A/N: Story status -- The students will be getting to Hogwarts by chapter 17; I wanted to keep all of you up-to-date about that.
If you haven't yet checked it out, I've got a new story up, Her First and Her Last. It's a Lavender Brown-centric piece featuring Seamus Finnigan and Anthony Goldstein. The first part is up, and the second should be going up tomorrow.
I own nothing. A huge thanks to stella8h8chang for beta-reading this.
Chapter 13: A Brief Reunion
Although the rain continued to fall, Daphne felt a lightness in her step that she hadn't felt in days. She knew perfectly well why — she could feel Michael's letter in the pockets of her robes.
She smiled as she touched the wrinkled parchment; she had a feeling that she would keep the letter close to her at all times. However, her face fell as she approached the flat where she hoped Blaise was living, safe and sound. Daphne took a couple of deep breaths and knocked on the door.
(It'll be all right . . . It'll be all right . . . It'll be all right . . .)
(He's not gonna just turn me away!)
Daphne had no time to worry about Blaise Zabini's reaction to her . . . because she found herself staring at his face. And he was completely at a loss for words.
"Daphne?"
"Er, ta-dah!" Daphne splayed her hands out and smiled awkwardly.
Blaise stood in the doorway, dumbstruck and mute.
Daphne glared at him. "Happy to see you too, Zabini."
Blaise shook his head. "I just . . . well, we weren't expecting anyone tonight."
"Ah! Daphne. Is he home?"
Arthur Weasley walked towards the two Slytherins, his face signaling that he was hopeful for a friendly reception. Daphne finally noticed what Blaise was wearing. He had on black trousers that were nicely pressed and a dark green shirt with the Slytherin blazon prominently displayed on his chest.
Blaise looked quite striking in his garb; however his unmoving face ruined the effect.
"Arthur Weasley, Blaise. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Daphne rolled her eyes as she watched Blaise stare at Arthur's outstretched hand; he was utterly at a loss to say or do anything.
"Blaise?' came a deep, masculine voice from inside the flat, "who's out—"
Blaise blushed, and Arthur gave a little start in surprise as Eddie Carmichael's head popped up over Blaise's shoulder. "Oh! Um, hello. Daphne? What are you doing here?"
Daphne breathed out, relieved. Eddie's voice at least sounded pleasant as he addressed her. "I wanted to stop by and see how you two were doing." Daphne held back an amused snort as Eddie raised his eyebrow at her tone. Blaise continued to gape at her dumbly. "Er, Eddie," she broke in, "let me introduce you to Arthur Weasley."
Arthur gave him a wide grin. "Pleased to meet you, Eddie!"
Eddie reached out his hand to Arthur and gave the older man a brilliant smile. "Mister Weasley. Wait! You work at the Ministry, right?"
Arthur nodded. "Yes, I do. In the Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects Office."
Eddie smiled and wiggled a finger at Arthur. "But before that, you were in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, weren't you?"
"How did you know that, son? Wait a minute," Arthur looked like he had just made a realization. "Is your uncle Nigel Carmichael?"
"Yes he is."
"Merlin's Beard! He's one of the biggest Muggle artifact enthusiasts that I've ever met!" Arthur addressed Daphne. "I've owled Nigel a number of times with questions about eckeltricity and airplanes—" Daphne snickered into her hand, "and felly-visions and an assortment of other devices. Tell me, is he doing all right?"
Eddie chuckled. "Why don't we move this conversation indoors. Both of you, please come in!"
Arthur nodded and lifted the Impervius Charm covering both him and Daphne and he allowed her to pass through the threshold before him. Giving the older gentleman a politely exaggerated bow, she smirked at Blaise as she passed by him.
Eddie gestured towards the sofa in the middle of the living room. "Please make yourselves comfortable. It's not much, but it is home," Eddie said humbly, looking around the flat.
Daphne grinned. "It's great. How's training?"
Eddie grimaced. "Well, we're getting a lot of 'hands-on' experience. It seems like St. Mungo's been overrun with victims of curses and hexes gone awry." He shifted uncomfortably. "Many of them seem to be Muggle-borns too. And a couple of Squibs."
Arthur looked over at Daphne; all she could do was audibly exhale. "That's terrible Eddie—"
"Yeah, it is. But it's definitely helping me learn Healing magic far quicker than I thought possible." As he spoke, a tray of tea and biscuits Levitated into the living room.
Daphne took a biscuit and munched on it, throwing a couple of surreptitious looks over to Blaise. He was glaring at Eddie and Arthur Weasley. Daphne knew the look well; it was the same look she'd get when she wanted to say horrible things to someone, but kept silent.
"Blaise," Daphne said softly and she walked toward him. Eddie and Arthur were engrossed in a conversation about Eddie's Healer training, and she could barely make out Arthur asking something about Muggle stitches.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Blaise asked in a harsh whisper.
"Well, lovely to see you too! You were the one who gave me the bloody address—"
"For you to use if necessary. Not to throw stupid little tea parties!" Blaise practically spat at her.
Daphne was taken aback. "I was worried about you and Eddie. I didn't know if anything had happened to either one of you. I wanted to make sure you were okay, 's all."
Blaise looked at her with a dubious smirk. "You were honestly worried about me? I feel so warm . . . so fuzzy." He gave a little sarcastic shimmy and Daphne swatted him in the gut.
"You and Eddie doing all right? No attacks? No harm?"
Blaise shook his head. "All quiet. Actually," he said, with a triumphant grin, "the Ministry officials—"
"Cack – Death-Eaters – ahem!"
Blaise glared at her coughing interruption. "They've been acting like I shit Galleons." Blaise crossed his arms and smiled smugly at Daphne. "Apparently, I've," he flourished his finger and pointed at his chest, "got it."
"Not to mention Eddie and his magic wand—"
It was Blaise's turn to swat at Daphne. "Quiet!"
She snorted in amusement. "C'mon. I'm not gonna say a word."
"You haven't already told your precious Weasels?"
"Er, uh . . ." and Daphne trailed off awkwardly. "Well, er, actually—"
(Oh crap!)
Born out of a dangerous combination of desperation, imagination, and flexible morals, Daphne Greengrass had begun a small blackmail business while at Hogwarts. She had sought out prime marks who were not only wealthy, but possessed many "boggarts" in their closets.
With the help of her associate, Colin Creevey, Daphne had been able to amass many pictures of the wealthier Hogwarts students in a variety of compromising positions. And she and Colin had made a pretty Galleon or two — or a hundred — through this peculiar partnership.
Thus, last year, when things had started going south in Slytherin House, and Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were acting particularly evil towards Daphne in the wake of her participation with the DA and with the fight at the Ministry, she had turned to her only weapon.
She had blackmailed Blaise Zabini, the most powerful Slytherin in their sixth year, with the information that he was in a relationship with Eddie Carmichael.
However, Eddie had managed to turn the arrangement back around on her, asking her and offering her money to talk to Blaise and to try to get him to change his mind about pure-blood superiority.
To Daphne's surprise, her stubbornness and persistence had paid off; Blaise had started coming around toward the end of last year, even offering information that Malfoy did have a partial Dark Mark on his arm.
And from this sordid past, the blossoming of a new friendship had begun—
"Daphne?!"
"It must," Daphne said slowly, "have slipped my mind." She shrugged and tried to smile apologetically.
Blaise's mouth fell open. "Who? Who did you tell about Eddie and me?"
Daphne puffed out her mouth and cheeks. There was an awkward cough behind her, and when Blaise and Daphne looked back into the living room, they saw Eddie and Arthur Weasley staring at them with perplexed expressions.
"Ron. Only Ron knows."
Blaise smacked his head in frustration. "Dammit – dammit – dammit!"
"And I told him before I ever made our little 'arrangement'."
Blaise froze, his hand over his mouth. "He's known? For that long?"
She nodded, cringing.
"Great! So the bloody perfect Potter knows all about me—"
"No he doesn't Blaise," she squeaked at him. "Ron never breathed a word of it to anyone." She shook her head at Blaise's derisive snort. "I'm serious. I'd trust Ron — hell, I'd trust all of them — with my life." Daphne looked at the only Slytherin, the only one she could honestly call a friend. She focused her gravest expression onto him. "One thing I've learned since last year is that there is a reason why Harry and Ron are best friends. Harry trusts Ron with everything. Same goes for Hermione." Daphne set her mouth in a small, firm line. "I reckon people could learn a thing or two from them. About friendship."
Blaise continued to glare at Daphne; to her relief, she noticed his face softening the longer he stared at her. After a couple of moments, he let out a breath. "So only Ron knows then? Other than you and you 'business partner'?"
Daphne figured that now was not a good time to bring up the fact that she had also told Hermione.
"Yup. Only Ron. Just Ron. Ron, Ron, Ron." Daphne managed to grin at Blaise; he raised an eyebrow at her.
Right at that moment, Daphne's eyes drifted toward a dining table, and a thick, worn, leather-bound book laying atop its surface—
Hey. That's . . . " Daphne picked up the tome and turned it this way and that. "This is The Healer's Touch! You still read this?"
Daphne grinned as she watched Blaise scratch his head and avert his eyes. She had given him this very book just a couple of months ago as part of Eddie Carmichael's deal to persuade Blaise to change his mind about pure-blood ideology. The Healer's Touch was the biography of Healer Phillip Marcus Stallsworth, who was famous for his research on comparative magical qualities between pure-bloods, half-bloods and Muggle-borns.
Stallsworth was responsible for determining that a person's magical abilities was based solely on their genetics. Muggle-borns could not actually possess any magical abilities, since they would naturally be the product of two Muggle parents. Stallsworth had concluded that Muggle-borns could only logically have stolen their powers from other witches and wizards. His theories and conclusions were not only widely accepted in Slytherin House as the definitive proof of almost all anti-Muggle-born rhetoric, but it was widely accepted by wizarding society as a whole, laying dormant as the years progressed when there wasn't a war going on. However, one would not be hard-pressed to find a half-blood or pure-blood who might agree or accept the Healer's findings, even if they didn't agree with the extreme ends that the Healer's research seemed to go.
There were numerous, but lesser-known, articles by other wizarding researchers who had refuted the Healer's work; however, they had been unable to gain recognition in the magical community. Thus, Stallsworth's research continued to be quoted and used by those with anti-Muggle-born leanings.
"Er . . ." Blaise muttered, "I pick it up. Skim through it. Every now and then."
Daphne flipped through the book, and her eyes widened at the notes written in the margins and on slips of parchment marking various places in the text.
Looking closer at the notes, Daphne noticed that Blaise had cross-referenced portions of the biography with citations from the other documents that she had given him; these were documents from other magical researchers and healers directly contradicting Healer Stallsworth's specious data.
Daphne guffawed; the handwriting on the pages was both Blaise's and Eddie's.
Daphne held the book up, showing Blaise two pages that had been very thoroughly scribbled on. "Yeah. Obviously you barely read this thing."
Blaise merely glared at her.
"Well, I for one am happy you've taken an active interest in discrediting stupid, prejudiced idiots like "Shits-worth" here."
Blaise, much to Daphne's surprise, looked a bit sheepish and contrite. "It makes Eddie happy." He looked back at her. "Can't be all that bad, can it?"
Daphne looked over to where Eddie and Arthur were still talking and laughing. She couldn't help but grin. "No, it can't. It would be great if more people would follow your lead." She shook her head and her grin became a bit more rueful. "Too many people are gullible enough to believe this, and too few know that 'The Healer's' research is bollocks."
Blaise shrugged. "He had the Galleons and the support of people in power. The researchers that disproved him didn't have the politics or money to get this research out to the masses."
"Well, someone should've tried."
"Why? What's the point, when it's just going to get shoved back into obscurity?"
Daphne shook her head. "I refuse to believe that! I mean," she swept her hand in front of her in a rhetorical flourish. "All this crap with the Ministry is creating one very pissed-off society. And they don't even know that the Death-Eaters are ruling with some rather arsed-up logic! They should know. Our whole society's been had and they don't even know it!"
Blaise ruefully chuckled. "If only you could educate all of them, Greengrass."
She snorted. "Yeah, if onl—"
She stopped and froze in mid-sentence. Blinking a couple of times, she turned slowly to look at her friend. He cocked his eyebrow at her.
"Daphne? Kneazle got your tongue?"
Daphne brought her finger up and rubbed her lips.
(Of course!)
(But how? We'd need someone who had experience with distributing information to people.)
(Like a—)
(By the mighty hammer of THOR! Of course!)
Daphne finally came to, shaking her head as she saw Blaise waving his hand in front of her face.
"Hello. Daphne. You home?"
Daphne nodded slowly and deliberately. "Right now, I could kiss you." She ignored the grimace of disgust on his face. "You've given me the best idea. I just need to figure out—"
"Daphne," Arthur walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to head back to the Burrow."
Daphne nodded, this time more quickly. She turned back towards Blaise and gave him a wink.
"Seriously, Zabini . . . you're such an inspiration." He could only stare at her.
Daphne turned to Eddie. "It was great seeing you again, Eddie. Please," Daphne said with all honesty and seriousness, "please, be careful."
Eddie was taken aback, but he grinned. "You too, Daphne."
With nods and several more handshakes, Daphne and Arthur departed to the Apparition point nearest to them.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Arthur asked after a couple of moments in silence.
"Sure. Yeah."
"Are Blaise and Eddie together?"
Daphne hoped that her little stumble in her gait didn't clue Arthur in that he had figured out the true nature of the two boys' relationship. But she knew one look at her face would answer Arthur's question without so many words.
Arthur held up his hand. "I think I know the answer to that. All I can say is so long as they are happy together, that's a good thing."
Daphne stifled a grin and a comment that threatened to come out.
"I only hope that they are very careful in how they proceed. Simply because there are people that will hurt them — possibly Eddie more so than Blaise — should their relationship become public." Arthur shook his head. "I'd hate for anything to happen to them, given the current Ministry administration."
Daphne face fell, and she nodded solemnly. "When you were talking to us back at the shop, about the Ministry going after Muggles and Squibs and any person that didn't fit the status quo," she gestured in the direction of Blaise and Eddie's flat with her head, "I thought about Blaise and Eddie. And I wanted to make sure nothing happened to him or Eddie. That they're safe for now."
"It's not going to be easy for them, Daphne. It's vital that they take precautions too. And they should probably look at getting some wards up around their flat."
She nodded.
"I could even volunteer to do it myself." Arthur thought for a moment. "Actually, Bill might help out with that too."
Daphne smiled. "Should I let Blaise know, or—"
Arthur shook his head. "No, no. I can get word to Eddie at St. Mungo's." He smiled at her. "You and Blaise looked as if you were having a very spirited discussion?"
She chuckled and sighed. "That's how we usually are. Blaise and I. Oh, actually . . . that reminds me. Um, do you think, Arthur, that it might be safe to wander around Ottery St. Catchpole a little?"
He looked at Daphne with a creased and confused brow. "It might be all right, Daphne. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I got this idea while I was talking to Blaise, but the person I need to talk to about it happens to live in the town too." She let out a loud breath and bit her lip, trying to look as sheepish and innocent as possible. "Can you tell me exactly how far the Lovegoods live from the Burrow?"
Ginny Weasley smirked at the grumpy Slytherin girl.
She had forgotten that Daphne hadn't really soaked in and internalized exactly what the "Luna Lovegood Experience" entailed. Thus, when Daphne had explained to Ginny her idea and her need to talk to Luna Lovegood about how to get started on this new project, Ginny had drawn her lips together, stifled a chuckle (or two!), and set off with Daphne to Luna's house.
Of course, Molly Weasley had nearly popped a blood vessel upon seeing the two girls heading out of the Burrow. After much yelling and screaming to her mother that . . . "I'm almost of age," Ginny had finally acquiesced to Molly's demand of escorting the two girls to the Lovegoods' home.
And so they sat in Luna's bedroom, their toes scrunching up in her odd, yet, comforting carpet that felt like grass.
Ginny chuckled as Daphne let out a huff.
(She has absolutely no patience for her!)
Luna, for her part, was gazing at the wall behind them, her feet dangling off the edge of her bed. Ginny smiled at her friend; to the most unobservant observer, Luna appeared the fool. Indeed, the things she said and believed in were odd and quirky, even by Muggle standards. However, to those who knew her, once a person finally understood how Luna Lovegood saw the world, they'd finally be able to see her brilliance.
At this moment, though, all understanding was lost on Daphne Greengrass, who was huffing ever so impatiently.
Luna hummed to herself, a small grin pasted on her face.
Daphne coughed loudly.
"I'm still thinking."
The Slytherin stared at the Ravenclaw. "Well, you could've fooled me—"
Ginny glared at Daphne and nudged her with her elbow.
"Ow!"
"Be nice. She's helping you out."
"Oh, right!" Daphne sneered. "She's just thinking about her Extract of Gurdy – Plimpy – Dingle – effin' – berry Roots or . . . whatever the hell it is that she normally thinks about." She waved her hand dismissively. "Fat lot of help that—"
"To be honest . . ."
Both Ginny and Daphne snapped their heads towards Luna who finally started speaking to them. "I'm trying to think through some of my father's various Doubling Charms." The dreamy-eyed Ravenclaw looked at the two girls. "He uses several different variations of the Gemino Curse, but they're all designed to keep the contents of the parchment intact. If there are pictures that accompany a story, my father's spells will make sure that the picture or pictures continue to move."
Luna smiled. "He's found it's come in quite useful from time to time, when his printing press malfunctions or a pesky case of Nargles mistakes it for a mistletoe plant." She turned her protuberant eyes onto the other two girls. "That usually happens during their mating season."
Daphne simply looked at Luna with disbelief. "How in the world can someone — something — mistake a printing press for—"
Ginny swatted her across her chest to shut her up and turned to her friend. "Luna, do you think we can do this? While keeping it covert?"
Luna nodded, her eyes wide and bright. "Absolutely! It's common practice with our freelance writers to send Father memos and notes about their stories, and conceal the writing on them so they won't be scooped." Luna paused, and her eyes drifted to a corner of the room.
Daphne raised an eyebrow to Ginny, who could only shrug.
"What we need to do," Luna began in her dream-like way, "is simply cast the Doubling Charm on the entire document. The incantation is Geminio Tabellae in Universus. Then you can hand out the duplicated parchments to people. We'll give them directions on how to duplicate the parchments themselves, then they can hand them out to others. If they prefer, they can even simply talk about the contents of the parchments. They can talk to one person. Or five. Or ten. Or however many people they want to spread the information to!"
Daphne and Ginny grinned at each other. "It's doable then, you think?" Daphne said in a low, excited voice. "It wouldn't raise suspicion?"
"Oh, I'm sure it will at some point."
Daphne and Ginny's faces fell.
"But," Luna continued in her light, faraway voice, "as long as one other person reads it, they'll tell another person about it. That person will tell someone else, and it'll continue on and on, far after we've been caught." Luna leaned forward to them and smiled. "It's the same thing my father tells me about Snorkack Awareness. If you can just get one person to believe in it, then that's one more person than before."
"Wait," Daphne said, holding her hands up to stop Luna from going on. "You're not getting involved with the actual printing or distribution. I'll handle it. Don't want either of you getting mixed up in this."
Ginny huffed. "Daphne, don't being a thickhead! Of course we're helping you, right, Luna?"
The Ravenclaw nodded very enthusiastically.
Daphne slouched as she let out a heavy sigh. "You two'll get into trouble, though. At least with me, I'm Slytherin. I'll be off their radar."
"Right," Ginny said sarcastically. "So they won't suspect the Slytherin that's been living with the Weasleys and who's known to be friends with Harry Potter."
Daphne glared at Ginny's lopsided smirk.
"She is right, Daphne. You'll be suspected along with anyone else who's ever been sympathetic towards Harry." Luna thought for a moment. "And, you'll need help with the duplicating and the distribution." She smiled at Daphne. "It is very sweet of you to be worried about Ginny and me helping you—"
Daphne snorted in indignation and mumbled, ". . . not that concerned. . . ." Ginny rolled her eyes at her.
"You'll need help. You can trust Ginny and me." Luna looked at Ginny and grinned. "And Neville will most certainly want to have a part in this."
Ginny gasped and smiled herself. "Brilliant! Daphne," she said excitedly, "this is perfect! We can start with the four of us to help with the production of the pamphlets. We'll distribute them right away once we're at school."
"Are we doing it only at Hogwarts?" Luna asked.
Daphne paused before answering. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she finally nodded. "Yeah . . . for now, mind you. I think we should start with the younger, more impressionable of our society. Get them to think about the things I'm gonna write about in these pamphlets. What d'you think?"
Luna and Ginny both agreed.
"I think that's smart for right now," Luna said. "The older members of our society can be very inflexible about new ideas. We can start from the ground up, so to speak, by talking and educating the students. They can talk to their parents, who'll talk to their friends . . ."
"And soon, we've just overturned centuries of prejudices and backwards thinking!" Ginny exclaimed. "Ooh!" she grinned mischievously and rubbed her hands together, "I love rebellion!"
Daphne leaned back in her chair and smiled, turning her head at the sound of Molly Weasley's voice calling for the girls to come down the stairs. "With friends like you, changing the world'll be a piece of cauldron cake!"
