To Hurt and To Heal

A Silence So Loud

May 2016 - Age 12

Two months, three days, and about eight hours later, it wasn't her fault for being locked up again or rather being caught. It never was. She was refused help from her family, if she could even call them that. To be honest, she didn't know what the word 'family' meant anymore. Not when she was raised like this.

She couldn't control her magic anymore, but that was the least of Delphi's problems. She didn't want to think about how much she had let down Rodolphus. How she had failed him. How she had failed herself.

Rodolphus concealed his anger, darting towards the stairs from where she lives under. His blood boiled from the injustice that was his life. It was clear to follow the rules or so he thought. But it wasn't that factor that pushed Delphi to break. It was the one singular rule.

Don't ask questions.

That rule in particular had raised the question itself, who am I? Something that Delphi certainly didn't know and therefore was searching for. Of course no one would ever understand, it was herself, only she could understand. But in hopes of searching, it was the fear that brought Delphi's fault which was her belief.

And once she finally called her stepfather out on behalf of his lies, she should've expected the reaction which would trigger chaos.

"With every second you make us wait," Rodolphus says to Delphi, his voice soft but coarse, "you'll do no such thing."

"The secrets of this family, our family, will stay in this household and it's going to remain that way."

Neither of them had been particularly happy whenever Rodolphus opened his mouth, they remained silent until one of them got the courage up to speak.

Especially with Delphi's recent questioning of who her parents really were, which Rodolphus and Euphemia both knew but had yet to speak out. The sting of losing her parents were thought to be too hard to bear.

Her mentor or more like a father figure was called Sirius, Sirius Black in fact but he insisted on Delphi calling him just Padfoot. When Delphi asked why, he simply responded with, "A dear friend of mine once called me Padfoot, I'm one to always cherise tradition."

Now she'd do anything to get away, run down to Sirius's flat and chat away. He'd always answer any question Delphi wished to, but the only one he didn't know was her most important question of all. Who am I?

She'd been expecting an outburst in the manor for days now, but she never was ready for what was to come.

"What are you doing?"

Rodolphus raised his hands. "The one thing I ask, I don't see why you can't follow instructions."

"The Ministry could be here any second," Rodolphus hissed. Delphi's stares at the ground, waiting in silence for his next words.

"You know, if you want to ask so many questions, maybe you should go find the answers yourself."

Before Delphi can respond, Rodolphus turns on his heels but not without his last words to haunt Delphi's mind, "Oh, hush."

"It's not like you have anywhere to go."

And that was the line that kept Delphi wondering, Do I have anywhere to go?

*

"And that's all he said?"

"It's not like you have anywhere to go?"

"Sirius- Padfoot it's not about what he said, it's about how he said it," she said, "plus he wouldn't have said that if he knew I had a place to go."

Padfoot tilted his head, lounging on the doorframe, holding a cup of hot tea, "Even if you did have a place to go, would you want to?"