Three Hallows, Two Weasleys and One Broken Girl

Chapter 23: Let's Make It Worse

Illustration pending.
Time for some twins POV.
And it's the end of fourth year, well for our leads sixth year. Whoop!

———

Delphi fell asleep crying silently into George's shoulder.
The twins stayed awake far longer, lost in their own thoughts and the revelations of the night.

"Guess that explains how she resisted our charms so long huh?" Fred had joked weakly, long after the screams from the grounds had faded to eery quiet.
George snorted, "doomed love."
"Merlin's wrinkly balls." Agreed Fred.

They slept fitfully, and gave up after a couple hours, extracting themselves from the sofa and deciding to distract themselves with inventing as they always had for the few hours until the great hall would serve breakfast.

Delphi awoke around nine, unsurprised at her location, though definitely surprised they were still there.
George didn't feel angry that she'd expected them to abandon her, only sad. She'd been alone a long time, and this secret had been a wall between them that had caused her great pain.

"Morning Delph!" He called before she could overthink too much, injecting all the cheer he could.
"What's going on?" She asked tiredly, sitting up and seeing them stood over a cauldron steaming.
Fred grinned at her brightly, "you said one of us is gonna die in the war right?"
She flinched a little, and Fred thankfully softened his tone, "well, now we know, we are going to make the absolute best of the time we have together!"
George forced a grin, "If I die I want to give you and Fred as many awesome memories as I can and everyone else....a book's worth of badass pranks!"
Delphi tried to get her sleep addled brain to catch up while Fred cackled.
"Who ever dies, it'll be like losing half a soul regardless of what we do now, so may as well make it worse right, Delphi?"
The pair paused to look at her expectantly.

Delphi stilled, her head lowered so her hair mostly hid her face. She made a slight choking noise making the pair worry she was going to cry again, before bursting with laughter.
She giggled and cackled, clutching her sides and falling off of the sofa. Her laugh was slightly too hysterical, reminiscent of the Black family, but it was a laugh none the less.

They noted the exact moment she remembered Cedric as her joy died.
George had gone out briefly to grab breakfast and get a sense of the news, just in case Delphi had got it wrong, and been inundated with questions about where they'd been and told in detail what had happened. Everyone knew Delphi was friends with Cedric if not more so no one questioned her absence.

"Delphi," began George, both of them having prepared for this moment, "both Fred and I have decided for fun to see about becoming animagi with the book you gave us. Do you want in?"
The sullen girl brightened a little and stood taking in their offered hands and shaking them."Losing one of you is already going to break me, so why not make it worse?"
She smiled weakly, and both twins failed miraculously at not blushing.

———

Despite the almost jovial mood of their deal, and the adventure that stealing mandrake leaves to put under their tongues turned out to be, the last few weeks of summer were spent quietly for Delphi. Even though half the time she'd spent with Cedric she'd spent practically mourning already, she was still haunted by their last meeting. By not acting, no matter the reasons, she'd become complicit in his death, and it wouldn't be the last she'd technically have partial responsibility for.

Harry gravitated toward her during this time too, leaving his friends to spend hours with her in the library, probably experiencing a similar guilt that their friends would insist was irrational.
She wondered how he knew she would understand, perhaps it was Dumbledore's interference...or more likely it was Harry's natural instincts, they were some of the strongest she knew.

"This won't be the last person I'll fail to save will it?" He'd asked her once, green eyes hallowed and scared in a way he'd hide from his friends.
She'd looked at him steadily, debating what to do before shaking her head softly. "The wizarding world should never have placed the weight of its faith in a teenager, you never deserved the responsibility weighing on you Harry, but I'm ashamed to say that I do not know another path other than Dumbledore's that will lead to our win through less loss."
He sank into his table. "He keeps so much from me."
She smiled, "perhaps next year I'll tell you a few useful things he's keeping back. He does think you can handle it, but he wants you to have a childhood. We both know that ship has sailed."
"I'll hold you to that."
He had smiled weakly at her, and she stood, offering her hand.
"Come with me."

He swallowed before taking it and letting her lead him to her more secretive alcove where they would not be walked in on, before pulling the him into her arms.
He was a good head shorter than her so she rested her chin on his head, waiting until he relaxed into the embrace before speaking softly. "What you need is someone to lean on. You need a parent, but Sirius is too imbalanced, Mrs Weasley too bossy and Dumbledore too secretive to provide that stability."
He seemed to freeze at her calling out to his desire.
"Harry," she murmured and gently stroked his hair. "Let me be there for you. If you have worries or problems, come find me...I can't do much about your terrible summer ahead but at school...you don't have to hide around me."

He looked at her then. They may only be two years apart but it could have been a decade from the mixed fear and relief in his green eyes.
"You don't have to be strong around me." She told him, pulling away.
"The final trial...you believe me that Voldemort is really back?"
She nodded.
"And you don't...don't blame me? For Cedric?" He asked uncertainly.
She smiled softly, "you brought his body back, the single noblest act I have heard off. You went beyond Gryffindor courage to do that Harry, and though I know you aren't, you should be proud."
He gave her a tentative smile. "Thank you Delphi."

———

As Delphi settled into a compartment at the very front of the Hogwarts Express, she was surprised by the contentment she felt.
This year had been...strangely good. And yes 90% of that was to do with a pair of mischievous red heads...but her NEWT projections for next year were excellent, she'd bonded a little with Harry, and made Cedric's final year better. It was heart breaking to have lost him, but she could already feel the loss had reforged her stronger.
She felt she'd done the best with the situation, and a sense of calm was one of the last things she expected to leave with this year.

Her heart was fairly light, despite how somber Dumbledore's final speech had left the rest of the school. She was ready for a good summer with her sister and father. And hell, maybe a Weasley or two would 'pop' in over the coming months.

The sun filtered in through the window, and Delphi closed her eyes as the train started moving. She felt...serene.

"WATCH OUT!" Shrieked a girl, at a guess 20 metres up the train.
"FRED! GEORGE! I SWEAR TO GOD!"
"IS THAT A DUCK?"
"BLOODY HELL THERE'S AN ALLIGATOR ON THE TRAIN!"
"WHY'S IT ORANGE!"
"NOT AN IMPORTANT QUESTION DENNIS!"
"EVERYONE KEEP YOUR COMPARTMENT DOOR CLOSED OR-"
"ARGH!"
"SHARK!"

The next moment her door was opening and the twins stumbled in dodging hurled quills, books and...Piranhas? and shut the door before much of the water could get inside.
"Uh, hi?" Fred said, glancing at her as a thud echoed against the door.
Delphi tilted he her head, "You turned the train into an aquarium?"
"Maybe?" Questioned George uncertainly. "Can we hide here? Angelina is pissed."
Delphi hummed, "depends...can you teach me how you did that?"
Fred grinned, "it would be our pleasure."
The pair settled opposite her in the compartment, and Fred pulled out his notes, oozing pride as they all ignored the continued yelling, screaming and...singing? from down the corridor.
The hours travelling to Kings cross flew by.