Narcissa finds she has a niece in what's possibly the most curious manner ever - by meeting with a furious Euphemia Rowle, who carried a black haired baby.

She looked at the rail thin woman, wearing what could be considered rags, and waited, staring at the sight in front of her.

"Where's my payment?", the woman growled, and Narcissa merely blinked, unaware her husband still had gambling debts. She really needed to see how it was going to be settled.

"I'm afraid I cannot pay you, mrs. Rowle, unless I know what it is for.", Narcissa parroted what the Malfoy solicitor had told her to say, and was appropriately taken aback when Euphemia started laughing like a maniac, and started a rant about how the baby she had in her arms wasBellatrix's and Voldemort's heir .

Narcissa wasn't really buying this mad woman's rant until Euphemia pinched the baby a tad too strongly, and made it cry, like that made any sense. Jumping from her seat to approach Euphemia, Narcissa decided that perhaps this baby was Bellatrix's, if that was able to keep it safe from the mad woman. The baby barely looked one year old, and if Narcissa could correctly guess a birth date, she'd have to say this baby was born under her roof.

Narcissa, if she was true to herself, didn't remember Bellatrix being pregnant, but she also didn't remember a good part of the end of the war effort, all seamlessly blocked in her mind. So, if this is ( maybe ) Bellatrix's child, Narcissa had a duty to fulfill, even if unfortunate.

A plan had to be formed, quickly, twisting and turning corners in Narcissa's mind like spellfire, hand reaching for her wand.

It's too complicated, it probably will fail - but family is family, Narcisa sighs, wand raised just enough to have a clear line of sight on Euphemia.

" Imperio ,", Narcissa called, and Euphemia's eyes grew huge before they became glazed. "You'll give me the baby, and whatever papers it has to its name. Then, you'll live in the wilderness of Canada for the rest of your life. Do not question this. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am,", Euphemia replied, monotone. Narcissa nodded to herself, satisfied. So far, so good.

"Good. Pass me the baby, and tell me it's name.", she commanded, glad that the wards were thick enough to bypass whatever Ministry control there could still be on them.

Euphemia, with a distant nod, obeyed, and Narcissa stared at the baby, distantly registering its name - Delphini , like the Dolphin constellation. A Black name through and through. Bellatrix, if she truly was this baby's mother, had chosen well.

"The papers. Be quick, yes?"

Euphemia nodded and made a motion to leave, Narcissa keeping her eyes on the other woman the entire time, feeding the spell with careful timing, and slowly rocking the sleeping baby.

She always wanted a daughter.

Still, she had a plan to perform. Narcissa transfigured some flowers into a crib with a flick of her wand and let Delphini lay there, asleep as she had come, and produced some parchment and ink, a quill being fished soon after from a drawer. Narcissa made a mental note to have a talk with the house elves about that later, and started penning some fake, accusing note. Maybe some witch who lost her husband during the war and did not wish to raise her baby, and decided to put the child to be raised by the ones who had killed her husband in first place.

It was plausible. It wasn't like Lucius kept a tally of how many people he killed, anyway. Not specific ones, at least.

She scanned the lines, taking some water from the vase and flicking it on the still drying ink, to give it an tear-stained appearance, and hummed to herself as she made it look like it was made of a lesser quality parchment. It wasn't like a mother giving away her child would care about parchment quality, would she?

Narcissa picked a not so crisp envelop, putting her fake letter inside, and closed it with a spell. Like some poor war-stricken mother would havemoney for wax. As if.

That done, Narcissa stuck the letter in her robe pocket, picking baby Delphini again and letting the flowers revert to their base form, sticking them in the vase at the same time Euphemia came back with one single piece of parchment. She gave a look at the other woman, grabbing the piece of parchment, and finding there just the barest of the birth certificates, Delphini's name (with no surname, obviously), Bellatrix's underMother, and the baby's measures at birth, a date a month before the final battle where Bellatrix had fallen. Narcissa wondered who had been the midwife, and who else could be with the knowledge of this baby's existence. She sticked the birth certificate into her robe pocket and smiled to Euphemia.

"Thank you, Euphemia. Now, let's see… Obliviate ."

The memory influx was quite something , but Narcissa knew what to do. She carefully erased any memories with Delphini, some difficulty being found with the oldest ones, replacing them with the idea that the baby Euphemia had helped Bellatrix deliver - so she had been the midwife.Good . One less thing to worry about. - had been a stillborn, noticing, sick to her stomach, that Euphemia had never truly cared for the baby. Such a disgrace. Bellatrix had trusted Euphemia with her child, and the only thing the woman cared for was money.

She took special pleasure in making Euphemia forget their small encounter, and smiled when she put in the strong suggestion of living in the middle of nowhere in Canada. Euphemia Rowle deserved it. The things she did - or rather, didn't - do that poor child.

"Go on, then.", Narcissa smiled, predatory and cruel, and Euphemia Rowle went away in a Floo flurry. With any luck, she'd be eaten by a bear or some other creature and take the memories with her.

When the Floo died, Narcissa looked at the baby in her arms, and cooed to it, softly playing with her hair.

"Well, what to do with you, little one?"

She had a vague plan. Narcissa took a deep breath, and made her way to her bedroom - it had been literally years since she had shared one with Lucius -, taking care to not be seen by the Malfoys of ages past. If they learned her secret, then Lucius would be quick to follow, and he'd take more problematic measures when it came to Delphini.

Narcissa was tired of the Dark and its machinations; this kid was going to be raised as far away from it as she could manage.

She, somehow, managed to get there without being caught. Narcissa thanked Merlin for that, and went inside her wardrobe, setting Delphini in top of her softest robe while she picked the robes she usually wore when going into Knockturn Alley. She'd definitely need to go in disguise, but not to the Alley, no. Gringotts was her goal.

Narcissa needed to give Delphini a surname, even if it were a fake one, something that couldn't be traced back to her sister. Maybe a name change, while she was there; Delphini was definitely a Black family name, but Delphi, perhaps, wasn't. It still kept with Bellatrix's wishes, and it wasn't like the woman was there to complain about it.

Dressed, she picked the baby again and hid her partially with the help of the long sleeves the robe had, quick steps getting Narcissa out of closet, seamlessly picking some Floo powder and throwing it into the fireplace. She was still surprised she remembered how to do things one-handed; she never had the opportunity to do much baby-holding after Draco started to walk.

"Gringotts private telling room,", she called, as soon as the fire became a bright green, protecting Delphini's eyes before walking into it while closing her own, even if the hood over her head offered some small protection. The walk through fireplaces hurt someone's eyes, after a long time, and Narcissa would probably be killed by Bellatrix's revengeful ghost if something happened with her child.

Merlin, Bellatrix's child. If that kid didn't inherit the Black madness, it'd be a miracle. In the occasion she were Voldemort's child as well, not only it'd be a miracle, it would be direct divine intervention. Now that Narcissa thought about it, she wasn't sure if she prefered that this child was Voldemort's or Rodolphus' (Narcissa wouldn't be surprised if Bellatrix lied through her teeth to make this child's Voldemort's heir. She was crazy enough to do so.), since both weren't all there mentally. But, again, so was Bellatrix.

Narcissa opened her eyes to the sound of the bank's noises far away from her, finding herself in a small side room, a Goblin sitting in a desk doing something with an abacus. She took a deep breath and took off the hood, going to the teller.

"Hello. I'd like to see the Black account manager, please.", polite and nice always gives back twice, or so had said her mother, who was only a sweet society lady in front of the goblins, and in any other occasion, a ruthless woman interested solely in gaining more societal status for the Black family. Narcissa and Bellatrix's weddings had been the results of that thought.

The goblin raised its beady eyes to her, and picked a small ceramic pot, a dagger on top of it, and left Narcissa to her devices. She gave the goblin a smile instead of screaming at it.

"Perhaps, if it wouldn't bother you, could you please help me? I'm carrying a baby.", Narcissa took off the fabric that covered most of Delphini, and the baby kept its sleep. She wondered if Euphemia had fed her some sort of sleeping potion.

The goblin sighed loudly, and held the dagger in a way that a slight pinprick would make the blood fall into the pot. Narcissa thanked it again and touched the tip of her finger on the blade, a drop of blood falling as soon as she let the blade go.

The ceramic pot turned black, and the goblin got off his high chair, indicating with his head that she follow him. Narcissa obeyed, following him through a small, barely lit hallway to a dark wooden door, a plaque announcing that it was Nagnok's private conference room.

The inside of it was aesthetically pleasing to a goblin, perhaps; mounted heads weren't really her style, and the tapestries would be pretty, if not depicting scenes of the Goblin Rebellions.

"It's a pleasure to do your business, lady Malfoy. What can Gringotts do for you?", the goblin asked, taking Narcissa out of her reverie. She took the birth certificate from her robe pocket and gave it to the goblin.

"Is this a legit certificate? I was given it, but alas, I have no way to be certain it is true.", the goblin took the paper from her hands, giving it an once over before tapping it with one nail, the paper sparking in gold.

"Yes, it is, lady Malfoy. Delphini Noname, born April thirteen, by Bellatrix Lestrange, no father on record."

No father? It made things easier for Narcissa. She took a deep breath, choosing her next words carefully.

"That's good to know. Hypothetically speaking, if one would like to tap on its dowry to, perhaps, give a poor orphan child a fake birth certificate, fully registered in the Ministry records, how much would it cost, and would it take too long to be made? As a curiosity, would it cost too much to destroy any registers of the original birth certificate, if any exists?", Narcissa smiled, as innocently as possible, and the goblin looked at her for one brief second before giving her a smile with too many teeth.

How she hated these despicable creatures. Too bad they had their hands on her money. The goblin put the birth certificate in the table, but she made no move for it.

" Hypothetically speaking, lady Malfoy, it would be relatively expensive, even with one's dowry. Three fourths of it would be drained, but the birth certificate would be as legit as the one in front of us.",the goblin crossed its hands on the table. "What name would this hypothetical baby be registered as?"

"Delphi. The surname can be some common one, of a Muggle origin, perhaps. Something that wouldn't bring the attention of any family,", Narcissa mused, touching the baby's soft black hair with care. She looked a bit like Draco as a baby, but Draco looked like the pictures of a baby Bellatrix. Narcissa hoped it would pass.

The goblin nodded.

"Very well. It'll be ready in four hours, unless you'd like to spend some coin into making things sped up."

"I don't see why not.", she needed to be as quick as possible, anyway, and it wasn't like she ever touched her dowry. The goblin rose up, and Narcissa was quick to follow. "Please create a tuition vault in her name, yes? Use half of whatever may remain after all this spending."

She bowed slightly to the creature, and it seemed to take special pleasure on it. Narcissa did not grit her teeth because it would notice.

"Of course, lady Malfoy. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

She didn't feel the same, but she thanked the goblin once again. Nice and polite, Narcissa told herself, nice and polite.

Hours later, however, the birth certificate in her hands felt as real as Draco's, registered in name of one Delphi Ward, daughter of Unknown andUnknown. Narcissa smiled, thanking the goblin, and deciding that now would be a good time to present to her husband her new charge, the letter in her pocket with the new certificate, the original birth certificate torn to shreds.

She hummed to herself, going back to her own room, getting out of the Knockturn Alley robe, and making her careful, slow way to the drawing room, and taking a deep breath when she noticed she was alone.

"Sissi,", Narcissa called, and the house elf soon appeared. She did not wait for the elf to speak."Someone tripped the front door wards a few minutes ago. I don't recall seeing you there to pick up this package. Isn't that curious?"

The elf's huge eyes grew, somehow, a shriek starting to make its way to the elf's throat.

"Sissi's sorry, lady Malfoy, Sissi's a bad elf, Sissi's gonna punish herself…!"

"First, bring my husband here, won't you? Then go punish yourself.", Narcissa made a mental note to modify the ward books later, while the elf went away, still sputtering excuses. She picked the letter and put it on top of the table, birth certificate by its side, waiting for Lucius. He wouldn't react well, of course, but as if she'd let him boss her. Look what that had done to their reputation.

Delphini - Delphi - would be raised by her, or else .

Narcissa looked at the door at the exact same time Lucius strode in, the elf excusing itself to go and hit its giant head on the wall or something. Narcissa didn't care.

"What is the meaning of this?", he growled, eyes centered on the baby in her arms. Narcissa gave him her best and coldest smile.

"Someone seeking revenge, I'm presuming. I haven't opened the letter, since it has your name all over it, dear.", well, not exactly revenge .

He glared at her, probably for refusing to put the baby down, and grabbed the letter, opening it and scanning the few accusatory lines she had written. He mouthed off the words, a frown forming in his face, and Narcissa noticed that Delphini was starting to wake up, looking at her with familiar black eyes. She started to try to rock it back to sleep, noticing that Lucius kept staring at the scene in front of him.

"Put her in an orphanage. I will not raise some mudblood's spawn,", Lucius spat, and Narcissa simply looked at him.

"Then it is such a shame I have grown attached, isn't it?", Narcissa replied cooly, and her husband grew red. "I have always wanted a daughter. This girl is a gift to me, and you know it."

He looked at her, furious, and the world came to a standstill, both refusing to give up their ground.

"You plan to raise someone not of pure blood inside my house?"

If only he knew this child was the daughter ( supposedly , she conceded) of his so precious Dark Lord. Narcissa kept her smile tight.

"Why, isn't there available space for a child to be raised? The entire wing you gave to me seems so small, now.", sarcasm wasn't fitting for a lady, so said her mother, but alas. It wasn't like her mother was there to scold her. "Lucius, I will raise this child, you like it or not. I can keep her away from you, of course, since the grounds are big enough, but do not ask me to not take care of this child."

Lucius glared at her, and threw the letter to the floor. Narcissa didn't react.

"Keep her away from me, and nothing will happen,", he threatened, before leaving in a dramatic flurry of hair and robes. Narcissa rolled her eyes, and looked at the baby in her arms.

"Mother won't let the bad man harm you, sweetheart,", she cooed, smiling when she heard Lucius' indignant "I heard that!" from far. "Now, we should get you some clothes, hm? And have you meet your brother. I'm sure he'll love you."

But now, Narcissa decided, calling Sissi, she needed to modify the ward book. Some unknown people needed to be there, after all. After that - straight to visit her son. It had been a while, after all.

As such, she took a deep breath, and set up to do her work, Delphini still in her arms.

Draco stared at his mother with horror, barely forty five minutes later, and Narcissa conceded that her story was a bit strange. Still, his wife seemed to accept Narcissa's story.

"You're going to truly adopt her?", he asked, passing a hand through his hair. Narcissa kept her need to fuss over his hair inside herself, hands on her lap.

"That's so selfless, lady Malfoy,", cooed Astoria, playing with the baby, prosthetic hand a nice shade of tyrian today. "What's her name?"

Narcissa smiled and replied, watching Draco's mask crumble. He rose up, clearing his throat.

"Mother. Could we speak in private?", he asks, and Narcissa complied, Astoria making promises to take care of the baby. He guided her to a drawing room, wards thick and heavy against her throat, but Narcissa did not tell her son he was being paranoid. He bit his lower lip, and Narcissa did not tell him that was a bad habit growing. It was better than his father's love of firewhiskey, at least. "Delphi is surprisingly similar to a Black name."

"If I think you're implying what you seem to be implying, my dear, the answer is a solid no. She truly came to me, Draco.", Narcissa smiled, finding a place to sit. "And I'd like for you to treat her as your sister. Your father won't, and I will understand if you wish to, as he said, not relate yourself to dirty blood ."

Well, Lucius hadn't exactly said those words, but alas. Draco snorted, and Narcissa took a deep breath. He was starting to copy his wife's habits, wasn't he? Narcissa didn't even know why they had gotten married so young - Astoria had just finished her last year of school, for Merlin's sake.

But then, Narcissa herself had married as soon as she was graduated. Who she was to criticize anything?

"Mom, with the way Astoria is treating Delphi, I don't think we can ignore her. She… Likes babies. A lot,", Draco scratched the back of his head, sitting in front of Narcissa.

"Does that mean your little sister will be getting someone to play soon? I have always wanted grandchildren,", Narcissa nagged, hands joined in her lap once again. Draco blushed, which was adorable, a protest ready to leave his lips. "Oh, I know, I know, you two are too young, you don't wish to burden yourselves with children already, I know. Still, if you'd like some practice, you can always babysit Delphi. I'm sure your wife would love it."

Draco's features softened, and he nodded, solemn.

"Mother, are you sure… ?", he asked, and shook his head, the question never leaving his lips. "Nevermind. Shall we go back? I'm sure Astoria plans on kidnapping Delphi for herself."

Narcissa would kill Astoria herself if that happened, but she made a joke and faked relief when seeing the girl in question with Delphi in her arms. She played and laughed and nagged the two of them, keeping an eye on Delphi at all times.

Narcissa only was able to breath easy when Delphi was back into her arms, away from eyes who could possibly see the resemblance between the baby and Draco, who always looked more like Bellatrix than Narcissa.

Narcissa only released her breath fully when she was back in her room, a crib set up near her bed, bags of clothes for babies on top of her desk, and she smiled, looking at Delphi.

"Seems like it's just you and me, hm?", she cooed, and the baby giggled.