There were no echoes or sharp sounds marked by her steps in the empty hallways of Hogwarts. It was a cliché she personally hated whenever she read it in a novel. There was absolutely no reason to announce your presence, especially as a young woman walking alone through the night. As an heiress. As a Slytherin. Not when you had silencing charms.
Daphne Greengrass was in a good mood. Professor Sinistra had accepted her application to start her pre-mastery a year early, beginning to structure her research during her Owl year. Expanding her time available for the actual research meant that she could have a functioning project ready before her NEWTs, and she could start her mastery immediately after school, perhaps even with legendary astronomer Alva Brahe, who had surpassed her muggle ancestor by kilometres.
She absolutely did not do a happy skip in her purposefully and dignified walk. But she was happy. Her plan was coming to fruition. Astronomy was often overlooked by wizards and witches interested in exploring the most esoteric aspects of magic. Granger and Turpin were so focused on Runes or Arithmancy, that they overlooked the impact the stars and celestial bodies had in every single magical discipline. Sure, the Wiggenweld potion only needed the moon to be in the sky for at least one minute during its brewing, but more complex and special potions required a more artisanal and delicate approach. Felix Felicis needed Jupiter near the mouth of the Lion or the arrowhead of the Archer when boiling, and either near the sting of the Scorpion or between the Fishes when resting. Fortune, daughter of Jupiter, was fickle as such.
And people often forget something. The sky moves.
Meaning that astronomical charts could get outdated in a couple of years, months or even weeks, depending on the use intended for them. And that was an unexploited niche market for Greengrass Magical Commodities.
Daphne grinned. It had taken her a lot of thinking to find a career path than allowed her to look to the night sky for a living. And that was beyond the discovery of the miraculous beverage Harry had gifted her last year.
As an Englishwoman, she had often overlooked coffee in favour of tea, but her boyfriend had shown her the efficiency achieved after a long night of work and a cup of coffee. It was no Earl Grey, but it was a welcome variety. She was going to need a lot of that thing to survive the schedule of her fifth year.
Her boyfriend
Another not-a-skip. It felt so bizarre to use that word. But he had asked, mother had approved, and they had gone on two leisurely strides around the lake with their hands intertwined. And a couple of kisses. More than a couple.
After the literal year of slow courting (flirting, he had said, with his American accent slipping), it felt nice to have an interesting partner, who could talk, laugh, and work with her. And kiss.
Because he was interesting. Professional duellist, with a different background and a suspicious timing as his arrival to Hogwarts. With the rumours going around in pureblood circles, she had to compare his agenda to her own. If they matched, she would gain a strong ally. If they didn't, at least he had been a good kisser while it lasted.
A small flash of light appeared on her peripheral vision, putting her immediately on edge. She could have thought it a simple reflection of the moonlight over something, if it wasn't for the colour. Blood red.
She slowly and with her utmost care, she crept towards the source of the light, and she could see another couple of flashes around the door frame. The door itself was closed, perfectly sealed if it wasn't for the broken hinge, caused surely by what Blaise called The Hogwarts Aesthetic. Daphne was tempted to cast a Reparo right then and there.
With care, Daphne took out one of her two-way mirrors, and sent it floating to the window of the room, praying that no light would cause a reflection. The mirrors were prototyped decades ago by GMC under the creative direction of Christopher Greengrass, but the cost of producing them had forced the family to sell them only to a couple of close pureblood families and to keep the rest for themselves, because no other public could afford them. A shame truly, instant communication was fantastic.
Fleeting thoughts however, as she opened her eyes widely at the scene inside the room. Harry, her very pretty boyfriend, was sending spells against a blurry figure, who was casting spells back. Another figure, behind Harry, casted the occasional spell. When one of them flew rather closely to the figure, the man stopped, and Daphne could make out his face.
The young woman immediately searched for the closest route of escape. She personally had no issue with him, as he had been a professional and competent defence teacher. However, she had the basic lunar cycles memorised to a tee for the next seven and a half months. And despite her personal opinion, there was for a fact a werewolf in Hogwarts duelling at least two students, the night before full moon. Honestly, she had had better hopes in Remus Lupin's common sense.
Indecision filled Daphne, as she wondered what she could do. If she runs right now, she may arrive with a professor in time to save Harry. But she may be too late, and optimal responses to wounds and lacerations were priority when attending young patients. She was no healer, but she knew the basics to keep them alive until Madame Pomfrey could take care of them. If she was awake. Or she could try and help them take down the werewolf. She was not a professional dueller, but she was certain that she was competent enough to throw a stunner or a hindering jinx to turn the tide of the fight around.
In the end, the choice was made for her. The other figure stepped away from Harry, and Lupin lasted not a second before using the opening and knocking them out. Harry was then subjected to a barrage of spells from seemingly everywhere, as the man moved at a speed uncanny for a human. Another stunner crossed his guard and her boyfriend crumpled to the floor.
She felt something constricting around her neck as she watched Lupin approach the knocked teens. She at least would be testimony to his crimes as he levelled his wand and… revived them?
The girl, for it was a girl, arose with a morose expression and a hair so messy her identity was transparently clear to her. While the man talked to the Potter twins, Daphne Greengrass made her way to the dungeons, her mind full of theories and puzzle pieces, trying to organise what information she had.
The next morning, Harry looked at her, offering a cup of coffee with a slightly unnerved smile. As they walked together to the Great Hall to grab something solid, he muttered to her. "We need to talk, don't we?"
"Do we?" her innocent tone didn't trick anyone, much less her cunny boyfriend.
"I think we do"
Scene break.
Neville was not fidgeting, for it would have been improper. He was, however, moving in his seat ever so slightly, restless. Okay, he was fidgeting. Dumbledore finally found the book he was searching for and took a seat before pushing it and other three heavy tomes towards him.
"I will be clear with you, my boy." The elder was looking seriously but not unkindly. "I can't teach you how to defeat Voldemort."
Neville deflated slightly. The director must have noticed it because he smiled softly. "It's not a question of capability. Tom has around fifty years of experience extra and has researched into some of the most…" he drew the words a little. "Esoteric, aspects of magic, some of which I would not dare to explore. No intensive training or secret books can overcome that advantage he has over us, and it would be foolish to believe that."
Dumbledore summoned two glass vials, filled with a silver substance. "We will defeat Voldemort by being clever, by knowing him as the human he was and as the monster he became. And for that, we need to do some research." At Neville's nod, he continued. "Some friends and members of the Order have begun researching by themselves. It will be our task to organise and interpret their findings"
The Gryffindor straightened in his chair. "I understand headmaster"
The twinkle in the old man's eyes returned as he smiled. "What I can teach you in addition, however, is enough to deal with some of his adepts, distastefully called Death Eaters. Minerva has told me you show proclivity towards transfiguration and herbology"
Neville smiled at the praise. "I enjoy both subjects, Professor. And…" he trailed before completing "And Harry has been helping me with some spells. He said we could continue this year, even without the tournament"
"Ah yes. Mister Potter has indeed a bright future as a dueller, according to Filius. It would be wise for him to complement what I will teach you. Transfiguration and plants are unorthodox in a fight for sure and with a good form in your spellcasting you could surprise some adult opponents if they are not ready for you."
With a flick, his desk flew to the side of the office, a soft smile in both wizards' faces appeared as a fanged geranium sprout in the centre. "Now, shall we begin?"
Scene break.
It took them three days to settle and talk, but they were finally in front of each other. Daphne handed Harry a vial of potion and a long piece of parchment. As he read it, he asked. "What's the potion?"
"The truth part of Veritaserum. It lacks the compulsion part, so you will not be forced to reveal anything you don't want, but it guarantees that what you say is truthful."
Harry nodded. "You could have added it to the privacy contract." He said, waving the parchment. Daphne smiled. She knew her boyfriend was sharper than that. "Defining truth in writing tends to leave so many holes is basically worthless. I prefer that the only binding part of this is the privacy."
Finishing his skim of the document, he nodded before casting a couple detection spells over the parchment. Satisfied, Harry grinned and gave it back to Daphne to keep. With a sardonic toast, both downed their truth potion.
"So," started the witch. "I assume that you are not really at odds with your family?"
"Not really," he shrugged. "They weren't happy, exactly, but they didn't vanish me like a Black." He stopped for a second before asking. "How did you know?"
She giggled. It would be harder that she thought, the moron was apparently not pretending to have her same style of humour. "Fighting the night before full moon with a werewolf as training sounds like something you had to coordinate precisely with an adult. Your sister there meant that at least that conflict was a lie. Besides the suspicious timing of your family's return to England the year after Professor Lupin left." She stopped for a second as well. "How did you know I was there?"
Harry smirked. "Heightened senses before full moon. He smelled you and Al… I remembered you were supposed to be out late at night" he finished off lamely. Daphne chose to ignore his blunder for the time being, filling in for later that the younger Potter had her tricks under her sleeve. "Fine. I assume that you all support Dumbledore then?"
Harry measured his words calmly. "Not… exactly. Consider it more that we are against Voldemort" at her flinch, he smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Yankee-raised"
Calmed down, she considered his words before continuing. "So, is he truly back then? I heard some rumours but-" she trailed off.
Harry sighed. "It seems so. Some of Dumbledore's people think so anyway."
"Fuck"
Both teens smiled sadly. Voldemort back could only mean war. Again.
"Final question" blurted Daphne, more nervous of that answer than of all the others combined. "Is our dating part of a scheme of any kind?"
"Of course, not!"
His visceral response did more on her than it was supposed to, a slight smile appearing in her face at the rant. "I truly like you, Daphne. You are clever and funny, and your face is ridiculously pretty. I tried to refrain myself from you but…"
"Okay, okay" she interrupted, a big smile on her face. "I just… needed to know"
"Of course,"
An uncomfortable silence settled before Daphne decided to break it. "You don't have questions? That version of veritaserum is not cheap"
Harry snorted. "I wasn't sure if I was allowed to ask."
Daphne rolled her eyes and glared at him. "´right ´right. What will you do with this information?"
"I can't do anything" Daphne couldn't resist the opportunity. "The contract prevents me from revealing anything discussed here"
The raven-haired teen shot her an incredulous look that turned quickly into annoyance. "Don't take me for a fool Daph. Even if you can't communicate it, you could find something to do about it. What will it be?"
Daphne sighed and shuffled in her seat before leaning forwards towards her boyfriend. "My family doesn't really like You-know-who. I'm not saying they are muggle-lovers like the headmaster and his friends, but they, especially my grandfather, were suspicious about him and his motivations." Harry was looking at her attentively. "While it would have been cruel, a true pro-pureblood movement would have targeted muggleborns, preventing them from assisting Hogwarts, maybe increasing the taxes over coin exchange, even massacring them, if you want. But the focus was always on the powerful people who opposed him. The Bones, the McKinnon's, proper families that faced him and his agenda were attacked. My family's theory is that he doesn't really care about purebloods or muggleborns. That it's all about him."
"So, you want to stop him" he answered after a couple of seconds of thought.
"It would be ideal," she said, a satisfied smirk. "But I'm not oppose to play both sides"
"What do you mean?"
"I take that your family is keeping their involvement a secret" Harry nodded. "As much as possible. We don't want extra attention"
Daphne leaned back. "Exactly. I want to stop You-know-who from turning Britain into a trash dump, but I won't risk my family. If we move discreetly, we can assure our loved ones are safe even if Dumbledore and Longbottom fail."
Again, Harry dwelled over the idea a little before arguing. "My parents won't like it"
"Then don't tell them," Daphne shrugged. "I won't tell mine either. As long as we act smart, we can pretend neutrality and undermine the conservatives as much as we can without making ourselves notorious"
She smiled internally as the idea won over Harry, who smiled softly. "That means you are not dumping me, right?"
"As long as you keep feeding me coffee, I can endure your company"
The tension in the room dispelled as both smiled at each other, Harry glancing quickly to his watch. "So, the contract prevents us from talking about what we did here, right?"
"We cannot repeat what we speak here, yes."
"Speak or do?"
Daphne grabbed the document before clarifying. "Do. Its more general but safer and easy to write"
Harry showed her a devilish grin. "Well, we have half an hour before class, and you my dear, look positively smoking when you are scheming."
Daphne rolled her eyes before launching her tie towards him, a challenging look in her face. It's obvious to say that they didn't arrive to their next lesson of the day.
AN1: And an (almost) full Haphne chapter. They had been developing a relationship in the background but now they are in the front lines (of the story).
AN2: Like the others, fifth year is going to make a couple of time jumps, mainly focusing on the preparations before the first open confrontation.
AN3: Can Jupiter approach any of the constellations mentioned? I have no idea.
