A/N I'm sorry this chapter took so long. Honestly I don't have any real excuses other than I had some writer's block and I'm getting ready to transition out of the military so I have mandatory classes to attend. I'll try and find more time to write during the weeks and on weekends and hopefully have more frequent updates for this story. Please read and leave a review! I love hearing what you have to say good and bad!

I lounged in one of the chairs in the charms room while I waited for Daphne to show up for our first "tutoring" session. True to his word Professor Flitwick had told her I had agreed to meet with her once a week. I wasn't ashamed to admit to myself I was actually excited for the opportunity to spend time with Daphne and not have to sneak around to do it.

Some people might question it at first, but very few people if anyone would be willing to actually say something to me about it. Daphne would be safe from everyone but her own house as it was an unspoken rule that the other three houses associated minimally with members of Slytherin.

I knew Daphne didn't actually need tutoring, she was one of the best in class, so we would have the time to spend getting to know each other and discussing issues that arose with our coming child. It was a perfect cover, so naturally I was expecting something to go horribly wrong.

The week had gone by relatively smoothly as well and even Ron had managed to keep his temper in check. I was definitely due for some punishment from karma.

Daphne walked into the room roughly ten minutes later and the first thing I noticed was that her normally cold, aloof demeanor was slightly off. It was a small change and most wouldn't notice it, but I guess I had gained Voldemort's ability to read people as well. Her eyes weren't as cold but held a more annoyed look to them and the corners of her lips were turned down ever so slightly at the corners.

She dropped her bag unceremoniously on the floor and summoned a chair to herself to sit in across the table from me. I watched amused as she flopped down into the chair and crossed her arms. This was completely out of character for Daphne and I despite finding it funny I was curious as to what would be causing such an abrupt change in demeanor.

I didn't have to wait long to find out though. "Can you believe the nerve of him? Stopping me and commanding me to talk to him like he has some claim to me. He's lucky we were in public or I would have cursed him so bad he'd be in the hospital wing for months."

I had an idea who she was talking about, there were only a few people who thought that much of themselves in the school after all. I figured it was best to keep my mouth shut and let her finish her rant first though.

"Honestly just because his father is some important big shot at the ministry and their family has money. He doesn't own the world and he sure as merlin doesn't own me." She ended in a huff and I waited a minute before speaking just to make sure she was done.

"Well I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Malfoy was his normal pompous self to you recently. Then I'm also going to kindly remind you I'm here to tutor you in charms, and not be your new personal counselor. I'm sure if you're having problems with a housemate that your wonderful head of house would be happy to assist you."

Daphne looked at me and snorted. I'm not embellishing here either, she actually snorted. I couldn't help myself I fell out of my chair laughing. When I looked up any trace of her normal cold mask and perfectly emotionless expression was gone. Instead Daphne was looking anywhere but at me and trying to fight the light blush in her cheeks and her slightly red ears.

I finally was able to get myself under control and back into my seat about two minutes later. "I'm sorry Daphne but the fact that you, little miss perfect Slytherin princess, snort? That's hilarious and great black mail material. How positively unladylike of you."

I noticed Daphne reaching for her wand and decided it was time to get on track. I held out my hands in defeat. "Alright I promise not to tell anyone, but let's get this started in case someone decides to drop by and see how one of the few Gryffindor-Slytherin study sessions that occur in this place is going."

"Potter…sorry Harry I don't really need tutoring. I'm one of the best in this class behind only Granger and now you I guess. Funny how you've suddenly become a prodigy in classes isn't it? Almost like you've been holding back all the past years, or maybe you were being held back?" She leaned across the desk so we were only a few inches apart and I had to look into her eyes. Her mask was back in place except now there was a slight hint of a victorious smirk to it.

"Yes you were right about what you said last year Daphne. Is that what you wanted to hear? Does it make you feel good to know that I was to blind to see that one of my best friends was a jealous git who only hung around me so that he could ride the curtails of my 'fame'? Or that I completely missed the fact that the other one thought I was dumber than Crabbe and Goyle combined?"

My voice held no venom in it or any emotion for that matter. I didn't want to give her the pleasure of making me angry over something that had already been established. I knew she had been right, but I didn't think she would actually make me come out and say it. No matter I would find someone to get her back for it.

I watched as she leaned back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest. The action pushed her breasts up and I'm not ashamed to admit that got my attention. I shook my head and reached for the charms text book. She really was very good at getting people off topic, or maybe it was just me who fell for it?

"Anyway like I said, let's start the tutoring session. Before you argue you said it yourself that you are very good at the subject, but I'm still better. I'm not going to insult your intelligence Daphne. I think too much of you to do that. So instead I'm going to teach you some of the more advanced things I know. Give it a couple of lessons and you'll be better than even Hermione in class."

I could see the argument die out of Daphne at the prospect of being able to beat Hermione. It was obviously something of a sore spot for her and probably impacted negatively on her pureblood pride.

"Alright what can you teach me then?"

I smirked knowing I was going to have to catch her attention right away or risk being sidetracked again.

"I can show you how to conjure a patronus. I've been able to do it since third year so I've got some practice with it."

There it was. Her eyes suddenly had a light in them that hadn't been there before. It was a gleam of curiosity mixed with a hunger for the knowledge of what was deemed advanced magic. If I had been more adept at reading people before this year I'm sure I would have seen it in Hermione's eyes every time we started a new subject in class that she hadn't read about before.

"First things first. You can't go into this expecting to have results right away. It took me the entire school year to get to a corporeal patronus. That was in third year though so I wouldn't have had as much magical power and the theory was harder for me to understand. If you take these lessons seriously you could probably get a hold of the spell in two or three months."

Daphne nodded in understanding. "I'll do it. I was impressed when you produced yours in class and if you can get those results wordlessly I can only imagine what it would be like if you did it verbally."

"I know you're eager to start Daphne, but I just need to make sure you understand how this spell works. You're going to have to concentrate on the happiest moment you have in your life that you can remember. That means it could be a very personal moment for you and you might have to share it with me if you aren't getting the right results so we can determine if the memory is suitable or not. Are you willing to do that?"

"I've already shared one of the most intimate moments of my life with you Harry, in case you forgot that minor detail."

Seeing the perfect opening for a little revenge I spoke up. "Hard to forget something I think about every night Daphne." I was disappointed when she hid her shock well. I turned my book around towards her so that she could read it. "There are ten pages in this book on the theory of a Patronus charm. I want you to read it over carefully. Don't skim it or skip any part because the spell is complicated and you will need to understand how it works for it to work properly."

She didn't say anything else and instead pulled a quill and piece of parchment from her bag and began to read. I watched as she read the first paragraph or so and decided she wouldn't have too many questions in the beginning. I looked through my bag for something to read for the time being since I had done all my homework already.

I finally settled on the book Sirius had given me about magical births and the first few years of the child's life. I hadn't read anymore in it since the summer and figured now that the time was starting to go by I should read up on what to expect not only from the child, but Daphne as well.

We sat in a comfortable silence reading for what turned out to be about an hour before Daphne finished scribbling on her parchment and shut the book I had given her. I looked over the top of my book and found her staring at me with a funny expression on her face.

"Are you really reading a book on the birthing process right now?"

That caught me off guard and I felt my eyebrows rise. "Well I am, but no one else but I was supposed to be able to read this title. I should have known that my go- good friend who gave me this book would have lied about that." I wanted to smack myself at almost slipping up and saying godfather. To some people that wouldn't mean anything, but with Daphne being a part of an old pureblood family I didn't know if she was aware just who my godfather was. That was one conversation I was not yet ready to have.

"Well whenever you're ready to tell me who that good friend is let me know. Anyway I've got some questions and you are going to answer them. How you managed to grasp half of that in your third year I'll never know."

"Demanding I answer? Sounds like you might be hanging around a certain blonde Slytherin too much. Go ahead and ask away."

So I spent the next thirty minutes reviewing what she had read and doing my best to explain the theory in simpler terms. By the end of our session Daphne had said she had a good grasp on it and was excited to start practicing. I asked her not to attempt it anywhere that others were present as I didn't want people begging me to teach them also.

I finished packing up my bag and waited for Daphne to finish putting her stuff away before swishing my wand at the two chairs and desk so that they would right themselves. I smirked as they started to dance their way back to the original spots they had come from.

"No one likes a show off Harry."

I looked towards the sound of the voice and was surprised to find Daphne standing very close to me. Not one to be caught off guard so easily I simply looped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me. I leaned down and whispered into her ear. "I have some other magic I could show off for you if you'd prefer."

It was lame and I knew it but sometimes you just can't pass up an opportunity to use a dumb line.

Daphne leaned back in my hold and placed a hand on my chest. "That was really lame Harry. It takes more than some cheap magic tricks and kind words to get with me." She leaned in and pecked me lightly on the lips before freeing herself from my hold and heading towards the door.

"So is that how this is going to go from now on? We see each other and exchange some stories and teasing remarks and then leave like nothing is different."

My words stopped her in her place. When she turned around there was an anger I hadn't seen before in her eyes. "You're the one who said you wanted nothing to do with me Harry. Did you ever stop to think that maybe the only reason we have these little sessions and nothing more is because one of us is afraid?"

"What is there to be afraid of?" I was genuinely curious. I didn't feel afraid of what I was feeling for Daphne so she must have been talking about herself.

"What is there to be afraid of? How about everything? What we do now is all well and nice, but what happens when the truth comes out? You know that the rumors will be relentless. It's going to be a terrible environment. Also it doesn't help that one of us is hunted by a dark lord."

"So you're saying this is my fault then? You're blaming me for being angry that you tricked me. I said things I didn't mean during the summer. I'm sorry if I hurt you then. The other things though, who cares what other people say? We both know the truth about us and about our child so let them talk. It's not like I'm not used to being bashed or hated by the general public anyway. That last one isn't fair either. I didn't choose to have him come after me."

"No I'm not saying it's your fault! I'm telling you why this can't be anything more than it already is! In fact maybe it shouldn't be what it is. I still want you to tutor me, but that's it. No more teasing, flirting, or whatever we've been bloody doing. I'll see you around Harry."

And I didn't do anything as she walked out. I stood there feuding with myself. I was angry at her, myself, and everything that moved. But I could also see her points and it pained me that I agreed with her. After all who really wants to be with someone who was hunted by public enemy number one?

Looks like I had just given myself one more reason to work hard at finishing Voldemort. If he was getting in between me and my chance at a real family well then that just wouldn't do.

The weekend went by quickly which I was thankful for. We had our first Quidditch match against Hufflepuff and were able to beat them easily enough. I felt slightly guilt for feeling good about winning when it was partially my fault their seeker had died the year before.

I reasoned with myself that it wouldn't have mattered though since Cedric would have graduated last year anyway. Hufflepuff would still have been weak at the seeker spot regardless.

I went through my schedule on autopilot. It was the same routine every day for me now, and I found myself wishing for something to happen just to change up the monotony of it. Wake up, go to class, eat lunch, go back to class, hang out with Neville, go to Quidditch practice, and then find some time to study and practice on my own.

I stopped taking my nutrition potions because I had finally seemed to reach where I should have been growth wise if the Dursleys had treated me like a normal person. Now I would just have to maintain a healthy diet and some exercise so that I could continue to grow.

I was grateful when I woke up and realized it was Friday morning. That meant the weekend was almost there and I would have time to myself. It also meant that I would get to talk to Daphne again though. I had tried a few times during the week to approach her, but she had been able to avoid me. Tonight though she would come for her tutoring and I was going to talk to her and sort through this mess we created.

At least that was what I had been telling myself. I had no guarantee that she would show up at all. I sat down at one of the tables towards the back of the history class and pulled out the charmed quill I had taken to using for my notes. Unlike a human the quill couldn't be put to sleep by listening to Binns drone on about goblin wars.

Neville pulled out the seat next to me and dropped himself into it, and then Hannah sat on the other side of him. I greeted both of them and gave a smile to Susan who had sat down next to Hannah.

I watched as Neville set up his charmed quill as well. It had actually been his idea for us to use them. "So what are your plans for the weekend Nev?" I knew his trip to Hogsmeade with Hannah had gone well and the two were now a 'thing' according to the Hogwarts rumor mill.

"Not too much to be honest with you mate. I think Hannah and I are going to do some extra work in the greenhouses since Professor Sprout gave us permission to use them on the weekends."

I waggled my eyebrows at him suggestively and received a punch to the shoulder for my efforts. "Stop being a pervert Harry. You know what I meant, and…" he leaned in and lowered his voice before continuing, "unless you want a rumor to start about you and your mystery woman I suggest you keep your dirty thoughts to yourself. Or maybe you would like for the next front page Daily Prophet to be all about Harry Potter's love affair."

I shook my fist menacingly in front of his face in mock anger. "If you even think about it Longbottom…" I let the threat hang in the air for a second before breaking into a smile.

Neville shook his head at my antics. "So what about you? I know you've got Quidditch and all, but any other plans for the weekend?"

"Not really. I'm looking forward to having some time to myself this weekend. Also I might try and contact my godfather and see how he is doing. It's been a while since I've heard from him. Today is the busiest for me because I have practice and then I have a charms tutoring session with Daphne."

Neville gave me a pensive look before he spoke again. "Yeah those tutoring sessions….don't you think it's kind of odd Harry? I mean obviously you are good, but so is Greengrass. In fact before this year she was probably the best or close to it in our year. Also when did you start referring to her by her first name?"

I mentally cursed myself for a stupid slip like that. I shouldn't have shown such a familiarity by using her first name. "I don't know I guess it just slipped. And I guess it is kind of suspicious of her, but she was willing to listen and do what I said last time. So long as she doesn't attack me or try to I see no reason to stop helping her."

"You're hiding something about this Harry. You've become very good at fooling people, but we're close friends now and it's much harder to keep secrets from people you're close to. I mean you managed to figure out who I wanted to ask out in a matter of minutes. I'm not telling you to stop helping her, but if there is something else going on between you two…"

It was scary how accurate Neville's implication was, and I feel bad about keeping things from him but this needed to stay a secret longer. "Neville it's nothing like that I promise. If I tell you this you can't tell anyone else though." I waited for his nod before he continued and I spared a glance to make sure Hannah and Susan weren't paying us attention. "I'm not teaching Daphne the conventional charms from the text books. I'm showing her more advanced magic like the patronus. That's why she wanted these lessons; because she knew I could teach her things beyond what would be covered in school."

Mentally I let out a sigh of relief as I watched Neville's eyes widen in shock. He had bought the half-truth and I was covered for now. "Oh wow, yeah I can see why you and she wouldn't want other people knowing that. I'm sure you don't want the extra attention and Slytherins like to keep their true strength a secret." Neville looked down at his paper for a moment to read what was being copied down before looking back at me with a smile. "That's so much more boring than what I had hoped for though. Where's your sense of adventure Harry? Think about how many hearts you could break and lines you could cross by having a candid love affair with a Slytherin."

I chuckled at that last part. "My sense of adventure? Being hunted down by a bunch of angry women doesn't appeal to me as much as facing down dark lords and basilisks, sorry."

Our conversation stopped after that and I went back to working on a potions assignment while Neville poked at a sleeping Hannah with his wand. It was only a single session this morning for history which meant we had a two hour break between the times the lecture ended and when lunch began so I decided to make the most of it. I went back to the common room and changed into some exercise clothes. I would have looked out of place walking through the castle dressed like that so I decided to simply fly down to the lake. I shrunk my broom down and put it into the pocket of my shorts before taking off at a moderate pace. I enjoyed the feeling of the early morning sun beating down on me as I circled the lake. It was just enough to take the nip out of the air. In another few weeks it would be too cold to run in shorts so I was all too happy to take advantage of the weather.

I ran for about an hour before I finally came to a halt and decided I should go back up and take a shower before lunch. I took my time in the shower and getting dressed knowing I still had an hour before the food would start being served, and another two hours before my next class. When I finally was ready and emerged from the common room portrait I was surprised to see one of the younger Gryffindors standing outside.

"Please help me! I forgot the password to the tower and I tried to ask one of the prefects who came through earlier, but he told me if I couldn't remember I didn't deserve to be let in and then shut the portrait in my face."

I couldn't believe what I had just heard and yet part of me already knew which prefect had done this. Ron had been passed out in his bed when I had flown into the window after my run. "Sure I can help you, but first can you tell me what the prefect looked like?"

The boy, Adrian was his name if I remembered correctly, looked relieved I was going to help him. "He was tallish and had bright red hair. I think his last name is Weasley, but I don't know for sure."

My suspicions were correct then that Ron was indeed not doing his duties again. Already I'd seen him using his power to get away with bullying the younger years and now this. Looks like I was going to have a talk with McGonagall about Ron's behavior. I didn't want to be a prefect and was going to make that very clear, but obviously something needed to be done about Ron. "The password is lion heart. If he gives you anymore trouble just come find me and let me know."

I watched to make sure the boy got inside okay and then closed the portrait behind him. Before I could walk away though the fat lady spoke up. "I wanted to let him in you know, but the magic on this portrait forbids me from opening without the password. I couldn't believe that Weasley boy when he did that. You should really teach your friends some manners Mr. Potter."

"He's no friend of mine madam. We had quite the falling out and now he sees me as some kind of traitor. I'm going to take care of this issue right now though. I'm going to talk to our head of house about his blatant misuse of power and failure to do his duty as a prefect."

The fat lady smiled at me and made a shooing motion with her hands. I took the hint and started down the stairs disgusted with myself at how much of a stuck up ponce that last sentence made me sound. It reminded me of when Percy had been a prefect and how he use to talk all the time.

It didn't take me long to reach the door to Professor McGonagall's office. I knocked on the door and waited for her to either answer it or call out for me to come in. It didn't take long and soon she was standing in the door staring down at me with her usual stern expression.

"What can I help you with Mr. Potter? Class is not for another hour or so, and I can't imagine you are here this early without a reason."

"Actually I had an issue I wanted to discuss with you Professor if you have some free time."

She looked over her shoulder and then moved out of the doorway back into the room which I took as a sign to step in. I walked to the front of the office and stood behind the simple wooden chair in front of the desk she now sat at.

"Go ahead and take a seat Mr. Potter. Then please tell me what this issue is that has brought you to my office."

I did as I was told and sat down. I took a moment to gather my thoughts as I didn't want this come out as a jealous rant and get dismissed. "This is actually about Ron professor. Well really it's about him being a prefect and not doing his job."

I watched as the professor took in my words and nodded a little bit. "I had suspected as much from him to be honest. I even voiced my thoughts and concerns to the Headmaster when he suggested that Mr. Weasley be the prefect. I had originally wanted it to be you Mr. Potter."

That bit of news caught me off guard. The headmaster had suggested Ron? That bade the question of why. "I didn't know that Professor, but thank you for your faith in me. We both know I have too big of a rule breaking streak and history to be a good prefect though."

That got a rare smile from McGonagall. "You know your father once said the same thing to me when I told him I wanted to make him a prefect. Although when he found out who the female prefect was going to be he was much more accepting of the position."

I filed away that little memory of my parents in my mind as another piece of information I didn't know about them. "I couldn't picture my dad as a prefect with everything I've heard about him Professor. We're getting off track though. I came down here because just a little while ago when I left the common room there was a first year outside. He begged me to help him and said that Ron had told him if he couldn't remember the password then he didn't deserve to be let in."

Any traces of the smile were now gone from McGonagall's face when she looked at me. "That is very disturbing news indeed. Is this the only incident you have witnessed?"

I shook my head. "I wish it was, but I've seen Ron using his power to bully some of the younger years and not just from Gryffindor either. I've tried to step in when I could, but I don't want a confrontation with him and we both know he has a short temper."

"You are correct Mr. Potter and I'm glad you have brought this to my attention now. I think Mr. Weasley and I will be having a conversation later today about his behavior. If I don't think he is willing to change his attitude then I will have no choice but to strip him of his badge and title. Would you be willing to accept the position them Mr. Potter?"

I thought about it for a moment and I knew I didn't want it. That's when a brilliant idea came to me. "No Professor I won't take it. However I think there is someone else who has really come out of his shell this year and is starting to display the Gryffindor attributes nicely who deserves that badge more than I do."

"You are referring to Mr. Longbottom I presume then? You are correct in saying he has really started to open up this year. Perhaps you're right then, and I know his grandmother would be ecstatic to learn he was a prefect."

"Well that was all I had Professor, if you have nothing else for me I'm going to get some lunch before your class. Wouldn't want to be lacking energy and fall asleep; who knows what I might wake up as." I grinned cheekily at her and added an extra wink at the end before making my retreat towards the door. As it was closing I could have sworn I heard her mutter something about being just like my father.

Lunch was a very simple thing. I sat across from Neville and Hannah who were eating by the time I got there. I couldn't keep the smile off my face and it must have been quite disconcerting because Hannah grinned uneasily at me while Neville just looked confused.

"Hey Harry mate, you mind turning down the smile just a little? You look like a kneazle that just caught a rat."

I spared a glance down the table towards where Ron and Hermione were sitting and my smile got even brighter as I saw Ron toying with the badge on his robes. Soon enough it would be gone and he'd be back to being nobody.

"Sorry I'm just so excited for Transfiguration today, aren't you?"

I could tell it was killing Neville not knowing what had me so giddy, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise that was waiting for him.

"Yeah sure mate, transfiguration with the Slytherins is always a lot of fun. Plus you'll get to see your raven haired beauty." I choked on the bite of a sandwich I had taken as Neville burst into laughter and Hannah just looked torn between confusion and uncertainty.

"Raven haired beauty? What are you talking about Neville, and I'd choose your words very carefully if I were you?" I purposely glanced at Hannah.

Neville followed my stare and then turned back to me to avoid Hannah's eyes. "I was just stating the obvious Harry. I mean clearly you're so excited for Transfiguration because your heart sings when in the presence of Greengrass. Wasn't it just this morning you were telling me how you were going to ask her to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

Before I could respond to that Hannah jumped in. "Really Harry? I never knew you were interested in someone outside of Gryffindor! In fact before the falling out between you and Hermione I always thought you two would wind up together. Well if Daphne says yes when you ask her you two should join Neville and I at Madam Puddifoot's tomorrow for a double date!"

One look at Neville and I saw the desperation in his eyes. So this had been his way to try and save himself from going to that place alone. It all made sense now, but that didn't help me out since I had been trying to keep attention away from Daphne and I. In fairness to Neville he would have never done this had I been honest with him.

"That's a big if Hannah. We've only talked once and that was at our tutoring session last week. I don't know if I like her, but it would be nice to get out of the castle and if I get to take some decent company with me that's a plus. Please keep this to yourself though because you know how most people can be about the house rivalry thing."

"Oh no worries Harry! I won't tell anyone. Neville has mentioned that you like your privacy and I can only assume that Daphne does to. You have my word that no one will hear it from me."

I nodded my head in acceptance of that trusting that Hannah would honor her word. Hufflepuff's were known for their loyalty after all. Nothing was out of control yet with the situation but I would have to handle it very carefully from here on out or it could blow up in my face quickly.

"Anyway I think we should get heading out for class. Come on Nev let's go otherwise we might wind up sitting next to Ron."

I shuttered at the thought for added effect and that got Neville going as he grabbed his bags and gave Hannah a peck on the cheek before falling into step next to me. Once we had climbed the second flight of stairs he spoke.

"I'm sorry for doing that Harry. I know you told me there was nothing going on, but I panicked when Hannah said we were going to that place. You've heard the stories about how horrid it is. Please don't make me go alone."

It was funny how pathetic that last sentence sounded and I couldn't keep myself from laughing. "You really think Greengrass is going to just agree to go with me to that place to help you? Are you forgetting who you want me to ask? I don't take her for the type of girl to be into all the pink frills and lace."

Neville visibly paled as we came up to the door to the classroom. "Oh bugger. I'm screwed."

Half way through class right after we had finished listening to a lecture McGonagall asked Ron to come up front to talk to her. She must have put up a silencing spell or something because I was unable to hear what was being said, but Ron's red face and hand gestures told all that I needed to know.

Within a few minutes the whole class was focused on what was happening up front. McGonagall noticed this and must have decided it was best to end the spectacle because she reached up and ripped the prefect badge from Ron's robes.

Somehow I managed to keep the smirk from my face as she walked towards my table. Neville nudged me and I saw him smiling at me. He stopped smiling though when McGonagall walked around me and placed the badge in front of him.

I smirked as his mouth now hung open like a fish. "Congratulations Mr. Longbottom you are now the Gryffindor prefect. Please make sure to use your powers wisely. Also if you could stay after class I will give you your patrol schedule."

I turned back to my work once she walked away and started focusing on our assignment. Most of the class still sat dumbfounded though. I noticed Ron had managed to make his way back to his desk and was glaring angrily at me for some reason. He most likely blamed me for this and even if he was right that didn't mean I had to let him know that.

I elbowed Neville hard in the ribs a few minutes later when I noticed he was still just staring at the badge with an unbelieving expression. "Hey genius, pick up the badge and attach it to your robes. That's normally how those things work at least."

Neville finally seemed to shake himself out of the daze and quickly scooped up the badge and place it on his robes. Then he turned to me and quietly whispered. "This is what had you smiling so much this morning isn't it? You knew Ron was going to lose his prefect duty, but that begs the question of how you knew. I don't expect you to fill me in right here Harry, but I would like to hear the whole story of how this came to be later."

I nodded and continued to focus on our assignment for the day. Truthfully I could have finished the transfiguration already and been done with it, something I suspected McGonagall knew, but I was taking my time and trying to make it perfect. "Make sure you write and tell your grandmother Nev, I'm sure she will be ecstatic to hear you've been made a prefect."

If it was possible Neville seemed to smile even more at that. "Gran is going to be over the moon! She's always been hard on me and never thought much of me you know? And I guess well I hadn't really shown her anything to celebrate in the years before, but now she can be really proud of me!"

Class went on for another thirty minutes or so before the bell finally rang signaling the end of it. I was slow gathering my books and supplies up, and told Neville to go on ahead and send his letter out since I knew he was excited to get the news to his Gran.

I had my back turned but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and instinctively I stepped to the side and was thankful as a gold spell flew straight through where I had just been standing. My wand slipped into my hand and a silent protego saved me from being knocked out as a stunning spell smacked into it. I looked up and finally saw Ron was the one who had attempted to curse me.

The professor had left the classroom already and the only people left were a few Slytherins, Ron, and myself. I assumed he thought no one would step in and say anything and if he caught me from behind and unprepared that he could finally get some revenge.

"You just made a huge mistake Ron." Outwardly I was calm and dangerous, but inside the anger at being attacked from behind by the coward was boiling to the surface. Some Gryffindor he was. Brave, honorable, and noble were not characteristics that fit the description of Ron Weasley.

The spells flew from my wand so fast Ron never had a chance. An unpowered blasting curse to his midsection caused some satisfying cracks and snaps as his ribs were broken. He doubled over in pain, but not before my second curse connected with his wand arm. It was one of the spells I had been practicing on my own and while not dark it certainly wasn't taught at school. His arm twisted violently back at the elbow until there was an audible pop and then the sound of tearing as the bone broke and pushed its way through the skin.

Ron lay on the floor screaming bloody murder and I'm sure his pain was only made worse by the fact that he had landed on the broken arm side. His wand had fallen out of his grasp and rolled a good ten feet away or so. He was no longer a threat so I finished gathering up my bags and prepared to leave. Before I left I noticed that there were still other people in the room. Apparently Zabini had stayed back to watch the show and Daphne was looking at me with some unreadable emotion in her eyes.

I concentrated on Zabini and when he realized I was looking at him he gave me a nod and a simple. "Nice spell work Potter." Before he disappeared out of the door and into the hall.

I didn't spare Daphne another glance as I walked out of the door, but soon I heard footsteps coming up quickly behind me. Soon enough she was walking next to me. "Surely you're not going to just leave Weasley lying in there like that? It could be hours before someone finds him."

I raised an eyebrow but kept my head straight forward as we walked. "If you're so worried about him Daphne you could go back and help him, or tell someone where he is so that they can get help for him."

She was right that if this had been last year I never would have attacked Ron so viciously, and I definitely wouldn't have just walked out and left him there. Things had changed though in the months since last year. If I planned on surviving this war then I was going to need to learn to cause pain and not let my natural instincts to save people kick in.

Thanks to the tiny part of Voldemort that had fused with me it was actually much simpler than I thought it would be. None of the injuries were life threatening right now and someone would eventually go looking for Ron. He was too much of a loudmouth for people to not notice his absence long.

"Are you still coming to our tutoring lesson tonight Daphne?" I figured I might as well figure out if I should be expecting her or if I should find something else to do with my time.

"I told you we would be continuing our lessons Potter. I'll see you after dinner in the charms classroom just like we have talked about and agreed to."

I should have just let her walk away as she turned to head down the stairs and probably go back to her dormitory, but I didn't. For some reason I reached out and lightly grabbed her arm to stop her. I felt her tense up in my grasp and she turned to me with anger in her eyes.

"What do you think you're doing Potter? Let go of me!" She reached for her wand but I was quicker and pulled her to me and looped my arms around her. She froze in my embrace.

"I'm sorry I hurt you Daphne. The things I said to you this summer were because I was angry at how you had tricked me. It's not how I really feel and if I could go back and stop myself I would." I stepped back and let my arms fall away from her since it wasn't worth risking getting caught like that. "But you're right about this. We can't be anything more than what we were before our argument until it's all over. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to our child."

I stood there waiting for her to say something for a few minutes, but all she did was look back at me with an unreadable expression. I gave up and sighed letting my shoulders drop. "I just needed to let you know that Daphne. I've been trying to tell you all week, but you kept avoiding me." I turned and walked up the stairs heading to what most people would assume was the dorm, but I had some practicing to do and a few hours to use the room of requirement before I would have go to dinner and then the tutoring lesson. When I reached the next flight of stairs I looked back to see Daphne had gone and just shook my head sadly.

The rest of my walk to the room of requirement I spent thinking about my ability to mess up good situations with seemingly no effort.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Neville had come in and told me all about sending his letter off to his Gran. Then he had gone to tell Hannah about what had happened and had spent the rest of the time celebrating.

Right before the end of dinner I saw Professor McGonagall walking towards me with an expression of concern and displeasure on her face.

"Mr. Potter, may I have a word with you in the entrance hall please?"

I said nothing but stood up and followed her out of the doors of the great hall.

"I assume this is about what happened to Ron today ma'am?"

She nodded her head. "You would be correct Mr. Potter. I was very surprised when I returned to my classroom after your lesson and found Mr. Weasley lying unconscious in the middle of the room. He had some very severe injuries. Naturally I took him to the hospital wing and Madam Pompfrey was able to set him right, but when he woke up and I questioned him he began to throw out all sorts of allegations saying you had attacked him and left him to die. I'm not one to just take one side of a story Mr. Potter so I wanted to talk with you before punishment was dealt."

I marveled at how professional McGonagall was even in the toughest of times. "Well Professor I don't know what he told you, but it was me who inflicted those injuries to him. Rest assured it was only done out of self-defense though. I had been cleaning up my books when two curses were thrown at my back. Luckily I dodged one and got a shield up to absorb the second. I fired back to spells and Ron failed to move out of the way. You don't have to take my word for it though. There were two other people in the classroom when this happened, but they are both Slytherins so it might take some coaxing for them to tell you what they saw."

I could tell my honesty had caught her off guard. She had probably been prepared to deal with someone who would try and lie and cover their tracks. I felt no guilt over what I had done though and so I had no reason to lie about it. "Well that certainly does paint a different picture than what Mr. Weasley had told me. However you still left him there and from what I can garner you made no effort to get help for him. Can you explain that part of the story because if you can't then I'm afraid you will be serving one night of detention with me for failing to report the incident."

"Well I guess I will be seeing you for detention then Professor. I had no real reason not to get help or let someone know what had happened, but I didn't feel that Ron deserved it. He attacked me from behind and clearly intended to harm me, so I decided I would leave him to his pain. I knew someone would come looking for him shortly. He's not the easiest person to forget about after all considering how loud he can be."

My last statement got a very slight upturning of the lips out of the stern professor and I counted that as a victory for myself. "Very well Mr. Potter tonight you will come to my classroom and serve detention with me."

She walked away but I called out to get her attention. "Professor I have a charms tutoring session tonight also, would it be okay if I served my detention after that so I'm not negatively affecting someone else?"

"Ah yes, Professor Flitwick had mentioned you were tutoring one of your fellow peers. That is an acceptable offer Mr. Potter. Be at my classroom no later than 8 o'clock though."

I nodded my thanks and hurried off in the direction of the charms classroom. I would have approximately two hours with Daphne before my detention and I wanted to make the most of it.

When I got to the room and I was surprised to find her already inside with the desks set up the same way they had been the last week. I walked over to my chair and sat down. She briefly glanced up at me from the book I had leant her on the patronus theory before her eyes were once again scanning the pages.

I let her keep reading the theory knowing she would begin talking when she was ready. It only took another ten minutes before she closed the book and looked at me expectantly.

"Well how do we do this? I couldn't find anywhere suitable to practice during the week so tonight will be my first time with actually trying the spell."

I nodded my head in understanding. "Alright now just keep in mind this is going to take time most likely. Unless you have some extreme aptitude for this spell you most likely won't have amazing results tonight. Now stand up and I'll help you with the wand movement for it. This can get tiring when you are first learning to cast because you're going to be drawing circles with your wand while you focus on the happiest memory you have. Holding your arm out and spinning it in circles for a minute or two at a time can get more tiring than you would think after an hour or so."

Daphne nodded her head and I watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before raising her arm and beginning to trace circles in the air. "That's good but remember you want the circles to be crisp and precisely drawn. If they are done lazily the magic will react as such. For this spell to work you have to be very deliberate with everything from your memory to the wand movement."

It took her longer than I expected before she finally said the incantation and opened her eyes. I wasn't surprised when the only sign that she had done anything was a slight flash of silver at the tip of her wand. It was progress though. It had taken me weeks to even produce that much of a result when I was younger, but I guessed that having a more developed magic core and being older would make the spell easier.

Daphne for her part looked crest fallen at first that she hadn't managed to produce anything, but then screwed her face up into an expression of concentration and closed her eyes before repeating the process.

So I watched as that same cycled continued for an hour and a half. At that point there was sweat beads forming on Daphne's face and she was panting lightly. She had managed to get a larger flash of silver and even have it move slightly off the tip of her wand. It was truly a great achievement and I told her as much, but she didn't look like she believed me.

I cast a tempus and found that it was a few minutes after seven thirty. "I have detention tonight at eight so we need to start wrapping this up. I know you don't seem to think so, but what you accomplished today with this charm is outstanding. It took me almost a full two weeks to produce that effect when I learned. If you don't mind me asking, what memory are you using to power your charm? I might be able to tell you if it's going to work in the long run or not so if it isn't you can focus on finding a new one."

Daphne hesitated at first but then must have remembered I had warned her about this. "I was thinking about the last Christmas celebration I had with my family. It was before all of this happened. We were a normal family, following normal traditions, and leading normal lives. Everyone was so happy that day and we had no idea something like this was what lay in wait for our family."

I frowned knowing the memory wouldn't be nearly strong enough to help form a corporeal patronus. "That's a good memory Daphne but it's not going to work if you want a corporeal patronus. It could probably be used to form the vapor or shield form of a patronus, but if you want to have a fully corporeal one you're going to have to look deep inside yourself and find the happiest memory you have in your life. After all the shape of the patronus is based off of your subconscious and the memory you use."

A frown marred her face but she didn't say anything. She tucked the book I had leant her into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. I swished my wand and just like last time the desks and chairs danced themselves back into place.

We stared at each other for a moment and she finally broke the awkward silence between us. "Well we did it. A whole lesson of tutoring with not even a slightly teasing or flirty comment."

"Yeah we did it." It was all I could think of to say and I hated myself for it.

"I'll see you next week then for another lesson. Hopefully I'll have some time to practice before then though."

She turned to walk out of the door and I opened my mouth remembering what Neville had asked me. "Wait Daphne would you go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow? Not as a date or anything, unless you want it to be a date I mean, but you see Neville got suckered into going to Madam Puddifoot's and was trying to get me to go with him and so I told him I would consider it but that I probably wouldn't find someone."

I waited for the inevitable blow up, spell, or brush off that was coming but was shocked when none of that happened. "Sure Harry. Like you said it's not a date, but I could do with some time out of the castle and I can ask you some more questions about this spell while we drink some ridiculously expensive tea that you're going to buy for me. I'll see you at 9 tomorrow then. Oh and try to look presentable."

I stood there blinking owlishly even after Daphne had left the room. I couldn't believe it had been that easy to ask Daphne out on a date. I mean not a date but a trip together to a 'romantic' tea shop. A clock chiming in the room told me it was eight o'clock and I was now late for my detention with McGonagall. Summoning my bag to me on the run I made a beeline for her classroom using every shortcut I could. I made it there in just ten minutes and opened the door to find a very annoyed professor staring back at me.

"I'm sorry ma'am. I got caught up at the tutoring and was putting the classroom back in order when I saw what time it was. I ran all the way here but I left too late."

The annoyed expression left her face. "Well at least you are here now Mr. Potter. Please come up here and sit so I can tell you about what you will be doing for this detention."

I did as she said and moved to take a seat in the chair in front of her desk. I didn't see too many papers stacked on her desk so I didn't think I would get stuck grading assignments which was nice. I hated reading through papers just to point out others mistakes.

"Tonight Mr. Potter you are going to be doing some reading for detention. You can start in this book on chapter four."

She pulled a large tome from her desk drawer and sat it down in front of me. My eyebrows rose once I read the title of the book. "Professor why am I reading from this book for detention this seems like more of a reward than punishment." The book I held was "A Master's Guide to Transfiguration" and it was meant for use only for people who were apprenticed in the field or trying to earn their mastery of the subject.

"Mr. Potter you and I both know you are holding back in class and I want to see just how much. Trust me once you start reading the chapter I have assigned you, you won't be thanking me. The concepts in it are extremely advanced and I will be quizzing you at the end. You have approximately one hour to read the chapter and memorize as much as you can so I suggest you begin."

I opened the book and began reading the chapter that I had been told to. Surprisingly it was about the animagus transformation. I had a strange feeling this detention might take a very different twist depending on how well I did on the quiz at the end. Becoming an animagus hadn't really ever crossed my mind before, but doing so would give me one more thing that made me like my father. They had done it while at school so I knew it was possible.

All too soon I heard a buzzing sound coming from across the desk and saw the tip of McGonagall's wand flashing red. "You're time is now up Mr. Potter. Let us begin the testing phase and see how much you understood and remembered from what I had you read."

What followed that statement was about twenty minutes of some of the hardest transfiguration questions I had ever been asked. Since I only had an hour to prepare I think I did fairly well.

"Well it seems you have been holding back more than I thought Mr. Potter. You gave some of those answers in such depth it was like you were reading the passage right out of the book. I think as a punishment for your deception you will be having detention two nights a week with me from now until winter holidays. Does that seem fair to you Mr. Potter?"

I knew better than to argue it. I wasn't dumb and had a good idea at what I would be doing in those detentions. "That's fair Professor, but what will be the official story. Surely the headmaster or some of the other teachers might find it suspicious that I've been given so much detention."

She nodded her head before looking at me. "Do not worry about them Mr. Potter. If asked you were caught taking money to do others homework and assignments. Now if you have nothing else I suggest you get some rest and try to make it back before curfew."

I rose and bid the professor good night before hurrying out of the room and back to the Gryffindor common room. Thankfully Neville was still awake and I was able to tell him that I would be going with him the next day to Madam Puddifoot's. His expression of shock was quickly replaced by one of happiness and thankfulness.

"So Daphne really agreed to go with you? Or did you have to bribe her?"

I debated lying about how easily she had agreed but decided against it. "Actually she was happy to go. Said something about using me for my money so I could buy her the most expensive tea they had, and that she wanted to ask me more about the charms I'm teaching her."

Neville seemed skeptical of it. "You really think that's all she wants Harry? You don't think she had any other reason behind agreeing?"

I gave Neville a 'what are you on about' look to which he just snorted and shook his head.

"Harry mate I thought I was the dense one when it came to girls. Let's go over this whole situation. You start disappearing for all sorts of reasons at nights and making half assed excuses. I'm now assuming you were meeting with her. For what I'm not sure of yet. Then out of nowhere she asks Professor Flitwick if you can give her tutoring lessons. There are plenty of older students who could do it, but nope she specifically requested you. Then you ask her to go to Madam Puddifoot's, and you said yourself she isn't the type of girl to be into that place, and she readily agrees. Mate the girl is into you whether you want to admit it or not."

I sat listening to Neville slowly becoming more and more intrigued as he kept going. He hadn't said anything I didn't already know, but it was interesting just to hear someone else say it. "Okay so say she is Nev, what difference does it make? Can you imagine the uproar it would cause if I was dating or even interested in a Slytherin, or vice versa for her? I can handle it I've certainly been treated worse and accused of worse, but she hasn't."

"Who cares what houses you're in!? In a few years we're all going to be out of school and most likely working and you could be interacting everyday with someone who was in a different house than you while at school. Yeah at first it might be bad, but if you ignore it or make a statement right away that you're not going to take the nonsense then eventually people will stop being interested."

I wondered when Neville had gotten so wise. "I know you're right Neville but it's honestly not like that between the two of us right now. It's strictly a tutoring thing, and yeah maybe she is interested but the truth is I don't have the time right now between classes, Quidditch, and now I have detention twice a week with McGonagall."

We stayed up a little while longer talking about nothing in particular. I explained to Neville why I had detention but then we went to bed so that we could be well rested for the next day.

I was in the Great Hall before 9 the next morning. I had walked down with Neville, but he had spotted Hannah and had gone over to her. I told him I would bring Daphne over when I found her. It didn't take me long to spot her in the corner talking to Tracey who looked very excited about something. Daphne for her part was doing her best to not look annoyed or bothered by what Tracey was saying but I could see the subtle signs of it.

As I got closer I could hear some of the conversation and suddenly understood what was going on and had a wicked idea.

"…so are you two snogging in those tutoring sessions? I bet he's a great kisser. How come you didn't tell me you two were a thing? How long have you been dating him Daph?!"

Daphne finally turned to Tracey to respond fed up with girl's pestering and I stopped my approach to listen. "Tracey for the final time I'm not dating Potter. Merlin he's helping me with charms and I asked if we could work on it today. He told me he had agreed to go with Longbottom to something in Hogsmeade but I could tag along. That's all there is to it."

I frowned seeing how annoyed Daphne was by the topic, this probably wasn't a good time to use my wicked idea then. I closed the last few feet and made my presence known.

"Morning Greengrass, Davis. You both look great this morning." I turned to Tracey, "Sorry to steal your friend for the day but Neville begged me to go with him on some double date and Daphne wanted to get together today to study more so this was just really convenient."

Tracey seemed put out that my story matched almost perfectly with what Daphne had told her. I had no doubt that the girl was waiting for a mess up to call us out on it. She brightened up though and got a wicked gleam in her eyes. "No worries Potter. If Daphne says she needs help then I'm sure she does." She leaned in to whisper something to my ear, but made sure to say it loud enough for Daphne to hear. "Between the two of us though I think she just needs a good shag. It gets awfully hard to concentrate on school work when you haven't in a while you know. Too many mixed emotions. So if you get her back late tonight then I won't complain."

I literally felt my mouth drop open in shock as Tracey turned and walked away from us. I watched as she joined up with the other Slytherin girls from our year and began to talk and sometimes point at different groups of people. Once or twice I saw one of them point in our direction but that was it.

Finally I turned and found Daphne to be looking me over. I let her finish her critique before saying anything. "So do I look presentable enough for you to be seen with me Miss Greengrass?"

With a perfectly practiced tilt of the head so it made it look like she was looking down her nose while talking to me Daphne said, "I suppose you'll do. I do appreciate you wearing robes that aren't that atrocious shade of red or gold."

I had chosen a pair of my nicer casual robes to wear that were simple black robes with a silver lining. I figured it would be easier than wearing something that would make us stand out so drastically as being from different houses.

I offered her my arm to which she looped hers through. We received a few head turns and double takes as I escorted her across the great hall to meet up with Neville and Hannah but that was it. No one showed any real concern in the matter until Malfoy spotted us.

"You've got to be kidding me. What the bloody hell do you think you're doing Potter?"

I looked at the boy as if he was dumb. "I'm about to go into Hogsmeade and enjoy my day with some good company. Mind moving out of the way?"

"If you think for one second I'm going to let you leave this castle with Greengrass you're an idiot. Now run along to your Gryffindork friends and leave her alone."

I went to comment but it was Daphne who beat me to it. "Malfoy you don't own me and I'll go wherever I want with whoever I want. Just because you can bully around the younger years doesn't mean it'll work on people who are better with a wand than you are."

I was surprised Daphne was openly confronting Malfoy; it was known throughout the school that Slytherins almost never got into an argument with each other outside where people might see them.

"Greengrass you know the rules. We're not doing this here. Now let's go we can talk this over in the common room and discuss how you can make up for your behavior." He raked his eyes up and down her and I felt her shiver in disgust while the anger in me started to boil. Neville walked up to me at that moment.

"Hey mate do you mind taking Daphne over to Hannah and introducing them, I think I need to have a word with Malfoy here before we head out."

Neville looked at me and then Malfoy before nodding his head and gesturing for Daphne to follow him. I was thankful she didn't put up an argument or make a fuss and just went with it. Malfoy was furious though and I watched as his wand came up and pointed at her back. I was quicker though and after casting a shield around Daphne to absorb the spell he had fired at her I turned my wand back onto him. My banishing charm caught him in the chest and flung him backwards and out of sight down one of the hallways where he landed with a thud. I entered the hall after him and made quick work of finding him. He was about ten feet down the hall and trying to pick himself up.

Using strength I didn't know I had I grabbed him by the front of his robes and picked him up so we were face to face. "If you ever try to curse Daphne or anyone else with their back turned in front of me again I'll make sure the Malfoy family line ends with you. Understand?" There were zero traces of humor in my voice and the words sounded dead even to my ears. Draco's normally pale complexion seemed to turn a shade whiter right in front of me. He nodded quickly and I set him down again. Before he could blink I hit him hard in the gut causing him to double over. I didn't want to leave the ferret standing and risk getting cursed in the back after all.

I walked out and found that now I had the attention of most of the students gathered in the hall. I was surprised there were no teachers yet, but figured most were already in the village supervising.

"Anyone else have a problem with me going to the village with my friend who is in a different house?"

No one said a word. In fact it was so quiet you definitely would have heard a pin drop. "Alright then I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day. I know I'm going to enjoy mine." I locked eyes with Tracey and gave her an exaggerated wink for show which caused said girl to burst out laughing.

Thirty minutes later found Daphne and I seated at a table next to Neville and Hannah in the tea shop. The tables were only meant for couples so we sat close enough to talk if we wanted, but could hold conversations separately as well.

True to her word Daphne had ordered a pot of the most expensive tea on the menu and the biscuits to go with it as well. She gave me a smirk when asking if I was going to be able to cover such an expensive date.

"So it's a date now? Funny I seem to recall you saying it wasn't a date last night." She had slipped up and I was going to capitalize on it.

To my dissatisfaction she just smirked at me. "I only said it wasn't a date after you said it wasn't. I didn't want to seem presumptuous. I'm okay with this being a date besides after what happened in the great hall this morning the rumors will be starting soon if they haven't. We don't need to really hide our relationship/friendship anymore, but the other situation I'd still like to keep a secret."

"You baited me there. I thought you had slipped calling it a date, but you definitely set me up. Damn sneaky little snake. I'll have to be more careful around you clearly. Okay so if we're going on the presumption that this is a date now does that mean we are together or just friends who go on dates?"

Daphne seemed to think about it before shrugging. "I'm not sure there is a real difference in the two. I suppose whichever one you feel more comfortable with."

"There is a definite difference Daphne." I scooted my chair around closer to her so I could lean in and talk like I didn't want to be overheard. It had the reaction I wanted by drawing the attention of Hannah and Neville. "Friends who date aren't always together, sometimes they do it for convenience or so that they don't have to feel lonely on holidays or weekends. If we are together than I can do this and its okay."

Before she could ask what 'this' was I slid one hand up and cupped her cheek before closing the distance between us and kissing her gently on the lips. The kiss didn't last long and wasn't deep it was just soft and sweet. I was aware we were still in public after all.

I leaned back and scooted my chair back around the table once the kiss was over. I hadn't been smacked, kicked in the jewels, or cursed yet so I was taking that as a good sign. I watched as Daphne reached up and touched her lips softly with her fingertips as if not believing what had just happened.

"That was…nice. Well if we're going on the premise that doing that is the difference between the two then I suppose we are together Potter because I like that."

I smirked at her. "Okay then I'm your boyfriend now and you are my girlfriend, just so we're clear?"

"We can discuss the official titles and what not after you give me that charms help I came here for."

I shook my head and laughed but agreed nonetheless.

Neville spoke up though catching our attention. "How did you two just make getting in a relationship sound like a business deal? It's supposed to be fun you know? You don't always have to gain something from it…"

Daphne just looked at him like he had grown two heads. "Longbottom I do things for the benefits. Even getting in a relationship for me is all about what I can gain in the process. Otherwise I might end up dating someone like Weasley."

Despite the fact that she was making fun of someone I had once been a friend with I found myself laughing and to my surprise, Hannah and Neville were as well. I was beginning to think that maybe just maybe coming on this date was a good thing. Well that is until two pixies carrying very full teapots collided over my head and I was covered in the hot liquid.

I scowled as the others laughed at my expense and the owner rushed out to try and get me cleaned up. I waved off her apologies and just scourgified myself before sending a playful glare at my girlfriend.

We didn't stay too much longer at the tea shop and as a group we walked back to the castle. The only difference from our trip on the way down was now Daphne's hand was interlocked with mine and she was leaning lightly against my shoulder. Her hair whipping into my face occasionally from the wind, but I didn't mind.

I was worried at first about the reactions we would get from the rest of the school once the weekend was over, but I remembered Neville's words from the night before and suddenly it didn't matter. The first person to speak out against Daphne and me was going to be in for a rude awakening. And I had two prime suspects for who it would be.