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"What's your next class?"
"You know."
"So I do."
A pause. Then, "Potions... Daffy."
Daphne spun around, laying her hand on her sister's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll love it, Tori."
"Astoria. Never Tori," Astoria said in reply, her lip curling.
"And yet you wonder why I-"
Daphne was abruptly cut off when a man seemingly melted out of the shadows of the Hogwarts wall. She dropped her hand towards her wand but she knew she wouldn't be quick enough.
The man in the coat was far too quick. His strange wand was already in hand - was it made of metal? - and a red curse shot from it, hitting Daphne in the chest and flinging her back.
"Daphne!" Astoria shouted. She went for her own wand, but the man in the coat was already there, grabbing her hand roughly.
"Let go!" Astoria shouted, pulling back as hard as she could while trying to make a grab for her wand with her free hand.
"Astoria Greengrass," the man spoke, at last, staring at her with eyes Astoria couldn't begin to place the colour of.
Astoria whimpered as the man tightened his grip.
He began to raise his metal wand, but, almost like a sixth sense, turned his head abruptly and moved his hand just as quickly, a silver shield coming into place in front of him.
A red curse smashed against the shield and when Astoria could see that it had faded, she saw him on the other side, wand raised and staring with fearful eyes.
"Harry Potter," the man said. "And to think that you were the one to send me."
Harry Potter blinked, just a bit, and then fired another spell that splashed harmlessly against the shield.
"Who are you?"
It didn't come from Harry, but from Daphne, who had come to with surprising speed and was pointing her wand at the man. There was something to be said about her resiliency.
The man said nothing, just backing himself up to the wall with Astoria tightly in his grip. He didn't seem to register Daphne's question, or if he did, he ignored it.
As time continued to tick by slower than it ever had before, and as the man continued to add distance, Daphne fired a spell that Astoria didn't recognize, but the man clearly did. The shield vanished in an instant, but the spell collided with Astoria, and she fell limp. It was instantaneous, just as quick as falling asleep.
Harry shouted another spell that the man batted away, leaping forward at lightning speed, coat billowing behind him as he fired off a curse that Daphne narrowly avoided. It was vicious-looking, and if she recognised it correctly, one that she was very thankful to have avoided. If she hadn't, the odds that her lot in the fight was over, would have been one hundred per cent.
When she righted herself — wand included — and looked to where the man was, she saw Harry was going after him, hard. It was odd to see him fight so desperately for her and Tori, they had seldom spoken with one another, much less done anything that would earn her and her sister his protection.
Right at that moment, Harry jumped forward, ducking under a spell that the man redirected from Daphne, and picking up Astoria's frail body from beneath her shoulders. The sight enraged her, and Harry seemed to sense that as he renewed his offensive with fierce spellfire aimed for the man's centre. Narrowly, spell after spell missed Tori and the man as he manoeuvred them.
Nothing was working, and Daphne feared for her sister's life. Especially when the sound of crackling fire sounded around them, for she feared it meant the arrival of another witch or wizard. If that were the case, she and Harry would be overwhelmed, and Tori would be gone.
Dreadfully, Daphne turned her attention towards the source of the fire-like noise, and when she did, her shoulders sagged in relief.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry shouted with joy as he moved to the right of the Hogwarts hall they were in.
The old man gave Harry a nod, and then a polite one to Daphne, seemingly unimpressed with the attacker and not worried about his strength. "I must say, I don't believe we've met," Dumbledore said casually, even as his wand appeared in his hand, aimed at the man's chest "Mister...?"
The man was no longer looking at Dumbledore after his initial arrival and the shock therein, but instead, he sought out Harry. Slowly, the man backed up until he was pressed tightly against the wall.
"You've no idea what you're protecting," he said. He pointed his wand at Astoria, and Harry and Daphne both tensed in response. "Astoria Greengrass." He lowered his wand, slowly. "The Lady of the Dark Isle. She'll bring about the end of you all, and that's why you sent me back, Harry."
And just like that, the man slunk back into the shadow of the wall and disappeared, his distorted voice echoing through the halls a moment before Astoria's limp form crashed to the ground… or rather, it would have if it weren't for Harry's decisive jolt forward. The Gryffindor boy only just managed to catch Tori in his arms, and after he did so, Daphne bolted over to take her sister away from him all the while one thought raced through her mind on endless repeat.
What in the name of Morgana just happened?
After Astoria's safety was assured and the lithe girl was sent to Madame Pomfrey for care, Daphne spaced out. She remembered how Dumbledore urged her and Harry to sit nearby Astoria's bed so that Daphne could have peace of mind. It was very kind of the man to do so, and yet, she couldn't so much as thank him. Her eyes were simply locked on Astoria… when they weren't flickering to every shadow that seemed to dance along the walls thanks to the light given off by the many torches throughout the entirety of Hogwarts.
"Daphne?"
Slowly, she turned her attention towards the voice, Harry's voice, and looked at him. "Potter," she said, her tone less mannered and thankful than it should have been. She winced internally, and then, she stood up from her seat, ensured that his eyes were on her, and she curtsied. "Thank you. Words do no justice for the help you provided my sister. If you hadn't come along when you had, I don't believe I'd be here, and Astoria definitely wouldn't be. We're in your debt."
At her curtsey, Harry seemed minorly uncomfortable — embarrassed even — and when she finished speaking, he was visually distraught. No, maybe that wasn't quite the right word, but Daphne's mind couldn't make sense of what he was or wasn't, she could only focus on the shadows where the monster of a man might be lurking and her baby sister. Tori.
"No. No, you're not in my debt. You don't have to thank me either, I just did what any good bloke would do. When Dumbledore's back with Aurors, I'll leave you to it. I don't want to invade your pri—"
Daphne spoke over him, for as he mentioned his desire to leave her presence, a sudden fear grabbed hold of her. It was anxiety, crushing anxiety, and with it came a deep, unsettling feeling whensoever her eyes spotted darkness of any kind. With how easily the man melded into the shadows and the silence whilst he did so, it wasn't lost on her that he could be present in the room with them right then and they would be oblivious as to that fact.
Such a thought was terrifying, and again, she had to ensure that her sister was safe. Potter had to stay if that were to be the case, for it was only his intervention that brought some sense of a security.
"Stay."
"What?"
She watched as Harry blinked at her, a mixture of shock and nervousness apparent on his face. Dumbledore had said little to the pair of them so far as she could remember, the vast majority of his words were riddles or circles that did nothing to alleviate her fear. When he left, leaving Harry and her together with Madame Pomfrey and Astoria…
"Stay," Daphne repeated, her tone a combination of so many emotions that not even one could be decisively placed. "Astoria's safer when you're here."
"I couldn't stop him," Harry pointed out as he slowly settled more comfortably in his seat.
"I didn't even notice him before I was on the ground and he was taking my sister away from me."
Daphne would never forgive herself for her carelessness. Tori had ended up in the hospital because of it, and if that wasn't horrible enough, the girl had yet to wake up thanks to her spell. The man had moved her body to cover her own, and in doing so, she was hit with a curse that needed more than a potion or counter-curse to fix;
Harry shook his head, equally as dejected as she felt based on the look of him. "The Lady of the Dark Isle… what's that about? Do you know?"
"I've never heard about a 'Dark Isle', and that title is non-existent."
"For the moment," Harry pointed out before he continued, practically thinking aloud. "The man said that she turned into some sort of Dark Lady, like Voldemort, but of a specific Isle. The Dark Isle. When Professor Dumbledore's back, we could ask him. If anybody's likely to know, it's him."
As Harry thought aloud for her benefit and recollected how the man had said she was a 'Dark Lady' or future dark lady, Daphne remembered something very worrying that had gone unchecked by Dumbledore. Slowly, her eyes drifted from Astora's prone, sleeping form and back to Harry, this time with an offensive edge to them as she took in the boy's appearance.
"That man also said that you sent him back."
"He did, but I can't remember or place his voice. It sounded familiar. Very familiar, really." Harry frowned after he finished speaking. He seemed bothered by the fact that he couldn't place the man's voice despite how distorted it had sounded.
"You don't know who it is, that's obvious, but don't you have a clue at the very least? He'd have to be a friend of yours, an acquaintance, or possibly simply an ally… terminology needn't matter or be discussed — his identity must be revealed if Tori's going to make it," Daphne finished by gazing back at Astoria's near-motionless form.
If Potter had sent the man, if he knew him and thought that the voice was familiar, it wouldn't take forever for his identity to be made known to those that were involved. The Headmaster would then hunt the man down, trap him, jail him or give him to the Dementors, Daphne didn't care, and after he met his fate Tori would be free.
"I don't know. I really don't. I wish I did, I wish I could remember, but I can't place the voice. I'd have to hear him speak without any charms and a battle raging, and if that happens, I think I'll be able to pick him out…. for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I wish I could do more," Harry's voice was quieter.
Daphne looked back over at the boy and nearly frowned at what she saw. He seemed devastated on account of what had happened and the additive thought that he had sent the murderer likely didn't help any — still, if Dumbledore was convinced that more was at play and that 'this' Harry hadn't sent the man, she would trust him.
If she didn't, her mind would collapse in on itself after the day she'd had.
"Daffy?"
Daphne's eyes snapped open and her wand was instantly raised as she looked at Tori. "Where?"
Tori shook her head and held out her arms. "Lay with me. Please."
When Daphne realised there was no present threat, that Astoria was safe, Harry was nearby and four Aurors were throughout the Medical Wing, she sighed. It had to have been a few minutes at the very least, but for all she knew, she could have been out for hours. Harry, tired as he looked, seemed to have remained alert all the while she'd rested; it was but another failure on her behalf and another 'thank you' that he would need to receive in lieu of an actual reward or payment.
What could she offer him? Truly?
"Are you okay?" Daphne asked as she stood up, walked to the empty side of Astoria's bed and promptly crawled under the covers alongside her sister. When she was cuddled up against her, or more accurately, when Astoria was comfortable atop her, she spoke quietly as she brushed her baby sister's hair from out of her eyes. "Do you need anything? Could I get you water?"
Astoria shook her head and pressed more firmly into Daphne's side. "I'm fine. I just feel a bit off. I think the curse is… I think it's acting up again — I'll be okay, don't worry. Just lay with me and tell me what happened."
"I let you down, that's what happened," Daphne said dryly.
"You must have picked me up too if I'm here," Astoria quipped cheekily before a groan was wrenched from her; Daphne knew just how to play with her sister's hair to make the girl relax and feel bliss. Scalp massages were fantastic, though she wasn't nearly as gifted in giving them as their mother was.
"I was incapacitated as soon as the man revealed himself, and were it not for Harry and Professor Dumbledore, the end would have been different. It's them we owe our thanks to, and soon, I'll write to our mother and father to tell them as much," Daphne said, Astoria's response nought but a groan as she finally went limp atop her.
When their conversation seemed just about finished, Harry — Potter no longer — interjected. "Professor Dumbledore deserves the thanks loads more than I do. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to wrestle Astoria away from that man. He was stronger. Stronger than any of the times I fought… others," he finished lamely.
Daphne knew what he likely wished to say, and she was exceedingly thankful that he didn't. Astoria didn't need to hear about Voldemort, Harry's clashes with the man or anything of the sort. All she needed to do was rest whilst Harry, the Headmaster and the rest of the family decided what best they could do to protect her from a murderous lunatic set on ending her for a futuristic grievance.
The more she thought about it, the less it made sense. Professor Dumbledore had said that the man was very like a time traveller, and that, for whatever true reason, he had been sent back to end Astoria. Mayhaps every word he spoke was true; Astoria would go on to become a Dark Lady of an unknown land, a new war would break out and many would die until Harry sent that man back.
There was also the chance that all of that was complete and utter nonsense, and that he was trying to implicate Harry in murder whilst settling a feud of some sort with the Greengrass family. Daphne wasn't wholly aware of her father's business dealings, debt — if it existed — or anything of that nature, and so no conclusion could be drawn from that train of thought.
Daphne was startled back to the present when she felt a very minor poke at the base of her neck near her collarbone. It was from Astoria, and the girl's head was raised just enough so that she could look into Daphne's eyes.
"Could you tell him thanks?" Tori asked in a whisper, her eyes ensuring that it was very obvious as to who she meant.
She still fancies him.
"I could," Daphne agreed. "You'll have to relay that to the Headmaster, amongst other things. We're meant to have a conversation soon, all of us, but I assured him that you needed to rest before that occurred… I'm sorry, Tori."
At the last-minute apology, Tori furrowed her brows. "I'll speak with the Headmaster… but why are you sorry?"
"I stunned you when I meant to free you. If I had aimed better and struck the man, you wouldn't be here."
Astoria shook her head adamantly, poked Daphne a multitude of times before the girl made to grab for her hands, and when she did, Tori started to pout and sniffle at her. It was a low blow, but Daphne couldn't help but smile. If Astoria was able to jest despite all that had happened to her, then why was Daphne acting as she was?
Her little sister had been the target of the attack, not her. It was Tori the man wanted, Tori that held the family curse, Tori that would live a difficult life, and despite all of that, she was kind, teasing and playful.
"Daffy?"
"Hmm?"
Astoria's cheeks were red as she leaned in to whisper — more quietly than when last she did so — to Daphne. "Could you have Harry come here for a moment?"
Unsure of where her sister was headed with her request, Daphne nodded after a few seconds of hesitation, and finding Harry's eyes with her own, she gestured for the boy to come over to the side of the bed. He groaned the way that all boys and men did when they rose from a seat, and slowly, with many blinks, did as was requested.
"Good morning, Astoria," he said politely and with a small, nervous wave that nearly made Daphne roll her eyes; he could save her sister, save her, battle Voldemort, risk his life for others, and yet he was nervous around them now?
Wizards will never truly be understood, our mother was right about that.
Tori partially hid under the covers and behind Daphne's larger body as she responded, nought but a partial face visible. "Hi."
At her shy, quiet word, Harry smiled. "What can I do for you or Daphne? Or did you want me to go and seek out Professor Dumbledore?"
Astoria didn't say anything, she simply motioned for him to move closer to her and when she did so, again, Harry did as she requested of him. He leaned in, slowly, and when Astoria sprang towards him, he remained still. Astoria's lips pressed softly on his right cheek. The little innocent, adorable kiss was fleeting as her sister withdrew and completely hid behind her and under the covers.
"I suppose I'll say it audibly for you — thank you, Harry," Daphne said, her hand gently rubbing up and down Astoria's slight back. "I can't freely move at the moment, as you can likely tell, but if you'd please…"
Harry swallowed and moved a bit closer, whereupon doing so Daphne pressed her lips to his left cheek. It wasn't as forceful as Astoria's kiss of thanks. Not even remotely. Her touch was so fleeting that it felt as if it could have been a gust of wind that brushed against his face or a fly that chose to land on him. It was as if the moment her lips came into contact with his skin, she was burnt and withdrew.
He pulled back, his eyes were on Daphne's, and then the curtain to Astoria's section opened.
It couldn't have done so at a better time.
"Professor?" Harry asked when Dumbledore made his presence known.
Potter withdrew from her immediately and moved towards their Headmaster. She didn't know why, least of all at that moment, but there was the slightest pain when he moved away sans any words or actions of his own directed towards her.
"Ahh," Dumbledore started as his eyes fell on Astoria's form, where it was cuddled up to Daphne. "I do so find that love aids recovery more than can be explained. It's very interesting."
"Professor — is there anything? Any news? Was the man telling the truth?" Harry asked again, prying the Headmaster for information.
Dumbledore turned his gaze from the two Greengrass girls back to Harry, and as he did so, Daphne felt Astoria begin to stir again.
"Short of capturing the man, I don't believe answers will show themselves to us," Dumbledore said, a look of interest on his face. "Forgive an old man for his delay — I came to gather Miss Greengrass and Miss Greengrass," — he looked very pleased with himself at that — "as well as their belongings."
Daphne rose her head so that she could look at the Headmaster, but she didn't speak. Astoria was partially asleep, and she wouldn't ruin her sister's rest.
Fortunately, Harry asked the question that had left her so very curious. "Are they leaving Hogwarts?"
"Until I can find how Hogwarts allowed in an intruder, I fear he'll be able to target the young Miss Greengrass again, and so after conversing with their parents, it was decided they would return home," Dumbledore said, raising a hand when Harry made to speak and doing so patiently. "I will find alongside the Professors and Ministry how he entered Hogwarts, and when that's resolved, our Miss Greengrasses will return to a feast."
Harry nodded slowly. What else could he do?
"Don't despair," Dumbledore said as he looked between Daphne and Harry. "Hogwarts will always provide a home to those who ask, but not Hogwarts alone."
At those cryptic, seemingly random words, Dumbledore put an item that he withdrew from his pockets into the hands of Harry, and then he left. There wasn't anything more said before the man disappeared back beyond Astoria's private section, and as before, Daphne and Harry were left together.
Well, so long as you didn't count the four Aurors that were beyond Astoria's tent.
"What do you suppose he meant?" Harry asked Daphne, seemingly perplexed as he all but fell back into the seat he had previously occupied.
Daphne gave a slight shrug lest she woke Astoria before they left.
She had no clue, and they would remain unaware until the time for their 'vacation' began.
Harry, Daphne and Astoria were all present in Dumbledore's office. It was the first time she had seen the place, and unsurprisingly, it was packed full of portraits, tomes… anything that one could think of was present within the Headmaster's office. It was quite impressive. Truly.
"Yes, I'm certain," Daphne's father said, his tone short as he spoke to Dumbledore; his voice was raised, and that was the only way she could overhear that snippet of their conversation whilst her mother kept her, Tori and Harry near the Floo.
When the conversation went quiet again, Daphne sighed. She wished she would have been able to take an active role in whatsoever was being discussed, but that wasn't to be, and so she didn't. Instead, she sat on one side of Tori whilst her mother sat on the other side of her. Since the girl had left the safety of the hospital ward and moved back through the halls and stone rooms of Hogwarts, she had turned nervous and clingy.
It wasn't hard to understand why that was.
"Harry?" Daphne asked, pulling the boy from his mind as he turned to face her.
"Yeah?" he asked. He didn't seem overly fond when he met her eyes, but he did so nonetheless. Daphne imagined the lack of sleep on his behalf, the lateness of the night and the most recent turn of events were piling upon him heavily, and oppressively.
She knew it would have been unbearable if she were in his shoes. "Are you certain you don't mind? It's not fair to you."
Daphne's mother made a noise, but she didn't speak.
"It's fine — if Professor Dumbledore's certain that it'll work, I'll do it. I'm not going to be selfish," Harry said with a small, polite smile on his face, one that was mimicked by her mother.
Is he certain?
Daphne knew that whosoever attacked had been strong, and if they took everything at face value as Dumbledore and Harry seemed to do, then maybe Dumbledore's train of thought wasn't too far off. That being that the man wouldn't kill Harry, nor would he try and do anything that would risk his life, for if Harry was killed in the past, there would be far more issues risen than the solution the man was seeking.
Now, that was if one stopped and thought that the man would attack once they left Hogwarts. The Headmaster had said that he would follow them through the Floo to their home and personally apply the main wards, including one that involved some sort of keeper or what have you — Daphne considered herself intelligent and knowledgeable, but when only a portion of the conversation was overheard and in pieces at that, she couldn't tell what the two men were discussing.
Truthfully, she didn't need to so long as it meant Tori was safe. Though, that wasn't to say she felt thrilled to have someone such as Harry Potter risking his life for them if it came to that. He was, as she'd come to know very intimately in recent times, the opposite of whatsoever Draco claimed.
Where he had been called a coward, arrogant, self-serving and far more by Draco's merry band of idiots, with him appointed as King in their idiocracy-style circle, Daphne and Tori had each come to see that couldn't be farther from the truth. She had thought about it many a time in the span of a few hours, and each time, she came to one conclusion.
Potter was as heroic as any person could ever claim to be, and the fact that he wouldn't do so was the sign that he was, at least in some form, a hero.
"If there's anything you so desire, please, put words to mouth," Daphne and Astoria's mother said, her words directed at Harry. "My eldest pointed out the risk you're taking by coming with us, and whilst my husband argues on account of propriety and security, the fact that you're willing to put yourself in harm's way for my children isn't lost on me — anything, Harry Potter, and we'll do our best to ensure it's yours."
Harry shook his head at her mother's words. "I don't want anything aside from the man to be caught, and if I'm involved in this crazy mess, if he's really after her because I told him to because she somehow turns into a Dark Lady, I'll put an end to it. It's the least I could do to make things right."
If she's turned into a Dark Lady, we'll stop it. We know that we have to watch her, that she's innocent as she currently is… it's never too late.
Daphne's mother stood up, and when she did, she accidentally knocked over a book in her pursuit to get to Harry. Daphne, ever the responsible one and still very thankful for the Headmaster's help, replaced it whilst her mother embraced Harry. He seemed rigid and off when she hugged him in her typical overbearing fashion.
"You're wonderful, truly," her mother said before withdrawing to pat him on the shoulders. "Should you change your mind, please, don't hesitate to ask. I meant what I said, and whatsoever you request, we'll see to it that it's yours — when this is over, even if you refuse to accept anything at all, you'll have to join us for Yule."
"Christmas," Tori said with a roll of her eyes.
At that, Harry shrugged. "If you want, I could do that. I don't have any plans."
Daphne and Astoria's mother opened her mouth, but when Daphne coughed — purposefully not that a boy would notice — the woman wisely dropped the subject. Correctly, Daphne had guessed that her mother meant to ask the boy about his family, and that was a very sore spot for him.
"An invitation will reach you by owl unless your stay with us is lengthier than I would think. If that's the case, I'll hand it over in person," the older woman said before she turned towards Dumbledore and her husband when her name was called; she looked back at Harry to smile and pat his cheek, and as she moved to where she had been summoned, she mouthed something to Daphne.
'He's perfect — take him'
Thankfully, Tori hadn't intercepted that little message. Daphne had a feeling that if she had, Astoria wouldn't have been able to hide a face, and Morgana, would she make one. As for Daphne, she hid her shock and embarrassment expertly, for it wasn't the first time that her mother had attempted to encourage her in regard to a boy, and she knew it would be far from the last.
"Daphne?" Harry asked as he sat back down in his seat now that his impromptu hug was over.
"Yes?"
"I never thought to ask… where do you live?"
Daphne couldn't help but smile. Their home was ancient and in the vastness that was the North, the same as Hogwarts. On one side of her family, they had resisted the Romans in a keep that gradually progressed as architecture had, and on the other, they had raided up and down the coast, gathering vast amounts of wealth until that way of life diminished before being lost to the tomes of history, Muggle and Magical alike.
"I suppose you'll see very soon, for I won't spoil the surprise. There'd be no fun to be had if I did."
Harry huffed, and silently, Daphne shared a laugh with Tori; it made her feel a lot better.
When all was said and done, and Daphne's father was finished speaking with Dumbledore, it was early in the morning. As such, when they finally returned to their home, there was no meal — save for snacks — or grand tour to be given to Harry so that he'd be comfortable and familiar with their estate. Instead, Daphne led him to the room beside hers, where a third child would have lived, and told him there would be where he'd stay so long as he stayed with the Greengrass family.
It was a large, spacious room with a comfortable bed, a large wardrobe and wonderfully soft rugs. Something could be said for the rustic aesthetic the room's previous owner had gone for, but it wasn't unbearable. Harry seemed to think it was one of the greatest rooms he had ever seen, though she knew he was simply being polite; in reality, he likely lived in a space ten times the size and thrice as expensive.
"Daphne?" Harry asked, his voice tired-sounding.
She turned to look at him. "What is it?" she asked.
"Would you give me a moment or two? I know it's late and all, but… I'd like to go over something with you. Is that alright?"
"Harry. You heard my mother earlier, didn't you? Anything."
At that, he seemed to flush again, but he kept up their eye contact, smiled politely, and began to speak. "I know we're here so that the man, whoever he is, doesn't complete the task that I supposedly gave him. I know he's tough, that your father has men here to help and that Professor Dumbledore's putting wards up until that's done, but, well," he paused, rubbed at the back of his neck, and finally spat out what he wanted to say. "Shouldn't we talk about Astoria?"
"Specifically?"
He blinked a few times at her. "I know she isn't what he claimed right now, everybody knows that and we can all see it. I mean, Merlin, you'd know it before anybody would, right?" Harry stopped, ran his tongue under his top lip from left to right as he paused, seemingly to gather his thoughts, and then he continued. "Astoria as a Dark Lady of some Dark Isle. If she really goes dark, why?"
Daphne fidgeted in her seat despite how good she was at usually controlling her body, and her reactions. Harry raised a good point, in truth. If something occurred to make her turn dark, it had to make itself known to Daphne first and foremost. There was simply no way Astoria would turn evil randomly, least of all while she had a crush on Harry and sat with Daphne's group rather than Draco's despite the… latter's… persistence.
"I believe I might know a contributing factor, though it's without any evidence sans circumstantial," Daphne relented as her mind focused solely on Draco and the Malfoys; if any could have the power to corrupt somebody, even one as pure as Astoria, it would be them.
Mayhaps they would go on to take advantage of her condition, maybe it would get worse and she would grow increasingly desperate. In truth, unless the future came or the man revealed every secret for them with a chart that showed where each part connected, Daphne doubted any amount of discussion would alert them as to what happened for Astoria, one of the sweetest people in the world, to turn against said world.
"Malfoy?"
This time, it was Daphne's turn to blink at Harry. "Was it obvious, or are you as fixated on him as he's fixated on you?"
Harry laughed. "Ever since our first year when I declined an offer or two, Draco's had it out for me. He's not dangerous now, but I know his dad, Lucius — he's cruel, cowardly and doesn't seem as smart as people make him out to be. It's just his money, really. That's all that makes him powerful and feared."
"Money's all it takes."
"I'd agree with you for the most part," Harry said as he moved a few feet closer to the exit of her room. "If it's him, I guess it's easy, isn't it? You just have to keep Astoria away from him… maybe we could ask Professor Dumbledore to switch her house. I don't kno—
Daphne shook her head. "It's not been done so far as I can recall, and that would set a precedence for future issues, I could see many issues rise up on account of that."
Harry seemed put out when his idea was shot down.
"I guess until we figure out what turned her dark, we'll have to stay on watch, huh?"
At that, Daphne nodded. "Until we find out what happened, yes. If it's something soon, which I imagine it is, we'll have to hope we make the right decision. If we do, we'll know."
"How? If the guy never goes back in time to fight us… wait, how's that work? If we stop Astoria from becoming a Dark Lady of some Dusky Isle or what have you, doesn't that mean that guy won't ever be around to attack her, and by extension, us? All of this," Harry gestured around the room. "Won't ever have happened, including this conversation."
Daphne shook her head and glared at him. "You've given me a migraine. Out. I can't hex you or yell, you've done far too much, but you've still earned yourself a one-way trip out of my bedroom — I'll see you in the morning, Harry."
Harry laughed and opened her door. "Yeah, see you in the morning."
As the door closed, Daphne spoke quietly. "Thank you, for everything," and when it was shut tight, she continued in her mind.
Maybe mother's right… but this isn't the time for such base thoughts. Not when Astoria's at risk.
When sleep took Daphne, finally, after so much had happened on the previous day, not even the world's end could have caused her to rise.
Daphne rose with a feeling of light-headedness and an empty feeling in her stomach. It made sense when one considered that she barely had anything to eat the previous day, and in regards to her light-headedness, when she looked at the clock opposite of her bed, she realised she'd rested for nought bu—
There was an unmistakable noise. One that forced her to open her eyes wide, for she was suddenly alert. Spellfire. It wasn't hard to hear, and that had to have been what caused her to rise. The man, whoever he was, had struck whilst she was resting and her family, Harry, and Dumbledore, all of them had to be fighting him or protecting Tori. He had to have known they would try and go into hiding… they should have known better. They should have known it would cause him to attack if they attempted to withdraw into their castle and hide until things could blow over or he could be captured for interrogation.
Daphne threw off the covers of her bed, grabbed her wand and blew the door to her bedroom off its hinges. It could be repaired or replaced later when there wasn't a murderer in the home. It didn't take long for her to see signs of conflict; glass from shattered windows, burn marks on the stones outside, various fires in the nearby woods and, as she grew closer to where the spellfire was — as she could tell by the voices yelling — bodies. When she saw the lattermost vision, she felt sick.
These were men that she knew, and all were bleeding, wounded, and strewn about without a care. None of them would be pushovers by any means, else why would her father have them in his employ?
Finally, and thanks in no small part to a whole that was blasted through a wall, she could see Professor Dumbledore — alone — confronting the man. She could just barely hear them speaking, and slowly, with great caution, she edged forward so as to overhear their conversation whilst she checked the surrounding area for Tori, Harry or her parents.
There was no such luck for any of those she wished to find, and her attention, as a result, fell to the Headmaster.
"Good evening… " Professor Dumbledore said, the old, tired-looking Professor blocking the mysterious man's path and holding his wand out lazily. No, it wasn't laziness, but casually confident. As tough as he was against Harry and Daphne, the man seemed hesitant to take on Dumbledore, and she could only imagine his eyes were set on the older man's wand.
Anybody would have to be half-mad to confront Albus Dumbledore.
"Move aside. I'm not here for you," the man bit out, his distorted voice and the other portions of his disguise ensuring that more than a touch of fear struck within Daphne, despite the distance and Dumbledore's presence. It was simply very unnerving, and none of it felt real.
"I'm afraid I can't do that anymore than I could sit idly by as you wounded my colleagues and sought the lives of the bright minds within these walls. Unless you'd like to lay down your wand and come quietly, as they say, we'll have to solve this the old way," Dumbledore sounded almost sorrowful at that, while the man, well, he reacted differently.
The fight would be especially tough and uneven for him, Daphne thought. This mystery man was limited by knowledge, for despite his distorted voice, one could detect that he wasn't nearly as advanced in age as Dumbledore was. If experience and knowledge couldn't outright win a fight as she knew to be true, it could still heavily favour an outcome.
Daphne blinked, her mind bouncing between a myriad of thoughts, and then it began.
The man apparated ten feet to the left and let loose a chain of curses before he immediately apparated twenty feet to the right and further down the hall. In his new position, he transfigured a dozen boulders from the rubble and banished them towards Dumbledore at such a speed the man would've been killed had they struck him, but they didn't.
As fast as the man was, which was astoundingly fast, Dumbledore could match him. The first chain of spells that the man had fired at Dumbledore, were absorbed via elaborately animated and transfigured birds acting as a barrier and interceptor system. Any spell that got close did nought but fizzle out as they struck the flying birds of stone and when it came time for Dumbledore to react to the flying boulders, he did so even easier than he handled the man's chained curses; even the second round that followed up his transfigured boulders were dealt with, the birds faster and more manoeuvrable than they had any right to be.
"Come now," Dumbledore said over the rain and clashing of their magic, his voice echoing so loudly that it rattled around inside of Daphne's mind despite their distance. "There's no need for such extreme violence."
The man shook his head, and with his wand raised, he continued his offensive. As Daphne saw the sheer destructive power between the two very talented wizards, she wisely chose to leave the area lest a stray spell struck her hiding spot. Tori was somewhere, for the man was fighting Dumbledore, which meant he hadn't gotten her. Harry and her parents had to be with Astoria.
There wasn't anywhere else for them to be.
Daphne swallowed the bile as it rose on account of the violence she moved past, and as she did so, she promised she would remember each man that had been hurt or killed for her family. Her mother and father would too, she only hoped that list didn't continue to expand as the night continued.
Nothing. Tori's room's empty, the playroom's empty, the secondary dining room, the ballroom, the cellar… where are they?
Daphne, by this point, was growing increasingly desperate as she searched for her family and Harry. It didn't make sense where they had gotten off to, and unless she found them soon, she would be forced to think they had escaped whilst Dumbledore bought them time. If that proved to be the case, as she so desperately hoped it would be, she too would flee soon.
There would be no point in staying near the murderous maniac, least of all if it was only him, Dumbledore and her.
Slowly, she peered around a corner that would lead her to the bedroom of her parents. It was unlikely that they'd be present, but she remembered that there was a room hidden within the walls, one that she'd hidden in once during a particularly bad storm. It was because of that the entrance had been sealed, but she knew that it could be unsealed, albeit only by the wand of one of her parents.
As she entered the room, the door ajar as it was, she spotted the entrance to the walk-in closet. It was open, just as the door to her parents' lavatory was. Daphne swallowed. She knew there was a chance she could see something she didn't wish to, but she had to know.
She pressed forward, her heart pounding in her chest all the while. It was so loud, so constant, and so rapid, she feared it would give her away if the other man went looking for her. That was something she desperately wished to avoid.
Finally, she found herself before the open door that would see her into her parents' walk-in closet, and when she looked inside, there was nothing save for clothes. Some were on the ground, but by and large, the room looked normal. She repeated her action when she came across the bathroom, and again, there was nothing.
The bath was full to the top with water, there were soap duds on the floor, and the glass window was broken, but nobody was present. That was as much a relief as it was horrifying, and with no other room to check that would logically make sense, she went back to her parents' bedroom. That entrance she'd remembered, was under the bench at the foot of their bed. With a wave of her wand, she pushed it aside, and as she did so, her eyes went wide.
It was unsealed. Somebody was down below, hidden in the room that Daphne had sought after.
"Are you quite alright, dear?"
Daphne whipped around with her wand raised, and as she did so, she saw Dumbledore. He was bloody, and his robes were torn about in various places, but he was alive and present. The relief she felt at his presence despite what her family thought of him, was blissful.
"Is the man gone again, Professor?"
The Professor nodded and looked at the entranceway behind her. "He fled, but I believe we'll not have to worry about him for the evening. Call your parents, Miss Greengrass. Rest awaits you." the Professor held up his off-hand, revealing a second wand.
She agreed, it did, and so she called out to her parents, to Astoria, and to Harry.
It didn't take very long for the hatch of the entrance to fall inwards, and when it did, the head of her father peeked up and out from it. "Daphne? Hea— Albus?" the man slowly climbed out, cracked his neck and looked at Dumbledore. "Is the deed done? Is he dealt with?"
After her father, out climbed her mother, and then Harry, and finally, Astoria as Harry offered a hand to help her out. She smiled at him in thanks, and Daphne did much the same; who would have thought she of all people would be smiling at Potter in her Parents' bedroom one night?
"The man has fled, and I do not think we will see him again tonight," Dumbledore answered. "I trust all of you are fine?"
"Yes — we did as you we should and fled to the secure shelter in the depths of the Castle," her father answered, peering past Dumbledore now. "My men? Are they ensuring the area's clear?"
"Many were hurt, father. I saw a few on the ground before I found my way here," Daphne said, the images of their wounded or otherwise bodies were strewn about the halls still fresh in her mind regardless of what she thought about to counter those images.
Her father seemed to understand, and yet, to spare Astoria, he said nothing more about their status. "I'll go and check on them," he said instead. "Albus? Will you come with me? I'm sure you're as gifted with healing magic as you are with other forms."
Dumbledore nodded as her father moved toward him, and together, the two men turned to leave. Until Dumbledore paused and made a noise of remembrance, at which point he turned partially to look at Harry, Astoria and Daphne, his left shoulder facing them.
"Thank you," he said to them with a polite incline of his head, and then he raised his wand, and a streak of light raced towards the three before a shield could be raised.
There was a flash of light, and Daphne could see nothing. She could only hear Astoria scream, she heard a person fall, and then a second person — it sounded like her father had cursed Dumbledore, or rather, the man that had pretended to be him. Her mother swept her up in her arms, soothing Daphne as she called out for Astoria.
Surprisingly, as the yelling ceased, she could hear Astoria whimpering and crying in bursts.
"Mother?" Daphne asked.
Her mother was stroking her head, and when Daphne spoke to her, the woman pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Astoria's fine, my sweet."
Gradually, as Daphne's vision returned, she saw what had Astoria in tears — she was crouched over a figure, one that wasn't moving. It had dark hair, and despite her blurry vision, it didn't make much to figure out who was on the ground; Harry.
He wasn't moving.
"What happened?"
"Harry moved in front of Daphne, and when he intercepted the curse, the man fell almost as soon as Harry did…" Daphne's mother cast a look at Astoria, still crouched and weeping over Harry, and then over to their father, who was poking around where the man had previously been; there was nothing there anymore. When her mother spoke again, it was quiet, almost imperceivable over Astoria's crying. "I think he's gone."
She wasn't talking about the man, but Harry and his still form.
And then he gasped.