Harry awoke the morning of August 12th before the sun rose over the horizon. His nervousness regarding the upcoming trial had kept him up most of the night and at half past four in the morning he finally gave it up as a lost cause and decided to start his day.

Harry made his way out of bed and into the hallway as quietly as he could, doing his best not to wake anyone else in the house, and went into the bathroom where he hoped a shower could calm his nerves. Twenty minutes later he was clean, but his anxiety remained.

Next, he quietly tiptoed to the library deciding to see if he could find any books he had yet to read regarding trials before the Wizengamot for some last-minute prep work. He found an old tome recounting the trial of some ancient ancestor of the Blacks and began to flip through it.

Over the past few weeks Harry had scoured the library with the help of Hermione and Sirius, intent to learn all he could about other trials before the Wizengamot and what he could expect. He had decided that he would no longer go into these situations unprepared, and in his preparation learned a lot, but try as he might, he could not focus on the book in front of him. After a few more minutes of staring at the same page and reading the same words repeatedly but comprehending nothing, he gave it up as a lost cause and instead began to reflect on the past few weeks since he had arrived at Grimmauld Place.

Hermione had very quickly begun to pester him about his summer homework but was pleasantly surprised to discover he had all but completed it. After some revisions and reworking, he was certain that he would do well. She had then moved onto Ron and after some nagging was able to get him to start on his work as well. He grumbled and complained all the while, but he was also making steady progress.

Harry had also gotten in touch with Professor McGonagall and let her know of his intention to drop divination and pick up ancient runes. She had been surprised when he informed her of his desire to change courses so late into his Hogwarts career and let him know that he would have to pass an entry exam once back at school, but if he did, she would gladly allow the switch to happen.

Hermione had taken it upon herself to help him prepare by letting him look over her meticulous notes from previous years and helping him with concepts and runes he didn't understand. He was nearly certain that part of the reason she was so insistent on helping was due to the lingering guilt she had from leaving him in the dark earlier on in the summer, but despite his efforts to tell her that all was forgiven multiple times, she still insisted and Harry gladly accepted the help.

Outside of his schoolwork and his preparation for the trial, Harry was simply trying to enjoy his summer. They still had assigned chores they needed to get through every day as they continued to clean their way through the old home, but when their chores were completed, they would spend hours on end playing games, testing wheezes for the twins, and ultimately just having a good time.

Harry made sure to get some time with Sirius as well, and he found himself spending countless hours taking in all the stories and information about his parents that his godfather so freely offered him. Harry was beginning to feel like just maybe he was starting to know them, even if it was through the eyes of others and not his own.

He had also had a short meeting with George and Fred where, to Harry's vast amusement, they acted seriously and professionally. They showed him what they'd been working on, and Harry was truly impressed. He was certain that most of their original inventions would sell out in no time. He informed them that he was on board with everything they were doing and made sure they knew that if they needed any more money, he would gladly provide it until their products began to turn a profit.

Lastly, and if Dumbledore was to be believed, most importantly, he had started his occlumency lessons with Sirius. They had yet to progress far in the training, with the bulk of their time together focusing on Harry organizing his thoughts and controlling his emotions. Sirius had also lent him some reading material containing exercises he could practice to help clear his mind which Hermione had immediately borrowed and started practicing as well.

Ultimately, Harry had never enjoyed a summer as much as he did this one, and at times, he could almost forget that Voldemort was resurrected, and that Cedric had died just a few short months ago. He had been doing his best to ignore the trial that hung over his head like a dark cloud on the horizon, but now that storm had arrived, and it was time for him to do his best to weather it.

Harry was still contemplating as he sat quietly in the library when he heard the front door open and close quietly. He glanced at his wristwatch and saw that the time was half past six. Curious as to who would be arriving at such an early hour, he stepped out of the library to investigate. He relaxed when he saw none other than Albus Dumbledore wearing a garish pair of light blue robes covered in moons and stars standing in the front hall quietly observing the portraits which hung on the wall with interest. Without turning around, he greeted Harry "Good morning, Harry. Trouble sleeping?" he asked in a conversational manner.

"Yes sir, I couldn't stop thinking about the trial." He answered honestly. After a brief pause, he continued in a questioning tone of voice "Sir I thought you'd be here a bit later seeing as the trial isn't for a few more hours yet?"

Dumbledore straightened and turned around to fully face Harry. He had a hard look in his eyes, as though there was something upsetting him. "I wouldn't put it past the minister to try some sort of trickery, and I decided it would be best to be well prepared. Even if he doesn't Molly is an excellent cook, and you are quite pleasant company; I wouldn't mind wasting a few hours away together if you don't." He finished, his eyes softening as he spoke.

"Not at all sir, I believe I hear Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen right now. Perhaps we could help her set everything up." Harry replied.

"An excellent idea," Dumbledore smiled "after you Harry." They both walked into the kitchen and wished Molly a good morning. Dumbledore set the table with a wave of his wand and the three held a light conversation as Molly finished up breakfast. One by one the others slowly tumbled in after waking up to the delicious aroma that was wafting through the air.

They had just sat down and had hardly begun to eat when a ministry owl flew into the dining room through an open window and stopped in front of Harry holding out its leg. Harry quickly unfurled the parchment and once he had read it over, he handed it to Dumbledore, feeling slightly annoyed with the ministry for trying to do what they could to make him look bad.

Molly was the first person to ask what the letter was about, and Dumbledore was quick to inform her. "It seems as though the ministry has decided to push Harry's trial forward two hours. That means we must be there in ten minutes." He said in a calm voice. "Thank you for the marvelous meal, Molly. I truly apologize we could not stick around longer, but alas duty calls. Harry, you and I must leave now, Arthur will we be seeing you there?"

"Yes, you will. Hermione asked if she could tag along and Ron as well, would that be all right?" The kind man responded.

Harry was quietly thankful for the support he was receiving from his two best friends, and he eagerly awaited Dumbledore's response. "Yes, that should be fine as it is a trial open to the public, and once this is over, I would love to take everyone on a quick trip so we can celebrate." He said, "I think some ice cream might be in order, if that's all right with you three of course?"

Once they had all responded affirmatively, Dumbledore stood and beckoned for Harry to follow. After they had made their way outside, Dumbledore informed Harry of a stop they would have to make as they needed to pick someone up. Harry didn't know what to expect and they were already late, but he trusted Dumbledore who led him back to Privet Drive.

For a heartbeat Harry panicked thinking they would be picking up Dudley, or worse, his aunt or uncle, but the panic was short lived as they made their way up to number 7 Privet Drive where Ms. Figg was waiting for them. Once Ms. Figg had joined them, Dumbledore took each of their hands in one of his own and apparated directly into the ministry, something Harry had thought was impossible, on multiple accounts. But they quickly began making their way down to the courtroom, so he didn't have much time to think it over. Dumbledore walked confidently which in turn had Harry feeling confident and hopeful that this would end well


Daphne was quite annoyed. Her father had woken her up an hour earlier than she was expecting and had told her that if they wanted to get to the trial on time, she would have to get ready in the next few minutes. This presented a problem as Daphne liked to look her best when it came to public outings, but she couldn't do that if she only had five minutes to get dressed.

Due to the time constraints, she couldn't even dwell on it and be properly upset, instead she took a quick shower and brushed her teeth for a considerably shorter time than she would have liked. Her hair was already nearly completely dry (magic was such a wonderful thing), and because she didn't have time to do anything with it, she let it naturally fall into its princess curls. Grabbing clean underwear, a pair of dark jeans, a dark green sweater, and a pair of semi-formal robes, she quickly dressed herself and ran downstairs.

She arrived in the foyer where she saw her father dressed in his official house robes waiting patiently next to the floo. "Ready to go sweetheart?" he asked kindly.

"Yeah, I am" She responded out of breath. Her father nodded once and turned towards the fireplace where he grabbed a pinch of floo powder out of the bag they kept on the mantle. He threw the green powder into the flames and beckoned for her to go first. With a shout of 'Ministry of Magic' and a flash of color she was gone only to appear moments later at the public ministry floo reception.

Quickly she moved out of the way and her father who had been following her, also stepped through. They began to make their way through the atrium of the ministry heading for the lifts. A short while later when they were halfway towards the lifts Daphne decided to voice a suspicion she had. "Daddy?" she asked.

"Yes darling." He replied kindly, looking at her to show she had his full attention even as they continued their walk.

"Why the sudden time change? Do you think they're trying to purposefully sabotage him?" She asked quietly so that no one could hear what they were discussing. Her father had taught her long ago that there were often ears listening for even the most trivial conversations and to be careful when speaking anywhere, but especially in public places.

"That had been my first thought when I received the letter as well, but who knows, maybe they just had a scheduling error or something else came up." He responded, though his voice sounded doubtful.

Daphne nodded and they finished the rest of their walk towards the lift in relative silence. They loaded into the lift with a handful of wizards and witches who also seemed to be heading to the trial and they made their way down to the lowest level. They found the courtroom easily enough, but when they entered it, Daphne gasped, and her father looked as angry as she'd ever seen him. In the countless books Daphne had read on wizarding law, many of them discussed this very courtroom which happened to be where only the worst of people were tried.

The death eaters were prosecuted here, along with murderers, rapists, and the most despicable criminals. Now they were trying to send a message to the world. Harry Potter should be grouped with them, a violent and vile criminal. They didn't have time to dwell on this, however, as shortly after they had walked in Harry and Dumbledore entered the courtroom simultaneously, walking next to one another. Her father bid her farewell to take his seat amongst the Wizengamot as she settled into the guest area.

Daphne watched Harry as he made his way down to the defense section and noticed that he looked different from when she had last seen him. He had certainly grown taller since the school year ended not too long ago, easily half a head taller than her now. She also noted that for the first time ever he didn't look terribly skinny. Even through his robes she could see that while still quite lean and lithe, he had begun to put on some mass in his upper body. He looked stronger than last year, like he was finally growing into himself.

What stood out most, however, was the confidence he now carried himself with. Ever since she had seen him for the first time in their first year, he had always walked around with his head down and eyes averted making him look timid and afraid, but when he walked into the courtroom, he did so with his back straight and head held high. His elegant House Potter robes also helped to banish the little boy he had been and to make him look more important.

Not long after they had seated themselves, Minister Fudge entered the room and immediately ordered that Harry be bound to the defense chair. The aurors guarding him looked hesitant to do so and traded nervous glances with one another. Dumbledore looked livid at the request, but before he could protest Madame Bones spoke. "Stand down, there will be no binding. The young man is just 15 years old and the last time I checked minister," she said now directing her ire towards the portly Minister of Magic, "I was presiding over this court, not you."

The minister's face reddened, whether from anger or embarrassment or a combination of the two at being reprimanded publicly, Daphne did not know, but he wisely kept quiet and took his seat. One of his lackeys, however, wasn't quite as smart as she seemed. "Ahem. Cornelius is the Minister for magic." A woman who was dressed from head to toe in pink and looked remarkably similar to a toad said icily. "He must be addressed with respect, and if he wants the child bound, then he should be bound." She finished, turning her glare from Madame Bones to Harry.

Amelia was having none of it however, "Undersecretary Umbridge, should you speak out of turn again I will personally bind you and have you arrested for contempt. Do I make myself clear?" After she received a terse nod of the head from the toad-looking lady Amelia continued. "Very well then. As everyone is present let us begin. *This disciplinary hearing on the 12th of August into offenses committed under the decree for the reasonable restriction of underage sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

Interrogators Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, head of DMLE. Court scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley-"

"Witness for the defense Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore" * Dumbledore broke in quietly.

Amelia nodded to show her consent and continued "Harry James Potter, you are found guilty of performing magic in a muggle neighborhood in front of muggles. This violates the statute of secrecy and restriction of underage magic. What do you have to say in your defense?"

Daphne watched as Harry looked over to Dumbledore who gave a slight nod in return, and that was all the encouragement he needed. Harry began recounting his story and it was clear that the entire Wizengamot was riveted by his tale. The courtroom remained silent as he spoke and when he began to describe how the temperature had dropped in that alleyway and the feeling of dread that had washed over him Daphne knew what was coming next, but when he actually mentioned the dementors and how he had fought them off using a patronus charm she was stunned. Apparently so were many others in the courtroom as a loud uproar began.

Fudge was screaming about the impossibility of a 15-year-old casting such a difficult charm to which Harry replied that he had learnt it at 13, causing even more voices to erupt. Others were torn between being equally upset or awed, and Harry and the headmaster sat calmly through the surge of noise and waited for the room to calm. After Amelia banged the gavel a few more times than necessary the room finally quieted. "Obviously, there are doubts concerning your claim. Would you be willing to try to conjure a patronus now to prove whether you have the ability perform this level of magic?" she asked not unkindly.

Daphne saw the Minister and his undersecretary share a look of smug superiority and laughed quietly to herself. Everyone at Hogwarts knew that Harry had been able to cast his patronus since the quidditch match where he scared Draco and his goons so badly that they had wet themselves. She saw Harry stand up and draw his wand from a wrist holster underneath the sleeve of his robes. With a clearly stated "Expecto Patronum!" A white stag leapt from his wand, it walked around the front of the courtroom and looked at everyone in turn. Seeing no immediate threat, it returned to Harry's side as the white vapor dissipated into the wind before fading completely.

This time the entirety of the hall fell into a shocked silence. Daphne especially liked the way that the minister sputtered as he tried to make sense of what had happened. Finally, he regained enough of his wit to shout out, "The level of magic which he cast does not matter! He still cast the charm whilst underage and in front of muggles!"

Daphne could hear some in the crowd muttering their approval, but most were still shell-shocked over the casual display of immense power from the teenage boy. At this point Dumbledore picked up the tale. Now that the use of magic was deemed appropriate Dumbledore was left with proving the charm was not performed in front of any ordinary muggles and made sure to state that even if it had been, Harry was still justified in his actions. The final nail in the coffin was when a squib who had apparently been present during the incident was called to testify. She praised Harry for saving lives and called him a hero.

When it came time to vote on a verdict Harry was set free and acquitted of all charges following a vast majority vote from the Wizengamot, and Fudge was even further humiliated when Dumbledore pointed out that dementors should be under ministry control. He said it in a way that didn't accuse anyone of anything but insinuated that this was either due to lack of competence from the ministry or them losing control over the dark beasts. Daphne was impressed, the old man really did know how to play to a crowd, and Daphne was sure by tomorrow morning the major news outlets would be discussing whether the ministry could control the vile creatures for any longer, as opposed to spewing more nonsense about Harry Potter.

With the trial completed the room began to clear quickly and Daphne waited patiently for her father who was discussing with Samuel Davis, the father of her best friend Tracey, in the reserved area for Wizengamot members. After a few minutes, he wrapped up his conversation and approached Daphne. When he reached her, he let her know that her presence had been requested at the Davis manor in the form of an invitation to a sleepover. Daphne laughed at the formal way he put it and quickly agreed, making a mental note to floo call Tracey later and set up a date. It had been much too long since their last girl's night.

They exited the chamber together and began walking towards the lifts. Daphne looked back to ask her father about the trial and didn't realize she was walking into someone until she hit a solid chest that nearly sent her spiraling to the floor. Luckily for her, or unluckily for her, she hadn't decided yet, two strong arms reached out and steadied her, and attached to those arms was none other than Harry Potter himself.

"I'm sorry, my fault, I should've been watching where I was going. Greengrass right?" Harry said quietly looking quite embarrassed for nearly knocking her over. After a moment he realized he still had a grip on her and let go as he flushed even deeper.

"Really, it's no problem" she replied "that was just as much my fault as it was yours. And yes, I am Greengrass, but you could call me Daphne if you like." She finished. It took a half a second for her to realize how corny that sounded and then she joined Harry in blushing, but she powered through and continued, "Congratulations on your win earlier Potter, that case they were trying to present against you was a load of hippogriff dung."

Harry let out a surprised chuckle at her statement. "Thank you, Daphne, and please call me Harry." He replied. He appeared to genuinely appreciate her support, but after a moment he glanced behind her, nodding at someone in that direction, and ended the conversation "I'm sorry to cut this short, and sorry again about nearly knocking you over, but I really must be going. It was nice to see you." He said politely. He nodded to Daphne's father and made his way around them.

She answered back with a farewell of her own and a see you at school. She followed him with her eyes after he had left and watched him make his way towards Weasley and Granger. She then turned back towards her father to catch him looking at her with the slightest smirk on his face. She could see that he was ready to say some snarky and completely inappropriate remark, but she merely glared at him and with a muttered, "Not a word" she led the way up towards the lift. Her father acquiesced her request and let the walk go by in silence, but his eyes betrayed him the entire while, letting on just how amusing he found the brief interaction between the two classmates.

When they got to the floo's Daphne once again went first, and when both father and daughter returned to her living room, he looked at her and started talking conversationally "So Harry Potter has been cleared of all charges. The young man can cast a patronus too, takes quite a bit of power that. He even catches young girls who nearly fall and embarrass themselves in public." He spoke. Daphne kept her face blank not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her embarrassed. "He's a pretty handsome fellow too, tall and-"

"Dad! Oh my god shut up!" she screamed, her stoic mask finally breaking into a look of mortification to her father's amusement. She sent him one last glare before heading to her room. No way was she going to stand there and allow her father to continue to tease her, which she knew he would continue to do. Besides, she missed an hour of sleep this morning, and now she was going to get it back dammit. As she walked away the last thing she heard was her father's distant chuckling.


Following the excitement of winning the trial Molly had decided a celebration was in order so a feast was prepared that evening and the next day they were excused from their chores. With the stress of the trial finally alleviated, Harry had his first restful night of sleep in what had felt like months, and he awoke in the late morning. He spent the remainder of the day lounging around and reading through Runes with Hermione, he was nearly caught up and was hoping to finish soon so he could begin revising for his entry exam.

But the time for relaxing had come and gone, and now, nearly a week later, they were back in their daily routines. However, as they all settled at the kitchen table that morning, their routine was disrupted by six large Hogwarts owls swooping into the kitchen one after another. After the mail had been checked by the adults to ensure it hadn't been manipulated in any way the students in the room grabbed the envelopes addressed to each of them specifically. The owls, having done their jobs, promptly flew out of the window where they would head back towards Scotland and Hogwarts.

Harry opened his letter and began to sift through the stacks of paper that were inside his envelope. He found his customary book list along with his list of required materials. He happily noted that there was a book on ancient runes in his book list, and even better still, no book filled with the mumbo jumbo that is divination. After he sorted through all the ordinary papers, he saw that his envelope had one other thing in it. Pulling out the last piece of parchment folded neatly at the bottom, he unfolded it and found a hand-written note from Professor McGonagall along with a gold 'P' pin. Clutching the pin in his hand he began to read the letter.

Dear Harry,

I hope this letter finds you well. It is with immense pleasure that I would like to request of you to take the role of male prefect for this upcoming year. You have proven yourself repeatedly to be a trustworthy and fair individual, and I could not think of anyone more suited for this role than you. Do keep in mind that this position will require you to put extra time into patrolling the school and helping others. This, alongside your OWL exams this year, could add extra stress to your plate. However, having said that, if anyone could manage this stress, it would be you. Especially if you play your cards right and convince your female prefect counterpart to help you in this regard. Do keep in mind also that this position would allow you to take and give points as well as assign detentions. Should this power be abused I would be terribly upset and would revoke your prefecture immediately. I have a feeling though, that you will make me proud.

With warmest regards,

Minerva McGonagall (Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor)

Harry fingered the pin and looked over at Hermione who he was sure was the female prefect Professor McGonagall was referring to. In her hand, he saw that she also held a gold 'P' and was reading over her own letter. Once she had finished, she looked up quickly, her eyes immediately searching for Harry. When she finally saw him, she shot him an inquisitive look and he responded by holding his pin up for her to see. With a bright smile and a squeal, she rushed over to him jumping into his waiting arms and squeezing him so tightly she pulled the air out of his lungs.

The others looked up to see what all the commotion was about, and Hermione leapt out of Harrys arms. Turning towards the other she proudly exclaimed "Harry and I have been made prefects for Gryffindor!" Harry saw that his friends were genuinely excited for him and Hermione and so he allowed his own excitement to show.

"Of course, it would be the two of you, there's no one more deserving." Ron said with a smile and a clap on Harry's shoulder.

Harry replied with a modest "Thanks mate." As he ducked his head. He had never been one for praise. He had of course already known that he would be made prefect after his conversation with Dumbledore, but to have it affirmed had felt rather nice as well. He swore to himself right there that he wouldn't abuse his power and would do his best to make sure that he was fair to all students regardless of house or what their parents may have done in the past.

Molly decided this was reason enough for another celebration and immediately began planning for a party in the afternoon. She began muttering about different ingredients she would need for a cake and Harry had been quick to offer a helping hand, but she insisted that he go with the others and celebrate.

After double checking that she didn't need his help, he left her and headed upstairs to the large living room where everyone was settling in and discussing. The twins were giving him some good-natured ribbing at being made prefect and Ron was talking about how he could use his station to assign Malfoy detentions with Filch. Hermione had been quick to tell him that they would not abuse their power that way and Harry had broken up the oncoming row by saying that if the git deserved detention, and only if he deserved detention Harry would happily assign it, appeasing both.

Hermione then mentioned that it probably wouldn't matter anyways as Malfoy was sure to become prefect due to his father's close relationship to Snape, but Harry told them that he wouldn't be so sure and refused to answer when they asked what he meant.

That afternoon Harry and the rest of the residents at number 12 Grimmauld Place, along with a few others including Tonks and Remus were celebrating the two students who had been made prefects. Harry was laughing at a story Moony was telling him about his own days as prefect and everything was going great.

That thought scared Harry a bit. Usually when things were going good in his life it meant that they would suddenly get a lot worse. He forced down his paranoia. He looked around at the smiling faces of the people who loved him and forced himself to be happy in that moment. He would continue to chase this feeling and do what he could to keep those he loved safe.

Harry wasn't stupid. He knew that with Voldemort back, he would become the Dark Lord's biggest obsession and number one priority. He was resigned to the fact that he would most likely have to face the monster again at some point, and that he would probably not make it out alive, but that didn't mean that the meeting would have to be on Voldemort's terms. He was nearly certain that with enough training and a bit of luck he might just be able to take Voldemort out with him.

These thoughts only strengthened what he had been feeling since their last encounter at the graveyard. He promised himself that he would try his hardest in his classes to accumulate as much knowledge as possible. He might also try to convince some of his professors to begin some sort of special training focusing specifically on battle magic, and if they didn't agree he would take matters into his own hands.

One thing was for certain, Harry Potter was no longer the clueless and frightened first year that had entered the wizarding world five years ago. Now in his place stood a confident and determined young man, ready for what he was sure would be thrown his way. He could hardly wait for the school year to begin so he could put his plans into action. With that though he turned back towards the others deciding to enjoy the rest of this summer, after all who knew how many more he had.


Daphne stifled a yawn. She had woken up much earlier than she would have liked this morning because her best friend Tracey Davis had spent the night and they had planned an entire day together. These plans consisted of shopping for clothes for their upcoming school year, gossiping, and lounging out by Tracey's pool.

Tracey had been Daphne's best friend for as long as she could remember. They had known each other since they were babies and had gone to the same tutors prior to their Hogwarts education. In fact, Tracey was the reason Daphne had chosen Slytherin over Ravenclaw when the sorting hat had told her she would do well in both.

Tracey was a bit shorter than Daphne with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a very down-to-earth personality if you got to know her and could make you laugh so hard you cry. Daphne felt truly blessed to have a friend like her to go through Hogwarts with. They both protected each other's backs and helped one another with any problems that came up in their Slytherin home.

Currently they were sunning themselves by the pool and Tracey was talking about what boys in their year she found cute, and which ones she might consider dating in the following school year while Daphne absentmindedly agreed when appropriate, more focused on enjoying the hot sun. Tracey was discussing why she believed Neville had a case to be the cutest boy at school this year while Daphne rolled her eyes knowing about her crush on the shy lion when they were interrupted by a fluttering of wings.

A Large Hogwarts owl landed next to Tracey carrying the customary start of term papers in a large yellow envelope. "Of course, the owl gets here after we've already done our shopping." Tracey groaned, and then after a moment looked at her friend hopefully. "We could stop by your place, pick up your list, and head back to the alley to finish our shopping today. It would save us making the trip later, and you would have more time to look over your books before the start of term you nerd." She finished, not unkindly.

Daphne gave a long sigh at the thought of their peaceful afternoon by the pool coming to an end so quickly, but agreed, nonetheless. "I suppose we should. If we head to my house now, we could grab my letter and maybe make it back in time to still catch some sun.

Tracey nodded in agreement "Okay perfect let's get dressed and head out." They arrived at Greengrass Manor a few minutes later and Missy retrieved Daphne's letter that had arrived while she had been out with Tracey. She asked the elf for Astoria's letter as well, figuring she could grab her sisters books and supplies while she was out and Missy had happily obliged, handing her a second Hogwarts stationery.

She set it down on the table, her attention shifting back to her own letter. She tore it open and stuck her hand inside the large envelope fishing through the papers when her hand came across cool metal. Confused, she fingered what appeared to be a pin and pulled it out. She looked at it uncomprehendingly, struggling to understand what she was holding.

"Holy shit! You've been made prefect! I wonder what Pansy did to not get it." Tracey said excitedly. "I mean you're definitely more qualified and the most deserving person in our house, but Draco's been bragging about how he and Pansy would be prefects because of his influence with Professor Snape for years."

Daphne just stared dumbly at the pin. Tracey was right in more than one regard; she was the most qualified student in their house. She had great grades, typically achieving the second highest scores in all her classes behind only Hermione Granger. She rarely had points taken away from Slytherin, and she had never served a detention in her four years at school.

However, everyone thought it would be Pansy and Draco. They had been telling the other Slytherins for years that their family's connections with Snape had basically made it a foregone conclusion and their head of house had made undeserving students prefects before based off of nothing but his favoritism. Daphne couldn't fathom why he would stop all of a sudden. The only thing that made sense was that someone, likely Headmaster Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall, had gotten involved.

Daphne knew that if that was the case, she would have to be careful as both Draco and Pansy would be upset with her, and she wouldn't put it past Snape to take out some of his ire at having his choices vetoed out on her. Right now, however, she didn't care. Her dream when she had first entered Hogwarts was to work hard and to be made prefect and eventually Head Girl. The first of those two had been seemingly out of grasp, but now she had been granted the position, and she decided that she wouldn't act the way previous prefects had acted. She would be fair and bring respect to Salazars house, doing what little she could to amend for the long history of abuse by those in power from the Slytherin house.

She knew there was a high chance that Malfoy might still be made prefect, but she hoped that he had been ousted by some miracle also. If the badge were to be given to who deserved it most off merit, it would likely fall to Zabini or maybe Nott. She could live with either of those as her partner, and she knew that Zabini, a half-blood, wouldn't care to antagonize students without reason either.

Pushing these thoughts out of her head she decided that she would play her cards as they were dealt, all she could do right now was hope for the best. With that in mind she got up and started getting ready for their shopping trip. Hopefully by the time they got back her parents would be home. She had a lot to discuss with the two of them as they had both been prefects also, and if anyone could teach her to be fair and just, it was her mum and dad.


*Taken directly from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.