The Devil in Me

New Beginnings on an Open Page

The chapter title is from the song:

Top of the World by Greek Fire.

When Harry got into Malfoy Manor after his evening with the Greengrass Family, it was relatively late.

He jogged up the stairs to Lucius's study and knocked on the door.

"Draco, I do not care how much you liked the Cauldwell girl five years ago; I have told you a dozen times already, I will not apologise for overseeing the murder of her parents."

Harry snorted, "Hi, Lucius. It's not Draco; it's me."

The door clicked open, and Harry stepped in, "Whining again, is he?"

"As always," Lucius drawled, "Do you have any idea how much of his pointless drivel I have had to endure?"

"From the number of times, he shouted, "my father will hear about this!" and stormed away in the huff, I think I can guess," Harry grinned.

"As if I care about his petty teenage squabbles," Lucius scoffed, "I bought his entire Quidditch team new broomsticks to please him once, and he still complained."

"Yes, I remember," Harry said with a smirk, "Because even with those new broomsticks, I still beat him."

"Yes, and I had to listen to that as well," Lucius muttered. He shook his head and turned in his seat to look at Harry, "But I doubt you are here to listen to me rant about my son's more irritating habits?"

"No, I'm here to share my success with you, and to thank you," Harry admitted, "But on the subject of Draco being a bit of a wet towel-"

Lucius snorted ungracefully, and Harry grinned.

"Cygnus said something interesting tonight. He said Lucius Malfoy had done a number on me to the extent that I was more like him than his own son."

"Well, that would not be difficult," Lucius said dryly, "Draco is a Black through and through, from his name to his mother's caring Hufflepuff tendencies. It would be sweet in a girl; it is irritating in a boy, especially when he is the sole heir. Under other circumstances, Narcissa and I would have had more children. However, her pregnancy was difficult, and it took quite a toll on Narcissa. I did not want to put her through it again or risk losing her."

Harry nodded and leant against the closed door, "In Draco's defence, he's a good person, an excellent politician, and he has an incredibly sharp mind on him. If he had not been born into a war, he would have done very well in politics. He might still do if he can survive the final days of this war."

Lucius gave a thoughtful nod, "We cannot all be soldiers, I suppose. Although I tried to raise Draco as such, I found that Narcissa and I were too soft on him on account of him being our only child."

"It happens," Harry said with a shrug, "And although I'm not your son, I owe a lot to you, so if he's the heir who becomes the politician, then I'm the spare. The one you send into battle, knowing they are expendable."

"Harry, I like to think you know me well enough by now to know that I would never consider any child of mine expendable," Lucius said sternly, his eyes on Harry's, "Be that child my ward or mine by blood."

Harry smiled slightly and gave Lucius a small nod. He sat down opposite the older man's desk and said, "I thought you ought to know that you were right about everything Cygnus asked for and everything he offered me. I told him as much, and he was a little irritated."

Lucius chuckled, "You told him after you signed the contract, I presume?"

"Of course. You taught me to be overly cautious when dealing with men like him, particularly where contracts are concerned," Harry said with an easy smile, "Daphne's dowry includes the manor in Greece and double Euphemia's dowry in terms of money. Still, the one part you didn't foresee was that half of the money is for the restoration of Potter Manor."

"Damn that Greengrass."

"Funny, he said the same thing about you," Harry said with a grin, "Also, would you mind letting me into the deluxe wing so I can tell Rapunzel she's getting to leave her tower?"

Lucius got to his feet and gave him a strange look, "She is in a wing of the house, not a tower, and Sadie is not short for Rapunzel."

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Thank Merlin, I'm going back to school tomorrow. I miss Tracey – she's the only one who gets my Muggle jokes."

"That's because she, like you, is an uncultured swine."

"Thanks, Lucius. I really respect you too," Harry joked.

Lucius smirked at him as they fell into step with each other, "I really ought to change the blood wards and include you in them…" he mused while they strolled towards Sadie's wing of the house.

When Harry walked into Sadie's room, he blasted the curtains open with a flick of his wrist and called.

"Pack your bags, Rapunzel – you're going back to school!"

Sadie stepped out of the library and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Who the hell are you?"

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Wow. I mean, I know it's been five years, but the last time you saw me, I was fighting off a Basilisk and saving the entire school."

Sadie's eyes darkened, "Harry Potter?"

"The one and only," Harry smirked.

"So it's true then," Sadie said quietly, "You did go bad."

Harry shrugged, "Am I really bad, though? Is the world as simple as dark and light? Black and white? Good and evil?"

Sadie didn't say anything as she clutched her book.

"Come on, Sadie, you read a lot," Harry said offhandedly, "You know I'm right."

Sadie glared at him, "My name is Sarah; who gave you permission to call me Sadie?"

Harry made a face, "Your name is Sarah, but people call you Sadie?"

"What's so hard to believe about that?" Sadie asked irritably.

"Uh, how about because Sadie is a hookers name?" Harry retorted.

Sadie's glare intensified, "If you were trying to convince me to come back to school with you, then let me tell you a secret - you're doing a terrible job. Fuck you, and get out."

Harry grinned, "And let me tell you a secret, love – I'm not trying to convince you to go back to school. I'm telling you that you're going back to school. Draco Malfoy has a bit of a thing for you. He thought you'd like a bigger prison with other human beings in it, so Hogwarts, here we come."

Sadie raised an eyebrow, "Draco Malfoy has a thing for me? Draco, 'my father, will hear about this', everything I do has to be better than Potter with his scar and his broomstick, Malfoy?"

Harry raised his hands, "Hey, I don't get it either. You're pretty plain and, from initial impressions, a bit annoying. I'd take Daphne Greengrass over you any day but each to their own, I suppose."

With an eye roll, Sadie asked, "If I come back, do I get my wand back?"

"When you come back, you do. Only when you get into Hogwarts, of course. We don't want you running off before that, do we?" Harry asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Hm," Sadie mused, "How do you know Daphne Greengrass?"

Harry smirked, "Let's say we're very special friends. Are you finished with the question and answer session now? Cause last time I checked, you were still a prisoner. Do prisoners get to ask this many questions?"

"I can ask as many questions as I want," Sadie pointed out with a smirk, "You're the idiot who keeps answering them."

"Yeah, look Rapunzel, just for the reference. I'm the Dark Lords right-hand man, and although I might look like the boy-who-lived you knew of five years ago, I'm really not that person anymore. If you keep crossing me, I will curse you, and I promise, that's not an idle threat."

"Noted," Sadie said dryly, "Will Theo be at Hogwarts?

"No," Harry said, his eyes darkening, "No, Theo is dead."

Sadie's eyes widened, "How?"

Harry cleared his throat, "He died in a battle, not long ago. It was horrible, so let's not bring it up, yeah?"

Sadie frowned and sat down on the edge of her bed, "I wish I had known so I could have paid my respects at his funeral. I liked Theo; he was kind…"

"Yeah, he was," Harry agreed, "He wasn't your ordinary Death Eater. Maybe deep down, he wasn't cut out for it…"

His mind went to Regulus Black and the way Lucius had described feeling after his disappearance.

With a sigh, Harry said, "He was kind and understanding, even in the darkest of circumstances."

Sadie looked up sharply, "Oh, were you two…?"

Harry frowned, "Yeah, we were…" he shrugged, "…together."

Sadie's eyes widened, "Okay, I have to admit, I didn't see that coming."

"You and me both, sister," Harry said airily, "Anyway, the Dark Lord says you are to go back into the Slytherin dorms. You'll be sharing with Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, Pansy Parkinson and Sophie Roper."

"Who is Sophie Roper? And where is Millicent?"

"Millicent ran away to America with her family, and nobody cares enough to track them down," Harry replied dryly, "And Sophie is from Texas. She moved out here at the start of fourth year."

Sadie sighed and shook her head, "Well, at least Daphne and Tracey are still there. I guess if you and Daphne are 'friends' that her family isn't neutral anymore?"

Harry chuckled, "Get with the times, Sadie. Nobody is neutral anymore, not really anyway. Even those who claim to be neutral already know what side they will pick when push comes to shove.

Sadie gave him an irritated look, "There is one bright side about going back to Hogwarts."

"What's that?" Harry asked, walking towards the door.

"At least I won't have to put up with you anymore," Sadie answered.

Harry laughed and turned around with his hand on the door, "Wrong again, sweetheart. You are out of touch if you haven't heard that I'm a Slytherin now."

Sadie's eyes darkened, and Harry grinned.

"I'm also the Head Boy, so be careful not to set either of those feet out of line," Harry said, enjoying tormenting the poor girl a little too much.

"We leave tomorrow, just after sunrise. You had better be packed."

"I will be," She returned grudgingly.

"See ya around, Rapunzel."

"Who the hell is Rapunzel?!" Sadie called after him.

When Harry got to his bedroom door, he saw Draco leaning against it.

"Uh, what the hell, dude?"

Draco looked up, "I wanted to know how it went?"

"How what went? My meeting with Cygnus Greengrass or my chat with Sadie Cauldwell?" Harry asked, elbowing Draco out of the way to unlock his bedroom door.

It swung open, and Harry walked in, with Draco hot on his heels.

"Uh, both, obviously," Draco replied unconvincingly.

"You're a terrible liar, for a Slytherin," Harry said, glancing into the room and groaning when he saw Artemis sprawled across his bed.

"Artemis – get off of the bed," Harry hissed irritably.

The snake looked up and glared at him, "Warm."

"Don't care, my bed is my bed. You sleep in your bed by the fire – shoo."

Artemis lifted her third eyelid and glared at Harry. He cursed under his breath as a pounding began in his head.

"Rude," Harry hissed to her as she slithered off of the bed towards the fire which was behind Draco.

"Move, albino idiot."

Harry snorted, "You're in her way, Draco – move, or she'll bite you."

Draco swiftly stepped aside, and Artemis curled up by the fire – hissing insults to Harry all the while.

Harry sat down on the edge of his bed and muttered, "Having a pet who can give you a spite migraine is shit. I miss my owl."

"What happened to Hedwig?" Draco asked.

"I let her live in the owlery of Hogwarts so the Queen Bitch over there wouldn't eat her," Harry answered.

"Spoilsport," Artemis hissed sleepily.

Harry looked up at Draco, "Anyway, my meeting with Cygnus went fine. Daphne and I are planning a June wedding," he joked.

"I can't tell if you're being serious or not," Draco remarked.

Harry threw himself back onto his bed, his eyes closed tightly, "I'm not joking about it going well, but I am kind of joking about the June wedding part. Cygnus's contract states summer, but what is the definition of 'summer' exactly?"

"Are you stupid?" Draco asked, dropping down to lie next to him, "The pureblood definition of summer is between Beltane and Lughnasadh."

"So between the 1st of May and the 1st of August?" Harry mused, "Huh, maybe I wasn't joking about a June wedding then."

"Just don't make it my birthday."

"Nah, I wouldn't force you to do that much work on your birthday," Harry said, opening an eye to peer at him.

"Work? How is it going to be work for me? You're the one getting married to her."

"Yeah, but you're going to be my best man, and I get the impression Daphne is going to be pretty high-maintenance as far as the wedding is concerned."

"What?"

Harry opened both eyes, "Whose stupid now?"

"You want me to be your best man?"

"Yes, dumbass, I want you to be my best man. Now go on and ask about what you really want to – Sadie, right?"

"No – I mean yes, I want to hear about that, but back to the other thing. You want me to be your best man? Even though this time last year, we hated each other?"

"What is so difficult to get your head around? It isn't last year; it's this year. A lot has happened since last year. Stop being so insecure," Harry remarked.

Draco snorted.

"We've discussed this. Your insecurity annoys me," Harry said offhandedly, "Maybe if we can get Sadie to stop hating you, it will improve."

"Did your meeting with her go better than mine?" Draco asked curiously.

"She didn't throw me off a balcony, so that's a good start, I suppose," Harry answered.

"You're hilarious, aren't you?" Draco asked dryly.

Harry grinned and closed his eyes once more as the ache in his head worsened.

"Were you nice to her?"

Harry scoffed, "Not really, no. I think she hates me more than she hates you now, though, so that has to be a plus, right?"

"I don't think so, no," Draco answered; he sounded sceptical, "What did you say to her?"

"I told her how you had grovelled and begged for her freedom like a romantic hero, but that you had been quite whiny about it – on your knees sobbing to the Dark Lord-"

"You didn't say that!" Draco bit.

Harry opened his eyes, "No, I didn't say that. Merlin, you're a dumbass."

Draco glared at him, "What did you say?"

"Honestly? I told her you had a bit of a thing for her and had convinced the Dark Lord that if she was going to be imprisoned, then she should at least be in a big prison with other people in it," Harry answered.

"Then we had a very brief bonding moment over our mutual like of Theo – she had a thing for him, did you know that?"

"Of course I did; everyone had a thing for Theo," Draco answered, "He was the sought after Slytherin boy – the male Daphne – and you had one and are marrying the other."

"I have high standards," Harry remarked.

"I'm going to say one thing to refute that statement," Draco said, eyeing Harry with amusement, "Cho Chang."

"Fair," Harry agreed, making a face, "Anyway, I thought our mutual love for Theo might have bonded Sadie and me into friendship, but then she got rude again. Oh, and she's cursy, did you know that? She told me to fuck off."

"You probably deserved it, to be fair."

Harry tutted, "She hates you, and you're already letting her come between us? Bros before hoes, Drakey."

"I swear sometimes, I think you need medication," Draco muttered under his breath.

The next day was slow while Harry and Draco packed, played chess and passed the time until they needed to apparate back to Hogwarts. They hadn't gotten on the train because there wasn't any point since they could apparate, but Harry wished they had because then maybe the time would have passed a little faster.

Eventually, they apparated to the castle and strolled in with the crowd of students who had just disembarked the Hogwarts Express. When they got into the great hall, most of their friends hadn't arrived yet, so Harry watched the other tables fill up with interest.

"I count three missing seventh years," Harry mumbled to Draco.

Draco looked up and frowned, "Who?"

"Wayne Hopkins, Sally-Anne Perks and Megan Jones," Harry replied.

Draco nodded, "Two whose parents are known to be operating within the Army of the Phoenix and one whose parents are with the Order."

"Exactly," Harry murmured, "They're scared, which means they know we're winning."

With a thoughtful nod, Draco agreed.

"Think you should un-disillusion Sadie and take the silencing charm off her yet?" Harry asked calmly.

"I suppose so," Draco muttered, "She'll mouth off the minute I do, no doubt."

"Ah well, she'll have other people to mouth off too soon enough," Harry said, smirking at Draco.

The blonde boy took the disillusionment charm off then unsilenced Sadie. She was sitting by his side in Slytherin robes, glaring at him.

"I hate you."

"We know, Rapunzel."

"Would you quit calling me that?"

"Sadie!"

"Oh my god, Sadie Cauldwell!"

Daphne and Tracey's arrival had taken Sadie's attention away from her hatred of Harry and Draco.

"What are you doing back at school?" Tracey asked in disbelief.

Sadie glared at Draco and Harry, "Well, where to begin? My parents were both murdered by the Death Eaters. Then I was held captive until Draco Malfoy decided to beg for my freedom because he had a crush on me five years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Draco said sarcastically, "Would you rather still be imprisoned in Malfoy Manor?"

Sadie glared at him, and Daphne leant across the table a little to ask Harry, "Did you know about this last night?"

"Yes, and I did forget to tell you, sorry," Harry confessed.

"I was a little preoccupied with memorising Euphemia's marriage contract because I knew your father was going to quiz me on it and then not screwing up the most important meeting of my life."

Tracey had heard enough of this to swivel her head around, "Why were you meeting with her father?"

Daphne gave Tracey an amused look, "You're a smart girl, Tracey. Use your brain."

Tracey's eyes widened, and she grabbed Daphne's left hand, pulling it out from beneath the table. When she saw the ring glimmering there, she looked up at her best friend in disbelief, "He didn't? You didn't?!"

Daphne smirked, "He did, and I did."

"Holy fuck," Tracey breathed.

"What's the commotion about?" Blaise asked, dropping down next to Daphne.

"Daphne is engaged to Harry freaking Potter," Tracey replied,

Blaise raised an eyebrow, "Like he danced with her at Yule, and you're being a dramatic little bitch as usual, engaged? Or engaged to be married engaged?"

"Engaged as in, I signed a contract with her father last night, engaged," Harry replied, far too smoothly.

There was silence around the table as that news sunk in.

"But, in other news - Guys, do you remember Sadie Cauldwell? Well, she's back," Harry said, motioning towards Sadie.

"And she got hot," Blaise remarked.

Draco made a face, "She was 12 the last time you saw her, Blaise."

"You're the one who had a crush on her when she was 12," Harry snorted.

"Yes, when I was also 12," Draco added.

"Can you all quit talking about me like I'm not here?" Sadie cut in.

Harry turned to her, "Sorry, Sadie – hi, we know you're there. Now you've all met Draco's pet project, can we get back to the more pressing matter?"

"Oh, your engagement is that important, is it?" Tracey asked sarcastically.

"To some people, apparently, it is," Harry said, smirking at Daphne, "But that wasn't what I meant-"

"What's more pressing than Sadie Cauldwell appearing out of thin air or Daphne Greengrass losing her mind and agreeing to marry you?" Blaise quipped.

"The Dark Lords mission, maybe, Blaise?" Harry said in amusement, "That's why we're really here – not to gossip about who is marrying who or what crack Sadie Cauldwell crawled out of. We are here because we have a job to do."

"And because it's a legal requirement that we stay in some form of education until we take our N.E.W.T's," Draco added.

"That too," Harry agreed.

"Remind me of that mission again," Tracey said sarcastically.

"To recruit," Harry said, tapping his fingers against the table.

"I mean, technically it's my job, but as Head of Recruitment, I can delegate. So here is my vision – by the end of this month, I don't want there to be any neutral families, only people who are with us and people we need to destroy."

"So you're not asking for much then," Blaise remarked.

"Some of those families have been neutral since the war against Grindelwald," Sophie agreed.

"Well, so were mine," Daphne pointed out, "But because we had the sense to choose the winning side, I'm marrying the Head of the Potter family rather than being brutally murdered."

"And here was me thinking you were marrying me for my dashing good looks and charm," Harry teased.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Daphne smirked.

Harry chuckled, "In all seriousness, here we have Exhibit A," he motioned at Daphne, "What happens when your family see sense and join us."

Daphne stood and did a mock curtsey which made the others snicker.

"And Exhibit B," Harry added, pointing at Sadie, "What happens when they don't."

"You become Draco Malfoy's little bitch, evidently," Pansy said dryly.

Draco rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oscausi!"

Pansy's mouth disappeared, and Draco breathed a sigh of relief, "Finally, peace and quiet. I am so tired of her shit."

"Just because you're defending me, it doesn't mean I'm going to stop hating you," Sadie said irritably. Then she reached across the table and slapped Pansy hard across the face, "And don't ever call me his bitch again, you pug-faced imbecile."

The entire Slytherin table burst out into applause, and Harry grinned over at Daphne, "Sadie Cauldwell's back, everyone."

Daphne smiled in amusement, "It could make for an interesting few months," she agreed, her eyes flitting between Sadie and Draco.

"Why is Sadie here?"

"Because Draco fancies her."

Daphne gave Harry a sceptical look.

"Seriously," Harry deadpanned, looking over at her, "He felt bad that her family got killed and that she had to spend Christmas alone, so he actually dared to ask the Dark Lord to let her come back to school, and that's saying something. I mean, normally he's a wet-towel where the Dark Lord is concerned."

"That's because not everybody is as stupid as you," Daphne said, a smile playing on her lips.

"Is he stupid, or is he brave?"

Harry grinned and looked across the room at Astoria, who was doing her homework at the desk. She had taken Harry up on his offer to use the Head Common room pretty early on. The moment she got back to school her so-called 'friends' had done nothing but question her about her ordeal.

"Thank you, Astoria," Harry said, smirking at Daphne.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "But for the record, Astoria? Harry and I are Slytherins and, therefore, in our opinion? Stupid and brave are the same thing," Daphne retorted.

Harry chuckled, "Either way, for him to ask the Dark Lord? It means he likes her."

"So why does she hate him?" Daphne asked, closing her book, "And when I say 'hate', I mean 'HATE'. I've heard the venom she spews about him."

"It probably has something to do with the fact Lucius stood by and watched Avery kill her parents," Harry replied matter of factly.

With a roll of her eyes, Daphne nodded, "Yeah, that would do it."

"How many exceptions are there to Gamps Elemental Law?" Astoria asked from the corner of the room.

"Five – shouldn't you know that, smartypants?" Harry retorted.

Astoria gave him a very Hermione-like look, "Ravenclaw isn't the 'smart' house, you know? We don't know the answer to every question and spend all of our time reading books."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw if you've a ready mind. Where those of wit and learning will always find their kind?"

"Whose the smarty-pants now?" Astoria quipped.

Daphne chuckled, and Harry cracked a smile, "You Greengrass's are a sassy bunch. I can't wait to meet Lydia."

"Oh, trust me, you can," Daphne said.

Astoria nodded, "She's much worse than us."

Harry snorted.

"All I meant, Harry, was that our house motto 'wit beyond measure' doesn't necessarily mean book smart," Astoria said, "It's not about knowledge, intelligence or intellect, it's about wit. You know, the sharpness of your mind, your ability to process quickly and inventively. It's about learning for the sake of growing, not for the sake of being smart."

"No offence to her, but Hermione just seemed to want to know the most so that she could be the best," Daphne pointed out, "Which is actually a pretty ambitious Slytherin trait. I'm not surprised she turned to the dark side as easily as she did."

Harry frowned as he processed that thought, "So what we're saying here is that of my former 'golden' trio, Ron was the only true Gryffindor?"

"Pretty much," Daphne replied.

"And look how well that went for him," Astoria added.

Harry snorted in amusement, "I like you, Astoria. You can stay."

Daphne gave Harry an amused look and gestured to the book in his hands, "What are you doing, by the way?"

Harry looked up from the journal in his hands, "Oh, I'm just looking at my 'to-turn' list and working out who I can get on board."

"You have a 'to-turn' list?" Daphne quipped.

"The Dark Lord gave me a list of people he wants on our side," Harry said with a nod, "It's quite long, so I've got a lot of work to do."

"How long is 'quite' long, exactly?" Daphne asked, hovering behind him and scanning the names.

"As you can see, there are a few names on there," Harry said.

Daphne wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder, "I think I can help with that one."

She pressed her finger against a name, and Harry hummed thoughtfully, "Bones?"

"Hm," Daphne agreed, kissing Harry on the cheek and walking around the sofa to sit down next to him, "Susan and I are sort of friends."

"Sort of friends?"

"We used to be best friends," Daphne admitted, "But circumstances pushed us apart when we came to Hogwarts. We still talk, though, and I think she's friends with Lily too, so between the two of us, we might be able to get her on board."

"Do you have an idea of how to get her on board?" Harry asked, looking over at Daphne.

He could tell from the look on her face that an idea was processing, running through her head, "I do…and more than that, it might get you more than just the Bones family's loyalty."

Her eyes met Harry's, and they sparkled with excitement, "If we play our cards right, it will get the MacMillans on board too."

"Go on," Harry said, leaning towards her.

"The one thing that all the Scottish families have in common is their hatred of the MacDougal's," Daphne explained, "The MacDougal family have a reputation for seizing land from the others; they practically own the west of the country."

"So taking them down a peg would please the Bones and the Macmillan's," Harry realised with a nod, "But what about the MacDougal's themselves? They are neutral too; the Dark Lord wouldn't want me to wipe out one pureblood family to appease another two."

"No, you don't want to wipe them out," Daphne agreed, "The Dark Lord would have your head for that. What you need to do is take back what the MacDougal family stole from the other two and make it clear that you could have done so easier by killing them, but that you didn't because you are merciful, and you want them on your side as much as you want the others."

Harry grinned and leant across the sofa to kiss her on the cheek, "You're a genius, you know that?"

Daphne smirked in response, "You said you wanted a wife who would help you through political struggles."

Harry's grin widened as he got to his feet, "You're perfect," he said as he jogged in the direction of his dorm room.

"I know!" Daphne called back.

When the door to Harry's dorm shut, Astoria gave Daphne a long-suffering look, "You two are sickening."

"You have your own common room," Daphne reminded her sister with a smirk. She got up and ruffled her hair, much to Astoria's disgust. She flicked an icicle in her direction, which Daphne caught and crunched to ice with her fist.

"I taught you everything you know, Tori," Daphne said in a musical voice, "The Ice Princess is never going to best the Ice Queen."

Astoria rolled her eyes, "Unless I overthrow you one day like you overthrew Lydia."

"I didn't overthrow Lydia," Daphne scoffed, "Lydia sealed her own fate when she got pregnant with a muggle-borns kid."

Astoria narrowed her eyes at Daphne, "I don't believe that Rhea is a squib, Daphne. I know Father says she is, but his Healers said there was nothing wrong with me when clearly, there was."

"I know," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "But either way, Lydia left, and now she's fighting her own battles with her stupid husband, on the wrong side of this war."

"The losing side," Astoria said darkly, "That's what you really mean it."

Daphne just shrugged, rather than confirming it.

"Daphne," Astoria said as her sister turned to leave, "Why can't Lydia do the things we can?"

Daphne turned around and looked at her sister, "What do you mean?"

"I mean this," Astoria said, creating a swirling storm in her hand then clenching her fist shut to vanish it.

"Or this?" Daphne added, licking her finger, then putting it in the air and spinning it around the room, creating a strong wind that blew all of the curtains.

Astoria nodded, "You know something, don't you?"

"I suspect something, and Lydia must do too. She was a Ravenclaw, like you; she's perceptive," Daphne said cryptically.

"She's not a Greengrass, is she?" Astoria asked.

Daphne shook her head, "I don't think so, no."

"So when Father disowned her because of Rhea being a squib…?"

"He was looking for a way to remove her before she could become a scandal," Daphne said with a nod, "You might well be right there, but it doesn't mean he lied about Rhea being a squib. It might be the truth, and he just seized that chance to remove Lydia from the picture."

"But it's not right, having her fighting on the other side," Astoria argued.

"There is no other side as far as you are concerned," Daphne said sternly, "You are too young to be involved in this. Enough damage has been done already. You are on your own side, Astoria."

Astoria nodded her understanding.

Daphne nodded back and let out an anxious sigh, "Goodnight," she said, kissing her sister on the cheek before disappearing into Harry's dorm-room to access the Slytherin common room.

"Morning Rapunzel, enjoying being back at school?"

"Would you quit talking to me? I don't like you," Sadie snapped, "And stop calling me Rapunzel; why do you keep doing that?"

Tracey snorted into her orange juice, "Were you by any chance held in a room at the top of the house in Malfoy Manor, with a balcony?"

Sadie nodded, "Yes,…why?"

"That's why he keeps calling you Rapunzel. He's got a warped and twisted sense of humour," Tracey said, her amused eyes on Harry.

Harry grinned, "Oh, Trace, I've missed you."

Daphne smiled fondly and shook her head at the interaction, "You're an idiot."

"Finally, something we can agree on," Sadie muttered.

Harry chuckled and nudged Sadie in the ribs, "Oh come on, Sadie, we're friends really, aren't we?"

"No, we will never be friends," Sadie muttered irritably.

Harry ignored her and eyed a girl at the Ravenclaw table.

"Aren't you in the least bit bothered about the fact your fiancé is eying up that poor girl?" Tracey asked, nudging Daphne.

Daphne looked up and followed Harry's line of sight, "No."

Tracey gave her a sceptical look, "Really?"

"Really," Daphne replied, calmly buttering her toast, "Mainly because he isn't eying her up; he is sizing her up. She's Morag MacDougal, and Harry is currently waging war on the family to get the Bones and MacMillan families on side."

"You're not killing any more students, are you?" Bill's voice asked from behind the table.

Harry turned around and made a face, "No, and I didn't kill the last one anyway, sir."

"You know who did, though," Bill said, his voice quiet now.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Harry said, getting to his feet and smirking, "I'm a man of mystery, William!"

As he strolled away from the table, Bill looked at Daphne, "He knows, doesn't he?"

"I'm his fiancé; I won't tell his secrets."

Bill turned his gaze on Draco.

The blonde boy shrugged, "He's my adopted brother; I won't either."

With a vaguely amused scoff, Bill remarked, "Awfully loyal for a bunch of Slytherins," and he left without another word.

"Why didn't he tell you off? Or haul you into an office? He was talking about the death of a student like it was an everyday thing!" Sadie said in disbelief.

"That would be because he's a Death Eater," Draco said sarcastically, "You don't know anything, do you?"

Sadie turned to glare at Draco, "I have been locked up in a safe house that, as it turned out, wasn't so safe since your father and his friend got in and murdered my parents!"

"Yeah, my father!" Draco snapped, drawing the attention of the others at the table, "Not me! I had nothing to do with it, so do me a favour and get off your high horse. Stop treating me like the enemy because of something my father did. I'm not anymore culpable for his crimes than you are for your fathers!"

Sadie was furious, her chest heaving as she tried to control her temper.

Without saying a word, she slapped Draco across the face hard and stormed out of the hall.

"Well, I think if any of us were wondering if you had a type, we now know," Blaise remarked calmly, taking a bite from his toast.

"Girls who slap him," Daphne said with an amused smirk.

"Guess Harry isn't the only Slytherin with a pain fetish," Lily said, winking at Daphne as she walked past the table.

"Have you-" Sophie began to ask.

"No, I've barely even kissed him," Daphne answered, "Lilith is just a facetious little shit!"

Lily grinned and turned around, giving Daphne a sarcastic wave as she left the hall. Anyone looking at the Head Table would have seen Tom suppressing an equally amused smile.

Draco shook his head in disbelief, "She slapped me."

"Well done, Draco, you've caught up with the timeline that we're all on," Blaise drawled.

"She slapped me!" Draco said again, "She used to be quiet and sweet, but she slapped me. Is my face, okay?"

"Is your face okay?" Daphne asked, fighting back an amused grin, "No, Draco, you're going to be hideously scarred forever."

Draco shot her an exasperated look, "Can you believe she slapped me?"

"Honestly, yes," Daphne answered, "I mean, have you met you?"

The others all snorted or sniggered at this, and Draco got to his feet huffily, muttering to himself as he left the hall.

* TBC *