A Pearl of Great Price

by Shygui

An incident at the Yule Ball, results in the rescue of a maiden fair. It was impossible for them to imagine that the resulting ripples from this event would impact so heavily on their lives and all those in the magical world.

3. Part 3 - First Steps into a New World

AN - As always, Dorothea Greengrass has been ridiculously dedicated and helpful to me with this idea. I can tell you all right now that without her input, thoughts, well crafted ideas and pointing out my stupid mistakes this story would be so much less than it currently is. So once again - Thank You Dorothea, You Rock and I love your story "A Marriage of Convenience" it's been a pleasure to work with you on both these stories - long may it continue, my friend.

A Pearl of Great Price

Part 3 – First Steps into a New World

Harry felt himself shudder at the memory of that poor boy, another unknown muggle victim of the magical civil war. Daphne looked at him. Her curious eyes still brimming with tears. He smiled down at her reassuringly. 'I just remembered waking up after bleeding all over you, that's all.'

She gave a sad nod and laid her head back into the crook of his neck. He had scared the living daylights out of her that next morning. He could laugh at it somewhat now, but at the time he didn't know what was happening.

He felt something pushing at his shoulder. 'I'll get up later Ron,' he mumbled, before trying to go back to sleep.

'Harry, I need you to get up, please.' The voice was urgent, female and not Hermione. Moaning in protest, he licked his dry lips. His body felt wrong, twisted like he was sleeping forward somehow. He blinked his still sleep blurry eyes, and clicked his jaw. 'Harry please, something's wrong, like I've …I just need you to move, please.' The voice was insistent, but there was embarrassment tainting it that he couldn't quite figure out.

'Okay, okay, I'm up!' He pushed back, confirming he was actually seated in a chair. Yawning and bringing both hands to his face, he turned towards the voice and rubbed at his eyes under his glasses which were still blurry. Something in his left hand swung against his face, and he lowered his hands to look when a scream rent the air.

He shot out of the chair as if he'd been slapped, his wand smacking into his hand with the tip glowing. He stared at it slightly puzzled for a moment, unsure how it got there, when another scream rent the air and he crouched, looking around for a sign of trouble. He squinted. Why were his eyes that blurry?

Seeing nothing, he turned back to the source of the screams. Daphne's beautiful, fuzzy, but pale face looked at him in alarm. 'Are you okay Harry?' Anxiety filled her voice as she lifted a hand to him, trying to get him to draw closer, face still mostly white only a hint of colour on her cheeks.

He was about to answer when Madam Pomfrey rushed up to the bed and froze. He took a reflexive step back, bringing him into range of Daphne's searching hand.

'Harry, please come here.' She tugged on his hand, and he moved backwards at her insistent tug. Suddenly he found himself being pulled on to her bed, his face cradled in her bandaged hands as worried eyes looked him over. 'What did you do to yourself, Harry? There's blood all over your face and me.'

'Whaa …' His mind was a jumble of chaotic thoughts, but before he could make any sense out of what was happening, Madam Pomfrey was ordering Daphne to hold him still. He glared at the Medi-Witch, who plucked off his glasses, momentarily stunning him as the world came into sharp focus. But before he had time to contemplate this latest turn of events Madam Pomfrey was waving her wand in his face. With a quiet growl of frustration, he shoved his hands into his robe pockets, enduring the fussing with barely concealed annoyance.

He bent his head and looked down at the witch in his arms. Tears no longer slid from her eyes, but that haunted look he so hated to see in those wonderful blue orbs was still there. He knew it would remain there until she had dealt with the memories once more. He had no doubt that she was thinking of that night and the days, weeks and months that had followed, just as he was.

It wouldn't break her; he knew that his witch was made of sterner stuff than that; she had proved it when she had forgotten her own concerns that morning and dropped everything to make sure he was okay. She didn't freak out when she discovered her lap and legs were covered in his blood after he had spent the night with his scar busted open and weeping blood and some sort of black gore on her until she woke.

Unsure of what had happened at the time and unwilling to reveal the vision involving Voldemort; Harry had endured the fussing of the two women right up until Madam Pomfrey had tried to push him into a bed. She had been muttering to herself for fifteen minutes, still trying to understand how his bleeding scar had anything to do with his eyesight.

No, there was no way she'd make him stay in bed all day, not when he felt this good. 'Sorry, Madam Pomfrey, but my bed is already taken.' He indicated in Daphne's direction. 'I don't need to stay here; actually, I feel great, really!' His grumbling stomach lent credence to his words. Madam Pomfrey only scowled at him before she walked off, shaking her head, muttering about uncooperative students.

'You best go feed that hungry beast, Harry.' Daphne smirked at him. He smiled sheepishly and blushed a bit. 'Thank you for being here when I woke … and thank you for waiting whilst I washed up … I want to … I know you said that I don't owe you …'

Harry cut her off. 'You owe me nothing Daphne. I said I would be here and I'm happy to still be here; I'm so glad that you're mostly okay.' He screwed his face up slightly, 'I'm just glad that I went to find out what made the noise that I thought I had heard, rather than go and see what Snape and Karkaroff were arguing about when I saw them. So, don't worry your pretty …' He trailed off, blushing furiously as he registered belatedly what he had just called her.

An answering flush rose up her neck and onto her cheeks. 'So you do think I'm pretty, then?' she asked hopefully, staring at him through her eyelashes as her fingers picked at a seam on the fresh blanket.

He couldn't speak, just nod.

'Thank you,' she almost whispered. 'I don't feel very pretty at the moment, I feel dirty and …' she trailed off again.

'I'm sorry I bled all over you,' he blurted out, wincing as soon as he said it.

She gave a mirthless chuckle. 'Not quite what I meant, but thank you Harry.' She looked at him speculatively before she continued in a timid voice. 'Do you think we might be friends once I'm out of here … I know I am a Slytherin and all, and that you haven't had the best track record with our house, but well I just thought … that maybe … you might consider it?' She gave him a look of forlorn hope that broke Harry's already savaged heart.

He didn't need to think about that twice. 'I'd like that very much Daphne.' He beamed a smile at her.

She dipped her head shyly once more. 'So would I, Harry, so would I.'

His stomach rumbled again, and she giggled. 'I think, if you stay here much longer I'm going to lose an arm. Go and come back when you can, I've enjoyed our chat very much,' she said, another shy smile tugging at her lips.

He grinned at her. 'Me too.' His hands went to his pockets as he rose, checking for his wand and his glasses which he now inexplicably no longer needed to wear, when his fingers brushed her necklace. 'Oh, this is yours,' he exclaimed, quickly pulling the pearl necklace from his pocket.

Her hand reached for her throat, 'How … how did you get that?' Her voice was tight suddenly and her body tense.

'I ... umm ... found it, … when I was with the Aurors last night. Vaisey seemed reluctant to take it … to return it to you, but I thought you'd want it.' He frowned, first at the necklace and then at her. 'It was broken, obviously, but I fixed it … Did I do something wrong, because if I did, then I am sorry. Vaisey smirked at me when I volunteered to return it to you.'

Her face lost some tension at the mention of Vaisey. 'Did he now? I think I'll be having a couple of words with my cousin. No, Harry, you did nothing wrong … well, not really … well it doesn't matter.' Her face and body resumed their previously mostly relaxed state.

'It's a silly little pureblood tradition. It's nothing to worry about.' She turned her back and awkwardly pulled aside the loose hair that had escaped her upstyled hair from the previous evening with her still bandaged hands; she'd been unable to take it out and had forgotten to ask Madam Pomfrey for her assistance. 'Would you mind putting it on me?'

He stared at her neck and gulped slightly, before nodding and moving to her side. Reaching out with tentative hands he drew the necklace around her neck. The heat in his cheeks flared as he accidently touched her warm, soft skin. His nerveless fingers fumbled slightly with the catch. Finally he had it open, and a small tingle of magic prickled in his fingers as the clasp closed.

She turned back to face him; colour dusted her cheeks as well. The pearl sat in the hollow of her neck, perfectly complementing her skin tone. Without thinking he mumbled, 'Beautiful.' She blushed and dipped her head once more, the hair she had used to frame her face now hiding her eyes from his, as he felt yet more heat on his cheeks and neck.

'I ...umm … yeah, I... umm... should go, I'll see you later Daphne,' his voice squeaking causing him further embarrassment. Without waiting for an answer he dashed from the hospital ward.

He smiled to himself; he was so innocent back then, even after what he had saved Daphne from, and to be fair, he was still quite innocent in some ways today. The Great Hall had stopped talking when he, Vaisey, Bones and Jones had gathered at the end of the Hufflepuff table closest to the doors to talk and bring the girls up to speed with what had happened.

Snape had glared at Harry for the entirety of breakfast, and they had lingered, becoming some of the last people to leave well after the breakfast dishes had been cleared away. Daphne too was gone when he returned to the infirmary; she had been picked up from school by her parents and taken home to recuperate, at the behest of Lord Greengrass.

She had left him a note with Madam Pomfrey, apologising that she wouldn't be back until school started again, but she would like it very much if he would owl her. He still had every one of her letters from that Christmas break. Well, to be honest, he still had every letter and note she had ever written him.

The first had arrived around lunch, written in a shaky hand with tear splashes evident on it. Her Grandfather and Lord of her House had halted Madam Bones' investigation into "the incident", as he called it. No matter how her parents or she argued, he would not budge, saying Daphne's reputation was in tatters already from just the hint of impropriety.

In his (antiquated) opinion she should never have left the ball unchaperoned, and if the investigation was allowed to continue, she would never find a suitable husband as she was already being branded as a scarlet woman in Pureblood circles.

He didn't understand the logic of that argument. Surely anyone who cared for Daphne would want to see justice done?

He remembered walking morosely back to Gryffindor tower, ignoring everyone, including Ron and Hermione, and going to his bed. Ignoring the presents at the end of his bed, he drew his curtains shut, hit them with Sticking Charms and Silencing Spells, so he wouldn't be disturbed and eventually he slept for most of the afternoon.

And then the next pillar of Harry's world shook. He could remember his own "Incident" like it was yesterday.

'Where have you been, and what's going on? Everyone's talking about how you carried Daphne Greengrass to the Infirmary, and no one has seen her since! And no one knows what happened! Is that why you sat with Susan, Megan and Vaisey this morning?' Hermione's voice cut through his troubled thoughts. Every set of eyes in the common room turned towards him, drawing him to a halt at the bottom of the stairs.

'I've been telling her it's all a mistake and there'd be no way that you'd carry a slimy Slytherin to the infirmary,' Ron announced to all and sundry. Ron's face already showed signs of anger. Harry found himself frowning at Ron's words as he walked over to his friends.

Hermione glared at the redhead. 'And I know what I was told, Ronald; Morag McDougall said that she and Terry Boot saw him!' Her words were heated; apparently they'd been having this conversation for a long time.

Hermione poked Ron's chest, emphasising each point. 'She said that he was carrying an injured Daphne Greengrass through the Entrance Hall, and that he headed to the Infirmary. She also said that not five minutes later Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape, along with Madam Pomfrey, all hurried after him.'

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Ron once more.

'There's no way that Harry would help some snake bitch; they're all backstabbing, mini Death Eaters in training and not worthy of help!' Ron nearly roared the last part of his statement.

Harry's frown deepened as he considered Ron's words.

Hermione shook her head, ignored Ron and focused her attention on him. 'Well, Harry?'

'I found her in the Winter Garden and took her to the Infirmary,' he hedged, not wanting to spread what actually happened around, as it was Daphne's story to tell and could call into question his own training he had been trying to keep a secret from everyone.

'Told you,' Hermione beamed in triumph at Ron.

Ron's face turned red and splotchy. 'Why the hell would you help a snake, Harry? You know they can't be trusted. So what if she was hurt? One of them would've come and found her eventually!'

'No, they wouldn't have… at least not in time.' He started to argue the point when Ron cut him off.

'Who cares, she's only a bloody snake, mate, it's not like she's actually a good person.'

'How do you know that?' Harry's anger, still simmering under the surface, bubbled up in him once again. Daphne seemed to be a very nice girl, no different to Hermione; the only thing separating them was some bloody house colours.

'What do you mean, "How do I know that?" Everyone knows that, no one good goes into Slytherin.' Ron was almost yelling at him now, as if volume were the deciding factor in this argument. 'You can't trust her, and besides, she probably got what she deserved, that Slytherin hussy. She's just trying to trick you, Harry.'

His blood froze in his veins. 'What did you just say?' He growled at Ron, not believing the rubbish that was coming from his mouth; nobody, not even Malfoy deserved what had happened to Daphne, surely Ron couldn't mean what he had just said.

'I said that the Slytherin hussy probably got what she deserved,' Ron repeated emphatically, his face blotching red with anger.

'You're a fucking idiot, Ron,' Harry hissed. He regarded the boy in front of him with narrowed eyes, as if seeing him for the first time and not at all liking what he saw.

'Harry,' Hermione admonished him.

He whipped his head around and glared at her.

A squeak escaped Hermione's lips. Her eyes widened in shock as she appraised his face, taking an involuntary step backwards at the anger visible on his face, and realisation dawning on her that he was in no mood for admonishment regarding his language.

Ron's eyes bulged in his head, and spittle flew everywhere. 'No, you're the idiot, can't even tell when somebody's playing you! The Slytherin whore has already gotten into your head and filled …'

Harry's left hand closed around Ron's throat, and he pushed him against the wall, his magic alive and singing in his mind, begging once more for release. 'Listen here, you bigoted fucking arsehole, if I hear one more word come out of your gob calling her names like you have in the past couple of minutes, you and I are going to meet wand to wand.'

Ron's hands scrambled at his wrist, trying to break his hold.

He was seething and his anger was lending him strength, along with the magic dancing in his veins. How dare the red headed idiot say those things about Daphne? She had done nothing to deserve what that arsehole had done to her. 'For your information, you gigantic prick, when I found her, she was lying in the snow, with some sixth or seventh year bastard from Durmstrang standing over her, tying her up. Her dress was torn, her feet were bloody, and one of her big toe nails had been ripped off. And she had to lay there for another fifteen minutes whilst I tried to tire the fucker out before I actually had the balls to Stun him, so that I could make sure she was okay.'

Ron's face was turning purple, but he didn't care. 'He had already sexually assaulted her, but the Aurors believe that he was going to rape and probably Obliviate her, you fucking prick. No one deserves that! No one! Had it been any other girl in the same position I would have done the same thing, even if it had been Pansy Parkinson! I still would have helped!'

Again his wand was in his hand without a conscious decision to pull it out, and he brought it up and jabbed it into Ron's cheek. 'You make me sick! What you just said was worse than anything Malfoy has ever said to Hermione.'

His wand was sending out the occasional spark that landed on Ron's face, causing him to whimper. With a disgusted shake of his head he released his grip on Ron's throat, and the redheaded boy slumped to the ground, cowering in fear as Harry's magic crackled and rippled around him. 'Get out of my sight, you sicken me; I cannot believe that I was friends with you if that's what you believe.'

Ron scrambled to his feet, coughing and spluttering, before he ran towards the dorms, not looking back. Spinning on his heel Harry stalked towards the common room door, his magic still swirling round him like a vortex, ignoring everyone as he passed through the portal.

He looked at his watch, had it really been three hours since he had stormed from the common room? He flexed his fingers; he could almost feel his magic pooling in his hand. What was happening to his magic? Spells which he had only just learnt were now as simple as first year spells. Hell, he barely had to move his wand; all he had to do was think about what he wanted to happen and his magic seemed to snap out of him and do it, especially when he was angry.

He felt like he was brimming with energy, as though most of his magical reserves had come back from holidays and were now trying to cram themselves into his body that was suddenly too small to contain it all.

He bent his head once more to kiss Daphne on top of her head, allowing his lips to linger as he breathed in the scent of her shampoo. He didn't know what was in the products she used, but he could always find a hint of honey and coconut, a scent that he now associated with her.

She shifted slightly in his arms; her breathing no longer held that ragged edge, and she seemed far calmer than she had been even just fifteen minutes ago; if he didn't know better he would have suspected she was asleep.

Careful, so as not to disturb her, he lifted his hand from her back and glanced at his watch, a gift she had given him on his seventeenth birthday. The watch was expensive, given the fact that Tag Heuer was embossed in the centre of the silver case; he had tried to tell her that it was too much but she had raised a single eyebrow at him and told him, 'Shut up and put it on Harry. I'll spend as much of my money on you as I want, besides this is just your everyday watch, when we start attending more balls, I'll get you something really nice, maybe a Patek Phillipe that Hermione was talking about.'

The luminous dial indicated one forty five in the morning, meaning he had been awake for roughly an hour. He heaved a small sigh and smiled; he would wait until she was ready to talk, sometimes you just needed a little time or two days for your own thoughts.

'Harry?' Katie Bell's voice cut through his musings as he stood looking over the place where his life had taken a sudden curve to the left.

'Huh?' he asked, not actually hearing what she had said.

'Very eloquent, Harry,' Katie smiled back at him before her face fell slightly. 'I've been looking for you for ages, I asked if I could talk to you for a moment about something very important?'

He shot her a puzzled look, but acquiesced with a nod of his head. Katie gave him a shaky smile before she continued. 'You'll need some background for this before I get into what we … err … I want to talk to you about.' Katie leant against the window lintel and looked out before starting to talk again, 'You see, Harry, when my mother went to Hogwarts she was sorted into Ravenclaw; she made some very good friends in other houses, but her three best friends were all sorted in to the House of the Eagles with her.

'One was a girl called Meredith Sagen, another was Meredith's first cousin Selene Vaisey, and the third a girl called Dahlia Kershaw. When they left Hogwarts and eventually married a couple of years later, Selene became Selene Greengrass, Dahlia became Dahlia Parkinson, and my mother Roxanne Danvers married my father Hayden and became a Bell.'

He looked at her, puzzled. 'What happened to Meredith?'

Katie's face fell again. 'In the summer before their seventh year, the First Blood War was still simmering, and Meredith and her family got caught up in it. Meredith's father was a very skilled Auror and had inflicted a lot of damage to some of You-Know-Who's operations. One night they were attacked in their home and killed.'

Harry looked at her in shock. 'What does this have to do with me?'

'I'm getting there. My mother and her friends managed to get hold of the Auror reports into the deaths of the Sagen family several years after they graduated, thanks to Selene's husband. I think that they all wished they hadn't; the report indicated that Meredith was raped several times before being killed along with the rest of her family. The perpetrator was supposedly never identified, and hence there was no justice for my mother's friend. '

'I still don't understand, Katie.' He felt slightly disturbed by this turn of events; his thoughts flicked to Daphne, what if scenarios flashing through his mind once more, until Katie's words pulled him out of them.

'Those three girls bore daughters of their own, first Dahlia, then Roxanne, and finally Selene. Those three daughters, Iris, Katie and Daphne, played together very happily, along with their other siblings as they came along, until it was time for the eldest two to go to Hogwarts, leaving behind the youngest of the three eldest.'

Katie sighed, rubbing her hands on her casual robes. 'Iris and myself have maintained our friendship whilst in school quietly, but it's been harder for me to talk to Daph when we are here, without getting her attention that she doesn't need, given that we aren't even in the same class.'

'What is it you want me to do, Katie? I'm sorry to hear about your mother's friend, I really am, but what is it exactly that you want from me?' Comprehension dawned on him. 'Hold up a second, if Daphne is Selene's daughter, then that makes Iris a Parkinson! Does Pansy have a sister? You want me to voluntarily talk to a Parkinson?'

Katie glared at him. 'Iris is a lovely girl, so stop casting aspersions, Harry. Yes, Pansy is Iris' little sister, but you couldn't find two sisters more different in attitude. Do you really think I would be friends with someone like Pansy has turned into? Pansy used to be fine, by the way, a little shrill occasionally, but Iris said that nowadays she has her head so far up Draco's arse it's a wonder she can breathe.'

Harry blanched at the mental image Katie's words conjured in his mind, as the girl continued. 'Iris is kind, intelligent, sarcastic, and funny; once she gets to know you she'll tease you until you blush. She is also the girlfriend of the Slytherin you were having breakfast with the other morning at the Hufflepuff table.'

Katie looked at him, determination shining in her eyes. 'I want you to come and talk to Iris and me and tell us what happened, so we can work out a way to support Daphne when she comes back. Even with how angry you were, I think you only let slip a little of the information that you know. We want to help our friend, Harry. Our mothers never got the opportunity to help their friend, please let us try to help ours.'

'I ... umm … it's not my story to tell, Katie, I shouldn't have said what I said in the common room. I was stupid and so very angry at R… at the red-headed idiot that I lost track of what I was saying.' He hung his head, looking at the ground in front of him when Katie spoke again.

'I know Harry, but trust me, Daphne won't hold this against you, in fact if I know my friend she is going to be very chuffed at the way you defended her, not to mention the way you pulled the Infirmary doors down to ensure the Aurors were called.'

Katie gave a suggestive chuckle. 'In fact, when Iris or I tell her what you did, I wouldn't be surprised if she instantaneously melted into a puddle of hormonal girl goo at our feet. Iris said you looked particularly hot ripping those doors down and then walking over them like nothing had happened.'

Harry's face flushed, and Katie laughed again. 'You're going to be so much fun to have around, Harry, and if you start hanging around Daphne it will mean that none of us have to hide our friendships anymore.'

'Huh?' He was at a loss to understand what Katie meant by her last statement.

'Honestly, Harry, no one, and I mean no one, is going to mess with you for a while. Everyone knows that you ripped those doors down like it was nothing. Several seventh year boys have been trying to replicate your feat on unused classroom doors, and none of them have come close yet.' Katie shook her head as he blinked at her, still not understanding her point.

'If you're okay with it and Iris, Daphne and I can hang out with you, no one is going to tell us that we aren't allowed to be friends, and quite frankly I can't stand having to hide the fact that two of my best friends are from Slytherin.'

He nodded, finally understanding. 'You really don't think Daphne will be angry with me for spilling her secrets?'

Katie reached out, put her hand on his shoulder, and squeezed it reassuringly. 'Like I said before, she will be flattered you were defending her honour, quite vigorously too, I might add. I don't think she will object to me and Iris knowing more, and given that the information you let slip the other day is likely doing the rounds anyway, we just want to be in a position to help our friend.'

Defeated, Harry sighed. 'Fine let's go then.'

He watched the shadows lengthen through the window of one of the library study rooms. The afternoon conversations with the two girls since - Katie had practically kidnapped and dragged him through Hogwarts - had left him drained, yet somehow lighter. They had managed to wheedle everything about that evening and next morning from him, as well as some of what was in Daphne's letters and those he returned to her. Occasionally they'd laugh at him, cry silent tears or storm about the room, trying to get their anger under control.

At one point he was sure that Iris was going to incinerate him where he stood until he explained why it had taken him so long to effect the rescue. The fact he admitted to being scared that he would be captured and therefore be unable to help Daphne had eventually placated the girl.

The worst moment of reliving the whole ordeal was admitting that Madam Bones had been forced to suspend the investigation by the elderly Lord Greengrass. His own anger didn't hold a candle to the vitriol that had poured from both girls mouths at that revelation.

He looked at his watch again. 'Got a hot date somewhere in the castle, Harry?' Iris Parkinson teased him, a merry twinkle in her eye. She had gradually begun her gentle teasing of him when he had blushed telling them about Daphne's torn dress and how he had covered her with his cloak.

He smiled at her and shook his head. 'No, just trying to figure out how long I have been in such riveting company.'

'Aww, look at that, Katie, the boy's getting some game, maybe he won't look like he's sunburnt all the time when Daph comes back and he accidently looks at her chest when he's talking to her.'

Harry's face went as red as a tomato again.

'Nope, spoke to soon.' Iris chortled at him; her eyes were alight and full of mirth. Without being introduced to her, he would never have guessed that Iris was Pansy's sister. If you looked close enough the similarities were there, but you had to be looking.

Iris was light to Pansy's dark, about the only things they shared he could see on first glance was their olive skin tone and a heart shaped face. Iris had shoulder length, mocha coloured hair, hazel eyes and a slightly upturned nose. There was no doubt she was pretty, she laughed easily and regularly at him after the first thirty or so minutes; Katie was right, she loved to make people blush.

'Okay, so what is it exactly you want me to do? I get you want to rally support around Daphne after what's happened, but I get the feeling that you two are angling for more.'

Katie and Iris glanced at each other before Katie turned back to Harry. 'We talked before I went to find you, we knew it was likely that old Lord Greengrass was going to try and sweep this under the rug. It happens all the time in Pureblood society and we're sick of it. Everyone knows it happens and yet the girl … the victim is always blamed for putting herself in that position.'

Katie stood and started to pace the room, 'It's bullshit, Harry; why should we be held accountable for the actions of some knuckle dragging stone age wizard? How is that fair? Or right? Or justifiable?'

'It's not ...' was all he got out before she kept going.

'You're damn right it's not but, we' - she pointed between Iris and herself - 'can't change anything by ourselves. We're going to need help, specifically your help, Harry.' She turned to him with shining eyes.

Iris took over. 'We need someone who's going to be recognised and be influential, someone who we can rally support behind to bring pressure to those in charge to change the laws so that things like what happened to Daphne don't get swept under the rug. We need a champion, Harry, and I know it's a lot to ask, and I know from what Katie tells me you hate your fame. I would too, if I was you, given the fact it came to you the same night your parents were murdered.'

Katie stopped in front of him. 'But using your fame for a cause like this could ensure that scumbags like Nayden Marmias don't get away with it, it would make other boys think about what they are going to do if there are consequences, because right now, Harry, there aren't any as far as we can tell. We know that the women in the muggle world went through some sort of liberation to get these rights, but that hasn't happened yet in the magical world, at least not in magical Britain, it needs to start somewhere - why not with us?'

Iris approached him, too; his head was spinning as he tried to come to grips with what they were asking of him.

'We know we're asking a lot, you have the tournament and you're only fourteen, but we promise we will be there every step of the way, you won't be alone in this.'

'We will start small. We will do whatever you need us to, but please, Harry, help us change our world, you already have a platform as you're in the tournament, so getting information out through the press about our cause should be simple enough.' She took his hands in hers. 'Help us please, so that our daughters … or maybe your daughters, won't grow up in a world where men can get away with the most vile of crimes.'

He squeezed Iris' hand before he dropped it and turned away from them, walked to a wall and rested his head against it. 'You're asking me to go against all my base instincts; you saw the article Skeeter wrote about me at the start of the tournament; what makes you think she will listen to anything I say?'

'Because your press secretaries - Iris pointed at Katie and herself - will write your speeches and give you answers to the most likely questions. I said we would be there all the way, we won't hang you out to dry, Harry,' Katie answered him in a soft voice. 'But we can't do this without you, I'm sorry to say this, Harry, but everything we want to try and achieve - all of it! -, rests on your decision, you're the only way we can make this change now that we can see. Maybe in the future we could do something … maybe, but not now, not without you, we live in a patriarchal world, Harry, and without your help we aren't going to get anywhere.'

He sighed, there really wasn't a decision to be made, he could not walk away from this, to do so was to condemn every girl he knew to the possibility that the same thing would happen to them. He turned around to face the two girls; hope and worry was etched equally across their faces. 'How are we going to start?'

They raced forward to embrace him, dancing around him and celebrating. Iris was the first to calm herself enough to answer his question. 'We're going to start small; we thought that we needed a symbol so that everyone knows what we are trying to change.'

Katie added in an excited voice, 'It took us a while, but we decided that if we managed to get you on board we would start wearing a vivid purple coloured Triple Crescent Moon* on the left sleeve of our robes.'

'Why purple? Why not pink?' He asked before he could stop himself.

Iris cocked her head and looked at him, puzzled. 'Why would we use pink? That's a boy's colour!'

Harry gave a shake of his head. 'Since when? It's always been a girl's colour!'

Iris frowned at him. 'No it's always been a boys colour, just like blue is for girls!' Harry was about to interrupt her when she glared at him and continued, 'Pink was historically for boys for two reasons, firstly pink was considered pale or washed out red. Secondly because it was part of the red spectrum the dye was a lot more expensive and they, "the Lords of our World," wouldn't have wanted to waste expensive dyes on a daughter. But we don't want to choose blue because it's a colour of Ravenclaw, so we decided on purple because it's a bold colour and also the colour of royalty.'

Harry gave up, this wasn't worth arguing about. 'Fair enough, do you have a design? Also, where are we wearing it and how are we putting it on there?'

Katie went to her bag and pulled out a beautifully crafted drawing of the Triple Crescent Moon that was about two inches by two inches. 'We thought that the symbol of the Triple Goddess would be appropriate.'

She obviously saw confusion on his face, because Katie explained; 'It represents the three stages of a woman's life.' She pointed to the left slightly downward facing moon. 'Maid. Mother.' Her finger moved to the upward facing crescent. 'Crone.' Her finger moved to the remaining crescent on the right which mirrored the first, tilting down slightly.

Handing it to him, Katie continued, 'As for where and how... Well, we hadn't quite got that far yet, it could be an armband, but some of the boys from the more traditionalist families are likely to get their wands in a knot and try to banish them from our arms. Potentially, once those families find out, there could be some political fallout, too.'

Iris took over for her friend. 'Theoretically; Hogwarts is outside of Ministry control and regulations, but it hasn't stopped the Wizengamot over the years from attempting to subvert control, and I'm not sure how much we could count on the Board of Governors for support, given that most of them are in Malfoy's pocket.'

'But we'll dodge that Bludger when we have to. More pressingly is that we have been trying to add it permanently to our Hogwarts robes, but so far it won't stay longer than a few minutes. Got any thoughts on what we could use or do?' She was frowning again as she finished.

Harry turned and leant up against the wall before he smirked. 'Oh, I've got an idea alright,' After pausing for effect he called, '… Dobby!'

'Yes, great Harry Potter master sir!' Dobby popped into the room, bouncing on his feet as soon as he arrived.

The girls snickered, but Harry ignored them. 'I need you to add this design in purple to the left sleeve on all my robes, including my school ones, and make it so it can't be removed.'

Dobby's face fell for a moment before perking up. 'Dobby can be doing this, great Harry Potter sir. But he not be able to be undoings it, sir. Dobby be has to strip some charms from Hoggywarty's robes and then adding others, but he should be's abling to be getting it done sir.'

'Excellent Dobby, one more moment.' He turned his attention back to the stunned girls. 'Can I offer you the assistance of my elf to get your robes done as well?' After both girls nodded their heads, something else occurred to him. 'Do you think many people will want the same done to their robes to support us?'

Iris seemed to recover her wits first. 'Firstly, although you can answer this later, why in Merlin's name is one of the Malfoy house elves answering your call? And to answer your question: yes, I expect many of the girls in Hogwarts will join us once they know what is going on.'

Harry laughed. 'I'll get back to you on your question; in the meantime, Dobby, can you please do the same for these girls and their Hogwarts robes, and also I give you permission to answer their call if they need you to change other people's robes. Actually little buddy, if you can sense either Katie or Iris are in danger I want you to come and get me, okay?'

At Dobby's effusive nodding of his head, Harry bent down and placed his hand on the little elf's shoulder. 'Thank you Dobby, we are going to need your help, my friend, to change the world.'

'I's be happy to help the great master Harry Potter sir be changins the world.' Dobby gave a firm nod before his focus shifted to the girls for a moment, and then with a click of his fingers something washed over them both, before he popped away.

Daphne twitched in his arms, bringing him back to reality. Her breathing was still steady, maybe she had fallen asleep for a moment, but he could feel the tenseness in her body once more and knew that even if she had, right now she was awake again. It was a similar tension that was in her the day she returned to Hogwarts.

He waited at the entrance hall; she would be back soon, and given that her letters had sounded more and more morose, he had promised Daphne he would be there to greet her when she arrived. He fidgeted, he wasn't exactly sure why he was nervous, but he was aware of a tension building in him in anticipation of seeing her again; added to this were the concerns he still had regarding his magic and his body.

He had grown nearly three inches in the days since she had been gone and was no longer the shortest in his class group among the Gryffindors. Katie and Iris both thought that he had just hit a growth spurt, but he wasn't convinced by that, he was sure that it had something to do with what happened in the Infirmary. His magic, too, still seemed to be more active and alive within his body; it thrummed with his pulse and was almost available to him without active thought.

He paced back through the door and halted on the top step, allowing himself an unimpeded view as the first of the students who had left the Castle for Christmas - or Yule as Katie and Iris had called it - returned, disembarking from their carriages in groups of four or five. Mostly it was streams of first, second and third year students, but occasionally an older student would disembark as well.

His breath caught as he saw her for the first time in eleven days. She stepped down, holding the door open as other younger students followed her out the door. A slightly younger version of Daphne stepped out last, and Harry knew that this must be Astoria, her sister who had helped comfort her through long nightmare filled nights.

Daphne turned her head, and her blue eyes met his. A small smile appeared on her lips. She looked tired and pale, dark circles from lack of sleep were still visible under her make-up for those who knew to look for them. He smiled at her and was about to walk down to her, when two people pushed past him.

Shock registered on Daphne's face as Iris and Katie raced over to her, pushing through the crowd, shoving people from their path as they collected her in a group hug. Her eyes pleaded for him to come down, and he slowly navigated his way to the small group of witches, waiting just apart from them as Katie and Iris continued to cling to her.

It took several minutes before Daphne managed to disengage herself from her friends, but she had been studying his face as she did so, looking for something that he couldn't fathom. Finally she stepped forward and hugged him, her head resting on his shoulder. His arms came up on their own accord, and he drew her closer, squeezing her firmly against him, breathing in her scent as it drifted into his nostrils.

'Thank you Harry, I don't … I want … your letters helped keep me sane. I'm sorry … that I didn't get to say goodbye, but … but my grandfather insisted … I be taken home.'

He felt her stiffen in his arms at her own mention of her grandfather. A scowl crossed his face, and he pushed her back slightly from his embrace so that he could see her pretty face. Even with the signs of obvious stress she was painfully beautiful. 'Ignore him, Daphne, I promise you one way or another that Durmstrang bastard will pay for what he did to you.'

She studied his face once more, her eyes searching his until she found what she was looking for and pulled herself into his arms tighter than before. 'Thank you Harry, I … just … thank you.'

He heard her sniffle slightly, but before he could check to see if she was okay, another voice interrupted him, reminding him that there were other people around them. 'So it's true then, Daph said you were writing to her, but I didn't really believe her.'

He tried to disengage himself, but Daphne wasn't having a bar of it; gripping him tighter her face turned into his shoulder, her body shuddering slightly. He turned his head and found himself under the aquamarine gaze of Astoria Greengrass. 'I've been writing to her, yes; it was the least I could do under the circumstances.'

Astoria gave him a shy smile. 'Thank you for rescuing my sister, Mr Potter. And thank you for writing to her every day, it has taken her mind off many things whilst we were home; she looked forward to seeing your snowy white owl every morning.'

She gave him a sad smile. 'Daphne was supposed to deliver a message from our father when she saw you, but I don't think she's in any condition to do so right now, so I will convey the message. Daphne has a gift from our parents, Daphne and me, for you, a Hit Wizard wand holster from our family vaults. Father said to tell you that nothing can repay the service you rendered House Greengrass, and this gift is not in any way a payment for your deed, but if you should have need of our part of House Greengrass, now or in the future, if it is in our power to do so, then we stand ready to assist House Potter in any way we can.'

Daphne was quietly sobbing into his shoulder now, and he was at a loss of what to do or say to Astoria.

'Pick her up and follow us Harry,' Katie gestured to Daphne. 'We're starting to draw a crowd, so maybe we should go somewhere until Daph's got herself composed once more.'

Iris moved alongside Astoria 'Tori, you should come, too.'

He looked around, noticing for the first time that more and more people were watching them; not wanting to embarrass her further and try coaxing her to somewhere else, he stooped slightly, lifted Daphne into his arms and followed the two older girls into the depths of Hogwarts with Daphne's head buried against his shoulder, rumours already racing ahead of them.

Ron had continued to sulk and scowl every time Harry had entered a room, with Fred and George quick to frogmarch him away when he looked like he was going to poke the dragon. Although Harry at times missed his first friend, the void had been filled admirably by Neville, who became the first wizard behind himself and Adrian to display the triple goddess symbol, or TGS, as Harry was beginning to call it. One of Adrian's two best friends, Adrian Pucey, wasn't far behind Neville, the symbol adorning his robes the next day. When Harry asked him about it he pointed out that he had two little sisters in first year and couldn't even fathom something like this happening to them.

The confrontation that he had been expecting from Malfoy didn't eventuate until four days after Daphne's return. By that time it had become common knowledge that Harry was not only consorting with snakes, he was actively protecting them, too. Hermione had apologised to him two days prior, but was still coming to terms with what she called the seismic shift in Harry's priorities. To her credit, she was one of the first witches to have the symbol of the Triple Goddess emblazoned on her robes after she had asked him about it, and he had directed her to Katie.

It had taken the events of that morning for Hermione to understand why he was so angry, after she had witnessed Malfoy's blatant display of his disregard of the girls of his house she would become one of his most ardent supporters once more, furious about antediluvian Pureblood attitudes to sex, sexual assault and the role of witches in magical society in general.

Harry surveyed the Great Hall as he waited for the rest of their usual breakfast party. It was full since classes had started the previous day; except for most of the staff, who had an early breakfast if they had a class first thing in the morning. Only McGonagall, Sprout, Vector and Babbling were present.

Daphne arrived for breakfast, coming to sit with him, Iris, Katie and several others at the Hufflepuff table as had become their habit. She slipped into the gap that Neville automatically opened up between them and rested her head momentarily on his shoulder. He was at a loss to explain why she gave him these sporadic bursts of physical contact, and yet she did; not that he was complaining at all, because he wasn't, it was very nice and made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but he really did want to know why.

The dark circles under her eyes had not receded, and according to Tori she was still suffering persistent nightmares which seemed to be worsening. Tori had joined them the first two mornings, yet on the third she had a furious scowl on her face when she parked herself at the Slytherin table; her expression only became more pronounced as Malfoy said something to her.

No sooner had he thought of her than she walked through the doors of the Great Hall, her face again a mien of fury.

'Tori,' Harry called to her and crooked a finger to her.

She gave him an uncertain look, but waved her friends on and stopped in front of Harry on the opposite side of the table.

'What's going on, Tori?' he asked her pointedly. 'What happened yesterday? I noticed that you started to come and sit with us, only to hesitate and then sit at the Slytherin table.'

She grimaced. 'Malfoy ordered us not to sit anywhere but the Slytherin table, or there would be … issues. He said that Daphne and Iris would be put in their place if they continued to consort with Gryffindors.' She screwed up her face. 'I don't have a way to protect myself and my friends from his goons, so I did as I was told.'

Harry looked at the other two girls who just shrugged.

'I'm clever enough never to be caught by myself, and so what is he going to do?' Iris said.

He frowned at that answer before returning his attention to Astoria. 'Yes, you do Tori,' he said in a low growl, 'I am your protection for you and your friends, now sit right there next to Susan and have some breakfast.'

Only the two Adrians were missing from their group, but Iris yawning slightly, said that they'd had Astronomy the previous night and wouldn't be joining them. Astoria had been seated next to Susan for no more than two minutes before Malfoy swaggered in, took one look at the Hufflepuff table, scowled and marched over to them, full of his own self-worth, and came to a stop on the opposite side to Harry. Every other conversation in the Great Hall died, even the staff focussed on them as Malfoy spoke. 'I told you three that you were no longer to sit …'

'Malfoy,' Harry interrupted him calmly. 'Go away and leave my friends alone!'

Malfoy sneered, 'Ooh, big bad Potter, get lost, this doesn't concern you. You three are to eat at the Slytherin table from now …'

'Malfoy, I asked nicely, now piss off!' Harry said conversationally. 'You do not have the authority over them to tell them what to do, so tuck your tail between your legs and bugger off over to the Slytherin table.'

'What are you going to do about it, Potter? You have no influence in Slytherin; you have no say in how we run our house. You're nothing but some jumped up Half-Blood who everybody tells over blown stories about; if I tell these three that they are to eat at the Slytherin table, then that's where they'll eat and you have no say in the matter.'

Harry saw the muggleborn and muggle raised girls at the Hufflepuff table stiffen and glare daggers at the blonde wizard, not that Malfoy noticed. Suppressing a chuckle at Malfoy's stupidity, he stood, stepped on to his seat and then on to the table, 'Malfoy, you're an imbecile with delusions of adequacy.'

Harry's voice was icy, his magic was swirling around him, and his eyes pulsed, suffused with energy. 'If you or any like-minded morons actually breathe angrily in the direction of my friends, or their friends or their friends, friends, I will come looking for you and them. I will no longer tolerate bullying and harassment of anyone, especially the girls of this school.' His voice dripped with venom. 'The girls of Hogwarts are not objects or toys for you to do with as you wish.'

Malfoy scoffed, but before he could say anything further, Harry's arm came up pointing at the doors to the Great Hall, his wand flicking into his hand from the Hit Wizard wand holster that the Greengrasses had gifted him. He continued his slow passage across the table wrenching his arm down forcefully.

The sound of tearing metal and cracking stone ripped through the Great Hall as the right side door was plucked from its frame and came sliding along the floor in a cacophony of noise directly towards Draco who hurriedly stepped backwards further down the Hufflepuff table.

Harry continued his sedate journey across the table, Susan and Tori shuffling sideways to allow him a path down onto the other bench before stepping onto the still moving door as it passed him, turning to face the blonde wizard, whose face had paled significantly.

The door slid to a halt a single step from Draco, whose eyes widened dramatically.

Harry glared down at the boy. 'If you think the doors to the Slytherin common room can keep you safe, think again. If you think you can bully, harass or demean the girls of this school, think again. There's nowhere in this castle where you or any other like-minded pricks can hide from me or my friends. And now, fuck off so I can finish my breakfast …' When Malfoy didn't move he clicked his fingers at him, 'Well chop, chop.'

He couldn't suppress the smirk as Malfoy turned tail and fled. With that Harry turned, walked back down the door, before stepping through the same gap that Susan and Tori had left open, and back onto the Hufflepuff table. He was halfway across when he paused and looked back down at the door on the floor. With another casual flick of his wand the door slid across the room and sealed itself into the door frame, the stone work fusing back into the wall as if it never happened. Smiling to himself, he returned to his seat, picked up his piece of toast and took a bite.

'Thank you Mr Potter,' McGonagall called down to him from the staff table, a small smirk gracing her lips. Harry just inclined his head, a broad smile on his face, and continued his breakfast as the room exploded into conversation.

Things had moved quickly after that. Hermione had bugged him incessantly about his magical strength and how it was that he was suddenly casting silently. Not that he gave anything away regarding the incident in the Infirmary; he had shrugged it off, saying that his magic was very fluid when he was angry, almost keen to do his bidding.

His training team had expanded from just him to include Daphne, Hermione, Neville, Katie, Iris, the two Adrians, Susan and Megan, although the latter two often felt slightly guilty about helping their housemate's competitor.

Cedric, however, didn't seem to mind at all when he arrived during one of the training sessions to repay Harry's kindness from the first task. Cedric had left him with the suggestion to take his egg and bathe with it in the Prefects bathroom, giving him the password of "Pine Fresh" to do just that.

Iris had intimated that perhaps Daphne should go bathing with Harry, to which they had both blushed profusely, and had been unable to look at each other for the rest of the night. It hadn't taken long for both Neville and Iris to give him the idea of Gillyweed as the best solution to the problem of breathing underwater once he had figured out the clue and taken it back to the group.

He planted another kiss to Daphne's hair and continued to run patterns up and down her spine. Her skin was soft and supple, yet beneath the surface there was hard lithe muscle, muscle she had begun to build when training him for the Triwizard tournament. Occasionally he would allow his hand to stray further south, gliding across the most beautiful derriere he had ever seen, not that he'd seen many.

To be fair, the others he had seen were by and large only accidental glimpses from when he had been taught to swim in the pool created by the Room of Requirement. He had been freaking out at having to be in the water for an hour and not knowing how to swim. Katie and Iris had promised to teach him, but the Black Lake was freezing and the Prefects Bathroom pool was little more than a couple of strokes.

It was Dobby who had come to the rescue and introduced them all to the Room of Requirement, and had been sent off with Galleons to secure a good supply of Gillyweed. Hermione had flatout refused to wear what passed as the British magical version of swimwear, luckily the room had then provided Muggle options, and she soon had a modest Muggle bikini on. Megan had taken one look and hauled Hermione straight back into the changing rooms, closely followed by the other girls to help them pick out their own. Daphne had confided in him much later that when the conversation shifted to other womens fashion, she had been somewhat mortified to find out later that the latest in witches underwear she had worn to the yule ball had gone out of fashion in the Muggle world some seventy years earlier.

Katie and Iris had taken it on themselves to teach him as they promised, and after several weeks everyone in the group had joined in these practice times. As was her habit when she got bored, Iris had fun making their other friends blush; wedgies apparently made girls scream and blush profusely, not that the boys were complaining. Unfortunately the warm water of the pool hadn't prepared him for the body numbing effects of the Black Lake in February, however.

His head broke the surface; the two blonde heads bobbed in front of him, thankfully facing towards the shoreline and the mass of spectators. Whilst his swimming had improved, he was glad that the Gillyweed was still in effect as it allowed him to swim far easier and with less exertion; given that he already felt like he was operating on empty this was a decidedly good thing.

Daphne's voice startled him. 'Harry, get her to shore and come back for me, she's at least part Veela, she shouldn't be in freezing cold water like this, it could hurt her.'

Still unable to speak, he nodded his ascent and scooped the small girl up in his arms. Hugging her to his chest, he twisted on to his back and kicked hard for the shore. As soon as he had deposited the little girl into Fleur's waiting arms, he flipped over and raced back out to Daphne, who was beginning to struggle in her robes.

Daphne was too tall for him to help the same way, even with his remarkable growth spurt over the last two months; her legs and robes kept entangling his legs. Frowning, he dove under water and pushed against what he thought were the back of her thighs, so that soon she was being pushed through the water face first towards the crowds whilst he remained under water.

He felt a tightening in his chest, indicating that the Gillyweed was wearing off, but he could now see the lake floor and understood that they were close to the shoreline. When at last he could stand; he no longer had fins and he breached the surface, coughing water from his lungs as the last of the transition faded.

Daphne clutched his hand, and together they waded the last few yards to shore. He was exhausted, cold, wet and still stressed by the fact that he had had to fight his way out of the Mervillage with an unconscious Daphne and the little blonde girl.

He scowled as Madam Pomfrey dragged them all to the medi tent and started stuffing potions down their throats like they were going out of fashion; he grudgingly compiled, knowing that Medi-Witch was doing her best to look after him after all.

He leant back against the pillow after swallowing the last of five vile potions, allowing his eyes to close, only to be startled again when a soft, but familiar hand slipped into his own. 'You're a noble prat, Harry, you know that, right?'

Not having the energy to respond, he merely rolled his head to the side and raised an eyebrow in query, eyes still closed.

Daphne chuckled at his antics. 'We were never in any real danger, Harry; well, at least most of us weren't, the little part Veela I'm not too sure about, but it's likely that even she was in no danger if you left her down there in that enchanted sleep, you gallant idiot.' Her tone was amused and she was almost chuckling.

'Oh … well … at least I'm your noble idiot, right, Daph?' He wasn't expecting silence to his comment, so he opened his eyes and saw her blushing slightly. 'What?'

'Did you mean that?' Her voice was husky.

He closed his eyes once more, he was so tired. 'Well ... yeah, I mean, you're the thing I would miss the most and …' Warm soft lips stopped him in mid-sentence, warm soft lips that tasted of apple and cinnamon. He opened his eyes to find Daphne holding his face as she kissed him.

All his brain function had ceased; Daphne was kissing him! Before his brain processed what his body felt, she drew away, frowning at him. 'Harry, you'd better kiss me back this time or I'm going start wondering if in fact you did mean what you said before.'

Wait … what had he said before? His brain short circuited again when her lips were suddenly moving against his once more. He was still unsure what to do when he heard her give a moan of frustration and felt her start to pull away a second time. No … No, no, no, that was completely unacceptable! Finally his brain made an actual decision; he leant into her kiss, following her up chasing her lips as she tried to pull away.

He felt her smile against his mouth and she not only deepened the kiss, but pulled him up so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, and stepped in between his legs. His mind sung and he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close and allowed her tongue entry into his mouth.

She hadn't let him go since, she wrapped herself in his arms when he got the judges score, giving him a kiss on the neck -which tickled- for his "moral fibre". The rest of the year passed in a blur of classes, kissing, magical practice and training, study and more kissing which escalated into snogging.

As his relationship with Daphne heated up, the only things bringing him down were the occasional snide comments by some fellow students on their choice of significant other, Rita Skeeter and her almost slanderous quill, and the amount of hate mail he received after one of those articles.

He had been extremely disappointed to receive half a dozen Howlers' from Mrs Weasley following a factually deficient letter from Ron and some of Skeeter's articles, which apparently passed for factual reporting in the Prophet.

Each time the twins winced and apologised for their mother's attitude, but Ron just sat there and smirked at him. It took the twins writing to their father to put a stop to Molly's behaviour, and Harry wasn't sure that he could ever forgive her for it.

Ginny, it seemed, was torn between being embarrassed by her mother and agreeing with her sentiment when the Howler's arrived regarding Harry's relationship with Daphne. Having never been super close with Ginny and more or less now seeing her as just the twins little sister, he wasn't overly concerned, but Daphne seemed to take great delight in ensuring that she was around every time Ginny came over to talk to him.

He'd also been busy with training - or as Daphne, Katie and Iris had begun calling it "punish Harry time" - for the third task, and minor skirmishes with the idiots who thought that he was joking about not putting up with girls being victimised. At every opportunity Iris and Katie, along with Daphne, Hermione, and Susan, had his face in the magical press, talking about the TGS group, as they were becoming known.

He had initially been very sceptical regarding the press, given his only previous interaction had been with Skeeter, but Katie and Iris had walked him through the process. Both had experienced parents they could call on; Katie's father being a solicitor, and Iris' father, Lord Parkinson, was part of the Wizengamot; the Parkinson family were far more grey in their political leanings than dark - Pansy's present opinions aside - much to Harry's surprise.

They had set up simple interviews with reputable reporters, who made the process seem like a friendly chat, and were all too happy for Harry to refer to notes if he needed. This in turn allowed him to become more comfortable with who he was as the Boy-Who-Lived, even if he still hated that name. He walked taller, angered less, and took his studies more seriously, wincing once he realised just how slack he had been before, and glad that at least his parents had never seen him so slothful.

Skeeter, though, was still attempting to run her smear campaign against him. She wrote a series of four articles claiming he was unbalanced, citing as evidence him ripping the door off the Great Hall and threatening the Malfoy Heir among other things. Not that he eventually cared one iota, once Iris pointed out that for every article Skeeter had published, she and Katie had five; one week in late March alone he was interviewed by Witch Weekly, Teen Witch Magazine, Gazette La Magique from France, Corriere de la Magica from Italy, Die Magische Zeit from Germany, De Magisch Telegraaf from The Netherlands and The Independent Magical, a newspaper based out of Denmark which had a growing reputation across Magical Europe.

It had hit the shores of Magical Britain in a splash of promotions and fanfare, declaring itself as the only English speaking newspaper with exclusive access to Harry Potter. As witches and wizards finally began to realise that factual reporting was almost non-existent within the Prophet, Rita switched tactics, claiming that he was corrupting a girl of good standing in Miss Greengrass.

Yet, by and large her articles were increasingly being relegated to the middle pages of the Prophet, as Harry's profile rose on the back of the publicity that Iris and the other girls were generating, including an interview with the Wizarding Wireless. With the downturn in negative press from the Prophet came a decrease in the number of Howlers and other hate mail directed his way.

Daphne, too, was under pressure; she had received her own hate mail as well as several tersely worded missives from Lord Greengrass to clarify her current relationship, and expressing his concern regarding her role with the TGS group, but she was firmly ignoring all his letters, and told Harry that the old bastard could go to hell.

Eventually the Prophet got on board with the TGS group as it came to light via an editorial that Barnabas Cuffe's younger sister had been abused and eventually took her own life with an overdose of potions at age nineteen. He applauded their actions and lamented his own cowardice in facing up to what his sister had been through, citing a wish not to have to confront those memories, but being forced to now, as these courageous young people shone a lamp on the Magical World's dirty little secret.

For two months after his confrontation with Malfoy in the Great Hall, Iris and Katie reported that the girl's grapevine was free of incidents involving males trying to physically coerce them into compromising positions or belittle and demean them. It wasn't until a seventh year Slytherin tried manhandling a third year Slytherin girl that Harry had to make good on his threat and show them that there was nowhere to hide in the castle.

Iris had seen that trouble was brewing, and when Jasper Bracewell raised his voice, she knew it was time to call for help.

'You'll learn your place, little bitch; Potter is not all seeing and all knowing. He'll not get here in time to save you; now move your arse before I make you.' The tall seventh year stood menacingly over the chair in which his victim cowered.

'Dobby,' Iris whispered, 'tell Harry he's needed in the Slytherin common room ASAP.' She knew that the little house elf would have heard her call and listened for what she wanted.

'I warned you, you will respect your betters, you pathetic halfblood.' The sound of Jasper's hand slapping the cheek of Natalie Smidgens echoed through the Slytherin common room.

Natalie's whimper of pain was heard for only a moment before a single boom sounded, and Harry Potter appeared in the broken doorway, eyes blazing, and magic swirling around him like a maelstrom. His eyes locked onto the huddled form of Natalie on the ground in front of a cosy chair near the fire.

His face twisted into one of fury, eyes snapping on to Jasper who stood stock still, his arm still raised about to strike Natalie again. Jasper made a futile attempt to pull his wand, but Harry simply flicked his own Stunning Charm at the boy, which blasted him into the wall with a crack of broken bones. He stared between the crumpled form of the boy and his wand, not comprehending what just happened, before shrugging to himself and moving on.

A panting Daphne appeared in the doorway behind him, took one look at the huddled form of Natalie and raced to her, pulling the girl to her feet and leading her out of the broken doorway, with a shout over her shoulder of 'Call the Aurors, Harry, this is clearly assault.'

Harry's answer, 'With pleasure,' was almost gleeful. 'Iris, can you check to see if that piece of shit is somewhat okay, whilst I go hustle us up an Auror or two? I will be back momentarily.'

'No problems, Harry,' Iris called out to him as he walked out of the room and down to an abandoned classroom not far from the Slytherin common room.

He sealed the door and called, 'Dobby.'

'Yes, sir, Harry Potter, sir,' Dobby answered as soon as he popped into the room.

'Firstly, thank you for popping me down here so quickly, I wasn't aware that you could do that.'

'Tis no problem Harry Potter sir, Dobby is happy to helps, he is,' Dobby beamed back at him.

Harry chuckled. 'Yes, well, anyway, could you please go to Madam Bones? Ask her if she can spare anyone to investigate a case of physical assault in the Slytherin common room, also ask her for a note on what to do so that I can secure the scene for whomever she sends.'

The problem he'd found with tearing doors down to get to the idiots who just wouldn't learn was that it led to a veritable plethora of witches throwing themselves in his general direction. This in turn led to a very cranky Daphne. She took to fingering her wand at the approach of any witch who wasn't already part of their group, and caused Harry to be on the receiving end of several Stinging Hexes from said wand when he invariably chuckled at her response.

Iris told her to stop playing around and to start marking her territory more effectively, which led to kisses from Daphne at the drop of a hat, not that he had ever complained about that. She would kiss him whenever she came into or left his presence, kiss him before meals, wrap herself in his arms whilst they were waiting for class to start and kiss him then, resulting in several threatened detentions from half of their Professors.

His hand slid down over her ribs, brushing the underside of her breast and then back across her bottom where he let his hand rest for a while. She loved it - at least that's what she had told him - when he held her there. His hand had been resting on her bottom for less than fifteen seconds when he felt her lips smile against his chest, before she kissed his nipple. He had almost fainted one day when, after a great snogging session which had involved a lot of roaming hands, she asked him why he didn't touch her bum, given that he'd already had a good feel of it in the Black Lake.

As May had drawn to a close, he had been surprised that he had only had to destroy another nine doors and put eleven idiots - at least one from every house - in the infirmary, including five who thought that because said lady went into the broom closets with them voluntarily to snog, that "No" really meant "Yes" to everything else these morons wanted. Dobby had arranged for the Hogwarts House Elves to alert him if any girl within the castle called for help.

Katie and Iris ensured that this was passed on to every girl within the school via the grapevine, along with the stern warning not to falsely cry dragon. Surprisingly, Malfoy was not among the idiots he had caught, obviously and amazingly enough the ferret had learnt his lesson in the Great Hall. Also by this time several more people had joined their group, including three more girls who had somehow managed to get around the gatekeeper in Daphne, much to her frustration.

Her friend Sophie Roper seemed to take supreme delight in teasing Daphne and making Harry blush, leading him to suspect she was somehow related to Iris. She had a wicked sense of humour, a sense of fun that was infectious and the ability to make sure that everyone was having a good time. At one point she had intimated that Harry was too much Wizard for Daphne alone, and maybe she should learn to share. Daphne had not been impressed, and Sophie had sported green hair for a week with good humour.

One day at breakfast Iris' best friend from Slytherin house in her year, Scarlett Harper, had become bored without Iris to entertain her, sat down next to her friend and never left. She was a fun loving, yet studious witch who was a self-professed bibliophile, and probably only second to Hermione with regards to raw intelligence. The debates between the two on all manner of topics were fierce yet respectful, and Harry found himself learning amazing information with no effort from them.

Katie's friend Vicky Frobisher had watched Scarlett make her way over to the group that morning for breakfast and decided that she too had had enough of not hanging out with her friend and classmate, joining them at lunch on the same day. Harry thought her reasoning was a little dubious when Vicky informed Katie that she was collecting far too many scrummy boys to be trusted and left on her own any longer. Vicky was a powerful half-blood witch with plans to follow her father into the Aurors and was a demon on the duelling piste, so much so that she was usually the first to step up when Harry wanted someone to train against.

Her father had trained his little girl well, and Vicky used those lessons to her advantage, occasionally shooting a green colour charm at him, which was used in Auror training to get used to facing the Killing Curse so that a recruit wouldn't freeze if it was really shot at them. The first time that she used this tactic against him, he froze and wore green eyebrows and hair for the rest of the day, but slowly the response of levitating or conjuring something - if he really tried - in front of it became ingrained, because as Vicky pointed out, dodging could put someone else in its deadly path.

The two Adrians other best friend Terence Higgs had also had enough of being excluded from his best mates activities and had essentially informed them that either they started hanging out again, or he was going to start hexing them; he was sick of hearing Malfoy whine in the common room that they were hanging out with Potter. He had a sense of fair play that was almost Hufflepuffish and yet was possibly the most competitive person Harry had ever met.

Justin Finch-Fletchley had slowly been drawn into more and more conversations whilst they all ate at the Puff table, which meant that he too had slowly integrated into the group; the fact that he asked to wear the TGS within a few days of understanding what they were trying to achieve also helped. His grandmother had been at the forefront of the feminist movement in the fifties, as well as having a Great Grandmother who had chained herself to the fences of Downing Street with the Suffragettes in the attempt to get women voting rights. Justin was a quiet boy until he got comfortable around people, and early on Harry sometimes forgot he was even in the room. It was much later they discovered that Justin was reserved because he was used to people in the Muggle world wanting to get close to him because of his father's titles as a member of the House of Lords.

It was Neville who dragged Michael Corner into the group. Michael, a fairly happy-go-lucky Ravenclaw, was his closest male cousin through the Black side of his family, but it was Michael who pointed out somewhat timidly that Harry was related to both them through his own Black family connection via Dorea Potter, nee Black. It may have been a tenuous link for all three of them, but as only children, any family was significant. By unspoken agreement all three of them ignored the fact that Draco Malfoy was related to each of them through a similar link.

Additional people meant that he was pushed harder in training, not that he ever seemed to tire too much, magically at least, physically was another matter altogether. He had continued to grow, and by the time of their last session a week out from the third task he was a respectable five foot nine and approximately sixty kilograms. Much to Daphne's delight, who kept running her hands over his chest, stomach, and shoulders, he was all whipcord muscle. His chest had deepened, his shoulders broadened, and his stomach sported the beginnings of a nice six-pack.

Dumbledore had been less than impressed with his antics, as he called them, trying to guilt trip him into stopping this ludicrous crusade and telling him that these incidents were only misunderstandings that could have been sorted out internally.

Harry had just scoffed at the idea and felt justifiably proud that he and his friends were making a difference to the greater magical society in Britain. All eleven boys had been heavily fined for their actions after Amelia had sprung each and every case on the Wizengamot at the last minute, often making it appear she wasn't pursuing the cases at all after the preliminary investigations had been completed, using her hand-picked squad.

Harry also refused to attend any detentions Snape and Dumbledore gave him whilst protecting the denizens of the school with his friends, unless they were served with Professor McGonagall. Using a rule virtually unknown outside of Slytherin, Harry petitioned the Deputy Headmistress, who was in charge of student discipline, and asked that all of his future detentions be served with Professor McGonagall. Deputy Headmistress McGonagall had almost snickered when Harry had presented his case to her before approving the submission.

McGonagall for her part usually took the disciplinary note, read it, binned it and then waggled her finger at him sternly for a few minutes, before sending him on his way as she tried not to crack a smile. Dumbledore had been less than impressed with his Deputy, but had no recourse as the position of Deputy was chosen and ratified by the School Board, and the rule that Harry was exploiting was in the Hogwarts charter.

Harry knew all the female staff were now actively supporting the groups work, even allowing him and either Katie or Iris on occasion to leave mid class to get to an interview by way of asking them to run an errand for them and giving them a pass to be in the halls.

The Group, led by Sophie, Vicky and Megan had started to market official TGS Group apparel, with advertisements which were now appearing in mainstream magical media. Their symbol was being worn by multiple female celebrities, including on the uniform of the entire Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team.

He ran his hand back up Daphne's side and over her ribs once more, allowing his hand to stop just before his fingers again brushed the underside of her breast, and pulled her tight against him. She gave an answering squeeze of her own against his chest. Their bed was only illuminated by fake moonlight; her blonde hair gleamed like pale silver, looking nothing like its usual honey blonde she shared with her father.

She took his chin in her fingers and brought his eyes down to hers. 'Harry, really, you don't have to be nervous; they just want to meet you, and besides, Professor McGonagall said that you had no one to invite. Given we're dating she thought it might be nice for me to introduce you to my parents.'

'Easy for you to say, honey, you're not the one dating your father's daughter. What if they don't like me? Tori said … '

Daphne cut him off. 'My sister is a mischievous little bint, who's going to find herself hexed very shortly. Harry, you saved me from a rapist, they already love you for that alone. Now stop being a wimp and Gryffindor up!' She huffed. 'You are Harry Bloody Potter and my boyfriend, not some wet blanket who couldn't find my arse without a map.'

'I should hope, Daphne, that you are being metaphorical and not literal,' a rich baritone voice broke into their conversation.

'Of course I meant it literally Daddy, Mum has told me all about the things that you two used to get up to in this castle, I'm after all just trying to live up to the legacy my parents left me,' Daphne said, looking impishly over her shoulder and not letting Harry escape their current embrace.

If he could, he would have face palmed himself; instead he just lowered his head and waited for the hexes to start coming his way. They never came. Two separate laughs reached his ears, one in the rich baritone and the other soft and melodious.

Daphne pivoted in his arms and then tugged his arms around her, intertwining their fingers as she usually did.

'Won't you give your Mum and Dad a hug, sweetheart?' asked a woman who could only be Daphne's mother. Everything about her, except her hair, looked like an older version of Daphne; there were definitely little pieces of her father in her, too, but they were far outweighed by her mother's influence.

'That depends, on whether Daddy is planning on hexing Harry for doing something to me that he did with you at the same age. I mean, that would be awfully hippocrytical of him, wouldn't it?' Daphne asked with fake innocence.

'I told you, telling her those stories during the Ostara holidays was going to come back and bite us, Selene, but did you listen to me? Oh, no! Don't be silly Michael, you said, Daphne won't act on them yet, you said, and now apparently I have a teenage boy being actively encouraged to explore my daughters behind.' Michael stare was flat and hard, causing Harry to gulp slightly.

He was just about to disentangle himself from Daphne - if she let him - and hightail it from the room, when Michael, Selene and Daphne all started laughing, throwing him for a loop.

'You should see your face, son,' Michael Greengrass said, laughter still evident in his eyes as he hugged his daughter. 'My Father-through-Bond did something similar to me the first time I met him, I'm sure it almost scared the magic out of me. He was a funny and humorous man, who went out of his way to make people uncomfortable and then laughed with them about it.'

Harry wasn't sure he was laughing just yet, still trying to reconcile Daphne's parents, and especially her father, against the antagonistic and reserved Grandfather that had caused Daphne so many issues.

'Michael Greengrass,' the tall blonde man said, coming to rest in front of Harry, his hand extended in greeting. 'My daughters have written many things to us regarding you, Mr Potter. Most of them positive, and of course we've seen you in the papers and heard you on the radio a few times.'

Harry reached out and clasped the man's hand, giving it a firm shake, 'Please call me Harry. Daphne has nothing but praise for you both.' He released the older man's hand as Daphne and her mother approached.

'Harry, this is my mother, Selene Greengrass, nee Vaisey. Mum, this is my boyfriend, Harry Potter.'

Selene held out her hand palm down, a gesture Harry had learnt when Sophie had first arrived on the scene. Harry had looked at it confused before reaching out and shaking it; Sophie looked at him mildly offended before understanding passed through her eyes. 'Daphne, have you not house trained Harry yet?'

He gently lifted Selene's hand to his mouth, his lips brushing the back of her knuckles before he lowered her hand and released it. 'A pleasure, Mrs Greengrass; I can clearly see where Daphne gets her beauty, and please call me Harry.' A faint blush crept up his cheeks as he delivered the customary platitude.

'Selene is fine, Harry,' she said in her melodious voice before leaning towards Daphne using a fake whisper, said, 'I like him, he's definitely a keeper.'

Harry blushed considerably more and turned to Michael who addressed him once more. 'Don't worry about it too much, Harry. My wife learnt from the best: her father, and to be quite frank, she's a bit of a tease.'

Selene stuck her tongue out at her husband, claimed Daphne's arm, and walked off, proclaiming, 'Just for that Michael, I am teaching Daphne the contraceptive charm.'

Daphne's cheeks flamed a bright red. 'Mum!' she exclaimed in a horrified voice.

Selene just winked at her daughter, and they made their way towards the door that would take them outside and down to the Black Lake.

Michael just chuckled and called out to his wife. 'I'm sure she already knows it… minx.'

Daphne turned even redder - he wouldn't have thought that possible - and gave a strangled whine 'Dad!' She buried her face in her hands, whilst Selene just poked her tongue out once more in her husbands direction and kept them both walking.

Harry found himself gaping. Daphne's parents surely weren't what he'd expected.

Michael chuckled at his obvious confusion. 'Not what you were anticipating, I take it?' Michael asked as he gestured Harry to follow the women out the door.

'Ahh... N...no, sir; Daphne has spoken about you both, but she... umm... didn't really give me a heads up about, well ...'

'Our sense of humour?' Michael finished for him as he trailed off. 'We aren't like most Purebloods, I guess, but then again, we do take our family, traditions and culture very seriously, but as Selene's father once told me not long after I had met him and much to my own fathers annoyance: "If you can't find the humour in most situations, what's the point in living?"'

'I'm serious when I need to be serious, but when I'm with my family, my greatest treasures, then what's the point in being serious all the time? I want my children to love me, love being with me and my wife, and have fun when they are with us, even if that means I get to or have to embarrass them from time to time.'

Michael placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. 'Life is serious enough, but it doesn't mean that you have to take it seriously all the time. It's called living, son, and I thank my lucky stars every day that my wife introduced me to it.'

'I think I understand, sir,' Harry replied, after taking several moments to ponder the words that Michael had conveyed to him.

'It's Michael, Harry, and I expect that the man who rescued my eldest daughter from what I consider a fate worse than death to call me it.' Michael held up a hand to stop Harry's response and so he fell silent, 'I will never be able to repay you for what you did that night, and I know from Daphne that you do not expect payment.'

Michael turned and watched his daughter and wife who were now a good thirty metres in front of them. 'All I would ask of you now is that you look after my daughter's heart, because it's already clear to me that she has placed it in your hands. It's a strong heart, like her mother's; she will protect you with everything she has, but its fragile, too, and if I was a betting man which I am not, I would bet that only you now have the capacity to break her heart and shatter it for all time.'

Harry gulped, and Michael gave another easy laugh. 'It is not a bad thing to have the heart of a woman, Harry, on the contrary; it is the most wonderful thing in the world. I was about your age when Selene decided to set her cap for me. I unfortunately was an imbecile and almost completely overlooked her for at least twelve months, except for the occasional assignation in a broom closet when I was bored. I'm very lucky that my wife is a very stubborn and very forgiving lady.'

Harry smiled as he remembered that afternoon, it had been light hearted, spent in the company of Daphne's parents who seemed to take great delight in telling Harry embarrassing stories, including one that had Daphne wishing to die on the spot and Harry laughing so hard that he swore he almost wet himself.

Apparently Daphne had at age four taken great delight in lathering up all the banisters in their house with soap stolen from the kitchens, and sliding naked down them. Suffice to say there were several photos of a very naked Daphne flying off a banister, legs flailing everywhere. Selene took great delight in describing one particular occasion where Daphne had crashed into a visiting business partner, leaving behind a sudsy bottom print on the man's robes, and she had promised to show him the photographic evidence when he came for a visit.

There were only two members of the Greengrasses that did not join them, Michael's father, Lord Dmetri Greengrass and Daphne's little seven year old brother, Jasper. As the day wore on, their friends had joined them sitting out on the bank of the Black Lake, talking and laughing and just enjoying each other's company. It was in stark contrast to what was to happen that evening in the maze and cemetery.

'Together then … ' Cedric nodded at him and as one they reached out and took the cup. A jolt went through his body; he was caught by a hook, pulling him behind the navel. Damn, that cup was a bloody Portkey! They landed with a thump, the cup bouncing away from them a few feet behind Cedric, as they fell to the ground.

Straightening, he looked around, trying to get his bearings.

'Where are we do you think?' Cedric asked him, voice quiet, as though to speak loudly was to invite danger.

'I don't know,' he replied. He stared at some of the headstones, his breath hitched and the hairs at the nape of his neck rose. 'Riddle!' God damn it, at least half a dozen of them said Riddle! 'Cedric we need to get out of here,' he said in a terse whisper, while his eyes darted around, and he tried to determine where the attack was likely to come from.

Cedric looked at him with alarm, when they heard a noise of someone walking towards them. They turned in the direction of the sound and peered into the darkness. The hunched shape of a man carrying something appeared from the mist some thirty yards in front of them.

'Who are you and what do you want?' Cedric asked in a tremulous voice, pointing his wand at the still advancing figure.

Harry separated himself from Cedric, side stepping a few metres to his left, opening a gap, and ensuring that they couldn't be taken out by a single spell easily.

The figure halted some twenty yards from them, near a small crypt, and placed the bundle in his arms down on the ground.

The hairs on the back of Harry's neck were standing up; something was very wrong, they shouldn't be here and they needed to get back to the school.

'Kill the spare,' croaked a high-pitched voice.

The hunched figure's wand slashed up, a voice cried 'Avada Kedavra!' and a sickly green light flashed towards the two boys. Time slowed, it was a light that Harry was intimately familiar with from his dreams, dreams that still haunted him to this day.

He was moving before he was even aware of it; his wand was up and pulling a head stone into the path of the Killing Curse; his time spent on the duelling piste with Vicky and the others had made his responses automatic.

The curse smacked into the headstone, obliterating it and sending shrapnel in all directions. Unfortunately, a vast majority was ejected directly backwards towards both Cedric and himself. Cedric still hadn't moved, but Harry was closing the gap fast. He felt the stone fragments hit him and lodge themselves in his body.

Cedric was hit hard, but he had somehow managed to turn his body slightly at the end so that he was facing towards Harry. He cried out in pain, blood blossomed on his neck and above one of his eyes. Harry launched himself at the other boy, praying that his next desperate gamble would pay off. The top of his head collided with Cedric's nose; he winced at the resulting crack of broken bone, but ignored it as best he could. A spray of blood gushed passed him and onto the ground. They hit the ground hard, Cedric releasing an oof as the air was forced from his lungs by Harry's weight.

Harry was oblivious to Cedric's pain as another spell flashed over their heads, he was already pointing his wand at the Triwizard Cup as they tumbled to a stop on the ground. 'Accio Cup,' he called desperately, fear causing his throat to tighten. The cup flew towards him, and he gripped Cedric's arm tightly as the cup thunked into them. Harry wrapped his arm around it and clutched it between them, sighing in relief as he felt that hook once more behind his navel.