"You," Harry Potter growled, immediately taking a step away from the woman and putting up his guard, "you're behind all of this!"
The woman, seemingly older than his own parents while not quite as old as Grace, merely smirked before taking a sip of her drink, "And what proof do you have of that?" He paled before gritting his teeth. Surely there had to be something he could do. It seemed, however, that she already understood the situation better than he. "Face it you have nothing other than wild hunches and accusations. Even if you did have some shred of evidence it wouldn't matter. I am a high-ranking member of society, trusted with the safety of both students and adults alike. I have ties in both the financial and political worlds. You, on the other hand, are a stupid little boy, barely worth the money spent to educate you. Who would honestly take your word over mine hm?"
"Dumbledore"
She snorted with derision, "Oh please, the Headmistress barely has control over her own staff and the little brats who attend Hogwarts much less any say in the Wizengamot or DMLE. Even if you convinced her what would she do? Make public accusations and have herself excused from her position? Perfect, I would have a much more usable replacement in hours."
"What do you want?"
The woman gave a slight gesture towards a side hallway, "Let's talk in private, shall we? No reason to draw unnecessary attention to our conversation."
He wasn't sure if it was meant as some sort of threat or not, but the longer she talked the more he understood and thus followed her as quickly and stealthily as possible. There was no telling what Grace would do and even if he didn't believe the woman, he knew from the previous year how easily an innocent person could be framed and convicted.
Once they were away from any potential eavesdroppers her fake smile dropped into something crueler and more uncaring. "Thrice now you have interfered with my plans and cost me quite a bit of gold."
"Darn, I do sure hate to be an inconvenience to sociopaths like you." He replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.
The comment earned a flash of raw fury, the likes of which he hadn't seen in a very long time. "You would do well to watch your tongue when speaking to your superiors, boy."
"Well, when I meet one I will, I don't consider someone who tries to murder children to be anything more than a rat."
Her lips twitched into a sneer, one that would have likely given Snape a run for her money, "I would be careful if I were you. Even if you have survived until now, you cannot be on guard all the time, and even if you could…" the woman's face twisted into something even worse, "I doubt your family would be as fortunate."
It was his turn to growl in warning, "So help me if you hurt one hair on their heads'."
"You'll what? I already told you there is nothing you can do. I am beyond your reach in every way, and it is only through blind luck and incompetence that you can claim your petty victories. If you had a spoonful of brains in your head you will mind your own business and stay out of mine, else you will quickly find out how quickly luck can change."
With that she turned and departed, leaving the boy-who-lived flustered and full of barely contained anger.
****
For a few minutes Riddle's pulse raced, concern overshadowing any rational thought. Had Harry been lured away from the party into danger or had he merely chosen the opportune time to rush head-first into some sort of situation as usual.
Neither ended up being true, and soon she spotted him storming out of the room and into a hallway. He was pissed, obviously, but the reasoning behind such emotions eluded her. Perhaps someone had made a comment, maybe even derogatory, towards him or his family. Both his parents and she had stressed to keep himself calm and collected this evening, to do his best and smile while letting others handle the thinly veiled insults.
An improper reaction, or at least one that allowed him to stand up for himself, could end up hurting his future or even that of his sisters.
Perhaps it was a mistake, bringing him to such a thing. Harry wasn't exactly finessed in dealing with politics and even the most devout Slytherin would be taxed to endure insult after insult from pompous assholes.
He clearly needed to blow off some steam, and what better way to do so then some sexual activity? They had done similar things at other parties after all, and maybe the thrill of being caught would help burn off some of his pent-up frustrations.
She had already begun crossing the room when another sight caught her attention.
Lady Zabini
The woman was eyeing up the doors Harry had just departed through, a small smirk upon her lips. It was clear the woman hadn't been responsible for the original act and Grace noted the woman making some sort of excuse before slowly making her way towards the same route.
Grace had been wanting to enjoy her lover directly, but perhaps having someone a bit more dominating might be better in the short term. Lady Zabini wasn't the type of string things along or falsify feelings to drag out a relationship.
She got what she wanted and then moved on, usually in the form of sex. She wasn't so much a 'heart breaker' as a 'hunter on the prowl'. The woman had a reputation, one Harry may or may not have heard of, but still she certainly wasn't a threat, either physically or emotionally.
Like the Black family, there would be no confusion about what was wanted.
Plus, it was such a rare opportunity for the professor to enjoy seeing the boy ravaged by a more experienced woman.
Thus, rather than interception, she settled for following behind.
Peeking down the hallway she spotted her target pushing open a door, probably where Harry was. Riddle was rather curious about how such a thing would be perceived. If the wizard truly was upset, he might not take kindly to being propositioned by an older woman who only wanted him for pleasure.
Then again, he might just indulge.
Her footsteps were quiet and wandlessly wove a few minor spells with barely a thought to help cloak her movements and keep others from accidentally straying upon the scene and interrupting.
Closing the distance, she could just make out a conversation between the two, "… couldn't help but see how upset you are. Perhaps I could help."
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