26

Chapter XXVI: Confrontation

(Michael P.O.V)

Michael yawned as he left the Great Hall his cravings curbed but his stomach not feeling overwhelmingly full. He sighed as he turned the corner, it had been a while since he had done anything alone. He and Harry had spent nearly every waking moment with each other as they walked through the castles, attended whatever classes they could together, ate together, and trained together. Their group continued their closeness even with the inclusion of Neville, but with the Hufflepuff boy in the hospital wing, and Harry out flying with Astoria, Michael had found himself alone.

He didn't blame Harry or anything, he knew his best friend had an obsession with flying, one that despite Michael's enjoyment of the act didn't share, and he harbored no hard feelings as Harry quickly left to the pick-up game leaving him behind. Michael groaned as he felt the weight of his book-bag, and knowing how behind he currently was in his homework he had planned for today to be devoted to catching up. Thankfully, what could have been a full week's worth of homework could be completed in a day if Michael tried hard enough, and seeing how far behind he was, trying was his only option.

The walk from the Great Hall to the Library wasn't particularly far, but Michael couldn't help but get distracted by the racketing noise being made from a nearby broom closet, Michael smiled as he sat a little bit further down on a bench and pretended to read. Was it being nosey? Sure, but he was a Ravenclaw, curiosity was a prerequisite, and he in good conscience could never turn down a mystery. His ruse of reading hadn't lasted long, however, as soon the broom closet door cracked open, and from it, Michael heard a quiet whisper, "We shouldn't keep doing this, it's wrong."

"Come on," The boy said playfully, "It's just a bit of fun, nobody is going to get hurt if nobody finds out."

"That's a big if," The girl said nervously.

"It's going to be fine," The boy said, "Trust me. You walk out first, I'll leave a minute later."

Striking their silent agreement, the door cracked open a little further before a brunette with a freckled-covered face departed the broom closet causing Michael to look on in wonder Megan Jones? Didn't know she was seeing someone. However, all playful amusement left Michael's mind as true to his word, the boy stepped out a minute later, and the once fun-loving expression on his face turned sour and full of anger as from the closet emerged Terry Boot.

Michael had always considered himself a calculated person but as the revelation that the person he had considered to be one of the best people in his life was being cheated on, a fire erupted in his chest as he bolted towards Terry. Boot's eyes grew like a deer in headlights as he stuttered, "Uh, hey Corner, I can expl-"

"You bastard!" Michael roared as he pinned Boot to the cold stone wall, "What the fuck is wrong with you? Susan trusts you, she actually likes you, she kind, sweet, funny, and you cheat on her!"

"Can you not cause a scene?" Boot hissed, "It's not that big a dea-,"

But before he could finish the sentiment that caused his blood to boil, Michael slammed his fist across Terry's face, forcing the boy to spit up blood from his cut lip as he fell to the floor, "Not a big deal!" Michael said angrily, "She's my friend, she's one of the best people I know and you should feel lucky that you have her! But instead of feeling lucky you decide to cheat on her!"

Boot wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand as he spoke, "It's not my fault really, she's just so boring. I mean, I get it, she grew up with no parents but god she never stops talking about it." Then in a mocking tone, he continued, "Oh Terry I can't, Auntie Amelia and I are going to leave some flowers for my mom, it's her birthday after all, or oh Terry, sorry I know we had plans, but I have to go to an inheritance meeting for my dad's estate. Honestly, it can just get so annoying some-"

A spark of anger once again flickered in Michael as he kicked the kneeling boy in the stomach-dropping him once more, "Her family died you piece of shit! Just because you grew up with a loving family who spoiled your sorry ass doesn't mean everyone's as lucky!"

Michael watched as Boot once again rose to his feet, the boy could certainly take a hit as he sneered, "Maybe you and Susan would be a perfect match for each other, clearly you two both have daddy issues."

Michael once again rushed Boot, but before he could, he found himself floating in the air, but one look at the perplexed look on Boot's face made it clear it wasn't him. Soon, however, the mystery was solved as the high-pitched voice of his Head of House spoke his diminutive frame coming into view, "Mr. Corner, what is the meaning of this!"

"He just attacked me, sir," Boot said in forced agony, "I was just on my way to the library when suddenly Michael came out of nowhere. I knew he was made because of my relationship with Susan, but I didn't think he'd-"

"You're lying!" Michael shouted, "You two-timing, two-faced, cheating bastard. I'll-,"

"Mr. Corner!" Professor Flitwick called once more, "I'm absolutely appalled by your behavior! You'll be coming with me, and we'll see exactly just how strict your punishment will be once I've figured all of this out. For now, Mr. Boot you will head to the infirmary with no delays, Mr. Corner," Flitwick said lowering Michael from his levitation, "Come along."

(Harry P.O.V)

Blood was pounding in Harry's head as he followed Remus through the twisted corridors of the great castle. Pettigrew was close, he was always so close, and every step Harry took, he felt a bit of his humanity slip away as his mind envisioned all the ways he could savor killing the rat that betrayed his family, that left Sirius a criminal, that deprived him of his father's smile and his mother's comfort, Pettigrew would pay, he swore it.

As the marker for Ron and his rat came closer into view, it was becoming clear that this was not going to be as covert as Harry would have liked. To his surprise, Ron was currently being accompanied by Tracey Davis, and down the hall, he saw a flicker of Daphne who seemed to be walking towards the library but had stopped and turned to face the commotion that he and Remus had made as they approached Ron.

"Ron," Harry spoke, "Your rat, where is it?"

"Uh, Harry," Ron spoke nervously, "Are you alright? You look a little, strange."

"The rat Ron," Harry said in a colder tone, "Where's your rat?"

"What are you going to do to him?" Ron said nervously.

"Harry, you need to calm down," Tracey said softly, "You look like a maniac right now, Professor, do something."

"Mr. Weasley," Remus said with a bit more patience, but not much more than Harry had, "Your rat is not a simple garden rat."

"Of course he is," Ron said with a quiver of fear, "Scabbers has been in my family for-"

"Thirteen Years," Harry finished for the redhead, "An awfully long time for a simple garden rat to live, don't you think?"

"W-what's your point?" Ron stuttered.

"Where's. Your. Rat." Harry growled maliciously.

Trembling slightly, Ron reached into his jacket pocket pulling out the rat, "I had to start keeping him with me because of your demon cat." Ron slowly reached out his hand to both Harry and Remus before he spoke, "There, you've seen him, can I go now? Please, Professor."

But Remus didn't move, the same wicked grin appearing on his face as it did Harry's, "The jig is up," Remus spoke softly to rat, "You can come out now, Wormtail."

Remus lifted his wand to the rat before Ron spoke, "Stop, you're going to kill him, what are you-"

However, realizing now that his only chance of escape was to revert, 'Scabbers' bit Ron's finger hard, forcing him to drop the rat, before in an instant, the rat transformed from a fat and ugly looking rat to a man, only a bit taller than Harry with grubby skin, small watery eyes, and a pointed nose, all of which resembled his previous rat form. The thin-haired man stared nervously at Harry, as the boy-who-lived smiled like a kid on Christmas. However, with a speed that neither Harry nor Remus expected, Pettigrew quickly flashed behind Ron, using his body as a shield from Harry's attack, before stealing the freckled boy's wand from his back pocket and in horror, Harry watched as Pettigrew spoke, "Crucio!"

Instantly, Ron fell to the ground in agony, screaming in pain as Tracey fell down to her knees next to him, trying to provide any comfort he could, the scene was loud and distracting, just what Pettigrew had wanted as he shifted back to his rat form, the wand barely being able to be carried length-wise in his overextended jaw. "Bastard," Harry growled as, without thought, he and Remus chased after the marauder's map.

"Harry!" He heard Daphne distantly call out in shock, but there was no time to be distracted. Pettigrew's size allowed him accessways through the castle that Remus nor he could fit through, and he needed to focus solely on the map to track the betrayer of his family. He wouldn't let Pettigrew escape, the rat died, and he died today.

Harry's breath ran ragged as Pettigrew scurried between sewage pipes, cracks in the walls, secret passages, and the fact Harry's body was already aching from his strenuous activities in the morning hadn't helped. But his exhaustion could wait as now more than ever, Harry needed his endurance as after a few minutes scurrying around the castle, Pettigrew had finally made it to the castle grounds.

The cool breeze in the air as the sun began to sink only gave Harry more anxiety, if the sun went down before Pettigrew was captured, that only played into the rat's advantage. Harry wished now more than ever that he had his broom, his eyes locked dead on the rat as Pettigrew raced towards the forbidden forest possibly thinking that Harry wouldn't follow him into it, he'd be wrong though. Nothing, not his life, not his future, nothing at all meant more to him than seeing Pettigrew dead.

Just as before, Pettigrew turned back into his human form, and had it been any other situation, Harry might have even marveled at how fast the rat-faced bastard could do it, but now was certainly not the time as Pettigrew lifted Ron's wand and with his high-pitched squeaky voice shouted, "Confringo!"

Instantly, the ground beneath Harry's feet exploded, and Harry heard Remus call for him. However, his pain was nothing compared to his hatred, and catching himself on his hand using his training and seeker reflexes, Harry quickly found himself back on his feet chasing the rat who stared at him in fear, "We're not done yet!" Harry shouted as he and Remus continued his pursuit.

Pettigrew quickly turned into his rat form once more, and Harry had to give him credit, he might have been a coward, but at least he knew it and his skill at evading attacks, especially when so small was very fitting for the rat, despite the frustration it was causing Harry and Remus who continued desperately to fire upon the rat. The sun was setting faster than ever before, and Harry's legs felt as if they were on fire, the exhaustion in his body was killing him, but his anger fueled him like a fire, tunneling in on the rat now mere feet from the dense forest in the distance. "Reducto!" Harry bellowed turning a plot of grass into dust just behind the rat's frame.

However, the dust from his missed attack had worked against him in creating a minor smokescreen for Pettigrew as he turned into his human form, and while his mind wanted to react, his body felt tired and sluggish as Peter squealed, and from his wand, a flurry of silver arrows exploded from the tip. Harry watched in horror as a silver arrow rushed through Remus' shoulder, knee, and through his torso falling him to the ground as he hissed in pain. Harry stopped turning to his uncle before with bloodshot eyes Remus spoke, "Go! Don't let him get away!"

Harry nodded the pain he saw on Remus' face only adding more to the hatred he felt towards the rat as he raced into the forbidden forest chasing the man. Harry was running blindly through the dark woods, the sun nearly down as he roared in anger. The feelings in his heart boosted his adrenaline as his body just managed to dodge a bolt of red light that was aimed towards him from the bush. He hadn't lost Pettigrew yet, and he wouldn't give the man another chance.

Harry was unsure of how long he had been wandering through the forest, finding and avoiding Pettigrew's inaccurate attacks. Sweat beat down his skin, his breath was sporadic and his chest hurt at every pant. Worse yet, Harry had no idea where he was, and if Remus had been planning to keep up with him, he certainly hadn't. Harry now found himself at a dead-end, his wand firmly in his grasp, as his eyes rested upon the large body of water blocking his path forward, however, this meant it also blocked Pettigrew's. He began scanning feverishly, his sense all on high alert as he heard the snapping of a twig and instantly shot out a stunner, hearing a girlish shriek in response. Slowly the figure in the distance rose, and Harry trembled at her sight, fearing for her safety, "Daphne? What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Daphne shouted, "You idiot! Don't you know who you're chasing! That man is Peter Pettigrew! He faked his own death! The only people who do that are dangerous people!"

"Then why did you follow me?" Harry spoke now irate at his situation.

"What was I supposed to do? Let you die! We're leaving Harry! The Aurors can figure this out not us!" Daphne spoke, in truth, they both knew her argument had made no sense, Daphne herself seemed to look unsure as to why she had followed Harry into danger, but the look of concern now resting in her eyes had made it clear to Harry, she wanted him to be safe.

However, a flicker of blue light from the shadows of the forest appeared, and instantly, Harry body jumped into action as he ran towards Daphne, "Daphne! Get Down!" As if acting on instinct herself, Daphne collapsed to the slightly muddy forest floor, as Harry jumped between her and the bone-breaker curse, and Harry gritted his teeth, trying to avoid screaming as he felt his entire left arm shattered.

Harry saw Daphne looking up at him, involuntary tears of pain falling from his eyes onto her pale face as he tried to force a confident smile for her sake, barely being able to whimper, "You're not hurt are you, Princess?"

"Harry, your arm," Daphne said her eyes trembling at the sight, "It's completely shattered."

"It's just an arm," Harry said through the pain, "It can be fixed, I'm just glad you're okay."

"That's very sweet," Pettigrew spoke now standing before them as Harry rose to his feet to face the rat-faced man, "It reminds me of James and Lily, they-"

"Shut up!" Harry shouted, "Don't you dare say their names! They're dead because of you! You betrayed them to Voldemort! You don't deserve to even think about my parents!"

"Harry," Pettigrew said with a small stutter, "Try to understand. The Dark Lord, he was going to win, he was going to kill us all, what choice did I have? What would you have done?"

"I would've died!" Harry shouted, "I would've died before I betrayed my friends!"

"So much like your father," Pettigrew said softly, "I don't want to do this Harry, really I don't. In another life, you could've been like a nephew to me. But once I get rid of you, the daily prophet will be so focused on the Boy-Who-Lived's death that I'll be able to escape under the radar. I hope you can understand."

"I won't let you get away," Harry said through his pain, "I'll stop you, and then I'll turn you or your body over to the DMLE and free Sirius from his accusations. You've taken away enough of my family, this ends here."

Harry lifted his wand and with a slashing movement he roared, "Taltura!" As a black wave of magic sliced through the air towards Pettigrew, however, Harry's aim was off, losing his dominant hand to the bone-breaking curse clearly didn't help his chances as Pettigrew dropped avoiding the off-target curse before firing back, "Reducto!"

Quickly Harry lifted his wand, "Protego Maxima!"

The spell hit Harry's shield and rang like a bell, but seeing as that he was low on energy, low on time, and low on options, Harry through caution to the wind, and knowing his aim was off, there was only one other option. Rage filling his body, Harry bellowed, "Bombarda! Reducto! Taltura! Tenimago! Pluvia Corvi!" If he couldn't win with his skill, he'd overwhelm the weaker man with his power.

Pettigrew did his best, trying to defend the onslaught of curses, while he had managed to stop the first two curses and barely dodge the third, the burning feeling associated with Tenimago had hit him hard and screams filled his lungs as he jumped towards the water desperately trying to stop the feeling of heat on his skin as the sharp-beak murder of crows flew by him leaving cuts across his body. Harry looked down at the pitiful man in disgust as he lifted his wand ready to take the man's wand. But Harry had miscalculated. Yes, of the four marauder's Pettigrew was by far the weakest, but he was still a marauder nonetheless, and with a flick of his wand Harry almost couldn't recognize, Harry found himself flying back nearly hitting a tree and only avoiding that fate due to Daphne's timely use of the levitation charm.

Harry stumbled to his feet with Daphne's assistance as she stared at Harry in concern, "I'm fine," Harry said answering her unspoken question, as he and Daphne began stumbling back towards the body of water where Pettigrew was. Harry was exhausted, his body was in pain and his heart was heavy. However, a flicker of triumph filled his veins as he looked at the man wallowing in the water, desperately trying to douse the black flames.

However, this flicker was quickly extinguished as Harry now too injured and tired to react saw Pettigrew lift his wand to the sky, and mutter an incantation that Harry had never heard before, "Morsmordre!" Instantly, Harry fell to his knees, clutching his scar in agony with deafening screams as in the sky, a misty green skull appeared with appeared, with a serpent spilling out of the skull's mouth.

The concentration Harry had placed on his burning spell had been broken from the anguish in his head as he saw Pettigrew stumble to his feet getting ready to scurry away, "Stop him!" Harry begged, "Please!"

Harry watched as Daphne, a girl who had been panicking moments before, never truly seeing combat up close quickly lifted her wand, and with accuracy that even impressed Harry, stunned the man from behind before casting the full-body bind curse for good measure. Harry was beginning to get a grip on his pain as he rose to his feet with the help of Daphne who Harry realized was trembling like mad.

She was the Ice Queen, a facade of pure emotionless uninterest, but Harry knew there was more to her, that the Ice Queen was just an act for protection, and Harry had seen first hand how beautiful Daphne looked when she smiled and how musical her laugh sounded. But this time, it was different, Harry saw for the first time, even worse than the broom ride earlier in the day, he saw her truly afraid.

Harry stumbled trying to ignore his pain as he looked at Daphne, wrapping his good arm around her waist and pulling her close to him, "It's okay. We're okay." Harry felt the tears of the girl in his arms slip from his face onto his back, and Harry knew why. He was trained, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, even Dumbledore had taught him about his fears and how to face them, but for a person who had never experienced combat, nor had any desire to see it, it was traumatizing and Harry understood. He held his Princess close to his body, and whispered once more, "You're okay Daphne, we're okay."

(Daphne P.O.V)

Daphne was certain she was out of her mind when she pushed off Tracey who had tried to stop her and instead went after Harry and Professor Lupin. The man they were chasing was Peter Pettigrew, and the fact that the man had faked his own death along with Harry's seeming indifference to the case of Sirius Black had filled her heart with worry and concern for the boy's safety.

Yes, her mind had told her that he was with Professor Lupin, the only competent DADA teacher the school had for the last three years, but her body wouldn't listen, and against all reason, she chased after Harry and Professor Lupin. The men were faster than she was, and for a moment she had given up on finding them, that was until she saw Professor Lupin, struggling to move, his body still twitching as Daphne saw a near quiver full of silver arrows shot through the man. Quickly, Daphne acted, her healer's instincts wanting to come into play as she reached for the arrow only to be stopped by the professor, "Leave them in, if you take them out I'll bleed out."

"But, I can seal the wounds," Daphne said in confusion, "I know the spell-"

"It won't work on someone like me," Professor Lupin said in agony, "Send word to Snape."

"What do you mean it won't-" Then it hit Daphne, "You're a werewolf. You need the anti-silver elixir."

Professor Lupin nodded, but not wanting to abandon her quest for Harry, Daphne called out hoping against hope, "Dobby!"

With a pop, the elf appeared with a happy smile, "Miss Greeny called for Dobby, how can Dobby help Miss Greeny!"

"Professor Lupin!" Daphne order hastily, "Take him to see Professor Snape! Tell Professor Snape that Professor Lupin needs the anti-silver elixir! Please Hurry!'

Obviously seeing the dire expression on Daphne's face, Dobby nodded, wrapping his arm around the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor before popping away turning to look into the forbidden forest where Harry had run off to. Daphne now seeing just how much danger Harry could possibly be in she steadied her resolve before once again, like an idiot she entered the forest and followed after him.

Tracking Harry wasn't hard, the forest seemed rattled with spells, and with the simple cast of Homenum Revelio Daphne was quickly able to track down Harry. The plan was to try and talk some sense into him and bring him back to the castle to let the Aurors take care of business, but that plan had changed as in horror, Daphne watched Harry shield her from a bone-breaking curse with his body completely shattering his arm in the process.

Daphne couldn't stop trembling, she wanted to be a healer, to save Astoria, to save Blaise, she never once cared about combat, and while she had received E's in her first two years of DADA, they weren't exactly with competent teachers. She watched in pathetic inferiority and fear as Harry dueled the once-dead man with all his conviction despite his exhaustion and a broken arm, while all Daphne could do was tremble and shake in fear. She had never seen combat up close, her body had never felt a sensation like this before. She never wanted to duel, she barely knew how to, and as she watched Harry fight with everything he had, she felt more helpless than ever before.

Then it happened, something she had only read about in old news reports, the sigil of Voldemort himself was released from Pettigrew's wand, and Harry's indifference about Sirius had made sense, the man was innocent, and judging by the statements the man had made about Harry's father and mother, it was Pettigrew that had betrayed the Potters this whole time. Still, horror once again gripped her heart as she watched Harry succumb to agony gripping his scar as if the mark in the sky had held some effect over him. She listened while he begged for her to do something, and her body acted on its own, stunning the man and leaving him in a full-body bind curse as the two embraced, and for a moment as the tears ran down Daphne's cheeks Daphne stopped trembling, now feeling safe in Harry's arms.

Though she was certain she had stopped the trembling, however, her body once again began to shake but this time, Daphne wasn't afraid, this time she was cold. "Harry," she whispered seeing her breath now appearing as a mist, "Is it getting cold or am I just going crazy?"

"You need to run," Harry said looking up into the sky, "Get as far away from here as you can, they're coming."

"Who's coming?" Daphne asked, but that question was answered as one by one, the army of dementors that was once being strictly regulated by the ministry to remain off the Hogwarts grounds began to a frenzy like a shark that smelled blood around the sigil.

"Ten, Twenty, Thirty," Daphne started counting aloud before realizing it was hopeless as more and more kept swarming in from all angles, "Merlin there have to be at least a hundred of these things."

"Daphne," Harry said with a tired sigh, "You need to run, it's not safe here."

"What about you?" Daphne said heatedly.

"I need to stay and make sure Pettigrew doesn't go anywhere before the Aurors arrive," Harry said in a tone as if excepting the fact he was going to die, "I'll keep the dementors away from you, this time, I swear I'll protect you."

Harry gave her the same lazy grin she had started falling for so rapidly, although this one was laced with more sadness, more acceptance of the fact that statistically speaking his chances of surviving were staggeringly low. And yet, the fact he was most likely going to die didn't mean as much to him as ensuring the Pettigrew was captured, the fact he was most likely going to die didn't mean as much to him as making sure she got out safely. "Well Princess," Harry said trying to keep the mood light despite the situation, "I hope you're not expecting a carriage because one isn't coming."

"I'm not leaving you!" Daphne said firmly in a tone that even surprised herself, "You can't use one of your arms and you can barely stand. I'm not just going to run away and leave you to die! You're important to me damn it!"

Harry turned back to the horde of dementors that continued to swarm around the green skull as he scoffed slightly, "You really are a royal pain, you know that?"

Daphne gave a small smile despite the danger they were currently in as she spoke, "If you want to go out with me you're just going to have to deal with it. Now Flyboy, what's the plan?"

"I hold them off for as long as I can until the Auror's arrive. They can't apparate on to Hogwarts Grounds so they'll have to floo, it could take a while but I have to make sure Pettigrew doesn't escape." Harry said unenthusiastically.

A terrifying screech filled the air as the Dementors turned their attention towards herself and Harry and as Harry firmly tightened his grip on his wand, he glared at the onslaught of dementors as he spoke, "This time, I won't fail." He took a deep breath and with all the strength in his body Daphne watched in awe as Harry roared, "Expecto Patronum!"

Unlike the wall of mist, she had seen in the daily prophet when Harry had stepped in to save her, Tracey, and Blaise, this time the mist took a shape. First, a beak emerged from the mist and then, ever so slowly, the face of the bird appeared, it may have been coated in the mist-like white, but the sharpness of the beak, the ferocity of the talons, the shape of the head, Harry, a boy of thirteen, had done something that Daphne had thought impossible for someone their age. In the most demanding moment, and atop his exhaustion and injuries Harry had conjured a Corporal Patronus, a large crow.

The symbol of death, bad luck, cleverness, and magic erupted from Harry's wand, and for a wizard as plagued with bad luck as Harry was, and yet determined to always find a solution, Daphne could think of no Patronus better for Harry. The crow flew around like an eagle as it shoved dementors back, hissing and screeching. But there was a reason not many people could conjure a Patronus Charm, not only did it require an enormous amount of skill, but it also required an enormous amount of magic and stamina, resources Harry had used up throughout the day.

Daphne racked her mind, trying to think of anything, some kind of solution that would allow them to hold out long enough for the Auror's to arrive. Then, it hit her, the image of Harry smiling down at her during their discussion in Babbling's class about the Magic Exchange Runes, Maybe we should try the runes, Harry had said in a joking tone, If it worked then it would mean we're compatible, right?

This better work, Daphne thought to herself desperately as she paced her wand to her thumb, cutting it so it dripped slightly, and using her blood as ink with her wand as a quill, Daphne began inscribing the runes along her wrist; Unity, Care, Understanding, Magic, Love. It burned like a brand, now permanently etched into her skin before she walked up to Harry desperately trying to hold his Patronus together. "I have an idea," Daphne started, "But it's going to sting a bit."

"Just try it!" Harry said through gritted teeth, and so Daphne did, drawing some of Harry's blood with her wand as she began to draw to runes on his broken arm in order not to hinder his current resistance. As quickly as she could but with great care, Daphne began inscribing the second set of runes on Harry's wrist; Bond, Magic, Trust, Strength, Power. Harry hissed slightly, as the new tattoo-like scars set across his wrist, and with closed eyes and a silent prayer, Daphne took his hand in hers and hoped This better work.

Instantly, as their hands intertwined, a rush of magic unlike anything Daphne had ever felt before took over her body. Their joint hands glowed a brilliant blue and as Daphne turned to look at Harry she realized that the two now shared a faint white glow and that the emerald green eyes of Harry's were no more, instead, both their eyes had turned a cyan or turquoise like color, a mixture of their two iris colors as Harry smiled feeling the power flow through him as well, "This is amazing!" Harry said with glee, "I've never felt so powerful!"

"It worked," Daphne said in amazing, "The Magic Exchange Runes worked!"

"Told you we'd be compatible Princess," Harry said with a grin the fear and worry now diminished from their hearts as warmth filled their bodies.

"Whatever Flyboy," Daphne said with a laugh, the warmth in her body making her feel as if she had the power to do anything, "Let's finish these nightmares once and for all."

"Your wish is my command," Harry said with a grin, and with the magic being sent to his Patronus becoming so overwhelming, a blinding light filled the dark forest, as to both Harry and Daphne's disbelief, the shrieking of the Dementors grew louder and louder, before becoming completely silenced as Daphne witnessed what was thought to be an unkillable being turn to ash and fall to the ground.

Like flies, the dementors fell, crumbling into nothing more than piles of dust one at a time until eventually, not a single wraith flew in the sky. In amazement, Daphne turned to Harry and in a dumbstruck tone, she spoke, "Harry, you killed a dementor."

"No," Harry said shaking his head almost clearly baffled, "I think we killed a dementor." Harry slowly let go of her hand, and instantly, all the power that had once flown through them vanished in an instant, as seconds later, the toll of their magical expenditure hit Daphne forcing her to collapse to her knees panting slightly as Harry who had been far more exhausted prior to the magic exchange fell unconscious, his head resting in her lap. The glowing white light had disappeared and the blue highlight of the runes had vanished as well.

Daphne cradled Harry's head in her lap, an exhausted but relieved smile on her face that somehow they had survived their ordeal, but the merriment didn't long as soon Daphne found herself surrounded by a large group of Aurors, DMLE Head Amelia Bones, Barty Crouch, Delores Umbridge, and in the center of it all, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. The vein in the minister's forehead pumped profusely as he roared, "Who did it? Which one of you conjured the mark?"

"Minister," An Auror Daphne recognized as Nymphadora Tonks, the one who had been part of her rescue at Hogsmeade spoke, "Be reasonable, the boy in her lap is Harry Potter, why would they, especially Harry conjure the Dark Mark, how would they even know that spell?"

"Well, then who did it?" Umbridge said in a tone that made Daphne sick to their stomach, "Clearly, Hogwarts is involved in more nefarious activities than one would first guess."

"It wasn't us," Daphne said through panted breath.

"So you just expect us to believe that the mark just happened to randomly appear in the sky?" Umbridge said, her toad-like appearance placing Daphne on edge.

"No," The gruff voice of Alastor Moody cut through, "Though I would expect it has less to do with some random students and more to do with the fact a 'dead-man' is right by the riverbank, and with a dark mark on his arm no less."

"Pettigrew?" Tonks spoke in shock before staring down at Harry, "Is he okay?" The Auror asked Daphne.

Daphne shook her head, "No, he's really hurt and all our magic was exhausted fighting the dementors."

"What dementors?" Umbridge scoffed, "Surely you don't believe that-"

"The ash piles," Daphne spoke tiredly, "At least 100 of them, they're the dementors that you had out the outskirts of the school."

"She's right," Moody said his eye zipping around like map, "Not sure how the lass did it, but my eye does detect that these ash piles were indeed dementors."

"Alright Miss Greengrass," Amelia Bones stepped forward finally breaking the ruckus of the crowd, "You and Mr. Potter will be coming with us back to the castle to answer some questions."

"He goes to the infirmary first," Daphne growled holding the unconscious Harry tightly, though she knew she was in no positions to truly make demands.

However, Amelia Bones smiled slightly before she nodded, "Of course, you and Mr. Potter will receive appropriate medical care first, and then, I'd like to speak to you both. For now," Amelia said with a turn towards both Tonks and Moody, "Ensure that Pettigrew doesn't go anywhere, and I want Veritserum at the ready for when he awakes. There are some questions that need answers."

"Ask him about the Potters," Daphne said, "Harry said he was the one that betrayed them not Black. Just ask him when he wakes up, please."

"Of course we will," Tonks said with a light smile, "Now take good care of Mr. Potter for us okay, we'll meet again soon." And with everyone receiving their orders, the arrivals began to vanish as with care both Harry and herself were levitated softly out of the forest and back towards the infirmary, with Pettigrew restrained and shackled to high heaven floating less gently behind them.