And so, year two begins. Of course, this time I will start in the summer vacation, because preparations for the school year have to be made. I already mentioned it way back in chapter one, but I've now definitively decided that Astoria does not exist in this story. Her presence would just cause too many issues for me. Enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen: An Eventful Vacation

Despite not having all that much homework, Daphne had a lot to do. Next year she really wanted to try and make Slytherin a more respectable House than it currently was. Everyone always seemed to focus on the negative aspects of it, and given what kind of people were in it, that was no surprise. But she knew that many Slytherins were perfectly fine people, whose reputation would only be 'good' in pureblood society. It also said a lot about pureblood society that having a reputation for being a ruthless jerk was seen as a positive trait there.

There was no way she'd be able to overcome Slytherin's bad reputation by herself, though, so she had to make a list of people she could talk to who might be able to help her in that regard. The fifth-year — sixth, now — Prefect Gemma Farley was at the top of her list, but ideally, she'd be able to get a few purebloods to help out as well.

Malfoy was out of the question. In her eyes, he symbolized everything that was wrong with Slytherin, and even if he'd been less of a git, his father would never allow him to change a reputation Lucius himself had helped build.

She sat at the dinner table with a scroll of parchment in front of her, writing down names of people who might be willing to listen. So far, she'd written down Pansy Parkinson, Tracey Davis, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini.

Though Parkinson usually supported Malfoy, she had tried to warn Daphne about him, so perhaps she'd be willing to talk. Tracey Davis was a bit quiet, but friendly, but she, like Gemma, was half-blood and wouldn't be quite as influential as some others. Nott and Zabini she was unsure about. Neither seemed like very nice people, but she honestly didn't know them well enough to really judge them.

The other two girls in her dorm, Millicent Bulstrode and Annabel Runcorn, she wasn't even going to try. Bulstrode liked using her strong physique to intimidate people and cared nothing for popularity or reputation.

Runcorn, meanwhile, never got into trouble, but she'd never shown any interest in anything or anyone, and Daphne didn't think that was likely to change anytime soon.

After going through the people she knew, though, she'd hit a bit of a wall. She wasn't all that well acquainted with any of the older Slytherins, and it was difficult to pick likely candidates from the few memories she had of them.

"That's a different kind of homework," Mum said from behind her.

Daphne looked up and grinned at her. Her mother had the same blonde hair she did, though worn a bit shorter, and her eyes were a shade grayer than Daphne's blue ones.

"I want to try and improve Slytherin's reputation with the other Houses," Daphne said.

"Haven't you already done that with those points you lost and then got back?" Mum asked.

"Yeah, but I was thinking of something a bit more…lasting. And not as focused on me, personally," she said.

Mum laughed. "You've changed a lot in your first year at Hogwarts. Last year you kept trying to practice subtle gestures and arrogant expressions in the mirror," she said.

Daphne felt her cheeks flush. "You saw that?!"

"Of course I did. It was just too funny to tell you about it, though."

Daphne groaned.

"Oh, cheer up, only me, Dad, and Finny saw you," Mum said.

"Them too? Ugh…"

Daphne leaned her head on her arms. And she thought she'd been so sneaky, too. She even made the mirror promise not to mention it to anyone.

"But really, Daphne, I'm glad you're so motivated, and I'm really happy you managed to make such good friends," Mum said. "By the way, if you want to know which people might be likely to help, why not go over your list with that Prefect you told us about, Gemma? She'll know most people in the House, won't she?"

Daphne nodded. "She's at the top of my list, yeah. I'll send her an owl tomorrow and maybe I can meet up with her in Diagon Alley. But thanks, Mum, I'm glad you think it's a good idea."

"It's a thankless task, but long overdue, I think," Mum said.

Her expression darkened a bit. "But you'll need to clear the table, now. We're getting visitors from the Ministry and I don't think they will appreciate your plans all that much."

Daphne nodded slowly and began to pack her things. She'd always wondered why business talks had to be conducted in people's houses instead of a meeting chamber at the Ministry, but it would probably have something to do with impressing the right people in the right ways. She'd have to learn about that kind of thing at some point, though thankfully that wouldn't be for a few years yet.

She went over to her room and found that Styx, her parents' black Greater Sooty Owl, was waiting for her in the windowsill. He carried a letter that, judging by the handwriting, had come from Ron. She took the letter, petted Styx, then sat down on her bed and opened the letter.

"Hey Daphne,

Have you heard from Harry yet? I know the vacation's only been going for two weeks, but Hermione hasn't gotten any replies to her letters, and neither have I. Hopefully there's nothing to worry about.

Anyway, I asked my parents, and Mum says you (and Harry and Hermione of course) are invited to stay at The Burrow (our house) for the last two weeks of summer. I hope you'll be able to make it, and I hope Harry will respond to my letters before then.

See you next month, I hope!

Ron"

Daphne smiled, but her smile faded a bit when she realized that Ron was onto something. She'd sent Harry a couple of letters, but she hadn't heard from him yet. Because she'd been busy with her plans she hadn't really noticed it, but now that she thought about it, it was strange for him not to reply. She decided she'd wait until Harry's birthday, about two weeks from now. If she hadn't heard anything from him by then, she'd take matters into her own hands.

With that decided, she sat down at her desk and took out a quill and parchment. She had people to write.

When Daphne entered the dining room later that night, after the Ministry visitors had left, her parents were still at the table discussing their meeting. They quickly stopped talking when Daphne entered, making her very curious as to what they'd been discussing, but there would be time to ask about that later.

"Mum, Dad, can I stay over at a friend's house for the last two weeks of summer?" she asked.

Dad nodded. "Of course. Which friend would this be?" he asked.

"Ron Weasley."

Dad's bushy eyebrows rose. "Weasley?" he said in a surprised voice. "I never thought I'd live to see the day where a Greengrass would consider a Weasley a friend — and vice versa."

He smiled warmly. "I'm very glad I did, though."

He hesitated for a moment. "Er..." he began, then fell silent again.

"What?" Daphne asked.

"It's…no, I probably shouldn't ask," Dad said.

"Dad, what is it?"

"Well, it's just that the Weasleys…don't have a lot of money. I…would like to offer them to pay for the expenses of hosting you, but I know that Arthur and Molly despise charity," he said uncomfortably. "But it would feel very impolite to not repay their kindness, at least."

Daphne couldn't believe what she was hearing. How had she ever been worried her parents wouldn't approve of her friendships if they were so willing to support her?

"I'll write to Ron," she said with a huge smile. "I'm sure he'll be able to think of something. Oh, and tomorrow I'd like to go to Diagon Alley. I'm meeting my House's Prefect there."

Dad nodded. "Ah, yes, Mum told me about your plans. It's good to see you being so diligent."

He scoffed. "If the Ministry had your attitude, it wouldn't be such a mess. How that Fudge ever became Minister, I'll never know."

"Trouble?" Daphne asked.

Dad shook his head. "Nothing for you to worry about. The regular cloak-and-dagger dealings of politics. Money needs to change hands in large quantities, as usual."

He smiled at her. "You just go on doing your own things. At least one of us will be doing something useful, that way."

Early the next day, Daphne Flooed over to Diagon Alley, where she met Gemma at Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor. With both of them enjoying a massive sundae, they got to business.

"I like your plan," Gemma said. "And I think there are quite a few people who will be willing to help. First, you should probably contact Isaac Moore, my year's other Prefect. That guy attracts misfortune like nothing else, but he's very nice those rare moments he isn't in the infirmary. He's also good at persuading people, when he needs to.

"Then there's Elsie Hall, a fourth-year half-blood who's grown up around mostly Muggles. She's vicious if you get on her bad side, but she's a skilled witch and prefers playing by the rules if at all possible.

"Freddie Lowe, sixth-year pureblood from a lesser-known family and not a fan of the purist rhetoric.

"Finally, I've got Hallie Knight. She's a third-year half-blood and she's really got a silver tongue, which she mostly uses to de-escalate fights — and unlike you, she generally manages to do it without making anyone angry at her."

Daphne was furiously writing down the names, happy that Gemma had been so proactive in coming up with people. She'd have to write letters to all of them and convince them of her plan. She'd already written to her own classmates, and at least Parkinson had replied somewhat positively, so Daphne would be meeting with her later in the week, at Parkinson Manor.

Daphne and Gemma spent the rest of their day discussing their plans, as well as speculating on who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was going to be.

"I heard Dumbledore's trying to get Gilderoy Lockhart to do it," Gemma said with a disgusted look. "I guess he's really hit rock bottom with his options for the post."

"Lockhart? Isn't he that guy on those magazines?" Daphne asked. She vaguely recalled hearing about him somewhere, but her father had read one single book Lockhart had written and declared it 'utter rubbish'. He was usually quite neutral about people he hadn't personally met, but apparently Lockhart's writing style was so atrociously self-centered he hadn't even made it through three chapters.

"He won Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile award five times in a row," Gemma confirmed. "If he's coming to teach, I'm pretty sure no one's going to learn anything. People will either be fawning over him or being bored to tears by him. He'll probably make Binns look like a good teacher by comparison."

"But if he's really accomplished all those deeds he says he has…"

"That's just the thing. If he's done those things. I'm not so sure that he has, or he really is the world's best actor," Gemma said.

Daphne shrugged. "Well, maybe Dumbledore will manage to find someone else. An ex-Auror, or something," she said.

Gemma didn't look hopeful.

"So what's this plan of yours?" Parkinson asked. She and Daphne were sitting in the luxurious garden of Parkinson Manor. "I'm always open to improve my own reputation, but I don't really see how what you want to do would help in that."

"Everyone hates Slytherin the way it is right now, except a number of Noble Houses," Daphne said. "Harry Potter hated Slytherin when he came to Hogwarts and he'd grown up with Muggles. To I suppose he did have the misfortune of meeting Malfoy on the train…"

Parkinson laughed. "Draco isn't that bad. Okay, he's a bit of an idiot, but there's more to him than just 'my father will hear of this'. It's just that that part of him is buried very, very deep within him," she said.

"Have you ever seen it? Because I definitely haven't," Daphne said.

"Well, that's obvious. You hate him and he hates you. Why would he show any other side to you than he's doing now?" Parkinson asked.

"I didn't hate him when I first came to Hogwarts," Daphne said. "I thought he was a useless idiot, granted, but I didn't hate him. For all I knew, he'd turn out to be a nice person. But he was a bully with an overblown sense of entitlement instead."

"You have an interesting idea of justice," Parkinson mused.

"Why? Because I don't see sense in antagonizing people for the hell of it?" Daphne asked.

"Isn't that what you're doing to him, as well? Or are you going to tell me you didn't enjoy seeing all of his plans fail last year?"

"Oh, I did," Daphne agreed, relishing the memory. "But I would never have done it if he hadn't gone after my friends. I asked him why he hated Harry, and all he said was that Harry 'lacked proper wizarding pride'."

Parkinson shrugged. "For some people that's reason enough," she said.

"Is it for you?" Daphne asked.

Parkinson didn't reply immediately. "It depends on what 'wizarding pride' means to you," she said eventually. "I'm proud of my family and its traditions. I don't want to change them just because some people can't deal with them. They can judge me however they want, because I know there are others who have the same values as I do."

Daphne frowned. That line sounded far too rehearsed for a twelve-year-old, but it would likely be something echoed by other people who weren't interested in helping improve Slytherin's reputation. She'd have to read up on the traditions those people wanted to keep alive, even though she was already certain that she wouldn't like what she'd see.

"I'm not saying I won't help you, though," Parkinson went on. "I'll just have to see what you're doing while you're working on it. If it looks good to me, I might give you a hand if I can."

Daphne nodded gratefully. "Thanks for considering it, anyway. I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Two weeks passed, and Daphne had met with most of the people on her list.

Nott and Zabini had just laughed and told her to give up, though she thought that Nott, at least, might come around at some point.

The other people had all been at least willing to hear her out, though not all of them jumped at the chance.

Isaac Moore and Elsie Hall had agreed to help immediately, while the others, though a bit more receptive than Parkinson had been, had reacted in much the same way she had: by saying they'd wait and see before making a final decision.

With that part of her work dealt with, she turned her attention back to the matter of Harry not answering anyone's letters. When neither she nor Hermione or Ron had heard from Harry by his birthday, she decided it was time for drastic measures.

"Finny?" she said, sitting on her bed the day after Harry's birthday.

The House-Elf appeared immediately. She was just over two-and-a-half feet tall, with large brown eyes and a large, round nose, and dressed in an immaculate pillowcase with the Greengrass family crest on it.

"Yes, Mistress Daphne?" she squeaked.

"I have a job for you, but it's a bit risky," Daphne said.

"Finny will do her best, Mistress Daphne," Finny said.

"I want you to go and check up on Harry Potter," Daphne said. "But he lives with Muggles, so you have to make sure you don't get seen, and you can't use magic either; I don't want him to get in trouble with school. If you can find him, ask him why he isn't answering our letters and if he needs help. Do you think you can handle it?"

Finny nodded enthusiastically. "Finny will find Harry Potter, Mistress Daphne, and she will talk to him."

Daphne smiled. "Great. Thanks, Finny. Can you come to me as soon as you learn something?"

Again, Finny nodded. "Yes, Mistress Daphne."

With a crack, she disappeared. Daphne stretched out a bit anxiously. Ron had already told her that he and his brothers intended to bust Harry out, if need be, but Daphne had asked him to wait just a bit longer before he'd do something as risky as that.

To her great surprise, Finny came back only half an hour later. "Finny has been to see Harry Potter, Mistress Daphne," she squeaked. "Harry Potter said that Finny was the second House-Elf in two days to visit him, Mistress, and that the Elf was called Dobby. Harry Potter's relatives have locked him in his room, Mistress, because Dobby used magic."

"Another House-Elf? Do you know who Dobby belongs to?" Daphne asked.

Finny shook her head sadly. "No, Mistress Daphne, Finny does not know Dobby."

"What did Dobby want from Harry?"

"Harry Potter said that Dobby wanted him to stay away from Hogwarts, Mistress. Dobby had intercepted Harry Potter's mail to make him want to stay away, but Harry Potter said he would go back anyway, and then Dobby used magic."

Daphne chewed her lip. Harry had told her that his relatives didn't know he couldn't use magic over the summer, but if Dobby had cast a spell, any spell other than Apparition, Harry would have received a warning from the Ministry. That meant that his relatives had probably found out about the rule, and had locked him up because they knew Harry couldn't retaliate.

"Thank you, Finny, you've done a good job," Daphne said.

Finny smiled, bowed deeply, and disappeared.

It seemed it was time to write Ron that he would have to stage a rescue after all.