little potter | draco malfoy

five.

delilah's thrid year

The late September breeze blew around the grounds of Hogwarts. Many of the students stayed in the warmth of the castle walls. However, three girls sat on a stone picnic table. Two of them insisted on not wasting their day inside. The odd one out was Delilah, who would rather curl up with a blanket.

"I wish I could put my name in..." Ginny crossed her arms in front of her, leaning against the table.

Delilah shook her head. She was happy that Ginny was blocked from doing so; it seemed too dangerous. She wasn't planning on admitting that to Ginny. "Amina, are you going to?" Delilah asked.

Amina was of age; her birthday, the first of September, would make her eligible. "Yes, of course. Imagine a female Hogwarts champion."

The younger girls nodded. They could realistically see Amina winning it all. The students could put their names in the goblet of fire and enter the competition tonight. So that became the main topic of conversation among the students to guess who would be the Hogwarts pick.

Lilah was trimming her Alihosty tree sapling. The leaves at the bottom started to wither, turning a dark brown. She smiled at it; if eaten, the leaves would make someone laugh uncontrollably, but Delilah noticed that even just getting close to the plant would make the person want to grin.

It was nice to smile, even though a plant induced it. Lilah had been having problems being pulled into the darkness and only being able to hear shouting.

Repeatedly she would go to sleep, in her dreams, would be sucked into a void, hearing voices that she could make out as Harry and one other person. They were like a blur of shouting and rage but so muffled she couldn't understand. It was frustrating to wake up not knowing what was happening in her mind.

Ginny insisted that she tell Dumbledore about her nightmares, but Delilah didn't feel it necessary to bug him about them. He had better things to do than be Delilah's therapist.

Amina collected her books, getting ready to head to the library to help a Gryffindor student with potions. Recently, Amina started getting paid for all of her hard work supporting the other students. Of course, this came as bad news for Lilah and Ginny.

Their helpful friend was busier and busier with her sessions, so the girls had less time to catch up with one another. Amina waved goodbye to the girls, and Delilah wished her luck.

"I can't believe we aren't even going to have tryouts for quidditch this year." Ginny pouted.

"Well, I mean, look at the positive," Delilah countered, "no one is going to be beaten bloody by a heavy ball way high up in the air."

Ginny rolled her eyes with a chuckle. She knew Lilah's detest for the sport grew even more after watching the professionals compete at the World Cup. The thought of being part of a pro team excited Ginny, but to Delilah, it was nerve-wracking to think of her best friend sustaining the injuries that many of the players suffered.

Delilah had no idea why she attracted quidditch fanatics to be her friends. Thankfully, Neville was a definite viewer of the game, staying in the stands with Lilah, not a player.

Spectating wasn't as terrible if it was Ravenclaw versus Slytherin since she knew less of the players personally. Still, seeing her classmates fly through the air was difficult, risking their bodies in the name of pride.

Three out of her five roommates were on the Quidditch team—well, not the starters, but even then, they were susceptible to injury. Lilah saw how much time they spent in the hospital wing just for Hufflepuff practice.