27: New Year, New Wizengamot

"-And lastly, I need you to completely clean out the Yaxley Vaults," I instructed.

My account manager — a Goblin named Bloodspur — raised an eyebrow at me, "Of everything?"

I nodded, "Everything. I don't want them to be able to scrape dust off the floor. Collect all their debts while you're at it. Take the payment from the seized vault contents. If there's not enough, sell their properties with them still in them."

Bloodspur chuckled, "Oh, this will be fun. It's been decades since I've been able to exercise this kind of power on behalf of House Black."

"And take whatever fees you're owed from the former House Flint. I assume those vaults were absorbed into House Black when I abolished that House, correct?"

"They were," A tight-lipped grin grew across Bloodspur's face.

"Good. This will be a profitable experience for both of us then."

"What do you want to do with the items and artifacts of both House Yaxley and House Flint?"

I shrugged, "I guess I'll send someone to go through them all. Whatever they don't deem worth keeping, feel free to sell. So long as I get a cut, I don't rightly care what happens to them after that."

The Goblin's ears wiggled in what I could only guess was excitement, "Very good. Will that be all for now, Acting Lord Black?"

"Let's see…" I considered. "We gave Narcissa access to the main Black vault… Established stipends for Tonks and Andromeda, Draco, and the coven… Going through the main vault's artifacts will have to wait until you can find me a very, very good Cursebreaker… Yeah, that just about covers everything."

"Then your will will be done," Bloodspur said firmly. "You may see yourself out, Acting Lord Black. May your enemies bleed black onto the silver of your sword."

"Uh, yeah… May your allies stack that paper…?" I gave my best effort at a Goblin goodbye.

Bloodspur barked a laugh, "That's a good one! I'll have to tell the wife."

"It was… traditional enough?" I asked cautiously, a little confused by the fact my bullshit had been accepted.

"Traditional?" Bloodspur looked surprised by the word. "We make these up on the spot to mess with Wizards. Only the quick-witted ones answer with something new. Though I guess it has evolved into something of a tradition by now…"

With that new piece of information, Bloodspur waved and dismissed me. I blinked as I left his office, processing the generational prank the Goblins had been pulling on the Wizarding world. Goblin greetings and goodbyes were legendary for how violent, greedy, and ruthlessly simple they sounded. 

And for how utterly nonsensical or inconsistent they could be. Something I'd just found out was on purpose. And they never let Wizards in on the secret, instead leaving them to flounder through every greeting. Which made sense now that I knew the truth behind them.

"Huh, I guess you learn something new every day…"

Shaking my head in amusement, I went to go find Heather. We'd come to Gringotts together as promised. She'd been pulled into a meeting with the Potter account manager and I'd been pulled into a similar one with Bloodspur. The Potter and Black offices were close enough to each other that I felt comfortable letting Heather do this alone.

They were so close, in fact, that I quickly found Heather. She was standing in the middle of the hallway outside the Potter office. Lost to the world, she barely even reacted as I came up and put an arm around her.

"How'd that go?" I asked.

"I have a house… Not just a house. I have a mansion…" Heather replied in a daze.

I nodded in understanding, "And probably a good few million galleons to your name as well, right?"

"Yeah…" Heather was obviously having trouble retrofitting this new information with the rest of her life. "The mountain of gold in my trust vault was only the tip of the iceberg."

"Well, what about the really important stuff?"

"Important? More important than the literal sea of gold? Or the mansion?" Heather looked at me as if she didn't understand.

"Yeah. The items. The things. The artifacts and books and brooms and wands. The things your parents and the rest of your ancestors left you that actually matter," I elaborated.

"Oh, yeah!" Heather's face lit up, shaking off her daze. "I found this wicked-looking old broom that I can't wait to try out! And this bag that's waaaaaaayyyyy bigger on the inside! And I grabbed a few books for Hermione too. Found an old copy of Hogwarts, a History 'cause I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. There was a bunch of stuff. It was like finding a treasure trove! I even found-…"

"Go on," I encouraged as Heather trailed off. "I'm listening."

"I-I found my parents' journals too… I've been too scared to open them though. Can… Can you be with me when I read them?"

"It'd be an honor, Heather."

The small, relieved smile on her face made this whole trip worth it. Well, so did the fact that we'd gained access to more money than we could spend in a lifetime, but at the moment, Heather's happiness seemed more important.

IIIII

"This… is going to suck," I said flatly.

"Chin up, Milord. You have a duty to do. Try not to worry yourself too much. All you have to do is act as our figurehead. Us womenfolk will be doing the real work," Narcissa 'reassured'.

"And me," Edward added in an amused tone.

Narcissa nodded, "Yes, yes, of course, Edward. You too. Milord should just sit there and look pretty as he does so well."

I rolled my eyes at Phoebe's barely concealed giggles, "Who's supposed to be the Lord here?"

"You, Milord," Phoebe 'agreed' with me. "But it's only natural that the Ladies act as the political backbone of a House. 'Tis just the way of things."

"Right… Then call me if you need me to duel someone. I'll be back at Hogwarts actually enjoying myself."

"Ah, no no, Milord. That will not do at all. We need our pretty figurehead, remember?"

I slumped in place, promising myself, "Only for today. After this, I never have to step foot in the blasted Wizengamot again."

Our group today was small but politically potent. Directly with me were Edward, Narcissa, and Phoebe. Sirius and Bella were here somewhere as well, likely wherever Amelia had squirreled them away until the time was right.

Today's plan was simple. I just had to accept my appointment to the Wizengamot. Then I would appoint Narcissa and Phoebe as my proxies. After that, I could sit back and do nothing. As Narcissa said, the 'womenfolk' would take care of the rest. The rest, in this case, consisted of voting on the scheduled issues, bills, and motions and playing the political game of Wizarding Britain.

The only issue on the agenda I was actually interested in was my parents' innocence. Which no one outside of our group knew would turn into trials on the spot, with Sirius and Bella waiting in the wings to be exonerated at Amelia's signal. If not for that and the aforementioned appointment process, I would have skipped this bit of political ceremony entirely.

"No use putting this off any longer," I sighed. "We might as well take our seats."

Narcissa and Phoebe snapped to attention behind me. It seemed they wanted to make a coordinated entrance. I rolled my eyes at the theatrics of it all. Edward noticed but just smirked at me before falling into place behind the two Ladies under my banner.

We left the comfortable waiting room we'd been assigned and exited straight into the Wizengamot chambers. The door disappeared behind us as we did. Almost immediately, we attracted the attention of the gathered members. The whispers and general chatter resumed after a moment of observation. That said, my party and I were the subject of more than a few lingering glances.

The Wizengamot chambers were bowl-shaped like the courtroom my trial took place in, taking further form into a semicircle centered around a single large raised seat, not unlike a Judge's bench. The chambers were much more extravagant in scope and scale than the courtroom though. The large domed and arched ceiling, for example, wouldn't have been out of place in the grandest cathedrals.

200 members of Wizarding society — from the most ancient Houses to the most minor — were already gathered or slowly trickling into the chambers. Many took the chance to chat with their peers before sitting. Those small conversations, Narcissa had assured me, were where the real politicking happened in these chambers.

Narcissa subtly directed me to the Black seat. Once there, the magic of the Wizengamot chambers made itself known. The area around us morphed and shifted until there were enough seats for the four of us. At the same time, the Malfoy and Parkinson seats shifted to two of the additional seats. Only then did I notice that the chamber's seating was arranged roughly by faction, with House Black now positioned between the Gray and the Dark.

Fascinated as I was by the undoubtedly numerous charms and enchantments in the chamber, I did not get much of a chance to ponder them for very long. Narcissa, Phoebe, and Edward sat. I followed if only so I didn't look awkward as the only one standing.

As soon as I sat down, the chamber seemed to explode into action. The magic I was so fascinated with shifted even more seats as people vied for positions near the newest player in their great game. The winner on my left was someone I was slightly familiar with, while the one on my right was someone I knew I would soon be familiar with.

"Hello, Atlas~" Valentina Zabini purred from my left.

"Lord Black! It's a pleasure to finally meet you! I understand you teach my darling baby girls!" The exuberant voice of Lord Greengrass greeted me from my right.

"Hello, Cygnus," Narcissa thankfully took the pressure off me from my right. "Let's give my Lord some time to accustom himself to all of this novelty. Tell me, how are young Daphne and Astoria?"

Phoebe did not do the same thing for the threat from the left. Instead, she merely hid a tittering smile behind her hand and left me to my fate. Seeing the opening, Valentina's seat shifted a bit closer while Edward and Phoebe's seats shifted back slightly within the House Black seating box.

On the very edge of the distinction between the Zabini and Black boxes, Valentina leaned toward me and fixed me with a sultry smile, "Oh, how nice. I seem to have all of your ~attention~ at the moment."

"Mistress Zabini," I greeted, swallowing a sudden lump in my throat.

Valentina's smile grew, "Please, Atlas. Call me Valentina. The Mistress title is optional for you~ I may even want to play around with reversing it~"

I gulped. Something about this woman just put my nerves on edge in the best possible way. I felt like a fumbling fool in front of her. She exuded pure sensuality and seduction. If I didn't know any better, I would have assumed she was Veela.

"A-Ahem, o-of course, Valentina. It's… lovely to see you again. Especially with how we left off our last meeting."

"Oh~? Did you end up using my gift~? No… A man like you has no need for solo pleasure like that. Perhaps you had it framed so you may gaze upon my beauty whenever you wished~?"

I tried not to let on how close she was to the truth. Septima had indeed had Valentina's lewd gift framed. I caught her looking at it with a considering expression more than once. Which… was fair. The photo — and Valentina by extension — was a work of art.

"… Something like that," I deflected. "I'm afraid the women in my life have the final say in matters of decoration."

"Smart boy~," Valentina said with a sultry chuckle. "It'll be so nice to have someone so young, strapping, and intelligent in this body~ And I don't just mean the Wizengamot~"

"Right…" My brain stuttered as her hand crept over the barrier between our boxes and toward my thigh before common sense thankfully won out. "Tempting but fortunately, I don't have a death wish. Narcissa? Switch."

In a flash, Narcissa and I reversed positions. She was left to be groped by Valentina and I was suddenly deeply engaged in a doting father's rambles about his daughters. In the background, Phoebe laughed so hard she nearly lost her composure.

"-And Astoria — oh, my little Story~! — She recently sent home a letter requesting some Muggle clothing! The little minx is growing up so fast! Oh, I'm so proud of her! I think she has her first crush! Daphne's been quiet as usual. I think she's scheming something again. You know how girls get, don't you, Narcissa? Narcissa? Oh, Lord Black! How wonderful of you to join me!"

Cygnus Greengrass was a dignified-looking man, with salt and pepper hair and a gloriously groomed mustache. His personality, though, was completely at odds with that outward appearance. He was boisterous. All deep, belly laughs and excitement, especially when he was talking about his children. He certainly didn't strike me as the typical boring Pure-Blood I'd imagined.

On my other side, Narcissa squeaked suddenly, "Valentina! Save it for our next tea time!"

I smiled at my future father-in-law, "Hello. Sorry to intrude but I simply needed an escape route. Cygnus, right? I don't think we've been properly introduced. Call me Atlas."

Cygnus' smile was genuinely bright, flashing straight, white teeth at me, "Capital! It's an absolute pleasure, Atlas! I've been meaning to talk to you! How would you like to have dinner with my family tonight?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude any further…"

"No, no, I insist! Ada — my wife — would have my head if I didn't convince you. She's the real power behind the Greengrass name, though you didn't hear that from me. Wink," Cygnus grinned conspiratorially and literally said 'wink'. "And I'm sure my girls would love to get to know their professor in a less formal situation. To say nothing about the contract and Daphne's betrothal. Why, you're practically family already!"

My smile grew slightly strained but I didn't protest too much. Narcissa was very heavyhanded in her insistence that I accept the contract for the good of all of my Houses. Septima advised me to seriously consider it as well, citing her growing equations regarding the coven. I was reserving the final say for myself. Until I saw how Daphne felt about the subject at least. If she resisted at all, there would be no making me go through with it.

"Yes, the contract is something I wished to discuss with you and your family. I suppose dinner would be perfect for that conversation," I tentatively agreed to Cygnus' invitation.

"Wonderful!" Cygnus exclaimed. "Soon enough I'll have my first grandbaby to spoil rotten!"

I didn't get a chance to respond to that statement other than to pale. Instead, the Wizengamot proceedings started and silence was enforced upon the chamber. Dumbledore had taken his place as Chief Warlock at some point, sitting regally at the head of the chamber. The discreet wink he shot me when our eyes met dissuaded that regal appearance somewhat.

Dumbledore stood to make a few opening remarks, "Yes, yes, order and all that jazz. Welcome, everyone, to the first session of the year. Let's get the usual out of the way first. Firstly, congratulations, as always, to Madam Marchbanks. The old bag of bones has managed to last one more year with us."

"I can still take you over my knee, boy!" A gnarled and ancient Witch shouted with a surprisingly spry voice from a box within the Light Faction.

Dumbledore grinned in response, "You can certainly try, Griselda. Secondly, the annual anonymous request to reinstate Muggle slavery has not been renewed. Coincidentally, Lucius Malfoy is no longer with us. I'm sure those two facts aren't related at all."

Narcissa groaned in embarrassment and Dumbledore continued, "Thirdly, Mistress Zabini's newest husband has suffered the annual fate. I believe that was number 14. She has informed me that she is currently taking applications again. If any wealthy fools wish to fall dead under stupidly mysterious circumstances, you know where to apply."

Valentina leaned over Narcissa to whisper to me, "Don't worry, darling. I'd make your death interesting~"

I ignored her. That offer shouldn't have been as tempting as it was. Damned Witch…

Dumbledore continued again, his tone growing deeply exasperated, "Fourthly, please, for the love of magic, people, stop apparating into places blind! Think for once in your miserable lives! I will consider the next Wizard caught without a good excuse to be volunteering themselves for the position of Undersecretary's Undersecretary. Yes, that does mean you will be picking up after the toad."

"And finally, I would like to welcome our newest member. Acting Lord Atlas White Black, one of my own Hogwarts staff and a good friend of mine. I have high hopes that his presence will shake things up around here. Some of you will not like the changes he is bound to bring with him. And to that I say, challenge him to a duel. Merlin knows the Wizengamot could use a good pruning…"

I waved awkwardly as the chamber's attention was directed my way. I could already imagine that certain members considered taking Dumbledore's 'advice'. Someone almost certainly would at some point. Probably after Narcissa managed to grant Werewolves free or cheap access to Wolf's Bane potions or something equally sensible and progressive. A not-insignificant part of me was looking forward to that duel.

After Dumbledore's opening remarks, things proceeded apace. I was sworn in, appointed Narcissa and Phoebe as my proxies, and began to tune out the unproductive march of politics. At some point, Narcissa's and my chair switched back, putting me next to Valentina once again. I spent more time on guard against her seductive advances than I did listening to the Wizengamot.

A woman should not be able to edge a man so well over his clothes in public. It just wasn't right. Her fingers felt like fire on my nerves even when she wasn't touching me. Just the way she stroked a hand along her sitting curves… It wasn't right, wasn't fair in the slightest.

Still, through some force of will, I managed to resist Valentina's succubus charms. Some vote was called as I did. I trusted Narcissa and Phoebe to follow my instructions and vote the opposite of how everyone expected them to.

That certainly attracted attention and whispers as both the Light and Dark tried to figure out my political stance. Jokes on them. It wasn't Light or Dark or even Gray. It was Chaos.

Eventually, Edward stood and made his way down to the floor of the chamber. I'd appointed him as the sole solicitor for House Black at the moment. That, of course, meant he would be representing Sirius and Bella.

Sirius was called out first, making his entrance with roguish smiles and an easy-going swagger. His trial and defense were as simple and straightforward as I'd been expecting. All Edward had to do was request Veritaserum and then Sirius told the whole Wizengamot the truth of that fateful night.

He was exonerated in short order and a bounty was placed on Pettigrew's head. Instead of joining us, he went to sit by Amelia. She gave him a sweet kiss to the surprise of most. It seemed as though they'd been rekindling whatever relationship they'd once had while Sirius recovered.

While Sirius was met with nostalgic scorn and admiration from the female population of the Wizengamot — or his generation at least — Bella's entrance was met with something else. Pity, commiseration, righteous outrage, and no small amount of fear filled the female members, both young and old. The men of the Dark Faction sneered, hiding their fear behind a veneer of anger.

Bella was infamous, after all. While Sirius was known as the Hogwarts Playboy of the 70s and 80s, his reputation as "Voldemort's right hand" was never taken seriously by those with two brain cells to rub together. In contrast, Bella's reputation as Voldemort's bound attack dog and cautionary tale was never in question.

That also made proving her innocence much trickier than Sirius'. She had done some of the things she'd been accused of. Not all, mind you. Her 'husbands' placed the blame for some of their crimes on Bella to escape the Veil of Death. But she was guilty enough — even if she could not rightly be held responsible for her action — that Edward felt the need to take a different course of action.

"Lord Black would like to implore the Wizengamot for leniency. In accordance with the old rites, he claims responsibility for the punishment of one under his banner. Also, let it be known Lord Black disavows Bellatrix Black's previous marriage contract — the source of her uncharacteristic actions."

Murmurs filled the gathered Wizengamot crowd as Dumbledore accepted Edward's plea in the spirit it had been given. Even if Bella was found guilty, her punishment would fall to me. Yet more corruption within Pure-Blood Wizarding society but something we could use. I actually saw a few begrudgingly admiring glances from the Dark Faction at the tactic we'd chosen to take.

Unlike Sirius, Bella's trial was not as simple as a Veritaserum interrogation. The first thing Edward did was call a qualified Mind Healer to testify to Bella's mental conditions and the faded conditioning placed upon her by the contract.

I winced as her issues were read aloud for the Wizengamot to hear. The only places she was ruled mentally sound were where it came to me, the coven, and the rest of the Black family. And even then, she was deeply repressing everything that happened after the contract was brought into effect.

Bella paid no mind to her grim diagnosis even as the Wizengamot members descended into gasps of shock, disgust, and outrage. Instead, she locked onto my gaze with eyes full of trust and fervored devotion.

"-It is my professional opinion that Bellatrix Black should not be held responsible for her actions under that despicable contract. In fact, I must beg that the vaunted Wizengamot rule such contracts illegal so a tragedy like this may never happen again. They are no different from the Imperius curse and should be treated the same.

"No, perhaps with even more care. The Imperius can be broken by those with strong enough will. These old marriage contracts enforce their cruel magic through blood. They cannot be broken outside of very specific circumstances. Now, if you'll excuse me, I feel the need for an obliviation. Or if that fails, the need to drink myself into a coma."

Only after the Mind Healer established the facts of Bella's condition for the Wizengamot did Edward call for Veritaserum questioning. She didn't resist and answered every question posed to her. However, her answers always seemed to come back to me in an almost concerning way…

"How did you come to be beholden to the contract?"

"My parents stole my blood and used it to sign the contract on my behalf. Something I would never do to my dear baby boy~"

"Were you conscious of your actions under the contract?"

"Yes. I remember… everything. Nightmares plagued me whether I slept or not. Only my perfect baby boy and his lovers have helped me overcome them."

"Where do your true allegiances lie?"

"With my baby boy. With my Lord Black. With my family and myself. I will kill and die for Atlas. He is my everything."

And so on…

Eventually, the antidote was administered and I was saved from further public declarations of devotion. There were certainly no questions about whether I could control Bella by the end of it all. And so, Dumbledore ruled that Bella would be left in the care of House Black.

Once freed, Bella skipped up to our box. A chair spawned next to me and Bella eagerly placed herself on it. Thankfully for my sanity, it seemed that even Valentina wasn't willing to keep up her seductive advances with my mother next to me. Though in all likelihood, Bella would have just joined in on the fun if Valentina had kept pressing.

It seemed as though the trials would be the only interesting part of this Wizengamot session. After that, things quickly devolved back into an unproductive mess. Bella fell asleep on my shoulder and I deeply considered doing the same myself.

Narcissa and Phoebe were in their element though. True to the Mind Healer's suggestion, Dumbledore jumped the chance to start atoning for his sins when it came to Bella and immediately put forth a motion to make blood-enforced marriage contracts illegal.

Narcissa and Phoebe threw the support of my voting bloc behind the motion, as did many others. Even the Ladies of the Dark Faction. The only ones who didn't support the motion were the Dark Faction Lords. They were quickly overruled and practically glared out of the chamber by the combined force of Light, Dark, and Gray feminine scorn.

With spells seemingly ready to fly, Narcissa apparently decided that this was the perfect time to follow my instructions to shake things up. The cries of disapproval and gasps of shock when she proposed the Werewolf reforms we'd thought up were the only things that kept me awake. Blood purist outrage was a gloriously sweet treat for my Muggle-raised soul…

IIIII

Daphne let out a breath. Sage smoldered in her hands. Crystals tinkled, swaying like windchimes in an unseen wind. Before her, a deck of Tarot cards sat motionless.

She was trying to create something here. Something that had only been conceived in parts and never all together. None of the ingredients or decorations stirred her magic. None of them pulled at her core. Yet she still believed she could do something new here.

As the top card of the Tarot deck twitched, the calm atmosphere Daphne had created in her room was broken.

"Daphne~!" Astoria called in a singsong voice as she barged through the door, not bothering to knock as always.

Daphne sighed, "Story. Now isn't a good time."

Astoria's nose crinkled, "Why not? You're just playing with your 'witchy' Muggle things. They don't actually do anything. And I don't know why you bother with them. We have actual magic, you know?"

Daphne rolled her eyes, "I've told you before, I think there's something here. Maybe Squibs were the ones who started the rumors about magic in the Muggle world. We'll never know unless we try."

"The only things there that are even remotely related to magic are the Tarot cards. And they're still not proper Tarot cards," Astoria pointed out as usual.

Daphne ignored her sister's skepticism, "What do you want, Astoria?"

"Hmm? Oh~!" Astoria hopped in place as she remembered the original reason for her rude intrusion. "We're having a guest for dinner! You'll never guess who!"

"Who?" Daphne asked, her voice as monotone as ever.

"Professor Atlas~!" Astoria replied, giddy with excitement. "Daddy sent Mother a message to say he met him at the Wizengamot meeting today and convinced him to come over for dinner! I think we're finally going forward with the thing! You know~? The contract~?"

"Wonderful…" Daphne's flat tone betrayed none of her emotions. "I assume Mother sent you up here so that we may prepare and make ourselves presentable?"

Astoria snorted, giggling, "Duh~… We can't bring shame to our family's name by having a single hair out of place, can we~?"

Daphne raised a dull eyebrow, "Then why are you still in your pajamas? It's four in the afternoon…"

Her troublesome little sister just beamed a smile at her, "You have to brush my hair!"

Though she didn't show it, Daphne couldn't help but be affected by Astoria's antics. They stoked a lovely flame buried deep within her emotionless exterior, "Fine… Sit. Don't squirm. Let me just clean up a bit."

Astoria grinned at Daphne, making all of her little sacrifices for family worth it. It might have conflicted with the image she'd cultivated for herself, but some things weren't worth ignoring. Astoria was one of them.

Only those who didn't know her called Daphne the 'Ice Queen'. Her friends, her family, and anyone who actually paid attention knew that Daphne had plenty of emotions. She just didn't show them on her face or in her voice.

With a few swishes of her wand, Daphne's room was cleared of her Muggle curiosities. They were something Tracy Davis had introduced her to. They'd laughed at the Muggle idea of a Witch-… Well, Tracy had laughed. Daphne had twitched the corners of her mouth into an almost unnoticeable grin. But Daphne still ended up buying a few things from that little gothic storefront. Just because she had real magic didn't mean she couldn't experiment with the Muggle side of things.

Astoria plopped herself down in front of Daphne's vanity. Daphne joined her, sitting next to Astoria and having her turn to present her hair. She caught sight of both of them in the vanity's mirror as she picked up her brush to begin sorting out Astoria's hair.

Astoria was as perky as ever. Even sitting down, she was all but bouncing in place. She carried an undeniable energy with her everywhere she went. The kind of energy that sucked people into her orbit and set the pace of her whole life.

Her fair, cherubic face was always split by a wide grin. Her eyes darted everywhere, taking in everything all at once. Her cheeks were naturally rosy with blush and like most Witches (and even Wizards), Astoria required no makeup to look her best.

Long white hair was gathered in Daphne's hands as she brushed Astoria. Silky smooth and soft as sin, Astoria clearly took after their mother in that regard. Her personality, however, was entirely from their father.

Daphne was the opposite side of that coin. Her appearance took after their father, specifically with his dark hair. While her personality was taken directly from their mother, though tweaked in certain ways that made Daphne her own person. Daphne was cold in a monotone, seemingly emotionless sort of way. Their mother was cold in a stubborn, calculating, and ruthlessly ambitious way.

The slight differences had caused some distance between the mother and daughter. Oh, there was no doubt in Daphne's mind that her mother loved her. But she also knew her mother wouldn't hesitate to use her to get ahead.

After Tracy introduced Daphne to Muggle culture — namely a certain niche, dark, gothic aesthetic that Daphne and Tracy happened to run into while they were out in the Muggle world and fell in love with — their relationship grew the tiniest bit more strained. 

Ada Greengrass didn't understand the small spark of rebellion that caused her daughter to dress the way she did or engage with Muggle culture the way she did. Never mind the fact that Ada's choice of style could easily have been mistaken for Goth. Or the fact that Ada herself was quite the fan of a Muggle she only knew as 'Madonna'…

Her mother's hypocrisy was an old topic for Daphne by now. They didn't have a hostile relationship though, even with all of their petty disagreements. If anything, that just made them stronger together. The Greengrass family was just that; a family through and through.

A family that would potentially be growing very soon. The Black-Greengrass contract. Something that had been looming over Daphne's head since she was just a girl. Something that had lost its intimidation very recently with the discovery that she wouldn't have to marry Draco Malfoy.

The contract originally started as a way for Lucius Malfoy to force House Greengrass to violate their neutrality and give his hopeless spawn any chance at marriage. It was something Cygnus Greengrass had been forced to sign practically at wand-point. But with Lucius falling to a (un)timely death, hope shined at the end of the tunnel. Then came Professor Atlas' reveal and that hope flared bright as the sun.

In an instant witnessed over the WWO, Daphne had gone from a likely doomed and dreaded future with an un-Slytherin ponce to winning the marriage lottery (if you asked Pansy, at least). Daphne wasn't as crazy about the Professor as Pansy or even Astoria were but she certainly liked him a fair bit better than Draco. 

She was willing to give the contract a shot now. Any more would have to wait until they had an actual conversation in a casual setting. Something which it seemed would happen tonight…

"Done…" Daphne said, her tone flat and not portraying her inner thoughts at all. "Now, get up and I'll help you get dressed."

Astoria cocked her head cutely, "Don't you need to change, Daphne?"

Daphne looked at herself in the mirror as if just remembering what she was wearing. The piercings were a bit much… As were the choker and Muggle tee-shirt she was wearing… Hell, the fake tattoos might just give her mother a heart attack at the indecency of it all…

Her reply was deadpan but there was the barest hint of a smirk on her face, "Nope, I look perfect."