FLICKERING SILVER

Harry was currently in Lupin's private office, wand outstretched towards the shadowy form of the fake-Dementor. This was shaping up to be the most exhausting lesson that Harry had ever endured. When one final cry of "Expecto Patronum!" yielded no result except for silvery mist, he finally gave in and let Lupin vanish it instead.

"You don't have to push yourself so hard, Harry." Lupin consoled, reaching out a hand to place it on Harry's shoulder. "The Patronus Charm is notoriously known as one of the most advanced spells to master. Even highly skilled professionals and experienced wizards are unable to do it, and most definitely not within a few weeks."

Harry slumped against the wall, wiping the sweat off his brow. He had been at this for days, but he just hadn't been able to produce anything more than some white fog. Lupin had asked him to concentrate on a positive memory, one that brought him great joy, while uttering the incantation 'Expecto Patronum'. Although he'd been following the instructions to the best of his abilities, it was surprisingly hard to find a memory that was the 'happiest' he'd ever experienced.

"Up now, have some water. Keeping hydrated is essential to all training sessions; it will prevent you from tiring out." said Lupin, as he conjured a glass and filled it with water for Harry. He gulped down the water and clambered onto his feet, ready to try once more. "I'll release the Dementor once more. Are you ready?" -a nod from Harry- "Alright then, one, two, three!"

As the Dementor glided out of the closet, bringing that dreaded chill with it, Harry pointed his wand at it, his hand shaking just a little. He chose to pin it on his exhaustion, rather than any lingering apprehension from facing a Dementor.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry focused all of his energy into the wand, but to no avail. As the Creature ascended towards him, Lupin stepped forward and cast the spell with minimal effort, leading to a flicker of envy in Harry.

"Why can't I do this, Professor?" asked Harry exasperatedly. He desperately wanted to master the spell so that he could defend himself and wouldn't have to be so dependent on anyone else. He just couldn't figure out what mistake he was making.

Lupin hummed, seeming to consider Harry before he spoke, albeit hesitantly. "I know of another method that you could try. However, I will warn you beforehand, not many wizards achieve success with the help of this method either, which is why I tried to teach you via the common method."

Harry, although intrigued, kept quiet, waiting for Lupin to expand on this 'other method'.

"Earlier, you were trying to focus on a particular memory, weren't you? This time, instead of a particular memory, I want you to focus on the feeling itself. What you feel when you ace an exam, or when you win a Quidditch match or when you're with your friends. It doesn't matter if it's not a concrete memory, you just have to feel the emotion viscerally," he explained, as he stepped back to allow Harry some room for the spell.

What makes me the happiest…? Harry pondered, as he stared at the stone wall in front of him. Abruptly, he remembered that night in the hospital where Daphne and he had spent so long in blissful company. His cheeks heated but he refused to acknowledge that and instead he focused on what he had felt as Daphne had cupped his face. The soft tingling sensation that had spread from where her fingertips had splayed over his cheeks to the calm that had bracketed him. More than joy, he'd felt comfort.

Closing his eyes and grasping onto the echoes of that comfort, Harry completed the wand motion and called out, "Expecto Patronum" in a shockingly steady voice.

Hearing Lupin's sharp intake, Harry opened his eyes to witness that the sharp mist was visibly stronger and had amassed some sort of shape although not clear enough to tell what it was supposed to be. Moreover, instead of dissipating near instantly, it stayed in form for a good while before slowly drifting apart.

Grinning, Harry whirled around to meet Lupin's eyes. Unfortunately, his body chose that moment to give out and he wobbled a little before crashing into the floor somewhat painfully. Rather than the fall putting a damper on his mood, he simply burst out into joyous laughter, exhilarated that he had finally managed some progress.

Remus matched his hysterical laughter with a soft chuckle and offered a hand to Harry so that he could get up. Still giggling, Harry let the professor pull him up and collapsed into the chair conveniently placed right next to him. Likely, Lupin's terrifying foresight which seemed to have been specifically designed for his students' comfort.

"You overdid it," Lupin chided softly, the effect ruined by the proud grin on his face. "Congratulations, Harry! I don't think I've ever seen someone pick up such a difficult spell as fast as you did."

Flustering under the praise, Harry ducked his head. "Thank you, Professor. I couldn't have done it without your advice, so half the credit goes to you too."

Simply shaking his head, Lupin gave him some chocolate to munch on, leaving Harry wondering about where exactly the professor stored his seemingly endless supply of sweets. Madam Pomfrey would probably have a heart attack, he thought absent-mindedly.

"Come on, Harry, off you go. You should get a full night's rest. It'll help with the magical exhaustion that's bound to happen because of how many times you cast that spell. I hope your headache isn't too bad," Lupin teased.

"What?! Professor, you didn't warn me about that!"

The Hogsmeade weekend creeped up on him, his attention having been primarily occupied with his Patronus lessons, clandestine meetings with Sirius and the gruelling Quidditch practices. He found himself feeling surprisingly comfortable even with the idea that he was going to spend the day with Daphne alone. The previous night, when Harry had informed Ron of his plans, the ginger had simply waggled his eyebrows at him, leaving Harry feeling slightly puzzled about his best friend's soundness of mind.

He was on his way through the Great Hall when a smarmy voice called out his name.

"Potter! Hey, Potter! I heard you've got yourself a little date?"

Harry found his heart dropping at the casual remark. He turned around to meet Malfoy's eyes, scowling. "Why's it any of your business, git?"

"Aww, name-calling! This person must be oh-so-precious, mustn't they?" the Slytherin cooed back. "I bet the pair of you are completely disgusting with each other."

Before Harry could retort, came the voice of a familiar girl.

"Why are you so interested, Malfoy? Feeling jealous?" Daphne spoke.

"What? Why would I ever be jealous and for what?" Malfoy scoffed.

"Oh, nothing," she answered, her tone amused. "We all know about your crush on Potter, that's all. Though I hadn't pegged you to be the oblivious type."

As Daphne laughed, Harry watched in amazement as Malfoy's face changed colour in quick succession, settling on a brick red. His state looked awful, the red contrasting against Malfoy's pale features.

While Malfoy spluttered, clearly having been caught off-guard, Daphne sauntered past him and brushed against Harry, sending him a subtle wink. Catching the hint, he followed her discreetly.

As they neared Hogsmeade and the students filtered out, Harry caught up to her and let himself break out into a huge grin. "Daphne, that was brilliant! Though what did you mean by the crush thing? Is that… true?" Harry could feel himself cringe a little as he thought about that particular unfortunate scenario.

Daphne let out a startled laugh, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Merlin, that would be a messed-up scenario, wouldn't it? No, it's just an ongoing joke within Slytherin considering Malfoy's incessant need to one-up you. I think it was Tracey who first started it; something about Muggle children and tugging on their crush's pigtails or something."

"Tracey?" The name sounded only vaguely familiar to him.

"My best friend, Tracey Davis," Daphne elaborated. "Walk quicker, come on. We need to get there before dark."

"Get where?" said Harry, hurrying to catch up with Daphne's quick strides.

"We're going to the Shrieking Shack," she announced. "We're likely to be completely uninterrupted there since it's supposed to be haunted."

"Haunted?!" Harry yelped. "Why are we going to a haunted house?"

"Don't be so scared, love, there's nothing in there. It's just rumoured to have a poltergeist and I'm quite well-versed in poltergeist-repellant charms. I'll save you, don't worry," she said, finishing that sentence with an indecent wink.

Feeling himself redden a little, he retorted, "I can save myself, thanks."

Paying no attention to his mulish tone, Daphne simply shrugged. "Alright, suit yourself. Look, we're nearly there."

At her statement, Harry came to a stop and looked around, all of a sudden catching sight of the little pink shop nestled into the corner. It looked very… romantic and cosy and he noticed many couples milling about the café, all seeming particularly delighted. The words 'Madam Puddifoot's' hung above the shop in glittering white cursive, surrounded by what seemed to be fairy lights. Harry felt himself grow a little nauseous at the overwhelming amount of pink, red and white that seemed to be that entire corner.

"Hey, Daphne?" Harry began hesitantly, "Is that… supposed to be a café for couples and stuff?"

Daphne looked back towards him and did a double-take when she noticed what had caught his attention. "Madam Puddifoot's?" She grimaced. "Yes, I suppose it's a popular date-spot. Honestly, only those with not an iota of taste would like that place."

Harry definitely empathised with that sentiment, it looks like one of those Barbie dolls threw up glitter and cupcakes all over the place… and whatever other things Barbies eat.

"And if you ever take me there, I'm killing you and then I'm killing myself," the blonde continued. "Wouldn't that be a romantic twist?"

Harry blinked in perplexion but before he could question what she meant, she grabbed his hand and tugged him farther along the alley until they reached Honeydukes. It was a little green shop filled to the brim with all sorts of sweets. The window display was littered with chocolate frogs, fizzing whizzbees, peppermint toads, exploding bon bons and many other delicious comestibles that Harry didn't recognize.

The sign on the window said, "TODAY'S OFFER- 50% OFF ON FIZZING WHIZBEES". Daphne took one look at the sign and rushed in, leaving Harry waiting at the door. After waiting for about five minutes, Daphne walked out with a bunch of candy in a bag, most of them fizzing whizbees from the look of it.

"You didn't need to get all that… I could've paid for-" Harry began to say, but was interrupted by the girl.

"Oh hush, you big baby. You don't have to pay for everything just because you invited me on the date." said Daphne, grabbing Harry's hand once again. Even whilst feeling flustered, Harry enjoyed the warmth he felt holding hands with Daphne.

They walked around Hogsmeade in silence for a little while, looking around the village, looking at all the people there who seemed to be enjoying themselves. The couples in particular seemed to be having the most fun there, most of them holding hands and giggling between themselves. Harry looked down at his own hand, clutching Daphne's. He hadn't let go since Honeydukes and didn't plan to, either.

Daphne dragged him away from the bustling crowd and they finally came to a stop in front of a deserted area. Right in the middle was a dilapidated two-storey cabin, seeming close to crumbling down at any given moment. The wind brought about a musty smell from that direction and Harry found himself doubting the strength of the house's floorboards and whether they ought to go outside.

"Are you quite certain that's safe for us? This place looks like it'll come down on our heads if we breathe wrong…"

"Come on, Potter, where's your Gryffindor courage? I thought you lions were supposed to be… what was it? Brave and thrill-seeking?" His companion teased.

Harry felt himself pouting. "I think I had enough thrill in my first two years at Hogwarts, I don't want any more. And trouble finds me without any effort on my part, imagine what would happen if I tried seeking out more risks. And anyway, why are you calling me Potter all of a sudden? I thought we were past that!"

"Calm down, sunshine, I was only teasing you," Daphne smiled, holding his hand closer to guide him through the rusty gate. "Come along, the shack won't collapse. I know because Tracey and I often come here to hang out with a few of our friends."

As they ventured past the rickety door, Harry suppressed a shudder at the eerie creaks of the doors. He was half-awed and half-scared of how blasé Daphne was about exploring a supposed haunted house. But then again, if she's done this before, then she must be used to off-putting atmospheres.

"This place is a lot more torn up from when we were last here," Daphne spoke up, sounding surprised.

Looking around, Harry could see how the furniture had been vastly disfigured. The sparse armchairs and couches had deep gouges in them while the walls were completely covered in dust and mould. However, in some places, the dust had been disturbed to form impressions of some sort of body or animal. It almost looked like a crazed animal had broken into the house if only to ravage the place.

"Daphne, I really don't like this. Can't we just go to The Three Broomsticks?" Harry asked, refusing to acknowledge that his voice had come out as a petulant whine.

"Just a second," Daphne mused. "How about we check out the second floor and then we leave?"

Harry pulled a face but he let the girl tug him upstairs, making sure to double and triple-check his footing. As soon as they reached the landing, Harry gagged at the strong smell of iron hitting his nose.

"Ah, you smell it, don't you?" Daphne said, her tone wry. "Sorry, I forgot to warn you."

"What… is that?" Harry rasped, through the lump in his throat. In response, Daphne simply shrugged.

"This smells disgusting, I can't eat anything here. Let's go back down." said Harry, pulling Daphne by the arm.

They both plopped themselves on the nearly obliterated couch and opened a bunch of sweets. They talked about a myriad of topics, including, but not limited to; Malfoy, Quidditch (It was mostly Harry for this one), Snape, Malfoy, Trelawney predicting Harry's death, Malfoy yet again and the History homework.

Just as the sweets were about to finish, Harry noticed Daphne's hand on the couch, very near to his own. Gathering all his courage, he grabbed her hand and looked away, determined to not let Daphne see his tomato-red face. He was mildly surprised when he felt a kiss on his cheek moments later.

"Getting bold, are we now, sunshine?" asked Daphne, as Harry looked at her grinning face. A grin that soon faded as she scooted closer, their arms touching now. He turned towards her with bated breath, as he watched her slowly lean forward. Harry had a thick skull, yes, but even he knew the signs of an imminent kiss. He began to lean forward himself; his face was so close that he could feel her breath on his cheek. Their lips brushed against each other momentarily.

But just as Daphne was about to close the gap between them, she was interrupted by a large crash followed by a resounding growl. Before either of them could come to any harm, he jumped off the couch and tugged Daphne along with the hand he was still holding onto, and they made their way out of the house and into the backyard of the shack on quick feet, gasping for breath.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea to come here!" Harry exclaimed, watching in astonishment as Daphne merely burst out into amused cackles. "Why are you laughing?! We almost came across what was definitely a dangerous person or animal-"

"Come on, you have to admit, it was at least a little bit funny," Daphne interrupted him, still chortling. "And anyway it was likely just a prank set up by the seventh-year students to scare the newer students."

Frowning at being taken so lightly but still endeared by how happy Daphne seemed to be, Harry let a smile tug at his cheeks. Clutching onto her hand again, he began leading them back to the castle, having taken note of the rapidly darkening sky. Neither of them mentioned the failed kiss.

"We should do this again," Daphne beamed, her mood appearing to have grown brighter in spite of their terrifying encounter.

"What?" Harry scoffed teasingly. "Nearly get murdered?"

"Oh, you're exaggerating! I meant the two of us hanging out more often."

Feeling himself fluster, Harry merely nodded bashfully and quickened his pace, the redness on the tips of his ears making Daphne giggle a little more. Just as they made their way to the castle, a problem became clear.

"Did we really spend that long inside the Shack?" Harry asked incredulously. "How is it already past curfew?"

"We must have lost track of time," Daphne said, biting her lip nervously. "Do you think we can make our way inside without anyone noticing us?"

"Yes, I do have my Invisibility Cloak with me. I'll walk you back to your dorms and then, I'll make my way up to the Tower."

"Well, look at you, being a gentleman and walking a girl back to her place! I bet the ladies are swooning over you," Daphne said, fluttering her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.

"I'm just doing the right thing," Harry muttered, resolutely ignoring the violent blush across his cheeks. "And I know a way we can completely avoid coming across Filch or Mrs. Norris even without the Cloak. Promise me you won't tell?"

"Colour me intrigued," Daphne said, peeking at Harry curiously. "Do you honestly think I'll snitch on you? I'm almost a little hurt."

"Of course not!" Harry protested hastily. "You know that's not what I meant! And hang on… here it is."

He pulled out the Marauder's Map and tapped his wand against the parchment and muttered the words softly, making sure Daphne wouldn't be able to hear the words. She seemed unfazed by his attempt at concealment and watched on in amazement as the map formed.

"That's useful," she marvelled, scanning the map with keen eyes.

"Yeah", he said absent-mindedly, his attention by the name present in the Gryffindor dorms.

There, in the soft cursive common throughout the map, were the words: Peter Pettigrew.

Author's Note:

Daphne and Harry: *About to kiss*
The animal that growled: "I think not, good sir!"

xoxo

Hi guys! We apologize for the delay, our exams had swamped us. But we're back! Thank you for waiting patiently for us, we hope you like our upcoming chapters!

-Val.