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From Last Time:

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. "Professor, Weasley and Malfoy are at it again. Come quick!"

"Stay here, you two. And don't get up to any mischief. Might I speak with you both further on this matter?"

"Yes, sir," Daphne answered. Severus grabbed his outer robe, muttering about never being able to finish a cup of tea.

Harry and Daphne quietly discussed their day, the close call before class and what they were looking forward to in the coming year.

Chapter 13: Rita Strikes Again

Harry Potter's Girlfriend Reveals ALL on Gilderoy Lockhart

By Rita Skeeter

In a fabulous interview, I sat down with Harry Potter and his 'girlfriend' to discuss how they were dealing with the new changes in their lives. While they remained close-lipped about the nature of their relationship, they were very open about their feelings – especially towards their latest professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. Potter's guardian, who is tall, dark and handsome, was also present and revealed that he was at school with Mr Lockhart… mysteries abound!

Miss Greengrass states that the golden haired princess (her apparent nickname for him) is a fraud and deserves to rot in Azkaban for the rest of his life. She has been heard multiple times throughout the summer and start of term to have said that "all his books are useless fairy tales." And get this folks, the dates overlap. When I heard this, I went straight to Flourish and Blotts to see for myself and would you believe… the future Lady Potter was right!

Mr Potter reported that the new Professor not only gave a quiz on himself but unleashed an entire cage full of pixies into the room and then ran. While there were no serious injuries, Harry expressed his concern at having to lure the pixies back to safety and clean up the damage. After all, he is only eleven.

For more on Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass, see page 4.

"What the hell is this?" Daphne hissed. "I'm not insulted by the girlfriend comment but I said those things to you and Professor Snape in private."

"Daph, call him Severus when it's just us. He is technically your father-in-law."

Daphne giggled and kissed his cheek. "Oh Harry, what are we going to do?"

"About what?"

"I think she knows," Daphne shuddered as she leaned against Harry. They were relaxing quietly on his bed while everyone else played chess in the common room.

"Knows?"

"Harry, read the end of the second paragraph!"

Harry did as requested, and his eyes widened a little. "The future Lady Potter was right. Oh, that does complicate things slightly. Uh, we'll speak with him."

"Harry, I'm worried. What if it gets out?"

"Then it does. Your dad did suggest warding the area."

"But hasn't Severus done that?"

"Maybe there's one he missed. Anyway, the rest of the article is good and she saved me the job of telling people how fake Lockhart is."

Daphne snorted. She couldn't deny that fact. A squawk interrupted their conversation, and they looked up to find Hedwig at the window.

"Hey girl," Daphne crooned. "What have you got for us?"

The snowy owl held out her leg, revealing a note attached. Harry got up and gently removed it. He made his way back to the bed, heart racing. Was someone responding to the article? Was it Rita herself? Or had they done something to put themselves in great trouble? Harry handed the note to Daphne. "You open it."

With shaking hands, Daphne slit the letter open.

Dear Harry and Daphne

I've just read the article and I must say I'm very concerned. If Rita Skeeter figures this out, the whole world will know. She already knows you're betrothed, Harry… but the longer we can protect Daphne, the better.

I'd like to meet with the two of you in Severus' office this afternoon at 3 pm. We need to come up with a plan. I hope we can figure out how she got in. If we can figure out her strategy, we can stop her.

Lastly, I'd like to say once more how proud I am of you both. From the moment you discovered the contract, you've acted with complete maturity. I couldn't be happier to have you as my daughter and my son-in-law.

With love,

Dad

HP DG HP DG

Severus wasn't at all surprised when Harry and Daphne turned up in his office on the day the article was released.

"Harry, Daphne, it's good to see you."

Harry's eyes softened at his adoptive father's greeting. "I wish it were under better circumstances. Daphne's father is coming to talk with us all, you included."

"I am aware of the situation, Harry. Sit down and I'll get us some hot chocolate. Did you have a good day otherwise?"

Daphne chuckled. "The Weasley boy was making rude comments about Hermione, so his sister marched right on up to him and did her best impression of her mother, rapping him on the head and screeching at him. She might be a Slytherin but she knows when to be loud."

"Ah, I remember many an outburst from Molly. We were in the order together. It's a pity he's turned out the way he has."

"He's jealous," Marcus said from the doorway. "He sees how happy Harry is with you and your friends and wishes he could be a part of it."

"Daddy?! You're here already?"

"I arrived early. How are you feeling?"

"Scared," she admitted shyly. Her father hugged her tightly.

Harry smiled sadly. "I think the worst thing is, we're only twelve, and if the news gets out too early, people might attack us instead."

Severus sighed. "Son, we're doing all we can to protect you. But you're right. Something has gone wrong and we're all paying the price."

An elf popped in with hot chocolate for Harry and Daphne, coffee for Severus and Marcus, and biscuits for them to share amongst themselves.

Harry took a moment to look back at his journey in the wizarding world so far. He'd gone from a boring, unnoticed freak to celebrity within seconds (to him at least) and had explored a new world that he'd not known existed. Later that month, he'd packed his trunk and the day after that, headed off to Hogwarts to learn about magic. There, he'd been sorted into Slytherin, where he'd met others who were like him – aware that there was something deeper than what appeared to be on the surface, and willing to change the things that needed to be. His first year had whipped by like a snitch in a frenzy to get away from its seeker and before he knew it, he'd developed a rather large crush on Daphne (who decided she rather liked him back). He also had a home to come back to, thanks to the Head of Slytherin House, Professor Snape, who'd discovered the truth of Harry's upbringing and demanded something be done about it. On his twelfth birthday, he'd discovered that being drawn to Daphne was fate, as years beforehand their great grandfathers had made an agreement that bound the pair for life. And now, here they were, attacked by Rita Skeeter, being taught Defence Against the Dark Arts by a fool, and dealing with far more attention than they wanted.

"Harry, what is it?" Marcus asked gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I was just thinking about my time in the wizarding world and the fact that there's been someone after me every year."

Severus felt that there was something else Harry wasn't sharing, so he cleared his throat and said "what else, son?"

Harry looked up, surprised. "How did you know?"

"That you didn't share everything? You're very like your mother, and in some ways, myself. I knew what to look for."

Harry sighed. "I just… how does that woman get her information? Last year, I was in the hospital wing unaware of the contract's very existence, and yet somehow she knew of it. Then, she knows anything and everything about the abuse I went through, and now, not only has she figured out that Daphne is the future Lady Potter, she basically quoted us word for word on Lockhart."

"She must be listening to our conversations somehow," Daphne mused.

Marcus shifted his weight, frowning. "I didn't pick anything up when I scanned you. Besides, you two weren't having a conversation either of the first two times."

"The only ones present in the headmaster's office when I told him about Harry's relatives were Albus, Minerva, myself and Amelia, none of whom would have leaked information. She's clever, that's for sure and certain."

A theory began to form in Severus' mind. "I'll be back shortly. I need to ask Albus something."

Everyone nodded their agreement, and Severus left, his thoughts racing."

HP SS HP SS HP SS

As he strode towards the headmaster's office, Severus' heart pounded like a drum. He hadn't felt this frightened or exhilarated since Lily had forgiven him. The softest kiss, she'd given him, whispering "I love you." His heart pounded – in the past, looking back had always proven successful. It provided a new perspective and allowed one to notice things that weren't obvious.

"Chocolate Frog! Albus! Are you there?" he yelled towards the door once he reached the bottom of the staircase.

A soft click indicated the headmaster was indeed there. Severus sighed breathily as he allowed the stairs to gently push him up. "Yes, my dear boy. What is it?"

"I need your pensieve."

"How interesting. Why is that?"

Severus took a deep breath. "I think I've figured out how Rita Skeeter gets her information."

A surprised look entered Albus' eyes. "Really? How?"

"Just get the pensieve, and come with me," Severus growled lightly.

There was a few moments of tense silence while the headmaster gathered his supplies.

HP SS HP SS

"You know what? We need to take a stand!" Daphne cried passionately.

"How?" her father asked, while Harry looked on, interested.

"We set her up, give her something that's irresistible."

"Such as?" Harry asked.

"We could share a kiss in a place where there's a lot of people," Daphne suggested.

Her father frowned, slightly uncomfortable. "You're twelve years old, sweetie. I'm not sure that's quite appropriate yet. Besides, people don't know the whole truth, only that you 'like' each other."

"What do you suggest then, daddy?"

He thought for a moment. "Her pattern so far has been to report on events or occurrences that affect you, Harry. How about dropping little tiny bites of information? If she's written about things you've said or private conversations such as the one in the headmaster's office, there's a high chance that she's got a way of listening in that we haven't yet thought of."

"Exactly what I figured out," said Severus, entering the room with the headmaster. "I have a theory, and I think the evidence might just prove it."

Harry jumped, not expecting his guardian to have come back so soon. Daphne sat again, perching at the edge of the couch in anticipation.

"Now, you kids probably don't know all that much about animagi. To refresh, an animagi is someone who can turn into an animal at will. They can be anything from a rat to a dog, and in some cases, an insect."

Marcus began to catch on. "So the room is bugged, in the literal sense."

Severus nodded. "I believe so. I vaguely remember the sound of wings coming from the direction of the window in Albus' office the day before the story of the abuse Harry suffered was released."

"Is that why you wanted the pensieve?" Albus asked.

"Yes, I wanted to study our memories."

Albus' eyes came alight with recognition. He himself had taught the young man before him the value of looking back. As it turned out, some lessons really did stick.

A/N: So sorry for the delay – between my internship to finish my degree and spraining my arm, it's been hard to write. It's also why this chapter is shorter – the amount of time I can write is a lot less. Ps, I will definitely add to this chapter when I'm rewriting it.. so if you feel like something is missing, let me know nicely in the reviews. I've read back through the story and taken note of any forgotten plots I've started and points I've made (like making the contract public news in third year etc). I was highly disappointed to find that Lockhart was actually a Ravenclaw but hey, this is fanfic, so he can stay a Hufflepuff. Thank you all for your lovely words and awesome suggestions! There'll be a little time jump after this chapter since the first few days of term have lasted two to three chapters. My question for the end of this chapter is: who should Hermione's magical guardian be?