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The library was quiet, save for the occasional rustling of pages and the distant ticking of the large clock at the far end of the room, near the entrance. Harry sat across from Daphne Greengrass, their table laden with ancient books, scrolls, and scraps of parchment filled with hastily scrawled notes. The evening light coming in from the high-arched windows caught the golden edges of a few of the older books, giving the library a timeless feel.

Daphne ran a hand over one of the heavier books between them, its spine cracked with age. "So, Potter," she said, keeping her voice low as not to attract Madam Pince's ire, "I have to admit, your idea for the instant communication mirror … It's actually quite good."

Harry smiled, catching the hint of caution in her tone. "Glad to hear you liked it," he said, leaning back slightly. "Even despite your initial interest, I wasn't sure if you'd go for it."

Daphne flipped a page and gave a small shrug. "Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? If we can find the right combination of runes to create a stable link between mirrors, it'd be much more efficient than using owls and waiting for responses through letters."

Harry nodded, his eyes scanning the pages in front of him. "That's the idea. Instant communication, no matter the distance. It could be useful … for a lot of reasons."

For the next several minutes, the two of them worked in silence, their quills occasionally scratching across parchment as they made a note or copied down a rune that might help to accomplish their project. Harry thumbed through a particularly thick tome on runic magic, the runes swimming in front of his eyes. He had been spending more time on this project than he expected, but working with Daphne was surprisingly easy. Despite her reputation as Slytherin's "Ice Princess," she was sharp and efficient, qualities Harry couldn't help but appreciate.

After a few more minutes of silence, Daphne looked up from her book, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied Harry. "So," she began casually, "are you ready for the second task? Do you even know what it is? Or is it like the first task where you just walk into an arena and get to it."

Harry glanced over at her, meeting her gaze. She didn't blink, her expression cool but curious. He chuckled softly, setting his quill down. "I've got an idea of what it is," Harry said with a knowing smile. "The egg I recovered from the dragon gave a clue."

Her eyebrow arched higher, curiosity flashing in her icy blue eyes. "And … what is it?"

"Can't spoil the surprise though, can I?" he added, his grin widening as Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Typical," she muttered as she shook her head, though there was no malice in her voice. "Are you at least prepared? You do have a plan, right? You aren't just going to stumble up your way through it?"

Harry shrugged, laughing quietly to avoid alerting Madam Pince, who was sorting through a stack of returned books nearby. "I'm as ready as I can be, I suppose."

Daphne closed her book with a soft thud, studying him. "Well, for what it's worth, I have to admit, Potter," she began, her voice softening ever so slightly, "I was … impressed with how you handled the dragon. I didn't think you'd manage so well."

Harry blinked, surprised. He hadn't expected that from her. "You were?"

She gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. "Of course. Honestly, Tracey and I were talking afterwards and felt that it would have been much more like you to try and do something dumb like try to just outfly the dragon on your broom."

Harry laughed nervously as he ran his hand through his hair, attempting to cover his reaction with a cough.

However, Daphne didn't seem to notice anything as she continued talking. "I mean, it wasn't exactly subtle, but you got the job done while minimizing the risk … at least to yourself. And I suppose that's what counts. So ya, I guess I was impressed."

Harry smirked, leaning forward slightly. "That's the second compliment you've given me now, Greengrass. Careful—people might start talking … they'll figure out you're not the terrifying ice-princess everyone thinks you are."

Daphne narrowed her eyes, but there was a flicker of amusement in them. "Is that so?" she replied, her tone dry. "I wouldn't push it, I were you."

Harry chuckled, leaning back again. "I'll take my chances."

She shook her head, hiding a smile behind the curtain of her blonde hair. "Well you were warned."

There was a moment of comfortable silence between them, before they both smiled and returned to their books. Harry was still half-amused by Daphne's compliment—it wasn't something he'd expected from her. He'd always seen her as aloof and sort of disinterested in anything that didn't involve her, but he was beginning to see that there was more to Daphne Greengrass than met the eye.

After another hour of poring over ancient texts, during which Harry and Daphne had continued to refine their ideas for the communication mirrors as they both filled up several pages of parchment. Over that time, the library had become even quieter, with the occasional soft rustle of turning pages the only sound in the vast, candle-lit space.

Harry eventually looked up from his parchment as he stretched his back to get rid of a kink. "So, what've you got?"

Daphne sighed, setting her quill down. "Honestly? I'm not sure," she admitted, pushing a few stray locks of hair behind her ear. "You go first." She said sliding he stack of parchment away from the edge of the table, her neat handwriting outlining possible rune sequences.

Harry nodded, glancing at his notes before responding, "From what I can tell, the most important runes will be for communication or exchange. The magic needs to transfer something between the two mirrors, after all."

He paused to consult his own notes. "I think Ansuz for communication, and/or Gebo for exchange, are our best options."

Daphne leaned back in her chair, studying him thoughtfully. "I agree, but we're missing something. Even if we can get the communication down, we are probably going to at least need runes for clarity." She tapped her fingers against the edge of the table. "Otherwise, who knows what kind of image or connection we'll get. It could be garbled or unstable."

Harry nodded, excited. "Right, and we'd also need protection runes. Without them, the mirrors could break, otherwise you are going to be replacing mirrors constantly."

Daphne nodded, her expression turning serious. "More than that, the mirrors could become dangerous if we're not careful. We need to think about how many runes we use. Maybe the runes for protection could help but Babbling mentioned that not all runes interact well together, and using too many runes is its own cause of instability."

"Right," Harry agreed, leaning forward with enthusiasm. "Not to mention the amount of magic they'll need to hold. More runes means more magic is needed to activate them and that's without taking into account how they might interact."

They talked back and forth for a little while longer, weighing the merits of various runes and combinations. Eventually, they agreed that Ansuz and Gebo were likely the most basic and most stable choices. The other runes could come later, once they had mastered the basics or at least seen if the concept would work.

"Shall we?" Daphne asked, pulling out her rune carving kit.

Harry nodded, reaching into his bag to retrieve his own. They both took out the small mirrors they had brought, each about the size of a hand. With practiced precision, they began to etch the Ansuz and Gebo runes onto the backs of the mirrors, their concentration so intense that the rest of the world seemed to fade away.

After about five minutes, they finished their etchings. Daphne slid her mirror across the table to Harry, and he did the same with his. They inspected each other's work carefully, checking for any flaws in the delicate carved runes. When neither found any mistakes, they placed the mirrors back down on the table.

Daphne reached for her wand, but Harry held up his hand to stop her. "I think I should do this," he said.

A flash of irritation crossed Daphne's face. "Do you think you're better at magic than me?"

Harry shook his head quickly. "No, honestly, I'm pretty sure you're a much better student than me," he said with a sheepish smile. "But this was my idea, and Babbling said the amount of magic poured into a rune sequence is just as important as the runes themselves. It might be easier to control the amount of magic if the same person does both."

Daphne opened her mouth to protest, but Harry cut her off gently. "And," he added, "if something goes wrong—if there's magical backlash or anything—it should be me who deals with it. It was my idea, after all."

Daphne stared at him for several seconds, her blue eyes searching his. Finally, she exhaled and passed her mirror over to him. "Fine," she said, though her voice had softened.

Harry smiled in gratitude. He placed the two mirrors in front of him, recalling Professor Babbling's instructions on how to channel magic into runes. Taking a deep breath, he began to focus, directing his magic carefully through his wand and into the etched runes.

For several moments, nothing happened. But then, with a subtle hum of energy, the runes began to glow faintly. He could feel the magic weaving itself into the mirrors, the rune sequences binding them together.

By the time he finished, Harry was exhausted, certainly much more exhausted than if he had just been casting spells for the same amount of time, and beads of sweat were forming on his brow. He took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the effort. "I think it's done," he said, his voice sounding more relieved than confident.

Daphne's eyes widened in excitement as she quickly reached across the table to grab one of the mirrors before looking into it. "I don't see anything," she said, sounding disappointed.

Harry shook his head, glancing down at his own mirror. "Try this," he suggested. "Daphne Greengrass."

Daphne's eyes widened further as she glanced down at the mirror in surprise before looking back at him. "It vibrated slightly and it warmed up a little, I think it's working!" she exclaimed, her voice a mix of excitement and disbelief. She stared back down to the surface of the mirror, and to her astonishment, the reflection of her face disappeared, replaced by a slightly blurry image of Harry staring at her through his mirror.

But as he looked through his mirror and made eye-contact with her, noting her smile, Harry felt his mirror growing warmer as well—too warm. It began to heat up rapidly, until it became almost painful to hold. Just as he was about to put it down, he saw the edges of the mirror begin to crack. And almost at the same moment, he heard a soft, pained whimper from Daphne.

Looking up, he saw Daphne's mirror slip from her hand and shatter on the floor. The moment the mirror broke, the one in Harry's hand instantly cooled down, the heat dissipating.

For a moment, they both stared at each other in shock.

The sound of the shattering mirror echoed in the quiet library, loud enough that Harry knew someone would come to investigate. Quickly, he leaned over the table, pointing his wand at the broken pieces. "Reparo," he whispered, and the mirror reassembled itself just as Madam Pince turned the corner with an angry expression on her face.

"Just what do the two of you think you are …" she trailed off as her eyes darted around before finally settling on the two intact mirrors on the table and then back to Harry and Daphne, suspicion clear on her face. "You two need to be quiet," she said sternly, though her tone softened slightly when she didn't find anything amiss. "If you can't manage that, perhaps the library isn't the place for you."

They nodded quickly, but Madam Pince wasn't finished. "But it's getting late," she added. "Perhaps it's best if you head back to your dormitories for the night."

Madam Pince gave them one last suspicious glance before turning and disappearing around the corner.

As soon as she was gone, Harry and Daphne exchanged looks, and then they both burst into barely contained laughter. Daphne covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the sound, her eyes bright with amusement.

"I can't believe that worked," she said breathlessly, still laughing.

Harry grinned, shaking his head. "For a second, I could actually see you in the mirror."

"I saw your eyes in mine," she admitted, trailing off as she looked away, as she blushed slightly, her cheeks turning pink. A moment later, she composed herself, continuing as if nothing had happened. "But then the mirror got too hot, and I had to drop it."

"Same thing happened to mine," Harry said, running his fingers through his hair. "It started cracking right before you dropped yours."

Daphne leaned back in her chair, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Still … I'm amazed at how close we got. This could be huge, Potter. We're really onto something."

Harry nodded, feeling the same excitement bubbling up inside him. "We'll just need to stabilize it. Maybe a better pairing of the runes or controlling the amount of magic we use."

Daphne was already scribbling down new ideas on her parchment, her mind racing with possibilities. "Definitely. There's potential here. We might need to rethink a way to include the clarity and protection runes too."

Harry packed up his things, glancing at her thoughtfully. "You know, we make a pretty good team."

Daphne looked up, smiling slightly. "We do. But don't expect me to admit that too often."

Harry chuckled. "Wouldn't dream of it."

As they finished packing up, the library had gone eerily quiet again, with only the soft flicker of candlelight casting shadows on the walls. Together, they made their way out of the library, past a couple table of upper year students who had their heads in their own books, and back into the dimly lit corridors of the castle.

"I'll see you in class tomorrow, Potter," Daphne said as they reached the staircase that would take her toward the dungeons.

Harry gave her a small wave. "See you, Greengrass."

As Daphne turned to head down the stairs, something seemed to catch her attention. She froze mid-step, then spun back to face Harry, her expression uncertain but determined.

"Are you dating Hermione Granger?" she asked, her voice steady but with a hint of curiosity that made Harry raise an eyebrow.

Harry blinked at her, momentarily surprised by the abrupt question. After a beat, he let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "I never took you for someone interested in gossip, Greengrass," he teased, folding his arms. "What's got you so interested?"

A faint blush colored Daphne's cheeks, and she shook her head defensively. "It's not that," she said quickly, glancing away for a moment. "I just … didn't expect that from the two of you. That's all."

Harry's smile faded slightly as he straightened, his tone turning serious. "Why not?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Is this some blood purity nonsense? Because I didn't expect that from you."

Daphne's eyes flashed with irritation, and she cut him off sharply. "Get over yourself, Potter. This has nothing to do with blood purity," she snapped, her voice low and tense. "Not all Slytherins are like Malfoy." She paused for a moment, her expression softening as she seemed to consider her next words carefully. "… or at least like what Malfoy used to be."

Harry blinked, the accusation falling from his lips as he realized how quickly he had jumped to conclusions. "Sorry," he muttered, looking down briefly. "I shouldn't have assumed."

Daphne shrugged as if to brush it off, though the tension still lingered in the air between them. "It's fine," she said, though her voice was softer now. "Look, this isn't some blood purity thing or about some crush or anything. Although, I have no doubt that there were plenty of girls, in all the years, who were probably gutted by the rumors when they started up after the Yule Ball." She gave him a small, teasing smirk. "But I'm not one of them."

Harry found himself smiling despite the awkwardness of the moment. "Well, that's a relief," he said, his voice light. But before he could say anything more, Daphne continued.

"I'm happy for Hermione, I just wanted to know," she said, her tone sincere. She paused for a second, almost as if debating whether to say what came next. "Although, in all honesty, if you'd asked me at the start of the year, I would've said she's too good for you."

Harry blinked, surprised by her bluntness, but then, after a beat, he burst into laughter. He stared at her, shaking his head with a wide grin. "Honestly, Greengrass, most of the time, I think the same thing."

Daphne's smirk softened into a more genuine smile, her eyes glinting with amusement. "Well, as long as we can agree on that," she said with a small nod of approval.

They stood in silence for a moment, the earlier tension now completely dissipated, replaced by something more comfortable. Daphne shifted her weight slightly, as if deciding whether to say something else. Finally, she glanced at him and said, "For what it's worth, you can call me Daphne."

Harry blinked, a bit taken aback by the sudden shift in formality, but he smiled warmly. "Alright then, Daphne, call me, Harry."

- HP - SC - HP - SC - HP - SC - HP - SC - HP - SC -

Harry shook his head slightly as he watched Daphne head down the stairs, still a little amused by their conversation. He turned and began making his way toward the Gryffindor Tower, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His thoughts drifted back to their progress with the mirrors. Despite the near-disaster in the library, their first attempt had largely been a resounding success. It was something to be proud of, and he couldn't wait to test it further, even if they still had to stabilize the magic and find a better pairing of runes.

As he rounded a corner, his thoughts were interrupted when he almost collided with someone standing right in the middle of the corridor. Instinctively, his hand flew to his wand, his body tensing for a fight, but he managed to stop himself just before pulling it out. Standing in front of him was none other than the imposter Moody.

Harry cursed under his breath, his heart still racing from the near-collision. The fake Moody's magical eye spun to focus on him, and the imposter stared at Harry with unsettling intensity.

"Constant vigilance, Potter," the gravelly voice growled. "If I had been your enemy, you'd be dead before you even realized who you'd almost run into."

Harry swallowed, taking a couple of deep breaths to steady his nerves. He forced a smile, though the tension in the air remained palpable. "Well, it's a good thing my enemies aren't inside Hogwarts," he said, trying to sound casual.

Barty Crouch Jr. stared at him for a long moment. His real eye blinking slightly, and his magical eye whirred unnervingly. He licked his lips before nodding. "Of course," he rasped. "It's a good thing. You should consider yourself … lucky."

Harry felt a strange chill crawl up his spine as he met the imposter's gaze.

The fake Moody's voice interrupted Harry's thoughts. "How's the preparation for the second task going?"

Harry nodded, keeping his expression neutral, and trying to end the interaction. "I'm ready. Got a plan."

Barty Crouch Jr. raised an eyebrow, his magical eye zooming in on Harry's face with unsettling focus. "Are you sure?" he asked in a low, gravelly voice. "You're up against wizards several years older than you, Potter. Nothing wrong with getting whatever information you can to try and overcome their advantage." His tone was almost encouraging, but there was an edge to it that made Harry's skin crawl.

Harry shook his head, maintaining his composure. "I'm sure, I'm ready," he repeated, more firmly this time.

Barty let out a harsh laugh, misinterpreting Harry's calmness as overconfidence. "Well I'm glad to hear that. You know, I usually don't give out compliments," he said, his voice taking on a more excited tone. "But I have to admit, Potter, I've been impressed with how you've handled yourself. Especially in that first task." His lips curled into a strange, unsettling smile, that even on Moody's scarred face, felt incredibly wrong. "That moment with the dragon flying toward the judges' box ... quite the sight. I got excited."

There was something too admiring in the way Barty Crouch Jr. spoke, as if he had enjoyed the chaos of the dragon nearly attacking the judges. The thought sent a shiver down Harry's spine, but he didn't let his expression falter.

"I did what I had to do," Harry replied simply. "The point was to get the egg and best way to do that was if the dragon was distracted."

Barty Crouch Jr.'s real eye narrowed slightly as he studied Harry, his magical eye still locked on him with an eerie, unwavering focus. "You remind me of someone I used to know," he said softly, his voice low and almost reflective. "Someone who would do whatever it took to win."

There was a brief silence between them. Harry's stomach churned at the implication, but he kept his face impassive. He knew exactly what kind of person Barty Crouch Jr. admired. Harry would never be like him, no matter what this man thought.

"Is that so?" Harry said, his voice cool and controlled.

Barty didn't answer immediately. Instead, he just gave Harry another unsettling smile and nodding. "I'm looking forward to this next task." He said, before turning on his heel and hobbling off down the hallway, his wooden leg clunking rhythmically against the stone floor.

Harry watched the imposter retreat down the corridor, a strange sense of unease settling over him. He knew Barty Crouch Jr. was dangerous — more dangerous than most people in Hogwarts realized.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and started walking again, heading toward Gryffindor Tower. As he climbed the stairs, his mind buzzed with thoughts of the upcoming second task and the unsettling conversation they'd just had.

When he finally reached the Fat Lady's portrait, he muttered the password and stepped inside the warmth of the Gryffindor common room. The familiar sight of the red and gold banners, the soft crackling of the fire, and the chatter of his housemates gave him a brief sense of relief. For a moment, he could push the weight of everything else aside.

But as he sat down in his favorite armchair near the fire, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was brewing — something dangerous.

"Constant vigilance," Harry muttered to himself, staring into the flames.

He was going to need every bit of it in the days to come.

Kind Regards,

FavoriteAuthor

If you like this content do not hesitate to smash that like button and subscribe. Haha but seriously if you do enjoy the story - do favorite it, other than messaging me or leaving a comment it's the only way I know if you are enjoying the stories and chapters.

Story Note 1 – Harry and Daphne are just building a friendship although hope everyone is enjoying it! Certainly, a different type of friendship/relationship than Harry had in his previous life. And it is nice that someone out there cares for Hermione.

Story Note 2 – Constant Vigilance Potter! He better be careful especially with 'Moody' out and about.

Story Note 3 – I have to admit the runes were certainly something that sounded interesting but I had never put much time into thinking about (how they worked or what exactly they were) but have to admit have really enjoyed learning more about them in an effort to include them into this story. And for what it matters it's a good thing Harry is learning more about runes as I imagine he might need them in the upcoming weeks …

Thanks to those of you out to those of you who enjoy my stories, I promise to keep updating the stories as long as you enjoy them, and a special thanks to those of you who have taken the time to leave feedback or reach out to me directly.

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Hudy Leak613, cameron1812, jkarr, jameskrohn0806 - Thanks so much for the feedback and I am glad you are enjoying the story so far!

TheLoneDoctorVII, Hands Off MY Wolfie - I have been blown away with the feedback on Mary in the previous chapter, I am so happy that was enjoyed!

Ariadne Venegas - Things will be handled differently, that I promise you. And he will not be alone ...

jackmylad 2 - Good memory, but don't worry it will be coming up.

Fenrir070 - Really happy this Dumbledore comes off better than canon, I certainly felt there was so much potential for him. But I do hope it makes sense how I got to this Dumbledore and he's not far enough away from canon that its too much. Tried to show how he got to this point. Obviously I'm relatively new to writing and sharing my writing but other than conversations working on how I build characters is probably one of the biggest things I've been working on. I'm glad it came out alright!

Pillpushr - That's honestly such a good idea! Maybe if you don't mind I'll see if there is some way to add it to a future chapter, I'd give you credit in a story note. But even without that there are certainly more Mary moments coming up!

dennisud - Haha, I'd certainly not want to get on the bad side of the Black's wards! I imagine that'd be the last mistake I'd ever make!