Skin

'Hermione. Who is that?'

Hermione shot a glance over her shoulder to the other side of the courtyard, then shifted around to be shoulder to shoulder with Harry so she could look at the girl in question without being too conspicuous. Her eyes twitched as she worried her lip and scrunched her eyebrows while Harry waited for her answer.

'I don't know.' The pain at not knowing was evident on her face and in her voice.

The girl stood, admiring, or at least analyzing the walls of the castle, her body slightly turned from them. Yet, the view of her profile gave them enough information to know she was not a regular.

'Yeah. I don't recognize her either. But I thought, maybe that was just me.'

'I feel like I've seen her before though. How could we not know who she is?' It was a living nightmare.

'Don't know,' Harry said absentmindedly.

'Wait! She was just in my practical group. Though I don't recall her name. I was too focused on my exam. But her robes don't have—'

'I'm gonna talk to her.'

'You're what? Harry, we need to revise some more, Ron should be out any minute.' Her words went unanswered, save for Harry leaving her in the dust.

Harry hadn't actually given much thought to what he would say to the mystery girl, and never was that more apparent than when he was standing feet away from her with nothing but silence between them. His only saving grace was that she hadn't yet turned to face him. Whether she even was aware of his presence, he could not say.

'Hi. . . Er. . .'

Her head slowly turned towards him. She had to have sensed him. She showed no sign of being startled.

'I'm Harry Potter,' he said while extending a hand.

She chuckled softly as she shook his hand.

'Do I have something in my teeth?' Harry asked while picking at his central incisors with a fingernail.

Another giggle escaped her lips. 'No, it's not you. Well. . . it's just. . . I know who you are.'

'Oh. . . right. . . well, I just didn't recognize you. . . and didn't know what else to say.'

'Well, that's nice of you. And don't worry, you can't be the only one that doesn't recognize me.'

'That's a relief. Though it wouldn't be the first time I didn't remember someone. Are you new. . . or something?'

'Not in the sense that I'll be attending school here going forward. I take lessons at home. I'm just here for the examinations.'

'Oh, I didn't know that was a thing. But I guess that's cool.'

The girl nodded a few short nods in response.

Harry took in a deep breath and looked up at the walls she had been examining, searching for something else to say.

'So. . . what's your name?'

'Daphne.' A soft smile played on her lips, which appeared to be more than a little chapped. But who was he to judge? Exams were a nerve-wracking experience.

'That's a pretty name.' The phrase almost slipped out.

'Well. . . that's one pretty thing about me.'

'Er. . . that's not what I meant. . .'

'No?'

'No, I mean. . . Yes. I mean, I just said the first thing that came to mind. Not trying to imply anything else,' he replied hastily and apologetically.

'I know,' she said with a melodic giggle.

Harry sighed. 'Thank goodness.' A relieved smile grew on his face.

'I like you, Harry. You are easy to tease.'

'Thanks. . . I guess.'

'You're welcome,' Daphne said authoritatively and with a friendly smile. 'So, what do you do for fun around here?'

'Yeah. . . fun. That's kinda been sucked out of the place this year. But in a normal year—if there is such a thing—I'd say. . . flying. That's what I would do for fun.'

'Flying! I've never been.'

'Really?'

'Yeah.' She paused a moment, looking up longingly into the sky before snapping her gaze back to his. 'Could you, uhh, take me flying?'

Harry drew back in surprise and his eyes found the sky Daphne's eyes had just been exploring.

The pause was enough for Daphne to pick up on his hesitancy.

'It doesn't have to be anything crazy. No, chasing dragons or whatever it is that you find entertaining.'

'I don't—How'd you know?'

'I don't live under a rock, Harry,' she said with a demure smile.

'Ok, fine. But I'm sensing a slight imbalance in our relationship. . .'—His pause allowed for Daphne to scrunch her eyebrows in question—'You know far more about me than I do about you.'

'You know I want to fly.'

'True. And I could use a good fly, myself. Let's go see if we can find a broom so we can make that happen. Mine is. . . out of commission at the moment.'

Daphne beamed as she followed Harry's nod of the head towards the grounds.

'Going for a little tour of the grounds,' Harry said to Hermione as they got closer.

'How? What? But—'

'I'll meet you guys at dinner. Oh, and her name is Daphne, by the way,' Harry called over his shoulder without breaking stride, leaving the courtyard behind them without another thought.

'Nice introduction,' Daphne said sarcastically once they got to the grass.

'Er, yeah. . . sorry. That's Hermione. She's my friend, and probably a genius.'

'I think I recognize her from my practical group. And back to how much I know about you, I hope you don't take me for one of those that believes everything that is written,' she added, drawing a relieved smile out of Harry. 'So, I may not know as much truth as I do rumors and hearsay.'

'That's refreshing. So many seem to treat the Prophet as gospel.'

'I'm sorry. That must be hard to deal with. Their stories read more like mediocre fiction to me. That's what I enjoy reading. . . fiction. That way I don't have to worry if the author is trying to lie to me or not.'

'Huh?'

'It's all just made up. So I can just enjoy the story at face value without wondering if it's based on truth or not. But you want to know a huge pet peeve of mine?'

'Do I have a choice?' Harry answered as dryly as he could.

'Who knew Harry Potter was a cheeky thing?' Her small smile told him that wasn't a bad thing in her eyes.

'Please, I have a reputation to uphold. Wouldn't want people to think I'm pleasant.'

'Right, right. Now, back to my pet peeve.'

'Of course, I'm on pins and needles.'

'Don't overdo it, Mister,' she threatened.

Harry just gave his crooked smile which elicited one from Daphne in return.

'Well, I hate—and I can't emphasize hate enough—when they try to force a happy ending.'

Harry glanced at her with a furrowed brow.

'Don't get me wrong,' Daphne proclaimed. 'I enjoy a nice happily ever after as much as anyone. But that's not everyone's story. Not everyone gets to ride off into the sunset.'

'I guess that's true. . .' Harry trailed off. Arriving to their destination saved him any potential moments of introspection about the topic. 'Here's the broom shed. We might be able to find something in here.'

Harry scanned the small room and his eyes fell on a pile of brooms in the corner. He picked one up and blew the layer of dust off with a large huff. The plume of dust and ensuing sneezing fits had Harry and Daphne scampering out of the shed.

'Are you sure that one is safe?' Daphne asked with unhidden apprehension.

'Oh sure,' Harry replied offhandedly while snapping off a few crooked bristles and discarding them. 'Safety is more a product of whoever is flying versus what broom they are on anyway.'

'Why do I feel like you intentionally aren't saying something?'

'Well, I mean, if a broom is cursed. . . that's a different story.'

Daphne's eyes shot to the broom in Harry's hand and remained fixed there with her eyebrows raised.

Harry guffawed. 'You're worried about this broom being cursed?'

Daphne nodded, leaving her eyes locked on the broom.

'This thing isn't worth the time it would take to curse it. We should head up in the air in the off chance Umbridge comes out here.'

Harry mounted the broom and patted the spot behind him.

'Nothing crazy,' Daphne warned.

'Don't worry, you'll barely have to hang on,' he replied reassuringly.

That sentiment didn't last long.

As soon as their feet left the ground, Daphne's arms flung around his chest, squeezing him so tightly, she caused a burst of air to leave his lungs.

'At least I know you weren't lying about never flying before,' Harry said through a laugh.

Daphne's mouth opened and her lips moved, but no sound came out.

Harry held the altitude rather low, for his standards. 'Is this too high?'

'No, it's ok,' Daphne squeaked.

'Sure?'

'Yes, Harry. Go higher!'

Harry peaked over his shoulder with a questioning eyebrow raised.

'You said you're a good flyer,' she challenged.

'You're right, I am.' He smiled and faced forward again, climbing higher slowly as they circled the lake.

Daphne's grip slackened but her arms remained locked around Harry's chest.

They rose to hover above the castle.

'Wow!' Daphne breathed. 'It's beautiful. You can see everything from up here.'

'Yeah, the view never gets old. Except when it's cloudy. . . which is pretty often.'

'Well, I'm glad it wasn't cloudy today. I may never get another chance at this.'

'Wh—'

'We should head back down,' Daphne said, slightly stronger than a simple suggestion.

On instinct, Harry began to dive—not quite in Wronski Feint fashion but at a pace exceeding Daphne's preparation—as evidenced by her clench tightening and a barely audible, 'Slowly, please,' escaping her lips.

Fortunately, for Daphne, her lips were close enough to Harry's ear that he heard the plea and eased up immediately.

'Sorry,' Harry said over his shoulder. 'I forgot.'

'It's ok, no harm done.'

Harry continued in a slow descent until they touched the ground near the edge of the lake.

Daphne hopped off the broom, fell to her knees, and ran her hands through the grass as one would through a fresh haircut.

'I've never cherished the feeling of the ground so much before,' she exclaimed.

'That? That could barely even be called flying,' Harry responded through a small chuckle.

Daphne pursed her lips in a pout and narrowed her eyes at Harry. 'You sure know how to make a girl feel special,' she deadpanned.

'Oh! No! I didn't mean—'

'Have I told you I like how easy you are to tease, Harry?' she cut through with an accompanying conciliatory smile.

Harry sniffed in relief and bore a somewhat sheepish grin. 'Yeah, I recall you saying that already.'

They began walking back towards the castle at a leisurely pace.

'So. . . are you going to ask me?'

'Ask you what?' Harry replied with scrunched eyebrows.

'Why I don't go to school here.'

'Oh. . . yeah, I mean. . . I wondered. But I wasn't going to pry.'

'That's thoughtful of you.'

'More like, I just know what that feels like and I don't like it.'

'Still. . . thoughtful,' Daphne assured. 'But since you said you wondered. . . I'm sick, Harry.'

Harry paused a beat, trying not to let his countenance change. 'You don't look sick.'

'Again, I appreciate the sentiment. You're sweet, Harry. But you don't have to lie to me. I have family for that.'

Harry looked at her closely then, for perhaps the first time. Her eyes were slightly sunken in. Where other girls' skin seemed to glow, hers was sallow and appeared almost dry. The lack of fat on her made her hands look knobby. Her hair frayed at the ends—in more than just a windswept fashion—and for a girl her age, lacked thickness and sheen. As he paid attention, he noticed even her gait was awkward and uneven.

'So. . .' he started uncertainly. 'What kind of sick are you?' Not a question he normally would've asked, but Daphne seemed more than willing to discuss the topic and it seemed the least awkward path to take under the circumstances.

'Not the contagious kind,' she said with a playful smile.

Harry fought down the outward sigh of relief, but despite all the rational parts of his brain saying that wasn't even a possibility, there was just a sliver of the reaction, if only internally.

'You did well to hide your relief,' Daphne stated.

'I didn't—'

'It's ok. It's good to know you're human,' she teased. 'I have a blood condition, in the simplest of terms. It killed my mum. It's going to kill me. And will likely kill my sister as well. It just seems to have attacked me a lot earlier in life than usual.'

'Usual?'

'Yeah, it's a terrible misfortune passed on through my mother's line. Usually we are able to bear children first. I mean, what good would a curse be if it wasn't able to be passed on?' she scoffed.

'Daphne. . . I'm sorry.'

'Harry, don't. Please. If half of what I know about you is true, you are the last person in the world that needs to apologize about the cards life has dealt me.'

'Ok, ok, no apologies. But. . . is there anything I can do?'

'Nothing more than you've already done. I don't know how you did it, but for the last hour, you seemed to look past my appearance and treat me and talk to me as if there is nothing wrong with me. That's as great a gift as anyone could give me. And you didn't even know today is my birthday.'

'What? Really?'

'Yeah, how do you think I convinced my dad to let me come take my O.W.L.s at Hogwarts? I played on every ounce of guilt he had in his body. He had already set up for a Ministry official to come administer them at my home. But my begging and pleading finally wore him down.'

'So, this was your first time ever at Hogwarts?'

'Yes,' Daphne replied with a hint of dejection. 'Not quite the magical entrance of riding on the boats and going to the sorting.'

'You know about that stuff?'

'Yes, my family all came here,' she explained with slight exasperation. 'I've imagined it enough times for me to feel like I've done it though. Now that I have something more concrete in my mind, it'll be all the more real. I think I'd get sorted into Hufflepuff, at least that's what the "Find Out Your Hogwarts House" quizzes always tell me.'

'Quizzes?'

'Yeah, you answer a bunch of questions and it tells you what House you'd be in based on your answers. Of course, anyone with a brain could manipulate their answers to get the House they want, but I try to be honest.'

'How have I never heard of this? I'm at Hogwarts.'

'It's kinda taboo for students to take the quizzes. Like they'd feel something went wrong if they get a different House. . . or something like that, I don't really know.'

Harry laughed. 'Well, I guess that kinda makes sense.'

'Yeah,' Daphne said with a bit of hesitation. 'Harry, I do have one other favor I might ask of you. . .'

'Sure,' Harry prompted.

'Can I write to you? I have nothing but time on my hands. And while I love reading, putting down my thoughts and knowing someone—other than my family—on the other end will read them would be just lovely. I promise I won't bore you with my illness, nor will I probe into your personal life. And if you don't want to write back, that's ok too. I know you are probably busy with friends and school and Quidditch and—'

'Daphne, stop!' Harry said with a raised hand. 'Of course, you can write to me. I would be honoured to be your mind-dump. That's probably not great phrasing, but you get the idea. And I promise to write back.'

Daphne beamed and grabbed a hold of one of Harry's arms as she bounced up and down.

'You promise?' she asked with raised eyebrows before she narrowed them at Harry. 'You promised!'

'Yes, I know. I promised,' Harry responded with another laugh. 'And. . . if you want, on occasion, maybe you could recommend a book for me to read.'

'Are you serious?' Daphne squealed. 'You're joking, right?'

'No, I'm not joking. Something to take my mind off. . . everything—every once in a while—might be good for me.'

'Oh, you might regret it later, but for now, thank you, Harry. Thank you, thank you, thank you—'

'Daphne Marie!' a shrill voice reverberated from the direction of the castle.

'Oh, blast. That's my sister. Quick, hide the broom,' Daphne stated.

Harry tucked the broom behind him. Whether he did it discreetly enough to avoid detection. . . who knew?

'Stay cool,' Daphne whispered through unmoving lips.

'Are we in trouble?' Harry responded in kind.

'You might be.'

'Ohhhh, very comforting,' he said as he took a moment to examine her. 'Ah, you're teasing me again.'

All Daphne could do was wink before her sister interrupted them.

'Daphne! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you.'

Daphne didn't respond straight away, as if she were waiting for more from her sister.

Her patience was not unfounded.

'Potter? What are you doing with Harry Potter?'

'Oh, good. You know each other,' Daphne replied. 'That'll save me the awkward introductions.'

Harry choked back a laugh, but couldn't stop the snort from escaping. 'I'm sorry, Daphne. I haven't met your sister.'

'Oh, well, forgive me. Harry, this is my overprotective sister, Astoria. Astoria, you seem to already know my friend, Harry.'

'Yes, I know who Harry is. And since when are you friends?'

Daphne pursed her lips and looked to Harry as she pondered. He smiled in response.

'Oh, since about an hour ago,' Daphne said casually.

'Honestly, I don't even know about that,' Harry countered. 'We've officially only been friends for a few minutes, if memory serves.'

'That's true, I may have exaggerated a little,' Daphne agreed. 'That first bit was mostly just a test ride.'

'Ride? Does that mean Potter was trying to persuade you into flying with him? Don't think I didn't see him try to hide that broom.'

'Er. . .' Harry muttered.

'I don't know what you're playing at, Potter!' Astoria said with a finger jutted out at him. 'But I don't like it.'

'Don't try to pin this on Harry. I was the one that begged him to take me for a fly,' Daphne interjected.

'What!? You already flew!?'

'That's right,' Daphne replied victoriously. 'And look. . . still alive.'

'Daphne, don't be so trivial about this.'

'I won't be as soon as you aren't so serious.'

'It is serious, Daphne. And don't try to ask me to pretend otherwise.'

'Oh, believe me, I am well aware that I—'

Astoria's eyes shot to Harry to gauge his interest, and the gesture gave Daphne pause.

'Are you sure you want to be discussing this here?' Astoria asked.

'Don't worry, Harry already knows I have a juvenile onset terminal illness.'

'Does he know that physical exertion might shorten your lifespan?'

'You didn't—' Harry started.

'First of all, that's just a theory, and second, Harry knew not to overdo it, to not go crazy. . . and he performed perfectly.'

Harry held back a combination of a smirk and a grimace as he thought about Daphne's vague instructions from before. And he couldn't help but admit that had she given him such a detail, he likely wouldn't have risked taking her up in the air. And he internally kicked himself for not investigating more into why she'd never flown before, which now made all the sense in the world.

But there was no changing what had happened now. So he let himself be amused at Daphne's convenient downplaying of his flying.

'I wonder if Dad will see it the same way. . .'

'You wouldn't! Why would you tell him?' Daphne exclaimed.

'I think he ought to know.'

'Oh, please. Him knowing wouldn't do him any good, and it would only cause me stress and anxiety over how he might react. So, by all means, if you deem it so important. . .'

'Fine,' Astoria relented. 'I won't say anything. I still am going to comment on how ironic I find it that you picked out the only person in the whole world who might value their own life less than you do yours to take you for a fly.'

'I wouldn't say—' Harry tried to defend himself.

'Do we need to list them off? Running off to face a mountain troll. . .'

'Once she gets started, it's best to shut up and just let her finish,' Daphne whispered to Harry as Astoria recounted her version of Harry's various escapades through five years at school. She got some right, she missed on some altogether, and there were a few extra life-threatening stories that seemed to have been added to his life story that he'd never been aware of. But he took Daphne's advice and just listened without correcting anything.

'Wow, you certainly seem to know a lot about Harry's life,' Daphne stated when Astoria had finished, her face flush from exertion. 'Are you sure you aren't some sort of stalker?'

Astoria gasped and Harry bit down on the inside of his lip to prevent his smile from showing. Daphne might be able to needle her sister without repercussions but Harry didn't feel confident he would receive the same courtesy and sensed this girl wasn't one to aggravate.

'You're lucky I know you are joking,' Astoria said threateningly. Her eyes shifted to Harry as if she was judging his reaction to the comment. Harry bit down harder to avoid having any semblance of joy on his face. She seemed to be placated. 'Well, now that that is done, are you finished with your new friend?'

'Yes, I suppose I am,' Daphne answered before turning to face Harry. Suddenly, she threw her arms around his chest, pining both of his arms to his side. The top of her head pressed uncomfortably against the underside of his jaw in this somewhat unconventional side-hug.

'Thank you,' she said as she released him. 'The flight was thrilling. . . but not too thrilling.'

Astoria rolled her eyes.

'It was a pleasure getting to meet you, Daphne. You too, Astoria,' Harry said.

'Sure, sure,' Astoria replied. 'Let's go, Daphne.'

'Ok. Bye, Harry!' Daphne said cheerily as she looped an arm in her sister's.

Harry gave a small wave goodbye as the sisters began to walk away, though he could still hear them.

'Have you finished the last book I sent you?'

'No. . . examinations, you know that,' Astoria replied.

'Ugh, you can't be studying all the time. I want to talk about the ending with you.'

'Not all the time, but I have friends that demand some of my time as well.'

'You don't have to rub it in,' Daphne said with a small pout.

'I didn't mean anything by it—'

'Just kidding,' Daphne cut through victoriously.

'Ugh, you're the worst,' Astoria cried.

'At being the worst, you mean. But I know what you mean. . . about having friends. . . now that I have one. . . they are a real time-suck.'

Harry couldn't help but smile as the two looked back over their shoulders at him, Daphne with a teasing grin and Astoria with a borderline scowl.