A/N: Hello people and sorry for the long absence, I took a vacation amongst other personal matters, but I'm back. I'm sorry, again, and I hope to make it up by posting for two weeks straight, daily - this is day 2 of 14!
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Bold = Parseltongue
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December 26, 1994
Monday
The Yule Ball had actually been one of the best days of his life. Harry hadn't expected that in the slightest, but with Daphne as his date in the short time he'd come to know her, he probably should have. He already knew there wasn't a better witch he could have gone with and if there were ever another dance here at Hogwarts, nobody could ever replace her.
It made him realise now that they were officially dating — as was decided at the end of the night — there was nobody he'd rather be with. Her personality, forwardness, affection and most of all, her light-heartedness were all qualities that, when mixed together, made her perfect. Sure, he probably grew attached when she took his first kiss too, but that'd be something he kept to himself.
Tracey, if she ever found out it'd be the death of him and solely by teasing. Voldemort could learn a thing or two from that girl.
"Look at you, still smiling to yourself. I guess Greengrass really set a high standard, huh?" Katie's voice reached his ears before he registered her presence a few feet from him. "God, Harry. You look really out of it, how late did she keep you up?"
Merlin, she's entered mama Lion mode, hasn't she?
"I'm fine, far better than fine, really. We were all up late last night, you were too since you weren't in when I got back," Harry replied with a grin as he looked over his shoulder at her and nodded towards the open space on the couch beside him when he was finished
Katie raised her eyebrows at him playfully and hopped over the back of the couch until she was seated beside him. "You know, I think she's starting to be a bad influence on you."
He couldn't help the small groan that came out of him at Katie's words; Ron, Hermione, the Patil twins, a lot of them said something similar to him when Daphne hadn't been by his side. "Not you to—"
"I'm playing, Harry," Katie said with a grin as she punched his arm and pulled him closer to her, attempting a headlock so that she could mess up his hair worse than it usually looked. "I don't care if you date a Snake-girl. If you listen to some of the older blokes who're already graduated and married to them, they're pretty talented if a bit more feisty than your typical Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. I was saying it because you're not as shy anymore, so when I tease you about taking a shower or when I try to cuddle you into a blushing mess, it won't work. That makes me very sad to think about."
"It's been one day since I started dating her," He said, objecting to Katie's remarks.
If she cuddled him, teased him or anything else, he'd still blush. Merlin, just the teasing comment about the showers already had him feeling red in the face. Still, Katie was right about Daphne being minorly corrupting. That arse comment of hers while they had been on the dance floor had nearly made him choke on air, which seemed like a pretty impressive feat as he thought back on it.
"One day towards eventually forgetting about little old me… your adoptive big sister and favourite teammate," Katie sniffled and rubbed at her eyes, the actions incredibly exaggerated so much so that she began to draw attention towards the pair of them.
"Katie," Harry said with narrowed eyes, his tone and expression much the same as it was when he spoke with Tracey.
That's it! Tracey and Katie are practically the same person. Tracey's just a bit more vulgar and dangerous while Katie's a bit of a cuddle bug. I knew Tracey felt familiar for a reason.
"Fine, I'll stop and let you have your first day of being a boyfriend go by in peace — mostly, actually. I was hoping you'd come down to the Great Hall and eat with me? I've been a bit negligent towards you, more so than I ever should be, so what better way to make up than stuffing our faces together, right?" Katie stood up quickly and pulled on his right arm, forcing him to his feet. "We can sit wherever you want, I heard from the head of Beauxbaton's that we're even allowed to join them for meals in their carriages."
"Are we actually allowed to join them, or is this another one of your attempts at kicking about the fine print?" Harry asked with a small roll of his eyes as the two of them made to leave Gryffindor tower, careless as to what the rest of their housemates thought.
They all celebrated him after he'd won the first task, sure, but Harry wouldn't forgive the lot of them quite that easily. Ron especially, Harry reckoned that bloke still owed him a right proper apology after ditching him for as long as he did. Hermione he'd allow since she had attempted to help him, but he'd still be a bit more cautious.
Daphne, Tracey and it seemed like Katie too, the three of them had come to his corner with the lattermost admitting her faults.
"Don't tell me you've suddenly started to care what the rules say, Harry Potter, boy who's constantly out past curfew," Katie said, her hands on her hips and a look that told him she wasn't buying any of what he was saying.
"I didn't say I've started listening to them, I just don't get caught nearly as often as you do. There's a reason you need extra permission forms and people to join you when you go to the loo during classes and I don't," Harry grinned victoriously when he finished, his smile likely as goofy as ever when he was with her.
"I can't wait for Quidditch practice next year, you're so going to get it," Katie answered, her tongue stuck out with a smile on her face that was equal parts sisterly love and psychopathic Quidditch murderer.
He didn't fancy that next practice, but he was confident in one regard if no other.
There wasn't a chance that he'd blush, not even at the end of it… thanks, Daphne.
Nearly two hours later and full from eating with Katie for most of that time, Harry was seated on a bench right outside of the Great Hall. He and Katie hadn't ended up going to one of the other schools' temporary homes to eat, which wasn't all that surprising. Instead, they had favoured the usual food of Hogwarts and when they'd finished, he had opted to stay so that he could wait for Daphne.
She hadn't arrived for breakfast yet, which was typical of her late to rise sleep schedule. While that made him wait for her, it also presented him with an opportunity to take her to Hogsmeade while the Christmas break was ongoing. He didn't need to impress her but there was a yearning in a very primal part of him to do just that.
If he took her to a restaurant of her choosing and to a sweets shop, chocolate shop or something of that nature after, he knew it'd do him some degree of good. After last night with their kissing, dancing, hugging and overall best night of his life, she deserved a day that spoiled her.
What was it that Katie said again? Don't go over the top or she'll dislike it?
He wasn't sure if that was exactly right, but he'd trust her. Katie was a girl he looked to as an older sibling just as much as the Weasley Twins were, and neither had truly turned on him even if they'd gone a bit quieter than was usual. If there was love advice from anybody in Hogwarts that he could trust, it was definitely the three of them; Tracey… there wasn't much he could say in her case so really, he'd stick with the people he trusted most.
"Hi, boyfriend that isn't mine and who only gave me one dance."
Harry looked up when he heard the voice and sentence, his lips forming into a stupid smile even as he fought against it. There wasn't any stopping it though, not with how crazy Tracey spoke or unique she was — Luna, maybe a bit of Luna was the spice that turned Tracey from a Katie clone into a witch that was a bit barmier than most.
In a good way, of course.
"Hey, Tracey. I'm guessing Daphne's a hall or two behind you?" He asked as he yawned, stretched his arms over his head and made to stand up slowly. It wouldn't do if he made himself sick, after all.
"Right as ever, snoggy boy," Tracey answered in her usual happy, energetic voice as she grabbed at his body and settled on his undershirt. "Let's go take you to her so that she doesn't walk the rest of the way alone, right? That's what good boyfriends do, I read about them all the time and after all the kissing the two of you have done, you have to keep yourself in that good status or else you'll miss her lips."
"What are you telling my boyfriend, Tracey?" Came Daphne's voice from down the hall, one of her eyebrows raised distinctly even from their current distance.
"I was telling him that he should go find you so that he could walk you the rest of the way here as all the good boyfriends do. Aren't you happy with that idea?" Tracey asked, her voice as loud as ever and as such, drawing the attention of the two dozen or so peers of theirs as they loitered about.
Harry didn't feel all that embarrassed for a change. It wasn't like when his name had gotten called out and that familiar sense of trouble with a tinge of horrible nervousness at being the centre of attention had taken hold of him. He would even go so far as to say that all of these people knowing he was together with Daphne after the Yule Ball was pretty wicked. They knew they were dating, that they were spoken for by one another and with all the blokes that would eye her up, he loved that he could say she was his girlfriend.
Suppose it finally makes sense why she was worried about me taking somebody else, doesn't it?
He nearly shuddered at the idea of some other undeserving wizard taking Daphne to the Yule Ball before he forced those thoughts from his mind and closed the remaining distance that was between them. "Daphne, you loo—"
Daphne's grin and mischievous look with a hint of something he couldn't place should have warned him she was planning something. If he had known what it was, he wouldn't have changed the outcome in the slightest. So when she took the last few steps towards him to close the remaining distance, grabbed his face with one of her dainty hands and placed a loud, very enjoyable kiss right on his lips, he couldn't help but smile goofily.
Even when she pulled back with a victoriously pleased look of her own while one of her hands grabbed one of his, that look on his face didn't go away. The grumbling from a few specific witches and wizards as they looked on was nearly the icing on the cake.
Nearly.
"You better loan him out to me for the occasional dance or shopping trip, it's not fair that you get to keep him all to yo— Morgana, Daphne, won't you ever let me finish a sentence about your boyfriend?" Tracey's voice which had started off confident ended in a whine and stomp of her foot on the stone floors of Hogwarts' halls.
Daphne's threatening gaze rather than her wand had prompted the interruption. "I'll let you finish a sentence about my boyfriend when it doesn't involve stealing him away for yourself. This isn't that series of books you read where you steal away your lover and claim them in that weird, barbaric way," Daphne rolled her eyes and nodded towards the hall, more words flowing out of her as the three started towards the Great Hall. "It's an attractive idea, a stranger stealing you away from all of your problems and providing all that you could want, but only in fantasy form. Harry here, I understand he's very close to being a fantasy lover but I can tell you with absolute certainty he's very real."
Tracey huffed and pouted, her eyes blinking as if she were trying to force out tears to continue her pleading. He knew the pleading would go nowhere and distracted as he was thanks to the antics of the two Slytherin girls, Harry only remembered his plan as they closed in on the vast doors that led to Hogwarts' buffet.
"Wait," He said, calling the three of them to a stop and pulling Daphne gently against him in a move that made her nearly purr. "I was actually hoping we could go to Hogsmeade for food and maybe if you're fine with it, we could do some shopping? The Yule Ball was awesome and I'm a stubborn idiot for not accepting you the first time you made your offer. You'll let me make it up to you, right?"
Merlin, how did I let Katie help me with what I said? Who even thinks 'You'll let me make it up to you, right?' sounds like a sentence somebody would actually s—
Daphne stood on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips softly against his. There wasn't nearly as much lust in this kiss, but the passion and feelings expressed within it weren't lacking in the slightest. When she pulled back to look up and into his eyes, her blue ones as brilliant as ever, he couldn't help but smile as every type of positive emotion filled him up.
"I told you he's a keeper, didn't I?" Daphne asked with a smug look over to Tracey before she looked back at him. "You've made a mistake, Potter, but I'm more than happy to take advantage of it just like any other 'Slimy Snake' would."
When a few nearby witches turned, some of them with raised noses and others with flushed faces, he figured the comment was directed towards them more so than himself. It was the next words that she spoke that he knew were meant for him rather than the good deal of onlookers or people listening in while attempting to hold conversations as cover.
"Seriously, Harry, you don't owe me anything for being the one that took me to the Yule Ball. You're a wonderful, polite and handsome boy that any witch would be lucky to have," Daphne said, her hand tightening around his before her final words came out. "Thankfully, like I said and you agreed to, you're stuck with me."
Harry leaned forward, this time being the one to publicly initiate their kiss. "I couldn't think of a better witch to be stuck with."
Daphne's smile, the small dimples she had, her freckles that stood out all the more when she blu—
"Awwwww!" Tracey roared right behind him.
There's that moment ruined.
This time, when Daphne took off after her friend with him right behind her, he reckoned Tracey deserved a few hexes. He'd be sure to carry Daphne to the carriage when she was done her chase and needed a break, just like a good boyfriend would.
It was nearly thirty minutes, a carriage ride and a few streets of walking later by the time that he made it to the restaurant of Daphne's choice. Tracey, obviously, joined the happy couple after getting hexed a few times on the way. He hadn't initially planned on inviting her since it was meant to be a romantic gesture, but he supposed if he was getting on with Daphne and it was partially thanks to Tracey for that happening she deserved a nice day too.
Daphne practically being a mother or older sister to Tracey much like Katie was to him probably had a bit of a stake in the decision too.
"You're entirely too giving," Daphne said to him after he booked the private party room. "When we have our next trip to Hogsmeade, it'll be your day and I'm the one that's treating. I can't be the only one that gets spoiled in this relationship."
Harry grinned and stuck his tongue out at her, teasing his girlfriend the same way that he'd seen many a person do before. Thus, with that being his goal and having seen it hundreds of times, the last thing he expected was for Daphne to lurch forward to swipe her tongue across his. The thought that she'd do that hadn't crossed his mind, not remotely.
"You just licked my tongue… with your tongue," Harry stated his tone accusing and his eyes blinking rapidly as his mind raced on account of what she'd just done.
"I did," Daphne confirmed, nodding as she returned to scanning the menu for her choice of breakfast.
"But you, that's… uh, I'm confused?" Harry sai- asked, his attention still solely focused on Daphne even as Tracey burst into an outrageous fit of laughter across from him.
"Don't be confused — it's like kissing when our tongues touch, only our lips didn't need to do anything," Daphne's eyes flickered to his own and away from her menu long enough for her next words to come out. "Tracey may usually be the weird, barmy, overly romantic one, but now that we're together, you'll be privy to that side of me."
"She can be way crazier than me," Tracey said factually, a squeak coming from her when Daphne lowered the menu to peer over at the other girl.
Harry finally processed her action, then the words they'd said and came to a decision; if Daphne could occasionally be weird, that wasn't a problem. If anything, somehow and probably because he was a tad bit weird himself, that made her more attractive.
January 5, 1995
Thursday
Rita Skeeter was a slag and a lying one at that.
The fact that she had the gall and lack of respect to publish an article on Hagrid, one of the nicest men in the world, was proof that she was truly vile. It didn't matter if only half the population or less believed the words that she had published. Hagrid's personal matters would be discussed for quite some time thanks to her.
Merlin, as if that wasn't bad enough Harry had still yet to figure out what the clue was for his next task. The egg, the stupid bloody egg, still kept its secrets hidden. Daphne and he hadn't figured out anything to work around the screeching sound it made when it was opened. Time didn't matter to it, they'd tried opening it at every hour of the day and elevation didn't seem to have any change on it either — Gryffindor Tower all the way to the Hogwarts dungeon, there was still that same horrible screeching sound.
"We have plenty of time, Harry, and more options than you'd think," Daphne said as one of her hands came to rest on his shoulder, the girl attempting to massage away the stress that she could see building upon his face.
"It's getting closer every single day and we haven't made progress since we got it. How can I prepare for the task if I don't know what it is?" Harry's tone wasn't hostile or angry, in fact, it sounded defeated more than anything else.
Defeated could sum up how he felt right about now too and if it weren't for Daphne's calming presence, one that'd grown since they'd started dating, he'd very likely have lost his mind by now.
"Why don't we make another attempt?" Daphne asked, her expression showing him that an idea had come to her mind that he may not like all that much.
He didn't mind this time around.
"What're you thinking?" He asked, his morals temporarily forgotten so long as Daphne's idea wasn't overly heinous.
"You have three other champions, all of whom are older and likely getting their own form of external aid. Should that be the case, why don't we liberate some of their knowledge and do so while we're on a date of our own?" Daphne stepped back and placed her hands on her hips, a knowing look coming to her face. "Malfoy has mentioned many a time that you have some form of cloak, clothing or mastery of illusion charms to avoid detection. He speaks of you often enough and loudly, at that."
Malfoy… I never asked if he'd be a problem for her or Tracey, did I? Shite, what a crud boyfriend I've turned out to be.
"Malfoy," Harry prefaced, straightening himself out in his seat as his eyes focused on Daphne and tore away from the egg he had on his lap. "I never thought to ask, or rather I did and I forgot — how's he been towards you since our relationship was made public?"
Daphne made a cooing sound and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his cheek. "Malfoy is of no concern to me, I can assure you of that. His father may wield a large amount of political power, but with his position on the board gone and a good deal of his wealth tied up in bribery, it's not enough to contend with the bloc my family's a part of."
"You're sure he won't try anything?" Harry asked, the internal part of him that was always worrying about his friends or their safety wanting reassurance from her.
"He's not his father, nor is he his mother. My parents had me look for their qualities in him and have done so themselves at Pureblood-exclusive events. Unless he's a master of acting, I can assure you that the greatest worries I have in regards to him are off-handed remarks or passive-aggressive comments whilst walking past him," Daphne shrugged, a look of amusement now settling on her. "It's like having an angrier, slightly taller, Pansy. Only this one isn't in my dorm."
Harry couldn't help the snort that left him thanks to Daphne's words. Her confidence did much to comfort him too, enough so that he could focus once more on the task he had yet to start preparing for. "I'm glad everything's alright," he said, acknowledging her words once he'd reigned in his lighter feelings and refocused himself on the egg. "What do you suppose we should truly do then? Spy on Fleur, Krum or Cedric in the hope they speak of the task to their friends?"
"Friends, Adults who aid them or the books they themselves are currently looking at. If we can spend a day tailing each of them and cross-examine what we learn from it, I'm sure the task will reveal itself," Daphne said confidently and without an ounce of shame as she spoke so candidly of spying on their peers.
"I guess now's the time I tell you how I got past Draco… or how I hit him with a bunch of snowballs, his goons too," Harry said, laughter coming from him as he recalled their horrified expressions as snowballs reigned from all around.
"I believe that'd be very beneficial. Perhaps there'll even be a reward for you in the form of a kiss," Daphne swept her tongue across her lips when she finished; it was a gesture that reminded him of weeks ago when she first spoke of taking what he wanted.
When he moved towards her to close the last few feet of distance and once more press his lips to hers, he figured the second task could wait a few minutes more than it already had.
Nearly twenty minutes later and after a nice snogging session, the two left their tucked-away corner of the library in favour of a more private setting. No, it wasn't for reasons that his mind often came up with after a hefty snog, it was to discuss who they would watch first and how they would go about doing it now that Daphne knew of his cloak.
"Who would you like to watch first, Harry?" Daphne asked once the door to their temporary space was closed, locked and warded for privacy.
Her face looked soft as ever and open to his answer, but he wasn't a stupid bloke, not anymore. There was one name that he definitely, under any circumstances, could not say first. That name was Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons Champion and widely considered one of the most beautiful witches alive… well, by all the blokes at Hogwarts.
If he said her name first, he imagined Daphne's reaction wouldn't be all that pleased.
"Krum?" Harry answered, his voice and way of speaking making his answer sound as if it were a question the same as she'd asked.
"Not Cedric or Fleur, you're sure?" Daphne asked, an eyebrow raised as one of her hands came to possessively take hold of his closer one. "Do you truly believe Krum to be your toughest competitor and one that we're likely to learn the most from?"
Harry stopped to think rather than immediately double down on his decision. Krum was a physically fit and very strong, agile ladies' man. He would have a lot of witches following him about wherever he went and if that could be used to his advantage in the tournament, such as having those witches find out bits of information for him, it could mean he knew the most out of them all. Obviously, a great deal of the witches wouldn't be all that trustworthy or willing to spy, but Harry still had to think about Krum's very suspicious Headmaster too.
When that was coupled with the fact that Krum was in a very firm first alongside himself, he decided that Krum was indeed the person he wanted to watch first.
Guess that means I won't have to hide under the cloak with Daphne, now doesn't it?
"Yeah, I'll go with Krum. He's tied first, has a lot of witches always following him about and definitely seemed like he knew what he was doing based on what everybody said about him," Harry answered, finally settling on his initial answer after taking a good deal of time to think about it.
"Then Krumward we go," Daphne said with a grin on her face as she pulled him towards the door again… before abruptly coming to a halt. "Would you help me with a minor problem before we take our leave, Harry?"
He scrunched up his eyebrows, looking Daphne up and down. "Yeah, what's up?"
Daphne's smile turned a bit Tracey-like, essentially meaning she was a wildcard. "I seem to have lost that lingering flavour of strawberry you had from breakfast, you'll share it again with me, won't you?"
As any bloke would, especially when he had a witch as fit as Daphne staring expectantly at him, Harry nodded.
January 6, 1995
Friday
"Krum's not half as interesting as I thought he'd be," Daphne said, one dainty hand over her mouth to cover a yawn as she looked at the older boy with his usual posse of witches following him all about. "Granger, on the other hand, is very amusing to watch as she swats his attention away. Tell me, does she usually hit the books as hard as she currently is or is that her attempt at playing hard to get?"
"How should I know?" Harry asked, confused and a bit weirded out by talking about Hermione's romantic life.
Daphne poked him in the ribs, her eyes narrowing at him. "You're her friend and as I recall, it was you that played hard to get," she poked him a second time. "You have no idea the amount of hair-pulling I was doing when you turned me down. If you would have done so one more time, I believe I'd be bald or Tracey would have ki— ah, all's well that ends well."
Harry wanted to ask where that sentence would have gone, but a self-preserving and smarter part of his mind told him not to bother. As such, he didn't and focused again on Krum; how any boy could exercise as much as he had was a mystery to him and Daphne both.
"Yeah… do you think we should give up? It's been three hours and all he's done is stretch for Hermione or walk about the castle without any actual aim," Harry scratched at his hair, a bit of itchiness coming on account of the stronger winds.
"If we give up so easily, I don't think we'll learn anything from Fleur or Cedric either. What we should do is continue with our plan, as he'll eventually see fit to study or speak with those close to him," Daphne pointed at the posse, one that had slowly started to thin. "Few will be patient enough to watch him for the entire day and fewer still, if any, will join him as he makes use of Hogwarts' library in preparation for the second task."
Daphne was right, as usual, he reckoned. It was boring work, watching him, but it was also necessary in the event that he'd figured out the next task.
"You're ri—"
"Let's mo—"
He and Daphne had both made to speak at the same time, interrupting one another. Harry seized the initiative, however, and politely motioned for her to continue on.
"Ever the gentleman, Harry," Daphne said as her cheeks coloured in a way that he hadn't seen since their initial, earlier conversations. "We should move closer and finally make proper use of your cloak. I suspect it'll be crowded too, so I do hope you're alright with letting me cuddle up to you — no hands on my arse until we're finished either, else you'll be punished."
Merlin, save me.
