Fireman
Spellfire raked the area around him, and he moved like a man possessed. A curse missed his right ankle by mere inches, then one nearly hit his left ankle, then his right arm narrowly dodged a curse, followed by a near miss to his left shoulder. It lured him into a trap, as conjured steaming rabbits charged him. His wand snapped out, cutting them all with a non verbal cutting curse and shielding the spellfire that followed.
The return from winter break brought the new year and a new set of challenges for Hogwarts. Umbridge continued her crusade against the school and its students with renewed vigor. Dozens of new educational decrees seemed to be put into place every week at this point, with the woman going so far as to create her own "Inquisitorial Squad" to enforce them.
The woman obviously still hated him, which was made clear by the glares she seemed to send him every chance she got. But her ire seemed to have shifted over time, no doubt caused by the relentless series of pranks the Weasley twins orchestrated along with whatever Ron and Hermoine were up to in their spare time.
All of it allowed him to fly under the radar as far as avoiding Umbridge went, and keeping out of trouble and avoiding whatever traps she set for him were mere child's play at this point.
His opponent cycled through her spell chains, ones he had gotten familiar with at this point, as he dodged and weaved through the attempts she made at bracketing him with spellfire.
The spells finally came to a stop, and Daphne put her wand away. "I think that's enough for today."
Harry nodded, taking a deep breath. He was improving rapidly, learning the ins and outs of dueling. "How are you doing?"
Daphne looked at him, a fond expression on her face that made his heart skip a beat. "Better, all things considered. Although Umbridge doesn't entirely help with her idiotic tasks."
A medal rested on Daphne's pristine robes, like a prefect's badge, but it was for the Inquisitorial squad. She was one of the students to be inducted into the ridiculous group midway through Umbridge's recruitment. It made sense, and as much as Harry tended to avoid the fact, the girl was practically the epitome of what it meant to be pureblood, meaning she was ripe for Umbridge's little group.
"She is getting tiresome as of late." Harry noted. "As long as she doesn't make us give up our wands, I think I can refrain from doing something rash. Although it would be nice if the DADA curse would work quicker on her."
Daphne gained a small amused smirk, before a thoughtful expression came across her features. "How is your… endeavor going?"
Harry frowned, remembering how he had destroyed Hufflepuff's cup after Narcissa Malfoy handed it over. He had told Daphne about his discoveries regarding Voldemort's items since, something she found interesting in a macabre sense. Harry had since hit a dead end, having nothing else to go on other than the three items he had since destroyed. "Not well."
She nodded stiffly. "I think I have something for you, you said two of the items were Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket, meaning they were two of the Founder's items. Have you looked into any others?"
"I have held Gryffindor's sword." Harry thought back to second year and the Chamber of Secrets. "But I don't know about anything related to Ravenclaw…"
"Ravenclaw's Diadem." Daphne answered. "It was all I could think of. Supposedly its been lost for centuries, since Hogwarts was founded, stolen by Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, Helena Ravenclaw."
Helena Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw's Diadem. At least it's a lead.
"I-" Harry paused in thought. "I know that name, Helena is a ghost in the castle if I remember correctly."
Daphne's eyes widened. "I admit that I didn't know that. Maybe speaking with her would help."