Battle Royale
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all associated characters, places, and terms are property of J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 2: Round One: Daphne Greengrass vs. Padma Patil
In her seven years at Hogwarts, Daphne Greengrass had a few accomplishments to her name. She had managed to not get caught up with the Death Eaters in the war, achieve one of the top 10 spots in her year, and remain single throughout her entire time at Hogwarts. She was very proud of all of these accomplishments.
Remaining single was easy enough. The boys in Slytherin were all idiots anyway. Blaise was decent looking but was way too full of himself. There was no such thing as loyalty in his book either. She knew he would sell out his family if it meant saving himself. Nott was too close to the death eaters because of his father and for that reason alone, Daphne steered clear of him. Besides, Nott was not the best looking boy out there. Crabbe and Goyle were too stupid for their own good, not to mention extremely ugly. Daphne was certainly not shedding any tears over Crabbe's death. And finally, there was Malfoy. Malfoy had tried hitting on her at the beginning of her first year. Daphne merely pulled out her wand and threatened to hex him. The coward went running up to his room. After that, she was glad that Pansy had gotten a hold of him. Daphne was not sure that she'd be able stop herself from killing him if he tried to hit on her again.
As for the boys in the other houses, none of them caught her interest. Except for Harry Potter. Maybe it was because he defeated the greatest threat to the wizarding world, the Dark Lord Voldemort. That was a task that had to require a great deal of intelligence and power. Both were traits that Daphne admired. Being in Slytherin prevented her from ever getting to know anyone in the other houses really well because no one really wanted anything to do with a Slytherin. Now that the war was over, perhaps she might have a chance to discover what kind of person Harry Potter really was.
Speaking of Harry Potter, Daphne knew that Hermione Granger was the only girl who could really get close to him. Even Ginny, despite the fact that she had dated Harry, was nowhere as close to him as Hermione. And Daphne also knew that if Hermione was in trouble, Harry would be at her side in an instant. That was why Daphne thought it was fortunate that Hermione was dating Ron Weasley. If Hermione's relationship with Weasley went south and she decided to go for Harry, the rest of the girls in the school would not likely have a chance. So her plan was to befriend Hermione Granger and maybe get an idea of what Harry liked. The first part of that plan was already put into action last week when she had asked Hermione for help with the potions essay. Daphne certainly did not have any problems with potions.
So why then should Daphne go through the trouble of making a contest of this at all she wanted to do was get to know Harry Potter with the possibility of dating him? Because Daphne enjoyed a good challenge. Other than Ginny and perhaps Loony, all of the other girls were in the same position as Daphne. Besides, if Harry did not get back with Ginny immediately after the war had ended, Daphne figured there was a good reason for that.
As she walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast, she spotted Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger walking down one of the corridors. She knew that if she approached them then Weasley would tell her to bug off like he did a few nights ago when she gave Hermione her potions essay in the library. However, at that moment her target came into view.
Harry Potter joined up with his two friends and gave Hermione a hug. Daphne could see that Hermione was happy to see Harry and expressed as much by holding on to him as if she was afraid that she would never see him again. Oddly enough, no one had seen much of Harry since his basic training started but then again, Daphne knew first hand that the new defence professor was a demanding individual. Still, that did not explain why Ron was finding time to be with Hermione. Perhaps it would be a good time to find out, Daphne thought with a slight smile.
"Hermione!" Daphne called out, approaching the three.
The trio turned to face the newcomer. Hermione smiled as she recognized Daphne and waved to her. Harry looked positively confused while Ron, predictably, Ron started to move in front of Hermione.
"What do you want Greengrass?" Ron said with a sneer. "Here to start something?"
"Nothing of the sort Weasley," Daphne replied, glaring at him. "If anyone is going to start trouble, that would be you."
"Ron, that's enough," Hermione said sharply and moved to greet Daphne. "Good Morning Daphne."
"She's a Slytherin! You know she can't be trusted," Ron retorted.
"Then it's a good thing that you and Harry are here isn't it?" Hermione stated cuttingly.
Ron could not find anything good to say, his mouth just opened and closed. Daphne smirked at Weasley but decided that aggravating him further would ruin her plans.
"I was just wondering if you had the chance to take a look at my potions essay," Daphne said to Hermione and glanced briefly at Harry.
"Oh," Hermione said and dug through her bag. She eventually pulled out a rolled up parchment.
"Here you go," she said, handing the essay to Daphne. "Brilliant piece of work I must say. I didn't really have any comments on it."
Daphne did not know what to say to that so she merely settled for a thank you.
"Daphne Greengrass is it?" said a voice to the right of Hermione.
Daphne looked over at Harry and nodded. Inwardly though, she was thrilled. Her plan had paid off. Harry Potter had actually talked to her.
"You were never with Malfoy and his group were you?" Harry asked and Hermione gave Ron a meaningful look as if to say "I told you so."
"No, I wasn't," Daphne replied, keeping a straight face and betraying no emotion despite her happiness at being able to talk to Harry. "He was too full of himself and a bloody coward. I had heard about how he identified Hermione while you guys were held at Malfoy Manor. I'm sorry."
"No you're not," Ron said before either Harry or Hermione could stop him. "You weren't there. You weren't the one who was tortured. If anything, I think you want something here. I'm not sure what but I'm going to find out."
Daphne thought that Ron's lack of self control was a nuisance but ironically, he was partially right. She was indeed after something – that something being Harry Potter - but she was sincerely sorry that Hermione was tortured. Not because Daphne liked the girl, but because she respected her. Hermione was the only person that Daphne could ever recall sticking by Harry Potter throughout all seven years she had known him. Even when the entire school had turned against him, Hermione stayed loyal. Daphne could not say the same for Ron Weasley. Then there was the fact that Hermione was at the top of their year. There was something to be said about that, even if Hermione was an insufferable know-it-all. Still, Daphne figured this was a good opportunity to take a shot at Weasley and maybe earn some points from Harry and Hermione while she was at it.
"Despite what you may think Weasley," Daphne said, doing her best to choose her words carefully. "I am capable of respecting others. If you don't believe that your girlfriend deserves respect, even from those who you classify as enemies, then you shouldn't be dating her."
"I think that Hermione would join me in saying thank you for your respect if nothing else," Harry said, throwing a glance at Hermione. "I certainly wouldn't be standing here talking to you if it weren't for her."
Hermione blushed at Harry's compliment but agreed that she was grateful that there was at least one Slytherin who did not think of her as a trash.
Ron was shaking his head at his two friends and told them that they were both mental and should not trust Slytherins.
"How about we all go to the Great Hall and get some breakfast?" Harry suggested.
"That sounds good," Hermione agreed.
As they continued on the way to the Great Hall, Padma spotted the four students and began to walk over their way. Daphne supposed that Padma was surprised to see her walking alongside the Golden Trio. After all, Slytherins were not supposed to get along with Gryffindors – most certainly not Harry Potter and his two friends.
"Hermione!" Padma called, smiling as she walked toward them. "Just the person I was looking for."
The four of them paused while Padma caught up to them. The trio greeted Padma with a "good morning" when she joined them but Daphne kept silent.
"Say Hermione, are you doing anything after dinner?" Padma asked.
"Yes she –" Ron began to say but was cut off by Hermione.
"Actually, I was going to study in the library and get a head start on some of my assignments because I doubt that I'd have much time in between patrols and my other duties."
"I see. Would you mind some company?"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't mind at all."
Padma's smile grew even wider. Daphne figured that Padma was trying to get on Hermione's good side too so that she could pave her way to a date with Harry. She definitely could not let Padma get an upper hand on that.
"In that case," Daphne said, smirking at Padma briefly. "Can I study with you too?"
Harry and Hermione gave her a bewildered look while Ron regarded her with suspicion.
"I don't see why not. It'd be nice to study with another person and we could read each other's essays and give see where we could improve," Hermione replied with enthusiasm.
Harry let out a small laugh. "Only Hermione could get that excited about studying with other people but I'm glad that she's happy."
Hermione grinned at Harry while Ron muttered that he was now sure that his friend had gone insane for wanting to associate with a Slytherin.
"If it makes you feel better Ron, you can join us," Hermione told Ron flatly.
"No thanks. That crazy professor works me hard enough as it is," said Ron. "No need to work myself to death if I don't have to."
"Ron, if you're not willing to join Hermione when you know she is going to study with a Slytherin then quit telling who she can be around," Harry admonished his friend. "But since he's not going to study with you Hermione, I will."
"Really!" All three girls cried at the same time, eliciting a look of shock from Harry.
Ron let out a sigh of defeat. "Your loss mate, have fun studying."
Later that evening, Daphne arrived at the library early hoping that Harry or Hermione would be there. Unfortunately, she only saw Padma there sitting at one of the tables.
Padma glared at her as she approached the table – a glare which Daphne returned with equal intensity.
"Back off Greengrass, I know what you're up to. I don't intend to let you win," Padma hissed.
"Win what?" said a voice from behind Daphne.
Both girls turned their heads in surprise to see Harry Potter behind them with Hermione trailing behind him.
"Nothing," Daphne replied, putting a smile on her face as she turned to the two incoming students. It was a good thing that they both could not say anything about the contest to anyone except for the other participants because the game would be ruined if the target found out that they all were competing for him, not to mention that they'd all have Hermione to deal with and she could easily outclass most, if not all of them.
"We had a bet," Padma added with a small smile. "I was just telling her that she bet on the losing side."
Daphne had to give Padma credit. It was an innocent enough explanation since the students at Hogwarts entered into wagers frequently but it also skirted the rule that they could not talk about the contest to non-participants.
"Anything we should know about?" asked Harry with a grin as he and Hermione sat at the table. "What's the wager?"
"The bet is over which house is going to win the house cup this year," Daphne supplied since Padma did not seem able to come up with an explanation. It would also ruin the entire competition if either Harry or Hermione found out about the contest. Even though the participants were not allowed to talk about it, if there were enough slipups like this, Harry or Hermione could piece together what was going on. That would be bad news for everyone.
"In that case, I bet Gryffindor is going to win," Harry said jokingly. "With Hermione, the other houses won't stand a chance."
Hermione turned a little red in embarrassment but told Harry that they should get started studying. And so the four of them pulled out their books and began to study.
After about two hours of studying, the four of them decided that they should take a break. Daphne thought that the study session was productive – for the purposes of the contest and for her education. Early on, Padma started asking Harry questions about spells and dueling for her defence class. Since Harry responded informatively, Daphne started her own string of questions. Harry appeared to be a little shocked that she was asking questions but still answered her questions kindly, much to Daphne's delight.
"So what is auror training like?" Hermione asked as they sat there resting.
Harry let out a sigh. "Professor Boneshard works us hard. The past few days, all we did was run laps around the Quidditch pitch. Ron was winded in the five minutes the first day. He was complaining all the way back to the castle. But today, we were working on accuracy. He set up targets at different ranges on the pitch and had us blow them up."
"I know about Ron," Hermione said with a small laugh. "But he chose to become an auror too so I guess he can't complain."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "But next week, he is going to have us try something difficult."
Daphne saw Hermione's face light up at that revelation.
"It's not a new spell is it?" Hermione asked with enthusiasm. "If it is, could you teach it to me?"
Harry shook his head. "No, it's not a new spell. He just wants us to work on our accuracy in any setting. So he is going to have us hit moving targets while flying on a broom. From my experience last summer, I think that's going to be hard."
Hermione nodded in understanding but Padma and Daphne were clueless.
"What happened last summer?" Padma asked.
Hermione gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry Padma, that topic is off limits."
"Sorry Padma," Harry added with a sad smile. "I don't feel like talking about the war to anyone just yet."
"It's ok Harry," Daphne said. "We understand."
"Thanks."
"So the next Hogsmeade trip will be this Saturday," Hermione said, changing the subject. "Are you doing anything Harry? Why don't you join me and Ron?"
"I thought you were going on that date with Ron?" Harry replied.
Hermione's face fell and she slapped herself on the forehead. "Oh, I forgot about that. But I guess he shouldn't mind. You are his best friend after all."
"It's ok Hermione, go on your date," Harry said, trying to reassure his friend. "I'll be fine on my own."
"I can keep him company while you go on your date Hermione," Padma suggested and gave Daphne a kick under the table.
Daphne jumped when she felt the contact and received curious looks from Harry and Hermione. Daphne scowled and rubbed her leg. Two can play at that game, she thought to herself.
"As a date you mean Padma?" Daphne asked, smirking at the Ravenclaw girl. If Padma said yes and Harry turned her down, Padma would be eliminated from the contest.
Hermione looked at Padma with raised eyebrows. The Ravenclaw replied that she was not asking him on a date but she wanted to let Hermione enjoy her date with Ron while not worrying that Harry would feel lonely.
"Since Padma said it's not a date, I can help keep you company too if you'd like," Daphne added, much to the surprise of Harry.
Harry seemed to think about it for a moment and baffled everyone at the table by agreeing.
Hermione gave her friend a look of disapproval. "Are you sure? I mean I'm sure I could convince Ron to let you join us."
Harry put on a smile for his friend. "I'm definitely sure about this Hermione. Padma said it's not a date so it should be ok. Go enjoy your date with Ron. Besides, I don't want him to think that I'm trying to steal you away from him."
Hermione still did not seem reassured but the other two girls sitting at the table were delighted. They had just managed to get Harry Potter for themselves.
Harry let out a yawn. "I think I'm going to call it a night. Are you coming Hermione?"
Daphne watched Hermione start packing her materials. The girl did not look very happy but Daphne supposed that was because she was too worried about Harry on Saturday.
"Don't worry Hermione, I'll be fine," Harry said, also noticing Hermione's disappointed look. "Besides, if anything happens to me, I'm sure that you'll give these two a good hexing right?"
Hermione grinned at her friend and the two of them walked out the door of the library.
"This isn't over yet," Padma hissed at Daphne.
"We'll just have to wait until Saturday won't we then?" Daphne shot back.
When Saturday rolled around, Daphne woke up early to get ready for their trip to Hogsmeade. She made sure to put on something nicer than normal but nothing that would raise Harry's suspicions. She could not give up the progress that she had made.
As she walked to the common room, she encountered her friend Tracey Davis.
"You don't seem like yourself today Daph, something going on?" Tracey asked, studying her intently.
Daphne grinned. "That's because I am going to Hogsmeade with Harry Potter."
"You lie," Tracey said accusingly. "I haven't seen you talk with Potter since the beginning of school. Though you seem to be obsessed with Granger….and you did give her your potions essay."
Daphne could see that Tracey was quickly putting the pieces together because the next thing that Tracey did was curse.
"That's how you did it," Tracey said with a slight chuckle. "You used Granger to get to Potter. Very clever. Well good luck with that. It'd be a shame if you got yourself eliminated. Oh by the way, I hear that Malfoy isn't dating Parkinson anymore and I think he's got his eyes on your younger sister. He's going with her to Hogsmeade today in fact."
"WHAT!" Daphne screamed. "Why that bloody git, I'll kill him if he does anything to Astoria."
"Just something for you to think about while you're out with Potter," Tracey said, laughing as she walked away. "Have fun!"
Daphne was furious. She didn't know who she wanted to curse more at this point, Tracey or Malfoy. Tracey was an opponent now because of the contest so she didn't know if her "friend" was making that up to throw her off. But if Malfoy was indeed trying to date Astoria, then Daphne would make sure he had something coming to him.
Later that morning, Daphne found herself keeping an eye out for her younger sister. There was nothing she valued more in the world than Astoria. Daphne's parents were often away on business and so the two Greengrass sisters spent a lot of time keeping each other company when they were home.
Daphne did not spot her sister anywhere in the line of carriages but she did see Hermione, Ron and Harry further up in the line. Harry said goodbye to his friends, gave Hermione a hug, and waited until they got into the carriage. Then he looked around until his eyes came upon Daphne. With a small smile, he began to walk over to her.
"Good morning," he said when he got to her. "Have you seen Padma?"
"I haven't seen her yet," Daphne replied distractedly.
"Harry!"
The two looked to see Padma running towards them.
"Shall we get going?" Padma asked when she caught up.
Harry and Daphne agreed and they got into a carriage together, but not before Daphne did one last sweep to see if her sister was around.
When the carriages arrived at Hogsmeade, the three of them disembarked and started discussing where they should go first.
"I think we should go to Honeydukes," Daphne suggested. "There's always something good there."
The other two agreed and so they went shopping at Honeydukes. After tasting some of the samples and buying some sweets, they decided to walk to the Three Broomsticks to grab a bite to eat. However, on the way to the Three Broomsticks, Daphne stopped in her tracks when she looked through the window at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop to see Malfoy and her younger sister Astoria sitting at one of the tables.
Harry and Padma also paused to see why she had stopped walking only to see that Daphne looked positively furious.
"Is something wrong Daphne?" Harry asked her, a bit concerned.
"Yes," Daphne fumed and pointed through the window. "That is what's wrong."
"I don't see what's wrong," Padma said, looking where Daphne was pointing. "I only see Malfoy and some girl."
"That girl," Daphne spat. "Is my younger sister Astoria. What is she doing with Malfoy? I'm going to set that ferret straight. I'll catch up with you guys later."
"Do you want us to come with you?" Harry offered. "I understand if you wish to make sure that your younger sister is all right."
"I think Daphne can handle this herself," Padma said, pulling a bit on Harry's robe to get him to go with her. "She said she would catch up with us later. Let's go enjoy ourselves at the Three Broomsticks."
But Harry did not budge. In fact, he watched with amusement as Daphne ran in to the tea shop, grabbed her younger sister by the arm and dragged her out of the shop with Malfoy following at their heels.
"What's going on Daphne?" Astoria protested when they were outside. "I was enjoying my date!"
"Did he feed you any potions?" Daphne asked her harshly. "Why are you with Malfoy?"
"I didn't feed her any potions Greengrass," Draco drawled. "Why's it your concern if your sister wants to come with me on a date?"
Daphne sneered at him and and drew her wand. "My sister is always my number one priority. Something which you wouldn't understand Malfoy since you only care for yourself."
"Your sister chose me," Draco retorted, drawing his own wand. "She agreed to go on this date so I don't see why you need to ruin it. Unless you're jealous that you can't get a date yourself?"
"Hah, that's rich," Daphne scoffed and leveled her wand at Malfoy's face. "Now sit still Malfoy, I'm going to teach you what it's like if you harm Astoria."
It was at that point that Harry chose to intervene before this incident could escalate any further. "That's enough Daphne. I think there's an easier solution to this problem that won't involve having to curse him. It will also show Astoria if Malfoy is sincere or not - that is if you trust me."
Daphne did not take her eyes off of Malfoy but lowered her wand slowly. Harry then walked up to Malfoy and told Daphne to join them. When she did, Harry pulled out his wand and asked Malfoy if he was willing to make an unbreakable vow.
Daphne was filled with a sense of admiration for Harry. Here he was trying to protect Astoria even though he did not even know her. Looking Malfoy in the eyes, Daphne looked for any doubt that Malfoy was not serious about dating Astoria. That alone would give her an excuse to hex him.
After a few moments, Draco shook his head. "You don't have to go that far Potter. I swear that I did not give Astoria any potions and that I will let her decide whether she wants to be in a relationship with me."
"Better keep that promise Malfoy," Harry warned. "Otherwise, I'm sure Daphne will be paying you a visit. And after allowing Hermione to be tortured, I just might join her to make sure that there isn't a piece of you left for anyone to identify."
Malfoy nodded solemnly and took Astoria by the hand. The pair walked back into the tea shop to resume their date and Harry turned to Daphne and Padma with a smile. "I've been wanting to let Malfoy know where I stood for a while. I mean he was part of the reason that Hermione was tortured."
"Thank you," Daphne said quietly. "I appreciate you stepping in to protect my sister."
As the trio started to resume their trip to the Three Broomsticks, Daphne heard Hermione calling Harry from the doorway of the tea shop. Daphne heard Padma let out a sigh of frustration at the new interruption.
"What happened Harry?" Hermione said, walking up to them with Ron closely behind her. "I saw you talking to Malfoy. Is everything all right?"
Harry nodded and filled her in on what transpired.
"See Hermione, he's just fine like I said," Ron said. "Can we get back to our date now?"
Ignoring Ron, Hermione pointed out that Harry did not even know how do an unbreakable vow. Daphne could only look in surprise at Harry at that revelation while Padma was looking rather impatient.
Harry only grinned sheepishly at Hermione and rubbed the back of his head. "I know, I was bluffing. I thought that Malfoy would be too intimidated by me to call my bluff."
Ron and Hermione began to laugh and Daphne joined them.
"You bluffed Malfoy?" Ron laughed. "Wicked!"
"So where are you going?" Hermione asked them when she stopped laughing.
"We were going to the Three Broomsticks until we were interrupted," Padma said cuttingly.
Hermione and Daphne threw irritated looks at Padma but Hermione continued to talk to Harry. "Did you want to join us in the tea shop Harry? Ron won't mind I think and you can bring Daphne and Padma."
"Wait a minute," Ron said once he realized they were going to have company. "I do mind Hermione. I really wanted this day to be just us."
"I mind as well," Padma added. "We were well on our way to the Three Broomsticks to get something to eat."
Harry shook his head at Hermione. "Go back to your date with Ron, Hermione. I know he only wants this day to be special. Besides, my last time at the tea shop wasn't the best."
Like in the library, Daphne saw disappointment on Hermione's face but she said nothing. Ron and Hermione walked back into the tea shop, leaving the three to continue on to the Three Broomsticks.
When the three of them arrived at the Three Broomsticks, they saw the place was crowded. However, they managed to find a place in a secluded corner. After ordering something to eat and three butterbeers, Harry began to engage Daphne in a conversation about her younger sister and why Malfoy was not with Pansy anymore. In the middle of the conversation, Daphne heard Padma sigh in frustration.
"Can we talk about something else?" Padma snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm sure there are more interesting topics than who Malfoy is dating."
"For your information, we were talking about my younger sister," Daphne commented, trying to figure out how she could steer the conversation in her favor. It was already a good thing that the Ravenclaw girl was already aggravated. "And you could have come here earlier if you were so hungry."
"I wasn't going to leave without Harry."
On his part, Harry was baffled as to why the two girls were suddenly arguing.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think that you wanted to be alone with Harry," Daphne stated, glancing briefly at Harry to gauge his reaction. The boy still looked positively confused.
"Of course I wanted to be alone with Harry," Padma said hotly. "If you hadn't intervened in the library, I would have asked him on a date."
Bingo. Daphne saw the look of confusion disappear from Harry's face.
"Sorry Padma if you had originally meant for this to be a date," Harry said with an apologetic look. "But I'm afraid that I don't see us dating anytime in the future."
At those words, the right pocket of Padma's robe was set on fire. In the blink of an eye, Harry had his wand out and extinguished Padma's robes. He then glanced around briefly to see if there were any threats. Seeing none, he went over to scoop up any of the ashes that had fallen next to Padma to see if he could identify them.
Daphne grinned inwardly. Her charm worked. The parchment had combusted when Padma was eliminated and there was nothing left to identify.
Once the shock of having her robe set on fire wore off, Padma turned to Daphne and said accusingly, "I may have wanted this to be a date but I know you wanted the same thing."
Daphne put on the most innocent facial expression she could muster. "What do you mean? Unlike you, I had never intended this to be a date. I just wanted to keep Harry company while his friends were off on their date. Your reasons are different than mine."
"Hmm," Harry muttered, once again completely oblivious to the exchange between the two girls. "I can't identify any of the ashes."
Glaring one final time at Daphne, Padma stood up from the table and stalked out of the Three Broomsticks.
Needless to say that at the end of the day, Daphne went to sleep a very happy witch. She could rest easily that Astoria was taken care of, she was making progress with Harry Potter, and one opponent was out of the contest.
A/N: That's it for Chapter 2. I'm going to try to make lengthy chapters but that also means that I'm not going to be able to update as quickly as this. The next one will hopefully be out sometime next week. Once again any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.