So for those who read my other crap, you realize how long it's been since I've posted. That is by design. I've very much retired from fanfic writing for a litany of reasons, mostly due to the fact I'm actually working on a romance novel of original origin. The Devin Dent Dilemma is a third finished, and I hope to have it published by the end of the year.

As for this one shot, I was re-reading some old HP fics I'd read before, and wanted to do a spin on Haphne betrayal but with a different twist and ending than I've seen. This is, again, a one shot that Elden Ring could not dissuade me from writing. If, for some ungodly reason, you want to make a whole ass series out of this, message me on here. But for argument's sake, let's call this more or less the chapter before the epilogue.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The first thing that clued Harry into the fact they were no longer in Voldemort's care was the fact he no longer had chains around her limbs, and the fact he was in a bed, rather than the cold floor of the dungeon. Harry wasn't sure how long they'd been down there, but someone had clearly busted them out. Despite his racing mind, two thoughts were at the forefront of his considerations. The first was that Bellatrix Lestrange had to die horrifically for what she'd done to Fleur, Ron, and Hermione while they were stuck in that hellish dungeon at the mercy of her deranged whims. The second was that he needed answers from Daphne at to why she'd handed them over to Death Eaters. Had everything they'd experienced together been a ploy to get him into Voldemort's clutches, or had she been coerced into doing so? Either way, whatever her role was, Harry was done with her romantically. He just needed closure at this point. He glanced around the hospital wing, he saw Ron and Hermione on beds directly across the hall from him. He was about to continue his assessment when he became aware of a weight on his left arm. He glanced down to see silver hair cascade around his arm, obscuring his hand, which now sported a missing pinky finger, thanks to the ministrations of the deranged Lestrange woman. Harry smiled at the sight of Fleur. Evidently, her Veela healing factor helped her recover faster than the rest of them, or perhaps she was just that stubborn that she wanted to be as close to him as they'd been in the Malfoy Manor Dungeons. Either way, she'd gotten him, no, all of them through that hellish time. She'd been a light in the dark when he'd been utterly devastated by Daphne's betrayal. Fleur had been his rock just as he'd been hers when she and Bill had broken up a few months before their capture. And despite the circumstances, things had certainly changed between them during their stay with Lestrange. Harry had admitted to loving Fleur directly after a particularly torturous day, and Fleur had reciprocated. He smiled softly, before a hitched breath to his right made him jerk around, before he made out a blurry silhouette of someone else sitting next to his bed.

"Who is it? I can't really see right now." Harry asked with a croak, becoming aware of how parched he was.

There was a pause. And Harry observed the person shift uncomfortably, which made him glance around for his wand, before realizing he hadn't seen it since before they'd been captured.

"It's me, Harry." The tense voice of Daphne Greenegrass replied. "Here, drink this. You're dehydrated."

"I don't think so, Greenegrass. Last time I trusted you, I ended up chained up in a dungeon and tortured for god knows how long."

Harry felt some satisfaction when he saw Daphne's form stiffen and recoil in shock from the barb. He idly glanced over at his bedside table, where he spotted his glasses, which he then grabbed and slid onto his face, before turning to face his...whatever Daphne was to him now. She was just as beautiful as the day he'd last seen her, with her black hair perfectly in place and piercing blue eyes regarding him calmly. None of that mattered to him now, though, he just wanted her gone.

"Darling, I-" Daphne began, but he cut her off.

"No. You don't get to call me that anymore. Not after what you did. It's Potter, or Harry to you." He ground out, feeling more irritation at the pet name than he'd imagined possible. The word that had previously made him giddy now just stoked the flames of his anger at the girl. "I don't know why you're here, but it's good you are. I can get closure and put whatever it was we had behind me."

Daphne didn't say anything immediately, but she looked devastated. "...Had?" she replied in barely a whisper.

"Yes, Daphne, had. Past tense."

"You won't even let me explain myself? Tell you what happened to get you out? Make yo understand why I did what I did"

"You can, and then you can leave." He said with a tone of finality.

"...Fine. Malfoy's father kidnapped my sister during the winter holiday. The Dark Lord threatened my father that if I didn't deliver you into his care, he'd kill Astoria."

"Go on."

"Do you understand what would have happened to her? The horrors they'd have inflicted upon my sister?" She tried desperately, but he couldn't help himself, he laughed harshly.

"Understand? What exactly do you think they did to us while we were in their care? Make smoores and drink cocoa? Hermione was under the Cruciatus Curse so much she had permanent tremors after awhile. Fleur had the words "Half-Breed" carved into her skin across her body. Ron lost an eye and 3 of his toes." He stopped as he felt himself getting worked up. "I understand why you did what you did but that doesn't mean I forgive you. Especially since you got them involved too."

"I was stuck between two impossible choices? What was I supposed to do? Please, I still love you. I tried every day to help you escape-" She pleaded,

"I'm not blaming you for what you did, Greenegrass. I'm blaming you for thinking I'd just take you back after all this. I understand, but I don't forgive you."

"...I see. Do you have any other questions before I leave, Potter?" She'd slipped the Ice Queen mask back on, and while that would have hurt Harry before the betrayal, he honestly didn't care.

"How'd we get out?"

"Dumbledore, Professor Moody, Professor Lupin, Sirius Black, and some hooded man called Gellert broke into Malfoy Manor, with my help, and raised hell. The hooded man killed Voldemort like it was nothing, and Dumbledore wasn't pulling punches either. They got you out, and you all spent 3 weeks here in potion induced comas while your bodies healed."

"...How long were we in that hell hole?"

"Three months. You were there for most of the spring term."

"I see. Anything else?"

"Madame Pomfrey said that she couldn't regrow your finger or Ron's toes, but otherwise, you'll all make full recoveries."

"I see. I'd say thank you, Greenegrass, but considering you're the reason this happened, I think I'll just settle for a 'goodbye', now."

Daphne rose from her seat, without another word, and left swiftly. Harry could tell her composure was slipping by the end, but he honestly didn't care. Not when she'd gotten three of his friends hurt so badly.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

June was odd this year, Harry felt. He didn't have the threat of Voldemort hanging over his head anymore, and Fleur had absconded him from the Dursley's so quickly that he hadn't even crossed the threshold of Privet Drive before she'd apparated them both to her apartment in Diagon Alley.

" 'Arry, are you okay? I know the silver prosthesis is odd to use, but if you need help with your bags..." She trailed off seeing him looking at her with a haunted expression. " 'Arry, look at me. You are safe. We are safe. And I am not her." She spoke soothingly, walking over to him and resting her forehead against his.

"I know. It's just... I don't think she's a bad person, Fleur. But neither can I just forgive her for what she did."

"So do not forgive her." Fleur replied simply, idly shooing him towards the kitchen. "She had to make an impossible choice, but she was the one who foolishly assumed there would be no repercussions to what she did. Daphne was not a bad person, but she was a sheltered leetle princess. Until the incident with her sister, she'd always gotten what she wanted, and felt she was untouchable."

"I just feel bad."

"You shouldn't. You did nothing wrong. You are the victim her, 'Arry. Not her."

"I know, Fleur."

"Now, now, enough of this depressing talk. We shall bake, and we shall celebrate your arrival to our new home. Come, come, we can dance while we mix the batter."

Harry laughed at Fleur's antics, and acquiesced, before joining her in the kitchen, all dark thoughts of the last few months disappearing, if only for the moment.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Yeah. Not too long or big. Just an idea I had while reading a Haphne fic where she turns him over to Voldemort. The reconcile felt too...quick. And that made me think: What if he didn't forgive her?

And here we are. Short and sweet. Something I typed up this afternoon. Hope you enjoyed it.

Raizen out.