AN:

Some time jumps in this chapter. Thanks to all who favorited, followed and reviewed this story!

English is my second language. Even though I have read the chapter several times and have let other people check it as well, I apologize for any mistakes. All possible mistakes in this chapter belong to me alone.


Chapter 5 – Some Revelations

Every new day of his first week at Hogwarts was a new adventure for Harry. In addition to Transfiguration, they attended a whole range of further classes. Harry particularly liked Charms with the tiny Professor Flitwick, because he gave them plenty of opportunity to practice the spells and was always amenable for helpful tips. He also found Herbology quite interesting, but his gardening with the Dursleys had dampened his interest in soil and plants a little. Defense Against the Dark Arts turned out to be a big disappointment though. Professor Quirrel, stammering and always frightened, simply could not teach the subject material in an inspiring way. They'd probably just have to practice the spells privately, Harry thought.

The less practical subjects of Astronomy and especially History of Magic were not cut out for him, as he discovered early on. Harry almost fell asleep several times, especially during Professor Binns' eternal, monotonous monologue.

However, that was probably at least partly due to the fact that Harry slept very badly. Granted, Daphne had picked out several useful spells to protect her belongings and shared them with him at his request, but these spells still exceeded their abilities. Thus, Harry tried to watch out for any suspicious movement at night and was startled by any sound he heard. He also locked his suitcase every time he was not there, but apparently his classmates did not want to repeat their first night action, but that did not mean they would leave him alone. Rather, they came up with new forms to humiliate him. Be it spilled ink over his papers and in his pocket, discerpted schoolbooks that he had stupidly left behind, or an essay that Harry had been sitting on all evening, that Malfoy, along with Crabbe and Goyle, simply threw in the fireplace in the Slytherin common room. Harry had clashed several times with his tormentors, but due to his numerical disadvantage, he had mainly bruises and contusions from it.

Daphne also had to deal with such bullying, causing the two of them to spent most of their time alone in the library or in abandoned classrooms practicing spells. In the library, they saw Hermione Granger all the time, who almost seemed to live there. Harry himself had developed a certain dislike towards the library and especially the librarian Madam Pince, after she had viciously reprimanded them and threatened them with detention after they had almost, accidently of course, gone into the so-called "forbidden section" ... What books were hidden there, Harry asked himself.

Overall, Harry did not have much to do with his other classmates, but he did not really feel like dealing with them either. The constant gape and whispers drove him nuts. Apparently, there had been some turmoil in the wizarding world because he had come to Slytherin, as he learned from overheard conversations and the morning newspapers in the Great Hall. Some first-years even deliberately avoided him afterwards, almost as if they were somehow afraid of him. And the Slytherins did not want anything to do with him anyway, which Malfoy was probably responsible for, for whatever reason he had so much power over the other students.

That's why he spent most of his time with Daphne, even if they were not talking much to each other. At least he was not completely alone. Somehow this blond girl fascinated him with her stoic, graceful manner, something that he could not really explain. Her eagerness to learn every spell she encountered also impressed Harry. He only wished sometimes that she would be a bit more sociable and kinder. Overall, Daphne Greengrass was still a closed book to him.

So Harry's first week at Hogwarts passed, and soon it was Friday. Harry was sitting next to Daphne at the Slytherin table in the great hall (their other classmates kept their distance as usual) when a letter suddenly fell on Harry's plate from above. Looking up, he saw Hedwig circling above them. He held out some bacon that she loved to take, before looking at the letter in front of him. That was his first letter at Hogwarts! He immediately tore it open and read the scribbled writing.

Dear Harry,

I know you don't have classes this afternoon. Would you like to come to see me at 3 pm and have a cup of tea with me? Then you can tell me everything about your first week! Just send me your answer with Hedwig.

Hagrid

PS: Just bring Daphne or other friends with you if you want.

Harry showed the letter to Daphne, who was reading the Daily Prophet while eating. She scanned the lines of text and seemed to have to think for a moment, but finally, she nodded, before continuing reading. Harry then wrote a brief reply on the back of the letter and gave it to Hedwig, but not until he had given her another slice of bacon of course.

Afterwards, they rose from the dining table to go to their first lesson of Potions. Harry was really looking forward to this new class.


Harry had a new least favorite subject! That had become clear to him after only a few minutes of their lesson in the dark depths of the Hogwarts dungeons. Snape, the Potions teacher, did not seem to like Harry at all. He had pounced on Harry from the very beginning, asked him questions about potions that one could not answer unless one had memorized his schoolbook beforehand. Snape had acknowledged his missing answers with mockery, which their Slytherin classmates answered with roaring laughter as usual. Since Snape was also Slytherin's head of house, Harry felt the whole house was conspiring against him. Not that the Gryffindors they had lessons with were really better. Hermione Granger in particular, who apparently had to constantly remind each of them that she had actually memorized her schoolbooks, was extremely annoying.

In short, Harry's mood was terrible when he and Daphne were working on a potion to cure boils. From the corner of his eye, he watched Snape's every move. That was probably the reason that he was not quite on the ball.

"Be careful, you add too much of the porcupine spines," Daphne warned him annoyed, slapping his hand. It wasn't his first mistake. No, potions certainly wouldn't be Harry's favorite subject.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and bilious green clouds filled the dungeon. Apparently, Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley had somehow managed to melt their cauldron into a bulky lump, causing Longbottom, who was dashed with the brew, to groan in pain.

"Idiot," Snape bawled at Longbottom, whose face now was covered with boils.

Snape pointed to Weasley, "You take the idiot Longbottom to the hospital wing. And five points from Gryffindor."

Longbottom, still groaning in pain, and Weasley left the dungeon under the Slytherins' laughter and sneers. Weasley's face was almost as red with anger as his hair. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who hated Snape deeply, Harry thought.


Shortly before three o'clock, Harry and Daphne made their way to Hagrid's hut, which was on the edge of the forbidden forest. It was a sunny afternoon. and many of the students were hanging around the grounds enjoying the weather.

When the hut was already in sight, they saw two familiar figures leaving - Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley! Since these two went from the hut towards the castle and Harry and Daphne from the castle towards the hut, they faced each other shortly afterwards. Harry observed Longbottom. He looked a lot better now; the boils were gone, even though his skin was still a little red on the spots, but he did not seem to be in pain anymore. Harry was glad. In any case, he did not know the boy well enough to wish him pain.

Weasley's head, however, had turned unhealthy red again. Before Harry could greet them or say anything else, the latter spoke out loud. "Out of the way, you lousy snakes," he spat angrily, jostling Harry with his shoulder as he ran past them.

Harry heard Daphne snort contemptuously, but Longbottom and Weasley had already walked away.

"What was that all about," Harry said aloud as they continued their march to the hut.

When Harry knocked on the big door, there was a loud bark from inside. "Relax, Fang," they heard Hagrid's loud voice, before he opened the door for them, trying to hold a huge black Boarhound dog on the collar.

Harry and Daphne entered the cozy interior of the hut which seemed to consist of only one room. Dried ham hung from the ceiling, and a kettle simmered over a fire. Harry liked it. Somehow it made a good match.

"Make yourself comfortable," said Hagrid, before releasing the dog Fang, who immediately pounced on Daphne and tried to lick her face. Daphne cried out in surprise and was almost knocked over by the giant dog, but suddenly, Daphne laughed and started petting and ruffling Fang's fur. Harry could hardly believe his eyes and ears. Daphne was laughing! He had never heard her laugh before. That was the first time. Her laughter sounded high and gentle, free from any mockery, and overall just sincere and carefree. Harry thought it was beautiful!

He was so happy that he also started to laugh out loud, and Hagrid also joined in with his thundering laughter. After they finally got a hold of themselves, they sat down at the round dining table in the middle of the room. Daphne was still petting the driveling Fang with a gentle smile on her lips.

After taking the current edition of the Daily Prophet off the table, Hagrid served them homemade cookies that were so rock hard that they almost broke their teeth, but the hot herbal tea Hagrid poured them was simply delicious.

"Hagrid, why did Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley come out of your hut?" Harry finally asked.

Hagrid replied smacking, "Oh, I ran into them earlier in the castle. Were on the way to the hospital wing. The boy Neville looked really terrible, full of boils and all that. And he groaned in pain. Then I thought I would invite them over for a cup of tea. Looked like they could use it. Do you know them?"

"We only have Potions with the Gryffindors. So we really don't know them."

"Yes, you ended up in Slytherin." Hagrid sputtered, "Not that I would find that bad! No, no, there is far too much ascribed to these houses. All bullshit." He cleared his throat loudly. "Well, how were you doing in your first week here?"

Harry talked about his first lessons, and he particularly enjoyed being able to hate on Snape. From time to time, especially when asked, Daphne also added a few comments.

"And what are your classmates like? Your roommates in particular? Have never been in the Slytherin rooms," Hagrid finally asked the question Harry had been afraid of.

The hut fell silent except for the loud snoring of Fang, who had fallen asleep with his head on Daphne's knee. Harry pondered how he should tell Hagrid of his experiences.

Finally, it was Daphne who spoke. With a cool voice and head held high, she said, "Our previous experiences with our classmates have been rather unpleasant. But nothing that we would not be able to cope with." At the last sentence, she twisted her mouth scornfully.

Definitely not the words Harry would have chosen to describe their experiences. Unpleasant? Rather terrible or horrible. But somehow the answer was typical for Daphne.

"Hmm," grumbled Hagrid. He seemed to want to say something, his mouth was already open, but then he closed it again. A few moments passed. He scrutinized both of them, but especially Daphne. Harry also noticed that she had stopped petting Fang, instead, her hand was clawed into his fur, her expression blank.

Finally, Hagrid sighed loudly. "Don't worry about other people's opinions," he said. "You don't have to be liked by everyone. And you can come to me whenever you want." He grinned broadly. "To us, I mean. It seems Fang has found a new friend." Now everyone looked at Fang, who was still lying with his head on Daphne's knee and driveling happily.

This leavened the mood a bit again, and they spent the rest of the afternoon listening to hilarious anecdotes from Hagrid about their various teachers. When he imagined how a fourteen-year-old Snape had to clean all the toilets on the second floor for punishment, he laughed himself to tears.

When Harry and Daphne finally returned to the castle, their pockets were crammed with the rock-hard cookies from Hagrid that they had not been able to refuse without being rude.

It had been a wonderful afternoon for Harry, along with the only two people he considered friends. Daphne, too, had been unusually relaxed and unconstrained. He was happy to see her like this. She was still smiling softly as the sun slowly set behind them. So Harry thought it was a good moment to ask her something that had been bothering him all week.

"Daphne, what is the reason why our classmates don't like you? You said it had nothing to do with me. Then what is it?"

Daphne stopped. Her smile was gone and replaced with a surprised expression, but Harry thought he saw something like pain or regret in her blue eyes, too. She turned her back on him, before speaking in a firm voice, "I don't really want to talk about it. But I have a feeling that you wouldn't stop asking me that. Or someone else could just tell you, it's not a real secret. And maybe you somehow deserve to know. But I'm only going to tell it now. So don't interrupt me and don't ask me any more questions afterwards."

She took a deep breath, and Harry waited intently.

"The reason is my parents. They were supporters of the Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers, during the war. No high-ups. Most of all, they supported the Death Eaters financially and provided them with information. They were probably too cowardly for anything else. After the fall of Voldemort, they too were arrested. They tried to talk themself out since they didn't want to be sent to Azkaban. They have given names. Names of Death Eaters and other followers of Voldemort. They also incriminated Malfoy's father. But he could still wriggle out of a conviction. With immense bribes, of course. But others came to Azkaban due to their testimony. Parkinson's father, for example. They are now considered traitors and cowards and are hated by the people who have supported or still support Voldemort. But the other side doesn't trust them either because of their previous affiliation with Voldemort. And because they only turned away from the Death Eaters when Voldemort was defeated. Defeated by you, Harry Potter. They are shunned and hated by everyone and only live on their wealth. Nobody wants to have anything to do with them. And that's why nobody wants to have anything to do with me. The rejection and hatred for my parents are projected on me."

Daphne turned back to Harry, her hair blowing gently in the evening breeze. He wanted to open his mouth, but Daphne cut him off in a cold voice, "Don't say anything. I told you that after I tell you all that I won't talk about it anymore. And I don't need your pity either. And I don't care whether you hate me now because my parents were followers of Voldemort. I'm not my parents."

At the last words, her eyes flashed, and for Harry it actually felt like there was a blast of cold air from Daphne.

"I don't hate you, Daphne," he said carefully. Indeed, he did not hate her. She had never done anything to him, and he had not seen any reason to assume she shared her parents' views in any way. Rather, he was grateful to her for telling him all of this. He tried to smile.

"Good for you," replied Daphne coolly. "I'm going to find an empty classroom now to practice some spells. I don't need to go to dinner after all the cookies this afternoon. You don't have to accompany me." With these words, Daphne took her leave.

Harry was left behind, dwelling on his thoughts for a long time while looking at the grounds of Hogwarts. Today had brought him some revelations and food for thought ... and he suddenly realized that Daphne had not been afraid to use Voldemort's name earlier.

When it was already dark and his stomach was beginning to rumble, Harry entered the castle and went alone to dinner in the Great Hall.


The school year continued, and Harry and Daphne quickly fell back into their patterns from the first school week. Their conversation after their visit to Hagrid, whom they continued to visit regularly for the next few months, was never addressed again.

At some point, they also had their first flight instruction with the Gryffindors, where Harry learned that he idolized flying. He was good at it, too. Daphne didn't like flying but said she recognized the benefits of mastering this way of transportation. For Harry, however, it was more than just a means of transportation. He had never felt as free as on a broom in the high air! It was just a wonderful feeling! It would only be more beautiful if he were able to fly without a broom at all!

However, there was a confrontation between Weasley and Malfoy during the flight lesson. After Longbottom fell off the broom and had to be brought to the hospital wing, Malfoy had picked up a small, round glass ball that Longbottom had lost. Weasley had tried to get it back from Malfoy, and both of them had finally taken off with their brooms, despite Madam Hooch's explicit prohibition. Harry had started to intervene, too, but had been stopped by Daphne, who had grabbed his arm and shook her head slightly. Eventually the glass ball cracked on the floor, and Professor McGonagall, who had apparently been watching everything, had given a lot of detention on both Weasley and Malfoy and subtracted many house points.

That had been the starting point for a fierce feud between the two which even intensified shortly afterwards after both had been given even more detention. The reason for this second punishment was not known to Harry in detail, but apparently, they had been out at the castle at night.

However, this feud between Weasley and Malfoy and the resulting intensified hostility between Gryffindor and Slytherin had at least one significant advantage: Harry and Daphne faded somewhat from the spotlight of their fellow Slytherins. They still had to live with derogatory comments every day, but otherwise they were mostly left alone. The Gryffindors seemed to keep even more distance, but they also hadn't looked like they wanted anything to do with them before, so Harry could handle it.

There had been a big turmoil on Halloween when a troll appeared in school, but apparently it had been defeated by the Gryffindor trio Longbottom, Weasley and Granger, who, for whatever reason, were said to have fought him. Many details were not known. Maybe all of these were just false rumors. In any case, Longbottom and Granger had spent the following days in the hospital wing (how often does Longbottom get in the hospital wing?).

Harry also made noticeable progress in class. He had been able to turn the stupid match into a needle in the second lesson, whereupon Professor McGonagall had explicitly praised him. In the other subjects, too, at least those in which he could use magic in practice, he came along well and was always one of the first students to master a new spell. He also owed a large part of that to Daphne, as he knew. Often in an annoyed voice, but extremely helpful nonetheless, she answered every question he had about their lessons. Every day she practiced with him the spells shown in class and others that she had found in books in the library, even if she didn't do that primarily for him. It was obvious that Daphne was very ambitious and wanted to master every spell.

Harry and Daphne used the time Granger spent in the library on her essays to hone their practical skills. And Harry was alright with it because he too found the practical aspects of magic much more fascinating than all the essays and other homework assignments they were supposed to write. Therefore, their grades were okay, but not really outstanding.

All in all, he saw Daphne as a friend. His first and only friend in his life (except Hagrid). However, he was not sure whether she saw him as a friend as well. They spent a lot of time together, but mostly she was somehow reserved and distant. It was very different between them than between the other students who saw themselves as friends, as Harry noticed frequently, but he had no one else. Without Daphne, he would be completely alone.

Her rare smile also warmed Harry's heart in a way that surprised him. Her deep, ice-blue eyes were like gates to a strange world ... a strange world that Harry would love to get to know better.

So, the first months at Hogwarts passed. Suddenly Christmas was just around the corner and most of their classmates went home to their families over the holidays.


Next chapter: Turning Point

Preview:

Her gaze was filled with longing and desire - Harry could not describe it any differently. She closed her eyes and a lonely tear flowed down her cheek. She then grimaced, and when Daphne opened her eyes again, pure anger blazed in them.