Three Hallows, Two Weasleys and One Broken Girl

Chapter 9: Apples and Oranges

Hello beautiful creatures,
Happy Monday!

———

The day of the first task dawned bright and early.
Far too bright, and far too early as far as Delphi was concerned, after her late night adventure with the incorrigible Mr Flint and inconvenient Mr Weasley.

She didn't bother with the great hall, grabbing a red bell pepper from the kitchens to eat and making her way out across the grounds and to the dragon enclosures. There she had managed to get Charlie's boss to let her cuddle dragon eggs for most of the morning. They were like cuddlable heaters and sat perfectly on her crossed legs, it felt like an inverse hug. She didn't care that most of the tamers were concerned for her mental health, it was a wonderful way to spend her morning.

Sadly, the afternoon of the 24th of November wasn't such a yellow colour.

They'd been given the afternoon off from lessons due to the event, so as per her usual agreement, she met with Archie (short for Archibald) the giant squid, armed with her gobstones set. He loved the game, but sadly people tended to run away when his tentacles came in view. If they'd stuck around, like Delphi had, they'd know he could write English and in runes, drawing on the sandy edges of the lake. They had great, if stilted conversation, though Archie was much more into playing gobstones than complex debates.

Gobstones wasn't as popular as Wizarding chess. Primarily because it was slightly more...involved. Well, unless you were playing as part of McGonigall's giant chess set and could die.
The way Gobstones worked, was that each player would start out with fifteen stones. The aim was to roll a gobstone so it collided with one of the opponents stones, thus you 'capture' their stone. If you succeeded, the stone would squirt smelly gunk into the opponent's face.
Unfortunately, ancient as he was, Archie was a very skilled gobstone player, and so a few rounds with him would earn Delphi a very stinky face.

It didn't particularly bother her, Archie's joy was worth it...but it wasn't great on days like today, where her return to Ravenclaw for a shower was intercepted.
"Hey Dumpy! Yes you!"
Delphi closed her eyes and debated about whether or not to keep walking.
Loretta Cornhill was a real charmer, blonde haired, blue eyed, with a smile like an angel and enough nargles around her to drown in. Also a great inspiration to Marietta Edgecombe and in the early days Cho Chang, who had both made Ravenclaw a small hell for her little sister. In recent years Delphi had trained herself to be too much of a challenge for most of her year or the year above to target. Unfortunately that had meant they went to Luna instead.

"How can I assist you Miss Cornhill?" She asked mildly, turning to eye the five girls entering the corridor from an adjacent stair case.
Five was a problem. Four she could handle more or less, even if they were seventh years, but even as she played with her wand in her pocket, she knew five seventh years would be pushing it too far.
The blonde snickered, "My, Dumpy, like you could be of any assistance to anyone. What is that stench, it seems worse than usual. Thought to try some perfume? Doubt it could make up for your personality, let alone your appearance, any more cinnamon buns and you'll have to buy a larger uniform."
Delphi hummed indifferently, "I suppose you're right, I definitely need a new bra. Are you large enough to wear one yet? Maybe we could go to Ms Malkin's together?"
Loretta turned a rather unusual shade of purple, Delphi hadn't seen before. It was quite pretty actually.

Unfortunately, Loretta didn't seem inclined to let her admire it.
"You bitch!"
Five wands were drawn, and three spells immediately headed her way.
She cast a shield easily enough, then decided to bolt around a corner.

She was just getting up to full pelt when she collided face first into a rather firm body. She lost her balance slightly, but was steadied by strong arms and looked up to find herself gazing into the equally startled face of Cedric Diggory.
"Erm-" is all he managed before Loretta's screeching started up.
"You fat crazy bitch, I'll turn your teeth to chalk! I'll hex off your stubby fingers! I'll-"
Her voice died as she turned the corner, her lackeys colliding with her and stumbling to a messy halt.

"Loretta..." managed Diggory, looking mortified bless his soul, "what are you...what are you doing?"
Momentarily horrified, Loretta tried to spin it, "Delphi attacked me from behind!"
"One against five?" Questioned Diggory doubtfully.
The blonde scowled rather convincingly, "you know how she is. So vain and overconfident."
"So what curse was it that made you angry enough to threaten her with human transfiguration and amputation?"
The girl sent Delphi a venomous look, clearly not missing the way Diggory still had a protecting hand on her arm. "Cruciatus."
"Did she miss then? I hear most people can't even stand for twenty minutes following such a curse, let alone sprint. And what did you do to make her hate you enough to risk using a curse that could get her put into Azkaban??"

Diggory's voice was steadily rising, his right hand itching to reach for his wand.
Delphi decided it might be opportune to settle this.
"Loretta, perhaps we should go to the headmaster? He has a pensive I believe."
Since the confrontation with Diggory had started, two lackeys had melted into the shadows, and the two remaining started distancing themselves from the venomous blonde and the hole she was digging, deep enough for all of them.
Loretta, as with most bullies her age, wasn't the most emotionally articulate. Faced with an impossible solution, she scarpered.

Diggory looked tempted to give chase, but eventually his worry for the victim won out and he turned to look her up and down, "are you alright?"
"Positively sparkly." Replied Delphi absently, "thanks for the help though, Mr Diggory."
"Cedric, please. And it was nothing to fighting a dragon this morning...how long..." he trailed off awkwardly.
"Longer than a piece of string. And sorry for the smell, I was playing gobstones with the giant squid. Good night, Cedric."
She waved to him and made her way up to the common room. Loretta would undoubtedly be waiting there, but the warding around her bed and Luna's would impress the Goblins of Gringotts, and the woman wouldn't dare try anything in the common room with so many witnesses.

She could feel Cedric watching her back as she left, and she got a very bad feeling. Turning the corner, her knees buckled under the onslaught of a vision.
A laughing Cedric Diggory, snatches of a goblin March, Archie the squid clutching Gabrielle Delacour...blue, a rowan wood cox, the entrance to Hogwarts Library viewed from low on the ground.
Then she was back, and hastily rose to continue on her way, pulling a notebook from her robes to note the new information and adding the links that came to mind. A waking vision tended to mean one of her actions had changed something, and talking to Cedric must be the only explanation.

———

"Bloody Diggory." Grunted Fred.
George hummed.
They'd stayed up, having borrowed the map back from Harry, to see the women of Hogwarts safely to their common rooms. And they'd seen, displayed in red ink, the confrontation between Delphi and some Ravenclaw girls. But somehow, Cedric Diggory had reached her by chance at the perfect moment, just seconds before the twins could pounce.
It was very rude of him.
The twins made a unanimous unspoken decision not to analyse why they were so angry with him though.

"Why are you trying to be knights in shining armour?"
The twins jumped a mile before turning to see Luna stood in the middle of the corridor, like she hadn't been in her room on the map five minutes ago.
"Uh, because we're Gryffindors?"
"Why pretend to be lions when you're foxes?" Asked the girl, sounding a little disappointed, "Knights are boring."
"You think we're jesters?" Asked George, debating whether to be offended or not.
"No, you're...tomatoes, you're a fruit pretending to be a vegetable. And green doesn't suit you."
Fred took a steadying breath, "can we walk you back to your common room Luna? It's not safe for you out here."
The third year smiled softly and took their offered arms to lead her back.
"Good tomatoes. Did you know they are Delphi's favourite fruit?"

———

You are all very good tomatoes. So it is said, so mote it be.