Unexpected Alliances

It seemed that the heiress was just as decisive as her father; just as willing to gamble for future gain.

Circling around the second floor, he scrutinized the raven-haired child. He didn't recognize her; her parents must not have been from his circle. Was she one of the upcoming first-years? No doubt the girl would make it to Hogwarts eventually. With that amount of magic, she'd be lucky if the Ministry of Magic didn't force schooling onto her. He could already feel the headache settling. The incoming first-years were hectic enough without her.

Most of the children of the inner circle Death Eaters would be enrolled—

And Potter would be there. Damned son of the bastard who had ruined everything…

His fists whitened; skin taut as his grip on the railing tightened. He glowered at nothing, his previous amusement fading away at the thought of the boy. The Boy-Who-Lived. Oh look, Potter Jr. already had a fancy title and everything.

Of course, he had not forgotten her. For Lily, he would protect the boy. No doubt he'd need it.

But that didn't mean he had to treat him well.

The shadow of Severus Snape slipped away, leaving none the wiser of his disappearance from the bookshop.

.....

"You, a lowly merchant, would dare to scold me, the heiress of the Greengrass family?"

Cyrna had expected status, but not one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

Whispers of 'She's the heiress? Daphne Greengrass?' 'She looks so plain!' 'No wonder why...' '... the Sacred Twenty-Eight!' rushed through the store. Casting an evaluative glance at the girl, Cyrna considered the gossip around her and surmised that she had kept silent to avoid rumours of her outing.

But something had changed. Suddenly, she had chosen to help.

The bells jingled, and—damn. Harry really had the worst luck. Given that he was a Gryffindor, Cyrna was surprised to see him appear ready to hightail out of the store; but perhaps because he was a Gryffindor, Harry walked in anyways, awkwardly shuffling past the trembling shopkeeper. By the time he had reached her side, he looked incredibly uncomfortable from all the attention.

"You okay?" Harry whispered.

She repressed the urge to break character and snark, opting to nod mutely instead. "My cat got a bit agitated, and it caused a bit of a disturbance. Then... then the shopkeeper got so mad," she said softly, clutching Prince tighter as she played up her act. "I tried to defend myself, but it didn't work. Daphne came over to help."

Harry's brows scrunched together as he looked between the three of them—the shopkeeper, Daphne, and Cyrna. Then indignation flared in his green eyes. "Was he bullying you?"

Her lips curled. "I think it's fine now. Look—"

The portly shopkeeper was blubbering, "I'm terribly sorry Miss Greengrass. Truly, I simply didn't recognize you—I mean, your parents never released any pictures of you; how was I supposed to know who you were? I—"

"Did you just place the blame on my parents for your idiocy?" the heiress cut in with a deceptively sweet voice.

"No! Of course not!"

"You wouldn't want me to report this back to my parents, would you?" she purred dangerously.

"No! Please!" cried the shopkeeper. He glared at Cyrna, the blame clear in his eyes. "Besides, I never said you were at fault—it was that... that girl with the fleabag! And you know that the use of—"

"That 'stupid girl", Daphne interrupted with a sneer, "is my friend."

The shopkeeper's face turned pale with panic.

"It's true," Cyrna said quietly. "We wanted to meet here to purchase our first-year textbooks together before heading over to the apothecary, two blocks down, for potion ingredients." Slumping in disappointment, she continued, "Well, that was the plan, but it seems we've gotten held up here, haven't we, Daphne?"

"But your cat—it attacked her!" spluttered the man to Cyrna. "There's no way you knew each other!"

"Really," Daphne gave a delicate sniff, "You insult my parents, my friend; you've put me behind schedule—oh, my mother will be most displeased—and now you want to remind me of that traumatic experience?" She gave a small shiver. "You're irredeemable." With a flick of her hair and a tilt of her chin, she grabbed Cyrna's wrist and tugged her away. "Come, let's tell mother and father what an utter waste of space this shopkeeper is."

Cyrna didn't forget Harry, and she tugged him along to the exit. Three steps from the door—

"Wait—" the man pleaded, his hands reaching, but not daring to touch Daphne—"Let me fix this!"

"What are you offering?" Daphne asked coldly.

"You said you were going to Hogwarts, and that you needed the textbooks, right?" he stammered, then he seemed to find some confidence in himself as he smoothed down his clothes. "I'll give you the full set for free."

"I want three sets."

"Three!?" A bright splotch of red was beginning to make its way back onto his face.

"Yes. One for me and one for each of my friends whose time you have wasted."

"But that's worth—"

"No? I guess, we will be making that visit to my parents then," Daphne replied calmly as she inspected her nails.

"Wait! Wait! I'll give them to you!" the shopkeeper snapped.

Daphne smirked victoriously as the books were handed to her. "Pleasure doing business with you."

That was how Cyrna found herself with an armful of first-year books without spending a Knut. Outside the shop, Harry looked like he couldn't believe what had just happened.

"The sun is horrible for my skin, I'm afraid," Daphne said once they were out. "I shall take my leave." Without another glance or word, the Greengrass heiress disappeared into the streets. The situation with Prince was never raised and no further apologies were made. It was not necessary. Cyrna knew that the books were Daphne's apology.

Harry seemed to be in a bit of a shock before he snapped himself out of it. "Well, that was fast. I'm heading to Ollivanders next, but I've got to wait for Hagrid. I don't think he'll be back in the next fifteen minutes."

Cyrna gave a thoughtful hum. Ollivanders was a strange man who said strange things—things that could be a bit revealing. "I'll have to head home pretty soon," she said, her expression crumpling dejectedly, "but I can wait with you till Hagrid shows up."

For the next few minutes, Cyrna made a concerted effort to slowly ease her character into something more natural during their conversation. After all, acting all the time in Hogwarts would only open room for more potential slip-ups.

"Then I'll see you in Hogwarts?" Harry asked when Hagrid showed up.

"Earlier, actually." Cyrna pulled him in for a brief hug. "Save me a seat at the Hogwarts Express?"

Before Harry could react, Cyrna was already far away, waving her goodbyes from a distance. Harry blinked owlishly. Um," Harry said intelligently. That was new.

Hagrid chuckled, a deep laugh that seemed to come from his belly. He clapped Harry's back, pushing the boy forward. "Alright, let's go get yer wand now, Harry."

From the distance, Cyrna watched as the two figures entered the shop. Running through her interactions with Harry, she decided that today had gone quite decently. "Up we go, Prince," she said, and Prince leapt onto her shoulders.

Reaching up, she touched her necklace which was charmed invisible to all but her. The Flamel's Christmas gift, a tiny vial of the Elixir of Life, hung from a silver chain. She gave the vial a gentle rub, then said the activation word she had chosen when she'd left the mansion:

"Home."

....

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