Delphinus Castor Black

“It’s the only place where I feel like I can just relax and not worry about anything” he said and looked around with a soft smile on his lips. “Oh the pleasure is all mine, Delphi”

Delphi nodded vigorously. “Yes, me too,” they agreed. They used the library as a place to go when they didn’t have anyone to talk to; books were pretty good friends when people didn’t live up to expectations. “What’s the most recent thing you’ve read?”

“Clearly” he said and looked at them, letting a soft chuckle escape his lips. Taking their hand into his own, he shook it. “I’m Andrew but please call me Andy” he said and smiled warmly. “Need somewhere to hide when it’s too stressful” he said.

Delphi chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, the library is a pretty good refuge.” They smiled and looked around awkwardly. “It’s nice to meet you, Andy.”

“No no it’s okay really” Andy said as he looked at the other. Letting out a little cough, he calmed his heart which had literally almost jumped out from his chest. “Well to be honest with ya, I need to look out too. You weren’t the only one almost knocking someone to the ground”

Delphi chuckled and continued to shake their head. “Well, I guess we can say we’re both to blame then, huh?” They held out their hand to shake. “I’m Delphinus, but most people just call me Delphi,” they said, introducing themself to the boy. “What are you doing in the library?”

It had been a good day for the Welsh boy, thank god for that. Walking down the hallways, he tried to read a book. He knew for a fact that no one was walking in this specific hall during this time. Humming on a song, he bobbed his head. “Shake ‘em up, shake 'em up, shake 'em up, shake 'em” he sang to himself as he giggled a little. It was impossible not to, due to the context of the song. It was just that moment he frowned and looked up. Noticing that he almost ran into someone, he instantly gasped. “Jesus, I-I’m sorry”

Delphi immediately shook their head, but couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Merlin, I’m a mess,” they remarked. It seemed every time they came to the library, they had some close encounters with nearly knocking people to their arse. “I’m so sorry, mate, I really need to look out where I’m going.”

Rowan smiled, blushing slightly when Delphi complimented their playing. “No, not at all, I don’t mind” They replied, tracing one hand over the keys lightly. “ I’m glad you think so, it seems like ages since I’ve played seriously” They admitted, before a thought occurred to them and they perked up. “Want to here more? you’re welcome to sit and listen” They offered with a small smile. Delphi was nice, and they liked having someone enjoying their music. 

Delphi grinned at their offer. “Yeah, I’d love to hear more,’ they said excitedly and went to get a chair to bring closer to the piano. “When did you start playing?” Delphi considered offering to sing but bit his tongue, not wanting to brag. They sat down near the piano and waited to hear more of their roommate’s music.

Rowan wasn’t the best at recognizing when people were around normally, much less when they were playing music. They didn’t notice their room mate enter, and only looked up at the sound of the door closing. Distracted, their playing slowed to a halt as they looked around, smiling when they noticed their room mate. “Delphi, hello” They greeted, smiling at the other Hufflepuff. “I didn’t noticed you come in. I hope I’m not interrupting you” They said with a grin, turning on the bench to face their classmate. 

Delphi immediately shook their head. “No. No, no, no, you’re not interrupting me. I wasn’t- I hope I’m not interrupting you,” they said, the words rushing out of their mouth. Wow, way to be smooth, Delphi, they thought to themself as they struggled to think of something else to say. “That was lovely music, by the way. Please don’t stop on my account.”

Despite the seemingly near constant news of tensions and fights coming in from the wizarding world, the castle its self seemed quiet in the late afternoon. Rowan wandered through the halls absently, brushing stray pieces of hair out of their eyes as they hummed a song to themself, drifting through the patches of sunlight let in by the windows. Their fingers itched to do something, and so they paused, turning towards the music room a few halls down. It was empty when they arrived, and so Rowan crossed over to the piano, taking a seat on the bench and brushing one light hand across the keys. After warming up with  few chords, they let their hands drift into playing an old melody, soft and slow. 

Delphinus didn’t play any instruments, but the music room was normally empty so they went there quite a bit to chill out and be away from the noise of the common room and the castle. They didn’t hear the soft music wafting out from the room, so they just walked right in. They didn’t notice that they weren’t alone until they were halfway across the room and finally heard the slow piano melody that the other person was playing. Delphi froze where they were, unsure if they should leave or not. They didn’t really want to because the music was nice, but the other person might want them to leave. So many thoughts flooded through their mind as they just stood in the middle of the room.

Sophia’s eyes widened. Delphinius just described her entire life, in one sentence, with a neutral tone. “You won’t believe it but it is the exact same for me. My mother would have wanted me to have lot of friends, and here I am, spending my whole time between books.” She noticed their nostalgic look, wondering what a kind guy like them would worry for.

Delphi smiled and looked over at the bookshelves. “Books were my friends. I really didn’t have any and books offered me a sort of... comfort that I didn’t think people would ever be able to give me. I didn’t think anyone would ever really enjoy being around me so I decided to not try,” they admitted, sighing softly. They had a lot of demons that they tried to forget about but they were always lingering in the back of their mind.

Finley shrugged as well, trying her hardest not to roll her eyes at their comment. She didn’t really believe that anyone was ever really fine. The world was far too awful a place for anyone to be really fine. It was nothing but backstabbing, betrayal, hatred. How could anyone in the world be fine with that?

Delphi chuckled and shook their head. “I was looking for something more fictional. I like science fiction books mostly, but any fiction work will do at this point.” They suddenly felt like they were rambling and their cheeks flushed a bit. “Sorry, I’ll stop talking.”

Sophia shook their hand quickly. “Nice to meet you, Delphinius.” She barely watched them, and started piling her books by type on the table. She was shocked to realize she’s already read half of the books she took. “Well”, she said to herself arching her eyebrows, “I’ve read this one, this one…” She suddenly remembered their quiet presence. “Oh, this kind of accident happens to me all the time. I spend a lot of time in the library. Do you like books ?”

Delphinus smiled softly at her. “Yes, I love books, always have. My family would have preferred if I had socialised a bit more but I normally spent my time locked in my room with a book.” They became nostalgic, remembering the times when all they had to worry about was the antagonist of their current book. Now there was so much more - bullies, the war, their parents getting caught up in the aforementioned war.

Finley looked at their hand for a moment, considering briefly denying the shake, but that would be rude. She very quickly took their hand in a small shake before pulling it away again. “Pleasure, Delphinus.” She felt her smile drop a bit. This person seemed far more smart then she may have originally given them credit for. “I’m always faking-it fine. Fake it until you make it, right? Is anyone truly fine?” She shrugged a little, not necessarily expecting them to answer. “It helps not to care, though, so I have that going for me. Let’s not talk about me. Where were you rushing off to when we almost collided?”

Delphi considered what she said for a moment. “I’m also always faking-it fine, but I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘fake it til you make it’ sort of thing, and I think some people are truly fine sometimes.” They shrugged in a sort of I don’t know though dismissal of their words.

Finley wasn’t sure how to respond to that, entirely. How does one explain that they are worthless and unlovable to a total stranger without sounding like some kind of whiny attention seeker. Shaking her head, Finley did her best to keep her smile as dazzling as possible. “Thanks, but I’m alright.” She said, shrugging a bit. “I’m Finley, by the way.”

Delphi could tell that that wasn't the truth - or at least not the whole truth. "I'm Delphinus," they said, extending their hand to her. "Are you fine fine or faking-it fine?" Sometimes it just took one person to ask that question for it to make a world of difference.

Sophia gave the boy a grateful glance. “Oh don’t worry, it happens everytime. Welcome to my life !” She tried to help him with the books but he was so determined that she just let him. “Well, yes, you can. It was pretty awkward, sorry.” She began walking and decided to put the books on one of the several tables of the library. “By the way, I’m Sophia”

Delphinus offered her a smile and their hand to shake after putting the books they had gathered on the table beside hers. "I'm Delphinus," they said sort of quietly. Meeting new people was not their strong suit, especially when the person was obviously outgoing. They always felt incredibly awkward and was always worried they would make a fool of themself. "There's no need to apologise though. Everyone has accidents like that once in a while."

Rowan nodded along, interested as Delphi talked. “I’ve tried to draw a few times, but I’m afraid its not for me” Rowan laughed slightly, smiling. “ I never had the dedication to get really good at. I always thought that it was amazing though” They turned their face back out towards the ground, nodding in agreement. “On clear days it seems like you should be able to see all the way past Hogsmead”

Delphinus nodded in agreement. That’s what he loved most about the astronomy tower: being able to see the full vastness of the Hogwarts grounds in all its beauty. “Art certainly isn’t for everyone. Creating it can be sort of an acquired taste, especially if you start out shit like I did.” They laughed softly, remembering how awful some of their first drawings were.

Delphinus furrowed their brows. “Do you want to talk about it?” They knew they just met but sometimes it’s easier talking to a stranger about your problems than someone you know, and they definitely knew that it was a tough time for a lot of people.