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November 30, 1994
"It's like you want me to get fat with how often we're raiding the kitchens," Daphne said, side-eyeing Harry with a raised eyebrow as her hand slowly took hold of one of his after it snaked its way down his arm. "I suppose it could be worse though, couldn't it?"
Harry nodded with a grin on his face as Daphne took a firm, full hold of his hand. "It could definitely be worse, I could be here with Parkinson instead of a beautiful, strong witch such as yourself."
Daphne blushed, her cheeks growing as red as they had in their game just a few evenings ago. "You're an idiot sometimes, Harry," she said in a tone that was anything but hostile. "I suppose it's lucky for the rest of the witches in this world that I took you."
He couldn't help the full-blown smile that worked its way onto his face at those words. Daphne could be dangerous on account of her dark spells and darker knowledge, he'd seen her fight for Merlin's sake, but after getting to know her as long as he had… she was truly one of the sweetest, nicest people he'd ever gotten to know even if she could be a bit firm at times.
It really does suck that she wasn't sorted into Slytherin.
"One of these days, I'm going to cook something for you," He said, random and out of the blue as they continued their walk towards the ticklish fruit painting. "Whatever you want, sweet or not, I'll cook it for you."
"Oh? What would you get in return?" Daphne asked, amusement on her face as she started to swing their hands between them, the girl oddly more playful than she usually was; he had learned since their game that she was always ready for a rematch too, which made him extra careful in challenging her unless she beat him into the ground again.
One day, he'd definitely end up winning.
"Nothing. Almost nothing, actually. You'd probably call me the best cook at Hogwarts — I'm as good at cooking and baking as I am with healing magic or transfiguration," Harry raised his nose a bit, the gesture one that he'd copied off of Daphne a good year or two ago even if he seldom used it. It was a bit too arrogant and pretentious for him, but Daphne could really pull off that look thanks to her sharp features and natural beauty.
Daphne smiled as they came to a stop, now at the painting. "We'll see, won't we?" then she stepped towards the painting, one of her hands outstretched to tickle the painting and at that point in time, Harry could think of no better chance to do what he wanted.
Thus, given the opportunity, Harry went up behind Daphne with his hands outstretched. Within seconds, she was laughing more than he'd ever heard before and rather than reach for her wand as he thought she may have done, she turned the tables on him; half an hour later when they returned with messed up clothing, worse hair and food for the four of them, Daphne and Harry were teased relentlessly for the remainder of the evening.
It was one of his favourite evenings yet.
December 24, 1994
Christmas Eve had arrived far earlier and faster than Harry would have liked. There was still much to do in terms of figuring out the second task, which was problematic all by itself, but the fact that the Yule Ball was tomorrow, as well as Christmas itself, was stressing him out far more than the upcoming task. He supposed he owed it to Hogwarts and Daphne for being able to take his mind off of his upcoming struggles.
In that same breath, he had to curse them all, only for very different reasons. Daphne, as perfect as she was in his eyes, was incredibly hard to shop for on account of her not wanting anything; she was as giving as he tended to be, which made her absolutely horrible to shop for. Not only that, her tastes were minimalistic to the point of being problematic. Tracey and Tracey alone could accurately predict what Daphne wanted, which itself added to his growing list of problems as she felt it would be 'truly romantic' if his gifts for Daphne came from him alone.
Merlin, if only Tracey had stopped reading those trashy Muggle novels like Daphne always tells her.
He still had to ask her about what they'd wear so that they matched… well, he also needed to properly ask her to the Yule Ball even if they were currently dating. Daphne would find a lot of happiness in him doing so. As for the rest of Hogwarts, while they already assumed Daphne was who he'd bring, that didn't mean they'd be any less problematic.
Rumours had already spread rampantly that they were using varying love potions or mind-altering spells on one another. Most of them came from those who wished to date him in her place, some came from his own housemates thanks to Daphne's pureblood status and a few of them came from Gryffindor alone. He couldn't blame that last group, he'd be a right and proper jealous bloke if somebody else got Daphne to say yes.
"Do you actually know how to dance or am I gonna have to teach you, pretty boy?" Millicent asked, one hand on her hip as she stared down at him with her intimidating height and muscular frame.
Harry swallowed and managed a smile at the Viking-like woman, the comparison coming from a Muggle movie he'd seen over the summer thanks to Dudley being loud as ever whilst he was in the kitchen. "I know a bit of dancing, my family enjoyed it and watched a lot of tel— plays," he corrected himself and brightened his smile up at Millicent. "I don't suppose you could help me out a little bit? You know, make sure I'm not super rusty or horribly inept in front of all of Hogwarts?"
"That'd be a funny sight, I think," Millicent said, tapping one of her fingers on her chin as she grinned at him, thoroughly seeming as if she enjoyed the vision such words from him caused.
"Please? I could off—" Harry was about ready to offer her a few Galleons before she shook her head and sighed, one of her meaty hands hitting him lightly in the shoulder.
"You're not at all fun to tease, you know. I have no understanding regarding Tracey and her incessant prodding of you and Daphne if the two of you buckle as quickly as you tend to," Millicent paused and tapped on her chin some more, a knowing look coming to her face as she broke out into a wide, dimpled smile. "Daphne must be quite special if you were willing to make an attempt at bribery just so I'd teach you a bit of dance. It's pretty sweet… and dorky. Still, I've known you for a few years now so I suppose the least I could do is offer you a few pointers, huh?"
Harry couldn't help the sigh that left him. "Thanks, Milly, really."
She scoffed and patted him on the shoulder. "Think nothing of it… and seriously, don't say a word to anybody. I won't have you ruining my violent, cold reputation that I've built up — oh, and keep your hands off my arse if you know what's good for you."
He didn't think she was joking that time around — which was crazy since he'd have to be the definition of mental to attempt that on her of all people even if they were dating — and so he nodded, the picture of respect.
"I'll do whatever you tell me to, so long as it's related to dance," He promised, careful with his wording so that he avoided giving her or Merlin forbid, Tracey, a blank check due to his phrasing.
Harry had learned to avoid doing just that at all costs, even if it made life for him more problematic in the future.
"Let's make our way to a classroom then," Millicent said to him, nodding in the direction of the exit from where they were seated in the common room. "As… charming and handsome as you are, I'd rather not spirit you away to my dorms or the nearest broom cupboard."
He shrugged, as he definitely understood where she was coming from. Malfoy would be horrible if he saw such a thing and Parkinson, well, as beholden as she was towards Malfoy, her actions could often be a bit too drastic even for him.
You know, maybe it's a good thing that Daphne wasn't sorted into Slytherin. If nothing else, it should keep her away from most of the idiots and bullies that plague Slytherin worse than the rest of the school combined.
Millicent kicked his leg and gave him a deliberate, firm look. The message was clear and as such, he bolted towards the exit a few minutes before she took her own leave.
Harry finally had time for lunch and the journey to the Great Hall so he could enjoy that exact meal was one that felt longer than ever before. It wasn't due to exhaustion or annoyance from his rather lengthy dance lesson with Millicent, but rather, his legs were sore and his mind confused thanks to all the varying tempos.
He supposed it made sense that different types of music meant different types of dances and stances, but that didn't mean he liked it. Millicent's feet that stomped on his no less than a few dozen times during their hour or so of practice was but the icing on the cake. Her reprimands were harsh and while it did teach him quite quickly if only to avoid the crunching of his foot, he couldn't hel — oh, never mind; healing potions and spells existed for a reason.
She could still be a bit nicer though, couldn't she? Reckon my foot will be sore for days to come even if it's physically mine within the next hour.
He shook his head and huffed before he continued his journey. It wasn't all that long before his legs carried him to Gryffindor's table so that he could join the trio of girls who were already waiting on him…. the weird or unwelcome looks didn't matter all that much to him anymore. The Gryffindor blokes were mostly alright and the witches were like the rest of them across the other three houses. At least if they sat at Gryffindor's table the Slytherin one wouldn't be able to bother them any.
"You're looking a bit off," Daphne commented, direct as ever as she looked at him from across the table and over a fruit salad. "Did you have trouble with the book I sent to you, or were you worrying about our upcoming rematch?"
"Go to the Yule Ball with me?" He blurted out, completely avoiding her question and finally asking the one he should have a good few weeks ago. Tracey's bit of mashed potatoes falling from her mouth was a hilarious sight, one that he hoped he could enjoy before she started cooing and laughing at him.
That all depended on Daphne and to a lesser degree, Milly. If the latter girl had an outward response, Tracey would be roused but if the former had something, the conversation would be over as easy as that. Tracey's fear of Daphne was too high for teasing to be done whilst the latter wasn't distracted.
"What if I've already decided not to attend the Yule Ball?" Daphne asked, one eyebrow raised as she leaned across the table to gaze at him more closely. "That dress I bought could have been all for my own pleas— fine, fine. I haven't the faintest idea how Tracey teases you as long as she does with such an innocent look that you can pull."
Harry felt victorious, but he made sure to quell those feelings and the look that would spawn from them. He had gotten himself out of Daphne's teasing, which should be reward enough. "You'll go with me then, yeah?" he rubbed at the back of his neck, grinning at her with only a hint of awkwardness. "Sorry for asking you this late… I should have done it earlier but I was just a bit anxious about everything else. How about a Hogsmeade date after the Ball?"
He didn't know when he'd gotten so suave or sure of himself, but the words just kept coming from him. By the time he was finished and his mind had understood what his mouth had said, that being an invitation for a private date, he began to feel a warmth spread through him that nothing else had ever beaten; he was embarrassed, anxious and horrified, the latter feeling especially prevalent thanks to the other girls and nearby students having heard his words.
"You're asking me to the Yule Ball and out for a date upon our next available Hogsmeade weekend?" Daphne asked, tapping one of her long nails on the front part of her chin as a look of contemplation took hold of her face.
Harry nodded once, his grin getting decidedly more confident as he recognised the playfulness on Daphne's face. "I am. It's what a good boyfriend would do, so I hear."
Daphne laughed, his joke and the usage of Tracey's constant phrase about what a good 'partner' would do especially funny thanks to Tracey's presence directly across from her. "I suppose I should accept your offer, shouldn't I?" Daphne leaned across the table, her eyes narrowed and staring into his for a few seconds until she kissed him lightly on the lips, withdrawing afterwards. "You took entirely too long to ask me to the Yule Ball, you know. It'll be a task solely for Morgana, attempting to find perfectly matching clothes with tomorrow being the evening of our date… I suppose I know somebody, but it'll be quite something. Anyhow, Harry, I'm glad you've finally asked me to the dance before I had to go along with Tracey, single as she is."
"Thanks a lot, Harry," Tracey said, exaggeratedly crossing her arms and pouting at him. "You stole my single-forever partner, now I have to go to the dance all alone. Such a cruel, terrible saviour. My heart yearns for a m—"
"Stop reciting your stupid romance nonsense or I'll drown you in this frog woman's soup of choice," Milly said threateningly, her spoon now aimed at Tracey as if it were a wand. Hungry as she was, her willpower could likely focus itself long enough for a good curse; that'd be a sight to see.
"Harry?" Daphne asked as one of her dainty, soft hands rested on one of his more calloused ones.
"Yeah? What's wrong, Daph?" He asked back, still on edge thanks to a myriad of reasons even if the most prominent one had just worked itself out.
"I was thinking about your next task and the lack of information we have regarding it thus far," Daphne said, shifting in her seat so that her body now completely faced him. "We're going on next to no information aside from the fact that it screeches whenever you open it. Understandably, that makes our attempts at preparing you for that next task essentially pointless. We've tried opening it in the owlery and in the dungeons, so I can only think height doesn't matter, nor does day or night based on our experiments."
"Daphne?" Harry asked, smiling at her as he scooched a bit closer, their legs now touching.
She blinked a few times at him, her eyebrow raised again, only this time with more curiosity rather than an imposing look. "Yes?"
"What do you think we should do? I know you have an idea, you were just trying to figure out a way to say it since whatever it is, it's likely to be a bit… problematic, I'm guessing?" Harry knew the girl well enough to know when she was dancing around something and in moments like these, it was incredibly obvious.
Daphne had an idea that would probably — almost indefinitely based on her track record — work. That was great, perfect even, for Harry. So long as whatever her idea was didn't result in either of them getting into any amount of trouble, especially not her. There wouldn't be any sliver of him that'd be happy with getting her into trouble.
"I propose that you and I spy on the other Champions. If they know what task it is that you face next, we'll know from watching what they study and discuss amongst their closest friends. Cedric, I believe, you aided, right?" Daphne's eyes were keen as they bore into his and he nodded, almost as if he were caught by a siren's song; it was just Daphne's beauty and her personality that captivated him so, that was something he doubted would ever change.
"Yeah. Yeah, I helped Cedric. Told him the first task was a dragon for each of us and I guess that's why he didn't get burnt alive, at least that's what you said. I wish we could've seen the other Champions go but I understand why that wasn't allowed," Harry truly did understand, but it didn't bother him any less.
"You were far more polite than most would be in your shoes. Cedric would respect that too, he's always been friendly with you on the pitch… not that I watch you during warm-ups that clos— shut up. We'll watch the French girl or Krum first," Daphne's blush started when her second sentence did and continued until she warned him with narrowed eyes. Her idea at the end, that being to watch the other two Champions, wasn't really an option as to who he'd pick first if it were solely up to him.
Cedric probably would tell me, good bloke, that he is. That means that he doesn't know it yet either and Fleur, well, she's in last place. Krum, Ron said his Headmaster was cheating for him and he's tied with me. Really, it's a no-brainer.
"Krum would probably be the better idea, I'd say," Harry said quietly so that only Daphne and his other two friends nearby could hear as he finally exited his mind.
Content with his short answer, he then spooned a mouthful of buckwheat into his mouth, savouring the sour cream globs mixed within. The dish was one of the ones that were made for the Durmstrang students, but after trying it, he'd come to enjoy it a good deal. When Mushrooms and Carrots were fried up and added to the mix, it tasted even better.
"You don't think Fleur's worth watching?" Daphne asked, her voice low and filled with genuine curiosity as she looked at him with a bit of pancake sticking out from between her lips — chocolate chip pancakes, no less. He could make out the bits of chocolate on the underside.
Harry shook his head. "I'm not saying she's not worth watching, you told me never to underestimate somebody based on appearance alone. It's more that she's in last place, I didn't see how she fought during the task so I can't say if she's actually that poor in terms of expertise and in all honesty, she'd likely be the most annoying to watch. Dozens of blokes follow her around all day as witches do with Krum, but they usually fight one another or find other ways to be horribly annoying. At least in Krum's case, the witches just sigh and gossip a dozen or so feet away."
"You're smart for picking Fleur last," Millicent said, one of her large hands coming down on his shoulder not a second later. "You'd be very smart if you didn't mention her apparent lack of ability at the very same table a good portion of her schoolmates sit at. At least you kept on Daphne's good, not horribly jealous side though, isn't that right, Tracey?"
Tracey nodded once, her cheeks puffed out and a bit of whip cream on her top lip. "Uhuh. Harry… dumb" — she swallowed — "You should really pay more attention, but I love that you don't. It's really cute how you focus on Daphne as much as she focuses on you, you're the perfect couple. I wonder when Daph will toss you my… do you have to get your wand out or reach for it every time I make a joke?"
Daphne smiled, victorious and pleased with herself before she turned her attention back to Harry. "You shouldn't care what they think, they're not the ones you're dating and by the end of the year, they'll be memories," Daphne leaned forward to kiss him on the corner of his lips and as she did, she whispered to him. "We'll go after Krum until we find out what we need, I hope you don't mind being too close to me under that cloak of yours."
Harry grinned and shook his head, incredibly happy with the way the day had gone thus far. "That won't be a problem — thanks, Daphne. Really."
"I was your best friend before I became your girlfriend, I believe it's only fitting I get to take up both of those positions in your life rather than one or the other," She said back to him, winking and finally returning to eating the plate she'd prepared for herself.
He'd gotten her to agree to the Yule Ball, officially, that is. They'd go on another date post-Ball, the second task would be figured out before too long… everything was finally going perfectly well and as usual, it was thanks to a group effort. He loved the trio he'd found himself in, the three girls were second to none.
Daphne… I'll eventually beat her at duelling if we continue on from this year. That or saving her, it'll be my turn this time around.
December 25, 1994
Christmas had come when Harry rose from his bed, the canopy closed and the privacy charm as well as other protections still perfectly in place. It was the first part of his morning routine, that being to check that everything was exactly the way he'd left it before he went to bed. Malfoy and his goons were problematic until he'd learned a few key spells in addition to minor ward schemes.
Now that all of that was assured to be fine, he stretched leisurely and slowly, lazily, opened the curtains. As was usual, the view into the depths of Hogwarts' lake was magnificent. When one stopped to truly take in the hundreds of fish and other creatures casually going about their life at the bottom of a pool of water with no worries in the world, it made a true sense of calm flush the system.
Harry enjoyed it, but this morning most of all, was not one to have him linger in bed. Not with Tracey and Millicent likely already awake and waiting for him in the common room. Daphne was probably already in their usual room too, one they were permitted the usage of thanks to Professor Flitwick — it turned out that requesting a private place to study instead of barging into any old room and modifying it without permission was the right way to go.
Who could have thought?
"Morning, Potter," Malfoy said, already seated in one of the chairs of the fourth-year boys' dorm with a cup of tea in hand.
Harry nearly narrowed his eyes at the other boy on instinct alone. His first-year antics had never truly been forgotten even if Malfoy wasn't flat out horrible to him any longer. That was thanks to fear and a small manner of respect, mainly, but Harry didn't care what it was. He would return the minimal amount of respect necessary to keep the peace and move on. That was all that mattered to him.
'Good morning, Malfoy. Happy Yule," Harry said, dipping his head as he put together an outfit, his destination being the showers.
Malfoy nodded back to him, once and stoically at that. Neither of them seemed especially fond of conflict, least of all over the Yule break where trouble could be far worse. Snape might not like Harry half as much as he did Malfoy, but the man wouldn't harm his house or its reputation by punishing Harry for others to see. No, instead, he'd whisper insults and make him feel inferior when those from outside of Slytherin had made their leave.
It was nothing too harmful, nor was it anything that could rub off on the others… neither of those facts mattered much to Harry.
They'll allow me a quick trip to Hogsmeade, won't they? Harry asked himself as he undressed and began to turn the water on, the steam already beginning to cover the mirror thanks to the intensity of the heat. Even if they don't let me go out, I know the passages. I could get what I need without them even knowing I stepped foot outside of Hogwarts.
He liked that idea; his cloak and affinity for magic in the stealth department were similar to that of healing, which made such adventures incredibly easy. Direct conflict was his greatest enemy, which is exactly why he worked so well alongside Daphne. He swore the two of them were fated to be best friends within the first month of meeting her.
With a smile on his face and memories of earlier times, Harry finished his shower and started his task of gathering together the three witches he'd spend his Christmas morning with.
"Christmas time is here, my friends! I said, Christmas time is he—" Tracey's joyful singing was cut off by one large, meaty hand covering her mouth while its owner stayed seated beside the much happier witch.
"If you keep singing," Millicent said, her tone incredibly calm. "I'm likely to rip your head off. That's not a threat either, I'm just giving you forewarning."
Tracey grinned at the other girl even with her mouth covered and she nodded nearly a dozen times. Enough that the motion made Milly flop her hand back to the arm of her chair.
"Those two have never changed, have they?" Daphne asked from beside him, her knees pulled up to her chest while she used both hands to sip on a cup of coffee.
Harry couldn't help the small chuckle that came from him. "No," he said, shaking his head. "I don't think they have."
Daphne huffed and blew a few strands of hair out of her face. "That must be nice. I find that I get far more tired as the day progresses than I used to. There's an ache I'll occasionally find myself with too, but as you know, it's nothing to be concerned about — phantom pain, so I'm told."
He never enjoyed whenever he had to hear about that mysterious pain that would occasionally occur throughout her body. It made him nervous, he'd heard about health conditions that could come and go, some of them growing stronger throughout the years; they were Muggle, mind you, but that didn't mean some of them couldn't affect Magicals.
In all honesty, Harry didn't know too much about Magical illnesses either. Sure, he could name the occasional cold or more serious illnesses, but his healing proficiency was mainly to counteract combat injuries. Broken bones, cuts, scraps, sucking chest wounds, all of those were what he was able to deal with whilst diseases, poisons and the like were still fields he needed to improve in. If not for his future sake, for Daphne's.
"We dance today," Harry said, changing the topic. "Well, we probably will. I won't want to if you're too sick today. Merlin knows your health means more than this Yule Ball."
Daphne shook her head and prodded him once, between the ribs. "You won't have me available as an excuse, not today. We'll dance exceptionally well, to the point of us becoming the couple that others wish they could be," Daphne nodded towards the tree then. "You'll see… so long as you don't trip, Potter. Grab the large gift, the large one with the dark grey wrapping paper."
He rolled his eyes when she used her old tone, the one she'd spoken with him for the first few months of their friendship. It was colder, far more reserved and whilst not intimidating or hostile, it was decidedly unnerving. "You didn't have to get me anything that large, or anything at all, really. All of you have done more for me than you need to already, I don't imagine we'll ever know how many hours we spent studying together for the first task."
"I doubt you'll be able to accurately count the number of hours we'll spend for your second and third tasks either. Nor will you take into account our spying on Krum, which I should remind you, tonight would be a wonderful night to do so," Daphne again pointed towards the present, a smile growing on her face as she finally set aside her now empty mug of hot chocolate. "This morning is meant for relaxation and gift-giving, dork. Go grab your present, then come back and sit with me so I stay warm."
Harry smiled brightly at Daphne, giving her the look she often called goofy or dorkish. He knew how much she loved seeing it even if she only made fun of it, her smile growing larger and larger the longer he looked at her proved that. "I'll cast a heating charm on your blanket, then I'll grab one of your gifts while I'm over there."
Daphne shook her head, her face now partially concealed as her hair fell forward. "No, that's not what I want — magic is far less affectionate than physically cuddling. Quickly too, or I'll tell Tracey that you want her to cuddle you and I'll take Millicent as my temporary heater."
Harry's eyes widened and he jumped up, his feet already moving in the direction of the presents so quickly that he staggered himself. Luckily, his Quidditch reflexes kicked in which allowed him to recover, but he nearly took out a large portion of the private meal that Dobby prepared for the four friends.
He really went above and beyond, Harry thought when he glanced at the table with dozens of dishes laid on it, his feet still continuing towards the tree. Dobby always does… I'll get him a third present for doing all of this. He deserves it more than the stuff I got for Malfoy and those goons of his.
As he was told by Daphne, he picked up the present she wanted him to open first and for the sake of time, he stacked the other few that she'd gotten for him on top of it. Once that was finished, he added the presents he'd gotten for her and with the help of a few clever levitation charms, managed to move everything over to where he'd come from. There was no way he'd try to do it without magic since he knew he'd break something thanks to the mass alone and there was equally as little of a chance that he'd want to risk multiple trips with the food being next to their sitting portion.
"Sometimes I think you enjoy showing off your charms abilities," Daphne said, shaking her head with a smirk on her face. "Silent casting levitation charms is noticeably more impressive than when you do these little nudges from the tips of your fingers. The fact that you did a few in turn and without losing concentration was pretty impressive."
"I'm pretty good, huh?" Harry asked, his smile from earlier back in place as he stretched his arms and placed a small, golden-wrapped gift on Daphne's lap. "That's what you'll be opening first, by the way. Figured I'd start off with a banger, yeah?"
Tracey chose that moment to impose herself upon the conversation. "What about banging?" she asked, her face now appearing in front of his and with frosting as well as a weird, flat piece of… cookie? He wasn't sure what it was, but it was on her left cheek and in her hair, though the latter bits were all broken up.
"Don't mind her face, She may have tripped into my gingerbread house a few times," Milly said, shrugging as she jumped over the couch and landed comfortably on the other side of it, her arms instantly going behind her head as she reclined.
"The frosting? Would you care to explain how it's not only in the same spots as the bread but on her back, shirt collar and a few of her buttons too?" Daphne asked, her eye roll incredibly amusing to Harry as he noticed her shift into exasperated older sister mode, as he liked to call it; personal experience with that side of her was a driving force behind the name, but his witnessing of her speaking with Astoria, her younger sister who was in Hufflepuff, was equally as strong a reason.
Milly shrugged. "I did say she tripped a few times, not once. As for the separate splat locations, I imagine that would be due to her falling into the frosting bowl a couple of extra times, pre-cookie, of course," Millicent brought one of her hands to a position in front of her and made a motion with it. "Please, let's not bother ourselves with semantics anymore. It's Christmas, we have all this wonderful food and a few dozen gifts — let's get to opening and feasting."
Daphne sighed, shook her head and looked over to Harry whilst Tracey was still looking at him as she'd been since first she interceded. The latter girl's head was cocked like a puppy, a bundle of hair and frosting made it look as if she had a floppy dog ear… he had all he could do to keep control of himself thanks to the spectacle and shenanigans they had gotten themselves up to.
Harry exhaled, shaking his head in a manner that was stolen directly from Daphne on account of too much time spent with her. Milly was impatiently wiggling in her spot and so he responded whilst looking at her. "Let's get to opening our gifts," he said, agreeing with her since he wanted to move things along. "Daphne, you can go first since your birthday is nearest to Christmas. We'll do it that way and Tracey, if you sneak photos like you seem to, please don't release them. I'd hate to have to spend one of my and Daphne's dates on a hunt for a friend."
"I agree," Millicent said while Daphne blew a kiss and mouthed 'my hero' to him. "If you take any photos of us without our permission, I'll personally aid the pair of them in destroying you. It's entirely too annoying to find the damn things spread all throughout the castle, Morgana knows it's bad enough in those scrapbooks that you make."
Tracey pouted, her bottom lip jutted out as far as Harry reckoned it could physically go. "Can I take photos without having to hide the camera then? I promise I'll be really, really good and only get your good sides. Please, please, please with a treacle tart and Daphne on top?"
"Why would I be on top?" Daphne asked, her brows furrowed while her smile was a bit vicious-looking, the Gryffindor girl likely enjoying a bit of the pleading.
Tracey shrugged, a winning smile on her face. "I figured that's what you'd have worked out with him — boom!" Tracey very nearly dove behind Millicent then, but instead of Daphne quick-drawing her wand with a curse prepared to fire, she did something that she'd never done before when it came to one of those immature jokes that Tracey so often loved to make.
She laughed; it was genuine, beautiful as the rest of her and incredibly unexpected. Harry would have doubted it even happened had he not been present to witness it first-hand. It was truly so rare and unbelievable a moment that it took close to half a minute before anybody else joined Daphne in her laughter — a laughter that, at this point, was bringing tears to the girl's eyes; it shouldn't come as a surprise that the person who joined her first was Tracey.
This Tracey was clean from the earlier mess she'd been wearing too and her own wand in her hand showed that it was her who cast the spell. Tracey, the witch who was usually too clumsy or too lazy to walk around the castle, much less use magic or run around.
When all was said and done with Harry, as well as Millicent, only having joined the laughter for a few seconds, the former put forth a question. "Daphne… you, wait, Tracey," he said, turning his attention towards Tracey with an accusatory look in his eyes. "Did you grab those elf-wine candies? The ones that I specifically told you not to grab since they're made with elf-wine?"
Tracey's look back at him, unblinking and with a questionable bit of character, told him all that he needed to know. Her answer a few seconds after that loud silence was only clarification to an end he'd already made for himself. "What if I told you I thought you said to grab them, not avoid grabbing them?" she asked, her bottom lip bit as she looked at him with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Daphne could pull off an innocent look better than most but when Tracey attempted to do so following her expression, well, horrible would be doing her a kindness. Still, at least it made sense why Daphne had broken out into such a state of laughter and restfulness despite her being in their company. Elf-wine was known to alleviate stress, lower inhibitions and generally cause a sense of deep relaxation throughout the person who drank its body.
"How many did she eat?" Harry asked, curious and at ease now that he knew what it was; no harm or overly stupid decisions would come about, not from Daphne of all people.
"Two of them, so it can't be that bad. That's fine, right? I don't suppose two will leave her affected all that long," Tracey said, her voice only echoing off the walls for a few seconds before Daphne's feet were on her lap and an order to rub them was given.
Ah well, I'll let Tracey do it this time around. It can be her punishment for not reading the label or paying close enough attention.
"Daphne?" He asked, satisfied with the situation and pleased to see her truly relaxing for a change.
"Hmm?" Daphne asked him back, her eyes heavily lidded as she rested her neck against a special, smaller pillow.
Well. I suppose we'll wait half an hour and get back to gifts when Daphne's back to being herself.
"Come join me for a cuddle while she rubs my feet?" Daphne asked, speaking whilst he hesitated with his question thanks to his inner monologue.
I guess that wouldn't be the worst, now would it?
Nearly an hour later with Daphne as relaxed as she'd ever been before, the trio had started to open their presents. The delay had come into being thanks to Tracey's inability to pay attention and Daphne's state, but it grew longer when impatience for food was felt more than impatience to open gifts. Harry didn't mind it all that much since he was hungry too… that wasn't to say that the anticipation wasn't killing him because it most definitely was.
He had ordered a few gifts for Daphne, one of them being a custom-made set of jewellery in addition to books and tomes she'd most definitely appreciate. Tracey had received a gift card to a Muggle store that he knew she frequented on account of her books and Millicent had been given dozens of historical books with golden plating.
When people looked at the trio of girls he so often spent his time with, he sincerely doubted they'd guess their personalities accurately. It was a shame too, the girls were all kind, funny and most of all, loyal. That last trait was one that the rest of Hogwarts could learn considering how quick they always were to throw him under the bus.
"Wow," Harry said, his fingers finally done peeling layer after layer of wrapping paper and the tape that'd kept it in place. "Daphne, this is too much. This had to have cost you a small fortune… how'd you even know it would all fit me?"
Daphne raised an eyebrow, her nose too. "My sense of fashion and tastes, in general, are among the best in all of Hogwarts and should I need a second opinion, I have Tracey. There has to be some sort of reason she keeps going after you, right?" Daphne chose that moment to send a glare at the other girl, but she very quickly returned her eyes to him. "You've fallen asleep against me, with your head in my lap or on a nearby couch more often than I can accurately recall. Did you really think all that time for examination whilst you're perfectly still would be wasted? Perception, Harry, it's a splendid thing to utilise."
"She looked at the collar of your shirt and put a tape measure above your arse while you were sleeping a few weeks ago," Tracey said, a smile on her face and a spoon of cake down her typically-open mouth.
Based on the narrow-eyed glare and scowl that took hold of Daphne's face, Tracey's words were likely very accurate. He didn't consider it weird or anything, it was actually pretty touching that she went through so much effort on his behalf; Merlin, did he hope she enjoyed her gifts half as much as he enjoyed his first one alone.
"Your turn, the— wait a minute, I was supposed to go last," Harry leaned forward to flick Tracey on the nose and turned to place a big kiss on the top of Daphne's perfectly kept hair. "You, Tracey, distracted me while you let Daphne get her way."
Tracey grinned as her hands shot up in the air. "Caught us, but too late."
"I suppose I'll open two, then. Tracey and Millicent could do the same. Now that you've opened your new wardrobe filled with Magical-styled clothing, I can tuck into your side and be happy knowing that you enjoyed such a present without the constant bite of anxiety gnawing at my stomach," Daphne did as she said and then looked up at him, one eyebrow raised lazily. "Please, you know how easily I get bugged when there's something that truly bothers me. Your reaction to those was definitely a growing worry."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Pfffft," he said, "I doubt there's anything you could get me that wouldn't be brilliant — now do the same for me, get rid of anxiety and that."
"That was far less orally inclined," Milly piped up, her eyes instantly zoning in on Tracey with an expectant look on her face; the chance of a joke was too high for her to not look at Tracey, the girl ever the immature one.
Tracey, strangely enough, just blinked and continued on with her plucking of a second gift from the pile. It wasn't one that he got for her that she settled on, so he didn't care if she opened it. After she collected her next gift to open, she prepared her camera and aimed it right to where Harry was seated with Daphne flush against him.
The thumbs-up that followed was rewarded with a goofy smile from him. "Good, Daph?" He asked, ready and at the same time, not at all ready for her to open his first gift.
Daphne's answer was to dig into the wrapping paper and tear what stuck to the gift off. Her sharp nails and dexterous fingers made very quick work of that. Within seconds, his small box was visible with the outward velvet-like feeling instantly recognisable.
He barely heard Milly's question to Tracey and the few words that he missed, he could reasonably fill in well enough to decipher her sentence; 'he's not proposing to her while we're in our fourth year, is he?'
Tracey's emphatic shake of the head while she tried to keep the camera still appeased him. Had she agreed, the chances that he would have lost it would have been incredibly high.
"It's beautiful," Daphne said, the lid slowly flipping backwards and his eyes darting between her face and the necklace every second. "I mean it, Harry. If this was the only thing you got for me this year, I would tell you it's still too much — I'll treasure it and please, won't you help me in putting it on?"
Harry swallowed and nodded, unable to refuse any request from Daphne, especially one as sweet as that.