บท 329: Toxic Personalities
Sunday passed by like a blur, even though most of it was spent catching up on lost time. Her wand was still obstinately refusing to perform certain spells, and detention had sapped away all of her free time, so Oleandra had once again fallen behind on her homework. Goodbye, leisure time…
And sadly, there was no point in sneaking out to Hogsmeade, either; Oleandra did want to know what was going on with her wand, but old Ollivander only ever paid visits to the village when there were Hogsmeade weekends. Oleandra preferred to have a professional handle her wand, rather than some random clerk.
In any case, it was now Monday again, and it had come rather sooner than Oleandra would have preferred. She had finally sent out her letter to her mother on Saturday night, so she was at least expecting a response to arrive by breakfast, which was usually when owls were allowed into the Great Hall to deliver their letters and newspapers.
However…
"Nothing at all from Mother," said Oleandra perplexedly, as she rifled through her mail. "I mean, it's not every day your daughter comes back from the dead, is it?" She turned to Daphne. "Did you get anything, Sis?"
Daphne shook her head.
"Nothing— but you might want to take a look at this."
She rotated her copy of the Daily Prophet around so that Oleandra could read the front page:
MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM
DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR
And in smaller print under the main headline:
The hunt for the so-called Bone-Breaking Thief continues; Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the British Auror Office, vows to bring the perpetrator of the baffling heists to justice (more on page 5)
"Brilliant," Oleandra said sarcastically. "Educational Decree Number Twenty-three? Give the toad more powers, why don't you?"
Under the pretext of falling educational standards, Dolores Umbridge had been given the power to inspect teachers and remove them from their posts as she saw fit— this, combined with the power to fill Hogwarts's empty teaching positions, which the Ministry had previously granted itself, the Ministry was all set to deepen its influence over the school, and dig its roots into Hogwarts's hallowed grounds.
"And I've no doubt they will add some more in the near future," said Daphne thoughtfully. "Dumbledore has still got first pick for new teachers if one ever gets removed, but I daresay he'd have to act fast."
"We've got Defence Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon again," said Tracey worriedly. "Promise me you won't say anything to make Umbridge mad again— I hate seeing you hurt, Oleandra…"
Before her true nature as a Greater Fairy had awakened, Oleandra would have had no problems making an easy promise like that, if only to reassure her friend. Promises were made to be broken, after all.
But now, every single word she uttered was the truth— if she made a promise, she would effectively be imposing a Geas upon herself. An Unbreakable Vow of sorts, except she would not be able to physically bring herself to break the promise.
Which was why Oleandra was now reluctant to make promises of any kind to anyone. She had already promised to Professor Dumbledore that she would not raise her sword against her fellow students, and even then, she had put great care in specifying who qualified as a fellow student and in giving the vow a definite lifespan.
As soon as she graduated, she'd once again be free to chop as many younglings into pieces with the Sword of the Lake as she pleased. Not that she would, even if she could; at least, not unless one was being particularly annoying.
"I can't promise you that," said Oleandra sadly.
If she made too many promises, there might come a day when she could not even lift a single finger without breaking a vow…
Tracey was about to say something, but she was rudely interrupted.
"You know, I'd watch my mouth if I were you, Greengrass," Pansy said snidely from across the table. "Your family's fallen from grace, so there's no one to protect you any more…"
"Still better off than yours, Pansy," Daphne shot back. "Last I heard, the Parkinsons haven't counted among the top twenty richest families for a dozen years, now."
The Parkinson family was after the Malfoy family fortune, and everyone knew it. The Malfoys had always been very good at ingratiating themselves with the truly powerful— Muggle royalty back in the day, then other noble families, and then the Ministry of Magic, and now the Dark Lord himself. Their business and political ties had brought them great fortunes— but evidently, others weren't nearly as competent when it came to making Galleons.
A dark expression appeared on Pansy's pug-like face, but then she smiled.
"And you'll be joining us soon enough, I expect," she breathed. "Five farms gone now; even more greenhouses burnt down, was it? It's a shame the culprits haven't been found yet— sort of like your parents, isn't it? Get any letters from them, lately?"
Oleandra's heart went cold. Daphne had told her that their father had been taken hostage, but their mother…? Is that why she hadn't answered her letter? Could it have anything to do with Voldemort learning about her survival?
Daphne bristled; her hair starting undulating menacingly, like a Gorgon's head snakes.
"Ooh, did I strike a nerve?" Pansy squealed happily. "What are you going to do, Hex me? Your own sister will have to give you detention, you know…"
"Enough, Pansy," said Draco wearily.
"Oh, you're taking their side, now?" she hissed. "After how they threatened you?"
Daphne abruptly stood up, and lifted her chin to signal Oleandra and Tracey to do the same.
"We've got better things to do than to listen to you two bickering all day long," she said offhandedly. "Good day, Draco, Pansy."
And with that, the trio walked past them and out of the Great Hall, ready to start the day in earnest.
"I really thought you two were going to Hex her," said Tracey as soon as they were out of earshot. "The looks on your faces…"
"Me? Act impulsively? I'm not Oleandra." Daphne scoffed. "However, in about a half hour, Pansy might discover she has developed a heretofore undiscovered heart condition."
"You didn't…" said Oleandra reproachfully. "Also, heretofore? Hitherto not good enough for you?"
"I might have accidentally gently brushed against her while we were leaving," said Daphne lightly. "Also, read a dictionary; while they both work in this context depending on how you look at the timing, they're not the same."
As a Yew-tree Wood Nymph, every part of Daphne's body was extremely toxic; she could easily release her alkaloid toxins if she felt threatened— prolonged exposure to which would lead to a heart attack.
Incidentally, both of the twins' namesakes were incredibly poisonous plants. Consumption of Daphne and Nerium Oleander flowers would lead to coma, followed shortly by death. Actually, it wasn't just their pretty flowers who were toxic; consumption of any part of the two plants would just as easily send one to an early grave…
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Azure_Abyss
Azure_Abyss Daphne the shrub is not to be confused with Daphne the tree. The shrub is highly toxic, but the tree is the Bay Laurel, from which we get bay leaves, which are great for cooking!
I wouldn't recommend eating either of their leaves, though; it goes without saying for the toxic shrub, but laurel tree leaves are so stiff you're likely to choke on them.
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