#*draco malfoy

Daphne gently rotated the rock that she was holding with her tweezers as she ever so slightly adjusted the magnification and focus on her magnifying spectacles. If she could get the perfect focus, perhaps she could see -

"Ah, there you are, Daphne!"

Daphne jumped in her seat, startled at the shrill voice and let out an exasperated sigh as she glanced through her spectacles and noticed they were once again out of focus. Bloody brilliant, Daphne thought to herself as she gently set down the geode and removed her spectacles.

Turning her head to glance up at her mother, she said with a bored tone, "What is it now?"

Fiona Greengrass was a beautiful woman, but her beauty had been worn down by the war. Her honey blonde hair that once shone in the sunlight now seemed dull and graying, and while her skin may have once been described as porcelain, it was no more pallid. The wrinkles of worry on her forehead and around her eyes were more prominent now, especially as she confusedly moved her gaze between the geode and her daughter.

"What on earth is that, Daphne?" Fiona asked, her tone clearly expressing her bewilderment.

"An assignment for training," Daphne replied with a shrug.

"Ah, right, you're still in that silly Curse-Breaker phase," Fiona said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

You cannot hex your mother, a voice in Daphne's head reminded. You can move out, though. Taking a deep breath, she instead asked, "Is that why you came over here?"

"No, no, of course not," Fiona replied in a cheery tone. She sat down across from her daughter as she continued, "I need your help with a little project."

"Project?"

"Er, dinner party."

Daphne rolled her eyes and shook her head at her mother. Of course, the woman wanted to host a dinner party, of all things. "I hate to remind you of this," Daphne started, "but with what money? You don't work, Astoria's in school, and if you think I'm contributing to this nonsense from my meagre trainee salary then you are in for the shock of your life."

Once upon a time, Daphne would have been utterly terrified to speak to either of her parents like that. Now, though, things were different. There was no longer any fear hanging over her head. Her parents had been on the losing side of a war, her father's trial was finally coming to a conclusion, she had done her part and given her names, and now she was steadily on the path to her own career. All Daphne wanted now was as much distance as possible from the traditions that her name stood for.

"Oh, honestly Daphne, you can be so full of yourself," Fiona bit back with a roll of her eyes. "I only want your help in the planning process. You know, a little mother-daughter project."

The skepticism was evident on Daphne's face. "All right, what kind of dinner party is this?" she asked.

"It's to... make amends, of sorts - you know?"

Ah, there it is. Daphne let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. "You're really something, you know that?" she muttered.

"Daphne, listen to me: we have nothing," Fiona said sternly. "The Ministry looks at us like scum - us! And because of how close we were with the Malfoys and you and Astoria fighting against the Dark Lord, even our peers hate us. We need to do damage control, love."

This was the sort of thing that Fiona Greengrass considered a national crisis. Everyone hates us - even the mudbloods! It drove Daphne mad. She would be the first to admit that, at first, she had done anything and everything to defy her parents' pureblood ideals simply because of her father's abusive nature. As she got older, though, Daphne truly started to understand how tiring it all was. And for what? A few fake friends that would all rather save their own arses anyways? It was honestly pitiful.

Still, she lived in the Greengrass Manor - for now - and the least she could do for her distraught mother was humour her in some way.

"What did you have in mind?" Daphne asked tiredly.

"Well, I've been thinking that it really would be useful to have a nice mix of families," Fiona started with an innocent shrug. The skeptical look reappeared on Daphne's face, "you know - old friends and new friends. And it just came to me - you have quite a good relationship with a certain well-liked pureblood family."

"Oh, so you just want me to get the Shacklebolts here - not to actually spend time with you," Daphne stated, the bitterness very evident in her tone.

"Oh, come off it, love," Fiona said dismissively, "it would be a huge favour to me."

Just like everything else I do, Daphne thought to herself. Still, if there was one useful thing she learned growing up in a pureblood family, it was to keep your thoughts to yourself.

"Fine - it'll be easier than dealing with your cold shoulder, anyways."

Daphne fidgeted with her hands as she suppressed a shiver - a response to the cold winter wind blowing in her face as she waited just outside the doors of Greengrass Manor. Her mother had put her on door duty for her long-awaited dinner party. Who better than the Greengrass daughter that was both famous and infamous for defying her parents' ways? Truly, let's parade her on the street while shouting 'shame!' at the top of our lungs.

Daphne was, possibly, a tad bitter about the whole arrangement.

Her demeanour softened just slightly as she spotted three very familiar faces approaching the steps of Greengrass Manor: Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa. Lucius and Narcissa weakly returned her smile, while Draco stepped forward and hugged Daphne.

"Fiona's got you playing hostess for this charade, has she?" he asked with a laugh.

"Draco, be polite," Narcissa chided mildly.

"It's quite all right - he's not far off," Daphne said to Narcissa. "I've still gotta wait out here so I'll see you lot inside."

"Don't cause too much trouble," Draco joked as he gave her a nudge and walked past her.

"No promises!" Daphne replied cheekily.

It took a few more minutes of waiting in the cold for the last of the party guests to make their way to the manor. Daphne's features spread into an unbreakable grin as soon as she recognized Keegan, his parents - Kristopher and Zhara - closely following behind him.

The Shacklebolts and Greengrasses had always gotten along decently well - until Voldemort came back, of course. After that, her father had gone and ruined practically every relationship their family had had with anyone remotely normal. Still, when Zhara had planned Keegan a surprise party to celebrate the end of his Obliviator training a couple of years back, the Greengrasses had been added to the guest list. That had been the day that their flirtatious adventure had started.

Unfortunately, a month after that, the Minsitry had fallen to Voldemort. Keegan and his younger sister, Audrey, had joined the Order and Daphne... well, she did what every other Slytherin did: returned to Hogwarts and tried to act like everything was fine. Except for Daphne, it really hadn't been fine.

In any case, at the end of it all, Daphne had been surprised to find Keegan right where she had left him - figuratively speaking, of course. They had tried their best to pick up where they had left off, but still kept things under wraps. With her father still on trial and his Death Eater aunt, Kelsey Rowle, at large, it was best to keep their relationship hidden. Then, one day, Kelsey had been captured and next thing Daphne knew, Keegan was standing on the steps of Greengrass Manor saying she deserved more.

Well, who was she to argue with that logic?

Once they had told their families about their relationship, the reactions were more or less as expected. Fiona had been shocked that her daughter was dating a pureblood, even if he was from a blood traitor family. Kristopher and Zhara had easily taken a liking to her on account of actually being able to hold an intelligent conversation about something other than floral arrangements - which was apparently the most they expected from traditional pureblood women. Regardless of everyone else's reactions, Daphne was certain of one thing: her life was finally looking up.

"You're looking quite lovely," Keegan remarked as he approached Daphne with a smile.

He bent his neck to give her a short kiss just as his parents approached. "Kristopher, Zhara - I'm so glad you could make it," Daphne greeted politely. "Mum will really be delighted to see you."

"Oh, I'm sure she will be," Zhara replied, her smile somewhat contrived. She clearly wasn't a fan of the whole arrangement and, frankly, Daphne agreed.

"We'll see you two inside," Kristopher suggested as he gently ushered his wife inside.

"So, no Audrey?" Daphne asked curiously. She wasn't all too surprised. Audrey Shacklebolt was often regarded as peculiarly headstrong and proud for a Slytherin - until she would dupe you in some clever way and shamelessly remind you why she was sorted into the house of the snakes in the first place. Like their mother, Keegan's younger sister was amazingly talented at exuding authority.

"No, she made it pretty clear that she wasn't coming if Percy wasn't invited," Keegan replied. "In fact, her exact words were 'I don't want any of her shitty discriminatory wine if she can't even stand the thought of a Weasley in her own home.'"

"Well, I tried my best, but you know how Mum is," Daphne said with a shrug. Her mother had been adamant that the purpose of this dinner party was to make amends with old friends, not befriend 'pacifist blood traitors.' Sometimes, Daphne wondered if the whole war had somehow been erased from her mother's memory.

Keegan nodded knowingly, laughing a bit. His eyes suddenly shifted to the side of her neck and he raised his hand to gently touch the scar that stood out on Daphne's pale skin with a light frown on his face. "No Glamour Charms today?" he asked as he met her eyes.

He knew all too well how horrible her father was. Bruises on her arms, scars on her back, face reddened in the shape of a hand... the list of ways that Archibald Greengrass' anger could manifest was endless. The scars Daphne had received from her father over the years were always her biggest insecurity and she hid them as much as she could, but Keegan had always been comforting about them. He would say they were the scars of a survivor, not a victim.

"Mum wants to make amends," Daphne started, "what better way to do that than with honesty. Took a bit of convincing, but Astoria isn't using any either."

"Good," Keegan said with a nod and a reassuring smile on his face, "you have nothing worth hiding, Daphne."

Daphne smiled back at him. "All right, let's head inside before Mum starts sputtering some nonsense about my innocence," she joked as she linked her arm with his.

Keegan laughed and muttered, "A little late for that, isn't it?"

Daphne lightly smacked his arm but couldn't stop the laughter from escaping her or the red creeping up her neck as the made their way through Greengrass Manor. The sound of classical music only got louder, until they finally reached the spacious sitting area where their house elf, Silas, was eagerly scurrying around and serving drinks. Fiona was laughing about something trivial with Wilma Crabbe, while Xavier Nott silently sat in an armchair as he sipped at his wine. Everyone else was dispersed throughout the room making small talk, and as for Draco...

Daphne sighed as she set her eyes on her friend. He was practically frozen his place, unmoving. At first, she thought he was having yet another one of his ridiculous, fatalistic episodes - and of all bloody times to do so - until she realized how steadily fixated his gaze was.

"Do you see what I see?" Daphne quietly asked Keegan.

Keegan shifted his gaze to Draco, watching the younger man carefully, until realization clouded his face. "Oh, that's interesting," he whispered.

"I think I'll go talk to him," Daphne decided.

"Daph, don't meddle," Keegan warned, giving her a knowing look.

"Me, meddle? Never."

Alas, she was quite the meddler.

At first, it had almost irritated Draco how right Daphne had been. He was being fatalistic, and truly a horrible friend. More than that, though, he was being a self-centred prick. It never really mattered to him if other people thought that of him, but Daphne... well, she was supposed to be his one true confidant. If she couldn't trust him, then he must have truly fucked up.

After Daphne's warning to get his life together and stop moping around, Draco had done just that. He had cleaned up and started helping out with the Malfoy Manor's financials - meagre as they were - as well as taking a job at a shop in Knockturn Alley. It was all for the time being, anyways. At the end of the day, Draco was hoping for something a bit more professional.

The major upside, though to getting his life together had been winning back Daphne's friendship. They were finally back to their light joking and good-natured gossip. When Daphne had told him about her mother's ridiculous dinner party idea, they had taken turns imitating her reaction to different party guests. Draco had figured that, once the dinner party actually came around, they would be doing something very similar in a corner with the added bonus of some elderflower wine.

Unfortunately, Draco's vision had dissipated as soon as he had laid eyes on her.

He had been in the poshly decorated sitting area for scarcely a minute when his eyes saw a flash of nearly pitch black hair and his ears perked at the sound of an elegant laugh. Turning his head, mostly out of curiosity, Draco found himself freezing in place as his eyes landed on Astoria Greengrass.

Astoria had always been a bit aggravating to Draco. He vaguely recalled her trying to force herself into the games and secrets that him and Daphne would have when they were kids. Her trademark while at Hogwarts had been frizzy hair pulled back into pigtails with green ribbon and a childlike, wide-eyed stare. She had been two years his junior and a hardly noticeable thorn on his side.

But then, in that very moment, he hardly recognized her.

Her dark hair was sleek and smooth, hanging loose in waves down her back. Her warm brown eyes drew him in as she laughed. Astoria Greengrass was no longer the annoying, childish, little sister of his best friend. No, as far as he could tell, she may as well have been a woman that ruled her own empire.

Draco could fill the inner turmoil of being attracted to his best friend's sister already begin.

A hand clasping onto his shoulder brusquely snapped Draco out of his dreamy staring at Astoria. He turned to see who had startled him and felt himself tense up as his eyes met Daphne's.

"Daydreaming?" she asked. Her tone sounded innocent but he could see the knowing glint in her eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Draco replied cooly.

"Oh, so you won't mind if I just call Astoria over and - "

"Daphne, for the love of Merlin, this stays between us."

A victorious smile on her face, Daphne let out a sigh and removed her hand from Draco's shoulder. "Don't get your hopes up, Draco," she warned.

"Why's that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because she's here with her new boyfriend."

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Draco turned his gaze to Astoria once more and this time found that someone else had joined her. He recognized the boy - Sebastian Daley, a Slytherin in Astoria's year. Draco felt a mix of disappointment and hatred surge in him as he watched Astoria's supposed boyfriend snake an arm around her waist and kiss her cheek.

"Look - I'd be surprised if he's 'the one' or anything like that," Daphne started, "but please promise me you won't push him out of a window or something. This is my sister we're talking about."

Draco turned his head to look at Daphne once again and forced a soft chuckle. "I promise, don't worry," he said. "Guess I should take care of myself first, anyways."

Daphne gently patted him on the pack, a kind smile on her face. If she was being perfectly honest, the Draco she had known before the war would have been absolutely perfect for Astoria. Pureblood idealism aside, he had always been a perfect gentleman and had had quite the knack for the kind of sweet romantic gestures that Astoria lived for. Now, though, things were different, and Daphne had thought Draco had put it quite well - better to take care of himself before involving anyone else.

Their brief moment of comfort was, unfortunately, rudely interrupted in that moment by the sound of a disgusting splat. With frowns on their faces, everyone looked around the room, searching for the source of the sound. Again, splat. This time, everyone saw the gooey substance dripping down one of the windows.

"What in Merlin's name is that?" Draco asked as he nodded toward the window.

Daphne felt a displeased glare forming on her face. "Eggs," she muttered darkly. "Someone's egging my fucking house."

Turning her head, Daphne found her mother's eyes and curtly said, "I'll handle this," before turning on her heel and briskly walking out of the room.

She faintly heard Keegan's voice say, "I'll go after her," before hearing the sound of his footsteps running to catch up with her.

As soon as he had fallen into step with her, Daphne coldly said, "I can take care of this, I don't need a supervisor."

"I know, but if you need me, I'm here," Keegan replied as Daphne pushed open the front doors to the manor.

Daphne came to a stop once they reached the gates and turned to look at Keegan. She could see the worry very clear on his face and smiled at him. "Look, I know what I'm doing - trust me," she said quietly.

Keegan simply nodded, and that was all Daphne needed.

Turning to face the gates, Daphne took out her wand and cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself. Then, she stepped forward and every so slowly pushed open the front gates of the manor. As the gate opened wider, she could see the perpetrators - three young-looking boys - freeze as their wide eyes fixated on the gate. There was newfound fear in their gazes, because from where they were standing, the gate was opening all on its own. They looked to be about second or third years, so it didn't take long for Daphne to formulate the perfect plan.

Daphne walked towards them quietly and went behind them. She leaned forward, her mouth close to one of the boys' ear, as she hoarsely whispered, "You've upset the ghosts of the manor, boy."

All three boys yelped, jumping forward at her voice. "Where are you? Who are you?" he shouted, panic etched on his face.

Daphne mustered a rather comical cackle. "I am the oldest Greengrass ghost, and now that you've defiled my home, I will haunt you for the rest of your days!"

With that, the three boys shrieked loudly and ran off. Daphne watched them round the corner before taking her wand out and removing the Disillusionment Charm. She crossed her arms, a proud smirk on her face as Keegan stepped through the gates and walked towards her. He looked down at her with an amused grin.

"You really are quite crazy, you know that?" he asked jokingly.

"Oh, you know you like it," Daphne replied with a sly smile.

"Well, I guess I can't deny that," Keegan admitted with a shrug, his hands moving to Daphne's waist. "This place is wearing you out, isn't it?" he asked quietly as he met her eyes.

Daphne slowly nodded, the smile on her face transforming into a look of worry. "I'm the only one that works - and I'd hardly call Curse-Breaker training a steady income," she said quietly, "and Mum just drives me mad, but I guess... family legacy is family legacy, even for me."

"What if..." Keegan started slowly as he pulled Daphne closer to him, "I happened to have a spare key to my place with your name on it."

"You want me to move in with you?" Daphne asked, a surprised look dawning on her face.

"Sure - but on the condition that the ghosts stay here," he replied cheekily.

"I... I have to think on it, if that's all right," Daphne replied slowly. Her gaze shifted to the manor as she quietly added, "It may seem silly but the idea of leaving this place for good... it kind of scares me."

"Of course that's all right," Keegan replied softly. He gently grabbed hold of her hand. "Shall we head back inside then, ghost of Greengrass Manor?"

Discouraged but not surprised, Daphne approached him and sat on the ottoman across from him. She watched him carefully, taking in the dark circles under his eyes, which were a touch bloodshot, his wrinkled shirt, and his unkempt hair. Slowly, he raised the glass to his lips and took a sip, still refusing to look at her.

This was not the Draco Malfoy she knew.

"I miss you, you know," she finally said, once it had become obvious that he would much rather pretend she wasn't there.

Surprisingly, he responded. "I'm right here," he snapped.

"No, you're not."

Again, he turned to her with a scowl. Daphne steeled herself and remained unfazed.

"Seriously, Draco - I don't recognize you," she continued, her tone a bit softer now.

Her nose is buried in a book. Not just any book - a torrid romance novel she stole from Mother's library before leaving for Hogwarts. Not at all befitting for a twelve year-old, surely, but in that case her mother really ought to hide these things better. Ideally, the woman would never notice it was gone or forget all about it come December. Of course, Daphne did consider the possibility that her mother would both notice and remember to scold her daughter by the holidays, but she will deal with that if it comes down to it. For now, Daphne is enjoying the silence and solitude that comes along so rarely in the Slytherin Common Room.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Daphne is reminded of this as a Quaffle crashes into her book and falls into her lap. She looks up with a murderous glare to meet the proud eyes of Gregory Goyle. Vincent Crabbe stands right next to him, a similarly proud look on his face. Bloody gits.

"Pass it back, Greengrass," he orders, "if you can even throw a Quaffle, that is. Daddy might get mad if you get your hands dirty."

She is seething with anger. Not so much because she was disturbed, but more so at the mention of her father. Hogwarts is supposed to be her chance to get away from that devil of a man, and yet it seems that she still can't escape his presence.

Before she knows what's happening, her small hands are gripping the Quaffle with all of their strength and she violently throws it back to Goyle. He doesn't expect this and it hits his abdomen with a satisfying thud, causing him to double over. As she smirks, she notices Crabbe draw his wand and step towards her with a menacing glare.

"You think that was funny?" he demands.

"Yes, quite," Daphne replies smartly.

He looks just about ready to shoot a spell at her - what, exactly, she hardly knows. Crabbe is not exactly the epitome of intelligent. However, before he gets to unleash any of his magic unto the young girl, Daphne hears a quick, "Expelliarmus!" and the wand flies out of his hand. He now fixes his glare on his assailant, but it quickly disappears as he recognizes the student.

Draco is by Daphne's side in a matter of seconds. "I highly doubt your father would be happy with you if you hurt a Greengrass," he comments. "I've told you before to leave her alone - it seems you might be going deaf, Crabbe."

Crabbe simply mutters something about loyalties under his breath and turns to leave the common room, Goyle following behind him. As soon as they leave, Draco drops himself onto the couch, taking a seat next to Daphne as he turns to look at her with a smirk.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" he boasts.

"That was the first thing we learned in Charms this year, Draco," she deadpans.

"Saved your life, though," he continues, his boastful tone only slightly diminished.

"I would hardly consider Vincent Crabbe a deadly opponent," she replies.

Draco laughs. "That is a fair point," he admits.

"Still, I suppose I should be grateful that the one and only Draco Malfoy is watching out for me," Daphne continues with a joking tone. Then, leaning toward him slightly, she adds in a whisper, "All the other girls are positively green with envy."

He stared back at her with a blank look for a moment, silence filling the space between them. "Get your eyes checked, then," he finally muttered as he turned his gaze back to the fire.

"Prat," Daphne muttered with a shake of her head. He didn't react.

Draco had been in this half-drunk, unkempt state for a long time. After the war, he had completely shut everyone else out, finished his real seventh year, then simply returned to Malfoy Manor with the sole purpose of maintaining the shut-in personality he had constructed for himself. His parents may have evaded Azkaban by providing names, but that simply meant they were hated by both purebloods and blood traitors. At the end of it all, even over a year later, he felt like he didn't deserve to be alive.

Daphne, however, knew very well that this state had been inevitable even before the Battle of Hogwarts. They had been close friends for their whole lives. They both had their social cliques - Draco with the pureblood sons of his parents' friends and Daphne with their daughters - but at the end of the day those friendships were nothing compared to theirs. They had trust, and that was rare to come by in Slytherin. That was why it had become so painfully obvious to Daphne when things had started to head south in their sixth year.

She had been stupidly hopeful that, someday, the old Draco would return. That hope was getting smaller every day, though. She understood where he was coming from. How do you go from being at the peak of society to jaded outcasts?

"First year, you were annoying and full of yourself," Daphne started, deciding that if he was refusing to open up, then maybe he could at least listen. "Truly, I often fought the urge to smack you - but you were there for me when that Ravenclaw ruined my braids."

"It was Roger Davies and he was a prat," Draco muttered quietly.

Progress, Daphne thought to herself proudly. "Second year, getting that Nimbus 2001 really rushed to your head - but you were still humble enough to open up to me and tell me you were scared of the creature in the Chamber of Secrets."

"I wasn't scared - "

"Your words, not mine," Daphne interrupted with a smirk. "Third year, I got on your case about teasing Potter with that Dementor crap and you actually admitted you felt bad for it. Fourth year, you went with me to the Yule Ball after you'd heard that Montague cheated on me with Tracy Davis."

"I also gave him a bloody good Bat-Bogey Hex," Draco pointed out quietly.

"That you did," Daphne admitted with a small smile. "Fifth year, your ridiculousness peaked with that Inquisitorial Squad shite, but you weren't afraid to come to me in tears when your father got thrown in Azkaban."

This time, Draco stayed silent and kept his eyes focused on his lap.

Daphne took a deep breath. "Sixth year... I lost you, Draco," she said quietly. "You kept secret after secret, you shunned me... but still, when you saw that new welt on my arm from my father, you were there for me. Even then."

Cautiously, Draco looked up and met Daphne's eyes. He could see there was pain and empathy in her gaze, and he instantly felt bad for shutting her out so much. He couldn't help it, though. After the war, he had been at a loss for what to do. For who he was. His whole life and system of being had been stomped on and thrown out the window, and now that he had graduated he was simply expected to fit in. How could he if he couldn't even tell right from wrong?

"Why can't I just be like everyone else?" he finally asked quietly. "Why am I so fucked up."

"Draco, you are not fucked up," Daphne said with a confident tone. "All of us went through the same war."

"You didn't," Draco said quietly. "You always hated your parents' purist crap."

"Not for the right reasons," Daphne pointed out, "I just had an abusive father I wanted to spite."

Draco looked down and shook his head. "You were right, though. And I was wrong. The things I did - "

Daphne stood up from the ottoman in that moment and forcefully grabbed the glass from Draco's hands. He stared up at her with a look of disbelief and annoyance, but she simply stared back with a raised eyebrow.

"You've got to stop feeling sorry for yourself," Daphne started. "It's not all about you."

Draco scoffed and looked away from her, crossing his arms as he looked out the window. It was snowing, he realized. Once upon a time, that would have brought a smile to his face. Now, he felt nothing.

Smack.

"Ow - what the hell is wrong with you?" Draco exclaimed as his hand went up to his head, where Daphne had just given him a slightly jarring smack. He frowned at her and she glared back.

"This is what you missed while you were too busy being fatalistic to be my friend," she said angrily as she tugged on the collar of her jumper to reveal the scar on the left side of her neck.

Draco's eyes widened as he took in the scar, spanning from just above her collarbone to the back of her neck. It looked like the job of a knife or a dagger and as he met Daphne's eyes he knew exactly who had done that to her. His grip tightened on the armrest of the armchair as he felt anger overcome him. For the first time in a while, he could feel himself swelling with resentment - an actual strong emotion compared to his usual bleak demeanour.

"Why?" was all that Draco managed to get out.

Daphne sighed and let go of her jumper. "After Uncle Axel had been kidnapped, Father noticed I hadn't been around and suspected I knew something," she explained. "Unfortunately, he was right."

Draco remembered that night. It had been around Christmas time and the younger Greengrass brother had decided to throw a masquerade party. It was very typical of Axel - kick back and have fun, purebloods are entitled to that much. He also very vividly remembered the room suddenly going black and everyone somehow being disarmed all at once. Next thing they knew, Axel was gone.

"It was Keegan," Daphne finally said quietly. "The Order sent him and he told me to get out. When Father found out I was 'sleeping with the enemy' as he put it, he had been furious but... I saw that glint in his eyes. He knew it was useful information."

And then there was Daphne's boyfriend: Keegan Shacklebolt. He was older than them, but most Slytherins remember him on account of being an enigma - otherwise known as a well-liked Slytherin. Daphne's relationship with Keegan had been yet another thing he had missed when he had been too busy doing Voldemort's bidding. Her timing could not have been worse, unfortunately - a month later, the Ministry had fallen to Voldemort and Keegan and his sister had joined the Order with their Uncle Kingsley.

And Draco hadn't been around for her.

Daphne sat back down with a sigh and reached forward, her hand covering his. He met her eyes again and found kindness in them now. "We all have our demons. No one expects you to get over everything in an instant," she said softly, "but you have to at least try, Draco."

"I suppose it doesn't look too good that you knew exactly where to find me in the middle of the day," he admitted with a wry laugh, attempting a small smile.

Daphne smiled back. "Definitely not your proudest moment," she agreed.

Standing up, Daphne reached her hand out to him. He looked up at her, pausing for a moment, before taking her hand and standing up. She didn't hesitate to pull him towards her and tightly embrace him, and Draco found himself quickly hugging her back. He had forgotten how comforting Daphne could be. As far as Slytherins and purebloods went, she had a warmth about her that was unique.

After a moment, Daphne let go of him and took a step back, her expression serious once again. "All right, now there's only one thing left to do," she declared.

"And what would that be, Daph?"