Chapter 11: Forgive the Unforgivable

-A/N- So much positive feedback on that last chapter, as well as some negative responses. I'm not gonna waste much more of your time and jump back into the cliffhanger that got me several threats (Huh. Guess the personal messaging system here does work).

ooooo

"Avada Kedavra!"

The world seemed to slow down around Harry and his friends.

Daphne had just been rescued from a rampaging troll, and yet here she was, trying to kill Harry. What the actual hell?

Harry felt himself rise up, the world turning on its head. Victoria had often told him and Daphne that she believed in a heaven, a life after death. Maybe his topsy turvy rising was him ascending into this paradise? With everything going on so slowly, Harry looked up at the ground which was now beneath his head. He expected to see his slowly collapsing self, dead by his friend's hand. Instead he saw a wave of green, moving through the same spot he'd so recently been in. He looked at his friends.

Tracey was in utter shock, her face paling and her eyes so wide thay their black irises looked like black dots in wide white saucers. Blaise was jumping away, his face contorted in very plain fear. He watched Blaise slowly reach the floor, attempting to stay low and out of sight. Tracey was still rooted in place, her panic slowly becoming clearer. He heard other voices, but they seemed so slow they made no sense. He turned his gaze down the hall, seeing a very pale Albus pointing his own wand at his friend, moving out of the way of the advancing wave of green. He had McGonagall with him, along with Flitwick, who had his own wand trained on Harry. Steadily, the world sped up.

"Expelliarmus!" Said a very worried Headmaster

"Stupefy!" Called out a very shocked Deputy Headmistress.

Daphne slumped to the floor, her wand sailing towards the Headmaster who ran towards the unconscious girl.

"D-Da-Daphne sh-she..." Stuttered Tracey, unable to form the words, much less the entire thought. She was still trying to process what happened. Professor McGonagall approached slowly, inspecting Daphne with the Headmaster. He opened her eyes, seeing the glassy look in her eyes and the almost misty quality of her eyes. She gasped and Dumbledore frowned.

"She's been bewitched. She never meant to attack young Potter. She was forced to." The Headmaster said gravely.

"Bewitched. You mean she was...but who would use that spell here, Albus?" McGonagall asked, paling to match Tracey's complexion. The elderly wizard shook his head.

"I'm afraid, Minerva, that I do not know. But for now." He pointed his wand at Daphne. "Finite." The girl gasped, waking up in tears.

"There, there, Miss Greengrass." The Headmaster said, his grandfatherly smile returning.

"What happened? There was a troll and I don't remember wandering around here. And where's Harry?" She asked shakily, not sure why she felt like she'd done something terrible.

"I'm up here." Harry said, his head starting to hurt from the blood rush.

"Sorry, Mister Potter. Give me a second." Flitwick said. With a twitch of his wand, Harry was brought back to the ground. He walked slowly to Daphne, eyeing her warily. Daphne looked at this confused.

"What's wrong, Harry?" She asked. Her eyes turned wide and she looked at her friends who were also giving her confused and suspicious looks. "Did you get hurt? Oh it was my fault, wasn't it?"

Harry shook his head, and looked at the man who was helping his would be killer to her feet.

"She was under a spell then, sir?" He asked the Headmaster. The man nodded, and Harry let out a breath he didn't know he took. He ran to his friend and hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you're okay, Daphne."

"I'm glad you're fine too, Harry. But can someone please tell me what happened? The Troll picked me up and I don't know what happened from there." The girl said, hugging her friend back.

"We killed it." Said Blaise simply, frowning at Daphne. Tracey had taken a few steps away from her blonde friend.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked with heavy worry.

"Miss Greengrass..." began McGonagall.

"You tried to kill me, Daphne." Harry said carefully, looking his friend in the eyes. The girl in question looked paler than usual, her eyes wide.

"You- you're joking, right?" She said with a nervous chuckle. Nobody said anything, but their facial expressions said it all. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "I wouldn't...Why would...I didn't..."

"It's okay, Daphne. You were under some kind of spell." Harry said with a soft smile, taking her hand. Daphne quickly pulled away, her tears now falling.

"Okay? Harry you just said I tried to kill you! How?" She sobbed.

"It doesn't matter, nothing happened." He said.

"Nothing...doesn't matter? What do you mean it doesn't matter that I tried to kill you?" She asked through racking sobs. Why had she tried to take the life of her best friend?

"Miss Greengrass. Do you remember anything at all?" The Headmaster asked, trying to figure out what just happened.

Daphne related the events, leaving the Slytherin Common Room, and then coming to sometime later in the corridor where the troll had attacked her. She mentioned her head felt heavy, hurting but she didn't know why. She remembered running and avoiding the troll for a moment before it picked her up, and everything went blank again.

ooooo

"Albus, what do you mean she was under the Imperius Curse?" Cyrus said slowly, not sure he quite grasped the situation at hand. He and his wife had been called to the school, taking a floo trip to Hogsmead where Hagrid met them with a carriage.

"She attempted to take Harry's life, much against her will. She exhibited the physical signs of the curse, and Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing confirmed it. It seems whoever cast the curse used her wand, and it seems this person obliviated her memories of whoever it was." The Headmaster said with a sad sigh.

"My poor baby..." Victoria whispered, her eyes watering. Cyrus placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. She took his hand and gave him a weak smile.

"So...the investigation brought up nothing?" Cyrus asked, trying to confirm what was being said.

"It would appear so, my friend. It seems that Harry has alleviated their friends' worries about Daphne, and they're with her in the Hospital Wing now." The old man said, his eyes twinkling as the Greengrass parents gasped.

"Friends? They made friends?" Victoria asked excitedly. She hadn't heard anything about her children making friends. She looked at Cyrus who looked evenly surprised.

"Then it seems I have more than just bad news." Dumbledore smiled.

-A few moments later-

The Headmaster led his friends down to the Hospital Wing where their daughter was in for a few days. He opened the doors and walked in, leading Cyrus and Victoria in.

"Poppy, this is Lord Cyrus Martin Greengrass and his beautiful wife, Lady Victoria Marie Greengrass." The Headmaster introduced to the nurse.

"It's an honor, my Lord." The nurse said with a bow. "Your daughter is right this way." She said, pointing out one of the two occupied beds. They saw Daphne laying down with Harry holding her hand. There were two children who they'd not met. Cyrus mentally frowned. Of course Harry and Daphne were holding hands. It wasn't that he didn't approve. He'd be honored to have Harry and his Daphne marry. It was the courting that worried him.

"Daphne, my love!" Victoria almost squealed, rushing to her bed-ridden daughter.

"Mummy? Daddy?" She asked confused. "Why are you here?"

"We heard about the troll and came to make sure you were okay." Her father said. Daphne frowned.

"Professor Dumbledore didn't mention the other thing?" She asked plainly, both of her parents knowing what she meant.

"Well, yes, but both you and Harry are well." Victoria said. Daphne sighed.

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I tried to kill my best friend. That's not okay. I still don't quite understand why Harry hasn't left." She said sadly. Harry smiled and squeezed her hand.

"You weren't in control of what you did, Daph. Besides, you're my best friend and I can't abandon you over someone else messing with you." The boy said encouragingly. Daphne smiled.

"We're just happy that you're both alive and well, my dear." Cyrus said, smiling warmly at his daughter who nodded and smiled back.

"And who do you two happen to be?" Victoria asked the two other kids in the group. Blaise took a bow.

"Lord Greengrass, Lady Greengrass. I am Blaise Giovanni Zabini, heir to the Zabini family." The boy said, rising from his bow.

"And I am Tracey Mavis Davis, Heiress to the Davis family." Tracey said with a curtsey.

Cyrus and Victoria both looked somewhat impressed. He turned to his daughter and friend. "It seems you two have been making some interesting friends. Why haven't you told us about them?"

"You haven't mentioned us?" Tracey said in mock surprise. Blaise smirked but stayed quiet. With a sigh and a playful glare at her friends, Daphne recounted the story of how they'd met, and some of their less detention-worthy adventures. Harry then recounted how they saved Daphne from the troll.

"I couldn't have done it without their help." Harry said with a smile at his friends. Tracey looked very pleased, Blaise nodded, his smirk growing.

ooooo

A few days had passed since the troll incident, and with Daphne's concurrent hospitalization, the Rumor Mill was cranking hard, from rumors that she had stopped the troll, to the actual right one that Harry and his friends has saved her from the monster. Nobody really confirmed it, but Draco seemed very annoyed with the rumors.

"There's no way a bunch of first years stopped a troll. I bet you those idiots decided to be glory hogs and tried to find the troll and the teachers saved their skins." Malfoy told his friends.

Several of them nodded, supported by another rumor that said just that. However, the lack of detentions for the aforementioned first years seemed to quell that particular belief. A loud groan at the Slytherin Table made Draco look away from his group.

"Oh, come off it, Draco." Marcus Flint said, making several people snicker.

"Excuse me?" Draco sneered. Flint rolled his eyes.

"Whatever stick is up your arse over Potter, drop it. He's a Slytherin, and he's one of our own. Whatever vendetta you've got against him needs to end, or we'll end it for you." The older boy said, his eyes narrowed at the blond boy. Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Flint, then at the group with him.

"I'm not intimidated by you lot. Do you know who I am? Who my father is?" Draco said dangerously. Some of the people with Flint looked nervous. Of course they knew who Draco Malfoy's father was. For better or worse, they knew WHAT he was. None of them really wanted that type of revenge. Lucius had already almost ruined the Aincent and Noble Lovegood family after a mere disagreement a decade or so back. With the Malfoy family themselves one of the ten most powerful magical families in the country. A few dry coughs sounded behind Flint, who glared at Draco. They walked away, leaving the boy and his friends behind.

"Mark my words, that boy is gonna get what's coming to him." Flint said to his group. A few murmurs of agreement sounded with him.

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Daphne had finally stepped out of the Hospital Wing. Her friends had been over to visit her and had even brought her treats and presents to make her time more bearable. Even the Weasley Twins had come by, giving her several prank products from a Hogsmead shop called Zonko's. She made her way to the Slytherin Chambers, wanting to put her things away and enjoy the last day of rest before class tomorrow. She'd missed Monday and Tuesday already, but her friends had helped her make up the homework.

As she walked in, several of the Slytherins greeted her, and a few made sure she was okay. She nodded and thanked them, keeping her indifferent mask on for the public. It wasn't that she didn't like them, but the House itself was an oxymoron. Slyherins used anything they could to get what they wanted, often using underhanded technique against even other Snakes. However, the House also stated that they looked out for their own. To her, the ideas seemed conflicting, but then again, rarely did things in Hogwarts make sense. She would talk with her friends about this when she saw them.

she walked to her dormitory, settling her personal affects as she pleased. She looked around her room, smiling at the privacy it granted them. She smirked as she remembered that girls cojld enter the boys dorms, but not the other way around. She had seen several girls leave the rooms of their boyfriends early in the mornings, trying to sneak around unseen.

"I wonder what it's like to fall asleep with a boy." She mused out loud.

"Someone's growing up." Said a voice from her door. Daphne spun around to see Tracey there, smirking with amusement.

"What do you mean 'growing up'"? She asked suspiciously. Tracey was one of this kids she knew had a much less than innocent mind and constantly made jokes and references nobody really understood except the older students.

"Little Daphne is finally interested in bedding a boy." Tracey said with a dreamy huff, giggling as she did.

"Bedding? Well, yeah. Would it be comfortable?" Daphne asked innocently.

"From what I've heard, it depends how you do it. A lot of the older girls have said it hurts at first." Tracey said. Daphne frowned.

"If two people are asleep in one bed, why would it hurt?" Daphne asked. Tracey looked at her friend with a gaping mouth.

"Oh. You mean sleep sleep, not.. sleep." Tracey said slowly.

"Was this another one of your stupid 'you'll know when you're older' things, because I will hurt you." Daphne said sharply. Tracey smiled and nodded. Daphne sighed and walked to the door. "Come on, let's find Harry and Blaise."

The two girls walked down to the Common Room, looking for their friends. Not seeing them, Daphne decided to ask another student who was in the room if she'd seen them.

"Angelia, have you seen Harry or Blaise around?" Daphne asked her fellow first year.

"No, not for a while. They headed up from the dungeons about half an hour ago." Angelia said. Tracey pouted.

"How dare those two call themselves gentlemen and not wait for the presence of us two high-class ladies?" She joked.

"You're high class?" Daphne asked with a smirk. Tracey pouted again and stuck her tongue out, walking out of the House with her friend.

"Not high class..." Tracey grumbled out in the corridor. Daphne giggled at her miffed friend.

"Trace, it was a joke. You know, that thing you're always doing?" Daphne said. Tracey nodded but didn't stop grumbling. "Oh come off it. You're always getting me with jokes like that. It's my turn for once." Tracey stopped, thought about it, and agreed.

"Damn. I do do that a lot." Tracey said, oddly surprised.

"You hadn't noticed? At all?" Daphne asked. Tracey shook her head.

"I don't really pay attention to some of what I say. I dunno if you've ever noticed that." Tracey said with a weak smile.

"I think the entire school has noticed, Davis." Said the rude voice of Pansy Parkinson. She cackled as they walked past her, her evil witch laugh slightly echoing after them. Tracey looked a bit upset.

"Daph, do I talk too much?" She asked. Despite her loud mouthiness and her attitude, Tracey was still just a first year.

"No, Trace. You really don't. You can't listen to what that dog faced cow has to say." Daphne comforted. Tracey smiled at her words and giggled.

"We could figure out how to actually turn her into a dog - headed cow.." She said with a sly smile.

"Oh we will."

ooooo

Albus was quite besides himself. Not only had an adult mountain troll somehow made its way into the castle, but someone had cursed one of his charges to kill another. Not just any students, but the son and daughter of some of his closest friends.

"This is not a coincidence." He said to himself.

Besides him, perched now was a brilliant crimson bird. Fawkes the Phoenix had returned from his busy mail run.

"Ah, my old friend. How good it is to see you again." Dumbledore smiled at the bird. It sang out merrily, glad to see his companion. Dumbledore smiled and sighed, his smile shrinking.

"It seems that someone here has tried to kill Harry Potter. Perhaps an old follower of Voldemort's who made his way in? No. That seems unlikely. Whoever cast the curse on Miss Greengrass was already in the castle. And I am willing to believe that whoever did, also brought in the troll. But why?" He asked, stroking his long silver beard gently.

Fawkes chirped, and Dumbledore's eyes widened.

"Of course, why didn't I think of that? I was so concerned over Miss Greengrass that I forgot all about the stone. Fawkes, can you check if it's still there?" He asked his familiar. The bird nodded, and in a small fireball, it vanished.

Dumbledore sat at his desk and pulled out several scrolls, checking the enchantments and defenses on the Stone. He sighed, and wished he'd never mentioned anything about the third corridor. Several curious students had tried to wander in, only for the well enchanted door to be sealed to them. It would take a lot more than school children to get past the wards and enchantments on the door. But he also knew he had to tell the school about the off limits corridor. It would be very bad if a student wandered in and met a very unwanted demise.

"This is one very interesting couple of days." He said grimly.

The Halloween troll, two Unforgivable Curses, and two Soul bound children who didn't even know it were at the center of it.

"The soul bond..." Albus said with his eyes twinkling. That was very good news, at least.

-1st of November, 1991-

"They're what?" Dumbledore asked Victoria, his eyes wide, and his smile wider. Victoria nodded.

"Yes, Albus. About two years ago, almost." She said. She explained what had happened, encouraged by the elderly wizard's growing smile and somehow increased eye shine. As soon as she related the tale, Dumbledore rose and went to his candy stash, gathering a handful of his favorites. Usually those stayed away unless a special occasion called for them, and the stasis charm on them made sure they wouldn't get old on him while he aged on them.

"This is amazing news, Victoria. Very, very rarely has a soul bond ever happened, and for one to happen so early on means such great happiness to them." He said with a joyful chuckle, eating one of his treats. He offered one to Victoria, who happily accepted.

-Present time-

The Headmaster smiled and then his smile dropped a few molars. For some reason he couldn't grasp, neither Cyrus or Victoria had mentioned the bond to Harry or Daphne. He could see their reasoning, they were young, they wanted them to develop the feelings naturally, la-la-la. The soul bond meant they were meant to be, and even if they fought against it (which for their sakes he hoped they didn't), they would be destined to end up with each other. It seemed odd to him to fight destiny, but then again, Harry did have another destiny at hand...

ooooo

-A/N-

so there you are, another chapter for you.

I wanted to write you guys a quick thank you, over 13,000 views, more than a hundred followers, thank you guys so much. I hope my story keeps up with you guys and you enjoy. Also, just a quick something, I don't art very well so if anyone can and wants to make a cover for this story, let me know :-)

now to the reviews!

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A pleasure to write for you as always, see you soon!

-Vaine