AN:/ Alright folks, here is the next, much anticipated, installment of Harry Potter and the End of the Beginning– I siriusly(couldn't resist) need to stop picking such long titles– hopefully it was worth the wait. To those of you who have been PM-ing me about whether this story was still going, let me state this. I will not just randomly abandon my stories, I may be an asshole sometimes, but I'm not enough of an asshole to just stop writing without saying that I'm not going to continue it. I've decided to try a different angle in this chapter with more focus on the other characters than on Harry (Let me know what you think please) although he's definitely still in there. Also Dumbledore will be a combination of manipulative, a bit senile, and trying to do what he thinks is best without being able to admit that he was wrong. (Consider yourselves warned). And on a final note, I apologize for the AN's in the middle of the last chapter, and swear on my life, and non-existent magic, to never do that again. So onwards and upwards.
Disclaimer: Regardless of what I may wish or think, I have not, do not, and will not ever own Harry Potter and any other characters, locations, spells, etc associated with it.
(Azkaban Prison 1000hrs)
Narcissa looked wearily at the guard at gates to Azkaban, but merely handed him the parchment instead of actually speaking to him. His eyes widened comically seeing who she was here to 'visit' but he nodded deftly and lead her through an array of corridors. Narcissa shivered involuntarily at the completely-void-of-emotion prison that not only her cousin but one of her sisters were 'housed' in.
Finally after a good 10 minutes of following the guard through random corridors they stopped in front of a cell. The man pulled out a key and stuck it in the lock on the eye hole. It creaked as he pulled it open and then he motioned for Narcissa to gaze in. When she did she shuddered at Sirius' appearance. He was gaudy looking; long, matted, dirty hair, huge dark circles under his eyes, pale as a ghost, and a disgusting sheen of sweat and filth covering his brow. He looked like a completely different man than the cousin she remembered.
"Sirius!" Narcissa hissed. The man stirred a little but didn't bother opening his eyes. "Great, dementors...sodding gits...hearing Cissy's voice...too long...James...Lily...Harry...stupid rat...gonna kill that idiot..."he continued to mumble things like this rather incoherently for several moments before Narcissa cut in, "Sirius open your eyes, I'm actually here. It's me, Narcissa, you do remember me right?" he gave a hollow sort of laugh and muttered "Even the delusional version is vain..." before opening his eyes. "Oh, you are here for real aren't you, Cissy?" he said blinking owlishly at her.
Narcissa sighed to herself but nodded. "Yes, Sirius listen, I need a favour from you." He let out a bark of laughter. "Sorry, Cissy," he chuckled. "But I could have sworn you just said you need a favour from me and I happen to be locked in Azkaban for life."
She closed her eyes and swallowed her pride. "Sirius, even in Azkaban you are still the Head of the House of Black, thus in order to annul my marriage with Lucius– " "YOU WANT TO WHAT?!" he exclaimed, excitement evident in his voice.
Narcissa felt her lips twitch upwards at his antics, "You heard me Sirius, I wish to divorce myself from Lucius, and in order to do that I need to have your signature." He was suddenly, while clumsily, on his feet. "Where do I sign?!" he demanded.
She actually chuckled at that, "Doted line at the bottom of this sheet of parchment, I assume you can still write?" she asked the last part in general curiosity. Knowing that dementors weren't what could be called good for ones capabilities.
Sirius snorted, "Of course I can still write, Cissy! Now give me the damn parchment so I can free you of that sodding pillock!" Sirius was practically bouncing up and down in anticipation, and Narcissa was quite sure that if it weren't for the dementor wards erected around his cell for the duration of her stay that the dementors would be coming in flocks to feast on him.
The thought alone made her shutter. However, she didn't get left in her thoughts long before Sirius was shoving a piece of parchment her way. "There, that's the signature! Now, I have only one thing to ask in return..." he paused here.
Sighing she questioned slightly fearful, "What is it Sirius?" He looked at her, his Azkaban-worn eyes boring into her own, "Take care of Harry." and then he turned and lay back on his cot. Dismissing her completely.
(Hogwarts Hospital Wing 0345hrs)
Pomona of course knew that Poppy may very well kill her for bringing Hermione to see Harry, but she couldn't help it. Here was a girl who was so terribly worried for her friend that she couldn't sleep. Those were the type of qualities Pomona wished her Badgers would have displayed to Harry, as opposed to their cruel words, snide remarks and glares. She was not looking forward to dressing them down on the matter. Sighing quietly to herself as they approached the Hospital Wing doors, Pomona turned to Hermione.
" , there are a couple things I need you to remember if we are going to see Harry." she paused until Hermione nodded. "Harry is...he's not in the best shape of his life. So, I need you to remember not to become too...exuberant in your reactions because we only just got to sleep maybe 20 minutes ago, so we would like him to stay that way for many hours after now. And I would like your permission to place a silencing charm on you so you won't accidentally wake him up, alright?"
Hermione nodded rapidly, "Yes, Professor. Can we go see him now, please?" Pomona smiled gently at the girl and nodded, "Yes, now we may go see him." And Sprout quickly cast Silencio on her before motioning to the door; however, even Sprout's warnings would not have prepared Hermione for what she was a bout to see.
There lying on the plain white hospital bed sheets was her best friend, Harry Potter; however, the body on the bed looked nothing like Harry. The body was very pale, thin, and weak looking– frail even. It was as though he had some type of terminal illness and was on his last legs of life. His closed eyes looked to be sunken into his head, and his whole body looked skeletal. This was not the smiling boy she knew, not the courageous, strong-willed Gryffindor she was so accustomed to. This was a broken young boy, with bandages covering almost all that she could see of his body. Some of Harry's limbs were bent at strange angles, meaning they had been severely broken, and on a few of the spots that weren't covered Hermione could make out yellowy-black bruises and several long- healed scars. The sight was horrifying.
It took all the will power Hermione had not to run to Harry then and there. It was a very good thing indeed that Pomona Sprout had the foresight to place a silencing charm on Hermione ahead of time, as the girl was openly bawling at the moment. Hermione's 12 year old mind couldn't understand how this had happened. How could anyone have been so cruel as to cause Harry this much pain? Harry was so nice, and gentle; he didn't deserve to be lying on the hospital bed looking like he could die at any moment.
Pomona closed her eyes briefly to school her own emotions, and placed a gentle but firm hand on Hermione's shoulder. The girl looked at her, tears cascading down her face, and Pomona motioned to the door. Hermione had seen enough for one night, and they both new it.
Hermione looked back at Harry's form, she knew that Professor Sprout wanted to leave, but she didn't want to leave Harry all alone, not like this. Suddenly, she pulled a piece of parchment and quill out of her pocket and jotted down a note to her professor.
Sprout took the paper and smiled at what it said. It read: Can you conjure some flowers for Harry's night table? Pomona nodded to the girl and quickly, very quietly, did so. Hermione smiled and mouthed 'Thank-you', before taking what was left of the parchment and wrote a quick message to Harry, had the Herbology professor levitate it beside the flowers and then, finally, agreed to leave; swearing to herself to visit him as soon as she could tomorrow...or later today as it were.
(Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts, 0800hrs)
Molly, Ronald, Percival and Ginevra Weasley were not happy people at the moment. Not only had Ron received a ton of detention but, people were criticizing their lack of consideration for the-Boy-Who-Lived's welfare. They had of course, decided to go to the Headmaster after Arthur had returned to work and Fred & George to their daily lives.
Now the 4 of them were seated across from Albus Dumbledore and all ranting about how unfair this all was to them and their family. Albus held up a hand silencing them. "Now then," he began. "I understand your being upset by what has occurred here this morning, and I will speak to Minerva about your punishments ." he added seeing Ron opening his mouth.
"Be that as it may though, there are Ministry officials involved in this case at the moment, as Minerva eluded to there is more to this than meets the eye. Have no fear though, I assure you that things will be back on course soon enough." he paused to twinkle his eyes at them here before continuing.
"Molly, I shall have a bonus added to the monthly deposit made into your Gringotts account as well as yours . And as soon as I get this all blown over and settled, will be friends with Ron again soon enough. Percy will eventually get the position he wishes at the Ministry and Ginny shall have Harry as per the marriage contract we have yet to draw up. Molly, you and Ron will gain enough money from the Potter accounts that you needn't ever worry about it again, and the wizarding world will be saved in the end. will return to the Dursleys' for the summer and go back to his ever grateful self."
As he twinkled at them again, the four Weasleys felt placated for the time being, thanked Dumbledore and took their leave. After they left Dumbledore chuckled to himself, yes his weapon would be back to its old functioning self soon enough, he mused. All he had to do was do some obliviation and compulsions before everything would go back to normal. Nothing that unusual. Though Dumbledore didn't particularly care whether or not the Weasleys in his control ever actually got anywhere, they were just other puppets for him to manipulate.
No, Albus Dumbledore was not the grand-fatherly figure he so often portrayed. He did feel bad that Harry had suffered but he simply reassured himself that it was necessary. "For the Greater Good." he murmured before gazing out at the Hogwarts grounds. Yes, for the Greater Good Harry Potter would have to be sacrificed. And deals had been made for that purpose. He used Molly, Ron, Percy and Ginny's greed against them to insure that they were loyal to the cause and was prepared to do whatever necessary to keep his pawns as long as possible. What he didn't know though, was that there were far greater forces at play, and more plans than just his own were being brought into action.
(Minerva McGonagall's Rooms 0830hrs)
Minerva sighed as she took a sip of her cup of tea. It was definitely going to be a long time before she got any decent amount of sleep, there wasn't a doubt in her mind about that. She couldn't help but wince thinking of how Harry had looked still asleep this morning when she'd gone to check on him after her meeting with the Weasleys.
There was another headache; the Weasley family. While at least Arthur and surprisingly enough, the twins, had seen reason and understood the severity of the situation, the sheer audacity of the other family members and their lack of caring astounded her. Never in all her years had Minerva McGonagall witnessed such a display of apathy towards a student's life by another student's parent. 'While Lucius Malfoy and many others like him might not care at all, they at least had the decency to pretend to care.' she thought grimly.
There was no plausible reasoning in her mind as to why there would be such a lack of reaction either. Wasn't it Molly who was always going on about her children needing things, or how they treated their children's friends just as they treated their own children? Did that mean she thought that it was okay if her child was hurt enough by another student to run out into a ragging blizzard, in only their pajamas, to lie under a tree, and proceed to almost freeze to death?!
Somehow, Minerva doubted it. Which lead her back to the question at hand, why did it seem as though the majority of the Weasleys couldn't care less about Harry and his safety. She was beginning to wonder if Ron's actions towards Harry were reflective of Molly's influence somehow. For everyone's sake, Minerva really hoped not. That could be disastrous and not just for Harry, but for Hermione and the entire Weasley clan.
She was thankful that Fred and George at least seemed to be genuine in their care for Harry's well being, it would be too much for Harry if no one in the Weasley family actually cared about him. Minerva shuddered slightly, that would be too much for most people, and while Harry was incredibly strong, some how she got the feeling this would be too far for even him.
After all, it was only when the pillar was forced to hold the weight of the world alone that it would truly collapse. If Harry was left completely alone, Minerva had no doubt that he would crack. Not as in going insane of course, but Harry would become isolated and that eventually could lead to insanity if ignored.
Which brought her to another thing Minerva didn't understand. How had the entire staff missed this?! How had the whole Wizarding World missed this?! Their 'saviour', Minerva hated thinking only of the Boy-Who-Lived and not just Harry, was severely abused his entire childhood and not one of them had seen it! Not to mention Harry's godmother, herself and, by the sounds of it, many others had been unable to get to him as a child. Something wasn't right there, and as much as she hated to think it, Minerva got the sense that Albus had something to do with it.
Now, Minerva had diligently followed Albus Dumbledore for decades, even through some of his plans that she disagreed with. But now, she was beginning to wonder just how much she could trust him...well not trust him exactly, more so how much she could rely on his leadership. Clearly Minerva should have fought him much harder on his decision to leave Harry with those...people.
'Animals is too good a word for those Muggles!' she mused. 'If anything I was being far too polite when I told Albus they were "The worst sort of Muggles." they are the worst sort of beings on the planet. Dementors are better creatures than them in many regards, because at least for dementors it is in their nature to be foul beings, and they do not discriminate. Dementors simply prey on whoever is around.'
Closing her eyes, and rubbing the bridge of here nose, Minerva turned back to the 5th year papers she'd been grading and sighed. This was definitely not something she had the amount of sleep needed to do, and yet, she knew she would end up doing it eventually. Just for the sake of having it done and because it seemed to be in her nature to do so...Minerva really hated her nature some days. Today seemed to be one of those days.
(Gryffindor 2nd Year Boys Dormitories 0830hrs)
Neville Longbottom glanced at the unslept in bed beside Ronald Weasley's and frowned. Last night he had seen Harry bolt out of the common room as if You-Know-Who himself was at his heals. But, now at least 12 hours later, there was still no sign of the emerald-eyed boy, and Neville, for one, was worried. He hadn't heard why Harry had so suddenly taken off, but he was suspicious that Ron had something to do with it– especially if the looks Hermione had been throwing the redhead were anything to go by.
Neville winced, the girl had screamed bloody murder at Ron up to the point where the teachers had to restrain her from cursing him into the hospital wing...not that they seemed overly concerned about the curses he was hit with. Which was enough to make Neville more than a little suspicious. After all, how often do the Hogwarts professors– as in almost all of them– let students get away with cursing other students. And in the Great Hall no less! Not only that, but Fred and George Weasley had been eyeing their brother with particularly disgusted looks as well. And nobody knew why.
Ron may be thick, but even he wasn't thick enough to try pranking those two. Which meant that he had done something else that had angered them anyway. The question was, what exactly could he have done? Neville, despite what many might say, was not in fact stupid. He may be very quiet and shy, and he may be slower to learn things than all the other kids, but he did know enough to piece together that Ron had something to do with Harry's disappearing act.
This didn't really help Neville any though, because he didn't have the guts to ask Ron what he'd done, and he didn't feel like trying to talk to the twins or Hermione– who were all furious with Ron– about whatever Ron had done. This left Neville with one choice. Finding Harry himself.
That alone was enough to have Neville rather shaky, he definitely was not one for confidence...But he remembered Harry's encouraging smiles and words, thought briefly of the times when Harry had stuck up for him; Neville felt his resolve strengthen. Even if they weren't close, Harry was his friend...his only real friend if he thought about it. Harry may occasionally chuckle at his mishaps, but only if it actually was funny. Not like the other boys who laughed at every mistake he made.
Neville thought about that for a moment and then came to a strange realization, "I guess that makes Harry... my best friend..." he trailed off unsure what exactly to do with this piece of information. He'd never even thought about having a real friend before, let alone a best one.
(Gryffindor 4th Year Boys Dormitories 0830hrs)
Fred and George Weasley were not particularly angry people generally speaking; if fact, they were typically joking around and in quite good humour. That was not the case at the moment though. Their younger brother Ron, had gone way out of line saying what he did to Harry, and as much as they didn't like to admit it sometimes, Harry was more of a brother to them than Ron had ever been.
And if there was one thing you should never do in life, it was come between Fred and George Weasley and their family– even if not technically blood family. Thus, it was at this time, that Fred and George were working quickly to try to figure out as many different pranks as they could to pull on Ron until Harry got better, and until Ron apologized. It could be a long year for Ronald Bilius Weasley, a very long year indeed.
So far they had 347 prank ideas written down, 256 of which they had mapped out and had all the details ready for. If one were to enter the room they would hear things like "water balloon" "exploding" "turkey wand" "disappearing ink" and all sorts of other words being said seemingly at random as the twins spoke to each other. Communicating in a way they only could with each other. Even Lee found it down right frightening how well they understood each other– and he shared the room.
The twins had adopted Harry as their brother in all but blood the previous year when they had found him after a quidditch match alone and looking sadly at an old yearbook in the library. They had followed him after the match because he never seemed to just go back to the common room to celebrate with everyone else– which, admittedly, bothered them.
Upon closer inspection they realized he was looking at a yearbook from what would have been Lily and James Potter's final year at Hogwarts. Despite what some may say about the twins being insensitive, they both felt pangs in their chests when they saw a young, 11 year old Harry Potter practically bawl over the photos of his parents– in an old yearbook of all things! Their eyes had locked and from that moment, the duo had sworn to do whatever they could for Harry.
Since then they had tried to watch out for Harry whenever they could, offering up their services in secret by pranking those who had openly hurt Harry, as well as clearing the way for him to get through the halls whilst openly mocking the very idea that Harry could be heir to Slytherin. They knew that– despite his brave face– the comments the other kids in the school made about him upset Harry.
The twins were well aware they couldn't protect Harry from everything, and they often wondered if there was more going on with his relatives than he let on– though they hadn't asked because A) He wasn't likely to bloody well tell them if they asked and B) There was that tiny issue that Harry didn't actually know Fred and George that well (which they were hoping to work on at some point).
Thus, they used the skills they were best known for from the shadows to help their little brother, Harry. No one seemed to have picked up that the twins never pranked the raven haired, green eyed boy yet, but Fred and George knew it was only a matter of time. This, of course, just meant they worked harder to prank others so less people would notice– this included Ron and Hermione; if they pranked the other two members of the former trio, people would simply assume that they just weren't around when Harry was pranked. Oh, how foolishly naive the wizarding world could be. Not that the twins were about to complain, it just made their lives easier.
(Slytherin 2nd Year Girls Dormitories 0900hrs)
Daphne Greengrass, also known for her reputation as the reigning Ice Queen of Slytherin, was rather annoyed at the moment as yet another round of coughing made it's way up her throat. She'd only woken up a mere 15 minutes ago in the midst of a coughing fit. This was one reason that Daphne didn't like the winter for– typically it was here favourite season, however; having the flu was never fun regardless of the season.
Sighing, Daphne glanced over at her two dormmates, her best friend– Tracey Davis– and her 2nd greatest form of annoyance– Pansy Parkinson. She liked her dorm most of the time, she really did, but Pansy just rubbed Daphne the wrong way– that and she was pining for that sleaze ball Malfoy. Daphne shuddered, 'I don't know what anyone sees in him!' she stated flatly in her mind.
Groaning slightly as the throbbing in her head worsened with her standing, Daphne grabbed her head with one hand. "Uhn.." she let out the groan softly. 'Right; shoes, day clothes, now to the hospital wing for some pepper up potion.' she listed in her head as she prepared to go get rid of this bloody flu as fast as she could.
Sighing quietly, Daphne quickly scrawled a note, and left it on Tracey's night table, knowing her friend would wonder where she was, and then be pestered by Astoria, her younger sister, about where she was. Glancing one last time around the room, Daphne left in the direction of the common room, intent on making a quick trip to the hospital wing, then maybe some breakfast before going back to bed.
Daphne was never a person to pay attention to school gossip and rumours because 9 times out of 10, they were too ridiculous to be true. Honestly, who really believed that Moaning Myrtle had died drowning herself in a toilet trying to find her glasses? She had them on her face! Or who seriously thought that Dumbledore had students picked out to rat out other students found to be less than adequate so he could expel them? As far as she knew, there hadn't been an expulsion since Dumbledore had become headmaster.
Thus, she didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to some gossiping Gryffindors going to breakfast starting rumours about something to do with Harry Potter. Internally Daphne groaned; the castle never seemed to shut up about the Boy-Who-Lived and his most recent exploits of either stupidity or greatness. Frankly, Daphne didn't know the kid and couldn't care less about what the rumours were about. So, she kept walking to the Hospital Wing.
Upon reaching the doors to the desired room, Daphne nearly– nearly– smiled to herself thinking of the cold relief she was going to have momentarily. That didn't happen though; when she opened the doors and walked in the sight that greeted her was one she would never forget.
Standing in the middle of the Hospital Wing, suddenly frozen on spot, was Harry Potter. Except, it wasn't. It wasn't the heroic, courageous, brash, stubborn, bold Gryffindor that Daphne was accustomed to seeing in class and in the Great Hall from time to time. This was not the boy of the legends, or even what the rumours made the Boy-Who-Lived out to be.
Daphne was seeing a small, frightened child, who looked to be about the size of a 9 year old, glasses stellotaped together at the bridge of his nose, exceptionally pale skin, with large, dark, bruise-like half moons under his bright green eyes. And yet, that wasn't what she noticed. It was the large bruises, many bandages, and scars that littered the visible parts of his body. This was not the Boy-Who-Lived; it couldn't be the Boy-Who-Lived.
"I-I, uh– by!" he yelped turning tail back into a side room she hadn't even realized existed. Before she could even think to follow him though the ever-stern matron, , came out of her office to see what the noise was. Seeing Daphne's shocked expression, it didn't take her long to figure out what Daphne had seen.
Gently grasping the girl's arm, Poppy lead her towards her office, "This way if you please, ." Still stunned, Daphne allowed herself to be lead into the office. After seating Daphne, Poppy turned to face the girl.
" , I assume you ended up seeing when you came in?" Deftly Daphne nodded, before croaking out, "What...?"
"It is not for me to tell what happened to , . There is; however, the matter of your knowledge of his injuries." Poppy kneeled down so she was at eye-level with the young Slytherin. " , I am sure you realize that is often subject to, and the topic of much gossip in this school. It's unfortunate that it has to be that way, but there is not much that can be done about it. You; however, have seen 's current condition, I am going to ask you to give me an oath that you won't breathe a word of what you have seen to anyone without 's express permission. Can you do that for me?"
Clearly startled, Daphne asked, "Can I talk to him before I do anything else? He, er, ran off after I saw him..." the Ice Queen was finding it difficult to maintain her icy persona in the midst of her confusion about what in the name of Merlin had happened to Harry.
Poppy bit her lip, "I can ask if you can see him...I make no promises though." Daphne nodded, that really was all that could be done. Daphne just hoped Potter knew better than to believe that all Slytherins were evil.
Ten minutes later Pomfrey came back. "What did he say?" Daphne questioned. Poppy sighed, "He will speak with you,"Daphne internally sighed in relief. "But he wants an oath first that you won't breathe a word. To anyone. Ever. also says he promises no answers, and that the only reason he's letting you see him is because he's never seen you with and cannot recall you tormenting him."
Daphne blinked, while better than she expected, she was still a tad annoyed that Harry would have even had to think she might have been around Malfoy out of choice. The thought of actually being 'friends' with that slime ball made her skin crawl.
Daphne resigned herself to agreeing only, and she meant only, because she had no particular interest in Potter either way and was merely curious as to what had caused his current state. Turning to the matron she said simply, "I accept his terms." Poppy nodded, "If you would then, your oath."
Taking out her wand Daphne spoke, "I, Daphne Isabelle Greengrass, swear on my life and magic to never disclose any of the information given to me on the current state of one Harry Potter to anyone at any point in time without his express, undistracted or inhibited, permission to do so. So mote it be." there was a brief white flash as the oath was sealed.
Daphne glanced wearily at the matron, "Before I see him, may I please have pepper up potion? My head is killing me..." she trailed off, and suppressed a grin, seeing Pomfrey mentally chastising herself. "Of course, ." Poppy said handing the girl the potion.
Daphne held in a contented sigh as the potion drained away her flu like water cascading over the edge of a waterfall. Glancing at the matron for confirmation, and receiving a nod, Daphne slowly made her way towards the side door she'd seen Potter go through. Lifting an elegant hand, she cautiously knocked. A muffled, "Come in." was all she received as a reply so she cracked the door open and stuck her head in.
Potter was seated on a hospital cot, his shoulder blades, neck and head resting against the wall, legs sprawled aimlessly in front of him. He was still as pale, tired and roughed up as Daphne remembered from only 15 minutes earlier, and yet somehow he looked different. She wasn't sure what it was but despite his lithe form lying almost brokenly upon the hospital cot, Daphne could've sworn there was some kind of strength about him. Not very noticeable, and definitely unpronounced, but being the Slytherin she was, Daphne picked up on these kind of things.
It definitely wasn't a physical strength, Potter still looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks, his skin hanging off him– much in the fashion his clothes usually did– and many of his bones seemed to protrude from underneath the flesh without quite sticking out. Overall it was a rather stomach turning sight, and yet, there was that obscure strength. Like Potter was beaten down, bone weary, and had been hit several times by various hexes and curses; but he was not yet broken.
Finally, Daphne found her voice and spoke, careful to keep her tone neutral. "Potter." she stated simply. Harry blinked, emerald eyes not masking his confusion in the slightest. "Er, it's Daphne, right?" he questioned.
Semi startled that he actually knew who she was, Daphne nodded. An awkward silence fell between the two for several minutes before Harry spoke, "Please don't tell anyone where I am." he requested softly, eyes portraying his fear that she might reveal his whereabouts to the rest of Hogwarts.
Daphne hated that something in his voice and the look of fear in his eyes tugged at her heartstrings. But none the less assented, "I won't. Even if I wanted to– which I don't– my oath prevents me from saying anything about any of this to anyone unless you give me permission to." she stated flatly.
Harry blinked owlishly at her. "I'm sorry." he murmured, but she still caught it. Daphne's head snapped up to face him, "Sorry for what?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"F-for having you swear an oath...it-it isn't that I think you'd tell anyone...B-but if people, people like Malfoy, found out..." he trailed off. Daphne felt her throat tighten.
'What is going on?' Daphne mentally yelled. 'What is it about him that's making me feel a need to comfort him? To care about him? I don't even know Potter, much less have a need to care about him!' it was beginning to make Daphne uneasy just how simply this emerald-eyed, bespectacled boy was bypassing her defences.
"I wouldn't tell Malfoy." she snapped, regretting it when Harry visibly flinched. Sighing she spoke in a much softer tone, "Malfoy and his cronies are slime balls. I, for one, have no interest in associating myself with him and his lot anymore than my family does with his father. Which is never." she added the last bit because she was unclear whether Harry understood.
Harry supressed the need to gulp at the notable threat in Daphne's tone. She was daring him to suggest that all Slytherins were like Malfoy, but Harry wasn't about to try to contradict her on the matter. Just from talking to Daphne, Harry knew that was just a stupid lie. Her next question halted his train of thought at it's station.
"So, Potter, what happened to you?" Daphne asked, careful to keep her voice indifferent. There was no need for Potter to know she was desperately curious as to the cause of his current state.
Upon asking the question, Daphne saw his already pale skin turn impossibly whiter, his eyes began feverishly searching for an escape, and his lips thinned into an incredibly tight line– McGonagall had nothing on this kid, Daphne mused.
Finally Harry, realizing he couldn't just run out of the room, replied flatly, "It's kind of personal...I-I'd rather not talk about it thanks..." he trailed off, knowing he sounded like an arse. Daphne was unfazed, knowing full well that everyone had their secrets, especially in Slytherin.
She just nodded, "Of course." Harry blinked, "Y-you're not going to try to force me to tell you?" he asked in stunned disbelief.
Daphne raised a delicate brow. "Your business is yours, Potter. I have no personal interest in you, so making you answer my questions would be a waste of energy on my part." she stated flatly. Realizing how he must sound, Harry quickly amended his earlier statement, "Sorry, it's just...most people don't let me have my privacy..." he trailed off unsure of what to say.
Daphne, deciding that she'd spent enough time here just shrugged, "Then perhaps you ought to seek out better company." she jabbed, standing. And as she walked towards the door she heard him question quietly, "Like you, Daphne?"
(Gringotts Bank 1120hrs)
Narcissa walked purposefully to the front desk and spoke softly, "I'm here to see director Ragnok, it's rather important." she saw the goblin eye her, clearly disgruntled. "Very well. Follow me." the goblin had more of a snarl to it's voice than others, Narcissa absently noted. The goblin stopped outside of an office. "Wait here, please." it said bluntly.
Narcissa perched herself on the edge of one of the available chairs outside the office and sighed, Sirius' request still echoing in her head. "Take care of Harry." Merlin! How was she supposed to take care of the Boy-Who-Lived? Especially when she knew Draco went out of his way to antagonize the young Potter. Snorting softly 'Probably at his father's request.' she thought bitterly. She hated what Lucius had made their son into.
There was, she supposed, one way that she could indefinitely ensure not only that the Potter boy was taken care of, but also that Lucius didn't get control of Draco and the Black family lived on...But she wasn't sure it was a good idea.
Narcissa could, hypothetically, after legally annulling her marriage, out Lucius as a Death Eater and prove Sirius' innocence...which would make Sirius eligible to become Harry's guardian and she Draco's. However, she could potentially be put in Azkaban herself for not having turned Lucius in earlier, knowing he was a Death Eater, or for any number of crimes to do with her previous, unwilling association to the Dark Lord. Thus that plan was flawed.
Narcissa also could, hypothetically, try to gain guardianship of Draco– there was little likelihood of that working though. Or she could try to gain guardianship of Harry. Not many people knew, but Narcissa– having done research on the Black family tree– knew that James Potter's mother had in fact been Dorea Potter nee Black. This meant that Harry Potter had Black blood in his veins, which inturn meant Narcissa– as a Black– could legally attempt to gain custody of him. The problem was, no one would willingly let her– a Black and soon to be former wife of a Malfoy– gain custody of the Boy-Who-Lived.
Narcissa was at a major dilemma at the moment, however, Ragnok called for her to enter at that moment, saving her from dwelling further on what was to come. Entering the office, she noted a bit of a feral grin on the head goblin's face...it was mildly disturbing to say the least.
"Director Ragnok." she greeted. " , how kind of you to return so quickly. As they say, time is money." Ragnok replied, clearly wanting to get things started and over with quickly.
Narcissa handed him the parchment. "There is Sirius' signature, agreeing to the annulment of my marriage as the Head of the Most Ancient and Noble house of Black." she said, careful to keep her tone even. Ragnok had what was akin to a smirk on his face.
"Very good, . I can now officially say your marriage to one Lucius Malfoy is officially null and void of any further need of contact." at those words Narcissa actually had a genuine grin cross her features for the first time in decades.
"Thank-you Director Ragnok, now what do I receive out of this nullification?" she asked, wanting to be ascertained that she was indeed retaining all moneys and properties of the Black Family. "Anything that came with you into this marriage leaves with you, . That includes all moneys, liquid or otherwise, family artefacts, personal articles, and anything else you may have acquired in the duration of your marriage."
Pausing, Ragnok added, "There is, however; the matter of your son. A certain Draco Abarax Malfoy is legally in the custody of his father at the moment, unless you wish to vie for custody?" Narcissa closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. "At the moment I will leave Draco in Lucius' custody, but I may be back to try to gain custody of my son."
Ragnok nodded, understanding all to well how hard taking custody from Lucius would be. "Of course, . Now, was there anything else you would like to discuss today or will you be on your way?" Narcissa paused for a moment before speaking, "I would like to arrange a meeting between myself and Harry Potter. Privately. Even the Headmaster is not to know of this." she said, voice indicating an underlying threat should something occur where anyone was to find out.
If Ragnok was surprised at all it did not show on his face as he replied, "We will try our best, , however; there have been some...issues where is concerned. You see, he has not actually replied to his monthly updates on his assets, or any mail that Gringotts has sent him for that matter." there was a distinct tone of annoyance and displeasure in Ragnok's voice that sent a chill down Narcissa's spine.
"That's strange..." she mused aloud. "I would have thought whoever his guardians are would have informed him of the letters and the need to reply..." she trailed off before glancing at Ragnok and asking, "You wouldn't happen to be willing to tell me who said guardians are, would you Director?"
Ragnok grinned, "From what his file says, is in custody of Lily Potter's sister, a Petunia Dursley nee Evans, and her husband. As for a magical guardian it would appear as though Albus Dumbledore has anointed himself due to Lord Black's inability to fulfill the position."
Narcissa's lips formed a thin line, "He can't do that." she muttered. "What of the Potter's will? Who is supposed to be his magical guardian in the event that Sirius can't?" she demanded. Ragnok got an angry look on his face.
"The problem, , is that we do not know." he said, keeping his voice even. Narcissa balked, "You don't know." she repeated. "How in Merlin's name can you not know?! Goblins execute the wills!"
"We do not know," Ragnok began. "Because a certain, Albus Dumbledore, had James and Lily Potter's wills sealed. Illegally I might add." Narcissa felt pure unadulterated rage building within her. It was bad enough the old coot was apparently messing around in Harry's life where he shouldn't be by making himself magical guardian, but to illegally seal his parents wills...that was it. Narcissa was going through with her plan; half finished, full of holes and completely irrational thought it may be, she was doing it.
"Director Ragnok," she began, steeling herself for what she was about to do and all the repercussions that could, and most likely would, come with it. "I wish to vie for custody of Harry James Potter."
AN:/ Holy crap Narcissa's going to try to become Harry's guardian! SO– anyone see that one coming prior to reading this chapter? Next chapter we will finally get to see Fleur reading/replying to Harry's letter– I figure it would take even Hedwig at least a day to get to France– as well as see Hermione actually get to see Harry when he's ya know, conscious. So, how was the chapter? Worth the wait? Not worth it? Hurry up to the stupid author that keeps saying they're going to update sooner and then never ends up actually getting there? Are people losing interest? Gaining interest? Should there be more focus on specific characters? Or less?
These are all things I'd like to know your opinions on, cause it always helps to have feedback. From the people who just say 'Great job mate, keep it up!' to the ones that point out every reason that this story doesn't fit in with the way the characters personalities were in cannon and leave you questioning why they read fanfiction in the first place if they want cannon stuff? To the ones who get mad that I've been bashing Ron in both my stories cause they say it's overdone– and maybe it is, but even in cannon he was just never a character I really liked. So I apologize for that to anyone that does like him.
All feedback/reviews/flames/favourites/alerts/PM's are appreciated, read, noted, and taken into consideration even if not all replied to. So thanks again to everyone who's taken time out of their day to read the crap that I think of in my head, and I hope it didn't waste your time.
Next Time: Hermione talks to Harry, Fleur reads the letter, Amelia will have her work cut out for her trying to unravel the mystery of just what all occurred behind closed doors at No.4 Privet Drive in Little Whinning, Surrey? What will the reactions be? What role will Narcissa end up taking in this? Will she manage to gain custody of Harry? Will McGonagall and Amelia even allow her to try? All this and more hopefully in the somewhat near future as the author attempts removing their foot from their mouth and stops typing such long AN's!
~GGUC