Harry Potter and the Way of Reason

Sunday, April 4, 19:6pm

On her way back to her room from the Hogwarts Express unloaded luggage before having dinner with the other students, Daphne Greengrass made her way quietly to the Greengrass room below the Slytherin cellar, a room of the old family privilege.Since Malfoy had left, the entire private area had been hers.With her hands behind her back, she kept gesturing to follow her huge emerald-encrusted case, which seemed hesitant to follow.Maybe the spell on the stout old family device needed to be recast; or maybe her chest didn't want to follow her into Hogwarts because it wasn't safe anymore.

Mother and father had a long conversation when they learned about Hermione; Daphne, in tears, tried not to make a sound as she hid in the porch and eavesdropped.

The sad truth, Mother said, was that if only one student died each year, Hogwarts would still be much safer than Beauxbatons, let alone Durmstrang.There are other ways for a young witch to die than to be murdered.Beauxbaton's transfiguration master is not on the same level as Professor McGonagall, mother said.

Father calmly pointed out that when all the other noble families were sending their children to school (which is why the old tradition of noble families had their heirs at the same time as possible, so that they could attend the same Hogwarts grade), how important it is to have Greengrass' heir at Hogwarts.And my father had said that being heir to the oldest family meant you couldn't always stay out of trouble.

She would feel better now if she hadn't listened to the last part.

Daphne swallowed hard, turned the doorknob, and opened the door.

"Miss Greengrass—" whispered a shadowy figure in a silver robe.

Daphne screamed and slammed the door, drew her wand, and turned and ran.

"Wait!" cried the voice, higher and louder.

Daphne paused.It couldn't be whoever it sounded like.

Slowly, Daphne turned around and opened the door again.

"It's you!" Daphne said in shock when she saw the face under the hood, "I thought you—"

"I'm coming back to you now," the silver-robed figure said in a strong voice, "at a critical moment—"

"What are you doing in my bedroom?" Daphne screamed.

"I heard you can unleash a foggy Patronus. Can I see it?"

Daphne glared at him, and her blood started to burn. "Why?" she said, keeping her wand high, "so you can kill every single person in Slytherin house who can cast a non-Slytherin spell? We all know who killed Hermione!"

The voice of the figure rose. "I testified under the influence of Veritaserum, I tried to help Miss Granger! When I grabbed her hand on the roof, when I pulled her up from the floor, I really wanted to To help her-"

Daphne maintained the height of her wand. "As if your dad couldn't tamper with the Auror records. I'm not a three-year-old, Mr. Malfoy!"

Slowly, as if in order not to arouse Daphne's vigilance, the figure in the silver robe pulled out the wand from the robe.Daphne's hand was gripping her wand tightly, but she recognized the gesture, the way the figure was standing, and then she gasped in shock—

"Call God Guard!"

Silver light leaped from the other end of the wand—condensed, forming a shining snake; the snake curled up in the air, as if making a nest there.

She was stunned.

"I did try to help Hermione Granger," Draco Malfoy said evenly. "Because I know what's wrong with Slytherin House, the reason so many of us can't cast the Patronus Charm anymore, is hate. Hate at Muggle-borns, or at whatever, really. People think that's It's all about Slytherin, not cunning or ambition or respectable nobility. And I even know, because you just have to take one look and it's clear that Hermione Granger isn't weak when it comes to magic. "

Daphne's mind is completely blank now.She looked around nervously and quickly, just to check if there was any blood coming out from under the door, as if something had been broken last time.

"And I figured it out," said Draco Malfoy quietly, the silver snake continuing to glow with unmistakable light and warmth, "Hermione Granger never really tried to kill me. Maybe she's had her memories altered, maybe she's been forgotten, but now she's murdered, and it's clear that when someone tried to set her up for my murder, Miss Granger was the target in the first place—"

"You-you-you-do you know what you're talking about?" Daphne said hoarsely.If Lucius Malfoy heard his heir say something like that - he'd skin Draco and make pants!

Draco Malfoy smiled, the metallic robes gleaming in the light of his full flesh Patronus; it was a smile that was as haughty and dangerous as the danger of being made into leather pants was to him It's not worth talking about. "Yes," said Draco, "but it doesn't matter now. The Malfoys are going to return the Potters' money and get rid of the debt."

Daphne went to the bed and fell on the bed, hoping that she would wake up from this dream as soon as she lay on the bed.

"I want you to join a cabal," said the shiny robed figure, "everyone in Slytherin who can cast the Patronus spell, and everyone who can learn it. When the Silver Slytherins meet, by Patronus spells are the way we know we can trust each other." Draco Malfoy pulled back his hood in a dramatic gesture, "but we can't do it without you, Daphne Greengrass. You and your family. You My mother will negotiate with my father, but I hope the Greengrass family will hear the proposal from you first." Draco Malfoy lowered his voice sternly, "We still have a lot to talk about before dinner."

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Harry Potter had apparently taken a penchant for invisibility; they could only glimpse his hand the moment he handed them the list, written on strange non-parchment paper.Harry explained that, having considered all the circumstances, he didn't think it would be wise to allow himself to be found except on special occasions, so from now on he planned to only deal with people with invisible voices, or with Hidden in a corner no one can see the shape of the brilliant silver light, no matter where his friends try to hide, the silver light can find it.Honestly, it was the creepiest thing Fred and George had ever heard in their lives, more so than filling the shoes of every second-year Slytherin with live Transfigured centipedes.Fred and George figured that anyone staying in this state would go crazy sooner or later, but they didn't know what to say.It cannot be denied that they saw Hogwarts themselves...

...is no longer safe...

"I don't know who you asked to tamper with Rita Skeeter's memory," Harry Potter said in an unidentifiable voice. Know someone who can get something from the Muggle world. And - I know it might cost a little more, but as few people as possible know that Harry Potter has anything to do with it." The little boy's hand Once again, a bag clanged to the ground, "Some of these items are expensive even in the Muggle world, and your contacts may need to go outside the UK; but 100 Galleons should be enough to pay , I hope. I will tell you where this Gallon came from, but I don't want to spoil tomorrow's surprise."

"What are these things?" asked Fred or George as they flipped through the list. "Our dad is a Muggle expert—"

"—and half of these things we don't know—"

"—and guess what, none of us recognized—"

"—what are you going to do?"

"It's getting serious," said Harry softly, "and I don't know what I have to do. I may need Muggle powers, not just wizards, before this is over - and I may soon be Needed, no time to prepare. I don't intend to use any of these. I just want to keep them close by in case of...emergencies." Harry's voice paused, "Obviously, I owe you forever I don't know, and you guys won't let me give you any of your dues, and I don't even know how to say thank you properly, and all I can do is hope that one day, you'll grow up and be more sympathetic to this whole thing Reasonable, and please take a 10% commission—”

"Shut up you," said George or Fred.

"For God's sake, you chased the troll for me, and Fred got a broken rib!"

They both just shook their heads.When they told Harry to run, he stayed behind, and stepped forward to draw the troll's attention so it wouldn't eat George.They knew that Harry was the kind of guy who would think that sort of thing wouldn't offset what he owed the Weasley twins, that his own behavior didn't exactly match what he owed the twins.But the Weasleys knew, and Harry had to grow up a bit to understand, that it meant they owed nothing, and that they could never owe each other.It was a strange kind of selfishness, they thought, and Harry himself could understand kindness in himself—never asking for money, or calling that a favor, from those who helped them more than they helped him—while on the other hand he was very Clearly incomprehensible that others would want to treat him in the same way.

"Remind me to buy you a copy of the Muggle novel Atlas Unburdened," said the unsourced voice, "and I'm beginning to understand what kind of people benefit from reading it."

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Monday, April 4, 20pm

There was no intervention or sign from the Chair of Honor when it happened, and the students had just finished a depressing dinner; it happened without the permission or forgiveness of the professor or the Headmaster.

After the dessert appeared, a student stood up from the long Slytherin table, and then calmly walked to the opposite side of the four long tables in Hogwarts, not in front of the guest of honor.There were some whispers when the short platinum hair appeared, and Draco Malfoy stood there, silently watching the whole of Hogwarts.Draco Malfoy had barely spoken since his unexpected return.The Slytherin didn't stoop to admit or deny it: he'd come back because Hermione Granger was dead at the hands of his family, and he had nothing to fear anymore.

Then Draco Malfoy picked up a spoon in one hand and a glass of water in the other, and started tapping, making a clear tinkle.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

The sound at first led to more excited discussions.At the guest table, the professors looked puzzled at the headmaster sitting in the huge chair, but the headmaster didn't give any signal, so neither did the staff.

Draco Malfoy continued to tap the glass with his spoon until the room fell silent, waiting.

Then another student got up from the Ravenclaw table and walked over to Draco Malfoy, turning beside him to face Hogwarts.There was a startled gasp; those two people should have been sworn enemies——

"I, and my father, the noble and oldest of the Malfoy lords," said Draco Malfoy in a clear voice, "have become aware that there is an evil force at work at Hogwarts. These evil The Power, did try to harm Hermione Granger. Hermione Granger may have been forced, against her will, to raise her wand against our family; or perhaps both her memory and mine have been falsified We hereby declare that anyone who dares to use Malfoy's heir in this way is an enemy of the Malfoy family and we will take revenge on him. In order to defend the honor, we have returned all the money taken from the Potter family to its original owner , and canceled all debts."

Then Harry Potter said, "The Potter family acknowledges that this was an unintentional mistake and holds no hostility towards the Malfoy family. We believe and publicly state that the Malfoy family was not responsible for Hermione Granger's death. Anyone who hurts Hermione Granger is an enemy of the Potter family, and we will avenge them. Our two families."

Then Harry Potter started walking back to the Ravenclaw table, and the cacophony of pure, utter, reality-shattering confusion began to erupt—

Draco Malfoy continued to tap his water glass with his spoon, making a clear jingle.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

Then the other students got up from the other long tables and walked over to where Draco Malfoy was standing, taking places beside, behind or in front of him.

There was a dead silence in the hall, a feeling of world change and forces re-aligning, almost visible in the air.

"My father, Owen Greengrass, has the consent and full support of my mother, the noble and oldest Madam Greengrass," said Daphne Greengrass.

"And my ancestor, Charles of the Nord family." Said the former Nord lieutenant, Theodore, who was once the Chaos Legion, now stood behind Draco Malfoy.

"And my great-aunt, Amelia Burns of the Burns family, who is also Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," said Susan Burns, standing next to Daphne Greengrass, Beside those who fought with her.

"And my grandmother, Augusta, from the noble and oldest Longbottom family," said Neville Longbottom, who had come back just for the evening.

"And my father, Lucius, Lord Malfoy of the noble and oldest Malfoy family!"

"Combined with Alanna Hall for a majority of the Hogwarts Board of Trustees!" Daphne Greengrass resoundingly said, "In order to ensure the safety of all students - including their own children - the following Hogg Education order from the Watts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

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"Number one!" said Daphne.Daphne tried to control herself to stand in front of the five people, facing the trembling of the four colleges.The speech lessons her parents taught her helped her only so much.Daphne's eyes quickly looked down at the speech prompt written with a quill pen stained with light red ink. "Students should not be traveling alone, even to the bathroom! You will be traveling in groups of at least 3 and there must be a [-]th or [-]th grader in each group!"

"Second!" Susan Burns said from behind her, her voice was almost firm, "In order to further ensure the safety of the students, nine Aurors have been sent to Hogwarts to form an auxiliary protection force!" Su Shan took from her robes a small round glass object, a communicator used by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and they would each have one.Susan lifted it to her lips and said, her voice rising, "Auror Brodsky, this is Susan Burns. Come in!"

The door to the Great Hall slammed open, and nine marching Aurors clad in reinforced leather jackets only worn on duty.They dispersed immediately, with two Aurors standing guard at each of the four long tables, and the last one in charge of the guest of honor.More gasps.

"Third!" said Draco Malfoy, his voice commanding.Malfoy had obviously memorized his lines, because as far as Daphne could see, nothing was written on his hands, "Facing a common enemy who doesn't hesitate to kill any of the students in the house, the four houses of Hogwarts must Unite and act in unison! To emphasize a point, the college system is suspended! All professors must encourage unity among students, this is the Hogwarts Board of Directors decree!"

"Fourth!" Neville Longbottom backtracked, "All students who did not attend the defense professor's after-school course will receive special self-defense training from the Auror instructor!"

"Fifth!" Theodore Nord yelled in a threatening tone, "All fights in the corridors or outside of the defense class will be dealt with seriously! Fight together or don't fight!"

"Sixth!" said Daphne Greengrass, and took a deep breath.When she found out what the plan was, she made an extra little request of her own to her mother via Floo.Even with Lucius Malfoy and Amelia Bones on the side -- an idea her brain still struggles with -- Greenglass's free ticket is still crucial, as Gargson and his little The group refuses to support Malfoy.Not to mention that Burns didn't trust Malfoy at all, and Malfoy didn't trust Burns either.So Mother made the request, and Greengrass got it—"Because the memory-altering spell was being used on the student without triggering the ward, a Hogwarts staff member may have been implicated. Therefore! Auxiliary Protective Arms directly Report to my father, Lord Greengrass!" This part was symbolic, she knew, and there was no reason why anyone should not contact the Aurors directly; but one day this part might carry more weight, which is what she asked her mother to ask The reason for this—"If anyone wants to report anything to the Secondary Protectors, they can talk to the Aurors, or through me—" Daphne waved her arm behind her, suggesting to the gathered students, "Secondary Protectors Duly appointed Chairman of the Special Committee!"

Then Daphne stopped dramatically.They've rehearsed the part.

"We don't know who the enemy is;" said Neville, his voice not harsh.

"We don't know what the enemy wants;" Theodore said, still looking threatening.

"But we know who the enemy is hitting;" Susan said, her voice as fierce as when she knocked out three seventh-graders.

"The enemy is attacking Hogwarts students;" Draco Malfoy said, his voice clear and commanding, as if it was all part of him.

"And Hogwarts," said Daphne of the Greengrasses, feeling her blood burn like never before, "will fight back!"

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Note 1: "Atlas Shakes Off the Burden" is also translated as "Atlas Shrugged"

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