Chapter Ninety-Eight: Toward the Future
The next day, Daphne decided that it was time to put her fear aside and take the Felix Felicis. The longer she put it off, the less time she'd have to prepare for whatever lay ahead, and she was done running.
"I wonder what it'll be like," Ginny said.
They were in the dining room, and Daphne had Pythia open on the table and the vial, still containing its one golden drop of Felix Felicis, in her hand. Despite now knowing that Pythia really wasn't anything sinister, Ginny still wanted to be there for this particular thing, and Daphne greatly appreciated it.
"Me too…I hope it'll help me somehow…" She took a deep breath. "Well…here goes nothing, I suppose."
She took the stopper off the vial, put it to her lips and threw it backward. The golden drop rolled down the glass with nearly no resistance at all and seemed to dissolve the moment it touched Daphne's tongue.
Instantly, Daphne had a sensation of limitless possibility, and she quickly began to read Pythia. Entering her divinatory frame of mind was easier than it had ever been before.
"Felix Felicis…very clever. Yes, a very helpful potion indeed," Pythia said. "Well then, let's not waste time. You already possess everything you need to shift your focus in emptiness. Taking the Felix was, in itself, enough, because all you lacked was the understanding…and that's now there.
"Yes, because you were able to understand what love being infinite and indivisible means, because you and Harry and Ginny were able to create the relationship you now have, the fear that was holding you back waned.
"Your final step, now, is to fully let go of it. If Harry and Ginny spend some time on their own now, and you find their happiness makes you happy, as it did when they first kissed in the Room of Requirement, then you will be ready. Your trust in both of them will be strong enough for you to shift your focus in emptiness elsewhere."
"What about the vision?"
"You already know that, too. You must let it go and trust that things will be alright. You must not seek to change it. I cannot tell you why — even Felix Felicis is not that powerful — but leaving that vision alone will lead to the best outcome."
"Even if Harry dies?"
"I cannot say. This is what the Felix Felicis indicates as the best path, and you feel that it's right. Focus not on what may be. Focus on what is. Immerse yourself in the love you feel, rather than letting fear tarnish it, lest you become rooted once more. Have faith in those you love and it will be answered."
Daphne felt the potion's effects fading and she quit reading.
"Well?" Ginny asked expectantly.
"It was…odd," Daphne said. "Everything that I felt while the potion was working felt like it would be the right thing to do…"
"But?"
"But…it told me not to try and change the vision of Harry. To simply trust in the love I feel for him and you."
Ginny cocked her head. "Are you sure this was Felix Felicis and not some kind of weird love potion?" she asked.
Daphne shrugged. "I can't explain it," she said. "Pythia couldn't, either. I just…know that it was right."
Ginny didn't seem convinced. "And your focus in emptiness?" she asked.
Now Daphne grinned. "Pythia basically told me that you and Harry should go on a date without me, and that once your happiness would make me happy I'd be ready to shift it."
Ginny shook her head. "I'm glad I'm not a Seer," she said. "It sounds way too confusing for me. I don't really see how any of these things are connected at all…" Then she grinned. "I wouldn't mind a date with Harry, though." Her expression became stern. "But! If this is one of your 'my friends should be happy and I don't deserve it' things, we will need to have a discussion."
Daphne laughed. "It isn't, I promise," she said. "I like being with you and Harry way too much to give it up because a book told me to."
"Good. As long as we're clear on that."
That evening, however, Dad came home with grim news. "Amelia Bones has been murdered," he said. "Apparently done by You-Know-Who himself, if the Aurors are to be believed…She put up one hell of a fight."
"Oh wow…poor Susan," Ginny said softly.
"Who's going to replace her?" Mum asked.
"It'll likely be Pius Thicknesse," Dad said. "A good wizard, without a doubt, but not nearly as skilled or thorough as Amelia was." He looked at Daphne and Ginny. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to continue your dueling training a bit…if you're not too tired from Amaranth's Quidditch training, that is," he added with a smile at Ginny.
Ginny shook her head. "I'm fine. I want to practice. The better I am, the more chance I'll have against Death Eaters, if I end up fighting them again…"
After dinner, Daphne and Ginny practiced dueling techniques with Dad for most of the evening, and it was clear he was being far more serious about it now than he had been before. He handily beat them both, again and again, fighting nearly exclusively with nonverbal spells and keeping his wand movements small so as not to give away what he was doing.
After each round, he gave them pointers, but even with tips, Daphne and Ginny didn't manage to defeat him.
Later, when they were both sitting on Daphne's bed, Ginny said, "I don't care what your vision or the Felix Felicis says. I'm not letting Harry get killed. And don't you dare to get killed, either." She fiercely glared at Daphne, and Daphne could see she was entirely serious.
"I won't," she said. "And neither will Harry — you're right, we're not letting him get killed. We'll find a way to save him somehow."
For a while, neither of them spoke, both lost in their own thoughts. It seemed almost painfully ironic to Daphne that that very morning, a luck potion and a talking book had told her to let go and have faith in the ones she loved, yet right now what she wanted most was to hold onto them and not let go at all until Voldemort was gone and the war was over. Amelia Bones's death made it clear that no one was safe, no matter how strong. What if Voldemort turned up here next? Or at the Burrow? Would anyone be able to stop him?
"Hey…can you…stay with me tonight again?" Daphne asked. "I know it's stupid, but–"
"Yes," Ginny interrupted. "And it isn't stupid. I wanted to ask the same thing. If something happens…we're fighting together."
And then she kissed Daphne fiercer than she ever had, and Daphne thought that if she'd also fight with such fire, no one would stand a chance at beating her.
Over the next two weeks, Daphne and Ginny spent most of their time training. When Ginny was practicing Quidditch with Mum, Daphne was refining her casting technique, looking up jinxes and counterjinxes, and consulting with Pythia about the concept of the movement shadow, to begin practice with that as well, even though she'd never 'officially' been able to shift her focus in emptiness yet.
Though both Daphne and Ginny would have liked to spend every night together, practicality made that a bit difficult. Daphne's bed was large for a single bed, but it remained a single bed, and with how tired both of them were at the end of a day of training, they wanted to be as comfortable as possible. Consequently, they decided that they'd sleep in their own beds for now.
Then, the day had arrived where they'd be going to the Burrow.
"I'll come over every other day for Quidditch practice," Mum said. "Because Harry needs to practice as well. I'm sure he'll be eagerly waiting for it, too, after two weeks with those horrible relatives of his…"
"And I will come over for dueling practice," Dad said. "I've already spoken to Sirius and he'll help as well. Molly will probably not like it much, but she'll probably accept that it's good for you."
Daphne thought she probably would, given the amount of disasters that had been going on in the world at large. Aside from another grisly murder, a bridge had collapsed, a giant had attacked a Muggle village, and Dementors were swooping around, causing a clammy fog and an eerie atmosphere despite the time of year. Surely even Mrs. Weasley wouldn't be against dueling practice after all of that.
The Floo trip was as unpleasant as ever, but at least it was over quickly. Though Daphne had been a bit worried about seeing Mrs. Weasley again after what happened during the Christmas break, it seemed like she'd been worrying for nothing. Mrs. Weasley seemed just as welcoming and warm as she always was, at any rate, though it did seem like something was annoying her.
It quickly transpired that the object of her annoyance was none other than Fleur Delacour, who was apparently going to marry Bill. Daphne wasn't exactly sure why Mrs. Weasley had a problem with that, but she knew better than to ask.
The next day at breakfast, they learned that Harry had arrived during the night, and Daphne and the others immediately marched up to his room to question him on what Dumbledore had wanted from him.
"I know you guys are curious, but couldn't you at least have waited until I was out of bed?" Harry asked, equal parts amused and exasperated.
"No," Daphne and Ginny said at the same time. They grinned at each other.
"What did Dumbledore want?" Ron asked.
Harry sat up and stretched. "He wanted my help persuading an old teacher to come out of retirement, Horace Slughorn."
Daphne frowned. "That name vaguely rings a bell, but I have no idea where I've heard it before," she said.
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've heard it, too…but anyway, Harry, how is he?"
Harry shrugged. "He used to be Head of Slytherin and he looks a bit like a walrus. Seemed very interested in knowing people for the sake of making connections. Maybe that's where you heard his name before, by the way, since he's apparently friends with Gwenog Jones," he said.
"That's it!" Daphne said. "Mum said she was never in his club because Jones was in it. Wonder what his classes will be like…"
"So he'll be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, then?" Hermione asked.
Harry shrugged again. "I don't know, I suppose? There aren't any other openings, as far as I know. Dumbledore didn't mention it, anyway."
At that moment, the door opened again and Fleur entered, carrying a tray of breakfast.
Harry hastily pulled the covers to his chin, and Daphne laughed. "Oh no, she'll see your pajamas," she said mockingly.
Fleur, however, didn't seem to have noticed Harry's reaction. "'Arry, eet 'as been too long," she said.
Mrs. Weasley entered the room after her, looking a bit annoyed. "There was no need to bring up the tray, I was just about to do it myself," she said.
"Eet was no trouble," Fleur said, leaning in and kissing Harry on each cheek. "I 'ave been longing to see 'im. You remember my seester, Gabrielle? She never stops talking about 'Arry Potter. She will be delighted to see you again?"
"Oh, er…is she here too?" Harry asked, and Daphne couldn't help but grin at his flushed face. Ginny, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley seemed a lot less amused, however.
"No, no, silly boy," Fleur said with a laugh. "I mean next summer, when we– but do you not know?" She looked reproachfully at Mrs. Weasley.
"We hadn't got around to telling him yet," Mrs. Weasley said crossly.
"Bill and I are going to be married," Fleur said, turning back to Harry and whipping Mrs. Weasley across the face with her silvery-blonde hair in the process.
"Oh, wow, er, congratulations!" Harry said.
Fleur leaned forward and kissed him again. "Bill is very busy at ze moment, working very 'ard, and I only work part-time at Gringotts for my Eenglish, so he brought me 'ere for a few days to get to know 'is family properly. I was so pleased to 'ear you would be coming… zere isn't much to do 'ere, unless you like cooking and chickens! Well, enjoy your breakfast, 'Arry!"
With that, she turned around and left the room, followed by a still irritated Mrs. Weasley.
"She is way too full of herself," Ginny said, glaring at the closed door.
"What's the problem?" Daphne asked. "Jealous she kissed Harry and me before you got to?"
"She didn't even look at us!" Hermione said.
"Well…she's seen us. She hadn't seen Harry yet," Daphne said. She gave Hermione a sly look. "Or are you jealous because Ron thinks she's pretty?"
"Of course not!" Hermione said heatedly. "I know Ron wouldn't–"
"She is into red-headed men, apparently," Daphne went on.
"She just kissed your boyfriend," Hermione said, now blushing scarlet.
"Yes, and I don't care about that, because Ginny also kisses my boyfriend, and I kiss Harry's girlfriend and Ginny's boyfriend," Daphne said. "If you've got a problem with her, just talk to her. Merlin's beard, we've got enough things to worry about without us glaring at someone who's really not doing anything wrong. Anyway, Harry, did you talk about anything else with Dumbledore?"
"He wants to give me private lessons this year," Harry said, clearly grateful for the change of subject. "He didn't say what about, yet, but I'm sure it'll help me defeat Voldemort."
He looked at Daphne and Ginny, and Daphne knew he was thinking about the vision. She exchanged a quick glance with Ginny; they'd have to talk about that as soon as possible.
"It'll probably be really advanced defensive magic," Hermione said, thinking out loud. "Things like counter-curses, and anti-jinxes and the like… Well, at least you know one lesson you'll be having this year. That's one more than the rest of us. I wonder when the O.W.L. results will come in…"
"Oh, Dumbledore said they'd be in today, I think," Harry said.
Hermione immediately went white as a sheet. "Today?! Why didn't you– oh my God– you should have– I'm going to see whether any owls have come!"
She quickly left the room and Daphne could hear her barreling down the stairs. She looked at Ron. "You should probably go after her," she said.
Ron nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you downstairs in a bit."
He left the room as well, leaving Harry alone with Ginny and Daphne.
"I took the Felix Felicis," Daphne said, and then told Harry what she'd talked about with Pythia.
"And it said you shouldn't stop it? That makes no sense at all," Harry said with a frown. "Dumbledore wouldn't be giving me private lessons if he thought I was done for, would he?" He sighed. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now, anyway. All I can do is reiterate my desire to not die, and maybe your visions will take note and listen at some point…"
In spite of herself, Daphne laughed. "Well, Pythia also said we should immerse ourselves in our love," she said.
"Er, is it just me, or does that sound a bit…y'know…" Harry said uncomfortably.
Daphne exchanged a look with Ginny. "I…hadn't thought of it that way yet," Daphne said uncertainly.
Ginny shook her head. "Me neither…"
An awkward silence filled the room.
"So! Better go and see if the O.W.L. results are in yet, huh?!" Daphne said, and she quickly got up and left the room, still feeling her face glow.
It wasn't like she'd never given any thought to…what Harry had not-quite suggested just now, but there had always been more pressing issues. But she supposed that perhaps, Pythia might have indeed meant exactly said when she'd told Daphne to immerse herself in the love she felt. Well, if she did, then opportunities would surely arise. Maybe. While they were at the Burrow, there was no chance of anything happening anyway. The mere thought of Mrs. Weasley coming in at the wrong moment was more than enough of a deterrent.
When Harry arrived downstairs as well, a few minutes later, he too pointedly ignored the conversation they hadn't just had, as did Ginny.
Before any new awkwardness could arise, however, Hermione shrieked and jumped up from her seat.
"Owls!" she shouted, pointing at the tiny specks that were approaching the House from the air.
"There are four of them," Daphne said.
Sure enough, the owls made for the kitchen window. Which each beat of their wings, Hermione squealed, "Oh no!"
The owls swooped in through the window and landed on the table, holding out their legs to their recipients.
Daphne detached the envelope from the owl's leg and opened it.
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS
Pass Grades: Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades: Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
DAPHNE CYRENE GREENGRASS HAS ACHIEVED:
Astronomy E
Care of Magical Creatures E
Charms O
Defense Against the Dark Arts O
Divination O
Herbology A
History of Magic A
Muggle Studies O
Potions O
Transfiguration E
Daphne grinned when she saw the list. She'd managed to scrape a pass at Herbology, and History of Magic was the exam during which Harry had gotten arrested, so she'd hardly done the second half well.
"How'd you do?" she asked, glancing over at Harry's sheet. "Not bad," she said. "I mean, your two fails were to be expected, so you can be happy, I think… Nice O in Defense, by the way," she added with a grin.
"What about you, then?" Ron asked.
Daphne handed him her letter.
Ron nodded in appreciation. "Five Os, that's impressive," he said. "I'm sure Hermione's got ten of them, though…"
He glanced over at Hermione, who seemed a bit reluctant to hand over her result sheet.
Ron snatched it out of her hand and laughed. "Nine O, one E for Defense…. You're actually disappointed with that, aren't you?" he asked.
"Well done, all of you!" Mrs. Weasley said proudly. She ruffled Ron's hair. "Seven O.W.L.s, that's more than Fred and George put together."
Harry didn't look too pleased, however, and Daphne thought she knew why.
"That E in Potions bothers you, doesn't it?" she asked softly.
Harry sighed and nodded. "Yeah…Snape won't accept me in his class without an O, and I need Potions to become an Auror…"
"Well, you can always ask McGonagall if there's anything you could take instead. I mean, I'm dropping Herbology, and that was recommended for the Auror course, too," Daphne said.
Harry shrugged. "I guess I'll do that…" He smiled wryly. "Well, at least I'm finally rid of Snape…"
"But if you are…then we won't have any more classes together, will we?" Daphne asked. She hadn't really thought about that before.
"No, I…guess we won't," Harry said. Clearly he hadn't thought of it before, either.
"Well…good thing we'll still have the Order meetings, huh?" Daphne said with a falsely cheerful voice.
"Yeah, and breakfast, dinner, and studying in the library," Harry said.
Both of them tried to smile.
It didn't really make sense that it bothered her so much that she and Harry wouldn't have classes together anymore, but it did all the same. Ever since their first year they'd always been in at least one class together. And now, for the first time, they wouldn't. And insignificant though it was, it gave Daphne a very bad feeling about the year ahead of her.
Despite being difficult to write, this chapter came out reasonably well. I hope the formatting of the grades survives the upload process… Plot twist, it didn't. FFN Still doesn't like certain layouts, then. Well, screw it. It'll do.
Also, if the song Witch Doctor had been out in 1996 (when year six takes place) I would've made a reference to it after seeing Daphne's grade list, but sadly for me, it came out in 1998.