"Well... what do you think?!" the young blonde snarled angrily as she watched her mother go through the large pile of letters. The amber-haired woman flipped through the different pages for a few more second before saying, "You were right. Some of these offers really are worded in poor taste."
"You mean to say that they are pigs," Daphne replied with fire in her eyes. "Sexist and self-absorbed pigs."
Her mother lifted her head away from the letters and looked at her pointedly. "I believe that is what I said, yes," she said before putting the letters down on the table and leaning back to relax in her chair. "I am just not sure why they upset you so much, dear. You must have known this was coming," she said next before smiling teasingly. "Besides, the way things are going you no longer have to worry about any of these offers."
Daphne smiled back. "That's true," she said. In reality, she wasn't even sure why the letters upset her so much. She knew that the moment her mourning period was over she would be swamped with marriage proposals from every single pureblood and halfblood in the country and beyond. She also knew that her mother was right. She had no reason to worry about the letters anymore seeing as she was now... taken.
But it was the tone of entitlement in some of the letters that pissed her off. Not to mention the numerous proposals which came for boys young enough to still be homeschooled or from men who were so old that Daphne could be their great-granddaughter.
"You know... I think this lord also sent a proposal for me when I was your age," her mother said as she picked up one of the letters while idly sipping her tea.
"Please tell me that grandfather did not entertain it," Daphne pleaded.
"Oh no way!" she said and chuckled. "He was way too old for me, dear."
Daphne face-palmed and then hit her head on the table, almost spilling her own tea. She thought the knowledge that she belonged to Harry would allow her to ignore and laugh at the whole absurdity but for some reason, it annoyed her even more. She supposed that it was the idea that these men would dare to think she could be theirs when that was no longer possible. It was a completely irrational thought, seeing as the world had no idea she and Harry were together. But still, there it was.
"You know honey, why don't I keep these?" her mother offered after seeing her daughter's distress. She took the pile and put it down on one of the unused chairs so that it was out of sight. "I can go through the letters and determine who needs to be answered, who needs to be answered politely, and who needs to be punished," she said with a kind smile and straight face that only a daughter of House Selwyn could master while saying such words.
"You'd do that?" Daphne asked uncertainly. She had to admit that it would be a big help for her. It's not like it would take long for her to decide on the answers herself but the associated stress would be disproportionally high. In other words, Daphne did not need this shit right now.
On the other hand, she also did not want to dump an additional stress on her mother. After all, it was only recently that her mother was starting to function normally again after being utterly devastated by the loss of her husband. "Would that be ok, mom?" Daphne asked, knowing the woman would know what she meant by that question.
"Yes honey, don't worry about me. I really need something to do, to be honest," she said and smiled weakly.
They stayed silent for a while after that as they enjoyed their afternoon tea.
"Are you happy, Daphne?" her mother asked her at one point. "Are you happy with your choice?"
"I am, mom..." the girl answered with an honest smile. "Very much so."
"Good," the elder woman said, obviously pleased. "Far better to have love in your relationship than not," she suggested and Daphne nodded in agreement.
There was another pregnant pause until her mother suddenly asked, "So... when do you want to have the wedding?"
Daphne coughed as she almost choked on a scone. "I think – I think that's some time away," she eventually answered even as she swept off the crumbs from her dress. "We're still in the middle of something right now."
Her mother looked at her in confusion before she realized. "Oh, right... that blasted war," she said and frowned. "And how's that going, anyway?" she asked, more out of politeness than a genuine interest.
"It's going well, mom," Daphne gave her a very succinct answer, knowing her mother did not want to hear more. After their father died, she no longer wanted to hear anything about the war. When her daughter and her father, Daphne's grandfather, informed her that they would be going against Voldemort, she did not even ask for a reason. She trusted both of them that they knew what they were doing.
"What can you tell me about Narcissa Malfoy?" Daphne asked to quickly change the topic. "Something not commonly known," she clarified, hoping to learn more about the woman she would soon be negotiating with. She did the math in her head and realized that Narcissa was almost the same age and must have gone to school with her mother.
"Narcissa Malfoy... or rather Narcissa Black. Her sister was in my year in Hogwarts, you know," her mother said, her eyes going unfocused as she recalled those memories.
"Bellatrix?" Daphne asked in curiosity. She never knew her mother was that woman's classmate!
"Not Bellatrix. The other one... Andromeda," the older woman said and it took a moment for Daphne to remember that there were actually three Black sisters a long time ago. The middle one, Andromeda, was not mentioned much ever since she married a mudblood and got kicked out of the Black family.
"But I knew Narcissa too," her mother said and then began to tell her stories about the woman she remembered from the school. Many of it was not of any use after such a long time or Daphne already knew it. Still, she felt that she learned few important titbits that might be useful and would give her a small advantage when she would finally confront the woman.
"Narcissa always wanted a big family and felt sad she had only one child. It's her greatest regret. When you talk with her, go for her heart," the older woman advised. "Thanks mom," Daphne told her gratefully at the end, already planning in her head how to use the new information she just learned.
"You are welcome, dear."
Daphne was about to stand up, say her goodbyes and leave when her mother spoke again. "May I ask something too?" she said and when her daughter nodded, she continued, "That bushy-haired girl who cleaned my room today..."
Daphne's expression immediately darkened. "That's Hermione Granger," she said and pursed her lips. "The brightest witch of our age," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"She's Harry Potter's friend, isn't she? They were brought here together?" her mother asked, ignoring her daughter's sarcasm. When Daphne confirmed that was the case, she asked, "So why is she cleaning the rooms?"
"She's his friend," Daphne confirmed. "She's also a mudblood... one that doesn't know her place and thinks herself our equal," she spat.
"So you're helping her to let go of the mud?" her mother asked and when Daphne nodded she sighed. "You might consider showing some leniency with that one, sweetheart."
Daphne stared at her mother in disbelief. "Seriously, you too mother?" she asked with a pout. "I already have Tori telling me to go easy on her. I don't need it from the both of you!" she said and sighed.
The fact Astoria was speaking in favour of the mudblood was no surprise to her as her sister seemed to have forgiven the girl for breaking Draco's nose after repaying her in kind – against Daphne's explicit orders she might add. In retrospect, it was a bad decision to unleash Astoria on Weasley and the mudblood while her sister was still desperately looking for someone to blame after their father's death. When Daphne finally learned that Tori broke the mudblood's nose in an act of spontaneous physical revenge, she scolded her for it. That was not how a pureblood woman was supposed to behave! But sadly, her sister has always been a rebel.
But to hear her own mother speak on behalf of Granger?! That was beyond her wildest nightmares and left Daphne wondering if everyone around her went insane. Was she the only who could see what was right in front of them?!
"In this case, it might be prudent," her mother insisted. "If she's your future husband's friend..."
"It's exactly because she's his friend that I am trying to help her in the first place," Daphne defended herself. "If she's going to be his friend then I want her to be a proper witch!"
"And is it working?" her mother asked with a raised eyebrow. "Does she appreciate what you are doing to her? Did she accept the fact you are her superior?" she asked sarcastically, imitating her daughter's earlier tone.
Daphne turned away in embarrassment before she answered. "No. She's getting magic into her body and she's learning all there is on the subject. But as far as I can tell she's not really changing her mind."
"My point exactly," her mother leaned back with an expression of vindication. "You are not going to win this one, Daphne. The girl is an adult already. She's set in her way and she's not going to let you help her. All you can do is break her. Time to let it go."
"So what are you saying? I should just let her remain the filth she is?!" Daphne said while shaking her head furiously. "I can't do that, mother! It's my duty to make her better... to help her reach her true potential. Suffer no wild mudblood!" she finished by crying out Woden's motto.
Instead of accepting or refuting her argument, her mother merely chuckled which absolutely infuriated Daphne. "You Greengrasses and your Wild Hunt... helping mudbloods whether they like it or not. Even if they resent you for it... even if they fight you tooth and nail."
"So you think it's no longer important to integrate mudbloods into our society?" Daphne asked crossly. She was proud of her family's tradition and did not like anyone to speak disparagingly about it. There was a reason why magical families were most numerous and ancient in Europe and much of that was due to the work of Daphne's ancestors and other riders of the Hunt. Meticulous and absolute integration of mudbloods allowed their communities to thrive while those who closed themselves to the new comers, either by ignoring mudbloods or eliminating them, were lost to the passage of time.
"Integrating mudbloods is very important," her mother admitted. "But not at the expense of your own interests... or of your relationship."
"Harry agrees it's for the best. He understands why I am doing this," Daphne replied.
"Perhaps he does... for now. But it is bound to cause problems between you," her mother said as she leaned closer. "And you should ask yourself this – considering all the problems it brings, is helping Hermione Granger really worth it?"
Daphne stared at her mother with open mouth as that question caught her completely unprepared. And not because it was a difficult question to answer but rather because it was a really easy one.
"No... she's not worth it," she replied in defeat while holding back a snarky remark that Granger was not worthy the oxygen she consumed every day. "But you don't know how awful she is. Do you realize that she actually had a fantasy of becoming the Minister of Magic... if you could only see what horrors she planned to inflict on our world... I am just supposed to forgive and forget that?!"
"Yes, it would be for the best. It's not your job to punish her for what might have been," her mother confirmed and Daphne snorted as she stared at her in disbelief. "I would have expected this kind of attitude from Astoria but not from you mother. You believe in pureblood supremacy!"
"You underestimate me dear," the older woman smiled. "I am not saying you should support her delusions... I am just pointing out that she is no longer the same threat to you she was in the beginning."
"What do you mean?" Daphne asked with a frown.
"I mean, any chances of her making it in politics died the minute she fell into your hands... and they were buried the moment you and Harry got together. The boy-who-lived might have been her ticket to the Ministry and to realizing her fantasies. But without him, she's just another mudblood with head filled with nonsense," her mother explained and Daphne could not help but listen with rapt attention.
"So what if you let her go and she tries to start some sort of rebellion? Nobody will follow her! You took her biggest asset away and put her firmly into her place. So maybe now is the right time for you to be magnanimous about it. I am sure Harry Potter would appreciate it too."
"I- I didn't think of it that way," Daphne stuttered. Her mother was correct that Harry would have very much liked her to go easy on Granger. And it was also true that the mudblood was a much smaller threat now that Daphne had a chance to curb her ambitions and erode her confidence.
And without Harry Potter to back her up, there was no chance in hell a person with Granger's annoying personality would ever win any elections. She also had no resources at her disposal as the Ministry confiscated everything she had after she refused to get registered. And thanks to Dolores Umbridge, they even took time to seize and liquidate whatever assets she had in the muggle world. She was homeless and destitute! Granted, some of it would have to be returned after the war was over but even then, Granger was unlikely to achieve financial success in the post-war world that Daphne hoped to create.
Her only hope for obtaining money for any kind of political campaign or pro-muggleborn rebellion was perhaps to marry some rich guy. Daphne supposed that the mudblood had good enough looks to do it if she made an effort but she seriously doubted her balloon-sized pride would permit it. And that assumed her hypothetical husband would be willing to finance her crazy ideas.
So in conclusion, her mother was probably correct that Daphne could afford to give up on Granger with very few repercussions. But it was still all very wrong! Granger was a mudblood and Daphne and other purebloods had certain duties towards mudbloods. "What if she never reaches her potential? She's already starting to look like a real witch! What if I give her a break and she just goes back to being a disgusting muggle filth?"
"Then it would be her choice. You already did a lot for her," her mother insisted. "So what if she throws it all away and goes back to how she was before. If instead of reaching her true potential, she decides to wallow in the filth she was born into. What does it matter to you?" her mother finished and smirked gleefully. "You can't save them all, honey... just let this one go."
"It matters... it matters because she's Harry's friend and as such she will be a part of my life whether I like it or not," Daphne said through gritted teeth.
"There's that risk," the older woman admitted. "There's also a strong chance that Granger will turn into a bitter broken person. A woman who will spend her whole life choking on her own helplessness and annoying everyone around her as she impotently shouts her slogans in the streets... all the while hating the entire world for not listening to her," she said and smiled at her daughter triumphantly. "How long before even Harry Potter decides enough is enough and cuts her out of his life for good?"
Daphne could not help but look at her mother in awe. Many people would say that Julia Greengrass née Selwyn assumed what one would call a traditional female role in her marriage, something that many modern witches tended to turn up their noses at for some reason.
Her mother never made a habit of interfering with her husbands business and focused on their home and raising her children. It was a role that Daphne was briefly prepared for too before it became clear that she would have no brothers and started to be educated as the heiress. For this reason, Daphne never scoffed at the choices her mother made in her life. But still, in moments like this she was sharply reminded on just what her mother was – an intelligent woman and a true pureblood lady.
"Interesting. I'll think about it, mom," she finally agreed. "Thank you."
"As I write these lines, I find myself thinking of the Lord Almighty and his great power that my grandparents tried to teach me about in my youth. Of the plan he has for all who walk upon his Earth. Because surely it must be the reflection of our Lord's will that I, a son of mudbloods of the most meagre standing, would be destined for daughter of the great House of Greengrass?"
Harry leaned in the chair to make himself comfortable, totally immersed in the book lying on the table in front of him. It has been two days since his ultimately amazing date with Daphne where she finally agreed to be his girlfriend and also told him about the soulmate ritual.
The more Harry thought about it since then, the more he found the entire concept fascinating. Even though he felt certain that he loved Daphne, he couldn't ignore the fact that sometimes he simply did not understand her at all as they grew up in completely different worlds. And he knew that the girl was often puzzled and confused by his reactions in certain situations too.
So in principle, the idea of being able to understand each other better, being able to bridge the chasm between them, was very tempting. Harry also had a faint hope that if Daphne could sense how torn he felt about some of her actions, she would perhaps not act so callously. Earlier, he told her that he did not want to change who she was. He definitely meant it in a sense that he did not want to magically manipulate her by the ritual. He loved her and would support her regardless.
But if Daphne made the decision to be kinder to muggleborns on her own, then he would definitely welcome it. Perhaps it was a fool's hope but Harry knew in his heart that Daphne was not evil and that she honestly believed her actions were justified and for everyone's benefit, including the muggleborns. It was what she was taught all her life and it was as natural to her as his believes were to him. But if she had access to his experience and morality... Harry could not help but hope that it would help her.
And so with these thoughts, Harry went to the Greengrass library to study journals of people who in the past joined Daphne's family and went through the soulmate ritual. Per Sue's recommendation, he selected five journals which she said were most detailed. Three of those were written by women and although interesting in their own right, Harry eventually had to concede that he could not much relate to their description. What he really needed was a male perspective as only that could provide answers to many burning questions and concerns he had about the ritual.
The fourth journal was written by a pureblood foreigner who married into House Greengrass during the renaissance in order to solve a trading dispute between their families. It was essentially a loveless marriage of convenience and did not really speak to Harry's heart. Plus the man in the journal sounded kind of arrogant.
Finally, the fifth journal seemed to be the one he was looking for. It was written by a man called Wilfred Royce who married into Greengrass family about thousand years ago. It was the time of the Founders and so it was in Hogwarts where young Wilfred met his future wife, Eleanore Greengrass, and fell in love with her. As if that wasn't fascinating on its own, Harry was simply amazed when he read that Wilfred was a halfblood and that both his parents were muggleborn servants of some pureblood family he never heard of and which probably disappeared a long time ago.
Harry was quite shocked before remembering Daphne saying that in the distant past there was no such thing as halfblood as marrying and having legitimate children with muggles was rare to non-existent. As such, the blood status system was much simpler in the days of yore. A person simply either had magical parents, which made them pureblood, or they didn't and were counted as mudbloods.
As such, Wilfred was considered a pureblood in his time (and designated himself as such in the diary) despite who his parents were. Still, even though his blood status may have been acceptable to Eleanore's parents, the fact he was a son of two poor servants without a single galleon to his name was not, thus creating a problem for the young lovers.
Fortunately, Wilfred was also considered to be one of the most talented and powerful Hogwarts graduates. Being personally tutored by Rowena Ravenclaw, he possessed unparalleled knowledge as well as several innate magical abilities. Witnessing his magical power and recognizing what he could bring to their family, Eleanore's father eventually agreed to their marriage as long Wilfred agreed to take their name and to perform the soulmate ritual with Eleanore.
"I remember being scared but now can't recall why. I am wrapped in my Eleanore's love as she is in mine and I would not trade the happiness of our lives for the Lord's heaven. It is true that my magic will not let me betray my wife and her family, as my goodfather warned me. But why would I ever entertain such foul desire? I would sooner remove my beating heart and use it to power the great trident, to keep my love and our children safe."
Wilfred then went on to discuss details of the ritual and how it impacted him. It was very useful to Harry as he had some concerns about some of its aspects, especially the one where he would be magically bound not to act against his wife's interests. Although the idea of being utterly at Daphne's mercy spoke to some of his darkest desires, Harry also could think clearly enough to feel trepidation about it. Fortunately, based on what he read so far, the ritual did not seem to be as severe as his fantasy made it out to be. Even the information Daphne gave him about it was not entirely accurate, although the girl did warn him that she was not an expert on this ritual.
In reality, Harry would not be bound to follow the pureblood girl's every order as the ritual did not affect conscious mind all that much. As Wilfred pointed out in his journal, such manipulation would not be stable in a long term as person's will actively rebels against it. Instead, what the ritual does is prohibiting him from betraying Daphne with some action he might wilfully take. But what is essential is that the definition of such betrayal is based entirely on his own mind. Harry supposed that in some cases it might translate into obeying her wishes but not always. If he felt that the girl was doing something which was not good for her, he would be completely free to stop her even if she explicitly told him not to.
Even after going through the parts describing the ritual, Harry kept reading Wilfred's diary all the way to the end as it was indeed a fascinating reading. At the time of their marriage, Eleanore had a younger brother who was meant to be a future Greengrass lord but when accident took his life, she became the heiress and Wilfred the new lord of House Greengrass – which meant that Daphne was his descendant.
The man also had an interesting and eventful life outside of his family as he designed number of new spells and devices, some of which were still used even in the present day. At the end of his life, he was even chosen as the Speaker of the Wizard's council which was the predecessor of the Ministry of Magic...
Harry closed the diary and just stared ahead for few minutes, digesting everything he learned. The book answered most of his specific questions about the ritual. But there was still one big question about the way the ritual was done... and honestly, it made his ears hot to think about it.
He glanced into the main part of the library and saw Sue Li hunched over one of her books as usual. She was flipping through the book with one hand and using the other one to draw some complicated diagram on a blank piece of paper. Harry had no idea what it was about.
He slowly stood and went in her direction. He always felt bad disturbing her from her work. But earlier, Daphne made it clear to all personal of the Greengrass manor that they are to assist him and follow his orders as well. It was a new concept to Harry. In the past, he had people listening to his orders but largely because they wanted to. This time, it was actually their job to obey him and he was struggling with his feelings on such concept. Still, if he and Daphne were really going to be together, he reckoned he better get used to it.
"Sue... I need to ask you something," he said as he closed the distance between them.
The girl looked up from her book. "What is it, Harry?" she asked with a welcoming smile.
"I- eh," he tried to begin, suddenly unsure how to even put it. Eventually he said, "I need some information on soul magic..."
"Anything specific?" the girl asked. She closed her book and pushed away the diagram she had been drawing so that she could pay a complete attention to him.
"General background, I guess..." Harry answered. "And the methods it is using... I am not sure I understand... I mean it's... it's," he stuttered, his face red.
The girl's cheek twitched into a smirk. "You mean... the fact it's all about sex."
"Well, yeah..." Harry admitted and then asked intelligently. "What's up with that?"
In addition to the soulmate ritual, Harry tried to research some other examples of soul magic to understand it better. It was especially important to him as the only other example he was aware of was what Voldemort did to his soul to achieve immortality. And that was probably the vilest example there was.
And so while reading some basic books on the subject, Harry quickly made an inescapable conclusion that almost every single soul magic ritual and spell had one thing in common – it either involved sex or some kind of sexual activity.
"Well, first of all... sex magic is essentially a synonym for soul magic, Harry," Sue began to explain, going into a full librarian mode that he sometimes saw Hermione engaged in. "The reason for that is simple – soul magic works by creating and utilizing soul fragments. And sex is the only natural and safe way of splitting the soul," she told him before adding seriously. "Or at least the only one that a sane person would ever consider."
Harry nodded as he knew about that part already. "Yes... Daphne told me that baby's soul is created from soul fragments splintered away from its parents," he told her.
Learning that information was quite a shock to Harry as it made him realize that Voldemort bastardized magic even more if that was even possible when he created the horcruxes. Instead of splitting his soul to make new life, he murdered someone in the process. Instead of an act of love, he made it an expression of supreme hatred. It was beyond evil. It went against nature even without considering the whole 'cheating the death' factor.
"Exactly right," Sue confirmed. "But when no baby is conceived, the soul fragments made during sex can be utilized for other purpose... and that is the entire basis of soul magic."
Harry's eyes went wide as he was beginning to understand.
"Actually, it would be accurate to say that the act of conception is a type of soul magic ritual – a natural one and perhaps the only magical process that muggles also unknowingly practise. So in essence, sex is magic... and I am not saying that just to sound romantic," Sue said with a laugh.
Harry laughed too as it was really nice way to look at things, he reckoned. "So what exactly happens to the soul fragments if no baby is conceived and no ritual is made?" he then asked as he was unclear on that and the few books he read sort of skirted around it.
"Good question," Sue smiled and then explained. "If a witch does not get pregnant, then her soul fragment as well as the one from the man will remain within her. Eventually, they are both re-absorbed and broken down by her body into a raw magic," she explained and Harry realized with shock that he has probably already witnessed that.
Even though they did not have true sex, Harry noticed Daphne's magic swelling with power after he climaxed while she grinded on his lap. He could sense something similar happening also by the lake. It was an unusual but extremely pleasant feeling when that happened. He was tired... even a little drained in the magical sense. But it still felt absolutely right and something he would happily get used to.
And now he finally understood what Daphne meant with the words she told him afterwards – he really gave part of himself to her in that moment. Part of his magic and soul.
"So... sex makes witches more powerful," he guessed and Sue reluctantly nodded.
"You are thinking along the right lines, Harry," she confirmed. "It's not much and the effect fades pretty quickly but yes, the woman can get a temporary magic boost in that way that can be perceived and measured," Sue explained and then sighed. "Ancient wizards and witches understood this effect pretty quickly. It was probably what gave them an idea there was such a thing as soul in the first place. Anyway, as you can imagine, it also got abused soon after," she concluded sadly.
"Abused? How?" Harry asked with curiosity although not with much surprise. He had a feeling that every great discovery had either served or will eventually serve some nefarious purpose. And it did not matter whether magic was involved. It was like a rule of nature – inevitable and absolute.
Instead of answering, Sue gestured towards the table and they both sat around it before she spoke, "Long time ago, there was a powerful coven of witches in the middle east and Mediterranean. At some point, they managed to devise a spell to increase the size of the soul fragment and therefore the amount of power which is transferred during sex."
Harry swallowed nervously, realizing where this was going even before Sue said the next part.
"They would use that spell and purposefully have sex with muggle men in order to feed on their souls," she whispered. "They would take as much as they could from them and then throw them away... leaving them either completely insane or catatonic."
"That's awful!" Harry whispered back and then asked. "But why are we whispering?"
Sue blinked in surprise before speaking normally. "Sorry... there is this old superstition that if one speaks about them too loudly, they would appear," she told him in embarrassment. "It's nonsense, but-"
"Nonsense? You mean the same nonsense where you speak Voldemort's name and his people appear?" Harry immediately asked in irony.
"Good point," Sue acknowledged and shrugged. "In any case, I should be okay even if they did appear... I am a girl," she said and laughed uncertainly.
"Does the coven still exist?" Harry wondered as he looked around nervously.
"No, they were destroyed in ancient times," Sue assured him. "They eventually got greedy and started feeding on their fellow wizards as well. They must have realized wizards could provide them with a more palatable feast than the muggles did, I guess. It united the ancient magical world against them and there was a war."
"A war? So nobody cared while they were hurting only the muggle men?" Harry asked and shook his head sadly.
"Yeah, pretty much," Sue said and shrugged. "Are you even surprised at this point?" she asked with a weak smile and Harry realized that he really wasn't. The pureblood world he found himself in considered muggleborns as magical human beings albeit inferior. But as far as muggles went, it did not assign them any value.
"I realize it's awful but you should understand that muggles in that time were barely coming out of the stone age," Sue explained. "Magical folk had absolutely nothing in common with them except superficial physical appearance. Even goblins had far more in common with the ancient wizards than muggles did."
Harry just sighed and shook his head and so after a moment, she continued. "Anyway, according to the myth the war was long and only ended when the straight of Bosphorus was blasted open and the coven's last strongholds in what is now the Black sea basin were flooded."
"They actually created a new sea to end a war?!"
Sue chuckled. "Never underestimate the lengths that wizards and witches will go to achieve their goals, Harry. Magic is might... but it is also the manifestation of our will that we impose on the world."
"But I suppose we digressed," Sue then said and took a deep breath before saying. "So as you probably realized by now, witches find it more natural and easier to use sex magic because of how our reproduction works but there are also many rituals that men can use, of course," she told him.
"But how?" he wondered. "If only the woman gets the soul piece from the man..."
"Then the man can attach a spell to it and use it as a Trojan horse... for example," she told him with a wink.
"You really know this stuff," Harry said in admiration and Sue smiled. "I have been practically living in this library for two years, so I hope I picked up a thing or two in that time," she said humbly before adding. "Still, it sometimes feels like I barely scratched the surface," she said as they both looked around them at the endless amount of books and documents that was contained in the vast room.
Harry smiled at her enthusiasm. "I suppose this place is a paradise for a Ravenclaw. Makes me wonder if Flitwick was finally going to teach us about sex magic this year," he said wistfully and then smiled as he imagined the short half-goblin teacher giving them that particular lecture in his squeaky voice. "Hate to imagine we missed that lesson."
"Yeah, I guess..." the girl answered even as her smile faltered and Harry realized his faux pas. And then felt like kicking himself.
"I am sorry!" he apologized immediately, briefly touching her hand on the table. "Here I am, missing my seventh year when you didn't even get your sixth..."
"No, it's fine, really" Sue assured. "And to answer your question, sex magic is not taught in Hogwarts and never was."
"Why?" he asked.
The girl cocked her head as she raised her eyebrow. "Teaching bunch of horny teenagers about magical power of sex?" she said and chuckled.
Harry smiled. "Good point. But still, it sounds important and something we should know about," he pointed out.
"True but there are a lot of things that are not taught in Hogwarts," she told him. "Hogwarts school does not and was never meant to provide comprehensive education in all areas of magic. For one thing, it would then last twenty years instead of seven. But mainly because it's heavily focused on things that people will be commonly using or those that they need to know in order to live safely in the magical world," the girl explained before finishing with. "So even though it is interesting, soul magic is not a necessary subject. An average witch can get through her life just fine without even knowing she has a soul, much less how to do magical rituals with it."
"But where are people supposed to learn if not at Hogwarts?" Harry wondered. He did not recall there being anything like magical equivalent of a university. If there was, he had no doubt that Hermione would have mentioned it by now.
"Trade guilds, Ministry departments, private companies, magic masters..." Sue listed before spreading her arms wide. "And then of course, the old pureblood families and places like these," she told him. "From the purely academic perspective, I probably learned more here with Greengrasses than I would have in Hogwarts."
"I guess for you, it made sense," Harry admitted after a moment of thinking. "Don't you miss your friends, though?" he asked her carefully.
"We are Ravenclaws, Harry," she told him. "Most of our friends are on paper and we can carry them around in our backpacks," she said and laughed a little. "But you are right, I do miss them sometimes... Mandy and Lisa... we write letters and I did see them over the holidays but I guess it's not the same," she admitted.
"Do you- do you know Luna Lovegood?"
Sue nodded. "Yes, we haven't talked much but we know each other. She's a bit strange at times but a really nice girl."
Harry swallowed and did not ask any more questions. After her father told them what happened to her, Harry felt like his heart would break every time he thought about Luna and of the fact she was probably suffering in Azkaban in this very moment. In Harry's mind, the idea of Luna being locked in that horrible place was the worst atrocity of this war. The younger girl was always so full of life... always managed to brighten everyone's day. She should be outside dancing in the sun and not locked in darkness.
Harry even asked Daphne if there was any possibility of breaking people like her out of Azkaban. She already helped him so much and so Harry hoped that this would be another such time. Unfortunately, some things were even beyond Daphne's power it seemed. The pureblood girl was sympathetic but pointed out that it would take an enormous effort and planning as the magical prison was extremely well secured. She suggested that the quickest way to help those imprisoned there was to destroy Voldemort once and for all and end his regime as soon as possible. And Harry reluctantly agreed with that.
"I'll write down a list of books you might want to read if you want to learn more about soul magic," Sue suddenly said, pulling him away from his dark thoughts. She picked up a blank piece of paper from the table and wrote some book titles on it. "Sex magic sometimes has a bad reputation but there are some very good books on the subject," she said while writing down the names.
"Why does it have a bad reputation?" Harry asked after she was finished and he took the list from her hands.
"Mostly because of the muggle-baiting association... you see, enchanting men with sex was one of the most common accusations that muggles made against supposed 'witches'" Sue said and made the air-quotes. "It was mostly misogyny but originating from reality in a sense that muggle souls are less potent due to lack of magic."
"Yeah, you mentioned that before..." Harry said.
"Yes, I did. So as a consequence, when a witch mates with a muggle man, she instinctively takes larger part of his soul from him than she would have from a wizard in order to create magical baby. The other way around it is perhaps even worse as the muggle woman's soul fragment often proves insufficient and the child is born a muggle."
"You can't be serious," Harry exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. "Witches take souls from muggles?!"
"You're thinking of that ancient coven, Harry" Sue said and giggled. "In this case, it is much less severe and unintentional. Also, the soul has natural ability to heal. But over many years a muggle man who continuously mates with a witch might accumulate enough soul damage to actually change their personality, yes."
"In what way? Harry asked with wide eyes.
"That varies from person to person," the Chinese girl answered. "However, it often manifests itself as partial or total lost of their morality. They then turn abusive towards the woman."
In that moment, Harry remembered Merope Gaunt and her illicit relationship with Tom Riddle sr.. It led to her being pregnant with a monster and the man abandoning a woman pregnant with his child to her fate. Harry always assumed he did that in anger because he stopped being fed the love potion and so realized he was tricked. But could it be that Merope damaged his soul the way Sue described right now? Damaged it perhaps to a point where he no longer could feel love even with the potion and did not find anything wrong in abandoning his unborn child?
"Seamus Finnigan!" he suddenly cried out and Sue startled a little. "Sorry. He's my classmate. His mother is a witch who married a muggle. But he always said that his parents have a nice relationship," Harry explained to her. "So how could that be if his father's soul is damaged and he becomes abusive?"
"Then he's one of the lucky ones who have found a true love and so he does not have to worry about any of it," Sue said almost dreamily until she noticed Harry looking at her completely lost. "Oh come on, Harry! Dumbledore wrote about it many times, surely you know what I am talking about?"
Harry lowered his head. "I actually never read anything he wrote..." he said in shame. It was funny, really, as even though he considered the old wizard his mentor he knew so little about him and his accomplishments. Over his long life, Albus Dumbledore authored books and research articles but Harry had never read a single one of them. It never even occurred to him. He intended to rectify that as soon as he had a chance.
"Love, Harry. It's love!" Sue finally told him the answer. "Love heals the soul. It's the only force in the universe that does," she said and Harry nodded as that indeed sounded like something Albus Dumbledore would write about, being a strong believer into the power of love.
"So if someone is completely incapable of love..." he asked and Sue gave him an answer after a moment of thinking. "In theory, such soul can never heal any damage it incurs. Although a person like that would be incredibly rare as virtually all people feel love for something – hobbies, food, drink... – if not for another person," Sue speculated.
Harry nodded even as it dawned on him what it truly meant – Voldemort was such person and he was completely doomed. He could never heal his fractured soul because he could not feel love. Both Hermione and Daphne told him at different points that making a horcrux required one to not feel love at all or the spell would not work. At first Harry though it was because it required one to commit a cold-blooded murder but now he realized it was also to make the damage to one's soul permanent and unable to heal.
It was very foolish but on occasion, Harry had entertained the idea whether Tom Riddle could be redeemed at the end. He was even prepared to give him that chance. But not anymore. There was nothing left to be saved in Voldemort and Harry was going to remember that for when the time for their confrontation finally comes.
And he will not hesitate to do what must be done.
At one point, Harry Potter fell asleep in the library over an open book.
He remained blissfully unaware until hearing a voice, "Harry..."
The voice belonged to a person he loved and that knowledge was affirmed when he felt her soft hands on his shoulders. He turned around and saw her smiling at him. "Did you sleep well?" Daphne asked and chuckled. "Not really," Harry pretended to complain before looking at her flirtatiously. "Did you come to make it better?" he teased her. Daphne giggled while taking a brief glance at the book he fell asleep over.
"Why are you reading about the succubi?" she asked with amusement when she saw the book detailing the myth of the ancient coven opened on the table.
"Ehh..."
To be honest, he was interested in learning more after Sue's impromptu lecture but it turned out that the girl had told him all the interesting parts already and that the book ended up being quite dull.
"You know what, I don't even want to know," Daphne said with a tired smile as she leaned against him. He became more alert when he noticed how exhausted she looked. "What is it?" he asked and she looked him in the eyes. "It's done," she said with a tone of finality. "She's coming this Saturday at 2 pm."
"Oh..." he said intelligently. "Well, I'll think of something to occupy myself with then."
His girlfriend shook her golden-haired head. "What are you talking about?"
"When Narcissa comes," he clarified and blinked in surprise. "She must not see me, right?" he asked uncertainly.
"Absolutely not, Harry," the pureblood girl said imperiously before taking his hand and saying more gently, "You'll be with me."
"I'd like that," Harry admitted. "But are you sure it's wise?" he asked cautiously.
"Maybe it's not... but we are in this together and this is it, Harry," the pureblood witch said. "The time for hiding is over. From this point on, we'll move as one," she told him and Harry nodded before they sealed their pact with a kiss.
