A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back to another story, this one a commissioned fic for 5Firehawk!
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Bold = Parseltongue
NEWS IN THE DISC - POL WILL DROP TO ONE UPDATE EVERY OTHER WEEK ON ACCOUNT OF TAKING LONGER TO WRITE THESE NEW CHAPTERS, SAVIOUR'S PARIAH WILL BE PICKED UP.
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September 29, 1994
"Harry," Daphne said, drawing his attention away from the book he was trying to study towards her. "You realise that you're looking at yet another book written by Marcus Cresswell, don't you? By that, I mean you're reading another book on offensive magic."
"Yeah, I've seen you read what he's written a lot, figured it meant it was good," Harry looked between her and the book a half dozen times in short succession. "Am I doing something wrong?"
"In a way, yes. Marcus' works are meant to be read in a specific order and the book you've picked is towards the very end of that order — you've been on the same page for nearly twenty minutes, which I imagine can only mean you don't understand the words as they're written," Daphne plucked something from her satchel and slid it across the table to him. "That would be more of where you're at, and the book in your hands would be one ahead of where I currently find myself… is it Quidditch that's had you so bothered these past few days?"
Harry sighed and exchanged the books before he gave an answer; he nearly didn't give one at all considering she was spot on. Sure, he may not be welcomed by most of Slytherin House outside of his Quidditch inclusion, but it was something he could do that made the tedious days go by quicker when he couldn't meet with Daphne. Being in the sky and working with others who otherwise wouldn't pay him the time of day was cool and all, but it was the way Daphne would visit him after that made it completely worth it.
She wouldn't ever admit to worrying about him when he played the sport despite the injuries he'd suffered from it, and she certainly couldn't be described as a Quidditch fan, but she'd always be there to congratulate him on his play regardless of the outcome. In essence, to Harry, Quidditch was a great time-waster when Daphne was occupied and the reactions Daphne gave him when she had the chance to witness his game was all the more reason to keep playing.
One of these days, He thought, She'll give me a good luck kiss before the game.
"Yeah," He eventually said to her with a huff, the reaction more towards his heat-filled cheeks than the annoyance she probably thought it was. "I don't get why they've cancelled Quidditch. Surely they should tell us what's so big that Quidditch had to get axed for it, right?"
Daphne reassuringly nodded, her visage friendly but without much clue as to what she was thinking. "Few seem to truly know the entirety of what's coming and they'll not share it with anybody but very close friends. They like having that leg up on the rest of the school, I imagine," Daphne's voice trailed off in an annoyed tone, but another few seconds later she picked up again with a shrug. "Dwelling on it won't fix it, you know that. We may as well continue our studying until whatever's happening happens, then we can react to it in a way that best suits us."
'us', 'we', 'together' were all words Daphne used exclusively for him and her. Tracey and Millicent, the two Harry would call closest to him and Daphne were rarely included when she spoke in plurals. She was right in her usage too, for since they'd gotten close in first year, it was only the pair of them, no others.
In a way, as lonely as the two of them were to the eyes of others, he loved it. Daphne was the only person he trusted completely, and she said much the same to him. Their bickering aside, together, they made the best pair in the school.
Really. Even the Professors had said as much when group assignments were given out.
"Yeah, you're right as always," Harry said with a grin.
Daphne raised her head, especially her nose, and looked down at him in a mock superior fashion. "Don't you forget it, Harry. I'm always right… Now get back to studying or I'll hex you."
Harry's eyes went a bit wide at her warning, but he did as he was bid and delved into the book she'd exchanged with him. Immediately, he could decipher it far, far easier than the previous one; if Daphne was a master of one thing and one thing only, it would be in Defence.
He knew that, she knew that, everyone knew it, really. There was a reason people would ask her for help despite not knowing her. Then again, when the alternative was Granger who would make you do things the right way instead of the quick way, he could understand why they'd gone to his friend.
Shortcuts aren't a copout, they're something to be proud of and to use frequently.
"You're headed the wrong way," Daphne chided with a shake of her head.
"Aren't I walking you back to Gryffindor Tower since you walked me back to the Slytheri—" Harry began to ask, but was cut off.
"Nope," Daphne said with what he swore was a sadistic gleam in her eyes. "We'll be practising in some classroom, how else are we going to see if you've progressed?"
He groaned.
Practice with Daphne was needed and all, especially if he were going to improve in Defence or Potions, but Merlin she was absolutely horrible sometimes. Given, he could be horribly thick when it came to wrapping his head around what she was trying to say… no, no he'd go with his side of things.
"Are we doing Transfiguration after? Or maybe the healing magic I've been working on?" He asked, hopeful that he'd be able to show progression in one of those other fields considering he knew how his 'progression' in Defence was likely to go.
Daphne scoffed. "Do we need to showcase your Transfiguration or Healing abilities? We both know they're very good and unlikely to improve too much further unless you find more spell books or texts to teach you," She held up a hand. "Don't give me those eyes, I've told you numerous times that neither are my fields of expertise."
Harry laughed at her words. Daphne hated when he tried winning her over with one of his puppy-dog looks, it struck a chord in her whenever he did it. Not some normal chord either, no, it was the chord of hers that sought to help everybody. They were very similar in that way; he and she both sought to help whomever they could whenever the opportunity presented itself.
"I learned a new spell a few days ago when we were in the library," Harry said as the pair of them turned a corner, one that was wholly empty. "It's another one meant for healing. I can't show it off all that well, bu—"
He jumped to the side and turned to Daphne; her eyes were narrowed at him.
"You were supposed to be learning more about Defence, Harry," She said dangerously as she started prowling towards him. "I left you notes and books for that specific reason. How else are you going to improve and stay… stay well when you next find yourself in trouble?"
Harry swallowed and jutted out his bottom lip. "I'm sorry, Daph," he said. "I'm not good with Defence, you know I'm absolute rubbish at Potions too. I just figured since we're a team, I could focus on healing spells, Transfiguration and Charms while you took care of the other bits — it's what a team would do. We'd be better with Tracey and Millicent too, Millie could help you upfront and Tracey could help me in the back."
Tracey and Millicent were separated from one another, and in that way, they were very similar to he and Daphne. Beyond that, the former girl was similar to him in that she avoided straight up confrontations while the latter was like Daphne who embraced them. Sure, a case could be made that those two Slytherin Housemates of his were different in their abilities in comparison to he and Daphne, but together, he had no doubt they'd be far stronger.
He wasn't saying that as a knock on Daphne, how could he when she was a prodigy? Nor was he being self-deprecating, he just knew they needed another person or two, especially the year before… one more person would've been brilliant to have.
Daphne sighed and stepped the remainder of the way over to him. "I know that it'd be nice to have somebody else join us, last year was certainly a bit… close," she grabbed his hand in the way that always made the pair of them blush and began leading them towards their usual practise spot. "If you can convince them to join us in our more dangerous endeavours, in addition to getting closer in general, then I'm for it."
"Really? That'd be wick—" Harry was cut off again.
"Yes, really," She said with a slight chuckle at his energy — she always would comment on that considering how typically reserved she was. "No more Quidditch anger, no more shucking learning Defence. It's time to get you stronger for when that parasite comes back."
Harry nodded strongly and looked to their conjoined hands as they moved in silence.
Together… he liked that.
October 30, 1994
"The Triwizard Tournament, I can't believe they'd bring it back," Daphne said from her spot beside him at a table in the library.
"Can you tell me about it? I don't know all that much about the historical stuff," Harry asked, eyeing the girl curiously.
"There's not much to tell," Daphne said. "It was cancelled for deaths and serious injuries for the previous participants. I don't know why they'd bring it back with as troubled a history as that, nor do I particularly care to worry myself with it — you should do the same and stay away from it. Don't be like those two fool housemates of mine who're trying to enter it."
"The Weasley Twins, you mean? Did they actually enter their names in it?" Harry leaned forwards to get a better read of Daphne's face, not that he could ever read what was going on behind her eyes.
She was unreadable, more so than anybody he'd ever met. It was good for them, for the most part; it certainly made dealing with Professors and most of their peers easier.
"They tried, and they failed. Some geniuses they're supposed to be, hmm?" Daphne chuckled and pulled Harry's chair a bit closer to her own. "What do you think of those other students? The ones from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons? It looked like a couple of them may've fancied you."
"Please tell me they don't know about me like everybody else does," Harry groaned, running a hand down his face and peering between the gaps his fingers left to see Daphne's face.
He wasn't happy to see that she outwardly expressed herself with a frown at his words.
"I believe they do," Daphne said, bringing a hand up to rub his back in small circles. "That doesn't necessarily mean it has to be bad for you. Maybe we'll make a new friend who doesn't pay any attention to it — you met me, didn't you? Tracey and Millicent don't seem to mind your saviour status either."
Harry shook his head but looked at Daphne closely. "What do you think of them? Everyone keeps going on and on about Fleur. Same for that Quidditch player too, Krum. He's supposed to be one of the best in the continent, you know."
"I don't know," Daphne said, blinking at him in a way that showed how impressed she was with a Quidditch 'star' being in their midst. "As for what I think, I don't particularly care so long as they're not bothersome."
He couldn't help but snicker at Daphne's remark. Leave it to her to be so blase about something that has the rest of the school — Harry included to some degree — anxious or excited. In a way, it was comforting that she couldn't be arsed to think or otherwise worry about their new schoolmates. At least he knew nothing about her would change as it certainly would with the rest of the Hogwarts students… Well, maybe not all of them.
Tracey usually cared about nothing but her next chance at something chocolatey. She was an addict regarding sweets if ever he'd seen one. That was saying something too, considering he had to bunk with Crabbe and Goyle; those two were practically whales like Dudley with how much they ate, yet Tracey could beat them in a sweet eating contest.
"You're zoning," Daphne remarked, poking him in the cheek whilst she raised one of those honey-blonde eyebrows of her—
Harry shook his head. He'd been doing that more and more recently, that being noticing Daphne's features beyond that of what a friend would do. So what if she had long hair of a shade he now knew thanks to jewellery shopping for her gifts when the seasons came about? So what if that same hair ended right up one of her rear features that he usually didn't notice?
"You're doing it again," Daphne chided, pushing her book out of the way and poking him harder this time. "What're you thinking about so intently, then? It's only when you're about to do something incredibly brave and incredibly foolish when you get that look about you."
He couldn't help but blush at her words thanks to the truth of them. Normally, he'd defend himself and the actions he'd taken in the past, especially considering how he'd rescued Ginny alongside Daphne, but he still remembered her face when she'd seen him laying on that cold damp stone. It didn't help that, at the time, he had a Basilisk fang protruding from his arm. Daphne had been crying then, not furiously, but the tears and the look on her face was enough to bring tears to himself whenever he thought too hard about it.
Her knack for saving people ran as deeply as his does, and it was thanks to that piece of her that she'd always been at his side from the moment they'd made friends with one another. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be helpless and staring at her with death knocking on the door; that was the exact feeling she'd told him she'd felt too. Beyond that, it was why she studied harder from that point on — she felt like she needed to be the best when it came to combat magic or potions to save him.
He wasn't even horrible with Potions either, his potioneering abilities weren't as horrible as they used to be.
"Just thinking about how far we've come," Harry finally said, noticing how Daphne was about to hex him this time considering his lack of an answer. "It's a long way, isn't it? I mean, you've gotten mental with your Defence and Potions… the other thing too."
Daphne blushed slightly at his words and busied herself with moving errant strands of hair back behind her ear. "I'm alright, I could still be a lot better than I currently am," she said, changing the topic of the conversation over to him whilst still looking just slightly past his shoulder so they couldn't make eye contact. "You're the one with the real improvement. We both remember how pants you were at nearly everything that first year, now you're towards the top of our class in Charms, Transfiguration and Herbology. If Healing magic were its own category too, you'd be number one in our year."
This time it was Harry's turn to blush at the sheer force of complement from his friend, and blush he did; it wasn't as bad as when he looked too closely at her or when she noticed him doing it and blushed in response, but it was a close thing for the pair of them.
Clearing her throat, Daphne none too subtly changed the topic entirely. "Those new schoolmates of ours, why exactly are you focusing on them so much? It's not like they'll be here long, and beyond that, I doubt many of them can speak great English. Seems to me like we shouldn't pay them all that much attention and instead, focus on getting closer with Tracey and Millicent."
Harry listened carefully for any signs of jealousy in Daphne's voice when she mentioned the two other girls, but detected none. He wasn't being paranoid or too thick, he liked to think, he was simply being cautious. That was all thanks to Malfoy and the loud tone he spoke with too. It wasn't directly related to Daphne, but Harry had overheard that witches were easy to make jealous and it was a sure way to know if they liked you; that being talking about other witches a lot in front of them.
He hadn't done that, not hardly, but he still minded how she said their names to see if he could pick up on it.
"We should," Harry agreed. "And I don't know, I guess it's just weird, isn't it? There have barely been any transfers, maybe one since we've been here, and then all of a sudden we have what feels like hundreds of new people at Hogwarts including Professors… Krum being famous for Quidditch is a bit intimidating too. What if he wants a pickup game? He'll kill me at Seeker, don't you think? He was on the Bul—"
Daphne put one of her dainty hands over Harry's lips and hushed him. "Relax," she said to him. "There's no need to worry about all of that, just focus on the school year and getting by without trouble, right? Something always happens, we both know that, we just need to stay together, get stronger, and deal with it as it comes. Alright?"
"Right, no trouble this year… that's the goal," Harry said slowly, then, he groaned and looked at Daphne with a look that screamed of capitulation. "We both know something's going to happen this year, you know that, right?"
"Harry," Daphne said, grabbing her books and putting them away as she stood up. "Of course, I know that. You're a bad luck magnet and I'm not much better off, that's why we're studying as much as we are. Anyways, let's go to the kitchens for a snack, I think Dobby would enjoy seeing you."
Harry put away his book and followed after Daphne. Once the pair of them were outside of the library, he nudged her in the ribs hard enough to get her attention. Once he had it, he spoke.
"Dobby likes you just as much as he likes me, you should just count yourself lucky that he wasn't trying to save you," He said, groaning in remembrance.
Daphne patted him on the shoulder and pulled him closer, the two of them walking with their shoulders touching now. "Who knows, before we graduate from Hogwarts, maybe he will," She then returned the nudge to his ribs with a pinch of her fingers instead of her elbow. "You better help me when that time comes."
He laughed at the seriousness of her tone, and when he saw her playful expression — one she rarely got — he took off. It would never mean anything good should she catch him with such an expression on her face. The last time she did, the tickling jinx she'd put him under… it was torture, indescribable torture in the rawest form.
Her laughter wasn't bad though, if anything… no, no Harry wouldn't go there.
October 31, 1994
"Holding up alright?" Daphne asked from her spot beside him at the Slytherin table.
Normally, it was frowned upon by those of Slytherin House to have outsiders sit with them, but Daphne was special in more than one instance. Chief amongst those was the case of her parents, one had died for the cause of Voldemort, or so the stories and public opinion said; her other parent had died for the opposite reason when it came clear the end was nigh for those followers of Voldemort.
If that wasn't reason enough for them to leave her alone, her grades in Defence being public knowledge were. Really there were a host of reasons, and altogether, they amounted to leaving Daphne alone unless they wanted to make an enemy of her. Nobody wanted that, not even Daphne, as that meant time away from her studies to deal with stuff she couldn't be arsed with.
"Yeah," Harry said, managing a smile at the semi-worried girl. "I'm not too bad off, helps that you're here. Normally there'd be a few comments, but having you keeps them at bay. Thanks for that, by the way. I know your housemates aren't overly-happy with you joining me."
Daphne scoffed. "Have you known me to ever care about what they think? Most of them aren't able to think for themselves, hence them staying in large groups and listening to whoever makes the first move," She shook her head and moved her mashed potatoes about on her plate. "It's sad that they ignore you as much as they do considering the history your family has within Gryffindor House… Anyways, you know I'll always be on your side. You've done the same for me countless times."
Because you're my only real friend and I like you, Harry wanted to say to her. But he didn't, instead, he smiled at Daphne and returned to eating his food with the ever faithful companion she made at his side. Or rather, instead of eating, he moved it around in a similar fashion as to what she'd done.
Truth be told, Harry wasn't all that hungry. Some people called it stupid, his being down on the day his parents died considering he didn't know them. They were right in a way, he supposed, but it didn't make his feelings change; Halloween would always be the day his parents were taken from him far too early.
His mood soured, he turned to watch Daphne as she leisurely moved her spoon to her lips. Even eating, a task that was mundane and without too much appeal, was made graceful by the way she moved.
"Daphne," He eventually said when it was clear neither of them were all that interested in eating — it could've been to avoid being caught watching her for too long too, one never knew who was watching and waiting to make a comment that'd embarrass him.
"Harry," Daphne said back to him, her attention focused once more on his face and her food forgotten.
"Do you… well, could we talk after dinner?" He asked her, his words failing him when he found himself lost in her eyes.
Daphne cocked her head at him, clearly curious as to what he wanted to say and why he wouldn't say it where they currently were. After a few seconds of watching and reading him — something she was far too good at for his liking — she nodded.
"We can," She said simply, her gaze staying locked on him.
"Wicked," Harry said before turning and coughing to break whatever spell had come between them. "Wh—"
"Excuse me," Came a deep, accented voice from behind the pair of them.
Harry and Daphne each looked over their shoulders at the source of the voice, with Harry going a step further to turn and face the person it belonged to. Sure enough, he found himself face to face with Viktor Krum. It wasn't as shocking as he thought it'd be, all things considered, but it was still a very weird feeling to be speaking with a person who would be a professional Quidditch Star in the next few years.
"Yes?" Daphne responded for the pair of them, her eyes locked on Krum's face.
"Do you two eat the Banitsa?" Krum asked, eyeing the pastry-like dish directly in front of the two of them.
Daphne side-eyed Harry and he did much the same to her. When neither of them seemed to have any sense of recognition, much less a reaction of wanting to keep the dish, Daphne spoke for the pair of them again.
"No, we don't. Would you like it?" She asked, her body already shifting a bit to the right so she could lean back to pick it up.
"Please," Krum said respectfully, his accented voice still as deep and troubling to understand as when he'd started; Harry suspected his accent or lack of mastery with English was why he spoke so few words to begin with.
Daphne kicked him under the table and used her eyes to tell him to get a move on, so Harry shook his head and did as she bid. He shifted her body as she did, grabbed the plate carefully, and handed it over to Krum.
"Here you go mate," He said not unkindly, even going so far as to give a half-smile at the boy he'd felt incredibly intimidated by only yesterday.
"Thanks," Krum said simply in response, patting Harry on the shoulder with one large hand while the other held the treat close to his chest as if it were something incredibly precious.
He said the same to Daphne too before making his way back to his seat, though she wasn't given the pat on the shoulder like Harry was. Perhaps it was the look she gave him when he looked about ready to do so, or it was the fact that she'd already partially turned around. Whatever it was didn't bother Krum in the slightest as he made away like a bandit, already stuffing one of the pastry things in his mouth before he shared the spoils of conquest with his friends.
"Do you know what that was?" Harry asked, nodding towards the now empty space in front of them.
"A pastry, I'd suspect," Daphne responded dryly, her very answer telling him she didn't know and she didn't care. "Anyways, what were we talking about before he interrupted us?"
Harry scratched the back of his neck before shrugging. "Don't remember… you're not done eating already, are you?"
His question came after he witnessed her push her plate towards the centre of the table, an action that usually signified the person it belonged to was done eating for that meal. Well, that or they were giving their plate to a friend who needed two plates for some reason; here's to Crabbe and Goyle.
"I am," Daphne said. "At least until you're done, then I suppose we'll split dessert like we often do."
Harry grinned at her words, earning himself a pinch to his side that went unnoticed by nearly everybody considering she'd done it below the table. She didn't like it when he made her blush in public, she hated it when he did so at the Slytherin table; 'I can't look cute', she said when he asked her why.
Well, not really, but that was what Harry had taken away from it. Daphne never called herself cute or pretty or beautiful, he supposed he didn't either… not out loud, at least. He'd always thought of her as cute since first they met.
"Wicked," He said, taking a spoonful of mashed potatoes as she tapped idly on the table.
They weren't allowed to leave until the Goblet came out and declared the participants. Thus, the two of them hadn't minded taking as much time to eat as they did this evening. It was thanks to that forced staying that the pair of them found themselves towards the far end of the Slytherin table too, as it was a spot where Daphne wouldn't likely find herself called out in so long as the Professors didn't take notice of her — they normally didn't care, but they liked uniformity and such for formal happenings.
Daphne didn't care all that much considering she thought the house system was stupid in the first place. Her reasoning wasn't all that wrong either, when she gave it to him; Harry didn't really belong in Slytherin anymore than she did in Gryffindor. There were others too, like the Gryffindor housemates of hers who picked on other students or Draco who lacked any sense of cunning or discreteness.
Too bad they don't have a house for dolts, Harry snickered to himself, It'd be full up.
"Here it comes," Daphne sighed, grabbing Harry's hand to gain his attention before indicating with a nod of her head towards the Professors headed to the Goblet in the centremost point of the room. "We're going to leave as soon as the third person's name is called out, alright? If we don't, we'll be stuck in here for thirty minutes, maybe more."
Harry nodded. "Right. As soon as the third name comes out, we're going."
Daphne and he both didn't particularly care about the tournament. If anything, it would hopefully serve as a distraction so that nothing too heinous or stupid could happen to the pair of them this year. He didn't think it would be quite that helpful, but Harry was still foolish enough to hope it'd be.
First, the champion from Beauxbatons was called; Fleur Delacour.
He heard Daphne snort beside him as the French girl practically glided across the floor to the room where the champions were gathered.
Next, the champion from Durmstrang was called; Viktor Krum.
Harry didn't outright cheer for the Quidditch Star and Bulgarian pastry lover, but he did smile. He'd seen how happy the boy was, and from his one interaction, he seemed nice enough.
Finally, the third champion, the one from Hogwarts, was called; Cedric Diggory.
This time, Harry cheered for the person… he had to, Hogwarts solidarity and that.
"Let's get going," Daphne said, her hand holding his tightly as she rearranged herself to stand up.
Before that could happen, before the pair of them could make their escape, a fourth piece of parchment was ejected from the Goblet. Harry closed his eyes when it happened, he didn't want to see it, he didn't want to hear it — his mind, the nerves within, had already seemed to know what was coming when two hushed words were said.
"Harry Potter."
