The mood in the Hogwarts Great Hall had improved drastically after Dumbledore's press conference. While the Hufflepuffs were still mad at Harry for obscuring the fact that they had finally won something against the other houses, with Cedric Diggory being selected as champion, and the Gryffindors taking every opportunity to hate on Slytherins, the mood in the house of the snakes was way more relaxed then it had been in the last few weeks.
People were now talking with each other, jokes run around the table, the spirits were lifted.
Daphne sat besides Tracey with Blaise and Theo in front of them.
"So, what do you think this training is about? Do you think Dumbledore is teaching him something special? Like combat magic or something on the likes of that?" asked Theo.
"How would we know? Its not like we have been speaking with him lately. No more than you do." Replied Blaise, who was beginning to tire up from all the people trying to know more about Harry. Neither of them had still heard a thing from their friend, so asking them was useless. People just didn't seem to understand that.
"Either way, the truth is Harry has always been one of the best students in our year. If any of us has a chance of doing something in the tournament, its him." said Tracey, feeling the need to defend his friend. "Harry has done some amazing things since he came to Hogwarts, maybe he will surprise us this year as well, specially if Dumbledore is helping him."
"We just have to wait and see" argued Daphne, feeling a bit tired from all the speculation about the subject "Neither one of us know anything so…"
Daphne was interrupted by a sudden deafening noise, as the doors of the Great Hall were slammed open and a very angry man walked in, making his way to the teachers table, with his eyes set on the headmaster, who had stopped eating and was looking at the man with a mix of anxiety and a hint of fear visible on his face.
The man looked rather familiar, and when he passed thru her, Daphne recognized him.
"His that Harry?" She whispered to Tracey "He looks so different! And where are his glasses?"
"It is," she responded "but he's different! Something happened!"
Fleur Delacour was having dinner in the Hogwarts Great Hall, at the Ravenclaw table. Her school mates had chosen this table at their first meal and apparently it was going to stick for the rest of the year. Maybe it was because of the colors, with both Ravenclaws and the Beauxbatons uniforms being blue, she though. As usually, she ate in silence, not being comfortable with speaking with the random people around her and the lack of friends being evident.
In only her sister had been allowed to accompany them, she'd have someone to keep her company. They had tried, with Fleur begging to Madame Maxime and, when she had said no, Fleur asked her dad, the French Minister of Magic, to put pressure on the situation. His father, unfortunately, even though he would do anything for his precious little girls, wasn't able to do much, as Beauxbatons had a lot of independence from the Ministry, being almost impossible for even the Minister to influence Madam Maxime's decisions. So Fleur had left Gabrielle behind for the first time since her sister birth, and she missed her more than anything.
There was a chance Gabrielle would have permission to come watch the third task, which would be around February or March. Fleur grabbed herself to the hope that would really happen, and she would be able to see her sister sooner than expected.
Fleur's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden deafening noise, as the doors of the Great Hall were slammed open and a very angry man walked in, making his way to the teachers table, with his eyes set on the headmaster.
Fleur's eyes immediately shot up to the man, with her hand holding her wand tighter, getting really if the man decided to harm anyone.
As we walked across the Hall and got closer to Fleur, she noticed his eyes. They were of a very intense green, and looked rather familiar, even though Fleur couldn't really point out where she'd saw them.
As she inspected him closer, only one possibility presented to her
'Is that Harry Potter?'
Harry Potter had spent hours arguing with Salazar about what to do regarding Dumbledore.
Harry, still hurt from Dumbledore not believing him about the Goblet of Fire, wanted to make a scandal about the lies, and try to dump as much heat as possible on the Headmaster.
Salazar had a more careful approach, arguing that Dumbledore had a powerful position and a lot of leverage with the general public, so he could come out of the situation without much repercussion, while making Harry sound like a child throwing a tantrum. His advice was for Harry to have a more direct one-on-one conversation with the headmaster, and then start to distance himself from the Headmaster.
But harry persisted, and because he had the final decision, Salazar ended up giving him one piece of advice.
"Hot-headed Gryffindor foolishness will eventually get you killed. It happened to Godric. Sometimes unpleasant people in positions of power may be more useful remaining in those positions, even if we preferred them dead."
Years later, a more mature Harry Potter would value that advice as almost sacred.
But he was still a fourteen-year-old.
Harry stopped in front of the teachers table, in the end of the great Hall.
"Headmaster, it was called to my attention that apparently we had a conversation and that with your help I went to a secure location to train for this stupid tournament you were incapable of keeping me out of. What I would like to ask you, is where in time was I obliviated of my memories of all this story. I tried to recall it, I really did. But I couldn't. All I remember was I coming to you, asked you to believe me, even give me the benefit of the doubt but you seemed incapable of doing that, so I left. And for all I remember, our interaction stopped there. In fact, I wouldn't be aware of all of that even happening if it wasn't for a letter from someone of innocently thought you were saying the truth and commented it casually."
"Harry, my boy! I'm so glad to see you, alive and well, just as I said" he chuckled, but everyone could see it was a nervous chuckle. "We don't need to do this here, why don't we step into my office, I can have some delivered there, and we can discuss the matter in a calm, quiet dinner?"
'He really has the nerve to keep the façade up?' thought Harry.
"No thank you Headmaster, who knows what you would do to me if we were alone in your office." He responded, his anger rising from the lack of an apology from Dumbledore. "I'd like to settle this matter in front of everyone, just like you decided it was best to lie to the people in here, about how our conversation went, about your knowledge of my well-being, and my whereabouts."
"Well Harry, my boy you see, I didn't lie. We had indeed a conversation, and you were indeed at a private location training for the tournament. We can see the results of that by the way, you do look different! Where are your glasses? And you've grown, so much! How did that happen?"
As both Harry and Salazar had expected, Dumbledore was no fool. He was trying to spin the conversation to be about Harry's ritual consequences, something he probably could guess how it happened. Being one the most powerful wizards alive, he probably had done some himself.
This was the most dangerous part of confronting Dumbledore out in the open. He could probably recognize the effects of the rituals and push that angle.
"That's not the point of this conversation Headmaster. We are here to discuss the fact that you lied about me and told everyone you knew where I was, when you didn't.
At this point the Great Hall, who'd went from noisy to stunned silence, had now moved to fast and quiet whispers as revelations came forward.
Dumbledore, seeing he was gaining no points with the presence of an audience, decided to cut his losses, stood up, put on his usual Grandfather smile, and said.
"Well Harry, I don't think this is neither the time nor the place. I'm sure your tired and miss your friends. Why don't you go seat at the Slytherin table, have a nice reunion over the amazing feast provided by Hogwarts? This conversation is over."
Harry was fuming. But recognizing that if see persisted he would look like a child doing a tantrum, and that that was exactly what Dumbledore wanted, gave in.
"Fine. But this is not over. And I want to ask you to, from now on, refrain yourself from approaching me about anything except your duties as Headmaster. We are not friends."
And with that one, Harry went to the Slytherin table. But before he could even come close, he was hit by a crying brunette mass.
"Harry, we are sooo sorry" she sobbed, mixed with sadness and relief "we should have stayed by your side! We should have believed you, I-I…"
Daphne froze all the sudden, the moment she realized what she had done. She had jumped from Slytherin table, overwhelmed with the relief of seeing Harry again, the happiness that he had received his letter and angry at Dumbledore for lying.
She had never done something so impulsive in her life, having spent her four years at Hogwarts cultivating a cold and distant personality, only opening around her most close friends and sister.
Ashamed of her lack of control, she stepped back with her cheeks red as wine, leaving a stunned Harry frozen in his place, completely caught by surprise by Daphne's reaction.
Seeing that the entire Hall was looking at her, all surprised by her change in attitude, she prayed for a hole to appear so she could jump inside and hide. As expected, her prayers here not heard, so she just ran away, leaving the Great Hall and only stopping when she was inside her room.
She looked herself in the mirror, self-recriminating for her lack of self-control. Why had she reacted this way? Why was Harry messing with her so much? He was not bad looking, yes. And the lack of glasses combined with the inches he had grown played in his favor, but she had known him for years, why was she so sensible to him right now?
Her thoughts were disrupted by a knock on the door.
"Get out, I don't want to see anyone!" She answered.
"I don't really care, so why don't you open the door for me, sis?" Answered Astoria Greengrass, her little sister.
"Get out! I don't need you making fun of me" She insisted.
"I'm not leaving until we have a chat!" was the response that came from the other side of the door.
Knowing of her sister's stubbornness, Daphne caved and open the door.
"So, Harry Potter, hum? Daddy's going to love your choice!" she teased.
"I told you I didn't needed you making fun of me. If that's all your going to do, you can leave now"
"Easy, sis. Just trying to lighten the mood in here. So, want to tell me what happened?"
"I don't know, I just didn't think, okay? How did everyone react?"
"Well, Tracey kind of covered for you, saying that she depressed you so much with her own depression because of him, that it was natural you were very happy to see him"
"That was a lame excuse…" said Daphne.
"Well Daph, you didn't really make it easy, didn't you? Tracey did what she could in the heat of the moment."
"I guess you're right, I should thank her tomorrow."
"Yeah, you really should." Curiosity getting the best of her, Astoria asked "So, thins thing for Potter, when did it begun?"
"I don't know, I don't even know if it's a thing. It was all so sudden, I don't know… I just felt so harry seeing him again…"
"Well, you better start to hide it better. If daddy knew, things would be complicated. Even if he his in Slytherin, I don't think he's going to be happy to know your going after the Boy-Who-lived"
"I know, I know. We wont mention this to him, okay Tori? Please?" she begged
"Of course not. Rest assured. Now go to sleep, you will have to face what you did tomorrow!"
"Since when did you became the older sister? Telling me to go to bed?"
"I've always been, you just didn't knew it. Goodnight Daph."
Good night Tori. Thank you for coming."
Her sister smiled and left.
Wrapping herself in her blanket, exhausted from the emotional night, Daphne drifter off to sleep.
AN: And so, it concludes chapter 6, with harry returning to the world of the living and the first reaction from Daphne. Fleurs will have her turn next chapter.
Qarz: Indeed I do. Now all i need is someone with time on their hands who volunteers to do it. If anyone's up for it, hit me up. I try to write as clean as I can, but mistakes happen, and when you get tired, like when your trying to put out two chapters a day, they tend to happen more often.
As always, thank you for the comments and reviews. I may not reply to them all, but I read them, and it really means a lot that a few of you are really enjoying.