Chapter Seven: A Normal Life
For the first time in what felt like forever, Harry Potter had a normal life. A life filled with worry about classes, laughing with his girlfriend, Quidditch and the normal anxieties and stresses of a teenage boy. It was odd, to say the least, but incredibly refreshing. Even the Slug Club wasn't as bad as it could be, although if anyone asked Daphne it was the worst thing on Earth and Slughorn was a megalomaniac. Rather unsurprisingly, Slytherin's prefect loathed it but still attended for his sake.
Even Malfoy was somehow not irritating. It was like someone had found the volume knob and turned him down to, if not zero, four from his usual eleven. The snipes, gripes and general snobbery were still there but no one listened. Even Neville had stopped rising to him, which only infuriated the young Slytherin even more.
In fact, Neville was a far cry from the boy that Harry had thought he'd known. The prefect badge, and no doubt Hermione's company, was doing wonders for his confidence. The round-faced boy often joined them in the library, helping Harry and Ron with their Herbology homework - with Harry returning the favour for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Ron… tried. It was clear to anyone who paid even a moment of attention that he was struggling with the rigours of Fifth Year and being Gryffindor's keeper.
"I'm never going to get this," Ron moaned after a particularly exhausting training session as he stared at his Charms homework.
"Not with that attitude," Daphne, her usually sharp tongue lacking any sympathy for the boy, remarked idly.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"That if you think you'll fail you're always going to," she glanced at his homework. "Take Quidditch -"
"Do I have to?"
"Yes, because I'm sick of hearing you whine about it." Harry closed his eyes, expecting an eruption, but Daphne ploughed on before there could be one. "You are good enough. Whether you want to think it or not. They wouldn't have picked you if you weren't."
"But what if they're wrong?"
"And what if they're right?" Daphne shot back. "It's harder to be relied on than it is to fail. Failing's easy, it's safe. Trust me. I know." Contrary to popular belief, Harry was well aware that Daphne wasn't the cock-sure girl everyone saw. Behind her jibes and jokes was a girl scared she wasn't good enough. "You want to get this," she tapped the homework, "then give yourself a chance to get it."
A few moments later she left them to it, complaining about rounds and kissing Harry on the cheek as she grumbled her way to the exit.
"She's right," Harry hadn't wanted to say with Daphne there, mainly because she had a habit of being far too blunt with people who didn't always need to hear it. "You are good enough, mate."
"Am I?"
"Course," as if that was enough. "Why wouldn't you be?"
"Dunno," he shrugged, but there was an answer floating at the edge of his thoughts. Harry waited for it to emerge, knowing all too well thanks to his friendship with Hermione that people would just fill silences when they had something to say. "I… I mean, you lot, you're all so -" he flapped his hands, "and me? What am I good at?"
"Loads of stuff."
"Like what?"
"Without you, I wouldn't be here."
"Yeah, right."
"I'm serious," and he was. Without Ron he'd never have made it into the Chamber, never have saved Ginny, never have got to Quirrel or even met Daphne - after all it had been Ron's outburst at Fleur that had sent Harry to the library on his own. "We're not all Hermione, mate. We're not going to be amazing at this stuff. I'm not. But you keep us going. Always have. And you're a great keeper, seriously. You're going to be fine."
"Thanks, Harry."
They didn't talk about it again, but there was definitely a change in Ron at training after that. They didn't have long to work with this newfound determination, however, as the match with Slytherin was soon upon them. Ron didn't say a word at breakfast, but he did eat - which was more than Harry had managed before his first match. Hermione was doing her best to tell them they'd both be fine, while Angelina, Katie and Alicia were busy going through tactics a few seats away.
"Morning," Daphne slid in next to Harry, earning herself some raised eyebrows from Gryffindors who weren't used to Slytherins intermingling, let alone on match day. Daphne, who hated Quidditch, paid them no mind. "Just thought I'd pop by, feeling okay?"
"Fine," Harry, who had done this what felt like a hundred times, wasn't lying. Ron grunted.
"Good enough," she smiled, her usual dazzling grin that left his heart flying and his stomach flipping. "I guess I should, you know, hate you now."
"That was fast."
She clicked her tongue and shrugged. "House pride and all that. You know how it is."
"I'm hurt."
"As you should be," next to her a girl from the year below was glaring. Whether Daphne noticed or not, Harry wasn't sure, but she carried on as though she hadn't. "Now, try not to embarrass Draco too much. He's a nightmare when you do."
"No promises."
"What happened to the noble, brave, chivalrous Harry Potter?"
"He met a corrupting Slytherin who taught him ambition."
"Corrupting? Wow. Rude." She smirked, kissing him quickly on the cheek before removing herself from the bench. "Just for that, I hope you lose."
"No, you don't."
"No, I don't," she turned her attention to Ron. "Good luck, Weasley. Quick tip, Montague likes to go to his left - just thought you'd like to know." And with that she disappeared, retreating to the Slytherin table and joining Tracey. Ten minutes later, Harry, Ron and the rest of the team headed to the pitch to get changed and listen to Angelina's game plan. Harry, whose briefing was "Harry, make sure you catch the snitch nice and early, don't give them a chance to do anything," didn't pay attention. His focus was kept solely on Ron. His friend was white as a sheet by the time the crowd was thundering into the stadium, but his back was straight and his eyes were focused on Angelina.
"Right," Angelina said stoutly before they headed to the tunnel. "Good luck everyone."
The crowd roared when they shot out onto the pitch. A giant sea of red flags, banners and scarves signalled the Grffyindor section. Harry could see Hagrid, despite his teacher status, cheering from the stands with the other professors. The green of Slytherin, a sight that in previous games would've made Harry's heart twist, didn't bother him.
Malfoy flew up beside Harry, but his usually cocky, smug grin was missing. It was like he was a shell of the boy Harry had known. In an odd way, he felt sorry for him. Not that Harry was going to complain.
"Aaaaand we're off!" Lee Jordan yelled happily in his microphone as the Quaffle was thrown into the air by Madam Hooch. "And Angelina Jordan for Gryffindor gets the Quaffle, reverse pass to Spinnet, Bell, Spinnet. Gryffindor playing some lovely stuff here. New beater Crabbe with a well-hit bludger, good dodge Alicia, onto Angelina. She ducks past one, two, three! Just the keeper to beat, c'mon Angelina!"
Angelina rolled as another bludger whizzed past her, threw the quaffle over the oncoming Slytherin keeper, caught it and then hurled it with venom into the open hoop.
"Gryffindor scores!" Lee screamed as three-quarters of the crowd erupted in cheers. Even from where he was high above the pitch, Harry could make out Hagrid pulling a disgruntled Professor Vector into a jubilant hug. "And that's as good as you'll see. An incredible solo move from Gryffindor captain Angelina Johnson!"
"And we're back underway with Montague," Lee continued, "to Pucey, now Warrington." Warrington ducked a bludger by Fred before passing to Pucey, who managed to duck an attempted tackle by Katie before splitting Angelina and Alicia's pincer and finding Montague. "Montague has it! He's streaking up the pitch! The first real test for new keeper Ron Weasley and…" the Slytherin crowd cheered. "Montague scores. Bad luck, Ron."
Harry was so distracted that he only noticed Crabbe's bludger in the nick of time.
"Careful there, Harry!" Fred shouted as he shot past him, batting the bludger at Montague and stopping the Slytherin captain from stealing the Quaffle from Angelina. Gryffindor scored twice more, but still no sign of the Snitch. As the score racked up in Gryffindor's favour, it became apparent to Harry that Crabbe and Goyle had no intention of stopping the chasers. Every bludger was hurled at him, to the point that Fred and George were his guards as Harry was forced to dodge and weave high above the game, leaving Malfoy free to hunt for the Snitch.
"And it's Warrington, he's past Spinnet. Back to Pucey, you can take him, Angelina… Maybe not. And that's a rare bludger from Fred, er, George, oh, who cares. One of them. Nice to see the Weasley twins in the game, and that's with Bell - who, er, drops it - and now with Montague. Slytherin captain Montague is off up the pitch. C'mon Gryffindor! Block him!"
Harry zoomed low, ducking another bludger and narrowly avoiding the sea of Gryffindor fans below him as he turned and zoomed low across the pitch, trying his best not to look and scan furiously for the Snitch. But then, miraculously, a cheer erupted from behind him.
"Saved by Weasley! Take that, Montague!"
"Jordan!"
"Sorry, Professor," Lee apologised, "but that's one hell of a save from Gryffindor's keeper. A fingertip stop to deny Montague and collected by Angelina. Onto Katie Bell, and she's off. Dodges Pucey, ducks Warrington and -" but Lee was interrupted as a roar from the crowd signalled that Montague in a desperate attempt to stop Katie had pulled her broom back, causing her to drop the Quaffle. Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, but that didn't stop Crabbe, who ignored the stop in play and sent a bludger hurtling at Harry, who had been too busy looking up at the chasers to notice.
Pain exploded in his shoulder as he was thrown bodily from his broom. Luckily he'd only been a few feet off the ground, but that didn't stop the wind from escaping his chest or make the raw explosion of pain in his right shoulder any easier to deal with as he landed hard on the frozen pitch. There was uproar in the stands. Yells and jeers rang out above him.
"You dirty, cheating -"
"Jordan, I'm warning you!"
"Come off it, Professor!"
They weren't the only ones upset with the foul play, as Madam Hooch summoned Montague and his team for a stern warning. Angelina was among them, and even from the ground, Harry could see she was apoplectic with fury. There was a thud as Fred and George landed next to him, helping him to his feet.
"You alright, Harry?"
"Yeah, fine," Harry groaned grimly, wincing as he rolled his wounded shoulder. It wasn't anything he hadn't had before. "Look, they're just going to keep going for me. You two should take one of the bludgers, I'll deal with the other one."
"You sure?"
"Done it before, haven't I?" Dobby's bludger hadn't taken him out of the game, if he could avoid that he could deal with Crabbe and Goyle. "One's easier than two, 'sides, you need to help the others out."
Madam Hooch interrupted the impromptu team talk to ask him if he was okay to carry on. When he told her he was fine, she gave him a hasty pat on the wrong shoulder before mounting her broom and taking to the sky. Blowing out a sour breath, Harry followed suit with Fred and George right behind him.
"Gryffindor Seeker Harry Potter is back out there after a despicable bludger from Crabbe," Lee carried on, "no sign of the Snitch yet, but good to see Harry's okay. And we're back with Angelina…"
Focus. Without Fred and George for protection, Harry was dodging and weaving more than ever, but the score was reflecting their reappearance in the game. Ron let in a few more goals, but he saved more than flew past him and was nowhere near as bad as Bletchley, who was peppered by the suddenly rejuvenated Gryffindor attack. Katie, Angelina and Alicia - with the freedom of the pitch thanks to Fred and George - were tearing Slytherin apart. But that was fine by them, they didn't care as long as they caught the Snitch.
One hundred and forty to fifty. The Snitch would still decide the game, but Gryffindor were all over Slytherin. Harry kept one on Malfoy, just in case the pale boy spotted the Snitch before him. Free to hunt the pitch alone, Malfoy was circling high above him as unlucky as Harry had been for the entire game. But then - just as Harry was forced to roll and avoid yet another bludger from Goyle - he saw it flickering by the Gryffindor hoop.
He yanked his broom around, but Malfoy had seen it first. Both boys dived and both boys missed, Harry too focused on catching up and Malfoy too worried about blocking him to focus on the glittering golden ball. It shot upwards and so did they, two multi-coloured blurs twisting like strands of DNA around the Gryffindor hoops.
Ron appeared in Harry's vision for a split second as he tried desperately to avoid the two seekers and then he was gone. Higher and higher they flew. Malfoy's skinny frame butted against Harry, but Harry shoved back just as hard. Both boys were reaching, groping. Harry's teeth gritted. His shoulder screamed at him. Wind whistled in his ears. The sound of the crowd was gone. The match a footnote This was it.
It was over in one desperate, breathless second. Harry's fingers just managed to reach the tiny golden ball first, as he closed his fist around the Snitch, Malfoy's fingernails scraping against the back of his hand. The shrill whistle pierced the stadium as the Gryffindor fans screamed themselves hoarse.
It was over.
They'd won.
When he was back on the ground, Harry was smothered by his teammates. Fred and George were singing his name. Ron was screaming. Harry grabbed him a hug that tore the breath from him. Both boys laughed. Relief. Astonishment. Adrenaline. Europhoria. Delirious joy.
Normally, Harry wouldn't be able to wait to get to Gryffindor Common Room, to celebrate with his House, to eat too much food and laugh with his teammates, but there was one person he had to find first.
The crowd basically mobbed them when they got out of the stadium. But after fighting his way through a throng of Gryffindor supporters, Harry finally saw her. The majority of Slytherins were already heading back to the castle, but a certain blonde Slytherin stood waiting just behind the Gryffindor crowd.
"Never," Daphne said, her voice hoarse, "do that again."
Harry couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him. Instead of asking, instead of arguing or joking he swept her up in his arms. The heavens opened. Rain descended. Soaked them. But he didn't care. Neither did she. The crowd shouted. Running footsteps signalled a retreat to the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. But two students, embraced in a tight hug and then a kiss they were sure might break some kind of record, couldn't care less about a bit of rain.
When they finally broke apart, Harry couldn't shake the dopey grin from his face. His dark hair was plastered to his scalp, just as Daphne's was. Their robes stuck to them. Thick droplets ran down her face, blurred slightly by the rain that smudged and clung to Harry's glasses. He could've stayed out there all day.
"You realise that I won you that match," Daphne teased as they walked up towards the castle, her arms slung through his.
"How?"
"You think Ron's doing that well last week?"
"I caught the Snitch!"
"Goals count too, last I checked."
"One-hundred-and-fifty points."
"He'd have let in more than fifteen."
"One-hundred -"
"You said. Admit it. I helped, slash, won you the whole thing."
Harry snorted, but conceded, "okay, you helped."
"See, was that so hard?" Daphne squeezed his arm, resting her head against his shoulder as they weaved towards the castle, neither of them balancing well enough to manage a straight line. The smell of fresh rain mingled with her strawberry shampoo. It was perfect. This was perfect.
So, what was going to ruin it? He hoped nothing, but life had taught him that there would be something. There always was. Depending on how you looked at it, Harry had come to realise that life could be pretty depressing. Happiness was never permanent, but neither was sadness. And in that moment he didn't care. He didn't give a damn about anything, except the girl on his arm and the jubilation in his heart.
AN: This is just a short little slice of what Fifth Year life is like for Harry and Daphne. We'll be getting into some more of the wider plot in the next few chapters, so I wanted to give you guys a little slice of life chapter. We'll be having some more time jumps like this one, but I've always enjoyed a good Quidditch match and wanted to have a crack at one! I hope you enjoy this as much as I had fun writing it and as always I hope you guys stay well!