Daphne was keenly aware of the sound of her own footsteps as she briskly made her way to the library to meet Harry. The hallway was so quiet...too quiet. This was truly her last chance to back out. She felt a bit as if she was knowingly walking toward a tornado. Not the most sensible thing to do.

True to their word Astoria and Tracy had kept the harassment to a minimum when she told them she was meeting up with Harry at the library. Their teasing was limited to Astoria commenting that Daphne might finally manage an Exceeds Expectations in Defense with Harry's help and Tracey noting how hard Daphne had worked to finish her schoolwork all day before her actual 'study' session with Harry. If anything they seemed to be very nervous for her and the attention that Harry and Daphne being together would cause. She preferred the teasing.

As she entered the library she quickly scanned the tables and was relieved when she didn't see Harry. That meant he hadn't arrived yet or had been smart enough to get a table near the back. She then spotted a different set of Gryffindors seated nearby.

Hermione and Weasley's younger sister (Jenny?) were seated at a nearby table. When Hermione spotted her she smiled slightly and subtly gestured with her head toward the back. Daphne smiled and nodded in return, thankful for the assistance and the silent support.

Jenny was much less pleasant. Daphne wasn't sure what homework she was working on but whatever it was she wasn't enjoying it. At all. Daphne worried for the table as the girl seemed to be carving into it with her quill as she wrote. She made a mental note not to get on the girl's bad side.

She finally found Harry all the way in the back near the Restricted Section. 'Smart boy' she mused. She was also pleased to see the other table nearby was empty. Taking baby steps into their public ruse was her preference. All they needed was one person spotting them for the news to spread throughout the castle. No need for a larger audience than necessary.

He spotted her and smiled, immediately settling Daphne's nerves. "Hello again," he said warmly. He looked around before continuing in a hushed tone. "Ready to slay a dark lord?"

"You seem disturbingly relaxed," she quietly replied as she smiled and took a seat.

He shrugged and smiled again. "It's the first time I can remember ever being truly in control of something in my life. It may be a flop but at least it will be my flop. Sounds stupid I know."

Daphne immediately understood. Since she was young her focus had always been on her family's interests. It was a tremendous blessing but it was not uniquely her own. "Not stupid at all," she replied.

His smile grew as he asked, "Did you see the welcoming committee when you came in?"

"Hermione?" She asked.

He nodded and spoke. "She 'volunteered' to come with me and point you back here. When Hermione volunteers it's more of an order rather than a suggestion."

"She seemed quite happy to be helping...reminded me of Tracey and Astoria. Your friend Jenny seemed to be in a foul mood though."

He suddenly burst out laughing before quickly quieting. "You mean Ginny?" He became more thoughtful and continued. "She really seemed bothered? She was fine earlier...maybe a bit quieter than normal."

The reason suddenly became obvious. She was surprised it didn't dawn on her before. "Don't suppose she's jealous do you?" Her stomach became unsettled as she realized if it were true then she was on the girl's bad side.

"You reckon?" Harry asked, looking slightly pleased. "She used to fancy me but she's got a boyfriend now. I thought she was over me"

For some reason, Harry being pleased annoyed Daphne. Time for a change in topic. "So are we ready?"

Harry quickly refocused and nodded his head. "So everything from here on out is covered under the oath. Agree?"

He waited for Daphne's nod and quickly cast a spell that she immediately recognized. "You know Muffliato?"

He looked stunned. "You know Muffliato?"

"Snape teaches it to every Slytherin in first-year," Daphne supplied. "It's meant to be a secret which makes me curious. How do you know it?"

Harry paused before replying, clearly considering something. Finally, he replied. "I'll tell you another time." He then pulled out two galleons, handing one off to Daphne.

"I really appreciate the thought Harry but the profit from the basilisk is enough." Harry ignored her joke and tapped the coin he was still holding with his wand. The coin she was holding immediately became warm.

"Look at the outside of the coin," he instructed. Instead of the normal series of numbers, there was a message.

Carry this coin at all times.

"We can use these coins to send messages to each other. If you are ever in trouble or need to meet up with me just tap the coin and think of the message you want to send," Harry supplied as her finger grazed over the words.

"Protean Charm?" she asked. "This is an ingenious bit of magic Harry. Did you think of this?"

He laughed. "Are you mad?"

"Hermione then?" she asked.

Harry nodded in reply. "She came up with them for our Defence group last year. Dead handy."

"Smart," Daphne commented sincerely. "I appreciate the caution but are these really necessary?"

"Yes," he replied in a tone that would brook no argument. He suddenly seemed to deflate. "I promised myself no-one else will be hurt due to my carelessness."

"Your godfather," she commented. It wasn't a question.

He nodded slightly and after a moment recovered. "Yeah, but we will get to that later. Let's crack on."

"I'll need this back before we leave," he said seriously as he slid a piece of parchment across the table.

'The Prophecy', she realized. "Here we go," she mumbled as she took a deep breath and slowly began reading. After rereading it multiple times she spoke.

"As the seventh month dies...you were born on-"

"July 31st," he supplied.

"Mark him as his equal," she said in a hush, her eyes unconsciously drifting to Harry's forehead. "Merlin, you really are the Chosen One aren't you?" she finally blurted.

"That seems to be the consensus," he replied casually. The responsibility on his shoulders seemed unfathomable to her.

"It actually could have been one other person. Voldemort had narrowed it down to the two of us and chose to attack me first. So in a way he really did 'choose' me. The other person is actually in our year and was born on July 30th. His parents were heavily involved in fighting Voldemort during the war and had defied him multiple times as well."

"Neville Longbottom," she replied unconsciously as her heart sank.

"Yeah, that's right," Harry confirmed. She could tell from his tone of voice that he was surprised she sorted it out so quickly.

"My parents were really close to Frank and Alice Longbottom," she said as her eyes suddenly began to well up. Gryffindors really were brave. It seemed they had to be merely to survive.

She stared down at the parchment as Harry spoke. "I know a lot of Slytherins think of him as a bit of a joke but he's brilliant...brave."

She stayed silent, remembering all at once the jokes her fellow Slytherins had made at Neville's expense over the years and the multiple times she had genuinely laughed.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, concern clear in his voice.

She stubbornly wiped away the tear that had escaped and nodded her head...suddenly desperate to move on. "Any theories on this 'power he's knows not'?" she asked.

Daphne was immensely grateful when Harry didn't push her more on the Longbottoms, simply nodding before answering her question.

"Dumbledore reckons it's love. Voldemort doesn't understand the concept and the headmaster seems to think I'm the shining example of it."

"You're serious?" Daphne blurted out. It just sounded so absurd.

"It sounds dodgy I know but it does make some sense. The magic my mother used to save me as a baby was based on her love for me...and there's been a couple of other times love has helped save me. "

She was furiously processing all of this information as Harry continued. "I've recently had another idea about what it means though." The unsettled tone in his voice jolted her to attention. She looked him in the eyes and waited for him to continue.

"I actually think it may be...you."