((A/N: Here's the next one. I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews. It seems many of you like this unusual paring. Part of the reason I picked it was because I had not seen it before. Also, in picking a "bad girl" for Harry, I just could not bring my self to pick Pansy or Millicent, so that left Daphne or Tracey. BTW, did you know that FF-dot-net considers Daphne to be such a minor character, that I could not even pick it for the two major characters on the story? I found that interesting.
Enjoy... -- Kevin))
Chapter 2
Harry felt his time with Daphne was starting to become the highlights of his week. Even the sessions he was having with Dumbledore did not seem as exciting, although he mentally acknowledged they were probably more important. He was also having a harder time shielding his personal time from his two best friends, especially Hermione, who wanted to know more about his "extra lessons". He finally got her off his back by saying he had promised to keep his teacher's identity secret, and that he would not be happy with her for trying to find out who he was. The "slip" that his teacher was male seemed to throw Hermione off the real trail. The fact that he told them about his lessons with Dumbledore probably helped him too.
Saturday afternoon rolled around and Harry met with Daphne as usual. She was waiting for him, as he had taken a few extra minutes to get there.
"Sorry I was late. Quidditch practice ran a little long," he sheepishly explained.
Daphne quirked a smile at him. "I thought you were the captain."
He gave her an apologetic smile. "Yeah, well, we got carried away and I wasn't watching the clock. That's a bit hard when you have Bludgers whizzing around your head. Sorry…"
"No problem, but it will give us a little less time for now." Daphne reached down and picked up a bag that had been beside her chair.
That surprised him because she had never brought anything with her before. "I thought we were past the stage of needing any books for our lessons."
She fingered the bag and seemed to scrutinize it carefully before she came to a decision and she opened the bag. "I couldn't help but notice that your clothes under your robes don't seem to be your size, and after listening to your story last week, I think I understand now. Your relatives never bought you anything, did they?"
Harry was horrified; it was so embarrassing. He could not believe she was bringing this up.
Visually ignoring his reaction, she said, "I'll take the silence for a yes. So I've decided to help you, Harry, as a friend. I'd like to think that any real friend would help out if needed, at least as long as you'll let me. This doesn't mean I think any less of you now, or will think more of you later, but I want to do this as one friend to another. Will you let me help you in a small way? Please Harry?" She sat perfectly still as if afraid of his reaction, while she waited for his answer.
Harry stared at his knees for several long seconds, which seemed even longer in the absolute silence. "But, but why?" he stammered, not really able to look her in the eye at the moment.
"As I said, I'm trying to be a friend. You said we were friends, right?" He nodded. "And friends help each other. Please understand that I am not judging you by your clothes; they really don't affect our friendship. However, I do think they affect the way you see yourself, and I think new clothes will help you in ways you don't understand."
Harry was relieved she said she was not judging him by his clothes, but he was still confused. "What do you mean?" he asked, finally looking up at her and seeing a very self-assured young woman watching him.
"I'm not sure I can explain it, but I know it to be true. So I think it best if you just take my word for it," she said very carefully. "Now, I've brought some catalogs for clothes and a measuring tape so I can help you get the right size. I assume you can afford a few if I help you fill out the forms?" He nodded. "Good. Then take off your robe and I'll take a basic set of measurements, then we can find what you like in the catalogs."
"Uh, OK, but I still don't understand why you're doing this."
Again she seemed to pick her words carefully. "Because I want to help you, Harry. Because I consider you my friend. Because it seems like no one else, no even your other friends will help you in this little way, and it seems like the only way I can help you for now."
That made some sense. "But why do you want to help me?"
"Because you're my friend now," she repeated, still very calm. "Don't you help your friends? I hear you do it all the time, or at least the adventures the school hears about make it sound that way." Her look dared him to deny it.
Harry sighed. It was his 'saving people thing', as Hermione called it. "OK, and thank you." He gave in as he realized she was not going to back down and pulled off his school robe to reveal some of his cousins cast-offs.
With a smile of victory on her face, she pulled a tape measure out of her bag, as well as some parchment, ink, and a quill, and began to measure him and record the numbers. Her measuring the inseam of his trousers was a little embarrassing to him, but she managed to do it as if nothing unusual was happening.
Once she finished the measuring, she pulled out five catalogs and started going through them with him. Even with her guiding him, it took the rest of their time together to pick out jeans, shirts, and boots. Daphne also did a few pairs of socks and boxers for him, although as they dealt with his 'unmentionables', her smile threatened to break her cheery face, it was so large. Harry was very pink-faced when she wrote those parts on the order form.
Finishing the forms, she totaled the purchases, and handed them to him. "There, now you just have to send them in with the appropriate amount of money. Do you have enough or do you need a loan?"
Harry looked at the three order forms and added it all up in his head. "I think I do, although it won't leave with much until I can get to Gringotts again."
"If you need a little help for a Hogsmeade weekend, please don't hesitate to ask. I have more than I can spend from my parents, and I know you're good for it," she told him with a friendly smile.
"Thanks, thanks a lot." As he looked at her, he realized how much he appreciated her help and her friendship.
"You're wondering about the question you asked me last time, aren't you?" she softly asked.
"No, I mean yes … What I mean is not at that moment, but yes I would like to know," he finally explained. He wanted to slap himself for sounding so stupid.
She chuckled a little. "If I said yes, where would we go and what would we do?"
A little hope surged through him. "There's this room that I know that can change itself to whatever is required. So we could go there and enjoy the time in a restaurant sort of place, and then maybe in a common room like place to talk."
Daphne considered that for a moment. "This is the room that Umbridge and her Inquisitorial Squad chased everyone from last year, isn't it?"
His mouth dropped open for a second. "You weren't on the squad, but you knew about that?"
She laughed. "It was all Malfoy could talk about in our common room at the end of the year, how he found and chased you and got you all into trouble." She gave him a genuine smile that seemed to light up her whole face. "I would enjoy dinner and conversation with you Harry. Shall I meet you on the seventh floor at half six?"
He gave her a huge grin. "I'd like that very much." Inwardly, he was doing a victory dance.
"Very well. I'll go to the Great Hall and pretend to have a small meal to keep up appearances and leave early. I would advise you to skip the entire meal so we don't appear to be doing the same thing and be seen leaving together."
"OK," he agreed happily.
"And for next Wednesday evening, how about on the sixth floor near the Astronomy classroom?"
"Sure, I'll be there." He looked down for a moment, then straight into her eyes. "Daphne, thanks again for helping me with getting some new clothes. We can burn these next time."
"If you like. I can see where it might make you feel better. Until next time, Harry." Her public mask came over her as she left.
Harry went to dinner a few minutes later. As he started to eat with his friends, a thought came to him. He quickly finished dinner and left before anyone could stop him. It did not take long for him to get to his dorm room since he ran the entire way. Searching through his trunk, he quickly found his money bag, which also had his Gringotts key. Taking both of those, he ran down to the kitchens.
He was almost bowled over by Dobby before the door was closed behind him.
"Harry Potter, Sir! Dobby is most pleased you came to see me. What can I help you with?"
Harry squatted down to be on Dobby's level. "Dobby, I need a few errands run since I can't leave the school. Is it possible for you help me by going yourself?"
"Oh, yes Sir! Dobby would be proud to run the great Harry Potter's errands. What is Harry Potter needing?" The little elf was so happy his large ears were flapping as he nodded his acceptance.
With a smile, Harry pulled everything out. "Here is my money bag and Gringotts vault key. If the goblins will let you, please take out 100 Galleons. If they don't, there should be enough money in my bag for all my purchases, but there won't be much left over."
"Don't worry, Harry Potter, Sir. Dobby can do that. Dobby used to go to bank a lot for old master. As long as I have your key, I can do it."
"Excellent," Harry said with a smile and pulled out the order forms. "Here are three orders for clothes, everything is marked. You just have to go to each store and give them the form and the right amount of money, and bring it all home."
"Yes Sir! Dobby can do that. I'll bring them to your bed soon." Dobby took it all from Harry and left with a loud pop.
Harry smiled to himself and left. Back up in Gryffindor Tower, he played some chess with Ron and then sat around and talked to various people. It was a nice relaxing night. When he went up to go to bed, he found a small mountain of packages on his bed, along with a money bag that was bulging and also had his vault key. Harry was amazed that Dobby had done all of that so quickly, but he was thankful.
The next morning, for the first time ever, he put on clothes that fit. Looking in the mirror, he saw a person he had never seen before. Harry decided that the boy had a nice look about him, even if he did say so himself, he thought with a smirk. The mirror seemed to agree with him as it told him, "Very dashing."
Harry walked to breakfast and received a lot of looks, including a long one from Ginny. Harry just smiled at her and kept going.
Hermione seemed to make the biggest deal of it. "Harry, where did you get those clothes? They really look good on you."
"Oh, no big deal. I ordered them from a catalog," he replied.
"I've never seen you really care before. Why now?" she asked.
"Why not? Everyone else has decent clothes. Why shouldn't I?" It was so simple, and yet such a revelation to him. He suddenly thought he understood what Daphne had been trying to say to him. It was like he was a new person. The new clothes did not make him any better, but they did make him feel better about himself. He also began to wonder why no one had ever pointed this out to him before. All of his professors, the Weasleys, Sirius, Remus, and the rest of the Order had all seen him dress in his cousin's clothes; and yet, none of them had ever tried to help him. Did they think he liked dressing like that? It was something to consider later.
"There's no reason you shouldn't." She shrugged. "I guess we all just thought you liked it that way."
Unbelievable, he thought. Working to hold his sarcasm in, he asked, "Why would you think that?"
"You mean you didn't like that?" she asked. He shook his head. "Oh, well I thought that because I know some the people like the 'grunge' look, and I thought you were one of them. You never said anything before."
"I never said anything because I never had the chance to do anything about it," he said slightly heatedly. "If someone had asked, I would have gladly gone shopping for new clothes."
Hermione looked taken aback. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't know." She sounded truly apologetic. "Maybe you can come shopping with my family this summer. You'll need to change some of your Galleons into Pounds, of course."
Most of Harry's anger left him. She did look truly sorry and she had a valid point that he had never asked. "Thanks, I might do that. And, sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just, always been a bit of sore spot for me."
"I'm really sorry then, Harry." She looked over at Ron, but he had not been paying attention to the conversation. Instead he was talking to Lavender.
Harry nodded, accepting her apology for what it was. "I've got a few things to go do. I'll see you later." Harry got up and started to go back to his dorm room. As he went into the Entrance Hall, he saw Daphne going in to eat. She looked at him and raised one neatly manicured eyebrow while she looked him over, and then she smiled since no one else was there. "Nice," was all she said.
As she walked by him, he whispered, "Third floor corridor, one hour." She nodded and continued on.
An hour later, Harry used one giant Incendio to reduce all of his old clothes to ash. Daphne smiled at the new more self-assured Harry. He surprised her with a hug and left first for once. It took Daphne several minutes to fully raise her Occlumency barriers and assume her public mask. There was something about being hugged by the 'new Harry' that was thrilling.
On Valentines Day, Harry was up early with two letters in his hand. He snuck up to the owlery under his Invisibility Cloak. After he removed his cloak, Hedwig flew down to him. He briefly petted and praised her before he tied the first letter onto her leg. He watched her fly off to Moony with a "Hello" letter. He had to send Hedwig off first lest she become jealous for not being able to deliver this letter too. After she was far enough away that she was hard to see, Harry looked up and motioned a school owl down. He tied the second letter onto its leg.
"Do me a favor, please. Go sit on your perch for an hour or so until it's time for the normal mail delivery, then deliver this to Daphne Greengrass. Can you do that for me?" He had no idea if this owl was as smart as Hedwig, but he could not let Hedwig deliver this letter; she was too well known. The owl hooted once, so hoping that meant "yes", Harry gave it an owl treat before it flew back up into its perch. Hoping for the best, he went back under his Cloak.
Harry waited in the common room for a short while, until his friends came down too. Because Ron was still going with Lavender, he walked with Hermione behind Ron and his new girlfriend. While Ron talked with Lavender, Hermione watched the two and sighed. It was big enough Harry could not miss it.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a soft voice.
Hermione looked at him for a moment, as if judging him. She also slowed her walk, so Harry slowed with her. "Harry, would you honestly answer me one question?"
"Just one?" he joked.
She rolled her eyes at him before she playfully said, "Just one for now." He laughed, but she grew serious. "Harry, do you think Ron will ever … notice me, like he does Lavender?"
All thoughts of joking fled from him. "You mean, like…"
"Yeah…" They had been friends long enough that she was sure they were talking about the same thing.
Harry gave that some thought as they continued to slowly walk. He thought about how much they fought, what they were like when they were not fighting. As they neared the Entrance Hall, he looked at her and saw how nervous she was. He wanted to lie to her and tell her everything will work out just as she wanted it to, but she was his best friend and she had asked for honesty. "I don't know, Hermione; but if he does, it won't be anytime soon." She hung her head and Harry thought he saw a single tear going down her cheek. "Can I give you some advice?"
She nodded and wiped a hand over her eyes.
"I once wondered about a girl, but she wasn't available at the time and a friend told me that she had once had a crush on me, but the girl was over me now. So I took a deep breath and went on with life, deciding that if it was meant to be, it would happen in its own time." He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder just before they walked into the Great Hall. "Live life and enjoy it as it is now. If it's meant to be, it will happen when it happens."
Hermione looked at him for a short moment before she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thanks, Harry," she whispered in his ear. "You really are my best friend." He squeezed her back and let go. They walked into the Great Hall and took their usual seats.
Harry had barely started breakfast when the flock of morning owls came flying in. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Daphne and was pleased to see the owl he had given her letter to make an appearance in front of her. It was not much, just a short note saying Happy Valentine's Day and that he was looking forward to their date. Just to be safe, he had not signed it. She would know who it was from.
To Harry's surprise, a dark brown owl landed in front of him. His friends watched as he pulled the letter off and gave a piece of bacon to the bird. It flew off as he opened the letter with his name on it.
Dear Harry,
Happy Valentines Day! I'll tell you more later, but I wanted to thank you for your friendship. I don't have many friends, so I value all the ones I do have. I consider you a good friend.
I'm looking forward to our dinner.
Your new friend
Harry could not help but smile to himself. They had thought of the same thing. He briefly looked up in her direction and saw her smile, to be quickly replaced by her normal mask. He flashed a big smile before he looked back down and folded the letter.
"Who was it from?"
It was no surprise that Hermione would want to know. He looked up and saw simple curiosity on her face. At least she was not concerned at his safety. But how to answer was difficult.
With an easy going smile, he said, "It's from my Occlumency teacher, wishing me a nice day."
Ron had been looking at him too and nodded before returning to wolfing down his breakfast. Hermione seemed to be thinking something through as she looked at him, still with curiosity, but she did not say anything.
It was helpful that Harry was in a good mood, as Snape was not. Harry lost forty points in class that morning.
After Quidditch practice the next day, for once, Harry took his time cleaning up. When it was time for dinner, he sent his friends on ahead, saying he had something else to do first and he would join them back in the common room later. Hermione did her best to find out what, but Harry told her it was personal. After more badgering, Harry finally relented and agreed to tell her later, but he also made it clear that when was up him and might not be until summer. Hermione was put out at that but finally left.
With his friends gone, he went back up to his room and stripped off his T-shirt and donned a dark green pull-over shirt that Daphne had seemed to like when they were picking out clothes. He thought that went well with his tight black jeans and new boots. Grabbing his special Map and Cloak, he left for his date, making sure he would not run into anyone and that no one could see him.
His first stop was the kitchens. It was a busy place before dinner, but it seemed to be settling down now that most of the food had been sent up. Harry had been there less than five seconds before Dobby showed up.
"Harry Potter, Sir! What can Dobby do for you?" the excited little elf asked.
"Hello, Dobby," he greeted the elf as he squatted down. "Dobby, I have a special dinner date tonight in the Room of Requirement that you told me about. And I was wondering if you could bring a nice dinner for two up there at a little after seven?"
"Yes, Sir! Dobby can do that easily! Dobby bring you an excellent dinner. Harry Potter, Sir, and Slytherin girl will like it very much."
Harry could not help but blink in surprise. "You know who I'll be with? This is very important, who else knows, Dobby?" He was very concerned about their secret getting out.
"Only the elves, Sir! We see many things. Some things we tell Headmaster, but not things like this, and never secret things of Harry Potter. Dobby keeps Harry Potter's secrets and makes other elves do it too." The little elf seemed very pleased with himself.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry patted the little guy on his shoulder. "Thank you for keeping my secrets, Dobby. You're a good elf."
Dobby beamed. "I be bringing a special meal for you and your mistress, Sir. Go make room nice for dinner and Dobby will do the rest."
Harry could not help but smile. "Thank you again, Dobby. I'm sure it will be excellent." He rose and headed towards his dinner destination. He had plenty of time, so he watched the Map to make sure he did not run into anyone. He also saw Daphne in the Great Hall sitting next to Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini.
Arriving on the seventh floor, he paced in front of the tapestry and thought of a romantic dinner setting. The door appeared so he went in. It was everything he could have dreamed of. A very visually warm place that instantly felt cozy, soft music, and no one else there. There was even a hint of flowery fragrance in the air. Looking around, he noticed a door in the back and went to check it out. In that room was a two person overstuffed leather couch in front of small fire. Again, the colors and decorations just felt cozy and romantic. He was also happy that there was not a piece of lace in sight. Taking a seat at the table, he watched Daphne's label on his Marauder's Map.
Half an hour later, her label left the table. A few minutes after that, she was getting close to the seventh floor, so Harry went over to the door and opened it. He saw her coming around the corner. She smiled at him as she approached. He let her in, closed the door, and then thought of the door hiding itself so no one knew they were in there. To his pleasant surprise, the door turned into a solid archway with no door visible at all.
"I'm glad you could make it," he politely told her, a little nervous now that she was here.
"Thank you for the invitation, kind sir," she told him with an impish smile. She opened the front of her school robes and shrugged them off to reveal an emerald green dress that accentuated her figure very nicely, Harry thought. It had thin straps that showed bare shoulders before going across a very ample chest, yet showing only a hint of cleavage. The waist and hips were tight, showing a nice figure down there too, before flaring to wide skirt ending at the knees. Harry thought the bottom half of her legs were very shapely.
"Wow! You're beautiful! I thought you were nice looking before, but this …" Harry turned red as he considered what he had just blurted out.
Fortunately for him, Daphne laughed. "Thank you, Harry. I prefer honest opinions and truth. And I must say, you look very nice yourself -- very manly, in fact." Harry blushed even more.
Once he got control of his tongue back, he said, "Would you join me for dinner fair lady?"
"Certainly sir," she replied in the same semi-teasing vane. She grabbed his arm and let him escort her across the room.
Harry pulled her chair out and seated her. As he took his seat, food magically appeared on the table. They had fish, vegetables, a fruit cup, bread, and a glass of what looked like wine and one of water.
Daphne tilted her head as she acknowledged the meal. "I'm impressed, Harry. This is looks like something a Slytherin would arrange." She picked up her napkin, placed it in her lap, and started to eat, all the while watching him carefully.
For once, he did not blush. "Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment. All I can say is that I have a very good friend who is better to me than I deserve, and he arranged for most of this."
"Very tasty," she told him after trying the fish. "It was a compliment, Harry. To me, this shows cunning and ambition. Do you have that?"
He thought about it as he had another bite. "I do, but I suppose it depends on if we're discussing the same goal." He wondered what she was really asking.
She took a drink. "Real wine? I'm doubly impressed. I thought only the teachers got this."
Harry shrugged. "I thought so too, but like I said, he's a very good friend with many special abilities." He tried a sip of the wine and decided that it was not bad, although it would not be his favorite drink. "What do you think my goal is?"
A chagrinned look came over her. "No fair, I was supposed to ask you first."
"Why?" He could tell he was missing something obvious.
"Because the first person to answer this sort of question is usually at a disadvantage. Didn't you know that?" she smirked.
Now he understood. "No, but you're avoiding the question," he pointed out, enjoying the gentle verbal sparring.
Daphne seemed to struggle mentally as she ate some more. "All right, I think your goal is me."
Harry started to choke as he was not sure which way he should take that. Drinking some water, he managed to get himself back under control. "Excuse me?"
She laughed. "What? Was I too direct? Your goal is to get me, make me your girlfriend. If you were Slytherin, I'd say your goal was to get me into bed, but you're a Gryffindor, so you're probably too noble for that." He started to object, but she stopped him. "And I mean those labels in their moral sense, not in their house sense, because I know you don't like that. However, you must admit that most Slytherins tend to act in the same way, as do most Gryffindors, so most people stick with the label and paint everyone the same way. You are mostly Gryffindor in idealism, but overall you are more, Harry, much more."
He had calmed down as he listened to her, and he thought about what she said. He used his food to give him time to think without it being overly obvious. "You're explanation is well thought out."
"And my guess at your goal?" A teasing look had come back to her, but it was obvious she did care about the answer.
Deciding that his answer could make or break the date, he went for full honesty. "You're close. My goal was to spend some time with you as a friend and not studying, to see if there was anything special between us. We've worked well together and we seem to get along so far. I've found a friend in someone I would not have imagined before. I guess I want to know if more could happen, or if we'll just stay friends." He hoped he had not just ruined everything.
Her eyes bored into his and he purposefully did not raise his barrier. He felt a little pressure and did his best to welcome it. He saw a few scenes and memories come up, all of her. She did not dig, she just requested his thoughts of her and he freely gave them. Finally, she blinked and pulled back.
Daphne toyed with her wine glass, swirling the little bit of remaining liquid. "You really care for me." It was not a question so Harry let it stand. "You're as noble as they say, maybe more so." She looked at him a moment longer and then softly laughed.
"What?"
It was a long laugh and it slightly annoyed him.
"Harry, you really don't know how most of the girls in the school think of you, do you?" She gave him a very curious look that he had trouble interpreting.
"No, and I don't really care. But why do you ask?"
She shook her head slightly and chuckled once more. "Because it matters." He gave her an 'explain' look. With a smile, she launched into it.
"Harry, I find it most amusing that the vast majority of girls in the castle would do almost anything to be your girlfriend, and many of them would do anything, including going to bed with you." He was shocked, truly shocked, which made her smile all the more. "Your friend Ginny Weasley would be a good example of that, at least until this last year. I think she's finally growing up and seeing you as a real friend, but for the most part, you could have had her as a girlfriend and done anything you wanted if you had only asked her."
"I don't think she's like that, she has morals," he objected.
"True, and I didn't say you would not have had to work hard to get her to ignore them, but I think she eventually would have if you had asked persistently. Many of the girls in the school would not have been as hard to convince, but I used her as the typical 'fan-girl' because you know her. Before your date to the Yule Ball in our fourth year, Parvati would have been in this category."
He was not sure whether to believe her or not, but he stopped trying to object.
"There are a very few girls who are not that way; your friend Hermione, for example. Would it be fair to say you think of her like a sister, or maybe a cousin?"
"Yeah," he said after some consideration.
"Then there are a few girls that acknowledge that you are a special person, even nice to look at," she gave him a brief 'hungry' look, "but don't try for you because they consider you unobtainable."
"Huh?" This was confusing to him.
"What's not to understand, Harry? You are a special person, so for some girls, they think they are not good enough to attract your attention and keep you. Hannah Abbot and most of the Hufflepuff girls are like this. Others of us, myself included, understand there is a gap between us that can not be bridged, so we don't even try. But now…" She smiled and waited for him to cotton on.
Harry thought that through. "You're saying, that by becoming a friend, I've allowed you to cross that gap?"
"Very good, Harry. That allows me to join another very small and select group of girls. There are some who see you not as The Boy-Who-Lived, but as Harry Potter, sixth year Gryffindor. The pedestal this group puts you on is very short. We recognize you're special, but we won't treat you any differently than we would any other guy. If Hermione cared about you as a potential boyfriend, she would be in this group instead of the other one. I think Ginny is starting to move from the 'fan-girl group' to this group, as I think she'd still date you if she had the chance."
"So you see me as just another guy?"
"Pretty much. I do admit you are special, whether you like it or not. Many people make it so and you don't have a choice; I acknowledge society's point, even if I don't agree with it."
"Why not?" This was really fascinating to him.
"Your first special act was when you were one year old. I appreciate what you did as much as everyone else, but I really don't think you did anything; you were only one for Merlin's sake. Babies can't really work magic. After you got here at Hogwarts, you've been in a number of scrapes and managed to survive. Some people like Malfoy would say it was all luck, but now that I've gotten to know you a little, while I'm sure luck helped, I think it was more you being a powerful wizard for your age and picking helpful friends. Most of us aren't like that, so that makes you special."
Harry snorted. "I think it's mostly luck. Stuff just happened at the right time, that's all."
"Sure, that's luck, but taking the opportunity when it comes and doing the right thing is not luck, Harry, that's skill and strength of character -- that's also ambition."
"That also has gotten two people killed and others hurt very badly," he pointed out.
She shrugged. "You're fighting for your life. We're in a war. It happens. Get over it and go on."
"I can't just 'get over it and go on' as you so blithely put it," he said heatedly, as he began to wonder about where her attitude came from.
"Sure you can, because if you don't, you'll get yourself and all of your friends killed," she calmly stated, not reacting to his small burst of temper. That logic shut him up. "Harry, what I'm trying to tell you is that accidents happen. Learn from your mistakes and go on. Dwelling on them only hurts you and others. I'm not so cold as to tell you to forget about them, but don't let those mistakes get you down and prevent you from doing what you need to do. Use those mistakes to motivate you to do better. I know that's probably more Slytherin than Gryffindor, but you're in a war, and if you're going to be around me, you need to look at life a little more realistically."
Harry sat up straighter as he heard the last part. "Be with you?" He wondered if she really meant that the way he thought she did.
"Did you or did you not want me as your girlfriend?" she challenged him with an impish smile on her face.
"Yes," he said with no hesitation.
Daphne's big smile came back out. "Good! But do know that I have some conditions. We're going to have to hide this for a while. I don't know how long, but I do know it's not safe for you to have an open girlfriend. If something happens and I have to publically expose my status to save you, I will, but I want this to be a secret for at least this year."
"All right," he agreed. "That's probably for the best, for both of us. You're safer and I feel less guilty about making someone a target."
"That leads me to condition number two. You're going to have to listen to me on some things. We're going to sit down and talk about how you see various things and feel about them -- like your past mistakes. I will do my best to help you see them realistically. I won't ignore your feelings, but you have to promise to let me help you put them into their proper perspective. You need to be able to function well. I have a feeling more bad things will happen to you."
"You got that right," he muttered.
"Huh?" She obviously wanted to know what he meant by that.
He took a deep breath and exhaled as he thought about what to say. Trying to postpone it a little more, he stood up. "Shall we go into the other room? We're both done eating and it will be more comfortable in there. Maybe there will even be some chilled Butterbeers if we're lucky."
With a smile, she joined him and held onto his arm again, walking with him to the back room. She let out a surprised noise when she saw it. "What a nice place to talk." There was a small table there with a vase and two roses as well as a chest on top. Harry opened it and saw six Butterbeer bottles on ice. Smiling, he pulled one out, opened it and handed it to her, before he got one for himself.
"I am going to have to do something very nice for Dobby," he said with a sigh after a long drink.
"Why would you care about Malfoy's house-elf?" she asked.
"Dobby is no longer their house-elf. I tricked his father into freeing Dobby at the end of my second year. He's been here working at the school ever since. He's always very eager to help me whenever I ask," Harry explained.
Daphne grinned at him. "Nice one. I knew something had happened because of the way Malfoy went on about the elf, which is how I knew his name, but I didn't know what. Now, it seemed you agreed with my guess about more bad things happening to you. Besides the Daily Prophet calling you the Chosen One, why do you think so?"
Harry was in a real quandary now. How much should he share with her? She was his friend and now girlfriend, but how far could he really trust her? He supposed a general overview would not hurt. So he started telling her about what it was like in school, all of their adventures in more detail than most people ever heard. He was careful not to tell her Ginny's name when he mentioned the diary, but otherwise, he told her about everything else. He was also very careful not to tell her about the prophecy, not even that it existed.
"So you see, he keeps coming after me, and I see no reason for that to change, no matter how much I would like it to," he concluded.
She thought about that very carefully as she finished her second Butterbeer. "And you don't know why, you just have this trend?"
Now what, he thought. Maybe there was a middle position. "I, uh, I know why Voldemort thinks he has to kill me, even if I don't believe it's true, but I'm sorry, I can't tell you. Professor Dumbledore told me not to tell. Besides, it's safer for you that way."
"I see," she drawled, deep in thought.
He offered her another bottle, but she declined.
"Reading between the lines, then you really are the Chosen One and you have an ugly task in front of you." Harry willed himself not to react. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, but I need to think about this. You've had three Gryffindors thinking about this; I believe you need at least one Slytherin too, for a different perspective."
Harry chuckled. "Sure, why not? It can't hurt to have someone else thinking about how I can take Voldemort out." He was pleased to see that she did not react to the Dark Wizard's name.
"That's the spirit, Harry. Now, I'm afraid we have to leave; curfew is approaching. I must thank you for a most unusual date." She stood up and he followed.
"Oh, I'm sorry." He looked down, not believing how badly he had done; but then, he had so little experience.
"Harry, no, don't feel bad, please. It's unusual because I've really enjoyed it and I didn't have to fight to keep your hands off of me," she told him with a grin. "This has been the best dinner I've ever had here at school. And the company and conversation have been wonderful. I've truly enjoyed not having to defend myself and my honor."
"Really?" She liked it?
"Yes, really," she told him as she took the one step that separated them and put her arms around his shoulders.
Harry automatically put his hands on her waist and gently pulled her to him. He was not sure if their chests or their lips touched first, but her lips commanded his attention. She deepened the kiss and he went along. A few long moments later, they broke apart, each with a large goofy grin on their face.
"Brilliant…"
"Lovely…"
Their lips met again and Harry's hands went around her back and pulled her closer.
"That really was brilliant," Harry told her when they separated again.
"Thank you, Harry. You're a good kisser too." She sighed. "I wished we didn't have to hide this."
"Me too." He stepped back and grabbed her hand, pulling her to where the door should be. He also pulled out his Map and said the magic phrase.
"What's that?" she asked.
"This is the Marauder's Map. My father and some of his friends made it. I'm just checking to make sure no one is out in the hall."
"Now that is brilliant," she told him. "Look, there's Snape prowling the dungeons. That's why we never meet down there."
"I assumed. Well, it's clear up here. If you hurry, you'll make it back before curfew." He blanked the Map and put it away. "Thanks, Daphne, for everything." He gave her a quick kiss.
"Thanks for asking me, Harry. Wednesday night at eight, second floor and second door on the right," she suggested.
"Right." He gave her another quick kiss and then opened the door that had appeared. They both wasted no time in getting back.
Harry should not have been surprised after his earlier conversation, but when he returned, he received the attention of almost every girl still in the common room, and especially of one Romilda Vane.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked, sitting in a chair reading.
He did not want to answer that, especially with so many people paying attention to him.
"Out, thinking about what I want to do some day." He did not want to have to lie to her, but he felt he had no choice at the moment.
"Dressed like that?"
Harry looked down at his clothes. "What? A guy can't get a little dressed up to feel good about himself once in a while?" With her momentarily speechless, he said good-night and ran up to his dorm room to escape and think. It had been a wonderful evening with a wonderful girl with a wonderful ending. The kiss with Daphne was nothing like the one with Cho. The one with Daphne left the promise of many more wonderful things to come.
Harry worked diligently to keep up with all of his homework and Quidditch practices. He leaned on Ron for help with the practices, which Ron enjoyed and it gave the two friends a little more time together. That was good for Ron too because it seemed that Ron and Lavender were not on the best of terms any more, even though they had not broken up yet.
The time from Saturday to Wednesday seemed to drag for Harry. Wednesdays and Saturdays when he had time alone with Daphne were now the highlights of his week. Finally, Wednesday came and he hurried off under his Invisibility Cloak to meet her on the second floor. She was already there when he arrived.
"Hi Daphne," he breathed as he walked up to her. He felt a little shy, but that did not stop him from giving her a tentative kiss.
"You can do better than that, Harry," she pouted slightly.
So Harry put his arms around her and kissed her like he had on Saturday. When he pulled back, she had a large smile on her face. "That's how to kiss me," she informed him in a dreamy voice. "The other kinds of kisses are only for when you are rushing off somewhere and don't have time for one of those."
"Yes, Miss Greengrass," he teased.
"And don't you forget to always obey too," she jokingly returned. Daphne cast the privacy spells while Harry conjured a small couch. "You seem to have Occlumency down reasonably well. Practice will make you better, but I don't think I know Legilimency well enough to take you further. So for you, it will be trial by fire."
"I understand." Snape would be his fire, he knew.
"However, it would not hurt for you to know Legilimency as well, so I thought I'd teach you that. It will be useful for when you need to know if someone is telling you the truth, as well as if you find yourself in a situation where you have to interrogate an enemy. There is a strict code of ethics in using it due to its ability to invade someone's privacy. Of course, as you've found out, it's not always followed."
"Snape," he hissed.
"Exactly. One day, he will meet someone who knows Occlumency well enough and who is magically powerful enough, that he will find out the hard way not to do that."
Harry gave her a slightly evil smile. "I do hope that's me, some day."
"Perhaps," she conceded, "however, do be careful. He is better than he lets on." She sat a little straighter as she launched into her lesson. "For Legilimency, you need to focus your mind instead of trying to clear it. Focus on the person, on seeing through his eyes as if you're trying to see into his brain; try to make a mental connection with them as you say the spell. If you can do that, you can see their thoughts as well as detect most of their emotions."
"That's all there is to it?" He thought there would be more.
"That's it in a nutshell. There are two kinds of Legilimency: active and passive. I've described passive, which allows you to see their current thoughts. If done skillfully, the victim may never even know you're doing it, if you can do the spell non-verbally and wandlessly, like a master of the art can. And so you know, I would consider Snape and Dumbledore good enough to be a master, so you must always be on your guard against them. Active Legilimency allows you to force memories to the surface and you can even search for a specific one or for memories on a topic. As you know, the victim can see them too, so there is no stealth in this. This is the mode you'd use in interrogation if you were an Auror or fighting someone. Of course, dealing with Occlumency shields adds another complication, but we'll deal with that later. Understand?"
"Yeah, I think so. I guess I'll just need to do it."
"Right. I'll concentrate on a memory and you cast the spell on me and tell me what memory I'm thinking of." She calmly sat there waiting on him.
Harry took a deep breath and cast "Legilimens." He was staring into her very beautiful sky blue eyes and thinking of her. Nothing happened.
"Try again, Harry," she gently commanded him. "Try to establish a mental connection with me."
He blushed slightly. "I think I forgot that part. You have very pretty eyes."
Now she blushed slightly. "Thank you, Harry. That will get you a kiss later, but for now, you need to concentrate on your lesson."
Harry tried again, this time with some success.
"I got a flash of something, I think it was a room, but I'm not sure."
"That was part of it," she confirmed. "Try again."
It took another ten minutes before Harry was good enough to see the Room of Requirement with them in it on their first date. She gave him a kiss for his success. Harry tried again, this time it took only two times before he saw her and Tracey Davis studying in the Slytherin common room.
"So you study with Tracey?"
She nodded. "That's how we usually spend Saturday nights. Neither of us really wants to date any of the Slytherin boys, and no one from any of the other houses asks us out." She quietly sighed. "You are lucky that you can date from three of the houses."
"True," he agreed. "That's one of the things wrong in the school. I don't understand how we have such a split between the houses. It's social suicide for me to hang around with Slytherins, not to mention outright dangerous with someone like Malfoy around."
"I know. Listen to the Sorting Hat. I think it's sung about unity for the entire time I've been here." Daphne shook her head at the situation. "I think a lot of the blame can be laid at Snape's feet. He would personally ostracize any one of us who dated a non-Slytherin. Some of the blame can also be given to Dumbledore, who won't rein in Snape's excesses."
Harry chuckled. "I never thought I'd hear a Slytherin bad mouth Snape."
She grinned. "I guess you don't know us all that well then. We wouldn't ever say it to his face, but most of us can see the truth." She looked at her watch. "We only have a few more minutes left."
"Perhaps we could spend them as boyfriend and girlfriend?" Harry suggested and moved closer to her on the couch.
"You could talk me into that." Daphne's arms went around Harry's shoulders as her lips met his.
They left the room five minutes later than they had planned, but there was still plenty of time before curfew. From Harry's point of view, their relationship was going very well. Not only was the kissing great, but they were becoming better friends, even if they did have to keep their relationship hidden.
As April arrived, Harry was having some new problems. His relationship with Daphne was going very well, but his time with Dumbledore was not. He was frustrated with the old man because Dumbledore was still not teaching him any advanced magic. All they did was look at memories of Tom Riddle. While useful, they did not help Harry figure out how to kill him. It was also going badly because Dumbledore had told him that unless he, Harry, convinced Professor Slughorn to give up a memory about a young Tom Riddle, that they had nothing else to discuss on the matter.
On the first Saturday in April, Harry and Daphne had another dinner together in the Room of Requirement. It was once again an excellent culinary experience thanks to Dobby. Their after dinner conversation went well until Daphne asked him about his meetings with Dumbledore. He had told her about them the previous week, and how the Headmaster was trying to teach him about the history of Voldemort.
In their conversation, Daphne confronted him.
"Harry, what's wrong? You're not as relaxed as you normally are with me." He did not answer for a moment. "Harry? Answer me please. We need to be open with each other."
He slowly nodded. "I know," he finally verbalized. "But you do know that I have some secrets I can't share. Some no one can know because they could get you killed."
She thought about that for a moment. "All right, I'll let those slide for now. As we get to know one another better and trust each other more, I think you can find that you can share those with me too. I will keep your secrets, Harry."
A shrug was all she got for a moment. "Maybe some day."
"So are your problems one of those dark secrets?"
"No, I guess not. One of my problems is Dumbledore. He says I have to get a memory from Slughorn if he's to help me anymore."
"I see." She considered that. "I take you don't know how to convince him?"
"No. I've tried the direct approach and he's avoiding me now."
Daphne smiled at him. "Then you need a more indirect way, a more cunning way, especially since you're dealing with a Slytherin. You need to let your inner Slytherin out, Harry." She smiled brightly at him and he chuckled. She seemed to know how to cheer him up.
"OK, I probably deserved that for being so down," he said seriously, "and you have a point. I need to be sneaky about it."
"I said cunning, but if you need sneaky, do it cunningly," she joked. "What else is bothering you?"
Harry looked down. "You might be able to help me with this one, but I haven't wanted to ask you."
"Why not? The worst I can do is say no. Well, I might hex you too if you're too forward, but I doubt that is the issue."
He vigorously shook his head as he clearly understood her reference. "No! Not at all!"
"Then what is it?" she asked with real caring in her voice.
A sigh escaped him. "I need to know what Malfoy is up to. I've caught him sneaking around and he's been very out of character for him this year. I know he's up to something and I need to figure out what."
She nodded as she listened. "Perhaps I can help. I'll keep my ears open. You feel this is important?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation. "I think he's been marked as a Death Eater too, so that would also be good to know, as I can use that to get him expelled. That would make it safer for all of us, assuming I can get the Headmaster to act."
"You don't think Dumbledore cares?" She seemed surprised at this.
"Actually, I think he knows, but he's letting Snape handle it. The problem there is that I don't trust Snape," he emphatically said.
"Very wise of you. I'll see what I can find out for you." She paused to consider something. "Harry? You said Malfoy's been sneaking around. How do you know? Were you watching on your Map?"
"Yeah, I try to track him sometimes. That's how," he blushed, "I found and rescued you at the beginning of the term. I was tracking him and saw him and his goons with you in an out of the way corridor. I thought that was unusual enough to investigate."
Daphne leaned over and gave him a hug and then a kiss that curled his toes. "Thank you again, Harry. Give me some time to shake the Slytherin rumor tree."
The rest of the time that evening was spent finding out if Daphne could outdo her earlier kiss.
((A/N: We're half way through the story.))