I own nothing.
As the crowd finally thinned to only herself, Cygnus, Rhea, and a couple of fifth-year boys, Daphne drew her eyes away from the wading spectacle that had swept through the common room as quickly as it had faded and decided that it was time to wrap up her rather extensive essay for Professor Snape.
She was certain that in terms of content and insight, it was far more than the man expected. But even as she scribbled down her conclusion, a part of her registered the sounds of Rhea wishing Cygnus a good night before she made her way up to her dorm even as the Head Boy sent a few not-so-subtle glares in the direction of the lingering fifth years, a move that sent them scampering up to their own dorm without further prompting.
Daphne ignored it entirely, far too used to such occurrences by now because of her circumstances. After several more minutes of concluding what Daphne privately thought was quite the masterpiece, she rubbed her temples and nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice she knew all too well spoke from right over her shoulder.
"Even Snape was not cruel enough to ask for that on our first day." Even now, the soft voice of her brother sounded pleasant to hear.
"Do not do that!" Daphne turned around and almost shrieked at Cygnus, placing a hand over her mouth even as she glanced cautiously around the room as if to ensure none had seen her lose her composure before she stowed her nearly homework back into her desk. The common room was empty aside from the two of them as far as she could see.
Her brother laughed at her expense, brushing away the golden locks that had fallen over his cerulean eyes, "I did not mean to scare you but you're usually more observant."
"I'm usually not nose-deep in an essay," Daphne defended to which Cygnus merely dipped his head in acceptance, taking a seat beside the first-year blond as he folded his hands on his lap. Daphne looked at her brother suspiciously, knowing he must have approached her for a reason. There was always a purpose in his actions, even if they were as trivial as exchanging pleasantries with his own sister, "If mother asked you to keep an eye on me, then you don't need to listen. It's not necessary, I can more than take care of"
"Relax, Daphne. I have not sent nor received one owl from our parents regarding your wellbeing since we've arrived at Hogwarts." breathed Cygnus, raising a hand to silence the younger girl's protests even as he smiled a rare, genuine smile at his younger sister "Is it so wrong for me to worry about you? Why does it have to come from your parents?"
Daphne blushed, something that would have seemed oddly uncharacteristic of her to most people who did not know her closely as she defended herself, "I'm fine!"
It was annoying, the way her brother seemed to always see through her every single time. It was as if there was nothing she could hide from him, no secret she could conceal from his cerulean blue eyes which seemingly pierced into her very core.
"Yes, I'm sure you are, I do not doubt that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself." He gave Daphne another smile once again, speaking as if he were talking about the simplest thing he knew of. "That doesn't mean I don't have the right to worry about you though. It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that the girl I watched grow up is now here with me at Hogwarts."
Daphne smiled back at him, sounding almost uncharacteristically nervous as she nodded, "Thank you, I'm sure it would be even weirder for you when Astoria starts up here."
Cygnus pulled a face, remembering the antics of his younger sister as he commented dryly, "You have no idea."
Daphne sighed fondly, she and her sister had been best friends for as long as either of them could remember and not just because they knew no other child who could play with them. "I do wish she was here. It's odd without her, and I'm not sure it is a change I'm entirely thrilled with."
"You should take advantage of it in the best way you can," Her brother advised, eyes suddenly serious as he received a confused look from Daphne. He paused for a moment and gone was the gentle brother she remembered so fondly, replaced by the man who had taken care of House Greengrass since his teenage days, "Make new friends, maybe even allies."
"I have no interest in making friends with Malfoy and his goons, let alone Nott," Daphne responded, not interested in having this conversation with her brother once again. In a way, Hogwarts was as much an arena of clashing ideologies as it was a school for learning magic.
"I can understand why you would want to avoid becoming too close with children of conservative leaders but I doubt I need to tell you the importance of remaining on good terms with them, regardless." Her brother responded, calmly raising one of his golden brows.
"No, I've heard it for half of my childhood so you need not remind me " Daphne agreed, pausing for a moment to let her words sink in before continuing with a more level tone, "But between me and you, I would choose Peverell for friendship over Malfoy or Nott any time of the day."
"Peverell?" asked her brother, moving his head to the side as if confused by the mere concept of choosing Alaric over her more influential housemates and there were plenty of them this year. "Making friends with him could prove to be as dangerous as slapping Draco across the face in terms of political alliances."
"I disagree," Daphne argued softly, remembering the subtle genius of her friend who had overshadowed all his peers without even trying seriously.
Her brother's eyes narrowed. "He is the heir of House Peverell, the only survivor of Helga's Creek whose parents single-handedly orchestrated the event that ended more pureblood lineages in a single night than the Dark Lord himself had during his reign of terror. An alliance with him would be a dangerous statement in itself, more so when considering how close his parents apparently were to Dumbledore before they blew themselves up,"
The tragedy of Helga's Creek was something every wizard in Magical Britain knew of, it was a calamity that had almost devoured the entire nation and had left behind an empty crater in place of what was once a bustling magical town. Daphne paused at the reminder but she shook her head in response and repeated her thoughts more forcefully. "I don't think allying with House Peverell would ally us with the Light side at all. I doubt he fervently follows the Light, Alaric has never mentioned a word about his beliefs since he arrived at Hogwarts,"
Cygnus thought about it for a moment before he nodded, appraising Daphne and her words for a long, calculating moment before speaking, "From what I have seen of the boy, he acts nothing like what people say his father used to be. He is quiet, reserved, and extremely perceptive."
"I have no evidence to support this theory but for some reason, I doubt Alaric would prescribe to either Liberal or Conservative ideologies." Daphne explained honestly, remembering the boy who had charmed his way into her group, "He seems far too logical and critical and seems to have entered the magical world as a fairly blank canvas."
Her brother's brows raised once again, though this time it was with tactic understanding. "You think you can sway him to our set of beliefs?"
"It's more than just politics. We two have more in common than either of us realised at first and I think he would be a good match for me intellectually. What I am trying to say," Daphne reluctantly acknowledged before she continued, preparing to surprise her brother with her next honest words, "What I think is that combining hands with Alaric not only provides a sort of safety net against our peers but also our increase the political clout of our House. More importantly, we could form not just an alliance but a friendship that I personally desire."
Despite her rather pragmatic tone, her words were nothing but the truth. It might have started otherwise, but what she wanted from Alaric right now was nothing but his genuine friendship. Her brother narrowed his eyes, perhaps sensing what she truly meant as emotions she could neither understand nor recognize flashed through his eyes which seemingly judged her for all she was worth, "I shall trust you on this, Daphne. I expect nothing but excellence in every sense of the word from you,"
Daphne almost hesitated for a moment when she saw the look she was receiving from her brother, a moment later that hesitation was gone replaced by her usual resolve as she gave her brother a tight nod even as he turned around and headed towards the dormitories allocated to seventh-years, his robes dramatically bellowing behind him she had seen only in their resident Potions Master before.
She spoke nothing as she watched him go, just looking at the stairs he had ascended for a long moment before she had to reluctantly tear away her eyes and mind from thoughts of her enigmatic brother and focus once again on her work.
Her brother had changed, that day had changed every single member of the Greengrass Household. She sighed as she took out her wand from her sleeves and turned back towards the bundle of notes stacked neatly in front of her.
She remembered all that she had seen in just the last few weeks alone, the almost casual acts of magic that she knew no other person her age could recreate. The sight of Alaric confidently completing his Transfiguration in a single go and levitating his trunk back during the train without a wand remained fresh in her mind, something he was unable to complete even now after so many tries.
As it so often did her mind turned to her untouched magic. She imagined that she could almost feel it, that pleasant warmth playing beneath her skin that she had no way to release. In her younger years, she'd made a few half-hearted attempts at producing spells without her wand but had never found any reason to have much real hope and nothing resulted from her token efforts.
Her problem was that he was aware of the possibility in very general terms. After all, she'd done a lot of magic of the same form as a child and now she'd even seen Alaric controlling that magic which she once thought to be untameable. She simply could not work out how to make it happen.
She focused inwards with all her might, reaching for the power she knew dwelled deep inside her and waved her wand with a desperation she did not know she possessed.
Despite her best efforts, nothing happened.
Thanks for reading.