Chapter 99: 99 The Trip Story

Harry's smile faded as he thought over what had just happened. He had learned a lot about Professor Snape and what he did. He wasn't sure why he wasn't angry at him over it, though. Without him, Voldemort might not have come after him. It was then that he realized what Snape said. He had been honest about it. He even said so. Once he knew Harry knew about the prophecy, he told him what happened.

No one had ever done that before. Harry couldn't muster the anger he knew he should feel over it, just because of that. Also, for some reason, he knew that Dumbledore would have hidden his parents anyway and made them a target, while also letting Voldemort know about the prophecy. It was then that it clicked in his head.

He must have known Snape was listening or found out soon after. Harry thought as he walked down the hallway towards the stairs. He saw a blonde haired girl as she leaned against the wall near the bottom of the staircase.

“Hi, Harry.” Daphne said, her face slightly red. “What did the professor give you?”

“A week's detention.” Harry said and saw her surprise.

“That's a little much.” Daphne said and started walking up the stairs with him. “It should have only been a day or two.”

“It might be.” Harry said, using her idea. “One for each wand on the floor.”

“He gave you the weekend, too?!?” Daphne asked, shocked.

Harry couldn't stop his smile. “I've cleaned with Mister Filch on the weekends before.”

Daphne nodded and fell silent. They reached the top of the stairs and walked down the basement hallway to go to the stairs up to the Entrance Hall.

“How did you sneak away from the others?” Harry asked.

Daphne huffed. “I didn't have to sneak. I just stood up and left the Great Hall.”

Harry was silent this time, until they reached the stairs. “You might not want to walk up with me into the Entrance Hall. People might talk about it.” He said and managed to not smile as he used Amelia's explanation.

Daphne let out a sigh as she looked up the stairs. “You're right.” She said and looked at Harry. “I only came to check on you, anyway.”

“Thanks.” Harry said and smiled. “You're pretty good, for a Slytherin.”

Daphne laughed softly. “You're pretty bad, for a Griffindor.”

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He took her hand and placed it on her palm. “Thanks for the Christmas present.”

Daphne looked down at the tiny box and then at his face. “Harry...”

“You know what to do with shrunken things.” Harry said and let her hand go. “See you on Wednesday.”

Daphne nodded and watched Harry walk up the stairs and disappear from sight. She turned around and went back down the hallway and the stairs to the dungeon, then went to the hidden door to the Slytherin common room. She entered and ignored the others as she went down the stairs to her dorm and entered the single room.

She sat down at the small desk beside her bed and put the tiny box on it. She had no idea that her gift of a pair of transfigured dragon paw oven mitts would get her a present back. She hadn't planned to do it, either. It was just a stupid idea she had when doing up the required presents she had to do for her 'friends', the people her parents told her to be friends with.

Daphne had done it almost in defiance of them, in fact. Plus, it had been fun. She remembered Harry's face when he saw the one she had made and hoped that he liked having a pair for himself. She never thought he would reciprocate... like an actual friend would.

She used the general counter spell and the box returned to its original size, which was huge to her eyes. She carefully lifted the lid and gasped at the glittering solid gold cauldron inside. There was another box inside it and a letter. She picked up the letter and opened it.

Hi, Daphne.

I hope you had a good Christmas. Mine was great! I spent it with friends and even had a day with my godfather. I really liked your gift. I made them unbreakable and permanent, just like the set of crystal vials inside the cauldron. I was going to give it to you in class, then remembered what the others would say if I did. You don't have to use it, since that's not the point. I told Professor Snape that I had enough cauldrons to share with my friends and I didn't want you to think that I was a liar.

Happy Christmas!

Harry.

Daphne stared at the letter for quite some time. She read it, over and over, then lifted out the large case that was filled with unbreakable crystal vials. She ran her hand over them, then she touched the solid gold cauldron.

You're right, Harry. Using it isn't the point. Daphne thought and put the letter back inside the box, put the top on, and carefully put the heavy thing under her bed. Just having it is the point.

Under the bed was where it was going to stay, because Harry was also right about what her classmates would say if they knew she had it. None of it good. Her mind went over what could happen and the danger she was in because of it gave her a bit of a thrill.

Did he know it would? Daphne asked herself as she went to her trunk and exchanged her old pile of glass vials for the expensive crystal ones, even though she knew that they weren't actually expensive, because Harry had transfigured them and hadn't bought them. He did all that work, just for me.

Daphne closed her trunk and left her room to rejoin her 'friends' in the common room.

“Where were you?” Pansy Parkinson asked.

“Seeing what the professor gave Potter.” Daphne said, even though calling Harry by his last name seemed a little wrong.

“So, what did he get?” Pansy Parkinson asked.

“A week's detention.” Daphne said and that made Pansy smile and a few others nod. “The weekend, too.”

“HA!” Draco barked a laugh. “Serves him right! He should be cleaning the floors I walk on!”

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Daphne tuned them out and she thought back to the letter Harry had written to her. None of her friends asked her why she was smiling. She would have lied about it, anyway.

*

“Harry.” Hermione said as a reminder when Harry came into the common room.

“I just have to grab Hedwig. She wants to know about my trip, too.” Harry said and ran up the stairs. He dismissed the privacy curtain and the owl sat on the window sill. “Ready?” He asked and held an arm out for her.

Will listen. Hedwig thought with a hoot and hopped onto his arm.

Harry closed the window and went back down to the common room. He put Hedwig on the back of the chair and sat down next to Hermione, who had moved over in the chair for him. He put his arm around her and held her close, then he started to tell her and his other friends about the incident in the Entrance Hall and getting detention for a week.

“The Slytherins really don't know when to give it a rest, do they?” Ron asked.

“Professor Snape needs to do a better job with them.” Neville agreed. “Image what McGonagall would do to us if we said things like that!”

Hermione huffed and nodded her head. “We would be getting detention, probably for a month, and not the person we were making fun of.”

Harry chuckled. “I got that for using magic.” He said. “You know what I think about detention.”

“I don't know how you can enjoy cleaning.” Ron said. “All that scrubbing? My fingers are wrinkling just thinking about it.”

That made the others laugh.

“I'm just used to it.” Harry said with a shrug. “Do you want to hear about the trip?”

“It must have been a blast.” Hermione said. “A train tour of all of Britain for two whole weeks sounds like the best time!”

“It really was.” Harry admitted, then he told them all about it. The places they went, the food they ate, the sights they saw, the whole thing. He left out one specific detail on New Year's Eve, though. The kisses. Those he was going to keep all to himself. Mostly. His arm reflexively gave Hermione a bit of a squeeze and he kept telling the tale.

By the time Harry was done, nearly everyone in the common room had stopped what they were doing and listened to him.

“Your godfather is living with the healer.” Ron said, his mind focused on a little detail that everyone else seemed to have missed.

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” Ron said, and that was the end of it. No one else commented or said anything about it.

I go. “Hoot.” Hedwig said and a few people jumped, because she had stayed still the entire time and they had forgotten that she was there.

“All right.” Harry said and extracted himself from Hermione and the chair. “Be careful and thanks for spending this time with me.”

Bertha. Hedwig thought with a soft hoot.

“I know. I'll get right on it.” Harry said and took her over to the window. “I know how much you like fresh mice.”

“Hoot, hoot.” She give me two. Letter large.

Harry chuckled and opened the window. “I'll do my best.”

Hedwig hopped out the window and soared away as Harry closed it.

Harry walked back over to the chair and sat back down with Hermione and put his arm over her shoulders again. “Now it's your turn, Hermione.”

“Are you sure?” Hermione asked and glanced at Ron. “I don't know if we want Ron to laugh so much.”

“It not my fault that I think strapping sticks to your feet and sliding down a snow covered mountain is funny.” Ron said. “And bonkers. Let's not forget bonkers.”

Harry and Neville laughed.

“Oh, all right.” Hermione said with a huge smile and she told her Christmas tale.

You could tell the muggle borns from the wizard raised as she spoke, because the wizards were like Ron and Neville, completely entranced about an airplane flight (You climb inside something bigger than the Knight Bus and it FLIES?!? Neville had asked, shocked), about the ski lift (Are you sure it's not magic? That sounds like a Locomotor spell. Ron had commented), and about skiing itself (Yep, still bonkers. Ron had said when he was done laughing).

“Neville? How was your Christmas break?” Hermione asked, essentially passing on the story baton.

Then it was Neville's turn and he told us all about his ecstatic family all coming home to visit with his parents. It was the best time and everyone was really nice and understanding. His mom and dad had adjusted, after visiting a healer to talk about their problems from waking up after so long, and having so much family around made them all that much happier.

“Ron, your turn.” Harry prompted.

“Aw, we didn't do much.” Ron said, a bit sadly, then he started with his older brothers coming home and telling their stories from their jobs. Everyone in the common room listened to him, and he liked having a much wider audience to talk to.

When he was done, Lavender started in about her own Christmas break and travelling to Paris, which had most of the girls ooing and awing. After her, everyone seemed to take turns and shared their stories as well.

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