12

Chapter XII: The S.P.I.R.E

(Harry P.O.V)

"This is so exciting," Harry heard Hermione call out, her voice full of giddiness as they walked through the streets of Hogsmeade following the Ravenclaw Prefects lead, "I can't believe how quickly Professor Slughorn got around to signing all the forms. I never thought that we'd be holding this meeting so soon. Finding a spot was a bit difficult but we managed to reserve some space at the Hogshead Inn. I wonder how many people will show up?"

Harry too wondered about the attendance rate, though he was far less excited than his bushy-haired friend, his eyes falling upon the girl that walked by his side, her hand resting in his. Why would Draco be in the Girl's Restroom, for all his faults, he's not a perv. And exactly what kind of revenge? How is he planning it? "Harry," He heard Daphne whisper to his side, "Don't think about it right now, you have to focus for this meeting. We can figure out just what it is Draco is up to later, for now, brace yourself for the questions you're going to get, you know people are going to ask about Cedric."

Cedric, The Hufflepuff's name still fell upon him like a ton of bricks, the name forcing the flashing green light back into his mind. Daphne rubbed her thumb gently against the back of his palm as he nodded, "I'm okay," Harry whispered, "I can handle it."

Daphne smiled slightly as she released his hand, the two now standing at the Hogsmeade Door, their group standing behind them. "Do we have everything that we need?" Harry called back, to which Michael replied with a nod, revealing a golden-brown fresh piece of parchment, and a handful of fake galleons.

"I figure we're probably going to be holding our meetings in the Room of Requirement," Michael said with a lazy shrug, "Charmed a few of these to send messages about meeting times and such, plus it allows you to communicate with the members without word getting out. Which is also where this thing comes in, right, Hermione?"

"Yes," The girl said with a confident grin, "Tricky bit of business, but this paper acts as a contract, creating a binding agreement that those who sign the paper can only talk about S.P.I.R.E with other members of the group. That way, we can keep those less likely to be of help to our cause in the dark. Though, I couldn't exactly allow death to be the consequence for breaking the agreement, so I made it so that if the contract is broken, the at-fault party explodes with terrible, terrible, boils."

Harry shuttered as even Neville looked at the girl in fear, "You can be quite malicious, can't you?"

"Just don't get on my bad side," Hermione said with a chuckle as she opened the door, allowing everyone into the Inn. Unlike the Three Broomsticks, the inn was small and extraordinarily dirty, each step leaving footprints in the scattered sawdust. "Is that," Hermione said taking in a large whiff of the smell around them, "Is that goat?"

"Whatever it is," Claire grumbled clenching her nose, "I'm starting to see why this place had so many vacancies. I mean we live in a world of magic, how hard can it be to keep things clean?"

"Harder than you imagine lass," A man grumbled instantly forcing their heads to turn as Harry laid eyes on a strikingly familiar figure.

"Dumbledore?" Harry called out, his eyes squinted with confusion.

"Aye, but not the one you know," The man growled pushing up his dirty glasses revealing a pair of piercing yet strikingly recognizable blue eyes. The man was unkempt, with long, stringy, wiry grey hair and beard, but Harry couldn't help but think that if Dumbledore had been left alone in the woods for a year, he would look exactly like the man before him. "Name's Aberforth, you're probably more familiar with my brother, Albus."

"Dumbledore has a brother?" Hermione called out in shock.

"He had a mother too, and father," Aberforth barked back, "I know you children look at him as a god but he's as human as any of us. Had a sister too but-" Aberfother stopped himself, his eyes sinking before he continued, "Anyhow, I set up a place for you to have your little meeting in the back there, you'll have your privacy. Just do me a favor and buy something, don't want others thinking this is a place for loitering."

"Why doesn't Dumbledore talk about-," Hermione started but Harry stopped her placing his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back slightly.

"The man's family is his business," Harry whispered into the girl's ear before looking up at the bearded-man, "Nine Butterbeers please." Aberforth nodded as the man summoned the bottles from the glass refrigerator before glancing up at the cups, "We'll pass," Harry said politely collecting the bottles and handing them out to his friends, all of them now on their way to the tables, "Ariana, that was your sister's name. He thinks about you, both of you, all the time. I don't know what it is that happened that makes him feel racked with guilt, but you and your sister are always in his thoughts. Trust me, I've been in his head."

Harry turned only stopping as the man whispered out, "No message to deliver from him though, thoughts are worthless unless they are expressed."

"Pride is toxic, both you and your brother have it in spades," Harry said numbly, turning back to face the man, "A war is coming, and I can sense you're strong. Whatever your issues may be with your brother I suggest you hash it out with him, who knows how much longer he may have. Strength like yours, I'll need it if I'm to win this war… so I'm asking you, whatever grudge you have, work it out."

The man had remained speechless as Harry approached his friends at the table, "What were you two whispering about?" Michael asked calmly.

"Debating soda flavors," Harry replied dismissively, "Nothing important. How long do we have until people start to show up?"

"We should have," Hermione started before the sound of the door creaking open rang through the room, with three redheaded children entering in quick succession, "No time at all, it seems."

"Sorry we're early," Fred called out.

"But we don't need the information rally," George said

"If you're fighting Voldemort," Fred continued.

"We want in."

"That bastard killed our sister," Ron said, his eyes burning with fire, "Where do we sign?"

Harry's eyes locked with Ron's, nodding as he turned to Hermione who quickly rushed the paper over, explaining the protocol. Yet even with the restrictions in place, Ron quickly signed followed by his two brothers. "Promise me, Harry," Ron called out looking up at him, "Make me stronger."

"I promise," Harry replied firmly as the three Weasley's took their seats near the front, the intensity in the room failing to fade as one by one, more and more people began to enter the room. First was the trio of Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, followed quickly by Lee Jordan. After a short break, Harry caught a glimpse of Dean Thomas, Anthony Goldstein, and Susan Bones entering the room, the ladder of whom Michael gave a quick wave towards. Next entered Lavender Brown, Parvati, and Padme, before finally, Seamus, Justin, Zacharias, Hannah, Marietta Edgecombe, and Cho Chang brought up the rear.

"I can't believe it," Neville whispered, "Literally everyone we gave an invite to showed up."

"Don't get too excited," Michael whispered, " I don't trust Justin as far as I can throw him, he was the one who started all those rumors in Second Year, and Hannah isn't much better. Not to mention I'm nearly one-hundred percent sure that Brown and the Patil are just here to send googly eyes at Harry."

Harry nodded, "Let's try not to be too judgy, the goal is to help as many people as we can, whether they came here with good intentions or not. Just… well, we gotta avoid getting complacent." Both Neville and Michael grunted in agreement before Harry turned facing the crowd before him. "Hello!" He called out to the group, "I'm not quite sure how to start this speech so I'll skip the pointless introductions. We're all here because we have the same goal, learning how to defend ourselves from what is happening out there."

"I want to be clear, what I am saying stems from a place of honesty, I refuse to fearmonger, though it is important to me that you all know the truth," Harry continued, "What is happening out there, these attacks on muggles and wizards alike, these aren't just one-off incidents. These are focus and precise strikes, and each and every one of them is a declaration of war, whether our foolish excuse for a minister wants to admit it or not."

"It is for that reason, that I was asked to found this club. With Snape's horrendous teaching practices, none of us are going to be able to defend ourselves if the worst comes knocking at our door," Harry paused clearing his throat, "These people committing these raids are not men, they are monsters. Monsters who will slaughter without remorse, you need to look no further than the unprovoked attack during the Quidditch World Cup last year. But I would also like to be clear, this is not a war rally, I am not here to inspire any of you to fight Voldemort alongside me." The crowd shivered at the man's name as Harry shook his head, "The Student Protection Initiative for Resistance Efforts or S.P.I.R.E has one simple goal, to help ensure that if the worse comes you will be capable of defending yourselves and your families until more help can arrive."

"Why should we listen to you over Snape?!" Zacharias Smith called out, "I mean what makes you more qualified than him to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"How about the fact that he disarmed Snape without a wand and he did it silently," Ron barked back instantly, quieting the Hufflepuff boy.

"Who cares if he can disarm Snape," Justin huffed, "We all know Potter lost to the Dark Lord, what business does he have teaching us how to defend ourselves from an enemy he himself couldn't beat. If this was Dumbledore we were talking about then fine, but Harry's no better than the rest of us."

"If you believe you can single-handedly come out alive from a fight with Voldemort you're more than welcome to try it," Michael spat out.

"Or perhaps you'd like to try your hand at taking on ten death eaters at once," Tracey scoffed.

"Fight a horned serpent while you're at it if you're just as good as him," Neville said with a shrug.

"Or maybe cast a Patronus so power it literally destroyed dementors," Astoria barked out.

"Guys, it's pointless," Harry said with a sigh, "Those that don't want to listen are fine to criticize me, I don't really care. I-"

"You can cast a Patronus Harry?" Cho whispered.

"Yes, he can, I've seen it myself," Daphne replied with a smile, "It's a crow. He also taught me, Michael, Neville, and ever Astoria how to cast one."

"Really?" Dean whispered, "Do you think you could teach me?"

"I'd like to learn some of this wandless magic," Angelina said with a shrug, "Are you up for the challenge of teaching me something for a change Potter?"

"I'll learn anything so long as you're the one teaching it Harry," Lavender said in a rather sultry tone earning her a death glare from Daphne who silenced the witch immediately.

"Look all of that is great," Hannah said with a sigh, "But C-Cedric died last year, and you yourself admitted at the funeral that you weren't strong enough to stop it." She sighed, "I want to believe you, but- I can't help thinking that nothing has changed."

"I'm assuming you are all aware of the Newspaper's reportings of my absence this summer," Harry said with a tired sigh. "I assure you," Harry started, "That I wasn't on a simple vacation. What I am about to tell you would be better if it didn't leave this room, though, given your less than poor treatment of me last year, I don't quite give a shit about what you all whisper behind my back." The crowd had grown silent as Harry gestured for the bottom of his shirt, preparing to lift, only being stopped by Daphne's hands

"You don't have to do this. There's no obligation that-,"

"I know," Harry said with a nod, dropping his girlfriend's hands before revealing the scars that littered his body. The crowd gathered below him shuttered at the sight as Harry's face remained passive, "I went through hell this summer to get stronger. I know I was too weak to stop Voldemort before, but that won't happen again."

"Why not?" Hannah asked defiantly before Cho stood up.

"Because, I was trained by-"

"I believe in Harry, that's that, and he has nothing to prove to any of us." Harry stopped turning and eying the Asian girl that had interrupted him with shock as she wrote her name down on the sheet. "Maybe Harry can beat Voldemort, maybe he can't, but I know that he fared better than any of us would have in his situation." The eyes of the crowd fell upon Cho, "We've seen it since Harry first arrived at this school. He was constantly on top of the class when it came to the Dark Arts. The Newspaper's told us all about his stand at Hogsmeade during third year when the dementors attacked. We saw how the Ministry credited Harry with the capture of Peter Pettigrew, an actual Death Eater when he was only thirteen. We've seen him fight a Horned Serpent, we know he battled off a horde of pissed off merpeople, and we know he held off Voldemort for Merlin knows how long!"

Cho's breath had gone ragged as she paused, taking a moment to control herself as he pushed on, "Cedric believed in Harry, and so do I. Maybe he's not perfect, but he's as close as we're going to get to it, and I know that I never want to let anything like what happened with Cedric happen to me or anybody I love ever again. So if Harry's willing to teach us how to survive when Snape isn't, it's not a hard decision to make!"

Harry watched as Cho's words shook the crowd around her, the small army of students nodding with affirmation as they began to form a line by the table on which Hermione had laid the sign up sheet. Harry nodded appreciatively towards Cho who'd been the first to sign the paper after the Weasleys. While he certainly was feeling quite lost regarding what to do next, he did feel that the slightest level of pride swell in his chest. I can do this, Harry said his eyes glancing over the crowd, I know I can.

(Sirius P.O.V)

Sirius smiled as he looked down at his son, his purple eyes looking up at him with such wonder and joy as the boy released a playful hiccup. He wrapped his arm tightly around Emmeline who rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you," Sirius whispered into his wife's ear, the woman, in turn, leaning up to kiss him. It had been a while since Sirius had last felt as if he was floating, so coated in the armor of happiness that nothing could phase him. Honestly, it felt almost strange and foreign now as he rubbed the top of his son's head.

"Is it bad if I say that I wish we didn't have to keep fighting," Sirius muttered, "Does it make me a bad person that part of me just wants to take you, James, and Harry from here, run somewhere that he wouldn't be able to find us? Somewhere where James would never have to see violence."

"You know that Harry would never go for it," Emmeline said with a chuckle as she reached down to grab their son, "And even if we decided to do just that, we'd be back in a weeks-time at most."

"Why do you say that?" Sirius said with a gentle smile.

"Because we're fighters, Sirius," Emmeline said, "Both of us wouldn't be able to leave this behind, and if James is anything like his namesake he wouldn't run away either."

"You're right," Sirius said with a sigh, "But that worries me as well. What if we can never leave this life behind even after the war? What if we'll never be able to move on?" Sirius smiled sadly as he placed his hand to his son's cheek, "He deserves better than war, he deserves to have his parents, what if we-"

"Don't finish that thought," Emmeline said with a defiant tone, "We will live, we will see our son grow up, I don't care what happens, we are not going to die." A knocking rapt along their chamber door as Emmeline called in to enter. Sirius felt his heart stop as Andromeda and Remus entered the room.

"Remus, what's wrong?" Sirius called out in a panic.

"Narcissa reported a big attack incoming," Remus panted out, "Another attack on the Muggle world, she says Death Eaters will be marching on Brighton Pier, intent to kill more muggles to force Fudge's hand, we need to go! Now!"

Emmeline rose quickly to her feet before Sirius placed his hand atop her shoulder, "James is going to wake up soon, you need to be here. I can handle this."

"I'm coming with-,"

"Please," Sirius said his grey eyes looking deep into his wife's soul.

A silent pause filled the air for a heavy moment before the sniveling of the awaking baby drew Emmeline's attention, "Come back, alive. That's an order."

"Roger that boss," Sirius said with a nod turning to face his comrades, "Andy, notify everyone! Tonks, Remus, Amos! On me! Let's move!"

Sirius had felt his heart racing as the door to Grimmauld Place busted open, his small cohort racing out, quickly evaporating into black smoke. The ocean breeze had never felt as unwelcoming as it currently had as the laughter of children along the pier carried through the air. Think Sirius, where would they attack from, think, think. Sirius quickly turned to Remus, "Did Narcissa say where or how the attack was going to take place?"

"No, but she seemed to be in a panic," Remus said, "Whatever they're planning it's-"

"A pity really," A voice cut through the autumn winds like a knife as Sirius turned facing one of the most dangerous pairs. Bellatrix's smile was crooked and cruel, while Crouch licked his lips with sharpened eyes. "I truly didn't want to kill my sister, but it appears my master as always was right, she's been informing you this whole time."

"Of course the Dark Lord wasn't mistaken, you were foolish to believe otherwise Bella," Crouch said, "No worries though, once we're done here, I'm certain the Dark Lord will allow you the opportunity to, rectify, your mistakes."

"If you lay a single finger on her I swear to god I'll rip you-," Remus growled with fury before a cackle erupted from Bellatrix's mouth.

"Oh my, you seem rather protective of my traitorous little sister. Lucius may be a failure by all means, but at least his blood is pure," Bellatrix whispered, "To think that my sister has given a foul-blooded beast like you even the slightest reason to care for her makes my skin crawl. I believe I'll exterminate you first and bring her your head as a visiting gift."

"You can try it," Remus growled, lifting his wand before Sirius placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Not the time, Moony," Sirius hissed, "Find Narcissa, bring her back to base, for all we know this could just be a stalling tactic. Tonks, Amos, and I can handle this."

"But what if-," Remus started

"Go!" Sirius barked watching as his friend nodded begrudgingly before turning into a cloud of black smoke.

"Don't think you can get away from me that easily you stupid mutt!" Bellatrix said, the tip of her wand glowing a venomous green before, with a flick of his own wand, Sirius conjured a stone wall that emerged like a mountain from the sand. "So you want to dance do you, dear cousin? I wouldn't recommend it, it would be a shame for you to die before you and your lovely wife got to have your honeymoon."

"I'll live Bella," Sirius said with a confident smirk, "I have something more to live for then kissing your ghastly master's feet."

"You dare insult him!" Bellatrix roared, lifting her wand casting another killing curse that landed just to his left as Sirius along with Amos and Tonks rolled out of the way. "I'll kill you! I'll bring all your heads to him! Then, my master will have no choice but to praise me! Avada Kedavra!"

"Reducto!" Sirius heard Tonks' bellow as the young witch's wand took aim at the other man who batted her spell away with a growl. "Confringo! Stupify! Bombarda Maxima!" The cracking of the magic bolts sounded like fireworks as Sirius continued his dance, his cousin's eyes glaring through them as spells volleyed between the two of them lighting the beach up like it was Christmas.

Come on, Sirius thought to himself, We're making a big enough scene here, where the hell are the auror? Sirius turned for a moment, catching Tonks' eyes who seemed to be wondering the same thing before another bone-chilling cackle left Bellatrix's lungs, "You look quite confused Sirius, wondering where your little reinforcements are I imagine?" Sirius' eyes hardened as he watched the eldest Black Daughter lips press tightly. "I hope you don't truly believe we'd tell our suspected spy everything? Right now, the Auror department is probably busy pulling Amelia Bones' ass out of a burning building. I hope they scream when they see her charred body. That should get the message across that nobody is safe from my master's fury!"

"You bitch," Sirius hissed as he lifted his wand, "Reducto!" But with alacrity he'd never seen from the witch before, she spun, the sand proving to be no challenge even in her heeled boots before a blast of explosive magic landed just at his feet sending Sirius stumbling backward. Shit, Sirius cursed trying to pull himself up, watching as Bellatrix smiled menacingly, her wand hanging above his head like a guillotine.

"Curcio!" He heard a voice call out as in shock he watched as Bellatrix's body fell to the ground, her body twitching as she screamed. "Crucio!" The man that now stood by his side bellowed once more. "That's right you bitch," Amos cried, a fire of pure hatred burning in his eyes, "Scream! Scream like my son did when you tortured him! Scream for me!"

Sirius felt cold as he watched his cousin squirm, gripping a clawing at the sand, the battle between Crouch and Tonks coming to a halt as all eyes fell on the scene before them. "I want you to beg me to kill you!" Amos said, the blood lust in his voice, his foot making contact with the grounded woman, the tip of his boot breaking her nose with a swift kick. "Scream!"

"Amos!" Sirius roared, grabbing the man from behind, "Stop this! Stop this now! You need to get a grip!"

"Let go of me Sirius," Amos barked, "I'm going to torture this bitch until she breaks! Then I'll strangle her to death with my own hands!"

"Expelliarmus!" Tonks called out, the wand of the raging Diggory patriarch flying into the sand as Bellatrix laid there motionless. "What the hell are you doing?!" Tonks yelled, "We need to turn these people over, Death Eater or not, we're not going to be able to secure a conviction of any sort if we use unforgivables! You aren't an auror, you don't have the authority!"

"She needs to die!" Amos said, his vein pulsing in his forehead.

"Kill her after we get some intel then!" Sirius barked, "We lost our mole, so we need a hostage!"

"She doesn't deserve mercy!" Amos roared, "She killed my son!"

"She's a disgusting monster, it's true," Sirius said with a tempered tone, "But she's also Voldemort's most trusted. We need to know what she knows." Sirius sighed, his eyes barely shifting in time to catch Barty Crouch vanishing in a plume of smoke. He'd leave without her, that's not good. He shook his head, "You can kill her when we're done probing her for information. Tonks, cuffs?"

Tonks nodded tossing the magic canceling cuffs that she'd taken from the Auror department into his hands as he placed the woman's wrists into the metallic rings, her body twitching beyond control as drool hung from her unconscious lips, I hope the damage wasn't permanent at least, not yet. But how much did Narcissa disclose, how much did Voldemort probe? I can't bring her to Grimmauld Place, especially not with James, if they learn I have a son, that's just one other thing to hold against me. "What now Sirius?" Tonks asked in a trembling tone.

"I don't know," Sirius said looking at his bound cousin, "I really don't know.

(Daphne P.O.V)

The formation of S.P.I.R.E the day before had been something that had filled Daphne with a level of motivation and persistence that had done wonders for rejuvenating her often distressed mind. However, like most things in her life, it rarely lasted longer than a fleeting second. It was dinner when Daphne had laid down the schedule at the Gryffindor Table, her presence there far more welcomed than she recalled in the past. The schedule had been rather easy to understand, though not perfect. While everyone had certainly wanted more days in which to train, one day a week seeming hardly sufficient enough for anyone who had been motivated greatly by Chang's words, accounting for everyone's commitments, including Slughorn's which was surprisingly dense, had only left Saturday nights as a training day. Though Harry had given the twins and Ron some information regarding their independent training schedule so they could join if they wished.

Daphne had been a bit worried regarding Harry disclosing their closed-door training hours to the likes of Ron, but while it concerned her, she knew that if there was anything Harry could sympathize with, it was a desire for justice, and a desire to protect one's family. Also, given the Weasley's were full-fledged Order members, secrecy from them, she supposed hadn't really mattered.

Yet another issue had also flooded her mind, and as usual, it regarded her little sister. While she enjoyed training with Madam Pomfrey, the challenge wasn't as intense as it had been with Dr. Thatcher, and the fact that her plump mentor had yet to answer her letter had left Daphne's throat feeling dry. But more than just her sister's heath, she had begun feeling nervous in regard to her somewhat distant behavior. Astoria was chatty, it was what truly made them so different, and yet, her sister had seemed to be adopting a more and more silent behavior, a behavior that Harry had seen fit to comment on during their late-night patrols as well.

"Harry," Daphne whispered, her eyes catching yet another distracting bit of news, as Draco rose rather early from the dinner table, checking his surroundings before leaving, "Look." She watched as her boyfriend's eyes tagged Draco, his brow creasing before turning back to Daphne pulling out a folded map.

Daphne nodded, smiling as she rose from the Gryffindor table, the two exiting hand in hand as they turned the corner, walking onto the castle grounds making others believe it was nothing but a leisurely stroll. The stroll had ended, however, as the two found the large tree by the Black Lake, and Daphne soon found Harry's arm wrapped around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as Harry allowed her to unfold the map and whisper the absolutely ridiculous saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Instantly ink began to flood the map as her and Harry's eyes locked onto Draco's moving footprints.

Alright Draco, where are you heading? She felt Harry's eyes glaring down at the map like a hawk, watching as Draco seemed to ascend into the Defense Professor's Offices, Snape seemingly waiting for him. "Well that explains why he wasn't at dinner," Harry whispered beneath his breath, "But just what exactly are he and Draco planning?"

"We don't know if Snape is up to anything quite yet, he could have just had an appointment with Draco," She felt Harry's eyes gaze at her questioningly before she sighed, "Yes Harry, I know it's suspicious, but we can't jump to malicious conclusions. If we start seeing the shadow of evil everywhere, we'll end up like Moody."

Harry nodded in agreement before sighing, "I know, it's just-," Harry stopped for a moment, looking up at the sky, "It's heavy, you know?"

"I want to say I do," Daphne said gently, placing her hand upon Harry's cheek, "But the weight that's on your shoulders all the time, I can't begin to fathom it. But you'll never have to carry all of it by yourself, I'm here Flyboy, always." Harry leaned down placing his lips to her forehead before breaking apart. "No complaints about me sharing your burden, huh? Looks like there was some improvement."

"I'm stubborn, not stupid," Harry said with a chuckle, "You got the message across last year. We're in this together, until the end, for better or worse."

"Don't start writing your marriage vows just yet, Mr. Potter," Daphne said with a chuckle as Harry smiled, their moment of bliss rudely stolen from them as Harry nudged her to watch Draco's dot move once more. "This Sunday, after patrols, you and I are actually going to just take a minute to relax as alone together. I'm getting quite tired of sharing you with everyone."

"It's a promise, though we'd have to start our little getaway after Slughorn's dinner. " Harry said with a chuckle, before his brows furrowed curiously watching as Draco descended towards the second floor, the girl's lavatory now only a few feet away from the dots. "You weren't kidding," Harry muttered, "But why is he sneaking into the girl's bathroom, surely if he wanted to look at a girl's private area Pansy would be more than willing to comply."

Daphne rolled her eyes playfully before shaking her head, "Even if he was trying to perv, there wouldn't be a point. Nobody uses the girl's second-floor lavatory, it's completely empty because of Moaning Myrtle."

"Why, is she scary or something?" Harry queried.

"More annoying than scary," Daphne said with a sigh, "Why do I have a feeling we're going to be making a visit shortly."

"Ah Princess, you know me so well," Harry said before stopping, watching as Draco's dot vanished from the map, "Wait, did he just disappear?" Daphne too had felt lost as she watched the map, scanning rapidly for Draco's footprints. "That doesn't make sense, my dad covered almost everything in this castle when he made this map. The only time footprints disappear is when they enter a room that even they didn't know about."

"Which means only one thing," Daphne muttered.

"Yeah, there's more to the second-floor girl's lavatory than just an annoying ghost," Harry said with a nod, the two rising to their feet, "Well then, let's go ask this Myrtle girl a few questions then, shall we?"

"Not like we have much of a choice," Daphne said with a sigh. "You remember when we used to have normal outings?"

"Nope," Harry said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, me neither," Daphne said with a gentle grin before the two re-entered the castle, their objective set.

(Harry P.O.V)

For the briefest of moments, Harry considered the optics of his plan. He and his girlfriend, two prefects, were going to enter an abandoned girl's lavatory, with their supposed excuse being that they believed a secret passage resided somewhere in the bathroom itself. Harry could only pray that he didn't get caught as no matter what explanation he gave, the rumor mill of Hogwarts would waste no time in propagating the idea that he and Daphne snuck away for a quick shag. Though, as Harry sent quick glances at his girlfriend, he couldn't deny that to him, she was the epitome of beauty.

Focus Potter, you guys haven't even said I love you yet, one step at a time, Harry shook his head, clearing his mind as they arrived at the girl's bathroom. "Ready?" Harry whispered gently, Daphne nodding slightly as they lifted their wands, pushing the brown door open. Harry wasn't quite sure what he was expecting, when he thought of an abandoned restroom, he thought it would look like a pit. But that couldn't have been further from the truth as everything with the restroom looked perfectly normal, well except for one small thing, a low yet quite pronounced moaning coming from the furthest stall. "What is that?" Harry whispered.

"Moaning Myrtle," Daphne replied blankly, nudging her head towards the stall, "Come on let's get this over with. Fair warning though, she tends to be quite loud." He watched as his girlfriend grinned knowing quite well that overly loud people did nothing but get on his nerves. Yet, Harry wasn't exactly drowning in options, and with a sigh, he approached the moaning stall.

"Hello?" Harry called out knocking on the stall door. "I heard you crying, is everything okay?"

"Go away!" The voice called out tears swelling in her eyes, "First it was Olive Hornby, and now him, why can't people just stop bullying me?"

"I don't want to bully you," Harry said gently, "I don't even want to make you upset in any way."

"You don't want to upset me! Ha!" The girl shouted angrily, "That's a good one! My life was nothing but misery at this place and now people come along ruining my death!"

"Look, Myrtle, my name is Harry, Harry Potter," Harry started softly, "I just wanted to ask a question. Do you know if there is a room connected to this one? You said somebody was bullying you right? Was it by any chance a boy, with blonde hair, pointed features, very pale?"

"Yeah, that's him? Why? Is he a friend of yours?" Myrtle said with a huff.

"Quite the opposite really, I hate him," Harry said watching as the ghostly girl poked her head through the stall. The girl's face was rather pimply and her glasses looked about two sizes too large for her face, yet somehow, her eyes had still managed to hold a little redness, as if it was possible for her to actually cry.

"Really?" Myrtle whispered, "That's good. He was a jerk."

"He really is," Harry said nodding in agreement, "But he seems to have disappeared, do you know where he went."

"I didn't see it," Myrtle whispered, "But I know there's something here. Just before I died actually. You see, it was dreadful, it happened right in here. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny, a different language, I think it must've been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then... I died."

Harry's brow furrowed as he pressed on, "A different language, do you remember what it sounded like?"

"I'll never forget it," Myrtle said with a shiver, "It sounded like hissing, kinda like a snake. The boy said he was going to ruin me, I didn't want to stay."

Hissing, Harry pondered, his head cocked in confusion, Parseltongue, but Draco can't speak Parseltongue, can he? Footsteps began approaching the hall and Daphne grabbed Harry's shoulder, urging him to move. He smiled appreciatively up towards the ghost, "Thank you Myrtle, that was a big help. If he ever comes to bother you again, let me know, I'll make sure he doesn't get away with it."

"You will?" Myrtle said her eyes wide with shock.

"Yeah, I promise," Harry said with a nod, "I hate bullies." Myrtle sent back a happy grin before Harry watched the ghost dive headfirst into the toilet she had been sitting at before Harry turned to Daphne, "You leave first, I'll sneak out after, that way nobody suspects anything, okay?" Daphne nodded and Harry watched as his girlfriend exited the bathroom.

Parseltongue huh? Harry pondered as he scratched his chin, Maybe Dumbledore will have some more information. All I know is that something isn't adding up.