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August 12, 1995
"How are they?" Harry asked as he re-entered the room wherein Daphne was checking on the wards.
"They're holding. We spent thousands of galleons on this protective scheme, so they'd better hold," Daphne fell back fluidly into the chair that was nearest to her, still elegant in her movement despite the pressure that she was undoubtedly feeling. "I don't imagine I have to say this, but knowing you, it's better to do so regardless of what I think — don't go out to confront them. I know you're able to cast a Patronus Charm, and a powerful one at that, but there's no reason to put yourself at risk."
Harry shook his head as he moved over to sit beside her. "I don't plan on going out after them unless they're about to break through the wards, and based on what you said, there's no reason for me to go and do that."
"Correct. There isn't. That hasn't stopped you before," Daphne said with narrowed eyes and an accusatory look. "I know you're not very fond of them after what they've done. They were problematic, to say the least, but please, do remain inside with me."
"I will," he promised again as his eyes fell to the window; he couldn't see anything out of the dark, frosted-over glass, but that didn't stop him from trying. It wasn't hard to picture the creatures flying about, hunting him and Daphne. They were evil through and through, regardless of what anybody said. Any creature that ripped the soul free of somebody was inherently evil.
Daphne cleared her throat, and in doing so, she drew his attention back over to her.
"You're thinking about them," she said, her tone making her words a statement rather than a question. Merlin, she could read him eerily well. He wished he could do the same to her.
"Yeah. I was hoping I could see them. If I could, all I'd have to do is open the window and send the Patronus out to greet them — I wouldn't have to leave the wards, much less your home itself," Harry raised both hands when Daphne shot him an unimpressed look. "They're not visible. I already took a few glances outside. I promised you I wouldn't go and hunt them down either. I'm not that mad."
She snorted. "Please," Daphne said with a teasing roll of her eyes. "We both know that the only reason you're not going out to banish them is that I made you promise you'd stay in here with me. I'm ever so thankful for doing so too, lest I lose my favourite wizard."
"Favourite wizard? I'll take that title," Harry shifted slightly closer to Daphne as the girl began to shiver; he wasn't sure if it was the creeping of the cold or the feelings of dread that came with it.
"I'm sure you would," she said back to him as her head fell to his shoulder.
There was silence for the next few minutes. Her home gradually grew hotter, something that wasn't all that surprising on account of Daphne ordering the house elves to increase the heat. It did much to combat the growing cold from the Dementors' presence, but little to stave off the growing negative emotions that also came alongside the creatures.
"Daph?" Harry asked after a yawn, the warmth and her closeness joined together to make him grow tired.
"Hmm?" she hummed in response, her head and body barely moving as she reclined further into his side.
"Is there anything you'd like to do while we wait for them to leave?" he asked, hopeful that she could think of something and if that failed, he would have to do just that himself. The last thing they needed was to be solely focused on the wards, for the more they did just that, the stronger those emotions grew as nothing fought them off.
Daphne stayed silent initially, but eventually, she did respond. "We could have tea if you'd like. It's imperative that we stay and monitor the wards to ensure nothing happens to them, but perhaps focusing entirely on them isn't the greatest use of our time."
"Wicked. Tea and a bo—" Harry had just been about to suggest a book so that they might study some more healing magic when there was a flash of a dark, royal purple that lit up the entirety of the room. There was no sound that came with it, only a further few bursts of that same light; at the first one, Daphne was up from their seat and over to the runes that powered the wards.
"What is it?" Harry asked as he quickly moved to join her, his eyes focused on his girlfriend rather than the runes that he couldn't interpret all that well.
"For a moment, the wards flashed. They're still up and everything else seems to be just fine, but for that scant few seconds, there's a chance that one of those creatures might have made it through… we should make our way to the basement and seek out the safety it provides. We'll be able to call for help and wait out the arrival of that help with no danger to our persons," Daphne grabbed Harry's left hand and pulled hard as she started them towards the door that would see them out of the room. "Don't forget that you promised not to fight them unless there's nothing else that can be done. I don't want you going off and playing the part of a hero. Not against Dementors."
Harry's face turned sour. He didn't enjoy risking himself year after year, and he had a special hatred in his heart for the damned Dementors. But, if there was nothing else that could be done, what real option did he have? Daphne had already said that she couldn't cast those spells, and so that meant it would fall to him to rid them of the monsters that could very well soon be upon them.
"If we see one, I'll send it running," Harry said resolutely, and in turn, Daphne stayed silent, choosing to press herself further into his side as the creeping feeling of cold grew stronger, and the torches along the hall they now found themselves in began to flicker.
One by one, they went out, leaving them in nought but the moonlight.
One had to have made it inside; that was the only explanation. Harry readied his wand and reaffirmed his grip on Daphne. If it wanted a soul, he would send it fleeing to Voldemort and the man's followers. Maybe there and with dozens of people, it might just find itself one complete soul to take.
Slowly, and very cautiously, Harry and Daphne crept along the barely lit halls of her home. They moved in such a way to avoid making noise, for it was blindingly obvious the further they moved that there was, in fact, at the very least, one Dementor in the home with them. It had accidentally made noise by way of bumping something and the sense of cold and the negative emotions that came with it couldn't be contained.
They made it to the staircase that would eventually see the pair of them down and in the direction of the basement after a few minutes of silent walking. Daphne had insisted — silently and with gestures — that she be the one to lead the pair of them on account of her knowledge of the manor. He had not wanted to accept her doing so, but when it became very apparent that he didn't have the knowledge to navigate them in such a low amount of light, he had to relent lest he endangers them both all for the sake of guarding her; it would be counter-productive, really.
Thus, with her in the front and Harry watching the rear as well as taking the very brief glance forward nearly every five or so seconds, they began to descend the staircase. It was incredibly slow work, and Daphne aided him in every step since this was a journey she had made many times over. Her nerves weren't apparent in her actions, he didn't feel her shaking and he didn't see her face since they had left the room, but he didn't think she was truly terrified. They were together, they made up for each other's weaknesses, as any good couple did.
"Last step," Daphne all but breathed out, her words making Harry breathe in deeply.
She had broken the silence that they had let linger. He half thought her doing so would result in a Dementor popping out from the shadows to suck their souls as they had tried to do a couple of years ago, but there was no such occurrence. For whatever reason, the creature that had made it inside was fine with exploring wherever it was; there was no ruckus save for the object it had bumped. He had expected it to throw items around, to break glass… to do anything aside from staying silent as it searched the home.
Harry took that last step with Daphne's guiding hands, and finally, they reached a landing that was flat with the door before them still closed. It was normal of her to close every door that she had opened, and whilst he would tease her on occasion for doing so, in this specific situation, that had greatly aided them.
There was a pause as the pair regarded the door in the dimly lit staircase, the sound of rain and whipping wind outside the only noises they heard short of the other breathing, and the only light coming from the window in the ceiling that shined down on them. That hesitation didn't last long, nor did the eeriness of wind that sounded like screaming, and soon, the door was opened with a light push.
Again, there was no Dementor that jumped out at them as soon as they opened the door, much to Harry's surprise. His previous nerves were unwarranted, and the last thing he wanted to do was get inside of his own mind. That was never good under any circumstance.
Daphne exhaled. He heard the breath leave her as the door finally fully opened to reveal the typical hallway that was in her home, only with a faint fog that immediately made both of them feel on edge. It was clear that, like the cold and the creeping negative emotions that ever pulled at the edges of their mind, this was not normal. The Dementor grew nearer and nearer to them, and all the while, they couldn't see it. Whensoever they came upon it, they would have nought but a few fleeting seconds to act.
Those few seconds… they would have to be enough for him to cast the Patronus. If they weren't. If they weren't enough, Harry would have to put himself between Daphne and the monster. She may have a knack for saving others the same as he did, but he would act faster — he was the Quidditch player, after all.
Suddenly, there was a pull on his right hand. He nearly jumped at the contact, but when he turned as quickly as he could to look at Daphne, for that was where she was, he saw that she was pointing towards a door. It was large, old and made from a solid wood with metal that ran through it. Unless he was mistaken, that was the very door to the basement that they were seeking out for the safety it would provide.
As if she had read his mind, Daphne nodded. That was where they needed to be.
Slowly, they continued their journey towards the door. They didn't grow careless with their end goal in sight, that wasn't Daphne and thanks to the influence she had on him, that wasn't Harry either. They were smart, they were cautious, and they weren't alone.
Harry grabbed her, pulled her closer and directed her head with his wand hand to the large parlour room that was nearest the basement door. He had only just seen the creature when it floated by a window, momentarily blocking the light and alarming him as to its presence. The Dementor was very close to them, and soon, he figured the creature would learn that fact the same way he had; there were many a window between the pair of teens and the door they were after, and Dementors, for all of their flaws and evil, were not overly stupid creatures.
He pointed at the door, at Daphne, and finally, with his fingers, he made the motion for her to run. When she cocked her head at him and raised a brow, the moonlight illuminating her enough for him to see as much, he shook his head. They couldn't both make it in time once they started to run. He knew that the Dementor would hear them, and with how fast the creatures could move, it would be on them before they could do anything to stop it. Harry would allow her to flee, and he would be fine; he could cast a Patronus, after all.
Daphne folded her arms, ripping the one that he was holding away, and shook her head. She wanted him to look at her too, but he refused and turned his attention back to the uninvited house guest. The last thing he wanted to do was to let it out of his field of vision, for he knew that so long as he saw it, there was no way it would sneak up on them. He also knew that, should he let it go from his eyesight, it would vanish into the darkness that surrounded it and, when they weren't expecting it, the creature would jump them.
Harry nodded again, pointed at the door, and readied his wand. When Daphne pulled on his hand, he took in a deep, bothersome breath and slowly, with her at his side, began to walk towards the door. At a moment's notice, he would cast the Patronus and usher her to the door. He was ready, and after nought but ten steps, if that, the time came.
The Dementor saw them when they passed through the moonlight. There was no noise, no scream, nothing. It came flying at the pair of teens in terrifying silence, the moonlight at its back making for a perfect illumination that lit up the creature of the night, and as Daphne locked up beside him, Harry did the only thing that he could in the hopes of saving her.
He raised up his wand as the creature drew closer, he screamed out the two words that were needed for the spell to work at the same time it reached him, and there was a sudden and powerful burst of light. His ears were ringing, he could hear a womanly scream as his mind took him back to Remus, one of the best men that he knew and Sirius when Harry had saved his Godfather.
His Patronus was brighter than ever as he recalled his family, and it only grew stronger when he thought of Daphne. She was his best friend turned girlfriend, the only witch that he had ever felt the way he did towards, and so much more that was truly indescribable.
Harry swore that his instincts took over, for he could never truly quite recall what had happened that evening when the Dementor attacked him and her. Not the few minutes after it was destroyed, not days later when she asked him about it, and certainly not a year or so later when that was brought up once more.
When Harry opened his eyes, the feeling of heat at his side and the pressure of a body tucked up against him, he half expected to see the Dementor for the previous evening overhead. Instead, he was greeted with a mane of golden hair atop a beautiful head of a witch that was smiling down at him, but when he saw her and she saw that he saw her, that smile turned into a straight line.
"It hurt you. You got yourself hurt for me, and we're not even back in Hogwarts yet," Daphne accused. Her face and tone combined to make nought but a mixture of scolding and other, far more complex emotions the likes of which no bloke had any hope of understanding.
He shrugged and grinned lopsidedly at her, the morning made for a horrible time to conversate. She was the morning person, and he was the night owl that was perfectly fine to stay up well past the 'proper' hours.
"We're both alright," he got out after a yawn, and shortly thereafter, he rubbed his eyes and reached for his glasses; there was nothing quite like seeing her beautiful face in the morning.
Daphne blinked her eyes nearly a dozen times in the span of a few seconds, and then, she punched his shoulder. It wasn't overly hard, he had certainly had far worse from Quidditch. "It was targeting me. I was closer to it. You jumped before me, it started to…" she paused, swallowed and shook her head angrily, her eyes looking anywhere else but at his person. "It nearly stole you from me before your Patronus destroyed it. I didn't think such a thing was possible — I'm grateful to you, and I'm very angry with you. Suffice it to say my guardians were right, love is incredibly tedious… but worth it."
When Harry heard her final remark, he leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on either cheek and finally, on her lips. He was happy when she returned the kiss. "I love you too. I'll always love you. That's why I had to do what I did."
"I'm still not happy about it," Daphne said with a huff as she folded her arms and fixed him with a glare; the effect was ruined on account of her blushing face and how she had to fight her lips to force the frown on her face.
Harry pulled her back down, a squeak coming from the girl as she suddenly found herself face-to-face with him once more. "I can live with that, but I can't live without you."
Typically, there would be a remark from her that called him corny or something of that nature. This time, there was nothing of the sort. This time, she snogged him until he was out of breath, and then she snogged him a few seconds longer; had he passed out, it would have been the best reason to date that he had lost consciousness.
Maybe it would have made for his next Patronus memory. Scratch that, he knew it would have.
August 13, 1995
"What's the total damage, Daph?" Harry asked as he plopped himself down in the chair beside her and looked at the runes that she had spread out on the coffee table. They were very complex, and not for the first time he was thankful that he hadn't taken Arithmancy or Ancient Runes. Neither class appealed to him in the slightest, and when he had a girlfriend as smart as her, there wasn't any reason for him to learn.
"There's one broken bust, a few shattered and cracked windows, and yet, surprisingly, no real issue with the wards. It's almost as if somebody knew how to apply pressure and where to do so all for the sake of having the wards flicker — no Dementor is capable of such a feat," Daphne seemed perplexed, and with a shake of her head, she pointed to the runes that she had been working on for the past few hours. "I've figured out a way to stop that from happening again, but it'll take more power and charging, and as a result, it will make for more work and upkeep in the future, but after last night, it's worth it."
"I'd say," Harry agreed as he raised a glass of tea to her lips whilst she kept a few runes in her hands. He didn't want to break her concentration or make her lose where she was, and beyond that, he wasn't sure if she could even let go of them.
When she took a sip and winked at him a second later, he wasn't sure if he was right or if she was just soaking up the attention. Either way, he didn't mind.
"You're the perfect gentleman," Daphne said, a wide and bright smile on her face as she reclined, setting down the runes and inadvertently answering his question. "I suppose we'll have to wait for my guardians to respond to the letter I've sent out this morning. They'll be far from pleased with what's happened, and I'm sure they'll be able to exert a good amount of influence over the Minister."
Harry made a sour face at the mention of the Minister. He had heard many a time that the Ministry and by extension, the Minister, were far from helpful in most instances. "Will that accomplish anything?"
"We'll not be punished for defending ourselves, and beyond that, we'll see to it that an investigation of some kind is launched. This won't go unanswered," Daphne spoke with such finality and spitefulness that his eyebrows raised of their own accord. Rarely would she be so peeved, and this time above all others was most deserved.
Somebody had tried to have them killed. There was no other saying for it.
He sighed and blew out some air from the corner of his mouth. "I'll fix the windows in a few minutes. When I'm done, I think I'm going to take a bit of a walk around the edge of your property to make sure there isn't anything that we're missing. I don't want any surprises to strike out at us."
"You don't ha—" Daphne began, but Harry waved her off and in turn, she huffed and poked him in the side. "Since you insist, please, let me know whatsoever you find however minute you might think it to be."
"I can do that," Harry said with a smile as he leaned forward to kiss her; he could never have enough of her affection. "I suppose you'll be up here working on your wards and these runes while I do that, yeah?"
Daphne nodded as her eyes flickered between his lips and the runes that he had only just brought up. "Yes," she said, swallowing and swiping her tongue across her bottom lip. "Yes, I plan on working on the wards and runes for a few hours more to ensure that I've done everything correctly. When I'm certain of that and you've finished your work — I'll join you if you haven't by then — we can take a meal together and relax. After the previous night and the excitement that came with it, I do believe a night before a fire and with the company of one another and a good book is more than deserved, wouldn't you say?"
He nodded immediately. "I could think of few ways better to spend an evening."
Daphne shook her head and poked him in the side. "You're a suck-up, Harry Potter."
"You're not entirely wrong, but so long as it continues to reward me with many a kiss and hugs from you, I think I'm happy being a suck-up," Harry answered.
Daphne kissed him one more time and after a round of laughter, and when he rose so that he might go to work, she slapped his rear and winked at him. She was unusually playful today, and earlier, unusually soft; he imagined the Dementors were still incredibly fresh on her mind despite the trouble that the two had routinely gotten up to in Hogwarts.
He was pissed that somebody had done what they had and that it had affected her; he would find that person, and he would deal out justice. It was the least that he could do, for she deserved a piece of mind — it was the same feeling she had originally given to him and continued to give to many others that were powerless.
Merlin, he really loved her.
August 31, 1995
"Wait, you're telling me that you got made a prefect and I didn't?" Harry asked with an offended gasp.
Daphne looked at him with one brow raised. "Yes. Is that surprising?"
He shook his head. "Not in the slightest. I figured it would be Parkinson and Malfoy."
"I would assume that you've figured correctly. Professor Snape is especially fond of them, and I assume you know by now that the Malfoys and Professor Snape are fairly close," Daphne paused, seemed to contemplate something, and then she continued. "I suppose that, as one of the many prefects you'll have to answer to, I can give you detention or recommend you to one."
Harry narrowed his eyes at her. "You wouldn't, would you?"
Daphne blinked at him, her visage unreadable. "You don't truly have to ask me that, do you?"
He snorted at how she turned the end of his sentence against him. "I knew you wouldn't, I was just teasing."
She blinked at him again. "If it means you have to serve the detention with me, something that I strongly doubt but that I'll nevertheless have clarified, yes, I would. It'd be very amusing to order you to snog me as part of your detention, and before you raise an issue with it, I know that you wouldn't complain."
"I do—" Harry started, but Daphne raised a brow and so in response, he changed what he made to say. "Fine. Maybe I would start to like detentions, but… there's a point to be made even if I don't know what it is. I know you'll know it though, and so even if I don't say it, you'll think about it."
"Very astute," Daphne commented, her lips ever so slightly raised upwards as she shifted closer to him.
"I can't believe this is one of our last days of summer vacation. It feels like it went by way too fast. I suppose it wasn't boring though, so there is that," Harry said with a shake of his head as he winced; the Dementors had made him see a side of Daphne that he hadn't ever seen before.
He didn't want to either. Daphne, scared Daphne, was his least favourite form of hers. If he never saw her as scared or nervous as she had been again, he would live a happy, stress-free life because of it.
Maybe I should really teach her how to cast the Patronus Charm. If I can do that, she'll really be able to defeat just about anything else in the world… that's assuming she doesn't find some dark means of magic to outright destroy or bend the Dementors to her will in the next few years. Merlin, anything is possible when it comes to her.
"You look as if you're deep in thought," Daphne commented idly.
"I was thinking about how fast summer's gone by and the Dementors… I want to teach you how to cast the Patronus Charm. I know it'll take some time, but I think it's worth doing, don't you? It's not like I'm nearly as bad a teacher as I thought either, not with how fast you've started to learn healing magic," Harry pointed out with a smile. She had learned very quickly. It was as much a testament to her capabilities as it was in regards to his own about teaching.
"If you think you can teach me the Patronus Charm, I won't refuse," Daphne said as she shifted closer again, their knees now brushing. "I think that's something we should look towards when we make our return to Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts?" Harry asked, repeating what she had said.
At that, Daphne nodded. "Yes. As you've said twice now, we have very little left in the way of time for our summer vacation, and as such, we should spend it relaxing or going out. What would you say about going out to dinner tonight, and possibly, only if you'd like to, going to see the Muggle film again?"
He blinked at her with a grin on his face and narrowed eyes. "You liked their films, didn't you?"
Daphne blinked at him. "Please," she said with a wave of her hand and a roll of her eyes. "I know you were fond of it, and so I thought I might take you out again… mayhaps I found the concept and execution of a Muggle 'film' interesting, mayhaps I didn't. I simply wish to please you."
She definitely liked it.
"We can do that, then," Harry agreed. "Let's go and do dinner first though, yeah? I know we've only been relaxing on the couch today and having tea and biscuits, but I'm still hungrier than ever."
"You're always hungry," Daphne quipped as she stole the last cookie from the platter before them and held it close to her chest. "If you're still hungry, I suppose what I could do is give you this cookie before we head out… though, I suppose there has to be some form of payment."
"Name it," Harry said immediately.
Daphne didn't speak, but her request was easy to understand; she tapped her lips with her free hand.
Harry grinned. "I can do that," he said to her, and so he did. Harry moved in closer to Daphne and kissed her.
It grew and grew in intensity, and before long, his mind couldn't have been farther from the cookie. When they eventually pulled away from one another for a breath of fresh air, Daphne licked her lips and gazed at him with the most alluring flushed face he had ever seen; her blush only made her all the more beautiful.
"I think I might just inquire about those detentions if you'd be able to kiss me as you just did whensoever I want."
In response to those words, Harry grinned and moved back towards her; Daphne's wish was his command.
September 1, 1995
The time had come, once again, for a new school year. Harry and Daphne had gone through the typical sortings at their own houses tables, they went through the opening feast and the introduction of staff much the same way, but as soon as the feast was over and the first years were gone, the two had gravitated towards one another as if they couldn't bear to be separated after the previous year and the summer they had shared.
"That new Professor is one of your family friends, is that what you said?" Harry asked, hoping that Daphne would repeat herself.
"Yes," she said as they turned a corner and headed towards a very familiar abandoned classroom; it had turned into their own private relaxation room. Inside of it, they could study, snog or relax with one another or those they invited. "He's not entirely qualified, but as it turns out, he was the only person that applied for the post and as such, fearing the Ministry's involvement, the Headmaster decided to appoint him."
"Merlin, It would have been dreadful if the Ministry appointed somebody," Harry commented.
Daphne nodded once. "Yes, it would have," she nodded towards the door and raised one of those perfectly kept eyebrows of hers. "If you'd be so kind, boyfriend."
Harry grinned, dipped his head and, with his wand in his hand, he flicked the door open silently. "After you, my lady."
"Such good manners," Daphne cooed teasingly before she entered, twirled on the heels of her feet and fell backwards, into the couch they had made the previous year. "This is far more comfortable than the benches in the Great Hall, wouldn't you agree?"
"Definitely. It's almost as if they don't realise just how hard those benches are. That doesn't even take into account the splinters. You would think after centuries and centuries of time, they would figure out how to stop splinters from happening," Harry said with a huff as he made his way over to the same couch that Daphne was on and collapsed beside her.
As soon as he did just that, she threw off her shoes and put her feet in his lap. Her head relaxed against the farther arm of the couch, and finally, she summoned a pillow to put under her head. Once everything was complete, she sighed and did a wiggle of contentment.
"If only we were in the same house, I'd be able to fall asleep like this," Daphne said, huffing and poking at him with one toe. "You should have been sorted into Gryffindor. With how brave and reckless you can be, it would only make sense."
Harry sighed. "You still haven't forgotten about the Basilisk, have you?"
Daphne shook her head. "Not remotely. You took a fang for me. Had you done that, I would have never come to know how wonderful a kisser you are, and worse yet, all of the times we've cuddled and contented ourselves with nought but one another, would never have happened."
"I'll be more careful," Harry said with a shrug.
"You're very precious to me," Daphne said pointedly, her point emphasized as she poked at his side with one of her feet. "See to it that you're more careful, or I'll figure out a way to keep you safe even if it means tying you to my back — I wish I could keep you joined to my hip. That'd be the only real way I could think to keep you safe."
Harry ran a finger up the sole of her closer foot, tickling her and getting his point across. "I'd like to think I made it through the tournament well enough. Wouldn't you say the same?"
"I'll give you that, yes," Daphne agreed, a dangerous look on her face. "Careful with where you tickle, Harry. I hear there's a Lioness on the prowl and if she's provoked, I don't believe I could guarantee the safety of your lips. I hear she devours them."
I hope.
"She devours lips?" He asked, his finger already headed back to the sole of her foot once more.
Daphne didn't respond. She lept at him suddenly and ferociously, and the ensuing battle between two tongues was vicious, domineering and… amazing. He hoped that his Lioness would jump him far more often if she'd snog him like that, and Merlin, all he had to do to get those desired results was tickle her.
It was a win-win for him, and a lose-win for her; a net positive had to count for something.
September 5, 1995
Harry and Daphne looked at one another in silence as soon as the Professor — Professor Duncan - had left.
"Isn't he meant to stay and supervise the club?" Harry asked.
Daphne nodded once. "He's meant to, but I don't believe he knows that. It isn't as if I can't run it correctly, the odds of my knowledge surpassing his own when it comes down to offensive magic, duelling and general forms of combat are relatively high. As I said, the man's a family friend that isn't but a few years older than you and I."
"He doesn't seem like he's too inexperienced when he teaches," Harry said aloud, the statement more for himself than for Daphne.
It wasn't a lie either, the man spoke with such a degree of confidence and matter-of-factness in his tone that Harry figured he had years upon years of practical experience even if he knew that wasn't the case. That had to be a testament to the man's charisma or over-confidence.
"He's a good liar," Daphne said with a shrug as she nodded towards the safety mats that were spread throughout the majority of the room. "Let's go. We both know this'll end with you on the floor, but the point of the matter is to see just how long you'll last."
Sometimes I wonder if she realises what she's saying… thank Merlin Tracey isn't here. Millicent either. I don't think either of them would be able to resist.
"We never know, maybe this is the day you'll finally lose — don't forget that I almost beat you at your own game," Harry said with a grin as they made their way over to the mats. As they did so, he forced the grin from his face for two reasons; he grinned too much recently, he didn't want her to think he was weird and secondly, it was time to get serious. He couldn't very well manage to beat her if he was too busy grinning the whole while.
Daphne raised both brows, clearly unimpressed as she stopped walking whilst he continued until he was at the other starting point.
"I'll tell you what, Harry. If you can beat me in a fight using whatsoever you can, including what you learned the previous year from all of the studying we did together and the occasional tip from the other Champions, I'll do whatever you'd like for one entire month. It can be whatever you wish, whenever you wish so long as it doesn't get me into trouble. How's that sound?" Daphne's hands were on her hips when she finished, and ever the proud Lioness, her nose was in the air.
He wanted to agree immediately, but he was smarter than that.
"What do you want if I lose?" he asked before he agreed to her offer.
Daphne smiled innocently at him and twirled a few dozen strands of hair. "What makes you think I want anything when I beat you?"
"I know you," he said plainly and with a knowing look. "That might have worked in our third year or earlier, but after this past year, I've gotten smarter. It's your fault too. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be far worse with anything offensive and I wouldn't analyse everything nearly as much as I do now."
"I'm glad you credit me for giving you the potential to beat me," Daphne said teasingly, with only an ounce of smugness in her tone.
"Come on, say wh—" Harry blinked a few times when he saw somebody else walk into the classroom, and immediately, Daphne's personality shifted upon seeing his face; she turned more serious, the smile was wiped from her face and she straightened out her back.
"This… this is the duelling club, isn't it?" asked the voice of one Hermione Granger, a housemate of Daphne's and a witch who was widely considered a very insufferable know-it-all by most of their peers and even Professor Snape himself.
Now, Harry may not like the man all that much, but he had to admit that he wasn't wholly incorrect. Hermione Granger was very tedious to be around when she constantly raised her hand or blurted out the answers to everything that was asked. He wouldn't say he was the greatest student of all time, probably not even amongst the top one hundred, but Hermione should know to let others have a chance at answering questions every now and then even if they would answer incorrectly.
Daphne turned to regard the other girl, and when she answered, she answered politely, but not with any true sense of warmth in her tone. "It is," were the two simple words she spoke.
Granger looked around the entirety of the room before her eyes fell onto Harry, and eventually, back to Daphne. "Where's Professor Duncan? Or any of the others?"
"Professor Duncan wasn't feeling well, and so he returned to his quarters for the evening. As for the others, there aren't any. Only Harry and I are in the duelling club," Daphne gestured to him, and then she looked back at Granger. "We were just about to start."
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to watch you both… I had planned to watch and see how others might fight since I've never truly been in any type of mock fight, let alone an actual one. That wouldn't be too intrusive, would it?" Granger seemed uncertain of herself and awkward.
If Harry remembered correctly, she didn't have any friends. Weasley, one of the more bothersome blokes that never seemed to take anything serious would occasionally speak with her, but generally and from what Daphne had told him, the Weasley boy simply used her for answers or assistance when it came time for difficult tests or the like. Harry felt bad for her. She didn't have her own Daphne, Tracey or Millicent.
"Harry?" Daphne asked.
Oh. She's asking if I mind.
"She can watch if she wants, I don't mind," Harry said with a shrug. It wasn't as if he would ever fight the shy bookworm Gryffindor girl. If it had been Malfoy, Crabbe or Goyle, maybe he would have refused — he wouldn't fight any of those three either. At least not publicly. Slytherins had to stick together and have one another's backs. There was nothing that could change that.
"Feel free," Daphne said back to Granger, another two-word answer and one that was said as politely but distantly as the previous one. When that was finally said and done, Daphne turned back to look at Harry. "Are you ready, Harry? You won't get shy having an audience, will you?"
He narrowed his eyes at her despite the slight redness he was certain came to his cheeks on account of her words and the teasing tone with which she had said them. "Of course, I won't. If Granger wants to watch a fight, I'll show her one. I hope you won't get too embarrassed losing in front of her… I can't say it'll be all that great for you either. I already have a few things in mind for when I win."
"As do I," Daphne said with a smirk on her face as Granger finally pulled up a chair and sat a good twenty or so feet away from them. She was behind a barrier too, one that she had made, for Harry nor Daphne had set something up for any spectators.
Truth be told, they hadn't advertised the club in the hopes that they might be able to have the classroom and resources to themselves; it was selfish, but with how little they would likely learn from Professor Duncan, it had been something they both had thought was vital.
"Uh… aren't you supposed to bow before you start?" Granger asked from the sidelines.
Harry grinned and did just as the other Lioness said. He snorted when Daphne curtsied, he should have known she would do that rather than bow as Granger had said.
"Would you be so kind as to count us down, Granger?" Daphne asked, her eyes locked on Harry and her wand in her right hand; the closer he looked at her, the more serious she seemed.
Maybe I shouldn't have poked fun at her. That wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done, that's for sure.
"Sure!" Granger said, with happiness in her voice, the very same happiness that she had whensoever she answered something correctly in class. "Ten… nine… eight… seven… si—"
"Ready to lose, boyfriend?" Daphne asked, her eyes flashing despite the distance between them.
"Five… four… the—" Granger's voice trailed in, and just as easily, it went away as he spoke.
"We'll see," Harry responded, and as soon as he did, Granger's countdown was over, and the duel with Daphne had begun.
Harry and Daphne looked at one another silently, and neither had yet raised their wand at the other. If he had thought she would begin their fight by cursing him with any number of spells, he was wrong, for Daphne seemed content to watch him in silence as she prowled to the right, ever the Lioness on a hunt.
In order to avoid running into her, Harry moved opposite from however she did, ensuring that a good distance was kept between them as they moved between the many different mats that Professor Duncan had put out for them. He knew that Daphne was quicker than he was when it came to casting, and so he would have to use his physical quickness, of which he was certain that his was greater than hers.
He was refined and used to physical work, and all that she did when it came down to physicality was that game of hers. It was a rather uncommon one that required a great deal of set-up too, and as such, her game wasn't able to be played for all that long.
Harry dove to the side as two spells streaked past him, nearly having hit his torso. He looked at Daphne immediately, and she was smiling cutely at him, her bottom lip pouting outwards.
"You weren't paying attention to me. Hurtful," she said teasingly. There was a degree of dangerousness and more strikingly, an unusual appeal in her tone and actions the likes of which he had never seen from her before.
She's really slipped into the role of a Lioness… I'll have to guard my lips.
Harry didn't respond, He didn't want to be any more distracted than he already was. Thus, he stayed silent and watch her with as much focus as he could utilise. As such, the two continued to stalk around one another and the minutes ticked by. If she had planned to wait for his patience to run low, her plan worked, for when it reached the five-minute mark or thereabouts, Harry had it.
He started on the offensive and he did so with an incredible amount of aggression as he sent towards Daphne a chain of spells that would destroy almost any person in their year, mayhaps even all of Hogwarts, save for the Professors themselves. There were shield-breakers and knee-reversal jinxes, joint-lockers and tripping spells… just about anything he could manage that wouldn't actually harm Daphne.
This may be a practice fight, he knew she wouldn't hold back, but he couldn't fire harmful or otherwise risky spells at her. Ever since they had begun to date one another, he had grown more caring and compassionate towards her.
Daphne, unsurprisingly, dodged, absorbed or redirected the vast majority of his spells. He hadn't expected much else from the girl, not against his opening barrage.
When she returned fire with her own, he nearly thanked himself for keeping the distance that he had. If he hadn't, the duel would have been over almost as soon as it had begun. Even as it was, there were a few near-misses that had gone far by nought but a few inches one way or the other.
The fight was on, and the two teens, after firing a myriad of opening spells in a starting chain, grew aggressive as they showcased their abilities to one another; Harry continued to handicap himself, but as he did, something profound happened. His spells, weaker and less rude as they were, flew free of his wand far faster than hers even if the streaking of her spells was quicker than his.
Those spells from the two caused an almost light-show effect in the room. The flashing was beautiful, the dancing of the colours was astounding and the dodging the couple did was almost like an intricate sort of dance. On and on, the minutes ticked by as Harry and Daphne each dodged, ducked or absorbed the other's spells, until, finally, the fight came to a sudden end.
Harry was hit by a spell, he fell to the floor and as he did, he rolled to the right. On account of his knees buckling and going numb from whatever Daphne had hit him with, he was below her chain of spells and they couldn't be redirected; he fired at her, but she was too slow to move and the new angle surprised her as the spell came at her with an upward tilt.
When he saw that, he smiled victoriously.
He had finally won… hopefully.
