AN: Hey guys, so first off sorry for how long this has taken. Life has been ridiculously hectic lately and I've had pretty much no free time, but it's finally done and I hope you all like it! I'd also like to say thank you for my beta for helping me with this chapter!
Chapter Twelve: "New Beginnings"
After a long week of stares, hushed whispers and blatant questioning, Daphne was finally allowed to get back to her life as the Daily Prophet and the rest of the Wizarding media got bored of running a story based purely on speculation and fiction. There was still the occasional passer-by who would recognise her, but for the most part Daphne was left alone. Her newfound isolation was helped, in no small part, by the beginning of the Quidditch World Cup. England, who had dumped their manager a few months before the tournament started thanks to a record breaking twelve international games without a win or a snitch caught, had suddenly found form going into the tournament. Without a manager and with confidence at an all-time low, they had turned to a supposedly 'unproven', yet eager Mike Sampson. The young Sampson, who had only previously been at the helm of Puddlemere United, had injected enthusiasm, confidence and a tactical brilliance that had missing from any England team since Daphne could remember. Perhaps the pinnacle of their new-found success had come at Sampson's final friendly before the tournament, 350-180 against Ireland. The resulting hysteria about realistic English hopes going into an international tournament meant that Daphne was able to show her face without cringing at the open gawking from people she barely knew.
Despite a return to normalcy for her in the Wizarding World, however, Daphne had developed a fondness for the various restaurants and pubs which she frequented with Harry on their various lunches. As such, when she was finally able to contact Tracey, their agreed meeting place was a small pub only a few miles from the centre of London. Daphne had been half-expecting an uphill struggle in actually managing to get Tracey out, mainly because Tracey had a habit of falling hard and fast for anyone she dated. It was one of the many ways in which the two friends were polar opposites, where Daphne knew she was guarded and probably difficult, Tracey had one of the biggest hearts Daphne had ever known. But this time, something seemed different. Instead of being withdrawn Tracey had excitedly snapped up Daphne's offer of a night out.
"You look nice," Daphne's father commented as she descended the stairs to the main hallway of Greengrass manor. He was standing with his back to the living room, leaning against the frame of the doorway with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. It was fast approaching seven o'clock but thanks to magical transportation and Tracey's habitual tardiness, Daphne wasn't too worried at the sight of the grandfather clock in the hall ticking down the last remaining seconds before it struck the hour. "Off anywhere special?"
"Thanks," Daphne smiled as she fiddled with the small and delicate and somehow incredibly stubborn emerald earring she was attempting to wear. Daphne never had been very good with jewelery, having avoided it almost her entire life. Dressing up and being ladylike were not areas where she was entirely talented or comfortable. Yet, when she had been getting ready the earrings had taken her eye. Daphne hadn't even looked at them for years, likely because they weren't actually hers but were inherited from her mother. The outfit, which had her father beaming at her, had simply followed. It was nothing special, a crimson blouse, coupled with a black skirt and matching heels that Daphne had forgotten she owned. But, after critiquing her reflection for longer than she cared to admit, she couldn't help, even if a little half-heartedly, agreeing with her father's verdict.
"Just out with Tracey," she continued, when she had finally managed to master the fiddly earring. "Thought she could do with it."
There was no need to actually mention why she needed it. After having learned about Adam's atrocious behaviour at the wedding, Daphne's father had needed some calming down. Although, the details of just what Daphne had done to the little worm had helped.
"Well, I hope you girls have a good time," Daphne's father said happily. "Merlin knows you both deserve it."
"What about you, doing anything fun?" Daphne asked as she quickly double checked that she had the correct money in her bag. One of the first times she had gone out with Harry, Daphne had forgotten to put the Muggle money she had withdrawn from Gringotts in her purse and then wondered why the waitress had refused to accept the galleons Daphne offered her. At least Harry had had the decency not to laugh, at least whilst the waitress was in earshot anyway.
"Apart from deciding what books to set for next year, not really. McGonagall wants us all to send her a list so as she can approve them. Who said teachers get holidays?"
"Not teachers?" Daphne's replied as she opened the cupboard under the stairs and selected a coat from the many stored on the rail. Most of them belonged to Astoria, who had a habit of owning more clothes than she was ever going to need. "Why don't you do what everyone else does? Just pick the same ones as last time."
"Because that's boring, and I mean really boring. Do you know how dull it gets having to read thirty essays on the same book? Try doing that year after year. So, I've got my new topics sorted, just need to find the books now."
"Well, you have fun with that." Daphne said, shaking head slightly at the excitable grin pulling on her father's lips. Despite his complaining and moaning he enjoyed teaching. Knowing him he would happily sit up until the early hours of the morning surrounded by stacks of books until he found the right ones. Usually he would clear out a space in the living room, sit in the centre of the room and then create a circle of books around himself until he found the one he wanted. Apparently it helped him think. Daphne just thought it made him look ridiculous. After the book was selected, he would discard the others and start the process again for the next year until each core textbook was chosen. It was a sight to behold and most definitely more of a spectator sport than a participatory one - there was no way in hell Daphne would ever join in. The chaos of it all was enough to drive her insane.
"And you with Tracey, send her my love."
"I will," Daphne smiled as she slipped on her coat, gave her father a quick hug and a kiss before heading out into the warm summer night. The sun had long since started dipping towards the horizon, but unlike the winter months the sky was still bathed with warm light. The white clouds tinged with red as the day began to fade into night. This, Daphne knew, was why she preferred the summer. She had never liked the dark, especially as a child. But instead of having her mood dampened by the gloom of the night, Daphne couldn't help but smile as she headed down the path of her front garden. Veritable seas of reds, oranges and yellows filled the various flowerbeds her mother had always so lovingly cared for. It was a passion Daphne's father had carried on with vigour, despite never having had much love for gardening. All of her favourite flowers were there, married happily with his.
The sun still shone miles from the Greengrass household, a fact which Daphne soon came to appreciate as she appeared from thin air in an alleyway a short distance from the pub in which she had agreed to meet Tracey. Having had a half-blood for a best friend during her formative years meant Daphne, unlike so many other purebloods, was well aware of how to fit into the Muggle world. No heads turned as she stepped out of the alleyway and headed towards the large brick building which sat at the end of the road. Large golden letters above the main entrance read: The Red Lion. Orange light shone from every window. Outside there were small clusters of people, some smoked whilst others held drinks and chatted in the warmth of the night.
The inside of the pub was similar to any other Daphne had visited: warm orange light, a deep red carpet and neutral coloured walls with a few pictures here and there so each wall was not too bland. The warmth of the night meant that most of the patrons were sitting out at the back of the pub where there were a variety of tables and chairs, all of different sizes so as to accommodate varying numbers of people. A gentle background chatter, mixed with the occasional sounds of laughter greeted Daphne as she entered. Somewhere someone dropped a glass, and there was a cheer from a few men by the bar who looked so accustomed to their surroundings that they were actually starting to blend into them.
"Can I help you?" An annoyingly helpful and chirpy voice asked as the patrons at the bar went back to their drinks and idle conversation after the brief interruption. The voice came from a face of a young girl dressed all in black with a towel sticking out of her trouser pocket. It was not so much how this girl, for she was far too young to be described as a woman, spoke that grated on Daphne. What annoyed her the most was the grin which had been plastered on this girl's face; no doubt in the name of good customer service. It was the kind of smile which was either the sign of a liar or a moron. No-one with any degree of sanity, Daphne thought, remembering the vile Christmas where she had worked at the Leaky Caldron after having left Hogwarts and before she became an unspeakable, could be that cheerful in a job that low paying and menial.
"I've got a table booked," Daphne told the girl not bothering to respond with a smile of her own. "It's under the name of Greengrass."
"You're on table three, if you'd like to follow me?" the girl said refusing to let her smile falter under Daphne's gaze as she led the way towards a round empty table situated by the large window to the left of the bar.
Daphne knew that she shouldn't be so rude, as the girl was only doing her job. The fact that it was all an act, one big lie which everyone bought into and was all too familiar to the sanctimonious pureblood families and relatives she had known growing up, grated on her. But, recognizing from her own experience that it wasn't the girl's fault, Daphne offered a very forced smile as reached her table, and did her best to be polite as she gave her order for drinks.
True to form Tracey didn't arrive for another fifteen minutes. Daphne had long since ordered their drinks and was idly flipping through the leather bound menu, debating whether or not to have a starter when Tracey appeared.
"Sorry, sorry," Tracey said quickly as she sat down. "I did try and be on time I promise. It's just as I was trying to leave Hoskins called me into his office. I tried to explain that I'd already got plans but he insisted, good thing too because, well, Daph you know that promotion I've been going for? I actually got it. Me! I couldn't believe it! "
"I knew you would!" Daphne beamed. Tracey had been working so hard and for so long, watched the promotions go to the undeserving and the healers with the right surname. Either them or healers who were so totally useless that they were promoted out of where they were so as they became someone else's problem. Daphne could think of a few examples of healers who she was sure shouldn't be allowed to practice but instead of being sacked were instead given a nice desk job and a pay rise. Out of sight, out of mind.
"Thanks, I just, I can't get my head round it. I've been working at it for so long and now it's finally here, I don't know. It's weird. Guess it hasn't sunk in yet. I'm going to be running my own ward, Daph. Me."
"Where have they put you in charge of?"
"Spell damage," Tracey replied unable to lose her smile of disbelief. Daphne had long since given up trying to understand why Tracey's confidence about her abilities was so low. Time and time again she would prove to herself and everyone else around her that she was a talented witch and an amazing healer. Yet, no matter how much praise she received, Tracey refused to believe that she was anything special despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. "Jackson is retiring in a few weeks, so I'm going to be shadowing him until then to get to grips with what he does and that kind of thing."
"So is that less work than you've been doing lately?"
"Seeing as he only does a four day week, yeah, although I'll still be doing shifts on diseases but only one or two a week. I can actually sleep for a change, that's going to be amazing. I haven't slept properly for months. The amount of times I've had split shifts in the middle of the day, who does that? How am I supposed to sleep for three hours and then be back in again?"
"That's cut backs for you," Daphne muttered darkly. "We're just the same. They scrapped three projects last week. Luidhard's itching to do the same to mine."
"Why hasn't he? I thought you were on your final warning or something?"
"I was," Daphne admitted. Thanks to the complexity of time-turners and the ambitious nature of her project, tests, results (and the associated estimated cost) hadn't been going her way. Had she been anyone else, Daphne was more than aware that she would have given up by now. But she wasn't, and as a result she had refused to let one project beat her, no matter how much Luidhard wanted it to.
"So, what happened?"
"I solved it, well half of it. I still haven't got a clue about the going backwards in time bit, I think the capsule is just too small. Every time I've tried it was too unstable, so I think we're just going to have to stick to a few hours, a day max. But that wasn't really what I was interested in. It was more going forwards. No-one has ever been able to do and everyone else who's tried either ended up dead because they used themselves as a test subject or failed completely."
"No offense, but then how did you manage it?" Tracey asked frowning a little at her friend completely ignoring her drink as she became slowly engrossed in Daphne's story.
"It was weirdly quite simple in the end," Daphne started, "instead of travelling through time, like every other time turner does, what actually works is travelling outside of time."
"Sorry, what? You've kind of lost me a little bit there."
"You know how the body-bind freezes you, this is kind of the same principle. But instead of being frozen in space, the time-turner generates a field which will then freeze you in time. Time can't penetrate that field and so basically you travel into the future while remaining frozen, exactly where you were. You see, although you'd still be a mass, you'd no longer be an event in space-time, and therefore you'd become a non-event mass with a quantum probability of zero."
"How," Tracey said eventually after staring into space for a long moment, desperately trying to follow what Daphne had just said. It was the same face Luidhard had had the first time Daphne had explained it to him too, and a small smirk pulled at the edges of her lips that time too. "Did you even come up with that?"
"Well the physics of it all I came across in some muggle books I bought last week and combined with some of the magical books. Mind you most of them weren't any good, I mean I could write better myself. But I suppose what made think of it was when the paper came out with that stuff about mum, and I talked to Harry." Daphne paused at this point, expecting Tracey to say something, but instead her friend just nodded as if she wasn't even surprised. "I told him everything, what happened, how we tried, how I tried, all of it. I've never really told anyone about it, except you and dad. Tori doesn't know half of what went on and to be honest Trace I don't want her to. She was too young and she loves our family, Merlin only knows why, but I can't be the one to take that away from her. I just can't."
"I know," was all Tracey could say. It was all she had to say. After all, she'd been there, seen what had happened and heard the stories of what she had missed. No-one knew more about it than Tracey, no-one. This wasn't a new conversation for her, if anything it was one of the oldest ones the two had had together.
"Anyway," Daphne continued not wanting to dwell again on times gone by, "I was telling him how I'd felt, how when it all happened the only thing I wanted was for the world to stand still to give me chance to grieve, or get myself together or whatever. The point is, that I wanted to time to stand still and that got me thinking what if I could somehow make someone freeze while time carried on around them. It's just the same problem but with a new perspective."
"And that works?"
"Yeah," Daphne nodded grinning. It was relief to finally say that out loud. There were still several trials to go through, but the first few had been successes. "I mean, we haven't tested it on anything biological yet but I don't see why it shouldn't work."
"Guess we've both got something to celebrate then," Tracey beamed.
"I guess we do," Daphne smiled back. After everything that had happened at the wedding, Daphne had half been expecting her friend to be miserable or at least need cheering up. Instead, she found her happy, smiling and content with life. For once, Daphne was delighted to be wrong. "What're you having anyway?"
"What? There's food?"
"Yeah, why do you think I was reading a menu?"
"I didn't notice, I got a bit carried with exciting news and feeling bad for being late." Tracey explained before hastily picking up a menu and hurriedly scanning it.
It took Tracey almost a full five minutes to make up her mind and the waitress two attempts to get their order due to Tracey needing more time. When it came to food, decisions were not Tracey's strong suit, especially when everything on the menu sounded delicious. Not only that, but after a short wait, Daphne realised that it tasted as amazing as it had promised.
"Did I tell you that Adam tried to come crawling back the other day?" Tracey asked as she spun her spaghetti around her fork.
"You're kidding?" Daphne demanded the forkful of pie that had been halfway to her mouth descending rapidly back to her plate as Daphne stared at her best friend. "After what that pathetic excuse for a man did, he seriously thought he'd try and get back with you?"
"Technically we never split up," Tracey admitted. "I couldn't bring myself to do it, he's got this way of just being able to, I don't know, guilt-trip me I suppose. I'd tried to a few weeks ago, before the wedding and everything."
"But I thought that you said it was going great?" Daphne asked. Tracey had raved about him, it was the main reason that why, when Daphne actually met him, she had reacted as badly as she had. There no mention of her being unhappy and Daphne hadn't seen her friend enough to know if that had been a lie or not. Apparently it had been the former.
"He did," Tracey corrected, "I'd just tried to convince myself that he was right and that we should give it another go, but it wasn't. I guess I was just got so sick of every other relationship I've ever had failing that, I don't know, I just thought I had to give him another chance. He'd said he'd never been happier and that he didn't want to lose that. Honestly Daph you should have seen him, it would've been like kicking a puppy. But as the weeks went on it felt like I was living someone else's life, like I was out of it and just going through the motions. That's the only way I can explain it."
"Merlin, Trace are you alright?"
"Yeah, I mean sort of. I'm fine now most of the time. It's still a bit… fresh."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Daphne asked. It wasn't as if she wouldn't have been there for Tracey. After everything they'd been through Tracey knew that. So why hadn't she come to Daphne for help? For someone to talk to, anything.
"Because until the wedding I'd been convincing myself there wasn't anything wrong, that it was just a phase or that we just needed more time. But after what he did at the wedding and talking to Harry about it all, it gave me a new perspective on the whole thing. It was like I could actually see how he'd been treating me that whole time. After that I didn't want to talk to him, I couldn't let him manipulate me into taking him back again."
"Then after a few days you giving him the cold shoulder he tried it anyway?" Daphne said piecing together the missing pieces from the story. She couldn't quite believe what Adam had put Tracey through, and preferred not thinking about what might have happened had she been with him any longer. He sounded as if he was a few chasers short of a Quidditch team at best. At worst, he might be a complete psycho who was incredibly lucky that Daphne didn't know where he lived. The very thought of someone attempting to manipulate anyone like that, let alone her best friend, made her genuinely consider a one-way ticket to Azkaban.
"Yep, worst of it was that he'd only been to my flat once and even then we'd apparated."
"What a stalker," Daphne exclaimed, empathy mingling with the shock in her voice.
"You're telling me," Tracey said darkly her fork, like Daphne's, lay forgotten on her plate. "I couldn't get over it at first, him just standing there, begging to have me back. He was lonely, his life was empty without me, and that he loved me so much and he'd never hurt me. All that crap."
"What did you do?" Daphne asked painfully aware of the hurt in her friend's voice. Tracey had fallen, and fallen hard. Pain was pretty much guaranteed if things went wrong, no matter how many times Tracey exposed herself it still cut just as deeply.
"I just slammed the door in his stupid face," Tracey answered with a simple shrug. "What? It's not like I could do anything else. He would've stood there all day, trust me. I couldn't be dealing with it and besides, I didn't want to let him back in again. He just does that to me, you know? Makes me feel like I'm the bad guy, for just wanting to be happy. So I flooed dad and asked him to come round, that soon got rid of him."
"An auror showing up generally does do that to people," Daphne commented, remembering the various times Astoria had bought boys home only for them to turn a comical shade of white under her father's piercing stare. Malfoy had always been that pale so Daphne had never quite been sure if it had had the same effect on him.
"Especially when he threatens to arrest them for stalking, yeah," Tracey agreed. "Mind you, it wasn't fun having to explain to dad what had happened. Took him a bit to realise that I hadn't just been lying to him, don't think he quite got that I'd been kidding myself too."
"Least it's over now," Daphne said trying to inject some positivity into the conversation, partly to try and cheer up friend but also because she had no experience with which to offer any advice. It was always the same, she would do her best, but ultimately Daphne didn't really have a clue what to say. Sure, she'd had relationships but they had never been serious enough to care about and they had never ended in crisis or anything like that.
"Definitely, if he thinks there's even a chance of us getting back together then he's got another thing coming." There was a brief pause as the bitterness of her words lingered in the air. "Sorry, we're meant to be celebrating."
"Then let's celebrate, screw him! He's spoilt enough, don't let him spoil your promotion too." Daphne said raising her glass. "To new beginnings."
"New beginnings," Tracey echoed finishing the toast with a clink of their glasses, and a smile on her face.
oOo
The night went fairly quickly after that, the two women enjoying one another's company until the late hours of the evening when the landlord rang for last orders. Unlike the last few times that she had gone out with Tracey, Daphne didn't require any hangover cures the next morning, primarily thanks to the fact that once they got back onto the topic of Tracey' promotion she went into detail about what all her new responsibilities would entail. The drink in her hand went completely forgotten, a fact which Daphne was grateful for. Waking up with a splitting headache, grogginess and a general desire to skip work and never leave her bed again wasn't Daphne's idea of fun.
So when the sunlight filtered into her room the next morning, Daphne rose with relative ease, showered, dressed and headed out to work. Annoyingly, she could not actually conduct the various experiments that she was directing herself now that her theory had to be proven. Instead she was relegated to sitting on the side-lines, biting at her nails and desperately trying to resist the urge to take over by force. She knew why they had to do it, after all Daphne had been involved in several similar experiments herself. That didn't mean she had to like it. But it was the only way to make sure that all results were correct and above suspicion and potentially offer fresh eyes if they were wrong. Her role was purely advisory. Luckily for Daphne the precise, methodical and professional Miller was the one who had been chosen to test Daphne's theory after some positive results of her own.
"I could have done this myself," Daphne muttered darkly as she watched Miller carefully strap the prototype time-turner around the stunned rabbit, which only ten minutes before had been an ink-well. The rest of the morning had been spent familiarising Miller with the work, which had gotten an 'impressive' from the egotistical unspeakable, and then running similar tests to the ones which Daphne had done before reporting the success of her work. The various inanimate objects they had tested the time-turner on had all vanished only to reappear moments later, then minutes later and then a slightly nerve-wracking hour later. They had been observed through each experiment by a variety of different unspeakables, primarily the senior members and Luidhard, from behind a glass screen in the wall which was protected by all manner of charms and wards. It was more of a safety precaution than anything else, ever since a previous unspeakable had accidentally blown up whatever he had been working on and almost fatally injured three people. Now the only people who would be injured were Miller and Daphne, and even then help would be quickly brought to them by the unspeakables in the other room.
"I agree," Miller said as he pulled his wand from the back pocket of his black jeans. A quick flick later and the rabbit sprang back to consciousness, pawed at the thing around its neck with mild curiosity, lost interest and started hopping around the floor with the quizzical attitude of an ink-well which has suddenly discovered it has legs, a sense of smell and a new found purpose in life other than holding ink. "You are an extremely competent unspeakable."
"Extremely competent?" Daphne asked arching an eyebrow as the rabbit bounded happily about the floor of the office. Little did it know that it was about to be the first creature in history to travel to the future without accidentally exploding, splitting in half or never being seen again. If it did, it probably wouldn't have been quite so cheerful.
"It was a compliment," Miller informed her as he scooped up the rabbit and slung an old golden watch around the rabbit's neck. The creature fidgeted, clearly unhappy with this development. Miller then checked his own, making sure that they were running at exactly the same time. If it worked, when the rabbit reappeared his watch should be exactly one minute behind Miller's. If it didn't work...well if it didn't work, a watch reading the wrong time would be the least of their problems.
"I think you need to brush up on your definition of 'compliment',"
"A polite expression of praise or admiration," Miller intoned as if from memory. "I'm quite aware."
"And you think that was admiration?"
"Admiration is all a matter of perspective," Miller countered as gently held the rabbit in place before pulling out the pin on the side of the time-turner. Where normal time-turners were spun to be activated this one had dual functions and, as such, required two systems of operation. One full turn of the dial was an hour, it was only a prototype after all. After a tiny adjustment Miller pushed the pin back in. There was a pause, then a small pop and the rabbit vanished.
"Excellent," Miller assessed happily. "Now let's just hope it doesn't explode."
"It won't," Daphne said with as much confidence as she could muster. Despite knowing that her theory was good, it was sound, she couldn't shake the nerves that fought inside her stomach. It was now or never. If this failed her project would be over. If it succeeded then it would be simply a case of improving on her work, or even passing it on to others so as the time-turners could be restored with the new model. There was no way to know what would happen, mainly because no-one had given her any chance of actually succeeding. Well, she would show them. It just had to bloody work.
"I hope not, I imagine Angus would be a tad upset."
"Angus?"
"The rabbit," Miller explained as if it was obvious.
"You named it Angus?" Daphne asked, slightly stunned by the sudden revelation.
"Yes, I was going to call him Clyde but that named seemed more appropriate for a turtle."
"Why did you name the rabbit?" Daphne inquired her mind no longer obsessing over the result of the latest test but instead wondering why on earth Miller would name a random rabbit, given his reputation as a man with no emotional attachment to people let alone animals.
"I got bored of calling them test subjects," Miller shrugged, the tattoos on his arms swirling a rhythmically as he did so. "It happens."
"How long did you set the field for?" Daphne asked as her eyes turned back to the empty space where the rabbit should have been. How long had been? Ten seconds? Thirty? She could feel her heart, pumping faster and faster. It was irrational, she knew it. Every test so far had worked, just because they were adding a biological component shouldn't make any difference. But what if it did? What if she'd overlooked something? Daphne didn't doubt herself very often, she couldn't afford to. But every time, in the moment between theory and fact, a tiny voice at the back of her mind would whisper all the 'what ifs' that she had buried back there.
"A minute," Miller replied checking his watch. "Should be back -"
There was a faint pop.
"Now." Miller finished as the rabbit reappeared. It sat there for a moment, as if somehow slightly stunned by what had just happened before it went back to playing with time-turner around its neck. It bounced against the golden watch, the sound breaking the silence in the room. Daphne stared at it, unsure how to react. She was unaware that she had stopped breathing, the moment she had been waiting for had finally happened. But instead of joy or jubilation Daphne felt nothing, shock dampening her senses.
"It worked?" Daphne asked tentatively as Miller examined the rabbit, first casting a cursory diagnosis check with his wand before scooping up the small animal and comparing his watch with his own.
"It would seem so," Miller confirmed. Behind the protective glass there was a lot of muttering and conferring, but Daphne didn't notice. All she could notice was Angus, the rabbit, the first time-traveller to venture to the future squirm in Miller's arms. She was aware of the sound of laughter and it took Daphne a moment to realise it was her own. A rare smile graced Miller's tight face. It had worked. It had actually worked. Months of planning, tinkering and a lot of cursing all suddenly seemed worth it.
There would be more tests, there always were with these kinds of things. Prove beyond doubt, test on human subjects and then what? A decision would be made, one which Daphne knew she would have no part in affecting. Sometimes these things were stored in the Department of Mysteries itself, kept safe and secure from the rest of the world. Other times, like when the time-turner had first been discovered they were produced, albeit on a limited scale. There would time later, Daphne realised as the door opened and people started to congratulate her, for those questions. In that moment, all Daphne could focus on was the fact that her project, experimental and apparently doomed from the start according to more than one 'experienced' unspeakable, had worked.
The half an hour or so before lunch passed in a blur for Daphne. Miller insisted that he was more than able to proceed without her, as the rest of the tests would be along the same vein but with more time elapsing with each one, although he promised to fetch her if anything went wrong. The news passed around the department quicker than Daphne had expected, meaning that the process of leaving took a lot longer than usual as she was stopped by a few of the unspeakables desperate to give her their congratulations. The nature of their work meant that trial and error was a large part, success was rare and as a result celebrated.
Daphne was able to escape the last of the congratulations a few minutes after she had agreed to meet Harry. She'd been forced to cancel on him two days earlier, thanks to the revelation that her work was under threat and that she needed to either prove it or give it up. Their meeting was therefore planned either a celebration or a commiseration; luckily for Harry it was the former. Daphne had never been any good at dealing with failure. Success on the other hand, she could enjoy. It didn't take her long to leave the Ministry, the lift having been mercifully empty when she entered it, and as soon as she had and the sunlight kissed her face she took out her wand, turned on the spot and vanished.
There was the familiar sensation and then she stood on the doorstep to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Despite it being an English summer, the sun shone brightly in the relatively cloudless sky as Daphne pulled back the knocker. A couple walked by as she did, a tiny dog running happily along in front of them. Neither of them looked at Daphne, and in fact they didn't even notice she was there. Whatever privacy wards were set up around the house were very good.
"Sorry I'm late," Daphne said as soon as Harry had opened the door. He was wearing a pale blue shirt, which hung open to reveal a t-shirt for a band Daphne didn't recognise. A familiar smile pulled at his lips as his eyes fell on her, it was the same smile he always wore when they saw one another, as if somehow seeing her brightened his day.
"It's fine, that's why we switched to here, remember?" Harry shrugged as he allowed Daphne entrance to his home. The switch had been his idea, after Daphne had explained about the rigorous testing that the department would put her worth through Harry had suggested that they just have lunch at his place. It was more convenient after all, and it had saved any potential waiting around that he could have endured.
"How'd it go?" Harry asked almost as soon as the door had shut behind her. They headed down the hall, Harry seemingly unable to hold his questions in, "was it good? Bad?"
"It works," Daphne told him simply as she hung up her robe on the coat stand which was filled with Harry's various jackets and coats. "Sure, they've still got some tests to run but basically, it works."
"Brilliant! Congratulations!" Harry beamed. "I mean, I'm not surprised or anything, I knew it would. But that's great, well done, Daph, seriously. I know it's been tough."
"Thank you," Daphne smiled, a sense of warmth washing over her at his words. During all the congratulations and the celebrations in the department, Daphne had been unable to focus on what was said to her, partly because she had still been in a degree of shock, but mainly because they weren't the people she wanted to share it with. Not really. That list was incredibly exclusive, Harry, Tracey, Astoria and her father. It wasn't that she hadn't appreciated it, she had. But there was a difference between sharing it with colleagues and sharing it with friends. The happiness in Harry's eyes wasn't because of the academic importance of her work, instead it was because it was genuinely for her and her alone.
"Any time, so what have they got left to do? Just carry on proving it?" Harry asked as he led the way down into the kitchen. The memory of the last time that they had descended these steps rose to the surface of Daphne's mind. Then they had barely known one another, he had been something new, different, an unexpected anomaly. Now he was so much more, a friend, one which Daphne had never once imagined she would have but was immensely glad that she did.
"Essentially, but we ran tests on biological subject, a rabbit. That was the variable that we were unsure on, whether the process would harm biological tissue or prove to be disorientating for those who actually used it. But Angus was fine."
"Angus?"
"The rabbit," Daphne explained as Harry's face mirrored her own earlier confusion. "Miller named it, why Merlin only knows. But the signs were encouraging."
"Sounds like they were more than encouraging," Harry pointed out as they entered the kitchen. Daphne was about to continue their conversation, but her train of thought was completely side-tracked by the smell that hit her. Any attempts at cooking that she understood usually ended with the smell of burning, it was part of why she practically lived on take-out food. But this, this was incredible.
"What is that? It smells amazing."
"Lasagne, thought I'd make an effort considering." Harry told her. "Should be almost ready actually."
"I didn't know you could cook," Daphne admitted as she took on a seat at the dining table. "Where'd you learn?"
"My aunt and uncle used to make me cook their breakfasts," Harry told her as he pulled open the oven door, before taking out his wand and levitating the dish from inside onto the counter. "But it was mainly after Hogwarts, this was when I'd started training for being an auror. I always found it quite hard to wind down. It was strange, I'd be tired and somehow wide awake all at the same time. I'd always have to cook anyway, you know what the hours are like, and once I'd started just seemed to relax me, I've carried on ever since."
"Get you," Daphne smirked as he began to serve the meal onto the plates that he had left ready on the side.
"It's nothing amazing or anything," Harry shrugged.
"I'm sure it tastes wonderful," Daphne told him. A shy smile pulled at his lips but he said nothing, instead preferring to focus on the food he had spent so long preparing. Harry, Daphne knew, had a slight issue with accepting compliments. Nothing that made him neurotic or anything like that, but it was enough for her notice. It had hardly surprised her, despite all of Malfoy's twaddle about him being a glory hunter, the Harry Potter that Daphne had seen at school had always seemed shy. Even in the aftermath of the war, Harry had never taken any of the praise, instead giving it to those who had died or the friends that had stood by him. Daphne had barely given it thought at the time, but now that she knew the man behind the legend she could see that it was more than simply survivor's guilt or a desire to commemorate the lost.
Just as Daphne predicted the food was incredible, a fact which she told Harry on more than one occasion during the meal. The same shy smile graced his features, each and every single time. It was astonishingly endearing. Daphne had never met anyone quite like Harry, he was kind, caring, and perhaps on occasion a little world-weary, but after everything that he had endured who could blame him?
The meal was nice, having had to deal with the stress of experiments, Luidhard and potential failure, it was rather relaxing to simply sit down and talk with her friend, especially considering that they talked about nothing important. Daphne had always found that talking with other people, be they from her house at school or at large functions, involved important matters, current affairs or other high-brow and equally boring things. Yet, with Harry she could just be herself and talk about nothing or complain about Luidhard and get excited about the Quidditch World Cup. The minutes passed as if they were seconds, and before too long, Daphne realised that she was going to have to cut the conversation off before she ended up never going back to work.
"I'd better get going," she said, a little sadness in her heart as she did so. "Before anyone notices how long I've been gone."
"Before you do, I was wondering are you free next weekend?" Harry asked quickly as they both got to their feet. "Only, Hermione's asked me round for a birthday thing and wondered if you wanted to come?"
"But that means I have to buy you a present," Daphne joked, smirking as she did so.
"You don't have to do that," Harry said quickly.
"I'm only joking, I was going to anyway." Daphne told him, "No, it'd be nice, I'd love to come."
"Really?"
"Yeah, why not? After all, you've met my friends, about time I met yours." Daphne said voicing a fact which she had felt slightly guilty for ever since the wedding. She knew just how much his friends meant to him, they were the family that he had never been able to have. It was clear by how he always talked about them, the stories, but most of all the fondness that filled his words whenever he mentioned them. It was the same way which Daphne knew she talked about her sister or Tracey.
"As long they'll be okay with it?" Daphne asked, genuine concern tinging her words. A slightly anxious nervousness pulled at the pit of her stomach as she looked at him. The opinion of his friends, Daphne knew, would matter to him. Vane's article had revealed one thing; that while she and Harry had forgotten house lines, there were those who had not. Would his friends fall into that group? What if they did? What then? Daphne knew that she was being stupid, but the age old fear that had made her want to cut herself off from any friends for fear of losing them was one which, no matter how much she tried to shake off she couldn't. It was always there. Irrational and unwanted but powerful nonetheless.
"They'll be fine, Daph, don't worry about it. Not like we're at school anymore."
"No," Daphne agreed, "we're not."
"Besides, you're great, how could they hate you?"
"Well, when you put it like that," Daphne smiled, aware that her cheeks had flushed a little at his unexpected words.
"I don't know a time or anything yet," Harry told her, "Hermione's trying to see if she can get Luna to come but what with her travelling all the time we're not sure if she'll be around. But I'll let you know if that's okay?"
"That's fine, I should be free all day I think."
"Great," Harry said happily before quickly adding, "sorry, I should let you back to work."
"Probably, I'll see you soon," Daphne said before him a quick hug, taking a handful of floo powder and throwing it into the fire. Had she looked round she would have noticed the smile spread across his face, as it was all Daphne saw was the emerald flames flare up around her before she vanished from the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.
