Chapter 4
Dirty Dancing
A few days later Daphne was sitting in the common room doing homework with her friends.
'Daphne,' Tracey whispered across the table just loud enough to draw Daphne's attention but not alert anyone else not at the table. Millicent raised her eyes but quickly went back to her book though she would likely still be listening.
'What?' Daphne whispered back.
'I need a favor.'
'Ok,' she said, drawing out the word.
'I. . . Well. . . I don't have a date for the Yule Ball yet, and the guy from Durmstrang I've been flirting with just asked one of the Beauxbatons girls. I'm starting to lose hope that anyone will ask me,' Tracey explained.
'There's still some time,' Daphne said encouragingly.
'Not much, and if I had real prospects, I'd have a date by now. I mean, both of you have dates already.'
Daphne's head shot to Millicent, whose head stayed down as if she were still reading.
'When did this happen?' Daphne asked Millicent with excitement.
'About fifteen minutes ago, while you were still in our room,' Millicent replied, finally raising her head and unable to control the color that was filling her cheeks.
'So, who was it?'
'Vincent.'
'Oh,' Daphne said somewhat downcast. Then she smiled and brightened her tone, 'Well, that's better than Draco, or Gregory,' Daphne commented.
'Yeah, at least he showers regularly,' Millicent said with a small smirk, garnering some small laughs from her friends. At least she was taking the glass half full approach.
'And you were just gonna keep me in the dark?' Daphne asked playfully.
'Tracey said she wanted to surprise you with it.'
'And use it to guilt me into helping her,' Daphne said knowingly while shifting her gaze to her other friend who had "guilty" written all over her face.
'Well, can you blame me? I don't want to be left here all alone,' Tracey said pleadingly.
'No, I don't blame you. But how can I help?' Daphne asked, she didn't have a whole lot of confidence in her own abilities to find someone and set them up with Tracey.
'Um. . . Well. . .' Tracey started hesitantly, she was definitely nervous to even ask. 'I've heard that Weasley still doesn't have a date either. I was thinking, hoping, maybe you'd ask Potter if he'd go with me.'
'Are you just trying to get me to talk to Har—Potter again?' Daphne asked with feigned skepticism.
'No, I do really want a date. And you're going with a Gryffindor, so why can't I? And you really should talk to Potter more. I mean, you're gonna be spending all night with him, wouldn't it be good to have some rapport first?' Her tone shifted from sincere to slightly suggestive towards the end.
'I don't care about any rapport,' Daphne stated.
'Bullshit. How else are you gonna get lucky?' Tracey said with an exaggerated eyebrow waggle.
'Yeah, you gotta get some of that Potter luck for yourself,' Millicent teased.
'I'm not trying to get lucky. Especially with Potter,' Daphne proclaimed.
'I'm just talking about a goodnight kiss, you sicko,' Tracey added.
'Ugh, you are not making me want to help you,' Daphne replied.
'Oh, please,' Tracey pleaded. 'Just talk to him about Weasley, if nothing else. I won't tease you about Potter anymore. I promise.'
Daphne gave her a questioning look. 'Don't make promises you don't plan to keep,' she said knowingly.
'Ok, I won't tease you as much. How's that?'
'Better. I'll talk to him.'
'Thank you, thank you, thank you,' Tracey said gratefully.
'I can't guarantee that he will agree,' Daphne cautioned.
'I know, but I've got a good feeling he just needs a little push,' Tracey said confidently.
'Ok, I hope you're right.'
A couple days passed before she was able to find a moment to talk to Harry that didn't draw attention from all their classmates. But one evening she saw Harry and Ron leaving the library together, Hermione hadn't quite finished revising apparently. And Daphne had not failed to notice the stolen glances between her and the Bulgarian Seeker that was also studying in the library, perhaps Hermione had plans of her own she didn't want her friends to know about, sneaky little thing.
Daphne tapped Tracey and Millicent and they followed her out of the library. They caught up to Harry and Ron quickly.
'Harry,' Daphne called out.
Harry and Ron snapped their heads around. Neither was quite as surprised as the last time she'd tracked down Harry.
'Give me a minute, Ron,' Harry said to Ron as he stepped to the side to talk to Daphne.
'Actually, you don't have to go, you can hear too,' Daphne said to Ron, whose face brightened as if he were getting let in on some big secret.
Ron stepped up next to Harry while Tracey and Millicent stayed a few steps behind Daphne.
'Alright, so what's up?' Harry asked.
'Well. . . Er. . .' Now she was getting cold feet. How was she going to word this? Maybe it would've been easier to just talk to Harry alone. . . too late for that now. 'Is it true that you don't have a date for the Yule Ball?' she asked Ron quickly, barely pausing in between words.
'Er, kinda, not exactly,' Ron stammered.
'What do you mean?'
'I don't have a date. . . yet. But she'll come around pretty soon.'
'Are you talking about Hermione?' Harry asked.
'Yeah, mate. I know she says she has a date but we know better,' Ron said confidently.
'Wait! You asked Hermione but she said no because she already has a date? But you think she's lying because she just doesn't want to go, and you're waiting for her to realize that she wants to go to the dance. . .'
'Exactly! See, Harry, she gets it,' Ron declared victoriously.
'Weasley,' Daphne said soberly. 'She has a date.' She kept her face stoic to elevate the meaning of her words.
'She does?'
'Yes.'
'Blimey. You're sure it's not a ruse?' Ron asked.
'I'm sure,' Daphne said assertively. I sure hope I saw what I thought I saw, she thought. A flight of butterflies was fluttering in her stomach.
'Bollocks! Now, what am I gonna do?' Ron said in exasperation.
'That's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about,' Daphne said a little tentatively.
'Ok,' Ron said leadingly.
'My friend Tracey. . .' Daphne held out an arm and Tracey stepped up next to her with a shy smile. In her mind, Daphne rolled her eyes. Tracey wasn't that shy of a person but she was playing a part so Daphne didn't sell her out. 'She doesn't have a date yet either.'
Ron shared a look with Harry and they both just shrugged.
Ron looked at Tracey, who still had her shy smile on her face, and then back at Daphne. 'Well, I think that sounds good. I'm good with that,' he said with a nod.
'You still have to ask her,' Daphne said sternly.
'Oh, right,' Ron said, slightly abashed. He looked to Tracey. 'It's Davis right?'
Tracey nodded, her smile growing wider.
'Ok, great, Davis, would you like to go to the Ball?'
Tracey waited a moment, her smile fading slightly.
Daphne looked at Ron curiously, was he going to finish the question? She snapped her head to Harry, who was currently looking at Ron with a similar expression, at least he seemed to know Ron was missing a couple of words.
Harry's head slowly turned to face Daphne. She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head towards him slightly in a prompting manner.
Harry opened his mouth and tilted back his head in acknowledgment of Daphne's suggestion. He leaned over to Ron and whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear, 'With me, you should add, with me.'
Millicent couldn't hold in her giggles, while Daphne and Tracey did an admirable job.
'Good call, mate,' Ron said to Harry before looking back to Tracey. 'With me. Would you like to go to the Ball. . . with me?' Ron chuckled to himself after his little pause, thought himself pretty funny, apparently.
'I'd love to,' Tracey replied.
'Brilliant,' Ron proclaimed.
'K, well, we'll see you later,' Harry said, guess he didn't care to stay around and chat.
'Bye,' said all the girls.
'How about that?' Ron said to Harry as they began to walk away, there was no more whisper to his voice. 'We're both going to the Ball with Slytherins.'
'Uhuh,' Harry responded.
'And did Greengrass call you Harry?' Ron asked a bit suggestively.
'Yeah, well, she is my date.'
'Still, it's like you guys already know each other. Do you fancy her?'
That was the last of the conversation that could be heard, their voices faded as they got further down the corridor.
'Oooo, Daphne, did you hear that? Potter fancies you. No, Haaaarry fancies you,' Tracey said in an overly obnoxious, teasing tone.
'First of all, we couldn't hear the answer to that question. And second, Harry was right, we're going to be together all night. We should at least call each by our first names.'
'Alright, Daphne, you keep telling yourself that,' Tracey said skeptically.
'Daphne's gonna get lucky,' Millicent said in a sing-song voice which Tracey quickly caught onto and the two of them harmonized the entire walk back to the dungeons; much to Daphne's irritation.
As Daphne and Tracey walked out of the Slytherin common room—Millicent stayed behind to be escorted by her date—their inward smirks turned to outward smiles and laughter. The looks on the boys' (and some of the girls') faces as they walked through the common room were priceless. Perhaps, a little more positive attention was in the girls' future. Even more satisfying was ignoring their questions about who their dates were, letting them find out through observation would be even more shocking, at least in Daphne's case.
They reached the entrance hall and found Harry and Ron descending the last few stairs, timing couldn't have been more perfect.
Daphne's and Tracey's eyes grew wide as they were drawn to Ron's robes for the evening.
'Daphne, Tracey,' Harry said as he approached.
His greeting was ignored.
'I know I wanted a date, but this is not going to fly,' Tracey said with her finger waving around at Ron's attire.
'I know, I'm sorry. It's just what my mum got me,' Ron said with embarrassment.
'Well, are we witches or not?' Daphne declared. 'Come on, Tracey.' She grabbed Ron by the wrist and led him to one of the alcoves for a semblance of privacy, Tracey and Harry followed closely behind.
'I don't know much about Transfiguring clothes,' Tracey said.
'That's ok, I know enough. But we don't actually have to change much, we just need to trim the lace.' Tracey nodded and Daphne looked over her shoulder at Harry with a teasing smile. 'Even Harry might be capable of helping us.'
Harry blinked as he processed her statement, then jumped, walked around, and started trimming.
They all backed away after they'd trimmed all the frills. It was an improvement, if only slightly, though it definitely still needed work.
Tracey and Harry backed away, saying they would be of no use from here on. They watched as Daphne went to work Transfiguring the loose ends to look like elegant embroidery and regal seams.
When she finished, she backed away to evaluate her work but she had little time as Tracey nearly jumped her.
'It looks amazing!' Tracey proclaimed.
'Wow, it actually looks good,' Ron said as he was examining all the parts of his robes that he could see. 'Thanks, Greengrass.'
'You're welcome. Hope you have a good time. We should probably get to the antechamber, Harry. McGonagall will have our heads if we're late,' Daphne said, taking Harry's arm to let him lead. Tracey shot her a huge grin and Daphne smiled back at her friend before being led away.
'Mine, at least,' Harry quipped.
'Perhaps, we should be late then,' Daphne said softly, she let herself smile a little as well. They were trying to get along so she thought it wise to do her part to allow that.
Harry glanced at her and smiled himself, after he saw hers.
'Good one,' Harry said playfully. 'And hey, you took my advice on the Engorgio, some boys are going to actually regret not asking you now.'
Was he joking? He sure did well at subduing his smirk, but just the hint of it made her think he was just taking the piss. She had her own retort, nonetheless.
'Oh plenty of them have already noticed,' she said, self-satisfied. 'And you went with the platforms, yet the one girl you asked still won't care.' Keeping her own smirk at bay was virtually impossible.
'Bitch,' he muttered.
'Brat,' she retorted. 'Maybe if you show you are a good dancer, you can prove me wrong.'
They shared a small smile, though there was a hint of worry in Harry's eyes. Was he just nervous? The great Harry Potter, nervous? That didn't match with her previous perceptions. She pushed the thought away.
Daphne was surprisingly relieved when she saw Hermione enter with Krum. She had a date, and not only any date, the date—at least in many girls' eyes.
Harry leaned in close to Daphne's ear. 'Did you know Hermione's date was Krum?'
She pondered telling a bald-faced lie but decided against it. 'No, it was more a girl's intuition that she had a date. I didn't know it was Krum though.'
'So, you lied to Ron to get him to go with Tracey?'
'Um, yeah, I guess. But I told you, I had a good feeling about it.'
'Good thing you were right.'
Daphne gave a victorious smile but inside she was in agreement. The relief was real.
They went through the motions of the introductions and dinner pleasantly enough. Only a few whispered insults were passed between them, otherwise, they communicated politely, and even shared some jokes. From an outsider's perspective, they might've seemed like they enjoyed each other's company.
Daphne took immense satisfaction at the surprised look that developed on Sirius' face when he first saw them together, and from Harry's comments, he did also. They had both been very careful in any communication home to not say who their dates were for the night. For each, that made their time together even more tolerable.
The first dance began well, Harry knew the steps and was actually leading Daphne properly. The pleasantness didn't last. Eventually, Harry's foot found Daphne's toes.
'I knew it was too much to ask for you to be a competent dancer,' Daphne muttered, keeping her facial expression pleasant.
'You're nothing special yourself,' Harry retorted through a smile.
'I'm not the lead and I've never had any lessons.'
They continued and things were ok. . . until Harry's foot landed on her toes again.
'If you step on my toes one more time. . .' she hissed through gritted teeth.
'Don't put them under my feet,' he replied through a forced smile.
'I—ugh, you are the worst! This was such a bad idea.' Keeping the pleasant demeanor was becoming more and more difficult.
Again things progressed ok, both were slightly irritated and their smiles and pleasant demeanors were obviously forced to anyone that was paying close attention. Harry stepped on her toes once more and she didn't complain this time, at least, not verbally.
Instead, Daphne reared back with a foot and drove her sharp-toed shoes into one of Harry's shins.
Harry doubled over rapidly to grab his leg and his forehead collided with the bridge of Daphne's nose, causing blood to spurt like a fire hose.
Daphne brought her hand to her face then looked at her palm, it was completely covered in blood. She grabbed the back of Harry's head and slammed his face into her knee, sending blood gushing from Harry's nose, all over her dress, not that it was clean at this point.
They both stood up straight, blood dripping off their noses and chins, and scowled at each other.
Sirius approached cackling with glee.
'You guys sure put on a good show.'
'Shut up, Sirius!' Harry spat.
'Now now, no need to take it out on me. Let's get you over to Madam Pomfrey and get you cleaned up.'
Sirius escorted them over to a chamber Madam Pomfrey had set up off the Great Hall where she could address most needs quickly.
'My my, what happened here?' she asked.
'Oh, just a couple of missteps on the dance floor,' Sirius said nonchalantly. 'I do believe it's just a couple of bloody noses.'
'Your observational skills astound me, Mr Black,' Madam Pomfrey said dryly. 'Well, don't just leave them there, bring them in and I'll have them fixed up.'
Sirius stepped aside as the kids went into the chamber with Madam Pomfrey and he leaned up against the wall, a satisfied grin on his face.
'They remind me of James and Lily,' a voice broke him from his trance.
Sirius looked to see Professor McGonagall standing there with a thoughtful stare. He considered her words for a moment before saying, 'No, James never hated Lily like this.'
'So, you knew of their "relationship" before this evening?'
'Er, yeah, you could say that.'
'Well, perhaps you know more than I and I am just reading more into it out of nostalgia. Harry just deserves some happiness,' she said.
'He does, but it'd be better with a girl that doesn't despise him.'
'Oh? What do you know of Miss Greengrass?'
'Oh, er, nothing really. Just what I've seen tonight. I've been keeping a close eye on Harry and let's just say this has been brewing for a while.'
'Hmm, well, I just can't help but see some similarities.'
'I don't see it,' Sirius said defiantly.
'If you say so. I trust you will continue to monitor the situation.'
'Yes, ma'am,' Sirius said, coming to attention and bringing a hand to his forehead.
'Don't salute me,' McGonagall ordered before leaving the area.
Sirius chuckled to himself but he couldn't deny that Minerva's comments had him slightly unsettled.
Just then, Madam Pomfrey emerged with Harry and Daphne.
'All fixed up. A couple of broken noses beneath all that blood—Harry's was almost completely inverted, must've been some collision—but they'll never know any different.'
Even Daphne's dress showed no evidence of the crimson that had colored it.
'Thanks, Poppy,' Sirius said. 'I'll keep an eye on them. Who knows what else they'll have in store for the night.'
Harry grumbled something indiscernible under his breath as they walked by.
'Hey, a proper date escorts his lady by the arm,' Sirius instructed with a grin and indicating the space between the two.
'Fine.' Harry held out his arm for Daphne who reluctantly took it.
'Sirius is enjoying this more than anything, thanks to your horrible dancing,' Daphne muttered.
'You didn't help by overreacting.'
'I—maybe we can salvage this, come on, let's go talk to Tracey and Ron.'
A few songs had passed and nearly everyone had migrated to the dance floor, so Tracey and Ron, sitting off to the side, stood out like a sore thumb.
'Ron's robes look really good,' Harry said, emotionless. His face didn't show it but he was trying with his words
'Thanks,' Daphne replied.
Ron and Tracey looked up as they heard them approaching, neither looked like they were enjoying their evening to this point.
'Well, you two sure were entertaining,' Tracey stated with a teasing smile.
'Glad you enjoyed it,' Daphne replied.
'I thought you were gonna kill each other,' Ron piped in.
'We've tried that already,' Harry said through a cough that actually accomplished the job of muffling the words. It didn't fool Daphne though, and she laughed—that was actually funny, she thought.
'What was that?' Ron asked.
'Oh, nothing,' Harry said, trying to deflect the question.
'Ok, so what caused you to go at it like that?' Ron asked.
'Har—I mean, we just had a couple of missteps and then I kinda overreacted,' Daphne answered with obvious remorse, at least she hoped it came across as obvious and not sarcastic. She had initially thought to throw Harry under the bus but then decided to try for civility. Out of her peripheral vision she could see Harry's surprised face, she'd surprised him just as much as herself, it seemed.
'Yeah, it was more of a misunderstanding than anything,' Harry added. So he was back on board with trying to salvage the night, that was nice.
Ron and Tracey both nodded but looked skeptical about the story.
'But enough about us, why aren't you guys dancing?' Daphne asked quickly to prevent any more follow-up questions that might reveal holes in their story.
'This guy's been in a mood ever since they announced Krum and his date,' Tracey answered, pointing a thumb at Ron.
'Hermione coming with Krum was a pretty big surprise to me too,' Harry said.
'But no reason not to dance,' Daphne commented.
'I just haven't felt like it, that's all,' Ron said defensively.
'How am I supposed to respond to that?' Tracey asked incredulously.
'Why don't you just dance, Ron? Harry asked.
Ron didn't respond. Daphne followed his gaze. He was focused on Hermione, who appeared to be having a great time with Krum. Something clicked.
'You're a little miffed that Hermione didn't tell you she was going with Krum tonight, aren't you?' Daphne asked.
Just saying Hermione's name snapped him from his stupor and yet he still seemed to comprehend her question and didn't ask her to repeat it. Though he did take his time in responding.
'Er, I guess so,' Ron replied uncertainly. She offered him a way out of admitting his true feelings and he took the lifeline.
'And you can't really change anything about that right now, can you?'
'No,' he replied almost begrudgingly.
'So, instead of sitting over here with a sour look on your face—you look like a spoilt child that has had his favorite toy taken away—you might as well make the best of the situation and just have some fun.'
'I—'
'Go dance, let loose. Forget about every other girl except your date for tonight and everything else will fall into place.'
Tracey stood up and came up to Daphne to whisper in her ear. 'Are you telling him to use me to try and make the girl he fancies jealous?'
'I said it with more tact than that, but yes, that's exactly what I told him. You'll thank me later. Maybe you'll get lucky.' Daphne gave her a small wink as she pulled away from Tracey's ear. Tracey responded with a conspiratorial smile.
Tracey looked at Ron. It was obvious he was on the precipice of being swayed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. 'Let's dance, Ron. I promise it will be fun.' She added a coquettish smile and pulled him to the dance floor.
'Alright,' Ron said in agreement. 'See you later, Harry.' His tone was much more cheerful now.
Harry looked at Daphne in astonishment. 'How did you do that?'
'Just had to appeal to what is important to him.'
'Which is?'
'I'll explain while we dance. You can't mess up a slow song. You don't even have to lift your feet off the ground.'
'You might be surprised,' Harry said sarcastically.
Daphne snorted.
Was that some self-deprecating humor? Harry was surprising her a little tonight, destroying some of her previous conceptions.
Was his opinion of her changing at all? How would she ever know? She shook her head to shake the thoughts, now was not the time.
She rested her hands on his shoulders and Harry rested his on her hips, a wide berth still between them.
'Ok, so tell me how you got in Ron's head,' Harry said.
'Well, Ron fancies Hermione—'
'What!?'
'Oh, come on! You're his best friend, you have to know this,' Daphne replied incredulously.
'He's never said anything,' Harry stated.
'And you haven't picked up on it?' she asked with a cocked eyebrow.
'No. Picked up on what?'
'How jealous he is of Krum right now. And the whole waiting for Hermione to be his date. Perhaps he doesn't even realize it yet, that's why I didn't come right out and say it. But if he just has a good time and Hermione sees. . . Well, if she shares any of the same feelings for him, this is one way to find out.'
'That's interesting. . . and pretty nice of you,' Harry said with a hint of surprise.
'It was more for Tracey than Ron,' Daphne admitted.
'Still, I have to give you some credit for trying. Can you see Sirius? How's he taking our act?'
'He's not buying it,' Daphne said after noticing Sirius' pleased countenance unchanged from when he helped them get their noses fixed.
'Because you are still scowling,' Harry said.
Daphne was ready to send a scathing retort but then she saw the lopsided grin he had on his face. Her own genuine smile grew. 'I hate you,' Daphne replied, scooting a touch closer to Harry.
'Sirius isn't smiling so big anymore,' Harry noted.
'Good,' Daphne said, inching even closer, her hands now clasped behind Harry's neck.
'Now, he's not smiling at all. And you went a little overboard with the perfume.'
'And a little cologne would do you well. . .'
Harry slid a hand down Daphne's back, below the line of respectability.
Daphne furrowed her eyes, and said, 'Get your hand off my ass, Harry!' But as she said this, she caught a glimpse of Sirius and she could see the storm of fury in his eyes.
Harry's hand left her backside with a shrug.
Daphne noticed the way Sirius relaxed when Harry's hand went back to its proper position. There was only one thing to do. Through gritted teeth and a somewhat forced happy face, Daphne said, 'Put it back.'
'Huh?'
'Put your hand back on my ass. . . both of them.'
Harry obliged and sent Sirius a small smirk over Daphne's shoulder.
'Oh, he doesn't like that at all,' Harry whispered victoriously into Daphne's ear. 'His chest is rising and falling like he just ran a marathon and his ears are all red.'
Daphne let out a small laugh against his chest. The change in dancing position had pulled the two of them even closer together and Daphne had rested her head against Harry's shoulder, giving the appearance of a couple actually enjoying their time together.
'It's amazing that you can even be bad at slow dancing,' she quipped.
'It's amazing how bony your ass is, there's barely anything to hold onto.'
'Well, keep it up. Sirius is pacing now, and he is clenching his fists. He might actually try to kill you now.'
'Nah, we haven't crossed that threshold yet.'
Daphne pulled her head back to look him in the eyes, their faces merely inches apart. Harry met her gaze, his eyes not leaving hers.
'Oh, and thanks for not throwing me under the Knight Bus in front of Ron and Tracey,' Harry said.
'Yeah, well, I probably didn't have to kick you. Even though my toes hurt. And public displays of violence didn't exactly help our cause for the night,' Daphne reasoned.
'Not like a public display of affection would—' Harry froze as he cut off his sentence. Color rose in his cheeks and he looked away.
Daphne held in her giggle, but a small smile grew.
Harry looked back at her, still appearing slightly embarrassed.
What the hell, Daphne thought.
'Kiss me, Harry,' she said softly.
'No!' Harry cried and he pulled his head back slightly.
She gave him a moment to ponder, her eyes never leaving his, they were quite nice eyes, though she'd never tell him that.
'Do it!' she said again, it was a soft tone but the command was forceful.
Harry must've come to the same conclusion she had, it had to be done if they were really going to set Sirius off, and that was their main goal for the evening. He nodded and brought himself closer.
It didn't take much movement and their lips were locked together.
Time froze.
Everything froze; their feet, their arms, even their lips. They were just pressed together. The few seconds felt like an eternity.
'That was. . .' Daphne breathed after they broke apart.
'Disgusting,' Harry supplied.
'I was going to say repulsive, but that works too.'
'Maybe, if we move our lips a little it won't be so gross,' Harry suggested.
'Only one way to find out,' Daphne said in agreement.
They both seemed to forget that they had said they were doing this to get a reaction out of Sirius, as neither checked to see his reaction to their first kiss.
They came together again and still, neither knew what they were doing but it was surprisingly easy, small movements here and there. There was something that started to grow in Daphne's chest, a warmth that she didn't know existed. She still despised Harry, but this feeling of kissing him was like nothing she'd ever imagined.
They didn't stay connected terribly long, just long enough to hear a growl from Sirius—which seemed to remind both of them of their goal. Daphne was the one that could see Sirius when they broke apart.
'How is Sirius taking it?' Harry asked.
A smile grew on Daphne's face. 'Oh, he is livid. I can see the vein on his forehead pulsing from here,' she said delightedly. 'And. . . yup. . . I can see steam coming from his ears.'
'I guess we should continue then,' Harry suggested. 'Just to keep him on edge, of course.'
'Of course,' she agreed with a nod of acknowledgment.
Their kissing became a bit more involved, a lot more involved, and their hands began to wander. Then suddenly, Daphne pulled away and grabbed Harry's wrist, dragging him rapidly out of the Great Hall. Again, they both failed to check for Sirius' reaction.
Once they reached the courtyard, she dropped his hand, turned to face him, and slapped him across the face.
'What was that for?' Harry asked, bringing his hand up to take away the stinging sensation on his face.
'For shoving your tongue in my mouth,' she declared.
'I didn't start that, I felt your tongue first,' he retorted.
'Yeah, but I wasn't trying to make you gag.'
'I've got something you can—'
She cut him off by grabbing his face between her hands and pulling him back into another kiss, even more passionate than before.
'Ok, what is going on?' Harry asked, pulling his head back a few inches, though Daphne kept him firmly in her grip.
'Shh,' she said, placing a finger on his lips. 'Sirius followed us out. I couldn't let him know we were fighting. Wanna go in a broom closet?'
'Sounds better than dancing,' Harry reasoned.
They walked by Sirius holding hands with pleased smiles on their faces.
'Where do you think you are going?' Sirius growled when he noticed they missed the turn for the Great Hall.
'We're going to find a broom closet,' Daphne proclaimed happily.
'You—What?'
'You heard her. . . a broom closet. Don't worry, we won't do anything you wouldn't do,' Harry quipped.
'Harry! So help me, I'll Uncle Vernon your ass!' Sirius roared. But by the time he got to the closet door, it was shut and locked. No amount of pulling would allow him to open it.
'What did he mean by Uncle Vernon?' Daphne asked once she knew they wouldn't be interrupted.
'He's my uncle who I was living with before Sirius came along. He tried to beat and starve the magic out of me.'
'I like him already,' she said with a sly grin.
'Ha. Well, it didn't work and now that he thinks I have a mass murderer as a godfather, he isn't so keen on his antics.'
'That's a shame,' Daphne replied, but she let herself smile just a little bit more.
Harry shook his head, but the little smile on his face told her he took the joke. 'So. . . Now what?' he asked.
'Well, I don't want to actually talk to you. We might as well snog,' Daphne suggested.
'Lesser of two evils. I agree with you for once.'
'Just not so aggressive this time,' she said playfully.
Harry nodded as his head came closer and she moved to meet him halfway.
This is kind of a form of dancing, Daphne thought as she felt Harry's lips move against hers. It certainly is more pleasant than dancing, at least with Harry. Stop! Stop! Stop! You hate him. . . But you're not kissing him like you hate him. . . Just making the best of the situation, that's all!
'I still hate you,' Daphne said during one interval.
'And I still hate you,' Harry replied calmly.
'So why are you doing this then?'
'Well, when I close my eyes, I can picture Cho and I just pretend I'm snogging her.'
'Prat.'
'What about you? Why are you doing this?'
'Now that Sirius can't see us, he will imagine the worst. Based on what he did in broom closets, the chances he lets you live to see tomorrow are slim to none. I'll finally have killed you, if only indirectly,' Daphne said with a satisfied smile.
'Well, might as well go out with a bang then,' Harry quipped.
'We will not be banging in any sense of the word!' Daphne retorted forcefully.
'You are so stupid. I didn't mean it literally. And you already stole my first kiss, you're not taking my virginity too.'
'Riiight, nice try, brat.'
'You think Sirius is gone?'
They both pressed their ears to the door. They could hear a muffled voice coming through. It was definitely the voice of Sirius.
'No, killing him would be too easy, too painless. I'll neuter him and hang his balls above his bed so he will always remember. Yeah, that's fair.'
'Guess not,' Daphne observed.
'How do you think Ron and Tracey made out?'
'Not like us,' she replied with a suggestive grin.
'I didn't mean it like that. I don't think Ron would make a move anyway.'
'Oh, but Tracey might,' Daphne said with a waggle of her eyebrows.
'Wow, that would be something.'
They stood there in silence. Daphne continually adjusting her robes and fixing her hair, even though they were both perfectly in place after the first adjustment. Harry, regularly putting his hands in his pockets, pulling one out to run it through his hair and stuff it back in his pocket.
'Wanna snog some more then?' Harry asked, finally breaking the silence.
'Better than hearing your stupid voice.' She almost jumped at him to continue.
Midnight came and went but Harry refused to leave until he was certain Sirius was gone, his voice could still be heard outside the door but now, it was accompanied by another.
'But they are still in there! Minerva, you know exactly what is going on and you're not going to do anything about it?' Sirius cried.
'I'm sorry, Sirius, times have changed. We can't just go busting open doors like we used to. If we walk in on children in a compromising position, well, that just sets us up for a lawsuit,' McGonagall explained calmly.
'A lawsuit! I won't press any charges.'
'It's not you I'm worried about. The Dursley's still have some legal guardianship and they won't hesitate. And given the Greengrass' financial situation, I wouldn't put it past them to try and get some money from the school. Don't tell anyone I said that.'
Daphne huffed.
Harry shushed her.
'I—Ok, but what if he is forcing himself on her!?'
'Sirius, please, this is Harry we are talking about. And the Consent Charms in the castle are as strong as ever. Everything happening in there is completely consensual. And, I mean this with all due respect, but I never would've predicted this reaction from you. I pegged you as one that would be encouraging this sort of behavior from Harry. Consider me impressed that you are taking this godfathering task to heart.'
'Yeah! And as his godfather, and for his own safety, I demand you get them out of there. She's a Slytherin, Minerva! For all we know, she is trying to kill him in there.'
'Oh, Sirius, let the boy have some fun. And that he is in there with a Slytherin is even all the more impressive, unity of wizards and all that mumbo jumbo, ten points to Gryffindor,' she declared.
'What!? You are giving him points for this?'
'Yes. And it is time for you to go, all the other chaperones have left already,'
'I'm not leaving until he is out!'
'I'm afraid that won't work. If they have discovered the Cushioning Charms, that could be all night.'
'Cushioning Charms?' Harry softly repeated what he thought he heard.
'Don't get any ideas, Harry,' Daphne threatened.
'Oh, I don't have any ideas. Especially since your Engorgio Charm has worn off,' he smirked.
Daphne looked down, and sadly, she could see her feet again. A frown crossed her face.
'Hey, chin up. Maybe you're just a late bloomer,' Harry said in mocking consolation.
'Shut up! Talk to me when your balls drop.'
Harry grunted.
They both pressed their ears to the door to listen to the rest of the conversation going on outside the closet.
'Sirius, don't force me to have you escorted out of here by the suits of armour.'
'Fine, I'll go,' Sirius said in defeat. Then he yelled, 'Harry, if you can hear me, know that this isn't over. I'm going to—have a serious talk with you!'
'Oh, poor Harry. Ten more points to Gryffindor,' McGonagall said.
'What the? How are you getting points for this?' Daphne asked indignantly.
'McGonagall must know how difficult you are and feels sympathy for me.'
'Pssh. Well, we can leave now.'
'Wait, let's wait just a bit more to make sure he is gone.'
They sat in silence for a few more minutes, hearing nothing from the corridor.
'Harry, as much as it pains me to say this, I had a lot of fun tonight.'
'Daphne—'
'You didn't let me finish. I still hate you, but I think I might stop trying to kill you.'
'Aww, that's so nice of you,' Harry replied in fake sweetness. 'And for the record, even though I saw some parts of you that I like, I still hate you too. But, surprisingly, I also had a lot of fun tonight. You wanna do it again sometime?'
'Fat chance.'
'Ok, I'll remember that next time you ask me to kiss you.'
'It won't happen,' she scoffed.
They left the closet and walked together until it was time to go their separate ways.
'I hope you fall down the stairs on your way to your dorm,' Daphne said before starting towards the dungeons.
'You know what? I'm not going to try to kill you anymore either and I don't hope you die,' Harry stated, drawing a surprised look from Daphne. 'I hope you have an accident that permanently scars your face, making you live with an uglier face than you already have.'
'Why you—'
Harry bolted up the stairs, dodging hexes and cackling with laughter as he went.