So this one's kind of long, atleast if you compare it to my usual lengths. I kind of wanted to finish the whole Harry/Daphne/Gabriel thing in this chapter but alas, it was not to be. I know there's a very distinct lack of Sirius and Hermione but I promise I'll make it up to it.

And, I don't say this enough, but thank you so much to each and every one of you who has ever read this fic or commented on it or interacted in any way, because you people are amazing. Y'all keep me going, and I can never thank you guys enough for it.

Also, I was wonderign if there's anyone who's willing to beta this fic? I'm not good at proofreading my own work, and I'm thinking that it would be better to post chapters that have been looked over for errors ;) If you're willing to beta my other fic, Moving In and maybe even Forbidden (which is complete) it would be great, but right now, this takes primacy.

Constructive criticism is always welcome :")

IMPORTANT A/N AT THE END, PLEASE READ.

Word count: 5286

(10/10/17)

"Sup, Hermione," Bree spoke as a way of greeting when Hermione finally managed to walk over to her. She hadn't quite realized how difficult it was to walk across the hall without being stopped every couple of steps by an overeager child. Not that she minded because it was quite endearing to see them come waddling up to her, wishing to tell her what they did throughout the day.

However, she was on a mission and finally, she had managed to disentangle herself from the children and reached her destination.

"Hello!" Hermione replied, looking at Gabriel with a smile on her face as she did.

"Hi, Gabriel. I'm Hermione," she introduced herself to the shy boy. He looked up at her with an adorably confused expression on his face before quickly turning to bury his head in Bree's shoulder.

"He's just a little shy," Bree explained as she tried to gently pry Gabriel away from her.

"Hey, Gabe, Hermione's not going to hurt you," she told the little boy, who was still stubbornly clinging to her. The boy in question looked up at her at that, and his lips hesitantly curved a little when he saw her smiling at him.

"Hi," she repeated. "How are you?"

"I good," he replied quietly. Hermione smiled fondly at that. Infants and toddlers were her favorite age groups, though she wasn't supposed to have one when she was at the School. Whatever they did almost seemed to melt her heart.

However, she knew Harry had a soft spot for the kids in primary school, the one she thought to be the most rambunctious of the lot so she didn't feel too guilty about having favorites.

"Do you like this place?" she asked, wanting to keep the conversation going. She knew it would take time to get this child to trust her, and she was willing to put in the time and effort for that.

"Yes," Gabriel nodded his head vigorously, almost falling out of Bree's arms as he did. "Here better than home."

Hermione cocked her head to the side and asked slowly, "Why do you say that, Gabriel?"

"Home always cold, not ha-" he suddenly stopped, looking up at her fearfully. Hermione realized with a jolt that it somehow seemed like he was looking through her, not at her. But...he was too young?

"I not tell her, Father, I not," he mumbled under his breath, so quietly that Hermione had to strain her ears to listen to what he was saying, "I be a good boy, no stinging, I be good."

With fury mounting in her as soon as Hermione understood what he was saying, the words being reciting almost like a litany, a prayer.

"Gabriel," she started, speaking through clenched teeth, "Does your father hurt you in any way?"

She knew she probably shouldn't have asked that, that it might just end up distancing him from her and break any beginnings of trust that was being formed between the two of them but she couldn't help it. Even the slightest bit of indication that this adorable little boy was being abused and she would raise heaven and hell to get the person behind it punished.

Although she tried her hardest not to show her anger to him, lest he get scared, she couldn't stop her hazel eyes from burning with fury. Gabriel's younger lip trembled as he looked at her, but his voice was determined as he answered.

"N-No, Miss. Herm, I not hurt by Father. Father is good person, he not hurt me," his voice was almost robotic, rehearsed as if this wasn't the first time he'd had to tell someone that.

She couldn't even bring herself to address the horrific butchering of her name, she was that riled up at that point. Before she could anything else that would probably have scared the boy even more, Bree held up a hand.

"Hermione," she said in a firm voice. "How about I get Gabe some hot chocolate to drink and you can talk to him later, hm?" Though her voice was stern, her eyes were tender and quietly asking her to step back for a moment.

"I-I'd like that, thank you, Bree," Hermione answered tightly, keeping her emotions in check. "Thank you for talking with me, Gabriel, I really enjoyed it. Maybe we can talk again?" She knew she was being way too formal to talk to a three year old, but when she was on the verge of any sort of outburst, she always distanced herself from things emotionally, figuring it would help in the long run.

Gabriel hesitantly looked at with his large blue eyes that made her heart stutter before giving her a sharp nod. Without saying anything, he turned back to Bree and burrowed himself in her neck. Bree looked at Hermione apologetically before standing up and walking over to the refreshments table, where she poured out a mug of hot chocolate for the tiny boy in her arms.

It was time for the day school kids to be picked up and Hermione was frustrated. Her talk with Gabriel had been entirely unhelpful, other than to confirm the fact that there was something wrong going on. His extremely hesitant demeanour, along with a few other things she'd noticed, had alarm bells ringing in her head. It was such that she was actually hoping that Daphne was the one to pick him up that day.

Daphne usually only picked him up once a week, if that. All other times, it was a tiny little house elf that was apparently bonded to the Greengrass family. While Hermione still did not like the concept of a house elf, she understood that they needed the bond to survive, unlike her younger self. Other than that, Daphne wasn't the first Pureblood who used a house elf to drop their child and then come back for them. In that respect, she was actually quite...normal.

But, on this particular day, Hermione was quite eager to see the blonde beauty walk into the building, for she had quite a few words to say to her. And quite a few questions to ask as well.

As she turned to look at the monitor that was hooked to the security camera that showed the entrance of the School, her thoughts strayed to the various muggle objects they had adapted into their establishment. It started with small things, like a manual bell at the door along with revealing charms. The reason for that was just in case someone didn't send an owl, or had a house elf to inform the people inside the School of their coming, they could use the bell. It was much more convenient than any of the complicated wizarding ways like sending a patronus or penning a letter.

And as understanding of magic and its applications increased, several charms and runes were devised to use muggle appliances in Wizarding establishments and so they moved on to the digital camera, as the place started to expand and take in more children, for convenience and security. There was no hassle of casting and recasting charms, wards and spells in this case. Other than this, they used quite a lot of muggle appliances in the kitchens, and for washing.

The School employed quite a number of house elves to help around. Hermione had made sure all of them had willingly entered the contract Harry had written out. Of course, it had taken quite some persuasion on their part for them to even consider entering into a contract but it had finally been worked out well enough and now, all the elves got a day off each week. It was on this week that these muggle appliances came into use, for all the work was done by Bree, Hermione, Sirius and Harry, and both Harry and her were more comfortable with the muggle methods than the magical ones.

Soon enough, they had even started bringing in entertainment devices like record players, and even a television. Although they only had one of it in the whole place, and it wasn't as wide ranging as a regular muggle television was, it was still a big hit. They were even working on getting a computer into the School. The more complicated the device, the harder it is to ward it securely enough that it doesn't just go off with a bang as soon as it's turned on. It was, therefore, quite a miracle that they had managed to get in even the one television that they had.

Because she was so lost in her thoughts, however, she didn't notice the black robes figure entering through the door until she was right in front of her.

"Uhm," the person cleared her throat, somewhat nervously, "I'm here for Gabriel?"

Hermione blinked, her normally warm brown eyes sharpening as she looked into the panicked blue eyes of Daphne Greengrass.

"Hello, Daphne. I think it's about time we talked, don't you?"

Daphne paled.

Bugger, bugger, bugger, the normally composed Daphne Greengrass cursed mentally, why couldn't I just send Lotty to pick Gab up? It would have meant I wouldn't have to face..her.

But even as she already regretted stepping foot into the building, she knew she would've done the same had she known the outcome. This was one of the only times she was free, in all senses of the word. There were very, very few things that would make her skip her weekly routine of dropping and picking Gab up, and although the woman with the crackling brown hair standing in front of her was scary, she wasn't one of them.

Daphne knew very well what Hermione Granger could do to her, should she wish to. She had heard the stories that circulated in the Hogwarts rumor mill. Hermione was the brains behind the Golden Trio. She could ruin someone without lifting a single finger, if Rita Skeeter was any example, and she when she did lift a finger, it ended in the utter annihilation of the person it was against. An image of Umbridge came into her mind and she barely suppressed a shudder.

This was not someone she wanted to cross, Daphne thought, not if she valued her life, as incredibly contemptible it was right now.

It was the knowledge that she didn't really have anything else to lose should she talk to Hermione Granger, and that even if she didn't want to she didn't have a choice in it, that made her nod resolutely.

"Yes, I think it is." It was all she could do to keep her voice from wavering. She could see the surprise that appeared on the brunette's face at her answer, probably because she did not expect Daphne to be so acquiescing. Daphne didn't expect herself to be so acquiescing but, she was a Slytherin first and foremost and self preservation was something that had been ingrained in her over the years.

And if she was being honest with herself, a tiny part of her hoped that maybe Hermione would be able to help her. Though Daphne was sure she was perfectly capable of it, she just wasn't sure whether she would want to. If she was in her shoes, she definitely would not. But then, she wasn't a Gryffindor with a conventional moral compass and self righteous indignation on behalf of others, and that's where all the difference lay.

Hermione looked at her for a moment, scrutinizing her from head to toe before she asked, "Would you mind if we moved this to Harry's room?"

She did this on purpose, was the first thought that went through Daphne's mind as soon as she heard...Harry's name. Even after all these years, it was still painful for her. Granted, she thought bitterly, most would say she didn't even have the right to say that after what she..did, but that didn't lessen the pain, didn't remove the guilt.

She could see Hermione looking at her carefully, watching her for...something. Daphne wouldn't give her the satisfaction, though. At least..not yet.

"Yes, that would be fine," she replied tightly, not letting her voice betray the whirlwind of emotions that had taken over her body. Hermione's eyes narrowed but she nodded, before turning around and walking over to a door a little over to the right. She opened the door and stepped to the side expectantly, waiting for Daphne to enter before her. She did so obediently but did not for one moment think it was out of any sense of politeness or courtesy, but probably because she deemed Daphne a threat and would not walk to keep her back to her.

Daphne could appreciate that, although it did sting a bit. Over the course of her short lived romance with Harry, she had grown quite close to Hermione, despite not seeing her very often due to her travels. They had owled each other quite frequently and she hadn't realized how much she craved an intellectually stimulating friendship until she met Hermione. While they weren't similar, they did share some interests and that was their common base. And while they would never become the best of friends, they did have each others backs.

Which made her leaving that much more painful. She didn't just leave Harry, but everything that had come along with him; new friendships, a family she never thought she'd have and a sense of being loved and protected.

As she entered the room, she was hit with a wave of emotion. Looking around, she could say with utter certainty that this was Harry Potter's room, even if she hadn't known it beforehand. It was just so...him. The walls were a pleasant maroon color, with a pale golden network of crisscrosses going along one wall. The result was a classy finish to an otherwise standard room, while at the same time, a proud proclamation of his House.

The walls were lined with pictures, as was the huge mahogany desk that was set against one wall. Pictures, both Wizarding and muggle, of everyone ranging from his biological family to his chosen family. She could see quite a lot in the pictures; Lily Evans' raging red hair, James Potter's messy black hair, Sirius Black's perpetually smirking face, Teddy Lupin's ever changing countenance, Hermione Granger's laughing face, Ron Weasley's lanky frame, a number of different kids whom she assumed went to the School, and finally...Harry, always wearing his ridiculous glasses and his patented lopsided grin on his face.

The warmth, and feeling of comfort that the room gave off brought tears to the Slytherin Ice princess' eyes. This was what she had missed for so many years, this feeling was what had given her the will to live once again before it was ripped away from her and now that she had a taste of it once again, she didn't quite think she could let it go again.

A silent sob wracked through her body and she placed a delicate hand over her mouth to hide it because, in some detached part of her mind, she realized that she was not alone and despite her hope that Hermione would help her, it wouldn't do for her to show any weakness just now.

She loudly cleared her throat, willing herself to calm down, quite aware of the moisture in her eyes. When she felt she was suitably composed, she turned around to look at Hermione, who was still standing near the door, although it was now closed and probably warded, and silently watching her.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Daphne asked. Even though she knew what Hermione wanted to talk about, she wouldn't just go into this with all her cards on the table.

"Wait, what about Gab? Where is he going to be?" Daphne cut Hermione off before she could reply, her voice taking on a worried tone.

"Gabriel is just fine, Daphne. I told Bree that you'd be a little while before you could pick him up and he's playing with the other kids. I assure you, he would not notice your absence for some time," Hermione replied calmly. Daphne let out a quiet sigh of relief. While, rationally, she knew that no harm could come to her son at this place, she still worried about him quite a bit, especially with all the things her poor baby had to go through. This endeavour with the day school as the first time she had actually let him out of his sight for so long. It still pulled at her to see him all teary eyed as he left.

"Thank you," Daphne said, wishing her eyes could convey the gratitude her eyes couldn't. Even though Hermione might not understand why her reassurance was a big deal, it still mattered to Daphne.

"Now," Hermione continued, her voice becoming icy and reminding Daphne that she was a War Hero who had fought in an actual War, thus making her someone not to mess with, "Are you going to tell me what happened three years ago, or do I have to somehow force it out of you?"

"Because make no mistake, Daphne, I will do it if I feel I have to. Harry has been living the past three years without any form of closure and you fucked him up worse than anything else and if I'm being honest with you, there are some people who would never forgive you for it. I don't what you're playing at, bringing your son here, but let me tell you, your presence is severely affecting Harry and I don't like to see him hurt."

"So, are you going to start talking?"

During her little speech, Hermione had made her way towards the large desk, leaning against it with her hands crossed across her chest. She was looking at Daphne expectantly, though her eyes held anger, flaming and burning anger that Daphne had no doubt would be unleashed on her if she did not comply.

So she did.

"I know you'll probably find this hard to believe, but I truly did not leave Harry out of my own choice," Daphne had a lot of things she wished to say, needed to say, but this, this was the most important out of all of them. She needed Hermione to understand that she did not just walk out of Harry's life because she wanted to or because she had gotten bored of him or any such ridiculous reason.

The woman in front of her raised a pointed eyebrow, frowning in disbelief. Daphne didn't blame her. In fact, she was still surprised she wasn't being hexed left, right and center. If their roles were reversed, and she was the one with an aching best friend, she certainly wouldn't be holding back.

"I..It's a long story," Daphne continued hastily, "Do you have time for it right now? Because I don't think I'll be able to talk to you again."

Hermione frowned harder. "What does that mean? Why would not be able to talk again?"

Daphne bit her lip, an uncharacteristically unusual move that visibly shocked Hermione. "That..is something I can only tell you when you've gotten a bit of context. But before that, do you have at least an hour at hand and can someone look after Gabriel for that long?"

Hermione cleared her throat. "I-Yes, I have an hour, and Bree is about to leave but Sirius can look after Gabriel. As I said, you don't have to worry." Daphne nodded in obvious relief but the mention of Sirius Black had sent shivers down her back. And not in the good way.

She would not want to face Sirius Black, not now, not ever.

Glancing at Daphne, Hermione turned to pull two chairs towards her, one for herself and offering the other to Daphne as soon as she sat down. Daphne gave her a grateful smile and sat down herself, primly crossing one leg over the other. Her calm outward look was ruined by her wringing hands, however, which belied her true nervousness.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. When her eyes opened, her blue orbs had a determination they didn't have previously.

"I was very, very happy with Harry, Hermione," she started hesitantly, not quite sure how to begin but starting off with the one thing she knew for sure- her love for Harry.

"I'd never had a very happy life- before, during or after Hogwarts. My whole life, as far as I can remember, I've had to act in a certain manner. Before coming to Hogwarts, it was dictated by my parents, who were the quintessential Pureblood couple who believed themselves to be higher than everyone else. When I came to Hogwarts, I had to act according to my House rules."

Here, Hermione interrupted her with a raised hand, "House rules? Gryffindor never had any, and as far as I could tell neither of the other houses did either. In fact, I've never heard anything about anything like this."

"That's because we weren't allowed to disclose any of it, to anyone. Even Slytherins who had siblings, or friends in other houses couldn't speak of it. And the reason you've never heard any other house having their own rules is that they don't have any in the first place."

"But, why did only Slytherin have these rules then?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Because Slytherin was the one house that was needed them, Hermione," Daphne said wryly, "Simply put, Slytherins didn't have anyone but themselves. The moment your clothes turned green and silver, it was like you were branded. You couldn't go from one place to another without making people around you suspicious. Getting randomly hexed in the corridors, being on the receiving end of the worst pranks, and even getting prejudiced treatment from the teachers was an everyday occurrence for us."

"Yo-I-Surely-? I, It couldn't have been that bad?" Hermione spluttered indignantly even as the memory of certain red haired twins stuffing Graham Montague into the Vanishing Cabinet- a broken Vanishing Cabinet- entered her mind.

Daphne smiled, a bitter smile that told Hermione better than words that she was telling the truth, "Be grateful you weren't in Slytherin, they would have chewed you alive. And I'm not just saying that because of your blood status."

Hermione's jaw had dropped open a little at her words, but she hastily closed it before asking in a hesitant sort of voice, "What were..that is, if you don't...I mean..Can you tell me what the rules were?"

"No travelling in the corridors alone, no interacting with people of other houses unless absolutely necessary, always present a united front outside your House even if you disagree, never fight a student of your own house, never lift a wand to a student of your house, always help a Snake if you see them in trouble regardless of what you personally feel for them, do not go to any teacher other than Professor Snape in case of a problem and if you do take up a fight with someone outside your house do. not. get. caught," Daphne recited in a monotonous tone. With each word that rolled off her tongue, Hermione seemed to be getting more and more horrified.

From the look on her face, Daphne surmised that she never realized the true extent of what Slytherins faced in school. No one other other than a Snake probably ever would, either.

"So, there were people even in Slytherin who never bought into the blood purity bullshit?" Hermione asked quietly, looking for all the world like her very foundations were shaken. Which, Daphne guessed, was close enough to the actual truth. Most people, and by that she meant three fourths of the people passing out of Hogwarts, liked to paint all Slytherins with the same brush and preferred putting them in one rigid box. Being told that they're wrong and that the reality is far different than what they had built for themselves tended to not go over very well for them.

"Hermione," Daphne leaned forward a little, her gaze holding Hermione's unflinchingly, "there were people in Slytherin who didn't even what half those words meant. Most of the children in my house, including me and even Draco, had never seen a muggle or a muggle born until we had entered Hogwarts. Hell, I can bet that Draco has still never seen a muggle. At least half, if not more, of Slytherin acts like it does because that is what is expected of them. Because they're painted with the same brush, and because of the house rules, they have to present a united front. And that includes pretending to have the same ideology, even when you don't."

"These rules were meant to be defensive by their very nature, meant to protect the students in the house, especially the younger years who did not know why random people they'd never met called them Death Eater scum in the hallways, or hexed them out of nowhere. As we grow up, these rules are embedded in our very identity and it's like our safety net. We can't change even if we want to," Daphne finished, sadness glinting in her eyes and a note of frustration running through her voice.

"Dear Merlin," gasped Hermione, hand over her mouth and eyes shining with unshed tears.

Daphne smiled sadly, "I can assure you, the reality is vastly different to what people like to think of Slytherin as. But that's not what we're here to talk about today. If we were to talk about the unfair treatment Slytherins faced on a regular basis, I'm afraid this discussion won't end, and I don't have a lot of time left."

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath, trying to get her emotions under control. When she felt like she was sufficiently composed, she nodded, not speaking just yet but indicating to Daphne that she should continue.

Looking at her for a moment, Daphne started again when she decided that Hermione was alright.

"So as I was saying, in Hogwarts, I had to act according to these rules. Despite never agreeing once with Draco's bullshit, I had to pretend as if I did, or at the very least, stay quiet. In the dorms, I couldn't say anything either because how could I have? I didn't have support from anyone; my parents were useless and the other kids were scared shitless of Draco and his gang to go against him."

"All of this led to me always growing up in a certain way, putting on a certain mask. I've always shielded myself, body and heart, from everyone. Harry was the first person to break through it."

She could see Hermione wanted to say something, wanted to ask her questions and it took her quite some effort to not interrupt her. She took a moment to decide what to say next because there was so much to say and not nearly enough time for everything.

"When I was travelling, I was free. I didn't have to act according to someone else's rules, and I could in a way I had never been able to. When I met Harry, I think it was a toss up for who was more guarded out of the two of us. I never thought I would meet someone who had as many shields up as I did, and here was someone who was probably even worse than me. The fact that it was Harry Potter, Golden Boy of Gryffindor made it even more surprising. It took us quite a while to get past them."

A fond smile grew on her face as she remembered the day she met Harry. She could remember it so clearly, as if it was imprinted on the back of her lids. She wouldn't be surprised if it was, that day changed something in her whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not.

They were in a town called Coorg, a small hill station towards the south of India, and it was sheer coincidence that they happened to meet. In such a vast country, with so many different places to visit, and the both of them just happened to be in the same not very well known town at the same time? Had she not been staunchly against the concept of Divination and Fate, she would say that it was almost like they were destined to meet. As it was, she didn't believe in that rot and was content with calling it a coincidence.

She was just roaming around on the streets listlessly, when she spotted a head covered with extremely familiar messy black hair. Of course, she didn't believe that it was Harry in the beginning because she had no reason to. But still, she had walked over to him and tapped him on the back, all the while convinced that she would not see a familiar face with round glasses and a lopsided grin.

That was exactly what she had seen.

His eyes had widened to an almost comical degree and his jaw had actually dropped open and a strangled 'Daphne' escaped his lips. Daphne was surprised that he even knew her, knew how she looked, knew her name because everyone knew Harry Potter, no one knew Daphne Greengrass.

They had coordinated their meetings after that, indirectly of course. Neither of them wanted to admit it but the comfort of having a familiar face in a foreign land, regardless of the fact that they had once stood on opposing sides, or well, almost opposing sides, was more than enough for them to put any lingering animosity they might have had for each other out of the way. Not that there really was any, if she was being honest, at least on her side. And as she found out later, there wasn't any on his as well.

With memories of their time in India running through her thoughts and a smile playing across her lips, she continued. "I was truly happy for the entire time I was with Harry. I never quite realized how much I was craving love and affection and freedom until I had it all. We were perfect for each other."

"But, our relationship was destined to crash and burn. It was like a flare, burning bright and almost blindingly in the beginning, but then suddenly dying, with the same intensity. There was no slow fizzling of the flame, no warning, it just happened. And I should've known, I should've known my past would catch up to me, and I should've known that I would never really be free."

Hermione looked up at that. She had been uncharacteristically quiet up until now. Daphne knew that was unusual. Hermione Granger was definitely not a woman of few words. She always had something to say and she would damn well say it if she so wished.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked cautiously. Her eyes, while not as cold as they were when Daphne had first walked in, were still very guarded. Daphne had to work to hide the hurt she was feeling at that, even though she knew she completely deserved it.

"I mean that my parents are complete arseholes who don't care an iota for their own daughter," Daphne replied bitterly. She could still remember the utter loathing she had felt for her own parents. She still did, but it wasn't as volatile as it had been back then.

"They wanted me to marry someone else, someone who they felt would be very profitable to their own coffers. They were willing to exchange their own daughter for money."

I am so pleased to say that this fic has been nominated in TWO categories for the Marauder Medals held by Shrieking Shack Society; Best Romance and Best WIP. If you guys think this fic deserves it, it would mean A LOT to me if you could just take a minute out to vote :")

The link is up on my profile. Thank you so much!