Chapitre 26: An Unexpected Encounter
"Harry, I am glad to see that you are doing your part to promote friendship between the houses. As you may have been aware, Gryffindors and Slytherins have not always been the best of friends." Dumbledore said, drastically understating the feud between the two houses. Curious about what the Headmaster thought, Harry was watching him for any sign that he disapproved of his decision to take Daphne to the Yule Ball but could not find any.
"Thank you sir, I'm quite happy with how it turned out." Harry said, now noticing that Daphne had been listening to his talk with Dumbledore. She smiled at him and then looked towards Dumbledore, wondering if he would say anything to her, but instead the Professor turned to face Madam Maxine and began to chat with her.
The dance floor began to fill with couples who had finished their meals. Noticing that Daphne had stopped eating, Harry asked her if she would like to dance. Daphne smiled and agreed and they walked hand in hand to begin dancing. The other couples seemed to automatically back away from them and make room, not that Harry minded. Harry's nervousness from the first dance had vanished now that they were not one of only four couples dancing. The current song was quite a bit slower, and Harry instinctually pulled her closer. He was pleased to see her smile when he did. For that moment Harry didn't care what anyone in the world said or thought because there was nowhere he would rather be. Unfortunately, their moment was about to be disturbed. They were in the middle of their third dance when Harry felt someone tapping on his shoulder. Turning to look he was met with the angry face of his roommate and former friend, Ron Weasley.
"Can I help you, Ron?" Harry asked, wondering why he was being interrupted.
"Yeah! You can tell me what you're doing with her." Ron answered, pointing at Daphne who was quickly getting upset.
"I'm dancing. I think it would be best if you left us alone now." Harry replied, trying to avoid making a scene but knowing Ron was likely to start one.
"She's a Slytherin! You can't trust any of them." the red head yelled, loud enough to get the attention of everyone on the dance floor. Harry's temper finally got the better of him and he was about to yell back a response when Daphne spoke up, cutting him off.
"No Weasley, the one he can't trust is you! You were the one who turned your back on who was supposed to be your best friend when he needed you the most. I was there for him when you weren't. And I will not let some jealous fool like you insult me or say otherwise. Turn around and walk off or I will make you regret it." Daphne commanded. At some point, Harry noticed, she had taken out her wand and was grasping it tightly. From the angry look on her face Harry could tell she was only moments away from cursing Ron. He lightly put his hand on her arm hoping hoping she would wait a moment before casting a spell.
"Go now, or I won't stop her." Harry said, glaring at his former friend. Ron looked at them both angrily, and then stormed off back towards where he had come from. Daphne was still fuming; a little angry that Harry had stopped her from casting some of the nasty spells that had come to mind when Ron had interrupted them. Harry quickly realized that they were not going to be able to just finish their dance because all of the people around them had stopped to watch the argument. Even though Ron had left they were still being stared at.
"Let's go outside and get some air, ok?" Harry suggested. Daphne nodded and held his hand as they walked outside to the garden that had been specially prepared for the Ball. A few people were already in the garden, but not nearly as many as were inside. Those couples that had come outside mostly seemed to be concerned only with each other as well. Finding an empty bench in a spot where he hoped they would not be disturbed, Harry sat down and motioned for Daphne to join him. For a few minutes that sat silently, allowing them both to calm down a little. Harry's anger was already a bit overwhelmed from the happiness he felt knowing that Daphne cared enough to defend him, even if it was just from Ron's moronic insults.
"You know I really do appreciate you standing up for me, but shouldn't it be my responsibility to defend you?" Harry eventually asked. "I am the guy after all, I thought that was supposed to be my role." His remark finally got her to smile a little, which was exactly what he wanted.
"Probably, but I didn't want you having all the fun cursing Weasley."
"My first reaction was actually to punch him in the nose, but your idea was probably better. That reminds me, where were you keeping your wand in that dress?" Harry's question finally got her to laugh.
"That's one of those secrets witches don't tell wizards." she replied, drawing a laugh out of Harry. They both relaxed after that and sat back on the bench enjoying the night and each other's company. Harry's arm was resting on the top of the bench behind Daphne, allowing her to lean in to him. He briefly wondered if they were being missed inside but quickly decided he liked where he was at just fine. Neither of them made any effort to move from where they were sitting.
Minutes later their peace was once again disrupted, this time by two people arguing who seemed to be headed their way. Harry quickly recognized one voice as belonging to Professor Snape and the other, foreign sounding voice belonged to Igor Karkaroff. Neither of the two men seemed to be aware that Harry and Daphne could hear them.
"Severus, you see it just as I do. The mark is growing darker every day." they overheard Karkaroff saying.
"Perhaps so. What will you do then, flee?"
"Maybe. And you?"
"I will stay here, where I am protected. If you run they will find you, Igor. You must know that." Snape warned the other man.
"We'll see." Karkaroff said before walking off. Professor Snape didn't move for a moment, apparently thinking about the conversation. As he turned to walk off he finally noticed Harry and Daphne, cuddled together on the bench and looking at him with interested expressions on their faces. Snape knew they had heard him, but decided it was best not to mention his discussion at all.
"Ah, Ms Greengrass. I find myself disappointed with your apparent lack of taste." the potions professor said while scowling at Harry. Daphne knew better than to challenge her head of house when he was in a bad mood and said nothing. Harry decided to follow her lead and choked back the angry response that had come to mind. Seeing that they were not going to argue with him, Snape scowled one last time and turned to walk back towards the Ball.
"What do you think that was about?" Harry asked when Snape was finally out of sight. Daphne seemed to be concentrating on something.
"Did you hear Karkaroff say 'the mark is growing darker'? I wonder if he meant the dark mark. It would make sense, they were both Death Eaters."
"Snape was a Death Eater?" Harry asked with surprise. He had always believed his professor was evil, but he did not know he had followed Voldemort. It certainly changed the way he looked at the man.
"Of course he was, you didn't know that?" Daphne asked. "I thought everyone did, but maybe that is just a Slytherin thing. They say that after the Dark Lord disappeared Dumbledore began telling everyone who would listen that Snape had been his spy during the war. Not everyone believed it, but it was enough to keep Snape out of Azkaban. They let Karkaroff go because he named a bunch of other Death Eaters after he got caught."
"Oh, I never knew." Harry answered, taking in the new information. "It sounded like they were both scared, would they be like that just because their mark was getting darker?"
"Who knows? I guess I better tell my father this in my next letter. Maybe he will know what it means." Daphne replied. "Do you want to go back in?"
"Sure, if you want to." Daphne nodded and they walked inside where a band called the Weird Sisters was now playing. Harry had never heard of them, but their music sounded somewhat like a muggle rock band. The rest of their night passed relatively calmly, much to Harry's relief. In the remaining hours they talked to various people and to just each other or danced along with the rest of the students. Sometimes people looked at them oddly, as if not knowing what to make of the Gryffindor / Slytherin couple, but for the most part they were left alone. Harry wondered how much of that was a result of Daphne's threats towards Ron earlier in the night.
Finally the party was coming to an end and it was time for them to leave. Only a few couples were left on the dance floor and the band had announced their last song. A few house elves could be seen beginning to clean up what was left of the food and drinks. Most of the professors had left and those that remained were constantly checking the time, eager to make the students go back to their dorms so they could go to bed. Sensing the ball was now over, Harry offered to walk Daphne back to her common room and she agreed.
"I don't think the reactions we got were that bad." Harry said as they walked towards the the Slytherin dungeons.
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
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Power Stone 
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