Chapter 8

Rejection of a Shattered Soul

Daphne woke up early on Monday morning, the first day of classes. She didn't have any classes that morning, but she did have a second period class. Today and Wednesday would be her fullest days.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, she, Tracey, and Blaise went to breakfast, where they met up with all of their friends.

"Good morning, Daphne, Tracey," Susan greeted them as they sat down at the Hufflepuff table. A glance around the great hall revealed that they were not the only ones who'd mixed tables. Ever since Harry first decided to change which table they sat at, the idea of befriending people from other houses had caught on.

Harry…

None of them had been able to see Harry Potter in the hospital wing. When they'd tried to see him, Harry had disappeared. According to Madam Pomfrey, Harry had been in good health and was let out of the hospital. None of them had been pleased, but they figured it just meant that they would see him later on.

Not so. Harry had disappeared. None of them knew where he'd gone, not even Neville and Astoria, who shared the Gryffindor dorms with him. For all intents and purposes, Harry Potter was gone, even though he was still somewhere in Hogwarts.

"Daphne!" Astoria called out as she ran into the Great Hall. Neville was trailing behind her.

"Stori," Daphne greeted her sister with a hug. "Did you sleep well?"

"Hm!" Astoria nodded with a big smile on her face. "It's really comfortable here, and all of the girls are nice enough, though they like to ask a lot of questions."

"What kind of questions?" Daphne asked, looking at Neville, who shrugged.

"They kept asking me about Harry Potter," Astoria said as she put food on her plate.

"What did you tell them?"

"That I don't know anything about Harry Potter." Astoria shoved a spoonful of hot oatmeal into her mouth, moaning as she savored the flavor. "This is so good!"

"Our first class is care of magical creatures, isn't it?" Lisa said to Hannah.

"Yep." Hannah munched on some toast. "I wonder how that's going to turn out. You're not taking Care of Magical Creatures, are you, Daphne?"

Daphne shook her head. "I didn't think there'd be much point in me taking that class, since it's not something that could help me in the future."

"I'm excited for Care of Magical Creatures," Neville admitted.

"I didn't know you liked animals," Tracey said. "I thought you were a plant nerd."

"Thanks, Tracey," Neville said somewhat dryly.

"You have a real way with words," Blaize added.

"Urk! I-I'm sorry!" Tracey apologized. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Smooth, Trace," Daphne said. "Real smooth."

"Aww! Shut up!"

As the Great Hall became filled with more students, Professor McGonagall walked over to them. "Excuse me, but have any of you seen Mr. Potter? I have been searching for him ever since he snuck out of hospital wing, but have had not had any luck."

So, even the teachers can't find him..

"I'm sorry, Professor," Neville started. "We haven't we haven't seen or heard from him since the end of last year."

"I see." Professor McGonagall sighed. "Well, if you see him, please tell him that I have his schedule and the device that he needs to attend them all."

Daphne wondered what device she was talking about, but the transfiguration professor left soon after receiving speaking with Neville.

"You know, seeing Professor McGonagall reminds me, but, where the bloody hell is Harry?" Tracey asked.

Daphne wanted to know the same thing.

XoX

First period that day was Care of Magical Creatures, an elective class that only third years and above could take. On Mondays, Gryffindor shared that class with Slytherin. That meant that Neville and Tracey were the only ones attending, since no one else was interested in taking this class. Even Tracey seemed more interested in getting an easy O.

After eating breakfast with their friends, he and Tracey parted ways and went out to Hagrid's hut, which was where the lessons were taking place. Hagrid had become the new Care of Magical Creatures professor. Neville heard rumors that the reason for this was because the old professor quit, stating that he "wanted to keep all of his remaining body parts intact."

"What do you think we're going to be learning, Nev?" Tracey asked.

"I don't know what sort of animals we'll be learning about, but knowing Hagrid's love of dangerous creatures, it's probably something that can bite our heads off."

"Ugh, yeah, thanks for that awesome visual imagery." Tracey shuddered.

They reached Hagrid's hut, along with the other students from Slytherin and Gryffindor who were taking this class. Neville noticed that Malfoy and his two goons were present. Harry was also absent, it seemed. While that didn't surprise him, it was disheartening.

Hagrid was waiting for them in front of his hut. While he wore his normal jolly smile, Neville thought the massive man also looked nervous. Considering this was his first time teaching, Neville didn't blame the man.

"Good mornin', class," Hagrid greeted them. "I yee've all had a chance to look at yer books."

"Look at our books?" Malfoy asked mockingly. "We haven't even been able to open the stupid things. How do you expect us to look at anything when that book attacks everything that moves?"

"Ye mean ye didn't stroke the spine?" Hagrid asked, beffudled, as if he'd thought the way to open the book should have been obvious. "'Ere, let me show ye 'ow it's done. Ye take the book just like this, then ye rub along the spine just like this."

Everyone watched Hagrid rub his finger gently along the book's spine, which made the entire thing relax, its pages opening like a blooming flower. Seeing this, Nevile did what Hagrid showed them. He marveled as the book opened for him.

"Now, then, 'ave I got a treat for all of ye," Hagrid said, clapping his hands together. He seemed nervous. "If ye'll follow me to the back over here."

Everyone followed Hagrid as he led them around to the back of his hut. There, Neville and Tracey, along with everyone else, stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the pen full of creatures.

"Holy…"

"Are those griffins?" Neville asked.

"Naw, those aren't griffins," Tracey said. "They're hippogriffs."

At first glance, the creatures appeared to be eagles. It was only after looking at their hindquarters, that Neville realized they were half eagle, half horse. Wings sat retracted into their sides. Neville imagined they would look quite large when those wings were expanded. Currently, the herd appeared to be grazing.

"That was a good guess," Hagrid said, pleasantly surprised. "Five points ter Slytherin. Yep, these are hippogriffs. These creatures are closely related to the griffin, so it's been said. Hippogriffs are very proud creatures. They've got a mean temper if you don't show them the proper respect. Now-" Hagrid clapped his hands. "-who wants to ride one."

Everyone took a step back-except for Neville, who hadn't realized what was going on for several seconds.

"Uh…"

"Excellent job, Neville! Come here! Let's get you settled on a hippogriff!"

"Uh, no, I don't think that I-"

"Now, don't be shy! Come on!"

Hagrid slapped Neville in the back, sending him stumbling forward. He almost crashed into the ground, but he caught himself at the last moment. Standing up, Neville froze when he came face to face with a hippogriff.

"Easy there, Neville," Hagrid warned. "Don't make any sudden movements. Now, slowly-slowly! Bow. Remain bowed, but don't break eye contact. If he bows back, then you can get close and go up and pet him. If he doesn't, then back away slowly."

Neville followed Hagrid's instructions, bowing low while maintaining eye contact. Sharp yellow eyes pierced him like spears. A cold sweat broke out on Neville's forehead. What if this didn't work? What is the hippogriff got angry and decided to crush his skull in? What if-

But there was no need to worry. Seconds later, the hippogriff bowed back.

"Ye see that!" Hagrid said. "He's giving ye permission ter pet him. Go on. Go on."

Neville tentatively stepped forward, wary of getting a pair of hooves to the face. However, as he reached out with his shaking hand, the hippogriff moved forward and allowed him to pet it.

"See that," Hagrid said. "There's a good Buckbeak. I think he likes you."

Neville felt more at ease now that the first contact had been made. He ran his hand down Buckbeak's head, enjoying the soft feel of downy feathers.

"Now, how about we have Buckbeak give you a ride," Hagrid suggested.

"What?" Neville said as if he hadn't quite heard Hagrid.

Unfortunately, before he could really figure out what was happening, Hagrid had lifted him onto Buckbeak's back, and slapped the creature's hundquarters.

Screaming like a little girl, Neville was launched into the air as the hippogriff took flight.

XoX

"Okay," Tracey said to herself, "That's pretty cool."

She watched as Neville and the hippogriff left the ground and soared into the air. She could still hear Neville's screams echo for a few seconds before fading. While he'd sounded frightened, terrified even, she couldn't help but think that the whole thing, riding on the back of a hippogriff, looked like a lot of fun.

"I'm beginning to regret not offering to be the first one who did this."

Several minutes after he'd left the ground, Neville returned on the back of the hippogriff. His hair was in disarray, his eyes were wide, and his cheeks looked sunburned. He was still smiling.

"How was it?" Hagrid asked.

"Brilliant," said a breathless Neville.

As a shell-shocked Neville stepped into the crowd of gathered students, Hagrid beamed and clapped his hands.

"So, who wants ter try next?"

Whereas before, no one wanted to get near the hippogriffs, this time, he had no shortage of volunteers. It seemed as if the idea of riding on a hippogriff's back was too tempting an opportunity to pass up. While everyone else went to have their turn, Tracey hung back with Neville.

"So… was it fun?"

"Yeah…"

"You sound a little breathless."

"Yeah…"

"Are you only going to say 'yeah?'"

"Yeah… no, sorry." Neville shook his head. "I'm still feeling a little out of it."

"That amazing, huh?"

"Let's just say that while I've got no talent for broom riding, I can actually see myself liking this."

"That awesome, huh?"

"Yep."

Hearing that, Tracey wondered if maybe she should try to ride one of the hippogriffs. She didn't really enjoy the thought of not being in control of where she flew, unlike Neville, so riding something that was sentient put a damper on her desire. However, it did sound like Neville had a lot of fun.

"You're not so tough are you, you stupid pigeon."

Before Tracey could come to a decision, Draco Malfoy stepped up to Buckbeak with a "I'm your better because I'm a pureblood" expression and taunted the animal. Buckbeak let out an annoyed shriek and reared onto its hind legs. Draco Malfoy only had enough time to scream in fright before the hippogriff came down-and hit nothing but air.

If Tracey hadn't been watching, she would have been shocked. Draco Malfoy flew several feet backwards, into the waiting hand of none other than Harry Potter, who'd appeared seemingly at random. Looking into the boy's dead green eyes, Tracey shivered.

"You have a poor habit of not listening to your teacher, Draco Malfoy. The next time a professor tells you something, you should take it to heart."

Harry didn't give Draco time to answer. He dropped the boy onto the ground and walked up to Buckbeak. The reaction was almost instant. Upon Harry getting closer, Buckbeak calmed down and bowed to him. Harry returned the bow with a nod and began stroking Buckbeak's feathered neck.

"Well," Hagrid said, trying to get back on track. "Who wants to ride on a hippogriff next?"

XoX

Susan, Daphne, Lisa, Terry, and Blaise were walking to Study of Ancient Runes. Hannah, Neville, and Tracey would have been with them, but they'd decided to take Divination. Daphne didn't know why Hannah or Neville had chosen such a crock of a class, but she knew that Tracey had chosen it because she wanted to get an easy A.

"Did you hear that Harry Potter was seen in Care of Magical Creatures?" Blaise said.

"I'd heard that, too," Susan said. "Several Hufflepuffs who took the class said they saw Harry Potter rescue Draco Malfoy from an angry hippogriff."

"Tracey was talking about it before we left for Study of Ancient Runes," Blaise added.

"I wonder what that means," Lisa muttered. "I mean, Harry hasn't been seen since school started, and now he suddenly shows up and rescues Draco Malfoy? That sounds really suspicious. You don't think something happened to make Harry an allie of Malfoy's, do you?"

Daphne wanted to scoff at Lisa for suggesting something so dumb, but before she could give voice to why that was a stupid idea, Susan did it for her.

"I don't think Harry would ever become Malfoy's allie. What happened in Care of Magical Creatures sounds more like Harry acting on a whim than him becoming someone's allie."

"What makes you say that?" Asked Terry.

"Because Harry's already spurned Malfoy once," Daphne stated. "Even if Harry decided to become an ally of Draco Malfoy's, there's no way Malfoy would accept it, especially not after everything that's happened between them."

Susan nodded and continued where Daphne left off. "It also doesn't make sense for Harry to become an ally of Malfoy's anyway. He's already made allies with several light families. If he suddenly switched allegiances, it would put all of the work that went into allying himself with people like the Bones and Longbottoms worthless."

Lisa grimaced. "I don't really like how that makes it sound like we're just stepping stones in Harry's attempt to gather allies."

Daphne shrugged. "I'm almost positive that's what he thought of us at first. But it doesn't matter. That might have been his goal in the beginning, but it hasn't been his goal for awhile."

"And how do you know that?" Terry asked.

"Because a Greengrass can't afford to let herself be caught off guard, not even by someone she's friends with," Daphne said.

They entered a large circular room with a high ceiling. Several desks were arrayed in a tertiary arrangement, meaning each desk was situated higher than the one before it. Desks seated three people, so Daphne sat with Susan and Lisa, while Blaise and Terry sat next to Justin Finch Fletchley.

There were several other students with them, a mixture made up of mostly Ravenclaws and Slytherins. There weren't any Gryffindors around from what Daphne could see. Her eyes slid over one section of the room, and then moved to another. Disappointment set in. She'd been hoping to see Harry in this class, as it seemed like something he'd enjoy taking.

A door opened on the far side of the room, opposite where they'd entered, and a woman walked in. Professor Babbling, her hair in disarray, with curly strands falling out from underneath her hat, walked down to the podium at the bottom of the classroom. Her dark blue robes swished as she moved to a sudden standstill.

"The study of ancient runes is one of the most theoretical magics you will ever learn. Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets, which were used to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialised purposes thereafter. The earliest runic inscriptions date from around 150 AD. The characters were generally replaced by the Latin alphabet as the cultures that had used runes underwent Christianisation, by approximately 700 AD in central Europe and 1100 AD in northern Europe. The three best-known runic alphabets are the Elder Futhark, the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, and the Younger Futhark."

Professor Babbling was apparently not one to get caught up in fancy introductions. From the very get go, her introduction consisted of, not an intro, but a lecture. Daphne sat with a quill in hand, jotting down notes as quickly as she could. Beside her, Lisa and Susan were doing the same.

"There are, naturally, other runes that are used. However, for your third year, we'll only be focusing on these three, as they are the most commonly used runes."

As the professor continued her lecture, Daphne glanced at the others out of the corner of her eyes. Sitting with a perfectly upright posture, Lisa jotted down notes efficiently with her quill. Susan was slouched somewhat, and she used a calligraphy pen instead of a quill, but her note taking was no less swift.

"Anglo-Saxon runes are an extended version of Elder Futhark. They consist thirty-three characters. It is thought that they were used to write Old English / Anglo-Saxon and Old Frisian from about the fifth century AD. They were used in England until the tenth or eleventh centuries, though after the ninth century they were mainly used in manuscripts and were of interest to antiquarians, and their use ceased after the Norman conquest in ten-twenty-six."

It seemed the first class was not going to be an overview of what runes were or did, but the history behind their creation. Daphne wondered if there was some purpose in that. Wouldn't it have been better to show everyone what runes could accomplish, and then begin lecturing on this? However, the class soon passed, and Daphne hadn't learned a single thing about how runes worked, though she did know plenty on their history.

"Now, then, your homework today is to write a ten inch essay on one of the three runic alphabets that I just told you about," Professor Babbling said. "It's due at the beginning of next class. Oh! And Harry Potter, I would like you to stay after for a moment."

Harry?!

At her friend's name being called, murmurs broke out around the room. Daphne searched for her friend, for Harry, and she eventually found him.

When did he get here?

Harry was sitting on the top row, in a seat about as far from everyone else as possible. At his name being called, Harry looked up, and though his eyes were too far for her to see, a shiver still passed through her when he glanced down at the teacher. He didn't say anything. He just stood up and walked down to the teacher, who actually appeared nervous for some reason.

"Susan," Lisa muttered.

"I know. It's really Harry," Susan said.

"What should we do?" Asked Blaise.

"Let's wait outside of class," Daphne suggested. "Harry will have to exit that way, and when he does, we can finally confront him about why he's been ignoring us."

"That's a good idea, Daph," Susan agreed.

Finding a place just outside of the runes classroom, the group waited until Harry was finished speaking with the professor. It took longer than expected, but he eventually emerged from the classroom.

"Harry!"

She and the others walked up to Harry, who, upon noticing them, spun around and went in the opposite direction. Daphne ran to catch up. She turned a corner-and then stopped when she came upon an empty hallway.

Harry Potter wasn't there.

XoX

"What do you mean Harry just disappeared?" Tracey asked as they all sat down for lunch.

Daphne sat with Susan on her left and Astoria on her right. Hannah and Terry were also on her side. Tracey was sitting opposite her, along with Neville, Blaise, and Lisa.

It was lunch period. She, Tracey, and Blaise had just finished their third period class, which had been Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall had been the same as always. During class, she and the others had listened to Professor McGonagall give a lecture on animagi, and the difficulty of becoming one. She hadn't seen Harry again, but Gryffindor didn't share transfiguration with Slytherin this year.

"Exactly that, Trace," Daphne said. "Harry Potter appeared in class. We tried to follow him after class. He disappeared."

Susan nodded. "I don't really know how he did it. We followed him around a corner, but he'd vanished by the time we turned. What's more, he didn't have his invisibility cloak on him."

"He could have had it in his bookbag," Lisa pointed out.

"No, he didn't have his bookbag with him," Susan said, shaking her head.

"What do you think we should do?" Asked Neville.

"I think we need to confront him, and force him into telling us why he's avoiding us." Tracey slammed her left fist into her right palm. "Even if we have to beat it out of him!"

Everyone stared at Tracey for several seconds, until the girl squirmed underneath the attention of so many flat-looking eyes, and then they looked back at each other.

"Okay. So, does anyone have a feasible plan to confront Harry?" Terry asked.

"I hate you all," Tracey grumbled.

"We definitely need to confront him," Blaise said. "However, we'll have to do so in such a way that he can't escape."

"Slytherin shares fifth period with Gryffindor," Neville said. "During that time, we'll have four people. If we can surround him before he can escape, then we can get him to talk."

"Yeah!" Tracey cheered. "And if talking doesn't work, then we can let our fists do the talking!"

"Since when have you been so violent?" Terry asked.

Daphne listened to all of her friends suggestions, and while a part of her agreed with them, another was worried. Somehow, she didn't think this would turn out the way that any of them expected.

XoX

The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom looked a lot different than it had last year. Last year, the DADA classroom had been pomp and decorative, filled with moving portraits of curly blond hair and the dazzling smile of an idiot. This year, it looked more like a plain classroom-except all of the desks had been placed against the walls and only a single armoire stood in the center of the room.

Standing behind a desk as Daphne and the others walked in, Professor Lupin looked the picturesque image of a professor-even if he was shoddily dressed.

"I would like to welcome all of you to your third year of Defense Against the Dark Arts," Professor Lupin said. "My name is Remus Lupin, and I'll be your instructor for the foreseeable future."

I think Professor Lupin might be the most normal teacher we've had for this class, Daphne thought to herself, frowning as she looked around the room. Harry's not here.

"Before we start the lesson, allow me to give you a brief overview of what we're going to learn," Professor Lupin continued. "During this year, half of our focus is going to be on learning more about dangerous creatures-dark creatures such as werewolves, grindylow, and vampires. The other half is going to be spent learning defensive spells that can be used to defend yourself against these dark creatures. At the end of the year, I plan on giving all of you a practical test, which will show me how well you've learned everything that I've taught you."

Daphne didn't show it, but she was impressed by Professor Lupin's professional demeanor as he spoke. She'd never heard of him before. That meant he was a new teacher. However, despite being clearly new to teaching, he seemed to have a clear grasp of how to teach. His lecture was concise and to the point.

This year might actually be a good year for our class.

Last year, their teaching had been haphazard. Lockheart, their original teacher, had been a fraud. During the last few months, Kinglsey Shacklebolt, an auror working for the ministry, had been their teacher. While he'd done an excellent job, there was only so much that could be taught in a few months. It hadn't been enough to make up for their lack of competent teacher the first three-fourths of the year.

"Now, then, since I'm not one for long-winded lectures, how about we start the year off with a practical lesson." As if his words had been a que, the armoire shook, startling the students closest to it. "Can anyone tell me what's in there?"

No one spoke. Daphne studied the armoire curiously. There didn't seem to be anything special about it. Made from a type of redwood, the armoire seemed aging and worn, no longer pristine, but had become withered and decrepit, as if the merciless hand of time had struck it repeatedly.

It shook again, and Daphne frowned in thought. Something was inside of that armoire, a creature of some kind. But what sort of creature would hide inside of an armoire? There were only a few that she could think of. Going back to what she'd learned from reading a bit of this year's defense book, Daphne realized that only one of those creatures was in the book.

"A boggart?" She asked.

"Very good, Daphne. Five points for Slytherin." Smiling, Professor Lupin gestured to the armoire. "Yes, there is a boggart inside of there-and you are all going to learn how to defeat it."

"A boggart is an amortal shape-shifting non-being that takes on the form of the viewer's worst fear. When facing a boggart, it is best to have someone else along, to try to confuse it, since facing more than one person at once would make it indecisive as to what form it must take, usually a mixed-up amalgam of the victims' fears. Because of their shape-shifting ability, no one knows what a boggart looks like when it is alone, as it instantly changes into one's worst fears when one first see it."

Daphne felt a slight shiver crawl down her spine. Perhaps it was because of what she feared the most, but the idea of something that could change into what she feared gave her chills.

"Now, before all of you become too fearful, a boggart does have one major weakness-laughter." While several people snorted, Professor Lupin smiled wryly. "You might think I am joking, but I'm really not. Laughter is the ultimate defense against a boggart. And why? Because boggarts, like most dark creatures, thrive on fear, and laughter is the antithesis of fear."

That… made an unusual amount of sense. Daphne didn't know much about boggarts, but she knew that when something relied on a method to harm others, the opposite was usually its weakness-at least for magical creatures. It was like how creatures that used darkness, the element and not the art, were weak to light. She didn't know if laughter could be considered a true weakness, but she was willing to give Professor Lupin the benefit of the doubt.

"The trick to defeating a braggart lies in this spell, and I want you all to pronounce it for me… Riddikulus. Come on, everyone. Say it with me. Riddikulus."

She and the others all spoke at the same time. The word sounded odd, like someone trying to turn an English word into Latin. Still, ridiculous-sounding or not, this was apparently the spell that would defeat a boggart.

"Riddikulus!" Daphne and the other students said together.

"Excellent! Very good. Remember, the key to this spell isn't just in the word. You have to imagine something funny, something that'll make you laugh. Now, I think we've spent enough time practicing. How about we some practical experience by having all of you face a boggart… you!" Professor Lupin pointed to Tracey, who then pointed at herself. "Yes, you. What do you fear the most?"

Tracey looked down at her feet. "…"

"I'm sorry what was that?"

"I-I said it's…" Tracey mumbled the last part.

"I couldn't hear you. Could you be a little louder please?"

"I said it's having the Irish losing in this year's Quidditch World Cup!"

While the rest of class laughed at the beat red Tracey's declaration, Daphne could only facepalm. She knew that her friend was obsessed with quidditch, but for that, of all things, to be what she feared most? Her friend must have been more deranged than she'd realized.

"Well…" Professor Lupin also seemed surprised, but he was clearly willing to go with it. "That would, indeed, be a tragedy. I'm curious to know how the boggart will make you think the Irish lost this year's Quidditch World Cup. Let's find out!"

Professor Lupin waved his wand, the door to the armoire opened… and a person stepped out. He was short. Really short. He also wore only green, had a face nearly five times larger than his body, bright red hair, and a lot of freckles. It was a leprechaun.

He'd also been lit on fire.

And there was a knife protruding from his head.

What in Merlin's name…?

While Daphne felt somewhere between "what the fuck?" and "who the hell would find this frightening?" Tracey watched on in horror.

"Remember," Professor Lupin said, "think of something funny, point your wand, and say 'Riddiukulus.'"

The leprechaun walked toward Tracey, who raised her wand, which shook in her head. Tracey's breathing had grown labored. Her chest and shoulders heaved as if she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Daphne worried about whether or not her friend would be able to cast the spell.

"R-Riddikulus!"

Fortunately, Daphne's worry proved to be unfounded. Light shot from the tip of Tracey's wand and slammed into the leprechaun. The knife in its head suddenly vanished, the fire evaporated, and the short creature started doing a silly jig. Many people in the class laughed. Tracey, the tension visibly easing from her shoulders, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Excellent work, Tracey! Well done! Take another five points to Slytherin!" Professor Lupin said. "Now, I want everyone to form a line. One at a time, each one of you will get your turn at defending yourself against the boggart. Remember, when the boggart turns into what you fear the most, think of something funny, aim your wand, and say 'riddikulus.'"

Daphne and the other students formed a line. Since Tracey had already gone, she moved to the back, while Blaise and Neville stood in front of her. The line slowly moved forward as people faced their greatest fear-a clown, a snake, an inferi-and made them look ridiculous by using the spell.

I wonder what my greatest fear is…

It wasn't something that Daphne thought about often, but now that she was being forced to confront it, she couldn't help but think about it. What did she fear the most? Her father? He was a frightening man, and she would be lying if she said that he didn't scare her. However, she didn't think that he was what she feared the most.

"Hey, isn't that…?" A voice asked up front.

"It is! It's him!"

"Harry Potter."

"Harry."

"It's the Boy-Who-Lived."

Daphne stopped her ruminations and looked up. Indeed, standing at the front of the line, having appeared out of nowhere, was Harry Potter.

XoX

Harry realized that what he was doing wasn't something that he should have been doing. His goal had been to keep to the shadows, avoid others, and especially avoid his friends. He couldn't afford to have people look at him to closely. Beyond that, he also didn't want the people that he used to call friends to confront him.

However, he was curious. A creature that allowed one to confront their darkest fears? How could he not be curious. What sort of thing did he fear? Harry couldn't think of anything off the top of his head. He didn't fear death. All people died. He didn't fear Voldemort. That man wasn't worth fearing. What about those dementors? They were frightening, but it wasn't what they were that scared him. It was what they did. Was that the same thing?

So, he stepped up to the boggart, curious to see what it would transform into.

What it became was not something that he had ever expected-nor was it something that he wanted.

XoX

Daphne gaped with the others at the three people who'd appeared before Harry. She recognized them, even she'd never seen two of the people in real life.

The first one, and most easily recognizable, stood at the front of the other two. Long bushy hair cascaded down her head. She wore the standard robes of a Hogwarts student, and sitting on her chest, the Hogwarts motto was firmly displayed. It was Hermione Granger.

She didn't know the other two people, but Daphne had seen enough moving portraits to know who they were: James and Lily Potter. Harry's parents. Lily, with her long red hair and pale skin, was really beautiful. James, standing with his shoulders slumped, hands in his pockets, looking for all the world like he'd just woken up.

However, whereas, in all of those pictures, James and Lily wore the brightest smiles that anyone would ever see, here, those smiles were absent.

And in place of those smiles were the deadest, most expressionless faces that Daphne had ever seen.

XoX

For the first time in a long time, Harry felt scared. As he stared at Hermione and his long-dead parents, fear coursed through him.

He took a step back.

"Why?"

Their eyes questioned himself, accused him. He tried not to look at their faces, at their eyes, which demanded an explanation, an answer that he could not give.

"Why didn't you save me?"

Why? Why why why why? Though they did not speak, their dead eyes spoke for them, demanding to know why he couldn't save them, why he'd let them die. His parents, who'd sacrificed themselves to protect him. That wasn't how it should have gone. Harry was the chosen one, the boy who was prophesied to slay the dark lord. Killing Voldemort had been his responsibility. Yet he hadn't killed Voldemort, and his parents had died because he'd not been able to uphold his duty.

"Why did you let me die?"

Hermione. Her eyes stared at him, calling him a fraud and a phony, demanding that he explain why he hadn't saved her. Had she not been his friend? From the moment that he'd taken Hermione under his wing, he'd become responsible for her. It had been his duty to protect her, to keep her safe, but he'd failed. He was a failure. Fail fail fail fail.

"You failed to protect us…"

"N-no… I…" Harry tried to defend himself with words, but the words stuck in his throat. There was nothing he could say to them. He was a failure.

"You're a failure."

"I-I'm not… d-don't look at me… like that…"

"You've failed."

"I-I didn't…"

"You failed. You failed. You failed."

"S-stop it!"

Harry fell onto his knees. Cradling his head in his hands, he tried to block out the accusation, but they would not be blocked. They could not be blocked. They were inside of his head, taunting him, punishing him, forcing him to remember how he'd failed, that he was a failure who couldn't live up to the expectations placed on him.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Something inside of Harry Potter broke.

XoX

Everyone stared in shocked silence at the scene unfolding before them. Harry Potter was lying on the floor, holding his hands to his head as he screamed himself hoarse. Even the teacher, Professor Lupin, appeared to have been frozen solid.

I-I need to do something.

The thought flashed through Daphne's mind, but much like the others, she, too, was paralyzed. It wasn't fear that stayed her hand. She wasn't afraid, but her joints had locked up all the same.

Come on, Daphne. Move. Move!

In the end, it was not Daphne who moved.

It was Neville.

"Riddikulus!"

Standing in front of Harry, the boggart changed into Professor Snape. With a flick of his wrists and a spell, Professor Snape was suddenly not wearing his robes. Instead, he was wearing the clothing of Neville's gran, complete with ugly magenta handbag and vulture hat.

Murmurs broke out amongst the students. Questions were asked. What had just happened? What was wrong with Harry? Why was he lying on the floor like that? Daphne had those same questions running through her mind. However, her greater concern was for Harry, who was still lying on the ground, quivering.

"Harry?" Neville said, kneeling down and placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, are you all right?"

What happened next startled everyone. Neville was suddenly lifted off the ground as if someone had stuck him with a bludgeon. He flew through the air and hit the ground hard. In that time, Harry leapt to his feet and ran out of the room.

As Professor Lupin snapped out of his shock, his face pale and drawn, and tried to restore order, Daphne felt her heart go out to the boy who was suffering alone.

Harry…

XoX

Professor Lupin had dismissed class early that day and gone to report what happened to Headmaster Dumbledore. Susan had found out about what happened from Daphne and the others. Even now, hours after being told of the event, she still felt shocked by what happened.

Albus Dumbledore had personally questioned each student that had been present during the event, though Susan didn't know if anything had come of it. The staff had also been sent on an area wide search, and many students had been tasked with helping. However, no matter where they looked, they never found Harry Potter.

The time after dinner was free for all third years. Susan had asked everyone to follow her to the All-Commons Room.

During his second year, Harry Potter had created a common room where all houses could gather. It was a large space filled with comfortable armchairs, tables, bookshelves, and a variety of games both magical and non-magical. There were already several people when they arrived. A couple of older students sat at the tables, a mixture of all four houses. It sounded like they were discussing their homework. Sitting on the floor several meters from the tables was a slytherin and a gryffindor. They were playing a boardgame.

Susan and the others wandered over to the armchairs, which sat next to a fireplace. Lisa cast a silencing charm over the area at her behest. She didn't want anyone else to overhear their conversation.

"We need to help Harry Potter."

Her statement was met with a moment of silence.

"That goes without saying," Tracey said. "But that's easier said than done."

"Tracey's right, much as I hate to admit it," Terry said.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"The biggest problem with helping Harry is that I don't think any of us even know how to help him," Lisa added. "We don't even know what the problem is."

"I know what the problem is," Daphne said softly. Everyone grew silent.

"Care to elaborate?" Blaise asked.

Daphne took a deep breath. "I'm sure most of you have noticed by now, but Harry, during our first year, seemed almost too perfect. Perfect grades. Perfect track record. Perfectly amiable. Second year was a little different, however, even though Harry let himself relax, he still did everything he could to show other people that he was perfect."

Susan hadn't really noticed that, but she wasn't as politically astute as Daphne. On this matter, she decided to trust her friend.

"I think Harry tried to hold himself to an unreasonable standard," Daphne continued. "When Hermione died, Harry didn't just lose a friend. He realized that he wasn't as perfect as he made himself appear to be. I think that, on top of losing a friend, caused him to shut himself down."

Tracey scratched the back of her head. "I don't really get it, but what you're basically saying is that Harry needs to have someone punch him in the face, right?"

"Works for me," Terry said with a shrug.

Tracey gawked. "Holy-did you just agree with me?!"

"Yes, though I'm loathe to do so."

"Keep saying that, jerk. You're going to find yourself agreeing with everything I say eventually."

"Whatever you say."

"I don't think a punch to the face will work," Susan said sternly. "What we need to do is find Harry and get him to let out all of the pent up frustration that he must be feeling right now."

"How are we going to do that?" Asked Lisa. "I mean, Harry is practically invisible right now."

"Don't forget that he can actually become invisible with that cloak of his," Blaise added. "He also knows the disillusionment charm."

"We also won't be able to find him in the Gryffindor dorms," Neville added. "I don't think he's been coming there, and if he has, then he's using magic to hide himself from everyone else."

"Or he's just coming in really late and leaving really early," Terry said.

"Or that," Neville admitted.

"Not only that, but we never see him in class either," Tracey added. "He's like a bloody ghost. We only see him if he lets us. I'm almost wondering if he has some sort of layered charm to mask his presence or something."

"It could be enchanted clothing," Lisa suggested.

"I have no idea what that is," Tracey admitted. "But let's go with that."

Susan frowned as her friends spoke. The problem as she saw it was, first and foremost, finding Harry. They couldn't do anything to help him unless they knew where he was. He didn't appear to be sleeping in his dorm, which meant he'd found another place to reside. Of course, that brought up a lot of other issues. Where was he sleeping? How had he even found another place to sleep? Hogwarts might have been a massive castle, but there couldn't have been that many places for him to stay.

As her friends continued to try and figure out how to find Harry, Daphne Greengrass spoke up.

"I think I might know of a way to locate Harry, or at least, I know someone who can point us in the right direction."

Thus, Daphne explained her idea.

So, I actually meant to upload this a long ass time ago. I actually thought that I HAD uploaded this, but it seems I didn't. I'm not sure what I was doing, but I apologize for not publishing this sooner.

I'd like to thank everyone who's continued to read this series. The next chapter is the final chapter of Emo! Harry. I hope you're all looking forward to that.