"That wouldn't matter. The name is the important thing. Now, as I was saying before you distracted me, for the next few hundred years the Greengrasses built up a reputation of being a relatively dark family. Sometimes allying with dark lords, mostly staying neutral, and in a few rare cases opposing them."
"You make it sound like there is always a dark lord around."
"That isn't far from the truth, actually. Normally a minor dark lord will rise up every twenty years or so and stick around for a couple of years before finally being defeated. Major dark lords are rarer, they usually only come about once every 200 years but when they do they could stay in control for decades. This century has been an exception to the rule with two major dark lords coming to power."
"Grindelwald and then Voldemort." Harry answered.
"Exactly. On the bright side they managed to kill off any competing minor dark lords, but does not help everyone else out much. The Greengrasses are considered a dark family, although not nearly as dark as the Malfoy's or the Nott's or the Black's."
"My godfather's family?" Harry asked, and then after thinking about it began to nod.
"Yes. Don't forget that his brother was a Death Eater, so was his cousin Bellatrix, and his other cousin might as well be after ending up married to a Malfoy."
"I'll have to remember to ask Sirius what he thinks about that." Harry said with a laugh.
"Opinions on my family changed a little bit fifty years ago when my grandfather, Darius Greengrass, joined the fight against Grindelwald." Daphne said, trying to get back on topic.
"Why?"
"That war was different than the one against You-Know-Who, even if some of their propaganda is similar. It might surprise you to find out how many of the darker families fought against Grindelwald, and how many others stayed neutral. The reason is that a lot of the families saw Grindelwald as a foreigner looking to impose his will on wizarding Britain and they didn't like that, especially since his plans would cost them wealth and political power. The difference in the last two wars is like the difference between a nation being attacked by another nation and one fighting itself in a civil war. So, thinking it was in the family's best interest, he joined the war against Grindelwald. Apparently, this is when he started to really not like Dumbledore."
"But Dumbledore is the one who defeated Grindelwald, why wouldn't your grandfather like him if they were on the same side?"
"Because Dumbledore just wanted to defend and never wanted to attack. He sat back and did nothing as Grindelwald's forces killed almost fifty percent of the witches and wizards in Moscow, including some of my grandfather's friends. The history books say that Dumbledore was doing all he could, but apparently that was something my grandfather could never accept. By the time Dumbledore finally was willing to face and defeat Grindelwald most of the wizarding communities in Europe had been destroyed along with the muggle cities. A lot of the other families felt the way my grandfather did once the war was over."
"It is a shame they don't teach this in History, I would actually stay awake for that." Harry said, still very interested in where her story was headed.
"Maybe if we could get a living teacher that would be possible." Daphne complained, referring to the ghost that taught their Wizarding History class. "Back to the story… After the war grandfather went home and things started to go back to normal. Wizarding Britain had not been damaged as much as their continental counterparts, and so while other societies rebuilt ours began to thrive. The Greengrasses, along with many other families, prospered in terms of status and wealth. It wasn't until the late 1960's that rumbings about a new and powerful dark lord began. When You-Know-Who eventually declared his presence in the early 1970's my grandfather decided to keep the family neutral. Besides being the family's traditional stance, he was reluctant to ever join forces with Dumbledore again. Slowly, the Dark Lord's power was growing and by the late 1970's many people were beginning to think that he could not be stopped. More than once our family was approached by Death Eaters who wanted the Greengrasses to pledge their loyalty to You-Know-Who, but my grandfather was stubborn and told them no every time. He was also approached by Dumbledore who wished for his assistance, but he was also told no."
"It sounds like your family should be called gray, not dark."
"Perhaps so, but we aren't done yet. My grandfather had two children, both sons. The oldest, my father, is Daniel Greengrass. As oldest he was expected to take charge of the family when grandfather died. His younger brother, Gabriel, wasn't very happy about that and they never really got along with each other. When the Dark Lord started winning my uncle begged grandfather to pledge the family to You-Know-Who, saying that the family would be better off if they did. Still though, the family stayed neutral. Then in 1978 my grandfather unexpectedly became very ill. The healers were never able to determine what was wrong with him, and after a few months he was dead. I wasn't born yet, so I never even had the chance to meet him."
"I'm sorry. I guess I know how you feel, I didn't get to know my grandparents either." Harry said, trying to comfort her.
"Thanks. A few days after my grandfather's death my uncle showed up at my father's home. He had joined the Dark Lord and taken the Dark Mark, and he urged my father to do the same for the 'good of the family'. My father, wanting to respect the wishes of his father, said no and made it clear that the family was staying neutral. Uncle Gabriel didn't like that, but decided not to challenge his decision. Every few months my Death Eater uncle would come home, ask my family if they were ready to join the Dark Lord, get told no, and leave. We never knew what exactly Uncle Gabriel was doing for You-Know-Who, and my father didn't really want to ask. Things stayed that way until October of 1981 when you somehow managed to survive the killing curse and the Dark Lord was defeated." Daphne stopped to catch her breath for a second and think of how to continue the story.
"What happened to your uncle?"
"A few days later he led a group of Death Eaters into the Ministry trying to get information on what happened to the Dark Lord and if he was still alive. The raid was not successful and of the five Death Eaters that came only my uncle survived the Auror's counter attack. He was then questioned, tried, and taken to Azkaban where he still lives to this day. My father went to see him a couple of times right after the trial, but Uncle Gabriel was bitter and angry and spent the visits blaming my father for not supporting the Dark Lord. So father stopped visiting. He hasn't been back in nine years."
"Wow, that is one hell of a story. But I still don't understand what it has to do with me asking you to the Yule Ball."
"I know, I'm getting there. One more thing about my uncle, want to guess who the Auror who captured him was?"
"It was Professor Moody wasn't it?"
"Yes it was. It's strange, when I first went to his class I expected him to treat me differently because of what happened. So far he has been nice to me, but he does seem to dislike some of the other Slytherins like Malfoy."
"Maybe he just doesn't blame you for your uncles actions, it wouldn't make sense to." Harry suggested.
"I guess so. Anyhow, after my uncle's arrest everyone just assumed that the Greengrass family had secretly supported You-Know-Who during the war. Even though it wasn't true my family was once again considered a dark family. Everything I've said so far has been what I have learned from my father over the years. My father always treated it like it was just interesting family history, but that changed a few months ago." she added.
"What happened?"
....
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