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"Daphne."
From a distance, Daphne could hear a soft, gentle voice calling out her name but as she turned around, there was no one there. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area, searching for whomever was calling her name. After a more few seconds of searching, she gave up and returned her attention back to Harry. He was in the middle of a story, waving his arms animatedly as if he was trying to illustrate his point. He suddenly stopped and planted his hands on to the table, a frown on his face. Her heart dropped and she started to shake her head, gesturing for him to continue.
No matter what she did, Harry continued to frown, unwilling to do anything else. "Why?" She mouthed, wondering what changed. They were having such a lovely time just moments earlier.
"Wake up."
Her eyes widened as everything around her started to shake. The tables, the chairs, even the windows stared to shimmer as they started to disappear. She quickly turned to Harry, wondering what the hell was going on but he too started to fade away. "Harry!" She opened her mouth to scream his name but no matter how much or how hard she screamed, no sound ever came out. It was almost if someone muted her.
"Daphne!"
Daphne's eyes shot opened and her body jerked up from her bed, slamming her head against something hard. Her hand clutched the front of her head as she groaned. "What the hell?" She muttered, her mind trying to understand what was going on. She squinted her eyes and recognized the person at the end of her bed clutching her head in a similar fashion. "Astoria?"
"That was uncalled for Daphne!" Astoria shouted. "Totally unnecessary and just mean! Why did you head-butt me anyway?"
"What are you doing here Tori?" She tiredly asked, flopping backwards into her bed. She pulled a pillow over her face as she desperately wishing that she was back in that dream with Harry. He looked so carefree and his smile was so infectious that she couldn't help but to smile as well. Daphne happily sighed as memories of last night started to resurface and she let out a small squeal. She couldn't remember a time when she was both happy and nervous at the same time.
They sat at the restaurant for hours, telling stories and asking questions along the way. It was almost if they were friends who haven't seen each other in years. Ma even came up to their table, asking if this was their first date or their first anniversary together as a couple. Daphne, of course, told her to go away while Harry sat there chuckling. It was a strange feeling, to feel so comfortable with someone that you haven't known before. Even though this wasn't a date, she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to actually date Harry...
To run her hands through his hair...
To feel his hands on her skin...
To taste those lips of his...
"Daphne!" Astoria shouted once more. "Can you stop spacing out when I'm trying to yell at you?!"
Daphne sighed. She looked at her sister, who stood there looking annoyed. "What did I do this time?" She asked, wanting nothing more than to end this conversation and to get some more sleep. Maybe if she was lucky, she could dream the same dream again...
"This!" The younger Greengrass pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet and Daphne wrinkled her nose in response. "Are you seriously dating Potter?" She asked, her finger jabbing at the front page picture. "Can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me this isn't true?"
"Stop it, you're being ridiculous Astoria. Harry and I are not dating and I can't believe that you're buying into this rubbish that the Prophet is selling. This isn't even proper journalism. It's nothing more than a gossip magazine."
Astoria gasped. "So it's true then! You were on a date with Potter!" She exclaimed. "You're not even denying it!"
"I am not dating Harry of all people." Daphne argued, snatching the paper away. She glanced at the picture and cringed, instantly recognizing the location. It was from the restaurant last night when they went out to dinner and from the angle of the picture, it looks like it was taken from the outside. So much for being alone last night.
"So he's Harry now?" Astoria asked, noticing the familiarity of her sister's usage of Potter's name. "When did you start calling him Harry?"
"He's my friend and I always call my friends by their first name." Daphne countered. "Like Tracey."
"But none of your male friends are on a first name basis." Astoria countered, "For example, what do you refer Nott to again? Oh yeah, that piece of garbage."
"What I do with my life is my own personal business my very much younger sister." Daphne emphasized. "Why do you care who I spend my time with?"
"I usually don't except that this time, you aren't dating just anybody. You're dating Harry Potter!" Astoria said, pulling out a second copy of the Daily Prophet. "Surely you've read the papers dear sister. There's an investigation concerning Potter that should make you think twice before pursuing a relationship with him. I mean, just look at Weasley and before you go ballistic about the integrity of the case, I'm going to remind you about those pictures Daphne. They don't lie."
"But pictures are pictures. You know as well as I do that they don't tell the entire story."
"Even if that's true, you need to distance yourself from Potter. He's too toxic right now. Associating yourself with him would tarnish your reputation and I'm sure you don't want that. Sure, he's one of the richest wizard in town but none of that even matters when no one is willing to do business with the man. The only people who even remotely tolerating him is those old goats on the council and that's because they're required to."
Daphne growled and snatched the paper away, glaring at the blatant lies printed on the front page. She tossed them into the corner before casting an incendio, watching them burn up before they hit the ground. "What does that have anything to do with me?" She scoffed. "Father made you the heir remember? I no longer have any say in what the Greengrass name does anymore."
"Don't go blaming father for something that you did Daphne! You chose this remember?" Astoria pointed out. "You weren't willing to comply with father's conditions so what choice did he have?"
"Maybe not use his daughter as a bargaining chip? I mean come on Astoria, he wanted to enter me into a betrothal contract with a man old enough to be our grandfather. Did he seriously think that I would be okay with that?"
"There were options Daphne. You could have chosen others from the list but instead you chose to give everything up. How's that working out for you though?"
Daphne rolled her eyes and left her bedroom, knowing that Astoria would follow. She walked into the living room and sat on the couch, staring into the window. While her one bedroom, one bathroom apartment was nothing compared to her childhood home, this was home to her. "Take a look around Tori. Does it look like I have any regrets?" Her hands gesturing around. "I'm not bound by the same rules as you are. I don't have to answer to father anymore. My life is my life, however I chose to live it."
With whomever I want. She silently added, thinking about the future.
"Did he send you here? To try and convince me to come back? Who am I kidding, of course he did. Nothing but the family name matters to him..." Daphne paused, now understanding why Harry reacted the way he did. He thought that she was someone like her father, caring only for the power behind the name and she was glad she reacted the way she did. It would have been more embarrassing if she reacted like how Malfoy did during their freshmen year at Hogwarts.
"Father didn't send me. Mother did. She wants you to stop being so foolish and come home."
"No." Daphne flat-out answered. She crossed her arms and glared at her younger sister. "There is nothing wrong with living my life. Everyone's entitled to do it. Why shouldn't I?"
Astoria sighed and pulled out a third copy of the Daily Prophet. "There's nothing wrong with living your life but why did it have to be with Harry Potter?" Her finger pointed towards Harry, jabbing the picture a few times. "Don't you know how much of a headache you're causing everyone?"
"I'm sorry that my life is an inconvenience for everyone." Daphne sarcastically answered. "Maybe next time I go out with someone, I'll send everyone a formal announcement."
"No need to get snooty Daphne." Astoria interrupted. "I'm just trying to understand your decision. Why him? There are hundreds of other suitable men out there for you and if you needed help choosing one, Draco could have recommended someone."
Daphne mentally gagged at the idea. She knew all the people Malfoy knew and she would rather fall on a sword than to go out on a date with any of them. They were all pompous egotistical men. "What's wrong with Harry?"
"Let me count the ways dear sister." Astoria started listing them out with her fingers. "He's the golden boy Daphne. He probably has some kind of perverted sense of justice. Probably outside right now helping some more muggle cross the street..."
"We're no longer in school Tori and he never once referred to himself as that."
"Fine but he's a Gryffindor and friends with Ron Weasley. The man who hates snakes. Can you tell me that none of that bias influence shaped him to be the man that he is today?"
"Harry actually told me he didn't care about what house I was in." Daphne smiled, recalling that memory. "Why are all your points about Harry when he was still a boy?"
Astoria paused and then shook her head. "You cannot ignore the fact that while he is the one who defeated Voldemort, there will be people coming after him for revenge. Are you sure you'll be safe?"
"I can handle myself Astoria or have you forgotten what I can do when I'm properly motivated."
"No, I haven't forgotten." Astoria shuddered. "Then what about your social status Daphne? You're a Greengrass by blood and that means something in our society. Are you willing to throw it away?"
"I threw away my last name the moment I walked away from our father and how many copies of the paper do you have? I already burned two and how can you be holding two more?"
"I have enough." Astoria cheekily answered, throwing the two papers onto the coffee table. "You know father's going to be pissed when he sees this."
"So what?" Daphne shrugged, not caring. "How much more disappointed can he be?"
"Well said sister." Astoria answered, taking a seat on the couch next to Daphne. She kicked her feet up and leaned into Daphne's shoulder. "So now that I did what mother wanted me to do, can you tell me what Potter's like? Is he anything like what the Prophet said?"
Daphne laughed and shook her head. "Harry's none of those things Tori and no. I can't tell you everything about him because even I don't know everything. We just started hanging out and from what I can tell, he's a very private person."
"So... he's great in bed then I assume?"
"Astoria!"
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