While Daphne and Astoria went on their horse ride, Harry Potter remained inside the manor. He did not know how to ride a horse and although Daphne promised to teach him one day, it was not exactly a priority right now. Besides, he knew Daphne wished to spend some time alone with her sister. So instead Harry was furthering his magical education. At the moment he was sitting in the library, reading the personal diary of Woden Greengrass, the founder of the Wild Hunt.
Earlier, Daphne had graciously allowed him to read accounts and chronicles written by her ancestors. Harry knew that not many people outside of House Greengrass were ever given that privilege and he appreciated the gesture greatly, taking it as a sign of trust the girl had in him. Given how much her magical ancestry was important to Daphne, reading the diaries also gave Harry a unique inside into her personality and the beliefs she held. And although he still disagreed with many of them, what he learned led to a greater understanding and acceptance of Daphne's position.
Woden's personal account of the Hunt's early activities also made for a very immersive reading. Harry could not honestly decide whether he was impressed or terrified by how far the Hunt went in their search for muggleborns. The fact they remained active for over a millennia was mindboggling but ultimately unsurprising given the firm rules and principles Woden created and which his successors maintained to the letter.
Muggle myths described the group as chaotic and unpredictable; a result of only ever encountering it in the form of the dreaded cavalcade of magical hunters. However, as Harry learned from Woden's diary and those of his successors, the Hunt's operations were very sophisticated and went far beyond what muggles could see or understand.
First of all, whenever possible, the Hunt co-opted existing social mechanisms of the ancient muggle nations. This usually involved well placed muggle informants whose cooperation was ensured by bribes, threats, or direct mind-control. A perfect example was the Roman republics and later the Roman empire whose sophisticated administrative and census system ensured that Wild Hunt almost never had to enter Roman lands in force. Instead, muggleborn children were identified and delivered to them by imperial bureaucrats who knowingly or unknowingly worked for the Hunt. Since there were no magical schools around back then, the group would then hand them over to local purebloods who would educate them in magic in exchange for their loyalty and servitude.
Harry took his eyes of the yellowing pages and glanced to his left at the only other person currently occupying the large library beside him. He saw his former classmate taking notes with six different books opened in front of her, seemingly not paying any attention to him or her surroundings. He had seen her like that almost every time he visited the library. There were many things he wanted to ask her. But she always looked so busy and immersed in her work that Harry never wished to disturb her. He sighed and turned back to the book, continuing his reading.
Of course, the Hunt's operations outside of well-established nations like the Romans were much more violent.
Especially the more northern regions of Europe were either completely lawless or their power structures shifted too often to allow the Hunt to operate indirectly in secret. Instead, to locate the prospective muggleborns, they had to openly ride from village to village, taking the magical children as well as adults with them as they went. As a result, it was from these regions where most of the muggle myths of the Wild Hunt originated from. Harry swallowed nervously as he read Woden's description of one of his campaigns in Scandinavia where he encountered unexpected but stiff resistance from its muggle population.
The local muggles stood no chance against the wizards of the Hunt but their martial nature dictated that they must resist and so they did. Only when Woden slaughtered their best fighters and personally broke their leaders did they finally surrender. Over the years, the story became so infamous that Woden Greengrass and his lieutenants came to be revered as gods in those lands and every subsequent leader of the Wild Hunt was simply known as Woden to them.
In later years, the Hunt even supported their worshippers, by then known as Vikings, in their many raids into foreign lands. In exchange for 'miracles' which made their life better, the Vikings swore to hand any magical person they captured during their raids over to 'Gods'. Thus, the Hunt subverted an entire culture of muggles into serving their cause for many centuries.
Of course, muggles were not the only obstacle to the Hunt's goals. Sometimes, the resistance came from the very people they were claiming to rescue.
It was common that muggleborn children were mistreated or abused by their muggle neighbours once their powers manifested themselves and as a result, they often viewed the wild hunters as their saviours. However, not always was it like that. Sometimes, the muggleborns did not want to leave their lives and communities behind, especially if they were already adults.
However, no matter their resistance, the Hunt would not be denied. One of its founding principles set down by Woden was that hunters shall 'suffer no wild mudblood'. In other words, all muggleborns discovered by the Hunt had to go away with them whether they liked it or not. All would be trained, educated and controlled by purebloods or they would not be allowed to exist at all.
Such policy was especially problematic with older muggleborns who already made muggle-style life for themselves and often had children of their own. Children who, unlike their parent, were typically not wizards and witches, and therefore had no place in the magical world. If such muggleborn nevertheless agreed to go with the Hunt willingly, their family was given recompense. However, if they resisted they were simply dragged away kicking and screaming. In either case, muggleborns taken by the Hunt would never see their families again.
Harry was not sure what to think of that. He knew that Daphne would claim it was for their own good. That any amount of suffering would pale in comparison to being able to do magic and joining society which was far superior to anything they could possibly have as muggles. She would also say it was too dangerous to let a potential magic user run around uneducated and unaware of the true extend of their powers. They were the same arguments Woden used in his diary to explain and justify his actions, something he wrote about a lot. The man was fully aware of the moral controversy of his actions but believed what he was doing was for the greater good. Nevertheless, a lot of his thoughts were devoted toward making muggleborns' integration process less painful.
For example, Woden made an observation the transition was best handled by children about ten or eleven years of age. Any younger and the muggleborn would be left traumatized by being removed from his or her parents too early while any older and they would be too set in their ways to accept such a major life change. According to Daphne, the idea was later adapted by Rowena Ravenclaw when she created the book of acceptance. To this day, the magical children were being accepted at Hogwarts on their eleventh birthday for this very reason.
Harry closed the diary book and pondered what he learned. The number of atrocities committed by the Hunt was too large to count. And yet...
In his mind, Harry tried his best to put himself into the shoes of muggleborns two thousand years ago. It helped that he was actually raised as one, something that Daphne liked to tease him with. In any case, he imagined a scenario where instead of receiving a Hogwarts letter as he did, a group of magical riders with fearsome reputation would barge into his home. They would then explain he was a wizard and insist that he needs to come with them at once to join their world.
Would he willingly go with them? Would he really be fine with abandoning everything and everyone he ever knew? To him, the answer was simple – yes, he would.
He would have done anything to get away from Dursleys. In fact, the way he joined magical world, with Hagrid having to physically (and in hindsight, forcefully) collect him was strongly reminiscent of the old ways. And according to Woden's diary, back then many muggleborns were treated by their families even worse than Harry.
It was completely believable they would see magical purebloods as their saviours, even if it meant being subservient to them for the rest of their life. It took Harry some time to admit it to himself but he now realized that he at least agreed with Daphne on the basic principle – muggleborns were better off in the magical world.
Or at least that's what Harry was comfortable believing as long as he did not put a familiar face behind the term 'muggleborn'. When he did that, he once more felt like he was betraying his best friend and possibly even his mother's legacy by even entertaining Daphne's ideas. The girl said that any effort that led to muggleborns' integration was worthwhile. Even if it caused them a temporary personal anguish. She insisted it was all for their own good as it would lead to a better life later.
'But at what cost?' Harry often wondered. Ultimately, no matter whether it was for the greater good or not, he was allowing Daphne to torment his best friend. And all because he trusted Daphne's word that what she was doing was not out of malice but because she honestly felt it was for Hermione's own good and that his friend will eventually be better off for the experience.
And Harry wanted to believe her...
At first he scoffed at Daphne's attitude towards Hermione, considering it abhorrent how the pureblood girl saw herself as superior to his friend who was just as powerful her. It was ridiculous and made no sense. But then Daphne taught him how to sense people's magic and he finally saw that there was indeed a difference between the two girls. While he still did not think it made Daphne superior, the lack of magic in his friend's body was very disconcerting to him.
He told Daphne about it and she revealed such was the case with all muggleborns! Harry could not believe it! He still wouldn't, had the evidence not be right in front of him.
A small part of him resented Daphne for teaching him this ability in the first place as he did not want to perceive his friend differently than before. He loved Hermione like a sister and yet it was now painful for him to look at her, let alone be in the same room. He wondered whether Daphne did that on purpose to drive a wedge between them but the pureblood girl seemed honest when she apologized for not warning him beforehand. She claimed she did not expect Harry to be able to sense people's magic so soon and as he looked into her beautiful eyes, he could not help but believe her words. It definitely helped that a larger part of him was glad that Daphne opened his eyes so to speak, no matter the consequences. Perhaps it was the fact people tended to hide certain things from him all his life, but Harry felt that it was always better to know the full truth, even if it made one unhappy.
So with that thought in mind, he kept learning from the pureblood witch whatever she was willing to teach him. Now that he learned something about Daphne's ancestors, even the girl's outrageous claim she was actually taking it easy on Hermione and the other muggleborns got a new dimension. From her perspective, she probably was. Had it still been Woden's times and Hermione dared to refuse his offer the same way she refused Daphne's, she would have been taken by force and offered a choice – learn magic while serving purebloods or die. Compared to that, Daphne really was being merciful.
Harry wanted to argue that times have changed but it was hard to do with people who regularly lived to be 200 years old. To them, it was not so long ago. In addition, Harry wondered whether the times have really changed. After all, his personal experience with muggles left a lot to be desired. Naturally, he was aware not all of them were like Dursleys and that not all muggle parents hated their magical children as he knew that Hermione's parents were always supportive and loved her.
That's what he always told himself whenever confronted with anti-muggle attitude common in the wizarding world. But now he wondered whether it was possible that Hermione's parents were an exception rather than a rule. Could his best friend have just been lucky to have great parents? Would she have already surrendered to Daphne had her experience of the muggle world been less pleasant? Harry sighed as he ended that line of thought because ultimately, none of it mattered. Deep in his heart, Harry knew that Hermione would never accept an ideology which presumed her inherent inferiority, even if it somehow could be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Call it a Gryffindor stubbornness but it was a fact.
It was that believe, along with Daphne's seemingly malicious actions towards Hermione that almost made him break the word he gave to the pureblood girl...
Six days ago.
Harry was striding across the Greengrass manor, covered in his Invisibility Cloak and with a silencing spell applied to his shoes. Only the cold determination of his purpose and the need for secrecy kept him from cursing and fuming in anger.
He still could not believe what she had done! Could not believe that Daphne forced Hermione to work as a cleaner around the mansion! His best friend and the smartest person he ever met was being forced to dust tables and wipe floors, just so she could eat!
He nearly lost it right there and then when Daphne told him about it. She claimed that it was just an excuse to let Hermione out of her cell for a few hours each day but Harry could not accept that explanation. After all, there were many other ways to accomplish that which did not require the pureblood girl to thoroughly humiliate Hermione in such fashion. At the very least Daphne could have explained her reasons to Hermione instead of making the girl think she had no choice between servitude or starvation.
But what finally broke Harry was when he begged Daphne to just explain her actions to Hermione so his friend would not feel like a slave laborer. Not only did the pureblood girl refuse him but she also made an insane claim that her horrible actions were actually for Hermione's good. That showing mercy and kindness to a mudblood like her would hurt her in the long run. More so, she said it with such confidence and conviction that Harry knew she wasn't lying – Daphne really believed that humiliating and tormenting Hermione was somehow for the greater good.
It was the moment when Harry decided that he could not allow it to continue anymore.
He liked Daphne… a lot. His dreams, previously filled with his various fears and visions from Voldemort, now almost exclusively revolved around the beautiful blonde witch. His time with Daphne was literally magical and Harry felt happiness and hope unlike any in a long time. He did not want to do anything to ruin that, not to mention that he swore on his honor that he would obey Daphne's orders, one of them being not to help Hermione to escape. Even now, the thought of betraying her was tearing his conscience apart.
But his bond with Hermione was much deeper. She has been his friend for such a long time and they've been through so much together that Harry simply could not allow her to suffer anymore, no matter whether it was for greater good or not.
And that's when he made his decision. Earlier that day, Daphne left for Gringotts to deal with some leftover formalities related to her father's death. This left Harry with a unique opportunity.
He cautiously entered one of the corridors where he knew his friend would be working today, removing dust and polishing the various pedestals and decorations which filled the narrow hallway.
The corridor bended in the middle and Harry saw Hermione right as he emerged from around it. She was holding a feather duster as she cleaned a statue of some famous wizard. More cleaning supplies along with a bucket were placed next to it on the floor. Hermione was alone safe for a single guard who shadowed her at all times whenever she was outside of her cell.
Hermione was not allowed a wand, of course, but neither was she restrained anymore. She wore simple gray robes he saw some of the servant's wearing.
Harry had to suppress a surge a revulsion he felt as soon as he saw her like this – mainly over allowing Daphne to do this to his best friend. Hermione begged for him to help her and he turned his back on her! But the second cause was the distinct lack of magic he could now detect around her. It stood in stark contrast to the guard standing nearby whose magical aura, albeit not as bright as Daphne's, was clearly visible. Every instinct in his body told him that's what a person should look like. The fact that Hermione didn't felt wrong and made him deeply uncomfortable.
He always had trouble putting what he saw with his magic sight into words. But if he had to, he would say that most denizens of the Greengrass manor felt like a water spring – the magic leaking out of them, creating a calming and reassuring ambiance with its sound and image. Hermione, on the other hand, felt like a parched and empty desert – totally still and devoid of any life. If he did not know any better, he would insist that this wasn't really Hermione but rather some unnatural facsimile, only pretending to be his friend.
He forcibly suppressed his feelings as he focused on the task at hand. His plan was clear – he would stun the guard and take his wand. Then he would take Hermione under his cloak and escort her safely beyond the ward line of Greengrass manor so that she could apparate away to safety, wherever that was.
He would not be coming with her.
For one thing, there was still Ron for him to consider although his other friend was largely protected from anything bad by his pureblood status. But the larger truth was that Harry simply didn't want to leave as he still believed that Daphne was his best hope to end this war. He was also mindful of the honor oath he swore to the pureblood girl and even though he was about to break it, he felt it was his duty to stay and answer for it. He owed her that much.
Under the protection of his invisibility cloak, Harry pointed his wand in the guard's direction, a stunning spell on his lips...
But at the very last moment, he noticed something very strange in the corner of his eyes where Hermione was dusting off the statue. It was so small he first thought it only his imagination but now that he focused his sight more closely, he realized it was not a mistake – there was magic around her!
Or rather there was an infinitesimally small but steady trickle of raw magic entering Hermione's body. As soon as it touched her, it sizzled and disappeared like a rain pouring over dry cracked earth. But instinctively, Harry knew it did not disappear but rather became a part of her. The image brought a smile to his lips before his brain caught up and he frowned in deep confusion at what he was seeing.
Hermione continued to work, not showing the slightest sign of being aware what was happening. She finished dusting the statue and sighed sadly. Harry felt a pang of sympathy for her plight before he noticed that in that moment the trickle of magic around her became stronger for a split second.
'What the hell is going on?!' he thought in confusion but continued to watch with morbid fascination.
Having finished with the statue, Hermione put the duster away and moved to pick up the rest of the cleaning supplies. At one moment, the guard must have felt she was deliberately moving too slow because he barked at her loudly. "Keep working, mudblood!"
Hermione shot him a defiant look but had no choice but to oblige, picking up the supplies and moving on to the next item in the hallway.
Hearing the guard verbally slurring his friend made Harry want to stun him again but he was distracted by the fact that in that moment, the trickle of magic into Hermione temporarily turned into a pulse. Compared to what he has seen around others it was almost nothing but Harry was getting used to the fact there was no magic around Hermione at all. It gave Hermione a weak magical aura, a first one ever that Harry has seen around her, before it sizzled out and disappeared within her.
In confusion, Harry lowered his wand. Instead of stunning the guard and helping Hermione, he turned around and walked away, his mind deeply troubled by what he just saw.
Present
Before their capture, Harry did not think it possible that any muggleborn would just embrace the pureblood supremacy. And yet...
Once more, Harry glanced at the girl to his left with pondering expression. Once again, she did not seem to register his attention, so engrossed in the books in front of her. Only after Harry gazed on her for a while did she finally react. "I am flattered, Harry. But I have a boyfriend," Sue Li said with a small smirk without taking her eyes off the books, her right hand scribbling notes even as her eyes flicked between the pages.
"What?!" he gasped in embarrassment. "It's not - I wasn't looking at you like that!" he voiced his protest. He did not mean to leer at her or make her uncomfortable. Truthfully, he was admiring the relatively bright magical aura she possessed. But in that moment, he was not sure whether that was considered an appropriate behaviour either so he said nothing.
The Chinese girl finally put down her quill and pulled herself away from her books to look directly at him. "Like what?" she asked before frowning and folding her hands in front of her chest defensively. "Are you saying I am ugly?!" she replied crossly.
"What – no – I," he stammered, wondering what the hell was happening. He would have embarrassed himself even more but thankfully, Sue decided to take mercy on him. "Relax Harry, I am just teasing you," she said and laughed.
Harry sighed and felt silly. "Of course you are," he said and shook his head. After reading Woden's diary, he was wound up tighter than a rubber band and did not even pick up on the fact she was not serious. "Sorry... didn't mean to disturb your reading. I'll leave you to it."
Sue shrugged. "Nah, I could use a break anyway," she said even as she stood up from her chair and walked over to Harry. "So why were you looking at me?" she asked, stretching her arms and back as she walked over. She then noticed the closed book lying in front of Harry. "Right, should have realized... may I?" she asked, gesturing at the empty chair on the other side of Harry's table.
He nodded and she sat down. "I suppose you are wondering whether I need to be rescued," Sue said even as she absentmindedly traced the book's spine with her fingers.
"I am sorry?" he asked in confusion.
"You just read Woden's diary and learned all that he and his successors did to my kind over the years," she clarified before looking into his eyes. "So now you are thinking that no muggleborn could possibly accept it willingly. Therefore, I must be here unwillingly and you are wondering whether you need to rescue me," Sue finished and smirked before adding. "How am I doing?
Harry gaped at her for a few seconds before he slumped in his chair. "Am I really that transparent?" he asked.
"No," Sue assured him. "But I have been expecting that question for a while. After all, you have the tendency to save people... everyone in Hogwarts knows it," she explained before taking a deep breath and continuing, "Well, let me put your worry to rest and say that you do not need to rescue me. Daphne did not trick me. I am here of my own free will."
"She told me you asked for her protection," Harry stated, recalling the first time he saw Sue in this place and questioned Daphne on it. Up until then, he thought the pureblood girl held a universal disdain for muggleborns and was very surprised and relieved that was not the case. In fact according to Daphne, half of the people working for House Greengrass were muggleborns.
"Yes I did," Sue admitted. "By taking me in, Daphne probably saved my life."
Harry figured that could very well be true but he also realized that Sue's life was primarily endangered by people with similar opinions as Daphne's, making the fact she sought protection from the pureblood girl ironic at best and a protection racket at worst. He expressed that thought to her but Sue just shook her head sadly.
"And who else could help me?" she asked and laughed when Harry suggested the Order. "I am not Hermione Granger," she said sarcastically. "Dumbledore and his group always focused on you and by extension your friends. You think any other muggleborn besides Granger ever enjoyed their protection?"
Harry wanted to protest that. He still admired Dumbledore and felt that Sue was judging his efforts too harshly. After all, the old headmaster genuinely tried to improve the standing of muggleborns in magical society almost all his life, even if he sometimes did not go about it the right way, Harry thought. However, he could also appreciate Sue's point of view. He remembered that after Voldemort's resurrection, Hermione took refuge at Grimmaulds place during the summer. A year later, guards from the order were assigned to watch over her parent's house.
Did they offer to protect any other muggleborn in that way? Did people like Sue had any way of asking for help as long as the Order operated in secrecy? Did she really have no other choice except throwing herself at Daphne's mercy?
"It may look like I had no other choice but I did have choices, Harry," Sue said. "I could have done nothing and just hoped for the best. Or I could have gone on the run," she paused her enumeration before finishing with, "or I suppose I could have given up and let them kill me or die fighting a battle I knew I could not win."
"That's no choice at all," Harry retorted.
"When it comes to magic and to one personally, it is a choice, Harry. A horrible choice but a choice nonetheless," Sue pointed out. "But it wasn't just me. I have three brothers and sisters, none of whom are magical. My family would have been a major target for death eaters," she explained. "Daphne swore to protect me and paid for my family's trip out of the country."
"And in return, you are her servant now," Harry concluded.
Sue nodded and said, "I swore certain oaths to her and her family. Those are between me and her," she stressed before adding, "If Daphne wishes to tell you about them, that is her prerogative."
"I guess what I am trying to understand is how you can be fine with this," Harry said and then clarified when Sue raised her eyebrow. "What I mean is, Daphne sees you and other muggleborns as inferior... doesn't that bother you?"
"You tell me, Harry," Sue shot back and smirked. "After all, she also considers halfbloods as her inferiors."
Harry cursed internally at falling into that trap. He knew that Daphne considered herself superior to him if only by slight margin. In a sheer act of audacity, the girl did not even try to hide the fact and actually used it to tease him on many occasions. But instead of getting angry and telling her to go to hell like a sane person would, Harry actually enjoyed it in a way he could never admit to another person.
Every time the blonde witch flashed him that self-satisfied smirk of hers as she asserted her 'superiority', it infuriated him. But instead of translating into real actual anger, the feeling got scrambled somewhere along the nervous pathways leading into his brain and turned into desire. A burning desire for the beautiful, intelligent and powerful woman that was Daphne Greengrass. He could not make himself say no to her. So instead of fighting, he just went along with it, loosing himself in the enchanting smile she displayed every time he 'gave in' to her. He knew it pleased Daphne greatly and he wanted to please her. It pleased him to please her.
When he stopped and tried to think of it rationally, he was honestly terrified, wondering whether there was any limit to what was happening. How far will he allow Daphne to lead him and what will he be at the end of the journey? Perhaps he was making a horrible mistake by not putting an end to it while he still could. Perhaps it will end badly for him but if Daphne was to be his doom, it was a doom he could not resist.
Harry swallowed nervously in face of Sue's question. He definitely did not feel like expressing his thoughts on Daphne in front of this girl and he was not sure he would even be able to. Besides, the question was not relevant. By her own admission, Sue had a boyfriend. So Harry seriously doubted her reasons for giving in to Daphne's demands were in any way similar to his.
In the end, he decided to deflect the girl's question and said, "I asked first."
The girl giggled and said, "Fair enough." She then took a deep breath as she began to explain her position. "Well, first thing you have to consider is how you define someone's superiority. Is it something that two new born babies placed next to each other already possess or does one of them acquire it later in life?" Sue began with a philosophical question.
Before Harry could say anything, she continued. "In this case, Daphne has distinct advantage over me in both cases. She was born with magic in her body. I was not," Sue said wistfully. "She was also learning about magic and what it means to be a witch long before I had any idea what the weird accidents happening around me were."
"So she has an advantage. That does not mean she is superior to you," Harry reasoned.
"Yes... an advantage," Sue agreed. "That's why it all depends how you define superiority. Daphne has many advantages over me and others of my kind. Advantages that we can never hope to match without her help or that of the other purebloods. In that sense, Daphne is my superior."
Harry watched as Sue's magical aura almost swelled with that declaration. He knew that meant she honestly believed what she was saying. Earlier, when he confronted Daphne about what was happening to Hermione, she told him everything...
Six days ago.
Harry walked briskly through the manor, his mind in fog as he kept thinking about what he just witnessed happening to Hermione. Hidden under his invisibility cloak, he completely ignored startled looks from people who witnessed doors opening and closing for no apparent reason. Luckily things like that were not that unusual in the magical world and nobody gave it a second glance. Harry's destination was clear – the office of Lady Greengrass. He desperately wanted to speak to the only person who could give him the answers he sought.
When he arrived there, he saw Daphne's chair unoccupied and finally remembered that the girl was still at Gringotts. He sat down on the couch and waited, deep thoughts. Minutes passed and then hours. In the end, Harry did not know how long he just sat there before the flames in the fireplace went up green and Daphne Greengrass stepped out of them a second later. She walked out of the magical fire with grace of a ballerina which was so unlike Harry's miserable experiences with that mode of transport.
Daphne was wearing a black hooded long jacket from which she removed the soot with a wave of her wand before stepping into the room. The flames went out and Harry was surprised and somewhat concerned there were no guards following her. But then he remembered that they were probably redirected to one of the other fireplaces, seeing as the one in Daphne's office was reserved for her alone.
Harry watched as Daphne dropped the hood, revealing her blonde hair done in a simple bun. She unbuttoned the jacket and took it off along with her gloves. A house elf popped up beside her without being summoned, took both items from her, and then disappeared without a word. Daphne then strode into the room and towards her desk, still not showing any signs she noticed his presence. Underneath the jacket, Daphne donned a black mini dress with tights underneath. Harry was briefly overwhelmed with how sexy she looked as he watched her hips sway as she walked. He forcibly reminded himself that he was absolutely furious with her right now.
"Daphne..." he spoke, causing the girl to startle and look around in confusion. "Harry? Where are you?" she asked after looking in his general direction.
Harry was puzzled why she failed to see him on the couch before remembering he was still wearing his invisibility cloak. It was so light and unobstructive and he had spent great amount of time wearing it ever since they discovered it could shield him from Voldemort's mental intrusions. It was easy to forget he had it on. "Sorry... I am here," he said as he removed the cloak.
Daphne fixed her eyes on him. "That's better," she said, giving him a beaming smile and automatically started to approach him. She only hesitated when she saw his sorrowful expression and she asked with great concern, "Harry... what's wrong?! What happened?"
"We need to talk," Harry said while standing up and meeting her halfway. The words were an incredible cliché and Daphne looked like she was going to call him out on that but she saw how serious he was. She simply raised an eyebrow in curiosity and asked, "About what?" even as she pinned him with her merciless gaze.
"I went to see Hermione today," he began and watched as Daphne's demeanour turned frosty like it always did whenever Hermione was mentioned. Of course, the hard cold glare perfectly complemented her icy blue eyes and made her look even more beautiful. 'Focus, Potter. You are angry with her!' he reminded himself once more. "I want to know what exactly you are doing to her," he demanded in accusatory tone that a big part of him regretted but he had no choice. He needed to know.
"You'll have to be more specific than that, Harry," Daphne replied tersely as she folded her hands over her chest defensively.
Harry sighed and clarified, "I mean her magic. I saw magic in her body as she worked! Her body did not have magic before but I saw some in her today. It looked like she was absorbing it from the air around her!"
"And what makes you think I have anything to do with that?" Daphne said, deflecting his question but Harry did not miss the slight widening of her eyes as she heard his words. He was now familiar with Daphne Greengrass enough to know it meant she actually knew what he was talking about. Harry smirked and said, "Nothing happens in this house without your knowledge or permission," paraphrasing words she once told him.
The blonde laughed bitterly. "Oh, if only that were true," she said and then walked towards him and took his hand. Daphne's touch hasn't lost its magic, figuratively and literally, and helped to relieve some of the anger Harry felt, if only marginally. When she said, "Come on, let's sit," he followed her back to the couch and the two of them sat down.
"I was going to tell you later," Daphne began as they both turned in their seats to look at one another. "I just did not realize it would happen so soon," she said and chuckled darkly. "The mudblood must really hate serving me if you can actually see it happening."
Harry stared at her with open mouth. He could not believe how shamelessly she was admitting it. That she had really done something to Hermione despite promising she wouldn't! "What-did-you-do?!" he said slowly, this time leaving no doubt about the accusation in his voice.
Daphne immediately bristled at his tone and was no doubt about to remind him that as a halfblood, he had no right to talk to her that way. Normally, it would then end with Harry apologizing and giving in to her every demand.
But not today. Not this time. "Yes, I know I am disrespectful. You can punish me for it later if you really want but please... just answer me first!" he pleaded insistently and forcefully.
Seeing his desperation and seriousness froze whatever admonition Daphne had for him on her lips. Instead she said, "I am not doing anything to her... at least not directly. It would be more accurate to say she is doing it to herself."
"Please explain," he asked, this time more kindly, and Daphne obliged him a moment later.
"You remember when I told you mudbloods have no inherent magic in their bodies," Daphne said and then added hurriedly when she saw Harry's expression. "I didn't lie, they really don't!" she assured him. "However, what I did not mention is that there is a way to change that. There is a way to gradually saturate and integrate magic into their bodies until this handicap of theirs is all but gone."
"Is that what you have been doing to Hermione?" Harry gasped and after few moments he asked, "How?!"
"How, you ask? You haven't figured it out, Harry?" Daphne said and tittered. "After all, aren't you yourself bonded to a creature which literally feeds on your magic because its body has no inherent magic of its own?"
It took Harry few seconds to decipher the meaning of her words and when he did, he felt like his heart was going to stop. "You mean house elves?! You mean you turned her into... into..." he did not finish the horrible thought before Daphne laughed.
Although she was basically laughing at him, the sound of it did make him feel better. A moment later, she said, "You're assuming that the master-elf relationship is something unique to the house elves."
"And it's not?"
Daphne shook her head. "It's not. It's actually one of the fundamental laws of magic," she explained and then said. "The details are really complicated. However, it can be summed up by saying that magic, in its very nature, converges towards equality, justice, and balance between all people, animals and things."
Harry had trouble believing he was hearing that sentence coming out of someone like Daphne. Surely he heard her wrong! His shock must have showed on his face because a moment later she said, "Oh, I don't mean the twisted ridiculous notions of equality Granger spouts..." the blonde clarified when she saw his doubtful expression. "I mean equality in magic."
"I don't understand," Harry freely admitted. He always had trouble grasping some of the more obscure magical concepts that Daphne shared with him. Sometimes, it made him feel stupid but the pureblood girl always assured him he was not. Rather, she insisted that his troubles were due to his muggle upbringing as well as for not taking arithmancy lessons in Hogwarts.
"To put it extremely simply and somewhat inaccurately, it happens whenever a magical being with smaller magic serves a bigger one. When one selflessly gives up part of their magical potential to benefit someone else. When that happens, there is a compensatory transfer of magical energy from the one being served towards the servant," Daphne finally spoke it in terms Harry could understand.
"So because you made Hermione serve you..." he began and Daphne finished the thought for him. "... her body receives some of my magic, yes."
Harry stared at her in shock before he finally said. "I can't believe that!"
"You don't believe me?" Daphne asked in hurt voice. "The house elves are all the proof you need, Harry – an entire race which evolved solely around this principle. It's also one of the reasons we have magical schools in the first place. Something similar occurs between teachers and the children they are teaching."
Harry shook his head. "I am not questioning the principle," he clarified. "What I don't believe is that you'd be willing to share you body's magic with Hermione!"
"Oh," Daphne said in understanding. "Well it's not making me weaker if that's what you are thinking. And there is no other way to change what she is... a mudblood," she spat in disgust before noticing Harry's annoyed face at the fact she used that word again. "Don't give me that look. Even you are disgusted by her nature now that you can see it for yourself!"
Harry lowered his eyes, knowing she was right. Not seeing magic in his friends body did make him feel nauseated in her presence unless he actively focused on suppressing the feelings.
Daphne looked him in the eyes and said, "I wasn't lying when I told you what I was doing was for her own good."
Harry's eyes met hers. "So if she continues to serve you, she will eventually be like us? She will have magic in her body?" he asked.
Daphne took his hand into hers. "She will never be like us. But she would be close. She would finally be a witch. A true part of our world instead of someone who has an obsessive need to change everything just to fit in."
Harry could not deny that it sounded tempting. He desperately wished to see Hermione once again as he used to, without automatically feeling unnerved in her presence. But there was one very important detail that Daphne did not mention yet and which Harry needed to ask about.
"Hermione... does she know about this? Does she know what is happening to her?"
Daphne lowered her eyes a little and said, "No."
Harry jerked his hand away from hers. "Then what gives you the right?!" he asked, feeling a righteous anger on behalf of his muggleborn friend swelling up in him. "What gives anyone the right to fundamentally alter her nature without her knowledge or consent?"
He didn't know what exactly he expected Daphne to say to that. But when the girl just gave him a look like he was insane and said, "She's a mudblood, Harry. I have every right!", he simply lost it.
He felt like slapping her.