Delilah was seated next to Harry at the long table which consisted of a multitude of students. Hermione was also in attendance along with Marcus Belby, Blaise Zabini, Neville and Cormac McLaggen. A distinctive crystal hourglass sits in the centre of the table as Delilah rests her chin against her hand.
"To Hogwarts' best and brightest! Students and alumni alike!" Slughorn raises his glass.
Everyone follows suit and Delilah is quick to pour the entire goblet of wine down her throat. Hermione shoots her a glance and Delilah shrugs.
"Hear, hear," Cormac exclaims causing Delilah to roll her eyes.
Neville stares at the array of forks, knives and spoons lay in front of him before he leans over to whisper to Delilah.
"Which one do I use for the soup?"
"Start at the outside and work your way in," Delilah whispers in response and Neville shoots her a grateful smile.
Hermione looks up from her plate to see Cormac sliding his spoon out of his mouth whilst maintaining intense eye contact with the curly-haired girl.
"If you don't stop that I'm going to make you eat the spoon," Delilah hisses and Cormac is quick to remove the spoon from his mouth.
Hermione gives Delilah's hand a tight squeeze, a grateful smile on her face.
Time passes painfully slowly as Delilah quickly works her way through a lot of wine to try to dull the feeling of boredom that was filling her entire body.
"Cormac," Slughorn says, breaking the silence as the occupants pick at their ice cream. "See much of your Uncle Tiberius these days?"
"Yes sir," The boy replies. "In fact, I'm meant to go hunting with him and the Minister for Magic over holiday"
"Please kill me," Delilah whispers to her brother as Slughorn begins to ask other students questions about their clear connections to people with good standing in the wizarding community.
"Only if you kill me at the same time,"
"Deal,"
"Can I have some of that?" Harry asks, tilting his head towards the new wine bottle Delilah had produced.
The witch slides her full goblet before taking her brother's empty one. Delilah was quick to fill the goblet up and was even quicker to drain the goblet, Harry doing the same before they refill with the alcohol.
"And you Miss Granger?" Slughorn asks. "What is it your family does in the muggle world?"
Delilah shoots Hermione a sympathetic look, taking the girl's hand into her own. Hermione squuezes Delilah's hand which is returned.
"My parents are dentists," The girl answers. "Run their own clinic. They tend to the health of peoples teeth"
"Fascinating," Slughorn replies. "Is that considered a dangerous profession?"
"No," Hermione shakes her head. "Though, a boy named Robbie Fenwick did bite my father once. Needed ten stitches"
As Slughorn nods at Hermione's anecdote, the door creaks open to reveal Ginny Weasley. The girl had red rims to her eyes, causing Delilah and Hermione to share a knowing glance before looking back to Ginny.
"Is she okay?" Harry asks his sister.
"Her and Dean have been fighting again," Delilah whispers. "It's rocky at the moment"
The sand in the hourglass had finally run out, much to the relief of both Hermione and Delilah. The pair are quick to rush out of the room, waiting for the Weasley girl who joins them. Her expression was downcast, a frown resting on her brow.
"You're gonna get crows feet," Delilah comments and Hermione nudges her. "What?"
"Dean can be such an arsehole," Ginny sighs.
"We did tell you," Delilah shrugs, receiving another nudge from Hermione. "Will you stop it? I'm about to offer a solution"
"And that is?"
"I have wine in my room,"
"Say no more," Ginny says.
The next morning, Delilah has sunglasses resting on her face as she moves food around her plate. The witch had no appetite for the rich foods in front of her, the alcohol from last night punishing her with a vengeance.
"Are you hungover?" McGonagall asks.
"No?"
Minerva shoots the younger witch a look but Delilah took no notice, the pounding in her head serving as a sufficient distraction.
On the Gryffindor table, Hermione and Ginny were in a similar position. Hermione was asleep on the table and Ginny was using the Daily Prophet to shield her eyes from the daylight creeping into the windows.
Upon entering the Quidditch stands Delilah sits next to Hermione. Both of the witches had sunglasses on their faces and they both winced any time a cheer arose from the crowds around them.
"You two look very hungover," Draco comments and both of the females are quick to shush the blonde.
"You're being way too loud," Hermione moans, massaging her temples.
"I'm sorry to break it to you," Draco begins. "It's about to get a hell of a lot louder"
"I feel sorry for Ginny," Delilah comments. "Swirling around on her broom hungover"
"Please do not talk about swirling,"
"Looks like you two had fun,"
Delilah turns at the sound of Cedric's voice but is slow to get to her feet before she wraps her arms around the wizard, placing a kiss to his lips.
"How much did you drink?" Cedric asks.
"If you had to attend the dinner I attended, not enough,"
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