The day that Del had been dreading had finally arrived and she was completely beside herself. How did she approach this situation without telling the entire population of Hogwarts that she had become a Death Eater over the holidays?

'Hey, how was your holidays?'

'Great, yours?'

'Mine was good. Any cool presents?'

'Yeah, actually. I joined a cult and as a part of the initiation, I got to get a tattoo on my forearm that matches theirs. And you?'

Yeah, she'll be fine.

Regulus had been surprisingly distant the remainder of break. She would have thought that he would have been elated with her having joined his little club but it seemed to be the opposite.

To avoid any awkward conversations with Cynthia or Angela, she locked herself away in an empty compartment and sealed it with a spell. She was grateful that she hadn't run into any of the self proclaimed Marauders because that would have been beyond awkward.

She crossed her arms over her chest as she held her bag close to her. In these situations, most people would say they wanted to go home. But in her case, home was hell. And prior to more recent events, she may have said she wanted to go to Hogwarts but that was no longer the case.

Del had a plan of sorts. She had to talk to Dumbledore as soon as she got there. That was the whole plan.

As soon as she arrived at Hogwarts, she immediately made her way to Dumbeldore's office. She knocked and waited a moment.

She entered when he said to and greeted him, "Headmaster."

He looked up in surprise, "Delphinus."

She closed the door behind her and held up her left arm before lifting the sleeve up, "We need to talk."

Del explained what had happened over the break and even informed him that he was surprised with how easily Voldemort believed her lies.

According to Dumbledore, Voldemort was powerful to a fault. Because while he was incredibly gifted in the Dark Arts, there was one thing he would never have or even begin to understand. Love.

Del couldn't help but pity him because of this. His mother had conceived him with a man under the affects of a love potion making it impossible for him to love. The one thing that could conquer all.

She was so distracted thinking this over that she hadn't realized when she was turning the corner that someone else was doing the same from the opposite direction.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she stumbled backward. The person steadied her quickly and when she looked up, her eyes widened, the boy's expression mirroring her own. "H-hi."

She internally cringed at herself and forced herself to smile. He sent her a rather uncomfortable smile, releasing her. She quickly pulled her sleeves back down and his gaze flickered toward her hands. She pleaded with whatever higher being was out there that he hadn't seen but when he looked up at her, she knew he had.

"I have to go," she informed him as she gestured down the hall, "I told Cynthia that I would help her study."

"Uh, yeah," James replied rather awkwardly. He glanced behind her, "Er, have fun."

She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly as he walked away. This was not happening.

Del sucked in a breath before she made her way back to the Slytherin common room. She wasn't sure if it was because she was so tired or what but she somehow managed to take a wrong turn and get herself lost.

Rather than doing the logical thing and retracing her steps, she stopped in the hall and sat on the ground against the wall. She rested her head in her hands. What if this was all a mistake? What if she did the wrong thing?

At the time, given the situation, it seemed like the most logical solution. She could have stayed at the Potter's and they would have helped her. But no. She wouldn't put any of them in harm's way. She wouldn't.

"Del," a familiar voice said and she looked up to see Harry rolling her way.

She smiled at him, hoping he wouldn't see through her. He did, as he always did, but he also said nothing on the matter.

There were exactly four muggle borns that Del had included on her list of people who were to not be harmed. Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon and Harry and Ted Tonks.

Her list was relatively lengthy considering she was already pushing her luck.

- Sirius Black
- James Potter
- Euphemia Potter
- Fleamont Potter
- Remus Lupin
- Peter Pettigrew
- Harry Tonks
- Lily Evans
- Severus Snape
- Andromeda Black
- Carina Black
- Regulus Black
- Cynthia Goyle
- Angela Crabbe
- Ted Tonks
- Marlene McKinnon
- Minerva McGonagall

She had her reasons for each and every one, some more obvious than others.

There was an uproar from the Death Eaters upon seeing the list but Voldemort shut them up. He had agreed prematurely to avoid and even protect those on the list. He even seemed rather impressed with her gut to slip what he referred to as 'filthy mudbloods' onto her list.

"Del?" he inquired and she looked up to realize he had been talking. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she smiled tightly, pushing herself off the ground, "I'm tired is all."

He didn't seem to believe her but nodded anyway, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, tomorrow," she agreed before walking off.

Upon arriving at the Slytherin common room, she found that there was a party in full swing. Axel immediately approached her and she rolled her eyes.

He grabbed her arm and she swiftly yanked it away, "You don't get to do that anymore."

"Why's that?"

She grinned. This was the only thing she had been looking forward to. She held her arm out and lifted her sleeve. His gaze flickered down and his eyes widened at the sight. "You-" he shook his head. "How?"

"Guess you'll have to figure that one out on your own," she suggested before walking past him, pulling her sleeve back down. "Good luck."

She crossed the room to where she saw a fifth year holding a bottle of firewhiskey. She pulled out a galleon and handed it to them before snatching the bottle from them.

Del immediately took a seat on the stairs and down half of the bottle in one go. She grimaced as the liquid burned her throat but she got over it rather quickly.

She had finished the rest of the bottle within minutes and she got up, stumbling slightly as she moved to find more.

"Del?" someone spoke up and she turned around to come face to face with a familiar redhead and a greasy haired boy.

"Lily," Del greeted with a grin. The song changed and Del looked around, "Wanna dance?"

"Are you okay?" Lily asked with a frown.

"I'm great!" she exclaimed before hoping up on the table. "I love this song." She waved the redhead over, "Dance with me."

Lily turned to Snape and mumbled something to which he nodded in response. She walked off a moment later and Del rolled her eyes, "Always so boring."

Snape raised an eyebrow but said nothing as the girl reached forward and pulled a sixth year Slytherin who was passing by onto the table with her. He happily complied, placing his hands on the girl's waist as the two danced together.

Snape looked around for help. He wasn't exactly equipped with the social skills to handle these sorts of situations. Hopefully Lily would return soon.

"Delphinus," Snape tried and the girl looked over at him. "You should probably come down."

"You could join us," she suggested.

He shook his head, "I think I'll pass." The door to the common room opened and he tilted his head back, "Oh, thank Merlin."

Del looked up and saw where the boy was looking. She turned to the door and saw that Lily had returned with two Gryffindor guests.

"Do my eyes deceive me or is that Sirius Black?" Del gaped as she hopped down off the table. She crossed the room to the boy, a grin on her face. "You are the last person I'd expect to be here." She moved to take another drink out of the firewhiskey bottle she had but Sirius grabbed it before she could. "Give that back."

"How much have you had?" Sirius asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Not nearly enough," she replied before reaching for it. "Since when were you such a party pooper?"

"We need to talk," he explained and she raised an eyebrow.

"About what, exactly?" she inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.

He looked around, "Not here."

"I thought I already told you that I can't talk to you anymore," she reminded him.

"Since when do I listen to you?" he inquired before carefully grabbing her elbow. He pulled her forward and she stumbled at the sudden movement. He looked over at the person behind Del, "Can you take her?"

"Yeah," they answered and Del turned at the sound of the familiar voice. She stumbled again and he caught her before she could fall.

"You..." she trailed off as the boy held her up, preventing her from falling, "I hate you."

James frowned at this, "Why?"

She hiccuped, "Because I don't hate you."

James looked over at Sirius who said, "I'm gonna go get her some water. I'll meet you guys there."

"Wait, don't-" Del tried but he had already walked away.

Del mumbled something that James didn't even bother trying to translate before assisting her to the Room of Requirement.

Once they entered, they both stood rather awkwardly in the room, waiting for Sirius to return.

The door opened after what felt like a lifetime and Sirius stepped into the room with a cup of what was probably water. He handed it to Del, "Drink."

She rolled her eyes but took it anyway, drinking the beverage as requested.

James crossed the room to Sirius and whispered something. Sirius nodded before James left the room.

Del placed her cup on the table and laid down on the couch. Sirius took a seat in the chair across from her.

"You know, Sirius," Del began, staring at the ceiling. She sat up on the couch and turned to her brother, "I was surprised when I found out about you and McKinnon."

"Hmm," he replied, staring at a spot on the floor, "Why's that?"

"I thought you we're going to end up with Remus," she answered and his head shot up. She fell back on the couch, "What is it you guys call him? Moany?"

"It's Moony," Sirius corrected when the door opened to reveal James who had returned from wherever he had disappeared to.

"Great," Sirius said as he stood up. "You take over. I'll strangle her if I'm stuck in here a moment longer."

James opened his mouth to argue but he was already gone. He huffed before making his way to where Del was.

"She always liked Sirius more than me, you know," she informed him as she stared at the ceiling. "That's why she took it hard when he turned out to be everything she wanted him not to be."

She turned to look at him from where she laid on the couch. He was sitting in the chair, his elbows rested on his knees and his hands folded in front of him. "I think that has more to do with the fact that he disagreed with what your family stands for."

"My family," she muttered. "We're all kinds of messed up, aren't we?" James said nothing and she looked back up at the ceiling. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

James sucked in a breath, "No, I didn't."

"Thank you."

"But I will," he replied and she turned to look at him. "He has the right to know."

"Does he?"

"Merlin, I can't believe you did this," he informed her and she couldn't help but laugh. "I hardly see what could possibly be funny about any of this."

"She has her rules," Del explained simply, sitting up on the couch. "I tried the whole disobedient child thing and I wasn't really a big fan of how that turned out. There was only enough for a select few Blacks to actually be successful. Just let it go, Potter. It's too late for me."

"You can't be serious."

"She has people everywhere," she pointed out. She stood up from the couch and he stood up as well. "She always knows. Believe me, it's best for everyone if I stay away from you."

"But-"

"I have to go," she cut him off. She was feeling a lot better and honestly just needed an excuse to get away from him, "Head Girl duties and all."