Took longer than usual. This chapter just didn't flow. Apologies in advance. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts so far.

"Hey Michael, are you in there?" Daphne asked, knocking twice on the dark wooden door. It was just a quarter past seven and she knew that her cousin liked to be in the office early to catch up on some paperwork. She could hear the faint sounds of him fumbling behind the door. "It's me, Daphne. I was hoping that we can talk."

It took a few seconds before the door swung open, revealing Michael with a disheveled look. He looked like he slept in his office last night. He stifled a yawn as he leaned against the door, his arms folded against his chest. "This isn't a good time right now Daphne." He exclaimed, "What do you want?"

She took a step back, noticing the stern yet tired look on her cousin's face. She bit her lips and looked away, the guilt eating away at her. "Look I'm sorry about causing a scene in front of your office. I know that I put you in an awkward position with Harry and if there was a way for me to undo it, I would do it in a heartbeat. You have to know that I didn't do it on purpose..."

A groan escaped his lips as he shook his head. "You're so lucky that your my favorite cousin Daphne. If it was anyone else, I wouldn't even have opened the door for them." He stepped away from the door and gestured for her to come in. "So what brings you to my office so early in the morning? I know you didn't just come down here just to apologize to me."

"Maybe I felt that apologizing in person is better than apologizing over the phone. I do have manners you know." Daphne argued, lightly elbowing him in the ribs as she strolled past him.

Michael rolled his eyes. "I've known you since you were in diapers. You can't fool me. Something's clearly bothering you." He pointed out. "It's written all over your face."

"It's nothing." She replied, looking at everything else but Michael. She took a seat on the couch, testing the pleather. She heard him clearing his throat and turned her attention back to him. "What? I'm telling you that I'm fine."

Michael frowned. If he had a knut for every time a woman told him that they were fine, he would be on a beach somewhere retired and drinking Piña Coladas. He also knew from personal experience that underneath that 'Ice Queen' facade of hers, she is a very reserved person. Getting her to open up would be like pulling teeth from a shark. You need to tread carefully or you'll end up losing more than just your hand. He watched her carefully as she played around with the throw pillows, rearranging them over and over.

This reminded him of the time when they were younger and she accidentally broke his mother's favorite vase. She wanted to come clean but he convinced her that it's better to blame their pet dog. Of course, by the end of the day, Daphne couldn't keep such a secret so she ended up crying and telling his mother what actually happened. Needless to say, they were banned from playing in the house that summer.

"Hey... Do you think I'm a horrible person Michael?" Daphne finally asked, her arms tightly clutching a pillow to her chest. "Do you believe all those rumors that people said about me?"

The question came as a surprise to him. He took a seat next to her and smiled. "You're not a horrible person Daphne." He softly said. "Why on earth would you think of yourself like that?"

"I'm pretty sure that's the impression Harry has of me." She mumbled. "You should have seen how disappointed he looked after he accused me of manipulating him."

"And were you manipulating him?"

Daphne scoffed. "Of course not. You know that I would never resort to his level." She bitterly said. "I gave Harry all the information that he needed to know to make an informed choice. It's not like I was trying to get him to sign his fortune away. All I wanted was to sign him as my client."

"Is that all you were trying to do?"

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked, confused by the question. "What else would I be doing?"

"Oh I don't know... maybe flirting with Harry?" Michael suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. "I've seen the way you act in front of Harry and don't think I miss you blushing in front of him. Just admit it, you like the guy Daphne!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Daphne dryly answered, shooting daggers at him. "And even if I was, there's no way that he would be interested in someone like me."

"See, that's your problem Daphne. You're already writing Harry off as someone superficial. You're making the same mistake that everyone else did and judged him from a distance. If what he said bothered you, you need to go confront him." Michael said. "Make him understand why you did what you did and if Harry is the man that I think he is, he'll understand."

Would he really understand though? She pondered to herself. Did she really want to take another chance of making a fool out of herself? Neither of those times left a good impression of her on him and she certainly did not want to try for a third time.

But maybe third time is the charm.

Daphne swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded her head. "Fine, what's the worst that can happen right?"

"That's the spirit." Michael enthusiastically answered. "And just to answer your question, there's nothing worse than humiliating yourself in front of someone you like."

"Why would you tell me that?" She groaned, covering her face with a pillow. "I'm already having second thoughts about this and you're not helping!" She scowled, banishing several pillows, including the one she had, into her cousin's face.

She walked over to her desk and quickly scribbled a note, sealing it inside an envelope. "Do you think you can give it to Harry?"

"Might as well. Today's my last appointment with Harry anyway." Michael answered from under the pillows. "I'm going to refer him to another one of my colleagues who actually specializes in anger management."

"Wait why? Are you in trouble?"

"It's nothing like that," Michael said, reassuring her. "This is just a conflict of interest. I can't in good faith have Harry as a patient when I know that my baby cousin has the hots for him."

"I don't like Harry!" Daphne responded, her cheeks blushing a pinkish hue. "You can't like someone that you don't know!"

"Maybe not but what do you have to lose?"

"Honestly Harry! Can't you clean out your fireplace like a normal person?" Hermione's voice rang out from the living room.

Harry silently chuckled, smiling at her unfortunate mess. "You missed a spot." He pointed out as she entered the kitchen. His left hand tapped the spot on his forehead as he sat there calmly drinking his coffee.

She gasped and ran to a mirror, double checking herself for any other spots that Harry might have intentionally forgotten to tell her about. "I hope you're enjoying yourself, mister!"

"I am." Harry cheekily answered, "So are you here to check up on me?"

"Of course not." Hermione quickly replied, her eyes adverting his. "You're an adult Harry. You certainly do not need anyone keeping tabs on you, especially a witch who might feel guilty about putting you on suspension in the first place." She quickly added.

"Okay stop Hermione." Harry held up his hands, gesturing for her to ease up. "Let's get this straight. Yes, this is your fault and yes, I might harbor some irritation towards you but no, I am not angry with you."

"It's just that..."

"Enough already." Harry interrupted, already growing tired of her endless apologies. "I've already forgiven you so just take a seat and join me for breakfast. I assume you haven't eaten yet right?"

She nodded, sitting there fidgeting with her hands. A cup of coffee appeared in front of her and she took a deep breath, taking in the fresh aroma. "Thank you." Hermione whispered. "I couldn't stand the thought of you hating me as well..."

"That's never going to happen." Harry snorted. He broke off a piece of toast and threw it at Hermione, wanting to knock her out of her depressing mood. "You've been stuck with me since I saved you from that troll. If Voldemort couldn't get rid of me, what makes you think you can?"

Hermione giggled, throwing the toast into Harry's cup. "If that's the case, why don't you come over for dinner tonight? We can order from your favorite restaurant."

"Pass." Harry firmly replied, flicking the now soggy toast out of his cup. "You and I can go out and get some food but the three of us won't be doing anything together until he apologies."

"Harry please." She pleaded. "Don't you think this has gone on long enough?"

"He threw me out of the house Hermione. The man who I consider a brother, who I would gladly give my life for, threw me out like how my uncle Vernon used to do. It's not something that I can overlook. I can forgive his temper, I can forgive his attitude, I can forgive all of that but the one thing that I cannot forgive is the way he treated me. I didn't ask him to choose sides, Hermione. I understand that it's hard on him but doesn't he understand that it's hard on me as well?"

"He does." Hermione said, "But Ron is stubborn. You know that."

"I do know that but that's no excuse not to listen to reason." Harry growled. "All this time, I've been thinking how to get through to that fiancé of yours and the only way possible solution that I came up with is to just beat the memory into him. Force him to acknowledge the evidence but I didn't do that. It was out of respect for you that I didn't kick his ass."

"Yes but -"

"No more buts Hermione. Look I know you came here trying to fix our relationship but it's not going to happen. Ron isn't a child anymore. He's a man who is about to marry my best friend. He should have enough balls to come over here himself and apologize. My door is always going to be open to him but I'm not making the first move. Not this time."

Hermione bit her tongue, knowing that anything else she said would further piss him off. She sighed and reached for his hand, giving him a gentle squeeze. "No matter what happens Harry, you'll always have me."

"No I won't Hermione." Harry bitterly said. "I will never ask you to choose me over Ron. That's just a recipe for a doomed relationship. Trust me... I know that better than anyone. We're not teenagers in Hogwarts anymore, we're adults and you're about to get married. Choosing me over Ron is basically just a slap in his face. He'll never get over that just like he'll never get over the fact that his perfect little sister was just a two-timing whore."

"I know." She whispered. "But you know he'll come around. He always does. Just give him some time."

"And you need to stop covering for him. Gods Hermione, he's a grown man. His mistakes are not your mistakes and I am not always going to be waiting around for him to pull his head out of his ass."

Her eyes widened at the implication. "Are you going to throw everything away because of this? Because of her?"

"That's for him to decide. He knows where I stand." Harry answered, drinking the rest of his coffee. "I'm not the one who started this but I sure as hell will finish it."

"I'll try to talk some more sense into him tonight." Hermione pleaded, "But please don't give up on him just yet. He's having a hard time dealing with that scandal and when he doesn't know what to believe, he takes his frustration out on the wrong people."

"I know Hermione but he's the last person that I expected to believe that horse crap of the prophet. I can understand why random strangers on the streets are giving me dirty looks but him?" Harry said, shaking his head. "After all we've been through?" He gritted his teeth, trying to push back that anger. "Sometimes it makes me wonder why I'm even friends with him in the first place."

"Despite all that, you're still coming to our wedding right? If not for Ron then for me right?" She asked, unconsciously holding onto her breath. She can deal with the headaches that came with Molly Weasley and she can deal with the long nights where she wanted to strangle Ron but what she cannot deal with is not having Harry there. He was her best friend and to get married without him being there is inconceivable.

He was there for every important moment in her life. Restoring her parents' memories... her first job... her engagement party... Not to mention the countless birthdays and other precious moments they had over the years... He was her family and it would break her heart if he wasn't there.

She watched as Harry turned around, a disappointed look on his face and her heart drop. Tears started to swell up in her eyes. She closed her eyes, wishing the tears away and then she felt a tissue being dabbed against her cheeks. Her eyes opened and saw Harry down on one knee, smiling and shaking his head.

"If you think for a second that I would miss your wedding... my best friend's wedding... you must be crazy."

Hermione said nothing as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "Thank you." She whispered, sniffling as she started laughing. "You are an ass Harry Potter."

"Now we're even." He answered, chuckling. "So this wedding... I don't have to do anything but show up right?"

"I think you get a pass this time around Mister Potter." Hermione said, "Do you think you'll be coming alone or with a date?"

Harry snorted. Who was he supposed to bring as a date? All the females that he knew ran in the same circles as Ginny and there was no way he was going to ask any of them. He rather bring buckbeak to the reception. At least with the damn hippogriff, he would have a fun time and he wouldn't be involved with any pointless drama. "Haven't decided yet." He answered.

"In that case, then how are those therapy sessions coming along?"

Harry didn't answer, merely snapping his fingers and a water materialized on top of her, drenching her clothes in cold water. She instantly jumped up to her feet and ran out of the room. He could hear her cursing his name but he didn't care. The clock's hand just struck ten and he was already walking out the door for his appointment.

Reviews please. I enjoy them.