Chapter Eighty-Five: A Minor Accident

"You've had your mystery conversation, then, I take it?" Tracey asked the next morning, before she and Daphne headed up to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Daphne nodded. For some reason, it was very hard for her not to grin like an idiot.

"And I'm assuming it went well?" Tracey asked with an amused look.

"Yep," Daphne said happily.

She beckoned Tracey to lean in a bit closer. Even though they were the last two people in the dorm, she still didn't want to be overheard.

"Don't tell anyone else yet, but…"

She quickly gave Tracey a summary of what had happened. She figured that, since Hermione and Ron knew, it wouldn't matter so much if Tracey knew as well. In time, they'd tell everyone else, anyway, but for the time being they didn't want to draw any more attention to themselves than they had to, not with Umbridge already prowling around.

"You really can't help being weird, can you?" Tracey asked with a smile after Daphne had finished her story.

"Nope. Come on, did you really expect anything else?" Daphne asked.

"I suppose not…Are you going to tell the Order, at least?" Tracey asked.

"We probably will, at some point. For now, only you and Hermione and Ron know," Daphne said.

"Wow, I'm honored to be included," Tracey said with a small mock bow.

"Well, it's not really a secret, is it? Just something we want to tell on our own time," Daphne said.

"Still, to be the first one outside of your illustrious group to hear about it…"

"Not like I could've kept it from you even if I'd wanted to," Daphne said.

"Not if you're grinning like that, no," Tracey said with a smirk.

They reached the Great Hall, and Daphne went over to the Gryffindor table while Tracey headed over to the Slytherin one.

The moment she sat down and her eyes met Harry's and Ginny's, the three of them began to laugh. Clearly, Daphne wasn't the only one still enjoying everything that had happened the night before.

Hermione and Ron exchanged a look of their own, Hermione smiling indulgently, while Ron still looked as if they'd lost their minds.

The post owls arrived, and Daphne saw Styx flying over to her with a letter. She hadn't expected any mail — she certainly hadn't told her parents anything about Harry and Ginny yet — but it wasn't uncommon for her parents to send her letters, so when she opened the letter, she wasn't expecting it to be anything special.

Dear Daphne,

Dad's had a small run-in with a nasty creature at work. He had to get it looked at at St. Mungo's, though he's probably going to be fine. It's possible he might have to stay for a while, so maybe you and your friends can come by for a visit over the holidays so he can tell you what happened. Send Professor Umbridge my regards.

Love,
Mum

"Something wrong?" Harry asked, having seen Daphne's expression darken when she read the letter.

She handed him the parchment without a word, and Ginny, Hermione, and Ron also leaned over to read it.

"D'you think it had something to do with…y'know?" Ron asked quietly.

Daphne nodded. "Probably. Dad does often work at the Department of Mysteries…I wonder what happened…"

"It says a 'creature'…maybe it was that snake, Nagini," Harry said darkly. "Voldemort intended to feed me to her after he'd killed me."

"That would fit," Hermione said. "I mean, a big snake like that would probably warrant a trip to St. Mungo's, I imagine…"

"Voldemort still doesn't know he can't just have the prophecy stolen, then, if he thinks his pet can do it," Daphne mused.

"Aren't you worried about your dad?" Ginny asked.

"Of course I am, but I know Mum. If she's just sending a letter like this, he's probably not in any acute danger. If it had been critical, she'd have come over to Hogwarts in person to get me," Daphne replied.

Despite her calm words, though, she was worried, and angry. Angry that Dad had been injured guarding something that didn't need to be guarded, all for the sake of a ruse. She knew it was important, of course — as long as Voldemort remained fixed on the prophecy he'd likely keep his other operations low-key, meaning no mass murdering yet, which was the best thing they could hope for as long as the Ministry refused to see reason — but that still didn't make it any more pleasant to accept.

Just because no one had died this time didn't mean that no one would next time, and to die for something like this…greater good or not, she wouldn't accept anyone dying over something like this. And if Mum hinted that they would have to visit Dad in hospital during the holidays, it meant he'd at least have to stay there for a week, so whatever had happened to him, it hadn't been a small cut.

Fortunately, Daphne didn't have to worry alone, and Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron kept her company as much as they could, sitting with her in the library in the evening to do homework so they'd be truly free for a few weeks once term ended.

On the second night, Tracey joined them. "Mind if I join you guys? It's Malfoy o'clock again in the common room," she said with a significant look at Daphne. "It's a good thing he's thicker than a hardwood floor, though, by the way, because you three are about as subtle as a Bludger to the face, and I doubt you want him, of all people, to know about…y'know," she added with a look at Harry and Ginny.

"I mean, we already sat together often enough, right?" Ginny said.

"Yes, but no. Look, if I can see there's something different about you all the way from the Slytherin table, Malfoy can, too, and you're an obsession to him, Harry, so you can bet he'll be watching you. At least half his rants are about you being favored by all the teachers and getting away with everything all the time, so if he finds out you're in some kind of three-way relationship now…yeah, all of Hogwarts would know in minutes."

"Guess we'll have to do our snogging somewhere else than in the Great Hall, then," Ginny said with a shrug.

"Hey, I don't need to hear that, thanks," Ron said.

"Oh, shut up, you hypocrite. As if you and Hermione were subtle about it in the common room last night. Might want to work on your technique a bit, by the way," Ginny said.

Ron and Hermione both went beet-red and Ginny winked at Harry and Daphne, who laughed.

"I guess you're not just dangerous with spells, are you?" Tracey said in amusement.

"You've met my brothers, haven't you? Can't show weakness around that lot…" Ginny said.

They worked on their homework in relative silence until it was time to go back to the common rooms. In the hallway, Daphne kissed Harry and Ginny goodnight — Ron was intensely examining a crack in the wall — and then went back down with Tracey, discussing their plans for the holidays.

Over the next few days, Tracey joined them as well, this time dragging Adrian with her too.

"I should've done this earlier," she said as they walked back to the common room on the final evening of term. The next morning, they'd all set off to London for the holidays.

"You could've," Daphne pointed out. "But what made you decide now was the moment, anyway?" she asked.

Tracey shrugged. "Well, the Order meetings are always a lot of fun, so I figured I might as well get to know Harry and the others a bit better," she said.

"And I had nothing better to do," Adrian said. "Whether I don't do my homework here or in the common room makes no difference."

"Don't let Hermione hear you, or she'll make a study schedule for you," Daphne warned him. "She did that in first year."

"Isn't she together with Ron Weasley now, though? I don't recall him ever being on top of his homework…" Adrian said.

"He might have to be, now," Daphne said. "But he does usually leave things until the last moment. So would Harry, if Hermione and I didn't push him a bit."

"Why do you care if he does his homework, anyway?" Tracey asked.

"I don't, really, but this year is different. Umbridge has it out for him, so the less he gets in trouble, the better it'll be. If he seems to be a bad student, I'm sure she'll have a decree written in minutes that expels students fitting exactly his criteria…"

"I can imagine her not wanting to lose her job to a fifth-year, though," Adrian mused. "Potter's a pretty decent teacher. I've certainly had worse." He grinned. "The other day Warrington tried to hex me and I used that silent Flipendo thing of yours on him; he had no idea what happened. D'you know that's the first nonverbal spell I've actually gotten right, and we're supposed to be using them in all our classes by now."

Daphne grinned. "I'm glad it's helping. I think everyone in the Order's going to get great marks on their Defense O.W.L.s…"

It was odd being on the Hogwarts Express before the end of term, but the ride to London was a lot of fun. Daphne and her Gryffindor friends had a compartment to themselves, which meant they didn't have to hide their new relationship from anyone.

Ginny made good use of this, annoying Ron immensely by sitting leaned against Harry, with her legs over Daphne's. He didn't comment on it, however, because Hermione kept a neutral, though watchful eye on him, and he seemed less willing than usual to be scolded by her.

Being able to talk freely for a change, they discussed their plans for the Order of the Lightning Bolt once term had started up again, and then switched to speculating about what, exactly, had happened to Daphne's dad. All Daphne had heard from Mum since the evening of the attack had been that Dad was doing fine, but that he still needed to stay in St. Mungo's for a while yet. Nothing about the attack had been published in the Prophet, but odd news about wealthy families was often kept hushed-up anyway, unless it was particularly scandalous or impossible to ignore.

As they neared London, the conversation shifted to a slightly more pressing topic. "So, Ron, ready to tell Mum about your relationship upgrade?" Ginny asked.

"I'm sure Mrs. Weasley will be happy, won't she?" Hermione asked nervously.

Ginny nodded. "Of course she will be. Ron's just going to have to sit through some very embarrassing conversations…if you're unlucky, you'll have to do the same," she said.

"You'd be better be careful I don't let anything…slip," Ron said.

"If you do, I will hex you, and I'm fairly sure at least Daphne will, as well. Harry might show you mercy, though…"

"Mate, if you tell your mum about this, you won't need to worry about any embarrassing conversations," Harry said grimly.

Ron grinned at him. Harry grinned back.

Ginny sighed and sat up normally. "Better pretend to just be friends again…Not gonna lie, Daphne, I'm a bit jealous right now."

Daphne grinned at her. "Why, though? I mean, we're going to be roommates, aren't we?"

"Oh God, please keep it PG while I'm in the room with you," Hermione begged.

"Don't worry, it'll be dark. You won't see anything," Daphne said, knowing what PG meant from her Muggle Studies classes.

"But you might…hear things," Ginny added slyly.

"Okay!" Ron said loudly. "Let's stop talking about this now, please! I don't need to hear these things, I don't want to hear these things, and I certainly don't want to think about any of these things involving my sister, thank you very much!"

They were greeted on the platform by Mum, Sirius, and Mrs. Weasley.

"How was your trip?" Mrs. Weasley asked, after hugging all of them in greeting.

"Uneventful," Ginny said neutrally. Daphne fought to keep the grin off her face, and she saw that Harry was struggling as well. Why was everything so funny, lately?

"We'll be going to headquarters," Sirius said softly.

"It's closer to St. Mungo's, and headquarters is better equipped to house all of us for the holidays, anyway," Mum said.

"Arthur and I will be staying there too, of course," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Has Arthur stopped feeling responsible by now?" Mum asked.

"Why would Mr. Weasley be responsible Dad got hurt?" Daphne asked.

"Dad will explain once we're at the hospital," Mum said. "We'd better get a move on…"

The group didn't talk much on their way to St. Mungo's, and soon they had entered the hospital through its dilapidated storefront facade. Daphne felt uneasy as they made their way over to the counter. She'd been at the hospital a couple of times before, and none of those visits had been particularly happy. Harry and Hermione, however, seemed quite impressed and intrigued at all the magical injuries that people sustained on a daily basis.

The witch at the counter directed them to the first floor, where Dad was in the 'Dangerous' Dai Llewellyn ward for serious bites. The eight of them entered the ward and walked over to Dad's bed at the far end, near the sole window, where he was propped up reading the Prophet.

"Haven't kicked the bucket yet, then, have you?" Mum asked.

"I'm hard to get rid of, as it turns out," Dad said with a grin. "Just ask the Healers. They'd love to get me out of here, but every time they take the bandages off I start bleeding again."

He looked at Daphne and smiled. For some reason, despite seeing that Dad was, by and large, fine, seeing him in the hospital bed made Daphne very uncomfortable.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

"I'd just taken over guard duty for Arthur — I had to be at the Department early, anyway — and I'd set up the usual detection spells while I took care of some other work at the same time. The detection spell went off, but I couldn't see anyone, so I looked around to see if anyone might be invisible nearby. Instead, I found a huge snake.

"It lunged at me and managed to bite me once, but I got it off me and signaled for help. Good thing the people there know me and are used to strange things happening at the Department, so they didn't ask too many questions and got me here quickly.

"By that time, I was pretty out of it already, but they got me on a Blood-Replenishing Potion pretty quickly and since then they've been trying to figure out what kind of venom that snake used that keeps the wounds open."

"So were you guarding–"

"Never you mind," Mrs. Weasley interrupted.

Dad rolled his eyes. "Molly, they already know. Yes, I was guarding the prophecy. That I got attacked proves he's still not found out that he'll need to take it himself, but it can't be long now before he does. The Ministry is only getting worse, though, from what I hear. How's Hogwarts?" Dad asked, looking from Daphne to the others.

"Manageable, but Umbridge will probably use the Christmas break to push through some more decrees," Daphne said.

"Not if she knows what's good for her," Mum said darkly. "I'd happily round up another committee to overturn her stupidity."

"If it has nothing to with Quidditch next time, you probably won't be able to," Daphne said.

Mum smiled grimly. "Don't underestimate me."

"So what happens when Voldemort does figure out he can't have the prophecy stolen?" Daphne asked.

"I presume we'll drop the pretense and stop guarding the Department; at that point it would just be too dangerous for anyone except Dumbledore himself to do it. Of course, I still work there occasionally, so we'll still have information about what's going on. There'll just be less risk of snake bites." Dad said. "Are you staying at headquarters?"

Daphne nodded. "I think so."

"Good. Dumbledore said he wanted to talk to you and Harry. I suppose he'll be dropping by later tonight, then," Dad said.

"Did he say why?" Harry asked.

"I suspect it'll have something to do with Voldemort," Dad said.

Mrs. Weasley flinched. Ron, by now, didn't anymore.

Dad grinned. "Just because we're adults doesn't mean we have been told everything, you know. Dumbledore knows how to spread his secrets."

I considered having Arthur actually die in this chapter, but given what happens later, I thought that would be a bit too cruel. I admit that I really don't like killing off characters, but of course, that's unavoidable.