The red and gold Snake.

Chapter 7: History of the dark Arts

They did find the girl, but only after searching through the whole castle. Harry remembered that she liked to hide herself in the bathroom when she was upset so that's where they had started. Only to find out that looking in all bathrooms was as much work as going through the whole castle.

"Please, tell me she didn't run towards this one." Daphne muttered, looking at the door of another girls-bathroom. They were currently standing on the first floor and Harry looked confused at the blonde beside him. They hadn't talked much, and this was the first sentence in half an hour she spoke to him.

"Why do you hope she isn't here? I mean, if she is, we can cheer her up and quit looking." The raven muttered.

"Because this is the bathroom from Moaning Myrtle. She is haunting this bathroom for over 50 years now and this is the last one you should come to find peace and quiet." Her Safire eyes were piercing in his green and the boy shuffled uneasy. "You'll find out in a minute." The girl muttered.

They entered the bathroom after quickly scanning their surroundings. The girls' bathroom was the last place Harry wanted to be caught.

"Hermione?" Daphne quietly spoke. The only noise Harry heard was a soft sobbing but apparently Daphne knew enough. She quickly walked further into the room towards the last door of the toilet. Harry could now hear a soft cackling too.

"Oh dearie, did some boy make fun of you?" He heard a girl's voice saying. "Well too bad. You probably deserved it. Look at you with your bushy hair and big teeth!"

"Leave her alone, Myrtle." Daphne spoke harshly. "Don't you have something else to do than taunt the poor girl?!"

"Oh, look. Cry-baby has a friend!" The taunting voice said again.

Harry was losing his temper. Who in Merlin's name did that girl think she was? He quickly approached the small cabin, but the girl was nothing like he taught she would be.

"A boy!" A girl with large, jam pot glasses screeched. "You invited a boy over in the girls' bathroom?"

"Harry, meet Myrtle." Daphne said annoyed, kneeling down next to Hermione who had her face hidden in her hands. "She is the ghost who haunts this toilet, and you can see why nobody likes her."

A bit surprised over Daphne's harshness but glad that the wailing ghost disappeared into the nearest toilet, Harry kneeled down next to Hermione as well.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" He asked concerned.

"Really?" Daphne shot him a disapproving look. Obviously the brunette wasn't alright. "Come on Hermione. Blaise didn't mean it like that. To be honest, I'm sure he feels even worse than you now."

Hermione looked up from her knees and gave Daphne an unbelievable look.

"I doubt that. Myrtle made sure I feel even worse than before I entered this room." She muttered.

"Well, you could've picked every room instead of this one." Daphne said, shrugging her shoulders. "Now, come on. Get out of the self-pity. You and Blaise can talk this out after we cleaned you up a bit. Because seriously, puffy eyes are so last season." Daphne helped Hermione up and Harry looked bemused at the two girls who seemed to have cleaned the air already.

"Daphne, why are you nice to me?"

"Why wouldn't I be." The girl said shrugging. "Not only are you the brightest witch of our age and are you a blessing for my schoolwork, the boy-who-lived is friends with you and you made two purebloods think different about muggleborns... You are special. And I like special." She smiled at the girl. "And besides, shutting my inner Slytherin up, I like you." She bumped her hips at Hermione's and the girl chuckled.