* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART FOUR
Brave New World
Chapter 50: She's Not the Cheating Kind
A/N: The chapter title is from the song:
She's Not the Cheating Kind by Alan Jackson.
"Come on, Ted, why won't you stop crying?" Harry asked as he paced the floor with Teddy.
"He's still in pain, Harry," Neville commented.
The little boy had his hand stuffed in his mouth, and he was screaming hysterically. Harry was starting to lose the plot, "What more am I meant to do, Nev? The mild pain potion hasn't worked, he doesn't seem to want to be cuddled, but then he screams more when I put him down! He doesn't want milk or water. If Daphne was here, she'd be able to settle him right down."
"She's only in Shetland," Neville reminded Harry, "You can always floo her. She'd be able to nip through and settle him, then head back."
Harry sighed, "But then I'm admitting defeat at the first hurdle, Nev."
"He's teething Harry," Neville said. He pushed himself to his feet and put his hand on Harry's arm, "And the full moon was only a couple of days ago. I'm sure she'll cut you some slack."
Harry sighed, and Teddy screamed louder.
Neville took the little boy from his arms and started to pace up and down, bouncing him up and down gently, "Floo Daph."
"Fine," Harry said, accepting defeat and throwing some floo powder into the fireplace.
When he floo-ed, he got through to the house-elf in the kitchen, who patched him through to the fireplace in her bedroom. Because it was a reconnection within the same house, the fireplace did not roar as it would have done otherwise.
Harry had opened his mouth to shout her name, but when he saw her with Bill, he closed it straight away. She was sitting on the bed in her silk and lace pyjamas, with her back to Harry and her hand in Bills…
Knock. Knock.
Daphne opened the door by a crack and peered out. She had expected one of the sisters to be outside the door, ready to interrogate her, but she had not expected to see Bill.
"Do you mind if I come in?" He asked.
Daphne drew the door back and let him in. The moment he saw her, he looked awkward, "Oh, sorry. I didn't realise that you were…."
"I was just getting ready for bed," Daphne explained.
"I'm sorry, I can go," Bill said. He averted his eyes, "I was just coming in to have a quick chat about the case before tomorrow."
"It's fine," Daphne said, although she felt self-conscious all of a sudden. She slept in flimsy satin or lace pyjamas all of the time, but she hadn't expected Bill to come into her bedroom, "Do you reckon there's something off about the case?"
Bill shook his head and perched on the end of her bed, "Not as such. I was impressed with your negotiation earlier though, I mean, it wasn't how I would have done it, but-"
"I know it wasn't," Daphne cut in, "But the moment I saw the snake emblem on the front door, I knew that your nicey-nice way wasn't going to cut it."
Bill looked up in surprise, "There was a snake emblem on the front door?"
"Uh-huh," Daphne smirked, "The only people of wizarding heritage with snakes carved into their doors tend to be of Slytherin descent, and I have a way of talking to them that works better than your way."
Bill raised an eyebrow at her, "Your way involved bullshitting them."
"I may have told a few alternative truths," Daphne admitted, "Is that really so wrong if it removes a dangerous object from a house and saves future lives?"
"Well," Bill sighed, "It just wasn't how I would have done it. You know fine well that we get a commission from the bank on every curse we break, and Julie is paying Gringotts damn well for our service, free service, my arse."
"Hey, it worked," Daphne pointed out, "Sometimes I think you forget what house I'm from. It must be all that noble shit of Harry's rubbing off on me."
Bill laughed, "You know, I'm kind of glad you mentioned Harry because I wanted to talk to you about him. About you and him, actually."
Daphne frowned, "Okay…?"
"I just…I know it's not my place to say this, so feel free to hit me, but I just feel like it might be a mistake for the two of you to adopt Teddy at the moment," Bill admitted, "I mean by all means have him over every weekend and take him on holidays but adopting him full-time…."
"Why would it be a mistake?" Daphne asked defensively.
"From my experience, having a baby…it doesn't tend to do good things for your relationship," Bill admitted, "Fleur and I were stupidly in love, we didn't have fights, we just laughed together and travelled together and had sex all of the time, too much information I know."
Daphne raised an eyebrow at him.
Bill ignored her and continued, "Then we had Victoire, and everything changed. We were tired all the time, angry all of the time. We stopped having fun together, and we started to resent each other, Merlin Daphne, sometimes I think we hate each other, and quite regularly, I think we're only roughing it out for Vic."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Bill; I really am," Daphne said sincerely, "But Harry and I aren't you and Fleur."
"I know you aren't. You two are younger, you have even more promise, and I don't think you should throw that away for a kid who already has a grandmother to raise him," Bill said boldly.
Daphne crossed her arms over her chest, "You're right. It isn't your place to say that. Harry loves Teddy with all of his heart. I mean, how can he not? I do too. It's going to be hard, but I have faith that we're strong enough to get through it."
"I had faith too," Bill admitted, "I thought what I felt for Fleur was stronger than anything I had ever experienced. I thought that it was a bond that couldn't be broken, but when you're young and stupidly in love, it's easy to think that lust is love. When you're stuck in the monotony of go to work, come home, change nappies, go to bed, wake up exhausted…you start to realise that the love isn't there anymore."
Daphne sighed and placed her hand on Bills. She wasn't sure if he had noticed, but he had tears in his eyes, "Bill, I don't think this is about Harry and me at all. I think this is you projecting what's going on with you and Fleur onto us."
Bill sighed too, "Maybe it is," he agreed.
"You need to get yourselves out of this funk," Daphne said gently.
Bill looked out of the window to the dark sky, "I guess I'm just feeling a bit unloved at the moment. Not very manly of me, I know."
Daphne smiled, "Well, you shouldn't because Fleur does love you, and Victoire loves you. Your family all love you, and Harry and I love you."
From behind them, they heard a scoff. Daphne spun around and saw Harry's head disappearing from the flames.
"Was that…" Bill trailed off.
"That was Harry, and from how quickly he disappeared, I think he just came into that conversation at the wrong moment," Daphne admitted. She bit her lip, "He's a recovering alcoholic, Bill. I just…I don't want this to tip him over the edge when he has been doing so well."
"Shit," Bill muttered, "I'm sorry. Look if you need to go-"
"I do need to go," Daphne said quickly.
"Will you be back in the morning?" Bill asked, "Because I think you're pretty invaluable to this case."
"I'll try to be," Daphne promised as she shoved her feet into slippers, "But if I'm not, I'm sure you'll manage just fine without me."
She grabbed a silken dressing gown from a hook on the back of the door and threw some floo powder into the fire.
She stepped inside, shut her eyes and said, "Potter Manor."
Harry felt sick when he rematerialised in Potter Manor. Neville looked at him cluelessly. Harry scoffed again and took the silent, now fast-asleep child out of his arms.
"What is it?" Neville asked.
Harry just shook his head and took Teddy upstairs. He lay him down in his cot and heard the floo roar downstairs. He knew who it was, and he was well and truly prepared for a fight.
When he stepped into the drawing-room, she was there, with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Don't you dare," She said as his eyes flickered towards the drinks cabinet behind her.
"Don't I dare?" Harry hissed.
"What's going on?" Neville asked.
"What's going on?" Harry scoffed, "She's sleeping with Bill behind my back, Neville, that's what's going on!"
Neville snorted, "Come on, Harry. No, she's not."
"I know what I just saw, Neville!" Harry snapped irritably.
"What you saw was a snippet of a conversation," Daphne argued.
"And you're paranoid," Neville agreed.
"Oh, so you're on her side, are you?" Harry fumed.
"Her? I have a name!" Daphne hissed, "And I've done nothing wrong!"
"Are you serious?" Harry snapped, "You told him you loved him!"
"As a friend!"
Harry shook his head in disbelief and looked at Neville, "Are you still defending her?"
"Yeah, Harry, because this is your paranoia speaking. You think she's too hot for you, so you are misinterpreting the evidence again, and I'm not going to indulge it," Neville said calmly.
"Fine," Harry snapped, "Fine! Then I'm out of here."
"Harry!"
"Harry, grow the hell up," Neville called after him.
But he didn't say anything else. He just left, shutting the front door loudly behind him. A shriek sounded upstairs, and Daphne rolled her eyes irritably, "I need to deal with Teddy. Neville, if you find Harry, please make sure that he doesn't drink himself into a stupor."
"Yeah," Neville sighed, "But do me a favour. Okay? Floo Lilly, I know it's after lights out, but she'll break the rules if you need her, and I think you probably do need someone to talk to once you've settled Teddy down."
Daphne nodded, "I will," she promised.
Neville checked all of the usual places for Harry before he started to get concerned. He wasn't outside in his cabin with Dave. He wasn't in the summer house at the back of the garden, and he wasn't sulking at the Quidditch pitch either.
So the next place he checked was Grimmauld Place, in the hope that he had been sensible enough to seek help from Hermione before drinking himself into a stupor.
When he floo-ed the kitchen fireplace, Draco answered straight away, "What is it with you lot tonight? We just got rid of Potter."
"Then I need to talk to you," Neville said, "Let me in, please."
Draco rolled his eyes but stepped back and unlocked the fire. A few seconds later, Neville stepped through and dusted himself off. He snorted when he saw Theo sitting at the table in a dressing gown, nursing a cup of coffee.
"Is there any point in you two having a house each?" He quipped.
"Yeah, whatever," Theo shrugged, "You sound like Harry."
"Where is he?" Neville asked.
"I don't know, but he's not here anymore. He stormed out in the huff," Draco replied.
"Why?" Neville asked irritably, "What the hell did you two idiots say to him?"
"What's wrong with your face?" Draco asked as he let Harry into the house.
"Daphne is having an affair," Harry hissed.
"What?" Another voice said from the kitchen.
Harry stepped in and added, "With Bill Weasley."
"Shut the front door!" Theo exclaimed.
"Do you actually live in your own fucking house, Theo?" Harry snapped.
"No need to be mean to Theo just because you're being delusional," Draco remarked sarcastically, "Daphne isn't having an affair with Weasley. What put that ridiculous idea into your head?"
"Oh, just the fact I went to floo her and saw her sitting on her bed with him, wearing next to nothing, holding his hand and telling him that she bloody loves him!" Harry said quickly.
"That does sound very affair-like," Theo admitted.
Draco scoffed, "No, it doesn't. It's just Harry jumping to conclusions. Sorry to break it to you, Harry, but you do kind of have a track record."
"Jumping to conclusions? What else could what I just heard possibly mean exactly?" Harry snapped.
"Why is Harry jumping to conclusions this time?" A new voice asked.
"He thinks Daphne's having an affair with Bill," Draco said.
There was a snort, then Hermione stepped into the kitchen wearing a pink, fluffy dressing gown, "Are you mad? She's crazy for you; she's not sleeping with anyone else, and especially not Bill."
"No," Harry said irritably, "I know what I saw, Hermione!"
"You thought you saw Severus Snape trying to kill you on a broomstick in first year when it was actually Quirrell, and Snape was trying to save you," Hermione pointed out, "You aren't exactly the most observant person in the world, Harry."
Draco smirked, "She has a point."
"Well, I don't see how I can take what I saw any other way!" Harry snapped, "How would you take it if you saw your fiancé sitting on their bed wearing next to nothing, talking to their boss, holding their bosses hand and talking about love?"
Hermione frowned, "Harry, I am sure you are just misunderstanding whatever was going on."
"What do you class as next to nothing, anyway?" Draco asked curiously.
"How is that relevant?"
Draco shrugged, "I'm just curious."
"She was wearing those bloody short silky pyjamas of hers," Harry said irritably.
"Holy shit, she's definitely fucking him."
"Shut up, Theo!" Hermione and Draco echoed.
"I really doubt she's sleeping with him, to be honest with you, Harry," Draco said, "She has standards, and he's a Weasley, no offence Hermione."
"Not much taken," Hermione said; she shot him a glare.
Harry shook his head in disbelief, "So this is how it is then? Harry is paranoid! Harry is just misunderstanding things! Harry must not tell fucking lies! Well, fine…I'll deal with this in my own way."
"Harry," Hermione called as he stalked down the hall, "Harry James Potter, you better not drink tonight!"
Harry didn't say anything; he just slammed the door and left the house.
"Great!" Neville said sarcastically, "So we all alienated him and brushed him off, making him think he was going mad, so now he's?"
"Drinking," Draco and Theo echoed.
"Exactly!" Neville snapped, "And we have no idea where he's gone because clearly, he doesn't want to be found, which means he won't be in any of the obvious bloody places!"
"Shit," Theo muttered.
"Yeah, shit is a good way of summing it up, Theo," Neville said irritably, "I'm going to go and look for him. If I find him before morning, I'll floo you because we're going to need to sober him up and have him functional before we got to training tomorrow. If they find out he's a recovering alcoholic who just relapsed, he'll be out of his ear."
"Fuck," Draco cursed.
"We're shit friends."
"Yeah, we are," Neville sighed. Without another word to them, he dashed out of the house and began his search for Harry.
When the floo in Lilly's room roared to life after midnight, she knew something was wrong. She immediately silenced the breach of lights out alarm and put a muffliato charm on her dorm room door.
She stuck her head in the flames and saw Daphne sitting cross-legged in front of the fire.
"What have you done?"
"Why do you assume that I've done something?" Daphne asked irritably.
"Because you look guilty," Lilly answered honestly, "What happened?"
"Harry thinks I'm cheating on him."
"Why?"
"Because he saw a snippet of a conversation and interpreted it the wrong way," Daphne muttered irritably.
"What could he possibly have heard that gave him that impression?" Lilly asked incredulously.
"I was in Shetland with Bill; it was an overnight case," Daphne said with a shrug, "I was in my pyjamas, and he came in. We had a heart to heart about adopting Teddy and about how he's unhappy with Fleur, then I told him that lots of people loved him."
Lilly raised an eyebrow at her best friend, "Right, you're being an arse, so I'm coming over."
"How am I being an arse? I've done nothing wrong!" Daphne muttered irritably, "And you can't come through. It's illegal to use the floo internationally."
"Yeah, it is," Lilly agreed, "Which is why I'm not going to use the floo."
"It's also inadvisable to apparate across bodies of water," Daphne pointed out, "Hence why Bill made me get the bloody ferry to Shetland."
"That's true, but I can apparate to Calais with my broomstick, then I can fly across the channel, which will take me about twenty minutes," Lilly said with a smirk, "Then I can apparate from Dover to Potter Manor. So I'll see you in half an hour, don't do anything stupid until I get there."
When Neville eventually found Harry, he was so far gone that there was no reasoning with him.
"You fucking idiot!" Neville snapped when he walked into the room at the top of the Shrieking Shack and saw the empty bottle of firewhiskey.
Harry looked up blearily, "Fuck off, Neville," he slurred.
"No," Neville fumed, "No, I won't fuck off, and I won't let you throw your fucking life away! This is the last bloody straw, Harry!"
"Stupefy!"
It didn't take much to knock Harry out; the alcoholic had already pretty much done it. Neville lifted his best friend and slung him over his shoulder, then he sent a message to Theo via a Patronus.
"Theo. I've found him. Get Draco and come to Potter Manor so that we can deal with this problem once and for all."
The Patronus dashed away, so Neville spun on his heel and apparated to the gates of Potter Manor.
When Lilly walked in, her hair was windswept, and her cheeks were pink, but she looked unphased by her late-night trip across the channel.
"Okay," Lilly said as she stepped into the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove to boil, "I hate that I'm going to be the one to say this to you, but somebody has to."
Daphne watched her friend warily.
"You need to change," Lilly said bluntly.
"What?" Daphne retorted, "But I didn't do anything wrong."
"That's arguable," Lilly said, "Just hear me out, okay? You have always been a flirty person, that's just part of who you are, and with us, that's fine, but what happened tonight was foolish. If I was in your position, I would never have allowed myself to be caught in a room alone, late at night, in the sort of pyjamas you wear to bed with my boss. Straight away, that looks bad."
Daphne frowned but didn't disagree.
"You might not like it, but your life is in the public eye, Daphne," Lilly told her, "You and Harry are the golden couple. Everything you do in public is watched and documented for the entertainment of the nation. Imagine if someone had taken a photograph through a window, it would be front-page news, you would be called a scarlet woman, and it would be a scandal."
"Are you calling me a slut, Lilly?" Daphne asked, hurt creeping into her voice.
"No, Daph, I'm not calling you a slut," Lilly said honestly, "Because if I was doing that, I'd be saying Daphne, you're being a slut. What I am saying is that you need to think about what you do and say, and you need to think about the consequences that those actions have."
The kettle screeched, and Lilly took it off the stove then started to grab mugs out of the cupboard, "Let me put it this way. Say there was a big party, a posh pureblood event, okay? Harry was ill so he couldn't make it and I was on shift. So, you and Neville decided to go together like you did at the Founders Ball."
Daphne frowned as she tried to follow this.
"This event isn't somewhere private where everyone knows us, like Hogwarts," Lilly added, "It's at the ministry, and there are reporters and photographers. One of them snaps a picture of you arm in arm with Neville, smiling or laughing, and they put the headline, CHOSEN ONE'S SIDEKICK AND WIFE: A SCANDALOUS AFFAIR, above it. That can ruin lives, careers and most importantly, reputations."
Lilly put a cup of coffee into Daphne's hands, "You don't want a reputation, Daphne, and if you carry on like this, you're going to get one."
Daphne rested her head in her hands, "Do you really think I'm the one in the wrong here?"
"I didn't say that," Lilly said, "I'm just warning you that you need to tread more carefully in the future because-"
The front door opening cut her off. Both women stepped into the entrance hall and saw Neville with Harry over his shoulder.
Daphne's face fell, "Is he drunk?"
"Oh, he's drunk alright," Neville grunted, "He was a whole bottle of Ogdens down when I found him."
Daphne shook her head in disbelief, "Idiot!" she snapped.
"Don't worry, I've got a way to set him straight," Neville promised her, "But I need to take him out to the summer house and beat the shit out of him to do it."
Daphne nodded. She clicked her fingers and thrust her hand in Harry's direction. He disappeared from Neville's shoulders in a flash.
"What did you just do?"
"Banished him to the summer house," Daphne replied, "We can get in, but he won't be able to get out."
"I've sent for Theo and Draco. I'm going to need the backup," Neville said with a sigh.
"Have a coffee with us while you wait for them to get here," Lilly said. She took her boyfriend's hand and dragged him into the kitchen.
"How did you get here?" Neville asked curiously.
"Apparated to Calais, flew, then apparated here from Dover," Lilly replied calmly as she handed him a coffee.
"She got here in half an hour. I've no idea how Ravenclaw came last in the cup if she can fly that fast," Daphne joked feebly.
"My irritation at you drove me onwards," Lilly remarked, "This is what I was about to say when Neville came in. You're so smart, Daphne, but sometimes you do really stupid things."
"Gee, thanks, Lil," Daphne muttered, "That's a backhanded compliment if ever I heard one."
Lilly snorted, "What I was pointing out was that it's fine to be your usual, flirty self around us because we know that's what your like, and we're all okay with it-"
"I'm not that flirty," Daphne objected, "You make it sound like I flirt with everyone!"
"You kind of do," Lilly said, "You flirt with me."
"We have a thing; I'm allowed to flirt with you," Daphne bit back.
Neville sniggered into his coffee.
"And you flirt with Neville," Lilly continued, "Not that he notices, mind you."
"Does she?" Neville asked with a frown.
"See? Case and point," Lilly said with a roll of her eyes, "Anyway, what I'm saying is that when you're at work or out in public, you can't do that. At the risk of getting slapped, you do need to play the part of the perfect, pureblood trophy wife. You need to hold Harry's hand and make him look good; you need to stick with him all night. I know it's not fun, but it's the life we need to lead because we are all in the public eye, whether we like it or not."
Neville nodded glumly.
"Everything changed when we left school, Daph, and it will all change again once the guys get their seats on the Wizengamot. Then again, when they get their Order of Merlins. They are just going to get more famous; the papers will always want to know about their lives. You and I can be as daft as we want in private, but in public, we're going to be the wives of Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, and we're going to have to play that part."
"I know this is a profound chat, but does this mean you've decided we're getting married?"
"Of course she has. You just need to pull your finger out and buy a ring," Daphne responded.
Neville looked up in surprise, "Really?"
"Yes, really," Daphne remarked, "We saw an alternate future where you were married to Hannah, and she was a lonely cat lady. Unsurprisingly that made her re-evaluate her actual life and go, holy shit, Neville is amazing. I want to marry him."
Lilly hid an amused smirk, "What happened to subtly dropping hints, Daph?"
"I'm too tired for subtlety, and you're insulting my life choices," Daphne grumbled.
"No, I'm not. I'm just telling you to be a little less promiscuous," Lilly said with a genuine smile, "Can't you see how it must have looked from Harry's point of view?"
"I should have thought about that too and taken his side a bit more," Neville admitted sheepishly.
Daphne sighed, "I didn't think about how it looked from his point of view. I just assumed he was jumping to conclusions like he tends to."
Lilly frowned then jumped up, "I've got an idea!"
"Where are you going?"
"I'll be back in a minute!"
"What's she doing, Nev?" Daphne asked.
"I have no idea," Neville admitted, "I've given up trying to work her out. Are you two serious about the ring thing? Does she really want me to propose?"
"Yes, she really does," Daphne replied.
"But she was breaking up with me two months ago!" Neville said. He was utterly bemused.
"No, you were breaking up with her because she had commitment issues. She now doesn't have commitment issues, so she wants a ring instead of a break-up, okay? It's really not that hard to follow," Daphne remarked.
"You are such a bitch when you're in a bad mood," Neville said with a shake of his head, "I honestly don't know how Harry puts up with you."
"Well, now he isn't," Daphne said irritably, "And we were talking about Lilly, not me. She misses you, Neville."
"Yeah, I miss her too," Neville admitted, "I live for the weekends when she comes back."
"So buy a ring, propose to her and bring her home," Daphne said simply.
Neville frowned, "What do you mean?"
Daphne looked at him in surprise, "Oh, I thought you both knew about the loophole?"
"What loophole?"
"With courses like this, there is a bit of leeway where serious relationships are concerned," Daphne explained, "That was why Sadie was able to split her time between Egypt and Britain because she and Theo are married. Engagements work in the same way. Had you two been engaged, she would probably have been allowed to work mostly in Britain at the Auror training complex but go to France every so often for key training."
"Does Lilly know that?" Neville asked.
"I don't know. If she does, she hasn't mentioned it to me, which implies that she doesn't," Daphne replied, "I thought it was common knowledge, sorry."
Neville just shook his head, and at that point, Lilly walked back into the room, levitating Harry's pensieve and holding a silver memory in a phial, "Here's how we're going to get around this one. You are going to watch Harry's memory."
"Don't memories have to be given?" Neville frowned.
"Not if the person is unconscious, and you're getting pretty good at Legilimency," Lilly said with a sly smile. She poured the memory into the pensieve and said, "Watch that from Harry's perspective."
Daphne put her head into the pensieve, and Lilly looked over at Neville, "Did she freak you out, talking about engagements?"
"No, it's what I want," Neville said as he met her eye, "It's what I've always wanted."
Lilly smiled slightly, "It's what I want too. I'm sorry it took me a little longer to realise."
"We'll do it in our time though, okay?" Neville said tentatively, "When it's right for us."
Lilly nodded, "Yeah, let's be honest, Nev. Neither of us is the sort to jump on the bandwagon, are we?"
Neville laughed and said, "No, we aren't."
Then Daphne re-emerged from the pensieve and cursed, "Fuck!"
"See?"
"Yes," Daphne said sheepishly, "That looked exactly like what he thought it looked like."
"Great," Neville said guiltily, "I'm going to have to prepare a good apology for tomorrow morning…."
"You and me both," Daphne admitted.
At that point, the floo whirred to life, "Floo signature: Theodore Nott."
"I told him to bring Draco," Neville muttered irritably while Daphne granted Theo access.
Theo stepped in and brushed himself down.
"Where's your boyfriend?" Lilly asked calmly.
"Yeah, …he's not going to be much use tonight because he's sort of tied up right now…."
Theo let himself into number 12, then ran up the stairs, "Draco! Draco!"
There was no response, "Draco, Nev found Harry!"
When there was still no response, Theo rolled his eyes and opened the bedroom door, "Draco. We need to go and – holy shit."
"Theo!" Hermione shrieked.
Draco groaned, "Theo, get out."
Theo raised an eyebrow at them as he took in the scene before him. Draco's hands were tied to the bedposts with an old Slytherin and an old Gryffindor tie. Hermione was straddling him, wearing a scarlet red corset, and her cheeks were currently about the same colour.
"Taking the whole Gryffindor princess thing a bit too far, aren't we guys?" Theo smirked.
"Theo, get out," Hermione muttered as she grabbed the duvet.
"No point covering up, I've seen it all before," Theo said with a wicked grin, "I just never realised how kinky you were."
"Theo, fuck off," Draco pleaded.
"Sure, I have a thing to do anyway," Theo snorted.
"If you need me, I can use wandless magic and-"
"Nah, you have fun. I'll be fine without you," Theo said as he grabbed the door handle, "Lock the door next time though, yeah?"
"How about you learn to knock?" Hermione countered, chucking a cushion at his retreating back for good measure.
"Ugh," Neville groaned, "Way too much information, Theo. Come on; we need to scare the living daylights out of Harry to make sure he never touches a bottle of Ogden's again. Are you going to be here when I'm done, Lil?"
Lilly shook her head, "As much as I would love to stay, I do need to get back. I'm probably in enough trouble already for sneaking out."
"Well, I appreciate you doing it," Daphne said. She walked around the table, hugged Lilly then kissed her on the cheek, "Thanks, Lil."
Lilly smiled, "Anytime," she promised as she turned to Neville and pushed herself onto her tiptoes. He dipped his head down and kissed her lightly, "Send me a message, so I know you got back safely baby," he murmured against her lips.
"Of course," Lilly replied. She kissed him again for good measure, "I love you."
"I love you too," Neville replied with a smile.
When Lilly turned to leave, Daphne asked, "Neville, what are you going to do to Harry?"
"Nothing irreparable," Neville replied honestly as he and Theo swept out towards the summer house.
When Harry opened his eyes, he felt awful. He had no idea where he was, but the room was pitch-black, and he could hear the distant sound of animals hooting and howling outside.
All of a sudden, a bright spotlight shone on him, and he groaned and shut his eyes tightly.
"This has got to stop."
Harry blinked through the nausea and opened his eyes, "Nev?"
Neville stood above him, as did Theo. They both had their arms crossed over their chests.
"Do you want to throw your life away?" Neville asked, "Is that what you're doing right now, self-destructing?"
"She-"
"She didn't cheat on you, but yes, I understand that it looked that way," Neville said calmly, "However, you are an adult now, Harry. You don't get mad, storm out and get drunk. You sit down, have a cup of tea and talk about it like an adult."
Harry looked down guiltily.
"It's not a game," Theo said coolly, "You're training to be an Auror, and you're fucking good, Harry! Do you really want to chuck all of that away because you can't control your temper and you turn to a bloody bottle?"
"I told you the last time," Neville said dangerously, "I told you to turn to me. Yell at me, throw spells at me, cry on my shoulder. Do whatever the hell you need to do but don't turn to alcohol because it just leaves you feeling emptier than you did before."
Harry swallowed, "Nev, I'm sorry-"
"I'm sure you are," Neville said coldly, "But sorry isn't going to cut it this time."
"Nev-"
"I mean it, Harry," Neville snapped, "There's only one way you can make this right and gain my respect again and do you know what that is?"
"Stop drinking," Harry muttered. He felt like an insolent child.
"Stop drinking, and face your problems like a grown-up," Neville agreed, "Because if you don't, you're going to keep hurting Daphne and do you know what Theo's going to do to you if that happens?"
Harry looked at Theo warily.
"Worse than what I did to Fawley," Theo said darkly, "Because he was just a dick, but she loves you, and you are capable of hurting her so much more because of that."
"I didn't mean to hurt her. I just...I thought she had finally realised what everyone else has," Harry said quietly, "That she's too good for me."
"Grow up," Theo said, "She loves you. What does it matter that she's supermodel hot and your average? She loves you for your little quirks, not for your money or your name or your seat on the Wizengamot. I mean, I don't know if you know how rare that kind of love is from a girl like Daphne, but it's pretty fucking rare, Harry, and it's unconditional."
Harry looked down guiltily, "I fucked up."
"Yeah, you did," Neville agreed, "And do you know what we need to do now?"
Harry looked between them, cautiously, "No…?"
"We need to give you this potion which is going to make you throw up for half an hour straight," Neville said as he held up a foul-looking purple potion in a phial, "That's because you need to get all of the alcohol out of your system before you go into the fucking training centre in six hours."
"Then we need to modify your memories so that if the Aurors go looking, or if the Mental Health Healer you see on Wednesday goes looking, she won't find out that you're an alcoholic," Theo said irritably, "Because what's going to happen if they find out, Nev?"
"They are going to kick him out, and the ministry will lose one of the best Aurors they could have," Neville said, glaring at Harry for good measure.
Harry nodded, "I get it, guys, but my occlumency is good enough that I can keep them out."
"And can we rely on that, Harry?" Theo asked.
"Yeah, can we?" Neville asked coldly, "Because right now, I don't think I can even rely on you to have my back in the field."
Harry's eyes widened, "You mean…."
"Yeah, I mean, I don't think I could rely on you as my Auror partner right now, Harry," Neville said bluntly.
"Neville," Harry said, a little tearfully, "No, I'll always have your back, always, you know that."
"Not right now, I don't," Neville snapped, "Because you know what else we need to do tonight? We need to reverse any liver damage that you have caused yourself before your monthly physical, and I don't think you have any idea how painful that's going to be."
Harry swallowed hard.
"Is this how you wanted to spend your night, Theo?" Neville asked his friend.
"Nah, making my mate scream in pain and watching him spew his guts up wasn't high on my list of priorities, to be honest with you," Theo replied.
"Nor mine," Neville said. With a click of his fingers, he untied Harry's hand and handed him the purple potion, "But because Harry lost his shit and relapsed, that's what we're going to have to do."
"I'm sorry, guys," Harry said, and it was a genuine apology.
"Not as sorry as you will be in the morning," Neville said darkly, "Drink the potion."
When Daphne woke up the following morning, there was a note on the table in Harry's handwriting that simply said.
"Need to work through some stuff. I'll go to Neville's after training tonight – Harry."
This rubbed her up the wrong way, "Work through some stuff?" She muttered under her breath as she put Teddy in his high chair, "No, Harry, you don't get to work through some stuff."
She opened a drawer and pulled out an ornate mirror, "Ostendo Sadie mihi."
The reflective surface glimmered, and Sadie's face appeared, "Morning," she yawned.
"Sorry, honey, did I wake you up?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, but that's probably a good thing. I'd sleep all day given half a chance."
"Well, the Healers did say that bedrest was good for you," Daphne pointed out.
Sadie rolled her eyes, "It's also boring. What's up anyway?"
"I'm just trying to be a grown-up and talk about my problems before I go and make a scene," Daphne remarked as she handed Teddy a banana, "Say hi to Auntie Sadie, Ted."
"Nana, nana, BANANA!"
Sadie laughed, "You enjoy that banana, baby. Now Daph, you were saying?"
"It has been a dramatic 24 hours, during which Lilly somewhat illegally came over from France to knock some sense into me, and Neville and Theo may have tortured my fiancé from the sounds that came from the grounds last night."
"Okay, you're going to have to elaborate on that," Sadie said. She clicked her fingers and said, "Deeley, would you mind bringing me some tea and toast?"
"Yes, mistress Sadie."
Daphne sat down with her coffee in one hand and the mirror in the other, "I was in Shetland with Bill for work. It was meant to be an overnight case; he came into my room to talk to me; I was dressed for bed. He sat down on my bed; we had a heart to heart, and Harry dropped in via floo. It looked bad; he and I fought, he got drunk, then Neville and Theo took him to the summerhouse to knock some sense into him."
"So that's why Theo never came to bed last night," Sadie realised.
"Yeah, where did you think he was?" Daphne snorted.
"Oh, he was next door when I went to bed. I just figured he'd stayed there," Sadie said offhandedly, "But he was torturing Harry instead, apparently."
"I think they were probably reversing any damage to his liver. From what Lilly tells me, that would hurt like hell," Daphne remarked.
"Speaking of Lilly, how did she knock sense into you exactly?"
"She kind of called me a slut," Daphne said with a frown, "Do you think I'm a slut?"
"No, but I do think you're a flirt," Sadie pointed out.
"Yeah…that's pretty much what Lil said," Daphne admitted, "And she has a point. She stole Harry's memory and showed me what happened from his point of view, and it did look like I was cheating on him. The thing I'm pissed off about is the fact he thinks I'm capable of that, you know?"
"Yeah, I don't blame you for that. He should trust you," Sadie said, "A relationship is built on mutual trust."
"Do you trust Theo these days?" Daphne asked her friend.
"Completely," Sadie replied, "Otherwise, I wouldn't let him spend most of his nights next door. I know he's just sitting up talking with Draco or researching something with Hermione in the library, but if I didn't trust him, I'd start thinking he was sleeping with one of them or both of them."
"No, he only does that when you're around," Daphne teased, "Good thing you got pregnant on your honeymoon, or it would be a lottery as to whether it came out blonde or brunette."
Sadie snorted, "Shut up, I've never had sex with Draco, and you know it."
"I know, but it's so easy to wind you up," Daphne said with a smile, "You look good today, you know? There's colour in your cheeks again."
"I'm starting to feel a lot better," Sadie admitted, "I just wish the sickness would go away."
"I'm sure it will," Daphne said, "And do you know the other thing I'm annoyed about? This note he left me this morning. He says he has to work through some stuff, so he'll be at Neville's place, but how does he get to run away and work through stuff while I stay at home and look after Teddy? This whole week is a trial of how he's going to fit into our lives, and like hell would I let Harry away with that in real life."
"So don't then," Sadie said, "March over and tell him to get his priorities right and his arse home tonight if he wants to keep his bollocks intact."
Daphne grinned, "Oh, I love you, Sade. Don't get me wrong, Lil and I get on great, but you're just so brutal, and I love it. You're right. I'll march over there right now."
"I just meant go to Longbottom House tonight," Sadie cut in, "I didn't mean go to his work and make a scene."
"Would I?" Daphne asked slyly.
"Yes, you would," Sadie replied, an amused smile playing on her lips, "You're a drama queen."
Daphne just grinned, "Excuse me, Sadie, I have to go make a scene. Love you. Bye!"
"Love you too, bye," Sadie said in a long-suffering tone as Daphne said, "Terminus."
Sadie disappeared, and the mirror became reflective once more. Daphne checked herself out then turned to Teddy.
"Eat up, baby. Once you've had your breakfast, you're going to Grandma's house so that I can go and yell at Daddy!"
Teddy giggled, and Daphne grinned, "Good to know you're on my side, little man," she said, ruffling his hair as she put on her heels.
"I feel like death."
"Don't say that we didn't warn you," Neville muttered while Theo yawned.
"I'm sorry for being a dick," Harry said miserably as they reached the locker room and started to change for outdoor practice.
"I think you suffered enough," Theo said in an undertone.
"Yeah, I have no wish to do that again," Harry admitted with a grimace, "It hurt so much. It was worse than the cruciatus curse."
"Well, it would do," Neville muttered, "Regrowing cells anywhere in your body hurts, but on a sensitive organ like a liver…."
"Just remember that pain the next time you think about being a stupid twat," Theo said bluntly.
"What are you lot talking about?" Draco asked as he stepped into the room, "And why do you all look like shit?"
"Maybe because we were up all night sorting that idiot out while you were 'tied up', Draco," Theo remarked irritably.
"I did tell you that if you needed me, I'd use wandless magic to get out of it," Draco muttered.
Harry snorted.
"Well, we didn't need you," Theo said, "We managed just fine without you."
"Are you actually pissed off with me right now?"
"Yeah, you were a fat lot of good last night, you arse."
Harry shot Neville an amused look as they began to bicker, "Why was Draco tied up?"
"He was literally tied to the bed. Theo walked in on him and Hermione," Neville replied in an undertone.
"That is more than I ever wanted to know about their sex life," Harry said distastefully.
Neville snorted, "Girls, break it up."
Draco and Theo both glared at him, and Neville looked at Harry knowingly as he waited for the inevitably, "Shut up, Fatbottom."
"Mature guys," Harry said with a yawn.
"You don't get to call anyone else immature, not after last night," Neville warned his best friend.
"Yeah…fair point."
"Are you alright?" Draco asked, and he did look like he genuinely felt bad.
"I'm in agony, but I'll be fine," Harry said. He looked over at Neville, "I've got Nev to keep me on the straight and narrow."
"And Daphne, if she forgives you for that stupid note you left," Neville reminded him.
"I just need to get my head straight before I talk to her, or we'll end up arguing again," Harry admitted.
"Don't spend too long getting your head straight, or you won't have anything to go back to," Neville told Harry quietly, "Trust me on that one."
Harry nodded, and he was glad that they had reached the pitch because it meant he could avoid the subject for a bit.
"Alright, guys, grab your brooms and get in the air! We're doing time trials today!"
They all did so, and Harry knew he should have been the fastest in such a challenge, but he was so exhausted. Draco beat him at every single checkpoint, which would probably bump him and Theo up on the board so that they overtook Harry and Neville's scores from last week.
Around halfway through the practice, an unexpected visitor stalked onto the pitch in black slim-fitting trousers, a low-cut white blouse and 5-inch high heeled boots.
"Oh shit," Theo whispered to Draco.
Draco looked down at Daphne, who had her hair in a bun, her face made up, and her signature rouge lipstick on.
"Harry is in for a world of pain," Draco whispered back.
Harry and Neville were currently setting another lap, so they hadn't spotted the new arrival yet.
"Harry James Potter, get your arse down here now if you want to live long enough to become a fully qualified Auror!"
Sheppard raised an eyebrow at her, "And you are?"
Theo grinned from his broom, "Daphne Greengrass!" he bellowed, "The myth, the legend, the baddest bitch of all!"
Daphne rolled her eyes and threw a curse at Theo wandlessly and silently. Theo yelped and grabbed Draco as his broom tried to buck him off.
Sheppard laughed, "You've got the reflexes of an Auror."
Daphne smiled slyly, "I think I'll stick with curse breaking. I've been told that I don't play well with others."
"I'd get down here if I were you, Potter!" Sheppard yelled with an amused smile.
"Oh shit," Harry muttered. He flew down and dismounted his broom, "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" Daphne asked, "I'm here because you need to grow up and learn to trust me. I'm also here because the whole point of this 'trial' week before the adoption is to see how Teddy will fit into our lives, and you are delusional if you think I'm going to say yes, Harry, go to Neville's place and work out your shit. No, Harry, you don't get to go to Neville's place to 'get your head straight', you come home, and I help you get your head straight. You aren't an irresponsible teenager anymore, you're already that little boy's Dad, and unless you screw it up, you will legally be his Dad very soon. So, swallow your pride and come home tonight, or there will be no adoption, no wedding, nothing. Do you understand me?"
Harry just stared at her.
She raised her eyebrows, "I'm sorry, was I not clear enough?"
"No," Harry said. He cleared his throat, "I'm sorry. I'll be home tonight."
"Good," Daphne said simply. She turned around and said, "Pleasure meeting you Auror Sheppard."
All the other trainees were floating nearby to listen in, so Daphne looked up, "Bye Theo, bye Draco. Neville, make sure he's home before 5.30 pm tonight, or I swear, I will curse you both."
Neville bit back an amused smile, "I will. Bye, Daph."
Daphne waved and left the pitch without another word. Sheppard laughed and smacked Harry on the back, "You've got a real firecracker there, Potter."
"Don't I fucking know it," Harry muttered as he tried to control the redness in his cheeks.
"Back to work, guys!" Sheppard said as he turned back to the pitch, "We've had our dose of entertainment at Potter's expense, come on, back to it!"
* ~ TBC ~ *