Chapter Eighty-Four: Three's a Crowd
In celebration of Umbridge's overturned punishment, Harry had intended to have an Order meeting that Tuesday, but at the last second it was moved to the Wednesday instead.
Daphne found out why on Wednesday morning: Hagrid had returned at last, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron had spotted him from Gryffindor tower and gone over to greet him and ask him where he'd been…and to inform him about everything that had happened in school, including the fact that Umbridge had had him sacked in his absence.
Umbridge herself had then turned up to question him about his whereabouts — but fortunately, Harry and the others had been under the Invisibility Cloak, so she hadn't spotted them, at least.
Hagrid hadn't taken the news that he was no longer a teacher particularly well, though he was glad Harry and the others had at least managed to tell him before Umbridge had arrived to do it.
Since many people in the Order of the Lightning Bolt liked Hagrid, half of Wednesday's meeting was spent on discussing what had happened to him, since he'd returned to the school carrying several injuries.
Daphne knew what had happened, but Harry told most of the rest of the Order that it was something they shouldn't get involved with because Umbridge couldn't be allowed to find out, and the fewer people who knew the truth, the better.
When Smith, predictably, complained about that, Harry had offered him another duel, which Smith had declined. After that, though, life at school settled back down to its normal pace, for the most part.
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had their first Quidditch match approaching, so Order meetings were a bit scarce, but that didn't matter much to Daphne and Ginny, who kept up their own training in the Room of Requirement when Harry and Ron had Quidditch practice.
"I wonder if Harry is already regretting getting his ban lifted," Daphne said on one particularly cold evening.
It was snowing lightly, but that didn't deter Angelina, whose Quidditch spirit had been strengthened by the fact the team was still able to play and who was working them extremely hard even though their next match wouldn't be until the next year.
"I don't think anything would make him regret having Quidditch practice, especially since Umbridge doesn't want him to have it," Ginny said.
They'd just finished dueling practice, and now sat on the floor, both a bit unsure of what to talk about. The intention was to help Daphne with her focus in emptiness, but neither really knew how to do that.
"Okay…I guess I'll…just try to explain what's stopping me from changing my focus now?" Daphne said.
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, why not? Not like I've got any other ideas…"
"Well…I…like I said before, I'm afraid I'll lose Harry. Either because…well, because of Voldemort, or because he doesn't…love me anymore…or…or that he'll decide he likes you better," Daphne said, finishing so softly it was barely more than a mumble.
Ginny smiled ruefully. "Well…I'm sure you know that I still have a crush on him, so…a part of me would really like it if he liked me back, but…I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Especially after you spent the summer with him at the Dursleys…That was one of the reasons I was so angry they left you there that long, you know…I guess I was just…a bit jealous…" she said.
"I'm…sorry," Daphne said awkwardly.
"Nope, none of that," Ginny said firmly. "I told you to be honest with yourself, and I'm glad you were. Me being jealous is my problem, not yours. I'm not going to go all suspicious and hostile like Ron."
She grinned self-consciously. "I did tell Hermione about it, though. She told me to try dating someone, like Michael, but I…just didn't really want to. Both because I really do see Michael as just a friend, and because…some part of me still had some hope, you know? I thought seeing you and Harry together would get a bit easier over time, because you really are adorable together…but I became pretty good friends with him since some Slytherin girl I won't name tried to hook me up with him for over a year…"
She smiled to show she was just joking, but Daphne couldn't help but still feel a bit guilty.
"So instead of getting easier, it got harder, instead…but it wasn't…it wasn't really why I thought it was." She looked away, and she seemed to be flushing a bit. "See, I, er…I don't just have a crush on Harry anymore…"
Hearing Ginny say that triggered several things in Daphne.
One was, She has a crush on me?!
The second was a memory of Mum, smirking at her in the Top Box of the Quidditch World Cup, followed immediately by the recollection of the sting of jealousy she'd felt when Hermione had mentioned Michael wanting to date Ginny.
You have to be kidding me…
"I know, I know, it's stupid and probably weirding you out, but I thought that, y'know, we're being honest and all…" Ginny said sheepishly, growing redder by the second.
Daphne shook her head. "No, that's not it…" she said softly, still reeling from her own epiphany. "It's just…I'm pretty sure the feeling's mutual…"
Now it was Ginny's turn to stare incredulously, her expression probably very similar to the one Daphne had sported moments before.
"But…Harry…" Ginny said.
"Oh, so you can have two crushes, but I can't?" Daphne asked jokingly, trying to sound casual and only partially succeeding.
Ginny grinned in spite of herself.
"Pythia said that love was 'infinite and indivisible'," Daphne mused. "She said that you love all your friends equally, but differently, and that there is no inherent difference between platonic and romantic love; it's all love in different forms. Specifically, she meant that loving one person does not imply loving another less."
"Meaning…it's okay to have crushes on several people?" Ginny asked.
Daphne shrugged. "I guess. I mean…why not, anyway?"
"That's just not how it works, though, is it? The stories are always about soul mates and 'the one' and that sort of thing," Ginny said dubiously.
"Well…maybe the stories are wrong," Daphne said. "I mean, the stories also say that all Slytherins are evil and that Harry is an attention-seeking liar."
Ginny nodded slowly. "That's true…" she said.
She shook her head in amusement. "I don't know what I was expecting from this evening, but it definitely wasn't this," she said.
Daphne grinned. "I didn't see this coming either, even with my 'Inner Eye', as Trelawney calls it."
She grew serious again and added, "We should probably talk to Harry about this, though. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing we should hide from him…I don't even want to hide it."
Ginny nodded. "But when? I'd rather not have Ron around to hear it, if it's all the same to you. You saw how he reacted when Hermione mentioned Michael."
Daphne smiled sheepishly. "I almost had the same reaction. Remembering that just now made me realize I probably have a crush on you, too. Well, that and your choice of words. Mum said almost exactly the same to me at the Quidditch World Cup when those Veela were on the field and I got mesmerized by them."
Ginny giggled. "Well, at least I'm not the only one, then… What d'you think Harry will say?"
Daphne shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't want to think about it yet, in case I end up predicting something by accident," she said. "So for now…let's just…pretend nothing's going on until we get a chance to talk to Harry, I guess?"
"I hope that'll be quick, then, because I don't want to keep this particular secret any longer than I need to," Ginny said.
Sadly for both of them, it took a while before they managed to talk to Harry, between homework, Order meetings, and Quidditch practices, and both were beginning to fear they wouldn't get a chance at all until the holidays, which they'd all spend at the Burrow.
The thought of having to have a conversation like that anywhere near Mrs. Weasley wasn't one either Daphne or Ginny liked very much, so they decided to just corner Harry after the final Order meeting before the holidays.
After the lesson, during which both of them had been very distracted, they waited for everyone to begin filing out of the room.
Once it had mostly cleared out, Daphne said, "Harry, could you wait for a moment?"
Ginny, meanwhile, whispered something to Hermione, who nodded and pulled Ron with her.
"We'll see you in the common room later," she said with a knowing smile.
"Er, alright, see you in a bit," Harry said. Then he looked at Daphne and Ginny, who were now standing in front of him. "So, er, what did you want to talk about?" he asked uncomfortably, looking from Daphne to Ginny and then back.
Daphne checked that the door was really closed and said, "It's a bit of a funny story."
Ginny, who clearly didn't want to wait any longer, said, "And the gist of it is that Daphne and I both like you, and each other. As in, we both have crushes on you, I have a crush on Daphne, and she has a crush on me."
Harry blinked and was silent for a moment…and then he said, "Oh, thank God, that makes things so much easier. Me too."
Daphne and Ginny exchanged a look. "You mean…?" Daphne asked.
Harry nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. I, er, was beginning to notice that I felt the same way around Ginny as I do with you, when I was talking to her either in the common room or in the meetings here…I wasn't really sure what to make of it, though…I mean…I wouldn't….I'd never cheat," he said uncomfortably.
"I never thought you would," Daphne said, and to her own surprise it was completely true, even though Harry liking Ginny had been one of her biggest fears. But because she herself was now beginning to realize that, maybe, it was possible to like two people — and both of those people liked her, too — it didn't seem to bother her anymore.
"So…are the three of us just crazy, then?" Ginny asked.
"According to the Prophet, at least one of us is," Harry said. "But…what are we going to do with this? I mean…you can't really have a three-way relationship, can you?"
"Daphne's book says you apparently can," Ginny said with a grin. Her grin faded a bit and she added, "Though if we want to try it, we should probably wait until after Christmas. I don't think Mum would really understand it. I don't even really understand it. I mean, does this little confession session mean we're 'together' now, or do we all need to kiss first, or… It's complicated enough with just two people."
For a few moments, none of them spoke, all lost in their own thoughts.
Daphne didn't really have any idea of how something like this was supposed to work. If they were all dating each other, did that mean they had to do everything with the three of them? Would Harry and she still have moments alone? Would Ginny and she have moments alone, like their extra training sessions? Would Harry and Ginny want to spend time with just the two of them?
Probably, the answer to all of those questions would be yes. She certainly felt it should be, anyway. It felt like the sort of thing where just doing what felt best would be the right thing to do, simply by virtue of feeling good.
But what if Harry and Ginny liked each other so much that they'd prefer to stay with just the two of them, instead?
But she could turn that question around just as easily: what if she and Ginny got so close they'd want to be together without Harry?
The answer to that, though, seemed obvious: it wouldn't happen. Daphne, at least, couldn't see herself suddenly not liking Harry anymore. She liked him for different reasons than she liked Ginny, after all. Anything that could happen to her love for either of them wasn't influenced by her love for the other, or even for someone else entirely.
If she were to stop loving either Harry or Ginny, it would be for other reasons than their affections for each other. Perhaps their personality would change, or her personality would change, and they'd simply not match anymore, but beyond that…no.
She wouldn't just stop loving Harry because she also had feelings for Ginny now, and she had to trust that they would think along similar lines. She had to let go of her fears. It would be easier said than done, of course, she knew that even now. The fear, the insecurity of how worthy — or not — she was of anyone's love was probably not going to leave. But it was beyond her control. All she could do was be herself, like she had been doing ever since she chose to help Harry back in their very first Potions class.
"I say we just try it," she said. "What do we have to lose? Like Harry said, the Ministry is already to write him off as an attention-seeking liar, and at least half the school probably thinks I'm crazy, too." She looked at Ginny and grinned. "You've probably got the best reputation, here."
"Yeah, setting a huge killer snake on the school and writing messages on the wall in blood is truly good for your social life. I'm no stranger to evil mutterings, either," Ginny said dryly.
"Well then, apparently we are just crazy," Daphne said. "And besides…it just seems like fun, you know?"
"Are we going to tell people, though?" Harry asked. "Like Ginny said, I don't think Mrs. Weasley would like it much, at least at first…and I don't know what Ron and Hermione would say, either."
"Ron would think we're mental, but he has the emotional range of a teaspoon and he likes both of you, so he'll probably just be glad I'm only dating his friends after his initial round of swearing has ended," Ginny said with a roll of her eyes.
"I think Hermione would just accept it on the rational grounds of 'why not'," Daphne said. "I mean, other than 'tradition'…what does it matter? I can see it mattering to the old purebloods, to whom ancestry is more important than food or drink, but I think I rather like the notion of turning that on its head."
"So what do we do if we start liking even more people?" Ginny wondered.
"I guess…that would be fine, too?" Daphne said uncertainly, looking at Harry, who shrugged.
"I suppose. But I've barely gotten used to having one girlfriend, let alone having two. Maybe we should just see how this goes before we start expanding it any further. I mean, I'm still not even sure if this conversation counts as us being together now."
"Well…why not…clear things up a little?" Ginny asked, gesturing with her head at something on the ceiling.
Daphne and Harry looked up and saw that they were standing under a mistletoe.
They exchanged some awkward looks between the three of them. When Harry and Daphne had first kissed it had been after a night of dancing and being together and after denying their feelings for ages.
Now…things had gone from Ginny and Daphne realizing they had crushes on each other, to finding out that Harry also had a crush on Ginny now, to suggesting kissing just to make things 'official' in the span of a few days.
But again…why did it really matter? Admitting to the feelings and actually having them were very different, anyway, and Daphne had found that once they'd been admitted to out loud, acting on them and accepting them became a lot easier.
She'd had feelings for Harry probably as far back as their second year, admitted to them just before the fourth, and gotten together a few months later.
She didn't really know when she'd first developed feelings for Ginny, but for all she knew it had been a while ago, maybe even at the Yule Ball, though she wouldn't have realized it at the time because of her feelings for Harry.
"Well, sod it, then, let's do it," she said, and leaned over to kiss Harry, who was startled but went along with it.
They broke apart and Daphne gestured at Ginny, who stepped toward Harry.
It was an odd thing to witness, and Daphne strongly felt she should probably avert her eyes, but it was just too fascinating to look away. Something about the hesitancy in the expressions of both Harry and Ginny made it feel very emotional, and it gave Daphne such a warm and fuzzy feeling inside that she knew at that moment that this was the right decision to make.
Harry and Ginny leaned in slowly, still a bit uncertainly, and both seemed like they got a small shock when their lips touched, but then they relaxed into it, putting their arms around each other's neck, and Daphne's happiness rose even more at the romantic sight.
After a few moments, they stepped back, and Ginny turned toward Daphne, whose heart suddenly began beating quite a lot faster, and her face grew hotter and hotter.
Ginny, too, was blushing furiously. She'd already been blushing when kissing Harry, of course — as had he — but if possible she'd gotten even redder. The look in her eyes was a mix of defiance and happiness, and there was no longer any trace of uncertainty in them.
Daphne could only hope that her own expression was similar, because she was very sure that she wanted to do this. For just a second longer, she and Ginny looked in each other's eyes, then they closed them at the same time.
Kissing Ginny felt different from kissing Harry. Her lips were softer, and of course she didn't have any stubble, either. And, because Ginny was just a little bit smaller than Daphne, she didn't have to stand on her toes to make it work, either, so they could hug each other a bit more easily while maintaining the kiss. Like with Harry, she felt warm inside in a way that had nothing at all to do with temperature.
They let go and opened their eyes again, each grinning widely.
Daphne looked at Harry, who looked just as happy as she felt. "Should we try all three of us together?" she asked.
"Er, sure, why not?" Harry said, looking a bit flustered by the suggestion.
Ginny just put one arm around Daphne's shoulder and extended the other one to Harry, and Daphne quickly followed suit.
They leaned forward in something that looked like a weird team huddle, each trying to kiss both of the others at the same time. It ended up more like a headbutt, which sent them into a laughing fit that lasted for a good thirty seconds, the kind of laughter that was both happy and nervous.
"I think we should probably tell Ron and Hermione, at least," Harry said, once they'd stopped laughing.
Daphne and Ginny nodded. "Yeah. It'd be a pain to hide this from them, anyway," Ginny said.
"Well…tell me how it went tomorrow, okay?" Daphne said, a bit rueful that she couldn't go with them.
"Why? You're coming with us, of course," Ginny said, exchanging a look with Harry that said, 'Isn't that obvious?'
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I think this is the sort of thing that warrants going into our common room for a bit," he said. "Besides, you've been there before plenty of times anyway."
"It would just feel wrong to tell Ron and Hermione without you there as well," Ginny said. "I mean, especially something like this."
Daphne grinned widely, again filled with happiness. "Alright then, let's go," she said.
They reached the Gryffindor common room without problems, and the moment they'd come through the portrait hole, Hermione was already calling over to them from near the fire, where she sat with Ron.
They walked over, and Daphne immediately saw that Hermione was beaming and that Ron looked strangely dazed, but also happy. Her eyes widened.
"Did you…?" she asked.
Hermione squealed. "Yes!" she said happily.
Harry looked impressed. "Blimey, congratulations, mate," he said to Ron, who smiled shakily, as if he still couldn't quite believe what had happened.
"How'd you manage to get him to go for it?" Ginny asked with a grin.
Hermione rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "It was a bit difficult," she admitted. "I had to point out that mistletoe four times."
"I got it after the second time," Ron protested. "I was just…waiting for the right moment."
"So I decided to simply kiss him, instead," Hermione said dryly.
Harry, Ginny, and Daphne laughed. Ron sank deeper into his chair, staring into the fire, but he couldn't suppress his grin.
"But what about you three? Ginny told me a bit…" Hermione said conspiratorially.
Hearing this, Ron sat up straighter and looked at them all. "Told you what?" he asked suspiciously.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "You might want to lean back in that chair a bit more, don't want you hitting your head if you faint in a moment," she said.
Ron ignored her and looked at Harry and Daphne instead. Seeing that Harry looked a bit nervous at having to admit what had just happened in the Room of Requirement, and knowing Ginny would probably ham it up a bit just to goad Ron — she was the sister of Fred and George, after all — Daphne decided to put him out of his misery.
"So…Harry, Ginny, and I are all dating now," she said.
The only noise that broke the silence at that moment was the crackling of the flames. Hermione was clearly bursting to ask a million questions, but she, like Daphne, Harry, and Ginny, was looking at Ron to see how he would react, first.
"What."
Ron's face was oddly blank as he looked from Harry, to Daphne, to Ginny, and then back.
"We, that is Harry…" Ginny pointed at Harry. "…Daphne…" She pointed at Daphne. "…and me…" She pointed at herself. "…are dating. Seeing each other. Together." She spoke very slowly, as though she were talking to a not particularly bright five-year-old.
"But…you can't," Ron said, still switching his look between the three of them.
"As it turns out, we can," Daphne said.
"But…Harry and Daphne are together," Ron said.
"They are, very good," Ginny said, still talking very slowly. "And now I am together with Harry too. And I am also together with Daphne. Imagine that."
"But…you can't," Ron said again.
"It's true, mate," Harry said softly.
"But…how can you…they trust…but, wait, they also…" Ron stammered.
"I think we broke him," Ginny said with a smirk.
"Maybe it would help if you told us the whole story," Hermione said innocently.
Daphne grinned at her, and Ginny said, "Why not? Ron's probably going to be saying random words for a while yet…So I was going to help Daphne with her Divination a few days ago…"
Ginny told the others the story she'd told Daphne as well, adding that she'd fully realized her crush when Daphne had first mentioned Pythia.
"I was so afraid of what might happen to you if that book were really evil, like the diary. It kept me busy far more than it should have. I mean, I thought it was just because of what I'd been through myself, and while that was a part of it…it wasn't everything. I began to realize that Daphne had been on my mind quite a lot ever since the Yule Ball, almost as much as Harry. I'd never really paid much attention to it, but being scared about the book brought it up."
"It was the Yule Ball for me, too, I think," Daphne said. "I didn't start having those dreams with you in them until after that moment."
"For me it was a bit later," Harry said. "I liked our dance, of course," he said to Ginny, "but to me it was just friendly at the time. But as the year went on, and we talked more, and especially when I saw you again at…Sirius's place…I just enjoyed being around you a lot, though of course, my feelings for Daphne didn't change, so I tried to ignore it…until tonight, anyway."
Ginny then picked up the story again and told Hermione and Ron about the conversation they'd had, ending with the description of the kissing, which she did in great detail, to Ron's consternation.
Daphne guessed that his own experience with Hermione had mellowed him out somewhat, because despite his sputtering, there was a distinct lack of profanity from him.
"So there you have it. Did any of that get through?" Ginny asked, looking at Ron.
Ron was still staring, but then he finally shook his head and said, "I, er…blimey…I don't really understand any of it, but…well, you're two of my best mates. Guess I can't complain, can I? Better you two than some shifty bloke I never met, anyway."
"I think it's great you're so supportive, Ron," Hermione said sincerely, and Ron instantly grinned widely.
"Yeah, well…as a Prefect I need to be mature, don't I?" he said.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sure, Ron, whatever you say."
They all laughed, even Ron, and in Daphne's eyes, she'd already gotten the best Christmas present she could wish for, even though it was still several days too early.
So, it's finally happened. The triad has arrived, 280k words in. It might seem like it went pretty quickly all of a sudden, but IRL I've found that, once you've admitted something once, it becomes far easier to do it again later. I've had plenty of things I never told people, but then once I'd told one person, it was much easier to tell others afterward, as well. Additionally, while this moment might not be as symbolically strong as the Yule Ball was, I wanted to have at least some balance between suiting the narrative, and being in line with what I think the characters would do at a given moment, and I do think I've done an okay job at it. I enjoyed writing it a lot, anyway. As for the Harry/Ginny chemistry being hard to see...well, it was hard to really get that in considering Daphne is the POV character. I'm just going to cop out and say it happened off-page.
I've also deliberately refrained from giving some common anti-poly things I've seen online a mention. As I myself don't really consider any arguments other than 'you do you' valid (as long as there's clear communication, consent, all that jazz), I decided I'd probably just end up creating strawmen if I included any anti-arguments now, which I don't want to do, and I'm going to assume that anyone 280k words into a story stated from the start to contain a triad at some point is going to be cool with poly anyway. Of course, in-universe there will be people who will be against it, but I'll get to that when I get there.
Also, much like with the Yule Ball last year, I wanted to have a bit of a breather chapter before things go downhill again. See, there are some pretty big things coming up in canon and I haven't quite decided how to go about them at the time of writing, so depending on how I choose to handle things, shit might hit the fan sooner rather than later. It will happen at some point, though.