"What do you think you're playing at?" Shouted Draco from across the Slytherin Common room. Tracey and Daphne had only just entered their house when Draco had begun his verbal assault. All around them stood every Slytherin from third year up, almost like some sort of tribunal each of them looking stone faced.
"I can't imagine any reason why you would wish to associate yourself with such filth." Draco continued.
"What are you talking about?" Tracey asked. She noticed that every other Slytherin present was staring at her and Daphne with mixed expressions. Loathing, disappointment, and disgust were the most abundant. It became obvious quite quickly that Draco had sown the seeds of discord among their fellow housemates, and was looking for a reckoning.
"You two have betrayed yourselves and your house by associating with Potter and his Gryffindor filth. You're becoming Blood traitors, and there is no higher crime among Purebloods." Malfoy snarled, pointing an accusing finger at the two girls, who looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Their laughter was infectious, as a few others chuckled softly.
"Malfoy, you egotistical swine." Daphne said when she finally caught her breath. "There is no law that says we can't make friends with Gryffindors or anyone else we choose. I'm not sworn to any oath nor am I bound to this house by anything other than having been sorted into it. I could have easily been placed in Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or yes, even Gryffindor. Just like any of you."
There were some heated words and downright filthy insults hurled at Daphne, who looked unbothered by it all. She remained unmoved by their jeers and insults, keeping her focus on Draco.
"The point is that I have only betrayed myself by not trying to get to know other wizards outside of this house. None of you can even tell me why we're supposed to hate Potter or any other Gryffindor."
"They're a bunch of braggarts." Shouted someone.
"They cheat at everything."
"Mudbloods!"
"Potter gets away with everything!"
That last accusation untied most of the house, and many of the gathered Slytherins shouted in agreement.
"Can you prove it?" Daphne asked, casting cold narrowed eyes on her housemates. "Can you prove anything he's done that he's gotten away with without some form of punishment?"
"What about that flying car?" someone shouted.
Daphne shook her head. "I think it's safe to say he served detentions for that. There's also no rule that say students must ride the train to school." She wasn't sure if Harry had served detentions, but felt it was likely a safe bet.
"What about the Tournament last year?" Someone else called out. "He tricked the Goblet of Fire."
"Did any of you actually witness him put his name in the Goblet?" Tracey asked.
"Then explain how his name came out of the Goblet?" Someone else asked.
"I can only theorize that someone else put his name in the cup. Perhaps the fake Professor Moody?" Daphne said, arching her eyebrow, and folding her arms. That bit of news had leaked out just before Dumbledore had announced that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had risen from the dead.
"Did you get a job as Potter's publicist or something?" Draco asked, looking as if she were something disgusting. "He's Dumbledore's stooge. A puppet for the Headmaster. He's nothing special. A freak of circumstance."
"Exactly." Daphne agreed, pointing a finger at Draco. "He is the same as any one of us. No greater or lesser. He's a teenager, just like us, and yet, you all treat him as if he's dangerous, or pathetic. You can't even make up our minds about him. You all jeered him when his name came out of the Goblet of Fire last year, and then when he'd beaten that dragon, some of you began supporting him."
"I'd never support son of a bitch!" Draco said firmly, looking highly affronted at the insinuation. "I'd sooner take a blasting hex to my manhood."
"Is that an offer?' Tracey smiled, showing that she had her wand ready.
Silence fell around the Common Room in general anticipation of seeing Draco get hexed in the bits. Daphne turned back to Draco, who looked to be stewing. His face was becoming a violent shade of purple, and his fists were clenched tightly.
"You've hated him ever since he snubbed you in first year, and ever since then it's been your personal mission to try and humiliate him as much as you can. For what? If you were trying to prove your superiority over 'lesser' wizards, well, you're failing. All you proved to anyone is how small you are. Time and time again, it's been you who's had to run away from Potter with your tail between your legs."
"You better watch what you say to me, Greengrass. I won't stand for your insults. I can make things very difficult for you and your family."
"Oh, yes." Tracey rolled her eyes. "Yes, we'd almost forgotten who you are, and who your father is. How long has it been since you reminded all of us of the power of the Malfoy family?"
"You've proven my point for me, Draco." Daphne gave a small grin. "Can't even fight your own battles. You have to run to daddy and get him to throw money and threats around. I can assure you that my father isn't one to cower from your pitiful excuse for a parent. And I, unlike you, can stand on my own, and don't need to run to the protection of my family name. So, unless you can convince me that befriending Harry Potter is wrong, I shall continue to live my life the way I see fit."
"You're taking your life in your own hands." Draco sneered. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…"
"So you believe what Dumbledore and Potter claim then?" Tracey pounced on Draco's words like a hungry tiger. "You stand by them and their claims?"
"I'd never stand by those idiots!" Draco looked stricken.
"So you don't think You-Know-Who is back?" Tracey cocked her head and Daphne smiled inwardly, knowing what her friend was doing. Both girls knew there were more than a handful of Death Eater children within Slytherin's hall. They also knew that they would have to hide that fact by following Fudge's decree that nothing was amiss, lest they cast suspicion upon themselves and their families. Worse yet would be admitting that Dumbledore was telling the truth.
"I never said that. You're twisting my words." Draco looked confused.
"You weren't going to say that You-Know-Who has come back and is going to kill Potter. You weren't going to admit Dumbledore is telling the truth." Tracey pressed.
Draco clenched his jaw shut, sending a death stare at Tracey who stood with her arms folded in defiance. After several moments, Draco stomped off, and the gathering pretty much broke apart as people began heading for bed muttering about what they'd seen and heard that night..
Tracey and Daphne made their way to their own dorm and found their dorm mates waiting for them.
"Is it really true?" Millicent Bulstrode asked as they opened the door. She was rather tall for her age, and nearly as broad as Goyle. She had thin lanky black hair, that was not unlike Professor Snape's, which had led to more than a few remarks about her lineage.
Both Tracey and Daphne liked Millicent well enough, so long as she was alone. As soon as Pansy was near her, she became hard, and sometimes downright despicable. Daphne wondered why Millicent's personality flipped like that, and had come to the theory that the girl just wanted to be liked.
"Were you two really sitting with Potter?" Millie stared at them with something akin to awe.
Daphne nodded and Tracey simply smiled as she opened her trunk.
"I don't believe you two." Pansy said from her bed, where she was watching them change for bed. "Why would you want to even go anywhere near that kind of scum?"
Neither Tracey nor Daphne answered so Pansy pressed on.
"Didn't it stink in there with Granger? And Longbottom, oh gods help me if I had to remain in the same compartment with him. You might want to shower before you go to bed, just to get the residue off of you."
"I think we'll be fine." Daphne said simply, shutting her trunk and climbing into bed.
"What's he like?" Millicent asked, looking quite curious.
"MILLIE!" Pansy shrieked indignantly. "Don't you even consider following those two. You know what'll happen."
"Why's that, Pansy?" Tracey asked, her curiosity piqued. "She could make some real friends, instead of people who use her to protect them from people she bullies?"
Daphne saw Millicent's expression become pensive as she listened to Tracey.
"Heaven forbid she might star associating with people who might actually appreciate the person she is, rather than what she can do for them. And what a shame it would be if she actually got some self respect. You should think about it, as well. A bit of self respect might do you a world of good."
"What are you talking about?" Pansy asked, confusedly.
"Do you honestly think Draco's going to marry you because you were his first shag?" Daphne wondered.
"Don't you dare talk about things you don't know anything about." Pansy threatened, whipping her wand out from under her pillow. Daphne was faster, and leveled her own wand at Pansy, who looked murderous.
"Draco loves me." She whimpered.
"No, Draco loves himself." Daphne said coolly. "You're just something to occupy his time. Someone he can flop about on top of hoping to make himself into some sort of Casanova. When you finally figure it out, he's going to already be shagging someone else."
Pansy gave a weak snarl, and shut her bed curtains. Daphne sighed and gave a curt nod to Tracey and Millicent who were climbing into their own beds. Shutting her curtains, Daphne was feeling quite exhausted. It had been a very eventful day.
She had managed to establish at least a shaky foundation with Harry. She was very proud of how she had handled herself while they had been on the train. She'd been very afraid of sounding stupid, but had managed to have a pointed discussion, and actually sounded intelligent. Her regret was that she hadn't learned much about Harry.
"Baby steps." She reminded herself. She had to establish trust with him. Her mother had told her that over the summer. Still, it had taken a great effort not to throw herself in his lap and snog him silly. He had gotten better looking over the summer.
She thought about when he'd taken her hand and helped her feel the Thestrals. She'd felt so weak in the knees in that moment, and she'd nearly passed out from the inability to breath. And the animal itself had felt strange, and familiar at the same time.
She'd also been quite surprised when he'd abandoned his best friend to ride with her and Tracey and that Luna girl, who'd proven to be quite interesting herself.
It was not Daphne's intention to destroy Harry's friendships, and she knew she would have to be careful. She did not want Harry to resent her for wrecking his life. She wanted to be included in his world, not the reason for its destruction.
At the same time, she wasn't about to let Ron Weasley, or Draco Malfoy, stop her from trying to get what she wanted. Her mother was right. The only thing that really mattered was what she and Harry felt.
With that thought, Daphne closed her eyes, and settled into her warm bed, her imagination slipping back to the train where he shared a cabin alone with Harry.
Harry was thinking about what that Umbridge woman had said during the Feast. He'd tried hard to listen, and understand, but its almost like she talked in circles. Thankfully, Hermione had understood it all and had put it in simpler terms.
Harry had recognized the woman almost immediately. She had been at his trial. She had tired to suggest that Dumbledore was accusing the Ministry of sending those Dementors to attack Harry over the summer.
After Hermione had explained what Professor Umbridge had said in her speech, Harry realized that this was the Ministry spy that Daphne had warned him about. How could it not be. This was the person he needed to watch out for. But Harry didn't think that she was very threatening. And what could she actually do, especially with Dumbledore monitoring her actions. Maybe people were just being paranoid.
But, then again…
Harry had followed Neville up the staircase, as Ron and Hermione were escorting the First Years to the Dorm, and giving them a brief tour of the school. Harry had noticed how delighted Hermione seemed to be at the task, while Ron was obviously still fuming about what had transpired between them on the journey to school.
Harry thought he would talk to Ron later, and try again to make him understand, or at the least ask Ron to trust his judgment on this particular matter.
Harry entered the Common room behind Neville, who seemed excited about the new password for some reason. Neville was sure he would not forget it, which Harry doubted. Neville always forgot the password, and Harry smiled when he remembered their first year, when they had found Neville sleeping in front of the portrait because the Fat Lady had refused him entrance.
Harry was greeted by a few of his fellow Gryffindors. Colin and Dennis Creevey both came up to him to inquire about his summer. Angelina Johnson gave him a quick hug and told him about her captaincy of the Quidditch Team, which excited Harry. Perhaps they could have a game without a long winded speech like their former captain.
Harry spotted Parvati Patil sitting with Lavender Brown near the fire, and took a deep breath. "Why wait?" He asked himself and went over to sit with the two girls.
"Sorry to bother you two." Harry said, and was a little surprised to see the two look a bit guilty, but he ignored it and pressed on.
"Parvati, I just wanted to apologize to you for the Yule ball. I wasn't a very good date, and I'm truly sorry that I didn't treat you well that night."
Parvati stared wide eyed at Harry and then turned to look at Lavender, who looked equally astonished.
"Umm, Thanks, Harry." Parvati said slowly. "That's very nice of you."
"I know that I can't make it up to you, but at least you know that I feel bad about it." Harry shrugged, standing up.
"Why can't you make up for it?" Lavender asked suddenly, a mischievous smile on her face.
"Lavender!" Parvati shrieked warningly.
"Why not take her out on a make up date? You could escort her to Hogsmeade…" Lavender smiled, and Parvati looked mortified. Harry on the other hand looked to be thinking it over.
"Harry, you don't have to do that. Your apology was enough, I assure you."
Harry nodded, but then gave a smile. "Maybe we could discuss it when we know when the Hogsmeade visit is."
Lavender hide her giggles behind her hand, while Parvati, quite embarrassed, simply nodded. "S-sure. That'd be fine."
"Alright. Well, goodnight." He said, and headed up to his dormitory.
When he opened the door, he heard Dean, Seamus and Neville having a heated discussion, which halted abruptly when they saw that it was him. Each other them began busying themselves in their trunks, or changing for bed. Harry immediately felt they must have been discussing him.
"Hey, Dean." Harry said, trying to sound friendlier than he felt at the moment. "Good summer?"
"Was alright, better than Seamus's."
"What happened Seamus?" Harry asked. Seamus looked over at harry sharply, and took a great breath. "Me mam didn't want me to come back. Thought I might be in danger or something."
"Danger from what?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"You, actually. She thinks you've gone barmy, claiming You-Know-Who's back and all."
Harry dropped his friendly demeanor at once.
"I see." Harry said glumly. "She believe the Prophet, and thinks I'm some headcase, and Dumbledore's off his rocker?"
"Something like that." Seamus said. "Maybe if you told everyone what actually happened that night with Diggory…"
"Why should I? You can just read the Prophet Like your Mother, and you'll know all the gruesome details." Harry was seething as he sat on his bed. He couldn't believe how stubborn the Ministry was being about the whole affair, and how easily people were believing the tripe it was printing about him.
"Don't insult my mother!" Seamus said firmly. "Look at it from our point of view. Maybe if we knew what happened…"
"NO!" Harry shouted. He stared right at Seamus, his heart pounding in his temples. Neville, who'd been setting a small cactus-like plant on his bedside table turned, nearly knocking the plant to the floor. Dean had been setting out his robes for the next day and dropped them suddenly.
"Look, you've got two choices. You can trust in Dumbledore and by extension me, or you can believe everything the Prophet writes and become another mindless sycophant being led to slaughter."
"Are you calling me mam a sick fan?" Seamus asked confused and angry.
"Sycophant, mate." Dean said helpfully. "It means mindless stooge."
"MY MOTHER ISN'T MINDLESS!" Seamus shouted at Harry.
"She's acting like it!" Harry shouted back.
"Hey!" Ron shouted getting in between the two boys, preventing them from starting to swing their fists. "Knock it off."
"He's making fun of me mam!" Seamus shouted.
"Calm down, Seamus." Dean said pulling the Irishman away from Ron and Harry.
"If you're so worried about your mother, perhaps you can ask McGonagall to move you, so you won't be sharing a dorm with a psychotic killer. That'll ease her mind!"
"Harry, that's enough!" Ron shouted his friend down. "What's wrong with you?"
"I am sick of people accusing me of lying!"
"You're daft, Potter. I can't believe anyone would buy that tripe about You-Know-Who being back. It's ludicrous!" Seamus shouted.
"I believe him." Neville said in a small voice. The four other boys looked at Neville, who stood holding his small potted cactus. Neville withered a bit under their stares and went back to arranging his plant on his bedside table.
"You've all gone round the twist." Seamus threw up his hands, climbing onto his bed. "I can't believe I'm sharing a room with a bunch o' loons!"
"That's enough, Seamus." Ron said quickly. "Harry's just tired. He fought off the Imperious curse from those two Slytherin girls all day."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked incredulously, staring at Ron as if he'd grown a second head.
"I figured it out during dinner. That's why you defended them." Ron smiled as if it had been obvious. "They were using the Imperious on you and you couldn't fight it off. Not from both of them."
"Are you mental?" Harry asked. "I told you, their alright."
"You allowed a couple of Slytherins to sit with you on the train?" Dean asked, curious what Harry and Ron were talking about.
"Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass." Neville said as she slid under his blankets. "They were nice."
"You see what I mean?" Ron asked, looking at Dean as if he'd just solved a great mystery. "Imperioused. Why would Neville say anything nice about a Slytherin? They always pick on him and stuff."
"I wasn't Imperioused." Neville said bitterly.
"Ron, you're being stupid." Harry said, rubbing his temples as if to ease an oncoming headache.
"Stupid? It's stupid that I'm trying to protect you?"
"No, it's noble that you want to protect me, but it's stupid that you think that just because they belong in Slytherin, they have to be evil hags. With that mindset, you're no better than Malfoy."
Harry hadn't seen it coming, nor would he have ever guessed, but that had been the exact wrong thing to say. Harry found himself sprawled out on the floor with Ron standing over him, breathing hard.
"You hit me?" Harry asked, holding his jaw where pain was shooting up into his skull.
"After all we've been through, how could you compare me to that…that…bastard?"
"After all we've been through, how could you question my feelings?"
Ron said nothing but went to his bed, pulling the curtains shut, not even bothering to put on his pajamas. Dean looked to Seamus' bed which had it's curtains drawn, and Ron's, before looking back to Harry.
"Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a rather long year?"
"Ah, Severus, please come in." Dumbledore smiled pleasantly as his Potions master entered his office.
"I have some…news." Snape said without build up. "In truth, I'm concerned that there could be a divide within my house."
Dumbledore looked up from his paperwork, a light twinkle in his light blue eyes. "A divide?" he asked, stroking his silvery beard thoughtfully. "What do you mean?"
"It seems that two of my Slytherins had decided to cross house lines, and have reached out to…" Snape's lip curled. "Potter."
Dumbledore looked taken aback at this. He stood from his seat and began pacing about his office.
"Which two?" He asked of his potions master.
"Greengrass and Davis." Snape said quickly.
"Interesting. The Greengrass' are a formidable family, though they've managed to remain neutral to the troubles of our world. Though, Jonathan Greengrass has supported some of the muggle friendly legislation in the past. I can not recall any Death Eater with the Davis surname."
"Nor I." Snape said, standing quite stiffly as he watched the Headmaster pace around the room.
"Is it possible either family has joined Lord Voldemort's ranks, and you are unaware?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Snape over his half moon spectacles.
"It is possible. The Dark Lord does try to keep all of us somewhat unaware of each other's identities, save for those of us in the inner circle."
"I see." Dumbledore nodded. "Do you believe there could be some kind of plot to lure Harry out of the school?"
"I do not pretend to be aware of all of his plans, but I think he might have mentioned something, especially if it involved the boy. I think our assumptions about him being too afraid to face the boy until he has heard the Prophecy in it's entirety remain solid, for now. To be honest, I do not believe the Dark Lord would employ teenagers to entrap Potter."
Dumbledore nodded his agreement. "What exactly happened tonight?"
Snape proceeded to inform the Headmaster of all he'd learned of the events that had taken place in the Slytherin Common room after the feast. Dumbledore listened carefully and when Snape finished, Dumbledore seemed to brighten.
"I do not claim to be omniscient, But I think we are looking for trouble where none exists. At least not to Harry. After what you have told me, I think all we have is several young people who no longer wish to be constrained by their house. Perhaps they are disenchanted by these petty rivalries, ad are simply seeking to broaden the horizons."
"Perhaps, but they will be facing resistance from other Slytherins. Malfoy in particular was quite distraught."
"No doubt his long feud with young Harry played a part in that. For now, we shall monitor the situation. I do not wish for a war to break out in this school, when a greater war looms over us like a shadow."
Snape bowed and left the office, leaving Dumbledore to ponder all that he'd heard. A Slytherin had reached out to a Gryffindor, after centuries of rivalry. Was it possible that others in those to houses could follow this example, and at last the school could be united?
Still, the timing bothered Dumbledore a bit. He would need to do some checking, but there was no reason to suspect anything more than young people growing up. Harry was quite popular among the young females, Dumbledore knew, and it was possible that a couple of the Slytherin girls wished to get to know Harry better, and that could be useful if things progressed. After all, Harry needed to realize how powerful a magic Love truly could be. Everything depended on that.