ILLICIT AFFAIRS...JAMES POTTER

thirty-nine.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
The Battle Of Ministry
February 8th, 1980.

Daphne shifted her attention towards her cousin, Narcissa, who was starting to show a light bump. Her hand never left her stomach and she glared at everyone who would walk past her. A month or so had gone on since her engagement to Fabian, in the meantime, they had organised a dinner at the Rosier Manor to announce it to them as well. Despite her fears, the dinner turned out to be just perfect. Her father, Bacchus, had accepted Fabian right away and she knew her mother had played a huge part in the way he behaved that day. Narcissa was happy, the happiest in a while actually. Even Evan had expressed his excitement over their union.

The happiness which radiated through her family made her heart melt, truly.

But today, she was making her way through the dimly lit corridors of Malfoy Manor. As usual, Daphne had been invited to the meeting–after all, she was considered to be part of his inner circle. Walking through the meeting room, the air grew heavy and she almost felt as if someone was putting all their weight on her shoulder. As she sat down, she locked eyes with Severus Snape who simply bowed his head and she did the same. Evan was there too and to her surprise, he had moved seats to be with her.

"Reckon it is important?" He whispered, leaning closer to her. "I mean Greyback, Bella, Antonin, Lucius, Snape, Nott...All these people–they're bloody important, are they not?"

Daphne hummed, setting eyes on every person her brother had just called, "I reckon they are. It must be something important."

"Right," he bit his lip down and then glanced at her ring. "Mum is bloody enthusiastic about that," he told Daphne, eyeing the engagement ring. "She talks about it all the time."

"Well, I'm enthusiastic about it too," she told him with a smile.

He replied something similar to he was happy as well but quickly stopped talking as he heard footsteps. The door of the meeting room had flown open and from the quietness, even with her back facing the person, she could tell who it was. Though, they stopped–right behind her.

"Ah, Daphne," he breathed out and Daphne noticed how different he sounded. "How I am glad to see you there. I am deeply saddened that you were not able to recruit Aberforth, however I am very proud of you for killing him."

"Anything for you, my Lord."

Daphne had not killed him, in fact she would never even try to lay a hand on Aberforth. She had sent Gideon and Fabian so they could retrieve him somewhere safe and she was proud of herself to see that the so respected Dark Lord had been fooled.

As he began to walk again, the air crackled with anticipation, awaiting his command, "My faithful followers," his voice echoed through the room, his tone breathy yet cold and commanding. "The time has come for a bold strike, my friends. An attack that will send tremors through the Ministry of Magic itself."

Whispers of conversation filled the room, discussing the upcoming event that was about to unfold at the Ministry of Magic. All of a sudden, Daphne felt very overwhelmed by all the information and closed her eyes, trying to listen to her heartbeats like Fabian had taught her.

"Quiet!" He shouted and the room went silent again. "The Ministry, that den of corruption and resistance, shall feel the might of our wrath. Their feeble attempts to impede our progress shall be crushed beneath our heels. Dumbledore's little army will rush to get there and we will wait for them, in the dark so we can kill them."

A chorus of laughter filled the room, a chilling symphony of malevolence. Daphne, on her side, felt rather sick hearing all of this. As he continued to speak about the reason for this attack and how it would serve as a symbol of our dominance, Daphne distanced herself. The murmurs and laughs felt far but she did her best to stay in the meeting.