บท 5: Proposal
A week had passed since the fortunate incident in the Duelling Chamber with Malfoy, and Hogwarts seemed pretty peaceful. The blonde had become some sort of pariah around the school and kept his head down. Harry couldn't complain.
He knew he had a vindictive streak in him, but he didn't care. It had been a part of him for as long as he could remember.
He was six when it first happened. He was walking with Calum when an older student deliberately shoved his cousin aside before running away. Harry didn't know how it had happened, but the boy suddenly tripped and had his pants ripped. Everyone had laughed, but not him.
When he explained what had happened to Aunt Rosie and Uncle Scott, he had been told everything about who he was. Two years later, he received his parents' journals and dove in like there was nothing else to do in his life. The magical world was fascinating, and his eight-year-old mind could only conjure figures and imagine just how it all worked.
Reading about his parents evoked in him a sense of living up to their reputation, further aided by the no-nonsense attitude of his aunt. He had been academically inclined ever since he could remember, but now that he had another life waiting for him, Harry resolved to prepare as best as he could to one day surpass the accolades his parents had gathered in their lives.
A few years passed when Aunt Rosie deemed him mature enough to tell him how his parents had died, and to say that Harry was livid was an understatement. They had been on a camping trip when it had happened, and the entire forest had been demolished by him in anger.
Harry had felt ashamed for the first time in his life when he realized how close he had been to harming the only people who mattered in this world to him, but his aunt and uncle had been nothing but understanding and supportive. They had taught him everything, from valuing your close ones to inculcating compassion within oneself. However, Harry had freely admitted to them that he had a massive dearth of the latter.
He knew it was not entirely healthy for him to harbor that much grudge towards people, but he couldn't help it. It was who he had been since he was born in this world. If someone wanted to target people close to him, he would not hesitate in targeting that certain someone first.
Daphne had been pestered continuously by Malfoy for years and it had started to take a toll on her. In his opinion, the ponce deserved no mercy. Vindictive on his part? People might argue that it was. He didn't care.
For that very reason, he and Daphne were currently in an abandoned room on the fourth floor dueling each other. Their spell practice had been going smoothly and they could cast all the spells up to their NEWTs. However, mastery was another matter.
Improvement was easily observable in Daphne's spellcasting and Harry smiled as he jumped over a cleaver that would've taken his leg off his body.
Although initially reluctant to cast such spells at each other, they had resolved to start doing it to give them the feeling of risk that would come with a real battle. It was a mercy that none of the spells they were casting right now required evil emotions. The consequences of spells made for purely magical combat could be easily dealt with by basic healing knowledge, something both of them had in abundance after reading their parents' journals. However, dark spells that required evil emotions to cast left traces, which could be cured only by a professional.
"You know that would've cleaved my leg, right?"
"Oh, stop complaining. I'd have reattached it in no time," Daphne retorted as she flung a blasting hex behind him. Harry quickly cast a shield behind him to stop the fire from reaching him and blocked another stunner from her before flinging one back toward her. Daphne swatted it aside with no effort.
"Your spells are powerful," Harry admitted as his shield shattered under her Reducto and quickly flung another one in her direction, smiling when hers shattered as well.
"Well," Daphne gasped slightly as she righted herself, "you're no slouch either. I'm impressed."
"Truce then?"
Daphne nodded and Harry conjured a pair of glasses and filled them with water as he walked over to her. The blonde took the glass from him with a smile as they sat on the desk, gulping eagerly.
"How long were we at it by the way?"
Harry looked at his watch.
"A little over an hour," he replied.
"That's good. That's very good," Daphne sighed as she put the glass beside her and leaned back slightly.
"I have to admit, these revisionary classes do work. I would've thought that students from magical households would be way ahead of others, but it's surprising to see that most of them are almost at the same level," Harry remarked as he looked at her.
Daphne smiled.
"The primary reason for that is the heavy regulation on wands. You can buy wands only from authorised wandmakers, who will not sell a wand to anyone who is not eligible to carry one. There are only three wandmakers in Britain, and even among them, Ollivander has over 90% market share. That is why the others have other enchanting and crafting businesses alongside wands," Daphne replied.
"What about using other wands? I'm sure even you must've tried to sneak someone else's wand to practice spells you learnt," Harry interjected with a chuckle. Daphne giggled.
"You bet I did, and so do most of them. That is how many of the students who grow up in magical homes become capable enough to cast spells. However, more often than not, other wands don't suit us. There needs to be a very close bond between a witch or a wizard and a wand for it to function properly. For example, I used to try both my parents' wands to practice spells, but there had never been much progress. It was only after I got mine and started to practice that I saw improvement."
Harry nodded.
"What do you think of the revisionary classes so far?" Daphne asked with a smile.
"Well, Charms and Transfiguration are my favourites without a doubt, and I would've liked Potions a lot better if not for Snape's glares. It's coming off nicely so there's a relief, otherwise, I'm not so sure how I'd have kept Snape away from docking points off me, or even banishing me from the classes," Harry admitted with a rueful smile. Daphne chuckled.
"What about others?"
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Well, I can say with utmost certainty that I will never be a fan of History, Astronomy and Herbology. The former is a total disaster. I don't understand how we are supposed to do anything with Binns in charge. Astronomy, while slightly interesting, doesn't seem that useful to dedicate much of my time on. I'll be studying those subjects purely for grades," Harry admitted.
"I agree. Although Herbology seems interesting. There are various ways plants can be utilised in potions, combat magic or any other field," Daphne remarked.
Harry shrugged.
"I don't find it too appealing, to be honest. Good thing that you seem interested in it though. Will go a long way to plug any gaps we might have between the two of us," Harry said with a smile.
"If you think I'm going to let you copy my notes or anything so you can slack off, you're sorely mistaken, mister," Daphne chided with a smile. Harry gave her a look of hurt.
"Oh cut it," Daphne flicked him on the forehead and leaned back, looking at him with a smile, "I know what your favourite subject really is though."
Harry looked critically at her smirk before his eyes widened and he shook his head.
"Oh hell no! No way that's true," he vehemently denied as Daphne smirked.
"Come on, Harry. Don't hurt dear Professor Quirrell's feelings like that," Daphne said patronizingly as Harry gagged.
"That man has some serious issues. I was so excited to finally practice defensive spells after reading about it for years, but that stench of garlic is just too much."
Daphne giggled as Harry went on one of his rants yet again.
"I mean, I like garlic as much as any other guy. It certainly adds flavour to food and is good for health as well, but there's a limit to everything. It honestly feels so suffocating. It's no surprise that everyone looks so nauseated when leaving his classes."
"Well, you're lucky you have me to practice those spells with then," Daphne replied with an air of haughtiness about her.
"Very down to earth, aren't you?" He deadpanned. Daphne simply gave him a sweet smile as she got up and took her place at the end of the room.
"Come on then, let's see how long you manage to survive this time," she mocked him. Harry chuckled and got up to walk over to his end.
"Careful, my dear Daphne. I really wouldn't like to bruise your cute little arse," he smirked.
"I wouldn't want to hurt that body you've put so much effort into either," she flirted back as she struck a pose, perfectly aware of his eyes on her, just like he must be aware of her eyes raking over his body. She really loved this side of their relationship where she could be completely open about herself in front of him without any judgment on his part. There was a mutual attraction between them; both were aware of that fact, but they didn't want to rush anything. It seemed there was an unspoken agreement between them to give whatever was brewing between them time before putting a label on it.
"Ready?" Daphne raised her wand and pointed at him, the tip glowing a faint blue.
Harry smirked.
"Bring it on."
XXXXX
"Potter, Greengrass, can we have a few minutes?"
Harry was walking with Daphne down the stairs to the Great Hall for dinner after their practice session on the fourth floor. It had been a fruitful few hours and both were famished, but the voice stopped them in their stride on the first-floor corridor.
They looked at the pair of students clad in emerald blazers which gave away their house and frowned.
"Oh, where are my manners? I am Cassius Warrington, and this is Olivia Rosier. Don't worry, we won't take too much of your time and you can be on your way to dinner soon."
Harry looked at Daphne with a raised eyebrow, who nodded.
"All right," Harry replied. Warrington smiled and handed him an envelope. He saw the other girl do the same to Daphne and he frowned.
"What is it?"
"You'll find everything explained in the letter. You can give us your answer within a week. Think about it, okay?"
Harry looked back at the envelope and shrugged.
"Great. We will be taking our leave now. Have a good evening," Warrington smiled and without another word, the pair walked away, leaving a couple of surprised ravens standing in the middle of the corridor.
"What was that?" Harry asked finally as he tucked the envelope in the pocket of his blazer, resolving to read it once he was back in his room.
"No clue. Let's read it later. I'm hungry," Daphne replied and put the letter away.
Harry nodded and together they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.
XXXXX
"Practising again?" Tracey asked them the moment they sat down in front of her, and Harry nodded.
"What about you?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just did some reading in the library. Did you know that Hogwarts has many hidden passageways? I got talking with those Weasley twins and they told me. Cheerful fellows, they are," Tracey smiled as she dug into her food.
"Really? Think we should explore the castle sometime? It would be interesting to discover these passageways," Harry asked Daphne, who nodded with a smile.
"Sounds fascinating. Let's do it tomorrow," Daphne replied, before looking at a smirking Tracey. She was further surprised when the brunette winked at her and went back to eating her dinner.
"I wonder what's in those letters," Harry muttered.
"What letters?" Tracey asked inquisitively.
Harry narrated the incident with Warrington and Rosier to Tracey, who frowned as she looked at Daphne.
"You must know them, right? Your father is allied with those houses in the Wizengamot," Tracey intoned with a thoughtful look on her face. Daphne shrugged.
"Father doesn't bring politics in the house, nor have any of his associates ever come over. He believes in keeping those matters away from family."
"Wise man," Harry nodded.
"Not everyone would be like that though," Tracey said with a frown, looking at the pair who were listening to her, "there are many houses that groom their children to start gathering allies while in school. Warrington and Rosier may have approached you two for that very reason. After all, it would be in their best interest to ally with the House of Potter and the heiress of House Greengrass."
"You think so?" Harry asked. Even though the pureblood politics didn't interest him even after Daphne's lessons, he had to admit that he was a little intrigued. It certainly helped that he would be a politically powerful figure one day when he joined the Wizengamot, so it was in his best interests to learn about all of it.
"Well," Tracey started, "I haven't heard anything from the grapevine, or as it's called, the infamous Hogwarts Rumour Mill about forging alliances, but it is common knowledge that the houses of Warrington and Rosier have been in talks over a possible betrothal. Who knows? It might be official soon."
"Just how do you know so much stuff?" Daphne asked incredulously. Tracey smirked.
"I might seem all bubbly and happy-going, my dear Daphne, but I keep my ears wide open. The Hogwarts Rumour Mill… Merlin that's a long name… okay, the HRM might embellish truths, but if you know where to look for it, you'll find what you want. Being part of the gossip has its perks."
"Really?" Daphne asked. Tracey smirked.
"For example, no one knows that you were behind the Malfoy incident, Harry, although people do know that it was not natural and someone was behind it."
"Well, it's not as if I care if someone found out that I was the one behind that. What's he gonna do anyway? If he so much as looks wrongly at me or mine, he has something else coming," Harry proclaimed as he looked at them.
"Me and mine? My, too forward, aren't you, Harry?" Tracey teased. Instead of getting flustered, Harry snorted.
"You know what I meant."
"Uh-huh. I know exactly what you meant. Thanks though. It's nice to know when you have someone on the lookout for you."
Harry simply waved his hand dismissively and went back to finishing his dinner.
"Huh? That's weird," Tracey muttered, and the pair turned towards her.
"Oh nothing, I saw Quirrell looking at you a few times during dinner today. Seemed weird," Tracey replied, looking at Harry, who glanced at the professor. The man seemed engrossed in his food and Harry turned away.
"Who knows? Man's weird," Harry replied.
XXXXX
They walked back with a few fellow Ravenclaws and entered the common room in silence.
"I'm going to have some talk with the older girls. See you guys tomorrow," Tracey smiled at them and walked over to where a few girls were sitting. Harry saw them look over towards him and noted one of the girls run her eyes up and down his body. He knew he was well-built, and attracted appreciative looks from the fair sex every day, but something about the way she looked at him felt different.
His arm was suddenly yanked forward and he felt someone pull him towards the staircase. Bewildered, he looked at Daphne who seemed to be dragging him toward their rooms.
"Damn, what happened!?" Harry asked as the blonde continued to drag him away.
"Nothing. We have the letters to read, remember? Let's get on with it."
"Yeah, I get it. At least slow down a little bit. You'll tear my arm off," Harry added jokingly. Daphne released her grip on his arm and continued to walk forward, leaving Harry to follow behind her.
Daphne held the door to her room open for him, and Harry smiled at her before entering. He looked around the room as Daphne closed the door and came in, and nodded.
"Yep, definitely your room," Harry remarked as he leaned against the wall and looked at her. The room was perfectly clean and suitably arranged, and nothing was out of place. The bed was made properly and he watched as she sat down with a sigh.
"Tired?" Harry asked with a smile and pushed himself off the wall before joining her on the bed.
"A little bit," Daphne smiled ruefully as she pulled the envelope out and stared at it. Harry took his out and held it alongside hers. Both envelopes were identically white with nothing but their names written on them.
"Let's get on with it then," Harry remarked and tore it off before pulling the letter out as Daphne did the same beside him.
This is a formal invitation to the organization known as the Hierarchy – a group of like-minded individuals having strong prospects in the magical society. Our goal is to find capable students and form alliances for life in Hogwarts and beyond.
Membership is very exclusive and the admission criteria are very simple – a powerful magical family name and immense future expectations.
We hope to meet you soon with an answer, and any further details will be given only if you agree to a formal meeting of initiation which will be scheduled within a week of you conveying if you are interested in becoming a member.
That is all for now, and we hope to hear from you soon.
Harry slowly put the letter down and looked at Daphne, who gave him a bewildered look.
"What the hell is this?" Harry asked in confusion as he reread the letter. "They have told us nothing in this. Only that this organisation exists and they want us to join."
"There is no mention of such an organisation in my journals," Daphne replied with a frown.
"Neither in mine."
The pair sat in silence for a while, contemplating the letter, before Harry stood up and walked over to the balcony. The crisp cold air of Northern Scotland brushed his face, caressing his hair and prompting a faint shiver from him when Daphne joined him.
"What do you think?"
Harry shrugged.
"Don't see any harm in hearing them out, to be honest. They seemed polite enough, and as Tracey said, their family is allied with yours, so I don't think they have any nefarious intentions either."
Daphne nodded.
"Still, we cannot judge children based on who their parents are. Warrington and Rosier may have intentions in perfect contrast to what their parents have."
Harry sighed.
"I'd hoped to be away from this political crap for a while, but it seems I won't get even a month of respite."
Daphne chuckled.
XXXXX
"You're pretty good at this," Harry complimented his potions partner with a smile. Hermione was a withdrawn girl who usually kept to herself and spent most of her time studying in the library. Harry had seen the type before in school – students who devoted themselves entirely to academics with little to no social life.
The brunette gave him a small smile.
"It is one of my favourite subjects," she replied as she stirred her potion anti-clockwise, "it feels relaxing."
Harry didn't see much appeal in the art of potion-making or how one could consider it relaxing, but he didn't voice his thoughts out loud, instead opting to add the Alihotsy to his potion.
"I just hope this isn't misused," Harry joked as he prepared his Laughing Potion. Hermione smiled.
"It would be funny though, especially if it was Malfoy," Hermione remarked with a chuckle. Harry had to hold back a laugh as he remembered how the ponce had farted in front of almost the entire school.
"It's a shitty thing to say, but I didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for the idiot," Harry admitted with a smirk.
"Language," Hermione chided almost automatically before her eyes widened when she realized the dynamic of their relationship and how she might come off as. "Sorry, a force of habit."
Harry shook his head with a smile.
"Don't sweat it."
Done with his potion, he prepared a vial and put it in the slot on his desk where it vanished and appeared on Snape's desk. He saw the man look at the glass vial critically before looking over at him with a stern gaze. Harry held it until the older wizard tapped his wand against the vial and uncorked it to test it out.
Sighing, Harry turned to look at Hermione who was also done with her potion and an idea suddenly came to him.
"Say, Hermione, why don't you have dinner with us sometimes?"
Tracey overheard him on the table right beside theirs and chimed in excitedly.
"Yeah, that would be great. Join us, will you?"
Daphne also looked at the brunette with a welcoming smile and nodded.
"Silence!"
The voice of their professor cut off Hermione's reply and they turned to look at the man staring at them penetratingly.
"Just because you are done with your work does not mean you are free to gossip in my class. Thirty points from Ravenclaw and ten from Gryffindor. Additionally, you four will be redoing this potion in the next class."
Harry inwardly groaned but held his tongue, knowing that arguing with Snape meant inviting more punishment. He was oddly reminded of a football referee who loved to give cards to players at every possible infraction, too obsessed with having the spotlight on himself.
The bell rang barely a minute later, and they filed out of the classroom under the glare of Professor Snape. Only when they were out of the classroom did they release a breath of relief.
"That man is way over the top sometimes. It wouldn't hurt him to loosen up a bit," Harry muttered as he walked with the three girls.
"He is the professor, and we were talking in class," Hermione replied with a frown.
"Yeah, but he doesn't always have to be like this. No other professor behaves the way he does. And don't tell me you didn't hear the Slytherins talking all the time. He said nothing to them," Tracey retorted. Hermione had no answer to that and stayed silent. Daphne sighed.
"There is no use talking about it. He isn't going to change and we still have to endure those punishments. Better suck it up and move on," the blonde remarked. Harry nodded with a sigh.
"Let's forget about it. Now tell us, Hermione, what about joining us for meals every once in a while?" Daphne smiled.
The brunette looked at Daphne in surprise.
"I wouldn't want to impose," she started. Daphne quickly waved her hand dismissively.
"It won't be a bother. We'd like that."
Harry and Tracey nodded, smiling reassuringly at the brunette. Hermione looked at them for a moment before smiling tentatively.
"Okay."
Tracey let out a whoop and linked her arm with Hermione. Harry saw her walk off with the brunette, babbling about something he had no idea about and leaving him alone with Daphne.
"There she goes," Harry remarked with a smile as he looked at them. His smile turned into a snicker when he saw Hermione look behind her at them with a pleading look on her face. Daphne giggled beside him and flashed a cheeky thumbs up at the brunette, who looked crestfallen as Tracey ate her ears out.
"Let's get going then," Harry turned towards Daphne as he said so. The blonde looked at him and nodded.
In no time, the pair was climbing up the stairs toward their regular practice room.
"When should we give them our reply?" Daphne asked him as they entered the empty classroom. There was no hint of any wear and tear on the walls even after so many spells had collided with them, further signifying the potent magic that coursed through the castle.
"I'll send Hedwig with a letter to Warrington tonight after dinner."
Daphne nodded.
"Sounds good," she replied as she took her spot and looked at him with a challenging smirk. "Ready?"
Harry smirked back, "Bring it on, Princess."
The room was soon filled with sounds and flashes of spellfire as the pair collided with each other, both improving rapidly.
XXXXX
"So tell us about yourself now, Hermione," Daphne smiled at the brunette after they were done with whatever they had to tell about themselves. The three already knew a bit about each other but they had repeated it all for Hermione to know them better.
Ever since they had been partnered in Potions, they had come to know her as a good person, and as Hermione started to tell them about her life before Hogwarts, it further reaffirmed their desire to include her in their friend circle.
Hermione had been an academically inclined girl since the beginning and had trouble making good friends. The only people she could call friends were people from her previous school who were members of her study group.
They further learned that she was from Heathgate in London and that her parents were dentists.
"Your parents did that then?" Tracey asked, gesturing towards the braces that Hermione wore to align her teeth. The brunette nodded with a small smile. Daphne frowned.
"You know you can get it fixed quickly if you asked Madam Pomfrey, right?" The blonde interjected, prompting Hermione to look at her in surprise.
"Really?"
Daphne nodded.
"You can get a lot done with the help of magic, and aligning teeth is easy. My sister Astoria had the same issue when she was a child. My mum fixed it instantly."
Hermione nodded. Daphne had already explained what her parents did.
"Let's go to the Hospital Wing after we're done with our dinner," Tracey smiled. Harry and Daphne nodded.
"I need to go to the Owlery anyway," Harry replied. Hermione looked at them with a smile. She didn't know how to admit it but it felt good to have friends.
Daphne saw the look on the brunette's face and gave her a soft smile, easily understanding the emotions she was experiencing. Hermione could only bite her lower lip to keep her tears away.
Sensing correctly that a change of atmosphere was needed, Tracey quickly interjected before Hermione's dam broke.
"Look at that idiot," she gestured towards the Slytherin table, and they turned to look at Malfoy who was sitting with only his two gorillas and Parkinson. The latter was still simpering over him.
"Let's hope this knocks some sense into him," Tracey remarked, and Harry shrugged as he went back to his dinner. Daphne shook her head.
"I won't count on it," she replied and looked at Harry, who smiled at her.
"Well, I'm sure something like what happened to him will happen again if he steps a foot out of line. After all," he looked at the three girls as he said so, "he is an idiot who loves to put his foot in his mouth. People like him get their just desserts served to them very quickly."
Hermione, not knowing what to say to that, went back to her dinner as Tracey winked at him. The smirk on his face was mirrored on Daphne's face and Harry leaned close to whisper in her ear.
"I hope he does something idiotic again. I'm not done with him."
He felt her tilt her head to the side and whisper back, "You're a bad influence on me, Mr Potter. I don't remember being this vindictive."
"I like to believe that I'm a very good influence on you, Miss Greengrass, and I hope to be an even better one."
Daphne remained silent as she pulled back and resumed eating, a prominent smile etched on her face as Harry mirrored her actions, both unaware of the smirk on their mischievous friend's face who was sitting right across them.
'Boy it's hot in here,' Tracey thought with a smirk as she stared at the pair in front of her.
To be continued…
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