obliviate ~ f.weasley.

4 . sighted

It had been a week or so since the incident on the train had occurred and, if her name didn't attract enough attention before, it certainly did now.

Whispers in the corridor seem to reverberate from the walls and follow her to every lesson. They were written in her school books. On the black board at the front of the class. Her nightmares came in the shape of a black dog, perched at the foot of her bed with blood thirsty eyes.

Fred and George were there as therapists after every restless night, her bodyguards in every classroom and hallway, her shoulders to lean on and the words of encouragement when she felt she couldn't take it for a moment longer.

It was breakfast time in the Great Hall, and it wasn't unusual that the twins were sat scribbling relentlessly on a piece of scrap parchment, having far too much energy for people that woke up not even an hour ago.

"I think it's a brilliant idea! Delilah, what d'you-oh,"

George was stopped mid sentence, noticing the girl sat opposite him had fallen asleep, her temple on her folded arms that rested on the table.

Fred, sat to her left, placed his hand between her shoulder blades, his thumb drawing soft circles on the ball at the top of her spine.

"S'not ideal, but she's sleeping."

George hummed in agreement, continuing with his breakfast.

"Delilah!"

Much to the dismay of Fred, George, and the girl in question, her moment of peace was short lived, as her older brother appeared from nowhere, causing her to startle awake.

Usually, Fred would have scolded the culprit and threatened them with a prank or two, but because it was Caleb, he swallowed the words before they could come out of his mouth.

"Yeah?" She yawned as turned to her sibling seated beside her and wiped her eyes. Her blurry vision soon focused, noticing the concerned frown that adorned his face.

"Have you read the paper?" He asked urgently. She, along with the twins, furrowed their brows in confusion.

"No, why?"

His mouth had barely opened, his chest rising with the big breath he had prepared to speak with.

"He's been sighted, he's been sighted!" Seamus Finnegan passed behind them, heading for the small group beside them, including the trio.

Fred and George looked over at the ruckus, whereas Delilah stayed in her position.

"Who?"

She knew what was coming.

"Sirius Black,"

Still, she felt her blood run cold, closing her eyes with her body still turned towards her brother.

Her mind reeled through the endless possibilities of what could happen; he could capture them, kill them, take Cedric, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Harry-

It was Caleb's firm grip on her shoulders that brought her back to reality, his voice lowered to barely a mumble.

"We have to go to Dumbledore. Now."

He raised from his seat, Delilah finally finding the courage to open her eyes to put the pieces of paper strewn about the table into their respective books.

"Dementors? He's already slipped past them once, whos to say he can't do it again?"

Her hands began to shake, making it even more difficult to to fold her work away neatly.

"Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."

She could feel all their eyes on her back, refusing to meet their concerned, some accusatory, stares.

"What're you all looking at?" Fred snarled, to which they averted their eyes momentarily, until their attention was brought back to Lupin, who stood behind Delilah and Caleb.

"Caleb, you have been asked to Dumbledores office." He patted the young boy's back,

"Delilah, please could I see you in mine?"

Delilah hesitated; it was a lot of information to absorb, she didn't feel like she wanted to leave her brother - the only biological family member she had nearby - to comfort her.

Caleb took her hand in his own, giving her a squeeze before she took a deep breath. She agreed, calmly placing her books into her bag. Only then did Caleb leave; once he was sure his little sister was somewhat okay.

"Mr Weasley, Mr Weasley." Lupin bowed his head to the twins.

"Professor."

His eyes flickered over to the group, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"It's impolite to stare, you know."

They diverted their eyes once again, Fred and George unable to suppress a cocky, but discreet, smirk.

Lupin stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled out of the Hall, Delilah following pursuit.

•••

Delilah hadn't yet been in his office, he hadn't had the opportunity to unpack, as cardboard boxes were stuffed in the corner of the room.

"Would you like some chocolate?" He sat down on the opposite side of the desk from her, folding his arms and resting them on the table.

"No, thank you."

He exhaled deeply; usually she would have quipped that he was trying to make her fat so she couldn't move and would be forced to live in his company forever. But this time, she could barely bring herself to respond.

"Clearly you have been informed that Sirius Black has been sighted nearby and is getting somewhat closer to Hogwarts. Now, I could sugarcoat this conversation and say that he is going to skip by the castle and have rainbows and glitter shooting from his wand,"

Delilah grinned at the thought, the first sign of happiness he had seen in a long time from her, so much so, he didn't want to continue.

"Despite the magic and brilliant wizards in this castle, these four walls will only protect you so far. I know you are wise and incredibly clever, and, while being adventurous and curious is usually something I support, in this instance, it must be avoided. Please don't go looking for him, Delilah." He begged, hands clasped together.

"I could never forgive myself if something happened to you or Caleb."

"I won't." She promised him emotionlessly, picking up her bag and standing from her seat.

"How are you feeling about this situation?" Remus squinted his eyes in a questioning manner, almost unable to fathom how stressful this must be.

She had her fingertips on the door handle, staring off into the distance as she considered her thoughts for a moment.

"I know it's strange, but I'm not really frightened by him. In fact, I'm more conscious of what the others think of me." Delilah began, "they looked at me like I was purposefully beckoning Sirius Black in, like they were blaming Caleb and I."

Remus frowned at the notion, a bitter expression tainting her usually soft features.

"You aren't frightened of Sirius then?" He hadn't expected that to be her answer, somewhat surprised when she wasn't as concerned about the whereabouts of her father as he thought she would be.

"Not really...I just wish they'd stop talking behind my back."

Remus found himself relating to her, as he had experienced the rumours and not so quiet conversations involving his name at every corner of the castle. Drowning in a thousand eyes without a life jacket. The main act of some circus freak show.

This girl was in for a year of unbridled hell.