The disgust in her voice was palpable, and I felt a strange surge of empathy for the proud Slytherin girl.
When she put it that way, my engagement with Rias wasn't that bad at all.
From everything I'd heard about Rias from Sona, Rias wasn't actually a bad option. And she was very beautiful. I was more upset with my mother and Sona for keeping this a secret from me.
"That's awful," Tonks said quietly, shaking her head sympathetically at Daphne. "No girl deserves that."
Daphne just shrugged stiffly, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden sympathy. "Well, now you know why I chased after you, Sitri," she muttered quietly, refusing to meet my eyes. "Not just to mock your predicament-but because I actually do understand exactly how infuriating it feels," Daphne then paused and looked Tonks up and down. "I remember you from our first year. You were a seventh year student. Aren't you a bastard child of the Black family?"
Tonks' hair turned red at that question? "My parents are happily married thank you very much! Why would you think that!?" she glared at Daphne who shrank backwards.
Daphne apologized. "I'm sorry, I had no idea. It was just something I heard."
"A lot of purebloods don't consider any marriages between purebloods and muggleborns to be sanctified," Tracy explained. "Daphne probably heard the gossip and never knew any different," Tracy tried to calm Tonks down.
I put my hand on Tonks' arm as well, telling her that Daphne did look sorry.
"Fine, I forgive you," Tonks said. "What do you want to know about the Black family anyway?"
Daphne hesitated, eyeing Tonks carefully. "Um... Auror Tonks," she began cautiously, choosing her words carefully this time, clearly wanting to avoid causing any more offense. "Do the Black family women have some kind of secret magic? Something they use to break out of binding marriage contracts or engagements?"
Tonks raised an eyebrow, curiosity replacing her earlier annoyance. "What makes you ask something like that?"
Daphne sighed, folding her arms tightly under her chest as she looked off to the side. "Well, yesterday I overheard some gossip about Narcissa Black divorcing Lucius Malfoy. Apparently, it was supposed to be impossible-at least, that's what her contract was known to be. Rumor is, it's going to be all over the front page of the Daily Prophet tomorrow. So how exactly did Narcissa pull that off?"
Tonks stared at Daphne blankly for a second before shaking her head, a smirk slowly tugging at her lips. She glanced over at me with amusement dancing in her eyes before replying to Daphne. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Greengrass, but there's no ancient family magic involved. If anything, you should be asking the Boy-Who-Lived himself-Mr. Harry Sitri here." Tonks paused dramatically, shooting me a mischievous look. "After all," she continued casually, clearly enjoying the shocked expressions spreading across Daphne's and Tracy's faces, "he's the one currently fucking my aunt."
My jaw dropped open slightly in shock, my face heating up instantly as embarrassment surged through me. "Tonks!" I hissed, scandalized despite myself, glancing around nervously as if worried someone might overhear. "I already told you that hasn't happened yet!"
She shrugged lightly, clearly unrepentant, grinning broadly at my embarrassment. "You literally just said the word "yet" at the end there, Harry."
Tracy's jaw practically hit the floor, her eyes wide with gleeful surprise. "No way!" she squeaked excitedly, grabbing Daphne's arm and shaking it eagerly. "Did you hear that, Daphne? He's shagging Narcissa Black!"
Daphne's expression hovered somewhere between mortification and genuine fascination. "Tell me more, Harry," she practically begged, lightly touching my arm in her eagerness. She hesitated for just a split-second, and then added quickly, "Not about the sex part, obviously-"
"I definitely wanna hear about the sex part," Tracy teased immediately, leaning forward with a cheeky grin and playful wink. "Come on, Harry, details! Is she as cold and dominating in bed as she seems everywhere else?"
I felt my face heat up even more at her bluntness, coughing awkwardly as I glanced between the two girls.
Tonks snickered quietly beside me, clearly enjoying my discomfort.
I shot her a quick glare before looking back to Daphne and Tracy, trying to regain some dignity. "I'm not telling either of you any of that," I said firmly, shaking my head. "It's not appropriate."
Tracy let out a disappointed groan, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Spoilsport," she muttered, pouting exaggeratedly.
Daphne elbowed Tracy sharply, giving her friend a quick glare of disapproval before looking back to me more seriously. "I really wasn't trying to pry about...that," Daphne insisted sincerely. She tucked a loose strand of blonde hair nervously behind her ear, her voice softening into something vulnerable. "I'm more interested in how Narcissa managed to break free from the marriage contract. The sex jokes aside, Harry, I-I really could use some actual advice here."
I sighed, feeling sympathy stirring inside me despite my earlier irritation. Daphne was clearly distressed.
Still, I hesitated, glancing at Tonks for a moment. My mother and Behemoth had warned me repeatedly about taking random women into my peerage just because of a sob story. I'd been incredibly lucky with Narcissa. That she had been genuine. But that was pure luck, not the norm.
And yet, Daphne looked so desperate. Her blue eyes were practically pleading with me, and I found myself struggling to reject her outright.
Instead, I spoke carefully, choosing my words cautiously. "Daphne, the truth is-Narcissa broke the marriage contract because she made a very serious commitment to me first. It's... complicated."
Tracy raised an eyebrow, grinning suggestively. "Serious commitment? Sounds pretty steamy."
I shook my head firmly, trying to suppress another blush. "It's not like that. At least, not entirely," I muttered quickly, running my hand through my hair with frustration. "Look, I genuinely wish I could help you more, Daphne, but it's not something I can explain easily or quickly."
Daphne nodded slowly, disappointment flickering briefly in her eyes before she quickly hid it again. "I understand," she said quietly, voice carefully neutral as she glanced away, visibly composing herself. "Thank you anyway, Harry. Is there any way I can change your mind in the future? It's not just me, but my little sister Astoria will soon be engaged as well..."
I paused for a moment and then ran my head through my hair. This was quite the situation here. I was pissed off about my own sudden engagement and now here I was comforting a girl I barely knew about her own. "I guess..." I paused for a second. "If we became friends... I could eventually tell you how we broke her contract."
Daphne's blue eyes lit up. Tracy giggled as well. "Yes, we knew you couldn't resist our sexy snake charms forever!"
Daphne's expression dropped again as she pouted at her friend. "I wouldn't have phrased it like that... But I would like to get to know you better, Harry Sitri," she said with an obvious blush.
Tonks then shook her head playfully and asked me a question. "Harry? Are you a big fan of anime or something?"
"Not really...?" I said and scratched my cheek. I wondered where she was going with this. "I've never really watched a lot of TV in general."
"Really!? because you have the luck that harem protagonists would kill for!" Tracy pointed out. "I'm a half-blood, and I watch a lot of anime..."
"I was just going to say that myself!" Tonks added, giving Tracy a nod of respect.
Daphne and I shared an equally bewildered glance at Tonks and Tracy, who were now giggling quietly together like old friends.
Trying to ignore their antics, Daphne cleared her throat softly and turned back toward me. "So, Harry, did you actually have a destination in mind when you stormed out of class? Or were you just dramatically wandering off?"
I chuckled dryly, running my fingers through my messy black hair. "Not really," I admitted sheepishly. "Honestly, I wasn't thinking clearly at all. I just knew I needed to get away."
Daphne nodded slowly in understanding, folding her arms as we walked side by side. "Well, maybe we should find someplace useful to be then. Got any ideas?"
I shrugged. "I suppose I could've gone to the library," I offered halfheartedly. "Hermione's probably there right now. She's been self-studying a lot recently-already finished her OWLs for Care of Magical Creatures, actually. Turns out she's not exactly a huge fan of Hagrid's teaching methods."
Daphne snorted, lips curving into a faint smirk. "Smart girl," she muttered dryly. "Hagrid might be kind-hearted, but his creatures are borderline horrifying. And I'm pretty sure those ones today were a literal crime..."
Tonks overheard that and chuckled softly from behind us, nodding in agreement. "Yeah they were. I won't report him if you all don't."
"Or," Daphne suddenly said as she glanced slyly toward Tracy. "We could go somewhere a little more interesting. Tracy and I recently found a secret room up on the seventh floor. It's pretty much perfect for practicing dueling spells-or just blowing stuff up if you're feeling destructive."
Tracy leaned in eagerly, eyes sparkling mischievously as she giggled. "We're probably going to get detention anyway, Harry. Might as well enjoy our freedom while we still have it."
That sounded fine to me. Firing magic at targets was always a good way to blow off steam. I didn't really want to bother Hermione anyway and Narcissa was busy teaching. Lyra and Lyna would have just used sex to make me forget about my problems.
Fuck, maybe I should go look for them after all...
But I shook my head, it was too late since I already said yes and we were halfway up the stairs to the second floor. About to start the trek to the top of the castle when all of a sudden we were all walking through puddles covering the stone floors. Water was everywhere.
I stopped abruptly, my body tensing as chilling whispers echoed eerily through the corridor, seemingly emanating from within the very stones of Hogwarts itself. The whispers were faint at first, then quickly grew louder and more frantic. Almost deranged.
"Rip... tear... kill... kill them all! Kill the one who hurt Master! Kill all the unworthy!"
My eyes darted anxiously around the hallway, but there was nothing-just the shadows cast by flickering torches on damp stone walls and puddles that splashed beneath our feet. Tonks, Daphne, and Tracy halted as well, turning to me with identical expressions of confusion and concern.
"Harry? What's the matter?" Tonks asked urgently, stepping closer and placing a protective hand on my arm. Her eyes scanned the corridor suspiciously, clearly sensing my sudden tension.
"You don't hear that?" I asked, voice taut with unease. My gaze continued to sweep the surroundings, trying to pinpoint the source of the sinister voice. "Something's whispering-saying it wants to kill, to rip and tear."
Daphne and Tracy exchanged nervous glances.
"Whispering? I don't hear anything, Harry," Tracy murmured cautiously, stepping closer to Daphne for comfort.
"It sounds like it's coming from inside the walls," I explained quickly, pressing my fingertips against the cold, damp stones, feeling faint pulses of magic radiating through the ancient structure. My brow furrowed, my magic instinctively flaring outward in an attempt to detect the threat. But whatever it was remained elusive, invisible, yet disturbingly close.
Tonks drew her wand swiftly, her playful demeanor replaced by a hardened professionalism. "Stay alert," she instructed sharply, positioning herself protectively in front of us. "If Harry says something's here, we trust his instincts."
And then I suddenly felt something large coming closer to us from around the corner. It felt like a magical creature of some kind, but my instincts were screaming it was hostile.
"Daphne, Tracy-turn around and run!" I shouted urgently, stepping protectively in front of them.
Thankfully, the two girls didn't argue. Daphne's eyes widened in alarm as she quickly grabbed Tracy's wrist, yanking her away from danger. Both girls spun around splashing through puddles in their frantic retreat.
Tonks was immediately at my side, snapping her wand out of its holster with practiced efficiency. Her previously playful demeanor disappeared entirely, replaced by the sharp, focused readiness of a trained Auror.
The cold, echoing whispering intensified until it was a cacophony of hateful hissing voices. Then, suddenly, a creature appeared, slithering ominously around the corner.
"Oh fuck me," Tonks gasped sharply, her wand trembling slightly in shock.
It was enormous-a monstrous serpent easily fifty feet in length. Its massive triangular head rose slowly as it fixed its piercing, bright-yellow eyes upon us.
Before I could react, my gaze met the serpent's glowing yellow eyes directly-and searing pain exploded through my skull!
"Agh!" I groaned, clutching my head desperately as an agonizing migraine ripped through my brain. The world spun nauseatingly around me, waves of dizziness and pain threatening to knock me off my feet.
Through the blinding pain, I dimly heard a sickening thud beside me.
My vision cleared just enough to see Tonks collapse limply to the wet stone floor, her wand clattering out of her hand and rolling uselessly away from her unmoving fingers.
"T-Tonks?" My voice was weak, choked by sudden disbelief. Her vibrant pink hair sprawled messily across the damp stone, her expressive face frozen in shock, eyes wide open but utterly lifeless.
She wasn't breathing. She didn't even twitch.
She was dead. Just like that.
In a heartbeat, this monster had taken her life.
Rage surged through my body, white-hot and overwhelming. I felt the familiar surge of demonic energy explode outward, manifesting in front of me as the glowing blue Sitri spell circle.
"You fucker!" I snarled furiously, grief and anger roaring through me, focusing every ounce of my power and hatred into one deadly blast.
Water erupted from the spell circle in a devastating high-pressure torrent, a deadly geyser aimed straight at the monster snake. It hit with a violent impact, ripping scales away from its thick hide, leaving raw wounds exposed.
The snake let out an ear-splitting hiss of agony, its massive body thrashing and slamming violently against the stone walls, cracking them from the sheer force.
But despite my attack's devastating strength, the creature wasn't dead.
The massive serpent lunged toward me again, jaws stretched wide, its massive fangs dripping with venom that looked lethal. But all my training lately wasn't for nothing! It was easily enough to dodge at the last second. The monster's jaws snapped shut mere inches from my head.
