Daphne's parents sent her a response to her letter not long after she mailed it. They had told her to be careful and look after Astoria but had encouraged her not to allow herself to be cowed into submission by anyone. She was, after all, a Greengrass.
Still, she and Harry were careful during classes and other public outings, but they had chosen not to forego their new habit of strolls around the lake in the chilly December air. The temperature was enough of a deterrent that they were usually left alone, and she had enjoyed the walks, as they often chose to allow their proximity to warm them as well as charms.
On warmer days they would sit behind a large boulder near the shore of the lake that shielded them from the biting wind and prying eyes alike and harry would hold her. She would whisper that the view was beautiful, one of her favorites, and Harry would reply that she was even prettier. It was cliché, but something she had come to enjoy tremendously, and she thought that memory might power her patronus when the DA began to practice them next term.
Their patrols and studying dates in the library had also remained wonderful, but constantly paying attention to ensure they weren't too overly affectionate when others might be watching was driving Daphne crazy.
Malfoy had chosen not to speak to her after their initial conversation but did send her looks that were almost… curious from time to time. Meanwhile Nott had no issue sending her glares and dirty looks. He had yet to say anything to her, but she knew she would have to keep a careful eye on him.
Regardless of their halfhearted attempts at discretion, the remainder of the school started to hear and subsequently spread the rumors of their relationship, and suddenly Daphne felt a small part of what she thought Harry must feel all the time.
It started with curious glances in the halls and at meals, and then shifted into whispers and points. After two weeks the other students didn't even bother to lower their voices as they called her a blood traitor, a gold digger, or even occasionally stating that she could do better.
Harry had felt horrible and apologized continuously for his role in all of the unwanted attention, but Daphne refused to allow him to shoulder any of the blame. They were idiots and she had made her choice. After all, she was the one that decided to act on her feelings, even if Harry was the one who had sped them along with a kiss.
Daphne sighed contentedly as she thought back to their kisses. She had kissed boys before. Well, a boy. Her parents had vacationed in France during the summer before 4th year and Daphne had met a 16-year-old French boy from Beauxbatons on the beach near the home they were staying in.
Daphne had been 14 and a half at the time and found the slightly older boy she could barely understand compelling. After two weeks of spending time together Daphne had gone and informed him that she would be leaving the next day. He had kissed her then promising to owl her after procuring her address, but never did.
The kiss had been chaste, and it had only been the one. After that experience she didn't think much of the activity because to her it felt like two people putting their mouths together followed by an uncomfortable, wet sensation, but that had changed with Harry.
Their first kiss had felt like something different entirely, full of emotions and sensations her body had never felt before, and every kiss since then had been just as perfect. Harry was just as inexperienced as she was but made up for it with an eagerness and willingness to learn.
Daphne thought it wasn't fair to the other students that not only did they now know the best broom cupboards thanks to their patrols, but that they also were the prefects that were patrolling and had no fear of being caught while they… practiced. This, coupled with Harry's incredible map that he had shown her, had meant they had plenty of time to refine their skills.
Besides the prophecy, Harry had also begun to share with her the specifics of what he had been learning with Dumbledore including the lessons on the Dark Lord as well as the magic. They had spent even more time in the room of requirement going over why the history was important, practicing spells, and working on dueling techniques than they did exploring broom cupboards.
All in all, it had been a whirlwind of two and a half weeks and Daphne couldn't believe how much her life had changed in such a short period of time.
She was now trekking through the castle, making her way to her dormitory. With break nearly upon them she needed to begin her packing soon and she decided to bite the bullet and get it done early.
She was admittedly happy that their winter holiday was coming soon. As much as she enjoyed her time with Harry, she looked forward to the reprieve from her studies, especially with the added workload of their OWL's. Seeing her parents and spending time at home were also added bonuses and she thought that maybe she might be able to convince them to let Harry come by for a day or two.
She was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice when Nott stepped in front of her, his wand in hand. She cursed herself for not paying more attention. "Well, if it isn't the blood traitor whore." He drawled.
Despite him having the upper hand in the situation, Daphne had to suppress a laugh. The boy looked almost comical as he stood there attempting to intimidate her. He was almost a half head shorter than she was, and the face he was attempting to put on made him look rather constipated instead of menacing.
"Nott." She said coldly. "Are you so eager for a reminder of what happened at the beginning of the school year?" She asked, referencing the memory of gagging him, vanishing his clothes, and dropping him repeatedly down the stairs.
She saw him shudder involuntarily and his eyes briefly left her. She took the opportunity to slip into a sideways stance and reach surreptitiously for her wand. Harry's training from their DA meetings ringing in her head all the while. "Present as small a target as you can," and "make sure your wand is always at the ready." He had instilled in them lesson after lesson when they finally began their dueling practice.
She didn't think it would come to spells, but she needed to be ready in case it did.
"Shut your mouth." He hissed after a moment, raising his wand. "I wonder how the Dark Lord would repay me for… dealing with Potter's slag." At this Daphne did let out a laugh.
Nott seemed too confused to be offended by her reaction and his sneer was replaced by an uncertain look. After a few moments of Daphne's laughter his face took on an angry expression and he seemed ready to say something. She didn't give him the opportunity.
"Are you truly so daft?" She asked him, condescension rife in her tone. "You're openly threatening me, something that could lead to a very public feud between The Ancient and Most Noble House of Greengrass and House Nott." She said, being sure to enunciate the prestige her own house held. "What are you? An extremely stupid Gryffindor with a death wish?"
His anger seemed to slip, and worry took over his features. "Not to mention I could take this threat to Professor Snape, or the Headmaster." She continued coldly. "I wonder how the Hogwarts Board of Governor's would react to the death threats made towards one of the school's largest beneficiaries' daughters.
"And not to mention if you did carry out your threat, you would immediately be found out. They would pick up your magical signature, do you even have an alibi?" Notts face continued to pale as she spoke.
She was about to continue when footsteps rounded the corner and their head of house emerged in the corridor. He paused as he saw the two of them standing there. Nott with his wand still drawn and ashen faced, and Daphne in a near dueling stance.
His dark eyes appraised the situation before looking directly at Nott. "What is the meaning of this?" He snapped at the two of them.
Daphne weighed her options. She could tell him what was going on but look weak in return or she could pretend nothing happened and possibly encourage him to try this behavior again in the future.
Before she could make up her mind Nott's voice rang out. "N-nothing, sir. Just a conversation."
"A conversation that required you to have your wand pointed at a classmate?" He drawled, his dark eyes locking once again onto the shorter boy.
Nott smartly kept his mouth shut and averted his gaze. Snape continued, "You can explain to me why you feel the need to point your wand at others while conversing tonight in detention scrubbing the cauldron bottoms. If I find your answers lacking, you will serve another detention tomorrow evening and suffer a loss of 20 points.
"I do not need to remind you Mr. Nott that you were not my first choice for prefect, and you are on extraordinarily thin ice already with the head boy and girl due to your patrols. I believe it will be prudent to reevaluate your continuation in the role following the winter holidays." He said his gaze still locked on him as he spoke.
"Now get out of my sight. You will be at my office at six this evening." He finished.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Nott responded turning and scurrying off.
Daphne made to follow him, but her professors voice snapped out again. "Stay." She turned around and looked at her head of house.
He seemed to consider her for a moment, but his face remained unreadable. After a moment he finally filled the pregnant silence that had taken hold. "Inter-house relationships are never easy at the best of times, Ms. Greengrass. They become infinitely more difficult at times like the ones we find ourselves in now."
Daphne willed her face to remain expressionless. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation with Snape of all people.
He waited to see if she would say anything, but she did not, so he instead continued. "If you continue to pursue this, then it is likely that this will not be the last time you will find yourself in a similar situation. You must remain hyper aware and vigilant.
"I must admit that I find your… choice puzzlingly subpar, especially considering they are not just any ordinary lion. However, I speak from experience when I say that I regret not being more courageous in crossing those house boundaries when I myself was a student." Daphne again fought to keep the surprise off of her face and her expression clear.
Snape had never shared much with her. Sure, they had a decent relationship in her time at Hogwarts. She was, after all, the top Slytherin in her year and had almost never broken a rule or lost points, but they had certainly never discussed anything personal either.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, sir." She responded, and the surprise and thanks in her voice as she spoke was genuine.
He looked at her once more and nodded, before turning on his heel and stalking back down the corridor he had come from.
Daphne finished the rest of the short walk to her common room, replaying the conversation she had just had in her mind the entire way. She had said it before and she would say it again, dating Harry Potter was certainly anything but simple.
Just like Daphne, Harry's past two weeks had passed by in a barely controlled blur of chaos. He knew he would be stretching himself thin with all of his responsibilities and classes, and he had been right.
He often found himself waking before his classmates to revise for end of term exams, complete assignments, or for quidditch practice, and he was often the last one to bed due to him planning lessons for the DA in his dormitory long after his dormmates were fast asleep.
He thought he would feel burnt out or overwhelmed, but his commitment to improving himself had been more beneficial than he had initially planned. He had begun to use the planner Hermione had gotten him for his birthday at the start of the school year and it was paying dividends now as proven by his ability to make sure he completed everything he needed to.
For the first time in his life, it felt like he was taking a firm hold of his situation and being proactive instead of reactive.
Harry had also informed Ron and Hermione about the prophecy and let them, as well as Daphne, know about his lessons. They had stepped up to help him with classes and lesson planning for the DA so that Harry could better manage his time and devote the necessary effort to his lessons with Dumbledore. They had all agreed the lessons were far and away the most important thing Harry was doing, and he thought they were the most interesting as well.
In the second lesson he attended, his first on practical magic, Harry saw why Dumbledore was not only considered an incredibly powerful and adept wizard, but also why he had been one of Hogwarts' most celebrated professors and ultimately promoted to the role of headmaster.
Dumbledore had started by showing Harry memories of past duels and how he had used different aspects of magic that Harry was learning to his advantage. Harry had been in awe at the memories seeing the incredible command, control, and precision that he used.
Dumbledore had chuckled at his reaction and humbly passed it off but did promise they would go over many duels and eventually even cover his 'Duel of the Century' against Grindelwald that had ended the global wizarding war in 1945.
Dumbledore's actual teaching style was also very unique. He didn't lecture like every other instructor Harry had ever had, but instead treated their lessons as conversations.
He would often ask open ended questions, leading and shifting the conversation as he did so. This allowed Harry to work through the answers on his own, reaching the conclusions that Dumbledore intended he reach naturally. There had even been more than once when he had asked Harry about uses for spells or charms and then conceded that he had never considered the uses Harry had come up with, stating that his ideas had merit. "You are never too old to learn something new." He would tell him.
It was a welcome change and Harry felt like he was being treated as an equal as opposed to a student. He had even asked him about this a week prior to which Dumbledore replied, "If we are asking you to vanquish a Dark Lord, the least we can do is treat you like someone capable of doing so." And it worked.
Harry was progressing quickly through his advanced magic lessons performing NEWT level magic and beyond with ease and efficiency. Dumbledore had told him that Harry was exceptionally powerful and that difficult magics came easier to him.
His lessons were helping him improve in his regular subjects as well. Harry had shot up to the top of the class in Transfiguration and Charms over the past few weeks and now had a deeper fundamental understanding of those branches of magic and particularly how they could be used in battle.
But perhaps even more interesting than the lessons on practical magic were the lessons covering the history and psychology of Voldemort.
They often went through one memory a lesson and had covered a plethora of information, in a short period of time.
The memory following their initial foray into the past of Bob Ogden showed Harry Dumbledore's first interaction with Riddle at the orphanage where a very disturbing 11-year-old Riddle had first learned about magic from the then Deputy Headmaster.
Harry had learned that Voldemort had been a cruel loner as a child, that he loved collecting 'trophies' or things of value especially if he took them from others, and that he was incredibly powerful having become proficient in a very crude use of wandless magic as a child.
The next memory had been extricated from Morfin Gaunt's mind by Dumbledore by the use of skilled Legilimency before he had passed in Azkaban. The memory showed a meeting with a then 16-year-old Voldemort.
Voldemort had been livid to learn that his father was a muggle and even more upset when informed that his muggle father had left his mother, forcing her to sell off their precious family heirloom to Borgin and Burke's to survive.
The memory suddenly went black and Dumbledore informed Harry that when Morfin awoke he had been obliviated into thinking he killed Riddle Senior and his ring was missing. However, it had been Voldemort who had killed his father and grandparents, and framed his uncle, stealing the ring in the process.
Morfin would spend the rest of his days in Azkaban for a murder he did not commit, forever lamenting the loss of his ring, and when he finally died, so did the Gaunt line and name.
Dumbledore had chosen this memory because it was the first murder that Voldemort had committed and stated that it was with this murder that Voldemort had truly pushed himself onto a path to becoming a Dark Lord.
Harry had asked him why that was, and Dumbledore promised to tell him at their next lesson. The lesson he was currently about to attend.
As Harry entered the large office, he had almost a sense of foreboding, Dumbledore had mentioned that they would be learning something in preparation of a trip that they needed to make over the winter holidays, and this was the last lesson for Harry to learn whatever that information was.
He took his customary seat as Fawkes warbled a greeting and Dumbledore sorted through the labeled vials on his desk containing memories. After a moment he spoke. "Harry, it is good to see you. This will be our last meeting before Hogwarts breaks for our winter holidays this week, and also the most important."
Harry nodded, and the headmaster continued. "We will be watching a critical memory tonight. It is from many years ago, and the most important memory I have collected. It was from a colleague and former professor here who Riddle had charmed. His name is Professor Slughorn, and he was kind enough to share this with me, but I find it… lacking. Are you ready?"
"Yes, sir."
Dumbledore pulled out a memory, but instead of the smooth silver Harry had grown accustomed to seeing this one seemed to have curdled almost like sour milk.
"Do memories go bad sir?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, but they can have other issues. After you." Harry plunged himself into the pensieve and Dumbledore followed him shortly after.
The memory opened with a relaxed and handsome Voldemort, slightly younger than he was in the memory from Morfin, surrounded by peers and discussing with a large man that must have been Professor Slughorn. He had rust colored hair and a large walrus mustache.
The memory seemed innocent enough, but less than a minute in a thick white fog blurred the memory and the voice of Slughorn rang out loudly saying that Voldemort would go wrong. The fog faded and then the memory continued on as normal.
Slughorn dismissed the other boys calling them by names Harry recognized like Nott and Avery. Voldemort however dawdled, wanting to be the last in the room with the large professor. It took Slughorn a moment to notice he was still there.
"Look sharp, Tom," said Slughorn, turning around and finding him still present. "You don't want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect…"
"Sir, I wanted to ask you something."
"Ask away, then, m'boy, ask away…"
"Sir, I wondered what you know about… about Horcruxes?"
And it happened all over again: The dense fog filled the room so that Harry could not see Slughorn or Voldemort at all; only Dumbledore, smiling serenely beside him. Then Slughorn's voice boomed out again, just as it had done before.
"I don't know anything about Horcruxes and I wouldn't tell you if I did! Now get out of here at once and don't let me catch you mentioning them again!"
"Well, that's that," said Dumbledore placidly beside Harry. "Time to go."
Harry's feet left the floor and he began to fall Seconds later, he landed back onto the rug in front of Dumbledore's desk.
Harry was at a loss. This was the most important memory he would see? It had lasted less than five minutes and appeared to be faulty.
"Is… is that it, sir?" Harry asked dumbly.
"As you might have noticed," said Dumbledore, reseating himself behind his desk, "that memory has been tampered with."
"Tampered with?" repeated Harry, sitting back down as well.
"Certainly," said Dumbledore. "Professor Slughorn has meddled with his own recollections."
"But why would he do that?"
"Because, I think, he is ashamed of what he remembers," said Dumbledore. "He has tried to rework the memory to show himself in a better light, obliterating those parts which he does not wish me to see. It is, as you will have noticed, very crudely done, and that is all to the good, for it shows that the true memory is still there beneath the alterations.
"Horcruxes are an incredibly foul piece of dark magic. It uses murder to split the soul and hide away a piece of it, making the owner immortal." Harry gasped as the previous 5 years began to make sense. He now understood how Voldemort had managed to stick around and year after year interfere in his life.
Before he could comment, Dumbledore continued. "I must admit that horcruxes are so vile that I had not considered that even he would attempt to make one. That is until I saw the diary and you explained how it worked. As I delved deeper into this thought I came to this disturbing and terrifying conclusion, that he must have made a horcrux.
"I have been searching for these memories since then and in the past 3 years have concluded that the first murder he committed of the Riddles, would have likely been the murders he used to create it.
"That begged the question of how a 16-year-old Tom Riddle discovered them in the first place. I know for a fact that no book in the library contained information about them and seeing as Professor Slughorn and him were extremely close I asked him.
"He denied it at first, but his face told a different story. After a few hours of conversation and a lot of convincing, he gave me the memory, falsifying the parts he wished to remain hidden. I had wondered why, but then when you shared your memory of the night of his resurrection Voldemort said 'I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality.' I considered that he may have made multiple, and that may be what Slughorn is hiding.
"Over this winter break, we will be paying him another visit where you will help me convince him of the importance of sharing the final memory." Dumbledore finished.
"Sir, I don't even know him, why would he be willing to give me his memory if he's hiding it from you? Wouldn't it be simpler for you to administer truth serum or use Legilimency?" Harry asked perplexed.
"Professor Slughorn was our potions master prior to Professor Snape and a paranoid man as well. I do not doubt he carries antidote to the serum which likely would not work on him anyway. A skilled enough occlumens can combat the effects of the serum, much like a powerful wizard such as yourself can shrug off the imperious curse." He explained.
"Still sir, why would he willingly give me the memory?" Harry asked returning to his original point.
"He may not know you Harry, but he knows of you. He was fond of your parents in their youth. He expected great things from them. He often invited any promising wizards or witches to be a part of his 'Slug Club', a group of his favorite students that he would dote on and offer perks and connections to.
Your parents were both members. If he were still here, you would be at the top of his list to recruit for his club I do not doubt." Dumbledore explained and Harry just looked at him in shock.
"I believe that we can persuade him by reminding him of your parents sacrifice and appealing to him that we are trying to nip a second war in the bud. If Voldemort had already revealed himself, it may have caused him to be more cautious as to not attempt to anger him, but if we strike now telling him we can prevent his rise, he may be more likely to help us."
Harry thought for a moment. "That does seem like it can work, sir. I'm assuming that we already know he made the horcrux, so we need it to see if he made more than one?" Harry asked, seeking clarification.
Dumbledore nodded, "Although I am not sure for certain, I strongly believe the memory contains information that will help us. I believe it to be a number, but it may be something else. If we obtain the correct memory, we will finally know what we face."
Harry nodded waiting a moment to see if Dumbledore would explain further and when he didn't Harry spoke. "So, when will we be going to see him sir?"
"We will go on the 26th at noon. I will collect you from Grimmauld from where we will apparate together. I believe this is our only chance. If he refuses again this time, I don't doubt that we will be extremely hard pressed to find him again." He informed him, and then stood.
"I know this was a short lesson Harry, and for that I apologize, but there is simply not much more we can do until we procure the memory." Harry understood the dismissal for what it was and rose as well.
Dumbledore continued "On the bright side, you will get to enjoy an evening to yourself, which I'm sure has been rather rare for you lately." He chuckled.
Harry thought he would much rather spend more time in here learning but did not argue. "I could use the time to sleep a little earlier, I know I need it." He replied.
"Remember Harry to not overexert yourself. Take time to do things you enjoy and remember to take breaks. I know I ask much and more of you, but you are still young and deserve to act as so." Dumbledore said softly.
Harry nodded once in agreement. "Thank you, sir. I will." Fawkes gave another soft trill and Harry made his way out of the office, for the first time in a long time no note was needed.
This was shaping up to be an interesting winter break, the first he would ever spend away from the castle. He was excited and nervous and anxious, but one thing was for certain, he needed to get that memory.
He would need to ask Daphne what she thought, she was after all a Slytherin, and far more cunning than anyone Harry had ever met. As he thought of her a fond smile found its way onto his lips and he considered grabbing the map and seeing if he could catch her before curfew. Who knew, if he was lucky, they might just stay out well past the time allotted.
AN: The setup is complete! I wasn't happy with this chapter, but I needed to just push past it so I could move forward. This was the last of the major rehashing and from this point forward we will have some more significant divergence. I appreciate all your feedback and thoughts, so please feel free to share them in a review or PM.