Chapter Text
Dragon Tear
The tears of the dragon for you and for me.
“Delphini Lyra Malfoy, stop running and come put your shoes on!” Draco shouted, running through the house after the six-year-old girl, laughing and dodging every obstacle with a mastery that made the man feel humiliated. “You're going to be late for school, Delphini, please help your old dad!” He begged, whimpering with his sneakers stuck between his toes. Realizing she was circling the living room table, Malfoy ran to one side and grabbed the little girl by the arms – she gave a cute laugh and wrapped her arms around the blond man's neck.
Hugging him lovingly.
“That was fun!” She said as she was lifted up in his arms and placed sitting on the living room table, swinging her legs and resting her hands on the table.
“Sure, sweetie, very fun, but your dad doesn't have a very good back anymore, okay?” He looked into her dark, iced-coffee-colored eyes, and she just giggled cutely, shrugging her shoulders like a spoiled little girl. “And you shouldn't be late today, there's a potluck, remember? Genevieve is bringing chocolate cake, you love that, don't you?” Draco spoke as he knelt on the floor, putting on her sneakers, pink with shiny flowers that matched her white socks perfectly. “Besides, you're too big for your daddy to tie your shoes, aren't you?” He looked up quickly.
“No!” She shook her head from side to side and Draco just sighed with a small smile, “and yes, I love it! Genevieve’s mother makes excellent cakes,” she looked to the side, “did you make a burger?! I love Daddy’s burger!” She started to swing her little legs again while Draco adjusted the pink ribbons in her silver hair, which had gotten out of place while she ran. He smiled looking at her little face and left a seal on her forehead.
Delphini responded by leaving a soft kiss on her daddy's cheek.
“Yeah, I made burgers,” he walked over to finish packing her backpack and grab the straw picnic basket filled with burgers for a class of fifteen kids, “remember to share, I made a few extras, because I know what a daughter I have, but you know…”
“Yes, yes, Daddy! We mustn’t be selfish!” Delphini was held by the waist and placed on the floor, “I’ll share if someone asks, but I don’t want to share with Bertie, he’s annoying!” She noticed her daddy’s look, “Right, daddy, we must act as we would like others to act towards us! I’ll share even if it’s Bertie.” She pouted.
“Very well, sweetie.” Draco smiled proudly, “no running, Delphini!” He whined, knitting his eyebrows together – she laughed once more and waited for him at the door, hand on her back and balancing on her feet.
Draco left, an elegant bag on his shoulder contrasting with the pink backpack on his other shoulder and the picnic basket in one hand, while the other closed the door of the house – he put the key in his pocket and held Delphini's hand, as he did every morning. She hopped down the small step at the entrance and they walked through the perfectly green lawn with common decorations, a flower bed with stones and white flowers, a tree, and wildflower bushes along the fence.
A perfect garden in a perfectly normal neoclassical house, with immaculate white paint and white windows, but with black doors and iron frames. Delphini opened the arabesque iron door and while her father closed the small door, she quickly played on the sidewalk design. She waited and took her daddy's hand again. He smiled at her and they walked down the quiet street of an ordinary residential neighborhood.
Some neighbors were coming out of their houses and they greeted each other quickly, Draco found it funny how popular Delphini was with the neighbors to the point that they first greeted her and then him, smiling. He had even heard from some neighbors that she was a princess - making him feel extremely proud and, of course, Draco Malfoy certainly liked to brag that his daughter was a princess.
(He had a lot of work to do – and still does – in raising her, he deserved to brag a little about the work he did.)
“On our way home, can we stop by that bookstore on the corner of the school, Daddy?” Delphini asked, not looking at him, too busy stepping on just the right squares, not stepping on the cracks. “Puff. I hate the Witters’ sidewalk.” She pouted, walking normally, “Why does he have such ugly sidewalks?” She referred to the sidewalk as smooth as burnt cement.
“No one has as good taste as your dad here,” Delphini laughed, “And, yes, Yes, we can stop at the bookstore on our way home.” Draco replied easily, looking at her who looked up only to smile at him.
As he walked through the streets of muggle London – not too far from downtown, but not so close, it was a more quiet area, common and inherently residential, as Draco knew that the possibility of someone who knew him appearing in the region was the same as him meeting the Queen of England.
Practically null.
Possibly, if someone said that Draco Lucius Malfoy, the heir to the purist house of Malfoy and one of the sacred twenty-eight, would be walking and living among Muggles so peacefully, he would certainly cast a crucio on whoever dared to open their mouth to say such bestiality, but, everything had changed, hadn't it?
He was no longer the heir to a pure-blood house, even though the name remained among the sacred twenty-eight in history, it no longer mattered. Draco Malfoy was condemned, not condemned to live with the Muggles, he was condemned to live without a wand at Malfoy Manor and without the right to appear anywhere in the magical world – unless he wanted to end up at St. Mungos, which, incidentally, hated him.
Between taking a beating in Diagon Alley or living in the Muggle world, his choice was obvious.
Being responsible for Voldemort's daughter with his crazy aunt Bellatrix was an irrelevant detail in his choice of the second option.
And having taken her as his daughter and being the person he loved most in the world was another detail with no relevance to his final decision, of course.
Obviously, he had problems, many problems in dealing with technology and the Muggle world, especially when he had a baby of not even a year old on his back crying every two minutes, but he found kind people along the way and many books and magazines to help him deal with everything, besides, by luck, kindness, or whatever it was, the Ministry did not confiscate his inheritance coffers, he could live well without working.
Draco got excited about the Muggle’s world, in a short time, he managed – not in the calmest and best ways, to regularize his academic record and enter a good university and managed, with more success than he imagined, to take care of a child and graduate in fashion design.
Despite this, he did not work in the usual working style, he just had his own studio at home and made clothes for himself, Delphini and other people he had contact with, a select group of rich people he met through his university years and through the right friendships.
He was considered too brilliant a mind in the department to stay in his own studio without going to the big fashion houses or trying something more daring than that, but Draco would rather die than do something that attracted too much attention.
He worked when he wanted, with whom he wanted and on his terms, so he lived well. The life of a housewife was quite pleasant, in fact, Draco Malfoy was quite happy being a single father, with a private fashion studio and being a housewife, he really enjoyed it and, perhaps, this explained well why he always wanted to be like his mother, to live like her, not like his father.
No politics, no control, no threats, just nice clothes and tea.
He had gotten used to it all, no wizards, no magic, no death eaters, no crazy people telling him to kill people, no blood purist father, no war, no daily prophet and... Best of all: no golden boy, savior of the wizarding world, no powerful Saint Potter appearing to torment him, save him or judge him through the cover of the daily prophet.
Without the damn smell of spices, treacle pie, and musk around.
Ah… Draco Malfoy lived very happily without all that.
Just him, Delphini, home-cooked recipe books, regular newspapers and fashion magazines.
“Good morning, Mr. Malfoy!” He heard Cassandra, the beta teacher at the school where Delphini studied, smiling and cheerful – she had changed her hair color, Draco noticed, before it was a faded red, now it was a bright pink, she also had tattoos and the children loved that, well, Delphini loved them and said she would be like her when she grew up. “Good morning, dear Delphini!” She bent down and the little girl hugged her happily, her daughter’s favorite teacher, he could even be jealous of that. “Oh my God, what a lovely dress it suits you so much!” Cassandra gently played with her silver hair.
“Daddy made them for me! He also made all my hair ornaments,” she said proudly, showing off the shiny clips and bows, and Cassandra smiled, looking sideways at Malfoy, who ran his hand behind his neck, a little embarrassed – “he made a burger, I can’t wait for snack time!” Delphini said smiling, one arm around the teacher’s neck as she spoke, “Is Genevieve here yet?” she looked into the room, “Ah! Genevieve!” She let go of the teacher and ran to her best friend, a little girl with long, light brown hair and dark blue eyes.
“Delphini, your backpack!” Draco called her, but she was already too immersed in talking to Genevieve to call her father now and Cassandra giggled, standing up, “Sorry about that, she really loves Genevieve…” He spoke as if the teacher didn’t know and that wasn’t the routine since the school year had started, Draco handed the pink backpack with a popular muggle character and the basket with snacks to the teacher, “I made a separate one for Charles, his mother told me he hates beef, so I made chicken.”
“Always so thoughtful, Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Wright made grape juice for Delphini, since she doesn’t like orange juice,” She spoke of Charles’ mother, “And Mrs. MacGyver made a separate chocolate cake for Delphini, after all, she loves Genevieve’s mother’s cakes so much!” Draco gave a weak smile, shaking his head, spoiled little girl, “By the way, Genevieve’s birthday is coming up, her mother asked me to give you the invitation,” she took the invitation, a pink letter decorated with a star from her pocket and handed it over.
“Ah, thank you very much!” He smiled, taking the invitation looking quickly at the teacher and then looking at the children, Delphini, so engrossed in her circle of friends – your parents must surely be turning in their graves seeing you interacting with all these idiots... In theory, my father must be too. “Honestly, sometimes I can’t believe I raised this girl,” he chuckled, muttering to himself. “See you later, Cassandra!” He waved, and just then, Delphini turned to him, waved cheerfully, and he waved back to both his daughter and her best friend, leaving the school grounds.
And even though he wanted to go home and take a long nap, he was a father and had things to take care of, he quickly looked at the clock of a high-end jewelry brand, right, he had to stop by a fabric store to choose some fabrics and buy needles and go to the market, not in that order, it was better to go to the market first and then spend the morning hours in the fabric store, after all, he was demanding.
And, despite it being tiring, Draco wouldn't trade this life for anything.
“Oh, I wanted to go out with him so much…” Cassandra heard the voice of her friend, her arms crossed, leaning against the wall, the assistant teacher, Natallie. “He’s so handsome… Men with long blond hair and light eyes… I’ve always had a thing for those kinds of men…” She remembered her teenage years and her time as a fan of rock bands.
“Natallie, fix your radar, he's an omega!” The woman with pink hair tied back in a ponytail said, making a quick grimace as she organized her backpack and basket in the right place. “And I'm sure he's not another omega, no matter how pretty you are, Nattie...”
“Are you sure he's an omega?” Natallie pouted, “he has the build of...” she paused after a brief analysis, “Ah, maybe he's a beta, he's tall and I can't smell him, if he's an omega he uses very strong suppressants!”
“Natallie.” Cassandra had an ironic smile on her face as she placed her hand on her shoulder, "Just because he's taller than average doesn't mean he's not an omega. Besides, I've talked to Mr. Malfoy about this once before. He uses strong suppressants precisely to pass himself off as a beta... Goodness, Nattie, he's a single father! You know how our society is with single omegas with children..."
She let out an upset sigh, nodding her head, feeling all her dreams fall apart, and looked at the door, grabbed Cassandra's arm, and whispered, “What about the one at the door? I've never seen him here... Newcomer?” Natallie assessed the man dressed in formal attire with a long deep blue coat over his arm, looking him up and down discreetly. Of course, she was polite in her assessment. “Alpha and good quality, a piece of bad way...”
“Yes, dear, a piece of bad luck, he has a wedding ring on his finger, don't get your hopes up.” Cassandra informed her, laughed again at her friend's sulky face, and approached the new father who had just arrived with a child. “Good morning, sir...” She approached him smiling. Unfortunately, she was slow to memorize names and only knew about the new student, not his parents.
“Potter. Harry Potter,” he introduced himself politely, gently sweet, running his hand behind his neck, a little nervous, “I came to drop off my godson, Edward, it’s his first day…” The man lowered his gaze a little, observing the straw-haired boy, half nervous, who looked at that room, half scared, half anxious, half excited, clutching his sweatshirt. “You can call him Teddy.” He looked up again at the teacher.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter, and even more so this cute boy!” She bent down to the height of the little boy who looked at her, surprised by the color of her hair.
“Nice hair.” He said with bright eyes, “Oh, you have drawings on your skin, how cool, my uncle has them too! Right, Uncle Harry?” Teddy pointed to the teacher’s arm, who gave a cute giggle, on the other hand, the man just gave a half smile and put his hand on his head, caressing her hair tenderly
“I’m glad you enjoyed it and welcome, Edward, I mean, Teddy! You came on a great day, today we have a group snack, you’ll definitely love it and it’ll be great for you to meet everyone in the class!” Cassandra noticed Natallie approaching, to pick up the boy’s backpack, of course, as discreet as a blooming sunflower looking at the boy’s godfather who just gave a crooked smile. “Is he allergic to anything, Mr. Potter?” He denied it. “Excellent, but if he has any food preferences, you can let us know. This group snack happens every month. We always inform the children in advance about this group snack, as well as the food restrictions and preferences of the other children!”
“He eats everything and more,” Harry reassured her and she just smiled.
“Come on in, Teddy, come in and make yourself comfortable.” Cassandra said, raising her hand and he understood, giving a cute hi-five and entering the room.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Potter, he’s safe!” Natallie said gently, and Cassandra held back a small laugh at how unsubtle she could be, assessing the man from every angle – except, apparently, his left hand and the gold wedding ring.
“Right, uh… His grandmother is coming to pick him up, her name is Andromeda Tonks,” Potter informed and the teachers nodded, “he has a diary with contacts in his backpack and a file with names of people who can come pick him up besides me and his grandmother, there are also photos, just in case, so…” They nodded again, both of them admitted to being surprised by all the care shown by the man, “Teddy?!” He called his godson who turned to him, “remember what we talked about, okay? Be nice and make good friends, okay?”
“Yes, Uncle Harry!” He said with a smile, and Harry felt relieved and grateful to see a group of students approaching him at the same moment.
“He’s a bit energetic when he realizes he’s in a place where he feels good, but don’t worry, he’s well-behaved, maybe he says some, uh… Weird things, but he’s very creative and reads a lot of fictional stories…” Harry seemed a bit nervous as he explained that, but Natallie nodded positively.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Potter, I assure you that we can handle lively children and a lot of weird stories!” Cassandra laughed and he gave another smile, half crooked, half nervous. Then, without further ado, he gave a brief wave and left – Cassandra and Natallie turned a little outside the door, watching the man immediately pick up a cell phone, “I’m pretty sure he has children and a stressful job, dark circles under his eyes, so typical and the expression of someone who hasn’t slept for at least a week…”
“Or, he’s very busy, you saw he just went out and got his cell phone.” Natallie said and Cassandra rolled her eyes, walking into the room to put the new boy’s backpack back in place, “What? An omega woman, beautiful like me, can’t dream of an alpha? Divorces are easier when you don’t have children!”
“Stop it, you idiot, this is the third alpha and an omega you’ve said that to, just today.” Cassandra elbowed her completely playfully.
“You say that like you don’t look at Bertie’s mother too much,” Natallie teased, giving her a little shoulder shove, and they laughed.
Then they turned to the children, finally, no more children were missing and the normal entry time was over.
“Kids, sit down!” Cassandra asked, seeing the rush for the children to sit down, she gave a sweet smile seeing Teddy standing and extended her hand to him who approached immediately, “Welcome to your new friend, introduce yourself to the class, Teddy.” The little boy’s cheeks turned a cute red.
“Your name, age, and things you like!” Natallie whispered to him, smiling.
“I’m… Uh… Edward Remus Lupin, you can call me Teddy, I’m… six years old… Uh… I’m an alpha… I like playing with my uncle and listening to stories about his work, and I like the pancakes my grandmother makes.” The little children laughed in amusement, he immediately turned red and lowered his head a little, embarrassed.
“I like the burgers my dad makes!” He looked up at the little girl who had raised her arm, he was surprised, “he also makes very good cakes, but the chocolate cakes that Genevieve’s mother makes are much better, but don’t tell him that…” The children laughed and the teachers too and that made Teddy much calmer. “I’m Delphini, sometimes they call me Delphi, daddy calls me Nini, I’m also an alpha,” she had gotten up from the second row and stood in front of him with a huge smile, “I’ll share my burger with you.”
“Very good, Delphini, very kind of you.” Natallie smiled cheerfully, “Sit next to her, Teddy.” He nodded and she held out her hand, Teddy took it and he sat in the chair next to her, she smiled broadly.
On the other side of the city, Malfoy felt a shiver run through his body, but he didn't care about it, after all, he was in the frozen food section.
🌙
“Oh, Daddy!” Delphini got up from the floor, where she was playing a common board game with Genevieve and Teddy, waiting for their parents to come and pick them up. “Daddy, Genevieve’s mom gave me a chocolate cupcake as a gift. I promised I would eat it after lunch, but I ended up eating it in the middle of class…” She spoke excitedly and with a pout at the end. “But it was so good!” She moaned with joy, Draco laughed, bending down.
“The important thing is that you ate well, dear!” He hugged her sweetly, a kiss on her cheek, “say goodbye to your friends, while I get your backpack, huh?” She agreed, returning to the circle of friends. “Did everything go well with the burgers?” He asked, taking Delphini’s backpack, putting it on his shoulder and picking up the empty basket.
“A success, Mr. Malfoy, as always. Gone in the blink of an eye!” Cassandra said and he let out a sigh of relief, it had been his first time making that amount of burger.
“New student?” Draco asked looking at the boy, he received the affirmative from the teacher at the same time that Delphini approached holding the new student’s hand, smiling, while he was a little shy. “New friend, Nini?”
“Yes, Daddy! This is my new friend, Teddy.” She introduced the straw-haired, blue-eyed boy, his cheeks rosy and Draco chuckled gently at that. “He loved your burgers!”
“Well, I’m flattered by that and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Teddy,” Draco gave the child a gentle smile, bending down again, the little boy looking at him with bright eyes, “I’m Draco Malfoy, Delphini’s father and I hope you’ll be a good friend to Nini, because she’ll certainly be a good friend to you!”
“Oh, I’ll be a good friend! She’s really cool!” He quickly declared, then he felt a tug of Delphini’s hand and it made him look quickly at her – say your name, she asked softly and then turned her gaze to the man in front of him, “Yeah… I’m Edward Remus Lupin…” He spoke, a little shyly.
Delphini giggled looking at him: “His name is cool, right? Remus, what a funny name, I’ve never heard it!”
“I had never heard the name Delphini either…” The boy spoke with puffed out cheeks and a pout on his lips, pretending to be offended, while those children smiled and interacted cutely, everything had stopped around Draco Malfoy.
The smile disappeared, the eyes widened and the air felt thin.
This was noticeable, as he heard Delphini's worried voice: "Daddy? Are you okay?" Her hand rested on her father's face, completely worried.
His stomach was in knots, no, hearing that name was like being punched in the stomach and his fingers trembled, clenching tightly into a fist and the handle of the straw basket – he quickly looked up at that child, paying attention to him.
Remus Lupin. Damn, there was no way it was a coincidence and even if he wanted to forget that name he couldn't, the weird teacher he had at Hogwarts, the weird teacher who fought on the other side of the war... The weird teacher who... He looked at Delphini, died in the war caused by her parents.
“Ah… Yeah…” Draco cleared his throat, “yeah, a cool name. Remus, right? Like Remus of Rome, I heard about that when I was in college, literature club…” He stood up, smiling nervously, shakily, pressing his hand to his neck the adhesive suppressants, the strongest on the market, but which still seemed to want to escape a bitter smell – the confused face was not only on the two children, but also on the teacher who was watching that interaction. “Let's go, Delphini.” He held his daughter's hand.
“Ah, let me say goodbye to Genevieve, daddy!” She pursed her lips.
Draco Malfoy trembled, if that child was still there, then someone would still come for him and Malfoy would rather die than find anyone with a connection to that child, after all, if his calculations and memory were not lying to him, that child's mother had died in the war, if the child was in the care of a family member, that means the Black family's disowned aunt.
Draco certainly didn't want to see any familiars.
Then he realized something, he had said his name.
As he let Delphini say goodbye to Genevieve, he looked at the boy who stood there looking at him curiously with those sparkling eyes, quickly, he crouched down next to him and that almost startled the boy: “See Teddy, do you like Nini?" He blushed a little and nodded, "Alright, then, for Nini's sake and for you two to remain friends, please promise me that you won't say that I'm her father, don't say the last name Malfoy in front of any of your relatives, or the name Draco, please." He begged the child, a child of six, but damn, what could he do? If he had a wand...
Oh no, even if he did, he wouldn't do that to a six-year-old.
He wasn't his fucking father.
“hm, okay, Nini’s dad.” Teddy said, a little confused and Draco exhaled.
“Thank you, dear,” Draco said softly, hiding his nervousness, patting him on the head and he seemed to get even redder in the cheeks. “Nini, let’s go! We have to stop by the bookstore, okay?” She nodded, gave Genevieve a hug and quickly hugged Teddy on the way out, a little longer – he counted the seconds, she waved her hand to the teacher who pretended not to have heard anything.
So, they left the school.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Draco spoke softly, not wanting to let his daughter hear his swearing – manners first.
He walked quickly, but respecting Delphini's limits.
“Is everything okay, daddy?” She asked, worried. “The bookstore is over there…” She pointed.
“Honey, my sweet nini,” Draco stopped on the sidewalk and bent down to hold her shoulders, “I'm not feeling very well, too many hours standing up choosing fabric, can we leave the bookstore for tomorrow?” He looked into those dark brown eyes and she agreed shyly, “Daddy will make your favorite food today, okay?”
“Chocolate cake?” She asked, tilting her face, and Draco allowed himself to laugh, feeling some of his nervousness melt away.
“Meat pancakes, my little carnivore!” He pinched her nose and she laughed, then they walked back home – all the way, Delphini was just having fun as usual, jumping cutely and balancing on the sidewalks, but the blond man, the omega, had a racing heart and a head full of thoughts.
He had fought so hard to stay away from anyone involved in that magical world, fought so hard to live peacefully, and then Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks' son just showed up? Damn it, he had spent six years away from any and all problems involving family, war, the magical world, and now this?
Draco exhaled loudly when he got home and locked the door tightly. Think on the bright side, Malfoy, he must be being taken care of by his aunt who wasn't involved in the war or anything, as far as I know, the renegade of the Black family. Possibly, of course, they must just be doing the same thing he was, living a Muggle life far away from everything in the magical world...
Yes, definitely.
There was no reason to think otherwise.
Peace, everything would remain peaceful.
“Daddy, did you feed Minty?” Delphini asked as she walked up the stairs, “I’m sure if you don’t feed her, she’ll bite you!” Draco looked at her, excitedly walking up to her room and he just followed silently behind. “Minty!” The door was opened quickly, “Did daddy feed you, Minty?” She ran to the glass enclosure where the greenish-dark scaled snake lived comfortably.
far from the magical world, in theory, distant. Because if there was something Draco couldn't do, it was to find another explanation for Delphini talking to snakes, parseltongue, but that was an irrelevant detail that she kept completely secret and accepted what he said about it.
Delphini easily accepted the little, very little, that he spoke about magic and had no interest in delving into it – Draco was so happy, he couldn't ask for a better daughter!
“That ugly snake is complimenting me, right? I gave her a fat rat to eat, a super fat one!” Draco accused, pointing at the snake that was coiling around Delphini’s arm as he left his backpack on top of her study table. “If she complains next time she’ll get a rat the size of a twig, I tell you!”
Delphini laughed: “She’s grateful, Daddy! She even said she would warm your bed as a thank you!”
“Keep her out of my bed.” Draco said, feigning fear, making the little girl laugh. He picked up the school diary as he did every time: “Two activities to do, let’s do them after lunch, okay?” Delphini agreed and sat on the bed, petting the snake. “Nini, what’s our deal?”
“Get home and take a shower…” She pouted, “I’m going daddy!”
Draco smiled and quickly organized his backpack, quickly analyzing the activities he would have for that afternoon, then going to the bathroom. After all, he still didn't trust letting a six-year-old girl – right, almost seven, take a shower completely alone.
He was super protective, but he blamed the fact that he knew who she really was the daughter of than some extremely maternal instincts on his omega side. In reality, he knew it was a mixture of everything and, above all, because Delphini was the only person who mattered to him, the only thing he would kill and die for to see her always well and happy.
While Delphini was taking a bath, that ugly snake, with all of Draco's affection, wrapped itself around his arm with its tongue sticking out every second.
“She likes you, daddy…” Delphini said as she washed her hair, “you know she says she’ll bite you just for affection! She always says she likes your smell, but she likes me more!” She raised her nose proudly.
“She’s saying that to win against a fat rat, clever snake…” He laughed, gently running his fingers over the snake’s body and heard the snake’s little noise, opening its mouth wide, “what did she say?”
"She said that I'm going to bite you!" Dolphins in the river
“You wouldn’t let her hurt me, would you, Nini?” Draco jokes, then he hears the sound of the sink crashing, the porcelain cup that held Delphini’s toothbrush – “I won’t let anyone hurt Daddy!” Oh, he had forgotten that, hadn’t he? Every time he played with someone or something hurting him, something always, always broke. “It’s okay, honey, Minty wouldn’t do that.”
“She just said she definitely wouldn’t do that, she looked kind of scared,” Delphini giggled, “what broke it, Daddy?”
“Nothing important, those cheap things always break easily, I’ll clean it, just stay away.” She agreed getting out of the tub, “take Minty with you.” Delphini nodded again, only glancing quickly at what had broken, Draco smiled giving her a quick caress on the cheek and his expression became neutral.
Damn.
He was going to have to talk at some point about the whole magical world, about the fact that she had magic inside her and needed to control it, although he doubted that, in a few years, a letter from Hogwarts would arrive for Delphini, it was important to explain… No, no, they could live like this, without her knowing the truth, he was Delphini's father, not that son of a bitch Voldemort and his crazy aunt.
And they had been living well during all those six years, some signs of loss of magical control too subtle to be dangerous, one or another magical thing that he learned to do without a wand, because, well… He wasn't made of iron and didn't even know how to explain things that in the muggle world had no explanations!
He had no other way to explain it without mentioning that damn world when Delphini, at the age of four, talked to a fucking snake at the zoo. (Even he doubted it, but it happened again and again, and he had to speak up)
That was enough.
He finished cleaning with this monologue in his head.
“Daddy,” He looked up at Delphini who had Minty wrapped around her arm, already dressed in a delicate dress with white ruffles and blue ribbon, his creation of course, “why did you have that reaction to Teddy?”
Observant girl. He thought, avoiding making a face.
“It was nothing, my little star!” He smiled sweetly and before Delphini could ask more he changed the subject: “After lunch you can take it back dear, she accompanies us while we do our homework,” Draco looked at the snake, “wouldn’t this thing be okay with that?” He heard the snake’s noise.
“d’accord!” Draco smiled at her French and gave her a thumbs up, she placed Minty in her little house, she peeked around and ducked under a set of logs; “daddy, can you do that pretty braid in my hair? Like you do in yours?”
“Yes, dear, of course!”
Delphini smiled and practically ran to sit at the dressing table – while she was sitting at the dressing table swinging her legs, Draco was drying her still wet hair with more care, then he combed it and made a beautiful scale braid for her, placing a bow in a delicate shade of blue at the end.
He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head and lingered there for a few more seconds.
"Daddy?"
Draco pressed his lips together and bent down. Delphini turned around immediately, looking at her father, who had tears forming in the corners of his silver eyes: “Daddy…” She didn’t wait for anything, she just hugged her father with the greatest affection possible, with so much love. “Nini is here…” She repeated what he always said to her when she woke up from a nightmare or was scared of something, running her small fingers through her father’s silver locks.
“Yes, darling, you’re here…” He hugged Delphini back, tight. Smelling her delicate scent. “You know I love you, don’t you?” She giggled cutely.
“I’m sure I love you much more, daddy!” Delphini gave him a soft, smacking kiss on the forehead, “there’s no one in the world I love more than daddy, you’re like that superhero on TV, always protecting me and being nice,” she pulled away just to imitate the muggle superhero, punching the wind, “and Delphini will always protect daddy, always, always!” Draco held her hands, “after all, I couldn’t live without daddy…” Malfoy looked at her, “I’m going to grow up, become a strong alpha, I’m going to beat up the guys who tried to hurt my daddy!” she playfully punched him again, making the blond laugh with tears.
“Confident like an alpha, aren’t you, Nini?”
“Confident like a Malfoy!” She lifted her nose and Draco held back a laugh, “Alphas protect omegas and I’m going to protect Daddy!” Delphini tightened her grip.
“I’ll protect you too, Nini, always, always!” Draco caressed her face, “that boy, Teddy, I’m not going to stop you from being friends with him, sorry for the reaction I had, he just reminded me of someone from Dad’s unhappy past… But… tell me what you two talk about, okay?” She nodded, shaking her head up and down, “and, Nini, never forget how much I love you, you’re all I have, everything, absolutely everything.” He pulled her into another hug, “no matter what anyone says, I’ll always be your dad and you’ll always be my everything, okay?”
“Okay!” She hugged her father back. “You’re my everything too, Daddy!”
Draco tightened that hug a little.
Yes, Delphini, as ironic as it was, it was all he had left and he would not allow anyone to destroy his life, he would not fall into disgrace, not again.