A/N: Usual disclaimer. Please review if you have any feedback :).

Chapter 3

The next morning after the Welcoming Feast saw Daphne groggily and grumpily making her way to the Great Hall for breakfast. She had been up rather late the night before, unable to fall asleep as she replayed her conversation with Potter over and over again in her head. Giving up entirely after a certain point, she had dragged out her copy of Seeker Weekly and had finally fallen asleep some time later, the magazine still splayed open in front of her on a detailed article about the contract disputes within the Pride of Portree.

The Great Hall was already mostly full and breakfast was well under way as Daphne took her usual spot at the end of the Slytherin table. At times, Astoria would come and join her but she found herself for the most part alone. Sitting with her other Housemates had become more and more of a chore as the years had passed and, while she did feel the odd pangs of loneliness at times, Daphne much rather preferred to be left to her own thoughts. Left to her own thoughts and hopefully the morning edition of The Daily Prophet, specifically the Quidditch section.

She was well aware that throughout the years, she had developed a certain reputation amongst the general Hogwarts student body as a bit of a loner. Cold, standoffish, and reserved were some of the descriptions floated around. It was helpful in a lot of ways, particularly as she had gotten older and the boys had started to come calling. Mostly from Slytherin and that, frankly, was a good enough reason as any to embrace her said aura. They were either arrogant or oafish or had an unhealthy, overinflated ego (or worse and often enough all three in spades). There was one particularly bad incident when one of them had responded a bit too aggressively at her rebuffs and she had blasted him halfway across the hallway. Most of the boys cleared off after that.

As she filled her plate with eggs and bacon, Professor Snape descended down from the staff table to hand out N.E.W.T. schedules for each of the sixth year Slytherins. It would be rather different this year, with Slughorn taking over Potions and Snape teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Seeing as none of her previous DADA teachers had lasted more than a year and the widespread rumor that the position is jinxed, Daphne idly wondered if Snape would be gone too by the end of the year. She was aware of how the rest of the school viewed Snape, but however biased he may be, he had been her Head of House for the past five years and she thought she would at least feel something should anything happen to him. Perhaps he'll move back to his old Potions spot.

She glanced at the Gryffindor table and saw Potter talking with Professor McGonagall. Hopefully, they would share some classes together. She had mostly finished her breakfast by the time Snape finally reached her spot.

"Miss Greengrass," Snape said peering at his notes in his hand. "Cleared for Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration. I must say I was very pleased with your Outstanding Potions O.W.L. Do keep it up."

Daphne blinked in surprise. "Thank you sir," she said gratefully. Potions was probably one of her best subjects, courtesy of having a professional potioneer as a mother, but a genuine compliment from Snape was a rare thing indeed.

Snape nodded curtly and handed Daphne her new schedule. WIthout another word, he swept around, cloak billowing, and left the Great Hall, no doubt to start preparing for his first class of the day.

Daphne looked through her class schedule. First period Ancient Runes followed by DADA right after. Probably not the best start to her Monday, but not the worst either. She liked Runes but Defense could be a struggle at times. She had not expected to get an Exceeds Expectations on her Defense O.W.L. but since she had scraped through, she thought she might as well take the class anyway, especially considering the times they were living in. Still, strictly speaking, she didn't really require the class for what she wanted to pursue as a career, which would hopefully be a position at St. Mungos, either as a potioneer like her mother or as a Healer. Of course, she could always break the mold and try her hands at another career path.

A Quidditch analyst perhaps? The voice in her head said teasingly. It had been playing on the edges of her mind lately. She had really never considered it but Quidditch all on its own was something that was so integral to her now. She loved it. She breathed it. Every single aspect one could think of, she loved, the only exception being playing itself. She was a horrible flyer but that didn't stop her from having the occasional daydream of playing for a team like the Harpies.

She didn't have the personality or the voice to be a Quidditch commentator, something someone like Lee Jordan would excel at, but there was more to Quidditch than just playing or announcing. Analysts, statisticians, journalists. Hell, she could even combine both career paths she was considering and be a professional sports Healer, which specialized in athlete injuries and training. It was something to keep in mind and really think about at a later time, Daphne thought idly. But that would have to wait as she was already running late to her first class.

She sighed as she pushed away her plate, collected her things and got up from the Slytherin table.

Mondays.

By the time of her last class of the day, double Potions with the Gryffindors, Daphne already had a significant headache. Runes, DADA, and Arithmancy, all with a mountain load of homework and this was just the first day. Still, at least DADA had been eventful, as Potter had once again landed himself in detention for his "cheek" as Snape had put it. The remark he made had been the singular highlight of the day, despite the fact it had landed him into trouble.

She entered the classroom and saw only a handful of students in her year had qualified and chosen to take the N.E.W.T. Potions course. From her house, she saw Malfoy, Zabini, and Nott sitting together at a table and inwardly groaned with disgust. Of all the Slytherins, it just had to be those three. Malfoy and Zabini were unbearable but for the most part left her alone. The same could not be said for Nott and she shuddered inwardly at how he leered as she walked in. Still, she thought ruefully, at least Crabbe and Goyle weren't here, NOT that they had the brains to qualify anyways. That would've really been the icing on an already horrible cake.

The dungeon was already full of vapours and odd smells, most likely from the large, bubbling cauldrons that Slughorn had prepared sitting at the front of the classroom. There was one particular gold-colored cauldron that was emitting one of the most pleasant smells Daphne had ever experienced, one which she instantly identified as Amortentia, the strongest love potion in the world. One that smelled simultaneously like chocolate (which made sense as she had a rather large sweet tooth), her mother's potions lab back home, and that same musky, heavenly aroma that always reminded her of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

Just Quality Quidditch Supplies now? The voice in her head asked smugly. Daphne felt her cheeks heat up and told the voice to put a sock in it.

But speaking of the devil, it didn't seem like Potter was here, as she gazed around the room ruefully, but it may not be a total surprise. He had never really seemed like a particularly good potioneer, though that may have been exacerbated by his relationship with Snape.

Daphne herself settled into a smaller empty table near the back of the room, as was her habit. She never really felt comfortable sitting anywhere else. Perhaps it was just part of her nature, but she really didn't like any attention drawn to her, nor the feeling of eyes on her back.

"Welcome!" Slughorn boomed as he smiled at each student, beaming in particular at Zabini and herself. "It seems we have a rather small class."

In addition to her three Housemates, there were four Ravenclaws sitting together near the front as well as Ernie Macmillan (a rather pompous fellow from what Daphne had seen of him) and Granger, who shared a table. A rather small class indeed.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when the door to the dungeons burst open once more to admit Potter and Weasley, both of whom looked out of breath.

"Sorry we're late Professor," Potter panted. "Professor Mcgonagall only just told us we were qualified to take your class." Malfoy and Nott both shared a snicker at that.

"Not to worry m'boy," Slughorn said jovially, "Come in, come in. Minerva did mention you two. We have a small stock of textbooks and equipment in that cupboard near the back. Please help yourselves." The two thanked Slughorn gratefully and went to the back corner.

"Now then," Slughorn clapped his hands together, "Let's begin! Books and scales out!"

As he proceeded to quiz the class on identifying each of the potions in the cauldrons (all of whom were identified by Granger), Daphne's mind (and gaze) wandered over to Potter, who was still by the corner cupboard with Weasley.

So Potter had managed to qualify for the N.E.W.T. course after all. If she recalled correctly, Potions was a necessary prerequisite to becoming an Auror and Daphne was glad he had managed to get in (among other reasons).

"...and now to work!" Slughorn's voice pierced her thoughts once more. "We'll be doing a lot of paired work in class this year, not for every assignment mind you, but enough so that I'm assigning you all partners. Let's aim for a bit of inter-House unity! Macmillan and Granger, I see you're already seated together. And you there…" he pointed at Zabini, Nott, and Malfoy and paired them with three of the Ravenclaws. None of them looked happy.

"Harry m'boy!" Slughorn boomed happily as Potter and Weasley came back, each with a battered looking Potions book in their hands. "Come, come. We're pairing off! You've already met Ms. Greengrass on the train, yes? You two can work together here in the back. And you…" he gestured towards Weasley and paired him off with the last Ravenclaw (Lisa Turpin), but Daphne paid that no mind.

Partners for the year? Oh sweet Merlin. Daphne just barely suppressed the wide grin that threatened to split her face. Horace Slughorn had just become her favorite professor.

Potter came over to her table and gave her a small smile as he plopped down. "We meet again Greengrass," his vivid green eyes twinkling.

And she could no longer contain some of her joy as she smiled back, "So it seems Potter, I just can't get rid of you can I?"

Potter laughed, "Oh, I'm not an easy person to get rid of, just from past experience."

No indeed, nor did she have any particular urge to get rid of him.

"So, are you going to be repaying me with your Potions prowess Potter?" Daphne asked amusedly as the other students settled into their new spots, most rather begrudgingly.

Potter gave a slight grimace. "No promises there. I might fall more into your debt before the year is out. Not off to a particularly good start either," gesturing vaguely to the battered Potions book in front of him that looked as if it had been used as a chew toy a couple hundred times.

Daphne snorted, but before she could reply, Slughorn's booming voice rang out again as the lesson started.

"Let's begin!" Slughorn said. "Now, how are you all going to win my fabulous prize of Felix Felicis? Well, by turning to page ten of Advanced Potion-Making. We have a little over an hour left to us, which should be time for you to make a decent attempt at the Draught of Living Death. Now, I know it's more complex than probably anything you've attempted before (Granger shifted slightly in her seat at that and the corner of Potter's mouth twitched. Hmm, Daphne thought idly)...and I do not expect a perfect potion from anybody. The person who does best, however, will win little Felix here. Well, off you go!"

And at that, there was a scramble as everybody rushed off to gather supplies, or start their cauldrons, or madly rifling through their textbook.

Now this is certainly an interesting way to start a class. Daphne thought as she too began to prepare her cauldron. The Draught of Living Death was indeed a complex and somewhat tricky potion. Her mother had mentioned its sanctioned uses somewhat, mostly in the medical field dealing with comatose patients. But just scanning down the recipe itself, Daphne estimated that it should be manageable as long as she was careful. She didn't know whether or not she could edge out Granger of course but given the prize, she'd certainly give it everything she got.

A bottle of Felix Felicis was a rare thing indeed. There weren't many potioneers in the world who had the skill to make it and the use of it was, in most cases, pretty well regulated. Banned in sporting events of course, as Slughorn had mentioned. She remembered an article she had read about a notorious incident that occurred during a Cannons game around fifty years ago when a somewhat mediocre Keeper had ended up miraculously saving every goal against the top ranked Chaser trio at the time.

She spared a glance at Potter beside her and suppressed a giggle as he grimaced over his book, which seemed to be covered in messy handwriting.

Concentrate dear, the little voice in her head gently chided her. She snapped her attention back to her cauldron and began to work.

An hour later, she finally found a breather as she began to stir her potion counter-clockwise. She cast a quick gaze around the room and found most of the others had progressed nowhere close to where she was currently. Granger's potion looked close though as she too had began stirring. It'd be a bit of a tight race.

She looked over at Potter. They hadn't had much of a chance to talk that lesson, both of them concentrating furiously on the task at hand. He had asked to borrow her knife at one point but nothing else other than that.

To her astonishment, his potion had the shade of pale pink exactly as described in the book.

"How…how are you doing that?" Daphne whispered as she looked on in wonder, completely forgetting about her own potion.

Potter gestured vaguely towards his open book, eyes intently still on his potion, "Add a clockwise stir…"

Daphne opened her mouth to protest that no, the book says stir counterclockwise the whole time but closed it again in thought.

"...And time's….up!" Slughorn called. "Let's see what we have!" He walked slowly amongst the students, eyeing their work.

Daphne looked back at her forgotten potion and silently cursed. She had dropped her attention for only a few moments but that was all it took to lose her edge. Potions could be tricky that way as she well knew and should've remembered. Oh well, it had been a decent attempt, pretty much the same as Granger's at least, to which Slughorn had given a nod of approval.

"And now our final two!" He stopped at their table in the back and peered into her cauldron. "Excellent work Miss Greengrass, just a tad less inconsistent than Miss Granger's earlier." Daphne nodded ruefully. It was as expected. Had she not gotten distracted near the end, she felt she would have produced something better. Yet, evidently not as good as Potter's.

""The clear winner!" Slughorn boomed a moment later, staring at Harry with a look of delight. "Excellent, excellent, Harry! Good Lord, it's clear you've inherited your mother's talent, she was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are - one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!

Potter pocketed the potion and seemed to relish the furious looks Malfoy, Nott, and Zabini were throwing at him.

"Well, congrats Potter," Daphne said as they packed up their bags. "Seems like you have some Potions prowess after all."

Potter shifted uncomfortably before grinning sheepishly, "Yeah, guess I'm just full of surprises."

"Harry!" Granger and Weasley had joined them. "How did you do that?" Granger demanded, clearly aggravated at being out-performed.

"Oh, got lucky I suppose," Harry quipped and seemed to smother a laugh as Malfoy passed by, a look of fury on his face.

Daphne giggled and Harry's grin widened at her.

"Well, guess I'll see you later Greengrass." She nodded in response as Potter left, Granger still badgering him with questions and Weasley giving her a curious look before following suit.

Mondays.

The next Potions lesson carried on pretty much the same way. Potter once again outperformed the class, which had Slughorn raving, Granger miffed, and the Slytherins looking as if they'd each swallowed a lemon.

It wasn't until the end of the first week of term that Slughorn finally announced that they would begin partner assignments and that they would begin with the Dreamless Sleep Potion.

Daphne glanced at Potter sitting beside her. "Ready to start?" He nodded and pulled his cauldron out. For the next hour into the lesson, the pair worked efficiently together, dividing up preparing and cutting the ingredients and monitoring the cauldron.

"Okay, now we just need to let it stew for 4 minutes before stirring," Daphne said finally, wiping her brow. Their potion was nearly complete.

She saw Potter open his mouth and then hesitate. "What is it?" she asked curiously.

Potter shifted a bit uncomfortably before saying, "I think…I think we should do two minutes instead."

She glanced at the instructions and then back to Potter once more, "Why? The book says four minutes exactly."

Potter stared at her for a long moment, green eyes piercing into hers and she flushed involuntarily, actively forcing herself to maintain his gaze. Merlin, what he's doing should be illegal.

"Can I ask you to keep a secret?" Potter finally asked. "And I promise it will benefit the both of us."

Well that was a strange question. But then Daphne's eyes fell on his battered Potions book and she thought she might have an inkling as to what it was.

"Alright, let's hear it." Daphne finally replied.

She listened intently as Potter explained how he had been following the written, modified instructions in the Potions book he had found, which explained the newfound success he was having in the class in general.

"Wow," Daphne said finally when Potter had finished and then chuckled, "You certainly were lucky to have picked that one. It could have been worse." She gestured vaguely towards Weasley and Lisa Turpin, who were trying frantically to stop the black smoke currently coming out of their cauldron.

"You...you're not mad at me?" Potter asked her.

"Why would I be mad? So you were following different instructions, but Slughorn told you to take the book. You were in the right place at the right time."

"Ah no, not that," Potter grimaced, "About the Felix Felicis. If I hadn't had this book, you probably would have won it. I was watching you throughout. I think you're even better than Hermione when it comes to Potions. But don't tell her I said that," Potter added hastily, wincing somewhat.

Daphne grinned, "Oh that. Well as I said, I'm sure you'll find a way to make up for it." She giggled as Potter rolled his eyes but a relieved smile nevertheless made its way onto his face.

To think he was worried about her opinion. Who could have seen that coming this year? Daphne mused to herself.

"Although…" Daphne continued and frowned slightly at him, "You really should be careful who you throw your trust in Potter. You barely know me and now you're telling me this."

"I…" Potter started to retort before he seemed to catch himself, a somewhat faraway look in his eyes as he seemed to recall something. "Yeah…I really should." He turned his eyes back to their potion, the mood suddenly much more somber.

Great job Daphne. Absolutely spiffing work. She thought sarcastically to herself as she watched him, feeling the guilt slowly crawl through her.

"I'm sorry," she said hesitantly wringing her hands nervously, "I was mostly teasing and I'm grateful you chose to share that secret with me. I can swear an oath or something to not tell anyone if you want."

Potter seemed to snap out of his stupor at her words and said firmly, "No, no oaths. You don't need to do that. You're absolutely right in that I should be more careful."

He shook his head slightly, as if to get rid of unpleasant thoughts, before smiling once more, some humor returning to his emerald-green eyes. "Besides, you saved me on the train. And even more, you saved me from Snape. That means something all on its own."

"Yes, obviously avoiding the big, scary Snape is much more important than potentially bleeding out on the train back to London," Daphne replied drily.

Potter grinned, humor returning in full force now, "See, now you get it." Daphne rolled her eyes but a smile escaped her nonetheless.

"And time!" Slughorn's voice boomed out, jolting her out of her thoughts. She shared a look of dismay with Potter as they looked at their cauldron. They had completely forgotten the timer they had set for their potion.

"And what do we have here!" Slughorn said as he finally made his way to their table, peering curiously at their work. "Seems you two had a bit of an off-day! Forgot to stir at the end from what I can see. But still an admirable attempt!"

"Sorry Professor," Potter answered sheepishly, "Got a bit distracted at the end."

"Not at all Harry m'boy!" Slughorn chortled, "Some things in life are worth more than just a Potions assignment." And as he turned around, he gave Daphne a subtle wink, causing her to turn beet red.

"Wonder what he meant by that," Potter muttered to her as Slughorn walked off.

Daphne grimaced. "Oh, I have no idea," she lied. Had she been that obvious? Hopefully not. It was embarrassing enough that Slughorn had already seemed to catch on.

"Harry!"

She turned to see Granger and Weasley waiting by the door, already packed up and ready to go.

"Well, good lesson Greengrass." Potter said he got up from their table.

"It was until the end," Daphne smirked and Potter smiled sheepishly.

"We'll give the book a try from the beginning next time. That'll help make up for it," Potter said as he gave her a wave and went off with his friends.

Daphne smiled to herself and went back to packing her things, lost in thought. Potions had always been her favorite class and now it was even more so. Granted, she'd only had three lessons so far this year, but partnering with Potter had become the single thing she looked forward to these days. They hadn't talked about anything substantial until just now with his battered book but she felt she was making progress at least. And from what she could see (or maybe it was just wishful thinking), Potter seemed to be comfortable with her as well. It was surprising on many levels but Daphne supposed her actions on the train went a long way to earning at least a bit of Potter's trust, which he seemed way too eager to repay with his secret about the book. But still, that had to mean something right?

She hadn't been lying when she waved off his concerns about the Felix Felicis. Sure, she would have loved to win but she really didn't consider Potter to be cheating. He followed a different set of instructions, which was a gamble in any way one thought about it and it had paid off. Those instructions could have very well had the potion blow up in his face. Nothing wrong with going off the beaten path once in a while.

Daphne walked out of the dungeons and headed towards the library, thoughts whirling. She hadn't gotten far before a voice suddenly called out to her.

"Oi, Greengrass!"

She turned and struggled to suppress a look of disgust as she saw Nott heading towards her.

"What do you want?" She asked coldly, one hand already reaching for her wand just in case.

"I just wanted to say hello, Greengrass. No need to take that tone with me," Nott answered loftily.

"Well you've said it. Now piss off," Daphne turned and started walking towards the library once more.

"Hey, don't be like that," Nott said as he caught up and started to walk alongside her. "You certainly seemed chummy with Potter earlier."

So that was what this was about. Nott had been hounding her for a while, not fazed by her multiple rejections throughout the years.

"We're partners," Daphne replied shortly.

Nott looked at her contemplatively, before shrugging. "So anyways Greengrass, I was thinking…"

"Nott." Daphne interrupted, "Whatever filth you're about to say, I don't want to hear it." She drew her wand and pointed it towards him. "Now leave."

Nott's face contorted in rage, but he held it back. It seemed he was smart enough to know he was at a disadvantage.

"This isn't over Greengrass," he snarled and stomped off.

She waited until she was alone in the corridor again before finally letting out a huff, stowing her wand away. Dealing with dunces like Nott had become more and more trying as time went on. They were people used to getting their way, throwing money and names and power around to do so. She would have thought that his father getting thrown into prison would've tempered that somewhat but it seems with You-Know-Who now having openly declared himself, it had enabled others to start becoming more aggressive.

Daphne had no misconceptions as to where the allegiances of a lot of her House stood. She had heard the whispers and even open discussions amongst her Housemates. Many of their families were already amongst the Dark Lord's ranks and others seemed to sense the way in which the winds were changing in their favor, thinking it was better to get onboard the winning side lest it be too late.

Bigotry and hate were powerful tools to manipulate others with and unfortunately, Slytherin had it in spades. The teachings and ravings of pureblood fanatics had been entrenched since the days of Slytherin himself. It started with Slytherin himself.

And in the hands of someone as powerful and cunning as You-Know-Who, using the purebloods to push for power would mean disaster for everyone else. No more rights, no more law and order. She had caught a glimpse at the atrocities committed by the Death Eaters during the Quidditch World Cup fiasco and shuddered to think what would happen if You-Know-Who ever took over. Nott would only be the beginning.