Summary: This starts off during the Goblet of Fire, with two changes in the initial conditions. First, Hermione doesn't believe Harry when he tells her that he did not put his name in the Goblet. And second, Harry has an odd sort of friendship with Daphne Greengrass which has slowly grown since a chance meeting in their first year. Flashbacks will explain that a little more throughout the story. Enjoy.
As the sun began to set over Hogwarts, its most famous student was sitting outside by the shore of the lake contemplating the events of the previous few days. 'Well, this year has gone downhill a little earlier than normal,' Harry Potter thought with a sad smile.
The previous night his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire, despite the fact that he had never put it in. Thinking about the Weasley twins' unsuccessful attempt to enter the contest he wondered how such a thing was even possible. As bad as that night had been, today was even worse. No one, not even his best friends Ron and Hermione, believed him when he insisted that he had not put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Neville seemed to be the closest to believing him, and that was only because he responded with a confused look and a shrug saying "I don't know, Harry". A huge screaming match had broken out at lunch when Harry tried to talk to Ron and convince him to see it from his point of view, and as a result he doubted that he would be on speaking terms with his alleged 'best mate' for quite some time. That had also cost his house 20 points, courtesy of Professor Snape. Hermione didn't scream at him, but let it be plainly known that she didn't believe him either and was upset with him for breaking the rules so blatantly. So Harry was out here, trying to avoid them and rest of his classmates. But the sound of footsteps approaching told him that not everyone was trying to avoid him.
"Hello Potter" said a some what emotionless voice that was still quite pretty. Harry looked up from his thoughts to see Daphne Greengrass. At first he was a little surprised by her sudden appearance, but after a moment's thought realized it was entirely typical of their previous interactions with each other. Harry didn't think they were friends exactly, but it seemed like once every few months they would find themselves in long intense conversations, typically about the dangerous circumstances that Harry constantly found himself in. Other conversations were about her frustrations with the expectations placed on her as a member of one of the "elite pureblood families". It was odd in that there was usually very little small talk and at other times they barely even acknowledged each other. Harry reasoned that they were both amused about the secret "friendship" between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Not even Ron and Hermione were aware that Harry had ever talked to Daphne outside of class.
"Hello Greengrass."
As Daphne sat down on the shore a few feet from him, Harry took the opportunity to really look at her again. She had grown up quite a bit from the first time the spoke during the winter break of their first year. Harry knew the blond haired Slytherin had a reputation for not only being one of the most beautiful girls in the school but also as unapproachable. She had few friends and didn't seem interested in making any more, another one of the reasons that Harry was intrigued by their odd friendship. For a few minutes neither of them spoke, but simply turned and watched the lake. Finally, Daphne broke the silence.
"Well Potter, I'm waiting." she said, looking at Harry expectantly.
"Waiting for what?" Harry answered with a confused look on his face.
"For you to tell me that you didn't put your name in the Goblet of Fire." she answered simply.
"But I didn't! Why won't anyone believe me?" Harry said loudly.
"Calm down. I believe you, Potter. Putting your name in the goblet like that just isn't your style. Now if you believed that doing something so reckless and stupid might help out those ignorant friends of yours, then I believe you would do it without hesitation. But for fame? No, that just isn't you." Daphne explained. Harry let out a sigh, happy that someone had finally believed him. "So I take it you can't just refuse to compete can you?"
