As Harry stood under the cold shower, he swore at himself for reacting in the manner he did. It was one thing to have the physical reaction he'd had when he'd felt Gabrielle's breasts press against his back, but the way he'd acted towards her afterwards had been completely disgraceful. It was a typical and healthy male response to be affected by a beautiful girl's tight young body, but there was no reason to act like an asshole because it was he who could not control his baser urges. He wanted to stay completely loyal to Tonks, but that was no reason to lash out at a girl for a weakness on his part. This was further complicated by the fact that he could not tell her, or anyone else for that matter, that he actually had a girlfriend to be true to.

The frigid water cooled him down considerably both physically and emotionally, and he decided that he would just have to be more careful around the beautiful young Veela in the future. But first, he had to apologize.

x

The next days passed by uneventfully and Gabrielle eagerly accepted Harry's apology the following morning, glad to see him back to his former self. They would often fly together, constantly trying to outdo one another and having a few one-on-one practice matches as Seekers; Harry discovered that Gabrielle was not the fastest flyer, but was remarkably intelligent and an extremely quick learner. Their battles would always be long and hard-fought, and as Harry started getting back into flying shape, he got back at her for some of the losses he had piled up in the beginning. Their little practices became a replacement for his early morning jogging, and it felt like they were the only ones in the world as they flew across the sky at daybreak.

His classes also went well and he loved giving his students a challenge every class, with the winner obviously getting points for his or her House. Sometimes, it was seeing who could disenchant a cursed box he had charmed the quickest, while at other times, he simply set up a small duelling tournament. As a result of this hands-on approach to teaching, his students enjoyed coming to class and learned in leaps and bounds because they were always trying to beat their friends and the other Houses at the challenges. On several occasions, Gabrielle once again demonstrated her quick wit and skill with a wand, impressing Harry and amassing many points for Gryffindor, which put her on better terms with the other students of her House; he was glad to see her socializing more with students of her own age compared to the beginning of the year. He had even noticed a Gryffindor by the name of Sebastian Norton who had most definitely taken notice of her and was almost certainly smitten with the young Veela. He wondered why she seemed to ignore these attentions, however, since he thought it would be good for her to try entering into a relationship with another seventh year. Although Harry could not say he did not enjoy the time he spent together with her, he was much too old for her, she was his student, and he already had a girlfriend – it would never work, he had managed to convince himself, overriding the growing bond that seemed to be forming between the two of them with each passing day.

Even between classes, Harry kept busy. Every mealtime, Harry would sit beside Daphne, whether there were other seats available or not, and after the initial protestations on her part, she finally gave up and just let him sit there. He wasn't altogether sure why he himself enjoyed spending time with the Slytherin Potions Master, as she certainly seemed to find him annoying and would be the first to remind him of that at every occasion. However, instead of pushing him away, that only made him more interested in her. He wanted to know what it was that made her instinctually push everyone away from her - if there was any way to help break that habit of hers, he would try to so. He thought himself to be an excellent judge of character and knew she was a kind person at heart; he just had to find a way to get her to open up.

x

On Friday, Harry and Daphne were at their usual spots eating breakfast when a majestic blue owl came flying at them with a letter in its claws. Daphne immediately stopped eating at the sight of it and waited as it deposited its sealed parchment on the lap of its intended recipient. She gave the bird a scone and petted its head, sending it on its way back home.

"A secret admirer?" Harry joked, as Daphne started removing the seal.

"My parents," Daphne replied, with obvious dread in her voice.

When she finally got the letter open and started reading the first few lines, her face suddenly blanched. Harry conspicuously leaned over her shoulder to try to read the words, but she quickly concealed the letter from him, sending one of her patented cold glares at him.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Harry was surprised when she did not answer, instead staring blankly ahead. He knew this must be something serious to have destabilized her to this degree. For the rest of the meal, he could not get another word out of her, despite his best attempts, and he felt as though their relationship had reverted to the same distant way it had been back when they were still students at Hogwarts.

x

Lunch turned out to be much of the same, with Daphne continuing to ignore Harry as they ate their respective meals. Harry even tried pulling out some of the pranks from the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes he'd confiscated from students, but none of them succeeded in drawing the slightest response from the newly revamped Ice Queen.

At dinner, however, that inexplicably changed when Daphne came striding up to Harry at the staff table as he was busily eating his soup.

"You're going on a date with me," she said confidently after reaching him.

"What?" he sputtered, choking on a mouthful of broth.

She laughed at his reaction, delighting in his discomfort. Harry was just glad she seemed to be back to the person he had uncovered over the past week.

"You know that letter I got from Father and Mother this morning?" she asked.

"I do seem to recall something of that nature," he replied sarcastically – she must be rubbing off on him.

"Well it basically invited me to dinner tomorrow night, where I would be meeting with a suitor who had impressed my parents very much."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"You don't understand – this is just a prelude to a marriage contract; whether or not we actually get along is of little importance. In the past, I might go on a date with a suitor to appease Father and Mother, but it would only be myself and the rich prat – tomorrow night, both our parents will be there, which can only mean one thing: the marriage has already all but been decided."

"Wow," said Harry, stunned that any kind of parents would decide the future of their child in such a cold and calculating way.

"Ever since my younger sister Astoria got married to your good friend Draco – " Harry sneered at the name " – I knew my parents would be pressuring me soon enough to also get engaged. But I've found the perfect solution to this problem," she said, with a triumphant glimmer in her eye, "you."

Before he could protest, she continued. "I have no doubt that my parents would see you as a more than suitable replacement suitor, so if you come to dinner with me tomorrow night, it could convince them to scrap the marriage contract."

"Wait, when did I agree to any of this?" he asked angrily, having been manipulated more than his fair share in the past.

She flinched at his response before answering, "It's not like it's going to be an actual date. We just have to pretend to like each other in front of my parents – actually, that sounds quite difficult, but nevertheless, it would only be for a couple of hours. Come on, Harry," she struggled to say his first name, "do it for a friend. We are friends, right?" He grunted his assent, still unhappy with where this was going. "Besides, you said yourself you don't have a girlfriend." He was about to respond that he did, but abruptly shut his mouth, realizing his potential mistake. He thought over her proposal as she waited patiently for his response: Tonks would certainly not be happy if she knew he was going on a date with another woman, but as Daphne said, it was hardly a date and more of an act. More importantly, he did want to help her out, and if going to dinner with her tomorrow night would get her parents off her back for a while (he had a feeling they were a big reason she had a tendency to retreat into her shell), then he was all for it.

"Alright," he finally agreed.

With a broad smile he had never before seen from her, she voluntarily took the seat beside him – the first time she had ever done so – and as she sat down, whispered, "Thank you," in his ear with sincerity.