A Bellamort Tale

Part 61

A/N: We eventually arrived at the part I called 'Delphini's Revelation' while I was writing it. I hope y'all enjoy!

"Stop it right now!" Hermione shouted at Molly Weasley and stepped in between her and Bellatrix Lestrange.
"H-Hermione? What are you doing? This is…"
While Ginny, who had just been attacked by the dark witch shouted towards her friend, the other young witch's face began to change, as did her height and hair.
Not only the two red haired women, but also Bella watched the transformation open mouthed,
"Who are you?" She asked the young woman in front of her. The witch, apparently around twenty years of age, long silvery hair with blue tips and dark eyes just like her own, gave her a contemptuous glare.
"I really thought you would recognise your own daughter!" She said disappointedly.
The witches and wizards surrounding them had stopped their fighting and were now gasping. Outside the chase between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort was still going on, but right now, right here, nobody cared.
Ron had been following Hermione after leaving the room of requirement, but she had been too fast and he had been struggling to catch up. He had been barely on time to see her turn into the young stranger and was now slowly approaching them, his wand in hand. The others weren't noticing him, they were too focused on the interaction between mother and daughter.
"How? How did you come here? And why? Why here?" Bella asked her with such a weak voice that she didn't recognise it as her own.
"Because I've tried everything else to save at least one of my parents and won't have to grow up an orphan." Delphini mumbled, then tried to hide the sob.
It was at the very same moment, when everybody was still in shock and not capable of moving, when the mother took the few last steps to take her child into her arms, that a red haired, young man raised his wand and pointed it at the girl. But before he could speak out his curse, another voice echoed through the hall. Hermione's.
"Stupefy!"
The crowd turned in an instant, petrified by what they were seeing now. Not only had the young witch hexed one of her best friends, but on top of that was she accompanied by none other than Draco Malfoy, who had his arm protectively around her and was looking frantically around to be able to react to every possible attack before his beloved woman could get hurt.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Molly Weasley shouted desperately. "If this is Bellatrix' daughter, then who are you? Because you certainly aren't the real Hermione either."
The young witch sighed.
"A lot of things have happened over the last two weeks, Molly. I've been living with Draco and his family for almost two months already. And even if I was a captive in the beginning, things changed quickly. I'll explain everything later, if we're all going to survive today, that is. But right now…" She turned towards Delphini. "It was you in the manor, the one who took my hair, right? And it was also you who lifted the spell on your nursery, so I could hear the baby version of you cry."
The trembling young woman nodded.
"This has to stop. I am not the only person whose life will become miserable if this goes any further. Everybody here has lost so much already. I know, you all think my parents are pure evil, but when I was in the manor those couple of weeks ago, I could see how they acted around me, and they were kind and loving parents, just like all of you here. Stop the killing and the fighting. I know that I can't save my father, but at least let me keep my mum!" She exclaimed with tears running down her face.
Ronald had somehow pulled himself up on a slumped over table and was now pointing his wand at Malfoy.
"Step away from her, ferret! Hermione, if he's got you under the imperius curse, you know you can fight and shake it off. For me. For Harry. Just don't let him control you."
"I'm not under any curse, Ronald. And Delphini is right. It's time to stop fighting. We're all humans and we're all witches and wizards. Bellatrix, please. I know, you despise me. But for your child's sake, surrender." Hermione pleaded and everyone around her watched her open mouthed.
Bella looked from her daughter to Hermione then back at the young witch.
"Do you want me to surrender too? Then I will do so. Under one condition. You immediately return to your own time and stay there no matter what outcome this battle will have. If you are alive and free and grown up, there was at least one thing that went right. I love you, Delphini Black. And now go!" She said so quietly that only those standing very close could hear her.
The witch from the future took out the time turner and hung it around her neck, then fumbled with it a couple of times and the split of a second later simply vanished.
It was at the very same moment that Voldemort's curse backfired and he was finally defeated. While every witch and wizard felt relief as soon as the dark lord's presence was gone, Bella fell to her knees and screamed.
"All the wards are broken, Draco. Go, get her out of here. I'll find you later." Hermione whispered into her husband's ear but he refused.
"I won't go anywhere without you. Other than that, you were absolutely right. We need to get Bella out of here."
He pulled her with him to his aunt, where each of them took one of Bellatrix' hands and pulled her to her feet.
"Where's Delphini?" She hissed when she saw Hermione.
"She's with Narcissa and Lucius. Come, right now we're not safe here. We need to get you out."
But the dark haired witch shook her head.
"I need to see him. I need to say goodbye. And I have to explain to him why I chose our daughter over him in the end."
Draco laid an arm around her shoulders and said calmly.
"I am very certain, he knows, Bella. Please come with us. I don't want to stay here where anyone can harm us. I too have a child to protect."
Eventually the grieving woman agreed and let the young couple guide her towards the entrance, where the young man's parents were already approaching them. Bella rushed to Narcissa and almost violently took her child and held her firmly to her chest, while her sister and her brother-in-law hugged not only Draco but also Hermione savagely.
Just as they did, a bruised and exhausted Harry Potter stumbled into the castle and stopped right in front of them, watching the scene in disgust, the elder wand already raised against Bella and her child.
"Harry, no!" Hermione shrieked. He turned his head and stared at her, looked into her pleading brown eyes, then lowered his arm.
"Thank you." The young witch whispered and rushed towards him to hug him tightly.
"What is going on? Where's Ron? And…" He gulped then said barely audibly. "Ginny?"
Hermione kissed his cheek, then told him.
"They're all inside in the great hall. We can talk later. Right now I have to go. We…" She looked up at Draco who had closed the space and was standing right next to her. Leaning trustfully against his chest, she gave him a begging look. "Look at the family tree at Grimmauld place. You'll understand a lot if you do." She turned towards Narcissa, asking. "Will the tree already show…" Hermione glanced down to her still flat belly.
Her mother in law nodded.
"Most likely, yes. Not as a branch, but certainly a small bud has appeared already. And on top of that you will be the second non-pure-blooded member on that family tree for ages."
Hermione scoffed.
"Yeah, just shortly before Tom Riddle!"
Given the whole situation and how desperate they felt despite having survived a war just now, they all broke into a guffaw while they nudged the bewildered looking boy-who-lived into the great hall.