AN: Once again I express my love for all of you who take the time to give me your thoughts on each chapter, because I feel like I don't tell you enough. Now, to address concerns.
I am aware that I do have several typos and mistakes in my chapters- for this, I apologize. I have been on the hunt for a Beta ever since I began writing this story, but I am picky. You all are aware of the fact that I post quite often, yes? Well, I want to keep it that way. So, until I can find a Beta that can keep up with me, I ask all of you to bear with me on the small mistakes. I'm sorry if they make reading my story a bit distracting, and I'll review them a bit more before I post, but please bear with me?
I assure all of you that there IS a legitimate reason for Ron to be acting like such a prat, though it will not be revealed until the end.
Also, I'm glad you all enjoyed the view of a half-naked Draco.
Disclaimer: Rowling made the characters; I just like to play with them.
Gryffindor Boy's Dorm, Daphne:
Something was crushing her. She couldn't breathe. What was on top of her? What was going on? Where was she?
As she opened her sleep crusted eyes, a loud snore sounded in her ear. With that snore came memories of the night before, memories that told her the slightly smelly bed she was curled up in at the moment was Theo's- and that he was the huge mass currently attempting to make Daphne become one with his mattress. With a groan she tried to shift him off of her, but to no avail. Circe, what did Theo eat, rocks? Straining, she tried again, but this only resulted in Theo throwing his arm around her and snoring even louder than he had been before. With a defeated sigh, she prepared herself. Daphne hadn't wanted to wake him but right now air was becoming something she thought she had survived ages without. Pivoting onto her hip and snaking her arm out behind her, Daphne's hand shot forward to a spot just under Theo's ribs, where she knew him to be quite ticklish.
With a strangled yelp, Theo woke up and bounced to alertness. Apparently he didn't remember that Daphne had shared his bed last night because when his arm collided with something squashy and warm (Daphne's shoulder) he screamed, jumped, and fell off of his bed into a tangle of limbs on the floor. His tawny hair was mussed and his mouth agape as he stared at Daphne as though she was a rare creature he had never seen before. Daphne was trying so hard to contain her laughter that her ribs began to hurt. But when, moments later, Theo curtains were magically thrown open and Daphne was faced with 2 wands aimed at her, the moment of hilarity died.
She knew then, how Harry had won the War. He and his friends had quick reflexes- and the stares she was given were enough to quicken her pulse make her gulp.
Note to self: Never startle a Gryffindor.
After a tense moment of silence, Neville and Harry both blinked and lowered their wands, frowning slightly as the ghosts of their pasts haunted them in their sleepy states.
"Merlin, Daph, th'bloody'ell wassat fr?" Theo asked as he yawned and climbed back into his bed. If nothing else, his statement broken the tension in the room, and was rewarded with a shake of the head from Neville and a sleepy smile from Harry.
"You were crushing me, Theo. Honestly, dear, if you ever plan to bring a girl back to your bed to need to get rid of the funny smell. Not to mention learn how to sleep without crushing the girl into said smelly mattress. You wouldn't budge!"
"Time is it, Nev?" grunted Harry as he relaxed backwards into his four-poster.
"Close to 7, so it's still early yet," Neville replied as he searched for his slippers.
Harry put his pillow over his face to block out the light and groaned, mumbling something incoherent. Daphne thought she overheard 'girls' and 'morning' and possibly even something about the Dark Lord. This was only slightly cleared up by Neville's response to him.
"I cut the head off his snake and the sun doesn't seem to care enough about that to stop shining so early for me, either."
This was rewarded with a snort from Potter, and the next thing she knew his curtains were drawn again and she could hear a happy hum coming from his bed- presumably at the darkness.
"You could understand him?" she asked, trying to fight off the yawn determined to claim her. Theo shifted in his bed and almost knocked her to the floor, earning himself a glare that was completely lost on the back of his head.
"Yea," Neville said. He finished pulling on his slippers and was searching for his bathing things in his trunk as he spoke. "After a few years you learn how to understand his sleep talk. He won't even remember this when he finally wakes up, if he falls asleep quick enough."
Guilt consumed Daphne. These boys had been nothing but nice to her and here she was, ruining their sleep! "Oh no, can you not fall back asleep? I'm sorry I-"
"No, no, it's alright. I get up this early every morning. I go and help Professor Sprout in the Greenhouses before everyone else wakes up, an alarm would have woken me in about five minutes anyway, really."
Relief flooded her as she tried to force once of Theo's legs over so she could lie back down, but he was having none of it. She knew full well that her friend was still awake- the years of sleepovers as children that had turned the two into something like a brother and sister had also given her a wealth of knowledge about his sleeping habits. She desperately hoped Ginny wouldn't need to stay with Granger again anytime soon. Soft laughter made her look up- Neville was watching her war for space.
"Go ahead and take mine, it's not like I'll be using it," he said, smiling. The warmth in his voice startled her almost as much as the kind offer itself. It was times like these that reminded Daphne she wasn't in Slytherin anymore.
"A-are you sure?"
"'Course! It's an empty bed. And besides, I got knocked onto Theo's bed sometime last week- I know how bad it smells," he explained. Seeing Daphne's hesitation, he continued. "Really, take it. I'll come back when I'm done and then Ginny should be back. We'll all go down to breakfast. These two are loud when they wake up, so they'll wake you with plenty of time to get ready."
She knew that she really ought to refuse, but Theo's bed was just awful and she just wanted some sleep. With a smile of deep gratitude she left Theo's bed and collapsed onto Neville's, she couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips if she had tried. His bed was so warm and comfortable, much like Neville himself. Not to mention it smelled amazing. She couldn't quite place the smell, but it was spicy and good. She could hear Neville chuckle.
"You alright there?" he asked.
"Neville your bed is fantastic," she said with feeling. Already she could feel the tendrils of sleep approaching her as she buried herself deeper into his blankets and that wonderful smell. "And it smells so good."
He laughed again. "Well, thanks, I think."
"That's it, whenever Ginny isn't here, screw Theo. I'm sleeping with Neville," she mumbled, barely aware of what she was saying. She would be embarrassed later, she knew, but right now she didn't give a damn. Across the room she heard chuckle from 3 separate places, meaning that none of the others were asleep yet.
"Hear, hear!" came from Theo.
"Noted," called out Harry, though his voice was as sleep laced as Daphne's.
"Sweet Dreams, Daphne," Neville called out, just as sleep finally took her and she sighed into his pillow, comfortable at last.
Neville Longbottom was grinning as he left the room, humming happily at the fantastic start to his morning.
Great Hall, Draco:
He hadn't seen Granger or Little Red yet that morning, for which he was thankful. He wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing Granger so soon after what had happened during his shower last night. Not that she knew about it, of course, but he wanted to clear his head of the images he'd created in his mind before he had to look at her again. There were just so many things he was confused about, things he had thought about so often lately that they were beginning to make his brain hurt. He felt like he was betraying everything he had ever known, just by thinking of Thomas and Granger as people. But then, was betraying all he had grown up knowing a bad thing?
But if he did that, what was left of him? Who was he?
Draco had expected change after the War, but it was all happening way so fast, so fast that he felt as if he had fallen into the Lake and the Giant Squid held him under the water. He was struggling with himself, and felt like he was fighting against everything and nothing at once. He needed someone to confide in, but was afraid to say the words out loud lest they actually became real. Draco was grasping at the fraying edges of his sanity, and he wasn't quite sure how much longer he was going to last before he drowned inside himself.
These thoughts attacked him mercilessly until he sat himself in his usual seat at the table. So distracted was he, that it took him a moment to notice that although both Blaise and Pansy were seated, Granger was nowhere in sight. He swung his head around; hoping to catch a glimpse of her seated at another table, before Pansy put her hand on his arm and motioned for him to relax.
"Little Red took her up to visit Dean; I'm going to pick her up before potions and am bringing her some breakfast. No need to be so worried," she admonished. A curious look was in her eyes, and she refused to stop watching him. What she was searching for, he had no idea because there was nothing to find, but it unsettled him all the same.
"I just don't want to get stuck with all of the Head's Duties. We have that Masque coming up for Halloween and she hasn't- Blaise, what are you staring at?" Draco asked. His friend's eyes had been glued to the Ravenclaw table ever since Draco had sat down, and while he wasn't going to bring it up earlier, he would take any way to distract Pansy he could get.
"Wha-oh, no reason," Blaise muttered, quickly returning to his breakfast and looking about the Great Hall, possibly in search for a distraction. Draco saw his eyes widen in triumph as he found one. "Look who it is…"
Curiosity piqued, Draco turned to see Thomas' attackers entering the Hall. Draco pulled out his wand and hid it slightly before half-turning to see Blaise and Pansy doing the same. Well, Granger had given them free reign, so long as they didn't land the lowlife's in the Hospital Wing.
This was exactly what Draco needed to get his mind off of things.
The trio grinned without a trace of humor in their eyes.
Great Hall, Ginny:
Parkinson may have been bringing Hermione some breakfast, but Ginny was on her own. And so she raced back to the Great Hall after dropping Hermione off in the Hospital Wing to visit Dean- her stomach screaming at her all the while. She walked in just after Malfoy, and though she needed to talk to him, her stomach was far more important at this point. Not to mention that unless Malfoy had been given a personality transplant (possible, considering his behavior, but unlikely) she figured that he had been eavesdropping while she had sorted things with Hermione. And so, when Ginny sat down at the table and gave Harry a quick kiss, she didn't have a single worry.
Her lips still tingled from where they had met Harry's, a feeling that still made her giddy. Even after all this time a quick peck on the lips still made warmth crawl over her skin and tingle everywhere he touched, something she thought to be a miracle. Yes, she may appreciate the attractiveness of other men, but Harry would always have her heart.
It wasn't until she had taken a bite out of her raspberry muffin that she remembered she had to break some news to Daphne. It could wait until lunch, but the more time they had to plan sleeping arrangements, the better. With one last longing look at her muffin, she set it down with a sigh. Ginny wondered if she ought to just blurt it out, or if it should be handled more delicately, but then Harry spoke up and solved the problem for her.
"So how did things go with Hermione? Is she alright?" he asked, concern heavy on his brow. She felt a pang go through her heart for Harry, who was once again caught between his two friends. Even though Ronald was behaving like a total twat, Harry still didn't have it in him to abandon him completely. They didn't talk much, she knew, but it was still enough so that Harry's concern for both of his friends was very high.
"She's alright, but she's can't sleep alone. Not just yet," Ginny said. She was only being vague because she knew that others were listening, and though it wasn't a huge secret that Hermione went through Hell during the war and her nightmares would be understood, she doubted that she would want it spread around. Recognition dawned in Harry's eyes, and Ginny knew he had caught on. He could be dense and tactless, but she liked to think he was improving. Ginny now turned to Daphne, who was seated across from her. "This means, that I'm going to be staying with Hermione for a while."
Ginny's tone was apologetic, but a wave of guilt still crashed into her when she saw the other girl's face fall a little bit. Ginny had opened her mouth to apologize and start coming up with ideas on what they could do with Daphne, when she noticed both Harry and Theo grinning. And was Neville- were his ears turning pink?
"Well, that won't be a problem," Theo proclaimed. "Daphne and Neville got that little problem sorted this morning, didn't they?"
In front of her Daphne groaned and put her head in her arms. Neville's ears were definitely turning pink, but there was no denying the small smile on his face, despite his best efforts to hide it.
"I was waiting for that, really, I was," Daphne muttered, still refusing to look at anyone. Ginny was lost.
"Well at least you know that Nev's bed smells so good… "Harry teased. "It shouldn't be a problem at all now, will it?"
"Leave her alone Harry," Neville demanded, throwing a muffin at him to emphasize his point. Although the marvelous grin on his face wildly contradicted his harsh tone. Ginny was knocked speechless. One night gone and she had missed something?
"See, at least one of you three is a gentleman!" Daphne exclaimed, finally coming out of the shelter she had made of her arms. Her cheeks were tinged a delicate shade of pink, and she was refusing to look anyone in the eye.
"Good thing that it's the man you're going to be sharing a bed with, then, isn't it?" Theo said, earning himself an elbow in the side from Daphne and a muffin in the head from Neville.
Ginny had no idea what they were talking about and was about to demand that someone fill her in, before a commotion at the front of the Great Hall put an end to the subject. There, in a giant heap, were several Slytherins on the ground, surrounded by sheaves of parchments, quills, books, scarves- all of it drenched in ink from assorted broken ink bottles. Their bags had been split open, and all of them looked to have been hit by a trip jinx.
"Looks like we now know exactly who attacked Thomas," Theo said quietly, and he was quite somber about it. A moment later, Ginny remembered why. She turned to see Daphne, half out of her seat, a look of distress had robbed her of the blush that she had worn just moments ago.
"Tori…!" she exclaimed softly, attempting to get out of her seat, before Theo pulled her back down and held her there.
"Stop it Daph, you know the rules."
"I'm not a Slytherin anymore, Theo. I don't have to follow them anymore," Daphne said as she struggled, trying to free herself. "She's my little sister, for Salazar's sake!"
Ginny's heart hurt to hear the words, because she remembered what had happened. And although Astoria was still Daphne's sister, Daphne was most certainly not Astoria's. Unsure of what to do, she felt Harry grab her hand and held it tightly for comfort.
"No, Daph, I'm sorry. Right now she isn't…"
The single sob that tore from Daphne's throat was enough to break Ginny's heart. About to reach out to comfort her, Ginny then noticed that Neville was pulling the girl slightly closer, and had an arm around her shoulders. She also saw the look of gratitude Theo sent his way, because he knew that Daphne wouldn't want to be touched by him right now.
Sometime, when things had calmed down a little, someone really had to explain what it was Ginny had missed. But for now, she used her free hand to grab Daphne's, to offer what little comfort she could possibly give.
AN: Aaaaaand, that's it! Reviews make my heart smile!