The next day was a break day, so Delilah spent most of the morning studying for those blasted exams with Draco in the Room of Requirement.
"Are you sure that we add three pinches of crushed mistletoe? I thought it was two?"
Delilah smiled.
"The original recipe calls for two, but I've experimented and three works better."
Draco nodded as he added three pinches.
Delilah stirred counterclockwise five times before waving her wand and announcing it complete.
"Great, what subject is next?" she asked.
"I think it's sleeping," Draco deadpanned, laying spread eagle on the carpet.
Delilah quietly laughed before she lay down next to him.
"We have done quite a bit today, but we still have history of magic."
He groaned.
"Why does anyone care about that stupid subject? It's not like I'll become a history nerd."
"Think of it this way, in our sixth year, which really is only just over a year away, we can drop it."
He grinned.
"That sounds great, but we should petition that they change it to fifth year."
Delilah laughed. He really was a dork.
"How about this, after we finish studying for history of magic, I'll help with the petition."
It wouldn't work. The Hogwarts curriculum probably hadn't been updated in years, even in History of Magic, since there haven't been any important events.
Draco sighed.
"Fine. I guess you're right."
And so they studied the most boring class. Sure it could be entertaining, but only about those cool wars. Everything else was just so sleep enticing.
Finally they finished so Delilah pulled out a piece of parchment.
"Ok, what do you want your petition to say?" she asked, half joking.
Draco stroked his chin like villains in movies always did when they were scheming. That thought made Delilah laugh, but she tried her best to stifle it.
"Hm... we need to write that we need to be able to choose and get rid of classes in our fifth year," Draco mused.
Delilah frowned.
"But we'd need a logical excuse why, or else they'll just chuck it," Delilah thought a moment before continuing. "Maybe the reason could be that students have three years studying for a career, so if you realize that you don't like the career you have time to change it."
Draco continued to stroke his chin.
"That would work... write it."
She did.
"Is there anything else you want to add?"
He nodded.
"We should have dessert for every meal!"
Delilah laughed.
"We want them to take us seriously, remember?"
Draco sighed, putting on his puppy dog face.
"I guess...."
Delilah chuckled, and handed him the paper.
"I wrote it, you just have to get people to sign it."
Draco grinned, and gave her a quick kiss and pulled away, excitement lighting up his blue-gray eyes.
"Have I told you you are amazing today?"
"Not today, no."
"Well guess what Delilah, you're amazing!"
Delilah laughed.
As June approached, the castle's mood became tense with excitement as the third task drew nearer. But Delilah wasn't really focused on the task. Sure her idiotic brother was competeing in it, but Hermione would have told her if he needed help, and Hermione one of the few Gryffindors Delilah trusted.
Ok, that was a partial truth. Delilah was worried about Harry, but whenever she saw him he looked fine, other than that glare that seemed to be fixed on his face whenever he saw her. It may be her imagination, but it seemed to be a little less severe each day. At least, she hoped it was. Because as annoying and idiotic as he was, he still was her twin, and she kinda missed the dork.
But the thing he was mad at her for, was one of the few things that actually made her feel truly alive. So as much as it pained her, she continued keeping her distance from him, though she promised herself that sometime before summer started, she'd make up with him. Delilah would have to if they both went to Private Drive.
That was a later problem though. Hermione and Delilah were still trying to catch Rita, but they hadn't seen her recently, even though the M & Ms should have worn off by now.
"When will she show up again?" Hermione complained. "It's been months, and she hasn't been seen. It's ridiculous, and you've said that your prank should have worn off by now."
Hermione looked at her for confirmation.
Again, Delilah nodded.
"Yes Hermione, the prank should have worn off by now, but if Rita's metabolism is ridiculously slow, it could, technically, still be in her system," Delilah informed her for the thousandth time. Hermione was great, but she was starting to get on her nerves.
Delilah checked the time.
"Anyway I've got to go. I promised Draco I would meet him. I'll see you later."
Hermione stopped her.
"Aren't you going to ask about Harry before you go?"
Delilah shrugged.
"He seems fine, and you'd tell me if he isn't. Since you brought it up though, is he fine?"
Hermione nodded.
"He's surprisingly confident, but he's done this kind of thing before. You know about the challenges in front of the sorcerer's stone."
Wow, someone actually remembered that Delilah had gone with them. That was a shocker. She shrugged.
"True, just make sure he doesn't get too confident."
Hermione smiled.
"Don't worry, I will."
Delilah smiled back before leaving.
Harry's POV
"What took you so long?" Harry asked Hermione as she hurried into the Transfiguration room where McGonagall had given them permission to practice.
"Sorry, I just got, back from the, the library," Hermione panted.
Harry stared at Hermione. She had been spending a lot of extra time in the library, even for her.
"What have you been working on?" he asked.
"Rita."
"Oh."
Harry had forgotten that she was still on that.
"Come on, let's practice Protego again," she insisted.
He cast the charm, but Hermione's Jelly-Leg jinx broke it. He hopped around for minutes before she found the counter-jinx.
"You're still doing really well," Hermione insisted as she crossed off the jinxes they had learned. "Some of these are bound to come in handy."
"Come and look at this," said Ron, who was standing by the window. He was staring down onto the grounds.
Harry walked over and scowled.
There she was, laughing with him.
"What is Blaise doing?" Hermione wondered.
Harry looked away from Delilah, and saw Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle talking into their hands, smirking.
"He looks like he's using a walkie-talkie," said Harry curiously.
"He can't be," said Hermione, "I've told you, those sorts of things don't work around Hogwarts."
Harry turned his attention back to Delilah and Draco, who were now embracing each other. He narrowed his eyes.
"Oh Harry, can't you give them a break?" Hermione said, rowling her eyes.
"No. I don't like it, he's going to hurt her," he murmured.
Hermione sighed.
"Have you seen either of them recently? They both are happier than I've ever seen them, particularly Delilah. She seems to almost always be smiling, she even was nice to a Gryffindor the other day."
Harry growled, but turned away.
"Come on, Harry," Hermione said briskly, turning away from the window and moving back into the middle of the room, "let's try that Shield Charm again. Don't worry about Delilah, she knows how to take care of herself."
Delilah's POV
June twenty fourth drew closer, and closer. Delilah still was worried, despite Hermione's reassurances. Draco also was helping, distracting her and reassuring her that this task wasn't going to be as bad. She knew what was coming, and Harry would be prepared. The torturous tournament was almost done. There was only one task left.
Breakfast was very noisy on the morning of the third task, especially the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, which was understandable, even if it did give Delilah a headache as she worked up her nerves.
She was about to stand up, when Draco handed her the newspaper.
"Read it," he insisted.
Delilah took the paper.
HARRY POTTER
"DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS"
The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-BeNamed is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School.
Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying.
It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion.
"He might even be pretending," said one specialist. "This could be a plea for attention."
The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public.
"Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Zabini Blaise, a Hogwarts fourth year. "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power."
Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence."
Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening.
Delilah rolled her eyes as she handed the paper back.
"Surprised she didn't mention me. Would have made it more interesting. I'll be right back."
Before she could lose her nerve, she walked over to Harry.
"What are you doing here?" he coldly asked.
"I know you don't need it, but I wanted to wish you luck. I hope you win."
Harry's face visibly softened.
"Thanks."
Delilah hesitated before walking back over to Draco, shooting Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle a cold look as they tapped their heads with their fingers, pulled grotesquely mad faces, and wagged their tongues like snakes. It made them look even more idiotic than usual, which Delilah hadn't thought possible.
"Ready for the exams?" Delilah asked as she grabbed her bag.
Draco's face immediately fell.
"Don't remind me. It's History of Magic first, right?"
She nodded and he put his head in his arms.
"Why must life be like this?" he dramatically wailed.
Delilah chuckled as she caught him peeking through to see her reaction. She nudged him playfully.
"How do you think dementors were created?"
He looked up, confused.
"Why do you think they suck the happiness out of everything? The exams drained them of their happiness so they try to get it back by draining it from us."
"Maybe we'll become dementors after this then."
They both laughed, and Draco slipped his hand into hers. Delilah caught Harry's eye. He was looking at them, but he just sighed, as if he had finally come to terms with it. She smiled at him. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
The History of Magic exam was rough, but bearable. Transfiguration also was decent, but Delilah was still glad when it was done. Finally, the morning exams finished and they could head down to lunch.
Delilah had expected it to be a normal lunch, but she was wrong. The Gryffindor table had an infestation.