"You've been holding back on me when we practice. You cast that Protego non-verbally, how long have you been working on that?" Harry sighed, realizing that she was right. He didn't want to discourage her and thought it might be a good idea not to show her things he could do that she couldn't yet. She was learning, but he still had the advantage.
"The past two or three weeks. I can't do it on every spell, and usually when I can the spells are weaker. I didn't even realize I had cast the spell silently until you said something about it. We can work on it together from now on." Daphne nodded in agreement. "There's something else I need to tell you too. Last week Hermione asked if she could come with me one night while I trained. I told her to wait until after Christmas and ask again if she still wanted to because I didn't want to have to explain why you were there yet. I haven't seen her yet today, but when I do the first thing out of her mouth is going to be to tell me she still wants to. That's just the way she is."
Daphne sat and thought about how she felt about Hermione joining them. She was a little surprised by the jealous feeling that sprang up inside her, insisting that Hermione not be allowed to come because she would be intruding on her time with Harry. Daphne pushed that feeling away, telling herself that it wouldn't matter anymore because she could talk to him publicly like they were doing now. "That will be fine," Daphne finally said, "assuming she still wants to come."
"Great." Harry replied. "So I saw the Daily Prophet today and they didn't mention anything about the Yule Ball."
"I think that was because it happened so late last night they didn't have time to write the stories for the morning paper. You know how obsessively they have been covering everything about this tournament, they are going to say something about it. Wait until tomorrow, then we'll see." Harry nodded, his face dropping into a small frown.
"Ah, and here I thought we had just gotten a lucky break." he said with a half-hearted laugh. They then began discussing what they wanted to do with the rest of the day since they did not have classes or anything else to do. In the end they ended up taking a walk outside, enjoying the fact that they no longer had to meet in secret.
...
As Harry had expected, Hermione asked him about watching and hopefully participating in his training as soon as she saw him. He agreed and gave her directions to the third floor classroom he had been using. She excitedly told him that he wouldn't regret it and that she had something for him to practice tonight. Harry wasn't very happy with her thinking she could dictate his lessons, but decided he would just have to show her what he had been doing to make her understand. Harry and Daphne actually were in the room thirty minutes, discussing what they were going to do about Hermione and what they would tell her.
Right on time, Hermione walked through the door and a small look of surprise crossed her face when she saw Daphne.
"Hello Daphne, Harry didn't tell me you would be here too." Hermione said while setting her book bag down on a desk. Daphne smiled and gave a small wave in response.
"Actually, she has been helping me out for a while now. That's part of why I told you to wait until after Christmas to ask about my training again."
"What's going on, Harry?" Hermione asked, knowing that there was a lot to the story she was not being told.
"There are a couple of reasons why she has been training with me. One, we knew that some of our classmates might not like the fact that we went to the Yule Ball together and are… well, friends now I suppose." Harry added the last part uncertainly; unsure exactly what their relationship was now. Certainly more than friends. Were they dating? Or would he have to ask her out on multiple dates before they were dating? Deciding not to confuse himself with that, he pushed it from his mind but not before Daphne saw his brief look of confusion and smiled at what she knew he was thinking.
"And the other part is that we believe the return of the Dark Lord is imminent, and when that day comes we will both be in his way so we should be prepared." Daphne said, stepping in to finish for Harry. Hermione's jaw dropped and she looked back and forth between Harry and Daphne looking for some indication that they were joking. The serious looks on their faces said otherwise.
"Harry, you're really serious about this aren't you? Surely Dumbledore wouldn't allow that to happen." Hermione argued, eliciting a small frown from Harry.
"Dumbledore is not a god, Hermione. He can't control everything. Voldemort has made two attempts to come back since we've come to Hogwarts and the only reason he didn't succeed was luck. One day we won't be so lucky, and what then?" Harry pleaded with Hermione, who though still not happy was beginning to nod in agreement with his points. "I can't escape him; he is going to keep coming for me no matter what. Daphne and her family have been preparing for this since the Death Eater attack this summer, and I respect the choice they have made. You might still be able to escape this Hermione. It's doubtful because you are muggleborn, but if you back off now Voldemort won't have any other reason to target you."
"You're talking about me abandoning you again, aren't you? I won't do it, Harry! Not even if you act like you want me to." she replied forcefully. At this Harry and Daphne shared a look and nodded, as if they were waiting on her to say what she did. Harry walked over to Hermione and pulled her into a friendly, reassuring hug.
"Thank you, Hermione." he said as he released the hug. "I just hope you know what you've gotten yourself into."
"Trouble, I assume. As always." she answered. Daphne watched the friends with a small smile. She did not think that she would ever be the best of friends with Hermione, but it was clear the other girl was now fiercely loyal to Harry. Her disappointment with her own previous behavior had pushed her to that extreme, never again would she betray her friend. When the war finally came, Daphne knew, there was nothing that would keep Hermione from standing by his side. Their job was to help her become a witch that would be useful when that day came.
"So Daphne, what do you think?" Harry turned and asked.
"Welcome to the club." she answered with a shrug. Harry and Hermione both laughed, but then Hermione got an excited look on her face and ran off towards her book bag. She had pulled out several books, looking for the right one, until she eventually found the book she was looking for. She then began rapidly turning the pages.
"She does this sometimes." Harry said to Daphne, loud enough for Hermione to hear. Hermione finally found the page she was looking for and rushed back over to Harry, holding the book out for him to take. "What's this, Hermione?"
"The answer you've been looking for, of course. Instructions on how to perform the Bubble Head Charm, which will allow you to breathe underwater." she stated with a proud smile on her face. Harry and Daphne both wore shocked expressions on their faces, thrilled that Hermione had been able to find the answer to their dilemma when neither of them had yet been able to.
....
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