The Hated Hero

This is War

Delphi awoke in the hospital wing in a panic. She grasped the sides of the bed and struggled to sit up under the aggressively snug bedsheets with a scream as she tried to make sense of where she was.

"You're okay! You're okay!"

Delphi managed to calm down upon recognizing Dean Goldstein's voice. She finally recognized the pukwudgies fluttering about and realized that she was in the

Ilvermorny hospital wing, not some chamber of Sibyl Pennykettle or Carren Starkiller's followers.

"You're okay," Goldstein repeated. "I know you went through some pretty traumatizing events. You did really well, though."

Delphi looked him in the eye once she caught her breath.

"Is everyone okay? How long has it been? Did the MACUSA get here in time?" Delphi asked frantically.

"The MACUSA got there right after you passed out and Sibyl Pennykettle left," Goldstein assured her. "You've only been out for eleven hours."

"Are the dragons okay?" Delphi asked. "How's Grockle?"

"Grockle? The big clay dragon?" Goldstein asked. "David Pennykettle came to pick them up-they're all just fine. Liz will be happy to know that the dragons weren't disappearing because of her own failure. All of the dragons are going home. Well, except for this little guy."

Out of his hands fluttered the little clay dragon who had helped her.

"Gwillan Pennykettle said he wanted you to have him-said he liked you," Goldstein said. "I've got to say, his Animation Charms are superb-I think he's actually created life in that dragon."

"Really?" Delphi held the dragon in her hands. "Does he have a name?"

"Mr. Pennykettle said he's waiting for you to name him," Goldstein said with an affectionate smile on his face.

"Zookie," Delphi decided, thinking of some book she'd read. "I'm calling you Zookie."

The dragon gave a chirp of approval, and then fluttered to her bedside table, where the mayhaw wand lay. . . And the one from the mysterious tree.

"Dean Goldstein. . . I have a question," Delphi said slowly as she picked up the Slytherin wand.

"Shoot," he said.

"This wand. . . It responded to Parseltongue, it came from this-this tree hidden by the hedge," Delphi said. "The tree responded with Parseltongue, too. Where did it come from? Why is it responding to me?"

Before Goldstein could come up with any sort of answer, two people barged through the hospital wing.

"Zanna-"

"DON'T YOU 'ZANNA' ME DAVID ARTHUR PENNYKETTLE, YOU AND I BOTH KNOW YOU AND YOUR DAMN DRAGONS GOT US INTO THIS MESS!" Zanna shouted. Immediately, Delphi recognized Alexa's dark hair and eyes in the gothic dream woman. She wore a choker necklace, fingerless fishnet gloves, a wolf t-shirt, and a long black tasseled skirt like a mermaid tail.

"I couldn't see it coming! She blocked my inner eye!" the man in the trenchcoat protested.

"IT WAS YOUR JOB TO KNOW!" Zanna roared back. "WITH YOUR OH-SO-GREAT WRITING THE FUTURE THING, YOU SHOULD'VE KNOWN!"

"You think I wanted to put our daughter in danger?" the man cried defensively.

"She doesn't think of herself as yours-she goes by Terra's name for the love of Merlin's Y-fronts!" Zanna cried.

"Alexa's still my daughter-I'd never put her in danger on purpose, Zan-Zan, you know that," the man cried. "I'd never put my little brother in danger either!"

"What did you call me?" Zanna demanded in an icy tone.

"Ma'am, we have patients here," one pukwudgie tried to protest, but Zanna gave her an icy glare that made everyone in a five foot radius back away for their own lives.

"It was a mistake-"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL ME THAT YOU BASTARD!"

That was when Dean Goldstein had enough. He leapt to his feet and cast a Shield Charm between the two.

"That's enough," he said coolly. "Ms. Martindale-Renowne, I called you in to explain your theory on the wand to Delphini and get your first-hand source on 'history in the making' as you call it. Don't make me wish I'd called my sister in first."

"Fine-but only if you make him leave," Zanna said icily.

Goldstein sighed. "Come on, Mr. Pennykettle, I'll take you to see your daughter and your brother."

Delphi was extremely reluctant to be left alone with Zanna Martindale-Renowne. Indeed, the woman was marching towards her in a fashion that made Delphi slightly afraid for her life. To her surprise, however, the woman smiled upon seeing Delphi as she sat down.

"How are you, Delphini?" she asked in a motherly tone that took Delphi by surprise.

"Relatively good, thanks," Delphi said. "Goldstein said you could explain my wand?"

"Ah, yes," Zanna said. "May I see it?"

Reluctantly, Delphi handed it over. The woman examined it for a moment.

"My wife's a wandmaker," Zanna explained with a smile. "She taught me everything I know. Anyways, I think my theory's correct. What you've got is Salazar Slytherin's wand."

"What?" Delphi's eyes widened. "You're pulling my leg."

"Afraid not," Zanna said as she handed it back. "Snakewood and basilisk horn. Definitely Slytherin's. If the texts that were found in the school after Rionach Steward died are correct, then the wand belonged to Isolt Sayre at some point before she planted it in the ground. Somehow, it sprang life into the ground in the form of a tree, and the tree preserved the wand."

"Huh," Delphi muttered. She didn't know quite what to think of it.

"You've got an ancient treasure in your hands," Zanna said with a greedy look towards the wand. "Use it wisely."

"Will do," Delphi promised.

"And, if you don't mind, could you tell me how you found the wand? For the history books, you see," Zanna said.

"Of course," Delphi said.

When they were finished, Goldstein arrived with his sister, Esther, as Zanna left. Delphi instantly brightened. She'd met the Goldstein woman the year before when fighting Carren Starkiller and liked how friendly she was.

"Hi, Ms. Goldstein," Delphi called out.

"Hello, Delphini," Esther said warmly. "I was wondering if you'd agree to an interview? I honestly hate to do it, but if there's anything you don't want to talk about, we won't."

Delphi considered it only for a second. "I don't mind being interviewed. I think it would help. . . Work some things out. In my head."

The Goldstein siblings exchanged a look of sympathy.

"Of course."

Esther Goldstein was very happy with what Delphi was able to tell her.

"Thank you so much for giving me this interview, Delphini," Esther said. "I hope I didn't make things worse. . ."

"You didn't," Delphi assured her.

"Between you and me, Sibyl Pennykettle will pay for what she did to you," Esther said. "By attacking the school and using an Unforgivable Curse on you, she'd declared war for Starkiller's faction."

"I take it she's not back in prison?" Delphi asked.

"No, she escaped for good this time," Esther admitted. "I only hope. . . Well, I hope to see you again soon, Delphini."

"Bye," Delphi said somewhat cheerfully. "Good luck."