Background is obviously not my own art...I unfortunately couldn't trace back the original artist but you can find the original artwork on most of the main fandom sites.
I can't emotionally deal with perspective on a good day, the Penrose staircases in Hogwarts are beyond me.
How are you guys fairing?
———
Here's a puzzle for the ages,
Maddening the greatest of sages,
Can a seer escape a trap,
Laid by possessors of the marauders map?
Delphi had a feeling she was waging a battle she couldn't win.
She couldn't get to know the Weasley Twins.
She enjoyed and liked what they did way too much, to actually befriend them in person.
Fred was going to die, and it would all but kill George. And she had enough angst with the main story, let alone getting invested in the quirky, handsome, unfairly funny and clever side characters.
Unfortunately, the duo seemed to have other ideas.
Delphi scowled as she slipped down another side corridor. She could hear their voices not far off, but they wouldn't be able to reach her once she got to the Ravenclaw common room.
It was verging on ridiculous by this point.
They'd started by 'coincidentally' running into her around the school. Her 'catching' them setting traps...they even gave away the secret of the kitchen to bribe time with her. And she would love it. If their future wasn't screwed and hers was already screwed enough without them involved.
She'd been using her higher intuition and actual foresight to predict their arrival or location ahead of time and avoid it.
At first she was sure they'd jotted it down to coincidence, just as she had done with their earlier exploits...but that time was long passed.
It was such a flimsy facade now that the boys could barely keep from laughing when they did catch her, pretending over dramatically to be surprised, and she'd pretend to be innocent too.
It was becoming weirdly fun. Even if the pair had an odd tension between them.
With the benefit of hindsight (ironically enough), letting them catch her, and spending all her time studying and being a boring Ravenclaw would have been a far wiser way to evade their acquaintance long term.
Far too late now.
As she desperately scrambled up a staircase to the seventh floor, she wished she knew of secret tunnels that weren't on the map. She'd go to the chamber of secrets if she spoke a word of parseltongue.
She was very reluctant to use her bronze olive branch, and had given it to Luna for most days, since her sister was harassed far more than she was, with much less ability to protect herself.
But she was so tired with running. She risked pausing for a few seconds as the realisation hit her.
She was on the bloody seventh floor.
She gave up pretending to be 'in a hurry' to get to Ravenclaw tower and sprinted toward the portrait of a stupid wizard trying to force his narrow view of dance onto a group of free trolls.
Pacing back and forth hurriedly she wished with all her might, launching herself toward the door and slipping inside just as the twins burst onto the corridor with triumphant expressions.
Delphi slid down the door taking slow breaths.
Half of her was pleased to imagine the confused looks on those demons' faces when her name disappeared from the map. Another part of her sank with the realisation that after this stunt she'd guaranteed they'd never leave her be.
Getting up she eyed the room of junk she'd asked for, letting her fingers brush over the furniture, forbidden books and long lost treasures piled up high. Rowena had told her, this was Helga Hufflepuffs room. Naturally a true Hufflepuff would want a room that could give anyone what they needed.
She couldn't believe Crabbe would burn this place down. It was a heart wrenching thought. It was probably the only morally grey belief she had. That all books, no matter their contents and perspectives, should be preserved.
Even the books on soul magic should not be burned. People who burn books easily go on to burn people, even the 'good guys'. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and she was certain Dumbledore was headed straight there. He could have had Harry raised with magic, had him trained and equipped for the life he would lead. He could have had Sirius freed with his powers. He could have done so much more. And the first step down this path toward hell instead, in her opinion, was the attempted removal of dozens of books on traditional wizarding culture, dark magic, and rituals from Hogwart's great library.
She scowled to herself, eyeing what must be a very old version of Hogwarts: A History.
Would it matter if she spent some time here removing valuable books and transferring them to Rowena's study before the fiend fyre ruined them? She was pretty sure none of those boys would even pick up a book in here during their visits, and Hermione, well, that girl had all she needed in the main library and was far too much of a Goody two shoes to touch 'bad' books.
Seeing a set of Siamese cat book ends on a broken chair, Delphi's mind slipped back to the twins.
She was a teenager.
Sure one with the power to destroy the future peace.
But a teenager.
They were allowed to make some bad decisions right?
And as far as bad decisions go, most girls and guys in Hogwarts agreed the Weasley twins were a mistake worth making.
Screw it.
———
"Bloody hell..." muttered George.
Fred stared at the map, "where did she go?"
They scanned the seventh floor corridor but there were no pretty Ravenclaws in sight, just a couple portraits laughing at them.
George swore again. "How?"
"She's secretly a ghost. We know they can disappear from the map - nope we know she's living."
"We were following an illusion? But her name was there until a second ago."
"Harry's invisibility cloak? Nah, he doesn't even lend it to Ronnikins."
"There might be places in Hogwarts not on the map?"
"But we've never found one before, and no one has explored more than us!"
"She outwitted us."
"Not possible brother mine!"
George rolled his eyes, "then you find her. I'm conceding victory this time."
Fred strode over to a tapestry and drew it aside dramatically, only to slump at the emptiness beyond. "Fine, she wins this time, but we have to get out of her how she did it."
"Of course." Said George, eyes glinting, "I said she won this time. I didn't say anything about leaving her alone. She's definitely marauders material...and obviously even if both of us forget how to talk in front of her, I'm definitely asking her to the ball before you do."
"Never."
The twins shared grins before walking back the way they'd come and setting their course for Gryffindor.
Once they'd stepped through the portrait hole, the duo were surprised when Angelina Johnson walked toward them, looking a strange mix of annoyed and curious.
"Hey Angie! What's up?" Fred put on his most charming smile and their yearmate rolled her eyes.
"I just came back from the library. Was told to give this to you two terrors."
She offered them a piece of paper.
George snatched it before Fred could. Whilst his twin opened it, Fred focused on Angelina, "who gave it to you Angie?"
George's grin was so wide it almost worried Fred, until Angelina answered and he was soon making the same expression.
"Delphi Lovegood."
They'd lost her on the seventh floor, the library was on the second...you can't apparate in Hogwarts.
Written on the paper was a note in neat calligraphy.
Nice try, little weasels.