Written for the Quidditch League. Go Gryffindor!

Task: Slytherin x Slytherin friendship

Prompts:

1. (setting) Prefects' bathroom

9. (opening sentence) It had been a very long day.

3. (word) mirror

What are best friends for?

oOo

It had been a very long day.

Daphne practically ran to the fifth floor and almost yelled the password her sister had told her at the statue of Boris the Bewildered, slamming the door behind her. She leaned back against the wooden surface, trying to fight back the tears. This was possibly the worst day of her life. For seven years, she had been sure she was doing what was right. She was a Greengrass after all; her family was one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. It was her right to walk around like she owned the school; to treat everyone like they were inferior, because in reality, they were. It was alright to mock and torment and laugh at others, it was alright to stand on by and watch people get humiliated, to laugh at their misfortune, to feel like everyone owed her something simply for allowing them to breathe the same air as her. It was all alright, because she was a Greengrass and she was a Slytherin. Because she was practically royalty, because others were expected to bow to her every whim.

But today everything changed. Today she was enlisted to 'help discipline the school delinquents in detention'. Today she was finally forced to face the reality of what being a Greengrass truly meant.

A soft knock from the other side of the door brought her out of her thoughts.

"Daphne? Are you in there? Theo said he saw you storm this way, but-..."

Daphne recognized the voice and swung the door open, flinging herself forward and wrapping her arms tightly around her best friend. Tracey staggered backwards a bit, too shocked to even move.

"I can't do this anymore, Trace," Daphne sobbed in her friend's shoulder.

"Can't do what? Did something happen?"

"I... I..." she was chocking on her own tears, so Tracey gently peeled her off and led her back into the Prefect's bathroom, closing the door behind them.

The two girls sat on the smooth marble floor and Tracey rubbed her friend's back comfortingly, waiting for the sobs to die down. After a little while the crying stopped and Daphne wiped her tears away with the edge of her sleeve, drawing her knees close to her chest.

"They made me torture a first year," she said, barely above a whisper. Tracey's eyes widened in horror. "It was a little girl, short blond hair, green eyes, as big as tea plates. I tried the Cruciatus Curse on her, but it was too weak and Carrow gave me a knife... She begged me not to do it. She begged. But I did it." Daphne's voice broke and she buried her face in her knees. Her friend gave her a sympathetic look and rubbed her back more insistently.

"It wasn't your fault. The Carrows made you, it doesn't matter to them who does it, it could just as easily have been Goyle or Draco."

Daphne shook her head and tried to bite back another sob.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. They picked me, I did it. I tortured an eleven year old girl."

"It's alright, Daphne. They make everyone do it..."

"You don't get it, Tracey!" Daphne shouted suddenly. "My family is supporting Him! Every Greengrass under the sun is a Voldemort sympathizer! Including me! Until a year ago, we were all talking on the train how great it would be if He came to power! How we would put those mudbloods in their place, how wizards would finally rule muggles the way we were always supposed to! We wanted this! We all wanted Him to win, and now He has!"

"We didn't know He'd put those savages in charge of Hogwarts!" Tracey countered. "We didn't ask for this!"

"But we were eager to see Him win! We sneered at Potter and his friends, we insulted and berated mudbloods and we all couldn't wait to go and join Him! We wanted to be on His side!"

Tracey's brows knitted in both worry and concern.

"Wanted?"

Daphne stared unseeingly at the glistening bath taps. Her fingers clenched into a fist and she could almost feel the snake tattoo on her forearm move.

"I can't to this anymore, Tracey. I can't pretend I enjoy torture and pointless death. I can't pretend I believe in thinking less of someone, because they are not pureblood. I've seen blood today, and trust me when I tell you; a half-blood and a pureblood both leave the same red stains on your hands. I'm tired of this talk of Dark Arts and wizarding arrogance. In the end, everyone's blood is red. In the end, we all feel pain. I hate this person I've become. Lately I look in the mirror, and I can't even recognize myself."

"Daphne..." Tracey began slowly.

"No, Trace. I'm tired of living like this. I'm tired of going along with this madness, tired of having to watch innocents cry out in pain as I'm forced to torture them for hours on end and use those disgusting knives. I'm... I'm joining Dumbledore's Army."

Tracey stared at her friend, completely stunned. Had she lost her mind!?

"You can't mean that..."

"I do. I'm done with this. I'm done watching from the sidelines, and I'm done taking their orders."

"Listen to me," Tracey said firmly, grasping her friend's shoulder. "Joining Longbottom's little resistance won't amount to anything. With or without you, this will continue. If you aren't there to maim and torture, they'll just give the job to someone else. All you'll accomplish with this is paint a giant red target on your own back! Forget the Carrows; if the Dark Lord learns of your betrayal, you'll be marked for death!"

Daphne stubbornly continued to stare forward. When she was younger, she imagined being a Death Eater much differently. She thought it meant she would be treated the way she deserved to be, like a queen walking among peasants. That they would hold fancy parties with the wizarding elite, that only those born with magical blood would be allowed to walk the halls of Hogwarts and breathe the same air as her. She did not think it would mean people hanging on chains from the ceiling, or having to kill and torture. She did not think she would have to stare her victims in the eyes, as she carved scars into their skin.

Her resolve strengthened like tempered steel and her nails sank painfully into the palms of her hands.

"We only have one more year!" Tracey exclaimed desperately, her fingers digging into Daphne's shoulder. "One more, and then we'll be out of here!"

"And go where, Trace?" her friend snapped angrily, finally turning to face her. "I am a Death Eater! What do you think will happen after Graduation? You think this will stop!? That we wouldn't be called upon to carry out even more horrific acts!? Don't you understand what we've committed to!?"

Tracey was stunned into silence. Daphne had known her most of her life and was sure her friend felt the same, knew she didn't have the stomach for torture either.

"We'll run away, then," Tracey whispered shakily. "We'll escape."

"We are branded," Daphne hissed angrily, pulling up her sleeve. The tattooed skull with a snake protruding from its mouth was a startling contrast to the pale skin of her forearm. "There is no place on Earth we can hide. They will hunt us down, and you know it."

"Then we'll... we'll..." Tracey was beginning to fight back tears herself. When she was so foolishly eager to join Voldemort, her mind never even once wondered what would happen if she ever decided to back out. But she knew what happened to traitors, and her heart sank heavily just thinking of what they might do to Daphne if they caught her.

"I'm joining Longbottom," Daphne said firmly. "They sneak out at night to leave those messages all over the walls. I'll meet them and ask to enlist."

"They'll never take you in! You're a Slytherin, no one will trust you!"

"They will, if I'm not alone. I'm going to break out the kids in the dungeons."

Tracey gasped and covered her mouth with one hand.

"Daphne, this is madness! You can't be serious! If they catch you, they might kill you!"

"That's better than the alternative!" Daphne snapped and looked her friend straight in the eyes. "Tracey, you may be able to stand by and let this sort of thing happen, but I am not. You've always been my best friend, and I am trusting you with my life right now. I will break them out tonight. Please do not tell anyone."

Tracey was stunned again. She wanted to make her friend understand what a colossal mistake she was about to make, wanted to make her see reason, make her see this was suicide. She just couldn't let Daphne throw her life away like that! But as she held the other girl's determined gaze, the words just seemed to die before they reached her throat. In all the years they had known each other, Tracey had never seen such cold resolve reflected in her best friend's eyes. She looked down at the floor.

"You are sure you want to go through with this then? Knowing full well what it would mean?"

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life."

Tracey took in a shaky breath.

"Alright. Then... I'll set fire to the tables in the Great Hall at half past midnight. That should provide a big enough distraction for you to sneak down there and get them out."

Daphne stared at her friend in pure astonishment.

"You mean... you want to help me?"

Tracey met her eyes again and the corners of her mouth curled up into a slight smile.

"What are best friends for?"

A/N: Hope you liked it! Do leave a review, so I can do better next time!