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October 3, 1998

Saturday Morning

Delphini and Daphne had lagged behind, sticking close together as they whispered in hushed tones. Tracey, on the other hand. kept herself firmly by his side as the group of four begin their walk to a wonderful new restaurant that served traditional English food just like the Hog's Head used to.

Had the latter been open, they would've gone to that instead. Aberforth was away though, aiding the Ministry with something once Kingsley had bugged him enough times. Harry didn't know what it was about any more than he knew why the Wizengamot had suddenly done a flip to send more people to Azkaban — he'd fix that though. Now was time for reconciliation and rebuilding, a literal witch hunt would simply divide people all the worse, leading to another eventual conflict.

One that Delphini would be taking a part in, He thought grimly, looking over his shoulder as she whispered something heated-sounding to Daphne.

He knew the Rosiers were dark. He also knew that the point of them using their political sway for her benefit was very likely done in the hopes of her showing them favour later on. If that happened, Harry would feel very much as if it were on him. Especially since Delphini didn't truly know who her father was.

"You seem like you're thinkin' really hard about something," Tracey said as she nibbled on one of the chocolates he bought earlier on. "Is it something important, or something that you're overthinking?"

Harry nearly laughed at how simple she made it seem. "I'm probably overthinking it. What about you, it doesn't seem like I've seen you worried except for when we were in that shop."

"Nothing really makes me nervous, I guess," Tracey said with a shrug as she smiled up at him, chocolate at the left corner of her mouth.

"Must be nice," He said back to her, looking over his shoulder again as he heard a particularly loud whisper from Daphne, the blonde girl's nose, neck and cheeks completely red from the cold.

Delphini matched her in that regard, the pale girl as red in her face and hands as her companion while Tracey… she looked cold, Harry could see goosebumps on her because of how close they were, but her skin wasn't nearly as red. She was probably from a place where the cold was more commonly dealt with in comparison to the other two girls.

"Those two have crushes on you," Tracey said suddenly, drawing his attention back to her. "It's pretty obvious for us witches, but with you being a bloke and all, figured I would let you know… hh, did you want a cookie by the way? These ones are wicked good, still owe you a hug for getting them."

"You don't ow—" Harry got cut off by Tracey firmly shaking her head and grunting at him with a scrunched up face.

"Nope, non-negotiable, Potter. You're gonna get a hug, a week off from any pranks and I'll prolly get Daphne to kiss you too. Morgana, I'd kiss you after that small fortune you spent on us — those two behind us would curse me though," Tracey looked over her shoulder and then grinned back up at him, her eyes alight with mischief. "Bet we could make them join us real easy, all I'd have to do is lean up like I'm about to snog you."

"Think so?" Harry asked, with a roll of his eyes.

Tracey nodded once, grinning up at him. "Know so, thinking's overrated."

"Only for you," Daphne said from behind them, the girl still walking alongside Delphini even as she responded loudly to Tracey; those words of hers must have been said louder than he'd thought if Daphne had responded.

Still, she didn't say anything more, so that was that as far as he was concerned.

"I'll take a rain check on that," Harry eventually said, making Tracey huff and blow a few strands out of her face.

"Fine," She said as she nibbled angrily on the legs of a chocolate frog. "You owe me a good prank on them though and don't you forget it," Tracey emphasized her point by stomping on the ground mid-stride, making her nearly fall forward onto the cold ground until Harry's arm caught the back of her robes.

If he thought that would've made them even, he was sorely mistaken. Tracey simply grinned at him before grabbing his arm and bolting forwards, giggling as she made the other two girls chase after them.

He still wasn't sure to this day if Tracey was purposefully as light-hearted and fun-seeking as he knew her to be, or if that was her way of keeping the group only half as serious as Daphne and Delphini were. Either way, he appreciated it, especially those adorable faces and words she'd used in the chocolate shop.


"Dinner dinner din-ner," Tracey chanted, swaying back and forth as the four of them looked over the long, three page menus.

"I swear to Morgana, Tracey," Daphne started, poking at the taller girl unsuccessfully as she sat opposite of her. "You're just like Astoria was when she was younger."

Tracey furrowed her brows at Daphne and ceased her chanting for the time being. "Isn't she still younger than me?"

"That was the point I was making," Daphne said, rolling her eyes until they landed on Harry, an amused and only vaguely annoyed look on her face. "What're you all getting then? I can't decide — Tracey you start, I know how long it takes you to say something. Don't make it be all roundabout and overly complicated either."

"I'm gonna get the mozzarella sticks, fish and chips… a bit of cheese with some ranch dressing dip too. Oh oh oh, they have those lava gooey cakes too, I think I'll get two of those," Tracey nodded once, firmly and smiled as she looked around the table.

"Delphini?" Daphne asked, ignoring Harry's shocked expression and urging Delphini out of hers.

"You're not going to ask why she wants two of them?" Delphini asked, a pointed look shot at Daphne.

Daphne shook her head once, lazily turning to regard Tracey, especially her curvier figure in comparison to hers and Delphini's. "No, I already know exactly why she wants two of them. Tracey enjoys mixing sweet and salty, hence her ordering two. If I had to guess, those bread-covered cheese sticks will be dipped in molten chocolate."

Harry grimaced at the thought of that, but opposite of him, Tracey wiggled in her seat. "Yummy," she said as she eyed the kitchen, a look of longing coming to her face.

Delphini cocked her head once. "Would you be alright if I sampled that, Tracey? I'm as curious about that as I am your skirt tactic."

Right… Tracey jumped on me with that skirt on that one time, I nearly forgot Delphini's remark.

Even now, later as it was, Harry felt his face heating up. Delphini was very forward while Daphne was shyer and cuter really with her affections; both were infinitely easier to read than Tracey though. Tracey was like Luna, Ginny and a sprinkle of the Twins all in one. It made her impossible to figure out, enough that even her friend since the start of Hogwarts in Daphne was still stumped from time to time.

"You can have a whole stick if you wanna," Tracey said with a wide, toothy smile as she threw her arm around Delphini. "I don't mind, not in the slightest. Sharing's what friends do… well, except for with blokes, or ice cream, or mi—"

"Thank you, Tracey," Daphne said quickly, cutting her friend off as she shot a look over to Harry. "Delphini, what do you think you'll be trying? If I could, I'd suggest against most types of fish on account of their freshness likely not being as great as you'd think. Not unless they're specified to come from our lake."

"Could always just order one of everything," Harry said jokingly, earning himself a quick hit to the upper arm from Daphne.

"You and Tracey will be the death of me, Pott- Harry," Daphne said with a fond roll of her eyes and a bit lengthier touch of his arm than was necessary. "What will you be ordering? Unless you truly mean to order one of everything off of the menu."

Tracey piped up then, speaking before he could. "If you order one of everything, I solemnly swear to stay at the table until all of it's finished. I promise, pinky promise if you want, but that'd be so much food. Daph and Delph could end up lookin just like me… but blonde."

"We don't gain weight that quickly, do we?" Delphini asked with a cocked head and a worried look at her stomach.

"No," Daphne said quickly, narrowing her eyes at the innocent-looking Tracey. "We don't. I assume that was Tracey's way of making a joke, though it's one that thankfully went over Harry's head. If it didn't, there'd be one less occupant at the table."

Harry wanted to say that he understood it, but unless Tracey was talking about their figures, he didn't. Rather than thinking about what Tracey meant though, he figured he'd change the topic lest the witches started cursing one another. Well, not really, but he didn't want Daphne's cookie-cannon spell to show up again.

"Is there anything you lot will want to do once we're back in the common room? We'll have nearly four hours left before curfew," Harry figured that Daphne and Delphini would be fine with talking, but Tracey, he was certain she'd come up with something fun to do.

"That's if we listen to curfew," Daphne said with a shrug before she took a sip of her water. "We could discuss our summer plans, more specifically dates that will work in having each other over. I know you're not one to plan extensively if at all, Harry, but I'd suggest making preparations nonetheless."

"You love using all those big words. Why don't you stop tryna sound fancy and just sound young like the rest of us?" Tracey asked with a huff, her arms folded as she glared at Daphne, that lasted for all of three seconds before the former girl's eyes went wide and she raised a finger, speaking again. "Actually, I heard something a day or three or ten ago."

Daphne yawned, resting her head on her arms and leaning forward onto the table as Tracey started. Harry wasn't all that far behind her either, not with how tired he already felt for some reason. He didn't want to call it the Tracey-effect as Daphne sometimes did, but there was definitely a small portion of him that was tempted.

Maybe she really does have an energy-stealing spell.

"What did you hear, Tracey?" Delphini asked, curious as he looked at the other girl.

"I read the Prophet," Tracey started, those words alone making Daphne's head rise back off the table and Harry's eyes go straight to Tracey on account of that being so rare. "The Minister, Shacklebolt or whatever, he's getting a lot of pressure to go after the people already cleared. It's pretty dumb, especially with some of them having kids in Hogwarts already. If you ask me, everybody should just eat some chocolate, snog someone and move on — you could even snog while eating chocolate."

"I've told you before, Tracey, that's not what a Hershey's kiss is," Daphne said, shaking her head as she glanced at Harry again.

From that point during their meal, Tracey would argue with Daphne over what a Hershey's kiss was while Delphini would continuously wink or make eyes at Harry whenever the word 'kiss' was said. It was certainly an interesting meal as far as he was concerned. Possibly the most interesting one he'd ever had, but like all things, it ended with them back at Hogwarts.


"If I walk through this door, Tracey," Harry prefaced, narrowing his eyes at the girl who still had two hands on her stomach thanks to how much she'd eaten. "Can I expect Fay, Megan, Susan, or anybody else that you've somehow wormed into helping you prank me jump on my back or otherwise distract me?"

Tracey shook her head, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout as she leaned on Daphne's shoulders. "No prank, tired. Carry me… couch?"

"You've eaten so much that you're too lazy to speak now, really?" Daphne asked, stumbling when Tracey leaned a bit too much on the smaller girl.

Harry laughed when Tracey simply sat down once they made it past the two sets of twin doors. It wasn't on a couch, chair or anything else, she simply sat with her back against an ottoman right beside the fire. Those two hands of hers didn't leave her stomach either, so he supposed she fell down into a sitting position if anything.

"That food was wonderful, Harry. I'm grateful that you went through with ordering one of everything, the different dishes were incredibly different when compared to what I'm used to eating," Delphini said as she took up a spot on his left, the girl so close to him that their thighs were touching while she casually snaked an arm behind his head. "As Daphne said earlier, you're the epitome of a gentleman."

"He is," Daphne said, sitting gracefully down on his other side almost as close as Delphini was. "You did a wonderful job avoiding politics too, which is something I'm eternally grateful for. Far too often those discussions end up a bit… tense."

Delphini yawned, resting her head against his shoulder in such a bold way that Daphne blushed for her, he could tell as much now that they were out of the cold. That was the only advantage he felt while indoors, the strong heat from the fire was a bit bothersome when he had two witches squishing him between them. It was normally three too, though Tracey was already snoring in a seated position only a few feet from the fireplace.

"You're very forward, Delphini," Daphne finally said, eyeing the girl up with the same measured look she'd worn earlier.

"How do you mean?" Delphini asked, her head still on Harry's shoulder while her eyes sought out the other girl.

Harry chose that time to speak up. "This is her first time at Hogwarts, so I did sort of expect it," Harry shrugged and looked Daphne in the eyes. "Tracey sa—"

Daphne hushed him by arching one of those perfectly kept brows of hers. That was all he needed to know that he shouldn't continue that sentence. "Tracey gives away more than she should, I'm sure you've noticed that," Daphne said, her blush spreading down her neck despite the mostly-level tone of voice she spoke in. "You mentioned a game earlier, didn't you? Why don't we play snaps? If I remember correctly, it was something you seemed fond of."

Harry nodded a few times, rousing the rapidly dozing Delphini in the process. "I'd be down for that, definitely.

From that point on, Harry could say that evening was the absolute best Daphne and Delphini had got along. They hadn't fought previously, not really, but he could still say that playing together while Tracey enjoyed her food-heavy nap was the most light-hearted he'd ever seen them be.

He loved it, and when a few other housemates walked in to see them playing, naturally joining in when offered, the memory was all the sweeter.


October 18, 1998

Sunday Afternoon

Who wrote to me?

Harry was curious until he found himself alone and in his private room with the letter in his grasp. Nobody had sent the letter directly to him, which was the first red flag that went off in his mind. What followed that was the fact that whoever had written to him hadn't used the typical stamp that Purebloods, Ministry officials or most others used. It was bare, devoid of any identifying marks.

He cast a series of spells on it, all of them coming up as empty as the one before it. That shocked him as much as the lack of identification did, for surely if it were something meant to harm him there'd be a warning from the numerous spells he'd used. Since that wasn't the case, it left him equal parts concerned and curious. Enough so that he closed his door, ensured it was locked and then, he ripped into the letter.

'Dear Harry James Potter,

We have not written to you ever before, nor do we expect to do so ever again. This letter, should it find you, is regarding our daughter. We're aware that you know of her lineage, shall we say, and you're likely as aware as we are of the true portions of it. That knowledge is private, we've fought for that to be the case and will continue to do so regardless of the situation we find ourselves in as the water rises ever closer to our heads.

This is not a warning, threat or anything of that likeness. We, two parental figures who have come to be very close to our daughter, would very much like for all personal matters to be kept as exactly that. Anything that you request of us, should you want something in the first place, is within your reach. Reply to this letter one way or the other so that we may know what to expect, that kindness is deserving for Delphini if not for ourselves. She speaks fondly of you, far more so than any others have with letters sent to their parents from Hogwarts within our camp.

Lord and Lady Rosier,

Yes, the titles still matter to us'

Harry snorted when he set down the letter, that snort then turning into full-blown laughter at their words. He was right, the Purebloods still put far too much stock into their titles and while normally he didn't care, the fact that they'd done it even while all but begging him to keep Delphini's secret was very amusing.

When that amusement left him and he reread the letter, he was struck by just how true their words seemed. He had expected threats, warnings, trades, anything once he'd put together who it was that'd written to him. The fact that none of those things were present and the two seemed so willing to work with him… the meaning of their words and actions weren't lost on him. Nor was the fact that Delphini had written to them regarding him. He briefly wondered what she'd said, how positive it'd been, but he shook his head as he started going off on a tangent.

None of that really mattered to him. Delphini was flirtatious and awkward, polite and unique, most of all she had come to grow on him as the other two Slytherin girls had. Even the conversation he'd had with her when they'd spoken about her parents, she'd seemed sincere and worried about how that'd change his perception of her more than anything else.

It was weird, but at the same time, all of those combined made him think she was strangely genuine. Harry would have to talk to Delphini again, he knew that, but tonight he was needed elsewhere. Kingsley, the Ministry as a whole, they needed to be told that what they were doing was wrong and if it had to be by him, then he'd do it. He didn't care if that'd make a few people hate him, enough already did on account of him killing Voldemort.

Harry snickered at the thought of anybody else trying to pick a fight with him. It was a darker thought than most that he had, and while the nightmares of the battle had left him, there'd undoubtedly been a change within his person. One that enjoyed the occasional dark humour and weird nature that'd grown within him.

With one last shake of his head, Harry made it over to his door and opened it, seeing Neville across the hall only barely closing his door. Normally, Harry would have called out to his friend, exchange a few words, but he was pressed for time as it was. McGonagall had taken a bit to convince and beyond that, he had needed to wait for a time where Kingsley would be free indefinitely. Coordinating that with Andromeda had taken far longer than he had hoped, but at least it eventually worked.

That was more than he'd hoped, really.


"Harry?" Daphne asked as he just barely made his way out of the farther set of twin doors. "Where are you headed in such a hurry? Is everything fine?"

He turned to smile at her in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "Yeah, I'm all good. I'm actually off to the Ministry, I have to be quick but it's regarding that Prophet from a couple of weeks ago. Tracey or Delphini will remember the one if you don't — I'll be back for dinner tonight, see you then?"

"See you then," Daphne said, a look of understanding and surprisingly, gratitude, flashing across her face as he raced away.

I wonder if she has… that's a stupid thing to wonder, she definitely has family involved. All of the Purebloods are related, so no doubt a few of them are close to her.

If he weren't in such a big hurry, he would've stopped and laughed at himself. Especially after having such a stupid train of thought. The next thirty minutes would then go by in a blur as Harry raced through the halls of Hogwarts, through McGonagall's office, into the floo and out of it, through the newly made Ministry until finally, he was at Kingsley's office. Dozens of people at the Ministry had tried to stop him for a conversation here or autograph there, but he told them he'd catch up later.

The window was small enough that despite feeling like a complete and utter arse to those people, it was worth it in the hopes that he could accomplish something in the limited time he had with Kingsley. He had promised himself that he'd see the wizarding world of Great Britain at peace, and he'd damn himself if he didn't try — the nightmares, those that he'd escaped while at Hogwarts, they'd probably come back to him if he failed.

"Harry," Kingsley said, smiling widely despite the stressed look he'd had when Harry initially entered the man's office. "It's good to see you, please take a seat and make yourself comfortable. When I heard you were on my schedule today, I made sure to clear a good few hours — you have style just like he did, especially with the way you worded that request."

Dumbledore has style… truer words could never be spoken.

"I'm sorry about that. It was urgent, I'm sure that shows since I'm here instead of at Hogwarts for my final year… it's good to see you too, Kingsley, really," Harry said, managing a half-smile as he leaned forward and shook the larger man's hand.

"Don't worry about your wording or anything like that. I know why you're here, I agree with you, but I can't do anything. My grasp on power, it's too weak right no—" Kingsley raised his hands when Harry looked as if he were about ready to speak, his smile growing. "Wait, my friend, wait. What I was getting to was the part that made me truly look forward to your visit. Together, you and I, I'm sure we can work out a plan to ensure these show trials don't go forwards."

"You're against them too? Really against them?" Harry asked, reclining in his chair as he watched Kingsley with a reserved look on his face; it wasn't that he didn't trust the man, but letting them proceed would earn him a lot of new friends and some great political capital.

"Dumbledore was a good man. He knew when enough was enough and his enemies respected him more than most," Kingsley said as he nodded, looking at a portrait of the man on his wall. "I would do right by him, the same as you. We can do that together, the boy-who-lived turned man-who-won and an old, stressed out Minister, can't we?"

Harry smiled, genuinely smiled and then he chuckled as he shook Kingsley's hand again. "We can," Harry agreed. "We can stop all this division and once I'm done at Hogwarts, I'll go wherever you need me. I just want a peaceful, happy life for all of us. If we can't do it, I don't think anybody can."

Kingsley smiled in such a way that he looked just as tired as Dumbledore always had. It was sad to say, especially with how kind the man was, but he looked so much older than he had only a year ago.

That didn't matter, though. It didn't matter as the two started their planning, it didn't matter as the hours dragged on and coffee was brought to them by Kingsley's secretary, and it didn't matter when Harry made his leave with a return date for the following week; the trials were stalled, the plan was partially created and Harry… Harry was tired, but happy.

When he returned this very evening to those Slytherin friends of his, to Neville and Luna, to Susan and Fay, his happiness would only thrive.