Chapter 6

By the time October rolled around, a routine was established among the students. Though the absence of their deceased classmates was still felt, new friend groups had started to form. Living at Hogwarts continued to be difficult. But it was getting a little bit better with time. The panic attacks amongst the students weren't happening as often as during the start of term. Maybe their bodies were too exhausted.

Daphne spent her meals with Astoria and sat with Harry and Elsie in classes. She varied her free time between them, feeling like a charity case. They had their own friend groups. Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained inseparable. Ron and Hermione were civil to her, but they didn't care for her presence. It was obvious in their reluctance to extend invitations to her when she was sitting with them. The Hufflepuff seventh years were a tight-knit bunch that were wary of outsiders. Elsie had invited her to spend time in their common room once. It hadn't gone well and they both agreed never to do that again. The friendliness of Helga's house was just another war casualty.

The blonde knew that the fragile peace wouldn't last. Tension hung in the air and it was only a matter of time before someone snapped. Daphne's money had been on the Slytherins or the Hufflepuffs. All it would take was another harmless firework to disturb the status quo. Little did she know that she would be present when it happened. Something that was so little, but would have lasting effects.

Daphne joined Harry in the library and wasn't surprised to see his friends sitting with him. But when she walked up, she noticed that the group seemed on edge. Harry stared resolutely at his textbook, while Hermione kept shooting him glances. This seemed to only aggravate Ron.

"Is this a bad time?" Daphne asked taking her usual seat across from Harry.

"Ye-" Hermione started.

Harry interrupted her. "No."

The vehemence in his voice surprised her. Daphne searched his face, hoping to find the answers. Despite spending time with them, she was still very much an outsider. They seemed to have the ability to communicate without talking, each knowing what the other needed instinctively. It made sense. How many times had they gone through life-threatening adventures together? Daphne envied that ability. It reminded her of her old friends.

They had worked silently for ten minutes before the tension finally snapped.

"Harry, you should really think-" the witch beside her started.

"No," he snapped. "I have done my part. I fucking died. I almost lost everyone."

"I know, but-"

"You don't know. If you did, you wouldn't ask."

The redhead's ears went red. "Don't talk to her like that. You know she's right. We've all suffered in the war," Ron said, speaking over Harry's attempted interruption, "But it's not over. Look around. It's chaos. We need someone to lead us and everyone's looking to you, mate."

"I don't want it. I never did. I thought you two would understand," Harry said, shoving his things in his bag and storming out of the library.

Daphne watched him go. This was the first time she's seen discord among the best friends. Was she supposed to follow him? The other two didn't appear to notice that she was still here in their frustration.

"Maybe we should have waited," Hermione said finally.

Ron glared. "Why? Harry's not a child. We've given him enough time. Everyone's lost someone."

"He's already given so much," she admitted.

"And we haven't? We've been with him every step of the way," the redhead said. "There's a huge power vacuum and if we're not careful, we'll have another Tom Riddle or Lucius Malfoy take advantage of it."

Daphne frowned. "Why does Harry have to be the one to do it?"

"It's always him, isn't it?" Ron answered. She thought she detected a hint of venom in his voice, but she couldn't be sure.

"Do you mind talking to him? He's not going to want to talk to either of us," Hermione said.

Ron huffed. "You're always so bloody concerned about Harry. It makes me wonder why you're not dating him."

The blonde took that as her cue to leave. Hermione's eyes watered and Daphne hurried away. Everyone knew how explosive Ron and Hermione's fights were. Madam Pince stormed past her towards their table. Relieved that she escaped, she started her search for Harry. She wasn't sure how she had gotten roped into this situation. She had only dealt with Harry in a good mood. The version she saw this afternoon was unfamiliar.

She wasn't sure what the fight was about. What did they expect Harry to do? Be Minister of Magic? Had he gotten an offer for a position of power? Did they want him to go to the press? Make a stand like Ron had done at the start of term?

It took her over an hour and an almost run-in with Pansy before she found him. Harry was sitting in the stands of the Quidditch Pitch, sitting alone in the light rain. Raising her hood over her hair, Daphne sat next to him.

After performing a warming and rain-repelling charm, the blonde waited for him to make the first move. She didn't know what to say. Her mouth opened several times as she started and stopped herself from saying the wrong thing. Even with his sullen look, her heart raced with his close proximity.

"You should go. I'm not in a good headspace right now," Harry said suddenly.

She bit her lip. "What kind of friend would I be if I left?"

"I'm asking you to go. I'm not at my best."

"You don't need to be at your best to deserve my friendship. We can't always be happy and positive."

Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before putting them back on. Had his green eyes always been so bright? His eyelashes would make any girl jealous.

"I hurt people closest to me. They either die or I lash out. It's better for you to go."

"Then don't lash out?" She said, feeling nervous. "Why don't you tell me what caused the fight?"

They were on fragile ground. He reminded her of Pansy in this moment. Her best friend had so many walls and it took a lot to get through her tests. Daphne realized that the Harry she had known so far was only a small piece of him. He had been hurt. She understood Ginny Weasley's desire to fix him. Daphne felt that same protective emotion well up within her, but she clamped it down. You couldn't fix people. They had to sort it out themselves. It was a lesson that she had learned the hard way.

"The Ministry wants me to leave Hogwarts to work for them or take on a leadership position at Hogwarts,"

Harry explained, sounding bitter. "I haven't done anything to earn it. I didn't think I'd survive the war. Those moments where I imagined a future where I did, I was living a life that I chose. But other people want to pressure me to do what they want."

"Did you explain that to your friends?"

He looked away, running a hand through his messy hair. "It's complicated."

"Why do you think you don't deserve it?"

"Because there's nothing special about me. I'm just a boy whose parents were killed and a megalomaniac decided that I was the key to his downfall. I don't have any special powers. Hermione's a million times smarter than me."

Daphne hid her surprise. Is that really how he saw himself? "Then why did you fight him? Why were you one of the key players in the war?"

He didn't answer and she was scared that she misspoke. There was so much she didn't know, context she didn't have. How could he not realize how special he was? That people were drawn to him like a moth to flame? That he had survived things that would have destroyed other people and most days, he was still willing to see the positive side of things?

"I couldn't stand back while my friends were in danger. I tried to avoid it, but everyone was so keen on pushing me to the front of everything that it was easier to just go with it."

"You've done more than you realize, Harry."

He chuckled darkly. "I killed Riddle. That makes a murderer, not a hero."

"It's not about the big things that everyone always talks about, though that's pretty incredible in itself," Daphne explained. "You can't stop yourself from helping others. You helped me during my panic attack, offered me your friendship when my friends turned their backs on me. I've seen you defend the younger students from bullies."

"Anyone would do that."

"No, they really wouldn't. It's easier to do nothing. Sitting with someone who's grieving or having a panic attack is harder. I've learned that people will always do what's easier."

"Now you sound like Dumbledore."

She playfully shoved him. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"Try telling that to Ron and Hermione."

"I'm not sure what's going on between you three, but you'll figure it out."

Her warming charm had worn off and the cold seeped through her cloak. She didn't want to ruin the mood by pulling out her wand and recasting the spell. Harry had thought he would repel her but she preferred this side to him. This Harry was real. Human.

"I think that you'll be great at whatever you decide to do," Daphne said when he didn't answer. "But you've given the world enough. Do what you want to do. What lights you up. The wizarding world had problems long before you were born and it'll have problems long after we're gone. It's not up to you to fix everything."

When Harry didn't respond, Daphne feared the worst. Did she overstep? Had she been too honest? The warming charm had dissipated and the rain had drenched her hair long ago. She knew that if they stayed out here much longer they'd get sick. Harry seemed to have similar thoughts.

"Let's go inside. I think I'll be alright now," he said, helping her up.

Daphne followed him back towards the school. She was usually pretty good at reading people, but she had no idea what was going through his mind right now. He paused right outside the main doors and turned to her. She searched his face again for answers but came up empty.

"Thank you for staying with me. People aren't often on my side," he said looking at the ground. "I think I need to be alone right now."

Her heart plummeted as she realized she had messed up. When had she misstepped? Daphne racked her mind trying to determine where she had gone wrong. She had begun to care about the man in front of her. Her life would be poorer without him in it. Before the blonde could register what he was doing, Harry grabbed her hand and squeezed it before disappearing inside the castle.

She cradled her hand against her chest and couldn't help the small smile on her face. Closing her eyes, Daphne could still feel his warm, calloused hand in hers. Maybe she hadn't messed up after all. She grinned as she walked into the castle, feeling lighter than she had in months.

#

"Merlin, is it that time already?" Daphne asked when she glanced at the clock. "I should have been back to the common room by now."

Elsie looked up. "It's not even close to curfew yet."

"I just hate walking in the dungeons at night. I should head back."

Daphne quickly packed up her things. She was being silly, but Harry's warning at the start of term stuck with her. It was common knowledge that Slytherins were targets in the halls. People pretended not to notice. They probably told themselves that the Dark Lord's former house deserved it. Some did. But the younger years did not. Harry and Hermione were the only one that went out of their way to protect the younger Slytherins. But they couldn't be everywhere at once.

The purple-haired witch frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine. I'm just a bit jumpy tonight."

"You would tell me if something was wrong, right?"

Daphne smiled. "Of course I would. It's been a long day and the shadows creep me out. That's all."

The lie came too easily to her lips. It wasn't that she wanted to hide the truth from Elsie, but Slytherin habits and secrecy were hard to break. Daphne said goodbye to her friend and left the comfort of the library. The long trek to her common room wasn't something she was looking forward to. Why did they have to be in the dungeons? It was so far away from everything.

The corridors were empty. The flickering torches made it seem like things were moving out of the corner of her eye, but each time she looked, the hallway was empty. She grabbed her wand, hiding it so that she wasn't immediately disarmed if she came upon an attacker. Daphne knew she was being silly. The war was over. No one would attack her.

Her nerves had finally settled when she heard a strange noise. Her grip on her wand tightened. She was almost at the entrance of her common room. It was probably a rat. Daphne had just convinced herself of that when she heard the sound of voices further down the hallway. She would've ignored it all together. But she recognized one of the voices.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Daphne inched forward until she was right around the corner. There were two male students threatening a Slytherin.

"I don't even now how you show your face around here," one of them said to her housemate. "No one's forgotten that you wanted to turn Harry over to Voldemort."

"How does it feel losing the war?" the other taunted.

Pansy sounded angry, but there was a hint of fear in her voice. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

She tried to leave, but was forced back against the wall. "I don't think you understand how this works. You've gotten off lightly. Too lightly."

"So we've taken it upon ourselves to punish those who got off scot-free."

The common room was only a step away. All Daphne had to do was turn around and pretend she had never heard the commotion. No one would know. She was only a witch. There were two of them. The odds weren't in her favour. Interfering would only mean they'd target her next. She took a step towards the entrance before sighing and moving towards Pansy. The conversation she'd had with Harry about people preferring the easier choice came rushing back. He would've interfered without hesitation. Gripping her wand with her sweaty hand, she pointed it at both of them.

"Expelliarmus!" she said, catching the three wands that came flying towards her. They must've disarmed Pansy earlier.

When they faced her, Daphne was surprised to recognize them. Michael Corner and Wayne Hopkins. She didn't know either of them. They had attended some classes together, though she struggled to remember which. Pansy refused to meet her yes. Daphne wanted to roll her eyes at the girl, but the two wizards advancing on her stole her attention.

"Why don't we all part ways? Pretend this didn't happen?" Daphne asked backing up.

"You're no better than her," Corner said. "I don't know how Harry hasn't seen past your lies yet."

Fear clawed at her throat as they continued to advance on her. She wanted to defend herself, but how could she? She had done awful things under the Carrows. Things that Harry didn't know. Daphne realized that she would lose his friendship once he found out. Who had she been trying to fool? She couldn't take back the past. It would forever lurk in the shadows.

"Colloshoo!" Daphne said in a rush, giving her wand a little half swirl.

The boys stumbled as their shoes stuck to the ground. Pansy wasted no time running towards Daphne.

"I don't want to cause any harm," Daphne said placing Corner and Hopkins' wands on the ground a few feet away.

The girls hurried into their common rooms and breathed a sign of relief when the door shut behind them. Daphne was dazed. The adrenaline made it difficult to think clearly. It seemed impossible that Corner and Hopkins had been the ones targeting Slytherins. The war was over. Didn't they want peace? Hadn't Corner been in Harry's defence group?

"Colloshoo? Of all the spells you could use…" Pansy trailed off, still sounding breathless.

Daphne grinned. "It did the trick didn't it? It was the first thing that popped into my head."

They both shared a laugh before the memories of the past month returned to them. The girls stiffened and Daphne gave Pansy back her wand. There was so much she wanted to say to the raven-haired girl. She felt like she was reaching out, waiting to see if Pansy would accept her. But coldness replaced the warmth in her sapphire eyes and Daphne knew that their friendship had been forever altered. The implicit trust was gone.

"Thanks for your help," Pansy said straightening her uniform. "But this changes nothing between us."

Daphne scoffed. "So that it's then? We're going to throw away more than a decade's worth of friendship? Over a boy?"

"Draco is more than a boy. And it's not even about that anymore. I don't even know who you are."

"I'm still the same person I've always been."

Pansy shook her head. "You're hanging out with halfbloods and mudbloods. See, I can't even say the word without you flinching. You're turning your back on everything we were taught."

"Maybe it was all wrong! Have you ever considered that?"

"You're only saying that because you're in love with Potter."

Daphne took a step back. "I'm not in love with him. He's my friend."

"You're an idiot. Anyone can see the way you two act around each other. He's the enemy. He's responsible for all the shit that went wrong in our lives!"

"No, he's not. He's just a boy who was placed in a terrible, impossible situation. Why can't you accept that we were wrong?"

"We weren't wrong! Halfbloods and mudbloods are dangerous. There's a reason our worlds are separate, but they're so eager to destroy the Statute of Secrecy and put us all at risk."

"Pansy, I know you're scared-"

Her eyes flashed. "I'm not scared. You're delusional."

Before Daphne could stop her, Pansy disappeared into the dorms. She wanted to follow, but knew that the raven-haired witch would probably curse her. She collapsed onto the leather couch. Maybe Pansy was right. Daphne was changing. But wasn't that a good thing? Weren't you supposed to learn and grow? It seemed better than to be stuck in your ways and bitter with the world.

She knew Pansy better than anyone. Her friend didn't actually hate halfbloods and muggleborns. Pansy had shared her disgust when the Carrows were at school. But blood purity was something they knew. The importance of tradition and the tragedy of the witch burnings was drilled into them since childhood. Ron was right. Everyone was lost in this post-war world. Clinging to the familiar was more comfortable than stepping into the unknown. Blood purity would become irrelevant - if things moved in the right direction - and that would change the pureblood traditions. It made her head hurt thinking of everything they were facing.

They were all struggling in this post-war world. Only time would tell if they'd be plunged into yet another war or if there'd finally be peace.

Author's Note: Thank you guys for all your support and your messages checking in to see how I was doing. Last week got a little busy, but better late than never right? I'm curious to know your answer: How do you think a society heals after war? Let me know in a message or review!