Chapter 83 is here... Enjoy!

"There aren't many perks that come with this, you know?" sighed Harry as he strolled over and sat beside Ron.

"Right... It's just that you can take house points away from the Slytherins whenever you want to, you can boss around everyone pretty much and you get access to the special bathroom in it," scoffed Ron in response.

"Being a prefect isn't about bossing around everyone, Ron," retorted Hermione, annoyed, as she sat down on the other side of Ron.

"Says the one who does the bossing," chuckled Ron and Harry giggled along with him, while Hermione glared at the pair of them.

"There are a lot of responsibilities that come with being a prefect. You have to keep the discipline of the students, you have to be a role model and a leader for..." began Hermione, confidently, but cut off by Ron and Harry at the same time.

"Hermione..." they called out, together, chuckling as they did. "We get it," remarked Ron. Hermione shook her head, disappointed.

"Sorry," mumbled Ron and Harry together, though there still remained a hint of giggle in their tone.

After a few minutes, Harry spoke up, breaking the silence between the trio.

"This was a wild Christmas break, wasn't it?" he sighed.

"Tell me about it," chuckled Ron.

"So much happened out of nowhere," remarked Harry, looking mournful.

"How is Daisy doing?" chimed in Hermione.

"Daisy is doing okay," replied Harry.

"And you?" asked Hermione.

"What about me? I'm perfectly alright," replied Harry.

"You fought you-know-who, mate," retorted Ron, chuckling.

"I wouldn't exactly call that a fight, Ron..." chuckled Harry.

There were a few minutes of silence between the trio before Hermione broke it, this time.

"I can't believe both of you fought and held your own against a death eater," remarked Hermione, proudly.

"Barely survived," corrected Ron.

"If you would call getting knocked out unconscious as holding on my own... Sure," chuckled Harry.

"Both of you should be proud of yourself... You have not even given your OWLs yet and here you are," remarked Hermione in response. However, Hermione past few words seemed to have struck a nerve in Harry and for the following few minutes, he looked unresponsive and out of it.

"Harry... what is it?" asked Hermione and glanced at Ron. Ron didn't seem to have an idea either.

"It's nothing... I was just thinking back to that night," replied Harry.

"The night you fought you-know-who?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, the same," replied Harry.

"What about it?" asked Ron, curiously.

"Jane killed Barty Crouch Jr... You should've seen his body..." replied Harry, looking pale. "Or... what was left of it," he added.

"Yeah... Dad told us about it," sighed Ron.

"It's not just that," continued Harry. "I spoke with Jane a couple of days before that... The day when..." he added and paused to glance at Ron. "The day when Redwood attacked both of you," he continued. "Jane was there to see how Daisy was doing... And right when she was about to leave, she told me that she was going to kill Redwood," he added. "There was this look on her face... She has not taken John's death very well," he finished, worried.

"She has been through a lot these past few years. And John's death was just brutal. I can't imagine how much it would have affected her," sighed Hermione, mournfully.

"She seeks revenge..." sighed Ron.

After a couple of minutes, Ron spoke up. "There are so many things I don't understand about that night. Why were there only a couple of random Aurors outside Daisy's home? There were so many outside mine and Hermione's," remarked Ron, confused. "And how did Jane know that Daisy was under attack? Was she part of the protection that the Order had provided for Daisy?" he added.

"I don't think Jane's in the Order, Ron," replied Hermione.

"Jane found out from Daisy that Barty Crouch Jr was there," replied Harry and found the other two glance at him, perplexed. "Gosh, I didn't tell you both about this, did I?" he sighed. After a moment, Harry continued, "So, Jane gave Daisy this... coin," began Harry. "All Daisy would have to do is to think of Jane with the coin in her hand and Jane would know about it," continued Harry.

"Oh wow," remarked Hermione.

"That's so cool," remarked Ron.

"Yeah... There's something else as well," continued Harry. "I have no idea how John did it, but, till the time either one of Jane or John is alive, no one can harm Daisy in her house... In fact, they can't enter her house at all," remarked Harry.

"Really?" exclaimed Ron while there was a proud smile on Hermione's face.

"Sometimes I wonder why Jane is close with Daisy... John was too if you think about it," remarked Ron and instantly, Hermione and Harry glanced at each other with a hint of panic. "But I'm glad that she has them looking out for her," added Ron, looking relieved. "And you were there with her as well, that day," continued Ron looking at Harry. "I thought you would have been ordered to be far away from her..." he added, curiously.

"I don't understand," retorted Harry, confused.

"I thought Dumbledore and everyone else would have forbidden you from leaving your house... Come to think of it, it's a bit weird don't you think?" replied Ron, looking perplexed. "How did Dumbledore even find out that the three of us were potential targets? As it turned out, Daisy was attacked, wasn't she? So, whoever told him, was partially correct," remarked Ron. Hermione stared at Harry, wondering if he knew anything about it.

"I have no idea who told Dumbledore about the attack," replied Harry. And a moment later, he continued, "But I'm afraid there's something else that nobody knows about," he added and stared at Ron and Hermione.

"Dumbledore visited me on that morning," said Harry. "And he was convinced that neither you," he said and glanced at Hermione, "nor you," he said and glanced at Ron, "would be attacked," he added. "Dumbledore was convinced that Daisy was the real target and he wanted to set a trap for Barty Crouch Jr," continued Harry. "Daisy is a muggle and..." he began but was cut off by Ron.

"Wait... how did he know that it'd be Barty that would attack Daisy?" asked Ron.

"Uh... I meant anybody that would come and attack Daisy," corrected Harry. "She is a muggle and would be the easiest target. While Ron would be surrounded by hoards of wizards, whether or not he was under protection, Hermione had lots of protection and she could handle herself too," he remarked. Ron and Hermione were intently listening to what Harry had to say.

"Well... Dumbledore was aware of the protection John had placed Daisy in..." continued Harry. "So, he wanted to keep as little amount of Aurors outside Daisy's house as possible," he added.

"He wanted to use Daisy as bait?" asked Ron, shocked. "What if something had gone wrong?" he added. "In fact, things did go wrong, didn't they? I mean, you ended up getting hurt and Barty ended up calling you-know-who. The Aurors were late," he added, furiously.

"That's why I was with Daisy all day. If something were to go wrong, then I'd be there with her," replied Harry. "Ron... You don't think I know all this? It was my fault the Aurors were late. Barty attacked out of nowhere and the Aurors that were present outside the house didn't have any time to react. I should have alerted Dumbledore immediately, but I got carried away... "

"It's not your fault, Harry... I can't believe Dumbledore put Daisy's life on the line to bait Barty," retorted Ron.

"But, why did Dumbledore..." began Hermione and quickly stopped. "Why did Dumbledore come to you? Why would he tell you the plan and not the others in the Order?" is what she wanted to ask, but something told her that Harry wasn't completely truthful with them and she didn't want to prod into things she didn't want to put Harry in an uncomfortable position.

"Why did Dumbledore? What were you asking, Hermione?" asked Ron, curiously.

"We aren't getting anywhere with all of this... I can't believe Dumbledore would put someone's life in danger, just to set a trap. But, he had his reasons... Let's talk about something more cheerful, shall we?" replied Hermione. And with that, the conversation switched topics and petered out.

The second of the school year began with a much higher intensity than ever before. OWLs for the 5th year were brought up pretty much in every single class. The homework started to get piled up like never before and the students were getting squeezed thoroughly. And then there were some students who found themselves under duress not just academically, but also personally.

From the beginning of the second half of the year, there remained an air of anxiety and guilt whenever Draco and Daphne were in the room together, which was almost all the time. From the moment Draco came back, he made it a point to approach Daphne and talk to her. But every time he tried, Daphne walked away from him, with almost always a look of disgust and hurt. This did not go unnoticed by the people close to them, making things even more awkward.

"What is up with the two of you?" asked Colin to Draco as he watched Daphne leave. Draco however, chose not to respond to Colin and left as well. Later, Colin tried his luck with Daphne, but that resulted in a similar outcome.

"Daph, what's up?" asked Colin.

"What do you want Colin?" retorted Daphne, sounding annoyed.

"You have been acting a bit..." began Colin and was about to put his arm around her when she repulsed away from him and got up to leave.

"Woah... Hey, what happened?" asked Colin, but before he could complete it, Daphne had left.

This continued for a couple of weeks. And by then, it had become a talking point amongst the 5th years. Everyone had their speculations, the stories flew around and it was making both Daphne and Draco's lives a hell.

And, one evening, things flared up.

"Get the hell out of my face, Malfoy... How many times do I have to tell you before it will get inside your thick head!" yelled Daphne and the attention of everyone at the duelling club was on the pair.

"Daphne, please... Let's talk," whispered Draco, sensing everyone's eyes on them.

"Miss Greengrass and Mr Malfoy," exclaimed White as he walked up to the pair. "You are disturbing everyone here. I ask you both to take your discussion elsewhere," he remarked, politely. "I expect better from prefects," he finished and walked away.

With a furious look on her face, Daphne walked away from the crowd. But just before she did, she turned to Draco, "let us get this over with," she whispered.

The pair walked away from the crowd and to a deserted part of the castle grounds.

"I didn't mean to create a scene in front of everyone," remarked Draco once the pair were sufficiently away from the crowd.

"I have made it perfectly clear time and again that I have nothing to do with you, I don't want to see your face, I don't want to be anywhere near you... Why do you keep bothering me?" retorted Daphne, angrily.

Draco stayed quiet for a few seconds and then spoke up. "It wasn't my intention to hurt you, Daphne," he began. "I am really sorry about what happened... on that evening. I shouldn't have left the way I did. Everything that happened that evening was a mistake," he continued.

"That's enough Malfoy... I have heard this once and I don't want to hear this again," retorted Daphne, angrily, as she interrupted Draco.

"I now understand that I hurt you. But it was never my intention. You have to believe me," said Draco.

"You didn't hurt me, Draco... You played me exactly how you wanted, you got what you wanted, you fucked me and then you left me all alone with a pathetic excuse," exclaimed Daphne. "I'm the idiot here... My desire muddled my thinking. It made me want you in that moment, without thinking of the consequences," she added, as her eyes began to glisten.

"Daphne... Please... If I could take back that evening, I would, without a heartbeat's thought. The same passion that consumed you, consumed me as well. I wasn't thinking straight. You were with Harry. It was really difficult for me to convince him and his friends, to consider me their friend and not an enemy. The only thing on my mind was that I had betrayed him," retorted Draco, apologetically. "I am so sorry... You are a wonderful person and I have always been a git to you..." he continued, but Daphne did not look interested one bit.

There was a moment's silence between the pair. And then Daphne spoke up.

"Is that all you had to say?" remarked Daphne, with a blank expression.

"Daph..." began Draco

"Is that all?" she repeated. Draco barely nodded his head. "Right... You have troubled me a lot in the past couple of weeks. Now, I have heard everything you have to say. Leave me alone..." she exclaimed and left.

Ever since Severus Snape found out that Harry Potter was the one who had been spying on the Dark Lord, he had been able to do nothing but think about the grave mistake he had made.

"How was I supposed to know that it'd be him? Why did it have to be him?" asked Severus to himself, many times. Yet another time, Snape had managed to divulge information to the Dark Lord that he later went on to regret.

While the news of Barty's killing and another deadlock between Harry and Voldemort reached his ears, he took very little joy out of it. He knew that he had to face Dumbledore with the truth. Harry was no longer supposed to spy on Voldemort. In fact, from now on, he had to be extremely careful and diligent not to let Voldemort enter his mind and cause havoc.

It took more than a couple of weeks, but Snape finally found the courage to approach Dumbledore.

"Lemon Drops" muttered Snape and walked into Dumbledore's office.

"Severus?" remarked Dumbledore.

"Professor, there is something I'd like to discuss with you," said Snape as he took a seat opposite Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded in response and looked at Snape keenly.

"I have made a mistake, Professor... A grave mistake" began Snape. "The Dark Lord knows about Harry... He knows that Harry was spying on him all this time... He found out because I led him to the truth," he remarked, disappointed.

Dumbledore stared at him and gave a sympathetic look. Snape's eyes met with Dumbledore's and there was silence in the room for a few seconds.

And then Snape's eyes grew wide in astonishment. "You knew?" he asked.

"I had some of the pieces..." remarked Dumbledore in reply. "You really shouldn't feel guilty about this, Severus. It isn't your fault," he added.

"It is my fault... And it's yours too," retorted Snape, a slight change in tone. "None of this would have happened, had you told me the truth... I led him to Harry... Only if I had known, none of this would have happened," he remarked, bewildered.

"Nobody knows about Harry's visions..." began Dumbledore but Snape interjected.

"Sirius? Remus? Do they know about this?" he asked.

"No," replied Dumbledore, calmly. "Harry hasn't even told his friends about this," he added.

"And what about Minerva? And White?" asked Severus.

"Severus... They had to know," replied Dumbledore, calmly.

"And I wasn't told... I thought you trusted me. What has changed recently?" asked Severus, angrily. But before Dumbledore could answer, Snape continued, "And please don't give my closeness to the Dark Lord as an excuse," he remarked.

"Severus... you have to understand... that, you are in a delicate position with Tom. We cannot put you, or Harry at risk," replied Dumbledore. "Now... is there something else that we should know about what he's planning. Anything you can let us know?" he asked, diverting the subject.

Snape stared at Dumbledore with a mixture of hurt and hatred. After a few seconds, he replied, "He has started asking questions about John and Jane and their relations with Daisy," he said. "He set a trap for more than one wizard that night," he added.

"Jane is getting desperate and is careless. Her failed attempt at taking Eldon Redwood's life put her in a risky situation," remarked Dumbledore. "Tom's well aware of the use of time manipulation. He remembers John and Jane from the night he attacked James and Lily," he added.

"The Dark Lord won't hesitate to use Daisy against Jane," retorted Snape.

"I'm well aware, Severus," sighed Dumbledore. "Anything else?" he asked.

"Harry needs to be careful," said Snape. Dumbledore nodded in response. And with that, Snape left Dumbledore's office.

PS - And here we go... The second half of this "happening" 5th year's worth of story begins... Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave your thoughts and reviews... I enjoy reading them! Until the next one, Ciao!