Posted 2/3/2016
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This is a work of fiction, based on the book series by J.K. Rowling. Neither do I claim ownership nor do I intend to.
Chapter Seventy-Nine - Bonding
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As it turned out, getting into and out of Azkaban really was that easy for house-elves. The test had consisted of stealing a cup from the guards' room. While Kreacher was forbidden from talking about it, he seemed cheered up by the prospect of being of service. It had been two days already since he had been brought in, and while Hermione, Harry, and Daphne liked his improved attitude, Ron was convinced the old elf only did his occasional, off-key whistling to annoy him.
"I can't tell you," the redhead had grumbled at breakfast, "how much I look forward to getting out of here. No more Kreacher, proper food, sunshine... No more whistling. Ah, wouldn't that be something?"
When he had left to tend to some business elsewhere in the house, Daphne had chuckled. "Maybe we should order Kreacher to leave him alone?"
"Hmm, or follow him around in earnest," Harry had added. "Well, he does have a point. Getting out, getting on a broom, that's something he really could need."
"He's just worried," Hermione had put in, sighing. "With his family – "
"I know," Harry had interrupted her, rubbing his eyes. "But it's not like they'll be on the front lines. If anything, he should worry about himself."
"And think about his challenges ahead?" Hermione had replied.
Even hours later, Harry was still thinking about her words and wondered how others were dealing with the stress. Moody and Tonks were probably used to heading into danger and battles. Bill and Charlie Weasley had experience as well. Lupin had been part of the first war. Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could deal with it the way they had during the last war. True, this time, they wouldn't just wait for the time someone would come for them, but heading out themselves, but whether that would a difference, Harry wasn't sure. But what of the volunteers Shacklebolt had amassed? Did they have the backbone necessary to actually stand up to the threat?
Ducking out of the way of yet another stray spell, he returned his attention to the mock duel. Ron gnashed his teeth, frustration evident on his face, while Daphne continued to elude his attacks. Whether it amused her or not to dance around Ron, it was obvious how much it annoyed him.
Harry had seen enough and called a stop to their fight.
"Right. So, what have we learned?" he asked them.
Sighing, Ron shook his head. "That I have to work on it? Reading people?"
"Essentially, yes," Harry agreed. "Not every fight can be won with stubbornness. If your enemy is too fast for you, change tactics. Give them something to do. Summon some additional attackers. Blind your enemy. Use something with an area effect. Freeze the floor or whatever is necessary to make moving around more difficult. Of course, in the actual fight, you might also just get yourself some help. No reason why you shouldn't switch enemies with someone else."
"Or why you shouldn't retreat," Daphne put in. "Better alive and disgraced than dead."
"What I want you to do, Ron," Harry finished, "is to think about situations like this one and prepare for them. I want you to know when to change tactics and come to terms with them. I doubt you'll have a split second in combat to come up with something. So, please work on it."
Once Ron had left to get a shower, Daphne stretched. "And that makes three," she sighed, referring to Susan and Hannah's individual training earlier.
"Eh, they'll do fine," Harry replied with a shrug. "It's not like most witches or wizards are really prepared for fighting."
"Purebloods – "
"Duelling," Harry scoffed, "is something else. Duelling has a code of honour."
"That might be why the Death Eaters were doing so well in the past," Daphne mused. "They didn't go into their fights with any honour."
"Who do you think taught them that?" Harry laughed, restoring the room to its proper state and fixing some of the damage Ron had accidentally caused.
"So, that leaves Hermione – " Daphne said.
"She's aware of her weaknesses," Harry argued, "and busy, of course."
"Isn't she always?" Daphne chuckled. "Always doing this or that? Researching, brewing, training – "
"She does have a full schedule most of the days, yes," Harry agreed.
"Well, all right. Hermione's done, then. That just leaves me."
"Ignoring for a moment that we've gone over your fighting style already," Harry pointed out, leading the way to the door, "and I have given you private lessons in the past, it wouldn't be a fair assessment if we did it now. If you want, we can do it tomorrow."
"You weren't to hard on Susan or Hannah, were you?" Daphne asked, sending him a side-long glance as she followed him.
"Not too hard, I think. They might have some bruises to tend to. They might be cursing me as we're speaking, but I don't have weeks to ease them into it like I did with Hermione, Ron or you."
"So, Weasley's off," Daphne said in an easy tone, "Susan and Hannah are out of the way for now. Hermione's busy." The corners of her mouth twitched. "Seems like we have a bit of time on our hands, don't you think?"
"Whatever could we possibly do with it, I wonder?" Harry joked as she sidled up to him.
"If you say, playing with those stupid, exploding birds of yours – " she warned him.
"Harry," a new voice announced from below. A few moments later, Dudley came up the stairs, looking quite uncomfortable. "Heard your voice," he murmured unnecessarily as he glanced around the empty corridor and the spot Phineas Nigellus had been before he had been put into Regulus' old room.
"What is it?" Harry asked in a carefully controlled voice while Daphne sent a nasty glare at the new arrival.
"I thought, well," Dudley replied, shuffling nervously, before he broke off as he took a first look at Harry and Daphne. "Oh. I – Erm, I guess I – Never mind. It's... Sorry, I'll just – "
"Stay," Daphne sighed, rubbing her eyes as she stepped away from Harry.
"I'm... not interrupting anything?" he asked uncertainly.
"Sarah's doing fine?" Harry asked, cutting off what he guessed would have been Daphne's reply.
"Asleep," Dudley grunted. "It's not about her. It's – Can we talk? Privately?" When Harry raised an eyebrow, he added, "I mean, maybe not in the middle of a corridor?"
With a curt nod, Harry led his cousin back to the training room.
"All right, what is it?" Harry repeated, slightly impatient. He noticed Daphne had slipped into the room as well, standing guard by the door.
Dudley seemed to have noticed her as well, and looked more uncomfortable than before. "It's – I'm sorry. Sorry for how I – " He broke off scratching the back of his head. "Well, you know. All that stuff when we were younger."
"It's in the past," Harry tried with a lazy wave, but his cousin didn't seem to think so.
"No. Well, yes, it is in the past, but – " He closed his eyes. "Mum and Dad, they're..." He drifted off, pursing his lips. "They're dead. I know it. Saw that story 'bout Mum 'n she didn't show up 'n she didn't show up, so..."
"I'm sorry," Harry replied, feeling the twinge of sadness he hadn't allowed when he had heard about his aunt's death to creep into his voice.
"Dad, he would've come, you know? He'd have come if he could've, but he didn't. So when I was on the run, I looked back at my life and – Well, you're..." He shrugged half-heartedly. "Well, Aunt Marge's still there, I suppose, but – "
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed Daphne's expression softening. He'd have preferred if he hadn't – knowing she was beginning to forgive Dudley's intrusion meant Harry couldn't in good conscience brush off Dudley.
"Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is, err," Dudley mumbled, shuffling his feet once more, "thanks for, you know, not ratting me out all the time or – or blowing me up or stuff like that."
"I should have," Harry mused. "Not like you didn't deserve it."
Dudley didn't deny it, which Harry found somewhat disappointing. He would have liked going into detail about the many ways he could have had his revenge even as a child. A small, petty part of him wanted to see Dudley squirm.
"Well," Harry said, straightening up, "it'll be over soon enough, so just wait a little longer, and then you can do whatever you want with your life."
"You're not a freak, you know?" Dudley spoke up suddenly.
"I – What?" It had caught Harry so off-guard that he thought for a moment he had imagined his cousin's words.
"You're not a freak," Dudley repeated in a stronger voice.
"I know?" Harry told him.
"Or not in the sense Mum used to think," Dudley continued. Harry didn't know what to think of feel about that, but Dudley seemed oblivious to the fact or Daphne's rapidly growing anger.
"I've thought a lot about you," Dudley added, not quite meeting Harry's eye. "While I was on the run. I owe you my life. Sarah too."
"We were there," Harry reminded him, but Dudley stared back, blinking in confusion.
"What? Oh, no I meant – I didn't mean when you got us out, I was talking about those Dementor things."
"That's years ago," Harry argued.
"No, it's – I was there," Dudley said. "I was trying to get by, living off of what I could get here and there. Turns out I'm a quick learner if my life depends on it. I was there when those things came. I knew what would happen because you'd saved me three years ago. You'd have to be mental to stand up to them, yet you had."
"Wait," Harry interrupted, "you've run into Dementors?"
"Yeah," Dudley replied, looking uncomfortable. "And knowing about them made me see things in a new light. Made me see you in a new light, sort of. Made me think about you a lot, and what I learned from you. You told me about Greyback."
"I did, yeah," Harry laughed. "Never expected you to take him on, but – "
"And loads of other stuff," Dudley insisted. "If it hadn't been for you, if it hadn't been for you saving me three years ago, I'd have..." He drifted off, seemingly unsure what to say. "I'd have stayed, not knowing what was going on when the Dementors came. I think I understand now how you felt when – "
"Go back to the Dementors," Harry told him. "Why is this the first I'm hearing of it?"
"Well," Dudley said, glancing around nervously. "It's not – I'm not the one who should – "
Seeing he would not get a straight answer anytime soon, Harry pulled his wand out and summoned a table and some chairs. Dudley sat down with a thankful look, but still seemed unsure of what he wanted to say.
"You taught me a lot, Harry," he tried. "Like, what wizards look like. And how they think or move. Stuff like that. It has kept me alive. And over the last few months, well, I knew I would have been worse off than I already was."
"And what has that to do with me being a freak in a way unlike – "
"You help people," Dudley explained hastily. "Even those that – Even someone like the me from the past."
Intrigued, Harry sat down as well. "What has happened to you?" he asked, watching Dudley's face shift through a lot of conflicting emotions.
"Changed?" Dudley tried.
"I'll leave you two alone," Daphne announced, sending Harry an unreadable look.
"I guess," Dudley began, staring off into the distance, "I guess it had been coming for a while, maybe even since before you saved me. Maybe it was when Mum sent me away. She must've known something was coming. Had me carry all those bags into the house, and then one night, woke me and drove me out into the city. 'Keep safe,' so I did, you know?"
Harry nodded, seeing how it had played out in his mind and feeling begrudging respect for Petunia's decision. He ignored the irony of her following her sister's footsteps, the decision that had burdened Petunia with her nephew and had been the topic of many rants in the past, had led to her son ending up in the care of her despised nephew.
"Well, then I ran into the Dementors, and I remembered what you had done, and it sort of clicked," Dudley said.
"And these Dementors?" Harry reminded him, growing more curious by the second.
"Oh, well. That. See, I was hungry and cold – "
The moment she had close the door, Daphne allowed herself to smile. While she would have loved to spend some time with Harry, she knew she'd have other opportunities. But as she had listened to Harry's cousin stumbling awkwardly through the conversation, she had begun understanding what was bothering the young man. After everything she knew about him, she guessed he had seen Harry as little more than a nuisance for most of his life. On the run, hungry and alone, however, Harry's cousin might have gained some respect for Harry, and rightly so, Daphne felt. She could see him putting himself in danger to save others, and a lot of the hardships he had weathered had been caused by his determination to help. He had a way of impressing people, including, it seemed, his cousin.
Why had Harry's cousin changed? It was, Daphne knew, because of Harry. Dudley Dursley had changed because Harry had inspired him to. If what she suspected was true, Harry's example had made Dudley become the hero of his own story.
That, she knew, was Harry's influence. Because of him, Longbottom had broken out of his shell and become a rebellious leader. Because of him, Lovegood was putting her creative mind to practical use. Because of him, the entire Weasley family was preparing for war. Because of him, Daphne was inspired to do what was right instead of easy. In fact, it was largely because of him that the resistance was actually able to prepare for a counter-attack. If they failed, they would make history, but she wasn't afraid. In fact, she was sure they would succeed and still make history.
Feeling a warmth spread in her, Daphne headed for the stairs. Maybe she'd ask Kreacher to bring Harry and his cousin some tea and biscuits. It was as good a reason to go to the kitchen and not linger as any other, and she didn't trust herself to not rush back into the room and drag Harry some place private until dinnertime. Distance, she reasoned, would be the best way to control her impulses.
As she stepped off the stairs on the first floor, the door to the make-shift infirmary opened, and Daphne came face-to-face with their other guest, Sarah. Their eyes met, and an awkward silence followed.
Thinking back, Daphne couldn't remember seeing the Muggle girl after her arrival. Had she really stayed all that time in the infirmary?
"Err," the Muggle girl began, clearing her throat, "hi. Err, I'm – Have you seen, erm, Dudley? You know – "
A small part of Daphne reminded her what she had been during her first days in the house. Hadn't she kept to herself as much as possible? She had. If Daphne had been in Sarah's place, she wouldn't have left her sanctuary either, preferring to stick to the confidante she had – the Muggle boy Dudley. Muggle man, Daphne amended in her mind.
"I know him, yes," Daphne replied, giving what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "He's upstairs – "
"Thanks," Sarah sighed in relief, her eyes shifting to the stairs.
"– talking to Harry," Daphne finished. A moment later, she realized Sarah might not get the deeper meaning of the cousins talking, but it seemed she needn't have worried.
Sarah's face fell. "Oh, that's..."
Another awkward moment of silence passed.
"Did you need anything?" Daphne tried. "If so, I might be able to help."
Sarah seemed hesitant. "I – It's nothing."
However, she seemed to have picked up on Daphne's doubt. Glancing to the side, she added, "Well, he usually comes with a bit of tea and biscuits around this time. When he didn't come, I got curious, that's all."
Daphne didn't quite believe that either, but knew better than to pry. Instead, she shrugged. "Well, Dudley's talking to Harry right now. That might take a while. In fact, I considered sending them some tea and biscuits." Following a sudden inspiration, she added, "But I don't know what Dudley might like, so why don't you help me out? I'm sure we can find something for you as well."
"I'm – I wouldn't want to – " Sarah tried half-heartedly, but Daphne waved her off.
"It's fine," Daphne told her. "You're our guest. I've heard a bit about Dudley from Harry, of course, but he's been quiet about you. Both Dudley and Harry, I mean. Neither said anything about you."
"Oh," Sarah said, looking slightly startled. "Well, I never met Ha – Po – Mr. Potter before coming here."
"Harry's just fine, I think," Daphne joked. "He isn't one for formalities."
"Well, erm, Mrs. – "
"Daphne is fine," Daphne interrupted. "I'm way too young to be a Mrs. anything."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean – "
"It's fine," Daphne waved her off. "If I insisted on traditions..." She drifted off, wondering where she would be in that case. If she had insisted on the traditions, there was a good chance she wouldn't have approached Harry or struck a deal with him. If she had stuck to traditions, she would have tried working out a deal with Malfoy. Thinking about it, she was a lot better off ignoring traditions with Harry.
Coming out of her thoughts with a small smile, she shook her head. "Well, how about it? Tea and biscuits in the kitchen?"
Maybe Sarah felt it would be rude to refuse – despite longing look into the infirmary, her sanctuary for the last few days, she nodded.
As they walked down the stairs, Daphne thought she could feel the Muggle's eyes on her back. Or maybe she just imagined it.
"Erm," Sarah tried, sounding nervous, "nice house you've got, Mrs. – Daphne."
"Not really," Daphne laughed, "it's too gloomy for my taste. Harry might like it, I don't really know. He seems like the type in any case, but truthfully, we just never got around to do much with it yet. With everything going on, we never really had the energy to sit down and work something out."
"That's – Huh, well, I guess you're right. Sorry." She sounded more nervous.
"It's fine. We did a bit of cleaning up, and I'm guessing once this war is over, we'll do something with it. It's not Greengrass Manor, but it could certainly be worse."
"Greengrass – Is that where you grew up?" Sarah asked. Unless Daphne was mistaken, she sounded slightly awed.
"Well, yes. Our family's home for generations," she replied. "My family isn't one of the wealthiest, but we've managed to keep our manor. It was nice growing up there."
"Not one of – D-do, erm, many..." Sarah drifted off, sounding unsure. "Well, many of you have manors?"
You, Daphne thought with a roll of her eyes. "Witches and wizards? Well, the older families, yes. I remember my father explaining it to me once – we have ways that Muggles don't have."
"But manors," Sarah said, "those must cost a fortune! Even a small house is too much for some."
Daphne blinked in surprise. "Is it? Huh. Well, not for witches and wizards. Even the Weasleys have a house of their own, and they don't have money for new books. Mind you, they'd have an easier time with fewer children."
"Weasleys? Like that, erm – "
"Ronald, yes," Daphne confirmed. "Harry's close to them."
They had reached the kitchen, and Daphne called for Kreacher.
With a pop, the old house-elf appeared, bowing low. "Mistress called Kreacher?"
"Yes," Daphne instructed, ignoring Sarah's expression of shock and wariness. "Harry and his cousin Dudley are currently in the training room, talking. I want to send them something for tea. Sarah and I will pick some biscuits, but you can start with the tea."
Bowing once more, Kreacher busied himself behind the counter.
"Anyway," Daphne continued, grabbing a plate for the sweets, "witches and wizards tend to have houses, and the wealthier ones a manor or two."
"But you'd still need land for those," Sarah argued. "I heard a teacher of mine talking about it once – it took all of his savings and some of his inheritance just to buy the land."
Daphne thought about it. "Well, maybe it's different for Muggles. When in doubt, we just extend the space inside." Seeing Sarah's confused look, Daphne smiled. "Well, it's magic. Take this house, for example. From the outside, it looks a lot smaller than it actually is. It's roughly the same as the bag we brought you in here." Indicating the plate on the counter, she added, "What do you want to send upstairs for Dudley?"
"Erm," Sarah replied, glancing at Kreacher's bobbing head behind the counter. "He's not picky."
After debating for a moment whether to call out Sarah for her behaviour, Daphne simply shrugged and grabbed a variety of biscuits. "How are you, by the way? Hermione hasn't said much, and I haven't seen you since you arrived. Are you recovering well?"
Sarah seemed to weigh her words, looking nervously from Kreacher to Daphne and glancing at nothing in between. "I'm," she hesitated. "Fine. Dudley and Hermione have been taking good care of me."
"Yes, well, Hermione is quite good at that, I'll have to give her that," Daphne put in, chuckling. "She's something of a healer around here. From what I know, her parents are something like that. Well," she added with a wave of her hand, "Muggle healers, naturally."
"Muggle – "
"Non-magical," Daphne explained.
"I knew that," Sarah said, sounding slightly angry. "Muggle healers?"
Daphne looked at her. "Yes, well, I'm not well-versed on Muggle life. Hermione tried to explain it. Her parents heal teeth?"
"Dentists," Sarah agreed.
"Well, dentists then," Daphne replied. "In the magical world, a healer is a healer. Some might specialize, sure, but they're still healers and know enough to take care of everything else. Anyway, nice to hear you're doing fine." To Kreacher, she added, "This'll do. Bring Harry the refreshments and – well, go clean the dining room until it's time for dinner preparations to begin."
With a bow, Kreacher disappeared.
"Does he always do that?" Sarah asked, looking wary once more. "Appearing and disappearing like that?"
"Usually, yes. House-elves tend to stay out of sight unless they're needed, so – "
"Elves?" Sarah interrupted.
Daphne blinked, but gave a short summary of what exactly house-elves were.
"So, they're servants," Sarah concluded.
"Yes," Daphne agreed. "I don't think I've ever heard of house-elves living their own lives some place. They just tend to keep close to witches and wizards, usually trying to serve their masters or mistresses. Kreacher is Harry's elf, technically, but elves do occasionally interpret their orders in ways that they want." Indicating the kettle, she added, "Tea?"
"No, thanks," Sarah declined. After a moment of hesitation, she continued, "You're not like I expected."
Unsure whether she should feel insulted or not, Daphne gave a non-committal nod.
"I thought," Sarah tried, carefully avoiding meeting Daphne's eyes, "you were..." She drifted off, pursing her lips. "Shadowy, I guess. Dangerous and haughty."
"Where did you get that idea?" Daphne wondered. "I don't think we've spoken more than..." Stopping to think back to their previous meeting, she realized they hadn't really spoken to each other at all.
"Not you personally," Sarah amended. "You know, your kind. Witches and wizards."
"Is that what Muggles tell each other?"
Sarah hesitated. "It's what I heard. That it's either disinterest or outright malice your kind feels for non-magicals."
"Dudley," Daphne concluded. "Well, he might not have seen much of witches or wizards to the contrary. We keep to ourselves most of the time."
"Except when you're not," Sarah pointed out.
"True, but as a general rule, we leave Muggles alone unless we have a reason," Daphne explained. "We even have a rule – "
"The Secrecy thing, yes," Sarah interrupted. "Mr. Lupin mentioned it already."
"Well, if we're not what you expected – shadowy and menacing – I assume it's a good thing, then?" Daphne said.
"Sort of," Sarah replied. "When I was on the run, I thought, 'Yeah, all of this, it's their fault, they're evil bastards.' And now I'm here, and I'm part of this world in a way, and I talked to Hermione, but I told myself, 'No, she might be one of them, but she's also partly like you.' But you aren't. You grew up in this world, you are one of them, but..." Sarah drifted off.
Daphne didn't know what to say to that.
"These last few days, I've thought about the future," Sarah continued. "What am I supposed to do? I – I can't go back to my old life."
"Well," Daphne said with a weak smile, "I know things might seem bad right now, but once everything is over, you can return to your family – "
"My family is dead," Sarah interrupted with a glare at the tabletop. "Or as good as," she added with a quivering lip. "That's what Dudley said. Kissed by – "
"Dementors," Daphne finished, understanding the other girl a little better. "I – I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"You couldn't have," Sarah replied, shrugging half-heartedly. "Is there anything that can be done?"
"Not that I know of, no," Daphne admitted. "I'm no expert on them, but – "
"So there really is nothing worth returning to," Sarah chuckled humourlessly. "Sarah Moors, the werewolf. So that's what I'll be."
After a moment of silence, Daphne changed the subject. "You know, you're the first Muggle I've really talked to. Not counting Dudley, naturally, or the random run-in somewhere. My friend at school took Muggle Studies. I looked through some books, but I didn't understand it. Not sure whether it was the book, the subject or me, but – Funny, really," Daphne lied, "that I've been living among them, yet never really got to meet one of them."
"I don't think I ever met a witch before we ran into Susan and Hannah," Sarah admitted with a pained smile, clearly not as easily distracted from her previous train of thought.
"They told us about that," Daphne chuckled. "How you tried to steal their bag."
"Yes, well," Sarah mumbled, blushing. "I don't think anything will surprise me when I get out of here." Some of the pain vanished from her eyes, which Daphne counted as a small victory. "You know, when I was little – I mean, really little – I liked stories about magic. Well, most children do, I suppose. Magic is mysterious. Magic is wonderful. Magic does the impossible."
"It kind of does, yes," Daphne agreed. "Once you look closer, it does follow some rules and has some limitations. And as with all rules," she added with a smirk, "everyone is looking for ways to break or ignore them."
"Well, that's not in the stories," Sarah sighed. "But then, where's the fun in that? Dragons, evil wizards or witches, brave heroes, maybe some love – "
"Yes," Daphne sighed wistfully.
Their eyes met, and a moment later, both laughed.
"I'm really going to be part of all that, aren't I?" Sarah asked as her laughter died. "This world of magic? Without even being a witch. Just a name in some register in some office I never heard of before."
"Well," Daphne tried, "you needn't be alone in this."
"Hermione has already offered to help," Sarah agreed. "And Mr. Lupin as well. It's just..." She drifted off, helplessly gesturing around the room. "Not even six months ago, I didn't even know any of this existed. And now I'll have to start a whole new life – in a world I don't even know!"
"We're not that different," Daphne argued, aware of her slight dishonesty.
"Oh?" Sarah laughed with a slightly mocking undertone. "Didn't you say you don't understand Muggles?" She raised her hand to stop Daphne from interrupting. "No, I get what you're trying. Thanks for that, but..." She ran a hand through her hair, looking somewhat wild for a moment. "Your world doesn't make any sense to me. I look at Hermione, I talk to her and I think, 'Yeah, she's kind of like me.' And then she says or does something no one would ever do or say. No Muggle, I mean, but for you, it's apparently normal. You order this, this elf around and don't bat an eye at it. A unicorn could prance in, and you'd probably just ask whether it wanted one or two lumps of sugar for its tea."
"I don't think unicorns drink tea," Daphne commented. "They do tend to stay away from humans, at least. Or men, if I remember correctly."
Sarah met her gaze with slack-jawed disbelief. "See?" she almost shouted a moment later. "See? I can't even tell whether you're being serious!"
"I am," Daphne told her. "Unicorns tend to stay away from humans – "
"But they exist?" Sarah asked.
"Well, yes," Daphne said. "There's a herd living in the forest on our school grounds, for example. In our fourth year, the teacher brought some to class. My dorm mates wouldn't stop talking about it for days. There's only so much gushing I can take, and I do like my peace and quiet in the evenings."
"Dragons?" Sarah asked, looking giddy.
"They exist, yes," Daphne told her. "They're kept in reserves most of the time since, well, they're still dragons, but yes, they exist. They're not brought to class, of course, so I only saw four of them for a tournament at school. Champions from each of the three competing schools was meant to steal a dragon's egg – a fake one, that is."
Sarah took a deep breath. "And that's where you lose me again," she admitted. "See, you said unicorns, and all I wanted was to see one. Maybe even pet one because – "
"Unicorn?" Daphne asked, smiling.
"Yes, and you said dragons exist, and I thought how awesome that is. They're in reserves," she said, her voice rising in excitement, "does that mean there are people who fight dragons for a living?"
"Sort of," Daphne replied, shrugging. "They don't fight so much as keep them in the reserves and alive. Dragon parts are valuable, and they're endangered, so someone has to make sure they don't die out."
"See?" Sarah exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air as she started pacing. "There are actually people who fight dragons – " She waved off Daphne's correction that is was more handling, raising and researching. "That sounds so amazing and straight out of a book. And then you tell me you go against dragons for sport."
"We don't usually," Daphne laughed. "But it was exciting, so – "
"Your world," Sarah broke in, "is exactly like that. One moment, I start to understand you, the next, I realize I don't. How am I supposed to fit in?"
"From what I've heard, you've adapted quite well so far," Daphne told her. "And Hermione has already offered her help. She's gone through much the same, having to integrate very quickly. Harry was much the same. Muggleborns do it every year out of necessity."
"They do," Sarah agreed, "but do you know what Hermione said? She said even she can't always understand your reasoning or way of living."
"Our way of living, huh?" Daphne chuckled. "Well, she did see it as something apart from her, true. The backwards wizards and witches with their antiquated customs. Oh well. You're both young." Daphne scratched her cheek. "And now I sound like some granny."
Sarah sighed and sat down on one of the chairs, shaking her head. "I've got a lot to learn, huh?"
"Probably," Daphne agreed. "But then, you've got four witches and two wizards living in the same house for now. Someone can probably answer your questions."
"Too true," a new voice added from the stairs. Hermione entered the room, greeting both girls with a nod. She added after a quick glance around the room, "Harry not around?"
"Speaking to Dudley," Daphne explained. "I've sent Kreacher with tea and snacks."
"Ah," Hermione said, clicking her tongue as she pulled a few feathers out of her hair.
"Still no success?" Daphne asked, smiling.
"Quite the contrary," Hermione told her. "They're exploding a lot less now – "
"Congratulations," Daphne interrupted.
"But they're constantly colliding now," Hermione finished with an exasperated roll of her eyes. "They're not just flying towards each other either, no! They're randomly pulled together like magnets. Do you have any idea what happens when two birds suddenly find themselves stuck to each other?" She rubbed her arm, and upon closer inspection, she thought she could make out scratch marks covering hands and neck of the Muggleborn witch. "It's Harry's turn to wrestle the flock. Let's see how he likes it."
Daphne pursed her lips, debating on which side she wanted to be on. She didn't want Harry to get hurt, of course, but someone would probably have to treat the scratches he'd receive. Hadn't Pansy said something about Malfoy needing some kind of ointment in their third year? Something about getting almost gutted by some wild beast? If such an injury was treated with a salve, why not small scratches from aggressive birds?
Her smile seemed to have given her thoughts away – Hermione smirked in her direction.
"As I was saying," Daphne said, clearing her throat, "there's a good chance you'll find someone who can answer your most pressing questions."
Sarah seemed to think about it. "So," she finally said, "if I'll be a part of your world in a way, is there any way I could, " she hesitated, "I don't know, get magic? Maybe learn some spells?"
"People are born with magic," Hermione replied at once, "which is why children show the first signs in their childhood, usually long before actually going to Hogwarts – the most prestigious Magical school of Britain."
"Yes, yes, you said as much already. Dudley said the same, I just wondered..." Sarah drifted off, looking unsure how to best phrase her thoughts. Daphne guessed she wasn't quite sure just what she had been hoping for.
"Fine," Sarah sighed in the end. "No magic for me."
"Well," Hermione mused, tapping her chin in thought, "more like no spells for you." A thoughtful smile appeared on her face. "How good are you at cooking, Sarah?"
Daphne was happy to see the first genuine smile spreading across Sarah's face. "Well, I'm a fast learner, at least."
Not much to say except finally tying up Dudley and Harry's arc. While I can't see them ending up as Best Friends Forever, seeing Big D stepping out of the shadows of his father and mother and growing up does seem like a decent conclusion.
