A/N: This was written as a contribution to the Haphne Summer 2021 Collection. The collection can be found here: community/Haphne-Summer-2021-Collection/133850/
The collection was started as a way to celebrate 500 members of the Haphne discord server, which is now closing in on 900, come join if you love Haphne: discord dot gg/pKSdvJQvhU
The title of the fic: Punk Rock Princess, is inspired by the song of the same name by Something Corporate.
The title of the chapter: I Have a Date, comes from the song by The Vandals.
I Have a Date
The Tonks residence had become his second home. In fact, it felt more like home than Grimmauld ever did. In turn, he had been spending more and more of his free time here.
Hermione and Ron were still in Australia to help her parents recover from what they'd been through. The reversal process had been much more complicated than Hermione had ever imagined and her parents wanted to stay in Australia for the time being. Ron wasn't about to leave Hermione's side, so Harry hadn't seen them since Christmas time over six months ago.
It wasn't so bad though, things with Ginny had been different after the war, so even though the breakup was mutual and not at all messy, just being at the Weasley house had a sense of awkwardness that was never before present. The absence of Ron and Hermione made that even more prominent, so finding a new place to spend time was a borderline necessity.
The Tonks' home was perfect for him.
Andromeda treated him as her own, yet lacked the smothering nature of Mrs Weasley. Tonks, or Dora, as she was called at home by her mother, was like a big sister and work confidant. Teddy was his escape from everything, he could spend hours playing with his godson and forget all the unwanted attention of the world.
This Sunday, was like many others in that respect, though he lacked some of his normal energy. Tonks had a fair amount of potions on hand that made the long journey and recovery more tolerable but there was an aspect of the recuperation process that only time could fix.
Today, Teddy wasn't a distraction from his dysfunctional relationship with the wizarding world; no, today, Teddy was a distraction from a pair of blue eyes and a set of long legs that kept invading his thoughts.
They sat for dinner. Usually, this was a time for conversation but today Harry had trouble following along. It didn't take much for Andromeda to notice something different about Harry.
'Harry, dear, you seem distracted today,' Andi observed.
He snapped his head in her direction at the mention of his name but he didn't process the rest of the words that were spoken.
'Pardon?' he asked.
'I think I know what has Harry all atwitter,' Tonks said playfully. 'Harry met a girl.'
Harry's face went red and he turned away.
'Oh! At this concert you went to yesterday? A muggle girl?' Andi asked.
They had described the scene and how many muggles they were surrounded by, so she only assumed that meant they hadn't run into any magicals while abroad.
'No, she's a witch,' Harry said after gathering his wits.
'Oh, now that is a surprise. A pleasant one, but a surprise nonetheless,' Andi commented.
'And not only that, she's an Unspeakable and a Hogwarts classmate of Harry's,' Tonks said.
'A British witch at your American concert? And a classmate? Did you know her at school?' Andi asked with genuine curiosity.
'No. Well, I guess I knew her but we didn't interact much. I wasn't exactly great at being approachable or making a ton of new friends. All I remember is that she had a little group of friends, one in each house, Lilith was the Gryffindor, and she was never in the common room because those four were always together. That's mostly what I remember from what Hermione told me,' Harry explained.
'You don't remember if she wore one of those "Potter Stinks" badges?' Tonks asked.
'No! You think I made notes of everyone who did or didn't wear those?'
'Sure,' she replied.
'Well, I didn't. I tried to ignore them the best I could and considering all the other distractions I had at the time, it wasn't that hard.'
'Ok, whatever. But I have a hard time believing you didn't notice Daphne Greengrass at school.'
'Noticing someone, and pursuing a relationship are totally separate things.'
'And you intend to pursue a relationship now?' Andi asked with intrigue.
'If asking her on a date counts, then yes, I do,' Harry said, self-satisfied.
'I think Harry was a little bit hazy when he accepted the challenge,' Tonks speculated.
'I was not—'
'Dora! You know I don't approve of that, and encouraging Harry, that is not what I would call being a good mentor,' Andi said sternly, cutting through Harry's objection.
'Harry's old enough to make his own decisions, but to ease your concerns, I think he was more affected by Daphne's backside than anything he had inhaled that day,' Tonks laughed.
'Now, Dora, no need to be crass,' Andi reprimanded once more.
'Yeah, Dora!' Harry added, drawing out her name. 'No need to be crass. She might be right, though,' he conceded the point.
'Well, that's the point of a date, to find out if there is more to a woman than her looks,' Andi said.
'Don't get ahead of yourself. He has to get her to say "yes" first,' Tonks said, reminding Harry of the challenge she had presented him.
'I think Harry will be just fine,' Andi said confidently and she patted Harry on the forearm in a motherly fashion.
Whether she believed her words or not, their vocalization and the comforting gesture of patting his arm gave him a surge of confidence he tried to store for later. Merlin only knew he would be needing a dose of it in the near future.
He was surprised at how good he felt Monday morning. The day spent recuperating along with the regime of potions really seemed to work and he felt as if he hadn't even made the trip across the Atlantic. As he got out of the shower and towelled off, he was reminded of the one part of himself that didn't feel quite so good.
The bruise.
He looked in the mirror to see the damage. Sure enough, a haze of purple was present, and upon closer inspection, he could make out some letters, P U N K. Daphne's tattoos had really left their mark and even if he wanted to be angry with her, there was a fondness from the memory that only made him smile. He was just glad it was only his shoulder, as he thought of the man she had socked in the nose. She had punched that guy with her other hand, so he likely had the imprints of the word, G I R L, across his face; adding insult to injury.
The bruise would fade but the memory would last forever.
Andi might've been able to help him heal up quicker, but the thought of Tonks finding out more than she already knew made him resist asking for help. Tonks was already unbearable in her teasing and he didn't want to give her any more ammunition, his pride could only take so much.
The bruise was just another reminder of the girl that even sleep couldn't keep from his mind. He recalled the few times he'd seen Daphne at the Ministry, her persona a complete one-eighty from what he'd witnessed over the weekend. She'd always been the model of professionalism. With those legs she could be a model of anything she wanted, he thought. And now that he knew the physique that she was hiding under those less than flattering Unspeakable robes, there was no way he was going to be able to put coherent words together.
That didn't even count what the thought of her smile was doing to him. In their very limited interactions at work, he was quite certain he'd never seen the radiant smile she'd shown him at the concert. That would've been far too memorable—and distracting—and she was nothing but business anytime he'd ever seen her.
He stood in front of the mirror and practised his lines. 'Daphne—Agent Greengrass, do you want to go out with me? Will you go on a date with me? Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to dinner? Hey, babe, wanna catch a movie?'
'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' he said while beating his forehead with the base of his palm.
Yeah, this was going to go great.
He actually had a smile on his face as he entered work that morning, which drew its fair share of double-takes from his coworkers. He was in a good mood regardless of his nervousness about what he would say to Daphne when he saw her; if he saw her. A realization hit him, that in over a year of work he had crossed paths with her no more than a handful of times. That eased his nervousness a little, but then he frowned, he would be disappointed and would probably regret it if he didn't at least make an effort to see her again.
There was one way he knew he could at least have a better chance at running into her so he knocked on the office door of the DMLE secretary.
'Come in,' came a female voice from inside the office.
Harry pushed the door open and entered.
'Auror Potter, do you need something?' The grey-haired secretary looked at him with raised eyebrows. It didn't take a genius to see that she was shocked to see him.
'Well, no. But I have—a request, of sorts,' he said slowly as he tried to come up with the words. This had been a spur of the moment decision and he hadn't exactly thought through what he was going to say.
'I don't think they are going to be giving you any potentially dangerous jobs. I know that's disappointing to you, but I just don't want you to get your hopes up,' she said consolingly.
He had griped enough about that to enough people, that it was well known in the department that he wasn't particularly happy with the lack of action he saw as a law enforcement officer.
'Yeah, I would like that, but that's not what I'm here for today.'
She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips at that.
He continued, 'I'd just like to let you know I'm available to transport files to the other departments for you, if you need the help, that is.'
Her mouth flopped open. She regularly asked others to help her in delivering documents and there were never volunteers. Harry was asked to help with the deliveries occasionally, but he always did the task begrudgingly. So, for someone to volunteer, without any hint of prompting, that probably seemed like a miracle to her. A smile spread on her face.
'So, you've finally come to terms that you are to be the department's glorified delivery boy?'
It was a good thing Harry was in a good mood and had already considered the positives of embracing this role, so he was able to take this tease in stride.
'Yeah, if that's going to be my role I may as well be the best damn delivery boy this department has ever seen,' he said with enthusiasm.
'That's the spirit, and I'm glad to hear it. I don't have anything right now, but be sure that I'll find you the first moment I need you,' she replied happily.
'Can't wait.' He wondered how weird she thought he was acting, it was certainly out of character for him, but all his words were genuine, even if there was an ulterior motive, so he hoped he didn't come across as making fun.
He was disappointed the only deliveries he had that morning were to the Department of Magical Transportation. He couldn't even justify a fake trip through the Department of Mysteries since they weren't even close together.
Lunchtime arrived and he made his way to the Ministry cafeteria. The food wasn't the best but he was generally left alone by people he didn't know, so he would gladly sacrifice a little in food quality for some semblance of privacy. He was standing in the food line analyzing the food for his choice of lunch when he felt a gentle nudge in his arm. It wasn't done with force but its location was right on the spot of hi bruise. He clenched his teeth and grimaced in pain, a low moan came from his throat but he tried to prevent the noise from escaping his mouth.
He turned to see a pair of bright blue eyes filled with mirth looking back at him. Her lips turned up in a victorious smile. She tucked a strand of silky smooth blonde hair behind her ear revealing a single diamond stud earring in her ear, such a contrast from her look a couple of days ago.
'Excuse me, Auror Potter. I guess I didn't see you there,' she said innocently.
His grimace became a small smile. 'I'm sure, Agent Greengrass,' he replied disbelievingly.
'I'm happy to see you survived the rest of the shows,' she said quietly with her head now facing forward.
He appreciated her use of discretion and her attempt to avoid anything being overheard by potential eavesdroppers.
'That's what I do best, apparently,' he replied dryly.
'You'll have to tell me about that sometime.' She turned to him and flashed the same bright smile he'd seen at the show.
This was where he thought he was supposed to ask a question, but first, he had to remember said question. When he finally remembered what he intended to ask, the words got stuck in his throat. He forced a smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Her smile faded, she placed a carton of milk on her tray. She took a step to leave before stopping to look back over her shoulder.
'Don't be a stranger,' she said with a coy smile. Without waiting for a response, she was gone.
There was that phrase again. Was it as simple as it sounded or did it have some deeper meaning? Was she sincere or just being a tease? Did it even matter?
She was in his head and any amount of pondering wasn't going to help him understand any better. He grabbed his tray and found a table where he could eat in peace.
'That's called flirting, Harry,' Tonks said at dinner after Harry had related his lunch-time interaction with the blonde girl that had been living in his mind more and more frequently as the day progressed.
'I know that,' he declared.
'Clearly, you didn't or you'd be telling us about your plans for a date right now. Though, you may have a better shot than I initially thought.'
'Don't let her discourage you,' Andromeda comforted. Her words were a godsend. He knew Tonks meant no malice with her teasing, but it was still nice to hear some genuinely comforting words to help his confidence.
Andi continued her train of thought, 'You are a great guy, Harry. Someone will be lucky to have you someday. You just have to find someone that will treat you like the normal person you are, and not the celebrity everyone thinks you are.'
'And we need you to have another place to go. You can't just be hanging around here with Teddy all the time. He's starting to like you more than me,' Tonks added.
'Maybe that's because I'm actually nice to him,' Harry replied with a grin.
'No! It's because you spoil him and because he already knows he can walk all over you.'
'Just doing my job.' He truly enjoyed the job of godfather.
'Well, if you can date as good as you godfather, you'll have your own kids in no time,' Tonks teased.
'Now now, Dora. No need to rush things. He needs to go on a proper date before beginning to make family plans.' Andi saved him the need to respond.
'And he has to find the courage to ask a girl out before that can happen.' Once Tonks started teasing she didn't easily let up.
'I will. Isn't that right, Teddy?' Harry said defiantly and looked to his godson for support.
'Harry da best,' Teddy cried.
Harry had done well to teach his godson the correct answer whenever he asked him a question.
'That's right!' Harry agreed.
'Chocolate?' Teddy asked.
'Sure.' Little pieces of chocolate were a great way to reinforce the proper behaviour for the young child.
'No!' Tonks exclaimed.
Harry just smiled and handed the boy the little chunk of chocolate. She might be able to tease him, but she couldn't stop him from spoiling his godson.
Harry felt like he was in a constant state of limbo the next couple of weeks. He waited for Daphne to approach him in the cafeteria again, but that moment never came. The most contact they had were fleeting glances as she entered or exited the room. Usually, he thought he could detect a trace of a smile on her face. His grin was likely more discernible.
His deliveries did give him an excuse to visit the Department of Mysteries on occasion and he quickly noted where Daphne's office was. He made a point of walking by her office, whether the delivery took him past or not. He would use his peripheral vision to peer into her office as he would walk by but her head always seemed to be tilted slightly down. It was a shame too because Harry had his lines all thought out, all he needed was just a little bit of eye contact to initiate the conversation. Alas, Daphne would not cooperate.
Anytime his deliveries would take him anywhere close to her department he would take a small detour and walk down the hallway. It was odd how just walking by her office, without even entering the department at all, gave him a little thrill. It was a good thing no one ever encountered him during his aimless jaunts, he didn't have any sort of excuse at the ready so he would've sounded just as foolish as he probably looked.
It was during one of these aimless wanderings—he had already paced the hall once and was halfway through his second pass, ready to turn around—that he was startled as the department door opened right in front of him and a familiar blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl stepped out. He jumped back and a mirthful grin spread on her face as the department door closed behind her.
'I'm sorry, Auror Potter. I didn't mean to startle you.' Something in her voice told him that wasn't exactly the case, but he didn't have the presence of mind to call her on it at the moment, he was startled after all.
'Er, yeah, I didn't expect the door to open, that's all.'
'Well, that's typically what doors do,' she quipped. 'So, are you the DMLE's new errand boy? I've seen a lot of you lately.'
She had? But she always appeared to not notice him walking by, even as he deliberately slowed down.
'Yeah, it gets me out of the cubicle at least,' Harry replied.
'Well, who's the delivery for today?' she asked.
He looked at his hands and remembered he had already completed his delivery.
Had she noticed his hands were empty?
Probably.
'Er, no, nothing right now,' he said somewhat sheepishly.
'So, just leisurely strolling through the lovely D. O. M.?'
'Yeah, I guess. Just wasn't ready to go back upstairs, I suppose.'
She nodded as if that was a reasonable response. 'I can tell you as someone that works here, the place sounds much more interesting and exciting than it actually is. Most of the time it's rather boring.'
'I think it's interesting,' he said, a bit too quickly.
She quirked a questioning eyebrow.
'Well, the people are interesting, at least,' he clarified.
That drew a smile to her face and she nodded slightly.
His heart skipped a beat.
'You haven't met many people down here, have you?' she asked.
'No, I suppose I haven't.'
She didn't respond, and she didn't move. One hand twirled a strand of hair that came down past her shoulders. Her gaze was passive but unwavering.
Harry's eyes on the other hand rarely lingered on the same spot for more than half a second.
Only a handful of silent seconds passed but they felt like an eternity.
It was one of the scenarios Tonks had played out when she had stopped teasing him so much and decided to see if she might be able to be of some help.
What were her words again?
If she will just sit there in silence with you, you're golden. That is as close to a predetermined "yes" as you can get.
Tonks had no problem taking the mickey from him in private but he didn't think she would set him up for public humiliation. No, any public embarrassment would be entirely his own doing.
Yet, she made it sound so easy. Just ask her out, simple as that.
So, why couldn't he clear the lump in his throat? Why did his saliva feel like cotton?
Why was it that, even when he all but knew the answer, the words to the question remained trapped in his throat?
Perhaps it was the unanticipated surroundings. Every time he'd envisioned this moment, it was in her office, with her sitting down. Somehow, her standing in front of him, instead of sitting, was all the more terrifying.
Damn it! What's the worst thing that could happen? And in a moment of sheer incognizance, he started,
'Agent Green—'
No!
Tonks had been adamant that if he was going to ask her out, regardless of where he did it, he needed to use her first name.
'Daphne.' He got her name out, but the rest of the sentence plummeted back down into his revolving stomach.
'Yes?' Her face brightened at the sound of her name as if she knew what was coming.
Her seemingly pleasant response to her name gave him the boost he needed to finish what he had started.
'I was wondering if you'd like to do something this weekend.' He spit the words out in one breath but miraculously enunciated clearly enough that Daphne didn't have to ask him to repeat anything. That, or she knew what he was doing all along and the words didn't even matter.
She tossed the strand of hair over her shoulder. Her smile grew, her eyes sparkled.
His stomach twisted in knots as he anticipated her reply, though he felt her reaction seemed positive.
'Saturday at noon work for you?' she replied.
'Er, yeah.'
Was that a yes? he thought. Wasn't he the one that was asking the questions here?
'Splendid. Meet me at Second Cup Café just down from the Leaky.'
'Sounds good,' he said with a smile. That saved him the trouble of thinking up a meeting place.
'See ya Saturday, Harry.' She smiled in return and turned on the spot and reached for the handle of the door to open it.
'Bye, Daphne,' he said as she walked through the door.
Before the door closed she looked over her shoulder and flashed him her radiant smile one more time.
He turned to walk up the hallway one more time for today, a grin plastered on his face, humming his victory song, 'I have a date, with the cutest girl in town. I have a date, and I'm the happiest boy around.'
'What am I going to do? I have no idea what I'm doing.' Harry said in his worried state.
'You mean, you didn't plan something to do?' Tonks responded.
'No. I thought if I picked something out and told her, she would just shut me down if she didn't like it.'
'That's not the worst idea you've ever had,' Tonks quipped. 'What's your plan?'
'A movie, then dinner,' Harry replied.
'It's a good thing you didn't tell her. That's a horrible idea.'
'Well, I don't have any better ideas. I don't even know what she likes. I have no idea what she is going to wear. I don't even know what I'm going to wear.'
'Ok, ok, calm down. First of all, she's a witch, I wouldn't worry about what she's going to wear.'
'I have no idea what that means.'
'It means she can come wearing one thing, yet still be prepared to change into something else if needed.'
'Ok, that's good. But back to ideas about what to do, she liked the concert, maybe there is a show we can go to.'
'That would be fun,' Tonks agreed.
'No!' Andi declared. 'That's no place for a first date. Pick something that allows you to talk to each other. Being able to move around a little is a good idea too.'
'Teddy, what do you think?' Harry asked since nothing was coming to mind.
'Harry da best,' Teddy said. He had his hair black as Harry's and just as messy. He was occupied playing with his stuffed animals. His favourites were, of course, a wolf, a dog, a stag, and a dragon. He had them all set up in their own enclosures just like a zoo and they were trying to coordinate an escape together.
Harry smiled, that answer always cheered him up. 'That's right, but it doesn't help me much with planning.'
'Sure it does, Harry,' Andi piped in. 'Take her to the zoo. It's interesting enough, and you'll have some privacy but not isolation.'
'That is a good idea,' Harry confirmed. 'I have some fond memories of the zoo.'
'I don't suggest bad ideas,' Andi said with her playful arrogance.
'And after the zoo?'
'You play it by ear. If things are going south, just end it,' Tonks said.
'I'd rather not plan for that,' Harry said, a bit of worry entering his voice. It wasn't like he didn't have those same fears in the back of his mind, it didn't take much to bring them to the surface.
'You always need an eject button, especially you,' Tonks teased.
'She would know. Morgana knows, she's had her fair share of clunkers,' Andi added, causing Tonks to stick her tongue out at her mother.
Harry laughed, and that did make him feel a little better. If being normal meant going on a bad date here or there, it was something he'd have to get used to at some point. 'Ok, but let's just say things are going well. Then what?'
'Hopefully, you find out something she likes to do, or something you want to show her. Improvising isn't that hard.' She got a serious look on her face and deepened her voice, 'Remember, yer a wizard, Harry.' Tonks thought her Hagrid impression was hilarious, and if people didn't laugh at the vocal part she would transform to look like him until everyone was laughing.
So, they all laughed to prevent that from happening.
'Do you think she likes flying?' Harry asked after he was done laughing.
'Wouldn't surprise me. I'd come prepared if I were you,' Tonks said with an approving nod.
'Don't forget the ice cream,' Andi added. 'They say the best way to a wizard's heart is through his stomach, but it's not that far off for many witches either.'
'Ok, zoo, fly, ice cream. Sounds like a plan,' Harry said.
'Yeah, some plan,' Tonks said with a chuckle.
'Don't pay her any mind,' Andi said. 'You'll be fine. If she's a nice girl, she'll help out and let you know if there is something she wants to do.'
'Nice? I only met her because I saw her punch a guy in the face. Nice isn't the first thing that comes to mind.'
'I think I can guess the first thing that comes to your mind,' Tonks suggested with a waggle of her eyebrows.
'Nymphadora!' Andi exclaimed.
'Mother,' Tonks whined.
'You be nice. He's nervous enough already.'
'Ok, then just stay on her good side,' Tonks advised.
'Great advice,' Harry replied with an eye roll.
'Just be yourself, Harry,' Andi said comfortingly and patted his shoulder.
'Harry da best!' Teddy exclaimed out of nowhere.
That brought on the smile that Harry needed. No one in his life but Teddy could do that for him so consistently. . . so far.
Tonks rolled her eyes, but her smile betrayed her feigned annoyance. She loved that Teddy was so fond of Harry and that Harry was so fond of him.
Harry broke off a small piece of chocolate and silently sent it under the table to Teddy.
Teddy's smile told him he had received the reward.
Tonks scowled at him.
Harry smirked at her.
Andi smiled contentedly. Her family was far from whole but Harry's presence seemed to bring a sense of normality with him.
He was only hoping to obtain that same normality to other aspects of his life.
All in good time.