Chapter Seventeen: Back to School

The rest of the summer holiday seemed to fly by. Daphne had tried to coach Ginny a bit when it came to talking to Harry, but she hadn't made a lot of progress. She'd sent her parents explaining what had happened in the bookstore, and while they weren't exactly happy she'd jumped into the brawl, they were glad she hadn't gotten hurt. They stressed how important it was not to cross Lucius Malfoy directly, because he was far too dangerous for her to handle, and had then gone on to wish her a good school year.

The morning they left for school was an interesting experience for Daphne. The year before, her parents had simply taken her to the platform by Side-Along Apparition. Because they were with so many people now, however, they would be taking the car the Weasley brothers had used to rescue Harry from his relatives.

Despite the early hour everyone had been roused, the general chaos of getting seven people ready for school was immense, and it took them a long time to get everything loaded into the car, which Mr. Weasley had enchanted to be bigger on the inside. At least, that's what Harry told Ron and her once they'd gotten in; Mrs. Weasley was not supposed to know it.

Daphne had never been in a car before and was curious as to what it would be like, but after only a few minutes on the bumpy roads around the village — after three round-trips back to the house for various forgotten items — she decided it wasn't really for her. As uncomfortable as magical ways of transport were, at least they were over quickly. This took a lot longer, and when they'd finally arrived at King's Cross with barely fifteen minutes to spare, she was glad to be out of the car. At least the Hogwarts Express would be comfortable.

Daphne followed Percy, Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George through the barrier separating platform nine from platform ten, and was followed in short order by Mrs. Weasley and Ginny…but Ron and Harry didn't show up.

"Where could those boys be?" Mrs. Weasley said irritably.

"You girls go on," she said to Daphne and Ginny. "Arthur and I will try to find Ron and Harry…go along now, there's not much time."

Daphne and Ginny got into the train, and Daphne really hoped Ron and Harry would make it aboard as well.

"Want to go and look for Hermione?" Daphne asked Ginny. "Harry and Ron will probably find us later."

Ginny nodded, and together they started walking through the compartments. They found Hermione, who was sitting with Neville Longbottom, a few compartments over and sat down opposite them.

"Where are Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked after exchanging greetings.

Daphne shrugged. "Beats me. They were right behind us at the barrier, but I didn't see them show up. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

But Harry and Ron didn't show up, and Daphne was anxiously wondering what had happened. She was sure neither Harry nor Ron had intended to miss the train, so whatever happened to them was unintentional.

"What happens when you miss the train?" Ginny asked.

"You can send an owl to the school and you'll be allowed to Floo over," Hermione said. "I wanted to know my options in case something went wrong; Muggle public transport has some issues sometimes and I wouldn't want to miss school because of a delay in the tube."

"I guess they'll be a bit later than us, then," Daphne said. She leaned back into her seat and pretended that she wasn't worried.

"They'll be fine," Hermione said.

"I know."

"You keep tapping your foot."

Daphne hadn't even noticed that she was doing that and quickly stopped. Hermione laughed, and in spite of herself Daphne did the same.

"As long as they don't do anything stupid it'll be okay," Hermione reassured her.

"Ron? Not do something stupid? You don't know him very well, do you?" Ginny deadpanned.

"Harry's with him," Hermione pointed out. Then she frowned. "I don't know why I thought that would make it better," she groaned.

"They're going to fly the car, aren't they?" Daphne asked flatly.

"Oh, they'd better not," Hermione said angrily.

"Fly a car?" Neville asked.

"Don't even ask," Hermione said with a shake of her head.

"Well…it can turn invisible," Ginny said.

"This is Harry and Ron we're talking about. The invisibility will fail and they'll, I don't know, ram it into the Whomping Willow, or something," Daphne said.

"You don't have a lot of faith in them, do you?" Ginny asked with an amused look.

"I'd trust them both with my life. Just not with making smart decisions. Not that I'm one to talk," she added, with a guilty look at Neville.

"It's okay. My gran actually praised me, both for the points and standing up to you," Neville said. "Besides, you had a good reason, what with the Phil–"

"Yeah, what an adventure that was," Daphne said manically.

Neville clapped his hands over his mouth.

"Something I'm not allowed to know?" Ginny asked, a bit sullen.

"You know most of it. There are just a few details we weren't allowed to tell anyone. Dumbledore's orders. We already broke them telling Neville everything, and that was only because I had to curse him," Daphne said.

Ginny didn't look much happier.

"Cheer up. You'll have your own adventures quickly enough, you'll see."

The rest of the train ride was fairly uneventful. They spoke a bit about their courses, and Daphne, Hermione, and Neville tried giving Ginny some pointers as to what she could expect once they'd arrived. Daphne mainly focused on telling her about all the trick steps and moving staircases, Hermione gave her tips on how to take notes in class, and Neville mostly told her about all the things he'd forgotten to do last year which she definitely shouldn't forget.

All in all, far from reassuring her, Ginny looked a bit panicked when the Hogwarts Express rolled into the Hogsmeade station. She gave them a last wave as they disembarked, before being swept along by Hagrid with the other first-years, who would be taking the boats to the castle.

Daphne, Hermione, and Neville walked over the carriages that would take the rest of the students. When they approached the carriages, Neville shivered a bit.

"You can see them?" Daphne asked.

Neville nodded.

"See what?" Hermione asked.

"Thestrals," Daphne said. "They pull the carriages."

Hermione's eyes widened. "I've read a little bit about them, but I never knew there were any here at Hogwarts," she said.

"Most students don't," Daphne said. "I only know because my Dad told me about them; he could see them because he'd seen his uncle die."

"For me it was my grandfather," Neville said softly, as they climbed into a carriage. "And believe me, I think you're better off not seeing them."

"They're gentle creatures though, aren't they?" Hermione said.

Neville shrugged. "Could be, but they look scary."

Not much later, they arrived at the castle and were led into the Great Hall.

"Well, I'd better sit with my own House for the opening feast," Daphne said a bit reluctantly.

Even though she had big plans, for the time being her best friends were still in Gryffindor, and despite spending a large part of her summer with them, she wished she would have a bit more time.

She made her way over to the Slytherin table and sat down next to Gemma. "Hey! Had a good holiday?" Gemma asked.

Daphne nodded. "I may or may not have punched Malfoy," she said.

Gemma chuckled. "That explains why he was glaring at you like that when you entered."

She grew serious. "Be on your guard then, though. I wouldn't put it past him to try something on you."

"I'm not afraid of him," Daphne said.

It wasn't entirely true. While she was pretty confident she could handle Malfoy one-on-one, both magically and physically, the odds of him being sporting enough to fight her in a real duel were low, so if he wanted to do something to her, it would probably be a sneak attack. Furthermore, he most likely wouldn't be alone, and there was no way she'd be able to fight Crabbe and Goyle at the same time as Malfoy.

Still, this wasn't the time to worry about that. First would be the Sorting Ceremony and the opening feast. She'd deal with Malfoy if and when he chose to act. She glanced around the Hall at the Gryffindor table to see if Harry and Ron had arrived yet, but by the looks of it, they hadn't.

She watched the Sorting with only passing interest, but applauded loudly when Ginny got sorted into Gryffindor, earning her odd looks from her Housemates and thumbs-up from Fred and George at the Gryffindor table. Even Ginny, who looked very nervous, shot her a small smile as she walked over to the table.

After dinner, Dumbledore gave his usual announcement about the Forbidden Forest and the use of magic between classes, and then said, "But we also have a new teacher with us. Taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I present to you Gilderoy Lockhart."

Lockhart, whom Daphne had been deliberately ignoring thus far, stood up when Dumbledore mentioned him and immediately launched into a speech.

"Good evening, boys and girls! I'm greatly honored to stand here today. I knew, of course, that it would only be a matter of time before our great Headmaster Albus Dumbledore would call upon someone of my versatility to teach you the tricks of the Dark-Arts-fighting trade. I daresay I'm almost as knowledgeable in the field as the Headmaster himself is, if not a bit more so! Indeed, as you will all have read in my books, I have been all over the world and slain many fierce dark creatures. I can't wait to get to know all of you better, and who knows, if you do well in my lessons, I might even consent to sign your books for you!"

He winked and sat back down. There was a polite applause, mostly from the Hufflepuffs and some Ravenclaws, but most people in the Hall seemed to wonder if Lockhart had been serious, or if he just had a flair for the dramatic. All Daphne knew for certain was that she didn't like the man one bit. Hopefully he'd at least prove to be a competent teacher.

Much more interesting was the rumor that had, during dinner, started to circulate through the Hall. People were claiming that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had flown a car to Hogwarts. The rumors weren't certain on whether they'd been expelled or not, but Daphne had a feeling they'd be able to avoid that, somehow. She grinned at the thought and was determined to find out what had happened, but she probably wouldn't get to talk to them that night.

It was odd being back in the Slytherin dorm. For a month, she'd slept on a mattress in a small room, and now she was back in a huge, four-poster bed. Parkinson and Davis gave her friendly nods when they entered as well, and Bulstrode and Runcorn kept to themselves entirely. After the Burrow, the Slytherin dorm felt like it had all the cheer of a graveyard. Hopefully, Daphne would be able to change that a bit this year. She'd have to find a good moment to meet up with everyone, but for now it was time to get settled back in. Year two, here we go.

Due to her desire to find out what had actually happened with Harry and Ron, Daphne had breakfast at the Gryffindor table.

When they told her they'd actually crashed into the Whomping Willow, she said, "I knew it! I should've put money on it."

"I still can't believe they actually did this," Hermione said stiffly.

At that moment, the mail arrived, and something feathery and gray fell into the jug of milk Hermione's book was propped against.

"Errol!" Ron said, pulling the owl out of the jug by his legs.

Errol slumped, unconscious, onto the table, his legs in the air and a damp red envelope in his beak.

"Oh no," Ron said softly.

"It's all right, he's still alive," Hermione said, prodding Errol gently with the tip of her finger.

"It's not that…it's that," Ron said, pointing at the red envelope.

Daphne winced. "Ouch," she said.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked.

"She– she's sent me a Howler," Ron said faintly.

"You'd better open it, Ron," Neville said in a timid whisper. "It'll be worse if you don't. My gran sent me one once, and I ignored it and…" He gulped. "…It was horrible."

Harry seemed confused, and if Daphne hadn't been feeling bad for Ron, she would've explained what the fuss was about.

The Howler had, by now, begun to smoke, and Daphne pre-emptively put her fingers in her ears. Hermione, observant as ever, quickly followed suit, as did Neville.

Ron shakily took the smoking envelope and slit it open. Mrs. Weasley's magically amplified voice echoed impressively through the Great Hall.

"–STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET A HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN SAW IT WAS GONE–"

With every word the Howler spoke, Ron sank a bit deeper into his chair. Mrs. Weasley seemed to have enclosed an entire novel in the envelope, and Daphne was seriously beginning to feel second-hand embarrassment for Ron.

The only part that really made her wince was when Mrs. Weasley mentioned that Mr. Weasley would be facing an inquiry at work. That could probably be trouble, and she resolved to write her parents about it to ask if they'd be able to help somehow — even though neither of them officially worked for the Ministry, they both had plenty of contacts there.

The magically enhanced rant finally ended, and the red envelope dropped from Ron's hand, burst into flames, and curled into ashes.

Hermione closed her book and looked at the top of Ron's head. "Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but you–"

"Don't tell me I deserved it," Ron snapped.

Daphne didn't say anything, but she agreed with Ron. He'd just been dressed down in front of the entire Hall. Anything more than that would just be adding insult to injury, no matter how stupid the plan might have been.

Harry looked incredibly guilty as well, probably also over the bit about the inquiry.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall came by with course schedules. To Daphne's surprise, she had one for her as well.

"Professor Snape expected you'd be here to, and I quote, 'hear the trouble Potter and Weasley caused this time'," Professor McGonagall said.

Harry groaned, but Daphne thought it was surprisingly nice of Snape to anticipate she'd be at the Gryffindor table, even if he had included another sneer at Harry and Ron.

She checked to see what her first class would be, and saw that she had Transfiguration first, while Harry, Hermione, and Ron had Herbology.

She made her way over to her first class and was relieved to find she still knew most things she'd learned last year, though the lesson was still challenging. She hadn't done any real schoolwork after finishing the homework in her first month of vacation, so it had been a while since she'd done more than glance at her school books.

She actually managed to succeed to turn a beetle into button by the end of the class, though it had cost her quite a bit of effort. To her great amusement, Malfoy's button still had feelers.

Her second class was Charms, which went a little bit more smoothly than Transfiguration since she was a bit better at them, but it was still difficult work.

She ate lunch with the Gryffindors, then went outside with them to relax a bit before the next classes started. She'd go to Herbology next, while the Gryffindors would have their first class of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Daphne had made them promise to tell her how the class went, as she'd only have it the day after.

She tried to dissuade Hermione from her obvious celebrity crush, but Hermione wouldn't hear of it, and Daphne soon got distracted by Harry's interactions with a first-year Gryffindor, who was badgering him for a picture.

"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?" Malfoy, who'd just been heading outside, said when he heard what the conversation was about.

"Everyone line up!" Malfoy roared to the crowd of people all around them. "Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"

"No, I'm not," Harry said angrily, clenching his fists. "Shut up, Malfoy."

"You're just jealous, the little first-year said.

"Jealous?" Malfoy said. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself."

Daphne sighed. She opened her mouth to say something, but Ron beat her to it.

"Eat slugs, Malfoy."

"Be careful, Weasley," Malfoy sneered. "You don't want to start any trouble or your Mummy'll have to come and take you away from school. 'If you put another toe out of line'…"

Some of the nearby fifth-year Slytherins laughed at Malfoy's imitation of Mrs. Weasley.

"Weasley would like a signed photo, Potter," Malfoy said with a smirk. "It'd be worth more than his family's whole house–"

Ron whipped out his wand — which had been shoddily repaired with Spellotape — but before he got a chance to use it, someone said, "What's all this, what's all this?"

Gilderoy Lockhart was striding towards them, his turquoise robes swirling behind him. "Who's giving out signed photos?"

Then he spotted Harry and immediately swung his arm around his shoulders. "Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!"

Malfoy smirked and faded back into the background, while Lockhart told the first-year to make a double picture featuring both him and Harry. Daphne nudged Hermione and wished her good luck in the class, leaving Ron to stare in pure horror at what Harry now had to go through.

She, meanwhile followed Malfoy down to the greenhouses. "Hey, Malfoy, you might not want a scar, but how about another black eye?" she asked when she caught up.

"Greengrass, do you think it's smart to antagonize me without someone to bail you out?" he asked.

"Do you never get tired of getting Harry into trouble?" Daphne asked, not bothering to answers Malfoy's question.

Malfoy grinned. "Potter and the Weasel are easy to rile up and they attract trouble like Weasley's house attracts flies. Why would I stop? And who's going to stop me, Greengrass? You?"

Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles menacingly.

"I'm not afraid of you or your lackeys, Malfoy. Leave my friends alone."

She stared down Crabbe and Goyle, who were both much taller than she was. They could probably tear her apart limb from limb, but she wasn't going to back down now.

Before the situation could escalate, however, Professor Sprout entered the greenhouse, and Daphne gave Malfoy a last dirty look before she had to get to work.