Daphne didn't realize what had been happening until it was almost too late. Her eyes had remained transfixed on Harry lying there, bleeding, unmoving. She was staring intently, looking for the rise and fall of his chest, a twitch of his fingers, anything to indicate he was okay.

It was for this reason that she had been taken completely by surprise as Tracey tugged on the hand that she had been holding with a "Daphne, come on." Effectively snapping her out of the trance she had been stuck in. She noticed it now, as she looked around that the Gryffindors and some of the members from the other houses had started pushing and shoving the Slytherins near them, and in some spaces, it looked like fighting had broken out.

Instantly her thoughts shifted to Astoria who was sitting next to her. She could see her sisters' own tears as she stared down towards the pitch looking at Harry. She made to get her attention, to grab her and place her behind herself so she could protect her, but before she could form a word, a sound like a cannon rang out so loud it hurt.

The amplified voice of the headmaster sounded furious as he spoke. "All students will be seated now." He began his voice full of command. The majority of students sat down quickly, but a few continued to push and shove and yell insults. "Now!" Dumbledore's voice rang out and the remaining students sat quickly. Daphne abstractly thought that this had been the first time she had ever heard Dumbledore yell.

"Slytherin prefects, stand and collect your housemates. You will lead them to your common room. Everyone else is to remain seated. If anyone disobeys, there will be severe consequences." He commanded. It took Daphne far too long to remember she was a prefect, but finally she belatedly stood. Immediately she gathered Tracey, Astoria and the other third years Tori had been sitting with.

As she led them through the stands, she beckoned any other Slytherins she saw to follow her down as well. By the time she had made it down the stands she had what must have been 20 Slytherins, mostly 4th years and younger, following her to the castle, and she heard the headmasters amplified voice call for the Ravenclaw prefects to begin to gather their house.

They made their way quickly towards the entrance to the great Hall and about a quarter of the way there they crossed paths with a sprinting Madame Pomfrey who had a hard look on her face and slight panic in her eyes.

The unease Daphne had felt multiplied inside her. She had seen her look annoyed at an injury or even upset before, but never had she seen the unflappable healer look so worried about a student's injury, let alone panicked. Daphne tried to push back the thoughts as they continued their trek, but try as she might, she couldn't banish away the image of Harry Potters form, broken and bleeding, from her mind.

She didn't remember most of the trip but she somehow managed to make it to the common room and instruct the younger years to head to their dormitories as they awaited instruction. She then headed up to her own dormitory, Tracey close behind her.

She barely made it to her bed before she collapsed and then the tears, the worry, and the fear she had been holding at bay forced themselves out of her in great heaving sobs. Tracey was at her side instantly, a hand running soothingly through her hair and reassurances on her lips. Daphne heard the locking and silencing charms that her friend fired at the door and buried her face into her best friend's shoulder.

Now that it had started there would be no stopping it. Whatever weak resistance and denials Daphne had been telling others and herself crumbled in that moment, and all she could think was that he had to be okay, she had to have a chance to tell him how she felt.

The day after the match Marcus Flint was punished and, if the rumors were to be believed, was extremely close to expulsion. However, he had argued that what had happened was something he had done in the heat of the moment and that he hadn't meant to hit Harry in the head. Instead, he had been stripped of his captaincy and forced to resign from the team. He also lost the privilege of going to Hogsmeade for the remaining weekends, and would serve detentions on every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening with Filch for the remainder of the school year as well as suffering of a 250-point loss towards the house cup. The majority of the school thought he had gotten off much too lightly, and Daphne agreed.

It was whispered that Professor Umbridge had tried to insist he be let off with a warning as it was a mistake made in the heat of the moment and he came from a 'proud family', but she had been overruled by the other professors which served to infuriate the toad.

What Daphne and the professors hadn't considered was what the other students would do. Students from all three of the other houses would send hexes, curses, and jinxes Flint's way at every opportunity they found. Whenever there was an instructor nearby that would attempt to ascertain who fired the curse, they would all band together and protect the identity of the culprit. Daphne had even sent a few curses his way when she was certain no one else was looking. Her favorite was the leg locking jinx that had caused him to trip into an armor stand. Seeing him flail into a wall as the suit of armor shoved him away roughly made Daphne feel only slightly better.

Slytherin were also forced to forfeit their next match against Ravenclaw, all but eliminating them from contention for the quidditch cup. This in addition to the significant blow dealt to their house cup chances meant that Marcus Flint was also extremely unpopular in his own house. There were a few idiots who supported him, but they were also quickly shunned as well.

The atmosphere in the castle remained tense, but things did improve considerably after the second day when Dumbledore had informed the castle that Harry had stabilized and would make a full recovery. Daphne could barely contain the urge to leap in joy at the announcement at dinner and instead settled for finding Tracey's hand under the table and giving it a squeeze.

The day of the accident after Daphne had cried herself empty and Tracey held her, she had finally opened up to her friend. She told her that she didn't know when or how, but at some point, their easy companionship had developed into a strong friendship and now Daphne had a crush.

Tracey nodded as if this were obvious, and Daphne began to tell her that she wanted to tell him as soon as she could. No one was allowed to see him in the days following the incident, not even Granger or Weasley. She knew this because she asked the bushy haired girl how Harry was and she had sighed frustratedly and answered, "I don't know, they're not letting us visit."

The Gryffindor prefect told her that apparently the bludger had done significant damage to the skull as well as causing swelling to the brain. The skull Madam Pomfrey could fix as easily as she had his broken leg, but the brain needed more than just magic. They had him in a magically induced coma in a separate room magicked to keep out all stimuli so that Harry's brain could heal on its own. Dumbledore had given Granger a rough estimate of a week before they could take him out and allow the potions to finish up the rest of the work in the regular hospital wing.

Today was Friday, six days since the incident, as Daphne had started to refer to it. Six long, difficult, exhausting days for Daphne as she worried not only about his wellbeing, but also about what she would say to him the next time she saw him. How could she let him know that she had started to develop feelings? What if he didn't like her back?

Daphne had been so stressed about the situation that she even sent an owl to her mother explaining briefly what had happened and her thoughts. Her mother always had the best advice and Daphne knew she could talk to her about anything. When their family owl arrived a few days later, the letter from her mother contained love and support alongside encouragement to share her feelings with this person who had inexplicably gone from a stranger to something so much more in just over two short months.

As the day was wrapping up Daphne made her way to the great hall for a quick dinner. Once she had finished her meal and had walked out of the great hall, she heard her name called. Turning around she saw Granger and Weasley walking towards her. Granger had a sad smile on her lips and Weasley looked somewhat mistrustingly at her.

"Sorry to spring up on you like this. We," Started Granger, elbowing Weasley when he made a noise in the back of his throat, "just thought you might want to know that Harry will be back in the regular hospital wing tomorrow. Professor Dumbledore says he likely still won't be awake and I'm sure he's going to have lots of visitors from the quidditch team and our house in general, but I believe I might be able to make sure they clear out around lunch time." She told her with a pointed look.

Daphne understood what she was implying and nodded enthusiastically. "I-, yes, please. I would really appreciate that. Thank you, Granger."

"Hermione is fine, and this is Ron." She said, "Harry's told us a lot about you and if he likes you and sees you as a friend then we have no reason to be so formal with one another."

Daphne again nodded. Inside however, she was silently pleased that Harry had talked about her. "In that case Daphne is fine." She replied. "He's told me a lot about you too." She finished somewhat awkwardly, but Hermione smiled nonetheless, and Ron relaxed a bit.

"If he makes it sound like he's always doing something cool while I'm unconscious or sitting there with a broken leg he's, uh… lying." Said Ron, speaking for the first time.

Daphne chuckled and added that to the list of things she'd ask Harry about before replying. "Little bits and pieces, I always think he's having me on, but recently I realized he's telling the truth." She said, remembering Slytherins monster.

Hermione nodded sagely "Harry never lies, unless you ask him if he's okay." She laughed. "But even then, he thinks he is okay and is too dense to realize he's not, so that doesn't count." She continued with a fond smile on her face. Before Daphne could respond Hermione spoke again. "Well, I need to get going. I'm patrolling soon, but it was a pleasure, Daphne. How about 12:30 for tomorrow?" she asked bringing the conversation back around to its original purpose.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you, Hermione, Ron. I should be going too. I've fallen behind on my work over the past week." She said, effectively ending the conversation. Hermione and Ron bid her farewell and they went their separate ways.

The next day Daphne had woken up with a nervous energy that hadn't quite left her throughout the day. It was Saturday so she had no classes to distract herself with. She tried doing homework but had given it up as a lost cause when she had only gotten through three sentences in 45 minutes of work on her most recent charms assignment.

Try as she might, she couldn't focus on anything other than seeing Harry. She didn't even know if he would be awake, Dumbledore had said a week, but what if it took longer. All she knew was that she just had to see him. To see the rise and fall of his chest and to know that he was alive and well so she could banish the image of his broken bleeding form from her mind. For now, that would be enough.

She had talked through her feelings for Harry with Tracey and told her how the crush had started to develop into something more. Tracey had told her to be honest with him and see if he liked her as well, but they had agreed it would be best to wait a few weeks until he had recovered, and things had normalized.

Having a plan, even a rough one, had helped put her mind at ease in that regard, but her nerves were still dancing with nervous anticipation as she ran down to the great hall in an attempt to stomach an early lunch before she went to see Harry.

She sat there nibbling at a sandwich while watching the clock and trying unsuccessfully to listen to what Tracey was saying. At a quarter past noon, she stood, told Tracey she would see her later, and began to make her way up the castle steps to the infirmary. On her way there she crossed by a large group of Gryffindor's, Hermione and Ron amongst them, and realized that Hermione had been able to get them out like she promised.

Her pace quickened and within a few minutes she reached the infirmary door for the second time in a few weeks. The mood was completely different now, however. The last time she was here was to get a fever reducer potion for her sister. Since then, it felt like so much had changed. Seeing him in his damnable jersey, the missed patrols, his apology and promise to be better. The easy banter that they had fallen into, the snippets of stories she managed to pull from him, the laughing and joking. The meeting at the Hogshead and their subsequent lunch at the three broomsticks.

She allowed herself to revel in her thoughts while they flowed in and out of her mind, as if they were carried by a pleasant breeze. Finally, she steeled herself and pushed the door open. The infirmary was empty except for a bed on the far side of the room. She could see a body sitting up in the cot with half his head bandaged, but the unruly mop of black hair that was flowing out around the bandages left no doubt who it was.

As she made her way over to him, she saw him glance in her direction with a wary look on his face, but when he saw her recognition flashed in his eyes and she could see his shoulders relax and an easy smile that reached his eyes come onto his face. "Thank God," He started, "I thought you were Colin Creevey again. He's been by at least three times today to tell me how much he's missed me and that he hopes I feel better." Harry said shuddering.

Daphne wanted to reply with a sarcastic comment or something witty, but the noise that came out of her was halfway between a deluded laugh of relief and a sob.

She could see Harry wince at the noise and took a breath to compose herself, but before she could apologize, he spoke again. "Hey' it's alright. I'm okay now, just a little bump on my head and a new scar that can join the collection." He told her soothingly. Daphne realized that she must not have been the only one to have a similar reaction seeing how well Harry had handled her almost crying.

She took another deep breath and waited a few more seconds before she spoke to make sure she could find her voice. She didn't know what she was going to tell him and was as surprised as Harry looked when she heard herself say "I was so worried, Harry."

Harry put his head down as if in apology or shame, but Daphne continued on before he could apologize. "The way your body went limp when the bludger hit you, and how you bounced when you hit the floor… I- I thought you were really hurt, and I was just so, so worried." She said, closing the distance between them as she spoke. Without even stopping to consider what she was doing she knelt down and wrapped her arms around him.

She felt Harry stiffen for the briefest of moments before he returned the hug. Daphne realized this was the first time they had any physical contact besides the occasional bumping of shoulders on their patrols. She could feel his scratchy bandages on her shoulder and cheek but held the hug anyway. After a moment he spoke. "I'm sorry." He began quietly, "I promise I didn't mean for it to happen, and like I said, madame Pomfrey fixed me right up." He told her. Daphne's response again fell between a laugh and a sob, and Harry squeezed her a bit tighter. She relished in the contact.

"She gave me an earful when I woke up this morning," He continued "told me that I should have at least had the decency to wait until the end of the year like I usually do with my life-threatening injuries. I just told her there's still time and now she's extra rough when she changes my bandages." He said pulling away from the hug. Daphne immediately missed the contact but seeing the pout on his face at his perceived injustice was almost enough to make up for it. Almost.

Daphne was able to laugh for real this time and did so as she quickly wiped away some of the moisture that had gathered in her eyes. "It's a wonder she hasn't killed you herself yet." She told him, only half joking.

Harry snorted and Daphne smiled. "You're telling me. I thought she was going to strangle me when I asked if my broom was okay." He laughed, "I'm convinced one of these days she's going to choose the most difficult and painful way to heal me, just to get her point across. Or maybe just not heal me at all." He told her glancing conspiratorially at the closed door that led to the matron's personal office. "So how have you been anyway?" He asked her, and she could tell that he was purposefully changing the subject, but she allowed him anyway. "Have you and Tracey been looking for gold and crimson shirts for our next match? Or maybe a hat like Luna wore?"

Daphne rolled her eyes but smiled anyway and told him that they hadn't been looking yet. She also told him about their classes he had missed and caught him up on what they were learning in runes before switching to other topics like how Tracey and Astoria were doing. Daphne told him how Astoria was still raving about the half barrel roll into a sloth grip hold that he had done to allow Malfoy to pass over him and crash into the wall. Harry in turn offered to go flying with her sometime if she wanted. At some point during their conversation Madame Pomfrey, brought him his lunch and a tray full of potions with a huff and a dirty look before retreating to her quarters and Harry ate ravenously.

After about 45 minutes of visiting Daphne noticed that Harry was yawning and his eyes were closing, most likely due to one of the potions the healer had given him. "I'll be back to see you tomorrow, okay Harry?" She asked.

Harry nodded "Okay, Daph." He told her, and Daphne knew that he was tired and that she normally hated that nickname, but she couldn't help the way her stomach fluttered when he said it. She stood and gave his hand a squeeze, but by the time she let go he was already snoring softly. "Goodbye, Harry." She whispered softly, in a manner oddly reminiscent of their first patrol together, before turning and making her way out of the infirmary. As she walked, she felt infinitely lighter, as though a heavy burden she was carrying had been lifted off her shoulders and she was no longer drowning under its weight. For the first time in a week, she felt like she could breathe.

It was early Monday morning, and Harry was awake eagerly awaiting Madame Pomfrey's morning rounds. Harry had learned long ago that she usually checked on her overnight patients at six in the morning, so Harry had been up since 5 bursting with anticipation. She had told him last night that she would reevaluate him this morning and that if all his diagnostics remained stable and the swelling did not return, she would let him go.

His bandages had been removed yesterday, and he still had a slight bump on the left side of his head where the bludger had caught him accompanied by the thin line of a scar that no longer grew hair. The way his long messy hair flopped over his head it wasn't noticeable, but his fingers kept finding that spot and running along the line of raised smooth skin.

While he waited for the resident healer, Harry thought about the past two days. When he had first opened his eyes for the first time it had been with a pounding headache and with his tongue feeling like cotton. Madame Pomfrey had been above him in an instant giving him potions and running diagnostics. Harry had to be told what had happened because the last thing he could remember was spotting the snitch and racing with Malfoy.

He had honestly thought the fact that he woke up here unconscious meant the blonde ponce had beaten him to it and he was hoping that Angelina, Alicia, and Katie had put in enough goals to secure the game anyway. When he asked madame Pomfrey if they won the match, he thought she might smack him, but she instead informed him that they had and that he had caught the snitch. When Harry was told what the actual cause of his injury was, he winced. A bludger straight to the head was bound to do damage and following that up with a 200-foot drop if Madame Pomfrey was to be believed, and he was grateful he had no recollection of the events.

Harry was more surprised to learn that he had been unconscious a week, even after his fight with Quirrel or the basilisk he had never spent more than a day or two asleep, but Madame Pomfrey explained that with the damage to his head they needed to keep him in a magically induced coma away from all stimuli to allow the potions, magic, and his own body to heal him. He had thanked the matronly healer kindly for all she did for him, and he thought he could see her suppressing a smile, but may have been imagining it. As mean as she acted Harry was sure she had a soft spot for her most notorious patient.

Before she could finish attending to him, the visitors began. First it was Ron and Hermione and they had Ginny tagging along. Hermione had tears in her eyes and Ron looked like he didn't know what to say, but after Harry promised them he was okay, the initial awkwardness dissipated and the four of them fell into an easy conversation. Hermione had brough Harry a copy of all of her notes for him to look over and explained what they had been going over in class while Ron excitedly told him about the match and how Harry's advice had helped.

They then told him of what had happened following the incident, the fighting, the punishment for the Slytherin team and how Marcus Flint was now public enemy number one. While they were talking Colin Creevey made his first appearance, and if Hermione had been relieved to the point of tears to see Harry, Colin was something else entirely. He just kept saying how happy he was that he would be alright and kept touching him as if to make sure he was real. While Harry appreciated the gesture, he did feel extremely uncomfortable.

The rest of the morning continued much the same way as a stream of visitors including his teammates and housemates came by to wish him well and chat for a few minutes, even some members of the other quidditch teams and members for their defense club had come by to see him. Finally, around lunch time, and after Colins third visit of the day to see if he needed anything, Hermione gathered everyone up to give him some peace so he could eat lunch and rest.

Only a few minutes after they had left, he heard the door open and sighed thinking that Colin had returned, only to look up and see Daphne walking towards him. He could tell that she had been rather affected by his injury and decided it must be because of their recent friendship and proximity, and it warmed him to see that she cared.

It felt strange for Harry to think about their friendship. He had always struggled to make friends, starting as early as primary school when Dudley had bullied anyone who associated with him. All of his friends prior to this year he had made in his first or second year at Hogwarts, but he found that he enjoyed getting to know Daphne and Tracey and Luna this year and thought that maybe expanding his circle couldn't hurt.

Harry had enjoyed Daphne's company in the hospital wing more than he would like to admit. They had a very pleasant conversation the first day and then an even more pleasant one the next day. She seemed to know when no one else was there and popped in talking with him about anything and nothing at all. He liked talking with her and decided to do his best to nurture their friendship and spend time with her outside of their patrols, house boundaries be damned.

He was torn out of his thoughts as the clock on the infirmary struck exactly six and Madame Pomfrey's door opened. She made her way over to Harry who had mercifully been the only patient in her care for the past two days, and Harry tried to give her a winning smile but that only caused her to huff as she ran her diagnostics. Harry allowed the familiar spells to wash over him and waited eagerly for her to speak.

"Well," she started in a voice that sounded displeased. "It appears everything is back to the way it should be." Harry wanted to pump his fist and shout for joy, but he waited patiently knowing the elderly healer wasn't done yet.

"You will be free to return to classes this morning, but I would like you to stop by here either before or after dinner for the next week." She started laying out his discharge planning "No strenuous activities and no quidditch in that time Mr. Potter." She continued pausing for a moment and shooting him a stern look to ger her point across. Harry quickly nodded his agreement. "If you have a headache, neck pain, nausea, dizziness, or any loss of vision loss or changes in your vision you will report back to me immediately. This is important, brain swelling and bleeding like you had would have kept you in a hospital in the muggle world for months, and likely with some serious disabilities. You must report to me if anything is out of the ordinary, is that understood?"

Harry nodded his head again and muttered a "Yes ma'am, I promise."

That seemed to be enough for the matron who dismissed him after administering some of the potions Harry had become accustomed to in the past couple days. Once they were taken Harry hurriedly stood up trying his best to leave before she could change her mind. As he was walking out, he could hear her mutter to herself "Why they think it's a good idea to let school children beat each other with metal balls is beyond me."

It was still very early in the morning and Harry hadn't had a proper shower in over a week. Sure, a cleaning charm did the trick in a pinch, but there was nothing like sitting underneath a stream of hot water and scrubbing your skin pink with real soap, so he headed up to the Gryffindor dormitories. He quietly gathered his toiletries and a change of clothes and took a long hot shower.

When he was done, he made his way back into the dormitory to see his roommates were in the early stages of rising. They all greeted him tiredly before preparing for their own start to the day. Harry gathered his school bag and made his way down to the common room. He was debating whether he should wait for Hermione or head to the great hall when she made up his mind for him as she wandered down the girl's staircase.

When she saw him, she smiled and rushed to meet him for a hug. "It's good to see you out of that bed Harry. I was just about to go and check if you were still there." She muttered into his shoulder and Harry chuckled in response.

"It's good to be out of that bed." He responded. "And Madame Pomfrey let me out this morning. Ron was just waking up when I came down, so it may be best if we move on without him." He told her disentangling himself from her embrace.

Hermione nodded and led the way to the portrait hole. They took the long and familiar route down the aged hallways and moving staircases, talking lightly the entire way. They entered the great hall a few minutes later, and after seating themselves at the close end of the Gryffindor table and serving themselves breakfast they began to eat their meals. Soon they were joined by their friends and other Gryffindors. Most of them clapped Harry on the back in greeting and told them they were glad to see him out of the hospital wing. A few members of other houses also made their well wishes known, among them Turner and Smith the head boy and girl and little first year Amy Jergins who Harry had seen in passing from time to time since their first encounter when she had been lost in the castle.

A little while later Harry looked up and spotted Daphne and Tracey walking into the hall. They both caught his eyes and gave him a smile and a small wave. Harry beamed at them and looked directly at Tracey. When he was sure she was paying attention, he held up a fist and four fingers on his other hand mothing "Owen four" and her smile immediately was replaced by a scowl and her wave turned into a two fingered salute causing Daphne and Hermione who were both observing the interaction to laugh.

A few moments later just as Ron and Neville were entering the hall, the loud flurry of wings indicating the morning owls was heard. Hermione like usual took her copy of the daily prophet and placed a few knuts in the bag before offering the owl a hashed potato and sending it on its way. Harry leaned over her shoulder to read the title in large print and nearly choked on his pumpkin juice.

"EDUCATIONAL DECREE NO. 24 BLOCKED BY WIZENGAMOT! IS DOLORES UMBRIDGE UNFIT TO TEACH AT HOGWARTS, LET ALONE ACT AS HIGH INQUISITOR?!" Harry read the beginning of the article along with Hermione.

"After a week of deliberation, the Wizengamot has stepped in and denied the educational decree proposed by Minister Cornelius Oswald Fudge and the recently appointed High Inquisitor Dolores Jane Umbridge. The decree would have disbanded all clubs and groups at the esteemed school of witchcraft and wizardry, requiring them to be approved prior to reforming.

"There were heated debates in the past week when the Wizengamot learned that this decree was to be passed without any approval from them or the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Minister Fudge defended the decision stating that as High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge was well within her right to pass these decrees independently and without authorization. Pucey Wesley a court scribe was quoted saying 'High Inquisitor Umbridge is well within her rights to make decisions in her new role. She is working towards the betterment of Hogwarts and trying to ensure bright futures for our bright wizards and witches.' Meanwhile others, including prominent members (See page 2, 3, and 4 for more on this story)."

Hermione flipped the page and they continued to read, "of the Wizengamot like Tiberius Ogden, stated that she shouldn't bear her titles in the first place 'Minister Fudge is taking liberties now, just as he did when he chose Madame Umbridge to become a ministry appointed professor and when he promoted her even higher. Those decisions should have been brought before the governing body in the first place. Now this upstart lackey believes she has the right to impose educational decrees unilaterally, bypassing both our governing body as well as Hogwarts'? Utterly reprehensible!'

"Other anonymous sources have also informed 'The Daily Prophet' that the professor is unfit in her role as a professor and even more so as High Inquisitor. One of these sources said 'There is disturbing news coming out of Hogwarts that students are simply not being taught by professor Umbridge in an effort to have them fail their OWL's and NEWT's. I believe this is to cripple the ministry in future years as the students will not be able to get jobs.'

"This could be a very real possibility as most ministry positions require an OWL in defense against the dark arts, and sources inside Hogwarts confirm that in the past two and a half months they haven't learnt a single spell in classes taught by Madam Umbridge!

"Our dear readers, we urge you to reach out to Undersecretary Umbridge and Minister Fudge to ask them why they are hindering our young people's education. We here at 'The Prophet' meanwhile, will continue to bring you the latest news and updates as well as ask the hard questions."

Harry was smiling so wide when he finished reading that he thought his jaw muscles might cramp and when he looked at Hermione, he noticed she had a vindictive smile as well. They glanced up at the head table and Harry noticed it was almost a complete role reversal from the last article that had named Umbridge High inquisitor. Every professor besides Umbridge looked satisfied, some were openly smiling and talking with one another. Professor Umbridge on the other hand had turned a furious shade of red that contrasted horribly with her pink cardigan and as Harry watched her, she stood up and stomped furiously out of the great hall.

The only similarity between this time and last time was the headmaster who was sitting as unfazed as ever, working through his breakfast, and Harry couldn't help but remember what he had said about working in the background. Harry thought there was a high likelihood that he was the one responsible for the anonymous sources and sources inside of Hogwarts leaking their information.

The remainder of the conversation that morning was dominated by the article as students discussed whether or not they thought that Professor Umbridge would change her teaching style.

Harry had finished his meal and just before he was about to stand to make his way to History of Magic, he was stopped by his head of house. "Headmaster Dumbledore requests you see him at 7 this evening for a meeting." She told him curtly but not unkindly. Harry thanked her for the message and said he would be there to which McGonagall nodded and made her way back to the head table.

Harry had wondered if Dumbledore would want to wait until the next Sunday to see him or if he would want to make up for their lost time, and it appeared as though he had his answer. With that cleared he made his way followed by Hermione, Neville, and Ron to the same classroom Professor Binns had used for the last 100 years.

His first day back had gone mostly smoothly and Harry was now making his way to his final Monday class, defense against the dark arts. Harry, like everyone else, had been anticipating his class since the article had been released to see if anything would change.

When they entered the classroom, Professor Umbridge was standing at the front, a scowl on her ugly wide face. Everyone shuffled into their seats and sat expectantly. After everyone arrived, she waved her wand and said an incantation that slammed the classroom door so hard that her kitten plates rattled on the walls, causing them to meow in a show of their displeasure.

"It has come to my attention," she began, still using a sickly-sweet voice, but a tone that could spew venom. "That some students like to spread lies about the happenings in our classroom." This time she stared directly at Harry as she spoke. Harry looked back at her and allowed a slight smirk to pull at his lips and could see her narrow her eyes, hatred written all over her face.

Harry wasn't sure if she really thought he was spending the last week talking to reporters instead of being in the hospital wing, but he knew she wasn't the brightest candle in the chandelier, so he didn't put it past her.

"These lies include that you are not being taught effectively in your courses and that I am purposefully attempting to sabotage the ministry." She continued, finally lifting her gaze off of Harry to scan the rest of the classroom. "When I find out who is spreading these lies, and believe me, I will find out." She continued eyes snapping back to Harry. "There will be severe consequences. The course we are currently using is ministry approved and will not be changed. You are at a school for children to learn magic, not some soldiers in training for our brilliant headmaster." She told the class sarcastically and Harry scoffed internally at the idea that Dumbledore would try to raise an army of students. It seemed everyone was smart enough to keep their mouths closed, but the looks the students were giving her back held just as much malice if not more.

"If I hear or catch wind of anyone discussing these lies there will be an automatic 50-point deduction and a week of detention. Now, take out your books and open them to chapter 11. You will read the chapter in its entirety and begin on the questions at the end. If you are not finished when time is up that will be your homework. There will be no talking for the remainder of the class. Understood? Good."

She shot them all one last dirty look and made her way into her conjoining office, not closing the door. Harry pulled out the book and opened it to the appropriate chapter, he was preparing to practice his occlumency before tonight's meeting with Dumbledore, but something told him Umbridge would be keeping an even closer eye on him now, and it wouldn't be smart to give her any cause to assume he was up to something.

He pushed that thought and every other thought from his mind as he began running through his exercises. Tonight, he would find and expel Dumbledore every time he entered his mind, he was sure of it.

A/N: Hey everyone! I know the story has slowed down somewhat, but I really wanted to give time for Harry and especially Daphne to work through their feelings and push their relationship forward. This meant I needed to show her thought process and progression from liking Harry to liking him. That being said the story will pick up again soon. My work is not betad, but you guys have been wonderful about letting me know if there are mistakes or inconsistencies, so thank you for that. If you notice anything, please let me know in a PM and I'll take care of it. Like always, feel free to leave your thoughts or reactions in a review or PM, and thank you all for reading!