A/N: For the last week or so I have been anticipating something: 1 000 follows. And now I've reached that. It is an honour, my lovely readers, that you all follow this story. Thank you, every one of you.
This chapter contains a bit of smut, a warning.
Inspired by: This is war by 30 Seconds to Mars.
Chapter 10: This is war
Daphne was, as predicted, called in for questioning. The Aurors tried to drag her from her Transfiguration class, but McGonagall told them off.
She was, after all, a seventh year student that had little time to prepare for her NEWTs and she, while being bright, needed to attend every lesson to pass her year and to get a job at the ministry.
The blonde felt a strange surge of affection toward the Gryffindor head, and wondered what she knew. She realised she also didn't mind if the older woman knew about everything. McGonagall was what Daphne thought her grandmother would be like (or should be like): strict, but protective. Daphne only met her grandmother once or twice in her lifetime and wasn't sure if the old woman was still alive.
Harry had told her that he shared what they'd done to her father with Snape and Dumbledore; she didn't know why exactly she was surprised by it, because she had known he would speak to Dumbledore.
She would've given anything to be a fly on the wall there. She laughed when he told her about Snape's reaction. She would very much like to see Harry hug the professor, if only to see the sour man's reaction.
Snape had called her to his office after Transfiguration and worked on her alibi with her, saying he didn't blame them for what they had done.
He had maintained eye-contact with her and she suspected he'd entered her mind and saw what Oscar had done. She always had her guard down around Snape.
She had also felt a surge of affection towards her own head of house; he really did understand what they had done. He didn't talk about it, though. Something she was glad for.
So there she was, in Snape's office, facing the Aurors from where they were seated behind Snape's desk. She thought their very presence behind his desk was a travesty – they weren't nearly as scary as Snape was. That was Snape's desk for a reason.
"Where were you on the night your father died?" The Auror on the left asked, a woman with a stern expression. She made Daphne think of McGonagall a bit.
"I was with Cyrus Bishop." She said, keeping it simple. An elaborate story would be suspicious, if she kept it to the minimum, it would seem as if she had nothing to hide. That was what Snape taught her when they went over her alibi – and she had the idea he had done it a lot.
"And what were you doing with Mr Bishop?" The same Auror asked. She'd introduced herself as Lillian. She looked friendlier than her partner, though Daphne was no stranger to the saying of looks being deceiving. The partner was a chubby man with only a few hairs left on his head. He looked as though he was constipated.
"We were watching a movie," She said, "This one called 'Independence Day'."
"Muggle pastimes?" The chubby Auror asked. He didn't look like he believed it, though. She couldn't blame him, she was a pureblood, after all, and a muggle hobby would normally be considered beneath her.
"Yes, Cyrus introduced me," She shrugged, "And they are quite an experience." She allowed a smile to spread over her face in what had to be a nostalgic trance.
"And why did you run away from your house? Your mother mentioned that." Lillian wanted to know.
"Because my father was trying to get me to marry my best friend, and me saying 'no' wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear. So I made a very dramatic exit. It was a childish one too admittedly. I went to Cyrus' house." She tried to look sheepish at this. That first part was the truth, at least.
"Why did you choose to go to Cyrus Bishop and not, let's say, Blaise Zabini or Tracey Davis? I understand you're close friends with both." The man frowned, three crooked lines appearing on his forehead.
"He was the person my father didn't expect me to go to. Blaise and Tracey were obvious choices, but he bore no knowledge of my friendship with Cyrus. He wouldn't have approved." She answered.
Her father wouldn't have approved at all, it almost made her wish that he had seen her hanging out with him.
"And for how long did you stay with Mr Bishop?" Mr Auror asked, he was furiously taking notes, presumably about this conversation.
"For almost… two months after I left home." The blonde answered. She remembered to keep her face blank and her mental skills sharp here.
"So you have no idea how your father was murdered?" The man whose name she hadn't bothered to listen to asked, switching his cane from one hand to the other.
"None, sir." The Slytherin said, looking down at her hands. She had to feign a tiny bit of guilt. Snape had told her this, because her father was dead after they had had a row.
"What about your current relationship status with Harry Potter? How did you two start the relationship?" Lillian asked next.
"I had an appointment with Professor Snape and… he was there. We started talking and one thing lead to another…" She blushed at this. She recalled the way his hands roamed over her body. For the first time in her life, Daphne wasn't terrified of the sensation. She remembered to smile at this – like a lovesick schoolgirl.
"Will Mr Potter have the same story to tell us?" Lillian asked, glancing at Daphne over her glasses. Daphne nodded.
"Thank you, Miss Greengrass. We would like to talk to this Cyrus, Mr Potter and your best friend too, if you don't mind." Lillian held out her hand for Daphne to shake. Daphne stood and shook her hand firmly. She then told them her best friend was Blaise Zabini.
They would be speaking to her little sister too, but Astoria was ignorant as to what had happened, so she could very well believe that Daphne had been staying with Bishop despite having no motivation to do so.
She swept past Bishop and the two shared a smile as she made her exit. Of course they weren't close, but, for appearances' sake, they had to pretend.
It wouldn't be hard to keep the pretence up either, seeing as Bishop had latched onto her boyfriend and refused to let go.
She would talk to her sister. Later. Much later.
The blonde returned to her dormitory to get her books, she was late for Potions. Slughorn wouldn't be mad, he'd already drawn a classmate of hers into the Slug Club, but she wasn't invited, probably due to her being a murder suspect.
She was just glad that they couldn't seize her wand and perform Priori Incantatem, mostly due to the fact that the spell that would prove her guilt was too far in her wand's history.
"Greengrass," It was her dormitory mates, or two of them that were waiting for her. It was two she had always gotten along with. She had managed to avoid them the last few nights by going to sleep later than they did or earlier than they did; she avoided eye-contact with them and barely spoke to them.
She knew they would confront her sooner or later, but she preferred it to be later. It looked like she now had no choice.
"Yes, girls?" She said pleasantly as she turned with one hand on her bag and one hand gripping her wand tightly.
The young girl had taken to carrying her wand with her wherever she went, keeping it tucked into her sleeve, strapping it to her arm by using two bracelets.
"Easy, Daph," The one eyed her wand, her name was Louise, "We just wanna know what's going on. We see you hanging out with the younger years these last few days – you haven't talked to us…"
"I'm in danger Louise, and I've made a stand. I don't think every Slytherin will appreciate what I've done." She was being honest, and she even felt a tiny tug of guilt at having ignored her dorm mates.
"You mean you renounced the Dark Lord?" The other girl, Shannon, asked, "You do realise that's all Louise and I have been trying to do? But we can't, our parents won't let us."
"I didn't know that, actually," Daphne narrowed her eyes suspiciously; she moved her wand the tiniest bit and entered Shannon's mind. Shannon didn't even notice her defences being brushed.
Daphne was skilled enough to see Shannon wasn't lying. She wouldn't trust them, but she would give them that illusion.
"Well we are," Shannon pouted, "Daphne, we want in on whatever you're doing."
"I'm dating Harry Potter – I'm not planning on sharing him," She joked, lowering her wand slowly in a faux sign of trust, "But you're welcome to join the new Defence Club, the Union? We're meeting up tomorrow night, I'll let you know where, or Dumbledore will announce it. But I'm late for Potions, guys, excuse me." She moved past them quickly and left them with a smile.
Slytherin was divided. For some reason no one but a few individuals saw it coming, but when it happened, nearly everyone chose a side.
Daphne was on one side, siding with the boy-who-lived, the one who dared to defy the Dark Lord and Dumbledore; with her stood her friends: Blaise, Tracey, Theo, Cyrus Bishop, Vincent Crabbe Millicent Bulstrode (she'd abandoned Parkinson rather quickly), her sister and the number of Froges. The Ruffalo family were affiliated with Ravenclaw and were working from within.
She spotted one certain boy she'd been looking for when she neared the dungeon classroom: Tristan Rowle. He was tall, lanky, his shoulders hunched over and his nose buried in a book. He saw her and squeaked. He actually squeaked – Daphne nearly lost self-control in laughter when he did that. He cleared his throat and put the book away.
"Daphne," He said formally, offering her a small bow, "How do you do?"
"How do you expect, Tristan?" She asked, and she almost felt bad when he looked at his black shoes in guilt.
"Sorry, I didn't mean…"
"I'm kidding," She said lightly, putting a hand on his arm, "I'm actually doing very well since his passing away."
"You mean his rather brutal murder?" Tristan growled, "I saw the article, Daphne." He didn't like silly euphemisms, but she knew that.
"Fantastic, so I don't need to use unnecessary euphemisms. My father was murdered and I think he had it coming." She said honestly. Rowle was taken aback at her words, his eyes as wide as saucers. She knew he valued bluntness and honesty, and she was going to attempt to keep it that way. Or the former at least, the latter would be difficult.
"You think he had it coming, do you?" He lifted an eyebrow, his shock had slid smoothly off his face, "Well, that is interesting. Why do say he had it coming?"
"He wasn't a very nice man," She hesitated, "And that is the most polite way to put it." She gave a grim smile.
"I heard you ran away. Why?" As he appreciated being blunt, he returned the favour. She was glad that he wasn't a hypocritical arsehole; he gave as good as he got.
"He was trying to get me to marry Blaise after we both finished our NEWTs, and while I love Blaise, I don't want to become my mother." She said off-handedly. She didn't want to become what her mother had become: an empty woman who needed to get laid.
"So you ran away, started dating Potter and renounced the Dark Lord?" Rowle guessed, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"That about sums it up, yes. Would you like to join me in my quest?" She asked sweetly, but made sure he knew she was serious.
"I'll think about it and let you know." Rowle said in a bored tone just as Slughorn appeared. She inclined her head to Rowle, saying he should talk to her when he was ready.
. . .
"Did the Aurors speak to you?" She asked her love interest at lunch. He had invited himself over to the Slytherin table with Granger and Weasley.
The latter two didn't look all that comfortable, but greeted her with smiles and nods. Some of the other Slytherins openly stared. Shannon and Louis tried to look away, but they kept stealing glances at the couple.
Bishop was a few seats away from them and gave them a wink. Astoria smiled politely. Blaise offered them a wave. The fact that the latter two acknowledged Harry Potter, meant something significant to the rest of Slytherin house, because some of the students looked away.
"Yes, I did exactly as Snape said. It's weird that people somehow believe that I lived with him long enough for the two of us not to murder one another." He shrugged, taking a bite of chicken. "But it would explain it if my grades lifted suddenly and unexplainably."
"Also true, because if people found out I'd been tutoring someone else, they would go ballistic and demand I do the same for them." Daphne said, "I mean I helped you with Defence, but you were already brilliant with that, but the work we put into Transfiguration, Charms and Potions especially would need an explanation."
"Hey, Greengrass, speaking of Potions, Harry found something interesting and he won't return it." Granger said, causing Harry to growl. He dug his hands into his bag and withdrew a book. It was an old copy of the sixth year Potions textbook, only it looked ratty and old. She took the book and flipped through it.
Her eyes caught the new instructions and the old ones with a straight line though them, with notes scrawled into the margin, even some spells.
And, she almost missed it: This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince. Prince… that sounded interesting. Did this person see himself as royalty? Or could it be a reference to a family name? There were some records of a Prince family in the archives, if she remembered correctly. This required some sleuthing.
She gave her boyfriend the book back, ignoring the glare Granger shot her way. Daphne wasn't nearly as hung up on the rules as Granger was.
"It could be cursed!" Granger protested, "At least take it to a professor to look at it, please Harry." Granger was pleading. Daphne could see why she was worried, and decided to play along with her.
The blonde girl also knew that if it was turned over to a professor, they would never see it again. It meant a lot to Harry, and she couldn't take it away from him.
"Harry, put that down on the table, will you?" She asked, drawing her wand from her sleeve. The action caught Harry's eye, who smiled to himself before putting the book down. She twirled her wand, whispered an incantation that caused the book to levitate, glow a bright orange and then it fell down again. "No dark magic on it, Granger, I promise." She smiled at the Gryffindor girl.
Granger narrowed her eyes, "How do you know how to do that?"
"My family has a lot of secrets," Daphne said coolly, "That was one of them." She even added a playful wink, causing the other girl to laugh.
"I can understand if you want to keep it to yourself," Granger inclined her head, finally helping herself to some lunch, "Knowledge is powerful."
You have no idea, Daphne thought and just gave the other girl a nod and a smile.
"I don't like it, though, it's cheating." Granger said disapprovingly.
"Granger, with all due respect, with everything Harry has been through, I think he deserves to cheat a little bit." Daphne's voice was firm and she fixed a stern gaze on her new friend. Granger looked down at her plate; Daphne guessed she was feeling guilty.
"I know you're just trying to do what is best for me, Hermione," Harry smiled at her, "But I'm a big boy, remember?"
"Yeah, he is," Ron said, seemingly just having tuned into the conversation, "He beats the most of the boys in sixth year."
Harry spluttered, "I'm one of the shortest guys in our year!"
Ron suddenly became very red in the face, "This is why Hermione slaps me when I'm not listening in class." He nodded his head and smiled a grim smile.
Daphne and Hermione burst out in laughter, then Harry finally caught on. The Quidditch changing rooms didn't have a lot of privacy, then, she assumed.
"Come on, you lot, we're eating here." Harry gagged, pushing his plate away. "I cannot believe you did that, Ron. It's…"
"Normal, Harry, it's a thing teenage boys do that is considered normal." Granger tried to reassure him.
"Fine, next time, we discuss Ron and his... How would you like that?" Harry spat at them.
"It wasn't intentional, I'm sorry!" Ron's entire face was red, and Daphne couldn't control her giggles.
"I'm done here." Harry stood up and left them. Daphne wanted to start laughing again, but felt bad about it. It wasn't something she expected Weasley to say at all.
. . .
Later that day, at dinner, Dumbledore announced that a Defence Club, the Union, was meeting up soon. There were sign-up sheets in the various Common Rooms and the first meeting would be in only a few hours. Everyone above fourth year was welcome and the leaders of this Club were Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley and Daphne Greengrass.
Daphne hadn't been aware of this and when her housemates looked at her, she offered them a smug smile and returned her attention to the aged headmaster. She had no idea how else to react to this, despite all of her training.
The professors that would be supervising were, not surprisingly, Snape and McGonagall, because they were the best at keeping the peace, though the last part wasn't voiced.
They were in the Great Hall a day later, patiently waiting for the students to enter. Daphne saw a few students flash gold coins at Harry, and she recalled his tale about the coins the previous year.
There was a faint murmur of voices in the Great Hall, with their eyes fixed on Harry. He stood in front of the hall, on a platform she had never noticed before. He had donned his muggle clothing, though she thought his cloak would've been much more dramatic.
Harry lifted his arms and the hall fell silent. There were a lot of Gryffindors, probably the entire fifth through seventh years; the sixth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had all shown up, with a few of the younger years and even fewer of the older years, though the Froges and Ruffalo children were all there.
Slytherin house was the weakest. In the fifth year, it was Astoria and one of the girls she shared her dorm with; in sixth year it was Bishop, Crabbe, Nott, Blaise, Millicent and Tracey; in her own year only Shannon and Louis had decided to show up.
Rowle then hadn't opened his mind yet. She didn't think it was a good sign.
"This is war," Harry started, "This is a war we're fighting, and the enemy is out there." He pointed to a stained-glass window, but they got the idea, "It's Voldemort and the Death Eaters – and they're getting stronger each and every day. I know for a fact that they are building an army, and it's time we should do the same." It was a very charismatic show, Daphne had to admit.
"This is war! This will not be easy, it won't be like a classroom, this is a training battlefield. We will teach you to defend yourself, and then we will test these defences. If you choose to fight on my side – some of you will die, some of you will go insane, some of you will be tortured. If you don't want to turn away from this, the time is now. Because any person who betrays me, will be sorry." Harry's voice echoed through the Great Hall.
No one moved. Daphne saw Harry's chest swell up a bit in pride. She also thought he was being very dramatic, but his point got across. And he threatened them – it was something she didn't think he wouldn't have done a few months ago. She frowned – he was embracing his darkness, it seemed, instead of wallowing in it.
That was a pureblood teaching. Embrace the darkness inside – it might do you some good. The darkness wasn't necessarily dark, but just something you didn't like about yourself.
"Uh, Harry?" Bishop called out. Harry turned towards him with a lifted eyebrow. "I kind of brought someone in to help us. Professor Dumbledore said it was okay, and he said not to tell you because you would like the surprise." Bishop was rambling, not taking a gap to breathe until the end.
"Cyrus… what did you do?" Harry asked cautiously.
"I asked an old friend of yours to rejoin us here at Hogwarts," Bishop grinned. At that moment a figure walked into the hall, and paused when everyone looked at him.
"Remus!" Harry exclaimed, followed by notions of delight from some of the other students. Lupin gave a delighted smile at how they accepted him and joined Harry at the front. Harry gave him a hug – and Daphne thought this action was adorable.
No matter the darkness, Harry would still show his delight in things like this, and his heart would make him win in the end.
Dudley had told them about Lupin stopping by; she'd seen the grin on Harry's face and gathered that Lupin was significant to him. She didn't ask, though.
"Well, let's get started. We're starting with something really useful that's gotten me out of a few sticky situations and I actually learned from Professor Snape: the disarming spell." There were groans, and Harry rolled his eyes. Daphne sniggered, he'd told her about that too.
"Potter, some of us have already done this," A sixth year Ravenclaw pointed out to Harry. Daphne saw Harry roll his eyes, firmly annoyed. Maybe she'd done too good of a job in restoring Harry's self-esteem, because together they had barely beaten her father, who was a rather string wizard.
Harry would have to face the Dark Lord on his own; that wasn't something she could help with.
"Mr Potter is right," Remus spoke up, "Disarming is simply the beginning of your training. However, as you so put it, many of have done it. That doesn't mean the other students here have. I would also like to add that practice would harm none of you." He gave them a look to make them feel guilty. Lupin was such a kindred soul that when he scolded you, you took it to heart.
"Mr Potter is also displaying arrogance that I had been assured didn't exist," Snape spoke up, and Daphne cringed. She knew that look, it was one Snape gave Slytherins whose heads had become too big for them and he was about to bring them down to size. This wasn't going to be pretty. "Shall we test if this arrogance has a reason?"
Harry drew his wand, and Daphne took a step back when Snape stood forward. Out of the line of fire was the best place to be.
The two men bowed, wands at the ready, and then the spells went flying. Daphne tried to follow both of them, but settled on her head of house because he was graceful, his movements were smooth and sharp, his footwork was unprecedented and his face was neutral.
Harry wasn't doing so well. He could block Snape's spells with a few shield charms and his moves were fast, but he wasn't nearly as graceful. He got to hit Snape with a few spells, but nothing Snape didn't return in twofold.
He jabbed his wand forward, a blue light hit Harry in the arm, causing him to groan, and he swept his wand in the air. Snape flicked his wand the tiniest bit and Harry's spell bounced of it, hitting the floor. Harry growled and lurched forward, both hands in the air as he shot a large yellow ball at their teacher, but Snape lifted into the air quickly the spell passing under him harmlessly, and landed gracefully, in a cheetah stance (that was what Daphne called it), and he drew a massive circle with his wand before sending the circle flying.
Harry dodged to the side, losing his footing and ending up on the ground. Harry cast a shield charm around himself and got up, while Snape sent curse after curse flying at the shield. The shield refused to budge, which was a very good sign, but Snape wasn't letting up.
The seeker lived up to his name, deactivated his shield, danced out of the way and sent a spell toward Snape under his arm. Snape was hit. The first time Harry managed to even touch Snape.
Snape sneered at his student and slashed the air.
Then Daphne realised: Neither were saying anything. Harry was flawlessly practising non-verbal magic. She couldn't hide her smile.
The DADA professor finally lowered his wand. He wasn't even tired and her boyfriend was panting.
"Looks like I need help too," Harry said between breaths, "I can accept that. Can all of you?" Harry straightened up, his chest still heaving, but he looked at the crowed.
The blonde girl then caught up to what had just happened: Harry had been defeated and he was twisting it around to make anyone believe even he was vulnerable and needed help, making them all doubt themselves.
He was sort of a genius, wasn't he?
. . .
Harry was pacing. His left foot had gone numb, acted normal and went back to being numb again from all the sitting, so he decided that pacing (though he had initially simply wanted to stand up and stretch his limbs) would wake his left limb up.
The green eyed boy had asked Daphne, Ron and Hermione to find him in Snape's new classroom. He would've used Dumbledore's office, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't be empty. Harry thought his Defence professor wouldn't mind, and if he did, Harry would just give him a hug.
He had carefully looked at all four of their schedules and, by some miracle, they all had the fourth period on a Thursday open and the overgrown bat didn't have a class.
The first to arrive was Daphne. She was out of breath and she positively threw herself in his arms.
"Hello to you too." Harry laughed, pulling her closer a tiny bit. She pulled back and kissed him hard on the mouth. He thought it was incredibly obvious that she had missed him. He would make a bit more effort to see her in the day.
"I miss sleeping next to you," She said once she pulled back, "Somehow an enlarged pillow just isn't warm enough."
She was blushing. Harry smiled to himself, lifting her chin with his index finger and forcing her to look at him, pressing his lips to hers again sweetly. She bit her bottom lip, and that almost made the Gryffindor go insane.
The door opened and his two fellow Gryffindors entered, Harry and Daphne jumped apart. When Ron closed the door, Harry cast a silencing spell at the door.
"So, what did they say" Ron asked immediately, "Hello, Greengrass."
"Weasley, Granger." Daphne nodded to each of them in greeting, and Hermione gave her a smile.
"You can call me Hermione, you know." Hermione said, "I mean, I know it is an unusual name, but it isn't that hard to say."
Daphne burst out laughing, "Oh, I bet it is hard, I heard Krum struggle over it at the Yule Ball."
"Well, you don't have Russian accent," Hermione defended quickly, though Harry wasn't entirely sure if she was defending her name or Daphne's ability to say it.
"This is all very touching and all, but we don't have much time," Ron cut across them, "Harry?"
"Of course. Well, it turns out that Voldemort – for crying out loud, Ron, it's just a name! – has these things called Horcruxes." Harry started. He looked expectantly at Daphne, who had a crease on her forehead.
"My father had a sneaking suspicion about that," She said, "He said the Dark Lord was being too… open about it. He was dropping hints about his so-called immortality, some only very old magical families would understand, and I think he said he wanted to make one but didn't have the resources, or the balls."
"What is a Horcrux?" Hermione asked, annoyed at not knowing what they were talking about. Harry thought she needed a reality-check – you couldn't be right all the time. Hermione needed to know that too, just like he had to admit loss to Snape.
He needed to train a lot more, he knew, and Lupin and Snape were the perfect candidates for that.
"It's when a wizard or a witch puts a bit of their soul into something else," Ron replied, "Sort of as a failsafe against dying. If someone kills your body and even the soul part in your body, you can just get… someone to cook you up a new body, like you-know-you did in that graveyard!"
Harry and Hermione were staring at their ginger friend. How in the name of Merlin did he make that deduction?
"Why are you staring at me?" Ron wanted to know, "Come on, the Weasley family is old, and I did a little light reading over the summer." He tossed a meaningful glance at Hermione, who tried very hard not to smile.
"What books did you read, Wealsey?" Daphne asked, "Those types of books are usually heavily guarded."
"I found it at Muriel's house. I was hoping it would help me with my Defence homework, but I got that instead." Ron answered. When his friends kept staring at him, he rolled his eyes and groaned, frustrated at their non-belief in him.
"So the Dark lord has them?" Daphne gave Weasley a confident smile, "Certainly?"
"Yes, and we even have ideas on what they may be. Dumbledore destroyed one, that's why his hand looks like it's dying, and I destroyed his diary in the Chamber of Secrets."
"Okay, so I'm assuming Malfoy senior had that… diary?" Daphne asked, and Harry nodded in reply, "Well, it makes sense. My father was too dark to trust, though he tried many times to win the Dark Lord's trust."
"How many do you guys reckon he has?" Ron piped up, "Because, for some reason, I don't think he would stick to just two."
"No, we think there's a total of seven, including the one in his body. The diary, the ring, Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, Slythern's locket and his pet snake." Harry explained, flicking them off on his fingers as he named each of the items.
"Harry, Ravenclaw's diadem has been lost for ages," Hermione said, her face falling, "It got lost in her lifetime."
Harry grinned suddenly, "This is the best part. Snape said the same thing and I asked him if they thought to ask someone dead? And he got this look on his face that he usually gets when he talks to me. He started calling me 'insufferable little brat', but it came out as 'you insufferable little… genius'. Apparently no one had thought of asking someone dead."
Ron started to laugh, "He really said that? Harry, you're a genius!"
Hermione was amused, though logic overruled, "Harry, even wizards can't resurrect the dead."
"Ghosts!" Daphne shrieked, and Hermione slapped herself on the forehead.
"I must admit I didn't consider the possibility." Hermione mumbled, and Ron patted her on the arm sympathetically.
"Who do we ask?" Harry asked the trio around him, "I don't know who the Grey Lady was when she was alive."
"She's the perfect person, uh ghost, to ask," Hermione was suddenly very excited, "Helena Ravenclaw? Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter?"
Daphne grinned at the muggleborn girl, where Harry and Ron were gaping.
"How do you know that?" Ron managed to utter after a while.
"It's called reading," Hermione snapped at him, "Something I know you're not entirely unfamiliar with."
"You're going to make me do my own reading from now on, aren't you?" Ron groaned, "I should've kept my mouth shut."
"Probably, mate," Harry agreed, "Okay, we find and talk to Helena Ravenclaw's ghost…"
"No, Harry," Daphne stopped him, "You have to talk to her alone. If you don't, she won't tell you if she does actually know anything."
"Okay, I find and talk to her. We can start there. Daph, I'm sorry to ask you, but who were the other Death Eaters Voldemort – stop it, Ron – trusted besides Malfoy?"
Daphne's forehead creased again and her lips drew into a pout, "Bellatrix and her husband, Professor Snape and Regulus Black. Oscar was sore about it for ages after the Dark Lord disappeared."
"Sirius' brother?" Harry had to ask, feeling the dull pain of longing rise in his chest at the mention of his godfather. He batted it away impatiently; he didn't have time to start pitying himself again.
"Yes, but he disappeared just before the Dark Lord himself was thought to be dead." She explained. "But I would bet on Bellatrix. It would only be very hard to find her and talk to her, since she's in Azkaban after that noise you guys made over at the ministry and she would probably try to chew your face off."
"She is not that bad, Greengrass," Hermione snapped at her, "I don't believe she's as awful as Hannibal Lecter."
Daphne gave her a blank stare and Harry shivered. He'd seen that film before he turned thirteen due to Dudley falling asleep in front of the television one night and Harry just sticking to what his cousin had chosen to watch in the event that the larger boy woke up.
And Silence of the Lambs was utterly terrifying.
"Yes, I have to agree with you there, Hermione. Though I'd much rather face that man than her, I could easily defeat him due to the fact that he doesn't have magic."
"Who are you two talking about?" Ron finally asked, causing Daphne to nod. Harry shivered again.
"A character in a film," Hermione said, "He's a cannibalistic serial killer that literally chewed off another man's face."
"Sounds like something we need to watch," Daphne said with wide eyes, "When was this one made?"
"In our first year," Harry gestured to himself and his two friends, "But I am never seeing that again, Daphne, just ask Cyrus, I think he'll get a kick out of it."
"How did we get to this?" Hermione shook her head, "So, Harry finds Ravenclaw's ghost. That's step one – where does she usually stay?"
"She doesn't have a consistent place that she willingly haunts," Daphne shrugged, "We need to ask Astoria or Lovegood. I think Ravenclaw would form a friendship with Lovegood, due to the fact that Lovegood is a social outcast." Harry wondered where Daphne's tact had gone, but figured she abandoned it because she was surrounded by a bunch of Gryffindors.
Harry didn't like the way that sounded, but he had to admit that it was true: Luna was an outcast, but he at least hoped that the DA had helped with that, even if just a tiny bit.
"Good, I'll ask Luna. Then we take it from there."
. . .
Early the Saturday morning the seeker had received his new Potions textbook, but he quickly swopped the covers of his new book and the Prince's book, much to Hermione's chagrin, and gave it back to his Potions professor, who looked delighted at having his textbook back (or at Harry's presence – that was still debatable).
The fact that Stan Shunpike had been arrested of suspected Death Eater activity (but sounded more like Harry to bigotry on the Ministry's part) had also made the gossip rounds of Hogwarts. The Patil twins had refused their parent's wishes to withdraw from school and Eloise Midgen had been collected the previous evening. The Gryffindor trio thought it was a very stupid move, lacking a better word, because they had Dumbledore protecting the wizarding school.
Daphne had quite another approach to this. She had joined them at the Gryffindor table that morning, and Dean and Seamus gave Harry a thumbs-up as she kissed him on the cheek.
"It wasn't a stupid move because of Dumbledore's heroics," She said, her voice devoid of the sarcasm that Harry would've expected, "It was a stupid move because it send the message that they're scared. The Dark Lord will make an example of her entire family."
"How can you say that?" Hermione demanded, her hands in her hair, "They aren't picking a side!"
"Yes, but there are two different ways to remain uninvolved," Daphne explained, "The Zabinis and Bishops never took interest in either side, but they didn't remove their children either from the others. Taking action, like Midgen's family had done, is a sure way to kill yourself. Blaise's family simply didn't act, until recently."
"How many rules do purebloods have?" Hermione was exasperated, "I'm suddenly very glad to be a muggleborn."
Daphne gave a snigger, "Yes, I see your point, Granger. Society rules purebloods, but people like you, Harry and the Weasley's simply do not pay attention. I envy you."
Another topic that came up was Dumbledore's disappearance, but Harry subtly shook his head to the others, and they simply didn't discuss it with the others. No one was supposed to know about this mission their headmaster embarked upon every once in a while; searching for clues as to where the other Horcruxes were.
"So, Harry," Daphne said, "Have you spoken to Lovegood yet?"
"No, I can't find her." He said honestly. He couldn't spot the pale blonde girl at the Ravenclaw table, though he did see the younger Greengrass sister and offered her a friendly wave.
Daphne frowned but didn't reply. Hermione's eyes were searching the Ravenclaw table too, but from the disappointment evident on her face he gathered she couldn't find Luna either.
Later Harry was on his way to the Quidditch pitch with his two best friends with Daphne having mysteriously disappeared (the new Quidditch captain assumed she had gone looking for Luna).
Hermione had her Ancient Runes textbook tucked neatly under her arm whilst Harry and Ron carried their brooms, careful not to swipe one another's heads off.
"How is Care of Magical Creatures, Harry?" Hermione asked, "I hate not talking to Hagrid."
"It's actually a bit fun. The other day Cyrus was playing with a unicorn baby – I'm male and I have to admit it was possibly one of the sweetest images to see that unhinged boy play with a small unicorn. But I think we should go say hello after try-outs, I think he feels a bit betrayed by you." Harry didn't say it in an accusatory tone, he knew better than that, but he did fix a stern gaze of his bookwormish friend.
"It was dangerous, Harry," Ron stepped in, "Don't think I've forgotten the skrewts. Those things were nasty."
"Harry – how many people put their names down for Quidditch?" Hermione asked once they were close to the pitch. Harry sighed in frustration and glanced down at the names on the parchment his head of house had given him.
The students stood around, looking expectantly at him. He beat down the blush that threatened to overcome him and held his head high.
"A lot. I don't know why Quidditch is so popular all of a sudden." Harry was suddenly overwhelmed by nervousness due to his new captaincy. He saw Hermione roll her eyes at him.
"Oh, come on, Harry," said Hermione, suddenly impatient. "It's not Quidditch that's popular, it's you! You've never been more interesting, and frankly, you've never been more fanciable."
"I know," A voice said behind them, "And I am here to firmly claim that this boy here is my boyfriend."
Harry felt a grin spread over his face as he twirled around. He knew he'd seen her only moments before, but they hadn't spent much time together since the start of the school year. They couldn't always sit together at meals and even if they could, time was scarce.
The trials took the majority of the morning. Daphne had given him a tight hug before she wandered off to sit next to Hermione on the stands.
The group consisted of everyone, from first years to seventh years and even a few Ravenclaws. After Harry hollered at the latter to please leave, another group of Hufflepuffs (giggling and falling over themselves in their giggles) fled the scene too. Harry kindly asked the first years to leave, seeing as they weren't allowed to play the sport.
Harry met the annoying individual known as Cormac McClaggen, who missed his last goal when he was going up against Ron for keeper.
Harry found himself three chasers; he welcomed back his old team mate, Katie Bell, he was proud to announce that Ginny had made the team (she had scored seventeen goals!) and Demelza Robbins, who almost scared every bludger away from her.
He had some trouble with the beaters. He couldn't find players that would live up to Fred and George, but when he did choose the beaters (Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote) he made sure they could defend the rest of the team.
When the rejected players started to yell at him and accusing Harry of playing favourites, Harry snapped.
"That's my final decision and if you don't get out of the way of the Keepers I'll hex you!" He bellowed, his wand in his hand. The rejected ones eyed him before thinking it was better to leave him. Harry wondered if his eyes were a bright red that everyone seemed to just do as he said without much trouble.
Or perhaps word had gotten out of him hexing Malfoy on the train. Harry still felt as though he had chosen the wrong spell, but had felt an immense sense of relief when they didn't pick bits of Draco off from the wall outside their compartment.
Harry wondered what McClaggen would say if Harry turned up at the next Slug Club meeting, as Slughorn had asked, and that with his new Slytherin friends.
The green eyed boy turned around and jumped – McClaggen was staring him in the face. The disgraced boy demanded another go and Harry refused. McClaggen insisted that Ginny had given Ron an easy save, he insisted on having a rematch between him and Ron, insisted on Harry playing favourites, he questioned the choice of Harry's team mates and Dumbledore's decision to make him the captain.
Harry had no idea how it happened, but the next thing he knew McClaggen was on his back and he had a tentacle instead of an arm.
"I said no," Harry said icily, his shadow falling over McClaggen's body, "Never question me again, McClaggen. I'm the best seeker in this school since Charlie Weasley, I'm the perfect captain to fill in Wood's shoes and Ron is a better keeper than you are. Accept it. Try to get better and come back, I'm certain Ron will accept the challenge of showing his superiority to you again. Prove me wrong, McClaggen. Make me apologize."
Harry left the disgruntled and hexed boy there and joined in on the cheering of his new team at the stands. Well, he would have if they weren't all gaping at him.
"What?" Harry said innocently, "Well done, all of you. You did really well, you flew the best and I chose you because of that, but don't think now that you're here, I can't replace you. You have to keep yourselves at the top of your game, especially you, Ron." I don't want McClaggen on my team. But that was the subtext he trusted his best friend to read.
"You did brilliantly, Ron!" Hermione shrieked, throwing herself at the redhead. Ron accepted the hug and stood a bit taller with a smile on his face.
The first full practice would be the following Thursday, Harry told his team, and encouraged them to keep a fitness program, before Harry, his friends and his girlfriend made their way to Hagrid's cabin.
"Lovegood's been keeping to herself," Daphne said, "Astoria confirmed it. I think she's getting a bit lonely."
"We'll fix that," Harry said firmly, "She needs it as much as we do."
"Indeed she does. Also, great spell work, Granger." Daphne grinned at Hermione, who blushed scarlet. Harry raised an eyebrow at the blonde girl, who looked at Ron's back pointedly. Harry chuckled – seems as though Hermione had, as he suspected, played a role in McClaggen's failure. He couldn't say he was too upset about it.
Hagrid was pleased to see Harry and Daphne (though he was surprised to see them together) and didn't talk to Ron and Hermione at first, but still made the four of them tea.
Daphne didn't look impressed at the massive cups, but set her distaste aside and became a perfectly lovely guest. She even complimented Hagrid on his cookies and ate the entire thing. The Gryffindors opted to give them to the dog under the table.
Hagrid's mean mood didn't last long when a large barrel revealed foot-long maggots and he burst into tears.
Apparently his giant pet spider, Aragog, was nearing the end of his lifespan and this troubled the gameskeeper. Ron tried awfully hard to hide his delight, but was failing awfully. Hermione tried to console him but draping an arm over his large shoulders and patting it. She asked if there was anything they could do, but Hagrid declined the offer.
Once the initial tears were gone, the mood lightened.
"So, Harry," Hagrid started, "I hear ye got into a bit o' trouble this summer."
Harry met the Slytherin's eyes and grinned, "You could say that."
Hagrid didn't miss their moment, and smiled, "So, Daphne, yer takin' an interest in young Harry 'ere?"
"Of course, he is a very interesting individual," Daphne said lightly, "He is very kind and very good with his mouth."
"I didn't need to know that." Ron said instantly. Hagrid's ears were a delicate shade of red. Harry thought Ron needed to get his head out of the gutter.
"Not like that, Weasley," Daphne laughed, "He's become quite a politician, I mean. He dominates almost everyone, like Draco and McClaggen. Thought I also think spellwork has some effect too."
"That is another case, then," Ron said brightly, "But Harry will never dominate over me. Sorry, mate, but we're not in a pack and you said we were like Batman and Superman."
"Who?" Hagrid and Daphne asked. Harry grinned, unable to keep his laughter in.
He realised he'd laughed a lot more the last time than he had in years. He looked at the confused and grinning faces of those around him and got a sudden urge to just hug every one of them.
And Snape. Snape deserved a hug too.
. . .
Luna waited for him outside the Gryffindor Common Room. She gave Harry the coordinates of the Grey Lady and Harry sped off.
He found her at the edge of a staircase.
Harry had never looked at her very closely, but he knew she was pretty. She was probably prettier when she was alive, though. Her transparent hair reached her shoulders, her frame was relatively thin and her eyes were large. Harry would've guessed that they were a deep brown once. He saw from the way she held herself that she was defensive, though still proud.
"Harry Potter," The ghostly lady said, floating towards him, "I understand you're looking for my mother's diadem."
"Yes," He said bluntly, "I was hoping you could shed some light on the topic."
"You're hardly the first person to ask me about it."
"I am, however, the first to ask because I want to defeat Voldemort. I'm also one of the first who knows who you really are." He said testily, but she showed no reaction.
"How do you think it will help you defeat he-who-must-not-be-named?" Ravenclaw asked, "Surely you realise it will not truly make you wiser…"
"I know," Harry interrupted her, "I know that it won't help me. But I want to find it to destroy it."
The ghost was taken aback by this, "Why?"
"Because it's dangerous," Harry said, trying to avoid saying that it was a Horcrux, "Please? Or don't you want to defeat Voldemort?"
Helena Ravenclaw gave him an icy look, and Harry wondered if he went too far. He shouldn't push people like this, even if they are dead.
"Another student once got it out of me," She said after a while, "Tom Riddle."
Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes – of course. Voldemort would somehow find a way to drag it out of her. He was probably oozing with confidence and charm.
"And?"
"I stole my mother's diadem and ran away," She said heavily, "Hoping it would gain me the same glory as she had received. Of course it wouldn't work that way. My mother sent the baron after me. When I refused to return, he took my life before taking his own, and now he wears his chains as a memory of his crime, as he should."
"Albania," Harry said instantly, his eyes widening, "You took it to Albania, didn't you?"
"How did you know?"
"That was where Voldemort was hiding out until he found Quirrel… did you leave it there?"
"Yes, I couldn't find it," She replied, "I did go back to look afterwards, but I thought I had simply hidden it too well. Do you think the boy I told stole it?"
"More than that," Harry replied, "He hid it in the safest place in our world." It only made sense. A teenage Voldemort, or one just out of his teenager years, would have found it. He would have created the Horcrux and then he would have hidden it in Hogwarts – that was what Harry would have done. Voldemort was an orphan and his only home would have been Hogwarts.
"But those places are this school and the wizarding bank," She said, "You mean to say… it could be here?"
Harry nodded, "It was what I would have done."
"And why do you think he would do as you would?"
"We're both alone," Harry said, "We don't have true home with families."
He thought he saw a flash of sympathy dance across her face before she composed herself, nodding at his reasoning.
"Will you tell me if you find it?" She asked, "After you have destroyed it, of course. I have no wish to see that thing in my life… that was a bad choice of words."
Harry agreed and smiled at her, "Thank you for speaking to me."
The Grey Lady nodded once more before she floated off – of course she had to make a dramatic exit. Harry shook his head, amused. Ghosts, these days.
. . .
Daphne rubbed her eyes; she'd been doing her homework for hours now and she just finished. To paraphrase Bishop: Ancient Runes was a bitch.
"You finished?" Bishop asked, setting his quill down. He pulled a hand through his dark hair, his eyes drooping somewhat.
"Yeah, finally. You?" She asked. The two of them had taken to doing their homework together, even though they were a year apart, to keep up appearances. Daphne thought she would be watched after her interview.
"No, but I was hoping you could help me with this," He tapped his textbook, "After you've taken a break."
Daphne pulled his book closer and recognised the runes. She made quick work of explaining it to him, before he quickly finished it.
"Thanks, Daph, you're a lifesaver." He shot a grin at her as he stuffed everything into his bag, "But I think you should find Harry now."
"Why is that?" Daphne asked. Of course she wanted to see her boyfriend, and she could since it was both Saturday and her homework was done.
"You know, Daph," Cyrus said, twirling the hair at his nape, "I once had this book that I wasn't supposed to have. Dad made me study it for the family business. The ingredients weren't illegal, but Professor Snape would never have let me kept it. So I hid it."
Daphne frowned – she had no idea where this was going, but she didn't say anything and continued to listen.
"So I went to this room Hogwarts has. The elves told me about it – a room that caters to your every whim, if needed. I walked back and forth in front of it for a while and, ta-da, a door appeared. It was a huge room! It had aisles and aisles of random things on it, things I didn't know who they belonged to, but it was still really interesting. I hid the book there."
Daphne's eyes widened – of course! The Room of Requirement! Cyrus was hinting at her, he knew they were searching for something, but he didn't know what… and he knew it was at Hogwarts. He must've overheard them.
"That is interesting, Cyrus," She nodded, "Hogwarts has many secrets, it seems."
Cyrus' eyes twinkled and he stuck his tongue out at her, "Many more than you know, my friend. So, I'll see you later?"
She nodded, got up and followed him to the Great Hall. There she sat down next to Harry at Gryffindor table, planting a kiss on his cheek.
"Hey, Daphne," He smiled at her, his hand on her leg the moment she sat down. A few months ago Theo had tried that and she all but threw him over her shoulders. Now – with Harry Potter of all people – she was opening up.
Weasley and Granger greeted her too as she helped herself to some lunch. Harry kindly told her t skip it, they had plans. It was the first she'd heard if it.
"Is your homework done?" She asked the seeker.
"Yes, and I scheduled Quidditch practice for this morning, so I'm all yours for the rest of the afternoon." He took her hand and kissed it. She blushed – she loved it when he did that. Her heart started to thump in her chest in anticipation. Yes, they would be looking through the Room of Requirement, but they would be alone.
After lunch he took her by the hand and pulled her from the Great Hall. She laughed, because it turned into a dance that neither of them were very good at. She was aware that many eyes were on them, and she didn't care.
She had her confidence back.
"So, Cyrus said something about a room of hidden things in Hogwarts, also known as the Room of Requirement." She said, latching onto him, "Care to go exploring?"
"I thought you'd never ask… but first…" He pulled her towards the front door, "You and I need a date."
"And your idea of a date is to go outside?" She was confused, "Harry, that's an awful idea."
"It is not!" He argued, "I planned an excellent date for us."
"Please let it not be a picnic near the Black Lake," She teased him – that was all she could think about, anyways, and she knew she was right when Harry blushed deeply.
"It's not near the Black Lake," He said childishly, "I think we need a bit more privacy and I have an abnormal fear of Hogwarts' broom closets."
"Ah, yes, the Rita Skeeter incident," She nodded wisely, "Everyone in Slytherin knew about that."
"I'm not going to ask how," Harry said, "But you get the idea."
He led her to the Forbidden Forest. Were they going to have a picnic in the Forbidden Forest? That would be Harry's style, wouldn't it? Danger at every turn.
The younger boy seemed to read her mind, because he drew her into the dense trees. She wanted to argue and say that it wasn't safe, that she was scared, but she wasn't. She thought she would be okay as long as this boy, this hero, was at her side.
The couple made finally found a clearing. The trees weren't dense and sun shone down on them, onto the grass.
"This place is beautiful, Harry," Daphne said. She saw him smile at her before showing her their spread. She thought it was sweet – he was trying to do something cute and she loved it.
They sat down on the grass, an array of delicacies around them. She was suddenly glad she'd skipped lunch. Her immediate guess was that the house elves had done it.
Harry made himself comfortable on a cliché red and white checkered blanket. He leaned his back against the tree and picked up a cream puff, beckoning for her to follow him. The blonde laughed as she settled down next to him.
"I am not going to feed you," The seeker said, "I don't think you and I should risk that. I might get cream all over you." He laughed, then his eyebrow lifted. She lifted her hands to fend him off.
"You are not getting cream all over my chest." She admonished him.
"Damn," He cursed, leaning over to her and pressing a kiss to her lips. Her hands immediately flew to his neck, and she deepened the kiss. She felt his surprise that she took the lead, but didn't question it.
He cupped her face and bit her lip. She giggled softly and opened her mouth, her tongue darting out to meet his. His breath was hot and she felt her entire body come alive.
She climbed on top of his lap, her hands in his hair, they didn't break the kiss. Their tongues curled against each other, his hand slipping to her hips, then up her shirt over her stomach. Gooseflesh covered her body, and she gripped him even closer, tugging at his hair, her teeth scraping over his bottom lip at regular intervals.
She moved her body over his, and he moaned. She pulled away suddenly, before she moved her hand to his groin. He was hard.
"D –Daph…" He started, but she moved her hand away and drew her body closer to his, her breasts pushing up against his chest and her lower body sliding over his. She moved her hips backwards and forwards, their kiss breaking as he kissed down her neck.
He untied her shirt, exposing her covered breasts. He looked up at her, asking if this was okay, and she responded by grinding down hard on his groin. The raven-haired boy cupped her breasts and planted a kiss between them.
He kneaded them, a bit hard, and she put her hands over his to show him the right way. He did it softly, his lips moving to one breast just above the lace.
"You're so beautiful," He gasped. She reached her hand down between them again, forcing his hands away. Both of them moaned at the loss of touch, but this was about him, not about her.
She undid his jeans' buttons, and zipped him down. She could feel his hard cock through his pants, and she was eager to touch it.
"You – you don't have to do this." He gasped, throwing his head back and she palmed him through his underwear.
She kissed him again, "I want to."
Daphne tugged his jeans and underwear down, revealing his length to her. She heard him hiss as the cold air hit his cock, and she immediately just had to do something about that. She covered him with her hand, and he let out another groan. It was probably the sexiest thing she had ever heard.
She moved her hand up and down slowly. Then she squeezed and he surged forward, kissing her again.
Daphne allowed it for a moment, before she kissed down his neck and sank down between his legs. Her boyfriend looked a bit shocked, but she just gave him a smile before she put her lips around the head. He hissed again, and she laughed inwardly.
She sucked on it a bit, teasing him with her tongue a little bit before lowering herself down on him. The blonde did all of this while maintaining eye-contact with him, and Harry's eyes rolled up in pleasure. He just couldn't help.
It was the first time she was doing something like this and she had no idea what to do, but she based her experience off what the other girls had said.
The Slytherin girl started to move down a little bit, and elicited another hiss from him. She giggled to herself and he gave a soft moan again. She sank down some more before dragging her mouth up, her tongue slithering on the side of his cock.
The next thing she knew was his hands tangled in her hair, She glanced up at his face again, and his eyes were closed.
She redoubled her efforts and started to bob on him, moving up and down and her hand covered what her mouth couldn't, her tongue laving the tip.
"Daph… Daph!" He cried as his cock twitched, shooting a rope of thick, hot cum into her mouth. She pulled away, laughing. She didn't like the idea of swallowing it.
Harry was blushing as he zipped himself up.
"You're blushing!" She laughed at him, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to his lips before climbing off his lap.
"That was…" He was still out of breath, and he snuggled under his arm and put a hand across his torso. He closed his arms around her and gave her a squeeze.
"Hush, you," She said, and he leaned his head on top of hers.
It wasn't long before she heard his breathing slow down and, upon glancing upwards, she saw he was sleeping. She snuggled even closer and closed her eyes – might as well make the best of the situation.
. . .
A/N: Thanks again to my two betas, Shadowz and HP-DG-SB. You two are lifesavers.