted most in life."
"We needn't talk about what should have been," he murmured, his eyes clouding as he squeezed her slightly. "I may not have had biological children, but I've had as good as. I trained Rigel to be the Lestrange heir, didn't I? And you...well, I think we're pretty close. We fight like family."
"We do," Delphi sniffed with a weak smile, then huffed impatiently, looking up and dashing away a tear. "Damn you, you're going to make me cry."
"I don't mind," Rodolphus said. "No one will see."
"It's weakness," the witch protested, drying her eyes on her sleeve.
Rodolphus slipped his arm around her again and murmured, "It's being strong for too long. Your mother hated crying too, but she would sometimes, and I would hold her, just like this."
Delphi gave a small laugh. "Just like this, hmm?"
He poked her in the ribs and she yelped slightly, but didn't move in case she were to hurt him. He seemed to take a shallow breath, and she looked up at him in alarm, seeing his eyes flickering, a smirk half frozen on his face. "Rodolphus?" she breathed in a panic.
"D—Delphi," he struggled to speak, the girl immediately cradling him in her arms as tears sprang to her eyes. "I—"
"No, no," Delphi whispered, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Please, not yet."
"Love you," Rodolphus managed to say, looking into her eyes. "I'm free."
"I love you too," Delphi choked, completely unprepared for the moment. "Rodolphus—" But he was already gone, falling limp in her arms, his kind eyes looking right at her.
Delphini Riddle's shriek of anguish echoed throughout the cells and corridors of Azkaban prison before she curled up, clutching the body of the only person who had loved her for everything that she truly was.
In spite of the peaceful quiet of Black Manor, its residents all knew that it was not what it seemed. No one spoke to each other much, and even little Bella was more quiet than usual, unsure of how to act around her parents.
The girl was seated next to Andromeda at breakfast one morning, all of them waiting for Nymphadora to join them. Rabastan had come to the table with a look of annoyance on his face and told them that Dora had said to start without her. Andromeda had raised an eyebrow at the man and summoned their breakfast to them, wondering how bad the fight this morning had been.
Dora arrived about halfway through the meal, perfectly presentable so that Andromeda just wanted to sigh and shake her head at the witch. She took a seat next to her husband, unsettlingly proper as she greeted them all politely. It was not until she saw the paper that she dropped the pretences and grabbed it, reading it in shock as her hair shot red.
Rabastan looked over at her in alarm, and his wife jumped to her feet, staring at him in fury as she crumpled the paper in her fist. "THIS IS WHAT I MEAN!" she shrieked at him. "RODOLPHUS DIED LAST NIGHT! What do you have to say for yourself?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but she waved a hand at him. "Shut the fuck up," she snapped at him. "I don't want to hear what you have to say."
Rigel had a half-smirk and half-shocked expression on his face as he watched in amusement and horror at what his mother had just said. Bella had clapped her hand over her mouth and cried out in horror. Andromeda stared at Nymphadora, her mouth slightly open as the younger witch hurled the paper across the room, parchment flying everywhere.
"Careful, Mum, you might be unrecognisable," Rigel smirked.
She turned her expression of fury on him, though she immediately smiled at her son and sighed, "Oh, dear, I might get sent to Azkaban and die." Nymphadora turned back to her husband, her anger returning. "But this piece of shit wouldn't care!" she half shrieked, her eyes wide as she glared at him. "You didn't think twice about any of us! You just didn't want to be trapped in hiding for the rest of your life while the children went on without us!"
Andromeda cleared her throat, but Nymphadora ignored her, and the witch interrupted as the couple went to argue again. "If you're going to fight, you should leave," Andromeda told them.
"If?" the children chorused at the same time, sharing a look of amusement. Bella looked up at her mother and father and added, "It's too late; just go on."
"I'm told it's always entertaining when a Black and a Lestrange fight," Rigel chuckled, catching his father's astonished expression at their behaviour.
"You got Rodolphus killed," Bella said, tears springing to her eyes as she said it to her own father.
"No, Bella," her father began, but Rigel interrupted this time, seeing his mother grip the back of her chair as she took some deep breaths, trying to calm herself.
"You did," Rigel said firmly. "He was far more loyal to Delphi and her father than you and Mum. You had to have known he would disagree—"
"He chose it," Rabastan snapped. "He should have behaved himself."
Nymphadora scowled at him, tears coming to her eyes as she saw her daughter crying as well. "He's not a coward!" she cried. "Rodolphus followed the Dark Lord out of pride rather than fear. You shouldn't have caused such a choice to be put before him! Family shouldn't do that to each other. We're not more important than any other member of the family, Rab. You can't let one be destroyed for the sake of the rest. It's wrong. You fucked up."
The witch fled from the dining room, slamming the door behind her as she ran. The children continued to watch their father, though as he moved to follow his wife, Andromeda got to her feet. "Leave her alone," she said sharply.
Rabastan glared at her. "She is my wife and I will talk to her," he hissed.
"Yes, as if all the talking you've done so far has helped her," Andromeda scoffed. "I swear, Rabastan Lestrange, if you try to follow her, I will curse you. I will talk to her."
"And tell her what?" he laughed. "That I'm an idiot?"
"Yes," Andromeda answered, both the children raising their eyebrows at this. "She's got to be reminded why she shouldn't be holding a grudge, in spite of your foolishness. And she'll need you eventually anyway, but you obviously can't talk to her without this sort of a reaction from her, so it'll have to be me that convinces her."
Rigel slipped his arm around his sister, who was crying softly, and said, "Well, you should be off, then. It may take a while to convince her."
Rabastan still looked as if he wasn't going to let Andromeda through the door, and she sighed. "You can be angry all you want, Lestrange," she said to him. "But I am not pleased with your behaviour, either. I'm just not duty-bound to follow the Dark Lord."
The witch rested her hand on the door handle for a moment, then looked back at Rabastan. "Why don't you go think about your dead brother for a while, may he rest in peace. He was a far better man than you'll ever be." Andromeda opened the door and said, "Bellatrix was right about you: she was always right." Before he could reply, she shut the door quickly and disappeared down the hall in search of her once-daughter.
Andromeda was only slightly surprised to find Nymphadora in her own room, curled up on her bed. She walked in and shut the door quietly, approaching the girl and sitting down next to her, beginning to rub her back as she had when Dora had been a small child.
It was only a few moments until Dora cried, "Why is he such an idiot? I don't understand!" A sob escaped her and she clutched the pillow to herself, sniffing, "Mum was right, Dromeda. She told me he was no good—she always seemed to be able to judge people. I should have listened to her."
The younger witch's body trembled with her emotions as she continued, "He's torn our family apart—Rodolphus is gone..." Dora placed her hand over her mouth, fighting her emotions until Andromeda reached out and pulled the girl to lean into her side, cradling the sorrowing witch. "He didn't deserve to die," Dora wept. "He didn't betray us; he didn't do anything except stay loyal." She clenched both of her fists in rage, her hair renewing its fiery red. "They should have kept Rabastan and not let him come back," she hissed. "If he wanted to throw a life away, he could have given his own. That's what a man should do for his family. Not sacrifice his brother." Nymphadora's tears renewed at her own words and Andromeda hugged her carefully, still not saying a word.
"I can't even begin to think of what to do about the children's attitude toward Rab," Dora sniffed, trying to wipe her tears away after a while later. "Rigel...he has no respect anymore..."
"Well, that's his father's problem, isn't it?" Andromeda said quietly. "He leads the family: he suffers the results of his decisions. I know Bella isn't happy either: she's tried to talk to me about it, but...I didn't think it was wise. I told her to talk to Rigel."
"That's why they seemed to be on the same page this morning," Dora half giggled through her tears. "No, neither of them is pleased with our circumstances. I can't expect Rigel to be fully reconciled to his father: Rigel looked up to Rodolphus and had since he was a small boy."
Nymphadora scowled at a portrait looking at her in concern. "Personally, I want to Crucio Rabastan every time I see him," she growled, feeling Andromeda take hold of one of her hands. "But...I can't leave the children to you and him." She lifted her head and looked right at Andromeda. "If I didn't have to worry about my unborn child," she breathed, "I probably wouldn't be here still. I'd be loyal, like we all should have been."
She hummed thoughtfully, then grinned wickedly. "I could still give Rigel custody of his sister," she mused.
"You could," Andromeda said. "Though it may split your family even more."
"What would you suggest?" Dora sniffed, sitting up and dashing away her tears.
"You do not want to hear what I must suggest," Andromeda answered simply. "What none of us want and all of us know must be done."
Dora looked at Andromeda hopefully. "Can I disown him?"
Andromeda smirked. "You can do anything you want, but the question you need to ask yourself is 'should I do this?'"
The younger witch huffed. "You want me to crawl back to him and tell him he's right for betraying all of us to our enemies, just because I married the fucker. I don't need any more shit from him, Andromeda."
"When have I ever suggested that you passively suffer at his hands?" Andromeda asked her sharply. "I understand he is not a simple man and I would not ask you to 'crawl' to anyone. Not even your husband."
"I can't do it," Dora said, then burst into tears again. "I don't want to have to face him every day knowing what he's done."
"You don't have to be okay with his actions," Andromeda told her quietly. "You don't have to agree with what he's done. But it has been a couple weeks...it needs to be laid to rest—not forgotten, of course. I don't expect any of us will forget this."
Dora was shaking her head. "I won't. He can't get away with this. I don't know why—why I thought he—"
Andromeda grasped the younger woman's hand and Dora looked up at her, tears trickling down her cheeks. "You love him," she said simply. "You decided there was something in him worth caring about, Dora, because you did marry him. You considered him worthy of sharing your life."
"Yes," Dora cried bitterly, "I did."
"He'll have to help you with the new baby," Andromeda said softly. "You can set this aside for the child...tell Rabastan that you can't talk about what's happened, but that it's in the past. You're going to need him, Dora, even though you don't want to admit it."
"I don't even like him," she grumbled, tears splashing down her cheeks.
"Of course," Andromeda agreed, slipping her arm around the girl again. "You know, even if we never talk about this again and go on as normal, Rabastan will still suffer the consequences of his actions from the restrictions on the family and the ridicule of his children."
"Yeah," Dora rolled her eyes, then brushed her sleeve across her face. "I don't ever want to think about this...Rodolphus, my sister...it's all gone...there's nothing left."
Andromeda sighed and nodded. "All that's left is to move forward since the past has been destroyed."
Nymphadora scowled. "I'm not going to make this easy for him," she muttered. "But maybe I'll be partially civil."
The older witch smiled. "If you were any more like your mother, you'd frighten me," she told the now mousey-brown-haired woman. "That was quite a rage you had."
"Ha," Nymphadora scoffed, "I've done far worse."
"I don't doubt it," Andromeda mused, "though I doubt your children have seen as much."
"Oh no," Dora groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Bella. She saw me scream at her father..."
"We'll deal with it if it turns out to be a problem," Andromeda laughed. "I said some things in front of her as well, so it's not as if you alone are to blame."
"What did you say to him?" Nymphadora said in shock, staring at her once mother.
"Perhaps you should ask him," she mused, "when you talk to him later."
Nymphadora rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't tell me," she said. "Thanks for standing up for me, though."
"Always," Andromeda said, squeezing the girl. "Come talk to me if you need anything else."
"I will," Dora nodded, and looked up at the door of the room with a sigh.