Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter; it belongs to JK Rowling.
Thanks to Webstriker for beta-reading.
Daphne was humming when she walked into the Department of Mysteries on Tuesday, later in the morning than normal. She was coming back into the office after some time out in the field; she was part of a group of Unspeakables that was sent to investigate and bring back an artifact to the Department. It had been discovered by a team of aurors after a crackdown on an illegal smuggling ring, and they'd called in the Unspeakables to safely contain and remove it. The artifact in question had been a small statue that resembled an amalgamation of a bear, a lion, and a man standing on a pile of bones. Two unsuspecting rookie aurors had gotten too close — one of them had even picked up the statute — and both had been overcome by a violent rage. They'd had to be pulled apart and even then that anger had started to spread to the other aurors. That was when they called in Daphne's team.
They'd brought it back to the department yesterday evening, and she was still riding that sense of accomplishment. She needed to finish her report today, but once the paperwork was done, they would get back to studying it in more detail.
She was in the middle of finalizing said report when she heard someone speak. "Daphne, do you have a moment?" Hermione Granger, her colleague turned friend, had come to a stop in front of her desk.
"Hermione," Daphne said, distracted. "Just give me one second." She had been in the middle of a sentence in her report and she didn't want to lose her train of thought. Of course, once that sentence was done it was impossible not to move onto the next and then—
A loud cough interrupted her.
Blast. She looked up again and, oh right, Hermione was standing in front of her desk, and didn't look like she was leaving anytime soon. "Sorry, did you need something?"
"Yes, there is something I'd like to discuss with you. It's almost your lunch right?"
Was it? Daphne glanced down at the watch on her left wrist and blinked as she saw the time. "I suppose it is." Maybe she needed to start setting her wand alarm again. It wasn't something she could do in the field, but it was fine for desk work.
Hermione smiled, her eyes glinting in a way that Daphne wasn't quite sure she liked. "Fantastic. I'll join you. You were just going up to the cafeteria right?"
Curiosity won out over the desire for a quiet meal and ten minutes later Daphne was sitting across from Hermione in a back corner of the Ministry cafeteria. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
"The St. Mungo's fundraiser. You're attending it, correct?"
"Yes." In order to get her father off her back, she sporadically attended society events like this. That spared her any lectures or unscheduled visits from her father, and it gave her relative freedom to only pick those invitations that interested her. St. Mungo's was typically an automatic yes from her, but this year's event sounded like a giant headache. A bachelor auction, of all bloody things. She wasn't planning on bidding on any of the men herself; she was going to make a donation and then leave as early as would be polite. "Though I can't say I'm a fan of this year's event."
"And you know that Harry is going to be one of the bachelors right?"
Daphne shrugged. "The news was hard to miss." The Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly had an entire field day when the list of bachelors was revealed. This was the first time the grown-up Boy Who Lived was taking part in something like this and they were capitalizing on it.
Daphne might or might not have admired the photo of him Witch Weekly had chosen for their article: Potter, dressed sharply in a black muggle suit instead of the auror robes she normally saw him in, staring intently out of the photograph. He had grown into a good looking man, something she'd noted idly once or twice when she saw him around the Ministry.
"Alright, I'm not going to beat around the bush: I want you to win Harry at the auction."
Daphne must have misheard her. "I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me." Hermione leaned forward over the table. "I want you to bid on Harry, and preferably win."
Unfortunately, that sentence made no more sense the second time than it had the first. "This is really what you wanted to talk to me about?" Hermione nodded and Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose. "Bloody hell. Why?"
Granger chewed on her bottom lip. "You don't know Harry, but he despises putting himself into the spotlight like this. He hated the photo shoot they made him do and he's not looking forward to the auction itself, even if he doesn't say it."
"Then why did he volunteer for it?"
"Because one of the programs St. Mungo's fundraiser is for aims to increase awareness of lycanthropy and will improve treatment of those afflicted. Harry thought it was worth some discomfort on his part."
Daphne raised an eyebrow. "But you don't?"
"That's not what I meant. It is, of course, a good cause but I think Harry underestimates the type of fan this could attract." Her mouth pulled into a severe frown. "Some of the fan mail he gets is beyond creepy. He gets gifts laced with love potions for Merlin's sake. And he started getting even more once his involvement in the auction was revealed."
"Have you talked about this with him?"
"Of course I have. He thinks the money he could raise is worth the risk. I know very well that he can take care of himself, but he shouldn't have to be on guard for a charity date."
"I'm not saying he should have to, but Potter is a grown man. If he wants to do this, he's going to. He won't thank you for meddling in his life."
"Ah, but it's not meddling if I get him to agree with me," Hermione said, a glint of triumph in her eyes. Daphne honestly would still call it meddling, but her thoughts would probably fall onto deaf ears. "We came to a compromise. He's still in the auction, St. Mungo's will get the money for him, and he won't have to put up with an obsessed fan."
"But why are you asking me to do this?"
Hermione opened her mouth and then shut it before saying anything. After a few seconds of silence, she said, "The list of witches I think of as trustworthy enough and could afford bidding on Harry is very small. Ginny could possibly be able to win him, but she's dating someone and doesn't want to invite speculation from the press if she doesn't have to. I know you wouldn't try to slip him a love potion, unlike some of the other witches attending."
"While I'm flattered that I clear that incredibly low bar," Daphne said, "I'm not interested."
"Are you seeing anyone?" Hermione asked suddenly.
"Well, no, but that's not the point."
"Do you not think Harry is good enough for you?" Hermione crossed her arms.
Where did that even come from? Daphne snorted. "I'm not saying that. No one would say that about Harry Potter of all people." He had not only stopped a Dark Lord, but was a successful auror and had dated a professional quidditch player, who was also a war hero. Daphne was certainly not in the same league as him, but such an admission would come off as if she was fishing for compliments so she refrained from pointing that out.
"However, the person who wins a date with Harry Potter would be getting some press and I'd rather not be painted with the same brush as one of his obsessed fans. Not to mention the ire I'd draw from said fans by outbidding them."
Also, her sister would never let her hear the end of this if she won a date with Harry Potter. Tori would find this hilarious. Even worse, she'd probably get some lecture from her father about her actions reflecting on their family's image and blah blah blah.
"Besides, Potter and I have barely spoken ten words to each other."
"And getting to know someone better on a date of all things is absolutely impossible," Hermione said sarcastically.
Daphne chose to ignore that. "I don't think it's a good idea. Sorry."
Hermione sighed deeply. "I can't say this isn't disappointing. I'm going to have to ask Ginny now. I don't want to, but she's better than one of Harry's fans or the likes of Sienna Selywn-"
Daphne slapped her hand down on the table and Hermione jumped. "Did you say Sienna Selywn?"
"Yes," Hermione said, drawing out the word.
"She wants to bid on Potter? You know that for a fact?"
Hermione nodded.
Daphne smiled. "I've changed my mind. It would be my pleasure to bid on Potter."
To say that Daphne Greengrass did not like Sienna Selywn was the equivalent of saying that Salazar Slytherin and the other three Hogwarts founders had a small spat. It was a dislike that had started in early childhood after Sienna made fun of Daphne's stutter, further stoked during the few years she was at Hogwarts with Sienna, and made permanent when Sienna slept with Daphne's then-boyfriend Cassius.
Honestly, the last one was no big loss. It hurt like hell at the time, but if Cassius had a wandering eye then she was better off without him. Also his relationship with Sienna ended up imploding, so there was some justice in the situation.
If she was being honest, Daphne would have to admit that she hadn't been entirely innocent back at school either, such as the time she sneaked a dungbomb into Sienna's book bag. In her defense, there were only so many times she could take being called 'D…D…D…Daphne' before snapping.
Outbidding Sienna was petty, but Daphne could live with that. Maybe it would be more satisfying to do nothing and have Selwyn muck up with Potter, but that would be unfair to Potter. It would also upset Hermione, too.
The expression on Sienna's face would be more than worth it.
Now that thought only had to get her through the actual auction.
The stage was set up along the far wall and her eyes were unwillingly drawn to it more than once over the course of the meal. After a quick glance towards the right corner of the room to survey the journalists in attendance, she ignored them for the rest of the meal, particularly one. Of all the reporters the Prophet could have sent, of course it was bloody Skeeter.
She wasn't the only reporter here, but she was the most recognizable. There were at least two others Daphne vaguely recognized, but neither of them had the same level of Skeeter's talents of insinuation or exaggeration. It's not unexpected. Don't get anxious now. Hermione told Potter anyway, it's too late to back out now.
To her immediate left, Blaise turned to her and asked, "Why so tense? Is the food not to your liking?"
"I'm not tense," she said. "Dinner was lovely. I do need some fresh air though. Please excuse me."
She didn't give her friend time to respond before she rose and was walking towards the doors. The hallway outside the ballroom was cooler and, even better, empty. The shut door blocked out the sounds of conversations and laughing and she massaged her temples. I can do this. Don't worry about everyone else. Just focus on what you came here to do.
Unspeakables observed and experimented and they stayed in the shadows as much as possible. But have I been using that too much as an excuse? No, I don't have time to-
"Do my eyes deceive me? Daphne Greengrass slinking out of an event early? Perish the thought." Sienna Selwyn's voice drawled gratingly in her ears.
Oh this is just what I need.
Daphne glanced to the left to see Sienna walking down the hallway the restrooms were located in. "Sienna," she said curtly. Her lips pursed into a thin smile. "I just stepped out for a moment." Do not rise to the bait. Do not— "Why would I feel the need to sneak out?"
Blast.
Selwyn's smile looked as insincere as Daphne's had felt. "I assumed you were frightened off by the lack of dark corners to skulk in."
Daphne snorted. "I'm not a teenager anymore." Unlike you apparently was the silent but heavy implication.
Sienna laughed. "It's only a joke, Daphne darling. No need to be so serious all the time."
Daphne didn't smile.
The other witch's eyes flicked towards the door. "I suppose I should say good luck now. If you are bidding on anyone, of course, though it is a little hard imagining you being interested."
"Oh?"
Her lips formed into a smirk. "Most of them seem too flashy for you."
I am going to wipe that stupid smirk off your face.
Daphne laughed. "Fair enough. I didn't think any of the men here tonight were your type either. They're all single, after all."
As she took back her seat next to Blaise, her friend glanced at her and then at Selwyn, who stalked by their table without a glance at either of them. "Where were you?"
"I ran into Sienna. We had a little chat."
Blaise's eyebrows shot up. "And she still lives?"
Daphne rolled her eyes. "She's not worth Azkaban."
Any further conversation was cut off as Lee Jordan strolled onto the stage. He pointed his wand at his throat and when he spoke his voice boomed out, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen! The long wait is over, it's time to start the auction." He paused as applause rang out.
"Now before we begin, please remember all sales are final. The minimum bid will be one hundred and fifty galleons and to bid please raise your wand. Just remember: no hexing the winner!" There were a few laughs from the crowd. "Now, let's start with our first, bachelor: Oliver Wood."
Wood strode out to the center of the stage, a smile that only looked slightly hesitant on his face. "Do we have one hundred and fifty galleons?! What about one hundred and sixty? One hundred and sixty! Do I have one hundred and seventy?!
This carried on and Daphne started to tune Jordan out by the time he reached two hundred galleons. One by one, bachelors walked out onto the stage and one by one they were sold off to the highest bidder. Daphne felt a surge of second hand embarrassment as one witch sent up sparks in the air when Jordan announced she won the date with Viktor Krum. I have to hand it to them at least. I'd never be able to put myself out there like that.
Finally, Jordan said, "Harry Potter, come on out!" Daphne sat up straighter and watched as Potter took his spot on the stage. He wore the same muggle suit he'd worn in the photo shoot and he looked even better in person than he had in the magazine. Her lips twitched when he stuck his hands in his pockets.
Potter gave a slightly forced looking smile before his face went blank. Jordan said, "Since this is the last bachelor for the night, and the one I'm sure you've all been waiting for—"
Behind Jordan, Potter winced.
"—let's make this a little more interesting. Does three hundred galleons sound good?!"
Here goes nothing. She raised her wand when Jordan called out the first bid. "Really," Blaise whispered, but she ignored him. A good amount of the crowd was bidding for Potter and Daphne spared one glance towards Sienna, before she focused again on Potter.
"Three hundred and fifty! And…three hundred and sixty! What about three hundred and seventy?!"
This was going to be an endurance test. Daphne's hand stayed raised. A few wands lowered in the crowd when Jordan got to eight hundred and fifty galleons, but there were more to go.
"Do I have one nine hundred galleons? Nine hundred and ten! Nine hundred and twenty?!"
More wands lowered. Potter's face twitched and Daphne wondered for a moment if it was from embarrassment or exasperation. He grimaced again very briefly when the bids reached nine hundred and eighty galleons, but she paid more attention to the fact that a few more people had lowered their wands.
There were six left, counting herself.
"One thousand galleons!"
Five left.
"One thousand and ten!"
Four left.
"One thousand and twenty! One thousand and thirty!"
Three left.
"One thousand and forty! One thousand and fifty!"
It was just her and Sienna left now.
"One thousand and sixty!"
Selwyn craned her neck back to look behind her and narrowed her eyes when she saw Daphne. As a mature adult, Daphne naturally winked at her.
"One thousand and seventy!"
Selwyn's hand wavered and Daphne bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Blaise sighed deeply and said, "Oh now it all makes sense."
"One thousand and eighty galleons!"
Sienna glanced back at her again and Daphne stared ahead, her wand steadily and surely held in the air. Got you.
"Do I have one thousand and ninety galleons?"
Selwyn dropped her wand back down on the table with a little more force than was strictly necessary.
"Going once…going twice…and sold to the lady in the back!"
Daphne finally lowered her own wand, a triumphant smirk on her face. From the stage, Potter's eyes found her and he gave her a lopsided smile. Her mouth involuntarily softened into a genuine smile. He has a nice smile.
Blaise leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Sienna looks downright murderous."
Daphne grinned.
After Jordan concluded the auction and the director of St. Mungo's gave a grateful speech, Daphne went to meet Potter. The other winners were speaking to the bachelors they paid good gold on, and Potter was standing in the back of the room. His tie had disappeared at some point between his departure from the stage and this meeting and the tension in his shoulders was also gone.
He caught sight of her and raised a hand in greeting. "Hello Greengrass."
"Potter," she said back. Now that she was actually in front of him, she found that she didn't know quite what to say. The most she'd ever said to him was a few weeks ago when she informed him that Hermione should be done in fifteen minutes after she'd nearly bumped into him in the hallway outside of her department. He'd blinked and then muttered thanks and that was the longest of their interactions until now.
Hermione had floated the idea of Daphne meeting her and some other friends for drinks after work, but then Daphne had gotten put on the field assignment and she had to give a rain check. She regretted that now. Well, she only regretted it a little. The case was so fascinating—
No, I can't think about that now. Bad Daphne.
There was a brief silence.
"Well this is awkward," Daphne said with a sheepish smile.
Potter chuckled. "Just a bit. Listen, I want to say thank you. I know Hermione sort of ambushed you and you spent more money then you were probably planning to—"
"I always give to St. Mungo's. Don't worry about it."
"Right, but I don't think you always have to worry about getting written about by Rita Skeeter."
Daphne fought a wince. "I'll survive. Besides, I didn't do this completely for you, so you really don't have to thank me." That sounded better in my head. A muscle worked in Potter's jaw and she continued, "I didn't mean to…you're welcome."
Potter's mouth twitched. "I get it." Potter took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her. "This is the invitation. There's a letter inside with all the information on the place and the invitation itself is a portkey."
Daphne reached out a hand and hesitated. "Hermione told me you don't like all this attention. I know tonight must have already been bad enough, so we can just not go if you don't feel like it." The papers, particularly The Daily Prophet, were not likely to be kind to her and her father would be even more upset than he was already going to be, but she already felt weird about buying him off an auction block.
Potter frowned suddenly. "Oh. Do you not actually want to go?"
She thought he'd be relieved. "It's not that I don't want to necessarily, but I don't want you to feel forced into it."
"I don't feel that way," he said and his frown shifted into a small smile. "I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for this and I don't back out of things." He pressed the envelope into her hand. "Besides, you did me a favor tonight, so it's the least I can do."
"If you're sure," she said and put the envelope into her clutch purse. "Then I'll see you tomorrow."
He was still smiling. "Good night, Greengrass. I'm l…er, thanks again."
She smiled in amusement. "I'm not starting that again. Good night, Potter."
Good save, she thought right before apparating home.
The morning of her date with Harry Potter started with an incessant tapping on her bedroom window. Daphne, shaken out of a dreamless and rather peaceful sleep, rolled onto her side with a groan. A sound she made a second time when she opened her eyes and saw Mercury, her father's owl, staring at her in utter disdain. "I'm coming," she muttered when he tapped on the window again. She pushed a couple strands of her brown hair out of her face and got up to deal with the grumpy owl.
Daphne opened the window and Mercury graciously allowed her to take the letter from him. She rolled her eyes when he gave her one last long stare before flying off. I might as well get it over with now. She opened the letter and began to read: Daphne, I do not know what possessed you to indulge in such a ridiculous display last night, but I do not appreciate the attention you have drawn to yourself—
"That's enough of that," she said and tossed the letter onto her bedside table. She gave her bed one last longing look, but knew that sleep would be a lost cause now that she was this awake. Instead, she went about making herself breakfast, which proved to be the right decision since her father's owl was just the first of several letters.
The next was a note from Hermione: Thank you! I owe you one, Daphne. Honestly, the satisfaction of vexing Selwyn's plans was a reward in and of itself, but she didn't have to tell Hermione that. You never knew when you needed a favor, after all.
After that there was a slow trickle of letters from friends and former classmates throughout the morning and into the afternoon, whose reactions ranged from surprised to insulting. The worst was from Cassius and she could hear his smug voice as she read: Have you really become so desperate that you've resorted to buying dates? You should have told me, Daphne. I know a few blokes who wouldn't say no to extra galleons.
The letter was burnt to a crisp within seconds of reading the last sentence.
Fuck him, that was all the response he deserved. Thankfully at that moment, a distraction arrived in the form of her little sister apparting into her living room with a box of Honeydukes finest chocolates. "Have I told you how much I love you lately," Tori said and laughed. "Because I do. So…wait, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. I just got rid of some trash," she said, vanishing the ashes on her coffee table. Good riddance. She raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Did you just break into my flat to compliment me?"
Tori went with the subject change. "I did not break into your home," she said and rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. I merely decided to visit my sister to wish her good luck on her date." Her sister flopped down onto the couch next to her.
Daphne gave her a flat look. "Seriously, Tori, why are you here?"
"Merlin, you're so suspicious, Daph! But fine, you caught me. I also came to give you a thank you gift," she said and pushed the box of chocolates intot Daphne's hands.
"For what?"
Tori beamed at her. "For practically giving Narcissa an aneurysm this morning! She sent me a letter to complain about you buying Potter at the auction. It was hilarious," she added and laughed again. "I could just picture her making that annoyed, pinched expression she does." Tori grimaced in a pale imitation of said look and Daphne laughed.
"I guess I shouldn't expect a friendship bracelet from her anytime soon."
"I think she actually hates you more than she does me. I'll have to up my game. But enough about my mother-in-law, tell me: what made you decide to win Potter?"
Daphne shrugged. "I found out Sienna was bidding on him." Tori didn't need to know that one of Potter's best friends had annoyed her into staging a "rescue".
"Ah, good old fashioned pettiness," she sighed. "I was kind of hoping for a secret affair—"
"You read too many romance novels. You know that right?"
Tori ignored her. "—but that's fine. Just do me a favor: relax and try to get to know him. You never know what could happen."
Daphne shook her head. "I wasn't planning on being a bad date, Tori." He was doing this for charity, she might as well try to make dinner worth it for him. Hopefully, it would be easier to have a conversation with him tonight now that the initial awkwardness was over. But he does make me a bit nervous.
"That's not quite what I meant, but sure." Tori stood up before she could respond. "I'll go now so you can get ready for your date. Remember, have fun!"
Her sister didn't wait for a goodbye before she apparated back out. "Such a rude girl," she muttered and put the chocolates down on her coffee table. She checked her watch and her stomach did a nervous flip. I really need to start getting ready, she thought and headed to her bathroom to start with a shower.
Daphne decided to wear her mother's silver bracelet as part of her outfit for tonight. It was something of a good luck charm for her and she felt a bit more settled once it was on. At six o'clock on the dot, she grabbed the invitation and felt the familiar, if not pleasant, sensation of being yanked forward on a hook.
The portkey churned her out in front of La Tana Del Lupo, one of the oldest wizarding-run restaurants in Rome. Daphne had been here once before with Blaise and some of his cousins, but it had been a few years. The fundraiser had really gone all out, but all of these thoughts disappeared when she caught sight of Potter standing in front of the restaurant.
The nerves that she was able to suppress earlier that day were back. Why am I nervous? It's not a real date. She repeated that to herself, though it didn't stop her from taking a few seconds to look him over.
He looked handsome in a different muggle suit and she was glad she went with a muggle dress rather than robes. He was standing with his hands in his pockets again, which provoked a small smile from her. He glanced at her, at first casually and then he looked a bit longer. "You look beautiful," he said, his mouth curving into another of those lopsided smiles.
Oh.
"Thank you," she said. "You look—" Do not say nice. "—great too." Was that even better?
It did the trick though as Potter's smile brightened. "Thanks. Ready to go in?" She inclined her head and then nearly bumped into him as they both stepped towards the door. "Sorry," they both said and then he opened the door for her.
"Thank you," she said and walked inside with Potter right after her. It was hard not to be aware of his closeness or the cedarwood scent of his cologne. After a brief conversation with the hostess, they were led through the crowded restaurant to a private room in the back. Just another perk that the auction organizers had put into the prizes apparently. The room was dim, candlelit and still; the light from the candles glowed softly, comfortably. The noise from the rest of the restaurant had grown fuzzier as they walked towards the back and was then silenced by the shutting of the door.
If this was a real date, it would have created a nicely intimate environment. Since it wasn't, she could only think about how awkward no distractions could become if they couldn't think of much to say to each other. No, don't dwell on the worst case scenario. That was easy to say, but, considering overthinking was practically a job requirement in the Department of Mysteries, not so easy to do.
The next ten minutes or so were a flurry of activity as the server gave them menus, took drinks and then dinner orders. Once they were left alone, Potter beat her to the punch and said, "I know I already thanked you yesterday—"
"So you don't need to repeat yourself."
His mouth twitched again and he continued, "So I won't. I'd like to have a nice dinner and I'd like to get to know you."
Daphne was in the middle of taking a sip of her wine but paused when he spoke. "You do?"
He smiled. "Well, yeah. You're friends with Hermione." Of course. "She talks about you a bit."
Daphne laughed. "So all bad things then?"
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards but he shook his head. "No, not really. I mean she might have complained about you never remembering to refill the break room tea kettle or stealing her desk chair—"
"It was my chair first!" Merlin, she will not let that go.
"I'm sure it was," he said, laughing. "But other than a few things, it's been mostly good, I swear." And you're totally not going to tell me the good things she said. The server brought in the appetizers then. He plopped a piece of bruschetta in his mouth and, after swallowing, continued, "And I've seen you two hanging out in the Ministry before and Hermione looked like she was having fun."
"You could have come over to say hello," she said and blinked when he looked to the side.
"Well, you were both so into what you were talking about, I didn't want to interrupt." He ran a hand through his hair and it was oddly endearing, even though his hair looked even wilder now.
"What do you want to know?" She took a bite of bruschetta herself.
"I suppose favorite color is a little too generic. Do you like being an Unspeakable?"
"Absolutely," she said. "There's so much we don't know about magic, and so much we can still learn and create. And the Department of Mysteries is fully dedicated to research and development, and they allow us as much freedom as possible. I wish I could tell you more but you know classified," she said, voice trailing off.
This was always the tricky part with talking about her job with friends and family or on dates. Merlin, especially on dates. So much of her work was classified, and some people took the need for secrecy much better than others. It was why several of the married Unspeakables she knew had married other Unspeakables.
Potter shrugged. "I get it. There's a lot I can't get into about active cases either." He smiled and added, "Can I ask what made you want to work for the Department of Mysteries?"
"Is this a job interview?" His face turned slightly pink. That's adorable. She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Do you promise not to laugh?"
"Cross my heart."
"There was this book series I really liked to read when I was growing up. It was an adventure series following these three siblings, and their uncle was an Unspeakable. He was one of the few adults in it that would help them out, and he always seemed so cool and mysterious and…you promised not to laugh, you prat!"
Potter's face had started twitching during the explanation, which then turned into a cough and then he was outright laughing. Daphne's face warmed and she narrowed her eyes at him, but there was no real anger in her tone.
"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting that. It's cute," he said and coughed, though it sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.
"I already regret telling you this," she said dryly. Why did I?
He shook his head quickly. "No, really, I'm sorry for laughing. I'm a little jealous, actually, that you already knew what you wanted to do with your life as a kid. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life until fifth year, and even then auror was the first idea not related to quidditch that popped into my head."
"Wow, it's almost like you were too busy being targeted by a dark lord."
"When you say it like that, it sounds like a good excuse." He chuckled shortly. "But I didn't really put a lot of thought into what I wanted to do with my life. Voldemort was always going to end up being my fight, and then there were still Death Eaters out there. So I sort of fell into being an auror in the end."
"Do you regret it?"
"No. I'm very good at being an auror and I'm helping people. That's important to me."
"Then I don't see how it matters how you ended up being one. You are where you need to be, even if the world was deprived of a star quidditch player."
His answering smile was almost blinding. "Do you like quidditch?"
"Yes, I follow it. My team is Pride of Portree. You're making a face, Potter, so let me warn you to be careful. Any sort of friendship is going to depend on what you say next."
"So no pressure then? I have to admit I'm still a Harpies man myself."
"I suppose it could be worse. You could have said the Cannons."
"Nah, I leave that kind of masochism to Ron."
They spent the next ten minutes discussing the current league standings, teams and matches they'd seen. "You can't imagine the drama that happens when the Harpies and the Cannons have a match. The worst time I almost thought it was going to end with Ron and Ginny hexing each other," he said and shuddered so dramatically that she couldn't keep from laughing.
Before she knew it, the server returned with their main course. Bucatini all'Amatriciana and salad on the side for Daphne and abbacchio brodettato and spinach on the side for him. "Have you been to Rome before?" she asked him after she started on her dinner. Heavenly.
"No, this is my first time in the city."
"That's a shame; Rome is a beautiful city. It's too bad the portkey will leave so soon after dinner."
"You've been here before then?"
"A few times, mostly visiting Blaise. He was a good tour guide for the most part, when he wasn't getting either of us in trouble."
He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sensing a story there."
Daphne chuckled. "More than one. None of which could rival the stories you could tell about you and your friends."
"Yeah, but most of mine are more well known. I like hearing other people's stories. How about this: you tell me one of yours and I'll tell you one of mine." He tilted his head in thought and said, "One of the lesser known ones."
Daphne took a bite out of her meal as she considered. Blast, he'd actually gone and made her curious now. Why not? "Well, there was the time, Blaise was challenged to a duel and made me act as his second."
He nearly choked. "And you just went along with it?"
"Of course I did. Did I really want to? No. But was I going to let them ignore the proper rules of dueling? Also no. You wouldn't believe how quickly the other bloke and his second lost their nerve when I went over the most obscure, fatal rules of dueling. Which also happened to be ones I completely made up on the spot," she finished, smirking at the memory.
He snickered. "I bet you had fun with that. Now what should I tell you? I figure Draco would have bragged to everyone in Slytherin about tricking Ron and me into a fake duel."
"To anyone who'd listen to him.".
He hummed under his breath and smiled. "Alright, so let me tell you about Norberta," he said and launched into the story of the time in first year when Hagrid bought a dragon egg and he and his friends had to get rid of it.
"I can't believe Draco was actually telling the truth about that," she said, laughing.
"Alright, your turn again."
"I think you've already beaten me, but let me think. There was one time we were racing brooms." The rest of dinner was spent like that: trading stories about themselves and their friends. She enjoyed his story about sneaking into Hogsmeade, wandering around under an invisibility cloak, and throwing mud at Draco and his cronies. Whereas he seemed to really enjoy her admitting to sneaking out of her bedroom window at home and the one time she fell while climbing and landed in a rose bush.
"Please don't tell anyone that," she added, though she was smiling. "I do have a reputation to maintain."
"My lips are sealed."
He had become surprisingly easy to talk to over the course of dinner. Daphne was actually a little disappointed when the server came back to take away their plates and get their dessert orders. It's too bad we were never able to really talk before. This was fun.
Once the server was gone again, his expression turned more serious. "I'd like to ask you something. What made you agree to this? I know by first hand experience that Hermione is a force of nature when she wants something, but you don't really seem like the type to give in easily."
"Honestly?" He nodded and she said, "Because I hate the woman I was in a bidding war with over you and it was a good way to annoy her."
Something flickered on his face too quickly for her to register and then he chuckled. "Vindictive aren't we?"
"Yes, well, I do like to lead with some of my bad traits when getting to know someone. It's only sporting that way." Less disappointing in the end too. She took a sip of her wine. "If it makes a difference, I don't think you'd like her very much. Sienna Selwyn is," she paused and said softly, "egocentric."
His brow furrowed and she shrugged. "Whereas I may be a petty bitch—"
He let out a surprised sounding laugh.
"But I am a petty bitch who would like you to enjoy yourself despite the company." He frowned slightly, but she didn't take much notice of that. "I am curious about something myself: what drew you to this fundraiser?" Hermione had said he volunteered because it was a good cause, but there were a lot of good causes that he could have signed up for that wouldn't have involved auctioning himself off.
He paused a moment before asking, "You remember Professor Lupin, right?"
"He was my favorite Defense professor." If that isn't damning with faint praise, I don't know what is. The only thing was that it was the truth. "It was a shame he had to leave."
"Right. The thing is he and my dad were mates, and I know he always had it hard trying to find work or places to stay because he was a werewolf. And that was bullshit." His eyes practically lit up with honest indignation. "It's not just werewolves, but their relatives can be given a hard time as well. He had a son before he and his wife died, and the idea that my godson could be treated differently because his dad was a werewolf has been in the back of my mind for a while."
She blinked. "I didn't know you had a godson."
"Yeah, I've been trying to keep him out of the papers until he's older. It's not fun for a kid to be written up or photographed like that." He made a face at that last part.
"You sound like a good godfather," she said.
"I try my best," he said, shrugging. "But the point is that there's a lot of prejudice and ignorance about werewolves, even from er, non-purebloods. Then it keeps getting passed on. And this is at least doing something about it." His eyes glinted in determination as he spoke.
Daphne bit her lip. "I can't say I know much about what muggleborns know about werewolves before school, but I can say that you're not wrong about those of us who've grown up in magical families. I remember when my sister and I were little and one of us acted up, our father would tell us stories about Fenrir Greyback and his pack kidnapping bad little boys and girls and taking them away to live with them forever."
Almost everyone she knew from a magical family had grown up with some version of that story. It was such a common tale that she'd never really given it much thought even as an adult. While she knew by now not to tar all werewolves with the same brush, this sort of thing tripped her up at times.
Before anything else could be said, the server returned and floated their desserts onto the table: a slice of chocolate cake for Daphne and a tiramisù for him. They both thanked her and once she had left the room again he said, "That got a bit heavier than I intended. Sorry about that."
Daphne shook her head. "No, it's alright. But, there's something I'd like to ask you now." He looked up from his dessert and she asked, "Why did you go along with Hermione's plan?"
He blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I can see how strongly you felt about this and you said to yourself that you knew what you were getting into when you signed up for this." He started to frown and she hurriedly said, "I'm not saying that it would have been fair for you to get stuck with someone really awful or creepy, but Hermione said you were brushing her off. What changed your mind?"
"I wasn't brushing her off," he said, voice sounding fairly exasperated now. "Is that what she told you? I understood her concerns. She wasn't the only one of my friends to be concerned and I got it. I told Hermione that, and that I accepted the risks and wasn't going to spend time worrying about it, because it wasn't like I could control who'd end up winning. Then she found out you were going and brought up asking you."
He ran a hand through his hair and didn't say anything.
Daphne nodded. "I see. You both know I could win if I bothered bidding and I was the safest choice as Hermine's friend. That makes sense." She turned back to her dessert but was distracted when he spoke again.
"Er, that was part of it, yeah. But there was something else too." He hesitated and then his gaze met hers. "I've wanted to ask you out for a while now."
She must have misheard that. "I-"
Apparently now that he'd admitted that secret, he was just going to barrel on to more. "It's just Hermione was talking about you to me and Ron, and you both always looked like you were having fun when you were talking…I wanted to know more about you and, well, you are very pretty." Her face turned pink but he seemingly didn't notice because he continued, "You do have this sort of intense, sort of sexy look you get sometimes."
Daphne wasn't quite sure if she felt like sitting up straighter at that compliment or if she wanted to bury her face in her hands. It was decided for her when a comically horrified look crossed his face. "Oh, shite. Greengrass, I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. I—"
"Well, no one's ever called it sexy before," she said, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smirk. In fact, she clearly remembered being told once by Cassius that it made her look creepy. He smiled in relief and Daphne almost let it go. "Why didn't you?" She was not the most direct of people generally, but he brought it out in her.
"Ask you out? I nearly did one time, but changed my mind at the last second. I suppose I just felt weird about approaching you at work when we'd never really spoken before."
Fair.
"Hermione said she was going to invite you out with us, and I reckoned that I'd go from there."
She smiled, a little regretfully. "Then I was assigned to field work and had to cancel."
He nodded and then that determined glint had once again appeared in his eyes. It made something flutter in her stomach. "If I asked you out before, would you have said yes?"
Daphne paused. Would she have? Her head tilted slightly to the side as she considered his question. If he had asked her out at the Ministry, out of nowhere, she most likely would have instinctively said no. Even if she hadn't, if he'd asked her out before tonight, the same cons she'd presented to Hermione against bidding on him would have likely outweighed the pros of the situation.
Now, though, she found those arguments less compelling. The unwanted media attention, the disappointment and anger on the parts of some of his fans no longer felt as daunting as they would have before. She'd only experienced a taste of that earlier and she wouldn't like dealing with any of them, but she could do it. Her father might potentially disapprove, but Daphne had never been above ignoring him if she really wanted something. Her brother-in-law's face when he found out would be hilarious; Tori wouldn't care beyond using the auction story as something to tease her about.
Maman would have liked him.
Maybe this would turn out to be a bad idea in the end, but Harry Potter was delightfully warm and direct, easier to talk to than she'd realized, and had a surprising way of pulling things out of her. Oh, and he was also fit. That too.
And who knew? Perhaps less time spent observing and testing from the sidelines would be good for her.
Daphne smiled slowly. "Since I'm not going to lend you one of our Time-Turners to find out for sure, it's hard for me to say. It's likely I would have said no." His face fell ever so slightly and she continued, "But the answer would be different now."
A large smile had spread across his face. "So you're definitely agreeing to a second date then?"
"Yes," she said, laughing.
The rest of dinner passed in a pleasant blur and she felt more than a little disappointed as they walked back outside, just a couple minutes before their portkeys activated again.
"I had fun, Potter."
"Harry," he said. "And I had fun too." He was smiling again, rather boyishly.
She smiled. "You might as well call me Daphne then." A thought surfaced in her mind as she took the portkey from her purse, a rather late response to something he said earlier, and she hesitated. Is that too bold? Then again he called me sexy so it couldn't hurt.
And it would be a little payback for how'd he surprised her with his earlier comment. A mischievous smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. You are a bad influence, Harry Potter.
She edged a step closer to him, but he leaned away at that exact moment. Really? "I can owl you in a couple days so we can work out our plans? Or I could floo call you if you'd like."
"Either works." She waited until he fished out his own portkey from inside his trouser pockets and cleared her throat. "Harry, can I share a secret with you?"
"Sure, that's-"
He trailed off as she leaned up to whisper in his ear, "I thought you looked rather sexy yourself in that photo shoot." She moved her head to kiss his cheek, but his head jerked in surprise, and so her lips lightly pressed against the corner of his mouth. She started to pull back and then he moved his head and captured her lips in a soft kiss.
They broke apart, smiling. "That was a nice surprise," he said.
Her lips were tingling. "I thought so. Until next time, Harry."
He had time to say just one more thing before their portkeys pulled them apart: "I'm looking forward to it, Daphne." His words were ringing in her ears as she appeared in her flat and her smile was yet to leave her face.
She had a very good feeling about her next date with Harry Potter.
Notes: I don't normally like to give hard amounts when it comes to wizarding money in HP, but unfortunately it had to be done here. I went back and forth over the amounts for the bidding scene, and the finalized amount somehow felt both too high and too low for a little while.
I also hoped this came across clearly in the letter scene, but Daphne is not hung up on Cassius still. She hates him (and Sienna) and wants nothing else to do with him.
For anyone interested, there is a fun Harry/Daphne discord: discord. gg / pKSdvJQvhU
Thank you for reading!
