Darkness is My Light

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Chapter 3

When Delia woke up the next morning, still in the library with a book of fairy tales in her hand, she was quite surprised to see someone else asleep in a chair. The young woman was very pretty but her sleep seemed troubled. Delia imagined that she couldn't have been older than Master Draco was, but not much younger either. Feeling a bit flustered at finding that Master Draco hadn't woken her up to meet their guest, Delia decided to get her some warm tea.

As she made her way to the kitchen, Delia stopped at a hallway mirror to fix her skirt. The mirror smiled at her and her reflection mouthed "perfect," which she responded to with a "Thanks." She continued down the hall until she came to an open door on her left. The room was dark except for a small desk lamp on the other end of the room. Her older cousin May almost blended in with the black walls except for her hair, which was a mix of browns and her pale skin. Making her way into the room, Delia was careful to sidestep all hazardous books on magic and Grimm tales that littered the floor.

"Hey, Lydia!" Delia couldn't help but smile when her cousin started.

"Stop calling me that. I look nothing like Winona Ryder from Beatlejuice, so stop calling me that!"

"Whatever, Lydia. So what Grimm tale are you reading now?" Delia peered over her cousin's shoulder when the latter gave no sign of answering the question. "Ah, "Brother and Sister", that's a good one; it's about the witch who turns the brother into the roe, isn't it?" May simply nodded. "One of these days Lydia, I am going to knock down this wall and get some sunlight in here. Not to mention get you some colored clothes; then you'll be 'May' again." But May just kept reading so Delia took her leave and headed towards the kitchen once more.

When Delia returned to the library Hermione was just stirring out of sleep. Delia set the tea down next to a blinking Hermione and sat back on the couch to finish her book of fairy tales. Still curious, Delia peered over her book. Hermione was looking at the tea somewhat doubtfully; she was probably deciding if it was safe to drink. "Don't worry, I just brought that in myself."

Hermione gave a tired laugh. "Oh, good; you never know in this house."

"For you, I guess not. Master Draco has told me all about his days at Hogwarts, and all the things he regrets."

"Oh, and are you headed for Hogwarts soon?"

"Oh, no. I'm a...what'd he call it? A Muggle, I think it was."

"Draco Malfoy houses Muggles?" Hermione said, utterly astonished. "Well, there's something new, all right!"

The girl frowned, which creased her forehead, making her look as if she was in deep thought. "Actually, my father owed his life to Master Draco after a fire in our apartment building. He saved us and Father begged him for a place to stay; so we work. But it's ok, it's pretty nice here."

Hermione smiled. "You are very talkative, not at all shy. How old are you?"

The girl counted out on her fingers and happily announced, "Seven."

Hermione had been ready to talk to this girl more when she noticed the girl's face. Delia looked utterly terrified. Hermione turned to see what had scared her, and spotted a fight between two very unhappy looking books. She took out her wand and cast a blue web of light at the quarreling texts, causing them to spring apart.

"They do that sometimes," Delia whispered in apprehensive awe. "Once a book bit me, but then Master Draco stuck a sword through it. But all the time I was really scared." Delia backed up to the door and turned to her book. "Come on," she whispered, and the fairy tale book jumped up after her. The two walked down the hall and around the corner, leaving Hermione with more questions than answers.