As they made their way to McGonagall's office, Harry mentally crossed off 'cold and aloof' from his list of things he knew about Daphne. She wasn't nearly as unapproachable as she was made out to be. He glanced at her sideways and started speaking, "You know, you're very different from how the rumors make you out to be. I was definitely not expecting much conversation from you, let alone that you wouldn't be so...," Harry paused to avoid saying anything that might sound offensive.
"What? Aloof? Uptight?" Daphne huffed, then shrugged. "Well, I've been called worse. The Slytherin house has a stupid hierarchy. I was apparently 'rebelling' against it by befriending outsiders. And since they couldn't do anything directly against me, they made up those rumors out of spite. As if their so-called hierarchy would help them once they leave Hogwarts. They're just idiots using their parents' influence to play house." She mocked them viciously.
Harry started chuckling when she said that. He could imagine Malfoy's indignant expression if he had just heard what she said. Still, he felt that he was missing something. Malfoy was never one to shy away from confrontation. And being in Slytherin meant that Malfoy had plenty of opportunities to get back at her. So he tried to probe more into it, "And why couldn't they do anything to you directly?"
Daphne replied nonchalantly, "Well, they aren't the only ones who have well placed parents. If anything had happened to me, then my mother would have stepped in. I don't use my mother to intimidate others, but I have no problem using her name to stop them from bothering me."
Harry felt the sense of incongruity only grow stronger. He was definitely missing something. Malfoy senior may be down on his luck now, but Harry knew that he held a huge amount of influence in his heyday. Heck, he even influenced the minister's decision. Harry doubted there were many people he was wary of at that time. The fact that Daphne's mother was one of them meant that things weren't so simple with her identity. "So, what do your parents do? Do they work for the ministry?", Harry tried asking Daphne more about her mother indirectly. Tried being the operative word. He never was good at beating around the bush.
Daphne smirked at him, but still answered the question, "My father is a businessman. We have a fairly successful winery business. He's usually quite busy running it, so me and my mother rarely see him. My mother is a...researcher. She works on a lot of different things, creating potions and spells, discovering rituals, creating enchantments, developing wards, and the like. She doesn't really work for the ministry." It didn't really alleviate Harry's concern regarding her mother. But, so far, this was the only promising lead to save Hermione, so Harry still had to go. Seeing that Harry was concerned, Daphne grinned wickedly. "Scared, Harry? Maybe I'm leading you into a trap to capture you and cut you up for research", she teased Harry, trying to make him feel better. Well, either that or trying to scare him. With her, Harry couldn't be sure which it was.
Harry shook his head and replied, "Well, I trust Susan and Hannah's judgement. And since you are their friend, I'm fairly certain that I won't be receiving Frankenstein-ish treatment. Besides," Harry continued slightly seriously, "I would still go even if I thought it was a trap. There are some things we need to do even if things are uncertain. I am a Gryffindor after all." Harry tried to end it on a lighter note. But she picked up the serious undertone in between and remained silent.
As soon as they reached McGonagall's office, Daphne asked him to wait for a few minutes and left via Floo. She returned after a few minutes and explained briefly, "Had to add you to our ward book. You know, additional security measures, it being wartime and all. Remember, the Floo address is 'The Greengrass Cottage'". Saying so, she disappeared back into the Floo. Hoping that for once things would go smoothly, Harry entered the Floo.
Making his way out of the fireplace with a stumble, Harry took a look around curiously. It appeared to be a typical house. There was the usual furniture that goes with the living room, pictures on the wall of Daphne and her family, and a television. Heck, if it weren't for the moving pictures, Harry would have doubted it was a wizarding home. As he was taking a look around, Daphne gestured for him to follow her. "I've already told my mother that a friend of mine needs some help and wants to meet her while I was adding your name in the ward book, so she's expecting you. I don't know the exact circumstances, but if you explain the details to her, she will help if she can", Daphne explained seriously.
An unexpected surge of warmth rushed through Harry. He was already trying to think of ways to convince Daphne's mother to help treat Hermione, but introducing him as her friend was bound to help. They were practically strangers, and he literally met her just to get her to help. He was already thankful that she didn't interrogate him as a lot of others would have and simply led him to meet her mother. Introducing him as her friend only made him feel more grateful. Some might say she was trying to make him owe her, but Harry really didn't get the feeling that she was expecting something from him and just wanted to help. He didn't thank her. He just nodded his head and remembered it in his heart.
Still, Daphne read his expression and rolled her eyes, "You don't owe me anything, Harry. Even if you forget all the stuff you went through over the years, just for what you've done in the war, people owe you a lot. Not the other way around. I'm not ungrateful like others, so just think of this as a small thank you. I didn't really need to put in a lot of effort to introduce you to my mother. I just hope that you find what you were looking for."
Harry didn't reply, but he was still thankful. It was incredibly easy to say that you owed someone, but few people ever did anything meaningful to pay it back. He just followed her quietly. Reaching the study room, Daphne knocked on the door and asked Harry to let himself in before leaving. Harry took a breath to calm himself and entered the study room.
Unlike the headmaster's office at Hogwarts, the study was fairly simplistic. There was a fireplace with a picture of her family on the mantle. There was a bookshelf filled with books, most of which seemed to be written in some unknown language. Finally, there was a sleek desk that looked fairly modern. On the other side of the desk was a woman who could pass for Daphne's elder sister. She had the same blonde hair and blue eyes, and even their faces were similar. The only difference seemed to be that she seemed to have a slightly older face and a fuller body. Not that he was going to say it out loud.
Walking towards her, Harry was about to introduce himself when Daphne's mother started talking, "When my daughter said that a friend needed help, the last person I expected it would be was Harry Potter. I hope you don't mind if I call you Harry." Seeing Harry nod, she continued, "She told me it seemed urgent, so we can let go of the pleasantries and get straight to it."
"Thank you, Mrs. Greengrass. A friend of mine was struck by a delayed activation curse during the battle. Right now, she's in Hogwarts hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey has already checked her over and said that it was an unknown curse without any known counter curse. The curse is trapping her mind without letting her interact with the outside world", Harry concisely explained all the information to her.
Listening to the effect of the curse, Ophelia Greengrass gestured for him to stop and summoned a book from the bookshelf. Going through it, she seemed to find what she was looking for. She frowned and asked, "Was the one who cursed her Bellatrix Lestrange?" Harry clenched his fists and nodded immediately and eagerly. The fact that she was able to identify who cast the curse meant that she definitely had some knowledge of it. Seeing that Harry was getting excited, she said helplessly, "Calm down, kid. Curses that isolate the mind from the body and torture the mind were Bellatrix's signature. She developed multiple variations of the spell, which is why there is no counter-curse for it. Poppy may not have come across it, but those who have encountered the curse before would have identified it immediately from your description. All the victims of the curse died within weeks of being cursed. Some within even days. There isn't really anything we can do about it." She shook her head sadly.
Harry felt anger and fear rise, but he willed himself to calm down. He couldn't afford to blow up. Not until he helped Hermione. So, he took a deep breath and calmed down before speaking, "Like I mentioned, Madam Pomfrey already told me that there wasn't a proper counter curse for this, so I expected as much. What I was looking for is slightly different. I have heard that you came across a ritual that can counter any curse, I was hoping that could help my friend."
As soon as Harry mentioned the ritual, Ophelia Greengrass's face darkened. "Where did you hear that?", she demanded angrily, then regretted it immediately.
The fact that she became that angry meant that the ritual definitely existed. This was the first piece of good news Harry got, so he wasn't going to let it go. "I heard it from Malfoy", Harry said immediately. "Since the ritual exists, can you please help me treat my friend? I don't want it for free. You can mention any sort of compensation. I will try my best to fulfil it." Harry knew that offering up a blank check on the compensation wasn't the best of moves, but she already looked irritated, and he didn't want to piss her off more by mentioning lower compensation. Especially since he didn't know what it was actually worth.
"That slimy son of a...he's going to regret it", Ophelia Greengrass said darkly. Still frowning, she looked at him and said, "It's not a matter of compensation, Harry. The ritual isn't something I designed. It was something we found at an excavation. Don't ask for details about who and where; I'm not going to say it. We didn't completely understand the ritual previously, but we knew that it was meant to counter curses. When we tried out the ritual, it worked perfectly. But when the wizard who performed the ritual died, we understood that what it takes isn't just magical power but life force. No one outside of the people I was working with knew the complete story. So, different rumors were made up, and we let them be, which is how I'm assuming Malfoy knew about them. So, I hope you understand the reason why I'm refusing to give it to you."
"I...see", Harry said haltingly. He stayed quiet for a moment, then asked, "Have you tried using death row prisoners? Or multiple people to share the burden of lifespan?"
Ophelia Greengrass grumbled discontentedly, "Of course we have. We tried using magical creatures, sentient artifacts, and a hundred other things. Nothing works. It only takes one willingly given wizard's life in exchange for cleansing a curse from someone."
"What about alternatives? I heard that people who knew both dark magic and medical practice could counter curses with some side effects", Harry asked desperately.
Even before he finished, Ophelia Greengrass shook her head. "They only work on curses that affect the body, so they won't be useful to you."
Seeing that his last alternative had been squashed, Harry became silent. He thought back to how Hermione was lying on a hospital bed. Then he thought back to all that they had been through together. 7 years. That's how long he had known her. And in those 7 years, they had been through thick and thin, and never once had they turned their backs on each other. Adventures, mysteries, survival, fame, infamy, and war. They had been through all of it. And they only grew closer because of it. When he had to die because the horcrux was in his head, he wasn't really willing. Because he had to offer up his life to kill someone. He needed to think for a long time and even needed his parents' spectres to give him the courage to do so. But now that he had to give his life to save Hermione's, it wasn't really a matter of whether he was willing, but whether this really was the only choice.
Making up his mind, Harry asked Ophelia Greengrass resolutely, "I understand why you don't want to perform the ritual. But I'm willing to pay the price if I can save my friend."
Shaking her head, Ophelia Greengrass said, "Kid, you're just saying that because you are emotional. But when you actually perform the ritual, unless you really wholeheartedly want to save her life at the cost of your own, it won't work. Keeping that aside, it would be wrong to give up your life to save someone. I...couldn't participate in the war due to a few reasons, but I know what happened. You've already given everything you could. You deserve a full life, kid. Don't give that up just on a spur of the moment decision."
Understanding her perspective, he tried his best to convince her, "Growing up, I didn't have the best of childhoods. I didn't have friends, and I don't consider my relatives to be family. I didn't know what friendship, family, or love meant. Hermione Granger was the one who taught me these. If you ask me now what family is, I would say Hermione. So, yes. It is an emotional decision. But that emotion is the one that gives me conviction. So, you better believe me when I say that I wouldn't flinch if I had to save her life at the cost of mine."
"...I understand that it's for someone who is close to you, Harry. But I still can't allow you to perform the ritual. You just saved the wizarding world, Harry. Again. The whole wizarding world is thankful to you. I can't in good conscience allow you to sacrifice your life after that", Ophelia Greengrass said.
Harry looked into her eyes and said, "I never expected anything from the wizarding world. Not their thanks, and definitely not their admiration. The only thing I ever wanted from them was for me to be left alone." He shook his head and said, "You said that the wizarding world is thankful to me. Considering that I saved them, is my reward that they prevent me from helping my friend?"
Unable to say anything to that, Ophelia Greengrass remained silent for a long time. After what seemed like eons to Harry, she sighed and said, "I assume you have never performed a ritual, so you will need my help. We need a quiet location where we won't be disturbed. And of course, no one else can know about my involvement. There will be an outcry worse than Dumbledore's death after yours. After all, you are at the peak of your fame right now."
Harry nodded and thanked her immediately. He quickly hashed out the time and location with her and, after coming to a conclusion, was just about to leave when the fireplace in the study flared. And the one person he never expected came through the Floo. Amelia Bones.
A/N:
1. This is not a Death Fic. Harry WILL NOT die.
2. I know Amelia Bones dies in 6th book. The explanation will follow in the next chapter.