Thanks Everyone for the reviews and and comments. Sorry I have taken such a long time to come back to this. Really appreciate the feedback. English is not my first language so apologies to all the perfectionists out there if the grammar is a bit off sometimes.

~Zik~

Chapter 9 – The Icy Warmth

"You have to admit that it is a very good suggestion." Reginald stated while sipping his tea.

"I am just a little miffed we didn't come up with it ourselves." Sheena replied good naturedly.

Reginald and Sheena were sitting at the Katherine Davis administration office with their newest recruit drinking tea and going over the latest suggestions given by the owner of the charitable trust.

"What do you think about this Daphne?" Reginald asked trying to bring her in the conversation.

"I think it is a wonderful idea. Getting volunteers would not only assist the operations but also open up an avenue for us to bring it to the attention of the public." Daphne paused.

"We can use this opportunity with some good media coverage to reach out to the people." She added.

"Wow Daphne, I am sure glad we got you on the team. You have a keen eye for such opportunities." Sheena said with an amused look towards Daphne.

"Well Cyrus did train her himself. Why do you think I was so keen on getting Daphne to start so soon?" Reginald replied rhetorically.

Daphne blushed slightly at the compliment but didn't let it show on her face. She was a master of keeping her expressions schooled after all. She always had been and she always would have been if not for one person.

No matter how hard she tried not to think about him, he had a way of coming back to the forefront of her thoughts. So far, everything she had done to avoid him had backfired on her. She could not forget how heart wrenching it was to see the hurt look on his face when she was being rude to him.

She didn't mean to be rude to him. In fact, her heart yearned to look him in the eye and get lost in its warm depths. But she knew that being near him brought her to the brink of losing control. She was aware that if she delved too deep into the mystery that was Harry Potter she will never be the same.

So she did what she did as an automatic defense technique. If you can't handle being liked by someone, you make them hate you. And going by their last conversation it was working. He had specifically told her that he will make sure to steer clear of her. So she should be content that her plan worked.

Then why wasn't she? Why was the prospect of not being able to see him so painful? What was happening to her?

"Daphne? Are you okay?" Sheena asked with a worried look when she figured that Daphne had kind off zoned out.

"What? Yes. I am fine." Daphne replied hurriedly trying her best to school her features into her usual stoic mask.

"We were talking about the media coverage you mentioned. The Prophet is out of question at the moment as you are well aware of their current state. So what else do you suggest we can do?" Reginald asked.

"We can always go to the Quibbler. Their factual reporting during the war greatly increased their reputation and following. And I also happen to be quite friendly with the assistant editor, Luna Lovegood." Daphne stated with a smile.

The thought of Luna brought a smile to her face. She was one of the most unassuming people Daphne had ever met. She had first met Luna during her third year when she had found a few Slytherin boys bullying her.

After making sure the boys got what they deserved she was astonished to see the younger girl was not scared as would have been expected. When she had asked her, Luna said that she knew they would leave her alone eventually like the others always did. She said that she was used to being treated like this because people felt she was different and that's why she had no friends.

Daphne told her that being different is not a bad thing and no matter what others say she will always have Daphne as her friend. That was the first time Daphne had seen her break out of her usual dreamy stance and get teary before enveloping Daphne in a hug.

Throughout the years Daphne had kept her friendship with Luna, making an effort to meet her and also helping her. It pissed Daphne off whenever people bullied Luna by hiding her clothes and shoes. During 5th year a particular group of Ravenclaws found out the hard way on why it was not in their best interests to bully Luna.

Their friendship was unique in many ways. One of this was the fact that Luna had asked Daphne to keep their friendship secret. Daphne had always assumed that Luna was afraid of how her fellow Ravenclaws would react to her friendship with a Slytherin, but in 6th year Luna had clarified that she didn't want to tempt fate.

According to Luna, good things didn't tend to stick around with her and their friendship, which Luna classed as one of the best things to happen to her, was too important for her to lose. Hence, she wanted to protect it and keep it safe from the 'Nargles', which Daphne figured was her way of saying the evil eye and jealousy of people.

"How come Tracey never mentioned you guys being friends with Xeno Lovegood's daughter?" Reginald asked curiously. Their family was very close knit and his kids usually told him about their school and friends.

"Oh Luna and Tracey don't know each other well enough to be classified as friends. I knew Luna and we became sort of friends at school. Not friends like hangout all the time within a group kind. More so the kind who you know will have your back when you need them. Tracey knows I am friendly with Luna but we never met as a group which means Tracey doesn't know her as well as I do." Daphne clarified.

"Ohhhkay." Reginald shared an amused look with Sheena. The exchange didn't go unnoticed by Daphne who rolled her eyes which made the other two burst out laughing.

Daphne tried to huff but then she let go and smiled. It felt nice to smile somehow.

"You should smile more Daphne. You have such a pretty smile." Sheena said kindly.

The statement triggered something in Daphne's mind and for the nth time in the day her thoughts lingered on Harry Potter.

"Pardon me Mr. Potter. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to setup my work office yet, with the recent situation and all that." Reginald apologized as he led Harry into one of the rooms he was temporarily using as an office at his house.

"Please Mr. Davis, this is perfect. I just hope I am not interrupting anything important you might otherwise have been doing." Harry stated.

"Well I do have an event at my wife's orphanage tomorrow. But everything has been taken care of by my wonderful team."

"Oh. So, your family runs the Katherine Davis House." Harry replied with a thoughtful look on this face.

"You know about the Katherine Davis House, Mr. Potter? I didn't know we were that well known." Reginald inquired.

"Yes. I just found about it from Professor McGonagall a couple of days ago. Me and my friends will be volunteering with other Hogwarts students." Harry responded.

"Ahh. Indeed. Anyways, Mr. Potter, please takes a seat. I am most interested to know how I may be of assistance to you." Reginald asked offering Harry a chair across a small antique table in his make do office.

Harry sat down on the chair which was quite comfortable contrary to its rigid design.

"Firstly, just Harry would be fine. And to answer your question, Kinsley tells me that you specialize in magical architectural restorations. In fact, he mentioned you were the best in the business." Harry broached.

"Then Harry it is. Of course, as long as its just Reginald from that end." Reginald smiled. "The Minister is too kind, but yes I do a bit of work here and there on restoration of magical structures. As the muggles say, something to pay the bills." Reginald continued lightheartedly.

This elicited a small laugh from Harry. He felt quite at ease in Reginald's presence. By now Harry was quite adapt at telling people apart and everything about Reginald reinforced what Kinsley had said about him. Harry was sure now that he had made the right decision in seeking Reginald out for what he had in mind.

"You seem quite acquainted to muggles. Not something most people would associate with a pureblood." Harry put in gauging Reginald's reaction and response.

"My wife was a Half-blood. And I have had so much contact with Muggles on work related projects. There was even this one time when I stayed with a muggle family for a few days when I was working on the restoration of the Hagia Sophia in Turkey." Reginald cleared.

"Wow. I never knew muggles contracted wizards to work on their heritage sites." Harry exclaimed.

"You would be surprised Harry. Anyways, I am keen to hear how I may be of service to you." Reginald added.

"Have you heard about Potter Manor?" Harry started.

Within the next hour, Harry detailed his plans on restoring the house his grandparents lived in. The house which had the childhood memories of hi father. The place where Sirius lived with his dad after running away from his home. The place where his parents had been married and lived until it was destroyed by the death eaters.

When the Goblins had advised him of the numerous properties he owned, the one that stood out was the grounds of Potter Manor. Sirius had mentioned it once, but Harry was too occupied with everything going on to give it much thought back then. Now that he was free from the shackles of his past he wanted to start anew.

He wanted a place to call home. A place to have a family with. And while Grimauld Place provided him with place to stay, there was too much negativity associated with the place for Harry to consider living there permanently.

So, Potter Manor it was. A place to start fresh in this new world he hoped to build. And after talking to Reginald he was convinced that it would soon be a reality as Reginald already had the architectural details of the Manor. Coincidentally, Reginald had worked as an apprentice under one Elroy Bennet and assisted him during the last renovations on the Manor before it was eventually destroyed.

Harry proposed a few additions and the duo decided to go into the finer details at a later date once Reginald has the opportunity to visit the site.

"So, should I consider this a yes from your side?" Harry asked keenly.

"Well that depends." Reginal replied with a smile.

"On?" Harry questioned.

"On whether you will accept my invitation for dinner today. That is obviously if you aren't otherwise engaged." Reginald added.

"Well I don't have any other commitments but I wouldn't want to impose on your hospitality." Harry answered meekly.

"It would be our pleasure to host you Harry. In fact, a few of my team members from the orphanage are coming over for discussions about tomorrows event and we would love to have a third persons opinion seeing as you will eventually be there as well." Reginald stated.

"In that case I'd love to stay." Harry replied.

At that moment there were some noises heard from outside and Reginald indicated that it must be his team coming through the floo.

But Harry didn't give his words a thought because at that moment he felt different. He felt warmth akin to a Patronus but so different at the same time. There was something personal about this feeling. Something so soothing. Alas this was not the first time he was feeling this way. He had felt this before. He had felt like this in her presence. How ironic he thought. Ironic that the Ice Queen was capable of giving so much warmth through her mere presence.