Chapter 34: Malfoys, and Dancing
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It took a while before Quinn could make Daphne talk to him again. Quinn felt embarrassed because of his reaction towards Daphne's mother, Sophie Greengrass, and apologized to Daphne for them.
'But, she is absolutely gorgeous,' he thought but didn't say it out loud in the fear that the only person he could talk to at the ball would not speak to him again.
"So, Daphne, tell me about Slytherin common room; I want to know the difference between all four houses' common room; if you tell me, I will tell you about the Ravenclaw common room, " asked Quinn, hoping to break the ice and keep the conversation going.
Daphne took a moment to compose her words before saying, "Our common room is a dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. The dungeon extends partway under the lake, giving the light in the room a green tinge."
Quinn stopped her and asked with wide eyes, "You are saying that the Slytherin common room had windows that show an underwater scene?" It fascinated for him to hear about such architectural design in Slytherin's common room.
Daphne lightly nodded and added, "The water near the windows is never murky, allowing a lot of light to pass through, and because of the lake, the color of the light is a really bewitching green. The common room has lots of low-backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas; and dark wood cupboards. It is decorated with tapestries featuring the adventures of famous Medieval Slytherins. It has quite a grand atmosphere, albeit quite a cold one."
"Have you seen the giant squid from the common room windows?" he asked, genuinely excited about the scenery. Daphne looked at him, her eyes shining, "Yes, I have seen the tentacles of the giant squid, often they would pass by the windows, and the sound of swishing water created is quite relaxing, especially at night."
She looked at Quinn and asked, "Your turn." Quinn smiled and revealed, "Hmm... Ravenclaw common room has an exclusive library that is furnished by Professor Flitwick; he makes sure that they are relevant to the current topics in the class and quite a few interesting reads outside of the classroom material."
"That sounds like a significant advantage to the Ravenclaw students," said Daphne, showing a glimpse of her competitive side.
Quinn shrugged and countered, "Professor Snape gives private Potion and Defense Against Dark Arts lessons to Slytherin students; that is also a significant advantage. I have heard that a lot of Slytherin students perform well in exam practicals."
"How did you know that? We aren't allowed to reveal that to anyone outside the house," Daphne asked with suspicion evident in her turquoise-blue eyes.
Quinn scoffed, "Not all Slytherin are secretive. Some of your housemates can be quite braggy when they think no one is listening." When Daphne quirked her brow, Quinn winked mischievously.
Quinn looked at Daphne and said, "My grandfather said to show up to see him once in a while. How about we go see him? You seemed interested in meeting him."
Daphne nodded, thinking about when her mother asked Quinn if he was related to George West.
"Excellent, let's see... where is he?" Quinn looked around the hall, spotted a small group, and saw his grandfather standing tall among the people. "There is he, let's go."
- (Scene Break) -
George West was mingling with other people at the ball, listening to their offers of so-called once-in-a-lifetime business opportunities with one ear and zoning out their actually third-rate business plans with another ear.
"Grandfather," he heard the familiar voice of his grandson and turned back to see Quinn walking towards him. It greatly surprised George to see Quinn walking with a girl.
"Grandfather, let me introduce," Quinn gestured towards the girl with him and continued, "Daphne Greengrass, a... friend of mine from Hogwarts."
Quinn turned to Daphne and repeated, "This is my grandfather, George West."
'A Greengrass, huh,' thought George as he smiled towards the girl and said, "Happy Yuletide, little lady." After greeting her, he asked, "Are you related to Jacob Greengrass?"
Daphne Greengrass nodded while courtesying, "Yes, I am Jacob Greengrass's daughter."
Speaking of the devil, Jacob Greengrass appeared with Sophie Greengrass just as Daphne finished introduced herself.
"A happy Yuletide to you, Mr. West." said the man as he strolled to the group with a smile on his face. Jacob Greengrass was a tall man with black hair and blue eyes; he had traditional aristocratic features with an angular face and a strong jawline.
Quinn observed the man named Jacob Greengrass and noticed, 'His legs are aligned with his shoulders... five inches apart, weight is distributed equally, and his whole body is projected as a straight line. Standard body language for confidence.'
Jacob had a glass in one hand, and his other arm was looped with his wife's arm. Quinn moved his eyes to look at the Greengrass couple as a whole and saw comfortable chemistry between the two, none of the pair overshadowing each other.
'Yeah, this guy is set.' thought Quinn as he concluded studying Jacob Greengrass.
George greeted the man with a firm handshake, "Jacob." Jacob freed his arm from his wife's and shook it back. George looked at Sophie and smiled while kissing her knuckles, "Sophie."
He looked at the pair greeted them together, "A Prosperous Yuletide to you as well."
"Did you meet my eldest daughter?" said Jacob while glancing at Daphne with a warm smile.
George nodded in response, "Yes, my grandson introduced me to her." He patted Quinn's shoulder.
Quinn stepped forward and shook hands with Jacob Greengrass, "Happy Yuletide, Mr. Greengrass. My name is Quinn West." He turned to Sophie Greengrass and smiled, "We meet again, Mrs. Greengrass."
"So, I hear you study at Hogwarts. How are you finding studying?" said Jacob as he observed Quinn.
"Yes, sir. I am a second-year student, Ravenclaw. As for studying, it is quite exciting to learn magic every day. The teachers are talented and helpful... well, most of them are." When Quinn said that, Daphne almost snorted, thinking about the droning Binns and stuttering Quirrell.
"Good, good, Sophie was a Ravenclaw when she was studying at Hogwarts, and I was a Slytherin," said Jacob as he looked at his wife.
Quinn nodded, and a stray thought passed his mind, 'Beauty and Brains...' he thought about Sophie and then mentally shook his head, 'Focus, Quinn!' Though he did brightly smile towards Sophie when he heard she was a Ravenclaw.
Jacob glanced at Daphne before asking, "How did you get to meet my daughter?"
Quinn smiled while recalling the train ride to Hogwarts, "I met her during the train ride to Hogwarts. She and Tracey Davis came to my compartment looking for a space to sit." His interactions that day made him chuckle, "It was quite the fun train ride."
- (Scene Break) -
After talking for a while, Quinn and Daphne decided to leave the adults and talk amongst themselves, but just a minute after leaving the adults, they heard,
"Greengrass, fancy meeting you here."
Both of them turned back to see a slender boy with sleek platinum-blond hair that were slicked back tightly. He had cold-grey eyes, a pale complexion, and rather sharp and pointed features.
When Quinn saw the boy, a smile appeared on his face while Daphne sighed in exasperation.
"Mr. Malfoy, indeed, it is quite a fancy meeting you here," said Quinn as he grinned at Draco. Looking at the smiling Quinn made Daphne calm down and made Draco frown.
"You!" Draco immediately recognized Quinn and was shocked to see him here. "What are you doing here?"
Quinn looked around the hall before answering, "You know, attending the ball, enjoying some delicacies, what people do at balls..."
"I mean, what are you doing at the ministry ball!" Draco's eyes narrowed, "Who would invite someone like you!"
Quinn shrugged, "It is the ministry ball, so I guess the ministry... why where did you get your invitation. Mr. Malfoy, you might not like to hear this but, if you got your invitation from somewhere else, it might not be valid. It could get you into trouble." By the end, Quinn had a look of fake worry on his face. He thoroughly enjoyed Draco's red face.
"Greengrass, why would you like to hang with someone like him. He has no respect for his betters," asked Draco, not answering Quinn's retort.
"Better him than you," was all she said in response. Hearing that, Quinn voiced his discontent, "Hey... that makes it sound as I am on the same level as him. Not cool, and I bought you a drink."
Daphne said nothing in response, and Quinn crossed his arms in mock-anger.
Seeing the two ignore him, Draco stomped in rage and stormed off.
Quinn looked back towards Draco, not hearing him, but didn't see him in front of them. "Where did he go? I didn't get to wish him a happy Yuletide."
"He left when you were being dramatic," Daphne replied. Quinn quirked his brow, "Dramatic? You hurt me, Greengrass. I am not dramatic; I just have a colorful personality."
"Right..."
"There is he, father." Quinn turned to see Draco dragging Lucius Malfoy with him.
'Draco, what are you doing, man. You are really hurting my impression of you.' was Quinn's thoughts before Draco and Lucius Malfoy arrived near him.
"So, you are the one who is insulting him," sneered Lucius as he looked down at Quinn. Quinn looked confused, "You seem to be misinformed; I said nothing of sorts to your son."
"He lies; he made fun of me at the Hogwarts Express and just before," screamed Draco as he pointed at Quinn.
Lucius looked at Quinn and noticed that the child was just smiling, not looking nervous at all. So, he decided to inform the ignorant child who he was dealing with.
"Child, what is your name, and where are your parents? Call them so I can have a talk with them and teach them how to raise a child," sneered Lucius.
Quinn nodded and replied, "Okay, wait a moment. I will bring my parents." Then Quinn ran off to follow Lucius' orders.
Draco sneered and announced, "He will finally get what was coming for him."
After a minute, Quinn back and called out to Lucius, "I brought him."
Lucius smirked as he thought about ripping into some chump, but when he turned back, Lucius froze. The person he saw shocked him out of his mind.
"What is this I hear, Lucius. You are taking part in children's squabble," said George West as he stared at Lucius with a seemingly bored expression.
Lucius stared wordlessly at one of the people he feared. If Lucius Malfoy considered Jacob Greengrass his rival, then George West was another level than him. George West was a sleeping threat to his political and financial authority in Britain.
When he was young, his father, Abraxas Malfoy, had told him that when it came to money, West family outclassed every other family in Britain, including the Blacks, when they were at their highest point. He had told Lucius that, unlike the other British families, the West family business spanned across continents; If they deployed all their resources, they could take over magical Britain's economy.
After that, Lucius Malfoy had firsthand seen George West's viciousness in business. George West had left the country before the war got worse. When it ended, there were opportunities to make money, and Lucius wanted to use this chance to recover the wealth he had lost in the war. But by the time he was done with his trials at the ministry, George West had nonchalantly returned to Britain and took advantage of the aftermath of the war before Lucius could even start. Even Jacob Greengrass had difficulty competing for resources, even though Greengrass was the first to start.
"Mr. West, I heard you were at the ball. But, why are you following this child?" asked Lucius, praying that it won't be what he was thinking; Alas, it was the thing he was fearing.
"This is my grandson, Quinn West. You asked for him to get his parents, so I came, now what is it you wanted to talk about," said George.
Lucius looked down towards Quinn and saw the striking similarities between him and George West; both had black hair and stone-grey eyes.
"I didn't know you were his grandfather," said Lucius, not knowing what to say next.
"Now you know, so what is it you want to talk about," asked George.
Lucius cursed his luck that bought him face to face against this man, "It is nothing, I just wanted to solve this children's fight peacefully. You know how children can take things too far."
"I see, then I proclaim this squabble over," said George and turned to Quinn. "Quinn, behave and get along with others," but he didn't sound serious at all.
"Come now, Lucius, accompany me for a drink. Let's talk business. I have been doing some stuff you would absolutely love to hear about," said George with a smile that didn't fit well with Lucius at all.
Quinn watched as the two adults walked away, and Lucius was not looking enthusiastic at all. He turned to face Draco and said, "Ah, Mr. Malfoy, I missed the chance, but I wish you a happy Yuletide."
Malfoy looked awkward, standing in front of Quinn and Daphne, not knowing what to do. He had called his father to take care of Quinn, but somehow his father had been taken away by another man with his father not being able to refuse.
Listening to Quinn wish him a happy Yuletide was all the 'humiliation' he could take for the day and stomped away.
Daphne turned to Quinn and asked, "Do you dislike Malfoy?"
Quinn shook his head, answering, "Not at all. It takes a lot more than that to make me dislike someone. Maybe a couple more years of this on a regular basis would be enough for me to develop a dislike for him. I don't even consider him an annoyance at this point." Quinn cared little for Draco's attitude and found it not worth his time to care for his silly, spoiled behavior.
He turned to Daphne and asked, "Do you want to dance?"
Daphne stood still and blinked a couple of times, "Why?"
"I have been learning to dance for so many years; it would be a waste not to make use of it," said Quinn while shrugging.
The blonde stared at Quinn for a while before nodding. Quinn smiled and extended his hand to Daphne, who took it and let Quinn lead her onto the floor.
On the floor, both Quinn and Daphne straightened their backs and stepped closer to each other. Quinn took Daphne's raised right hand in his raised left hand, and Quinn placed his right on her shoulder blade while she put her left on his shoulder. Daphne shifted a smidge to her left such that she would be on Quinn's right, so their legs move between each other and knees don't hit.
When they were set, Quinn took the lead, and both began dancing, with Quinn pleasantly smiling as he made conversation, "Any plans for the vacations?"
"Spend some time with my sister; she felt down when I left for Hogwarts and was quite excited when I returned home for the break," said Daphne, a soft look in her usually sharp eyes.
She looked at Quinn, expecting him to answer his own question.
"Hmm... I will probably remain at home for the break, doing nothing interesting. Oh, yeah, I am going to learn how to make clothes."
Daphne tipped her head to the side, "You mean sewing?"
Quinn nodded enthusiastically, "Kind of; I found a book list on tailoring charms and how to make all kinds of clothes from different fabrics like cotton, wool, even leather. I skimmed through it, and the books also show how to weave various charms into threads or clothes," he remembered how Madam Malkin's shop had prepared his clothes in such a short time. Even the robes he was wearing today were made within hours.
"I am most excited to work on the leather of different animals and beasts. Oh, goody!" Quinn finished with a twinkle in his eyes.
"You are weird," was all Daphne said in reply. She also complimented him, "You are a good dancer."
Quinn smiled, "Only because you are making leading so easy." Complimenting her in an offhand way.
- (Scene Break) -
"Look dear, Daphne is dancing," said Sophie Greengrass, getting the attention of her husband.
Jacob Greengrass turned his head to see his eldest daughter dancing on the floor, "With the West boy," he looked closer and added, "And, she is talking with him."
Sophie rested a hand on her cheek and commented, "They look cute, maybe, I should ask the person with the camera to snap some photos."
Jacob hummed, not liking the idea at all. His eyes narrowing as he watched the West boy chuckle, and even though his daughter wasn't, he could tell that she was enjoying herself.
Jacob glanced towards George West, who was talking with a clearly uncomfortable-looking Lucius Malfoy. He turned back to look at the dancing pair.
Sophie Greengrass looped her arm around her husband's arm and asked, "Would you like to dance?"
Jacob looked at his wife, smiling, "Of course, my lady. I would love to have this dance with you." He took her hand and guided her to the floor.
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Quinn West - MC - Want to make himself a whip, "Heeyah!"
Daphne Greengrass - Dance Partner - Currently enjoying dancing.
Draco Malfoy - Red-faced and angry. - Sulking in a corner.
Lucius Malfoy - Clearly uncomfortable - Not enjoying the ball.
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