Warning: For Mature readers only!

"Potter, have you gone mad?"

Harry ignored Greengrass as he walked back and forth to make the door appear. He didn't blame her for thinking he had gone mad since he stopped in the middle of a corridor and started pacing randomly.

"First the ridiculous clause, now this. Potter, might I recommend a healer? I hear they made a major advancement with mental—"

Harry smirked at Greengrass when the door appearing on the wall shut her up. "Welcome to the Room, Greengrass."

He opened the door to walk in, an unbidden smile forming on his lips as he took in his favorite sight.

"… This is it? You couldn't have gone to that length to protect broken baubles."

Once again, Harry didn't blame Greengrass for being unimpressed. Everything she could see in front of her were items that had been lost recently. They really were broken baubles and worthless trash.

"There's more," Harry walked deeper into the Room and motioned for Greengrass to follow, "Would you like to guess what this room is?"

"A storage of some sort?"

"You're not wrong. It stores objects that span hundreds of years in age. I've known about the Room for over a year and still haven't discovered everything inside."

There was silence as Daphne looked around and saw the occasional unbroken object.

"Is that a Pensieve?" Daphne asked incredulously, breaking off from the path Harry led her on to get a closer look, "And it's working!"

Harry stopped and watched Greengrass. He had the same reaction when he found it. However, the memories it contained were of no consequence. It was of an unknown witch that stored moments that Harry was sure were important personally. Still, as someone unrelated to the witch, it was utterly worthless to him.

"Have you seen the memories?" Daphne asked while reaching a hand to touch the shimmering liquid, "Pensieves are generally used by noteworthy witches or wizards. It must contain something fascinating."

Harry didn't think a memory of the witch reading a book in the library was fascinating. Still, he would leave that for Greengrass to find out herself at a later time. It would be nice for someone else to feel the disappointment he did.

"What's this?" Daphne sounded confused when her fingers trembled a few millimeters away. However, she quickly understood what was happening, "Potter, give me permission to touch the Pensieve."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the tone. That sounded like an order, not a request. "No, I don't think so."

Daphne growled and turned to face him angrily. "The memories in there cannot be that valuable."

"That's not important right now, Greengrass. We're here so you can see the wonders the Room has to offer. There's no time to waste on that Pensieve." Also, Harry wouldn't allow the first thing Greengrass sees to be a disappointment, which was precisely what the memories were.

What Harry said interested her, no matter how much she tried to hide it. He looked at her knowingly and started to walk deeper into the room.

"Follow me," Harry said with a raised voice, "This place is a maze, even for me. The real prize isn't here."

Daphne gave a last look at the Pensieve before leaving it behind. "Who stored all of this in here?"

"Nobody. They are all things that have been lost inside Hogwarts over the years. The castle puts them in here." At least, that was what Harry had guessed.

"How did a Pensieve get lost?" Daphne asked incredulously.

Harry shrugged. He had no idea how that was possible, either. There were enormous statues that Harry had seen that baffled him even more.

As they walked further in, Harry kept an eye on Greengrass. She might try to hide her excitement, but the way her gaze darted around said more than enough.

"It's alright, Greengrass. There's no need to hide what you're feeling. Nobody else is watching. I laughed like a madman once I realized all this was mine."

Harry grinned when a frown appeared on her face. All he did was remind her of who controlled everything in the Room.

"Forgot about that, did you?"

Unfortunately, Daphne did forget about that. It couldn't be blamed on her when so many of the things she had seen were lost valuables of various pureblood houses. How many prodigal scions had come to Hogwarts with their family's inheritances and forgotten it due to carelessness?

Her thoughts had been filled with what she could do after getting her hands on them. Until Harry poured the metaphorical bucket of cold water on her.

"Since I can't take anything from here, why are you showing me all this, Potter?"

"Excellent question, Greengrass," Harry said with a chuckle as they arrived at the spot where he spent most of his time, "I want to make another deal with you."

Daphne wasn't surprised by that. It was all too obvious where this was heading. While she was prepared for Potter to try and use her as a shield this year, there was no chance she could have foreseen something like this. Daphne imagined that she would have the upper hand during any sort of negotiation, but she now knew it couldn't be further from the truth.

"I'm sure you notice the book up there," Harry pointed at the blood-locked Book that had been giving him a headache, "Tell me which family owned it, and I'll allow you to take something from the Room as long as you tell me what I want to know about what you are taking."

Daphne's eyes widened when she saw what Harry was pointing at. "So, this is why you stopped asking to borrow the Book from me."

"I figured there was no point when you started to laugh the last time I offered a trade," Harry commented drily.

Daphne clenched her jaw in frustration. She had gone to great lengths to discuss giving access to the Book to Potter with her father. It took a lot of convincing, but Daphne finally had permission to lend it under some strict terms. She had been waiting for Potter to ask her again but was surprised when it never happened.

Now Daphne knew the reason. She was angry that there was a missed opportunity but knew how to adapt. There was another in front of her.

"I can't give you the exact family, but I can give you three known to have lost the Book."

"Agreed," That was better than nothing, so Harry held out his hand and smiled after another successful contract was made.

"Archibald, Fairchild, and the Montague families. They all had careless heirs that squandered their inherited wealth. It would make sense that one of them lost the book at Hogwarts."

Harry frowned as Greengrass wandered off to choose an item to take. Montague he knew of, but the first two were unfamiliar. He hoped his luck was good enough for the Montagues to be the book's previous owners. It would be beyond simple to get access to it if that was the case.

Harry kept an eye on Greengrass and called out when she reached for a conspicuous ring. "Careful, Greengrass. Most things in this area have protections preventing you from taking them."

Daphne's hand froze, hovering above the ring as she mentally cursed for being so careless. It also made her realize that Potter likely wanted to know who owned the book because of a similar protection.

"So, was this a trick? You never intended to let me pick something, did you?"

"That couldn't be further than the truth," Harry denied, "If you want that ring, it's yours. Just tell me what it is, and you can take it out whenever you manage to pick it up."

"Like that's any better," Daphne scoffed before describing the ring, "It's called the Nullification Ring. It's enchanted to dispel active magic within a specific area of the wearer. The power depends on the skill of the enchanter and the power that the wearer wields. Still, even the weakest version of this ring would be invaluable. The metal needed to craft them can no longer be found."

"Interesting," Harry tilted his head, "And is this ring considered poor quality?"

"… No," Daphne reluctantly admitted as she observed his expression, compelled to tell him the truth, "I have never seen one this beautifully crafted."

"Very well," Harry smiled, hiding the pain he felt at letting go of something so precious, "It's yours, Greengrass."

It would have been helpful to have a ring that could save him in a fight against multiple magicals, but he supposed it wasn't meant to be.

Harry stood in place as Greengrass tested the ring for any protective enchantments, not expecting much to come of it. He had tried to take the ring out of the Room in the past but had failed miserably. However, that had been months ago. He had been focused on cracking the blood lock on the Book since then.

Harry blinked when Greengrass confidently cast a yellow-colored spell, causing a sound that sounded like glass shattering to emanate from the ring before a stunning smile appeared on her lips. Harry stared in shock when she easily picked up the ring and put it in a pouch.

Daphne's smile turned into a prideful smirk when she saw the look on his face. "Didn't expect that, Potter?"

"… No, can't say that I did," Harry looked at her differently. He always knew that Greengrass was a skilled witch and had to be respected because of the family behind her. Still, he never saw her as an equal when considering their magical abilities. It was expected that Greengrass would know more about the magical objects in the Room due to her background. However, he expected the same struggle he had when trying to take something out.

"Shame," Daphne's smirk grew wider, "As always, pleasure doing business with you."

Harry didn't reply as he watched her look around the Room again. He would consider losing the Nullification Ring as a cost of doing business. It would be well worth it if it could get Greengrass to come back to him to get something else from the Room.

"I suppose I can't win all of them. I'll have to be careful about what to allow if we make a deal again."

Daphne didn't miss what was implied, and her eyes gleamed with desire. Still, she tried to stay aloof, "Another deal? What would you want in return for another pick?"

"Hmm," Harry pretended to think for a few seconds before shaking his head, "I can't think of anything for now."

Daphne's eye twitched in irritation. "Are you sure? You don't want to know more about the Houses that might have owned the Book?"

"Of course I do, but that can be found out with a little research," Harry said with a look, "I don't intend to be taken advantage of again, Greengrass."

"… Very well," Daphne frowned as she accepted that there was nothing else she could get, "Then, lead me back to the entrance. There's no reason for me to stay."

Harry nodded and ignored the frustration he could practically feel bubbling under the calm mask Greengrass put on. There was no need to push everything on her so quickly. Harry had plenty of time to wait for her patience to break before his. When Greengrass came to him in the future and suggested a trade of her own making, Harry would consider her as caught in his trap.

Harry stayed silent as they made their way to the exit, letting Greengrass take in everything surrounding her without interruption. The more objects she desired, the better it was for him.

"Potter, how about a look into the Pensieve?"

"Sorry?" Harry turned to her in question, seeing her stare at the Pensieve that had initially grabbed her attention.

"I'll tell you about the Houses you want to know about, and in return, I get to look at the memories in the Pensieve."

This was a gift that Harry wished he could take, but there was a rather significant issue that was in his way. He had already created two contracts for the day.

The second contract Harry made could have been worded differently to allow Greengrass to take, or use, an item as long as he agreed to the payment, but that could have created loopholes due to the open nature of the clause. It was an excellent idea, but it would have to be thought over carefully before being put into use.

Of course, Harry wouldn't tell Greengrass that he could no longer make a new contract safely. He wanted to get more out of her.

"Would you happen to know where the descendants are located?"

"You already know there's a Montague in our House, and I could find out easily for the other two," Daphne assured.

"Very well, give me the location of the other two, and we can talk," Harry agreed, more than eager to see Greengrass's expression when she saw the witch just reading in the memories. At least the surroundings where the witch was reading varied wildly. Libraries, nooks, bedrooms, towers, and more.

Harry was sure Greengrass would love it.

"Then I expect us to make another visit soon," Daphne smiled in satisfaction.

Harry would be ecstatic if that were the case. He wondered when he should reveal the Room's main feature and how it could change into whatever the user wished to use it for. It would be best if it were 'accidental.' He could act shocked that he showed it to her before reluctantly allowing her to use it… for the right price.

As they made their way back to the Slytherin common room, Harry asked, "So, should I expect a seat to be reserved for me when necessary?"

"Is that something you even have to ask, Potter?" Daphne asked rhetorically, "You'll be lucky if I let you out of my sight after what you showed me."

"Ah," Harry gasped mockingly, "Don't tell me your little sister had it reversed all along. Are you the one with a crush on me?"

"Of course," Daphne said flatly, "I have such a large crush on you that I'm planning to give Zabini a shot if he gets what I want."

"Huh," Harry turned to her, "I almost forgot about that. What was it about him that appealed to you again? Zabini's not bad, but he has to be the least interesting wizard I've met."

"He isn't the worst looking of the boys. He comes from a long line of magicals… and he's controllable."

Harry waited for her to continue for a few seconds until he realized that was it. "…You have interesting criteria for a partner, Greengrass."

"Partner?" Daphne let out an unintentional giggle, "Zabini isn't a partner. He's a bit of fun until I get tired of him."

Harry once again felt sorry for Zabini. Then again, he asked and paid a massive amount of gold for exactly this.

This story is 8 chapters ahead for my patrons

P atreo n . com (slash) MarkusEllis (Remove spaces)