The next morning, Delilah saw Draco looking over at Harry and Weasley as if he had expected them to disappear or something. Oh, wait.
Delilah groaned and turned to him.
"What did you do?"
A small pink appeared in Draco's cheeks.
"Um, well, um, you know that duel I challenged Harry to? He actually accepted, I didn't go of course, but I might have warned Filch that someone may be in the Trophy Room after hours..."
Delilah rolled her eyes, but couldn't help her smile. She knew she shouldn't. What Draco did was mean, but Harry was naive to fall for it.
"Sorry," Draco apologized.
"Don't do it again, if you say you're going to do something, do it." Delilah replied.
"Why aren't you in Hufflepuff with those standards?"
Delilah scoffed. "Because of my attitude, I'm not nice enough for Hufflepuff, the hat didn't even think of putting me in there."
Draco laughed. "So you're not mad at me?"
Delilah smirked. "I never said that. But I don't have any other friends I can talk with yet, so you're off the hook. For now."
Draco smiled. He was doing a lot of that lately.
Delilah looked up as the owls flew in and her eyes caught a long package carried by six large screech owls. She gasped as she saw it stop at Harry.
Harry opened the letter, showed it to Ron and then they quickly got up and left the hall.
Draco hurried after them and Delilah followed, wondering why and how Harry had gotten a broomstick.
They met him in the entrance hall and Crabbe and Goyle barred the way while Draco snatched the package from Harry and felt it.
"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a look of jealousy on his face. "You'll be in for it this time. Potter, first years aren't allowed them."
"It's not any old broomstick, it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Weasley grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."
"Draco, I'm sure Harry has school permission, how else could he have got it?" Delilah took a breath and turned to Weasley. "Secondly Weasley, are you sure you can boast about what someone else got? Doesn't quite fit, does it?"
"Right you are Miss Potter!" Professor Flitwick said after appearing at Draco's elbow. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Mr. Potter. And what model is it?"
"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, grinning as Draco scowled.
Harry and Weasley walked away, probably to put Harry's broom away in the Gryffindor common room.
Delilah, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle all headed to transfiguration.
With all the schoolwork Delilah had to do, she barely believed it when she realized she had been at Hogwarts for 2 months.
Classes had become much more interesting by now Delilah realized that she was passable at all of it, especially potions and charms, though she was decent at transfiguration as well.
Even better was that Delilah had made some more friends, mainly Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson, who could be mean but was decent when you got to know her. Daphne, on the other hand, was kind and clever. So now Delilah's friend group was up to five, if Crabbe and Goyle were included.
The smell of delicious baking pumpkins wafted through the corridors on Halloween morning as the Slytherins made their way to charms where Professor Flitwick had announced that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since he made Pansy's purse fly around the classroom.
The class was split into pairs and Delilah was lucky enough to be paired with Daphne while Pansy was stuck with Blaise, one of the few Slytherin's Delilah disliked but Pansy had a crush on.
"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too — never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 'f' instead of 's' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."
It was difficult but Delilah got it on her third try. Daphne got it on her fourth when Delilah corrected her pronunciation. Professor Flitwick awarded them both with 5 house points each.
At the end of the day Delilah asked Daphne to take her stuff with her to the common room while she quickly went to the bathroom. She agreed.
Delilah entered the bathroom and heard crying in an open stall. She looked inside and saw Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor girl who was the top of the year.
"Are you okay?" Delilah asked, putting her hand on Hermione's back.
"Just go away," Hermione sobbed.
"What's wrong?" Delilah pressed.
"Ronald Weasley is a prat and I'm friendless," whispered Hermione.
"Well now you've made one more friend. And I know that Weasley is a prick, but what did he do?"
"He called me friendless and made fun of me."
Delilah's eyes narrowed. She didn't know Hermione very well but from Potions class she did know that she was brilliant.
"Well he's just a jealous prick that doesn't know what he's talking about."
Hermione stopped crying.
"Do you think so?"
"I know so, now let's go to the feast, we should at least make dessert."
Hermione nodded and saw her and looked shocked.
"You're a Slytherin."
"And you're a Gryffindor. Shall we head to the feast?"
Hermione nodded and they went to walk out the door when a troll of all things blocked their way.
Delilah felt for her wand and thanked the stars that she hadn't put it in her bag. She pulled it out. Hermione stood frozen to the spot. Delilah had to push her out of the way when the troll swung its club at them.
"Snap out of it!" Delilah yelled.
The troll started to advance on them but just in time the door opened and Delilah hoped for a teacher but no, it was just Harry and that Weasley.
Harry's eyes widened when he saw her. Obviously he hadn't noticed that she wasn't at the feast, such a great brother she had, truly.
"Confuse it!" Harry yelled desperately, grabbed a tap, and threw it against the wall.
He was such an idiot, why not try using his wand?
The troll stopped advancing on them. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.
"Oy, pea-brain!" Weasley yelled from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it which the troll didn't even seem to notice, but paused instead at the yell, turning its ugly snout toward Weasley, giving time for Harry to run around it to her.
Harry and Delilah dragged Hermione to her feet, which wouldn't budge.
The troll started going berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron who had no way to escape.
Harry then did something incredibly brave yet stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind and stuck his wand in it's nose.
Delilah managed to drag Hermione out of the way as the troll, howling with pain, twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.
She set Hermione down and looked back at Harry, but stared at Ron, who must have said the first spell that came into his head, it was that ridiculous.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
How would that help? Delilah looked at the club and saw that Weasley had levitated it into air and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.
The group of four made their way together and stared at the troll.
It was Hermione who spoke first.
"Is it — dead?"
"No, it's just knocked out," answered Delilah.
Harry bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose and was covered in lumpy gray troll boogers. Delilah didn't try to hide her disgust.
"Urgh - troll boogers." For once Delilah agreed with Weasley.
Harry wiped it on the troll's trousers.
A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. None of them had realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.
Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron, Harry, and Delilah. Delilah had never seen her look that angry. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning house points faded quickly from their minds.
"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with a fury in her voice. Delilah looked at Harry who was just standing there. Way to not be helpful. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"
Professor Snape piercingly stared at Harry.
Then a small voice came out of the shadows.
"Please, Professor McGonagall — they were looking for me."
"Miss Granger!"
Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.
"I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know, because I've read all about them."
Weasley dropped his wand. Harry stared at Hermione. Delilah nodded, as if that was what had happened, hiding her shock. Hermione Granger, the smart, Ravenclaw-like girl, telling a downright lie to a teacher?
"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. Delilah kept me out of the way. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."
Delilah kept her face straight, nodding as though this story wasn't new to her. Harry and Ronald did the same.
"Well — in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the four of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"
Hermione hung her head. Delilah was speechless. From what she had observed in flying and potions classes Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. Delilah could finally see why she was a Gryffindor instead of a Ravenclaw.
"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their Houses."
Hermione left.
Professor McGonagall turned to Delilah, Harry, and Ronald.
"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. 5 points to each of you.
"I will escort you two to Gryffindor Tower, Severus, will you escort Miss Potter to the Slytherin common room?"
Snape nodded and took Delilah to the Slytherin common room. Delilah noted that he was limping and his leg was bleeding.
"You may want to soak your leg in essence of murtlap, it will help with pain," Delilah said as she entered the common room and walked in to have dinner, because who knew that knocking out a mountain troll really made you hungry?