As she made her way down the hall the knot in Daphne's stomach began to grow exponentially. She had been so preoccupied with everything else happening the last few days it was easy to quickly distract herself when she started to think of this upcoming meeting with her parents. She had told Harry she would help him regardless of what her parents thought and it was the truth. But even though she didn't need their approval...she desperately wanted it.

As her mother spotted her Daphne caught a glimpse of the warm, loving smile she seemed to save only for her daughters before it morphed into the more formal 'public' version. It took all of Daphne's willpower not to break into a run and envelop herself in her parents' arms and blurt out everything. 'Not the time or place Daphne,' she heard her parents chorus in her thoughts, and her resolve strengthened. She settled for slightly increasing her pace.

As she reached her mother and they embraced she realized her head of house was there as well, lurking in the shadows for no particular reason she could think of. 'Always with the dramatics,' she mused as he gave a brusque nod to her parents and dramatically billowed his robes as he left them. She heard her father quietly muttering "Git" under his breath and the knot loosened ever so slightly.

"Lady G., Lord G., so lovely to see you again," she heard Tracey say in an overly aristocratic tone before dramatically bowing and smiling...really smiling. 'Idiot,' Daphne mused as the knot loosened again.

After hugging them formally Tracey continued. "I will take my leave now, as always it's a pleasure to see you." The tone was meant to sound insincere but Daphne knew Tracey meant every word. Tracey unexpectedly pulled her into a hug as well and whispered in her ear, "tell them about Harry. They will think it's brilliant I promise." She nodded into Tracey's shoulder and smiled. The knot vanished.

As they began walking to the carriage for their trip to Hogsmeade Daphne realized Astoria was still walking with them. Her mind desperately kicked into gear thinking of how to prevent her from tagging along. It was imperative that Astoria knew nothing about what she had planned.

"Astoria, what are you doing?" she said as she stopped walking, forcing her sister to stop as well. "I told you we are going to be talking about business. You hate that stuff."

Astoria shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't have anything better to do. If I go I can have a butterbeer and spend time with mum while you and dad talk about important things."

Daphne noticed her mother was going to jump in but she quickly replied to prevent it. Astoria was too smart. She would figure out this wasn't a simple business discussion if her mother tried to help. She hated playing on Astoria's good-hearted nature but it was the only thing she could think to do.

She grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her away from their parents and began speaking quietly. "Once we are done with business I was going to tell them about Harry. I think it would be better if it's just me there."

Astoria responded with a small smile and nod. Daphne simultaneously felt a warmth in her heart and a heaviness on her conscience but knew it was for the best. "Daphne helpfully reminded me that I haven't started my Potions project," Astoria said as she looked back at Daphne in annoyance. "I think I better stay and work on that instead." As Astoria hugged her family goodbye Daphne suddenly realized what an excellent liar her sister was and how much better she was at espionage.

As their carriage began to move she started to speak before being interrupted by her father. "Your mother and I have so missed taking these rides into Hogsmeade. Please indulge your parents and save the serious discussions until we are at lunch Daphne."

"Of course father," Daphne replied, her father's message well and truly received. She mentally berated herself for being so impulsive. This was too important not to take every precaution possible.

The fifteen-minute ride into Hogsmeade seemed to take an eternity and the stubborn knot came back in full force. Eventually, they arrived and were escorted into their private room. As their food was being delivered Daphne took a deep breath and inexplicably thought about Harry confessing why he wore such horrible clothes. Of all the things he had shared Daphne suddenly realized that was by far the one that took the most courage. The knot remained but she gained the resolve to stubbornly ignore it.

As soon as they were finally alone her father briskly moved to the entrance placing a locking charm on the door while her mother simultaneously placed a privacy charm on the room. As her father sat back down he spoke. "Please cut to the chase Daphne. Your letter frankly terrified your mother and me."

Daphne chuckled nervously and began. "First of all I'm not in any immediate danger and neither is Astoria." Her parents' expressions visibly relaxed and her father nodded for her to continue. Time to get to the heart of the matter.

"I've been approached to try to help in the war...in defeating You Know Who...by Harry Potter. He hasn't given me the specifics yet without an oath but in essence, what The Prophet has been saying is true. He is the Chosen One."

She quickly continued. "He has an idea that he thinks could end You Know Who but he needs help with the theory and development. It may not work but he knows I'm near the top in our class and thinks I can help with what he has in mind. I guess he's been paying attention to me and Astoria over the years and he's done some research on our family. He believes in me...believes in our family and is asking for my help."

She watched as her father took a drink of his coffee before responding. "So you are asking for our approval to help Mr. Potter?"

Daphne briefly considered lying and saying yes to the question but immediately banished the thought. 'Checkers not chess' popped into her thoughts again as she purposely looked into her parents' eyes and replied honestly.

"No. I've already agreed to help but I told him I needed to let you know and hopefully get your help and advice. He agreed."

She saw a ghost of a smile on her mother's face as she gave an approving nod. She watched as her father removed his glasses and methodically began cleaning them with his handkerchief. This was her father's habit when he was gathering his thoughts and Daphne patiently waited for his reply.