A/N: Hey everyone and welcome to a continuation to A Persistent Snake, as requested by the active users of the Discord!
For those of you interested in my other works, I currently have three stories in progress with the pairings of those being Harry/FemVoldemort, Harry/Delphini and Harry/OFC
A big thanks to my Betas (yes I've finally fixed this instead of being lazy Dorian) and Discord Staff - Alec, Alpple, Arty, Destru, Fox, Hindu Hari, JT, Knight, Letus, Metzger, NerdDragonVoid, Theo, Weather Report and Xevier
Feel free to join my Discord for updates, a chance to request your own short story and information; link on my profile. Without any more rambling from me, I hope you enjoy the story!
(Sorry if you don't like this!)
I didn't reply to the 27 reviews this has as I usually would, sorry. Just know that I really appreciate all the support it's been shown!
December 25, 1994
Sunday
Harry waited a few turns from the main entrance for his date to arrive, the anticipation killing him all the while just as much as the stuffy suit he was wearing did. Thankfully, Daphne wanted to arrive so early they'd be among the first dozen or so students dressed and ready for the evening's festivities, which gave the pair of them more time together without the scrutiny he'd usually be given.
As good as that was for the blossoming couple, Harry dreaded times where he needed to dress up as he currently was. That wasn't mentioning the lack of any of his usual company either, as he'd arrived well before Hermione or Ron had wanted to.
"Harry, you're very early aren't you?" Cedric's voice greeted him, his date nowhere to be seen.
"I could say the same for you," Harry replied, smiling and shaking the older boy's hand once he moved closer.
"Yeah, I suppose you could. Figured I'd get a look around the place beforehand, you know? Find a nice secluded table and see what's on offer for food," Cedric said with a pat of his stomach. "What about you? What got you here so early?"
"Time with my date before everything starts, it was her idea — we've rarely spent any time together in the past," Harry peeked around Cedric in case that was the moment Daphne had chosen to arrive, but it hadn't been.
"Oh?" Cedric said, moving in closer to Harry to prod at him. "Who's the lucky witch? Susan Bones? Hannah Abbott? We both know I can't stop until you tell me."
"Me!" A voice said, one that clearly wasn't Daphne.
Cedric turned and gave Harry a view of the girl who'd spoken up, unsurprisingly, it was the usual troublemaker he'd come to consider on par with the twins.
"Tracey Davis? You're going with Tracey, Harry?" Cedric whistled and side-eyed Harry. "No half-measures when it comes to you, huh? Wonder what Snape will think of you taking one of his Snakes — good to see you too, Tracey, I'll leave you with this handsome man. Be safe, you two!"
Cedric then continued his journey as Tracey sidled up to Harry.
"Hi, Harry!" Tracey greeted. "Ready for the big night?"
"I think so… can't promise I'm all that great at dancing though," — Harry looked past Tracey and raised his hand to motion towards the girl that just made her way around the corner, he dropped it when he saw it wasn't Daphne as he'd thought — "Where's Daphne?"
Tracey made a hurt sound and looked at him with her devious yet cutely innocent eyes.
"Am I not enough for you?" Tracey pressed one hand to her heart and the other wiped daintily at the corner of her eyes. "You're horrible, Harry Potter. Not only did yo-"
"Tracey…" Harry said in warning, not liking the few people she'd already caused to look at them.
"Oh Morgana's sake, have fun, Harry! Not like it matters what these early arriving goody-two-shoes think, does it?" Tracey glared at each person looking at them in turn, making the lot of them go back to whatever they'd been doing before.
Internally, Harry was cursing Daphne for leaving him alone with the force of nature known as Tracey.
"Ah, there she is! Well, my jobs done, have fun — don't forget you owe me a dance later!" Tracey pointed over Harry's shoulder and took off back whence she came.
Confused as he was in dealing with her, he turned towards the way she'd pointed and saw the single most beautiful vision his eyes had ever shown him.
Daphne, the girl who'd worn him down into giving her a chance, was wearing a form-fitting dress that perfectly matched her honey-blonde hair; her figure was perfectly shown off, the jewellery she wore matched her green eyes and the few freckles she had on her face were made all the more appealing with the adornment of makeup.
"Do I look alright, Harry?" Daphne twirled for him once she stood only a few feet away, the vision she made was all the more entrancing thanks to that motion.
He nodded his head, his eyes scouring every part of her while lingering on a few more… noticeable features she had.
Daphne cocked her head and swiped her tongue across her bottom lip.
"Are you sure?" — She stepped closer to him, leaving only a few inches between them — "Could you… could you say what you're thinking?"
Harry's thoughts were the most out of whack as they'd ever been, not even Fleur or Katie had made him as out of sorts as he was in that moment; those were his two biggest crushes too, though the former was purely out of the raw physical beauty she possessed.
"Pretty… I, uh, I mean you look beautiful Daphne! Really, you look great, perfect even… yeah," Harry felt his cheeks getting red thanks to how dumb she'd struck him, and if it weren't for the fact that she'd smiled just as shyly thanks to his bumbling, the potential for fleeing would've been the highest priority.
"Thank you," Daphne said quietly, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "You look very handsome, this evening will be unparalleled… Thank you for saying yes."
His eyes widened at the kiss, the soft touch of her lips and the fruit-flavoured after-taste were something he very much wanted more of. More than his hormone-driven desires, however, was the shyness she exhibited after her moments of confidence.
Merlin, did he really like the girl standing in front of him.
"Thank you for coming to see me the times that you did, I was an idiot not to ask you the first time we spoke," Harry still felt annoyed at himself for pushing it off as he had, the thought of losing Daphne to some other bloke was horrible.
"I should've made my intentions clearer, the fault isn't only yours. It doesn't matter though, not anymore," Daphne looped her arm through his and began walking them off in the direction of an empty classroom nearby the Yule party. "Let's sneak in a few dances for the two of us, is that okay?"
Leaning forward as she was with that shy smile on her face and the top of her cleavage visible from his position, saying no to the siren before him was impossible; he nodded his head.
Daphne beamed at him.
"Perfect."
"Harry, focus on me and I'll do the same," Daphne encouraged, her grip on his hand tightening to distract him from the nerves of performing for a crowd, ones that she no longer felt thanks to multiple Pureblood events during summer or Yule's past.
"I can do that," He said right as the pair started following the couple in front of them onto the dance floor.
As champions, he and his date were expected to start the festivities alongside the others by dancing with their partner. It wasn't required for it to be a full dance through one song, luckily enough, only that the thr- four groups started the evening's joy. As simple as it was, dancing for three bodies of students and a myriad of adults that represented different groups of importance was far from an easy thing. Especially when they were almost all paying attention instead of speaking within their social circles.
"Hips, Harry — make sure you save grabbing my arse for later," Daphne's words made his cheeks colour as he settled his hands where she'd said and just like that, he'd forgotten about the crowd as the music began.
Slowly, comfortably, the two of them moved with one another, the earlier dances they'd shared in private no doubt coming into play for a more fluent moving together. No errors were made on his part, Daphne's guiding and earlier tips making sure to save him from the embarrassment that'd worried him.
"You're doing great," Daphne said with a smile.
"I had a good teacher," Harry answered, winking at the girl whose face had started to flush — he wasn't sure if it was due to the paleness of her skin or the same feelings that'd started to rise to the surface of his mind.
Finally, after some time of their gentle-swaying and the occasional spin or dap, other couples began joining them on the floor after half a minute or so.
Daphne sighed contentedly, pushing herself closer to him now that the observers had a greatly diminished viewing of them.
"Wonderful, Harry," She said, placing a soft kiss on his cheek thanks to that newfound closeness. "I dare think I'll be keeping you to myself all night aside from the one dance I promised Tracey. That's fine with you, isn't it?"
"You don't even need to ask," He replied after a beautifully done twirl by the girl.
"That's a wonderful answer, I think I'll keep you," Daphne winked at him and bit her lower lip.
Such a look from the enchantress made him close his eyes for a few seconds to gather his thoughts. Beauty and charms that she possessed in spades should be criminal, there wasn't any chance he could ever deny a girl such as her.
Slowly, the night went on and on with Harry spending almost the entirety of it with Daphne. Together, the pair danced through various songs until their motions became less synchronized and more erratic as the music gradually changed until it was incredibly upbeat with fast-paced vocals.
As that happened, the two of them were jumping around together while laughing and occasionally peppering the other with kisses. Dancing carefully and coordinated as they'd been doing was gone to the wild motions of two teens enjoying the presence the other provided.
Harry supposed the twins had done something to the drinks too, he'd felt light-headed and freer as the night went on after grabbing drinks for the pair of them. Daphne had seemed that way too, the boldness she exhibited only growing as the hours ticked by; from shyly having him hold her hips to pressing closer against him and finally, being flush against his body.
"Harry," Daphne said breathily from her spot on his lap at their faraway table — thank you, Cedric.
"Yeah?" Harry replied.
"I had hoped for a walk for privacy, though I don't think that's entirely possible any more thanks to whatever those two Weasley twins did," Daphne lowered her face to stare directly into his eyes. "Is anyone watching us?"
Harry cocked his head and laughed before he looked around the mildly-spinning room.
"No?"
It didn't look like they were being watched, then again, his eyes were far more suited to looking at the vision of beauty on his lap than the mass of people dancing in the middle of the room. Other outliers were around too, but they were similarly occupied with conversations or snogging.
"Perfect," Daphne said, leaving him confused until she took her next action.
"Wha-" He'd been halfway through saying when the girl closed the few inches distance their faces had, catching his lower lip between hers and sliding her tongue into his mouth. Her aggression had ceased being soft touches and gentle caresses, now, she'd gotten to the snogging as all the other couples were doing.
Harry didn't mind it not one bit, not even when she lightly bit his lower lip and made a frustrated noise from her seat on his left leg.
"Well then, looks like you two are having fun," Tracey's voice commented as the girl pulled up a seat beside the snogging couple. "Think I could have a go at your boyfr- I'm kidding! Morgana, Daphne! You'll poke my eye out if you do that when I'm not prepared!"
Halfway through her joking request, Daphne had pulled her wand while keeping her lips pressed against his — by the sound of things, Daphne had nearly blinded Tracey with her wand without needing to use a single spell.
Daphne pulled back, her chest heaving, to glare at Tracey.
"He's mine, get your own."
Harry opened his mouth to laugh, but Daphne had other plans as she dove back in for a second round of snogging.
That worked for him.