The Wishing Web

- Chapter One -

"Am I glad that's over with!" I sank into a nice squashy chair in the common room with great relief. Daphne flumped down beside me and nodded in agreement. We'd just come out of Transfiguration, which was always a hard class but no more so than on the first day back when everything you had learned the previous year seemed to have vanished from your brain without a trace.

"Do you think we should start our Charms homework now or leave it till the last possible minute?" she asked, glancing at what she'd written down on a piece of parchment.

"It would be very unlike you to do it now," I teased.

"That's true but make sure you do it before Thursday afternoon or I won't have anyone to copy off."

"Ok." She'd do it before then though. Daphne took her studies far more seriously than she let on and her high marks spoke for themselves. She wasn't a great student on the level of someone like Hermione Granger but she did pretty well.

We sat in comfortable silence for a while. First years were running in and out in that annoyingly boisterous fashion that first years have. I looked at them and snorted. It was hard to believe that at one time I had been one of them. How horrifying.

"So, do we stick to our standard routine with them," Daphne asked, jabbing her thumb at the first years.

"Yep. Whenever they ask where a classroom is we give them the directions to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

Daphne grinned gleefully. "Gets them every time."

I chuckled, remembering the many angry new students we'd had after our blood in previous years. Served them right for being such annoying little twits.

As if it had only just now occurred to her Daphne leaned forward and murmured in a low voice meant for my ears only, "Did you talk to your dad over the summer?"

I frowned. I could tell from her expression that she had been dying to ask me this for some time. "I talk to my dad quite often," I replied sarcastically. That was not a topic I wished to discuss right now.

"You know what I'm talking about so stop dodging the subject." I knew she was only doing her job as a friend and being concerned about me but I'm just not that good at talking about my feelings.

Now, though, might be a good time to start.

"No I didn't talk to him about it," I said truthfully. Daphne didn't seem at all surprised with my answer but she was far from pleased nevertheless.

"Why not?" she demanded.

I opened my mouth to reply but realised that upon examination I really didn't know why. I closed my mouth and just shrugged.

"Come on, I don't think he'd really mind. Your dad is a good bloke," Daphne encouraged. I grinned then, remembering the summer she had spent at my house. We'd driven my parents insane but all in all they had been good sports about it.

"Yeah I know...well, how on earth do you come out and say 'Dad I want to be an Auror and risk my life on a daily basis?' Assuming of course that I qualify at all," I pointed out. The truth was that I was terrified of disappointing my parents. They had such high hopes for me, just like all parents do for their children I suppose. I didn't want to let them down. Aurors are well respected of course but that's because they do a very dangerous job. I couldn't see my parents being particularly thrilled about it if I did tell them.

"You could try saying it like that. You've wanted this since second year, it's not like your parents can stop you or anything even if they don't like it," she said reasonably. And she had a point - your parents only ever influenced your choices, they could not actually make them for you. Besides, I couldn't imagine my parents actively trying to stop me. They could be strict and had very old-fashioned ideals about some things but they were hardly ogres.

"I could trade them for your parents if you want," I said brightly. Daphne's parents were what could best be described as 'workaholics.' It drove Daphne insane because their work as Healers at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries was all they ever talked about at home.

"Feel free to take them any time. I mean that," she replied earnestly.

*

The end of the first week found me browsing in the library for some books on Truth Potions. As ever Professor Snape had assigned us a pile of homework equal to the height of Ben Nevis. However I rather liked the library. While it did have a somewhat murky atmosphere to it with it's dim lighting and dull décor it was nice and quiet and therefore appealing to me.

As I glanced the shelves I could hear the faint sounds of Madam Pince arguing with Daphne over a book she insisted Daphne had had checked out for over a year. Daphne begged to differ.

" ... If you had given that book back in it would have been noted in here - "

"Have you ever considered the possibility that you made a mistake?"

"Don't you speak to me in that insolent tone young lady!"

Amused, I turned my attention back to the task at hand and realised that I stumbled across one of the books I'd been looking for. Removing it from the shelf I decided due to it's vast size that this would surely do for now and headed back to the table where we had left our things. Settling down I opened the book and glanced absently across to the next table. I was surprised to see Potter seated there alone, absorbed in a large doorstop of a book. I tried to see what the title of the book was without success.

"Stupid old cow!" seethed Daphne when she returned from her bout with the pinched faced librarian. It looked like the librarian had won.

"I'm guessing you have to pay the fine."

"Two Galleons for a stupid book that probably nobody but me has ever bothered to read in a hundred years!" she continued angrily. I went back to my own book, knowing that she would cool down pretty soon. Picking up my quill I began to make notes. After a half hour of writing I handed my notes to Daphne so she could copy them.

"Have you seen who's sat at the next table," I said in an undertone as she took the parchment.

"Yeah." When I offered nothing further she added, "And this is important because...?"

"Just don't see him on his own much these days," I mused, curious. I couldn't honestly remember the last time I had seen him without at least Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger at his side.

"Well that's not very surprising," She said dismissively. "What's that he's reading anyway?"

"Dunno. I couldn't see the title," I replied, squinting through the gloom but still unable to make out the lettering on the leather cover.

Daphne got up and began to nonchalantly stroll down the bookshelf in front of where Harry was sitting. He looked up; absently pushing his glasses back up his nose. She continued moving down the bookshelf and he returned his attention back to his book. Daphne risked a glance over her shoulder. Her lips moved slightly. She looked from the book to Harry with great interest. Whatever his reading material was it had got her attention all right.

Picking out a book at random she wandered back to the table and sat down.

"So what was it?" I enquired eagerly.

"The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts." She paused for dramatic effect. "What do you say to that?"

"I'd say that makes perfect sense really, considering who he is and all," I offered but there had to be more to it than that. Could he be researching a way to defeat You-Know-Who? We discussed the possibilities in excited whispers as Potter continued to read his book, completely oblivious to our speculation. Eventually he looked at his watch. Apparently deciding he'd been there long enough he stretched, rose from his seat and left, allowing us to continue our discussion more freely.

"Well, he obviously came alone so he could read his book without his friends knowing," I said. "Which means that whatever he's up to, Weasley and Hermione aren't in on it."

Daphne agreed. "Yeah. So it's probably dangerous then." She seemed positively delighted at the idea. I, however, was sceptical.

"What?" she said defensively off my look. "Potter and danger go together like Filch and Mrs. Norris. Inseparable." She nodded once as if that settled it - no ifs, no buts.

I scratched my chin thoughtfully. "It is possible that he is in fact not up to anything at all and this is all just wild unfounded theories made up by two people who have no lives." We both laughed.

"I'll go with that," Daphne said between giggles.

"Damn straight. Do you want to finish this tomorrow?" I asked, indicating the notes we had made from the book.

"Can we?" she stifled a yawn. We began collecting up our things. I wondered briefly if our theories really had been so far off the mark. I didn't have all the details but Potter had certainly had it rough the last few years in particular. "We don't have Potions till Tuesday right?"

"Uh huh."

As we headed out of the library (watched closely by the beady eyes of Madam Pince), I turned to Daphne and said, "I've been meaning to ask - what was Hermione Granger like as a partner in Defence Against the Dark Arts? I remember you being so thrilled about it."

She punched me playfully on the arm. "Shut up. Imagine having to put up with this all lesson - " she put on a high pitched voice that did bear a good resemblance to Granger's " - Oh let's try that again Daphne, I'm not sure we got it right! Please stop doodling in that book Daphne it's rather rude. Were you even paying attention at the beginning Daphne?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Well, at least you're with someone who's entertaining," I said, remembering the hostile silence I'd endured from Ron Weasley.

"I'd take someone who ignored me over Hermione any day, even if it was Weasley," she complained as we headed towards the dungeons.

I didn't give Potter and the book a second thought.

*

Racing along a corridor, my bag swinging erratically from my right shoulder, I cursed myself for my bad luck. Well, it wasn't bad luck really. I had in actual fact slept in and was late to my first lesson. I couldn't recall ever doing that before and I was angry that no one had tried to wake me. It wasn't at all surprising that none of the other boys had bothered but Daphne could have at least come to check on me.

Throwing my arms out I managed to stop myself slamming headlong into a wall as I turned a corner and dashed down the corridor that led to the room where Potions was held. At least I hadn't had far to run and was only about five minutes late at most.

However, Professor Snape would probably not see it that way.

I ducked into the room as quietly as possible and quickly sought out my friend as Professor Snape addressed the class.

" ... And in the very unlikely event that any of you have managed to produce a remotely satisfactory...you are five minutes late Mr. Zabini."

Damn. I'd been hoping that my diminutive size might have helped me slip in unnoticed. I might as well have hoped for it to rain Galleons.

"Yes sir, I'm very sorry sir," I said meekly between gasps as I struggled to catch my breath. I was not an athletic person at all which was partly the reason why I had no interest in Quidditch. Well, that and I thought it a boring waste of time.

Snape eyed me as I sat down beside Daphne. "I would hope that students from my House would set a good example to others," He continued, shooting a rather barbed glance at the Gryffindors.

"Yes sir," I said again, taking out my homework, noting that Daphne's own homework was quite a bit longer than mine.

"As I was saying - if any of you have actually managed to produce a satisfactory Truth Potion I may test some of them on you at the end of the lesson." The class shuddered. Nobody was exactly thrilled at the prospect of revealing some of their innermost secrets to the whole class. I was not concerned though. What we were making was only moderately strong at best. Not anywhere near as powerful as Veritaserum for instance. Besides it was very rare for Snape to actually make us test our potions. It was usually only something he did when he was in a particularly foul mood.

"How come you didn't come and wake me?" I hissed to Daphne as I set up my cauldron.

"I thought you were sick or something. It's not like you to sleep in," she answered, ferreting around for her ingredients.

"Yeah, that's true."

"Why didn't any of them wake you up?" She indicated the other Slytherin boys as she began to measure out spine of lionfish. "Oh wait, I just remembered who I'm taking about." I snorted with laughter as I took out my pumice stone and began to idly pass it from one hand to the other.

As we set to the task of putting the potion together, something that required the kind of patience I did not posses, which was probably why mine always turned out to be merely usable rather than great, Professor Snape went about his rounds. He stalked between our cauldrons, criticising nearly everyone he came to.

I noticed through the steam emanating from the bubbling cauldrons that a small group of Gryffindors were huddled in conversation beside theirs. Since Snape was quite happy to penalise Gryffindors for the mere act of breathing I thought that blatantly talking in his class was a silly thing for them to do.

Putting down the pumice stone that I'd been juggling, I wandered over to the student store cupboard on Daphne's orders to fetch some knotgrass. The sound of Snape's silky voice drifted in as I was pulling out several clumps. He seemed to be telling off the students I'd seen talking earlier.

" ... Seem to think my class is strictly for your own personal chat time. Well, allow me to correct you..." audible sniggering broke out at this. My fellow Slytherins were apparently enjoying the show.

"Yeuch!" I said to myself as I saw that my fingers had turned rather green from pulling out the knotgrass. Bloody stuff got everywhere. Deciding that I must have enough, I picked up what I had collected and went back into the classroom. I blinked in surprise when I saw Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom seated in the previously unoccupied space at the end of our table.

"What are they doing here?" I whispered as I carefully added the knotgrass to the mixture.

"Professor Snape moved them here," Daphne explained, sounding none too pleased. "Because they were talking or something." I wasn't exactly ecstatic at the new seating arrangement either since Longbottom managed to be the cause of some kind of accident every single Potions lesson. It was surprising that he had managed to qualify for Advanced Potions at all since you needed good O.W.L. scores and Professor Snape was pretty selective. But then again - I was here wasn't I? And I was hardly outstanding at it either.

"We have to leave this to simmer for a while," I said, rechecking the instructions on the blackboard. "And then we add the stone at the end."

Daphne sat down and pulled out the latest copy of The Quibbler from her schoolbag, a bizarre magazine full of hilarious and very silly stories. We loved it simply because it was so off the wall. I picked my nails, bored. Then something caught my eye. A few tables in front Draco Malfoy was huddled with his henchmen and they kept shooting malevolent looks in our direction. I realised they were looking at Longbottom and I wondered with some apprehension what they were planning to do and whether I should be getting out of the way.

Hermione seemed to have noticed too because I overheard her say "Ignore them Neville." Longbottom nodded with a resolute look on his face, a look I could not recall ever seeing on him before.

Daphne nudged me in the side. "Look at this story," She said, giggling. I peered over her shoulder. It was about flying carpets and how some of them had minds of their own. I was just reading the opening sentence when something small came flying towards our table. It all happened so fast that it took a while for me to realise what had happened. I have absolutely no idea what made me do it - what made me take those two hurried steps, stretch out my hand and snatch the missile that was en route to Longbottom's cauldron out of the air.

There was a protracted silence as every face in the class turned towards me. I stared dumbly down at the pitted little stone I had clutched in my hand. At the time I had had no idea that if the pumice stone was added at the wrong time it could cause an explosive reaction. Unwittingly I had just saved Longbottom from a potential disaster.

Malfoy's grey eyes narrowed in fury at me but the general atmosphere was one of puzzlement. They obviously couldn't understand why a Slytherin had apparently helped a Gryffindor.

Snape eventually broke the silence. "Get back to work! Now! Zabini, give Mr. Malfoy his pumice stone back."

I stared at him, not sure I had heard him correctly. "Pardon?"

"He threw it at Neville on purpose!" burst in another voice, shrill with anger. It was Hermione.

"If I want your input Miss Granger, I'll ask for it!" snarled Snape. He held out his hand for the stone, which I handed back mutely. He swept up to Draco and gave it back to him.

For a very long time I stood there staring at nothing.

"What the hell just happened?" Daphne asked after what seemed like an eternity.

I don't know," I replied sincerely.