A/N: To the guy who thinks Harry shouldn't be with Daphne because she's a real B***. That's kind of the point. She's the Ice Queen for a reason. She's supposed to be a B****. That's how she protects herself. I hate having to remind people that if they don't like something to go read something else. Ok. Sorry to the rest of the class. Here's the next chapter, which is the longest one yet. WOO-HOO!
It was more than a little frustrating. No one was talking. She didn't dare ask questions as it might arouse suspicion. Yet she wasn't getting any information. How was she supposed to formulate a plan without some kind of intelligence.
Patience had never been her strongest trait, and right now, it barely existed. She needed to find out what was going to happen to him, and she had no idea how much time was left.
Daphne spent a month trying to figure the best way to try and approach Potter once again. At first she had decided to allow some time to pass so the memory of their last encounter wasn't so fresh in his mind, and they could both cool down. Also, Daphne felt she needed the time to get a better handle on what made her feel the need to attack him.
But then her schoolwork, along with the rest of the fifth years began to pile up. Tracey was kind enough not to mention Daphne procrastination. Partly due to the fact that Daphne herself would bring it up every couple of days, usually after Potions, where Potter's advancement was beginning to garner some jealous talk amongst her fellow Slytherins. The fact that Professor Snape had not even verbally harassed the Gryffindor had people concerned for their head of House's health.
During this time, Daphne was allowed to try and mend fences with Tracey, who was getting along quite well with Blaise Zabini. While they were not an official couple, the two were the topic of many gossip circles. Daphne couldn't remember Tracey ever being so gods damned giddy. It was almost annoying.
Tracey kept saying that she didn't believe that things would last, but she was truly enjoying the ride while it lasted. She kept telling Daphne that she should get off her duff and try it for herself.
The problem was that the more time that went by, the more fearful Daphne became. She knew that she had really alienated herself from him, but she also know that if she was going to even attempt to make herself a better person, she knew that Potter would be the only one, outside of Tracey, who could help her without wanting something in return.
So it was two days before the second Hogsmeade weekend that Daphne had screwed up her courage and sought Harry out after the last class of the day. She had staked out a spot in the Entrance Hall where she would be able to see him coming. Her plan was to catch him before he went to dinner, and ask him for a moment.
As the minutes passed, she felt herself growing more anxious. She had rehearsed what she had planned to say for a week now, and even practiced it on Tracey. Her friend had declared it good enough, but Daphne wasn't convinced that it would be enough.
On top of that, she had begun to have dreams about Potter. Some of them quite scandalous. She hadn't mentioned anything about that to Tracey, who more than likely would have teased her mercilessly. That morning Daphne had awoken from a dream that had involved a half-naked Potter, a horse and the sea shore.
Daphne's shower that morning had been decidedly cooler than she normally liked.
Daphne had decided that her dreams were the manifestation of her anxiety about what she was hoping to accomplish. She had been making great strides to become a person she would be proud to know. One who wasn't so narrow minded and, to use Potter's words, bigoted.
Daphne was still using her Ice Queen persona, but now it was only within the Slytherin Common room. Outside the House, most people didn't bother her, so she figured she could loosen up a bit in classes, but she knew, and Tracey had agreed that within the confines of Slytherin House, it was best if she appeared as if nothing had changed.
However, one person had noticed a change, and Daphne was rather unsurprised at this. Astoria did know her older sister better than most. Astoria had only mentioned that her sister seemed different, but hadn't commented further. Daphne figured that Astoria was likely trying to figure out the cause of the change so she could use it to her advantage later.
Tracey had offered to sit with her, and even be nearby when she actually faced Potter, but Daphne had declined, believing that she really needed to face the Gryffindor on her own. After all, she couldn't rely on Tracey for the rest of her life. It was time to grow up and take care of things on her own.
That didn't help alleviate the nerves as she spotted Harry walking with Longbottom and Weasley a few moments later. It looked like they were in the middle of a rather important conversation, likely about Quidditch or some other such nonsense.
Daphne gathered all the courage she had left, as it was quickly disappearing now that she could see him, and it was in fact the moment of truth. She held her breath as she walked towards him, unable to quicken her pace. However, the fear of everyone in the Great Hall seeing them together quickly beat down her fear of talking to Potter, and she found that her stride lengthened and she managed to catch Potter right before he entered the Great Hall.
"Potter." She said, her voice thre octaves higher than normal. Harry turned around and his shoulders sagged a bit. Daphne had expected that he would most likely not be happy to see her, but she had to try. "Could… Could I talk to you for a minute… please?"
Harry looked to Neville and then to Ron, both looked as shocked as he felt.
"What about?" He asked. Daphne looked around them, her cheeks pinkening.
"Privately?" She asked, looking towards the closest hallway where she knew a suitable classroom was just around the corner.
Again Harry looked to his friends who had nothing to offer in the way of advice, unless you count Neville patting his shoulder encouragingly. Harry looked at Daphne with trepidation as if he was mulling it over before he finally sighed and nodded. Daphne looked relieved and she led him towards the class room she had selected. Once they were both inside, and the room was lock, Daphne turned to look at Harry who still looked wary of her, though he did relax a bit when he saw that her wand was not out.
"Okay." Daphne said with a heavy sigh. "I.. sort of…no, that's not right. I, uh. I wanted to say that… I, er." She stammered. She began pacing, which was her go to action when she was flustered, angry or confused. She also began fidgeting with her hands.
"What is it, Greengrass?" Harry asked impatiently. Daphne hated how he said her name. Before it hadn't been so full of venom. He clearly hadn't forgotten their last encounter.
"Look, this isn't easy." Daphne said, her voice rising a bit.
"Just say it so we can get on with our lives." Harry said, also starting to feel irritation.
"Well give me a damned minute, Potter. We're not all perfect."
"Whatever." Harry said, pushing past her towards the door.
"Damn it Harry, I'm trying to apologize!" She shouted, stopping Harry cold. It was almost as if someone had frozen him in place. Very slowly he turned around to face her, which made her more nervous than she had felt before because all his ire was gone to be replaced by wonder.
"Come again?" He asked.
"I'm sorry." She said, her voice very soft now. She also found that she could not look him in the eye. "Last time we talked, I said a lot of things that I shouldn't have. I knew you were friends with Hagrid,, and I intentionally, or maybe not… I don't know. The point is, I got scared when things were starting to get comfortable, and I reacted negatively. I said those things just to push you away, and I'm sorry."
There was silence for a few minutes until Daphne finally looked up. She thought for sure that he would be smiling smugly at her, or something, but instead he was staring at her with wonder.
"Did it hurt?' He asked at last. "To apologize just now?" There was smile, or anything that would make Daphne believe he was teasing her. He actually looked a little concerned for her.
"Oh, you have no idea." Daphne replied, breathing a sigh of relief that she had actually done it.
"I bet." Harry nodded. "I'm sorry too. What I said… It was unfair."
Daphne looked surprised for a moment. She had kind of expected him to apologize as well, after all, Tracey had believed he would, but it still seemed somehow strange.
"I was angry and a little hurt. I hadn't wanted to fight with you, and like you said, we were starting to get along." He said, leaning against a desk.
"I don't know if it's too late or not, but I was kind of hoping that maybe we could try this whole thing again." Daphne said, looking truly frightened. Harry noticed that her eyes were alight with her anxiety, and while he liked seeing her emotion reflected in those amazing blue oceans, it was not the one he wanted to see.
"What happens when things begin to get comfortable again? Should I expect more insults towards my friends or what?" Harry asked seriously.
"No." Daphne said, waving her hands in front of her. "No, I'm trying to be better. I'm trying to be less afraid and to stop pushing people away. I don't want to be lonely and I definitely don't want to even be perceived as a bigot. So, I promise that there won't be any insults, though I can't guarantee that I won't be sarcastic."
Harry smiled and nodded.
"That's acceptable." He said.
"Maybe we could met in Hogsmeade on Saturday and…" Daphne said, looking nervous.
"I actually have to…" Harry started.
"It's alright, I understand…" Daphne shook her head.
"No, It isn't…" Harry tried.
"I should have realized you had a date with Chang…" Daphne continued.
"What?" Harry balked. Daphne looked up at him, puzzled by his confusion.
"You and Chang? I noticed she was around you a lot more lately." Daphne said.
"Yeah, and it's bloody annoying." Harry said bluntly. He sat down now at one of the desks and ran his hands through his hair. "I have no idea what's going on with her. It's like she's deaf when I try and tell her that I'm busy or that I'm not interested in something."
"She's claimed you." Daphne said as she also sat down.
"Claimed me?" Harry looked more confused.
"She's been not so subtly letting girls know that you belong to her. She even had a few of her disciples tell me off for talking to you." Daphne explained.
"Yeah, Tracey mentioned that. How is she, by the way. I haven't talked to her in a while." Harry asked.
"She's good. I think she misses talking to you as well. Her and Blaise are dating now, and she's really happy with that." Daphne said, unable to hide the tinge of jealousy at her friend's happiness. Harry missed it though. "So what are you going to do with her? Chang I mean."
"I don't know. I mean, I don't want to hurt her feelings, but Well, there's nothing there. She's never even asked me anything about myself. Whenever we talk it's all about her, you know?" Harry said, looking pitiful.
"So wait, if' you're not going out with her, what is it you're doing on Saturday?" Daphne asked,
"I was trying to tell you." Harry brightened a bit. "Hermione and some others have gotten rather tired of Professor Thorton not teaching us any spells, and they've decided that they want me to teach them Defense. Well, Hermione told me today that she, Neville and Ron have sort of asked around, and there's more than a few people who are interested, so we're going to meet at the Hog's Head tavern and talk about it."
"They want you teaching them?" Daphne looked skeptically. Harry simply nodded. Daphne also noted that he didn't look superior or egotistical about. In fact, he looked scared out of his robes over the idea.
"Would it… I mean, could I…" She started.
"I was trying to invite you, I mean, if your interested, that is. Otherwise, we could meet up after, if you'd like." Harry smiled, looking rather embarrassed.
"Would a Slytherin be welcome? I mean, All those Gryffindors might get kind of upset if a snake is there." Daphne pointed out.
"If they have a problem with it, they can deal with me." Harry said determinedly, which made Daphne smile slightly. They were barely talking, and he was already defending her.
"Would it be alright if I brought Tracey?" She asked hopefully.
"Of course." He smiled. "Wouldn't be a party without her."
"You like her, Don't you?" Daphne asked, trying to sound coy, and hoping she didn't sound jealous or petty."
"Sure." Harry shrugged. "She's been straight with me since she started talking to me.
He fell silent, and then he realized what Daphne had meant.
"I mean as a friend." He said quickly, feeling his cheeks burn. "She's a cool friend. Besides, even if I did like her more, she made it clear that there wouldn't be anything between us."
Daphne nodded, hiding the tiny smile that was threatening to appear.
"We should go, or we'll miss dinner." she said getting to her feet. "Thank you for letting me apologize. I promise that I'm going to really try."
"That's all that matters, right?" Harry shrugged. Daphne felt loads better as she left and headed for the Great Hall. She had imagined several different scenarios, all of them ending with she and Potter hexing each other into oblivion. She of course knew of Potter's reputation as far as dueling, but Daphne didn't doubt her own abilities at all.
As she headed to the Slytherin table, something Potter had said reared it's head in her mind. Potter and his friends were going to be teaching themselves Defense. While she was by no means satisfied with the level of competency of Professor Thorton, Daphne couldn't imagine trying to learn defensive spells on her own. It could be dangerous without proper instruction.
Yet, she was intrigued by the idea. It was their OWL year, and to be so stunted in their Defense education was going to ruin career chances for a lot of people. Maybe by banding together they might be able to accomplish at least a passing grade. It would be worth it In Daphne's mind. Besides, she just couldn't imagine facing down a dark wizard hell bent on ending her life and simply talking him out of it as they were being taught to do now.
Saturday Morning, Daphne woke, showered and took extra time dressing herself, and brushing out her hair. She had decided to wear it down, and Tracey had advised that she looked her best like that. She chose her nicest jeans which were not exactly skin tight, but did wonders for her legs and her bum. A simply blouse and a dark green jumper finished off her attire.
She and Tracey then went up to breakfast. Tracey had agreed to accompany Daphne to the Hog's Head at noon, so long as she could bring along Blaise. Daphne didn't think it would be a problem, though she had not asked, and decided not to mention it.
Daphne could feel her stomach tightening with nerves, as she had planned to spend time alone with Potter after this meeting. She was very interested in the meeting itself, but just the thought of walking through the streets with Potter was nearly paralyzing. It wasn't that she was afraid of what people might say when they saw them, in fact, she was more than prepared for that. The Ice Queen could handle all of that "Concern" easily. No, Daphne was afraid of saying something stupid again and being unable to fix it this time. She knew that this wasn't the only opportunity she would ever have to straighten herself out, as it were, yet there did feel like there was a lot that depended on this day.
"You should really eat something." Tracey said as she was finishing her own breakfast. Daphne hadn't so much as nibbled on a bit of toast. She kept looking over Tracey's shoulder towards the Gryffindor table.
"He's not going to change his mind." Tracey said after noting her friend's expression. "you're going to have to spend the afternoon with him, so you'd better just accept it."
"I'm not worried about that." Daphne said with annoyance. She cringed as she spoke. It wasn't a great start if she was already getting irritable. "I don't want to repeat my earlier errors."
"Then don't." Tracey said as if it was so simple. "Look, just calm down. Just let things happen on their own. Don't over think about anything. Just go, talk, and worry about everything else later. Just remember, when you start feeling comfortable…Shut up."
"That'll make talking difficult." Daphne retorted.
"Yeah, but if you keep your mouth shut, you're less likely to say anything that'll piss him off, right?" Tracey smirked as Blaise appeared and greeted Tracey with a kiss on the cheek.
"Prepared for your outing with Potter?" Blaise asked. He had been filled in on what was now becoming a sort of soap opera between the Ice Queen of Slytherin and the Gryffindor Golden Boy. Blaise had found the whole thing rather comical. He felt that Daphne should just snog Potter and be done with it. He was of the opinion that Daphne couldn't do much better for a boyfriend or an ally than Potter, and had even suggested that if it turned out the rumors were true, he was considering aligning House Zabini with Potter. Daphne could understand his reasoning. The Zabini's were not vastly wealthy, but they did have quite an amount of gold that would be wasted by Death Eaters.
"She's not eating because she nervous." Tracey remarked. Daphne shot her a very evil look which Tracey ignored.
"Because nothing's more attractive than throwing up on your date because you starved yourself." Blaise smirked.
Daphne's eyes widened in horror and she grabbed a piece of toast. Both Tracey and Blaise chuckled. Daphne tried to glare at them, but she noticed Harry and his friends entering the Great Hall at that moment. She noted that Harry looked tired this morning. He sat down heavily and propped his arm to hold his head as he yawned widely.
"Are we going with them to the village?" Blaise asked. Daphne shook her head.
"We're supposed to met at the Hog's Head at noon." She said.
"The Hog's Head?" Blaise looked at her as if she might be confused. "Isn't that place a bit dodgy?"
"I don't know." Daphne shrugged. "That's where they're having this meeting of theirs."
"Good morning."
The thre looked up as Draco Malfoy and his entourage arrived.
"Listen." He said, sitting next to Daphne, who's Ice Queen shell slipped easily into place. Her eyes became vacant and her face was the perfect mask of indifference. "I've been thinking it would be best if you joined us in the village today. I think it's best if all of us stuck together. I just don't think I could live with myself if I allowed you to wander and someone took advantage of that."
"And just what, prey tell, would possibly happen to me?" Daphne replied with disdain, though she didn't even look up at him.
"There's no reason to get defensive." Pansy Parkinson said sympathetically. "We know Potter's been harassing you."
"Excuse me?" Tracey looked up curiously.
"We've all noticed a change in you Daph." Theo explained. "We all noticed Potter staring at you these past months and you've been rattled, it's plain as day. We're your friends, and we're not going to let Potter do anything to you."
"While I… appreciate the gesture," Daphne said as coldly as ever. She lifted her eyes to look at each and everyone of them in turn, finishing with Draco. "I am more than capable of handling my own affairs. If Potter, or anyone else attempted anything, I would make sure they never tried anything similar again. I am much faster with my wand than most of you combined. So thank you, but No thank you. I intend to enjoy the day on my own."
"Daphne, you don't have to pretend." Pansy tried. Millicent Bulstrode stood behind the thinner girl nodding stupidly. "It's alright to ask for help occasionally."
"We Slytherins look out for our own." Theo stated emphatically.
"I am only going to say this one final time." Daphne said, her tone dropping. Tracey swore she could feel the temperature drop as well, and shivered. "Leave me the hell alone."
"I think you should do as she says." Blaise suggested, looking right at Draco, who looked as if he were about to argue. "You don't want to spend the day with Pomfrey having your family jewels thawed out, do you?"
Theo, Crabbe and Goyle all shivered noticeably, but Draco simply scowled as he rose from his seat.
"We're just trying to help you, Greengrass. It wouldn't be right if something happened to such a remarkable pureblood such as yourself."
With that, Draco motioned for his friends to follow him. Pansy left last, giving Daphne a suspicious look.
"What in the hell was all that about?" Tracey asked.
"Draco's got a thing for Daphne." Blaise said. "He thinks it's only a matter of time before she succumbs to his fine nobility his jaw dropping good looks, not to mention his families vast wealth. He figured by the end of the year, he'll have her eye, then he'll string her along next year, and finally make her his in our last year."
"What about Pansy?" Tracey looked appalled, while Daphne looked ready to regurgitate her toast.
"She's practice." Blaise said matter-of-factly. "She's someone he can refine his love making techniques before the big show." Both girls shuddered at this.
"Oh that's so wrong." Tracey gagged.
"Maybe I should take you advice Blaise and just snog Potter." Daphne said, looking down the table to where Draco was buttering a scone. "If I chose anyone else, Draco would do everything in his power to run them off. Potter's the only one who Draco is at least wary of."
"No kidding." Tracey agreed.
The three Slytherins finished breakfast and made their way to the cue for the carriages. The ride to the village was as pleasant as always, though Daphne didn't say much. She had far too many thoughts swirling about in her head. Trying to make herself better, the newly discovered plot of Draco's and just the all around mystery of Harry Potter.
The morning was rather pleasant As Daphne, accompanied by Tracey and Blaise visited the shops and replenishing their supplies. Each of them needed things from the apothecary. They visited Zonko's, though none of them were truly into playing pranks, or silly jokes. As Tracey needed new quills Scrivenshaft's was next. Daphne picked up some new ink which changed colors as you wrote, as well as several new quills herself. She also bought some personalized parchment for letters to her parents.
They next headed to Honeydukes. Daphne had completely run out of Sugar quills, which were her all time favorite. She was happy to discover they had a new peppermint flavor. Blaise loaded up on cockroach clusters, which he told the girls he always left out for Crabbe and Goyle to find. Both girls shivered with disgust and Tracey told Blaise how truly gross that was, at which he reminded her that he did not eat them himself, preferring licorice wands and ice mice.
Before they knew it, it was closing in on the time to meet Harry and his friends. They paid for their loot and headed up the high street towards the Hog's Head, a rather dingy looking pub on the far side of the village. As they approached, they were rather surprised to see so many people going inside.
Daphne recognized the Weasley Twins, and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, All of the fifth year Gryffindors were entering and several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as well. In fact, Daphne was quite sure that every fifth year, with the exception of Slytherins were here.
They entered the pub and found even more students taking seats around Harry, Hermione and Neville. Ron Weasley was standing off to the side with Lavender Brown, who looked a little anxious at how full the pub was getting. The Barkeep looked as if he shared her trepidation.
One of the Weasley twins had counted heads and ordered butterbeers for everyone, and then asked for everyone to cough up money. Blaise paid for the three of them, and after someone handed her a drink, she turned and found Harry waving her over.
"What are they doing here?" Someone asked, making Daphne freeze in place. It wasn't loud enough for the rest of the students to hear, but it made her nervousness, which was already quite high, grow even more, and she felt herself begin to shake.
"Go on." Tracey whispered in her ear, as Harry was still waving her over. He had an empty chair next to him which was clearly meant for her.
"Glad you came." Harry smiled as she took the seat and gave him a cursory nod.
"It's nice to see you." Hermione smiled before getting to her feet to address the rest of those gathered.
"Right, thank you all for coming. So, you already know why we're here. We need to learn defense, REAL defense, not negotiation tactics or some other rubbish. We have to know how to protect ourselves as well as people we care about because…" Hermione took a breath, steadying herself. "Voldemort is back."
As expected the reaction was immediate and pathetic. People dribble their drinks, shuddered, and in one case squeaked. Harry shook his head, and Daphne noticed the disappointment on his face. She was suddenly filled with shame as she had shuddered and nearly dropped her bottle.
"Where's the proof of that?" Someone asked. Daphne scanned the crowd searching for the source of the question, but instead found the poisonous glare of Cho Chang. Sitting next to her was the curly haired girl who had threatened her weeks before. Daphne had since learned that her name was Marietta Edgecombe.
"Who are you?" Ron Weasley asked angrily from behind Harry.
"Zacharias Smith." The boy with sandy blonde hair said, getting up. "And I want to know what makes you all so sure that You-Know-Who's back? Where's the proof?"
"Exactly what kind of proof are you looking for?" Harry asked. Daphne was rather impressed with how icy his voice sounded. "Because if you're here hoping to hear what happened to Cedric you can clear out now. You either believe me, or you don't."
"Believe you?" Smith said now looking at the rest of the students. "The guy who got away with slipping his name in the Goblet of Fire? The same guy who can speak to snakes and…"
"Harry didn't put his name in the Goblet." Neville said, looking murderous. "It was a Death Eater. The same Death eater who put us all under the imperius curse to show us what it felt like."
"Is it true you can produce a patronus?" Susan Bones asked, getting angry at her housemate. She was giving him a sideways glare that made him sit down.
"Yeah." Harry nodded.
Daphne turned to look at him with awe. She'd not heard that rumor.
"He fought a hundred dementors in our third year." Hermione said proudly. Harry seemed to cower a little.
"He fought a basilisk in or second year." Neville added. "In the Chamber of Secrets."
Again Daphne looked awed. She knew that Harry knew where the Chamber was, but hadn't heard about the Basilisk.
"Don't forget saved the Philosopher's stone in our first year." Ron said, smiling and slapping Harry's shoulder.
"I know he learned a bunch of stuff for the tournament last year." Hermione said, and has now faced Voldemort," The crowd shuddered again. "four times and lived."
"Alright." Harry said, now getting to his feet. "Look, when you say it like that, it makes it seem fantastic and all that, but the truth is that it was mostly luck, and I did have help on some of that. The point is that until you're in a situation where you're a heartbeat away from death, where it's just you and your wand, and the next spell you cast could save your life… You just won't understand how truly scary that is. How it will change you. But only by learning all you can and practicing it will give you the chance to possibly live through it, and maybe even save your families. This isn't about becoming famous, it's about staying alive."
"What kinds of things will we be learning?" Justin Finch-Fletchley asked.
"Every single jinx, hex and curse we can find." Hermione said emphatically.
"Strategies for fighting, teamwork, and distraction techniques that will give you time to escape." Ron Weasley said.
"Will we learn how to do a patronus?" Luna Lovegood asked.
"Of course." Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville all said together. Daphne saw them chuckle a bit at this. Hermione then went into her bag and pulled a quill and a roll of parchment.
"I think everyone should write their names here as an agreement that you are joining our group and that you will not go shouting about it. While Professor Thorton isn't as obvious as Umbridge was in his attempts to prevent us from learning, he's still from the Ministry."
"Are you really going to let Slytherins join?" Someone shouted angrily.
"Can you trust them not to go right to Professor Snape about all of this?" Zacharias Smith asked.
"You got a problem with people learning to defend themselves?" Neville queried.
"I got a problem with Slytherins learning more spells they can use against the rest of us." Smith said. Another boy, a Ravenclaw with dark skin stood up and agreed.
"You can't trust any of them." He said.
"I do." Harry said stonily. "Daphne, Blaise and Tracey are her because I asked them to come."
Daphne knew that wasn't true. He'd only asked that she come. She had asked if Tracey could join, and they had dragged Blaise along. Harry didn't even know about Blaise until they had walked in.
"If Harry trusts them, we do too." One of the Weasley twins said, looking menacingly.
"I do too." Ginny Weasley said to the dark skinned Ravenclaw, whom she was sitting next to. The boy sat down, though he still didn't look happy. Ginny looked angry as well.
"This isn't about house rivalries." Harry said pointedly. "It's about protection, and I don't care who you are, or what house you belong to. If you genuinely want to learn to defend yourself, then you're welcome here."
Harry then signed his name to Hermione's list. Neville went next followed by the Weasley twins. In ones and twos, everyone came forward and signed their names. Daphne was shocked by it, as she was sure some of them would just leave, but no one even attempted. Even Blaise and Tracey signed up. Hermione was the last one to sign, and when she put the parchment away she turned back to the group.
"So the next thing we should decide is how often we will meet." She said, looking rather relieved.
"It should be no less than once a week."
Daphne nearly lost control of her jaw when she realized it had been Blaise who'd said this. There was a lot of nodding at his suggestion, though, people who were on Quidditch teams all argued that it could not interfere with practices. When that was decided they hit their first problem. Where to meet. No one could come up with a suitable place, and Hermione suggested they all think it over and they would communicate to everyone when they found a suitable place. After that, the meting ended.
Several people came up to Harry to ask questions, and Daphne tool the time to seek out Blaise and Tracey, who looked excited.
"They really thought this out." Tracey smiled.
"Well, we'll see." Blaise remarked. "But they're right. We all need to be able to protect ourselves. I don't fancy Death Eaters coming to my house and having to submit."
"Greengrass."
Daphne turned and found Edgecombe and Chang standing in front of her.
"I swear I told you to leave Harry alone." Marietta said in a hushed whisper.
Tracey sniggered and Blaise looked confused.
"And I told you that it wasn't up to you." Daphne replied.
"Is there a problem?" Harry said coming over. Both Chang and Edgecombe's faces morphed into polite, even happy smiles.
"No." Chang said sweetly. "I didn't get a chance to ask you before, but do you want to go get something to eat?"
"I can't." Harry said with a smile as he looked at Daphne. "I have plans."
"With her?" Chang's smile was gone nearly as fast as it had appeared.
"Yes, With Daphne. Now, if you'll excuse me." HArry said, waving for Daphne to lead them out.
"What about us?" Chang shouted. Harry stopped and turned around.
"There is no us, Cho. There never has been." He said, looking at her as if she should have known that. He turned and followed Daphne out of the pub, leaving Cho to do an impressive imitation of a fish.
"I think he just dumped you." Blaise smirked, ad Tracey laughed, smacking her date's arm playfully.
"Was all that true?" Daphne asked when they were outside. "What your friends said in there about Dementors and all that?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Harry's smile faded a bit.
"I had heard some of those rumors, but I never thought…You can really produce a patronus?" Daphne looked at him skeptically.
"Since third year." Harry shrugged.
"My own father can't even do that." Daphne said looking impressed.
"I wanted to know how to do it because whenever the dementors got near, I would…"
"Pass out. Yeah, Malfoy made sure everyone knew about that. Is that what you did at that game when Malfoy and his friends tried to scare you during that game? I remember you shooting something at them."
Harry laughed at the memory. "Actually yeah, but I was still learning it, and it didn't work right,"
"It worked well enough for Malfoy to wet himself. He tried to hide it, but we all saw thanks to a seventh year. It was hysterical." Daphne smiled. "So are you really going to show us how to do it?"
"Voldemort's going to…" Harry stopped when Daphne shuddered. "Why do you all do that whenever you hear is name?" You would have been only a year old at least when he was in power still, and that's too young to remember."
"I guess it's a learned behavior." Daphne shrugged. Our parents did it, and they also told us all how bad it was. The things he did are just…to horrible to speak of. In all of history, there has never been a wizard as evil as You-Know-…"
"Voldemort." Harry said quickly, making Daphne shiver again. She looked at him with narrowed eyes as if she was angry he'd said it. Harry shook his head, and looked around on the ground until he found a stick, and wrote on the ground I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
"You remember Neville saying that I fought a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry said looking back at Daphne who nodded.
"Well, That was when I learned his real name. He wanted to create an identity to separate himself from other wizards, so he created an anagram from his own name." Harry said. He began scratching out letters as he used them to write something else. Daphne, becoming more curious bent down to watch him more carefully as he wrote TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE.
"He's not even a pure blood." Harry said as he wrote. "He's a half blood like me. His father's name was Tom Riddle. And he was a muggle. I know that because he told me after he used a bone from his father's grave to revive himself."
Harry finished and stood up. "So, everyone is basically afraid of a made up name. I understand being afraid of the man himself. He is a powerful and evil man. But to shudder at the mere mention of his name just gives him power over you, and that's stupid."
"You're telling me the truth, aren't you?" Daphne said, though it wasn't so much a question. Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded.
"I've no reason to lie." He said.
"And you won't lie to me, will you?" She asked.
Harry saw it then, just as he had the first time they had attempted a conversation. The raw emotion in her eyes. He gave her a smile and promised that he would never lie to her, no matter what. She smiled in return and began to walk again.
"So, tell me how do I do a patronus?" She asked, and Harry smiled again, chuckling to himself.
Unknown to Harry or Daphne, they were being watched quite critically. They had been spotted as Harry was showing Daphne about Riddle's name and were followed at a distance the rest of the day.
Draco Malfoy had had his suspicions about Potter's interest in his future Lady, but had no idea to what lengths the Gryffindor Golden Boy would go to get his hands on his trophy. He was sure that Potter had not used the Imperius curse, because Daphne looked as if she was somewhat in control. Which left potions as the only explanation.
Draco and his friends, who were unaware that they were tailing their housemate, kept far enough away that they would not be spotted easily if Daphne or Potter turned around, but close enough that Draco could take careful mental notes of what happened between them and report to his head of House. He needed irrefutable proof if he was going to get Potter expelled.
Draco would then have Daphne's eternal gratitude for rescuing her from Potter's nefarious scheme, and he could finally be shot of Pansy, and trade up for a much better, less battered model.
Draco could not stop smiling as he strolled the high street, watching his future bride.