Harry rushes forward, dropping to his knees next to the spasming body of Delilah. He pushes her hair from her face as he positions himself behind her to ensure the witch stays on her side.
"Delilah?" Harry calls to his sister. "Professor, help her!"
"I don't understand," Slughorn mumbles.
"Do something!" Ron snaps.
Slughorn begins to shuffle through his bag at a very slow pace which causes Harry to look back at his sister. Delilah's face was turning blue as her body continues to spasm, showing no sign of slowing down.
"She's choking!" Harry shouts.
Harry looks to the fumbling Professor before getting to his feet and rifling through all of the potion stores on the walls of the office. A box tumbles onto the floor and something spills from the box when it hits the ground. Small stones spill across the floor which were no bigger than the egg of a songbird. The bespectacled wizard identifies the label on the box before grabbing the stone and shoving it into Delilah's mouth, forcing it down his sister's throat.
Delilah's body stops spasming instantly as foam drips from her mouth and silence falls upon the room. Harry leans down, his ear next to his sister's mouth. No warm breath was hitting his face and her chest showed no sign of movement, indicative of her not breathing.
Harry laces his hands together before centring them on his sister's chest and beginning to push down at a steady pace. Sharp pants leave Harry's mouth as he continues compressions on his sister's chest.
"Come on Delilah," Harry grits out.
Delilah showed no signs of life, her head lolling to the side as her skin continues to rapidly pale. Slughorn watches the scene in front of him, his mouth agape as the two teenage wizards attempt to save the older witch.
The witch's eyes flutter open and she finds herself lying on a white four-poster bed which felt as soft as a cloud. Her feet touch the floor before she inspects the clothes adorning her body. A white floor-length dress was adorning her body, trailing across the floor. A white cloak rested on her shoulders, the hood was covering her auburn curls.
The presence of another person causes the witch to turn and her eyes widen in surprise. A bespectacled young man, almost identical to her brother, was standing a few feet away from her. Hazel eyes stare into hazel eyes as Delilah descends the steps, her eyes not moving from the figure in front of her.
"My sweet girl," The man's voice was soft. "How you've grown"
"Dad?" Delilah asks.
"You've been so brave my darling," James pushes the hood back from Delilah's head. "I can never apologise enough for letting you see me die on that night. You have carried such a burden for all these years and I'm sorry we couldn't be there to help you carry that burden"
"You can't apologise for being murdered," Delilah replies. "Or for trusting someone you thought was your friend"
"You gained your mother's compassion," James whispers, a fond smile on his face.
"Am I dead?" Delilah asks her father.
"Not quite," James replies. "That is up to you"
"What?"
"You have two choices," James informs his daughter. "You can stay here but that means you'd be dead or you can go back"
"As much as I want to-" Delilah sighs. "There's no way I can stay here. Not with the war brewing"
"You are definitely our daughter," James whispers before wrapping his arms around the witch. "I hope I won't have to see you for a long time sweetheart"
A loud wheeze fills the air and Ron is quick to get Delilah back onto her side as the witch coughs and splutters. Harry takes his sister's hand into his own as Ron rubs her back. Delilah's wheezing breaths seem to snap Slughorn out of his stunned stupor causing him to wave his wand, a Patronus soaring out of the office.
"Fuck sake," Is all Delilah wheezes before her eyes fall closed again.
The infirmary had a varied collection of people in the room. Remus Lupin was standing in one corner of the room, Ron was pacing back and forth muttering under his breath, and Hermione, Harry, Draco and Ginny were sitting in chairs at Delilah's bedside as Madam Pomfrey administers medicine to the unconscious witch.
Cedric was leaning against the wall, his face pale as he stares at Delilah's small figure lay in the bed. Her face was almost as pale as the infirmary sheets and if it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of her chest, Cedric would have thought she was dead.
"Extremely quick thinking on your part Harry," Dumbledore praises the bespectacled boy who pays no heed to his words. "You must be very proud of your student Horace"
"Hm? Yes, very proud," Slughorn mumbles.
"I think we all agree that Mister Potter's actions were very heroic," McGonagall says. "He saved Delilah's life but the real question is why were the actions necessary?"
Harry's eyes move imperceptibly to Draco whose face was so pale he was almost translucent. The boy's face was mortified with undertones of heavy guilt. Harry had instantly figured out why Delilah had snatched the mead from Slughorn's hand before Ron could consume the poisoned liquid.
Dumbledore takes a whiff of the half-empty bottle of mead, closing his eyes as he processes the smell of the mead bottle.
"This appears to be a gift, Horace. You don't by chance remember who gave you this bottle, do you --which by the way possesses remarkably subtle hints of liquorice and cherry when not polluted with poison,"
"Actually I had intended to give it as a gift myself," Slughorn informs the headmaster.
"To whom might I ask?"
"You, Headmaster,"
Silence befalls the room as Harry's eyes dawn in realisation as his eyes move from Draco to Delilah before resting on the Headmaster as the pieces fall into place in his mind.
Draco's mission was to kill Albus Dumbledore and Delilah was helping him.
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