Chapter Eighteen: Taking Steps

The next day, after once again spending breakfast at the Gryffindor table and hearing about their disastrous first Defense lesson, Daphne wasn't very enthusiastic when she went to her own first lesson.

After giving them the same inane test the Gryffindors had gotten, he began to read passages from one of his books. In turns, he invited the students to play parts in his stories, which they did with the greatest reluctance.

By the end of the class, Daphne wasn't certain anymore whom she loathed more, Malfoy or Lockhart. Quirrell might have been possessed by Voldemort, but he had at least tried to teach them something.

She turned into a corridor to walk to her next class, when a voice behind her said, "Locomotor Mortis!"

Immediately, her legs slammed together and seized up, and she fell forwards. She broke her fall with her hands, whirled onto her back and drew her wand from her pocket.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Her spell went far past its target and harmlessly hit the ceiling.

Malfoy laughed. "Nice reaction, Greengrass, too bad your aim is off a bit. Maybe you should ask Potter if you can borrow his glasses."

He, Crabbe, and Goyle sauntered into the hallway like they had all the time in the world.

Daphne tapped her legs with her wand and muttered, "Finite."

Her legs unstuck, but they still felt numb because it wasn't the proper counter-curse. That one was far more difficult, however, and Daphne didn't exactly have a lot of time. She scrambled backwards and tried to get up, but her legs still weren't working too well.

Malfoy laughed, and Crabbe and Goyle chuckled stupidly. They advanced on her with their wands drawn, and Daphne knew she was in big trouble. She might be able to curse Malfoy, but the moment she did, Crabbe and Goyle would be on her, and even though they had their wands out, they'd probably just beat her up instead.

"Now," Malfoy drawled. "I think we've got a few things to talk about."

"I've got nothing to say to you, Malfoy. Now back off unless you want to get cursed," Daphne said.

Crabbe and Goyle moved slightly ahead of him, making it harder for Daphne to aim at Malfoy.

"Go ahead and try."

"Using your lackeys as meat shields, then? You truly are a great friend," Daphne said mockingly.

If she could just keep Malfoy talking, there would be more chance someone would walk past. And with every second that passed, her legs would regain a bit of strength as well.

"Talk big while you can, Greengrass. We'll see how long that lasts."

"No, Malfoy, you won't," someone behind him said. Daphne craned her head around Crabbe and Goyle and saw that Gemma was standing in the corridor as well with her arms crossed and a stern look.

"Attacking people in the corridors now, are we? That'll be five points from each of you. I'd give you detention as well, but you'll probably get Snape to overturn that," she said.

Malfoy scoffed, then looked back at Daphne, who'd managed to get up by this point. "Looks like it's your lucky day, Greengrass," he said.

With a last scowl at an unimpressed Gemma, Malfoy left.

Gemma waited for them to have rounded the corner and said, "I figured they'd try something like that around now. Potions class would be easiest for them to be late to without losing points. Here, let me help you with your legs. Leg-Locker, right?"

She quickly performed the counter-curse, and the lingering stiffness in Daphne's legs faded immediately.

"Thanks," Daphne said. "I expected them to attack me as well at some point, but I hadn't counted on it happening on the second day back."

"They're not terribly subtle, so it wouldn't have been much later," Gemma said. "But come on, you're running late for Potions. I'll walk you there and explain to Snape in person what's going on. Hopefully he won't detract any more points from you."

"Oh, I'll expect him to have removed plenty of points from Gryffindor by the time I get there. We'll be fine," Daphne said.

When they arrived at the Potions classroom, Snape had indeed already taken points from Neville for dropping his book when he took it out of his bag.

When Daphne entered with Gemma, Harry, Hermione and Ron gave her curious looks. She smiled at them to show them she was fine, then took her usual seat next to Tracey Davis.

Gemma walked over to Snape and softly explained what had happened. Snape remained expressionless throughout the story, then nodded curtly when Gemma had finished her story. Gemma smiled at Daphne, then left the classroom.

The rest of the lesson passed as it usually would, with Snape docking points from Gryffindor for the stupidest things while awarding Malfoy points like water.

At the end of the lesson, Snape said, "Miss Greengrass, Mr. Malfoy, to my office, please."

Her friends gave her worried looks, but Daphne shrugged and grinned. She'd be fine. A couple of points lost wouldn't matter much — and somehow she felt that was exactly what was going to happen, despite being entirely innocent for a change. Well, innocent when it came to activities at Hogwarts. In bookstores, that was a different story.

Once they arrived at Snape's office, he took Malfoy inside first. Daphne considered listening in with her ear against the door, but she figured it was probably better not to risk it. She hadn't done anything wrong, and it wouldn't be smart to give Snape something to pin her on.

A couple of minutes later, Malfoy came out again, looking surprisingly sour-faced. He gestured with his head that Daphne should enter, but said nothing.

Daphne entered the office and closed the door.

"Miss Greengrass. According to Miss Farley, Mr. Malfoy performed the Leg-Locker Curse on you between your first and second classes of the day," Snape said.

Daphne nodded. "He did, sir."

"While I have no problem believing that, I would like to know if there was any obvious provocation you made that would prompt him to attack you."

"Nothing that happened here at Hogwarts, sir," Daphne said.

"Ah," Snape said. "I presume, then, that you were somehow involved in the brawl at Flourish and Blotts?" he said.

Daphne grimaced. She'd forgotten that the brawl had been written about in the Prophet.

"Yes, sir. Malfoy insulted my friends. His father insulted my friends' parents. They began a brawl. I jumped in and punched Malfoy in the face."

"Miss Greengrass, though I'm aware you spend a lot of time around Potter, Weasley, and the other Gryffindors, do remember that you are a Slytherin, and from a Noble House. Charging in recklessly is not how we do things, and I know you're well aware of this."

Daphne fidgeted uneasily. She knew that was Snape was saying was true, but she didn't regret punching Malfoy in the face in the summer, and she wouldn't regret anything else she'd do to him, either.

"Verbal altercations between Noble Houses, especially here at Hogwarts, mean little to nothing," Snape said. "No one, not even Lucius Malfoy, considers that to be worth the trouble."

Daphne recalled that her parents had told her something exactly like that in a letter the year before.

"However, when that violence becomes physical, things change. It will not remain contained to Hogwarts alone, and people whose interference is never desirable will begin to meddle with how things are done. I have informed Mr. Malfoy that he is to cease his attempts at violence on any Noble Houses. I'm now telling you the same thing."

"What about people who aren't from Noble Houses?" Daphne asked. "Isn't violence supposed to be forbidden in general?"

"You are not so naïve as to believe that justice is ever truly just," Snape said.

"Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore seem to think differently," Daphne said.

Snape smiled coldly. "Professor Dumbledore knows very well how unjust the world can be. So does Professor McGonagall. They prefer to teach their students how they believe things should be. I prefer to teach them the way things are."

"Is that why you favor Slytherin to such a ridiculous degree?" Daphne asked. Her eyes widened a bit. "Are you setting yourself up to be the villain?"

Snape scoffed. "You have read too many children's stories, Miss Greengrass. The bottom line is this: you will refrain from using actual violence against Mr. Malfoy. If either of you does use violence against the other, or provokes them into doing so, then you may rest assured that I will know who's guilty, and the guilty party will be severely punished."

"I will refrain from using violence on Malfoy until the second he harms my friends," Daphne said. "And if it comes to that, I will take him down with me before I get expelled."

To her surprise, Snape smiled sardonically. "I knew you'd understand."

The rest of the week was surprisingly uneventful. Malfoy glowered at her whenever their eyes met, but Snape had apparently made enough of an impression on him to keep him from acting out. She still spent her meals with the Gryffindors, and noticed that Harry was now often hounded by the little first-year with the camera. Knowing Harry would never tell off anyone who didn't deserve it, she considered helping him out and doing it herself, but then she spotted Ginny nearby and had a better idea.

"Hey, Ginny, is that boy with the camera in your year?" she asked.

Ginny looked up and glanced over at the boy.

"You mean Colin? Yeah, he's in my year, why?"

"He's constantly following Harry around and taking pictures. I don't think he has bad intentions, but Harry's really uncomfortable with things like that, especially considering Lockhart is stalking around here, and he's way too nice to say anything about it. Could you ask…Colin, was it?...Colin, if he can stop following Harry like that?"

Ginny nodded uncertainly. "I…think so," she said.

"Speaking of Harry, did you talk to him yet?" Daphne asked.

Ginny turned red and shook her head. "I just…don't dare to," she admitted.

She frowned. "And Ron's no help either. Every time I try, he's just looking at me with a huge grin and then I lose my nerve. He's such a prat sometimes."

Daphne sighed. "That he is…" she agreed.

She knew Ron liked to tease his sister — probably because he was the second youngest and needed someone below him — but he really should give her some privacy to talk to Harry. Maybe she could set something up, at some point.

But before she could get to work on that, she had other plans. On Saturday, she'd have the first meeting with the people who'd agreed, at least to some extent, to try and fix up Slytherin's reputation a bit. She was really looking forward to it, and she'd already told her friends that she wouldn't be there for breakfast and possibly lunch that day. It was too bad, given they'd go to visit Hagrid, but Daphne promised she'd go along again next time.

When Saturday finally came, she set up a small circle of chairs in one part of the common room, waving at the people she'd invited to join her. Soon, all of them had arrived and were exchanging introductions. Daphne had already met them all, of course, so she waited for a bit for the rest to get acquainted…but it was difficult to get the conversation to stop, now that it had begun, and Daphne wasn't used to trying to get the attention of a group of people, most of whom were older than she was.

Fortunately, Gemma noticed and said, "Alright, you lot, let's get started."

Everyone fell quiet and looked at her, but Gemma just grinned and nodded at Daphne. "She's the one who organized this little meeting," she said.

Daphne grinned sheepishly and then said, "Right, thanks, Gemma. And thanks everyone for hearing me out."

She took a deep breath and couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. She'd been preparing this all summer long, and now the moment to actually do something had finally come.

"As I told you over the summer, Slytherin House has a bit of an…image problem. Everyone from outside our House seems to think we're all selfish, greedy, evil, or all of those things combined. All four Houses look out for themselves, yet only Slytherin is ever called on it. One of Slytherin's core traits is ambition. I think a lot of people in this House would like to get jobs at the Ministry, or something otherwise high-profile. To get a job like that, where public opinion can be very important, it would probably be a good idea if our reputation among non-Slytherins wouldn't be so terrible.

"We have Muggleborns here at Hogwarts who've never heard of the Houses before getting their letter, and even they tend to hate Slytherin by the time they get here. Harry Potter, whom I'm sure you all know is a friend of mine, hated Slytherin when he first came here. Everyone I meet who learns that I'm in Slytherin looks at me differently afterward. I think it's time we changed that."

"Nice speech, but how do you plan on achieving that?" Freddie Lowe asked. He was a tall, lanky sixth-year from a minor pureblood family.

"Yeah. I'm all for not having to roll my eyes whenever people hear I'm in Slytherin and think I'll curse them the second their back is turned, but I don't think the eight of us are going to have much of an impact," Elsie Hall agreed. She was a fourth-year with piercing gray-blue eyes, who always looked ready for a fight.

"Well, the first thing we can do is obvious: don't bully people," Daphne said. "The second thing would be an extension of that and stopping bullying wherever you see it, which Gemma and Isaac of course already have to do anyway because they're Prefects."

"Yes, and a large part of the problem for us is that people tend to be on the lookout when they know we're around," Isaac said. Like Gemma had said, Isaac seemed to attract misfortune. Even now he had one arm in a sling after a Charms mishap.

"And not all of us are like Malfoy and lack all subtlety," Gemma added. "So sometimes even when we know someone did something, it's really hard to prove they did."

"And no offense, but I don't think many of us would be quite so willing to get in trouble to help Gryffindors either," Pansy said.

Daphne shook her head. "We don't have to get ourselves in trouble. To start with, we should just be genuinely helpful to people in our own House. I'm not saying we should have regular parties like the Gryffindors do, but it sometimes seems like people in this House only barely tolerate each other's existence. I think if we can lessen even just that aspect a little, it would already do us a lot of good."

"Unless, of course, a united Slytherin would just decide to hit the other Houses harder," Hallie Knight said. She was small, not much taller than Daphne even though she was a year older.

"And don't forget that our reputation doesn't exactly come from nowhere," Tracey said. "There really are a lot of nasty people in Slytherin."

"Other Houses aren't exactly free from them either. Have any of you ever met Zacharias Smith? He's a Hufflepuff, but an extremely unpleasant guy. Oh, and there's a third-year Gryffindor, Cormac McLaggen, whose ego is massive even by their standards," Daphne said.

"The trouble is that for every Smith or McLaggen in other Houses, we have four or five of those guys, and a lot of them are either rich themselves or have rich friends — like Smith and McLaggen, who are both from wealthy families," Freddie said. "They're used to not facing consequences, so they don't fear them here at school, either."

"And Professor Snape won't punish them," Pansy added.

Daphne nodded a bit unwillingly. "I know. He'll only stop violence between Noble Houses to prevent things from escalating too far. But from what you guys are saying, a large part of the problem is that the rich people don't fear consequences. So…what if we tried to come up with consequences they wouldn't be able to ignore?"

"Like what? If we start hexing them we're just hurting our own cause, aren't we?" Elsie said.

"Not hexing them. No, we need to be more subtle than that. We'd need to bend the rules so that we don't get in trouble, but they will, and we need to do it in such a way that money won't be able to get them out."

"Blackmail?" Hallie asked.

"As a last resort, maybe," Daphne said. "It could backfire on us too easily…"

For a large part of the morning the group discussed ways of making the rich and well-connected students face consequences for any bullying they might get up to, but it was hard to come up with things that didn't require outside interference or would lead to problems for themselves.

In the end, they decided to just begin by helping the Prefects look out for any signs of bullying and stepping in if they spotted it. Daphne was happy that the others were willing to do even that much, and she hoped that as time went on, more people would be joining their small group. If enough did, the problem might sort itself out to such a degree that they wouldn't even have to do more. All in all, it had been a very good first meeting. Now to see what the effects would be.

To her great surprise, the Gryffindors weren't in a great mood at lunch, and Ron seemed to be belching up slugs.

"Dare I ask what happened?" Daphne said when she sat down.

"Malfoy," Harry answered darkly.

"He called Hermione a Mudblood," Ron said, before sticking his head back in the bowl he was carrying.

"He what?!"

Daphne immediately intended to recant the promise she'd made to Snape and hex Malfoy into a fine paste.

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said nervously. "I hadn't heard the insult before so it really didn't hurt me much…"

"That's not the point," Daphne said. "He can't hold a candle to you in school and still he goes around pretending he's somehow superior because he's a pureblood. That's the sort of thing I want get rid of."

"Speaking of, how'd it go?" Harry asked.

"Pretty well, actually. For now, all we're going to do is try and stop the rampant bullying, but I'm hoping we'll be able to think of other things to do as the year goes on. It's tricky to get people with money to face any consequences that don't require anyone from outside Hogwarts to step in," Daphne said.

"You mean like buying Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones for the whole Quidditch team?" Harry asked.

Daphne groaned. "Malfoy did that? What a git."

"That's why he called me a Mudblood to begin with," Hermione said. "I said that at least the Gryffindor players hadn't bought their way onto the team like he had."

Daphne nodded appreciatively. "He had that coming. Honestly, I didn't even know he was on the team now. If Harry hadn't played Quidditch, I wouldn't care about it at all."

Ron shook his head. "I still don't get how you can't care about it. It's the best sport in the–"

He was cut off by a new wave of slugs and Daphne winced.

Harry shrugged. "I should've guessed he'd do something like that. I don't care. I'm better than he is, and by the time way play them I'll show him that he'll never beat me on a broomstick."

"Well, this year there's no one to curse you, so you should be fine," Daphne said, and Harry grinned at her.