Chapter 9: Friends
Daphne hadn't seen the quidditch match the day before, she was too busy studying alongside Tracey to bother watching it, not that she cared for the sport herself. It was a brutal game, at least from what she had heard. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had been giving it their all, even in the torrential rain and the violent winds that had threatened to blow the players right off of their brooms. Not that it mattered, injuries and broken brooms were commonplace, and usually the players were back in the air after a few days in the hospital ward.
Then she had heard the Dementors of Azkaban had interrupted the game, and soon it was over. She then heard from some of her acquaintances in Hufflepuff that nobody could have told Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter that, as they were both too busy hunting for the snitch that was zooming through the skies, making both Cedric and Harry perform risky moves to attempt to catch the rapidly escaping golden ball.
Cedric had been the first victim, from what she had been told. A trio of Dementors had caught the older Hufflepuff student off-guard, sapping the happiness and replacing it with a terror that Daphne couldn't imagine and didn't want to imagine. Dumbledore had managed to save him first. Harry was the next player to be the victim of a Dementor, and to Daphne it seemed that the nightmarish creatures had decided to focus on Harry more than anyone else since they had arrived at Hogwarts. She had been unlucky enough to be the victim of one too, and it had shaken her up ever since she had been unlucky enough to have become its victim.
That was until Arthur had saved her.
She knew that the new Lord of Urien was reluctant in accepting his post, from what her mother and father had told her. She had been ill when it was the funeral for the old Knight of the Round Table, and if she wasn't, she would have had to be there to witness the cremation of the old lord. Apparently, Arthur had been seen conversing with Dumbledore for most of the night, constantly followed by the overgrown wolf that had now seemed to draw itself to the Boy-Who Lived. The new Lord of House Urien had taken the role of the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor soon after, and had begun to assist his fellow peer, Professor Lupin, in the subject, not that either of them needed help, they were the only decent professors that any of them had for Defence Against the Dark Arts.
It also helped that Daphne knew one of them to a personal level at least, enough that she could probably consider Arthur Noctis Urien to be an elder brother of sorts.
Arthur had taken Daphne under his wing when the Ophelia and Cyrus Greengrass, her parents, had asked if Arthur had ever wanted to try and train an apprentice. Needless to say, Arthur was enthused and took Daphne as an apprentice. He taught her what he could, from Defence, Charms and Transfiguration to other subjects like Potions if his sister Guinevere was there, and to a certain extent, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy.
Daphne and Arthur had gotten along splendidly, and when Arthur had been made dual-professor of DADA, Daphne soon realised that he would most likely still be training her, just instead of other subjects, it would Defence. What had surprised her the most was that Arthur had taken to caring about his students, which was more than she could say for most of the other professors at Hogwarts.
Snape soon came to mind, and Daphne shivered as she thought about her head of house trying to be as caring as Arthur, and even then, Arthur didn't care about the house system at the school. She could tell as soon as she caught him looking after both Harry and Cedric, and to an extent, herself.
So, it wasn't surprising that most of the students, if they had problems, went to him for advice or help on something, he was probably the most approachable professor in the school.
Daphne couldn't help but think this as she attended training, there were very little people who she could trust completely. It went the same way with Arthur, he didn't trust easily. Daphne was one of the few he could trust, other than his childhood friends and family, and it was the same for Daphne, she could only trust her friends and family, and she considered Arthur family.
That was until they began to train.
Arthur had been trying to get her to focus on some other spells, stunners and other kinds of spells, like the Incarcerous and the Impedimenta, and to master them as soon as she could. It had been like that for a few weeks, and he was teaching both Daphne and Harry the same spells so they could master them at the same time, just to keep them both as experienced as the other. Occasionally, Professor Lupin would join in and teach them so other spells and hexes, some more dangerous and some less. It had been a lot more interesting when Potter was with them however, but he was still recovering from his attack from the Dementors during the qudditch game.
Daphne had been too engulfed in her own thoughts that she had forgotten she was meant to be dueling both Professor Lupin and Arthur at the same time, and her distraction had proved to be her undoing. Arthur had hit her with an Incarcerous and Lupin had managed to banish her to the floor, gaining the two professors the victory.
The two men began to untangle her from the ropes and assisted her in getting up. Clearly Arthur had noticed that she had been distracted as they had begun dueling. He holstered his wand and gave Daphne a pointed look as Remus had began to clean up the mess that had been made from the duel.
"What?"
"You're distracted, it was clear. Even before you stalled and stopped casting, you were casting slower than you usually do. What has gotten you distracted, Daphne?" Arthur asked.
Daphne sighed. "Why isn't Harry here? He's been out for a few weeks now. Why isn't he here training with me?"
"Because Miss Greengrass," Remus began. "Mr. Potter has just recently found out of his status as Lord of House Potter. When I say recently, Arthur tells me he only just found out the day he stopped showing up."
Daphne was curious. "What do you mean, he only just found out? He should have found out as soon as he was capable of realising what being a Lord meant."
Arthur groaned, taking a seat at his desk. "Exactly, but nobody told him. As his parents were dead, they could not have told them. His guardian that began to look after him, clearly they did not tell him."
Daphne had been rather confused by the whole subject. How could Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, not know that he was meant to inherit the largest wealth ever conceived by wizarding standards, and become one of the most powerful members of the Wizengamot, not know that he was a Lord of Most Ancient and Most Noble house?
"Well, who is his magical guardian?" Daphne asked.
"We tried to find out." Remus began.
"But the records were sealed. We don't know who by, but I intend to take Harry to Gringotts this coming weekend to see who. Only Harry or his guardian have the power to unseal the records." Arthur had finished.
"Does Dumbledore know about your visit on the weekend?" Daphne asked.
"What Dumbledore doesn't know won't hurt him. Remus will be here to cover for me whilst I'm gone with Harry."
Remus gave a small harrumph whilst clearing the area, and once he had finished, he brushed his hands clean of dirt and stood over Arthur as he spoke to Daphne, occasionally interjecting when Arthur had forgotten to mention something. It truly became apparent to Daphne that Harry had been intentionally kept away from his inheritance and his lordship, so much so that he did not even have a clue that he was a lord at all.
"Where's Harry now?" Daphne asked.
"Probably somewhere around the castle. Most likely in the hall." Remus replied.
"You don't mind if I talk to him, do you? About this?"
"Not at all, Daphne. It would help if you tried to explain the situation to him, like we have. It would probably help if it was explained by a friendly face." Replied Arthur.
Soon, Daphne had brushed the dust off of her uniform, picked up her bag and rushed off to the great hall, somewhat eager to try and find Harry and find out more about his situation. She was the Heir Apparent to the House of Greengrass, and her father would be proud if she made an alliance with the new House of Potter.
X-X-X
Harry had taken a seat on the Hufflepuff table, as for the few weeks that he had been placed in the hospital ward, he had made conversation with Cedric Diggory, who after their time in the hospital, had become close friends. Cedric had gave Harry the confidence to talk to other people that weren't in Gryffindor, like some of the boys and girls in Hufflepuff. His closest friends from the house of badgers was Cedric and his new female friend, Susan Bones.
For the time that he had been hanging around with the badgers, he had learnt that most of them could have (and in some cases, should have) been placed in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Harry knew that Cedric was one of the intelligent students in the school, and could have been placed into Ravenclaw for how well some of his work was.
Susan, however, seemed to be properly placed. Apparently her auntie, Amelia Bones, was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was an important from what Harry had managed to gather. He tried his best to make as many new friends as possible, but Susan had almost chained herself to Harry, and she would introduce him to some of the others, like Terry Boot and Justin Finch-Fletchley. Harry had also made good friends with Hannah Abbott, but that was mainly as a favour for Neville.
In fact, Neville had seemed to be more of a close friend than Hermione Ron. Harry had been ignored by the pair of them, as whenever either of them disagreed on something that would not even be considered miniscule, it became a heated argument within Gryffindor, occasionally even splitting the house apart, with some members taking Hermione's side, whilst others took Ron's. Harry had begun to consider him and Neville the neutral faction, with only a few older students joining them, mainly as they considered the arguments to be pointless and unneeded.
"So, what is the reason you're not sitting with the lions today, Harry?" Susan asked, as she switched her attention from her copy of The Daily Prophet to Harry.
"Argument, with Ron and Hermione. Again." Harry mumbled.
"Pay up, Boot." Hannah ordered, catching a galleon that flew across the table.
Susan giggled as she read the newspaper. "My fellow badgers have started a pool, betting about what called you over to our noble house. Hannah keeps playing it safe."
"I do not!" Hannah screeched. "I'm just smart with my money, unlike Boot over there."
"I thought it would be different this time!" Boot shouted from across the table.
Harry had to laugh. He did not know why the other houses looked down upon the house of badgers. They were loyal to fault, apparently, and great friends to have as Harry had found out. Neville had occasionally visited the other table, although he blushed whenever Hannah Abbott tried to talk to him. Romance had became a rather touchy subject on the table, with everyone poking and prodding at others' romantic interests. Harry had heard that Justin Finch-Fletchley may or may not have had a crush on Marietta Edgecombe in Ravenclaw, but he soon flipped the topic to Hannah Abbott and how funny and adorable it was to see Neville blush whenever Hannah tried to talk to him.
"You know what they say about teenage arguments?" Hannah said to Harry and Susan.
"What?"
"It usually means they'll end up together." Hannah mentioned, writing down a few notes for Potions.
Harry tried to think of that image in his head, but soon stopped trying. He just could not see it, in his current life or the next life, there was nothing between them, was there? Just because they constantly argued? It seemed such an idiotic and miniscule thing to base a romantic relationship on, especially as considering arguments usually broke relationships instead of making them.
"Ron and Hermione?" Harry spoke. "I doubt it, it's just arguing between two individuals. Nothing will come of it, I bet you."
"You think you can follow up on that bet, Potter?" Hannah challenged.
"I don't doubt it, Abbott. I bet you ten galleons Ron and Hermione won't end up together by the end of Fifth Year."
"You're on, Potter."
The two teenagers shook hands and smirked to themselves as they settled back down and began regular conversation with the other Hufflepuffs. As Harry was getting in heated discussion about the quidditch with Justin and Terry, he had not realised that Professor Sprout was right behind him until he turned around to go back to the Gryffindor table with Neville.
"What are you doing talking to my loyal badgers, Mr. Potter." Sprout had asked, with a faux-angry tone in her voice.
"Oh, nothing Professor, I was just moving ba-"
"Calm down, Harry. I'm not angry with you, I'm proud more than anything. It's been a while since I got to award points for friendship between houses. Twenty points to Gryffindor and Hufflepuff." Sprout said with a wonderful smile on her face.
Harry took a sigh of relief, and looked at his friends, who looked as if they were going to burst out laughing at Harry's nervousness. Justin and Terry seemed like they were about to choke on their own lungs whilst the girls were busy giggling, trying to hide their laughter from Harry.
"Traitors..." Harry mumbled with a twinge of sarcasm. It seemed like Justin and Terry were about to drop dead from laughter as they continued to howl as Harry made his way to sit next to Neville.
"You alright, Harry?" Neville asked.
"I feel betrayed, Neville. I thought the Hufflepuffs loved me!" Harry shouted loud enough for the badgers to here, causing them to laugh once more. "It's fine, Nev. Sprout sounded as if she were going to banish me away from her table, but it was just an excuse to give some more points."
"Fair enough." Neville took a sip of pumpkin juice. "How are the badgers?"
"You can go over there yourself, Nev, you do know that? Just because every time Hannah tries to..."
"Harry, I will hex you if you say anything more about that one badger."
Harry stifled a laugh as he stole a spare copy of the The Daily Prophet, and his laughing soon stopped as he read the headline. 'Sirius Black Spotted Outside Dufftown!' the paper read. Harry grimaced, wiping his eyes as he sighed stressfully. Neville patted Harry on the shoulder as the boy he could consider his best mate seemed overly stressed out by the news.
"C'mon, Harry. There's no way he can get inside the school. If the Dementors don't get him, surely the professors here will." Neville tried to reassure him.
Harry nodded as he stopped rubbing around his eyes. He sighed again before reading the article, and it seemed the more he read, the more reason he had to be cautious. Sirius Black was a mass murderer who had apparently mass-slaughtered thirteen muggles, alongside Peter Pettigrew, a fellow wizard. From what the Prophet said, Black was a loyal Death Eater, a follower of Lord Voldemort, and a strong follower in his beliefs. Harry wanted to string the bastard up from the Astronomy Tower then and there.
The man known as Sirius Black was pure evil.
"I know, Neville. It's just… He was one of his men. He should be dead, or worse. I know you feel the same way about a few others."
Neville had been silenced. He had felt like that before, he felt how Harry had felt. He knew exactly what happened to his parents, and who did it. He had seen his parents in St. Mungos, and he hated the woman who had done this to his parents with every fibre of his being. His parents would never be able to recognise their own son due to what she had done to them. He knew Harry had it worse, he would never be able to see his parents again, because He killed them.
As soon as Harry had finished reading the article, he threw the newspaper across the table and allowed himself to cool down, not saying a word. Harry had realised that Hermione and Ron were still arguing, and had not noticed what had been going on with him.
"Nev, you're my friend, right?" Harry asked, uncertainly.
Neville stared at Harry, his eyebrows furrowed. "Why do you ask, Harry?"
"Because I'm beginning to wonder if either of them were my friends." Harry managed to mutter.
Neville turned Harry towards Harry and frowned. "Harry, now that you're a Lord, I can't really pick a better time to tell you this, but so am I, sort of. I'm Heir Apparent, which means when I'm older, I'll become a Lord of House Longbottom. Now, House Potter is a larger house than House Longbottom. My house is a vassal house, and it is loyal to House Potter."
"Loyal, to me?" Harry asked.
"Yes. The first thing my gran said to me this year was that I needed to be prepared for when I take the Lordship. Since I'm your vassal, it means you're my lord, you are my superior, and yes, I am your friend. You're probably the best friend I've ever had, and to be honest, you're the only true friend I've ever had since I got here, aside from some of the Puffs. I'm glad to have you as my lord."
What Neville had said had struck Harry to the core. Neville was a good friend, a true friend. Harry must have underestimated Neville, as he never knew that he was a Lord either. Harry's eyes began to well up slightly, but he did not cry. He grabbed Neville and hugged him, as a friend, a proper friend.
"Thank you, Neville."
As soon as Harry had let go of his friend. He heard a few coughs, and Harry could recognise exactly who was standing close by. He turned to see a certain pale, blonde haired and blue eyed witch sit next to him.
"Miss Greengrass. How lovely to see you." Harry began as he smirked.
"Lord Potter. Professor Urien and Professor Lupin have told me of your… new occupation." Daphne had pretty much scowled. "We need to talk, right now."
"We are talking right now." Harry replied.
"Don't get smart with me now, Potter. What's gone on has put Professor Urien in a bit of a state. He isn't angry, he's just rather exasperated by the injustice that's been done to you." Greengrass shot back.
"What does he want, Daphne?" Harry asked. "I thought there was nothing that could be done?"
Daphne grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the dinner hall until she reached the Defence classrooms. As soon as they walked in, Daphne closed the door and locked it, before leading Harry to Professor Lupin and Professor Urien. She had practically dragged him kicking and screaming up the stairs to the Defence office where the two professors stood ready.
"Professor Urien, what's going on?" Harry had asked.
Urien had actually growled, alongside Onyx who was lying next to him. "What has happened is a gross miscarriage of justice. If it can't be fixed today, I'll be damned sure to find out why, and you're going to help me."
Arthur and Remus had managed to create a small Floo system in the Defence office, and threw Harry and himself inside. Arthur grabbed a handful of Floo powder before throwing it down, announced where he was going.
"The Leaky Cauldron!"
X-X-X
It appears I have managed to crack out another chapter just before the week begins. I may try and work on a few others over the coming couple of weeks, but like I have stressed, exams are coming up and may delay the release of the chapters. Again, I apologise for this, but I will try and work around this.
Next time, we find out who has been keeping Harry's Lordship a secret!
~The One Italian Stallion~
