A Pearl of Great Price

by Shygui

An incident at the Yule Ball, results in the rescue of a maiden fair. It was impossible for them to imagine that the resulting ripples from this event would impact so heavily on their lives and all those in the magical world.

4. Part 4 - A Summer of Gifts

AN - I have said once or twice, but sometimes things need reiterating! Dorothea Greengrass has been an amazing sounding board and generator of ideas for this story. I have no doubt that without her input, thoughts, well crafted ideas and pointing out my stupid mistakes this story would be so much less than it currently is. So once more - Thank You Dorothea, Your an amazing person and I love your story "A Marriage of Convenience" it's been a pleasure to work with you on both these stories - long may it continue, my friend.

A Pearl of Great Price

Part 4 – A Summer of Gifts

She felt Harry stiffen next to her; most likely he was remembering some unpleasant aspect of their time together. Unless she missed her guess, it would be thoughts about the end of the Triwizard Tournament; his mind was usually linear when reliving memories and she knew that just as she was reliving their past so was he, and even though Yule had brought them together, those memories were still particularly painful on this day. She turned her eyes to his and raised a questioning eyebrow.

'Tri-Wiz,' was the only word he whispered.

She gave him a knowing look and kissed his jaw once more before returning to her own contemplation, at least Harry's single word took her from her own pain and focused her thoughts on the end of the tournament, that in itself was a minor balm to her soul. It had taken him weeks to come to terms with Cedric's and his narrow escape, and he blamed himself for Cedric's injuries, the noble git.

Harry had tried to convince the rest of them to go home and spend time with their families; they all knew that war was coming, given what the Aurors had found when they left to investigate where the boys had been Portkeyed to.

Much of this information had been conveyed to them after the fact, but for once Cornelius Fudge had reacted like a semi-competent Minister for Magic. He had Madam Bones organise a response team, which was formed and ready to move out a mere five minutes later, but it had taken Dumbledore and an Unspeakable summoned by Madam Bones a further ten minutes to reconfigure the trophy's Portkey.

So some fifteen minutes after Cedric and Harry had been dumped unceremoniously on the stage in front of the maze, and had reported their abduction and narrow escape, the response team stood around the newly reprogramme Portkey which included the way point that had been added to Dumbledore's original one by parties unknown. Alastor Moody had been shanghaied into joining the team, bringing its complement up to thirteen - Madam Bones, five active Aurors, a squad of five Hit witches and wizards, Moody and the Unspeakable.

Skeeter had somehow got an eye witness account, complete with a photo, which the Prophet had run the next morning. It was reported the response team had arrived in the graveyard in time to see a small assembly of Death Eaters around a freshly risen Dark Lord.

The Unspeakable, seizing the opportunity before anyone else had recovered enough from their shock to react, fired a piercing hex at Voldemort's back. Unfortunately his aim from distance was off and he only succeeded in blowing a hole through the Dark Lords wand arm. Voldemort staggered, the blow seemed to have hit him hard; his knees almost collapsed and he fumbled his wand slightly before catching it in his off hand. The Dark Lord turned in their direction before he barked out an ordered for the rest of the Death Eaters to leave, telling one of them to grab Nagini, before he span on his heel and Apparated away.

In the chaos that ensued after Voldemort's flight, two Aurors lost their lives, added to this carnage three of the hit squad and a further member of the Aurors sustained serious injuries as the imposter Alastor Moody had turned on those nearest him. Only the quick thinking of Master Auror Gawain Robards had curtailed his efforts, but by that stage a vast majority of the Death Eaters had managed to Apparate away, leaving only four behind. Barty Crouch Jr, who had been impersonating Alastor Moody under Dumbledore's nose, Richard Crabbe, Thorfinn Rowle, and a very foolish and very dead Corban Yaxley.

Yaxley, who obviously believed himself to be a formidable wizard, had tried to take down Madam Bones as he attempted to move further into the graveyard and was shown exactly why Amelia Bones was the head of the DMLE. She was no quill pushing beaurocrat, she had held every position within the Law Enforcement Division - including Hit Witch - and was a master duelist in her own right.

A third Auror had died several days later; she had been bitten by a gigantic poisonous green snake that had slithered out of the long grass when they had been securing the scene. A series of combined high-powered cutting charms from Amelia, the Unspeakable and two of the hit squad had eventually taken the thing down.

It emitted an ear piercing shriek as it died that made the Unspeakable freeze in shock. The Unspeakable had immediately cast a series of charms over it, blanched white, and Portkeyed it away. He barely took the time to inform Amelia he would be sending some more people back to the graveyard shortly, before he too Portkeyed away, leaving a confused and worried Director of the DMLE behind.

The Ministry had yet to release any further information, but from what little was available, interrogations were ongoing. The Daily Prophet had released a series of front page articles, saying HE was back, and speculated on what this meant for Magical Britain. But then, after three days, as hysteria was escalating, Fudge had essentially neutered the story after a discussion between himself, Madam Bones and the Chief Editor Barnabas Cuffe.

Whilst the stories still appeared, the hysterical nature of them ceased. The Independent Magical meanwhile continued gain readers hand over fist with its balanced reporting of the issues and its willingness to truthfully call it as they saw it, giving their front page over to several editorial pieces on the issues facing the Magical World.

There had also been some pressure from certain sections of the Wizengamot to put a lid on the DMLE investigation and to curtail the activities of these foreign newspapers on British soil. They had however been stymied by Amelia Bones at every turn, who in addition to sitting her Ministry seat also sat a Wizengamot Seat as Regent Bones for the Noble and Ancient House of Bones. The most surprising thing for the Wizengamot was that she was ably and unaccountably supported by those families within the TGS group who had seats on the Court, who voted as a block for the first time.

Madam Bones had also refused to give comment to the Prophet or any other news service until she had a full picture of events. Given the lack of Death Eater activity, she had very little to report or investigate, apart from the original scene. Rumours were also rife that the Unspeakables had invited themselves into Madam Bones investigation, but as always when it involved the Department of Mysteries, no one could say for sure.

Whilst all this was happening, Cedric and Harry had been laid up in the Hogwarts infirmary for three weeks; both had large lacerations on their bodies, and they now sported a multitude of scars that wouldn't vanish, no matter what Madam Pomfrey did to them.

Cedric was the only one to have a visible scar, it curved over his right eye like a slightly jagged, pale crescent moon, approximately two inches in length. It was in such a similar position to Harry's that he took it in his stride, and told Harry he'd always wanted a cool scar of his own, given that Harry's lightning-shaped one seemed to be such a girl magnet. Harry hadn't thought that funny at first and retaliated by calling him moon-boy, but Cedric had slowly worn him down over time and had taken his new nickname in his stride.

Although the wounds would heal, the scars would not fade, much to Madam Pomfrey's annoyance. This was part of the reason why the boys remained in the Infirmary for so long, and early on were allowed so few visitors. It had taken four days before Madam Pomfrey had relented and allowed anyone other than Daphne, Hermione, Cho and Cedric's parents in as visitors; even Fudge hadn't been allowed to come in and give them their prize money until that morning.

The thousand Galleons had proved to be another sticking point between the two; Harry insisted that Cedric as the real champion deserved it and Cedric adamantly refused to take any of it, as Harry had saved his life. Their argument was into its twentieth minute when the Weasley Twins and their girlfriends Angelina and Alicia walked in, coming to see if Harry and Cedric were alright.

Harry took one look at them, thrust his bag of gold in George's arms, and said, 'Here; I'd like to invest in your business, I think we're going to need some laughs.'

Not to be outdone Cedric, threw his to a perplexed Fred with a 'What he said, after that bloody graveyard, I'm not sure I'll ever really laugh again.'

The twins looked puzzled for a moment before checking the bags, then sketched them both a salute and promised to do their best or die laughing.

It took Dumbledore reviewing both Harry's and Cedric's memories of the cemetery more than a dozen times for him to come up with a plausible answer that convinced Madam Pomfrey nothing could be done about the scars.

Harry's quick thinking had saved Cedric's life, however, the headstone had barely been a yard in front of Cedric when it was hit by the Killing Curse. Dumbledore theorised when the Killing Curse had exploded the headstone, minute fragments of the curse had somehow interacted with the stone and was still slightly active. He surmised when the fragments hit the boys in this semi-active state, with the curses magic yet to dissipate completely, that they for some inexplicable reason killed the several layers of skin, before acting like normal shrapnel as they ripped into their bodies.

Daphne wasn't sure why tiny pieces of rock with a fading Killing Curse on them would kill the skin when actually getting hit by a Killing Curse meant death without a mark. But given that this aspect of the curse had never really been studied who knew what happened when you used a physical barrier to block it and it exploded in your face? Also, as she didn't have a better theory, she kept quiet.

Madam Pomfrey had paled considerably at that thought, but had later suggested if this was indeed the case then the scars would eventually fade as the skin naturally abraded over time. She could, she thought, cut the scar tissue out, but couldn't guarantee this would allow her to fix them without other scars. Neither boy was keen on this idea and wanted nothing more than to escape the Infirmary.

'So they are finally going to let you out?' Daphne asked, sitting on Harry's bed as he waited for Madam Pomfrey to come and officially release him from her custody. She had refused to leave on the train without Harry. Hermione had just as doggedly agreed with her to the point that the Gryffindor witch had refused point blank when ordered to leave the castle by Snape on the last day of term, stating that she would be going nowhere until Harry was able to leave with her.

She was also sure that Hermione had later that day - after everyone had left on the Hogwarts Express - moved herself into the Slytherin dorm with Daphne just to spite the scowling potions professor, who had left their company on several occasions since, visibly quivering in rage. Subsequently the rest of their group had decided to depart on the Hogwarts Express after watching this confrontation and deciding that Hermione had probably pushed Snape as far as it was possible to go, without him snapping. Instead they had decided to wrangled a concession out of McGonagall - who had happily complied - allowing them all to floo back via the Deputy Headmistresses fireplace to visit as often as they wanted to.

During this time two other things of note had happened; the first was a rather sheepish Ron Weasley appearing in the infirmary, just prior to the leaving feast to offer his apology to Harry. It had taken him all year to come to terms with the fact that Harry had been changed by the incident in the Winter Garden and after several long conversations with his father over the Easter Holidays - or Ostara as the traditionalists called them - he had finally come to the conclusion that he had been in the wrong.

Harry had accepted the apology and offered one of his own for his actions on that day, but the awkward silence that had followed was the best evidence that there would be no complete reconciliation, too much magic had been cast to be put back in the wand. In the end Ron had silently nodded to them both and then left the Infirmary, leaving a slightly melancholy Harry behind.

The other thing of note was Harry's conversation with Dumbledore. Harry had insisted that she was present. The Headmaster had surprised them by admitting whilst he agreed in principle with what Harry and his friends were trying to achieve, he could not condone the hard line stance that they were taking to further their crusade, he feared they were pushing too hard and too fast.

The biggest issue they still had with the Headmaster was once again his insistence that Harry return to the Dursleys for a majority of the Summer Holidays. Other arrangements would then be made for him. Every one of their arguments had fallen on deaf ears, and then he played his trump card of Harry's magical guardianship. Daphne had to clamp down hard to contain her smouldering rage as Dumbledore explained to Harry that his living arrangements and safety were part of his mandate - never mind that the old man had never made sure that Harry was protected from his so called family.

This left a visibly fuming Harry with no choice regarding his summer break accommodations, but to go back to the Dursleys. Dumbledore added salt to the wound by essentially telling Harry that he need to learn to forgive and that he needed to trust him - Dumbledore - more, with Voldemort's return they must not fight between themselves, it would only strengthen their enemies.

Daphne took his hand in hers. 'Stop making such a face, you big baby. We knew this was likely to happen and we've had an idea, well … actually I wasn't really involved; it was a combined effort between Hermione, Cedric and Dobby really.' She pointed with her chin to the other bed where Hermione was keeping Cedric company, debating some dubious point that the Hufflepuff had made.

Harry merely raised an eyebrow and gave her a questioning look, before he too flicked his eyes over to the strange pair at the other bed. Once term had let out, Cedric had no longer had visitors apart from his Mother and Father.

Cho, had been seen less and less as the days progressed. A running series of hushed arguments had broken out between the two, causing many of their friends to speculate that the couple was on borrowed time.

In fact now that she thought about it, the last time Daphne had seen Cho in the infirmary, she had been hurrying out crying. His cousin, the Gryffindor Kenneth Towler, and their mutual Ravenclaw friend Kole Turpin, had all left on the Hogwarts Express, not wanting to anger their families or teachers by remaining in the castle.

Hermione had joined Susan, Megan, and Justin in keeping Cedric company a couple of times, until one day Cedric had said something that sparked minor outrage in her. Since then the two had held a series of extremely humorous debates - if you were everyone else except Hermione - on a multitude of different subjects.

Daphne had watched as Cedric masterfully pushed Hermione's buttons to make her rise to the bait, and then somehow straight-faced managed to argue his usually outrageous opinion. Who knew Hufflepuffs had this in them? Now all Harry got when Hermione walked into the infirmary with her in the mornings was a perfunctory hello and kiss on the cheek, before she hurried off to resume whatever debate she and Cedric had left the day prior.

'Dumbledore might be pushing you to go back to Durskaban, as you call it, but it doesn't mean you have to stay there all the time. Cedric said if you have an Elf, then he should be able to pop you anywhere you want to go and help with any chores that you have. Susan has already cleared the plan with Madam Bones, so you won't have the Ministry breathing down your neck, as Dobby is you bound elf and the Ministry cannot legally separate the two of you.' She frowned. 'I have no idea why the rest of us never thought of it, to be honest.'

The first semblances of a smile appeared on Harry's face as he considered the idea. 'It's a good plan, I'm a little surprised that Hermione was partly responsible for it, though. I thought she was still going on about a millennia of subjugation and slavery regarding House Elves?' Harry asked her, caressing her knuckles.

'Oh she is, she just happened to mention in Cedric's hearing that you had a House Elf, and he knew that we were trying to figure out how to get together over the summer, so he pointed out your Elf could virtually pop you anywhere you wanted to go.'

'I wonder if he could take me to see Siri ….' Harry abruptly halted his train of thought, flicked her a quick uneasy glance, raised her hand to his mouth and lingeringly kissed her knuckles one at a time.

Her eyes narrowed at him, she knew he was hiding something, subterfuge was not Harry's strongest point. Siri, who the hell was Siri …? Shock flooded her body as recognition flared. 'Why in the name of Morgana's dry crotch would you want to see Sirius Black?' She hissed at him, snatching her hand back from him before she lashed out and rather mildly slapped him on his shoulder. Without thought her finger started jabbing in his chest, 'The man killed your parents and he actively tried to kill you last year, you moron.'

Harry cringed back slightly to stop the poking and looked away from her.

Clenching her fist and taking a moment to calm herself, she reached back out with her hand and turned his chin so that he was looking at her. 'Harry James Potter, you tell me why you are in contact with that madman, especially now that You-Know-Who is back. He's one of his most trusted lieutenants, for Salazar's sake.'

'He didn't, and he's not. He is my sworn Godfather, Daphne, he didn't betray my parents, he was set up and framed by Peter Pettigrew, the same Peter Pettigrew who helped in Voldemort's return.' Guilt flashed in his eyes. 'I'm sorry I haven't told you this before, but I didn't know how to bring it up.' He adopted an expression of fake innocence. 'Oh by the way Daph, Sirius Black is my Godfather, he's innocent and was thrown in Azkaban without a trial.'

'What!' Her angry yell, cut through the silence of the room, drawing the attention of Hermione and Cedric. 'What do you mean; he got no trial? That's illegal, why haven't you done anything about it?'

Harry winced, but asked in a measured tone, 'And exactly what am I supposed to do about it, Daph? I don't know any solicitors or anyone in the DMLE that I trust implicitly, I …'

Daphne cut him off. 'Hippogriff shit, Harry, Susan's Aunt is the Head of the DMLE, Katie's dad is a solicitor, AV's father is a Lord on the Wizengamot … Do you want me to go on?'

Harry blanched and dropped his head once more. 'Sorry, I forgot … I'm still not used to having a lot of people that I can actually rely on.'

She sighed, for all his impressive qualities Harry was too easily cowed, he never stood up for himself when he wasn't angry, or it wasn't for someone else's benefit there and then. She was about to ask more questions when she was interrupted by Hermione and Cedric.

'What's going on, you two?' Hermione was giving them a curious glance, but started edging slightly towards Harry as she asked her question.

Before Harry could speak, Daphne answered Hermione. 'Captain Forgetful over here completely missed the point where he could have helped an innocent man by calling on the help of his friends.' At the looks of non comprehension on both their faces she continued. 'Harry just told me that Sirius Black is innocent and that he was thrown in Azkaban without a trial.'

Cedric hissed, but strangely Hermione only winced. 'You knew and did nothing, either?' Daphne asked incredulously.

Hermione chewed her bottom lip. 'I … ughh … yeah I knew and I also forgot that we now have more friends who have influential relatives.' Her face flushed in embarrassment. 'To be honest, I stopped trying to find a way to prove his innocence when Dumbledore told us last year there wasn't much that could be done, not with the kiss on sight order in play, it wasn't like he could surrender himself and get a fair trial.'

Daphne goggled at the girl. Her intellect was phenomenal, and yet she had this ridiculous need to pander to authority figures. 'Hermione, if its the last thing I do, I am going to break you of this idiotic habit of completely trusting people in authority. I have no idea how someone as intelligent as you are, can't see the lunacy in blindly trusting people just because they have an important job.'

She frowned a little before continuing her thoughts, 'Dumbledore could have pushed for a trial, yes it would have put his positions of Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump on the line … potentially Headmaster as well come to think of it, without any significant evidence, but any trial should have validated his final position on pushing for said trial.'

She smiled into his chest, it was a good time to be them that summer. Harry would get popped outside the wards of her house in the early morning, and they would spend the rest of the day with their friends, studying or playing, or just generally relaxing. It was decided early on that summer homework needed to be done as soon as possible, so the older members of the group helped the younger members with their summer homework whilst also completing their own, getting tips and help from any older siblings if they were available.

This wasn't the only type of help the group got, either. Adrian and Megan's older siblings Octavian ("Call me Occy"), and Sara ("Call me Ra"), also made time on their days off to help them all with their dueling and fitness training, something all of them were keen to continue, knowing what was out there now. Occy, who was five years older than Adrian and the second eldest of the Vaisey siblings, had only just completed Auror training along with Ra.

Dobby would go and collect Hermione and Justin when they were available, however, both wanted to spend considerable time with their families, which was understandable. Curiously, early on Cedric seemed to have been extended an invitation only on the days when Hermione was available.

It had taken her a couple of weeks to figure out Harry was sending Dobby to inform Cedric he was welcome to join them where ever they happened to be on that day after clearing it with their host. On the days Cedric did join them, most times his cousin Kenneth Towler and their friend Kole Turpin, who was coincidentally Megan's cousin, also came with him.

Kenneth, it appeared, took great delight - once he had been properly introduced - in flirting outrageously with Scarlett, who could evidently turn the colour of her name. He had later confessed to the boys around a campfire one night that he had noticed her across the great hall and had been trying to figure out how to accidentally bump into her for the last couple of months without appearing like an idiot . Eventually, the invitation to the three boys was made a standing one, and they appeared at whichever house the group decided to make use of that day, even opening up their own homes and hospitality.

As gregarious as Kenneth was, Kole was as quiet. The Ravenclaw, whose sister Lisa was in their year group, would happily sit back and watch the action, only engaging if he had something pertinent to say, but when he spoke hilarity usually followed, his dry wit and biting comments where a source of great amusement for most of the summer.

Of course Harry had been berated by several Order of the Phoenix members about disappearing during their watches. He had just yawned and asked them if their diatribe was going to take much longer; it had been a tiring day with his friends and he had another one planned for tomorrow. They did everything in their power to find out just how he disappeared right under their noses; including erecting Antiapparation and Portkey wards, but never found out he had Dobby Apparate him away. As a last resort, they turned to Dumbledore, "to talk some sense into his stubborn head", as Molly Weasley phrased it.

So, Dumbledore had also appeared at Number Four Privet Drive and attempted his disappointed grandfather routine.

Daphne had laughed when Harry relayed the whole episode the next day. Harry had responded with his own disappointed grandchild routine, asking Grandpa Albus - among other things he didn't get answers for - why it was that a sexual offender got smuggled out of the Castle. Dumbledore left, but not without telling Harry he was very disappointed in him. Harry, however, had got the last word in, replying he was equally disappointed in the headmaster, so they were even.

The summer had drifted by for about a month. Voldemort had been laying low, healing the wound inflicted by the Unspeakable. Rumours he was trying to recruit new followers abounded, as did small whispers that he wasn't as powerful as he once had been. Some of the more traditional families; who were still very much neutrally aligned, had reported that recruiters had come to their doors. But from what she could understand, very few were buying what the Dark Lords recruiters were selling, it appeared that most Houses were adopting a wait and see approach. From what Daphne could glean from her sources, Voldemort's new recruits could best be described as bottom of the cauldron pickings.

She grinned suddenly as she remembered the day Harry's life took a turn for the better.

'Harry, I would have a word, if I may,' Lord Hadrian Vaisey asked him one mid afternoon as they relaxed by the pool at Alnwick House, the Vaisey's ancestral home.

Harry's face twisted slightly in concern before flattening out, his new Occlumency shields coming to the fore.

'May I bring Daphne with me, sir?' His voice was devoid of emotion, but it was tight.

Lord Vaisey inclined his head. 'Of course you may.'

Harry had offered his hand to her and helped her rise. They wrapped towels around them and slipped into t-shirts, before following Lord Vaisey into the house and to his study.

Daphne's pulse quickened: a Muggle bikini, towel and t-shirt were not appropriate attire for one to be wearing when they met with a Lord of the Wizengamot in their office.

Her stiffened posture must have been noticeable, because Lord Vaisey gave her a warm smile. 'Relax Daphne, I invited you in here knowing what you were wearing; there is no offense inferred from your state of dress.'

She blushed. 'Thank you, sir, I wasn't aware that we would be coming to your office.'

'As always, Daphne, you may call me Uncle if you wish, and Harry, it's Hadrian to you. As my Father used to say: Lord Vaisey is some old geriatric fart, not me.' He chuckled at their choked acknowledgements of 'Yes sir,' before he addressed Daphne's statement. 'As I said before, Daphne, there was no reason that you should've known I was inviting you to my office, and therefore there as I said before there is no offense inferred, I invited you in here clearly knowing how it is that you are both dressed so please relax. But we are digressing.'

He sat back in his desk chair and steepled his fingers whilst contemplating Harry. 'I find myself torn, Harry, on the one hand I have my government trumpetting that they have access to the Wizengamot sealed evidence collected by DMLE at the time of the crime regarding Sirius Black's guilt, and yet my son, my sister's daughter, and all their friends are adamant he has not committed the crimes he has been accused of because you have had contact with said fugitive and say he is innocent.'

'Now, the Ministry have rebuffed any suggestion that your testimony is admissible in court, as you and your friends were Confunded into believing Sirius Black is innocent. I'm beginning to have serious doubts about the information the Ministry is peddling, and therefore I am going to give credence to the information my family are giving me. So, the problem as I see it, is that we need new evidence. Is there anyway you could get in contact with Sirius and get him to the Goblins at Gringotts?'

'I could try S -, er Hadrian, but … er … umm, forgive me my ignorance, but to what end?' Harry asked confused.

'Three things, actually; first have him obtain and wear the Head of House ring from his vaults; I have had my account manager do some digging and from what we can ascertain Lord Arcturus Black never officially cast Sirius from the Family Black. By wearing the ring he elevates himself to the aristocracy of Magical Britain, thus giving him rights for trial by peerage, something that the Ministry cannot gainsay. He would also technically have freedom to maintain himself under house arrest, but it would need to be documented at the DMLE, and given the kiss on sight orders for the Dementors, I don't think we will risk that option.'

He ticked of his next finger. 'Two, Gringotts is neutral territory, he can under the auspices of Gringotts invite the Head of the DMLE to one of their meeting rooms and be interviewed there. If he is innocent he can request the use of Ministry controlled Veritaserum and have that testimony formally lodged as part of his case.'

He held up a third finger. 'And finally, twelve years in Azkaban will take its toll on any man. The Goblins have healers who are outside of our laws, both goblin, human and others. By requesting access to their services he can be treated by expert healers and recover all whilst in the sanctuary of Gringotts as dictated by the Goblin Treaty of 1682. Unless I miss my guess, he could be entertained by the Goblins for at least a month whilst we out here try to do something about his current legal standing.

'If you can get him to Gringotts and he can manage the rest, I think we should be able to see him freed within a month, which should be plenty of time, given what I estimate his necessary recovery time to be, for him to be in reasonable, but not outstanding health.'

Harry eyed her Uncle seriously, but his eyes were suspiciously moist. 'Thank you Lord Vaisey, thank you from the bottom of my heart. However, I have one further question; what is it you stand to gain from this?'

Uncle Hadrian stared at Harry for a moment before bursting into laughter. 'Very good Harry, I see my niece has rubbed off on you. In practicality nothing, but that is not to say I will gain nothing.' He held up a hand to stop Harry's next question. 'All I'm asking for is a chance to meet with the new Lord Black, perhaps just after you take him there and he claims his Lordship, but before he starts his convalescence within the Halls of Gringotts, so I can discuss with him what I will be doing to gain his freedom. I hope to draw him to our side of the political spectrum, making it easier for those of us neutrals to govern for the majority rather than few. After all, we know the rumours surrounding the Dark Lord to be true, and we have to build bridges over the trenches of Neutral-bordering-to-Dark and Light to prepare for the war that is coming.'

For the next three weeks, furious activity was seen at all the houses of what was now loosely coined the TG Alliance. As the first week of August arrived, Lord Sirius Orion Black the third was ensconced in the Black Family seat on the Wizengamot. It had taken the combined efforts of most of the neutral faction minus House Greengrass and several other minor Houses to bully and push the Ministry into acknowledging the law and complying with the rules of peerage. Daphne's Grandfather had refused to be part of "some jumped up half-bloods absurd Ministerial conspiracy theory," and had glared at Harry when he noticed him sitting next to her at Sirius' trial.

Not that the verdict wasn't going to be a close run thing if the status quo had been maintained. From what she had been able to ascertain Malfoy and someone else, she had been unable to ascertain, had attempted to circumvent a "not guilty" verdict by pressuring and cajoling sitting members. Harry had taken one look at the evidence she had developed and spent the next four hours in the Frobisher family dueling room, destroying conjured dummies.

Only the utter brilliance of Sirius' self-appointed Barrister Nathaniel Bell derailed their actions.

As the trial date neared, Nathaniel, or Nate as he preferred to be called, finally convinced Sirius to emancipate Harry. As his magically recognised legal guardian - Harry had almost lost control of his magic when this had been confirmed - Sirius had the power to grant emancipation and allow Harry to take up his own role as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter.

House Potter had previously been a Venerable Magical House - meaning that his House had only stood behind the Ancient and Most Ancient Houses with regards to prestige in magical Brittain. Nor had his House been ennobled for either services to the Crown or Ministry of Magic, and it therefore did not have a hereditary seat on the Wizengamot.

After the events of Halloween nineteen-eighty-one, the Wizengamot had eventually bowed to the significant public pressure - and had seen fit to not only elevate, but ennoble the House of Potter to a full Ancient and Noble House, granting with it all the rights and responsibilities associated with this change in status.

This elevation made Harry the first Lord Potter of the Noble and Ancient House of Potter and gave him a seat at the big boys table, so to speak. It also gave the still somewhat loosely aligned TG Alliance another vote. This was a new vote, as the seat had never been sat before, therefore no-one held a proxy for it. House Potter's vote actually shifted the balance of power within the Wizengamot further towards the centre. Dumbledore had on several occasions since his investiture tried to get Harry to see reason and change his proxy to someone of the light, but Harry had steadfastly refused.

So, Harry had accepted his seat and promptly tried to have Daphne's father sit it. Unfortunately, that was as good as placing the seat into Daphne's grandfather's hands, as he could simply demand that Michael follow his lead as the Head of House Greengrass. In the end, Harry had settled on Katie's father as his proxy; he somewhat trusted all the parents of his friends, but Nathaniel was the only one of their group at large without a seat of his own, and Harry thought it a perfect solution, given the assistance he and Sirius had already received from him.

Daphne shifted nervously as pandemonium reigned on the floor of the Wizengamot. With space limited in the public gallery only Iris, Katie and the two Adrian's watched with them, her clammy hand clutched Harry's, as the well dressed form of Sirius flickered into existence when he dropped the Disillusionment Spell. He had borrowed Harry's Invisibility Cloak that morning to help him find his way past security and tail Lord Vaisey into the tiers. After their arrival he had given the cloak to the Lord of Vaisey in case the worst happened and he was arrested or killed, their plan was not without its risks.

He was sat on the Family seat of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, lounging with one leg lifted over one of the chair's arms, and a shit-eating grin on his still haggard face. Screams issued from some sections of the assembled members, and a couple of spells flashed towards the wanted man.

The innate magic of the hereditary seats flickered, and a golden dome shield flashed as the spell fire peppered the Black seat. Sirius flinched as the first two spells impacted the shield, but when it became apparent they couldn't harm him, he sat back, a smirk finding its way on his face as he watched the golden dome flicker occasionally under spell fire.

A cannon blast from Amelia Bones froze everyone. Her angry amplified voice rang through the court.'The next person that fires a spell will be arrested! Aurors, stun the next idiot who raises their wand.'

The honour guard of twelve Aurors stepped forward and faced the tiers of power, wands raised. A single spell shot towards Sirius, and the assailant was blasted from his chair as two stunners from different Aurors hit the individual.

'Who was that?' came Harry's whispered question.

Daphne narrowed her eyes, trying to identify the coat of arms on the leather high back chair. The shield was predominantly black, with four golden chevrons. Two above and two below, the three golden six pointed stars in a line.

'Rowle, that was Lord Decius Rowle. Idiot; what did he think was going to happen once Madam Bones made that announcement?' She shook her head in disgust, some people really were morons.

Whispered conversations broke out everywhere as they watched the unconscious Lord being Levitated out of the chamber. Speculative looks were cast both towards Sirius and Harry, only for the owners to turn and have further whispered conversations with their political neighbours.

'Sirius, I wonder what it is …' What ever fake platitudes or question Dumbledore had was cut off as Sirius flashed the Black family ring on his finger.

'That is Lord Black, Chief Warlock. After all, the hereditary magics of my seat in this August Chamber would not have recognised and protected me, had I not taken up the mantle of my family. I have a sworn affidavit from the General Director of Gringotts Bank, that I, Sirius Orion Black the third, am in actual fact the recognised Lord of Ravens and Head of House Black.' Sirius stood hands leaning on the rail in front of him.

'Let it also be known that for the first time I claim Privilegium Domini.' Sirius voice was calm, but icy.

'Indeed,' said Dumbledore, and once more opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Fudge's screaming.

'Bones, arrest that maniac, he is standing right there, arrest him!' Spittle flew from the mouth of the clearly agitated Minister for Magic.

Amelia was watching Sirius like a hawk and her attention did not waiver as she answered, 'We cannot, Minister, he has claimed Privilegium Domini; to arrest him goes against all the covenants of our oldest laws. He has requested judgement by the Wizards Council, and thus he shall have it.' Amelia Bones' voice was emphatic and left no room for dissention among the members of the Wizengamot.

Sirius inclined his head to Amelia. 'Thank you, Madam Bones, I am humbled to see that at least someone still upholds the rule of law in our fine country.'

Amelia snorted. 'You, Sirius Black, are anything but humble; you're up to something, and if I think it reeks, I will look into it.' With that she sat on the Seat of House Bones, crossed her arms, and continued to watch Sirius like a bird of prey; the only indication that she found some humour in the situation was the occasional quirk of her lips into a small smile.

Fudge blinked, looked from Sirius to Amelia, and then to Dumbledore, who just shrugged his shoulders. Fudge scowled, but realised he had no choice in the matter, and sat down in the Minister's Chair to the right of the Chief Warlocks.

Sirius' smirk widened into an almost predatory smile; he gave Amelia an exaggerated wink, and then spread his arms out. 'My friends, before we start these most onerous proceedings, I hope that you will indulge me for a few more moments before you have me seat myself on soul finder or the adjudicator, whichever name you prefer.'

Hushed conversations broke everywhere and Dumbledore banged his gavel, calling the Wizengamot meeting to order. He eyed Sirius carefully. 'Make it quick, Lord Black, we are not here to suit your whimsy.'

Sirius nodded before seating himself once more. He raised his Head of House ring, and then with an audible click fitted it into the right arm of his seat, and twisted his hand. A glow of magic suffused the seat, and Sirius' hair moved as if caught in a gentle breeze.

Tension in the room amped up, and Daphne saw wide eyes on virtually all members of the Wizengamot. Some of them even looked as if they were afraid.

Puzzled, she turned her attention back to Sirius.

The cords of his neck strained as though they were now under tension, his voice, though quiet, was awash with magic; the strain of having this ancient magic flowing through his body was evident as his voice cracked and occasionally warbled.

'Here do I swear by mouth, blood and magic,
fealty and service to the Crown, and Magical Kingdom of the West,
to speak and to be silent, to come and to go,
to strike and to spare, to do and to let be, in matters that concern the good of the people of this fair and righteous Kingdom,
on my honor, magic and the lawful commands of the Crown,
in need or in plenty, in peace or in war,
in living or in dying from this hour henceforth, my wand will be ready,
until the rule of law depart from this throne,
may pain illuminate my path, death take me, the world end or my magic be forfeit should I stray
so say I, Sirius Orion Black the third, and upon my magic, my life and my soul be it.'

She smiled at the memory, the oath, found and identified by Nathaniel. The last time it had been used was in the fourteenth century as the country recovered from the reign of a particularly loathsome Dark Lord. This cut the legs from both Malfoy and the other unidentified party; as by giving this oath of service Sirius had ensured anything he spoke within the Wizengamot had to be taken as gospel, his oath would cause him pain on a rising scale, if he attempted to speak anything, but the truth when dealing with the official business of the Wizengamot within the chamber. Should he attempt to outright lie to the court, he would either forfeit his magic or die.

The other side of the coin to the oath was that no member would be able to speak false when asked a question by the new Lord Black. Unfortunately, the easy way around this was a proxy who was not held to the same standard for some unknown reason. This was the reason why proxies within the Dark Families became all the rage soon after the oath had been introduced in the eleventh century. When the oath fell out of favour, so did the proxies. It remained to be seen if Sirius' use of the ancient oath would bring a new surge in the use of proxies.

In that light the magical public would hang, draw and quarter the esteemed members of the Wizengamot should it come to pass that any shenanigans be evident with regards to the final verdict in this case, and with Lord Black requesting an open trial. The Lords of the Wizengamot had their hands effectively tied, considering the media attention both at home and abroad.

Surprisingly, Sirius had also allowed the use of Veritaserum, once he had assurances that only Madam Bones would question him, and that questions would be confined to those regarding that Halloween and the Potters. In the end, the members of the court found him not guilty in a vote of eighty-four to sixteen. Malfoy's gold and threats had apparently still managed to reach some, but not all of the darker families. There were rumours afterwards that it was Dumbledore who had tried to influence many of the lighter families, but there was no significant evidence of this and it appeared that whatever he had attempted, it seemed to have fallen flat, and no one was talking.

Daphne struggled to control her smile as she watched Lucius Malfoy fume from another of the visitors tiers. If looks could kill, Sirius Black would have spontaneously combusted as he lounged in the Black family seat; occasionally he would catch the eye of one of the other Lords and would give them either a genuine smile and nod or a smirk.

The rest of the morning session was remarkably boring; a couple of minor cases of criminal activity and a civil case took up the rest of the time, by which time she and Harry had both been yawning and in danger of falling asleep. A quick lunch in the chamber dining room with Sirius, Lord Vaisey, Lord Roper and their other friends, had managed to pepper them back up.

Sirius had just about hugged Harry to death when they had first entered with her Uncle Hadrian; it was one of the happiest memories she had of that summer. She wasn't spared at all from the Sirius experience, as he called it, given that by the end of lunch she doubted she had any blood in her body that wasn't causing her face to blush in embarrassment. Harry adding that she was very pretty when she blushed hadn't helped spare him from the torment, either.

They left before the afternoon session started and Flooed back to Huntsmoor Manor, the ancestral home of the Frobisher's, where all the rest of their friends had gathered to hear the news. The apprehensive faces of their friends greeted them as they stepped into the Vaisey's receiving room. The broad smiles on their faces delivered the good news before they could even open their mouths, and soon shouts of joy and triumph sounded throughout the room, and Butterbeers were being dispensed liberally as they filled everyone in on what happened.

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips as she remembered the rest of that summer. Sirius, upon being free, left no stone unturned to ensure that Harry and his friends had the best summer ever. For three weeks they and their families had an open invite to spend time with Lord Black and his godson on Black Island. There had been so many places to explore and be on their own that it had only taken three days before Harry got his first proper introduction to the girls, even if it wasn't originally by her design.

She blinked herself awake; sun streamed through the window of the room she shared with Katie, Iris and Sophie. There were plenty of rooms in the former plantation house, but the girls had decided that sharing a room would be so much more fun, which resulted in long nights of giggling, talking and blushing. Daphne and Iris had serious boyfriends, but Katie and Sophie had yet to snaffle the boys who had caught their interest, not that they were really trying, at least in Iris' opinion.

Katie, through no fault of her own, especially early on often found herself in the other Adrian's company, just because he was AV's best friend. Daphne had noticed that they often found themselves paired up when practicing spell work or homework, as Iris would work with AV, given that Harry and herself were obviously a year behind the others it was only natural.

It had taken the combined efforts of Iris and Daphne to drag the truth out of Katie, but she eventually admitted she had come to find the quiet, yet confident Adrian Pucey or AP as he was called, quite appealing. Iris was continually telling her to woman up and just sit on his lap and snog him into submission, afterall, it had worked for her and AV.

AP appeared to enjoy Katies presence, but whenever Iris sounded him out or mentioned setting him up with one of their friends, he baulked at the idea, saying he was waiting for the right girl. Daphne suspected that the right girl was in fact Katie, given that his eyes would ghost to her friend quickly everytime the subject of a girlfriend for him would come up.

She was sure that Iris had seen the same thing and was the reason why she was so adamant that Katie should just woman up. Katie steadfastly refused to believe them, commenting numerous time she was sure the pair of them were making it up as she had never seen AP do anything of the sort. Maybe Sophie's idea of locking them in a broom cupboard when they got back to Hogwarts had merit.

Sophie was a different matter altogether; at one point during the summer, she had started to notice as the baby fat started to fall off Neville Longbottom. Unfortunately for Sophie, she wasn't the only one to notice, with both Megan and her cousin Lisa Turpin (who was becoming exceedingly good at getting invited along by both her brother or Megan to wherever they would be for the day) noticing, too, specifically as they lazed around the new pool at Llanerchrugog House, the ancestral seat of the Jones family.

Sophie had taken a leaf out of Daphne's book, getting Neville used to physical contact from her by starting water fights in the pool, jumping on his back and generally ensuring that she asked him to rub Sunscreen Potion on her back, or asking if he wanted something to eat or drink.

So far it seemed Neville didn't know what to make of this attention from the playful and beautiful witch, but Daphne was going to get Harry to sound Neville out about his feelings for her friend today, if it was the last thing she did. She put on her emerald green bikini, the one she'd bought because it matched Harry's eyes, and wriggled her way into a pair of frayed denim shorts.

When Hermione had first given them to her in June as a very belated birthday present, she'd thought that either Hermione was playing a prank or she had wrapped up the wrong shorts by mistake, given that the legs were frayed and quite short. Hermione had just laughed and told her they were the latest muggle fashion, and that she was welcome and that she would take books in lieu of payment for helping with Daphne's lovelife.

She'd scoffed at Hermione's suggestion that the shorts had superpowers that would enthral teenaged boys, but she was woman enough to admit when she was wrong. And Merlin! how she had been wrong; Harry's eyes had almost popped out of his head when he first saw her in them. The effect hadn't seemed to abate much with each additional use, and without doubt she'd come to love the look in his eyes when he saw her in them.

She was grateful they were loose enough on her lower waist, given she was nearing her moon days, and her stomach felt a little sore and bloated. She would take a moons-bane potion at breakfast, and that would deal with the cramps, the pain and the rest of it for most of the day.

Deciding that long-sleeves might be advisable, she grabbed one of Harry's old school shirts, which she had liberated from his trunk, and put it on. She rolled up the sleeves, but left the shirt open, except for knotting the bottom loosely around her waist, and finally pulled on a pair of shoes named after a greek goddess that were made of white mesh with orange and purple on them.

Harry was already at the breakfast table, waiting for her, a seat next to him empty which she claimed, giving him a quick kiss good morning. His eyes fogged when he noticed her outfit, and she got that look again, a compliment without words if you looked at it right.

Harry was dressed in emerald green and grey board-shorts that hung low on his hips, an open short sleeve grey shirt, and was for the moment barefoot. The shirt showed his developing body nicely, and the low shorts flashed the band of his CK underwear and hinted at what was beneath his clothes.

She chewed her bottom lip slightly as she let her eyes drink in the sight of her boyfriend, before realising that she was staring, and started gathering her own breakfast, thanking the gods that no-one seemed to notice her short period of decreased cognitive function.

Announcing at breakfast that Harry was taking her exploring the island for the day almost proved to be her undoing when Harry looked at her in confusion, before a kicked shin and pointed look got him to confirm their plans. She really needed to work with him in regards to subtle hints! She was just about to start eating when Sirius piped up.

'Don't let Harry explore too much, Ms Greengrass, there's a lot of virgin territory out there, and I don't think he has a very good sense of direction, he's only almost fifteen after all.'

A deep blush of scarlet crept over her face, and she couldn't look at Harry, so she steadfastly kept her eyes on her plate. She had just about managed to get her face under control when her father spoke up.

'Do you think he needs a map, Sirius? Daphne did comment the first time we met your godson that he could find things without a map, but maybe it was only certain things. I am sure that Selene could help with that; she was always excellent with things like TOP-ography.'

Before answering Selene gave her a long appraising look, that ended with a small understanding smile. Her mother was well aware of the lengths Katie and Iris had gone through to ensure they helped Daphne get over the trauma from the incident.

Hermione had secured books from the Muggle world on counseling, and they had made her talk. As they pulled information from her, it had felt like they were squeezing a festering wound to excise the pus from within. It was painful, difficult and bloody work, but they had helped her realise she had to face what had happened to truly get back into her life

They had also treated her normally; slowly and carefully at first, Iris had begun teasing her again, Katie playing the straight woman to perfection, and she had made progress. A laugh here, a sarcastic comment there, until about a month after her return to Hogwarts she had inadvertently made a comment about Harry's bum. Iris had seized on that comment and had wheedled, poked and prodded until Daphne had to admit that yes, she found Harry attractive, but it scared her to death … what if the same thing happened with Harry?

She knew she was being illogical, but knowing that she was, didn't help. She felt safe in Harry's arms, but would she still feel safe if their relationship changed? It had taken right up until she woke up in the lake to realise that she needed to start trusting boys again - or more specifically, one boy in particular. Harry had never once done something inappropriate, and he had continually watched out for and protected her; if she couldn't trust him then whom could she trust?

Even more importantly, she'd hate to lose him; the glances other girls gave him ever since the morning he took Malfoy to task hadn't gone by unnoticed by her. She was lucky Harry was such an adorable, oblivious idiot when it came to the fairer sex. However, even Harry wouldn't stay that naïve forever, so she'd better start marking her claim.

That kiss in the medi-tent had almost cost her every bit of self confidence she had, especially when he didn't kiss her back, only the dazed look in his eyes had allowed her to screw up what little courage remained and kiss him again.

She knew that her mother would take all this into consideration and so she returned a tentative smile of her own, letting her know that she was okay with the teasing, and that she was finally ready to be treated normally once more. Yes, there were still some cracks, but by and large most days she hardly thought about that event anymore. Her mum softened the hammer blow with another smile and a wink.

'That's an excellent suggestion Michael, maybe Daphne can help Harry mark out the peaks on the island; from what I could see when I have looked from the balconies, I'm sure there are at least two nice sized peaks quite close to hand, that could do with an inspection from up close,' Selene quipped. 'What do you think Harry, think you can help Daphne map out the lay of the land? I'm sure she can help you reach some of the hard to find places?'

Well, maybe she wasn't quite as ready for this as she thought. She hadn't known her face could become any hotter than when Iris really got going, but obviously she was mistaken. A loud thump made her raise her flaming face; Harry was banging his head against the table, his cheeks as crimson as hers. She groaned, lowering her eyes to her plate once more, and took a determined bite of her breakfast. This was going to be a long meal.

By the time they left the table both of them had been blazing red and mortified, even Tori had gotten in on the action, adding a couple of embarrassing anecdotes from her childhood. The fact that this was perpetrated in front of not just Harry, but all her friends meant that her payback was going to have to be of epic proportions. She was seriously considering taking out a full page add once she figured out who her little sister was crushing on.

But at least they were all having fun, the holiday had very nearly not gone ahead. Her grandfather had thrown a fit when her father had informed him of their plans. Disinheritance had been mentioned, but as her father had explained later to Sirius and Harry, it was an empty threat. He was the sole remaining son of the Lord of Greengrass, since his youngest brother died in the last years of the war, caught in Diagon Alley at the wrong time, and his oldest brother and family died during the Dragon Pox epidemic that had claimed his mother in the late seventies.

She and Harry had almost fled from the house. The sun was bright, warm, and fairly high in the sky when they decided to stop for lunch in a small cove. Tree lined cliffs surrounded them, reaching out into the ocean which broke on a reef further out, and allowed only small waves to lap at the pristine white sand.

The beach itself was less than twenty metres in length at its widest point and and half that in width, with a few largish boulders that had broken off from the surrounding cliffs littering the sand. Light azure blue water glinted in the sun, tempting them to strip off and run into the water to splash each other.

She spluttered, coming up from under the water where Harry had just thrown her. 'Harrrryyy!' She glared at him, splashing more water in his direction. 'What was that for?' Her hands went automatically to her hips, but she was sure that her impersonation of a drowned rat wasn't at all intimidating.

'You looked like you were a bit hot, so I was trying to help you cool off,' he replied, with false sincerity in his voice, and a smirk on his face.

She glowered at him, closed the distance between them and tried to wrestle him under the water. Unfortunately, "tried" was the operative word. The infuriating prat just stood there and allowed her to attack, before he captured her again and tossed her back in the water.

She surfaced once more, fuming, and already planning her next attack. She wasn't a Slytherin for nothing; this time she considered her options and then sprung her attack at his legs. Her victory was unfortunately short lived; she brought him down, but he scooped her up again and dragged her down with him.

They kept wrestling playfully for a good five minutes when Harry suddenly went white, stared at her chest for a few moments, gulped and then spun around and faced out to sea with his eyes screwed tightly shut.

Confused, she jumped on his back and asked, 'Harry, what's wrong?'

She heard him swallow, before he answered, 'Umm your top, I... ah ... well, that is ... I think its broken.'

She slid off his back, and immediately understood as her nipples slid down his skin, causing the most exciting and terrifying feeling she'd ever had. A small gasp popped out of her mouth and she attempted to ignore what that slide down his back had done to her insides; instead she set about trying to assess the damage to her bathing suit.

She was part way through her adjustment; the bikini didn't appear to be broken, merely shifted and twisted a lot due to their vigorous play, something she hadn't noticed as she was concentrating on bringing Harry down. The lady at the store had told her that this particular model wasn't great for anything other than a gentle swim and sun bathing. Now she grasped the full meaning of that warning. She was still trying to reposition the left cup, when Harry spoke again in a dejected voice.

'You know, Daph, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to look … I'll understand if you want to leave … '

She stopped what she was doing to look at her boyfriend, trying to understand what the hell he was thinking about. Sighing in exasperation, she continued to fix her top whilst trying to set his mind at ease. 'So you shifted my bikini top on purpose, then?'

Harry stiffened and stuttered out indignantly, 'What … no … of course I didn't.'

She shook her head, he was an idiot. 'So you accidently saw my boobs and what you think is I'm going to break up with you … is that it?'

'But … but I was staring at …' He obviously struggled to find the right words and waved his hands in some sort of gesture in front of him before capitulating and continuing with, '… them, Daph. I didn't mean to, but I couldn't help it.' Harry hung his head in shame.

Rolling her eyes before going back to her task, she continued absentmindedly, 'It was an accident Harry, an accident.' How the hell did this thing get so twisted, she thought to herself, still at a loss to figure out exactly what had happened to the bikini top.

'But Daph, I saw your body without your permission,' Harry answered in a dejected voice.

Giving up her attempt to untangle the damn thing in-situ, she reached up and untied the neck ties, knowing that Harry wouldn't turn until she gave him permission. She set it to float on the water as she assessed the damage. The pads that stopped her poking someone's eye out when the water was cold had shifted in both cups, somehow twisting everything up. Her tongue was stuck out in concentration, as she tried to wrangle the offending pieces of material back into position.

'I should just go … shouldn't I ... ?' Harry's voice was so soft and broken that she nearly missed it, apparently whilst she was concentrating she hadn't spoken to him for a while.

She stopped what she was doing and stared at his back. Why was he talking about leaving? She answered him. 'Don't be an idiot and stay right where you are, if you leave, then we are going to have words, we already agreed that this wasn't your fault.'

She was about to go back to her task when she saw his shoulders slump even more. For all of Harry's good points, and there were many, he had no confidence when it came to their relationship. Whilst he let her choose the speed at which their relationship progressed and she was eternally grateful for that, she sometimes wished that he would take control occasionally and act within those boundaries. Was it too much to expect him to pull her close and snog her socks off, or pull her into his lap and snuggle with her? She knew after talking to Katie and Hermione that he was waiting for her to realise that he wasn't good enough for her.

She needed to reassure him that even though he'd inadvertently seen her boobs, it was okay and she didn't hold it against him. Her fingers had been working on their own and as she finally got her top back in order, a really bad idea struck her. A really bad idea that Iris would think was inspired.

But could she really do it? Her heart had sped up considerably already at the mere thought. The arguments against the idea piled up quickly. Could she trust him to respect her boundaries? Would his hormones take over and make him a grabby monster? She was here on her own, no-one would rescue her this time! What if he didn't like what he saw? She wasn't as big as some of their friends, would that make a difference to him? Would he be disappointed?

At the same time she shot each and everyone of them down, this was Harry, the most honourable boy she'd ever met! Honesty and sincerity fair oozed of him. If she couldn't trust him, then there were no boys she could trust. He wouldn't become grabby, he'd most likely faint from shock.

And the real kicker was that in that moment she realised she wanted to have a normal life. Moreover, she wanted a normal love life; she wanted to be more intimate with Harry and get to know his body as he got to know hers. She didn't want that Yule Ball to rule her life anymore, she wanted to move past it, she wanted to put her trust in Harry and knew he wouldn't let her down.

Her heart was almost thundering in her chest as she made her decision to take back complete control of her life … Maybe that was why her mum had winked at her before joining in the teasing, was she giving her silent approval and a sign that she thought that Daphne could trust Harry completely?

Decision made, she acted, it wasn't only Gryffindors who could be brave when they had to be. 'Don't you dare move a muscle Harry Potter,' she commanded as she pulled the rest of the top off and waded to the shallows, throwing the item above the wave line, before steeling herself and turning back towards her boyfriend.

When she could she sank underneath the gentle waves with only her head showing and paddled herself out to where Harry was standing in hip deep water, her pulse booming in her ears. 'Move out until you're up to your chest and then close your eyes,' she instructed him as she grabbed onto his forearm, allowing him to pull her through the water. Her heart raced even faster and her stomach tied itself in knots as anticipation and fear warred within her. Was this a big mistake? Was she going to regret this for the rest of her life as well?

All too soon Harry stopped moving and suddenly her mouth was so very dry. 'Are your eyes closed, Harry?'

He nodded, so she released his arm, swam around to his front and hugged him, pulling herself tightly against his chest and wrapping her legs around his hips, she was shaking from nerves as she pulled their bodies together. She felt him stiffen slightly in her arms. Her stomach was a roiling knot and it took three calming breaths before she could speak the words that might define her future, 'Look at me Harry.'

He opened his eyes, eyes that couldn't hold her own, they flicked down to her chest, before they goggled and he forced them away, looking over her shoulder and out to sea, his body turning even more rigid.

She felt a stab of panic as his eyes left her chest, but forced it down. This was just Harry being noble not him rejecting her, 'I said, look at me Harry.' She grabbed his chin with her right hand and forced his eyes to meet hers, 'What happened before was an accident, do you understand, an accident; the lady at the shop warned me that something like that might happen, but I bought the bikini anyway, so if there is any fault here, it's mine.' She sounded far calmer than she felt.

Silence.

'Do you understand me?'

He only nodded again.

With another steadying breath she continued, 'What I am about to do now is not an accident, this is me taking a leap of faith that I can trust you, Harry, my boyfriend; this is me taking control of my body and sharing it with you, do you understand me?'

He nodded again, but she wanted to hear his voice. 'Say it out loud, Harry,' she requested, her heart still pounding away in her chest.

He croaked out a 'Yes', his eyes shining with awe and slight panic as he comprehended what she was planning on doing.

'Good, then turn around and follow me out of the water, but no touching, I don't think I am ready for that yet,' she said as bravely as she could manage.

As he spun them on the spot, she pushed away from him, separating them by about three or four metres. He stayed still until she found her feet and started to slowly move backwards, step by step she rose from the water. She felt a blush start to form on her cheeks, but she held her head high and continued to watch him as more of her body appeared.

He stared at her with a reverence she had never seen before, as though he was unwrapping the best gift he had ever received. She felt the water drop away from her breasts completely and she stopped once she was in thigh deep water.

Relief flooded her system when as soon as she came to a halt so did he, his lower body still immersed in hip deep water, eyes locked on to her own, 'You're supposed to be looking, Harry,' she told him with a small smile, amazed that she could still speak so calmly when she was such a mess inside. A cool breeze pebbled her nipples as Harry's hot gaze swept over her.

After a couple of false starts, his voice broke several times before he finally squeaked out, 'You're beautiful, Daphne, so very very beautiful … I … wow … thank you for … well you know.' A blush had quickly engulfed Harry's face, matching what she was sure her own face looked like. She beckoned him forward with a crooked finger. She watched fascinated as the rest of Harry emerged out of the water, revealing a very visible sign as to just how much he appreciated the gift she was giving to him today.

Even more, it also pressed home the fact she could trust him completely when it came to her boundaries. Which fifteen-year-old, hormone crazed boy wouldn't at least have tried to wheedle her into some more exploration?

Harry Potter, that's who.

The tension left her body, and a giddiness overcame her, followed by a blinding realisation. This time, she'd put her trust in the right boy, she'd continue putting her trust in him and she would see where it would lead them.

Her eyes dipped down to his groin again on their accord and a giggle welled up in her at the sight of the peaked tent in Harry's trunks. Harry blushed further and halted in his tracks, when he noticed what she was looking at, which only made her laugh harder as she wondered which part of his anatomy would win the fight for blood. He blushed even harder when she explained what she was laughing at, but eventually gave her that crooked smile and just shrugged. That relieved some of the awkwardness of the moment and he moved forward once more closing what was left of the small gap between them.

He stopped, a small step from her and reached out with hesitant hands to cup her face. His voice once again betrayed him, warbling and cracking, 'I don't know the words to express how I feel about you, Daph, all I can say is thank you for your trust.' She beamed at him and with that he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her deeply, as she wrapped her arms around him pulling their bodies close and marvelling at the touch of his skin on hers.