บท 4: chapter 3 part 2/2
It was the day before the holidays would officially start, most of the Slytherin students were already planning to go to their families to stay for the holidays, the few that stayed compromised of mostly NEWT students. The first year Slytherins were currently in the great hall; having their breakfast, with it been a weekend they all had the day free. Daphne was sat next to Tracey waiting for the rest of them to arrive.
Blaise let out a yawn as he made his way across the great hall, he spotted the two Slytherins waiting for them before he changed directions, he was half-dragging a haggard looking Rodrick. When Blaise had found him in the morning, he was a little surprised to see Rodrick in such bad shape and yet when he questioned him, the boy had no answers. Their head of house had taken Rodrick aside when he'd seen him to no avail; he gave them both a look over before he urged them onto the great hall.
When Tracey saw the two Slytherins she called them over; Daphne was currently focusing on a letter she had just received from the owl post. It went to show how late they were; even the owls came before them. Tracey's concern, however, rose when she saw the state Rodrick was in, his school robes looked battered, Did he even bother to change them? She thought, her attention quickly went to his face. There was something different about it; she couldn't quite place it. When Rodrick noticed the attention, the feeling disappeared. Strange she thought. The boy wasn't something she expected, while she was half-blood herself, her parents had made sure to bring her up as a pureblood. They were well off, and their friendship with the Greengrass family made the upbringing all the more prominent.
The boy in front of her was supposed to be an orphan and yet aside from the state of his clothes; she could've sworn he was Pureblood. He carried himself like one, ate like one, his magical prowess... There was no doubt about it, if he hadn't told them himself of his status no one would've believed it. It wasn't a simple manner of just copying what the other students did; it was almost like he was brought up as one. His knowledge in class was substantial, try as he might hide it, it was clearly there. It had initially irritated both girls, but they'd grown used to it over the few months. Not to mention the fact he'd saved Daphne's life.
Looking at him now though, it was almost as if it was an entirely different person; his hair was unkempt, he usually kept it in check, allowing it to fall freely, this time it was a mess. Strands of hair looked like they were flying in every direction. His eyes looked sunken; an almost silvery light replaced the natural yellow glow. She couldn't quite believe it was the same boy. She elbowed Daphne to get her attention away from the letter, she had a small grin on her face and nodded towards the students who sat in front of them. Daphne's eyes almost bulged at sight. Her smile had quickly disappeared.
"What happened to you?" Daphne questioned shocked.
Rodrick raised an eyebrow in return before he shrugged and filled his plate, he had been like this ever since waking up. He had no energy what so ever, he didn't even try to make himself look presentable. Something was making him feel completely off about the day.
Daphne's eyes narrowed at the dismissal shown as the boy ignored everything around him but before she could say anything else, Blaise opened his mouth.
"Just ignore him, he's been like that all morning, it took a prefect to get him out of bed."
"Whats wrong with you?" She ignored Blaise and asked again. Blaise's eyes twitched at the reaction.
Tracey would've laughed at the look on his face had it not been for the tension surrounding them.
There was still no response; the boy barely touched his food. Daphne harrumphed at him before she threw her letter into his hand. That grabbed his attention quickly. Blaise raised an eyebrow before starting to fill up his plate, 'No need to make this any more awkward,' he thought.
Rodrick stared at the letter in hand; he quickly skimmed through the contents before a small smile plastered onto his lips, Daphne's parents had responded to her giving her the okay in letting him stay with them for Christmas, a small part of it showed them thanking him as well for helping their daughter. The smile disappeared for a split second, his stomach was churning once again, but he couldn't understand why. The feeling didn't last very long. He raised his head across to see a frowning Daphne. He sighed quickly before he apologized for his actions, starting Blaise.
"Your apology is accepted," the dark skinned boy said with an almost smug look.
Rodrick turned towards him and told him he was referring to Daphne. Blaise scowled at him, but his eyes showed off relief. The two girls in front of him had a bemused look on their face.
"Of course if you even try to show up looking like that, you'll be left at the station," added Daphne with a pointed look his direction. Rodrick lowered his head in acceptance.
He waved his hand and fixed his appearance, straightening his hair and robe. The spell had been one of the first spells his grandfather had shown him, before he'd found out he was good with curses, particularly the more illegal kind; he could cast it non-verbally at this point with all the practice he's had. However this seemed to catch the attention of nearby students who were openly staring at him, the teachers thankfully didn't seem to notice. His friends looked at each other before shrugging, they'd seen him do something similar enough times to think it normal, but it still always managed to catch them by surprise. The nearby students who'd noticed him said nothing.
Honestly. He didn't see what the big deal was.
Rodrick turned his attention back to the letter before he slowly handed it back to Daphne and made his way up from the table. The others raised an eyebrow at him before he explained a need for fresh air. He turned towards Blaise expecting him to get up, but the boy shook his head.
"I've had enough fun with you for a morning," he said with a passive face, his lips looked like they were about to twitch upwards.
Rodrick nodded his head at the answer before he turned towards the girls and said his goodbyes, however to his surprise, he saw Daphne get up from the table, Tracey didn't budge. She had made plans to study in the library with fellow students; she looked a little upset that Daphne was leaving but cheered up slightly when Blaise offered to go with her instead.
He didn't blame him, he'd had a lot of trouble in the last History test and had complained nonstop to Rodrick about it. This was mostly due to Rodrick doing better, he'd accused Rodrick of cheating but only seemed upset that Rodrick didn't show him how. Rodrick taught him the art of preparing for a test through studying with mild amusement; it looked as if he was finally taking the help properly. Blaise scowled internally when he saw the smirk on Rodrick's face.
'I think I preferred him earlier,' thought Blaise.
Rodrick turned his attention ahead of him to see Daphne was ready, they both made their way down the table and out of the hall in silence. Daphne made her way to his left.
"You don't have to keep me company you know," Rodrick remarked
"I could use the fresh air myself," replied Daphne, "Besides you promised to teach me how to play chess," she added on with a small grin. she pushed small strands of hair behind her ear with a hand.
"Teaching someone how to play a game is hardly a way to relax," Rodrick pinched the bridge of his nose in mock annoyance.
Daphne giggled at his antics before remarking "That's a shame, If only there were a solution" she laughed before moving herself closer.
Rodrick looked slightly towards his left and found Daphne inches away from him before he made a retort when he realised something.
"I never promised anything!" he said almost exasperated
Daphne had laughed at his reaction before she looped her hands through his arm with a large smile plastered on her face. Rodrick momentarily stiffened at the action. When she realized what she'd done she let go and had a flustered look on face. "Ah so-" stuttered the girl, before she could finish Rodrick shook his head, taking a small step to the side.
"Fine I'll teach you if you want to learn that badly," he added to reduce the tension. There was a glint in his eyes as he spoke. The girl stared at him incredulously.
"What?"
Rodrick shrugged.
"Seriously, what?"
He turned away and carefully pocketed his wand.
...
Blaise strolled out of the library, having spent more than an hour there already, he had been stomped trying to find something about the history of one goblin or the other. He planned to search for Rodrick later to have him explain the whole thing. Well, the fact that some of Tracey's less noble friends had shown up added to it. He had no problems with befriending Half-blood's, but Muggle-borns were another matter. Blaise stopped in his tracks. Since when had he stopped calling them mud-bloods?
He shrugged it off and blamed it on his friend's influence, how the two managed to stay on good terms still surprised him, but something about the guy just made him easy to approach.
After leaving the library he'd accidentally ran into the headmaster of all people, the old man had smiled when he'd seen him before he asked him to fetch Rodrick for him and if possible Daphne as well, he gave him some keyword before he quickly left, towards his office presumably.
Honestly, he shouldn't have been too surprised that the headmaster had known him to be a friend but it begged the question of how much he truly knew and of course whether it had been simply because he was a Slytherin and so warranted a closer look. That thought both angered and un-eased him, even if it was true he could hardly blame the school, the number of dark wizards that came out of Slytherin aside... There was currently a first year that could use an unforgivable. He made his way out of the castle in search of his friends to pass off his message; the search didn't take as long as he suspected it would. He found Daphne and Rodrick sitting cross-legged beneath a tree near the black lake; they were opposite each other with a board between them. Are they playing chess? He thought bemused.
Rodrick was the first to notice him before he raised his hand and waved him over, Daphne turned towards him when she saw him.
He made his way over faster, Rodrick had pointed off towards a spot near the tree urging him to sit, he scowled a little at the thought of dirtying his clothes but quickly hid it when he realized Daphne clearly had no issue with it. He shook his head at the gesture, earning a curious look from both of them.
"The headmaster," he began, "He's looking for you Rodrick," he added on. There was a confused look on Rodrick's face when he'd heard him, he quickly lowered his head and put his hand to his chin possibly thinking through any reasons. Blaise raised an eyebrow at him.
"Did he mention anything at all?" Rodrick asked when he couldn't come up with an answer.
Blaise was about to shake his head. He turned towards Daphne and told her that the headmaster wanted to see her as well. Rodrick's brow furrowed even more . The silence dragged on, and Blaise was wondering whether the two would actually listen or not. It was a yelp from Daphne that broke the silence, Rodrick and Blaise's head snapped to her directly at the sound, she had a hand over her mouth.
"You don't think it's about the troll do you?"
The sentence brought about a sense of dread on both the boys, if it was then Rodrick was in a lot of trouble.
Rodrick abruptly got up from the floor in a panic; he wasn't sure what to do. He quickly put his emotions in check before chiding himself, if it was about the unforgivable curse, then the headmaster surely would've come to him himself. He turned towards Daphne who had got up herself by now. She still had a panicked look on her face.
"Calm down, if it really was that, he would've come himself," his words seemed to settle her down somewhat.
"What do you think it's about then?" she questioned.
He shook his head not knowing. He waved his hand over the chess board and watched them all go back into a box before making their way inside his bag. The two other students saw this but made no comment, enthralled in figuring out what the headmaster wanted. Rodrick moved forward and lightly pushed along Daphne towards the castle, he said his goodbyes to Blaise before speeding up. He heard Blaise call out his name and promptly turned his head.
"Sugarquills!" Blaise added on.
Blaise contemplated following them before he remembered having left his bag back in the library, silently berating himself he made his way back, albeit slower.
...
The journey to the headmaster's office had taken far longer then the pair had expected, they ended up having to ask one of the Slytherin prefects to show them the way. They were currently standing in front of a stone gargoyle, waiting for something to happen. Rodrick made to reach out with his hand to try and find some hidden switch to no avail, frustrated, he took out his wand and pointed it at the gargoyle. Daphne looked both shocked and amused at the sight before she started laughing. A frown appeared on Rodrick's face, he turned towards her and asked her what was so funny.
"You're crazy," she replied still laughing. Before Rodrick could respond, however, she turned to the gargoyle and uttered the password given by Blaise. The gargoyle statue moved, in its place appeared a staircase.
Rodrick wouldn't look at her face in response. They both made their way up the stairs, he had a scowl set in his face at the embarrassment while Daphne looked positively glowing in amusement. All the emotions, however, were quickly replaced when they saw the office for the first time.
It was a vast and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. Many unique silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses; there were one or two who slept in their frames cozily, others looked their way but ignored them. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tainted wizard's hat. Rodrick immediately recognized the sorting hat and made his way over towards it. Daphne was fixated on some of the instruments she'd seen.
"You told me about a family member that was sorted in Gryffindor?" Rodrick questioned the tattered hat; Daphne heard the question and curiosity brought her towards the two. She watched the hat, waiting for its response.
"There was indeed such a person," The hats creases seemed to lengthen as the hat narrowed itself towards the boy. "I cannot divulge any information; it is rather confidential," the hat turned itself around, ending the discussion. Rodrick huffed at the reaction. Daphne said nothing at the sight.
A chuckle was heard prompting the two students to turn and face Albus Dumbledore. The headmaster was dressed in purple robes; he had a long white beard and half-moon glasses covered his eyes. He looked friendly and yet Rodrick wouldn't meet his eyes. The headmaster directed the two towards two seats.
Dumbledore was curious, very curious about the two in front of him or more specifically the boy. An orphan. Dumbledore had meant to meet the boy for some time and yet he never really got a good chance to do so, he had gotten some form of a break when Severus Snape had informed him of the boy's plans to visit the Greengrass family.
The boy was unusual, he'd heard the reports from most of the teachers about his prowess, and the more he heard, the more worried he became. Everything he'd seen or heard about the boy so far painted an image, an image he had seen before. Most of his teachers had told him that he was an average student, at first he had been quite relieved to hear such a thing. Until he found out from his Transfiguration teacher about the boy's half-successful attempt, of very advanced magic. It was only made worse when Minerva had told him that she'd overheard the boy mention a teacher outside of Hogwarts. Yet none of that could explain what he felt right now.
Albus Dumbledore felt calm, Even when he'd seen Harry Potter there was a level of anxiety there worried about the influence that Voldemort might've had on him. And yet when faced with someone whose upbringing copied the dark lord himself, and if his Potions teacher and Transfiguration teacher were correct, the child's potential was significant, potential he wanted to hide. Even with all that He felt calm. It had taken a moment before he realized why. His Occulemency was at an all time high. That thought itself worried him, something about the boy set his magic on edge. When he looked closer, he noticed the boy's eyes were purposefully avoiding his. Does he know about Legilimency? The headmaster considered. An eery sense fluttered through the room. There was something wrong here. The boy or at least his magic was familiar to him, too familiar but what it was he couldn't guess, he didn't recognize the kid at al-
Albus Dumbledores thoughts stopped at once. The boy's appearance was tampered with, that was why he could sense his magic so openly. Someone tampered with his appearance. Could he have done it himself? No, it couldn't be... Where could he have learned such a thing? There were very few people currently alive who could change their appearance with such ease, and not a single one of them was accessible for teaching. Albus quickly put it to the back of his head, he was sorely tempted to remove the transfiguration but held back on it, it would do no good to distance the boy. The last gifted student he did it to became a dark lord and the one in front of him was gifted, even if it seemed to only be in Transfiguration.
Dumbledore let out a cough to bring the students attention towards him, Daphne's eyes darted to his own, he saw curious eyes and slight panic in them. Rodrick still refused to meet his eyes. Dumbledore let off a small smile to elevate the girl's concerns.
"Do you know why you're here Rodrick?" he asked, the girl's eyes narrowed slightly.
Rodrick raised his head slightly before he gave his reply.
"No sir, am I in trouble?"
Dumbledore's eyebrow rose. 'Is he that wary of me?' He thought with a frown before his mind jumped to another possibility. 'Has he done something he's afraid of me finding out?' Dumbledore racked his head trying to think of any recent unexplained incidents, but all that he could come to was the troll incident, which fortunately was sorted out by Professor Quirrel-
Daphne's eyes were currently inclined towards Rodrick's side, Rodrick's eyes were installed onto the desk in front of them. If either one of them had looked up, they would have seen the headmasters emotionless face.
Dumbledore mentally chided himself for the assumption. How he thought that Professor Quirrel- No, Voldemort would willingly help the school out and take out a troll was inconceivable. Dumbledore remembered that night when he'd found the unconscious troll with Professor Quirrel standing over it; the man had a disgusted look on his face before he resumed his clumsy act. He had been with Minerva and Severus. Severus was the only one to question the fact that the troll was taken care off by the dark lord. He should've listened to his potions teacher a little more.
A sense of dread filled the headmaster; there were signs of the Imperius curse on the troll. When he'd assumed that Quirrel was responsible for taking it out, he wasn't worried. The dark lord was more than capable of such a thing, but if it was someone else... Dumbledore turned his eyes towards Rodrick. The panic was growing by the second, if this child was already capable of casting one of the three unforgivable curses...
"I believe, I heard you were planning to visit the Greengrass family for the holidays?" The headmaster mentioned. "Is there a problem with the orphanage?" he added. There was a visible sense of relief from the two students; it only helped make the headmaster feel more suspicious about the troll incident.
"I don't like the place all that much; I feel like an outsider," The boy echoed words he'd heard a lifetime ago.
The girl added on with a small smile on her face, "My parents were okay with him spending Christmas with us, they owe him much."
Rodrick stiffened slightly at the words, knowing what was coming next.
"Is that so? Curious, Did something happen during your stay in the castle? You have only been here for a couple of months," The headmaster had a twinkle in his eyes.
Daphne Stiffened at this, unsure of what she should say. Her eyes darted towards Rodrick.
"I helped her sister, at Kings Cross." Rodrick hastily replied.
Daphne nodded her head, grateful for the save.
Dumbledore stared impassively at the two before he let off a small smile of assurance, yet he couldn't help himself with the next question.
"Is there something you wish to tell me, Rodrick?"
The boys face looked up in reflex at the question. Unconsciously Dumbledore met his eyes.
Curiosity took over, and Dumbledore went inside the boys head.
The headmaster was only there for a split second before he forced himself out. He did not see a memory, or more specifically he did not see Rodrick's memory.
The headmaster's mood turned somber; he noticed a lack of indifference in their faces. The boy didn't seem to notice the intrusion. He may not even be aware of the special shield left on his mind. A dominant form of Occulemency and very difficult to pull off, it was one that could only be set by an outside source. It was also one that could only successfully work if administrated at an early age so as to let it refine the mind properly. Dumbledore had learned about it from an ancient book, one he'd kept hidden in his family vault, deemed too dangerous for the public.
"Did you know any of your family members?" The old man asked, his small smile in place but his eyes did not copy it.
"No sir," replied the boy, a worried look in his eyes. Daphne at this rate settled her eyes on the floor.
A sense of guilt passed through the headmaster. It seemed the child was afraid of him for some reason or the other. The headmaster scooped up several sweets before he passed them onto the children with a genuine smile. Whatever the case was, he had no right to be making children feel like this; he was the headmaster. The two children seemed to deflate at this, most of the tension appeared to disappear.
"I will speak to Hagrid about revisiting your orphanage, I will see if there is anything I can do to make it more comfortable," The old man said, surprising himself. He hadn't planned on doing such a thing. The boy's reaction surprised him a little more.
"Hagrid?" Confusion ran through Rodrick's head.
He did not introduce himself when he visited? Thought Dumbledore with a small frown.
"The keeper of keys, he came to visit you when you received your letter." Replied the headmaster.
Rodrick still confused, although wanting to leave, nodded his head quickly.
Not wanting to hold the two for too long, the headmaster dismissed them with another smile while urging them that if there were any problems they were more than welcome to visit him.
The two took their dismissal well; they'd practically ran out of the office, thought Dumbledore with amusement.
The tension returned once the two students were out of sight; his mind brought back to the Occulumency displayed, the boy honestly might not even know of its existence. One or both of his parents could have placed it in his mind before they left him at the orphanage. Going to such lengths would suggest they had been in some danger...Considering he was an orphan, it's likely they weren't alive anymore. The sadness was made worse when he remembered the memory he'd seen; it was his own, the memory of his sister's lifeless eyes.
It had taken a while before Dumbledore regained his composure. He called on his head of houses to once again confirm the student's whereabouts at the troll incident, although curious at the sudden summons no one questioned their headmaster on it; he was rather odd at times. It seemed that the only one who was out of the common room at the time was Draco Malfoy and the prefects, he'd apparently been called on by Professor Snape although the teacher had proclaimed it a prank. Even then the boy was seen going back to the common room with his friends. Rodrick and Daphne were also accounted to Dumbledore's relief; it meant the boy was not responsible for the unforgivable curse. Which brought the better question out, why did Voldemort consider taking out a mountain troll crucial for his plans? Was he attempting to gain favor with the students? Dumbledore decided he would need an even closer eye on the DADA teacher. He made a note to himself to ask Hagrid about the orphanage he'd seen.
...
When the two students were out of the headmaster's office, Daphne let out a huge sigh of relief; she turned to Rodrick, a smile on her face, which slowly disappeared. Rodrick was staring at the floor with a frown on his face. Daphne tugged at his shoulder playfully trying to get his attention.
"Whats wrong?" she questioned "Were not in any trouble, thought you'd be happier," she said trying and failing to sound relieved.
Rodrick stared up at her before sighing. "You heard him didn't you?" he questioned. "He said Hagrid was the one to come to me at the orphanage; he mentioned me receiving a letter" Daphne blinked.
"You received two... but if you got two then why did Hagrid tell the headmaster you only received one? Didn't you mention it to him?" she let out in a rapid pace.
"I did, but there's another problem here," Rodrick said, Daphne stared at him waiting for him to finish. "It wasn't Hagrid that came to see me; it was a blonde man who did."
Daphne's mouth stretched to an o shape. They both stared at each other for a few minutes trying to contemplate what was going on. She questioned him on who the man was.
"He wouldn't tell me, every time I asked he avoided the question."
"We can try and figure it out over the holidays." he supposed, "Besides the man wasn't exactly bad, he did help me get everything I needed. And showed me how to get to Diagon Alley whenever I wanted." Rodrick added.
Daphne stared at him unsure before she nodded her agreement, there wasn't much else they could do at the moment and tomorrow they would be at the manor anyway, no need to start off in a sour mood. It was at this moment that Daphne realised something.
"Wait, are you even ready to leave tomorrow? Do you have everything packed?" she blurted out a little worried.
Rodrick stared at her for a few seconds before replying "I don't have much to pack you know," The two stood in silence for a few moments.
"I don't know how to respond to that," Daphne sighed.
...
That night, Rodrick found a strange box waiting at the bottom of his bed, he had just finished preparing for the morning.
When he opened said box, he was shocked at the contents. Inside was a key, but what shocked him was the note that came with it. It gave him several warnings about using the key in front of other wizards and witches; goblins were less likely to antagonize him for it as long as he was a good customer.
It was the key to the Grindelwald vault in Gringotts.
...
The next day, Dumbledore had finished his meeting with Hagrid before worry once again kicked in.
Rodrick seemed to have far more going on around him then he'd realised. When Hagrid had gone to the boy's orphanage in an attempt to introduce him to the wizarding world, he'd been intercepted by another wizard, the man had shown the half-giant a signed form from the Ministry telling him that his current task was transferred to them. If it had been anyone else who'd been sent then perhaps the ministry wouldn't have been able to pull off such a stunt, however Hagrid's situation with the department gave them enough clause to take over the whole thing. While untrue, he was still under suspicions of opening the chamber 50 years ago. The friendly giant reluctantly agreed but only after the man promised to send Dumbledore a report of everything, which he certainly didn't do.
In all honesty, such a thing was not too uncommon, even if the missing report was troublesome it wasn't what worried the headmaster, it was the man in question who had taken the task upon himself, he had somehow heard about Rodrick as well as tricked ministry employees to signing such a thing. He risked danger to his name to get a look at an orphan, if that wasn't a red light, then the man's name definitely was.
Lucius Malfoy.
...
It was the middle of December; the holidays would last until a day after new years, so as to let most families enjoy all the given celebrations, Rodrick would be joining one of his friends for the occasion although he was quite clueless on what to expect.
The quartet of friends was currently inside their own train compartment bound away from Hogwarts. He was quite surprised to find that outside of Hogwarts, snow wasn't all that prominent, compared to the school anyway. It seemed that magic was used to help give the ground around Hogwarts a more wintery feel as well as make it colder. He was sat near one of the corners staring out the window before his attention was called back again. His group of friends had been trying to figure out who the blonde wizard was, Daphne simply couldn't hold onto that piece of information to herself, although, to be fair he never explicitly told her to keep it a secret. When she'd told Tracey, Rodrick only found it fair to tell Blaise. They had been arguing on about it since breakfast, he'd given up early on, he'd told them with no lead they had nothing they could go on. Leave it to them to be too stubborn about it. Blaise had actually suggested that Hagrid was in fact in disguise that day.
Rodrick got up from his seat; his friends stared at him curiously, he shrugged and told them he was trying to get a book out of his trunk. Blaise promptly grabbed his arm and yanked him back onto the seat surprising the boy.
"None of that Rodrick, you've read more books than the rest of our year combined in the past couple months," he said with a tone that brokered no arguments.
Rodrick was still gaping at him; he'd never seen Blaise act like this before. 'Am I really that bad?' He thought. He turned towards the girls in front of him to see their reaction; they were both nodding thoughtfully. Rodrick sighed and kept himself on his seat. It seemed to spite him, the rest of the group started grinning at him like vultures. The smiles only dropped when Rodrick threatened to hex all of them; they turned to laughter instead.
Outside, Rodrick idly picked up a student run down the hallway. Malfoy? He didn't really get a good look.
Rodrick was still staring through the glass. "Blonde..." he muttered. Malfoy's father? But why? And why hadn't Draco said anything? He couldn't really be sure, it was somewhat difficult trying to remember the man's features. Probably a spell. But still, if that was Malfoy, and he'd gone through all the effort to meet with him... Why not warn his son? The first thing Malfoy had said to him was basically an insult.
The trio was now staring at each other wondering what was wrong with him.
"You ok?" Blaise asked with a hint of amusement at Rodrick's dazed face.
Rodrick turned to stare at him before muttering. "Yeah. I think I know who came to visit me," the words seemed to anchor all three students attention.
"Who was it?" asked Tracey eagerly, a grin lit up her face.
"I don't know their name," Rodrick replied with a passive voice.
The three students cocked their heads to the side at this; all three stared at each other. Daphne took a wand out and aimed at Rodrick's skull.
"What?" He asked.
"Trying to see if there's anything inside there or not," She said, her lips were trying hard not to twitch up.
"Very funny," The boy replied, "I mean I don't know the particular person, I just know it's probably a Malfoy," he added on.
The three stared at each; they looked like they were having a conversation with their eyes.
"You mean Lucius Malfoy?" Asked Blaise.
"Probably, although why he was interested in me, I have no clue." shrugged Rodrick. 'Unless... But how would he have known?'
Rodrick's mind wandered away from the current moment; he was trying to remember something from the previous night. He remembered feeling stressed out in the morning but couldn't remember why. His Grandfather didn't even show up last night much to his irritation. He was taken out of his thoughts when his friends started to discuss any possible plans during the holiday, Lucius Malfoy completely forgotten. The group, mostly Blaise, had kept on mentioning Rodrick needing a new outfit for the next term. Rodrick scowled when Tracey told Daphne to give him pocket money to save up for the clothes. It seemed the group had found making fun of him an enjoyable pass time. Having enough of all the jokes regarding his current state Rodrick took out the key he'd found the previous night and showed it to the rest.
Daphne swiped it out of his hand with a smile on her face. "I'll be deciding how much you can take out young man," she said in an attempt to sound like an adult, the high pitched voice only gave it a comedic effect.
Rodrick levitated her off the ground, his hand lazily outstretched for the key. The trio laughed far too loudly for her taste; even Tracey couldn't help herself although she had an apologetic look on face. Daphne turned from embarrassed to irritated as she took out her wand and spluttered Rodrick with a water spell.
Daphne took her seat next to Tracey with a grin on her face. Rodrick used a heating spell on himself to dry up his clothes. Once the laughter died down Tracey asked him which vault the key was for but Rodrick shook his head feigning ignorance.
He knew very well whose key it was.
Blaise quipped that he'd stolen the key from his trunk.
"Oh? Which family vault are you talking about? Your names linked to quite a lot."
The two girls tried to hold in their sniggers, Both of them knowing his mom's particular history, Blaise promptly turned off the sarcasm feature in his brain deeming it dangerous to himself.
Rodrick showed the group the note that had appeared with the key, warning him not to use it openly. The group stared at it uneasily, Blaise looked about to say something before he was cut off by Daphne. She'd grabbed the note from his hand and threw it outside one of the windows.
Rodrick, somewhat angered, yelled out at her, demanding a reason.
She slapped him telling him to be more careful about showing strangers that kind of thing, warning him the ministry could and would order a search on the vault and himself if the note had been seen.
Rodrick stared at her a little shocked but nodded his head. 'Dammit, get it together you idiot.' He admonished himself. Blaise looked like he was barely holding onto his laughter while Tracey only had a worried look on her face. The group spent the rest of the journey contemplating what dark magic, artefacts and at some point dark wizards were hiding in the vault. 'Can these guys take anything seriously for more than a minute?' Thought a bemused Rodrick before he added on that there might be dark creatures inside as well.
When the train had arrived, the group split off to find their respective families, Rodrick stayed back next to Daphne waiting for hers to appear. Alone she turned to him and asked whether he already knew which vault it belonged to, he smiled in response not saying anything. She rolled her eyes before she skimmed through all the families in an attempt to find her parents..
A ball of fluff crashed into her. Rodrick's eye quickly snapped to the sound and found the younger Greengrass girl hands locked around Daphne. He had surprised expression on his face while Daphne looked dazed from the hug.
When she'd seen him the girl's eyes bulged before she shouted out his name. Rodrick put his finger to his mouth in an attempt to quiet her down to Daphne's amusement. The parents showed up after, both smiling broadly at their daughter; She leaped into their arms each in a hug when they got close enough.
Rodrick stared at the situation, feeling awkward, unsure of what he should do. Her parents stared at him with a smile which only made him more nervous. Cyrus gave out a hand in an attempt to shake his. Rodrick took it. The awkward atmosphere seemed to grow before he felt Daphne's arms around his shoulder.
Rodrick stared at her when she let go questioningly. At least he didn't reach for his wand that time.
"Well no-one else looked like they were gonna hug you," she said with a straight face. "You looked pretty jealous" she added on with a smirk.
Her parents were staring at their daughter trying to hold their laughter in.
Rodrick finally found his words, "You know if it wasn't awkward before...it is now," he remarked with a stoic expression. He was really glad he didn't reach for his wand.
There was a small silence which was followed by laughter from the Greengrass family. Rodrick raised his eyebrows suddenly wondering if this was such a good idea after all. The group greeted each other properly after that. On their way towards the Greengrass Manor, Rodrick and Daphne were quietly whispering to each other trying to decide whether to tell her parents about Malfoys strange interest. The whispering stopped however when Astoria started pouting that no-one was paying her any attention, this led to a strange conversation about never before-heard-of-creatures that the girl had seen in some sort of newspaper. 'What is wrong with this family?' Rodrick shook his head.
Mrs. Greengrass had turned back to the kids and asked them if there was anything they wanted to do for the day. Rodrick mentioned needing a new wardrobe, eliciting a chuckle out of Daphne, who'd seen his muggle clothes already. Roxanne had looked at him before she asked him whether he needed any help regarding money, he quickly shook his head. She gave him a smile and spoke.
"It's not a problem, you saved my daughter's life," She said Kindly. There was something odd about the way she said those words... Rodrick filed that away.
"It's fine really," He said before taking out the key he'd been given.
Roxanne eyed the key out of interest before she whispered something to her husband. Cyrus examined the key in his hand and noticed what kind of vault it might belong to before he smiled and told Rodrick he could take him to Gringotts later. Rodrick gave him his thanks before he fell in step with Daphne. Daphne had a mixed expression on her face; she once again told Rodrick not take it out so often like that in case someone might recognise it.
"Anyway," she added with a small smirk, "Imagine if the vaults empty, would be really awkward if you needed my mothers help then don't you think?" she had a slight twinkle in her eye.
Rodrick frowned slightly, that idea certainly hadn't crossed his mind. his thought, however, was put at ease when Cyrus spoke up.
"That vault is unlikely to be empty; the key's made for a high-security vault, if it belongs to your family then you really shouldn't be too worried."
'If it didn't should I be?' If Malfoy knew his family name, theres no guarantee he wouldn't have known about whatever his grandfather had attempted in order to get him a key.... It would've been easy enough to try replace it... He did have a son living under the ceiling... Rodrick sighed, maybe he was overthinking it.
This prompted a mixed reaction out of the group, Rodrick, and Astoria who were clueless about the whole thing. Daphne who had a thoughtful look on her face, she'd previously been to Gringotts. While Roxanne looked quite relieved knowing he wasn't likely to have concerns about his future. Cyrus explained what entailed Gringotts to assign such a vault to Rodrick on the way to the manor.
...
They eventually found a small building that belonged to the ministry; it looked like an ordinary office from the outside. When they entered Rodrick was surprised to find a single fireplace. Cyrus explained that these buildings were set by the ministry for any families that lived too far from the station, he flashed Rodrick the key needed to open the door. He had added on that if any other key were used then a simple muggle office would instead appear. Rodrick didn't need to ask to know such a building would've either cost a lot of money to set up or required the right links. Daphne had previously told him that the manor was somewhere in the north of England, he'd expected a much longer journey then this.
Arriving at the Greengrass Manor, Rodrick couldn't help the awed look on his face. The room they had floo'd into was massive, it looked like their dining room if he was correct. It was spacious; there were ornaments on each of the walls followed by different portraits, some of them wizards and some looked like old family photos, each one was moving. The dining table looked to be half the size of one of the house tables at Hogwarts. Expensive looking silverware lined the whole of the table with oak chairs surrounding it. The floor looked almost reflective. There were two suits of armor surrounding the three doors in the room. One Door led to the living room which was in turn connected to a staircase while the other led to a hallway that led to the exit, the third resulted in the kitchens. When they all came out of the fireplace, a strange looking creature popped up in front of them, levitating all their trunks and asking whether the masters needed any food. Astoria dismissed the creature cheerfully; this had prompted a smile to appear on the creatures face before it took all the belongings elsewhere. As Rodrick was looking around examining the room, Daphne explained what a house elf was.
Rodrick was 'treated' to a tour of the mansion, the better word would be dragged around, by Astoria Greengrass. Daphne was currently indulging her parents on everything that had happened over the last few months, anything she hadn't written in a letter anyway. 'Hopefully, she isn't too detailed,' Thought Rodrick, some spells shouldn't be mentioned.
During his tour Rodrick couldn't help but admire the Manor, it had several guest rooms, a large garden filled to the brim with all kinds of flowers, with a large cherry tree near the middle. A backyard presumably used by the girls as a play area (playing here seemed to involve hexing each other nonstop) Astoria told him how they used to have a large shed there, it had apparently disappeared in an 'accident.' There was Cyrus's study which the two girls avoided; they also avoided the master bedroom. Daphne and Astoria seemed to have their own rooms, Rodrick would be given one of the guest rooms to stay in, his room was the one next to Daphne's much to Astoria's annoyance, she'd been hoping he could sneak her some sweets. When she'd told him that, he couldn't help the laughter. When he'd seen his room he was quite shocked, it was almost twice the size of the one in the orphanage, and he'd shared that one with two others. There was a double bed with counters on each side; large curtains covered the windows. It had two indoor closets.
He found his trunk at the bottom of the bed. Rodrick stayed in his room and began to unpack his trunk before he realized that he very likely wouldn't be using any of the things inside, he'd planned to replace all of it as soon as he could. He decided to leave the clothing inside and took out everything else, books, wand and school supplies. He closed the trunk and placed it inside one of the closets. Daphne at this moment had barged into his room before grabbing his hand with a smile on her face. She practically dragged him down back to the dining room where he saw the rest of the family sat around the table. Lunch. The family had an amused look on their face when they noticed Rodrick been dragged around. Roxanne seemed to whisper something to Cyrus's ear and, to Rodrick's surprise the man's expression became pointed, he was half way from glaring at Rodrick, almost appraising him about something. Daphne did not notice, she merely pulled him onto a seat near her. Cyrus's pointed stare didn't leave his direction. Roxanne elbowed him to be a little more civil while trying hard not to laugh.
Lunch was a draining affair, Rodrick knew he had to keep some form of etiquette when eating with a pureblood family, but it was harder than he'd thought.
The adults surprisingly looked at him in approval, for an orphan he was doing quite well. Astoria had taken it upon herself to teach him how to eat.
There were so many problems with that, Rodrick didn't know where to start. For one thing, she was on the opposite side of the table, meaning she had to speak quite loudly for him to hear. Second, from the looks of it, she was still learning herself and finally, if the laughter around the table was anything to go by he was either not doing it properly or copying the girl a little too much. Roxanne nudged Daphne's shoulder urging her to help explain some things. Things went a bit more smoothly for him after that.
...
When lunch was over the family decided to journey to Diagon Alley to get any last minute Christmas shopping done, with the holiday less than ten days away it was best to get everything done early before the rush of wizards started to appear. Rodrick was quite happy; it meant he would get a chance to visit the bank and take out some gold. Arriving near the center of the area, the group decided to split up, Rodrick wanted to head to the bank immediately. Daphne had at first tried to go with him thinking it might cause a problem if her parents went instead or he was alone. Rodrick was thankful but preferred going by himself; Her father then told her he wouldn't let her go off without a guardian anyway. Rodrick had nodded, agreeing to this wholeheartedly before the man used the same excuse on him as well, this caused a small chuckle to come out of the girls. It was decided that the girls would go about their shopping while Cyrus took Rodrick to the bank himself.
He nodded hesitantly.
They were standing outside the bank, Rodrick was staring at his feet wondering whether this was a good idea or not.
Cyrus having noticed his discomfort, asked what the issue was. Rodrick didn't reply.
Cyrus put a hand on his shoulder and got down to face him.
"You know your family," It wasn't a question.
Rodrick stared at the man in front of him for a moment before he nodded slowly.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of you know, even if you're not a pureblood," The man said, surprising Rodrick.
'That's what he thinks the problem is? Rodrick thought, perplexed, he shouldn't be surprised really. The Greengrass family would obviously have at some point grown up to those ideals. Rodrick raised his head slightly.
"I am not worried about Purebloods not accepting me," the boy started, "I am worried about everyone else going against me for..." Rodrick couldn't finish it. Frankly, he'd said too much as it is.
Cyrus took the hint for what it was; his expression took a sharp edge to its features. "You're not responsible for your family," 'What exactly does he have on his shoulders?' Thought the Greengrass patriarch.
Rodrick's lips took on a weak smile before he turned around and faced the bank. "Can you tell me for certain that I wouldn't be prosecuted if the ministry or anyone else found out what my family did?"
Cyrus felt uneasy, he'd met people who'd had death eaters for family members, but none of them ever acted like this... 'perhaps its bigger than that...' Cyrus thought darkly. The boy was right, there were some wizards that were mistreated for their family members crimes, if this boy's family did something worse, then he might be right to be wary. Cyrus gave him a reassuring smile; he had no intention of harming the boy, especially after what his wife had told him. The boy didn't seem like a bad child at least, he'd be more worried if it were someone similar to Malfoy's brat. Cyrus cleared his mind of the thoughts.
"Does Daphne know?" he asked
"No, I'll probably tell her if she keeps asking though," the boy said with a hint of amusement.
Cyrus let out a soft chuckle before he urged the boy to go on ahead alone.
"If you need any help, feel free to come and ask me."
'Wizards sure have a habit of saying those words...'
Rodrick looked up before he thanked the man and made his way inside the bank.
This wasn't the first time Rodrick had visited the bank, however, the last time wasn't to open up a vault. He was here because Lucius Malfoy had needed to get something out of his own vault. He recognized the head table at the front with the familiar goblin, 'Groophick?' Rodrick wondered if that was his name. 'I should probably ask just in case...'
The goblin's name turned out to be Griphook, 'Close enough,' thought Rodrick. He handed him the key, and for a split second Rodrick could've sworn he saw the Goblins eyes bulge. The goblin turned towards him and studied his face before a frown appeared on it.
"You don't look like them," the goblin said.
"Them?" Rodrick replied with a small edge to his voice
The goblin had stared around the room before his attention was brought back to the boy.
"You know who I am referring to."
At this Rodrick bristled, 'Surely he's smarter than this.'
"Then you must understand why I don't look like them...Voluntarily," the boy added.
The goblin's eyes slowly rose before he chuckled, he took out a piece of paper and asked Rodrick for his finger.
Rodrick hesitantly put his finger forward before he a felt a prick on it and saw some blood drip onto the piece of paper. A couple of seconds later and a small pattern seemed to appear on the paper. The goblin quickly scrunched it up and burnt it as soon as he saw it.
"Very well, you are who you say you are," The goblin confirmed.
Rodrick couldn't help the question.
"Who were they?" he blurted out, he knew his grandfather and the fact that he'd never actually married, not publicly anyway, but he hadn't known his parents.
The goblin eyed him for a moment before he asked to follow him.
Rodrick followed the goblin down to the vaults area, it took a while before they reached his own. On the way, the goblin explained what he knew of his parents.
He was a Grindlewald from his mother's side; she was an only sibling. She had married some pureblood, however when Rodrick asked who the person was the goblin couldn't answer. His mother had apparently divorced the wizard after Rodrick had been born so as to keep the Grindlewald name, and of course remove any of the potential traces that came from marital contracts. As a result, Rodrick had no vaults to his name beside the Grindelwald one, at least for now.
"Although I highly doubt you would need another... When your grandfather was in his war, he certainly knew what to collect," The goblin said with a strange sense of respect.
The two wound up having to pass a waterful; the goblin promptly started to stare at Rodrick's face, even more. Rodrick was confused at the sudden action before the goblin spoke.
"So that's what you look like, you really do resemble them, you've your mother's eyes though."
Rodrick stared at the goblin impassively.
"Why would you know such a thing about her," he asked with a dangerous tone to his voice.
The goblin had chuckled before he mentioned that he'd never forget that day.
When Rodrick questioned him more, the goblin gave him a tale he didn't expect.
"Your mother brought you to Gringotts as a babe and practically told every single Goblin there at the time who you were. She forced the head goblin at the time to sign a document stating you as heir and that no one else would be allowed to touch a single part of the vault, not even herself. When the head goblin had argued that you would need a legal guardian before you could open the vault yourself. Your mother took out her wand and threatened him with the killing curse if he didn't agree. He goblin hesitated for a second." The goblin looked almost awed before the next part, "Your mother, without waiting a second further, tortured him," The goblin had a smile on his face at this. "Mind you, we goblins usually have an issue with you wizards attacking our kind, that particular goblin, however, seemed far too fond of the ministry, he'd given too many of your kind far too much liberty. What your mother did was something near half the bloody room had wanted to do at some point. You can understand we were quite happy she showed up. After he had realized no one else would help him, he signed the paper, fearing for his life. He resigned that very evening."
Rodrick was shocked, to say the least. When the goblin saw his expression, he couldn't help but chuckle. He was left speechless. He forced back few tears that came to his eyes. His grandfather had explained to him before that she'd been hunted down because some wizard had found out about her name, it was the whole reason he was so wary of anyone else finding it. Hearing this story only made him feel even more guilty thinking about all the things she must've gone through to keep him hidden.
It had taken a while before Rodrick could regain control his emotions, the two had finally arrived at the vault, the door looked cursed. Rodrick's eyes gaped at it, when he turned to the goblin, he found a wary face.
"Your grandfather was a dangerous being..." The goblin turned towards the vault door.
"Touch that door with the wrong blood and key and you'll feel the Torture curse run your body ragged. Which then alerts the sleeping dragon so as to have it chew your head off." The goblin seemed to slow at this part; his eyes looked distant. "And if by some miracle you managed to get in, every object in that room was cursed by him, taking it out of the vault removes the curse and you boy are currently the only one with the blood to do it. Believe me when I say this. You. Do. Not. Want. To. Get. Cursed. By. Gellert Grindelwald,"
Rodrick gulped at the sudden tension that took over, when he stared into the goblins eyes, the look awe and respect disappeared. All he could see was cold, distant eyes. 'What the hell did my grandfather do?' He made a note to ask
Rodrick entered the vault.
His eyes widened; the vault was filled to the brim in galleons, there were rubies, gems, emeralds everywhere. The vault was massive, he spotted three bookshelves inside filled to the brim with Books, the goblin noticed him eyeing the books before he shuddered.
"Apparently some of the darkest magic available. Some old goblin looked through it with Gellert present, he came out with a broken mind, Gellert followed him after chuckling, he said the book wasn't even cursed."
This only seemed to entice the boy, even more, the thought churned the goblin's stomach. Rodrick stared around and found all kinds of different artifacts; he saw several cloaks, rings, capes, necklaces and strange contraptions he'd never seen before. All of them had one thing in common; there was so much magic glowing off them, Rodrick felt suffocated, even the bloody galleons seemed to be cursed. His grandfather did not joke around with his property.
There was one particular item that caught his interest; it was a necklace that hung from a rope attached to the ceiling, it was placed in the middle of the room. Rodrick made to reach it, only to have the goblin stop him. "Everything in this vault is off limits until you turn 17, especially that necklace," Rodrick made to protest before the goblin added on that he would be receiving his own vault filled with Galleons to use for himself. Once he reached 17, it would merge with the main vault, and he would be given complete access. The goblin, however, grumbled that the stuff should be closed off until he was at least 50.
He did, however, mention that his vault would have a far larger amount of galleons that he could take out compared to the average child vault, thanks to his mother's contract. 'His family might- Was crazy as hell, but at least they took their lives seriously.' Thought a bemused Rodrick, there was a lot to get used to.
One thought did enter his mind, however. When did his grandfather have the time to visit Gringotts? As far as history is concerned, when he'd entered the UK he'd stumbled into a duel with Albus Dumbledore. And why did he even have the urge to suddenly hoard this much wealth and never use it himself?
For a strange reason, for once, Rodrick doubted his grandfather might actually answer his questions.
...
Cyrus stood still outside the Gringotts bank, waiting for the boy to return. He wasn't entirely sure what to think of the kid, he seemed good-natured if his actions were anything to go by but he also looked reserved. His personality appeared to switch easily... His attention shot up towards the child; he looked better than he did when he'd entered, he noted the small bag he was holding by his left side.
"Get what you need?" The adult asked, not unkindly.
"Yea, I found quite a bit there," the boy chirped.
Cyrus Raised an eyebrow but didn't push it.
"Shall we go then?" he asked.
Rodrick nodded his agreement, he asked if they could go to a few shops on the way. He wanted to buy a few gifts it seemed.
Cyrus blinked once, he was tempted and nearly made the effort to ask what he was getting his daughter but managed to stop himself and simply sighed.
The boy stared at him confused.
The two Wizards wound up making five stops before they decided to meet up with the rest of the group. Cyrus noted with amusement, when he saw what he'd bought for his youngest daughter; he would've objected had it not been for the fact she'd kill him if she found out he refused her a gift.
Rodrick had also decided to buy a shrinking trunk so as to keep him everything inside easily enough, a good investment, he had initially planned to pay for everything for him, but he was outright refused. When the two finally returned to the others they groaned when they saw the number of bags the girls were carrying, Rodrick had a look of amusement on his face before they were dumped with everything. Daphne eye's lit up when she saw him attempt to pick everything up before he gave up and levitated it all instead, this brought curious stares from her parents but no comment. She'd already mentioned it to them; they were simply seeing it for the first time, or rather second time.
When Rodrick asked where he would get new clothes, he was slightly dismayed when the adults insisted he went to a high-class tailor, Twillfitt, and Tattings, Daphne seemed to stiffen when she heard the name. When Rodrick asked, her reply was that it was a 'surprise.'
Rodrick raised his eyebrows before Daphne added that he might not actually enjoy it. She told him that he'd find out later. Once there, he was fitted to get three different sets of robes, before he could say anything. However, Roxanne took him aside and told him that they'd be going to another shop after to get more. When the price came up Rodrick was slightly dismayed at it; it was about half of what he'd had in the bag. He got a frown on his face when he couldn't even pay for it. When he'd been fitted for the clothes, Roxanne paid for his set of robes calling it a gift. When he'd tried to argue, she gave him a glare that silenced him.
"Your moms a little scary," he whispered quietly to Daphne who only started to laugh.
"You've no idea."
...
They soon made their way to Madam Malkins and brought ten more sets of clothing for Rodrick to use over the years, it wound up costing more than usual when Rodrick asked for an expanding charm to be put on so he could use it for longer; he didn't give Roxanne the chance to pay for it this time either.
The Greengrass matriarch pouted.
Rodrick quite frankly was confused, which only prompted more laughter out of them. Daphne told him that her mom simply liked to be the one to pay for everything, whether her own or not.
"Plus it's dads vault that's being used," Daphne added on.
Rodrick snorted.
Roxanne pretended not to hear anything, Cyrus had to hold back his laughter.
When the two were out of earshot of the adults, Daphne turned to Rodrick and spoke.
"So what did you find in your vault?"
"Far too much gold and treasure and not enough books" Rodrick replied with a small frown on his face.
"Bookworm," Daphne snorted.
Rodrick glared at her slightly, unamused.
"It's not that funny," he stated with a pointed look.
"Rodrick you're the only orphan I know who can suddenly find out he's rich and all you'd be worried about is the number of books in your vault," She remarked with a twinkle in her eyes.
Rodrick stared at her for a few seconds before stating he was the only orphan she knew in general; the two chuckled before they sped up and reached the parents.
The family made it back to the Greengrass Manor before evening, they had their family dinner, and the children were all sent off to bed. Rodrick didn't argue. When he reached his bed and changed. He jumped in, before he could snooze off however, he heard the door open. Daphne was staring inside his room with a curious look in her eyes. She made her way over to his bed and sat down; she squealed slightly at the cold causing Rodrick to laugh. She quickly got on the right side of his bed and stared at him.
"I don't think this is your room," Rodrick deadpanned.
"Couldn't sleep," she shrugged.
Rodrick raised an eyebrow at her.
"I am not qualified to deal with that," He joked.
Daphne tilted her head in confusion, "What?"
Rodrick waved his hand, "Nothing, nothing." There was a small pause before he continued. "What's on your mind?"
Daphne blinked before she turned to look down.
"Do you know what your family name is?"
Rodrick stiffened.
Daphne blinked before waving her arms, "You don't need to tell-"
Rodrick shook his head, then smiled.
"If I did know, I'll probably tell you soon,"
Daphne stared. What? So was he going to tell her or did he still not know? She sighed, shaking her head.
"Ok, then," She remarked tired.
She left not long after, they spent the rest of the time talking about some of the things he'd found in the vault though he avoided mentioning the curse.
This continued on occurring for the rest of the week. Each day ending with him failing to bring up the issues surrounding his family name. Though eventually the subject simply disappeared to the back of their minds.
...
The next day Rodrick woke up to two green eyes staring at him. He almost shot up from his bed at the unexpected sight. Daphne stared down at him curiously before she grabbed his arm and urged him to get up, it took a few moments before she threatened to douse him in water. That did the trick, he stared at the girl and noticed she wasn't dressed for the day herself, Roxanne had made a point about that the previous day. That also meant she couldnt complain about him either. He got out of bed and asked her how long she'd been staring at him; Daphne gave him an unsettling smirk for an answer, Rodrick felt something creep up his spine before Daphne laughed and told him it was only a few moments. She left the room and told him she'd go to get ready.
She didn't mention the fact that both his face and hair had been glowing that morning, she felt uncomfortable thinking about it, it really wasn't natural.
Rodrick made his way to the bathroom to freshen up before he made his way down. He failed to realize he was still in pyjamas.
Roxanne had been decorating the living room, she had a week or so before the Manor needed to be ready, her husband had initially told her to leave it to the house elves, but she'd insisted. She heard the door creak open before she took in two yellow eyes peering through the door, she smiled when she saw the boy and urged him in. He still seemed awkward around them. She chuckled slightly to herself when she noticed he was still not dressed for the day yet. The boy strode over to her to ask her what she was doing, when she'd explained, his eyes lit up slightly before he asked if he can help. She found the look in his eyes unbearable before she politely refused and told him to enjoy himself for the day. His eyes downcast slightly before he nodded his head in agreement.
Rodrick turned away towards the sofas that outlined the living room; the Greengrass Manor was made very homely, in a sense. His eyes spotted Astoria Greengrass engaged in a book of spells. He made his way over towards the younger girl and sat down next to her startling her slightly, he looked at the book and chuckled when he noticed the girl was reading about a tickling charm, she still didn't have her own wand yet. Rodrick took his wand out and copied the movement and spell in the book and aimed it at a wide-eyed Astoria, a moment later and the girl was clutching her sides in laughter.
Roxanne turned around quickly at the sound before she found Rodrick aiming the wand at a laughing Astoria, she really should reprimand him for using magic outside class but for what it was worth he looked to be teaching... Even if it was showing a girl laughing spell. She turned back to the wall and continued moving around portraits and painted the walls.
Daphne came down the stairs as soon as she was done and was dismayed to find Rodrick still not ready, she quickly went over to him before grabbing his wand so as to prevent any possible mischief from his side. He snapped his attention towards the wand in her hand before he smirked, slightly amused. Daphne raised an eyebrow at him before she told to get ready.
"Ready? for what?" he replied
Daphne rolled her eyes.
"We'll be spending the day out in the gardens, Mom needs the house empty to do her work." Again there was no reaction before Daphne narrowed her eyes slightly and threatened to drag him out to the cold in what he was wearing.
Rodrick stared at her before he slowly raised his head indicating her dress, he almost laughed when he saw her flush a little.
"I am used to it," she reprimanded. Rodrick rolled his eyes and got up from the sofa; he made his way up back to his room to change.
Astoria was currently staring at Daphne with a confused look on her face.
"What?" she asked the young girl.
"You almost never go to the gardens, backyard maybe but only with Tracey."
Daphne glared at the younger girl with a frown which only made the girl laugh.
"Don't be such a know it all," she said
Her mother huffed from the back with amusement at her two girls causing the elder to flush and the younger to laugh. Her situation was saved slightly when Rodrick came back down; he was wearing a shirt with the words 'Quidditch without a broom' in black, black trousers and jacket, his hair fell down neatly. She nodded in agreement before she led him out to the gardens, she didn't see him wink at her sister in amusement, although she did hear her laugh.
"Where'd he find that shirt? I want one." Astoria suddenly questioned her mom.
...
Daphne went to the cherry tree and sat down against; she saw Rodrick still standing up.
"Take a seat," she said.
He stared at her for a few moments before he took a look around.
"Boring garden." He sighed.
Daphne twitched.
"You're going to be difficult aren't you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rodrick shrugged, barely suppressing his laughter.
He eventually told her he was joking. He refrained from sitting near her due to the glare he received. He turned his eyes up and noticed a high branch on the tree. He quickly jumped and grabbed onto the branch causing the girl to squeal. He pulled himself up on top of the branch and took a seat before staring down at the girl on the floor while smiling.
This wasn't what she'd expected him to do at all. She quickly got up and crossed her arms before telling him to get down.
"You get up," he replied, amused.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and told him she couldn't with a dress.
Rodrick nodded understandingly.
Daphne sighed in relief; she waited for him to come down before she realized she was starting to float. She turned and saw a grin on the boy's face; she screeched ordering him to put her down. He ignored her and levitated her to his side on the branch. The branch was nearly 8 feet off the ground; it occurred to her now he must've used some form of a weightless spell on himself to let him jump up so high.
She glared at him and tried to raise her hand off the branch but unbalanced herself and quickly grabbed on again fearful of falling. Rodrick smiled before waving his hand, a small light flickered off his fingers. Daphne found it a lot easier to balance herself after that.
She thanked him for helping and cursed him for putting her there in the first place. She watched him lean back against the tree without a care. She was sat side saddled.
"How long are we going to sit here for?" She suddenly asked.
"I don't know, until it's uncomfortable?"
She stared at him. He looked serious. "When do you get the time to practice so much when you're... This lazy..."
Rodrick snorted.
"I am not that lazy and this is the holidays, should have a bit of fun, don't you think?"
Daphne blinked, it was a fair point... But what exactly did he do for fun?
"What's your mother decorating the house for?" He suddenly asked her curious.
"There's going to be a party soon, one should be before Christmas," the girl replied with a sigh.
"Hmm...Ah, that's what the expensive Robes were for then,"
Daphne hummed her agreement.
"There's going to be a party after as well, only at Malfoy Manor."
Rodrick raised an eyebrow, wondering where this was going.
"You'll have to attend as well as you're with us for the holidays," she added on when she heard no reply, Rodrick groaned slightly at the thought but was curious enough to see the Malfoy Manor.
She followed it with a question of her own. "I thought you were afraid of heights?"
Rodrick looked up and replied "I am afraid of falling to my death, I'm quite fine with a broken bone," she found herself laughing at this.
"Oh you can heal it can you?" She joked.
"Yes, yes I can." Rodrick deadpanned.
Daphne stared at him for a few moments, "Can you show me?"
Rodrick raised an eyebrow, "I don't think your parents would appreciate that,"
"Appreciate wha-" She started before stopping as she saw Rodrick etch closer, his hand looked about ready to push-
"Don't even think about it!" She exclaimed latching onto the branch.
"It was your idea," Rodrick tilted his head slightly bemused.
How else was he supposed to teach her? One needed to understand exactly how much pain they could stomach, there was no better way to train then when under pressure, after all if you were ever in a situation where you had to heal a broken bone... You were generally under pressure.... It made using it while calm far easier. It was his grandfathers idea. Breaking a wrist from a fall was easily the least painful method he, and as it were, his grandfather, knew off. Spells were a lot more painful. And harder to fix for that matter. It hurt like hell the first month after he'd finally gotten a wand. Disilusionment charms made it far easier to hide one's magic use in a muggle orphanage.
"Never-mind, I'll learn it the normal way,"
"What was that?"
"By studying... Like you do..."
"Well yeah, memorising lines is good and all but practice is a bit more important... I hardly see a line of broken bones for you to practice on available..."
Daphne stared at him, a worried look in her eye. "Rodrick... Who told you that?"
He didn't answer.
Daphne continued to stare, "How did you learn the Imperio spell?"
Rodrick blinked. "Uh... I learnt the incantation from a book..."
"In a muggle orphanage?" She questioned incredulously. "Who did you practice on?" She added on warily.
"Well there were a lot of unwanted orphans-" Rodrick answered sarcastically.
Daphne's eyes widened.
"I am joking! I learnt it from the same person that taught me Transfiguration,"
Daphne stared at him, "Is he still around?"
"Um... I'll probably tell you later on?" He had a sheepish smile on his face.
Daphne sighed. She wasn't sure what she expected.
...
The next couple of days seemed to pass by in a blur, Rodrick spent most of his time with the Greengrass girls, either playing with them or showing them different spells.
Cyrus had gotten leave from the ministry for the holidays and spent more time with his family. The more he observed the boy, the more curious and impressed he was, he knew a vast number of spells but what really caught his eye was his talent to cast them non-verbally and in some cases wandless.
On his fourth day at the manor, Rodrick came out of bed to a surprise, Roxanne had set up a ballroom. It was to be used for the party, Rodrick had a sinking feeling when Roxanne had him dress in one of the three sets of robes he'd gotten from Twilfitts and Tannings shop. His thoughts were confirmed when he saw the others show up in their dresses. Roxanne eventually had them all practice dancing although mostly for his sake, Daphne had been taught the year before.
He found himself dancing with all three girls, he'd surprisingly enjoyed the once with Astoria the most, both of them were inexperienced, and so it wasn't as strict.
He couldn't concentrate, although whether that would've helped or not is another matter, when dancing with Daphne but still enjoyed it. It took some time before she accepted the fact he'd been joking earlier on in the week. He really needed to tone it down a bit.
He stepped on Roxanne's foot far too many times.
They practiced into the evening, then he decided the pyjamas were too comfortable to pass up. The adults looked at him in amusement; they were still wearing their robes. Daphne looked torn between copying his example or her parents; she quickly made her mind up when she saw her sister give no hesitation into changing. The adults luckily didn't seem to be too uptight about it. They all had dinner before they went up to bed, the next few days followed the same routine, with some improvement. He still stepped on their feet every now and then, but still, it was better than before. After Daphne had left to her room, Rodrick relaxed into his pillow and prepared for the party the next day, Lucius Malfoy was likely to be there.
He hadn't seen his grandfather in his dream for a while. Rodrick paid it no mind, already busy preparing for the next day.
...
A/N
In case anyone was interested in how Ron, Harry, and Hermione made it back to the common room without a hitch, Fred and George saw them outside the common room thanks to the marauders map; they opened the door and let them in. The prefect never saw the twins coming.
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