A/N: Sorry for posting so early! Yes, I'm sure I'm probably one of the only writers on this site that just said that lol. Anyways, I might be unavailable at the time tomorrow so I'm posting it tonight.
Important chapter. Before you ask or comment anything, I would highly encourage that you read my more lengthy note at the bottom. Some of your answers may be there. But if not, review away. I shall read them and try to respond.
It could potentially be 2 weeks before the next update, but who knows. I could get a sudden surge of inspiration a few days later.
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any works by J.K Rowling.
Chapter 13
3 days.
It's been 3 days since their argument.
Harry had slept on the couch in the common room for the past 3 days, unable to face Daphne. Or Astoria for the matter.
He thought it would be better to give the little girl some time with Daphne. It would just confuse her if she constantly saw both of them but not together.
Or perhaps that was just his excuse to avoid the little girl.
His couch was in a corner, far from everyone else. It did give him some sort of privacy, as he would blend in when the common room got rowdy.
He still attended his lessons like normal, and he did see Daphne in those classes. However, she sat far away from him, unable to meet his gaze.
Penelope had sensed something was wrong, and would approached him multiple times.
But he couldn't bring himself to talk to her. He instead chose to tell her off or just plainly ignore her worried voice. And so, she too left.
Daybreak was approaching. The sun had started to rise, and some of the students had begun to make their way down. He got up, his face stone cold as it had been the past few days.
The Ravenclaws eyed Harry wearily, and everyone stayed far away from him. As usual.
But he didn't care what they thought. He only cared about what she thought.
And Daphne had appeared.
She came down from their room. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were puffy as if she was crying all through the night.
Which she probably did.
"Daphne-" Harry reached out, trying to get her attention.
She just ignored him as always, and stormed off out the door and into the castle.
He was crestfallen. A few of the Ravenclaws saw this and snickered at him.
He didn't care. They didn't matter. Only she did.
He decided perhaps it was time to face the music.
It was time he talked to Astoria.
Harry slowly made his way back up to his room. When he got to the door, he let out a small breath and knocked five times on the door.
Five times, it was what Daphne came up as their system for Tori to know it was them. Another thing to remind him of her.
The door quickly opened and he immediately got inside. The first thing he felt was Astoria's form jumping onto him.
"Papa!" She cried.
Harry chuckled sadly when he saw the little girl. He held onto her, ruffling her hair a little bit.
"Hey Tori…" he said softly. "Sorry I didn't get to see you these few days."
Astoria looked sad. There were a few dried tears in her eyes, causing Harry to be concerned.
"Tori? Is everything alright?" He asked worriedly.
Astoria shook her head. "Mama has been crying." She said sadly. "Papa…did you and mama have a fight?"
Harry hesitated. Astoria clearly knew something was up, and she was pretty much right on the dot. Despite her young age, she was revealing herself to be pretty smart at the moment.
Astoria looked at Harry expectantly, waiting for an answer. He just sighed, knowing he couldn't lie to her.
"I…yes…" he admitted with shame. "We had an argument, Tori. I…I don't know what's going to happen now…"
He just sat on the floor sadly, with Astoria in his lap. They sat together in comfortable silence for a while. Harry just stroked Astoria's head, letting her almost cuddle into him.
"Mama loves you," Astoria suddenly said. "She talks about you a lot when you're not around."
"Is that so?" Harry said, giving her a wry smile.
Astoria nodded her head fervently. "And I know you love mama too!" She declared. "I see you and mama making lovey faces at each other all the time!"
"Ah…Tori that's-"
She pouted, seeing him try to deny it. "Don't lie papa! Mama tried to lie last night as well! She was all red when I said she loved you!"
"Sh-she thought that about me?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Yes! Tell her you love her papa!"
"Tori…it's not that simple."
"WHY ISN'T IT THAT SIMPLE!" She cried. "Mama loves you papa, and you love her!"
"Tori, she doesn't deserve someone like me…" Harry muttered. "She'll only lead a life of misery. The whole wizarding world hates me. You know this."
"It doesn't matter papa!" Astoria argued. "You're already my papa! And she's my mama!"
Harry had to just chuckle at the little girl's reaction. In her 7 year old mind, everything was just so simple.
"How about this…I'll do my best and see where we go from there. Is that okay, Tori?" Harry said, forcing a smile.
"Uh huh!"
"Now come here!"
Harry began tickling Astoria, which caused her to burst into fits of giggles. Eventually, he did have to let go, seeing that he should get ready for class.
"I have to go now, Tori," Harry said sadly, hugging her close. "I'll always be your papa, no matter what happens. I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself to see you these few days, but I'll try to come every night now, okay?"
He gave her one last kiss on the head before heading downstairs.
When he got downstairs, he was surprised to see Penelope already waiting for him, her arms crossed and a frown on her face.
"Breakfast." She stated.
"I…I don't feel like eating."
She only stormed up to him and dragged him out the door. "Come on…" she muttered. "You need food, Harry. That's what Madame Pomfrey said. And you haven't been eating these few days. It's time you stopped ignoring me anyways."
Harry protested but she had already grabbed his arm and pulled him along.
They did eventually get to the Great Hall, but he only had 10 minutes left.
But what he saw in the Great Hall shattered his heart.
Daphne was already there, surrounded by a group of people. They were all talking loudly and Daphne seemed to be smiling along with them. A boy seemed to be touching her shoulder, and was acting awfully close to her.
She had found someone else. He saw it in her smile.
Penelope had a look of pity on her face, and she quickly went to grab as much food as she could, returning with 2 full plates. She grabbed his hand and led him away from the Great Hall, until they found themselves in an empty corridor.
The two of them sat on the ground, silently eating their breakfast.
It would be Penelope who broke the silence.
"I'm sorry you saw that," she said softly.
"Don't be," he said hoarsely. "It's fine. S-S-She has friends now. A b-b-boyfriend. Without me, she can move on. I-I-It's fine."
But it wasn't fine. He didn't feel fine.
The wave of tears had already started falling.
His whole body started shaking.
And then, Harry sobbed.
"I-I…she was always with me, Penny," he said miserably. "W-we were partners…we promised…"
Penelope held him close as he sobbed into her arms, letting out all of the emotions he held since last night.
"I-I love her, Penny!" Harry cried. "I l-love her so much! Oh, what have I done!"
Penelope just shushed him and began stroking his hair.
"Shhhh…it'll be okay, Harry. It'll be all okay…"
Harry just continued sobbing, his tears making a mess of Penelope's robes. "It hurts! It hurts, Penny!" He wailed.
"I know, Harry." She whispered, soothing him. "I know…it'll be okay…I'm right here. Just let it all out…"
"It wouldn't come out…Penny, it wouldn't come out…the tears, they wouldn't come out…I couldn't…" he choked.
Harry continued crying. He cried until his tears had dried up.
He cried for all those days that he couldn't.
He cried until he had nothing left. Until he just laid there, completely exhausted.
The sun had already begun to set.
Penelope just sat there, his head resting on her lap. His eyes were dead, his face no longer able to hold any emotion.
That was when she began to sing.
"Oh child
Oh sleep, quiet night
Oh sleep, everything shall be alright
Sleep, through the night…"
Her voice was soft as she continued singing. Harry felt his eyes start to become droopy.
Eventually, the dreams overtook him, with the voice of an angel singing softly in the background.
＊＊＊
"Come on, Hogsmead this weekend. Just you and me Daphne."
"For the last time, Boot, I'm not interested."
Terry Boot was definitely insistent.
When Daphne had entered the Great Hall this morning, she was swarmed by a bunch of students (mostly boys), when they confirmed for the past few days that her and Harry weren't going around together anymore.
For the first time in a long time, she was the center of attention. And it wasn't negative attention.
Daphne didn't know what to do, so she did what she saw famous witches do.
She forced a smile and pretended to be friendly with all of them.
Suddenly, her looks had started improving only after a few days of stress eating and protein potions. She was looking so much better that a few of the boys had immediately started asking her out.
But it didn't matter to them that her hair was a mess and her eyes were red.
Apparently, wizards were delusional enough to chalk it up to a new fashion trend or that she had an exotic bloodline. Or the fact that without Harry around her, she was finally able to show off.
That's what the rumors were anyways. And Terry Boot was one of those who wholeheartedly believed them.
"We would be perfect together, Daphne" Terry was saying. "With my smarts, and your exotic beauty, we could take over the wizarding world! With that Potter scum no longer controlling you, you can be with me!"
He put a hand on her shoulder in which she forcibly shoved him away.
"He's not scum!" She snapped. "He's honestly a better person than you'll ever be! You don't know anything about him or me, Terry!"
Terry just stared at her in disbelief, before scoffing and walking away.
"Unbelievable," he muttered. "Go be with that loser for all I care. Can't believe I wasted my time with you."
When he was far enough away, Daphne leaned against the walls with her eyes closed, and let out a deep breath.
Terry Boot was the fourth person to ask her out today. And like all the others, he bad-mouthed Harry.
It was also the fourth time that day, in which she defended Harry.
She didn't know why she still defended him. But she just did.
Daphne felt like she should be angry. How dare he say that to her! She lost her parents! She lost her home!
But if she really thought about, in a way, so did Harry.
Merlin, did she miss Harry.
He was the one who stood by her all that time. He was the one who helped her off the streets.
He was the one who Astoria called papa.
For the first time in a long time, Daphne felt empty. Empty, without Harry at her side.
He was always with her, the two of them promised that they were a team. Partners, forever.
She shook her head. 'No!' She thought. 'Forget about him! He's already moved on! You saw how he came into breakfast with Penny! You saw how close he was with her!"
Suddenly, Daphne felt something wet on her eyes. She brought a hand up to wipe it, and she realized what it was.
"I'm…crying…?"
They were running down her cheeks now, and a whole new stream had started to trail down as well.
The tears were just freely falling down at this point. Daphne made no more efforts to wipe them away. Instead, she just looked up emotionlessly, and allowed the stream to flow its course.
When they dried up, she continued on her way. Her only thoughts were of Harry, and everything they've been through.
Eventually, she stopped in front of the hospital wing doors. Her face held the same emotionless mask, as she pushed open the doors, hoping that Poppy wouldn't notice.
"Ah! Daphne, you're here. Today we'll be working with-"
Madame Pomfrey suddenly froze.
"Poppy? What are we doing today?" Daphne pushed.
The healer in question raised an eyebrow. "Is everything alright, dear?"
"Yes. Why would something be wrong?"
Poppy stared at her for a minute. It definitely made Daphne uncomfortable, as her eyes just honed onto her own.
Eventually, Madame Pomfrey let out a sigh and walked over to her office. She beckoned Daphne to follow, in which she hesitantly obeyed.
Madame Pomfrey waved her wand and 2 cups of tea began to fill up.
"From my own stores, dear. Have a seat and drink."
Daphne sat down and slowly drank the tea with Poppy. She felt it warming her, even as far to make her feel calmer.
The two of them sat in silence, drinking the tea.
"…"
"Boy trouble?" Madame Pomfrey suddenly asked.
Daphne almost spit out her drink. "N-no, Poppy. Nothing's going on."
"…"
Pomfrey just continued staring at Daphne. She didn't know what to say to the healer. She just sat there awkwardly, drinking her tea and doing her best to have a neutral expression.
Madame Pomfrey would decide to interrupt the silence once more.
"Did I ever tell you how I met my husband?"
Daphne shook her head. Seeing this, Madame Pomfrey continued.
"It was during the time of the war. Grindelwald's era, mind you. He fought on the front lines with me. And the two of us took many, many lives."
The young girl listened intently with interest, as the healer talked.
"However, to the light side wizards, they did not care. Dark wizards were dark. Their lives were already forfeit. Because the other side thought the same way towards us as well, so must we."
Madame Pomfrey had a sad look on her face, as she reminisced about the war.
"The two of us got tired of fighting so much. Instead, we decided to contribute by becoming healers. I swore to never use my magic to harm or take lives ever again after that."
She let out a sigh, as a small smile crossed her face.
"The more we worked together, the more we fell in love," she said dreamily. "We both wanted to save as many lives as we could. He was so kind, so caring…"
"…was?" Daphne quietly asked.
"Yes, dear. Was."
Pomfrey closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.
"We were only together for 3 weeks before we married. And then…he passed the next day. A stray spell while we were tending to an injured. He was gone before I could even do anything."
The healer's tone suddenly turned bitter as she continued talking. "We always knew that our day would come. The price a soldier pays, the price of taking so many lives. Even now, I await that day. But his…it came too soon."
Her eyes were faraway, as if she was truly living in a time long past.
"I never did find another," Pomfrey muttered. "Oh I tried, dear. I really did. But to me, those 3 weeks were a lifetime."
Daphne was left speechless. She didn't know what to say. Poppy took lives. And her heart loved so much that years later it still hung onto that same love.
"I can see it in his eyes, you know." Pomfrey said, interrupting her thoughts. "That boy of yours, it's the same eyes as my husbands. Whenever he looks at you. It's why I paid for his lung, he reminded me so much of him. He loved just as strong as my husband did."
"Poppy…"
"Go," Pomfrey ordered. "Our lives are short, Daphne. Death comes at any time, people die everyday. They never imagine that it'll be over so soon. I've seen enough of it in my lifetime."
Madame Pomfrey got up from her seat and opened the door, motioning Daphne to leave.
"Whatever arguments you had are minuscule compared to what you two have." Pomfrey said sternly. "Go, before you regret it. Go, while you can still tell him that you love him. Because one day, you might never get the chance to say it ever again."
And with that, the healer waved her wand and Daphne felt herself flying out of the hospital ward. She found herself standing in front of the doors, barring her from entering.
"Go before you regret it. Go while you can still tell him that you love him. Because one day, you might never get the chance to say it ever again."
Poppy's words echoed in her mind.
Daphne took a deep breath. She decided what she was going to do.
She already lost her parents. She wasn't about to lose Harry as well.
＊＊＊
Harry woke up staring at a starry night sky. The wind was softly blowing against his face.
At first he was confused on how he ended up where he was, but a glance to the side showed Penelope sitting next to him, gently smiling.
"We're on top of Ravenclaw tower if you were wondering," Penelope said. "I usually come up here when I need some time alone."
He slowly sat up and stared at the night sky.
"It's beautiful…" he muttered. "The stars…they're shining so bright."
Penelope chuckled. "That they are, Harry. That they are…"
The two of them sat together, admiring the stars. He glanced at her, thinking about the song that she sang to him.
"You have a nice voice, Penny." He said softly.
She gave him a small smile. "Thank you. It was a song my mother used to sing to me," she said sadly.
Then, Harry would say something that would cause Penelope to raise an eyebrow.
"Penny…I think I might be falling for you."
"…"
"…"
He expected her to move away from him. He expected her to slap him, or at the very least, get angry.
He didn't expect her to laugh.
"HA!"
Penelope laughed. It wasn't a mocking one by any means, or even an awkward laugh of disbelief.
No, it was a genuine and pure laugh.
"…what?" An annoyed Harry asked.
"Harry…" Penelope started. "You're confused."
"No, Penny, I-"
Penelope's facial expression turned serious, as she grabbed his shoulders and turned him facing towards her.
"Look at me Harry," Penelope ordered. "Look at me, and tell me that you love me. Tell me that you love me like you love Daphne."
"…"
"…"
"You can't, can you?"
Harry slowly shook his head and Penelope let go of him. He looked down, ashamed at what he said.
"I'm sorry, Penny." He muttered.
Penelope shook her head and rubbed his back reassuringly.
"It's okay, Harry," She mumbled. "Right now you're just going through a lot of emotions. It's completely normal that you start mistaking them."
Harry just nodded numbly and began subconsciously fidgeting with the locket on his neck. When Penelope saw this, she grinned.
"What?" Harry asked
"Oh nothing…it's just you were doing the same thing in your sleep."
"Doing what?"
Penelope snorted. "Even now you don't even notice. Your locket Harry. The one with a picture of you, Daphne, and Astoria."
"You looked?"
"Hey! You were the one opening and closing it in your sleep!"
Harry blushed, and scratched his head awkwardly. "It was something Daphne got me for my birthday," he muttered.
"Did you get her anything for hers?"
He smiled at the memory. "Yeah," he admitted. "An owl. We named her Hedwig. She should be in the owlery right now."
"You must show her to me someday then."
"Yeah…I will…"
The two of them became quiet once again. More silence passed by until Penelope spoke up again.
"Tell her, Harry," she said softly. "It doesn't matter whether she's with someone else or not. She deserves to know the truth."
"I don't know if I can."
"You were able to tell me, weren't you? And you weren't in love with me."
"That's…different," Harry argued.
"Definitely," Penelope agreed. "It's harder to tell her, right? It just means your feelings are real, Harry. It means you truly love her."
Penelope stood up and brushed her robes. "Think on it, okay?"
And with that, Penelope had gone back down, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.
Harry just pondered Penelope's advice. Should he even tell her? Could he even bring himself to do it?
Astoria's words suddenly echoed in his mind. "Mama loves you papa, and you love her!"
Did she feel the same as he did? Was he imagining it? What if she didn't feel that way?
But the only way to know was for him to tell her.
Maybe he should. Perhaps it was the best path. Perhaps-
"Harry?"
He spun around to see Daphne standing behind him, the wind making her blonde hair flow.
His breath stopped for a moment. She was beautiful.
Her disheveled appearance besides, she had grown so much in the past 3 days. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She just looked…amazing, even when she wasn't trying to be.
The two of them just stared at each other. They were both hesitant to make the first move.
"…"
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
Both of them had spoken at the same time, their voices coming together.
Daphne stepped forward, her eyes teary. "I'm sorry I pushed you so hard, Harry." She said softly. "I'm sorry about what I said. I-I understand why you couldn't see her…"
Harry shook his head and he too took a step forward. "No, Daphne. You were right. Maybe…maybe I should go…I mean, I don't want to get expelled, do I?"
He chuckled awkwardly at the last part of the sentence.
They both unconsciously took another step towards one another. Their faces were close, enough to stare at one another's eyes.
"I'm sorry about what I said," Harry whispered.
"I know, Harry. I know now."
He could almost feel her breath on his face. Warm. As if…she was breathing life into him. Suddenly, the windy night didn't affect him as much.
"I missed you, Harry…" Daphne whimpered. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too, Daphne…"
Their faces were mere inches from one another. Their eyes locked onto one another's.
It was now. He had to tell her now. No matter what, she had to know.
"Daphne…I-"
"Harry-"
"…"
"I love you."
2 voices once again rang out together, both revealing their true feelings for the other.
No more needed to be said.
Only action needed to be taken.
Harry and Daphne closed that final gap, as their lips met the other's.
They poured all their emotion into that kiss, letting the other know everything they've felt.
Anger. Frustration. Loneliness. Longing. Need.
And the most important one of all.
Love.
After what felt like an eternity, they broke free. Harry stared into her eyes, trying to decipher her thoughts.
The only thing he could see was the same look of longing she had when she walked in.
"I love you, Daphne," Harry breathed.
The only answer she gave was to press her lips onto his once more, as the two of them shared another passionate kiss.
"Promise me. Promise me you won't die," Daphne pleaded tearfully, her forehead pressed against his'. "Promise me, by the end of it all, you'll survive."
He didn't even hesitate. Even if it was potentially another lie.
"I promise."
The two of them stood there in each other's embrace, holding onto one another as tightly as they could.
"I don't know what the future holds," Harry muttered. "But I want you with me, Daphne. I don't want anything to ever come between us again."
Daphne buried her face into the crook of his neck, savoring every bit of physical contact that she could.
"It's a wish then," Daphne said softly.
He chuckled tearfully.
"Yeah…it'll be my wish. From now to forever."
Little did the two of them know, a star was falling just right behind them.
A/N: It happened. Wait? It actually happened? Noooooo wayyyyyy.
Okay now for answers.
Lets start with Pomfrey. We sometimes forget that 2 wars just happened, and Grindelwald era was brutal. People kill and die in wars. Pomfrey was meant to show that, along with pushing Daphne to confess to Harry. Her lines about losing the chance because of death works well for someone like her. She's a war veteran and a healer. Death is something she sees regularly.
Penelope confession/Drama. She's a great friend. But she can't be more than that (although big sister vibes are coming in close). Harry's confession to her wasn't something intended. When I planned this chapter, I intended for Harry and Daphne to just not talk to each other for a few days and suddenly get bored, make up and kiss.
But that's too perfect.
And we all know that this story isn't perfect, nor is life. There are always ups and downs.
Harry's a 13 year old boy, who just potentially had his heart broken by seeing the girl he loves with someone else. In comes an older girl who holds onto him, comforts him, and sings him to sleep. He's obviously going to be confused about his feelings towards said older girl.
Daphne's an attractive girl in a school full of hormonal teenage boys, who suddenly stops hanging around the most infamous young wizard of the decade (Harry). Yeah, you can understand where I'm going with this.
How they both deal with their emotions. Harry's definitely a lot more emotionally unstable. It's just his character. He spent his childhood alone. He's a lot more anti social and lonely than Daphne. She at least had a loving family, and even when she was on the streets, she had Astoria. Compared to Harry, Astoria and Daphne were probably the first people he's cared about, so Daphne especially means so much more to him. Almost as if he was dependent on her. But I'm not sure we'll go that far...
Anyways, this chapter was written a few days ago. A few days ago, I was incredibly stressed and overwhelmed with the things in my life, and I even felt super burnt out from writing. I wanted to take a break but I pushed myself to write these 2 chapters.
So, I poured all those emotions into this chapter. There wasn't really much thought or how this would connect into the plots of this story. But as I continued writing the chapter and time flew by, things in my life slowly got better. The chapter slowly turned from stress to perhaps relief and hope for the future.
And I do hope it showed in the ending.
Thank you for reading!