Chance Encounters
A/N: This is just a one-shot idea that wouldn't leave me alone until I posted it, so here it is. A big thank you to HPDG fanreader83 for stepping in to beta this for me.
Daphne was exhausted but keeping busy was better than waiting and worrying. Besides, she had gotten accustomed to being involved in this past school year, having abandoned her family's neutrality in the face of a bleak future of being ruled by a madman. She had just finished helping the youngest Weasley sibling, she'd just found out her name was Ginny, bring a wounded girl in for healing and while Ginny stayed behind to calm down the girl, she decided to go back out and look for anyone else who might need assistance.
When she emerged from the great hall, Daphne was surprised to see the former Gryffindor Keeper, she couldn't remember his name, as he relieved Neville from carrying yet another too-small body into the makeshift morgue to one side of the great hall. She nodded to Neville and he gave her a tired smile after wiping his brow.
She was about to continue on when he surprised her by speaking. "Helping for everyone to see now, Daphne?"
She gave him a sardonic smile before replying. "It'll be all over one way or another soon so there's no need for secrecy anymore. I just hope you're right about Potter or I'm going to have to go down fighting. I won't live under his rule, I just won't."
She had provided the resistance with food, supplies and information as much as she could while still keeping a low profile and pretending to accept the new regime in the school. Her family's neutrality could no longer stop her from fighting for her little sister's and her futures, it just hadn't been out in the open until now.
Neville reached out one tentative hand and squeezed her shoulder before dropping it back to his side. "You and me both, Cousin."
Daphne was a little embarrassed by her snort-laugh but she knew her distant cousin wasn't one to judge her about small stuff like that. She had a feeling of being watched though and nearly looked around even though she knew they were almost certainly alone. She tried to give him a genuine smile as she began to part from him. "See you around."
She emerged into the dark grounds of Hogwarts and lit her wand soundlessly as she began to search the grounds for survivors or bodies but she hoped for finding someone living as she'd seen enough death for a lifetime. Her search was not productive at first but soon after noticing that Neville was talking to someone she couldn't identify in the dark and distance she saw a humanoid shape on the ground and rushed over to it.
It turned out to be a younger boy in Hufflepuff robes and she frantically searched for signs of life but after a diagnostic spell confirmed he was already dead; she lost her fight to keep from breaking down and crying. The boy looked to be the same age as her little sister and it was all just becoming too much for her.
Recovering her composure, she looked at him again and for some reason started speaking her thoughts aloud, maybe she was going mad. "You should have gone home like my little sister, young one. You'd still be alive, still have a lot to look forward to…."
She stopped and realized that he might be better off if the dark lord actually won, she'd choose death over life under him herself. She sighed and noticed his eyes were still open and seemingly gazing up into the sky. Slowly moving her hand over his face, she closed his eyelids as she murmured, "I hope you are in a better place. Don't worry, I won't let them do anything more to you, I'll keep your body safe."
Suddenly, that feeling of not being alone hit her again and a burst of adrenaline had her whirling around looking for whoever it was with her wand ready and a curse on her lips. The Slytherin blushed as she realized that nobody was there but then she became suspicious and slowly looked around more carefully. It was dark and it might be hard to detect someone under a disillusionment charm and her feeling about being observed had been strong.
She relaxed upon realizing that her feeling of someone being there was fading and she decided that she'd been scared over nothing. However, there was nobody else near her and Death Eaters could be returning at any time, she didn't know when the hour would be up and she just hoped Potter wouldn't be stupid enough to go to the dark lord and get himself killed. She levitated the boy's body and hurried him to the great hall as quickly as her exhausted body could take her.
Daphne woke abruptly and found herself stretched out on a cot, covered with a blanket and had no idea how she had ended up there. After the celebration of their victory over the dark lord, well, Potter's victory really; she remembered huddling in a corner of the great hall, too strung out and paranoid to sleep even though she was desperately tired. Then… she woke up here and she didn't even recognize the room.
Somebody had taken care of her and she sent a silent thought of thanks to whomever had done this for her. She'd normally suspect her best friend Tracey but she'd had to flee their world when the rumours of her mother's blood status had come out and Daphne hadn't seen her for months. Thinking of Tracey made her consider owling her friend to see how she was but her stomach rumbled and her first priority became breakfast. However, the angle of the sun seemed to imply it was more likely time for lunch, or maybe even tea time.
Forcing herself up, it seemed that it would be a challenge to find any part of her that didn't hurt. However, it was a good hurt in a way, there was a future now, at least there would be one if she could placate her parents. Knowing what they'd think of what she'd been doing this school year meant that confrontation would not be pretty. Still, she'd worry about that after finding something to eat.
She emerged from the room to find she was near the great hall and she immediately had heard the murmurings and movements of many people. She looked back into the room and realized someone must have put up a silencing charm as she'd heard no hint of this within the room. She began to wonder how much her unknown benefactor had done for her sake. There were a lot of people needing care, why would someone have done so much just for her?
Her hunger drove her on and forced her to put such questions aside for now. She wasn't sure of the reception she'd get; aware that few of her fellow Slytherin students had stuck around like she had and Daphne felt conspicuous in her robes lined with green and silver. She also noted that her robes were dirty and even slightly damaged. For that matter, the Greengrass heiress felt a little grubby and when she pulled a lock of her hair over to examine it, it confirmed she was in desperate need of a shower.
Still, her hunger would not be denied so she decided to brave the possibly unfriendly confines of the great hall in search of sustenance. She found a door that was already ajar and peeked in to see that she drew little attention other than a few fleeting glances. She was near the part where covered bodies were waiting to be claimed and she quickly looked away but had noted that there seemed to be fewer than before. She also saw some people who looked more put together than people who had fought last night sitting at the tables that were in rather a jumble so it would be hard to say which house's tables were which.
Daphne saw an unused part of a table not that far away so she quickly walked over to it wondering how some of the people had gotten the food she saw at occupied parts of the tables. She had barely sat down when a plate, cup and utensils appeared along with pumpkin juice, tea and sandwiches and she was very thankful for the Hogwarts house elves. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation and she quickly served herself some tea and a sandwich to keep from attracting too much attention with her hunger.
She ended up drinking and eating more than she normally would before she felt sated and finally found the time to wonder what to do next. Trying to go home held no attraction although she would like to see that her little sister was fine with her own eyes. She had nothing to write to Tracey with unless she ventured down to the dungeons to see how her dorm might have fared but again, that held little appeal at the moment. She decided to look for some way to help and had only begun to stand when she heard a familiar voice shout "Daph!"
The young woman nearly cringed at attracting attention but she had recognized the voice and was overjoyed to see her best and only real friend alive and well. She greeted Tracey with a big hug as they both babbled out their relief at seeing each other at last. Her friend was dressed like a Muggle but looked fine and that was the only thing that mattered to Daphne.
She was embarrassed to notice that they were near the Weasley family and noted that the youngest son and Granger were glancing their way. She blushed and started to lead Tracey away to a more private area and was surprised not to see Potter amongst the Weasleys but nearly did a double take at seeing Ginny talking to Finnegan and sitting rather close to him. She'd thought that Ginny would be back with Potter at her first opportunity yet he was not present with them, that seemed odd.
She ended up dragging her friend outdoors as there were a lot of people examining or repairing damage to the castle, which was extensive near the entrance. She breathed a sigh of relief at their now greater privacy but continued towards the lake to have a more picturesque view while they caught up with each other. She spotted an area under a tree that was one of her favourites and headed there only to be interrupted by her friend.
"Isn't this the spot that Potter likes?"
She felt a slight heating of her face at the mention of Potter but tried not to show it to Tracey as that would only add fuel to the fire. "I suppose but he's not here so we can use it."
That feeling of being observed returned but after a quick glance at the surrounding area, Daphne decided to dismiss it. As they settled down with their backs to the tree, she saw Tracey's teasing smile appear and braced for the worst.
"So, are you finally going to make your move on Potter?"
It was the worst all right, why did she have to keep bringing that up? Daphne glared at her friend as she retorted, "That was third year, Tracey, I'm over that crush. I was 13!"
"So that wasn't a dreamy look on your face that I saw when he outflew the dragon in fourth year?"
Not that again! However, before she could rebut that observation, Tracey just had to keep pouring it on.
"What about when you were so relieved after he was alive at the end of the third task? Or when you were worried about him when you heard about the battle at the Ministry? And when you felt so sorry for him after Dumbledore died?"
Her face felt like it was on fire and she didn't want to keep the subject going so she went for a change in topic. "We have more important things to talk about than something that will never happen." It didn't look like Tracey was ready to concede so she doubled down. "Have you heard from Astoria?"
That got to her friend as a frown appeared on her face. "No, should I have?"
"Not that I know of but I haven't heard from her either since I sent her home."
Tracey looked relieved as the responded. "I'm sure she's fine. Your father might be a prat but he'll protect his own."
That had been a feeble attempt at misdirection so she desperately sought a new one only to be extremely grateful when Tracey brought one up for her.
"On the subject of your family, how is the business going? I've heard a lot of businesses are struggling."
Not a pleasant subject but it was much better than being teased about Potter, she could work with that. "Not well and it is bound to get worse. I tried to warn my father about appeasing the new regime so much, everyone will think he was one of them. Money is going to be really tight and he's already warned me that he won't pay for another year of Hogwarts for me after I complained about the instruction this year. Once he hears about what I've been doing, he'll probably disown me anyway. I'll be lucky to get one NEWT if I took the tests now."
She shook her head in sorrow before continuing. "For classes, you didn't miss much. The Death Eaters were rubbish teachers, worse than Umbridge if you can believe it and the remaining professors were being watched and couldn't teach as they usually did."
Tracey gave her a quick side hug and followed up with a suggestion, "Maybe you can still get into healer school anyway?"
Daphne laughed mirthlessly, staring at Tracey with a disbelieving look. "They might be desperate enough to lower their standards slightly but not enough to overlook only one NEWT. Besides, I'll have no way to pay for school anyway. I'm going to have to look for whatever job I can get." She swallowed before continuing gloomily, "Employers will probably judge me by my father and not want anything to do with me."
Daphne felt her chin start to quiver and she lowered her head and hid her face before she could completely embarrass herself. She found herself engulfed in a hug from her friend who murmured reassuring phrases to her. It didn't really change anything but made her feel marginally better.
Days later, Daphne had returned to the bedroom she had shared with Tracey ever since her father had thrown her out of the house. She'd thought she might be able to sell him on her getting goodwill from the winning side with what she'd done but the only thing her father cared about was that she'd disobeyed his orders. He'd also promised to cast her out so by now she probably wasn't even a Greengrass anymore.
She would have gone elsewhere if there had been somewhere else to go but this had been her only option other than living on the street. It just didn't seem fair to Tracey's parents to impose on their hospitality when they were just settling back into their home after hiding and their own employment was still up in the air. She compensated by trying to bother them as little as possible but Tracey wasn't very tolerant of her hiding and would be up to get her soon.
The despondent young woman heard her friend approaching and steeled herself for being criticized again but then she noticed that the footsteps were rather hurried so maybe something had happened. She nearly drew her wand before Tracey burst into the room but her friend's smile reassured her and she left her wand where it was. "Daphne! You have to see this!"
Tracey thrust a copy of the Daily Prophet at her, pointing to an article on the front page. She hadn't stuck around to get a look at the paper so Daphne had no idea what that might be about. She noticed the article was an interview with Harry Potter and tried to keep her face impassive so as not to provoke more teasing from her friend. That didn't keep her from reading right away though.
"I think it is important in these times to come together rather than hang on to divisions of the past or worse yet to create new ones. The Death Eaters are dead, in custody or on the run so anyone trying to make a living shouldn't be lumped in with them. Just because someone is a pureblood doesn't make them a Death Eater. Take Lord Greengrass for example, he may have tried to placate the previous regime but he was never a Death Eater."
She was stunned, why had he spoken of her father in particular? Had they been in contact? Was her father trying to take advantage of what she'd done after throwing her out of his house? Daphne wasn't sure how to feel about it and read the rest of the article to get a better feel for what was going on and to absorb this stunning development.
There was nothing else in the article to indicate why Harry Potter would have mentioned her father so she was as mystified as she'd been when she'd first read that paragraph. This might help her father get his business turned around, an endorsement like that could do him a lot of good. However, that wouldn't help her a bit but then she felt selfish, it would help her sister so it was fine. She'd find some way forward for herself and in fact she ought to get back to Diagon Alley to look for 'help wanted' signs.
Daphne shared her feelings on the article with Tracey, who seemed a bit disappointed that it didn't seem to provide any advantage for Daphne. She assured Tracey that she'd be fine on her own and eventually took her leave from the Davis household to look for a job once again in the most likely place for a job to be. She felt that Tracey was better off spending time with her family than in hanging around with her in Diagon Alley.
She got there without incident but kept her hood up to avoid attention just in case. She made her way around slowly, pretending to window shop but was disturbed to see so many storefronts still closed. There were a few making repairs so that there'd eventually be more stores open but she found no hint of a job in all her searching. She wasn't desperate enough to look in Knockturn Alley, she wanted to avoid that reputation altogether. She was getting hungry and wondered if she should try to get something to eat with what little money she had on her or go back and impose on the Davises again but those thoughts were driven from her head by a familiar voice.
"Hello, Cousin. I almost didn't see you there."
She turned to see a smiling Neville Longbottom and shyly greeted him back. "Hello cousin, I was just looking around."
His smile faded before he asked, "Looking for a job?"
Daphne squirmed internally and wondered how he'd known. She was reluctant to admit it but nodded that the answer was 'yes'.
"I heard that your father was having some money troubles but I'm sure that things will eventually pick up again."
"I suppose."
She'd tried to be noncommittal to avoid continuing the subject but that appeared to be a mistake, he seemed suspicious of her answer.
A puzzled frown formed on Neville's face. "What's wrong?"
She suppressed a sigh and decided that they'd become friendly enough over the last few months that she could admit her problem to him. "My father wasn't happy that I became involved in the fight, even indirectly. He'd told me to keep my head down and appease the new authorities. Anyway, he threw me out and I'm with the Davis family now. I don't feel any more prepared for my NEWT tests than you must be so I'm in a bit of a bind."
He looked more troubled than she'd expected and she felt grateful for his concern even if he couldn't help.
"I may have to have a talk with your father."
She nearly objected but then kept her mouth shut. Neville was now of age and ready to be the Lord of a Sacred 28 house, just like her father so they were peers of sort. She didn't think her father would take kindly to any interference but she knew for certain that his grandmother knew that and decided to keep out of that.
"You don't have to do that on my account."
She saw the new Neville looking back at her, the one who had led the insurrection against the Death Eaters running the school as he regarded her. "Yes, I do. You helped me and our blood relationship might be distant, but it still exists. I'm not going to let you sleep in a corner like you did in the great hall."
Her eyes flew open as she realized who her benefactor had been. "So that was you? I wondered how I ended up on that cot."
Neville got shy for a moment and she wondered what made him regress to the old Neville again so suddenly. "Actually, it was Harry's idea. He's the one who found you in the corner, we did it together."
That was another shock and she could feel her cheeks get hot. Harry Potter had noticed her and helped put her on that cot. In one way, it was thrilling but in another it was humiliating. Had he tucked her in? She had to push on before her embarrassment became too noticeable.
"You have my thanks in any case, Neville. And, um, if you get a chance, pass that on to Potter as well."
Her face was burning and she hoped Neville wasn't in a teasing mood. Luckily, he nodded thoughtfully and after some small talk that helped her recover, he was on his way. She decided to go back to see Tracey, she felt the need to be with her friend again.
Two days later she was lingering at the breakfast table as Tracey was combing through the latest Daily Prophet looking for good news. She found some and Daphne was thrilled to read an article that a new charity with the strange name of "L&JP" had a program to help people get NEWT tutoring and educational assistance for any understaffed positions such as healers, healer's assistants and Aurors. She couldn't believe her luck and they were happily chatting about a brighter future when a rather nondescript owl suddenly landed near Daphne and stuck out its leg to be relieved of its burden.
The owl took off before she got the chance to offer it a treat and she was left with an envelope with her name in unfamiliar handwriting. She frowned at it for a moment and decided to be cautious while her friend huffed with impatience as she checked it for spells. Tracey didn't react further when she opened it and was puzzled for a few seconds until she realized it was an application form for the very programme they'd just read about. She searched the form and envelope for any clue about the sender and her friend ultimately lost her patience.
"What is it?"
She was a little distracted, still trying to figure out who might have sent it to her. "It's an application for the programme we just read about."
"What are you waiting for? Fill it out!" Tracey waved her hand toward the form in question.
Daphne gave her an irritated look as she asked, "Who would know to send this? I'd recognize my sister's or parents' writing and this is neither."
"Who cares? Are you really going to look a gift hippogriff in the mouth?"
Well, now that she put it that way, maybe it wasn't important. She had exchanged a few notes with Neville so she didn't think it was him either but it was time to do something now and ponder later.
A little over a week later, Daphne emerged from the first meeting of those chosen by the charity for help and she was still stunned by her good fortune. She was getting free tutoring and some of it was from respected Hogwarts professors like Flitwick and McGonagall! Her tuition at healer's school would be paid in full and she even got a modest stipend for expenses. The only conditions were that she had to promise to do her best in her studies and spend at least five years as a healer, which was no burden as that had been her plan anyway.
She still felt like she should pinch herself to see if this was a dream when she heard an amused voice say, "We meet again, Cousin."
Coming out of her daze to see Neville smirking at her, she was tempted to playfully smack him for his amusement at her distraction but she didn't feel they were close enough for that. He did earn a glare when she asked, 'What has you so amused, Cousin?"
His amusement was still clear on his face as he responded. "You looked like you'd just been hit with a cheering charm."
She rolled her eyes but answered his unspoken question anyway. "I was accepted into that programme where they help people get trained for important positions. I'm going to be a healer and just days ago, I thought it would be impossible."
His smile changed to be much more friendly rather than amused. "Congratulations, I'm glad this is working out for you."
She became suspicious that this might not be a chance meeting. "Did you have something to do with setting this up? Are you the one who sent me the application?"
Neville looked surprised but quickly shook his head. "No on both counts. I do know something about who did but it's not my secret to tell."
Well, that wasn't at all mysterious. She huffed but she knew her 'ice queen' intimidation techniques wouldn't work on him so she gave up on trying to get him to talk.
"Whoever did it has my thanks."
A little concern showed on Neville's face as he asked, "How is it going with your father?"
Daphne had been surprised when she'd received a letter from her father saying he had changed his mind and invited her back home. By that time, she was content to be with the Davis family as she had ways of keeping in touch with her sister and didn't care to see her parents so much anymore as she still felt a bit betrayed.
"Your talk with him must have worked. I am not disowned or barred from the family home but I have decided to stay where I am anyway. You must be learning how to be Lord Longbottom quickly and I imagine that Dowager Longbottom is a good teacher."
He got a bit shy again before he responded. "It wasn't just me; Harry is Lord Potter and Black and he had your father on his back foot from the beginning. He's the quick learner of the two of us."
She'd heard the news of his ascension, of course, and Witch Weekly loved to portray him as bachelor number one of the UK. He was also reputed to be richer than the Malfoys had ever been. The fact that he had once again come to her aid was amazing to her. I mean why would he do that for someone that he'd never spoken to?
Neville gave her a nod and a small smile as he spoke again. "Well, I'd better be going. It was nice to see you again, Daphne."
"And you as well, Neville. Goodbye."
Watching him walk away, she was torn between enjoying her good fortune and wondering who might be responsible for it.
Three weeks after the tutoring had begun, she was only days away from taking her NEWT tests and had fallen into a routine that she found comforting. Life was returning to normal and both of the Davis parents had jobs again, although Tracey was still looking. Life was really looking up for Daphne and she was determined to enjoy her time at the slowly recovering Diagon Alley.
After some urging by her little sister, Daphne had decided that she could spare one afternoon from her NEWT studies and made her way down the alley towards the newly reopened Fortescue's Ice Cream shop. She just hoped that the nephew of the man who had originally owned the shop had ice cream as good as his predecessor. She was excited to see her sister, of course, but one cannot pass up some good ice cream when they have a chance.
She saw Astoria right away and gravitated towards the table for two that already had her favourite sundae waiting for her, her sister was always thoughtful. Her sister got up and greeted her with a hug that made Daphne relax right away. As they divided their attention between their treats and catching up as sisters do, Daphne noticed when Astoria's mood changed and she seemed ready to bring up an important subject.
Daphne was speculating about some message from her father but it turned out to be more obscure as she wasn't sure what her sister was trying to bring up at first.
"I'm a little concerned about you, Daffy."
She had tried to control her reaction to the nickname she despised but it must have shown on her face as her sister rolled her eyes and continued.
"You can't be only focussed on your career and not have a life of your own. You need to get out more, meet people."
She had to suppress an urge to roll her eyes at her younger sibling, that had always been a difference between the sisters as Astoria was much more social. Daphne was just fine with her life as it was but it was hard to convince Astoria of that fact.
"We've been over this countless times, Tori, and I'm still fine with my life. I see you, Tracey and her family, I'm not a hermit. I'm finally getting a chance I thought I might never have and I have to make the most of it. I assure you I have fun too, I don't just study."
Daphne didn't like the smile on her sister's face, she was up to something and then a glance behind Daphne and an even bigger smile on Astoria's face clinched it. She was tempted to look over her shoulder to see what Tori was looking at but decided to concentrate on glaring at her sister.
"There's someone who wants to meet you."
Morgana, she was going to have to hex her sister! Tori was trying to set her up with someone! She wanted to let her sister have it but she also didn't want to make a scene in public.
Tori quickly leaned over and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "You can thank me later."
If the youngest Greengrass truly thought she'd be thankful, she was becoming delusional. Daphne gritted her teeth to get through whatever this was with as much dignity as she could manage. Her sibling was beginning to stand so she decided to get up too but kept her focus (and glare) on her sister.
Meanwhile, Tori was reaching out towards someone with a welcoming smile and said, "Let me introduce you two and then I'll get out of your way."
If this was one of the gits from Slytherin who kept trying to hit on her, sister or not Tori was in big trouble. She turned as someone took Tori's hand and bowed over it and she was puzzled by dark, messy hair, who….?
"Harry, this is my sister Daphne."
Daphne dimly realized that she was probably gaping like a fish when she found herself staring into the mesmerizing green eyes of Harry Potter. She only came out of her stupor as her sister poked her and hissed, "Daph! You're being rude!"
With a blush adorning her face, she distractedly extended her own hand towards Harry's waiting hand as she heard Astoria snicker at her reaction. She was definitely going to hex her sister.
"It is good to finally meet you, Heiress Greengrass."
She momentarily thought to correct him but then realized it was probably true. After his letter, it was unlikely that her father had passed her over for his title. She barely came up with the proper response in time.
"It is good to meet you as well, Lord Potter-Black." She glanced at her smirking sister who had her purse and looked ready to leave and wondered how these two had met.
Her younger sibling spoke to Harry as she passed them by. "Please take my seat, Harry, and call my sister Daphne. I'm sure she'll make it official once she gets her brain working again."
She fired a very quick glare at her sister who probably didn't even see it and then turned back to Harry who was looking a bit uncertain, probably due to her continued silence and undoubtedly a stunned expression on her face.
"I'm very sorry, Lord Potter-Black. As Tori said, you can call me Daphne. I had no idea you were coming; Tori gave me no warning at all."
A smile had begun to form on his face but then there was a flash of disappointment and he gave her a very quick, slight bow. "If this is a bad time, I can leave, Daphne. You can call me Harry."
It seemed that every single drop of her blood was rushing to her face in that moment and she reacted without thought as she reached out and grabbed his nearest hand with hers.
"No! I didn't want to make you feel unwelcome. I'm just surprised, that's all."
She realized what she'd done and quickly retrieved her hand but Harry didn't seem offended at all, in fact, he looked pleased. That gave her the moment she needed to regain her aplomb and gestured towards the now vacant chair at her table and said, "Please, sit. We can order something for you, if you wish."
Harry smiled and then as he sat a server came up to them, removed Tori's empty dish and asked, "Your usual, Harry?"
The raven-haired man laughed and teased back, "I may be hanging out here too much already. My usual will be fine, David."
The still somewhat overwhelmed woman had retaken her seat by then and was surprised that Harry was already a regular here, this place had been open less than two weeks! He might like ice cream even more than she did.
"I'm curious…" Daphne hesitated but Harry's smile as he looked at her expectantly allowed her to continue. "How did you and Tori meet?"
Harry huffed out a laugh and shook his head. "She ambushed me, actually. She was suddenly there like a whirlwind, thanking me for what I'd done. I can understand how she surprises you, she does it to me too."
A nervous chuckle escaped her lips before answering. "That's my little sister for you. She can talk to anybody, anytime." She became curious when Harry looked a little embarrassed.
"Ummmm… anyway, when I realized that she was your sister, I somehow ended up admitting that I wanted to meet you and well, … here we are."
Her face was heating up again, this was getting repetitive. He looked as embarrassed as she felt and she wanted to break the silence so Daphne asked, 'Why would you want to meet me? We've never spoken, at least, not that I can remember."
Was it possible for her face to melt? She was beginning to wonder when suddenly the server was back and they took a break as Harry got his own sundae. He looked at it for a moment and then faced her again and he might have been even more embarrassed than before if that was possible.
"We've had some recent encounters; you just wouldn't know about them."
Her mind flashed back to recent events, wondering where she might have been so oblivious as to miss the fact that he was present but couldn't think of when that could have been. It must have been at Hogwarts but she'd been very aware of her surroundings due to the danger during the battle, Daphne couldn't comprehend how she could have unknowingly met him then. Her attention snapped back to him when he hesitantly started to speak.
"The first time… was just outside the great hall. I saw Neville helping Oliver take in a body and I realized that I should speak with him. However, then you popped up and I had no idea you were cousins although later, Neville told me you are distant cousins. Anyway, I thought it was great that you helped Neville and the others, I'd had no idea."
Her face must be glowing by now but she felt she needed to say something, anything. "I finally took a side, against my father's wishes. I couldn't just stand by and watch…." She ran out of things to say and stared down at the melting remainder of her own ice cream.
After a few moments, he spoke again. "The second time was when I had finished talking to Neville outside. I was headed towards the forbidden forest and saw you with the body of a young Hufflepuff."
Her eyes must be as big as saucers as she stared at him. She had felt like she was being watched but she'd looked, how could she have missed him? He answered her unspoken question.
"I have an invisibility cloak that I was using to sneak out. Anyway, you seemed to know I was there so I left. I just… you seemed to care so much, it really impressed me."
She tried to think of something to say but nothing came to mind, she felt totally overwhelmed.
"The next time was the day after. I was still feeling stressed and wanted some time to myself so I told Ron and Hermione and went to my favourite spot by the lake, again under my cloak so nobody would see."
That was when… she felt her stomach drop when she remembered what she and Tracey had talked about. If he'd heard…. He nervously cleared his throat and she nearly flinched.
"I was so into my own head that I didn't realize you were there until you sat down. I was thinking I'd just move a little away and we wouldn't bother each other but then I heard my name and…" He sighed, ran his hand through his always-dishevelled hair and sheepishly continued, "I eavesdropped. I'm not proud of it but… I guess it was something I needed to hear. It got me thinking about the future again. I know you didn't do it on purpose but it helped motivate me."
Surprise helped her recover from acute embarrassment. She had helped him? Really?
"I also was talking to Poppy – um Madam Pomfrey – and she's … she's really proud of you. She told me how you treated students in an abandoned classroom when the Carrows started complaining about her patching up all of their punishments. You took some of the heat off of her, you really took a chance to help. I was even more impressed."
She couldn't deny it, it was the truth but she couldn't take all of the credit as she wasn't the only one who tried to help. "I had help. Some younger Slytherins smuggled food, potions and supplies to me so I didn't have to get them all myself. Headmaster Snape actually discovered me, admonished me for not being more careful. He put up wards to keep the room from being discovered by the Carrows or anyone else who shouldn't know. I was shocked as I'd thought he was one of them, the Death Eaters I mean, but he wasn't."
Harry nodded solemnly and directed those hypnotic eyes of his on hers again. "I didn't know until the night of the battle; I had no idea either. He was one of the bravest persons I have ever known."
Maybe some humour could loosen up the mood. "He was a bit of a git though."
Harry burst out laughing, more than her small jest called for but she was blushing with pleasure at that point. It must have worked to reduce the tension as Harry finally started to eat his ice cream when he recovered and she started finishing up hers. Somehow, the silence between them wasn't uncomfortable anymore.
She had finished what was left of her ice cream but she was finally talking to him and didn't want it to end anytime soon so she asked a question. "What are you up to now?"
Harry nodded to the question and smiled at her and Daphne's heart may have skipped a beat.
"I'm studying, for NEWTs, etiquette, for managing my family assets and getting ready for the Wizengamot. It's a lot to catch up on but I also wanted to help others, that is what you motivated me to do. When I heard about your predicament, I understood that there must be a lot of others in a similar situation. So, I started a charity, started some programmes, stuff like that."
He'd been speaking openly at first but then seemed a little embarrassed again and it finally hit her who had helped her start realizing her dream. "You? You're behind L&JP?"
He looked around furtively, she must have blurted out a secret so she covered her mouth but before she could apologize, he relaxed and cast a spell around them. A privacy spell no doubt.
"Yes, in honour of my parents. I didn't want it tied to me though so if you could keep it to yourself…."
In that moment, she realized what the initials meant and that everyone owed more to this man than they realized. "I won't say a word and I hope I didn't expose any secrets. I'm sorry."
He smiled at her and her heart fluttered again. "No harm done, nobody seemed to notice. We're lucky it's not crowded yet."
There was one last thing she needed to know. "Did you happen to send me an application for the educational programme?"
He blushed but nodded before answering. "I didn't identify myself because you wouldn't know how I became aware of your situation but you gave me the idea so I wanted to make sure you'd apply."
He was cute, thoughtful and generous; there was a lot to like about him. "Are you really single? That's what Witch Weekly is saying…."
She wanted to slap herself, that was so bloody obvious, not to mention potentially intrusive.
He blushed but gave her an amused look, he had caught her meaning. "I also wanted to meet you because of what your friend teased you about. I didn't know anyone in Slytherin had been on my side and liked me."
Daphne was going to die of embarrassment, she was convinced of it.
Harry looked at her shyly as he began to speak. "Would you like to go out sometime?"
A date? Could her luck possibly get any better? "Sure!"
His bashful smile morphed into a full, happy grin and her heart seemed to flutter in her chest again. She wasn't going to hex Tori after all. Daphne might even have to thank her.