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The Secret Society Ch. 10 (Harry Potter)
🕑 Added 2023-02-24 20:30:38 +0000 UTCHarry wasn’t in the best of moods as he walked into the greenhouse. This was why he was surprised to feel the annoyance at Longbottom quickly fading. Harry promptly ruled out anything like a cheering charm since his occlumency was more than sufficient to block entry-level magic such as that from affecting him.
He looked around the class to see the other students in the same, uplifting mood.
“Potter, have a seat.”
Harry raised an eyebrow at Greengrass having an empty seat next to her. It was usually reserved for Davis, who was at a nearby desk with Starkey. He had to hide a smirk at how Davis tried to pout at Greengrass while smiling simultaneously.
“Greengrass,” Harry greeted as he sat beside her, “Davis seems confused about what to feel.”
Greengrass glanced at Davis before rolling her eyes. “It’s the plant. It’s rather good at making people feel happy.”
Harry zeroed in on a plant he had never seen before. It was a small, delicate flower with petals that seemed to shimmer in the light. Each petal was pulsing softly, all in different colors, ranging from deep purple to bright orange. It was a wonder he missed it when he walked in.
It seemed like Greengrass knew what he was thinking. “Don’t be surprised. One of the ways it survives is its ability to hide.”
“Exactly, Ms. Greengrass!” Professor Sprout spoke excitedly, “The Melody Flower is well-known for its many benefits. We witches and wizards have almost plucked it to extinction. Around six or seven centuries ago, it gained the ability to hide from us. Thus it still exists today! Five points to Slytherin, Ms. Greengrass!”
“Thank you, Professor,” Daphne nodded.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you know about this flower?”
“My mother needed to drink the tea made from the petals a few years ago.”
“Oh, my!” Professor Sprout gasped, “That is rarely done due to how little of the petal you need to use to treat most issues. I hope she is well?”
“Yes, Professor. My mother recovered quickly.”
“Good! Now, as Ms. Greengrass has just revealed, the Melody Flower is a unique and fascinating plant with a wide range of properties and uses. Its delicate beauty and natural healing properties make it a prized possession in the wizarding world.”
“As for the reason it’s called the Melody Flower,” Professor Sprout gently tapped an orange petal, making a soothing note fill the greenhouse, “Every petal plays a different note with just a touch.”
Harry’s frustration when he entered the class was almost erased the moment the note played. Now that he was aware of it, he could tell that it could easily be blocked, but he rather liked the effect it had.
“I can tell many here would like one as their own,” Professor Sprout smiled. “As much as I would love to do so, I’m afraid that Hogwarts wouldn’t be able to bear the cost.”
Harry looked around when he heard the groans of disappointment, almost wanting to join in.
“There is still a chance for one of you to own this,” Professor Sprout reassured, “I will pick the student that submits the most well-rounded report on the Melody Flower next month.”
“That’s generous,” Harry heard Greengrass mutter under her breath.
“Is it?” Harry asked, “How rare is it?”
“Rare enough for it to be hard to buy even if you have enough gold.”
Harry’s greed reared up again before he ruthlessly stamped it down. Sometimes he wondered if he was part dragon with his need to possess anything he viewed as valuable.
“Now, let’s form a line!” Professor Sprout said with a clap, “I can see that many of you want to touch the petals yourselves.”
Greengrass motioned for him to head to the back of the line, something Harry didn’t object to. He wasn’t keen on being in the middle of Slytherins that had less than noble intentions.
“I saw Thompson staring at my sister at breakfast,’ Daphne stated after casting Muffliato.
Harry frowned in confusion. From what he knew about Thompson’s habits, she wasn’t in the habit of revisiting her targets. There was a reason she hadn’t been caught all these years.
“You think she’s planning something?” Harry wondered if the Sorrow Stone broke Thompson in a way he didn’t foresee. Maybe it was a little foolhardy to experiment with someone mentally unstable.
“That I don’t know, but I want you to be quicker with how you deal with her. I want her out of Hogwarts before the holidays.”
Harry knew leaving the Sorrow Stone in Thompson’s room would easily accomplish that. However, that wasn’t in his agreement with Greengrass, but if she was serious enough to make him do her dirty work, it could work in Harry’s favor.
“I can do that,” Harry said slowly, “But you will have to do something for me to change the terms of our contract.”
“You want to demand something from me for a simple change of time frame?”
“You know I adhere strictly to the terms of my contracts,” Harry replied with a straight face.
“Hmm,” Daphne looked at him knowingly, “That might work with others that don’t know how easily the terms can be amended. The Pactmaker’s Grasp may be knowledge not taught at Hogwarts, but it is in no way obscure.”
Harry simply stared at her silently. He was already aware that others could know about the spell. However, that didn’t matter one bit. Once both recipients entered into a contract willingly, it would be strictly enforced.
While Greengrass might be right when she said it could be easily amended, the original terms would stand unless Harry was willing to change it.
“Very well, I’ll consider it. What do you want me to do?”
Harry was more than a little surprised that there was such little pushback. Either Greengrass was in an agreeable mood, which was highly unlikely, or she was more concerned about Thompson than she let on. Of the two, the latter was what Harry would bet on.
However, that caught him off guard. He intended to use this as a chance to lure Greengrass into signing his newly revamped contract, one that included access to his treasured Room. The thing was, it wasn’t ready.
“Potter?” Daphne narrowed her eyes when Harry stared at her, “I hope you’re not thinking of what I suspect.”
Harry blinked, confused about why Greengrass seemed angry. “I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but I doubt you know what I have on my mind. I need more time before we change the contract.”
“I see,” Daphne said, still suspicious of his intentions. She hadn’t ever seen him use his abilities to get an advantage over the opposite sex. Still, he was secretive enough that Daphne knew she would never know if he wanted to hide it.
“When will you be ready, Potter?”
“It would be a week at the latest,” Harry decided to give himself more time to be safe. There was no reason to rush and leave undiscovered loopholes. Especially when it was Greengrass that was going to sign the contract. Harry knew she would try everything to clean out his Room for her own benefit.
“That’s longer than I wished,” Daphne said reluctantly, “But it should still give you more than enough time to deal with Thompson.”
Harry hummed as they walked forward with the line. He noticed Zabini staring at him strangely and gave the boy a slight nod. Harry might have been tired of the hormonal requests he had to deal with, but it was always nice to have a reliable way to get gold. Especially when Greengrass was the target.
Harry had to give Greengrass half of the payment, but the fact that it was always tier three meant it was a truly ridiculous amount, even if it was cut in half. The only part that slightly rubbed him the wrong way was that Greengrass didn’t need the money. Harry knew she was part of one of the wealthiest families in Magical Britain, so what she did with the money from the contracts was a mystery.
“You know, Greengrass, I get plenty of requests about Davis.”
“No.”
Harry ignored the flat reply and continued, “Even more than you if I’m being honest. Maybe I should ask her if she’s interested in a deal similar to yours.”
“Potter,” Daphne’s tone was ice-cold, “I’ll give you more gold if you tell me who they were and what they wanted from her.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Harry sighed, “It’s too bad I’m a principled wizard.”
Greengrass scoffed, clearly unbelieving of his statement. Harry supposed she was technically correct since his principles were a mere consequence of wanting to keep his business alive and well.
Harry wasn’t foolish enough to expect people to keep coming back after they were targeted for some request they had for him.
“I’ll get back to you on revising the contract with Thompson. Before that, do you want to change what I will say to Zabini? ... Also, he’s looking at us rather suspiciously at the moment. Try to smile at him without scaring him.”
Greengrass glared before pretending to be looking around and accidentally catching Zabini’s eye. The small smile she gave him could make any boy weak in their knees. Harry almost felt sorry for Zabini if he wasn’t such an easy gold tree.
“No change,” Daphne said after raising Zabini’s hopes, “If he can get his hands on the Wizard’s Seeker, I might give him a chance. Compared to the last few, Zabini is acceptable.”
“Really?” Harry didn’t hide his shock, “I can’t say that I saw that coming.”
“The last few couldn’t talk to me without a stutter, Potter,” Daphne said flatly, “It wouldn’t take much to beat that.”
“Huh,” Harry tilted his head and reevaluated Greengrass. He had always thought that she was a cold-blooded witch because, well, she was. At least she gave no indication otherwise.
“I’m a little disappointed that our deal might be set aside, but I wish you luck, Greengrass,” Harry offered diplomatically.
The conversation quickly died off as they got to the plant. Harry found himself liking the Melody Flower even more than he initially did. Each petal made a different note that relaxed his mind every time he touched it. With Greengrass saying that gold wasn’t enough to buy one of these, Harry knew that getting it from Professor Sprout was his best chance.
Besides, Harry didn’t miss the look of interest Malfoy had on his face. It only motivated him even more than he already was.
“I hope you all enjoyed what the Melody Flower has to offer!” Professor Sprout said cheerily, “I look forward to reading what you submit.”
Harry took a last look at the flower before leaving the greenhouse. With the excited murmurs around him, Harry knew he would have competition for the prize. However, the students around him didn’t concern him. It was the two in Gryffindor, the only student that consistently beat him in academics in almost every class, and the other that was unfairly gifted with a green thumb.
Granger and Longbottom.
All of a sudden. Harry felt that the previous interaction with Longbottom wasn’t too bad after all. He might be the one to get the last laugh.
Harry would have to prod Granger and Longbottom about their growing attraction to each other over the next month. He didn’t particularly care if they ended up together or not, but as long as they were more focused on their messy feelings and not anything else, for example, the Melody Flower, Harry would be satisfied.
He could already see it. The looks of envy he would get when he brought it back to his room.
“Potter, are you free to talk?”
Harry was pulled out of his fantasy by Zabini standing in front of him. He looked around and realized that more of the students had already left. That was understandable since this was the last class of the day.
“Sure, lead the way.”
Harry followed him into one of the castle’s many empty classrooms, wand at the ready underneath his robes. He couldn’t be too careful these days.
“I have the gold ready.”
“Very well,” Harry discreetly scanned the room before relaxing his guard, “Impressive, Zabini. I didn’t expect you to be so prompt.”
“There’s no reason to delay when I know what I want.”
Harry could respect that, he supposed. Still, Zabini was as dry and dull as a common houseplant, another reason he was surprised to hear that Greengrass was considering him. Harry had to admit he didn’t understand the way witches thought.
“I understand,” Harry held out his hand, “Are you ready, Zabini?”
Harry shook Zabini’s hand and let go once he felt the contract take hold in his magic. “The gold?”
Zabini pulled out a small pouch and handed it over. “Ten thousand galleons, as agreed. I would be furious about how much you’re charging me if not for the fact not many others can pay this amount.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Harry smiled, “Now, for what you paid for. Greengrass has been searching for something called the Wizard’s Seeker. It’s being auctioned in Paris next weekend.”
“The Wizard’s Seeker?” Blaise frowned, “I don’t think I’ve heard of that before.”
Harry didn’t particularly care if he did or didn’t. His part was done.
“I’m glad we could do business, Zabini. Let me know if you need anything else. As long as I’m willing, there’s a price for everything.”
Harry left Zabini behind to his thoughts and wondered if the boy would take this opportunity. Zabini didn’t know it, but he might become the first wizard to get through to Daphne Greengrass.
