CHAPTER SEVEN – HE INTENDED ― SHE AGREED ― AND THEN THEY MET
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of this fan-fiction expect for the characters that I have created to fit the requirements of my story and even then I do not intend to use any of it for any financial or material profit.
Sitting across from him, she watched him order his food, still not able to wrap her head around the fact that she was currently out on a date with none other than Harry Potter. If a week back someone had told her that after meeting him for the first time at a social gathering, a couple of days later, she, Daphne Greengrass, the 'Ice Princess' of Slytherin, would be on a Lunch date with none other than Harry Potter, 'The-Boy-Who-Lived', she would have advised and may be aided them in getting an appointment at St. Mungo's. Yet, here she was doing the exact same thing.
He finished placing his order and gave the menu back to the waiter and looked up and smiled that crooked grin of his that she had come to both hate and love all at the same time because each time he did that it made her feel warm and comfortable but also it made her realize how disarming and addictive that smile was because it was so genuinely true. Add to the fact that he looked extremely pleasing to the eye in that blue jeans and white t-shirt over which he was wearing a black biker jacket which complimented his dragon hide boots.
It had all started after that dratted day during lunch time when she heard the usual than chipper attitude of her sister or as she called her, "hell-spawn" that fifteen year old Daphne Greengrass got the feeling that something was completely off.
No, it wasn't that she felt that her sister had no right to be chipper. Rather the sudden transformation of her mood was what alarmed Daphne; ever since the start of their end of term holidays, her sister's been either right pissed off or downright snappy, the reason being none other than His Royal Holiness Harry 'Bloody' Potter.
For the millionth time Daphne wondered if fate was way too bored and in need of a good laugh when Astoria was born. Why else would her otherwise level headed sister have a crush on Harry Potter of all boys?
Daphne still remembered the way her sister had first reacted when during the Christmas holidays of her first year she had informed her family that Harry Potter was one of her batch mates at Hogwarts. Her sister had practically been a living nightmare, by constantly questioning her about Potter. It came to the point wherein she went to her parents and literally begged them to send her sister to Beauxbatons because she feared that her sister would end up being an over obsessed "Boy Who Lived" stalker.
Although her parents were quiet amused, they assured her that they would talk to Astoria and make sure that she behaved once she started going to Hogwarts. Then came Astoria's first year at Hogwarts and as she expected, her sister ended up in Slytherin, just like her. Daphne was sure that if she hadn't seen it in person, she would never have believed it.
Her normally Happy-go-Lucky sister had actually started behaving like a worried mother hen fussing over how skinny he looked. If it wasn't for the firm talk that Daphne and her parents had given Astoria about what might happen if she showed her true emotions about Harry Potter in case she ended up in Slytherin, Daphne was sure her sister would have cornered potter and forcibly befriended him, whether he liked it or not; period.
A small smile crept across Daphne's face at this thought. That was Astoria in a nutshell. She might be incredibly annoying and talkative but she was loyal to the bone. Once she considered you one of her own, she would do almost anything for you.
Daphne had to actually threaten Astoria to control her reactions when the whole "Heir of Slytherin" debacle was going on. She was sure that her sister had come very close to hexing the life out of 'when-my-father-hears-about-this-Malfoy'.
To Daphne's dismay, the next couple of years only made the issue worse in her scenario; the breakout of Sirius Black, the placing of Dementors around Hogwarts and then the whole bloody non sense of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
In a small way Daphne was sad that despite being so genuinely concerned about the boy, her sister would never be able to show him her real affection. It was unfair that out of all the houses she could have ended up in, Astoria became a Slytherin, where it would be dangerous to show that you actually cared for Harry Potter.
No, being in Slytherin meant following the one golden rule, which was that first and foremost, it is all about you. Not family and definitely not friends. In fact you are not expected to have friends in Slytherin. Rather what you are expected to have are allies, who could be used when needed and disposed off when they outlived their purpose. It was a cold truth that Daphne hated the most, but it was probably the only ardently followed rule in Slytherin.
It was because of this that she and her best friend Tracey Davis kept to themselves. In fact Daphne was known to most of the Hogwarts as the "Ice Princess", because she maintained an aloof and cold attitude towards almost everyone at school so as to allow her the freedom to not be bothered about the non sense of blood purity and bigotry.
The sound of her sister excitedly telling her mother about the birthday party of Susan Bones brought Daphne out of her reverie. Daphne wanted to slap herself. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten about Susan's birthday party. It was one of the rare events in the pureblood circle which was worth attending in Daphne's viewpoint. It wasn't that Susan and she were best of friends. No they were what one could call family acquaintances who when they saw each other in public were perfectly civil toward one another. Rather it was the fact that it was one event in which she could relax and genuinely let her hair down rather than worrying about unwanted pureblood princes trying to make their move on her.
Hearing her name brought her back to the present and she looked up to see Harry looking at her as if waiting for her response. She smiled sheepishly and told him that she was lost in some thought. He shook his head in amusement and asked her to tell him a bit about her family.
She nodded and started telling him about her father's business of procuring antique and rare magical artifacts from across the globe for the Department of Mysteries' Research Wing. She also mentioned about their family business of potion ingredients to which Harry made a mock jab at her saying that maybe that's why Snape doesn't bother her so that he can ask for rare potion ingredients from her father whenever he wants. She very maturely stuck her tongue out at him making him chuckle.
She then told him about her mother's career as a magical author and historian. She told him that her mother was currently working on a book that was about various objects that were used across the ages to aid a witch and wizard in channeling their magic in a better fashion.
She was surprised to find out how much he had to tell her on the subject and was even more dumbfounded when he was able to give her historical dates and anecdotes about when various objects came into fashion and fell out of fashion. She was sure that if she told her mother about this, then she would have him over to their house in the next available opportunity, which surprisingly made her feel a bit giddy.
Lastly she told him about her sister Astoria and also in a very delicate manner pointed toward her crush on him. She was actually hoping to put him off guard and see how he handled it. Needless to say his response left her completely gob smacked. He patiently heard her out about Astoria and then said in a rather calm demeanor that more often than not, behind every fairy tale their lies a story so painful and heart wrenching that when you learn about the reality, you find yourself coming up short on how to react.
Something about the way he said that made Daphne pause and take a look at him and realize that may be behind all the fantastic and unbelievable stories and rumors that she had heard about, there was still a fifteen year old boy who somehow wanted to keep his life as normal as possible.
Then she heard some sort of instrumental music and looked at him to find him taking something out of his pocket and look at it. He then looked at her and said, "I'm sorry Daphne! I need to take this. I'll be back in a few." She nodded in understanding as he walked a little way away and put whatever it was to his ear and started speaking.
This gave her the opportunity to think back to Susan's party. She was sitting in the ball room which was were the birthday party was happening with Astoria, Tracey, Sally Anne-Perks, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst along with Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley when in walked none other than Harry Potter himself dressed in a simple yet suave black muggle suit.
The first to react were not surprisingly Astoria and Tracey. Astoria lightly shrieked and Tracey in her characteristic manner muttered, "Merlin, he looks delicious", leaving Daphne to shake her head in amusement though she privately agreed that he did look good.
When he spotted Susan, he walked over to her who had gotten up seeing him approaching and gave her a gentle hug and said, "Happy Birthday Sue" making Astoria glare daggers at the girl and every other girl in the group to sigh dramatically. The sight somehow amused him as he shook his head and then turned to look at Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley who were both gaping at him and nodded while saying, "Ernie, Justin" and walked away to talk to Neville Longbottom who was talking to a very elder looking person.
The moment he was out of ear shot, Hannah Abbott looked at her best friend and said, "Alright girl! Spill…" Susan for her part looked at Hannah as if she was mad and said, "Hannah there is nothing to spill. Aunt met up with him a couple of times over the summer regarding something important. So he ended up coming here a few times and that is how we became a bit friendly; nothing more than that."
Before she could think anymore she spotted Harry sitting back down on his seat as he mumbled a quick "Sorry" to which she just shook her head and waved it away. Right when they walked into this restaurant, he had smiled at her and announced that he had no intention of sitting across from a gorgeous looking girl and call her by her family name. So he was going to be brave and give her the permission to call him by his first name. What made her laugh was the pompous drawl with which he had said it, that made it clear to her that he was only doing it to make her feel at ease and so she agreed with his sentiments and both of them had decided to call each other by their first name.
Now that she had told him about her family, she was eager to find out a bit more about him and knowing that he really had no family to speak of, she instead asked him what he was looking for in terms of career prospects. Being from a pureblood background, she was quite aware of the fact that his family was one of the richest in the wizarding world and that him being the sole heir ensured the fact that he wouldn't have to work a single day in his life and still live like a king. Yet she somehow knew that he wasn't someone who would prefer to live of his inheritance and would want to make a name all for him.
He looked off in another direction for a minute before he looked at her and said, "Though I'm sure you would have read in some paper or the other that I want to be a professional Quidditch player, that's as far from the truth as it can get." This made her arch an eyebrow in question to which he just shrugged and smiled, before continuing. "You see Daphne though I love Quidditch, it's the flying that I enjoy more and to be honest to play a game professionally you need to really have that passion for the game, which I don't."
It made sense as this was something her father used to tell her and Astoria quite a bit often that in order to do something and really succeed in it you need to be devoted to it. If you only see it as a professional obligation then you are being unfaithful to yourself as well as wasting your time.
He waited for her to look at him and then said, "I want to become a Spell Crafter and Enchanter. That's what I want to end up doing for the rest of my life."
She was quite sure that her eyebrows must have disappeared into her hairline. Here was a guy who was as old as her talking about becoming a professional Spell Crafter and Enchanter. She was pretty sure that these words never even got featured in her future planning by mistake. But then she remembered something, so she looked at him and asked, "Wait, but you never took Arithmancy or Ancient Runes. So how do you plan to have a career in which these two courses are like must?"
Harry actually chuckled which made her glare at him. He put his hands up in a placating manner and said, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself. As for why I chuckled, well with that question you proved that you were actually listening to what I was saying. And to answer for your question, yes I never took those subjects. But let's just say that I have been studying on my own with a bit of outside help."
"I got in touch with Madam Marchbanks who is the Head of Wizarding Examinations Authority and asked her if I could take OWLs in both Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as an independent candidate who studies privately but will take exam with you lot. She agreed to allow me to do so as long as I took a test on the two subjects that would be looked over by Professor Vector and Professor Babbling and that as long as I cleared that properly, I'm good to go. So I took the test and cleared it comfortably and as of this moment I'm eligible to take the OWLs with you at the end of the upcoming school year."
By the time he finished talking Daphne was sitting there with her mouth open. Here was a guy who wasn't known for his smarts, talking about appearing as an independent candidate in what were undoubtedly two of the toughest subjects taught at Hogwarts with nothing but self study. She couldn't help but be impressed by how smart he was when he wanted to be.
She then asked him the reason as to why he wanted to get into that particular field of magic and his answer was something that she couldn't help but respect. He told her about his family's involvement in the field of Enchanting and their role in the development of Wizarding Wireless Network and how he wanted to carry his family's legacy forward and add his own value to the Potter name and fortune.
Thinking about it she realized that he was someone so different from the boys she regularly met and interacted with. He had money; and he knew it, but he also understood that it wasn't something he had earned. Rather it was there because of his family and for him to spend that money he needed to live up to that name. Even the fact about keeping his family's legacy alive was his own decision and not something forced upon or expected like in most old pureblood families.
As their lunch came, the talk turned to their Hogwarts experiences and he jokingly said that in order for him to narrate his stories, they would need to have a bottle of fire-whiskey handy. When she questioned him about it, he told her that his experiences rather left his listeners looking for something stronger to drink. The way he said it told Daphne that if she wanted to continue her peaceful sleeping pattern then she would be better off not knowing them.
They then talked about differences between life in Slytherin and Gryffindor. She was shocked to find out that he and Weasley had used Polyjuice potion to transform as Crabbe and Goyle and gotten into their common room in order to find out who the true Heir of Slytherin was in the hope that Malfoy would know it.
Soon both of them were finished with their lunch and Harry promptly asked for the bill and paid for it despite her offering to go Dutch. When she tried pointing out that she was perfectly capable of paying for her own food, he replied saying that he was aware it but since it was he who had promised to show her a good time in the muggle world, the onus to pay for her entertainment was his and then he gave her that crooked grin of his and winked making her space out for a moment.
He then took her to a nearby theatre where he had reserved two tickets for a film called "Go Now" which was a Romantic Drama. Though Daphne had gone in to see what the whole fuss about this film thing was, the moment the film started she was lost in the story. She was so engrossed that much to her embarrassment she actually had tears in her eyes by the time the film ended.
Harry then took her to a nearby café where he explained to her about what a film was and how it was made and everything. Soon it was time for her to get back and when the time came for them to part ways, she was actually quite confused as to what to say to him.
On one hand, she had genuinely enjoyed her time with him today and wanted to do this again. On the other hand, she was also aware of the fact that if she continued this, there would be repercussions inside her house and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.
Eventually, he made the move and told her that he had a great time with her and hoped that she enjoyed as well. When she smiled and nodded, he took a deep breath and said that he would like to do this again and that may be they could go out together during the Hogsmeade weekend or maybe even continue their friendship while at Hogwarts.
When she looked like she was uncertain about how to answer, he told her that he was proud to know and be with someone like her and that if she felt the same way then she can let him know by meeting him on the Hogwarts Express and with that said, he nodded to her once and walked away. She looked at his retreating figure and hoped that it would be as simple as he made it sound and turned to go her own way.
As he was walking away Harry was thinking over how his supposed date went. He couldn't believe that Daphne Greengrass had actually come out on a date with him and from what her response had been it seemed that she actually had a good time.
With that revelation, his mind went back to the day of Susan's party. As he stepped out of the floo of Bones Manor, he was greeted by none other than Amelia and Sid, who apparently had arrived a while ago and had decided to join Amelia and wait for him to arrive.
They then made their way to the ball room where the party was happening. Once they were there, he immediately spotted Susan and went over and gave her a hug while wishing her with a simple 'Happy Birthday Sue'. While he was staying with Sid, they had been to Amelia's place a lot and he had come to see Susan like a sister. The fact that she had apologized to him over her behavior during their fourth year, only helped in cementing their friendship further.
Once he was done greeting Susan, he immediately moved over to meet his friend and classmate, Neville Longbottom who was deep in conversation with none other than Algernon 'call me Alex' Croaker. It was to his surprise that he found out that Alex was the same great-uncle Algie that Neville kept talking about. Poor Neville couldn't believe that his friend was on a first name basis with a man whom he held in the highest respect.
It was while talking to them that he first spotted her. He knew her of course, but had never actually spoken to her. That said, he had never really spoken to anyone from Slytherin not counting Malfoy and that was if you called trading insults and hexes, talking. There, wearing a simple peach colored cocktail dress sat none other than the 'Ice Princess' of Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass and to say it simply, she looked breathtaking. He couldn't believe he had been that close to her and hadn't noticed her.
Though he wasn't someone who got involved in the colorful conversation about the anatomies of various females at Hogwarts like Seamus did, he was honest enough to admit that he was well aware of the fact that Daphne Greengrass was amongst the most good looking girls in all of Hogwarts and that standing next to her, he would probably look like an ugly troll. That thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Looking that good should be made illegal he thought. How was a guy, supposed to walk up to a girl who looked like that and manage a conversation without embarrassing himself or avoid turning into a blubbering mess?
His musings were put to an end as it was announced that it was time to cut the cake. Once the cake was cut, they moved to handing over presents. His present to Susan was simple and thoughtful. Something a brother was allowed to gift a sister.
He had owl ordered a simple silver chain with a badger charm and then enchanted it by both charming it and carving certain runes on it which made the badger charm to heat up in case there was someone within a radius of two hundred yards in a complete three sixty degree range, who wanted to hurt or endanger Susan and had any ill thoughts directed toward her.
He had actually pulled Susan aside and given her the gift and explained how it worked. She was so touched by his gift that he got a tight hug and a kiss on his cheek for his thoughtfulness. That wasn't the end of it though. Apparently Susan had informed Amelia about his gift because the older woman had pulled him aside and given him a hug rivaling Mrs. Weasley's with moist eyes and thanked him for such a wonderful gift which would relieve some tension from an old woman's mind. She even told him that if he was interested, as soon as the Minister decided to move his head out of his arse, she would be happy to pitch the idea of similar enchanted tag or badges for the DMLE forces.
Once the hubbub of the presents died down and many of the guests left, there was only a small group of them left (Susan, Hannah, Neville, Astoria, Daphne and himself) and soon a discussion started about differences between muggle and magical world and how different there growth rates are. This was where he got his chance to talk to Daphne Greengrass next.
While they were talking, it was abundantly clear that those that were brought up in the old pureblood families had no idea about how much muggle world had advanced. It was at this point that he decided to use the opportunity to ask her out but he knew he had to do so in a manner that it wasn't obvious.
Daphne had just finished talking about how Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade both offered many options for people to hang out at. Harry knew that now was his chance, so he took a deep breath and cleared his throat and said, "Greengrass, how about you come with me one day and I'll show you how many more options there are for someone to enjoy in the muggle world. And I promise you, they will all be in different places and not in one single area."
This was it. He had openly, ok so may be not that only, but he did publically ask her to spend a day with him. He just knew the way she was looking at him that she was going to say no to him. That was why he was surprised with what she said next.
"Are you asking me out on a date Potter? If so, at least be bold enough to do so openly."
Harry knew he had to cover his tracks somehow, so he decided to tease her a bit instead and said, "Woah… That's a… little forward don't you think. I mean if you want it to be a date, then sure, why not? In fact I'd even consider paying for our meal."
As he expected, almost everyone laughed at that whereas Daphne's face was almost flaming red. Eventually, she seemed to pull herself together and said, "Fine Potter! If that's how you want to do it, then that's how it will be. It's a date."
Apparently it wasn't only Harry who was shell shocked at her response. Every single person in the group was staring at Daphne as if she had grown a second head. In fact her sister turned and gave him a look filled with such fury that he was surprised he wasn't incinerated on the spot. Despite all this, on the inside, he was grinning like a loon.
Soon, one by one, everyone started leaving. Just before she left with her family, Daphne cornered him and asked him to owl her with the details about their supposed date and then she left. When he told Sid about his supposed date with Daphne, after he reminded him who Daphne was, Sid immediately gave him pointers on where he could take and what all he could do, along with several Dos and Don'ts.
That was why, when Harry entered the kitchen of Grimmauld Place grinning like a loon, everyone who was seated there, which basically included the Weasleys, Remus, Sirius and Tonks looked at him with various expressions of curiosity on their faces. When he refused to elaborate, Hermione in her typical behavior, had questioned him till she was blue in the face but Harry didn't budge. So when he asked Sirius, Remus and the twins to join him in his room, they were more than eager to do so.
The expression on their faces once he was done telling them about his supposed date with Daphne made it all the more worthwhile. Remus looked genuinely happy whereas Sirius was wiping a fake tear all the while muttering how happy he was for having lived to see Harry go out on his first date, though according to Harry the expression on the twins' faces was pushing it too far. They were staring at him with a look of utter devotion.
Needless to say, word somehow got out about Harry going out on a date with the 'Ice Princess' of Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass, which ensured that the atmosphere at Grimmauld Place turned into one of complete chaos.
Mrs. Weasley was sure that poor Harry had been bewitched, while Ron couldn't understand why he would want to go out with a slimy snake. Ginny for some reason refused to stay in the same room as him, while Hermione merely remained silent, refusing to comment on it. Bill reacted much in the same fashion as Sid and gave him various tips about what all he should do. Tonks for her part told him what a girl expected her date to do for her, which in Harry's point of view was invaluable. Mr. Weasley for his part just told him that he was happy that Harry was living his life instead of stagnating it but all the same asked him to be careful while he was out on his date.
There were a few like Mad-eye who tried to talk him out of it whereas Dumbledore much like the other times this summer, wrote a letter to him telling him how dangerous it was for Harry to go out in the open. Harry for his part merely heard it and refrained from saying anything as he was sure that doing so would strain the situation further. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't doing anything against the law and his Godfather was aware as well as in approval of his plan, which in his opinion was what mattered.
As requested by Daphne, he had sent Hedwig to her with the details of their date asking if it was fine with her. Daphne had replied back saying it was fine with her but just that she hadn't informed her parents and had told them that she was just meeting some friends from school. The plan was, that the following Saturday, he would be meeting her at the restaurant across from The Leaky Cauldron on the muggle side of the city, so as not to alert the magical crowd about his presence in the area and from there, they would go on their way to their date.
Needless to say, that on the day of the date a little bit of the old Harry was resurfacing but was firmly pushed back inside, courtesy the pep talk he got from the twins, who reminded him that he was someone who had a lot of experience when it came to dating girls, even though it was in another dimension, under an alais, but that he was still the same person.
So once he got dressed, he took a cab from the next lane to their meeting point and then settled into waiting for her by ducking into an empty alley nearby, from where he could see the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron clearly.
When Daphne did make her appearance Harry felt his breath hitch and mouth become suddenly dry. She looked ravishing and divine all at the same time. She was dressed in a simple white half sleeve blouse and dark blue jeans which she complimented with a dull plum color scarf and boots by the look of it. Her blonde hair framed her face and bounced nicely as she walked since she was wearing it open today. She looked to be carrying what looked like a jacket in her hands just in case the weather got bad. Harry wasn't generally someone for thinking about girls in this light, but he had to agree that he wanted to take her in his arms, kiss her till both of them lost their breathing ability and tell her how gorgeous she looked.
Finally she made it to the spot where they were supposed to meet and started looked around as if she was searching for him. Harry discreetly made his way over to her and lightly tapped her on the shoulder, making her jump and reach for her wand. Harry immediately put a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quite and then silently mouthed "Sorry" for startling her like that.
She huffed but nodded and he gestured for her to follow him, which she did. He then hailed a cab to one of the topmost multi-cuisine restaurants in the city, that had been recommended by Sid and even Sirius had agreed that he had heard Harry's mother mention it to him.
Once they were in the cab, he told her that he hoped she didn't have any problems at home because of their plan. She smiled lightly and said that though her sister was right pissed about their date and had made it clear to her in a no non-sense way, that it better be a onetime thing, she was sure that she wouldn't rat her out to their parents.
Harry was tempted to ask as to why her sister reacted like that. He hadn't forgotten the glare with which the younger girl had looked at him, but something told him that it would be a bad idea to ask her about that. Instead he told her about what he had planned for them today in a very broad and vague sense as he still wanted it to be a bit of a surprise for her.
Then suddenly out of the blue, she said that since he had a good amount of experience when it came to organizing dates, she trusted his planning abilities. Though Harry was shocked at first, he then started laughing and told her that whoever had told her that he had been on a lot of dates must have a very good imagination, as technically, this was the first time he was going on a date with someone from Hogwarts, if one didn't count the disaster that was the Yule Ball last Christmas, which in his opinion, really shouldn't be counted.
The look on her face was priceless, which then slowly changed into one of relief. When he questioned her about it, she told him that the reason she got the nickname of the 'Ice Princess' was because once a senior in Slytherin had tried to force himself upon her and she had in a moment of panic frozen his nether region and that from then on, boys generally gave her a wide birth, although there was occasionally some moron or the other who would have to be put in place.
Harry after hearing that squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, which made her chuckle which according to Harry was the most musical sound his ears had ever heard. She then told him that since she had heard all about his supposed experience with respect to dating girls, she was really worried about screwing it all up with her snappy attitude while she also wanted her first shot at a date, even if it was a supposed date, to be a good experience.
By then they had reached the restaurant and Harry in his best attempt to put her at ease, had in a mock drawl worthy of Snape told her that he wasn't planning on sitting across from a gorgeous woman and call her by her family name and so he was going to give her the permission to use his first name. As he expected, this made her laugh which immediately alleviated whatever little tension there was between them.
Soon they started talking and it was clear to Harry that she was one of the genuinely intelligent girls in their year. When he asked her about her family, he was surprised when he found out what her parents did for a living. In his opinion, her father had one of the most interesting jobs as thanks to Sid, he now had a good idea about the kind of artifacts they researched in the Department Of Mysteries. Even her mother's career as a magical author and historian was in his viewpoint, a field, which offered the chance to do some very interesting research. When she told him about her mother's current project, he offered whatever little facts he had because he could see how useful having such a book would be for future generations, in understanding how magic evolved.
The surprise though was her sister. When she told him about her sister's crush and hero devotion of his, the first instinct of his was to call her sister an annoying crazy fan girl but he knew that it wouldn't go over well with Daphne. So instead he told her that sometimes the reality behind the fairy tales are so painful that they leave you in a quandary about how to react, on learning the truth.
He then had excuse himself as his impatient but well meaning Godfather had called up to find out about how his date was progressing. So once Harry had convinced Sirius that all was well and that he hadn't screwed up in the slightest up until that point, he returned to their table where she asked him what he wanted to do in terms of career prospects.
So when he told her about that, she looked genuinely interested and even asked how he was planning on doing it since he hadn't taken the required electives. It made him happy to know that she was actually listening to everything he was saying and not brushing him off. So he told her about his supposed communication with Madam Marchbanks and the test he took at the ministry. She even had quite a few good suggestions to make with respect to the scope of Enchanting as a full time career, as having been brought up in a pureblood family, she knew what they lacked in terms of entertainment and communication.
He then asked her about what she wanted to do after finishing Hogwarts and after knowing how smart she was, he wasn't to be honest, too surprised by her reply. She told him that she wanted to become an Unspeakable and join the Research Wing of the Department of Mysteries, as she had always been intrigued by the different artifacts that her father brought home and wanted a chance to learn more about them.
They then spoke about their respective experiences at Hogwarts over lunch and he jokingly said that they would have to have access to fire-whiskey if he were to explain about his more adventurous experiences. Thankfully, she didn't press because frankly, Harry felt that if she found out about all the trouble he got up to, then maybe she'll decide that he wasn't worth the effort at all.
He even told her about Ron and his trip to the Slytherin common room under the disguise of Crabbe and Goyle with the help of Polyjuice potion in their second year. Though she seemed to be disapproving of it at first sight, the slight amusing twitch of her lips told him that she too found it funny.
When the time came to pay for their meal, he promptly paid for the both of them which seemed to irritate her. Though he was pleased about the fact that she was a girl who found it insulting that a guy thought she couldn't pay for her food, he told her that since the suggestion about the trip was his, the responsibility was also his to pay for it and then for the safe side of it, flashed her his patented crooked grin that he had been told worked well on girls hoping to placate her somewhat and if he read her expression correctly, which he hoped he did, then it did affect her, at least a little bit.
He then took her to a theatre where he got two tickets for the film 'Go Now' which was a Romantic Drama. Harry was fully on guard about having to explain what a film might be to her, what with her being a pureblood and all, but it seemed she got involved in the story a little too much as when the film ended, her eyes were a bit moist, which seemed to embarrass her to no end. To say that Harry was jubilant on the inside would be an understatement. He had managed to break the cold and composed exterior of her 'Ice Princess' mask even if only through a film, on their very first date.
He then took her to a nearby café where he then explained to her all about what a film was and how it was made and all. Soon she told him that it was time for her to go back. So he took her back to where they met that morning and the entire time in the cab was spent contemplating. Each was lost thinking about how the day had played out.
Once they reached the meeting point, both looked like they wanted to say something to the other, but looked like they couldn't decide how to say it. Finally, Harry took a deep breath and told her that he had a good time with her that day and hoped that she did too for which she smiled and nodded indicating that she did too. He then told her that he would like to do it again and may be when they were back at Hogwarts they could go together during the Hogsmeade weekend or maybe even continue their friendship otherwise.
When she looked like she was stuck contemplating what to say, he looked her in the eye and told her that he was proud to know and be with someone like her and that if she felt the same about him, then to come and find him on the Hogwarts express and then he smiled at her a little, nodded and walked away.
He wasn't sure what her response would be, but he really did want to get to know her better. He felt that she was one of those rare girls who despite the fact that she was very good looking, liked a man who appreciated her for both her beauty and brains and accepted her for whom she was.
His good mood didn't last long however as the moment he got back to Grimmauld Place, he was bombarded about what he did and where he went and whether he was sure that no one was following him. It got to the level where Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked at Mrs. Weasley and said in a very tight voice, "Mrs. Weasley as much as I like and respect you for looking after me, I really don't think I like the fact that you are butting into my private love life. I'm sorry for saying this again, but I guess after having faced far more than what you ever did, I think it's safe to say that I can take care of myself. As for whom I date and who I go out with, that's my personal choice and not one up for discussion."
With that said he walked out of the kitchen and up to his room where he was soon joined by Sirius, Remus, twins, Tonks and Hermione to whom he told about how his day went which not surprisingly, lifted his mood considerably. As he had expected, Hermione reiterated the fact that Daphne was indeed one of the smarter ones in their year and was apparently amongst the top scorers of their year.
The days leading up to September first were nothing short of tense. Though Mr. Weasley and Bill tried acting their usual self, Harry could tell that they were well aware of the tension in the house. Mrs. Weasley was judiciously avoiding spending any time alone with Harry; a fact that in Harry's viewpoint was bound to do some good as she really needed to understand that she didn't have the liberty to dictate his life, like she did with her kids.
The little respite in the mood came when their Hogwarts letters came and to everyone's surprise, Ron along with Hermione got the Prefect badge. Mostly everyone thought that the badge should have been given to Harry, but he made it perfectly clear that he would much rather spend his free time locked in a cupboard with a good looking girl rather than patrolling the corridor. This pronouncement seemed to make the twins and Sirius misty eyed who echoed about how happy they were that Harry was following in their noble footsteps and Hermione to glare to at him indignantly whereas Mrs. Weasley simply pursed her lips and to everyone's relief remained silent.
Ginny still for some reason avoided him whereas Ron looked torn between commending him for putting his mother in line and tearing into him for shouting at his mother. When the prefect badge incident happened, Ron actually offered to give up his position if it made Harry happy. This formed a lump in Harry's throat and he told Ron very clearly that he was to do no such thing and that he was very happy that he made prefect. This seemed to brighten Ron who somehow convinced his mother to get him a new broom for making prefect.
When Mrs. Weasley offered to buy his school stuff along with the rest of the lot, he politely declined saying that he needed to go to Gringotts for some business regarding his vault and that though he would join her on her trip to Diagon Alley, he would probably come back a little later than her. She didn't seem too happy about this, but thankfully refrained from saying anything.
As he was about to follow Mrs. Weasley through the floo, Ron rushed up to him and asked whether if it was possible for him to tag along with his mother to Quality Quidditch Supplies and help his mother in selecting a good broom for him, for which Harry assured him that he would.
When he joined Mrs. Weasley near the archway to Diagon Alley, he told her that Ron had asked him to help her in selecting a broom, which he was more than happy to do. So when they got to Gringotts, he told her that he would visit his vault later as it would take time and then waited patiently as she got her money from their vault. Once she came out, he immediately led her over to the Quality Quidditch Supplies, where after looking at various brooms and their prices, they decided on a Cleansweep Eleven which was affordable from the Weasley's perspective and also very good in terms of features considering the price range.
After that both of them went their separate ways and Harry met up with Sid back in muggle London and doubled back with him to Diagon Alley so as to take out money from his vault and do his school stuff purchasing. While they were at it, Harry told Sid all about his date with Daphne, who told Harry that he had handled it pretty well. Once all his shopping was done, they had a late lunch in muggle London after which Sid wished him luck for the upcoming year and asked him to keep in touch and be careful. Harry promised that he would be both careful and also keep in touch and then they went their separate ways.
Finally it was the eve of September first and all Hogwarts students were busy trying to do their last minute packing, so as not to leave anything behind. Harry for his part was done in a few minutes and even offered to help Hermione and the Weasleys but Mrs. Weasley put her foot down saying that he was not to help them as that would encourage them to be lazy. So Harry was left with a lot of free time, which he spent talking to Sirius and Remus.
Another thing that was on his mind was whether or not Daphne will come and meet him on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow. For some reason the uncertainty bothered him a lot more than he was comfortable and so it was very late by the time Harry concluded analyzing various responses of Daphne and what his reactions to them should be, but thankfully for him, the sleep that he got was apparently a dreamless one.
A/N: As always your wonderful responses really do inspire me to write better and interesting chapters.
As for this chapter, I hope you liked the way I played out the attraction and portrayed the possible spark of Love between Harry and Daphne without getting too mushy and sappy.
I hope you like it.
Like I say every other time, let me know your thoughts and ideas via reviews or PMs.
Happy reading!
madcrazystoryteller
