Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandoms:
Relationships:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Series:
Part 60 of Slytherin Love Moodboards
Stats:
Published:
2023-06-09
Words:
3,242
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
67
Kudos:
510
Bookmarks:
64
Hits:
10,514

Delphi's Tale

Summary:

Harry Potter would never get tired of telling his daughter how he met her mother.

Or When Delphini Slytherin found love in the most unexpected place.

Notes:

This is an AU. Delphi Riddle is the same age as Harry Potter.

The story takes place 7 years after Hogwarts Battle with many flashbacks.

Enjoy💚

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Harry Potter leaned back in his chair and cracked his neck.

One would think that with the new promotion, he didn’t need to work as much as his subordinates.

How wrong they were.

He was Harry bloody Potter; the youngest Head of DMLE at the age of twenty-five. He was supposed to be the best. Always outsmarting and outmanoeuvring his targets. 

Winning when all odds said he couldn’t.

Moving slowly, he arranged the files he was done studying and stood up. He took off his tie and slid out of his outer robes.

He knew he had been spending an awful amount of time in his office this week, working late to finish the latest case he was entrusted with by Minister Shaklebolt.

But he had his reasons. Reasons that were tucked safely in their beds upstairs.

A small smile tugged at his lips as he strode toward the second floor.

“Master Harry, are you retiring for the night?” Kreacher, always the dutiful House Elf, executed a small bow.

“I am, my friend. I’ll check on Lily first.”

Kreacher’s lips twitched ever so slightly. “Mistress Liliana is still awake. You know that she can’t sleep until she gets her kiss and hug.”

Harry started to laugh. “My daughter seems to have inherited the Black stubbornness.”

“Mistress Liliana is a fine, well-mannered witch,” Kreacher defended his most beloved mistress and Harry grinned.

The aged House Elf’s loyalty and capacity for love never stopped astonishing him. He lost everything, and went through a lot but never turned his back to the House he considered family and home.

“Goodnight, Kreacher.”

“Goodnight, Master Harry.”

He took soft steps toward Lily’s room and opened the door carefully.

Delighted giggles greeted his ears like a Siren’s song the moment he stepped inside.

His Lily was a Sentient. She could always recognize his Aura whenever he was in close vicinity.

“Where is my Lily? Where is my dearest flower?” he wondered aloud, total adoration in every syllable, while he laboured to keep the amusement from his voice.

He smothered his pleasure at hearing his daughter’s giggles, but it gathered in a sweet, heavy mass in his chest

~Sasha, have you seen my Lily?~ he asked the baby Basilisk curled innocently in the corner.

Sasha flicked her tongue, her amber eyes glinting in the dim light. ~No, I haven’t, Uncle Harry.~

Harry winked and stepped closer to the Basilisk.

Like his daughter, Sasha was five years old.

The egg he retrieved from the Chamber of Secrets after he went back there with his wife, looking for more information about Salazar Slytherin, hatched the same night Liliana was born.

Miraculously, Sasha inherited her mother’s memories and helped his wife with her research.

Both intended to tell Salazar Slytherin—and his Familiar’s real story and restore his shattered reputation.

The two snakelets bonded instantly and later on, they understood that Sasha was Lily’s Familiar.

Lily’s dark curls jiggled as she peeped from Sasha's coiled body.

When her beautiful, gullible eyes landed on him, she gasped and nested tighter in her friend’s hug.

She squeaked when he knelt and started running his fingers over Sasha’s smooth scales.

~I miss Lily,~ he dropped his head. ~I didn’t even get to kiss and hug her tonight.~

“Wait!” Lily piped up as she urged Sasha to release her. “Hi Daddy,” she smiled up at him sweetly, her green eyes twinkling.

“So, you were hiding here all along? For a moment, you had me worried, my flower,” he raised an eyebrow.

She pouted and looked at him expectantly.

Harry lifted her in his arms.

She giggled against the skin of his neck. “Can I get a story, too, Daddy?”

“You want a story?”

She regarded him with a tilted head. “I do. Can you tell me again how you and Mummy fell in love?” Her cheeks bloomed excited pink when his smile widened.

“You want to hear that story again?” he tickled her tummy, relishing in her squeals.

When they reached the bed, he lifted the covers and slid inside making sure she was comfortable.

Lily held her stuffed snake and pinned him with eager eyes.

“Where do you want me to start?”

“I want to hear about the first time you met,” she clutched his shirt with her tiny hand and he kissed her forehead.

Harry closed his eyes and his mind wandered back to the night that changed the course of his life.

 

⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱

 

“Harry,” Hermione’s voice was low, deep and broken with sadness.

Shaking his head stubbornly, Harry remained where he was. He rattled the bars of their prison vigorously.

“Mate, it’s useless,” Ron lay a soothing hand over his shoulder.

They all knew that if Bellatrix Lestrange happened to be passing by, they would bear the burn of the consequences.

It was for that reason alone that he reluctantly lowered his hands.

It had been three days since they had been caught by Greyback and the Snatchers, three days since they were kept in Malfoy Manor’s dungeons waiting for Voldemort to come back from his travels and decide what to do with them.

He glanced briefly at the congregation of prisoners sitting together. Dean and Griphook chatted quietly.

As if sensing his scrutiny, Luna craned her neck and looked at him in a way she never had before, her eyes filled with an intensity that caused the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. “Do not despair, Harry Potter. She’s coming.”

“Who—“ He wondered but didn’t get to finish his question when someone whispered a spell and unlocked the door.

Harry froze fearing the worst.

But he was…

A small, clocked figure leaned their shoulder against the narrow wood frame and crossed their arms over their chest.

Their figure was totally hidden but for the wisps of silver hair that framed the shadowed face.

For a moment, he wondered if the stranger was another Malfoy.

However, unlike the silver-blond hair Lucius and Draco shared, the stranger’s hair was pure silver with bluish tips.

Ron and Hermione resolutely flanked him, intending to share whatever horrors awaited him.

“I mean you no harm, Harry Potter and company,” the cloaked figure whispered.

It was a girl.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Harry asked impatiently.

“I saw you when Greyback and the Snatchers brought you here. I couldn’t barge in and help but as soon as Bella left, I hurried here. Quickly, follow me,” she explained with a cautious voice.

“We’re not going anywhere until you introduce yourself. How do we know that you won’t lead us to another trap?” Hermione said through gritted teeth.

The girl sighed. “I am Delphi. That’s all that I can tell you for now. Even though I live here, I don’t agree with what’s going on. I—“ She stopped abruptly. “I want to end him, too.”

The entire situation seemed a bit suspicious. After all, why would a resident of Malfoy Manor help them?

However, Harry couldn’t ignore his Potter Instinct; the one that saved too many times to count.

“We’ll need our wands. We can't step outside unarmed,” Hermione stressed out.

“I have taken care of that,” the girl retrieved the confiscated wands from her pocket.

Harry stiffened when he remembered what happened to his wand. As if reading his mind, the girl added. “I managed to steal Draco’s wand. He’s been brewing in the lab with Severus and I—“

Slowly, she handed him Malfoy’s wand. Harry snatched it, confusion shadowing his eyes.

The girl seemed intent on helping them, truly.

“Follow me but before, I would suggest using Disillusionment Charms. They won’t work against the most seasoned Death Eaters, but they will do.”

Harry gazed at her with an air of determination and nodded.

She motioned to them to follow her, leading them toward different shortcuts and deserted corridors until they reached the gardens.

“As soon as you step outside, the wards will activate and alert Lucius,” she warned.

“Ha! And what are we supposed to do,” Ron groaned.

“I called for help. You have to apparate at once,” she cocked her head and whispered under her breath. “Dobby!”

“Mistress called for Dobby! How can Dobby help?” 

Harry gaped.

He wanted to ask her how did she know Dobby and why did he never mention her but he didn’t get the chance.

Dobby clutched Luna and Griphook’s arms and popped away.

“Harry, let’s go!” Hermione gripped his hand while Ron supported an injured Dean.

Before they disappeared, he whispered. “Thank you.”

The girl let her hood slide down and his eyes flared with surprise when they met a shock of silver-grey orbs.

The Black eyes.

 

⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱

 

“So you fell in love, then?” Lily’s eyes widened in wonder. “Mummy is so beautiful.” She lifted her chin with all the pride a five-year-old could display.

“She is,” he kissed her satiny cheek. “She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met inside and out.”

“Did she help you get rid of the boogeyman?”

Harry mulled over his next words.

“During Hogwarts Battle, your mummy was running away with Grandpa Rodolph. They wanted to get away if worse comes to worst.” 

“But isn’t Mummy strong? She’s the Heiress of Salazar Slytherin!” Lily sounded affronted at the mere thought of her mother being anything but strong.

He belatedly realized what else his daughter said.

Merlin’s mercy! Not Salazar and his perfection again!

Despite what she went through as a child, Delphi never abjured her heritage.

As the result of the—scandalous—affair between Voldemort and Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Delphi was taught from a young age about her legacy.

Even though he never cared about her, Voldemort considered her his blood and any blood of his was to be treated with respect.

They hid her existence fearing retribution and after Voldemort was vanquished; she was raised by Euphemia Rowle under Bella’s instructions for the girl couldn’t remain with the Malfoys.

Her childhood wasn’t a happy one, but she persevered. It wasn’t until she was fifteen and Bella and Rodolphus were rescued from Azkaban that she was freed from her prison.

“Your Mum is a fighter, like me,” Harry could barely breathe past the lump that clogged his throat. “Thanks to your Grandpa Rodolph, I get to meet her again.”

“Really?” Lily asked, hugging her plushie tighter to her chest. “Grandpa Rodolph is the best,” she gushed happily and he nodded.

“He is,” Harry ran his fingers through her soft hair. “Even though he was forced to make some mistakes, his love for Delphi never wavered. He considered her his daughter.”

Harry’s voice spoke of the amount of respect he held for the older wizard.

If not for Rodolphus, he would never have crossed paths with his wife again.

After Hogwarts Battle, Rodolphus realized that he couldn’t run forever and subject Delphi to endless suffering.

He asked her to seek refuge in 12, Grimmauld Place knowing that Harry would not hold her accountable for her father’s crimes.

He gave himself into the Ministry’s custody later and was sentenced to five years in Azkaban after a trial under Veritaserum.

“I remember the first time Delphi apparated inside Grimmauld,” Harry said with a devilish gleam in his eye. “I was home alone. Ron and Hermione travelled to Australia to bring Grandpa Stephen and Grandma Emma back.”

“It was then that you fall in love at first sight?” Lily, deucedly and earnestly innocent, asked.

He hated to burst her bubble. “Well…Not exactly…”

 

⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱

 

Harry hurried down, uncaring for his almost-naked state, the moment he sensed the disturbance in the wards.

He stood there, flabbergasted as he watched a cloaked—familiar—figure study The Black Family Tree.

Gracefully, she took her hood down and he gasped. “You!” He strode forward, his wand clutched tightly between his fingers.

“I’m a daughter of House Black, as well,” she responded wryly. “I—“

“Mistress!” Kreacher came hurtling downstairs, bounded straight over to the girl’s legs and bowed his head until the tip of his nose touched the floor.

“Kreacher? Do you know her?”

The traitorous elf bobbed his head excitedly. “She’s Mistress Bella’s daughter,” he explained brightly.

“I told you before, I mean you no harm,” the girl sighed. “I can swear an oath if you want. “I…“ She seemed uncomfortable, her back ramrod straight as her bearing turned guarded. “I have nowhere else to go now that Dad has been caught.”

Harry noticed that she stepped out with one foot, looking ready to flee would he decide to chase her off.

“Of course, you’re welcome here Mistress,” Kreacher insisted with a wave of his hand, ignoring the optical daggers being hurled his way. “This is your home. I won’t leave Mistress unattended. I can feel how sad you are.”

Kreacher, he realized with dismay, was a force to be reckoned with.

But…his last words….

He couldn’t stand idly while the girl who saved his life and that of his friends begged for shelter.

He was familiar with the sense of being abandoned and homeless.

 

⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱

 

“And so you fell in love?” Lily sounded inordinately pleased with herself.

Harry chuckled. “Yes, we fell gradually in love,” he assured her. “We lived together for months and learned all there was to learn about each other. Delphi and I…were always meant for each other. She complements me in ways I can’t put into words. Can you get what I mean?”

He couldn’t tell her how they fought their demons together, how they dealt with the aftermath of the war and the abrupt changes that took place, how they understood each other to unmatched levels of madness.

How she entered his heart like twilight, seeping softly among the ghosts of his past.

In the months they spent together, they became each other’s place, each other’s anchor, each other’s haven.

“Of course, I do! I’m not stupid,” Lily clapped her hands together with joy. “Like me and Sasha, you and Mummy can’t live without each other.”

“Yes, love,” he whispered, leaning toward her for another kiss.

“And then you get your happily ever after and one day, you found me in your bed. I am Mother Magfic’s gift to you for being good people,” the triumphant words emerged from Lily’s throat unfiltered, fierce, daring him to contradict her.

“You’re a blessing, my flower. You are the best thing that happened to us,” Harry said hoarsely.

“I love you, Daddy,” she gushed. “Now, I want my bed song, pretty please?” his little snakelet gave him the eye.

Harry cocked his head to the side as she smiled prettily. 

He watched her for a moment as she nestled under the covers, waiting for him to do her bidding. 

She was the very image of all things pure and good and innocent. And everything in him wanted her to be able to stay just like that. Forever.

She took his hand as he began to sing to her, very softly, almost not singing at all, just a whisper of a tune. He spun out the tune like it was another tale he was telling her, until he felt her body relax, until he felt her falling into sleep.

If he could, he would give her a piece of himself, which would ring inside of her like a promise, like hope whenever she needed him; and in his singing, he promised her every single thing he could think of, and more.

His family was his everything.

“I love you, my flower,” he kissed her cheek and stood slowly.

Closing his eyes, he apparated to his bedroom.

Delphi was dressed for bed, wearing a nightgown made of intricately ruffled white silk. The lamplight silhouetted the generous curves through the thin fabric and slid over the shining silvery locks of her hair. 

Delphi’s looks were the kind that caused the heart to stop and the breath to catch. Her colouring alone would have given even a homely woman the appearance of great beauty. But her features were fine and perfect, and perpetually lit with the radiance of fiery emotion. 

And as if all that wasn't quite enough, nature had added one last flourish, a tiny black mark that flirted with the corner of her mouth. 

Harry had over and over again kissed that tantalizing spot, and followed it to the lush curves of her lips.

Kissing and kissing her, until she was weak and shivering in his arms.

On more than one occasion he had pondered the question of how a man of Voldemort’s repulsive looks, paired with his evil soul could have produced a daughter like her. 

His angel…

Slowly, he stood behind her watching their reflection in the mirror.

His hands went to her protruding belly lovingly.

“Did Lily ask for her favourite story again?” she pulled his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles. Her silver eyes, wise and warm and undeniably perceptive, focused on his.

They had been married for about seven years and there hadn’t been a single day when he didn’t wake with a smile tugging at his lips. 

Not one time. 

Because she was beside him—half on top of him, snuggled in the deepest recesses of his soul.

He shrugged and leaned toward her exposed neck with a heavy-lidded smile. “Your daughter is a romantic.”

“Aren’t you a romantic at heart, Lord Harry Potter?” her voice dropped to an impossibly low purr and he couldn’t resist the temptation anymore.

With his free hand, he cupped her chin and turned her face to his. He explored her mouth with a thoroughness that left her breathless.

He was not good with flowery, romantic kinds of words. But she made him wish he was. Because she was more than his wife—more than the owner of the purest heart he knew of.

She was his love, his home, the solace to his soul, the keeper of his heart, the centre of his entire world.

Delphi was the only reason he believed in his own goodness. Because he saw it reflected in her eyes.

“It’s all thanks to your love, Delphi. Without you, I don’t know how . . . I don’t know what I’d do.”

A sad smile haunted her rosy lips as she turned around and planted a warm kiss on his cheek. His arms automatically wrapped around her. Her fingers combed through his hair soothingly, rubbing at the base of his neck.

“I love you, Harry James Potter. You are my everything.”

“And I love you, Delphini Slytherin Potter,” he whispered, letting his breath caress her ear.

He gasped when he felt a kick.

“It’s….” Words failed him.

“It’s our son, Harry,” Delphi smiled against the skin of his neck.

She was asleep the first time he felt Liliana’s kick. It was a little before 5 a.m. and his eyes had just opened when he felt it—a tiny jab against his ribs where the bump pressed against him. It was the first time the reality hit that there was a baby in there.

A whole, new, real, unique little person that he and Delphi made together. 

And now, in a month, his son would enlighten their lives and make them the happiest couple ever.

Harry blinked the tears away and pulled Delphi into his arms. He inhaled deeply, taking her smell into his lungs, into his soul.

It was all he ever wanted: to dwell in peace, without the shadow of past haunting him.

To love and be loved; consumingly, unconditionally, hopelessly, irrevocably…

Notes:

I'm also on Tumblr.

Series this work belongs to: