Daphne's morning did not turn out to be pleasant. Her father, browsing through a copy of the morning Prophet, unknowingly gave her a full view of a photo and article about Ginny Weasley. It wasn't an abnormal sight, she'd been the subject of a few articles given her prospects of being recruited into the professional Quidditch league.

While Harry was usually good about not talking with Daphne about what correspondence he was still having with her, he hadn't mentioned anything lately. Based on the angle of the paper, it felt as though Ginny was hovering over her, satisfaction on her face, determined to ruin Daphne's breakfast.

After a reasonable amount of time, Daphne excused herself from the table to leave for work and reminded her parents that she'd be out this evening. It was one of her regularly scheduled dinners with Harry.

Daphne,

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I was able to close my first solo case today. However, the bad news is, I have to stay late and finish the paperwork. I won't be able to make our date this evening. I'm terribly sorry. Perhaps we can reschedule?

Harry

She took a moment to reread Harry's letter, disappointment seeping through her as she picked up her quill to pen a response.

Harry,

Congratulations on closing your first case. Don't worry about this evening-I completely understand. I hope everything works out and you don't have to stay at work too late. We'll talk soon.

Daphne

Her movements felt melancholic as she tidied up her desk and readied herself to leave for the day. Wandering down the halls, she pulled herself together to extend a nod or a, 'good evening,' to her colleagues. Arriving in the lobby, it became more difficult to ignore her dissatisfaction with the turn of events.

Allowing her mind to drift into dangerous territory, she thought about what she wanted to do. Harry told her that he unexpectedly needed to work late and couldn't make their date. What would she be doing differently right now if they were in a real relationship? It didn't include accepting the fact and going home.

Her feet stopping momentarily, she changed course, away from the fireplaces and made her way towards the exit out to Muggle London. As she stepped onto the busy pavement, she assessed her surroundings. Harry had said the restaurant was, 'around the corner.' She was mentally kicking herself for not prying for more details at the time. Walking aimlessly, she first went left around the nearest corner, walking past storefronts and looking through menus to see if she came across anything that she recognized. When she didn't find anything to the left, she went back in the other direction and did the same. Nothing.

Committed to seeing the idea through, she started going back around and simply trying to find some food that was familiar to her. While she didn't know the full range of food that Harry liked, she decided to try something different and see what happened.

All she could hear was the echo of her footfall against the floor once she had entered the DMLE office. Everyone appeared to have cleared out for the evening.

Locating the dim light from the lamp on his desk, she began to suddenly second guess her idea. What if he rejected the food? Or had already eaten for the evening? Or worse, what if she tried to join him, just as he had, and he rejected her? She shook her head, attempting to turn off her rampant thoughts.

This was Harry. Whether or not he did like what she'd brought, he'd appreciate the gesture. Just as he had done for her.

As she made her way across the room, she could see him hard at work, intently focused as he scribbled away on the piece of parchment on his desk. He had his head resting against his hand, as he looked back and forth to reference a file.

It wasn't long before he looked up after hearing her approach him in the otherwise, silent office space.

His eyes furrowed before softening as he recognized her. "Daphne, what are you doing here?" He shot up clumsily, almost knocking items off of his desk.

The last few steps she took were hesitant. "I know that you said you had to work late, so I brought some food just in case you hadn't had anything." He looked down towards the bag she had in her hand and she moved to place it on the edge of his desk. "It wouldn't be good to skip a meal. It'll give you more energy to help you finish up."

As she listened to herself, she felt like a blubbering idiot. Harry appeared to still be regarding her in some form-perhaps curiosity. Maybe shock? Looking down at the food, he ran a hand through his hair before looking back at her.

"You didn't have to do that. Thank you, Daphne."

She flashed him a tentative smile,"Don't mention it. You did the same for me."

A few silent moments passed between them.

"Well," Daphne drawled out, "I just thought I would drop this off."

Gesturing back to the takeaway,"I can let you get back to your work."

Turning to leave, she'd taken a few heavy steps to leave before Harry called out to her.

"Wait."

Halting midstep, she closed her eyes and dared to hope.

"Did you order some for yourself?"

She couldn't help but let out a breath, realizing that she'd been about to leave without her own food. She looked back at him, embarrassed as she pointed toward the bag, "Yes, I did. How silly of me."

"I could use a break. Would you care to stay and join me?"

When she nodded, Harry grabbed a chair for her from the desk behind him and they settled in, making due with what space was still open on his tabletop. She brought Thai food for both of them and was overjoyed to find that he liked it.

As they ate, she listened intently as he told her about solving his first case and the progress he was making on closing out the paperwork.

"You'll have to tell me where you went. This food is fantastic."

"I tried to find the place that you said was your favorite, but no luck. I found this instead." Daphne paused, thinking about her excursion into Muggle London. "I have to admit something…" she inserted.

"What's that?" Harry looked up at her as he took another bite of his food.

"I didn't have any muggle currency on me." Daphne covered her face in embarrassment.

He paused his chewing, "How did you pay for it?"

"I transfigured some parchment in my bag into pounds."

"You realize that I could cite you for that," Harry said jokingly as he took another bite of his food.

She gave him a playful look, "I'll have you know they tried to give me change and I refused to take it. I promise I plan to go back again. We could always go there on our date this weekend," Daphne offered, "Although, I was hoping we'd try out that new place that opened up in Diagon."

Harry cleared his throat, which caused her to pause.

"Actually, I'm going to Hogwarts this weekend."

She swallowed. Embarrassed by how casually she'd just mentioned going on a date and here he was with other plans. However, it wasn't as though it wasn't part of their plan to have a date night each weekend. He hadn't mentioned prior to this having another commitment.

"There's a match this weekend. Gryffindor's opener," he offered additionally.

"Wasn't the first match a few weeks ago?"

"It's one of the years the schedule rotates. Slytherin and Hufflepuff played the first weekend."

Her stomach twisted uncomfortably at Harry's unintended rejection. He must have sensed a shift in her demeanor.

"Sorry, I should have told you sooner."

Daphne gave him a half smile in an attempt to recover, "No problem. It's perfectly understandable that you'd want to go." As she shifted her food around she had an idea, "Maybe I could go with you."

Her heart was pounding in her chest once she'd put the offer out there. It felt as vulnerable as placing her very heart on the table for him.

Based on Harry's reaction, she knew instantly that her alternative suggestion was not well received. Not angry by it, but she could see the gears in his mind working to figure out a way to decline her offer.

"Actually, it's fine. I think that I have some things to do with my mother this weekend," she immediately backtracked, chastising herself internally for even thinking about it. To her despair, Harry didn't even say anything to acknowledge it. He merely nodded and continued eating his food, an awkward silence now filling the space between the two of them.

Thankfully, Harry found a way to bring the topic over to something else to help ease the unspoken air that she'd introduced into the conversation. She readily accepted the change in topic. Even though the rejection continued to eat at her, she was at least glad that they were moving on.

Harry finished his food before she did and resumed working on his report, but welcomed her to stay until she was done. Needing to retrieve something to continue his report, he excused himself to walk down to a filing room.

Being left alone with her thoughts did not help anything as her disappointment about this weekend seeped in. Disappointment that Harry didn't want her to go with him; disappointment that she wanted Harry to want her to go with him.

Daphne picked at her food, no longer hungry. As she set her container down on his desk, her eye caught on a copy of the Prophet in a stack of papers that he had on his desk. The edge of a familiar image sticking out at her. Hesitating, she looked back towards the filing room that Harry had disappeared into and didn't see that he had come out. Inching her fingers across his desk, she pulled slightly at the edge to get a better view of the page that it was open to.

There was a drop in the pit of her stomach when she saw the same photo of Ginny Weasley that had stared at her over the breakfast table. The article had been in the middle of the paper. There was the small likelihood that maybe he hadn't made it through the rest of the paper, or he'd sought out that page intentionally. The thought ripped through her that maybe he'd spent time throughout the day taking it out to look at.

She jumped when she heard the sound of a door shutting. Glancing up, Harry had his head focused on the items that he'd grabbed from the room. It gave her time to slip the Prophet back in his pile before he had returned to his desk.

She tried not to seem too jarred, but for the third time that day, some aspect of her day had soured.

"Finished?" he asked, dropping the additional files on to his desk.

She hummed a confirmation and offered him a tight smile. "Listen, I need to get going," she rose from her chair, putting on her coat and collecting her bag before Harry had even had a chance to sit back down.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "You're welcome to stay…"

"I need to go," she relayed more firmly, as she started to back away from him, "I hope you can finish your report." And with that, she turned and fled home.

When Daphne awoke the next morning, there was only one person on her mind that she had wanted to talk to. Deciding to take the day off of work, she sent a last minute letter to Professor McGonagall; she put in a request to have Astoria meet her in Hogsmeade at The Three Broomsticks.

Her hands hugged the warm cup of tea in front of her. She looked up to see Astoria was grasping her own cup while one of her hands lightly tapped the side of it. She'd been initially worried that her sister might stand her up, considering they had yet to say anything to each other since the beginning of the school year.

"How's school?" Daphne asked tentatively.

"It's fine," Astoria responded, standoffish.

Recognizing her role as the older sister, Daphne would have to suck things up and break the silence first if they hoped to return to any semblance of normalcy.

"I would like to talk to my sister right now, if that's at all possible," Ok, so Daphne would somewhat choose to take the high road.

She watched as Astoria's shoulders sagged slightly, breaking her resolve, "What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Harry."

"You mean, the boyfriend you didn't tell me about?"

Daphne stared at her knowingly, "You and I haven't spoken a word since you left for school-"

"Also, the boyfriend you wouldn't have if it weren't for me…"

"When did you expect me to tell you?" Feeling her frustration start to simmer, she needed to calm things down before they went further if they didn't want to strain things more than they already were.

"Look, Astoria. I will tell you again. I am sorry for how this summer happened. I'm sorry that you're alone at school this year and that I'm not here with you. I believe that for my future, I made the right choice but I am sorry for how it impacted you."

Astoria considered her apology. As she opened her mouth to speak, Daphne realized that she wasn't done.

"However, that being said. That does not mean that you had a right to seek revenge by mailing my letters."

She was surprised when Astoria smirked in response to her addition.

"Again, I point out, it got you a new boyfriend, didn't it?"

Daphne couldn't help but let out a breathy laugh at the statement. She shook her head. Astoria clearly didn't-

"I'm sorry. That I mailed your letters," she followed-up softly. "But at the same time, you're welcome."

Daphne rolled her eyes, knowing her sister and that it was the best apology she'd get from her. A few more exchanges and they both appeared satisfied that their rift had reached a conclusion.

Astoria took another sip of her tea. She set the cup back on the table with a clink, "So, what's up? Are you already having troubles?"

Daphne looked down into her drink and watched the steam rising, "No, it's just that I really like Harry." It felt weird to finally hear the words voiced out loud. Feelings that she'd kept simmering inside of her that she hadn't allowed out.

"Well, I would hope so," Astoria said confused, "You're dating him."

"Yes," Daphne replied faintly, realizing her sister was one other party not privy to the front that her and Harry were putting out. She needed to pivot, "But I suppose I'm getting scared by the fact that I really like him."

"It hasn't been that long yet. Have you talked about the future?"

She shook her head, "Not really. I would say we've been more in the 'here and now' sort of stage."

"You should probably talk to him about it. Otherwise, you might run into a lot of misunderstandings," Astoria sipped her cup again, "Isn't that what always happens? The longer you go without being on the same page, the more potential to stir up something. I mean, all of us know how dramatic you can get. Running around catastrophizing everything."

The later comments aside, Daphne couldn't help but look at Astoria in awe, as if she hadn't been the same immature teenager that sent her letters and put in motion all of this mess. "You're right. Wouldn't want any misunderstandings."

Astoria smiled at her. The sisters continued chatting through the rest of the afternoon. Astoria shared all about what her semester had been like so far, her anticipation for meeting Harry over the holidays, and even talking about her own suitors that had grabbed her attention this year. The sisters promised to start writing to each other as they departed. Daphne felt ecstatic to have her sister back.

When Daphne returned home that evening, she had a letter from Harry inquiring if everything was okay following her abrupt departure the previous evening and concerned she hadn't shown to work. She penned a quick reply to him that they would talk about it later before she tucked herself under the warmth of her comforter, hoping that she'd have the boldness that she needed to talk with him soon.

Harry had previously told her that he was scheduled for an all day training and may not make it out by the end of the day, so it was to her surprise when he showed up to pick her up to leave. When she'd looked at her calendar that morning, she'd suppressed the urge to think about the fact that she'd penciled that detail into her calendar, just as a girlfriend would do.

"What's wrong?" he asked as they began to walk out.

"What do you mean?" she played at denial. So much for finding the courage to communicate.

"Daphne, you left without a word the other night. You didn't show up to work yesterday and didn't tell me. I showed up looking for you at lunch only to be informed by someone else that you weren't there."

"I had decided to visit my sister. Don't worry, I don't think one mishap like that is going to raise questions."

"I'm not worried about raising questions with others. I would like to think that I know you well enough by now that I can tell when something's off. What's going on?"

She glanced around the still crowded atrium. Was he really trying to have this conversation right now?

Sensing her hesitation, the next thing she felt was his light grasp on her elbow, leading her towards a side storage closet.

Once they were alone, Harry put up a silencing charm. Daphne couldn't help but think that anyone noticing them slip into the room would just gather further attention.

"Tell me. Please," he asked softly.

She looked up at him. Though they were in a fairly dim space, she could still see the plea in his green eyes.

"You rejected my offer to come with you," she said, crossing her arms; finally breaking.

"I see," Harry paused, "Look, I just don't want to make Ron or Ginny uncomfortable."

"Even with this fake relationship we're playing, I don't know how you can't think that people won't find it weird that you won't even introduce me or have me around your best friends."

"Do you want to be around my friends?"

"I want you to want me to be around your friends."

"It's not that I wouldn't mind you meeting my friends but again, Ginny will be there-"

"I don't want you to be around Ginny!" The words burst out before Daphne could contain them.

The only sound that she could hear was the sound of her panting breaths from her accelerated heartbeat and at her outburst. She squeezed her eyes shut. This wasn't the conversation she was hoping for. She hadn't prepared any sort of plan yet. She felt lost now and uncertain how to get this back on the right path. "I need to go."

She stepped around him to exit the closet. Harry grasping her wrist to stop her from leaving, "Daphne."

She looked back at him. The expression in his eyes was unreadable. They stared at each other without a word passing between them. He started to open his mouth to say something but no words came out.

She slid her wrist from his grasp, "I have to go, Harry. Have a good weekend with your friends."

With that she headed out of the closet and straight to the fireplaces. Harry did not follow.

It was late Saturday afternoon, and she was laying like a bum in her bed. She'd given up trying to preoccupy herself hours ago. She was haunted by images and thoughts of what Harry could be doing right now. She understood Harry wanting to be around his best friends, but her fears rested on him spending the weekend with his ex. Perhaps Ginny would fight for him this weekend. Tell him that she regrets breaking things off. That if things were different, she'd go back and do things over. Maybe Harry would tell Daphne on Monday they'd need to end their arrangement early; stage the inevitable breakup.

Daphne tried to shake the train of thought from her head and focus on the quiet of the house. Astoria was right, she did have a tendency to catastrophize. Her parents had decided to take a weekend holiday, leaving just Daphne. The timing couldn't have been worse.

She'd spent most of the day working in the conservatory to try and keep her mind calm and distracted. Knowing that Harry was at Hogwarts this weekend and trying to prevent her mind from wandering what he was doing at any given moment. Was he simply having fun with his friends? Was he with her? Daphne's mind moved in constant circles between knowing that she was jealous and knowing that she had no right to be. He'd never been misleading in his intentions and she was the fool who went and fell for him.

Curled up in the library later that afternoon after deciding to take the arduous journey up and out of her bed, Daphne was distubed from her reading by the sound of a pop. She looked up and into the eyes of one of their house elves informing her that a guest had arrived through the Floo. Her eyes stared back at the house elf quizzically before flipping the cover of her book shut and exiting the comfort of her chair in order to greet them. There were limited individuals that had been granted access to their Floo. Perhaps it was an unexpected visit from one of her grandparents? They did occasionally drop in unannounced.

It wasn't until she stepped through the doors of the entryway, that her heart stopped as her eyes locked on her guest.

Harry.

How could he be here?

"Harry, wha-"

"I went to Hogwarts. I went to the match with Ron and Hermione but the whole time I couldn't concentrate." He paused, seeming to wrestle with his own words.

"So you left?" She supplied, encouraging him to keep going.

"You probably already realized this but I just did. Daphne, I enjoy spending time with you. A lot. This weekend would have been the first Saturday that we weren't going out to dinner," he licked his lips, as if the realization was still unraveling for him, "And something about that unsettled me. I realized that...I didn't want to miss it. I was sitting there and thinking that I'd rather be here, going to dinner with you."

She stood there speechless. Surely, she was in a dream. Perhaps she'd fallen asleep while reading her book. Harry couldn't be standing in front of her saying these things. She could feel her eyes searching his, looking for a sign of confirmation that this was not real.

But it was.

"Harry," she started, looking down, "I know what we agreed to. I know that I should have never inferred anything the other day. It's just been so hard to understand what's real anymore, or if what's been becoming real for me is the same for you."

She took a shaky breath, "I can't keep questioning things, or following some trail of breadcrumbs wondering if it will lead somewhere…"

"I like you, Daphne," he urgently inserted, "Things are very muddy for me as to when things changed, but at some point they did and I've failed to be clear." His gaze was intense.

"I like you," he repeated, his voice growing more firm.

His green eyes locked on hers and she felt her heart beat furiously in her chest. Her limbs began to feel numb with anticipation as his head tilted down toward her. Staring back at him, she hoped he could read the consent in her gaze. The last thing she saw was him swallow before his head dropped again.

On instinct, she closed her eyes, and felt soft hesitant kisses against her lips. Her own lips moved just as timidly in return before she felt his arm reach around her wait and drag her into him. She felt on fire and the light kisses evolved into something deeper. She felt charged by him, as if his kiss was breathing life into her. What path they each took to get to this moment didn't seem to matter. For the first time in a long time, they were on the same page.

A/N: Thank you to everyone for your reviews on the last chapter and the feedback! I'm still looking to grow in world building and story development so I have appreciated the thoughts that were shared. I'll be curious to see what all of you think about this chapter and then the final two. Thank you, as always, for reading! The last two chapters will probably return to posting once a month. I appreciate every favorite, follow, and comment!