{Infirmary, Hogwarts}
{1st Nov 1991}
{Rigel's POV}
I looked at Harry's sleeping face. Other than the fact that his scar looked a little raw and fresh, there was really no reason to suspect that he had gone through some trouble. The presence of several hovering redheads, though, would suggest otherwise. Though it was quite clear what was wrong with him, I can't exactly quantify the amount of mana he has right now, but just a single look makes it quite clear that he has around 10% of his normal reserves.
Which shouldn't be that bad. Considering that he has been resting and sleeping for more than a day, it is quite concerning.
'Whatever happened, his mana recovery is affected. I think his symptom is canonically identical to what happened to Harry at the end of the first movie, where he was unconscious for days after Voldemort's shade passed through him.'
I ignored the glare Ron was sending in my direction and instead turned to the twins.
"What did Madam Pomfrey say?" I asked.
"Nothing much. She says that he will wake up in time-" Fred began, "-when though she wasn't quite certain. It could be any minute, you are welcome to stay." George finished the statement, completely ignoring Ron's squawk of indignation.
I looked back at the sleeping BWL one more time, "I have some assignments to do, and standing here could send the wrong message." I got a nod from George before I motioned for the twins to follow me.
"Though he should wake up soon, I can see that his mana reserves are quite low, and his recovery is going slowly. Did Ron tell you about what happened?" I asked.
The twins shared a look before George spoke, "Yeah, Ron said he woke up screaming-"
"-and that his scar was glowing white." Fred finished.
'Definitely, it has something to do with Voldemort and whatever rumors have Dumbledore allowed to fester about what happened to Quirrell.'
"You both didn't happen to hear any rumors about Quirrell?" I asked.
"Too many of them. The most recent theory is that a vampire finally decided to bypass his abhorrent defense and kidnapped him-" Fred began, a strange twinkle in his eyes that I suspect meant that they were particularly proud of this one.
"-and the Dark Force Defence League is on the case. Their members were seen snooping through his office." George began. I could tell that they weren't totally okay yet. There was some concern hidden behind their facade, which I wasn't inclined to tear down.
'Some good news should distract them then.'
"I meet Andromeda Tonks; you both should expect a response soon." I threw that titbit as I made my way toward the exit.
"Thanks, Rigel!" I heard them shout as I ducked around the large door and walked out. Daphne was there on the lookout, and she evaded my eyes as she began walking with me.
'Someone was quite bold yesterday but is super shy now.' My thoughts flashed back to last night; the lithe form of Daphne bouncing on top of me, followed by two different blondes, caused me to shift slightly.
"Stop it," I heard her say as she glared at me, with a fire that had never been present in her icy blue eyes.
"Stop what?" I replied, not acknowledging the obvious.
"Stop picturing me naked..." she muttered and then went on to glare at the floor.
"Nu-uh, that's not how that works. I didn't force you, so the memories that I obtained would forever be locked up in here." I teased her.
She blushed slightly before looking away; we continued our walk for a little while more, and I could feel the nervousness ooze out of her mana.
"Am I not good enough?" She finally spoke, her eyes clear as she stared at me. For a Slytherin, that was quite a Gryffindor thing for her to do, this straight confrontation where she knew she was at a disadvantage.
"Of course not; I gave you a lot of compliments yesterday, didn't I?" I avoided the obvious, but just because she was brave and blunt doesn't mean I have to be.
"Then why, we match so well, I-i..." She looked away, her courage faltering at the last moment.
"Why am I not courting you?" I addressed the topic because I knew it could become a problem for her, and possibly for several of the other witches. A problem like this hasn't happened yet because, frankly, both Narcissa and Rita know that a real relationship won't ever work between us. Evelyn and Pansy, on the other hand, had used sex as a transaction and thus had lost the right to negotiate something like this. Plus, the addiction to pleasure kept them satisfied long enough to ignore the public relationship status.
Daphne, on the other hand, was different; we had sex on the night we were supposed to be on a date. She didn't trade her body away, so her expectation made sense, and thus, I needed to squash her feelings.
'Could I stop sleeping around and settle down with her?' I questioned, and the answer was obvious: I could if I wanted to. She had the political backing, the beauty, and the desire to grow strong.
'But do I have to?'
"I know there are certain expectations about courting in the pureblood culture, but while I may look and walk and talk like one, I wasn't born and raised with your standards. I had to fight for every extra scrap of food I ate-"a total lie but would work because of my background in the world "-where toiling around and doing manual labor while studying, hoping to somehow escape mediocrity. That was my goal before I knew I was a wizard."
Her eyes were now focused on my own, a shocked look plastered on her otherwise ever-calm face.
"I know you deserve better, but I can't settle down, not when there is so much to explore about magic and this world." I shook my head.
Her head slumped down. I'm pretty sure my words were reverberating in her mind. Although I did lie a little bit, I didn't completely bullshit her. I remember the Patil girl's promise; there is so much out there, so much that even the books and movies didn't cover it. And if I want to survive, then I can't settle down when the easiest and quickest way to power is by using my abilities.
I started moving, and Daphne silently followed. Her head finally lifted as she stared at me for a moment.
"You're a prat, do you know that?" She cursed, though there was no heat in her voice; there was a hint of reluctance there, but it was all now once again shoved behind an emotionless facade.
"I know," I grinned; at least she wasn't cursing me; that was a good sign, right?
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AN: New schedule is 5 chaps every week during the weekdays. See ya tomorrow!
P.S- 50+ chapters on P.atreon!