Chapter 2 A broken law

The Slytherin dungeon, otherwise known as Slytherin common room, was a long low underground room, surrounded by rough stone walls and ceiling. The light looked to have been drained out with how dark the room was. Only a dark shade of green seemed to echo through; round lamps appeared to intensify the shade even more. In the middle of it all stood a fireplace underneath what looked like a stone tablet with a large snake etched onto it, snakes were engraved everywhere it seemed, from the pillars to the walls and even desks. There were two large glass windows that revealed the lake, and a few of its inhabitants, outside Hogwarts.

Rodrick turned to see Daphne examining one of the nearby pillar drawings, Tracey was staring around nervously. It wasn't long before the students were split up by gender, each one was led to a separate area. The prefects gave warnings of punishment if either gender attempted to enter the other's dorm. Rodrick took one last look at his friends before catching up to Blaise, walking towards the dorm. As soon as he reached his bed, he changed clothes and practically melted into the mattress. It was far more comfortable compared to his previous room. The Slytherin prefect told them all what time they were expected up, Rodrick couldn't remember anything else after that.

It wasn't long before he was jostled awake. Only he wasn't in Hogwarts anymore.

He stared at the mirrors surrounding him once again, taking in his appearance. His face slowly started to change, it was a regular ritual for him, the mirror showed no lies, it showed him his reality, to anyone else it would show them their sorrow. His face slowly turned narrow, instead of the previously square-jawed. His hair was slowly changing, while still mostly black, loose strands of blonde highlighted it. The only thing that remained the same were his eyes. If it weren't for that, and his hair, he would've looked like a twin. Soon enough an older man appeared by his side, his eyes locked onto the mirror, before he turned them towards Rodrick.

"Your control is wavering; I can still see through your thoughts," He had a grim line on his skeletal face.

"You showed me this in the first place, it can hardly stop you if you know it so well." replied Rodrick.

The old man turned away before the mirrors disappeared, he grabbed a wand and handed it over to Rodrick. "How is your transfiguration?" he asked coolly, ignoring the previous subject.

"It only turns back in this place; I don't believe any of the professors have noticed," Replied back Rodrick, pointing towards his face.

"Good, keep it like that for as long as you can..." there was a small silence before the old man continued, "The girl, who is she?"

Rodrick took in a quick breath before answering, "She's a Greengrass, is there a problem?"

"Oh, that is your choice alone, of course, I am glad you're looking to befriend purebloods."

Rodrick took it for what it was, a compliment, He raised his head back up to the old man's eyes and replied. "Thank you... Grandfather."

"Now, shall we continue? What do you remember from last time?"

...

Rodrick woke up earlier than he'd planned, noticing the time, he opened his notebook and scribbled down anything he felt he needed to work on more. After filling up the page, he attempted to practice some of the spells under his cover. It wasn't long before the rest of the students in the dorm woke up themselves, he put his notebook away and got ready for the classes ahead. He spotted Blaise on his way.

"Good sleep?" Rodrick asked, Blaise's eyes were barely open.

"Not really, you tend to talk in your sleep. Ever notice?" Blaise asked with a raised eyebrow

"No, not really." Rodrick looked away and made his way towards the great hall for breakfast, it looked like Silencing charms were going to be a necessity. Blaise shrugged before following him.

They met up with Daphne and a still sleepy Tracey.

"Let me guess, Daphne talks in her sleep?" Blaise asked Tracey.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at this before looking towards Rodrick.

"Don't ask, I am not even sure myself," he quickly lied.

"Let's just go eat something before I flop back in bed," Tracey yawned.

They suddenly heard a voice behind them, telling them not to let Snape hear that. The group turned to see the Slytherin prefect from yesterday, who was currently leading away a group of first years, Rodrick, and his friends decided to follow.

The group found themselves grateful for a guide; it truly was a maze, so many different staircases leading to different areas. Some even changed directions midstep. The portraits were moving around conversing with each other, students and some of the ghosts. Rodrick looked around to see other first year students fumble around trying to find their way through the staircase; it was a comedic site. He spent the rest of the day talking to Blaise about what kind of lessons they should expect.

Daphne let out a squeal causing the people around her to turn; there was a strange looking creature grabbing her nose.

"W-what is this!?" She screeched. Rodrick chuckled. He earned himself a glare, the prefect from earlier was suddenly beside them.

"Peeves, leave the girl alone," he had an amused look on his face.

Peeves? What on earth was- Never-mind. It was magic, anything was possible. When Peeves let go. Daphne grabbed Rodrick by the ear.

"What- What are you doing?" Rodrick tried and failed to push the hand away.

The rest, openly laughed at the sight, Daphne tried to look angry but couldn't help herself before letting off a smile and ended his misery, she was pretty sure he could've used magic if he really wanted to... Following this, the group finally made their way towards the great hall where they sat down for breakfast.

...

It was a quiet affair, Rodrick was still musing over his dreams, Blaise was currently talking to Malfoy about one thing or the other. Tracey and Daphne were staring at Rodrick expectantly, "Rodrick." the girls called out irritatedly. Rodrick put up his head when he heard their tone.

"What is it?" he stared at the two girls bemused.

"Turn around," Came from Daphne, Rodrick almost couldn't hear her whisper.

Turning his head around he was met with a tall man dressed in black; he had a hooked nose and greasy hair. It was a moment later before he realized he was gaping, quite rudely, at the head of his house. Rodrick turned his body around completely. "A-h professor.. what-" but before he could finish, Snape pushed a schedule onto him.

"I expect you to be more alert than this. You represent this house, don't embarrass it." Snape sneered at him before moving on towards the rest of the table.

"What's his problem?" Rodrick asked the two girls, quite annoyed; his head was angry at him for some strange reason.

"He called out your name several times, you're the one who didn't respond," Tracey answered with a frown.

"Maybe I pulled his ear a little to hard..." Contemplated Daphne.

"Hilarious," Rodrick deadpanned before he turned his attention over to his schedule and studied it. The girls noticing this turned back to whatever they'd been doing before the interruption.

Their first class was Charms; It went rather well, all things considered, most of the professor's attention was on Harry Potter, it left Rodrick to his own devices. He used the lesson as a means to get an idea of what kind of level they were going to be studying. While the first lesson was more or less an introduction towards the subject, it looked to be a rather boring year for him. The professor asked questions, the students who answered correctly got points towards their house. Rodrick knew the answers, but he didn't need any of that attention, odds were he could probably get plenty of points by himself, perhaps enough to give Slytherin a good lead, but the attention it brought him wasn't worth it.

Most of the points, as a result, went to Gryffindor thanks to Granger. Some found their way towards Ravenclaw, at the moment none were for Slytherin, which seemed to put Daphne in a sour mood.

"I'll get the next class,"The determined look on her face was frightening. Rodrick had a bemused look on his face; He couldn't see Tracey's face. Blaise was reading the Transfiguration book, their next class.

Seeing his face Daphne turned towards Rodrick with a frown. "Why don't you try helping? You never put your hand up once during Charms," she accused.

"Most of the class didn't," he replied back.

"I expected a little more from you," she replied back albeit quieter.

"You know I was raised in Muggle surroundings right?"

"So was Granger, didn't stop her, besides at the train station..." The girl trailed off before she shook her head and turned away.

Rodrick sighed before he moved on past her, the move seemed to irritate the girl, but her face quickly turned even more determined than before.

"I'll do it by myself." she declared. Tracey showed up at her side with an encouraging look.

'Girls will be girls,' Not that he'd really know, there were barely any at the orphanage.

....

Transfiguration was another subject they learned, the professor, Minerva McGonagall, seemed strict but fair. This encouraged the girls even more, only the teacher didn't ask any questions. She explained to the class the basics regarding Transfiguration and how important it was that they attempted it properly with care. She showed the class an example of said Transfiguration, desk to pig; She explained the spell behind it and what was required.

The class seemed to get excited at learning such a spell before the professor quickly corrected them on what they will be actually be learning during the year instead. Rodrick didn't pay attention, unfortunately. He copied the movement and spell name, his grandfather had never really shown him that particular spell... The desk turned to a pig like shown before; It wasn't a complete transformation, the pig had wooden legs. The entire class turned towards Rodrick; he stared back at them confused. The class reactions were mixed in astonishment, and some envy. His friends, particularly Tracey had a look of awe. The professor's reaction was unreadable, her eyes seemed to light up for a second.

"That's quite impressive, I hadn't expected you to be able to do such a thing, Rodrick?" She said his name with a little uncertainty. "Still I didn't say you could use your wand so soon."

Dread filled him at this; he was in trouble. Not gaining points was one thing, losing them would cause problems.

"However I can't very well punish you after such a successful attempt," The professor flicked her wand and turned Rodrick's desk back to normal. She stared at him for a few seconds longer before uttering, "10 points to Slytherin," This brought a cheer from the Slytherins. Daphne was strangely silent, Tracey was beaming. The Gryffindors quietly booed Rodrick, but even they couldn't help the surprised looks. Granger had her mouth open in shock.

The class continued with a much faster pace. Once it finished, everyone made their way out, Rodrick had been ready to leave before the professor stopped him.

It was only the two of them now, Rodrick was offered a seat at her desk. "I must say I've never known a first year to be able to do that, in fact, I have never known a 4th year to manage it either, where did you learn such a thing? And no I can't accept luck as an answer, that was a near perfect Transfiguration, you've done this before."

Rodrick wasn't sure how to answer, he'd hoped to avoid this exact situation, but he'd messed up on his first week anyway. He didn't think it was that big of a deal... Human Transfiguration was arguably way more impressive wasn't it? This was why he'd wanted to avoid grabbing any attention during Charms. "I had some time to practice, I received the letter almost a year ago," he hoped this would help solve the issue.

"Rodrick you're not the only student to receive the letter at such a time, even then, let's say that was the case, it is still too soon, Granger received her letter on the 19th of this month, and yet I am sure she would barely be able to change a match let alone a desk, did someone teach you?"

"I don't know, professor, I copied what you did," he lied.

She saw the unsettled look on his face; she knew it was no matter of luck however she didn't want to push him away either.

"Very well, I'll let this attempt go, and we'll consider it a matter of luck. However, I will need you to do me a favour." She said with a kind voice.

'Favour?' Rodrick wasn't quite sure what she had in mind, he doubted it could very much end badly if he accepted. "What kind?"

"You will attempt this class to the best of your ability, if you are ahead, so be it, I want to know what I should teach you, I don't need you wasting time on things you already know," the professor had a serious look on her face.

Rodrick gulped before accepting; he was met with a smile before being dismissed. Minerva McGonagall had a slight twinkle in her eyes when she looked at him. 'Snape will hold this over Gryffindor for a while,' she thought with a resigned look.

Rodrick made his way out of the classroom before surprise flitted over his face, Daphne was standing next to the wall waiting for him.

"You didn't need to wait," he said

She ignored him and asked what the professor had wanted. Rodrick explained everything before he started to move towards the great hall, Daphne in tow.

"That was something else alright; I can't believe you managed to do that, even if it was luck." There was a definite hint of awe in her voice. "Are you sure no one taught you anything?"

The question brought him to a stop, should he lie again or not? He thought it over for a few moments before he shrugged. Who was going to believe a first year? "Someone did, but I'd rather not talk about it right now. Where are the rest?"

"But you told-" she stopped herself and instead gave a grateful smile for the honesty shown. "Can you do anything else?" she asked excitedly.

"I suppose we'll find out," He replied with amusement in his voice. This met a frown which quickly turned into laughter. The two made their way towards the great hall with Daphne teasing Rodrick about the wood legged pig. Unbeknownst to them both was the Cat staring and taking in everything that was said.

...

The worst lesson was perhaps History, taught by the ghost Binns. Rodrick would have found the subject interesting had it been any other professor, not only did he manage to make the subject a bore, but he also managed to get it incorrect! It irritated him to no end; he had wanted to learn as much history as he could. It wasn't a lesson his grandfather was keen on teaching, which even if he was, would likely be rather biased. Some of his fellow Slytherins had managed to fall asleep during the torture, Daphne managed to stay up the longest, he wasn't even sure if she did fall asleep as he fell first. It was both strange and somewhat expected that Hogwarts would hire a ghost for history.

Astronomy was a subject most of the students, born into a magical family, enjoyed to no end. It was most likely a new experience for them having been raised on magic. The muggle-borns didn't have much interest in it, having learned about it already. Granger unsurprisingly had a lot to offer on the subject to everyone else's annoyance. Rodrick found the subject enjoyable. While he grew up in the orphanage, he didn't have much of a chance for education, something that still confused as the other orphans did in fact go to school, he was left with any odd books he'd usually found lying around.

Not all the subjects were taught inside, one of the classes was taught in the greenhouse. Herbology, which almost everyone found arguably dull. The professor this time looked dreary, the subject simply couldn't be taught with excitement, most of it involved waiting long periods of time for results.

Rodrick spent most of the lesson staring at the textbook given; Granger was next to him trying to get information on how he had managed the Transfiguration from earlier. Daphne had managed to save him there when she directed Granger's conversation elsewhere. Rodrick did, however, notice the glare coming from Malfoy, he knew why. The glare was due to them interacting with Granger. He paid him no mind, however. Malfoy as a stickler for blood supremacy and an even bigger one for irritation, he did annoyingly fit in well with most of the Slytherins, even Blaise seemed to have a form of respect for the blonde.

...

Daphne had found herself enjoying Rodrick's company in studying; He was smart, and it seemed, talented with magic. It came off as a shock, but he seemed further ahead of the class, most likely near Granger, knowledge wise any case, who knew how far ahead he was practically. He was already using Wand-less magic as it was. He tried to hide it but he didn't manage it that well, while most would look on in confusion at the professor's instructions and remarks, Rodrick would attempt a disinterested look, but even he couldn't hide the understanding that showed on his face. Which she found due to the look on Granger's face, although she made it rather known... She had been initially angry with him as he could've easily scored points for their house but after the Transfiguration, she cooled down a little when she realized that he might be too far ahead for a student and that while it might help his house, it would cause him attention he might not want. She was surprised that he'd even told her in the first place that he had in fact been taught, after lying to a professor.

They were in the library preparing for their Potions lesson that was set the next day. Tracey was already asleep on the desk which she found amusing. Rodrick was skimming through the potions book. They were whispering to each other.

"What do you think our head of house is like? As a teacher?" she asked the boy in front of her.

"I heard he favors Slytherin students during lessons, at least points will be easier to come by," He shrugged back, eyes still on the book in front of him.

"Would be unfair if he gave us that kind of advantage." Daphne had a frown on her face.

"I don't take him for the fair type, anyway it's our house, I don't see an issue," This time there was a grin on his face.

"You're, just as bad," Daphne shook her head, "Stop smirking you look like Malfoy," she added on. His mood soured considerably at that; Daphne couldn't help the giggle before covering her mouth.

The two managed to spend the rest of the time talking, having forgotten about their books.

"Ah, we should probably go, I am starving," He suddenly remarked. Dinner looked to start soon enough.

Daphne nudged Tracey awake before helping her collect everything.

...

Rodrick showed up to the potions classroom late, he'd overslept again, habits from his orphanage weren't exactly easy to get rid off. However, any fears of being reprimended seemed to lighten up when he saw the numbers of students waiting outside his class.

They were not students he recognized; it took a few minutes before he realized they weren't trying to go inside but instead attempting to get a look. Daphne was there as well, having trouble trying to go in, he went up and got her attention, she gave him a smile which didn't reach her eyes. A few moments passed before their head of house suddenly appeared. Daphne went behind Rodrick after giving him a mischievous smile, 'thanks...let me take the blunt of it why don't you,' he thought resigned. He doubted Snape was going to punish a known Pureblood... However, the professor merely gave them a nod of understanding when he noticed the crowd gathered. After entering the classroom Rodrick could've sworn he saw the teacher give off a scowl towards Harry Potter. 'The rumors might be right about favoritism.'

The classroom did not go as expected, Severus Snape seemed to hold something against Harry Potter with the way he was pointing his attention towards him, it was something that made the Slytherin students quite happy however it bought more unnecessary attention towards Rodrick as well as Daphne, not only did they sit near them, but the professor had used both of them as an excuse when he mentioned Harry Potter's Celebrity status affecting everyone else, he also decided it gave him an ego. Harry Potter was falling for each bait, which of course, didn't help make it any better. To his luck, Rodrick saw that Daphne had agreed with him in this case, even she found the favouritism shown undignified, though at this point that was an understatement.

Tracey looked rather frightened of the professor, 'I'll have to explain she doesn't have much to worry about later' thought Rodrick. Blaize, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the professor's actions, something he found disconcerting, he couldn't very well be seen with him enjoying such actions, getting the professors trust looked to be hard enough, the other professors anyway.

...

The lesson started off with a problem, Harry Potter had been copying down whatever Snape had been saying. Said professor, however, had taken this as an insult, or an excuse, to torment the boy. He went up to him and questioned whether he was too good to be paying attention. He started asking the boy several questions which Harry was unable to answer. Rodrick had been sitting to his right; He'd written down an answer to each question hoping to show it to Potter after, to help him. However, Harry seeing this, tried to use it against Professor Snape.

"He's doing the same thing and you don't punish him for it."

Really Potter? Really? Rodrick thought irritated.

This had brought most of the stares towards to him. Professor Snape turned towards Rodrick's parchment with a bewildered look which disappeared quickly. Rodrick saw the hint of a smirk appearing. 'Crap,' he thought.

"Very well then Mr. Potter, Rodrick why don't you read out what you've written so far, for the class to hear."

Rodrick almost rolled his eyes, he was annoyed, He knew what was going to happen next, and he certainly didn't want the repercussions on his head... He still listened to his Professor all the same. Daphne had turned towards him with slight panic before she sighed when she saw its contents.

Rodrick read out an answer to each of the questions. Each answer made the smirk on Professor Snape more defined and the scowl on Harry's more prominent. By the end of it, the scowl was more directed towards him then it was to Snape. 'Perfect' thought Rodrick 'The-boy-who-lived probably wants me dead.'

Hermione Granger's hand had long since gone down; She wasn't angry at Rodrick, in fact, she was slightly envious of the attention the professor had given him. Rodrick chuckled to himself when he noticed, knowing it was a matter of house favoritism, surely she knew that. Harry Potter sadly caught the action and thought that it was intended for him. He sighed.

"Now Mr. Potter do you see the difference? While you were wasting parchment, Rodrick, on the other hand, managed to answer each question correctly and had the insight to write it down instead of raising his hand up to cry for attention!" He stared at Granger towards the end. "10 points to Slytherin and five from Gryffindor for your classmate's cheek."

'That about does it, every Gryffindor here is gonna want me dead' Rodrick sat back down with a heavy sigh. He looked around and saw some of Slytherins giving him a nod of approval. Malfoy was sneering, 'Even some of my fellow Slytherins don't like me, seriously what is his problem?' after a few seconds he turned towards Daphne and Tracey, who were smiling at him. 'Well, can't be all that bad I suppose.'

The class went on with each table Pairing up and attempting to follow the instructions on books, Thankfully the professor laid off Rodrick for a while, focusing instead of Malfoy, who had unsurprisingly gleamed on the attention shown. Daphne had initially been put out by this as their work had been as good or even better but when she noticed Rodrick enjoying the work more she didn't say anything about it. He was, after all, doing half the work. 'Perhaps he really doesn't want the attention,' She thought to herself, The thought confused her. She'd expected an orphan to pry at any chance he could get to have people look to him, but the opposite had happened. Then again he was the first orphan she'd ever met.

There was another incident during the lesson where a Longbottom had managed to muck up the recipe and caused it to boil through his cauldron onto himself. The effect caused almost made Daphne throw up until Rodrick grabbed her cloak sleeve. She saw a small glow come out before she felt herself relax. She didn't know what had happened, but she was grateful, she would ask him about it later.

The professor was livid when the accident occurred; he called the boy a fool before he had someone escort him out, after which he turned towards Potter and blamed him for not helping the boy do it properly. He accused Potter of letting it happen so he could look better.

Daphne whispered something to Rodrick which caused him to snort.

The professor looked towards them with a raised eyebrow but didn't say anything, honestly, he looked amused. The Gryffindor in trouble, however, scowled towards them having assumed to be made fun of. "This keeps getting better doesn't it Daph," Rodrick said.

At least he didn't call me Ne, she thought, Tracey had attempted that one before.

"Yes, yes it does."

Once the class ended, Rodrick and his friends made their way out. Blaize had an irritated look on his face, he had failed the potion and got a reprimand from Snape as a result. Tracey was the first to break the silence stating her plans to go to the library with Blaize deciding to follow; Daphne told her she'd catch up with her after getting some food to eat. Rodrick's stomach grumbled at the words. The rest of the group laughed.

After the group had split up, Blaise walked on ahead with Tracey following behind, "What part did you have trouble with?" she asked him.

A look of surprise flitted across his face. "How do you know I had trouble with it?" he replied. She gave him a smile and said she's going to the library for the same reason. He snorted at that. "Daphne was lucky to get Rodrick as a partner." the girl said this with a slightly annoyed look.

Blaize raised an eyebrow at this, "I thought she did most of the work." Tracey couldn't help the laugh that came out stating Daphne was quite hopeless with potions. "Last time she tried to make a laughing potion she wound up turning her hair blonde,"

Blaise was caught off guard; this made him even more determined to study potions, knowing the other boy was ahead of him there as well. The two made the rest of their way in silence not having much to talk about. It was about an hour after they'd been at the library before the others had shown up.

...

Walking towards the great hall. Daphne surprised him with a question. "How did you know the answers to Snape's questions? We didn't study that last night," She had a small grin on her face, "Did you cheat?"

Rodrick stared at her before snorting, "That would require too much effort, besides I could've got it wrong and Snape likely would've still used it against Potter,"

"Figured you just worked hard, you're pretty far ahead."

"I am ahead of our classmates, doesn't mean I am ahead of the year's course. Our defense class should prove that much," The answer irked her knowing it might be true. She quickly changed the subject to what food he wanted to have.

"Whatever's edible,"

She shook her head.

"I just hope we don't have to deal with anymore Gryffindors,"

Daphne gave him a pitying look when she heard him, "I doubt it, we only have classes with them three times a week," The sarcasm was evident.

They decided to make a detour for the Slytherin common room to put away some of their books. As they went inside their common room they saw a notice on the board. Rodricks face started to lose its color, Daphne noticed the poster on the wall. They were to have flying lessons. With Gryffindors.

"What do you think of that?" she asked with a grin.

Rodrick looked downright terrible.

"Whats wrong? Don't you like flying?" her grin died out.

"I hate it; I am scared of heights," His face was serious, his tone made him sound like an old man.

His reply sent her into a fit of laughter.

"It's not funny; I am terrified of falling," Daphne tried to calm herself down, before falling into another fit when she saw his face read the part about Gryffindor. Rodrick dropped to the floor in depression.

"My life here is over," He kept repeating.

She helped him up. "It won't be that bad, just relax," her voice didn't reach any part of his head. "Besides its a few days away, you can get some practice in the meantime to prepare." hearing this Rodricks head went up, he looked a lot more in control but still seemed unsure.

"When is it?" he asked. Wait, doesn't he need a broom for that?

"Next week Thursday, Why?" she stared at him waiting for the answer.

"Well I don't see myself enjoying my birthday," he sighed.

"Birthday? When is it?" she had a small twinkle in her eye when she asked.

"Friday after, I get an early gift it seems." The girl started to chuckle again when she heard it. "When's yours?" he asked her when she'd calmed down.

"October 31st,"

"Fitting," That earned him a slap.

...

The week passed by in a blur for Rodrick. He found himself adjusting to the new school faster than anticipated, certainly better than his friends had. He spent most of his free time in the library studying, for the first couple of days he'd spent them alone before Blaise joined him.

The boy seemed to open up more with him, here I thought it'd take at least a year, he was glad of course, Blaise proved to be more entertaining than he'd originally thought. Daphne had bottled down a little with her friend and jumped straight into the gossip around the school, Malfoy would skin himself if he knew wizards had such a common thing with muggles. The thought brought a chuckle out of him. Blaise raised an eyebrow.

The group minus Tracey was currently enjoying breakfast; We might just have a peaceful- It seemed the gods were tempting him, as soon as the thought popped into his head. A flock of owl appeared to fill up the Great Hall bearing letters and gifts for the students.

Malfoy rose up from his seat and made his way over to the Gryffindor table, here we go, Rodrick poked Blaise and called towards Daphne before pointing over towards the breakfast entertainment. It wasn't long before Malfoy started causing trouble, he'd taken one of the student's gifts it seemed. Rodrick squinted his eye trying to find out what it was before Daphne told him quickly. Some of the Slytherins had noticed the professors coming over towards the table as they warned Malfoy. Too bad, that would've been good. Thought a disappointed Rodrick.

...

He was on his way to his first flying lesson. 'Hopefully not my last,' he thought to himself. Blaise was murmuring something incoherent beside him. They had received some sharp looks from Malfoy and his friends; it seemed he didn't like the competition from the fellow Slytherin stealing the attention of other fellow Slytherins. I can hardly see my friends joining you; He appreciated the thought, it felt good, knowing the blonde considered him a threat. Even for the wrong reasons. He looked forward to the day he found out the right reasons.

"Ah, Rodrick!" Shouted an excited Tracey.

Rodrick stopped himself in his tracks and turned to source of the vocice. He let off a smile when he saw her; she'd seemed to like him even more since he'd helped her through potions. Daphne had tried to ignore the commotion her friend was making, unsuccessfully. "I am glad someone's looking forward to this..." Remarked Rodrick, his displeasure to flying was rather obvious.

"Why? Worried about something?" Blaise smirked.

"Leave him alone." Daphne frowned.

"No no, if I'm flying you should all prepare for me falling," The others would've laughed had it not been for the severe look on his face.

"Don't worry, I got your coffin covered." Blaise had no issue rubbing it in.

"Ha ha." Rodrick deadpanned.

"Blaise!" Tracey had an alarmed look on her face; She still wasn't used to Blaise's sarcasm, thought an amused Rodrick.

"We're going to be late," Warned Daphne.

"Good maybe we can miss the lesson," Rodrick added on.

Tracey promptly started to push Rodrick towards the field; I may have chosen the wrong friends.

In truth Rodrick was quite glad they were flying with Gryffindor, it meant Malfoy was busy tormenting someone else. If the boys non-stop chatter about flying was any basis, he didn't want any challenges with him that involved a broom.

It was probably for the best Malfoy didn't try to involve wands.

He doubted Snape would approve of sending another snake to the hospital.

"Nervous still?" Daphne asked. Blaise and Tracey seemed to speed ahead once they saw the field.

"No."

"Hm? Really? When did you get over your fears so quickly?" the words were practically dripping with sarcasm.

"I have a plan," Rodrick attempted the evilest smirk he could manage.

"Murdering someone won't make the the lessons stop just so that you know." Daphne had a worried look.

Rodrick deflated before he was pushed again towards the field after, quite obviously, slowing down on purpose. Well, it was worth a shot.

Ahead of them, Tracey was chatting animatedly about the lessons; it seemed she'd had plenty of practice riding a broom back at her home, having done so since she was a kid. He had asked Daphne if she felt the same way, receiving a definite no. It turned out Daphne was more on learning; it was commendable.

He had to admit the field looked relatively good for flying, if you could ignore the forbidden forest on the side anyway, The headmaster had spoken about how dangerous it was at the start of the year. Wizards should consider fences.

It seemed the Slytherin group was the first to arrive. Malfoy naturally already had half the class surround him as he explained his so called talent, "Think you're better than him, Tracey?", The girl looked startled before admitting she wasn't sure.

It was a breezy day; Perfect, make it even easier for me to fall, Thought an uncomfortable Rodrick.

"Don't worry, if you fall I am sure we can fix you right up." Blaise's magic words didn't seem to help.

Go figure.

Daphne took a different approach and patted him on the shoulder. Rodrick gave her a wane smile. That didn't help either. Now if they offered me a parachute...

It wasn't long before their fellow Gryffindor rivals arrived, each student took their place beside a broom. Rodrick was quite pleased to note he wasn't the only uncomfortable soul there.

Unfortunately, they were all Gryffindors and therefore didn't matter.

Tracey stood to his side to try and help him, something Rodrick was too grateful for to express. Blaise was on his other side to tease. I could do without that though. Rodrick stared down at his broom; his displeasure only grew worse when he realised how bad the broom's looked. "We're supposed to fly in these?" he questioned in panic.

"Oh relax, it's very safe," grumbled Blaise.

"Don't worry if you fall I'll catch you with my wand," whispered Daphne; she had apparently made her way over to his side.

"Blaise swap places with her," It's no parachute but... On that thought why hasn't grandfather taught me a useful spell for this!? The man actually started him on dangerous spells and curses before going towards the more... Acceptable ones... Then again, maybe it was because he knew Hogwarts could teach him that themselves? It certainly made more sense when he thought about it that way.

In all fairness his grandfather didn't need to make sense. What he was famous for proved he didn't care much for it.

He was going to pay for that thought later.

He just knew it.

To his credit, Blaise pretended to feign an offended look before he quickly changed spaces with the girl.

Daphne looked quite surprised at the turn of events, "Feel better?" she question amused.

"Not really, but ill take a positive attitude over Blaise's grim fortune telling." This earned a laugh out of the three around him, Rodrick didn't understand the humor.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch had finally shown up. She explained the rules and how to pick up their brooms. Rodrick was fairly sure it would be faster to physically pick up the brooms, to his misfortune he didn't even need to say a word before his broom made its way onto his hand. It seemed quite eager to hurt him. His friends didn't have as much trouble as most of the other students.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "On 3, I want you to kick off hard, rise a few feet before coming back down."

The teacher had counted to two before an impatient Gryffindor decided to push off, He couldn't control his flying. The look on his face quickly had Rodrick's broom on the ground, nope. The other students were looking on with shocked faces. The boy had reached 20 feet before he fell back down, breaking a wrist in the process.

Malfoy decided now would be the best time to be an idiot and started a fight with Harry Potter over some crystal ball or another, Rodrick wasn't sure, he took it for what it was. A blessing, he avoided flying. His pleasure seemed to show as Daphne reprimanded him for looking too happy. Blaise was paying more attention to the little show between Potter and Malfoy while Tracey was currently sulking. I almost feel sorry...almost.

Daphne had asked Rodrick to help her and Tracey more with potion's, it took a bit of coercing, but he finally agreed to spend another evening in the library, only after Blaise decided to join. "You're all hopeless." He said to the trio.

"I am sure everyone would love to hear how you almost ran out of the lesson out of fear," Daphne green eyes seemed to sharpen.

"Alright alright, forget I said it," Rodrick had his hand behind his head.

"Can always watch him suffer next week," Blaise added

Rodrick groaned out loud enough to get Tracey out of her stupor.

...

It was just after dinner that Rodrick had found out Malfoy had tricked Harry Potter into a midnight duel between themselves, he knew the real reason behind it, anyone with a brain would've seen it. Sadly Gryffindors tended not to use their brains very much. He was currently at an impasse, does he warn Potter about the trap or does he let Malfoy have his way?

He wound up asking his friends to see their opinion.

"Let Potter get expelled; I don't understand why we should care," Shrugged Blaise.

"It's not fair on Harry..." whispered Tracey unsure herself.

Daphne didn't say anything merely stared at Rodrick with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Rodrick asked the green-eyed snake.

"Well look at it this way, if Malfoy gets Potter expelled, his position in Slytherin goes up, " Daphne said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I don't have a problem with Malfoy," Blaise added with narrowed eyes.

Rodrick had stared around the group before his eyes landed on Tracey to see her slightly uncomfortable, Oh right, Malfoy had something against her blood.

"Perhaps you might not, Blaise but there are some in Slytherin who Malfoy would cause quite a bit of trouble for," Rodrick deadpanned, Blaise scowled, however, his face quickly returned back to neutral when he realised who Rodrick was talking about, Tracey. 'I mean he probably thinks I am muggle born for all I know, but he seems to have something else against me altogether.'

Tracey gave Rodrick a small, grateful smile. Daphne smirked at the whole scene in front of her.

"That settles that, I'll warn Potter later by myself," Rodrick's mouth thinned as he said this.

"Alone?" asked a pale Tracey.

Rodrick nodded slowly.

"Suit yourself, man."

Daphne, however, stayed quiet. Everyone took it as the end of the discussion before they all split up, Tracey stared at her friend who shook her head quickly. She had nodded in turn before she made her way towards one of the staircases leading to the girl's dormitory, Blaise found himself walking to a group of Slytherins playing a game of chess. Rodrick took a seat in one of the empty sofa's contemplating when he should go warn Harry Potter. Daphne took a seat beside him on the couch, startling him in the process.

"W-what is it?" Rodrick stammered slightly surprised.

Daphne stared at the ornate wooden table in front of her; she picked up one of the snake ornaments on it before she started warning Rodrick about the problems if he were to get caught helping a Gryffindor.

Rodrick, in turn, smirked before pointing towards the snake in her hand and muttering the house words, 'Don't. Get. Caught'. Daphne let out a sigh at this before she turned to face the reckless boy, she offered to help him, but he quickly refused.

Frowning Daphne asked him why.

"I don't need to do much, just have to warn Potter not to show up."

"And if he doesn't believe you?" she questioned back

"I don't see why he wouldn't; it's my word against Malfoy," Frowned Rodrick

Daphne shrugged before she got up and made her way off towards the girl's dormitory. What's with her? He thought.

Later on, as Rodrick was about to leave the common room, Blaise showed up in front of him to stop him from going through the door.

"What is it now? I thought you were fine with me going earlier, what changed?" questioned Rodrick, His lips tugging downwards

"Nothing, I just don't see why you would risk yourself getting expelled as well."

"I can't risk Malfoy getting too much influence, who knows how he'd start treating anyone that isn't a pureblood."

Blaise sighed heavily "There's another way to do this, a much less risky way," Blaise would've smirked at the look of surprise on Rodrick's face if he weren't annoyed at his friend's carelessness.

"How?" asked Rodrick

"just a particular clown who can help a couple of Gryffindors run away before it got too late," answered Blaise.

It was silent for a moment before Rodrick understood what he meant smiling himself.

"Peeves it is."

Rodrick and Blaise both made their way out of the dungeons; it didn't take them long before they found Peeves. Uttering his name a couple of times seemed to attract the Poltergeists attention. After explaining and bribing said spirit, he went along with their plan to warn Harry Potter about Malfoy's little trap. After successfully convincing the spirit, the two Slytherins made their way back to their common room to find Daphne sitting in the snake shaped sofa, seeing them return so quickly had surprised her.

She applauded Blaise's idea when they explained what they did but frowned when they told her about the bribing; She believed the Poltergeist was going to do something problematic to the Slytherins with his newly acquired prize. Both Daphne and Rodrick, however, agreed that less Malfoy influence was worth it. Blaise on the other hand merely nodded his head before the all three made their way back to bed. It was while asleep that Rodrick realized that the Peeves never actually agreed to warn only Harry Potter. 'Ah crap... Oh well, at-least we tried. '

Falling asleep Rodrick found himself once again staring at the mirrors. The routine followed through like before; his face changed back to show him his real reflection. His grandfather once again showed up to him, ready to teach him more.

He had, however, asked him a question that would bother him for the rest of the week. 'Do you think you're friends would accept your real self.' There was no malice behind the words; It was something Rodrick had found himself thinking about as well. He didn't want to find out anytime soon, not wanting to risk them deciding he was too dangerous to befriend, he may have been in Slytherin but other then Blaise the other two might not be as open to him if they knew his real name.

He also knew that if he waited too long before revealing it, then they might consider it a betrayal on his part. It was difficult. However, his grandfather wouldn't let him focus on it tonight, he had new curses to learn, so he decided to concentrate on that instead.

...

The next morning, Malfoy was quite angry when he realized that Harry Potter had in fact not been expelled which led to Rodrick smirking and Daphne elbowing him playfully, telling him not to be so blatant about it. Blaise seemed subdued for some reason Rodrick couldn't yet understand; he had been much more open the previous days. Rodrick made a note to ask him about it later. The group made their way over towards the great hall to have their breakfast. It was there that Rodrick received two birthday cards from Tracey and Daphne, they looked to be hand made although the one from Daphne had some form of magic included, He thanked both of them for it. They nodded back in turn smiling. Blaise seemed a little upset he hadn't been told about it before but when Rodrick questioned him giving him a card the boy stared at him for a split second before both of them started laughing at the idea. It's quite nice having friends. It only makes it all the more difficult. He supposed.

...

Time seemed to whizz through for Rodrick at Hogwarts; It had been two months since the start of the year. The school had a knack for excitement and drama occurring; this was mostly from a particular snake called Malfoy and his unhealthy obsession to try and torment the Boy-Who-Lived.

Each attempt ending spectacularly towards Harry Potter's favor. At the start of the year, Rodrick had found it amusing to see Malfoy fail so many times.

Two months in, however, Rodrick found himself irritated with the famed hero, he didn't have a problem with the boy himself so to speak but more with the professors.

Each one, Professor Snape aside, of course, had decided that due to his past, the boy had some special circumstances that allowed him to avoid punishment when he broke school rules. Rodrick found himself agreeing with Malfoy on more than one occasion when Harry Potter had violated a rule, and instead of punishment, he received a reward. Had it been any other student, they wouldn't get so lucky.

Professor Snape was perhaps the only teacher not to give the boy special treatment, and in Harry Potter's mind that meant the teacher was completely against him, it was ridiculous.

If Harry Potter received different treatment due to who he was, it made his own situation even worse, knowing that he had even fewer grounds to get any help for his circumstances. After all the only 'Benefits' he could think of being given to him would make his life all the more difficult.

The most recent event which still had Malfoy boiling over like a hot pan was when Harry Potter had received a brand new broom, another rule broken. Naturally, a first year having a broom is grounds for punishment at Hogwarts but because it was Harry Potter it didn't matter. Honestly, at this rate, it wouldn't surprise Rodrick if Albus Dumbledore had already decided that Gryffindor would be winning the house cup this year, simply because Harry Potter was in it.

Even then Rodrick couldn't find himself to care too much about the broom fiasco, as far as he was concerned as long as his feet remained on the ground, whatever happens in that hellish game didn't bother him. Rodrick was still glad that Malfoy was too distracted with the boy instead of trying to mess with him and his friends, it made life easier at Slytherin, although how long this freedom lasted was anyone's guess.

...

He stared around his current surroundings; there was nothing in sight, the vast area was blank and void of any colour. This wasn't his usual dream, the mirrors weren't in sight nor was the old teacher. It unnerved him, in fact, it felt quite suffocating. His mind burned through different kinds of explanations but none of them made any sense.

He blinked once. To his surprise, something appeared in front of him; it was a little too far to make out.

Rodrick moved towards the silhouette and quickly stopped when he noticed what the shape was. It was a familiar looking girl; he'd seen that hair enough times in the past months to recognize it, he had a card prepared for her today, in fact.

It was a stroke of luck him remembering her birthday if he was honest.

"Daphne," Rodrick called out but received no response.

He repeated the actions a few times to no avail.

He braced himself and he made his way closer to her. She was facing the other direction. He reached out with a hand and made to call her again before he quickly tensed. She was freezing.

Rodrick gulped down whatever built up in his throat before he attempted to turn her towards him. The sight that met him made him recoil, hitting the hard ground as he stared up at the girl. Her face was disfigured, one of her green eyes was replaced by a gaping hole. Her other eye looked devoid of life.

Rodrick attempted to speak, but nothing came out. The girl in front of him said the first words. "You hesitated...".

The sentence echoed through his head, louder each time. Before he jostled up from his bed covered in sweat. Rodrick looked around his dorm, Blaise was snoring quite loudly on the next bed. What the hell was that!? Rodrick almost shouted. He attempted to get out of his bed before he found himself drained of any energy, Whats going on... Where his last thoughts before he drifted back onto his bed and the darkness consumed him into sleep.

...

The morning took longer to come than he'd expected, the extra long sleep was appreciated. The words were still fresh on his mind, however, he quickly deemed it some nightmare and put it to the back of his head. He got himself ready for the upcoming Charms lesson, it was with Gryffindor, no doubt some trouble incoming.

Rodrick shook his head before he made his way over towards the mirror and freshened himself up for the day ahead. Blaise didn't look like he would be waking up anytime soon.

Rodrick let the boy doze off; Blaise had done the same to him previously which almost resulted in him been late to his head of house's lesson. Call it an eye for an eye, the thought however quickly repulsed him when he remembered the image in his dream.

Shaking himself, Rodrick made his way down to the common room where he spied Daphne and Tracey lounging around one of the sofa's, he saw Daphne's back facing him. He stopped himself for a moment fearful of the missing eye before he braced himself and moved closer.

Tracey spotted him first but didn't say anything when she noticed his finger on his lip; she gave off a small nod instead. He made to throw the card onto Daphne's lap before she turned her head.

The card hit her forehead. Probably should've levitated it...

Daphne stared down at the card before turning back up, she saw two yellow eyes almost looking through her, Rodrick was behind the couch towards her left, his arms resting on the back of the sofa lazily, there was a cheerful smile on his face.

"Happy birthda,y" he spoke first. She quickly gave him a grateful smile before opening and reading her second card.

"The scarf was a gift?" she heard him ask but before she could answer Tracey confirmed it for him, pointing towards herself. Daphne shrugged at the interaction with amusement.

The three of them sat in silence for a second before Rodrick plopped himself down onto the couch and grabbed hold of one of the books on the table. "Thanks for the card," she told him. He nodded his reaction, his attention already taken by the book.

After explaining Blaise's 'absence' from the group, the trio made their way over towards their first lesson, with a disapproving Tracey of course.

As they reached the door, someone almost crashed into Rodrick. Blaise looked to be out of breath before he huffed and narrowed his eyes at Rodrick.

"Not. Funny," he said in as much of a serious voice an 11-year-old could pull off, this naturally made the rest of them start laughing at his expense.

The boy gave off a small scowl before he made his way into the class. Rodrick put a hand over his shoulder to try and calm him down to no avail. With that failing, Rodrick playfully threatened to let it happen again, to Snape's lesson the next time.

Blaise took it with stride. He knew Rodrick was capable of a silencing charm. That was a genuinely terrifying threat. "On second thought, it was kind of funny, wasn't it?" he tried to put it off with a fake smile. This only made the boy laugh even more before Rodrick pushed him further into the Charms classroom. The two girls stared at the interaction with bewilderment before shrugging "Boys," and followed them in.

Their lesson today? The levitation charm, Rodrick had no issue with using it, having learned it years ago, not even from his grandfather. If you could use magic, the first thing you did was telekineses. It's practically a rule. Though to be fair, he never really tried it outside the dreams. There was always a risk of complete embarrassment if it decided not to work. With the caretaker there... Well it was difficult trying to test it out in secret...

At the very least, he pretended he had some form of difficulty. He didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention to himself.

The Gryffindors, unsurprisingly took the opposite approach, in that, they did not know how to do the levitation charm but somehow acted out as if they had been using it for years.

The lesson was quite humorous, seeing all the students attempt and fail the simple form of magic. Blaise looked like he was about to explode, Rodrick decided to spare him the misery and helped show him how it was done properly.

He had wanted to help the girls as well. Unfortunately, they were two rows lower, why they sat there he wasn't sure. Blaise shrugged his thanks and didn't question the fact he knew the spell already. Rodrick turned his attention back towards the rest of the class to see their progress, Malfoy looked like he had an idea of how it worked, his feather had managed to levitate a few inches of the table.

On the other hand, somehow, one of the Gryffindors had managed to blow up their feather, Rodrick stared at the feather shocked. How one earth were they were able to take a levitation charm and change it to an exploding one?

Weasley looked like he was trying to hit the bloody feather with his wand with the way he swished it around. Hermione Granger, was right next to him trying to and failing to explain the correct pronunciation. It seemed she had a good idea of the spell, however.

Ronald Weasley had decided instead of attempting it himself he should challenge the girl instead.

Granger obliged, and much to Rodrick's amusement managed to get the feather quite high into the sky which in turn excited the charms professor.

"Marvellous Miss Granger, absolutely stunning!" The girl practically beamed at the praise while Weasley looked like he just ate a rat.

Turning around Rodrick noticed a small frown on Daphne's face, Tracey looked put out as well. Were they competing with her?

True to his thoughts, Daphne then attempted to copy Granger and do the spell herself. Unfortunately, she made a small error and tried to lower her face to avoid the embarrassment when her feather refused to move.

She had drawn too much attention to herself when she'd attempted the spell. One of the Gryffindors, the one that had managed to blow up his feather, tried to make fun of the situation.

"S'ppose this proves not all Purebloods are as good as muggleborns ay?" he practically jeered at Daphne. Most of the students surrounding him started to snicker, some attempting and failing to hide their own, even Malfoy looked amused.

Daphne tried to lower her head even more, before...

Rodrick poked Blaise, "Watch this..." he Whispered. Blaise raised an eyebrow in response.

"Why don't you try it then, see how good you are, of course, try not to burn it this time," Rodrick shouted off towards the boy, this earned chuckles, mostly from the Slytherin students, Daphne looked back towards Rodrick with a questioned look on her face.

"Alright then." pronounced the Gryffindor student. He stared down at his feather, he performed his swish and flick and muttered the words.

Rodrick pointed his finger below the desk.

Instead of the feather going up. The Gryffindor started to fly up instead. The boy started whining in the air, much similar to Nevile Longbottom's first flying attempt; this brought about waves of laughter from most of the students in the room, even the Irishman's friends.

"I meant the feather," Rodrick deadpanned, "At least Slytherins know how to aim the bloody wand," he added on, This brought out small scowls from some of the Gryffindors, but even they couldn't help the smiles tugging at their faces.

The Slytherins were howling with laughter at the floating boy at this point. Rodrick looked towards Daphne and saw a smile etched onto her face before smiling himself.

The charms Professor brought everything back under control once his own small fit of laughter ended, he reprimanded the boy for poor spell control and told him to practice more.

The class ended not long after that, Rodrick was outside waiting for his friends before he was practically pushed aside by Granger who looked to be storming off, 'Whats wrong with her?'

He was soon joined by Blaise who had a stony look on his face, no doubt due to the next lesson, History.

Daphne and Tracey joined them, both still laughing from the flying Gryffindor.

"I can't believe he managed to levitate himself but not a feather!" scoffed Daphne, Rodrick was merely smiling

"I am sure Rodrick here can help explain what happened," Blaise was almost grinning when he uttered the words.

Rodrick silently cursed the boy before looking back towards two questioning pair of eyes. The pairs reaction after explaining what had occurred, however, was quite a surprise.

Daphne looked grateful towards him for his part before whispering to herself. Tracey demanded he taught her the spell later on. 'Ah the joys of friends...'

After finishing their second lesson, the group made their way towards the great hall to join in on the Halloween feast, Daphne, however, broke off from the group at the entrance.

"I'll see you guys in a bit, I just need to go to the bathroom first," She uttered, somewhat embarrassed, Tracey and Blaise nodded their heads before they made their way into the great hall.

Rodrick promised to leave her a seat near them to which he got a smile before the girl turned around and made her way away from the hall.

Rodrick, however, stayed glued to the floor, staring at the retreating girl. For some odd reason, the words from his dream echoed through his head once again. A moment later, however, Rodrick turned and went into the great hall to take his seat beside Blaise, opposite Tracey.

It was moments into the feast when Rodrick's fears were confirmed. He'd been in conversation with Tracey, when Professor Quirrell ran into the Hall screaming his head off about a troll in the dungeon.

Time seem to sit still for Rodrick the moment he heard the words.

He didn't pay any mind towards Dumbledores words; it looked like Blaise and Tracey were too busy panicking to notice him.

Quickly casting a disillusionment charm on himself, Rodrick moved past Quirrell and out of the great hall.

By the time he'd left, it looked like everyone was still trying to get out of their seat.

Ignoring all of that Rodrick started a small run towards the girl's bathroom hoping he wouldn't be too late, unbeknownst to him were the two Gryffindors with the same idea.

Rodrick had bolted towards his destination before he noticed the open door towards the girl's bathroom, he sighed in relief when he didn't see any sign of a troll. He went inside the room without a second thought before he heard a familiar voice squeal.

"Rodrick! Yo-you shouldn't be in here!" shrieked Daphne abashed at the boldness.

Rodrick looked at her and sighed in relief once again when he noticed both eyes staring at him; the action got him a raised eyebrow.

"We have to leave now! There's a troll on the loose, and it might come here." it took a few moments before the girl processed his words.

"W-what!? Are you joking?" she asked back, her eyes widening by the second, when she saw the serious look on his face.

"W-wait a second, I can't leave just yet, it's Granger, she's crying inside one of the stools. I can't seem to get her out." she said this pointing towards one of the closed stools.

Rodrick flinched a little when he realised why she was still there, but steeled himself and made his way over and opened the door forcefully. The girl gave a startled gasp at the action.

He recognized the bushy hair within seconds and then noticed the red puffs around her eyes indicating crying. "What are you doing here! this is hardl-" but before she could finish Rodrick interrupted her, urging her to move, stating it was dangerous.

The girl gave no reaction towards the words and instead almost deflated more before more tears came out. Dammit! She's not even thinking straight...I have to do this another way. He quickly thought.

His mind whirled around trying to think of how to put her spirits back up before he focused on one, Daphne was looking more and more worried by the second. She had stationed herself at the door in lookout for the troll.

Rodrick brought himself down onto eye level with the crying girl; the action made her look up before she pulled her head back quickly, their faces it seemed were to close for her comfort. Well, at least she's paying some attention. He thought to himself.

He steeled himself for the next part, knowing it might not work out well. "Tell me, do you want to prove to everyone here how much of a mud blood you are?"

The words shocked her, even Daphne gasped at the language, "Rodrick!" she shouted at him. The moment she made eye contact with him, the viper looking eyes stilled her. They rendered her silent. 'His face...there's something...' Daphne thought.

Hermione at this point stopped crying, instead her face contorted into shock.

"Your life here is hard enough already, don't give those idiots any more fuel to use against you." His words were quiet but sharp. They ringed through her head quickly. "Muggle-born or not, never lower your nose down to anyone beneath you, and judging from our classmates...that's quite a lot of them." The words practically shattered something inside her, she immediately whimpered out a reply.

"Even if I don't have friends..." the words were quiet.

Daphne had a look of pity on her face. This is dangerous...Do I offer myself as a friend or...However before he could finish the thought, the answer came up to him.

"If you're going to cry over some small insults then perhaps you're not worth anything as a friend, you're smart enough to warrant friends, don't degrade yourself for the sake of others. If you can't find any friends at Gryffindor. You can always join my group instead, we're all plenty stuck up there." Rodrick grinned before he put out a hand. Hermione looked at the hand, almost about to cry.

She took it.

Rodrick helped her up and gave off another smile. The smile practically melted off any of the tension she had felt.

Daphne had a surprised look on her face as she saw the girl back on her feet.

A moment later however she found herself being pulled back by Rodrick, within seconds, she was behind him and then heard a scream from Hermione.

'Crack!' Daphne looked up from her place on the floor to see the 12-foot looking tree, with its bark-like massive arms, its mud infested hammer-looking feet and a huge club on its right hand.

The troll was at the front of the door to the bathroom; the club had hit the side of the door, breaking off pieces of it, initially aimed for Daphne's head. Daphne's heartbeat was increasing quickly, she turned and saw a shocked look on Hermione's face. The girl was unable to move. When she turned towards Rodrick, She saw a steel mask in place.

"EXPULSO," Rodrick shouted aiming his wand at the troll, a flash of light emitted from the wand, straight into the troll pushing it out of the door. Within seconds Rodrick followed on with another spell.

"GLACIUS," a blue haze was released from the tip of the wand, aimed for the ground beneath the retreating troll.

'Crash.' The troll made a loud thud as its feet slipped on the frozen floor.

Hermione at this point had recovered from the floor and was by Daphne's side.

Rodrick pulled Daphne onto her feet before using another spell.

"INCARCEROUS," thin cords of rope were released from his wand and bound themselves onto the trolls hand and feet wrapping it stuck.

He pocketed his wand. The girls were stunned momentarily before they were both pulled by hand from Rodrick rushing them outside the bathroom past the troll.

"That will only hold it for a few seconds," They took his words in quickly and started making a sprint away from the troll, true to his words the troll was up in seconds, free from the bindings and looked to be angrier than before. It got into its own sprint trying to catch up to the three students running away.

Rodrick looked ahead and saw two Gryffindor Running towards them, the red tuft of hair confirmed Ronald Weasley, who had practically screamed when he saw the troll, the glasses confirmed Harry Potter, who surprisingly was a lot calmer.

"Turn around dolts you're going the wrong way!" he shouted at the two Gryffindors.

Seeing Hermione with Rodrick seemed to ease the boys as they attempted to turn around to run the other way.

Harry stepped to the side to avoid bumping into Hermione, Daphne's attention was diverted away. She'd been staring back at the Troll as she ran forward, it was a few feet away.

'Crash.' Daphne grunted as she impacted onto Ronald Weasley, Both of them fell onto the floor. Dammit Weasley! Rodrick inwardly cursed as he turned around and saw the source of the noise, he quickly took out his wand aiming it at the troll. The dreams voice now thundering through his head. The troll was right above a confused Daphne who was staring at the boy she just crashed into. The troll had his club lifted high aiming to slam down, Daphne turned her eyes and saw the raised club. She was frozen at the sight of it, images flashed before her eyes. Ron, on the other hand, was taking his imminent death in much more civilised manner. In that he screamed his bloody lungs out. Harry Potter had stopped running and turned back, trying to find his wand. Hermione had her hand covering her mouth.

As the troll was about to lower his club onto the girls face, one word echoed through the hall. It silenced the trolls grunts and stopped his giant club mere inches away from Daphne's face.

"IMPERIO!"