"What!?" Daphne exclaimed in surprise and quickly snatched the quill out of his hand. "Are you seriously out of your mind right now?"
"Exactly!" Susan nodded vehemently. "After what happened last year, you're going to put yourself in danger without thinking this through once again?"
Surprised, Harry looked at them for a long moment as everyone stared at the blonde and the redhead in absolute surprise. Finally, he sighed and gave them an understanding nod.
"Yeah, you're right. Let's talk about it," he replied. "Which one of you can write in it then? And before you volunteer, remember that it will require a significant proficiency in the mind arts, which you all should start learning by the way, to even think about it."
There was profound silence in the room as everyone stared at the table with frowns. Harry looked at the two girls with a raised eyebrow and sighed when they didn't reply.
"Believe me or not, I'm the only one with powerful enough shields to prevent this ensnaring book from influencing my mind," Harry said softly to Daphne and Susan, who sighed. The blonde and the redhead exchanged a look before the former handed the quill over to him. She didn't look too pleased about it though, and neither did Susan for that matter.
Harry wore the gloves, dipped the quill in ink once again, and hovered it over the page, wondering what to write.
"Start with something random," Daphne supplied gently. "Don't act as if you know the truth of this book and pretend that you are being influenced by it to write."
Harry nodded and began writing.
My name is Draco Malfoy.
"Good idea," Daphne replied. Meanwhile, everyone else leaned forward so that they could all take a good look.
Hello, Draco Malfoy, my name is Tom Riddle.
"Seems like it's working," Susan commented. Harry nodded.
Hello, Tom. I found this book dropped somewhere today. I never thought it could reply to me. I don't have any friends, and no one wants to talk to me either. Can I talk to you?
"Nice," Hannah chuckled. "I am imagining Malfoy acting like a little crybaby."
Everyone snorted at that.
I am so sorry about that. You can talk to me, Draco. I will be here for you whenever you want me.
"Seems kinda desperate, this Tom fellow," Tracey giggled.
Thank you, Tom. You have no idea how much I hate it here. Hogwarts has become such a miserable place for people like us.
What do you mean, Draco? I thought Hogwarts was an exciting place for young witches and wizards to learn magic.
It's not like that at all! All we have is a mudblood lover posturing as the headmaster and his lackeys who want to destroy everything our ancestors worked so hard for. I hate it here.
Surely things couldn't be this bad, Draco? There must be something you like about Hogwarts.
No! It's the worst. Father knew how bad things were, and he wanted to send me to Durmstrang, but Mother said she didn't want me to go so far away. I had no choice but to come to Hogwarts. It's my second year and things are only going from bad to worse. I hope the Dark Lord had won and put those mudbloods and blood traitors in their place!
"Nice!" Neville grinned as Harry smirked.
"You pull off his tantrums so perfectly," Tracey teased mirthfully. "Is there something we should know? A certain Slytherin blonde caught your interest, hmm?"
Daphne immediately gave her best friend a warning glare who smirked at her unabashedly. Meanwhile, Susan froze momentarily before looking at the page again.
Do you support the Dark Lord, Draco? I thought everyone hated him, that they celebrated when he fell.
No! My family has always been the Dark Lord's most loyal. My father was even honored with his esteemed mark! To this day, he has been doing his best to continue our lord's work, but the blood traitors have become too powerful. Without the Dark Lord, our society will be in ruins soon.
That is indeed a shame, Draco. It looks like the fall of the Dark Lord has dealt a significant blow to the pureblood cause. It is a pity that Hogwarts has become infested with mudbloods and blood traitors.
I'm so glad finally someone understands me, Tom. All those filthy animals keep giving the proper purebloods smug looks. You have no idea how much I sometimes wish I could just kill them all.
"Got a bit heavy there," Susan remarked.
"Really? I think it's going nicely," Daphne replied immediately. "If only this Riddle guy gives us something. So far, it's been the usual derogatory remarks."
The reply came soon, and their eyes widened when they read it.
I completely understand you, Draco. It heartens me to see that upstanding individuals such as yourself are still alive. You might not know me but I knew a Malfoy. He was named Abraxas, and he was one of my closest friends. I assume he was your ancestor?
"Abraxas was Draco's grandfather," Daphne supplied immediately. Harry smiled at her and nodded.
Yes, he was my grandfather. Merlin, you lived so long ago? You must be a very powerful wizard if you managed to create something like this. You are talking to me like a real person, almost as if you were right here with me!
Ah, I see. It seems decades have indeed passed since my time. However, it looks like the Malfoy family remains destined to be my friend. You are my friend, right, Draco?
Indeed I am. And you are my best friend! Or rather, you are my only friend, but I don't care. You are better than all the others combined.
I am glad to know that, Draco. And I have certain beliefs. One of them is that you help your friend, no matter what. You want to get rid of all those mudbloods and blood traitors, don't you, Draco?
I do! They can all die, and they deserve to! Everyone who fraternizes with muggles and mudbloods deserves to die.
They indeed do, Draco. They indeed do. I believe I could aid you in this small endeavor, my friend. And before you start worrying, let me assure you that no one will ever discover that you were behind it.
Eyes widened around the table as they stared at each other, and Daphne grabbed Harry's hand before he could reply.
"Calm yourself and then reply. It won't do to give our hand away," she implored. Harry took a deep breath and nodded.
You could? How can I do this, Tom? I'll do anything. This place has gone to the dregs of society, and as a proud pureblood, it is my responsibility too to purge our school of such vermin.
There was a long moment of pause before the next reply, and they looked at each other in apprehension.
"Is it possible that he detected foul play?" Susan asked, frowning.
"We're very close to discovering what way this is that would kill muggleborns and these so-called blood traitors," Daphne whispered.
"Even if he has detected something, we've gotten a lot of information already," Harry replied. "That there is a way to kill so many people inside Hogwarts without implicating the perpetrator. We also know that this book contains an essence of Voldemort, for the lack of a better word."
"It's almost as if Voldemort is speaking through this book," Daphne muttered. Harry nodded.
"Whatever this is, we can't deny that it's an impressive piece of magic. I mean, imbuing your personality into an inanimate object that influences the minds of others and interacts with them as if it were you… what kind of magic does that?" Susan intoned softly.
"Considering it's Voldemort we're talking about, it can't be something good," Harry replied. "That bastard would do something so outrageous only if it's to further his evil intentions."
"I agree," Daphne nodded. "Even now it's agreeing to help Draco Malfoy to kill the muggleborns and blood traitors, pretty excitedly I might add. Almost as if it wanted someone with those intentions to write in it."
"And if you didn't have such intentions, to influence your mind so that you did it anyway," Neville finished for her with a serious nod. There was still no reply yet.
"I hope this is the only evil thing belonging to him that exists. Imagine a number of these influencing various people into committing evil deeds… The bastard would keep wreaking havoc even if he dies for good," Harry said with gritted teeth. Everyone shuddered at that.
"Now that you mention it… it really seems very dangerous, doesn't it?" Hannah replied apprehensively.
"Look, there's something," Tracey called out, pointing a finger at the book and they saw letters emerging in ink.
I truly admire your courage and the sense of responsibility you show as a proud pureblood, Draco. You should be proud to be a son of the House of Malfoy. I will soon tell you what to do to purge Hogwarts of the unworthy. In the meantime, do ensure to keep talking to me. It gets lonely sometimes and I long for a friend as well.
"Looks like I'll have to continue writing if I want this asshole to reveal his plans," Harry sighed as he wrote another flattering reply, promising to keep writing. He put the quill inside the inkpot and leaned back with a sigh.
"Harry… I don't think you should, to be honest," Daphne said softly. "You surely felt something beyond your Occlumency shields, right?"
Harry sighed and nodded.
"It was constantly knocking. I think it was Voldemort trying to influence my mind somehow, but when he didn't find any way through, he declined to elaborate his plan and delayed it, hoping he would be able to get through when I write sometime in the future."
"Thought so," the blonde replied. "I don't believe it is worth taking such a risk. The book affected you and no one else for a reason. There must be something that makes you different from all of us for it to have such an effect on you. There is no telling what could happen if you kept writing in this book for a long period of time," she grabbed the book and shut it close. "Let's just keep working hard to get strong and tackle whatever problem comes with all we've got."
Harry looked at her in surprise and she smiled.
"Yeah, I'm going to train too, and I'm sure everyone else here will. No way we're going to sit idle while Voldemort gets stronger day by day. We're your friends, remember? And we'll always support you."
Harry looked at everyone and saw them smiling at him with unwavering resolve on their faces. He could not help but let out an impressed yet disbelieving chuckle.
"You guys…" he muttered before looking at them with a smirk. "You've no idea what you've just signed up for."
"Eh, we'll manage," Daphne said dismissively.
Their impromptu meeting in the Come and Go Room had taken well over an hour, and since they had already taken their dinner therein, it made sense to just make their way to their respective dormitories.
The solitary 'Claw walked alongside three 'Puffs and two snakes, hands in his pockets, and his mind finally free of so much burden that he could not believe it. It was truly liberating to confide in others, he thought to himself with a smile.
"And what are you smiling for?" Daphne asked in amusement from his left.
"Nothing, just how light my head feels," he replied.
"Make sure it doesn't fly away," Hannah butted in with a snicker.
"Worry about yourself first, airhead," Susan responded immediately with a snort.
"Oh shut up, you wimp," Hannah retorted with a meaningful gaze toward a certain male in their group. Susan shut up immediately.
They had reached the bottom floor where their paths would divert, and Harry grabbed Daphne's hand when she made to follow Tracey. The blonde stopped immediately and looked at him quizzically.
"We can talk about it if you want?" He asked gently, and Daphne's eyes widened immediately. She looked at everyone who was staring at them, and she could not help but notice Susan who was staring at their clasped hands with an unhidden frown. Giving Harry a small smile, she shook her head and pulled her hand away.
"I think we've had too many revelations for the night already. We can talk sometime else," she replied. Harry gave her an understanding nod before smiling at everyone.
"See you all tomorrow then," he replied and turned to walk away, leaving his friends staring at his retreating figure before they also walked toward their respective common rooms.
-Break-
"Hey, Greengrass."
Daphne came to a stop with a sigh at the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. It was possibly the last person she wanted to see after the massive revelations she had been subjected to in the past hour or so. To her left, her best friend Tracey was also wearing the same frown as she looked at her.
Exasperated, Daphne turned around to see none other than Draco Malfoy staring at her with a sneer plastered on his face. His two gorilla bookends and the simpering bint Pansy Parkinson flanked him on either side.
Daphne truly believed that there was only one person in this whole school who was more of a loudmouthed idiot than the fraud Lockhart, and it was the person in front of her. Yet, he was an idiot with power, albeit borrowed from his corrupt father, and those were some of the most dangerous and unpredictable ones.
"Malfoy," she nodded with barely hidden disdain in her voice. A small smirk played on her lips when the ponce's sneer deepened, a malicious glint entering his eyes.
"I heard an interesting rumor floating around the castle today, about a certain Slytherin gallivanting around the broom closets with a certain Ravenclaw. Now, normally I would not pay much attention to such trivial rumors which are frankly beneath people like us, but this one turned out to be one I have some vested interest in," Malfoy remarked idly. Daphne stared at him in surprise. That was some eloquent vernacular from someone like him, much more than she had expected.
"What is your point?" She asked with a resigned sigh, having already guessed that he was talking about her and Harry from the previous evening. Malfoy's eyes narrowed.
"I'd like you to answer me why you've been fraternizing with Potter in the broom closets, Greengrass," he hissed. "You, who is to be the future lady of the House of Malfoy! It is beneath you, and it is an insult to my house and me!"
"Mind your tongue, you imbecile," Daphne snarled with fire in her eyes, sending the ponce skidding a step back in surprise. "Who the fuck do you think you are to ask anything of me!? Lady of House Malfoy!? I'd rather live out my remaining life as a nameless witch than lower myself to associate with your ilk. Insult to you and your house? You do a much better job yourself. You don't need me to add to it."
"You—"
"And who told you I'm the future lady of your house anyway?" Daphne cut him off. "Last I remember, there was nothing signed. You have no claim over me, and the next time you even think of something like this, it would be my wand you'll be talking to," she finished with a malicious glare.
While his two bookends stared on incomprehensibly, Malfoy and Parkinson glared at her. Daphne's mood had already plummeted, and she didn't want it to deteriorate any further.
Without another glance, she turned around and walked away toward her dormitory, with her best friend hot on her heels.
"The nerve of that prat!" Daphne hissed as she threw her robe on her bed and started to change.
"Ignore him, Daph," Tracey chuckled. "He's all talk. There is nothing signed between you two, and you know your mum won't sign anything either."
Daphne nodded curtly. Her mother seriously would not. She won't even consider letting it happen.
"It's a relief Lord Greengrass never sighed you off to Malfoy," Tracey continued.
"It was not his place to decide anything for me," Daphne glared. Tracey quickly backpedaled, holding her hands in peace.
"I was not insinuating anything, Daph… Merlin knows what would've happened if he could do something like that though."
"You'd find me six feet under the ground, that's what," Daphne spat, flicking her wand and depositing her clothes in the laundry bag where it immediately vanished.
"Would you mind not saying things like that?" Tracey asked in exasperation. "That man has no sway over you or your mother any longer. You should be happy about that."
Daphne forced herself not to react and sat down on her bed with a sigh.
"Not a day goes by that I'm not relieved about him being gone for good," Daphne admitted. "To think how he treated my mother for all these years… and how I behaved for so long until my eyes finally opened…"
"You were a child, Daph," Tracey said softly. "You didn't know any better. To you, he was your father who could do no wrong. You should be proud that you made the right decision when you saw his true face for the first time. Not everyone could have made a quick decision like you did."
Daphne sighed before she gave a short nod, indicating she wanted the topic to be over now. Tracey acquiesced, adopting a teasing grin.
"And what's this about you and Harry trying out broom closets, hmm? I didn't know you had gotten so… close," she smirked.
Daphne looked at her with a deadpan expression.
"We're really doing this now?"
"Oh I don't know," Tracey giggled. "I know you'd rather do him right now, if you know what I mean."
"You're disgusting, Trace," Daphne muttered.
"Oh come on, as if you've never thought about it. I have seen you looking at him when you think no one's noticing," Tracey retorted smugly. "Oh yes, these eyes see everything."
"I most certainly don't look at him," Daphne replied swiftly.
"Not to mention how you always pick the seat right beside him," Tracey continued, ignoring her. "Now that I think about it, you're always sitting beside him whenever you're together."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Daphne replied, now slightly uncomfortable.
"Oh come off it already," Tracey groaned. "Just admit you have hots for Harry and we can put this behind ourselves."
"I most certainly don't," Daphne shook her head. "He's only a very good friend and there is nothing more than that between us."
"Oh yeah? Who frequents broom closets with their friend?"
"It was only once!"
"Once is enough!"
"Nothing happened between us!"
"You seriously expect me to believe it? You and him, pressed together in that cramped space and you felt nothing? I'm pretty sure he felt a lot of you," Tracey said lecherously, staring at Daphne's ample chest. The blonde immediately covered herself up, flushing brilliantly.
"S-shut up!"
Tracey giggled.
"Seriously though, you like him, don't you? Why not tell him then?"
"I told you I don't like him!" Daphne muttered. "And this is the end of the discussion."
Tracey snorted as her dear friend pulled the covers over her head and shut the curtains around her bed.
"I'd suggest you make a move quickly if you want him," she called out, fully aware that Daphne could hear everything. "'Cause I know a certain redhead who also seems to have hots for him. And I don't think she'll wait much longer."
All Daphne did was pull the covers tighter over herself.
-Break-
"Why is that moron glaring at me?" Harry asked in confusion, looking toward Malfoy who quickly averted his eyes when he noticed Harry looking at him. His friends looked over where Harry was looking and frowned. Beside him, Daphne looked over and snorted.
"Ignore that ponce. He's all talk and no bite," she replied.
"You know something?"
Daphne sighed. "He thinks he has some sort of claim over me and doesn't like me associating with anyone else," she replied, pointedly ignoring the exasperated look Tracey gave her from the seat opposite hers.
Harry snorted.
"Entitled brat. If you'd like some help in dealing with him, feel free to ask. I'll be happy to sort him out in a jiffy," he replied. Daphne simply gave a small nod and went back to her breakfast.
"Hey Harry," a female voice greeted him, and Harry turned to look behind him. His eyes flashed in recognition.
"Oh, hi Cho."
The beautiful Asian girl smiled at him.
"Can I talk to you for a bit?"
"Sure," Harry shrugged. "I'm done with my breakfast anyway."
"Nice," the girl grinned and stepped back as Harry got out of his seat and turned to look at his friends. "I'll see you guys in the class."
Neville nodded and went back to eating as Harry walked away with Cho.
"I haven't seen Harry talking to her before," Susan commented.
"Neither have I," Daphne replied with a nod. "What do you think she wants?"
"No idea."
Their breakfast done, they walked toward the first class of the day in silence. Tracey and Hannah kept giving their respective best friends meaningful looks throughout, which were promptly ignored by either of the two girls. When they reached the Transfiguration classroom, they found, to their surprise, Harry already present there and talking to McGonagall. The two looked over when they entered, and Harry gave them a small smile.
"Yes Professor, I've been doing as you told."
"Good," McGonagall nodded. "The usual time then."
Harry nodded and walked over to his usual seat at the front of the classroom.
"So… what did that girl want?" Susan asked nonchalantly as she leafed through her Transfiguration text.
"Hmm? Oh Cho?" Harry asked. "Nothing. Just asking me if I was joining the team since I've got such a brilliant broom this year."
"Oh. I see," she replied with a nod.
"You seemed to know her pretty well, Harry," Hannah commented with a teasing smile. Harry looked at her and rolled her eyes.
"She was the first person in my house to introduce herself to me. I've talked to her a few times. That's all."
The rest of the students started arriving one after the other and soon, the class was underway. As usual, Harry started on his advanced studies and he noticed something different about all his friends. They were all… trying much harder than before.
It seemed the revelations of the previous night as well as their declaration that they would be there right beside him in the future did have a significant impact on how they had decided to approach their studies. Neville, however, was more advanced of the five, and he easily completed the class assignment, much to the astonishment of McGonagall who awarded him with ten points before he started the next one immediately.
"You guys were really serious about it last night, hmm?" Harry asked with a smile playing on his lips. His friends looked over and smirked.
"As I said," Daphne replied softly, a beautiful smile playing on her lips. "We can't let you just go on all alone, facing the big bad guy on your own now, can we?"
"We'll be there right by your side, Harry. You can count on it," Susan replied gently.
Harry nodded, smiling to himself.
"I appreciate it."
He wholeheartedly helped his friends out whenever they got stuck, and now that they wanted to progress much faster, he found that he had the added benefit of cutting any wasteful components of their practices that he already knew were not needed. That enabled them to go ahead with only what could help them progress and not to waste time on approaches that would either hinder them or stifle their work. Thus, it was not a surprise that all his friends completed the class assignment barely halfway into the class, earning them bonus points from the professor as well, who gave him a glowing look of approval.
The rest of the class was spent with his friends working ahead into the course while Harry worked further into Conjuration.
He could take his OWLs already if he wanted to. Although he was not confident that he could score an Outstanding in each subject, he had enough in the tank to at least obtain a passing grade. However, given that there was no provision for taking one's OWLs or NEWTs before one was eligible, he had no choice but to keep honing his skills and improving further.
The Wizarding World seemed to put too much emphasis on when it deemed witches and wizards ready for something, be it owning a wand or taking the exams.
Harry also noticed Draco Malfoy constantly giving him hateful looks throughout the class, and whenever he wasn't, the ponce was staring at Daphne with a look that Harry found he didn't like. He always averted his eyes whenever he found Harry looking at him.
"I told you to ignore him," Daphne whispered to him when he noticed the idiot staring at her once again, and he looked at her. She turned to regard him with a small sigh.
"I've learned not to bother with him. He confronted me last night, and I warned him. The next time he tries something like that, he'd be talking to my wand. He's a coward though, so don't count on him crossing the line. Unless he's got a death wish…" she trailed off.
Harry chuckled. Draco Malfoy truly looked like he was scared of him. Harry didn't know why. He had never interacted with the boy. However, he could not help but feel that the time when the blonde wizard's paths crossed with him was not too far away.
"I won't recommend taking such a person lightly though," Harry warned Daphne, who looked at him in surprise. He looked her firmly in the eyes and recited what she had been thinking the night before.
"It's usually the idiots who turn out to be dangerous ones. Because they don't know when or where to stop. They go down, but they take you down with you," he said seriously. Daphne nodded.
"I'll surely keep it in mind," she replied. Harry nodded and stood up as the bell rang and McGonagall dismissed the class.
-Break-
A certain blonde-haired girl was carelessly walking down the stairs toward the girls' bathroom on the third floor, uncaring of her surroundings.
Classes had ended for the day and she had been wandering about the castle in search of some of the creatures her father had told her about. She had found a few already, but barely fifteen minutes ago, she discovered a creature she had never seen or heard of before.
Curious as she was, she quickly captured the object the creature was stuck to and put it inside her bag. She would let her father look at it when she went back for the Christmas holidays. Until then, she would keep this creature with her.
"Well well… look who we've got here," a familiar voice came through when she entered the bathroom, and she saw the older girl standing against the sink. She knew the girl. There was a large manifestation of Nargles around her head who always took her things away.
She saw the girl walk over and snatch her bag from her. The girl sneered as she threw her inkpots, quills, parchment, and books on the floor, and she saw her homework get stained by the ink.
"Merlin's tits Loony, where did you get this from!?"
Luna Lovegood looked up and saw the girl holding the tiara in her hand. The creature was trying to crawl up the girl's arm and she stared at it in fascination. It was as black as ink, with a red hue along its edges.
"Well, I don't care. But such a beautiful thing is wasted on someone like you. Thank you for getting it for me," she looked at the girl and saw her smirking.
The girl soon left without a backward glance and Luna slowly bent down to pick her things up. She saw ink covering the parchments and the edges of her books, and she frowned.
"What are you doing?" A curious voice behind her made her look up, and she saw four girls looking at her. The one who had spoken had blonde hair and the most striking blue eyes she had ever seen. Luna looked at them before looking at her materials.
"Oh nothing," she replied with a smile as she slowly picked them up. "The Nargles took my things out and threw them on the floor."
Daphne, Susan, Hannah, and Tracey frowned as they looked at the girl who looked to be a firstie.
"Do you need some help with that?" Susan asked gently, and Luna looked at her in surprise.
"Why don't you let us fix that for you?" Daphne smiled at the girl and held her hand out. Wordlessly, Luna handed her books over to her while the redhead took her parchments. She watched as they vanished the spilled-over ink back into the inkpot before they handed them over to her. She slowly arranged them back into her bag.
"Here," Daphne said, holding out the girl's inkpot. "I've charmed it so it would not spill unless you want it to."
Surprised, Luna nodded and put it inside her bag as well.
"I'm Susan," the redhead said, smiling. "And these are my friends. Hannah, Daphne, and Tracey. What's your name?"
Luna looked at them one by one and replied, "Luna Lovegood."
"The daughter of the Quibbler guy?" the other blonde girl who had been introduced as Hannah shouted out, and everyone looked at her in surprise. "Yeah, I've got a subscription. Stop judging me."
"You're a first year, aren't you?" Daphne asked the girl, who nodded.
"How do you find Hogwarts then?" Tracey asked as the girls went about their respective ways.
"It is good," Luna replied in her serene voice. "There are so many creatures here. I have never seen so many Nargles in one place before."
"What's Nargles?" Tracey asked in bewilderment.
"They are these weird creatures that play pranks on you, steal your things and make your head go fuzzy," Hannah replied immediately.
"Huh?"
"I read it in the Quibbler," Hannah replied. "I've got to admit, Luna. Your father has a brilliant sense of humor."
"Oh, Daddy keeps many Nargles as pets. Probably that's why," Luna quipped, making Hannah chuckle.
"You have a brilliant sense of humor too," the blonde replied.
The girls walked out of the bathroom together, and Luna trailed behind them.
"Have you made any friends so far, Luna?" Susan asked the younger girl as she glanced behind herself.
"Oh? My friend Ginny came back today," Luna replied, earning interested looks from all four girls.
"Ginny? The one with red hair?"
"Mm-hmm," Luna nodded. "We live nearby, and we've grown up together. But she slowly grew distant this year. We didn't even talk to each other until today."
"Is that so?" Daphne asked curiously, exchanging a look of understanding with Susan, who nodded.
"Yeah. She came back today and all is good."
"That's good then. We're glad you got it sorted out with your friend," Tracey replied. "You can come to any of us if the Nargles trouble you again, okay?"
Surprised, Luna nodded.
"Luna! There you are!"
They looked over and saw a redhead come over and grab Luna's hand.
"I've been looking all over for you. Come on, we've got so much homework to do!"
They watched as the girl dragged the blonde with her, who looked at them. They smiled.
Once Luna and Ginny were out of sight, they turned toward each other.
"That was the Ginny girl, right?" Daphne asked Susan, who nodded.
"Seems like that black book had started to work on her," the redhead replied.
"It's a relief Harry found that book. Who knows what would've happened otherwise?" Hannah chimed in.
"What's up with you?" Daphne asked, nudging Tracey by the shoulder who looked at her with a frown.
"You don't believe these Nargles are real, do you?"
"Of course not," Hannah chuckled. "It's all a joke. Why?"
"Well… Luna said the Nargles threw her things away like that. But I think someone did that to her, and she attributed it to the Nargles. You have to admit that girl was a bit... different."
"What do you mean?" Daphne asked with a frown. "You think she got into a fight?"
"Possibly," Tracey nodded. "Or someone was picking on her."
"Think we should tell the teachers? They would take action if that were the case," Susan said, frowning.
"Or we could do something and take care of the matter ourselves," Daphne replied with a smirk.
"Uh-oh, I don't like that look on your face, Daph," Tracey chuckled uncertainly. Daphne slapped her on the arm.
"Look, here's what we're going to do," Daphne said and started to explain the plan.
"Sounds good to me. Will he agree though? He doesn't know her, and you know him. He won't do something like that for just anyone," Hannah remarked.
"Oh he will," Daphne replied with a smirk.
"You leave that to us," Susan chimed in, looking at Daphne.
"Am I the only one who's skeptical for him?" Tracey asked Hannah in a whisper, who shook her head as she stared at the two confidently smirking witches.
"No," the blonde shook her head as she whispered back. "No, you're not."
TBC.
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Thanks for reading.