A/N: A semi-important character will be introduced in this chapter. I don't expect her to feature that heavily throughout the fic, but she'll be present nonetheless and come into orbit of Severus and Lily first. I hope you enjoy the new characters, and the interesting twist I've given her fanon persona(given that she's only mentioned once in canon, she's pretty much an OC).
Chapter 17 Averting A Crisis
Thankfully for Harry and the rest; Norbert's departure with Tim and the two other Dragon tamers went off without a hitch and they were safely able to make their way back to their quarters unscathed. So while Harry and his friends threw themselves back into their studies and returned their focus to their approaching exams; Hagrid was as distraught as ever at the loss of his dear friend, but found that his latest assignment from Dumbledore helped distracts him a little. An unknown, unseen entity had been attacking Unicorns in the forbidden forest for the last few weeks. Whatever it was, though, surely had no semblance of honor or respect. Not even a creature as foul as a Basilisk or a Manticore would even dare to attack a Unicorn, so Hagrid and Dumbledore assumed that whomever the mysterious attacker was, it bore the blackest and darkest of souls. Hagrid still searched diligently for the presence of a dark entity within the forest, even enlisting the help of his friend Aragog to keep watch of strange forces within his domain of the forest. After a while spent searching, Hagrid chanced upon a cloaked figure attacking a unicorn, a shot from his crossbow scared it off into the night, thus, saving the unicorn's life.
In the meantime, Harry was gearing up for the last match of the season against Ravenclaw, he still devoted time to his studies—Hermione would eat him alive otherwise, but he knew that in order to have a chance at winning the Quidditch cup, Gryffindor would need at least two out of three wins. Slytherin also had two wins, having beaten Gryffindor in their first match and Ravenclaw in their second, Harry was crossing his fingers that Hufflepuff could take care of business and prevent them from sweeping the table. While Harry focused on his Quidditch, Lily and Severus kept at their brewing with Tracey, whilst also knuckling down on their exam preparation. Their study sessions in the library with their were friends were a great help to them all, although Tracey very rarely joined them. Whenever he had the time for it, though, Severus tried to visit Hagrid since the Groundskeeper was still miserable over the loss of his beloved Norbert.
A few weeks after sending Norbert off, Lily, Severus, Anthony and Mandy were in the library huddled over some of their textbooks and notes. Harry, Ron and Hermione were back in the Gryffindor common room, supposedly McGonagall was delivering a speech of some sort to them about the seriousness of their exams and the like. In any case, they weren't there, and neither was Tracey for obvious reasons.
"How are you guys getting on?" Lily asked, her tired forest-green eyes raking over her three friends in turn.
"Well enough," Anthony said with forced cheer, briefly raising his gaze to meet Lily's before returning his attention to the Transfiguration text before him.
"I'll never get this," Mandy said despondently, shaking her head as she tried and failed to make head or tail out of a Potions problem. Mandy was considered the specialist of the group when it came to Arithmancy and Transfiguration. She had a knack for both subjects and was widely considered the go-to person when one needed help; that being said, she was pants at Potions, and despite Lily's efforts, her grasp of the subject was limited at best. Professor Snape wasn't all that kind to her in class as well, although for the most part, the Hufflepuffs largely invoked his ire during their shared classes.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked, leaning over.
Mandy ran through her problem with Lily, while Severus continued to work through his own Transfiguration notes. All the while, his wandered to other issues that'd been pressing at the back of his mind, namely his issues with the nonchalance Harry claimed Albus wore on his sleeve with regard to the stone's protection. Over the course of the past few weeks after Norbert's departure, he'd been meeting with Hagrid—during which he learned that the person who gave him the egg had been cued into how to get past Fluffy—the Cerberus. Severus kept this information to himself for now, not even Lily or Harry knew for he feared they'd do something rash if they caught wind of it. For the time being, he trusted that Albus knew what he was doing and that the Headmaster was not as careless as he showed himself to be regarding Quirrell's intention to covet the stone. At this point, he still was wary of trusting Harry and Lily's judgement regarding what to do about the stone—even though Lily's penchant for acting rashly was a little more tempered than Harry's was. He had faith that his guardian knew what to do, and buried his knowledge deep within his memory. For now, he should just focus on his studies and—
"Sev, hey Sev!" Lily's voice suddenly snapped him out of his stupor.
He glanced up into the expectant eyes of Lily, then briefly darted his gaze to Anthony and Mandy sat either side of him. "Hmm? Something wrong?"
"You looked like you were half asleep there mate, you alright?" Anthony asked concernedly.
"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. Just looking forward to visiting Hagrid later," Severus muttered to his roommate.
Anthony fixed him with a shrewd look, then shrugged and returned his attention to his History of Magic text. Mandy and Lily still continued to look at him with a hint of skepticism. "You've been rather tired these last few days Severus, not just today," Mandy remarked slowly. "Are you sure everything's been fine?"
Severus wasn't about to tell her what he was losing sleep over, so he plastered on a fake smile and nodded. "Of course. It's only been the last few days, and I think it's this exam stress that's getting to me. I want to do well and protect my title of best in Potions from this one, in any case—" he nodded at Lily, whose concerned expression quickly morphed to one of indignation. Mandy seemed to buy his explanation too, for her expression lightened.
"That's hardly fair Severus, I'm not even gunning for your crown," Lily protested.
"Be that as it may," he retorted crisply. "I've been a little bit stressed with my studies, it's nothing that should concern you."
Technically, he hadn't been lying, he had been a little bit stressed over his exam preparation; it was just that the bulk of the stress he'd built up had come from the knowledge he'd gleamed from Hagrid about Fluffy, not the exams.
"You'll do well Severus, I don't see why you of all people would be worried about our exams," Anthony said blithely, his head not even lifting from the text he pored over. "As a matter of fact, I fully expect that you'll be able to beat Granger when the time comes and get top marks for our year, y'hear?"
"I have no desire nor inclination to compete with that swot," Severus said snidely, earning him a glare from Lily, a laugh from Anthony and a shake of her head from Mandy.
"Be nice Severus," Lily chided, her glare reproachful.
Anthony, on the other hand, nodded fervently in agreement with Severus' sentiment once Lily and Mandy had turned away and focused back on their studies. Severus and Anthony did the same, the four young Ravenclaws lapsing into comfortable silence as they resumed their reading. For the next hour, hardly a word was spoken besides the odd question from one of the quartet, in hopes that one of their friends could answer it. Severus continued working through his History of Magic text, taking notes where he deemed necessary, and asking the odd question here and there. By the time the hour was up, he packed his bags and his friends did the same. Unlike his friends who intended to head back to Ravenclaw tower, Severus was going to meet Hagrid in a little while, since the Groundskeeper wouldn't be available to meet at their usual time on Sundays. Once they were all packed, the quartet of Ravenclaws shouldered their bags and left the library, pointedly avoiding the hawk-like vision of Madam Pince as they passed her table and left.
"We'll see you guys at dinner, yeah?" Anthony asked as they exited the library.
"Yup. Oh, and if you could feed Merlin, that'd be much appreciated Anthony," Severus said in reply.
"Sure thing Severus. You keep your cat food on top of your wardrobe, right?"
Severus nodded.
"Lily are you coming back with us? Or are you going to visit Hagrid as well?" Mandy asked, her arms folded across her chest expectantly.
Lily hesitated for a moment, her eyes flittering between Severus and Mandy. "I think I'll stick with Sev. I wasn't able to go see him last week so I'll—uh, yeah, I'll catch up with you two before dinner time."
Mandy gave a slight shrug of her shoulders and inclined her head ever so slightly. "Sure. We'll see you two later then." She gave them a brief wave, as did Lily in return.
Lily and Severus both split off from Mandy and Anthony, the two pairs going their separate ways as Severus and Lily made their way out of the castle towards the edge of the Forbidden forest.
"So, how's Hagrid been coping?" Lily murmured quietly, once they were well-along the beaten path and away from the all-hearing walls of the castle.
"He's been sad…but he understands why Ron's brother had to take him away. By now, Norberta ought to have been the size of your average-size car."
"Norberta?" Lily queried, casting Severus a furtive look.
At that, Severus grinned slightly. "Ron and I have been visiting Hagrid a fair bit recently, more than Harry, Anthony, you, or anyone else for that matter. Ron told me a couple weeks back that when Norberta arrived at his brother's reserve, they discovered she was a female, hence the name change. Norwegian Ridgeback males and females all look mostly identical around about until they're a few months old, so the differences only became apparent recently."
Lily couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "So, all this time we've been calling Norberta a boy's name. Not gonna lie, I think that's pretty funny."
Severus' wry grin told her that he was in agreement. "Yeah, but getting back to what you were asking…Hagrid's been…he's been doing better in recent weeks. more upbeat, and more like his old self. Although I guess Dumbledore's recent assignment for him has kept him busy and perhaps that helped him forget about Norbert for a bit. Regardless of why, he seems to be more like his old self, at least that's what he was like last week."
"I'm glad to hear it," Lily said earnestly. "Oh, by the way, before I forget. Will you be coming to brew tomorrow with me and Tracey? Professor Sev thinks that you've been slacking off and he's been talking smack about you in the time you've been away."
"He has?" Severus asked, feigning aghast.
Lily's grin was infectious. She nodded. "Oh, for sure. He's been talking all about how you're lazy, don't want to show up to perform your duties, and all sorts of nasty things like that."
"He's one to talk," Severus snorted disdainfully. "I think I'm a better brewer right now than he was when he was my age."
"And just between you and me, a better teacher too," Lily whispered, grinning up at him in amusement.
Severus chuckled mirthfully, eliciting a wider grin from Lily. As they neared Hagrid's hut, the sound of Hagrid's booming laughter ringing out from behind the hut; and the softer, genteel tone of a second, unfamiliar voice, distracted the two Ravenclaws from their conversation.
"Sev, do you know who that is?" Lily asked, frowning slightly as she tried to make head or tail out of the unfamiliar voice.
"No, I don't," Severus said, also frowning. "Although it sounds vaguely familiar. I wasn't aware that Hagrid was having someone else over today."
"Me neither," Lily said, shaking her head.
"Let's go see who it is."
Severus, with Lily following him, crept closer to the hut along the path. They moved around the side of it to the back, where they were graced with a very unexpected sight. Hagrid was stood by the edge of the forest, but he wasn't alone. Standing next to him was a blonde-haired girl who looked to be about their age. She looked shorter than average, shorter than Lily at least, and her hair was done up in ponytail by what looked like a Slytherin-green hair tie. As their footsteps crunched over a patch of fallen leaves at the edge of the forest, the presumed-Slytherin, first-year girl turned around, as did Hagrid. The latter wearing a broad smile that his beard couldn't hide, and the former's features shifting to one of suspicion and wariness.
"Hello Severus, Lily," Hagrid said, breaking the momentary silence between them with his affable tone. "This here, is Daphne, Daphne Greengrass. A fellow first year." He gestured to the slight girl stood by his side, who in turn offered them a tentative wave.
"Daphne, these two are Severus Prince and Lily Bergman," Hagrid said to the Slytherin, gesturing to the two Ravenclaws at the edge of the tree-line.
"Hello," Daphne murmured quietly, nodding at both of them.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you!" Lily said with an enthusiastic smile and wave.
"A pleasure, Greengrass," Severus added, also nodding at Daphne in turn.
Daphne's lips had been pursed together in a thin line, but briefly twitched upwards into what resembled a smile. Daphne then turned around to raise her hand—raking it through what looked like thin air.
"Oh, uh—I should explain. Daphne can see Thestrals, she's uh, well there's one right here," Hagrid stammered.
"Thestrals?" Severus asked quietly, knowing full well what the creatures were. His eyes were wide as he shifted his gaze from the friendly, half-giant, to the back of the aloof, Slytherin. "You can see them, Greengrass?"
"I can," she said quietly with her back still turned to the two Ravenclaws. She didn't need to elaborate any further for Severus to understand the hidden implication of those two words.
"What does that mean?" Lily asked aloud, but Severus was fast to silence her with a stern look.
"It means Greengrass has seen death," Severus said quietly, careful not to alert Hagrid or Daphne.
Lily listened intently as Severus explained what Thestrals were, and how they towed the carriages that ferried students to and from the Hogwarts express. Her eyes widened at the faux-pas she'd made. "Oh. Daphne, I'm so—"
"It's alright," the Slytherin said with forced-tightness.
"What do you say we head inside for a cuppa?" Hagrid suggested to the tune of agreement from the three first years.
Daphne lowered her hand, petting what Severus and Lily presumed was the animal's head, before reluctantly stepping back and following Hagrid over to the hut.
Hagrid let the three youngsters inside and shut the door once they were all in. He busied himself playing host again, while Lily, Severus and Daphne all moved to sit around his kitchen table. For a time, the three of them watched Hagrid work, but Lily's gaze eventually drifted from their host to the hunched-over form of Daphne Greengrass—who continued to watch Hagrid.
"So, you like animals, Greengrass?" Lily asked, hoping to break the ice.
To her surprise, Daphne nodded quickly, a shockingly bright smile forming on her lips. "Yeah, I do. Personally, I can't wait until third year when we get to take Magical Creatures as a class, I absolutely love animals!"
"Oh, what a coincidence, Severus here loves animals too!" Lily gushed, smiling equally broadly at the suddenly-upbeat Slytherin.
Daphne brushed back a stray, blonde lock out of her fringe, turning her sharp, blue eyes upon Severus with undisguised interest. "You like animals too, Prince?"
Severus found himself nodding dumbly, heat rising in his cheeks at Daphne's intense gaze fixed on him. "Um—yeah. I do. They're…of great interest to me. I—um, I even have a cat named Merlin, believe it or not. He's also a quarter-kneazle."
"Really?" Daphne asked excitedly. "That's great, I have a half-kneazle, her name's Diana."
"Is she really good at hunting by any chance?" Severus asked curiously.
Daphne smiled wider. "The very best," she said with a proud grin.
"Named after the Roman goddess of the hunt," Lily mused, sounding thoughtful.
Daphne cast Lily a shrewd look. "Are you well-versed in Roman mythology?"
"I know a little bit, but I wouldn't call myself well-versed in any way," Lily chuckled. "My—erm, guardians, when I was little, would read to me about that stuff from time to time. That's pretty much the extent of my knowledge about it." Daphne nodded at Lily, then turned her attention to the other Ravenclaw. "Hagrid tells me that you oftentimes come down here on Saturdays instead of Sundays. Why is that?"
"Me 'n Lily usually brew today," said Severus.
"We're just taking the day off since Severus wasn't able to come yesterday," Lily chimed in.
Daphne seemed to accept their reasoning if her little nod was anything to go by.
"So—err, what sort of animals do you like?" Severus asked quietly, gazing at Daphne out of the corner of his eye.
Her reaction was nigh-instantaneous, her aloof demeanor falling—only to be replaced by one of genuine excitement. "Oh, I love cats first and foremost, any kind of cat. So like, Lions, Snow Leopards, Kneazles, Nundus, anything magical or non-magical that's feline, I like. I—um, I also really like horses too, winged horses, quadruped creatures that can fly—really, so Thestrals, Hippogriffs, Griffins, that sort of thing." Daphne finally seemed to catch that she was rambling, and cut short on her monologue swiftly. "I—right, that's—um, that's what I like most," she mumbled.
"I like cats too," Severus said quietly, but the rest of his words seemed to freeze in his trachea once Daphne's icy gaze was on him. "But I also like birds, birds are cool—" Daphne blinked slowly then arched a brow, "—not that kind of birds," Severus said quickly, to the tune of Lily's laughter. "But…you know, Owls, Eagles, that sort of thing."
"Right," Daphne muttered, eyeing him shrewdly. Before she could comment any further, Hagrid returned bearing a tray of rock cakes and milk tea.
"I see ye three have been acquaintin' yerselves," Hagrid said jovially as he set the tray down and sat down in his seat. He distributed the tea and rock cakes around, the three first years murmuring their thanks to their host before reaching for the cups filled with piping-hot, black tea.
"The tea is very nice Hagrid," Daphne said earnestly after her first sip, she flashed the Half-Giant a fond smile before taking a second sip.
"Yeah, I—agree with Greengrass—the tea's very nice," Lily added, Severus said the same.
"You two can call me Daphne if you'd like," Daphne said over the rim of her cup. "I'm not a fan of all that last-name stuff in any case."
"Good. 'Cus neither am I," Lily said in agreement, sharing a nod with her. "In that case…just Lily is fine—"
"—And Severus is good for me."
"Mhmm," Daphne mumbled. She set down her teacup and reached for one of the rock cakes in the middle of the table. Severus and Lily watched on in wide-eyed surprise as Daphne lifted the confection to her lips and bit into it without delay. Hagrid watched her interestedly for her reaction—and was vindicated when Daphne released a moan of delight as she swallowed the first bite. She quickly took a second, and a third, a fourth; soon the rock cake was gone and she was reaching for another. Lily and Severus had no words, watching on in horror as she made short work of the second cake, all the while releasing decadent moans after swallowing each bite. They were soon shaken out of their temporary shock when Daphne sensed their gazes on her. "Mmm—that hit the spot, would you like some?"
"Err—no thanks," Severus said quickly.
"Yeah, I'm still full from lunch," Lily chimed in.
Daphne blinked slowly at the pair of them, then shrugged and reached for another rock cake, relishing in its taste while Hagrid watched on in triumph.
"Told ye they were good," Hagrid crowed. "See? Daphne here loves 'em."
"They are really good," Daphne said, her mouth stuffed with the hard cakes.
"M-maybe next time, Hagrid," Severus stuttered, while hoping and praying Hagrid would forget about it come his next visit.
Desperate for another thread of conversation, Lily quickly said; "So, Daphne…how long have you been coming here?"
That seemed to perk the Slytherin up even more. She glanced over at Hagrid then turned to Lily with a bright smile. "Ever since the first term. My—um, my mum is a friend of his. Used to come here herself when she was a student, and I knew that Hagrid has loads of animals out in the forest so I decided to introduce myself one day as Elena Greengrasses daughter."
"Daphne's been a delight," Hagrid said cheerily. "Helps feed the Thestrals, takes care of the Fwoopers and Snidgets—not to mention you were right helpful about the Unicorn problem too."
"Thanks Hagrid," Daphne said earnestly.
"You mean that issue with the Unicorns being attacked in the forest? I thought you mentioned the Centaurs managed to chase off that thing last week," said Severus.
"They did. But before that, Daphne suggested luring 'em towards the edge of the forest with their favorite food. That way me 'n Fang can keep a closer eye on 'em," Hagrid explained, Severus nodding slowly.
"So, that's why the Unicorns are so much nearer then," Lily surmised. "I could see some of them even from the castle itself at the edge of the forest—" she turned to Daphne, "—it was you."
"It was my idea," Daphne amended. "Hagrid made it happen."
"And with that wraith-thing gone, I think that'll be the end of it, hopefully," Severus said, before raising his nearly-empty cup to his lips and draining it.
"I hope so. Whatever it was, it must've been the foulest of creatures," Daphne muttered—with a hint of anger that took Severus and Lily aback. "Has it no conscience? To attack a Unicorn of all things? That's unconscionable, not even something like a Runespoor would ever do something like that! It was truly despicable!" she said, her words crackling with anger.
"Too right you are Daphne," Hagrid muttered in agreement. "Which is why I insist that all of ye stay away from the forest, even if that thing the Centaurs chased away seems like it's gone fer now."
"I never had any intention of going into the forest to begin with Hagrid," Severus said solemnly.
Hagrid gave a stiff nod in response. Lily and Severus returned to their drinks, while Daphne reached out to the middle of the table once more for another of Hagrid's rock cakes.
"So—um, Daphne, what else do you like other than animals?" Lily asked, after finishing her cup.
"School-wise or in general?"
Lily pondered her question for moment, then said; "Both?"
Daphne held up her hand, then swallowed her bite. "As far as academics go, I do like Potions and Transfiguration. Tracey is the best in my class—Tracey Davis, but I'm second. As for Transfiguration, I think your housemate Lisa Turpin can testify that I'm not half bad at that either, so those two are easily my best and favorite subjects."
"Is she your partner?" Severus asked, receiving a nod from Daphne in response.
"She is. Anyways, I really enjoy skiing. I think that's loads of fun. Animals, as you know, and—uh, I also really like the outdoors, camping, fishing, that sort of thing."
"Really?" Severus asked skeptically.
"Of course," Daphne said, with an affronted tone. "Why'd you think otherwise?"
"No reason," Severus said coolly. "It's just…you don't seem like much of the outdoorsy type."
"That's rather presumptive don't you think?" Daphne asked witheringly.
Severus didn't say anything in response.
Unfortunately, that would be the last time Lily and Severus would see Daphne for a while. Daphne explained to the pair of Ravenclaws that she hadn't yet started studying yet and that she'd be focusing on that in the lead-up to the exams, she claimed that her strict taskmaster of a mother would have her head if she got anything less than an O in Potions and Transfiguration. Naturally, Severus and Lily understood, they only kept going to visit Hagrid for the next few weeks before knuckling down on their own exam-prep as well. As for Harry, his schedule only got busier as the weeks rolled by, his free time evenly split between studying at the library with his friends; or at the Quidditch pitch training with the team. He couldn't deny it any longer that Oliver Wood was a certified nut-job, despite the fact that he was in his OWL year, he was only intensifying their training cycle much to the rest of the team's disbelief. Even George and Fred Weasley, Quidditch fanatics as they were—thought their deluded captain was taking things just a bit too far.
As the exams approached, Harry's scar began to hurt more, a worrying sign that lead Lily and Hermione to believe that he should go visit Madam Pomfrey. Instead, Harry decided that he could tough it out. He knew that he couldn't afford to lose any more precious revision time between in the hospital wing with Wood's ludicrous training schedule keeping him busy. For the next few weeks, life continued in much the same manner as it had before, with Harry's scar continuing to hurt a little bit more by the day. It all culminated on a late-Spring evening when Harry awoke in his bed with a fright, his scar burning beyond belief. He clutched at it with both hands, trying desperately to stifle the shriek he wanted to give. Thankfully, only Ron and Dean noticed the sudden disturbance, they both made their way to Harry's bed in a hurry and parted the curtains surrounding his four-poster.
"Harry, what's wrong? Is it your scar?" Ron asked fretfully.
"You alright mate? I think you should go see Madam Pomfrey," Dean added, looking worried.
"I'm—I—yeah, I think I should," Harry said at last. He kicked aside the covers and gingerly swung his legs over the side of the bed.
Ron helped him up, and over to the bathroom—where Harry promptly got dressed. He made sure to grab his invisibility cloak from his trunk and stuff it in his pocket, making sure that Dean couldn't see it.
"Get well soon mate," Dean said with a tired wave. "Gryffindor will need their seeker at full strength for the match against Ravenclaw this weekend."
Harry gave a half-grimace and nodded, but he still wasn't all that sure if he could play against Ravenclaw, considering the match was only days away. He also knew that his quartet of friends in Ravenclaw wouldn't feel all that badly about him not being able to play. Harry and Ron then left their dorm room behind them, but upon arriving at the portrait hole, Harry told Ron that he could go by himself and didn't want his friend to get into any trouble. Ron nodded reluctantly and made bade Harry goodbye before returning to the dorm. Harry sighed, slipped on his invisibility cloak, and pushed open the portrait hole. With the aid of his cloak, he successfully evaded Filch and Missus Norris and he navigated the dark corridors of the castle. He arrived at the door to the hospital wing and gently rapped on the wood, and was surprised when Madam Pomfrey arrived mere moments later looking very irritated and bedraggled.
"Mister Potter," she groaned, dragging a palm across her tired face. "What is it now?"
"It's my scar ma'am, it really hurts," Harry said, clutching at the lightning-shaped scar, which was inflamed in an angry-red.
Madam Pomfrey eyed the scar worryingly. "I see. In that case, come right in and sit down in one of the beds. I'll be right along."
Harry did as he was asked and sat down in one of the beds. Madam Pomfrey returned a few moments later with her wand and couple of vials in hand. She thrust the two vials towards him. "Drink these. The blue one first, then the clear. They'll help soothe the pain."
Harry obediently drank the two vials whilst the Mediwitch waved her wand in intricate patterns over Harry's head. Whatever that did, she frowned as a result and shook her head. She repeated the motion again only for her frown to deepen. It wasn't a frown of worry, Harry was relieved to see, but one of confusion.
"Is it normal?" Harry asked, peering up at her.
"How bad is the pain on a scale of one to ten?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"Five…maybe six," Harry answered after a moment of deliberation.
"Hmm…well, the diagnostic charms I just cast came up empty, so I think what you need Mister Potter is some rest and recuperation. We'll see how you are in the morning, those potions should help.
Madam Pomfrey's unsure diagnosis worried Harry a bit, but at the very least the potions he'd taken were working, he was grateful for that. "Oh, and by the way. Those two potions you drank were brewed by Mister Snape and Miss Evans," the Mediwitch said with a smile. Harry's eyes widened slightly at Madam Pomfrey's use of his two friends' proper surnames names, but she only responded to his shocked look with a knowing smile.
"I'll have to thank them for it," Harry said hoarsely.
The potions had burned just a little bit as they trickled down his throat, but the effect they had on the pain in his forehead was undeniable. He felt loads better than he had before, the dull throbbing that wracked his skull reducing in intensity. Harry shut his eyes and let sleep claim him, feeling blessedly relieved that his scar was hurting much less than before.
When Harry awoke the following day at two past noon—he was entirely unaware of what'd gone on in the fourteen-plus hours he'd been asleep. Quirinus Quirrell had attempted to steal the stone, managing to get past all the defenses in place protecting the fabled stone but falling short upon being confronted by the Mirror of Erised. Dumbledore was alerted to Quirrell's attempt on the stone, and promptly apparated back to the school from London. Needless to say, he was successful at stopping Quirrell before he could get past the mirror, but in the ensuing melee, Voldemort departed Quirrell's body—and Quirrell collapsed to the floor. He was dead. Voldemort's possession of his body in whole meant that upon his departure, his host would die, and alas, Albus was unable to prevent Quirrell's untimely death. With Voldemort gone, fleeing the grounds, and Quirrell's untimely death, the knowledge of his attempt to return to life would only remain with Albus for the time being, although he intended to inform his colleagues of the development.
Later that day, Albus made an announcement to the student body over breakfast, stating that Quirrell had passed away in a 'tragic accident', which he had no intention of divulging the details of. The staff were well aware of it though, knowing that Quirrell's attempt to steal the stone to assist his master in resurrecting had been thwarted. Naturally, the news of Quirrell's passing spread across the school like wildfire. Although the circumstances of his death remained a secret that the staff held closely to their chests. Severus and Lily held their suspicions, but with the Headmaster refusing to divulge what happened regarding Quirrell's untimely death, they didn't have any concrete proof that his death had been the result of his pursuit of the stone. Through it all, Harry continued to sleep, only waking at two past noon with none other than the Headmaster sitting at his bedside.
Harry blinked the sleep from his eyes, yawning, and raising his hand to his forehead which no longer hurt. He slowly turned over onto his side only to see Albus sitting there, which took him by surprise. "Sir?" he asked hoarsely, rolling onto his back again and sitting upright.
"Good morning Harry, or should I say, good afternoon instead," said the Headmaster, sporting an amused smile. "A lot has happened in the past twelve hours, and I think you'll need some, ah, filling in, to get up to speed."
Harry nodded stiffly, his neck cracking and groaning in complaint. He slowly shifted himself into a sitting position against the headboard and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Albus was kind enough to offer Harry his glasses, which he accepted with a grateful nod. Putting them on, he was able to see the headmaster far more clearly, and was surprised at how haggard the man looked.
"Firstly, how is your scar? Are you still in pain?"
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine, sir. I'm…I'm alright. But what are you doing here?"
"I'm just getting to that," Albus said gently.
"Right." Harry fiddled uncomfortably with the hem of the blanket, drawing it a bit higher.
"So. By now, the rest of the school is aware that Quirinus Quirrell passed away as a result of a tragic accident sometime during the night, and that is all that they need to be aware of. Considering…your situation, Harry, it'd be for the best if you were a little more informed."
"Quirrell didn't really pass away in an accident did he, sir?" Harry mumbled quietly, almost as if he were talking to himself. Albus nodded indulgently, prompting Harry to go on. "Quirrell…he tried to steal the stone, the philosopher's stone, so he could brew the Elixir of Life, right? For You-Know-Who's return?"
"Say Voldemort, Harry, Voldemort. Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Albus chided. "And yes…you are mostly correct in your deduction that Quirrell did meet his untimely demise attempting to retrieve the stone."
"It was you who stopped him, right sir? Quirrell failed to…to get the stone because you stepped in?"
"That would be correct again," Albus commended. He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and leveled Harry with a somewhat stern look. "There are some things that I believe you should be informed of, beyond what your fellow students know, Harry. So I want you to pay close attention and not to interrupt."
Harry nodded earnestly.
"On the night that Voldemort attacked your family all those years ago…your parents sacrificed themselves for your protection. Your mother in particular, Lily, sacrificed herself in order to keep you safe. It was her protection, the blood that flows through your veins that you share with her, that keeps you safe in her presence. It is why I insisted that you live with the Dursleys for the past ten years—for they were the last of your living relatives in England until Lily and Severus came forward through time last summer." Albus paused. He sighed and let his gaze drift from Harry to the opposite window, a saddened look on his features.
"Voldemort never truly died that night, he lost his powers and he was thrown into the wind as a powerless wraith, the form he exists in at this very moment. By attempting to steal the stone, this represents his first concrete attempt at returning to power since his demise eleven years ago. Why am I telling you all this? Because it is important that you are informed that Voldemort is not dead, despite what naysayers may tell you, and he will attempt to return again. It is not a matter of if, but when, Harry."
"He could always try to use the stone again, couldn't he? I mean…only Quirrell is dead, his host—you said, so with Voldemort weakened he might try to steal—" Albus' raised hand stopped Harry in his tracks.
"If he wants to return to life once more, Harry, I'm afraid he'll need to use something other than the fabled elixir of life. For the stone has been destroyed, just today as a matter of fact."
"But sir, what about the Flamels? They'll…they'll died without it, right?"
At Harry's words, a saddened look passed over Albus' features. "Alas, you are correct. My dear friend will pass away along with his wife. They've saved up enough elixir to sustain their life for long enough to sort their affairs in order. After that, they will die, but they will have lived a long and prosperous life."
Harry gave a grim look of agreement.
"Anyways, I do believe I've taken up enough of your time, haven't I, my boy? You have your exams to prepare for, yes? Oh, and not to mention your Quidditch match against Ravenclaw to look forward to."
"I—right, sir," said Harry. he still had a million questions darting about his mind, but he lacked the need to lend voice to them now. "Will Madam Pomfrey discharge me soon? I'm feeling fine now, scar doesn't hurt a bit, and I really want to catch up with my friends before my match tomorrow afternoon. That, and I need to catch up on my studies as well."
"I'll let Madam Pomfrey know you're feeling better Harry," Albus said, smiling as he stood to his feet. "Oh, and by the way, I do believe that a certain Mister Prince and Miss Evans can be found in the courtyard after your pending discharge. They're quite anxious to talk to you."
"They're in the courtyard?" Harry echoed. "How did you know?"
Albus had reached the door by now, but he turned around and flashed Harry a wry smile. "I have my ways, which I'm afraid I can't disclose at this time. I'll let Madam Pomfrey know you're feeling better now."
Harry nodded dumbly, watching his Guardian leave the ward with his gaudy, burgundy robes trailing behind him. As Albus left, Harry sat in silent thought over what his Guardian had revealed to him. About the Philosopher's Stone, about Quirrell, about his mum and dad's sacrifice, all of it. He wasn't able to think on it for long, however, as Madam Pomfrey quickly came through the doors and bustled over to his bed.
A/N2: IceQueen!Daphne? Nah, no thanks, that characterization's been pretty much run into the ground. I'm much more of a fan of DisneyPrincess!Daphne with horrible tastes in food. Perhaps Daphne is the reason why Hagrid always continues to make rock cakes in canon? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the characterization I gave Daphne and the twists on her usual fanon persona I've given her. She's got such room for potential, I feel as though her usual tropes have been really overdone and considering that she's pretty much a blank slate, I wanted to incorporate next to nothing from her usual fanon self.
I borrowed some inspiration for her character, namely her love of animals and friendship with Hagrid, from a Haphne fic I read a little while ago on AO3 called A Friend To All Living Things. It's really good one-shot and one of the best Haphne fics I've read. If you enjoy Haphne, and are looking for an alternative characterization to her, I highly suggest you read it, it's a great fic and a great twist to her fanon self. She won't feature all that heavily going forward, but she'll become somewhat of a recurring character outside of our main cast.
On a more serious note, my thoughts and prayers are with all those involved in the senseless, terrible war unfolding in Ukraine. To all of Ukraine, her innocents and her soldiers; and to the Russian soldiers who were sent to wage war by a soulless monster(fuck Putin), I pray for a swift and peaceful end to the violence and for minimal bloodshed on both sides.