Chapter 2: Uncomfortable Truths and Sobering Lies
Harry groaned. Truth be told, this was his fault. He did tell Victoria that he'd tell her and Cyrus what had happened at school. He was laying in bed, deciding if it was worth getting up yet. He weighed his options for a good while. On one hand, the talk with the Greengrasses was bound to go one of two ways: badly or catastrophically. The bed, however? That was just comfort and softness. The curtains were closed and the enchanted ceiling was set to Harry's taste; snow drifts. The faux sunlight glinted softly on the magical snow.
"There's no way around it, is there?" Daphne asked. Harry shook his head. He had no idea when she'd come in, but somehow he knew she was there.
"If there was, I'm sure we'd have thought of it by now." Harry replied. Daphne smirked.
"You know this, as we're so clever, or you hope you and I are that clever?" She teased. Harry frowned.
"Both?" He asked. Daphne giggled. "Hey, I'm just waking up, give me a break." Harry mumbled.
"Well, I do believe it's time to get up. If not, mum and dad would come to you." Daphne said with a smile.
"Why are you so happy?" Harry asked, raised eyebrow.
"Because for once, you're in trouble and it's not both of us." Daphne chided.
"So, you think Cyrus and Victoria will be happy you didn't say anything to them?" Harry smirked. As Daphne's expression slowly became panicked, he had to resist the urge to laugh.
"I didn't-" She began
"Daphne?" Cyrus' voice called. "I need you in the living room, dear."
"Coming, dad!" She called back. "Good luck." She gave Harry a small kiss on the cheek and ran out, hurrying to her father.
With a sigh, Harry got up. No point in putting it off now.
Well, maybe after a long bath.
OooooO
Bad masters is plotting again, Dobby thought. The family he belonged to were always plotting, but something in the last years had slowed them down. Now it was back in full force. What is they plotting?
"Elf, I suggest you stop standing idly by and get to cleaning." A voice behind him said rudely, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Dobby is sorry, young Master. I will stop standing." The elf squeaked out, panicking. A kick from behind struck him hard in the back and he fell into a book case, knocking over several of the books and various items on it.
"Look at the mess you made. Clean it, or there will be consequences." The man said coldly, walking into the study.
"Yes, master. Dobby will clean." The elf groaned. His nose was a little bloody and he'd probably get killed if he got his blood on anything.
Dobby stuffed a portion of his burlap sack covering into his nose and got to cleaning. Masters doesn't want Dobby to clean with magic. Dobby has to do it all the muggle way. The elf bitterly thought. Masters is planning on hurting Harry Potter. But the boy hasn't done anything to masters.
"Either way, Potter is bound to targeted." The first voice from the study came. "He might be a Slytherin, but we know he's in the wrong place."
"And if…IT doesn't go for him?" the second came.
"We were still ordered to put him out of the Lord's misery." The first said firmly.
"But…." The second voice trailed off. There were enough increments of volume here and there that Dobby knew the conversation was still happening.
Don't stop cleaning, Dobby. But think. How can you warn Harry Potter? Missy Greengrass hasn't told him yet. The elf wondered, arranging the books back in the Master's preferred order. With a quick sniffle, he realized his nose was done bleeding and pulled the burlap out. A quick snap cleared the blood away and Dobby rounded the corner into the other Master.
"Why are you in my sight?" She asked, eyes dangerously slit as glared at the unlucky elf. "What is the rule?"
"Out- out of sight," The elf squeaked, terrified.
"I will count to three." She warned.
Dobby stared, thankful for the moment of mercy.
"Three." The witch said instantly, her spell launching the elf across the hall into a door. "If you're still there when I return, you'll be begging for that same treatment."
As the witch walked away, Dobby weakly snapped away , vanishing to the elf quarters.
The room was dark, decrepit, and far from clean, as the Master had ordered against the elf homes being cleaned. Dobby limped to his pile of torn dish rags, most of them blackened with use. He fell into them and winced.
"These rooms are better than most elves get. Consider yourselves lucky." The Master had said. Dobby shook his head. Dobby looked to the other elves in their boxes that the Master called rooms. Master is a very bad man…
OooooO
"So, Harry, what is it you wanted to talk to us about?" Cyrus asked, sitting down in the living room. Zeri, the Greengrass house elf cracked into sight and set a glass of firewhiskey. Harry gulped, watching Victoria take a seat next to Cyrus as the seat extended to her. The boy sighed.
"I… I'm not exactly sure how to begin." Harry said. From how hesitant he was, Cyrus felt anxious. The boy spoke clearly and plainly. Usually. But hesitation wasn't a good sign. "At the end of the school year I… had an encounter. With Voldemort."
"What?"
"How?"
Harry waited for the shock questions to end. After a moment of the adult panic and arguing, Harry raised his hand, signaling for their attention.
"Firstly, young man, you will not silence us like that, am I clear?" Victoria scolded, offended by Harry drawing their attention like school children.
"Sorry. I was just trying to explain all of this." Harry grumbled. "I'm entirely unharmed, Dumbledore saved me."
"And why hasn't the Headmaster said a word of this to us?" Cyrus questioned.
"Albus should know better." Victoria reprimanded.
"I asked him not to." Harry stated sternly. "I wanted to be the one to tell you two."
Both Cyrus and Victoria were quiet, and with a curt nod from the Greengrass patriarch, Harry retold the encounter with the Dark wizard. Whenever she began to protest, Cyrus would calm her down, letting Harry continue.
As he talked, he thought carefully about what to say. He omitted Blaise or Tracey's involvement, and kept Daphne's as minimal, knowing the elder Greengrasses wouldn't believe that she had nothing to do with the meeting of the dead man.
Daphne listened in, groaning internally at the heavy editing Harry was doing. Choppy and unrefined. You didn't practice this much, did you, Harry? She thought. She did admit, he at least kept her presence in the story believable. Not too much, not too little. Very good lie, Harry. I'll have a talk with Tracey about this. Daphne thought. It would be good to learn his lying pattern. And Tracey had an eye for it.
"And that's when Dumbledore and Voldemort began their duel." Harry said, recounting the duel.
"Wait. They actually had a duel?" Cyrus asked, surprised. He had heard of the dangerous abilities of both of the men involved.
"Well…more or less. Voldemort was very weakened. The Headmaster didn't seem even slightly worried. He even resorted to taunting the Headmaster to try and gain any advantage." Harry said, remembering the absolute confidence the older wizard carried himself with.
Cyrus nodded. "Even not at full force, I much doubt any other wizard would have managed as well against that maniac." Harry nodded with understanding. Weakened or not, Voldemort was a threat.
"I can't believe he's still alive.." Victoria said, paling at the realization that the evil wizard lived.
"Well..on that." Harry began. Cyrus and Victoria looked at the youth. "Voldemort didn't make it. Professor Dumbledore returned his killing curse."
The room was silent. Eerily so. Harry looked around at the intense expressions the adults wore. A small snicker from Victoria was definitely not what he expected. Nor the sudden outburst of laughter from both of them.
"What? What's so funny?" Harry demanded. It seemed almost insulting. Did they not believe him?
"Oh sweetie, we're just so glad that you're unharmed and so very relieved that the mad man has been brought down for good." Victoria smiled, calming from the sheer relief she felt. Cyrus nodded, his laughter also dying down.
"I'm glad we don't have to go through that chaos again." He chuckled. "We sure dodged a bludger there" Harry nodded. He was glad this hadn't gone badly as he thought it would.
"How is your homework looking, Harry?" Victoria asked kindly.
"Very much possible now, thank you." Harry responded, giving them a small and grateful smile.
"Then, my boy, off you go." Cyrus said with a grin. Harry nodded and excused himself. "Daphne, you go to your room as well, young lady. Don't think we didn't know you were listening."
A small sorry was heard along with a second pair of feet running up the stairs.
"Cyrus?" Victoria asked quietly.
"Yes, my love?" He questioned.
"Do you think it's actually over?" She asked, worried.
"If it was, I'm sure Dumbledore would have made a spectacle of it."
OooooO
Daphne rounded the corner. It was the middle of the night and she was sneaking to see Harry in the Greengrass library. He'd been doing his school work and would most likely be finishing soon. She needed to give him a small fright. It was their birthday, after all.
Another turn and she bumped into a small being who she wouldn't have realized was there.
"Dobby?" She asked, watching the small house elf pick himself up.
"Dobby is most sorry, Missy Greengrass. Please let me help you up. There we are." And with that, the elf ran into the wall head first, a loud thunking sound easily echoing in the empty hall. The elf shook his head and ran again, this time with Daphne catching him mid jump.
"Dobby, what the hell?" She whispered severely.
"Dobby hurt a witch. He must bleed in return." The elf sobbed, trying to swing his head into the wall.
"Dobby, I'm fine. You didn't hurt me." She reassured. The elf looked at her, seeing worry in her eyes. He went limp and Daphne gingerly set him down. A few sniffles and he got up. "Why are you here?"
"Dobby came to warn Harry Potter about the bad masters." The elf squeaked, looking apologetic. Daphne paled.
"Did you tell him already?" She asked. Dobby nodded.
"Harry Potter was informed to not return to Hogwarts." Dobby squeaked. "Dobby told him that he had tried warning him earlier."
"Did you tell him you warned me?" Daphne asked worriedly.
"He warned you?" Came a surprised voice.
Daphne looked down the hall to see Harry standing there, wand in hand. The thunk of Dobby ramming his head into the wall alerted him. And now he'd heard Daphne say she hadn't warned him he was in danger.
"Harry. He didn't- I mean, I…" Daphne stuttered, not sure what to say.
"I thought we didn't keep secrets." Harry said quietly. He had never known Daphne to keep anything from him. He never did from her.
"I just didn't know how to tell you." She said quietly.
Both of them looked almost pained from the upset.
"Happy birthday." Harry said coolly, walking past her. Daphne froze.
She was aware that they were cold to others, people they didn't trust. The only people who saw more than their cold façade were family and the few they called friends. But never had they been on the receiving end of the cold treatment.
A small sob escaped Daphne as she headed to her room. This was, without a doubt, the worst birthday ever.
OooooO
The morning of the thirty first was a curious affair. Victoria frowned as Daphne took her usual place at the table, but Harry sat down across and some spaces away.
"Harry dear, is something the matter?" Victoria asked.
"Nothing at all." Harry replied simply, waiting for Zeri to bring his meal.
Daphne booked down at her empty plate, Harry looked boredly way, clear away from the blonde girl he'd been loath to be away from. Cyrus walked in, smiling broadly.
"Happy birthday, you two!" He cheered, not realizing the atmosphere of the room.
"Happy birthday" they replied monotonous. Cyrus frowned.
"Do either of you care to tell me what's wrong?" He asked. After a moment of silence, he turned. "Harry. What's going on."
"What? Why me?" He replied, looking somewhat surprised.
"Because you're sitting pretty much as far away from Daphne as you can manage." He responded simply.
"I'm just… upset with her." Harry said slowly. He didn't want to tell them about the warning of a possible threat on his life. Not so soon after telling them about Voldemort.
"And why is that?" Victoria asked, worriedly. She'd never known them to disagree. Usually it was talked about and decided together.
"She didn't tell me… she kept something from me." Harry said. The undercurrent of anger was well felt and understood by Daphne. In her defense, it hadn't been for no reason. She wanted to make sure it wasn't a false threat to keep Harry away from school.
"Daphne?" Cyrus asked. "Any comment to make?"
Daphne shook her head. With a sigh, Cyrus took his usual spot at the table next to Victoria, who was staring intensely at Harry. The boy looked away, but he was stealing occasional glances at Daphne. His daughter, on the other hand… she looked oddly pale. Well, more pale.
"Daph, are you feeling well?" He asked. She nodded, somewhat confused.
"Yes, why do you ask?" She questioned, frowning slightly.
"You look pale, dear." Cyrus answered, looking her over.
"Father, unless something has happened, I am pale." She replied curtly. Harry snickered and she smiled slightly at that.
Almost imperceptibly, she gained some more of her natural color. Cyrus frowned. Maybe it was the light?
Either way, he knew something was off. And that worried him deeply.
OooooO
No.
That was the thought coursing through Daphne's mind.
I will not be afraid of this. Harry is my friend. And I know that means a lot to him.
With that, she mustered the courage to push his door open, making the boy at the desk turn around. There was a long silence, Harry not sure how to react to Daphne's approach. He figured she'd react in kind, as much as he knew it'd hurt.
"What?" He asked, frowning at how utterly redundant it sounded. Daphne raised an eyebrow.
"I came to talk." She replied shortly. Harry's frowned deepened.
"I can see that." He replied, being cut off by Daphne.
"Are you sure? I could talk slower, if it helps." She snarked.
"There's no need." He huffed, slightly reddened by his own like of wit.
"Harry, I understand I upset you, and I'm sorry. But seriously, a strange house elf shows up and you'll believe what it says?" She stated, pointing out the obvious flaw in Harry's slight. He opened his mouth to reply, realizing that it made sense.
"I- What I mean is- ugh. Daphne, regardless, you could have told me." He said, looking downwards somewhat.
"I know, but to be fair, I hadn't really been aware that long." Daphne admitted. Harry frowned.
"From the way you spoke, I assumed you knew Dobby for some time." He said. Daphne shook her head.
"The elf leaves a very thorough impression." Daphne said, frowning. Harry nodded. What could he say? An elf that comes to warn you out of the blue would do the trick. A grime covered one with what seems to be blood smears on its tunic helps that impression go a long way.
"I uh… I think I overreacted somewhat." Harry said abashed. He looked away, expecting Daphne to gloat.
"Thank you." Was all she said. He looked up and saw her smiling softly. He eagerly returned the smile.
"So." She said, clearing her throat, "What are you working on?"
"I'm almost done with Snape's assignment." Harry said, showing his work. There were several versions on the desk, in various states. Daphne understood. Snape's work was to be exact. Do too much, points off. Do too little, points of and detention. Your writing could not be too large or spaced apart too much. But all of these looked to fit what the teacher wanted.
"Why is there so many copies?" She asked, reading one of the rejected ones.
"I hadn't found the right way to condense it all. I feel like I was blabbering too much on the spiders, then on the venom, then on the bezoars." Harry explained, taking the one Daphne was reading. "This one was too focused on the effects of the venom."
"And this one is right?" She asked, looking over his current assignment. Harry nodded.
"It summarizes the general ideas, keeping a clear focus on each aspect and its importance." He explained, handing it to her.
"That's very well done, Harry. Did you check your spelling?" She asked
"Oh, bloody hell."
OooooO
Hey guys, Vaine here. I wanted to do a quick note. Firstly, this will be the last chapter to have an author's note. I wanted to make some things clear very quickly. This is a Harry/Daphne pairing, but in the long run. That doesn't mean it'll be their only relations, or that their other relations will be bad or unhealthy. (Though some will.) They're teenagers and as we all know, things happen. Any questions you want to ask, my inbox is and will be opened to you guys for me to respond directly. If you'd like for me to respond to a review, please let me know and I will message you.
And with that, please enjoy what lies ahead.
-Vaine
