Chapter 9 – The story of Harry and Daphne I

By now all was quiet. The screams of terror below them had died away. Not a soul lived in the realm of Everfrost anymore that could have uttered a sound. They were all frozen in the Great Cold, and the land had become an eternal graveyard.

Only Daphne's soft sobs, as Harry held her in his arms, still reached him, along with the occasional gasp of Rudolphus, on whose back they flew through the air, and the sound of the cool wind against the starry sky.

Gradually more sounds reached them, among them the cry of a baby. Harry's gaze followed the sound and fell on a small family sitting in one of the flying sledges, huddled close together, frightened but also relieved to have survived. They were not the only ones. All around them flew refugees, on brooms, sledges, or reindeer like them. The survivors from Everfrost, perhaps a few hundred souls. Shortly after their own flight, they had encountered them in the night sky and joined them.

What was to happen to them now? Harry knew no answer to that. Survival was now the most important maxim. Survive and arrive somewhere. Norway was out of the question – who knew how they would be received there, how many had been involved in the conspiracy of the mirrors. And so they simply flew on westwards, partly because no one seemed to have any better ideas. Or perhaps because they were waiting for orders from their queen.

Daphne, however, was in no condition to give orders. She was shivering as if she were freezing. But Harry had already cast his strongest warming charms on her. He tightened his grip around her so that she knew she was not alone. Daphne leaned against his chest, gratefully accepting his offer.

Several hours passed in this way as they flew further and further west. At some point, the sun began to rise at their backs. A warm, deep orange light lit up the sky and dispelled the darkness. Below them the sea shimmered, beautiful and sublime, as it could not know that the world had changed forever that night.

Harry tensed as he suddenly recognised several black dots in the sky ahead of them, approaching rapidly. After a few more moments he could see that they were witches and wizards on brooms flying towards them in a wedge formation. His hand groped for his wand and Daphne also straightened in front of him.

Both groups stopped about a hundred yards apart.

For the first time in hours, Daphne's voice rang out. "Take us to them, Rudolphus."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

They flew on, the only ones in their group, until they stopped directly in front of the unknown witches and wizards. The one in front, a middle-aged man with narrowed eyes and several scars on his face, looked at them suspiciously. They must look rather strange indeed, Harry thought, the scuffed bunch that they were, and behind them the backdrop of the rising sun.

"We are a task force from the International Confederation of Wizards," the man then called out in a commanding voice. "We have measured massive amounts of magic further east. What has happened? Who are you?"

It was Daphne who answered, and never before had she seemed so exalted to Harry, and never before had he been so proud of her as he was at that moment.

"I am Daphne Greengrass, Queen of the vanquished Realm of Everfrost. And these are my people. I ask for your help."


The man looked at her, stunned. He blinked, once, twice, as if to process her words. Finally, he said, "What?!"

"Please!" said Daphne. "We have injured and old and children. We don't know where to go."

"What happened in Everfrost?"

"Please, we have to –"

"No one lives there any more," Harry interjected. "The Norwegians attacked and a tremendous magic was unleashed that has made the land uninhabitable. Anyone who goes there will be frozen to ice."

The man was literally at a loss for words, it was obvious. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. His eyes drifted over the fugitives behind them until they stopped on them again.

"And ... and what about Santa Claus?" he asked.

Daphne's body tensed in Harry's arms as she replied, "He's dead. I'm his successor."

The man looked at her for several moments, as if trying to make sense of the riddle before him, before finally shaking his head in disbelief. "Wait."

With that, the man flew to his comrade on his right, and a woman also joined them from the other side of the wedge formation. They conversed quietly with each other, but Harry could not understand their words at the distance. Then all three flew back to them.

The man, apparently the leader of the task force, spoke up again. "This is Agent Eriksen and Agent Romanow." The other two nodded at them. "I'm Agent Carter. Agent Romanow will escort you to the port of Húnafjördur in Iceland. They will take care of you there, there are healers and food there. Once there, you'll need to give a more detailed account of what happened. The rest of us fly on. How close can we safely get to Everfrost?"

Daphne looked over her shoulder at Harry. He frowned. "I'd stay well clear of it," he said. "It's been several hours since the disaster and we have no idea how powerful the magic has become by now."

Agent Carter nodded slowly.

"You'd better fly to Yggdrasil and arrest the Minister of Economy and all the other bastards who have been involved in this conspiracy," Harry said heatedly.

Agent Carter gave him a strange look. "Who are you, young man?"

"Harry Potter, sir," Harry replied.

The agent nodded, as if this no longer surprised him after all they had told him before. "I'll accompany you to Iceland," he then said. "And there you will definitely have to report in more detail what happened." He looked to his comrades. "Agent Eriksen, you will lead your group further east. But be careful. If it's really as they say, stay far away. Just rough recon. I don't want to lose any people. Let the Disaster Unit take care of it then. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then good luck," Agent Carter said before turning back to Harry and Daphne. "Follow me. We'll be there in an hour."

"Thank you," Daphne said.

Then she straightened up as high as she could and turned to face the refugees from Everfrost. She pointed her wand at her throat, causing her voice to echo loudly as she began to speak. "These men and women are taking us to a safe haven. There we will be helped and the injured will be taken care of. Soon we will be safe."

At her words, deep relief spread across the faces of the refugees; at least those Harry could see, but he had the feeling that this was the general mood. A warm feeling spread inside him as well. Soon they would have made it.

They started moving again and followed the ICW agents. They flew over the sea for about an hour until they could make out a land mass ahead of them.

"We'll be there soon," Harry murmured in Daphne's ear. She nestled her head against his chest.

They flew over a bay, and rarely had a place seemed so glorious to Harry. The bay was green and wide and, above all, not covered in ice and death.

Agent Carter's magically amplified voice sounded ahead of them. "We're about to reach the barrier. We have already announced ourselves. It will feel strange for a moment as we fly through, but don't worry. We'll be right there."

And sure enough, one moment they were flying over the bay and the next Harry suddenly felt like he was walking through a warm curtain of water, only he wasn't getting wet. And then they caught sight of several buildings below them that hadn't been there before. He saw piers on the shimmering blue water and several wooden longhouses on hills. Some house roofs were covered with moss.

The place looked like a Viking village Harry had once seen in one of his primary school books. A Viking village inhabited by wizards!

Rudolphus sank to the ground, where several witches and wizards were already waiting for them. As soon as they landed, healers came running to care for the wounded. A productive commotion began. The most injured were magically hoisted onto stretchers and taken to a large longhouse, apparently the hospital of the village. Smaller injuries were treated on the spot. In addition, large pots of delicious smelling stew were brought and handed out on plates, along with water, blankets, and small cuddly toys for the children. Harry felt a lump in his throat at so much helpfulness.

Someone grabbed him by the shoulder. Harry turned and looked into the haggard face of Agent Carter.

"Mr Potter, Miss Greengrass, can you please tell us more about what happened? We really need to know everything before we can take any further action."

Daphne looked at Harry, then at the hospital, then back at him. She bit her lips. Harry squeezed her hand. "It's all right," he said. "You go ahead. I'll sort it out."

Daphne gave him a grateful look before releasing her hand from his and running to the longhouse with the hospital and disappearing inside. Harry sighed.

"We'll need her report too, if she is indeed the Queen of Everfrost now," Agent Carter said.

"Later. For now, you'll have to make do with me."

"Then please follow me, Mr Potter."


The time after their arrival in Iceland had flown by. Daphne had thrown herself into her work – looking after her people, as she said – with everything she had, so Harry hadn't really spoken to her for days. He, too, had helped where he could, which had included, in particular, answering to the ICW agents. In addition, he had sent several Patroni to their friends to let them know they were all right.

When it had become known what had happened in Everfrost, an outcry had gone through the international wizarding community. The Norwegian Prime Minister had had to resign the same day and an investigation had been set up under the watchful eye of the ICW into who had known about and profited from the Muggle human trafficking. In any case, the Norwegian mirror industry had come to an abrupt end and all over the world the mirrors sold were being destroyed.

The refugees from Everfrost, meanwhile, continued to see Daphne as their ruler. And when, after a week, Daphne had decided she wanted to return home, they had quickly joined her. A large ship had been chartered to take them all to London.

And it was that very ship on which Harry was leaning against a railing at that moment, taking deep breaths of the salty sea air and enjoying the wind that ruffled his hair. He had never travelled by ship before and was enjoying it fully.

Quite the opposite of the person next to him. Rudolphus' reindeer nose had a green sheen to it and his hooves hung over the ship's rail. Harry wondered if he was about to see a vomiting reindeer for the first time in his life. He had to start laughing at the idea.

"Don't laugh, boy..."

Harry continued to laugh. "Sorry, I just can't help it. I'm just relieved at how everything turned out for good in the end."

And indeed it did. An ICW scientist had even told him the night before that the Great Cold that had been unleashed in the north of the world, turning the region into an icy death zone, could perhaps help against climate change. It was as if the earth had switched on its air conditioning. It was interesting how things sometimes turned out. Almost as if some kind of deity had intervened to steer everything in the right direction.

"It's not like you lost your home."

Harry heaved a sigh. Indeed, not everything had been turned to good, at least not for the refugees from Everfrost.

He knew it would be appropriate to show more compassion, but he couldn't stop the sharpness in his voice. "For centuries already, your homeland had been built only on the sacrifice of innocent people, Captain."

Rudolphus pushed himself off the railing and eyed him deeply. "It was still our home. And we never knew the full extent of our king's deeds..."

Harry had his doubts about that, but he didn't voice them. Santa Claus, Liv, Servant Rupert. They were all dead. Probably it was indeed time to look to the future.

Speaking of the future.

"Do you know where you will settle?" he asked.

"That is for our queen to decide," said Rudolphus.

"She has already told you that you can decide that for yourselves. There is no more Everfrost."

"She still remains our queen. We have sworn our allegiance to her and we will not break that oath. But a certain Hagrid has invited us to come to a forest in the north of your island. It seems our children can also attend a school there. I will speak to Her Majesty about this."

At his words, Harry had to smile. Hagrid. Yes, that suited his old friend all too well. "Knowing her, she will not object," he said.

Rudolphus gave him another deep look. "You speak to her too, boy. Before I have to throw you into some cold, dark dungeon."

"What do you mean?"

"It is my duty to see to my queen's happiness. Really, boy, speak to her..."


Rudolphus' cryptic words were still running through Harry's head as he stepped up to Daphne at the bow of the ship. She was gazing out to sea, her silvery blonde locks blowing gently in the wind. The waves beat evenly against the ship, and from below they could hear the rumbling of the ship's engine approaching them. There was no one to be seen but them. They were alone, for the first time in days.

"Hey," Harry said with a smile.

"Hey," Daphne replied quietly.

She still didn't look at him. Harry frowned. Through all the time they had spent together on their adventure, they had learned to understand each other's moods and feelings better. So Harry knew something was troubling her.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently.

Daphne didn't answer, and Harry was beginning to worry. Was she concerned about her sister? Or how the people from Everfrost would be received? But they had already received news from home that all was well. And Kingsley had explicitly assured them that everyone was welcome.

"Are you looking forward to seeing your friends again tomorrow?" said Daphne, still looking at the sea. "Ron and Hermione and Ginny?"

"Yes, of course. I haven't seen them for a long time, not counting our brief trip to the future. You're looking forward to seeing Tori and Tracey too, aren't you?"

Again Daphne remained silent. Her hands clutched the iron railing.

Harry leaned towards her, concerned. "Daph, are you all right?"

Daphne turned away from him. "I'm fine," she said. The tremor that had crept into her voice told Harry that this was not true.

"Daph, you can tell me anything. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing. As I said, I'm fine. I'm looking forward to seeing Tori and Tracey again. And you can see your friends again. Ron and Hermione and ... Ginny."

"Daph, I –"

Daphne just kept talking. "Everything will go back to the way it was." Her shoulders began to shake. "And you'll be able to be with Ginny again. You really do make a lovely couple. The dream couple of Hogwarts, that's what everyone said."

Her words were in fundamental contrast to her body language. By now it was obvious that Daphne was fighting her tears.

Harry tried again. "Daphne –" he began, but again Daphne interrupted him.

"I won't make a scene if that's what you're afraid of. I-I will not stand in the way of your happiness."

Harry had had enough. He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her to his chest. Daphne looked at him in surprise. Unwept tears sparkled in her eyes. The sight pained Harry. Daphne wanted to avert her gaze.

"Daphne!" spoke Harry. "Look at me! Please look at me."

Daphne turned her head back to him. Her nostrils quivered as she lost the fight against her tears. Unstoppably they ran down her pale cheeks.

"I want to be with you, Daphne. Only with you," he said. He took a deep breath before he began to tenderly wipe the tears from Daphne's face. They felt warm against his skin. "Is that what's been bothering you the last few days?"

Daphne raised her hand to his chest as if to push away from him, but at the same time she nuzzled her cheek against his hand. "B-But you love Ginny..."

Harry knew he had to let his heart speak. His feelings that had been bothering him ever since they had returned from the future. Everything depended on him finding the right words now.

"I love you, Daphne," he said. "Maybe I had feelings for Ginny that would have led to something like this at some point, but ... it didn't. You came into my life, Daphne. The time we spent together, the things we experienced together, your nature, your character, your courage. Your unwavering loyalty to those you care about. Your gentleness. Your cleverness. Your wit. Your soft snoring when you sleep. The way you comb your hair or how you bite your lips when you're nervous."

Harry stopped, as he would have gone on forever otherwise. "Daphne, I've fallen in love with you. I love you! I love you like I've never loved anyone before!"

Daphne looked at him with widened eyes. "Y-you love me?"

"Yes! I love you, Daphne. And I want to tell you that many, many more times in my life. Will you let me?"

"L-Let you ... Wh-what –"

"Daphne, will you be my girlfriend?"

For a moment it seemed to Harry as if the world had come to a standstill. The sound of the waves died away, the wind stopped and Harry held his breath. With a pounding heart, he followed his companion's reaction.

Daphne continued to look at him with wide eyes as she processed his words. Understanding slowly appeared on her face. Then, slowly, as if in slow motion, a smile came to her lips. "You ... you really do love me, don't you?"

Harry brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Of course I do. Or do you think I just poured my heart out to you for fun?"

Daphne laughed brightly, it was a sound out of heaven for Harry. Then she put her arms around his neck, looking at him hard. Harry lost himself in her beautiful eyes. Blue as the sea and mysterious as the night sky, they outshone even the brilliance of the sun at that moment. They were no longer quite the eyes that had fascinated him even at the beginning of their journey – just as Daphne was no longer quite the person she had been then, nor was he – but they still sang to him of her warmth, love, and all that they had experienced together.

"Yes, Harry," she said, "I would like to be your girlfriend. And I love you too."

That was it. Harry couldn't hold back any longer. He put his hands around Daphne's hips. Lovingly he pressed her against him, feeling her body against his, every single detail, smelling her beguiling scent. Then he leaned forward and covered her lips with his. And Daphne returned his kiss just as lovingly. They had truly come a long way.

And so the two lovers remained for the rest of the day. They held each other and watched the sea together, interrupted only by occasional kisses. When night finally fell, they went back to Daphne's cabin – Harry had no interest in going back to his own. Never again did he want to sleep apart from Daphne.

Before that, however, he had one more important thing to do. He took a quill, ink, and a piece of parchment and sat down at the small desk that stood in the cabin.

Daphne gave him a gentle smile. "Take your time," she said softly.

Harry returned her smile gratefully before taking a deep breath and beginning to write.


Ginny,

I'm sure it must surprise you to receive this letter, since we'll be seeing each other again tomorrow. Surely you and the others will be waiting for us at the harbour and I look forward with all my heart to seeing you again. But before this moment I must confess something to you. You deserve that I tell you the truth before we meet again. You deserve me to be honest with you.

I don't even know where to start exactly. So, so much has happened on our journey. And, I don't know how to tell you in gentler words, during this journey I fell in love with Daphne. But let me tell you everything from the beginning, in the hope that we can continue to be friends afterwards...