Darker Than Gray

It had been a month since their return to Hogwarts and it was no surprise that the news of Harry being exempted from attending Lockhart's classes had spread like wildfire. To say that the students were unhappy about it was an understatement.

Already, all four Heads of House had been approached by no less than fifty students each, asking for the same exemption. However, all of them had been turned down. A select few from each house apart from Slytherin had been brave (or foolish) enough to accuse the professors of favoritism, and they had been told in no uncertain terms that they could enjoy said exemption if they demonstrated skills and knowledge to the same degree of expertise that Harry had.

That reduced the number of complainants drastically. However, it didn't mean the students were content. Most of them had taken to shooting the second-year Ravenclaw student dark looks or making snide remarks within earshot, much to the ire of a certain redhead in particular.

"I don't believe them," Susan seethed as she dropped the stack of books on the library table with a loud bang.

"Silence!" Madam Pince's thunderous voice coaxed a grimace out of her as she slid in beside Harry, who was busy scribbling some runes over a parchment.

"I told you already I don't care. They can complain all they want," Harry muttered, not even bothering to take his eyes off his tracing. His other two friends who were sitting opposite him and Susan looked at him and sighed.

"Let them bark, Sue," Hannah chuckled. "Remember what McGonagall said? If they show that they are capable enough, they would be exempted from taking any lesson they would like. And even then, the teachers' decision would be final."

"They are simply angry that they are not good enough. Nothing else," Neville chimed in with a nod.

"Exactly!" Hannah nodded, nudging Neville with her elbow.

"Still, that doesn't mean they can do stuff like this," Susan grumbled, folding her arms and glaring at the table.

"How's this looking?" Harry asked as he slid the parchment to the middle of the table, making his friends look at the runic sequence.

"Looks like Chinese to me," Hannah muttered with a shrug. "No use in asking me, mate. I'm not planning to take Runes. I know I'll be pants at it."

"Would you look at that? These are indeed Chinese runes. Seems you'd be fine," Harry replied with a chuckle. Hannah snorted.

"Aren't these supposed to be hard though?" Susan asked as she leaned forward to take a look. "The third-year books have only one rune at a time. Sequences don't start until the latter half of the fourth year."

"How do you know that!?" Hannah asked in surprise. Susan folded her arms in front of her and gave the blonde a smug smile.

"I've started to study in advance as well. Can't leave our resident genius here all alone now, can I?" She asked rhetorically.

"Ooh really?" Hannah drawled with a smirk. "I'm sure that's all there is to it."

Susan flushed and glared at her friend, whose smirk widened.

"W-well, I thought about what Harry's been saying, and I agree. Why shouldn't we all try to become the best we can be? That's why I've started on my electives already."

"Glad to see I've become an inspiration to someone," Harry chuckled. "When did you get the books though? I don't remember you buying those."

"I'm currently borrowing it from a few older girls. Perhaps I'll owl order them or get them during the Christmas vacation," Susan beamed at him.

Harry nodded with a smile and looked over to Hannah and Neville. Smirking, he said, "A few people could learn from an inspiration like me as well."

"No need to get a big head, you genius idiot," Hannah grumbled. "If it's any consolation, I've been reading ahead in Herbology and Potions as well. And this one here," she pointed toward Neville with her thumb, "was asking Diggory something in Transfiguration we've not been taught in classes yet as well. I know it's not as impressive as you already learning how to be an animagus, but still."

"Good for you," Harry replied with a chuckle as he nodded at both Neville and Hannah.

"Hey Harry, can we sit here with y'all?"

They turned and saw Tracey smiling at them. Daphne was accompanying her and she gave Harry a small smile.

"Knock yourselves out," Harry waved his hand. Tracey grinned and quickly walked over to sit beside Hannah, who grinned at her. Meanwhile, Daphne took her seat in front of her best friend, which happened to be on the other side of Harry, much to Susan's surprise, who looked over with a small frown before quickly hiding it when Daphne looked at her.

The blonde looked at the parchment in the middle of the table and picked it up, looking at it with surprise.

"This is fourth-year Runes, if I'm not mistaken. Let me guess, you're studying Runes in advance as well, huh?" She asked, looking at Harry. He nodded.

"Think you could help me out a bit with it then? I finished the third-year course a week ago and have only started on the sequences."

"The Norse one?"

Daphne nodded and pulled out a sheet of parchment, showing it to Harry who looked it over and pointed at one segment.

"One more line here, like this," he said, tracing the pattern with his quill.

"Ah, I see. It's obvious now. Can't believe I overlooked such a simple mistake," Daphne chuckled softly.

"It's fairly common, I believe. Transitioning from solitary runework to sequences takes a bit of time. You'll get there soon," Harry replied with a smile.

Susan stared at the pair with a growing frown on her face. She had no idea they knew each other as well as they seemed to be. Not to mention the fact that they looked to be at perfect ease with each other, almost as if they had known each other for years.

Harry had changed significantly from the previous year. He kept to himself most of the time last year. However, that seemed to change in the latter part of the year when he became comparatively more open and even started to spend more time with them. That had only improved this year so far, with them taking all their meals together, doing their respective homework together, and him even taking time off his personal studies to help them out whenever they got stuck.

They didn't know what his life before arriving at Hogwarts had been like. However, it was easy enough to guess that he had an isolated one without any friends. Perhaps now that he had decided to be more open, he was striving to become friends with many people. That could also explain his camaraderie with the Weasley twins which had developed so much already that he was voluntarily aiding them in their pranks. The Harry from the previous year wouldn't have even pondered upon that.

While it heartened Susan to see him being much more open, it also meant he was candid with any new acquaintances of his. It seemed like he was now ready to let more people into his life, almost as if he was making up for something.

A soft kick to her shin made her jolt, and she looked under the table before looking at her best friend, who gave her a meaningful look before glancing toward Harry and Daphne who were engrossed over a parchment.

Hannah nodded and made a claw-like gesture with her hand before sinking it into her other arm. Susan's lips pursed even more and she looked down at her book in silence.

-Break-

"Come in, Potter," Minerva McGonagall nodded. Harry smiled and walked into the classroom where McGonagall had set the desks to the side, clearing the space for them.

It was one month since he had been wandering around with this wretched leaf in his mouth, and he was very much looking forward to finally taking it out.

"We don't have much to do tonight, so let's get this out of the way. Come here," McGonagall instructed and walked over to the open window of her classroom where they could easily see the moon in the clear night sky.

Harry joined her and looked at the small crystal vial she had taken out.

"Open your mouth and put the leaf inside," she instructed, holding the vial in front of her. Harry nodded and removed the saliva-filled leaf from his mouth. Slowly, he put it inside the vial that seemed to be shining under the direct moonlight.

McGonagall nodded and instructed him to stand still before grabbing a single hair of his. A weak cutter took care of it and she dropped the hair inside the vial before corking it.

"Here, take this," she held it out for him. Harry took the vial and looked at her.

"Now, right behind Hagrid's hut, you'll find a patch of grass at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. You will go there every morning before sunrise and with this silver spoon, you'll add one spoonful of dew you will find there. Repeat this every morning for a week."

Harry nodded and put the vial in his pocket.

"Take this," McGonagall held out a small box that Harry took from her.

"What is it?"

"That is a chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth. Open that box on the seventh day after you are done adding the dew and drop it inside the vial. Once you are done, put that vial in a quiet, dark place. I hope you know what to do afterward?" McGonagall asked expectantly. Harry nodded.

"Wait until the next electric storm and until then, speak the incantation every sunrise and sundown with my wand tip over my heart," he replied. McGonagall gave him a satisfied nod.

"According to Professor Sinistra, the next electric storm is a day before Halloween. We shall meet before the Halloween feast and you will attempt your first transformation."

Harry nodded.

"Ensure you do not mess up any step, Potter. I'd hate for it all to be a waste."

"Don't worry, Professor. I won't," Harry replied. McGonagall nodded and bid him goodnight.

Harry walked out of the Transfiguration classroom and made his way toward the seventh floor for some spell practice before dinner. His mouth felt very different, and he didn't realize how much he had been craving this feeling. Each daily activity of his had become a bother in the past month, and he was looking forward to eating properly for the first time in a month.

Sighing in relief, he walked off the staircase and into the corridor that led to the Come and Go Room when he paused. Something was wrong. He looked around curiously and inconspicuously slid his wand into his hand.

He took another step forward when a group of students came out of the alcove and blocked his path.

Eyes narrowed, Harry took them in. It was a group of five upper-year Slytherin males with a boy who resembled a troll more than a human leading them. He wondered what beef they might have with him. As far as he was aware, he had not done anything to antagonize them.

"What's up?" He asked casually as he stared the trollboy down.

"Nothing, Potter," the boy grinned, showing his deformed teeth in all their ugliness. "Since you've gotten so used to preferential treatment around here, we thought we should balance the accounts a bit."

"Is that so?" Harry mused. "And what's your plan? Let me guess… you'll curse me a bit and send me to the Hospital Wing, is that it?"

"You are a genius they call you then," the boy laughed with his cronies who all brandished their wands. Even when faced with five older wizards, Harry found that he felt no fear or apprehensiveness. He had gone up against an adult who had been possessed by the foulest wizard for who knew how long. Mere schoolboys were no threat to him.

"You could try it, but you'll fail," Harry declared calmly. "Now fuck off to your dungeons and I'll forget this ever happened. Or not, and I'll happily send you five to the Hospital Wing instead."

The five stared at the stoically staring wizard before they started to laugh. Harry kept his eyes trained on them.

"You're a funny one, Potter," the trollboy rasped between his laughs. "You seriously think you could take on all five of us?"

"Come on, Flint," another boy chuckled beside the troll as he stared at Harry, who turned his attention to him. "It's in his blood to act like a smartass. Remember his parents? Stood against someone with greater odds. What happened to them, I wonder?"

"Buried six feet under the ground, that's what," the troll whose name was apparently Flint grinned nastily.

Red clouded Harry's gaze as he glared at the five with lethal intent. However, they were too far into their hubris to notice.

"A shame indeed, what the House of Potter has become," another boy said with mock disappointment. "If only it hadn't sullied itself with that mudblood—"

Whatever the boy was about to say was cut off as his eyes shot open. Blood seeped out of his eye sockets as he keeled over, dropping to the floor with a thud.

"Montague!" Flint shouted in disbelief as the other wizard quickly squatted and turned the wizard over. His entire face was bloodied.

"He's alive… only passed out," the boy replied in relief. Shakingly, they all turned to look at the lone wizard who was glaring at them murderously.

Harry couldn't care less. A silencing and an overpowered privacy charm went over the entire corridor before he looked into Flint's eyes and glared, forcing the wizard to bend over to his will.

"F-Flint!?" The wizard asked in surprise when Flint pointed his wand at him. "W-what are you doing man? Stop fucking around!"

"Diffindo," Flint's monotonous voice was followed by a flash of sicky red and the wizard cried out in pain, holding his bloodied chest.

"What the fuck!" The remaining two shouted, pointing their wands at their traitorous friend who stared at them with blank eyes. Their eyes widened when Flint's wand came up once again and he pointed it toward one of them.

Harry cast a silent disarming charm on the pair, whose eyes widened in shock.

"P-Potter! You! You did this, didn't you!?" One of them asked in shock.

"There's no way Flint would do something like that! You cast the Imperius on Flint, didn't you? How? How did you do that!?" The other continued, eyes wide in fear.

"You don't have to worry about that, you assholes," Harry whispered darkly. "Do it."

"W-wait… don't do this man… we… we were just fooling around… We wouldn't have done anything… Travers didn't mean anything by that, Potter… let's talk this out, yeah?" The boy asked with a shaking smile.

Harry didn't bother to reply as the boy cried out in shock when Flint cursed the other boy as well. He simply looked on in disdain as the boy dropped to his knees in shock. There was another flash of red and the boy slumped over as well, crying out in pain.

Blood seeped over the floor as Flint stood there staring blankly at the three writhing wizards. Harry released his hold over the boy's mind, who dropped to his knees as he took in the sight.

"I told you to go and I'd forget it," Harry glared as he walked forward, and Flint looked at him in fear.

"P-Potter…"

"Shhhhh… I'm speaking, aren't I?" Harry whispered dangerously as he got closer. Stepping on the boy's fingers, he broke the wand that was held in his grasp. Flint howled in pain.

"I told you to stay silent, Flint, or whatever your name is," Harry repeated and silenced the boy, who stared at him with wide eyes. "Take this as a final warning, you all. Don't even dare to think of any pathetic scheme. I won't be so merciful the next time. To ensure you remember this, I'll leave you with a small token to serve as a reminder."

With a flick of his wand, their shirts were torn apart and one by one, Harry traced his wand over their chests. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as they stared horrified at the sight before the same was repeated to them.

Finally, Harry stepped back from a sobbing Flint who stared at the burning engraving on his chest.

The word 'MUDBLOOD' was displayed proudly in the middle of their chests.

"You won't be able to erase it unless you cut your chest off, so feel free to try it. I don't think you'll survive though. Not that I would give a flying fuck about that," Harry sneered.

"You won't get away with this, Potter."

To their surprise, Harry chuckled.

"And what would you say? That a second-year did this to the five of you? Give me a break. I know it well enough that your fucking pride won't allow you to ever admit that all this even happened. Now quit bitching and take care of your injuries which your dear friend here inflicted on you if you don't want a trip to the Hospital Wing."

With another disdainful glance, Harry walked down the stairs. His spell practice could wait for tomorrow. Right now, he was famished.

He knew perfectly well that they would try something again. There was no way those inbred brain-dead imbeciles would let something like this go without retaliation. However, Harry hoped they did something again. It would give him the perfect excuse to practice some of his newly learned spells on them as well.

-Break-

Flint and his cronies managed to get themselves patched up just fine before dinner rolled in, and Harry smirked at them from his spot at the Hufflepuff table. They did look a bit worse for wear, but not enough to make anyone suspect anything.

Unbeknownst to him, Susan glanced at him and found him staring at the Slytherin table. A small frown overtook her face and she stabbed her food with a particular vehemence.

'Stupid Greengrass,' she thought with a glare.

Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table, the group of sixth-year Slytherins sat together, their pride all but shattered and their bodies still throbbing with the pain of those curses. The mark they had been branded with stung emotionally more than physically.

"We must report that asshole. No way he can escape after… branding us with that vile mark," Travers seethed.

"Are you mad!?" Pucey whispered in fear. "Didn't you have enough? You want to earn more of his ire?"

"Quit acting like a wimp, Pucey," Flint hissed. "That son of a mudblood bitch marked us with that… that… you know what it is. And we can't even get rid of it. No, that asshole has to go down."

"Be it on your head then," Stebbins whispered in fear as he glanced at the young wizard who seemed to be happily eating his dinner. "I want no more part in whatever scheme you are cooking now. I've had enough."

"I'm still telling you we should report him," Travers grunted, stabbing his piece of meat roughly and shoving it in his mouth.

"And let every student from Year One to Seven know that the five of us were destroyed by a second-year punk like him, and branded with that vile mark on top of that? Very smart, I must say," Warrington interjected for the first time. His eyes had finally stopped bleeding, and even though he had missed everything that had happened, he'd been filled in adequately.

All four wizards grimaced at that. They knew the moment they opened their mouths, they would become the laughingstock of the Wizarding World.

"Don't forget how much Flitwick and McGonagall adore Potter. In all honesty, I think apart from Professor Snape, everyone else seems to worship the ground he walks on. Filth, the lot of them," Warrington continued, seething. "No, we must bide our time. Potter won't always have the upper hand, and the moment we find him in a moment of weakness, we will pounce on the twat. I don't care what happens afterward. Potter will go down, I'll make sure of that."

The remaining four gritted their teeth and nodded. They were not in a position to challenge Potter right now. However, their time would come one day.

A little distance away from the five, a pair of sapphire blue eyes narrowed.

-Break-

"Potter, a word, if you will?"

Harry, who was walking toward the giant staircase with his friends turned around to see Daphne walk up to them with an even look on her face.

"Greengrass?" Susan asked in surprise and unconsciously stepped a bit closer to Harry. Her movement went unnoticed by everyone apart from Hannah who sighed.

"I won't take too much of your time," Daphne ignored Susan and continued to look at Harry, who nodded.

"Okay. See you guys tomorrow then. Goodnight," Harry nodded toward his friends.

"Yeah, goodnight," they greeted back and turned around to walk toward their common room. Susan glanced behind her and saw Greengrass gesture for Harry to follow her. Sighing, she turned around.

"What do you think she wants to talk about?" She asked.

"Who knows… looked something serious to me though," Neville replied.

She shared a look with Hannah and sighed.

Meanwhile, Harry followed behind Daphne who looked around before quickly pulling open the door to a broom closet and entering.

"Err… Daphne…"

"Just get in, you idiot," she hissed and before Harry could react, she grabbed his collar and pulled him in, shutting the door firmly behind him. Harry quickly cast a Lumos to get some light inside the dark cupboard and saw Daphne blushing slightly since they were fully pressed together in the small space.

Harry didn't even have to look down to notice that she was also fairly well… developed, not unlike a certain redheaded friend of his. Clearing his throat, he looked at Daphne.

"What is it?" He asked.

Daphne tried her best to ignore the feeling of his body heat all across her front and looked up at his face.

"Did something happen between you and Flint and his four idiots?"

Daphne saw him look oddly proud of himself and frowned. "Harry, what happened?"

"Let's just say they had this bright idea to assault me and possibly send me to the Hospital Wing. However, before they could do anything, I managed to deal with them."

"You fought with them!?" She asked in surprise.

"Wasn't much of a fight, to be honest. Just a few cutting curses as a warning. For their sake, I hope they don't make such a mistake again."

Daphne frowned. "And what is this mark I heard them talking about?"

Harry's eyes hardened and Daphne's breath caught as he glared at the wall over her head.

"They had this bright idea to use that wretched M-word to describe my mother. I took absolute pleasure in branding them with that word across their chest."

"And they can't remove it. Where did you learn such a spell?" She asked in a whisper.

"I read it in a book," Harry replied. Slytherin's tattered book was indeed a treasure trove of knowledge. Daphne looked at him skeptically but didn't push any further.

"What happened though? You heard them talking?"

Daphne nodded. "As you can guess, they are not happy, particularly Flint, Travers, and Warrington. The other two were scared enough to pull out of any scheme."

"Smart of them to do that," Harry nodded. "Must be the last two ones."

"I don't think you need to worry about them for the time being though," Daphne continued. "They are wary and won't act until they find you in a situation of weakness. They will, as they said, bide their time."

"Like the snakes they are," Harry chuckled. "Fitting."

Daphne clapped his chest in mock outrage. "If you forgot, I'm a snake too."

"A good one though," Harry replied with a chuckle. Daphne rolled her eyes and looked at him.

"Why did they attack you like that though?" She asked, and Harry was surprised to detect genuine concern in her voice.

"Jealous that I was able to skip Lockhart's lessons. They believed I'd gotten used to preferential treatment, so they took it upon themselves to balance the accounts, so to say," Harry replied.

"What!?" Daphne asked in shock. "Just for that? I know they are pathetic but that's taking it to a whole new low."

Harry shrugged. "I don't care why they did what they did. I have warned them, and if they try something again, I might take it a step further."

"Don't go and kill them or anything," Daphne replied with a chuckle. Harry remained silent. He had already killed two people in his short life, but there was no need to tell her that.

"Was there anything else?" He asked instead, and Daphne nodded.

"I told my mum that we'd become friends, and she sent me this for you. It arrived today," she replied and Harry saw her pull a small album out of her pocket. Frowning, Harry took it from her and tried to open it with one hand, failing miserably.

"Here, let me hold that," Daphne took the album and opened it for him so that he could look, and she smiled when his breath hitched.

"I had no idea our mothers even knew each other, let alone were such good friends," she said softly as Harry stared at a girl with Daphne's blonde hair with a familiar red-haired girl, smiling merrily. He recognized the girl from the album he had received from Professors Flitwick and McGonagall almost a year ago.

"Marlene McKinnon," Harry muttered as he stared at them.

"You recognize her?" She asked in surprise. Harry nodded as Daphne gave the album back to him. He put it into the pocket of his robes and looked at her.

"Thank you, Daphne. It means a lot," he said with a sincere smile. Daphne patted his chest softly in response.

"Mum wants you to come over for Christmas. Said she wants to talk to you about a few things in person," she told him, holding out a sealed letter. "She sent this one for you."

"I'll be glad to come over," he nodded with a smile and pocketed the letter. Daphne smiled back, her hand still over his chest as she made herself comfortable in the cramped space.

Suddenly, the door to the closet was yanked open and they came face to face with one of the last people Harry wanted to see.

"Out," Snape instructed as he stared them down, and they hurriedly stepped out of the broom closet.

"Twenty points from Ravenclaw and Slytherin for being out of bounds after curfew," the man drawled, looking at them with disdain.

"Curfew?" Daphne asked in surprise, and Snape's eyes zeroed in on her.

"It seems the two of you were so busy in your amorous activities that you lost the sense of time," Snape remarked with disdain. "I would advise you to exercise some caution, Miss Greengrass, in the aftermath of what happened little more than a month ago."

Frowning, Harry glanced at Daphne, only to find her glaring at the floor.

"Get going now, or do you want me to deduct more points?" Snape hissed, and they immediately walked away. The head of Slytherin stared at their backs until they rounded the corner before he shut the door to the broom closet and walked away with his robes billowing behind his back.

"I have no idea why that prick hates me so much," Harry muttered. "Always giving me those looks."

Daphne stayed silent as she walked with him toward the staircase that would take him to the higher floors while she would take the one toward the dungeons.

"You mind if I ask you something?" She asked softly. Harry glanced at her and nodded.

"What?"

"You know about the Death Eaters, right?" She asked, looking straight ahead.

"I do. What about them?"

Daphne sighed and stopped, looking down. Harry paused and frowned at her. She stayed that way for a few seconds before looking him firmly in the eyes.

"What would you do if I told you that I was raised by one of the members of the Inner Circle?"

Harry's eyes widened slightly as he stared at her. Daphne held his gaze all the while.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked with furrowed brows.

"Just answer me. Will it change how you look at me or not? Will we still be friends, or whatever we are? Or will you want to cut all ties with me?"

Harry buried his hands in his pockets and sighed, looking upward.

"I wouldn't care, to be honest," he replied a few seconds later, looking at her. "You're not a Death Eater, and so far, I've not detected anything that would hint at you subscribing to their beliefs either. Raised by a Death Eater or not, you're good in my book unless you are a supremacist or do something unforgivable in my eyes."

Daphne took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'm glad then."

"I guess your father is a Death Eater then?"

"Was. And that man was not my father," Daphne spat venomously as she glared at the floor. Harry looked at her in surprise.

"I'm sure there's a story there, but it's already curfew. How about we continue this tomorrow? As I told you outside the carriage, I'll be here to listen," he replied, chuckling at the look on her face. "Yeah, wasn't hard to deduce that this man who was not your father was the one who you saw die. And given what Snape said a few minutes ago, it happened a few weeks ago? Days before the school started, perhaps?"

"Alright, you genius, that's enough for now," Daphne sighed and looked at him. "Fine, we can talk tomorrow. Meet me near the same broom closet after classes."

"Interested in some amorous activities, as Snape put it?" He smirked, earning a deadpan stare.

"My mum taught me a few spells for prats like you. Wanna see me try one?" She asked, twirling her wand.

"What makes you think you could even hit me, princess?" Harry taunted, and before she could even blink, he had her disarmed and petrified in place. Daphne's eyes widened as Harry came over, leaning closer. "I think I'll leave you like this."

He smirked at her narrowed eyes that promised a lot of pain should he not fix her. With a chuckle, Harry flicked his wand and unfroze her. She caught her wand which he tossed at her and glared at him.

"You love to play with fire, don't you, Potter?" Daphne snarked, gripping her wand firmly.

"Oh, back to Potter, are we?" He smirked. "Yeah, I do. Don't worry, I can use some ice too," he replied as he turned around. "Goodnight, Daphne."

The blonde stared at his retreating figure until he walked up the stairs and sighed before she let out an involuntary smile.

"Prat," she muttered, shaking her head.

TBC.

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