Chapter 2: Questions and Answers

Harry groaned and felt sick as he shoved the morning's daily prophet away from him in disgust. Rita Skeeter had taken his unsure noises during their "interview" and transformed them into very long and sickly sentences.

Yes I think of my parents often, and I know they're watching over me in the tournament, so nothing will hurt me.

I still cry about them sometimes—I'm not afraid to admit it.

What was far worse though, was the article had spun his friendship with Hermione and Daphne into something far worse than he could've imagined.

Harry has been seen frequently in the company of either Hermione Granger or Daphne Greengrass, two of the two female students at Hogwarts school. While his long-standing relationship with the muggle-born Miss Granger has been noticed by a great many people in the school, a few close sources have reported him spending time with the attractive Greengrass heir.

Daphne Greengrass' historically dark family has many families-as well as this reporter-questioning what motives and methods were used to ensnare the boy-who-lived. Greengrass, and her family, have been sorted into Slytherin house for generations without question. So, one must ask what the young snake has intended for the young Hogwarts champion.

From the moment it had been released, he'd had to endure several sneers and jokes from the Slytherins and even from his own house. Those who hadn't been openly against him for being entered in the tournament started to drill him about his friendship with Daphne. He saw that she was exiting the great hall, her expression impassive as ever, and got up to follow her.

He didn't know exactly how Slytherin house was, but he was sure her being ousted as associating with him would make her a target, and he was determined to help. Although, truth be told, he had no idea what he could do. Daphne quickly disappeared into an unused classroom, and Harry slipped in after her, trying not to make any extra noise.

"Hello Harry," she said, her voice slightly cheery. "Lovely picture in the prophet this morning!"

Harry sat down on one of the desks and hung his head slightly.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't know how she found out that we're friends. I swear I didn't tell her that."

"I didn't think you did," she said, softly. "Or did spending time with an older woman in a broom closet cause you to spill all your secrets?"

Over the two weeks since their meeting at the black lake, they'd only spoken in sort bursts, or occasionally worked together in potions. Still, they'd chatted softly and through a bit of conversation they'd begun to understand one another a little.

Daphne appeared cold, but he suspected it was more of a self-defense mechanism than any actual malice or cruel intent. In fact, he'd begun to understand her humor, which was outwardly dry, but was actually rather amusing once he got to know her a little.

She'd also had began to understand they way he worked, and knew when she could joke and where certain things had to be left alone. He actually respected that part of their friendship, because she would give him space when he needed it, rather than someone like Mrs. Weasley, who had a tendency to smother him a bit.

"No," said Harry, smiling at her. "Not really a big fan any woman who smells like she wears the entire perfume shop."

"Good, I was concerned you merely disliked blondes," she said, deadpan. "After all, you and Draco fight so often."

Harry actually laughed, and smiled at her.

"Daphne… thank you. I… I really needed that after this past week. I wanted to apologize though, for the article. It can't make things easy for you in your common room."

Daphne smiled her soft smile at him.

"I told you I wanted to change the established order of things, didn't I? Sure, this isn't the way I'd have done it, but I am nothing if not adaptable. Besides, I think this will end up being rather fun. Still, it's sweet of you to be worried, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Our house isn't as horrible as you might think. A few jokes and jabs will be the worst of it."

"How's Tracey and Astoria?" he asked, remembering how she'd confirmed Hermione's mentions of the two girls as her closest friends.

"Oh about the same as ever. Tracey's so distracted with all the Bulgarian students that she's barely keeping up with her homework, but at least Astoria's focused on her schooling. I think Tracey's hoping to go to the Yule Ball with one of our manly vistors."

"Oh right," he said, shaking his head slightly. "Sort of forgot that was a thing."

"Not a romantic hair on your head, is there?"

Harry rolled his eyes, good-naturedly.

"You're one to talk, Daphne, unless you're hiding a boyfriend somewhere none of us are aware of."

"Please," she said, adopting a pose of feigned arrogance that would've made Malfoy jealous. "I am a lady, and am far beyond the attention of any little boys here."

Harry laughed again and Daphne joined him. It was one of the things he liked most about their friendship, that they could laugh together. It was something that still surprised Hermione, because she insisted that Daphne was a very serious person. Harry merely reasoned that other people didn't really take the time to get to understand her.

Ok sure, she was a bit… odd, but he certainly didn't have any room to speak on that matter. He was practically the poster child for unusual.

"So, I believe we have a bit of time to waste before your first period today?" she said. "Would you like to play a game?"

"Sure, what game?" he asked, half-expecting her to pull out a chess set.

"It's rather simple. We're allowed to ask the other person any question about themselves, and that person is not permitted to lie. However, if it's too personal, you may choose to pass. If you ask the same question as the other person you must ask an addition one."

"Fair enough, as the lady here, why don't you go first?"

"Such a gentleman," she said. "What, aside from flying, is your favorite area of study at Hogwarts?"

"Hm…" Harry said, pondering the question. "I suppose I rather enjoyed defense last year… I don't know how I feel about Moody though. I also think I would like potions if it wasn't for Snape."

Daphne nodded.

"You do seem to get under his skin rather easily. I suppose there is some history with your father, the way professor Snape talks about him, though I don't know for sure."

"Dumbledore said that he and my dad were enemies at Hogwarts until my dad saved his life."

"There may be some truth to that… although I admit that version of events seems a bit… slanted to favor your father."

Harry shrugged.

"I guess I never really thought much on it."

"Hence why you were not in Slytherin."

Harry laughed at that, forcibly reminded of how the sorting hat had originally meant to place him in Slytherin house.

"Wait, what's your favorite class then?"

"Ancient Runes. It's one of the few classes truly focused around pure logic and planning. Runes make it possible to accomplish almost anything. Sure, you can't plan for everything, but there's no sense in ignoring the chance to give yourself an advantage."

Harry nodded at her words, and suddenly regretted his decision to take divination over ancient runes. He could always look into some independent study later though, he supposed.

"Alright then, why did you talk to me that day at the lake?"

Daphne smiled at this, and absent-mindedly twirled a finger through her blonde hair, a habit of hers while she was deep in thought.

"A fair question. To be honest, you rather captured my attention a while ago. Once it was clear to see you didn't parade around like many others in your station would I figured there was something more to you. Then, you openly befriended a muggle-born and a lower-class family like the Weasley's while turning down Malfoy's friendship. I wanted to talk to you and figure out how it was you were so different from others in your station, but between house divisions and the team of Gryffindors who seem to think they are your personal bodyguard, there was never a good opportunity before now."

Harry thought about his previous years at Hogwarts. If he hadn't been alone at the lake that day, it was possible he and Daphne never would've spoken, and he would never have gotten to know her. The idea chilled him slightly, because while he remained close to Hermione, he found that he was enjoying time with Daphne as well.

"Wow," he said softly. "Never thought I'd want to end up thanking the isolation from my house for something…"

"My father often says that good things can come from unpleasant circumstances. My turn, I think. Hermione has said that you come from a muggle family, what was that like?"

Harry shivered, thinking of his family.

"Not pleasant," he said simply. "Sorry, but that's something I'd rather not go into details on."

"Understandable. I would like to hear of it, but not if it makes you uncomfortable."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks. I don't really like to think or talk about my… relatives much. You said before I don't act like someone of my 'station.' What do you mean by that?"

She stopped cold and looked at him, confused.

"Harry… do you know how important you are to the wizarding world? Outside of being the boy-who-lived, I mean?"

"No idea. I figured that, outside of that, I was… just Harry."

She sighed.

"That is something we will have to correct, although I'm curious as to how no one could've informed you of your position… It's strange. Still, to grossly over-simplify: the fact that you are the last remaining Potter makes your heir to the Ancient and Noble house of Potter. It's part of the elite of the wizarding world, similar to nobles in the muggle world. You have a bit of political pull once you are of-age and will be able to form alliances and other various connections with other houses. I can teach you more about the culture if you'd be willing. These are things you should know, after all."

"I'd be grateful for it… maybe after the tournament though… there's only so much I can take in one year after all, and Hermione and I are still trying to pick up whatever spell might help with the first task. I think if I try to pick up too much more, my head will explode."

Daphne shrugged and said, "Of course, you're a boy."

After a moment, he realized she was joking again.

Harry smiled at her, "Your turn then."

They continued on, back and forth until their free period was up. Harry got to understand quite a lot more about Daphne. He got to learn that her family was historically neutral and had avoided taking a side in the previous war. While he couldn't say he completely agreed, he had to admit it made sense from a purely logical standpoint. By being neutral they could avoid being made a target by either side, and wouldn't end up in a bad spot once the fighting was over.

He also learned that she was very close to her little sister, which was a little odd when he thought of the way the Weasley siblings fought all the time. Still, he reasoned that all families must be different. He also learned that while she didn't like roses, she had a fondness of daffodils, and had a particular weakness for sugar quills.

In return he told her about his life and hobbies, skipping over the Dursleys, of course. She'd gotten a good laugh when he'd mentioned that the sorting hat had wanted him in Slytherin. That had been a particularly nice moment for him, and he realized how much he really like the sound of Daphne's laughter.

It was light, but earnest and was one of the few times she completely let her mask drop, and wasn't afraid to show what she felt.

All-in-all, by the time he had to leave for Charms, he had completely forgotten about the article, and was feeling much better, something that didn't skip by Hermione.

"I figured you'd be in a right state over what that woman said," she said, softly.

"I might've been," he said. "But I got to chat with Daphne and now I get to spend time with you. Also, I finally get to talk with Snuffles before long, so today's not a bad day at all. So there's some annoying press out there about me that's full of lies. Not exactly something new, is it?"

Hermione smiled at him as professor Flitwick walked into his classroom, calling out for them to quiet down in his squeaky voice.