The-Fated-Meeting (IV) [Chapter 234]

~~Heathgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London~~ (A couple of hours ago)

“Okay, so let me get this straight! You want Hermione to join your group and work for you in the future and in return, you will give us protection while Hermione will get all the opportunities she desires?” Daniel Granger asked with a growl as he glared at the calm-looking girl sitting on the opposite side of the table.

“It sounds so wrong when you put it like that, Mr Granger. After all, I am not asking your daughter to work for free, she is going to be paid aptly” Daphne finished with a meaningful look on her face.

The man snorted at her words. “You are talking like our daughter won’t be able to achieve anything on her own” Daniel stated with a hint of anger in his voice and Emma worriedly placed her arm on his shoulder. The thug-looking woman who introduced herself as Himera was starting to really scare her and she didn’t want her husband to offend anyone.

“I never said that” Daphne smoothly denied. “Granger has seen how our world works, Purebloods are given more importance than children with non-Magical parents. After she graduates from Hogwarts, she will definitely get some opportunities, but she will never achieve anything she truly deserves” Daphne finished.

Daniel frowned at her words, but before he could say anything, Hermione, who was sitting beside him, spoke up. “Why are you telling me all this? You are a Pureblood too…” Hermione asked, sounding confused. She couldn’t understand why everyone out of Daphne Greengrass was trying to help her.

After studying at Hogwarts for three and a half years, she knew exactly how the Wizarding World worked. Purebloods were given the most importance in the world and no matter how much the Professors at Hogwarts would like to say that there is no discrimination within the school, it wasn’t the truth… Draco Malfoy was the biggest example, but he was never punished for always calling her a Mudblood.

He even called her a Mudblood right in front of Professor Snape, but he didn’t do anything. He didn’t even chastise him or deduct any points from him… He simply acted like it was the completely normal thing to do… The Purebloods even in her own House never forgot to remind her that she was nobody special. She wouldn’t say that all of them were bad, but most of them were…

It took her some time, but she finally understood why nobody liked her even in her own House… It was really hard to come to terms with the fact that it was her who was responsible for alienating herself, but the others also carried some of the blame…

“Yes, I am, but unlike the others, I am not afraid of you…” Daphne stated softly. “Do you know why most of the Purebloods hate you?” Daphne asked and Hermione shook her head in denial, Daphne decided to continue. “Because they know that you are better than them. They knew about Magic way before you did… They were being taught Magic by their parents way before they came to Hogwarts, but you proved that you were better than them” Daphne explained.

“Nobody likes to be proven inferior” Daphne smiled at her own words. “Then there is another reason why they hate you… You represent change and change is something the old families don’t like. They like the power and influence they possess, but your modern thinking is a danger to that” Daphne finished with a shrug, leaving the three Grangers completely speechless.

“... Your family is also a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, isn’t it? Then shouldn’t you hate me too?” Hermione narrowed her eyes at Daphne. Her life at Hogwarts had made her really pragmatic.

“Not really… I might be proud of my heritage, but my interests lie elsewhere than politics” Daphne finished smoothly with a smile on her face. “So, what do you say?” Daphne asked.

Hermione was unsure, but she was also quite interested in the offer… If this was not an elaborate scheme or a prank then this was really good. Hermione knew that she couldn’t return to the Muggle World as they would ask difficult questions regarding her seven-year absence from the Muggle Education system, so she didn’t have many options to begin with, in the first place.

“Can I think about it?” Hermione asked and Daphne simply smiled at that.

“Sure, take your time, but don’t take too long” After saying that, Daphne stood up and everyone knew that the conversation was over. To be honest, Daniel was not happy that his daughter was considering the offer in the first place, but he knew that Hermione was smart, so there must be a reason for her choice… The Granger family was surely going to have a serious family conversation after Daphne and her bodyguard were finally gone…

<Line Break>

~~Bones Manor~~ (Present time)

The Death Eaters rushed in as soon as the door was blasted open and as soon as the Death Eater at the front stepped at a very specific spot, the ground exploded and the man was turned into a bloody mist with some of the parts being flung around. The other Death Eaters immediately froze and a couple of Death Eaters even started to empty their stomachs at the gory sight.

“Be careful, this place is booby-trapped!” Someone exclaimed loudly, but nobody wanted to take another step, afraid of setting off another tap, but they knew that they couldn't just stand around or the Dark Lord might kill them himself. So, after some grumblings, the Death Eaters started to move again, but very carefully, but when nothing happened, some of the worry disappeared from their minds, but that didn’t last for long.

One of the Death Eaters opened one of the cabinet doors. It set off a trap and the whole floor of the room collapsed and all the Death Eaters in the room fell inside a pit filled with spears… None of the Death Eaters who fell inside the pit survived. Harry had to admit, Amelia was a vicious bitch. It was a good thing that he didn’t go rummaging through her cabinets when he arrived.

The surviving Death Eaters came rushing when the screams were heard and they froze at the horrific sight in front of them. All of them simply refused to move, but the deadlock didn’t last for long…

“Incompetent fools!” Voldemort hissed in anger as he stepped inside the manor and the Death Eaters felt chills chase each other up their spines. If Harry was being honest, he was a bit disappointed. He wanted a few more Death Eaters to kick the bucket before Voldemort finally decided to join in, but he was already here. Alas, there was no crying over spilled milk so he started to wonder what he was going to say, now that he was going to finally meet his nemesis…