Harry's twin || Between Light and Shadow

Chapter 10: House cup

Her instincts screamed at her to stay quiet.

With trembling hands, she cast a silencing charm around her bed, muffling the strangled sobs that forced their way past her lips. She curled in on herself, biting back a scream as the pain reached its peak. Her vision blurred, her body convulsed—

By dawn, she passed out, her sheets damp with sweat. 

---

As the sun raised above the horizon, the castle had transformed. With classes over, the mood had shifted from tense anxiety to unbridled joy. Students filled the corridors, laughing and playing games, relieved of their academic burdens.

Daisy and the other Slytherin girls had taken to lounging in their dormitory, sprawled across the beds, basking in their newfound freedom. Daphne was the only one missing—until she burst into the room, breathless and wild-eyed.

"Have you heard? Harry Potter's at it again!"

Daisy sat up immediately. "What happened?"

Daphne closed the door behind her, as if to make sure no one else could hear. "You remember the third-floor corridor? The one that's off-limits unless you want to die a horrible death?"

Pansy rolled onto her side. "Yeah, what about it?"

Daphne took a dramatic pause. "Potter, Weasley, and Granger were in there last night. And they survived."

The room fell into stunned silence.

"They're alive?" Tracey asked, skeptical.

"Potter's in the hospital wing," Daphne confirmed. "But, yes, they made it through."

Daisy's stomach twisted with worry. "What were they even doing in there?"

Daphne's expression turned excited. "You won't believe what I heard! Apparently, there's a giant three-headed dog guarding a trapdoor. And beneath it? A whole series of deadly obstacles! A Devil's Snare, flying keys—you have to catch the right one on a broomstick! Then there was a massive wizard's chess game—Weasley sacrificed himself, of all things! After that, Granger solved one of Snape's logic puzzles, and Potter went into the last room alone."

Gasps filled the dorm.

"What was in the last room?" Daisy demanded.

"No one knows," Daphne admitted. "Potter hasn't woken up yet. But some are saying he fought a dragon. Others say—" She hesitated, then whispered, "They say he fought You-Know-Who."

A cold dread filled Daisy's chest.

Without another word, she grabbed a box of Honeydukes chocolate from her nightstand and hurried out of the dormitory.

---

The hospital wing was quiet, save for the soft rustle of Madam Pomfrey moving between beds. Daisy approached Harry's bedside cautiously. He was still unconscious, bruises and cuts marking his skin. A small pile of gifts and cards sat at the foot of his bed.

She placed her own chocolates among them, attaching a simple Get Well Soon card.

Then, she stood there for a long moment, watching him.

What had really happened in that last room?

---

Two days later, Daisy was on her way to Hagrid's hut when she saw the half-giant rushing toward her.

"Harry's awake!" he bellowed.

Together, they hurried to the hospital wing.

Harry was sitting up in bed, looking pale but alert. Hagrid burst into tears the moment he saw him.