Fourteenth
She stared at the cobbled street, at the many feet passing by. She was people watching, but she was having a hard time concentrating - she was lost in thought. The aroma of her coffee filled her nose, it was a nice smell and it kept her warm of nostalgia. Beside her coffee stood a half bitten croissant. She did not have the appetite nor the mood to finish it - her mother always warned her of too many sweets but this was not a result of it. The sound of the city, the sound of the fourteenth district drowned her mind, the tapping of passerby and the smooth voices of french filled her ears.
If she were concentrating, she would have surely noticed all of the well dressed men looking at her - and if she did take notice, she would have surely given them a frown. However today was not one of those days and the men surrounding her, had a free look at her. They would of course describe her as beautiful or else they would not danger themselves. She wore a simple summer dress, it showed off her body and legs. Her dark chestnut hair in a ponytail - yet as incredible as her body was, the men were more captivated by her face. She had beautiful blue eyes, a perfect nose, and her lips - her lips were pink and begging to be kissed.
Although she had been a very shy girl when she was new to the city, if she had known or cared, she had become accustomed to the leers from men. Flattering when she had first arrived at the city, she was not accustomed to turning heads at will back when she attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Boys from her school did find her attractive but she always found them to be just that - boys. She needed a man a to fill her desires and she never had any intentions to fool around.
A breeze kicked up, the leaves hanging from the vines attached to the cafe walls rustled and the smell of her coffee once again filled her nose. She sighed. It was obvious something was bothering her.
"Daydreaming again sweet Daphne?" A mischievous voice filled the young woman's ear. Of course she knew who it was - she had known the voice for the last ten years.
"What made you think that?" A flushed Daphne asked her new arrival.
The men who were staring at Daphne were treated with an even more spectacular view. This girl, a blond. She was not wearing something to show off her body like Daphne, no this girl wore simple clothing - a simple white blouse and a simple red skirt. She had an air of not caring about what she wore, yet what she wore made her incredibly beautiful.
"Oh I don't know. How about all those guys looking at you. You would think they would be cowering in fear after one look at you." The messy blond girl smiled as she pointed to the many men looking at her from across the street. Daphne glared. "Ah that's the Daphne I know and love."
Daphne ignored her and too gave her a glare but was received with a grin from the blond.
"Madame?" One of the cafe waiters stood by their little table.
"Un Creme." The blond replied, her eyes not leaving her friend. And if she did look up, she would have seen a boy no older then themselves blushing at the sight of two beauties.
"Je reviendrai tout de suite" The boy replied before returning inside.
"Come on Daph, I know you better than that. Something is wrong if you're letting guys look at you." The blond continued, she was now playing with Daphne's half eaten croissant.
"And what makes you such an expert Tracy?" Daphne countered.
Tracy only continued to grin - there was no reason for her to answer and Daphne knew so. Tracy was her best friend, there was no secret the two did not share with each other. Daphne knew she could not hide it from Tracy.
The waiter boy returned to their table and placed a cup of coffee in front of Tracy. She picked it up gracefully and began to enjoy her warm coffee.
"He asked me to marry him." Daphne replied quietly.
Tracy spat out her coffee to the horror of the cafe's patrons and began to choke on its remnants. She had knew something was up with Daphne - it was after all Daphne who had asked Tracy to meet up at this particular cafe. Yet, never in her wildest dream did Tracy expect such an answer.
Still hanging for breath, Tracy composed herself enough to speak, "You're joking right?"
"When have I ever joked, Tracy?"
"You're right, something has to be wrong if you were to joke. So tell me what the real problem is." Tracy replied as she cleaned herself, her perfectly white blouse was now stained with coffee.
"He asked me to marry him." She replied, her voice monotoned and seemly not caring.
"You're telling the truth then? This is big news Daphne! Does anyone else know?" Stars appeared in the blond's eyes as she held her best friends hands in her own.
"I doubt it…." Daphne tried to look away, she knew Tracy was hunting for answers and Daphne knew she was not ready to answer those questions.
"Wait…." Tracy began to understand, it wasn't hard for her to figure out what was going on - after all, Daphne was one of her closest friend, if not her best friend, "You did say yes didn't know?"
Tracy was met with silence.
"You said no?" Tracy gasped!
Again no answer. Tracy didn't know what to expect - Daphne was never one to hide her emotions but Daphne was also one who was indecisive. Having never experienced a relationship before this one, Daphne was going along for the ride and not planning ahead - that much Tracy Davis did know about her best friend.
"You ran?" Tracy asked - it seem like the logical answer.
"Wouldn't you? I mean, we're only twenty years old and he expects me to marry him? We've only dated for over a year. Isn't it too soon?!" Daphne replied in a panic.
"Don't you love him?" Tracy asked concerned.
"Of course I love him!" Daphne replied quickly, "I love him." She whispered in realization.
- O O O -
The fresh September air filled her nose and entered her nervous lungs. This was the first time she would be away from home for a long period of time - a lie of course, as she had attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the past seven years - but Hogwarts was still part of Great Britain, this was an entire different country. This was Saint Germain University of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
An university in the suburbs of Paris was her only choice for a continued education after the war - there was no way she would be able to attend Oxford University for Wizards and Witches with the amount of damage done to the school during the war. This was her only option.
She did however, have the comfort of knowing her best friend was also attending the same university - in fact, Daphne had heard the majority of Hogwarts survivors had been accepted into Saint Germain.
Her parents had bought her a little apartment near the school, for her to experience the real Parisian lifestyle and allow her a little privacy. It was a new experience not to have everything done for her and it was especially tough for the first week as Daphne still expected to have House Elves do everything for her. It was one thing for her parents to buy her an apartment, it was another to gift her a House Elf. She had to learn how to cook and clean after herself - something not expected from a heiress of a very influential and not to be mistaken, rich house.
Her parents had played a little politics during the war, nothing major that would lead suspicion on the Greengrass family. Their fortune was left relatively intact - with the exception of paying higher taxes to help with the rebuilding effort. Certainly still had more than enough in their family vault to buy Daphne an apartment in Paris and fill it with House Elves - yet her parents refused and no explanation as to why.
Paris was still relatively warm in September, unlike the damp cold air she would expect in Scotland while she was away at Hogwarts. However she still wore a jumper today and tight fitting jeans - she could at least be a little stylish for her first day of classes. It was another thing she would have to get used to, the non-dress code of university compared to Hogwarts. Gone were the lose fitting school robes which never did her body justice - it was not that she liked showing her body off but having people compliment her was a nice feeling.
Daphne had not been paying attention as she thought back to her days at Hogwarts - if she had, she would see that her grinning face was about to hit the back of a student with messy black hair. And in an instant she collided with the other student and with a yelp, Daphne Greengrass ended up on the seat of her pants
"Oi, you alright Harry?" The voice was very familiar to Daphne, yet she could not put her hand on to who it was. They were English, they were speaking English, and by process of elimination, they had to be from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Harry!" Again, another familiar voice, this one breathy.
"Blimey mate! Even coming to France you can't escape 'em fangirls!"
Daphne's vision was slowly return, her eyes was met with a pair of sharp green eyes, looking concerned over her, "Are you alright?" The boy she had ran into asked.
It took a moment, but her eyes grew in astonishment. She knew who these people were.
"I'm terribly sorry, I wasn't looking at where I was going." She replied with a blush as she found her book bag beside her.
"Here, let me help." He offered her a hand.
She did not take it, still too embarrassed. She picked herself up and looked at the group, she knew who they were - of course she knew, she had gone to the same school as them for the past seven years.
"It's quite alright!" She exclaimed as she hurried past the group, not wanting to be recognized.
"Daphne Greengrass, Slytherin." She heard Hermoine Granger say.
"Bloody hell mates, if I knew Slytherins would have such nice arse." The red head said, only to be met with, "RON!" from Hermoine.
Daphne quickly ran towards her class, it was the first day after all and she did not want to be late - as well as not to be seen by the Golden Trio again. However, in her rush to get away, she found she was now lost. Saint Germain University for Witchcraft and Wizardary was much bigger than Hogwarts and even more confusing. Where as Hogwarts was only one castle, Saint Germain was a collection of multiple campus buildings, some old as Hogwarts and some new and what muggles would call modern.
"Looking for first year potions?" A voice from behind asked.
She turned and was met with the face of Hermione Granger. Daphne looked around, incase the boy with those sharp green eyes was with Hermione - they were not.
"I heard you were trying to become a Healer, so I knew you must also be looking for the first year potions class." Hermione smiled at her.
Daphne was speechless. Of course the two had talked during their days at Hogwarts, but it was only in passing. Daphne remained silent and quickly followed Hermione.
"Ummmm.." Daphne tried to make light conversation, it was the polite thing to do and she was brought up to be the perfect hostess for when she would be married, "I heard you were going to be apprenticing at the Ministry."
"Yes, well." The curly hair girl replied breathlessly, "The Ministry isn't exactly in any shape right now to be taking on apprenticeships. I figure I could get an education while they sort their issues out."
"Are you the only one from Gryffindor to be attending Saint Germain?" Daphne asked politely, her curiosity got the better of her as she wondered why Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were on campus with the girl.
"No no, Harry is also attending the university. Ron on the other hand, well he's got his brother's business fall back on and he's only here for support I suppose."
The two girls were pleasantly surprise with their easy conversation and continued onto be very good friends. It was easy to be friends with another British lady, and even more so with a British witch her age. After that day, Daphne found she was quite fond of the Gryffindor girl.
- O O O -
Daphne found herself walking the snow covered streets of the sixth district. Although she had explored many parts of the city, she had never been to the sixth - the district of high muggle fashion. She was envious of the girls holding many of the name brand shopping bags - her family could easily afford to be shopping at such stores, but Daphne was restricted to a student budget, which only allowed for food and books. In her father's words, she had to learn how to be money wisely - no longer was she considered her father's little princess but a responsible adult.
The sixth district was next to the fifth, her apartment was on the border of the two. The fifth was mainly used by students from the muggle university - which explained the many flirty looks she was getting from the male population as she walked through it. She was wearing a pearl jumper her mother had bought her for her birthday and a fitting red skirt, stockings which showed off her wondrous legs, and a beret to shield herself from any falling snow.
She was heading to a christmas party, Hermione had invited her and she could not say no to her new friend. Hermione would not tell her who's house it belong to, only that she would be welcomed with open arms. Daphne didn't know many people from Saint Germain, her closest contacts were Hermoine and Tracy Davis, her best friend. Tracy had decided on becoming a business women - Daphne could only laugh at the image of restless blond being a head of an company, muggle or magical.
Daphne on the other hand, was studying to become a nurse or midwife - she hadn't decide on which just yet. Her parents were not happy about her decision. They too wanted her to be like Tracy, to become a business women so she could take over her father's well to do banking business. Not all Wizards or Witches trusted their money with the Goblins, even more so after the war and her father's business had promised protection from greedy Globlins or the tax hungry ministry.
She finally reached the townhouse she had been looking for. From the outside, it looked common for its district - common, as in, only the elite of Paris could afford such a home. She spy the cobble streets around the house - again they were full of wealthy and well dressed.
She steady herself as she knocked on the solid black oak doors. It opened to the face of a slightly giddy Hermione Granger.
Hermione was slightly drunk, Daphne had decided.
"Daphne!" She hugged the girl and was let inside the warm house. The house was warmly furnished, it looked more of a traditional English country house, much liker her own family manor, and less like a Parisian apartment. She was led into a parlour, a raging fire crackled in the fireplace and all through out the room, its paitriants were enjoying each other's company.
It reminded her of her Hogwarts day, when she and her fellow Slytherins would gather around the fireplace in the common room and spend hours gossiping. Her favourites were when the other girls would sneak in some fire whiskey and Tracy would become slightly grabby - of both the fire whiskey and the other girls. She often wished to relive those days, before the war started and when being a teenager was still fun.
"Everyone," Hermione started as everyone's attention turned Daphne's way, "Let me introduce my good friend Daphne."
Everyone raised their glass to the newcomer and Daphne could only smile shyly. It was a relatively small gathering, but except for the Golden Trio, she did not know any of the people.
All she could do was sit at an open spot, as Hermione handed her a glass of wine. It seemed Hermione was the life of the party, as the guests gathered all around her and hanged onto every word she said - laughing when she laughed and cheered when she cheered. Daphne only stood in the sidelines, as she did not want to stand out and she was much too shy.
She kept drinking, it was the only thing she could do. Yet, in her state, she could have sworn a pair of green eyes kept looking her way. She would blush, although if those eyes were looking at her or not, she did not know.
The party continued on to the night, slowly Daphne's state worsened as she continued to drink the smooth wine. Daphne was no stranger to alcohol, Slytherin dorm was often filled with Firewhiskey and her girls nights out with her former dorm mates did often end with wearily taxi rides home. Although Daphne would enjoy the occasional glass, she never drank to the point of waking up in someone else bed, the same could not be said about the many Slytherin girls in her year. Even Tracy did not escape - in fact Tracy had been the worse of all.
Daphne could not remember rest of that night, however she could remember blushing heavily as green eyes continued to stare at her.
- O O O -
She slowly woke, not that she wanted to but the sun was shinning heavily on her face. She was quiet comfortable, in fact she had never felt such comfort before. She tried to fall back asleep, the sun could wait. She snuggled up, but did not find a warm blanket, instead, a warm body. It took her a second, before she realize she was nearly naked but on a second check, her black bra and nickers were still on her.
The body beside here was slowly coming to, but whomever it was, they pulled her closer to them and she could see a big smile on the boy's face. She wanted to get up and slap the boy, but being this close to him felt so right. Daphne's heart was beating, she didn't know what this feeling was. She was disgusted, or was she happy? She did not know.
Her eyes stared into eyes of her bed friend. Green.
They looked at each other for quiet awhile, only silence between the two.
"Some night?" The boy asked, smiling awkwardly.
Daphne could only look at him dumbfounded. She was speechless. What had happen last night that resulted the two in bed, nearly naked. Had they done the unspeakable? What had happened the night before? Questions swirled in her head.
"How about breakfast?" He asked with a sly smile. Daphne nodded gobsmacked.
The boy, rather, the young man left Daphne to get dressed as he headed for what she could only presume was the kitchen. The sound of a busy Paris street filled the once silent bedroom. This was an unfamiliar ceiling to Daphne and she could only guess the apartment belonged to the young men. It wasn't a spectacularly big bedroom, Daphne's own back in Britain was twice as big, but for a student and for a Parisian apartment, this could only belong to someone who was very well off.
Daphne found her clothes spewed across the floor, she quickly gathered them and dressed herself. She found a large mirror across the room, her hair was a mess and in no condition to be out and about. Her skirt and sweater wrinkled. She dreaded the famous walk of shame which, her best friend Tracy Davis had always eluded to. Daphne always wondered why her best friend didn't just Apparate but was always met with the answer, "It's more fun" from a smiling Tracy.
She made her way to the open living space, it was large for a Parisian apartment, the same as the party last night. She should have known Hermione would have invited her to his party.
Freshly scrambled eggs filled her nose and in front of her, on the table was glasses full of orange juice and mugs of coffee, the tableware was set surprisingly well. The young man certainly had taste.
Daphne quietly sat down on one of the chairs and stared longingly at the young man as he worked his way around the kitchen. Something in her was telling her that this felt right, that this was comfortable. It was a feeling she never had before - than again, Daphne had never been in a one night stand before.
"I hope you like you're eggs scrambled." The young man stated as he presented her with a plate full eggs and ham.
"Wonderful." She smiled.
- O O O -
It would be her first time home since the start of university, but she was now on summer break and her parents had requested she return to Britain for a vacation. She was having second thoughts. Not that she didn't love her new home in Paris, but she was feeling home sick for sometime now. This would also be the first time her parents met him and she did not know how they would react.
He stood beside her - her hands intertwined with his and her head snuggled against his shoulders. After their first awkward encounter, Hermione and Tracy had caught wind of the Christmas party's aftermath - and with the two girls both scheming to set-up their best friend respectively, it was only a matter of time before the Daphne and the green eyed young man had made their relationship official. It had also gotten harder and harder to not bump into each other and trying to ignore each other and pretend the night never happened.
The young couple had decided to take muggle transport instead of apparating - the EuroStar had given them more time in each others company. They were still university students, even though they were in a relationship, they hardly saw each other, having only weekends to spend together - thats if they weren't swamped with an assignment.
It also felt nestogic to take the train they both decided, it brought back memories of the Hogwarts Express. It was always a special feeling taking the train home after a long year of school. They both had missed it for their seventh year, the war made sure of it. Her boyfriend had insisted and she agreed.
The Greengrass manner was located an hour south of Liverpool - Daphne had shown the young man in the city which she grew up in. Even though she was a pureblood, she and her sister had been sent to an all witches academy in Liverpool to prepare them for life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her parents had taken her shopping in nearby towns and cities, and therefore Daphne was quite adapt at pointing out all of her memories.
The cabbie had dropped them off in front of the iron gates which lead up the drive to the manor. It was a sparsely populated area, mostly farmland and rolling hills. To the untrained eye, this was just another farm house and the cabbie had wondered why such a well dressed young woman had been asked to bring her and her boyfriend to such a house. However, to Daphne and the young man, the house was anything but. Having clearer eyes and passing through the Notice-Me-Not charm, the house was a magnificent manor.
The two walked passed the impressive set of iron gates and onto the long driveway of the manor with a canvas of oaks shielding it from the sun. They both took a deep breath and reassured each other with a squeeze of their intertwined hands.
With a knock on the solid oak doors, Daphne and the young man were ready to meet her parents.
- O O O -
They didn't approve of course, but they didn't show it. Her boyfriend was deemed too young, even though they were the same age and only a month apart. Her parents had wanted for her to marry someone, more established - they had hinted at a business-wizard by the name of Apollo, nearly twice her elder. With Daphne's boyfriend a guest at the family manor, they could not just simply kick him out and had made it very clear, in an closed off family meeting, that they hoped it was only a phase and Daphne would see better.
She had gone to bed emotionally drained - fighting her parents without having her boyfriend find out had left her empty and in need of rest. Yet her brain was racing and she needed to talk to someone about what had just happened. Her sister would not understand, how could she, Astoria had only just finished her sixth year at Hogwarts and would never understand what Daphne was going through. There was only one person.
She climbed out of her bed, wearing nothing more than a simple night gown, she quietly opened her bedroom door and walked ever so slowly to the guest bed room. She didn't knock. It would have woken her parents up and she knew the young man's schedule well enough to know he would be deep asleep at this hour.
She locked the door behind her - she certainly did not want her parents finding her in this position in the morning.
Her heart began to beat faster and faster. She collapsed her hands, holding them close to her chest, trying to breath smoothly and trying to calm her self. It was not the first time she ended up in the young man's bed, but every time it still excited her. It felt so right for her.
Daphne slowly pulled the covers apart slowly, allowing space for herself to get under. She slowly slid herself in, her bare skin making contact with him, their legs tangled and she pulled herself close to him. The young man began to stir.
"Daphne?" He whispered his eyes squinted at her face.
"Yes love?" She replied with a smile.
"Is something wrong?"
"Peachy." She snuggled closer.
"I know you well enough to know its not." He replied, bringing Daphne closer to himself as well.
"They don't approve." She simply sighed, "They don't approve that I'm dating someone who is not well established. They don't know about your inheritance money. They want me to be the perfect little bride for a well of business-wizard. They don't want me to be sleeping around with the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. Just goto sleep." He soothed.
- O O O -
She did not know how he did it, but after a week spent with her family, they slowly began to change their attitude towards the young man. It was a significant change - the first morning during breakfast, her parents openly ignored Daphne's attempted at including Harry in the conversation. Her sister on one hand, had quickly taken a liking to Daphne's boyfriend and had spent every waking moment trying to find stories about the war from Harry. Yet, day after day, it slowly worked and day after day Harry had become part of the family - but still an outsider to her parents and still received a disapproving look from her parents.
However this morning was strangely different. Maybe it had to do with the private meeting between her boyfriend and her father the previous night. Maybe Harry had spilled the beans on his Black inheritance. It was not a very well kept secrete after all - the Malfoy's had gone on a public propaganda mission to re-inheriate the Black inheritance so that Harry Potter could not get it. Of course Wizarding Britain had more important things to worry about at the time then a not so popular family crying about inheritance.
"Good morning Daphne dear." Her mother greeted her as she handed her a plate of scrambled eggs - which she would admit, Harry was a much better cook than her own mother.
Harry Potter was already seated at the table with a copy of the Daily Prophet. A mug of coffee and a plate of eggs in from of him - the first sign this was an unusually morning as her boyfriend never got served breakfast before her arrival.
Seconds later, her father had arrived to receive a morning kiss from her mother and a grinning face. He too was handed a plate of breakfast and he rubbed his hands together in delight - another strange sign has her father was never in a good mood in the morning unless a big business deal had been made the night before.
"Ah my good boy Harry." Her father started, Daphne near chocked at the words, "I see you've already seen the Daily Prophet. So what do you think. Do I have your support?"
Her boyfriend grinned - but she knew him well enough that this was not a grin but more of a smug I'm better than you look.
"Of course sir. You'll have the full support of myself and the Black estate for your election as the new Minister of Magical Finance for the Ministry of Magic. I'm sure you will win quiet easily."
Daphne nearly dropped her fork. So her boyfriend did indeed let slip he had inherited from one of Magical Britain's oldest and more influential families. However, her father was seeking election in the government was a surprise to her - many questions popped into her head.
She looked at her father dead in the eye, "I did not realize you were seeking election father. Why did you not say sooner?"
"It was nothing to concern you my dear daughter. Your studies were much more important than worrying you with such non-sense."
"And what of the business? Will you sell it?"
"Don't be silly Daphne. I will still be part of the Board of Governors, although I will have no influence on the business once I am elected. And I have hope one day, my boy Harry here will take over."
She glared at her boyfriend - he had fail to mention any of this last night before they fell asleep. She felt betrayed. She would have a word with her so called boyfriend later that day.
He gave her an innocent look, "I'm sure it will be years away before we talk about myself taking over your business Mr. Greengrass."
"Don't be silly, you're practical family now." She knew her father was about to talk marriage between herself and her boyfriend but he had stopped himself.
"Good morning everyone." Her sister arrived with a yawn. Anymore talk of her father seeking election was replaced with stories of the war on the insistence of Astoria Greengrass.
- O O O -
Daphne was cooking dinner, hoping for a quiet night to sort out her feelings. She was still mad at Harry for what he had done but in her mind she knew she was much more angry at her father for what felt like selling her to the highest bidder - and the highest bidder so happened to be her boyfriend.
It was to be a simple dinner, as she was not a good cook. Her kitchen had a single window which faced the streets of Paris but it was on a quiet street and only a few Parisians were out and about - but she paid little to no attention as her mind was on her frying pan and her boyfriend.
A loud crack came from her window but she ignored it - probably one of the cities many pigeons had decided to use her window as its personal bathroom. A second came moments later - this could not be the doing of birds. So she faced the window and looked outwards.
Standing under the street lights of Paris stood her boyfriend - he was dress smartly but not out of place for a local Parisian. And in his hands, held a bouquet of flowers.
She sighed and waved for him to come up.
Daphne knew she was not mad with him and she had long forgiven him - although he did not know it and she did not know how to tell him. This was their first spat with each other and the Slytherin part of her enjoyed watching Harry Potter squirm while trying to make it up to her.
She held the door open knowing he would run up to her apartment.
"Daphne, I'm so sorry." He arrived, flowers in hand and out of breath. He was honched over from running. "Look, I was going to tell you. It was the only way to get your father to talk to me." He quickly said, with out of breath and at the same time, speaking without break.
She couldn't take it anymore and started to giggle. Daphne took the flowers from a flabbergasted Harry Potter and set them in a vase. She lightly kissed his flushed cheeks and led him to the kitchen so she could finish dinner.
- O O O -
"I love him!" She declared.
Her best friend only stared at her - Tracy rested her chin on her arms and her grin grew from ear to ear like a cheshire cat.
"I have to tell him." Daphne didn't even give Tracy a second before she grabbed her purse and hurriedly ran out the cafe.
"Guess I'll have to pay the bill." Tracy sighed, as her best friend was now out of ear shot.
Notes:
This is going to be my semi-one-shot series that has no real update schedule. Usually I have an entire series planned out, but since this was originally suppose to be a one-shot and then I somewhat started on a sequel to this so I thought, why not. Actually, I've had this one-shot ready for the last year but after the whole Potions debacle - explained below - I didn't feel confident about actually publishing anymore fanfics.
This is the first fanfic I've written since Potions and no, that'll never get updated - you only have feminist extremist to blame.