CHAPTER 8
Saturday morning dawned like most other June mornings in England - chilly, overcast, and drizzly. As such had been the case for every June he could remember, Harry was glad he had taken the time to install and test his own weather modification system. He had come across a couple of short-term weather modification charms during his years as an Auror, so while he was researching the runes necessary to construct the duelling theatre, he took the time to find out what it would take to turn those charms into permanent runes.
Like all good ideas, it had grown far beyond what he initially envisioned and had become a way to select the weather and temperature in a two-mile radius around the main house. Harry had opted for a lower-powered runes solution that took a while to work, but maintained itself with ease. That was why Harry stood to the right of the back door with his hand on the wall.
"I am Lord Potter." He said.
"Good morning, Harry." A synthesized female voice said. Part of the wall he had his hand on levered gently forward, revealing a control panel which lit up when it was in position.
He sat the cloud cover to zero, the temperature to seventy-five degrees, and the humidity to three percent, then activated the system. He had a few hours before anyone showed up, so he left it on its lowest power setting, and closed the panel again.
"Seal weather control panel." He told it.
The panel sank into the wall and became one with it.
Harry couldn't help a pleased little grin.
Daphne wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his neck.
"What you up to?"
"No good." He reached around and grabbed her behind.
"Mmm. I love it when you're up to no good." She kissed his neck again and let go to take his hand and led him up the stairs.
"I was setting the weather for today. Wouldn't do to have a pool party in the rain."
"Setting the weather? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by now, but I am."
"I was too the first time I ever came across localized weatherchanging charms. I just incorporated them into a rune circle four miles across centered on the house, and installed a panel to control it."
"Four miles across?"
"It was actually easier to do it on a large scale rather than small. The smaller the circle, the harder the system has to work to accomplish its end. A four mile circle meant it took a lot less power to do."
"Oh. Probably less obvious, too."
Harry grinned and kissed her. "I love that you get it."
"I love you." She kissed him again.
"You do? Serious, proper love I love you?"
She cocked her head slightly, unable to tell if he were joking.
"Granted, I don't have much experience to base my claim on, but fuck yes."
Harry grinned. "Well, this is a shocking development. I have to say, I'm completely flattered."
Daphne rolled her eyes. "When you're finished taking the piss, eat your breakfast, you'll need your energy later."
He grinned and stepped into her instead, peppering her with kisses as he spoke. "I." Kiss. "Absolutely." Kiss on the neck. "Adore." Kiss on the other side of her neck. "You." Kiss on her forehead. "Too." Kiss on the lips.
Daphne giggled and pushed him down into the chair in the seating area in front of the window at the top of the stairs, then sat on his lap straddling him. She floated his breakfast plate to her waiting hand, and fed him a forkful at a time, occasionally dropping kisses on him as he ate. When he was done, she floated the plate back to the coffee table.
"Feel free to do that every morning. That is one hell of a way to eat breakfast." He kissed her chest.
She wrapped her arms around his head and held him close for a moment before climbing off him. "Just be thankful we made love less than an hour ago and I'm still happily satisfied."
"Why is that something to be thankful for?"
"Otherwise we'd be ruining that chair right now."
Harry laughed.
"I can make another one." He winked at her.
Daphne laughed and just smiled at him while she ate her own breakfast. Harry pulled his chair around next to hers and held her hand the entire time. While she ate, Harry's thoughts were on her, on the both of them, on the future, and most importantly on the frighteningly powerful feelings she gave him. Sitting there beside her, just enjoying each other's company without words, watching the way the morning sun turned the loose golden cascade of her hair into a halo, Harry arrived at an undeniable, inescapable decision.
When she finished breakfast, he gave her hand a squeeze and picked up the dishes to return them to the kitchen.
Daphne kissed his cheek. "I'll get changed and ready to greet people."
Harry chuckled. "Go over your strategies for coating me in sweets, you mean."
Daphne laughed. "Maybe a little."
Harry grinned. "Go on then. I'll wash up and get changed after."
Sweet baby Merlin he loved to watch her walk. She left up the stairs to the bedroom, and Harry slid down the bannister to the first floor. The dishes were a trifle, he finished washing and drying and stacked them back in their places, then the cutlery and frying pan, and all the while his imagination worked overtime.
Instead of running upstairs immediately, however, he took two of the large standing stasis cabinets outside to the fountain and placed one on either side, facing away from the fountain, and filled them with snacks and ice cold butterbeers. Then he conjured a dozen chaise lounges in the pool area, as well as four more tables and benches near the fountain. If that wasn't enough, he could always make more. He went back to the kitchen and tasted the barbecue sauce to make sure it was up to snuff, and as he thought, letting it come together overnight married the flavors quite nicely. He double-checked the plates of meat and vegetable skewers, the hamburgers and buns, and everything else he'd prepared, and found nothing amiss, so he kissed Daphne in the great hall on his way to get changed.
Daphne was talking on the phone when he returned.
"I didn't expect it would be your kind of thing, Tori, but you will have fun just watching if you'd prefer. We could even tap you all as judges, if you're up for that."
"And you say there's a pool."
"A large pool, with sundeck. It's also sunny and seventy-five degrees here."
"Sunny and seventy-five? Are you in the south of France?!"
"No. Harry built a weather control system."
"A weat- you're joking."
Daphne shook her head at Tori as Harry kissed her on the cheek.
"I can show it to you if you like." Harry grinned at Astoria.
"Show me your bathing suit." Astoria said primly.
Daphne turned the phone on Harry, dressed in short dark green swim trunks.
He grinned and waved.
"Morrigan's Mother," Astoria whispered. "I meant yours, Daphne!"
Daphne showed hers. She was wearing a swimsuit that was a sports-bra top and shorts in bright red with white accents.
"I see. So you're going muggle fashion."
"It's the clear winner when swimwear is concerned. It fits, it'll let you move, and it breathes beautifully."
"Mother says you might as well be naked. Where did you get it?"
"Sports Beach in Westfield London."
"Very well. If we show up, it will be late, of course."
"Don't make it too late, or you'll miss the start of festivities. There's tons of food and butterbeer and juices and all manner of things, so don't bother bringing anything, just your wonderful selves. Completely and utterly informal today."
"Well if you're going to be running around the yard like children I would hope so."
Daphne tapped a few commands on her phone.
"Oh! What is this?"
"I sent you a picture of the apparation point if you want to come that way, and we also have the floo wide open for today. Destination Potter Hall."
"Oh. Alright then, that makes things somewhat easier. Show me Harry's swimsuit again?" Astoria's voice rose an octave during her last question, and Daphne frowned at her impish expression.
"Ah, what the hell, you'll see it all day anyway." She aimed the phone at Harry, who laughed.
"Yes, well. I suppose we might be able to stop by for a while..."
"Love you too, Tori. Bye mum!"
She hung up and hugged Harry.
"Thanks for that. I can hardly wait to see Draco's discomfort." Harry grinned.
"Be nice, hon. He's still getting over the loss of his father, you know."
Harry looked like he was about to say something, frowned, looked like he was about to say something again, then sagged.
"Shit. Way to ruin a good schadenfreude."
"That's my Harry." She kissed him.
"I had giggles and everything."
"Now you can have some compassion for an abused, pasty white git."
Harry chuckled. "Trust you to put it in perspective."
"That's what women are for, hon."
"Really? Here all this time I thought it was for -"
He was interrupted by the floo flaring into green flame.
"Ten galleons says it's Ron and Hermione." He whispered to Daphne as he stood beside her.
"No bet. And you're lucky you didn't finish that sentence."
Harry chuckled again as Ron and Hermione stepped out of the fireplace.
They were both dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and Hermione had a wide-brimmed straw hat on. She was carrying her favorite clutch, so she probably had sunblock, a couple air mattresses, drinks, enough food to feed half an army and an entire library in there.
"Hey you two." Harry grinned and shook Ron's hand while Hermione and Daphne hugged, then hugged Hermione while Ron shook Daphne's hand and looked at the ceiling while turning slowly pink.
"Good to see you, you're both looking amazing!" Hermione beamed.
Harry and Daphne pointed at each other and simultaneously said,
"It's her fault."
"It's his fault."
Hermione laughed and Ron chuckled and started to calm down. Apparently he hadn't expected to see quite so much of Daphne.
"Go on through, you guys, you know where everything is. Make yourselves at home, as always." Harry motioned them toward the back door.
"Thanks Harry." Hermione said, and started to lead Ron away, but he stopped for a quick whisper with Harry.
"Have you got it working yet?"
"Sorry, not yet. Been a bit busy."
Ron grinned and let Hermione pull him toward the back yard. "Sorry, had to ask."
"Go relax, ya great muppet."
"What was that about?" Daphne asked after Ron and Hermione were out of the house.
"Broom tinkering. Same as when we went to see them the first time. He'll happily condemn me for it while he bounces in place and waits for his turn."
"Well he is only twenty-three."
Harry smirked at her.
They waited for a few more minutes before Harry gave up.
"This is silly." He reached out and conjured a five-foot tall placard saying 'The Party is That Way In the Back Garden' with a large arrow pointing at the back door.
Daphne took his hand as they walked to the back door. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"You're too polite." He kissed her hand.
Ron and Hermione were both on the lounges by the pool, holding hands. Ron had taken his T-shirt off, and Hermione had taken her shorts and T-shirt off to reveal a gold coloured bikini with green accents. Harry thought they both looked great, but he hoped Ron remembered the sun protection charm, or he'd be very unhappy when he got home. Then Harry realized he hadn't cast it on himself either, so he did. He hit Daphne with it too just to be safe.
Harry conjured a chair next to them, and one for Daphne as well, then sat down. He was about to ask how their week was, but Hermione sat up a little and rested against her elbows.
"How's your mum doing?" She asked Daphne.
"Aw, thanks Hermione. She's doing alright, actually. With any luck she'll show up here today."
"Are you sure you want to expose her to this bunch so soon after getting out of hospital? One look at Ron might be enough to send her back."
"Nice, babe. Thanks for that." Ron rolled his eyes.
She smiled and leaned over to kiss him.
"I think it'll definitely be a shock, but I also definitely think she could use one. Especially one that involves good, honest, reliable people who genuinely like each other."
"What's she doin' comin' here then?" Ron asked.
"She's going to have to meet Harry at some point, best get it over with quickly, like pulling a bandaid." Daphne winked at Harry.
"The amount of love in the air is just astounding." Harry deadpanned.
Ron and Hermione chuckled, and Daphne kissed harry on the cheek.
"Harry..." Hermione asked, squinting, "Why are there racks of bows on the quidditch pitch?"
"Today isn't just a pool party. It's also the inaugural tournament." He turned to Daphne. "You have your phone on you?"
She slipped it from its hidden pocket on her hip and handed it to him.
"Tournament?" Ron sat up. "Tournament of what?"
Harry pulled up the snaps of himself coated in treacle sponge with sprinkles and handed Hermione the phone. She immediately burst out laughing. Ron didn't bother to hide his sniggering either.
"It was our... what? Second? Third date?"
"Third."
"Third date. Daphne thought it might be fun to shoot arrows at each other - with big soft sponges on the tips, of course - and it was fun. It was even more fun to Aguamenti one of them and drop it on her head."
"Right on the back of my neck, the bastard."
"Oh you didn't Harry!" Hermione put a hand in front of her mouth.
"I absolutely did. She got me back worse though, dropped one filled with treacle right on my crown, and it coated everything. So I fired back one filled with strawberry ice cream. I was expecting tar and feathers next, but she sends me a text instead saying she loves strawberry ice cream. So while I'm texting back, I get hit straight in the chest with a spongecake bomb. The dirty minx distracted me on purpose!"
"And you fell for it."
"And not all I fell for." He smiled at her. "Anyway, when it was over and she was taking those snaps, we thought it would be even more fun to play with no muggles around so we didn't have to cover ourselves with illusions and vanish the evidence and such. That's what the tournament is today."
"Wait... you want me to shoot arrows at Ron and cover him in dessert?"
"Unless you're on the same team." Daphne said. "Personally I think a girls versus boys tournament would be fun too."
Harry could see Hermione's imagination kick into gear. Her eyes narrowed and she glanced at Ron.
"Points for completeness of dessert, embellishments, and symmetricality. There's a trophy for the winners, and next year I was thinking of having the arrows record video, and we could have prizes for funniest video and such."
"Tell me you didn't invite George and Angelina." Ron said, his eyes wide.
"Of course we did." Harry frowned.
Ron groaned. "This is going to be immortalized in the shop, you do know that, don't you? Hell, he'll probably start an entire line of dessert-based items after this."
"Uh, I hadn't thought of it, but... great?"
Ron groaned. "Who d'you think he's gonna test them on?!"
Harry brightened. "Yeah, still not seeing a down side."
"Wanker." Ron sighed.
Harry chuckled and pulled a butterbeer from one of the cabinets by the fountain and floated it over to Ron.
"Lighten up, mate. Criminals will be even more frightened of a Head Auror with a sense of humor."
"Alright, alright. Save it for the tournament." Daphne said. "Don't make me sideline the both of you."
"Definitely have to be on different teams, these two." Hermione nodded to Daphne.
"You're gonna be custard trifle, ickle Ronniekins." Harry grinned.
"We'll see about that, fairycake." Ron grinned back.
Harry looked like he was imagining exactly how to turn Ron into a trifle, when he suddenly stood up and looked at the quidditch pitch.
"I forgot to alter the pitch, dammit. Come on, you can give me a hand." He waved at Ron.
Ron stood up and followed Harry down to the pitch.
Daphne took Ron's lounger and lay next to Hermione. "You know that means you and I are going to have to be on different teams too." She said.
Hermione grinned. "Looking forward to it."
Daphne grinned back.
"Hullooo?" Neville's voice sounded from the house.
Hermione just raised an arm and waved him onward.
"Hey Hermione." Neville drew alongside them and immediately averted his gaze.
"Hermione?! What are you wearing and where can I get one?!"
"Hannah! Nice to see you again! You and Neville?"
"For about a month now." She hugged Neville's arm.
"Congratulations!" Hermione stood up and shook their hands.
"Congrats!" Daphne smiled at them, then thought better of it and stood as well to shake hands.
"Thank you, Pleased to meet you, I'm Neville Longbottom." Nevile said to Daphne as he formally bowed over her hand.
Daphne laughed. "A pleasure to meet you, Lord Longbottom. The boys are just on the pitch, setting up if you're wondering."
Neville smiled his pleasant social greeting smile, and Daphne had to admit it was quite good. He'd likely practiced it quite a bit for the Wizengamot.
"Thank you, Miss...?"
"Greengrass. You can call me Daphne."
"Daphne Greengrass!" Neville exclaimed, shocked. He recovered quickly, and replaced his genteel smile with a genuine grin. "It's wonderful to see you again. I should have guessed you'd turn up at Harry's. He has a reputation for the impossible."
Daphne laughed. "I'd quite agree, but how do you know it wasn't me accomplishing the impossible?"
Hannah laughed at Neville's slow blush. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Greengrass! I like you."
"Daphne, please. Pleasure to meet you too, miss Abbott."
"Hannah, please. Only people who are angry with me call me miss Abbott."
"Hannah. Please, make yourselves at home. There are drinks and snacks in the cabinets there, and if you're serious about a spot of quick swimwear shopping, I'd be happy to take you."
"Really? I would love to take you up on that. All I've got is a Madam Malkin 19th century swim anorak."
Daphne laughed, knowing exactly what she meant. "I'll just go let Harry know we're stepping out for a moment then."
Hannah giggled and kissed Neville's cheek. "Thank you so much for bringing me Nev."
Neville cleared his throat before answering. "My pleasure."
Daphne held out her hand and a pair of shorts and a T-shirt flew into it from an upstairs window, followed shortly by a pair of trainers. She slipped them on as she was walking toward Harry, who was conjuring a waist-high hedgerow across the entire middle of the pitch, one side of it blue and the other red.
"I'm going to go take Hannah to town for a quick spot of swimwear shopping. We shouldn't be gone more than a half hour."
"Thanks for letting me know, but wouldn't it be more efficient to wait until the others were here and take everyone who wanted to go at the same time?"
"That... I guess we'll wait a bit then and I'll let you know at the time."
He grinned at her and went back to finishing the hedge.
"Harry brought up a valid point." She said when she got back to the pool area with Hermione and Hannah. "it would be rude to scarper now and leave Susan, Luna, Angelina, and the Patils hanging."
"Susan's coming?!" Hannah beamed. "How did you manage that?!"
"As much as I would love to know everything, you'l have to ask Susan, sorry. Unless something comes up, she shouldn't be long."
Hannah pouted. "I hate waiting. Congrats on getting her to come in any case."
"Well thanks, even though I had nothing to do with it." Daphne grinned. "I just hope she's on my team."
"Team?" Hannah's eyebrows rose.
"For the game later. There's a whole preamble to it, we'll explain everything it later."
"That would have something to do with Harry and Ron dotting the pitch with oddly-shaped shrubberies?" Neville asked.
Daphne grinned at him. "Too sharp by half, Lord Longbottom."
"Please, It's Nev. We went to each others' birthdays when we were tots for Merlin's sake."
Daphne laughed. "You remember!"
Neville laughed. "Of course I remember. You got me into my first fight, with Vincent."
"You fought Crabbe?" Hannah gasped.
"We were what? Six? He wouldn't stop pulling Daphne's hair and made her cry."
Daphne laughed. "That's right! My sixth birthday. I'd forgotten all about that! Neville pushed him down and they both got to sit with their parents."
"Aww Nev, you are such the sweetie." Hannah kissed his cheek.
"This is beautiful!" A female voice came from the door to the house. "And a sodding great Quidditch pitch as well!"
Daphne was unsure who she was, but a second later the unfamiliar woman was joined by a familiar red-haired man. Weasleys were unmistakable. She joined in as everyone waved at them.
"George, and Angelina, I presume! Glad you could make it." She smiled at the couple.
"Thank you, it's lovely to be here again, miss...?" George grinned, not recognizing her.
"Greengrass, but please, call me Daphne."
George failed to stop his eyebrows from climbing his forehead.
"Wait, you're the Vanishing Princess? How on earth did you accomplish it, when you look like that?!" Angelina exclaimed. Daphne and Hermione laughed.
"Exactly!" Hannah nodded.
Angelina leaned forward to whisper to Daphne. "And what are you wearing?! You look fantastic, you and Hermione both. I'm insanely jealous right now."
Daphne just chuckled. "Come with us when we step out, and we'll show you."
Angelina straightened again. "You have a deal."
She looked back at George, who had an inquisitive look on his face, and she patted his chest. "Never you mind. Girl stuff."
George just managed to look disappointed while smiling.
"Completely and totally informal today, by the by, so if you fancy a snack or butterbeer, they're in the cabinets by the fountain, help yourselves." Daphne added.
"Thank you, O gracious hostess." George bowed formally.
"George, do that again. I need to record it, so Ron can learn some manners." Hermione pulled her phone out of seemingly nowhere.
Everyone laughed, and Hermione looked over her shoulder to the Quidditch pitch just in time to see Ron walking up behind her.
"Hey." Ron said, waving at everyone.
Hermione went slightly red and kissed his cheek. "Hey, hon. Love you." She said sheepishly. Ron raised an eyebrow at her and she turned even more red.
Harry stepped in behind Daphne and wrapped his arms around her waist, grinning.
"So, how are you all? We don't get to see enough of each other." Harry asked. "Well, except for you Nev, you have to put up with me all the time."
Neville chuckled and George stepped over and ruffled Harry's hair. "Too right, Harrykins! We had to find out the embarrassing way you even had a ladyfriend!"
"Harry has a ladyfriend?" A soft voice came from behind George.
"Luna!" Harry grinned and hugged her. "Glad you could make it! Yes, I have a ladyfriend, Luna, Daphne Greengrass, Daphne, Luna Lovegood."
"We actually used to talk some in school." Daphne shook Luna's hand.
"You've gotten more capable." Luna said as she shook her hand.
"I've had to. I'll tell you all about it later." Daphne smiled.
"I'd like that." Luna smiled, then exchanged hugs with Hermione and Hannah, and greeted the rest of the group more formally.
"If you'd like a drink or snack, they're in the cabinets by the fountain, help yourself." Daphne smiled. "It's completely informal today."
"Thank you." Luna said. "It's been some time since I could just be myself socially."
"Who else would fit in your clothes?" Harry asked her.
Luna smiled. "Thank you Harry, but your sense of humor hasn't improved much."
Harry laughed along with everyone else. "Touche, Luna. Touche."
Luna gave a smile and a small curtsey.
"I've missed your wit, Luna." Hermione grinned.
"I've missed you too, Hermione, but I'm making up for it now by seeing far too much of you." Luna raised her eyebrows and glanced up and down her, but with a good-natured smile.
Hermione laughed, not even slightly embarrassed. "Don't knock it 'til you try it."
Luna looked at Ron. "I suppose you're alright with me trying your wife?"
Ron's face went wide, like he'd just been slapped, but before he could scrape together a coherent reaction, Hermione replied in mock indignation.
"Luna!'
Luna's barely contained grin and waggling eyebrows let her off the hook.
"I see you're still taking the piss out of everyone, Lovegood. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch, if you ask me." Oliver Wood sauntered up behind Luna, and the circle widened to accommodate everyone. Alicia and Angelina wrapped their arms around each other and bounced up and down.
"Harry. Nice place you've got. Wot've you done to your pitch?" Wood shook Harry's hand while Harry grinned back at him.
"It's just for today, I promise. If you have some free time at the end of next month, we have an annual game."
"I'll bloody make time."
Harry pointed at him. "That's the Ollie I remember. How have you been?"
"Well as can be expected. Frustration at work, not enough time at home."
"You can say that again." Alicia frowned at him, then let go of Angelina and greeted everyone else, Harry last. "Thanks for inviting us, Harry."
"Nonsense Alicia. I'm just sorry I've been up myself until now or I'd have done so sooner."
Alicia smiled to Daphne as she noted the way Harry hovered around her. "And you must be the reason he's rejoined humanity. Thank you for that. I'm Alicia Spinnet."
Daphne smiled and shook her hand. "Daphne Greengrass, but please call me Daphne."
Alicia looked surprised. "Wow, really?! You look so... different."
"Harry and I have a mutual non-up-ourselves pact. We keep each other honest." She smiled.
Alicia laughed. "Well it's working, I haven't seen him smile this much ...well, ever."
Harry kissed Daphne's neck. "What can I say? She's like a smile factory."
"Aww." Alicia turned to Oliver. "Why can't you be sweet like that, ye dirty great goon."
Oliver winked at her. "We're already married."
Alicia just slapped his shoulder. "Cheeky sod!"
Oliver saw Susan approaching from the house. "Sue! Help! Spousal abuse!"
"I would love to help you Ollie, but I already know you." Susan gave a wry grin and walked next to Hannah to give her a hug.
"Yay!" Hannah squealed and hugged her best friend. "How did they convince you to come?"
"Honestly it was Weasley. He pointed out that there's never time unless you make time, and I don't want to be suddenly old and friendless."
Hermione turned around to look at Ron, but his expression was undecipherable.
"I'll talk to you about it later." He whispered in her ear, then kissed her neck.
The circle widened again to admit Padma Patil and Ernie MacMillan, both of whom immediately stared at Hermione.
"Bloody Hellfire." Ernie breathed, and immediately looked away again.
"You have to tell me where you got that." Padma said. "Please."
Hermione grinned. "Just waiting on your sister, I think?" She looked at Daphne.
Daphne nodded. "Just Miss Patil and Mister Finch-Fletchley, Mister Creevey, Mister Smith, and my family left to turn up."
Hermione nodded. "Then as soon as your sister turns up, Padma, we'll take a short trip just us girls."
Padma smiled. "Lovely! Where are we going?"
"Shopping!" Hannah said with glee.
"What a lovely day." Padma smiled.
"Hear, hear!" Hannah agreed.
Hermione laughed. "Wait until we get to the good part." She cracked her knuckles menacingly.
The circle split open when Justin and Parvati came through the door, and Daphne, Hermione, and the rest of the women surged forward, and swept Parvati back through the door into the house with them.
Justin came forward and shook everyone's hand in greeting, then asked, "What was that about?"
"The ladies expressed an interest in updating their wardrobes." Neville supplied.
"Oh." Justin said. "Does it have anything to do with Hermione being in her underwear?"
"It's a bathing suit, ya nonce." Ron sighed.
Justin looked unbelieving.
"Trust me. Her underwear is... worse."
Now Justin's eyebrows reached for the stars. "Then why are you even still alive, Weasley?
"Sheer stubborn pigheadedness, mate."
"If Parvati comes back any sexier than she already is, I'm a deadman and I'm blaming all of you, just so we're straight."
Harry chuckled. "I'll take that blame, proudly. If Daphne comes back any sexier than she is. at least I'll die happy."
"Hear hear."
"I have to admit, I was having a difficult time not looking. Is that where they've all gone together, to get ...swimwear?" Wood asked.
"If I know Daphne and Hermione, yes." Harry nodded. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if they came back with underthings for later as well."
"It's been a pleasure knowing you, chaps." Ernie saluted.
The door to the house opened then, and Draco Malfoy walked out. He shaded his eyes from the sun, then took out his wand and cast something on himself.
"What the fuck is Malfoy doing here?" Oliver breathed quietly.
"He's married to my girlfriend's sister." Harry replied.
"You're fucking kidding."
Harry shook his head.
"Oh Harry, I'm sorry mate."
"I'm going to have to get used to him sooner or later, might as well start now."
Zach Smith and Dennis Creevey followed Draco outside. Zach saw Draco, and nearly drew his wand. He looked nervously from Draco to Harry, then left it sheathed as neither party was being hostile.
Harry walked up to the now-approaching Zachary, and the rest of the lads followed behind him.
"What the fuck is Malfoy doing here?" Zach hissed quietly to Harry.
"Married to my girlfriend's sister."
Zachary's face became sympathetic for a just a second, until he managed to connect the dots in his head, then shock took over.
"Your girlfriend is Daphne Greengrass?! You wanker! Is she here?"
"She lives here, mate. She just took the other ladies shopping. I was about to see if you lot want a tour."
"Shit. I suppose I've got no chance then?"
"Not a hope in hell, mate. Sorry."
"Shit. Ah well. If I had a knut for every time -"
"That's enough, thanks. I get it, but that is my girl you're talking about."
"Hah! Right, sorry."
"In any case, you'll see more of them all than you ever dreamed when they get back."
Zachary frowned, not understanding.
Harry held his hand out to Draco, who reluctantly shook.
"Potter."
"Please, call me Harry. I don't bear you any animosity. You're free to if you want, but it'll be one-sided, and that's pretty boring."
Draco smiled despite himself. "You're not wrong there. ...Harry."
Harry grinned and said to the group, "Since the ladies may be a while, I thought I'd give you all a tour if you're interested?"
The group assented, and Neville held the door for everyone.
Harry shot a quick text to Daphne, telling her to just put everyone's purchases on his account to make things easier. She replied that she'd try, but wasn't willing to step on toes to do it. Harry supposed that was fair. He put his phone back in his pocket, and took all the lads on the same tour he took Daphne on. He noticed Draco's eyebrows rise when he saw the ballroom, and again when he saw the duelling theatre.
"Wow, that takes me back." Ernie said, looking around the theatre.
"Seriously. DA all the way. Fancy a match, MacMillan?" Justin pulled his wand out.
Ernie pulled his wand out with a grin. "You're on, daffodil."
"I won't stop anyone who wants to have a go, this room is warded to shit and back, but be aware that the tournament this afternoon will be magical."
"Tournament? What tournament?" Draco frowned.
"It's voluntary, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, Draco. Daphne and I will explain it all later. I rather imagined you might get a giggle just being a judge."
Draco still looked confused and on-guard, but nodded.
"Well, I'll save myself for that then." Ernie put his wand away. "If Harry's planned it, you'll want your A-game."
"Yeah, I'll give you that." Justin nodded and put his away as well.
Harry nodded. "We'll move on to the broom room then."
"Broom room!?" Oliver asked with an eyebrow raised. "Am I going to have to be jealous now, Potter?"
Harry smirked. "You don't have to, Ollie, but you can if you want."
Ron and Ollie looked at each other and said simultaneously, "That means yes."
They filed out of the duelling theatre and Harry paused when they reached the broom room.
"The only thing I ask is that you don't touch the ones on the tables. I'm in the process of fiddling with those ones and they might not be the most stable things in the world."
"Uh, Harry... define 'fiddling'." Justin said before entering the room.
Ron answered instead. "Lord Joyride isn't satisfied with his Firebolt anymore."
Zach gave a disbelieving look. "You're trying to make a Firebolt better?"
Oliver had been about to say something witty when his eyes fell on the contents of the broom room. Instead he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I... I need a minute. Go ahead."
Draco was the first to stroll through the broom room, taking note of the racks of brooms, the ones on the walls, and the ones in their own storage cases.
"Not bad, Potter. Temperature and humidity control. The whole room is a giant humidor."
"Broken up into separate zones as well. What's good for the new ones would be bad for the relics on the walls."
"I have to admit, I'm surprised. That is a ...depth of caring... I would not have expected from you."
Harry smiled ruefully. "Sadly I only really started being properly concerned recently. I had the chance to own the Wronsky broom last year, but it was snaked out from under me during negotiations."
Draco suddenly grinned from ear to ear and oozed Smug.
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "That was you?!"
"It has pride of place in my collection."
"Son of a..." Harry clenched his fists over and over and then sighed.
"Your tears are delicious, Potter." Draco smiled broadly and continued his inspection of Harry's collection.
Ernie opened the wall-mounted cabinet with Ron's name on it and peered inside. "That's a bloody Firebolt! Are these all Firebolts?!"
"Well it wouldn't be fair to make everyone else fly a Roomsweeper while I'm on my Firebolt, would it?" Harry asked in return.
"Bloody hell... must be nice to be rich."
"I won't say it isn't, but you all know I grew up with nothing. To me it's just one more thing I need to learn."
"What? What does that mean?" Dennis asked.
Harry thought about it for a minute. "Say you're sitting under a tree, just minding your own business. Somebody drags a cart load of lemons up to you and drops it, and says 'this is yours now'. Do you guard it? Do you eat them all? Or do you learn to make lemonade, lemon pie, lemon ice cream, and sell them to people?"
"Uh... sell them to people I guess."
"Why?"
"Because it gives you income and gives everyone else pies and whatnot?"
"Exactly. It improves the quality of life for everyone, and increases what you gained in the doing. The economy is exactly the same. I had to learn what there was to do with money so that it enriched everyone, while simultaneously earning more money than I spent. I didn't grow up with money, so when I suddenly had all this, I had to learn how to deal with it. Just one more thing."
Draco's smile slowly fell as Harry's words sank in. It was galling, but Potter actually understood. He got it. After cutting his own foot off financially by breaking ties with his father's illegal businesses, Draco wondered exactly how far reaching Potter's money was and where he had put it. It made bile rise in his throat, but he had to admit a single grain of respect for the bastard.
"Do you mind if I ask how exactly you're accomplishing that?" Oliver asked.
"Not at all. I'll happily share everything I've learned, but not until later. Today's about fun. Remind me before you leave, I'll give you a phone and we can talk whenever."
"What's a phone?" Zach asked.
Harry pulled his out of his pocket and showed it to Zach. "It's a communication device. Anybody else that has one you can talk to at any time - provided they feel like talking to you."
"May I?" Zach held his hand out.
Harry handed to him as he said "Wake up, phone."
The screen flashed to life and Zach looked at the various icons he had on the home screen, then touched one.
"Thank Morgana for that." Daphne's voice came through the speaker.
Zach quickly handed it back to Harry. "Did I break it?"
Harry chuckled. "That was Daph sending a message." He quickly read it her text. "They're on their way back, so let's head back to the pool."
"Oh good." Zach sighed.
"I would be surprised if you could break it, honestly. I put unbreakable charms on all of them."
"Oh. Good." Zach smiled again.
Harry led the way as they all traipsed back down the stairs and out to the pool. He took a butterbeer from the cabinet on his way past, and held it up. "If you want one, help yourself, that's what they're there for."
He heard the cabinet being opened and closed several times behind him as he went to stand between the fountain and the pool. Surprisingly, Draco came to stand next to him as they both sipped butterbeers.
"The one on the wall above the tables that looks like a treebranch. You know what that is, don't you?" He asked.
"I didn't when I mounted it, no. I found it in the family vault, buried under things in the far back corner. It took months of reading the family journals to figure it out."
"I was lucky, mine was engraved. P. Malfoy 1 QWC 1473."
"Lucky. I thought about adding its identifier to a little plate on the plaque, but I thought if theives ever got hold of it it might be better to not have it identified. I know what and whose it was, and that's enough."
"Hm. I don't see thieves ever getting in, but it's a fair point. I should probably disillusion the engraving."
"I would love to know if they were on the same team or not, but I don't suppose we ever will."
"There might be a record, somewhere. Our records are spotty at best that far back."
"Same. Had writing and magic for ten thousand years, and nobody thought to jot things down."
The witches arrived just then, flowing through the door into the back yard in a riot of colour and laughter.
Every single male eye was focused on them.
Draco very nearly dropped his butterbeer when he saw Astoria striding toward him confidently in white strappy heels and an ice-blue light cotton sundress that left her shoulders bare.
"Merlin's Mother." He whispered.
Neville leaned over to Harry and whispered, "I'm a dead man." as Hannah approached him in black heels and a bright red dress that was much like Astoria's.
"Eat healthy grains and vegetables and get plenty of fluids and you might survive." Harry whispered back. Neville patted his shoulder.
The Patil twins had shorts and T-shirts on that were form-fitting and snug, and showed miles of smooth, muscular leg. They also wore smug expressions, and Harry supposed that Ernie and Justin were in for more surprises later. He wasn't sure they would handle it as well as Neville though, they seemed to be more... enthusiastic.
Angelina wore an orange sleeveless football jersey that was somewhat loose and gave glimpses of the swimsuit she wore underneath, and a pair of form-fitting yoga shorts in heather grey. The jersey said Weasley across the back, with a large number one. George couldn't take his eyes from her.
Alicia had a similar outfit on, but her jersey was light cotton, in navy and gold, with Wood across the back and big number one. Both she and Angelina had toe-less trainer sandals on, and large grins.
Luna and Susan entered the yard arm in arm, Luna wearing sparkly pink jean shorts and a light yellow T-shirt with a winged unicorn on it, combined with sturdy hiking boots. Harry just smiled and giggled on the inside. Luna was so... Luna. Susan wore a smile for the first time since before the Dumbledore's Army days, and it transformed her from a dour arsekicker into the beautiful young woman she was. The bright yellow spaghetti-strap sundress that hugged her curves and flared out at the waist helped quite a bit. Harry noticed Zach couldn't take his eyes off her.
Even Lady Greengrass wore something new. It was much more conservative than the others - short sleeved rather than sleeveless, and falling to below the knee. Her dress was evergreen with a floral pattern, and she had matching mesh-topped trainers. It was easy to see where Daphne and Astoria acquired their looks.
Daphne strode right into Harry and kissed him soundly. "Mission accomplished. It was worth the whole weekend just for that. Opened a lot of eyes, that did. Some of these boys are in for a hard night."
Harry laughed. "Am I one of them?"
"Bet your tight little arse."
"Think we should dive right into the Activities?"
Daphne nodded. "Give them a minute, then we'll start the explanation. They've waited long enough."
Harry nodded, and rested his forehead against hers, until she shifted and put her back against his front and wrapped his arms around her waist. They waited until the initial burst of conversation had died down, then Harry cleared his throat.
"Excuse me all!" He waited until he had everyone's attention. "Before we get to the splashing about in the pool and yummy barbecued food, we thought we'd invite you all to play a game with us that we invented by accident on our third date. We think it's a great deal of fun, but it is also quite messy, so no hard feelings if you decide you don't want to participate."
"What's it called?" George asked.
"Well, it doesn't really have any kind of official name, but we're been calling it 'Dessert Shooter' - but that's more descriptive than a proper name."
George laughed. "Count me in on the name alone then!"
Daphne took out her phone and pulled up the pictures of Harry, then enlarged them and projected them into the air above the phone.
Draco started laughing.
"Can you guess what dessert Harry is?" She asked.
"Looks like treacle sponge pudding." Padma said.
"Exactly! With sprinkles." Daphne grinned smugly.
"The game as we've come up with it goes like this: There's a time limit of five minutes per round, during which you have to make as complete a dessert on your declared opponent as you can. When time is called, the judges will judge the desserts for completeness, symmetricality, and embellishment, and those points go to the one who crafted the dessert. When every pair is finished, the judges tally up the scores, and the team with the most points wins."
"How do we make desserts on people?" Justin asked.
"By using the bow and arrows." Daphne said. "You know what? It might be easier to show you." She turned to Harry. "Up for a preliminary?"
Harry grinned. "You're on."
"Oh this is gonna be good." Ron grinned and pulled Hermione to the sidelines of the Quitdditch pitch after Harry and Daphne. The rest of the group followed, even Daphne's mother.
Harry and Daphne both picked up a bow and three arrows, then retreated to behind one of the many oddly-shaped shrubs dotting the pitch.
"You ready?" Harry shouted to her.
"Go!" She yelled back.
Grinning, both of them peeked over the tops of their respective hedges, then shot arrows into the sky. Daphne and Harry both shot all three arrows into the air. Daphne's prescribed a graceful arc up, then split as the ones on the left and right angled outward but still toward Harry. Harry's arrows dove low over the middle hedgerow and slunk across the ground in three different directions toward Daphne.
Daphne's arrows were faster than Harry's, but he was able to roll backward out of the way of the first one. The other two adjusted and landed on either shoulder as he came out of his roll and ballooned into chocolate mousse that covered his entire torso. The arrow that hit the ground oozed a bucket of caramel sauce.
A shriek told him that his arrows had hit, and he concentrated on them until they'd delivered their payload. When his magic had taken its full effect, he decided to be a good sport and scooped some of the caramel sauce on himself.
"You good hon?" He called.
"Yeah, that's good enough for a demonstration." She stood up and walked back to the sidelines to stand beside Harry, her thick layers of chocolate and whipped cream reached from her knees to her shoulders, but the large cherry perched on her head made Harry giggle.
They held each other's hand and took a bow as most of the group laughed.
"So, any questions?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, how the bloody hell do you score that?" Ron asked.
Harry laughed.
"Well, both complete desserts, so a point for that. Both symmetrical, so a point for that, and both have one embellishment - a cherry and caramel sauce. So one point for that. Three points to each of us." Daphne explained.
"Oh, right. That's easy then." Ron said. "I'm game."
"I am so game." Hermione said, looking at Ron.
"Completely insane!" George grinned. "I'm in!"
"We're in." Angelina corrected.
"I'm pants at transfiguration, but I'll give it me best." Justin smiled to Parvati.
"I'm brilliant at it, and you are going to be apple pie." She kissed his cheek.
"I'm brilliant at it too, but you are going to be Ernie sorbet." Padma grinned at Ernie.
"I guess that means we're in." Ernie sighed.
Alicia leaned over and whispered something to Oliver, who then went beet red.
"We're in." She said, smiling sweetly.
"This is going to be embarrassing as hell, but I'd regret it more if I didn't." Dennis grinned.
"Then I volunteer to be your opponent, and we can both be embarrassed and happy." Luna said, taking his arm.
Susan frowned. "You're out of your mind Harry, but Merlin bless you. At least you never throw a dull party."
"Guess that's me in too then. Sue, fancy a target?"
She smiled at him. "Sure, dessert's on you."
Everyone laughed, and Zach couldn't stop smiling - or looking at Sue.
"I will abstain, thank you very much. At least for today. I'm not sure I'd be up to it at the best of times." Lady Greengrass stated primly.
"I will stay with mother, as she is still technically under my care." Astoria said.
"I can do no less," Draco nodded to his wife, "But I will play the judge and will be as fair and impartial as I can, given the criteria set forth."
"Then we will both judge." Astoria said.
"I believe I should also judge, if only to provide a tie-breaking vote." Lady Greengrass said. She wasn't smiling and clearly thought the game juvenile, but the sight of her daughter as a parfait had the edges of her mouth twitching upward.
Harry took out his wand and conjured a wide flat platform with stairs so the judges could have an unobstructed view, then conjured three comfortable chairs and a small side table for each so they had somewhere to set their drinks.
"Thank you, kind judges." Harry grinned, with a short bow.
While Harry had been making the judges' stand, Daphne had created a scoreboard with each of the pairs on it. Down the left side the names were in red, with Daphne, Ron, Luna, Ernie, Parvati, Angelina, and Susan on the red team. Down the right side of the scoreboard the names were in blue, with Harry, Hermione, Dennis, Justin, Padma, George, and Zach on that team.
Harry and Daphne Vanished the desserts covering them before blowing a kiss at each other.
"For those of you who don't want to carry around a bunch of arrows, the hip quivers on the racks there only carry one arrow, but there's a refilling charm on the quiver, so there should always be one in it." Harry called out.
"Thank you for that." Ernie said. "That'll stop me counting my fingers to find how many shots I can hold."
"Everyone knows you can't down more than three shots before you fall asleep, MacMillan. You're a lightweight!" Justin grinned at him, and they both chuckled, but Ernie feigned smoothing his eyebrow with his index and middle fingers while he did.
"Alright, who wants to go first?" Daphne asked the crowd.
"That'd be me!" George grinned. "Us, sorry!" He smiled at Angelina. She smiled back and nodded, then took her jersey off and set it on one of the spectator chairs. George bit his lower lip when he saw her thin, pink, very supportive halter top. Angelina noticed him noticing and gave him a smug grin.
"Try not to lose your concentration, hon." She kissed his cheek, and sashayed over to the rack of bows to choose her weapon. George followed, smiling like the cat that got the canary, and just grabbed the bow off the end of the rack without bothering to test it. They each grabbed a hip quiver from the rack as well.
Angelina took up position behind a large topiary erumpet and nocked an arrow, then nodded to Daphne, who was acting as timekeeper as well as scorekeeper. George quickly shucked his shirt off as a precaution and threw it to Harry, who set it on one of the chairs. He nocked an arrow and simply stood in plain view, waiting for the signal.
"Are you ready?" Daphne asked them.
"Ready." Angelina smiled, clearly excited.
"Time fer a laff." George grinned at Angelina.
"GO!" Daphne shouted.
Angelina had taken aim at George before Daphne gave the word, and as soon as she did, Angelina let the arrow fly. George was still bringing his bow up when the puffy-tipped arrow bonked him straight in the forehead with a "PAFF!" sound.
Angelina started laughing.
"I forgot to get my wand out!" She said, and laughed even harder.
"Angie, that's just hurtful!" George called to her, then turned to the crowd. "She muggled me!"
He let fly his arrow toward the red side of the pitch, then pointed his wand at it, and it swerved to head straight at Angelina. She was busy getting her wand out and still laughing when the arrow hit her in the stomach and exploded into a layer of flaky pastry like a large flat skirt that stuck straight out.
"Ahhh!" She cried. "What the hell!"
She finally had her wand in hand and nocked another arrow, pulled back, and nearly lost her footing as George's second arrow hit her in the back just above the flaky pastry. Thick, fluffy whipped cream coated the top of the flaky pastry, over six inches thick.
"That's cold!" She yelled, and fired at George.
"Not as cold as getting muggled in the first shot, you meanie!" George shouted back, then dodged to his left, which made her arrow fly on by him. He loosed his third as Angelina's arrow slammed into his back and surrounded him with a flaky crust of his own that hung at his waist and curved upward at the edges.
"Is this your way of calling me 'sweetiepie', darling?"
He guided his arrow past her in a lazy arc, intending to hit her in the back, but she was too quick, and put her back against a tall shrub. Instead, he guided the arrow low along the ground like he'd seen Harry do, and hit her in the right armpit when she drew back to fire.
Her arrow sprang away from her bow as another layer of flaky pastry covered her whipped cream. She ignored it and nocked another arrow quickly and loosed it in one smooth motion. She managed to grab control of the first arrow and guided it into George's pie shell where it became a flood of orange goop and solidified once it had filled the shell, then quickly changed her focus to the second arrow as it sailed far toward the back of the blue side of the pitch, and she guided that one into the back of George's neck where it turned into two huge scoops of ice cream and slid down his body to rest on top of the pie.
"Gyahh!" George squealed. "Now that's cold! Heartless Harpy!"
George's arrow fell to the ground beside her and just lay there. His concentration had been completely broken by the ice cream, and Angelina realized it with a grin. She nocked and loosed another while George recovered his wits hidden from view.
"Stick your head out, baby!" She called. "Just show me some of that famous Weasley hair so I can finish making you my sweetie pie!"
Two arrows shot out at the same time from behind a topiary hare and wobbled through the air toward her unsteadily as George bolted out from behind the hare and jogged sideways across the pitch to keep her in view. She blew a kiss at him as she fired another arrow and ran the opposite direction to try to get away from his arrows while she kept sight of him and guided her own.
George's arrows steadied when he stopped moving and concentrated. She made ready to dodge them, but at the last second they swirled in a circle over her head and dropped onto her chest and head before she could move. Unfortunately, concentrating on dodging meant that her own arrow didn't hit as well as she'd have liked. Instead of dousing George in a spray of walnut bits, only a few hit his globes of ice cream and a few stuck into his pumpkin filling.
They both nocked another arrow, but the buzzer sounded the end of the round before either of them could fire.
Ever the gentleman, George went to the hedge separating the two of them, and kissed her hand before holding it as they marched toward the judges.
Astoria was openly smiling as George and Angelina turned in place so they could see the dessert from all angles.
"One for complete dessert each, one for symmetricality each?" She looked at Draco.
"I concur."
"Mother? Astoria looked at her.
"Indeed."
"I count one embellishment on the red player and two on the blue. Judges?" Draco said as he looked to his wife and mother-in-law.
"Agreed." Lady Greengrass said.
Astoria whispered something to her mother, who frowned at her, but then rolled her eyes and agreed. She then leaned over and whispered to Draco who grinned and nodded.
"Three points to Blue, Five points to Red." Astoria pronounced, then looked at Daphne, who put the score on the board.
"Wait, Five?!" George complained.
Draco grinned back at him. "One for the Muggling, because it amused the judges."
Angelina started laughing and kissed George on the cheek. George dropped ice cream down her back. She pushed a handful of whipped cream into his face, and then Ron and Hermione pulled them apart.
"Mm. You're delicious, Angel." George licked his lips, clearing a cream-free spot around his mouth.
Angelina just hugged his arm, as it was the only bit of him she could reach, even while mushing their desserts into each other.
"Feel free to get cleaned up, you two." Harry congratulated them. "And thanks for going first." He turned to the rest of the crowd. "Who'd like to go next?!"
No-one said anything for three seconds.
"Ron and Hermione, thanks for volunteering!" Harry grinned at them and everyone laughed.
Ron glared at Harry darkly while Harry grinned even wider back at him. Hermione calmly took out her wand and set her bag on the chair she had been sitting in. She cast a sticking charm on the wand itself, and stuck it to the top of her right forearm so that tip half of the wand extended out past her wrist. Ron grabbed a bow and quiver from the rack, then put them down and took his shirt off before picking them up again.
As soon as Daphne yelled "GO", Ron dove behind cover. He started the match at the back of the pitch, as far away from Hermione as he could, only to then realize he couldn't see her to guide any arrows at her. Before he could move to change position though, a lone arrow soared into the air over the blue side of the field, and just stayed there. Another joined it, then another and another, until there was a circle of thirty-three hovered in the air.
"Uhh... this is still a game, right hon?" Ron called out.
"Of course, of course! Just like chess." Hermione's voice had a steel edge to it, and Ron winced. He looked toward where Hermione was, behind the hedge wall, but without revealing where he was hiding. The circle of arrows in the air above began to swirl and descend, scattering wide as they fell, until one impacted his ribs. Then all of them seemed to swarm on him, dropping out of the sky like attacking dragons, and Ron didn't bother to try to dodge, he got up and flat out ran. It was a futile gesture, however. Hermione's perfectly controlled arrow army slammed into him like padded machinegun fire, and before Ron had taken five steps the last one plopped onto the top of his head.
He stood up and sighed, then looked down at himself. He was a tower of pastry balls piled in a pyramid, with alternating butterscotch and chocolate coatings that formed a striped spiral up to the top of the pyramid - the one perched on Ron's head was pink.
Two more arrows soared overhead from the Red side of the pitch, these two flying in lazy circles around him as they drizzled sauce on him, one chocolate, and one butterscotch.
Ron wiped the chocolate and butterscotch from his eyes and looked around, taking in the fancy french dessert he'd become in the blink of an eye, and his face went red. He fired three arrows in rapid succession, and was rewarded with squeals of Hermione's laughter from behind a tall, thin shrub.
"Treacle tart?!" She yelled, "Really?!"
Two more arrows soared toward Ron, and he didn't bother to move. It apparently didn't matter if he was hidden or not. He sighed and shot another arrow at her, which exploded over the bush she was hiding behind and created a localized blizzard of icing sugar that gently coated her.
"At least you put frosting on!" She called, her voice much more amused than it had been.
The two arrows coming at him dumped pink drizzled frosting as that one spun circles around him, and the other exploded overhead, dropping a payload of sugar quills that stuck into his pastry, including one that stuck directly into the top of his crown and bent backward at a jaunty angle.
The buzzer sounded, and Hermione came out from hiding to join Ron in front of the judges. As soon as he saw her, Ron brightened considerably. It turned out Hermione was incredibly sexy with her hair slicked down and dripping with treacle.
Draco, Astoria, and her mother conferred briefly before Draco handed out the points.
"Three for Red," He leaned forward, grinning like mad, "and eight for Blue." For some reason, Draco seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.
Ron looked immediately angry, then stopped himself, glared at Draco, and sighed. Hermione leaned over and whispered something to him, and he brightened again, like the sun coming out from behind clouds. He smiled at Hermione and held her hand as they walked off.
Dennis and Luna went next, and it was a similarly one-sided battle. Dennis managed to shoot and guide two arrows, but his admission prior to game start was correct, his transfiguration was not very good. Luna ended up looking like she'd been standing on a wet, muddy road when a caravan went by. Luna, on the other hand, copied Hermione's trick of conjuring a large mirror at the opposite end of the Blue half and used it to unerringly target Dennis. When the buzzer sounded, Dennis was a light, fluffy lemon pavlova with berries, lemon jelly wedges, white chocolate stars, and drizzles of lemon icing.
Ernie versus Padma was a closely-fought match, but only in the last minute. Padma had completely dominated Ernie and turned him into a banana split sundae with chocolate and butterscotch sauce over vanilla ice cream - but then at the last minute Ernie had the idea of disillusioning himself and his arrows, and managed to turn her into a butterscotch tart with whipped cream and raspberries. He also then had to sit down due to being nearly magically exhausted.
Neville versus Hannah was cute as anything, they both appeared more interested in running about and laughing at each other and themselves than in any serious competition, and that suited everyone just fine. It made everyone smile (almost everyone) to watch them enjoy themselves. When the buzzer sounded, Hannah was a marshmallow-cookie sandwich sporting a smileyface made of icing, and Neville was a shortbread snowman with white icing, liquorice beard, jelly eyes, and sherbet fountain nose. They were still giggling as they started nibbling each other.
Parvati became a huge cinnamon wheel coated with chocolate glaze despite her athletic zigzag running. She was true to her word as well, and Justin became a large slice of apple pie with whipped topping and ice cream. He was not so athletic.
Zachary put up a surprising amount of fight against Susan despite her clear tactical superiority. She hammered him relentlessly with arrow after arrow, forcing him to dodge and weave and run, but he proved surprisingly sneaky, and judicious use of disillusionment saw Susan turn into a black forest cake with cream and cherries on top. Both Susan and Zach were all smiles and out of breath when they finished, though Susan still had the magic left to conjure herself a spoon and try some of the strawberry sundae with hot fudge and sprinkles that Justin had become. He managed to look pleased and embarrassed at the same time.
Both Oliver and Alicia took a page from Hermione's book of tricks and ran about the pitch while controlling several arrows in the air above them. Whenever they spotted each other it was a storming mess, with desserts parts flying everywhere. When time ran out, Alicia sported most of a lemon lavacake with biscuit crumble, and Oliver waddled toward the judges as a huge round lemon jello with blueberries in, and a huge blueberry perched on his head.
"It's even my colours!" He grinned at her before they kissed.
"Puddlemere jelly for the win." She grinned and took his hand as they exited the field, leaving only Harry and Daphne left to compete.
Neville took over as timekeeper, and Luna as scorekeeper so that Harry and Daphne could take the field, and as they did a quiet tension fell over the whole pitch. Even Daphne's mother seemed to shift forward on her seat.
Harry and Daphne both drew three arrows and nocked them all at the same time, holding the bow sideways to support the heads of the arrows. They each took up position behind a shrub with the bow and arrowheads peeking up over top. They each turned to look at Luna and waited.
Luna smiled at everyone, clearly savoring the moment. "I kind of like the feeling of everyone waiting on me. It feels like I'm in control of everything. It's quite nice."
Harry put his bow and arrows down on top of the bush and clapped. "You tell us, Luna!" he grinned.
"I thought you'd be used to it just from being a woman!" Daphne called back.
Luna grinned at her, and nodded. "Go."
Daphne loosed all three arrows and quickly drew another before the first three had crossed the dividing hedge.
Harry flickered, then loosed his three arrows and they stopped in midair over the hedge like Hermione's had done. Every few seconds he would pop up over top of his shield shrub and add another arrow to the stack in the air.
Daphne's initial three arrows all converged at high speed on Harry's forehead, only to pass directly through him and splash desserts all over the ground behind him. Harry didn't even change his expression, he just kept adding arrows to the airborne pile.
Daphne cursed quietly then as three arrows slammed into her and coated her with layers of angel food cake, strawberries, and icing. She hadn't seen them coming at all.
"Where you hiding, you sneak?!" She shouted, then she also flickered. She stood there scanning the blue side of the pitch with an arrow nocked.
Astoria reached out anxiously and clutched Draco's hand in her own, without taking her eyes from the pitch.
Harry appeared standing next to the dividing hedge and shot an arrow not at Daphne, but directly down on the Red side of the hedge. It hit the ground and blossomed into a flood of white liquid that rushed around the shrubs toward the back of the Red side of the pitch, and then it all abruptly disappeared, leaving the pitch as it was. Daphne appeared next to where Harry was standing at the hedge and fired an arrow straight through his head. It hit the pitch yards away and gooped chocolate pudding over the ground.
"Ha! I knew it!" Daphne said.
Two unseen arrows impacted each other inside her head and spilled desserts on the ground through her body.
"Oops, guess I wasn't there."
Harry's voice sounded from the illusion standing next to the dividing hedge. "Clever girl."
Several unseen arrows then exploded over both sides of the pitch. Fine white powder drifted down over the Red half from three separate detonations, and three arrows over the Blue half rained pink glitter toward the ground.
"Really Harry? Quoting Jurassic Park at me?"
"Well you are hunting me..."
"Ha! Not anymore!"
Two explosions happened three meters off the ground near the dividing hedge, and a large creme swan appeared with a hole in it's center.
Another explosion happened right after, near the back of the Red half, dumping strawberries on the unseen Daphne.
The creme swan fell quickly back to earth, but not too quickly, and the crowd heard more twanging of bowstrings, but before anything else could happen, their time ran out and the buzzer sounded.
Daphne and Harry appeared, as did the platform Harry had been standing on. It was a thin tower with a large square at the top.
"Nice. I wasn't thinking in three dimensions." Daphne kissed his cheek.
"What gave me away?"
"Your disillusionment is good, but there's a slight ripple around the edge, and when I moved the light caught it just right."
"Ah well. Live and learn. Where did you have your arrows waiting?"
"I had a couple near the hedge, and a couple in the middle of your area."
"Smartie pants." Harry grinned at her.
"I wouldn't have spotted you if you'd had Notice-Me-Not on as well."
"Honestly I was stretched a little thin at that point."
"Honestly, I'm a little disappointed with both of you." Draco said.
"Oh really..." Daphne arched a brow at him.
"Really. You should have humiliated him more, and you should have been more humiliated. it would have been a really good day then."
Harry chuckled. "I'll see what I can do, Draco."
"Anyway, two for Red and three for Blue, not that it makes much difference at this point."
"Red team wins! Well done, dear." Lady Greengrass congratulated Daphne.
"Yay! Congratulations Red team!" Harry shouted, and started clapping.
A cheer went up and everyone else clapped as well.
"And a round of applause for our esteemed judges!" Harry called out, clapping for them as well. "Thank you all, for making our stupid little game a success!"
Astoria scoffed at that, and Draco turned to look at her. It wasn't like her to be openly derisive, and it felt a little jarring. He would have to ask her what she was thinking about later.
"Red team members, please don't forget to pick up your trophies from the table by the floo when you leave!" Daphne shouted.
"We get trophies?!" Parvati asked, incredulous.
"Sure, just a little something to remember the day by." Daphne smiled at her.
"Speaking of which, I'll go engrave them, now that we know what the winners' names are." Harry whispered to Daphne. "I'll bring the food back out and get started on that."
"You're the best." She kissed him quickly before he went back into the house.
"Feel free to shed your desserts and have some fun in the pool!" Daphne called out, before Vanishing the dessert from herself. Everyone else did the same, and there was time to count to five before Justin and Ernie both cannonballed into the deep end.
Harry brought a small case back outside with him a few minutes later, and went to the brick grill on the far side of the pool. Fire sprang up beneath the grill, and Harry carefully put the case on the granite countertop next to the grill. He pulled several plates out of it, as well as a large pot filled with something red.
"I didn't know you liked to cook." Luna said, standing just far enough away that she wouldn't be in the way of his moving around.
Harry smiled at her. "Sometimes it's a pain, but at times like this it's a pleasure.
"Oh good." She smiled back, and stepped into him to hug him.
Harry chuckled. "Thanks, Luna. What was that for?"
"I haven't seen you in some time, and I was a little afraid you had become Harry Potter, Wizengamot Leader and Very Important Person. However, it's clear that you're still just Harry, and that makes me happy."
"Aww, thanks Luna! You say the nicest things. I don't want you to change either, unless you want to and it makes you happy, of course."
"You're a good friend, Harry. I'm happy Daphne makes you so happy. It's good to see you smile again."
"Honestly Luna, I didn't think anything was wrong. I thought we all just went our own ways, then along comes Daphne and the sun comes out again and I realized it had just been me sulking and not making the effort. So yeah, it's all down to her, really. Not that you didn't know that already." He grinned at her.
She grinned back at him. "So what are you making?"
"Standard barbecue fare. Burgers, bratwurst, spareribs, grilled corn on the cob, vegetable skewers, potato salad, and garden salad. I thought everyone might have had enough of dessert by now."
"Interesting. Would you like some help?"
"I would love some company, but really there isn't much to do. I did the salads and all the prep work long before now."
"Oh. Well I suppose I can do that too." She smiled. "I didn't know her very well, but it seems to me that she has changed quite a lot."
"Suffering will do that." Harry smiled back at her.
She could see that he was both glad and very upset that she had suffered enough to change her. She supposed he was upset that Daphne had suffered at all but glad that she was now alright. Luna thought Harry looked good when he was in love. She herself didn't love Harry that way - even though like most girls she'd had a crush on him at one point - but she did love him as a friend, and she was both upset for what he had suffered and glad that he was alright now. Maybe it was just the nature of love.
"I'm glad you're both well now."
"Thanks. Some days I wake up and I still can't believe she's real. Like it's illegal for me to feel this good."
"Aww. Harry, more than anyone else, you earned the right to feel as good as you possibly can for as long as you live. Daphne isn't the only one who suffered."
"You too then. Hell, most of us. Ron and Hermione- " He stopped and looked around. He couldn't see either of them anywhere. "Actually, speaking of, did you see where they went?"
"I saw them leave, but decided not to follow them. I think they went around the side of the house to have sex."
"...Oh." Harry's eyebrows raised of their own accord. He would have to make sure it rained extra hard for a while tomorrow.
Luna hugged him again. He had his hands in hamburger patties, so he did his best to hug her back without using his hands.
"We will have to do a better catch-up later. I should go talk to Daphne now."
"I'm sure she'd like that."
It had been a while since he saw Luna skipping, and it made his heart light. She skipped up to Daphne as she was chatting with Hannah and Susan, then Daphne and Luna sat by the pool on chaises facing each other and started talking. Ron and Hermione came back from behind the ballroom, hand in hand, and both took a dip in the pool. He made a mental note to change the filters tomorrow too.
Harry observed the group as people mingled and talked, and was surprised and gratified to find Ollie and Draco talking, most likely about the broom room and their shared passion for flying. Astoria and her mother were talking with Parvati and Justin, and most of the rest mingled in a large group by the pool. It seemed everyone was having a good time.
"We should do this more often." Harry said to himself with a smile.
The food didn't take long to grill, and the stasis cabinet he'd built into the barbecue area made sure everything was piping hot and fresh when he floated it on platters to the serving tables. Thankfully almost everyone seemed to grasp the informal nature of the barbecue and remained chatty while they ate. Daphne helped Astoria and her mother with serving themselves and made sure they had plenty of serviettes. After Astoria and Draco studied the others for the correct method of eating barbecued ribs, they both copied as well as they could while trying not to get sauce on their faces. Of course they didn't quite manage it, and the combination of elite table manners and finger food amused Harry greatly, especially with Draco scowling through it.
Everyone seemed more relaxed after dinner, some had a dip in the pool, but most everyone pulled chaises or chairs into a circle and just chatted. They talked about old times, they talked about new times, but no-one talked about the war. Daphne and Astoria and their mother sat next to each other while Daphne explained where she had been and what she'd been doing since she left.
Harry slipped into the house and made sure the parting gifts were arranged with names by the floo. When he rejoined everyone outside, the sun was starting to set behind the tips of the trees by the lake. Oliver and Alicia were the first to stand and give their apologies for having an early day the next day.
"Thanks for coming, Ollie, Alicia. don't be strangers. We'll be doing this kind of thing more often in the future, I think." Harry shook Ollie's hand and hugged Alicia goodbye.
"Thanks for having us, Harry." Ollie said.
"We'll have to have you both over some time for a pickup game." Alicia promised.
"I would love that." Harry grinned.
They said their goodbyes, and Harry reminded them to pick up a trophy and their parting prezzies so they could stay in touch, and before the green flames had died down, Neville and Hannah came in to say goodnight as well.
As if by unspoken agreement, the party broke up then, and Harry and Daphne said goodbye to all their friends with smiles and hugs and thanks. Somewhat surprisingly, Draco, Astoria, and Lady Greengrass were the last to leave.
"Draco, thank you for coming." Harry shook his hand.
"Thank you for an interesting afternoon, Harry. You've both given us some things to think about."
"No doubt we'll be seeing more of each other regardless, but anytime you want to talk, you have my number and the floo."
He looked like he was going to say something else, but tightened his lips instead and nodded. He waited by the floo for Astoria and her mother to finish their goodbyes.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Potter." Lady Greengrass said, holding her hand out. Harry kissed her knuckles as expected - he did know Pureblood custom, even if he usually chose to forego it. "I can't remember the last time I saw so many people genuinely enjoying themselves at a party."
Harry chuckled. "It's Harry, please. If everyone isn't enjoying themselves, is it really a party?"
She smiled politely, and Daphne laughed. "Ignore the philosopher, mum, he just wants everyone to relax and have fun."
"At least here, anyway. Our door - and floo - is always open to you, even if you don't want to relax and have fun." Harry smiled.
"Very kind of you... Harry. Might I have a word?" Lady Greengrass gestured to the hall, and took his arm as it was offered. They retreated a few steps down the hall, far enough that they wouldn't be overheard.
"It's a breach of tradition for me to ask," She began, "but Daphne's father... What are your intentions toward my daughter?"
Harry laughed and hugged her. She was taken aback, but patted his back before he released her.
"I am truly, madly in love with Daphne."
"Oh!" She smiled then. "Well, it's clear she feels the same about you."
Harry grinned. "I can only hope so. She fills me with more joy than I thought existed."
Her eyes started to fill, and she put a hand on his shoulder as her eyes said what she didn't trust her voice to.
Harry handed her a handkerchief out of midair and she dabbed her eyes as he led her back to the floo.
Astoria didn't bother with formalities, she simply nodded at Harry and said "Thank you."
Harry slipped his arm around Daphne's waist and nodded back with a smile. "Anytime."
Before the green flames even died away, Harry nuzzled Daphne's neck.
"I need to talk to you. Come have a seat."
She backed him off to arms' length. "You alright? What's wrong?"
He smiled at her. "I'll get to that in a minute. Did you have a good day?"
She grinned back. "I did. I really did. It was a blast."
"Good, I'm glad. Mission accomplished then." He took her by the hand and led her to the living room so they could sit on the sofa.
"I lied to you. I did it on purpose, and I did it so that what I have to tell you wouldn't overshadow and ruin your day today. I wanted you to have a great day and be happy."
"You lied to me?" She frowned. "About what?"
"I planned to wait until Monday to tell you, but it's killing me to keep it from you. I couldn't wait." He took out his phone and queued the video of her father in the cave for her to play.
"What is this?" She took the phone from him.
"You'll see. Just play it."
She glared and frowned, but pressed the play button. The video showed the cave, the platform, the machine, and Ambrose, then zoomed in to show Ambrose placing the galleon in the copier, then flew around Ambrose to show his face, then slowly floated over to the spout on the side of the machine as it began to churn faster and spew galleons. It floated downward and showed the galleons that Harry extracted from the machine so that she could see they were galleons, then panned backward and played the whole scene until Ambrose left the cave and the lights went out.
"Fucking idiot..." She breathed. "Fucking stupid..." Her hand went to her mouth and tears started to fall.
"Exactly. This is why I didn't tell you immediately. I knew damn well it would ruin your weekend. Us doing something about it didn't have to be immediate, since it's clear he's been doing that for some time now. It would have been a waste to ruin the joy you had today. I'm just sorry I have to ruin it at all."
"Stuff that. Having fun today might have helped me get over this. You're supposed to be my partner, Harry, not my father. I understand why you did it, and truthfully I might have made the same mistake in your shoes, but I also know damn well that you would be saying the same thing I am now. Don't you ever fucking do it again, you hear me? I'm not a child, and we'll handle whatever comes our way together. Manipulating events like Dumbledore isn't who you are and isn't anyone I want to be with."
Harry's chest squeezed. The back of his neck went cold and his guts felt like they were bleeding.
"I didn't... I'm not like... But I did. That's exactly what he used to do." He said softly, his face slack and disbelieving.
"You were only thinking of my happiness, Harry, and I love you for it. I didn't need to know this right away because of how quickly I'd want to do something about it, I needed to know right away because of the nature of you and me. Because I trust you to tell me. Because we're partners."
Harry nodded, still horrified by a mental picture of himself in Dumbledore's clothes.
"Talk to me, Harry. Are you alright? You look pale."
"I ... I mean, I deserve it, I did it... I'm not... I don't want to be Dumbledore." He whispered.
His skin was pale and clammy, and his hands trembled. His pupils were tiny pinpoints.
"Harry?" She smoothed his hair back from his face, but he was looking at nothing. "Shit. Harry, look at me, you're scaring me!"
His eyes flicked to hers and his pupils opened again. He held out his arms, and she pulled him into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Daph. I'm so sorry." He began shaking and she could feel wetness on her neck. "I didn't think. I didn't mean to scare you. I guess I have an issue or two left..."
Then it sank in what she'd done.
Dumbledore was responsible for Harry being at his Aunt's house. Every beating, every snarling empty stomach, every year of growing up in hatred and isolation and loneliness was laid at Dumbledore's feet. He was responsible for Harry's only family - his godfather - being in Azkeban for twelve years without a trial. He was responsible for pushing Harry into a place so dark that he felt it was his duty to die for everyone else.
And she'd just compared Harry to him.
"Oh Harry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean you were like Dumbledore! I meant he used to try to control information as well! You're nothing like he was!" She stroked his hair while his head was still nuzzled into her neck. "I'm so sorry, baby. I didn't mean that. I love you, and I'll keep you from ever becoming anything like that, I swear. He never had anyone to tell him he was doing the wrong things for the right reasons, but you have me. I'll never let that happen."
Harry's hands bunched into fists, clutching the back of her shirt as sobs wracked his entire body. She held him close as it came out of him, stroking his hair and rocking gently back and forth.
"I'm sorry, Harry." She told him softly. "I didn't think about what I was saying. I didn't mean to dredge that all up again. I'm sorry, love."
It took minutes for the unexpected horror to bleed out of Harry, and he hung onto her, clutching her as a lifeline the entire time. When the sobs filled with naked pain subsided, he pulled away enough to wipe his face on a handkerchief, and then wiped her neck with it.
"I didn't want to keep it from you, love. Wrong thing, right reason, like you said. Lesson learned. I... nobody's ever compared me to Dumbledore before. I had no idea..." He said as he wiped his eyes and nose.
Daphne's face twisted as she began to shed tears. "I'm so sorry, hon. So much pain..."
"And you didn't cause any of it, Daph. Not your fault."
She nodded, and kissed him. He kissed her back, full of love and trust again, and it made her chest squeeze.
"This is so not how I wanted our first fight to go." She borrowed the handkerchief to wipe her own face.
Harry bark a snotty laugh. "Not even sure if stumbling across a trauma trigger while making your point counts as a fight."
Daphne laughed once like a tiny explosion, and tears started again. "I'm so sorry, Harry. You're always so strong, so impervious..."
He stroked her hair and held her close. "And this is how we find triggers and defuse them, love. Not by walking on eggshells and pretending everything is okay. I'll do some thinking, and come to terms with it. We'll do some talking about it later, and I'll be better for it and we'll be stronger for it."
She bit her lower lip and nodded. "You know how much I love you, don't you?"
He smiled. "Yes, I do. You wouldn't hurt me on purpose. You know I wouldn't hurt you on purpose?"
She nodded again, and managed a small smile. Harry kissed her forehead.
"You know how much I love you?"
"Yes, I do."
"Good." He kissed her again. "We're good?"
She took a deep breath and let it out, and seemed to calm down. "We're good." She kissed him again for good measure. "The video is the only thing you were hiding?"
Harry nodded. "That wasn't enough?"
She rested her forehead against his, and they stroked each other for a while before Daphne kissed him.
"So... What are we going to do about my father?"
