Chapter 16
Ties and Flies
When Daphne got back to her dorm, she found her two best friends sitting cross-legged on her bed, snack wrappers and empty soda bottles strewn all over her comforter.
'Those better be empty,' Daphne threatened playfully while indicating the bottles.
'Of course, they are,' Tracey said in mock offense. 'We don't have anything to spill. You, on the other hand, my dear, have to spill everything.'
'Yes, we've come to the conclusion that you've been holding out on us,' Millicent speculated as she popped another candy in her mouth.
'Ok,' Daphne said resigned to her fate. There was not going to be any deterring of her friends tonight. 'Let me change first.'
'Wait!' Tracey called. 'Let me check you out first. Why were your cheeks all flushed when you got in?'
'Because I ran here to beat curfew,' she lied.
'Curfew was waived for the partygoers, and you were nowhere close to beating curfew,' Tracey countered knowingly. 'Why is your lipstick smeared?'
'Er, that's. . . that's from the cupcakes, they were really crumbly and I probably smeared my lipstick wiping it off.'
'Go change,' Tracey said with a smile. She didn't believe a word.
Daphne got into some more comfortable clothes, jumped onto her bed, and snatched one of the unopened Licorice Lips.
'Alright, what do you want to know?' Daphne asked.
'So, the question isn't whether or not you snogged. The question is, who made the first move?' Tracey said knowingly.
'It was Harry, right? You didn't run off with some other guy?' Millicent asked before Daphne could get her answer out. It almost came out as a threat.
If Daphne's blush didn't give her away, her words would, 'Yes it was Harry, and I made the first move. And he was the one being stupid, running away.'
Her friends hung on every word as she regaled the happenings from the night.
'Tracey, I think the real question is, how many times before tonight have they gotten together,' Millicent said conspiratorially.
'Yeah Daph, don't think we haven't noticed the way you seem to clam up when we ask you where you spend your Friday nights,' Tracey said.
'Yeah, we know you don't fly every Friday,' Millicent added with a smile. At least they were still in a teasing mode. They didn't seem upset that she hadn't filled them in.
She was busted and there wasn't any reason to try to invent a story. 'It's been all semester,' Daphne admitted. And she actually felt kinda proud that she'd kept the secret this long.
'All semester?' Both friends asked with wide eyes.
'Just Harry?' Millicent asked, almost worried that it wasn't.
'Yeah, just Harry.' Daphne's answer drew a giant smile from Millicent, she still really liked Harry for Daphne.
'Dang, we were both wrong. I guessed since right after the Quidditch match,' Tracey said.
'That's when he asked me to the party.'
'And I said the beginning of December,' Millicent added.
'But, that explains why he hasn't been seen with a girlfriend this year. He's been keeping you hidden,' Tracey postulated.
'It's — We're not—' Daphne was about to protest but realized it would take more effort than it was worth. And so what if her friends thought they were a couple. They wouldn't say anything if they knew she was keeping it a secret.
'Daph, it's ok. If you want to keep on the down-low, we won't say anything,' Millicent said encouragingly, confirming Daphne's thought.
'But how? You two. . . well, the way things ended last time.' Tracey questioned.
'It started up again at my mum's wedding. Then we just started meeting up in secret,' Daphne explained.
'Aww, isn't Harry so romantic?' Millicent cooed. Daphne had to refrain from rolling her eyes, she didn't want to shatter Millicent's perception, it was kinda sweet. 'And I don't really blame you. There's always so much gossip around Harry.'
'Yeah, it's been pretty nice,' she said with a soft smile.
'Oh, you're whipped,' Tracey declared.
'So what?' Daphne replied. Again, she had enough experience with her friends to know that if she denied it the teasing would only get worse. And perhaps, there was a part of her that didn't mind the thought.
'I'm ready for you to tell me who your date was to Slughorn's party,' Raquel said after they'd settled in at Grimmauld Place. She added a knowing smile. Yeah, it was hard for Daphne to keep a secret from her mum.
'It was Harry,' Daphne replied contentedly.
'I knew it!' Raquel proclaimed.
'Can't hide anything from you.'
'Well, when you refused to tell me who'd asked you, and Sirius said Harry wouldn't say who he was going with. . . It wasn't Advanced Arithmancy, that's for sure.'
Daphne nodded. 'Is Dad in one of his meetings?'
'Yes, it could be a while. Why do you look anxious?' Raquel responded.
'No, reason.' Her mother's lowered brows forced her to add more. 'Well. . . Snape might've caught us snogging. And Harry practically begged him not to tell Dad, so I'm just waiting for that bomb to be dropped.'
'Ahh, well, he might be more ready for that than you'd like. So you likely won't get the reaction you're hoping for.'
'Oh, well. It's not why we do it anymore.'
'I've noticed. Just from what you don't say. I can tell you are treating this more seriously.'
'We are. . . I am. . . I think. Though. . . we aren't actually official,' she said pensively. She'd avoided pondering this and decided to just enjoy what they had without complicating things.
Raquel nodded but had a mischievous grin developing. 'Have you. . . ?'
'No!'
'Ok, ok. No need to get defensive.'
And that gave Daphne another not-so-pleasant thought. But no time but the present to ask, 'Mum. . . Were you a hoe?'
Raquel snorted and it was good she wasn't drinking anything or she'd have sprayed fluid everywhere. After taking a breath to gather herself she answered, 'Yeah, I probably was. Before I met your father — he was one too so it's surprising it took us so long to get together, honestly. My parents were so strict that I kinda acted out once I got old enough.'
'Ok, that's all I need to know. Now we change the topic.'
That evening at dinner, Daphne was finally able to talk to her dad.
'So, I heard you had a good time at the party,' Sirius said with exaggerated politeness.
'I did, Daddy,' she said brightly with a big smile.
'Snivellus had an interesting story.' He certainly seemed calmer than she'd expected.
'And?' she asked expectantly.
'And, I think you are old enough to kiss who you want to kiss, when you're at school.'
'So kind of you, Daddy,' she said with a hint of sarcasm. She didn't miss the phrases and words he chose.
'And you can see Harry on Christmas Eve. Molly has invited us all to the Burrow for dinner and some festivities.' He didn't seem as disgruntled at the prospect as Daphne would have presumed.
'I can't wait,' Daphne said enthusiastically.
'Me either, I have some ideas for some fun surprises for you,' Sirius said playfully.
'I'll bet you do,' Daphne replied in turn.
That night she changed the day on her coin to Christmas Eve. She wasn't sure what time they would head over so she left the time at 7:00, which was their usual.
A few minutes later she felt the coin warm, Harry had taken a minute off the time.
That pattern continued over the days leading up to Christmas Eve, the time moving more towards an earlier hour as if both wanted to see the other sooner.
She arrived at the Burrow with her parents in the early afternoon and Molly was busy in the kitchen somehow managing her controlled chaos.
'The kids just went out to start a Quidditch match,' she said to Daphne after greeting the arrivals.
Sirius made an exaggerated pout. 'Too bad you didn't bring your broom,' he teased with a smirk. 'Watching will be fun too though.'
Daphne shrugged. 'It would be. . . but I'd rather play. . . Kreacher.'
Pop
'Will you retrieve my broom, Kreacher?'
'Yes, Mistress,' he said with a bow.
Daphne grinned victoriously and before she knew it, Kreacher had returned with her broom and popped away. She left the kitchen with a smirk.
'Hey, Daphne's here. Guess you don't have to play, after all, Hermione,' Harry called out once Daphne emerged from the house.
'Hallelujah!' Hermione cried.
'Not so fast,' Sirius declared as he burst outside.
'Sirius! We didn't know you remembered how to play,' Fred called out.
'Very funny, Tweedledum,' Sirius retorted.
'What position do you play?' Harry asked. 'You do remember the rules, right?'
'Keep laughing,' he said to all the kids that were howling. 'I can play wherever you need me,' Sirius replied confidently.
'Alright, well. Ron and Bill are Beaters on this side, the twins over there. Me, Daphne, and Fleur can be the Chasers over here. So, you can be a Chaser with Ginny and Hermione.'
The rest of the group nodded in agreement and started off to their respective sides of the pitch.
'Don't get distracted while you're over there,' Sirius shouted.
'Just try and keep up,' Harry said as he tossed the Quaffle in the air.
Sirius played like he'd never taken a thirteen-year break. His skill combined with Ginny's speed and agility, and the precision of the twins' Bludgers had the bad team up 2-0 before they were even warmed up.
'This is too easy,' Ginny stated as she flew back from scoring her team's fourth goal, 4-0.
It'd taken Daphne a while to get used to playing Chaser but she'd seen enough Quidditch and debated strategies enough with Harry to know where to go. It was handling the Quaffle that proved the hardest to pick up. Her inexperience had cost her team possession on far too many occasions up to this point and Sirius' smirk was really starting to grate on her.
Once Daphne got used to handling the Quaffle the game turned. All the discussions she'd had with Harry made it so they both seemed to know ahead of time where the other would be and where the other wanted to throw. Add in the speed advantage they had with their Firebolts and they started flying circles around the other team. Fleur also caught on to their speed advantage and regularly made long passes that completely flipped the field.
More satisfying than scoring goals, was flipping Sirius' smile upside down.
By the time Molly called for dinner, they'd scored nine goals and only allowed three more.
Ron and Bill had no trouble claiming full credit for the victory though no one took the loss too seriously. That didn't stop the siblings — and Sirius — from bantering back and forth about their Quidditch skills.
Fleur walked in with Daphne and Harry. 'You two played very well together. Almost looked like you'd done it before,' she commented.
They both shrugged. 'Thanks, Fleur,' Daphne said cordially. 'We've played it out enough in our heads together, it wasn't too hard to put some things into practice, I suppose.'
Something had passed between Daphne and Fleur, perhaps Fleur had picked up that Daphne no longer held any animosity towards her. Or perhaps, she had enough people at this house that she didn't get along with, she didn't need another. Regardless of the cause, there was a much more friendly vibe between the two girls.
'Hey, Ron. . . stay here,' Sirius called before they got to the house. Harry looked back suspiciously as Ron started chatting with Sirius and Ginny but Daphne grabbed his arm and pulled him along into the house.
At dinner, Harry squeezed himself into the position opposite Daphne despite the efforts Sirius went to have them at opposite ends of the table.
Daphne had never understood the draw to the game of footsies, touching someone else's feet had never seemed particularly romantic to her.
Until now.
She dropped a spoon so she could check under the table and make a mental note of where Harry's feet were. The last thing she needed was to rub up against someone else's foot. She was surprisingly nervous, this was basically nothing, but her stomach was fluttering the first time she reached her foot across the span to touch one of Harry's.
His foot pulled away upon the subtle impact. His face betrayed nothing. Accidents happened, there was no reason for him to think someone had done that intentionally.
Her eyes sought his and he finally looked her way, their eyes not leaving each other.
She prodded again.
His foot didn't move away this time, but he did ever so slightly furrow his brow in question.
She responded by smiling with her eyes more than her lips, they sparkled with mischief.
She could only hold the expression for so long before she had to look down at her plate as her grin was winning the battle within and she didn't want to blind the table. Her foot had instinctively retracted as she was fighting to keep her composure. When she looked up again, she caught the remnant of a smile on Harry's face.
Harry's foot initiated the next contact and their volley of taps and rubs commenced.
Neither Harry nor Daphne participated much in the lively discussion that had picked up from where it left off outside. Again, Bill and Ron were more than willing to carry the conversation for their team. The emotional exchanges were a good cover for what was going on between Harry and Daphne.
The fleeting smiles and smirks continued as their feet did a slow dance under the table. It certainly felt more scandalous than the actions deserved but doing it literally under the noses of all these people made the adrenaline rush completely real.
She enjoyed the meal, at least, she thought she did. She hadn't paid very close attention to the food once their feet had begun their waltz but according to everyone else, the food was delicious. Either way, she left the table very satisfied, perhaps, just not in the same way as the rest of the group.
They went to the living room and sang Christmas carols together and played some games. Sirius had been more determined to have her not sit next to Harry, but he couldn't keep them from sneaking glances at each other from across the room.
Daphne couldn't help but notice the subtle scowls that would appear occasionally on Ginny's face.
Harry locked eyes with Daphne once the planned festivities had ended and he gestured for her to follow him as he got to his feet and left the room. Daphne tried to be discreet as she made to follow but her movements did not go unnoticed.
Ginny didn't look pleased and Ron took the brunt of her wrath as she leveled a sharp elbow into his side. She drew Ron's attention to the couple that was sneaking out of the room. Ron quickly jumped to his feet in pursuit.
Daphne tried to keep her roll of the eyes hidden.
'What are you doing Ron?' Harry asked once they reached the other room, Ron, just behind Daphne.
'Just hanging out,' Ron replied nonchalantly.
'Would you give us a minute?' Harry asked.
'Sorry, no can do, mate.'
Daphne and Harry scrunched their eyebrows in confusion.
'What do you mean, no can do?' Harry said.
'I mean, no can do. I promised Sirius I wouldn't leave you two alone.'
'Why would you do a thing like that?' Harry asked in disbelief.
Ron reached in his pocket and pulled out a stack of Galleons. 'He made it worth my time,' he said with a smile.
'I'll double it if you leave,' Harry said.
'Yeah, that's not gonna work either. He had me take an Unbreakable Vow so you couldn't pay me off.'
'He what?' Harry cried.
'Who was willing to be the witness for that?' Daphne asked in exasperation.
'Ginny.'
'Of course, she was,' she murmured.
'Why would she—' Harry started.
'Don't worry about it,' Daphne cut him off. 'We might as well go back, no use in fighting it.' She rose up, lips just brushing Harry's ear. 'I'll have Kreacher bring me over, it'll be ok,' she whispered before they walked back together.
'Harry! There you are,' Sirius called out with a knowing grin as they re-entered the room. He added a little wink in Daphne's direction and she sent a small scowl at him.
'Yes, here I am,' Harry said sarcastically.
'I have something for you. I want you to open it tonight since I won't see you tomorrow.'
Sirius handed Harry a manila envelope with a little bow taped on it.
'Really went all out with the wrapping paper,' Harry teased.
'Just open it,' Sirius replied with a chuckle.
Harry pulled out a small stack of papers that he rifled through so quickly there was no way he could've read them all.
'How about you just summarize,' Harry suggested.
'Gladly,' Sirius responded. 'All you have to do is sign the last page and the adoption will be official. You don't have to go back to the Dursleys.'
'Adoption?' Harry breathed.
'Yeah, you'll officially be my son.'
Harry's eyebrows rose, he pursed his lips and blinked rapidly as he comprehended Sirius' words. Then a small smile developed. 'While I appreciate the sentiment, I'm going to have to decline,' he said as gently as he could.
'Decline? But going back to your relatives. . .' Sirius was dumbfounded.
'I've spoken to Dumbledore already. Now that I don't consider that home anymore, the protection no longer applies. So I don't have to go back anyway.'
'Are you sure?' Sirius asked.
'Quite,' Harry said as he stepped forward and lowered his voice so only Sirius and Daphne could hear him. 'I'm not real fond of the idea of snogging my sister either,' he added with a wicked grin.
Sirius clenched his teeth and let out a low growl.
'Even if it's not tonight,' Harry mumbled to Daphne as he turned around and stepped away from Sirius.
'Might as well give you your surprise tonight too,' Sirius said, flipping his scowl into a smile as he now directed his words towards Daphne.
'My surprise?' Daphne said.
'Yes. One of the reasons we came over tonight is because we can't come tomorrow,' he said, handing Daphne a small package with elaborate wrapping paper with all the trimmings.
'If you sign those papers, he might actually wrap your gift next year,' she said to Harry with a small smile.
'If he even gets one next year,' Sirius interjected.
Daphne unwrapped the present and opened the little box. She pulled out a miniature replica of the Eiffel Tower. She glanced at Sirius and then to her mother who just smiled at her. 'What does this mean?'
'We are going to France,' Sirius proclaimed after a nod from Raquel.
'Paris?'
'Well, not exactly. Though I suppose we could make a pit stop. But mostly, a week and a half on the beautiful beaches of southern France.'
'That sounds—' Daphne started hesitantly.
Objectively, it didn't sound so bad.
She wasn't being objective at the moment.
'That sounds marvelous!' Hermione interjected. 'France is gorgeous. You will love it.'
'I'm sure I will,' Daphne said with forced enthusiasm.
'Well, we have better get home so we can pack up,' Sirius declared.
They thanked the Weasleys for the fun evening and said their goodbyes.
Daphne felt her coin warm as she was getting ready for bed that night. The date was now set for the first Friday when they'd be back at school. It felt like forever away at the moment, but the prospect of that reunion brought a small sense of comfort.
France was actually quite nice and though it didn't keep her completely distracted, it kept her busy enough not to sulk. As fun as France was, she was still excited to get back to school.
Once back at Hogwarts, every day of the week was just an obstacle in the way of the next Friday. The worst part was, the obstacle was immovable and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make the seconds tick by any faster.
Patience was not a strength of hers.
But stubbornness was.
So although she wished to see Harry more often, she didn't ever change the date on her coin. She just waited until the weekend arrived.
Finally, it was Friday night and she didn't have the cloak anymore but it wasn't so necessary since they had the time set. There would be no waiting around for him tonight, he entered the room right behind her, tucking the map away as he closed the door.
There wasn't much talking. It felt good to be in his embrace again.
'Harry, I have something for you,' Daphne said.
'Oh?'
'I wanted to give it to you at Christmas but. . .'
'Yeah.' He nodded, acknowledging that their potential Christmas snog had been thwarted.
'Get out your coin,' Daphne said as she fished out her own.
'Ok?' Harry said, somewhat confused.
She took his from his open palm and replaced it with her own coin.
'There you go,' she said as she turned to leave and slowly started walking away. Now, hidden from Harry's view she adjusted the coin to their next meeting. She looked over her shoulder to see Harry checking the coin now that it had warmed on his end.
A smile grew on his face and he gently shook his head when he saw the inscription that lit up for the few moments the coin burned. It wasn't something that could be changed to send messages back and forth but every time the coin warmed, the words would glow for a few seconds.
I Hate You
'Just in case you ever forget,' she said as Harry looked up from the coin.
He smiled and nodded. 'I hate it. . . thank you.'
She walked out the door without another word.
Another week passed and she found herself flying alongside Harry before they settled to a stop over the Forbidden Forest.
'So, got any tips for beating Chang?' Daphne asked. She has been made the permanent replacement for Malfoy after her performance against Gryffindor. The next match, against Ravenclaw, was just on the horizon and her nerves had increased with all the time she'd had to think about it.
'Ha. You think I'm going to give you tips on winning?' he scoffed.
'Yeah, I guess I'm asking the wrong guy. Don't get distracted wouldn't be very good advice,' she smirked.
'And to think, I was just about to tell you. . .'
'You weren't,' she argued.
'Guess you'll never know,' he said as he shot away.
She chased after him and they flew until they were exhausted.
Chang was good. Daphne couldn't deny it. And she played with a ferocity Daphne wasn't used to. Any contact between Daphne and Harry in the air had always been playful. Chang seemed to be trying to knock her off her broom with the way she would lower her shoulder into Daphne.
Between the physicality and Chang's outright skill on a broom, Daphne was getting frustrated. She was trying to trail Chang, but the Claw just wouldn't allow it. Daphne knew her spotting was inferior and the only advantage she had was speed. That would be helpful in a straightaway sprint, except the Snitch flew less straight the faster you were going, so she'd need some luck on her side if she were to come out victorious.
Her team, on the other hand, was taking out all their frustrations from their previous performance on the Ravenclaw squad. Urqhart had worked them over since the day they couldn't solve Weasley and their hard work was paying dividends. It was almost to the point where it wouldn't matter if Daphne caught the Snitch or not, Slytherin was going to win. If she could hold off Chang just a little longer.
Chang.
Daphne looked over her shoulder only to see the opposing Seeker way off heading in the other direction.
And there was the Snitch.
Slytherin put in one more goal just before Chang wrapped her hand around the golden ball. The match ended in a tie. Her teammates were not as thrilled about the result this time around.
'Do you think your boy toy has a thing for Draco?' Tracey asked one evening at dinner.
Daphne glared in response. Her friends knew she was still seeing Harry and they'd done admirably at not disseminating the news.
'What?' Tracey exclaimed. 'He looks at him more than he looks at you.'
'I couldn't tell you why, other than we are trying to be discreet, so I'd hope he isn't always checking me out. We don't talk about that other stuff anyways,' Daphne said.
'Yeah, I don't really ask my partners about their other love interests either,' Tracey deadpanned.
'He's not — I'm not going to justify your speculation with an answer.'
'It's ok. I wouldn't want to know either,' Tracey smirked.
Daphne laughed it off, replying would only embolden her friend. But the conversation had her reflecting on how things had developed between her and Harry over the last couple of months. They still met up every Friday, the flying didn't change much, but the snogging sessions had lessened in the sense that they actually talked more than they snogged. She knew that she was a distraction for him, just the way he looked going about the castle told her he had things on his mind, heavy things. With that in mind, she let him set the pace for their "activities" and she never asked about anything that might bring those topics up.
As the Friday before the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match approached, she thought Harry might cancel given that Ron was stuck in the hospital wing. Her fears went unfounded as Harry showed up in the abandoned classroom that she found almost immediately after she entered.
As per their usual, they got straight to snogging.
When it felt like they were thoroughly snogged out, she brought up one of the topics they never had trouble discussing — Quidditch.
'Your team ready for tomorrow?'
Harry groaned. 'I don't know. Our replacement Keeper is probably too ready. I don't know what I'm going to do with him. He can't keep his mouth shut.'
'Can't say I'm all that broken up about it. A big loss for you tomorrow puts us in a great position to win the Cup.'
'I don't think you can win if you never actually win,' Harry smirked.
While Daphne regularly commented about how she'd never lost a match, Harry was quick to remind her she'd never won one either.
'Well, the Puffs didn't look that great against Ravenclaw. But I don't think their Seeker is going to be able to distract you like your previous opponent,' Daphne said.
'I should hope not.'
He didn't say it, neither of them did, but they seemed to have an agreement that they were exclusive in only snogging each other. She'd seen Harry publicly rebuff multiple advancements from other girls and she'd done the same to the boys that had asked her out. Miraculously, they hadn't been discovered and people seem to have forgotten that they went to Slughorn's party together before the holiday.
'Well, I hate to say it, but if they can't come up with another way to distract you, they don't stand a chance. It doesn't matter how bad McLaggen is, they shouldn't be able to score enough to outdistance the points for the Snitch. Maybe they can get you with a Bludger.'
'Good luck with that. I haven't been hit by a Bludger since second year, and even that had some extenuating circumstances.'
'Hey, a girl can dream.'
'Well, keep dreaming,' Harry smirked.
Watching the Gryffindor Quidditch was like watching a comedy of errors and the team's performance had Harry completely distracted. The only thing he couldn't afford to be.
Daphne shook her head but smiled. This would be just what her team needed to have a chance at the Cup. Her smile faded as McLaggen's Bludger nearly took Harry's head off and sent him tumbling to the earth. Someone halted his fall but it was apparent he was unconscious. His head was still attached, a bit bloodied but he was all in one piece and she knew he would be fine after a day or two under Madam Pomfrey's care.
It was just like Harry, he never did anything in half measures.
Harry was back out and about come Monday, looking no worse for the wear. He avoided her gaze though, he had to know she wasn't going to go easy on him getting hit by his own teammate.
Come Friday, she had to seek him out while he was flying. He was still trying to avoid her a little. But he obviously didn't want to avoid her enough to not come flying.
'Turns out dreams can come true,' Daphne smirked once Harry slowed down enough for her to be able to fire off a question.
Harry just smiled and shook his head.
'Not gonna respond, huh? Well, maybe you have an answer for this question that I've always wondered about. . . What does Bludger taste like?'
Harry rolled his eyes. 'You're not as funny as you think you are.'
'No? I just think you're better at dodging questions than you are Bludgers. And my guess would be blood. . . tastes like blood. You know what that tastes like, right?' She was not controlling her smirk; she was barely containing her laughter.
He scowled at her but there was a smile hiding behind the expression. 'I can't wait till you have your first meeting with a Bludger. Maybe I should tell Dobby to keep you safe,' he said pensively.
'Dobby? What are you on about? You sure you aren't still experiencing concussion symptoms?'
'I think I might be thinking clearly for the first time in a week.'
'Whatever you say, Harry. Maybe just don't poison your Keeper next match.'
'I didn't—' He cut off his argument upon seeing her smirk. 'Oh, you're the worst. Like "hate" isn't even a strong enough word for you.'
'Good to see your long-term memory wasn't affected,' she said as she flew off back towards the castle.
Over a month had passed and Daphne didn't want to face Harry this Friday, he was going to be insufferable. Granted, he always was, this was just going to be to another level.
It wasn't as if he hadn't been smirking at her every chance he got for the last week; from across the Great Hall, in class, or passing in the corridors. The build-up was probably worse than anything he was actually going to say to her. That didn't stop her from cutting him off before he could get a word out when he showed up at the classroom she'd located to snog in.
'You say a single word. . . and I'll walk right out of here,' Daphne threatened.
'We never talk before snogging. I wouldn't ruin that now,' he said with a smirk.
'Good,' she replied.
Their "activities" commenced.
'Nothing to say?' Harry said when they were done.
'Not really,' Daphne replied.
'So, we could say you are tongue-tied.' His smirk returned in full force.
'And so it begins,' she said in exasperation.
'You never told me you're an artist,' he said casually.
'I'm not,' she replied in slight confusion.
'Well, you sure know how to draw,' he deadpanned.
'Ahh, you're horrible.' She wondered if Harry could hear her eyes rolling.
'At least you don't have to ever worry about tripping. . . because your shoelaces are always tied.'
'Are you done yet?' Daphne pleaded.
'I'll admit, that one was bad. But only if you admit that it's kind of amazing that you have tied in your first three matches. That's gotta be some sort of a record. Though, since it's you, you're probably just tied with someone else.'
The Slytherin squad had fallen apart. Crabbe and Goyle played like they were in another universe altogether. Whatever chemistry and zeal the Chasers had the previous match had been worked out of them. Urquhart had kept up with more than regular practices and it appeared to have only had a negative effect, wearing out his team. Their Keeper folded under the constant barrage of shots on goal and they were down 150 points when Daphne outraced the Hufflepuff Seeker to the Snitch and made an admittedly lucky catch. She'd almost flown right past it but reached out at the last second and snagged the thing to save the match.
'Hey, I've caught the Snitch twice this year. You on the other hand. . .'
'And yet, we still can win the Cup, while you are eliminated,' Harry said smugly.
'You need like three hundred points to win,' she scoffed. 'You are all but eliminated.'
'As long as there is a game to be played, we're alive,' Harry said with an annoying smile.
'Ugh, It's so not fair that you play in the last match every year. There are some serious shenanigans going on to not rotate the schedule.'
'Maybe you should just play better,' he said with a playful shrug.
That earned him a glare, and by his smile, it was one of the glares he enjoyed being on the receiving end of.
'If you win, I'm not talking to you for a month,' Daphne stated.
'Are you trying to motivate me?' he replied playfully.
'Ugh, no. Merlin, I hate you.'
Harry laughed. 'I just don't want you tying yourself to something you'll regret.'
'Goodnight, Harry,' Daphne proclaimed as she left, shaking her head and trying not to laugh.