Chapter 37
In the grand halls of Hogwarts, Scorpius descended a staircase, his expression clouded with discontent. Suddenly, from the opposite direction, Delphi scuttled towards him, her presence somewhat clandestine.
"Technically, I shouldn't be here," she admitted with a hint of nervousness.
"Delphi?" Scorpius responded, surprised by her appearance.
"In fact, technically, I'm endangering our entire operation," she continued, her words tinged with unease. "Pretty lax security here, isn't there? And so many portraits. And corridors. And ghosts! This half-headless, strange-looking ghost told me where I could find you, can you believe that?"
Scorpius, taken aback, asked, "You've never been to Hogwarts?"
"I was unwell as a child, for a few years. Other people got to go — I did not," Delphi explained.
Scorpius, sympathetic, replied, "You were too ill? I'm sorry, I didn't know that."
"I don't advertise the fact. I prefer not to be seen as a tragic case, you know?" Delphi revealed.
As they conversed, a passing student prompted Delphi to duck out of sight momentarily, causing Scorpius to adopt a casual stance until the student was out of earshot.
"Delphi, maybe it is too dangerous for you to be here," Scorpius expressed his concern.
"Well, someone's got to do something about this," Delphi asserted.
Scorpius, recalling their failed attempts with the time-turner, confessed, "None of it worked. Time-turning, we failed."
"I know. Albus owled me," Delphi acknowledged. "Cedric still was killed in end of tournament"
Scorpius, hesitant, admitted, "I don't want to trust you. You look similar to my father's aunt, Bellatrix, and as I know, she wasn't a nice person."
"And that's why Cedric has to wait? Only because I look similar to your father's aunt?" Delphi challenged. "It's all become quite confused, and you're entirely right to be keeping hold of the Time-Turner, Scorpius. But what I meant was — someone's got to do something about the two of you."
Realizing the gravity of her words, Scorpius conceded, "Oh."
"You're best friends. Every owl he sends, I can feel your absence. He's destroyed by it," Delphi observed.
Scorpius, defensive, countered, "Sounds like he's found a shoulder to cry on. How many owls has he sent you now?"
Delphi smiled softly before replying, "Sorry. That's — I didn't mean — I just — don't understand what's going on. I've tried to see him, talk to him, but every time I do he runs off."
"You know, I didn't have a best friend when I was your age. I wanted one. Desperately. When I was younger, I even invented one but —" Delphi shared, her voice trailing off.
Scorpius reminisced, "I had one of those too. Called Flurry. We fell out over the correct rules of Gobstones."
"Albus needs you, Scorpius. That's a wonderful thing," Delphi affirmed.
"He needs me to do what?" Scorpius questioned.
"That's the thing, isn't it? About friendships. You don't know what he needs. You only know he needs it. Find him, Scorpius. You two — you belong together," Delphi concluded, her words resonating with a profound truth.