They met Father in his office as soon as he got home.
They were all seated on his velvet sofa, Delphini wrapped in Bellatrix’s lap as she faced her Father and explained to him what she had heard the two Death Eater’s saying earlier. She could hardly meet his eye as she recounted their words, her heart pounding painfully in her chest as she spoke.
Avery and Macnair.. T-they said that you shoulda taken care of your little mistake when you had a chance, Papa.. That I was a d-disappointment as an heir, a disappointment as a girl.. That mummy never wanted to be a mummy..
She was shaking as she finished, her mother once again there to calm her down with gentle hands and reassuring words. The six-year-old looked up at her Father then, he’d been silent as she spoke. All of the unfounded fears her mother had soothed earlier came swinging back tenfold as she met his searing stare.
“You don’t have to get rid of me, Papa!” She begged, silent tears sneaking out of distraught eyes. “I won’t be a-a disappointment! I promise, I’ll be good.. I'm not a l-little mistake--”
[OOC: Don't mind me getting you involved in this after @crucioslut's wonderful reply]
Lord Voldemort could tell the moment he saw the look on Bella's face - the look on Delphini's face - that something was horribly wrong. He had sat and listened to what the child had to say. His face remained impassive, but a rage built steadily in his chest with each small, hesitant word the child said. He narrowed his eyes, anger now taking over and hardening his already formidable appearance. He was going to kill them, he was going to rip them into pieces, he was going to -
Delphi's pleas snapped him back to the then and now - away from the mental image of Avery and Macnair (he still was not certain which Macnair it was, so he pictured all of them) pleading for their lives - to the distraught child in front of him, begging not to be gotten rid of. His anger receded, and a new emotion flooded in, filling him with an odd, unsettled feeling. It was like someone had kicked a chair out from beneath him, leaving him unbalanced and unmoored.
"No one is getting rid of you, Delphini," Voldemort murmured, his face softening as he crouched down to her level. He reached out and smoothed back her hair, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb. "I have no desire to be rid of you. I rather like you, child." He sighed, moving over to sit on the couch, sandwiching Delphini between her parents.
Her parents, of which he was one. He was one of the two people who had come together, wittingly or no, to bring her into this world, and therefore he was tasked with keeping her safe and whole and cared for. Obligations which he honored, because by allowing Delphini to be born, he was agreeing with this standard agreement, this adherence to the way things were. Lord Voldemort's word, his follow through on commitments, was unbreakable And now, someone - two someones - dared suggest otherwise?
But it was more than an insult to his character. It was an insult to Delphini. How dare they.
"Some children are born because their parents agree to have a child," Voldemort explained, conjuring up a handkerchief and wiping Delphi's face further. "Other children come into existence more accidentally - coming to a set of parents with far less planning or warning. You were a bit of a surprise to us, child, but that does not mean you were not wanted." No. Delphi was not like...like himself. He brushed off the thought and continued. "You were not a mistake. You are not a mistake. You never will be a mistake. You are the perfect combination of your mother and myself. You are clever, and intelligent, and charming, and ours. Your mother...ah, your mother fell in love with you the instant she was told you were coming." He sighed. "Delphi, do you know which Macnair was saying those things? Did he have a scar on his face, or an eyepatch? Or perhaps glasses?"
@daughterofyourdarklord @crucioslut