Chapter 166: Malediction

Chapter 166: Malediction

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21st November 1995, Hogwarts Earth 2

(Daphne Greengrass POV)

After the lesson had ended, she gestured to Tracy Davis, her best friend, to leave without her. The girl immediately understood what she would be trying to accomplish, and nodded while giving her a reassuring smile.

The Greengrass Heiress steeled herself and walked to the Professor's desk.

Sayre looked up, with her eyebrows raised, "Is there anything you need, Ms. Greengrass?"

Damn, she was intimidating up close. Remember Daphne, you're doing it for Astoria. The girl nodded, "Yes. Professor Sayre, I need your help."

Again, the professor's face was expressionless, "With what, Ms. Greengrass?"

"I need your help in saving my sister's life."

There, she said it. Hopefully, this wouldn't be a worthless venture.

The professor's face showed that Daphne had her whole attention. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes had a certain intensity, "explain!" she demanded.

The happy go lucky professor was gone and, in her place, there was someone far more powerful and far wiser than anyone Daphne had ever met. The Greengrass heiress didn't know how to put it into words. She could only say that whatever aura Professor Sayre was projecting was intense.

Still, Daphne didn't let that unnerve her too much, "my sister, Astoria, suffers from a blood malediction. It's passed down to every Greengrass. It's been that way for generations. Every time someone becomes head of house, his youngest daughter suffers from the curse. My parents have given up in all but name. We have spoken with the best healers and curse breakers in every continent. No one could even get a hint of the curse. The best they can do is give her a few more years to live by treating the symptoms. Please, she's my little sister. I need your help."

Daphne was barely stopping herself from crying by the end of her little rant and the Professor's face softened slightly, "It's alright, Daphne. Can you tell me what the symptoms are?"

The Greengrass heiress collected herself and nodded, "She's just generally weak. She has a weak body, weak resistance to diseases, even her magic just stops working sometimes. There are days where she could barely get up from bed. I'm always scared that some accident will happen and she would be gone forever."

The Professor looked pensive for a moment before stating, "I can't say anything without seeing her. Blood malediction is just the name given to any type of negative magical effect that is specific to a single bloodline. There doesn't actually have to be a curse. There's this family that tried to make sure that every member would be a snake Animagus. They messed up the ritual and every descendant ended up turning entirely into a snake with no way back by the time they reach adulthood. It was technically considered a blood malediction, but there wasn't an evil family who cursed them or something similar. It was just a mistake. Not everything involving blood magic is a curse, it's just how the magic is channeled. Although, I am quite curious as to how it's only the youngest daughter that suffers. I have never heard of something like this. Not because it's impossible, but because it's so specific."

Daphne looked at the Professor pleadingly, "is there anything you can do?"

The Professor was starting to get exasperated, "For the last time, Kiddo, I know that you like that spell because it held up against Riddle, but stop using it in every conflict. It's childish and pretty much useless against anyone who can wandlessly summon their own wand, something that isn't that difficult to learn."

"But you said"

"I remember saying that the disarming charm was a good choice if you're desperate against an unknown spell, or if you're trying to equalize a fight in a battle of wills. It's not supposed to be your finishing move, or your most powerful weapon. You need to learn how to choose your spells correctly."

Potter looked ready to protest again, but the Professor raised her hand, "I'm afraid that our lesson is over, Mr. Potter. I have a prior arrangement."

"With who?"

"With the two young ladies sneakily watching us."

Daphne jumped when the door opened on its own. Her sister would probably have done the same but she jumped up and down, "That was so cool, I didn't think Potter was this good at dueling"

She kept on babbling showing a little bit of the hero worship she had for Harry Potter when she was a lot younger. The boy in question looked embarrassed at the praise, and Daphne thought that it did look cute on him.

Still, this wasn't the time for any of this and the Greengrass heiress was very grateful when Professor Sayre dismissed Potter. Immediately after, she took a closer look at Astoria who was instructed to lie down.

"Alright, I'm gonna cast a diagnostic spell, alright?"

Astoria nodded and the Defense Professor, to Daphne's surprise, put aside her wand and just tapped her chest with her palm. Immediately, glowing orange symbols started to hover over the young Slytherin, and Daphne didn't understand what in Merlin's name those represented.

They looked like runes but they weren't any of the runes that the Greengrass heiress had ever seen, and she was second in her runes class, after that stupid Granger.

Somehow, the Professor seemed to understand them, and kept mumbling 'interesting', and 'fascinating'

Finally, after a good ten minutes the woman stopped looking at the symbols. Daphne asked her, "So, what did you find out?"

The young Professor smiled at her reassuringly, "I can see why curse breakers couldn't find anything; this isn't a curse at all. It's one of the biggest mess-ups I've seen in a while, and with blood magic, they tend to be big. Healers wouldn't have found anything either, since it's not an actual medical issue. It's a magical contract, a messed up one that's for sure."

Daphne gasped in surprise, "How?"

The Professor shrugged, "I don't know the exact timeline or reason, but your family swore fealty to another magical family. As proof of that alliance, the youngest daughter of the Greengrass lord would serve under that family. Without the other family, I can't be sure of the specifics. Anyway, there's supposed to be some kind of bond between them. I don't know if the contract was created with malicious intent, like using the daughters as hostages for perpetuity, and it doesn't matter too much. What does matter is the fact that the family that the ancient Greengrass's swore fealty to, are extinct. They have no descendant, and that wasn't taken into account in the blood contract that your ancestor signed. So, with no target, the youngest Greengrass daughter is still affected but the bond is one sided. She's leaking magic; a bond includes a small exchange of magic, but with no reciprocation, her body keeps sending magic and lifeforce at it, trying to reach something that doesn't exist, which explains the symptoms pretty well."

Daphne and Astoria were gaping at her, "Does this mean that you can stop it, you can reverse it?"

The woman nodded, "the bond leak, almost immediately, but the blood contract is going to take a couple of weeks for me to be prepared for both of you. With the two of you, free of the contract, as long as your parents don't have any more children, the Greengrass curse will vanish, freeing any descendant from suffering from it."

Astoria leapt and hugged her Professor. Daphne didn't even care if this was unprofessional and discourteous, especially for someone of their station, she just ran and joined the two of them.

After all, this has been Daphne's deepest desire. Her baby sister was free at last.