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The Feathered Serpent: Chapter 4
🕑 Added 2022-12-14 17:30:01 +0000 UTCA pair of vibrant emerald eyes slowly opened at the crack of dawn. His eyes eventually adjusted to the dim light of his bedroom, and Harry looked down with a small smile on his face.
Daphne had scooted close to him at night, burying her face in his chest. Her beautiful face was tilted upwards, and her eyes closed as she breathed softly. Harry stared at her visage, captivating him in ways nothing had ever before. He didn’t know when it had happened, maybe all the way back when they had first met, but he had fallen so hard for her.
Tender eyes took in her every feature – her light eyelashes that were congregated together as she slept peacefully, her small nose that flared a bit every so often, and her lovely, kissable lips that evoked a different kind of hunger in him.
Harry raised his hand up and softly stroked her cheek, smiling softly when she leaned into his touch. This woman was something else.
Last night was probably the weakest he had ever been in his life. The meeting with Dumbledore had come with some serious revelations – some very welcome, while some, not so much. To think that the man his father had called his brother in all but blood was the one responsible for him becoming an orphan was unthinkable.
War brought out the worst in people, and perhaps his parents had seen an example of that first-hand. After all, what could be worse than having the person you trusted the most betray you in such a manner?
He had been stupefied at first when Dumbledore had revealed the truth to him, a part of him doing a double take to make sure he had not heard those words wrongly. But apparently, that was not the case. His parents had put their faith in the wrong person, a man who had acted as their best friend for close to a decade, before burying the proverbial knife into their backs without any remorse. Harry seethed.
Daphne must have sensed something wrong with him, as her eyes fluttered open. Blinking slowly, she stared in front of her as Harry looked down. She seemed to take a few seconds to reconcile what had transpired the night before, and a small smile appeared on her face.
“Hey,” she whispered. Harry squeezed her softly in response before carefully sitting upright. Daphne frowned.
“You okay?” She asked from the bed as she saw him get up and twist his neck. A couple of pops sounded as Harry sighed and looked down at her frowning face with a smile.
“Never better. Come on, let’s get going.”
Daphne sighed and laid back, staring at the ceiling. It took Harry all he had to ignore her silky legs that were exposed now that the blanket had fallen off her and her nightdress had ridden up slightly. He couldn’t help but take a few discreet glances before forcing himself to look away.
‘Fuck my teenage hormones,’ he cursed internally as he walked away to the bathroom.
“Harry?” He heard Daphne call, and he popped his head out of the door, toothbrush sticking out of his mouth as he looked at her. Daphne smiled.
“I’ll see you in an hour?”
Harry nodded and quickly got inside the bathroom once again, not wanting to come off as some creep. Daphne chuckled to herself and wrapped her nightgown tightly around her body before climbing out of Harry’s bed. She looked behind her at the bed with a small smile before discreetly walking out of the room.
Inside the bathroom, a whirlwind of emotions was raging inside Harry’s mind. The thoughts regarding Sirius Black aside, he was thinking about the young woman who had so quickly become such an integral part of his life. He had only ever cared for three people – his aunt, his uncle, and Calum the brat. However, now he found himself caring so much for this woman who had been an unknown entity to him only a few weeks ago.
Despite having resolved never to ponder upon it, his mind wandered to what Ollivander had said back when they had been over to buy their wands. To share the core of the same creature, in a manner so intimate, must mean something, right? After all, even Ollivander had predicted so.
He shook his head. There was honestly no use in thinking about premonitions. Nothing was set in stone. Even if Hogwarts taught the art of Divination, he doubted something like a preordained happenstance really had a place in the world of the living. It all sounded good in fantasy and tales, not in reality. If something was supposed to happen between the two of them, it would be and only be a consequence of their feelings and their actions, not because of some omen.
Resolving to stay by his words to Daphne and not thinking about it anymore, Harry devoted himself to his morning rituals. His daily workout was done, and he got ready for the day right in time for when he would be joining Daphne for breakfast.
He smiled when he walked out of his room and saw Daphne waiting for him right outside. She smiled back and they fell into steps effortlessly.
“Tracey?” Harry asked after the brunette, and Daphne chuckled.
“She’s not a morning person at all. I assume we would be done with breakfast before she would even wake up.”
Harry nodded. Their walk to the Great Hall was spent in companionable silence, only interrupted once they reached their destination. A loud thump attracted the attention of every person in the vicinity, and all of them turned as one to look at the source, sitting right at the Gryffindor Table.
“That’s the girl from yesterday, right? The one who was late along with Weasley?” Harry asked as he and Daphne took their seats at the Ravenclaw table. Daphne nodded.
“Granger, if I remember correctly. She seemed pretty cross with Weasley.”
“What do you think she’s reading?” Harry asked, his eyes taking in the stack of books the brunette had dropped on the table.
Daphne shrugged. Nothing was said anymore as they started on their breakfast, occasionally glancing around the hall, looking at nothing in particular. Their eyes met a few times, small smiles were exchanged before they saw the teachers come in one by one for their meal.
“I wonder how his class would be,” Harry muttered, looking at the dour-faced man sitting at the head table, clad entirely in black. His nose was slightly crooked, and his eyes seemed to be glaring at the food as if it had done something to offend him.
“Professor Snape,” Daphne grimaced.
“Bad news, I take it?” Harry asked.
“You have no idea. The man hates anyone who is not from his house. They say he used to rig the points system so much that students of other houses once gave up on earning them. They thought there was no use in working to earn points since Professor Snape would award unfair points to his house and Slytherin would win anyway.”
Harry chuckled. “I don’t think McGonagall would’ve liked it.”
Daphne grinned in response. “You bet she didn’t. There are only rumours, but apparently she strode in the dungeons one day when the classes were over and gave him the most brutal tongue-lashing of his lifetime. It’s only a rumour, so I don’t know how much truth there is to it, but he toned it down on the points sometime after that. Now, it’s only favouritism.”
Harry nodded. “I suppose I’ll have to tread lightly in his class.”
“What do you mean?”
Harry smiled sheepishly. “All I’ll say is that my Dad and he didn’t like each other, at all. My Mum was his childhood friend, but they fell apart after some years and never talked again.”
Daphne’s eyes widened. “Merlin, that’s some beef right there.”
“You tell me,” Harry muttered, wincing when the older wizard looked at him. The chilling stare would’ve frozen anyone, and Harry turned around quickly.
“Yeah, when do we have his class?”
Daphne smiled sweetly.
XXXXX
“Your social skills leave a lot to be desired, Finnegan. Go and sit with Goyle at the back of the room,” Snape drawled as a large group of students remained standing near the door, awaiting the seat allotment that Snape always preferred to have.
Harry winced as he saw who Finnegan was joining. The bodyguard gorilla was someone he wouldn’t wish upon anyone, much less in a class as risky as Potions.
“Potter!”
Harry looked straight at the man, who was looking at him with utter disdain. It felt as if he was a dropping of turd on the street with the way the man was acting.
“Take the first seat right in front of the main cauldron beside Granger.”
Harry sighed softly and nodded at Daphne, who gave him a small smile. At least they would be sitting close by since she had also been assigned the seat in the front row right beside his. Luckily, her partner was none other than Tracey.
He walked over to take his seat, looking at the brunette who was supposed to be his partner during their revisionary period of Potions until Halloween, after which, they would be starting the advanced curriculum. He watched on with a bemused expression as she didn’t pay him any mind, keeping herself occupied with her journals. He noted that these were the standard ones provided to muggleborns.
“Hello,” he intoned. The girl glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, took one look at his scar, and widened her eyes.
“Hi,” she squeaked, shutting the journal and putting it to the side. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you.”
Harry smiled.
“It’s no issue. I’m Harry, nice to meet you.”
“Hermione,” she replied, shaking his hand.
“Hermione? Your parents like Shakespeare?”
The girl’s eyes widened. “You know Shakespeare?”
“Uh, yeah, I mean, why won’t I? He’s pretty famous, afterall.”
Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment as she muttered, “I didn’t know they followed muggle literature in the Wizarding World as well.”
Harry chuckled, earning a confused look, and replied, “You’ve got it wrong there. I know about him because I’m muggle-raised. I doubt any of these lot would’ve ever heard of him.”
Hermione looked surprised. However, before she could speak, a loud crack sounded as the door abruptly shut and a singular light lit up the dungeon, casting the dingy old room in scattered lights. Harry reckoned the view was a perfect demonstration of what the Tyndall phenomenon looked like.
“You should know not to expect any significant inputs from me during the first two months of our endeavour here in this art. It is least expected of a Hogwarts student to prepare for the advanced curriculum that we strive to maintain, and that includes reading through the journals provided. I must specify that I would be most displeased if someone has failed to do the bare minimum and showed up here as a mere dunderhead. The consequences might be quite… severe.”
There was a pin-drop silence in the classroom, and despite his reservations, Harry had to admit that this man had some style. He knew how to keep an audience captive.
“Potter!” The man shouted suddenly, his eyes boring into his forehead, “Let us see if you have done your due diligence or if that unearned fame has gone to your head. When making a cure of boils, which ingredient is the most volatile and why?”
Harry might not have done the brewing, but his mother was a prodigy in the subject, and she had diligently written every possible aspect of potion making there could have been. The answer came to him in an instant.
“Porcupine Quills, when added before taking the cauldron off the heat, can result in a melted cauldron. In many cases, particularly when the heat has been slightly over the par, a blast is also possible.”
Snape gave him a penetrating look and Harry swore something flashed in his eyes. However, it was gone in an instant.
“What colour is Felix Felicis?”
Harry frowned slightly. Liquid Luck was a potion that was not a part of Hogwarts’ brewing curriculum, and it was discussed only in their NEWTs. For Snape to ask him this question was low. He glanced at Daphne, who was also frowning.
“It’s golden,” he replied with the same frown. Snape seemed to be disappointed for a moment before he turned around and waved his wand towards the board.
“This is the list of potions you have to complete brewing within these two months. I do not care what order you do it, I want those fifteen vials of completed potions on Halloween right on your desk. Students failing to obtain a passing grade will be removed from this class until they read again and pass. You have been warned.”
Everyone stared at the professor in silence. That was some ultimatum.
“What are you staring at? Get to work!” Snape barked, before turning around and taking his seat, gazing at them all like a hawk.
Harry could easily recognise all the potions listed on the board and started to work. Hermione worked beside him in silence, and he observed her from time to time. He was impressed, to be honest. The girl was a bright one, and followed every step judiciously, oftentimes even surpassing him in the steps.
He put the potion on a simmer and looked around. Snape had taken to wandering around the classroom, often berating some poor soul who had the misfortune of earning his ire, and even vanishing Finnegan’s potion after the Irish blew up his cauldron.
“Fifteen points from Gryffindor, Finnegan!” Snape hissed, “Couldn’t pay attention to preliminary questions, could you? You never add Porcupine Quills before taking the potion off the heat! Report for detention tomorrow evening at 6 sharp to Filch. Now go!”
Harry exchanged a look with Daphne, who blew some air out of her mouth and raised an exasperated eyebrow. Her potion seemed to be finished as well, and they put the potions in their respective vials before submitting them. Snape came forward and collected the vials from everyone who was done, his eyes lingering on Harry for a moment too long before he looked away.
Harry looked at Daphne and gestured towards the door. Only ten minutes were left for the class anyway. Daphne looked towards Snape who walked in front of the class.
“Those who are done with their potions,” he stared at Harry as he said so, “are to start working on another one until the class ends.”
Harry sighed.
XXXXX
“That was much more productive than I thought,” Daphne remarked as they walked towards the Great Hall for lunch. Their morning had started with Transfiguration before they had their Potions class, which carried mixed opinions among the student body. Some liked the silence the class had offered, like Hermione and most of the Slytherins, while some outright hated it. Finnegan and Weasley were the primary voices of complaints, which came as no surprise to him given the way Snape had treated them, not that they had helped matters any.
Harry was still pondering upon the class when a loud commotion greeted him and Daphne. They looked to the side and saw Malfoy and Weasley having an altercation.
“Ready to get your ass handed to you, wastebin? Don’t worry, I won’t make much of a mess. Your mother has to work too much in that dumpster you call a house anyway,” Malfoy smirked, his gorilla bodyguards flanking him on either side.
Weasley was accompanied by Finnegan and another tall bloke, who seemed to be holding the two back with either arm, albeit in a losing effort as the pair shrugged him off and stalked off to meet Malfoy head-on.
“You’ve got a loud mouth, Malfoy. Who do you get it from? I reckon it’s your mum. She was screaming pretty loud last night, wasn’t she, Seamus?”
A grin tugged at the corner of Harry’s mouth as he listened to Weasley’s brilliant retort, giving him more credit than he had previously thought the ginger deserved.
“That was a good one,” he whispered to Daphne, who looked at him with a disapproving stare.
“Let’s go, we have Herbology right after lunch,” she muttered, before grabbing his arm and dragging him to lunch. Harry could only tilt his head to the side and watch as Malfoy turned scarlet and pulled his wand. Weasley pulled his own in return. However, the matter was stopped from escalating further when Filch rounded the corner and his eyes fell on the pair. A sick gleeful expression in his old eyes was the last thing Harry saw as Daphne pulled him inside the hall.
XXXXX
“Did you hear it?” Tracey whispered excitedly as they worked on their herbs. The task was to cut them properly for some condiment that was to be served at dinner. Every student from their year was doing the job meticulously, or almost everyone, Harry thought, as he glanced at Weasley and Malfoy, assigned to the same table. The way they were shredding the herbs…
Harry was glad he was not a Gryffindor or a Slytherin.
“Hear what?” Daphne asked, not looking up from her work.
Tracey grinned and leaned in to whisper, “Remember that duel between Malfoy and Weasley? Well, it will take place as the first duel today in the Duelling Chamber on the sixth floor. It’s open to everyone. Wanna go?”
“Why not?” Harry shrugged, “It’s not as if we have anything urgent to do, right?”
Daphne nodded, “I don’t know much about Weasley, but I hope he takes Malfoy down a peg.”
Beside her, Harry smirked. Daphne’s eyes widened slightly as he leaned over and softly whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry. I’m sure that can be arranged.”
With a satisfied smirk, Harry leaned back and started back on his herbs, unaware of the mischievous grin Tracey sent towards Daphne, who was standing still with a steaming face.
XXXXX
A large crowd had gathered inside the Duelling Chamber of Hogwarts. Large galleries had been erected, and the chamber had been magically expanded to accommodate the entire audience. It was like a colosseum – a raised dais in the centre, marked with various signs which the spectators recognized as official segments on a duelling platform – and the fighting arena was surrounded with stands on either side, leaving the north and south end of the platform empty. Students and staff alike entered from the south, taking their places in the stands as everyone awaited the first two duellists of the year.
A number of duels were about to take place this evening, as was customary for the second years and above. Students interested in the sport registered themselves, and duels took place every other evening bar weekends. There was a proper structure to it – with ranks allotted to students who accumulated the requisite number of points.
Students were unranked when they registered, and with the wins that they continued to accumulate, they climbed ranks from Baron/Baroness to Viscount/Viscountess, followed by Earl/Countess, Marquis/Marchioness, and Duke/Duchess in that order. The highest ranks offered were of a Grand Duke or Grand Duchess, occupied by students in their NEWTs.
Daphne stared at the gathering with a degree of excitement. She had been to a few duelling events in the past and had even witnessed her father participating in one a few years ago. It was an enthralling experience, and she had resolved to register herself with the club once the registrations started for the first years. For now, she had to sit tight and watch.
As she walked up the stands to take a seat with Tracey, she wondered where Harry was. When they were finally done with their Herbology class, Harry had begged off, telling them to save him a seat near the front in the Duelling Chamber. She had no clue what he was up to.
“There he is,” Tracey remarked with a smile as they sat down, and Daphne looked over at where she was pointing. She saw Harry talking with Professor Flitwick, who seemed to eagerly answer whatever Harry had asked. She saw Harry smile at the diminutive professor before he turned to walk in their direction.
“Where did you go?” She asked once he had taken his seat beside her, and she felt Tracey lean over to look at him. Harry smirked.
“Just had something to take care of. Don’t worry, it’s nothing to think about.”
Daphne was not convinced, but she relented, brushing the front of her royal blue blazer and smoothing the velvety fabric. The chamber was almost full, and it seemed the entirety of Hogwarts had decided to attend the first duels of the year. She saw the professors sitting on the tables right in front of where the stands started, with Dumbledore’s seat in the middle staying vacant.
“Seems the headmaster is not in attendance,” Harry remarked, and Daphne nodded. That was the moment when the first duellists entered from the opposite ends, fierce glares on their faces as they stood on either side of the Duelling Master of Hogwarts.
“Welcome students and faculties to the first meeting of the Hogwarts Duelling Club. A few announcements should be out of the way before we begin. Registrations for the second through final-year students will open tomorrow morning. Any student interested can procure the form from me after classes tomorrow and is required to submit it the next day. For the first years, registrations will open on the first of November when the revisionary classes are over and you transition into advanced lessons. The same requirement shall stand for registration.
“Now, without any further delay, let us start with the proceedings for the evening. The first duel will take place between Mr Ronald Weasley of Gryffindor and Mr Draco Malfoy of Slytherin. Since the two young men are not registered yet, the result of this duel shall not count and thus, no rankings will be granted. Take your spots and bow to your opponents, before turning around and walking eleven paces and take position to start.”
The pair glared at each other, none bowing before both turned abruptly and walked away. Once in place, they turned as one and raised their wands against each other, eagerly waiting for permission to launch into action.
“Standard warnings apply. Begin!”
The moment Flitwick shouted, a bang was released and the duel began in earnest… or what one could call it.
“Uh, what are they doing?” Tracey asked in confusion as they looked down. The sentiment seemed common with every spectator, and they could see the teachers looking on with exasperation. Snape and McGonagall in particular seemed to facepalm.
“They do know they have to hit each other, right?” Daphne asked with a chuckle as another spell from Malfoy missed Weasley by a long shot and hit the barrier erected around the platform.
Harry chuckled.
“You can tell they have not cast these spells as much as they should have,” he remarked, as another jinx missed its target and hit the barrier. “I wonder if Flitwick will let this farce continue. For all their trash talk and loud mouths, the end result leaves a lot to be desired.”
‘And to think I wasted time on that jinx when I didn’t even need to do anything to embarrass that moron.’
Harry sighed, and Daphne looked askance at him.
“Just watch. The results of my needless efforts.”
Daphne gave him a confused stare and looked on. Her eyes focused on Malfoy, and she noticed something off.
“Here it comes,” Harry muttered, and the two women with him looked on in confusion.
“FRRRAAAAAAPPPPPPPP!”
Everything came to a standstill. Eyes wide open in shock, all students and teachers looked at the source of the sound.
“BRRRAAAAAAPPPPPPPP!”
His wand clattered to the floor of the duelling platform, his eyes wide in disbelief as he looked down. Another sound ripped the silence apart, and this time, the silence didn’t prevail.
Loud whistles, mutterings and laughter echoed throughout the Duelling Chamber as Malfoy let another one rip. Nobody could contain their laughter, and Harry sat back with a satisfied smirk on his face.
‘Not that much of a waste, it seems. That’s the least you deserve for harassing Daphne, you slimeball.’
He turned to look at the laughing visage of Daphne Greengrass, who turned to look at him with her eyes shining with mirth.
“That was your doing, right? That’s what you were arranging right after our Herbology lesson.”
Harry chuckled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied.
“Uh-huh. Sure,” Daphne grinned. “That was awesome, by the way. The least that git deserves after all he’s put me through.”
Harry looked over Daphne’s head at Tracey who was looking at him with wide eyes before she beamed widely.
“Holy shit!” She squealed, as Harry chuckled. “You are my hero from now, Potter!”
On the duelling platform, Malfoy ran off towards the back of the chamber where the duellists got ready, unable to face any more humiliation. Ron Weasley didn’t even register Flitwick’s proclamation of him being the winner as he stared at the vacant spot of his opponent, a disbelieving smile on his face.
All throughout the chamber, students laughed at the git who had pissed off almost all of them with his attitude in such a short span. A number of them felt giddy at the thought of the son of Lucius Malfoy making a fool out of himself in front of the entire school.
“Pathetic. And to think we were going to invite the son of Lucius Malfoy to the Hierarchy,” a female voice muttered softly. Her companion, a wizard clad in the green blazer of Slytherin, scoffed.
“That was indeed an oversight, Olivia. But there is something else at work here.”
At her questioning look, he replied, “This was an attack on the idiot.”
The woman gave him a dubious look, and the wizard sighed.
“Don’t tell me you think this was natural. No, I refuse to believe it was. Someone deliberately targeted Malfoy in front of the entire school with a humiliating prank such as this. This person used the presence of the entire school to the fullest – humiliating Malfoy like this in front of such an audience will make sure no one will take him seriously now unless that boy does something significant. In one move, this person has destroyed Malfoy’s reputation.”
Olivia Rosier’s eyes went slightly wide.
“Who do you think it could be, Cassius?”
Cassius Warrington shrugged. “I do not have any clue, to be honest. That loudmouth has already pissed off a lot of students. Any of them might have done it. Can’t say I feel sorry for him. As you know, our families have never seen eye to eye.”
Olivia nodded. It was true, after all. The Malfoys had been on the opposite end of the political spectrum from theirs. They tended to lean more towards the Neutrals, while the Malfoys were staunch members of the Conservative faction.
“Should we do anything about it?”
Cassius shook his head. “There is no use right now. It doesn’t affect us. Let Malfoy live with this for a while. Might teach him a lesson or two about how to conduct himself. The boy needs to learn he’s not Merlin’s blessing to Wizarding Britain. Let’s go.”
The pair stood up and walked amidst the throng of snickering witches and wizards.
‘Yeah, that boy’s done for. Better try to recruit some students who have actually proven themselves worthy,’ Cassius thought, looking at a certain pair of first years who, from the teachers’ reports, had established themselves a class apart from their peers.
“Olivia, approach Daphne Greengrass in the coming weeks and try to recruit her. I will do the same with Harry Potter.”
“Alright.”
XXXXX
To be continued…
Comments
GhostnKC
Marauders Assemble lol
