Thank you for the reviews. If I was being honest with myself, I didn't intend to write the last chapter as a complete bashing. I was getting inspiration from some old rom-coms and comedy TV and that's how I intended it to be. Please enjoy this chapter.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

She heard the question, how can she not? It was clear and concise, straight to the point. She wanted to lie, to tell him a fabricated story but she couldn't. Doing so would mean hurting him and she was not going to be like Ginevra. That psychotic ex-girlfriend of his.

It would've been so much easier if he didn't ask... but he wouldn't be her Harry if he didn't.

She knew that he wanted an answer but she couldn't give him one.

Not without dragging him deeper into this mess.

She tilted her head sideways, to allow herself a view of Harry but that didn't help at all. The anxiety was still there. Every time he opened that mouth of his, her heart pounded against her chest, afraid that the next words would be that they shouldn't be friends anymore.

Her eyes blinked a few times, hiding away the tears that she swore wouldn't come.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Daphne mumbled. Her eyes gazed upon the several different publications left on the table, each having similar pictures on their front page. She scowled as her eyes went from picture to picture, memories of the incident springing to mind.

"You know I'm not upset right?"

"But you're disappointed." Daphne quietly replied, almost if she was whispering a secret. The doubt lingered in her mind, afraid that he would leave her if she looked him in the eyes so she stared at everything but Harry.

"Hey... Can you look at me?" Harry gently asked. He took her hand and pulled her attention towards him. He could see a light blush on her cheeks and he chuckled. "I'm a grown man Daphne. I think I can handle a little disappointment."

But I don't want you being disappointed at me. Daphne thought. She sighed and despite every fiber in her body, broke away from Harry's grasp. She turned around and stared at the papers, wishing that this could all go away. Her hands automatically went to sort them into a single pile, having every intention of burning them. "What do you want me to tell you Harry? I think the pictures speak for themselves." She sourly gestured towards the paper. "What can I tell you that you don't already know?"

"I was never interested in the story Daphne..." Harry said, "I was worried that something might have happened to the two of you. I know firsthand just how..." He momentarily paused, trying to find a word to describe his ex-girlfriend.

"Insane?"

He saw the small smirk on Daphne's face and nodded. "Yes. How insane Ginny is. I don't know her reasons for singling you out like that but that was petty of her. If she has a problem with me, she should be coming to me instead of doing something like that."

Daphne couldn't help but smile. It felt like a huge weight has been lifted from her shoulders. "So you're not upset with me?" She cautiously asked. Her eyes carefully stared at Harry, making sure that he wasn't lying just to spare her feelings.

"Do you want me to be upset with you?" Harry teased as he turned his attention back to the newspaper sitting on the table. A quick snap of his fingers and the papers went up in flames, catching Daphne by surprise. He saw her puzzled expression and chuckled. "I'm always going to take your word Daphne. If you tell me that you didn't do it, I'm going to believe you. You haven't given me a reason not to trust you."

"And I won't ever." Daphne solemnly promised. She smiled at the man sitting across from her, that warm fuzzy sensation coming back in full force. Harry was different, she knew that from the very beginning but it was only recently that she started to understand just how different he is. He doesn't see the world like everyone else. His view is based solely on the people around him. He makes an effort to ensure that the people around him came first.

That's why falling for him felt so natural to her. It was as easy as learning to breathe...

"Unless you do something so horrific that leaves me with no other option but to arrest you."

Daphne sighed but nevertheless smiled. "Only you would fail to read the mood Harry." She playfully answered. "Speaking of horrific things, what if a fire were to start in Weasley's house? Would you still take my side if they accuse me?"

"Of course. It's an accidental fire. The owner was probably careless."

"What if a string of unfortunate events happen to befall Weasley?"

"Then I say that karma is a bitch." Harry answered and before she could describe the next scenario, he interrupted her. "I think we're going to be here for a while if I let you ramble on Daphne, not that I don't enjoy hearing your voice but I'll just sum it up for you. Unless you force her to come the next dark lord, I'm always going to take your side."

Daphne beamed in response, trying hard to fight that blush that threatened to appear on her face. "Does that mean we're okay?"

"Of course we are. I'm more upset at myself for not handling the situation better. If I did, then none of this would have happened..." His voice started to trail off but before he could continue, Daphne lightly swatted him on the arm, snapping him out of his mood. "What was that for?"

"You're getting that look and I don't like that look on you Harry." Daphne pointed out, waving her finger at him. "I understand that you have this hero complex and don't try to deny it." She gave him a look just as he was about to open his mouth. "I know you feel like that you need to save the world but I don't need always need to be saved. I'm not some damsel in distress."

"I know you can hold your own but I just hate the feeling that my problems are slowly becoming yours." Harry explained. "You shouldn't need to have that extra burden."

"You know that you're not alone anymore Harry. All these problems that you have, you can talk to me about them. This is what being friends is all about. We share our fears and celebrate our success." She reached across the table for his hand, glad that he didn't flinch or move it away. "It's going to take a lot more than some spoiled little brat to scare me away. She doesn't dictate who I spend my time with and if it wasn't clear already, I really enjoy spending time with you Harry. I will not give that up. I just won't."

He sat there, stunned by the emotion behind her words. He couldn't help but smile as he stared at this beautiful woman in front of him. His eyes drifted downward to the table, where she interlocked their fingers together but her eyes remained focused on him. He swallowed the lump in his throat, afraid that if he opened his mouth, this moment would be lost so he didn't.

The two of them sat there, just enjoying each other's company. Even though they were technically having lunch during Daphne's break, lunch was the furthest thing from their minds.

"Harry, Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." He automatically replied.

Daphne chewed on her bottom lip, which Harry found very attractive. "Can you tell me what happened between the two of you?"

He looked up in surprised, the trance that he was in broken. He sighed and stared at her. "I can't."

"Why not?" She softly asked. "Are you afraid that my perception of you would change?"

"No."

"Then what is it? You know you can tell me anything."

"No." Harry said again, this time a little bit more forcefully. He quickly uttered an apology when he saw the hurt look on Daphne's face. "I didn't mean to snap at you... It's just... hard... And I... don't want to relive those memories again."

He could feel her gently squeezing his fingers, a small smile now on her face. It was a small gesture, he knew that but a part of him couldn't accept it. Not until he was able to move on from his past. "I want to you tell you Daphne... but it's hard." He whispered, reluctantly removing his hand from hers.

Daphne frowned and reached for his hand again but Harry pulled it back, away from her grasp. "Harry..."

"I know you mean well Daphne but reliving that night is on the bottom of my list. I would rather face Voldemort again then to go through that nightmare. At least with him, the pain was physical." He bitterly said. "Every damn time I close my eyes, I see them in bed. Even though I know I should be moving past this, I just can't. Those thoughts won't leave me alone... Just seeing their faces... Every part of me wants to see them burn for their betrayal."

"But you didn't do that..."

He nodded, "But I didn't do that. Not because it was wrong but because it would be too easy for them." He could still remember that night vividly, leaving the office early that day just to come home to surprise Ginny. He even went and brought some flowers for the occasion. "I was a fool to think that everything was alright between Ginny and myself. I should have seen the signs earlier..."

If he had, he wouldn't have gotten smacked in the face with the biggest sign of them all. Coming home to see a trail of clothes that belonged to your girlfriend and some unknown male. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening. Every bone in his body was telling him not to follow it but he did it anyway. He followed the trail upstairs, dreading every second of it.

He didn't even make it up half way when he could hear the grunts and moans coming from behind the door. His breathing became labored and he could feel his magic reacting to his emotions, begging to be unleashed.

"What happened next wasn't my proudest moment..."

The door was blown clean off its hinges and flew across the room, crashing into the wall. The air reeked of sex and he stared at them with disgust. It didn't matter that they were trying to cover their naked flesh with sheets. It didn't matter that he just caught them in the act. Nothing mattered anymore.

All those promises to one another...

Nothing mattered and neither was the restraint on his magic.

It reacted instantaneously with his emotions and flung his cheating girlfriend and her cheating bastard of their bed. He saw Ginny being flung against the nightstand which resulted in those bruises but the other guy wasn't so lucky.

"Once I realized it was someone from my own department... I just lost it. He ran out of my house but I managed to corner him at work..."

"That must have been horrible for you Harry." Daphne said as she comforted Harry. Their hands were interlocked once more thanks to Daphne's persistence. It was a good thing too because despite the size difference of their hands, she missed that skin contact. She could feel every callous on his hand, probably from years of holding his wand. "Maybe I should have just hexed that bitch." She muttered, "I knew something about that story was rubbish and I'm glad you told me Harry but if I'm not overstepping... why didn't you come forward with the correct version?"

"This was a private matter..." He answered. "I didn't think that meant tell the entire world."

"Yup. I should have definitely hexed her when I had the chance." Daphne growled, "That head-butt wasn't enough. It's like you mentioned, she got off too easily."

"You head-butted her?" Harry asked, looking up in surprise. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Harry but I wasn't the one who head-butted her. Astoria did that." Daphne admitted. "I was ready to just turn her into a toad."

"Should have, not like that would have made any difference."

Daphne sighed, "You know her loss is your gain Harry. I may be a little biased but I think she threw away the best thing in her life when she gave you up."

"A little biased?" Harry asked, raising his brow. "What did she throw away that was so great?"

"Your relationship." Daphne answered, a pint hue appearing on her cheeks. "She gave up an amazing future with you."

Harry weakly chuckled. "I don't know about that Daphne. Maybe you are just a little biased."

It was then that she noticed just how closed they were sitting. Her eyes drifted down to their interlocking hands where Harry was slowly drawing circles. "Maybe I am." She whispered to herself.

Pretty soon, their weekly lunches turned into daily lunches where Harry would often be waiting outside her office. It didn't matter if she was a few minutes later or an hour late, Harry was always there. Once when she was running late, she asked him why he didn't just leave her a note to meet somewhere but the only response she got was that he didn't want to. Since it was his fault that he was stealing their best lawyer away every day for lunch, the least he could do is wait for her.

It might have been corny but it still brought a smile to her face.

She would never admit this but as they grew closer, her sister's words continued to echo throughout her mind, that maybe, just maybe, that they weren't meant to be just friends after all...

Thanks for reading. Be on the lookout for the next two chapters. I think its something that most of you are waiting for.