Previously on Defiance…
Amelia watched her leave. She turned towards Dumbledore. "I am frankly, surprised by this… activeness on your part. I thought Albus Dumbledore was a passive fighter."
"Motivation." Dumbledore replied. "Previously I wanted to give second chances, now I know that they do not mean anything to such people."
"The reason for the change?"
"The reason is not here, at the moment." Albus replied cryptically.
"So I have heard."
October 31st,1995. Halloween.
The Transfiguration class for the fifth years was going on as usual. Okay, scratch that, it was not the usual. Unlike the other times, this class was much more… subdued. Mcgonagall had just finished explaining everyone the rules of inanimate conjuration, and despite the fact that she had just conjured a table out of thin air, there was absolutely zero reaction from the students.
"Okay!" Mcgonagall replied with frustration. "What is wrong with everyone, today?"
Whispers abounded among the students, but no one really replied back properly.
"Okay, something is seriously wrong. What happened?"
Hermione Granger stood up. The rest of the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs looked at her. "I was… wondering, if you could tell us more about this… Transfiguration Guild Harry went?"
"Oh." Mcgonagall deadpanned. She stared coldly at the rest of the audience. "Is this question also shared by anyone else?"
Everyone nodded.
"Very well." Minerva sighed, vanishing the table away, walking back to her chair. "Fine." She looked up at everyone and asked, "what do you want to know?"
"What is the Guild, Professor?" Parvati Patil asked.
"As you know, Hogwarts is the premier institute in Great Britain that offers education to students up to NEWT levels. Other countries also have similar institutions like Beauxbatons in France, Durmstrang in Northern Europe and Ilvermorny and Salem Academy in the States." She paused, "-after passing your NEWTS, you can apply for jobs both at the Ministry and at private firms. However, if you wish to pursue a Mastery in a subject, you need to apprentice under a Master and then invent or develop something new, and then demonstrate it in front of the ICW Research Congress. If they find it satisfying, then you are considered to be a Master of the art."
She paused, allowing everyone to absorb the information.
"Now, there is another alternative for achieving mastery, a practice that predates the modern ICW practice. It is through training in the Master Guilds present all over the world. For security reasons, the location is kept secret to all but the Masters and apprentices who work or study at the Guilds. There are a total of seven Guilds in the world- The Transfiguration Guild, the Alchemy Guild, the Runemaster Guild, the Artificer Guild are the four which are known publically."
"What about the other three?" Susan asked.
"The other three," Mcgonagall explained, "are the lesser known ones, because the magics they deal with are extremely delicate and destructive in the wrong hands. The Illusion Masters Guild, the Necromancers Guild and the Blood Mage Guild- they deal with unbelievably powerful magics and prefer to stay secret. Usually any student apprenticing for any of these Guilds is a Master from the other four."
"You make them sound as if they are very powerful." Hannah Abbott commented. "But we have never heard about anyone from such Guilds fighting against the Dark Lord in the previous war."
"That is because that the Guilds do not belong to Britain. They are international and hold a neutral status. The Masters who come out of these seven Guilds are internationally famed and hold seats at the ICW."
"Like the Headmaster?" asked Justin Finch-fletchley.
"Precisely. The Guilds only interfere when there is a global threat that had cause severe catastrophe, and importantly, something beyond what the ICW War-wizard contingent can handle."
The entire class fell silent.
"It might surprise you that the last blood war against the dark lord was given the status of a rebellion by the ICW, and not a war. In fact, the only proper war was the war against Grindelwald in which the ICW sent its war-wizard contingent to battle. Only when things became overtly out of control did the Headmaster, who is a Battle-transfiguration Master, rose to participate on behalf of the Guilds. As we know, we did not need any further help to end the battle."
"You mean that there are wizards out there who are much more powerful than even Professor Dumbledore?" Susan countered.
"Let's just say that the reality of the world is far more different than what we perceive it to be." Mcgonagall replied evasively.
"What about you, Professor?" Hermione pointed out, "You are a Master, yourself. Aren't you?"
Minerva glanced at Hermione. "Yes, I am. I apprenticed under Professor Dumbledore on inter-species transfiguration. My project on animagus research gained me my Mastery but no, I did not come out from the Guild."
"But Professor, Hermione gets the highest marks in class. Surely she can apply to the Guilds?" Ron pointed out, ignoring the pointed looks everyone gave him. Hermione blushed, but did not deny it.
"As good as that would be, the truth is Miss Granger, your marks on the subject demonstrate your ability to understand the theory behind it. Ability and affinity are completely different things."
"But Professor-" Hermione defended.
"And importantly, you do not apply to the Guild per se. The Guild invites you in; usually the rite of passage involves a former Master of the Guild taking an apprentice and introducing him into the Guild, like it happened with Mister Potter. If it makes you feel any better, despite being his apprentice, Professor Dumbledore did not introduce me to the Guild."
That shut everybody up.
"But Harry was hardly above-average in-" Ron began but Mcgonagall interrupted him midway. "Whether Mister Potter was above-average or something else, is my and his master's job to decide, Mister Weasley. As good as your opinion might be, the Transfiguration Masters Guild did not ask for it." She snapped, shutting the redhead off.
"Now, does anybody have any more queries? Or do I have my students back for the next topic on conjuration?"
Albus Dumbledore sat inside the confines of his office. A lot had changed in the world recently, and almost surprisingly, he was the fulcrum on which the change had occurred. One simple decision, and a boy who he had professed time and time again, that he needed a proper and enjoyable childhood, was now sitting in a class at the famed Transfiguration Guild learning things most people twice his age wouldn't even hear. An old man who had been passive all his life had turned away from his choices and cast the dice again, and this time, had decided to be pro-active in the new world that was slowly forming in front of his eyes. And the funny thing was, the true fulcrum behind this change was a man who was and had been a prankster all his life.
Sirius Black.
It had all started from one single meeting he had had with the Black. One ordinary meeting while Harry had been stuck in a magical coma, one simple meeting that had changed the way Albus Dumbledore visualized the world.
Nine days earlier… (23rd October, 1995)
Albus Dumbledore, dressed in formal battle-mage robes, strode down the second-floor corridor, his mind working out on a simple plan with which he would defeat Harry in the battle, employing a few transfiguration tricks. He would at first, allow the boy to show off his skills, something that would enable him to show everyone that Harry Potter was not someone to be trifled with, and then he would bring Harry down by a rapid attack. It seemed like a proper way to end the duel with the boy, making sure that the boy wasn't insulted by the match. He just passed the corridor and turned around when-
"-Merlin, I myself trained you a little in the beginning and even then, I knew you held back. I understand that you have been training-"
It seemed Harry and Sirius were having a little pep-talk by the sound of it. His manners told him that he shouldn't overhear, but that could not sedate his curiosity. He manipulated the magic around him a little to enhance the audibility of what they were talking about.
"-I can't help but Ask-Why? Why? Why would you even want to do this?" Sirius asked.
"Because I do not want to live in fear, controlled by manipulating old men and monsters who would force me to fight whenever they felt right. I want to go out there, and no matter I win or lose, I will make sure that both of them- Dumbledore and Voldemort, understand that I'm not the helpless child that both of them played with."
WHAT?
Does he really think of me as a monster? I know he is angry but this….
"At the end of every year, I begged Dumbledore to let me stay at Hogwarts, or just anywhere else for the holidays. I just did not want to go back and suffer at the hands of those filthy… Dursleys. Yet, Dumbledore did not take me seriously and despite all my begging, he sent me back like a good little present to be tortured for another summer. In my third year, he could have protected you himself, but he did not-" Harry was saying.
For Albus Dumbledore, it was as if, someone was throwing dead cold water on his face, waking him up after a long sleep. He had always thought that Harry exaggerated about his relatives, because like every other wizarding kid, he did not want to be away from the castle and the magic.
"-I saw how my chance at a happy home disappear in front of my own eyes while Dumbledore did not lift a finger to help me. That is why I am going to fight him today. Even if I cannot defeat him, every spell I shoot will contain my rage and my helplessness and suffering that was caused by him. That is why this duel is so important to me-"
I have wronged him.
I have wronged him way too much, and defeating him using transfiguration might just be what it takes to throw him towards the dark…
Albus Dumbledore changed his plans. He was not going to fight to win. He was going to fight, only to make the boy bleed his anger off. If that meant that he had to lose, he would.
The next day… (24th October, 1995)
"Come in, Sirius."
Sirius Black entered into the Headmaster's office, looking around nostalgically at the familiar office he had entered so many times as a student.
"Take a seat."
"Why did you call me here?" came the direct question.
"Harry."
"He is already in a coma because of you. What more do you want?" Sirius all but snarled, taking the seat, but making sure that his wand was in his palm.
Dumbledore sat down on his seat, looking resigned and every bit his age. The next words that he uttered, caused the other man to stare at him widely.
After a three-hour long discussion…
Sirius Black stood up from his seat, his palms wide open on the sprawling table for support. "I hope we have an accord."
"We do," Dumbledore nodded, his twinkling-eyes gone, "and more… Sirius, I thank you for showing me the truth. I promise I will make things right. I will even the odds for him this time."
"And what about… you-know-what…?"
"I will see to it. Thank you, Sirius. It is unfortunate that Harry is still in a coma, but the fantastic thing is that he is having his magical maturity at this age. This is… unheard of." He paused, "You do understand why it is important that you keep Harry out of our… mutual discussion and agreement."
Sirius looked solemn. "I do." He turned towards the door and turned the knob, but then he stopped and spoke back, not even looking back at the Headmaster. "I hope you understand that if you try to manipulate him again like the way you have, I will not stand it. I don't care how powerful you are, but trust me Albus, you and I will come to blows."
Albus did not reply.
Sirius turned the knob and exited the room.
Albus sighed. "Now only if I can convince the boy to go alongside the idea. Maybe it is time to clear up things with him."
30th October, 1995.
"Most people take at least two years to gain a Mastery. However, if you show progress, I might have some surprise for you, which I promise, you will love, but at the same time, will mean a lot more work than you already would have to give." Dumbledore explained. It was time to leave Harry by himself at the Guild and return back to Hogwarts.
"I am not sure if I should call it a surprise or a shock." Harry deadpanned.
"Semantics." Dumbledore returned. "Get your rest. Remember, there are no elves here, so you will have to wash your clothes and tidy your room yourself. The food, however, is prepared by the chef and you do not need to worry about it."
Harry nodded.
"I will take my leave. I will meet you this weekend for your classes. Enjoy your stay."
"Thanks." Harry whispered. For some reason, Dumbledore couldn't meet the boy's eyes. How could someone have suffered so much and yet become a person with such amount of innate goodness? He felt like a hypocrite. He had spent decades trying to convince everyone to give second chances to people, when beneath everything else was the simple fact that it was him who wanted a second chance to just go back to that evening when his dear Ariana was killed because of his bad choices. He had committed innumerable crimes in regards to the boy and called it necessary for the Greater Good, knowing it well that it was the same Greater Good that propelled Gellert Grindelwald to create the massacre that he did. He had tried to manipulate and convince his fellow Order members to follow his practice and avoid killing, when the truth was that he had more blood in his hands than even Voldemort might have had. After all, Albus Dumbledore was the one who personally killed each and every one of Grindelwald's reapers and drove him out of France. And yet, he was the one who had stayed passive, never wanting a direct confrontation with Voldemort because of his innate fear that if he lost, then Voldemort would gain the allegiance of the wand.
He slowly walked back to the outer corridor, towards the main gates of the fortress. The words of Grandmaster Flamel came to mind, when he had revealed to Flamel about winning the allegiance of the mythical wand by defeating Gellert Grindelwald.
"The owner of the wand must always fear attack. In fact, the lure of holding a wand that could win you against any opponent has made it a veritable treasure for dark wizards and reassure-hunters alike. You must keep it, tame it, study it if you will, but never give in to its power. If you do, you will lose yourself just like many others before you."
"I won't lose myself. I have enough restraint." He had expressed vehemently.
Nicholas smiled. A melancholic smile. "Wulfric, you have personally killed thousands, and besides, Gellert was neither the first dark lord in history nor the last. I am sure you will find yourself in a fight before long. You will have to fight and you will have to kill. What happens then?"
Albus stayed quiet. "Then… then I won't fight. I won't kill, I won't maim. I will accept the role of the Headmaster position that is being offered to me at Hogwarts. I will teach and educate students, and hopefully soon enough, there will be someone who will have the potential to take up my mantle of protector from me."
"Interesting proposition, Wulfric. You do know that my wife is a seer?" Nicholas smiled at him.
Albus nodded.
"Well, she said that I should say something to you. To quote her own words, "Wand and blood have the same destiny. They should always be together."
Albus narrowed his eyes, trying to understand what his mentor just said. It was cryptic, and would certainly require some private time to decipher the meaning.
"I have another piece of advice then, for you, my friend, if you will bear me."
"Always." Albus looked at him with a smile.
"Defiance, not obedience, marks the character of the true successor."
Albus nodded. "I will… keep that in mind." He held up the mythical wand and looked at it. "This wand will not kill anymore. This wand will not tame me. I will tame it."
Nicholas laughed. "Whoever told you that this wand only influences others to kill? This is the Elder wand, Wulfric. Elder to all. Always remember… Wand of Elder, never prosper."
He stepped out of the giant door, glancing at the mammoth face of Atticus le fay, as he walked towards the cave. Nicholas had been right. The wand did influence hm. It might not have influenced him to kill, but it had turned him into a hypocritical, manipulative old man who treated everyone as his pawns and concentrated on the larger picture, using Gellert's own principle of the Greater Good. He had fought monsters in the prime of his life, and had become a monster himself at the end of the battle. In hindsight, had he forsaken the fear of losing the wand to Voldemort, perhaps the last war would have had a different outcome. Maybe things wouldn't have been like they had- maybe the Potters would have been alive, and Harry would have had the perfect childhood that Albus wanted him to have. Even by influencing him to stay passive, the elder wand had made him a cause of unwanted destruction.
I owe him. I owe everyone.
The Elder wand was now safe, having sworn its allegiance to its blood. If Nicholas was right, the allegiance of the wand was always towards the Peverell blood, and if the myths were to be held believable, the wand was a substitute for a Warmage- causing chaos and deaths in the world until a real Warmage finally returned to the mortal world and held over its reins. Whether Harry Potter was the Warmage, remained to be seen.
If he were frank with himself, he would have said that he felt lighter than in years. Not having the wand, he was free to take a new stance, just like Samuel always said…
One can always choose. If you do not like what you have chosen, then choose again.
And he would choose to do better. The first of many, was to make sure that Dolores Umbridge left Hogwarts for good, and he knew just what to do to make that happen.
Back to the present… (31st October, 1995)
Albus shook himself off from his reveries. So far, everything had turned out to be good. Amelia had a good head on her shoulders, and it didn't take him five minutes to make her agree with his proposition. A swift interrogation, a sly trick of wandless magic, and a solid proof- there was no way Dolores Umbridge was getting out of Azkaban any time soon. Perhaps Cornelius also deserved something along similar lines, but it would be difficult considering that it would involve the Ancient Houses. Food for thought.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in, Miss Granger. Mr. Weasley."
Hermione Granger stepped inside the circular office, followed by Ron Weasley, as the door closed automatically behind them. They took the seats as he looked at them curiously, waiting for them to address their concerns. The visit was almost expected, given how Harry had been selected as an apprentice for the Guild, something that was bound not to go well with Miss Granger, who was an incredibly competitive individual. Young Ronald seemed to defer to her, and he assumed that it would be the girl who would lead the conversation.
"I'm waiting, Miss Granger."
"Sir," Hermione fidgeted, "I am not sure how to put this in more… proper words, so I will be blunt. Ron and I… We… think that we have been treated unfairly in all this."
"Okay."
Hermione looked up, expecting some more reaction from the Headmaster but finding none, she continued, "Professor, when you called us to help you to… spy on Harry, we placed our duty above our friendship. It was necessary for the larger good of the people and hence." she glanced at Ron, "-we did it. You told us how Harry could be under Voldemort's- mind control and to report to you, and well, he had been studying dark magic-"
"Family Magic." Ron and Dumbledore replied in unison, but Ron looked embarrassed and looked away. Hermione continued, "yes, well, family magic, but as Ron said to me, the Blacks were one of the darkest families in Magical Britain so it is obvious that their family magic shouldn't be anything but dark-"
No reaction still.
Hermione cleared her throat. "And then Harry's behavior changed and we reported that to you as well."
Dumbledore nodded.
"His performance in class changed and so did his behavior, and we thought that your concerns were right. I… chose my duty over my best friend and now, it was Harry who was rewarded by the apprentice offer from the Guild and not well… me."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.
"Do you even know what the Guild is about, Miss Granger?"
Hermione nodded.
"Professor Mcgonagall told us about them." Ron intervened from beside.
"Did she? Interesting." Dumbledore quipped. He sat up straight in his usual fashion, resting his chin over his fingers. "So let me get this straight. You are here to complain about how you should be the one instead of Harry Potter that should apprentice under the Guild Master's tutelage?"
"Sir, that's-" Hermione tried to defend.
"Yes, Sir. Hermione deserves it." Ron defended.
"Indeed?" Dumbledore looked at him curiously. "I must admit that is admirable off you, Mister Weasley to wish so much for your friend, but…" he paused, "I have decided that Harry Potter would be in a better position than Miss Granger to serve as an apprentice for the Guild."
"Sir, I don't think you are in any position to make that call." Ron retorted hotly. "She has gotten the highest grades while Harry has been at the bottom. Let the Guild see for themselves and decide."
"I am a Battle-Transfiguration Master who has been in the Guild's service for two decades. I am in some position to make that call." Albus defended sternly. The twinkling effect was gone, now that he had decided to be more… decisive, and frankly, he did not seem to miss it all that much. "I have decided that no matter what Mister Potter's marks might have been at Hogwarts, he will be the one apprenticing there, not you, Miss Granger."
"Sir, I am afraid that makes no sense." Hermione retorted, her calm demeanor lost.
"I am devastated by that." Albus quipped.
"This is about the Pureblood thing, isn't it?" Hermione replied heatedly, standing up from her seat. "I am a muggleborn, and hence I am not getting the chance. Harry is a Lord of two Houses, and so the world is falling down on his feet to appease him."
Ron agreed heatedly.
"I spied for you, I chose your orders above my friendship and now-"
"And that is exactly why you are here and Mister Potter is there." Dumbledore replied simply.
"What do you mean?" Ron retorted.
"You betrayed your best friend. You sold out your best friend just because someone from the authority ordered you to. I am not sure what it is among muggles, but here in Magical Britain, it is called being a traitor. Being the Leader of the Order of the Phoenix, if there is one thing I hate among everything else, it is betrayal. Should I remind you that it was a traitor who betrayed Harry's parents and sold them to Voldemort?"
"Peter Pettigrew sold out the Potters because he wanted power." Hermione defended, not being able to suppress her rage at being compared to the rat. Ron was already mimicking a tomato.
"And what was it that you did? I promised you some rewards and you prostrated down to my feet."
"You are the Leader of the Light." Hermione defended.
"And Voldemort was the Leader of the Dark." Dumbledore defended. "It was a test, Miss Granger. A test to check if you two could be trusted to become Order members. After you agreed, I expected you to realize your folly, but even when Harry bound you with the oath, you still tried to sell his secrets at the point of angering the magic behind the oath. Unfortunately, you failed in both aspects."
"We worked for you, and never got our rewards." Ron countered.
"So that is what this is about. The reward. Well," he sat straighter and looked at them coldly. "Both of you were offered the Prefect position, even though neither of you were chosen for it initially."
"We deserved them." Ron countered.
Dumbledore turned to Ron. 'Let me point it out, Mister Weasley. You have the worst grade among the fifth-years, and have shown no improvement despite being offered the Prefect position. I have had to listen to Professor Mcgonagall's diatribe about how choosing you as the Prefect was one of my biggest mistakes. I believe she wanted Harry and Katie Bell to have the badge."
"It is ALWAYS Harry, isn't it? Isn't it?" Ron yelled. "Damn Bloody Boy-who-lived gets everything."
"I believe that is another proof that you two cannot be trusted for the Order."
I don't believe this." Hermione replied, an undercurrent of hysteria lining her voice. "Thank you, Headmaster. We are sorry to waste your time. Come on Ron." She got out of the chair, and walked out of the room, swiftly followed by Ron.
"That went well."
Albus saw the door close and sighed. The girl was too high-strung and hard-headed. He hoped that she would learn her lesson before things went too far. Her sharp mind seemed to be influenced by Ronald's innate hatred for Purebloods and Slytherin House. He hoped that things would settle soon.
"Now, the next item on the list- get proper teachers at this place. I suppose it will be a pain to convince Cuthbert to resign, and well…. Time to execute the next part of the plan in order… I wonder if he would mind being called at such short notice. Besides, its Halloween and I could do with an announcement." He mused to himself in the empty office.
Hermione banged open the door to an unused classroom. Ron swiftly followed in. "This is unfair. Professor Dumbledore cheated us."
"You know what I think? It's because Harry is the Lord of two Houses and the boy-who-lived. Or better, he has going to marry that Slytherin bitch. I bet my arse that she and her father did something to arrange all that."
Hermione looked at him and nodded sadly. "I just can't understand why the Headmaster chose him instead of me. Is it because of his power?"
"Dark magic." Ron replied religiously.
"Well, he did change after he started using it, isn't it? Perhaps it is the dark magic that increases power?"
"Hermione, I am not-"
"Think about it, Ron. Even Voldemort is so much feared because he used so much dark magic."
"What are you thinking, Hermione?" Ron asked.
Hermione just stared at him.
Meanwhile in the Slytherin dungeons...
Ever since Harry had left Hogwarts, a lot of things had changed in Slytherin House. Initially, ever since the duel had taken place, a lot of people had changed their views about Harry Potter. Nobody wanted to be on the bad side of the fifteen-year-old who was able to toe with Albus Dumbledore, and give him a hard fight. Besides, Harry Potter had undergone his magical maturity, which meant that he was even more powerful now than he had been during the duel. Besides, he was now training under the Masters of a Guild for Merlin's sake. No one wanted to be on Harry Potter's bad side, and if that meant that they would need to give Daphne Greengrass, and by extension, her sister Astoria a wide berth, they certainly did not have any problem with it. Elizabeth Rosier had taken Daphne under her wing, and had begun teaching her advanced magics and the way she should carry herself when she rose as her successor in the Slytherin triumvirate.
Harry had been gone for a day and while it felt a little odd not seeing him, Daphne had relentlessly devoted herself to her studies and her special classes. After all the cake and watermelon, her and Harry's relationship was basically a political agreement, and while she did enjoy the little bouts of romance the two shared, her political machinations meant more to her than the idea that sometime in the future, the two of them would fall in love with each other. After all, she had grown up with the idea that in pureblood society, the pureblood women grew up, married men of potentially powerful families, and then remained as a trophy wife for the rest of their lives, mocking other women and bitching against each other in the kitty parties all year. She had known that she was the heiress, and hence, would have to settle for becoming the second wife for some Lord, and then work to continue the Greengrass name and business. At least, Harry did not show any kind of issues with romance and was rather good at it. A good man, a powerful family, lots of connections and some steamy sex at odd intervals- Daphne was sure that love or not, she could live with Harry Potter for the rest of her life. In all possibility, Harry would have gotten himself a proper girlfriend when he returned from the Guild as a Master. There was no point trying to excite herself and develop feelings when she knew that she would have to settle for a second wife position.
"Enjoying your time, aren't you, Greengrass?"
Daphne spun back, the voice distracting her from her thoughts. Draco Malfoy was standing there in front, sneering at her. "Riding on Potter's fame? I wonder how many times you had to spread your legs before he agreed to take you as his concubine."
Daphne smirked at him. "You would, wouldn't you? After all, it's not like you were worthy of anything anyway. You strutted this place the past years, claiming to be Heir Black and now Potter not only holds the Black Lordship, but he has also cast you away from the Black family. I suppose you would be interested in knowing if spreading legs would work in your favor." She looked at him in mock-thoughtfulness. "No, Malfoy, he does not swing the other way. Too bad for you."
Draco turned red. "You bloody whore, how dare you insinuate that about me? I am the heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy."
"And I am the heiress of the Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass, along with the would-be-wife of the Lord of Potter-Black. You should put it in your head that not only do I outrank you, but also, I can whip you and hand you your arse anytime."
Malfoy glared at her. "Just watch it, Greengrass." His mouth shifted into a devilish smirk. After all, the dark lord is back and Potter isn't here to watch your back. You and your sister, two innocent girls, all alone in Slytherin House, who knows what can happen?"
Daphne considered the open threat, twisting her wrist, making sure that her wand is almost at her palm, "that might be, Malfoy. But understand this, if something happens to me, Harry Potter will come for you, and you will just wish that you were dead."
"Bah!" Malfoy spat, "I know Potter. He is the saintly type. He is all mouth but he cannot kill. Now me on the other," he grinned, "I would love to have fun with you and your sister before killing you slowly, intimately."
"When Potter comes for you, you will only wish that he were saintly; or did you forget the duel? You think you can stand up to that?" Daphne challenged. Malfoy blanched slightly. "Off you go, Malfoy. You might think of yourself as his nemesis, but to him, you are a little more than an annoying insect that he can crush on will."
Malfoy took a step back and turned away, his pale face a picture of the anger swirling underneath. Then suddenly, he stopped and turned back. "That might be, Greengrass, and Potter might just come for me. But what about you? Do you really think he will marry someone who has been molested and played with, by Draco Malfoy of all people? After all, you aren't even betrothed yet, just publicized its news to the public. Potter just might deny to marry you. What is going to happen to your family then? Thought about it, Greengrass? I advise you do."
Draco smirked at her suddenly pale face as he turned back and strode away, leaving Daphne with not the most pleasurable of thoughts.
"Daphne! You are just worrying about it too much." Astoria tried to show her sense, but to her frustration, Daphne seemed to be a bundle of misery. "I am sure that Harry Potter is the gentleman we all know; he wouldn't do that. Besides, he publically announced that you were under his protection, along with that Lovegood girl."
"Yes, but he isn't here. Is he? This entire plan, me standing up for neutrality, getting close to Potter and then betrothal and everything- all of this was considered, taking into account the idea that he would be staying at Hogwarts with me. We never took the fact into account that he could just leave Hogwarts for his education." Daphne defended.
Astoria sighed. Her elder sister could be a right pain in the arse when she acted this stubborn. "Daph, you have lived in Slytherin and protected me all these years. Never has Malfoy scared you like this before. What changed?"
"That was different, Tori." Daphne scoffed. "That was us staying neutral, with Draco running to his daddy with every new problem. Draco was a little boy, plus the dark lord was 'dead'-" she put up fancy air quotes to demonstrate her frustration- "and Harry Potter was here to keep little Malfoy busy. Now, things have changed."
She paused. "The moment we took the stance to be politically aligned with Potter and Black, it changed our stance. We came into the dark lord's sight and got identified as potential enemies. It is only by Merlin's grace that the dark lord is still in hiding, or else Greengrass Manor would be a burning wreck by now."
"But Potter-"
"HARRY IS NOT HERE!" Daphne screamed uncharacteristically, "-and besides, even if like some wild deus ex machina, he would magically arrive to save the day, a lot of things could happen. Malfoy and his cronies, or perhaps the dark lord's agents could capture me or you and mole-" She stopped midway, "-no this cannot happen. Either Harry has to return, or else we will need some protection. Some guaranteed protection."
"Daph, get some courage, you are running scared and-"
"Courage is a fancy name for stupidity invented by GRYFFINDORS!" Daphne yelled out hysterically. "We are Slytherins. We value self-preservation. I need protection. For myself, and for you. If Dumbledore was the one that sent my would-be-betrothed away from me, then Dumbledore has to be the one to assure us that we will be safe. Besides, I need to talk to Mister Black and father as well." She paused, "DAMN! I cannot even communicate with Harry because of these Guilds and their blocking charms." She shook her head in frustration.
"But Daphne, surely Potter and Mister Black must have thought about it and consulted with-"
"Oh don't be such a Hufflepuff, Tori." Daphne snapped. "We are Slytherins. We don't wait and hope for some deus ex machina to happen whenever we need it. This is a serious problem and there is no way that-" she stopped her furious tirade as an overwhelming feeling of frustration pervaded her.
"GAAAH!"
That night… (at the Halloween feast)
"And now please welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor," Dumbledore smiled widely as he welcomed the roguishly handsome man who stood up and bowed, "Professor Sirius Black!"
Astoria beamed at Daphne and let out a beatific smile, as the other girl simply gapped like a fish out of water. "Deus ex machina," Astoria mouthed, enjoying the one moment in which her Hufflepuffish attitude had scored a point against her super-Slytherin sister.
Daphne blinked again, and again, and then looked back to her sister who was smiling at her. She swallowed and smiled back, returning to her meal, making it a point to look at Draco Malfoy who looked like he had soiled himself. Inwardly, she could not help but yell…
"GAAAAAAH!"