Chapter 2 – Restorations and the Summoner
Daphne Greengrass had inadvertently developed a reputation in her first two years at Hogwarts, that reputation being an Ice Queen. However this was far from the truth, she simply detested nearly everyone in her house, only two had escaped her loathing. Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini had become her only two friends within Slytherin, Tracey's cheerful nature and Blaise's cool demeanor had kept her from going crazy; more so because of what occurred in the sorting of their first year. Her betrothed the boy she was intended for since before she had been born had been on the train to Hogwarts and she had no knowledge of it. He been sorted into Gryffindor as well, which given the reputation between Slytherin and Gryffindor she knew approaching Harry Potter would be difficult if not impossible. She tried numerous times, but she wanted to catch him alone to explain things and hopefully not be rejected. This proved to be very difficult, between Ron Weasely and Hermione Granger or the teachers, Harry was never alone, the only time she was ever able to see him was when he was unconscious after saving the Sorcerer's Stone from Quirrell, she was actually able to see him up close and touch his hand that one time.
Her second year had been decidedly worse, the whole mess involving the Slytherin Heir and Malfoy going around bragging to the entire school like a great prat, further hurt her chances of ever approaching her betrothed. That arse because of him Harry will think every single Slytherin is a Death Eater or worse. She even tried to approach him at King's Cross at the end of term each time but he got wisp away by his evil muggle relatives before she could approach him. She told her parents what occurred the first year, both had tried to use every ounce of political clout to get Harry away from the horse faced woman and her fat slob of a husband. But was told that there several blood wad protection that had been placed upon the Dursley household well before Dumbledore was informed of James and Lily Potter's will and what it entailed. Her father had been beside himself with rage when he found out. Since then her parents had brought the matter to the Wizengamot once a month since the incident had occur with no success. Dumbledore had apologized and stated that until Harry became of age or was emancipated the wards stayed in place. So Daphne adopted her Ice Queen persona mostly to prevent others from getting too close to her. But there was another reason; she probably like so many other young girls fell in love with Harry Potter or at least the ideal of him.
Yet this morning just before she got dress to begin her day and visit with Tracey, her mother had gotten a floo call from the Minister of Magic himself, stating that Harry Potter would like to see her. Her mother charged into her room eyes showing such a happy glow, that she literally grabbed her husband by the arms and began dancing around the room. "Daph, I believe mom has gone mental," Daphne's little sister Astoria had responded watching the display before them.
It took all her willpower not bust her gut laughing at her sister's analogy of the situation, "I kinda of feel the same thing as she does," minutes after the display Daphne and her parents went by apparition to Diagon Alley to meet Harry.
Which brought Daphne to her current situation; sitting at a table in clothing that was way too big for him. She heard by far the most frightening thing she had ever heard in her life. He thinks mom hates him, oh Harry. Using her Ice Queen persona to keep face neutral, "I would never in a million years ever hate you, Harry James Potter," came her mother's reply.
XXX
In Hogsmeade at that very moment, Yugi Moto sat waiting to be interviewed by Minerva McGonagall for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts for Hogwarts. It had been a long six years since he first appeared in Harry Potter's world, the former grand champion duelist had made a name for himself, having applied for numerous apprenticeships in the magical community. Working with the best masters at charms, transfiguration, potions, and ancient runes, not to mention Yami was an already accomplished sorcerer in his own right they quickly made their way up the ranks to Deputy Auror beating out old Rufus for the position, just behind Amelia Bones for the top job in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and that was without stepping into a single classroom.
It was his work using his Shadow Game powers and his deck that grabbed people's attention, the ability to summon each and everyone one of his monsters to fight for him not to mention all his spell and trap cards, it was a surprise to find Mirror Force had the exact same effect it did in the card game block an attack and reflect it back at the attacker, the sorry excuse for a Death Eater that used the killing curse on him found that out the hard way, Rudolphus Lestrange will no longer threaten the Magical world again in the name of his Dark Lord.
Taking a sip of some tea as he waited for the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, he immediately shuffled through his deck to find the Cursebreaker Spell card and the De-Spell spell card, the first to break Voldemort's curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts job and the second card was for when he would arrive at the School after accepting the position, he had already destroyed one Horocrux when he defeated Lestrange, the Hufflepuff cup, Harry had destroyed the first one aka Riddle's Journal, that left the Ring, the Amulet, the crown, the snake, and the piece inside Harry's scar. Yami is this the right course of action?
"I will not sit idly by while that poor boy suffers not only at the hands of that lunatic, but at the misguided delusions of the old man. Dumbledore while having good intentions did great harm to that boy, we are here to see him get a better life," Yami replied.
Yugi shuffled his deck then set it down on the table drawing six cards, making sure to keep Cursebreaker and De-Spell separate as he passed the time waiting for McGonagall. He had seen in the films and read in the books this woman while stern cared deeply for her students, had an especially soft spot for a certain bespectacled boy with black hair and green eyes. "Wotcher doing?" Looking up casually he spotted a rather pleasant looking witch with pink hair, a pleasant heart shape face, and cheerful brown eyes.
"Shuffling my cards and drawing, keeping my fingers dexterous and active," Yugi explained. "It's good to see you again Tonks."
"You remembered not to call me Nymphadora," the woman smiled brightly.
Yugi smiled slightly, putting the cards back and started shuffling again, "You reminded me enough on six separate occasions that it is finally burned into my memory."
"To right, so what'cha doing here?" Tonks asked.
"Been asked to take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Professor McGonagall was to meet with me to finish signing the paperwork," Yugi explained getting a nod in response. "What about you?"
"Me and Shacklebolt came ta check on the wards for the school, it's mandatory every year," Tonks stated with a sigh blowing some hair out of her face, "Some weaknesses but overall still good, heading back to London soon as Shacklebolt finishes some personal business with Dumbledore."
The two casually talked until McGonagall and Shacklebolt arrived, McGonagall sat down and set the parchment for DADA position in front of Yugi, "Here you are Mr. Moto, just sign below and I can officially welcome you to the Hogwarts teaching staff."
Yugi casually picked up the Cursebreaker spell card, "A moment Professor," holding the card aloft. "I activate the Spell card Cursebreaker upon the title of Hogwarts Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, to break all unknown curses upon the position!" Like described the card glowed briefly and a terrible scream was heard as a cloud of black vapor hovered above the parchment for a second before dispersing. Yugi smiled triumphantly grabbing the quill from McGonagall's limp hand trying hard not to laugh at her shocked expression. "Now I believe it's safe for me sign this contract."
XXX
Harry Potter turned his head and found himself staring at arguably the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on, of course that didn't say much. The only women he ever met in his short life were, his aunt who resembled a long necked horse, Mrs. Figg who was a batty old woman who smelled of sour milk and cat urine, Mrs. Weasely while pleasant and loving was a bit on the plump side, then there was McGonagall she may have been pretty in her youth but he couldn't really judge. Lastly there was Marge, an ugly fat woman looking manlier than her brother. So his views on female beauty in adults wasn't very stimulating and very limited, the only one he could compare the woman at the door with was his mother which he got from photos and the Mirror of Erised showing that his mother thankfully was very pretty.
The woman standing before him now had long pale blonde hair that reach to the small of her back clasp at the nape of her neck by a red velvet clasp, she had bright blue eyes that was currently showing a lot warmth, an edge of sadness to them. She wore an elegant crimson robe, and held a small satchel in her right hand. Her left was gently resting against her ample chest; she entered the room and came to a stop a few feet from where he sat. He glanced next to her and spotted a girl that equaled her mother in beauty, though her hair wasn't as long it reached just pass her shoulder blades and her eyes were impassive and cold at first appearance. She wore a set of royal blue robes that matched her eyes. "Harry, oh Harry," he looked up at the woman seeing her begin to tear up. He slowly got out of his chair and walked over standing in front of the woman looking a bit nervous, he had cause this woman some unforeseen pain and was willing to take whatever punishment she deemed necessary. What surprised him however was the woman dropping into a crouch and throwing her arms around him. "I'm sorry, I should have been there for you, should have tried harder to get you away from that awful woman and her fat git of a husband," the woman broke down into incoherent sobs after that.
Going with his first instinct in this matter Harry slowly reached up and wrapped his arms around the woman then buried his face into the woman's ample chest. Then he found himself doing something he never thought he'd do he wept openly he now knew he was safe, truly safe. This woman, his Godmother would do everything in her power, including dying and killing to protect him, it was this moment that he knew what true familial love was.
XXX
Daphne's persona slowly evaporated the moment she heard Harry's first sob after a few moments her mother and her betrothed separated, then Harry turned to face her. She wanted to smile but instead she blushed and started fiddling with the hem of her robes. "I'm Daphne, it's good to finally meet you when you're not unconscious, with your friends, or with teachers."
Harry blinked a few times, "You never tried to talk to me at school, why not?"
"I-I'm a Slytherin, I didn't think you would want to be associated with me, certainly know that arse Malfoy gives a bad impression on our entire house," Daphne states.
"Daphne language," Marie states looking scandalized.
"Sorry mother but it is the truth, half the reason I was nervous trying to meet Harry was because of that git," the blonde haired girl stated then began to look even more nervous, "also I was worried about he would think of me. I was sorted into Slytherin because I had more of Father's traits than yours mother otherwise I could have been sorted into Ravenclaw, like you."
The boy nodded listening; he noted that he could do far worse he felt sorry for whoever married Parkinson or Bulstrode, but outside of them he never really looked at the Slytherin table before most of the most unsavory people he met were linked to that house yet it was the same group, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Flint, Parkinson, Bulstrode, the rest he just heaped into their foul group. "I'm sorry Daphne; I'll try to be more open minded in the future." Harry extended a hand briefly asking them to sit in while Brad finished with the Wills and paperwork which seemed to take longer than he thought. "Um, Mr. Wall why is this taking so long?"
"Terribly sorry, Mr. Potter, Gringotts wants everything in triplicate, so they can unlock all your vault accounts, make sure your family has no outstanding debts which thankfully there are none, checking over contracts in this case your Marriage Contract to Miss Greengrass," both young teens blushed at mentioning that. "It also seems you've inherited a Professional Quidditch team the Chudley Cannons."
"Ron's favorite team," Harry almost groaned he heard the team was horrible, "Um, is it true the team has been dead last since the early 80's?"
Brad chuckled, "Yes, but mostly because the team was left floundering because of what happened to your father. Now that you're emancipated you take steps to ensure the team is managed correctly, my suggestion is to talk to your future Father-in-law, I believe Mr. Greengrass is an excellent business man."
Marie smiled and nodded, "He is also a die-hard Chudley Cannons has been since before his Hogwarts years, he'll be more than happy to help you Harry."
Brad gathered up his paperwork and placed in his satchel, then handed a small velvet case to Harry, "These are the House rings for Potter, Black, and Perevell. As you can see only House Potter holds a ring for a Lady which Miss Greengrass will take upon her marriage to you when you are of age, or when you achieve you first soul bonding kiss."
Both teens blushed at that, "A soul bonding kiss?"
"Yes, while not highly known there is such a thing, usually involving one of the Ancient and Noble Houses, The Greengrass and Potter Houses alongside the Longbottoms and Weasely Houses have been allies for centuries since the time of the houses being first formed," Brad explain causing even Marie's beautifully thinned eyebrows to rise. "This will be one of the first times however that two of these four houses will join into one House." Brad smiled seeing that he had blown his audience away at this exposition. "You should know that now you are Lord Potter and Perevell you have a great deal of influence in our world enough to make changes, and that's not counting your fame. Combine the two together and well to quote Shakesphere 'all the World's a stage'. Good day to you Lord Potter, Lady Greengrass, future Lady Potter," with a nod he left the room leaving three very stunned individuals. It took the three of them five minutes to come out of their inner musings.
Harry looked at his godmother nervously before holding up the box that contain the ring that Daphne would wear. "Um, Mrs. Greengrass…"
Marie smiled softly, "Harry, call me Auntie Marie until you and Daphne are wedded, then please call me mother." She missed Daphne's blush watched Harry hand her the Lady Potter ring.
"Please keep it safe for Daphne, this will be a major adjustment for both of us, I'm willing to start fresh with her and Slytherin," the boy who lived stated giving his first real smile since he woke up that morning.
Marie nodded shrinking the box and putting it in her own satchel, "Now I believe we need to speak to Dumbledore about your future living arrangements, I will not see you go back to that miserable household. You'll be living with us if that is alright Harry."
"Gladly mother never wanted me living with the Dursley's, and since I'm emancipated Dumbledore can't force me to return," Harry stated.
XXX
Albus Dumbledore sat quietly thinking he just receive several notices from Gringotts and the Ministry as per regulations for the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, informing him of not only Sirius's death but Harry's emancipation as well as being contacted by Marie Greengrass. What was laid out before him was proof that he several grave errors, Pettigrew had been James and Lily's Secret Keeper, not Sirius. Lily had also put specifically in her will that Harry was to be placed either in Sirius's custody or Marie's. I never realized how old I truly am until this moment. How could I have been so blind, Harry how truly sorry I am this prophecy has been curse hanging upon my head. Well from this moment on I will take steps to ensure Harry will be prepared. Dumbledore looked up from his musings seeing Severus Snape weep openly at his copy of the Potter's will. "I am sorry Severus, it seems I have mishandled much in the last thirteen years."
"Then what can we do?" Severus stated trying to calm himself, is long time secret love had granted him forgiveness which he gladly accepted. Also his long time enemy a man he loathed more than anything else and which he extended to a child who in no right deserved it, the man apologize to him and offered repentance in a large some of Galleons. The whole thing was simply too much for him to bear.
"Simple we ignore the prophecy and go with the knowledge we have, you and Filius will begin teaching Harry dueling and Occulemancy immediately, I will arrange a pensive for you to show young Harry to hopefully mend bridges," the old wizard stated.
"So you believe when the Tri-Wizard Tournament arrives here next year the Dark Lord will find a way to enter Harry," Severus stated.
"If what the prophecy tells us is true Harry will face Voldemort one more time, and we must be swift to help him. I'll will step up my research on Horcrux's though I believe our esteemed new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor may have knowledge of this already," Dumbledore replied. "If so do not approach him and allow him to do what his job entails." The old wizard stood and walked to the entrance of this office before turning to the potions master. "I have meeting with Lady Greengrass, so if I return and you find that I'm a bit hard of hearing do not be surprised," he chuckles. "Marie and Robert have always been vocal on my decision to leave Harry with Lily's sister, and with what I've read in Lily's will I believe Lady Greengrass is in her full rights to make me deaf."
Snape waited until the door closed before he chuckled, having been around Marie Constance during his Hogwarts years he knew how vocal she would get especially if Lily was upset. Few things could ever make Marie's warm blue eyes turn cold, but to see her best friend in tears were grounds to give a glare that could freeze hell. Severus shuddered remembering the Mudblood incident and Marie's cold eyes and words a few hours afterward. Marie was Lily's sister in all but the blood and it showed, and if Daphne is anything like her mother and she falls for Potter then I pray to Merlin for the poor soul that earns her wrath.
Author's Note: Unlike many of the Harry/Daphne pairings I read which are good and I strongly recommend reading them, the unbelievable amount of bashing in them is a bit hard, however in most cases its central to the plot, turning Dumbledore into a bigger threat than Voldemort. But this take will Dumbledore a bit more in canon as a person who overstepped his bounds and now is trying to fix the mistakes. My self-insertion into this fic was simply to lay the groundwork for all the corresponding chapters that follow and Yugi being in this story will have more weight later, he is a major character just at this point I'm focusing on Harry, and know Harry will not be godlike or suddenly start being awesome in politics, he's thirteen years of age currently most boys at this age are starting to notice girls, get fanatical about sports most of the time, or concentrating on their schooling, which is what happened in Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry started noticing girls (Cho Chang), was fanatical about sports (Won the Quidditch House Cup and went to see the Quidditch World Cup), and concentrated on his studies (Had to because of his fight with Hermione).