Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; all characters belong to JK Rowling. The title comes from the song 'Heirloom' by Sleeping At Last.

A vampire, blood smeared across his smirking mouth.

"Riddikulus!"

The vampire tripped backwards as a bright pink bandage completely covered its mouth; complete with a smiley face printed in the center.

"Good work Miss Moon," said Professor Lupin's calm voice.

Daphne Greengrass did her best to focus on his voice, on its evenness and warmth, instead of nervously twirling her wand between her fingers. She didn't want to be in the middle of this class in the first place -her sister had gotten sick after dinner last night and was in the hospital wing all day today- and adding a boggart on top of things just left her feeling dread. She stayed to the back of the class, while trying to look relaxed, and she wasn't the only one.

Theo was standing as far back as he could, looking down at his feet instead of looking towards the action with his usual knowledge hungry look; Daphne and he had exchanged sympathetic smiles as he'd gone to lurk on the edges of the class, as his one way to delay the inevitable appearance of his father looming over him. Blaise was also standing more off to the side, arms crossed his chest and head tilted defiantly, but his normal arrogant expression was missing.

Three guesses what Blaise's boggart would be. The first two guesses don't count.

As she watched, the boggart stumbled around until it locked eyes with Tracey. With a crack, the vampire was gone and in its place was a grinning clown. Tracey gulped before saying, "Riddikulus!"

The clown's shoelaces had tied themselves together and it landed on the floor in front of Pansy. Crack!

People shrieked in dismay as the clown turned into a huge cockroach.

"Riddikulus!"

The cockroach was covered in a huge box.

Milicent was next and the boggart turned into a large, growling dog.

"Riddikulus!"

The boggart was now a small, orange kitten.

Daphne was feeling colder as more of her classmates had stepped up against the boggart, knowing she was getting closer and closer to having it stop in front of her. Draco, then Vincent and Gregory (or maybe Gregory and then Vincent, it was hard to care), all faced the boggart though Gregory had surprised the whole class by shrieking at a rat boggart before banishing it.

"Good. Miss Greengrass, you're next," said Professor Lupin and it was like her insides had turned to ice. Blood was pounding in her ears, as the defeated boggart in the form of a wind up toy mouse stopped in front of her. She closed her eyes and that was a mistake.

It only made the sight of her little sister's lifeless body hit harder once she re-opened them. A hush fell over the class, even Draco the git had nothing to say for once in his life, as she stared at the not really Astoria lying on her back, her bright blue eyes glassy and unseeing as she 'looked' up at the ceiling. It's not real, Tori was alive and grumpily stuck in the hospital wing, but it sure as hell felt real in the moment.

Her right arm felt heavy as she raised it. "R…r…r," she stammered, as she furiously tried to get out the incantation. She'd had a bad stutter when she was younger, though she'd gotten control of it by the time she was old enough to start Hogwarts, and she'd had problems saying certain consonants. B, P, W, the hard G.

Words beginning with the letter R had never been an issue before.

Her face had gone red, but she couldn't get the word out. But why did it matter? Her mind was completely drawing a blank on what could make this not scary. Suddenly, Professor Lupin had stepped in front of her, blocking the boggart from sight, and she closed her eyes as she tried not to feel like she was cowering behind her teacher as he dealt with the boggart himself.

"Alright, I think that's quite enough for today," he said as he got the boggart back into its cupboard. "My apologies to the couple of you we couldn't get to. No homework today. Miss Greengrass, please stay behind. I'd like to speak with you."

Her face felt like it was burning now as the other Slytherins all shot her different looks. Some unashamedly curious (Draco), some different levels of sympathetic or concerned (the girls she shared a room with), some blinking stupidly (who else but Vincent and Gregory). Blaise, when she accidentally caught his eye, nodded to her respectfully, but she could see the relief in his eyes that it wasn't him who acted like a baby in front of the boggart.

Theo didn't stare. He bumped her arm with his playfully, like they'd done since they were small, before walking past her.

Professor Lupin was kind and it made her want to scream as much as it made her want to cry.

She didn't do either, thankfully, as she sat across from him. He'd offered to make her a cup of tea and then a piece of chocolate when she said no, but she'd just shaken her head. He was completely sympathetic as he apologized for the boggart, reassured her that adult witches and wizards often froze up against the creatures, and that she should find someone to speak to about her sister if she thought it would help.

Daphne nearly snorted at that. Was talking about it going to magically cure her sister's blood curse? Instead, she just gripped the sides of her chair hard and didn't quite meet his eyes as she nodded to show she was listening.

Finally, he let her leave and, rather than going to her last class, she practically sprinted to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey's question of why she wasn't in class fell on deaf ears as she rushed towards Tori's bed. Her sister was lying on her back, eyes closed, and the resemblance to the boggart-Astoria was enough that she leaned in close enough just to make sure her sister was still breathing.

Breathing. Tori was still breathing, she was fine. Everything was fine.

Daphne stood back up and shakily breathed in and out herself, torn between relief and annoyance with herself from letting the boggart get into her head this much. You are getting too old for this nonsense, Daphne, her father's unsympathetic voice popped into her head. You are going to be an adult before you know it. These dramatics of yours won't do you any good then.

She was lucky Astoria hadn't been awake or woken up just now; Tori always got so upset when she thought people were treating her differently because of the curse. I'm not that fragile, Daphne! She doubted that 'I had to rush here to make sure you hadn't died because my boggart looked like a dead you' was an explanation that Tori would like.

(Yes, she was so sorry, Astoria, that death by blood curse was what scared her most. Daphne really wished it wasn't, that it could just be something normal like the dark or bugs, that she'd been the one who'd gotten it instead of Astoria.

She wished for a lot of things.)

A gentle hand fell on her shoulder and she nearly jumped. "Your sister is fine. She should be released by tomorrow or the next day at the latest."

Again it was the kindness that nearly undid her. Tears were pricking at her eyes, and she looked down at the floor. "Thank you," she said softly.

"I do have to ask you to leave, Miss Greengrass. Come back at dinner time."

Daphne just nodded again, before leaving.

Seeing with her own eyes that Astoria was still alive should have made her feel better. It sort of did, but it also didn't. Daphne couldn't bring herself to go to her last class and she didn't want to face her housemates again there or in the Great Hall.

She didn't care about the boys, besides Theo, but she felt almost queasy about having to face the girls she shared a room with. The absolute worst part was none of them would be mean about it, not to her.

Tracey would be the worst because she'd be the most pushy in trying to hug her or getting her to talk, because that's what Tracey would have liked and she thought so must everyone else. Daphne hated being fussed over, hated being pushed to talk, and so before long she and Tracey would be arguing. Then there would be Lily, who would have absolutely no idea what to do, and would just hover.

Millicent and Pansy would actually be the best. To Millie the best way to cheer someone up was letting them pet her cat, Midnight. And Pansy at least got the way Daphne dealt with things; she'd just treat her as she normally would, abrasive language and all. The real bad part with Pansy was that Daphne was angry with her about other things: her increasing hostility towards the other houses, her super annoying fawning over bloody Draco, even after that moron provoked a hippogriff. Merlin, they'd almost screamed at each other after the first Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

So instead of facing her housemates after today's lesson, she did the cowardly thing and went to see Hades in the owlery. Her father would have lectured her about facing her problems like an adult, but she wasn't a bloody adult and this was one of those times she was too bloody upset to try. She was planning to sneak down into the kitchens instead of eating dinner with the others too; if she could have slept somewhere else, she would have done that too because why not just go full coward at that point.

The owlery was empty when she got there, like it usually was. The smell was normally enough to keep people from lingering after sending off a letter. Her breathing had turned ragged at this point and her eyes searched for a completely black owl and there he was, next to that beautiful snowy owl.

She took the small pouch with owl treats out of her bag just before Hades looked at her. "Hi, Hades. Are you hungry?" He perked up at the offer of treats and eagerly snapped up the one she'd been holding out. The snowy owl's amber eyes were fixed on her and Daphne smiled weakly. "Do you want one too?" she asked as she held one out, and the snowy owl immediately gobbled it up.

Hades nipped at her fingers as a result and she managed a breathy chuckle, "You really need to learn how to share." He huffed and she continued, "Give me a break here. I'm having a long day."

The image of the boggart-Astoria flashed back in her mind, and everything that followed after: her classmates staring at her, Professor Lupin, the hospital wing. Tears had started falling from her eyes and she rubbed at them. Hades nudged her hand with his head and nuzzled against it. She reached out a hand and patted him on the head.

If she were at home, she'd have gone to the stables, but she was here at Hogwarts and had the owlery instead. It was easier to let go when it was just her and the animals only made it easier.

"Oh," said a surprised voice from behind her and she immediately stiffened. Turning around slowly, she saw Harry Potter standing there, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't expect to run into anyone else here. Wait… are you crying?"

He sounded so horrified at the idea - Potter who did insane shite like flying a car to school - that she nearly laughed. Instead she just rubbed at her eyes again and said, "No."

"Err…I can see your face. I can see you were crying."

"Why do you care?" she snapped, before turning her back to him. She was rubbing at her eyes more angrily now, but it wasn't going to make them look less puffy or red. She hated crying so much, and crying in front of someone was even worse. "Just leave it."

Hades made a whistling sound and she sighed before offering him another treat. Much to her annoyance, Potter did not leave her in peace, rather he was now standing in front of the pretty snowy owl. He was stroking its feathers, and some of the tension left her body when she realized he was here for the owl.

"That's your owl?"

Potter nodded, mouth quirking into a small smile. "Yes, her name is Hedwig." Hedwig eyed the pouch of owl treats in her hand and he chuckled, "I'm sorry. She'll beg for treats if she thinks someone has it. Ow, what are you biting me for? It's true."

Her face flushed. "I gave her one of Hades' treats before you got here. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have."

"No, it's okay. But she might keep going after you every time you come up here from now on. Peck me all you want, Hedwig, it doesn't make it less true." He looked so aggrieved then, pulling his hand out of the owl's way, that she laughed softly.

"Hades gets grumpy like that too." Her owl glared at her and she smirked at him, though it was a pale imitation of her usual smirk. "The pretty ones are always so temperamental."

"Just like humans," he muttered, gaze suddenly dropping from her to the floor. Daphne doubted she was supposed to hear that.

Her brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing. Do you visit your owl often?"

"I try to," she said with a shrug. "I like coming here anyway. It's nice seeing all the owls. I miss going to the stable when I'm here, so I do this instead." She had no idea why she was telling him this.

"I like visiting Hedwig when I can. This week had some rough spots so I'd thought I'd visit."

She winced, having a good idea what one of those spots had to be for him. "Draco is a bloody idiot." His brows shot up and she shrugged again. "Just a guess. I hope nothing happens to the hippogriff; he's so gorgeous."

Daphne had barely believed that she was seeing one up-close but then Draco had to be Draco. Her and Pansy had fought in the common room after too; Pansy made some remark about Draco, Daphne said something sarcastic in response, and that started an argument. Pansy was starting to be really annoying going on about Draco the way she did. Is that what fancying someone just did to people? If so, Daphne really hoped she wouldn't fancy anyone.

"Yeah, it's not Buckbeak's fault. And Hagrid would be really upset." He reached out a hand to stroke Hedwig. "It's not the only thing bothering me, don't want Malfoy thinking he's more important than he is." Yeah, she supposed with Sirius Black on the loose he'd have more on his mind than Draco the drama king, but she decided to keep that observation to herself.

Potter looked at her warily and she said, "Yeah, third year's not getting off to a great start." Surprise flickered on his face as the seconds went by without her asking what was bothering him. She shifted uncomfortably. "Did you want to talk about it? I'm not much of a talker, it's why I like coming up here, but I've been told I'm not a bad listener."

"No, that's not…I'm just…thanks for not prying."

"Right back at you," she said.

He fidgeted with his glasses. "I…no one's ever called me a good listener, but I could always try. If you wanted. If it would help."

"No point. It's not something that can be fixed." No matter how badly she wanted to. His eyes were very green and they looked very pretty even when concerned. It made her feel a little warmer, even if she didn't get why he'd be concerned about someone he barely knew from a house with kids who hated him. Still she surprised herself by saying, "It's not something I like talking about, but I'm stuck thinking about it because of the boggart. Even worse, I froze up instead of defeating it, and all my housemates saw."

"No one should judge you for that. You might have failed, but at least you stood your ground and you got to try. Unlike me." The last part was said so bitterly that she raised an eyebrow at him. He flushed and said, "Do all you Slytherins practice doing that eyebrow thing?"

"Yes. Snape makes us all take turns in front of a mirror, just so we make sure to get it as condescending looking as possible." A laugh burst from him then, unexpectedly, and Daphne actually gave a real smile for the first time since DADA. Making him laugh was weirdly satisfying.

He didn't talk right away and she was going to let it go, but then he actually did say something. "I didn't even get a chance to stand up to the boggart. Lupin jumped in front of me before I could do anything, so I don't even know what it'd turn into." He ran a hand through his already messy hair. "It has to be because of what happened on the train-"

Daphne winced as she thought of Draco's mocking of just that. Moron.

"-and he thinks I can't handle it now. He doesn't know that! I don't think I'd have collapsed or frozen up-"

"Like me," Daphne added sardonically.

His eyes widened almost comically. "I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"Forget about it." She didn't really care - she'd thought worse things about herself since DADA class had ended - and it was obvious that he hadn't really meant to insult her. Instead she tried to focus on his actual problem; honestly, and she knew he wouldn't like it, but she could kind of see the professor's point. His boggart was probably You-Know-Who right? That would be bad if the boggart just turned into him in the middle of class. Somehow she didn't think he'd like it if she said that, so she just said, "I'm sorry. Maybe you could ask to see the boggart in his office?"

(But if his boggart was You-Know-Who maybe that'd be a bad idea.)

Daphne didn't really get why this was such a big deal for him, especially because she could have done without seeing her sister's dead body, but she supposed Gryffindors really were different.

"Maybe," he said, but he didn't sound convinced. "Thanks for listening. I should probably go to dinner now before Ron and Hermione come looking for me. Are you coming?"

Daphne shook her head. "No. There's something else I have to do. I'll eat later." She should be able to see Astoria now, but she'd stop at a loo first to wash her face. Tori shouldn't know that she cried, and that brought something up. She hesitated as she pulled her bag back over her shoulder. "Potter?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Can you not tell anyone I cried? Please?"

His expression turned serious. "I won't. I promise." Something in the way he answered made her believe him.

She smiled warmly. "Thank you. I'll see you around, Potter."

Daphne felt a little lighter after speaking to him, so much so that the first thing she did when she got to the Hospital Wing was steal one of her sister's chocolate frogs. ("Daphneeee," Tori whined and she'd grinned in response.) Normally, she felt better after brooding about things on her own, but talking to him hadn't been as annoying as talking to other people could be when she was upset. She wasn't even thinking about facing her dormmates anymore. The fear and sadness normally associated with her sister's curse and now the boggart hadn't vanished completely - Potter wasn't a bloody miracle worker - but it'd gone again to the back of her mind rather than the focus of them.

Hopefully, talking with her had made him feel a bit better too.

Daphne hoped so; she hated feeling like she owed someone and…

He deserved to feel better too.

Author's Note: This is the first one-shot I've attempted in a long while. Big thank you to the Harry/Daphne discord, especially Webstriker, Akamoroti, and GGuy for beta reading.

I would recommend at least looking at the lyrics to 'Heirloom' as, even if it's not a perfect fit, I do think the mood and and lyrics about inheriting a losing battle fit with her character, especially in regards to the blood curse.

It's not an outright Haphne fics, but the hints at something are there. I think of this as sort of pre-Haphne.

Thank you for reading!