Over the next few minutes, Daphne decided that her father may just be the most useless man on the planet. He had steadfastly ignored, overlooked, or was simply oblivious to the frantic, panicked, meaningful looks she was throwing his way as he gleefully led his "old friend", and his wife, to their table. They spoke in hushed voices for a moment before Patrice and his wife branched off toward their own table, allowing Daphne to breathe a sigh of relief.
She smiled at her father as he sat in his own chair and gleefully took a sip of his neglected wine. "Are they not joining us?" She asked lightly as she sat down, internally over the moon that the reunion had been short-lived.
"Yes, they're just going to collect their daughters and bring their chairs over here," Daniel replied happily, looking over to the now-approaching Delacour family, each of them carrying a chair except the youngest who had donated her own to her father.
"Oh, that's nice," Daphne breathed out, feeling like she had just been doused in cold water.
Astoria quickly leaned in to speak to Harry. "What's going on? Why are they coming over here?" She whispered rapidly.
Harry looked oddly at her but answered lowly. "Apparently, your dad and the other man know each other, so your dad invited them over."
As the Delacours arrived, with Daniel and Marie both standing and helping them shuffle chairs around to fit them all around the table, Astoria eyed her father with a look of utmost disapproval. "The cretin."
Harry would have reprimanded her but his attention was quickly diverted by something grabbing his left hand. His head whipped around quickly to find Daphne had gripped it tightly under the table as she stared straight ahead, a carefully blank expression on her face. Harry frowned when he saw the look, as it reminded him of how she had looked at the Opening Feast all those months ago.
Patrice's wife and oldest daughter ended up sitting opposite Harry and Daphne, with Daniel and Marie on Daphne's left side beside the man himself and the smallest Delacour sitting on Astoria's right. Harry saw that the young girl was bouncing happily in her seat as she turned to greet Astoria.
"Bonjour!" She said happily to the other girl, who slowly turned to regard her.
"Hello," Astoria replied flatly, before turning away again and glaring at her father.
"I believe your daughter has the right idea, Patrice, we should all introduce ourselves," Daniel said to his friend, blissfully unaware of the look Astoria was giving him.
Patrice nodded his agreement, turning to his wife. "First, you remember Apolline, don't you?" The woman in question graced each of them with a beautiful smile and purred "Bonjour."
Daniel and Marie both smiled back at the woman. "Of course, she's still much too good for you, Patrice," Daniel said with a wink.
Patrice laughed as he moved along the table. "And this is our oldest daughter, Fleur." She smiled widely at Daniel and Marie but quickly passed over Daphne to smile at Harry, before turning and ignoring Astoria completely.
"And this is our youngest, Gabrielle." The young girl bobbed up and down excitedly in her chair, cheerfully greeting the table and waving at them all. The parents all chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm before Daniel coughed slightly to clear his throat.
"You have a lovely family, Patrice. Now, allow me to introduce my own." He laid his arm on the back of Marie's chair, turning to smile at her. "You know Marie, still my better half after all these years."
Patrice smiled widely at the woman. "I am still amazed you married him at all, ma chérie," Marie smirked at his words, turning to regard her husband with a critical eye.
"Hmm, he's not bad after I trained him up a bit." She remarked with a shrug of one shoulder, causing Patrice and Apolline to begin laughing.
"Twenty years of happy marriage and all I get in return is 'not bad'" Daniel complained good-naturedly.
Once Patrice and Apolline had finished laughing at him, he indicated Daphne with his hand. "This our oldest daughter, Daphne." The girl smiled politely at the Delacour parents, passed over Fleur entirely, but smiled widely at young Gabrielle.
"Next, this is our son, Harry." Daniel continued, introducing the boy. Harry smiled at the other family, as all the while his heart started racing and he had to swallow thickly, emotions rising within him. He'd never really given a thought as to how the Greengrass' would refer to him, but for Daniel and Marie to so readily introduce him as their own made his heart swell with joy.
"And last but not least, our youngest, Astoria." The girl raised a hand briefly and nodded to the Delacours.
Once they had all been introduced, Patrice sat back in his chair with a happy sigh. "A pleasure to meet you all. You have a beautiful family, my friend." He said to Daniel, before looking at each of the children once more. "I see your eldest takes after you, no?"
Daniel chuckled, turning his head to look at Daphne. "The hair and eyes are mine, but luckily for me both my girls get their looks from their mother."
Patrice peered closer at Daphne before he began to laugh. "My mistake, my mistake." He glanced past Daphne to the two other children. "These two definitely look like their mother, look at the hair and eyes." For a moment, the Greengrass family froze and exchanged baffled looks before Daniel and Marie began to laugh.
"I'm guessing this man wasn't an Auror with deductive skills like that," Astoria muttered lowly to Harry, who just shrugged. Meanwhile, Daphne was glancing between Harry on her right side and her mother on her left, a look of concern etched on her features. After a moment of closely inspecting both, she sighed to herself in relief and sat back comfortably in her seat, deciding that, while they all shared black hair and green eyes, the boy she liked did not look like her mother or sister.
Patrice and Apolline had noticed the strange behaviour but graciously decided not to comment and instead, Patrice turned to his old friend. "It is good to see you again, Daniel. Are you here for-"
"-a holiday, yes." Daniel finished, quickly shooting his friend a "shut up" look. Patrice frowned in confusion as Apolline joined the conversation.
"Oh, how nice! We ourselves decided to stay here for a week, we arrived only this morning." The beautiful French witch told them, turning to look at Marie.
Marie nodded happily. "We're here for two weeks, this is our third day."
Daphne turned to her father. "So, Dad, how exactly do you and Mr. Delacour know each other?"
Daniel opened his mouth to answer but it was Patrice who spoke first. "Please, call me Patrice," He told them all before he turned back to Daniel. "My apologies, you were about to tell the tale?"
"Yes, if there are no other interruptions?" Daniel said, smiling wryly at his friend who raised his hand to apologise again. "Well, Patrice and I met in, what was it, 1969?" He pondered aloud, turning to Patrice, who stroked his beard for a few moments as he thought before he nodded.
"Good, anyway, we met in 1969 at the European Duelling Championships. The tournament was hosted by Germany that year, in Hamburg, and I attended to support...him." Daniel finished, his expression darkening at the thought of his brother.
Harry gaped at the other man. "You were a duellist?" He asked excitedly.
Patrice jerked back in shock for a moment before smiling widely. "Young man, I was a champion duellist!" He declared proudly. "Two-times World Champion, two-times European Champion, and four-times French Champion, at your service." He explained before bowing shortly to each of them, his cheeks red with amusement.
"Wow!" Harry breathed out, incredibly impressed with Patrice's accomplishments.
"As I was saying," Daniel continued his story. "The competitors and their families had their own accommodations, and it was there that Patrice and I met. Over the three days the tournament was held, we spent much time with one another and became fast friends."
Patrice nodded along happily. "I was the defending European and World champion so I was the competitor everyone had their eye on and was hoping to beat, which meant that very few would approach me. Luckily, Daniel did and we found we had much in common. After the tournament ended, we kept in touch, and at the next tournament we met up once more."
"Did you win?" Harry asked, shrinking back slightly when all eyes turned to him. "That year, when everyone was after you?"
Patrice beamed at him. "Of course, I was at my peak back then so it was really very easy for me, though the final was more of a challenge.." He told Harry as he glanced at Daniel beside him who just scoffed.
"He beat my brother in the final," Daniel picked up the explanation, a vicious smile on his face. "To qualify for the European Championships you had to be your country's national champion, so everyone there was a talented duellist. Jonathan was the youngest champion England had ever had, and he'd never lost a match before. He expected to breeze through the tournament and qualify for the World Championship later in the year, but Patrice here made him look like an amateur."
Patrice's smile dipped slightly. "Yes, I did. He was good, but he was inexperienced and too aggressive, and when he encountered resistance for the first time he fell apart."
Daniel turned to his friend. "So that would make it 1972, the last time we met? It has been twenty years."
Patrice nodded. "Yes, my last. It has been too long, old friend. You should have kept in touch." He said, giving the other man a stern look.
Daniel shrugged. "Ah, well, once the war started there wasn't much time really, you know how it is."
Patrice gave him a flat look. "Non, I do not."
For the next half an hour the two men caught up with one another and told stories, with occasional input from Marie and Apolline, before one of the musicians spoke into the microphone once more.
When he had finished, many couples rose to their feet and joined those still on the dancefloor. "What did he say?" Daniel asked the French couple.
"They will be finished in one hour so he is advising us to make the most of it," Apolline explained before turning expectantly to her husband. "I do believe we only danced for one song before, my love."
Patrice pushed back in his chair and rose to his feet, holding out his hand to escort his wife back to the dancefloor as Daniel mirrored his actions with Marie, and soon the two couples were gliding towards their fellow dancers, leaving the children alone.
Almost at once, the atmosphere at the table changed to one somewhat resembling a battlefield, with Daphne and Astoria glaring at Fleur who responded in kind, whilst Harry fidgeted under the sudden tension, wondering what was wrong. Gabrielle just smiled happily, seemingly oblivious.
"Bonjour! C'est très agréable de vous rencontrer tous!" Gabrielle piped up, looking at them all before settling on Astoria. "Aimeriez vous être amis?"
All three of them looked at the young girl for a moment before turning to her older sister. None of them said anything until both Daphne and Astoria kicked Harry in each leg to prompt him.
"Sorry," Harry said to Fleur as he reached down to rub his left calf where Astoria had kicked him, scowling at the two sisters. "What did she say? None of us speak French."
Fleur laughed lightly, a tinkling, attractive sound. "She said it is nice to meet you all and," She turned to Astoria. "She would like to be friends with you." She finished, scrunching her nose up slightly.
"Oh!" Harry said, turning to smile at Gabrielle before looking back to Fleur. "Please tell her it is nice to meet her as well."
Fleur nodded and turned her focus to Astoria. The girl in question narrowed her eyes slightly at Fleur and looked like she was holding herself back from saying something foul, but after a few moments, she sighed and shook her head. "Fine. Tell her thank you, and we'll see."
Fleur's nose scrunched up even more at this, but she relented and translated for her sister. None of them knew if she said exactly what Astoria had asked her to, but judging by Gabrielle still smiling widely and shuffling her chair a little closer to Astoria's, they guessed she had not.
"So," Fleur said, looking between them all before looking through the glass table at Harry and Daphne's conjoined hands. "These are your sisters?" She asked the boy, looking faintly disgusted.
Harry cocked his head slightly at her tone, but then realised what it must look like. He laughed slightly and shook his head. "Err, no. Daphne is my best friend, and Astoria is..." He turned to regard the younger girl, who looked back at him blankly. "I suppose she's sort of like a sister." He finished, turning back to Fleur and missing the flash of happiness in Astoria's eyes as a warm, happy feeling bubbled in her gut at his description.
"I see," Fleur said softly, looking between Harry and Daphne with a calculating gaze. She turned her head to look behind her at the dancefloor for a moment before turning back to Harry. "Do you not want to dance?" She leaned forward slightly, her blue eyes wide and alluring. When Harry met her eyes, for a brief moment he felt a wave of magic wash over him. Unbeknownst to Harry, the two Greengrass sisters on either side of him bristled angrily. "I am certain that there is someone at this table that would like you to ask them."
Harry blinked. "Oh! You're right." He turned away from Fleur to Daphne, who looked shocked to receive his attention. He stood and held his hand out to her again. "Do you want to dance with me?"
Daphne beamed at him happily, taking his hand and getting to her feet. "Always, Harry." Her face was radiant with joy as Harry led her away from the table and back to the dancefloor, leaving Astoria alone with the two Delacour sisters.
Almost as soon as Harry and Daphne departed, a handsome teenage boy walked over to their table, a glazed look on his face and his mouth hanging open, coming to a stop beside Fleur and staring at her. After a long, awkward moment the boy finally snapped his mouth closed, swallowing slightly. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Fleur, who didn't even turn her head to look at him. "Non."
The boy stammered for a moment before losing his courage in the face of the girl's complete lack of interest and beat a hasty retreat back to where he had come from.
Astoria watched it all idly, keeping her gaze on the older French girl who was pointedly ignoring her. Gabrielle began to giggle nervously, finally noticing the tense atmosphere and beginning to suspect that her beloved sister and new best friend were perhaps not very fond of one another.
Finally, Fleur looked up and met Astoria's eyes, receiving an icy smile from the younger girl. "It's interesting, isn't it?" Astoria started, pausing to take a sip from her glass of lemonade. "All these boys around us drooling at the very sight of you, trying to pluck up the courage to ask you to dance, and yet the one boy you wanted to ask you has no interest in you whatsoever." The smile dropped from her face, replaced by a hard, threatening look. "Even with your allure."
Fleur narrowed her eyes at the other girl, crossing her arms beneath her chest. "I do not like you."
Astoria snorted humourlessly. "The feeling is mutual, flower."
With her arms wrapped around the back of his neck and her eyes staring into his, Daphne felt like she was on top of the world. This boy, this wonderful boy, had filled her life with happiness ever since they had met properly all those months ago on the Hogwarts Express. He had been her friend when she had thought she would have none, had shared his amazing magical ability with her while always helping with her own, and had now even shrugged off the allure of a Veela to ask her to dance instead.
If it weren't for the slight problem that she knew it would scare the living daylights out of him, she would kiss him here and now in front of the entire restaurant.
Instead, she just smiled happily at him as they moved around the dancefloor. "You have no idea how brilliant you are, do you, Harry?"
Harry frowned happily. "Err, thanks, but what brought that on?"
Daphne shook her head fondly at him. "Do you not understand what just happened?"
Harry's frown deepened. "Well, seen as I had no idea anything had happened, no, I don't understand."
Daphne smiled patiently at him. "When Fleur said someone wanted you to ask them to dance, she didn't mean me."
Harry blinked. "Oh. Well, who did she mean, then?"
"Think, Harry, if she didn't mean me who else could she have meant?" Daphne said with amusement.
Harry chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought about it. Daphne watched as his eyes suddenly alighted with realisation. "Oh." He said dumbly, shaking his head. "Do you think she wanted me to ask her?"
It was Daphne's turn to frown as she looked at him. "Well, yeah, obviously."
Harry stopped dancing. "Huh. I suppose I'd better go ask her then." He removed his arms from her waist and stepped back, looking toward their table. Daphne felt like she'd just been dunked in ice-cold water head-first as she was unceremoniously removed from his embrace, her arms coming to wrap around her middle.
"Y-You're going to ask her?" She asked, hating how much her voice wobbled.
Harry nodded and began to make his way back to the table, Daphne following along behind him on autopilot. "Of course, she must have felt awful when I didn't ask her before. I didn't even think about her, I just wanted to dance with you."
They arrived back at their table where Daphne sank into her chair weakly, trying to keep her face as blank as possible to hide how upset she was. Harry stood at the end of the table, one hand rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry, Daphne just explained to me that Fleur actually didn't mean her when she said about someone wanting to dance with me."
Daphne felt like throwing up when she saw the victorious look on Fleur's face as Harry began to walk toward her, but to everyone's surprise, he walked straight past the French girl whose mouth dropped open in shock. Harry continued around the table before coming to a stop beside the one he believed he had unintentionally snubbed, holding out his hand. "So, how about it, Tori?"
Astoria looked down at the hand in front of her, eyes narrowed as she quickly connected the dots and realised what must have happened. She began to smile widely at the adorable imbecile before her as she placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her to her feet gently. "Ah, go on, then."
Together they walked away back to the dancefloor, leaving a grinning Daphne alone with Fleur and Gabrielle. She found herself valiantly fighting to not burst out laughing at the pinched look on the French girl's face, though she lost the battle completely when a young boy walked over to their table in a trance and Fleur just turned and gave him an icy glare, causing him to scamper back to his own table.
This really was the best day of her life.
So happy was she with the fantastic, if unintended, insult Harry had given Fleur, Astoria decided to be nice to him and grant him exactly ten seconds of peaceful dancing before she berated him.
"You're an idiot, Harry," Astoria informed him happily.
Harry blinked, pulling away slightly in shock and wondering what he had done wrong. They hadn't even been dancing long enough for him to accidentally trample her feet. "Why, what have I done now?"
"Fleur didn't mean me, Harry." Astoria grinned as they ducked around a particularly enthusiastic couple.
Harry stopped and threw his arms in the air. "Oh for the love of- who did she mean, then?" He demanded, unable to believe he had gotten the wrong message twice.
Astoria continued to grin happily as he placed his hands back on her waist and they resumed their dance. "She meant herself."
Harry looked at her in confusion. "But why would I dance with her? We met barely twenty minutes ago."
Astoria raised her eyebrow at him. "She's a Veela, why else? Pretty much any other boy on the planet would kill for the chance."
Harry jerked back in shock. "Wait, she's a Veela?"
Astoria stared at him for a few moments, her mouth parted slightly. She had seen his Hogwarts grades and knew he was intelligent, so how on earth could he still be this dumb? "How did you not know she was a Veela, Harry?"
Harry sighed in frustration. "It's not like there's a town crier following them around announcing it, Tori."
Astoria gaped at him. "Harry, the fact that they're bloody gorgeous announces it!" She stopped and peered suspiciously at his eyes. "I know you told us you fixed these, but I think you're mistaken, they're clearly defective."
Harry scowled at her. "My eyesight is fine, thank you very much. I can see that they're pretty, but..."
"But...?" Astoria prompted, smiling to herself that Harry had described a Veela as merely 'pretty'.
"But..." He started slowly, quirking his mouth as he wondered if he could trust her, but when she just continued to look back at him patiently he decided. "But I think Daphne is beautiful."
Astoria fought very hard not to beam at him. "So, you think Fleur is pretty, but Daphne is beautiful?" She clarified.
Harry nodded. "Well, yeah." He said as if it meant nothing. Astoria couldn't help but allow a wide smile to show on her face. She was delighted for her sister in spite of how upset she was with her at the moment. She went to speak but was beaten to it by Harry, who had apparently not finished his explanation. "And so are you, and your mum."
Astoria continued to smile at him even as she fought against the blush threatening to spread across her face. She looked away from him for a moment and took a deep breath before turning back. "Aww, you're so nice to your 'sort-of' sister." She said, trying to regain control of the conversation.
Harry grinned wryly. "Yeah, sorry about that. I just...I don't really know what a sister feels like." Astoria froze momentarily, staring at him. He looked over the top of her head, unable to meet her eyes. "When I was little, really little, I used to lie awake at night and try to imagine a family coming to rescue me, a nice family. I'd finally have a mum and a dad that loved me, and a big brother and a little sister I could play with. I kept trying to imagine it, but I couldn't because I had no idea what it felt like." He told her softly.
Astoria was grateful that he wasn't looking at her as it meant he didn't see the sad expression on her face after his story. She couldn't comprehend how it must feel to not know what for her had always been a fact of life, a certainty - her family loved her.
Harry turned back to her, smiling thinly. "I'm sorry if it upset you, Tori. I care about you, and I know we haven't known each other very long-"
She stepped forward suddenly, closing the gap between them and hugging him tightly. "Long enough." She said firmly.
Harry's smile grew at the unexpected but much-welcomed affection. The hug between them lasted only a few seconds but it was more than enough for him. When they broke apart Astoria lifted her arms again to wrap around his neck as they resumed their dance.
"So, you really didn't feel the allure?" She queried interestedly.
Harry blinked. "That's what that was?" He asked incredulously.
Astoria nodded. "Yeah, from what I've read it felt the same. Sort of like your weird sphere magic feeling thing, but it makes men attracted to them. All the boys around us that weren't already looking at her started to."
"Oh, that's interesting. I felt it, but it didn't make me attracted to her. When she mentioned asking someone to dance, I just thought of Daphne." Harry remarked casually.
From anyone else, Astoria would have refused to believe that, but from Harry? She just shook her head and smiled at him.
"You're an idiot, Harry."
"Yeah, so you've said."
Harry and Astoria returned to the table a short while later to wait for their parents to finish dancing. Almost as soon as he sat down, Daphne shuffled in her seat and laid her head on his shoulder, her eyes beginning to droop after the long day they had had.
The only one to speak at the table was little Gabrielle, who alternated between talking to her sister and attempting to talk to Astoria in long, rapid French rambles that the other girl understood none of, being relegated to simply nodding her head absently at whatever she was chirping on about.
Finally, the musicians finished their set and the two sets of parents returned, talking and laughing with each other. When they arrived at the table, Marie went over to her chair to collect her bag, ruffling Harry's hair and gently shaking Daphne back awake.
Daniel smiled at his children excitedly. "Good news everyone, we finally have a plan for tomorrow!"
Daphne and Harry looked up at him with interest while Astoria narrowed her eyes, finding his happy demeanour entirely too suspicious. "What?" She asked flatly.
"We're all going to the beach together," Daniel answered, glancing over at the Delacours who were themselves getting ready to leave.
"Oh, joy," Daphne groaned quietly, unheard by her father who had moved over to Patrice and Apolline to finalise their plans.
"We'll have to be up early again to get our spot back," Marie declared, making an 'up' motion with her hands to get her children moving. They did so wearily, Daphne still leaning on Harry for support.
When they had risen she attempted to share a commiserating look with her sister, who steadfastly ignored her very existence. After their parents and the Delacours had exchanged goodbyes, they all left the restaurant and began the trek home.
Arriving back at the villa, they were immediately marshalled upstairs and into bed by their parents. On the landing, they all called goodnight to each other, though when Daphne did so Astoria refused to answer her and just turned silently into her room, closing the door firmly.
Daphne sighed to herself as she got into her own bed, wondering how she could make it up to her sister. For all the good things that had happened today, she still felt extremely guilty for hurting her little sister and tried to think of how she could apologise and earn Astoria's forgiveness, which she knew would be a difficult task.
Astoria could hold a grudge for months.
Daniel and Marie had just gotten into bed when they heard a quiet knock on their door. After a quick glance at each other, Marie called out for the person to enter and Harry poked his head into the room.
"Sorry, is it okay if I speak to you for a little bit?"
They both smiled at him and nodded. "Of course, come make yourself comfortable kiddo," Daniel told him as they both pulled their legs closer to their bodies so Harry could sit down at the end of the bed.
Once he was settled, he looked down at the covers and fiddled with a bit of loose fabric, wondering how he could voice what he was thinking. "Before, when you introduced us all to the Delacours..." He started quietly before trailing off, still not sure how to word it.
Daniel and Marie glanced at each other again worriedly. "Did it upset you, dear? That we called you our son?" Marie asked gently.
Harry's head shot up and he shook it frantically. "No, no, of course not! It made me really happy." He declared breathlessly. "I just...did you really mean it?"
Daniel frowned while Marie cocked her head to one side in confusion. "What do you mean, Harry?" Daniel asked him.
"Do you really think of me as your son? You weren't just saying it because the Delacours were there?" Harry asked in a small voice, looking between them with emotion-filled eyes.
At once, Daniel and Marie both realised what he was asking and together they moved forward and wrapped their arms around him. "Of course we do, you silly boy. I've told you before, dear, you're ours." Marie told him firmly as Daniel rubbed his arm comfortingly.
"You're part of this family, Harry, for as long as you want to be. We love you, kiddo." Daniel added in a soft voice.
Harry smiled widely as he pulled back from them, before chuckling to himself. "Earlier, when I was dancing with Tori, I told her about something I used to do when I was little." He started, receiving interested looks from Daniel and Marie. "I told her about when I used to imagine that a family would take me in, that I'd have parents that loved me, and how I didn't know how that felt." Daniel and Marie both looked devastated at his tale, feeling their hearts shatter for the boy.
However, Harry continued to smile as he looked between them. "But I think I know, now."
Marie shot forward quickly and wrapped her arms around her boy again, hugging him tightly. He sighed happily, luxuriating in the feeling of a mother's hug for the first time.
The sound of sniffling broke them both from their hug and they turned to see Daniel dabbing at his watery eyes with the collar of his t-shirt. He scowled lightly at them both when he noticed their attention.
"Shut up, both of you."
Despite how tired she had been, Daphne found that she was struggling to fall asleep. After tossing and turning in her comfortable bed for hours, she rolled onto her back with a huff and stared up at the ceiling.
She knew what was bothering her, but there was little she could do about it at this hour, so why couldn't she fall asleep?
In the back of her mind, a memory began to play from when she had been young. Focusing a little harder on the memory, Daphne began to smile to herself. That could work.
Quietly, she clambered out of her bed and walked toward her bedroom door, opening it softly. She peered out into the landing, seeing the lack of light under each door in front of her. However, it was the door next to hers that was her target.
Daphne turned the handle slowly, hoping it wouldn't make a sound that would alert the rest of the family to what she was doing. Luckily, the door opened silently and she darted inside, closing it behind her.
She crept toward the bed in the centre of the room and the figure lying there, pausing for a moment when she got close to their side of the bed and wondered if she was making a mistake.
"Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to get in?" The bed's occupant asked, startling her. Daphne froze for a second until she snapped out of it and quickly walked around the other side of the bed and climbed in. She shuffled closer to the other person, who turned onto their other side to look at her, their faces ending up inches from each other.
"We haven't done this for years," Daphne whispered quietly.
"Because the last time I got into your bed you told me to go away, that you were too old for this," Astoria answered in a hushed accusatory voice.
Daphne winced at her sister's tone and reached out hesitantly to wrap her arm around her sister, pulling her closer when she received no reprimand. "I was wrong, I'm never too old for this."
Astoria did nothing for a few seconds before she suddenly buried her head into her sister's chest, wrapping her own arms around her. Daphne was relieved for a moment until she felt her sister start to shake, and when Astoria reached up with her hand to wipe at her eyes silently, Daphne started.
"Tori?" She asked uncertainly.
"I just wanted to help," Astoria answered in a broken voice.
Daphne's eyes immediately welled with tears of her own at the sound. To hear her sister cry at all was heartbreaking, but to be the cause of it made her want to crawl into a hole and die.
"I know, I'm sorry Tori, I'm so, so sorry."
Sometime later, the two sisters both rolled onto their backs, looking up at the ceiling and reaching up to wipe their cheeks with the sleeves of their nighties. "What a day," Daphne breathed out.
"And tomorrow will be even better," Astoria said, shaking her head.
"Ugh, don't remind me. A full day in the delightful company of Fleur Delacour." Daphne complained with a sigh.
Astoria hummed quietly. "Maybe, maybe not."
Daphne turned her head to look at her sister. "What do you have planned?"
Astoria looked back at her, her white teeth showing in the moonlight as she smiled. "Oh, nothing much, all we have to do is tell Harry that she insulted you. How far out to sea will he blast her, do you think? 30, 40 feet?"
Daphne burst out laughing at the mental image this inspired, causing Astoria to clamp a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't wake everyone else up as she herself was snickering softly.
When Daniel opened his youngest daughter's door that morning to rouse her, he was surprised to see the girl was not alone. Her back was pressed up against her older sister's front, Daphne's arm held protectively around her little sister's stomach as they both slept soundly.
Smiling to himself, he ducked his head back out of the room quickly.
"Marie, where's my camera?"
Arriving at the beach and marking their (Marie's) territory went much faster this time around as the children were all awake enough to help, though the second the sunbeds were laid out they each claimed one and collapsed onto it, returning to their slumbers.
They were only awoken later in the morning by the arrival of the Delacours, who were exchanging cheerful greetings with Daniel and Marie. Daphne, who was in the middle, was the first to sit up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Vacantly looking to her left, she saw her parents and the Delacours standing in a huddle talking in front of her parent's sunbeds. Absently she looked each of them over until she got to Fleur and Apolline, and once she had finished gaping like a fish at them she groaned heavily, flopping back down against her backrest.
"You have got to be kidding me." She complained softly to herself as she laid an arm across her upper face to block out her view of both the sun above her and the girl standing a few metres away.
A movement to her left caused her to turn her head slightly where she found her sister had sat up herself and began to stretch. When she was finished, she looked to her right and spotted Daphne, nodding her head to her, before she looked to her left and noticed the new arrivals.
When she spotted the adult and teenage Veelas she screwed her eyes shut for a moment, breathing out heavily. Wearily, she turned back to her sister who had a miserable look on her face.
"You're going to be unbearable today, aren't you? Don't worry about it, Daph." Astoria advised beseechingly.
Daphne turned to her with an incredulous look. "Don't worry about it?! How can I not worry about the stunning Veela in the tiny red bikini that barely covers her huge-"
"Good morning, you two." A voice sounded to her right, causing both sisters to look and see that Harry had joined them in the waking world, stifling a yawn with his hand. He looked around and spotted the Delacours quickly. "Oh, they're here." Daphne and Astoria both watched patiently for Harry's brain to catch up to his eyes. When the moment seemingly came, he just blinked once, shook his head slightly, and turned back to them. "I'm going to go and say hello."
After he'd finished speaking he swung his legs to the side, putting on his sandals and sunglasses before getting up to go and greet the other family. Daphne just groaned again, causing her sister to roll her eyes.
"Will you stop? Just get up and get on with it, try and enjoy yourself." Astoria told her before standing up. "Come on, Mum is giving us dirty looks because we haven't said hello yet." Daphne sighed again as she put on her sunglasses and sandals, got to her feet, and walked over with her sister to their parent's sunbeds.
Only her mum and the three female Delacours were present, the French witches perching on her father's sunbed. Daphne sat down next to her mum with Astoria beside her, angled away slightly so her mother could perform the anti-sun charms
"Bonjour," They both greeted the other women, receiving smiles from two of them.
"Salut!" Apolline and Gabrielle said in return whilst Fleur simply lifted her chin slightly in their direction.
Graciously ignoring the slight, Daphne turned her head to her mother. "Where are Dad and Harry?"
"They went with Patrice to find sunbeds for the Delacours," Marie informed her daughter, who tried to look over her shoulder to try and spot her father and Harry.
"You two look lovely today," Apolline said to the Greengrass sisters kindly. "Are you enjoying your holiday?"
"Oh, yes, thank you, it's been great so far," Daphne answered politely whilst Astoria just nodded. Her mum patted her on the shoulder to let her know she was done with her back so Daphne swung around until she was facing the opposite direction.
"Salut l'ami! Veux-tu aller nager avec moi?" Gabrielle piped up behind her.
After a few moments of silence, she heard her sister speak to one of the other two Delacours. "What did she say?"
"She said hello again and she would like to know if you wanted to go swimming with her," Apolline translated happily, turning to give her friendly, outgoing daughter a beaming smile and therefore missing the look of panic on Astoria's face.
"Err, maybe after my mum does the sun charms for me," Astoria responded after a moment, grasping at the first excuse that came to mind.
"Oh, that's not a problem dear, I could put them on for you?" Apolline offered kindly before chuckling. "I did for my own daughters, after all." Before Astoria could think of a way out the French witch stood and walked around until she was standing behind the girl, beginning to mutter the incantations in her own language.
"You're too kind," Astoria said woodenly as Fleur turned to give her sister a translation. Gabrielle clapped happily when she had finished, jumping to her feet and vibrating in place impatiently.
At the sound of approaching voices, the women looked over to find Daniel, Patrice, and Harry were returning. Daniel was once again carrying two sunbeds on his own, whilst the other two were simply dragging a sunbed each behind them. Between them, they set up the sunbeds in a row on the other side of Daniel's sunbed before walking back to the main group.
"Hello girls, have you gotten enough beauty sleep now?" Daniel asked with a smile at his two daughters.
"Hello, Dad, are you done showing off?" Daphne replied quickly.
Daniel just nodded, accepting that he deserved that one whilst Patrice chuckled at his friend. Soon, both Daphne and Astoria were declared sun-proof and thus Astoria could not delay any further, getting to her feet with a sigh, scowling slightly at Harry who quickly sat down in her vacated spot next to Daphne.
"Would you jump in my grave as quick?" She shot irritably, before turning to the younger girl. "Come on, then," She said as she began to walk towards the sea. Gabrielle raced to catch up with her and began to babble away happily to the other girl, entirely unconcerned that Astoria couldn't understand a word she was saying.
Patrice watched them for a moment, considering. "I think that I will join them to cool myself down." He told the group at large as he walked over to a free sunbed, taking off his t-shirt and laying it on the back of one.
Harry and Daphne both had to catch themselves from gasping at the sight that was revealed. On the right side of his torso, running from just under his armpit to his waist were red, fern-like scars, and as Patrice moved the scars tightened and turned a shocking white. It looked like it was incredibly painful and uncomfortable for the man, who blessedly did not notice them looking and was instead looking out to sea with a gentle smile.
He turned to them all, his smile tightening with his scars as he fought down a grimace. "Would anyone like to join me?"
Apolline and Fleur both nodded and got to their feet to accompany him. Together, the three of them ambled away toward the ocean, chatting happily to each other and leaving Harry and Daphne alone with their parents. They both turned to Daniel, who was staring at the sand beneath his feet morosely.
"They look better than they did, love," Marie said to her husband with a sad smile.
Daniel shook his head, sighing. "It still makes me feel sick when I see them,"
"There was nothing you could have done," Marie told him, sounding like she had said it many times before.
"There was a lot I could have done," Daniel replied bitterly. Marie fell silent, understanding that her husband just needed a little time to calm himself down.
Harry and Daphne looked at each other for a moment, wondering what had happened. It was Daphne who coughed slightly to get her parent's attention to ask quietly. "What happened?"
Neither Daniel nor Marie said anything in response for a few moments. Marie just turned to her husband and waited patiently for him to decide whether or not to tell them the story.
"My brother happened," Daniel sighed, lifting his head to look at them both.
"When they duelled in the final?" Daphne asked, receiving a shake of the head from her father.
"Not that final. The year after," Daniel replied before glancing past them both to make sure that Patrice was still in the sea. "You know the first part of the story, how in 1969 Patrice defeated my brother in the final of the European Championships with ease. As soon as it was clear that Jonathan had lost, Patrice ceased his attack and stowed his wand. He was gracious in his victory and went over to shake Jonathan's hand but my brother, furious and humiliated, snubbed him. He was always quick to anger, but at this point, I had no idea how cruel and vicious he could be, or what he would become." He paused, shaking his head. "Whilst Patrice went on to win the World Championships again, my brother threw himself back into his training, with one singular goal in mind. Not to win, but to get even with Patrice Delacour."
Daniel's face was set in hard lines as he once again glanced out to sea toward his friend. "They met again in the European Championship the next year, 1970, in the final. Patrice was as dominant as he had been the year before, but Jonathan showed that he was now on a similar level and, once they both won their semi-final matchups, everyone was anticipating a final for the ages, the rematch between the reigning champion and the young phenom who was coming for revenge."
"And he got it," Harry said sadly, thinking of the painful scars Patrice still held twenty years on.
Daniel nodded. "He did. The duel between them was one of the best I have ever witnessed, fast-paced and hard-fought. Jonathan had truly improved in the time since their last encounter, and it was he who prevailed in the end, knocking Patrice to the ground and relieving him of his wand." Daniel's eyes grew distant for a moment as he remembered what happened next. "It is often in duelling that the competitors move so quickly that they are almost a blur, even for the trained officials who watch closely for any rule-breaking, grievous injuries and the end of the match. Do you remember what Patrice did the year before when he knew that he had won?"
Both listening children nodded, though it was Harry who added a vocalised answer. "He stopped,"
"He stopped," Daniel repeated with a nod before his eyes darkened. "Jonathan did not."
"He attacked him again?" Daphne asked, horrified.
"Quickly, and viciously. Fulgur, the lightning curse." Daniel told them heavily, seeing both of their eyes widen. "In the short time between Patrice falling and the officials reacting and calling an end to the duel, Jonathan struck. He had waited a year for his revenge, and all he wanted was to cause tremendous pain and suffering to a man whose only crime was beating him fairly and honourably."
Daphne had her hand over her mouth and a deep frown on her face while Harry was shaking his head. "Was he not disqualified?" Harry asked vehemently.
Daniel snorted. "Why would he, by the rules of the tournament he did nothing wrong. The lightning curse was not a banned spell, and the match had not officially ended. By the rulebook, he was well within his rights to continue to attack. By all laws of human decency, he should have shown the same grace and courtesy as Patrice had."
"What happened afterward?" Daphne asked quietly, her voice suggesting that she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.
Her father sighed unhappily. "The officials didn't end the match for around ten seconds after my brother fired the curse, they were too shocked at what had happened. Ten seconds doesn't sound like a great deal of time, but believe me, that curse is one of the worst to endure, and ten seconds of it will feel more like ten hours." His eyes narrowed as he continued the tale. "Jonathan received no punishments or sanctions for his actions, he argued that it was not against the rules and, unfortunately, he was right, despite the protests of every other competitor and the spectators. There was nothing to be done, Jonathan had won the duel and he was now the European Champion and went on to compete in the World Championship that year. He was disqualified in the opening match."
Harry grimaced. "What did he do?"
"I suppose he had now developed a taste for purposefully harming the defenceless. He beat the Asian Champion, a talented young witch, and he did the same thing he did to Patrice. He knocked her down and tortured her, even when the match was ended, but he was too caught up in his enjoyment of hurting another to stop until he was forced to. This time, as he had continued after the match had ended, he was disqualified." Daniel recounted, shaking his head. "I only heard about it from our parents. I refused to support him any longer after what he did to Patrice."
The children were quiet for a moment as they thought about what they had been told, feeling incredibly sad for Patrice, who had thus far shown himself to be a kind, happy soul. Harry frowned when he remembered something from last night. "This happened in 1970?" He asked, looking up at Daniel. "He said that his last competition was in 1972."
Daniel nodded gravely. "Patrice was greatly injured by the attack. Being held under that curse for as long as he was by a wizard of Jonathan's calibre...you saw the results." He shook his head bitterly again. "He was taken to the closest magical hospital and stayed there for weeks. I made sure that the Greengrass family paid for his treatment, it was the least I could do for my friend. When he was released, he decided to retire from competition, a decision that shocked everyone who knew him. He married Apolline and tried to find another passion to sink himself into." Daniel paused to chuckle humourlessly, shaking his head. "He couldn't, duelling had always been his dream and he struggled to move on, so he made the decision to return and compete in the French National Championships in 1972. He won, but it was clear that he was not what he once was. He was still as strong and as skilled as he was at his peak, but his movement was severely hampered by his injuries. It was his experience that won him the title, his final title, but the great duellist was no more, all because of my brother."
Harry swallowed heavily. "And he still competed? In the European Championship that year?"
"He did. Patrice is a proud man, he likely knew he had no chance of winning, but he wanted to compete one last time, for himself and for his fans. Patrice was a national hero in France, the best duellist they'd ever had. He didn't want to let anyone down." Daniel paused again, swallowing himself. "He was decimated in the very first round by the Russian champion, who showed him no mercy. Not surprising at all, really, with what he turned out to be."
Daphne opened her mouth to ask but was beaten to it by Marie, who had thus far been silent. "Antonin Dolohov," She spat, a foul look on her face. "He went on to become one of the most brutal, heinous Death Eaters there was. He murdered scores of people during the war and ruined the lives of countless others. A monster of a man, and it was he who ended Patrice's career for good."
Harry and Daphne both looked ill as they imagined what a future Death Eater might have done to the kind Frenchman, but luckily Daniel absolved their worries. "He wasn't seriously injured, outside of the usual risks duelling entails, but a particularly nasty cutting curse reopened his wounds from 1970 and that was that. Patrice knew he couldn't compete anymore, as much as he would like to, and he retired for good. He was only twenty-six." He finished quietly.
Marie gave her husband a sad look before she turned to the listening children, taking up the story. "We both attended that year to support Patrice. It hurt your father greatly to see him so diminished and know that it was his brother that had done it. He felt guilty, even though he was blameless, and over time our contact with both Patrice and Apolline dwindled."
Daniel spoke again to add context. "It was too difficult for me to face him, to send him letters asking how he was and what he was doing with his time when I knew all he wanted to do was duel. It was wrong of me, Patrice was innocent in this situation, but I think he understands why."
They were silent for a long while, each of them thinking about everything that had been said. Harry thought it was a tragic story and he felt great sympathy for poor Patrice, but it was his hatred for Jonathan Greengrass that was the overwhelming feeling. He already despised the thought of him after hearing what he had done to his own brother amidst countless others, but to hear yet another story of his brutality caused his hatred for the long-dead man to swell. He couldn't believe such a man could be related to someone as kind and caring as Daniel.
Daniel got to his feet after they had all been silent for ten minutes and stretched slightly. "I'm going into the sea myself if anyone would like to join me. Including you, Harry, we can stick to the shallows and get you used to salt water."
Harry smiled up at him and shook his head. "Perhaps later, but thanks anyway, Daniel."
Daniel just nodded and stepped forward a few paces until Marie called out to him. "Hold on, I'll come for a dip. Maybe the sunlight hitting the water will help with my tan." She pondered as she joined her husband, the two of them beginning to walk away.
Daphne moved until she could sit leaning against the backrest of Marie's sunbed, while Harry just lay backward and lifted his legs so they were resting on Daniel's. Absently, he looked over toward the ocean where he could see that Patrice was floating lazily in the calm water, his wife and eldest daughter doing the same beside him. He smiled at the sight, feeling that perhaps Patrice had come to terms with the loss of his career in the same way that Daniel had.
He turned away to look up into the clear blue sky, still smiling softly. "It's nice though that he's not ashamed of his scars. He didn't worry about taking off his shirt and showing them, and Apolline doesn't seem to care at all."
It surprised him when Daphne answered quickly, her voice hard. "Why would she care? There is nothing wrong with having scars."
Harry's smile dropped from his face and he frowned slightly. "Some scars are ugly." He argued quietly, reaching up with his hand to brush his fringe down over his own.
Daphne moved forward slowly until she was sitting on her knees and looking down at him. She reached out and brushed aside his fringe, exposing the red lightning bolt mark adorning his forehead. Gently, she began tracing it with her index finger, causing an involuntary flinch from Harry at the contact. "This scar is not ugly, Harry. How could it be? It's part of you."
Harry just stared up at her as she looked down at him, her long, blonde hair falling forward and framing her face. She began to run her fingers through his hair, eliciting an involuntary shudder of pleasure from him when she reached the back of his scalp. Nobody had ever done this to him before, and he had no idea how good it felt. Noting his reaction to herself and filing it away inside her head, Daphne smiled gently down at him. "As much as I like you with a fringe, I hope you don't have one just to hide your scar, Harry."
He shrugged slightly, finding that he was struggling to keep his eyes open with how relaxed her ministrations were making him. "Petunia used to constantly complain about it being too long. I found that I preferred it longer, maybe just to spite her." He lost the battle and felt his eyes drift closed. "Covering my scar is just a bonus."
"Whatever you want, Harry, just don't feel like you ever have to hide it," Daphne told him softly. He nodded again but said nothing more. She continued to run her hand through his hair, marvelling at how thick it was, and after a few minutes she heard his breathing even out and his face relax. Smiling to herself, she leant back and pulled the headrest into a more upright position and closer to her body so she could rest against it as she continued to move her fingers through the now-sleeping boy's hair. She looked around absently at the people around them, watching them sunbathe, play games or splash around in the sea.
She was watching a little boy kicking a plastic ball back and forth with his father when a heavily-accented voice startled her. "Hello," The voice said, and when her head snapped toward the person who spoke she saw Fleur walking toward them, rivulets of water running down her gorgeous body. Daphne held back a groan as the witch loudly sat down on what had been her father's sunbed, rearranging the backrest so it was more comfortable and settling in.
Harry jerked awake at the harsh sound of colliding plastic, looking around blearily. "How long was I asleep?" He asked the air around him.
"Not very long," Daphne told him with a sigh, side-eyeing the French girl in the sunbed next to her angrily.
He pushed himself up and looked at her with a wide smile before he noticed Fleur. He blinked in shock for a moment before he smiled at her too. "Hello again, Fleur."
"Hello, Harry," She purred out, the 'h' missing from his name and making it sound slightly sultry. "Did you not want to go for a swim yourself?" She asked him, tilting her head to one side.
Harry grinned lopsidedly. "I will later, but I don't know how to swim. Daniel started teaching me the other day, but we only got as far as being comfortable underwater."
Fleur's eyes lit up and she gave him a pretty smile, leaning forward slightly. Daphne noticed how her arms were slightly too close to her body but they rather effectively drew attention to a certain area of her chest. "I could teach you if you like, Harry," She offered, her smile widening as a large wave of magic washed over them. Daphne was both angry at the brazenness of what she was doing and horrified that last night had just been a small taste of what a Veela could do. Nervously, she looked at Harry and was dismayed to see the smile had dropped from his face, his expression completely blank. Had he been taken in by the allure?
"Please don't do that again, it is extremely rude," Harry said in a carefully controlled voice, though he could feel true anger bubbling up inside of him. When Astoria had told him that she had used her allure the night before he had brushed it off as perhaps being a mistake, but there was no waving it off this time. The notion that the older girl was trying to control him made him furious but out of respect for Daniel, Marie, and the other Delacours he forced himself to stay calm.
"I-I..." The French girl stammered, a red flush appearing on her cheeks. "I am sorry, I should not have done that." She said after a moment, her accent thickening. The girl swallowed heavily as she looked between them. "That was...wrong," She finished weakly, looking down at her knees.
Harry looked at her dubiously for a moment, before turning to Daphne. She gave him a small smile but said nothing, leaving it up to him. He looked back at Fleur and waited until she was looking at him.
"I'll accept your apology, but as I said, don't do it again," He said to her kindly, though a hint of threat lingered in his voice. Fleur nodded quickly, before she turned away from them both, biting her lip.
An awkward silence settled around the three of them for a few minutes, none of them knowing what to say after that. Harry found himself looking around the beach before his eyes found the little hut he had purchased his bucket and spade from the other day.
He turned to Daphne. "That place sells ice cream, I saw the sign the other day. I'm going to go and see if they have any mint, do you want some?" He offered, getting to his feet. Luckily he was wearing the same shorts he had worn the last time they were here, and he still had the change from the note Marie had given him in his pocket.
Daphne smiled happily. "Yes please, but not mint, I want-"
"Strawberry, I know," Harry finished for her with a grin, before he turned to Fleur. "Would you like any ice cream, Fleur?"
Fleur turned quickly to look at him, blinking in shock for a moment before smiling shyly. "Oh, yes please, any flavour is fine," She said quietly. Harry just nodded at her request and walked off in the direction of the hut, fishing the change from his pocket and counting it.
The minute they were alone, Daphne sat up and faced the other girl. "How dare you-" She started angrily, but Fleur cut her off.
"I know, I am sorry to you as well. I should not have done that," She said in a pained voice before she winced. "Maman is going to be furious,"
"Good," Daphne said viciously, scowling at the other girl. "You deserve it."
Fleur said nothing and simply nodded her head sadly, pulling up her knees and resting her chin on them as she looked out to the horizon. Daphne watched her for a moment, still angry, but when the other girl stayed silent she sat back again and slowly felt her anger ebb away.
"Why did you do it, if you knew it was wrong?" She asked, curious to know the reason for the other girl's actions.
Fleur looked to the side at Daphne with her eyes for a moment before looking away again. "He is handsome, and he did not seem affected by me or maman. It is rare to see someone resist our pull, even when we are not trying to do so,"
Daphne wasn't satisfied with that answer and shook her head. "So, what, you saw he wasn't affected when you weren't trying so then you decided to actually try?" She guessed in a disbelieving voice.
Fleur shrugged sullenly. "It was wrong," She repeated. "I am used to boys paying attention to me. It is a burden most of the time, but here was a boy who seemed like he wouldn't just stare at me and drool. And he wasn't paying me any attention at all, not when he had you."
Daphne glared at the other girl. "So it's my fault that you tried to turn Harry into a mindless sycophant?" Fleur turned to look at her with her head cocked to the side so Daphne changed her wording. "You wanted to make him act like all of the others, staring at you in wonder."
Fleur winced again and nodded slightly. "I wanted to see how much he could resist. I used my full allure on him, and it didn't affect him at all, other than making him angry. He had every right to be." She said morosely, before turning her head to look at the boy, who was queuing up at the shack and peering at the prices on a chalkboard next to the operator's window. "Only truly powerful wizards, or wizards whose hearts belong to another could resist that." She turned back to Daphne, whose eyes flickered over to Harry for a moment. "I think he may be both."
Daphne's eyes jerked back to the French girl, narrowing slightly. Fleur just shrugged at her. "When I suggested that someone wanted to dance with him, last night, his first thought was of you. Only of you." She sighed, leaning back against the backrest of the sunbed and straightening her legs out. "You are a lucky witch, Daphne. It is rare to find a boy our age like that. I have tried."
Daphne listened to what she was suggesting and contemplated it uncertainly. Did Harry feel the same way about her as she did him? She began to chew her lip as she thought about it before she suddenly caught on to what Fleur had said at the end.
"You do know we're not your age, right?" She said to the other witch, who turned to look at her fully. "I'm twelve and Harry is eleven."
Fleur blinked at her stupidly for a moment. "Truly?" When Daphne just nodded as if it were obvious, she blinked again. "I...did not know that. He seems older, and as he said you were friends from school I assumed you were too." She snorted softly to herself before her face contorted as she winced again. "I have to apologise once more, for calling you a little girl. It was unkind and untrue."
Daphne stared back at her, crossing her arms. "It was unkind," She said firmly, before cocking her head to the side slightly. "Untrue?
Fleur looked over to her, a wry smile playing on her lips. "I was smaller than you when I was twelve," She said in a conspiratorial tone.
Daphne looked confused until Fleur glanced meaningfully down at her own chest. Daphne reeled back in shock. "Really?" She asked hopefully.
Fleur giggled and nodded her head, but at that moment Harry returned with three ice creams held awkwardly in his hands as he tried to keep them apart. When he reached them he passed Daphne her ice cream, held his own more securely in his left hand as he offered the one in his right to Fleur.
"I didn't know what to get so I just got vanilla, is that okay?" He said as she took the ice cream from him with a smile and nodded happily.
He sat down next to Daphne and looked between them both. "So what were you guys talking about, I heard something about Fleur being small when she was twelve?" Daphne and Fleur shared a quick glance with each other.
"Yeah, apparently Fleur was really short when she was our age."
"Oui, very petite."
The day passed quickly and the three of them ended up sitting together for a while and chatting to each other. Harry, who was quick to forgive, found himself liking Fleur's personality as she conversed normally with the two of them, though he wouldn't forget about what she had tried to do with him so soon.
Daphne discovered that Fleur could be tolerable company, but she doubted she would ever forget how she had treated Harry, her sister and herself before this. She still had half a mind to tell Harry that Fleur had insulted her, but when the French girl behaved herself for the rest of the day she decided to let it lie.
During the afternoon Harry had gone into the sea with Daniel, with Daphne close by to offer moral support. After an hour he had a passable doggy paddle down and a bright smile on his face, though it was soon washed off almost literally by a wave as he received his first experience of having salt water in his eyes and up his nose.
Astoria had briefly managed to escape Gabrielle when the younger girl went back to the sunbeds with her parents and she swam over to her sister quickly, getting an update on the Fleur situation.
Astoria had listened to everything that had happened and simply declared that she'd still be keeping an eye on the Veela. Daphne was grateful and showed it by not murdering her sister when she suddenly dived on her back and dunked her under the water.
The end of the day came and they parted company once again with the Delacours, though Daniel and Patrice had a short, hushed conversation with each other out of earshot of the children.
The next three days of their holiday were spent relaxing at the villa, wandering the streets of Saint-Tropez and getting dragged into shops by an excited Marie before spending their evenings enjoying good food in the plentiful restaurants of the commune.
On the seventh day of their trip, Harry was dozing in his bed and enjoying the lie-in they had been granted. Kicking the covers off himself slightly as the sun was beginning to blare through his bedroom window, he smiled happily to himself in contentment. This had been an amazing week, and he felt incredibly lucky that they still had one more to go. Never could he have dreamed this time last year that he would find himself in the situation he was currently in.
So focused was he on enjoying just doing nothing in his bed that he did not hear the door to his room open, nor light footsteps creeping toward him. He only became aware of another presence in the room when the intruder suddenly dived on him bodily.
"WAKE-" Was all he heard before he reflexively stunned the attacker, sitting up quickly and pointing his right hand at the slumped-over form lying across his legs.
"I did warn her," Daphne said loudly from his bedroom doorway, shaking her head and smiling widely as Harry quickly revived her sister.
Astoria groggily sat up, her face scrunched as she tried to remember what had happened to her. When she did a few moments later she turned to the sheepish-looking Harry and gave him an annoyed look. "Up." She finished belatedly.
"Sorry, Tori," Harry said, grinning nervously. The girl just shook her head and scrambled off his bed.
"Honestly, I waited three hours to wake you up because I was trying to be nice on your birthday and I get knocked out for my troubles." She grumbled as she began to leave the room on shaky legs, turning at the doorway to give him an order. "Hurry up and get downstairs, Mum is going nuts waiting for you to open your presents."
Harry nodded quickly and she left the room, leaving Harry alone with Daphne, who smiled knowingly. "You forgot it was your birthday, didn't you?" She asked, walking closer to him as he got out of his bed.
"Yeah, I did," He admitted with a self-deprecating smile.
Daphne continued to walk closer until she stood right in front of him, looking up into his green eyes. "Astoria was right, hurry up and get changed so you can open your presents." Her tongue darted out to wet her lips as her eyes lowered to his own. "But I want to give you my present first."
She leaned in then and kissed him softly, pressing gently against his lips. Harry's mind was overwhelmed with shock at first but after a few seconds he timidly began to return the kiss. For a few moments more the two were locked together before Daphne stepped back, her eyes finding his again as she smiled giddily.
Harry smiled back, unable to believe what had just happened but finding that he enjoyed it more than anything he'd ever experienced. Daphne looked at his lips again and for a quick moment it seemed like she was going to kiss him once more, but instead, she stepped back and spoke softly. "Go on, get changed and meet us all downstairs. Happy birthday, Harry."
She turned and walked away from him, leaving him to stare after her in a state of happy but confused bliss.
When he realised he'd been standing there alone for almost a minute he quickly shook his head and went about getting changed, quickly finding a fresh pair of shorts and a T-shirt and making his way downstairs. Hearing the voices of the rest of the family in the living area, he found he was still smiling widely to himself.
This was already, without a doubt, the best birthday he'd ever had.
Coming into the living room and discovering a small mountain of presents that would make even the ever-demanding Dudley Dursley happy was beyond a shock, but Daniel and Marie had quickly waved down his protests that it was too much and told him to get stuck in. The whole family watched on happily as he plucked the first present from the pile, Daniel standing with his camera at the ready.
He opened it to find a leather-bound photo album and, when he flipped it open, he found that the first few booklets had been filled with pictures of himself with different members of the family, though Daphne featured more heavily than the others. On the first page was a picture of the two of them, fast asleep on their settee back home.
"That was at Christmas," Marie told him happily, craning her neck slightly to look at the photo upside-down from her place sitting opposite him. "You both looked too adorable to miss the chance."
Harry just grinned, feeling elated with the present. He closed the album again and inspected the leather, finding it to be an exact match for the one Hagrid had given him that contained photographs of his parents. He looked up at the two Greengrass parents in shock.
Daniel answered before he could ask the question. "As soon as we saw the album Hagrid made for you, we sent him a letter thanking him and asking if he wouldn't mind making another one if he had the time. He sent us this back two days later."
Harry continued to smile widely as he placed the album carefully beside him, making a mental note to send a thank you letter to his giant friend and try to think of something to get him in return. "Thank you," He said to Daniel and Marie, who both just smiled and nodded their heads to the pile for him to take another one.
"Open one of mine next!" Astoria said, pointing to a scruffily wrapped present on the floor. He followed his orders and picked it up, only having to pull loosely on a section of the wrapping paper before the rest fell off and revealed his present.
He found two sets of fingerless leather gloves, each with his initials 'HJP' embroidered in emerald green stitching on the back of the wrist. He smiled widely at her, though his puzzlement must have shown when she began to inform him of what they were.
"They're Quidditch gloves, you're bound to try out for the team this year." She said, pointing to the left set of gloves. "Those are for Seekers, the other ones are for Chasers. I have a feeling you're not going to go for Keeper or Beater." She explained, but she suddenly began to frown as she looked between the two sets. "Wait, maybe it's the other way around, the ones on the right are the Seeker gloves and the other is the Chaser set." She stopped again, looking between them both. "Why do they look identical."
Harry just shrugged but thanked her anyway as he inspected the gloves closely. He hadn't really given a thought to trying out for the Quidditch team, but he loved flying so it was something to think about.
He picked up the next present which, rather than being wrapped, was instead in an envelope with his name on the front. He opened it interestedly and shook it slightly until five tickets fell out onto his lap.
Picking them up, he read them quickly before looking up in shock at Daniel and Marie who were smiling at him. "These are tickets to the European Championships." He announced in shock, causing both Daphne and Astoria to gasp and each reach out for one of the tickets to read themselves.
"Yes," Marie said happily. "It's being held in Saint-Tropez this year, from July 31st to August 2nd, so this is kind of a joint present between you and Astoria." She said, quickly looking to see Astoria's reaction and finding her looking delirious with joy.
Harry grinned as he looked back down at the tickets, reading again to find that the tickets were for the entire event. Then, the gears in his brain kicked in and he looked back up at them suspiciously.
"That's why the Delacours are here as well," He theorised, receiving nods from Daniel and Marie.
"The first duel starts at two o'clock so we have a few hours before we need to be there," Daniel told him, exchanging a pleased smile with Marie. All three of their children looked extremely excited about the event they had planned the holiday around.
"We'll still be late with how slowly Harry opens presents," Astoria joked, poking the boy in the ribs with her elbow. Harry mock scowled at her and went to reach out for another present but before he could grasp one a loud, sudden noise made him jolt back quickly.
CRACK
Out of nowhere, a strange-looking creature in dirty rags was standing directly in front of him. The being was small, between two or three feet with flappy ears, wrinkled skin and large, tennis-ball-like eyes that widened when they focused on him.
"Harry Potter, sir!" The creature cried happily. "Dobby has-"
That was as far as the thing got before three stunning spells slammed into its tiny body, dropping it to the floor instantly.
Yo.
So, the plot moves forward incrementally.
This chapter would have been out earlier but FFN decided to be a darling and randomly delete 3,000 words the day after I wrote them, meaning I had to go back and redo it all again. It was probably better the first time around but hey, what are you gonnna do.
These chapters are somehow getting longer and longer but I'm having a lot of fun just having the characters interact so let's all start making bets now on how long this will be by the end, reckon I can get it to one million words?
I joke.
Maybe.
Regarding the accents, I know last chapter I did the Fleur accent and I started off with it in this for the whole family but honestly it just looked like I was writing a script for 'Allo 'Allo so, as I'm sure you're all intelligent beings, just take it as read that when the Delacours are speaking it's with an accent, oui?
Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter, it took a while to come out because for some reason I seem to only be able to speed-write when I'm working nights, please leave me a review and let me know what you think.
Oh, and thanks to everyone who made a point in the reviews on the last chapter of telling me how much they love Astoria. She's a lot of fun to write so it's great that you all enjoy her.
Enjoy!
