Published at 27th of May 2024 12:15 am

Chapter 255: Bloody Emerald

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1 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France

Daphne hadn't been in France for two days and she already wanted to go back home. It felt slightly like a waste of time, especially considering just how much she had to work with to keep helping her sister's condition. There were better uses of her time. Honestly, she would have been perfectly happy with her and Harry remaining in Hogwarts and learning magic together. But her father wanted her to 'make connections' to grow his business, or more accurately, he wanted to come during the tournament and make connections with the pretence of coming to visit his daughter.

A part of her couldn't help but resent being forced into something that she couldn't control.

Well, it wasn't all bad. The myriads of different cultures were nice, and the classes looked surprisingly interesting. She never realized just how much Albus Dumbledore trimmed down the classes during his time as Hogwarts' headmaster.

Daphne was looking forward to her beginner healing classes, even if it would probably be a refresher of what she had taught herself using the books in Hogwarts. Even in France, any form of advanced Healing was mostly locked by the Guild, and she wouldn't be able to join before graduating from Hogwarts.

Still, things would have been a lot better if the damn French Veela stopped staring at Harry for no reason.

The Veela, whose name was Fleur Delacour, obviously knew Harry from someplace. Daphne couldn't help but feel a knot form in her stomach at the thought of Harry not telling her about Delacour. It would have been better if he had told her. She wouldn't have been feeling as hesitant as she currently was.

The blonde shook her head, choosing not to focus on those thoughts. She had nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

Instead, she decided to read a book she found in the Beauxbatons library. 'Bloodlines and Enchantments' was a fascinating read on Blood Magic, even if it was very vague. She had found the book completely by chance when she muttered Harry's book lookup spell with the keyword 'Blood Magic'.

It was surprising that she had even found a book on the subject that didn't just say that it was a banned practice. It wasn't really all that useful; it wasn't a spellbook, nor did it have any instructions on any magics. It was simply a recollection of known active forms of blood magic when the book was written.

The book was filled with enchantments that anchor certain artefacts to a bloodline. There was an example in the infamous Laevatein, rumoured to be the sword held by Surtr himself, one of the strongest magical weapons ever devised, and last seen when the last Brandsson used it to defend against some Dark Lord before the Statute of Secrecy was put in place.

The book also described the role of blood magic in creating formidable barriers and protections around ancient castles, some of which still stood impervious to modern magical attacks. It mentioned the Gudrodr lineage, renowned for their blood-sealed gates that no enemy could pass unless by blood or invitation. Each chapter laid out historical accounts filled with mystery and whispered secrets of long-lost magic that could bind a spell so deeply within a family that it echoed down the generations.

Her fascination grew with each legend and anecdote, sketching a vivid picture of a mystical and dangerous aspect of magic that was seldom spoken of openly, yet undeniably powerful and awe-inspiring.

She was so lost in her book, that she didn't notice the Unspeakable woman sneak up on her, "You won't find what you're looking for in a book like this…"

Daphne tilted her head in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"Your sister, I mean. You won't find anything that could cure her here."

The blonde stiffened at the woman's knowledge. The fact that the woman tended to oddly hover around her and Harry, hadn't gone unnoticed. It might be because Harry's family crest was just bullshit, but no one should know anything about it.

It made her nervous, to see the woman display so much attention towards them. It was like they were constantly under surveillance… Honestly, Daphne didn't know enough to really trust the Department of Mysteries in any meaningful way. She didn't even understand why people did trust the place. Barely anyone knew what happened down there, only that every once in a while, a few Unspeakables helped the ministry martially or by sharing certain useful spells.

Daphne immediately went on the offensive, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The woman snickered and it made the blonde want to punch her, "Come on. The Greengrass curse is a bit of an open secret, especially to us Unspeakables. Did you know your father actually went to the department, asking for help? They couldn't do anything, really, no one really wanted to specialize in Blood Magic, unwilling to risk their careers if a squeamish person in power found that out. He looked so dejected when Croaker refused him. It was probably his last shot at saving her."

She couldn't help but be surprised at the fact her father actually went to the Unspeakables with Astoria's condition, that he had set aside his pride and family secrets to save his youngest daughter. No wonder he gave up on her after this. He had literally gone to one of the sketchiest groups and researchers in the country, asking for help and came back empty-handed.

However, there was something that Daphne noticed, "You spoke of the other Unspeakables like you aren't one of them."

"Oh, let's just say I was indisposed at the time, which was unfortunate for your sister…"

"Why is that?" Daphne asked, trying in vain to hide the hopeful tint in her voice.

"Well, I am one of the few remaining experts in blood magic, at least in this continent."

Well, that was it. A true chance at healing her sister was in front of her. Then why was there this voice in her head telling her that it was all too good to be true? She shook her head; this was the first lead.

Before she could say anything, the older woman stated mercilessly, "However, I cannot heal your sister."

Daphne froze at that, "Then why bring it up?"

"Because, my dear, while I cannot save her, you can."

The blonde stiffened once more, "What are you talking about?"

The Unspeakable shook her head, "How disappointing… You really have no idea what you're doing, are you? Tell me, what do you know about Blood Magic?"

"It's a type of magic that uses blood as anchors or mediums to spells," Daphne recited from the book she was just reading.

The older woman snorted, "That's funny. Every single thing you just said is wrong. People like to think that adding a bit of blood in a spell makes it 'blood magic'. The truth of the matter is that all those so-called blood wards and blood anchors to bind artefacts don't even need a drop of blood. Most of them rely on recognizing family crests to work. Do you have any idea just how idiotic it would be for someone to ward a family home using blood? A descendant after a few generations would have as much of a blood connection as far relative. Magical bloodlines are transferred using family crests, not actual blood. The entire book that you've been reading was written by someone who knew as little about blood magic as you."

Daphne couldn't help but be surprised at that. It made an odd sort of sense. She was probably related to most of the old magical families in Britain. She probably had as much blood from the descendants as the actual scions of the families, but she could not just waltz into their family homes. The wards would still stop her.

She had never really thought about it. And now that she did, she couldn't help but rethink most of her plans, "So, what is it then? What is Blood Magic?"

"Well, Blood Magic is built on the concept of magical pacts. You probably have heard of blood oaths, but it's deeper than that. Making a magical promise is a meaningful event. It's like creating order out of chaos, but the laws of Entropy mean that magic wants to go back to being as chaotic as possible. After the promise is fulfilled, the order dispels for lack of a better description, letting everything fall back to chaos. However, if the promise is not fulfilled, then the order will move the world to make it so, punishing those who are not fulfilling their end, hoping for a resolution…"

The blonde remembered Harry tricking Pettigrew to serve her and her family. She had no idea why the rat Animagus was so desperate as to use a blood oath, but considering the description, Pettigrew was the one beholden completely to the pact and would be the only one to suffer its consequences. So far, Daphne has asked the man to serve as a spy to her father's competitors, but it was mostly because she had no idea what to do with the man. Still, she was very curious about what would happen to Pettigrew should he break the oath.

"What if it's impossible to fulfil?"

Daphne couldn't see the woman's face, but she could feel that it was grinning maliciously, "Then either it was an impossible promise to begin with and would not have set it. However, if the promise is not fulfilled, a singularity is formed, a giant release of energy signifying whatever hold of order you had would come back lashing at you. If it was a small pact, the consequences might be survivable. However, if it was something powerful, a promise that was made by someone powerful, then the consequences could be catastrophic."

"So, that's it, then. One of our ancestors made a promise that they couldn't fulfil?"

"Of course not, dear. I told you the basis of the magic, not how it actually worked. Blood Magic, in its essence, is manipulating this system to use the energy releases or force things to happen. It is often used in conjunction with Alchemy since the synergy between the two fields is very potent. The idea is instead of using a spell in the traditional sense, to create a pact. Blood is often used since it is filled with a person's life force, which is energy that could easily be used to create a false pact and force the world to right itself to fulfil the pact. It's dangerous since there is the very likely possibility that the world finds you wanting, and you suffer the backlash. But in the cast of your family curse, someone in the past has cursed your family, to do something, and the world itself thinks that draining her life force as repayment would somehow make the system more stable. The subject is far more complex than that and I never really examined your sister to know for sure."

Daphne tilted her head, "Then why did you say that I could help her, then?"

"Because blood calls for blood. Your actions as a Greengrass have more effects magically on the system than I ever could. Didn't you find it odd that the bracelet you gave her worked so well, even if, to be perfectly honest, an actual healer might have tried the same thing and failed? They're not incompetent. At least, not completely so."

"Then teach me!"

Daphne felt like she was making a deal with the devil, but even then, she didn't care. She would do anything to save her sister.

Harry arrived at the Hogwarts Express turned dragon, having worn his invisibility cloak. He was tired; his conversation with Dumbledore had tired him more than he thought, and he wanted nothing more than to go to bed. However, he heard the end of a conversation between the Unspeakable woman and Daphne, regarding Blood Magic of all things.

Daphne was rushing into things by asking for lessons from a virtual stranger, but she did tend to be slightly blind whenever her sister was involved. He waited for the conversation to finish and would ask Daphne more about it later.

However, he froze when he heard the Unspeakable speak up, "Now, Mr. Potter, why don't you show yourself."

Harry couldn't help but be surprised to be detected while under the cloak. It hid him from even protection enchantments or wards… No detection charms should have found him.

Seeing no point in hiding, he stopped the cloak from making him invisible. The woman whistled, "A very impressive piece of magic…"

However, Harry wasn't having it. He decided to be as direct as possible, "Who are you?"

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