Harry used the time to think about all that had happened this morning. He wondered if it would have been better if he had simply run out of the classroom as soon as Crouch Jr asked him to stay after class but realized that would not have done much good because the impostor has already figured out that he knew something was wrong because of Wormtail's warning about the map. Crouch Jr would have come after him even if he had run, Harry was certain of that. Perhaps it was better to face that challenge head on.
Harry thought he had done OK in the duel; certain he had the advantage until his mistake in dealing with Crouch Jr's Crucio. He knew he would need to work on his spell variety and learning to put more energy behind his shields. Harry realized that the reason his shields dropped so quickly was because he had developed the bad habit of never putting his full strength behind them. He had never needed to when practicing against Daphne. 'I'll do better next time.' Harry vowed to himself.
He also now knew that Voldemort wanted him in the tournament but also wanted to be the one to kill him. The second part he could understand, but why would Voldemort order Crouch Jr to put his name in the Goblet of Fire? If all Voldemort wanted to do was kill him then that just seemed unnecessary. Harry felt as if by answering one question he had only stumbled on to another. He would have to be very careful from now on. Voldemort was still out there and now had at least two Death Eaters helping him. If there was a way for him to regain his body they would find it.
Harry's thoughts were interrupted when he saw the door open suddenly and Daphne rush in. After a quick glance around the room she spotted him and ran over to his bed where Harry sat up to meet her. Harry noticed her red eyes and guessed that she had been crying, although whether it was because of the article in the Daily Prophet attacking her or his current condition he did not know. Once she reached him Daphne wrapped her arms around Harry in a tight hug which he returned as best he could using his one good arm. For a few minutes neither of the spoke, but simply held each other. Both of them silently wished they had been able to do a better job protecting the other. Finally, Harry moved over far enough so that Daphne could sit on the bed with him.
"It's ok, Daphne. I'm going to be fine so don't worry about that. Are you ok?" Harry asked.
"I thought I was having a bad day and then you have to go and get yourself attacked. There are easier ways to make me feel better than just trying to have a worse day than me you know." Daphne said with the beginnings of a smile on her face. "You first, Harry. Tell me everything."
And so Harry did. As he repeated his tale Daphne's mind was in overdrive trying to piece together everything that Barty Crouch Jr had told him. Like Harry, she still could not figure out why the Dark Lord went to the trouble of putting Harry in the tournament to begin with. It just seemed like a pointless addition if the plan was merely to kill him. Daphne wanted to keep discussing it, but Harry had other ideas.
"I've told you my story, now I want to hear about you. Daphne, I'm sorry I got you into all of this. If it weren't for me the Daily Prophet wouldn't be writing those awful things about you and your family."
"It's not your fault, Harry." Daphne reminded him.
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I'm sorry about your brother, I understand why you wouldn't want to talk about it." Harry said, hoping to comfort her a little.
"There's no one else I would rather talk to about it. I was only seven years old when it happened. That morning David, Astoria, and I had been playing in a room on the third floor at our family home. There is this balcony that looked out over the porch and back yard and apparently someone had left the door to the balcony open. David went out on to the balcony and must have been climbing the railing. I didn't see him fall, and neither did Astoria, but we both heard him yell when he went over the top of the guardrails. By the time the healers got there it was too late, there are some things that even magic can't fix." Daphne said softly. At this Harry hugged her a little tighter and waited for her to continue.
"Remember the night we first met? You asked me what I saw in the Mirror of Erised and I wouldn't tell you? I saw my family, just like you did. I guess that might have been when I started to wonder if we might have more in common than I had thought."
"Thank you for telling me that, Daphne." Harry told her. "And I promise you that we will have our revenge against Rita Skeeter. She is going to wish she had never even heard the names Harry Potter or Daphne Greengrass." Daphne grinned at this and then leaned towards him and kissed him. When she leaned back a few seconds later he had a goofy looking smile on his face that made her laugh a little.
"That's exactly what I was thinking, Harry."
....
Join my P*atreon to enjoy 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/ScarletRosee (Remove the *)
Free members can get 2+ advanced chapters FOR FREE.