Disclaimer:
I don't own anything related to the rights of Harry Potter... Or the lefts.
Author's Note:
I want to be clear, none of my stories are abandoned. If that ever happens, I will be very obvious about it. However, my muses have seem to taken vacations all at once, so any progress made is rather slow. With that said, here is the fifth chapter of Becoming Mr. Black.
Publish Date: Oct. 08th, 2015
Update Date: N/A
Chapter Five
Beginnings
(A.K.A. Everything Starts Somewhere)
The weeks since Daphne had taken the job had been interesting, to say the least. Harry continued to avoid the rest of the student body, but the two women knew where to find him and frequently did. Daphne, Harry and Hermione had spent quite a bit of their downtime together, either hanging out with Tracey and Neville, or going through the plethora of books and items stored in the shrunken trunk.
A task that seemed to never end.
They weren't sure how it was expanded or even how it stored things, but every time Harry opened the trunk, there was an entirely different set of items waiting for him. Harry himself was the only one who could pull an item out of the trunk as well. A fact which quickly became apparent the first time Harry opened it in front of Hermione Granger, who saw numerous books ensconced inside and immediately reached for them.
The electric shock that coursed its way through the already bushy-haired witch's body was short.
The string of curses, epithets and sheer vulgarity issued against the trunk and its lineage was decidedly not.
Harry himself was shocked into silence at the spectacle, having never seen anything like it. He had no idea how she knew so many words like that. This was Hermione, Ms. Prim-and-Proper herself, issuing obscenities like water from a spout. He had no idea she knew so many ways to insult something. So he did the one thing he figured Hermione would be proud of.
He took notes.
When Hermione cooled down enough to look at her two friends, she saw them looking at her with mixed expressions. "What?" She questioned harshly.
Harry held his hands up in surrender, saying, "I had no idea you knew so many ways to say 'screw you and the horse you rode in on.'"
Hermione blushed slightly, still absently shaking her numb hand, and muttered, "I used to spend some of my free time making up insults. I just never got up the courage to actually use them."
"Well, they were bloody brilliant!"
Daphne, language!"
Harry put in a request with the goblins to add an entire sub-basement and make it a high security vault under the base/manor he was having built on the island he had bought. The whole setup was extremely expensive, and he was supplementing what he safely could out of the Potter monies, but it still took one hell of a chunk out of the Mr. Black fortunes.
Under the advisement of both girls and the encouragement of the goblins, Harry used the remainder to begin a corporation out of the remaining Mr. Black monies and begin acquiring businesses to bring under it's banner. Development was a bit cautious at first, as the hiring process was slow, but by December they had assembly and repair places set up in over a dozen countries, and a dozen more set to be open by spring. With magic secretly streamlining non-magical procedures, they were able to assemble and repair items for reuse in the non-magical world at a much faster pace and for cheaper than anyone else in the market, which lead to it quickly becoming the backbone of their income.
It also gave their newly developed R&D department pieces and parts to play with and experiment on, which kept them quite happy.
All in all, it was turning out well. He was going to spend the holidays looking over the new island and manor, which should be finished by the time he got there.
Harry's return to public in early December was a rather simple affair, but it turned into so much more as soon as he was gone. It was just an early arrival to the Great Hall during breakfast to snatch up some toast before heading off to wherever, but it signaled a definite change.
Mostly because of his companion to said breakfast.
Harry Potter, entering with Daphne Greengrass, stunned the entire hall into silence. It was as if the entire room had frozen as their minds attempted and failed to come to terms with what they were seeing. It was long enough that Harry managed to get his toast and disappear out the doors before the other students could shake themselves out of their stupor and begin questioning him.
Daphne had decided to stay behind to speak with Tracey at the Slytherin table. She hadn't even made it halfway to her seat after saying goodbye to Harry before the whispers began. She was even with her house table when one of the Ravenclaw girls shot up out of her seat and exclaimed, "What did you do to Harry, you slimy little reptile?!"
Daphne's apathetic mask slipped on with practiced ease as she replied evenly, "What are you babbling about? I haven't done a thing to Potter."
The girl snorted in derision and shot back, "You must have done something. Why else would he hang around a frigid whore like you!"
Several things happened at once at this point. McGonagall and Flitwick began to stand to berate the Ravenclaw, every student turned toward the Slytherin table to witness the ice queen's response, many remembering incidents that landed more tactful and less abrasive people in the hospital wing, some more vividly than others, a number of other Slytherins rose to the defense of one of their own, but not a single one got so much as a syllable out of their mouths before the mouthy Ravenclaw suddenly went arse over kettle as a blasting hex hit her in the back and sent her tumbling across her blue-trimmed house table.
As one, the entire student body turned around to see an irate Hermione Granger, wand firmly in hand and a scowl on her face. The older Griffindors immediately recognized the look on the bushy-haired witch's face and, as a single entity, moved a healthy distance away from the brightest witch in Hogwarts.
The mouthy Ravenclaw stumbled to her feet and spun around, clumsily drawing her wand in a much-too-long process. Upon seeing her attacker, she misinterpreted quite a bit and exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing, Granger?!" She pointed at Daphne and continued, "The horrid bitch is over there, you blind, beaver-faced bint!"
The curse that hit the girl in the back this time was more subtle than a blasting hex, but no less humiliating. The girl's breakfast, previous night's dinner, and all the beverages in between decided they wanted out of the girl's body as quickly as possible, and rushed out of the nearest orifice. It was a slight variation of a medical spell designed to empty the patient of any recently consumed potions or poisons, by vomiting, urinating, or by way of explosive diarrhea.
"Enough!" McGonagall snapped loudly. "Twenty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin for attacking another student, and fifty points from Ravenclaw for insulting others." She glared at the three students and continued to the now thoroughly humiliated Ravenclaw, "Professor Flitwick will see you to the hospital wing and will decide if any further punishment is necessary." The headmistress turned her stern gaze to the other two and said, "Misses Granger and Greengrass, you will come with me."
"You will need to be near Harry," Luna stated blandly, as if discussing the weather. At Daphne's slightly exasperated look, Luna grinned slightly and clarified, "You need to be seen with him, being friends with him and Hermione, both. Defending them if need be."
"Okay," Daphne drawled. "Why?"
"Because the new Slytherins are too scared to approach Harry and the older ones are too jaded," Luna answered swiftly. "You need to be the person they can come to in order to reach out to Harry, and trust me, more than you think want to, but simply don't know how. When he makes his reappearance, be seen with him." Luna smirked and added, "And remember that subtle is not always the answer."
"What in Merlin's name was that?!" McGonagall yelled loudly, the privacy charms on the office the only reason the entire school wasn't currently hearing everything she was saying. "I expect better from you, Ms. Granger, than attacking a student in the middle of the hall during breakfast!"
If the new Headmistress was expecting the chastisement to have any effect, she was rather surprised when Hermione just shrugged mildly and replied, "Well, I wasn't going to let her get away with that."
Headmistress McGonagall blinked twice in surprise before turning to Daphne, unsure of how to respond to Hermione's statement. "And you, Ms. Greengrass, while I didn't expect the insult to go unanswered, I thought you would be far more subtle in your handling of the situation."
Daphne arched an elegant eyebrow as Hermione snorted into her hand to try and smother her laughter. By the glare on the Headmistress' face, she had failed utterly in that pursuit. She almost missed Daphne's response.
"This wasn't the time or place for subtle."
Hermione couldn't help it and snorted again, both at Daphne's statement and the former transfiguration professor's obvious surprise at said statement. McGonagall's eyes narrowed at Daphne, as the headmistress studied the blonde intensely. Finally, the headmistress' curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "And why is that?"
"Because everyone needed to see it," Daphne replied with a shrug.
The headmistress arched an eyebrow and asked testily, "And why is that, Miss Greengrass?"
"You know, you ask 'why' quite often," Daphne muttered. "Because me being their friend shouldn't need to be a secret," The blonde continued quickly, not giving the headmistress time to address the first comment.
Headmistress McGonagall grit her teeth in exasperation and asked, "And what made you believe that it did?"
Daphne shrugged slightly and explained, "Doing nothing would have given a worse appearance."
McGonagall sighed heavily. She just knew this was going to be a long discussion.
The following days saw a marked difference in how the Slytherins were being treated. The first time Hermione and Daphne caught a group 'Snake-Hunting' lead to five students in the hospital wing for rather embarrassing curses and injuries and two that were physically uninjured, but councilors were being considered for the mental scarring, seeing as they had been found frozen in an extremely rude pose in a rather major hallway.
Daphne was even more surprised at just how vicious Hermione could be. She really shouldn't be all that shocked, considering the brunette's view on bullying in general, but actually seeing it was something else.
Daphne was actually quite proud of the mildly uptight Gryffindor.
The weeks after saw the three of them carefully scrutinized from all corners. In response, Harry spent a bit more time sorting through the Black Trunk and trying to decipher how it worked in general, while Daphne and Hermione were beginning to understand Harry's aversion to attention. While they didn't find anything out about the trunk past the obvious, the wealth of information and artifacts stored inside was immense and priceless.
The day before the winter break was a very busy day for Daphne. She was approached by seven separate groups of Slytherins, one from each year. More than half the house approached her in regards to her association with Harry and how following her could benefit them. She had no illusions that some of them were only looking out for themselves, but she was cordial with everyone. It would take some time to sort out everyone's motives and desires, no use isolating anyone just yet. When she brought it up with Harry and Hermione that evening, Harry just shrugged.
"You have a better handle on it that I do," he stated. "Deal with it however you feel like."
While it bolstered her confidence and seriously inflated her ego that he would just give her free reign in deciding who to trust like this, it also worried her. One mistake on her part could send everything crashing to the ground. She needed to talk to Luna, and quickly.
Finding the girl was actually much easier than Daphne thought it would be. She was waiting for her outside the room Harry had claimed to hide in, and was quickly becoming a sort of base. The inside had been filled with tables and shelves, all covered with books and stacks upon stacks of notes and reports that were now all packed up and prepared to move to the Island.
Starting slightly in surprise at the sudden appearance of the blonde, she motioned for Luna to follow her and began walking to a nearby empty classroom where they could talk privately. After warding the door as best she could (which was damned well, if she said so, herself), she turned and posed the question that had been bothering her since Harry had given her carte blanche on who to ally with out of her House.
"Is there anyone I should be wary of from Slytherin House?" Daphne questioned seriously, hoping for a straight answer for once.
Luna smiled sadly and shook her head. "I have no idea. Motives and desires are rather unknown to me, only actions are clear."
"So, why can't you just give me a list of things to accomplish and when and be on your way?" Daphne asked the waifish blonde waspishly.
Luna sighed and shook her head, as if disappointed in her. "The future isn't like that. The further out I look, the murkier it gets." She tilted her head and seemed to lose focus. "Past about a week, I see possibilities, and quite a few at that." She focused on Daphne again and added, "You have no idea how many little things can change the big things in completely unexpected ways. Harry's was..." She hesitated slightly, as if trying to settle on the right word, before continuing, "Different. Set. For some reason or another, it was the only path available to him. I did what I could to throw it off, and now his future is as murky as everyone else's," Luna finished happily.
"So you basically decided to just throw a massive spanner in all of fate itself." Daphne deadpanned, not quite believing this damnable girl.
"Exactly!" Luna chirped.
No, that was completely Luna. If it was a bad outcome, any other outcome was preferable, even a strange and convoluted one. Daphne sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, suppressing the urge to hex the girl. It wouldn't be a good thing in the long run, the blonde was far too useful in averting disasters and the like. She was necessary.
"You were the spanner, by the way," Luna whispered.
Screw necessary. She was getting hexed.
Trip woke slowly, unable to really move and rather confused as to where he was and how he got here. The incessant beeping was going to drive him bonkers before he was even fully awake, and he was horribly uncomfortable.
He finally cracked open an eye and turned his head as much as he was able, seeing sterile white walls and a large window, his first thought was 'How did I end up in St. Mungo's?'
Turning his head in the other direction, he found the source of the beeping. It took him several moments to figure out what he was seeing, but when he did, he began to panic. He had heard of the barbaric muggle practice they called 'medicine', and he had no desire to find out what it was like any further.
Attempting to move, he found he was completely immobilized in some sort of wrapping. Panicking even more, he attempted to apparate.
This proved to be a mistake.
Leaving a number of parts behind, as well as taking a few attached items with him in his hasty disappearing act, left the healers at the wizard hospital with multiple problems and many more questions, not the least of which was:
'Why would anyone put a tube THERE?!'