Much Needed (Advice)
For the houses competition round seven year seven:
House: Slytherin
Position: Herbology
Category: standard
Prompt:[Location] 'favourite place in the world'
Word count: 2226 (for story)
Betas: Butterflies765, Aya Diefair, CupCakeyyy
Au, but could have been canon.
It was a warm spring day, and Harry was strolling across the grounds of Hogwarts, heading to Dumbledore's grave. Harry wasn't sure why, but whenever he needed to be alone or just have some quiet time, he always ended up here. If he was bold, he would say it was his favourite location in the entire world, certainly in the entirety of Hogwarts. He was glad Professor McGonagall—not that she was his professor anymore—allowed him to come and go as he pleased.
He liked it so much because it was peaceful, pretty and quiet, not to mention unfrequented by the population of Hogwarts. To him, the grave represented the start of the war when it was just him and the finish of it. This place also represented peace, being able to be himself.
As he came to the grave, he sighed, falling to the ground. Slumped against the tombstone, he finally let the facade of cheerfulness, happiness, and confidence go, replacing it with what he truly felt: a cauldron of negative emotions. Harry knew he shouldn't be feeling that way, but he couldn't help it. He had a promising career, a lovely girlfriend, and was surrounded by people he loved and who cared about him. He should've been happy.
'But I'm not,' Harry thought dully as he looked at Dumbledore's tomb, toying with the end of his shoelace. He recalled the moment when he had come to return the wand to the grave; how he'd tripped because his shoelace was undone. He had felt horrible as resealed it and had sobbed uncontrollably when he was done.
That was the first time Harry had allowed himself to truly feel and not pretend to be who he was expected to be any more.
Harry sighed, eyes trained on the engraved letters on the heavy stone - "Greatest Of Us All, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Leader, Teacher, Confidant." He couldn't help but think about how everything had gotten to this point. Back when he was still a student, at the age of fifteen, he had had no idea what he wanted to do or even what he could do. Harry had heard a little bit about what an Auror's job was; Moody had even told him he'd be good at it, so Harry had decided to try that road.
But even at the time, Harry hadn't been sure that was what he wanted to do, and he certainly wasn't sure now; but what choice did he have? He'd told everyone that was his path, and that's what was expected, even if he wanted to be something else.
So many people—more people than Harry could count—expected him to do this, he couldn't let them down, he couldn't. He was barely coping with the pressure, but he simply couldn't tell them no.
He'd been hunted by Voldemort and his followers his entire life; Harry wasn't sure he could cope with spending the rest of it chasing more wizards like him. Not to mention, Harry wanted a family and he didn't want a job that would put them at risk.
As for Ginny… Harry felt his heart twinge painfully. Because he'd broken up with her right after Dumbledore's funeral and things hadn't gone back to normal when they got back together. Though she still wanted to have him back, Ginny seemed distant, almost unhappy. It hadn't escaped his notice that she was spending less and less time around him, too.
Harry loved her, but he wasn't sure if he could or should keep it up, especially when she was obviously unhappy. But at the same time, he wasn't sure he had the strength to let her go completely, and he was afraid—afraid the Weasleys would be mad if they split up and he met someone else. All this was making him stressed.
His career was much less stressful to think about, even though it was quite the contrary. He'd worked out he didn't want to be an Auror, but he didn't know what to do about it. Harry wanted to yell, cry, sob, and scream in frustration, but he didn't. He was a fair way away from the school, but that didn't stop the students from coming down here, and he had an image to uphold. He couldn't risk it, just in case someone did wander down.
Instead, he sighed miserably, letting his emotions show but not be heard. After a short moment, the sound of someone approaching caught his attention and he quickly wiped his face, trying to look at least expressionless.
"Relax, Potter. I saw you all upset," the person told him, her voice ringing.
Harry looked up to see a woman with light-brown hair approaching. He didn't recognise her, but that wasn't saying much as the entire bloody country knew who he was. Oh, how Harry wished they didn't, how he wished to just be normal, like Ron, like Hermione. But even for them, just being friends with him had given them the same uncomfortable popularity.
"Why? I feel like I can't relax around my friends let alone a stranger like you," Harry said frostily, unable to help it. He just wanted to be left alone. "Go away."
"Charming," the woman remarked. "You should be careful hanging around the school, seeing you're no longer a student. People might think you are here for unsavoury reasons." Harry glared at her as his stomach churned at what she was suggesting. But when he thought about it, he couldn't help but realise she was probably right.
"Well, I—" Harry stammered, feeling stupid. He had not considered that people might start to think he hung around the school for unsavoury reasons, for any sort of reason, really. He blushed, trying not to sound awkward. "It's nothing like that. It's just—
"Whenever I need to be alone, I come here. I think it's become one of my favourite places and it brings me closer to my mentor when I need it. This place helps me calm down and remind me who I really am," Harry added that last bit reluctantly as he stood up, feeling a bit uncomfortable talking to her from the ground. He brushed himself off.
"Fair enough," the lady nodded understandingly. "Dumbledore meant a lot to you, I guess?"
"Yeah. This place is where it officially became me versus Voldemort; a place where I changed, where I had to become the saviour everyone needed to me to be." Harry looked down at the grave as another wave of sadness washed over him. When he looked back at the woman, he noticed she looked uncomfortable at the mention of Voldemort's name. He wondered why. "He had a lot of good advice, you know."
"I could do with some now," he whispered to himself, looking away from the other person.
"Yes, I guess he was a genius in his own way. You do have to admit, though, that he was a bit daft," she said, smiling slightly. Harry had suspected, but now he was confident that this person had been a Slytherin. The way she spoke about Dumbledore was slightly disdainful as the Slytherins tended to be about Dumbledore.
"I never said he wasn't," Harry said, slightly amused by her remark. "By the way, I don't want to be rude, but... who are you? I don't recognise you, but I'm guessing you are a Slytherin. Are you a teacher by chance?" He felt embarrassed and rude that he hadn't asked her name before now.
"To the point, I like that, Potter," the woman said with a small smirk. "Slytherin was my house. I teach History of Magic, now. McG—Ugh, I mean Minerva, finally decided to sack that useless ghost."
"About time, too." Harry said, wondering why it hadn't happened earlier. "I wonder how many students even did their N.E.W.T.S for that subject in the last one hundred years?"
"Well, when I did it, I was the only one in the class. I'm willing to bet that it's a small number," she answered.
"Agreed." Harry nodded whole-heartedly. "I still don't know your name, by the way."
"Daphne, Daphne Greengrass at your service," she said, holding out her hand to shake. Harry shook it. He was sure he could never be friends with the likes of Malfoy, but Greengrass hadn't done anything to him, so there was no reason why he couldn't be anything but friendly to her.
"Nice to meet you, Greengrass," Harry said softly.
"You too, Potter," Daphne replied with a smile. "Now, what's bothering you? And for Merlin's sake, just tell me. You have a problem and not talking about it won't help."
"I don't want to be an Auror," Harry said, being straight to the point since she liked it. "My relationship with Ginny hasn't been going well, either. I'm not sure I still want it and she seems unhappy, but I don't know if I can bring myself to break up with her again. Especially when I'm worried the Weasleys will hate me if I do."
"Well, don't become an Auror, then," Daphne said firmly. "You are Harry Potter. You could become anything you want, within reason. If you wanted to become a Curse-Breaker, I'm sure you could manage. As for your girlfriend, has she ever brought it up or hinted that she's unhappy?"
"No," Harry admitted after thinking carefully about it.
"Do you still have feelings for her?" Daphne asked, looking intently at Harry, who, despite feeling like he was being interrogated, nodded. "Does she still have feelings for you?"
"I'm not sure," Harry said defeatedly. "She has been so distant recently."
"She has? Or have you been distancing yourself from her?" Daphne tilted her head slightly, eyes bright. "I know for a fact you have been moping about the place for a while, so you may have been pushing her away without realising it."
"I—" Harry said, considering the witch's question, coming to the realisation. Harry felt his stomach drop as panic and despair set in, and then came the anger at himself. "I have! Oh, no! I'm a horrible boyfriend, I can't believe I'm doing this to Ginny. No wonder things aren't right!"
"Well, perhaps, but you have a chance to redeem yourself, even if the relationship is unsalvageable," Daphne said confidently. "If I were you, I'd go back to Weasley and apologise, beg for forgiveness if you must. Then, go from there; talk to her. As for the rest of her family, well, if they care about just you, they'll understand and little will change. That's what I've found in personal experience."
"Okay, thank you." A weight he hadn't realised had weighed him down lifted off his shoulders, making him feel much better and more confident than he'd felt in a long time after talking to her. He realised what was wrong now, and he hoped he could fix it.
"No problem. As for your job, just tell the people what the matter is. Say that you're unsure or you don't want to be an Auror. Unless the Weasleys are complete dickheads, which I doubt from what I've seen, they'll understand and help you," Daphne advised.
Harry considered her words for a moment. Except for a few associations when Ron had got jealous, his friends and the Weasleys altogether had always been supportive, understanding, so why not this time? "I will. Thank you, Daphne. You have no idea how much better and happier I feel."
Daphne shrugged. "This is the first time I have approached you, but I have noticed you unhappily hanging around down here. I ignored you for a while, but when you kept coming I thought I'd do something about it."
They stood in silence for a little while, Daphne looking around, Harry looking at her curiously. "It's nice here," she said calmly, her eyes coming to rest on the Black Lake that could be seen shimmering in the distance. "Except for the funeral, I haven't been here. I can see why you reckon it's your favourite place in the world, even if it's a bit morbid."
"I'm glad you agree."
They stood there in peace, enjoying the silence for a few undisturbed moments before Harry frowned, a thought just crossing his mind. "Don't you have classes?"
"I am on a break. But," Daphne mused, casting a Tempus Charm. "Yep, I need to get back. See you, Potter. You better fix your sorry self up, I am getting sick of you moping around here."
"I don't mope." She gave him a look that caused Harry to sigh in defeat. "Don't worry, I will." Harry declared, filled with determination.
"Don't forget to tie your shoelace!" Daphne called over her shoulder as she walked away, causing Harry to blush. He glanced down and, much to his chagrin, saw she was correct.
He watched the brown-haired witch disappear from sight, then turned back to the lake. He would stay here a little longer, but he vowed to talk and try to patch things up with Ginny as soon as he returned.
No matter the outcome, Harry was certain they'd both be happier. He silently thanked Daphne once again, her advice was much needed.
'It's ironic how it happened in my current favourite place,' Harry thought to himself as, with a last look at the grave, he twisted on the spot, Apparting home.