Harry and Daphne and Tracy had just left defence against the dark
arts, a stupid class in Harry's opinion, not because of the subject but
more because of the teacher. Professor Quirrell couldn't really do
more than stutter and teach theory, but something felt off about him.
The first question that came to Harry's mind is why he kept
stuttering? There were potions that could cure that, stuttering may be
an annoyance to muggles but it could mean death for wizards as it
could ruin their ability to use spells and could cause injury or death in
a duel.
The second was the story about how he was attacked by a vampire,
if that was true then how did he survive? Vampires can be
dangerous and if Quirrell was half as pathetic as he acts then no way
in hell would he be able to survive a singular vampire attacking him.
There was also something about Quirrell that felt wrong, all of
Harry's instincts were telling him to neutralise him.
That brought Harry to another question, why did Dumbledore hire
him? Surely he could have gotten a former auror to teach, but
instead he chooses the former muggle studies teacher with a stutter
and fear of everyone and everything.
Soon it was time for the first flying lesson, Harry stood next to
Daphne and Tracy. Malfoy and Adrian came soon, both were
bragging to anyone who would listen about their skills on a broom
which caused Harry and his two friends to roll their eyes.
Soon Madam Hooch came along and the lesson started, they were
told to hold their hands over their broom and say up. Harry's
immediately shot up to his hand, Draco and Adrian took a few tries,
as did Daphne and Tracy. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger
weren't doing as good, Ron's eventually flew up but stuck him in the
face.
Then they were told to mount the brooms and they did as they were
told, Harry couldn't keep the small smile off of his face when it turns
out that both Adrian and Draco had their grips wrong. But before
anymore could be said, Tracy's broom started flying up on its own
with Tracy still on it.
"Help!" Tracy screamed as she flew high into the air.
"Tracy!" Daphne screamed but before she could do anything Tracy's
broom started flying around in the air, screaming as she did.
Harry's eyes narrowed with focus, he shot off from the ground and
began chasing Tracy who was flying towards the castle. Harry sped
up and reached Tracy and extended his arm.
"Grab on!" Harry shouted, Tracy screamed again but reached out for
Harry.
Unfortunately she slipped off and fell from the broom and fell from
about fifty feet, Harry quickly shot after her and grabbed her hand a
few moments before she would've hit the ground and pulled up while
still holding her. Tracy was slowed down enough for her to land on
her feet without injuring herself, unfortunately she did hurt her
shoulder. Harry quickly hopped off his broom and sat Tracy down.
"Are you alright?" He asked as everyone ran over to them
"Y...yeah, I think I might have dislocated my shoulder but apart from
that I'm fine"
"Oh, is that it?" Harry asked calmly
"What do you mean is that it?!" Daphne hissed "She dislocated her
shoulder"
"And?" Harry shrugged "Could be way worse, now Tracy, stay still
and I'll pop it back in"
"No!" Tracy screamed and Harry held his hands up in surrender
"Fine" Harry sighed "but let me at least take you to the hospital wing"
"Don't argue Tracy" Daphne interrupted Tracy who was about to
argue "I'm coming with you as well"
"Very well" Madam Hooch said "you three are excused, take Miss
Davis to the hospital wing and I'd like to talk with you and your head
of house later Mr Potter"
"Yes miss" Harry said, when suddenly he noticed something out of
the corner of his eye.
"Harry, what is it?" Daphne asked
"Nothing" Harry shook his head, he knelt down and picked Tracy up,
carrying her bridal style and walked over to the hospital wing with
Daphne following alongside him.
"You don't need to carry me you know" Tracy said with a slight blush
on her face
"Yes I do Tracy" Harry replied "your shoulder might be what hurts but
it's possible you've also hurt your legs, you don't want to risk it"
"Noble idiot" Daphne shook her head "Tracy, are you blushing?"
"NO!" Tracy screamed
"You totally are!" Daphne laughed "I can't believe it, Tracy Davis is
actually blushing! Not so funny when you're the one who is turning
red"
"I hate you"
"No you don't" Daphne smiled
"Am I supposed to pretend I can't hear any of this?" Harry asked
"That's up to you" Daphne shrugged
"Though I'd recommend it" Tracy added "unless you'd like me to hex
you"
"Oh so I can save your life and carry you to the hospital wing but I
get hexed for remembering a conversation that I didn't start or take
part in?"
"Yes" Tracy nodded immediately and a silence fell over the three.
"Good to know" Harry said eventually, soon they reached the
hospital wing and Harry placed Tracy upon one of the beds, soon
Madam Pomfrey came over.
"Hello Madam" Harry greeted her "Miss Davis has had an accident in
flying class, she appears to have injured her shoulder, it's probably
dislocated. She may have possibly hurt her legs and I wouldn't worry
about any mental trauma or shock as she is still her usual cheeky
self"
As if to prove his point Tracy stuck a tongue out at Harry, who just
rolled his eyes as Daphne giggled but Tracy quickly retracted her
tongue when Madam Pomfrey told her off. Madam Pomfrey looked
her over, and found that apart from her shoulder there was no
problem with her.
Tracy had to stay inside the hospital wing for the day but would be
released in the evening, personally Harry thought that that was
overkill with how easily magic could heal physical problems but
wasn't going to argue with Madam Pomfrey. If Harry was going to die
then he was going to make sure that it wasn't because he decided to
argue with the dragon nurse of the hospital wing.
Daphne and Harry had eventually exited the hospital wing, the two
were walking and talking as they made their way to the common
room. There was still most of this period left so they figured that they
would relax for a bit, and they would use the excuse of Pomfrey
kicking them out if anyone asked why they had not stayed in the
hospital wing.
"Thank you" Daphne said "for saving Tracy"
"Don't worry about it" Harry waved a hand "it was nothing"
"Only you could say saving a girl from falling to her death was
nothing"
"In all honesty I'm a bit disappointed in myself for letting Tracy get
hurt" Harry replied "but at least she's alive"
"True, you know the Hogwarts rumour mill is going to be buzzing
now?" Daphne responded "Everyone is going to be talking about
how the brilliant Harry Potter saved a damsel in distress from falling
to her death"
"Tracy? A damsel in distress?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow
"I'm sure she'd love to know you called her that"
"Is that a threat?" Daphne asked with a slightly higher raised
eyebrow
"No, it was an educated guess based off what I know about Tracy."
Harry answered with a straight face "Me telling Malfoy I would gut
him and hang him from the great hall ceiling is a threat, slight
difference there but I'm sure you'll learn to tell the difference with
time"
"Careful Potter" Daphne warned "just because I like having you
around, doesn't mean I won't hurt you"
"You wouldn't hurt me" Harry said confidently
"Oh yeah? And why's that?"
"Well I think the fact that I saved your best friend might factor into it
but also because without me, you'd be stuck dealing with Malfoy on
your own"
"Hmm, true" Daphne admitted "just don't run out of usefulness
Potter"
"Sure thing Daph" Harry chuckled
"Don't call me Daph"
"Ok, I'm sorry...Daph"
"I'm warning you Potter"
"Understood Greengrass"
"That's better"
"By the way"
"What?"
"I know you like it when I call you Daph" Before 'Daph' could
respond, Harry kissed her on the cheek and bolted down the
hallway, narrowly avoiding a stinging hex as he turned a corner.
"Potter!" Daphne screamed
"Love you too Daph" Harry's voice called from behind the corner, it
was followed by the sound of running. Daphne got to the corner and
saw that Harry had vanished.
"Incorrigible idiot" Daphne sighed, she wouldn't admit but she did
really like it when Harry called her 'Daph'. 'Merlin, what' wrong with
me?' She thought 'I told myself that I'd never fall in love with a boy
and the first thing I do is blush every time that bloody idiot comes
near me'.
As much as Daphne hated to admit it, she was starting to enjoy his
company. He was funny and kind and got along with Tracy, he also
ruined her ice queen look. With anyone else she could act the
emotionless person, but whenever Harry came into the room he
ruined it and she didn't know what to think about that.
Later, Harry had arrived in the common room after talking with
Madam Hooch and Professor Snape. He sat down next to Daphne
who looked up from her transfiguration homework.
"Alright Daph?" He asked
"Fine" She said, deciding not to care about the fact that Potter had
decided to call her Daph "where were you?"
"Talking to Snape and Hooch about the flying lesson" Harry
answered "he gave me fifty points for saving a student's life and..."
Harry leaned closer and whispered the next part in her ear "he gave
me a tryout for the quidditch team"
He pulled his head back and Daphne gasped, Harry grinned at her
shocked expression. In all honesty Daphne didn't care, first years
never made the house teams and if Harry's flying was anything to go
by, he would.
"Oi" A recurring annoyance approached them "what do you think
you're doing?"
"Having a lovely conversation" Harry shrugged his shoulders
"I wasn't talking to you Potter" Malfoy spat "I was talking to Daphne,
what do you think you're doing letting another boy be in such close
proximity to you?"
"Letting him whisper something in my ear" Daphne answered "what's
your problem?"
"My 'problem' is that you're supposed to be my betrothed and
shouldn't be so close to another boy, especially Potter"
"Aw, is wickle baby Malfoy jealous?" Harry cooed in a baby voice
"Don't disrespect me like that Potter!"
"How would you like me to disrespect you? I take requests" Harry
replied with a straight face
"Listen Malfoy" Daphne interrupted before Draco could respond "I
am not marrying you, and who I get close to is my business and not
yours"
"Get real Greengrass! My father is negotiating the contract as we
speak"
"Good Merlin, you are pathetic" Harry shook his head
"What did you say?"
"What kind of boy tries to court a girl by relying on his father's
name?" Harry replied "I could have courted nearly any girl I wanted
by saying I was the brother to the boy-who-lived, but I didn't. When I
chose to court a girl it would be using my intelligence, looks and
personality, however seeing as you lack those qualities it makes
sense that you need to rely on your father"
"That's it" Malfoy pulled out his wand "I've had it with you Potter, I
challenge you to a wizarding duel, tonight at..."
"No" Harry stood up "right now"
"What?"
"I said right now" Harry stood right in front of Malfoy and flicked his
own wand out of its holster "if you want a duel, then it will be right
now, not later when you can run off"
"F...fine" Malfoy growled, he was hoping to trick Potter into getting in
trouble with Filch later "let's duel, if I win then you'll have to stay
away from Daphne" Harry didn't answer, instead he looked at
Daphne. "Scared Potter?" Malfoy sneered
"No you blonde idiot, I'm requesting permission"
"Permission for what?"
"If Daphne is involved in the stakes then I request her permission to
involve her in the stakes, Daphne, may I make stakes for my duel
that can involve you?"
"Hmm, fine, at least you asked. Unlike a certain blonde idiot" Daphne
would gladly admit that she liked the way that Malfoys face had
reddened, she was also glad that Harry had thought to ask her
permission before just involving her in his little spat like any other
man would have.
"Very well" Harry nodded before turning back to Malfoy "if I win, I get
to punch you in the face and Daphne gets to hex you and you don't
get to complain to anyone, apart from Madam Pomfrey but that's
only if you need medical help and you won't tell her that we're the
ones who hurt you. Do you accept or would you like to ask your
father first?"
"I accept Potter" Malfoy growled, the two made their way into the
centre of the common room and everyone else watched on.
Malfoy went first and tried an extremely weak cutting cure, which
Harry blocked, not that he needed to as the cure wouldn't have done
much more that slightly ruin his clothes. Harry quickly responded
with three spells, the first being a tickling spell, which was followed
by a disarming spell which led to a body bind curse. The result was a
laughing Malfoy, on the floor while not being able to move his body
and his wand in Harry's hand.
"I think it's safe to say that I've won" Harry said to the common room,
before he unleashed Malfoy "now Malfoy, I've won so any last words
before I knock out a few of your teeth"
"That's not possible! There's no way I could've lost to a half-blood!"
"Wow, nice words to say to the guy who gets to punch you in your
face" Daphne said with an unimpressed look on her face, internally
she was trying to decide what hex to use and was gleeful at the idea
of Harry punching Malfoy.
"Now Malfoy" Harry said with an evil smile "you accepted the terms
of the duel, you can't back out now. After all, how would it look if the
Malfoys back out of deals that they make. It'd look bad for your
father, now you have a choice, you can uphold your end of the
bargain or you could cause problems for your dad because people
begin to doubt the trustworthiness of the Malfoys."
Many Slytherin's including Daphne smirked, that was truly a tactic
that Salazar Slytherin would approve of. If Malfoy backed out now
then it'd make his family look untrustworthy, and this could cause
problems in any future dealings, if not with the elder Malfoy then they
would definitely occur when Draco was older.
Draco growled and cursed Potter under his breath, before he stood
up. He looked right at the smirking green eyed boy in front of him
with a look of complete hatred, he composed himself and looked
right at Harry.
"Very well" Draco sighed "get it over with Potter"
"Get what other with?" Harry asked, feigning innocence
"You know what!" Draco snapped "go ahead and punch me!"
"Oh no Malfoy" Harry shook his head with amusement "I'm not going
to punch you, not yet at least"
"What?" Malfoy spoke with a confused face
"The deal was I got to punch you in the face while Daphne was
allowed to hex you, but when and where were never specified" Harry
had a truly evil look on his face "I'm not going to punch you now
Malfoy, I'm going to take a rain check. Know this, when the time is
right, I will find you and I will punch you. In your stupid, stupid face,
but until then I want you to remember that it I will do it eventually."
Malfoy paled at this, many of the Slytherin's appreciated Harry's
genius even more. Harry could strike Malfoy at any place and any
time and Malfoy couldn't complain, it could be tomorrow or even
seven years from now but Malfoy would live in fear until then.
"Daphne" Harry spoke softly "what about you? You want to wait as
well?"
"Nah" Daphne shook her head and fired a low powered freezing
spell at Malfoys bits, Malfoy fell to the floor screaming and with his
hands in-between his legs. "Just a little freezing spell that mum
taught me, it'll be fine in an hour or so"
"Brilliant" Harry said with admiration in his voice "you've got to teach
me that"
"Maybe one day" Daphne said with a smile
"Umm, what about him?" One Slytherin pointed at Malfoy
"Put a silencing spell on him if he makes too much noise" Harry
instructed "personally I don't really care what you do as long as you
don't bother me"
"Crabbe, Goyle" Daphne spoke "take him up to his room and keep
him there" The two boys nodded and picked him up and took him to
his room
"Nicely done" Harry nodded to Daphne before sitting down next to
her.
The two talked for a while after everyone else had gone back to
minding their own business, the next day they met Tracy at breakfast
and informed her of everything that had happened. She was amazed
by the fact that Harry got a try out, she was impressed by what had
happened in the duel and she was laughing by the time they got to
Malfoy.
In fact after telling her what happened with Malfoy, Malfoy chose that
moment to walk into the great hall although he looked quite awkward
as he did so, Tracy and Harry suppressed laughter while Daphne
failed at trying not to look proud.
At that point Harry saw Snape at the head table, he quickly excused
himself and ran up to the professor. Fortunately for Harry, there was
nobody else at the table and he could talk to Snape without being
overheard.
"Excuse me Professor" Harry said "I'd like to ask you for a favour"
"What is it?" Snape asked
"I'd like your permission to leave this weekend for a few hours" Harry
replied
"What for Potter?"
"I'd like to go and see my parents" Harry replied "I understand that
they're currently at St Mungo's and I'd like to see them"
"What do you mean? Are you telling me you never knew where your
parents were?" Snape asked, his voice filled with curiosity
"No sir, I had assumed they were both dead until recently when I
found out they were in a coma" Harry answered honestly, it was true
that he didn't know it until Blaise Zabini had told him about it a little
while ago. "With all the lack of mention about where my parents
were, I thought they were gone"
Snape didn't know what to think, he couldn't believe that one Potter
didn't know about his parents while the other one paraded around
like Merlin's gift to wizard kind. This twin was an enigma, one he
wasn't sure that he wanted to work out.
"Very well" He eventually said "I will accompany you this weekend,
meet me in my office at eight."
"Thank you sir" Harry nodded before making his way back to the
Slytherin table.
"What the hell did you do Albus?" Snape whispered to himself.