Delilah remained within the confines of the Burrow's garden over the next few weeks. She spent most of her days watching Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Weasley play two-a-side Quidditch in the Weasleys' orchard. They offered to let her referee, but she declined. She still hated the thought of having to be so high up, even if they didn't go above the tree line.
Occasionally she would help Mrs. Weasley around the house or talking to Fleur. She could be a bit obnoxious sometimes, but once Delilah got talking to her she was impressed. It was no wonder she got into the Triwizard Tournament.
It would have been a happy, peaceful holiday had it not been for the stories of disappearances, odd accidents, even of deaths now appearing almost daily in the Prophet. Sometimes Bill and Mr. Weasley brought home news before it even reached the paper.
To Mrs. Weasley's displeasure, Delilah and Harry's sixteenth birthday celebrations were marred by grisly tidings brought to the party by Remus Lupin, who was looking gaunt and grim, his brown hair streaked liberally with gray, his clothes more ragged and patched than ever.
"There have been another couple of dementor attacks," he announced, as Mrs. Weasley passed him a large slice of birthday cake. "And they've found Igor Karkaroff's body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it — well, frankly, I'm surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Sirius's brother, Regulus, only managed a few days as far as I can remember."
"Yes, well," said Mrs. Weasley, frowning, "perhaps we should talk about something diff —"
"Did you hear about Florean Fortescue, Remus?" asked Bill, who was being plied with wine by Fleur. "The man who ran —"
"— the ice-cream place in Diagon Alley?" Harry interrupted.
Delilah frowned, an unpleasant, hollow sensation in the pit of her stomach.
Harry continued, "He used to give Delilah and me free ice creams. What's happened to him?"
"Dragged off, by the look of his place."
"Why?" asked Ron, while Mrs. Weasley pointedly glared at Bill.
"Who knows? He must've upset them somehow. He was a good man, Florean."
"Talking of Diagon Alley," said Mr. Weasley, "looks like Ollivander's gone too."
"The wandmaker?" said Ginny, looking startled.
"That's the one. Shop's empty. No sign of a struggle. No one knows whether he left voluntarily or was kidnapped."
"But wands — what'll people do for wands?"
"They'll make do with other makers," said Lupin. "But Ollivander was the best, and if the other side have got him it's not so good for us."
The day after this rather gloomy birthday tea, their letters and booklists arrived from Hogwarts along with the news that Harry had been made Quidditch Captain.
"That gives you equal status with prefects!" cried Hermione happily. "You can use our special bathroom now and everything!"
"Wow, I remember when Charlie wore one of these," said Ron, examining the badge with glee. "Harry, this is so cool, you're my Captain — if you let me back on the team, I suppose, ha ha...."
"Well, I don't suppose we can put off a trip to Diagon Alley much longer now you've got these," sighed Mrs. Weasley, looking down Ron's booklist. "We'll go on Saturday as long as your father doesn't have to go into work again. I'm not going there without him."
"Mum, d'you honestly think You-Know-Who's going to be hiding behind a bookshelf in Flourish and Blotts?" sniggered Ron.
"Fortescue and Ollivander went on holiday, did they?" said Mrs. Weasley, firing up at once. "If you think security's a laughing matter you can stay behind and I'll get your things myself —"
"No, I wanna come, I want to see Fred and George's shop!" said Ron hastily.
"Then you just buck up your ideas, young man, before I decide you're too immature to come with us!" said Mrs. Weasley angrily, snatching up her clock, all nine hands of which were still pointing at "mortal peril," and balancing it on top of a pile of just-laundered towels. "And that goes for returning to Hogwarts as well!"
Delilah studied her food as Mrs. Weasley hoisted the laundry basket and the teetering clock into her arms and stormed out of the room.
"Blimey... you can't even make a joke round here anymore...," Ron murmured. Still he was careful not to be flippant about Voldemort over the next few days.
Saturday dawned without any more outbursts from Mrs. Weasley, though she seemed very tense at breakfast. Bill, who would be staying at home with Fleur (much to Hermione and Ginny's pleasure), passed a full money bag across the table to Harry and another to Delilah.
"Where's mine?" demanded Ron at once, his eyes wide.
"That's already theirs, idiot," said Bill. "I got it out of your vaults for you, Delilah, Harry, because it's taking about five hours for the public to get to their gold at the moment, the goblins have tightened security so much. Two days ago Arkie Philpott had a Probity Probe stuck up his ... Well, trust me, this way's easier."
"Thank you Bill," said Delilah, pocketing her gold.
"Yeah, thanks, Bill," Harry echoed.
" 'E is always so thoughtful," purred Fleur adoringly, stroking Bill's nose.
Ginny mimed vomiting into her cereal behind Fleur. Harry choked over his cornflakes, and Ron thumped him on the back.
It was an overcast, murky day. One of the special Ministry of Magic cars, in which Delilah had ridden once before, was awaiting them in the front yard when they emerged from the house, pulling on their cloaks.
"It's good Dad can get us these again," said Ron appreciatively, stretching luxuriously as the car moved smoothly away from the Burrow, Bill and Fleur waving from the kitchen window.
He, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Delilah were all sitting in roomy comfort in the wide backseat.
"Don't get used to it, it's only because of Harry," said Mr. Weasley over his shoulder. He and Mrs. Weasley were in front with the Ministry driver; the front passenger seat had obligingly stretched into what resembled a two-seater sofa. "He's been given topgrade security status. And we'll be joining up with additional security at the Leaky Cauldron too."
Delilah glanced at Harry, who sat, studying his shoes. A few nights before, when they finally had a moment to themselves, he had told her about how Dumbledore had told him to keep it on him. It seemed obvious they both thought that should be good enough for the Ministry, though now she came to think of it, she wasn't sure the Ministry knew about his cloak.
"Here you are, then," said the driver, a surprisingly short while later, speaking for the first time as he slowed in Charing Cross Road and stopped outside the Leaky Cauldron. "I'm to wait for you, any idea how long you'll be?"
"A couple of hours, I expect," said Mr. Weasley. "Ah, good, he's here!"
Delilah looked past Harry's head out the window and her heart leapt.
There were no Aurors waiting outside the inn, but instead the gigantic, black-bearded form of Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, wearing a long beaver skin coat, beaming at the sight of their faces and oblivious to the startled stares of passing Muggles.
"Harry!" he boomed, sweeping Harry into a bone crushing hug the moment Harry had stepped out of the car. "Buckbeak — Witherwings, I mean — yeh should see him, Harry, he's so happy ter be back in the open air —"
"Glad he's pleased," said Harry, grinning as he massaged his ribs. "We didn't know 'security' meant you!"
"I know, jus' like old times, innit? See, the Ministry wanted ter send a bunch o' Aurors, but Dumbledore said I'd do," said Hagrid proudly, throwing out his chest and tucking his thumbs into his pockets. "Let's get goin' then — after yeh, Molly, Arthur —"
The Leaky Cauldron was, for the first time Delilah could remember, completely empty. Only Tom the landlord, wizened and toothless, remained of the old crowd. He looked up hopefully as they entered, but before he could speak, Hagrid said importantly, "Jus' passin' through today, Tom, sure yeh understand, Hogwarts business, yeh know."
Tom nodded gloomily and returned to wiping glasses; Delilah, Harry, Hermione, Hagrid, and the Weasleys walked through the bar and out into the chilly little courtyard at the back where the dustbins stood. Hagrid raised his pink umbrella and rapped a certain brick in the wall, which opened at once to form an archway onto a winding cobbled street. They stepped through the entrance and paused, looking around.
Diagon Alley had changed. The colorful, glittering window displays of spellbooks, potion ingredients, and cauldrons were lost to view, hidden behind the large Ministry of Magic posters that had been pasted over them. Most of these somber purple posters carried blown-up versions of the security advice on the Ministry pamphlets that had been sent out over the summer, but others bore moving black-and-white photographs of Death Eaters known to be on the loose. Bellatrix Lestrange was sneering from the front of the nearest apothecary. A few windows were boarded up, including those of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. On the other hand, a number of shabby-looking stalls had sprung up along the street.
The nearest one, which had been erected outside Flourish and Blotts, under a striped, stained awning, had a cardboard sign pinned to its front:
AMULETS
Effective Against Werewolves, Dementors, and Inferi
A seedy-looking little wizard was rattling armfuls of silver symbols on chains at passersby.
"One for your little girl, madam?" he called at Mrs. Weasley as they passed, leering at Ginny. "Protect her pretty neck?"
"If I were on duty ..." said Mr. Weasley, glaring angrily at the amulet seller.
"Yes, but don't go arresting anyone now, dear, we're in a hurry," said Mrs. Weasley, nervously consulting a list. "I think we'd better do Madam Malkin's first, Hermione wants new dress robes, and Ron's showing much too much ankle in his school robes, and you must need new ones too, Harry, you've grown so much — come on, everyone —"
"Molly, it doesn't make sense for all of us to go to Madam Malkin's," said Mr. Weasley. "Why don't those three go with Hagrid, and we can go with Ginny and Delilah to Flourish and Blotts and get everyone's schoolbooks?"
"I don't know," said Mrs. Weasley anxiously, clearly torn between a desire to finish the shopping quickly and the wish to stick together in a pack. "Hagrid, do you think — ?"
"Don' fret, they'll be fine with me, Molly," said Hagrid soothingly, waving an airy hand the size of a dustbin lid.
Mrs. Weasley did not look entirely convinced, but allowed the separation, scurrying off toward Flourish and Blotts with her husband, Ginny, and Delilah while Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid set off for Madam Malkin's.
Delilah noticed that many of the people passing by had the same, harried, anxious air as Mrs. Weasley, and that nobody was stopping to talk anymore; the shoppers stayed together in their own tightly knit groups, moving intently about their business. Nobody seemed to be shopping alone.
It seemed everyone was worried about Voldemort. It probably made matters worse after what had happened to Ollivander and Florean Fortesque.
To nobody's surprise they made it safely to Flourish and Blotts. The line wasn't long, so most of the time was spent trying to find the right books.
They left relatively quickly, and made their way back to Madam Malkin's, carrying the heavy packages. When they got there, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid were waiting outside with their robes in hand.
"Everyone all right?" said Mrs. Weasley. "Got your robes? Right then, we can pop in at the Apothecary and Eeylops on the way to Fred and George's — stick close, now...."
Delilah got the ingredients she needed, which was surprisingly quite a lot. She had forgotten how much she had used with her experiments.
She also bought a few treats for Midnight so she wouldn't be grumpy that Delilah had left her at home so people wouldn't panic.
Then, with Mrs. Weasley checking her watch every minute or so, they headed farther along the street in search of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop run by Fred and George.
"We really haven't got too long," Mrs. Weasley said. "So we'll just have a quick look around and then back to the car. We must be close, that's number ninety-two... ninety-four..."
"Whoa," said Ron, stopping in his tracks.
Set against the dull, poster-muffled shop fronts around them, Fred and George's windows hit the eye like a firework display. Casual passersby were looking back over their shoulders at the windows, and a few rather stunned-looking people had actually come to a halt, transfixed. The left-hand window was dazzlingly full of an assortment of goods that revolved, popped, flashed, bounced, and shrieked; Delilah's eyes began to water just looking at it. The right-hand window was covered with a gigantic poster, purple like those of the Ministry, but emblazoned with flashing yellow letters:
WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHO? YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT U-NO-POO— THE CONSTIPATION SENSATION THAT'S GRIPPING THE NATION!
Harry and Ron started to laugh. Delilah heard a weak sort of moan beside him and looked around to see Mrs. Weasley gazing, dumbfounded, at the poster. Her lips moved silently, mouthing the name "U-No-Poo."
"They'll be murdered in their beds!" she whispered.
"No they won't!" said Ron, who, like Harry, was laughing. "This is brilliant!"
And he and Harry led the way into the shop. It was packed with customers; Delilah could not get near the shelves. She stared around, looking up at the boxes piled to the ceiling: Here were the Skiving Snackboxes that the twins had perfected during their last, unfinished year at Hogwarts; Delilah noticed that the Nosebleed Nougat was most popular, with only one battered box left on the shelf. There were bins full of trick wands, the cheapest merely turning into rubber chickens or pairs of briefs when waved, the most expensive beating the unwary user around the head and neck, and boxes of quills, which came in SelfInking, Spell-Checking, and Smart-Answer varieties.
Delilah saw Harry move past a gaggle of delighted ten-year-olds was watching a tiny little wooden man slowly ascending the steps to a real set of gallows, both perched on a box that read: REUSABLE HANGMAN — SPELL IT OR HE'LL SWING!
She tried to push past them, but the gap he had gotten through had been filled. Should she actually go after him? Surely he was fine in the crowded joke shop.
She looked for a second longer, trying to see over everyone's heads, but she was too short. Delilah looked through the crowds and managed to see him. Hermione was with him, so he would be fine without her.
She looked around the shop. Fred and George's products were amazing. They really were brilliant.
She saw Hermione and Ginny looking over something intently and pushed her way over.
"What's that?"
"Patented Daydream Charms,' Ginny said. "They look really cool."
"Sounds like it, what do they do?"
"30 minute daydreams, work well in class and are practically undetectable unless the teacher notices you drooling," a voice said from behind her.
Delilah turned around and saw George in a magenta robe that clashed magnificently with his flaming hair.
"That's brilliant, just like everything else here. No wonder your business is booming."
He grinned.
"Thanks, you helped with a lot of it."
"You and Fred did all the work."
"True," he conceded. "Do you want a tour?"
"If you have the time."
George put a hand over his heart, feigning offense.
"I always have time for my favorite Slytherin."
That wasn't hard, but it still made Delilah smile.
Before she could respond, a witch with short blonde hair hurried over to them. She too was in magenta robes.
"Ah! Mr. Weasley, where are the joke cauldron's again?"
It was odd hearing someone call George Mr. Weasley, but she supposed it made sense.
"They are in the very back, on the left of the back door, beside the joke wands."
"Thank you Mr. Weasley. Do you want me to refill the bin?"
"Go for it."
She nodded and left.
"Now for the tour... let's start over here."
George led Delilah towards the back of the shop, where she saw a stand of card and rope tricks.
"Muggle magic tricks," George explained, pointing them out. "For people like Dad, you know, who love Muggle stuff. It's not a big earner, but we do fairly steady business, and they're great novelties. Now this is where we're making the real money."
He pushed back a curtain besides the Muggle tricks and Delilah saw a darker, less crowded room. The packaging on the products lining these shelves was more subdued.
"This is our more serious line. It's funny, we started it as a joke with our Shield Hats. You know, challenge your mate to jinx you while wearing it and see their face as their spell bounces right off, but the Ministry bought five hundred for all its support staff. Apparently quite a lot of people can't do the shielding charm.
"So Fred and I expanded into a range of Shield Cloaks, Shield Gloves, and more. Of course they won't do anything against the Unforgivable Curses, but they work for minor to moderate hexes or jinxes."
"Wow, so that's how you started the Defense Against the Dark Arts products?"
"Yeah, it's a real money spinner. This is cool. Look, Instant Darkness Powder, we're importing it from Peru. Handy if you want to make a quick escape. Oh, and our Decoy Detonators are just walking off the shelves, look," said George, pointing at a number of weird-looking black horn-type objects that were indeed attempting to scurry out of sight. "You just drop one surreptitiously and it'll run off and make a nice loud noise out of sight, giving you a diversion if you need one.
"Handy," said Delilah, impressed.
He nodded, his eyes bright with enthusiasm. She was glad he was happy, it was more than she could say for herself.
She looked at the rest of the products, then followed George back to the main part of the store and to an array of violently pink products near the window.
"These are our special WonderWitch products."
Delilah inspected the items.
"Love potions?"
She hated love potions, not that she'd tell George. They basically stripped someone of their willpower and made the victim feel and do things they normally wouldn't.
"Yup, best range you'll find. Not that you need them. Speaking of which, how are things going with Malfoy?"
Delilah shrugged.
"Good, I think. He has been busy so hasn't written a lot."
Or at all. He even forgot to give her a birthday present, despite her giving him one. She had sent him a simple origami rose that changed color depending on the mood of the room. She thought it could be useful for his family. She thought it best not to tell them about that though. She didn't care much anyway, but it would have been nice to have gotten a birthday card or even a letter telling her happy birthday.
George stared at her, seeing through the lie.
"Alright. If you ever need someone to punch him, I volunteer, and I'm sure Fred would love to as well."
She laughed harder than she should have, especially since they were talking about punching her boyfriend, but she couldn't help it. The image of George and Fred breaking into Hogwarts just to punch Draco was permanently imprinted in her mind.
She tried to distract herself by looking at the other products.
"Ten-second pimple vanisher? Do they only work for ten seconds, or does it only take ten seconds to apply it?"
"To apply it, and they work on everything from boils to blackheads."
"Ooo, those are too adorable," Delilah murmured, walking over to a cage with round balls of fluff in shades of pink and purple, all rolling around and emitting high-pitched squeaks.
She put her hand in and started petting one. Soon they all were crowded by her hand, each wanting to get some attention.
George laughed.
"Those are Pygmy Puffs. Basically miniature puffskeins, we can't breed them fast enough."
Delilah debated on getting one. They were so adorable, but Midnight would probably end up eating it. Bummer, she really wanted to see what would happen if she set one loose in her common room.
Mrs. Weasley came up to them.
"Have either of you seen Harry, Ron, and Hermione? I can't seem to find them anywhere, and it's almost time to go."
"No, but they probably are hiding out somewhere, so there's no need to worry; they'll turn up in a bit."
"They might be in the back," George suggested.
Mrs. Weasley seemed unconvinced, but moved to look for them elsewhere.
Delilah looked around the store, but couldn't see the trio anywhere. They might be in the back, but somehow she doubted it. They probably snuck out and were doing something stupid. Thankfully Hermione was with them, so they wouldn't do anything too stupid. Then again she was the one that thought of the DA... so maybe Ron and Harry had corrupted her afterall. She decided not to think about that.
George left a while later to help a customer, and Delilah played with the Pygmy Puffs then went to look at the other products, but nothing really distracted her. She did go to the back (Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren't there either) and bought some Instant Darkness Powder. It seemed like it could be useful for when Harry inevitably got caught up in something.
When she came out, she saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione talking to Mrs. Weasley. Delilah came up beside them, wondering where they had been.
They insisted they had been in the back room, and that she mustn't have looked properly, but Delilah knew a lie when she saw one.