The Forgotten Twin

Chapter 13

"Fair point. I've heard Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts are more sympathetic than him."

They both laughed.

"Anyway," Draco continued. "You could ask Daphne or Lyra to go as friends."

"True, I'll ask them tomorrow, thanks."

Sadly they both were busy, so Delilah would have to face it alone. She would have asked Harry, but Peeves let everyone know that he was taking Luna. That would be interesting at least.

The day arrived and she wasn't nearly as excited as everyone else. In fact, the only person that seemed more worried about it was Hermione.

Thanks to Ron being mad at her for whatever stupid reason it was this time, Hermione couldn't take him to Slughorn's party so she decided to make him jealous by taking Mclaggen. Honestly, for someone so smart sometimes she could be so dense. If she really wanted to make him jealous she would have taken Harry. They would have fun together, making Ron even more insecure. How neither Harry nor even Hermione noticed his insecurities was beyond Delilah. She had spent way less time with him than the others, yet she was the only one that saw them.

But on the bright side Delilah now had Miss Know-It-All to talk with at the party. Plus, Luna would be fun to watch.

So, when she got to Slughorn's party that afternoon, she wasn't as bored as she had thought. For the beginning of the party, Slughorn introduced her to all the potioneers and inventors he knew.

"Ah! Phineas! This, Delilah, is Phineas Bourne. He is a well-known potion inventor. This is the dear lady I was mentioning to you earlier, Delilah Potter. She and her brother, Harry Potter — I'm sure you've heard of him — are quite the dab hands at potions. Harry of course is a touch better, but Delilah here is giving him a run for his money," Slughorn said, laughing at his own joke.

Mr. Bourne nodded, looking rather bored. He wasn't old looking, but not exactly young either, he seemed to be in his early to mid forties. He had brown hair and cold blue eyes.

"Don't worry sir, I'm picking up his secrets." She smiled, hiding her annoyance at Harry's sudden potions success. "It's Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bourne."

He nodded back, seeming even more bored.

"I was wondering if you could provide your thoughts on a potions problem I've been trying to solve," she continued. It could be helpful to have an ally in the potions business.

"Ask away!" Slughorn said, though Mr. Bourne looked less enthusiastic.

"I've been trying to find a way to counteract Wolfsbane potion's bad taste. Sugar makes it ineffective, and I think lavender will help, but I was wondering what you thought."

Mr. Bourne's whole demeanor changed. Now he seemed curious and thoughtful rather than bored.

"Out of curiosity, why are you working with Wolfsbane potion?"

"I have a friend with lycanthropy. He doesn't complain, but I know it's hard. Usually I send him some potions since he can't afford them."

"That's very kind of you."

"Thank you, do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, the wolfsbane is what causes the bad taste, but that is necessary for the potion, and only a strong flavor, such as ginger, could counteract it, but it would need to be tested to make sure the potion still worked and wasn't poisonous."

"Exactly," Delilah said, glad that he actually seemed interested. "But since ginger is an amplifier, I wasn't sure if it would amplify the wolfsbane, making it a poison, or just amplify the overall effect, and it's hard to tell without testing it on a werewolf, which isn't ethical."