The Choices We Make
25th December 1994
Twenty minutes later…
As they were engrossed in snogging each other, also letting their hands wander over each other's bodies, they were surprised when the carriage door was wrenched open by a man revealed to be the ageing DADA Professor (and retired Auror) Michael Samuelson, with his "Lumos Charm" illuminated wand shining in their faces.
Seeing the disturbance to their heated make-out session as their cue to get out of the carriage, Harry and Daphne quickly scrambled out into the courtyard, moving back towards the Great Hall with Professor Samuelson's voice calling out to them as they retreated.
"Five points from Ravenclaw Potter… and five from Slytherin too Greengrass!"
As they arrived back in the foyer leading to the Great Hall, Harry and Daphne took a few seconds to catch their breath, laughing as they did so.
Unfortunately, their laughter was silenced as two voices started to be heard from near the doors.
"Don't touch me like that Ron!" shouted Evelyn, slapping him hard before quickly walking back into the Great Hall, obviously enraged at something Ron had said or done to her.
Harry sighed and pecked Daphne on the lips.
"Be a minute Daph" said Harry.
"Go on… go do the whole big brother thing" said Daphne softly.
With that, Harry walked over to Ron who scowled and turned to walk back towards the stairs, probably fearing a confrontation with the older brother of the girl he had a major crush on.
It was not hard to work out what Ron had done, given that he had been jealous of the fact that Evelyn had gone to the Ball with Cedric Diggory and had no doubt acted out in his jealousy, probably getting a bit too hands-on with Evelyn who did not have the same feelings as him.
Out of all of his sister's friends, the only one Harry was not fond of was Ron Weasley, feeling like he was only hanging around his sister because he wanted them to be something that she clearly did not want.
Even Hermione Granger, whose only crime was letting her jealousy at being outperformed in lessons affect her small friendship with Evelyn was not that bad in Harry's eyes.
"Weasley!" Harry called out.
Safe to say, Ron Weasley looked scared to death when he turned to see Harry walking towards him.
"What do you want Potter?" said Ron defensively.
Harry grabbed hold of him and pushed him up against the wall.
"If you ever, do anything like that to my sister again… I'll put you in the Hospital Wing for a week, understand?" said Harry in a deadly tone of voice.
Ron quickly nodded, clearly understanding how grave Harry's threat was.
"Now piss off… and don't make me have to come and find you because you upset my sister again" said Harry icily.
Knowing that the Fourth Year Gryffindor had clearly gotten the message, Harry let go of him, watching as he quickly ran towards the stairs.
Once he was gone, Harry sighed and walked back towards Daphne who took his hand and kissed him.
"Your sister is very lucky… to have someone like you looking out for her, I wish I had an older brother like you when I was younger" said Daphne, a hint of sadness in her words.
Harry kissed her softly and pulled her close to him.
"True… but you have five fantastic friends who would have your back in any situation… and a boyfriend who thinks the world of you" said Harry softly.
Daphne smiled and pressed her head against his chest.
"Even if we weren't together Harry… I'd still say you're one of the nicest, most honest people I have ever known, you make me feel like a strong, confident young woman… when others make me feel like anything but that" said Daphne softly.
Harry smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Don't get upset Princess… this is going to be a night we'll be thinking about for years, I'd hate to see you upset" said Harry softly.
Daphne looked up at him with the most loving smile on her face.
"Nothing… nothing will upset me tonight Harry, as for this being a night I will be thinking about for years… it certainly will be… because we made it a night to remember" said Daphne softly.
Harry smiled and let her take his arm.
"Then we have the rest of the night to enjoy… and I have a beautiful girl on my arm who is owed another dance or two" said Harry softly.
As they walked back into the Great Hall, Harry was slightly stunned when he saw Evelyn give Cedric Diggory a quick peck on the lips before taking a few steps towards Dudley and Leanne Rosewood, with the two having come over to her to make sure she was alright.
Little did Harry know, that his sister had been dating the Hogwarts Tri-Wizard Champion since the first week of December, having grown close to him over their mutual interest in Quidditch.
For Evelyn, Cedric asking her to the ball quickly turned into him asking her out, with Evelyn saying yes almost straight away.
Seeing that Evelyn still looked upset about what had happened with Ron, Harry sighed and turned to Daphne.
"I'll be back in a minute Daph" said Harry softly.
Daphne smiled and traced her hand on his chest, toying with his outer robe.
"Take all the time you need… I'll go and find the others" said Daphne softly, understanding that Evelyn needed Harry more than she did at this moment.
Harry squeezed her hand in gratitude before walking towards where Evelyn was being comforted by Dudley and Leanne.
Looking up as he approached her, Evelyn had never looked more relieved and happy to see her older brother than she did now.
"He blew it way out of proportion Harry… but I'm fine now… and I'm sure he'll come crawling back with an apology in a few days" said Evelyn.
Harry sighed and gave her a hug.
"It better be a damn good apology… or I'll take care of him myself" said Harry seriously.
Evelyn sighed.
"I can handle Ron, Harry… you can leave him be" said Evelyn sternly.
Harry sighed, knowing that even though he thought his sister needed him, he knew she could take care of herself and deal with Ron on her own.
Knowing that Evelyn was her own person and did not always need him to look after her, Harry was relieved that the whole incident with Ron had not ruined her night in the slightest.
1st July 1995
"What a year, eh?" said Harry softly, pressing his chin to the top of Daphne's head as they relaxed against the compartment window on their return journey from Hogsmeade to Kings Cross Station.
Finally getting together with Daphne was not the only reason why Harry enjoyed this last school year better than the others. But the Tri-Wizard Tournament as a whole had been a rather enjoyable affair, with Hogwarts Champion Cedric Diggory winning the tournament three weeks ago, resulting in plenty of celebrations and the occasional party throughout the castle ever since.
It was just a shame that the school year was over, given how much fun everyone seemed to be having following a Tri-Wizard victory for Hogwarts.
Having left their friends for a short while in order to find an empty compartment for some alone time, Daphne knew that she would have to say her goodbyes to Harry on the train as opposed to the busy Platform Nine and Three Quarters, not wanting to cause trouble for Harry with her Family, should they see her giving him the goodbye she wanted to give him on the platform.
Understanding but not necessarily agreeing with the situation, Harry was taking every chance he had to make sure she was happy and would not go back to her cold, unloving home at Greengrass Manor in anything but a good, happy mood.
"What a year… at least this time, I get to go home in a better mood than usual… because I know all I have to do is wait for your owl… and your words will always make me feel better no matter what" said Daphne softly, taking his hand and squeezing it.
Harry smiled and laced their fingers together.
"I wish I could come and see you, or bring you to Potter Manor… but the last thing I want is to see you get hurt by your family because of me" said Harry softly.
Daphne tilted her head up to kiss him.
"Always a total sweetheart when it comes to me… I suppose I should be used to it by now" said Daphne with a teasing but soft voice.
As she kissed him again, Harry slid his hand around to her hip.
"Just as long as you're safe" said Harry softly.
Daphne smiled and squeezed his hand.
"Come this time next year… I'll be out of there Harry, my grandparents left me enough money to make myself financially stable for a good few years so it won't be too hard to find somewhere to live" said Daphne softly, referring to how she received an inheritance of forty thousand Galleons from her late Grandparents Theseus and Ophelia Greengrass who died when she was twelve.
Like her trust vault, Daphne had taken every step to ensure that no one, besides herself, had access to any of the money she had been left in her own personal vault (set up by her Grandmother), planning to use every galleon, sickle and knut she had to help build her life after she turned seventeen, not to mention that money would soon disappear if her stepmother got her hands on it.
Of course, her being so independent made Harry extremely proud of her, even if he felt slightly concerned about her wanting to leave home as soon as she was able to do so.
"Well… should it come to that, you'll always be welcome at Potter Manor… my Mum and Dad would love to meet you" said Harry softly.
Daphne smiled and snuggled back into his chest.
"Do they know about us?" said Daphne.
Harry nodded.
"They will when Evelyn spills the beans to them… but I think they know that I've had my eye on you for some time now, they didn't know it was you of course… but they knew I liked someone and they didn't try to hide the fact that they knew, I haven't told them anything about your home life though… I promise" said Harry sincerely.
Daphne smiled and laced their fingers.
"Thank you… I know how hard this must be for you but thank you" said Daphne softly.
"Anything for you, Princess" said Harry softly.
Daphne smiled and closed her eyes in pure delight and happiness.
"Call me Princess again" said Daphne softly.
Harry tilted his head down to kiss her.
"My Princess has a heart of gold" said Harry softly.
Daphne sighed with happiness and leaned her head back against his shoulder, closing her eyes as he brought his free hand up to her head, gently tucking some stray blonde hairs behind her ear.
Had they not been so engrossed in each other, they would have spotted the person stood outside their compartment, looking through the compartment door window at them with a sneer on their face.
The person in question happened to be the 13-year-old, long dark brown-haired Astoria Greengrass, which would spell trouble for Daphne very soon.
As Astoria moved along the carriage, Daphne smiled, though she might not have been smiling if she realised that they had been seen by Astoria.
"You can still take me to Diagon Alley… maybe a nice lunch date every now and then" said Daphne softly.
Harry kissed her neck making her smile and close her eyes.
"You know… that new restaurant in Diagon Alley opened in January, maybe we should try it one day" said Harry softly.
Daphne tilted her hand back into his shoulder.
"The Emerald Garden… that's supposed to be a high end place, fancy and expensive… sounds like you want to spoil me rotten" said Daphne teasingly.
Harry kissed the side of her head, her ear and her cheek.
"Who said we won't be splitting the bill" said Harry.
Sharing a chuckle, the two stayed in their own compartment for the next half an hour or so before they finally rejoined their friends four compartments down.
8th July 1995
Daphne wiped tears from her eyes, seated on the edge of the bed in the room she had rented in the Leaky Cauldron (having spent the last two nights here), waiting anxiously for Harry to arrive, having sent him a letter at around nine o'clock this morning informing him that she was here and that she desperately needed to see him.
Knowing that he would not receive the message until late this morning at the earliest, Daphne had refused to leave the Leaky Cauldron for fear of missing him when he arrived looking for her.
Five days after returning to Greengrass Manor for the summer holidays, at a time when she should have been happy at her relationship with Harry and eagerly awaiting the arrival of her Owl results, her situation went from bad to worse when Astoria told her Father Ambrose Greengrass about her relationship with Harry.
A relationship that he took great offence to, demanding that Daphne end it immediately, ranting on about how the Potter's were blood traitors and that Harry was the son of a filthy Mudblood and thus had no business whatsoever in dating Daphne.
When Daphne fired back, defending Harry against her Father and insisting that she did not care if he was a half-blood, insisting that he made her happier than she has ever been, Ambrose Greengrass had finally reached breaking point.
6th July 1995
"If you want to whore yourself out to a filthy blood traitor like Potter then you can get out of this house… get out!" roared the tall, 40-year-old, short black haired Lord Ambrose Greengrass.
Daphne, who was holding back tears at this point, had finally had enough of the cold, unloving house she had grown up in.
Though she never wanted to be put in a situation where she would be forced to choose between her family and Harry, she would pick Harry any day of the week, knowing that he would come to her aid without hesitation and would spend every waking minute making sure that she was happy and felt loved.
What was sad to Daphne, was that her boyfriend treated her like a queen and worshipped the ground she walked on while her own family treated her like dirt on their walls.
"I hate you, it should have been you who died instead of Mother… you cold, hateful bastard, I wish you were dead!" screamed Daphne, not bothering to wipe the tears in her eyes.
As she turned to leave his study in a hurry, ready to pack her things and finally leave Greengrass Manor for good, Daphne felt her heart break even more when she heard her Father shout one last insult at her.
"And don't you dare come crawling back here, begging for forgiveness when Potter tosses you aside like a piece of trash… a filthy blood traitor like him will throw you out as soon as he's done with you… you chose him over us, so live with it!"
Running out of his study in tears, ignoring the spiteful looks on the faces of Octavia, Astoria and Gaius Greengrass as she passed them in the hallway, Daphne ran back to her room and quickly threw most of her things into her school trunk, making sure she had her vault keys with her before she left.
That was two days ago, not telling Harry or any of their friends where she was or what had happened to her, wanting time to herself first before she would finally let someone know what had happened.
Glancing at the trunk and owl cage (minus her Tawny Owl which had delivered her letter to Harry), Daphne found herself wishing that Harry would show up soon.
After what felt like hours of silent waiting, Daphne finally heard a knock on the door, moving towards it with her wand drawn, ready to defend herself if necessary.
As she slowly started to open the door, she felt a wave of relief wash over her as she laid eyes on Harry, who was looking at her with a worried look on his face.
Daphne lowered her wand and immediately flung her arms around him, letting her tears fall on his shoulder as she pulled him into her room, letting Harry close the door behind them.
As they sat down on her bed, Harry held Daphne tightly as she cried in his arms, no doubt relieved to see him in her most desperate hour.
"I came as soon as I could" said Harry in a soothing voice, kissing her forehead and holding her tight.
Daphne pressed herself tight against him, seeking comfort and warmth.
"I hate them… I hate them Harry, they made me choose between you and them" said Daphne sadly.
Harry kissed her forehead.
"I know… they're horrible people and one day, they'll get what's coming to them… people like them always get what's coming to them" said Harry.
Daphne wiped her tears away and looked down at her lap.
"Two days… two days I've been here… trying to work out why they hated me so much" said Daphne sadly.
Feeling him tense up against her, Daphne thought that he was going to be angry with her for not coming to him sooner.
As she was thinking of ways to explain herself, she felt him lift her up onto his lap and gently kiss her.
"I'm here now Princess… I'm not going anywhere, I promise… I'm here for you" said Harry softly, giving her another gentle kiss.
Daphne pressed her forehead against his with a sad smile on her face.
"You're not angry?" said Daphne softly, slightly puzzled that he was not angry or upset for not telling him about this sooner.
Harry took her hand and placed it against his chest, directly over his heart.
"A little bit upset that you didn't come to me sooner… but that doesn't matter now, you needed some time to yourself and I have no right to deny you that" said Harry softly.
Daphne wrapped her free arm around his back and pressed herself into his chest as he wiped the last of her tears away.
"I love you Daphne" said Harry softly.
Daphne felt tears of happiness welling up in her eyes as she kissed him softly.
"I love you too Harry… and despite how it all went down with my family, I would not change the choice I made… I love you… and I will always choose you over them" said Daphne softly.
Yes, that might sound sad to people outside of Daphne's circle of friends but she would not change her mind, knowing that she was happier with Harry than she ever was with her family.
Holding her close to him, Harry gave her quite a few gentle kisses, as though he was trying to show her how much he loved her.
"Shall we go home?" said Harry softly.
"Home?" said Daphne, raising her eyebrow with a small smile on her face.
Harry turned slightly red.
"Yeah… if you want to come and live with me I mean, unless you want to go to Tracey's or Emily's or-" said Harry nervously before Daphne placed her finger on his lips, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Daphne smiled and squeezed his hand.
"You really want this… you want me to come and live with you?" said Daphne softly, cheeks reddening as she thought about everything that could happen if she and Harry were living together.
With the colour of his cheeks matching her own, Harry nodded nervously.
"Yeah… if you want to that is… it's okay if you don't want to" said Harry nervously.
Daphne kissed him for a good few seconds before looking into his eyes.
"I chose you Harry… and I would be happy to come and live with you, as long as your parents don't object" said Daphne, equally as nervous as him.
Harry squeezed her hand.
"They will be more than happy for you to come and live with us, I promise" said Harry softly.
Feeling at ease, Daphne let him pull her to her feet, letting him get her trunk while she picked up her empty owl cage.
Taking his hand when she was finally ready to leave, Daphne looked up at him with a loving smile.
"Ready?" said Harry.
Daphne nodded and the two walked towards the door hand in hand.
Later that evening…
"I love her Dad… and yes, it did upset me to find out that she had been staying at the Leaky Cauldron for two days and not tell me or any of our friends about what had happened" said Harry in a serious tone of voice.
"But you knew that she needed some space?" said James testily, with the 35-year-old Wizard sat opposite Harry in the large sitting room at Potter Manor.
Given that his parents had been round at the Tonks' all day, helping Ted and Andromeda Tonks with some of the preparations for their Daughter Nymphadora's wedding to Bill Weasley (which would take place in mid-August at the Weasley Family's home named "The Burrow"), Harry had been alone in the house all morning, with Evelyn choosing to spend a few days at Susan's along with Amanda Black.
As such, when James and Lily finally returned little over half an hour ago, they had been surprised to find Harry and Daphne on one of the settees, cuddling and whispering sweet words to each other.
After hearing the story from Daphne (who had tears in her eyes and clutched Harry's hand as she told James and Lily about how and why she had left home), Lily had wasted no time in having a room made up for her, telling her that she is welcome to stay in their home for as long as she wanted.
Once Lily had taken Daphne upstairs to show her to her room (with dinner due to be ready in an hour), James had pulled Harry to one side for a private conversation.
"I know… I knew she needed her space so I wasn't angry with her, I was just a bit upset that she didn't get in touch sooner… I love her, Dad… and I want her to be safe and happy" said Harry seriously.
James smiled before standing up, walking towards Harry to clap a hand on his shoulder.
"I can see why… she seems like a lovely young lady, a bloody gorgeous one too… we're both very proud of you Harry, your Mum and me both" said James kindly.
Harry nodded before standing up and hugging his dad tightly, with this being one of the most loving, familial moments shared by the two.
"Thanks Dad" said Harry softly.
James gave Harry a squeeze before letting go of him.
"You're welcome… and if your mum asks what I said to you, tell her that I said no sex in the house… not until you're both seventeen and can cast Silencing Charms" said James cheekily.
Embarrassed by his father's words, Harry quickly left him, unable to stop himself from thinking more intimate thoughts about Daphne.
Thoughts that he was not sure that she was thinking about as well.
10th July 1995
Walking through the polished oak door into her new bedroom at Potter Manor, Daphne felt the atmospheric warmth of the room enveloping her, with the last two days she had spent in this room making her feel more at home than she had ever felt at Greengrass Manor or even her dormitory at Hogwarts, with the fact that the Slytherin dormitory was in the dungeons making it quite a dark and slightly cold place to live.
With the muggle electric lightbulbs (thanks to some clever work with various runes by Lily) adding to the light provided by the large window, the room was rather warm and pleasant to sleep in (along with a door leading to her own private bathroom), decorated with a large king size bed, oak wardrobe and matching chest of drawers, a large floor length mirror, oak desk and a large vanity (placed in the room by Lily), with the room accommodating to every need that Daphne would have.
Making the room her own, Daphne had added her own touches to the room, with her Tawny Owl named "Ambrosia" perched in her cage on a small table near her window, and her treasured jewellery box (a gift from her Grandmother) sat proudly on her vanity, joined by several pictures of her friends and Harry, with her favourite photo being the one where Harry treated her to a picnic under a large oak tree the day before they finished Hogwarts.
Walking over to the chest of drawers, Daphne got a towel and some swimwear for herself, ready to spend this hot, sunny day relaxing around the pool in the Potter's backyard with Harry.