(A/N): Fair warning that the beginning of this chapter is basically just shameless Haphne fluff… kinda.

Draco also finally appears, even if only briefly! And he's as hateable as always! Obviously he is not meant to be liked in this story so, expect the worse from him.

Enjoy!


She stared herself down in the mirror. Her reflection a crude blur of her actual self. She sat stroking her shoulder-length blonde hair, running her fingers through its silky strands. A pair of hands were wrapped around her throat.

There was no pressure. No loss of air. No choking or angered grasp.

Merely an inability to move.

She was trapped. Did she deserve to move? Any attempts she made were met with ridicule and laughter.

No, she should just sit. The hands around her throat slid down her arms, removing them from her hair to place them by her side.

She wasn't supposed to play with her hair, yet she did it anyway.

The hands returned to her throat, this time tighter; but she could still breathe.

She let the hands guide her, like a puppet with strings.

It always ended the same; the hands would throw her aside.

There were always better dolls. The hands were always disappointed with her.

The Room of Requirement had become a faux common room for Harry, Daphne, and Tracey. The trio often met up after classes to venture to the room to continue with their planning for the first task, other days they simply used it as an escape from their respective dorms and spent time learning more and more about each other.

Under the span of two weeks, Harry could say without a doubt that he had made friends in Daphne and Tracey; even if the former would rarely admit the fact. It was the subtle details that tipped Harry off to the growing relationship between the three.

The way Daphne's snide remarks held less and less malice, or how she tossed away her practiced giggle in favor of an amused snort. Tracey was under a similar boat: Often offering Harry more and more of her beloved confections, or when she took off her beanie to slide it over Harry's eyes, momentarily blinding him as she let out cackles of joy at his struggling.

Even the way they talked had slowly morphed over time. Daphne lost her stiff professionalism, as Tracey teased him more and more; similar to how she would tease Daphne.

Only one week remained until the first task; Harry and Daphne had long since perfected his plan while Tracey offered them sweets of encouragement.

The trio found themselves in the Room of Requirement, the space taking the same form it did when Harry first presented it. Tracey was rummaging through the endless shelves of sweets, while Harry stared openly into the blazing fire, Daphne had let her mind wander in the world of one of the room's many books. A comfortable silence filled the space.

Tracey let out a heavy sigh as she flopped down onto the couch, opposite of her two friends. Eyeing them curiously, Tracey unwrapped a lollipop.

"Ya know, if you're on the same couch, you guys might as well just start cuddling now," Tracey watched as Daphne peered over her book, sending her a very sharp glare before lowering her gaze back down onto the faded pages. Harry, however, didn't bother to respond. Tracey snickered at her own joke as she stretched her entire length on the couch, pulling her beanie over her eyes to take a short nap.

The comfortable silence returned, the pops and crackles of the roaring fire offering a sense of ambiance as the three sat in silence. Daphne had stolen glances at Harry periodically, the smallest traces of worry etched onto her features.

Her comment two weeks prior still rang sharply in her mind; shouting at her just how careless she had gotten with her snide remarks. More than once, she had to quell the growing pits of fear and unease that would choke her throat; often rationalizing that Harry wasn't the type of person to lead her on for days on end, only to embarrass her when it seemed most fitting for him.

Even so, with Harry sitting there quiet, more so than usual; his brows consistently furrowed as he massaged his chin thoughtfully for what seemed like hours; worry started to seep into her once again.

Daphne could feel herself flex her nose, her head craning ever so slightly to the side. She flicked her gaze between the yellowed pages of her book and Harry's concentrated frown. Daphne raised her left hand, she could feel her thumbnail enter the groove of her two front teeth as she started chewing on her nail.

"Why did you forgive me so easily?"

Daphne watched as Harry flinched at her sudden question, his body jumping like a startled cat as he turned to face her. His eyes seemed to search hers. For what, Daphne didn't really know, but that didn't stop her from meeting his gaze; challenging it with her own steady look.

"Two weeks ago. Why did you forgive me so easily?" Daphne reiterated, the icy chill of discomfort nearly causing it to crack uncharacteristically.

Harry eventually looked away, returning to his act of watching the fireplace. Daphne frowned as Harry seemingly shrugged off her question; opening her mouth to voice her displeasure, Harry shrugged before she could speak.

"Guess I'm tired of holding onto grudges," Harry muttered. He grabbed the blanket that sat on the headrest of the couch, wrapping it around his shoulders as if to cocoon himself.

Daphne felt her worry wash away like a stone in a river. letting a rueful little grin tug at her lips, she shifted her body weight to sit closer to Harry. She closed her book; her forefinger resting in between the pages she was once reading to keep her place.

"You're not about to ditch us for Malfoy then, are you?" Harry let out a crude chuckle at her joke, turning to face her with the lopsided grin she had learned to love so much.

"Ok, maybe not tired of holding onto them, rather reluctant to form new ones," Harry let out another fit of chuckles; pushing his knuckle up the bridge of his nose to fix his slipping glasses. Daphne merely smiled softly, fiddling with the hem of her sleeve as she stared into the crackling fire in front of them.

"Would you believe me if I said I was scared you'd cast me aside after that little comment of mine?" Daphne was as quiet as a mouse. She looked up at Harry, the traces of her amusement mixing with sadness as she gave him a sad smile.

Harry's content features crossed over with worry as he eyed his friend. His lips tugged into a confused frown as he leaned closer towards Daphne. Harry looked as if he wanted to push her to explain, but remained silent as he stared. Daphne wilted under Harry's intense stare, shifting in her seat as she struggled for words.

"Making friends… it's never really been easy for me," Daphne seemed to shoot a glance towards Tracey, her friend softly snoring as she napped; a lollipop sat in her mouth despite her unconscious state.

Daphne returned her attention to Harry, he looked down at her with a patient expression. His arm exited the comfort of the blanket, wrapping itself around the headrest. Daphne wanted to lean into his arm; to sink into Harry's side for comfort as she told her tales of loneliness.

"Others are often put off by my…"

"Snarky attitude?" Daphne shot Harry a glare that held no malice, meeting Harry's teasing grin in a silent battle. Daphne relented after a few minutes, letting out a soft sigh as she fulfilled her wish of leaning into Harry's arm.

"For comfort purposes," she told herself more than once.

Harry had let her do as she pleased, gently lowering his hand so it rested on her robed shoulder. Her blonde hair tickled just under his chin as she shifted around to find a comfortable position. Finally relaxing, Daphne let out a sigh of content.

"While you're not wrong in your assumption, that's not the only reason," Daphne said quietly. She could feel Harry's fingers start to tangle themselves in her hair, and despite her internal debate, she let him be.

"My father…" Daphne bit her lip in contemplation, the only other person she had confided in was Tracey - then again the only person she could confide in was Tracey. "When I was born, my father wasn't very happy when he found out he would be receiving a daughter."

Daphne had to silently thank Harry for remaining quiet as she searched for her words.

"I have a younger sister, Astoria, meaning we're effectively the last of the Greengrass line.

"For as long as I can remember, whenever I made even the slightest mistakes, he'd be standing there with a glare, seemingly waiting to look me dead in the eyes just to call me a disappointment, a failure," Daphne swore she could feel Harry's arm tighten around her.

"For the longest time, I thought he hated me. So, what better way to earn his affection than by spitting right at it?" Daphne let out a pitiful chuckle, wrapping her arm around herself to grab at the blankets Harry had wrapped himself in.

"Each time he'd show the slightest hints of affection, I'd cast it off with a sarcastic remark or a snarl," Daphne felt her fingers graze over fabric; tightening her grip, she uncurled the blanket from around Harry to wrap it around herself.

"Leading up to our first year, I kept telling myself that I'd make friends. That they wouldn't care about my shortcomings, and that I could prove my Father wrong," Daphne barely heard the little sniffle that escaped her nose, a strange warmth pooling near her eyes as she nestled herself farther into Harry's side.

"I don't know if… if it was fear or something else but, each time someone tried to talk to me on the Express, I instantly resorted to insults and snide remarks," the warmth around her grew tighter as she spoke, her throat going prickly.

"If Tracey hadn't found me mumbling to myself in that train compartment and randomly started ranting about some blonde-haired ferret to a stranger she just met, I don't know if she and I would even be friends right now," Daphne felt a second arm wrap around her, holding her tightly as she sunk deeper into the embrace.

"When I saw you alone three weeks ago, I thought 'now's my chance,' and I… I was so scared that I was going to screw everything up again," Daphne felt her bottom lip quiver; the blanket around her tightened as she shrunk in on herself.

"And then two weeks ago, I went ahead and said… said that," Daphne shivered at the memory, the hold around her tightened yet again at her involuntary reaction.

"You're the second friend I've ever made, Potter," Daphne curled into herself more, trying to sink further into Harry despite their already close proximity.

"Well, I can assure you that you've been exceptional, Daph," Daphne couldn't stop the smile that formed at the nickname that Harry had grown fond of using in the past two weeks.

Turning her body, Daphne rested her chin on Harry's chest. Her friend was staring down at her with a compassionate smile, his arms relaxing around her as his fingers returned to curling around blonde hair. Daphne put on the fiercest look she could muster and poked Harry in the chest.

"You promise me right now, Potter, that during this stupid tournament, you will not get yourself killed. Do you understand me?"

Harry gave her one of his lopsided grins, merriment flowing freely from him.

"Well, that's a fairly daunting pro-"

"Just promise me, Harry!"

Harry's grin only grew wider. Gently prying Daphne's finger off of his chest, Harry smiled softly down at her.

"Alright, I promise," Daphne nodded, more to herself than Harry as she wrapped her arms around Harry's waist. The two sat in silence, Tracey's snoring still filling the room long after Daphne's confession. Harry's arms were still wrapped around the Slytherin, more so because she refused to let him move them.

"You seemed rather intent on getting that out there," Harry said softly. Daphne hummed, drumming her fingers along his chest lazily.

"Yes well, wouldn't do me any good to just let it build up, now would it?" Harry hummed at her assessment, lazily curling her hair around his finger.

The fire in the center of the room still crackled and popped in the silence, and despite the rather somber mood, Harry couldn't stop himself from smiling. Daphne, who still laid on his chest, noticed.

"And what's got you all giddy?"

Harry looked down at Daphne, his green eyes glistening with joy as he tucked a small strand of hair behind Daphne's ear.

"You called me, Harry."


"You told him!"

Daphne winced at Tracey's volume; her best friend was buzzing with uncontrollable excitement at the prospect of Daphne sharing one of her most closely guarded fears. Daphne, however, cursed Tracey's vocal range, it was far too early in the morning for her shouting. She silently thanked Merlin that Harry wasn't in the great hall yet.

"Yes, I told him. Now can you be quiet, it's too early for your blabbering," Daphne sent a scowl her friend's way as she prodded at her food. She wasn't very hungry, truth be told, her thoughts being everywhere but with her that morning.

"Do all Greengrass women move this fast?" Daphne shook her head. He meant it as a joke, he wasn't being serious.

"Curse you, insecurities," Daphne glowered at her chicken, letting out a small growl that Tracey just barely heard.

"What? Did your chicken steal the Golden Boy from you?" Tracey snickered, hiding her amused grin behind her fork. Daphne's glare moved from her poultry over to her beanie-wearing best friend. Tracey merely smiled as if nothing was of importance.

"Nobody has stolen anything from me," Daphne ground out as she stabbed a slice of poultry with her fork. Her declaration only made Tracey's smile widen.

"So he is yours!" The darker-skinned witch all but shouted. Daphne nearly shot out of her seat to hush her friend, sputtering wildly.

"I'm about to make your ring finger my permanent necklace charm if you don't stop talking!" Daphne pointed at Tracey's hand violently with a knife, sending a glare that promised imminent pain if Tracey continued her current lines of dialogue.

Tracey scoffed at the threat, eyeing Daphne with barely contained pride. "You will do no such thing, I'm sure."

Daphne raised an eyebrow, grinning almost evilly as she leaned in close to her best friend; so close that she could tear her friend's beloved lollipop out of her mouth if she so pleased. "And what makes you so sure about that?"

"Because you love your best friend, of course!" Daphne didn't miss the way her friend accentuated the word love. She swore she could even see a light dusting of pink on her coffee-colored cheeks.

A gruff grunt shook both girls out of their musings. Harry sat down beside Tracey, his eyes were bloodshot and his hair more disheveled than normal. Tracey's nose scrunched together in worry as Daphne stared the boy down, her eyebrows raising into her hairline at his off-putting appearance.

"Well, you look positively knackered," Tracey said through forkfuls of chicken, eyeing Harry warily as she started reaching into her pocket.

"What tipped you off?" Harry drawled out sarcastically. Noticing Tracey's movement, Harry raised his hand with a shake of his head, signaling he wasn't in the mood for one of Tracey's treats. Tracey pouted at the denial, but let go of the treat all the same. Letting out a sigh, Harry rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"Just had a long night is all," He offered for an explanation. Daphne and Tracey gave each other worried glances.

"Well, if you're stressed, I know some excellent relaxation methods," Tracey leaned closer to Harry, grinning teasingly as if to try and lighten the mood.

Harry seemed to ignore the joke, piling food onto his plate with a lazy wave. Daphne could hear the boy mutter something that sounded like "I could go for a massage."

Daphne turned to look at Tracey, worry implanted on both of their faces as they silently conversed on the state of their Gryffindor friend. Tracey had jerked her head upwards, mouthing for Daphne to turn around to face the Gryffindor table. Daphne gave Tracey a confused frown as she turned.

Daphne scanned the Gryffindor table, looking for what Tracey had been urging her to find. As her eyes landed on Ron and Hermione, Daphne's mind began conjuring hundreds of possibilities. The two Gryffindors were looking at Harry with saddened eyes, even the Weasley seemingly ditching his glare for a frown while Granger's sad appearance only grew.

Daphne spent a moment studying the Muggle-born witch. Her brown, bushy hair seemed more frazzled than normal, her brown eyes were red and puffy, obvious signs she'd been crying.

Daphne turned her attention back over to Harry, her green-eyed friend now eating his procured food lazily in an almost robotic fashion. Leaning over the large table, Daphne placed her hand gently on Harry's forearm.

"Did you three have your talk last night?" The question was gentle, yet worried. Harry sighed as he shook his head,

"Not exactly," Harry muttered.

Daphne reluctantly let go of Harry's arm, giving Tracey a concerned frown as she returned to her meal, both girls knowing better than to try and pry the information out.

"Are you lost, Potter?"

Harry's fist slammed into the table with enough force to silence the Great Hall. He let out an exasperated sigh as he rubbed his eyes again.

"It's too early to deal with you," Harry muttered as he turned to face Draco Malfoy. The blonde Slytherin looked as smug as ever, although, to Harry's surprise, his two cronies were nowhere to be seen.

"Are you sure you're not lost, Malfoy? Your lackies aren't here if you're looking for them," Harry said roughly, though his exhaustion and annoyance still coated his voice.

The way Draco's face scrunched as he sniffed loudly reminded Harry an awful lot of his aunt, unnerving the Gryffindor to the point he shivered. Draco suddenly shifted to his attention to Daphne, sneering down at the girl.

"Associating with Potter, now?" Daphne rolled her eyes at the rhetorical question. Draco shot a pointed look towards Tracey before glaring back down at Daphne. "And here I thought you couldn't stoop any lower."

Draco stalked away after sending a glare at the three. Earning another eye roll from Daphne as she returned to her meal for the third time.

"As charming as ever it seems," she muttered under her breath. Tracey snorted at the remark, watching the blonde-haired boy as he walked away.

"I think that's the shortest interaction we've had to date, maybe the ponce has found something better to do than bother us?" Tracey offered. Despite his morose mood, Harry ruefully chuckled at the statement; Tracey let a small smile grow at her ability to make Harry laugh so easily.

"Wishful thinking that is, Tracey," the comment came out with a hint of desperation covering Harry's voice.

Daphne looked between her two friends, a frown tugging at her lips as she studied the smiles the two shared. Her chest felt like it was being compressed, her ribs threatening to crack as she watched her two friends smile so easily as each other; laughing as if she wasn't there with them. Daphne didn't know exactly what she was feeling, but whatever it was, she hated it.

Daphne shook her head, biting her lips as she continued to prod at her food. "I'm being irrational."

"You alright there, Daffy?" Tracey's sudden question sent a jolt through Daphne, the blonde Slytherin looking up at her friend with unreadable eyes.

Daphne flicked her gaze between Tracey and Harry again, both holding looks of worry; Tracey's lips quirked up into an amused but concerned smirk while Harry pressed his mouth into a thin line. Daphne curled her lips into a reassuring smile, though she could feel it falter as she looked between the two.

"Yes, I'm quite alright," Daphne could feel her voice waver as she spoke. Harry gave her one last look of contemplation before returning to his meal.

Tracey looked far less convinced, shooting Daphne a look that said 'we'll talk about this later,' before resuming her eating. Heaving out a sigh, Daphne reluctantly chewed on a piece of poultry. Her mind scrambling to correct its thoughts.


"You like him don't you?"

It was more a statement than a question; a statement that tore through Daphne like a speeding bullet or cutting hex. Daphne looked at Tracey like a deer in headlights, her eyes wide as her face paled. Despite the shock that flew through her veins, Daphne scoffed.

"We've known each other for three weeks. He is a friend, nothing more," Daphne crossed her arms as she sat near the head of her bed, Tracey stared at her with a calculating gaze as she rested near the foot of the bed.

"But you want it to be more," Tracey said softly, it was too calm and collected for Daphne's liking. Daphne fidgeted under Tracey's scrutinizing look, wringing her hands nervously as she fumbled for an answer.

"Even if I did, we're fourteen, we hardly know what we want," Daphne countered, pulling one of her many pillows over her chest as if to protect herself. Tracey shrugged at Daphne's argument.

"Now's the time to find out," The beanie-wearing witch offered, retrieving a piece of bubblegum from her pocket as she continued to stare down her best friend.

Daphne fidgeted on her bed, biting her bottom lip as she mulled everything over. "There's a tournament he needs to focus on."

"Continue helping him, bond with him over it," Tracey's voice grew more impatient as she chewed on her gum. She shifted closer to Daphne, forcing her friend to recoil further into her bed.

"He's a Gryffindor!" Daphne grit her teeth, the slightest edge of desperation filling her voice. Tracey moved closer still, nearly pinning her best friend beneath her.

"So?" Tracey's voice came out like a breath, the sweet aroma of her scent cascading all around Daphne as she pushed her back fully against the head of her bed.

"Give me a break!" Daphne all but whimpered, her bottom lip trembling as Tracey continued her advance. Daphne's pine green eyes locked onto Tracey's amber irises, her throat clogging as she noticed their proximity.

Tracey was close, so very, very, close. Her breath tickled Daphne's chin, sending waves of goosebumps cascading down her back. Daphne could feel the bed shift under Tracey's weight as she moved forward. Tracey's knee rested just between Daphne's legs, her torso leaning forward as she began to cup both of Daphne's quickly reddening cheeks with her hands. Daphne could hardly breathe as Tracey leaned in closer, her lips parting ever so slightly as Daphne continued to press her back against the headrest of her bed.

It all happened under a fleeting moment, but to Daphne, it felt like an eternity. For the briefest of moments.

Their lips met.

Just as soon as Tracey had placed them there, she recoiled back. Leaving Daphne to stare at her; her left-hand grazing over her lips as she mulled over what had just happened.

Tracey. Her best friend. Had just kissed her, even if their lips met for a fraction of a second, what mattered was that they had met. Daphne could taste the cherry lollipop Tracey had eaten earlier, lingering on her bottom lip. The sudden jolt of electricity that had shot through Daphne, had left her wanting… more.

"You want to do that to him, don't you?" Tracey's voice was quiet. Quieter than Daphne could ever recall.

Tracey looked up at her best friend, chuckling slightly at her still bewildered expression.

"It's okay, Daffy, I do too," Tracey admitted, gently pinching a strand of hair between her fingers in an action Daphne had never seen before. The two sat in silence, Daphne's left-hand still sitting idly near her bottom lip as her brain slowly caught up.

"I don't really know why, to be honest," Tracey said. Her voice was just barely above a whisper, echoing in their empty dorm-room. Tracey looked up at Daphne, a strangely calm smile on her lips. "I don't think either of us, really know."

Daphne shook her head dumbly. Tracey chuckled at the response, forgoing the pinching of her hair in favor of twirling it.

"Quite the predicament we've found ourselves in, huh Daffy?" Tracey muttered. Daphne knew it was a rhetorical question, but she nodded anyway. Tracey stood abruptly, patting her jeans as if there were dust upon them before putting on a serious expression.

"I say… after the holidays, if we still feel this way, we tell him. Alright?" There was a seriousness in Tracey's voice that Daphne had never heard before, as seriousness that she found oddly endearing. With a shaky nod, Daphne agreed. Tracey gave her a bright smile, offering her best friend a lazy hug as she prepared to leave her dormitory.

Daphne watched as Tracey left her room with a small wave, offering her best friend a shaky smile as she closed her dormitory door. Daphne collapsed unceremoniously onto her bed as Tracey exited, staring up at her ceiling as if she were a deer caught in headlights.

For the first time in her life, Daphne Greengrass was at a loss for words.


(A/N): If you think any relationships are gonna form this fast, well, you're unfortunately wrong. Time to make the wait, slow, agonizing, and very, very painful.

I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you stick around!