Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 146: The Alluring Lady
Harry observed the beautiful olive-skinned woman from a distance as she conversed with some older gentlemen.
She smiled and laughed at whatever the old fellow was telling her while running her fingers along his arm in a very seductive manner.
Then, she leaned forward and whispered something in his ear, and the man responded with something like 'I'll be right back' before walking away with an expression of pure joy.
"Aren't you a bit young to be staring at me so much?" Lady Zabini turned her yellow eyes toward him.
Most boys his age would become embarrassed after being caught staring at a woman and would walk away. But Harry did something different. He didn't move his eyes away from her and walked closer.
Lady Zabini furrowed her eyebrows at his behavior.
"Did the Potters fail to teach you basic manners? You should answer when an adult asks you a question."
Harry stopped a few feet away from her.
Lady Zabini observed his unusual behavior with a hint of curiosity.
She had seen many adult men react like this in her presence. They would become enthralled by her beauty, unable to think clearly. At least, not with their heads on top of their shoulders.
But her abilities had never worked on children this young before, and she was curious about why it seemed to be affecting this one.
In truth, what Harry found interesting about this particular woman was not her physical appearance but her magic.
From the first time he saw her, Harry could feel something trying to invade his mind. She was emanating something akin to a passive compulsion similar to the Veela allure but also different.
This, by itself, was intriguing, but more importantly, he sensed that something else was mixed with her magic. Something that he was both familiar with and wary of.
Harry was not the sensory type, so it took him a while to figure out what it was.
But now, being very close to this woman, he finally solved the mystery.
"Are you just going to stare at me all night without saying anything? You're not going to charm many ladies like that," Lady Zabini said playfully.
"I see… you must be a half-blood then," Harry deduced.
"Excuse me?" The amusement vanished from her voice.
"I am very much a pure-blood."
"I wasn't talking about that nonsense. I was referring to your human blood… You aren't completely human, are you?"
"What did you say?" She now looked angry.
Throughout her life, she had heard many rumors about herself. Like she was a master of mind arts and used that to brainwash men. Or that she used potions, or that she was a demoness and used her unnatural allure to seduce people and steal their souls.
"I don't know what rumors you've heard about me, but none of it is true."
She was tired of all the talking behind her back. She had always been good at attracting people, especially men.
After becoming an adult, she started to use her natural skills to elevate her family's poor status.
Thanks to all the money she had acquired from her marriages to old men, the Zabinis were one of the richest families in Britain.
Harry raised an eyebrow at her response.
'That sounded honest…'
"Wait, so you don't know what you are? It must have happened many generations ago, then…"
"Is this some new prank? Because it's not funny. And I don't have time for this, so-"
"I'm back!" the old Lord from before emerged onto the balcony carrying a couple of drinks.
He then noticed Harry.
"What is this boy doing here?"
"He is one of my son's classmates, and he was about to leave, isn't that right?" She said to Harry in a harsh tone.
"Yes, I better go back inside." His curiosity had been satisfied, and he had no business with her.
He had briefly considered killing her because of her demon blood. But it seemed that whatever pact her ancestors made with a demon happened so long ago that her demon blood was extremely diluted, and she was not even aware of this fact or that she was passively using a demonic lure to seduce men.
If he had to guess, a distant ancestor of hers had managed to procreate with either a succubus or an incubus, and this was the result.
Now that he knew this, she held no more interest for him. As long as she didn't provoke him, he had no reason to end her life.
When Harry returned inside, he saw a few people at his table. The duo of Crabbe and Goyle were still there, eating sweets.
They had not moved from there the entire time and barely said anything.
Daphne was also there, sitting next to Bulstrode, and there was also an older boy standing next to them.
Daphne didn't seem happy at all while speaking with this boy. They seemed to be arguing about something.
Harry approached the table to see what all the fuss was about.
He now recognized the boy. He was one of the Slytherin beaters, but he forgot his name.
"Come on, Greengrass… it's just one dance. It'll be fun, I promise," the boy leaned closer.
"I told you my feet are hurting. I don't feel like dancing with anyone now." Daphne had long lost her calm persona. It was the third time she rejected him, but he would not go away.
The boy then smiled and leaned closer, putting a hand on Daphne's shoulder.
"Come on, just one d-arggg!"
The boy yelped in pain when he felt someone grabbing his arm and moving him away from Daphne.
"I believe the Lady said no, very clearly. You should take the hint and move on."
"L-let me go." The older boy glared at the person who grabbed his arm with such force that he could almost hear his bones crack.
"Potter?!" He thought it was Warrington at first since he was the one aiming the most for Greengrass. But he was shocked when he saw the second-year Gryffindor instead.
"Release me!"
Harry let him go.
"It's best if you leave now," he said calmly.
The senior became enraged at being humiliated like this by a junior.
He reached for his wand, aiming it at Harry's face.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Daphne yelled.
This drew the attention of most of the room.
The boy snapped out of it and realized what he was doing.
If he cast a spell here, he would be forever banned from most events… at the very least.
"What is this?" Lord Greengrass approached, accompanied by other Lords.
"Boy, have you lost your mind?" Lady Parkinson exclaimed.
"Put that wand away!"
"Harry!" Pansy came running.
The senior quickly stored his wand back into his robes.
"It's not what it looks like!... We were just kidding around, and I wanted to show him my wand."
He said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Tsk!" Marcus Flint frowned.
"That idiot," he huffed.
He and Adrian were planning a way to provoke Potter into a duel but in the end, it was one of them who was provoked into doing something dumb.
"Now we won't be able to…" Adrian Pucey started.
"I know!" Marcus spat.
"Julian, I want you to accompany Mister Derrick to the fireplace and open the floo network for him. He is leaving." Lord Parkinson said it with a tone of authority that left no room to argue.
"Certainly." The butter nodded.
Peregrine Derrick knew he had made a huge mistake tonight. But his anger was all directed towards one person.
'Potter, you are going to pay for this!' he promised himself.
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