A/N 1) – Just wanted to thank you all for your continued support, and to say thanks to my Beta CaskettFan5, who is attempting the impossible task of making me a better writer.
A/N 2) – To help with ease of reading (due to reviewer feedback) from now on thoughts will be in 'Italics', I hope that this helps differentiate talking and thinking.
A/N 3) – Recommended Reading, if you are a Haphne fan like I am you have to read Contractual Invalidation By R-dude – it's a brilliantly original take on Daphne and is one of the best completed stories I have ever read. Its only seven chapters long but its 90K words in length and well worth the time you put into it, here's hoping we see an epilogue of sorts in the future.
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all; I am just playing in her sandbox (but not very well).
The statement of 'You're a shit brother Potter,' brought Harry to a halt, he had only just delivered Daphne back to the Hospital ward for her next round of treatment, and had barely exited the doors, when he heard this.
'Come again Nev,' asked Harry not quite sure that he had actually heard correctly given that he was still trying to understand how exactly he had just spent hours in the company of Daphne and actually not hated any of it. Well if he was honest that wasn't entirely true, Daphne was still a prickly individual but whilst they had a physical connection that side of her personality was dimmed.
The problems surfaced when they stopped touching, Daphne's cold exterior would fall back into place and she would become monosyllabic rarely adding anything to a conversation and begrudgingly tolerating his presence, the only solution he had found thus far was to basically tell her to shut up and take hold of her hand.
The physical connection was such a strange thing that he was sure that he was missing a piece of the puzzle, but a specialist from St Mungo's would be arriving the day after tomorrow in the morning to assess Daphne and try to ascertain what exactly was going on in the girls head. He shook his head again as he heard Neville make the same statement.
'I said you're a shit brother, Potter,' Neville said again in a simple statement.
'I'm sorry mate; I'm still walking in the dark without a lumos spell over here.'
'You deserted me… marooned me… left me by myself with the father of the girl who today decided that I was to be her boyfriend,' Neville looked at him as though he didn't know him. 'How the hell could you do that to me, I thought he was going to kill me after you guys left, he threatened to, you know.'
Harry drew his head back a bit and blinked 'Hold on a minute, back the broom up Nev, start from the start mate,' Harry shook his head a bit trying to comprehend what Neville was saying, 'What happened after we left?'
Neville wrung his hands, 'Well after you carried Daphne out the door, Nate and I finished discussing the succour agreement, hammering out the details, which he will relay to you by the way, and then things made a decided turn for the famous creek,' Neville shivered 'he gave me the shovel talk.'
Harry screwed up his nose and closed his eyes 'why was nothing making sense today.' Opening his eyes again he looked at Neville, 'What the hell is the shovel talk Nev, I've never heard of it,' Harry wracked his brains trying to recall any sort of discussion like Neville was talking about.
'Oh really? Well, let me enlighten you then, it goes something like this,' was Neville's animated response, in a deeper voice he said 'so Neville exactly what are your intentions with my youngest daughter?'
'To which I replied, "ummmm good I think sir" …how the hell would I know what my intentions are I didn't really know she existed until this morning? Well, actually that's not true I have met her before when she was about 8 or 9 at a few pure blood parties that my Gran dragged me to, but that's not the point.'
'He then asked me' again Neville lowered his voice '"Good, that's it, you have my daughter cavorting around on your lap for the gods know how long and your intentions are good you think"'
'"Ummm yes sir", again what the hell Harry, I've really only known the girl less than three hours what do I know?'
Neville shook his head obviously trying to focus his thoughts, and proceeded with the lowered voice, '"An interesting description of the current situation, Mr Longbottom, do you know how much land I own Mr Longbottom?"'
'"Ummm a lot sir", just so you know mate… the Greengrass' are fairly well off, not obscenely rich but don't have to work kinda rich.'
'"A very apt description again Mr Longbottom, yes a lot, two hundred and seventy acres around the manor alone which includes a lovely little forest, do you know what this is Mr Longbottom?"' he asked me holding up a shovel he had transfigured.
'Umm a shovel sir.'
'And this is the kicker mate,' Neville ran his hands through his hair, '"Very good Mr Longbottom, it is a shovel and if I ever find out that you have hurt my daughter, my shovel and I are going to take you for a walk in that forest, do you understand me Mr Longbottom?"'
Harry keeled over laughing, 'this is not funny Potter, not only do I find myself with a girlfriend that I wasn't looking for but now I've got her murderous father on my case as well… will you stop laughing,' Neville mock glared at Harry causing him to laugh all the harder. 'This isn't funny you know, this shit isn't supposed to happen to me, it's supposed to happen to you.'
'I'm sorry mate, but you should see your face plus that is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time and I needed a laugh so badly.' Harry heaved himself upright trying to get a handle on his mirth, 'So what is going on between you and Tori?'
'You tell me and we will both know mate, I mean I know I lost the baby fat but I am not under any illusion that I am the gods' gift to witches… that would be you by the way.' He gave Harry a smug grin, 'theoretically at least I know why she might be interested, I am an Heir soon to be Lord of an Ancient and Noble family, we are comfortable, again not obscenely rich but I won't need to work to support my family unless I want to.'
Harry finally managed to bring his mirth under control, 'fair enough as to what you think she could possibly see in you mate, but I reckon you're selling yourself short again but well… I guess we will find out won't we?'
'But from the small amount of interactions that I have had with her, I will say she is highly intelligent, witty and quite beautiful. And to be quite honest mate, if she thinks you are good enough for her to be interested in you like that, then I would be counting my lucky stars. You don't care that she is in the house of serpents do you?'
Neville sighed, 'No, I have ancestors that were in the Slytherin House including my great uncle, but I would have liked some choice in the matter, you know.'
Harry nodded, 'Yeah I get that mate, but why worry about the how it happened? Why don't you just pretend that she came up to you during your last week at Hogwarts and told you she liked you? Does it have to be any more complicated than that?'
Neville nodded morosely, 'No, I guess not.'
'So was that the only reason you were staking out the hospital ward?'
'No not really, Hermione asked me to come find you as she had another summons for the three of you to attend the next Wizengamot meeting, and by all reports you have yet to confirm your attendance.'
'Bit hard to attend mate, when I am kinda tethered here, if you know what I mean,' Harry replied raising his eyebrows, 'Added to which I have already told Kingsley about the issue that I am having.'
'Shit, sorry mate I forgot,' Neville blushed slightly.
Harry suppressed a sigh, 'it was no one's fault, but it was annoying that people still expected him to come to them on a whim.' He clapped his hand on Neville's shoulder 'it's okay mate, where is Hermione anyway?'
Neville chuckled ruefully 'You really have to ask mate?'
Harry barked out a laugh. 'No I guess not, you go tell her that I'll be there in 20 minutes, I can't go that far on my own so I will have to wait for Daphne to finish with Madam Pomfrey before I come up.'
'No worries mate, will do,' with that Neville strode off to the main stair case, Harry sighed again, cursed the gods who had decided that this was funny, and turned to re-enter the hospital ward, but not before he heard 'don't think that this lets you off the hook Potter. You owe me big time,' Neville was chuckling at the foot of the stairs.
'No worries mate I'll ask Tori what her intentions are with you shall I? After all, a brother should make sure that his brother's girlfriend only has the best of intentions,' Harry chuckled.
Neville opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, then growled, 'don't even bloody think about it,' before starting up stairs.
Harry, still chuckling to himself, pushed open the doors and ran straight into Astoria Greengrass and her mother, 'Well, that was quite enlightening Harry. Should I sit down with you now to ensure that you believe my intentions a pure, or would you like to schedule an appointment?' Astoria asked innocently.
'Awww shit, how much did you hear?' Harry asked banging his forehead against the wooden door.
'Pretty much all of it…it seemed so rude to walk out and interrupt such a loud discussion, I will have to tell Neville that he doesn't really do a good impression of Daddy.' Her mouth turned up slightly before she broke down in giggles. 'Bugger I was doing so well to.'
Harry groaned and smacked his head against the door again.
'Don't worry Harry, I will be having words with Daddy about his discussion with Neville and I promise that if we don't work out I won't hold Neville in a relationship that is failing. But I will try to get him to get the best out of himself, his association with you since your fifth year has given him some self-confidence, I will build on that.'
'Why,' asked Harry his head still resting against the wood of the door.
'Because I want a partner in life Harry, and I can have that with Neville, yes I have manoeuvred him into this far earlier than I was planning but I saw my chance to have something great with him so I took it, there are very few wizarding heirs my age that I have the chance to partner with, and I mean that in every sense of the word, I don't want to be stuck as a stay at home mother drifting from one party to the next, I want to make a difference to our world and I can with Neville.'
Harry narrowed his eyes and straightened, 'what do you mean?'
As Astoria went to answer Cassandra placed a hand on her shoulder, 'what my daughter is trying to say is that some witches have very little say in their own lives once they are married. Most families still adhere to the use of betrothal agreements, ask your friend Ron, what his opinion of what career his wife will have, very few wizards from wizarding families are liberal with regards to women's rights Harry, your father, Frank Longbottom and my Husband are in the minority, but it is slowly changing. I am one of the few women from my generation that had a family and a career, much to the consternation of many of Nate's friends who couldn't understand why Nate allowed me to work again once the girls left for school.'
Harry twitched before giving an anguished cry of frustration, 'ggggaaahhhh… so what your basically telling me is that the wizarding world is stuck in the eighteenth century and that most witches are entered into agreements that basically force them into being stay at home baby factories?'
Cassandra grimaced but nodded, as Harry continued, 'do I need to warn Hermione about these, betrothal agreements?'
Cassandra pursed her lips and frowned, 'there are a lot of problems with both our worlds Harry but most muggleborns go back to the muggle world as they can't find employment in the wizarding world for various reasons and there is considerable nepotism among most purebloods. However, she, like your mother, is extremely intelligent so is likely to find employment until she marries, given she is the only magical in her family she would have to sign the betrothal agreement so she should pick it up there and be able to change it but I would suggest you give her the heads up.'
'Brilliant, any other antiquated rubbish that I need to be aware of do you think?' sarcasm purely dripping from his words.
'Hey, we are trying to help here Harry, stop bitching at the messenger,' bit back Astoria before getting clipped over the head by Cassandra, causing her to wince slightly.
'Language Astoria,' was the sharp rejoinder from Cassandra.
Harry held his hand out in front in a placating gesture, 'Sorry, you're right, it's not your fault that the magical world is backwards.'
Cassandra gave a sudden impersonation of Professor McGonagall's back straightening, pursed lips and frowning heavily, 'ask Daphne, Harry that's what she is there for now. She will help you understand why things are the way they are, it's not always for the best reasons but there are things that you need to understand before you start going off half cocked.'
'Does he hate me Harry?' Astoria's voice was as subdued as Harry had ever heard it in the short time that he had known her, she stared at her feet.
'No Tori, he doesn't,' Harry said quietly, caught off guard slightly at the sudden change in tack. 'Hey Tori, look at me,' waiting until she looked up at him. 'He doesn't hate you, he just feels like you took his choice away; just don't push his buttons too much for the moment okay? He is a pureblood and he understands these things far better than I do, so he is probably aware of why you did it, so just talk to him, okay?'
Astoria nodded, 'I'll try Harry, but teasing is my go to when I'm nervous, where is he anyway? I didn't quite catch the reference that you two used.'
'With Hermione in the library,' Harry laughed, 'it's Hermione's default habitat, I assume that she is trying to start restoring the place. Why don't you stay with them, Daphne and I will be up shortly.'
'Okay, you go pick up lover girl and I will see you up there,' Astoria smiled at him with an impish grin before salaciously winking at him and walking toward the door.
'Oh, ha ha,' frowned Harry, 'I will see you in twenty minutes or so funny girl.'
- AFW -
Harry led Daphne towards the library, she held his arm for support, her walking was slow as the muscles in her legs felt weak and atrophied, a by-product of the cruciatus exposure left untreated for too long.
Madam Pomfrey was confident that she would heal as good as new but it would be a slow process over the next couple of weeks. The fact that she was already walking, all be it assisted, was a good sign, as although the muscle damage was minimal the real damage lay in the nerves. Sometimes they fired sometimes they didn't, when they didn't she would stumble, Harry had so far stopped her from falling on her arse at least a half a dozen times on this trip alone.
She held in a sigh, she knew that he would carry her if necessary, and he had up the stairs, oblivious to her protests, he was stronger than she had originally gave him credit for, and she felt safer in his arms than she felt she had the right to, everything was fine whilst they had that physical connection, but as soon as they parted it was like a fog filtered down, and the furious voice in the back of her mind became impossible to ignore.
Thankfully or not, depending on how you looked at it, Harry ignored her now when the physical connection was broken, basically telling her to shut up before taking her hand in his, she still had to work hard to get her thoughts under control during the initial phases of the completion of the bond, it still flooded information both ways, and nothing she had tried thus far made even the slightest dent in the somewhat raw emotions that flowed between them.
She could still feel his underlying guilt in the bond but it was somewhat muted now, she had forgiven him because he needed it, not because she thought that she needed to, he had done it to save her life. What right did she have to hold a grudge against the man who had done that for her… a virtual complete stranger?
For the moment though her thoughts were on the anger that she could feel within him, coiled and waiting for a target to strike at, he had informed her of the discussion that he had had with her mother and sister regarding marriage within the magical world, and she had informed him of her plan to establish her career until she was in her mid-twenties before travelling the world to find a suitable prospect as her husband, preferably from the former colonies where liberal views were much more prevalent.
And in a moment of what she could only be described as weakness, she had also informed him of one her contingency plans, something that she had not yet even told her parents.
Her plan was if she failed to find a husband she would take a lover and raise a child or two on her own, ensuring that her Family name lived on for at least another generation. Her family had enough resources that she wouldn't have to work until her children were at school and her mother and father would support her once they got used to the idea.
To say that Harry was less than impressed would be an understatement. She didn't know why but she could feel through the bond the loathing that he had for her plan, he had looked right through her as though she was the lowest form of life form on earth. After that he had barely spoken to her as they had left the hospital ward, she was still trying to puzzle out what was wrong as they walked up to the library.
'I'm sorry Harry, I don't know what I did but please talk to me so that I can apologise. I can feel how angry you are.' She stopped walking just outside the library causing him to stumble slightly.
Harry looked at her, working his jaw, eyes seething and glowing with barely contained fury, 'would the father even know?'
'What do you mean?' she asked slightly puzzled as to why that would matter it would be her child after all.
'So you would, give the father of your child no knowledge of the fact that he was a father, you would use him as a means to an end, with no thought as to whether he would want to know that he was a father, or be involved in the child's life,' anger fairly boiled of him in waves.
'Most guys wouldn't want to know Harry, and why would it matter? I could look after them just fine on my own,' she cocked her head looking at him as if he was being most unreasonable.
'It matters because they have a right to know, it matters because… because every child should have the opportunity to know their parents, but you would wilfully take that away from your child, because as far as you are concerned they are just a means to an end.' He ran his free hand through his hair, 'how could you do that?'
'I… I… I don't know, it's not a plan that I am actually hoping to put in place you know,' she stammered back at him, before pausing and straightening her spine. 'It was a stupid back up plan that I had thought about if I needed to.
'Do know what it's like going to school in Slytherin, hated, and mistrusted by close to three quarters of the school? Even from first year the day after sorting we had people mocking and bullying us as we walked through the corridors as eleven year olds.'
'How am I supposed to meet someone if they will not even talk to me or am I just supposed to settle for the best from most of the bigoted scum in Slytherin? It's a plan I had because I thought that I might need it to keep my families name alive, excuse me for caring about my family legacy.'
'You can sit high and mighty in your tree of righteousness, but in our world family means everything, and I will not be the cause of my family's name disappearing to the pages of history,' she glared at him her fury now equal to his.
How dare he, it wasn't like she was going to put this in place tomorrow, it was a contingency plan not Plan A. She wanted to fall in love with someone who would allow her to pass on her family name with the second born or third if she had that many children, but she didn't know where she would meet such a man in the UK. Therefore, she had prepared herself and planned like a good Slytherin if the worst happened to raise her children on her own.
She could see him visibly trying to bring his anger under control, his voice was stilted and still tinged with anger 'Sorry, I... I... I'm just sorry, my temper is getting away from me at the moment, I should have expected that you would have a plan or reason why you would do something like that, but it just doesn't feel right to me. I would be devastated, and feel cheated if I found out that I had a child out there years later.' He bowed his head and shame flooded the bond again.
Harry's shoulders sagged, 'I am sorry I projected my feelings on the matter on you, it's not fair, and we are coming from two very different points of view.'
Daphne shook her head, 'he's an idiot, he goes from one emotion to another in a matter of moments, and they say that women are bad.' Closing her eyes and centring herself first, her soft voice surprised even her 'Harry... Harry, look at me please. Its fine don't beat yourself up about it but if I am to be your advocate, then we need to be able to talk to each other, this bottling things up until you explode isn't healthy for either of us especially when I can feel your emotions through the bond.'
He nodded in agreement, 'I know but I have been self-reliant for years so now it's going to be a tough habit to break.'
'I'm sure I can help,' she said with a smirk, 'after all, I can sense what you are feeling so I will try to act as your circuit breaker from now on. But as your advocate you have to promise me that you will talk to me when I do,' she waited for him to acknowledge her statement. After his small nod she continued, 'if you want to talk privately whilst we are in a discussion, that's fine just tell me and I will sort it out, but I can't read your mind Harry, so you have to work with me for both our sakes I really don't want to look like a fool.'
'I get it,' he held his hand up in a placating gesture, 'I really will try, but you're going to have to give me some leeway, as I won't get this right the first few times.'
Her default smirk appeared again, 'No worries we can work on it, and so should we proceed now that we are all loving again, hmmm?' She laughed as Harry spluttered slightly, and then they continued their slow march toward the library.
She could still feel some of the residual anger bleeding off Harry and as Harry had informed her, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Astoria were waiting for them as they entered the library; sitting at a table in the middle of the room, predictably Astoria was once again perched on Neville's lap who wore a strained look of acceptance, whilst Ron glowered at her, and Hermione watched with a slightly puzzled look.
The library itself was a mess, books were strewn everywhere, shelves had collapsed on top of one another and sections of the library housed on the fourth floor had fallen through to the third floor level that they were now on. It looked to Daphne like a poor man's depiction of the Bonfire of the Vanities.
'What's she doing here?' Ron's surly question jolted Daphne from her musings and put her on edge, 'I thought now that she was awake things would go back to normal, why is she here mate? it's bad enough Neville is fraternising with the enemy' giving Astoria a look of pure loathing, 'without you doing it to!'
Ron turned and looked at Harry, contempt on his face, but before Harry could answer Astoria chimed in sarcasm rolling of her words, 'I didn't know you knew what fraternising meant Weasel, did Granger teach you a new word for the day? Well done on getting it right,' she finished in a patronising voice.
Ron spluttered, face purpling as he fought to get some words out in retort to Astoria's declaration, Harry however had already had enough, 'Shut up the pair of you.'
'Oi, she…' started Ron as Astoria scowled at him.
'I said shut up, Ron.' Harry for the first time that he could remember glared at his first friend. 'Daphne is here for the following reasons, a) because we are still tethered magically so I can't really wander off on my own, b) she is my advocate under the succour agreement reached between Houses Greengrass, Longbottom and Potter, and most importantly c) because I bloody well asked her to come…okay?'
Ron's mouth flapped open and shut a couple of times but no sound escaped his lips, eventually he nodded, before finally managing to ask, 'since when do you follow the old ways mate, you never have before.'
'I didn't even know about them Ron, speaking of which, you couldn't have given me, oh, I don't know, a heads up at some stage in the last seven years.' Harry look at Ron incredulously 'I mean at some point you could have said, "just thought you should be aware mate that your family is really old, which means you will have some responsibilities, might want to look into that", would have been nice mate.'
Again Ron gaped at Harry, before Hermione came to his rescue, 'Does it really matter now Harry, and what is a succour agreement?'
'Well I am glad you asked,' Harry's tone soften slightly, swinging his attention away from the red head, however before he could elaborate; Daphne had squeezed his hand, calling his attention to her.
'A succour agreement is an agreement reached between two noble houses regarding support and aid, in this case Neville initiated the request for advocacy on behalf of House Potter with my father Lord Greengrass,' Daphne inserted herself easily into the conversation, her voice light and pleasant. 'If you want to know some more about them, I would be happy to discuss them with you at another time, but what you should know now is that at this time I am technically part of House Potter until the agreement ends.'
'So you're an advisor of sorts' Hermione reasoned.
'At the most basic level yes, but depending on the agreement reached between the houses it can be significantly more than that,' Daphne held up her hand to ward off Hermione's next question. 'But before you ask neither of us are aware of what the current agreement entails as it was negotiated between Houses Longbottom and Greengrass, and we have yet to find out the details apart from it being a full access agreement, hence my position within House Potter.'
Ron's face paled 'full access... but, but that means...'
'Yes Ron, that means my secrets are her secrets and her secrets are my secrets,' Harry said quietly, 'hence why she is here.'
'That sounds very... intimate Harry, are you going to be ok with it?' Hermione flashed him a worried look.
'Yes it is Hermione, and I don't know, so it's a good thing I have my brother to back me up, considering he set it up for me, isn't it Neville?'
'I've got your back mate, it will be fine,' Neville gave him a short nod, 'so what about we get started, Hermione what do you need to discuss with Harry?'
Hermione gave Neville a puzzled look before looking to Harry for confirmation, after receiving affirmation; she pulled out a letter with the stylised Wizengamot coat of arms on it, 'have you seen your copy of this yet Harry?'
'No, I only knew about it due to Kingsley coming to see me whilst in the Hospital ward...' Harry said eyes fixated on the parchment.
Daphne snorted, again looking horrified that she had done so before Hermione grinned at Harry. 'Only you, Harry, would have the Minister elect coming to visit you in a hospital bed.' Daphne's eyes widened slightly at that statement.
'I guess,' Harry replied ruefully shaking his head, 'anyway what does the letter say, I am assuming that yours is the same Ron?'
'Yeah, apart from the name at the top it's the same' was all that Ron said his arms folded across his chest still unhappy about what was happening.
Ms Granger
You are hereby requested to attend the 5011th meeting of the Wizengamot, the third of this year nineteen hundred and ninety eight to be held within the Council chambers at the Ministry for Magic on the fifteenth of June.
Your presence is requested to explain your actions during the terrorist insurgency and to determine what measures need to implemented to ensure that you are accountable for your actions, please confirm your attendance and a further owl will inform you of your appointment time
Regards
Silvia Harthstowe
Assistant to the Interim Chief Witch Briseis Burke
'Well that's just a load of bollocks isn't it,' grumped Ron still sitting in a defensive posture, 'we save their arses, and now they are trying to peg all the issues on to us, that's gratitude for you'.
Harry just looked to Daphne, Neville, and Astoria to see their reactions; all three had a puzzled look on their faces. 'What are your thoughts guys?' he asked after a few moments of silence.
'I have one exactly the same mate, almost word for word actually,' Neville spoke first before Daphne again entered the conversation.
Daphne released her lower lip, something that Harry had noticed all three Greengrass women do when thinking over complex issues, 'that message doesn't make a whole lot of sense Harry, on the first hand they are cordially inviting you all to the bi-monthly sitting of the Wizengamot, however it also sounds as though you will be questioned by one of the committees to find out if you committed any crimes though the war, given that the ministry fell during their quoted terrorist insurgency, I would suggest that there were no laws to break, I will need to check something with mother and father before I say anything more on the topic but...'
Hermione was slightly slack jawed, Ron looked like he had been hit by a bus whilst Neville and Astoria looked on with respect as Daphne continued with her synopsis of the situation, but she didn't notice any of this, she had eyes only for Harry.
'Even if they were to try and make something stick I would suggest that a good lawyer would be able to argue that the spirit of the law whilst a noble gesture, does not apply when there are no laws being enforced by the government of the day, and that only the letter of the law exists.'
'Therefore I would suggest that you contact a good lawyer to help represent you all during the hearing, I will of course be there with you, however I am not a qualified enough to ensure that something you say won't be used against you. I can suggest a couple of potential firms to contact if you would like once we have further information.'
Had there been crickets in the Hogwarts library then most likely the teens would have been able to hear them for the good ten seconds that silence reigned. 'What, did I say something wrong?' Daphne looked from face to face trying to understand what she had done wrong.
'Told you I was looking out for you Harry,' Neville's face lit up with a semi smug smile and he polished his finger nails on his shirt.
Harry snorted at Neville whilst Astoria clipped him over the head, 'don't look smug, it's not a good look on a boy, only girls can pull that off,' giving him an outrageously smug smile in return.
'Violent woman, is that all you ever resort to,' mumbled Neville earning him some chuckles from the rest of the group.
'Ummm… ok that was… actually I am not sure what that was Daphne, but it sounded impressive, and very well thought out too,' He smiled at her the first genuine smile that reached his eyes, which seemed to glow slightly with an internal light for a fraction of a second, 'obviously there is a lot more to you than what I have so far seen, anything else that we should consider doing?' Harry enquired with quiet respect and admiration evident in his voice.
The tone and inferred respect in Harry's voice threw Daphne for a moment before she managed to gather herself, only Astoria seemed to have noticed the effect that Harry's words had had on her sister, 'well, given your relationship with Minister elect Shacklebolt I would be writing to him with a copy of the letter, asking him if he can give you any indication of what tack the Wizengamot will be taking and who might form the committee of enquiry if that is what is happening,' Daphne answered him again not looking at anyone except Harry, seemingly losing herself in the cool liquid pools that were his eyes.
'Daph, you do realise that there are more people here than just Harry right?' Astoria's soft quip, pulled Daphne from her musings causing her to look around at the group a slow blush dusted her cheeks.
'Of course Tori, but he is my supplicant, so my focus should be on him,' Daphne replied in a cool voice.
'Yeah right, you keep telling yourself that sister,' muttered Astoria causing Neville to give a little chortle, as Astoria relaxed back onto his chest, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
Daphne ignored her sister and continued with her train of thought, 'Anyway regarding the lawyers, there are a couple of possibilities depending on what tone you want to portray, but I wouldn't worry about engaging anyone until you hear back from Shacklebolt, that will hopefully give you a better understanding of what they are trying to achieve…' Daphne trailed off, with a puzzled look on her face.
'Are you ok Daph?' Astoria asked her after a few moments of silence. 'Daph are you in there, Daph DAPH!'
What Tori, I'm thinking, just leave me be for a moment,' snapped Daphne.
'Sheeesh, what bug crawled up your butt,' Astoria quipped back.
'Tori shut up,' was Daphne exasperated reply, 'I swear there are times when I am sure that you are adopted, as you have no sense of decorum.' Daphne quieted again as the group sat and waited for her to express the thoughts that had kept her mind busy for the last few minutes, her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she eventually managed to frame the question that had obviously been plaguing her mind. 'What I can't figure out is how Brisies Burke is now the Chief Witch; I mean when did that happen, Lord Aeneas Burke was in the Wizengamot last I heard and had only been sworn in as Chief wizard not two sessions ago, not his younger sister, something else you should ask Shaklebolt.
Neville raised his hand before sheepishly letting it drop as Astoria pulled it down, shaking her head at him, but indicating with her hand that he should start speaking, 'Sorry, right ummm, I know the answer to that, and I am sure you would have got there eventually Daphne. Lord Burke was killed by some of Voldemort's followers about a week prior to the final battle, he wasn't an death eater by any means but he was a financial backer, ironically of both sides, he was trying to stay neutral throughout the conflict which was becoming more and more impossible which I am sure you two know quite well through your own family's struggles.'
Both Daphne and Astoria gave him a short nod before he resumed, 'Voldemort found out and had his men go around to the Burke Manor and wring the manor dry of anything valuable, they killed Lord Burke as they left. You both know that when a Chief Witch or Wizard dies whilst still holding the title the role remains with the family until the next meeting of the Wizengamot, unless there is no remaining family available to fulfil the role then the eldest member of the wizengamot fulfils the role until a new person is elected, a stupid tradition but one that has been with our government since Merlin stepped down from the role centuries ago.'
Harry waited for Neville to continue but once it was clear that he had finished, he organised his own thoughts, 'Okay then, ummm Hermione are you good to take care of all the correspondence?' Harry turned and faced his friend, who there this entire conversation had been unexpectedly quiet, she simply nodded to Harry. 'Okay then, I guess until we hear back from Kingsley we just hang tight and wait.'
'Harry there is one other thing that you should address with Shacklebolt and that's why you aren't getting your mail, obviously there are mail redirection wards or charms on you or pertaining to you which is preventing you from receiving it,' Daphne again address only Harry within the group.
'Hermione, you good with taking care of that request too?' Harry asked without turning from Daphne's gaze.
'Yes Harry,' was her simple but unusually subdued reply.
Harry however either didn't register, or ignored the tone of Hermione's reply, 'Okay then is there anything else that we need to discuss?' Harry turned from Daphne again and directed his eye contact to each member of the ad-hoc meeting.
'Actually Harry, I was wondering if I could have a word in private once we had finished,' asked Hermione in the same quiet and subdued voice.
For the first time since they had been on the run Harry actually gave Hermione a considered look. Harry's eyes widened slightly was the only indication that he had recognised the glamour charms for what they were, and what they were hiding. Hermione was using a set of charms that didn't so much hide things from view rather they gave the best impression of what lay beneath and if the glamour that she was currently wearing was any indication then Hermione looked gaunt, wan and tired. 'Sure Hermione, just hang back when we are finished, okay?'
Hermione nodded assent and settled back in her chair, seemingly content to wait for Harry's attention.
'Anyone else?' Harry queried again, this time his question was met with a round of shaken heads and no's, 'Okay then I guess we will all be in touch, Hermione will let us know when she gets a reply back from Shack and we can meet again then.' Nodded heads met his assertion, and the group splintered. Astoria and Neville rose and left the library hand in hand at Astoria's insistence, whilst Ron glared at Daphne and then gave Harry a look of silent disgust before giving Hermione a bitter gaze and leaving in a huff, Hermione who remained with Harry ignored him, instead giving Daphne a curious glance before switching her attention to her best friend.
Daphne pre-empted Hermione's question with one of her own to Harry, 'Do you want me to stay or put up some privacy charms Harry?'
Harry's gaze flickered between the two girls left at the table, 'Hermione, that's a question for you, but before you answer it let me preface my answer with this, Daphne is part of my house now for at least a year potentially three, and that's the way that Neville and her father set it up.' He ran his hand through his hair, 'they both had their reasons but I haven't had the opportunity to have a good chat with either of them since the initial meeting. I know you want to know about the succour agreement so why don't I just get Daphne to give you a run down on the basic's so we can both get our heads around it a bit further.'
At Hermione's nod, Harry looked to Daphne, 'the floor is yours, my lady' his slightly mocking lopsided grin and lilt in his voice evidence of the humour he once again managed to find in their situation. She really wished he would stop smiling at her and making her blush like a thirteen-year-old girl. She was her Father's heir she wasn't supposed blush at the drop of a hat, she had been controlling her emotions through occlumency since her mother had started teaching her at the age of ten, but the more physical contact she had with Harry the more she struggled to put her shields in place.
Hermione's face was a study in concentration trying to soak in the information that Daphne had given her in the last fifteen minutes of conversation. She had lost her mind a couple of times ranting at Daphne about the antiquated ideals that most of the magical world seem to function on but it had appeared that she had tried to hold her tongue as much as possible. 'So what you're basically saying is that for the foreseeable future, given the agreement reached between your father and Neville is that your and Harry's lives with be inexorably intertwined, to the point that were will be virtually no secrets between you.'
Daphne gave a stiff nod, 'basically yes, but it is still up to Harry and myself regarding what conversations and meeting I am invited to a point however if the magic of the contract doesn't believe that it is being met it will force us to… for want of a better word realign our priorities so to speak. But at this point in time even that is a moot point,' she held up their clasped hands to illustrate the issue. 'Given that neither of us can really go any significant distance without the other due to our current situation, I guess we could have the other wait outside in the corridor but that's a rather extreme solution and exceedingly rude to boot.'
Hermione had a slightly dumbfounded look on her face staring between the two, 'I still don't get all of it and how the tether between you works, and you're okay with this Harry? The entire time that I have known you Harry, you have been a very private person. What changed?'
Whilst the conversation between Daphne and Hermione had been happening Harry, with one ear to the discussion, had been admiring Daphne, clearly the longer they remained in contact the more of Daphne's real personality seeped out. He had caught Daphne's exasperation at Hermione's seemingly endless barrage of questions and noted on at least on several occasions where Daphne had an almost physical reaction to a couple of those questions. He wondered what she had been thinking at those moments because he could feel, the anger, frustration and bitterness leach through the bond, at the same time another thing occurred to him flashing over the top of the rest of his contemplation. It seemed to him that he had been thinking clearer and more analytically lately, something he would have to look into, maybe it was a result of not having the Horcrux in his head anymore or maybe just a result of the war and growing up.
Hermione's question forced him to drop his musings and he took a moment to gather his thoughts, 'Am I okay with, not really...' he sensed Daphne tensing and hurt trickled through the bond, he squeezed her hand, 'but I can see the advantages, I trust Neville, he wouldn't do something to hurt me. Daphne as you have seen is very knowledgeable about this stuff and it's stuff that I don't think you or Ron can help me with. Neville might have been able to but he has his own issues to worry about. Did you know his Grandmother died whilst we were on the run?'
Hermione gasped and shook her head, her eyes slowly shimmering with unshed tears as her heart reached for her friend. 'Susan is also alone and apparently I have an alliance with their houses which I knew nothing about,' he let out a growl of aggravation. 'It is, however, another situation that I have no control over. I had hoped that once the war was over that I could have some semblance of a normal life but that doesn't look likely now, I am being pulled into another part of the magical world that I am not equipped to handle.'
Daphne clicked her tongue in frustration, which got her a sideways glance from Harry, 'what's the issue with that statement?'
'Your public life will never be your own and you will be lucky if your private life is your own most of the time,' when he gave her a look of non-comprehension she continued. 'First you were the boy who lived and now the man who defeated Voldemort for a second time; you are and always will be these things first to a majority of the magical world. How you deal with that and how you use it to your advantage will define your legacy to magical Britain, sure, you could try to fade away into obscurity but you have an issue as you control a seat on the Wizengamot and you will be part of public life.'
Harry gave a further growl under his breath, clenching his teeth, jaw set in a hard line.
'Whether you like it or not you will be in the public eye in one way or another, and your name or your opinion will be attached to many of the bills that pass through our government. How you use your fame will go a long way in determining the path that the ministry takes in the future at least in the short to medium term. The greater issue that you are going to have is not alienating the greater part of the magical world and excuse my crudeness here, by pissing all over our traditions and culture like some rabid mudblood or blood traitor.'
Daphne waited, she knew that those words would provoke an argument but she'd wait to see where the attack would come from first. She hoped it wouldn't be Harry, her points wouldn't work as well against his likely point of view but Granger didn't disappoint her.
'You bigoted bitch... you... ugly self-righteous, ignorant hypocrite' bellowed Hermione.
'Right back at you sister,' said a very calm Daphne.
Causing Hermione to fume more, 'I am not,' she huffed indignantly.
'You are and I will tell you why, so be quiet and listen... do not interrupt me Granger,' Daphne's voice was quiet but self-assured but she stared at Hermione waiting for the girl to decided what to do. Harry made to speak before being cut off, 'Shut up Harry and listen most of this affects you too.' Harry's jaw closed with an audible click of teeth, seeing no further dissent from either she started.
'You are everything that you just used to described me, for the last fifteen minutes I have tried to explain one of the magical world's oldest customs, and instead of taking the time to fully understand why we do what we do, you compare our way of life to the muggle way of life. You complained about the old fashioned ideals and antiquated practices of misogynistic old men and poured scorn on the traditions of my people. When you travel to another country would you expect their way of living to align with yours and get all put out when your expectations aren't met?'
Hermione snatched the chance to enter the conversation, 'no I would respect their culture and traditions, but were aren't in another country, we are still in the UK,' her tone slightly smug.
Daphne made a derisive sound, 'Yes you are Granger, but also. no you are not. You currently sit in Magical Britain not the Muggle UK. You are in a country that can trace its origins back to the fall of Roman Britain at least sixteen hundred years but that has been a part of this land since the time of the Picts, a country that has its own laws, customs and traditions, that you seem to care little about and are happy to trample all over.'
'Did you really think that we are just muggles with magic? That is the perspective you are coming from isn't it? Both you and Harry to some extent. We are a proud people, we have our own standards that we live by, and don't get me wrong I am aware that some things could be better, and that some of our customs make no sense when coming from a muggle perspective. Does that mean they are wrong, does that mean our traditions, customs, and beliefs should count for nothing?'
Hermione was lost for words, opening and closing her mouth, trying desperately it appeared to formulate some sort of meaningful response.
Seeing no resistance, Daphne moved on to her next topic, 'Did you know that Mudblood, Blood Traitor, and other words of this ilk only appeared in our vocabulary in the early nineteenth century? Prior to this the customs of the Magical World and muggles were similar enough that there was little problem in the way of integration between the two societies for new muggleborns entering our world.'
Seeing a negative response Daphne proceeded, 'These words were coined by old families to describe, muggleborns trying to come in and change parts of our world that they didn't understand or didn't like. Muggleborns who took no time to understand the world that they had entered instead expected that the Magical world would move with the changing muggle times. The word Blood Traitor identifies families whose familial magic's have all but been forgotten because they ignored our magical customs and rites. The Weasleys among others fell afoul of this four generations ago, what possessed them to do so I know not but they have not recovered in the eyes of many within our society. That doesn't mean they are not good people, just that they have turned their back on our culture, there were others but most were lost in the first blood war.'
Arms crossed and sat back in a defensive position Hermione finally found her voice, 'but none of this is explained to us, why should we be expected to know any of this?' indignation clear in her voice.
'Answer me this oh brightest witch of our generation, if someone moved to a new country in your parents' world, would you not expect them to learn, understand and respect traditions etcetera of their new country correct?'
'Yes of course but...'
Daphne cut her off, 'So why should we of the magical world expect anything different of you? You seem to be labouring under the false impression that the magical world owes you information on how our world operates, it doesn't, it just is the same as the different countries in the world of your parents owes them nothing.'
Hermione remained quiet, her face now painted with an expression of minor horror. Harry had been watching her intently, she could feel that anger seething through him and he asked in a very strained voice, 'So how do you see my mother?'
'What do you mean?'
'I mean, do you see her as a mudblood, she was after all the smartest witch of her generation, or so I have been told by many people,' his voice wavered slightly in the silence of the library as though he was struggling to control himself.
'No, why would I? And what does being the smartest witch of her generation have to do with anything I just said?' Daphne screwed up her nose as if he had said something disgusting. 'If you are comparing her to Granger then don't, from everything I understand about your mother, she embraced our world in its entirety. My mother and father knew your parents, more your father than mother but they were not close to them being a couple years older. My mother's sister Marlene however was very close to your mother. I have heard stories from mum about Aunt Marlene and how your mother would drive her and their other friends to distraction trying to learn everything she could about the world she had entered.'
'She immersed herself into our world; and because of that, she was invited to celebrations like the great festivals, celebrations and rites of Lughnasadh, Samhain, Imbloc and Beltane. She signed a betrothal contract with your father's family as was expected of someone marrying into the great families, as I will and you will before you marry whichever unfortunate witch you get to agree to marry you.' She gave her own impish grin and wink at this statement, noticing delightedly and the hint of a blush on his cheeks for a change.
'Make no mistake Harry, had your mother not signed a betrothal agreement your father could not have married her for his Father and his family magic's would not have allowed him to do so, and you would not be a Potter but an Evans from a the minor magical house of Evans.'
Hermione entered the conversation again, 'but betrothal contracts are so ancient and disgustingly biased towards the man, why would anyone sign one,' her disgust palpable.
Daphne scowled at her, 'Again you show your ignorance Granger, you think my father would sell me to the highest bidder and leave me nothing more than a slave? Yes, some families would do what you are intimating to improve their standing within our world, but even your world still has marriage contracts and I do not mean those bastardised versions, I mean the contracts signed before marriage prior to wedding identifying what each party brings to the table and the guarantees what is provided to each party.'
'You mean prenuptial agreements,' stated Hermione.
'I care nothing for what they are called, our betrothal contract identify what each party brings to the union, what familial magics the bride can take with her and what she may learn from her husband's family magics, how many children are preferred and what titles, names or estates specific children might inherit. Without them, you would have my house turn to dust and my families magic fade into the pages of history.'
'Harry's mother may not have brought any magical history or familial magics into her union but she brought fresh blood, ideas, talent, energy and a willingness to be part of our world, which when added to James Potter's abilities and position would have seen them both rise far in our world.' Daphne tried to prop herself up further in her chair, she was getting tired now, her muscles or nerves were aching with a dull throb, but she pushed on for one last effort.
'Any further children would have been magically powerful, Harry's siblings may not have rivalled Harry's raw power, but they would have been powerful in their own right and would have built upon the Potter legacy and ensured that survived in further generations each adding their own magic so that the next generations could prosper further. For the most part muggleborns do not embrace our way of life but most of our families recognise the need for new blood to be added to our family trees from time to time to ensure we don't squib out so when such a muggleborn is found they are embraced and courted by many.
You may think it sounds demeaning to sign a contract to marry, but as Lily Potter had no familial magic of her own she would have been fully immersed into the Potter Family magic as though she were adopted. Allowing her access to things you cannot possibly understand at this time with your current lack of knowledge, that is something that even I if I were to marry Harry for example, will never have complete access to because I would bring parts of my own familial magic to such a union.
'You may not agree with how each family adds new blood to their lineage, for example the Malfoy's to this point in time have only allowed the occasional second generation pureblood into their familial line. The Blacks are even more notoriously strict than them, though it appears that their line has finally fallen,' Daphne missed the weak smile that Harry gave at the mention of the Black line. 'But it is their choice.' Her eyes drooped, and she sighed, annoyed that she was still so weak, 'I however had a halfblood grandmother and two halfblood great grandparents so each family makes their own decisions.
Harry's gentle squeeze of her hand brought her attention back to him, 'Are you okay Daphne, do you need to rest for a while?' his voice was soothing and calm again a small crooked smile pulled at his lips that seemed just for her.
'I'm tired, but okay... I have had enough of this conversation however, so can you transfigure or conjure me something to lay down on, over there and you two can finish your conversation in private, whilst I rest,' her eyes were drowsy now, and she knew that she would not be awake for much longer.
'One last piece of advice for the pair of you, it's an old pureblood custom, make sure that you have two signatures, your magic will understand which your real one is. Never use that signature to sign anything except contracts, and never ever sign something you haven't read and understood first, there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there who will be will to trap you in a contract of some description or another.'
Harry gave a small nod, but said nothing; his wand fell into his right hand and with a couple of flicks a large divan with pillow appeared from the rubble of the library a short distance away. He got to his feet and lifted Daphne from her chair, as always the squeak of surprise left her lips before she glared at him with arms around his neck.
'One day Potter you're going to try that and I am going to hex you for it,' she smiled at him with menace but with humour in her eyes.
'Maybe you will, maybe you won't… but you know what Greengrass…' he paused again for dramatic effect, and then whispered in her ear, 'I think you are secretly loving it,' then he drew his head back and he winked at her slowly and deliberately.
Her 'Oh please,' would have had more effect had she not been blushing again.
'Get some rest I will take you back to the infirmary when we are done,' he laid her on to the divan, made sure that she was comfortable before walking back to Hermione, who wore an expression of bewilderment.
'Well that was an illuminating conversation for all the wrong reasons, and what was that?' she questioned, no enmity evident in her voice.
'Ummm that was me helping Daphne to the divan, why?'
'Is that all it was Harry, that looked quite… intimate from here.'
Harry ran his hands through his hair in an all too familiar gesture, '… I suppose it probably did, didn't it? Honestly Hermione, this is really the first day we have spent together, and I don't know if it's the tether or not but when we are attached, for want of a better word, there is an attraction there… both ways that can't be denied by either of us, we can feel what the other feels through the bond in our cores.'
'An attraction… and what about Ginny, Harry it's been less than a week since you guys broke up again,' She reached across the table and held his hand, 'are you certain you want to be rushing down this path with another witch already?'
'Ginny made her choice known, and I'm not rushing anything Hermione. it's not like I have been trying to crawl into her bed since Ginny and I talked you know.' He snatched his hand back and looked at her crossly. 'I was explaining what I felt, if you don't want to know, don't ask, but I assure you, I am not rushing into anything.' He mumbled under his breath, 'I'm pretty sure that my magic will push me in that direction anyway.'
Hermione gave him a wounded look, 'Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound that way,' she sighed 'it's all a mess isn't it, do you regret taking that walk all those nights ago?' she asked, her eyes closed, leaning back in her seat.
Harry looked at her startled, 'what… no… never., How could you ask me something like that? I saved her life, yes I did something stupid again to do it, and we are dealing with the consequences now but I will never regret saving her life or the others' lives and limbs either.'
'Fair enough, I just wanted to know. You've changed you know Harry, your thoughts are more profound and you think longer and deeper about what you are saying.'
He nodded and let out a breath, 'I know, I noticed that too, I don't know why, something to look into later I think.'
'What's going on with you? I know when you aren't sleeping Hermione, I can see through your glamour you know, you showed me what to look and feel for remember?'
She blanched, looking at him with the large eyes of someone caught in a trap of their own making. 'Bugger… bugger, bugger, bugger.' Her eyes narrowed slightly and she caught her lip between her teeth gnawing on it for a few seconds, before countering with a question of her own, 'what has Ron done now that has upset you?'
Harry watched her closely; Hermione's tells were in her speech patterns, something that had taken him ages to figure out. Deciding not to push her just yet, 'I'm not angry with Ron, you know, just annoyed. He sees things in black and white with no nuance of grey, he blames Daphne for something I did to her. He complains about things he has control over but he does nothing to fix those issues. He is from this world, born and raised; he could have given us a heads up at some point, surely.'
Hermione was nodding along as Harry continued, 'I just don't understand why he wouldn't tell me any of the stuff we just discussed with Daphne, or that my family was old and slightly important, he should have known me well enough that I wasn't going to desert him. I guess I am just frustrated that I have been kept in the dark again, this time by a close friend. I wouldn't have expected him to tell me too much, anything would have been better than nothing.'
Harry eyed Hermione who still sat with her eyes closed, 'Do you have any friends outside our group?'
Hermione's eyes snapped open, 'no... at least not really, I am friendly with a few people, but no one I would call a close friend like you...' she hesitated 'and Ron or Ginny I guess.'
Harry seized on the opening, 'What's going on Hermione, why aren't you sleeping?'
She observed him with cheerless eyes, 'you know that Ron and I kissed in the chamber right?'
'Yeah, you told me when we were sitting on the steps after the battle just before Ron joined us.'
'It was a mistake... I shouldn't have done it, but I was caught up in the emotion of it all. And now it's ruined everything,' with that statement she burst into tears.
Harry sat slightly rocked by what he had just heard, 'so she kissed Ron surely that wasn't the end of the world, was it?'
He moved to the seat next her and pulled her so that her head fell on his shoulder, 'it's going to be okay Hermione, nothing is ruined, it will be fine.' He grimaced slightly uncomfortable with his second crying witch for the day but slowly rubbed her back, 'Tell me what's happened and we can sort it out together, as always.'
Hermione's sobbing slowly trailed off, until she was just breathing heavily into his shirt collar, 'I... I... I was talking to Ron about what we were going to do next,' she sniffed, 'about going to find my parents in Australia and whether or not we were going to go back to school or go and get jobs.'
'When he asked why I would do any of those things, He said that my parents were probably happy, being oblivious to my existence so that I should leave them there.'
Harry tensed, he couldn't believe the idiocy that occasionally left Ron's mouth, he never thought things through or thought how his words would affect others.
Hermione clenched her fists, 'he then said he wasn't going back to school, why should he, that we were all heroes and would have jobs thrown at us, besides when we will get married and have kids and you'll look after them.'
Harry groaned, as Hermione continued the story, she was getting more worked up and he could see that this wasn't going to end well.
'I told him that I wanted a career first and then maybe kids. But he wouldn't listen, he kept going on and on about how his mother had a great time looking after their family and that I would love it eventually, and how no Weasley wife would ever work whilst there were kids to look after.'
Her fists were now clenched in rage, 'He wouldn't shut up Harry, he kept going on about we would get engaged soon and that the wedding would be next year, that he had it all worked out.' She looked at him now, 'like my opinions on things no longer mattered.' She took a deep breath trying to calm herself as she always did, 'I might have hexed him then, to get him to shut up, and told him that the only way I would be marrying him if that was what he thought a marriage was like was when my body lay stone cold and without breath.' Her cheeks blushed slightly, 'and then I might have bolted and not talked to him until today.'
Harry chuckled at the last part at least that explained the dirty look that Ron had given Hermione before leaving the library. 'Don't worry about it Hermione, he'll come round, he'll eventually figure out he was an idiot and apologise,' were his softly spoken words.
'Yes I am sure you're right Harry, he'll do as he always does,' she reflected for a moment. 'But I am not sure that I want or can forgive him for this... that's obviously his opinion of women in the magical world and I will never allow myself to only be that. There is nothing wrong with that if that's what you want, but that just isn't me. '
Harry nodded, 'I know, so you've been tying yourself up in knots about it instead, why didn't you come and talk to me?'
'Because you were so busy dealing with your own stuff,' she indicated Daphne, who appeared to be peacefully asleep on Harry's conjured divan.' I didn't want to burden you with my stuff ups as well.'
Harry shook his head and pulled her away so as to look at her face which was tear streaked and splotchy, 'I am always available for you Hermione, you should know that by now, when you need me I will be available. I may not be very good at talking about my own feelings but I can listen if you need me to.'
'Thank you Harry, I'm sorry I cried all over you,' Hermione said with a wet smile.
'No worries, you're the second witch who cried on me today, so I am obviously getting better at dealing with it,' he gave her a lopsided grin.
'Or you're getting better at upsetting witches,' Hermione chuckled at him.
Harry pretended to take a dagger to the heart, 'you wound me vile wench, I'll have you know that, apparently…' he paused looking around dramatically to see if anyone was close, before leaning into whisper, 'I can lull witches into false senses of security, and they then tell me their deepest darkest secrets.'
Hermione hit his arm, 'you realise that you're not supposed to tell anyone else that right.'
'Ahhhh, I knew I was doing something wrong,' he smiled at her, 'When you need to talk come find me, but I recommend coming to the infirmary getting a dreamless sleep potion and getting a good night's rest, I will be here whenever you need to talk or work through what you are going to do okay?'
'Thanks Harry, you're a wonderful friend.'
'No problems, alright I guess I better get Daphne back down stairs and into her bed, I will see you later, yeah, when you figure out what you want to do Hermione, not what is good for everyone else, but what is good for you for a change, okay?
Hermione nodded, hugged him and left the library.
- AFW -
Daphne lolled in his arms, in a deep sleep, he hadn't had the heart to wake her so he had just picked her up as gently as he could, the tether had connected and Daphne had snuggled into his shoulder hands gripping his shirt. He was about to step onto the landing of the second floor when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
He moved instinctively rotating Daphne so that her feet swung towards the ground and her body was protected behind his, whilst pivoting to the side of the stairs and then releasing Daphne as gently to the ground as possible, as the dark purple cutting curse took a bite out of his left leg above the knee. The sudden movements jolted her awake, and she gave an incoherent yell, as Harry now rolled into the hit as his leg collapsed under its own weight, wand leaping into his hand, and in a single movement casting his own wide area bombarda curse in retaliation.
A muffled cry of pain, told him that he had hit his target, but the crack of apparition a couple of seconds later gave him all the clues he needed to know that his assailant was still alive. He dragged himself against the wall and began an inspection of his leg placing his wand on the ground next to him.
'What the hell is going on Potter?' Daphne's acerbic demand, cut through the now quiet hallway like a knife. Why did you drop me?' she was laying on the floor, glaring at him groggily, sleep still evident in her eyes.
'Some lovely individual, just tried to kill us, Daphne dearest, and right now I appear to be bleeding quite profusely, so forgive me if I don't seem all that sorry for dropping you on your arse,' Harry's reply was dripping in sarcasm.
Daphne finally collected her wits, but had the decency to look embarrassed by her outburst seconds ago, before crawling over to him. 'Where are you hit?'
Harry gave her an incredulous look before indicating his left leg. Noticing his wand on the ground Daphne picked it up and was about to start a diagnostic charm when Harry grabbed her arm. 'What do you think you are doing Greengrass?' Harry voice was tightly controlled.
Daphne looked at him as though he was stupid, 'Finding out what the hell hit you so I can heal it moron.'
They stared at each other for a few seconds before Harry relented and released her arm.
Daphne tested Harry's wand with a simple diagnostic charm, discovering that the wand obeyed her so she moved on to more complex charms before grimacing and swearing under her breath. 'Crap, okay ummm, hang on let me try something else,' she launched into a very complex set of wand movements.
Harry stayed still after releasing her arm but watched intently, as Daphne attempted to determine the curses nature and the damage done. Suddenly the leg of his pants vanished up to mid-thigh and he gave a small chuckle, 'couldn't wait to get my pants off huh?'
Daphne goggled slightly, 'Shut up moron, I'm trying to work here.'
'Yes, Dear,' came his reply.
'Stop calling me dear, moron.'
'Yes, Dear,' came the cheeky reply again.
Daphne glared at him, muttering something he didn't catch under her breath before announcing, 'it's a dark cutter, Umbra frustum, I think or a variant of it, with a wasting curse of some description maybe Vasto Carnem, that have been tied together in a single spell... fascinating. She was peering at the wound occasionally poking at it with his wand after making some sort of incantation, okay... yep, I have managed to neutralise the wasting curse, but closing the cutter is going to hurt like a bitch! Are you ready?'
'Yes, de…' Daphne's jaw tightened as she started the healing spell, and Harry clenched his teeth to stop from crying out in pain, face paling considerably, 'Merlins saggy ball sack that hurt' he muttered after Daphne finished healing the wound, leaving behind an angry purple scar three inches in length. Daphne just smiled at him, something that he returned, 'Thank you, Dear,' he said with a wink before laughing at her indignant expression.
- AFW -
Harry was mentally and physically exhausted, and not so much running on fumes but literally spluttering, his eyes felt heavy, too many nights of interrupted sleep and too many revelations today. He wasn't sure how he hadn't ended up in a catatonic state yet with everything that had happened but he felt a crash coming soon. He sat propped on Daphne's bed, the blonde was already beneath the covers in her very muggle, but also very magical in Harry's humble opinion pyjama's.
They had limped into the infirmary together, Daphne supporting him as much as he was supporting her, they had stumbled and fallen together several times on their journey back, and Harry had always managed to twist them so that he had taken the brunt of each fall, in the process opening up the wound on his leg again. Daphne had given up telling him to stop after the first two times, just shaking her head, and growling under her breath each further time it happened, then she would just hold out her hand for his wand and heal him before handing the wand back.
He had hobbled to her bed after being checked by Madam Pomfrey, and scarfing down a hasty meal. Madam Pomfrey had just shook her head when the pair came limping in, hastily moving them to their respective beds, curtains drawn back from between them, before hesitating over who to work on first. Daphne had glared at Harry and pointed in his direction. Their friends and family had come to see them but Madam Pomfrey had given them only five minutes to assure themselves that the two were fine before they had been ushered out and told not to come back until tomorrow.
Daphne turned her head on her pillow to face him, her arms above the covers, her right hand clasped in his left. 'Thank you Harry for your help and understanding today, I'm sorry you got injured again because of me...' Harry shook his head and went to refute the implication that she was the source of his injury but she shushed him. 'I am speaking so be quiet,' she gave him a tired but playful glare, 'I'm sorry that I lost my temper in the library. I am and should be better than that, but I do not regret what I said only the way I conveyed the message, she was pushing the same buttons that you had been pushing this morning and I lost it, but you both needed to hear that information.
Harry nodded, and squeezed her hand, 'it's fine Daphne. You're right we both need the information, the method might have been a tad forceful but none the less thank you for your assistance in my education and the knowledge that you have given today.' He yawned, jaw cracking, 'my injuries were not your fault, that curse would have hit me regardless, I had let my guard down and paid the price, but thank you for healing and looking after me, I appreciate it.'
'You're welcome, my Lord,' teasing in her tone, 'sleepy now, are you going to be okay getting up during the night? We can take turns you know.'
'I'll be fine; you need your rest, sleep well... Dear,' he chuckled to himself as Daphne stiffened again.
'Don't call me dear, moron,' her voice full of sleep, 'I'll hex you.'
'Yes, Dear,' Harry yawned again, but Daphne did not react she had finally slipped into the blissful world of Morpheus, Harry smiled to himself, teasing her was fun. 'I'll just rest my eyes for the next five minutes before I go back to bed,' was his last thought, his eyes never opened again, thirty seconds after he had closed them, he joined the blonde girl in the sweet oblivion of sleep.
