Chapter One Hundred and Three: Worries About the Weather

Something felt wrong. Daphne was spending a lot of time with Harry and Ginny, either in the library making homework, or in the Room of Requirement with the Order of the Lightning Bolt, and it was a lot of fun every time…and yet, somehow, it felt like she was somehow less connected to them than she'd been before. She hadn't talked to either of them about it yet; there simply hadn't really been any good moments.

Besides, she wasn't even really sure what she was supposed to say. It wasn't like anything was really wrong, after all. It was just that it suddenly felt like all their interactions were centered on the fact that they were in a relationship. It seemed like the actual things that had led them to getting together in the first place had faded into the background a bit.

Okay, so things were ridiculously busy for all of them, and the news of the ongoing war in the world outside of Hogwarts meant that the general atmosphere in the school was tense and subdued, but still.

And, admittedly, it was difficult for her to divide her attention between Harry and Ginny. It wasn't like she had much experience at being in any relationship, let alone one with two people. She didn't want to give either the feeling she spent more time with the other, so while the moments they were together were fun, they were also more stressful than they really should be. Harry and Ginny, being from the same House, probably didn't have that problem nearly as much. Of course they'd be spending more time together.

Daphne did remember what Pythia had told her before the start of the school year, about how being happy for the two of them together while recognizing that they both loved her as well would allow her to shift her focus in emptiness, but for the time being it just felt like she was struggling with something that should be easy.

After all, it wasn't like she was doubting her feelings, not in the slightest. She wasn't even afraid that Harry and Ginny had any doubts. She was just afraid that, from her side, at least, everything was too superficial.

Or was that just normal, and had she simply been associating abnormal situations with normalcy? Most people probably weren't in mortal danger on a yearly basis, even at Hogwarts. Most people probably didn't have to support their loved ones in literal life-or-death situations or their aftermath, at least not very often.

But a lot of the connection between Daphne and Harry had been built on such moments. And even with Ginny, their early friendship had been built in part thanks to Riddle's diary and its possession of her.

Sure, with Voldemort out in the open again, in a manner of speaking everyone was in mortal peril now, all the time, but it paradoxically felt less dangerous because everyone was aware of the danger, where before, it was usually only Harry and his closest friends who were involved.

Maybe the problem was just that Daphne couldn't really do anything to help. She was just doing her schoolwork, waiting for something to happen, almost hoping for a situation to arise where she could be helpful to Harry or Ginny, where she could earn their affection. It probably wasn't healthy to think of it like that, but that certainly didn't make it less true.

Harry and Ginny, at least, could bond over Quidditch. In absence of a situation where Daphne could throw herself between either of them and whatever was trying to harm them, what did she really have? Dueling? Harry was better than her, and Ginny was nearly as good. They didn't need her for that. All she had that they didn't was her Divination, but making that useful was incredibly difficult. She'd been trying to practice the movement shadow thing on Harry or Ginny, knowing that her focus in emptiness was sure to be on either of them at any given moment, but it was almost impossible. There was so much movement going on in duels, and so little time to think when each fraction of a second was crucial, that being even a little spaced out to get in the divinatory mindset would inevitably cost her the duel.

"Knut for your thoughts?"

Daphne looked up from her musings to see Ginny sitting down next to her.

"I don't know," Daphne said. "Maybe it's just the weather."

"Come on, spill it," Ginny said. "I know something's bothering you."

Daphne shrugged. "That's just it, I don't really know what's bothering me. That's what I'm trying to find out."

"Okay, so what do you think is bothering you? You're not telling me you don't have any ideas," Ginny said.

"Is this really the time? We've got class in a bit…" Daphne said uncomfortably. She wasn't really sure why she was this reluctant to say anything. Normally, she had no problems saying what she felt. Well, unless you counted those few years where she refused to admit her crush on Harry.

"So? Look, if you don't want be overheard I'll just cast Muffliato," Ginny said.

Daphne grinned. "Not against the book anymore, then?" she asked.

"Hermione's against it, I'm not, since it really is just a book. Though I worry about Harry's tendency to simply try out the spells written in there without even knowing what they do. One of these days he's going to hurt someone for real, but Hermione's needling has made him a bit…defensive about it, so I can't really mention it without annoying him. But don't change the subject! I want to know what's keeping you busy," Ginny said.

Daphne sighed. Ginny clearly wasn't going to let this go. "I… Look, it's just something stupid, okay? Nothing serious," she said.

Ginny just gave her a look.

"Okay, okay…I…It feels like…it feels like I can't…contribute anything to our relationship," Daphne said. "Like I have nothing…nothing that really stands out, nothing I can truly connect to either of you with, like Quidditch."

"What about just being someone who love to be around? Someone who'd help us with anything the second we'd ask you? Someone who's shown to us, and to others, that not all Slytherins are horrible gits like Malfoy?"

Daphne shrugged. "That's not really anything big, though, is it? I mean, I'd help all my friends if they'd ask me. And I want to show everyone that Slytherin isn't all bad because I'm sick of everyone assuming we're evil. None of it is…y'know, anything that really connects me with you."

"And you think that Quidditch is just something between me and Harry, do you? Ron, Fred, George, Charlie…all great Quidditch players. The rest of the team? Every other player in school? Just because something isn't exclusive to one person doesn't mean you can't bond over it. Oh, and while it's probably a great show of character that you look at personality traits first and foremost…have you ever considered that maybe, Harry and I think you're really pretty in addition to being someone we like to be around?"

Daphne felt her face heating up and Ginny laughed, though she was blushing a bit herself as well.

"Well, if you didn't know, now you do. And, not a hint at all or anything, but if you happen to think that Harry or me or both of us look good…we're all ears," she said.

"Obviously I do," Daphne said immediately, still with a burning face. "And getting better-looking with each passing day, even, but I just…it feels so superficial to comment on that, y'know?"

"Doesn't mean it isn't fun to hear. Besides, we're well aware you like us for more than our looks. I am, anyway, but I'm sure Harry is, too. He's not that dense; he's not Ron, after all."

Daphne laughed. "Well…there's one other thing I was thinking about," she said hesitantly.

"Which is?"

"It's difficult to divide my attention between you and Harry. I mean, I don't want either of you to think I care more about the other, or anything, so–"

She was cut off by Ginny bursting out laughing. "Oh, come on, you don't need to worry about that. Look, I know you told me I should go on a date with Harry alone, but maybe you should. There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, isn't there? Why don't you and Harry go together? And then you and I will go next time. Harry and I can hang out together whenever we want in the common room anyway."

Daphne didn't respond immediately. Instead, she just looked at Ginny, and maybe it was because she'd just mentioned looks, but it only now occurred to Daphne that Ginny was, in fact, a beautiful girl. It wasn't like she hadn't noticed it before, or anything, just never this consciously. At the same time, it felt like a weight had lifted from her shoulders.

"I…I think I'll ask him, yeah," Daphne said.

Ginny smiled brightly at her. "Good. While you're on your date, do me a favor and tell Harry to stop simply casting every spell in the Prince's book without thinking, okay? Maybe he'll listen to you."

Daphne grinned. "I'll make him listen."


Daphne got a surprisingly good chance to talk to Harry about the Half-Blood Prince's book when they'd just left the school to go to Hogsmeade, as Harry had found the Levicorpus spell that Sirius often used on them during dueling practice in the book.

"D'you think the Prince invented it?" he asked as they walked along, his voice muffled by his thick scarf.

"Maybe. If he did, it spread quite far, considering Sirius knows it. Maybe you should ask him if he knows who it could be. But now that we're talking about the Half-Blood Prince anyway…maybe you shouldn't cast every spell you see in that book randomly to see what it does. I mean, what if you'd tried this one without knowing what it did?"

"Not you too," Harry said exasperatedly. "Hermione's been on my case about that too, and Ginny as well." He narrowed his eyes. "She put you up to this, didn't she?"

"So what if she did? She's right, you know," Daphne said. "Look, I don't care about you trying out those spells, but at least do it in a controlled environment. Go to the Room of Requirement and cast them all there, for all I care. But one of these days you're going to find a spell that does something really nasty, and you'll be in a lot of trouble when you do.

"Not that I'm against you tying up Filch's tongue or making Crabbe's toenails grow like mad — although I'm not too happy you're doing it unprovoked, mind you — but if you end up accidentally decapitating someone, or something, you're going to be in more trouble than even money can fix."

"Oh, come on, these spells are harmless," Harry said irritably.

"You don't know that until you've tried them. Look, I know this annoys you, and I'll drop it, but at least find out what these spells do before you cast them on actual people, okay?" Daphne pressed.

Harry sighed. "Fine. I'll cast them on a dummy in the Room of Requirement, or something. Not that something like the toenail-hex or the tongue-tying curse would work on a dummy, of course…"

"Stop acting like a petulant child," Daphne said firmly. "I know you're stressed out over your homework and Voldemort and your lessons with Dumbledore, but that's still no reason to cast spells without knowing what they do. The regular jinxes and hexes we learn all have detailed descriptions of their effects written with them and some of those are pretty nasty, too. Would you want to cast a Furnunculus on someone accidentally? Like on Ron, Hermione, Ginny, or me?"

"No," Harry said. He still sounded annoyed, but by the look in his eyes Daphne could she she'd finally gotten through to him.

"Good. Then let's get inside somewhere, because this cold is bloody annoying," she said.

Zonko's turned out to be boarded up, but Honeydukes, at least, was open. To Harry's great annoyance, however, they ran into Slughorn inside.

"Harry, m'boy! That's three of my little suppers you've missed now!" Slughorn said, poking Harry in the chest. "It won't do, m'boy, I'm determined to have you! Miss Greengrass loves them, don't you?" he asked.

Daphne had, indeed, gone with Ginny, Hermione, and Ron the second time Slughorn had asked.

"The food was certainly good, though so is the food in the Great Hall. Frankly, I don't think Harry is missing much, sir," Daphne said.

"But the chance to connect–"

"As we've stated before, sir, certain people at your suppers don't mesh well with us. We'd really prefer not to. Besides, Harry's got his Quidditch practices, too."

Harry had indeed avoided the last supper by quickly scheduling a practice for the team, and Ginny and Ron certainly didn't mind that. Hermione, however, had gone, because she still had trouble saying no to a teacher, and because she actually didn't mind them much.

"Ah, well, I'll simply have to keep trying, then. You can't evade me forever, Harry!" Slughorn said, and he lumbered away.

"D'you think he's going to be doing this all year long?" Harry asked.

Daphne nodded. "Oh, he will. You'd be the pride of his collection, I'm sure."

Harry sighed deeply. "Would he give up if I went once?" he asked.

"No. He'd just become more determined to get you to the subsequent ones as well. But despite what he just said, you can evade him forever, you know. Just keep saying no," Daphne said.

"Yeah, guess I'll do that, then…C'mon, let's go to the Three Broomsticks. It'll be warm and we can grab a Butterbeer. Unless you'd prefer Madam Puddifoot's?" Harry asked with a small grin.

"Nah, Three Broomsticks is fine with me. I'll go to Madam Puddifoot's with Ginny next time; I know it's not really your thing," Daphne replied, grinning as well.

They made their way through the frigid streets to the bar, sighing with relief the moment they'd stepped out of the wind into the warmth. As usual, the place was packed with students.

Daphne spotted Hermione and Ron at a table not too far away, and grinned when she saw them chatting happily. She and Harry picked a table some distance away from them so as not to interrupt their date. Not too much later, they both had a bottle of Butterbeer in their hand.

"Cheers," Daphne said, and they clinked the bottles together.

"So, er, does this count as a real date, anyway?" Harry asked uncomfortably after taking a sip from his bottle.

"Sure it does. Why wouldn't it? We're here, we're together, sounds like a date to me," Daphne said.

Harry shrugged. "I dunno, it's just…I never really know what to do, y'know? We always go to Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks when we're here. The only difference is that we're with the two of us now."

Daphne gave Harry a sly look. "Was that why you half-heartedly suggested Madam Puddifoot's? Because it's more 'date-like' to go there?" she asked.

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Maybe? I, er, don't exactly have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. I don't want to, y'know, get it wrong."

Daphne laughed. "You won't get it wrong," she said. "It's not so much about what you're doing as it is about who you're with. It's just…spending time together and having that be the only goal."

"We don't really…do that enough, though, do we?" Harry asked. "It's usually either just for food, homework, or the Order."

"Did you talk to Ginny, by any chance? Because I told her I was worried about that not too long ago," Daphne said. Harry nodded. "Yeah. She told me you and I would be going on a date to Hogsmeade before you'd asked me." He grinned in a faintly embarrassed sort of way. "I've been stressing out about it ever since. Even more when you began to heckle me about the book this morning. I was just thinking 'well, that's great. Truly bloody brilliant way to start a date, that'."

Daphne giggled. "I wasn't going to go on about all day, you know," she said.

"I know, I know, but I was already stressed out, with the weather being what it is, too…" Harry said.

"So you thought our date was going to be a complete disaster, then?" Daphne asked, amused.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, maybe?" he said.

Daphne laughed, and after a moment Harry joined in. "Harry, there's no way spending time with you would ever be a disaster; I enjoy being with you way too much," Daphne said softly and earnestly, and Harry smiled with a slight red glow on his face.

Then Daphne grinned mischievously. "Besides, do you know what the most awkward moment of any date is?"

Harry shook his head in surprise.

"When one of the two goes to the bathroom and the other has to sit at the table alone, waiting for them to return. And guess what I'm going to do right now?"

Chuckling at Harry's uncomfortable look, Daphne got up and made her way over to the pub's bathroom.

The moment she stepped through the door, it was like all thoughts and worries were pushed from her mind, to be replaced by a floating, blissful feeling — and then revulsion rose in every fiber of her being.

"Stupefy!" she shouted, whirling around at the only other person in the bathroom. Her spell was far more powerful than she'd intended it to be, and Madam Rosmerta was lifted off her feet and blasted into the wall.

Daphne stood looking at her unconscious body, panting and feeling her skin crawl. She suppressed the urge to vomit with the greatest difficulty.

Despite it having been two years since the last time she'd felt that particular feeling, there was no mistaking it: Madam Rosmerta had just used the Imperius Curse on her.

It occurred to me while writing this chapter that Harry in canon is a bit of a dick, casting spells on Filch and Crabbe without it being in retaliation for something. Maybe it's just me, but I'd never be the one to start a fight, even with someone I loathe, and I don't really have a high opinion of people who do.

I also wonder why Harry doesn't, y'know, just tell Slughorn he's not interested in joining those suppers. Is it a British thing to be 'forced' to accept a request made by a teacher? Because I'm fairly sure that in the Netherlands, saying 'no thanks' is perfectly acceptable.

Lastly, this year being what it is, I'm probably going to focus on the relationships quite a bit. The plot will still continue as normal, of course, but there will be a lot of shipping still to come.