— Kid, do you even understand... — Orion began, but Daphne cut him off before he could finish.
— Dad, his name is Victor, — she interrupted sharply.
At that tone, Orion felt as if an imaginary arrow had pierced his back. Why was his own daughter so desperately defending this punk?! What kind of love potion had this pup used to steal her heart?!
— Fine, — he sighed in annoyance. — Victor... Do you at least realize the consequences of your actions? You've already ruined Daphne's life when you humiliated her and made her your secretary at school. And now you're forcing her to manage a chain of stores where only Muggle-borns will work! I'm certainly not as fanatical as the rest of the purebloods, but she is a Greengrass! The pure blood of an ancient lineage of mages flows through her veins. Can you protect her from them? Do you really think you can stand up to public opinion?
Victor slowly turned a calm gaze toward him:
— Public opinion? I don't give a damn about them — just as I don't care about the entire wizarding world as a whole. I like her, she likes me — isn't that what matters most? And if anyone else has any objections, let them come to me. I'll explain to them in the most understandable language possible why it's none of their business.
— And what kind of language is that? — Vesperia inquired with unhidden curiosity.
Victor turned to her and offered her his purest, most radiant smile:
— Well, naturally, the language that every single person understands: the language of pain, fear, and despair.
Orion scoffed coldly:
— Quite a bold statement for a Muggle-born boy! Do you really think you can handle even one pureblood family? I severely doubt it.
Victor paused with a deadly serious expression for a second:
— Well... If they fall into a twenty-minute stupor over a single word just like you did, I think I'll handle it easily.
Daphne's father had a nerve twitch in his brow. He was cursing himself for displaying such an unforgivable weakness in front of this youngster.
— Ahem! I didn't fall into a stupor at all, — Orion tried to pull himself together. — I was simply deep in thought over some important family matters.
When he finished speaking, literally everyone present stared at him with profound skepticism. Even Astoria didn't believe her father.
— Well... Let's assume you truly can stand up for yourself. I've heard Dumbledore adores you and dotes on you in every way, — Orion continued, switching tactics. — But have you thought about your Muggle relatives? You can hide behind Dumbledore's back all you want, but will he be able to protect your parents constantly? You know, some pureblood families can be extremely harsh and vindictive. Who knows what might cross their minds?
Orion calculated to play on entirely different emotions: if the boy wasn't afraid for his own skin, he surely had to worry about his weak Muggle parents. However, to his deep disappointment, Victor merely shrugged indifferently:
— Well, I don't even know my real parents — they abandoned me right after birth. And I killed my adoptive parents myself when I was very little. They were Death Eaters.
A heavy, deafening silence hung over the dining room once more. Daphne's mother was the first to break it, smiling awkwardly:
— Ha-ha-ha... Victor, you have a very strange sense of humor!
However, when Vesperia turned her gaze to her elder daughter and saw Daphne nodding silently and completely seriously, confirming his words, the smile vanished from Vesperia's face instantly. She looked at Victor with genuine gravity, re-evaluating everything she had heard.
Orion frowned grimly. Why did absolutely no one know about this?! A second later, however, he remembered: all information regarding this boy's past had been erased. When disgruntled pureblood families, whose spoiled offspring Victor was thrashing at Hogwarts last year, tried to dig up dirt on him, they couldn't uncover a single thing. He had simply appeared out of nowhere.
Realizing that pressuring him through loved ones wouldn't work, Orion decided to act directly — even if it meant straining his relationship with his elder daughter, as long as she didn't suffer because of this boy. Slowly, a dense magical aura enveloped the dining room. Concentrating the full force of his pressure onto Victor, the head of the Greengrass house spoke in a cold tone:
— I forbid you from seeing my daughter.
He made his stance short and crystal clear. However, the atmosphere in the room turned awkward almost instantly: Victor merely raised an eyebrow in confusion and stared at Orion as if he were a clown.
And to him, it really looked hilarious. A person capable of enduring the mental and magical pressure of Dumbledore and Pernelle — two of the greatest legends of this era — was merely watching with irony the struggles of Daphne's father, whose power level was inferior even to Snape's.
Daphne rolled her eyes in disappointment as she looked at her father.
— Fine... I guess the official meeting is completely ruined, — she sighed, turning to Victor. — Use your own methods.
Having heard her permission, Victor grinned in a broad, predatory smile. Since Daphne herself suggested that option, how could he refuse? And what were Victor's methods of persuasion? Exactly: intimidate, break, crush, and leave no other choice but to bow one's head submissively.
Victor laughed genuinely and released his own magical pressure, instantly erasing and dispelling the pitiful force Orion had attempted to display. The full power of his aura crashed down upon the room: the manor walls trembled, the windowpanes cracked and shattered with a deafening crash, and Daphne's father turned pale instantly, shaking violently — had he not been sitting in a chair, he would have collapsed to the floor long ago.
Suddenly, another wave of magic flared up in the dining room — far denser and stronger than Orion's. It attempted to protect her husband and withstand Victor's onslaught, but it couldn't hold out for long and collapsed with a crash under his colossal oppression just the same.
Victor turned his gaze with unhidden interest toward Vesperia, who was drenched in cold sweat and looking at him like a horrific monster. He merely smirked: so that's who was truly the head of the family here!
Activating his perception to evaluate her actual power level, Victor unexpectedly shifted his gaze to Astoria — and immediately frowned. In that exact second, his overwhelming aura vanished completely, leaving behind only pure curiosity.
Noticing that he was staring intently at her, Astoria trembled in fear.
— What... What are you looking at me for?! I was quiet and didn't do anything at all! — she said grumpily, shrinking back into her chair.
Noticing her younger daughter's reaction, Vesperia frowned: had Victor managed to intimidate her at Hogwarts as well?! But why hadn't Astoria told her anything? Thinking back to Victor's power, however, Vesperia realized it immediately: even if her daughter had complained, what could they possibly do against such a monster?
— Victor, stop staring at my sister, you're scaring her, — Daphne interceded.
— Mmm... Oh, right, sorry, girl, — Victor snapped out of it. — Actually, scratch that, don't sorry! Your power has barely changed since school. Are you not training at all?
Astoria's eyes widened in outrage and surprise:
— What?! Train at home too?! It's my holiday! — she yelled discontentedly.
Victor merely sighed in disappointment and shook his head:
— Hold on... You mean the rest of the little brats are slacking off during the summer too?
Daphne thought for a moment and nodded:
— Probably, yes.
— That's very bad. But fine, we'll deal with them when the school year starts, — Victor shifted his gaze back to Orion, who was still sitting white as a sheet, and continued the conversation, though all his thoughts remained on Astoria: — Father-in-law, you didn't quite understand. I'm not seeking your approval. I came to announce that your daughter and I are together now, and you'll just have to accept it.
Before Daphne's father could even open his mouth to reply, his wife beat him to it:
— Son-in-law, don't you worry! Of course we accept everything, — Vesperia smiled. — Why are you eating so little? Here, you absolutely must try this!
Under Orion's astonished gaze, Vesperia began solicitously piling the finest dishes onto Victor's plate, chatting with him cheerfully. A second later, however, the whole picture dawned on Orion himself: Victor was currently around thirteen years old — the same age as his daughter — yet he already possessed such overwhelming power. If Daphne truly loved him, then why not? Who cared if he was Muggle-born — in their world, ultimate power was all that mattered in the end.
Orion looked at the proudly puffed-up Daphne, who sat right next to Victor, practically radiating: "This is my boyfriend!" The head of the house nodded approvingly to himself: "Good job, daughter! A bit early, sure, but an infallible choice — he'll definitely be able to protect you."
At lunch, Victor and Daphne left the manor holding hands.
— Well, I think your parents liked me, — Victor stated confidently.
Daphne laughed and, overjoyed, pulled him closer, kissing him deeply on the lips.
— Definitely! — she said, finally pulling back.
Victor embraced her contentedly, but then his expression grew serious:
— What's going on with Astoria?
Daphne, still happily leaning against him, looked up in surprise:
— What's wrong with her? Everything seems fine.
— I just felt something strange in her body. Something foreign and weird.
Daphne paused to think for a moment:
— Well, you know, lately she's become lazier and sleeps much longer than usual. Maybe she's sick? I'll definitely talk to her.
Victor nodded:
— All right then. It's time for me to go.
Giving her one last firm hug, he kissed her once more and vanished.