Chapter XVII: The Tournament Begins
(Michael P.O.V)
The candlelight that brightened the Hogwarts Library was beginning to dim as the open hours of the facility drew to a close, and yet, despite being there for over three hours studying every type of Dragon in existence, Michael hadn't felt himself getting even an inch closer to any form of solution. Do I just tell him to aim for the eyes? All dragons have an innate weakness in their eyes after all, But Michael shook his head aggressively ignoring the thought, Easier said than done, it's not like the dragon just going to be sitting still batting its eyelashes at Harry, it's simply not a reliable strategy.
A wave of exhaustion overcame him as Michael slumped back into his chair, sighing deeply before slamming his head into the notebook he'd received from Harry and Tonks with a defeated groan, "Damn it," He spoke aloud, "It's like trying to play chess blindfolded against a grandmaster. How do you win at a game that is designed for you to lose?"
"And here I thought you were smart," He heard a cheery voice with a gentle, yet familiar french accent speak softly behind him, "You simply don't play by the rules."
Michael shifted in his seat, his eyes drooping from boredom, reading was never his thing to begin with, adding stress to it certainly hadn't helped his enjoyment of it, still, a slight ghost of a smirk appeared on his face as he looked up at the french beauty standing over him, her hands resting confidently at her curvaceous hips before the words rose to his lips, "Isn't it a little late for you to be roaming the library, I mean, the sun's setting soon, I thought you'd be out getting your beauty sleep."
"I could not sleep for days and still look better than half the girls in Slytherin," Claire shot back sarcastically and a grin rose to his face at the pink-haired girl's sass, "I'd say I still beat out 30% of the Hufflepuff girls at a minimum too."
Michael shook his head, but he did have to admit, despite her bothersome qualities, Claire was certainly beautiful. He wasn't so sure about her prissy nature, but if the game was simply about physical appearance, Claire was a knockout, even without her 'Allure' as Hermione had called it affecting him. "Alright, Beauty Queen, you've got me interested, I'll bite. What do you mean don't play by the rules?"
"If you want my help, Smartass you're going to need to stop with the nicknames, understand?" Claire replied, her face glowing with a faint red tinge. "Unless you can come up with one I like, that is."
"A challenge," Michael said a genuine grin rising to his face, "Now you've really got my attention. Alright, Miss Diva, tell me what you've got for me."
"You're impossible," Claire said with a sigh before slouching into a chair beside him, "Whatever, I guess I can't expect much from a Slacker Clown like you. Anyway, you did me a favor when you stopped me from embarrassing myself in class, so I'll return the favor and help you just this once."
Michael cocked his head, his light brown eyes staring into her glimmering grey ones as she spoke, "It's important to remember the objective of the task. The champion doesn't have to beat the dragon, he just has to retrieve the egg. The dragon itself only serves as a distraction from the actual challenge."
"If you're suggesting Harry just Accio the egg, it's not something I haven't thought about," Michael said a hint of strain present in his voice, "But most likely, there's probably going to be an anti-summoning ward on the egg, it would simply make the task too easy if there wasn't and I doubt Bagman and Crouch are interested in that."
"You're awfully impatient sometimes, you know that?" Claire retorted a stunning sarcastic grin gracing her face, "You didn't even let me finish. I may not be as gifted in magic as you, but I'm not an idiot, I thought about that already. But, just because you can't Accio the egg, doesn't mean you can't bring something to help you into the competition. I won't tell you what Fleur and I have planned if she has to face the dragon, but from what I've heard around the halls, prior to Harry being seen as a cheat for competing, people were saying he might be the greatest Seeker Hogwarts has ever seen."
"I see," Michael said as the lightbulb in his mind finally sparked with illumination, "If he can't fight the dragon, he'll just have to outfly it." Michael nodded his head slightly mulling over his thoughts before he looked back into Claire's eyes with an amused expression, "I've got to hand it to you, you're not as dumb as I thought. Honestly, I thought all you were was a pretty face, it looks like there's a real powerhouse of a brain behind that petroleum jelly smile."
"Whatever Smartass," Claire said with a huff, "At least now we're even."
"I don't recall ever telling you that you owed me," Michael said with a teasing grin, "I'm starting to think that maybe you just like coming out to see me."
"Keep dreaming," Claire said turning her face quickly as she began to walk towards the exit of the library, and while Michael had wanted to turn and look away, he couldn't seem to pull his eyes apart from the bouncing of Claire's hair, or the gentle sound of her uniform heels clicking against the stone floor. Then, the clicking stopped, and for a moment, Michael felt a ball of concern appear in his throat as he began to fear he'd been caught staring, but Claire didn't turn around, instead, she kept her face forward before with a shaky breath she asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Careful, you may end up owing me again and will have to pay me another visit if I answer it," Michael said with a sarcastic tone, but all the whimsy that was in his voice faded as he saw the truly puzzled look on Claire's face as she finally met his eyes, "I was just kidding," Michael said as calmly as he could, "What's up?"
"Harry," She started, "Why are you so loyal to him?"
"Huh," Michael asked a bit startled by the question before he let out a small chuckle, "And you thought I was oblivious?" Michael shook his head in amusement before he looked back into Claire's grey eyes and a gentle simper filled his face, "It should be obvious, right? Harry's my friend."
"What does that mean?" Claire asked her voice fighting back against a heavy strain, "What does being someone's friend have to do with it? I have tons of people that claim they want to be my friend, and yet I know they'd all drop me as soon as I lost value in their eyes. Why do you stand by him when the rest of the world seems to be against him? It's not just you either, why is it that the Hufflepuff Boy, Hermione, Daphne, the short girl and the other Slytherin's all refused to abandon him? I don't understand it."
"What's with these questions?" Michael asked curiously, "You're talking like you've never had friends before." He watched and felt a slight pain in his chest as she watched Claire turn her face, exposing her cheek to him in shame, "What about Fleur? You two are friends right?"
"It's complicated," Claire said, "And I don't want to talk about me, I want to understand what is it about Harry that makes him so special to all of you that follow him."
"I don't really know how to explain it," Michael said as he ran his hand through his hair, "Harry, he's not really a normal guy. He may seem a lot like me, lazy and uncaring, but when it comes to the people around him, he'll work harder than anyone to make sure they're safe and happy. He's constantly willing to stick out his neck for all of us and does it without the expectation of any thanks or gratitude."
"He's always giving it everything he's got, and while it's irritating, he never seems to compromise anything when it comes to me, Daphne, Neville, Astoria, Tracey or Blaise." Michael continued, "He always pushes himself too far and is reckless when it comes to protecting the people that he cares about, and part of me is afraid if I'm not there to reel him in and make him think straight, he's going to get himself seriously hurt."
"So it's guilt that-," Claire started but he quickly shook his head.
"No, it's not guilt," Michael said with a sigh, "When I'm with Harry, no matter what it is we're doing; Pulling pranks, flying, practicing spells, he makes me want to follow him." A gentle tug pulled at his lips exposing his teeth in a gentle grin, "It's troublesome, but whenever he falls down, there's something about him that makes you want to help him back up. It's almost like my legs just move on their own sometimes."
Michael looked Claire in the eyes once more as he let one last exhale leave his mouth, "Harry, he possesses something that no one else does."
"Something?" Claire asked.
"Yeah," Michael nodded, "Someday, he's going to turn this whole Wizarding World on its head, and when it comes to that, when it comes to Harry, I guess I want to walk that road together with him, after all, all the greatest people in history had great advisors by their side."
The silence in the room as Michael concluded his speech was palpable as he felt Claire's eyes staring into his forehead, almost as if she was trying to read his mind, before, with a lost expression Claire spoke, "It's kind of weird," she started, "You didn't strike me as the kind of person to give praise to anyone."
Michael smirked as he shook his head, "Not many people are worthy of it."
Without another word, he watched as Claire turned heel and left the library. She's strange, He thought to himself, What's even stranger though is why I feel so relaxed talking to her. What does that-?, But before Michael could finish his though, the courtyard bell rung, its sound echoing through the entire castle, Damn, only an hour until dinner, I've gotta move if I want to get in any training today.
(Harry P.O.V)
A satisfied grin was plastered on Harry's face as he looked down to see Tracey, Blaise, Astoria, and Daphne all panting on the ground beneath him. This is exhausting, four on one is definitely not easy, He thought to himself as he brushed the sweat from his forehead and looked down at his soaked palm, But I feel myself getting stronger, I just have to keep moving forward. Harry looked down once more as he spoke, "What do you think, can you all keep going?"
Harry watched as Astoria pushed herself off the ground sending him a look of sheer determination, "Don't underestimate me," She growled, "I'm just getting started."
"Well, if bite-size over there is going to keep at it," Tracey started.
"Then we don't have an excuse for quitting either," Blaise finished as he lifted himself off the ground.
Harry smiled as he crouched down beside Daphne, "Need a hand, Princess?"
"Very generous of you Flyboy," Daphne said pushing herself off the ground, "But remember, when we're sparring, I'm not your girlfriend, okay?" Daphne gently cracked her neck, "And you should know better than anyone how much I hate losing. You're going down this time, Potter."
"Bring it, Greengrass," Harry said with a smirk, as the fire that was currently blazing in his girlfriend's eyes made his heart soar with adrenaline, God she looks beautiful when she gets that determined expression.
Harry placed his hand to his chest, taking a deep breath before lowering himself into a fighting stance as he saw his 'opponents' do the same. "Okay," Harry said in a soft and relaxed tone, "Begin."
"Expelliarmus!" Tracey said with a precision that had greatly increased over the past few weeks. Harry spun on his heel barely avoiding the disarming spell, before his eyes caught the faintest glimmer of blue light aimed directly at his legs, Crap! Harry thought to himself, jumping backward as the Reductor Curse fired from Blaise's wand left the tiles he had been previously standing on a smoldering mess.
Harry felt his breath hitch as from behind him, he heard Astoria shout, "I told you not to underestimate me!" As quickly as he could, Harry crossed his arms, protecting his chest from Astoria's surprisingly high kick, as the momentum pushed his heels back against the ground. "Sometimes the last thing a wizard expects is a physical attack, that's what you said, right, Harry?"
"Clever, Short-Stack," Harry said with a smile, "But it's not wise to announce your presence if you're planning on a sneak attack."
"How do you know it wasn't all apart of the plan?" Astoria said with a smirk.
"What pl-" But before Harry could finish, he felt the cool tip of a wand placed directly at his throat.
"Checkmate, Flyboy," Daphne whispered into his ear as she stepped closer towards his back, his shoulder blades feeling Daphne's chest against them, "Looks like we won this time."
"I don't know, Princess," Harry said with a smirk, "I think we're just getting started." Utilizing his unmatched speed and reflexes, Harry quickly kicked his leg back, tripping his girlfriend and breaking her lock on his neck, before, with care, he placed the palm of his hand behind her head making sure she wouldn't hit the ground with a thud. He saw the light of persistence illuminate in Daphne's eyes as she rose up to counter-attack, but before anyone could lift their wands, Harry jumped back as far as he could, lifting his wand as he bellowed, "Lumos Maxima!"
At the sound of his voice, Daphne and the others quickly shielded their eyes from the light as Harry pointed his wand directly at the blinded snakes and Astoria and called out, "Expelliarmus!" He had intended to get Astoria out of the fight first, of the four, she was the most like him, wild and unpredictable, and would serve to much as a nuisance. But, his motion had thrown off his aim, and rather than Astoria's wand returning to him, he had found himself with what looked to be Blaise's wand. Damn, I missed, Harry growled in his mind as he positioned himself once more for combat, I guess it doesn't matter, it's still one down, three to go.
Harry grinned as he watched Astoria run the point, casting hex after hex at him which he batted away with wordless waves of his wand. However, in classic Astoria tradition, she decided to pull his own move against him, lifting her wand and manipulating her motion to look like a disarming charm before to his surprise she cried out, "Lumos!" Quickly, Harry lifted his arm to shield his eyes before he heard Astoria call out, "Daphne! Tracey! Do it now!"
"Stupefy!" He heard the two Slytherin girls call out from his right and left side. Good try, Harry thought to himself as he leaned back watching the sparks of red lights pass right over his torso as if they were moving in slow motion before the groans of both Tracey and Daphne rang out as their now stunned bodies hit the ground, But not good enough.
Harry pulled himself back into a normal stance as he looked at Astoria, who had her fists clenched in unyielding defiance. "Looks like it's just you and me now, Short Stack." Harry had expected a response, but instead, all he had received as a retort from the second year Gryffindor were a flurry of stunners, weakened by the sheer exhaustion of the young girl from the volume of training.
Harry dropped his wand as he lifted both hands determined to attempt some of the wandless magic he'd been practicing for weeks, and with a calm mind, he opened his palms and mimicked the shape of a circle with his hand motions. Protego, He spoke in his mind as the barrage of stunners made contact with his weak but certainly present shield. He smirked as he took in Astoria's bewildered expression before he focused back on what he'd learned from Kreacher.
"Elf's use their fingers like a focus point, much like wizards use their wands. Kreacher channels his magic to his fingertips and casts with a snap." Harry took a deep breath remembering Kreacher's words as he felt the magic rise to his fingertips. His eyes rested steadily upon Astoria's wand hand and with the purest of focus, he thought, Expelliarmus, and then, he snapped.
To both Harry and Astoria's disbelief, Astoria's wand leapt from her hand, and Harry watched as the wand spiraled masterless in the air before landing in his own hand, "I did it," He spoke to himself with a chuckle, "I actually did it." He looked back up at Astoria whose face had shifted from one of befuddlement to a look of anger as she marched up to Harry snatching her wand back from his hand.
"Astoria, you did we-" Harry started, but before he could finish, Astoria turned to face him, the anger in her kaleidoscopic eyes was now replaced with a look of pure wonder as she smiled with glee.
"You have to teach me how to do that!" She said excitedly, "That was sooooo Cool! One second I had my wand, and then you snapped, and then I didn't have my wand! Wandless magic is awesome! You've got to teach me! Please! Pretty Please! Pretty Please with a cherry on top!"
"Alright, alright," Harry said with a playful laugh of his own, "When I get a better handle on wandless magic, you'll be the first person I teach it to, okay Short Stack?"
"Promise?" She said her eyes glistening with excitement.
"Yes, Short Stack, I promise," Harry said with a smile as he turned watching Blaise retrieve his wand from the ground beside Harry and walk over towards Tracey and Daphne. He let an exhausted smile creep to his lips as we watched Blaise revive both girls, both of whom were leaning on and using as a support beam.
"Potter, come get your princess, helping both of them stand isn't the easiest thing in the world to do you know?" Blaise called out to him, and with a smile, Harry raced over to his girlfriend's side, allowing her to lean on him as the walked back to one of the couches and collapsed on them, the entire room completely exhausted.
Harry grinned as he looked at Daphne, her head resting against a throw pillow at the end of the sofa while her legs were draped over his lap. He saw that there was a tinge of embarrassment and anger in her face at what she must have been considering a stupid mistake, but the cold expression warmed slightly as Harry shifted closer towards her, their face now only a few inches apart, "Well, Princess," He said earing the smallest smile from Daphne despite her frustration, "Now that we're not dueling anymore, I don't see a reason to stop myself from doing this."
Before Daphne could say a word, Harry pressed his lips to hers, and a gentle sigh left Daphne's mouth as they broke apart, a ghost of a grin on her face before it morphed back into one of fake anger. "Come on Princess, no need to look at me like that."
"I'm not mad at you," She said as she looked away, "I'm mad at myself. I can't allow myself to make mistakes like that if I get into a real duel. I let my hubris get the better of me, and if I do that in a real battle, there's not going to be anyone to bail me out."
"Hey," Harry said as he lifted his girlfriend into his lap despite her meager protest, "That's why we're practicing right, so we can all get better. Plus, you may not notice it, but you're getting a lot better at dueling than you used to be."
"You don't have to baby me just because I'm your girlfriend. I made a crucial mistake, I can't expect-" Daphne started but Harry cut her off with a gentle squeeze of her hand.
"You said it best, we're a team," Harry said with a smile, "I trust you with my life, Daphne. And as for what you said before, that's not true either," Harry bent down, low enough so just the two of them could hear, "I'll always be there to bail you out." A gentle smile formed on his lips as he locked eyes with Daphne, "I mean, what kind of hero would I be if I failed to protect my princess?"
Harry's grin only widened as he saw Daphne bolt upwards, catching his lips with hers once more. Daphne shook her head as the pulled apart before allowing a musical laugh to break through her normally cold facade, "That was so cheesy," Harry laughed as well before he felt Daphne pull him closer.
"Sorry Princess, Corny Jokes and Cheesy lines are all I've got," Harry said with a grin.
"Then you're pretty lucky, Flyboy, because those are two of my favorite things," Daphne whispered back. And Harry felt his body relax as he and Daphne gently shifted into a position of a gentle cuddle, his chin resting atop her head as he felt his body finally relax, and despite the fact that the first task was quickly approaching, Harry had never felt more at peace.
"You two are so cute it makes me sick," Harry heard Astoria grumble, though the smile she had on her face had shown her true feelings and Harry smiled as he waved Astoria over only to tap her gently on the forehead.
"Get over it, you dork," Harry replied playfully as he watched Astoria rub the contacted point on her forehead before the two of them laughed as well. Yet, the silence returned as the sounds of shuffling footsteps weaving through the Devil's Snare were heard in the distance, and Harry watched in amusement as Michael fumbled into the room desperately trying to keep Tonks' stack of dragon notes together.
"Damn it," Michael said as Harry watched his friend observe the exhausted bodies in the room, "Did I already miss everything?"
"I can probably spar with you a little if you want?" Harry replied gently.
"Where would the fun in that be, Rook?" Michael said teasingly, "You already look dead on your feet."
"I've still got more than enough gas in the tank to beat you, Chipper," Harry quipped back, lifting himself from the couch much to Daphne's dismay as she groaned at the loss of comfort. He walked towards his best friend, quickly exchanging a fist bump before Harry asked, "I know that Hermione and Neville are working on a project for their Magical Theory Class, but what kept you? Run in with Claire?"
"How did you know that?" Michael asked in confusion.
"I didn't," Harry said with a teasing shrug, "I just find your reactions funny. But now that you say you have, I'm kinda interested."
"Don't be," Michael said, "Nothing happened, well at least, not in the way that you're thinking." Harry's felt his spirits sink a bit. While he'd never follow in Tracey's footsteps and play matchmaker, he did wish that Michael would find someone to be interested in to help him recover from the pain that Bones had put him through, and while he didn't know much about Claire, if Michael had walked around with a beautiful witch like that around his arm, he was certain it would help boost his morale at the very least.
"Alright," Harry said shaking the previous thought from his mind, "If it wasn't about making dinner plans, what were you two talking about?"
"She helped me figure out a way you could beat the dragon," Michael said, "It's so simple it's almost genius really?" Harry listened as Michael explained his theory for getting the egg from the dragon, and he had felt another spark of hope fill his chest. Now, Harry thought to himself, At the very least I have a plan to beat two of the four, and once Daphne's potion is done, I'll at least have a counter to the Chimera's poison. My odds of surviving this may not be that bad after all.
"That's a pretty good plan," Tracey called out overhearing the conversation, "Looks like the model's not as much of an airhead as Blaise and I thought." That's for sure, Harry thought to himself, It's a shame she and Michael are always at each other's throats. It almost seems like she thinks in the same way he does.
"Yeah," Michael said with a nod, "Anyways, it looks like I'm only going to have time for a bit of spell practice today before dinner so I better get started."
"I'll join you," Harry said warmly.
"You sure," Michael said with a teasing grin, "I don't want to drag you up to the infirmary after you pass out from exhaustion."
"Shut up, Corner," Harry said with a laugh, "Let's see what you've got."
"Alright," Michael said with a chuckle, "But don't say I didn't warn you, Potter."
(Remus P.O.V)
Remus sat to the right of Sirius as the members of the New Order, except for Dumbledore gathered around the Grimmauld Place table. To Sirius' left, as had been tradition now for nearly five months was Emmeline, Remus had been more concerned with the lady to his left, Narcissa Malfoy. When Narcissa had come with the news of how Lucius had screwed up their plans of retrieving the book, his more feral nature had nearly emerged with how much rage he held toward the Blonde git, but the fear he'd seen in Narcissa's face had helped to keep him in check.
It didn't mean that Remus wasn't still steaming with rage, however, the first an arguably much safer plan had been forcefully removed from the table by the Head of the Malfoy house, and now the Order had found themselves planning their own ambush, an activity where the term stressful was a severe understatement. "Okay," Sirius said with a sigh, "We need to pick a location where no innocent civilians will be hurt, but also a place where all of us being together would not be seen as odd."
The Dining Room had grown silent as each member of the Order had racked their brains thinking of such a location. "I gotta be honest," Tonks said out loud, "I really hate Lucius."
"If only you knew," Narcissa had whispered beneath her breath, but Remus had heard her clearly thanks to his enhanced hearing. She looks so defeated, He thought to himself, Should I say something? Remus quickly pushed down the thought, Why do you care if she's upset? Her husband is the one who got us into this predicament in the first place.
True, the more rational side of Remus' brain countered, Her husband is certainly guilty, but she came here at the risk of her safety to help. She's doing everything she can to repent for her former actions. She's also treated you with nothing but respect from the moment she first arrived.
However, Remus' train of thought was broken as the mellow voice of Ted Tonks cut through the silence, "I have a suggestion, but you're not going to like it."
"Well, it will at least be a start if nothing else," Sirius said with a sigh, "What do you have in mind?"
"We sacrifice another safehouse," Ted said, "We have Narcissa tip-off Lucius about the whereabouts of a Black Family home which we will be 'staying' at and using as our 'base'." Remus turned to face Ted with intrigue, "We'll all be there after Lucius tells V-Voldemort in an attempt to get in his good graces, and without a doubt, Voldemort will send a few of his Death Eaters to investigate the home."
"Then we have to fight for a while, before retreating and allowing them to destroy another possible future safehouse," Remus continued, "His death eaters will report that we were in fact there, and Lucius would return as one of Voldemort's most loyal and we can have our information about Voldemort's movements through Narcissa. That's your plan, right?"
Ted nodded and Sirius growled, "We already had to destroy one safe house after the Quidditch World Cup, I'm not exactly jumping at the opportunity to lose another one. The Black Family may have its fair share of property, but wasting them isn't an ideal strategy." Sirius rubbed his temples from the stress he undoubtedly was feeling, "Still, it doesn't seem like we have much of a choice if we don't want to get innocents involved. I just don't know what information we could feed to Voldemort afterward that will keep his faith in Lucius alive. We can't keep sacrificing safehouses."
"You're right, Sirius," Remus said with a growl of his own, "But as of this second, we need to give Voldemort something, there's no telling just how merciful he'll stay, especially if Narcissa's assumption is correct and Jonathan Greengrass is planning of personally delivering the Lost Soul Compendium to Voldemort."
"Tsk," Sirius hissed in annoyance, "Alright, that's the plan. The property of the least value to us is probably the Black Manor in Cornwall. It's big enough for Voldemort and his followers to believe that we'd use it as a base of operations, and it's isolated enough so that no innocents will be caught in the crossfire. We'll plan the attack for the first of December, I can't allow anything to interfere with us being present at the First Task for Harry, so we can't do it any sooner."
"Okay," Tonks repeated to commit to memory, "December 1st, Black Manor, Cornwall. Got it."
"You won't be there, young lady," Andromeda said sternly, "You'll be at the Ministry whether you have an assignment or not."
"I'm a trained Auror, I can take care of-"
"You are my daughter!" Andromeda said, "And if my sister is really out there, then she's going to be one of the people that Voldemort sends. She'll know that attacking you will stop me from thinking straight and there's a good chance we'll both be killed."
"Dad, please tell mom that she's being crazy," Tonks pleaded.
"I agree with your mother, Nym," Ted said softly, "You mean the entire world to me Nym, it already keeps me up at night that you chose to be an Auror, I won't allow you to fight in this battle, not when She could be one of the Death Eaters there."
Tonks glared angrily at the table, "Sirius please-"
"Sorry kid," He said honestly, "But if your parents say you can't go, I'm not going to overrule them."
"I'm not a child that needs to be protected!" Tonks said enraged, "I joined to fight, not to sit on my hands and do nothing!"
Remus saw the sympathetic look in Sirius' eyes, but much like Sirius, Remus kept his mouth shut understanding it was not either of their decision. If you asked him, despite her clumsy nature, Tonks was nothing but an asset on the battlefield, but the choice was not his to make, even if personally he felt against the decision. Tonks stormed off, her hair a volcanic red and Remus sighed alongside Sirius before he spoke, "Okay, we have our plan, I think we'll call the meeting for now."
The remainder of the table nodded their agreement before Remus stood, heading towards the sink for some water. He had just retrieved a glass from the cupboard before he heard a meek voice call out to him, "Thank you."
He turned to face Narcissa who had stood behind him, her eyes moist from tears that she fought back heavily against, "For what?" Remus replied a bit lost in what exactly the woman was referring to.
"I don't know," Narcissa said in a lost tone, "Everything I suppose; Planning this raid for my family's sake, telling me about your condition, showing me that it is possible for Draco to live a meaningful life even with his lycanthropy, helping me see that not all werewolves have to be like Fenrir. I just wanted to say thank you, for all of that."
Remus swallowed hard noticing the proximity of himself and the youngest Black Sister, her brilliant blue eyes swallowing his dull browns. Even before Remus had learned that Narcissa wasn't as cold as he had first believed, he was forced to admit that during their school days, like most of the Black women, she was rather attractive, a trait her age hadn't damaged in the slightest. Remus broke the immobilizing connection as he turned to face the wall, calming his racing heart as he spoke gently, "Don't worry about it. In a way, you've kind of become like us, we take care of our own."
"Still, you didn't have to tell me anything at all," Narcissa said, her own eyes looking down at the ground now, "Yet you did, you even told me about how adding a bit of Fluxweed into the Wolfsbane potion helps to make the transformation more bearable. Draco had even told me that it was his easiest transformation thanks to your help. Really, I can't thank you enough."
"We're, uh," Remus said struggling for words, "We're comrades now, it's only right that we help each other out after all."
"You should hate me," Narcissa said plainly, "After everything my husband and son have put you through, you shouldn't even be able to look at me, and yet you've been so patient and kind to me. I don't understand why, but it's helped make the visits here less antagonistic, and I'm appreciative of that."
"Dumbledore is a complicated man, and in my opinion, he's wrong quite often," Remus said with a sigh, "But I believe he is correct when he says that forgiveness while hard, is more freeing than hatred. I'll never be able to forgive your husband, or the death eaters, or Voldemort, for what they did to my livelihood, along with Lily and James, but unlike the other people I named, you're trying to do something good, so I suppose I can try to forgive you."
"You truly are a good man, Remus," Narcissa said in almost an admiring tone, "The Order is lucky to have someone like you."
"Perhaps," Remus said with a pause as he felt his eyes caught in Narcissa's blue orbs once more, "Perhaps you aren't as bad as I thought either."
(Daphne P.O.V)
Daphne had felt a distinct feeling of discomfort in the pit of her stomach as she awoke on the 24th of November. It had been weeks since Harry's name had emerged from the Goblet, and part of her mind had tried desperately to convince her it wasn't real. Yet, as she cradled the vial of Chimera Snake antidote in her cardigan's pocket, she knew that the 'game' had become all too real.
While Daphne had felt confident that Harry had a chance at beating the Acromantula and the Dragon, and thanks to the antidote, she knew that Harry's chance of dying to the Chimera were low, she had been present when Tracey and Astoria had shamefully admitted that despite reading the entire notebook shown by the flurry of annotations, they'd yet to figure out a way to defeat a beast that was considered to be more intelligent than men.
Nervously they'd all decided to meet up in the training room and ditch breakfast just to be in each other's company. It wasn't too big of a deal anyway, none of them, especially Harry, were in an eating mood. She had watched as Neville turned to Harry, and being the least comfortable with silence among the group, he asked, "How are you feeling, Harry?"
"Not great," Harry said honestly as he looked at his friends, "I know you guys did everything you could to help, but going out there and having to steal an egg from a Class 5 beast isn't exactly how I primarily want to spend my Saturdays."
"Sorry," Neville said, "It was a dumb question."
"It's okay," Harry said with a sigh, "This whole thing is ridiculous, but I feel a lot more confident than I would have otherwise if it wasn't for all of you."
"Almost all of us," Daphne had heard her sister mutter in defeat, "Tracey and I were completely useless on our assignment."
Tracey too looked away in shame, but just as Daphne had reached for her younger sister's shoulder Harry had smiled, "Hey, you did what you could, and I doubt I could have done any better. Honestly, chances are I'm not even going to have to face the Horned Serpent anyways so it doesn't really matter."
Once more the sound that had at one time brought some peace to Daphne's mind but had now become an almost demonic disruption went off, and with the ring of the Hogwarts Bell, she felt her boyfriend's grip around her hand tighten as he swallowed hard. "Well, I guess that's my cue to leave."
"We're going with you," Michael said firmly.
"Not sure if they're going to let you all in," Harry had replied meekly.
"Honestly," Daphne said gently, "It's cute that you think those ministry officials are going to have a say in the matter."
"She's right," Astoria said firmly, "We're all coming with you, and if those bastards don't like it, well then I dare them to try and remove us by force."
Daphne watched her boyfriend smile down at her little sister as he rested his hand atop Astoria's head, "If only it was you that was chosen as the TriWizard Champion, those beasts wouldn't have a chance." Harry sighed and Daphne felt his eyes lock with her eyes once more, "Well, here goes nothing