Fleeting Moments

Just A Dream - Looe, Cornwall - 17th April 2006

She stood and watched as the healers rushed about the small private ward. They barked quick, short commands at each other, yet she couldn't understand what they were saying. It was as if her head were submerged in water, the garbled and hurried words merely muffled noises to her. Her eyes, however, saw clearly.

Harry on the bed, still as unresponsive and unmoving as when they had found him.

Her mother put her arms around her shoulders to offer comfort, a gesture she registered somewhere in her subconsciousness while her mind was focused on the nightmare in front of her eyes.

"We're losing him!" one of the healers shouted.

The words slammed into her head like a blasting hex. Harry, the love of her life, the father of her child, might not come back to her.

"HARRY!" she screamed.

Her vision blurred and she gasped as she jolted upright from her sleep, her breath ragged and heart racing.

She put a hand on her chest to calm down her racing heart. Her ragged breath echoed through the dark bedroom.

Eventually, she calmed down. The loud early spring coastal winds whipped about outside their window, together with the familiar sound of the waves crashing at the cliffs in the distance. Faint moonlight poured through a slit in the closed curtains and illuminated the bed beside her.

Her eyes sought the spot next to her.

Harry slept peacefully on his stomach, his bare back facing her.

She breathed out. Something warm slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away with the pad of her hand and let out a low sob when she realised that she was crying. With another shuddering breath, she shifted closer to Harry, snuggled into his back and embraced him.

It was only a nightmare, she comforted herself, one that hopefully would never come true.

Her stomach knotted in silent terror. Every day he went out to work, she feared he might not come home that night, that she would be packing up her desk for the day and laughing with Lisa, only for one of the Aurors to arrive with a grim set face. Oh, how she wished he would've picked a safer career, some boring desk job where he would come home and complain about a manager or the workload.

Yet, that wasn't her Harry. He couldn't sit idle after the war whilst former Death Eaters roamed 'd kept his silent vow to raid their world from the Death Eaters and make it a safe place for his family.

Then Paris happened, and again he couldn't walk away from it.

Sometimes, he'd come home with injuries. Oh he'd try to hide it from her, but she could always tell, either from the way he would hold himself, or how he would shift Jess to his other side or to his other leg.

She wasn't the only one who would notice, her mother and father also would see the winces or the hint of spell damage. Her father would exchange a tense glance with her mother in those moments and grit his teeth. Her mother, however, always had fear etched behind her blue eyes that were so much like her own.

She smiled at her parents' affections for her husband.

To her mother he was the son she never had, something that Molly Weasley and her often fought about, albeit in a friendly manner. To her father he became a colleague and friend, at least once father had got over the fact Harry was sleeping with his daughter. She chuckled lightly at the memory of her father changing his tune when he hoped for grandchildren.

Again, her eyes focused on her husband's sleeping form. Her fingers threaded through his shortened ruffled hair. The heat of his body soothed her fears and tender nerves from her nightmare.

"It was only a dream," she whispered, before pressing her weight against his back and letting her eyes shut once more.

Budding Interest - Hogwarts - 26th September 1996

She pulled at her shirt collar with clear annoyance as she used her other hand to attempt to carry on with their DADA essays, Tracey Davies raised a delicate eyebrow at Daphne's behaviour. They were sitting in the great hall, at the top of the Slytherin table closest to the professors table catching up with their workload.

While Draco and his goons were quieter than usual due to the dark lord being exposed earlier in the year, it served them well to be closer to the professors to avoid any unwanted issues from the darker students. Thankfully their courage outside of the common room was low, given the whole school was filled with wizards and witches who would like nothing better than to strike out at any death eaters. Cowards to the end Draco and his little group would keep themselves to themselves .. for now.

Daphne tugged at her collar again and her blue eyes flicked up briefly looking into the middle of the great hall before looking rapidly back down at her parchment. That piqued Tacey's interest, even more so as she could see a faint red blush that kept up her neck. So her best mate might be lusting after someone? About flipping time, six years she and Daphne had been linked by the hip and the blonde never took a hint of interest to a boy, for a brief moment in time Tracey had thought maybe Daphne was asexual.

She looked in the general direction that her best friend looked in, the great hall wasn't so full that she couldn't get a rough idea who might be causing Daphne a distraction.

On the Hufflepuff table just next to them was Zachaira Smith, Tracey shuddered at the thought, no her best friend had far better taste than that. Next was Justin Finch-Fletchley, not ugly but a little plain and much too boring to hold Daphne's attention, Ernie Macmillan maybe? He was attractive and somewhat smart, but again not really someone she thought her best friend might be interested in.

The Ravenclaw table was the furthest from them this year. Marcus Belby? Not dull, but much too full of himself for the achievement of his uncle. Terry Boot was mildly attractive and intelligent but rumoured to be involved with Lisa Turpin, Daphne wouldn't play second fiddle to someone.

That left Gryffindor. She had to suppress the snort that threatened to escape her lips, as if her friend would be remotely interested in one of the lions. Tracey didn't buy into the house feuds at all, yet she had received the side effects from the feud between lions and snakes, a tripping jinx here and a hair growth hex there. Lions weren't always as gallant as the patron of their house, she still remembered the day when Blaise had come back to the common room with a black eye and split lip, after a run in with Finnigan.

Daphne would sooner kiss Draco Malfoy before going near the Irishman and she hated the blonde pounce more than the dark lord. No, only a few of the lions really embodied their true values, Longbottom but again he was too meek for Daphne, Dean Thomas was a friend of Finnigan, Weasley was … well Weasley that and the red head was hopelessly in love with Granger. Then there was Potter …

No.

Tracey zeroed her eyes on the "chosen one" as he was engrossed in a book, his left hand embedded in his hair whilst the right was tracing the lines of the book, Granger was leaning over and pointing something out. Half the school gossiped about those two shagging in the broom cupboards, despite the fact no one shagged in the broom cupboards. Hell no one shagged in the school, the wards practically prevented you having any privacy. Her and Blaise finally did the deed over the summer .. She let out a low dreamy sigh at the memory.

Tracey shook herself and looked over at Daphne quickly, her best friend was subtle but she saw it. Daphne had looked up again, only with her eyes but she had, her nostrils had flared and her neck flushed.

Daphne has the hots for .. Potter?

Tracey looked back to Potter who was looking at Granger now and the pair exchanged a smile and a laugh. Her friend's throat seemed to tense.

And she was jealous?

Tracey thought then that this year was going to get very interesting.

A Lions Lunch - Ministry of Magic - 7th June 2000

Isabella Greengrass strolled through the central hall of the British ministry of magic at ten minutes to twelve, no doubt the marbled halls would be packed in a short few minutes as the lunch time rush began. Eager to miss the rush and arrive at her destination she made a beeline for the elevators, nodding to those who acknowledged her as she passed them by. Arriving at the elevators she called for one and waited, straightening out her sky blue summer dress that flowed down below her knees and eased her long blonde hair out. Like most pureblood women she wore her hair long and free of knots and braids, something her mother always instilled in her.

"Lady Greengrass?"

Turning to her left she saw a youthful, well manicured man dressed in tailored trousers, a crisp white shirt and smoke grey over robe. She vaguely recalled seeing his face from somewhere, but could not place it.

"Yes?" she replied, not unfriendly but she made it clear with her voice she was unsure who he was. The young man seemed to falter slightly before righting himself and standing tall.

"Apologise's Lady Greengrass, we've only met in passing so allow me to introduce myself formally" he began and gently took her hand, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him. "Jeremiah Fawley, my father is Lord Joseph Fawley and he and your husband sometimes bring votes to the Wizengamot together" and finished by kissing her hand.

She did know of Joseph, he was a friendly man if a little plain but friendly no less. She didn't know his son however, given she knew most of the purebloods and their children she was surprised she didn't know Jeremiah.

"Well met Jeremiah" she nodded, she noted he was carrying two takeaway cups of what she presumed were coffee. "A little early for your lunch?" she nodded to his cups.

"Please Lady Greengrass, call me Jerry and yes, I wanted to miss the lunch time rush, funnily enough one of these is for your daughter!" he beamed at her. The young man was about as subtle as a hippogriff at a muggle summer fate, even within five minutes of meeting the man she could tell he was smitten, she would not be unfriendly to the young man, his feelings were natural after all. But her daughter and Harry's engagement was young and the press would love to incite drama if Jerry was not quiet about his affections. Given how some pureblood marriages went, the daily prophet would love to imply the saviour of the wizarding world was being made a cuckold.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, she has been working incredibly hard for us recently, your daughter is an incredible young woman. You must be very proud?"

"That I am, Daphne applies herself to everything she is passionate about, it does not surprise me excels in her work" Isabella replied, again giving him little to feed off. She could see him shifting uncomfortably from the corner of her eye. She focused her gaze solely on the grate to the lifts, resisting the urge to tap her foot.

"Lady Greengrass, I was wondering if I might take you and your husband to dinner one evening?" Again she raised an eyebrow again and turned her head to face Jeremy.

"A kind offer, but may I ask why? With respect to your father our families have little in common nor do we have long standing relations save for similar voting patterns. For a son of a lord to approach the heads of a family in this manner is most uncommon. Isabella hated the language, had it her way she would ask the boy what the hell he was thinking but that was not the done thing. She noted him swallow heavily.

"I wished to discuss a courtship with your daughter if I might be so bold I -"

"Are you aware that my daughter is engaged to be married?" she interrupted, her face hard . To say she was livid was an understatement, how dare the man?

"Y-yes I am -"

"And you are aware that my daughter is in love with the man whose proposal she has accepted?"

"Yes well the man whom she loves does not afford her the respect she deserves-" the young man stopped talking when she turned her full body to face him, her eyes and face cold. She was well aware her daughter had admirers and that some wizards were arrogant, but this young man was a level to himself. The implication that Harry was not respectful of her daughter struck a chord with her also, she knew full well how much her future son-in-law felt about her eldest.

"Mr Fawley, firstly my daughter is free to choose whom she gives her heart to. Secondly, Harry Potter shows my daughter the proper level of respect that my husband and I hope a suitor would give to our daughter. Thirdly I shall be writing to your father regarding this, had your intention been leaked to the press you could have caused my daughter a great deal of distress" she stepped closer to him on her last point, the young man was not much taller than her. "And if you cause distress to my daughter, or my future son-in-law for that matter, then you will answer me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Lady Greengrass" he nodded quickly.

Just as she stepped back the lift dinged and the gates slid open, a familiar face greeted her.

"Harry, I was coming to meet you at your office!" She greeted her future son-in-law with a radiant smile. The man in question stepped out of the lift with his auror partner George Watson.

"I was allowed to step away early so that we wouldn't be caught in the lunchtime rush, I think Robbards has a soft spot for you" he replied as he walked over to her, then exchanged a kiss on the cheek, she noted the shocked look on Jerry's face.

"Now my escort duties are over, I am going to fetch the biscuits for our meeting later, have a good lunch Harry, Lady Greengrass"

"Nothing with fruit in George!" Harry called after him.

"I've got you covered, chocolate digestive it is" his partner called back.

"My dearest Watson knows me so well," her future son-in-law chuckled before offering his arm. "Shall we Isabella?"

"We shall, where are we headed?"

"A surprise, but I promise you will enjoy yourself." he smiled before they strolled away from Jerry, leaving the young man in a stunned silence.

…

Thank you for Dorothea for her overview of the first scene. We will finally see what Daphne's father was threatened with and what his true plan was before Harry killed Tom Riddle.

Ember of Ruins, the next chapter is in the works!