Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

...

Harry sat down in the library, working away at the extra curricular activities that Snape had given him as punishment for his actions. While he couldn't make the potions whilst away from spending time with the head of Slytherin, he could figure out different ways in which he could manipulate the recipe to his liking.

It was true that it wasn't necessarily a difficult procedure compared to what he had done recently, it was a long winded one. Once he had done the preparations the paste would need to sit in the cauldron brewing for close to an hour. That was a long time to wait and see whether or not he had been successful in improving upon what was the safe method taught at Hogwarts.

He had currently come up with thirty one different ways in which to do as instructed but he felt that, if his current theory was right, less than half would be successful. It was challenging, that was for sure. And he couldn't help but enjoy every minute of it.

"Harry!" shouted a recognizable voice from nearby, causing an audible shoosh to be made by those nearby who were deep in their studies. The following sorry was done in a much more hushed whisper.

"What do you want Daphne?" said Harry as he finished writing down the instructions he was giving himself.

"There's something we need to talk about, now!" said Daphne in a swift and almost pleading tone, one that Harry wasn't quite sure to make of. If it was urgent however, he would listen. He simply hoped that it would be worth his time.

...

"That's...unexpected," said Harry as he mused over the information that Daphne had just bestowed on him. "Do you need my protection?"

"I would like to say not, but I can't help but feel as if I've painted a target on my back. While you may have driven fear into the hearts of a number of Slytherin students, it is likely that some of those more..."

"Stupid?"

"I was going to say foolhardy, but yes those that still don't know of your true strength might try to attack you through me," said Daphne. "They're not such idiots as to attack me out in the Great Hall, but in the Slytherin common room your name is going to be the only thing I can trust will keep most at bay."

"Most, not all."

"No, I'm afraid not," said Daphne, lowering her head.

Harry clasped his chin in thought, his mind putting multiple options into play. Daphne meanwhile watched on silently, fidgeting with her Hogwarts uniform. There wasn't really much she could say at the moment whilst waiting for Harry to come to whatever conclusion he came up with for the problem she had given him.

And what a problem it was. She had been so excited at the start of the school year to be attending Hogwarts and now she would be finding herself the target of bullying, most likely both directly and indirectly, though her conscience would be clear. She would likely find out very soon whether or not she had made a choice her family would be proud of or not.

"We need to limit your exposure to the rest of the student body," said Harry as he cupped his chin in his right hand. "Obviously you can't get taken out of classes or anything like that but anybody stupid enough to try anything during class deserves whatever punishment they get. Little things though might work in your favor. Being the last out of class, staying behind to ask a question of the professor even if you already know the answer."

Daphne merely nodded, knowing full well that considering how deep she had gotten herself opting to simply follow Harry's instructions was the simplest option. Didn't necessarily mean it was the best path to tread but were something to go wrong then they could reevaluate at a later date. Which she knew they would undoubtedly have to but for now any sort of plan was a good plan.

"If you could, try and find a way to suck up to Snape," said Harry. "The other Slytherins are likely to stick away somewhat if they know that you're doing that. I imagine that they wouldn't want to piss him off. Is there someone who you can trust to have your back?"

Daphne swallowed nervously as her mind immediately went to Tracy. She knew that the girl had been her closest colleague since having stepped foot into Hogwarts but this might very well break what friendship they had. The girl had to consider her own safety and frankly when considering one's own wellbeing it was possibly best to be as far away from her as possible. "Maybe," she finally said after having gathered her thoughts.

"I see," said Harry as he lowered his hand away from his face. "I'll ask the Weasley Twins if they know any shortcuts round the place. If they can avoid Filch so frequently they must know some way around that's on the more sly side."

While she hadn't had much interaction with them directly, it was well known that Fred And George couldn't help but cause trouble. The amount they made however greatly differed to the amount they got caught for, at least by the officials in the school. It made sense that they had discovered some secret passages to sneak through until the heat died down...or they got bored, whichever came first. She recalled how the twins had found the two of them in Harry's room back during the chess game that she and Harry had played. They had specifically said that they had known Harry was not alone. She sincerely doubted that they had trailed her or were keeping an eye on Harry's room specifically, it simply didn't feel like their style.

Which meant they knew some way to keep an eye on people in the school, a way to make sure that they never got caught by the stricter professors. How? Some sort of high level detection spell? If so, how was such a thing possible for a couple of second year students?

Shaking her head lightly, she refocused back on the topic at hand. Were the Weasley Twins to offer their support then she wouldn't shy away from it. Though she hoped that in return she wouldn't become the target of their pranks; although it would likely be far less painful than what her fellow Slytherins would do.

The closing of Harry's book seemed to snap Daphne back to reality, that despite the fact they were conversing in the furthest most back corner of the library they were still in a public area. She doubted anybody would have been listening in but she did realize they hadn't really been quiet in their discussion.

"All I can suggest for now, is try and figure out which of the students in the same year you can trust not to attack you," said Harry. "While the older students may not have gotten the message as of yet, those in the same year as us surely know what will happen if they try to do anything. Malfoy and goons aside of course but surely they're even starting to get the message."

"Alright, I can do that," said Daphne as she stood up from the table they had been seated at, Harry mimicking the action.

"If you even feel threatened, don't hesitate to come to my room," offered Harry.

It was at this moment Daphne realised something that she had been unaware of til this point. Every time she conversed with Harry, it seemed as if she was getting closer and closer to understanding just who he was as a person. She could recollect how he had so casually talked about how he had suffered beating after beating at the hands of his relatives and she knew that he hadn't spoken a single lie during that time. His tough exterior and how he handled anything that was remotely threatening reflected that.

His offer now however had been compassionate, gentle even. Harry Potter, after having been through far more than any other member of the student body, was still capable of caring about others. She couldn't say that she would be capable of knowing such emotions if she had gone through what he had.

It just spoke volumes regarding the person before her.

...

"You honestly believe that I wouldn't have your back?" sulked Tracy, clearly making as much of a scene as she could given the situation. Daphne had found her friend and taken her to an isolated courtyard so that the two of them could with one another in privacy.

Daphne couldn't help but rub at her eyes. She hadn't truly known what to expect but it seemed as if Tracy was more than willing to keep their friendship where it was as opposed to breaking it off for safety reasons. Perhaps she hadn't known just what level of friend she had had all along.

Now however, Tracy was overexaggerating the level of hurt she was suffering, if she was suffering at all. Daphne knew that her friend had known where she had come from and had been looking out for her but still, the act would continue until Tracy got what she wanted. Which in this case probably an apology for having thought that way.

Still though, it didn't mean that Daphne would give it so easily.

"Oh woe is me for having thought so little of our friendship," she decreed, planting the back of her palm on her forehead as she gazed towards the sky. "You must think so little of me."

"I think so little of you that an ant seems large in comparison," declared Tracy.

"Alright, I know I upset you but still, that's pretty small," said Daphne feeling as if their little back and forth had run its course.

"Yeah, yeah," said Tracy, waving it off. "So you're going to beg for my forgiveness or not?"

"I'm sorry."

"Really, that's it," said Tracy having felt no sense of legitimacy to Daphne's apology. Which of course there hadn't been, the game was still afoot after all.

"Fine," said Daphne, rolling her eyes. "I, Daphne, am sorry for the insult I have bestowed upon my friend..."

"Best friend," corrected Tracy.

"My best friend and I wish for her to forgive my honest mistake."

"Hmm..." hummed Tracy as she tapped at her chin, drawing it out far longer than she had to. "I guess I can."

"Thank you," said Daphne as she composed herself. She and Tracy had been childhood friends for as long as she could recall and when it was just the two of them they allowed themselves to simply have a bit of fun. Had anybody bore witness to that event it would have been incredibly difficult to explain that the two of them, daughters of prominent houses, were acting in a manner ill befitting of their position. Now that they had gotten that out of their system however, they could speak much like how they would were they to be somewhere where others could listen in. "You do know what you're getting yourself into right?"

"Of course, I'm getting myself into this to make sure you don't find yourself getting hexed in the back," declared Tracy, her eyes sharpening. "I'm not going to lie Daphne, what you did was reckless and I'm not even going to pretend that someone won't one day target you to get to Harry, he's already making enemies in every other house."

"Every other house?" repeated Daphne.

"The Slytherins, as you know, essentially hate him for a number of reasons. There's only a handful of us who don't actually have any sort of animosity towards him. Most of those are the sixth and seventh years and that may very well just be because they're actually spending the time preparing for what lies ahead. Hufflepuff is an interesting one because word seemed to have quickly spread regarding how Harry took out those who attacked the two of you. They're scared that if he snaps and unleashes on them that they'll suffer the same kind of defeat. The puffs value loyalty and if they find themselves attacking each other, well it kinda...you know..."

"Yeah, I get what you're saying," said Daphne biting at her thumb. "What about Ravenclaw?"

"They're sitting on the sidelines at the moment, albeit cautiously. Word is that they're curious as to how Harry knows what he does. They think that he may have found a way into the Restricted Section of the library and is learning stuff they don't have access to or more importantly, that they don't know how to counter. This is all just word of mouth but still, rumours have to start from somewhere."

"And the fact he's basically ostracised himself from the rest of Gryffindor gives him no allies there," concluded Tracy. "Aligning yourself with him is going to be hard, like, ridiculously hard. Still though, everyone needs a friend every once in a while and if you're willing to support him then I'm willing to support you."

"Thanks Tracy," said Daphne as she gave her friend a light hug.

"I was hoping I'd find you two alone," said a new voice, immediately making Daphne release her grip of her friend.

"Granger," said Tracy, acknowledging the witch walking towards them, folder in hand.

"Before you make any assumptions, I'm here to talk and bring you up to speed on a few things," said Hermione as she took a seat close to where the two Slytherin students were.

"Up to speed?" repeated Tracy as she altered glancing between her friend and the brown haired witch in front of her.

"Daphne, I'm letting you know these things now because when things start moving, you do not want to be left behind," warned Hermione. "Tracy, if you listen in on this then I cannot guarantee that you won't be dragged into this and trust me, this rabbit hole goes very, very deep."

"Considering Daphne would probably talk to me about anything that she's uncertain of or just worry herself into a mess, it's probably better that I listen in," said Tracy, taking a light verbal jab at her close friend.

"Are you okay with this Daphne, knowing the dangers this may very well put Tracy in?" Hermione asked of the blonde haired witch.

"Tracy has assured me that she will support my decision," declared Daphne.

"Very well then," said Hermione as she opened up the folder in her possession. "Now, let's begin with the Cerberus on the third floor."

Whatever Daphne and Tracy had been expecting, the dropping of their jaws signalled that it most definitely wasn't that.

...

Professor McGonagall stared at the sheet of paper in her hand. She had left the nominations for the Duelling Tournament up in the common room as long as she could allow. She was aware that while Harry Potter didn't sleep in the same area as the rest of the students under her care, he still knew the password to enter. As such, she had hoped that he would have come in at some stage and signed himself up for the tournament ahead.

It seemed however, that on the day of the event, Harry had not put his name down to compete.

It was time to inform Dumbledore of this news.

...

Hope you enjoyed.