The only class Delilah could complain about was DADA. After the episode with the pixies, Lockhart hadn't brought any live creatures to class. Instead, being the narcissist he was, he just read passages from his books to them. Once he tried to reenact one of the more dramatic bits, but everyone refused to participate so he stopped trying, in their class at least.
Delilah's best classes were still charms and potions. She excelled at those and was still doing well.
That evening, they were learning the Dancing Feet Spell, Tarantallegra and Delilah was paired with Draco.
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," Draco winked and Delilah smirked. Like she was worried.
They both took their stances and before Draco could move, Delilah declared, "Tarantallegra!"
Draco started dancing and everyone laughed. Delilah grinned and performed the counter curse.
Afterwards Draco laughed with the rest, but his cheeks were a bright pink.
The next day all anyone would talk about was the Slytherin Gryffindor Quidditch match that was happening that evening. Everyone was excited and the tensions were running high. Everyone got up earlier than normal for a Saturday morning, and hurriedly ate breakfast.
As eleven o'clock approached, the whole school made their way down to the Quidditch pitch. It was a muggy sort of day with a hint of thunder in the air. Delilah wished Draco luck and sat by Daphne as Pansy was sitting by her boyfriend.
The Slytherin team walked onto the field and the Slytherin's cheered while basically everyone else booed. The Gryffindor team came on and they got the opposite reaction. Everyone except the Slytherin's cheered.
Flint and Wood shook hands, giving each other threatening stares.
"On my whistle," said Madam Hooch. "Three... two... one..."
The crowd roared and the fourteen players rose into the leaden sky. Harry flew the highest, searching for the snitch. Draco shot underneath him, showing off his speed.
A heavy black Bludger rushed towards Harry and he barely avoided it.
George streaked past him with his club. He gave the Bludger a powerful whack toward Adrian Pucey, but the Bludger changed direction in midair and shot straight for Harry again.
Harry dropped to avoid it, and George managed to hit it toward Draco. Once again, the Bludger swerved like a boomerang and shot back towards Harry.
Delilah turned to Daphne, "What's going on with that Bludger?"
Daphne turned, confused. "What?"
"That Bludger keeps going after Harry, even when George or Fred send it hard the opposite direction."
Daphne shrugged. "I don't know, I'm sure they'll call a timeout soon."
They didn't. Fred was waiting for the Bludger at the other end. Harry ducked as Fred swung at the Bludger with all his might; the Bludger was knocked off course.
Fred looked pleased with himself but, as though it was magnetically attracted to Harry, the Bludger pelted after him once more and Harry was forced to fly off at full speed.
It started to rain. That Bludger must have been tampered with, but it had been locked away in Madam Hooch's office since the last practice.
"Slytherin lead, sixty points to zero —" Lee Jordan said, but Delilah couldn't bring herself to cheer. Something was wrong with that Bludger.
Fred and George started flying so close to Harry on either side that he had no chance to look for the Snitch.
Madam Hooch whistled to a time out. Fred, Harry, and George dived towards the ground, still trying to avoid the Bludger.
Most Slytherins and the Slytherin team were jeering and pointing at Harry. None of them would have tampered with it, would they?
By the time they started playing again, the rain had increased. Madam Hooch blew the whistle and they all kicked off. Fred and George left Harry to deal with the bludger on his own, probably because the idiot made them. His goal should be to stay alive, not to catch the snitch.
A few people laughed at Harry, who looked stupid with all the weird moves he was doing to avoid the Bludger
Draco yelled something that was probably rude at Harry after he was forced to do a stupid twirl in midair.
Harry hung in midair, Delilah looked at what he was staring at, the Golden Snitch. It was hovering inches above Draco's left ear — and Draco, busy laughing at Harry, hadn't seen it.
Harry had stayed still a second too long. The Bludger smashed into his elbow. He slid sideways on his broom, one knee still cooked over it, his right arm dangled at his side — the Bludger came pelting back, this time aiming at his face — Harry swerved out of the way.
Harry dived for the snitch. He took his remaining hand off his broom and made a wild snatch, gripping the broom with his legs. Draco, who probably thought that Harry was attacking him, swerved out of the way.
With a splattering thud Harry hit the mud and rolled off his broom. His arm was hanging at a very strange angle. All of the crowd except the Slytherins cheered and whistled.
Harry went limp. Delilah rushed down to the field and tried to get to where Lockhart and the Gryffindor team was standing around him, but the crowd was too thick.
Lockhart, the idiot, seemed to be trying to do a charm to fix Harry's arm, and then did it. Lockhart picked up Harry's arm and it bent at an impossible angle. That idiot hadn't mended Harry's bones, he had removed them. Lockhart motioned for Hermione and Ron, who had been sitting closer to him, to help get him off the field.
Delilah hurried off the field and hurried to the Hospital Wing. She got there just after the Gryffindor team.
She walked in and Wood, the captain, sneered at her. "What are you doing here, Slytherin?"
Delilah rolled her eyes at him. "I'm here to make sure that the idiot's mistake will be fixable."
"And why would you care?"
Fred and George were trying not to laugh. The chasers just looked confused.
"Well you see, I just happen to be his twin sister. So will you get the crap out of my way so I can see him?"
Wood looked surprised. "But, you're a Slytherin!"
"How astute of you, now please, move."
He stayed still frozen, so she rolled her eyes and pushed past him.
"What did that idiot do?" Delilah asked Harry.
"Professor Lockhart isn't an idiot!" Hermione protested but Delilah ignored her..
"Instead of mending my bones, he removed them."
Delilah shrugged
"You've survived worse." The sad thing was that she was right.
She handed him a handful of treats and the team contributed, adding a lot to the pile. They were about to get started having a good party when Madam Pomfrey came storming over, shouting, "This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow! Out!"
"See you tomorrow," Delilah whispered in Harry's ear before she left.
Delilah headed to the Slytherin common room. She said the password, and walked in to see Flint yelling at Draco.
"IT WAS RIGHT BY YOUR EAR! IF YOUR FATHER WASN'T RICH YOU'D BE OFF THE TEAM RIGHT NOW!"
Draco looked down at his feet and Flint turned away, still fuming. A poor first year accidentally tripped in front of him and Flint yelled at them.
Delilah walked over to Draco.
"It's not that bad, we'll make it up in the next match," she promised and he just nodded. For the rest of the day, everyone except Delilah avoided him.
The next morning the grounds were swimming in winter sunlight. Despite how gorgeous it was outside, bad news was going through the school. Colin Creevey, a Gryffindor first year, had been petrified. The air was suddenly thick with rumo and suspicion. The first years were now moving around the castle in tight-knit groups, as though scared they would be attacked if they ventured forth alone.
Ginny started acting more strangely, but it could have just been because she was friends with him, at least that's what Delilah hoped. Delilah had noticed that Ginny's robes were covered in feathers, which was odd.
Fred and George tried to cheer Ginny up, but were going completely the wrong way. They were taking turns covering themselves with fur or boils and jumping out at her from behind statues. They only stopped when both Percy and Delilah threatened to write to Mrs. Weasley.
Meanwhile, hidden from the teachers, a roaring trade in talismans, amulets, and other protective devices was sweeping the school, but they were all fake.
In the second week of December Professor Snape came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. Delilah and Draco signed up, but they were the only Slytherins, other than Crabbe and Goyle at least.
Everything went mostly well, except that almost everyone was avoiding Delilah.
One evening, Delilah went to check on Myrtle. She hadn't for a while and felt like she should. It was empty, as usual, but it smelled like... Polyjuice potion? Delilah looked in the stalls and found it. It was only about halfway done based on the color, but why would someone be making it?
"Myrtle? Are you here?" Delilah asked.
Myrtle came flying up her toilet.
"Of course I'm here! I'm never anywhere else." Myrtle seemed quite cheerful.
"I'm glad to see that you're feeling more cheerful, is there a reason why?"
Myrtle looked offended. "I'm always cheerful! And why would you want to know why?"
Delilah laughed.
"Of course you are, and so that I can keep it happening."
"Well, I've been getting more company than usual, not that I'll tell you who they are. I'm not going to share their secrets."
So it was multiple people. Probably because they were making Polyjuice potion. The warning bell for the next class rang and Delilah swore.
"Sorry, I've got to get to Potions. See you later!"
Delilah hurried off to Double Potions and sat down by Draco just as the bell rang.
"You're cutting it close," Draco whispered in her ear and Delilah nodded.
"Today you will be making a Swelling Solution. The instructions—" Professor Snape waved his wand, "are on the board."
Delilah noticed that the instructions were different from the book and made a note to ask him about it later.
She started the potion and when Professor Snape came around, he complimented her heavily on it. He was exaggerating, but she had done pretty well.
As usual, Professor Snape was being biased. He sneered at Harry's potion which was too runny, but ignored how Goyle's was completely the wrong color.
About half way through, a Filibuster firework hit Goyle's cauldron, causing his potion to explode. It showered the whole class. People shrieked as splashes hit them. Draco got a faceful and his nose began to swell. Delilah had gotten some on her ears so she felt like an elephant, just much less cool.
Professor Snape was trying to restore calm and find out what happened. "Silence! SILENCE!" he roared. "Anyone who has been splashed, come here for a Deflating Draught — when I find out who did this —"
Delilah hurried forward with Draco. She noticed Hermione slip out of Snape's office as she walked back to her seat after getting the antidote.
Suddenly she understood. Harry or Ron had set off the firework while Hermione stole ingredients from Professor Snape's office. The only reason they would need ingredients was if they were making a potion, maybe a certain potion that she had found in an always empty bathroom.
After everyone had taken a swig of antidote and the various swellings had subsided, Professor Snape swept over to Goyle's cauldron and scooped out the twisted remains of a Filibuster firework. There was a sudden hush.
"If I ever find out who threw this," Professor Snape whispered, "I will personally make sure that person is expelled."
Delilah noticed that he was looking at Harry.
Draco laughed. "You looked like an elephant."
"Better than a proboscis monkey," she retorted.