Chapter 17: Decisions
I tried, honest to Merlin, I tried. But I couldn't. My mind kept replaying the scene of my last encounter with the moron, and the more I watched as he flew through the air, the less sure I was of myself. There was a certain amount of hesitance to my casting, a certain unidentified doubt, and it hindered me. Were that to have been a duel situation with a Death Eater, that hesitance could have cost me my life, or worse still, Melody's. It simply could not be allowed to remain.
And yet I couldn't be rid of it for the life of me, and with a final sigh, I had decided that talking to Arielle was the only option I had left.
Melody was out of the question, that much I was sure of as I walked through the dimly lit halls. She wouldn't focus on the fact that I hesitated, that I could have killed the boy easily, but that I didn't.
No, I would most certainly have lost her attention at the mere mention of the use of the Dark Arts on a student.
Therefore, Arielle was my only option. But as I stood before her doors, I hesitated once more. Would she be able to help me? Willing surely, but would she truly have a solution for me? But then, I was torn, something she surely understood, always having existed as a dual being, not fully a witch and yet not fully a muggle.
So my pale hand reached up and knocked two times, sharp and determined.
I could hear movement on the other side and it was another second or two before her voice sounded through the thick wood of the door.
"Who is it?" yelled she, completely unnecessarily.
"It's Rosalind" I replied, my voice much lower, already having calculated the loudness necessary for this occasion "may I enter?"
"Oh, it's you" she said, and the offhanded manner she had spoken in annoyed me even more than my predicament "come in Lindsy!"
I took a deep, calming breath and turned the doorknob, pushing the doors lightly and slipping past them.
The room was as bright as ever and I blinked twice, three times, trying to adjust to the glaring lights. As I had managed it finally, I found Arielle sprawled across her couch, dressed completely as if she were just about to run, a book in her hand and her nose buried between the delicate pages.
She looked up with a grin, but as she took note of my expression the grin slipped from her lips and her face morphed into a mask of worry. She jumped up into a seating position, discarding the book she had been reading.
"What happened?" asked she in a serious tone and I walked forward, taking a seat slowly in the armchair opposite her position on the couch.
"Nothing urgent" I spoke, trying to ease her mind as she seemed to come to the very worst of conclusions "I merely have a matter I would like to discuss with you, if you would be as kind as to listen."
"Of course!" spoke she, but remained serious, sensing that this was something that could not be taken lightly.
"This is a delicate situation, so your discreetness will be much appreciated." I spoke and she nodded, reminding me that she knew well how to keep some matters to herself, despite her happy-go-lucky demeanour.
"I trust that you are aware of the unfortunate situation that has been present for some time between me and Blaise Zabini." I spoke and she saw it fit to interrupt me.
"Always so formal" sighed she, waving her hand in an offhanded manner "get on with it."
I gave her a glare, but decided that would be all I could do if I wanted her to help me.
"Well, then you are surely aware that he left shortly after me last Tuesday morning from the Great Hall?" I asked, and she seemed to be sitting on the edge of her seat, now paying intention "He followed me through the halls to the dungeon. I had chosen to go there as I had noticed him walking behind me, and decided to test my theory. But he did not go to the common room or the Potions classroom, instead he chose to walk after me. I turned around at that and called him out on it, but he brushed it aside, seeing it fit to tease me at that time. I don't know why, or which words it had been that pushed me off the edge, but I had used the Dark Arts on him."
Her eyes widened comically and she asked, worry in her voice :"Oh Merlin, tell me he's alive."
She could be downright thick at times.
"You saw him at dinner yesterday." I stated, tilting my head in annoyance.
"Oh yes" grinned she, showing that she did remember. "Carry on."
"Thank you" I hissed "I didn't hurt him too much, but when he mentioned Claudia, I… lost control. I approached him and I threatened him. And he taunted me more, angering me to the point that I wished to kill him, honestly end his life. But I…" I spoke, ending the sentence and allowing it to hang in the air.
"I couldn't." I spoke, closing my eyes in order not to see her reaction to this embarrassing fact.
"What do you mean you couldn't?" she asked, and I opened my eyes just soon enough to see her narrow her eyes at me.
"I don't know…. I just couldn't. Do you think that… do you think that I won't be able to perform the Killing Curse again?" I asked, fearing the answer greatly. What if that were true? What would I do then?
"I… I'm afraid I don't quite understand. What held you back?" asked she and I shook my head lightly, unable to voice my ignorance.
"But you could buy your way out of Azkaban easily; even talk your way out if you wished to." Spoke she, furrowing her brows at me. "What stopped you? And don't say Melody!"
"I don't know. I felt regret later on, I think I should have ended his life then and there, but it just felt so very wrong. For the first time in a long time it felt wrong to kill someone." I spoke clenching my hands.
Arielle seemed as baffled by this situation as I was, and we sat in silence for a moment or two more before I spoke up.
"There's one more thing. "I said.
"What did you do now?" asked she, seemingly assuming that I was in the wrong here once more.
"Nothing. That's the problem, I can't do anything about this. Today, when we were told to sort people in circles, I had encountered a problem with sorting Zabini." I said, distinctly uncomfortable with this topic.
"You couldn't decide where to put him?" she asked, and there was a certain glow to her eyes, as if she had some wild theory on mind.
"The third circle." I spoke and she gaped at me "I somehow found him there and I can't get him to move."
Arielle blinked at me at that, opening her mouth and closing them for a couple of times before finally managing "You know, he has become a big part of your life recently. Even if he's not talking to you, he's always in the near, always observing you, helping you."
"I am aware." I spoke, gritting my teeth. "And I assure you that I have been trying to rid myself of his presence for some time now."
"Are you fucking blind?" demanded she exasperatedly and I gave her a death glare.
"Watch your tone Hayes!" I hissed.
"Answer the question!" she spoke, ignoring my demand.
"No. I saw him there, I'm not blind therefore!" I hissed, annoyed at her stupidity.
"That's not what I meant!" she snapped at me. "I was talking figuratively. But you really can't see it, can you?"
"See what Hayes?" I hissed, "Stop playing, this is a serious matter!"
"Like hell I'm going to tell you that!" hissed she and I had half a mind to hex her then and there "You'd curse the living hell out of me!"
"Thank you for your help" I responded, stiffly getting up "you have been most kind!"
"Oh don't give me that!" she snapped "I can't help you, you have to help yourself! But I will tell you this, the curse wouldn't have worked only on Zabini. All others are fair game for you."
I nodded, thanking her but still unable to understand her. I turned around, walking like a ghost through the halls, and honestly wishing to just sleep this night away.
The night had served its purpose only barely. It had been a long time until I had managed to fall asleep, my mind plagued by two faces. I could see the moment when they lost their masks, I could feel the coldness of the curse that had left my wand, the power that ran through my veins, and the terror in their eyes was the last thing I saw before my consciousness drifted away from me, their last words my lullaby.
My sleep was not undisturbed either. I could see a figure in front of me, someone I had to save, someone that simply couldn't die. And then I'd see another figure appearing to my right, and as they raised their wand I knew what would happen before it did. I raised my wand in a protective, desperate move, and opened my mouth with every intention of killing the person who dared harm someone so precious, but the words wouldn't come out. The flash of green light that appeared suddenly from that person hurled through the air and I screamed as it hit the figure, making her turn around and fall to the ground, still, motionless, dead. As I reached the figure I saw it was Arielle, but as soon as I took note of this, her face shifted into Claudia's, then Astoria's, then Daphne's and finally Melody's.
As the face made to shift one last time, and the sky blue eyes darkened, changing into brown, I woke up, sitting up violently in my bed. My hands reached for my head shakily, as I struggled to fight of the panic that had settled in my head. I was not weak, I assured myself, I could still do what it took.
But I got up out of my bed, completely unconvinced, changed from my nightgown and took a glass of water, glancing to the clock and noting that it was four in the morning.
With my resolve firm, I summoned my wand to my hand and walked out of my room, headed for the training ground where I spent my hours until breakfast. I was tired and sleepy, but sleep was the furthest thing from my mind in that moment. I was afraid to fall asleep.
Another source of frustration was presented to me in the form of our Occlumency class. Once having decided to give up on trying to move the obnoxious boy from my mind, declaring it an unnecessary struggle, I had still not made significant progress in the class. Our first exercise was rather simple in its form, but by far too vexing in its manifestation.
Salazar was the one leading the exercise and his intention was apparently to teach us not to think. Bloody terrific.
The exercise was verbal, with Salazar mentioning a simple phrase like "Dinner with the grandparents" and us stopping ourselves from thinking about the term presented. Having an analytical mind, trained from childhood in thinking quickly and effectively, I struggled greatly with the exercise. It was only after our fifth lesson that I managed to control my train of thought, slowing the analytical process and bending it to my will.
Melody seemed to be fairing a little better than me, since she had not enjoyed the same manner of upbringing as I had. Apparently, our grandmother had never insisted on analysing a problem to its very limits, instead, she'd allow her to do things at her own pace, and to talk about topics of her own choosing. Our grandfather, the man who had raised me, was a strongly analytical person, and this was exactly what was expected from me. She had mastered the skill by our fourth lesson.
Claudia, to my significant relief, had found the matter vexing as well. Being a person who thought thoroughly and at length about the problem presented to her, the mere concept of not thinking seemed impossible. She'd leave the room more frustrated than ever, but come back every time, eager to learn more, to master the skill that was so challenging, which she had managed in the same time as I did.
And the person to have made the most significant progress, and by far the most astounding one, was Arielle. She had completely mastered the skill by our second lesson, a natural talent as we were told. Perhaps it was talent, but I thought it to be Arielle herself, a duality settled in one body, a broken person mending others, a cheerful person who suffered from self-loathing. Her mind seemed most prone to protecting itself.
By the end of our stay, we were all thought to have mastered the first, hardest stage, but I found my control slipping more and more the closer we came to the end of our stay in the trunk. For the next day would be a lonely, sad and dreary day, one I would spend in utmost solitude.
The sun had not yet risen as I walked up the staircase to the Astronomy tower. I wanted to be alone today, not a single soul near me. It was a cold night, and I pulled my thick coat tighter around myself , shivering slightly. But the cold was only a fleeting thought in my hazy mind. I could not focus on it, I could not focus on much on this day.
I arrived on the tower moments before the break of dawn and I pulled out my wand, whispering to the wind "Orchideous!".
I was an experienced caster and within moments, from simple outlines of roses, fourteen perfectly white, bewitched roses appeared. They were beautiful, and I charmed them into one single bouquet, fastened together by a thin, black ribbon.
As first rays of sunshine made their way across the hill that guarded the Hogwarts castle, I levitated the bouquet in front of me, sending it to the air above the castle.
I aimed my wand at the bouquet and pulled it up gently, saying "Pereo spiritus!"
The beautiful roses that I had created now separated, one petal at a time, creating a cloud of perfect whiteness and then gently moved, as if being carried by the wind.
"In memoriam" I whispered, sitting down and allowing my legs to dangle of the edge of the tower.
I never knew how much time passed, but I did not move from my position for a very long, long while. I watched as the sun moved across the sky, my mind empty.
There was this hollowness in my chest, this choking feeling squeezing my lungs tightly. My hands clenched the edge of the tower tightly as the wind played with my strands of my hair.
I could not remember them at all, I was mourning the death of people of whom I had no recollection what so ever. But it never lessened the pain. And it never lessened the fact that I missed them. I missed my mother, I missed my father. I missed them so much that it hurt. But I did not cry. Crying would not bring them back.
Perhaps revenge would help. I would watch Belatrix Lestrange suffer, I would hear her screams, even if that cost me my life.
I stood up that night, as midnight approached, not hungry despite not eating at all for the entity of the day, with three decisions firm in my mind.
Firstly, I would not forget. Not one life deserved to be forgotten. I would write down their names, of the people that I had killed, all that I knew about them, and I'd read it every day. Every day, they would be remembered, and every day I would remind myself of the terrible price that I had to pay, for victory.
Secondly, the Slytherin House would not be that price. I would save them, and Theodore Nott would be the first step towards them. He and his legion would fall, so low, so very, very low, so that the scum may never rise again.
And finally, I was not important, my pride was not important if it meant saving them. Therefore I would ask for help, I would make a deal to sell my soul if necessary. And working with Blaise Zabini seemed to me to be just that.
The first thing I did as I reached my dorm was open my trunk and rummage through its content, all carefully organised, and find a single, small, black leather notebook. It was completely empty, and I took out an ink pod, with emerald green ink, a beautiful peacock quill and set to work, writing for one hour without stopping. In the end, I had one page for each of the people I had killed, their ancestry, their family, everything I could think of.
I then took out a piece of parchment, deciding that sending a letter would be the best way to proceed. I was firm in my decision to make this unfortunate ordeal into a business deal, one whose terms I knew for a very long while on my part, yet simply never willed myself to acknowledge.
But as I made to start the letter, I found that I was lacking the words. I knew what I'd say in person, but the problem of inviting him was a rather complicated one. I had to make sure that he'd be as interested as to come, and not interested enough to get some wild idea in his lump of a head.
It was well after three in the morning that I managed to compose the letter, which said as follows:
"Zabini,
There is a matter of great urgency that I wish to discuss with you. Meet me in the common room at midnight tonight, alone. Disclose this information to no one and burn this letter after having read it.
R.V.K."
I folded the letter neatly, deciding to send Greyclaw to deliver it, as I had no trust for the school owls. But that could wait until morning, I decided, walking up to my bed and falling asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.
The letter had been sent first thing in the morning and I decided it would be best to avoid Zabini for the entity of the day, as I did not trust myself to remain calm at his teasing tone. I also doubted that he'd agree to my terms if he were lying in St. Mungo.
Dread clawed at my stomach for the rest of the day, and I did my best to remain calm. I was completely at his mercy, and I hated that fact. Whatever he asked, I'd have to agree. And he'd be quick to realise and exploit that fact.
As the clock read ten to midnight, I stared at the fire dancing in the fireplace. My nerves were not helping, and I was beginning to wonder if he'd even come. He had not talked to me at all since the incident with the Dark Arts, and that fact, as relieving as it had been for the entity of the week, worried me greatly presently.
I was so lost in thought that I did not notice the steps descending the staircase to the male dorms at first. But I was quick to snap out of it, taking out my wand in the empty common room, just in case it was someone I had not been expecting, and hiding deeper into the couch, so that I was not noticeable at first, but still had clear view of the common room.
It was the faint bluish light of his wand that appeared at first, followed by the figure of the boy himself.
"Nox!" I heard him whisper and the light died out, disabling me from seeing his face. But I could clearly see his wand, which was still drawn, irking me.
"Are you there?" he asked, his voice low, yet loud enough to be heard in the empty room. His tone was guarded, and I decided to show myself.
I stood up slowly, earning myself a much better view of his face, stepping forward, out of the shadows.
"Good evening Zabini" I greeted levelly, my guard up to its full potential and my head tilted to the side slightly, observing him.
"Rosey" smiled he, immediately disposing of his wand "am I dreaming?"
He was a complete idiot.
"Unfortunately, you are widely awake." I replied, fighting back a hiss. It was bad for business.
"You know" spoke he, sauntering over to me, "I was hoping it would be you, but I dared not even entertain the thought."
I narrowed my eyes up at him as he came to a stop mere centimetres away from me, grinning down at me.
"Now, what could a refined lady such as yourself, wish from me in the middle of the night?" asked he, once more attempting to seduce me as it seemed.
It took all of my self-control not to lash out at him.
"Business." I managed finally, through grit teeth.
He arched an eyebrow, showing his surprise, but before he could do something as stupid as ask a question in the middle of the common room I continued, just barely containing my anger "But not here."
"Ah Rosey" spoke he, giving me a disappointed look "my dorms are occupied, we can't go there. How about we go to yours? Surely you could persuade your roommates to leave?"
My wand was still drawn, and it was with great reluctance and a great amount of frustration that I placed it in my pocket, something that seemed to surprise the moron in front of me quite a bit.
"Follow me." I spoke, my tone just barely above a hiss. I then walked away from him, no doubt in my mind that he was indeed following me, and turned left, walking deeper into the castle dungeons. I turned left once more, then right, until I found my way to the familiar wide, well lit hallway.
I once more counted five doors before opening the sixth and entering the office of the old Potion Master of Hogwarts.
I walked up to the master chair without a second of hesitation, taking a seat and observing as Zabini tried to take in as much detail of the office as he could in the least amount of time.
"Have a seat." I spoke, wishing to make it an offer and having the words come out as a command.
He didn't seem to mind at all, sitting opposite me and giving me one more seductive smile. I wondered briefly if he had any other kind.
"This is a business deal, as I have mentioned before" I started and noted that he too seemed serious for once, listening intently, leaned back in his armchair, his dark eyes focused on mine. "and I am here to state my terms. You are to help me in befriending Draco Malfoy and turning him away from the path that would lead him to the Dark Lord. In addition to this, you are to be my eyes and ears, listen to conversations I have no access to and notice the affiliations made away from my reach. Then, you are to report to me. If I ask you to do something, you do so, without any questions asked." I said, stopping to allow him to come to terms with what I had said.
"Why?" was his question, the one I had been expecting. I had decided that it would be best to tell him the truth.
"Because I will not see the Slytherin House follow the lead of our seniors, walking like cattle to our ruin silently, no questions asked." I spoke, giving him as much information as I deemed wise. "These are my terms. What is your price?"
There was a deafening silence in the room as he thought this through, no doubt understanding just what it was that I was asking of him, just how dangerous it would be.
The moment he had decided on his price was clear as his lips pulled into a knowing smirk, confident as he knew I could not refuse.
It was just one word. Just one simple, short word, that had me nearly lose all semblance of control.
"You." Said he, smirking at me.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep, calming breath and gritting my teeth. By Merlin, I was seconds away from using the Cruciatus curse.
"Come again?" I hissed, losing the need to be polite. It was clear from my voice that he should be very careful of what he says, but he seemed not the least bit disturbed.
"Come now Rosey, " spoke he, his smile growing, "we both know you have heard me. And we both know that you cannot refuse, so why get so upset?"
"If you are suggesting" I hissed, giving him a death glare, not finishing my sentence.
But Zabini seemed to have no trouble following and he laughed outright, honestly playing with his life.
"My, my, what a naughty mind you have Roseycheeks." Smirked he knowingly "But that is not what I am suggesting."
He seemed to turn serious for a moment, saying: "It is no secret that I like you Rosey. So naturally I want you. But it would have no meaning if I blackmailed you. All I ask is a date. One dinner with me, formal and proper."
I glared at him, trying to wish my way out of the situation, but I knew that there was no way for me to do that. I would need to accept.
"I accept" I spoke, pronouncing the word as the dirtiest of curses.
"I knew you would" grinned he at me. "And so do I. Whatever it may be, if it is your wish, I shall do it. I will talk to Draco, try and see just what our chances are, carefully of course. You can trust me Roseycheeks."
"I cannot." I spoke and he tilted his head with curiosity.
"We shall see about that, won't we Rose?" smiled he and turned, leaving.
"Sweet dreams Rosey" called he in farewell.
I could not believe this, I really could not. He was, despite all of the seriousness of the matter, still toying with me.
With the first and third decision seen through, the time had come for me to see my second one to its entertaining end.
It was Wednesday that I decided to act, seeing as I was aware of the schedule of the fifth year Slytherin students, and that was the day when I could find the common room most filled and ensure that Theodore Nott would be there.
And there I was, sitting in my couch, my wand in my hand. Daphne was keeping me company, of course completely unaware of my plans. There was no need to scare her just yet. She was doing her Transfiguration homework, but I simply couldn't bother. I was by far too excited with the prospect of entertainment I had in mind.
As Theodore walked in, accompanied by two other fifth year boys, a smirk drew the corners of my lips upward.
"Theodore Nott" I called, and the room seemed to come to a standstill, along with the boy who seemed frozen in his tracks. "may I have a word? In public."
He seemed distinctly uncomfortable with the situation, for there was no way he could win. If he denied me the offer of conversation, he would seem weak. If he granted it, he had every chance of losing.
But the boy was a fool ,proven by the sheer fact that he deemed it worth his while to raise an army against me, and therefore he decided to agree.
"Of course" spoke he, a slight hesitation to his tone.
"You see, Theodore, " I spoke, my tone pleasant and his eyes drawn to the wand I was still twirling in my hand "I have heard some rather unfortunate rumours and I do hope that you will be able to ease my mind. The rumours have it that, as ridiculous as such a concept may be, you are building an army to rise and claim my throne. Of course, these rumours are wrong, are they not? You could never be as foolish as to rise against your Queen?"
"They are correct" spoke he, looking down at me as I was seated still. Careful boy, I may just hex your tongue off. "and there are many who share my opinion. I have a legion, Queen!"
"My, my, I really do suppose I should be scared now" I drawled, taunting the boy. Our housemates stood back from him, inching to the shadows, creating a wide circle around him and leaving him in its centre. "And what opinion may that be?"
"That a woman is not fit to lead the house." He hissed, and I arched an eyebrow at him. I really had not thought that he was thick enough to say that. "That your tyranny should come to an end, that you are not strong enough to lead this house. That a friend of mudbloods, blood traitors and halfbreeds is no Queen at all."
Now he was seriously risking his life.
"Of course, you would think that, wouldn't you Theo?" I taunted, and saw that he grit his teeth at my use of the nickname. There was a great deal of disrespect in my voice and he knew it well. "But I do not see your legion. Where are they?"
"They are here" he said confidently, still not fully grasping the situation.
"Oh, my apologies." I smiled, showing off my teeth. "By all means, call them to you. Throw me off my seat, oh leader!"
The taunting seemed to be enough and he grit his teeth, turning his head from side to side, in search of his friends. But there were none. As he met their eyes, they'd turn their head away, avoiding his pleading gaze, betraying him one by one. He had no one to lead.
"I am waiting Theo, where are they?" I demanded, my tone becoming harsh. I only then noticed that Daphne sat on the edge of her seat and I placed a hand on hers, showing her that I was in control.
Silence. Not one person dared move a muscle.
"I grew tired of waiting Theo, so I shall be as kind as to tell you. They are not coming. No one is, you are alone in your stupidity. Are you the best the Nott house has to offer?" I taunted, humiliating him completely, and seeing him inch for his wand. "I do hope not. How is your brother? I seem to recall him being a man and not a toddler. If you are the future of your house, I sincerely mourn for it."
He pulled out his wand, exclaiming "Shut up you bitch!"
There was a collective gasp and Nott made the mistake of not attacking immediately. All was still in the room for a while and then none other than Blaise Zabini stepped out of the shadows, wand drawn, standing in front of me.
I only saw his face for a brief second, but I noted that he was serious.
"Lower you wand Nott, or I will take it from you." Warned he in a casual tone, but threat dripped from every syllable.
"What are you doing Zabini? Are you truly siding with the bitch?" hissed Nott, enraged.
"That's no way to address a lady." Snapped Zabini, and I recognised the tone as being the same one he had used to threaten Draco. He seemed to come to his senses and his tone was once more levelled as he replied. "If you dare try and harm my Queen, I shall be your opponent."
Another moment of silence passed before I felt Daphne's hand slip out of mine. All eyes were on her as she elegantly stood up, drawing her wand and stepping on the left of Zabini.
"If you wish to harm Linda, you will go through me. I am loyal to my Queen!" spoke she, her gentle voice threatening at the end.
"I shall be your opponent as well!" came a young voice, and I watched with pride as Astoria fought of her friend, her tiny hand clenching her wand as she stood by her sister, her other hand taking Daphne's.
"I am loyal." Said one of the sixth years, a classmate of mine as I noted, and he stood to the right of Zabini.
"You have my loyalty as well." Spoke another girl, a fourth year, I noted.
There were four more students that declared their loyalty, one of which I was glad to note was Henry Meliflua, and they stood before me, shielding me from view.
But this was no way for a Queen to behave, and I stood up, walking around them and standing in front of Zabini, opposite Nott.
"This, Theo" I spoke, slowly and gently taking out my wand. "Is my legion. This is what it means to have power. "
I then addressed my snakes, my words loud in the silent room.
"I am Rosalind Valeria Kersey, the heiress to the Kersey name, holder of votes in the Wizagemont, your Queen. If any one of you here, however foolishly thinks of joining Theodore Nott, I warn you. You shall be going against me, and will therefore be branded a traitor to the Slytherin House. Remember what we do to traitors. "
I then turned to Nott.
"This is the first, and the last time you dare raise your traitor voice at me. The next time, I promise you a duel to death. Now, you are dismissed." I spoke, commanding him.
He gave me a glare, but slowly, reluctantly, lowered his wand. With a final nod, he scurried out of the room.
"To you all as well, dismissed." I spoke offhandedly, turning to my legion.
"I thank you for your loyalty" I spoke, distinctly avoiding the eyes of the man standing opposite me, "it is most appreciated."
There was nothing left to say, and they knew it, so we all went our separate ways, me deciding to finish my book and Daphne returning to her Transfiguration homework. The Queen ruled once more.