Delicate

be nice to me

Draco was on his way up after Delia had left him, and rightfully so. He wasn't sure why he'd reacted that way; Delia didn't deserve it. He'd almost knocked on her door so he could tell her it wasn't her fault, but he heard Pansy talking. "Have you ever told him about, well, you know?" "You're the only one, Pans. You know I can't talk about it." He rushed away from her door no longer brave enough to face her. He'd gotten a strongly worded letter from his father about his detention, but nothing too serious. A reminder of who he was and to do better, but teachers being unfair is not up to him. Nothing he couldn't handle; he knew his parents loved him, but did Delia? He'd never really knew much about her home life other than the basics. Her mother was like his. Prim and proper. Although Mrs. Lightwood had the sternness of his father, but that had to be on account of her being both parents. Her dad was locked up in Azkaban; he knew this from his father not Delia. She never spoke of her father, but he figured she never knew him. He cursed himself for thinking of her like this; he had no reason to and yet he couldn't stop.
After their spat, Delia and Draco went right back to how they were as if it had never happened. Pansy was a little relieved to see it; she'd been worried after Delia had told her what she'd said to him. The girls arrived at breakfast together and took their usual seats, Delia across from Draco and Pansy across from Blaise. Blaise grinned at them as they sat. "So, Dely, how was detention? Draco here is saying there was some freak out there, and I think he's making it up." Delia grinned and laughed a bit. "Sorry, Blaise, he is telling the truth. Dunno what happened after, but figured Potter could make light work of it considering." The four of them laughed again, but Delia's stopped short when she saw her mother's owl.
Hello, Princess, I am sorry to hear that you were unfairly given detention. Trust, Lucius and I are looking into it. In the meantime, do NOT stick one single toe, hair, or anything else out of line. If they're looking to target you because of your dad, you cannot afford any missteps. You know the consequences. Do not tarnish our name and reputation. They have rarely been worse and we're leaving that behind us. Make me proud. Try to stay away from Draco; you two cause too much trouble. Be good. Do good. Familia sanguine et honore coniuncta. -Vivian Lightwood
Delia scoffed and folded the letter. Draco noticed she wasn't as chipper anymore and saw the light squeeze Pansy gave her arm. He needed to know what was going on, but he wasn't sure how to make her talk. They'd never been the talking kind of friends; they were more of the scheme together and be each other's competition type of friends. She whispered something to Pansy, gave the boys a small smile, and left the table in a hurry.
"Her hair wasn't perfect this morning." Was the excuse Pansy gave before following her out. Blaise's grin faltered a bit; they all knew how her mother expected absolute perfection in all aspects. Blaise could only imagine how crazy her detention made her mom. Blaise didn't have the same expectations. His mother expected him to be proud of himself and who he was, but never perfection like Delia and Draco. Delia had to have it worse than anyone he was sure of it; he'd seen her miss their get togethers over the summer, and Pansy leave in the middle of the night.
"How bad do you think Dely's getting it from her mom right now?"Draco didn't know how to answer. He cleared his throat before trying to respond. "Well, my father wasn't too bad about it; told him it was McGonagall out for us of course. That's what she told her mother. Can't be too bad?" Draco knew this was false after the things she'd said to him in anger last night. Blaise shook his head.
"I don't know, man, Vivian's awful hard on her. She doesn't say much, but I've gotten tiny pieces from Pansy. Her teeth are spelled so they're always perfect, and if she's got one hair out of place- well, Pansy just says she goes ballistic." Draco gulped. He didn't know any of that. He couldn't imagine her life now. He'd always thought she grew up like him; whatever she wanted at the price of being respected and maintaining as close to perfection as possible. He knew he'd have to do something absolutely atrocious to get disowned, like marry a Weasley, but she might lose it all over one hair out of line.
But all he could say was, "Pansy can be a bit dramatic sometimes; surely, it's not that bad." Blaise just nodded as they finished their breakfast and headed off to class. The rest of the day passed smoothly; Draco had seen Delia got her spark back while in Charms together. She'd sent a lovely gift to Longbottom in the form of an electric shock. She'd allowed him to take her arm and escort her out of class, and he was glad to see she was better now. "Careful, Draco dear, people might think I'm your girlfriend." She was teasing, but she still scowled at the thought of their conversation. He chuckled at her.
"Well, I could do much worse than Delia Lightwood to tell you the truth." He gave her a wink, and she laughed, accepting it as his apology.
"As much as it pains me, I've got to get going History of Magic awaits me."
"Goodbye, Delia darling, I shall count the minutes until I see you again." Delia laughed again; Draco always knew how to make her laugh. She gave him a pageant wave as she walked away from him.