Daphne continued working with Occlumency but also started Leo on the subject known at Hogwarts as Transfiguration. Leo was asked to work through each Transfiguration exercise while Daphne used Legilimency to silently push him. Not only did his defence quickly grow but Leo discovered the ancient power of magic to transform and renew everyday objects. Leo started renewing his collection of old motorcycle parts. He quickly discovered that not all transfigurations stayed in their new form, sometimes only lasting minutes before reverting to the previous form. Daphne and Professor Flitwick guided Leo into the more complex sets of magic required to permanently transfigure and renew.
Leo’s confidence with his wand increased. He discovered that there was such a thing as wizards duels. Professor Flitwick trained Leo to duel in the formal sense. Leo never told the professor that he had years of training in the muggle sport of boxing. When he was thirteen his mother wanted Leo to learn ballroom dancing. She told Leo that he needed to learn something civilised. She took him to the local church hall where a ballroom dancing academy had lessons on Monday nights. Leo saw on a notice board that there was boxing training in the old church hall next door. He struck a deal; he would do ballroom dancing on Monday nights if he could do boxing on Wednesday nights. His mother could manage the cost of both if the council youth program helped to pay the fees.
Leo was never able to keep a partner long enough to progress in ballroom dancing competitions. When he was eighteen his boxing coach told Leo why he would never win a boxing competition; Leo never really wanted to hurt anyone. He could defend and avoid being hurt but he didn’t have a knockout punch.
All this footwork came out in duelling practice. Leo could dance out of danger. Even Professor Flitwick had difficulty scoring against Leo. As Leo’s confidence grew, the footwork gave Leo the split seconds needed to aim his point scoring spells. Professor Flitwick was most impressed.
All the reading Leo was doing about historical and recent magical conflicts made him see that the friendliness he received from witches and wizards wouldn’t be given to him by all of them. His short encounter with George Weasley played on his mind. There was a lot of grief out there and some people could make that last for generations.
Leo was invited to Harry’s home at 12 Grimauld Place for evening meals every second week. There were other guests on most occasions. Leo met the Potter’s connections in magical society, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic, Holyhead Harpies, Ginny’s team, and Chudley Cannons, of which Harry owned a part, Dumbledores Army and their friends and family, the few remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix, Andromeda Tonks and her grandson Teddy Lupin. At one of these evenings Leo asked Harry about George, his use of Legilimency and his opinion of Daphne Greengrass. Harry didn’t look happy at this piece of news.
“Leo, you should get Daphne’s story about her family, Hogwarts and her life since then. It will be much better coming from her. I know it already and the Ministry wants her and her family to regain the life in society they once had”.
“You know about Fred being killed in the battle. It looks like George is going to have a long struggle coping with that. Ron isn’t much better. The other Weasleys are trying to deal with it. The Weasleys and another old family, the Malfoys, have what seems to be an old feud. To us outsiders it is something which just won’t go away, it is private and personal between them and doesn’t need a reason to flare up again. How it got started is lost in the ancient history. The Black family and the Greengrass family have been associated with the Malfoys. Sirius and his cousin Andromeda ended hostilities by being cast out of the Black family. The Greengrass family were never allied with the Malfoys. They were and are opposed to what the Malfoys stood for, but they were forced to have business associations with them because of ancient magical contracts. All those contracts have been terminated by the financial and personal ruin that the Greengrass family endured during the war.”
The weight of what Harry said was not making Leo happy. “Leo, the complications still carry on. Sirius’ cousin Andromeda had two sisters, Narcissa and Bellatrix. Narcissa is married to Lucius Malfoy. Their son is Draco Malfoy. Bellatrix was one of Tom Riddle’s greatest supporters. She was the one who killed Sirius. Bellatrix was killed in the Battle of Hogwarts by Molly Weasley. This is typical of wizard families and why we need muggle marriages. Andromeda and Narcissa are your first cousins once removed, Draco Malfoy is your second cousin, and Teddy Lupin is your second cousin once removed.”
Once again, the wizarding world had left Leo stunned. “What happened to the Malfoys. Were they Death Eaters? “
Harry fidgeted; “Yes they were. They surrendered and confessed everything to the aurors. We arrested most of the Death Eaters and their supporters because of the Malfoy’s evidence. Narcissa could have had me killed in the battle but she saved me because I told her that Draco was still alive in the castle. She loves her son. Lucius, Narcissa and Draco were given sentences for their crimes. Narcissa and Draco were given probation. They haven’t been seen much in magical society since then. Draco isn’t allowed to own a wand until his probation ends. It doesn’t seem to be much of a penalty, but the policy has been focused on reconciliation.”
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