The Forgotten Twin

Chapter 25

The next day the Slytherins had Transfiguration, but it was just a practice and review day, so Delilah mainly helped Draco.

"You're doing the wrong hand movement, that's the one for Bombarda, and I don't think McGonagall would appreciate it if you blew a hole through her door," she teased.

Draco blushed.

"What's the wand movement then?" he asked.

Delilah showed him it and he tried, but he failed.

She hid her smile, and slipped behind him, putting her hand over his.

"The movement is this."

Delilah did the movement a few times before letting go, making Draco do it on his own, which he did.

"Now say the incantation," she instructed.

"Evanesco."

The cauldron sitting in front of him vanished.

"Well done Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said from the front of the room.

Draco's face reddened even more. She hadn't realized how red it had been before.

When the bell rang they headed down to Care of Magical Creatures.

They were just coming down the stone steps when the Gryffindors came out from Herbology, Harry and Ron in front. Oddly enough Hermione wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Potter, have you split up with your girlfriend? Why was she so upset at breakfast?" Pansy teased, smirking.

Harry ignored her, showing brains for the first time in a while.

Hagrid, who had told them last lesson that they had finished with unicorns, was waiting for them outside his cabin with a fresh supply of open crates at his feet. It better not be another skrewt hatching, or Delilah would ditch this class, no matter how much she liked Hagrid.

When she got near enough to see what was inside it, however, it wasn't skrewts inside, but fluffy, black, long snouted, nifflers. Their front paws were flat, like spades, and they were blinking up at the class, looking puzzled at all the attention.

"These're nifflers," Hagrid obviously pointed out for all the oblivious Gryffindors (cough, Harry, cough), when the class had gathered around. "Yeh find 'em down mines mostly. They like sparkly stuff.... there yeh go, look."

One of the nifflers had suddenly leapt up and attempted to bite Pansy's watch off her wrist. She shrieked and jumped backward.

"Useful little treasure detectors," said Hagrid happily. "Thought we'd have some fun with 'em today. See over there?" He pointed at the large patch of freshly turned earth. "I've buried some gold coins. I've got a prize fer whoever picks the niffler that digs up most. Jus' take off all yer valuables, an' choose a niffler, an' get ready ter set 'em loose."

Delilah took off all her jewelry and put them in her bag. Then she picked a niffler. It was a cute black and white spotted one. It nudged Delilah's neck lovingly. It really was quite cuddly and adorable.

"Hang on," said Hagrid, looking down into the crate, "there's a niffler here... whose missin'? Where's Hermione?"

"She had to go to the hospital wing," Ron said.

"We'll explain later," Harry muttered, noticing that plenty of people were eavesdropping.

It easily was the most fun they had ever had in a Care of Magical Creatures lesson, not that that was very hard. The nifflers dived in and out of the patch of earth as though it were water, each scurrying back to the student who had released it and spitting gold into their hands. Delilah's was particularly efficient; it soon filled his lap with coins.