Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.
Author's Note:
A massive thank you for all the lovely and constructive reviews this fanfic has received so far, I'm glad so many people are enjoying it! I hope this chapter will be worth the wait, it gave me quite a lot of trouble at times, hence the longer wait.
Hope you enjoy!
Unlike her husband, Lily had little trouble in identifying a career she wished to pursue. A week after James had resigned from his position at the Department of Magical Games and Sport, Remus had apparated over for a visit, and mentioned how the Daily Prophet were still running articles on Harry joining Hogwarts and lamented the lack of a serious alternative newspaper.
His words stuck with her.
Lily knew she wanted to pursue a profession where she could help people but hadn't considered establishing a competing newspaper until then. Oh, she had lamented in the past how populist the tabloid had become and wished for an alternative but had never given any extended thought to the matter. Her newspaper, if it ever materialised, would be the antithesis of the Daily Prophet. It would emphasise fact and uncompromising journalism, instead of sensationalism and conjecture.
As it was, she had only done preliminary research into the specifics of publishing and journalism, but it was more than James, who could often be seen gloomily flicking through job vacancies and career advice pages with no success.
Today marked the second Sunday that Harry and Holly were at Hogwarts and the Potters and company were still adjusting to their absence. Her and James had received three letters to date from their children and whilst the first letter informing them of how they were sorted attempted to justify Holly's detention (which Lily had not been impressed with), the two seemed to be adjusting well to life at Hogwarts.
The weekly mirror calls helped to lessen the sense of separation for the elder Potters as well, if only slightly.
Lily poured herself a second glass of lilac coloured elderflower wine, having drank the first quicker than she expected after a series of lucky dice rolls had her competing with Remus for first place in their boardgame of the week. Every Sunday for the past few years, her and James cooked a roast or stew for their friends, Remus and Sirius having dinner with them and the children before the group voted on which magically enchanted muggle boardgame to play that evening.
Remus seemed particularly pleased for Harry and Holly's absence this evening. They were playing the boardgame Risk with animated pieces, and every time her children would team up against their godparents, which often resulted in poor Remus and Sirius floundering around Europe as the game progressed. James, meanwhile, had thought it would be a fun experiment to switch his usual blue team with Holly's purple while she was at Hogwarts, but had instead been suffering with insubordinate troops who did not appreciate the sudden change in their leadership.
"You're brave for leaving your pieces unattended." Sirius pointed this out as he walked into the kitchen and made a beeline for one of the kitchen cupboards fixed above the worktops. It was a fair observation; Lily lacked the backbone that the others had to effectively reign in her hot-headed soldiers. That was without mentioning the Marauders tendency to sabotage other's pieces.
"Sticking charm." Was all Lily replied. She knew none of the Marauders could cancel out her charmwork, despite their magical prowess. "You?"
"Babbling hex," he supplied, retrieving the tub of sour cream and chives pringles he had been rooting around for, and closing the cupboard door. "If those two try anything, they'll be speaking gibberish for an hour."
"Very impressive Mr Black," said Lily, unable to stop the corners of her lips from twitching upwards into a small smile. Sirius returned the smile, though it lacked humour. In truth, Sirius had been uncharacteristically quiet this evening and it was beginning to concern Lily.
Sirius moved to stand next to her, leaning against the kitchen counter and folding his arms. He chewed on his bottom lip and stared fixedly at the floor before speaking.
"I was wondering if I could ask your advice on something?"
"Of course, Sirius," Lily replied.
"Hmm," answered Sirius nodding. "So, the situation is, I have a… lady friend…"
Lily diverted all her energy to keeping a straight face.
"And this friend, who is a girl… well to be accurate she's more of a girlfriend really."
"Really?" Lily said, affecting surprise. "Is this a girlfriend, girlfriend?"
'Keep calm Lily,' she told herself. 'We cannot let him know we know.'
"She is," Sirius said solemnly.
"I see," responded Lily in an equally serious manner, desperately trying not to give anything away.
Sirius looked at her for a few seconds before barking out a short laugh and reaching inside the tub of pringles. "You've always been a terrible actor Lily, you're too honest to lie effectively for an extended period of time."
Lily blinked. "Whatever do you mean?"
Sirius chomped down on a pringle and reached for another one as he answered. "James told me two weeks ago that he spilled the beans on my romantic endeavours."
"I, he- what!" Lily spluttered. Was Sirius saying that she was going to all this effort for no reason? And she was not a bad actor thank you very much!
"Yep, he let me know the day after he told you." Sirius patted her shoulder reassuringly as Lily drank a conciliatory sip of wine. "Don't be too harsh on him, even if he hadn't said anything you would have given it away. You've had a disturbingly cheerful glow about you the past few weeks. You should be glad that James told me, my first guess was that you were pregnant again."
Lily coughed the wine she had been drinking all over Sirius's suede shoes.
"Oi, watch it!" Sirius roared, jumping aside.
Lily ignored his outraged expletives as she turned to lean over the sink and gasped in an effort to regain her breath. 'Twenty years!' Lily fumed as she recovered from what he had said. 'Nearly twenty years he's been my friend and I'm still astounded by some of things he says!'
"Anyway," grumbled Sirius when Lily had recovered and he had vanished the puddle of elderflower wine and spit from his feet, "you know that she, my girlfriend that is, is a muggle?"
"Yes, Ashley, right?"
Sirius smiled indulgently. "Yes, Ashley Ugbade," he said wistfully, his features softening.
"I like her a lot," admitted Sirius, "and it is becoming difficult to keep this, magic, a secret. She wants to meet my friends and hear about my life, and what I'm telling her are lies. They're not massive lies, but they make me feel like a charlatan all the same and-" Sirius cut himself off and stared resolutely at an invisible spot on the opposite wall.
"I don't know what to do. I thought you might have some advice. You've had family, cousins and the like that you suddenly found yourself having to omit a large aspect of your life to, and you have always been there for me before. Helped me out when I haven't known what to do."
"Do you know how she would react if you told her?" Lily queried.
Sirius shook his head. "How can you know how anyone will react to all of this? Besides, it's illegal to tell her until we get married, and I have no desire to serve a life sentence in Azkaban."
Lily probed further. "And is that your intentions with this relationship? Marriage?"
"Yes," replied Sirius with certainty, "I like everything about her. That's enough for me to want to marry her." Sirius was never one to shy away from saying or doing what he thought was right, so his statement shouldn't have surprised Lily as much as it did.
"I see. You could propose? That would solve your dilemma."
Sirius laughed derisively. "I haven't known her for a year, and we've been together for even less time. I don't want to scare her off."
Lily was happy for Sirius and gazed at him speculatively. "You sound as though you really care for her. How did you meet?"
"I do care for her. I love her, in all honestly," said Sirius softly and with pride. He went on to inform Lily that when investigating a smuggling operation in the area, he had lunch at a café and saw Ashley across the room. Five minutes later he was at her table talking to her and had secured a promise from her to meet him for lunch at the same café the day after.
Lily thought it a surprisingly uneventful meeting for how sensationalist Sirius could be at times and took a moment to marvel at how fast he was able to capture Ashley's attention. Sirius continued to describe all of Ashley's qualities that he admired.
"She's a teacher at a muggle primary school," said Sirius reverently, as though simply talking about her was precious and something to be cherished, "teaches years three to four. You'd like her a lot I think, you two have a lot in common."
"We should arrange to meet her," interjected Lily hopefully.
"I'll try and plan something," promised Sirius, "I just wonder what the point is if we can't tell her about magic."
Lily chewed her bottom lip in thought. "I think for what it's worth, you should tell her. I know it's illegal," she said quickly as Sirius made to interrupt, "but I think if it was me, I would want to know whether she could handle the truth earlier rather than later, when we're married. It would make… it, less painful."
"By 'it', you mean…"
"Obliviation, yes." They both fell silent at that.
"That's not going to happen," whispered Sirius. "Obliviators from the ministry knocking at her door, pointing their wands at her. No matter how she reacts, by Merlin, I will not let that happen." He was near growling by the time that he finished, his voice as dark as his name and his breathing heavy.
Lily wrapped her arm around her friend, trying to give him comfort.
"The ministry is not going to find out Sirius. If she accepts magic, then we simply keep that she knows about it secret from everyone apart from you, me, James, and Remus. Not even Harry and Holly will know," vowed Lily.
"If, however, Ashley reacts negatively," and here Lily swallowed anxiously, "in that case, with your permission, I can cast the charm on her. It would be gentler than what the obliviators would do."
Sirius stared hard at a spot just to the right of her shoulder and nodded his head once. He leaned his head on her shoulder and Lily felt him shake slightly. There they stood, appreciating the rare, peaceful ambience of the Potter household until…
"I SAY! Get your filthy hands off me you lily-livered heathen!"
"Appalling behaviour!"
"What the- ouch, stop- LILY! Your figures are trying to attack me!" James yelled from the living room.
Lily and Sirius both raised their heads at the commotion while other enchanted figures made their opinions regarding James' attempted manoeuvring of Lily's men known.
"Despicable! Absolutely despicable!" Declared Remus' yellow team.
"Field Marshall Holly would never have sunk to such underhand tactics to defeat the enemy!" James' own troops complained with disgust.
"LILY!"
"Come on," said Lily, stepping back from Sirius, "what do you say we head back in there and try to restore order." Sirius smiled wolfishly in response, and the two headed back to their friends in the next room.
It was a blustery Thursday afternoon, Daphne's long ponytail whipping past her face, forcing her to try to wrestle it back behind her for the eighth time as she trod towards Professor Hagrid's hut with Tracey.
Daphne huffed as a forceful burst of wind slapped her hair back into her face. Tracey chortled in response.
"I thought you'd be a bit cheerier, considering we're on our way to your favourite class," said Tracey amusedly.
Tracey wasn't wrong. Care of Magical Creatures was her favourite class by far and her enjoyment of Professor Hagrid's lessons had increased tenfold thanks to the new addition to their class two weeks ago.
Daphne was, of course, referring to one Harry Potter.
After seeing Harry in the Great Hall on the first night back in Hogwarts and realising that she had in fact spent the entire train journey making a fool of herself, Daphne was certain that Harry would not be interested in speaking to her again.
It was four days after the opening feast as she and Tracey made their way to Care of Magical Creatures that the Boy Who Lived demonstrated just how wrong she was.
The two Slytherins had been standing to one side of the Entrance Hall when Harry approached them, Daphne effusively lecturing Tracey on the creatures she hoped they would get to study this year, when the Gryffindor suddenly appeared beside them.
"Daphne, hi," Harry had greeted, causing both girls to abruptly stop talking.
"Hi Harry!" Daphne said, her voice cracking at the beginning. She immediately cursed herself. She has never squeaked in front of anyone, and then she does it in front of the first boy she fancies! She tried to calm herself and follow Tracey and Sophie's suggestion in the carriage to simply act normal and not to overreact.
"Hi…" he repeated, his face flushing. His eyes darted to Tracey's, and he cleared his throat and held out his hand. "I'm Harry."
Tracey now sported an amused smirk and took his hand in hers. "Yes, Daphne's just said that." Harry blushed even harder at that. "I'm Tracey, nice to meet you."
Harry awkwardly nodded and forced a strained smile onto his face. An uncomfortable silence settled over the trio, and Daphne felt as though every student in the Entrance Hall had stopped to stare at them. Notably, Daphne saw over Harry's shoulder the four other Gryffindor boys in their year gawking at them in astonishment from where it appeared Harry had left them.
Her eyes went back to Harry's as he straightened his shoulders and met her gaze, pointedly not looking at Tracey. "I'd like to apologise. I was worried I may have misled you on the train and that was not my intention. So yeah," he finished, with less confidence than what he started with. "I didn't want you to think that I was playing a prank or something."
Daphne was relieved at his words and smiled warmly in response. "It was definitely a shock, but that's alright, I'm not upset." Harry grinned happily at that.
Daphne was aware that Tracey was smirking humorously at her side in a manner that had Daphne fearing what embarrassing words might slither out of her friend's mouth next if she allowed another pause in the conversation.
"We were just about to head over to Professor Hagrid's for Care of Magical Creatures Harry, if you wanted to walk with us?" Daphne asked quickly. Harry had agreed and the three walked out of the castle, Harry's dormmates following cautiously a few dozen paces behind them.
On their walk Daphne switched between elation that Harry had sought her out and stressing about what Tracey might say to Harry. It was when they arrived at class and Professor Hagrid delivered the lesson plan for the next four weeks however, that had Daphne eagerly anticipating every Care of Magical Creatures since.
"Now," the half-giant announced when everyone was present, "we're gonna be startin' off your O.W.L. year with kneazles." Professor Hagrid turned and waved the class to follow him to a small, penned off area a short distance from the hut he called his home, in which were eight kneazles.
They were feline in appearance, but far too large to be mistaken as a common household cat. That was not to say they were entirely dissimilar. Some were prowling around the pen, a few were curled up on the ground, others sitting sedentarily, but all turned their heads to gaze imperiously at the fifth years when they arrived.
"Kneazle's are notoriously independent, they don't trust much but yer'd be hard pressed to find a better judge of character." The professor informed them. "Yer task will be t' gain the trust of your assigned kneazle by the start of October, and have it perform a series of exercises during our first lesson of the month where you will then be assessed."
"Yer'll be completing this assignment in pairs," clarified Hagrid. "That will make this more difficult. Who knows why?" Daphne rose her hand but was beaten by Hermione Granger. Normally her reactions were quicker, but she was still slightly frazzled by Harry meeting up with her.
"As you said, kneazles are independent creatures," the brunette answered correctly, "and they rarely bond with more than one person as a result of this characteristic, if they ever choose to."
"Ten points t' Gryffindor," yelled Hagrid cheerily. He then clapped his hands together concussively, startling a small charm of finches that had been nesting in the trees, the small birds warbling in alarm and flapping away in a panic. "Righ' then, pair up and pick a kneazle!"
Her classmates moved to their desired partners and Daphne turned to Tracey to partner up as they usually did, only to find her auburn-haired friend had disappeared.
"I've read all the material for this part of the course, and I think you and I would be excellent together for this assignment Millicent. Don't you have a cat back home?"
Daphne looked wide eyed at where Tracey was standing some distance away and looking up at Millicent Bullstrode, who grunted in agreement. Tracey had never shown any sign of wanting to befriend Bullstrode before, indeed, Daphne was certain that Tracey had a strong dislike for the girl. Not to mention it was extremely unlikely that Tracey had read ahead for Care of Magical Creatures. She couldn't fathom why Tracey had abandoned her.
What a thoughtless, insensitive, selfish-
"Did you want to partner with me Daphne?"
Harry was smiling at her hesitantly as he asked, and Daphne felt herself smile brilliantly as she nodded, uncaring of the other Gryffindor boys that had hastily made their way to Harry and were standing behind him with expressions of horror etched on their faces. Too late to prevent their friend pairing up with a Slytherin.
As Daphne and Harry ambled over to the kneazle pen, Tracey winked at her from where she and Millicent were inspecting an austere looking kneazle. Daphne rolled her eyes but couldn't prevent the smile creeping onto her face.
What a thoughtful, empathetic, and selfless friend Tracey was.
That had been two weeks ago.
Harry was a fantastic partner, suggesting different approaches to gain the trust of their kneazle, though not as many as Daphne, whose knowledge of magical creatures surpassed any of their classmates. Since her third year, Daphne had taken to asking Professor Hagrid about the myriad of creatures he worked with at Hogwarts, such was her passion.
Their kneazle, a male that Daphne had quickly christened Jonathan, had been won over between the two of them at the end of their second class, quicker than any of their classmates had managed. Her and Harry had since been taking turns in encouraging the kneazles to perform the set tasks; activities like locating and retrieving a hidden object and jumping through a series of hoops Professor Hagrid had available.
All the while the two of them spoke of what they had done already this term and more about their families, with Harry being particularly transparent now that he and Daphne had a growing friendship, and the latter was aware of his identity.
It was safe to say however, that Tracey had not been enjoying her first two weeks of Care of Magical Creatures lessons and had no hesitation in reminding Daphne of the sacrifice that she was making.
"I'm going to get marked down so much for this assignment," moaneded Tracey as the two arrived at the kneazle paddock. "Hagrid was right when he said they're good judges of character, because our kneazle won't even look at Bullstrode. It's as if being a supporter of racial supremacy is indicative of bad character!" Tracey said the latter sarcastically.
Daphne chortled, she had noticed Bullstrode become increasingly surly and aggravated as their kneazle continually rejected her, and internally agreed with Tracey that it was likely a lost cause. It was a pattern with most Slytherins in their class; all of them were struggling to gain their kneazle's trust regardless of how many of the advised techniques they employed.
Daphne had tried to help her friend as much as she could as thanks for manoeuvring her into a position to spend a month as Harry's partner by looking over Tracey's homework and almost completing it herself. Tracey's individual work would only count for fifty percent of her mark however, and Bullstrode's ineptitude would likely drag her down to below an Exceed Expectations for this coursework.
"Lover Boy's here," murmured Tracey, causing Daphne to turn her head behind her as casually as she could manage and send Harry a small smile from where he was approaching with the rest of the Gryffindors before she turned back around.
"Did you give him the smile?" Tracey asked eagerly. Sophie and Tracey had been coaching Daphne for the past week in front of a mirror in their dormitory on what Sophie had termed 'The Harry Smile'. A small and flirtatious upturn of the lips and twinkling of the eyes that she should reserve for Harry.
"I think so." Daphne had no clue on whether she was convincingly pulling off 'The Harry Smile', but the slight blush that came to Harry's face before she turned around made her think she did a good enough job.
"Hello Daphne, Tracey." Harry greeted them warmly, stepping away from the Gryffindor boys and girls that still glowered at her and the other Slytherins with looks that ranged from caution to distrust.
'Keep on looking," thought Daphne fiercely. She was not an antagonistic person and did not think of herself as especially brave, but if Harry wanted to spend time with her than she would suffer an infinite number of glares. She would not be intimidated by students jealous that Harry preferred her company to theirs.
She may not have a reputation for being the most outstanding example of a Slytherin student she thought as she glanced towards Harry, but she was going to draw on whatever cunning and ambition she possessed to keep Harry smiling at her the way he was.
"How is Holly finding Hogwarts?"
Daphne and Harry were waiting for Jonathan to return from retrieving one of Harry's quills that Hagrid had hidden in the Forbidden Forest at the start of the lesson for the final task of the class and were absentmindedly taking notes on behavioural traits while maintaining a steady stream of conversation.
"Alright I think." Harry answered. "She's enjoying classes, which isn't surprising considering how long she's been nagging me to teach her jinxes. Though she doesn't really tell me much about what she does outside of class to tell the truth. You probably know more than me." He said the last hopefully.
"Sorry to disappoint you Harry, but Astoria is a mokeskin pouch when I'm around. The only time I can get information out of her is when she needs a favour, and I can leverage it out of her." Other Slytherins might have used such power over a sibling for nefarious purposes, like sneaking a book filled with dark magic out of the Restricted Section or strongarming them to attack a Hufflepuff first year. But Daphne was a kind and merciful overlord.
She only demanded the innermost secrets of her sister's social life.
"There's the devious Slytherin everyone warned me about," replied Harry with a sense of false realisation and dread, causing Daphne to chuckle at his teasing.
"You know, I still struggle to believe that the first people my sister and I met on the Hogwarts Express were you Greengrasses," commented Harry.
"It's like magic," quipped Daphne, who quickly rebuked herself. 'Bad Daphne, no dad jokes around the future fiancé!"
To her relief however, Harry snorted a little in amusement.
"Sorry," apologised Daphne a little fretfully, "that was a terrible joke, I don't know why I said it." Harry was silent for a while before responding.
"Don't apologise, I'm actually relieved I've found out that you have a bad sense of humour."
"And why is that?" Daphne questioned.
"I was struggling to find a flaw," explained Harry. "I was worried that you were too perfect."
Daphne gaped at him slightly. From the way that Harry had been quiet and straightened his shoulders beforehand Daphne was confident that the line wasn't spontaneous, but she was too thrilled at the intent it signalled to care.
She was also embarrassed. Really, really embarrassed. That was an awful chat up line!
Daphne wondered what it said about her that it still made her warm with happiness regardless. Not to mention a tad bit bolder in speaking to Harry.
"And you sir, are terrible at flirting," she retorted, causing Harry to turn beet red and splutter feeble denials.
"I suppose I should be relieved as well," she mused over his protests. "At least I will be able to spot any attempt you make to seduce me from a mile away."
Harry could only look at her wide-eyed. Daphne, however, couldn't help but feel triumphant.
'He's flirted with me, and I've responded! He must know that I'm interested in him by now," she thought. The quaffle was firmly in his hands now to ask her out. Not that Daphne would halt her efforts, as juvenile and unrefined as they might be.
Harry was saved however by a chattering meow from the edges of the Forbidden Forest as Jonathan and the other kneazles who were returning from their tasks appeared, though not many had successfully retrieved their selected items.
"Well done, Jonathan!" Daphne cooed as their kneazle padded back to her and Harry, the latter's quill in his mouth. Daphne went down to her knees, uncaring that the soft September mud would leave brown stains across her tights and presented her palm skywards beneath Jonathan's chin. The kneazle stopped before Daphne, nosed her palm and, after a moment's contemplation, bobbed his triangular head once. Daphne smiled joyously and brought the tip of her index finger to her lips before lightly pressing the same finger against the kneazle's rhinarium.
Jonathan's lime green irises gazed into Daphne's aquamarine eyes for five long seconds, then edged his head over her hand so that her fingers were rubbing against the side of his chin, content with her ministrations. Harry had initially been confused when Daphne performed this ritual on their first lesson together.
Daphne explained that it was to provide the kneazle with a sense of control over their interactions.
"They're very intelligent animals Harry," she lectured. "No one likes being looked down upon after all, and if they suspect we think less of them then they won't want to work with us. The least we can do is demonstrate that we respect them and think of them as equals. It takes no effort to be kind to others, even if some people think them inferior."
Regardless of how some other students may whisper about her unique outlook, Daphne's openness had been effective in gaining Jonathan's trust.
Harry struck off another task on their checklist with a satisfied flourish as Daphne smiled up at him with Jonathan futilely trying to find space on her thighs to curl up.
"That concludes the final task Hagrid assigned us," declared Harry, shaking his head in amusement, and sounding relieved that he had been given an out from trying to respond to Daphne's teasing, "and we still have two weeks left. I can't believe we're this far ahead Daphne!"
Daphne nudged Jonathan off her legs and ushered him back into the kneazle pen as Hagrid announced an end to their lesson.
"Well, you're a very good partner Harry," complimented Daphne, smiling warmly as she got to her feet and dusted off her skirt. Harry returned her smile and stuffed the notes he had written into his satchel.
"Not compared to you Daphne, some of the advice you've given me is incredible!"
Daphne tried to stop her smile spreading too widely. Harry had made similar comments before, but she never got tired of hearing them.
"You're going to make me blush again Harry," she warned him softly. Harry smiled at her and opened his mouth after a few seconds of peaceful silence.
"Daphne, would you like to-"
"And just what do we have here?!"
Daphne was suddenly blinded by a set of gleaming white teeth and she heard Harry groan loudly.
"Harry, Harry, Harry."
There, in front of the two fifth years, grinning broadly and standing before them in all his lilac robed glory, was Gilderoy Lockhart. "Here you are. Well, I should have known Harry."
"You should have known what?" Harry bit out.
"I blame myself really," Lockhart prattled on. "I arrive at Hogwarts and suddenly all these young wizards like yourself are inspired to smooth talk the ladies." Lockhart chuckled and winked at Daphne. "It's inevitable I suppose."
"Professor- really," blurted Harry, his face flushing an angry red.
"Harry, Harry, now I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong! Or that you don't have good taste! Why, when I was your age, the girls flocked to me like bees to honey, couldn't keep the darn things off me even before I topped the bestseller list!" Lockhart chortled, putting an arm around Harry's shoulder.
Harry threw off the offending limb. "Sir, I'm not-"
But Lockhart would not be deterred. "I suppose the temptation for a young, obscure celebrity such as yourself was too much. Here you are, in a new school surrounded by young witches, some of whom might even know who you are from all that malarky with You Know Who! Well," Lockhart waved his hand between Daphne and Harry, "these sorts of pubescent hijinks were bound to happen. I can't believe I didn't see this happening."
Lockhart looked at Harry with pity. "Harry, Harry, Harry. You should have come to me as soon as you began to feel these urges. I could have done something, whipped up a numbing potion quicker than you could say: "You're my hero Professor Lockhart!"
Daphne was certain her face was as scarlet as Harry's. She could see Tracey from the corner of her eye almost bouncing in giddy excitement, doubtless thrilled that Lockhart was singling Daphne out.
'She probably wants me to get her an autograph!'
"Take my advice, as a mature wizard and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award." Lockhart displayed each shining white tooth in said smile. "Slow down! You don't have to rush into anything. Do you think I became an honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League by getting distracted by fangirls? Of course I didn't! Leave that fun until after you become a household name."
At that point Harry snatched his bag off the ground with a growl and stormed off towards his housemates and onwards to the castle. Daphne watched him leave with a sense of melancholy and more than a touch of annoyance towards Professor Lockhart. Harry was going to ask her something before Lockhart butted in, and their ridiculous excuse of a professor had ruined it!
"And as for you, young madam," chuckled Lockhart, wagging a finger in her direction. "Don't be overawed by fame. I've met plenty of young ladies like you who throw themselves at celebrities, even minor ones like young Harry, blinded by the successes we have. Why, just this summer-"
"Excuse me professor," interrupted Daphne with an icy voice that barely contained her irritation. "What are you doing out here?"
"Oh yes," said Lockhart, beaming all the while, "I'd heard this morning all about the trouble Professor Hagrid had with a feral hippogriff a couple years ago and thought I'd pop down here and teach him on how to properly handle such unruly beasts."
"Hippogriffs aren't 'unruly', and Buckbeak wasn't feral at all!" Daphne argued. "And Professor Hagrid is perfectly capable."
Lockhart looked at her with sympathy. "I can only imagine how adorable such elegant looking creatures look to young girls such as yourself, Miss…"
"Greengrass. Daphne Greengrass," she answered curtly.
"But believe me Daphne, as a wizard who has wrestled a wampus into submission, and in rather courageous fashion if I may say so myself, hippogriffs are temperamental animals that are very dangerous to the untrained. Why, if Hagrid knew more, he would have known that hippogriffs are impossible to reason with in the autumn, what with all the pheromones the females release at that time of the year. If only I had been there," sighed Lockhart morosely. "I could have done something! None of that nastiness would have happened."
"But that's not even true! Hippogriff mating season falls in the spring for one thing, and-"
"Daphne, Daphne, Daphne," chortled Lockhart. "You are becoming shrill dear girl! This is why education is so important Daphne, and precisely why I chose the noble profession of an educator, so that you don't make these mistakes once you enter the real world." Lockhart suddenly revealed a copy of Gadding with Ghouls and a quill and ink pot out of seemingly thin air. "I think you will find this a most illuminating read Daphne; I will even sign it for you! Now, where would you prefer it, at the front or back of the book?"
"Neither, you can keep your stinking book!" Daphne yelled, her patience gone, and she strode over to where Tracey was watching her with shock.
"Daph, what-"
"What a detestable human being," Daphne fumed. "Utterly infuriating! He knows nothing of creatures, absolutely nothing!"
"Miss Greengrass!" Lockhart called sternly to her retreating back. "That'll be ten points from Slytherin!"
"Please tell me you at least put in a good word for me before you annoyed him," pleaded Tracey.
Daphne merely grabbed hold of Tracey's hand and dragged her friend towards the castle with a growl, well and truly peeved about how her afternoon had developed.
Harry sat around a long, rectangular wooden table in the Hogwarts library with his dormmates and some of the Gryffindor girls in their year. He was struggling to wade through the homework the professors had already swamped the other fifth years in, still simmering in anger from Lockhart's antics earlier at the end of his Care of Magical Creatures lesson. For the most part he liked his professors, but Lockhart and Professor Snape were definitely two that didn't behave how he thought the staff would. At least Snape would only ignore and sneer at him for some as of yet undeterminable reason.
Harry was fast approaching his wits end with the man and he had only been in his classes for two weeks. At every opportunity Lockhart would refer to Harry as an up-and-coming celebrity, offer Harry unwanted tips and advice, and boast about his own accomplishments.
Not that Harry had witnessed Lockhart's mastery of magic. Holly had told him last week, with no small degree of enthusiasm, that a tribe of Cornish pixies had gone rogue in one of Lockhart's lessons with the second years, resulting in one Ravenclaw boy spending an afternoon with Madam Pomfrey after being bitten on the arm. Since then, all of Lockhart's teaching had consisted of performing renditions from his books, often with Harry being called upon to participate, much to his irritation and the amusement of his peers.
After receiving his mum's and godparent's focused and informed tuition for four years, Lockhart's theatrics were a shock to his system. Harry had half a mind of raising the issue with his parents or Professor McGonagall, but it felt childish to go running to an adult when he was fifteen about someone as ludicrous as Gilderoy Lockhart no matter how annoying the man was.
Interrupting Harry when he was going to ask Daphne if she wanted to spend some time with him after dinner was merely the icing on a very bitter cake that was Harry's resentment towards Lockhart. Though perhaps Lockhart had inadvertently saved him from making a colossal mistake. He had only known Daphne for two weeks after all and had no idea if she wanted to spend time with him after getting to know him better or was simply being friendly.
'Daphne would be the kind of person who would be friendly to someone she didn't like," he thought worriedly.
Swinging between his general anger at Lockhart and confusion regarding Daphne had ground Harry's productivity to a near standstill.
"Hey Neville," whispered Parvati Patil from where her and Lavender were packing their textbooks away a couple seats away from Harry. "I'm going to the Astronomy Tower to get some practical revision in for our essay on Jupiter's moons. Did you want to come?"
The regular whisperings of his friends weren't helping his already strained concentration either.
Neville lifted his head from his Charms essay and blinked owlishly up at Parvati, who was smiling coquettishly down at him.
"Oh, I would Parvati, but I've already finished that assignment," said Neville. "Best of luck though." Neville turned his head down to his parchment and continued scribbling away. Parvati looked disappointed and Lavender indignant on behalf of her friend, but both departed the library, leaving the fifth year Gryffindor boys to themselves.
Their table was silent for a moment, until Dean snatched up his copy of Unfogging the Future and started repeatedly whacking Neville on the arm with it, eliciting startled yelps from the round-faced boy.
"Are you insane?!" Dean exclaimed. "She is so fit, why didn't you just say yes?!"
"I- I said! I finished Astronomy last night!" Neville stammered.
Dean whacked him again. "You idiot," he sneered. "She obviously didn't want to study Astronomy with you! She wanted to get you alone in a quiet spot to snog the living daylights out of you."
At that Neville gaped like a fish. In Neville's defence, Harry thought Ron looked equally as confused. Not to mention that Harry had heard Parvati complain to Fay Dunbar at lunch that she needed to get started on Professor Sinistra's assignment.
Seamus looked at Neville disappointedly. "I'm incredibly ashamed of you Neville."
"B-but that can't be true! Why didn't she just tell me that!"
"We've been telling you that Neville!" Seamus retorted. "Listen to what we tell you, not Parvati! Bros before hoes!"
"What does gardening have to do with any of this," stammered Neville, looking overwhelmed.
"Sweet mother of Merlin," groaned Seamus.
"Look at Harry," said Dean, gesturing in his direction. "He hasn't waited around for that Greengrass girl to say she likes him. He just went straight up and flirted with her."
Harry coughed slightly. "I haven't been flirting with Daphne." That was a lie, but he had at least hoped that it wasn't so obvious that anyone had picked up on that fact.
Ron entered the conversation. "To be fair Harry, you did use that 'you seemed too perfect' chat up line on her that we suggested."
"Did it work?" Asked Seamus eagerly. Harry could only respond that he wasn't sure, which was the truth. Yes, Daphne had responded to his compliments, but had said that he was terrible at flirting and would be able to avoid any seduction that he attempted. He was certain that Sirius would say that a girl not wanting to be seduced by him was a bad signal!
In all truth the response of his dormmates to his friendship with Daphne had been surprising. That lunch after his first Care of Magical Creatures lesson, they had interrogated him intensely about how he knew her, which grated his nerves ever so slightly and ensured that he kept his response limited to simply saying that they had ran into each other on the train.
Of his four dormmates their reactions could be split into four responses.
From Ron he was told that Daphne was a Slytherin and should be treated with extreme caution.
From Seamus he was told that Daphne was "as hot as fiendfyre", which had Harry withholding the urge to curse him.
From Dean he was told that Daphne was very good at Care of Magical Creatures and had a small but close group of friends.
From Neville he was told a fearful anecdote about Daphne's ineptitude at Herbology that resulted in the decimation of Professor Sprout's Shrivelfig crop in second year, a crime for which Harry suspected from his tone Neville had never forgiven her for.
Eventually, they had all given their tacit support of Harry's friendship with Daphne, though Harry partly assumed that was because it was clear that he was becoming annoyed at their judgements as well as the fact that he continued to spend time with them inside and out of class. Since then, the boys had pooled their collective teenage brainpower to assist Harry in 'wooing' Daphne (though Neville's participation was minimal), regardless of how many times Harry refuted his infatuation with the blonde Slytherin. Though Harry would not deny that he was touched by the support of his new friends, even if this was the last time he ever took their advice when it came to speaking with girls.
"Welp," said Seamus, leaning back and stretching his arms over his head, "best of luck next time Harry, but if Neville and Parvati ain't up the Astronomy Tower I'm gonna track down Lavender for some late-night tutoring, if you know what I mean."
"Because that doesn't sound creepy at all," observed Harry as he crossed out a spelling mistake, causing the others to guffaw and Madam Pince to affix their table with a beady eyed glare.
"Right," whispered Dean, chastened by the stern-faced librarian, "that's as good a signal as any to call an end to homework. See you later guys." He got up with Seamus and an intimidated Neville, soon leaving Harry and Ron alone.
Working alongside a peer on the same piece of work was… odd, Harry had decided. At home he was years ahead of whatever work Holly was set, and often left to complete it himself. On the one hand the solitude was extremely conducive to focused work and a lack of distractions, but having Ron to consult answers with was also helpful. Even if Harry tended to know more of the answers than Ron, who often struggled to motivate himself. Still, the ginger boy tried, and Harry thought that was the main thing.
'Although,' thought Harry sneakily, glancing over to where Hermione Granger was sat at a table nearby, 'I think his attempts to study more are not solely to improve his grades.'
As it so happened, Harry saw that Hermione had just the book he wanted for his homework at her table. Actually, Hermione had the equivalent of a small library at her table that he would like to consult for his essays, but Colin Cockleworth's Conjuring the Convertible would be ideal for McGonagall's foot and a half assignment.
"Psst, Ron." Harry nudged his friend with his elbow. "Let's go sit with Hermione, I need one of her books." Ron looked at Harry as though he was suffering from a severe mental defect.
"Bad idea pal, Hermione doesn't lend out books." Ron had gone pale and said this with the wary caution indicative of someone with a pained history in such matters.
"Come on," urged Harry, standing up and gathering his books, sheafs of parchment and bag, "besides I haven't spoken to Hermione yet." And it was something Harry had been meaning to do, but Hermione quite often sat apart from the other Gryffindors when out of class. Holly had sung the prefect's praises to Harry for helping her on the train and answering all her questions at the opening feast. Which Harry could testify as no small accomplishment, having been victim to his little sister's curiosity more than he would have liked.
Harry heaved Ron up with a strong arm, ignoring the red haired (and now red faced) wizard's protests and manoeuvred him over to Hermione's table.
"Hello," greeted Harry, who watched Hermione's head dart up and look at him quizzically. "Is it ok if we join you? I've been looking for Conjuring the Convertible all week and Ron here said you're the brightest witch in the school." Harry was treated to the tip of Ron's ears flushing red, though the bony elbow that was jabbed into his side wasn't as appreciated.
For her part Hermione gazed between the two boys with a healthy mixture of scepticism and confusion, her eyes lingering on Ron especially. "You can," she began slowly, "but if you're here to mess around I'm going to leave."
Harry and Ron hastily reassured her that they were there to study and within five minutes all three were scribbling away at different speeds, their quills scratching against parchment. It was then that Harry felt comfortable enough to speak to Hermione without being glared at and accused of troublemaking.
"Hey Hermione," he whispered, turning a page of Conjuring the Convertible, "While I'm here I wanted to say thanks for helping Holly out on her first day." He also wanted to say that he thought Holly idolised the fifth-year prefect a little bit but thought his sister might not appreciate his divulging that information. "It was very good of you."
Hermione's cheeks pinked. "It was no trouble, Harry. I'm just glad that she's enjoying Hogwarts." The trio were silent for a few minutes before Hermione spoke again with a tentative voice.
"Did you need any help with your essay? I could check it if you like?"
At that Ron looked up incredulously. "Are you serious? I've begged you for years to help me with homework and you've never once agreed!"
"Maybe if you at least made any effort and didn't take all of my help for granted I'd look over your homework!" Hermione hissed.
"I don't take you for granted." said Ron indignantly. "I wouldn't bother asking for your help if I thought you were dumb."
"How flattering Ronald." Hermione retorted waspishly and with a healthy amount of sarcasm. Meanwhile Harry was staring at the two stupidly, stunned at the escalation, before shaking himself and feeling he better intervene before wands were drawn.
"You can look through it if you like." He told Hermione, sliding across his parchment. "I know the information I want to include but I'm struggling with the question we've been asked."
Hermione looked away from Ron with pursed lips and began reading through Harry's essay as Ron stewed to Harry's left. Harry nudged Ron. Ask politely, he mouthed, but Ron just stared at him gormlessly. Rolling his eyes, Harry wrote what he'd said on a scrap piece of parchment and slid it over to his friend, who's mouth opened slightly as realisation dawned on him, though his face took on a mulish expression.
"This is a good start, Harry." Hermione said warmly, scooting closer to him. "I get what you mean about the question though, have you tried using PEAL?"
"Peel?"
"Oh, it's something my mum said she was taught when she was at school. P.E.A.L. It stands for Point, Evidence, Analysis, Link." Hermione clarified. "It helps you structure an essay so that your argument has more clarity."
"Ok…" Harry was quite lost, and from the expression on Ron's face he wasn't going to be of any help.
"Don't worry it's really quite simple," reassured Hermione cheerily. It seemed that talking about homework made the girl tremendously enthused. "You start your paragraph with the point you wish to make, then provide evidence that supports your point, then provide analysis of the evidence that demonstrates your knowledge of the topic, before linking everything you've said to the broader subject. A perfectly calibrated system to get high grades." Hermione finally took a breath and beamed at Harry, who thought he understood what she meant.
Ron however, still looked as though he had been bewitched with the Confundus Charm.
"How would that work?" He asked Hermione confusedly.
"Just give me your homework!" Hermione snapped, snatching Ron's homework away from him, with the latter sporting a triumphant grin.
"Thanks Hermione, you're a lifesaver." For her part Hermione only sent Ron a glare without anywhere near the amount of heat that had been in her words. Harry, however, still thought it contained a small amount of venom.
With Hermione's assistance Harry and Ron managed to correct their transfiguration homework to a far higher standard than what they would have managed if they had been left to their own devices, and the three left the library after another hour and arrived back at the Gryffindor Common Room shortly before curfew.
"I'm off to bed," declared Ron sleepily; the long study session had sapped what energy he had left after a day filled with O.W.L classes.
"Really?" Hermione questioned, surprised. "I thought we could all go over Flitwick's essay again. Not that your suggestions weren't helpful Harry," she reassured hastily.
"Our Charm's homework is fine Hermione," groaned Ron, Harry nodding resolutely beside him.
"I just think we could really nail down that O with a little bit more work is all," argued Hermione.
"You can," scoffed Ron, "but I'm going to sleep." He started to turn towards the stairs leading to the boy's dormitories but turned back and spoke to his fellow prefect hesitantly. "Thanks for all your help though Hermione. See you tomorrow." Then he hastily left common room before Hermione could respond, who looked surprised herself.
"That was strange," Harry heard her mutter, before she shook her head. "What about you Harry? I'd love to talk with you more about shrinking charms, you have the most intuitive grasp of the subject over any other student I know."
Harry shook his head with a wan smile. "I'm calling it a night as well Hermione. You should sit with us tomorrow at breakfast though."
Hermione perked up. "Really? I don't normally study during breakfast unless its exam season, but-"
"Not to study," corrected Harry. "Just to talk and hang out. You know. Do what people who are friends do."
"We're friends?" Hermione couldn't hide the hopefulness in her voice.
"Yeah, I mean I think so." Harry confirmed with more confidence than he felt. Perhaps for other students it would be unwise to bluntly tell someone that he thought they were friends, but being a child celebrity had its advantages and being able to curb most social norms with a degree of impunity was one of them. Besides, Hermione seemed friendly, and he thought it would do her good to spend less of her free time on her own.
Hermione beamed at him and before Harry knew what was happening there was a head of bushy hair tickling his nose as he found himself hugged in a vice like grip. Hermione released him before he could even comprehend what had happened.
"Sorry Harry," she said, sounding flustered. "Absolutely, yes, friends." Hermione appeared lost for words, in the end choosing to nod her head once as she said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Harry." And just like that Hermione too spun on her heel and retreated from the Common Room, leaving Harry quite bewildered.
He shook his head and marched up to his dormitory.
In his first two weeks at Hogwarts Harry has had students whisper and gawk at him when he walks past, one of the professors pester him incessantly, and Merlin knows he has no idea how Daphne Greengrass feels about him.
Yet he's made new friends and been taught magic at the greatest school in the world. His first two weeks at Hogwarts had certainly had its fair share of positives. He definitely didn't regret going to Hogwarts. And who knows, maybe there's still a chance if he asked Daphne on a date she would say yes.
Maybe?
I didn't know until I wrote this chapter how much I wanted to read fanfictions of muggle board games animated to life. Likewise, a crack fic where Lockhart takes it upon himself to teach a sex-ed workshop to N.E.W.T students sounds like a comedy gold mine.
I also didn't know a group of finches were called a charm either. But that was quite a lovely discovery.
Anyway, the recommended fic(s) this chapter are Harry Potter and the Unexpected Friend and Harry Potter and the Unexpected Dogfather by CaskettFan5. The former was one of the first haphne fics I read that really stood out to me when I first started reading fanfiction, so when I see that Caskett has reviewed every one of my chapters so far, I knew I was going to recommend them at one point. Go check out their fanfiction.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter; as always, I'd appreciate reading your thoughts. I can't say when Chapter 6 will be out, but just with all previous chapters, it will definitely arrive.
See you all next time.