The Greengrasses Curse

After finishing his talk with Helena, Oz headed back down into the Ravenclaw common room. Stood near the staircase was Luna and Cho who seemed to be a bit antsy. Considering how long that talk lasted, its no surprise that they were a bit worried about how long they would have to stand guard. As Oz reached the bottom of the stairs, he carefully prodded both of them on the shoulder, jump scaring them a bit.

"AH- Oh its just you Oz... Are you all finished now?".

Cho spoke out to the empty space behind her after gathering that was about where Oz was. Whispering to the duo he confirmed that it was indeed him.

"I'm all finished, again thank you both for your help".

Luna and Cho both smiled hearing Oz's thanks before heading towards the exit of the Ravenclaw common room. Opening the door, the pretended to leave wherein fact Oz was actually the one leaving, slipping out when the door was open. After whispering another thanks, Oz headed down the Ravenclaw tower steps, leaving behind Cho and Luna who once again entered their common room.

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As Oz ventured down back to the Slytherin dungeons, he recalled everything that Helena had told him. All the details about Merlin filled his mind as he found his ancestor becoming more and more difficult to pin down. As he entered into the dungeons, Oz uncloaked himself and walked towards his dorm.

'There's no use thinking about Merlin now... All ill do is confuse myself more and more. Maybe if I send a letter to Alfreda, she will know more about Merlin's actual age. Then again... Merlin kept so many secrets that I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't know'.

Oz walked over to his desk as he started to write a letter to send to both Alfreda and Norberta. He ensured in the letter that he was fine and included within its contents they story Helena had told him. As he was transcribing the story for Alfreda to reference, Oz realised something.

'Wait a minute... Helena surmised that a tracker was placed on the diadem. The Bloody Baron was the one who found Helena in the end. Maybe that ghost knows about how to activate the tracker!'.

As smacked his head as he realised this simple fact. He was so focused on Merlin that he didn't realise this simple connection. The Bloody Baron after all was the house ghost of Slytherin so getting his attention would be simple. Oz however had never seen the Baron around, mainly due to the fact he didn't spend much time in the common room of Slytherins dungeons. Realising this was his best chance at finding the diadem early, he decided to come straight back to the common room after lessons tomorrow in order to seek out the Baron himself.

'Maybe Daphne or Harry know more as well considering how they always hang out there...'.

Finalising his thoughts, Oz finished his letter to Alfreda and Norberta. When dawn rose, Oz would head to the owlery and give the letter to Kuro before heading off to lessons.

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The lessons today seemed to go painstakingly slow for Oz. His anticipation rose towards this talk with the Bloody Baron. After all, not only might the Baron know about how the tracker in the diadem works, but he may also have information on Merlin considering they were both in the same house.

Finally the lessons of the day came to a close and Oz immediately headed towards the Slytherin dungeons. When he arrived, the common room was practically empty as most people would be hanging out with friends during this time. As Oz looked around the room, he noticed a familiar face sat down at a table staring down at some books.

"Daphne, How are you?".

Daphne's head shot up after hearing someone call out to her. When she saw who it was her face morphed into an expression of surprise.

"Oz? Its rare for you to be here right after lessons... usually you just vanish off somewhere".

Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Oz walked over and sat opposite Daphne.

"I just felt like coming back here for once. Besides I have some business to tend to here as well... By the way, where's Harry?".

Daphne smiled as she replied to Oz.

"He managed to get on Snape's bad side. Honestly even though that man is our head of house he seems to have a vendetta against Harry regardless of that fact".

Oz chuckled after hearing that Harry had got himself into trouble. Looking at Daphne he realised this was probably the first time he had properly talked to her 1 on 1.

'When I entered the room she seemed to give off an aura of 'do not approach', an icy cold aura. The second she recognised me that shell seemed to melt a bit. Whenever she's around Harry she's totally different as well. I wonder how she acts around people she doesn't know at all?'.

As Oz was slowly losing himself in his thoughts, Daphne snapped him awake.

"So Oz... what is the business you need to tend to here? Did you need to study or... Actually considering your grades and knowledge I doubt its that".

Looking at Daphne, Oz decided to ask her about the information he needed.

"I'm here because I want to meet the Bloody Baron... You know, our house ghost. As you know I enlisted Luna and Cho to help me meet with Helena in order to find out information on Merlin. Helena told me that the Bloody Baron might know more as they were in Slytherin at the same time".

Daphne wore a face of understanding hearing what Oz was up to. Although under that understanding Oz sensed that she wasn't full convinced and that there was something more. Of course Oz was not obliged yet to mention what his true goal was.

"Well... The Bloody Baron usually appears here in a couple hours. Around the time that most students return here to hang out. He likes to talk that Baron, although his conversations are a bit too unsavoury for me... always talking about such vulgar things. I did actually overhear recently that the Baron is banned from ever heading up passed the 2nd floor of Hogwarts... He's probably caused some mischief thats landed him in trouble with another ghost or something that resides higher up in the castle".

Hearing Daphne explain the Baron's mannerisms he couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle.

'Too right the Baron is banned from heading any further up... If he wasn't he'd be pleading his love to Helena everyday...'.

"Well it looks like I'll have to wait here until he appears... While im here Daphne is there anything you need help with?".

Daphne gave Oz a grateful look before showing a rare sad smile.

"I-I'd be really appreciative if you could help me... However my dilemma is one thats not easily solvable".

Hearing that Daphne had a plight, Oz decided to bite.

"Well there's no harm in telling me what's going on right? Even if there's a small chance of me knowing how to help, It's still better than nothing right?".

Daphne sighed deeply as she closed the book she was reading. Looking up at Oz she began to explain her dilemma.

"I'm not sure if you know Oz... I have a little sister called Astoria. She's a kind-hearted soul who was taught by our mother to not believe in the 'bloodline supremacy' of us purebloods. In the summer just gone though I overheard my mother speaking about Astoria... apparently she has inherited our families bloodline curse".

Hearing about a bloodline curse Oz was all ears. Oz's own bloodline had influenced him greatly leading him to have dragon-like qualities via Merlin. The Greengrass family was a pureblood family that spanned back generations. For them to have a bloodline curse it meant that an ancestor of theirs was struck with a curse that passed down the family tree.

"The curse itself causes my sister to sometimes be extremely frail and weak. I've been looking into a way to hopefully strengthen her and maybe even get rid of the curse from her, however everything I find seems to lead to the same answer... that a bloodline is impossible to tamper with".

Daphne's expression grew sadder as she recalled her sisters face.

"She joins Hogwarts next year... I was hoping by then I could surprise her with a way to keep her body from being so frail. She's always looked up to things like quidditch and other activities however due to this damn curse she would be pushing herself too much if she attempted any of those activities...".

Tears started to well up in Daphne's eyes as she felt her frustration bubble up. Looking at Daphne's face Oz realised that this girl was far more mature than what she previously let on. All this time she was searching for a way to allow her little sister to have a good life at Hogwarts. Leaning over the table Oz wiped away her tears as he sat back and started to talk.

"What your sister is going through is definitely a difficult situation... Bloodline curses are malicious things to deal with. Even though such a curse is malicious though, it doesn't make it invincible. Out there somewhere there's sure to be a way to stop the curse from plaguing her".

Daphne's eyes started to gleam with a slight hope as she listened to Oz cheering her up.

"When I have the time Daphne in the future, Ill look into bloodline curses more. Such a topic is something I haven't looked into too much detail in. However, I believe with the right amount of searching there has to be a way to fix your sisters condition. Whether it be a potion or a spell".

Daphne's previous sad expression was wiped away as she now looked at Oz with hope and thankfulness. Nodding her head she stared directly into Oz's eyes.

"I'm really grateful for your help Oz. Knowing you will be helping me is a massive weight off my shoulders".

Oz nodded at her thanks as he continued.

"You should also tell the others about this... I'm sure they will jump at the idea to help you".

Daphne nodded at Oz once again.

"I will do just that... Thanks again Oz".

Looking at Daphne in front of him. His opinion of the young Greengrass changed once again. Maybe her prankster habits were a way to mask her true personality. Carrying all this weight on her shoulders she probably pranked others as a way to relieve stress. Judging by how she herself was seeking out a way to help her sister, it seemed that the Greengrass family themselves had all but given up on helping Astoria, just wishing that she lived a long life instead of actually helping her.

"There's still a couple hours till that Baron shows up... How about we look into some information now Daphne?".

Daphne smiled gleefully as she heard Oz, handing him over a couple books that included all sorts of information on curses and how to cure them. The majority of information Oz already recognised from his time reading books in the RoR, however Daphne seemed to have some newer books about bloodlines specifically that not even the school had yet. She had probably sought out these books herself in order to help her sister. Oz read through these books, feeling the knowledge fill into his brain he felt his blood relax immensely as he started to memorise everything he could.

After a couple hours, the Bloody Baron finally appeared in the Slytherin Dungeons.