Chapter 12
"Was it really necessary to provoke them like that?" Albus asked Cyrus with a sigh. The man opposite of him was swirling a glass of scotch and absent mindedly stared at it.
In a way Albus could understand him. Just a couple hours ago his youngest daughter had been put in the infirmary by two, much older students, whose parents seemed to not care one bit about their boy's behaviour. Even going as far as to insult the boy who had then defended the poor girl. That her father was incredibly angry, was to be expected.
However, it had been very much unlike the usually composed and calculated Lord Greengrass to verbally attack the assembled parents in such a manner.
The entire thing had then quickly escalated when Lady Hill had then drawn her wand and attacked Cyrus.
"May I remind you that it was not me who drew the wand first?" Lord Greengrass said deep in thought, still staring at the tumbler in his hand.
Albus shook his head. Self control had never been Camilla Hill's strongest suit. Cyrus had definitely known that before. So why had he antagonised them in such a way? The result hadn't been pretty, not at all. What started as an admittedly rather concerning case of assault, had escalated into a fully fledged blood feud of three prominent houses of magical Britain.
Once more he gave his ally a concerned glance as the memories of the past hour came rushing back into his mind.
Flashback - One hour ago…
"REDU…" Camilla Hill started with a red face with her wand pointed at Cyrus Greengrass. However, before she could finish the spell, her mouth all of a sudden forcefully clamped shut due to Albus' own timely intervention with a silencing charm.
Then multiple things happened at once.
With a thunderous expression Lord Greengrass drew his wand, though he refrained from casting anything himself. The brief smirk on his face went by unnoticed by anyone, except Albus himself.
At the same time Lord and Lady Bulstrode started shouting in outrage through the room while Lord Hill stared in shock at his wife, his face as white as a ghost. Evidently the man had realized the ramifications and enormous stupidity of what the Lady of his house had just attempted to do. The perpetrator meanwhile shot Albus and Cyrus a poisonous glare.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Dumbledore finally shouted, which immediately silenced the room.
For a couple seconds, the occupants of his office merely glared at each other. Then the patriarch of house Greengrass said with an icy voice that made the other Lords and Ladies shiver "Enough indeed…"
After that he pocketed his wand and fixed the others with a cold but indifferent stare and proclaimed "Your attempt at violence just now, spoke louder than any words will ever do! By attacking my youngest daughter and now myself, I, Cyrus Greengrass, Lord of the house Greengrass, hereby invoke a Blood Feud between my house and that of Hill and Bulstrode!"
When the others opened their mouths to protest he held up a hand.
"All existing business, ventures and contracts between our houses are as of now null and void! All outstanding loans are expected to be paid back within the month! Enjoy what's left of your houses after this!" he finished, then turned around and marched towards the exit of his office. As he opened the door he briefly glanced back "I will see myself to the infirmary, headmaster. Gooday!"
With that Lord Greengrass left the headmaster office leaving the other occupants staring after him in disbelief.
End of flashback
After Cyrus had left the Hill's and Bulstrode's had also hurriedly taken their leave with their tails between their legs. His notification that both boys would face expulsion for the remainder of the year as punishment went by them without a glance. Quite evidently their businesses and wealth meant more to them than the future of their children. A shame really.
He gave his ally a penetrating stare.
Cyrus had clearly been distraught that his daughter had been attacked and loved her dearly, however the recent event in his office very much seemed very much like an orchestrated affair. The only question was, to what extent?
"How much of this was planned?" he whispered, almost afraid of the answer.
The man snorted and took a generous sip of his drink "I hope you are not insinuating that I planned to have my own daughter attacked?"
Albus hesitated briefly before he carefully replied "I don't think you would have willingly let any of your daughters come in harm's way. Nevertheless, I need to ask. How much of this was planned."
A painful smile briefly flickered over Cyrus' face before he answered "It would fit the mold wouldn't it? An ice-cold businessman, only interested in the next big deal. Only caring about the profit, it would bring and not giving a damn who gets hurt along the way, even if it is their own family."
Then the man shook his head and looked right at him, almost as if he was inviting him to use Legillimency.
"It would certainly fit many pure-blooded Lords… but that's not who I am." he said and after a sigh continued "The attack on Astoria was not orchestrated by me. But I do admit that I used the situation to my advantage by extent also your own."
Albus' shoulders sagged in relief before he nodded "The Blood Feud allows your family to cut ties with not only the families directly involved but also every single one who supports them. Without drawing suspicion that you might work on a higher goal."
"Yes. The Bulstrode and Hills were and still are firm supporters of You-Know-Who's agenda. The Blood Feud will create a rift in the likely minded houses. They can either support them and likely lose a lot of money in the process, stay on the winning side and support my own house or remain impartial. Either way it's going to create tension, which is perfect for what we are going to do."
Dumbledore nodded. He had already guessed that this had been Cyrus's intention all along. The fact that he had remained so level-headed, even when his daughter had been attacked, was remarkable.
"Well then you have my apologies for doubting you." he said "How is Miss Greengrass if I may ask?"
Near the Slytherin Common Room
Daphne once again felt a wave of unrestrained furry rising inside of her and fixed the boy in front of her with a sharp stare and tightly gripped her wand, which was pointed right between his eyes.
"And you know this for certain?" she demanded.
Blaise Zabini scowled and pointed at her wand "For Merlin's sake, Greengrass! Take that thing out of my face!"
However, she merely raised her eyebrow at that and only inched it a bit closer towards his nose.
"Answer the fucking question!"
The dark-skinned boy shuffled uncomfortably before he yelped "Yes, yes. I am sure! Now put that wand away! Damn it that's what I get for being nice for once…"
After studying his face for a moment to see if she could detect any hints of deception, she finally withdrew her wand and the boy she had backed against the stone wall took a deep breath in relief.
"How do you know?" she asked after calming down a bit. Just for now she would stay calm to verify everything. But if it was true what she had just been told, someone else was in for a world of pain.
"He is an idiot and a blabbermouth. A couple weeks ago Crabbe saw you and Potter leave an empty classroom together, Draco told us that someone should show you your place. Nott volunteered to take care of it."
That information hit her like a ton of bricks. Was her friendship with Harry the reason why Astoria had been hurt? All of it was her fault? Her damn feelings?
She closed eyes and took a deep breath, trying to centre herself.
No, it was not her fault, she decided. The only one to blame was the person that had chosen to attack her in the first place. And that person would face her wrath.
"So, he decided to attack her? To do what? Send me a message?" she growled, the urge to trash something grew stronger by the minute.
"Well, initially he wanted to force you to submit, with an outstanding marriage contract between your families…"
"WHAT?!"
The boy gave her a sheepish look "Oh, you didn't know that this thing existed? Well apparently, your grandfather crafted one back in the day together with the Lord of the Nott family."
Daphne rubbed her temples and swore to levitate some hippogriff dung on her grandfather's grave the next time she was at home.
"Anyway, Nott's father said no. Apparently he doesn't want to upset your father, so you should be safe in that regard." Blaise continued his explanation and Daphne sighed in relief.
Having a scary dad does sometimes have its advantages.
"So, then he did the next best thing and hired those imbeciles to attack my sister?"
Blaise nodded.
"You knew and you did nothing about it?" she seethed and pushed the boy against the wall once more, with her wand right back where it used to be at the beginning of their conversation.
"SHIT! No, Greengrass! Listen!" Blaise yelped "I only learned about it after it was already too late! Nott ranted about the incompetence of Hill and Bulstrode it in the dormitory when he thought no one was listening."
"If you are lying to me…" she threatened.
"Merlin, no! Why would I lie about this?"
"Maybe you hired them and are only trying to cover your tracks by blaming Nott."
"I swear it's the truth!" Blaise stammered.
Although he sounded honest, Daphne shook her head and removed her wand from his face only to point it towards his nether region.
"I swear if you're lying about this, I'll show you why they call me the Ice Queen!" she whispered dangerously.
"WOAH, WOAH!" the boy yelled when he felt the wood poking his pants "CALM DOWN! It's the truth! It's the truth!"
Daphne gave him one last penetrating stare before she pocketed her wand.
"I'm going to kill him!" she swore and turned towards the exit to march to the Slytherin common room.
However, before she could leave Blaise grabbed her arm.
"Don't be an idiot, Greengrass!" he urged "If you go in there and start throwing around spells, they will throw you out of the school! Is that what you want?"
Daphne tried to yank her arm out of his grip, but the boy was too strong.
"Let me go Zabini!" she hissed.
However, Blaise shook his head "Only when you start behaving like a Slytherin again! Think about it for a moment! You think you can take him? Nott might be a wanker, but he is damn good with a wand! Besides, there are other students in there, not to mention prefects! They will stun you before you can get the second spell off!"
Daphne flared her nostrils in anger, but his words struck true.
There was no way she would get away with attacking Nott in the common room. That was if she could even land a spell on him…
She screamed in frustration.
They would expel her and as she could prove nothing Nott would most likely get away scot free. Worse, the boy would still stay at school and Astoria would then be completely vulnerable without her.
Daphne deflated and sank to the dungeon floor. Suddenly she could hear another set of footsteps nearby and a familiar voice saying "I'll take it from here Zabini. You can go."
Startled, she looked up to see Harry crouching down next to her.
She barely even noticed Blaise leaving the room.
"How did you know I was here?" she asked hoarsely.
Harry smiled faintly "Trade secret… You alright?"
She shook her head.
"No, not really. Nott… he… I want to… argh! How much did you hear?"
The boy shrugged and inched a bit closer towards her, so their shoulders were touching.
"Nearly everything. You can be pretty damn scary when you want to be. I think Zabini almost wet his pants." he admitted, sounding impressed.
At that Daphne chuckled, her anger slowly fading away by his comforting presence.
Deciding to be bold, she let her head rest on his shoulder. Thankfully, he seemed unbothered by the close physical contact and put an arm around her. A warm feeling spread in her belly and she sighed in content.
After a couple minutes of silence Harry gently asked "How's Astoria?"
"Getting better. She should be out of the hospital wing in the next few days. Thanks for saving her by the way." she said and leaned a bit more into him, the warmth spreading further and further.
He snorted and dejectedly mumbled "It seems I'm responsible for her getting attacked in the first place… I should have been more careful. I- mpffff…"
His words were interrupted when Daphne had enough and pressed her lips on his to shut him up. Meanwhile her own heart seemed to beat a million times per minute and her mind floated in another dimension, as she felt their first kiss.
For a brief moment she panicked when he seemed to freeze against her, but then leaned into her and responded in kind.
Suddenly all troubles seemed to fade away.
It felt good, it felt right and boy was so going to enjoy it.
Her arms snaked around his neck and pulled him further against her, she was almost sitting in his lap now.
Finally, their lips parted and the two of them stared breathlessly at each other.
"That was…"
"Yeah, wow."
"Wanna do it again?"
"What do you think?"
They were not seen for another hour.
Gryffindor Common Room
"Mate? Why are you smiling like that? It's creeping me out a bit." Ron asked him as he entered the common room.
His mind was completely elsewhere, his senses over clouded by the slowly fading feeling of Daphne's lips on his…
"DUDE!" his best friend shouted "Stop grinning like a loon! What's got you in such a good mood anyway?"
Harry chuckled inwardly. If only he knew…
So far, he hadn't gotten around to tell his friends about his friendship with Daphne, let alone the most recent development from just an hour ago.
Carefully he looked around himself. When he noticed no one in their immediate vicinity he decided to come clean with his friend.
"Well, you see I've been meeting with this girl…" he started, however was immediately interrupted by Ron who started laughing.
"Haha, I knew it! I knew it!" he exclaimed and dragged Hermione over towards them, who had been reading a book before.
"Oi, Mione! Guess who's been right?"
Their bushy hair friend looked at Ron grumpily "Let go Ron! What are you even talking about?"
"I've been riiiight!" he sang.
"About what exactly?"
Ron grinned smugly and wrapped an arm proudly around Harry's shoulder "Harry's got a girlfriend!"
Hermione's eyes widened and a smile formed on her face, while Harry palmed his face with a groan. His friend had been loud enough for the entire common room to hear. Of course, now everybody in the room was now listening to hear Hogwarts latest gossip.
"Why don't you just shut it out in the Great Hall?" he hissed before grabbing both of his friends and pulled them in a more secluded corner of the room. A quick privacy charm took care of the rest.
To his credit Ron had the decency to get red in embarrassment and apologized "Eh, sorry about that mate."
Harry sighed "Forget it. It would have come out tomorrow anyway…"
Suddenly Hermione couldn't contain her curiosity anymore "So who is that mysterious girl? And how long has this been going on?"
"Do you know Daphne Greengrass?"
At the mention of her name Hermione's eyes went wide as saucers.
"What? The Daphne Greengrass? Ah so that was the reason you were so concerned when Astoria was attacked! She's her little sister, right?"
Harry nodded, while Ron looked confused at them.
"Who is that? I don't know anyone named Daphne from our house…" then he looked at him as if he had lost his mind "No, no, no. You mean that blond chick from Slytherin?! Seriously? Mate has she fed you any potions? Is she blackmailing… OUCH!"
Hermione had stomped on his foot to shut him up, while Harry looked at them in amusement.
"Not everyone in Slytherin is evil, Ronald!" she explained "In fact I've sat next to her in Arithmancy class. She didn't remotely seem to be like Malfoy or his ilk."
That was new to Harry. He didn't know that Daphne sat next to Hermione last year in class.
"Fine. Fine." Ron said and raised his hands placatingly "I'll keep an open mind, okay?"
Then both of them looked at him expectantly and Harry started to explain how he met her. Of course, he didn't mention what exactly had happened at the World cup.
"So, you are now together? A couple I mean?" Ron asked when he was finished.
Harry shrugged and with a red tinge admitted "To be honest we haven't gotten around to talk all that much… we were kind of preoccupied…"
His best friend sniggered and clapped him on the back, while Hermione went beet red.
"Anyway, what are you going to do about Nott?" Ron asked him "I mean if it was Ginny we were talking about the bastard would probably hang by his willy from a dungeon tower right now."
Harry nodded at his friend before Hermione could scold the redhead for his language "Yeah, I'm glad that Zabini prevented her from just killing him in the common room, but Nott went too far. Also, I don't think he is going to stop at that… Next time someone else might get hurt."
"You could tell Dumbledore." Hermione suggested "Surely he can-"
"No."
"But Harry, he-"
"No, Hermione. Dumbledore can't do anything about it, because there is no proof. He can expel Hill and Bulstrode but there is nothing he can do about Nott without clear evidence." he explained to her.
"So, what will you do?" Ron asked.
An evil grin, that oddly matched that of Moody, formed on Harry's face at the question.
"He'll learn the hard way to not mess with those close to me."
AN:
Well… sorry that Moody didn't make an appearance in this chapter. He'll get a pretty big one in the next one though, where the first big strike against the Death Eaters will happen.
Anyway, lots of things happened in this chapter, tell me what you liked or disliked. I'm rather curious. The biggest one, which I guess wasn't much of a surprise for anyone, was the relationship of Harry and Daphne.
I'd also like to once again thank all who are already following the story or marked it as favourite. I'm very humbled that so many people seem to enjoy what I write. Special thanks of course to the many reviewers. By the way, I try to reply to as many as I can with the limited time that I have via PMs, so do check your inbox.
-InvertedLogic