* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART FOUR
Brave New World
Chapter 35: Revelations
"Are you really okay?"
Daphne sighed and looked up at Harry, "I am fine and the more you ask me that, the more annoying it gets."
"I know," Harry said sheepishly while he leant against the door. He was wearing a nice shirt and smart shoes because they were getting ready for dinner at Grimmauld Place.
Daphne turned back to the mirror and continued to put her make-up on.
"It's just…." Harry said slowly, "Even though you say that you're fine, what happened was a bad thing and it was a big deal and-"
"And what? You don't think I'm okay?" Daphne asked, "Do I seem like I'm not okay?"
"Yes," Harry said. He looked her right in the eye, "You're a bit snappier than usual and a bit jumpier too. I don't blame you for that, but I want to help you, and I can't do that if you keep telling me that you're fine when you're not."
"I am fine," Daphne assured him, "I hate Fawley, but I know that he was punished for what he did. Yes, I feel stupid for acting like a vulnerable little girl because that's not who I am. They called me the ice queen for a reason, and I should have cursed that bastard and told Bill as soon as he started his shit."
"Hindsight is a wonderful thing," Harry said, "Everyone says they would do things differently with hindsight. Daph, what happened to you…I think most people would have been scared, and that's why Fawley did it. I can guarantee that you aren't the first person that creep has blackmailed, but you are the first person to call him out on it, and that is why they call you the ice queen."
Daphne turned around and smiled at him, "I think that's the sweetest thing someone has ever said to me."
Harry gave her a boyish lopsided smile; it was the smile that had made her fall in love with him.
"Don't look at me like that," Daphne said, "We're already late."
"And?" Harry said, "We're always late."
Daphne smirked, "Yeah…that's true. Why ruin our bad reputation by showing up on time?"
Harry just grinned.
"You guys are so late! You missed the starter!"
"Sorry, Hermione, it was my fault," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "It took me forever to decide what to wear."
"Never mind, you made it in time for the main course," Sadie said before Hermione could stress or fly off the handle any further.
Draco shot Harry an amused look as the Gryffindor took his seat next to him.
"What's the look for?" Harry asked innocently.
"You are so lying about why you were late," Draco whispered.
"Yeah," Lilly cut in, "You two are always late, and we aren't stupid."
"Most of the time, it genuinely is because Daphne can't decide what to wear, to be fair," Harry whispered back.
"And I'm also not the one who got a special nickname after frolicking with my boyfriend in the dorm room," Daphne whispered as she slipped into her seat between Harry and Lilly.
Lilly's cheeks flushed, "Oh shut up."
Neville looked a little too pleased with himself as he looked down to hide his smirk.
Harry shot Daphne an amused look, "Nice comeback."
"They don't call me the ice queen for nothing," Daphne said with a smirk that Harry hadn't seen for a while.
He grinned, "The bitch is back."
Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "You aren't supposed to be happy about that."
"Don't get me wrong; there's nothing wrong with the soft, warm inner you," Harry promised her in a whisper, "But I fell in love with the ice queen."
"I think I'm going to vomit."
Harry rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Hermione."
Hermione smiled innocently from where she had been standing behind them, "I was just waiting for you to finish your conversation so I could ask what you wanted to drink?"
"Wine," Daphne said, "I'll have red. He'll have white."
Harry raised an eyebrow at her, "Since when do you order for me?"
"Since you got predictable," Daphne remarked, "It's all you can drink now, isn't it? White wine?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed grudgingly.
"And your okay to do that?" Neville asked, eyeing his best friend carefully.
"Wine is fine. Do not ever let me near whiskey, though, because that's my achilles heel," Harry said honestly.
Daphne smirked, "I'll make a proper pureblood of you yet."
Hermione shook her head in amusement, "You two are on good form at the moment."
Harry smiled slightly and put his arm around Daphne. While Hermione got their wine, Harry surveyed the room. He never knew who would be invited to these gatherings, Susan always was, but she only showed up sometimes. Ron and Ginny were sometimes invited depending on whose house they were at.
Sadie and Theo were sitting across from Harry and Daphne, Neville and Lilly were sitting beside them. Draco and Hermione were on their other side. Further up the table sat Susan and Percy and Ginny and Blaise.
"Where's Ron?" Harry asked curiously; he assumed that he had been invited since this was Hermione's house.
"Working," Draco replied, "It's a busy weekend apparently."
"Fair enough," Harry said. He made a mental note to catch up with Ginny later. He hadn't spoken to her for a while, and he wanted to find out how she was getting on.
The small talk came to an end when Hermione brought Harry and Daphne their wine then served the main course. Once they had finished their meal, they all headed upstairs into the drawing-room to drink Draco's expensive whiskey and catch up.
"Hey, Gin."
Ginny smiled weakly at Harry, "Hey Harry."
"You look tired," Harry noted.
Ginny shrugged, "It's getting more and more difficult to sleep."
"But you're okay though, aren't you?" Harry asked.
Ginny nodded, "I'm getting pretty bored of sitting around the house all day with Zara and the kids while everyone is at work, but yeah, I'm okay."
"The kids?"
"Beatrice and Billie," Ginny explained, "Blaise's younger siblings."
Harry nodded, "So I gather Blanche has been helping you a lot?"
Ginny frowned, "What makes you say that?"
"Oh, she talks about you at training," Harry answered, "I figured you must be pretty close after her rant about how great you were in class the other day."
"Yeah…well, Blaise has been busy with the house, so Blanche has been helping me with stuff," Ginny said slowly, "What rant are you talking about exactly?"
"It was in Law and Ethics," Harry replied, "The situation was about a pregnant woman. Theo was saying because she was young, she probably didn't have N.E.W.T's and wouldn't be successful, then Blanche took him down a few pegs by saying she had a close friend who aced her N.E.W.T's and would be an excellent role model to her kid."
Ginny nodded, "Uh, yeah. Look, I need to talk to Hermione, but we'll catch up later, okay?"
"Okay," Harry said, frowning after her as he wondered what he had said wrong.
"Hermione, do you think we could talk in private for a second?"
Hermione looked up; she was sitting on a sofa with Sadie. The two women were drinking wine and laughing, sitting more closely together than Ginny had seen them sit before.
"Yes, of course, Gin. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," Ginny forced a smile, "I just want to talk to you about something."
"Come on out onto the balcony then," Hermione said. She got to her feet, propped the door open and led Ginny out.
They sat down, Hermione on the ground with her back against the wall, and Ginny on the one seat that could fit on the tiny little veranda.
"You and Sadie are close these days," Ginny mused.
"Yeah, well, that will happen when your fiance and their husband are practically boyfriends," Hermione said with an amused smile.
Ginny chuckled, "How close are you? If you don't mind me asking?"
Hermione frowned, "Uh…why do you ask?"
"I just noticed that you seem closer these days," Ginny said with a shrug, "You sit closer together, you know? It's almost….intimate."
"Well," Hermione said slowly, "I guess we kind of are intimate without being intimate, if that makes sense? Draco and Theo are really close, so that means that Sadie and I do spend a lot of time together. We enjoy each others company on an intellectual and personal level, but I suppose we do like to be near each other. We read in the library together, or if we'll eat dinner together if the boys are at work. We spent a lot of time this summer under a blanket on the roof garden, just talking about life, debating whether divination was real."
Ginny nodded slowly, "You care about her. That much is obvious when you talk about her."
"I do care about her," Hermione agreed.
"Would you go as far as to say that you love her?" Ginny asked.
"In our way, yes, Not in the same way that I love Draco, but yes. Now, what is with the loaded questions?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I think I might have made a mistake when I married Blaise," Ginny admitted.
"Oh?" Hermione asked, "In what way?"
"Well, I…" Ginny trailed off, "I've slept with a lot of guys, but I wouldn't say I particularly enjoyed sex that much. This is TMI, I know, sorry."
"It's fine," Hermione said with a smile, "Go on."
"Part of me did it to rebel, being the youngest kid and all," Ginny said, "And part of me loved the thrill, but the sex was never mind-blowing. Not until Blaise, but that's because he knows lots of nifty charms and – I'm going totally off-topic sorry – anyway, the point is…."
Hermione watched her friend in amusement; she had no idea where this was going.
"I had doubts before I married Blaise, but I did it anyway because I think it's the best thing for the baby," Ginny said calmly, "But I think deep down I've known since Daphne snogged me in a broom closet during the war that I'm not really that straight."
"Yes, I can understand that," Hermione chuckled, "I have experience of hot, blonde Slytherins making me question my sexuality."
Ginny looked up in surprise, "You said you and Sadie-"
"Weren't intimate, apart from the one time that we were," Hermione said with a sheepish smile, "Draco and Theo were there. It's a long story and totally off-topic. Honestly, Ginny, I don't think anyone is completely into one sex. That's one thing I've learned since the war and since becoming friends with such a vast range of people."
"Yes, I know," Ginny said honestly, "But I think I'm veering very much to one side. Like, I don't mean 50/50. I'm talking 90/10, and it's all Blanche's fault, well and Daphne's. It's kind of Daphne's fault too."
"What's my fault?"
Ginny jumped as Daphne peered out from the slightly ajar balcony door.
"That Ginny's a lesbian," Hermione replied bluntly.
"Oh, I called that!" Daphne said, squeezing herself out onto the balcony, "You don't kiss like a straight girl."
"Daphne," Hermione muttered as the blonde girl sat down on top of her, "You're not helping, and you are crushing my leg."
Daphne kicked Hermione's leg out of the way, "No, I'm not. Stop being a drama queen. How did you come to this earth-shattering revelation then, Gin?"
Ginny shook her head in amusement, "Because of Blanche bloody Zabini, and what do you mean, I don't kiss like a straight girl? How many girls have you kissed exactly?"
"A few," Daphne said with an amused smirk, "You, Susan, she doesn't kiss like a straight girl either but don't tell Percy that."
"So how do you know what a straight girl kisses like then?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.
"Well, Tracey, Sadie and I all kissed each other in fifth year, just for curiosity sakes, you know?"
"No, because Gryffindors don't do that," Hermione said.
Ginny nodded, "That's a Slytherin thing."
Daphne shrugged, "All the same, Tracey was definitely straight. Sadie? I mean, I thought she was, but I'm not so sure ever since her and Hermione's foursome."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "And what about you, then? Because I'm doing the maths in my head, and I reckon you've kissed more girls than guys."
Daphne thought about this, "Yeah, I'm four for three. But the mind-blowing sex I have with Harry, like in every room of our cottage in Devon, that is how I know I'm mostly straight."
"What's your ratio?" Hermione asked.
"Who can do that?" Daphne scoffed.
"90/10," Ginny said, "Girls to guys."
Hermione weighed it up, "I think I'm 70/30, guys to girls."
"Well, Sadie must be good in the bedroom!" Daphne grinned.
"Come on then. What's yours?"
"Oh, to hell with it, if we're being honest," Daphne snorted, "50/50."
"50/50?" Hermione snorted.
"Yeah, I may or may not have thougth about asking Lilly's opinion on foursomes after your story," Daphne said with an amused grin, "But Neville would never go for it, and she'd need a bit of convincing, which is a shame because she's cute, for a Ravenclaw."
"Whose cute for a Ravenclaw?"
Daphne looked up as Sadie popped her head out, "Lil."
"Yeah, fair point," Sadie mused, "Why are you talking about Lil being cute?"
"We're just discussing our gay ratio," Hermione said, "What's yours?"
"70:30," Sadie answered.
Daphne snorted, "So the 30 is Hermione then since she said the exact same thing."
Sadie shot Hermione an amused look, "What's yours then? Girls all the way except for Harry?"
"No," Daphne scoffed, "Blaise was also rather enjoyable. He knows all these nifty little charms that just make you-"
"Okay, if you two want to continue this conversation privately, that's fine with me," Hermione exclaimed as she got to her feet. She stumbled because Daphne kicked her, and Sadie grabbed her hand.
"Could you not fall to your death from my balcony?" Sadie asked.
"Could you tell your best friend not to be such a pain in the arse?" Hermione countered.
"Daphne, stop being a pain in the arse."
Daphne snorted, "God, Sadie, do you always do what your girlfriend tells you to?"
"When she's right, yes."
"And no denial," Daphne tutted, "What a little pureblood scandal you two are."
Hermione shook her head in amusement, "You're drunk."
"I'm moderately tipsy."
Sadie smiled in amusement, "Ginny, make sure she doesn't fall to her death."
"I will," Ginny chuckled as the other two girls left the balcony.
Daphne got herself comfy against the wall, "So I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little bit proud of the fact that I turned Harry Potters girlfriend gay."
"Then got engaged to Harry Potter?" Ginny snorted.
"I know, right? It's almost like I planned it," Daphne said as she raised her hand and said, "Accio wine."
The wine glass flew out of the open door into her hand, and Sadie yelled, "Don't you fucking dare pour that on unsuspecting muggles like last time!"
Daphne rolled her eyes and muttered, "No wonder she and Hermione are so happy together, bloody killjoys."
Ginny snorted at that and looked out at the view of the street.
"I didn't plan it, by the way," Daphne said offhandedly, "I just thought you were hot."
Ginny raised an eyebrow, "Thanks, but you kinda gave me an existential crisis here."
"Nah, you married into a pureblood family, it will be fine," Daphne said honestly, "Just talk to Blaise. He's normally cool with whatever. And if you have an affair with a girl, nobody is really going to care. I mean, it's not the biggest scandal to come from the Zabinis. Look at his brothers. That was too far, even for half-brothers."
"Were they really sleeping together then?" Ginny asked.
"Yep," Daphne replied, "And Zara is normally on board with whatever, but she was not okay with that. Belinda is more interested in sex than relationships because her job is so stressful, and Blanche is a total – oh my god – you're totally into Blanche!"
Ginny grimaced, "Do you wanna yell that louder? I don't think all of London heard you," she said irritably.
"Sorry," Daphne said sheepishly, "But wow! You want to fuck Blaise's sister-"
"Daphne!"
"Sorry."
"Jesus, you are drunk," Ginny said with a shake of her head, "Aguamenti!"
Daphne shrieked, "You bitch!"
Ginny smirked, "Sober yet?"
"I take back everything I said about that hot make-out session," Daphne huffed, "You're a terrible kisser, Weaslette."
When Ginny and Blaise got back to High Top House, Ginny actively avoided bumping into Blanche. However, that did not go well because Blanche was in her bedroom.
"Uh, hi?"
Blanche raised an eyebrow at her, "Hi. What's up with you?"
"Nothing," Ginny lied.
"You're a terrible liar," Blanche snorted, "What happened at the Malfoys?"
"You can't call it the Malfoys," Ginny snorted, "The only Malfoys there are Abraxas and Elladora, and they live in a portrait."
"Draco will always be a Malfoy, even if he says he's a Black now," Blanche said with a roll of her eyes, "He's pretentious, and he has a fucking pet peacock."
"Called Princess," Ginny grinned.
"You have got to be kidding."
"Nope," Ginny said, falling onto her bed and sighing.
"Seriously, what's up?"
"Nothing really," Ginny replied, "I just had a chat with the girls tonight."
"And why is that making you act all weird?" Blanche asked curiously.
Ginny pushed herself up in her bed, "Because I discovered that none of my friends are completely straight. Apparently, everyone has a ratio."
"Oh yeah, they do," Blanche agreed.
"What's yours?" Ginny asked curiously.
Blanche grinned, "99:1. Guys really don't do it for me. What's yours?"
"90:10," Ginny replied honestly.
"In favour of guys?" Blanche checked.
"No, in favour of girls," Ginny said, eying Blanche nervously, "Probably down to a really hot make-out session with Daphne during the war."
"Oh," Blanche said with a grin, "Well...Daphne Greengrass...I mean, I would so go there; she is hot."
"She is," Ginny agreed, maybe a little bit too quickly, "And unsurprisingly, her ratio is 50:50. She's kissed more girls than guys, but Harry is a sex god, apparently. I mean, I thought he was pretty average."
"Maybe that's just cause you're not that into cocks," Blanche said with an evil grin.
Ginny snorted, "Shut up."
"Does Blaise know about this ratio of yours?" Blanche asked curiously.
"No, and that is a conversation I'll be saving for after this bloody baby is out of me," Ginny added with a sigh, "I'm just so sick of being pregnant."
"Yeah, it does last a long time," Blanche teased, "Have a dragon next time; they only take two months."
"Fuck you," Ginny muttered, throwing a pillow at her friend, "You're never going to have to go through all of this shit. I envy you."
"Ah well," Blanche shrugged, "I won't, which is okay because I don't think I'll ever be the most maternal, but that's why I like being with you."
Ginny looked up in surprise, "What do you mean?"
"I enjoy you being pregnant without having to ever do it myself," Blanche said with a shrug, "I mean, I like kids and all, but getting impregnated is not high on my priorities."
"Mainly cause that will involve a dick," Ginny said bluntly.
"Chiefly because of that, yes," Blanche said with a chuckle. She rolled onto her side and said, "Is Blaise going to come to bed with you tonight?"
"I doubt it, he says I grumble in my sleep," Ginny muttered, "And apparently I get up to pee at least three times even though I don't remember it."
"You do; you pee all night," Blanche snorted, "You sleep pee. Clearly, I'm just a heavier sleeper than Blaise because I just laugh at you and go back to sleep."
Ginny rolled her eyes, "But you know Blaise, he needs his beauty sleep."
Blanche grinned, "I'll stay with you tonight. You keep being an asshole and rolling onto your back. I mean, I don't know how many times I have to tell you, it's dangerous for the baby if you-"
"I know, I know," Ginny cut her off, "But I can hardly control what I do in my sleep, can I?"
"Apparently not."
"Do you think we spend too much time together?" Ginny asked as she got to her feet and opened the door to the bathroom, "I mean, you're in here more than Blaise is."
"That's because Blaise is more of a girl than I am," Blanche snorted, "He needs his beauty sleep. He complains when you kick him because his poor little leg hurts the next day."
Ginny couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, "I know, but even when we're not in here, we're together. I mean, we read together, or I test you about stuff to do with Auror training, or we talk about baby names. Do you think that's weird?"
"Honestly, Gin," Blanche shrugged, "I like your company. I'm quite happy to sit and read with you in the drawing-room because I like being close to you."
Ginny nodded, "Yeah. Me too," she said simply as she slipped into the bathroom.
Once she was out of earshot, she turned the shower on and hit her head against wall, "Fuck...just...fuck."
"Are you going to tell me why you've been so quiet since we got home?" Harry said as he took his shirt off, "I've done something wrong, haven't I?"
"Not tonight," Daphne said honestly. She was sitting in bed with a book open in front of her.
Harry frowned, "Not tonight? How much more cryptic can you get?"
Daphne sighed, "I should have mentioned this sooner, but with everything else going on, it just didn't take precedence. Hermione and I talked a lot when you were in isolation, and she said something about the war."
"Oh fuck," Harry muttered, "What did she say?"
"She said something about you and her," Daphne said, "The way you were back then."
"Stop skirting around the issue," Harry said bluntly, "It's about sex, isn't it?"
"Yes," Daphne said, she looked up at him, "She said the way you can be when you're stressed is how you were with her, all of the time."
"Look, neither of us were in a good place," Harry said as he looked out of the window into the night, "And I just got…carried away."
"Carried away?" Daphne asked coolly, "So if your job is getting stressful and you get carried away in the bedroom and hurt me, that's okay?"
"Daphne-"
"You can't use sex as a form of anger management, Harry," Daphne cut in, "Especially not when you're sleeping with your best friend, and it's her first time. I mean, how insensitive were you? You must have known she was a virgin."
"Yeah, I was an insensitive prick," Harry snapped, "I was an arsehole, and I feel shit for it! If I could go back and change it, I would in a bloody heartbeat, but I can't."
Daphne crossed her arms and stared at him.
"I don't know what else you want me to say?" Harry asked with a sigh, "I don't know how you're interpreting what she told you. I didn't get off on hurting her or anything; I was just a bit…too eager. I guess that's the polite way of putting it."
"That's one way of putting it," Daphne muttered.
"When I realised I had hurt her, I felt fucking awful," Harry said, "I went out and kicked the shit out of an old tree stump, then I sat with my head in my hands and cried because she deserved the world, not that."
"It's different when you're like that with me," Daphne said with a sigh, "I mean, I'm a big girl, and I can handle it. I mean, most of the time, I even like it."
"Don't joke," Harry said, "Not about that."
"I'm not joking," Daphne promised him, "But I just…."
"But what? Is this why you've not been sleeping with me? Because I thought it was about what Fawley did-"
"It is, but Hermione mentioned this to me around the time that whole thing with Fawley started," Daphne replied, "So I guess there's a part of me that's scared. Not of you, exactly, but what happened with Fawley has shaken me, and I'm not shaken easily."
Harry stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her, "You have to realise, Daphne, that I was a completely different person back then. In my mind, there are two Harry's and most people think it's War Harry and Post-War Harry, but it isn't."
Daphne leant into his embrace, "No?"
"No," Harry said, "It's pre-Daphne and post-Daphne. You were the catalyst, not the end of the war, or going back to school, not befriending Draco, none of that. It was you coming into my life that changed everything. Sometimes I don't think you realise how much you mean to me."
"Sometimes maybe I take it for granted," Daphne admitted, "And I shouldn't. I'm sorry."
Harry kissed her lightly, "I'm sorry too."
"But I still don't think I'm quite ready to have sex yet," Daphne added.
"That's fine," Harry promised as he drew her in and kissed her forehead, "I'll never force you into anything or try to push you when you don't feel ready. You know I'll always be here, regardless."
Daphne sighed and shut her eyes, "I love you, Harry."
"I know," Harry murmured, "I love you too."
When Daphne stepped into the kitchen, it was to find Harry nursing a cup of coffee. He looked up the moment he saw her and said, "Cuppa?"
"Tea, please," Daphne said with a smile, "You look like you've been up all night."
"I got some sleep," Harry shrugged, "But I was thinking about stuff."
"You going to tell me what stuff?" Daphne said.
"It's not important," Harry said honestly, "It's just work."
"Is he lying, Ana?" Daphne asked calmly.
"No, he has been up since 6 am, though," Anastasia's portrait said.
Daphne shot Harry a concerned look, "Did you remember that we're picking Teddy up today?"
Harry glanced at the clock, "You should still have time for a cup of tea, though. Do you think we should start discussing adoption with Andromeda? It's been thrown about as an idea, but I think we need to have a real chat now."
"I would agree," Daphne said as she accepted the hot cup of tea from Harry, "But there is a part of me that's scared to have that conversation because…."
"It makes it real," Harry nodded, "I know, I've been feeling the same. I definitely want to do it, though."
"So do I," Daphne promised.
"Then we'll do it," Harry said.
* ~ TBC ~ *