Halloween

The month of October rolled by with nothing of significance happening around Hogwarts.

First-years were almost done with the revisionary classes, and they had already started on the advanced material in non-wand subjects such as Herbology, History, and Astronomy a few weeks ago. The other subjects were also progressing nicely.

Ever since his episode in the Defense classroom, Harry had exercised caution. Although Dumbledore had theorized that his issue might stem from overexposure to a high concentration of magic, he felt that the Defense classroom was somehow connected to it.

He had expressed as much to Daphne. There was a history of Defense professors not lasting more than one year, and his best friend pointed out that there must be something that might have affected him.

Although Harry was relieved that he had not experienced something even remotely similar to the pain from all those weeks ago, he was still skeptical. Dumbledore had still not approached him with any new information, and he found himself waiting for the old man to come with whoever he had talked about. If this person could tell him what the issue with his scar was, he would wholeheartedly listen and cooperate with him.

He and Daphne had taken strides in their quest to master Group Transfiguration in the past month, and the time between successive transfigurations had reduced to fractions of a second. Although not instant like they were striving for, it was still a remarkable skill to have at their level, according to McGonagall.

Yet, that did not faze Harry and Daphne, who continued to dedicate themselves to mastering the delicately complicated skill. It was not something that would aid them too much in a battle, but it was certainly a skill that demonstrated the degree of control and finesse they had to their spellcasting – something which they knew they should enhance as much as possible.

They also had their first flying class a couple of weeks ago, and to say that it was peaceful would be an understatement.

Harry and zero ideas about the practicality of flying on a broom – having the knowledge of the skill solely from the journals. His father loved it and was the star chaser of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. That was enough for him to embrace the skill, and he had felt so vindicated when the broom had jumped into his waiting hand the moment he hovered his open palm over it.

The same could not be said for Daphne whose broom, for some reason, was adamant about never rising more than a few inches from the ground. Harry remembered watching in amusement as Daphne kept instructing it to rise, only for it to roll around on the ground, almost as if it were a little child taunting an adult.

His insolence had granted him a sharp elbow poke from the blonde, but Harry could not care much. It was too funny to resist poking fun at Daphne.

It had taken a few minutes of constant effort for the blonde to get the broom to rise so that she could hold it. Although not good, it was at least better than a few students who had to pick their brooms up from the floor.

Throughout the first exercise, Malfoy had been bragging about how he could already fly his broom like a pro and had even dodged a muggle hippycopter when he was flying over the cityscape of North London. Harry and Daphne had scoffed at that. The boy had been humiliated in front of the entire school, and although very few, if any, students seemed to take him seriously, that did not do anything to curb the massive ego the boy had, or to stop him from trying.

At least the boy had enough brain to not cross paths with them. Even his dark looks towards him or his lecherous stares at Daphne had vanished to a huge extent. Despite how much of a pompous braggart Malfoy was, he at least had recognized the massive gulf between him and them to not make things even worse for himself.

As expected, Weasley had not wasted a moment and had met Malfoy's brags with a few of his own. That resulted in another argument between the two. Malfoy accompanied by his two gorilla bodyguards and a simpering brunette in Pansy Parkinson insulted Weasley who was accompanied by the blow-up lad who was otherwise called Seamus Finnegan and another tall, dark-skinned bloke who Harry knew as Dean Thomas. Although it was a 4v3, it was often Weasley who came out on top in their verbal spars, simply because the two gorillas couldn't string two proper sentences together.

Whenever Malfoy insulted Weasley, the redhead would retort with farting noises, which never failed to make the people in the vicinity laugh or to make Malfoy flush in embarrassment. Harry had no problems with that. Weasley could take credit for it if he wanted, as long as it was Malfoy who was getting embarrassed.

Another source of amusement came in the form of the professor. Madam Hooch had been the flying instructor for close to thirty years, having spent her youth as a chaser for the Harpies. Her hawk-like amber eyes were truly fitting for the name of her former team.

Malfoy and Weasley both had been told how utterly wrong their grips on their brooms were. To add insult to injury, she had pointed out how even Neville had a better grip on his brooms than they had on theirs.

It was common knowledge that Neville Longbottom was a clumsy, forgetful lad who was looked down upon by most of the wrong sort, so for the professor to say that even a boy like that was better than them despite all their bragging earned them subdued whistling from the other students, much to the amusement of a certain few, him and Daphne included.

Furthermore, during the class, while they were getting ready to fly, Neville got injured and once Madam Hooch took him to the infirmary, Malfoy somehow managed to steal something that belonged to the boy and took off. Despite Madam Hooch's forewarnings of detention and points loss, Weasley decided to play hero and took off after the blonde. The two boys couldn't make more of a fool of themselves even if they tried, as Weasley collided into Malfoy mid-air while the blonde could only watch in petrified shock at the incoming figure of the redhead.

It was only Madam Hooch's timely intervention as she spotted them the moment she returned and cast an Arresto Momentum that slowed down their descent. Two weeks of detention with Filch, together, along with a deduction of fifty points each didn't earn them any favors from either house. The last they had heard, the two boys only had their five associates to hang around with, as the other students from their houses pointedly ignored them even to this day.

Apart from that, nothing of note happened. Classes went like normal, and his practices with Daphne went as smoothly as could be expected. Their healing spells got more refined after they inflicted injuries on either the dummies to practice those spells or used them in a practical setting after injuring one another during their spellcasting. The pointedly refrained form using any spells on each other that could cause more than tolerable injuries, keeping them for the training dummies. If anyone saw their practices, they would surely think that they were mental.

The sole issue during all the time that had passed was Tracey.

To the brunette's visible disappointment, they still had not gone back to considering her a genuine friend. They were not cold to her. Since Harry made her family a vassal to his, they had actually been quite warm to her and it felt as if nothing had happened. However, Tracey knew things were not the same as they were before. For one, they did not joke around with her as much as they previously did, and things between them were warm only when they were in front of the others. Otherwise, among the three of them, they barely spent any time together.

Harry and Daphne usually took off to either study or practice, and Tracey would be left to join Hermione in the library. It had become the new normal, and it seemed they had no problem keeping it as such.

So far, Tracey had been doing her hidden job as well as might have been expected. The first rumor had almost started to circulate that Daphne and Harry might be closer than normal after someone from Ravenclaw let it slip that their rooms were adjacent to each other. It had not taken long for some to theorize that something might be afoot between them if that was the case, with emphasis on how Daphne might be trying to swindle her way into becoming the Lady of House Potter already. However, even without their knowledge that such a rumor already existed, Tracey had collaborated with the resources of the other members of the Hierarchy, and together they had managed to swiftly put that rumor down.

Only then did Harry and Daphne come to know that such a rumor was even in existence. They had no issues with people speculating about their relationship since they knew it came with the territory. However, insinuating that there might be something untoward going on between them was not something they were willing to tolerate, and they did not hesitate in praising Tracey for a job well done. That had been it. Cold, as Tracey felt it was, but nothing unfair. It was transactional, on all fronts, and that was how they had now decided it would remain.

They had easily discovered who had spread that particularly heinous rumor. It was circulating among a very few students from Ravenclaw, and the source was a girl from the second year.

Tracey informed them that a second-year girl named Cho Chang had shown interest in Harry, but she thought something was going on between him and Daphne, so she didn't ponder too much on it. Harry recalled her as the Asian girl who had openly checked him out a few weeks ago.

However, her friend Marietta Edgecombe had decided, for some reason, to take care of matters and had resolved to spread a rumor to sully Daphne's name so that Harry would cut ties with her. According to Tracey, she did it so that the path was clear for her friend.

Harry was infuriated. Daphne encouraged him to ignore it since no harm had been done, but he refused to listen. The girl had to pay for trying to destroy Daphne's reputation.

A massive perk of being part of the Hierarchy was access to all information they had gathered on various students. Harry and Daphne had also been getting all sorts of information about various students from Tracey, who acquired it either directly from the source or other resources. It was through this nifty channel that Harry discovered something that he could use against Edgecombe.

The girl had chosen to do it for her friend. Harry decided to nip the bud right then and there.

In no time, a rumor started that Edgecombe had befriended Chang only because her father was China's official ambassador to Wizarding Britain and her mother was hoping for a promotion from her office in the Floo Department to the office of the International Magical Cooperation at his behest.

The result was as expected. Chang dumped Edgecombe in the middle of the Ravenclaw Common Room and the girl had quickly become a pariah in the house. Harry did not know if it was true, but he could not care less. Daphne had managed to convince him not to do anything else, and Harry acquiesced. However, that had been enough for the girl to lose any friends she previously had. After all, no one wanted to be friends with someone who wanted to associate with you only because they wanted to exploit your position.

So far, this Hierarchy thing had been helpful, and they could not complain.

XXXXX

It was a day Harry once dreaded, but had slowly come to accept and get over after a heartfelt talk with his aunt and uncle. The day his parents died.

Halloween had initially been a normal holiday for Harry, and he remembered going with Calum to the neighbors like every other kid. However, it was the year when he had been told about his parents and received their journals that he started to hate the day.

They were young, and Calum didn't understand why his cousin no longer liked the day or wanted to go out for their annual Trick-or-Treating. They had fought that Halloween evening when Harry had openly told Calum that he hated the celebrations and didn't like it when other people celebrated it either.

For two years, Harry had declined to celebrate the holiday or join Calum, who had no choice but to go out with a few other kids from their school.

Aunt Rosie and Uncle Scott had sat down with him on his tenth birthday and tried to reason with him. Their words of wisdom were like useless jargon for a child of his age, and he had initially nodded only to get them off his case. However, a year later on the 30th of October, they sat down with him once again to discuss it one more time.

That year had been significant, and Harry had already started on his parents' older years' journals. It had brought him much closer to them than before, and he had been much more receptive to his relatives' words this time.

Since then, although Harry still did not like or get overly excited about Halloween, he did not shun the holiday or the people celebrating it either. It was simply another day on which others celebrated and he partook in the festivities like a cordial person. Nothing more, nothing less.

Classes had ended for the day a couple of hours ago and he was engaged in a heated duel with Daphne who, for some reason, did not seem to be as involved in it as she normally was. When another one of her shields shattered under his spell, he'd finally had enough and he signaled for a break. Daphne nodded and joined him by the desk, wordlessly handing him the bottle of water. Harry took it and drank a few gulps as he looked at her.

"Something wrong?" He asked, bluntly as always. Daphne looked at him in surprise.

"No, why?"

"Nothing. You seem off."

Daphne chuckled. "You must be imagining things. I'm as I always am. Nothing's wrong."

Harry nodded and stayed silent for a few seconds as Daphne drank some water.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Daphne held his meaningful gaze for a short while before giving a nod as they sat on the desk, facing the wall in the distance. A moment of prolonged silence set in.

"I don't like Halloween," she finally admitted, sighing. Harry turned to look at her. Daphne was still staring ahead with a frown.

"And why is that?"

"I lost my brother on this day."

Harry's eyes shot open, and he stared at her. Daphne looked at him and blinked back tears. Involuntarily, his hand grabbed hers in support.

"He was two weeks old. The youngest of us. Mother named him Damien to pay tribute to her uncle who raised her after her father's death. He was born sickly, and no matter how many healers we consulted, there was nothing anyone could do. Mother were inconsolable for months, and my father could do nothing but try to support her as much as he could."

Harry stayed silent as he softly caressed the back of her hand.

"We don't celebrate Halloween at home. Mother and father do visit the pureblood parties sometimes to keep appearances, but they only tolerate the day. It brings no joy to us."

Harry nodded. "Perfectly understandable. It's the same for me."

Daphne closed her eyes and gave his hand a soft squeeze in response. Her head leaned against his shoulder as Harry interlaced their fingers together.

"I hate it when I see people celebrating this day," she whispered, sniffing. Harry nodded stiffly, remembering when he too used to be like that. His cries and his shouts at an angry Calum while his aunt and uncle watched with frowns still prominent in his thoughts.

Daphne continued, "I know it's not fair, and I know I should move on from this. But for some reason, I can't seem to. It's been over twelve years, but it still feels like it happened yesterday."

Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulder and Daphne allowed him to take her in his arms. Sighing, she rested her head against his chest as Harry caressed her back softly.

"I used to be like that once," he began. Daphne listened silently.

"When my aunt and uncle told me about my parents' deaths, I started to hate Halloween. I even had a huge fight with my cousin Calum when I said no to him about going to Trick-or-Treats. We were eight. For three years, I didn't go. I kept resenting the day and the people who celebrated it. Even my aunt and uncle."

"I can't remember it being easy for anyone," Daphne whispered. Harry nodded.

"It wasn't. I said a lot of bad things to them. How they didn't care for my parents, how Aunt Rosie didn't love my mother if she didn't get upset when people celebrated Halloween. Stuff I hate myself for saying."

Daphne nodded.

"They told me only a few things. This day might hold bad memories for me, but that doesn't give me the right to be upset with others for celebrating it. They are not the ones who were affected like I was, so I can't expect them to feel the way I do. The least I can do is respect their right to celebrate the day. There were a few more things but I don't think those are important right now. Since then, I've been more tolerant of others' beliefs and their choices. I don't like the day or even celebrate it, but I don't resent people for it either."

Daphne sighed as she pulled back and nodded.

"I'll try not to be morose at the feast then," she chuckled. Harry sighed.

"We can skip the feast altogether if you want. Pretty sure the elves can deliver our dinner to my room or yours."

Daphne shook her head with a rueful smile.

"Don't worry, Harry. I'll be fine. We'll be fine," she replied, smiling softly. Harry pursed his lips before he sighed with a soft smile.

"Okay. Let's go then. It's time for the feast anyway."

"Yeah," she nodded and grabbed his hand. Together, they walked out of the abandoned classroom and towards the staircase to attend the Halloween Feast.

XXXXX

The Great Hall was decorated for the Halloween festivities. Thousands of live bats fluttered the walls and the ceiling while pumpkins with candles inside them floated over the tables filled with students from all four houses. There was a golden glow to the hall as the feast was about to be underway.

Harry and Daphne walked over to the Ravenclaw table and took their seats opposite Tracey who nodded at them. They greeted her in kind, as cordial as they had used to become with her.

Dumbledore clapped from his spot in the middle of the teachers' table and the feast suddenly sprung up.

"Pretty extravagant," Harry couldn't help but remark. Daphne nodded with a sigh and they helped themselves to some steak that did indeed look delicious. Harry was in the middle of lifting the fork off his plate when they suddenly heard a commotion to their left.

He looked up and frowned when none other than Quirrell came sprinting into the Great Hall with a frantic expression on his face. The man ran up the aisle until he reached the raised dais and fell in a heap. Surprised, the students stared at the man who looked up at Dumbledore and whispered something. They were too far away to hear what the man had said, but the students close to the teachers' table were not, and it didn't take long for the whispers to reach them.

"What magical creatures?" Harry asked with a frown as Dumbledore got up and instructed the students to go back to their respective common rooms. They watched the food vanish and got up, making a beeline for the exit.

"No idea. But it must be something serious if the teachers are escorting the students and the headmaster himself is going," Daphne replied as they walked out of the Great Hall and towards the Ravenclaw Tower.

Suddenly, someone tugged his sleeve frantically, and Harry turned around to meet Tracey's frightened eyes.

"What is it?"

"Hermione!" Tracey exclaimed in a hushed voice so that only they could hear. Harry and Daphne's eyes widened.

"What about Hermione?" Daphne asked urgently.

Tracey took a deep breath and looked at them.

"She told me she was not hungry and would study in the library until curfew."

"She doesn't know about these creatures," Daphne whispered in realization. Tracey nodded.

"We need to get to her then," Harry said firmly as he looked at Tracey. "Alright, here's what we're gonna do. Me and Daph will go to the library and make sure she's safe. You get to the common room and divert the attention away from us."

"I'll wait for you two in the common room," Tracey nodded.

They had already been in the rear of the line, and it didn't take much for them to get away from the students. Harry watched as Tracey walked behind the other students and quickly pulled Daphne into the alcove to his left. Daphne immediately cast the disillusionment charm on them and found his hand. Together, they walked in the opposite direction to the library.

XXXXX

Hermione Granger sighed and stretched, releasing a contented breath when she heard a few pops. She had been at it for close to three hours, and finally, she was done with the first-year course material.

Harry and Daphne were literal prodigies of magic, and it was a fact that she had slowly come to accept over the past couple of months. However, that did not mean she was any slouch either. Having already finished with the revisionary curriculum a month ago, she had finally managed to complete the theoretical portion of the first-year course material. Only the actual spellcasting remained.

She frowned when she looked at her watch. By now, the feast must be in full swing. She had not lied when she told Tracey that she was not hungry. But now, she felt like eating something.

The library was deserted, and even Madam Pince had gone to the feast after allowing her to stay until the curfew.

Hermione packed her studying materials and meticulously put them in her bag. She slung it over her shoulder and started to walk out of the library. The brunette had taken only a few steps outside when a faint growl reached her ears.

Her breath hitched and the hairs on the back of her neck stood in alarm as Hermione looked to the side. Her eyes shot open at the sight.

A thick stream of blood slithered down the floor of the vacant corridor and she saw the malicious eyes of the creature as it feasted on a body that undoubtedly belonged to the caretaker of Hogwarts. Bile rose in Hermione's throat at the sight of the old man's torn-open belly and try as she might, she could not take her shocked eyes away from the depraved sight of this evil creature feasting on the corpse.

Her knees gave away as the creature swiped his hand and tore Mr. Filch's chest apart. This time, she could not stop it and slumped over to her left, retching all over the floor.

Tears filled her vision and all Hermione could do was throw up on the floor, entirely unaware of her surroundings.

The foreboding feeling that envelopes a person when one is in mortal danger came over her in an instant, and Hermione turned, teary-eyed, towards the creature once again.

A shrill scream tore its way out of her throat when she saw the grinning, blood-stained visage of the monstrous creature barely ten feet from where she was slumped on the floor. This close, she could easily make out the deranged amber eyes and the scars on its face. The creature was tall and massive, and it had a snout in place of a mouth.

Realization dawned on her in an instant, and her blood froze in her veins as she stared at the hulking werewolf with bloodshot eyes.

"Ah-ha… What do we have here?" The creature sang, grinning. "Another feast! Must say, Hogwarts sure does spoil its guests, doesn't it?"

Hermione could do nothing but stare at the creature, frozen in place.

"And a beautiful brunette at that. Look at you, girly. Such a pretty face, and a lovely body as well," the creature licked its lips. "I am torn. What should I do? Wait and have some fun? Or devour you like I always do? Hmm… tis a dilemma…"

Her breath hitched; the creature's words wafting over her senses and sending her panicking. Frantically, Hermione stared in every direction, hoping against hope that something… someone could come and save her.

"Ah, I love this sight," the creature laughed and sang, "The panicking prey knows it's in trouble~"

Hermione looked at the creature with wide eyes as it got to its hands and knees and slowly started to crawl toward her.

"And you know what I like to do to a panicking prey, hmm, girlie?" It grinned, and Hermione could only stare at those large, sharp teeth. "I like to tease it. Nothing more fun than toying with a panicking prey. I've had so much fun doing this over the years."

Hermione cried out when the creature suddenly grabbed her leg and lashed out, catching it straight in the snout with her other leg. The creature immediately released its grip on her leg, rubbing the spot.

"Ow ow ow… you do have a strong kick. I'm having second thoughts about you," it smirked, taking the position once again. Hermione, for her part, kept pushing herself back as much as she could. Her senses had fled her. Her legs had given away. All she could think about was getting as far away as she could.

"Hmm… some fun is a given. But I think I won't devour you now. Oh yes," the creature grinned maliciously. "I'll make you my bitch. You will give me some strong pups for our pack. What do you say, girlie? Wanna be the great Elstan Greyback's breeding whore?"

Hermione's eyes widened and she cried out when the creature suddenly pounced on her, pinning her hands to the side and grinning down at her ferally. She felt the bones on her hands break and a cry of pain forced its way out of her. She could do nothing but lay there, helpless, as the creature tore her shirt off with its sharp teeth.

"Ahh, nothing more pleasing to the eye than the sight of a budding young woman's naked bosom," the monster cackled as it he looked at her defeated self.

Hermione's last strength left her. She could do nothing but lay there, unable to even cry or whimper, waiting for it to be over, pleading for it to be over.

Elstan smirked at the girl. She was older than the ones he normally liked, but she would do brilliantly. He stared at where he had torn her clothes apart and stared at her bare chest.

"Oh yes, poppet. You'll do nicely," he whispered, licked his lips and grinned before leaning down.

XXXXX

Harry and Daphne rushed through the corridors and ran up the stairs as fast as they could. There was only one thought on their minds – Hermione must be safe.

They breathed a sigh of relief when they rounded the corner and reached the library, only to have that breath knocked out of their lungs when they stared horrified at the sight that greeted them.

Hermione was lying prone on the floor, her clothes torn apart as a hulking werewolf had her pinned to the floor. Its disgusting mouth was hovering over her face, smirking.

"Ahh, nothing more pleasing to the eye than the sight of a budding young woman's naked bosom," they heard the creature cackle.

They immediately brandished their wands as the creature whispered something else and leaned down.

Suddenly, the werewolf leaped off Hermione and threw itself against the wall as Harry cast a powerful piercing hex. The creature watched with wide eyes as a malicious orange bolt struck the wall behind where it had just been and pierced through it.

"Who's there!?" Elstan snarled as he got up and brandished his wand, extending his senses to feel his surroundings out. He hissed in anger when a knife suddenly collided against his back, tearing through flesh and leaving a gash open. Warm crimson splattered against the wall.

Infuriated, he turned around, only to bend over again when another spell collided with his back and tore another gash open.

"Cowards! Face me head-on if you have the balls!"

He looked up and snarled when his whore was levitated far away from him. Immediately, his assailants became visible – a blonde whore and a raven cunt. He gritted his teeth in rage when the blondie bent down and fixed his whore's clothes before she stunned her. Seething, he looked at the cunt with eyes that promised pain and suffering beyond measure.

"You have no idea who you have messed with, boy! I am Elstan Greyback! The only brother of the great Fenrir, and I will make you pay," Elstan snarled as he stared at the dark-haired cunt. "But I won't make it easy for you. I'll make you watch as I break those two whores and breed them. Only then will I grant you the mercy of death."

Harry Potter stared at the deformed creature with a stoic face, as his emerald eyes glowed with fury and his magic swirled around him in waves. Beside him, Daphne stood with a similar look and aura.

"You'll have to kill me for that," Harry hissed through gritted teeth as the creature smirked.

"I'd rather make you watch first, cunt," Elstan replied with a malicious grin as his injuries healed up.

Harry and Daphne readied themselves for the battle that was undoubtedly going to take place. Everything they had put into their practices so far would be tested tonight, and they were determined to destroy this monster.

With a snarl, Harry and Daphne threw themselves into the fight as Elstan released the first salvo of spells. The battle had started.

XXXXX

To be continued…

XXXXX

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