Daphne: I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. Your comments really helped me to write at my best, and also helped me with some difficult parts of the story where I had no idea what was going to happen. Thank you so much, everyone! This chapter (and all the ones after it) is dedicated to all of you!
Harry Potter and the Four Realmsby Daphne Li
Chapter 5. The next morning, Harry woke to a smirking face leering at him from above his bed.
"Whatimeisit?" He mumbled, not fully alert. The face grinned.
"Time to get up. Classes start in fifteen minutes, and you are joining them today," Severus chuckled, eyeing the person who was snuggled to Harry's side. Harry woke fully and glared at his uncle, while pulling Ginny closer.
After their walk last night, they had both been too exhausted to do much more than make their way to his rooms and fall into his bed. A completely innocent gesture that seemed to have Severus believing otherwise.
"Ohmygosh! Classes!" Ginny suddenly shrieked, as she sat up and turned wide eyes on the Professor. A blush rose to her cheeks at the thought of him catching them in this position, but her fears were calmed when he just smiled at her.
"Just kidding. You still have an hour. But I suggest that you hurry. The professors won't take lightly to you being late on your first day," Severus warned, as he left the room. Harry and Ginny glanced at each other, then burst out laughing.
"Well, that was interesting," she murmured as she climed out of the bed. Harry smirked.
"It could have been worse. But I get the strange feeling that he will be holding this over our heads for a while," he muttered. Ginny groaned.
"Just our luck."
After they had eaten the breakfast that Dobby had so kindly left for them, they hastened to get their things. Two clothes-change charms and an 'Accio' later (for Ginny's books), the two parted ways and Harry quickly walked to his first class of the day, Transfiguration.
When he reached the room, he found that he was still early and no one else was there but Professor McGonagall. The older woman glanced up as he walked through the door, and he flashed her the same gentle smile he had when he was only six years old. Immediately a change was seen in the woman, and she smiled slightly in return.
"It is nice to see you again, Mr. Harold," she greeted. Harry smiled.
"And you, Professor. I hope that you have been well," he said, placing his bag on a random desk and then going up to stand beside her desk. They talked for a few more minutes before students began to wander into the room. As soon as he spotted Neville taking a seat near the back of the classroom, he quickly made his way to sit next to him, and the two boys became involved in a heavy discussion about transfiguring cactus' into coat- hangers. Neither boy noticed the strange looks they were getting from their fellow classmates, Harry in particular.
Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted as a girl with slightly bushy brown hair came to stand beside them and caught Harry's attention. He looked up into her intelligent brown eyes and smiled, immediately recognizing her as Hermione Granger, the girl Ginny always talked about in her letters.
"Hello! I'm Hermione Granger, Gryffindor Head Girl," she introduced. Harry's smile widened beautifully. Several of the girls in the class gasped and sighed at this.
"Delian Harold. I am in Gryffindor, too. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger," he said, gently taking her hand and kissing it. Hermione's cheeks turned bright red, and behind her, a boy who could only be Ronald Weasley gained a thunderous look on his face.
"I'm sorry if I am being presumptuous, but Ginny has told me much about you, and I feel as if I already know you. I had been hoping to meet you soon," he murmured. Hermione could not have looked any more thrilled.
"Oh! Then you know Ginny well?" She asked. Harry nodded.
"Indeed, you could say that."
"Why have I never seen you around here, then?" Ron piped up suddenly, breaking into the conversation. Harry smiled.
"I have only now began to attend here. I attended Beuxbatons up until this year, you see, and I was a bit ahead of everyone. This allowed me to have much of the first part of school off," he explained. Ron opened his mouth to say something else, but Professor McGonagall quickly put an end to this by ordering him back to his seat. Harry smiled as he watched them leave, patting himself on the back for his smooth exit of any uncomfortable situations thus far. Only three more classes to go. "Delian!" Ginny called, running up the isle. Harry turned and smiled at the girl he loved so much, and moved over so she and Arnea could sit down.
"How was your day, brother?" His sister questioned, as Ginny served them up a great helping of dinner. Harry smirked.
"Trouble here and there. Questions, vague answers, the usual," he chuckled. Arnea raised her eyebrow but said nothing in response to this.
"Oh?" Ginny asked, looking more interested than her friend. Harry grinned.
"Yes. Your brother thought it appropriate to question me every chance he got on my relationship with you and where it stood. Jayden Potter seems to have taken a disliking towards me, for reasons beyond me. Your Hermione is a friendly one, though. I rather like her, and I believe that I may have a very good friend in her," he commented thoughtfully. Ginny beamed.
"I knew you would like her."
They chatted a bit more, Arnea seeming to take more interest in what Neville had to say than the others. This did not bother Harry or Ginny, however. It gave them more time to themselves, which was the point...or so Harry hoped.
"Ginny! Delian!"
The two turned to see a cheerful Hermione striding towards them, her face bright with curiosity.
"I was wondering. How did you two meet?" She questioned, as she sat down and helped herself to dinner. Ginny and Harry glanced at each other.
"It's a long story..."
"That's alright. I have a lot of time," Hermione responded to Ginny's hesitant words.
"Then I will tell it. It all began when I was six and had just discovered a large family living right near me. I saw some boys playing Quidditch, and I was going to greet them when I heard someone crying..."
Harry proceeded to tell Hermione of his childhood with Ginny. She listened intently, her eyes wide.
"Oh! But Ron told me...he said that you were Ginny's invisible friend." She finally managed when the story was through. Ginny giggled.
"Mione', when has Ron ever accepted that I can have friends of my own, outside of his group of friends?" She asked teasingly. Hermione began to laugh as well at this. Apparently, Ron seemed to think he had more control over his sister than he actually did, and both girls found it amusing. Harry smirked.
"The typical big brother, then?"
"You should know!" Arnea shot back, finally turning from her conversation with Neville, who was laughing at Harry's uncomfortable look.
"Why should he know?" Hermione asked in confusion. Arnea smiled.
"Because he has four sisters, including me," she announced. Hermione's face lit up once more.
"Oh! I didn't know he had any siblings! It is nice to meet you!" She greeted. Arnea smiled.
"When our older sister was courting, Delian always had to put his two-bits in about every suitor. It came as a huge surprise when he quickly agreed on the final one, who is now her husband. I fear what he will do when I begin to take interest in men," She grinned wickedly, eyeing her glowering brother. Ginny and Hermione broke into giggles at this, and Harry slumped down in his seat in defeat.
"At least I still have control over Hestia and Camenae," he muttered.
"Oh no you don't!" Came the sharp reply from the next table over and a carrot was launched into Harry's hair. He turned to glare at his irate little sister, and then groaned, accepting his defeat once more.
"I sincerely despise you, right now," he grunted, as Hestia joined in the older girls mirth.
"Don't worry, Delian. I still love you," Ginny whispered softly, so no others could hear. He looked up at her and smiled weakly.
"That makes me feel better. In all honesty, it does," he assured, straightening up at her slightly hurt look. He slipped his hand into hers under the table and she smiled up at him before going back to her food.
Not one person in the group, save for maybe Hestia, noticed that most of the eyes in the hall were trained on the new students, and watching them with the utmost interest and speculation. "You are a traitor!"
Hermione looked up, stunned, as her boyfriend and friend stalked up to her. She had been calmly studying in the Gryffindor common room when they had born down upon her with less than happy looks.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean talking to that...bloody prat!"
"What?" She asked, startled.
"He's nothing but trouble, Mione'. That kind always are. You shouldn't have been encouraging Ginny to talk to him. It's obvious there's only one thing he wants, and it's known as the 'horizontal tango'," Jayden put in. Hermione sat speechless for a few moments, then to the utter horror of her friends, she burst out laughing.
"You two are the limit! What on earth are you gibbering about? There is nothing wrong with Delian, he is just trying to be friendly. Which is more than I can say about you..." She trailed off, eyeing them with slight disdain.
"What?! Mione', we're trying to protect you! And as soon as I see Ginny, I am going to lay down the law with her, as well."
"Lay down what law, Ronald?"
Ron winced as the ice-cold voice of his sister rolled over him. He turned, albeit sheepishly, and looked into his sisters flashing eyes.
"That boy. He's no good. I want you to stay away from him."
At Ron's words, Ginny's fists clenched and she shot him a violent glare as she stepped forward.
"What did you say to me?"
"He...he's no good," Ron stammered.
"Oh. And you would know this, how? How long have you known him, Ronald? What attempts have you made to get to know him? None! Therefore, if you say one more word about me staying away from him, I will laugh in your face. Either that, or pound your face into the floor," she hissed savagely. With this, Ginny Weasley turned and stalked up the stairs to her dormitory, slamming the door when she got there.
"I have to agree. You two are the prats, Ronald."
At Hermione's cold words, Ron winced and watched as his girlfriend disappeared from sight, giving him much to think over. "Dad? Can I ask you a question?"
James Potter turned to see his son leaning against his desk, looking upset.
"Of course. What is it?"
"It's about this new kid. Delian Harold." He emphasized the name and made a disgusted face as he did so. James immediately became suspicious.
"What about him?"
"What do you know of him? I'm afraid for Ginny and Hermione. They just welcomed him with open arms, no questions asked. In fact, the whole student body is doing it, too. Malfoy is buddy-buddy with him, same with Longbottom, which is really odd. I just don't get it. He seems sketchy to me," Jayden mumbled. James frowned.
"I know little except what I've observed. Most of the teachers love him, and Minerva praises him to the skies. Oh...and I've heard a rumor that he is related to Snape in some way," James listed thoughtfully. Jayden looked horrified at this last prospect.
"Related?! To Snape?" He choked. James nodded silently, unwilling to say anything else. True, he had hated Snape during school, and his liking had not much grown, but he did respect the man enough not to belittle him in front of his son.
"That's just wrong," Jayden groaned, collapsing into a nearby seat. They were silent for a few moments, until a loud caw was heard directly outside the doors of the classroom. Both men looked up when voices were heard.
"How was your first day of school?" This voice was unmistakably Snape's, though unlike usual, it was warm and kind.
"Decent. Granted, there were a few people who questioned my intentions, but that is to be expected. One such as myself can hardly go anywhere without having people disputing my character."
"True, true. But you cannot blame them. It is a rare thing to meet a creature of your type. It is common to see veelas and wizards here, but elves are hard to come by nowadays, and you have the blood of all three running through your veins. Therefore, it comes to me as no surprise that they were in awe of you."
"Or in Mr. Weasley's and Mr. Potter's cases, immediately on guard. I suppose they also have good reason," came the mysterious young voice.
"Perhaps. But personally I think it is their protectiveness of Ginevra...at least in Weasley's case. In Potter's...he's just infatuated and wants her all to himself," laughed Snape. At this, Jayden turned bright red and indigence filled his face. James worked to keep from smiling, however, amused that Snape had hit the nail on the head, so to speak.
"So Ginny has said. And yet I wonder if they realize that no matter how much they try to push us apart, they will only be bringing pain on themselves. Ginny and I are both very strong-willed, and I will not have my mate..."
"Shush! Even walls have ears, nephew-mine. I completely agree, but this is not the time, nor the place for you to be getting angry."
"I'm not angry. I was just stating a fact. I will not end my friendship with Ginny, no matter how many Potters and Weasleys come to me and insist upon it. I have known her longer than any of them realize, and I am not about to loose her now," came the overly-calm voice.
"I am sure that Potter and Weasley will get the hint. Weasley cares too much about his sister to loose her over some sibling spat, and Potter...well, he will just have to accept it. Now get to your rooms, Delian. It is late and you have had a busy day," Snape said gently.
"Alright. Goodnight, Uncle."
"Goodnight, Delian."
James and Jayden stared wide-eyed, as Delian Harold walked to a point where they could see him through the doorway, and then continued on down the hall. A black flying object, perhaps a bird, followed in his wake.
"Apparently they are related a bit closer than I thought," James commented mistily, unable to figure out what that conversation had just meant. Jayden looked no better.
"Ron's not going to be happy about this," He muttered. "Hmm. I missed you."
Harry looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled. Ginny was laying back in his arms, eyes closed and a content look on her face. It had been a week since he had joined the school, and a week since Ron Weasley had begun his campaign to keep Ginny away from him. Harry and Ginny had other ideas, however, and had taken to meeting after hours, when everyone else was asleep.
When Jayden had told Ron about 'that Harold boy's' relation to Snape, Ron had snapped and proceeded to announce it to the entire Great Hall as he yelped in shock. Suffice to say, many people had been reasonably stunned. The greasy-haired Professor was nothing like the handsome, other-worldly boy that they had come to admire at a distance.
"How much?"
"Too much. I hate the way Ron's acting," Ginny groaned, lightly kissing his neck, which was the only piece of skin she could reach at the moment. Harry groaned at the contact.
"He is only doing it because he loves you. I would do it too, if I were in his position and didn't understand the circumstances," Harry soothed, enjoying her warm lips playing over his skin. She smiled against his neck and snuggled closer.
"Yes, but I have the feeling you wouldn't be as pig-headed," she giggled. Harry shrugged.
"Hey, I have four sisters. You never know."
They sat in silence for a while, simply watching the stars twinkling in the sky.
"Do you ever miss it?" Ginny asked finally, turning her face up to look at him.
"Miss what?"
"Your home."
"Constantly. I miss my family...and my people..." He trailed off here, and closed his eyes as memories of his home washed over him. Ginny smiled, enjoying seeing him like this, and then reached up and kissed his cheek.
"Do you ever regret coming here?"
"Never, my love. I could never regret this," he whispered, pulling her tighter into his arms. She sighed contentedly and snuggled even closer.
"I love you, my Delian," she breathed. His eyes opened and he smiled slightly.
"And I you, my red-haired goddess," he responded, kissing her lips teasingly. She giggled and twined her fingers into his hair, keeping him from pulling away.
As the kiss deepened, everything around them seemed to silence. The lake stopped splashing against the shore. The forest creatures quieted their noise. The wind stopped.
And then it all began again.
Harry pulled away from his mate and smiled down at her breathtakingly lovely face. Her porcelain skin glowed in the moonlight, and her red hair fanned out behind her like a veil. Her eyes glittered with the reflection of the starlight, and her cupid-bow lips parted in a smile that only a woman in love could wear.
"You are so beautiful." He managed, pulling away and stroking a finger down her cheek. Ginny's smile disappeared as she closed her eyes at his soul- felt words. No one had ever said that to her...at least in such a way that made her actually begin to believe it. When she was with him, she felt complete...she felt beautiful.
"So beautiful." He murmured, pulling her head down to rest on his shoulder as he pulled her close again. Tears filled her eyes at this, and she clutched at him for support. Never had she ever felt like this. This love that was filling her was overwhelming, cresting over her like a smothering wave. And yet it was so wonderful that she could not help but feel almost selfish at enjoying it. She never wanted it to end.
"Don't ever leave me, my Delian. Please don't leave me," she whimpered, pressing her lips to his neck over and over. He rubbed her back, shaking his head.
"Never. Never."
Only a few feet away, unbeknownst to the oblivious couple, a stunned Ronald Weasley stood shaking, behind a tree.
Tears were coursing down his cheeks unabashedly.