Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of The Owl. Chapter 27: Collect One Level Of Ancestry
DISCLAIMER: Daria is the creation of Glen Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling, Wizarding World, and Warner Brothers. I own neither franchise. This work of fiction is written for my amusement, not for financial gain.
Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl*Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl* Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl
Daria didn't have her mother's attitude towards ghosts. Her Mom might ignore them or occasionally yell at them, but Daria found one or two of the ghosts near Hogwarts frightening. The Bloody Baron was definitely in that category.
"Thank you, Milord," she said, hoping that she'd used the right form of address.
The Baron nodded to her, surprisingly giving her a small smile.
Daria nodded back, then began to turn away.
"Stay, child," said the Baron. Despite her desire to turn and start running. Daria stayed put.
The Baron drifted around her, studying her to see if there was something that only he could see. Then he finally spoke, "It has been so long," he said. "I thought they were all dead. And now you appear."
"Beg your pardon, Sir?" said Daria.
"Those of my bloodline," said the Bloody Baron. "I thought that they were all dead. Yet here you stand."
Whoa, she thought to herself. This guy was one of her ancestors. What could she tell about him? She wasn't the fashion maven that Quinn was already becoming, but she could tell that the Bloody Baron was dressed like a nobleman from the late Dark Ages.
She told herself that she was going to have to ask other students and her teachers just who the Baron was in his lifetime.
"It is a terrible thing to learn that the last of your kindred has died off," said the Baron.
"Tell me about yourself."
"I'm," Daria began. "I'm new at this, I'm the daughter of Helen Barksdale Morgendorffer and Jacob Morgendorffer," she continued. "I grew up in Highland, Texas and I only learned that I'm a witch about nine months ago. I used to dance in a ballet class, I read a lot, and I'm a so-so shot with a bow and arrow. I know a little bit about ranching, I started taking potions lessons before I came here and I was going to go to college and become a writer before I learned that I'm a witch."
"Do you sew or weave?" asked the Baron.
"No, Sir," said Daria. "My parents and my sisters buy already-made clothing at stores and hire the services of tailors and seamstresses when necessary. I can do a little drawing, but I don't think I'll be a great artist."
"Do you embroider?" asked the Baron.
"No, Sir," said Daria.
The Baron stopped to consider this. This guy is definitely old-school, Daria decided. "Tell me about your family, child," said the Baron.
"Well, most of my mother's family has been on the other side of the Atlantic since the mid-1750's," said Daria. "They might have been wizards or witches a long time ago, but that died out a couple of centuries ago. Since then, they were farmers, landowners, occasionally soldiers, and more recently government officials for the Mundie government."
"My mother is a lawyer, and my father is a wholesale supply distributor," she continued.
"Muggle?" he said, arching an eyebrow.
"Well, my mother and I think my grandmother are what Americans call Wild Squibs, but neither are witches. I don't know about my Aunt Amy and I'm not ready to ask her until later."
"What is a Wild Squib?" asked the Baron.
"A Wild Squib is someone who can see and sense magical creatures, much like a Squib born to wizarding families, but like other Squibs, Wild Squibs can't work magical spells."
"I see," the Bloody Baron replied.
"Tell me, child, do you have any brothers of sisters?" the Bloody Baron asked hopefully.
"I have two sisters, Quinn and Veronica," said Daria. "I also have a first cousin named Erin and some cousins on my Dad's side of the family."
The Baron smiled again, looking almost mellow. Much later, Daria learned that she had seen a truly rare sight. The Baron was never mellow.
"So you think that you and your sisters and this Erin will have children," said the Baron.
"Probably," said Daria, "except that Erin is still in her teens, I'm only eleven, and my sister Quinn is only nine. Ronnie's even younger."
Screwing up her nerve, Daria said "Can I ask you a question, Sir?"
"You can ask, but I may not choose to answer," said the Baron.
I'd better ask him while he's still in a good mood, Daria decided.
"I remember traveling to a town near a battlefield called Gettysburg a couple of years ago," said Daria. "While I was there I got swarmed by several ghosts who were trying to talk to General Barksdale, one of my ancestors. They wouldn't leave me alone and they only backed off when my Mother started yelling at them. Can you all sense bloodlines? Because it sure looks that way."
The Baron almost grinned. "This General Barksdale, was he still alive at the time?"
"No, sir," said Daria. "He died about the same time those soldiers did, about 185 years ago: Minnie balls and a canon ball."
"You are indeed a clever little daughter of the House of the Eagle," said the Bloody Baron. "Yes, we can."
Daria heard voices and footsteps coming down the hallway. Three girls walked around the corner and stopped short when they saw Daria talking to the Bloody Baron.
"Greetings, Baron," said one of the girls, a brunette with pale skin and what Daria thought was a posh English accent. Daria thought that she wore a Slytherin uniform.
"Greetings, Miss Pichon," said the Baron. "This is Miss Morgendorffer from Texas. She is a first-year Ravenclaw and I consider her to be under my protection. Could you guide her to where she wants to go?"
"Certainly, Sir," said Miss Pichon, who appeared to be in her mid-teens.
"Come along, Texas," she said, making a quirky smile. "Let's get you sorted out."
-(((O-O)))—
Author's Note: A few readers may think that I am implying that this version of Daria is the daughter of the Bloody Baron AND Helena Ravenclaw. I AM NOT. What I am implying is that the Bloody Baron, back before he courted Helena Ravenclaw and perhaps while he was doing so, had had sexual relations outside of marriage with other women. Back then, just as now, powerful men could seduce or cajole women of lower social status into having sexual relations with them, and that sometimes such events had issue (Think of Robert Baratheon in A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones). I am saying that in one case, at least, such relations DID produce a baby or two, and that while the Baron's descendants gradually died out in Europe over the centuries, he had descendants in North America.
One other thing: Daria's descent from the Bloody Baron came through her mother and maternal grandmother, not from the Black family.