Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling. She owns all harry potter characters ...everything, right down to the discarded streamer. I just borrow them.

A/N: story was orginally written by kb24 but he allowed me to take over

Harry Potter and the Return of darkness

Chapter 1

Sixteen year old Daphne Greengrass stood in front of her bedroom mirror brushing her hair, thinking back to the events that transpired at her school Hogwarts. After her fourth year, the Ministry of Magic decided to appoint a defense against the dark arts teacher named Umbridge who was appointed by Minister Fudge to see to it that Hogwarts was being run according to ministry standards. Needless to say, that it did not work out very well, and rumors had it that a group of Centaurs arrived and took her away. With the arrival of Umbridge came the Inquisitorial Squad with Draco Malfoy being appointed as the leader and a majority of the students from the Slytherin house being members. They had the power to take points from all students, and give punishments. Daphne along with a number of other students in Slytherin did not view Draco as the leader of Slytherin but in order to survive in the snake house as it was called and not to draw the wrath of the Death Eater children, they pretended to respect Malfoy and his goons.

Placing her brush down, Daphne turned her attention to the newspaper beside her, the Daily Prophet, and read the headline, "YOU-KNOW-WHO RETURNS SAYS MINISTER FUDGE!" Daphne only shook her head in disgust as she read the headline. It had taken the ministry one year to admit that the dark lord had risen again, after he attacked the ministry. When Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, had told the wizarding world that he was back last year, when he came out of the Tri-Wizard tournament maze with a lifeless body of one of his opponents and Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory.

Harry Potter was a mystery to her, when he had first appeared at school she was surprised to see the heir to the Ancient House of Potter dressed in nothing but rags and baggy clothing. Another thing that confused her, was that Potter had no other friends apart from Weasley and Granger, both who seemed to be by his side every day for one reason or another. Daphne, though, knew that with the return of the dark lord, there was going to be an all-out wizarding war and it would all come down to between Harry Potter and the dark lord. There have already been rumors circulating around that there is a prophecy between the two that outlined the confrontation would happen and that Harry Potter is the only one who can defeat the dark lord,

Daphne sighed she knew that in this war unlike other past wizarding wars the Greengrass family could not remain neutral, either the dark lord, or the light lead by Albus Dumbledore and his fabled Order of the Phoenix, they would have to pick sides. Already Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father and suspected death eater had approached her father not once or twice but three times about a marriage contract between her and Draco, one that would not only see Daphne being married off to a dark family, but also at the same time showing the wizard world that the Greengrass family had chosen to side with the Dark Lord. Luckily, her father had refused, saying that it was Daphne's choice to pick her future partner, one that Daphne was extremely thankful of.

Daphne knew she was pretty, standing at 5'9" with long legs, curves in the right places, and blond hair and ice blue eyes, she was the envy of all the girls of Hogwarts, and the one that all the males wanted but could not come close to her due to her 'Ice Queen ' personality. During her first year after the third year Slytherin male tried getting fresh with her, only to be saved by her head house Severus Snape. She developed a new cold personality to everyone except for her close friend Tracey Davis and her family.

POP! Daphne turned her head and saw one of the Greengrass house elves staring at her.

"Excuse me miss, but Twinkle was told by Lord Greengrass to tell mistress to come to the family dining room for a family meeting."

Daphne wondered what her father wanted, to call a family meeting, but she suspected it might have to do with Lucius Malfoy asking another offer of marriage between her and Draco.

"Thank you twinkle, tell my father I will be there in a few minutes."

The house elf nodded his head and disappeared with a pop. Daphne shook her head and left the room when she heard someone calling her,

"Daphne wait up!"

Daphne turned and saw her sister Astoria, she was a third year in Slytherin, and looked similar to Daphne but unlike blond hair she had brown. Daphne waited for her sister to catch up and they started walking together.

"What do you think this is about?" asked Astoria.

"I'm not sure but I bet you anything father has received another marriage offer from Lucius Malfoy."

"Not too bright is he? After father had refused the first three times," commented Astoria.

"No he isn't" Daphne replied.

Soon, they reached the family dining room and saw both their mother and father standing by the fireplace with a guest, who, to their surprise, was their head of house Professor Snape. Her father Alan Greengrass turned as he heard both his daughters enter the dining room. "Morning Daphne, Astoria"

"Morning father, mother, Professor Snape," the girls chorused. Snape only nodded his head to them with a brief smile.

Alan spoke up, "Daughters, your professor has come to us with some bad news. As you may know, Professor Snape is a suspected Death Eater, but what isn't known, is that he is a spy for Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix."

The Greengrass daughters gasped in surprise at what their father had told them; their head of house was a spy for Dumbledore, and he was risking his life for him by spying on the most dangerous dark lord in history. They looked at their head of house, who only nodded his head with a grim look on his face.

"Hurry up Alan, tell them what they need to hear, we do not have much time." said Snape in a rush.

"Your right as always Severus; Daphne, Astoria, Lucius Malfoy and a group of Death Eaters will be arriving shortly to… Attempt to convince us to join the Death Eaters. I have made the choice, my daughters that the Greengrass family will not remain neutral anymore longer, as head of the house of Greengrass this family shall side with the light; we will join Albus Dumbledore and his group. Dumbledore has temporally allowed floo access to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters that we will be staying in till the war is over."

Daphne and Astoria both thought for a bit, "There is no other option is there …" Daphne asked quietly. She did not want to leave her home, but she wanted to know if there were other options available to them first.

"I'm afraid not Miss Greengrass, there isn't, in approximately 30 minutes, Lucius Malfoy will arrive with his Death Eaters." Snape replied with a grim expression crossing his features.

"What about school? Do we still have to go?" asked Astoria.

"Yes, you and the other students who will be staying at the orders headquarters will have to go to school on September first." replied her mother, who was speaking for the first time.

"Other students..? Who else will be staying with us" asked Daphne questioningly. "It will be the Weasleys, granger and perhaps later on the boy-who-lived himself." said Snape with a sneer.

"Great, a full summer with griffendorks, what joy!" said Daphne in a sarcastic voice, while Astoria just rolled her eyes.

"Come on now girls, it won't be that bad," said Alan. "Now are we all in agreement?" asked Daphne's father.

"Yes father" said both girls.

"Excellent we will be both going now, with the house elves currently packing our belongings and will be sending them to us shortly." Daphne and Astoria could only nod their heads in sadness; they were going to leave the house that they both grew up in, all because of a war.

"Here, read this and memorize it," Daphne and Astoria both turned and saw their professor holding a piece of parchment that read – The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be located at number twelve Grimmauld Place.

"The Fidelius Charm?" asked Daphne, Snape only nodded his head.

"Use the floo powder and say the location it will take you there, I will go first and your family can go after. Daphne nodded her head, and watched as her head of house disappeared in burst of green flames.

"This is it," Daphne turned and saw her father staring around the room with her mother holding his hand in comfort.

"This house has stood for generations over generations, war after war we prevailed playing neutral but not this time… . But today it will remain abandoned, the Greengrass family can no longer remain in the middle ..." Daphne felt her heart break for her father, who was doing all this for the safety of his family, for her, for her sister, for her mother. With one more look around, her father headed towards the fire place,

"Come we need to go soon. Twinkle!" her father shouted.

Pop! The house elf appeared "Yes master Greengrass."

"Is everything packed?" asked her father.

"Yes master, twinkle and the elves packed all belongings, papers, and family portraits."

"Good, have them sent to Severus Snape's house, he will bring them to us.

"Yes master" and with a pop the elf disappeared.

Daphne, her sister and her mother followed as Alan Greengrass took a pinch of floo powder and threw it in to the fireplace and watched it turn into green flames. "Ok everyone remember, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place."

They all nodded their heads and watched as he stepped in to the flames and shouted out "Number Twelve Grimmauld Place!" and disappeared, followed by her mother who gave them a weak smile in support. Daphne and Astoria stared at each other, "

You go first," said Daphne, her sister nodded at her, and after a brief hug, she too disappeared in green flames. Daphne looked around once more; her home for sixteen years was going to be abandoned... With a sigh she took a pinch of floo powder, threw it in the fireplace, stepped in to the green flames, and shouted "Number Twelve Grimmauld Place!" and disappeared from her home, never to be seen again…