"Text" – Thoughts

"Text" – Spellcast

"Text" – Non-English Words

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does

Chapter 5 – Commencement

Date: Friday, September 1st 1995

Location: Greengrass Manor

The month after Harry Potter's funeral proved to be one of the most hectic in recent British history, only surpassed by the months directly after You-Know-Who's demise on Halloween on 1981 and the month immediately after last year's Quidditch World Cup, where the Ministry had to simultaneously deal with the backlash from the end of the end of said final, the upcoming Triwizard Tournament, as well as the loss of one of the most prominent Wizengamot Lords in Kayneth of House Archibald, who died under mysterious circumstances around that time as well.

Though incomparable to those times, the apparent extinction of one of the most well-known families and the 'legal' revival of another was enough to cause immense frustrations to everyone involved in the matter. In the former case, while the Potter family had lost it Noble status almost a century ago from the then Lord Potter's rather outspoken views on the muggle conflict now called 'World War I', the family remained highly regarded by the general populace.

There was also the matter of the various properties that the family owned across the British Isles and beyond. Usually, it would have been as simple as sending an official or two to deactivate any magical systems in place and retrieve any magical artefacts that the family owned. Strangely, no official could even step within the preliminary wards of any of the former Potter estates, as though the security systems put in place were still in full effect … which handily lead to the other problem that the Ministry faced.

Sirius Orion Black, a name notorious throughout Britain not only as the name of a crazed mass murderer but also as one of the most promising upcoming aurors of his day. The man's reappearance at Harry Potter's funeral a month ago had almost caused an immediate media outburst as the man had calmly surrendered himself to the veritable legion of aurors and hit-wizards that had arrived on scene. While many were ready to execute the infamous murderer on the spot, Black quickly produced a letter from Gringotts that he had received, detailing that he was the current steward of the various Potter lands, as decreed by Harry Potter's will.

An immediate Wizengamot conference was held to discuss the issues, leading to one of the single most divisive discussions that had taken place inside the grand hall. Families who had been allies for years turned against one another as the debate stretched from the fundamentals of magic, to ethics and even if muggle murder was considered on par with the murder of magicals, the latter which magic itself considered as an absolute sin. Even Albus Dumbledore, with all his composure and poise seemed somewhat divided by the whole mess. It was only until Mad-eye Moody barged into the hall vouching for his former student did the Wizengamot agree at the very least to try the newly anointed Lord Black 'again'.

The days that followed began with a surprising representation of Lord Black by his former schoolmate Kirsten Davis née Marchbanks, who shocked the entire room when she revealed that the man had not ever undergone a trial before he was sent to Azkaban almost fourteen years prior. With a show of her Slytherin ingenuity, Kirsten deflected almost all blame to the late Barty Crouch Senior and later pressed her advantage in the surprisingly short trial to clear her client of all charges, save for a few thefts that had been revealed in Lord Black's Veritaserum induced confessions.

Leaving the room, many of the Wizengamot were somewhat irritated that the 'uncouth brat' had claimed the prestigious title of Lord Black, a number of whom had potential claims to. Others griped about the issue of securing an alliance with the maverick that Sirius Black was known to be.

As dozens of other lords and ladies across the country pondered the implications, others succinctly urged their Hogwarts-attending kin to keep awareness of a certain pair of Slytherins. After all, if Kirsten Marchbanks of all people was working with the new Lord Black, it was easy to assume that her best friend, a certain Lord Greengrass's wife, was also involved.

A loud sound erupted in the Greengrass Manor's dining hall as said man and wife apparated rather loudly back into their house, narrowly escaping the hordes of parents, reporters and other people who had swarmed them as they were wishing Daphne and Astoria well onto their year at Hogwarts.

"Are you tired?" asked a concerned Genevieve as she looked towards her husband. Cyril looked amusedly at his wife.

"I believe those were the first words I ever spoke to you. In a similar context too, if memory serves," he said with a small chuckle. Eve frowned and let go of his outstretched arm.

"Your mind is as impeccable as ever, Lord Greengrass," she said with feigned irritation. Physically, she smiled gently at the memory.

"Only when it concerns important matters," muttered the man, as he surveyed his surroundings. He almost winced at the effect his badly controlled apparation which had manifested as though a large gust of wind had expelled outward when the couple returned haphazardly, missing the entrance hall which Cyril had been aiming at. The Greengrass lord frowned as he looked at his wife.

"Most other pureblood lords would have executed any person with the temerity to affect said lords' magic in any manner," he said with a hint of threat. Eve was unperturbed, giving her husband a lofty look.

"If anything, I increased your magical ability," she reminded as she too looked at the surroundings. "Besides, the link is your punishment for all but giving our daughter to someone." Cyril had the sense to look apologetic as his wife gazed heatedly at him. It was rather pointless to argue against her, as he had found across the year. Accepting to co-test out her most recent invention was his way of apologizing.

The Greengrass looked away from his irritated wife, careful to not even think a thought out of line. "What kind of fool would think that being shackled to you would be considered a punishment?" he thought aloud. His wife smirked.

"Oh, you," she replied. Her gaze had softened greatly. "Besides, it gives you something to work on, my dear master duellist." A cheeky smile was sent in the man's way, who sighed gently. It was impossible to be mad at her for long.

"I suppose," Cyril grumbled as he thought back to the horde of people who had tried to speak to him on King's Cross platform. He had already greatly acclimated to the situation that he had been put in, enough that no-one he worked with suspected anything to the contrary. A pop came from a few feet behind him.

"Oh my!" came the squeaky voice of Tizzy, one of the few house-elves that worked for the Greengrasses at their manor.

"Tizzy, could you please clean up the mess? Also send a memo to the Committee on Experimental Charms please, informing them that I will be a little late," Eve asked politely. The house elf paused for a moment before he bowed deeply and quickly popped away, leaving his two human masters alone in the dining hall. Cyril looked humorously at his wife.

"Really, love? Couldn't you have been more subtle?" he asked, having difficulty holding back a laugh. Eve smirked, turning around and letting her hair swish around.

"Come on," she said coyly "We have a few things to test out". Cyril shook his head amusedly as followed his wife.

Location: Hogwarts Express

Daphne felt a shiver down her spine suddenly as she felt an irresistible urge to want to vomit. Her expression apparently was quite amusing as Tracey took one look at her retching friend and began giggling uncontrollably. Daphne sent a look in her friend's direction, who had now proceeded to outright laughter.

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" Tracey said between peals of laughter. Daphne frowned as she gazed out the window, looking at the landscape. The train had just departed not too long ago and had just reached the outskirts of London.

"I sense a disturbance in magic…" Daphne muttered darkly. This just made Tracey laugh even harder and Daphne looked irritatedly at her friend. She glanced towards the door outside the carriage they were seated in, arching an eyebrow at the latest person to try and enter. Her parents had of course warned her about keeping vigilance as a part of the aftermath of Lord Black's 'appointment'. Her parents had not divulged any further than that, though Daphne was able to infer enough information to come up with a somewhat rational view of the situation.

Upon arriving at the carriage, Daphne had put a selective screening charm on the door, as was well within her bounds as heiress presumptive of House Greengrass. This however did not dissuade no less than a dozen different people trying to get into the carriage which gave Tracey various levels of amusement. Daphne on the other hand was merely irritated at how foolhardy some of these people were. At least Longbottom had enough sense to just examine the barrier for a few moments before leaving.

Daphne frowned and pointed her wand at the door, allowing Sophie Roper to step into the room.

"What is it, Roper?" she asked somewhat huffily. Tracey gave the dark-haired girl a cheerful greeting in tandem. Uncharacteristically, Sophie merely nodded grimly as she pulled out a piece of parchment.

"I was asked to give you this," Sophie replied. Daphne quickly took the parchment and immediately her eyes narrowed at the crest of a pair of fish upon a stone slab. Daphne briefly skimmed the message before burning it with the Conflagration Spell.

"Are you a part of Parkinson's pack of dogs now?" Daphne asked icily. Sophie returned the look with equal coldness.

"I am a neutral party in this madness," she replied quickly, glancing at the door before turning back to Daphne and Tracey. "Parkinson thought that you would much more likely receive a neutral messenger rather than one of her own. If that's all, I'll be leaving now."

Sophie took a step towards the door before she was stopped by Tracey.

"Sophie, what's wrong?" she asked concerned. The dark-haired girl bristled momentarily.

"You'll see in a little," she muttered lowly, exiting the compartment with silent steps.

In the compartment next door, Neville watched somewhat surprised at the retreating figure of Sophie Roper almost colliding with the food cart that was going in the opposite direction. Neville had sat here after concluding that he would have been unable to speak to his fellow heir presumptive when he looked at the barrier that Daphne had erected. Deciding to cut his losses, he supposed that catching her as they left the train would be the best opportunity.

The boy frowned at his lack of 'progress' in gathering more people for their little group. He figured that the Greengrass heiress would be an ideal choice for the group, as she was almost as smart as Hermione and also had access to materials that the Hogwarts libraries didn't have. Judging by what Harry was able to do during the tournament last year, Daphne was also more likely to be willing to cooperate with them, at least more so than most of his other 'options'.

Sally Anne-Perks, eldest niece of Lady Antonia Anne-Perks, had shut him down coldly before he even got a word in. It seemed that the proud Ravenclaw had not forgotten when Neville had accidentally set her robes on fire all those years ago when they were first learning the Bluebell Flames Charm.

At least he had more luck with Ernest Macmillan, who had heartily agreed to the proposal and even dragged his friend Justin Finch-Fletchley along with him, much to Neville's surprise. He later learnt that the two had been somewhat closer friends with Harry than most realized and wanted to honor his memory in any way they could. Unfortunately, Ernest, or rather Ernie as the boy preferred, wouldn't be able to help much in the material aspect. The Macmillans were known warlocks and battlemages, with not as much to offer in terms of Defence Against the Dark Arts or Charms. On the other hand, Ernie assured Neville that he would pass on the message to his cousin which Neville took with grace.

Now all he could do was wait a while before Hermione and Ron made it back from their meeting with the other prefects. He glanced at his birthday present, a sample of Mimbulus Mimbletonia given to him by his Uncle Algie. The plant resembled a bubotuber crossed with a cactus, with various protrusions all across it's light green body. It produced a pungent smell, which thankfully was nullified by the runic field that Neville's Gran had placed when she discovered the plant.

"If you keep poking it, you'll send sap flying everywhere," Neville said suddenly. The girl who had been poking at a particularly large protrusion smiled dreamily at him.

"I can feel the presence of Nargles so I'm trying to ward them away," Luna Lovegood replied in her whimsically sing-song voice.

Neville stared blankly at the girl who had returned to prodding his precious plant. He blinked a few times before looking away. Luna was, for the lack of a better term, as looney as her name would imply. The dreamy, almost ethereal look in her eyes would be considered pretty by many if it were not for how dotty she looked. This, coupled with the many rumors that surrounded Luna, drove away almost everyone from her, leaving the poor girl isolated.

Neville shook his head and cast his eyes towards the other person in the compartment. Ginny Weasley stared aimlessly out of the window, her eyes unfocused her posture limp. To say the formerly vibrant and energetic redhead was a shadow of her former self would be to put it lightly. The girl looked almost lifeless, as though she had died alongside Harry Potter all that time ago.

Neville couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl he had gone to the Yule Ball last year. A feeling of frustrating helplessness also struck him as he found himself completely lost as to how he could help the girl. Ron hadn't said much but to simply watch over her before he and Hermione returned for their meeting.

Neville sighed a short sigh as he remembered Ron's face. The redheaded boy never really showed much emotion, at least to Neville, but the serious blankness that was displayed on his face was truly surreal, almost as though a certain blonde's signature scowl had been copied and pasted onto Ron's face.

Hermione wasn't faring any better, even Neville was beginning to see the cracks in her shamelessly cheerful façade. Not that he could blame them though. Seeing his paternal grandfather's death had been terrifying for the young three-year-old Neville, a sight that he would probably remember for the rest of his life. Even then he got off easier as he hadn't been particularly close to old Antares Longbottom. Through both experiences, Neville could sympathise with what his friends were going through.

The door swung open abruptly, sending Neville tumbling out of his thoughts, revealing a rather irritated Hermione and sullen Ron.

"Hey guys–" Neville began as Hermione plopped herself unceremoniously next to him. He nervously shifted a few inches away, unconsciously noting the expression on her face.

"Well, there are two prefects for each house," Hermione said as Ron quietly sat down. "One boy and one girl each."

No-one spoke, so Hermione continued her speech.

"Guess who the two Slytherin prefects are?" Hermione said sourly. Neville felt his stomach drop unpleasantly. For Hermione to speak so viciously, the choice was obvious.

"Malfoy," Neville replied quietly. The boy had caused an innumerable about of problems for the blond heir to House Longbottom over the years. While he had almost gotten used to the insults and jeers, Neville had begun noticing how the ponce and his cronies had been acting to those in the younger years. It was sickening, a feeling made worse by Neville's inability to help them.

"And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson," Hermione continued with even more distaste. Neville looked somewhat surprised.

"I thought that Greengrass would have made the cut…" he mused. From the little he knew about the Slytherins in their year, he rationalized that the academically gifted blonde would have been more likely as a candidate.

Hermione snorted. "As much as I hate admitting it, Greengrass would have been a much better option. At the very least, she isn't as thick as a concussed troll." Neville was slightly taken aback by the energetic dismissal that the bushy haired bookworm had uttered. Deciding to change the subject, Neville turned to Ron.

"Who're the Hufflepuffs?" he asked. Ron looked up at him.

"Macmillan and Abbot. Goldstein and Patil for Ravenclaw." Neville blinked. It certainly was Ron's voice coming from his mouth but the tone was so dull that it may as well have come from Gregory Goyle.

"I like Padma, she's nice," interrupted an ethereal voice.

The whole room looked to Luna, who had stopped poking the Mimblus Mimbletonia. Ron seemed to recognize her slightly, offering a slight incline in response. The girl smiled widely before she retreated back to reading the copy of the Quibbler that she had been reading between her intermitted poking of the cactus. Neville looked back at his fellow year-mates.

"How did your summer go, Ron?" he asked.

"Nothing much, my brother Bill taught me a few things I guess," Ron replied with a gentle shrug, displaying the first bit of emotion that Neville had seen.

"I see…" he replied as he turned to Hermione. The girl had been staring at the wall, almost seemingly trying to look through it and look into the next compartment. Ron on the other hand was staring blankly out the door towards the corridor. Neville felt a distinct tension in the air, as though they both wanted to say something but were goading the other to act first. The girl snapped first.

"Why them, Ron?" Hermione asked with a barely levelled tone. The redheaded boy gave her a look. It was clear that this conversation had already occurred more than once.

"Greengrass and Tracey helped Harry and I a lot last year," he explained flatly. Hermione simply looked irritated.

"Well we still don't need their help!" she replied with a slightly raised voice. Ron shrugged.

"If we're trying to make a group to study, or get back at the Ministry or whatever it is you are planning, we should probably go to the best of us right?" Ron replied. Neville was surprised to listen to Ron's defence of the Slytherin girls. The redhead's hatred for the snakes was quite infamous, even if tales of his rants had lessened considerably over the past year. Hermione too seemed to have similar thoughts.

"How can we trust them, Ron? Did you know that they were there that night? When Harry–" Hermione stopped mid-sentence as she froze in shock. Tears welled up in her eyes as her mind unwittingly drifted back to the topic she had been doing her best to avoid.

"Yes actually," came the quiet reply. Ron looked up, his face stony and unyielding. A few stray tears had formed, flowing down his face like small streams. "Tracey wrote to me the day she got out of St. Mungo's." He clearly didn't want to speak more.

Neville watched the silence return as the two close friends glared at the wall beyond each other. He felt ashamed once more, feeling that it was his fault for introducing this idea in the first place.

"Um… guys?" he asked timidly. Hermione snapped back around, putting on a façade that Neville could see was fabricated.

"What do you think Neville? Should we invite Greengrass or Tracey to our group?" Neville gulped as he was rounded upon. He looked to the other two people in the compartment, where Luna was deeply engross with reading her copy of The Quibbler upside-down while Ginny was still staring out the window, neither being any help.

"Erm…" Neville fidgeted. From the events that had happened at the funeral, Neville too pieced together that the two Slytherins were indeed present at Little Whinging, though for what purpose was unknown. Deep down, he wanted to know more about what happened, what had happened to his friend that night, which was one of the reasons he had wanted to speak with the min the first place.

"… I think we should, you know, at least ask them? It wouldn't hurt right?" Neville said, chuckling nervously. "If Harry dated one of them, they can't be that bad right?" Hermione looked upset but bowed her head. Ron seemed to have not much of a reaction other than his eyes darting towards where their trunks had been stored.

"Fine, we can talk to them," Hermione agreed reluctantly. "I don't think they'd have the time to though." Seeing no major reaction from either of her year-mates, Hermione simply continued. "Malfoy and Parkinson seemed a little on edge during the prefect meeting, I also overheard the cow utter Greengrass's name, so I think something might be up."

Neville nodded in realization. "So that's what that barrier was about," he thought. It also explained Sophie Roper's appearance a while ago. Neville knew very little about the Slytherins themselves and Sophie herself, in particular, behaved very much as a wallflower. The little Neville had been able to figure out about the wily witch pointed to her being uninvolved in most inter-house disputes. Which did not discount an intra-house problem, as rare as that was. Slytherin House prided itself on its unified front and rarely in history had allowed anyone uninvolved know about the conflict until long after it had concluded.

A sudden rush of activity appeared outside the compartment as a group of six people quickly walked past. Neville's eyes widened as he recognized the signature blond hair of Draco Malfoy. Ron pulled out something from his pocket. It resembled a flesh cord with two human ear-like appendages attached to it.

"Fred and George gave me a few of these Extendable Ears, said they could be useful," he explained. Without more explanation, Ron tossed one end of the device out of the room and into the next. Hermione looked surprised.

"Wouldn't Greengrass's barrier keep that thing from getting in?" she asked. Ron shrugged.

"The twins say that they have made some improvements. With some luck, the snakes won't notice." Hermione looked a mixture of surprise and worry but shook her head. She too was curious about what was going on with the Slytherins and didn't feel the need to look a gift horse in the mouth quite yet.

Daphne lazily undid the charm at the door to let the group of her housemates into the compartment. Crabbe and Goyle predictably stood at the door, standing guard as Malfoy had probably instructed. In entered Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, Sophie Roper and…

With a slightly surprised expression, the blonde watched as Theodore Nott walked into the compartment as well, sitting beside Draco on the opposite side of the compartment that Tracey and Daphne had been seated. Daphne looked at the boy for a few seconds, her gaze turning icier and icier. The door mostly closed behind him, widened by only a fraction of an inch.

"I see." Theo offered no response.

"Reapply the charm Greengrass," Parkinson said impatiently. "We haven't got all day."

Daphne shot a look at the other heiress but did as she asked, refortifying the compartment with a wave of her wand. The door glowed a golden hue, signifying the successful application of the charm. Tracey fidgeted a fraction, an action that went unnoticed by everyone.

"I'm honoured that you place so much trust in my spellwork, scion Parkinson," Daphne said with as little sarcasm as she could muster. Parkinson's gaze thinned but ignored it.

"First of all, the oaths of silence," she said, drawing her wand. The other five drew their wands, Daphne and Tracey a little slower than the others.

"I swear on my magic to not communicate any of what is stated in this room to anyone not involved in the matter," Parkinson said clearly, her face as cold as stone. A purple hazy stream came from her outstretched wand, hovering almost lazily in the middle of the group. Draco too outstretched his wand, looking noticeably less confident that the Parkinson heiress. However, he too made the oath. The other people in the compartment followed suit, adding their own magic to the oath until it had become an indistinguishable mass of multi-coloured fog. When Tracey had finished her swear, Parkinson pointed her wand at the mass again.

"Forsooth I swear, so mote it be," she finished. The others echoed her words. When the last syllable was uttered, a blinding light filled the room for a few moments.

Daphne looked somewhat warily at the people sitting opposite her. Draco was hiding his discomfort well but Daphne could see his unwillingness to be here. His father had probably warned him against making an enemy of one of those who may have a handle on the Black fortune, she supposed. Unfortunately for him, his occlumency training, or lack thereof, appeared was showing.

"So why did you call us all here, scion Parkinson" Daphne said with a hint of arrogance. Parkinson glared at her.

"Roper obviously delivered the letter I had written, Greengrass, so cease the rudeness if you can." Daphne's lack of reaction did not appear to faze the other heiress, who instead reached into a pouch that she had apparently carried into the room with her. Daphne was instantly wary, redrawing her wand at the sight of Pansy dipping her hand into the pouch. A slightly amused chuckle greeted her steely gaze.

"Relax, Greengrass, I gave you my word that I would respect the laws of parley," the black-haired girl said, pulling out a silver sheet of parchment. Daphne did not recognize the sheet, though it seemed that both Sophie and Tracey did at a moment's glance, given by their unconscious fidgeting. Daphne's eyes narrowed.

"Do you know what this is?" Parkinson asked in her insufferably haughty tone. Daphne did not have any time to answer as Tracey spoke up in her place.

"Talium Tabula," she murmured with a hint of awe. Daphne frowned but recognized the name. 'Talium Tabula', or Thoth's tablet, is a type of magic-infused papyrus that supposedly first given to the ancient Egyptians by the god Thoth, hence the name. Despite being an over two-thousand-year-old magical-construct that has been outclassed by relatively recent inventions such as the Unbreakable Vow, the Talium Tabula is used for extended magical contracts … which did not explain why Parkinson had brought one.

"An Unbreakable Vow would be simpler, Parkinson, surely you had thought of that," Daphne said with a sniff, finally deciding to forgo her feigned politeness. The girl in question shot Daphne an irritated look.

"The limitations to the vow are too severe, hence this would be more suitable for our use." Daphne held back her snort. The more likely explanation would have been simply that Parkinson was simply was unable to cast such a complicated spell.

"Are we to agree on rules to our … conflict … then?" Theo muttered. Daphne was surprised, shooting the boy a quick look. Theo didn't react visibly to the look, instead simply staring into the wall in front of him, avoiding Sophie's gaze. Ignoring the weedy boy, Daphne looked back at Parkinson, who had set up a golden dictaquill on the now levitating sheet. Golden letters spelled out the words 'Slytherin House 98th Rite of Dominance'

"Tradition, Theodore," Parkinson replied in a cool tone. Daphne raised an eyebrow as she turned fully towards the Parkinson heiress. Her gaze grew colder and colder as she seemingly began to drop the temperature of the air around her.

"What tradition, Parkinson? Surely you are not suggesting that our predecessors had 'rules' for their conflicts?" Daphne asked with an uncharacteristic sneer. Pansy didn't even look in Daphne's direction as she motioned for the quill to write down the first line below the title. In bold, gaudy letters it now read: 'No use of magicks that will affect those beyond persons directly involved in the rite.' Daphne's gaze softened a fraction as Pansy looked at her.

"After that embarrassment last year, I looked into your sister," Pansy muttered softly. "For what it's worth, my deepest regrets." Daphne's hostile gaze returned in full force for a few moments before she allowed her occlumency shields to calm herself. The blonde bowed her head a fraction.

A sudden sound came from beside Pansy as Draco shifted suddenly, colliding slightly with Theo. His mouth was agape as he stared looked between the silvery sheet and Parkinson, seemingly connecting a few dots.

"So that's why father…" he murmured quietly. Daphne turned her gaze towards the other blond, who was now staring at the sheet with a modicum of disgust. Uncomfortable and still somewhat irritated, Daphne turned back to Pansy.

"So what other 'rules' do you wish to apply," Daphne asked with as little emotion as she could muster. Pansy looked at her rival.

"Any breach of the House's code of conduct will be considered forfeit," she replied. Daphne agreed and the quill wrote down the words.

"Weasley twins are off-limits," Theo supplied as soon as the quill stopped. Both girls froze for a moment before both agreeing fervently. The pair were a wildcard, too dangerous a card to leave lying around. That much Daphne could agree on. Tracey moved slightly next to Daphne, barely suppressing a fit of giggles.

"Anything else?" Parkinson asked as the quill stopped again. All was silent for a few moments before Sophie piped up.

"Zabini," she said.

The whole room felt like it had dropped a few degrees in temperature. Icy tempers flared as the other three girls in the room were reminded of the incident back in their second year. Draco and Theo wisely edged slightly away from the girls as they felt each person's wrath. Theo looked towards Sophie, who had a hollow smile on her face.

"Was that necessary?" he asked quietly. Sophie spared him a single glance, her face dropping for a single instant before she looked back at the Talium Tabula. Another golden line was written in accordance with Daphne and Pansy's agreement.

"Is. That. All," grunted Pansy in a surprisingly Vincent or Gregory like fashion. The look on her face screamed pure murder. Daphne's expression was similarly dark, though she was able to mask her anger better. The blonde nodded stiffly, causing the silver scroll to furl itself back up. Pansy looked at Sophie with as little disgust as she could muster as the half-blooded girl drew her wand.

"Gemino Duo" she muttered softly. Two physically identical copy of the scroll manifested themselves beside the original scroll. Sophie took ahold of them and gave one copy each to Daphne and Pansy. The girl looked dirtily at the two heiresses, sighing gently before speaking.

"Are we done here? Or do you to want to formally declare war on one another?" Pansy looked strangely at her fellow dark-haired girl.

"Of course not, half-blood," she said as courteously as possible. Daphne redrew her wand, removing the charm on the door as her rival stood up.

"Next time we meet, prepare for you defeat. Familia Officium Honos," Pansy said tersely, devoid of her usual arrogance or smugness. Daphne looked back impassively.

"To you as well, scion Parkinson," she replied with her usual iciness. Pansy left without another word as Draco followed suit. Sophie rushed out the door as soon as the pair had left, leaving not a shadow of her presence remaining. Theo too stood up, not looking at the two remaining people in the compartment. He took a few steps to the door but stopped before he had exited. He stood still for a few moments, as though he were contemplating something.

"Nos Metere quod non Seruerimus," he said after a while. Daphne blinked.

"Those are my words, not yours, traitor," she said with a hint of hostility. Theo glanced back, a carefree glint in his eye.

"So they are. Good day to you too, scion Greengrass." With those parting words, Theo left the compartment and thus leaving Daphne and Tracey alone in the room. A few seconds passed before Daphne drew her wand again. She pointed it at the floor close to the door.

"Accio Device," she muttered. A sudden rush of air occured as the invisible object rushed towards Daphne's wand. A surprised yelp could be heard from the adjacent compartment as Daphne yanked at the object she had just caught.

"Now what do we have here," she murmured with a level of irritation. Tracey fidgeted slightly as Daphne seemingly pulled something from midair, revealing an ear-like device and a cloak of silvery material. The blonde looked somewhat irritatedly between the two objects in her hands before glancing over at Tracey, who looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Bloody lions!" she cursed. Without looking, she jabbed her wand at the door, slamming it shut and reactivating the privacy wards on the door already. Daphne glared at her best friend, who looked slightly sheepish at the sight of the strange ear-like contraption.

"What is this?" Daphne asked with faux calmness. Tracey looked at the blonde for a moment before sighing. Deciding that beating around the bush would do no good, the brunette simply answered as directly as she could.

"It's something that Ron's brothers made called an 'Extendable Ear'. I guess its name explains what it does…" Daphne frowned and examined the contraption in hand. Grudgingly, she had to admire the painstaking lengths that the Weasley twins had gone to while making the device. She looked back at Tracey.

"And perchance, how did you come across this information?" Tracey averted her gaze for a moment. Daphne could see the indecision in her eyes rapidly fading as the girl looked back towards her.

"Yes, actually," Tracey said with surprising force. The defiance in her posture and tone was surprising to Daphne. Her light blue eyes shone with a vigor that she had grown accustomed to see in their Gryffindor friends' eyes. Bravery.

"Ron told me when I told him we would probably have a meeting with Parkinson and her camp today." Having already deduced this much, Daphne hid her small smile by re-examining the ear. Daphne drew her wand and pointed it at the device.

"Specialis Revelio!"

When nothing happened, Daphne looked surprised. She looked at the ear and its cord once more spotting a small red spot on the almost unblemished surface. With a frown, she looked back at Tracey.

"I'm assuming this … thing … is the reason why my wards did not affect the ear?" she asked. Tracey nodded.

"A shard of the Gae Dearg, affects anything stronger than a summoner. Sorry I couldn't have told you in advance or Parkinson or Malfoy would have noticed something wrong." Daphne couldn't help but smile bemusedly at that statement.

"Well then, I would appreciate if you removed that from the device. I have a feeling that it could be useful." Daphne looked at the silvery cloak beside her. Tracey seemed to have just noticed the cloak, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Isn't that Harry's cloak?" she asked. Daphne nodded.

"I had a feeling that he gave it to Weasley, smart of him to really," Daphne said. An amount of sadness filled her but she quickly brushed it off. It wouldn't do to lose focus of what was important, now more than ever.

"Are you planning on keeping it then?" Tracey asked quietly. Daphne shook her head. As much as she would have liked to, she owed it to Harry to return his family cloak to the one he had bestowed it upon. Let it be known that Daphne Greengrass was an honourable lady.

"I suppose it means that I will have to talk to the eavesdroppers next door at some point…" muttered Daphne with a small amount of irritation. Tracey blinked and sighed.

"You do you, Daph. You do you."

The next few hours passed rather quietly, which provided Daphne with a period of solace. Tracey had grown rather quiet, very different from her usual increasing bubbliness as they approached the school. Taking the chance, Daphne began reviewing her spellwork, both for the upcoming academic year and in preparation for the battles to come. Fortunately, the Gryffindors next door were wise enough to not disturb Daphne's work.

Before long, the sun had begun to set, signalling for the girls to get ready to get off the train. With practised ease, the pair quickly changed into their school robes and readied themselves to leave… by staying seated. As they felt the Hogwarts Express grind to a halt, the clamour of their fellow students jostling their way to the carriages that would take them to the castle.

"Now?" asked an impatient Tracey. The brunette was getting slightly impatient, her leg shaking absentmindedly as she looked out the dark window. With only torchlight illuminating the area around them, it was quite difficult to see far beyond the station.

Without a sound, Daphne gracefully got up. Tracey sighed in relief as she too leapt up and quickly followed her friend through the door. As expected, the station was virtually void of people. Even the ships carrying the first years across the black lake had already departed. A few lonely carriages could be seen in the distance.

Daphne and Tracey took a few steps towards the carriages when they began to hear multiple pairs of footsteps coming from behind them. Tracey stopped and turned around but Daphne kept going, fully aware of who those footsteps belonged to.

"Greengrass!"

Daphne resisted the urge to groan and turned around to face the somewhat breathless visages of Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

"Yes, Granger? What you want?" she asked with as little stiffness as she could. Daphne was still a little sore from the embarrassment that the bushy haired girl had inflicted on her during the funeral. As good of an awakening it had been for her, Daphne was still unwilling to fully forgive the Gryffindor, particularly because of that slap.

Seeing as Hermione didn't answer, Ron instead walked up to the blonde. He looked blankly at Daphne, in a manner that seemed as though he were sizing her up. The look on the usually explosively expressive redhead was almost unnerving to Daphne, who had grown accustomed to being able to easily read the boy.

"May I have the cloak back please, Lady Greengrass?" he asked. Daphne blinked.

"I'm no lady yet, Weasley. At best I am heiress presumptive, or just scion," she replied offhandedly. Inwardly, she was beginning to get worried. What on earth had happened to Ronald Weasley that …

Pushing that thought out of her mind, Daphne quickly retrieved the cloak from her pouch and handed it to Ron, who stowed it away with a simple thank you.

"Not going to ask for your toy back? Weasley?" Daphne asked in a slightly taunting manner. Ron shrugged.

"You can keep it. It's not like you're going to give it back anyways," he answered. Daphne blinked again before quickly turning to glance at her best friend, who was doing her best to look innocent. Slightly flustered, Daphne quickly turned.

"If there is nothing now, I would like to quickly return to the castle. The Scottish Highlands are rather cold for a person like myself," she said quickly as she began making a beeline for the carriages.

"Wait, Greengrass!" Longbottom shouted. Daphne paid it no mind, wanting to get away from the Gryffindors before more embarrassment could arise. However, her plans soon literally fell flat as she crashed into something invisible, knocking her to the ground.

"What in the…" muttered a dazed Daphne. Tracey and the Gryffindors had jogged over to where Daphne lay.

"I warned you, Greengrass," Longbottom said infuriatingly. "Can't you see the thestral standing here?"

Daphne groaned as she began to stand up. Suddenly she froze in place.

"Wait, what did you say?" she asked slowly. Longbottom looked at her owlishly.

"Can't you see the thestral? It's just standing right here?" he said, gesturing to air in front of him. A few moments of silence as Daphne processed the information she had received. From behind her, Tracey gasped in shock.

"I… I can't see it either…" Tracey said slowly. From the sound of the other gasp, it appeared that Granger had also come to the same realization.

"Only those who have seen death can see his horses…" Granger quoted. Daphne nodded with some shock still evident on her face. If she couldn't see the thestrals, there was only one explanation.

Date: ?

Location: ?

A blinding white void. That was all that a pair of bleary eyes could see as they stared for miles around. Nothing but blankness. The boy twitched gently, sending a multitude of painful spasms throughout his muscular system. He tried to cry out to no avail, for no sound came from his voice. And so, he simply lay there, still as a board, wondering where he had ended up.

"Oh great, Daphne's going to kill me for this…" Harry Potter idly thought.

Spells Used/Mentioned:

Ambustum – Conflagration Spell

Ignio Frigum – Bluebell Flames Charm

Gemino – Duplication Charm/Curse

Accio – Summoning Charm

Next Time: Brightest Day