Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K Rowling.

A/N: An unscheduled update? Indeed.

The reason why: this chapter doesn't have Harry in it, though it is still very important. I just didn't want the 'main' storyline to be on a hold for two whole weeks. As such, I publish this chapter earlier. Don't worry though, this doesn't mean that the posting schedule will change. There will be another update on Thursday, as usual.

Enjoy!

Chapter 27: Hogwarts Happenings

"What do we have here?" I asked with a menacing sneer, the best impression of Snape's I could manage.

The two intertwined students flew apert like someone had grabbed their collars and janked them backwards. They mustn't have used a privacy charm properly, otherwise I and Daphne never would have found them.

The Ravenclaw and the Gryffindor were both a shade of red that equaled that of the girl's robes. They stepped out from the cupboard and there was an awkward moment when all four of us just stood there without saying anything.

"What are your names?" Daphne asked with a blank look.

One of them, I knew from classes, the other, I did not.

"Michael Corner," the Ravenclaw boy muttered with a glare at me.

I smirked in reply and fiddled with my wand threateningly.

Daphne turned towards the girl who was still blushing furiously. "And you?"

"Bonnie Ulbeck," she squeaked quietly. Her eyes were glued at Daphne's feet.

Daphne nodded once and folded her arms. "Ten points from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw each for violating educational degree 27."

"You will most likely hear from the Grand Inquisitor about a detention in the coming days," I added with a sweet smile.

Corner swallowed audibly. "Do you have to mention it to her?" he whispered with a pleading look.

I arched an eyebrow at him. "Who are you referring to?" I asked, feigning obliviousness.

The Gryffindor seemingly came to her senses and cut in rudely. "Umbridge." She met my eyes with a glint. "You know what the rumours say."

Daphne smiled placetingly. "I can assure you that it is nothing but silly stories spread by misguided souls, your rehabilitation process will be handled by the best in the business."

I resisted the urge to snort, I didn't even exhale through my nose the tiniest bit.

"Now, go!" Daphne hissed with the blank look back at her face.

Both of them lingered for a moment before they walked away, for their own sake, to their own common rooms.

Just before he turned around the corner, Corner sent a glance of hatred over to us. I smiled wider.

I turned to look at Daphne. Her blonde hair was flowing like honey down her shoulder. In an attempt to shake those thoughts from my head, I started to continue our patrol. "I really can't tell if you're joking when you spit all that crap about educational decree number 33 and all."

Daphne pinched her nose. "It was educational decree number 27, actually."

I rolled my eyes but smiled. "Silly me, that mistake could have proven fatal."

Daphne's facial muscles didn't bunch an inch. I sighed internally but tried to strengthen my resolve. At some point I had to get through her wall. Even if it felt like trying to dig away a mountain with a toothbrush.

The rest of our patrol went in silence with only the occasional comment from me about something going on in the castle. Which was very little since Dumbledore had left. I still didn't know how to feel about that, it definitely helped to make sure the Gryffindors stayed in line.

I had taken ten points from a pair of Hufflepuffs when I overheard them saying that Umbridge was ruining the mood at Hogwarts; I couldn't help but agree with them though.

That Umbridge had managed to break the spirit at Hogwarts in only a couple of months was truly impressive. It usually took a few months for that to happen each year, if it even happened at all. Somehow, this year felt even worse than my third year which literally had depression stationed by Hogwarts' walls.

After we had relayed our report for the evening to Umbridge, who had smiled sweeter than usual when she heard the news about Corner and Ulbeck, we began the trek back to our common room. Just as we were about to enter our common room, I cleared my throat.

Daphne turned towards me with an exasperated look. "I swear, if this is another comment about how Pansy wants to refurbish a part of the castle."

I snorted. "I'm not that gossipy," I said incredulously.

She arched an eyebrow. "Sure." Daphne turned back towards the wall and took her wand out. "Cryla…"

"Wait!" I interrupted her rudely.

She looked at me without any emotion. "What?"

"Daphne…" I began and cursed myself internally. "There's a Hogsmead weekend coming up…" I trailed off and exhaled slowly.

The girl in question remained rooted to the spot with still no sign of life on her pretty face. She intertwined her hands together and refused to meet my eyes.

"So I was thinking," I continued. "We could do…something," I finished pathetically.

She nodded once. "I was actually going to do my arithmancy essay."

"That is something we could do, I suppose," I said slowly.

She raised her eyebrows and untangled her hands. "You don't even take arithmancy."

I grimaced. "You could teach me?"

Daphne curled her right lip upwards just slightly. "I'll have to decline." With that, she spun on her heels and said the password clearly.

The large piece of rock slid back in its place after she had entered, leaving me standing in the flickering torchlight. I looked inside the flames and sighed heavily. For just one moment, I thought I saw a glint of purple in the orange inferno, but before it even registered to me, it was gone.

I couldn't even count the amount of times I and Daphne had been on patrols late in the evenings. At first, I was thrilled. Now I couldn't help but feel despondent to it all. I sighed loudly and looked away from the torch. She clearly wasn't interested, perhaps I had to let it go.

-()-

"I would have prefered the Hog's Head to this."

I rolled my eyes and sent Ron another glare. It was the middle of November and we had to keep this private; warmth and privacy couldn't go hand in hand. Listening to him complain about being cold made me feel like cancelling the whole thing, but that wasn't an option.

We had finally managed to convince a few people to meet with us to discuss what was to be done about Umbridge. I still thought my idea about a defence study group was rather brilliant, it should help not just the younger but the upper years as well. After all, you could only really say that you knew a subject when you could teach it to others.

Either way, I had to agree with Ron that the place we had chosen was rather pathetic. It was a clearing beside the road a couple of hundred metres outside the town. For the first time, I found it beneficial that the ministry didn't believe he was back. There was no way twenty people would be able to sneak off under maximum security. If we even became twenty, I still wasn't quite sure how many would turn up. I knew that there would be at least twelve there, if there was any less, that would be something of a betrayal.

We sat on a log and waited for people to turn up; and they did. One after one, group after group turned up. Fred and George came first with what looked like half of Gryffindor house in tow. My fear that there wouldn't be more than twenty was quickly diminished. I felt a twinge of concern, it was great that people brought their friends, but more people meant greater chance of this being found out.

Then Michael Corner came with the rest of Ravenclaw house, I was pleased to see that an entire ten people had come from that house. I wouldn't admit so out loud, but Ravenclaws did follow their studious stereotype fairly well. When one was walking around the castle during weekends, one would hardly see a Ravenclaw. I wondered if every Ravenclaw sat holed up in some comfortable space with a book in hand and a quill in the other. Had their founder been the same as well?

When the Hufflepuffs arrived, everyone was finally here. People from all the good houses stood and talked among themselves. I met Ron's eyes and he smiled brightly. Whatever came out of this meeting, it felt like enough of an achievement to just get this many people gathered and be civil at the same time.

I cleared my throat; nothing happened. It appeared as if everyone had forgotten why they had come. I attempted to do the same again but still yielded no result.

"LISTEN UP EVERYONE!" Ron shouted across the clearing. Conversations died like someone had put a silencing charm up.

I gave Ron a grateful look and looked out over the sea of people. "Hello Everyone," I began timidly.

I glanced at Ron who nodded in encouragement. I exhaled quickly and took a deep breath. "We all know that we have to do something about Umbridge and what she is doing." At the front, Michael Corner stood and met my eyes in determination. He had been the only one to approach me about this, not the other way around. He had apparently landed in detention and didn't want, to quote, 'anyone else going through the same shit'.

"So we had this idea that we could learn from each other," I continued.

Murmurs broke out over my declaration, I felt slightly frustrated over the lost concentration. This wasn't any news to anyone here.

BANG!

Everyone shut up in an instant and every eye in the small clearing landed on the same red haired man. Ron shrugged and gestured for me to continue. I smiled inwardly and gathered my words.

"Ron and I got this idea about forming a defence club, where we could practise together."

"How?" Zacharias Smith drawled loudly from the back of the crowd. "Clubs are banned without Umbridge's approval," he continued. By now he almost had a little clearing around him, not even his supposedly loyal Hufflepuffs remained close to him.

I scoffed at him. "None of us came here with any delusions that this would be allowed."

A tall seventh year Ravenclaw who I didn't remember the name of raised his hand high in the air. I pointed to him with a 'yes' and tried not to think too much about how I was acting like a teacher here.

"Who is supposed to teach us? You?" he asked with a pair of raised eyebrows.

"I've said we're supposed to teach each other," I replied calmly, but had to repress an audible sigh. I could finally understand why teachers felt so frustrated at times.

"Doesn't that only benefit you then?" he argued with a frown. "What about us seventh years who just know more than you lot?"

"It'll be harder for you, definitely," I conceded. "But as of now, you'll fail your N.E.W.Ts or barely scrape by with an A. Do you have any better option than this?"

Michael Corner raised his hand from where he stood in the front and I pointed to him with a frown. The look in his eyes didn't bode well, he seemed so angry.

"What about Potter?"

I swallowed, this was bound to come up eventually, but I'd hoped that we could at least get started before we picked this weed. "What about him?"

Corner rolled his eyes. "Could he teach us, possibly?"

It was deadly quiet in the clearing. Not a single bird chirped, not a single leaf rustled, not a single breath was taken. I realised then that no one had actually come here for us like I had hoped.

I took a deep breath. "Even if he wanted to, he can't, as I am sure you are all aware of."

Corner met my eyes with a questioning look. "But he has taught you something, yes?"

I glanced at Ron who was purposefully avoiding looking at the crowd itself. The crowd was almost leaning forwards in anticipation. I sighed internally, I was just about to speak up and say a simple but resounding 'no' when I changed my mind. If Harry could get them onboard, he would get them onboard.

"He has taught us a few things," I said slowly. "Nothing advanced, but a couple of tricks."

Whispers broke out again, but this time I didn't mind it at all. The excitement hung like a cloud over the crowd. Ron frowned at me from where he stood; I gave him a pointed look and turned back to address the crowd again.

I took a worn parchment out of my robes and held it up clearly in front of everyone. "Everyone who wants to be a part of this can sign this paper?"

Suddenly, a tension sparked in the air around us.

"What will happen if we do?" Smith asked snidely from the back.

"You'll agree to be part of this and promise not to tell anyone."

He raised his eyebrows. "What happens if we break that promise?"

I stared him straight in the eye. "Since you're such an outstanding citizen, I'm sure that won't be relevant to you."

He glared at me again but didn't say anything.

A short, blonde girl standing in the middle of the crowd raised her hand. I never would have seen her hand in the mymar of bodies if not for the literally sparkling yellow bracelets she wore. I pointed to her and she smiled widely back.

"We need to name ourselves," she said confidently. "Otherwise the green phoenix won't shed any tears for our cause."

Ron snorted next to me. I smiled at the small girl. "I don't know about the phoenix, but you raise a good point. What should we call ourselves?"

Murmurs broke out again, with the occasional shout with suggestions.

"Defence club!"

"Hogwarts' fighters!"

"Potter's fighters!"

"Potter's army!"

I exchanged a weary glance with Ron. People chatted excitedly between themselves, they seemed quite smitten by the name 'Potter's army'.

"Potter's army doesn't sound right," Ginny thankfully pointed out. I had half a mind to rush over to her and give her a big hug. "What about Dumbledore's army?"

I jumped at the chance. "That's a very good idea, Ginny. Dumbledore is who Umbridge hates the most, what better way to resist her, than in his name?"

A line was formed for everyone to sign the paper, not a single person refused to do it. I couldn't help but smile widely after the last signature was added. Finally, I had done something real.

Then we had another discussion about where and when these meetings would take place. This was the part where me and Ron had hoped for some good ideas, but everyone was as floored as we had been. It was decided that everyone would keep their eyes and ears open for anything which could fit, and that if anyone found it, they would contact me.

Most people stayed behind for a short while before they made their way back to the village. We decided that a couple of people would return at a time, so as to not raise too much suspicion. Soon, it was only the Gryffindor's in my year left, and after that, only me and Ron.

Me and Ron stayed in the clearing for what must have been an hour longer than anyone else. We didn't say a word to each other, we didn't need to. Both of us stared at the piece of parchment in front of us. I tried to count all the names but never reached the end.

This was something we had achieved on our own. Not some teacher, not Harry. Us.

Me.

-()-

Blaise's date turned away from him and whispered something into the ear of her friend. As soon as her attention was gone from him, Blaise turned towards me with a slightly panicked look on his face. He pointed a finger to his fringes of hair with a look in his eyes which screamed utter terror.

I rolled my eyes but gave him a firm nod in reply. He turned back to his date and led her out of the common room. I smiled and returned to the dull reading of my book. I usually went to every Hogsmeade weekend, but this time I couldn't see any reason to. Blasie had finally summoned his inner Gryffindor and asked out this girl he was fancying. The past few days had seen a rather uncharacteristic Blaise who actually struggled to speak with said girl. She was a sixth year student who had a reputation for jinxing her boyfriends quite spectacularly when they eventually broke up. Something I had not been shy to point out to him.

That Blaise was off with a girl left me in a rather sorrowful predicament. I could, of course, tag along with Crabbe and Goyle or even Nott if he ever came back from breakfast. No, none of those options were appealing at all. I had put all my hope into another option, one that had been painfully declined. Thinking of that evening still made me cringe. Every time I had tried to bring up the topic, she had averted it clearly. Why couldn't I have just taken the hint then? Instead of embarrassing myself with an pathetic attempt...

I hadn't even told Blaise the whole story. I slammed the book shut and sighed. She wasn't interested, I just had to move on. She didn't know what she was missing.

I stood up mechanically and walked towards the entry to my dormitory.

"Draco!" a soft voice called out from across the room.

I turned around with a glare at whoever deemed it necessary to shout at me. My glare instantly softened as I realised who the girl was. Her blonde hair was cascading down her shoulders with a golden shine. Merlin, she is pretty.

NO!

Or yes, but I couldn't think like that, not anymore. During the time of my inner dialogue, Daphne had walked up to me and was watching me with an arched eyebrow.

"What?"

The right corner of her lip twitched. "I said: Do you have any plans now?"

My head spun. "Uhhhhh…no," I said hesitantly.

She nodded slowly. "Cool…" she trailed off and twirled one of the locks between her fingers. I tried my best to keep my gaze on her forehead. I knew it wasn't particularly nice, but I couldn't stand looking into those icy, pretty, perfect eyes.

NO!

"So…" she trailed off again and frowned. "Is your offer to go to Hogsmeade still open?"

My mouth was so close to falling open. Only my father's disapproving looks from all the times it had done so throughout my childhood held me back.

"Uhhh…yeah…sure…I'd like that," I rabbled out quickly.

"Good, I have something I need to speak to you about," Daphne said with a frown adorning her symetric features.

I tried to ignore the weight forming in my stomach. That didn't sound very good at all.

The two of us looked at each other for a couple of awkward moments.

"No," Daphne said resolutely. "I refuse to let this be awkward."

"Let's go and make sure this stays unawkward then," I responded with a forced smile.

Daphne turned around and I followed like a loyal pet. I fell in beside her easily enough; we walked to the entrance hall and entered the carriage without a word said.

Both of us sat in silence and only stared out the window together for the first couple of minutes. All of a sudden, Daphne groaned in frustration and put her face in her hands. "We're failing."

"I think that's a fair assessment," I responded.

Daphne frowned. "I'm sorry, okay?" Her eyes refused to meet mine and settled on something outside the window.

I blinked rapidly from how taken aback I was. "Thanks…I think. Although I don't actually know what it is you're apologising for."

She didn't show any emotion on her pale face. "I must have done something wrong, otherwise you wouldn't act like this."

It was my turn to frown. "Like what?"

Daphne sighed and for only a second, I thought I saw a glimpse of sadness in her eyes. "You usually can't stop talking…" she trailed off and stared out the window again.

I opened my mouth but shut it firmly again. "That isn't your fault," I said gently.

She met my eyes with an unimpressed look. "I'm not an idiot, Draco. I…uhh…said something wrong to you and you reacted as one would."

I shook my head. "You didn't say anything wrong, Daphne."

"No, I admit that I did," she responded slowly. "I want to say that I'm sorry and make it up to you, okay?"

"You didn't say anything wrong," I argued stubbornly.

She looked at me blankly. Her right lip twitched. "You're an moron sometimes."

I snorted rather in an undignified manner. "Coming from you, that is like saying I'm the best wizard on earth."

Her cool, blue eyes met mine. "Coming from me, that is like saying you're a moron," she corrected.

I chuckled. "Okay, if you refuse to admit my brilliance, I won't admit that you're the best witch on earth."

She arched an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm the best witch on earth?"

"I just told you I wouldn't admit so," I said with a smirk.

The carriage ground to a sudden halt: I almost slammed into the Daphne in front of me. Although, I didn't mind getting close to her and sensing the fresh scent of her perfume. It was calming.

Like her.

NO!

"So, where do you want to go first?" I asked as I helped her down the carriage like a proper gentleman. I usually wouldn't do any such thing, but any second I could feel her cold, perfect hands in my own, I would take.

"Something to drink, I think," she said and cast a charm to calm her hair that was flying wildy in the wind. I wondered how much time she had spent on her hair this morning, it looked even better than usual.

"Madame Puddlefoots?" I asked hesitantly.

Daphne's facial muscles twitched. "You can go there if you want, I won't be joining you though."

I chuckled. "A simple 'no' would suffice."

"I don't say only 'no'," she said evenly and began walking down the muddy road towards the three broomsticks.

"Is that really true?" I asked when I caught up.

"No," she said simply.

I stopped in my tracks and stared at her. After a couple of steps, she did the same and turned to me with a glare that screamed annoyance.

"What?" she hissed.

"Did…did you just make a joke?" I asked in awe.

Her eyes narrowed at me. "Don't you dare accuse me of such a horrible thing."

I shrugged. "I still can't tell if you're joking here."

"Good."

We managed to find a table at the local pub and ordered a round of butterbeers to warm ourselves up a little. Autumn wasn't quite at the state where you wanted to huddle up by a campfire with a coat on, but the winds of winter were growing ever stronger.

"So…" I began and took a sip of my butterbeer. "What did you want to talk to me about?" I said as nonchalantly as I could muster. I couldn't help but feel a large twinge of discomfort inside, no matter how unconcerned I tried to appear.

Daphne didn't say anything for a moment, she only looked at her butterbeer intently. The feeling of the news being very bad grew inside of me like a pervasive weed. Daphne twirled a strand of her hair in her fingers pensively. I understood then that I would have to say something. Anything really.

"As long as it is not a declaration of your undying love for Potter, it'll be fine, Daphne," I joked lightheartedly. It didn't sit quite right with me though, I remembered the conversation I had seen them have all too well.

She took a large sip out of her bottle and put it back onto the table delicately. "You're not far off."

The heat of the pub suddenly felt completely overbearing, every sound was harsh and cacophony reigned. "What?" I said in nothing but a whisper.

Daphne waved her wand to erect a privacy spell. "It's complicated." She sighed heavily and waved to the maid for another bottle of butterbeer.

It felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Like someone had stabbed me in the chest.

Wait, no. It felt much worse. I couldn't even describe it.

"The only thing you have to know is that I must marry Potter and Potter needs to suffer," she whispered with venom in her usually melodious voice.

They had already decided to marry each other? I had to control myself to not break down then and there. To laugh or cry, no idea. Perhaps both.

Wait, did she say Potter needed to suffer?

"Those two statements seem contradictory to me," I said hoarsely after what must have been a minute of silence.

Daphne glared at her butterbeer in a way I'd only ever seen her do once before. After the duel with him.

"There is a marriage contract," Daphne said simply. Her face showed no concern, no anger, no nothing. Her eyes were another story, they said much more than words ever could. It didn't matter that Potter was the best dueller at the school, I had no doubt in my mind that he would suffer. "He activated it at the end of last year."

The conversations and scrambles from the background had faded out of existence. Nothing else existed but me, Daphne and the fucking butterbeer bottles. I felt an incredible urge to take them and smash them to pieces somewhere, preferably Potter's head.

He was a thief. I knew that Daphne wasn't mine, but I would like to think that perhaps she could have been. She would be mine, and I would be hers. Running my hand through those beautiful strands of honey golden hair. Holding those pretty, delicate hands.

Potter had taken it from me.

"There's no way out?"

"Short of either of us dying, no."

There was an obvious solution to me.

I paused. "Whatever you need my help with, I will help you with, Daphne," I whispered with a determined look.

Because really, I wasn't the victim here. She was.

Daphne didn't meet my eyes as she continued to keep her gaze firmly fixed on the butterbeer.

Then she let out a long, desperate breath. Somehow, one exhale told me more than a thousand words could ever hope to do.

"I just… I never even knew that the contract existed, and now everything I could have had is gone…"

Her eyes were a little glazed over, the golden hair framed her face like an angel.

Daphne smiled at me. I thought I would drown.

"Thank you for your help, Draco. Thank you."