Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K.R.
AN: This story was written as a contribution to the Haphne Summer 2021 Collection. You will find the collection here:
community/Haphne-Summer-2021-Collection/133850/
The collectionis a community project to celebrate 500 members on the Haphne discord server,:
discord dot gg/pKSdvJQvhU
Just delete the spaces and replace 'dot' with '.' after you copy and paste into your browser.
A big Thank you! to my betas, Akamoroti, who helped pull the plot to the light of day and checked my sometimes weird English, and Federer Rex for the Brit-picking. It's thanks to them that everything reads smoothly and not weird.
You've got to thank Federer Rex for the last scene, it was his suggestion in a chat and I took it and ran with it and had much fun with letting them fool around like the teens they are.
Grey light filled the tent when Harry opened his eyes the next morning. There was no sound outside except for the soft chirping of a bird in a tree somewhere above the tent. Even the cicadas were still asleep.
Harry extricated his right arm from his sleeping bag with a low groan and groped for his watch on the shelf next to him. A look at the dial-plate didn't cheer him up: not even five-thirty. He put the watch on and sighed. Maybe he shouldn't be surprised, though. He'd been raised to be an early riser, and during his time on the run, his senses had always been on high alert, even while sleeping, and it wouldn't take more than a faint rustle outside to startle him awake. He'd expected something like that to happen again, now that he had to sleep in a tent. However, when he'd finally made it to his cot last night, he'd been so happy and content that he hadn't given a second thought to his surroundings. He'd fallen asleep blissfully reliving his date with Daphne.
A broad grin appeared on his face at the memory of the kisses they had shared. He replayed those moments over and over in his head, and while the memories were pleasant, they couldn't compare to the real thing. He couldn't wait to see her again. At that thought, he scrambled out of his sleeping bag, unable to lie in bed any longer.
When he stepped out of the shower block onto the cobblestoned courtyard about thirty minutes later, towel around his neck and shower bag in his hand, he was in a much better mood. The sun had risen above the horizon, and the cicadas had woken up. Even so, he made a face at the noise and looked around.
A young woman, clad in tan shorts, a sky-blue shirt, and sporting a blonde ponytail, left the courtyard just ahead of him and turned onto the dirt path that headed towards the stables. There was something very familiar about her.
Harry smiled, shrank his shower gear and stowed it in one of the many pockets of his cargo shorts, then moved to follow his girlfriend.
His girlfriend! His heart made an extra beat, and his smile widened. How wonderful that word sounded.
His smile still in place, he quickened his pace and in a short time, he reached the stable courtyard.
As he had expected, Daphne stood in front of one box, her back turned to him, and patted a horse. The attention-seeker from yesterday, if he wasn't mistaken. However, he could be wrong. To him, one horse looked just like the other, although he probably should never say that when Daphne was nearby.
His trainers didn't make a sound on the cobblestone. He stepped behind Daphne, slid his arms around her waist, and nuzzled his face in her hair.
She froze, then relaxed and turned around in his arms. "Good morning, man of mine. You're up early." Her arms snaked around his neck and pulled him towards her for a good morning kiss.
Yes, this was much better than the memories.
"Always am, unfortunately," Harry said when he came up for air. "You're up early, too. Is this common or just a new place?"
"I wanted to go to the stables. I'm used to seeing my horse each day and going on a morning ride whenever possible. I've always been an early riser." She snuggled closer and raised her face. "I like this, a nice way to start the day."
"I agree." Harry chuckled and kissed her once more.
A warm snort touched his cheek, and a big, hairy head forced itself between Daphne and him.
Daphne pulled back with a laugh, raised her hand and patted the horse. "Are you jealous, boy? You don't need to be, you're such a good boy."
"Are you talking to me or him?" Harry asked with a smirk.
Daphne snorted. "Definitely him. The jury is still out on you. You have bad boy vibes about you. You don't have a tattoo, do you? I heard rumours about a tattoo of a Hungarian Horntail. Or was it a Pygmy Puff?"
He opened his mouth to correct her about the ridiculous rumours that had circulated in Gryffindor during his sixth year. Merlin, he'd had no idea those rumours had made it to Slytherin.
The horse rubbed his head against Daphne's hand and snorted once more. It sounded as if he blew a raspberry at Harry.
Harry closed his mouth and glared at the animal. "He does look very pleased with himself, doesn't he?"
Daphne continued patting the horse and smirked at him. "Are you jealous?"
"No—"
The smirk grew wider.
Harry deflated. "Why yes, yes, I am. I'm jealous of a stinking horse. Happy now?"
Daphne let go of the horse and turned back towards him. "Seems there's someone in need of a bit of attention." She rose on her tiptoes and kissed his nose.
He pretended to preen, then joined in her laughter. "I wouldn't mind."
She held her hand out to him. "Then let's enjoy the little time we still have before the kittens are up."
They ambled out of the stable courtyard and took the dirt path towards the cliffs, where they found another path that led back, passing behind the swimming pool and joining the path that led from the top of the hill to the shower block halfway up the hill.
Nihal and Azadeh had just walked to the big tent when they reached the camp. No one else had risen yet.
Nihal took one look at their arms around each other and grinned. "About time." He paused and touched his lips with his index finger as if in deep thought, then asked, "Who won the pool?"
His wife elbowed him in the side. He evaded her with a smooth move that spoke of long practise. Azadeh smiled at Harry and Daphne. "I'm happy for you, you make a cute couple."
"Thanks," Daphne said, while Harry just nodded and fought the heat that crept into his cheeks.
Harry pulled out a chair for Daphne, and they sat down with the Shafiqs. A tray with a coffee pot, milk, sugar, cups, and a plate of biscuits appeared in the middle of the table.
"Could I have hot chocolate?" Harry asked, "I'm not much of a coffee drinker."
"Oh, two, please," said Daphne. Just as she finished speaking, two steaming and frothy mugs appeared in front of them.
"Oh, thank Merlin, coffee!" Jessica said from behind Harry. She sat down next to Harry, pulled the tray towards herself and poured herself a cup of coffee.
Her husband joined them at the table with a chuckle. "Don't even talk to Jessica in the morning before she has had her first cup of coffee. You wouldn't like the consequences."
They all laughed, while Jessica shot Anthony a dirty look over the rim of her cup that soon dissolved into a rueful grin. She blew him a kiss. "It's usually your own fault."
One by one, the other junior counsellors left their tents and joined them. Nihal waited until they had all sat down and prepared themselves a beverage before he started their morning meeting.
"Good morning, everybody. I hope you all had a quiet first night without problems?"
Hannah shrugged. "One of the girls was a bit homesick, but the other girls comforted her, so it didn't come to me."
"Lots of whispering and giggling in my tent, but what do you expect on the first night in camp?" Lisa said. "They calmed down after a while and slept. I hope they will be exhausted tonight and won't last that long, especially considering the activities we have planned for them."
They laughed at that.
Nihal looked at the other junior counsellors. "Any problems?"
They shook their heads.
"Everything was quiet in our tents," Daphne said, and Harry nodded to that.
Azadeh snorted. "How would you know? You and Harry took a walk and didn't appear in any hurry to return."
That got them whistles from Terry and Neville, a piercing look from Blaise, and giggles from the three girls.
The attention didn't seem to faze Daphne, while Harry again had to fight against the heat in his cheeks.
"I cast a Baby-Monitoring-Spell on our tents that would have alerted us if they became too noisy. We weren't that far away and could have Apparated back immediately in case of an emergency. The kittens behaved very well, so that wasn't necessary."
"Sly," Terry said, with an appreciative grin. "Can you teach us that spell?"
"Well, the hat sorted me into Slytherin for a reason," Daphne said. "But yes, I will teach you all that spell."
"Did you notice anything else of interest about the kittens? Anything we four should know and address in our appointments with the children?" Anthony asked.
Most junior counsellors shook their heads. Harry, however, cleared his throat. "Actually, there is." All heads turned towards him as he described the conversation among his charges the day before.
"Thanks for telling us, Harry. That is exactly the sort of thing that will make our sessions more productive," Nihal said when he finished.
Harry shrugged. "It's why we're here, isn't it? To make sure the nightmares of the past won't haunt the youngsters and they can live a happy life despite what they've been through." He knew what he was talking about. He still had recurring nightmares about his past adventures, Dementors, Basilisks, Cedric's and Sirius' dead bodies and Riddle, all united in a macabre ensemble to haunt him. He'd hate to see the kids going through even a fraction of his pain.
"Yes, you're right." Nihal gave him an appraising look, then turned towards the other counsellors. "If you overhear things like that, just let the children talk and listen, but don't pry, and inform us afterwards. We'll address it in our therapy sessions with the children, understood?"
They all nodded. The meeting moved on to the day's agenda and ended soon after. By then, it was time to wake the children and get ready for the day.
Daphne took Harry's hand as they rose to walk back to their tents. "You sounded like you knew what you were talking about when you told us about what you've overheard. Do you have nightmares, too? I'd not be that surprised if you did," she said under the noise of chairs scraping over the wooden plank floor of the big tent and the laughter and chatter of the other counsellors.
Harry didn't answer straight away. The repercussions of his adventures still were a sore point for him, he'd always found it difficult to open up, and more than once had snapped at Hermione when she tried to help and hadn't deserved it. Yet, she'd always nagged—
He looked down into Daphne's upturned face. There was nothing but genuine concern for him in her eyes, and a warmth that went straight to his heart. Harry relaxed and squeezed her hand in appreciation. "Yes, I still have them. They've become better since I lost the—"
Damned, this was classified information, he wasn't supposed to talk to anyone of the Horcruxes apart from Ron and Hermione. Not even Kingsley knew the full extent of Riddle's exploits into Dark Magic. He bit on his lips and averted his glance. "Sorry, I'm not supposed to talk about it, even now it could be dangerous."
"It's alright, Harry." She squeezed his hand and left to join her charges.
His head turned to follow her as she walked away. Did she mean what she said?
At the entrance of her tent, she paused and turned to look at him.
There was that warmth again, however, this time mixed with a glint of steel. He chuckled to himself. Yes, she meant what she said—for the time being. However, if he wasn't mistaken, she was as determined as Hermione to help him. She was more subtle about it, though. Strangely enough, the thought of talking to Daphne about the nightmares that still haunted him and would inevitably lead to revealing more of his adventures to her didn't make him feel as uncomfortable as he expected it would. Oh well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
He gave her a small nod and a smile to show he was unaffected by their conversation and then entered his tent to wake his charges, who stirred already. By now, the sun was rising fast, and the cicadas had fully woken up and filled the air with their choir. Yet, three of the boys still slept fitfully through the noise. Only Kun Gang was already awake and reading.
At Harry's entrance, he closed his book with a polite "Good morning, Harry," put it under his pillow, and peeled himself out of his sleeping bag.
"Morning, boys," Harry said in a carrying voice and clapped in his hands. "Rise and shine, it's a beautiful day!"
Groans of protest met his greeting. Ray and Arthur got up and shuffled to the shelf to get their shower bags and towels. Fergus, however, snored through everything.
Harry stepped to the bunk bed and nudged the boy's shoulder. "Time to get up, Fergus."
Fergus grunted and turned his back to Harry.
The other three boys giggled.
"Ah, a severe case, I see," Harry said with a grin. "I think I know a cure for that." He pulled out his wand and directed it at Fergus's head. "Aguamenti!"
He'd done that with Ron one morning in their second year when the redhead refused to wake up. It had been worth Ron's wrath, though. Ever since then, his friend had almost jumped out of bed the moment he touched his shoulder to wake him up. Hopefully, he'd repeat that rousing success with Fergus.
The cold water hit the back of Fergus' head.
"Oi!" Fergus threw himself on his back, shot upright in his sleeping bag, and hit his head on the underside of the bunk bed above his. "Ouch!"
The three other boys broke out into laughter. Harry cast a silent Drying Charm with the flick of his wand. He didn't want to listen to Fergus complaining later on.
Fergus rubbed his forehead and glared at them.
"Good morning, sleepyhead. Care to join us on this beautiful day?" Harry didn't bother to hide his grin.
The young boy didn't deign to reply. He simply swung his legs out of the bed and rose. A few minutes later, the boys were on their way to the shower block.
Harry ambled towards the firepit to wait for their return. The other counsellors were already there, also waiting for their charges, and Daphne stepped next to him and slid her arm around his waist. He greeted her with a kiss on her cheek, which got them whistles and clapping hands from their fellow counsellors.
Neville grinned and held a hand out to Terry, open palm up. "Pay up!"
Terry fished for a coin in the pocket of his shorts and put it into Neville's open hand. "There, happy now?"
"Indeed!" Neville pocketed the coin with a chuckle, while the others laughed. He gave Harry a calculating look.
Was he trying to find the next angle for a betting pool on his life? Harry huffed and shook his head.
The first children returned from the shower block and joined them, thus curtailing their banter. The senior counsellors followed. As soon as everyone was there, Nihal bid them a good morning and then laid out the programme of the day. The singing of the camp song followed.
When the singing was complete, Blaise banished his guitar back into his tent, and Lisa, Hannah and Morag pulled out their wands and conjured soft mats in front of everyone. Daphne moved to the centre so that everyone could see her, and lead them through a succession of simple yoga asanas for beginners.
At least that was how she had described what she was going to do to Harry on their walk this morning, and her fluent, graceful movements were proof of her prowess.
However, it looked easier than it was, and Harry had problems repeating the asanas without losing his balance. Others were not even that successful. Terry toppled over twice, and Neville once, much to the glee of the children. They were all surprisingly good at it, with much grunting and groaning and giggling, probably because their mass centre was closer to the ground. Or maybe he should just stop ogling his girlfriend and pay more attention to her instructions.
Daphne finished her lecture with a meditation exercise, and Harry scrambled back to his feet, glad that he didn't make a complete fool out of himself or tangled up his limbs in knots while he attempted poses best left for those more flexible than he was. His rather active early morning had given him an appetite, and he looked forward to a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs.
His heart sank when he sat down at the table next to Daphne.
"What, no bacon and eggs?" Fergus asked the question that was at the tip of Harry's tongue.
"Not even porridge," Arthur said and made a face.
The girls rolled their eyes at them. "Boys," Samantha summed up their general consensus and poured milk over her cornflakes.
Harry, however, wholeheartedly agreed with his boys. How were they supposed to make it through an active morning on a breakfast that comprised baguette, croissants, butter and jam, or sugary cornflakes with milk?
"I already asked a house elf to get us eggs, ham, salami, and some cheese," Nihal said with a chuckle. "They can't expect us to survive on this."
"Thank you," Harry said. It was still a joke of a breakfast, but better than all the sugary stuff. Although there was one sugary item he didn't mind. "Please, pass me the jug of hot chocolate," he said to his girlfriend.
Between the chocolate and a few sandwiches with ham and cheese, his growling stomach settled.
Like at Hogwarts, post owls appeared halfway through the meal to deliver letters and packages to the children. Nihal got a copy of The Daily Prophet delivered to him. His eyes lit up when he unfolded the newspaper. "Our camp has made the front page."
"Congratulations," Daphne said. "What did they put?"
Nihal scanned the article and looked up. "Seems that one parent who was at the party yesterday works for the Prophet. It's a rather nice article about the aims of the camp and who attends." He looked at Harry. "You and Neville are mentioned as junior counsellors."
Harry made a face. "I could have done without that."
"True, but it will catch the interest of the wizarding public. It's an excellent advertisement for the camp," Daphne said and nudged his leg in consolation.
They finished with breakfast, and soon it was time to gather the children for his flying class.
"Have fun," Daphne said and kissed his cheek goodbye, much to the enjoyment of the children of their groups.
Harry looked around for Blaise, who was his assistant this morning.
"I'm here," Blaise said, and tapped him on the shoulder from behind.
Harry turned around and nodded at him. "Brillant. Let's gather the kittens and head to the pitch." He clapped into his hands to get the attention of the children. "Everyone in the flying class, gather around!"
Sixteen boys and girls moved to join him and Blaise. Like with the afternoon activities, they had split up their charges and mixed them with children from the other tents, so that the children would get to know each other. From his boys, he had Fergus and Ray with him, and Julia and Antonia from Daphne's girls. The others were unknown, except for Daniel, who joined Ray and Fergus and started a conversation with them.
By the giggles and looks at him from Ray and Daniel, and Fergus' nauseated expression, the topic of their conversation was easy to guess for Harry. He probably would be in for another round of pre-teen dating advice soon. Well, he'd deal with them later. Or was there a way to pawn them off on Daphne?
A grin on his face at the thought of what his girlfriend—his girlfriend, Merlin, would he ever get used to calling her that without grinning like a loon?—might have to say on that matter, he led his group down the path to the Quidditch pitch.
Blaise fell in step beside him.
They reached the shortcut to the cliffs and Harry turned left. When the cliffs came into view, the children stormed ahead.
"So you finally found some guts and made a move?" Blaise asked with a lopsided grin as soon as the children were out of hearing distance.
For the third time that morning, Harry fought the heat that crept into his cheeks. Why did everyone and their grandmother think they had to comment on Daphne and him being together?
"I'm happy, for both of you," Blaise said. "But remember, you treat her wrong—"
"—and you're going to wipe the floor with my arse?" Harry raised an ironic eyebrow at him. "You do know who you are threatening, don't you?"
Blaise barked out a small laugh. "Yes, I do, but I wouldn't mind trying, even if it's my arse that's used as a mop. Daphne still is one of my best friends. She's got too few people who would look out for her interests."
"Fair enough. I promise to treat her the best I know how. However, I'm pants with relationships, so you'd better hone your duelling skills."
Both young men chuckled.
Blaise gave Harry a knowing glance. "I think they won't be needed. Come on, the kittens are way ahead of us, we'd better catch up with them before they start the lesson on their own."
They fell into a light jog to catch up with the children, and Harry's and Daphne's new relationship wasn't mentioned anymore.
"Why didn't we think of just Apparating to the front of the pitch?" Blaise asked when they finally caught up with the children. His face was flushed and glistened with perspiration from their run.
Harry just shrugged, too winded to answer straight away.
The children gathered around them, eager to start their lesson.
"All right," Harry said when he could breathe normally again, "Who has already had flying lessons?"
Most of the children raised their hands. Four of them, however, shook their heads, Fergus and Julia among them.
"Let's go to the broom shed and get your brooms. Those who already had flying instructions stay with Blaise, and I will teach the beginners, all right?"
A resounding "yeah!" was the response, and the children darted to the broom shed at the side of the pitch.
Harry opened the shed with the key Nihal had given him that morning and took out the brooms. They were in much better condition than the school brooms at Hogwarts, and he breathed out in relief. He hadn't looked forward to teaching a bunch of over-excited beginners on brooms that didn't respond well to their riders' commands.
Blaise led his group to the other side of the pitch, while Harry and his four charges stayed near the broom shed. Harry placed his broom in the coarse grass beside him and motioned the four children to follow him.
"Your first lesson is to show the broom that you're its master. Madam Hooch will tell you that brooms are not sentient, but I disagree with her. The broom realises if you're afraid of it, so don't show your fear. Command it. Watch and repeat." He held out his hand over the broom and said, "Up!"
The broom jumped into his hand.
The four children exchanged uneasy glances. Fergus manned up first and held out his hand.
"Up!"
The broom followed his command, and the face of the boy brightened.
"I did it!"
"Well done, Fergus," Harry said. "Come on, you can do it, too," he encouraged the other three.
"Up!" echoed across the pitch three times, with varying degrees of confidence.
Three brooms jumped into small hands, and three small faces beamed at Harry.
"Very well!" The smile on Harry's face matched theirs. He proceeded with showing them how to grip the handle and straddle the broom, then mounted the broom he had taken out for himself, pulled out his wand, and cast a silent wide-area Cushioning-Spell on the ground.
"I'll now show you how to hover a few feet above the ground. Hold your broom parallel to the ground. Good, now kick off gently. Watch me and repeat."
He levelled the handle of his broom and kicked off. His eyes never left the four children in front of him. This was the critical point. In their first flying lesson, Neville had kicked off too hard, shot into the air, and fallen from his broom and broken his wrist. As a result, he'd always been abysmal on a broom. Hopefully, there wouldn't be such an accident during his lesson.
The children followed his instructions to a tee, and soon all four hovered next to him.
"Wonderful! Seems like I'm teaching natural fliers!"
The children beamed at his praise, and the growth of their confidence was almost palpable.
Harry showed them how to descend, then how to hover again and how to climb a few yards. Exercises in turning left and right followed. The children hung to every word he said and learned at an amazing speed. At the end of their lesson, he let them play a simple game of Follow the Leader.
Four beaming and excitedly chatting children returned their brooms to him after their lesson. Julia even stepped up to him and hugged his waist.
"Thank you, Harry, you're a wonderful teacher!" She ran off to join Antonia, and the two girls stuck their heads together.
"How do you do that?"
"Do what?" Harry turned around to look at a grinning Blaise.
"Making all females fall for you, even the still very young ones." He gestured towards Julia and Antonia and chuckled.
Harry huffed. "Rubbish!"
Blaise chuckled. "I'm sure Daphne will be delighted about your ignorance."
They parted where the shortcut veered off the main path. Blaise took the shortcut back to the camp to lead the theatre class with Lisa, and Harry led his group along the main path to the gym that was in the converted barn adjoining the stable courtyard.
Daphne was already waiting for them. Their eyes met over the heads of the children, and for a split second the world seemed to come to a standstill, and warmth enveloped him like a hug.
"Welcome to our first dance class," Daphne said. "Please, choose your partner and line up along the wall, so Harry and I can show you the first moves."
There were a lot of shuffling feet and eyes cast to the ground from the boys, and giggles from the girls, but nobody made a move.
Daphne rolled her eyes. She stepped forward, put a hand on Ray's shoulder, and pushed him gently to a girl with a mop of strawberry blonde curls on her head. "Ray, you'll partner with…?"
"Emma," the girl supplied and turned a violent shade of red. She and Ray retreated to the wall, where they kept as much distance between them as possible, while Daphne assigned the next pairing.
Harry watched Daphne and the children with a grin on his face. She had a no-nonsense attitude about her, and none of the couples she assigned questioned her choice, but meekly lined up along the wall.
His grin faded, however, when she came up to him, grabbed him by the hand, and pulled him into the middle of the cavernous room. "Harry and I will now show you how to do the slow waltz."
"Hey, what! I never agreed to this—I can't dance!"
His dismayed exclamation caused a bout of giggles among the children.
Daphne flashed him a broad smile. "I know; these are dance lessons, and I'm going to remedy that now. You want to take your girlfriend to the dance, don't you?"
Her smile turned into a smirk, and she winked at him.
He mock-deflated and returned her wink. "Yes, dear."
Ray let out a wolf-whistle. "You're so whipped, Harry!"
"You go, Daphne," Julia called from the other end of the line.
The children burst out into laughter.
"As if you needed any more encouragement," Harry said under the cover of their laughter to his girlfriend.
She ignored his comment. "The correct dance pose is important if you don't want to look like an ape in the ballroom. Stand upright, shoulders back and parallel to the ground. If you relax your shoulders so they drop toward the floor, then squeeze your shoulder blades together so they almost touch." She straightened and demonstrated what she meant.
Harry and the children repeated as well as they could.
"Good! Now I'll show you the steps. You start with your right foot and take a step forward, your left foot follows and steps to the side, and you close your feet with the first step." She demonstrated the steps as she talked. "Understood?"
The children nodded, although a few still looked doubtful.
"Alright, now we do the second part. You start with the left foot, take a step back, the right foot then steps to the side, and you close your feet and are back to the point where you started. Repeat with me."
She let them go through the steps a couple of times. It wasn't nearly as difficult as her yoga asanas had been, and Harry relaxed.
When Daphne was sure they had all understood the moves, she let them practice a few minutes more to music.
"Alright, now comes the fun part. Face your partner." She stepped in front of Harry and took his right hand. "The right hand of the man goes below the arm of the woman and comes to rest on her left shoulder blade. Keep your fingers closed, or you'll look like you're groping her. Also, never stray further down or beyond her spine, that's invading her personal space without invitation."
Harry followed her instructions, but had to fight a grin. "Don't you want me to invade your personal space anymore?" he asked in a low voice.
Daphne blushed, bit back a laugh, and shot him a stern glance. "Behave!" she mouthed, and his grin became broader.
"Now take your partner's free hand and raise your joined hands until they are about at the eye level of the smaller partner, your hands clasped lightly."
Harry did as he was told, while Daphne turned her head to watch the youngsters.
"Yes, that's wonderful. Now, in competitive ballroom dancing, you'll never look at your partner. You'll look to the left, at about eleven on the dial of a clock. It's different for dances at social gatherings, of course, then you're expected to make small talk. For today, however, let's stick to the rules of ballroom dancing."
She demonstrated the correct stance.
"I think I'll prefer dancing at social gatherings if that means I can look at your face," Harry muttered.
A chuckle escaped Daphne's mouth. "Smooth, Potter!" She cast him a mischievous side glance from the corner of her eyes and returned to teaching mode.
"Now, the gentleman shall begin by stepping forward on his right, the lady will step back with her left and shall proceed as we practised for the second part of the step. We shall move slowly and always remember rule number one: she who steps on the foot of her partner is correct!"
That had the children giggle. A low shuffle filled the gym as they practised their moves.
"That's not that difficult," Harry said.
Daphne smirked. "Wait until the music comes into the picture, and then of course the turns and the promenades."
"The what?" He paused his step for only a second, and Daphne stepped on his foot. "Ouch!—Oi!"
"Remember rule number one." Her smirk became more pronounced. "Don't worry, for today, I'll only teach you a simple right turn, that's all you need for social gatherings. The other moves are to show off, or for intricate dances when you'll have to open a ball."
She let them practise some more without music, then flicked her wand and activated an old fashioned gramophone in a corner of the gym. The sound of guitar chords in three-quarter time filled the room, and then a familiar voice set in. "Mull of Kintyre, oh mist rolling in from the sea—"
Harry almost missed his entry and snorted. "Paul McCartney and the Wings? Oh, come on!"
"It's the only halfway decent song in three-quarter time I know." Daphne let go of him and turned to the children to check their postures and steps. Satisfied with their progress, she flicked her wand once more, and the music stopped.
"You are all very talented. I'll now show you how to do a simple right turn."
By the end of the lesson, they all could dance the show waltz with a right turn, even Harry, although at this point he was tempted to blast the gramophone into smithereens if he had to listen to Mull of Kintyre one more time.
Folded tables, laden with plates of fruits and bottles of sparkling water, appeared in one corner of the room. The children gathered around the tables. Harry's defence class would also take place in the gym, so they didn't have to change rooms between the lessons.
He picked up a bottle of sparkling water and handed it to Daphne. "You know that it's now my turn to teach, don't you? Aren't you afraid I'll retaliate?"
She took the bottle from him and sipped. "Oh, you're much too gentleman-like for that."
"I wouldn't bet on that, the one who does the stepping is right," he said with a dark look and took a sip from his own bottle.
"I said, she who does the stepping." Daphne poked her tongue at him.
Harry put his water bottle down and smirked at her. "In that case, get ready to wipe the floor with your cute behind."
"You wouldn't dare!" A slightly alarmed expression appeared on her face.
"Try me!"
"Harry—"
The children chose that moment to gather around them.
"What will you be teaching us for self-defence, Harry?" Fergus asked.
He gave Daphne a wink and turned towards the children. "I thought of keeping it simple for the beginning. The Disarming Charm is easy, yet very useful, so we'll start with that."
"Cool!" Ray shouted. The other children agreed with excited nods and murmurs.
By now, everyone in magical Britain knew the story of his last confrontation with Riddle and that he'd used a Disarming Charm to bring him down. There would be no awkward discussion whether the charm was useful or not with the children, unlike during his first D.A. lesson, when that git Smith had challenged him repeatedly.
"Ok, line up along the wall again. Daphne and I will give you a demonstration after I've taught you how to do the spell."
He pulled his wand, cast a wide-area Cushioning Charm on the floor, and waited until his girlfriend had taken her place about ten yards away and opposite of him.
She seemed calm, her wand in her hand hanging down by her side, yet he knew her already well enough to notice the slight frown between her eyebrows and the alarm in her eyes.
He gave her a reassuring smile and addressed the children again. "The incantation of the spell is ex—PELL—ee—are—mus." He pronounced each syllable carefully. "Repeat after me: ex—PELL—ee—are—mus"
"Es—pell—EE—are—mus,"
"Ex—PELL—ee—arms,"
"Ex-PELL-ee-are-mus," sounded through the room. Only a few children got it right on the first try, and Harry had them repeat the incantation over and over again until he was sure they all did it right.
"Very good," he praised, and the children beamed. "Now, let's get to the wand movement. There is no specific movement for this spell, pointing the tip of your wand at the intended target will suffice in most cases. However, there are reports that a small, circular motion of your wrist when you cast the spell will increase its strength." He demonstrated the motion, and the kids repeated it with their wands.
"Now we come to the most difficult part. Since the Disarming Spell can be aimed at any target that might be used as a weapon against you, aim is crucial. The smaller the target, the better your aim has to be, especially if it's in motion, which is usually the case during a fight. Watch me."
He turned to Daphne, and almost laughed out loud when she gulped and tightened her grip on her wand. Her braid hung over her shoulder, held together at the tip by a scrunchie that matched the colour of her polo. He aimed at the scrunchie and muttered, "Expelliarmus!" A thin beam of red light sped towards the tip of Daphne's braid.
The scrunchie snapped as the spell pulled it from her hair with a ping; the scrunchie sailed high through the air and disappeared over Harry's left shoulder.
He conjured an additional gust of wind with another silent spell that caught her braid and made it come loose until her blonde locks hung down her shoulders.
"Oops," Harry said mildly as if commenting on the weather.
The children burst out into laughter.
"Oi!" Daphne's eyes shot daggers at him, although the corners of her mouth twitched, showing him she wasn't as angry with him as she wanted to appear.
Harry grinned at her. "Cool. The wind-blown look adds to your wicked witch vibe."
She narrowed her eyes and lifted her wand.
"Now, Daphne," Harry said with a chuckle, "that was an accident."
"So is this!" She smiled sweetly at him. "Expelliarmus!"
A rather thick beam of red light hurtled towards him, but she was slow and her aim was off. All he had to do was take a step to the side. The spell passed him and dissipated.
Daphne stuck her lower lip forward in an adorable pout.
Harry turned to the children. "As useful as this little spell is, you'll always have to be aware that your opponent can simply move out of the way and be prepared for that with yet another spell." He walked to the spot where Daphne's scrunchie had fallen, picked it up and cast a silent Transfiguration Charm on it. The transfigured scrunchie hidden in his hand, he went to Daphne. "I think this belongs to you." He opened the palm of his hand and presented the scrunchie to her, which was now adorned with a small blue flower.
"Aww!" the girls said, while Ray gave him a thumbs-up.
His girlfriend thanked him with a kiss on his cheek that had all the children giggle, and pointed her wand at her hair to braid it once more. The transfigured scrunchie looked good on her.
He turned to the children once again. "Okay, now it's your turn!"
The children, eager to get to do some casting, paired up in the middle of the room, while Harry and Daphne retreated to one wall to observe them. What followed was the utter chaos Harry already knew from his D.A. times. He let the children work off some steam first before he took a round to correct their spelling and stances.
Before they all knew it, the lesson was over and it was time to return to the camp for lunch. The children descended on lunch like locusts. After lunch, Harry and Daphne made sure their charges went into their tents for some rest in the shade and met outwards in the shade of the tree that grew between their tents. Daphne sat down on the soft ground, her back leaned against the trunk of the tree. Harry laid down next to her, his head in her lap, and she caressed his scalp with soft fingers. It was bliss, and he closed his eyes and purred with contentment.
Someone nudged his shoulder. "Wakey, wakey!"
He opened his eyes wide to look into Blaise's grinning face. Lisa stood next to him and snickered. The kittens! He shot into a sitting position and looked around. Daphne was gone. A couple of kids stood in the shade of the trees around the sand patch, satchels slung over their shoulders. Others just came out of their tents, equally equipped.
They were going to spend the afternoon as a group on the beach. He and Daphne had to take their group to the healers an hour before that for their group therapy. By the looks of it, it was already time to go to the beach. An icy feeling settled in his stomach. He'd fallen asleep and forgotten about his duties.
Where were his boys? And where was Daphne?
Blaise patted him on the shoulder. "No need to panic, Harry. Daphne took your boys to their session in time, together with her girls."
Harry let out a deep breath of relief and got up.
Lisa pulled out her wand. "May I? Your back is covered with pine needles."
He nodded his consent, and she cast a quick Cleaning Charm on his shirt.
"Thank you." Harry pointed at the bag next to her feet he didn't notice before. "I'd better get ready for this afternoon." With a wave of goodbye to Lisa and Blaise, he entered his tent and packed his swim trunks, towel, and a Muggle novel Andromeda had sent him when she heard about his summer plans. He slung his bag over his shoulder and left the tent.
Daphne and their group just came out of the medical tent. The boys raced each other across the sand patch, despite the afternoon heat.
"Hi, Harry," they shouted almost in unison when they reached him.
"Hi, boys." He stepped aside to let them enter the tent, and they vanished behind the flap with the noise of a herd of stampeding Hippogriffs. The noises that followed when they reached their compartment and packed their bags suggested they were tearing the place apart.
Harry exchanged an amused glance with Daphne, who had come closer and sent the girls off to their tent to get ready.
"Hello, sleepyhead!" She rose on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
He put an arm around her waist for a squeeze and kiss in greeting. "Thank you for taking care of my boys. Why didn't you wake me when it was time for their healer appointment?"
"I didn't have the heart. You looked so cute and content, and given that you told me you don't sleep that well, I thought you could use the rest," she said with a self-conscious laugh and blushed.
"Thank you, that was very thoughtful of you." He hugged her again and kissed her cheek in thanks, then let go of her. The noises from his tent suggested that the boys were about to come out, and Julia had already left the girls' tent and held the flap open for the other girls. He wasn't in the mood for their giggles and comments.
"Don't you need to get ready?" he asked his girlfriend.
Daphne grinned and patted one of the many pockets of her cargo shorts with a shake of her head. "No; I have everything I need right here."
"Smart girl."
"Of course, what did you expect?" She tossed her braid back over her shoulder in a haughty gesture. It was somewhat spoiled by the grin that followed, and they both laughed.
By now, all the children and junior counsellors had gathered, and soon Nihal, Azadeh, Anthony and Jessica appeared, beach bags slung over their shoulders, and joined them.
"To the beach!" Anthony shouted.
Cheers of approval followed, and the members of the camp started their trek to the beach.
Not even ten minutes later they had reached the beach. The children stormed off to the changing rooms. The counsellors followed in a more sedate pace, although they were just as enthusiastic to cool off after their sweat-inducing walk.
Five minutes later, the group found themselves in the water. Terry had shown them how to cast a Life Preserver Charm on the children who couldn't swim, a charm he had developed, as he admitted when praised and questioned. Nevertheless, Harry kept a watchful eye on Antonia and Kun Gang, the two children out of his and Daphne's charges who couldn't swim.
At last, the children had enough, and they returned to the spot where they had conjured blankets on the ground, and a couple of sunbeds.
"For the old folks," Neville said, and winked at the four senior counsellors.
Azadeh sent him a playful glare, pulled out her wand, and sent a mild Stinging Hex at him. Her aim was good.
Neville yelped and raised both hands. "Hey, sorry, I meant Nihal only!" he exclaimed to the uproarious laughter of the group.
Harry laid down on a blanket next to Daphne, 'their' kittens around them.
She pulled out her wand from the holster at her arm and renewed the Sun Cream Charm he had put on himself that morning. He closed his eyes as the feeling of caressing hands washed over him.
"Mmmh—nice!"
They exchanged a smile, and Daphne turned to the children to cast Sun Cream Charms on them.
Some children pulled out books from their satchels and read, among them Kun and Julia. The rest soon became bored and didn't stay still for long. Some children wandered off to walk along the water's edge to look for seashells, fossils, sea glass and other treasures. The majority, however, went directly to the kiosk.
Harry got up, too. "I'd better keep an eye on the kittens."
Daphne just nodded, lying on her back and her eyes closed. In her skimpy bikini, she was a sight he very much enjoyed, and he had to tear himself away with some reluctance.
He ambled towards the kiosk. Neville, Terry and Blaise had the same idea and were slightly ahead of him.
When he reached the kiosk, he stayed outside and perused the knickknacks on display in the carts. There were magical and muggle comics and romances of the kind Aunt Petunia used to read, with broad-chested, swarthy heroes and blonde heroines whose corset seemed to always be torn, and all kinds of toys to play with in the sand.
A few children came out of the small shop, licking at ice cream cones. Neville also left the kiosk, two ice cream cones in his hands. He hurried over to where Hannah laid on a blanket and handed one to her.
Another gaggle of kittens left the shop, laden with buckets and spades. They ran to the water's edge and set out to dig a hole all the way to Australia, or wherever you came out if you started digging in this spot of the world. Harry chuckled to himself at their enthusiasm.
Terry followed next, a ball under his arm. Almost all the boys and some girls gathered around him. "All right, kittens, let's have some fun!" he said and waved at the children to follow him to a spot not far away from their blankets, although not so close as to disturb the readers and sun worshippers. Soon, an impromptu game of beach football was underway.
Harry watched them for a while, then turned towards the kiosk. Maybe he should buy an ice cream for his girlfriend. The thought was still as exhilarating as it had been in the morning.
At the door, he bumped into Blaise, who carried a broom in his hand.
It was a firebolt.
A surge of adrenaline rushed through Harry at the sight of the broom that looked almost like an identical twin to the one Sirius had given him for Christmas of his third year at Hogwarts.
Blaise noticed his expression and grinned. "They have a couple of cool brooms for hire here." He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder towards the dark interior. "Wanna race?"
Harry's face lit up. "You bet!"
Five minutes later, his mokeskin pouch was a couple of Galleons lighter, and he carried a broom identical to Blaise's in his hand and an ice cream cone.
Harry detoured back his towel and gave the cone to a grateful Daphne before the two young men mounted the brooms and soared into the air. They crossed the stretch of sand high enough not to disturb those playing there and set out to sea.
Blaise pointed to the far end of the beach where the cliffs curved back to the sea. "What about starting there? We can set one of our wands to start us off and then race back to this point. The kiosk is the finishing post."
"Sounds good. What are you waiting for?"
They laid over the handles of their brooms and aimed towards the starting point Blaise had suggested. Blaise put a Timing Charm on his wand, and they lined up.
The wand rang out. Harry pulled himself so close to his broom he was lying flat and urged it faster. The wind rushed past his ears in a roar, and he grinned like a loon. It was so good to be back on a broom!
They were neck to neck for the first half of their race. The Italian boy was a damned good flyer. Harry tweaked his technique just as Wood had taught him to do to minimise wind resistance and nosed a few inches ahead.
Blaise mirrored his action. The few inches he'd won over the Italian melted like snow in the sun. The finishing line was too far away. If the damned broom was a horse, he'd use the crop.
As if it sensed his thoughts, the firebolt leapt forward and put at least a yard between him and Blaise.
Blaise let out an expletive which was lost behind them, and Harry grinned. He'd always known that brooms were sentient, and this was just another proof of it.
Their appointed goal came closer. A crowd of people had gathered in front of the huts, many of them wearing the sky blue shirts of Happy Discovery Camp, and cheered them on. Daphne's blonde head was among them.
Harry reached the kiosk first, but Blaise was only a second behind him. He slowed down, flew a lazy curve, and shook hands with Blaise. The grin on Blaise's face when he clapped his shoulder matched his own.
Below them, the small crowd of spectators cheered and motioned them to join them.
Harry and Blaise shared a look, laughed, and directed their brooms to the ground. They had not yet dismounted when the kittens were already upon them.
"That was so cool!"
"Harry, will you teach us to fly like this?"
"What broom is that?"
The questions rained down on them without a pause as the children crowded around them. Harry and Blaise answered the many questions as best as they could, still, it seemed like ages until the curiosity of the children was satiated and they ran away to new adventures.
"Phew!" Harry wiped his eyebrow.
Daphne stepped forward with a laugh and kissed his cheek. She'd kept in the background as long as the children vied for his attention. "You did very well with the small fries. Congrats on your win."
He put his arm around her waist, pulled her closer, and thanked her with a peck on her lips.
Daphne batted her eyelashes at him in an exaggerated way. "Aren't you asking your girlfriend out for a ride?"
"If that's what you want—anytime. Hop on!" He mounted his broom again.
Daphne climbed on the handle behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. They both wore swimwear, and the feeling of her bare skin pressed against his back was incredible.
He shook his head to distract his thoughts from that rabbit hole and kicked off to let his broom ascend slowly like a helicopter until they hovered in the air about thirty feet high. He bent slightly forward and pointed the tip of the handle an inch to the side, and the firebolt immediately eased into a long, gentle curve that brought them out on the sea, beyond the people who were enjoying themselves in the waves.
Daphne cuddled against his back, her head on his shoulder. "Is that all? I've hoped for something more… exhilarating."
His jaw slacked in surprise. What? Well, that was a surprise, albeit a pleasant one. A huge grin spread on his face the next moment. So, his new girlfriend loved reckless flying as much as he did? He'd show her what he could do on a broom. He turned his head to look at her and blew her a small kiss. "As my lady wishes. Hold tight!"
She did as she was told and tightened her grip around his waist with an excited giggle.
Harry pointed the tip of the broom skyward and accelerated. They soared upward for about a hundred feet in a steep and fast corkscrew that had Daphne laugh out loud.
"More!"
He levelled the broom into a course parallel to the shore, accelerated some more, and guided the broom in a series of barrel rolls that had Daphne whoop. They rapidly neared the spot where the cliffs met the sea and the Notice-Me-Not Charms that protected the area ended. Harry jerked the tip of the broom upwards in a sharp motion that forced the broom to come to a still stand in the air and turn on the spot.
"Oomph!" The sudden motion pressed Daphne even tighter against him and knocked the wind out of her. Her hair flipped forward into his face, obscuring his vision for a second before it fell back.
"Wow," Daphne said breathlessly.
Harry whooped. This was great! He pointed the tip of the broom skywards once again, and they soared upwards for another hundred feet in an almost vertical climb.
Daphne clung to him for dear life. "Harry!"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
"You'd better." Her huff ended in a giggle, so she still enjoyed their ride.
He levelled the broom once more and slowed the pace to give them time to enjoy the view they had from up here.
The top of the cliffs was more than a hundred feet below them, the path that led along the edge clearly visible, as was the Quidditch pitch, the hill beyond the pitch, and a bit farther away the pine-cowered hill of the camp. The dense trees hid the tents below them, although the pool, the courtyard and the stables were in sight.
Daphne straightened behind him and loosened her grip. "It's beautiful."
They fell into a companionable silence while they enjoyed the sight some more, Daphne snuggled into his back.
"I think it's time to get back. I don't want the others to take care of our group for too long," Harry said at last.
"I suppose you're right," Daphne said with a small sigh. "Let's go back."
Harry turned his head and grinned at her. "Are you ready for a last bit of fun?" He didn't wait for her answer and let the broom drop in the vertical fall of the Wronski Feint. Daphne's blood-curdling scream yelled in his ears, and her arms slung around his waist almost cut off his blood circulation. He held the drop until the last possible moment, then levelled the broom and raced towards the shore, their feet skimming the waves, and came to a sharp stop at the edge of the spot where their group had put their blankets.
Cheers and hollers greeted them.
"Wow, that was a neat bit of flying, Harry," Terry shouted.
Nihal raised his head from his sunbed. "I've heard that you are supposed to be exceptional on a broom, Harry, but that Wronski Feint—" He broke off, shook his head, and grinned. "Wow! I wish I could do that."
"It's good that you can't, mister," his wife said. She reached out with her hand and gave him a gentle poke in the side, "or I'll never again climb on a broom behind you."
"I could live with that," he quipped back.
Harry joined their laughter and moved to dismount the broom. However, Daphne's arms, still slung around his middle in a death grip, held him back.
"Daphne?" He turned his head, only to meet a pair of icy blue eyes that stared at him in a death glare.
"Uh-oh!" He ducked his head to the laughter of his friends.
His girlfriend slapped his shoulder. Hard. "Don't you ever again do that to me without a warning, Potter!"
"What did you think was going to happen?" He smiled at her with his best puppy-dog-eyes.
The icy glare intensified, then melted in the sun of his smile, and the corners of her mouth twitched. She dismounted with another slap, a much softer one this time. "Don't you think I'll forgive you that easily, Potter. You'd better not come near me for the foreseeable future."
"Aw, Daph—" He mock-whined, but another glare made him snap his mouth shut.
"Good!" Daphne sauntered back to their blanket with a provocative swing of her hips and a satisfied smile on her lips.
Harry pouted to the laughter of his friends.
Blaise waved at him from where he sat with Neville, Hannah, Terry, and two kittens from Terry's and Lisa's group. They all had cards in their hands. "Join us in a round of Exploding Snap, Harry, at least until she cools off," he said.
Harry looked at his girlfriend, who had settled down on their blanket and brushed her hair, while her glare fought a battle with her twitching lips. When she noticed his eyes on her, she furrowed her brows, and the glare won. Maybe he should follow Blaise's invitation, the man probably knew what he was talking about.
He sat down, took the cards Hannah handed him, and cast another glance at his girlfriend.
She had taken a book out of her satchel and pretended to read. Every now and then she shot a dark glance at him over the rim of the book.
Harry smirked and concentrated on the cards in his hands.
"You really know how to get into trouble, Harry." Neville laughed and put a card on the stack in the middle.
"It's a skill, what is life without a little spice?" Harry asked while pondering which card to play. "Is she still glaring at me?" He didn't turn around as he selected a card and added it to the stack. The explosion could happen any second, you never knew with this game, and he let out a sigh of relief when the stack remained in its status quo. "The back of my head is burning."
Hanna twisted around her boyfriend to have a look at Daphne. "She is staring daggers at your back, I'm pretty sure her eye is twitching too," she said, in vain trying to suppress a giggle. She chose a random card and threw it on the stack.
Booom!
The cards exploded into Hannah's face and covered it in soot, much to the delight of the other players.
She glared at them, but had to join their laughter.
"Again?" Terry asked and picked up the cards to shuffle them.
Harry shook his head. "I think I might go for a swim. How far is Italy from here?" he asked with a mock-frightened side glance at Daphne, who was still pretending to read and not notice him.
That caused another round of laughter. Daphne smirked.
He walked towards his girlfriend and kneeled down by her side.
She put her book down and glared at him. "Potter! What are you—" Her question turned into a squeal as he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.
"No! Harry, stop it! I'm warning you! Not that!"
He ignored her cries, turned on his heel and ran for the water.
Raucous laughter followed them down the beach.
"Don't do it, Harry, you're too young to die," Terry called after him.
Accompanied by Daphne's screams of protest, Harry ran into the surf and dropped her into the water.
She sat up in the surf, dripping wet, spluttering and gasping, and glared up at him.
He grinned down at her. "I thought you needed to cool off. I helped, see what a good boyfriend I am?"
Her expression froze, then she blinked, and her face morphed into a rueful grin. "I guess I deserved that. You're lucky that you're too damn cute to stay mad at you for long." She jumped up, flung herself at him, and kissed him to the applause from their friends.
He wrapped her in his arms and returned her kiss.
He didn't know how it had happened, but lately it felt very good to be Harry Potter.
t.b.c.