Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 103: Taken
"Madam Yafel, I thought you never got involved with these kinds of things," Lady Greengrass said.
"Normally, that would be true. But in this particular case, things got kinda personal. Can we talk inside?" Morgan suggested.
The other woman looked hesitant and took a long moment to respond, but eventually spoke again. "Very well… let's do that."
When they entered the manor, Harry could only detect the presence of a single person. This made him very curious, because Morgan had informed him that Lady Greengrass had two daughters.
"We have guests?" An elegantly dressed man walked into the entrance hall.
He was good at hiding his emotions, but Harry and Morgan immediately noticed how nervous he was.
"Yes, sorry, dear. This is Madam Yafel." The lady made a gesture toward Morgan. "And she came accompanied by Mister Potter."
"Madam Yafel?!" Lord Greengrass exclaimed. "And… Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived?" He moved his long black hair from his eyes and glanced directly at Harry.
"I know this is not a good time, Lord and Lady Greengrass, but…" Morgan's eyes shifted across the room. She had felt the same thing as Harry. "I believe it's important that we speak. There may be something we can do to help."
"Help us?" Lord Greengrass asked. He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "No… we don't need anyone's help. Everything is under control."
"Is it?" Morgan asked. "Because it looks like the Death Eaters did more than intimidate your family during their visit."
"What are you getting at?" Lord Greengrass was getting upset. "I told you, we have everything under control, Madam Yafel."
"Dear… perhaps…" Lady Greengrass pleaded with her husband.
"No!" The lord was firm. "We will deal with this ourselves. Our house has never needed the help of outsiders. So, Madam Yafel, if you have nothing else to say, I would have to ask you to leave. Right now is not a good time for business talk. We will send you an owl when things h—"
"They took your daughters." Morgan interrupted him with a statement. This was not a guess. Her amber eyes seemed to glow for an instant and pierced through any mental protections. Those eyes could always discern the truth.
Both parents flinched at the same time, confirming Morgan's words.
"They…" Lord Greengrass clenched his fists.
"They took Daphne," the mother responded first. "Astoria has been sent to one of the other properties for her own safety."
"That damn Malfoy boy! It's all his fault!" Lord Greengrass spat the name. "I will kill him for this."
"Could you give us the details?" asked Harry. "If you know where to find them, we may be able to get your daughter back."
"You can't!" shouted Lord Greengrass. "They would kill her if you tried anything. They said that…" He stopped suddenly, not willing to speak any further. "Anyways… you should not get involved in this. There is nothing for you to gain."
Morgan turned her attention to Lady Greengrass. "What did they ask of you? What did they want exactly?"
The blonde witch glanced at her husband, and he shook his head, clearly telling her to keep her mouth shut. "They want us to make an Unbreakable Vow, declaring our loyalty to the Dark Lord."
"Lara!" the husband shouted.
"Another form of soul contract…" Harry grumbled. He was growing tired of those.
"I have the contracts prepared. We just need to go meet with them and make our vows. Then, they will let our daughter go," Lord Greengrass said. "If anyone else comes along, they will surely kill her. We can't take that risk."
"You are already taking a risk. Making an Unbreakable Vow of loyalty to that crazy wizard will not end well for you or your house," Morgan pointed out.
"Not to mention, there is no guarantee they would let your daughter go after you do it. I mean, not to sound crass, but even if they kill her, once you make the vow, there is nothing you could do about it. You and your wife would basically become his slaves," Harry pointed out.
"We are aware of this, Mister Potter… and regardless of the risks, we have made up our minds," Lord Greengrass said. "Family comes first."
"How noble. And here I thought that was gone." Harry glanced at Morgan. "Looks like you have already made up your mind."
Morgan shrugged. "Don't give me that. This is also for your benefit. If we get our hands on one of his most important followers, they can lead us back to him. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Madam Yafel…" Lady Greengrass called.
"You can count on us," said Morgan. "We wil—"
"And I said no!" Lord Greengrass interrupted her. "This risk is unacceptable."
"You are seriously underestimating my abilities if you are so sure that those Death Eaters will be able to detect my presence," Morgan said with her usual confidence.
"Yours… but…" Lady Greengrass glanced at Harry. She had assumed that both of them would be acting together.
Morgan chuckled. "If the job requires subtlety, then it's better leaving it to me."
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Lord and Lady Greengrass activated the Portkey that was given to them by the Death Eaters.
They found themselves in the middle of a grassy clearing. Ahead of them was a forest, and right at the entrance of this forest was a small wooden cabin.
The couple exchanged a worried look.
Lord Greengrass snapped his head around. "Where did she—" He suddenly froze.
Morgan had been at their side just a moment ago. He had seen her when he was activating the Portkey, but now… she was gone.
Neither of them knew if she was still around or if the Portkey had some safety feature that prevented her from tagging along, and she had ended up appearing somewhere else entirely.
"W-what do we do?" asked Lady Greengrass.
Her husband held the contracts firmly in his hand. "What we came here to do. Get our daughter back."
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