A/N: Okay, my hands are aching like pretty bad after typing so much. I might not upload the usual days next chapter because I need to rest my hands. I have to go to my doctor like 3-4 times a week just for treatment after the car accident, so I'm kinda really pushing it with this chapter. Along with that, it was hard to focus and I've been having memory problems so I don't want to write something completely deviated from the original plot I imagine.
With the last chapter, I was laughing my ass off when I was reading the reviews. I'm very glad I was able to elicit such strong emotions from everyone, so uhhh thanks for getting invested I guess. I'm not planning many POV shift chapters in the future so don't worry too much about it if you came here strictly for the Harry/Daphne.
The last one wasn't a filler though, it's a necessary chapter for another future chapter. The only hint I will leave you guys with is one word. Confrontation.
I'm also going to say that as the writer, I'm not going to say who is in the right or in the wrong. That is up to you guys, the READERS. I see myself only as the person who guides the story and creates situations. When writing, I sort of just let the characters flow and let them do their own thing. From their perspective they might be right. From others they might not. In the end, it is up to YOU guys to decide.
Not really sure if there's a better way to explain, but that's how I feel it is.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any works by J.K. Rowling.
5/19/2022: So I did a mini rewrite for this chapter. If anyone wants the original, PM me. Ordinarily Prudent left me a very detailed review and suggested some amazing ideas for me. I loved the ideas and the suggestions so much I decided to incorporate some of it and add some of mine to it as well! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave that review!
This probably won't be a regular thing, because I don't want to do a rewrite often. I am writing this to keep track as how I grow as an author and if I'm going to do a major rewrite, it'll be when this story is finished.
Not much changed in this rewrite. The plot is basically still the same, just more emphasis and moments on the Harry and Daphne's characters.
Chapter 7
May 1994
Harry sat on his bed holding a book. To his left side was Astoria, curled up against him fast asleep.
He let out a sigh and closed the book, putting it on the end table.
"And so, after the prince found out that the slipper fit her foot, he took her away and they lived happily ever after," Harry finished.
The boy gently moved the girl off of him and laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers over her. Through all of this, Astoria continued to snore away.
The door of their room creaked open to reveal a taller and much less skinny Daphne, carrying a satchel. She wasn't as short as she used to be, but her height was still below average for girls her age. She stood around 4"10 and was starting to recover some weight.
Daphne crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck.
"I'm home," She said.
Harry smiled and returned the hug. "Welcome home," he replied warmly.
It was their customary tradition. Whenever one of them returned back to their room, they would greet each other with a hug.
Daphne broke away and went to put her bag down, pulling out a handful of coins and started counting them.
"How was your day?" Daphne asked.
"It was good," Harry responded. "After I finished working on my magic, I read to Tori for the rest of the day."
He grabbed the book from the end table and showed it to her.
"Cinderella. It was the muggle story that we bought at that shop that sold muggle goods. Tori kept asking me if I thought she'd be able to wear the slippers in the story though."
Daphne raised an eyebrow. "What did you tell her?"
"I told her only if she slows down her eating or else she'll start getting fat," Harry chuckled.
Tori's voice suddenly rang out from under the covers. "I'm not getting fat, papa!"
Daphne turned towards the bed to see Astoria getting up to sit in bed with her arms crossed and a pouting face.
"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping, Tori?" Daphne asked suspiciously.
"But papa is calling me fat!" Astoria argued.
Daphne only laughed and walked over to pinch both of Astoria's cheeks, which caused her to pout even more.
"Well, Harry's not wrong." Daphne cooed. "If you keep eating like that, these cheeks will get all puffed up and I'll be able to pull on them even more!"
"Mama!" Astoria whined.
To get Daphne's point across, Astoria's stomach at that moment decided to rumble.
Harry and Daphne burst out laughing at the girl's timing, seeing her face get even redder.
"Here, Tori," Daphne said, handing her a couple of sickles. "Go downstairs and get something for…that belly of yours."
Astoria growled but couldn't say anything. She swiped the coins and gave a 'hmph,' before running downstairs.
Harry yawned and stretched out on the bed, as Daphne went into the bathroom, and the sound of shower being turned on could be heard.
"You know, she's growing up pretty fast!" Harry said, loudly after a couple minutes.
"Yeah! She's finally starting to look more like girls her age!" Daphne called back. "I swear, I have no idea where that girl stores all the food she eats!"
"Well, I don't think she was as skinny as us, Daphne. You were giving her most of the food you had during that time."
The sound of the water stopped, and the door opened up to a pajama wearing Daphne who was drying her hair with a towel.
Harry blushed when he saw her coming out. He didn't know why, but he felt that his brain had stopped functioning. Weird feelings were coming over him, and somehow, he felt incredibly drawn towards Daphne.
"It's still a good thing that Astoria has such a healthy appetite so I don't think we really need to worry much about her anymore…" Daphne was saying. "Although we need to start focusing on ourselves now. I swear Harry, you're not eating enough…"
Harry started to daze out as he stared at Daphne. He could somewhat register her talking in the background about getting their bodies back into shape, but he mostly focused more on the girl in front of him.
If anyone was looking closely, they could notice a little bit of drool at the corners of his mouth.
"Hellooo. Earth to Harry."
Harry blinked to see Daphne waving a hand in front of him.
"Um…were you saying something?"
Daphne rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said, sounding annoyed. "I was telling you to scoot over. I'm sleepy."
Daphne slid right onto the bed, pushing Harry further up to the wall and laid down facing away from him. She pulled the covers over them and started shivering.
"Harry…" Daphne started.
"Yeah?"
"Would you…um…"
Harry tilted his head and looked at her curiously, letting her continue her question.
"Could you hold me? I don't know why, but I'm really cold." Daphne said, awkwardly.
The boy blinked at the request, and his face started getting red again.
"O-o-oh….um…sure," he stammered. "Ye-yeah, I can do that."
Harry slowly and gently wrapped his arms around her midsection, pulling Daphne a bit closer to him.
His heart was beating fast. They never laid in bed this close to each with just the two of them. The other times they did would have Astoria with them, usually in between.
He could smell the fresh vanilla shampoo from Daphne. It was almost intoxicating, pulling him in closer to her.
"Is this okay?" Harry asked, nervously.
Daphne didn't say anything which made Harry even more nervous than he was.
Then, Daphne started giggling.
This time, it was Harry who was annoyed.
"What?" He asked, frowning.
"Nothing…"
"Come on, Daphne. What's with the giggles?"
"Well…your feet are cold."
"…"
Harry found himself facing a grinning Daphne, as she turned over towards his direction.
All the tension in the air evaporated as the two of them erupted into fits of giggles at the bizarre situation they found themselves in.
The two of them calmed down after a while and just curled up into one another. Daphne rested her head on Harry's chest, and he started to subconsciously run a hand through her hair.
"You know…this is pretty nice." Daphne mumbled
"Yeah…I wish we could stay like this forever…" Harry said softly.
Daphne stared into his eyes with a hint of longing and sadness in them. "We can," she whispered. "You don't have to go tonight."
"You know I have to."
"For what? 2 extra galleons? That's all Albert's been paying you just to get beat up."
Harry winced at her comment. "I haven't been able to win any fights. Once I win one, he'll give me the higher pay that was promised."
"He's not!" Daphne shouted, sitting up. "Don't you see? He's setting you up with all the fights! Think about it. You've been coming in 3 days a week for the past 10 months, and each time only walking out with 2 galleons and as a bloody mess. He only wants you there as entertainment for the audience to watch a kid lose!"
"Well what would you have me do, Daphne?" Harry shot back frustratingly, sitting up as well. "We don't have enough for the room and food here with just your job, especially with the raised prices. This is the only - ARGHH"
Harry immediately clutched his left side in pain, wincing. Blood was soaking through his shirt and he was breathing heavily.
Daphne's eyes widened and she shot out of bed, running towards the bathroom. She came running out holding a white metal box, and crouched down next to Harry.
Her hands quickly lifted Harry's shirt to see stitches open and blood coming out of a wound.
"Lay down, Harry." Daphne ordered. "The wound's open. I need to close it as fast as I can."
Harry nodded numbly and let himself collapse back down on the bed. He could feel her hands getting to work, cleaning the wound and stitching it up with a needle and string.
The boy grit his teeth as he watched her work. He was feeling immense pain but did his best to bear through it.
A couple of minutes passed by in silence, as Daphne furiously worked to get the wound closed. Harry started to steady his breathing and decided to try to lighten the mood.
"You know…you're getting better at this. If you ever become a healer, I'll become your number one client." he tried joking.
Daphne scowled at him and shot right back. "I already patch you up every week. It's a miracle that you're still walking when I'm only using muggle techniques."
"Well, you'll have an edge over the other candidates. Imagine, 'healer Daphne, uses complex medical treatments undiscovered by wizarding medicine!'"
"Oh just stay quiet and let me work!"
Harry stayed silent for the rest of time as he watched her work. He tried to make a small joke but she just glared back at him, and went back to stitching.
When she finished, she reached into the kit to pull out a bottle to hand to Harry, who sat back up.
"Here, drink this," she offered. "Wound-cleaning potion."
"Huh? Where did you get this?" Harry asked curiously. "I heard they don't sell them to non-healer trained witches."
Daphne gave him a smirk. "Trade secret," was all she said.
Harry only shrugged and downed the potion in one gulp. He scrunched up his face and blanched.
"It tastes terrible," Harry complained.
"Oh shut it you big baby. You're staying put right here tonight. Doctor's orders."
"But-"
"Not another word! Go and I won't be treating you when you come back!" Daphne said angrily.
Harry groaned and slumped back down. He jumped a bit when he felt Daphne climb into bed as well to wrap her arms around his neck and press up against him.
"Um Daphne…?" Harry asked slowly.
"What?"
"What are you doing?"
Daphne just blinked at him and replied, "Continuing where we left off? I'm still a bit cold, you know, and the wound on your left side just opened so I can't really…"
"But do you really have to cling on like this?" Harry whined
"Yes! Because someone is extremely stubborn and most likely going to try to sneak off in the middle of the night."
Harry opened his mouth to protest but promptly closed it. He couldn't really argue with her, because he himself was about to sneak out. When Daphne saw this, she gave him another smirk.
The two of them laid there in comfortable silence. Harry unconsciously wrapped an arm around her as his eyes got more droopy.
As their breathing got more steady, their eyes started and both of them entered the world of dreams with thoughts of one another to bring with.
The next morning
Daphne slowly blinked open her eyes to the rays of sunlight. She groggily sat up and yawned, then turned to her left.
She was greeted to the sight of Astoria laying on Harry's right side, almost on top of his entire chest. The little girl was snoring loudly, with drool running from her mouth.
Daphne caught Harry's eyes, as she noticed he was awake as well. He looked panicked and was mouthing something to her.
"Huh…?" Daphne asked groggily.
"Help!" Harry hissed. "She climbed into bed but decided she wanted to be on my side last night instead of the middle. And now she won't let go!"
Daphne gave him an annoyed look as if to ask him, "really?"
"Yes! Really!"
The girl let out a groan, and tried her best to pull Astoria off Harry. As Daphne tugged, Astoria seemed to clutch onto Harry even tighter.
"Come…on…Tori…geroff him!" Daphne panted, struggling to pull Astoria off.
Astoria eyes started to flutter a little bit "Don't…wanna…papa…nice…warm…" she mumbled.
"Geroff!"
Daphne managed to get a strong tug in, which loosened Astoria's hold on Harry. However, Daphne somehow managed to lose her balance on bed and tumbled backwards, landing on the ground face up with Astoria on top of her this time.
"So warm...mama…" Astoria mumbled, clutching onto her sister.
"TORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
After an hour, they were finally able to get Astoria awake. The whole time Daphne was grumbling about terrible wake ups. Currently, the two sisters are in the bathroom brushing their teeth.
"Hey Daphne?" Harry called from outside.
"Yeah?"
"You got an owl! Someone sent you a letter!"
Daphne poked her head out the door while still brushing to see a brown owl taking off and Harry holding a scroll.
"Let me finish and I'll be out."
Once Daphne finished brushing her teeth, she gave Astoria some coins to go downstairs and have Tom start making breakfast for them.
Harry and Daphne sat down at their small table as they opened up the letter on the table. Daphne began reading out loud.
"Dear Ms. Daphne.
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress"
After Daphne finished ready, she looked up to see Harry staring at her with wide eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He exclaimed.
Daphne frowned at the question. "Harry, you're a wizard. You should know what Hogwarts is…wait you do know! You were mentioning something about it a few weeks ago…"
"No! I don't mean that!"
"Well what DO you mean?"
"If you'd just let me finish talking…" Harry said frustratingly.
"Okay okay, spill!"
"..."
"Well you didn't tell me it was your birthday!"
Daphne blinked. Huh. Now that he had mentioned it, she realized that today was her birthday with the Hogwarts letter coming.
"Oh. I didn't realize," Was all Daphne could say.
Harry was looking panicked. He rummaged around the room until he found some parchment and quill to begin furiously writing.
"Okay, so chocolate? No…I know you like strawberries…the cake should be this big…"
Daphne looked at the frantic Harry curiously. "Um Harry, what are you doing?"
"Gift ideas…um new broom? No! She doesn't like quidditch…" he continued mumbling, ignoring Daphne.
"Harryyyy."
"Hmm…maybe a book…wait no, we already have so many books!"
"HARRY!" Daphne shouted
That shook Harry out of his thoughts as he looked up towards Daphne.
"You don't have to get me anything Harry," Daphne said.
"But it's your birthday!" He protested. "You deserve something!"
"Harry! It's fine! I don't need anything. I'm fine enough as it is."
"Bu-but…"
Daphne's eyes softened. She realized why he was so adamant on trying to do something for her birthday.
"It's because of what happened to you on your birthday, isn't it?" She asked softly.
Harry was about to open his mouth to protest but instead let out a sigh. "Yeah…" he said defeatedly. "I want you to be happy today, Daphne. I don't want you to have a terrible birthday like I did."
"What makes you think I'm not happy?" Daphne shot back.
He only stayed silent, unable to answer her question. Daphne took this opportunity to press forward.
"I was living on the streets with Tori almost a year ago. Now look around. I have a small home with you and her! We get to see each other everyday and we're able to share so many laughs. We don't have to worry about our next meal or if we're going to be in the cold rain every night. I'm able to live happily with 2 of the people I care the most about in the world!"
Hearing her say all that made Harry smile a little bit. It definitely made him feel better about the whole situation.
But then he noticed what Daphne said at the end and immediately blushed.
"Oh-um you said you…cared about me."
She turned red as well and averted her eyes away from him. Nervousness took over and she started twirling her hair.
"We-well yeah." Daphne stammered. "Of course I would care about you."
"Oh."
Truly, Harry was very smooth.
The two of them just stood there awkwardly, doing their best to avoid meeting each other's eyes. They were interrupted when they heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs outside their room.
"Mama! Papa! Stop doing kissy things and come down! I'm hungry!" The voice of Astoria called.
This caused the two to blush even harder.
"We're not doing anything!" Harry protested
"Food first!"
"Okay, okay! We're coming down!" Daphne shouted.
She then turned back towards Harry, who was still slightly red. "Let's go down and eat first, Harry. I want to go shopping for the items on the list afterwards though, since it's my day off."
Harry silently nodded, and followed her downstairs with the words about her care for him echoing in his mind.
＊＊＊
Harry was walking down Diagon Alley with a hood up to cover his identity. To his left was Daphne, who was holding Astoria's hand on her side.
The small family of 3 had just come out of Ollivanders with 2 brand new wands.
Daphne held a 11 and a half inch wand, made of aspen and dragon heartstring. It didn't take long for her to find the wand, only after trying one did she come across the one she bought.
Harry on the other hand took much longer. After numerous wands backfired on him, one even going as far as to cause a small explosion, did he find one.
Ollivander frustratingly had to procure a wand that was imported from another wand maker that he had in storage. It was a fairly substandard wand, only 9 inches and made of Rowan wood and whisker. Even then, Harry was barely able to produce small sparks and not much else.
As they walked down Diagon Alley, Harry had an annoyed look on his face as he thought about the terrible wand he had in his pocket.
Daphne noticed his look and decided to comment.
"Are you seriously still thinking about your wand?" Daphne asked.
"Yes!" Harry exclaimed. "It can't even cast anything and looks so ugly! Why are you even making me spend money on one?"
Daphne frowned. "Harry, the list specifically said that we needed a wand. I'm not going to get into another argument about us saving money at the risk of you getting kicked out because you were too stubborn to get one. Besides, you'll need something in case you can't use your wandless magic without anyone not knowing."
Harry muttered something under his breath, inaudible to Daphne.
"What was that?" Daphne asked.
"Well," Harry started. "I still can't believe you're insisting I buy the same supplies as you and accept my Hogwarts letter when it comes."
"Of course I'm insisting, Harry! You need to get your education!"
"So who's going to watch Tori then?"
Astoria decided to pitch in. "I can take care of myself! I'm 7 now you know!"
Daphne glared at Astoria to tell her to be quiet, before turning back to Harry. "She'll come with us."
"And explain to me your bright ideas for that."
Harry never really saw Daphne flabbergasted before, so when she didn't answer immediately, he took the moment to savor the small victory.
Astoria too, looked up expectantly at her sister but her face fell when Daphne gave her answer.
"Well um…we'll cross the bridge when we get there!" Daphne declared.
"I want to come with…" Astoria muttered. "I want to be with mama and papa always."
"Well, don't worry. I'll figure something out, Tori." Daphne said, weakly.
The three of them continued shopping in Diagon Alley. They picked up their books, got their robes, and purchased any other necessary materials.
As they were walking down the alley, a scene out of the corner of Harry's eyes caught his attention. A red head was arguing with someone who seemed to be his mother in front of an owl shop.
"But mum!" The red head protested. "The owner said she's only 2 galleons as long as I can get her to allow me to stroke her head!"
"Ronald Weasley!" The woman shrieked. "The owl's bitten you 4 times already! Besides, we already have Pigwidgeon at home!"
"But he's useless! And I want my own pet!"
"Come along, Ronald. No more talking about this! We have to meet up with your brothers and your father!"
Harry watched as the woman dragged her son away, with the redhead grumbling as he walked.
An angry hoot from the shop revealed to Harry what the boy was talking about. His eyes followed the sound until it landed on a beautiful snow white owl displayed in the shop.
Harry heard a gasp at his side as he noticed Daphne following the sound of the hoot as well. Her eyes widened when they landed on the owl, and she stared at the owl in amazement.
Before Harry could even say anything, Daphne already forced herself out of her stupor and started dragging him along.
"Come on," Daphne said hurriedly. "We still have to get trunks to keep our things in. I saw a shop while we were walking - ah! It's right here!"
They entered into a shop called 'Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment', where they saw various wizarding products solds, and trunks made especially for wizards.
Daphne checked her pouch of coins and asked Harry to check his.
"8 Galleons, 41 sickles left." Harry said.
Daphne pursed her lips in thought and began counting her own coins. "I don't think we can afford 2 separate trunks. We should find one large enough for the both of us."
"What if we get sorted into different houses?"
"We'll just have to make sure we get sorted into the same houses then."
"But how would we even get our stuff...?"
"..."
"..."
"Ugh...one of us would have to run back and forth to get their stuff..." Daphne suddenly realized.
"Well it would save us quite a bit of money," Harry mused.
They walked in and started browsing through the wares until they found 2 trunks that seemed large enough. The only difference was that one of them had a newer locking system but cost a galleon more.
"I think we should get the one with the nicer lock," Daphne said.
"Well who's going to rob us?" Harry asked. "We don't have much money left Daphne, the older trunk is only going to cost us 4 galleons and 60 sickles."
The voice of Astoria echoed to the side, calling at them to get their attention.
"Er, mama…papa…look at this!"
"But Harry! It's only 50 more sickles!"
"Mama! Papa! Look- AHHHHHHH!"
Harry and Daphne immediately turned towards the sounds of Astoria's screaming. They saw her head poking inside of another trunk, then tumbling forward into it, with top closing shut. .
The two rushed over as quickly as they could, and Harry frantically opened up the top. They both looked down into the trunk to an unusual sight.
Inside was a ladder that stretched down a couple of feet. Astoria was bouncing up and down on a gray couch inside while grinning up towards them.
"What's with all this commotion over here?" a voice came from behind them.
A stout old man walked over to them. On his robes was a name tag that said 'Wiseacre', signifying that he was the owner of the shop. He carried a scowl on his face as he walked in their direction.
"Merlin's pants! Keep it down over here or I'll have yer out of me shop!" He said.
Daphne rushed to apologize to the shop owner. "We're sorry sir! It's just that our little sister here fell through one of your trunks."
Wiseacre let out a sigh but then noticed Harry who had his hood up. He glanced suspiciously at the boy then back towards Daphne, this time with suspicion towards her as well.
"Sister? That's not what I'm hearing. The little lass was calling for her parent's if I recall," the man said gruffly.
Astoria decided to poke her head up from the trunk. "Yeah! Mama and papa are right here!" She pointed at Harry and Daphne.
Wiseacre gaped at them before shutting it and looked on disapprovingly.
"Parents at that age? Yer look too young to be er' parents!" he shouted. "I oughta call the ministry and 'ave em send someone down here! Where's the girl's actual parents? Where'd ya take er from?"
Daphne waved her hands in front of her. "No! She's just a little confused sir! Our parents gave us some money to buy a trunk for school so that's why we're here!" She lied. "As a matter of fact, we were just about to buy this trunk right here!"
The old man's eyes lit up and completely forgot what he was accusing them of. "Is that so? I've been tryna get rid the one in front of ya. 20 galleons and it's yours."
"20?" Harry squeaked.
Wiseacre turned towards Harry's direction. "Are ye daft, boy? I said 20! It has 4 different compartments for storage with a lock on each of them. Comes with a fully functional bedroom and bath inside! 20 is the lowest I'd sell it for!"
When she heard this, a light lit up inside Daphne's head. She pulled out her own pouch and emptied about 7 galleons worth into her palm. Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw the amount.
"That's not enou-" Wiseacre started.
Daphne cut him off. "I need to get the rest from my - our parents. We'll return later with the rest later this afternoon. Consider this a deposit to keep that trunk for us…and to not contact the ministry."
Wiseacre looked at the coins in her palm and shrugged, swiping them and started counting. "2 hours," he said. "I expect 13 galleons by then. Any longer than that, it'll be 20."
"Agreed."
Daphne quickly left the shop with Harry and Astoria following behind her. She took off into a brief sprint.
"Wait, Daphne!" Harry called. "Where did you get that much money? Why are you trying to buy the trunk? And where are you going?"
"Don't worry about it!" She called back. "Meet home in an hour! I'll have the trunk and tell you all about it!"
Daphne left Harry and Astoria behind and continued her sprint. A couple of minutes later, she found herself in front of 'Future's Fortune.' Daphne quietly opened up the door and tiptoed inside.
Evril was sitting in her usual spot behind the counter, snoring away, with candles burning on the counter. Daphne walked up to the counter to check if Evril was actually asleep. After waving her hand a couple times and listening to the old woman's steady breathing, Daphne let out a sigh of relief and walked into the back room.
Opening the blue curtains that separated the room from the shop, she found herself in a much better lit area. A round table was in the middle with candles and bowls of leaves on it. She continued walking through the room until she came across a small door.
Swinging open the door revealed a small cupboard with valuable things that Evril liked to keep in. It was where she kept documents, expensive products, and most importantly, her money.
Daphne carefully opened up a small metal box to find vast amounts of coins in there. She reached in and carefully took some of the coins and put it into a pouch of her own. After counting about 15 galleons, some extra in case she needed it, then closed the lid and opened up a ledger in that same cupboard.
She stared at the ledger, hesitating to continue. This wouldn't be what she usually took. This would be a large amount.
Daphne glanced at the coins in her pouch. Future's Fortune wasn't doing so well so this amount could hurt Evril.
But Daphne just gritted her teeth and forced herself to stuff the pouch into her pockets. She remembered the promise she made to her mother, to always protect Astoria. This would be the only way she can, so Evril would have to forgive her.
Her hands flew as she picked up a quill in the cupboard and began writing. This time she took much more than she usually does, so the forgery must be perfect.
Daphne spent the next 20 minutes editing the ledger. When she finished and closed the cupboard, she heard Evril calling.
"Daphne? Is that you my dear?"
The girl hesitated, debating if she could sneak out unheard. She decided that it wasn't possible, and elected to answer the call.
"Yeah! It's me, Evril. I was just here to get something I forgot the other day. I'm about done so I'll be heading out now!"
"Oh. Well could you do an old lady a favor before you leave? Could you get my blanket for me back there? It's getting awfully drafty here."
"Oh! Yeah, I'll get it."
Daphne spotted the blanket on a chair in the corner of the room and grabbed it. She pulled away the curtains and walked back into the store to see Evril groggily rocking on her chair. Daphne carefully draped the blanket over the sleepy woman.
"Thank you my dear…" Evril muttered in her sleeplike state.
Daphne started to make her way out of the store, clutching the pouch in her pocket strongly.
Almost there.
A couple more steps and she'd be out.
Suddenly, the air in the shop became extremely cold. The room turned dark, as the lights from the candles were snuffed.
Fear overtook Daphne. She turned around to see Evril standing up from her chair, her eyes completely white. A blue wisp emerged from her mouth, floating into the air. Her voice started echoing in the room.
Light and Dark meet, as neither are able to overcome the other
The cycle to be broken with the blood of his blood or the blood of his love
His day to approach, his choice to make, his life to take
Then shall there be no Light nor Dark.
Evril collapsed back down onto the chair, fast asleep once more.
Daphne was horrified. Was that a prophecy she just heard? It couldn't be. She shook her head and quickly left the shop, trying to put what had just happened behind her.
She had to go back for that trunk. It was the answer to their problems. She broke into another sprint, hoping to get there in time.
＊＊＊
Harry was sitting in front of Florean Fortescue with a cup of ice cream. An unusually quiet Astoria sat across from him nibbling at her own cup.
He noticed her quiet demeanor and leaned over to inquire about it.
"Tori…is something wrong?" Harry asked.
"Nothing's wrong, Harry" she said, doing her best nonchalant.
Harry frowned. She hadn't call him by his name since they first met. It had always been 'papa.' He was going to get to the bottom of his because something was clearly eating away at the little girl.
"Tori. Something's going on. You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Astoria pursed her lips and then they started trembling.
"It's-it's just…" she sniffled.
"What is it?" Harry asked kindly
"It's…I"m sorry, Harry!" She sputtered. "I'm sorry I got you and Daphs in trouble!"
Astoria broke down into tears and started crying. Harry looked surprised and rushed over to console the girl. He picked her up and sat her down in his lap, embracing her to try and calm her down.
"Hey, hey, it's okay Tori." Harry whispered. "You didn't do anything wrong. Everything's fine."
"B-b-but it's not!" Astoria cried. "I-I know you're not really my papa but…I keep…and now…we almost got in trouble and Daphs…"
Harry looked at the crying girl in shock. He thought that the whole time she was just confused, but apparently she was aware of it all.
"I-I-I just wanted papa!" she blubbered on. "And mama! I m-m-miss them so much, Ha-Harry! I j-j-just want them to be here again!"
He felt his heart break. Harry realized why she always called him papa and Daphne mama. She was just a traumatized little girl who lost her parents too early.
He knew what he had to do.
Harry sat her up and started wiping away the tears from her eyes.
"Tori. Look at me." he muttered. "I told Daphne this before, and I'll tell you right now. I promised that I'll do whatever I can to help you, Tori. I know I'll never be able to replace your real dad truly but if you need me…I'll do what I can. I'll try my best even if it means that I'll…have to try and be your…papa."
The little girl stopped crying and looked up at him with a bit of fear behind her eyes. "R-really?" she whispered.
Harry gave her a small smile. "Yes. Really. I promise you, Tori. And I'm sure Daphne feels the same way as well."
Astoria didn't say anything for a while. She just sat there silently, looking at Harry to see how he would react. When she noticed that he was genuine, her eyes lit up and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you…papa!" she squealed.
"Oh yeah, um it's nothing. You're…welcome!" Harry said awkwardly. "Although, try not to call me that too loud with other people nearby. I don't want someone else to freak out like that."
Astoria broke away and nodded fervently. "Promise! I'll be extra, extra careful, papa." She said the last word in a whisper.
Seeing Astoria happy like that gave Harry a sense of relief. He checked the time on a watch nearby and saw they still had some time before they met back up with Daphne. He stood up and beckoned for Astoria to come with him.
"Where are we going?" Astoria asked.
Harry gave her a grin and started walking, taking her hand to lead her along. "I noticed something on the way here. Annnd I thought it would make a perfect gift for Daphne's birthday."
"Oooh! What is it, papa?"
"It's a surprise!"
Astoria pouted but didn't say anything else. They continued walking for a few minutes until they stopped in front of the owl shop he saw earlier. A sign hung from the store that said 'Eeylops Owl Emporium.'
The little girl at Harry's side let out a gasp. "We're going to buy an owl?" she asked excitedly.
"Yup," Harry confirmed. "And there's a special one that I want you to help me find."
This just set the little girl off even more. She beamed with happiness and immediately pulled Harry into the shop.
Harry didn't even have a chance to tell her what he was looking for before Astoria bounced around the shop in awe, looking at every owl she could.
It wasn't until they both heard an extremely loud shrieking and rattling sound at the corner of the shop, that they would find the one they were searching for.
In the corner was a lady, presumably the owner, trying to calm down a beautiful snowy white owl.
"She's beautiful…" Astoria muttered.
"How do you know it's a she?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised.
"I just do."
The owner continued to try to calm the owl down to no avail. After several failed attempts, she gave up and turned around to see Harry and Astoria.
"Oh! Can I help you with something? I'm Eeylops, owner of the shop." she asked
"I want that owl." Astoria blurted.
Eeylops frowned. She glanced at the snow owl and then back at Astoria. "Are you sure, miss? I can't even get this one under control. I have more over-"
Astoria just cut her off. "No. That owl. She's the one. Mama will absolutely love her."
"I heard someone say that the owl was on sale. Is that true?" Harry asked.
"Oh, this one...2 galleons for her and 50 sickles for any food and her perch. But I won't sell her unless you can show me that she won't be biting." Eeylops said sternly. "I've had a few customers return her already, all thinking they could have her tamed even when she was pecking at them in our shop."
"Is that why the price is so cheap?" Harry mused
Eeylops let out a sigh. "This owl is beautiful, yes. But she's also the pickiest one I've ever had! I've had to lower the price 3 times now just for someone to buy her! Even then, no one was able to keep her! That's why I now have anyone who wants her to interact with her to see if she'll let them."
Astoria didn't say anything. She just walked up towards the snow owl. When the owl saw her walking towards it, it suddenly started to calm down. Astoria slowly raised a hand to stroke the owl's head, which earned a happy chirp from it.
Eeylops just gasped. "Sh-she actually letting you pet her?"
Seeing how it wasn't going to be a problem, Harry turned towards the owner and asked, "I take it won't be a problem if we take her off your hands?"
Eeylops nodded with a dumbstruck look on her face, before motioning them to follow her. "Okay, um let me ring you up at the counter then."
The two left the shop with a brand new snow owl. Astoria couldn't keep her hands off the owl, constantly stroking it. Not that the owl minded, it seemed content with how it kept closing its eyes and chirping.
They reached the leaky cauldron and made their way upstairs. When Harry swung open the door, he found Daphne already inside with the trunk from the shop.
"Oh, you're already back." Harry said. "Did you have any trouble with the trunk?"
Daphne shook her head. "No, I just handed him the money and pulled it home."
"Okay. So Daphne…" Harry said slowly. "Where did you get the money?"
Daphne was unable to meet his eyes. She started to take a deep breath before she dropped the news to him.
"I stole it." She whispered.
"..."
"What did you say?" Harry asked quietly
"I stole it."
"Why?"
"Because it was the only way!" Daphne shouted. She gestured towards the trunk. "This is our answer, Harry! This is how we do it! And it was the only way we could afford to buy it!"
"You can't just steal from someone for a trunk! There were plenty of others far cheaper!" Harry roared. "Who did you steal it from?"
"Evril."
"Your boss? Merlin's pants Daphne, she's only an old lady!"
"Yes! You think I don't know that? For months! That's how I was able to have some money left after paying for the room and food. And every time you came home battered and bruised…it was supposed to be enough so you could quit dueling!"
Harry slammed his fist into the wall, which caused Daphne and Astoria to flinch. "Damn it, Daphne! It doesn't matter what happens to me! You're more important! What if you got caught? What if you got arrested? They'll lock you up in Azkaban!"
"But I didn't!" She argued. "And what do you mean you're more important than me?"
"Daphne, think about Tori!" He shouted, pointed towards Astoria. "How would she feel if they took you away from her? You're her last blood relative who cares about her!"
"Damn it, Harry! I AM thinking about Tori! This trunk is how we can bring her into Hogwarts!"
"How?" Harry asked frustratingly.
"Just think! A full room in there. We carry our luggage onto the Hogwarts Express. She'll be with us all the way to Hogwarts."
Harry calmed down a little and thought about it. He was still frustrated about Daphne keeping quiet and stealing, but couldn't argue with her that because of it, they now had a way to bring Astoria with them.
He sat down on the bed and let out a sigh, whilst rubbing his face. Daphne sat down next to him, looking equally tired.
"I'm not proud of what I did, Harry." Daphne said tiredly. "But it's helped us survive. And now we have a way to bring Tori with us.
"But that still doesn't make it right," Harry muttered. "And I'm worried someone will find out."
Daphne didn't say anything. She just stared at the floor with Harry, whilst wearing a guilty look on her face.
"What if they check the trunks?" Harry suddenly asked. "They'll ask questions that we can't answer."
"They won't." Daphne said shakily. "They can't."
"It's risky."
"I know. But it's the only way."
"I'm scared, Daphne." Harry whispered. "I'm scared they'll come for us. I'm scared that they'll take the both of you away from me."
Astoria saw Harry and Daphne shaking. They both seemed stressed and worried. She decided that the two of them needed cheering up, so she held out the cage she was hiding behind her back to the two.
Daphne let out a gasp when she saw the beautiful snow owl. The owl tilted her head and stared back at Daphne with her yellow eyes.
"She's…she's…how did you...how did you know?" Daphne muttered.
"Harry took me to the owl shop to get you something for your birthday."
Daphne turned to Harry with wide eyes. "I told you didn't have to get me anything, Harry."
Harry just gave her a smile and said, "I didn't have to. I wanted to. I saw you looking at the owl earlier and I know you said you were already happy...but I wanted you to be even happier for your birthday. And seeing how mine went..."
"Harry…"
"I didn't want you to have a birthday like mine." Harry mumbled. "Because...because you're someone I care about as well, Daphne. You deserve a wonderful birthday present at the very least."
She leaned in towards him. Harry could feel her warm breath on his face and her body starting to press against his.
Her eyes locked into his own. For a moment, the two were lost in each other's stare until Daphne shook awake and hesitated, choosing to move in to plant a kiss at the edge of his lips instead.
"Thank you, Harry." she whispered.
He numbly rubbed the spot where she kissed him. "Y-yeah. It's no problem." Harry stammered.
Astoria only looked at them with a knowing smirk. "Mama, what are you going to name her?"
"Don't you want to name her, Tori?"
"Nope!" Astoria said, shaking head. "It's for you mama. Your birthday present."
Daphne thought for a bit until a name came into her head. For some reason, it was something that came up in that moment after everything that happened.
"Hedwig." Daphne answered. "I suddenly remembered reading about her. Saint Hedwig of Andechs. Patron saint of orphans. This way, Hedwig here will always protect us."
Harry smiled and nodded approvingly of the name. "Hedwig it is," he declared.
The sky got darker as the family of 3 decided to just go to bed early that night. After showering and changing, they set up Hedwig's spot in the corner of the room and opened her cage so she could roam at night.
Harry laid in bed on the outside, with Astoria in the middle and Daphne inside. He could already hear the snoring of Astoria, but still had trouble sleeping.
"Hey Harry?" Daphne's voice called out.
"Yeah?"
"You think we'll be okay?"
Harry turned over to see her staring at him with worry in her eyes.
"Of course. We have Hedwig to protect us," he said.
That earned him a small chuckle from Daphne. "Yeah, I'm sure she will." Daphne said. "But really, Harry. What do you think?"
Harry only let out a sigh. He reached over to hold her hand, intertwining it. "We will be. We're partners, remember? We got each other's back." he said softly.
He could make out a thin smile on her face in the dark. "Partners." she confirmed. "You're mine and I'm yours.
A/N: This will be concluding the...Diagon Alley Arc? I guess. I don't know a better name for it lol. The trunk was of course inspired by how Crouch Jr. locked up Moody and smuggled him into Hogwarts. I did a lot of wiki reading to try to be at least somewhat accurate with the shopping trip.
The naming of Hedwig was actually something I read off the wiki. Apparently, Saint Hedwig of Andechs was one of the inspirations for J.K Rowling to name the owl. The saint being patron to orphans historically was also a very nice unintentional touch that goes well with the story.
To address Harry losing fights well...I mean come on guys. The kid is like 12, turning 13. He's honestly not going to be winning any fights. And did Albert honestly seem like someone who would actually pay him what he promised?
Remember the weaknesses/strengths I talked about Harry and Daphne having? I tried to show it this chapter with Daphne's idea on the trunk but took the less morally right way to do it. Harry is still apprehensive about committing crimes so he scolds her for it. Of course, he's morally correct but then again, they wouldn't be able to bring Astoria with them.
But what Harry was thinking was Daphne being caught, and leaving Astoria without her sister. Didn't even cross Daphne's mind. Just me giving some hints and potential paths that their characters could take. They will be learning from each other and covering their weaknesses (Partners got each other's backs right?)
Harry's weak confidence will be taken into account as well "you're more important than me"
Anyways, don't want to say too much more. Boarding Hogwarts next chapter.
Question for the Readers: If you notice in my writing, I sometimes don't describe rooms or people in too much detail unless it's absolutely necessary. I like to leave some of it to the imagination and have you guys fill in the blanks of what you think this person/place might look like. I'm also not very good with describing those things yet as well, so I thought I'd write it in a way for you guys to help me out by filling in your own blanks. If you have any comments or suggestions on this, please leave me a review on it or drop a PM.
Thank you everyone for sticking this far! I hope you're enjoying the story! And if you're leaving, I wish you the best of luck on finding a good story that you enjoy!