As was the case every Friday, Gryffindor Quidditch practice occurred before dinner because classes ended early on Fridays. Harry arrived escorted by Oliver Wood. Both were eager to get on the pitch as early as possible; Harry to escape the shenanigans following him around the castle and Oliver simply because he was a Quidditch fanatic obsessing over the upcoming championship match. Oliver was more than happy to protect his star seeker by obliging Harry's desire to arrive early.
"Harry, I'm glad you took your safety seriously today. Definitely captain material. As you know, it would be difficult to win tomorrow without you. I don't know if I could live with myself if I left Hogwarts without ever hoisting the Quidditch Cup," Oliver said dolefully.
The young seeker shrugged his shoulders. "No pressure then," Harry said flippantly. Part of him really did want to win for Oliver's sake, but his captain's dramatics weren't meshing well with the lousy day Harry had endured.
Oliver finally noticed Harry's downcast mood. Whether he was aware of the reason was up for debate. "Chin up, Harry. No pressure at all. This is why we train, so that we don't feel overwhelmed by pressure. We won't be going hard today anyway."
Harry couldn't argue with that and simply nodded in acceptance.
The captain smiled at his seeker. "Good. Besides, I'm placing a 24 hour moratorium on Slytherin witches for you."
Harry's jaw dropped at the pronouncement. Maybe Oliver was more observant than he let on. He would need to be careful around the captain.
True to his word, Wood kept practice activities to light flying and demonstrating tactics for the match. Keeping Harry safe after his near-serious injury the previous day kept the maniacal captain from running a more exhausting practice.
During practice Harry casually mentioned wanting to have an early dinner and early bedtime in order to be fresh for the match the next day. Oliver easily took the bait and practice ended soon thereafter, which gave Harry sufficient time to clean up and arrive in the Great Hall right at the beginning of dinner. He didn't want to risk missing Daphne and, therefore, had informed Ron and Hermione that he would be going to dinner early without them.
Daphne seemed to have a similar idea and arrived in the Great Hall only a couple minutes after Harry. The room was sparsely populated due to most students taking advantage of the lax start time for Friday dinners, which allowed them to relax first and arrive for the meal a bit later than normal. They both ate alone without their friends and finished their dinners without a fuss as students trickled in. The inbound flow of students and the relaxed atmosphere would help distract everyone from the two most spoken about students leaving the Great Hall.
Daphne made eye contact with Harry and nodded. Harry assumed this was the signal, nodded back, and prepared himself to start counting to 300 as soon as she left.
A certain 2nd year Hufflepuff always ate dinner early due to her condition. She had been surprised to see her older sister arrive to dinner early, alone, and eat so quickly, and decided to watch for any other uncharacteristic behavior. It all fell into place when she caught the exchange between Daphne and Harry Potter. "I'll be having a little talk with you before the rendezvous with your boyfriend, Daph," Astoria said to herself.
Astoria saw Daphne tidying her place setting and collecting her belongings to leave and decided to beat her sister to the corridor. As she approached the exit to the Great Hall, Astoria noticed Tracey and Blaise arriving at the Slytherin table just as Daphne stood. "Perfect. This gives me time to find a good spot," she said with a devious smile.
Meanwhile, Daphne's plans were being interrupted by Tracey pulling her down to sit at the table. "We're just getting here. Where are you going, Daphne?" Tracey inquired.
"You know where, Tracey," Daphne replied impatiently as she rolled her eyes and attempted to stand.
Tracey, whose eyes were sparkling with mischief, pulled Daphne back down to her seat. "Oh? That's quite intriguing. Yes, you'll have to let me know how your… appointment goes," Tracey said neutrally, her tone belying the playful teasing that was occurring.
Daphne gave her a pointed look. "Trace," she said seriously, hints of vulnerability and pleading seeping into voice.
Tracey put a hand on her friend's shoulder and looked her directly in the eyes. "Daphne, I will be there for you and ready for a long talk after dinner," she said solemnly before continuing with an affectionate smile, "Probably a smidgen of humor to lighten the mood a bit."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Daphne gave a simple, "Thanks." A little teasing from Tracey was well worth the emotional support she gave and actually helped as well.
"Always. Now go, Buttercup," Tracey said with mock exasperation.
"Going," she said with a huff. Daphne stood up and left, which, on the other side of the Great Hall, prompted Harry to restart his count to 300. On the way out, Daphne fought the urge to hex Emma Fawley, who arrived at dinner giggling with her friends.
Once out in the corridor, Daphne made her way to Parlor 1, but along the way was greeted with the unwelcome sight of her younger sister casually sitting on a bench below a portrait of two sisters. She was obviously waiting to pester her older sister. "Why am I not surprised to see you here, Astoria?"
Astoria's face seemed to be glowing. "Hello, big sister. Thanks for joining me. I saw you making lovey faces with Harry Potter during dinner and decided to investigate. Just where are you off to on this fine evening, Daffy?" she asked impishly.
Daphne growled slightly as only siblings can to each other. "You know where I'm going. Potter and I have unresolved issues to discuss and rumors to put to rest." She sat down knowing she couldn't leave the conversation there. "If you must know, I'm meeting him in one of the parlors," an annoyed Daphne added.
Ignoring her sister's irritation, Astoria mused dreamily, "A private meeting, hmm? I heard about your close encounter in DADA. Maybe this will be the beginning of a whirlwind romance." Astoria had already forgiven Harry Potter in her mind for distressing Daphne.
Her older sister shook her head wearily at the antics. "I'm expecting an apology, even if he was only accidentally cruel."
"And I'm expecting snogging, a heap of it, on purpose," Astoria retorted with a self-satisfied smirk.
Daphne rolled her eyes at Astoria. "Nice one," Daphne said sarcastically. "You know you're hard to deal with, right?"
Astoria grinned widely as though she received a huge compliment. "You wouldn't have it any other way, darling," she said smugly and blew her sister a kiss.
Daphne sighed deeply while holding the bridge of her nose in frustration. She didn't have time for Astoria's typical antics. She pleaded, "Don't make this harder than it has to be. Just go back to dinner, Tori. You know you have to eat on schedule"
Astoria scowled briefly. "Fine. You're no fun, Daph. Don't forget to give Potter a kiss. Make sure you give him a second one from me." She punctuated her teasing by sucking in her lips and waggling her eyebrows.
Daphne huffed in frustration. She ruffled her younger sister's hair as she stood up for a minor form of vengeance. "Though I love you deeply, you're hopelessly frustrating, Tori. Now I'm leaving. Talk to you later, darling."
Astoria groaned at having her hair mussed. "I love you, Daphne. You're lucky I know beauty charms," she said while checking her hair in a hand mirror before continuing, "I've decided you should go easy on Potter. He's just a clueless boy."
Daphne smiled at her sister. "You decided, did you? You might be right. We'll see," she said as she helped Astoria off the bench.
The Greengrass sisters shared a heartfelt hug and then went their separate ways. The witches in the portrait above the bench then began bickering about not being better sisters to one another.
On her way back to the Great Hall, Astoria encountered the wizard of the hour walking towards her in the corridor and decided to engage him in a little teasing as well. "Harry Potter," she said expectantly.
The unexpected greeting shocked Harry and he looked around the corridor as though another Harry Potter was being addressed. The confused Gryffindor finally replied, "Er, hello. Do I know you? You look familiar."
Astoria loved dramatizing situations for the fun of the playacting and the varied reactions she generated. She gave an outlandish curtsy as she said, "Astoria Greengrass, 2nd year Hufflepuff, frequent hospital wing patient like yourself, and your future sister-in-law."
Harry sputtered and stuttered. "Huh..that's not…what do you..I'm not…"
The Hufflepuff chuckled at Harry's nerves. "Relax, Potter. I'm only teasing and leaning into the rumor mill. She's down the corridor waiting for you. Please treat her well. My sister is the best person I know and the person I love the most in this world," Astoria said very earnestly.
Harry had not expected this encounter and felt a sudden pang of guilt after hearing Astoria's declaration. He couldn't think of anything profound to say and once he collected himself chose to keep his reply simple. "I promise I will."
Astoria momentarily scrutinized Harry's body language and gave a content hum. "Good. Ta-ta," she said airily and began humming a tune Harry recognized as she walked away. Later in life Harry would find out the tune was "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II.
Harry followed Astoria with his eyes for a few seconds until he shook his head and said to himself, "This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
Along the way to Parlor 1, the portraits were giving Harry strange looks and some of the suits of armor even saluted him, which caused him to shudder at the attention he was receiving. Harry finally arrived at his destination and found the door ajar for Parlor 1. He saw Daphne Greengrass in her Slytherin robes waiting for him as he walked through the door.
"Glad you could make it, Potter. Step aside please," she said stiffly as she walked past him and closed the door. Daphne locked the door with a quiet, "Colloportus." She sat in a chair near the fireplace and motioned Harry to do so as well in the adjacent chair.
Neither said a word for a few moments after sitting. Harry had built up this meeting too much in his head and couldn't take the silence. "So…" Harry began and quickly trailed off nervously. His inner voice immediately berated him for his poor start.
Harry's lackluster opening raised Daphne's ire. "So? You asked for this meeting by saying you wanted to apologize, Potter, so you should start. Obviously!"
Harry wasn't sure how to start and wondered how his housemates would react to the knowledge he was meeting privately with a Slytherin the night before the big match to decide the Quidditch Cup. Oliver had expressly banned him from doing this. Eventually Harry decided to bring up something that always bothered him. "Say, Daphne, do you mind calling me Harry? It would help me apologize. Using family names feels too unfriendly and formal. I'll call Malfoy Malfoy, but I don't want to call you Greengrass. Besides, now I know two of you."
How does he know Astoria? Daphne wasn't expecting him to begin with anything he said. She swallowed hard and decided to let down her guard against her better judgment, especially since she hadn't yet gotten an apology. Her life had been lived in certain social circles where it was required to be more formal; evidently Harry Potter didn't know about those circles. Being formal was a tactic that let her blend in, be ignored, and work on her projects. Be the benign Slytherin who could be approached. Daphne picked her next words carefully.
She replied in a guarded tone, "That will depend on how this conversation goes. I've always been polite to you and never caused you any issues, unlike some other members of my house. We even worked well as potions partners in the past." She paused to collect herself and continued in a more somber tone, "Yet you still acted like an oaf yesterday, said some hurtful things to me, and insulted my honor," Daphne finished with a trembling lip and glassy eyes.
Harry stared at Daphne in horror. As the day wore on he had increasingly focused on the act of apologizing, while slowly forgetting the underlying reason to apologize. The guilt and shame he'd felt the previous night began bubbling up.
Before Harry could reply, Daphne continued sharing her perspective on the situation, "You know, I try to keep to myself without being a cold harpy. It helps keep away unwanted attention from Gryffindor pranks and Slytherin politics. Having a sister in Hufflepuff helps keep the contempt down as well. It's allowed me to focus on myself and my projects and be friends with who I want without being bothered. Did you know I like being left alone? Probably not, but now I can't have my quiet world on my own terms because the whole school thinks I'm either dating Harry Potter or trying to kill him!"
Daphne paused for a moment to rub her temples. A subdued Daphne continued, "The worst are the other Slytherins. They either cheer me for supporting their cause or subtly threaten my family for getting mixed up with you." Her cadence then quickened and her voice rose, "All this over Harry Potter, who just so happens to not think much of witches and thinks they would disgrace themselves over a stupid Quidditch match!"
Harry felt his body quickly filling with shame and regret and it was making it hard for him to breathe. Harry pulled at his collar in discomfort. His head felt foggy and he couldn't think of an eloquent way to reply and ended up blurting out the only thought he'd been thinking about all day, "You're right! I was such a bloody prat!" There was the pressure release valve. "I'm so sorry about everything, Daphne," he mumbled.
Daphne responded with a self-satisfied hum, but didn't utter a word. She was going to let him stew in his guilt a little longer. The two 3rd year students simply stared blankly at each other, until Daphne nodded her head to inform him she expected more apologizing.
Then Harry just started unburdening himself, in a way unexpected to both of them. "The rumors and attention, and the constant staring and whispers, I hate it all. I'm so sorry it happened to you. Everyone that gets too close to me gets pulled into the gossip and it's all my fault for existing. I'm alive and my parents aren't for some reason, but it's not a reason to treat me like an object to gape at. People just won't mind their own business and leave me alone, even when they're afraid of me or hate me for whatever fake reason they have."
Harry was breathing heavily and had a very sour look on his face by the end of his rant. He slouched in the chair and stayed quiet for several seconds before continuing to air his frustrations, "Now it's affecting you and I don't really even know you. Stupid rumor mill…" He had worked himself to a point where he suddenly kicked the ottoman in front of his chair and yelped at the stinging pain in his big toe. Harry jumped out of his chair and hopped around to blunt the pain.
Daphne looked at him wide-eyed and didn't know what to do with this Harry Potter. "Potter. Harry. It's okay. It really is–"
He stopped hobbling and stared at her. "But it's not! I shouldn't have yelled at you. The truth is that I assumed you sneaked into my bed. I always use that bed and it feels like it's mine. It felt like you were taking it away from me and I don't have very much to begin with. There's the Gryffindor/Slytherin thing, too. Then I saw your expression and knew I was completely wrong. You're right about never treating me wrong. Even today I embarrassed you in DADA. I really am sorry. It's been a tough 24 hours. I can't imagine how you've been feeling."
Daphne frowned. "It hasn't been a very pleasant day," she said sourly. She couldn't even begin to process everything else that Harry was unloading.
Harry groaned as covered his face with his hands. "Yeah, that hurts. I've definitely been a right git. I don't know why I didn't try to stop the rumors once I heard about them." He rubbed his eyes a bit then said, "I'm sorry. I really am. I need to make this up to you."
She felt pity for Potter. Seeing him like this was softening the pain and lifting her spirits. "You're being genuine, so I accept your apology, Harry."
"You do? I am?" Harry asked dumbly.
The Slytherin giggled at the Gryffindor. "Yes to both. You were honest and vulnerable, which is the opposite of most boys, especially Slytherin boys. Just more reasons my mother does not want me dating any of them." Daphne then realized how her words may have sounded and blushed deeply. She avoided looking at Harry's slack-jawed expression while hastily adding, "Not that I'm thinking about dating you. I don't want to date anyone right now!" Then it was Daphne's turn to cover her face and let out a frustrated groan before exclaiming, "Everyone has been bothering me about dating today, but we're only in 3rd year! I'm not ready to think about any of that. Not like my friends do." She abruptly covered her mouth with her hands and got even redder. Daphne had no idea why she kept uncharacteristically oversharing with Harry Potter.
Harry looked at her wide-eyed. "Ermmm, s'all right. Really. It's my fault it happened. I don't know the first thing about dating either," Harry said sheepishly, while trying to be reassuring.
The conversation was getting too embarrassing for a pink-faced Daphne and she changed the subject. "Well, Potter, Harry, I think we have a truce. The only matter left is my compensation for emotional distress," she said with a smirk. She was very pleased with how smoothly she changed topics to something less embarrassing and thought her Slytherin mother would be proud of her.
"Compensation? What do you mean by compensation?" Harry asked warily, not noticing that Daphne was teasing. He was feeling out of depth with the new topic and sensed the pressure increasing again.
Somewhat playfully, Daphne replied, "Slytherin here, remember? I'm the injured party in this situation and I would like full use of the hospital bed." She cringed thinking it sounded like she was inadvertently flirting. Maybe not as smooth as mother, she thought.
Instead of comfort from the banter, fear flashed in Harry's eyes over the turn of events. "You can't do that! I just told you about everything being taken away from me," he blurted out with an edge to his voice.
She silently chided herself for forgetting his insecurity over the hospital bed and awkwardly tried to play it off. "Fair enough. My apologies for forgetting, H-Harry. How about this then: first-come, first-serve with that bed? You can take the bed next to me if I'm already there. However, I'll need some other compensation, but I want it to be fair to you. Why don't you propose an alternative?"
The Gryffindor's wariness didn't fully subside and he gave the Slytherin a suspicious side-eyed glance, which caused the witch to wrap her arms around her midsection. Harry didn't know what he could do to compensate Daphne and save his bed, but he then remembered an upcoming opportunity for an easy solution. "Lunch. There's a Hogsmeade weekend in a couple weeks. Anything at the Three Broomsticks is my treat. We can even clear up the rumors for anyone who asks. What do you say?"
The initial glare she received stung, if she were forced to admit it. Considering the look he had given her, the offer and question completely caught Daphne off guard. The whole conversation had been this way - disjointed, awkward, and overly dramatic. Astoria would have loved it. "Pot- H-Harry," she paused suddenly before scrunching her face and continuing, "Are you asking me to go to Hogsmeade with you?"
Harry's face reddened. He hadn't thought it would sound that way, but then remembered that the witches in his life had been dismissing his obliviousness as being inherent to his status as a boy. "Erm, I guess I'm not asking you to go with me specifically...for the whole day...as a date...but I do want to treat you to lunch...to show you I'm serious about my apology and…and to say thank you for accepting my apology…and to save my bed. Yeah, that's it, I think."
Daphne stared at Harry for a few moments before bursting into lighthearted laughter. "Merlin and Morgana, Harry. That was a meandering invitation to lunch," she said while wiping a tear from her eye. She continued chuckling through her words, "Harry Potter inviting me to lunch in Hogsmeade…"
Harry smiled reluctantly since she hadn't accepted yet. "I-I'm nervous because I don't want it to seem like a date. You just said you didn't want to date anyone, but did want compensation for emotional distress. This is the only thing I could think of. So what do you say? Lunch on me?"
The Slytherin witch quickly straightened her posture with her laughing visage turning into a pained expression. "While I would like to say yes, I can't afford to be seen with you for lunch in Hogsmeade. Some people in my house would make my life miserable. It already happened a bit today, but the conflicting rumors kept some Slytherins at bay. Lunch together would make things worse with them."
Harry blurted out a somewhat dumb question, "What do you mean by that? The rumors allow us to be seen together, right?"
Daphne bit back a sharp retort. Maybe he does have a bit of a dunderhead in him. "Let's just say there are some complicated things in my life that I need to address before I'm ready for the type of attention that lunch with Harry Potter will cause." Yes, complicated as in my cousin is that buttock Warrington, I'm surrounded by misogynists, and my sister is leading a cursed life.
Harry grimaced as he thought about his annoying day and his life since returning to the wizarding world. "I know the feeling," he said somewhat absentmindedly while reflexively rubbing his scar. The thought of not being able to be seen at Hogsmeade hit him like a ton of bricks. He glumly added, "It wouldn't work anyway. I can't be seen there anyway. My permission slip isn't signed. Filch and Snape would love to catch me. How else can I make this up to you? Anything else you'd like?"
Daphne briefly gave Harry an inquisitive look over forgetting such an important detail. Has he already been to Hogsmeade? "You're a mystery, Harry," she said genuinely. She thought for a moment before sharing her request, "Okay, I have an idea and it requires a different rumor to be true. Draco seems to think you've somehow been to Hogsmeade this year. I don't know how you'll sneak out of the castle without being seen, but if you can, we can reserve a private dining room in the Three Broomsticks. What do you say to that?"
Harry smirked. "If that's the case, then don't worry. I can manage getting there, but don't ask. I can't tell you how."
She raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. It seemed that rumor was true.
Harry grinned in reply. "Slytherins aren't the only ones who can be secretive. Thanks for suggesting the private dining room. It makes things much easier."
Daphne scrutinized him. "If you say so, Harry. I'd like to find out that secret someday."
He silently shrugged his shoulders and held out his palms as if to say, "We'll see."
The witch harrumphed. "Fine. Anyway, I'll owl Madam Rosmerta to reserve the room, but you'll have to buy lunch for my friends and me. I can't leave them out. You'll also have to buy my sister a small token of goodwill, such as a chocolate frog. It pays to be on her good side." Daphne gave Harry a long, skeptical look. "I'm still not sure how you'll get there without being seen, but I will have a good idea what happened if you don't show up."
Harry thought about his invisibility cloak and the map. "Something would have to go incredibly wrong for me not to arrive. Let's leave it at that." Then Harry became more serious. "So who are your friends? I'm not buying anything for certain members of your house."
Daphne nodded in understanding. "Understandable. Some of them haven't been overly kind to you. My friends are Tracey Davis, Morag MacDougal, and Lisa Turpin. Two Slytherins and two Ravenclaws."
The Gryffindor let out a sigh of relief as he ran his hand through his messy black hair. "Good, that's good. Nobody that's been horrible to me or my friends. We've had enough complications as it is. Speaking of friends, do you mind if I bring mine?"
She hesitated and looked around the room anxiously before answering, "Fine by me, but as I said, I can't be seen with you, which means I can't be seen with your friends either. People like Malfoy and Nott would make my life miserable."
Thinking about Draco Malfoy reminded Harry that he couldn't be so brazen about being seen in Hogsmeade and would have to control his temper if anyone insulted Ron or Hermione. "Malfoy," he muttered, "that git ruins everything."
Daphne chuckled briefly, but kept her smile. "He does, but don't tell anyone I said that. His presence raises the tension in our common room. He tries to play politics quite a bit."
Harry growled. "Selfish git." He suppressed his annoyance at Malfoy before continuing, "You don't want to be seen with me, but what about your sister, the one who I have to buy chocolate for? She stopped to talk to me on my way here and didn't seem bothered at all."
Daphne rolled her eyes at her sister's nonchalant behavior. "That's just Astoria. Don't mind her. She takes everything so casually and knows lots of people. Besides, nobody takes Hufflepuffs seriously. I'm only partially joking about Hufflepuffs."
A dark look momentarily passed through Harry's eyes. "Yeah, I learned my lesson with them last year, " he said bitterly before returning to the main topic, "Anyway, Chocolate Frog for Astoria the Hufflepuff as a peace offering. By the way, why did she say she was frequently in the hospital wing?"
Daphne froze momentarily and then proceeded to answer dismissively. "It's nothing to worry about. She just has a condition Madam Pomfrey gives her potions for." She then tried to change the subject, "Speaking of the hospital wing, don't forget I get priority on the bed."
Harry took the bait and shook his head amusedly. "Slytherins. You know I didn't agree to that, but you can have the bed when you're there first. By the way, why were you there last night? I had some Quidditch injuries, but I never found out about you because, well..." Harry trailed off and shrugged his shoulders in order to not verbalize what they both already knew. He still felt ashamed over the incident.
Daphne waved a hand to convey that all was fine and part of the koala bandage revealed itself as the sleeve of her robe slid down. "Nothing serious, just a potions accident. My family is in the potions business and I like to experiment and work on projects."
"You must be good," Harry said as he jealously thought about the matron saying Daphne was her favorite patient. "Madam Pomfrey must like you a lot. You get these nice koala bandages, you get the bed, and you get the kind words. I'm jealous. All I get is scolded."
Before she could reply, Harry abruptly added, "Please tell Madam Pomfrey that we're friends now and to not hate me any longer." Being in the matron's good graces was more important to him than he had originally realized. She had always cared for him and he took it for granted.
"You don't know the half of it. I'll put in a good word for you, but you probably need to apologize to her as well." She looked at her watch and noticed dinner was almost over. "Time to go. We can't be seen coming out of a room alone together. Same thing as last time. I'll leave, then wait 5 minutes before you leave."
Harry understood what she meant, but smirked as he feigned outrage, "But what about us and our blossoming friendship?"
Daphne gave him a half-smile and said in a teasing tone, "See you around, Harry. I'll let you know about Hogsmeade. Until then, we'll always have the hospital wing."
The End
A/N: Thanks for making it through my ludicrous story. I thought it was a fun read, of course. Much appreciation for the follows, favorites, and reviews. The story took me 18 months to write. Sometimes I would go weeks without looking at it or just add one sentence before I had to leave it. Now it's time to go back and fix "Perhaps We Sort Too Soon". Thanks again!
