HP: Hogwarts Snake

On a sunny afternoon, Della was about to go on a picnic with Theodore, who was carrying a lunch basket, when a young child bumped straight into them.

Before Theodore could even frown at the reckless collision, a foul odor filled the air—the familiar smell of excrement.

"I'm sorry!" The boy who bumped into me said, head down, before running away in a flash.

Theodore wrinkled his nose and subconsciously looked at Della, and sure enough, he saw her covering her nose and backing away. He felt a little embarrassed for losing face in front of the girl he loved.

“Go back and pack your things first, Theodore,” Della said understandingly. “I’ll wait for you in the corridor.”

“Okay,” Theodore nodded quickly, “I’ll be there soon.”

After saying that, Theodore hurriedly headed back, while Della glanced around and slowly walked out of the castle.

She sensed some gazes. It was easy to guess what kind of poop it was; who else could it be but the trio from Gryffindor?

Perhaps the scope could be narrowed down a bit more, to Ron or Harry, Della knew Hermione preferred a casual chat with her during their chance encounters.

If it were Harry, then so be it, but Della wanted to get his attention back on Draco, since he had more important tasks to do.

Sure enough, Harry came over shortly after she sat on the stone bench at the other end of the corridor.

"Is dung fun?" Della asked with a smile as she watched him sit down next to her.

“Not bad,” Harry was taken aback by Della’s composure and spoke somewhat reservedly, but he quickly regained his composure. “We need to talk, Della, what exactly have you been doing helping Draco lately?”

“I don’t want to go too far, Harry, but there’s a saying that’s very true,” Della said, lowering her eyes and flicking her meticulously manicured nails, “What you can’t get on the battlefield, you can’t get at the negotiating table.”

“I know you still genuinely consider me a friend and always think I’m a good person, but the world isn’t what you want it to be,” Della looked up at Harry. “And try to find some patterns in me, Harry. It’s been a long time since I’ve answered your question.”

Harry frowned, unable to refute, and unwilling to let the conversation end there. He took a few quick breaths and suddenly said, "Let's duel, Della! The wager is this message."

"Don't treat me like some kind of wizard who bullies people, okay?" Della said helplessly. "I'm not the kind of person who would deliberately hold back, so don't humiliate yourself, Harry."

“But I have to do something. I can’t just let things happen like this,” Harry said, almost growling. “There are already too many things happening that I can’t control!”

It seems Harry won't give up until he's completely convinced of his goal.

Della looked at Harry's face, which was flushed with anger and excitement, and after a couple of seconds of silence, she relented. "How about this, Harry, cast a spell on me, the one you think is the most powerful and can surprise me the most."

“What?” Harry was taken aback.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it,” Della said, taking out her wand. “I just want to see Harry, to see if you really have the ability to recognize and solve problems.”

Harry frowned, looking at Della with a dazed expression, still not quite understanding.

Della stood up first, drew her new wand, and stepped back, maintaining the proper distance for a duel with Harry. "Come on, Harry, let's get straight to the spells. I need to remind you, your most commonly used Excalibur weapon shouldn't surprise me."

Harry paused as he reached for his wand, his face momentarily blank with confusion. But seeing Della already standing there, he knew this was his only chance. He could only stand there with his wand, racking his brains for a spell to use.

A thought popped into his head: the spell marked "against the enemy" in the notebook. Harry didn't consider Della an enemy, but he was completely under attack by the darkness that was gradually enveloping Della.

"The Divine Edge is Shadowless!"

A spell was cast, flashing with a faint green light. Della effortlessly dispelled the spell, her eyes widening in surprise.

Harry saw the surprise on Della's face, a mixture of accomplishment and joy. He knew he had succeeded; he was still very capable.

"This is dark magic, Harry. Who taught you that?"

Della's words interrupted Harry's high spirits, and he opened his eyes wide as if he couldn't understand what Della was saying.

“Professor Snape?” Della remembered that Snape had taught her this spell in her second year. She didn’t think Snape and Harry were close enough for Snape to teach him this. She walked towards Harry step by step. “Who did you learn it from?”

Hearing the questions about dark magic, Harry, who was still confused, had an instinct to run away, but he held back and instead took two steps closer to Della. He said confidently, "I'm surprised you, Della."

“…” Della raised an eyebrow and looked Harry over again. Finally, she saw a hint of maturity in his always stubborn face. She clapped her hands lightly to show her approval.

“Yes, you’ve surprised me, Harry,” Della clapped her hands and chuckled softly. “So, okay, I’ll tell you the plan.”

“You need to start appreciating your time with Dumbledore, Harry,” Della walked over to Harry, her shoulder to shoulder with his. “As for whether Dumbledore’s funeral will be sooner or later, that’s entirely up to you.”

Della told the truth, a truth pieced together from many other truths, a truth with a hidden meaning, which implied that Harry's active participation in Dumbledore's mission might keep Dumbledore further away from death.

"What—" Harry tried to grab Della's shoulders to question her, but found himself unable to move. Della had cast a petrification spell on him without his knowledge.

“And here’s another piece of news for you, Harry,” Della said, leaving Harry behind and slowly walking forward. “The spell will be broken in a minute, and I need to go and tell Professor Snape about your use of dark magic.”

"If there's anything you don't want to be confiscated, try your best to hide it."

In her last sentence, Della actually revealed all the truth: Draco was in the Room of Requirement, the room they used to hide things.

Whether Harry realizes it or not is not Della's concern; in any case, she kept her promise.