A/N: Um...sorry? I guess the new upload schedule will be between Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon PST hahaha. I forgot to run through and prep this chapter last night, because I was entertaining a friend called Cognac since it was my brother's birthday. And I was late enough for church this morning so...

Also, to clarify since it was so subtle, Harry is 12 years old. In the first chapter, his birthday cake had 12 candles - to of course, signal 12 years old. I moved the Hogwarts age up also, compared to the original.

Why you might ask? I dunno, but it's kinda hard to write young whippersnappers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any works by J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 6

Daphne likes to think of herself as someone who doesn't back down.

She doesn't like to hide herself nor does she want to run away from a problem ever again.

Whatever obstacle stood in her way, she had to push past it.

It was how she managed to keep both her and Astoria alive for the past year. She swore that she'd never give up and always find a way ever since her parents gave up their lives for her and Astoria.

Yet, last night she purposefully went to sleep to avoid confronting Harry about what he said, and what happened with Astoria last night.

It was surprising to see him be like that. Comforting Astoria and pretending to be their mother was something that had started many months ago. Daphne never told her sister about it and just quietly did the best she could to alleviate the little girl's nightmares.

And the feeling of having someone to share in that…responsibility, was quite a nice feeling to have. Especially when she's been doing it for so long without a word.

Daphne slowly pulled herself up from the bed and stared at Harry's sleeping form next to Astoria's own. A blush crept up on her cheeks, as she stared at his sleeping form.

"I think you're really pretty."

The words suddenly echoed in her mind as the memories of the moment flashed by.

"It's just a compliment…" she muttered. "And he was just helping with…Tori. Yeah…helping."

Shaking her head clear, Daphne pulled the covers off herself and awkwardly climbed down the bed at the foot.

Stretching her arms out, Daphne tiredly made her way to their bathroom and started washing her face. Taking a look in the mirror, she studied her appearance.

"A haircut would be in order," Daphne mused. "Let's see…toothbrushes and paste, some new clothes, toiletries, oh…I guess some actual shoes would be appropriate."

Daphne stared down at her barefoot feet, finally noticing that she was still barefoot. She lifted her right foot and pressed on the bottom.

"Argh!"

She winced when she pressed too hard on them. They were an odd color showing signs that her foot was clearly damaged.

"God!" Daphne cursed. "Okay. Add to the list to get these checked out. Oh Tori…her's must be terrible as well."

The realization that her little sister's feet must be similar sent a pang through her heart. Daphne would have to figure out a solution and experiment with whatever works for her before she would dare try it on Astoria.

"Daphne?"

The girl turned towards the door to see Harry standing there with a sleepy look on his face. She instantly tensed up as he walked in.

"I heard a shout…" he mumbled. "Everything okay?"

"It's nothing," Daphne replied quickly. She gestured to her foot frustratingly. "It's damaged. The uh skin's a bit rotten. It just hurts when I touch it too hard."

Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly before bending down to look at it closer.

"Oh," realization appeared in his eyes. "I know what this is! You have a similar version of okapi feet. Well, muggles call it athlete's feet. Anyways, it looks much more serious than normal, probably infected. We'd probably have to clean out the bacteria, keep your bare feet off the ground for maybe 2-3 weeks and…"

Daphne stared at him dumbfounded, seeing him ramble. Harry slowly trailed off when he finally noticed her staring. The silent question hung in the air as he blushed.

"I read a lot, okay?" he admitted bashfully. "Anyways, I think you should try washing it and using a foot scraper first. It would be a good idea for us to buy an ointment but well…"

Daphne nodded numbly at the unsaid words and moved to the bathtub and turned on the water. She rolled up her pants and got her feet into the tub.

"…AHHH!"

Daphne screamed when the water made contact with her feet. She tumbled backwards from the tub from the intense pain.

Expecting to feel the wood floor of the bathroom on the back of her head, Daphne unexpectedly felt a hand preventing her from falling any further.

"Harry?"

His face stared from above her, mere inches away. His eyes were full of worry as he stared back at her.

"…um, you can let go of me now…" Daphne mumbled

That shook him out of his thoughts, as he blushed and helped her up.

"Sorry." Harry muttered.

Daphne shook her head. "No, it's um fine. Thanks for catching me." She offered awkwardly.

He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Uh yeah…anytime…Daphne."

Daphne took a deep breath before seating herself at the edge of the bathtub, ready to put her feet in once more. She glanced to Harry at the side, as he carefully stood close to catch her in case she fell once more.

This time, her feet moved much more slowly as she cautiously dipped her right one into the water.

"It's not so bad." Daphne admitted. "I feel a bit itchy though."

"No pain?" Harry asked.

"No. No pain."

Daphne decided to put her other foot in and let out a sigh as she sat on the bathtub. The water was raised up to her ankle, as she slowly moved her feet around the water. The coloring started to darken a little, as it washed away the dirt and grime on her feet.

Harry's voice spoke from behind her. "I'm going to head downstairs to see if I can get us any food, give you some time. I'll let you know once I have something."

She could hear him closing the door shut and walking away. Daphne let out a deep sigh, one that she didn't know that she was holding in.

Just what was it about him that did that to her? Was it because of what happened last night? And why couldn't she even bring it up to him?

No matter. There were more important things they had to worry about. After her soak, she's going to need to help Harry plan out what they're going to do next.

"Harry doesn't have much money left," Daphne realized out loud. She then looked at her feet and around the bathroom sadly. "I guess that just means these luxuries will have to be set aside for now."

Daphne began mentally making a list of everything they would need. It would be some time before they could get everything, but she swore to herself that she'd do everything she could to work with Harry to get to that point.

"It would be so nice to get some actual toothpaste. Lord, who knows how long my teeth will hold themselves."

LINE BREAK

Harry couldn't understand how someone could be so energetic in the morning.

For merlin's sake, it was 7! 7 in the morning and little Astoria was completely energized as she devoured her eggs.

"So, what are we doing today?" Astoria asked, mouth full of food. "Are we going to go shopping? Can I get some clothes? Can we get some chocolate? Chocolate is yummy. I really want chocolate!"

"Tori! Slow down and chew your food!" Daphne chided. "And no, we're not going to get chocolate today."

The little girl pouted before she started to slow down, doing her best not to speed up her eating.

"Astoria was right on a question though," Harry said as he tore off a piece of toast. "We need a plan on what we're going to do today."

Daphne nodded. She set down her utensils and shifted once more to her more serious businesslike look.

"How much money do you have left?" Daphne asked.

Harry pulled out his pouch and poured the coins on the table to begin counting.

"Let's see…74 sickles and…23 knuts."

Daphne winced at that. "We barely have enough for 2 nights here."

"I know. You think we can get a job within today?"

"I don't know Harry. I've tried before many times, but people are really hesitant to hire 11 or even 12 year olds." Daphne admitted. "Add to the fact that we'd need a pay in advance…"

"Well, we have to try something. How about we spend the day today, see if anything could come out of it?"

"I think we can start with that."

The three of them quickly finished their breakfast, with Astoria being the quickest. Making sure they were ready; they left The Leaky Cauldron to find Diagon Alley packed with witches and wizards already starting their day.

Harry watched as Daphne kept a firm hand on Astoria's arm, making sure the girl didn't get lost in the crowd of people milling about.

"Wow. People are already up and about." Harry commented.

Daphne nodded at him, as they walked down the street. "Me and Tori would see the street full by 6 in the morning on most days. Considering Diagon Alley is the biggest street in wizarding Britain, it shouldn't be that surprising. Say, Harry. Haven't you gone here a lot?"

Harry shook his head. "Not really. James never really took me anywhere much. He'd much rather prefer my brother. I think I've been here maybe a total of…3 times? Including last time as well…"

The boy suddenly paused and looked down at Daphne's and Astoria's feet. "Merlin!" He muttered. "I completely forgot! You two don't even have shoes yet. We need to find something, especially with what happened this morning!"

"What happened this morning?" Astoria curiously asked.

"Just bad feet." Daphne grumbled in answer. "Don't worry too much about it, Tori. You'll be alright. We'll figure something out."

"Why would I not be alright?"

"Argh…just…don't worry about it."

Daphne looked like she wanted to move on, but Harry didn't let her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Daphne! The two of you can't just keep going around barefoot like that! Especially here where the street's so dirty! At least let's buy some sandals or something!"

Daphne groaned at him. "It's fine Harry. We'll buy them AFTER we get some money. You barely have enough."

Harry began reaching for own shoes, taking them off.

"No Harry - stop." Daphne grabbed his arms. "I'm not wearing your shoes! I won't even fit in them!"

"They're size 8, Daphne. We're practically the same age so you should fit in them!"

Daphne glared at him. "I'm a girl, Harry." She growled. "We have different sized feet!" Therefore, different shoe sizes."

"…oh."

Harry scratched his head awkwardly and quickly stopped taking off his shoes.

"Daphne at least let me buy you-"

"No."

He wanted to say more - to go as far as buying them without telling her. But Daphne glared at him, silently saying that if he bought them before they got more money, she'd never forgive him.

"I'm just worried." Harry said softly. "I'm worried for the two of you."

Daphne's eyes seemed to soften at that. "I know, Harry. And I thank you for that. But me and Tori have been through much worse than something like this. A couple more days won't hurt."

Astoria decided to join in to support her sister. "I don't really know what's going on, but Daphs is right! We're tough, we can handle it, Harry!" She exclaimed.

After hearing that, Harry finally relented. "Alright. But I'm going to find -"

All of a sudden, Harry felt something hard slamming into his right shoulder.

"Argh! Sorry about that!"

Harry found himself staring at a wizard in a fancy looking robe. He brushed himself of dust and did his best to stand straighter. "Pardon me there, lad. Wasn't looking where I was walking. " He looked down at Harry and held out his hand, giving him a small smile.

"Oh! It's no problem, sir." Harry said politely, reaching for the hand.

Just as he was about to shake the man's hand, it quickly shot away. Harry looked up to see the man's face had immediately turned sour.

"Oh…it's you." he spat. The man turned and stomped away but not before Harry caught the words being muttered under his breath. "Ungrateful brat…"

"What the hell was that?" Harry asked in bewilderment, his eyes still on the man walking away.

"Some people are just pricks." Daphne shrugged.

"What's a prick?"

Astoria's innocent question made both Harry and Daphne sputter.

"…oh would you look at that! An ice cream shop! Why don't we see if they're hiring!" Daphne hurriedly suggested, dragging both Harry and Astoria along.

"Daphs! You haven't told me yet!"

LINE BREAK

"Hire you? Hahaha! Ah that's a good one! After everything you did? Ahahhahaha!"

"I'm sorry my dear, but you're too young to - you! Get out! Get out boy! And you'd do best to stay away from that boy, girl!"

"No shoes? How could I expect you to greet customers if you don't even have shoes on! And who's that boy…you! My, no shoes and hanging around with that boy? No! Unacceptable!"

"…how old did you say you were? Morgana! Where are your parents! Wait a minute…I know you boy! Out!"

"No. We're not hiring right now. Oh! Especially not you! No! No amount of begging will change that fact!"

From their entire morning to afternoon, Harry and Daphne both tried asking around in every shop they came across if they were hiring. Every answer was the same.

Although Daphne had already cleaned up a bit back at the Leaky Cauldron, she was still too young. And walking in barefoot didn't help matters.

Speaking of not helping, whenever they saw Harry, their demeanor immediately changed. It was as if he had done something to draw the ire of every witch or wizard he came across!

For the life of him, Harry couldn't figure out the reason. When he asked them what they were talking about, the only answer he got was something along the lines of, "yeah right! Like you don't know what you did!" Or simply a silent glare telling him to get out.

The day was tiring not only for the two older kids, but for young Astoria as well. The little girl had to spend a lot of her time standing outside waiting, as it would not look good for someone as young as her to be with them.

Astoria did do her best not to complain, but they could tell she was awfully exhausted, the day taking a strain on her.

Currently, the three of them sat on a bench just outside one of the shops that kicked them out. The morning rush had died down, as they were in more secluded area.

Daphne threw her hands in the air exasperated. "What is their problem?" She yelled. "Everyone has something against you, Harry! And for no apparent reason!"

Harry just sulked in place. "I have no idea why." He said frustratingly. "It's like…I've done something to them all. I mean, I don't even know! And the man I bumped into earlier, he said something about me being ungrateful!"

It was not how Harry would imagine how the day would go. He knew that getting a job at their age would be hard, but he didn't think they had it out against him right off the bat like that!

"Hey Daphs? Harry? I'm really hungry…" Astoria said quietly, her stomach rumbling.

"Tori…we don't have much money left. I need you to wait for tonight, okay?"

"But Daphs…you've said that many times before! And we didn't have anything to eat those nights!"

Harry looked over to see a guilty Daphne next to him, holding tightly onto Astoria.

"No, Tori. We'll figure something out. I promise. I promise we'll figure something out." Daphne said firmly.

"Will…will we go back?"

"Go back? Tori, what do you mean?"

"Will we…go back like then? I don't want to go back…it's so nice…the food…the room…and Harry…"

Astoria was tearing up now, her eyes red. "And Harry…Harry's been so nice. I don't want to lose Harry!" She cried.

At this point Harry couldn't help but join in.

"He turned over towards the little girl, causing her to look at him. "Astoria? What do you mean you don't want to lose me?" He asked gently.

"I-I don't want you to leave us!" Astoria admitted tearfully. "B-because you can! And…you can save money with only you! But please! Don't!"

He watched as eyes fell down to her feet, averting her gaze at him. Seeing her practically begging him like this made Harry almost cry.

"Tori!" You can't just say those things to Harry like that." Daphne chided the girl, albeit with much less energy. She looked sad, but her eyes were still firmly glaring at Astoria.

Harry knew that he couldn't let the little girl think he'd leave them. And there was no way that he'd ever let Daphne end up in a situation where she had to lie to Astoria like that - he'd make sure of it.

With that decision, he stood up from his seat much to the surprise of Daphne, and walked in front of Astoria.

Harry knelt in front of the girl. "Astoria. Please. Look at me."

Harry called to her, causing Astoria to finally look up at him.

"I'm not going to leave you. Not you or your sister. Ever. I made a promise to Daphne last night, and I intend to fully keep it."

Harry stood up and curled up his fists. A determined look on his eyes.

"Daphne. You go on ahead without me. You've seen how they immediately change up when I'm around. This way, the chances will be better. We'll split up and meet back at the Leaky Cauldron."

He reached into his robes and tossed the coin pouch to Daphne who caught it in surprise.

"Harry? What are you doing?" She asked.

"Making sure that you know I won't leave. We're in this together now. Good or bad, we'll figure it out, Daphne."

Daphne stared at the pouch and back at him. "And what's stopping me from running away with this?"

Harry gave her a small smile. "Nothing. But I know you won't. I trust you."

Daphne stared at him for a few seconds before she gripped the pouch tightly, her teeth gritted. "By the end of today, Harry, I promise you this. We're going to get some more money into our hands. And we're going to eat a damn good meal tonight. All three of us."

"All three of us." Harry agreed.

Line break

They had split off with Daphne and Astoria heading off towards the more outlying shops whilst Harry took a more unusual approach.

The boy found himself back in Knockturn Alley. As he walked past a secluded area, he recognized it as the place he originally was held hostage.

"Gotta get moving." He mumbled, shaking himself out of his thoughts.

His eyes wandered down the Alley, searching for any potential places he could get hired.

Harry understood how dangerous the place could be. He'd read about how notorious wizarding criminals had usually found themself here - the prime place for any illicit activities.

If he couldn't get a job in Diagon Alley, then it was time to try Knockturn Alley. A place like this hopefully won't have any preconceived notions about him.

As Harry walked, a few strangers poked out from alleyways and shops.

"Psst! Hey boy! Yer want to try some? Magicals Happy Times! Only 5 sickles!"

A scarred man with an eyepatch suddenly stood in front of him with a grin, hands stretched out with a few green looking pills.

"Erm no thanks sir." Harry declined nervously, navigating his way past the man.

"Think yer too good, eh?" The man called from behind him. "Hadrian Potter thinks he's too good! Hahaha!"

Harry gritted his teeth. That wasn't his name anymore.

"It's him? That glory seeking brat?"

This time it was another voice, as a figure appeared from one of the alleyways. This time it was a woman, dirty rags and a few missing teeth, hair all over the place.

Harry's anger was quickly forgotten, suddenly replaced with curiosity. Wait did she say glory seeking? Was there a reason they treated him that way? Maybe he could get some answers if he asked…

"Hey! Check it out! Little brat Potter comes to our alley!"

A few figures suddenly started to surround him. Before Harry could even broach the question, he had suddenly found himself against a brick wall.

Harry was already regretting coming here. So much for searching for a job, or even getting an answer from the woman.

"The hell you doing here, kid?"

"Bah! Showing up here! The balls on this kid!"

"Potter's previous heir! What a fine catch we got today!"

The boy looked around, searching for any openings to run. He had no idea what this group would do to him, but he would not let something like the hostage situation occur again!

The group suddenly got closer, their hands reaching out to him.

Was this it? Was this…

"No! Geroff Matilda! The kid's mine!"

"I'll have you know I found him first! I'll be the one to get him!"

"Enough! If we play it right, we should each get some good galleons out of him!"

"Bah! I'm not sharing any of the money with George over there! Just last week he costed me a meal!"

Harry watched as the group suddenly began arguing with each other on who got to capture Harry. As his eyes wandered, he suddenly noticed a small opening amongst them.

"There!"

Harry bolted at them, taking advantage of his smaller size and pushed through an opening. He took off down the street, not looking back.

"Hey! The kid just got through!"

"Get him you fools! That's my meal ticket!"

"Yours? He's mine, you no good thief!"

"If anyone's a thief it's you! Now move outta the way!"

Harry sprinted as fast as he could. He noticed a shop with its doors open and tried running inside.

However, as soon as he got in front of it, the door slammed shut and a woman looked out from the window, sneering at him.

"Damn it!" Harry cursed. He frantically turned around to see his would be/potential abductors coming in closer.

"Any place! I need a place to hide!"

Shop after shop he tried. All of their doors slammed shut before he could even get it. Their windows being closed shut and the blinds drawn.

Soon Harry was at the end of the road. The only place left was a gray cement building, with absolutely no windows at all. A door hung open, not yet closed.

"Screw it!"

He dashed inside and slammed the door shut from behind. Just as it closed, he heard loud bangs and yells from outside the door.

Slumping to the ground, Harry finally managed to catch his breath.

"Never…going to go…Knockturn Alley…ever again…" the boy panted.

Harry sat at the door for a while, trying to catch his breath. Eventually, the pounding and yelling got quieter until it sounded like they had walked away.

The boy finally got up from the ground and brushed his robes. He started to take in where he was, and only one word could describe it.

Dark.

The room was pitch black dark. Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand.

What was that spell that created light again?

He searched his memories but came across images of James teaching him and Jamie. This caused him to wince at the thought.

But eventually he did remember the one lesson, where the spell was quickly glazed through.

"Luminos." Harry whispered.

Nothing happened.

Did he say it right?

Luminos wasn't the spell…it was…oh!

He whispered out again. "Lumos!"

This time, his wand lit up, illuminating the area around him.

Benches lined the area. Articles of clothing were splayed all around the room, each of different colors. Green. Purple. Blue. It was if they were some kind of uniform or outfit with flair. Harry could easily see these being worn by performers of some sort.

Turning around to the door he came through, Harry decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to go out back that way. There was a chance that if he unlocked the door, he would be met with the group chasing him waiting outside.

Therefore, his best bet was to find another way out.

Harry began walking through the room until he noticed a hallway leading elsewhere.

As he entered the hallway, the unlit torches along it suddenly lit up.

"Huh. I wonder what's up with that." Harry mused, putting his wand away. "Someone's got to be here to keep the charm maintained."

As he walked through the hallway, he suddenly found himself in front of a big wooden double door.

"I'm sure there's someone through here that can show me the way out. I mean, if not, what's the worst that can be behind this door?" He shrugged.

And as he opened the door, he was met with a blinding light and the sound of cheering.

"WITCHES AND WIZARDS! WELCOME TO THE OPENING OF TODAY'S MATCH! DUELISTS! PREPARE TO TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!"

When the light shone away, Harry was stunned.

In front of him was an arena of sand. And surrounding it were crowds of people all sitting high upon bleachers, all yelling and screaming for blood.

Yeah, what's the worst that can be behind this door?

A/N: One of the things you might notice or question is Harry's usage of "Merlin!" vs Daphne's usage of "God!" It's one of my other subtle parts of the story. Harry grew up with James Potter in the pureblood way, while Daphne grew up with parents and her mom was a muggle born witch. You can infer from her family life about how her mother still avoids using magic to go about her day to day life.

Funnily enough, I actually got athlete's foot a couple weeks back when this chapter was first written. Seriously, what are the chances lol.

Thank you for reading!