Eventually the holiday came to an end and classes were set to return. The first morning back Harry accidentally overslept, his body clearly not used to waking up early in the morning for classes. Seeing that he could only make it to his first class on time if he skipped breakfast, Harry groaned in disappointment and began the walk towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The room was already halfway full when he arrived and Professor Moody was writing notes on the chalkboard. Strangely, he noticed several people watching him as if they were waiting to see what he was going to do. Trying to ignore the stares, Harry sat down at his usual spot and waited for class to begin.
"Harry!" he heard Hermione yell as she walked in the door. She rushed over and sat next to him with a worried expression on her face. "I've been looking for you all morning, were you with Daphne? How is she?"
"Hermione, what are you talking about? No, I haven't seen Daphne. She's not here yet, but class hasn't started so she's probably on her way."
"Then you haven't seen it yet, have you?" Hermione asked, a small shocked expression on her face.
"Seen what?" Harry asked, getting a little frustrated.
"Harry, there's a new article by Rita Skeeter in today's Daily Prophet. She went after Daphne this time and said… well, I think it would be better if you read it. That awful woman." Hermione reluctantly handed him a copy of the Daily Prophet turned to the second page, where the article in question was found:
DAPHNE GREENGRASS'S DEADLY THIRST FOR POWER
by Rita Skeeter
Harry Potter may be in even more danger than we thought. Since last weeks article this office has been flooded with letters to the editor demanding that the Ministry of Magic take action to either turn the Boy-Who-Lived back to the light or free him from the nefarious influence of Daphne Greengrass. Several students at Hogwarts have expressed their shock at the unexpected couple and confirmed that the only way the two could have come together is through the use of banned potions or spells. We at the Daily Prophet whole heartedly agree.
The question that must be asked is why? Why has Ms Greengrass taken such blatant action against Mr Potter. Does she and her family plan on using our young hero in some dark and evil ritual? Is it simply a case of a girl's obsession with that which she can not have? Or is it Daphne Greengrass's next step on her long and deadly path towards personal power? I have personally uncovered evidence that this may not be the first time the aspiring Dark Lady has committed unthinkable acts for her own gain.
It is well known that Daphne Greengrass is not only the heiress to her family's fortune but the future head of the Greengrass family. What you may not know is this has not always been the case. The Greengrass line, like many noble pureblood lines, typically passes to the oldest son or if there is no son to the oldest daughter. For the first few years of her life young Daphne was set to inherit everything, but that changed with the birth of her younger brother David Greengrass. One can only imagine the jealousy that must have taken root in the young girl's heart. Tragedy for the Greengrass family struck when young David died in what was at the time deemed an accident when he was only 3 years old.
But, and it truly pains me to have to ask such a question, was it really an accident? Or did a young girl in a fit of jealousy murder her younger brother in order to take back what she believed was rightfully hers? If so, what does that mean for the Boy-Who-Lived? One thing is painfully clear: Harry Potter needs help.
Harry slowly set the paper down. His hands were shaking in anger at the paper and Rita Skeeter, but he also felt incredible sadness for Daphne and her family. In the time it had taken Harry to read the article class had begun. "I never even knew she had a little brother," Harry whispered to Hermione who was seated next to him, "she never brought it up."
"It's probably a very painful memory for her, Harry. I'm not surprised." Hermione answered quietly. Harry nodded and began looking around the class, looking for Daphne but she was not there. With class already started, Harry was trapped. He desperately wanted to go look for her and try and comfort her but knew he would have to wait for class to end. He would probably miss the next one, but he did not really care.
No class had ever passed so slowly for Harry. He found it impossible to listen to Professor Moody talk and when they were assigned a part of the book to read he simply stared at the page for fifteen minutes not reading at all. Harry's initial rage at the article had been overcome by his worry for Daphne. They had known that there would be consequences to their date and ongoing relationship, but he had never expected for her to be attacked in this way. Suddenly, with only five minutes left in the class, an idea struck him. There was something useful he could be doing! Reaching into his bag he pulled out the Marauder's Map and quietly said the phrase to activate it.
....
Join my P*atreon to enjoy 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/ScarletRosee (Remove the *)
Free members can get 2+ advanced chapters FOR FREE.