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Act II - The Warlock of Hogwarts
Chapter 11 - Friends
Walking with Daphne Greengrass within the halls of Hogwarts was a queer experience. But he had been getting a lot of those recently, so he had stopped being surprised. Every time they crossed a student, they invited curious stares, seeing a Gryffindor and a Slytherin walk together. It made him wonder if half of Wizarding Britain's troubles stemmed from these House lines.
"Planning to join your friends?" She asked, as they took the stairs towards the dungeons. They had double potions next. Part of him was curious about how Snape would treat him, now that he had offered him private tutelage, while another part of him wondered if the man would go irate seeing one of his Slytherins walking next to the Golden Boy. It'd be interesting to see the results, if nothing else.
Also, Harry was wondering if he had some talent at divination. Just earlier in the morning, he had expected to have Double Potions with Snape and then suffer that Umbridge woman. He had hit the jackpot with the former.
Maybe it wasn't too late to change classes?
"Harry?"
He blinked.
"Sorry. I wasโฆ yes."
Daphne tilted her head slightly. Harry got the feeling that she was studying him, almost akin to a magizoologist studying a specimen. He hadn't expected her to be seen with her this blatantly in public, but Daphne had already made it clear she didn't care of what others thought of her. Harry almost felt jealous of her devil-may-care attitude.
"Are you disappointed?" she asked curiously.
"In what?"
"In me?" she said, her head cocking slightly to the right as she placed her hand upon her chest. "I know I screwed things back on the train. You didn't even exchange a word at the dinner table. And then that stunt with Susan you pulled at breakfast; it makes me wonder if you'reโฆ unhappy with me. Perhaps you've reconsidered our arrangement?"
And she was dead insecure about their impending marriage. A strange dichotomy, considering she was one of the few that actually understood him.
"You're seeing phantoms, Daphne," he told her bluntly.
"Am I?"
Her voice was practically dripping with scepticism.
"Yes," he asserted, "I've had enough problems without you thinking of imaginary ones, Daphne." Seeing the hurt flash across her face, he backpedalled, realising how it might have looked to her. "Sorry. It's justโฆ things haven't been great since coming to Hogwarts. Merlin, they aren't even allowing me to live in Gryffindor Tower."
Daphne widened her eyes. "I thought that was just โ but seriously? Why?"
"You thought what?"
"Millie overheard the gryffindors talking about how you weren't at the tower last night."
Millie?"
"Millicent Bulstrode." Daphne clarified, "There were whispers about you getting thrown out of Hogwarts from bringing in a dark creature, or something like that."
"Let me guess, Chang?"
She nodded. "What was that about?"
He sighed. "Forget it. Just don't take those rumours seriously."
Daphne snorted. "Potter, if I were to believe in your rumours, I'd ask you about your secret kingdom in the clouds, where you're being trained by Morgana and Merlin. Oh, and the secret veela coven that worships the ground you walk on. They're even calling Delacour the coven's official representative."
Harry nearly choked.
"So where were you last night?" She asked, her eyes gleaming with a strange intensity.
Translation โ Did you spend the night with Fleur Delacour?
Which, to be honest, was exactly where he had been. But this was not the time to open that jar of flobberworms. Snape was going to be pissed if they got late. Doubly so if he entered the classroom with a pissed-off Daphne Greengrass.
I wonder when I was normal.
"The Ministry's declared me a threat, so I've got to stay away from others. Outside of classes, that is. Because I'm also a warlock, Hogwarts has this provision of providing private rooms for people like us. Add two and two togetherโฆ"
"The Headmaster gave you a private room."
"Yes."
"Where is it?"
He smiled. "On the third floor. Behind the tapestry of Medea of Colchis. It's pretty comfy, to be honest. I mean, I've got my personal room and everything, and a hall to practise spell casting without, you know, being a danger to others."
"But that isn't right," Daphne retorted indignantly. You're a Noble Lord, not a criminal. I'll write to Papa. Does Lord Black know about this yet?"
He felt a little vindicated at seeing her get angry on his behalf. First Susan and now her. It was similar, yet wholly different from Ron and Hermione, but endearing nonetheless. A couple of months ago, he'd probably have kept his head low and walked out, unwilling to speak his feelings out.
Now? He reached out and gingerly grabbed her arms.
That act alone swept the wind off Daphne's rant.
"It's okay," he said, looking into her eyes. "Dumbledore is already facing a lot of flak from others, especially with the Governors working against him. You know that Umbridge woman is here just to make things worse for me. The least I can do isโ"
"Nothing," Daphne retorted, "You're not some muggle born they can torment. You're the freaking Boy-Who-Lived and a celebrity. You're probably the youngest to become the Lord of a Noble House through ascension through Family Magic. Not to mention your warlock status. Do you not understand how much shit Fudge and his cronies will be if you decide to walk away from Britain?"
He did. He would be lying if he said that he hadn't considered that alternative. But it wouldn't solve anything.
"Daphne," he said, lowering his voice even more. "If leaving Britain would be an option, don't you think Sirius would've already done that? But we both know what's out there. Yes, I can go abroad, but Voldemort will come after me. It won't be over until it is over. And if I've to face him, I'd do it in my place of power, surrounded by those I care about. I have friends and family here, and I haveโฆ you. I have dreams, desires, aspirations. I will not leave all of this simply because our fool of a minister and his pet Toad think that the truth is inconvenient."
Daphne's eyes were drilling into his own.
"Eventually, Voldemort will make his move and when that happens, everyone will see the truth for what it is. That's why neither your dad nor Sirius is doing nothing against Fudge for now. They know it, Dumbledore probably knows it, and honestly, I think even Lucius Malfoy knows that Fudge will be out of the door the moment Voldemort shows up in public."
"But that doesn't meanโ"
"Daphne," he stressed, "I'm a warlock. It doesn't just get me a private room, it also gets me a free pass to skip classes if I think it's useless. Worse comes to worst, I'll skip Umbridge completely. Rufus Scrimgeour gave me an Auror internship offer after my OWLs, and Sirius is a damned Hit-Wizard Captain. You really think I need Toady's classes to get me somewhere in life?"
Technically, he would sign up for neither, because he had already accepted the DOM offer. But he couldn't obviously tell Daphne that, and it'd be an acceptable excuse for his private studies, or whatever Tonks had in mind until his OWLs.
In hindsight, it'd be a nightmare and a half if he had continued to live in the Gryffindor tower. Hermione would watch him like a hawk, and while Ron would be slightly easier to deal with, he'd be a distraction and inform Hermione just in case he noticed him studying beyond the school curriculum. And then there was Ginny and Neville and the twinsโฆ
No. It was so much better that he had the privacy of his own room.
On the other hand, Gryffindor Tower would have kept both Fleur and Daphne away most of the time. His private room thoughโฆ
"Why are you making faces at me?" asked Daphne.
Damn it.
"... nothing. Just thinking. I mean, I'm not gonna let it get to me. I want to see how far they can keep pretending things are hunky dory, you know. Gives me time to prepare for Voldemort. All I've got to do is keep my head down and stay out of trouble."
Daphne snorted. Loudly. "Stay out of trouble? You? That I'd pay to see happen."
"Your confidence in me is inspiring!" he deadpanned.
That made her laugh harder. Harry just cocked his head back and watched with a wry grin as Daphne laughed, holding her belly.
"Okay, sorry! Sorry!" she replied after a moment, an occasional chuckle popping in, "seriously, you're a trouble magnet."
"Yeah," Harry drawled. "Tell me more."
"What did Susan want with you?"
It probably said something about his newly gained experience with women that he didn't so much as blink at the abrupt change in conversation. Really, what was he thinking?
He shrugged. "Nothing. I just bumped into her this morning. She, too, was irritated at me having to stay away from the others. We just walked to the Great Hall, and she invited me to sit with her."
"And?"
He arched an eyebrow. "And what? I told her no. No way McGonagall would walk all the way to give me my timetable. She asked me for lunch sometime later this week and I agreed."
Something about her expression tightened. "And what if I were to ask you to sit with us today at lunch?"
"Errโฆ why would you want me to do that?"
She cocked her head, her eyes drilling into him. "Because we are handfasted and to be wed? Is it not natural for me to want to get to know you better and spend time with you?"
Well, when she put it like thatโฆ.
"Harry?"
He gave her a sheepish grin. "I guess what you said makes sense, but it just doesn't come to me naturally that you'd want to spend time with me."
Daphne arched an eyebrow.
"I know," he said, scratching his head. "I guess it's one of those things easier said than done. I'm still working on it. Honestly, the number of things on my schedule just keeps increasing by the hour. Babbling just invited me to private instruction. And then the Ministry is trying to fuck with me every step out of the way. Things are way more chaotic than I can tell you."
"You haven't told me anything at all!" Daphne said drolly.
Harry scratched his left ear.
"But I get that," she continued, contemplatively, before she held out her right hand. Harry noted her fingernails were short and well-manicured and painted pink to match her lip gloss.
"... what?" He asked.
"I thought about what you said on the train, and I realised I was just trying to force things. It'sโฆ Pansy is my best friend, and I just got carried away. I mean, I know I shouldn't have gone ahead with her insane plan butโฆ"
"It's hard to say no to those you love."
Her blue orbs met his green ones.
"Yes. It is."
"So I was thinking of trying the normal way with you. Throw this entire wedding thing out of our heads for now, and just stick to being friends. Sharing classes, helping each other with homework. That sort of thing."
"You sound like Hermione."
A flash of displeasure flickered over her face. It was one of those moments that reminded him that regardless of how well she understood him; she was a purist at heart. Not as worse as Malfoy, but you couldn't be friends with Parkinson and not be tainted with her brand of bigotry. At least, she was not resistant to change.
If nothing else, it had diverted the conversation topic from Susan and breakfast.
"Fine. Friends it is."
"So, about that lunch?"
He spoke too soon again, didn't he?
"Are you sure it's the best idea?"
Her brows furrowed.
"I mean, I'm pretty sure Malfoy and Umbridge would have kittens seeing me there. And then there's Slytherin House. Unlessโฆ" he crossed his arms, "this is another of Pansy's plans? You know, inviting me to Slytherin House just so she can screw things between us?"
"No," she said, her eyes flickering with a spark of annoyance. Good. This was Daphne's own decision, and not something Parkinson had cooked up.
"How 'bout this? Let's have supper in my room sometime this week?"
Daphne's lips turned upward in amusement. "Why Mr. Potter, are you too eager to have me in your room?"
"Please," He gave her a lopsided grin. "You had me behind closed doors on the first day itself. This is just me being polite."
"Fine. It's a date."
Itโฆ was. Wasn't it? Despite her casual demeanour, Harry didn't miss the spark of victory flashing in her eyes. Clever girl. She knew he was going to deny the lunch at the Slytherin table idea, and had artfully directed the conversation in a direction that made him offer her a private lunch instead.
Daphne 1. Sucker 0.
"Say, how about the day after tomorrow?"
"Alright, Miss Greengrass," said Harry, drawing to his fullest height, "we've a date."
"Before we begin today's lesson," said Snape, his voice carrying over the same sneer that was plastered on his face. "I think it's appropriate to remind you that next June, you'll all be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtable are, I expect you to scrap an 'Acceptable' in your OWL, or suffer myโฆ displeasure."
The man glared at the side of the room, populated mostly by Gryffindors, and Harry noticed how Neville sank low into his seat to avoid the man's gaze. The Slytherins on the other side grinned at his discomfort, before Snape's vision lazily dragged across the room.
"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me," Snape went on. "I only accept the very best for my NEWT Potions class, so some of us will certainly say goodbye."
His eyes rested on Harry and his lip curled. Harry met his eyes, feeling a grim pleasure at the idea of giving up Potions for good after fifth year.
"Unfortunately," said Snape softly, "we still have another year before that propitious moment of farewell. So whether you are intending to attempt NEWT Potions, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high pass level I expect from my OWL students."
"Miss Greengrass," Snape called out of nowhere, "last I checked, you barely scraped an Acceptable in your year-end exams. Unless you wish to nose-dive further to Dreadful, I suggest you sit with students who can actually brew instead ofโฆ" His gaze shifted to Harry, "Clumsy dunderheads that can't tell the difference between a cauldron and their foot."
Daphne squirmed under his gaze, but otherwise stayed silent.
Harry kept his head low and scrutinised Daphne from the corner of his eyes. He had expected some sort of emotion from her. If not anger or resentment, then at least a bit of annoyance at the man's singling her out. He carefully noticed the triumphant gleam in Pansy's eyes, and the smirk on her lips, and it made him feel sick in his stomach. He'd agree that Ron had his shortcomings, but Daphne had terrible taste in friends. He supposed he couldn't have helped given she had been in Slytherin House over the past years, but now that she was part of his life, he'd need to put a check on Pansy's influence. Daphne might even be hurt because of it, but it'd be necessary. For victory to be gained, lesser sacrifices needed to be made.
"Do not worry, Professor," Harry replied loudly, "I've got my eyes corrected. I now know the difference between my foot and my cauldron."
Daphne looked at him with utter bewilderment.
"Talking back to a teacher, Potter?" said Snape, a victorious look in his eyes. "It's clear your new fame has gotten to your head. Detention tomorrow night, after supper. We'll see if scrubbing cauldrons teaches you some humility."
Had this been another year, Harry would've been enraged. Now, he just nodded at him, meeting the man's eyes for a second, and looked down, knowing exactly what had happened. Snape had told him he'd be teaching him how to defend against the Dark Arts, and this was his preferred way of setting his classes, with no one being the wiser. Too bad Daphne had to serve as his 'excuse' to get Harry to react.
Regardless of his intentions, Snape was a git. No amount of private teaching would change that.
Snape looked like he had apparently decided that it was enough pep talk and moved on with the class.
"Today we will work on a potion that often comes up at the OWL Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients, you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing. You will find the ingredients in the cupboards. Instructionsโ" he waved his wand, "are on the board. Begin!"
Harry didn't need to be a fan of potions to determine that this one was more difficult and fiddly than the others they had prepared over the years. The ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities; the mixture had to be stirred exactly the right way and number of times, first clockwise, then anticlockwise; with the heat of the flames raised and lowered to exact levels for the exact number of minutes before the last ingredient was added.
"Why did you do that?" Daphne whispered as she quickly jotted down the list of ingredients on a piece of parchment. It was a good idea, for in less than ten minutes, the place would be so full of multi-coloured fumes it'd be difficult to read the blackboard from afar.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Snape already said what he had to say. Your taunting him served no purpose."
"The git wouldn't be happy until he deducted points or threw me in detention. He was just using you to get a rise out of me. Obviously he would not take points off his House, so he'd humiliate you further instead."
"And you acted to give him what he wanted?"
Harry grinned. "Yes."
"Why?"
His lips twisted upward. "We're friends, remember? It's what friends are for."
He felt kind of guilty at how earnestly moved Daphne looked.
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