"You can't be serious!" Severus Snape shouted at a very stoic looking Albus Dumbledore.

"We have no proof that Draco was involved. We don't even have enough to warrant the administration of Veritaserum. And you've told me yourself that the Ministry is infected with Death Eaters in high places. We haven't a choice." Dumbledore said, turning away and looking truly upset. He had returned to the school after spending the weekend following a lead about one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, only to learn that a young girl had died from coming into contact with a cursed object. He had already spoken to Hagrid, and Professor McGonagall and learned that Harry and some of his friends had witnessed the incident.

He'd learned much more once he had summoned Snape to his office. Dumbledore knew that Draco Malfoy was behind the incident, though he was unsure how he had pulled it off, as according to McGonagall, Draco had been in detention with her most of the day. It was very clear that Draco had someone in Hogsmeade working for him, or with him.

"But a student is dead! I don't like it anymore than you do, Albus. He's my godson after all, but we have a responsibility…"

"Do you think I've forgotten?" Albus roared, stunning Snape into silence. The old man looked quite scary when he was angry, his normally twinkling blue eyes were dark, and he was radiating power, crackling the air around them.

"Do you honestly think I get some sort of thrill out of letting a potential murderer go free? You heard the story, it was an accident. And we will be very hard pressed to prove it. Miss Bulstrode was not the intended target, and if any number of things had gone differently no one would have been hurt. He's desperate, and his actions show that. What we need to worry about is what he does next, because if he does succeed in hurting someone, he will have to pay for his crime. We can still save him, Severus."

"Albus, I appreciate that you think the boy can be saved, but you truly don't know him as I do. With Lucius Malfoy as a father, I'm honestly surprised that no one has been hurt before." Snape said, his tone lowering. He sat down, and stared at the Headmaster. "I can't even get him to listen to me. He's constantly skiving off classes, and no one has any idea where he disappears to or what he's doing. I even used Legilimency on his two thugs, and all I got was that they stood guard on the seventh floor."

"The seventh floor?" Dumbledore looked over his shoulder at his Defense teacher.

"Usually using Polyjuice and disguised as first year girls."

Dumbledore smirked. "If we don't reach out to him soon, his friends might very well end the problem for us. Though, that information may prove useful."

"Funny." Snape groaned, pinching the bridge of his long nose. "How long are you going to let this carry on? Until the Dark Lord wins? I've already told you that his agents are nearly in place. Now that Scrimgeour has taken office, it won't be long. The Ministry will fall, and then the Dark Lord will focus all of his efforts on you and the boy."

"I have already set my affairs in order. The Christmas holidays are near, and there are only a handful of places left in the castle in which to search. I shall have Harry helping me."

"You still want me…"

"To look after Draco? Of course. It will be a very good time to show that you are not trying to… how did you put it? Steal his thunder?" Dumbledore's patented smile began to return.

Snape rolled his black eyes and snorted. "Typical teenage pride. The boy is going to learn exactly what it means to serve him."

"Which is why you need to be there. My cover story is in place so Lord Voldemort will not require you to be here. Perhaps you could convince Narcissa to give the boy guidance. Any help we could get to make him see reason would be most helpful."

"He didn't listen to her during the summer, why would he now?"

"He's responsible for the death of a student. Though he's likely not showing it, it's likely he's very upset by it. We need to press on that, before someone else is killed, possibly by Draco himself."

Snape stood up and bowed his head slightly. "I still think you're wrong on this."

"It is my deepest hope that it is you who is wrong, old friend."

November had passed into December, and Christmas was creeping up quickly upon the student population. All around them, the castle had transformed into it's usual Yule time wonderland, and there was an air of holiday cheeriness throughout the halls of Hogwarts.

Except for a small handful of student who were still mourning the loss of one of their friends. Mandy Brocklehurst had left Hogwarts all together, unable to deal with her own guilt in the role she played in her good friend's death.

Another person who was having trouble with their guilt was Pansy Parkinson. Daphne noted that Pansy was often seen alone. Tracey had heard rumors that Pansy was being shunned by everyone in Slytherin House, and had not even spoken to Draco Malfoy all year.

"I kind of feel bad for her." Daphne said to Harry late one evening while they were in the library.

"No one should have to be alone." Harry agreed.

"Maybe we could introduce her to Luna. Maybe they'll find some kind of common ground and build some kind of friendship." Daphne said. Harry began to laugh, and Daphne couldn't help herself.

"I would give anything to be a fly on the wall for any conversation they had." Harry grinned, wiping at his eyes.

The two teens chuckled a bit longer before settling down again and going back to their essays. McGonagall had assigned them a very long essay, and the two teens had got started right away. Silence fell upon them for a few minutes before Daphne put her quill down and stared at Harry. It took a few minutes before Harry felt her eyes on him and looked up.

"What?"

"I'm just wondering when you're going to ask me." Daphne said, folding her hands on the table.

"Ask you what?" Harry asked, now confused.

Daphne sighed and shook her head. "Slughorn's Christmas party. Are you going to ask me to go with you?"

"What? I thought we were already going together. Why do I need to ask?"

"Oh Harry. Just because we're dating doesn't mean that you don't have to ask. A girl appreciates when you show her how considerate you are. You can't just assume that because we're dating means we go to everything together. What if someone else asked me?"

"What? Who?" Harry asked, looking a bit upset.

"It's just an example, Harry. I just don't want you taking me for granted."

Harry calmed down, and mulled over what his girlfriend had said. He sighed and looked over at her expectant face. "I'm sorry. Daphne, would you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you to Slughorn's party?"

"I would love to." Daphne grinned. She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "And thank you for asking."

Harry shook his head. He was sure he would never understand girls. Thank the gods he had a truly patient and understanding girlfriend.

"Hey guys." Neville said as he and Hermione sat down at the table and began pulling out their own assignments. "What's going on?"

"Harry finally asked me to Slughorn's party." Daphne smiled, and Hermione snorted.

"Oy, Harry, the party's tomorrow. What took you so long?" Neville asked, looking at Harry pitifully.

"I didn't know I was supposed to ask." Harry's shoulders slumped.

"Clueless." Hermione said, and Harry balled up a scrap of parchment and threw it at his friend, who easily dodged the projectile.

"You could have told me."

"What, and miss an opportunity to see you embarrass yourself?"

"I think Tracey's been rubbing off on you." Neville said warily. "You've gotten very Slytherin-like."

"And what's wrong with that?" Daphne asked, her eyes narrowed threateningly.

"Uhh…" Neville looked to Harry, who was keeping his head bent towards his essay.

"Let him be, Daphne. He's only a boy, and doesn't always realize when he's being stupid."

The two girls began to giggle while Neville gave a relieved sigh. Harry chuckled along, though he kept his face bent towards his assignment.

Slughorn's Christmas party was the talk of the school. There were only a handful of invitations sent out, but many people were trying to get dates with those who had been invited. Rumors were flying about some of the guests who might be in attendance. From the captain of the Holyhead Harpies, and the bassist for the Weird Sisters, to the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour himself.

The night of the party found both Harry and Neville giving themselves a final look in the mirror before heading down to the Common Room where Hermione stood waiting patiently.

"My, don't you both look quite dashing."

"Thank you, milady." Harry grinned, and gave a low bow. "You also look very fetching."

"More than fetching." Neville smiled, stepping forward and taking his girlfriend's hand. He gave a sweet smile and kissed the back of her hand, causing Hermione to blush lightly. "I think delicious is quite appropriate here."

"Stop it." Hermione said, playfully slapping his shoulder. "We should head down to the Entrance Hall."

"No, you two go on ahead. I'll go meet Daphne and we'll se you there." Harry smiled as he led them out of the portrait hole.

"Are you sure?" Neville asked.

"We don't mind going with you." Hermione smiled.

"No, it's ok. Go on." Harry grinned, and waved as he took the stairs to meet his date.

He stepped off the stairs to find the Entrance hall some what empty. He began to head to the doorway that led to the dungeons and the Slytherin Common Room. He was about to step through when Daphne appear.

Harry's jaw dropped.

Daphne's dark brown hair had been swept up into an elegant knot, and she was dressed in a very stunning dark green dress which ended just above her knees, with matching heeled sandals. She had a simple black shall draped over her arms to finish the outfit.

Harry's stared caused her to blush a bit as she approached him.

"W-wow." Harry stammered.

"Thank you." Daphne said a bit shyly.

"All I ever get to see you in is your uniform so this is… just wow." Harry smiled as he took her arm.

"Well, maybe this summer, I'll correct that oversight, provided you give me a reason to dress this way." Daphne smiled seductively.

"Done." Harry smiled as he lead her back to the staircase.

"Are you going home for Christmas?" Daphne asked. "We've never talked about it. I realized that while I was getting ready for tonight. We've been so busy with everything, we've barely had anytime for anything short of homework."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that. I'm staying here for the holidays. I'm going to help Dumbledore look for Horcruxes."

"Good, so I won't be alone."

"What? I thought you were going home." Harry looked surprised.

"Don't you remember? My family is supposed to have denounced me. Astoria's pretty upset by it. She wants me to come home for Christmas, she says it's going to be horrible with out me. I think it's because she won't have anyone to terrorize, but if I do, it'll ruin everything we've built up and put them in danger."

"I had totally forgotten.' Harry admitted. "I get to see Astoria and talk to her everyday, it's easy to forget that you're supposed to be an outcast."

"I'm going to miss it. Christmas is always so much fun at my house. We always get to bake loads of cookies and pies and stuff. Dad makes this holiday punch and it's so good. He only makes it during the holidays. This'll be the first one I ever miss." Daphne sighed, looking a bit forlorn.

"Well, I've heard that nearly everyone else is going to be gone, so we'll have the whole castle to ourselves, pretty much. I know it won't be as good as going home, but maybe we can make it less horrible just by being together."

"It would be very nice to have you all to myself with no classes or private lessons or anything like that to interrupt us. We really need some time together. Private time." She gave him a suggestive smile and waggled her eyebrows.

Harry felt himself getting hot, and tugged at his collar. He gave her a smile and she grinned as she pushed him against a wall and kissed him very deeply. Harry clutched her waist and held her tightly as he returned the kiss with enthusiasm.

"We should get to the party." Daphne smiled as she broke the kiss. "We can continue this a bit later, sooner if the party turns out to be boring." Harry could only smile stupidly as Daphne led him towards the party.

Slughorn had found a very large unused classroom on the fifth floor in which to hold his party. Upon entering, the couple had their picture taken under an arch decorated with holly and twinkling faeries, who were all apparently enjoying what looked to be very tiny cookies.

"This is really ostentatious." Daphne said looking around the room at the gaudy decorations and rather loud colors. There was a large Christmas tree in the corner, which looked as if someone had just thrown decorations on it.

"Does it really surprise you?" Harry asked as he took in the decorations.

There were several house elves, wearing their usually Hogwarts aprons, as well as little bow ties. They were carrying platters with crystal goblets filled with what looked to be punch as well as all kinds of snack food.

"Why Harry, so glad you made it, m'boy." Horace Slughorn bellowed as he approached Harry and Daphne. He was wearing a very festive looking smoking jacket and matching hat. He gave Harry a very firm handshake, and bowed in front of Daphne.

"There are quite a few people who'd I'd truly like you to meet." Taking Harry by the arm, Slughorn practically dragged Harry though the crowds of people milling about. Daphne only barely clung to her date as he was pulled bodily through the party, nearly falling over in her heeled shoes.

"This is This is Eldred Worple. He wrote that fascinating book 'Blood Brothers, My Life Amongst Vampires'. And this fellow is Sanguini, he is, in fact, a vampire."

Eldred Worple was a short balding man with thick glasses perched on a short, bulbous nose. He was dressed in a fine looking blue suit, and was busy examining a pastry as Slughorn pulled Harry up. Eldred looked over his thick glasses at Harry and gave a predatory smile. Immediately Harry felt on edge as the man offered a rather large hand. Harry shook it politely, but couldn't help feeling that he needed to wash it as soon as possible.

Sanguini, on the other hand was quite tall, and very pale, with soft pale blue eyes, which were focused on two girls that Harry thought belonged to Hufflepuff. His blonde hair was long, and slick back into a very aristocratic looking ponytail. He offered his hand as well, and Harry was fascinated by the coolness of the vampire's skin, and his thin fingers.

"It is indeed a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Potter. Your story is of course very well known, but I for one feel that it is full of holes. You are quite a mystery, one the public would be delighted to unravel. You could make quite a few galleons for yourself by allowing someone write your story."

"I appreciate the offer, sir, but I really have no interest in opening myself up in such a way. The public already knows much more about me than I would like."

Worple looked rather insulted, but said nothing. Slughorn gave a great belly laugh and clapped Harry on the back. The rotund Professor than guided Harry to a younger looking woman, that Harry thought he recognized.

"Gwenog Jones, who you will of course know as the captain of the Holy Head Harpies." Slughorn smiled broadly as Harry shook hands with the Quidditch captain. Gwenog was a very slime woman, who stood a few inches taller than Slughorn, and was dressed in a slim black dress, her dark hair pulled into a simple braid.

"It's an honor." Harry smiled. "This is Daphne Greengrass, my girlfriend."

"A delight." Daphne smiled, shaking Gwenog's hand.

"You are one very lucky young woman." Gwenog smiled. "From all I've read about this young man, half the witches in this castle would kill to be on his arm."

"Oh it isn't luck." Daphne grinned. "I simply made the effort to get his attention."

Gwenog laughed as did Slughorn, while Harry bent and kissed Daphne's cheek.

"Well, I should expect to be facing you on the field within the next couple of years. You're all the scouts seemed to be talking about this year. If my team wasn't exclusively for women, I'd be pushing our management to make you an offer. That last match was something to watch, and your performance in particular."

Harry blushed a bit, surprised to learn that the woman standing in front of him had seen his last game, the first of the season as it was. Harry waved the compliment off. "I'm nothing without my team."

"Excellent point, and very humble of you. I understand you are the Captain of your team this year." Gwenog said, taking a sip of her drink.

"I am. It's really a lot of work, but I enjoy it a lot."

"Do you think you'll take the championship this year?"

Harry shrugged. "We've had truly great teams since I've come to Hogwarts, but having a great team isn't everything. We can practice and work as hard as possible, but another team might prove better. I hope we can pull off a win, but who really knows."

"I'm am truly impressed.' Gwenog nodded. "Most captains would simply claim their superiority and be done with it. I wish you all the best."

"Thank you." Harry smiled. Slughorn had ambled off, presumably to speak with another of his famous guests. Harry took the opportunity and excused himself while he led Daphne away to find Hermione and Neville. They found a rather quiet corner where Harry stopped and turned to face the room, partly to watch for his friends, but also to watch for Slughorn.

"Look at you hob-knobbing with famous Quidditch players." Daphne smiled, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. Harry simply shook his head.

"Have you forgotten Viktor? He's probably the most famous person I know, and he's actually a friend."

"I know. I was trying to loosen you up. You've had a death grip on my hand since we got here."

Harry looked chagrined, and released her hand. Daphne gave him a warm smile and slipped her arms around his neck. She kissed his lips softly, and looked into eyes as she spoke to him.

"Relax, you're doing fine. Just remember to breathe, and pretend to be interested in whatever people are saying to you. You're already doing better than Slughorn in my book.. That oaf didn't bother to introduce me to anyone."

"That's the other thing. I felt like I was on display or something." Harry said, looking over Daphne's shoulder to see where Slughorn had gone to.

"Hey guys."

Hermione was leading Neville towards them. Neville was looking over his shoulder at Sanguini, who was still hungrily watching the two Hufflepuff girls, who seemed to be enjoying the attention.

"Can you believe Slughorn let a real vampire in here? If anyone gets hurt…" Neville said, still not taking his eyes off the creature.

"Hopefully he fed before he came here." Hermione said, and then seemed to remember what exactly Vampires fed on. Her face flushed, and she moved closer to Neville who wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"Is he really that dangerous?" Harry asked, looking to Daphne. "Or are we just looking for threats because of everything we've been preparing for?"

"A bit of both, I think." Daphne shrugged. "They can be dangerous, but it also depends on their original temperament, and as Hermione pointed out, if they've fed recently. I think he might be ok, but I hope someone is keeping an eye on him. Still, at least it isn't a banshee, or something." Daphne finished, looking around them. "Can we get something to drink?"

"I'm sorry." Harry said. "Why don't you wait here, I'll go get you something."

"Very gentlemanly of you.' Daphne smiled. Harry smiled back and kissed her hand, causing her smile to widen. Neville slipped away from Hermione and he and Harry went to fetch drinks for their ladies.

"How's he holding up?" Hermione asked.

"Just as you said he would. Brave face, but going insane inside. I though he was going to squeeze my hand off. He relaxed a bit when he was talking to the Quidditch woman, but I'm guessing it was because it was about Quidditch."

"Slughorn was waiting at the door for Harry to show up. He asked Neville and I if we knew where Harry was when we got here. He practically had people waiting around him. Oh no…"

"What?" Daphne asked with concern. Hermione simply pointed to where Harry was. Slughorn had apparently spotted Harry and Neville, and had surrounded him with a number of well known people to meet.

"Oh gods. What is wrong with that man?" Daphne said, beginning to go to Harry's aid when Hermione grabbed her arm.

"Hold it a second. We can't be rude."

"But…"

"Give it a minute or two, then we can sweep in and reclaim our men, and no one will argue with us. Even Slughorn won't be able to deny two amazing looking witches time with their wizards."

Daphne had to grin at Hermione's arched eyebrow and her words. Both she and Hermione did looked stunning, if they did say so themselves, and one thing Daphne knew was that no one would dare come between a well dressed witch and her man. She'd seen her mother tear her father away from boring old wizards at parties hundreds of times, though she'd never understood it at the time. Now it made sense. Her mother would sweep in and rescue her father from being bored to tears, or worse, bullied into something he didn't want any part of. Her mother was a hero.

The two girls waited, keeping their eyes locked on their men for a full five minutes before marching, though they made the act look elegant and sophisticated, and excusing themselves and begging forgiveness for stealing back their men.

"I. LOVE. You.' Harry sighed when they were far enough away from the crowd that Slughorn had surrounded him with. "I was dying over there."

"Well, I was thirsty, and you had my drink. Besides, It's my job to swoop in and save you from boredom." Daphne smiled as she sipped her glass. It was something bubbly with a very cherry taste to it. It was quite good she thought. Way better than your typical pumpkin juice.

"GET OFF OF ME!"

Harry and the others turned, as did most of the crowd, as a rather triumphant looking filch stormed into the room, pulling a struggling Draco Malfoy behind him. Harry noticed that Malfoy looked very drawn, and his face looked as if the skin had been pulled tight over his skull.

"Pardon me, Professor." Filch growled. "But I caught this boy out past curfew. He said he was invited to your party, but couldn't produce the invitation."

Slughorn looked a little confused as he looked at Draco, he opened his mouth to speak, but Draco cut him off.

"Alright, so I was gate crashing. Now get your filthy squib hands off of me before I remove them myself."

Draco struggled and squirmed until Filch lost his grip. From out of nowhere, Professor Snape swept over, and took Draco by the shoulder.

"I didn't know Snape was here." Harry whispered. From the shrugs and looks of surprise, none of his friends had noticed their former Potions master either.

"As this young man is a member of my house, I shall see to it he is properly punished for being out of bounds." Snape said, turning Draco back towards the door.

"Oh, come now, Severus. It is a Christmas party, no one can blame him for wanting to join the festivities."

"Be that as it may, He has broken the rules, and I know for a fact he has quite a lot of homework to be catching up on." Snape said over his shoulder as he Draco left.

"Come with me." Daphne said, grabbing hold of Harry's hand. At the door, she stopped and slipped her shoes off her feet, and led Harry out into the hall, placing a finger on her lips as she looked at Harry.

Harry was confused as to why they were following Snape and Draco, until he saw them slip into a classroom. Daphne and Harry came to the door, and each of them placed their ears to the door.

"- Reckless. If you'd just let me help you, I could…"

"NO!" Draco shouted. Harry and Daphne looked to each other with confusion.

"He gave this to me. I have to be the one to do it." Draco's voice sounded shaky.

"And what progress do you have to report? You're going to stand before him tomorrow night, and what do you have to show after all this time? Tell me, because all I see is one dead girl, who was a pureblood. He will not be very understanding."

"That wasn't supposed to happen." Draco said fiercely. "I don't know how she even got a hold of it.

"No kidding. You're treading on very dangerous ground, boy. You aren't meant to succeed. You were never meant to. That's why you were selected. You are punishment for your father's failure. Even you can't be so blind to see that."

"I'm better than my father could ever hope to be." Draco said, but Harry heard a bit of doubt in his rival's voice. He looked again to Daphne who mirrored his confusion. Draco had never ever sounded unsure of himself.

"If you are truly going to succeed, it won't be with some silly cursed necklace. I want you to accomplish your task, Draco. I do not want to see you hurt, or…"

"Killed? You're starting to sound like my mother. She thinks I'm incapable too."

"That is not true. Damn it, why are you so stubborn? I only want to help you."

"Help me? Are you sure? Are you sure that you don't want to turn me over to the Aurors? I've been warned about you. No one trusts you, you know. They all told me to watch out for you. They all think you're going to betray him." Draco accused, though he didn't sound very confident. Harry wished he could see Draco's face. He wondered if he was trying to sneer at Snape in an effort to appear more powerful or something.

"I don't care what anyone else thinks. The only opinion that matters is his, and he trusts me. It is why I am one of his most trusted, as you will be if you let me help you."

"Forget it, Snape." Draco said. Harry and Daphne heard him coming closer to the door, and quickly ran across the hall and slipped into a dark alcove. They each peered out as the door opened and Draco stormed out. A moment later, Snape swept out of the room, and followed after Draco.

"Do you think there's any chance at all they weren't talking about… V-Voldemort." Daphne asked.

"No." Harry said simply.

"So he is marked." Daphne sighed heavily, her shoulders falling slightly.

"Sounds like it, but until we can prove it, he's going to keep doing whatever it is he's doing." Harry whispered.

"Harry, I'm really afraid for him."

Harry turned to see Daphne's face, lit by the moon. She looked really afraid, and Harry wrapped his arms around his girlfriend.

"There's no question that he's a bastard, but he actually sounded frightened. I think he's in over his head. I mean, I don't think I will ever like him at all, but no one deserves to be set up to die. And he's so egotistical that he'd never realize that that's what's happening. You heard Snape."

"I know." Harry nodded. "He's not meant to succeed."

Harry looked down the hallway where both Snape and Draco had gone, and wondered what exactly Draco was supposed to be doing. Whatever it was, Harry knew it would not end well for anyone. They needed to do whatever they could to stop him, and see that he faced justice.