"So what was she using the Muggles for," Rodolphus asked Dolohov.
"For wizarding freedom, of course," Dolohov answered, as if that was the most obvious thing.
Rod arched his brows and waited.
"You know, by stirring them up, making them fight from the inside! You know, tearing their own societies down so we don't have to! Doing our job for us!"
If he went on again about how bloody brilliant Delphini was, Bellatrix would not be able to restrain herself! She gave him a warning glare that he didn't notice.
"She set them up to tear down their own society in the most brilliant way. She planned for wizards to step in when the Muggle world was at war, because then they'd be too divided to stand against us. A house, or country, or non-magical world divided against itself cannot stand, she said, and she was right. Where old Grindelwald wanted to prevent a Muggle war back in the day, Delphini, with her fresh new perspective, saw the usefulness in allowing them to tear themselves apart so that we didn't have to!"
"How did she cause the Muggles to lose their minds," Rodolphus asked.
"She put something in their electronic devices. Something that twisted the way they see things, because you know their little electronic devices have pictures in them. You know, the puterphones. Pictures everywhere, and somehow the Muggles were already very addicted to their puterphones so she used what they were already doing to make them see things all wrong, but wrong in a way she could use to dismantle their entire societies. Sure it may not work on all countries, but it's working already on the most powerful ones! I don't see your precious young Grindelwald doing any of that. He's certainly not his father, but his father was no Delphini. She was going to take us far until you lot killed her! Why'd you do that anyway," he demanded, suddenly looking at all four of them as if they were completely insane.
While Bellatrix was accustomed to people thinking she was insane, his look annoyed her, because as Delphini's henchman, he'd surely done more than the Lestranges had ever bloody contemplated.
"Seriously," Lyra asked with a dark laugh that caused Bellatrix and Rodolphus to exchange a proud smile.
The look Dolohov gave them was one of pure confusion. "Yes… Seriously. I can't understand why the likes of you would want her dead? After all, she was doing precisely what wizards and witches like us always wanted."
Bellatrix needed to Crucio him so badly she was literally shaking with the effort of self restraint. Closing her eyes she drew in a slow breath and let it out even more slowly. When she addressed Dolohov, her words were slow and very careful. "Because she was evil. Perhaps more evil than her father. She did not want what Grindelwald wanted for wizarding society. She wanted rights for Dementors. How can we live safely in a world where Dementors have equal rights to us? That wouldn't be equal, their rights would always be greater. They would always be hungry, and we would always be food."
"Not to mention she wasn't precisely human," Rodolphus added. "And when I say not human I mean in a way that will never relate to humans ever. She had vast quantities of power that she planned to put toward things like Dementor rights. So no, we weren't interested in that, or in her, or in the Horcrux of her father that lived inside of her and still wanted to take us down."
"But that's rubbish! You were his favorites." Dolohov seemed to have chosen to ignore everything they'd said other than the bit concerning them and Voldemort. Like crazy leader, like crazy follower, Bellatrix thought drily.
Rodolphus quickly summarized the situation with Kreacher, the Horcrux, and how the six of them had attempted to kill Voldemort only to have Orion die instead at the Dark Lord's hand.
"So you see, he never truly cared for his followers," Rodolphus concluded. "Not even for himself...not in the proper way at least. He only sought to keep himself alive even if that life made him less on all fronts. He was too gone to see it, too gone to be a leader, too gone to do anything but die. His daughter was different but no more human and no better."
Dolohov shook his head in silent denial and all four Lestranges stared him down just as silently. "No… You've got it all wrong," he managed after several seconds.
"What about the Muggles now?" Bellatrix demanded. "Is her influence on them gone? Are any of her former followers still using them?"
Dolohov sighed regretfully. "Alas, her work died with her. None of us were able to carry on with it. That was all her ability. We couldn't even if we wanted to." He hesitated, then lifted his hands to them imploringly. "Look, I'm sorry for what Voldemort did to you, but she really treated us better. Thank you for explaining what happened with you all and Voldemort. It does explain a lot."
Rodolphus narrowed his eyes at him in silent question.
"I mean, it explains why he didn't leave Delphini with the families of his favorites," Dolohov said. "I wondered why she wasn't put with the Malfoys at least, but now it makes sense."
Bellatrix nodded. "Indeed. But why the Dolohovs and Rowles?"
He shrugged. "Because we had no reason not to do as he asked for the proper amount of money. Because he kept Antonin and Thorfinn's secret, or so I always believed."
"What secret," Rabastan asked.
"They were gay, and back then, a lot of people still frowned upon that shit. Hell, it was even weird for me to get used to, you know, having a gay in the family. Voldemort didn't seem to get sex or care either way, so Antonin always said. He said Voldemort thought it was all weird, straights or gays. So what you said about him somehow making a wonder baby with his snake actually made sense to me."
"Well, I'm glad something adds up for you," Lyra said. "Because the fact you could actually serve Delphini doesn't add up for us." She turned to Rodolphus. "If there is nothing else you want of him, I think I'll go report to Grindelwald now if that's alright."
"Where is Thorfinn now," Bellatrix asked.
"He got real reclusive after Flitwick killed Antonin in that last battle. I wasn't there, but I heard tell. He went up into the mountains and no one ever saw him again. We have no idea where he is."
"You're saying that he didn't want to help raise your precious Delphini," Rodolphus asked skeptically.
Dolohov shook his head. "She wasn't his Delphini. She was just a baby that Voldemort hired his family to look after. Voldemort was dead as was Antonin, so Thorfinn probably wanted no part of any of it, and no reminders of you know...any of it."
Bellatrix exchanged a silent look with Rodolphus and Rabastan who shrugged and nodded. It appeared they were done with Aymer Dolohov unless Grindelwald disagreed.
"Yes, go ahead," Rod told Lyra. Lyra Apparated away and Dolohov placed his hands expectantly on the bars of his cell.
"Well? Are you going to let me out now?"
Rod gave a low laugh. "Afraid not."
Obviously deciding to play good Auror to Rod's bad Auror, Rabastan stepped forward with a friendly grin. "At least not yet."