38

"There is a prophecy…"

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Remus grabbed Harry before the latter could fall face-first on the ground. The two had apparated in the empty alley across the street from Gringotts. Seeing the color on his face the lycanthrope let him go and Harry quickly hunched over the nearby bin to vomit everything that he had eaten at breakfast.

"I have to say, you did pretty well for your first apparition," Remus said sounding proud.

Harry knew that his former defense professor was right. Apparition was technically moving between the air space at a very fast speed. That was the technical or rather the non-magical explanation for it which is probably why it was common for first-timers to lose a limb or worse – and in rare cases – their head, if they weren't careful enough. Harry was grateful that he hadn't apparated alone, and was with Remus, as he was sure to mess it up if he had done it himself.

"You'll get better at it," Remus said. "Now, shall we?"

Harry used his wand to clean some of the vomit that had splattered on his clothes before nodding. The two left the alley, heading for Gringotts when Remus stopped and told Harry to put his hood up. "We don't want any unwanted attention, especially after Dumbledore's announcement of Voldemort's return, you know?" he said.

Harry couldn't agree more as he followed Remus' advice and put on his robe's hood as they entered the building. They headed for the least crowded tellers' counter and joined the line. When their turn came Remus put his hand on Harry's shoulder and made him stand beside him before clearing his throat to get the attention of the goblin who was sitting at the counter.

"Mr Harry Potter would like to get control of his family vault," the lycanthrope said.

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Dumbledore apparated outside the ministry building. The fact that his personal floo, which connected his offices at Hogwarts and the ministry, wasn't working had him annoyed. He knew that it was Cornelius' doing. The man was out to get him ever since Dumbledore had announced Voldemort's return.

The guard at the entrance looked at him in surprise as Dumbledore walked into the building. While he was itching to confront Fudge about the blocking of his floo the Hogwarts headmaster had another matter to attend to first. Ignoring all the eyes that followed him the old wizard stepped into the elevator that was reserved for to be used only by the senior officials of the ministry, something which Dumbledore was.

He had told his secretary to inform him if Augusta Longbottom ever came to the ministry. That day was today and Dumbledore wanted to see if he could collect some much needed information from her about her alliance with the Greengrasses and hopefully that will give him some clue as to if Harry was with the latter's family, seeing he couldn't directly ask her about the boy's whereabouts without arousing suspicion.

He left the elevator as it arrived at the level where the Wizengamot courtroom was and luckily found Augusta in the corridor talking to a ministry official. As soon as she noticed Dumbledore though, her demeanor changed. She said something to the person she was talking to who then left before Augusta turned to look at Dumbledore properly. She didn't say anything though, as she wanted to see what the old wizard wanted to talk to her about.

"Augusta, what a pleasant surprise," Dumbledore said smiling as if he wasn't aware that he would be meeting her there. "I wasn't expecting to see you here…"

"I've known you for decades now, Dumbledore," Augusta said interrupting him. "I know nothing with you is a coincidence. You are here to see me so why don't you just get straight to the point?"

He sighed. "I suppose you have an idea then as to why I am here today," he said. Augusta said nothing. She just kept glaring at him. "It is regarding your alliance with the Greengrass family. Are you sure that allying yourself with a dark family…"

"Neutral family," she said before he could finish. "The Greengrasses are a neutral family. They've always been one for generations. Besides, what two families do together shouldn't be anyone else's concern, especially the Chief Warlock. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go."

And with that she walked past him. Dumbledore turned to look at her. He knew he wouldn't be able to get anything from the Longbottom matriarch but he still had to try. He could ask her again but that would only make things worse for him. Augusta was a formidable woman who had only grown colder following what happened to her son and daughter-in-law and she blamed the entirety of it on Dumbledore, hence the reason why she resented him.

It seemed that he would have to come up with another plan to know the reason behind her alliance with the Greengrass family, Dumbledore thought. Rumors would only tell him so much and he didn't believe in them anyway. He hated that his trip to the ministry had been a waste of time when he saw Fudge's picture hanging in the corridor. It seemed it was time to meet the minister of magic and Dumbledore had no intention of sparing him anything. He would have the man see where he truly belonged.

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The fireplace flared green as Harry and Remus stepped out of it. Sirius was in the living hall talking to Matt as he looked at the two before noticing the look on Harry's face. He then looked at Remus for an explanation and the lycanthrope only smirked.

"He's still shocked about how wealthy he actually is," Remus said as he put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "That and the political responsibilities that come with being the head of house Potter."

"Get used to it, pup," Sirius said grinning as he stood up and walked over to them. "Don't worry though. I'll teach you everything you need to know about magical politics."

"You?" Remus said sounding amused. "Have you ever sat in any of the Wizengamot meetings? Besides, when we were in Hogwarts I remembered you saying that you wanted nothing to do with politics even if by some miracle you became the head of your family. Besides, you are still a fugitive."

Sirius made a face before Matt spoke from behind. "Don't worry, it's not that difficult to learn," he said. "Besides, it would be better if you don't let the politics swallow you, Harry. It's a dirty business, if anything. That is why you should have a proxy who would accompany you to the Wizengamot meetings. Have you decided on who that will be?"

"No, I haven't," Harry said shaking his head. "Can't you be my proxy?"

"A house head cannot serve as proxy to another house, even if they are allies," Matt said. "It has to be someone who is either related to you by blood or someone who isn't a member of the Wizengamot."

"Then you be my proxy," Harry said looking at Remus who was definitely surprised by it.

"I don't know, Harry," he said sounding unsure.

"Why not?" Sirius said. "You're the smartest person I know, well, besides Lily. You know everything about magical law. Besides, Harry trusts you."

"But I am a werewolf," Remus sought to reason.

"If anyone has a problem with it then they will be speaking to me," Harry said. "I want you to be my proxy, Remus."

He thought about it for a moment before finally nodding. "Alright," Remus said causing Harry to smile. "So, what now?"

"Now we push for the trial," Matt said. "We have four major houses and two of Lady Longbottom's allied houses making a total of six Wizengamot members. That is enough to push for a motion or a trial."

Sirius smiled with pressed lips. It was clear that he was trying to suppress his emotions which everyone in the living hall could see. Harry hugged his godfather just as the man broke a silent tear.

"Thank you," Sirius whispered into Harry's ear who only nodded.

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Daphne stood outside the room where Harry was staying. It was late at night and everyone was asleep so she wondered if Harry was, too. She didn't want to wake him up. Today had been a long day for him since he had taken the lordship of his house along with the emancipation. It was one hectic process from what she was told by her father and Harry looked like he had not expected the many responsibilities that came with it.

Suddenly the door opened and Daphne looked straight into Harry's eyes. He was definitely surprised to see her there.

"Daphne," he said. He didn't sound like he was sleeping so she was a bit relieved that she hadn't disturbed him. As for Harry, he wondered what she was doing there at such a late hour. It was past eleven at night and everyone was sleeping…except for him and Daphne. "Is everything alright?" he asked sounding worried.

"Were you asleep?" she asked slowly.

"No," Harry said with an equally low tone. "To be honest, today was a lot for me. Who knew that taking over the lordship of your house could be so much work?" he said with a light chuckle. "Would you like to come in?"

Daphne felt her face flush as she slowly nodded. Harry stepped aside to let her in. His stomach felt funny as he closed the door behind her. His heart was also beating faster. He slowly turned to face her. She had her head down, her eyes looking at the floor. Harry's hand moved on its own and he softly held her chin before making her look at him. Their eyes met as he realized how close they were standing to each other. He could feel her breath on his face. He began to feel hot as he saw Daphne's face come closer to his and the next moment their lips met softly and Harry was lost in the feeling of comfortable bliss.

For Daphne, it was the same feeling combined with relief. After knowing about how he had been plagued by the same nightmare for over a year now she wanted to see if Harry was doing alright, which is why she had come to his room to check up on him.

They stood there kissing each other for a few seconds before Daphne slowly pulled him towards the bed. Harry looked surprised but said nothing as they slowly lay down. She then broke the kiss and looked at his flustered face as Harry breathed a little hard before smiling at her. Daphne smiled back before wrapping her hands around his neck and her legs around his waist. She then pulled him closer and kissed him harder.

For Harry this was all very new so he simply surrendered himself to her as he was pleasantly lost in the blissful moment. While a part of him was confused as to why Daphne was doing this he decided not to think too much about it and just enjoy the moment.

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Harry woke up to the sound of faint, rhythmic breathing and the feeling of something soft on his face as he opened his eyes to find Daphne's blond locks in front of him. Some of them were on his face. She had her back against him and his hand was around her waist hugging her close from behind. Harry could feel her breath on his hand which told him that she was still asleep when suddenly a feeling of dread got to him as he wondered if the two of them would be caught by Daphne's parents. He began to panic before slowly pulling his hand from under her but then he felt her shift slightly before a soft moan – which sounded mildly annoyed – escaped her mouth. Harry became still as he wondered whether he had awakened her when she slowly turned around and looked at him with her eyes half closed and smiled.

"Good morning," Daphne said before kissing him on the lips which was then followed by a hug. Harry smiled; enjoying the embrace as she once again wrapped her legs around his waist like last night in order to be as physically close to him as possible. Perhaps it was a good thing that they were under the blanket for anyone to see what they were doing, if they were caught that is.

And then it happened – being a teenager and waking up with a beautiful girl hugging him close – as Harry felt it rise between his legs and didn't miss the look of realization on Daphne's face who had definitely felt it. Drowned in the feeling of shame his hips moved back instinctively which caused Harry to lose his balance and fall off the bed as he was lying almost on the edge of it. Daphne couldn't help but laugh while he sat on the floor with his one leg wrapped in the blanket.

"You know, any other boy would've jumped to that chance," she said a minute later as she caught her breath. Harry's face reddened in embarrassment. He didn't know how to respond to that so he kept quiet. Daphne crawled over so she could reach him as she ruffled his hair. "You should cut them," she said. "You look better in short hair."

"I didn't know you noticed," he said sounding mildly surprised.

"Well, it's not like you were invisible before," Daphne said. "Also, why do you still wear glasses? You do know you are the only student at Hogwarts who wears them, right?" The look on Harry's face made her roll her eyes. "Seriously?"

"I…I didn't notice it until now," he said.

"This is the magical world, Harry," she said. "A blind person can get his eyesight back in a matter of minutes. Your eyesight is only easier to fix."

Harry couldn't believe that he had never thought about it before. Maybe because he had been wearing glasses since a very young age it had become a part of him. However, he had to admit that it was a hassle to keep them from breaking from time to time. He wasn't great at keeping them clean either and relied on nothing but cleaning charms to keep them smudge-free. So the sound of losing them altogether for better eyesight was tempting. However, it was then that a thought crossed his mind.

"Why do some faculties wear them though?" he asked.

"It's really a choice I think," Daphne said as she sat up on the bed and straightened her hair before tying it in ponytail style. "Personally, I think that people wear glasses just because it makes them look better…or smarter amongst the rest."

"Does it make me look better?" Harry asked.

Daphne looked at him for a moment before speaking. "It's a crime for you to hide your beautiful eyes behind those smudged glasses," she said. "Lose them. I'm sure mum has some oculus potion lying around in her lab." She then looked at the time and quickly got up. "I have to go," she said. "It'll be bad if we are caught like this. I think you know what anyone will assume."

Harry nodded while chuckling as Daphne kissed him on the cheek before she left the room. He stood up from the floor and walked into the bathroom. There he looked himself in the mirror with and without his glasses. Daphne was right about telling him to lose them. While he didn't care about how he looked without them Harry knew that his glasses had and would be a hassle especially in a duel. He had had enough experience with it while practicing dueling with Matt and Sirius. They would often come off when he was moving fast or simply fog up because of him sweating.

When he came out of the bathroom Harry found a house elf in the room. He didn't recognize what her name was as the Greengrasses had quite a few house elves working for them. While he didn't know how to exactly feel about it he was at least relieved that they all looked happy and healthy. Not to mention they all wore clean clothes. It was uncommon to see house elves like that, from what Dobby had told him.

The house elf introduced herself as Polly before she informed Harry that breakfast was ready. Thinking not to show up late he changed out of his pajamas before heading downstairs. Everyone was already in the living hall except for Astoria who had a penchant for waking up late. Daphne called her the princess of the family.

"Good morning, Harry," Matt said seeing him come down. Harry nodded as he took a seat beside Sirius whose plate was already close to being empty when the man was given another serving by the house elf. Harry felt embarrassed by his godfather's actions but it seemed no one else cared about it. Remus wasn't there like all times. He came at around noon to help Harry with his charms and runes.

As he was about to start eating he paused and looked at Daphne. At first she looked confused before realizing what Harry was thinking which made her expression turn into that of a worry. She slowly shook her head when Sirius saw their silent expressional exchange and smirked.

"You two did it, didn't you?" the man said causing Harry to almost choke on his food while Daphne's face became red. Ann and Matt looked around wondering what was going on before the former realized what Sirius meant as a horrified look came on her face. She looked at Daphne who quickly shook her head.

"What is it?" Matt asked looking at Sirius who only grinned in response when Harry stomped on his godfather's foot under the table.

"Oww!" Sirius winced before looking at Harry who looked like he would murder him.

Harry then saw Daphne's predicament over her mother looking at her for an explanation so he intervened. "Ann, Matt, there is something I have to tell you two," he said. While Matt looked at him questioningly Ann had a 'you better tell me what you two did' look on her face before it changed when she saw the serious look on Harry's face.

He glanced at Daphne and could tell that she was worried. He was too but he couldn't keep such a thing from her parents. Harry took in a long breath and sighed before taking a sip of water.

"There is a prophecy…" he began.

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Thanks for reading…

A/N: To those wondering, no. Harry and Daphne did not have sex. They only kissed and cuddled before going to sleep… They're under-aged for crying out loud!