The Choices We Make
16th August 1995
Clutching a flute of sparkling champagne in her hands, Daphne weaved through the guests at the noisy, crowded wedding reception, which had been in full swing for the last two hours now.
It was on the grounds of the Burrow (ancestral home of the Weasley Family), that the wedding between the 24-year-old, long red-haired William "Bill" Arthur Weasley and the 22-year-old, long bubblegum-pink haired Metamorphmagus Nymphadora "Dora" Tonks, with the Gringotts Cursebreaker (Bill) and the Auror (Nymphadora) tying the knot after three years of dating, having been acquainted with each other during their school years, as Nymphadora was in the same school year as Bill's younger brother Charles "Charlie" Weasley.
For the wedding ceremony (which made the most of the summer sunshine), a large white floral alter had been set up on a small marble platform while the guests had been seated in two columns of magnificent, white seats looking up at the alter.
The reception was being held in a large white tent with the spacious interior being made to look like an elegant ballroom complete with a large crystal chandelier and posh white cloth seats with matching tables while there was a large dance floor in the middle of the tent.
The whole reception itself was just as spectacular, heart-warming and memorable as the wedding, with the magical catering company hired by the 42-year-old, long brown-haired Andromeda Cassiopeia Tonks (Mother of Nymphadora), pulling out all of the stops to put on a delicious meal for all of the guests which were well worth the money spent.
Just as the Tonks Matriarch had worked hard to give her daughter the best wedding possible, Mrs Molly Weasley (aged 45) had worked equally as hard as Andromeda at making the wedding as special as possible.
As she weaved her way through the guests, including a number of people that she recognised (the Tonks', Blacks and Lupins among others), having been introduced to them by Harry at Evelyn's fifteenth birthday party just over two weeks ago, Daphne finally reached Harry who was stood talking to Nymphadora.
Out of all of the people Harry had introduced her to throughout the summer holidays, it was Nymphadora that Daphne took a real shining to, finding her to be cool and quirky, as well as being eager to share quite a few embarrassing stories about Harry, with Daphne joining her in teasing Harry about certain childhood memories.
Childhood memories that started to be revealed when Harry described Nymphadora as "clumsy enough to trip over her own feet while standing still", with Nymphadora taking pleasure in embarrassing Harry in front of his girlfriend in retaliation.
As she approached them, Harry turned to face her and kissed her.
"Easy now Harry… or this lovely young lady might find herself in my shoes sooner than you think" said Nymphadora teasingly.
Smirking as she saw both of their faces turn red, Nymphadora pulled Daphne into a hug and kissed her cheeks.
"Good thing he has you to keep him in line" said Nymphadora, sending a teasing look to Harry.
Daphne smirked and glanced at Harry.
"Well… someone has to" said Daphne teasingly.
Smirking, Nymphadora politely excused herself, crossing the tent towards some of her old school friends.
As Nymphadora left, Daphne finished her champagne and asked Harry to get her a refill, looking around the tent before a certain sight caused her to sigh.
Just as he had for the entirety of the Yule Ball last Christmas, Ron Weasley was sat in one of the chairs, glaring at Evelyn and Cedric Diggory (who were sitting holding hands and talking at one of the tables opposite him) with obvious jealousy and anger written all over his face.
Not wanting Ron Weasley to cause trouble for Evelyn, Daphne decided to try and put a stop to Ron's jealousy once and for all, moving towards his table which made him look up at her with the same scowl on his face.
"What do you want Snake?" said Ron bitterly.
Paying no mind to the bitterness of his tone, Daphne stood up straight in front of him, looking down at him with a stern gaze.
"Believe me, I could think of a hundred things I'd rather be doing than talking to you" said Daphne flatly.
"Then what do you want… if you're wasting my time you might as well just bugger off" said Ron bitterly.
Daphne rolled her eyes.
"You want my advice… stop staring at her like she's a piece of meat while she's having fun with her boyfriend… or pretty soon, you won't even see you as a friend, let alone anything else" said Daphne frostily.
Ron scowled and glared at her.
"Who the hell invited you here anyway… you don't belong here" said Ron.
Inwardly sighing, Daphne straightened up.
"I was invited by Harry… with the blessing of your new sister-in-law" said Daphne trying to be polite so as not to ruin what was perhaps the most important day in Bill and Nymphadora's lives.
Ron turned away from her.
"But not my Brother's blessing… it's a bloody wonder why he lets her invite evil into our house" scowled Ron.
Daphne rolled her eyes once more, finding it quite funny how immature and petulant Ron was being.
Of course, Daphne was smart enough to know that Ron held no romantic feelings for the real Evelyn Potter, no, his feelings were for the Girl-Who-Lived, a fantasy of what he thought Evelyn was really like, a fantasy of the girl he wanted her to be.
Within days of her arrival at Potter Manor, Daphne was quick to realise that Evelyn despised the attention she received as a result of her fame, especially when boys would claim to like her romantically when in reality, they just liked the idea of dating the heroine of the Wizarding World.
"Then you are a petulant child who needs to grow up fast" said Daphne flatly.
It was at that moment, that Evelyn looked over at Ron before immediately turning away with anger etched on her face as she caught him glaring at her and Cedric.
"I bet it even pissed you off that Cedric got invited… I hope you weren't sad enough to beg your brother not to invite him so you could get Evelyn on her own with you" said Daphne mockingly.
"Piss off" said Ron bitterly, not even looking at Daphne.
"Touched a nerve, have I?" said Daphne.
Ron just ignored her.
"Unlucky for you Weasley… she doesn't like people who only pay attention to her because she's the Girl-Who-Lived, people like you" said Daphne distastefully.
Moving away from the angry, jealous redhead, Daphne walked towards Evelyn and Cedric, the former of whom looked up at her as she approached.
"Hey Daph… where's Harry?" said Evelyn.
"Getting us some drinks… can I have a word… privately?" said Daphne, looking at Evelyn.
Evelyn nodded before Cedric turned to her.
"I'll go and get you a butterbeer" said Cedric, giving her a kiss as he stood up.
As Cedric walked away from them in search of the refreshments, Daphne could imagine the jealous look on Ron's face getting worse each time he saw the girl he desired kiss her boyfriend instead of him.
"Why do you even put up with Weasley… especially after what he did at the ball last Christmas?" said Daphne.
Evelyn sighed.
"Lately… I've been wondering that myself, I always knew he liked me, or to put it more accurately… he liked the Girl-Who-Lived… but he could never accept that I only ever saw him as a friend and housemate" said Evelyn.
Daphne glanced over her shoulder at Ron for a moment.
"A little piece of advice… give Ron something to get angry about, that'll teach him one of the many lessons he needs to learn… either that or just get Harry to threaten him again" said Daphne with a wicked smirk.
"Get me to threaten who?" said Harry, appearing at Daphne's side with two champagne flutes in his hand.
"Nothing darling" said Daphne, a small smirk on her face as she took her champagne from him.
Harry spared a brief glance at Ron.
"Let me guess… Ron going all jealous stalker on you again?" said Harry distastefully.
"Nothing I can't handle Harry" said Evelyn with a weary sigh.
Spotting Cedric making his way back over to them with two bottles of foamy butterbeer, Daphne took Harry's hand.
"Come on… let's leave the lovely couple to themselves Darling" said Daphne, pulling Harry away from Evelyn and Cedric.
As they walked away, Daphne smirked when she saw Ron get even angrier and more jealous as Evelyn took her advice by kissing Cedric deeply and passionately.
31st August 1995
Dressed in a pair of purple silk pyjamas, Daphne was laid on her bed, doing some early studying of her copy of "Studying the Higher Mysteries of Magic", with the Newt Level Ancient Studies class being one of the subjects that Daphne wanted to study at Newt Level.
Though she had greatly enjoyed her stay at Potter Manor and would definitely be returning for the summer holidays next year, she could not wait to get back to Hogwarts, with the fact that she would be in the Slytherin dormitory this time tomorrow night being an exciting feeling for her.
Even the slight dread she felt at seeing her younger half-siblings Astoria and Gauis at school did little to dampen her good mood, knowing that her absence from Greengrass Manor had most likely resulted in Ambrose and Octavia filling their heads (specifically Gaius) with lies about how Daphne had betrayed their family by abandoning them for filthy blood traitors.
As she read through chapter four of the textbook, a gentle knock at the open door caught her attention.
"Good read?" said Harry, already dressed for bed, leaning against the doorway, having come to say goodnight to Daphne.
Daphne flashed him a cheeky smile before patting the space next to her on the bed.
"Interesting enough, yes" said Daphne softly.
Walking over to the bed, Harry sat down, looking at her with a soft look in his eyes as he ran his hand over her stomach.
"The Higher Mysteries of Magic… my Smart Little Witch can't wait to get started it seems" said Harry teasingly.
Daphne smiled and dropped the book on the bed, glancing down at his hand that was resting on her clothed stomach.
"Your hand is rather busy" said Daphne with a flirtatious but serious tone of voice.
As Harry started to remove his hand, Daphne's own hand shot out and wrapped around his wrist before he could blink.
"I never said I didn't like it" said Daphne, lips curling into a wicked smirk.
Smirking right back at her, Harry started moving up the bed, keeping his hand on her stomach as he did so.
"I'll miss this" said Daphne with a soft sigh as she was kissed passionately by Harry.
"Miss what?" said Harry, breaking the kiss for a moment before locking lips with her once again as her hands came into place around his shoulders and neck.
Daphne pulled herself up into his embrace, kissing his neck before resting the side of her head against his.
"Lying in my bed… waiting for you to come and kiss me goodnight… it will be four long months until I can experience that again, four months too long if you ask me" said Daphne, letting her hands run over his clothed back.
Harry sighed and kissed her.
"I will miss it too" said Harry as he kissed her again.
Daphne then glanced at her still open door before turning back to Harry.
"Stay here tonight" said Daphne, trailing her tongue down his cheek to his chin.
Tensing up slightly, Harry locked eyes with her, looking into her bright blue eyes to see how serious her request was.
"I'm serious Harry… just sleep in here tonight, we'll be in separate dormitories until Christmas… what's the harm in sharing a bed for one night, just one night Harry… please?" said Daphne, drowning in the emerald ocean of his green eyes.
Just as he was drowning in the sparkling sapphires that made up her eyes.
"All right" said Harry, a slight degree of nervousness in his voice about sharing a bed with his girlfriend.
Giving her a long, lingering kiss as he removed himself from her grasp, Harry quickly moved towards the door to close it.
As the bedroom door was closed, Daphne placed her textbook on the nightstand before slipping under the covers, lifting them up with a silent but powerful message to come and join her.
Feeling rather nervous, Harry slowly slipped into bed with her, his heart beating with nervousness and excitement at how close they were.
"Hold me" said Daphne softly as she turned her back to him.
Smiling as she felt his hands wrapping around her waist, making sure she was comfortable next to him, Daphne turned her head to meet his lips with a passionate goodnight kiss.
"Goodnight Harry, I love you" said Daphne softly.
Harry smiled and brought his hand up to her shoulder, tracing his fingers through her long blonde locks.
"I love you too… sweet dreams Princess" said Harry softly.
Daphne responded by taking his hand that was on her stomach and squeezing it.
"I'll always be your Princess, won't I?" said Daphne tiredly.
"Always" said Harry softly.
He smiled and inhaled the scent of her hair.
"You smell nice… well, your hair does" said Harry cheekily.
Daphne smiled and squeezed his hand.
"I always smell nice… it takes quite a bit of effort to make me look this good" said Daphne softly.
"Well… your effort really does pay off, you always look amazing" said Harry softly.
Daphne smiled and tilted her head to kiss him once more.
"Go to sleep… we have a busy day tomorrow" said Daphne softly but sternly.
Kissing her forehead one last time, Harry felt her snuggle into his side as tiredness started to take hold of her.
1st September 1995
Waking up at nearly half eight in the morning, Harry's eyes went wide as knocking could be heard on the other side of Daphne's closed bedroom door.
Gently tapping Daphne on the shoulder to wake her up, Harry froze up when he heard a voice on the other side of the door while Daphne slowly opened her eyes.
"Daphne… are you awake Dear?!" Lily called out.
Now fully awake, Daphne flashed Harry a smile before clearing her throat.
"I'll be out in a minute Lily!" Daphne called out, hoping that those words would be enough to make Lily go away before she saw that Harry was not in his own room and realised that he was in here.
That seemed to placate Lily who merely replied "Okay, don't take too long" before she could be heard stepping away from the door.
Satisfied that they were not going to be disturbed further, Harry slid his hands down to Daphne's waist.
"I hope this is a slow minute" said Harry cheekily before kissing her.
Daphne smirked against his lips and slid up against him.
"It won't be if you keep talking" said Daphne before she kissed him.
As she and Harry were making out without a care in the world, the sound of two voices could be heard outside of her door once again.
"Where is Harry… he's not in his room and he's not downstairs!" Lily called out.
Harry looked down into Daphne's eyes, with the blonde-haired girl flushing red, hoping that her bedroom door would not open any time soon.
"In the bathroom most likely, Lils… he'll be down when he's ready!" James called out.
Slowly slipping out of the bed, Harry crept towards the door, careful not to make a sound as his parent's voices continued to be heard on the other side of the door.
With his ear pressed against the door, Harry waited for the voices to fall silent and footsteps to be heard before he turned back to Daphne.
"Try not to get caught now" whispered Daphne, blowing him a kiss.
Harry smirked and slowly opened the door, creeping out into the hallway before a voice from the direction of the stairs made him jump.
"If your Mum asks… you were in the bathroom"
Harry immediately turned to see James standing near the stairs with a teasing smirk on his face.
"Dad, I… we… we didn't-" said Harry nervously as James walked towards him.
Placing his hand on Harry's shoulder, James smirked.
"Me and your Mum were teenagers once as well Harry… and remember what I said just now" said James before walking away from him back towards the stairs.
With Harry frozen in place, Daphne opened the door, tying her dressing gown around her waist and running a brush through her hair to sort her bed hair out.
"So much for not being caught" said Daphne in a slightly teasing voice.
Harry turned slightly pink.
"I don't know what's worse… getting caught by my Mum or by my Dad" said Harry.
Daphne smiled and gave him a quick kiss.
"Don't be long" said Daphne, trailing her hand down his arm as she walked away from him, back into her room.
Two hours later…
With the Hogwarts Express due to depart in fifteen minutes, Harry and Daphne finally dragged their trunks into the compartment where Tracey Davis, Andrew Francis, Emily Dagworth, Jeanette Farley and Jamie Morrison were already seated, talking amongst themselves as they waited for Harry and Daphne.
Though they had spent nearly all of the summer holidays together, Harry and Daphne still made the effort to meet up with their friends whenever possible, spending a few hours at a beach in Dorset two weeks ago which Daphne would count as one of the most enjoyable days of the summer holidays.
Placing their trunks in the overhead rack, Harry and Daphne found some space between Emily and Jamie, sitting down, lazily resting their joined hands on Harry's leg.
"So… aside from the obvious fact that you spent every waking moment together, how was your summer?" said Jeanette, with a teasing smile being sent at Harry and Daphne.
"If you must know, we had a wonderful summer" said Daphne, clapping her hand on Harry's leg.
As a few knowing smirks were exchanged between Jeanette, Tracey and Emily, Daphne slid her hand around Harry's waist.
"Mum was a little disappointed that you went to stay with Harry instead of coming to us" said Jeanette.
Daphne sighed.
"Your Mum's not too disappointed is she?" said Daphne wearily.
Jeanette shook her head and smirked.
"Not anymore… I might have mentioned that had I been in your situation, I would have done the same thing… if you know what I mean" said Jeanette teasingly, flashing Harry a cheeky smile.
Daphne rolled her eyes at her cousin's words.
"She and Dad want you to come and spend the Christmas Holidays with us though… and she won't take no for an answer" said Jeanette.
Though she liked living at Potter Manor and would no doubt spend quite a few school holidays (both Christmas and Summer) there, she really wanted to see Jeanette's parents, knowing that they loved and treasured her like she was their own daughter.
Telling Jeanette that she would love to spend Christmas with her parents, the conversation changed to what the others had done during the summer holidays as the train thundered along the English countryside.
Later that evening…
Just as she had three years ago when Astoria had arrived at Hogwarts, Daphne, who was sitting next to Tracey was watching the Sorting Ceremony, with one eye trained on the young 11-year-old Gaius Greengrass at all times.
As she politely applauded the young, long blonde-haired girl Fairfield, Michelle as she was sorted into Gryffindor, the next name called out had the effect of capturing her complete, undivided attention.
"Greengrass, Gaius!" the 64-year-old, greying brown-haired, Deputy Headmistress Professor Minerva Mcgonagall called out, with the list of First Year students in one hand and the patched, fraying Sorting Hat in her other hand.
Now with both eyes on her estranged half-brother, Daphne watched as he walked up to the wooden stool next to the Head of Gryffindor House and Transfiguration Professor.
Seconds after the Sorting Hat was placed on his head, the young Greengrass Heir followed in the footsteps of his parents and both of his older sisters by being sorted into Slytherin House.
Seeing his head sharply turn towards her, with a hateful glare in his eyes, Daphne sighed and turned away from him, seeing Tracey's concerned look.
"I'm fine Tracey" said Daphne flatly, her eyes glancing across the hall to where Harry was sitting with Jamie, Marcus Belby, Eddie Carmichael and Michael Roper, all five of whom were watching the sorting with concentrated interest.
Knowing that he would not meet her eyes when they were on the opposite side of the Great Hall to each other, Daphne turned away from him, meeting Evelyn's eyes as the younger girl was sat with her friends Amanda Black (sporting a shiny Prefect badge on her robes), Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown at the Gryffindor table.
After exchanging a small smile with the Gryffindor Seeker, Daphne flicked her long hair back over her shoulder as she returned her attention to the Sorting Ceremony which finished nearly ten minutes later when Zeller, Rose was sorted into Hufflepuff.
Glancing up the table, Daphne was unmoved when she saw Astoria glaring at her from where she was sitting with her own friends.
Sending Astoria a small smirk and a wink, Daphne turned away from Astoria who was still glaring hatefully at her, waiting patiently for the 113-year-old, long grey-haired (with a grey beard matching his hair for length) Headmaster Albus Dumbledore to finish his short speech before the Welcoming Feast would begin.
2nd September 1995
"Subjects please, Mr Potter" squeaked the short, half-goblin, wavy black-haired 56-year-old Head of Ravenclaw House and Charms Professor Filius Flitwick who appeared near Harry, Jamie and Jennifer, who had been joined for breakfast that morning by Daphne, Tracey, Andrew and Emily.
With a pile of parchment timetables and his wand in his hands, Professor Flitwick was finding that distributing the timetables for the Sixth Years was as difficult as it usually was during each school year, having to check that his students had achieved the necessary Owl grades to take the subject at Newt Level.
"Alchemy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Theory of Magic and Transfiguration" said Harry, handing his Owl results sheet to Professor Flitwick.
Quickly checking Harry's Owl grades, Professor Flitwick handed the sheet back to Harry before tapping his timetable with his wand, making it glow for a few seconds and passing it to Harry.
"Your Potions lesson will be starting in ten minutes… don't take too long to finish your breakfast" said Professor Flitwick, sparing a glance at Harry's plate which still had two pieces of toast and a half-eaten sausage left on it.
Harry nodded in understanding as Professor Flitwick turned to Jamie so he could sort his own timetable out.
"While I'm all for showing unity between the Houses… I suggest you four go back to your own House Tables so you can receive your own timetables" said Professor Flitwick, glancing at Daphne, Tracey, Emily and Andrew.
Hoping to receive their timetables quickly so they could rejoin their friends and head off to the lessons they were sharing together, the four students in question left the Ravenclaw table, moving back towards the Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor tables where Professor's Sprout, Slughorn and Mcgonagall were handing out timetables to the Sixth and Seventh Years.
Reaching the Slytherin table where Professor Slughorn had just handed a timetable to Slytherin Seventh Year Quidditch Captain Michael Montague, Daphne and Tracey stood near him as they waited for him to address them.
Seconds later, Professor Slughorn became aware of their presence and turned to them.
"Ah Miss Greengrass… just the person I was hoping to see… we'll be having our first Slug Club meeting on Saturday night after dinner, will we be seeing you there?" said Professor Slughorn, a fond smile on his ageing face.
Daphne gave him a polite nod and a small smile, indicating that she would be attending.
"Excellent… you'll be welcome to attend as well, Miss Davis" said Professor Slughorn turning to Tracey.
Tracey gave him a nervous, thankful smile, having always wanted to attend one of Professor Slughorn's exclusive Slug Club dinners.
"Filius speaks quite highly of you, you know… he mentioned that you were considering taking your Mastery in Charms after you finished school" said Professor Slughorn.
Tracey slowly nodded.
"Yes… I've always wanted to be a teacher you see… and I always enjoyed Charms" said Tracey nervously.
"Splendid… but enough social chit-chat for now, what subjects will you be taking girls… I do hope to see the both of you in my Potions Class this morning" said Professor Slughorn, leafing through the pile of parchment timetables in his hand until he found theirs.
Tracey went first, choosing to take DADA, Charms, Arithmancy, Herbology, Transfiguration, Potions and Theory of Magic at Newt Level, receiving her timetable from Professor Slughorn who then turned to Daphne.
"Alchemy, Ancient Runes, Ancient Studies, Arithmancy, Charms, Defence, Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration, Professor" said Daphne, handing her Owl results parchment sheet to Professor Slughorn.
After taking a quick look at her Owl grades with an approving smile, Professor Slughorn handed Daphne her timetable.
"A shame… from what I can tell barely anyone is taking Ancient Studies this year, a real shame that… it's a fantastic subject and Professor Eldridge is an old favourite of mine" said Professor Slughorn, handing Daphne her Owl result parchment back.
Straightening up, Professor Slughorn checked his gold pocket watch.
"Our Potions lesson starts in just under ten minutes… try not to be late on your first day, I think you'll both enjoy today's lesson" said Professor Slughorn before moving along the table to finish handing the timetables out.
Having everything they needed for the morning, Daphne and Tracey started to make their way back towards the Ravenclaw table, planning to go to their Potions lesson with Harry, Jamie and Emily, all three of whom had elected to take Newt Level Potions just like Daphne and Tracey.