Chapter 6

Wind of Change

A few weeks later, while sitting at lunch, a small folded-up piece of parchment appeared on her plate. She almost stabbed it with her fork, probably wouldn't have been very tasty or nutritious.

Meet me out in the courtyard in 15 minutes.

Bring Tracey.

-Harry

The handwriting was horrible, even by Harry's standards. And there were no insults, no snide comments. She handed the note to Tracey before she could even ask what it was.

'What do you think he wants?' Tracey asked.

'No clue,' Daphne responded as she looked across the hall. Harry was trying to look at her discreetly and he had a distinctly questioning expression on his face. Daphne nodded, hoping he would understand that to mean she would meet him. He nodded in response and went back to his food.

The time came. She watched Harry say something to Hermione before he and Ron got up and left.

'Well, Trace, you ready?' Daphne asked.

'Don't know what to get ready for, but sure.'

'I'm coming too,' Millicent stated.

'Well, if he doesn't want to tell me why we're meeting him, I don't think he can complain if I bring an extra friend. Sure, come along,' Daphne said, much to Millicent's delight.

They found Harry and Ron waiting for them in the courtyard. Ron had his hands in his pockets and Harry cut off whatever he was saying as soon as he caught sight of the girls. Ron's eye darted between the three of them, he didn't seem very enthused about the extra person that came along, while Harry seemed to find it amusing.

'Thanks for coming. Sorry, my note was so hasty,' Harry said.

'You're lucky I could make out the words,' Daphne teased.

'I know, I know. Well, we don't have much time. But Ron has something to say,' Harry said with a small smirk.

All eyes shot towards Ron.

Ron stepped forward, nervously clutching his robes, his gaze darting to and from Tracey. Daphne's smirk started to mirror Harry's.

'Er. . . well. . . I was wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend,' Ron stammered.

'Me?' Tracey asked, putting a hand over her chest.

Daphne rolled her eyes. Who else would he be asking, but she knew Tracey liked dramatics, so it wasn't that surprising she would draw out the moment.

'Yeah, you, Tracey.'

'Hmm. . . I did have fun with you at the Yule Ball. . . but you haven't said a word to me since. . .' No mention of the fact that she hadn't made any effort to initiate conversation either.

'I know, I'm sorry. I just—I get nervous whenever I think about trying to approach you. I had to get Harry to set this up, else I don't know if I ever would've asked,' Ron tried to explain.

'So I should give you another chance?'

'I think so,' Ron answered tentatively.

Wow, Daphne thought, she really was stringing him along. There was no way she was going to say no.

'Ok, I'll go with you,' Tracey said with a bright smile as if there had been no struggle in coming to the conclusion.

'Is it alright if we make it a double date?' Harry asked, his question mostly directed to Daphne.

The two girls looked at each other and shrugged.

What was he getting at? Being with Ron and Tracey would mean they'd have to act civilly towards each other, and they hadn't had much success in pulling that off for long stretches of time in the past. Or was this just part of what Ron needed? A friend to be by his side as he did something new. Either way, declining would be the most suspicious thing she could do right now.

'That sounds great,' Daphne declared.

'Brilliant. We'll meet you here at 10 on Saturday,' Harry stated.

'See you then,' the girls said as they left.

Tracey held in her explosion until they reached their dormitory. 'Eeeek! He finally talked to me!' she screeched.

'And asked you out,' Millicent added.

'Yes, that too,' Tracey replied excitedly, but at a much lower volume than before.

'You certainly did a good job holding it together out there,' Daphne commented.

'I know, my heart was racing and my stomach was doing flips but I couldn't let him know that.'

'So you pretended to not be that interested. Truly original,' Daphne said sarcastically.

'Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else to say. The whole situation caught me off guard,' Tracey explained.

'Do you think they want to hang out together the whole time?' Tracey asked.

'I don't know what they are thinking. You want some alone time?' Daphne teased.

'Well. . . yeah. Of course.'

'I'll bet we can make that happen.'

Tracey was a ball of nervous energy the rest of the week. Sometimes she was excited and sometimes she was in the depths of self-loathing. Daphne just listened, and at times, played counselor; Millicent was a big help too.

Saturday morning came and they said goodbye to Millicent who tried to appear as happy as she could, but there was a sadness that she couldn't hide from her friends. We have to bring her back something to cheer her up, Daphne thought as they left their friend behind.

The beginning of the carriage ride was a bit awkward. Daphne was unsure how to act around Harry with other friends present. They couldn't really do their normal throwing of insults and she didn't want to get all lovey-dovey either. Harry's lack of words and somewhat strained smile told her he was feeling a similar confusion.

Tracey and Ron seemed to still be deciding how forward they were going to be with each other. They had ended on a good note, but apparently weren't ready to pick up where they left off considering all the time that had passed.

Tracey broke the awkward silence, 'Do you know what you're to do for the third task, Harry?'

'No, not yet. They didn't even give a hint or a clue from the last task.'

'Surely, they'll tell you something before the task,' Tracey said.

'I've given up trying to predict anything with this tournament,' Harry said.

'Well, I for one, hope you win.'

'Thanks, Tracey. That means a lot,' Harry said sincerely.

Though there wasn't much discussion the rest of the ride, the awkwardness seemed to have dissipated. They started going to some of the shops. They would walk together and then separate into couples once inside.

'The double date idea was just brilliant, Harry,' Daphne said spitefully.

'It's not my fault you can barely manage to behave civilly for any stretch of time. I like your friend Tracey,' Harry replied. 'And I told Ron I'd stay with him until he felt comfortable.'

'Aren't you just the big hero?' she said.

'Some would say that,' he replied with the arrogance he saved for Daphne. She rolled her eyes.

Tracey and Ron then approached arm in arm, they appeared to be getting along as well as Tracey had described at the dance. 'Ron's starting to get hungry. Shall we head to the Three Broomsticks?'

'Tracey, Ron's always hungry,' Harry said with a laugh. 'And yeah, that sounds good.'

'Hey, no need to sell me out, mate,' Ron said.

'She'll find out sooner or later, Ron. It's like the first thing I learned about you.'

'I heard your stomach growling long before you said anything. I'd say you were most patient,' Tracey added with a coquettish smile. Ron's face went red, and they took the lead.

'Are we going to have to watch that all day?' Daphne whined.

'Aren't you happy they are getting along so well?' Harry replied.

'A little too well.'

'Well, maybe we can split up after we eat so you don't have to witness it,' Harry suggested.

'Damn, I hate it when I agree with you,' Daphne snarked.

'Every time we get together I'm amazed that I somehow end up hating you more.'

'Hmph,' Daphne grunted as they got to the Three Broomsticks. Ron and Tracey were waiting for them at the doors.

The conversation at the table revolved around whatever Ron and Tracey brought up. They were each more talkative than their friends, to begin with so, once they became comfortable with each other—again—there was no shortage of topics to discuss. Harry and Daphne contributed their fair share of comments but the conversation never centered on them or their personal lives, and that was how they preferred it.

That made their time in the restaurant enjoyable, even if they had to deal with some of the other couples—mainly Tracey's—over the top and exaggerated flirting.

Before the day, Daphne and Tracey had set up a set of signals that they would use so Daphne could know if Tracey wanted her to leave with Harry. There was no surprise when Tracey gave Daphne the sign that she was ready for some one-on-one time with her date.

'Harry, I need to make a stop at Honeydukes. Are you ready to go?' Daphne asked sweetly.

'I am.'

'That sounds good!' Ron agreed also.

'Ron, I'd actually like another butterbeer, if you don't mind,' Tracey said tentatively. 'You guys can go ahead and we can catch up later.'

'Oh, ok, sure, no problem,' Ron said as he got up to go to the bar.

'Ok, I'll see you in the common room if I get lost on my way back to the castle,' Harry added with a conspiratorial look.

'Ooooh, right. See you back at the castle then,' Ron said in acknowledgment with a not-so-subtle sly smile.

'Alright, let's go, Daphne,' Harry said, extending a hand for her to take, which she did with a satisfied smile.

'Bye, Tracey,' Daphne said with a wink that was hidden from Ron. Did Tracey blush? Daphne was almost sure she did.

'I've gotta say, that was a pretty smooth line, making Ron think we wanted some alone time ourselves and not to get them alone,' Daphne stated.

'Yeah, well I haven't seen or heard any signs of Sirius today. So no point in us doing anything together we don't want to do.'

'Exactly! I just want to pick up something for Millicent. Then we can go our separate ways.'

'That's pretty nice of you,' Harry commented.

'The three of us have gone to every Hogsmeade trip together. I felt bad that we left her today.'

'So you do have a heart. . .'

'Ha, you're hilarious.'

They entered Honeydukes and Daphne knew right where to go to pick out Millicent's favorite treat: sugared butterfly wings.

She paid for the item and found Harry perusing the store. She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out of the store, he didn't fight hard, just enough to be a nuisance.

'Oh, I'm sorry, dear. Did you want to get something?' Daphne asked in fake sweetness.

'Oh, no! I was just biding my time, waiting for you,' he answered in turn with the same tone.

'Good then, let's be off to the carriages.'

'Can we walk?' Harry asked and his tone had changed to a more sincere one.

She gazed at him curiously. 'I guess. But why?'

'I guess you might be in a hurry to get those to Millicent, but I'm not in any real hurry to get back. So, I can just walk with you to the carriages, and then I'll go the rest of the way on my own. It's no big deal.'

'Well, Millicent won't really know the difference, no matter when I get back—'

'Hold still,' Harry said, looking at Daphne's hair.

'What?'

Harry didn't answer. He brought a hand up to the side of her head. Was he going to pull her into a kiss? Had he changed his mind? Her body started tilting towards him to a small degree. She heard a small thud-like sound above her ear and felt a slight tug of her hair. And Harry had a satisfied smile on his face as he looked back into her eyes.

'A bug just landed in your hair.' Harry pointed to a black beetle that was now laying on its back, unable to move. 'You were saying. . . ' he prompted as they continued their walk to the castle.

'Oh, yes. Just that we should probably stick together. For appearances. . .'

'Does that even matter?' Harry asked. 'Have you seen any sign of Sirius today?'

'No, but it's not just Sirius we're fooling. If someone sees you walking back from Hogsmeade all by yourself. . .'

'Yeah, but so what? Is he really going to find out anything if we don't pretend to be together? It's not like he is hooked into the Hogwarts rumor mill,' Harry suggested.

'He is certainly hooked into the Skeeter rumor mill.'

'Yeah, but he knows all she writes rubbish.'

'Still, she gets something right every once in a while and it wouldn't be too hard for him to confirm. And once he finds out, there's no way he's letting us out of sharing a room after what we've already put him through.'

'So we can't let him find out,' Harry proclaimed.

'Right, so if you want to walk, I'll walk,' Daphne said pleasantly. 'Because I've finally gotten used to Skeeter calling me a gold digger. If we get broken up now, she'll just blast me for not being able to hold onto you.'

'I don't know, she might make up something about my wandering eyes and that I couldn't stay tied down to one girl,' Harry suggested.

They both laughed and continued speculating at other possible scenarios Skeeter could use to describe a rumored breakup.

'I'm sure she'd say the same things about my mum and Sirius if she ever found out,' Daphne pondered.

'It's still a bit of a miracle that's never made the news. I'd have thought that would've got out by now.'

'Yeah, I know they've been super careful. The only real time they've been together in wizarding public is at the World Cup.'

'And no one noticed them together?' Harry asked.

'Sirius got noticed plenty. But I don't think anyone knew who my mum was, so she was just some mystery woman to them. And the only people he introduced us to were the Ministry reps that got us the seats. And they had their heads so far up their own arses they hardly paid attention to our names, let alone our affiliation to Sirius. I think the only reason we got invited to the after-party was by accident.'

'Hmm, still amazing they've kept it all a secret.'

'Yeah.'

They walked in amiable silence for a while, it almost seemed their only way to avoid fighting. Nevertheless, Daphne did have one question pop into her head that she thought wouldn't start the next great war.

'Why did Ron wait so long to ask Tracey out? I know they got along splendidly at the ball,' Daphne said.

Harry chuckled softly at first and smiled. 'I don't think even Ron could properly answer that question, but I'll try. After the Yule Ball, Ron and Hermione were definitely different with each other. But while Viktor was still in the picture, there was no way Ron was going to make a move. So. . . my guess is—and it's all just a guess because we haven't talked at all about him and Hermione—that he was waiting for her to drop Krum as some sort of sign. When that never happened he decided to move on.'

'That sounds reasonable. Hermione is his first choice, whether he admits it or not, so when he thought there might be an opening, he waited. But he only had so much patience, so it was time to go to the next option.'

'Yeah.'

'I think Tracey understood that, even going into the Yule Ball. But after having such a good time, she kinda hoped he might've skipped the "waiting to see how Hermione would respond" part. Still, she was excited to go with Ron today.'

'Must be nice to be on a date with someone you actually fancy,' Harry said dryly.

'Sometimes we don't get everything we want and sacrifices must be made,' Daphne chided.

'Sacrifice is definitely the right word,' he agreed forcefully.

'Oh, don't pretend like this is some one-way sacrifice,' she rebuked.

'Well, I'm definitely getting the short end.'

'You would know about short ends.'

'Ha! Do you make a habit of talking about things you know nothing about?' Harry retorted spitefully.

'I'm not repeating anything I haven't heard others say,' she reasoned.

'Good one. You're well on your way to being the next Skeeter.'

'Ouch! Now, that's a low blow,' Daphne stated.

'As low as yours?' Harry asked with a small grin.

'It's debatable,' she replied with a smile of her own. 'So, what are you going to do for the rest of the day?'

'I'll probably go fly. . . get out of the castle.'

They stopped at the bottom of the stairs. This was their parting point. They both looked around in all directions, by some miracle only Merlin could pull off, they were completely alone. Did they both reach the same conclusion? Their slow withdrawal from each seemed to indicate so.

'See you later, Harry,' Daphne said somewhat tentatively.

'Later, Daphne,' Harry answered in a similar tone, though it felt more certain to Daphne.

She walked back to the dungeons with an odd sensation. With no one around, there was no need to show any affection. And though she wouldn't have been opposed to such an act, she wasn't going to let him know that. But still, she left feeling like something was missing.

She dropped those feelings when she saw Millicent in the common room.

'Hey, you're back early,' Millicent said.

'Yeah, I got something for you. Let's go to our room,' Daphne replied.

As soon as they reached their room and got settled on Daphne's bed, she pulled out the sack and handed it to Millicent. She recognized the Honeydukes bag and was ecstatic when she saw her favorite candy.

'Thanks so much, Daphne!' Millicent said. 'So, why'd you really come back so early? Where's Harry?'

'He's going flying.'

'Oh, you're gonna race your Firebolts?' Millicent asked excitedly. 'That sounds like a fun idea.'

'Oh. . . Er. . . yeah,' she said as her eyes fell on her trunk where her Firebolt remained locked up. It wasn't a bad idea. It certainly would irritate Harry. And it had been a while since she'd gotten out on her broom. It's not like Harry had some dibs on the skies. 'I wanted to give you your treat first though.'

'Well, thanks for thinking of me. And tell Harry thanks for letting you get away to come visit. Go have some fun.'

She grimaced as she was facing away from her friend. Both her friends liked her boyfriend better than she did. She put on a smile as she turned back around, broom in hand. 'I'll always remember my friends. See you later, Millie.'

She made her way out to the grounds and didn't see any sign of Harry at first glance. She took off and circled the castle, then headed towards the Quidditch pitch. Hagrid was about and appeared to be planting bushes in the pitch itself.

She looked towards the lake, and there he was, skimming just above the water, leaving a spray of water in his wake. She flew over and waited for him to finish his pass. He didn't look up when he was done. He just turned around and floated only feet above the edge of the water, breathing so heavily she could see his shoulders rising and falling.

She descended and pulled up right next to him, nudging his shoulder with hers. It wasn't hard enough to send him falling from his broom, but it was enough to send him scrambling to regain his balance. Daphne laughed at his flailing.

'What are you doing here?' He hadn't even glanced at her yet. Perhaps, he recognized her laugh.

'Didn't know you had dominion over the skies. . .'

'I—Well, I don't. What do I have to do to get rid of you?' Harry asked in desperation.

'Hmm. . . beat me in a race,' she suggested.

'I beat you in a race and you will leave?' he replied with interest.

'Yeah, and if I win. . . ' She had to think about something she wanted. There wasn't anything she wanted him to do. But he had a whole bunch of things she wanted to know. That was it! 'If I win you have to answer a question.'

'Ok. . . wait! What question?'

'I don't know yet,' she answered.

'Well, you better decide now. Because there are some questions I won't answer, no matter what,' Harry said solemnly.

'Ok, how about. . . How did you get your name in the Cup?' she stated thoughtfully.

'Ha! That's a waste. You won't believe me anyway,' Harry scoffed.

'I have my ways of making sure you'll be honest,' Daphne said mischievously.

'Oh, really? Well, it won't matter. You'd have to win first. Let's start on the far side of the lake. You have to go through both large center rings, then a lap around the castle, back through the big rings, and first to cross the water's edge on the far side of the lake wins,' Harry suggested.

'Sounds good to me.'

They flew to the other side of the lake and got in position.

'You can call out the start. I don't want to hear any excuses,' Harry said confidently.

'Ok. Ready. . . Set. . . Go!' Daphne cried.

She got the jump off the start and stayed in the lead all the way across the lake, and through the first hoop, and through the second. She didn't dare peek over her shoulder to see where he was out of fear that might slow her down even the tiniest bit. She rolled her shoulders in tight and kept herself pressed tightly to her broom. Aerodynamics was her best advantage and she was using it to its fullest.

She was able to catch a glimpse of Harry out of her peripheral vision as she made the turn to start her lap around the castle—he was not far behind her, as expected, and seemed to have a grin on his face, if she was not mistaken. She made it around the castle still in the lead and Harry was about as far behind as when they'd started the lap. The wind in her face was exhilarating and the thought of winning even more so. She hardly cared about the bet they'd made—just the idea of beating Harry in a broom race would've been reward enough.

She passed through the first ring, then the second. The lake was was in view and she was feeling good. Her breaths were more labored but she was still going just as fast as she'd started—or she thought. She was pouring all she had into her flying.

Then. . .

No. . .

Harry was even with her. Where did he come from? That was her only thought.

He pulled away at the beginning of the lake. One broom length. . . then two. . . and he crossed the edge of the lake a full three broom lengths ahead. He raised his arms in the air in victory as he pulled up and did a loop-the-loop in celebration.

'You were good,' Harry said in what seemed to be a sincere compliment when Daphne had slowed down and pulled up next to him.

'Thanks. . . I guess. I had you the whole time,' she stated, more to herself than him.

'That's the trouble with races, there's only one moment when it matters.' She could smack the grin off his face. But he had won, fair and square, as far as she knew.

'Yeah, I suppose so. Well, I guess I'll leave you to your solo flying. See—'

'You don't have to go,' Harry said. Daphne shot him a questioning look. 'If you'll let me change the terms of our bet, that is. I'm not letting you completely off the hook.'

'Ok. . .' she replied suspiciously. 'What do you want as your prize?'

'I want to know how you were going to get me to tell the truth, without doubting.'

'Oh,' Daphne's eyes lit up. 'Ok, you can change your reward to that.'

Harry nodded.

'In your case, it would be a wizard's oath,' she said.

'Bollocks! Hermione looked all that stuff up. Those aren't real, or they don't hold the power people say they do,' Harry said dismissively.

'Oh, but they do. Sure, the textbooks dismiss them, but that's just the academics. What I'm talking about is magic that goes beyond the books. . . handed down within families over centuries. . . the stuff that doesn't get talked about in the open,' Daphne explained in a mystical tone.

'For real?'

'For real,' Daphne confirmed. 'Do you want to test it out?'

'Kinda. . .' he said hesitantly. 'But no!'

'You do,' she stated. 'Are you scared of the answer? The truth?'

'No.'

'Will it get you or someone else in trouble if word got out?'

'No.'

'Is it embarrassing?'

'No.'

'Does Sirius already know?'

'Yes.'

'So, what's the big deal? If the truth isn't that big of a deal. . .' she prompted.

'Ok, if it will get you off my back, I'll do it,' he relented.

'Ok, raise your wand and touch it to your forehead, then follow my wand motions as you say, "I, state your full name, do swear upon my honor, my magic, and my virtue, to tell the complete and honest truth. . ." ' Her wand motions were elaborate and awkward but Harry seemed to follow.

'I, Harry James Potter, do swear upon my honor, my magic, and my virtue, to tell the complete and honest truth.' It was a good thing there were no rules against rolling your eye while making the oath, or Harry's would've been invalidated multiple times.

'. . . so mote it be,' Daphne added.

'That's not part of it!' Harry claimed.

'It is. And do you dare take the chance to not do it correctly?' she asked ominously.

'So mote it be,' he said with another eye roll.

'Very good. Now, how did you get your name in the Cup?'

'I didn't,' he answered.

'What?' she replied disbelievingly. 'So, how did your name come out?'

'I don't know. I suspect someone else put my name in and somehow convinced the Cup it was me.'

'You didn't put your name through any means?'

'Nope, I had no interest in competing,' Harry said sincerely.

'But why. . . why would someone else want you in the tournament?'

'Sorry, you only get your one question,' Harry smirked.

'And you told the truth?'

Harry cast an Augamenti Charm and water poured out of his wand, splashing into the lake. 'Still have my magic,' he said with a smug grin.

'Oh, yeah, about that. The magical oath thing. . . Hermione was right. It's all a farce,' Daphne smirked.

'What!' he cried.

'But it still worked to get you to tell the truth,' she said as she took off, knowing he was going to go for some revenge.

'You are so dead,' he declared as he shot after her.

'So mote it be,' Daphne yelled mockingly and she let out an exaggerated laugh. She didn't speed off at maximum velocity. She just swerved here and there to keep Harry at arm's length.

Then she stopped with all the turns and allowed Harry to come alongside her. She already had a plan to wipe off the Cheshire grin she knew he would be sporting, and he was.

She lowered a shoulder and rammed into Harry. Harry braced himself just in time to not be thrown from his broom and quickly regained control.

He wasted no time in smashing into her and Daphne went flailing. She steadied herself but instead of closing the distance, she used the space to create some momentum for the next collision.

She lowered her shoulder again, but where she thought she was to connect with Harry, there was nothing but air. He had put on the breaks, that prat. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the bristles of her broom connect with the tip of Harry's.

The contact was enough to send Daphne spinning with no chance of regaining control. Fortunately, they weren't particularly high and her fall quickly concluded with a loud splash.

She came to the surface, greeted by Harry circling her position and howling with laughter.

'Help me outta here,' Daphne demanded.

'No. You'll just try and pull me in.'

'No, I won't. I promise.'

'Will you give me a witches oath?' Harry asked spitefully.

'Ugh, so you won't believe me?'

'Not with this. How about you hold the bottom of your broom, hold the handle up for me to grab and I'll pull you out of the water.'

'Ok,' Daphne agreed and held the broom up for Harry.

He took hold and brought her out of the water. Now what, Daphne thought. Harry kept rising, higher and higher.

'Ok, this seems high enough,' Daphne said with irritation.

'If you say so,' he replied and let go of the broom.

Daphne's brain froze for a second. She was headed back to where she came from, the water. She pulled herself together in time to mount the broom and set flight once more.

'You're the dead one now, Potter!' she cried.

'Uhoh, she called me Potter,' Harry replied sarcastically. Though smartly, he took off at a rapid pace.

He led her on a chase up towards the castle, through ramparts and weaving around columns. It was exhilarating and by the end, Daphne had forgotten why she was so intent on catching him.

He let her catch him while hovering over the edge of the quidditch pitch.

'Well, I'm dry now but that was mean,' Daphne stated.

'I thought it pretty fair payback for tricking me.'

'It's a good trick. It only works on those that don't really know better.'

'Like me,' Harry said with playful defeat.

'Yes, or like me, my whole childhood. It's how my mom got me to tell the truth until I came to Hogwarts,' Daphne explained.

'So I should take comfort in the fact that you were fooled for years, while I was only fooled once?'

'Exactly,' she said pleasantly. As they sat and looked over the pitch she could sense his mood shift to less light-hearted. 'What do you think Hagrid is doing to the pitch?'

'Probably something for the task,' Harry answered without much enthusiasm.

'Any idea what it is?'

'Not yet.'

'Ok, so no oath, but why do you think someone put your name in the cup?'

'A bunch of reasons. But my best guess is someone who thinks I'm all caught up in my own fame and glory thought it would be a funny joke. Since they probably didn't expect me to do well.'

'I can't think of any people like that,' Daphne deadpanned.

Harry shot her a knowing look that was combined with a small smirk. 'People like Malfoy. Though I don't think he has the capability to trick the Cup.'

'Don't ever compare me to Malfoy again!'

'Oh,' Harry mouthed, his smile growing wider. 'I've found another soft spot.'

'Ever again,' Daphne threatened.

'You aren't like him?' Harry challenged.

'Only in that one regard was I ever. But I'm not even that anymore,' she explained.

Harry's eyebrows rose. As they spoke, their brooms had drifted so they were nose to nose and thus, they were now facing each other.

'And that would be like me saying you're like all the Gryffs that hate Slytherins because we all turn out evil,' she continued.

'You don't think I am?'

'Maybe you used to be, but not anymore. . .'

'What makes you say that?' he asked with interest.

'You never would've set up Ron with Tracey if that's what you believed.'

'True.'

'That means something, or someone, had to change your mind about Slytherins,' Daphne prompted with another smirk.

'Can't think of anyone that could've done that. . .' he teased. 'Actually. . . I can.'

'Oh? And you won't tell me,' she said.

'I will. . .' He let the words hang for a moment. A moment that felt much longer than it actually was. 'It's Millicent. She's very pleasant.'

'Oh, you're the worst!' She moved forward to smack his arm.

'The worst?' Harry asked with his crooked smile.

'Yes, the absolute worst!' she declared, though her small smile likely betrayed her words.

Neither looked away. Pride would not allow it. His stupid smile stayed plastered on his face. Only one thing came to mind to get rid of it.

Daphne leaned across the small distance between them and kissed him.

The lack of balance didn't allow for a long kiss, nor for much movement. But it wasn't just the physical aspect that was different, there was something else. . . something that she couldn't place.

Harry's smile was gone when Daphne pulled back to her broom. His eyes were slightly glazed over. 'What was that for?'

'Can't a girl kiss her boyfriend?' she answered with exaggerated sweetness.

'Not this girl,' Harry replied with a hint of accusation.

'Well, I just wanted to, ok?'

'Ok. . .' he said unsurely.

'Don't worry. . .' she said as she slowly started to descend. 'I still hate you,' she called as she sped off, leaving Harry in a slight daze.

She thought she heard a soft, "I hate you too," but that could've just been her imagination, or not.