Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 10

New Year passed eventfully for many wizards and witches in the world. As usual, they ended up celebrating until the wee hours. For the teenagers who were still schooling, they were more gloomy than usual since they would be returning to Hogwarts, away from their family once again. This coming semester would be a busy one for everyone. Examinations would be conducted soon in a few months' time.

There were a few however who would enjoy coming back to school. Hermione Granger was one of those few. Coming back to Hogwarts meant she would be able to learn more about magic. She would be able to prove to her parents, her friends and the rest of the Wizarding world that being muggle-born does not mean she would be less worthy in using magic than the rest. Hermione vowed to obtain perfect results and top her year just to show that blood does not matter.

As for Daphne, she was included in the same category as well. She had enough of home, seeing how her whole family was estranged from her. They treated her like she was a step-daughter, like she was not part of them. Daphne felt really dismal at that thought.

For the past two weeks, she could not find anything at all that would fit into her conjecture why her mother and sister changed so drastically into a different person. She dare not trust in her father's words that it was she who was different. She did not believe her past ten years were a lie to her. But the hope began slipping away as time and again, the evidences right in front showed otherwise.

That was why she was so glad to be returning to Hogwarts. She needed help and someone to confide her problems with. Tracey was her best friend but Daphne knew she could not really empathize with her. Only Harry could and she would be glad to finally see and talk to him.

Once everyone was settled back in the great hall, the feast for the start of a new semester began. Professor McGonagall made the same old speech about how they should keep to the curfew timings, no entry to the forbidden forest, no magic used in the corridors and that they should be on their best behaviour at all times.

After coming back to Hogwarts, Daphne and Tracey decided to sit with Harry regardless of what others might say or whether if Harry tried to push them off in search for solace. In Tracey's simple term, 'we are friends and friends should sit together'. That was enough to make him just accept that they would be close to him from now on.

Daphne in particular was sitting beside Harry. Throughout the meal, Harry noticed that she had inched herself closer and closer to him. He did not know what to make of it though and just ignored it. Truth to be told, he was getting bored of being alone in Hogwarts and definitely do appreciate the girls' company.

"By the way, thanks for both of your Christmas gifts. I really love them." Harry started the conversation rolling.

Tracey smiled. "Likewise. Harry. The book you gave was quite interesting actually."

"Thank you Harry as well for your wonderful gift. Wow Tracey, you read a book?" Daphne exclaimed.

Tracey gave her an open-mouthed reaction. "What... You think I never read? How else would I be able to keep up with the school work? I'm so insulted."

"Well... Seeing as to how you were opposed to Harry becoming a bookworm like me..."

"Hey! You are different! I mean I do read books occasionally but you read them as if they were oxygen. Without them, I doubt you'd be able to live, best friend."

Daphne scowled at her words. "I'm not THAT crazy about books. You will have to see what Granger does then. I bet if you are shocked at how many books I read, you would get a stroke from knowing how many more she read as compared to me. "

Tracey raised an eye brow. "How many?"

Daphne looked around to check if the said person was nearby. Seeing her chatting away happily at the Gryffindor table, Daphne continued, "Three times more than I do. She's the literal example and symbol of a bookworm."

Hearing that, Tracy literally had a stroke momentarily. Her whole body could not react for her brain was trying to comprehend the new information. "Seriously? That's... Crazy. Harry, how about you? How do you compare to Miss Ice Princess over here?"

The two girls turned towards him. He was too busy consuming his meal and pretended not to hear anything. Daphne knew what he was doing judging from his actions. She decided to become a daredevil today. She leaned forward into his ears and gave a soft blow.

Feeling that sensation, Harry turned rock-still. It felt oddly pleasurable. But knowing his act was out of the bag, he turned towards the girls and gave a shrug before resuming his meal.

"It seems Mister I-don't-want-to-make-friends is extremely anti-social today Tracey."

She gave a nod. "Well I say we take away his food so that he will think twice before going against us girls."

"Indeed. Or maybe tonight, we will sneak into his room and sleep on his bed together."

At that last statement, Harry reacted instantly. "You wouldn't dare!"

Daphne just gave a smirk. "Try me Mister Potter."

"Fine... Just don't come so near me when I'm sleeping."

Tracey looked amused at his answer. "And why is that Mister Potter? Don't guys love it when girls want to sleep with them?"

Daphne had a suspicion which she knew was what Harry would give to the answer of Tracey's question. She helped him answer it. "Must be because he still think we girls have cooties. He don't dare to sleep with us for fear of getting infected."

Tracey laughed at hearing that. Harry shook his head.

"That's not the reason why." He put up his hand to stop the girls from further questioning him. "I don't want to share. It's kind of personal."

"But... Aww come on Harry!" Tracey began bugging him.

Any humans have a level of irritation. Once someone bugged you for the same thing over and over again, he would snap back. Harry tried his best to contain his overpowering emotion. He did not want to shout at his new friends but neither did he like this new arrangement. Freedom and peace were still what he treasured most other than friendship.

"Sorry girls, I have a sudden urge to go to the toilet. Must be diarrhoea. Meet you all back at the common rooms alright?" With that, he pushed himself up and went off the great hall. A professor did stop him on his way out but let him go after hearing his reason.

"Damn! He bloody well know we can't follow him or it would create rumours. What a sneaky person." Tracey cursed, not knowing that he was feeling irritated from their constant questioning.

"Wow Trace. Thought you had a crush on him? Now you're saying bad things about him." Daphne was amused.

Tracey had a different answer this time. "You know after going back home to think through it, I don't find Harry really appealing after all. I mean he's a great guy and all but just not my type. I prefer someone who is like me, talkative, charming and loveable. But Harry? I mean he's a good friend but somehow, he's secret and mystery just bring down his appealing factor..."

"Well Tracey? Guess what? I'm so glad that you said that."

"Why Daphne? You still like him as more than a friend?"

Daphne gave a nod. "I think he's really a wonderful person beneath his exterior. Although I hope he could tell me some of his secrets. But I will just continue to try until the day he cave in."

"Wow Daph... You really do like him. Well, I don't think I have the patient like you do. After all, if he's like a book, I will just fall asleep after reading a few chapters of his mystery."

Both girls giggled. "Well... That's just you Trace. I really do hope to understand him fully one day..."

'Just like how he understood me and my problems just from that single event. He even lend me a shoulder to cry on.' Daphne added internally.

Tracey smiled at her best friend. "I really wish you luck then."

Once dinner was finished, Daphne dismissed herself from her best friend, saying Harry wanted to see her. Tracey understood more or less what Harry was going to see Daphne for.

That afternoon during the past week before Christmas when Daphne visited her, she was distraught. After hearing from her how her whole family had turned against her, Tracey truly hoped Harry would be able to help her best friend just like before.

Daphne was puzzled as to why Harry wanted to see her on top of the astronomy tower, not that she was complaining. She wanted to hug him so much just to affirm his existence was present within Hogwarts and that she was not having a dream like that one when he kissed her. It brought back fluffy feelings within her every time she thought of it. Those sweet and soft lips... Thinking about it is every girls' dream of the perfect first kiss. Just that it was in fact a dream literally for her.

Before she knew it, her legs had brought her right to the top of the tower. She could see the perfectly clear night sky filled with countless stars. It felt peaceful. Looking around her, she did not see Harry. As a result, she decided to just lie on the ground and enjoy the night view as the cold air breeze blew. She could stay here all night long.

"Glad you make it Daphne." A voice was heard beside her. Turning sideways, she saw Harry standing beside where she lay. Immediately, she jumped into her feet and gave him a hug. She wanted to do this the moment she reached Hogwarts but time and space dictated otherwise. But now, in this peaceful environment free from prying eyes, it felt even better to hug him.

For a moment, they stayed in that position. Daphne felt acknowledgement from that simple physical gesture. Harry felt befriended and happy. That physical contact reinforced the relationship between the two friends and they were happy to be just here together.

Harry was the one to break from the contact. He looked into the deep blue eyes that held so many emotions and asked, "So do share with me Daphne, why are you feeling so down?"

Daphne gave an awkward laugh. "Am I that open to you?"

Harry gave a nod at her answer. "I could sense something distracting and hurting you. You had those circles under your eyes again like before."

Daphne gave a gasp. "Don't tell me..."

Harry knew what she was thinking. "Relax. It was only me who saw it. And I could see you inching closer to me during dinner as well and that was definitely something you wouldn't be doing unless extenuating circumstances stated otherwise. So let's just enjoy this peaceful night with a story."

He lay down on the floor and just gazed up into the starry skies. Daphne could see the peace in him. It gave her a sense of calm and serenity before she mimicked his actions.

"My sister and mother's estranged from me." She gave a simple statement. It did not require much elaboration for Harry. He knew how important family was to Daphne after the precious year ordeal of feeling unloved. This might escalate if he did not do anything. He kept silent though, waiting for her to tell him more about what she did.

"I have a suspicion about father poisoning those two. Somewhere out there is a potion which I believe can induce hate and distrust just like the opposite of Amortensia. But try as I might, I can't seem to find a single logical explanation." She told Harry sadly.

"My father told me how my whole life was a farce and mother and Astoria were actually all along like this. It's only my own blind-sided ignorance that could not see them that way. I'm really scared and... Harry, I need your help in this. I don't think I have the courage to face this alone..." A single tear rolled down her face.

"Trust me when I said you are not alone in this matter. I will try to see how I can help. But until I meet your sister, I can't judge her based on your words alone."

"I understand Harry." She turned her head sideways so she could look at him. "Thanks once again for being there for me... You have no idea how much I really appreciate this."

Harry gave a nod. "I'm sure you would do the same for me if I were in the same situation just like the troll incident."

Daphne smiled at hearing his words. She knew she could trust this guy in front. Ever since that day after she told him her secrets of her family and all, he still stood by her side. She felt shame and yet he did not pity nor laugh at her plight.

"Oh by the way Harry, do you think you could smile for me?" She asked sincerely. "I've never seen you smile before since I met you.

Harry felt embarrassed at that. He did not know how to give her an answer without linking it to his past. But seeing how much she trust her secret in him, he thought it would be alright for him to trust her with his as well. Trust is a mutual thing between the two parties after all.

Thus, he tried to contract those facial muscles to give Daphne a smile. But it came out something weird. Daphne though did not think that way.

"You see... I had not smile for so many years that the muscles had atrophied."

"Harry, I think your smile still look bright to me!" Daphne said sincerely. "I believe you will be able to smile normally one day. I want to be there when you do it, alright?"

Harry hesitated in his answer which was picked up by Daphne.

"If not for yourself, do it for me." She took his hands. "Just like how you helped me. Promise me?"

Harry felt moved by her words. "I promise."

Then Daphne eyes suddenly zoned into his lips. She was reminded of the dream.

"Anyway, do you believe in a person entering someone else's dream? Is it possible for magic to do this?"

Harry was puzzled as to why she was asking him this question. "Why Daphne?"

She blushed. "Nothing. In just feeling curious."

Harry knew she was lying but he did not question it. He had a suspicion of her dreaming about him. It felt so real that she thought he came over to her dream during the past two weeks. But thinking about it, he did not remember seeing her at all in his dreams.

"I think it could be possible. But if you had a dream about me, it should be just a dream still. Unless magic decided to interfere with it to create me."

"Oh... Alright." Daphne looked visibly saddened by his answer. But she did not mind. Maybe in the future, she could kiss him in reality and not a construct by her magic in her mind.

"By the way, why did you not go back home during the past two weeks? I remember seeing that twitch in your eyes when you gave us an answer."

Harry just stared at her. Inside his mind, he was thinking of different ways to escape the interrogation by Daphne.

Daphne thought decided to blackmail him. "Come on... I did share with you my secrets. Unless you plan on not trusting me and betraying me." She turned away, trying to hide her smirk. She knew he would not do this to her. Instead the wait turned from seconds into a minute. Daphne knew something was wrong. She hoped Harry did not just do the otherwise and turned around to see his reaction.

Harry was looking up at the starry skies forlornly. It was as if he is looking for his parents. Daphne knew just then how wrong the whole thing had turned out. In a bid of hasty curiosity, she went beyond the comfort zone of Harry and asked such an insensitive question. For that moment, she had totally forgotten his parents were no longer alive.

"Sorry Harry. I don't know what went wrong with me and I just blurted out the whole thing… Let's just forget about it alright?" She gave him a look of sincere apology. But he had not reacted at all to her words. For that short period, time seems to be at a stand-still as the entire scene was frozen.

Harry began pushing his body upwards into a sitting position. He hugged his legs and knew this was his moment of vulnerability – to reveal part of his past. Even though he did not like it, Harry trusted Daphne and wanted her to understand him. Within his heart, he was yearning for love, just like any normal human being.

"I did not remember much of my parents. I knew they really love me but that night when the whole house was in fire… That was the last time I remembered vaguely my time with them." Harry began telling in a low voice.

She understood his feelings because she was in his position a few weeks ago right in front of the Mirror of Erised. Just like he did for her, she sat up and moved herself so she could give him a hug. But really, given their stature, it was impossible for the girl to be embracing a boy while sitting down. She gave an awkward laugh at that failure in trying to provide comfort and a shoulder. Harry shook his head before just lying back on Daphne so that her arms could snake around his shoulder. Eventually, it ended up with Harry lying on her lap. He really do need that physical contact if he wanted to continue with his stories.

"I don't understand why I survived. It would be much better if I'd die in the fire because my life wouldn't turn out this way and I wouldn't be feeling so much pain and anguish."

For the first time, there was a very intense emotion in his voice. His hand clutched his chest subconsciously, showing the pain he felt was real. Daphne went on to grab his hands to show he is not alone in this.

"Then the torture came. I had no idea why I ended up staying in my relatives' house. But someone must have brought me there. Someone knew I survived the flame. They were hard-core anti-magic Muggles. For as long as I remembered, I was beaten and was forced to do the household work for them. I did something wrong and they beat me. I ask a question. They hit me. I was starved every single day."

A single tear rolled down his eye. Daphne really felt for him. She understood the pain to be in when your guardian or in her case, father, forced her to do something she did not want to and use punishments as an incentive. Harry was really a like-minded person to Daphne.

"I always wondered why I was sent to this particular family, I mean there's like a thousand many other possibilities but why did it have to be them? Then one day, I found out Aunt Petunia was actually the sister of my mother. She kept on yapping about how it was fortunate for them to die in a car crash. It was only recently I found out in the article that they actually died by Fiendfyre.

Daphne was really listening in earnest as Harry could see. She was different.

"I hope you understand now... I don't want to recall those memories again. Just like you... I..." Harry gulped. He did not know whether he should say this. On one hand, his starvation for love and a listening ear from someone like him was pressuring him to say it out and let out all his secrets. But the logical and survivalist part of his mind was saying not to trust anybody else. They might betray him again like before. It was a battle between emotions and the mind.

Eventually, feeling a teardrop dropping on him, he looked up and saw Daphne crying. That broke the impasse in him. "I almost suicide like you did Daphne." He closed his eyes trying to bite back and control the tears and pain brought back from all the memories. It was really hard. But feeling her tears on his face and hearing her sniffing sound, Harry began sobbing as well. The dam to his inner emotions had broken apart.

No words were needed between them. They knew and understood what each other was feeling because they went through the same experience. Both of them had an abusive childhood. Both had been so tired of living and wanted to escape the pain through death. But when it came to family, they were so different yet the same. Harry did not have any parental love before and was severely lacking in it. As for Daphne, she had a loving mother and sister yet they changed into sycophants for her power-hungry father.

But for now, their hearts were together in this as they let out years of emotional pain. They had finally found someone who understood each other. Harry was really thankful that he had confided in Daphne his past because if he had not, he would still be holding on to it.

After both of them calmed down, Harry decided to end this off by answering her original question, "That's when I left that place to live in Leaky Cauldron ever since I found out I was a wizard."

Daphne tried comforting him. "You know Harry, if I had a choice, I would have asked my father to let you live with me. But considering my family situation, I thought it would be better for you not."

Harry understood her. It would not only be bad for him but her as well because he got to see how her father treat her badly and Harry did not know how he would react from it. With an apparent dislike for abusive guardians, this might push him to his limits, so much so that he might violently react against her father.

Just then, Daphne decided to let out a little secret her father gave her to do. She hoped it would not anger Harry after hearing. "Harry, promise me this. I'm going to tell you a secret about something my father forced me to do. I hope you don't get angry with me after this, alright?"

He stared into her eyes, looking for any clues at all to see if she was doing this on purpose to visibly upset him. But he could see only sincerity in her words. He gave her the approval and promise.

"My father wanted me to get close to you so that he could rein you into his family. The House of Potter is a very rich and powerful family. Being an Ancient and Most Noble House, it is one rank higher in the social echelon than my house, giving it a lot of respect and political influence."

Harry began thinking of her words. That would mean that Daphne could possibly befriend him under her father's order and not because for friendship. This was really the turning point to see if she was trustworthy or not.

"And you?"

She stared directly into his eyes, hoping it would shed some light in this matter of her stand. "You know me Harry. I could never do this to you for my personal stakes. But I just want to warn you that should I become estranged from you, it's more or less to protect you. I don't want my father to hurt you... You are my friend, Harry… Now that I finally got to know you better, I want you to know that in my heart, you've become more important than him."

He saw it in her eyes. The truth was displayed right in the open. He knew then that he would really trust her from now on. This would be the first person ever since young that he would be open to and he hoped it would not bite him back in the future.

"Don't worry about that. As your friend, Daphne, I want you to continue our friendship. I honestly don't care about what he wants. Just... Don't tell him my secrets, will you promise me that?" Harry genuinely said it out of his heart. He was beginning to trust in another person.

She smiled. "Of course I promise. I won't betray your trust Harry."

He tried giving back a smile. It was not as good as hers but compared to his previous attempt, it was miles better. It seems that this friendship had much benefits for the both of them.

"You are getting better. I can see your happiness from that smile Harry."

"It's getting late. We should be going back to our dormitories. Curfew is going to start soon..."

Daphne pouted. "But I actually love it here." 'And I love it when you place your head on my lap, Harry.'

He did not give her any rebut, knowing it was better to err on the safe side and not get into any trouble.

"Close your eyes now."

"But why? Are you giving me a surprise?" Daphne did follow with his instructions though. Just then, Harry sat up and brought Daphne to her feet before going to her back and covered her eyes as a double precaution. He then shadow walked the both of them right to the entrance of their common room before letting go of her.

To say Daphne was shocked was an understatement. Seconds ago, they were on the top of the Astronomy Tower on the seventh floor. Now, they were right in the dungeons in front of their common rooms. She gave Harry a look of wonder what exactly happened. She had her own thoughts on this since the sensation felt remarkably similar to that time when they became invisible from Malfoy. Instead of waiting for her to gather her thoughts, Harry opened the door to their common room pulled Daphne in and went on his way to retreat for the night, leaving her with puzzlement.

That night as Harry closed his eyes, he had a sense of peace. Never before in his entire life had he felt so comfortable, so safe and sound when he was in bed. Letting out the emotions he harboured for years was the right choice for him.

Ever since that first day back in Hogwarts for the second semester, both Tracey and Daphne kept bugging Harry on what exactly happened during the snowball fight last year. They asked if it was linked to the whole paralysing sensation they felt a few times before. But in a way, he kept avoiding the entire 'interrogation' session either by giving excuses or changing the topic.

Tracey felt that this whole affair was just something fun in her opinion. She was not really into finding out what Harry was hiding, just that she wanted a good laugh and amusement in seeing how Harry try to avoid them every time the topic came up.

As for Daphne, she was very much annoyed from it. She thought Harry and she was close enough ever since that night at the top of the Astronomy tower but apparently, he still had plenty of secrets kept away from her prying mind. Now she had proof it was Harry who was the reason behind all those weird events, she would be trying her best to find out the answer to that mystery. For a moment, the questions behind her family's actions were thrown to the back of her mind.

But other than that, the group of three began their training session with earnest. They really did have much fun in the sessions together, bantering while sharing on their knowledge in magic. For Tracey, she was more or less the tutor for practical magic. She was just good in spell work. Daphne was the one researching and sharing knowledge on spells that were useful to be learned during these sessions. If Tracey was the hands of the group, Daphne would be the mind behind it.

Combining those two together would be Harry. With his vast knowledge on the art of deception, he had much experience in improvisation and using spells in unorthodox ways. Within the training group, Harry would be the guy teaching the rest how to make full use of the spells they learned and to create new training ways just to push them to their limits.

For instance, over the last semester, Harry had suggested mock duels where one party would be out-numbered by the other. This way, it would help in ensuring they learn more about teamwork as well as the importance on not hesitating. This allowed them to hone their instincts and awareness as well since in a real battle, spells will come from all directions on you mercilessly.

All three of them vastly improved in the art of combat magic. To start this year, they began revising all the various spells learned last year – mainly full body-bind curse, incarcerating spell, flame-making spell and leg-locking jinx. For this year, they would be more focus on the defensive part of combat such as learning to use shields and to dodge.

Today, they began their session with the use of Protego. Since Harry had learned it during Christmas, they skipped straight to testing out the strength.

"Alright. I'm suggesting we start this simple. As I'm the most experienced in using shields due to the background of my family, I will be starting with the shield myself. Harry and Daphne, if you don't mind in casting various spells on me?"

They both gave their approval to Tracey's plan. Stepping aside, Daphne started with a simple tickling charm just to ensure nothing went wrong with her shield.

"Protego!" Tracey shouted out, forming a light blue translucent shield over her. It absorbed the tickling charm without losing its strength.

Seeing that, Harry and Daphne began throwing weak spells at Tracey. For one, they could see which curse and hex could be absorbed by the shield. This would also allow Tracey to train in her magic endurance and concentration.

It was not long before the shield cracked. She had lasted about fifteen seconds from the bombardment by Harry and Daphne.

Daphne went next and within a short well, her shield went crumbling down as well. For her, she lasted five more seconds than Tracey. Apparently, Daphne was quite a powerful witch as could be seen from her magic endurance.

Now that it was Harry's turn, he put on a good show, but ending just ten seconds longer than Daphne. As a wizard, it was natural to have a larger magical core. But within him, he knew that more than half of his magic was restrained. Ever since the start of Hogwarts. His magic really grew in leaps and bounds. He was under puberty now, which allowed his body and magic to adjust to changes even more quickly, or so he thought.

"Wow, for the first time you are using this spell, you are doing great Harry!" Tracey commented.

"Nah! It was nothing." He replied back in a humble tone.

"Well guys, I think that's it for training today. I'm kind of exhausted." Daphne told the two.

"Same! It's time for a nice meal I guess. Training makes me hungry!" Tracey said cheerfully as she was thinking about what Hogwarts would be serving for lunch today.

"By the way, Daphne do you mind staying for a while? I have something to tell you. Tracey if you don't mind?" Harry asked.

Tracey was kind of used to this. Her best friend and Harry began spending more time together ever since the spells of depression last year. She did not mind because as long as her best friend was happy with being with Harry, she would let them be.

"Alright Daphne. I won't be waiting for ya! Food awaits my stomach!" She grinned.

"Okay! See you in the great hall." Daphne bade her farewell before she closed the door and look at Harry.

"So...?" she asked curiously.

"Let's see. Daphne do you know Occlumency and Legilimency?" Harry did not beat around the bush.

She gave him a look that more or less showed her curiousness in his question. "Why do you want to know about this?"

"Just a simple yes or no will do. If you don't want to answer, it's fine really..." Harry gave back a terse reply. He was prepared to leave should she tell him no. But Daphne was really puzzled as to what this whole questioning would lead to. She gave in to her curiosity.

"Yes I do know both. My father forced me to learn them."

Harry clapped his hand excitedly. "Great! Do you mind tutoring me in these arts as well? I need to really learn Occlumency but it's hard to find a trustworthy partner to do so..."

Daphne's eyes widened at his answer. She gave him a small smile at hearing him think that she was trustworthy. "But you could always write a contract and hire a tutor?"

"I could technically do that. But I would rather have someone who knows me teach me." Harry gave her his honest reason.

"But what if I saw some of your secrets? I mean would you mind? There must be some assurance for both parties. Occlumency is really an obscure and sensitive art."

He gave her a representation of what he looked like when smiling. "I guess my gut is saying to trust you. Will you break it and tell others my secrets?"

Daphne shook her head. "Just like how I entrusted mine to you, never in my entire life will I ever betray it."

"Then I have your word on it. That's all I need. Mutual trust is built upon both parties' willingness to do so. So I take it you agreed to be my tutor?"

She have him a nod. "But Harry, are you planning to include Tracey too? I... This is a very private thing to do and... You know..."

Harry knew what she was implying. "This will be between us. How about we do it every weekend evening?"

"Alright. That will do."

"Thank you very much Daphne. You don't know how much this means to me."

A/N: Right. Before you all say anything, there is no romance between the two during the scenes enacted. It was more of a gesture as a friend by Daphne. Harry needed assurance through physical contact - basic human reaction.