Chapter 309 - Darcie vs Ron and the mysterious Black Object!
"Wonderful!" Molly exclaid. "Go on, now. And Ron, if you feel you can't hold it anymore, then let the staff know, OK? Don't push yourself."
"MOM!"
"Hahaha!" Among the girls, only Astoria laughed.
"His second match is with ," she childishly whispered to Darcie and Daphne. "Let's make him lose two tis in a row. Hehe!"
Daphne shook her head and sighed.
Under the penetrating and hateful eyes of Dolores Umbridge, the children took their seats.
Darcie gracefully sat down. Opposite her, Ron's face was as red as a tomato, matching his short red hair.
They hadn't even played 5 moves when Darcie saw the young Weasley squirming in his chair.
After 5 more moves, Ron's ears were almost steaming.
Suddenly, he threw himself off the chair and ran to a staff mber.
All the children's faces turned to look at what was going on. And from a corner, Astoria's giggles pierced into the quiet atmosphere.
When Ron returned, his eyes were low, and he didn't look up at Darcie even once.
However, despite his troubling circumstances, Darcie didn't look down on her opponent.
Even with her skills, she could see that Ron was truly the strongest player she had faced if she were to ignore Mr. Ollivander. Not even Daphne was his match in chess, and that was saying sothing in itself.
Astoria's wish might not co true, Darcie thought, playing the 25th move.
And Ron resigned.
The rest of the afternoon passed by smoothly for the players.
As expected by Darcie, Astoria lost her match with Ron. Then she lost her match with Darcie, the only one she had been expecting to lose that day.
Daphne and Ron ended in a draw, and Darcie won all her matches.
It didn't even seem that her opponents were trying to make her lose. The mont soone sat opposite Darcie, one could see hope abandoning them with every next move.
By 3 in the afternoon, all the matches planned for that day were over.
All players had only 5 matches left, but even then, none had any doubt about the obvious winner.
Darcie was in the lead, and if it weren't for a miracle, with her losing all the next 5 matches, she would without a doubt beco the champion.
The fight was for 2nd place, with Ron leading by a point, and Daphne just behind him.
But these weren't the things the girls were thinking about now.
The fair was in its pri, and the joy of New Year could be seen everywhere.
With Ginny's return, the girls got together and let themselves loose in Diagon Alley, buying anything that looked interesting to them.
Suddenly, Darcie saw soone she recognized instantly. "Hagrid!"
Hagrid turned around and looked all over. He looked the sa to Darcie.
The keeper of keys was carrying large boxes, and high-pitch squeaking noises were coming from them.
"Here! Down!" Astoria shouted, jumping and hopping.
Hagrid looked down and his bead-like eyes widened.
"Gallopin' Gorgons!" He cried playfully. "Yeh all growin' in numbers, aren' yeh? Are yeh sure yeh not creatin' a secret coven?"
Darcie and Daphne smiled as Hagrid laughed out loud.
The three of them could be said to be old acquaintances, even though they had only t once before.
Darcie introduced Astoria and Ginny to him.
"Anothe' Weasley?" Hagrid raised an eyebrow, leaning down.
Ginny hid behind Darcie.
Suddenly Daphne's eyes widened. "Everyone, hide your money!"
Hagrid laughed ruefully, scratching his beard. A snout peeked from his coat's pocket, and the niffler eyed Daphne with a pained look.
This was none other than Burby, who had robbed Darcie and Daphne last ti.
Both Astoria and Ginny shrieked wildly before pouncing on the niffler.
Hagrid then took the girls to Magical nagerie, teaching them how to take care of nifflers.
After he dropped the packages, the girls and the giant man slurped on ice cream before saying goodbye to each other.
With her father and mother busy with the Grand Fair's affairs, Darcie felt bold enough to invite Ginny for the supper with her, Daphne, and Astoria.
"You eat this every day?!" Ginny asked, astonished. In front of her were several types of desserts, soup, and fish and crabs.
The girl stuffed her mouth with a piece of everything, telling all about her family and ho, the Burrow.
"Kicking gnos?" Astoria remarked. "That sounds so good. Daphne! I want to kick gnos, too."
"You don't have gnos?!" Ginny's mouth hung open, morsels of cake flying all over the table.
Daphne smiled. "We do have them," she said, elegantly slicing the cake, "but our House-elves take care of such things."
After supper, Ginny's older brother, Percy, ca and took her away.
Even Astoria was made to sleep with the Greengrasses, leaving Daphne and Darcie in the room alone.
Of course, Dobby was with them, too.
"What is it?" Daphne asked after the girls had changed.
Darcie had already hinted to her she had sothing to share with her. So, after ditching Astoria, they both ca down to the library in the suitcase.
Darcie shared a glance with Dobby and then told Daphne everything.
When the tale had been told, Daphne's face looked paler than it already was.
"That was not wise, I think," she comnted.
Darcie then took out the mysterious object and placed it on the table.
Daphne observed and rubbed the object between her fingers, as Darcie had before. anwhile, Dobby kept eying it, sliding back with every mont.
"I felt nothing," Daphne remarked. "Not even an ounce of Magic."
Darcie nodded.
"I think it's sothing only the House-elves can feel," she told Daphne. "If it wasn't for Dobby, I would have passed by it without even noticing it."
"What do you plan on doing with it?" Daphne asked.
Darcie took a deep breath. "I think the reason we can't feel anything is this black glossy surface," she said solemnly. "If we were to dissolve the upper surface, we would know what's lying underneath. I made Dobby buy so potions today. That's why he was not with us. Let's try them out."
Daphne regarded Darcie with an odd gaze.
"It could be a cursed object, Darcie," she suggested worriedly. "I think we should hand it over to the adults."
Darcie shook her head. "With Dobby looking after us, there's nothing to be worried about. Isn't that right, Dobby?"
The house-elf looked worried himself. But the mont Darcie asked him, his large green eyes blinked strongly at them.
"Dobby will protect the two misses," he said, thumping his chest. "It's a powerful item, but for Dobby, it's nothing."
Darcie smiled.
Even Daphne looked taken aback.
"If this goes on any longer," she whispered, following Darcie into the potions room, "then Dobby will beco too conceited, you know."
Darcie observed Dobby's tiny back as the house-elf arranged various potions on the table. "A little conceit is nothing bad for him, perhaps."
As Daphne heard Darcie's words, even her expression softened.
That night, strange, sizzling sounds kept exploding in the potions room, accompanied by wild screams and euphoric shouts.
As the doors of the potions room opened way after midnight, black smoke ca pouring out, burying the coughs under it.
Three figures walked out, their faces covered in black, green, and yellow gelatinous substances.
"What even is it?" Daphne asked annoyingly.
Darcie lifted the object in front of them and saw its state.
It was as glossy and smooth as before, and none could tell that only recently they had poured several potions over it that could reveal the hidden mysteries of almost anything.
When everything had failed, they had even made Dobby try out spell after spell on it. Yet, the outco hadn't changed.
Now they were too tired and lost to go on with it.
"Should we take it to so shops tomorrow?" Daphne suggested. "Without knowing its origins, it's pointless to keep experinting with it."
Darcie had to nod in agreent. She looked at Dobby, rembering his spell that had made her look like a teen.
"We will be counting on you, Dobby," Darcie said, rubbing her face.
"Leave it to Dobby, miss," the house-elf declared. But the way he kept looking at the palm-sized object in Darcie's hand was just too ominous for the girls to not frown at it.
"We will need to bathe again," Darcie said after so ti.
Dobby had already used the Scouring Charm to clean the grease and the traces of the experints off them. But the girls still didn't feel clean enough to call it a night.
A nice, hot bath should do the trick, they knew.
"I am getting sleepy," Daphne yawned. "Let's bathe together. It's already 2, and we need to wake up by 6."
Suddenly, Dobby ran. After his last experience of bathing, he found that he didn't like this activity much.
"You aren't going anywhere!" Both girls shouted and pounced on him.
On this snowy night, one could almost hear the ghostly screams of a house-elf as he got carried away by two monsters, his tiny legs kicking the air for freedom.
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AN: This Chapter is dedicated to Robbie Coltrane, Harry Potter's Hagrid. RIP
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