Disclaimer can be found in the first chapter.
A/N: Hi all, just as a quick update, I fixed up the paragraphing problem that plagued the first chapter.
If you so desire, you are welcome to read back through it. No words have been changed, just the overall layout of the chapter itself.
This document took me a while to write, and I'd like to know if you prefer his length (with possible slower updates) of chapter, compared to the two-three thousand word chapters I was churning out at a rate of one week per chapter.
I also increased the time spent on one character, to appease the few reviewers that complained that the story was bouncing around too much. I hope this chapter helps!
Oh, and I attempted to add a little humour. Love it/hate it, please let me know.
Anyway, onwards with the story!
0o000ooo0o0o000ooo0o0o00o0o0o
Harry stood. He looked at his fallen foe, grasping his arm tightly, before activating his emergency portkey, hidden in his talisman necklace.
It deposited both combatants into Sirius' living room, where the mad godfather guffawed loudly. Harry placed the talisman back on the necklace, but not before admiring the craftsmanship of it. It was a gold piece, crafted into the likeness of a griffin, with two tiger eye gems as the eyes, and a piece of purple obsidian in the stomach of the griffin. The Potter Family talisman, depicting the protector animal. Harry let the man slump to the ground, his face twitching with amusement at Sirius' mirth.
It was another fifteen minutes of impatience (from Harry) until the mirth died down.
"What did you do the poor man?" Sirius enquired.
"Oh nothing too serious," replied Harry, snorting, "Just a stunner."
"Bullshit!"
"Stop being such a child, Siri, even I, at eleven have far more maturity than you," Harry loftily replied, before being tackled and tickled by aforementioned Siri.
They rolled around on the ground, with the boy able to fend off the much older man. Of course, Harry just had to bait Sirius, but the play wrestling stopped when the other occupant shifted and groaned. Sirius looked only slightly concerned. He had, after all, watched the match between the combatants.
Harry raised his head curiously, as if to inspect the man. He was greeted by the sight of the golden eyes, which registered surprise and embarrassment, along with a myriad of other emotions. Harry went airborne. Sirius grunted from the exertion of kicking the young boy off him, flipped a two fingered salute at the Boy-Who-Flew, and ambled over to the man.
"Well Remus, it certainly has been some time since I saw you last" declared Sirius. Remus, for that was who the ex-assailant was, looked back at him with something akin to relief.
"Hello Padfoot. Indeed it has been a while. I myself still wonder at your cheek, undermining old Dumbles all those years ago, and even sneaking off young Prongslet here" Remus replied. Sirius chuckled.
"There's quite a lot you don't know Moony. Scratch that. There's a shit ton you've got no idea about. How does a scotch sound?" Sirius asked, while glancing at Harry, who was also looking bewildered.
"Who in Morgana's tits are you," demanded the 11-year-old, "and why are you even here?"
Sirius turned to the boy, placating him with a gentle smile. "Well, it seems like even Harry has a lot to learn, that I haven't started upon. Say hello to your new defence and duelling instructor, Harry."
Remus smiled.
00oOOoo0o000ooO0o0oo0o
The girl shifted in her bed slightly, waking up as the sunlight permeated through her room. Rays of sun illuminated her slightly tanned skin. Her eyes opened sleepily, and she blinked, attempting to clear her head from the drowsiness. That all evaporated when a dark blonde missile entered the bedroom, jumping on the once sleeping mass encased in sheets like a cocoon.
"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Haaaappppyyy Biirrtthhddaaaaayy dear Daphneeeeee! Happy Birthday to you" sang an overjoyed voice.
"Stori, it's way too early in the morning for you to be jumping around" grumbled Daphne to her younger sister, Astoria.
"Is not" argued Astoria.
"Is too"
"Is not"
"Is not"
"Is too" stated Astoria.
Daphne giggled as Astoria blinked. And blinked again.
"No fair, Daph. That was a sly move."
Daphne giggled again at her sister's antics. She sobered up quickly. She loved her sister very much and Daphne would move the world for her, if asked. Her sister's voice penetrated her thoughts.
"So what are you dooooing today Daph?" she asked, dragging out the vowel, "Anything interesting?" she inquired again, winking.
Daphne blushed.
"Nothing, dear Stori, apart from attempting to get away from you!"
With a flourish of the sheets, Daphne sent her sister flying off the bed, where she landed on the soft carpet.
"Argh, Daph!" she complained, "do you have to be so forceful?"
Daphne smirked.
"Well, considering I am going out today, and rather soon…" she left the sentence hanging.
Astoria pouted, hands on her hips, and pulled an innocent looking expression. How she managed all of that is beyond Daphne. She laughed, a warmth filled laugh.
Daniel Greengrass strode into the room. It fell silent, as he cast his gaze around. Daphne swallowed involuntarily. He glared at Astoria especially. Astoria gulped, Daphne swore later that she could've heard her gulp in the dead silence of the room. Daniel moved forward, with the impassive, bordering upon angry, facade. When he was roughly a metre from his eldest daughter, his face split into a wide, beaming smile, as he scooped up Daphne, and performed his own rendition of Happy Birthday.
Daphne laughed. She had been scared of her father when he had once entered the room, as it was the face he wore when a family member had done something wrong, or he was deeply disappointed. She swatted him playfully on the back of his head, while simultaneously demanding that he put her down. Astoria giggled at their antics, before scrabbling downstairs to meet the Lady of the House.
Daphne took the opportunity to just talk to her Dad, a rare occurrence these days due to the work that he was taking on, with the family business in both Australia and England, and his continued work into politics.
"Father, where have you been the last few days?" she inquired.
Daniel shook his head slowly. "I cannot tell you little one, let's just say that I had … a little confrontation with a family trying to muscle into our business in England, and leave it at that."
Daphne sighed. "Father," she continued, pressing for answers, "you know that I need to understand the workings of the business, for when I come of age. That means that I will have to understand how you deal with … troublesome customers, and other various areas, to keep the business growing and functioning." She looked at him in the eyes, seeing the sadness and pain within the brown orbs. She reached up and stroked his hair, running her had through strays bits of silver, that dotted the otherwise undulating black hair.
He mock glared at her. "Another time," he stated firmly, "today is your special day, and I do not wish to spoil it." He stopped glaring, and offered Daphne a tentative smile. She turned, and walked into the walk-in-wardrobe, holding her nose in the air, sniffing for effect. Daniel sighed, and turning, opened the door, and made his way downstairs into the kitchen, following the delicious scents his nose could detect.
00o00oo00o0o0o0o0o
A full half hour later, Daphne waltzed into the kitchen. She had on a smart, yet casual sapphire coloured dress, reaching just past her knees. Little sequins were sewed into the material, on her shoulders and around the neck-line, catching the natural light spilling into the room. Her eyes sparkled with undisguised happiness as she surveyed the room. The house elves were busy cleaning the kitchen, returning it to its spotless state before they had cooked up a storm from breakfast.
She meandered through a side door, down to the dining room. She stood still for a minute, just observing the occupants in the room. They were seated around a modest 6 person, mahogany table, with enough food laid upon it that Daphne imagined that she could hear it groaning with effort. Unfortunately for her, Astoria had decided it would be absolutely hilarious to set up a muggle prank on the person to next enter the room. It consisted of a bucket of water being balanced on top of the door, with the idea being that it would dump water upon the next person to walk through. Both Hermera and Daniel had noticed the prank, and exercised precaution when entering the room. They had both left the prank active, after passing through.
As Daphne pushed open the door to see the rest of the room, and her family, the bucket toppled over and water cascaded from the top of the door. Daphne, having no idea what was happening at all, raised her hand to shield herself from the water which was rushing toward her. She waited a moment, before raising her head warily, expecting to feel the coldness of water soaking through her clothes. It never happened. She raised her eyes, meeting her mother's blue eyes, conveying a look of shock and utter surprise. Her mother looked at a spot just above Daphne's head. Daphne raised her eyes heavenward. What met her blue orbs was a sight to behold. The water had completely frozen against the door and against each molecule.
There were no stray drops or anything, just a mass of ice. Daphne moved out from underneath it, glaring death at her sister, who was the only member of the family immature enough to enact the prank. She glanced over to her father, with a thank you on the tip of her tongue, when she noticed he too was regarding the ice sculpture, without his wand in hand. Daphne shivered, and she was pretty sure it wasn't caused by the cold radiating from the ice, but rather from her. Well, to clarify, the temperature that started at her magical core, then spreading throughout her body, before radiating from her body, through her clothes and interacting with the immediate environment. Astoria's glass of orange juice froze, then the glass cracked like a gunshot, startling everybody.
Daniel was the first to respond, who started by casting heating charms everywhere, in order to raise the temperature a little. Hermera shook herself out of her stupor, and ran to her eldest child, grabbing her around the waist.
She shouted out to Daniel, "I'm taking her to Aceso's!"
Daniel nodded, as his wife and eldest daughter disapparated with a pop, to the Australian Wizarding Hospital, Aceso's.
00o0o0o000oo0o
The two Greengrass females landed with a muted pop, as they fell a few inches to the ground, from a mistimed apparition. Hermera roughly grabbed her daughter and shuttled her past the dingy looking magical front for the hospital. Daphne got little time to scrutinize the disguise, noticing the cracked windows, mould growing in cracks between bricks and a few moth eaten rags hanging off some mannequins situated in the windows. She stumbled slightly as her mother shoved her through the dilapidated building's full length window that was missing a pane. A cool trickle of magic passed through her, and she widened her eyes comically.
The reception area of the hospital was nothing like she had imagined. Daphne had envisioned some sort of white walls, white ceiling with a pristine marble floor. She also imagined that there would be lots of people sitting in chairs waiting for their turn while busy receptionists barely coped with the influx of people, with nurses bustling around and ordering patients into rooms. None of this was remotely true.
She firstly noticed the bright colours of the walls that bordered upon an eyesore. A mural was plastered against the far wall, depicting the evolution of the art of magical healing. Off to the left, secluded in one corner, was a small child's play ground, where a few parents gathered, watching their child having a ball. Daphne particularly noticed the red slide that seemed to be the centre of attention for 4 young children, who could not be over the age of 3. She smiled softly. She turned her attention to the rest of the foyer. There were minimalist amount of chairs, which were also unoccupied, and there was a conspicuous absence of nurses rushing around.
It was actually the statue, combined with fountain, in the middle of the foyer that really captivated Daphne's attention. It was a wizard crooning over a smaller baby, with the wizard's wand pointed at the baby's forehead. Water trickled out of the end of the wand and onto the baby, cascading into a pool at the feet of the statue. The black marble, which it was sculptured from, highlighted the water's movements. Daphne wrenched her eyes away from the statue, and focussed upon the receptionists, and her mother who was currently dealing with them. She listened in to the conversation between both parties.
"… I don't care if there isn't a room specialised enough, she needs to be admitted immediately. There must be something wrong with her. No child, at age 11, can harness their inner magic wandlessly, especially at that level. I'm telling you that it was no accidental magic!"
"Ma'am, it is not that we don't believe you, the problem is that we have no available rooms that would be uniquely suited to your daughter. We can place her in a holding room, until a magic suppression room becomes available, but that will cost you more than the usual rate" the receptionist stated, trying to placate the irate Lady Greengrass.
Daphne turned her head away, hiding the tears that sprang to her eyes. She was confused about the fuss, but her mother was treating her like dirt when dealing with the hospital. She felt the tears harden against her face, and felt the cool caress of the now icy tears fall off her face. Her mother's shouting interrupted her relaxation.
"She is an abomination. No child can control the water and freeze it into ice without training. It wasn't accidental magic as it kept affecting the room. It is unnatural. Admit her at once!"
Daphne felt her fingertips flare, along with her anger. She cringed inwardly, cursing her mother for hanging onto her stupid pure-blooded ideals, and hate of anything remotely "unnatural". Her anger flared even more, her fingertips fluctuating rapidly. She noticed that it wasn't an inferno of anger, more like a cold, blizzard-like anger, seeping through her normally calm exterior. At that moment, she hated her mother. Her heart hardened as she thought of her father's reaction as well. It was of suspicion and loathing that he glared at her after the glass broke. Coldness wrapped around her heart, suppressing her emotions, hardening her expressions, giving her a haughty look.
She turned back around, assessing her mother, who was still engaged with the receptionist. Her mind whispered to her, like a cool breeze, 'This was not how my birthday was supposed to turn out like.' She laughed quietly to herself. It wasn't a nice laugh. One of the children playing in the corner looked at her, shivered and looked quickly away. Her body started radiating pure coldness, freezing the statue in place. She looked at it in anger, reminding her of a story that her mother once told her. She shut the emotions associated with her mother away, and concentrated on the story.
She marched quickly up to the statue and placed her palm against the child. The ice dropped into the basin. Daphne thought hard. The statue started to shift and change. She looked up, watching the black marble ripple beneath her fingers, moulding into her desire. After a few minutes, she backed away. No longer did the wizard have a loving look on his face, instead a leer twisted his otherwise handsome face. The child looked impassively up at the wizard, without any trace of fear, happiness or pain. The water flowed from the wand again, but instead of simply washing over the child, it disappeared into a rune on the baby's forehead. Daphne admired the handiwork. She internally frowned. 'Since when had she been able to perform transmutation?' she wondered. She couldn't place why she had included the rune on the baby, but it felt right, a sort of connection between her and the statue.
She had initially shaped it to be of a baby Neville Longbottom, who England called "The Boy Who Lived" based upon her mother's stories, but it had changed during the transmutation, so it no longer reflected the Longbottom Heir. With the beginnings of messy hair, it would never resemble Neville. Especially with the distinction of a rune on the forehead, which was curiously shaped like a lightning bolt.
00oo0o0o0o0o0o0o00o
Daphne disappeared from one aisle to the next, skating over the unimportant muggle cosmetics. How muggles put up with the disgusting things she would never know, or understand. Gah! She was secretly pleased that Hermera (that was what she was called in Daphne's mind now, not mother) had invented some excuse to leave Daphne to shop by herself.
Daphne exited the muggle department store, and made her way out onto the busy beach, lined with trees, concrete paths, sand, and of course, people. Daphne inwardly cringed as she saw one drunken Australian trip and fall over, knocking his head on a tap secured to a post. 'That would've hurt' she thought. She ambled along following the path, magical backpack storing all the items she had already bought with the confusing muggle money.
'Notes and coins, c'mon, not even solid metal coins either, and the notes were just jokes'. Honestly, one could use one of those newfangled muggle printers and print off a couple of the notes. 'Flimsy pieces of paper' she snorted.
She found the Beach Cafe, and entered it slowly, scanning her immediate environment with her magical aura, something that she had discovered quite recently. Satisfied with the check, and no wizard was following her, she made her way into Meyer's avenue. Upon entering the avenue, she quickly ducked to the side, and straightened her dress. Mentally cataloguing all the items she would need to buy, she started to head down a side alley. First stop: A wand.
00o0oo0oo0o0o0o
"Wait here missus, I'll 'ead out back and grab a coupla things" said the store owner to Daphne. She took the time and gazed around at the room. Although interesting to the normal person, the jars of wand cores that lined the walls did not interest her in the least. She was a woman on a mission.
Flint, the store owner, came heavily recommended as a wand-maker to Daniel Greengrass, who in turn, told his daughters. Daphne took it to heart, and found herself walking down a dingy, dirty alley, with few visitors. Shadows had overhung corners, hiding things that could have been situated there. Once, she could have sworn she saw purple eyes following her, the luminescent orbs fixated upon her, permeating the shadows, creeping her out, so she had hurried on to find Flint's Wand Crafters.
Flint returned holding several boxes stacked upon each other. He gently spread them out on the bench. "Now miss, all you have to do is follow yar magic, feel what wood is right. That will tell me what wood your wand needs to be crafted from. Don't worry if ya feel more than one connection. Point out each wood ya find a connection to, please" Flint stated, gesturing to the now open boxes. Daphne peered at the all.
"Do I pick them up, or…?" Daphne asked
"Nar, just wave ya hand over the top."
Doing so, Daphne felt rather foolish. She couldn't feel a damn thing.
Sighing, she looked up at Flint, who was regarding her with a somewhat questioning gaze. "I can't feel anything" she stated.
Flint looked utterly taken back. Clearing his throat he moved into the next room, gesturing for Daphne to follow. She opened her mouth to ask him a question, but he made a shushing gesture. Motioning her forward, she took steps into the grand room, regarding it with ill-concealed curiosity. The room was bathed in an ethereal light, stemming from an ancient moonstone hanging from the ceiling. What caught her attention though, was the man bending over a workbench, directly below the stone, crafting a long piece of wood.
Several silvery instruments hovered around the man, quickly nipping in and making incisions, then ducking out of the way. He pulled out his wand, moving the workbench into a corner, then faced Daphne.
"Good afternoon" he said, "I must say that I have been expecting you, young Daphne. Welcome to my new temporary home. You would have many questions to ask me, I would guess."
Daphne took a moment, after being utterly shocked at the man's casual acquaintance with her name, or rather flattered that he would know of her. "Who are you?" she finally asked.
The man chuckled. "Ahh, the innocence of youth," he mused, "How did I guess you were to ask this question? I, Daphne, am Nicolas Flamel. Perhaps you have heard of me?"
Daphne actually took a step back in shock. Nicolas' dark locks mostly covered his face, but he emitted an aura of a powerful wizard, so she believed him.
"I see that you have, child. As nice as it may be to talk to you, you are obviously in need of a wand. I am guessing that none of the sample woods resonated to your magic?" Flamel directed the question at Flint.
Both Daphne and Flint shook their heads.
Flamel continued "I will return with some more, exotic, woods, and you shall perform the same procedure as before."
He turned and disappeared into a small doorway, almost invisible against the dark shadow from the bookcase next to it. Flamel returned quickly, and set down a singular box, with a bit of a flourish. He prised open the lid, and beckoned to Daphne. She obeyed, and waved her hand over the top of woods. Immediately, she found a connection to two different woods. She pointed at them, and Flamel quickly removed them, and studied them both.
"Interesting."
Daphne quirked her eyebrow, but left her question unsaid. Motioning her over to the wand cores, Flamel opened the cabinet, and told Daphne to repeat the process that she did with the woods. Again, waving her hand, Daphne went to point at a core, but stopped. She then pointed at two, then additional one. Flamel's eyebrows rocketed skywards, but he didn't comment on the three cores.
"Acacia and Aspen Woods, combined with Dragon Heartstring, Ice Wyvern Scales and a Demiguise Hair. Interesting. Acacia wood is known for being a very powerful wood, yet best for subtle magics, and Aspen wood is used for exemplary duellists. Dragon Heartstring is excellent for use in duelling and is favoured by duellists, Ice Wyvern Scales are interesting as they harmonise with Water/Ice Elementalists and are known to be excellent for Dark Arts. Demiguise Hair has an amazing affinity for Transfiguration and they harmonise with Earth Elementalists."
"I think, young Daphne, you are going to be an exceptional witch. The person who crosses yourself, will rue the day they met you" Flamel joked.
"Firstly, how much will this cost, and secondly, how long will it take to make?" Daphne asked.
Flamel replied "No more than 2 hours. For you, that will be…"
"On the house" finished a deep, baritone voice.
Flamel and Daphne both jerked their heads around to study the intruder. Flint had disappeared.
"Uh, thank you, sir" Daphne managed to say, before rushing out of the room, leaving Flamel and the stranger together, both wearing an amused expression.
Flamel turned to the man. "Just who are you?" he asked.
"Why, don't you recognise me, Master Flamel?" the man mocked, placing stress on the word Master.
Flamel's eyes grew wide.
00ooo0o0oo000oo0o0o0
Daphne returned to Flint's after three hours, after completing the rest of her shopping. She was unburdened by the results of the shopping trip due to the kindness of most store-keepers, and her magical backpack. She idly thought 'Better not ever leave my lunch in the backpack. It would stink, and I'd never be able to find it.' Chuckling quietly to herself, she pushed on the wooden door, not bothering to knock, reasoning after an extra hour, Flint would be still expecting her, if not Flamel himself.
The door was roughly wrenched out of her hands. Inside the doorway stood a man with shaggy black hair. His grey eyes pierced hers. Aristocratic, high cheekboned face scrutinised young, unmarred aristocratic face. He grabbed her shoulders and ushered/dragged her inside. He practically growled at her.
"What do you think you're doing, missy?"
She answered him, her nervousness belied by her eyes, "Getting my wand, sir."
"Wrong answer."
She floundered for a moment, searching for answer that may let her regain possession of her shoulders. She inhaled. Bad move. The man's breath stank of stale Firewhiskey. That and his stately moustache. She wrinkled her nose, meeting the man's eyes, which were portraying the start of anxiousness and impatience.
"Uh, hoping that I would be able to collect my wand from Master Flamel, sir. Please, believe me, it's the truth," said Daphne adding the last sentence when she saw the man's eyes tighten.
That seemed to mollify the man.
"And what is your name, missus? Your real name?" he pressed.
She blinked. "Daphne Greengrass" spilled out of her mouth.
It was the man's turn to blink. "Greengrass, you say? What would the Greengrass family want, here in Australia?"
"I do not know, sir. My father does not care to inform me as to why we remain in Australia."
The man smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "I think it may be time to pay a visit to your dear father, don't you agree Daphne? We wouldn't want to have your family continuing their existence in Australia, do we? I think it might be a good idea to remind Daniel, who exactly is in control, here, and who was in control in England, and is currently."
Daphne shrank away from the man in fear. She was really starting to regret coming to Flint's.
"Oi! Scoundrel, unhand that maid." The man's head whipped around, in the direction of the voice.
Daphne took the change to wriggle and break the man's hold on her shoulders. She glared at the man with something akin to disgust. The man backed away, holding his hands up, almost in defeat. Another man entered the light. He twirled a wand in his hand. It caught the light, glinting off the highly polished wood. Daphne's breath caught. 'It was her wand, how dare this person man-handle her property?' she angrily thought.
The man must have sensed her mood swing. He laughed. "Dear Daphne, I'm not going to even scratch your wand. After all, it's a poor investment if I break it, before you even get to use it." He smiled. The scraggy-looking man snorted.
"I'll introduce myself then, especially if the Heiress, here, is to introduce me to her dear father."
The nice man interrupted. "I think not."
Scraggy, the now aptly named man (to Daphne anyway), looked scandalised.
"Look here, you rascal, I'll have you know that I still outrank you, Australia or England."
The-Well-Mannered-Man laughed. "And I'll have you know that I could buy the ground out beneath you, and dump you well away, not to mention absolutely whoop your ass. I would not be talking my dear man."
"If you so insist."
"Not here."
"I agree."
It was like a bloody tennis match. Daphne's head swivelled so quickly, it was a miracle she hadn't hurt herself yet.
"Where then?" asked The-Well-Mannered-Man.
Scraggy looked amused.
"No, absolutely not, myte. We are not taking her back to the apartment" stated The-Well-Mannered-Man.
"No." Both men looked surprised at Daphne's inclusion to the conversation. "I want my bloody wand, then you can abduct me, if you so wish."
The-Well-Mannered-Man sighed. Scraggy chuckled.
"Feisty. I like it. And you'll have to get used to it" said Scraggy, turning to The-Well-Mannered-Man.
Daphne's jaw dropped. 'Bloody hell, they actually are abducting me. And it sounds like I am going to be used as a bartering chip against father. Actually, on second thoughts, it might be a good idea to leave the family. It's not as if I would return to any love in the Greengrass family. They have one perfect daughter, and now one freak.'
She squared her shoulders and looked at both men. They shivered internally at the display of such an emotionless mask called Daphne. She spoke. "I will go with you, but I have the choice to stay or leave after I am introduced."
Scraggy nodded. "Fair enough."
0oo00oo0o0o0o0oo0
Daniel Greengrass sat in his study, idly remembering that IT was supposed to be home now. He refused to refer to Daphne by name, out loud or internally. He didn't really care. Let Hermera deal with IT, if she wants. I do not want some sort of freak under my roof. Glancing at the stately envelope, he amended the statement. I do not want the freak under my roof at any stage.
His study door burst open, splinters flying though the air, some of them piercing Daniel's outer robe.
00o0oo00oo0o0o0o0
Flashback
Harry had been having an excellent day, milling around Meyer's avenue, until he had seen Her. Sirius had nudged Harry, shocking him from his stupor. Sirius laughed at the goofy expression on Harry's face, and decided the Marauder heritage should come out to play.
"Oi! Harry!"
"Shut up, idiot. Stick to the names, or our cover could be blown."
"Oi! Brendan!"
"What, Jack? Can you just shut up and leave me in peace? How bloody hard is that to do, myte?"
"Yes. Yes. And yes."
"What?"
"Say, look at the pretty chick."
"Fuck off Jack, I don't have time for your shit."
"Brendan, shut the fuck up and listen to me you lil' shit."
"I have better things to do than waste my potential on you."
"Listen, you teabag!"
"I could not give a flying tit what you think."
"The girl's an Elemental."
"I said I don't c….. what did you just say?"
Sirius (Jack) smirked. "I said, that girl is an elemental."
Harry (Brendan) just had to ask "Is that the connection that I felt this morning, when I paid for her wand?"
"I'd daresay it is. I highly doubt that she'll be a lightning elemental like you."
"I'll have you know, Jack, that being a lightning elemental simply means that I can control Air, Fire and Electricity/Lightning."
"Yeah whatever, mate. Also, you are in love."
"I don't even know her."
"Exactly. Now, this is the plan."
End Flashback
Harry officially decided that he hated lying to fellow elementalists, but he couldn't work out why Daphne hadn't worked out that he was lying yet. Harry had naturally impenetrable Occlumency barriers, due to being an elemental. Of course, he'd only just found out why he had affinity for Fire, Air and Electricity, and why he had always been able to do spells wandlessly. Especially as spells are just beams of light and energy, with magical intentions. He was also pretty good at legilimency, but nowhere near master level.
He gently grasped Daphne's arm, and led her to the back of the room, opening the door, and leading to the room that Flamel had occupied earlier. Flamel was now going back to Europe at Harry's insistence, as he had taught Harry all he could. Over the few years of training with the alchemist, Harry had developed a likeness for the eccentric man, who always seemed full of life and vibrant. Harry would sometimes look back on the days of being an apprentice with a wistful expression etched upon his face.
From there he explained what he was going to do.
"Ms. Greengrass, I am going to hold you close to me, as we need to perform Side-Along-Apparition, back to our apartment. If you would bestow me the honour" Harry said, holding out his arm for Daphne to grasp.
Daphne acquiesced, and all three disapparated with a muted pop.
0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
It was far too long since Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had mustered the strength to even attempt to mighty climb up the Northern Tower, to pay a visit to his resident seer. To be completely honest, it was more the fact that he hadn't fully recovered from the last meeting they had. 'Nuttier than the floor in a castration clinic' Albus had concluded at the end of the meeting. Especially when she had told him that she had foreseen him tripping up the stairs to her room. He hadn't tripped.
Of course, like any part of life, Murphy's Law came into being. As the esteemed Headmaster of Hogwarts was ascending the stairs, not paying attention to his immediate surroundings, the unthinkable happened. He tripped. After cursing the stairwells, batty seers who live in towers and his own clumsiness, he clambered back to his feet. Two steps later, his head connected with the floor again.
Cursing Hogwarts this time, he sealed his fate. Brushing off his regal purple robes, he again started striding up the stairs. Only for him to take another dive.
"For fucks' sake," he roared, "Can I not just get to the bloody seer's domain, in one piece?"
He could've sworn he heard Hogwarts snigger in reply.
"That's it" the Headmaster stated.
Swishing his wand, he levitated himself up the stairs, and into the heavily oppressing atmosphere that Sybill Trelawney cherished. His nose was immediately accosted by the various smells that were paraded around the room. His headache rose dramatically.
"Sybill?" he called out, muttering under his breath about Hogwarts, and insulting the Divination professor.
"Sybill, you destitute tit. I need to see you."
Still no answer. The headmaster sighed. Usually when one hears the aged wizard cuss, one came running. It generally didn't bode to well for the faculty, especially the esteemed Potions Master.
A shuffling noise was heard shortly.
"My Inner Eye advised me you would be here, Albus."
Albus developed a tic under his left eye, but otherwise remained impassive.
Sybill continued, unaware of the Headmaster's ire, "But it didn't advise me of the reason for your visit."
Albus' jaw clenched. For such a knowledgeable wizard, who was adept at hiding emotions, this clenching of the jaw would set off alarm bells for the rest of the faculty. Hell, it would've set off air raid sirens for the rest of the magical community.
That all relaxed though, when the Divination Teacher collapsed into a chair, her eyes becoming unfocussed, despite the large glasses that magnified both the world around her, and the aforementioned eyes. Her voice was also lowered as she spoke, the deep voice coming out as a rasp.
"Beware of the python my son,
Who will not rest until the job is done.
Beware the Jabberwock my son,
The jaws that bite and claws that catch.
Beware the Elementals my son,
To them, Ice or Fire, the world will fall.
Beware the dark my son,
Do not be blinded by the light.
Beware the saviour my son,
For he is neither dark nor light.
Beware the future my son,
Those lost, will again rise."
Dumbledore reeled in surprise. 'Aha! Another prophecy. Not such a fake after all, eh Sybill?' he thought.
Her normal voice cut through his musings.
"Can I offer you some tea, Albus?" She asked.
"No, it's alright, I just came to check up on you, like I must do to every member of the teaching staff here at Hogwarts" Albus replied, the last part being a lie, he just needed to keep his eye on the seer that made the original prophecy, and now a new one.
He scampered from the tower, tripping several times on the stairs, before making it back to his safe haven, of the Headmaster's office. He sighed with relief, just before the back of his ancient chair gave way, solidly planting him on the floor. He swore violently.
As he was cussing, he missed the mischievous chuckles of Peeves, the poltergeist, as he floated away, happy with the mayhem he had just created for the Headmaster.
00o0ooo0o0o00o0o
As a side note, can any of you correctly guess what/who Daphne Greengrass really is?
BTW, I am not long for an answer similar to "She's Harry's long lost sister!", because she isn't.