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It had been the very next day when Harry and Daphne were finally restored to the time in which they belonged. He wasn't sure what power had sent them back in time, if it was the book with seriously powerful magic on it, or if a deity had been involved. Nothing was clear as to why they had been flung so far back in the past, but it was over now. Everything was, more or less, back to the way it should be and it seemed regardless of their existence in the past, nothing had changed. Harry doubted he had ever been so thankful to see Malfoy, Snape and all of the others that were typically problematic.
"Good luck trying to make me forget that, much less give it up — we're together now if you were too thick to understand that kiss."
Those words, Daphne's after they had kissed, were still fresh in his mind. He hadn't seen her since they'd been returned back whence they came. In truth, they had gone off to bed after that kiss… and perhaps a few more, and when he rose the next day, he did so in Gryffindor Tower. Ron's snoring was what told him that he had been brought back to his true time.
That snoring, oddly enough, was yet another example of something he had missed without so much as one thought about it in the past.
Harry shook his head, sending all the thoughts of the past save for the ones that involved Daphne, to the depths of his mind. She had said she wouldn't forget or give up their newfound relationship, and he hoped that when he saw her again, those words would ring true. He wasn't sure how he'd feel if that turned out not to be the case.
As fate would have it, fortunately, he needn't wait very long at all. It was as he passed one of the many abandoned classrooms, one that he'd attended class in the past, that he found himself yanked into it. Whoever had done it made him stumble until the two were pressed together, and immediately, Harry pulled away so that he could see the mystery person.
In truth, it shouldn't have been a mystery.
"Harry Potter," came the voice of Daphne, her tone cautious and on-guard, the way it had been when they first realised they were stuck in the past together. "Do you — Are your memories intact?"
In her voice was a tremble, one that was almost indecipherable had he not gotten to know her so intimately. For all of one second, he debated playing with her, but as quickly as that thought arrived, he banished it. Mayhaps if she were Ron, he would have done so.
Rather than answer her with words, he did much the same as she had when the two first worked through their feelings only the night before. He kissed her. This time, their lips moved slowly, and the emotions of the kiss were not at all comparable to their first; relief and happiness beyond words.
They withdrew only when air became a necessity, for the two kissed until all that remained inside of their lungs was that which needed exhaling.
"You remember," Daphne said, confident as her eyes found his. "I feared you wouldn't. That our previous night would be lost to the past."
Harry swallowed, savouring the taste of her lips as much as her presence. "When I woke up in bed, I thought the same. I was looking for you as soon as I stepped outside of Gryffindor Tower."
She arched a brow. "Were you going to confess your love for me in the Great Hall in the hope that I'd remember you?"
"Nope."
Daphne narrowed her eyes at him. "No?" her tone was dangerous as her right hand dipped down a fraction, towards her wand.
"I would've done what you did, only without as much of a plan as you seemed to have… how'd you know I was going to take this path?" Harry asked, genuinely curious.
At that, Daphne shook her head and grabbed his hands, seemingly happy to be able to touch him. "It was the hall that you oft favoured when we dined together. I thought that wouldn't change despite this being the future, and as I suspected, I was right. You're very easy to read."
"Well…" Harry said, searching for something he could say back. When there was nothing that was easy, he grinned as he looked at her. "You're beautiful."
When she blushed, his grin morphed into a smile. He may not be able to beat her when it came to words, but whensoever she blushed, regardless of what followed, he would always count that as a win. If it earned him a kiss or a 'stupid' while she tried to hide her cute flushing, it was only sweeter.
Merlin. He was happy she didn't forget him.
Now they just had to decide what they did going forward. It wouldn't be easy, but they'd make it work.
Daphne entered the room nearly fifteen minutes after Harry. They had been doing this, that being meeting in secret, for nearly a month now since they'd been back. It was done so that Daphne was kept safe, by and large, for Harry felt no need to worry about himself. Her housemates would punish her should she be found with him, and if that wasn't enough to worry about, his bothersome fans such as Vane would also target her so that she'd have no choice but to give him up.
He had no clue what was wrong with people, or why they'd wish to destroy a relationship over Hogwarts houses or an innate sense of ownership over somebody, but they partially got their goal. The two kept their relationship hidden, acted the part of strangers — as best they could — when in public and seldom spoke outside of the various spots they'd meet.
"Harry," Daphne said, her husky tone warning him of an imminent kiss; he stood his ground and accepted it wholeheartedly, returning it with as much fervour as she gave. Their kisses stolen in dark rooms with dank smells or in hidden passes with cobwebs were as wonderful as ever, despite the scenery, the drama that could unfold and the myriad of problems they could face if seen together.
They separated, and immediately, their hands grasped one another.
"You were late, is everything alright?" Harry asked, his thumbs rubbing the back of her hands softly. He was always mesmerised by how soft she was. It didn't make sense. Nothing did; her beauty, her softness, her intelligence, she was perfect.
"Yes. Parkinson was a bit problematic, she asked where I intended to go," Daphne answered, content to sit down with him. "As you can imagine, I told her what I thought about her nosiness. I doubt I'll need to worry about her inquiries again."
Harry laughed, picturing Pansy's face when Daphne told her off. "I'd say. She's probably terrified of you now."
"One could only wish," Daphne answered, the look on her face indicating that she did, indeed, wish. "Enough about Parkinson and any of the others. Hogsmeade's approaching, the last trip of the year. I thought that we might go together. If you aren't sure, I'll kiss you until you are."
He narrowed his eyes at her. She knew that he was worried about her, especially with Draco's increasingly dark attitude and the following he had in Slytherin. On the other hand, if he tried to raise that point, she'd just told him that she'd snog him until he was senseless. There wasn't any way he could accurately raise his point before she'd stop him.
"If you're certain that all will be well, I'd love to go with you," Harry answered diplomatically, hoping that his point would get across and that she'd see he was just as invested in their relationship as she was.
Daphne's dimples showed when she smiled, and the freckles seemed to dance as a result… Merlin, he could look at her forever.
"I'm certain."
That was her reply. Straightforward as ever and without a hint of uncertainty. It seemed she was more confident that all would end well than he was. Astoria, Tracey, Millicent and maybe a few others he didn't know the names of… maybe they would be enough to ensure she was safe. He'd be the first to admit he wasn't sure how Slytherin worked, but if she was that confident, he had to trust her.
"You're ready to go public with us?"
Daphne looked at him for a few moments time in silence. It looked to him as if she were thinking about what to say, and then, with a nod to herself more so than for him, she spoke. "If others see us spending time together, then so be it. We've gone along in secret long enough. I'd like to act as other couples do, in public and without the need for secrecy that we currently have. Your concern is endearing, but if Malfoy thinks he and his group of idiots can dictate my desires, they're sorely mistaken. I'm not alone in thinking that."
That was all that Harry wanted to hear.
"Hogsmeade it is," Harry said as he kissed the tip of her nose. "Merlin. We could shout it out to the whole school in the Great Hall if you wanted to. I just wanted to make sure you were safe."
"I'm safe and that's not a horrible idea. It'd certainly do much to keep the majority of other witches away from you save for Romilda Vane and the others that mean to ensnare you… I trust Granger's keeping an eye on that club of yours," Daphne finished, a look of distaste flashing across her features at the mention of Vane and the others.
She wasn't in the wrong; they had tried to potion him a few times thus far. It was only thanks to Hermione and, apparently, Daphne, that he remained free to do as he wished without a bird he didn't care for by his side.
Right before he decided to respond, Daphne moved closer to him, their bodies touching and when she spoke, her tone was incredibly soft. Softer than he could ever recall it being previously, and even then, it managed to pass along husky undertones.
"Whilst I have you," she started, one hand trailing up his chest whilst the other grabbed a fist full of his shirt. "Why don't we make use of this time?"
He was more than willing to oblige her.
"Harry, pass the cupcakes, will you? Dean said they've got a wicked strawberry filling," Ron urged, almost pleading as he looked at the dish that was too far away and rapidly declining in cupcake population.
With a roll of his eyes, a habit that he'd picked up from Daphne, he passed the entire platter over to his friend. It was that rather than picking one after the other for him.
"Than— Merlin! Are you lost?" Ron started, only to nearly choke as Harry felt a sudden presence behind him, prompting Ron's latter words.
"Ron!" Hermione admonished before she too looked at the new arrival curiously. "Greengrass? Is this about our project?"
Harry felt his heart beating rapidly. When he said that stuff about the Great Hall, he hadn't meant it literally even if there was no real rule about sitting with other houses.
"No," Daphne responded as she sat down gracefully beside him, close enough that their shoulders were touching. "I've come to join my boyfriend for dinner, as he suggested."
Ron's eyes opened impossibly wide with bits of cupcake crumbling down, whilst Hermione simply looked over at Harry, likely waiting for his response.
What did he do?
He wrapped his arm around Daphne, gently pulled her closer, and smiled. "I did," he said as he looked at her. "I think you nearly killed Ron, love."
"I suppose I'll take the time that he usually spends with you and add it to my own."
Ron's indignation at the remark was amusing, and when Daphne kissed his cheek, he sighed.
Life was finally perfect.