Warmth

Of course, she knew all about Hogwarts.

Of course, she had heard about Hagrid as well. Darcie was good with names and the faces she had seen in the books. Not so much with lesser-known figures, though. She recalled what she knew about this giant figure.

Rubeus Hagrid was the Keeper of the Keys of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A giant of a man, and if she remembered her father's offhand remarks about him correctly, then a big oaf with no brains, too.

Darcie had imagined a troll-like figure, then. Now that she saw him, Hagrid seemed to have more intelligence than a troll, at the least. Besides, even after remembering where he had seen her, Hagrid didn't look at her with the same eyes as most of the strangers at the first time upon meeting her.

For that, she was almost glad.

"I am Darcie Malfoy," she introduced herself in return. "This is my friend Daphne Greengrass. And Dobby is our house-elf."

Dobby's chest swelled at the mention of his name.

Hagrid regarded the two girls and the house-elf queerly. "Well, it's best fer yeh ter not ter remain here," he smacked his lips. "Shady place, Knockturn Alley. Yer fathers would know everythin' abou' it…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Darcie demanded, frowning.

Daphne showed her puzzlement, along with her.

"Ah, never mind," he said, looking away. "Le' me help get yer gold back from Burby. Then I'll drop yeh two ter the Brews and Stews, eh?"

Darcie and Daphne shared a glance and nodded. "Dobby," Darcie called out, "let him pass."

Dobby moved aside but kept his tennis ball-sized eyes on Hagrid with a mean look.

Hagrid took the Niffler from the girls and then shook it. Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts came pouring out of its pouch, along with many random assortments.

Darcie saw her whistle, a pair of earrings, a ring, and a gold tooth. The girls lifted their heads to look at Hagrid, whose face had gone all red in shame.

When both girls had taken their share from the pile at Hagrid's foot, the giant threw the Niffler into a pocket of his enormous moleskin overcoat. He first looked at the leftover shiny objects and then at the girls.

Fumbling around his pockets for some time, Hagrid took out three brown-colored objects. "Here," he said, giving one each to the trio. "Rock Cakes. Cooked meself! Eh, this stuff… would yeh mind not mentionin' it ter yer parents? I'll find their owners, o' course."

Darcie rubbed her fingers against the heavy cake in her hands. It truly felt like a rock to her. Though, the suggestion did seem best for all. If Madam Villanelle or her mother would get to know they had been robbed and that they followed the thief to the Diagon Alley, then it would mean a generous flogging for Dobby. They might not allow her to spend her evening in the Alley anymore, either.

Daphne must have been thinking the same. Not to mention, it was her first time with Darcie here.

"Ok." They said together.

Hagrid relaxed and let out a nervous laugh. "Come then, yer two," he told them, pushing them towards the entrance. "It's already darkenin' out there. Burby! Go back! I saw yeh." The Niffler squealed, dropping back into the pocket.

They walked out of the Knockturn Alley and made their way up on the Diagon Alley towards Leaky Cauldron. Under the hulking figure of Hagrid, the girls and Dobby were nigh impossible to be noticed.

Darcie looked at the cake again and saw Daphne trying to make an impression on it using her thumb. She had a mind to take a bite.

Suddenly, a crunching sound came from their front.

Dobby clutched the side of his mouth, taking out the rock cake that had bite marks all over it.

The girls lost their appetite instantaneously.

Going up, Darcie paid Mr. Florean for the ice cream she had bought for Dobby. She bought two new ones. One she gave to Dobby and the other she gave to Hagrid.

"Thank yeh!" Hagrid took the ice cream shyly. "I get meself whenever I come outta here. Good man, Florean."

They found Madam Villanelle waiting for them, standing outside the bookshop.

"Where were you two?" she demanded. "Have you no regard for the time, young ladies?"

Darcie and Daphne looked down.

"Eh…"

Madam Villanelle looked at Hagrid now and smiled. "Hello, Hagrid," she greeted. "Thank you for bringing them back. You must have recognized them (-Hagrid agreed listlessly-). You don't remember me, do you? Well, never mind. It was so long ago. Would you stay for tea?"

"No," Hagrid rejected the offer, his face becoming redder than before. "I must go now. Eh… summat' ter do with Nifflers. OK, yeh two, see yeh again."

Then he ran off, taking bigger steps than his already big ones. Darcie and Daphne looked over their shoulders and saw the Niffler sneaking out of his pocket. A smile couldn't help but appear on their faces.

"What was all that about?" Madam Villanelle asked, her eyes narrowing.

The girls shrugged.

"Well, go then," she told them, holding their shoulders and pointing them to the hotel. "Your mother must be waiting for you, Darcie."

"OK, mentor," Darcie said, entering the parlor. "I'll see you next week."

When they entered, they found Ms. Crispe waiting for them, with Darcie's suitcase in hand. "Here you go," she said, handing it over to the house-elf. "Do give my well-wishes to Mr. Lucius for me."

Darcie nodded. "Dobby, you go first," she told him. And then whispered, "Take this Rock Cake and hide it somewhere in the kitchen. I doubt mother would enjoy knowing where it'd come from."

"Dobby will keep it safe for Ms. Darcie," the house-elf proclaimed.

Daphne was close enough to listen to the whispers. "Mmm, take mine too, Dobby," she said, thrusting the cake into Dobby's arms.

Dobby looked at them mistily. Then, with a loud crack, he vanished.

"Hagrid was OK," Daphne commented, out of Ms. Crispe's earshot.

Darcie looked thoughtful before agreeing with her.

The girls then approached the fireplace. "Goodbye," Daphne said, taking a fistful of floo powder. "See you next Friday, then."

The flames roared with a greenish outrage, and Daphne stepped into it. Once she had gone, Darcie repeated the process, and once again went through the tunnel-like squeeze of the floo network.

Her feet landed on the other side and Darcie walked out to find her mother and brother standing near the fireplace at the gatehouse.

Narcissa beamed at her. She neared her, hugged and kissed her, and asked, "How was your first week there?"

"It was good, mother," she told her. "I learned many things."

"Well, tell me everything after dinner," Narcissa said, as they walked out of the gatehouse and made their way to the manor with hurried steps. "You do not know how this week has passed for your father and me."

"I got this new move," Draco chimed in, swishing his hands like broomsticks. "You will never catch me now. Let me show you."

"Not now!" Narcissa snapped. "Later. Tomorrow afternoon, perhaps. You wouldn't believe it, Darcie. Hasn't dropped that Broom Servicing Kit out of his sight since you sent it to him. Tch!"

Pressing herself into her mother's embrace, Darcie kept nodding and listening to her mother's talks of her brother, her father, and the many guests who had come asking about the article over her elementary studies in the Daily Prophet.

Being in open lands, it was colder around Malfoy Manor than in Diagon Alley. But Darcie instead felt warmer. Out of necessity and to achieve Greatness, she had indeed gone out earlier than other children, Darcie knew. However, it didn't mean she had forgotten this warmth.

It was the warmth of home.

Darcie wrapped her arms around her mother's waist as they stepped in the Great Hall, and thought it could be the warmth of love as well.

*************

AN: Sometimes, I shudder imagining having a person like Darcie around me, ACTing all normal, hiding the true nature.

Anyway, Stage 2 of ToW will begin from Chapter 305. This stage will see major plot progression, character growth, action, and *romance (for the better lack of word, you can trust Kai for these things). A great number of secrets will be revealed during this stage with further mysteries as well. On Patre0n, I have included a great number of GIFs within the text that makes reading the chapter even more engaging. This can't be done here, and uploading those GIFs on Discord will be pretty much useless, as they are for improving the reading experience, not to expound on the information in the chapter. 2nd stage setting is Demon Slayer, as many of you must have guessed by now from the cover, and it included heavy character interactions. More will be relayed in the coming chapters.

PS: Next chapter is very important for the Harry Potter Major Arc. One of the foundational chapters, you can say.