AN: Prompts will be displayed at the bottom to avoid them potentially giving away things.

Becoming a Rebel — A Guide

AlwaysPadfoot

Daphne walked quickly in the direction of the Hospital Wing. It certainly wouldn't do her well to be caught out after curfew, especially with Astoria being particularly vocal about her opinions on the way the school was being run. Even though she was Head Girl this year, if the Carrows found Daphne out after curfew, on a night she didn't have a patrol, they'd suspect she was up to something.

They'd probably think that she was aiding her sister in some way, since Daphne knew they suspected Astoria was part of Dumbledore's Army and had yet to prove it. Of course, if her sister did ask for help, Daphne would drop everything to do so, but tonight was not that night.

Hannah Abbott had passed on the news that Susan was in the Hospital Wing. Everything else from that moment didn't really matter. Unable to ditch classes and unable to be seen visiting a known-rebel, so to speak, would do neither of them any good. She suspected Susan would revel in being allocated the title of a known-rebel.

Remaining close to the cold stone walls, with the reverberating feel of a notice-me-not charm washing over her skin, Daphne quickened her pace again.

With every corner she rounded, she was sure she was going to be caught, but by some miracle, she made it to the Hospital Wing. Relief filling her veins, the door opened soundlessly and she slipped inside. The room was illuminated by nothing but the lantern outside Madam Pomfrey's office and the moonlight casting shadows on the ground from the high-arched windows. Considering how much traffic the Hospital Wing seemed to be getting this year, most of the beds were unoccupied.

Daphne spotted Susan immediately. The red hair was never hard to miss, which was probably why Susan had ended up here in the first place.

The Slytherin crossed the room, her movements silent — well practised. She didn't want to disturb anyone and she didn't want to get kicked out before she could even check on Susan. Slipping into the chair alongside the bed Susan was sleeping in, a peculiar sensation came across Daphne, as though she were being watched. She lifted her gaze to find Susan's wide-blue eyes staring right at her.

"Daph?" Susan shifted under the sheets to sit up. "What are you doing here? You could get in trouble."

"That doesn't matter," Daphne replied, taking Susan's hand in hers. "I needed to know you were okay. Hannah told me that Professor Carrow—"

Susan laughed hollowly. "Please, that woman doesn't deserve the title of Professor. She's thick as dragon shit."

"Well, you're not wrong." Daphne pressed her lips together into a wry smile and shifted closer to Susan, softly putting a hand under her girlfriend's chin. "Let me see…"

Everyone knew what had happened. It was the same thing that happened to anyone who stood up to the Carrows and pushed too hard — they got hurt.

"No, Daph, it's fine."

Susan tried to pull away to keep her face out of the light from the lantern behind them, but Daphne was persistent. Eventually, Susan moved out of the shadow, her eyes shut, and the blonde sat at the side of the bed stiffened. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the damage Alecto Carrow had done. An angry pink scar went from her eyebrow to her lip, and Daphne's teeth gritted together.

"I know, it's awful, I—" Susan stopped herself and took a shaky breath. "Madam Pomfrey said it will fade somewhat, b—but, my sight."

Susan's eyes flickered open; as they did, Daphne's blood boiled. The eye the scar crossed was misty, unfocused, and suddenly the Hufflepuff looked away.

"You can't stay; you have to go, Daph."

"No." Daphne was shaking her head before Susan had even finished her sentence. "No. I'm not leaving you; I refuse. Both of us have to survive."

"Please," Susan scoffed. "You won't even come out of the closet."

Daphne straightened up, letting go of Susan's hand to stand up. There were so many reasons that Daphne hadn't told anyone she was gay; why she hadn't told anyone about Susan. There was only a handful of people who knew and none of those people had been told by Daphne herself. She turned away, thoughts spinning inside her head so fast she could barely grasp a coherent one of them before another barreled in demanding attention. Daphne managed to force some words from her mouth.

"Then I will—"

"You can't, Daphne. Your family, they'll force you into marriage, they'll—I can't lose you." Susan reached out and tugged on Daphne's sleeve, pulling her back towards the bed. "Daphne, you—"

Daphne spun on her heel, looked unblinkingly at the girl now knelt up on the bed, her hand still outstretched. "I'm not going to pretend anymore; I'm going to fight, because — for fuck's sake — I love you, Susan Bones, and Alecto Carrow will not get away with what she's done to you."

Susan pulled Daphne forward into a tight hug. "You don't have—"

"Don't you get it? Of course, I have to. I love you, silly."

Susan released a noise that was half-sob, half-laugh, and clung on tighter. She muttered something that sounded a lot like 'I love you too'. Daphne buried her face in Susan's hair and inhaled deeply. She did love this girl — more than anything else.

And Alecto Carrow was going to pay for what she'd done.

oOo

The following morning, before breakfast, Daphne situated herself in the doorway of an empty classroom — just a little ways away from the Gryffindor Common Room. She was waiting for one particular seventh year, under the pretence that she was looking for troublemakers.

Thankfully, Neville Longbottom was alone this morning, and late. No one saw her grab his arm and jerk him into the classroom with her.

"What the hell are you doing, Greengrass?"

Neville had gotten fierce this year, finally coming into his inner-Gryffindor. His hand twitched to his wand and the blonde boy met her gaze evenly, seemingly unperturbed by her actions. She shifted slightly in a stance where she would be able to access her wand quickly, but spoke fast before the situation escalated into something that wouldn't help her.

"Sign me up," Daphne said simply.

Neville frowned. "What?"

"For Dumbledore's Army," she responded. "Sign. Me. Up."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can," she said. "Don't play coy, Longbottom."

Neville's shoulders relaxed somewhat; he appeared to believe that he wasn't in danger. He would be — if he didn't let her in.

"Oh, look your words of affirmation have magically made it possible," he responded dryly before his expression softened. "I, alone, can't make that decision. Be at the entrance to the kitchens at midnight. Make sure you aren't followed."

She scoffed at the idea that she would let anyone follow her to a meeting that involved consorting with the Carrows' least favourite students.

"I'll be there."

And she was.

She arrived at the portrait of a fruit bowl dead on the stroke of midnight, under the cover of yet another notice-me-not charm. Checking her watch, she leant beside it, hoping that later she would have time to visit Susan again before curfew ended.

Typically, Neville Longbottom was nowhere in sight. She'd checked the Prefect schedules; no one was due to be down here for at least another fifteen minutes.

Daphne could only hope that Neville wasn't as late to secret meetings as he was breakfast in the morning.

After five minutes had passed, she was starting to get antsy. Multiple scenarios were presenting themselves to her. A teacher could come by and find her; she would have to lie to on of her own perfects; maybe she was being set up. Any of those scenarios created problems that Daphne really didn't want to find herself dealing with right now.

But finally, just as she had done to Neville that morning, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the portrait of the fruit bowl.

As the portrait swung shut, Daphne whipped around, her eyes narrowed, only to find herself face to face with her own sister. Astoria was grinning, her green eyes twinkling with an excitement that Daphne only ever saw when they were alone.

"But, of course, you're a part of an underground rebellion," Daphne said.

"Psssh, come now, Daph," Astoria responded. "Everyone knows it, but the Carrows can't prove it."

"You're going to get yourself in trouble."

"Just add this to the long list of misdemeanours I have." Astoria rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Besides, it's easy to join a rebellion when you're snogging one of the leaders on the side."

Daphne blinked. "What? Longbottom?!"

"Nope." Her sister popped the 'p' and smirked to herself. "Ginny Weasley."

Daphne could hardly believe it; Astoria had always plastered posters of famous wizards to her wall. She genuinely never would have guessed (and that annoyed her a little). What she found particularly funny though, was that both of them turned out to like girls.

"The family will be so impressed we're both gay," Daphne remarked.

"Excuse me," Astoria said indignantly. "I'm not gay! I'm bisexual."

"Sor-ry." Daphne held her hands up in innocence and looked down the corridor they were stood in, warm light exuding from the other end. She could hear the soft chatter of voices floating down the corridor. "How many people are here?"

"Uh-uh, no," Astoria said, her hands on her slender hips. "You're gay?"

"Yup."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Daphne shrugged. "Can we just go and meet Longbottom and co?"

Her sister scowled at her, clearly uncontent with that response. The two girls walked in silence for a moment, and then, just before they reached the end of corridor, Astoria stopped again. "Why are you suddenly all gung-ho 'let's join the rebellion'?"

Feeling her fists clench slightly, Daphne turned to her younger sister. "Alecto Carrow blinded my girlfriend in one eye and I want revenge."

Astoria's eyes widened, her expression one of shock. And then, slowly, it turned from shock to a knowing smile.

"They're going to like you."

oOo

Daphne found herself teamed up with the bizarrest people on her mission for revenge — a.k.a. the mission to rid Hogwarts of the Carrows. Alongside her, there was Seamus Finnegan, a Gryffindor, who had a proclivity for setting things on fire, and Padma Patil, a Ravenclaw who was the quiet and smarter half of the Patil Twins.

Having come up with the plan herself, Daphne was the leader of their rag-tag team, which Seamus loathed beyond all belief.

"I still don't see why you're in charge," Seamus said for what felt like the thirtieth time as they sat on the floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"I really don't understand why you're still complaining," Padma muttered dryly, making Daphne smirk a little as she tended to the potion between them.

"She's a Slytherin."

"Oh, cry me a river, Finnegan," Daphne retorted. "Pass me the Mandrake Roots you collected please, Padma."

The plan was coming together well. The Alihotsy Draught — the thick black substance in her cauldron — was ready. Padma had collected two large roots from the Greenhouse that would accentuate the the properties of mania that the draught possessed perfectly. Dropping the two roots through the watery shield of the Bubblehead Charm Seamus had placed around the cauldron — the fumes of course, being highly toxic — they slowly sunk down into the viscous liquid.

Padma watched with odd satisfaction and out of the corner of her eyes, Daphne noticed Seamus checking his watch.

"We've only got fourteen minutes," he said gruffly.

"This takes ten minutes to soak in," Daphne replied.

"Padma said it takes seven minutes to get to—"

"—I'll get us there in three," Padma interrupted. "There's another passageway. It's just… wet."

"Wet?" Seamus and Daphne asked at the same time.

"Yeah, and smelly, I think it flooded a while back, but it's quicker," Padma said. "I'll get us there."

Seamus looked sceptical, but Daphne trusted her. It turned out that Padma was quite the Hogwarts expert. She seemed to know all the passageways, all the trick staircases, all of Peeves' favourite spots. If you had a question about Hogwarts — Padma was the one you went too.

And true to her word, she got them there — through stagnant water — with thirty seconds to spare. Seamus dried off their shoes and the bottoms of their trousers, and the three of them moved swiftly to the end of the corridor that the Carrow's Quarters were behind.

Padma waved her wand in a series of complex movements and sure enough a door appeared.

"Okay," she whispered, taking a small knife from her pocket. "You've got four and three quarter minutes, otherwise you're going to have a bit of a walk back to the castle."

Padma, it turned out, was also good with runes, much like everything else she attempted. She was going to carve some runes into the door. They would change the location in which Alecto and Amycus would find themselves when they walked through the door in the morning. Instead of the third floor corridor they were standing in now, the Carrows would end up stepping into a clearing deep in the Forbidden Forest. And with their minds addled with mania, they wouldn't make it back to the castle.

Seamus and Daphne met one another's gaze and nodded simultaneously. Casting a Bubblehead Charm over their nose and mouth, so to not be affected by the fumes that the mandrake root would give off, the two slipped into the quarters behind the door.

It was oddly normal in the room beyond the door — plainly decorated with abandoned magazines and papers on the coffee table. They didn't have time to take in the sights. Daphne raised her hand an gestured to the narrow corridor to their left in silence. Their wands gripped in their hands, she and Seamus moved swiftly down the corridor and Daphne cast Homenum Revelio to locate the rooms that the Carrows were sleeping in. Pulling the contained mandrake from her pocket, she touched Seamus' arm to get his attention and unsealed the large glass vial. She handed him first root, soaked with the slimey black substance, and even behind his bubble-head charm, Daphne saw him grimace. She directed him to the door on the left and she moved quickly to the other bedroom door. She pushed it open with her fingertips, the door already slightly ajar.

Snores filled her ears and, in the darkness, Daphne moved towards the sleeping figure. In one well-practiced movement, she lowered herself on the floor and carefully slid forward underneath the bed. Working quickly, she affixed the Mandrake root to the slats beneath the mattress. Then, she silently cast a Strengthening Charm. This would cause the fumes from the Alihotsy Draught to radiate properly around the room whilst the Carrows slept.

Heart thudding against her chest, she swiftly found herself back on her feet.

Daphne's eyes lingered on Alecto Carrow, her nose crinkled as she thought about what this woman had done to Susan. Soundlessly, she cast a Conjunctivitis Charm over the woman and then left the room.

They had forty-seven seconds left.

Seamus was already waiting for her and they moved fast, their movements synchronised as they left the quarters.

Outside, they removed their Bubblehead Charms and watched Padma as she waved her wand in a series of complex movements over the runes, the symbols glowing on the wooden surface. It filled the air in the corridor with the acrid smell of burning, but even so Daphne found herself smiling.

They'd pulled it off; they'd done it.

In the morning when the Carrows woke, the fumes of the Alihotsy-soaked Mandrake root will have already done their damage. The Carrows would wake up dazed, drugged and ready to attack anyone or anything. Maybe they'd even do one another some damage before trying to leave their quarters and finding themselves deep in the forest, far from anyone they could hurt. With any luck, they've never find their way back to the castle. Either a creature would kill them, or their own minds would turn them against one another, and then themselves.

Soon enough, Padma straightened up and pocketed her wand before turning to the two onlookers. "Let's get out of here."

"Not going to argue with that," Seamus muttered.

Padma got them back to their Common Rooms without even passing another living soul. Daphne confessed herself impressed by both of them — even Seamus. Though she didn't have time to visit Susan tonight, tomorrow she would spend the whole day by her side.

oOo

The following morning, the castle was rife with rumour.

With the Carrows nowhere to be seen, the breakfast tables were alive with whispers. Daphne and Astoria walked into the Great Hall together for the first time in weeks. The youngest split away to sit with Ginny Weasley, and Daphne was about to situate herself at the end of the Slytherin table when, suddenly, she saw a familiar face.

Susan was out of the Hospital Wing, sitting amongst the Hufflepuffs. The redhead met Daphne's gaze and smiled softly, clearly expecting nothing to have changed.

But so much had.

Daphne's feet carried her across towards the Hufflepuff table. Susan's eyes were wide and she twisted to watch as the Slytherin walked fast towards her. Then, as it was clear that Daphne was coming to speak to her, Susan swung her feet over the bench and stood up. There was only the tiniest hesitation before Daphne engulfed her in a hug.

"I love you, Susan," she whispered as she hugged her tight.

"You really meant it — that you'd come out?" Susan seemed shocked as she reciprocated the hug, but grateful as she looked up at Daphne. "Daphne, I don't know what to say."

Offering a soft smile, Daphne brushed a wisp of red hair across Susan's freckled cheek and behind her ear. Then her fingers traced the scar on her face, still lingering anger in her veins. "An 'I love you' back might be a good start."

Susan laughed, shaking her head. "I love you, Daphne Greengrass."

Daphne kissed her forehead and breathed her in for a moment; this felt right.

"So, shall we have breakfast together?" Daphne asked.

"I thought you'd never ask that question in this hall," Susan said before gesturing to the spot between Hannah and her. "It's a date."

With the Great Hall buzzing with more excitement than any other day this year, Daphne and Susan sat together at the Hufflepuff table and enjoyed one another's company in front of everyone. Daphne didn't feel the plethora of eyes watching her like she'd expected, nor did she feel uncomfortable like she'd imagined when they'd talked about being out before. The majority of students were wrapped up in the rumours that the Carrows weren't here, but Daphne wasn't.

Daphne was just wrapped up in Susan.

Comps and Prompts

Assignment 3: Care of Magical Creatures: Write about three unlikely people coming together. [Bonus: Separate Houses]

IHC: 332. Alihotsy Draught

365: 261. Sexuality — Bisexual

Word Count: 3172