I own nothing.
Chapter XV
January 1992
Harry was lounging in one of the large armchairs next the fireplace in the Slytherin common room. He had with him a book on advanced charms that his mother had given him for Christmas but he wasn't really reading it. He probably had read the same paragraph five times and still didn't know what it said. His mind was still going over what he and his family had discussed when he and Danny had returned for Christmas vacation.
Flashback
December 30, 1991
James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Harry, and Danny were all seated in James's office. They had decided as a family to wait until after Christmas before they would have a serious discussion about how the first half of the year went, especially how it ended at Slughorn's party.
"I think we all can agree that you handled it all very well, Harry. I'm proud of you," said James with a confident nod to his son.
"James! He almost obliviated a little girl." Lily clearly didn't agree. In fact, she didn't approve of much that Harry had done.
"And he made the choice not to," James looked at Harry, "which was the right one."
"What I want to know is how he learned the charm in the first place?" She rounded on Harry. Her piercing green eyes threatened to engulf Harry in flames.
Harry didn't abate, though, and answered surely. "Hogwarts has a very good library."
"Watch your tone, young man," said Lily in a way that only a mother could speak to her child.
"What if it was Malfoy?" Harry looked back to his father for support. "What if it was someone who wouldn't hesitate to tell everyone that they saw Danny perform magic with just his hands?"
"Harry!" James held up his hand to hold off his son. "We understand but memory charms are dangerous. Only seasoned ministry officials are allowed to use them."
"Which you are not," added Lily, desperately trying to get through to her son. Unfortunately, he had inherited too much of her stubbornness. "You could have really harmed this Hem—"
"It's Hermione, Mum," corrected Danny quickly and then shrunk back as to not draw her wrath.
"You could have really harmed Hermione who from what I can tell has done enough to earn my gratitude."
Harry made to speak but Remus interjected first.
"Alright, enough! I want to get back to Malfoy. Why was he so interested in the Greengrass family?"
Sirius shook his head. "We don't know. Are you sure he meant it as a threat?" He asked, directed towards Harry.
"Daphne was really shaken up about it." Harry could remembered it vividly. He hadn't seen Daphne that rattled since the Circle's Ball.
"Could there have been more to the Greengrass attack then we all thought?" asked Remus.
"Neutral families were being attacked left and right back then, but maybe. We can't know for sure without an investigation," said Sirius as he paced back and forth through the room.
James shook his head fruitlessly. "There's no way Malfoy won't find out about that."
James tapped his fingers together as he thought. He looked over his glasses at Harry.
"You're sure she's only seeking refuge."
"I'm sure. All she wants is to get her and her father out of the country." Daphne was a cloud of mystery but this, at least, Harry did not doubt.
"We can manage that." Sirius paused and rested his hands on the side of James's desk. "I've got some contacts in France who could be willing, if needed. The Delacours have shown that they support us."
Harry perked up at the name. He favorably remembered the time he had met the French politician at the Circle's Ball.
"We'll need to know more about her, though, which brings us back to our initial problem," observed James.
"We could try a more subtle approach," said Sirius with a cheeky smile.
Collectively, all eyes turned to Harry who winced at the implication.
Present Day
So, in addition to everything else Harry had to keep track of and control, he now had to get closer to Daphne and find out what he could about why her family was on the Death Eater's radar.
No wonder he couldn't concentrate.
He didn't care how convenient it was that Daphne wanted his help; deepening his relationship with her was the last thing he wanted. There were just too many confusing feelings when it came to her. The only consolation he could take was that at least he wasn't the boy that Daphne had implied to be her boyfriend.
'Poor, poor, Viktor Krum.'
They weren't a couple, per say, but they were in correspondence. He could not comprehend what Krum was thinking. What about Daphne did he find so appealing? Clearly he didn't know her very well. It did leave Harry wondering just why Daphne still needed his help if she seemingly had exactly what she needed.
"Harry!"
Harry was broken out of his thoughts to see Daphne standing over him.
"What?" He found her presence alarming as he did not sense her proximity.
"I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes." She already didn't sound too happy with him which didn't bode well.
"Sorry, what do you want?" Harry dropped his book and sat straighter in his chair.
"Our discussion." She looked extremely displeased. "The one you ran away from as soon as you left Slughorn's party," she added wryly.
It was true. Harry did ignore her every attempt to talk after they left the party. He had gone straight to his room and didn't come out until everyone had to leave for the train. He was certainly not his bravest moment, hiding from a girl, but avoiding conversations with Daphne had become a habit. Besides, he had much more pressing matters to contemplate now that he knew just how close the Minister and Lord Malfoy were.
"Yeah well, I've had my fill of deals with you." Harry recognized that his words were not of good form but he could not afford to relinquish the higher ground, especially with Daphne's eagerness to gain it.
"So no deals, then." Daphne sat in the opposite chair. Her hands folded neatly in her lap. "We can actually be friends this time."
"I thought you said you didn't need friends," he challenged.
Daphne shrugged nonchalantly. "I reserve the right to change my mind."
"Alright." Harry sat up straighter with a small smirk. It was nice to hear her admit she was wrong for once. "If we're going to do this for real, then I've got to know something."
She took a long exasperated breath. "Fine, what is it?"
"Why me? Why is it that you need my help in the first place?" He needed to her say it.
"It's complicated."
Of course, Daphne would not abide. He started to rise from his chair.
"Wait!" Daphne grabbed him by the arm and forced him to sit back down.
"There are things about my family that I can't talk about just like there are things about your family that you can't talk about." She looked at him directly and Harry could see in her eyes the weight that he similarly carried.
"Unless, of course, you wish to share," she added wryly.
Harry ignored her. "You still haven't answered my question. Why me?"
Daphne was silent for a moment as she formulated what she wanted to say. When she spoke, her voice didn't contain an ounce of her usual crassness.
"I already told you that I'm not used to being around other people or being friendly—"
"That was you being friendly," he interrupted incredulously.
"If you would let me finish—"
"Because if that's the case then—"
"No one's ever wanted to help me before!" That sobered everything. When Daphne spoke again, her tone was very soft. "I've never needed it before but now I do."
"Because of Malfoy." Now was the opportunity to steer the conversation closer to his family's intentions with her.
Daphne could only nod with a mixture of fear and sadness.
"What does he want with you?" He said it softly. He had to try and keep this from becoming another one of their verbal battles.
"I said it's complicated." When she noticed that Harry wasn't going to take that for an answer, she countered with, "Why doesn't your brother use magic?"
Harry wasn't going to give her an answer for an answer. He then realized that it was too soon to try and get her to open up. Instead, he turned to something else that was on his mind.
"What about Krum?"
"It's never a sure thing and I wouldn't be much of a Slytherin if I didn't have a contingency plan." She always seemed to have a rebuttal. This one, like all others, appeared to be the obvious answer. She really was a far better Slytherin then he.
"Not much of one from where I'm sitting. If you haven't realized after our little encounter with Fudge, I kind of got a lot on my plate right now."
Daphne started to grow impatient which made Harry feel that he had strung this on long enough.
"But, I will admit that it would be good to have another ally in here."
"Someone to keep the trivial things at bay," she added sassily, obviously referring to her undesired role as Harry's 'secretary.'
"How about a partner?" Harry stuck out his hand.
Daphne gave his hand a long look before she grabbed it and stood from her chair.
"A friend."
Harry swore he saw a slight upward twitch at the corner of her lips.
There wasn't much time to allow their new friendship to marinate as one person in their house decided to make a show of himself that morning in the common room.
"Potter! I have some words I'd like to share with you." Draco sashayed over with his two gorillas to stand in front of Harry and Daphne. "Greengrass, you can leave. The men need to talk." Crabbe and Goyle chuckled stupidly.
Daphne stared back as if Draco had just wished her good morning. She leaned over and whispered into Harry's ear. "Keep him busy, I have an idea."
Daphne gracefully rose from her chair and disappeared down the boy's stairway. Malfoy's eyes followed her with a slightly perverted smile.
"So, Potter, got your little servant back. Does she do anything else for you?"
Harry ignored the comment and calmly regarded the young Malfoy scion. "What is it you want, Draco? Problem with your year-mates?"
"No, they're well in hand." He spoke as if his peers were nothing but slaves to his will. Something his father, no doubt, instilled in him. "In fact, the problem I have is with you."
"Go on." Harry kept up his impassiveness but he really couldn't stand the little ferret.
"Your so called rules disgrace what Salazar Slytherin built this house for. You force us to treat the other houses like our equals but they're not, they're beneath us. They do not deserve our respect."
Harry wasn't surprised that Malfoy didn't understand the true message behind his rules. Malfoy only sought to gain position and place all beneath him, like his father. He had no understanding of respect.
"And yet, from what I can tell, there are several of those that have outperformed you and the rest of the first years."
"You're talking about that mudblood Granger. She's not even a real witch."
Harry hid his sneer at the offensive word used to describe muggleborns.
"Far better one than you." He made sure with his tone to convey that it would be unwise to use that word again.
Draco snarled as if Harry had just made his point for him. "You don't deserve to lead this house, Potter, and I'm not the only one who thinks so."
"Oh, you mean these two intellectuals." Crabbe and Goyle stared on dumbly, obviously not realizing that Harry had just referred to them.
"Try the first and second years." Malfoy showed his trademark smirk as he stood confidently.
Harry peaked over Draco's shoulder and smiled.
"You mean those second years?"
Draco turned around and his face contorted in rage at what he saw.
Daphne, along with Jacobs, led the entire second year class into the common room. Daphne lined them up which got the attention of entire room.
"I believe the class of 1997 have something to say to you, Malfoy." Her eyes swam with amusement at Malfoy's angry sneer. Again, Harry thought he could see a slight twitch of a smile on her lips.
Jacobs stepped forward. "We stand with Harry Potter."
One by one, each of Jacob's year-mates declared their allegiance to Harry's leadership. All the while, Draco's expression turned sourer and Harry's smile grew larger. By the end of it, Harry was almost laughing at Draco which only incensed him more.
"Watch yourself Potter. Your time is coming very, very soon." Malfoy then angrily pushed his way through the crowd of second years towards the dormitories.
Before Draco could disappear down the steps, Daphne stopped him. "Oh and Draco." He stopped and glared at her. "I'm no one's servant, unlike some."
Draco responded only with a murderous glare, he angrily stomped down the dormitory steps while commanding his two goons to leave him alone.
Draco fumed as he stomped down the steps to the dormitory. Promises had been made. Promises that Slytherin would be his. Promises that all his father's influences would ensure his power.
But now, Potter was standing in his way and, worst yet, his lies had spread to the rest of the house. He hadn't foreseen the cooperation of the second years. He scolded himself for showing his cards so quickly. He should have waited until his control over the years was absolute. That's what his father taught him.
'Only play the game if you're sure you will win.'
Potter, despite his inferior heritage, could handle himself and the unpredictable nature of power in Slytherin House. In that regard, he had underestimated Potter. He would not do that again.
"Hello Draco." A condescending voice broke Draco out of his musings. He turned around to see a boy with sandy colored hair and pale brown eyes standing in the fourth year boy's corridor. He had an unsettling smirk upon his face.
"Who are you?" Draco was far too irritated to deal with someone looking to rub it in.
"I'm your new best friend." The boy strutted up to him and held out his hand. "My name is Adrian."
Daphne walked over to Harry with a prominent smug expression.
"That went well," said Harry.
"Quite. Should we head to the library? We have our potion assignment due."
Harry favorably nodded his head and picked up his bag. As he passed the group of second years, he patted Jacobs on the back.
"Keep up the good work, Jacobs."
"Thank you, sir."
Harry rolled his eyes. He had told Jacobs repeatedly to not call him 'sir' but the boy never listened.
'His family must be Aurors or something.'
Harry then followed Daphne out into the hallway towards the library.
"You know we only won the battle. Malfoy is going to try again," stated Daphne once Harry had come up next to him.
"Your power of perception is amazing," Harry couldn't help but throw some sarcasm her way for once which earned him an annoyed look. He then grew serious again. "The way I see it, as long as the majority of the house still sees me as the one who put down King last year—three times I might add—then he won't gain any pull."
"So by fifth year," calculated Daphne.
"I'll just have to make an example of someone else then. Any suggestions?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, fully expecting her answer. He wasn't disappointed.
"I can think of one. And I so am going to be there to see it." Daphne's eyes glossed over and Harry was sure she was imagining what she wanted to do to the Malfoy scion.
They soon made it to the library and walked to their normal table in the back. As they approached, they could tell that someone was already there. This had happened a few times in the past and Daphne always had an interesting way to convince them to leave.
'I hope these people hadn't eaten anything today.'
But this time it was only Danny and Hermione. The two perked up at the sight of Harry.
"Hey Harry…," Danny's voice trailed off as he realized Harry wasn't alone. "Who is that?"
Harry stepped back to present his new friend. "This is Daphne Greengrass. Daphne, meet Danny and that is Hermione."
"Hi," greeted Hermione shyly. Daphne, meanwhile, gave everyone an annoyed expression before she sat down without a word.
Harry sat down next to her and shared a perplexed exchange with Danny, not understanding Daphne's cold shoulder. For Harry, he figured it was for something he did.
They all waited for her to say something but she proceeded to unpack and organize her study materials without any regard to the rest of them. Finally, with her quill in hand, she looked to Harry and said.
"So, you didn't bother to tell your brother about me."
He was right, though, this time, he thought it was a little ridiculous but still very Daphne.
"We weren't really friends back then."
"And we're friends now?" She asked as if fishing for a particular answer.
"Yeah," he said warily. They had just gone over all this. What was she doing?
"That'll be ten galleons." Daphne held up her hand and stared at Harry expectedly.
"For what?" He asked incredulously.
"You were the first to admit we were friends to other people," she said as if she had just trapped him.
"And that means I have to give you ten galleons."
"For the bet we made." Again, she acted like he was supposed to know all this.
"What bet?"
"I'm not responsible for whether or not you are aware of the bets that are made with or without your knowledge."
Harry rolled his eyes and forced her to put her hand down. In return, Daphne grabbed his hand and slammed it onto the table and then stuck her hand up again, this time, further into his face. Not wanting to get into a back and forth, Harry put on a fake smile and ignored her hand completely.
'If she wants to hold it up all day, then let her.'
Things stayed that way for about another minute before Daphne, finally, curled her fingers back into a fist and dropped her hand. She then set to work like nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Danny and Hermione were utterly confused by the odd exchange. Hermione was appalled at the way Daphne treated Harry while Danny had never seen anyone do something like that to his older brother.
The pair of first years were forced to put it behind him as it seemed that neither Harry nor Daphne were going to make any mention of it. They went to their work and the foursome proceeded with the only sound being the scratching of quills. As time went on, though, a peculiar development had arisen. Every few minutes, Daphne would bore holes into Hermione's head, particularly at her hair.
"Ummm," started Hermione when she finally noticed Daphne's attention.
"What's wrong with you?" Daphne dropped her quill as she stared down the frizzled-hair girl.
"What?" Hermione asked in confusion mixed with a little fear.
"Your hair, why do you let it get like that?"
Harry looked to Danny and shook his head when he saw that his brother looked to intervene.
"Um, it's always been like this." Hermione looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Daphne rolled his eyes. "Ugh, come with me." She rose up from her seat and forcefully grabbed Hermione by the arm.
Danny jumped from his seat. "Hey, let her go!"
"Shove off, this is girl stuff." Daphne brushed Danny off as he attempted to free Hermione.
Hermione desperately looked on for help as Daphne pulled her away. Once they were gone, Danny rounded on Harry.
"Harry! Who is that girl?"
"That's Daphne." Harry answered simply. He, by now, was quite accustomed to Daphne's behavior. "You get used to her."
Danny dropped back into his seat, still completely confused. "Why is it that I have to always 'get used' to your friends?"
All Harry could respond with was a shrug which did little to end Danny's bewilderment. Harry could understand that but his relationship with Daphne had always been based on back-and-forth's like the one they had just witnessed. It was always a battle of who could one up the other.
"Don't worry about Hermione, Daphne's harmless…" Harry's mind then recalled some of the incidents from last year. "…mostly."
"I don't get it." Danny's brow creased.
"We're friends now, like Sirius asked, and…well…she's not much of a people person."
"Still confused."
"She's trying to be friendly," Harry clarified further.
Danny's brow creased even further.
"Don't over think it." Harry had a hard enough time deciphering Daphne, he didn't want his brother to waste his time.
"I can see now why you weren't so high on Sirius's plan," Danny said with sympathy.
"Yep."
They continued to work without any conversation. Every so often, Danny would peek towards where Daphne and Hermione disappeared. He really didn't have anything to worry about or, at least, Harry didn't think he should worry. Daphne didn't share in all the pureblood mania and had no ill will towards muggleborns. He just hoped she brought back Granger all in one piece.
"So how is Granger's Occlumency coming?" They managed to get Granger the necessary books before they left for break. Harry could remember how enraptured Granger became as she gently cradled them to her chest. He really didn't like how she looked at him when she said thank you.
"Really well." Danny smiled to himself. "I think she'll be ready for a test soon."
"So soon?"
Occlumency was a difficult brand of magic which could take years to master. It required hours of self-reflection and mental organization. To hear that Granger had created the necessary barriers over the Christmas break was impressive.
"I told you she's better than you," said Danny with a wry smile.
That deserved another pointed glare.
"I'm sure we can get Moony or Sirius to come by and test her." Harry was already planning to call home with the mirror and give his father an update.
"Is that really necessary?" Danny started to argue. "I mean, Dumbledore—"
"You don't want to see Uncle Moony or Uncle Sirius?"
"That's not it—"
"Then I'll call them to come and test her."
Danny shook his head at Harry's stubbornness. "I don't see why you're so against Dumbledore. He's been helpful."
"He knows about you and he isn't family."
"Hermione's not family."
Harry dropped his shoulders; tired of the conversation.
"That's different. I know what Granger's motives are, Dumbledore's are still unknown."
Danny didn't say anything in return. Once Harry had made up his mind about something, he was very difficult to convince otherwise.
"We going to need to up your wand training." Harry spoke after another few minutes of silence. "We can't keep up the façade that you're incapable of magic."
"Hermione had an idea about that. For beamless spells, I could show the wand motions but use my other hand to perform the spell."
"And what if you have to use a spell that does have a beam?"
"Well…umm…"
"Meet me tonight and we'll go to the forest for training."
"Fine," answered Danny dejectedly.
"It's a good idea, Danny," Harry placated. "But we need there to be no questions that you're any different from everyone else."
"I got it," replied Danny, though he still sounded a little bum.
"Got what?" came a familiar voice.
Fred and George popped out from the stacks and stood beside the table. The pair of them were wrapped in scarfs and earmuffs. Their cheeks were red and looked like they had been running around outside. It had just recently snowed and many students were partaking in the winter wonderland.
"The answer to what you must add to the Draught of Living Death to render it inert," Harry answered quickly for Danny.
"That sounds fascinating," said George who clearly didn't find it the least bit interesting. Fred then reached over and grabbed Danny's notebook and closed it. George did the same to Harry's belongings.
"Now why don't the two of you try something other than studying and come have some fun."
"There's an epic snow fight going on outside and we could use some reinforcements."
Harry tugged his textbook from George's hand. "That's why you're here, uh?"
"Actually, we heard a terrible rumor."
"One that couldn't possibly be true because our man Harry would never do that to us," said George with a light punch to Harry's shoulder.
"What is it?" asked Harry.
"That you and the Wicked Witch of the West are once again besties," declared Fred with an overly large smile.
"Crazy right?" added George with the same smile.
Harry didn't say anything. This wasn't going to go well for him. He was going to have to think of some way to make it up to the twins.
"I said, 'crazy right?'" George prodded further.
"Guys—"
"How could you do this to us!?" cried Fred.
"Bad Harry! Bad, bad, bad!" George pointed his finger at Harry as if scolding a pet.
Right then Daphne and Hermione returned. Fred and George recoiled at the sight of her.
"Back witch!" cried Fred as he stumbled to pull his wand at the approaching girls.
"Don't make any sudden moves!" warned George as he forced Fred in front of him to use as a human shield.
Daphne mostly ignored them and turned to Harry with a sour expression.
"You still hang around these two."
Harry was about to intervene when Madam Pince, the librarian, stormed out from the stacks.
"If you all do not cease this commotion this instance, I will ban the lot of you for two weeks."
"Yes, Madam Pince. We're sorry," Danny quickly answered, looking as innocent as possible.
Pince let off a loud exasperated breath before she returned to her desk. As she left, Harry erected a silencing ward around them. He was positive that there was plenty of noise still to come. Once their privacy was secured, he turned and regarded the three of them.
"The three of you need to get over this."
"It's her fault." George, still crouched behind his brother, pointed at Daphne.
"We can still taste the puke," said Fred with his wand still raised.
Daphne slowly crossed her arms and calmly stared down the tip of Fred's wand. "You deserved it."
George popped up over Fred's shoulder and hopped on his feet as he continued to point. "You see! Right there—"
"Enough!" Harry rose to his feet to address the twins. "Daphne and I are friends again." Harry turned to Daphne. "Fred and George are also my friends."
"We were first," said the twins simultaneously.
Daphne, her arms still crossed, annoyingly tapped her fingers.
"Fine."
Fred and George both remained skeptical.
"I don't like this, Fred," whispered George loud enough for all of them to hear.
"She's obviously done something to Harry," Fred whispered back.
"Daphne's really not all that bad." Hermione stepped forward to stand beside Daphne, making her presence known for the first time.
"She's got Hermione, too." George continued to whisper.
"Nice hair, though." Fred addressed normally.
It was then that Harry looked at Granger really for the first time since her and Daphne's return. The sight was truly something. Gone were the frills, knots, and everything else that made Granger's hair resembled a squirrel's tail. Her hair now flowed neatly with soft curls and lied just beyond her shoulders. Harry hated to admit it but she actually looked cute, in a homely girl-next-door sort of way.
"Yeah, how did that happen?" asked Danny. His head was tilted slightly as he looked over his friend. Harry had to guess that he was thinking along the same as he did about the bookworm's makeover.
"Daphne gave me a potion to add to my shampoo." Hermione became shy over the attention and a slight blush crept on her cheeks.
All eyes turned to Daphne which only seemed to annoy her.
"Oh please, you all know the effects potion fumes can have on your hair." There was a collective nod among the group. "And yet, have any of you noticed my hair being anything but perfect." Daphne flipped her hair for effect. Her eyes then fell onto Harry and Danny.
"It can even help you two with your hair problem."
"What hair problem?" Harry and Danny asked at the same time.
"Can't we all just get along?" mediated Hermione. "I mean, we're all here to help Harry…" Harry gave Hermione a dangerous stare. "…and Danny," she quickly added.
Daphne looked quickly between Harry and Hermione.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me. You and her?" Harry glared at Daphne while Hermione turned crimson. Daphne turned to Hermione and spoke sagely.
"You can do so much better."
Hermione couldn't take it any longer so she turned tail and ran.
"Hermione! Wait!" Danny quickly packed his and Hermione's things and chased after her.
"Nice going, Daph," Fred jabbed.
Daphne's wand appeared out of nowhere and was pointed straight at the twins.
"Don't ever call me 'Daph.'" She warned through clenched teeth.
A big smile crept onto Fred's face. He was about to say the nickname again but Harry interrupted.
"Stop it, the three of you. I don't have the time or the energy to deal with this. If you three can't play nice, then I have no time for any of you." Harry stared down both parties as he waited for an answer.
Fred and George crossed their arms with their backs together and spoke simultaneously. "We want her to say it first."
"As if," Daphne huffed indignantly.
"Daphne." She turned to look at him. Harry indicated with his head to get on with it. She didn't appear all too happy but still relented.
"Fine, I'll play nice."
Fred and George had great big smiles as if they had just won the lottery.
"Fred. George."
They both looked at him and their smiles dropped. They proceeded to dance around in a childish protest which had little effect on Harry. Eventually, their shoulders dropped and they begrudgingly conceded.
"We'll be good."
"Alright, then." Harry pushed his belongings into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Fred, George, you said something about a snowball fight?"
The twins broke out into humongous smiles and shook their fists in triumph. "Yes! Victory is ours!"
"Excuse me, Harry, we're not done here." Daphne was not pleased but Harry didn't care. He hadn't spent much time with the twins recently and could use some fun.
"It's not due until Wednesday, relax." Harry walked up to the twins and slapped them on their backs. "Come on boys, time to show you what all that studying can do in a snowball fight."
The three boys disappeared into the stacks, leaving a sour face Daphne in their wake. She angrily packed her things and followed after them.
Harry, along with Fred and George, quickly made it to the Entrance Hall where a gaggle of students were separated into two large groups made up of mostly other third years and below. Fred and George walked up to the one made mostly of Gryffindors and a few Ravenclaws. Harry looked over and saw only Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs in the other group. No other Slytherins in sight.
When they got close, Fred and George got everyone's attention.
"Listen up all! We got Potter on our team."
Harry ignored the disappointed glances that he wasn't Danny. He'd gotten used to them by now.
"Why'd you bring him? He's a slimy Slytherin," said Ron, Fred and George's little brother.
"Hey Ron, you're doing that thing we don't like."
"What?"
"You're talking."
There were a few snickers from the group and Ron reddened in embarrassment. Fred then clapped Harry on the back.
"We name Harry team captain."
"Any objections?"
There was nothing but silence.
"All righty then. Harry?"
Harry took the cue and turned to the group.
"We're going to make towards the lake and take position on the forest side, forcing them to have the lake on one of their flanks. From there, we'll split into two groups and attack their remaining flanks, pin them down, and destroy them."
There was a collective look of awe among the group at the surgically way Harry explained his tactics. Almost like he was addressing a platoon of soldiers in war. For Harry, that was exactly what this was and he intended to win; like always.
"Y-You see, h-he's evil," Ron stuttered.
Harry ignored him and looked to see if anyone disagreed with his plan. Fred and George clapped their hands and turned to the other team.
"Oi! You guys ready over there?"
"Give us a minute, we got a new player." Someone yelled back.
"Who?"
"Me."
Harry quickly turned around at the familiar voice.
"What are you doing, Daphne?"
"Socializing," she responded as if it were obvious.
"Alright you nitwits, let's get this party started!" Fred yelled for all to hear.
"And remember, no magic!"
Harry led his group out of the entrance doors and towards the lake like he had planned. However, Daphne took one look at where Harry was heading and immediately pointed out what Harry intended. She, instead, led her team in the other direction towards the open field that overlooked the Quidditch Pitch.
Harry sighed with indignation. The field held no geographical advantage for either team.
"Anymore bright ideas, Harry?" asked George.
Undeterred, Harry scanned the area. "I got a few."
Harry quickly outlined his new strategy. Both teams held a short armistice until each team had their fortifications up and ready. Harry had his team create trenches that went to their waist and then mound the snow on the front to cover them up to their shoulders. It provided sufficient cover and still allowed their throwers to stand up right and get more on their throws. Harry then split his team up to cover the full length of their defenses. Harry stayed in the middle to provide complete coverage of the coming battle while Fred and George manned the left and right flank, respectively.
Across from them, Harry could see a similar line of defense. He could just make out Daphne's dark hair over the snow mounds at their center. She wasn't in charge, though, which surprised Harry a bit. Instead, the only one who appeared in control was a dark-haired boy with a chiseled jaw. He wore Hufflepuff colors and appeared to have the full attention of his compatriots.
"Fred, George!" Harry called to get their attention and beckoned them over.
"Yes, sir, commander sir!" They saluted together with goofy grins on their faces.
"Who's that?"
They both took a quick at who Harry was pointing. "Sir, Cedric Diggory, commander sir!"
"Guys, enough. You're freaking everyone out." Harry had enough people staring at him like he was going to suddenly sprout heads and breathe fire. He didn't need these two treating him like a Dark Lord. Thankfully, the two pranksters dropped the act and talked normally.
"Uh, yeah, Diggory is basically the Hufflepuff version of you."
"Just less Dark Lordy."
"Not a bad seeker, either," Fred added admiringly.
"Nearly beat us last match if not for some stellar beater play by yours truly."
"You mean me," Fred corrected as if it was a simple slip of tongue on his brother's part.
"No me," George corrected in the same manner. They stared at each other for a moment before they both took a deep breath. Harry closed his eyes and braced himself.
"I was the one—"
"No, I—"
"You didn't—"
"Yes I did—"
"It was me!"
"Me!"
"Me!"
"No, it wasn't!"
"Yes, it was!"
"Shut up!" If Harry hadn't stopped it, they'd probably go on forever. "Get back to your stations." As they walked away, Harry couldn't contain his smile. Those two really were something. Harry's eyes then drifted to the field of play and it appeared that the other team had put the final touches to their defenses.
Minutes passed and nothing happened. Harry likened it to the calm before the storm. Inevitably, chaos was assured to occur.
The other team was first to act. One brave soul jumped out of the trench and raced towards Harry's side of the field. He quickly came to regret that decision. A complete onslaught of snowballs met the boy and he was forced to crawl back to his side. From there, absolute anarchy ensued. Snowballs filled the air and mad dashes to reach the other team's side were beaten back.
Harry sat back and observed it all, trying to find a semblance of actual tactics among the bedlam. After about ten minutes, he felt stupid for the thought. Giving in, Harry grabbed two large snowballs.
"Charge!"
Harry and his team climbed over the mound and were immediately hammered by snowball after snowball. They were quickly forced to fall back into the trench. Harry peeked over to see Daphne point straight at him while others nodded their heads. They were locked and loaded just in case he tried it again.
'So they do have a plan: me.'
"Looks like your new friend doesn't like you all that much, Harry," George called over, his face half covered in snow.
"I've got a plan," said Harry with a confident smile.
Everything was still and quiet. Both teams were entrenched and all efforts to overtake the other were futile. Harry peeked over and could see that they were mostly spread out all along their line. Their strategy was entirely defensive but that wasn't Harry's. On their left and right edges, Harry had his full force split up evenly and ready to strike.
"Ready?" Harry looked over to Fred and George who didn't appear all too excited.
"Can we say again how much we really don't like this plan?"
"It's suicide."
"That's the point," Harry clarified.
"And that's why you're barmy."
Harry smiled big. He grabbed two large snowballs as he climbed up with Fred and George in tow.
"To victory!"
Just like before, Harry and the twins were bombarded by snow but they didn't stop until they were half way across the field. Every inch of them was peppered with snow, so much so, that Harry, Fred, and George could do little but stand there and take it.
"So when does this plan start working?" cried George just as a snowball smashed into his nether region.
Harry shielded his face to glance across the enemy's line. He could just make out Daphne throwing snowballs at a frantic pace. She was definitely enjoying herself. All around her, more and more of her teammates bunched together to join in on pelting the three friends over and over.
"Now!"
With feral cries, the rest of Harry's team charged out of the trenches and headed for the now weakened flanks. The other team's attention was too caught up on Harry and the twins that they could do little as the remainder of Harry's team bunkered them. It didn't take long before the other team surrendered. Raucous laughter soon broke out as everyone congratulated each other on a well fought match; all except one.
Daphne angrily rose from the trenches in a dead sprint and tackled Harry to the ground. She then straddled him and heaped mounds of snow on top of Harry's face.
"You didn't beat me," she pouted angrily.
Harry removed the snow from his face and broke out in uncontrollable laughter. Daphne scooted back and stared at him in confusion. Fred and George soon joined in the hilarity with a little aimed at Daphne's face. She still didn't understand why they were laughing.
Harry rose to his feet and brushed off the rest of the snow. He walked up to Daphne and offered his hand to help her up. She looked at his hand for a second before she took it and rose to her feet.
"Now that was fun," said Harry with mirth.
April 1992
Harry burst out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom clearly irritated, mumbling to himself.
"…useless…why do I bother..."
He was quickly accompanied by Daphne who had to walk quickly just to keep up.
"What's got you in such a sour mood?"
Harry gave her a sideways look that conveyed that she should be quiet. However, Daphne rarely listened.
"Class wasn't that bad. I didn't know that werewolves shed once every leap year."
Harry stopped suddenly. "Everything said in there was a lie."
Daphne's eyebrow rose at his declaration. "What?"
"Werewolves are not mindless beasts who take pleasure in attacking children."
Daphne struck her usual pose for when she thought Harry was overstating things. She crossed her arms and tilted her head confrontationally.
"Fenrir Greyback—"
"—Is one werewolf," Harry interrupted coldly. Harry despised him, not only for his vile reputation but Greyback was the one that had infected Remus. His name was mostly taboo in the Potter household. Harry could remember once where Sirius had delivered a report of an attack by the infamous werewolf, it was the only time Harry had ever seen Remus lose control of his anger.
"And you're an expert," said Daphne matter-of-factly.
"My Uncle Remus is a werewolf." Harry paused to let it sink in. Daphne's expression instantly changed and her features softened. "And he's one of the best wizards I have ever known. And it's because of the bigotry spurted out in that classroom that makes it impossible for him to find work."
"I didn't—"
"But he still fights against Voldemort even though it probably won't change anything. He'll still be thought as sub-human—"
"I'd like to meet him." Daphne said suddenly and rather unexpectedly.
Harry stopped in his rant and had to take a double-take. "What?"
"If he is as you say then I would like to meet him. He sounds like an interesting man."
Harry studied her quickly, looking for any sign of her usual sarcasm. There was none. "Ummm, ok."
Daphne nodded. "Done having a hissy fit?"
"I wasn't…" Daphne gave him a pointed look and the rest of his words died in his mouth.
"Good, now let's go. I'm hungry."
Harry stood there dumbly as he watched Daphne's fleeting image. His face then hardened and he let off an annoyed growl as he quickened his pace to catch up.
"You tricked me," he accused.
"I'm a girl, I'm supposed to," she replied as if Harry should have known better.
Harry let it go, relenting that she won this round. They continued on in comfortable silence. Daphne was walking quickly, eager to quell her desire for food. As they entered the main hallway, they both easily noticed an excited frenzy of students rushing to the Great Hall. A matching pair of bewilderment was present on Daphne and Harry's face. They both listened in on the chatter.
"Hurry, before he stops!"
"I can't believe it!"
"I knew the rumors weren't true!"
"No you didn't!"
While Harry quickly figured it out, Daphne clearly didn't enjoy being left out. She stepped into the path of a Hufflepuff first year and grabbed him.
"Tell me what's going on."
The young boy was so excited he didn't even react to Daphne's cold stare. "It's Daniel Potter! He's doing magic!"
"So?" She said in a very girlish manner.
Daphne let him go and he quickly raced off to catch up with his friends. She turned back to Harry and narrowed her eyes at him. Harry did his best to look innocent.
"So your brother is really a wizard after all."
"Duh."
Daphne huffed and flipped her hair dismissively as she walked ahead towards the Great Hall. Harry calmly followed behind her with his hands loosely held behind his back. He had a satisfied smirk on his face at the reactions he was seeing from the crowd. Unlike before, he wanted Danny to draw attention.
He stepped into the Great Hall and his smile grew at the congregation of students surrounding the Gryffindor table. Danny and Hermione were seated in their usual spot. Danny had his wand out and was simply levitating a platter of drumsticks. As if he could sense Harry's presence, Danny looked up to see him and immediately lowered the platter to the table. There was a collective sigh of disappointment and many urged him to do something else.
"Sorry guys but I shouldn't be doing magic anyway." Danny put his wand away and looked around shyly.
"Who cares? You're Daniel Potter!"
"Yeah! Blow something up!" said a boy with a strong Irish accent. Harry thought his name was Seamus.
"It is against the rules." Hermione interjected over the noise of the crowd.
"No one asked you, Granger," spat Ron Weasley and then turned to Danny like they were old friends. "Come on Danny, sit with us."
"You're welcome to join me and Hermione right here." Danny motioned to the usual empty spaces that surrounded him and Hermione.
"You can join our discussion about the need to reorganize class schedules to better allow a study period. Exams are soon, after all."
This was met with many disgusted and horrified faces which made Harry smirked as he took his seat at the Slytherin table.
"They're like two months away!" cried Ron.
"I know!" Hermione responded incredulously. "We have so much work to do. We really should have a proper means to have open discussions with professors outside of class."
"You're bonkers." Ron stared at Hermione as if his statement was true. Hermione just rolled her eyes at him.
"I think Hermione's right." Hermione smiled at Danny.
"Both of you, absolutely bonkers." Ron gave both of them a dumbfounded expression before he and the rest of the crowd dispersed and took their seats.
Harry excused himself from the table and made his way over to the pair of first years. He stood behind them and leaned forward to speak.
"Good show, Danny." Harry gave his brother a strong pat on the back.
"It's just a levitation spell," Danny said sheepishly.
"But it had the desired effect." Harry's eyes roamed the Great Hall and saw some students looking their way. Some were just Gryffindors glaring at him for being at their table. Harry ignored those and instead looked for those whose attention was on Danny.
"He did everything perfectly, Harry." Hermione affectionately patted Danny on his arm, who blushed at the praise. "The wand movement and pronunciation were all very precise."
"Of course it was." Harry continued the façade as he turned to her. Hermione may know that Danny was different but she still didn't know just how different. "And nice work getting the free loiters to go away, keep it up."
"I wasn't trying to make them leave." Harry could sense sadness in her voice, like this wasn't the first time she had driven people away because of her tendency towards education.
"Still, it worked perfectly."
"Thank you, Harry." Hermione smiled at him.
Harry glared back. Hermione's smile disappeared and she lowered her head disappointedly.
"Sorry, Harry."
Harry then leaned forward and whispered, "Did you see anyone?"
"Yeah, Hermione kept track," Danny whispered back.
"I made a list." Hermione slipped Harry a folded piece of parchment. Harry stowed it safely into his robes. He'll look at it later. The reason for this whole show was to not only prove that Danny could actually perform magic, despite how simple the spell, but catch those with lingering eyes.
"Alright," Harry said louder as he stood up straight. "You two enjoy your dinner."
"See you tonight."
Harry didn't respond. He just gave his brother a smile and his trademark noogie before he rejoined Daphne at the Slytherin table.
"You staged all this," she said more as a statement than a question.
"Of course I did," he replied as if she should have known better.
"Why?"
Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "I thought it'd be funny."
"All of this was just to prank everyone." Harry could tell that she didn't completely buy his excuse but he stuck with it regardless.
"Yep, I have to live up to my legacy, after all."
Daphne looked like she didn't understand. It was then that Harry realized that he had never really described the Marauders to her.
"My father and his friends were notorious pranksters during their time here."
"Your father had friends?" she asked mockingly in feign surprise.
Harry ignored the jab. "They were known as the Marauders but I just call them Dad, Uncle Remus, Uncle Sirius, and Peter Pettigrew."
"The same Uncle Remus who is also a werewolf."
"We all just call him Moony."
"How cute," she commented sarcastically. "And why is it not Uncle Peter?"
"Never knew him, he disappeared during the war."
Daphne grew solemn. "A lot of people did."
She went back to eating and Harry could sense that she didn't want to talk about it anymore.
He believed that that would be all the conversation for the evening but Daphne then said something rather unexpected.
"My father never had many friends when he was here."
Harry was shocked to hear her speak about her family, something that happened as rarely for him as well. He had to choose his words carefully as to not end the conversation prematurely.
"Was he the potion master like you?" She looked at him for a moment, probably because he had never complimented her before. The strange thing, though, was that he meant it.
"More so. It's my family's legacy to be the greatest potion makers in the world."
"Did he train you?"
Daphne hesitated before she quickly answered. "Of course, how else would I be so perfect?"
"So it's not all natural talent." Harry smiled at her. Daphne, though, didn't appreciate his tone.
"Did you come out of the womb wielding a wand and always angry?"
"I'm not always angry," Harry defended.
Daphne's eyes mockingly grew big at the incredulous nature of his statement.
Harry's brow furrowed.
'I'm not.'
"Am I always angry?" Harry asked Danny as they walked through the forest towards the castle. They had just finished another nighttime training session.
"Generally," replied Danny without realizing that that wasn't the answer Harry was looking for. They made the turn around the tree they used to mark the path back to the castle.
"How did that happen?" asked Harry as he lazily used the tree to slingshot him towards the lights of the castle. Harry could just make out the Astronomy Tower peeking out through the canopy.
Danny shrugged. "You've got a lot to handle. I wouldn't want all that responsibility."
"No, just saving the world," Harry said without thinking, though he immediately realized his mistake. He looked back to Danny and saw him appear very glum.
"Yeah, I've got that." Danny kicked a rock on the ground and shuffled his feet. Harry stepped over and put his arm around Danny's shoulder.
"Not alone, remember."
Danny smiled.
THUD!
Danny's smile fell and contorted into absolute horror.
Harry felt a mind-numbing pain. One that he had never felt before. He had no idea what could have caused it. He followed Danny's gaze to his chest. Sticking out and coated in blood lied an arrowhead. Blood pooled in Harry's mouth and he was unable to speak. He could see Danny's lips moving, calling out his name but he couldn't hear anything but the pounding of blood that now spilled from him.
He felt his world slowly shift as he fell backwards. The arrow dug deeper into his chest once he hit the ground. The pain was enormous. His vision was filled of the dark canopy above as he wondered if this would be the last sight of his life. Danny quickly appeared above him, talking to him, but Harry still could not hear him.
His eyes grew heavy. They fluttered close and he knew no more.
This place was strange. He did not know where he was or how he got there. He couldn't even remember his own name. As he looked around, he saw nothing but a dark cemetery filled with headstones. He tried to read the names but they were all blurred out.
He took a cautious step forward and felt an odd sensation beneath his feet. He looked down to see his feet bare and mud squirting between his toes. He wiggled them and dug his toes deeper into the ground. He enjoyed the sensation.
He started walking, not knowing where he was going. He looked for anything that told him where he was or why he was there. There was nothing. Nothing but graves and the smell of death. He started to wonder if he was condemned to walk these grounds forever.
'Why? Why am I here?'
A pale light suddenly caught his eye. He squinted as best as he could to see the source. As a moth to a flame, he crept towards it. Whatever it was, he did not want to startle it and drive it off. It was such a pretty light.
As he grew closer, an image inside the light appeared to him. It was a woman. A beautiful woman who stared at him with sorrowful eyes. Her hand beckoned him forward to stand before her. He moved without question, mesmerized by her presence.
"You must not do it." Her soft and delicate voice filled him. It was like music to his ears.
"What?"
She didn't speak again but motioned to his body. He looked and saw a horrifying sight. His body was covered in what appeared to be black tattoos. They stretched across his body like veins. They covered his entire body and filled him with an awesome level of power. And rage. He felt an anger bubbling himself unlike he had ever felt before. Enough to make him kill.
He looked up at the woman, seeking an answer.
"You must not do it," was all she would say. This time, though, she motioned ahead of them to a small circle of headstones.
A gripping fear filled him as he took the few steps needed to reach the center. He turned back to the woman but found her and her light gone. His eyes then fell to the headstones that surrounded him. Unlike the others, these he could read.
Remus Lupin
Sirius Black
Fred Weasley
George Weasley
James Potter
Lily Potter
Daniel Potter
Daphne Greengrass
The names. They all sounded so familiar. Did he know these people? He could not remember.
He took a step closer to the one that said Daniel Potter but felt something other than mud underneath his feet. He looked down to see the hard stone of a name plate. On it, he could read a single name.
Harry Potter
His eyes grew wide in fear.
That was his name!
Memories filled him. He looked wildly at the names on the headstones around him. With each name, the memories of the person who lie there flooded his mind.
'How could this be? What happened?'
He again looked down to see the black markings that covered his body. They pulsed and vibrated and he felt their power. He felt such anger. Anger at what had caused the death of everyone he knew.
"You must not do it."
Harry heard again but the woman did not appear. A horrifying realization dawned upon him.
He had done this. He had killed them. His breath quickened and he felt lightheaded.
'How could this be? I would never harm them.'
His thoughts were broken as he felt a raindrop upon his hand. He looked down but instead of water, he saw blood.
His eyes went wild in fear.
More drops started to fall, covering him in hot blood. It soon become a downpour, making it impossible to even breathe without inhaling the metallic liquid. He heaved and coughed as he fought to breathe but it was useless. His world dimmed as he began to lose consciousness.
His last sight was of the woman and her sorrowful eyes.