Ladies and gentlemen
Chapter eleven of Dance Of Fates
special thanks to Irymia I will never forget your help XOXO
Enjoy
Chapter 11
The weeks continued to fly. After that night in the Chamber of Secrets, neither Daphne nor Harry had talked about it and preferred to forget it.
Umbridge had passed a decree to stop all the extracurricular activities in the school, which made Harry and his friends start wondering if there was a snitch amongst them. Hermione denied it, saying she had charmed the signing parchment just in case, but Harry couldn't believe it.
Hermione was a clever witch, but there must have been a mistake. He made sure to not worry his friends, though, with his speculations as to who this traitor might be, but decided to keep things under his hat and instead try to avoid being the centre of attention and think of a place to train the thirty students—not just that but also his own training took a lot of thinking and plotting.
The next weeks were exhausting ones for him. Snape was tutoring the fifth years rigorously for their OWLs, so the Ministry's pet was spying on him more than ever. Wherever he went, he stumbled upon Filch, which meant he must be more careful than ever.
"—There is no other person but her, Harry," Sirius said to him through the floo call as he was filling him in on the Ministry's latest activities.
"You mean she was the one who attacked Hedwig?"
Harry's owl had been attacked by an unknown creature en route from delivering a letter. Hedwig returned with an injured wing, and thankfully, the substitute teacher of magical creatures had healed her.
"B-but why?" Harry asked.
"Probably to read your letters in case she found something interesting," Hermione replied as she appeared behind him.
Sirius agreed with her, and she joined the two in the discussion.
"How are you, Sirius?"
"Good, you?"
She nodded, 'Good'.
"Well, she won't find anything," Harry said, shrugging,
"And in my opinion, I don't think Filch is her only guy in this school," Sirius claimed.
Hermione raised her right eyebrow, "Sirius! You're surprising me tonight." She was amazed, frankly, by Sirius, who was rarely right, but this was one of those moments when he was.
Harry only glanced between the two, surprised. His godfather and Hermione were not exactly famous for their cooperative skills, and usually every time they entered a dialogue, they wound up in an intense debate that required Remus's intervention.
Hermione turned to Harry with troubled emotions drawing on her face.
"I caught Umbridge talking with Parkinson and Malfoy a few hours ago when I was patrolling, and they were extremely chummy with each other. At first, I thought it was because of the influence their parents have in the Ministry, or their social status, but after I listened in for a bit, it wasn't like that. Umbridge is desperate to get you out of here by any means."
Harry ran his fingers through his hair as he remembered his last encounters with Malfoy and the toad. This was a problem he would have to fill his wife in on, he reckoned.
After a short silence, Harry cleared his throat.
"Thank you, Hermione, you just helped me a lot," he said, smiling at his best friend.
Hermione's brows knitted in confusion as she looked to Sirius for an explanation, but the latter only shook his head.
Sirius excused himself and disappeared, leaving them alone.
Harry got up and wished his friend good night, intending to leave the common room, but Hermione stopped him.
"Are you going to sleep there again?"
Harry's eyes didn't meet hers as he racked his brain for an answer. After that night, Daphne had suggested a way for the two to meet up on a schedule, and since he could not argue with her determination and persistence, he decided to roll with it. She wanted to pick three days for their weekly meetings, as he had other responsibilities, such as teaching the students. If they couldn't meet, then, when midnight rolled around and Harry, looking at his map, couldn't find Daphne in her room, he was to go to wherever she was located at the moment.
He couldn't lie to his friends about everything so he had decided to share this little piece of information with Hermione; she was a prefect, after all. He had told her that sometimes he slept in the Chamber of Secrets to avoid seeing people, and that enabled him to sleep more comfortably. Hermione had believed him and had said nothing, but sometimes she became worried, like tonight.
"Harry, Ron can find out any day."
"Well, if he does, I will tell him the truth, but as long he doesn't know, it's fine."
"What did you tell him anyway?"
"That I wake up earlier and go for a run?"
She let out a sigh and waved for him to go.
Harry laughed. "Relax, I'm actually going to my dorm room. Good night, 'Mione."
When he entered the room, everyone was already sound asleep, so he let his body flop onto the bed, let out a groan of tiredness, and hugged the pillow.
Last night's training with Daphne had been the worst. She had changed her approach completely since that night and now made him undergo arduous training in various fields without mercy; she was using her marital power over him. She was not cruel to that degree, she was still herself, but when it came to training, her character did a 180 and it was like he didn't know her anymore. She said it was in his best interests.
He opened his eyes a little bit as he recalled.
"What do you mean 'us'!?" Harry asked, joking.
Daphne raised her eyebrow at him.
"As you heard, dear—" she said the last word in a seductive tone and paused, closing her eyes, "—in fact, just you, not me."
"Wait, what!? You're pulling my leg, right?" he said, turning to her, half-smiling half-irritated.
"Nope."
She rubbed her eyes and looked at him.
"Look, I may have said before that you're strong and you managed to save your arse from Voldemort, but with this level of yours, you may not be able to save yourself next time, and as your wife, I don't want to become a widow at such a young age so I have to help you with this. I know that look that you shot at the grimoire: you want to own your family's book, probably, so be it. I'll teach you the basics and the rest you'll discover by yourself, okay?" she said in a monotone voice as a matter of fact.
"And why just me?" he argued, closing his eyes and folding his arms.
She puffed out an annoyed groan. "Because I can not perform magic, as you remember. Besides, as a lady, I shouldn't wear armour instead of my man, now should I?" she said sarcastically, raising one brow.
Harry was literally speechless. A few hours ago, she had let it slip that she had been a tomboy, and now she was saying she was a lady? 'This girl,' he gritted his teeth.
"I don't want to lose you!" she snapped, biting her lower lip and not looking at him as her face got redder.
He was about to say something as her eyes found his.
"—I have lost everything: my name, my house, my pride, my fortune, family and friends, I-I have lost myself… I will not lose you no matter what!" she said firmly, pride filling her. Her words held no lies.
That caught Harry unawares. He could feel that she was trying to build her confidence shields. For someone who had lived in opulence all her life, having everything suddenly taken away from her must have been hard.
He closed his eyes, shaking that memory off. He hadn't known that her training methods were harsh when he had accepted. Now he absolutely hated the moment he had said yes.
He liked Daphne, he really did, but she was pushing him. Last night, for example, she had told him to do push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups, and he had almost passed out on the ground. He was a human, not a robot!
She had even given him a list of the things he was supposed to eat now.
"You're bloody kidding, you're absolutely bloody kidding me," Harry snapped at her, fighting the anger in his heart.
"No, you want to become stronger, deal with it!"
"This does not make any sense," Harry waved the parchment in the air.
"This is not quidditch training, dumbass. Besides, it's just basic training, it's temporary, the results will amaze you, just be patient for some time."
"Why should I argue with a girl who used to hang out with military men anyway," he mocked, giving up and using his trump card against her.
She let out a big groan and went to her bag to fetch another parchment for him to look at. This time, it was a magical Statistical chart with a scale from one to five of his performances in Deform - offence - speed - magic and intelligence.
She told him to draw with his blood on the paper. When he did as she said, his name appeared there, and his results showed up. He was shocked at how low he scored.
She then showed him Berz's chart, which riveted him to the spot: that man had fives in everything!
"This is your goal. Achieve it, then fight Voldemort," she said, her face lit up by a glow of inspiration and resolve.
Harry felt nothing but then, there was a flame of determination igniting in him… a determination to become such a man as the one he had met in the old church; a man who only emitted prestige.
He never disagreed with her but when training, she played on his nerves. The elegant wife of his turned into a sadistic bitch, like she was a completely different person instead, but then he remembered the benefits of the training...
She knew how to treat him after such a taxing night: a few kisses that pushed all the negative vibration away like nothing had happened; she knew how to take care of or manipulate him— that woman of his. He closed his eyes, letting sleep take over him.
"Thank you," Daphne said, letting out a big moan of pleasure.
"You're welcome," Tracey said happily as she massaged Daphne's neck.
"You have no idea how much I needed it," she confessed, letting the pleasure conquer her body. She'd been under a lot of pressure lately and has been barely taking care of herself after the opening Eros's will with Harry and crying hysterically. She felt like the big burden had been removed from her shoulders; sure, she still felt bad, but her brother's instructions were clear. She would no longer have anything to do with Vasilians but instead, with the Potters, and as Harry's wife, she must do her duty and help him be a better man and stronger than he was. Even though she knew she was being a bit harsh on him, this was how someone improved. He didn't know yet that this, as he calls it, silly physical training would help him in future. Magic wasn't everything and unfortunately, the wizarding world didn't understand that, prioritising magic over everything else.
'Ahhh,' she sighed heavily.
"What's wrong, did I hurt you?" Tracey panicked.
"No! no! not at all, please carry on," she managed to say, trying to find her comfort spot again.
On the next day, Dobby the elf delivered Hedwig back to Harry, saying she was fully recovered. That made Harry extremely delighted.
"Alright, baby girl, no more flying for the meantime, okay?" Harry whispered to her as he was patting her back. The owl looked at him with her sparkling eyes and howled as if she was happy. He smiled weakly at her and hugged her to his chest.
"Are you alright, Harry sir?" Dobby asked, worried.
Harry looked down at the small elf, and his eyebrows knitted in confusion.
"Yeah? Why are you asking?"
"Well, your magic is unbalanced, Sir, and you seem quite down, it is not good for you, sir," Dobby explained sadly.
He stared at the elf. Yeah, he was a bit tired of those stupid workouts but that wasn't the reason. The nightmares were back, haunting his nights again just when he had thought that he had finally gotten rid of them.
"Nah, I'm fine, Dobby. By the way, how are you finding your job here and is Winky doing well?" Harry asked as he remembered the elf of Barty Crouch.
Dobby gave him a wide smile. "I'm happy, sir, but especially when I see you, sir. If you weren't here, I'd have no reason to stay. As for Winky, poor Winkey, she can't stop drinking, sir, it's killing her but she does not listen!" he said with sorrow filling him.
Harry put Hedwig aside and bent down to Dobby to pat his head. "Hey, hey there, what do you mean by 'if I'm not here,' and what's wrong with Winky?"
Dobby explained that as much as he loved being free and working in Hogwarts away from the Malfoys, he had been born a house-elf, and that's what their existence was for: to serve. He felt that it was his duty to serve Harry. Then, he explained Winky's problem and her addiction to alcohol.
"I see... By the way, Dobby, do you know any place here in the castle that is hard to discover and can hold a very large number of people?" he asked with a smile.
Dobby told him about the Room of Requirement and its idiosyncratic magic. Harry asked him to show the Room to him, and so Dobby did. After a few minutes of studying the room, Harry looked down to the elf.
"Thank you, Dobby, really, and I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about it."
"I would never betray Harry Potter!"
"Okay. Okay, Dobby, as a reward, would you like to serve me but without being bound to me or anything? You will remain free."
Dobby couldn't believe it: his eyes widened and tears of happiness started to fall down his wizened face.
"I w-would love to, Sir, but what about Winky? Could she be your elf too?"
"I will find a solution to that later."
Harry couldn't believe he had just hired Dobby after freeing him from Lucius, but since Dobby was desperate, he couldn't help it.
Later, he, Hermione, and Ron found that room and the three were elated as they looked inside: it was as perfect as ever for the army, so by the end of the day, Harry gathered the DA there.
The next day was the first day of the DA's training. Harry was a bit nervous that he would fail, but Daphne told him to just go with it, and so he did...
He taught Expilliarmus at their first lesson. Some thought it was a silly spell for fighting dark wizards, but Harry rebuked with seriousness.
"If you think this is a game, you better leave then," he said, outrage filling his soul.
But the students kept quiet onwards and decided to concentrate. And soon, after some practising and explaining, some of them were starting to show better results.
In Slytherin's common room
"Ah! Not again," Daphne whined, irritated.
"Hahaha, then focus next time," Blaize Zabini laughed, performing a victorious dance.
She crossed her arms in front of her and looked at the dark-skinned Italian boy, who was putting the chess pieces in their places again.
"You're definitely cheating, or you wouldn't have won," she said, narrowing her eyes.
Blaize raised one eyebrow, amused, with a smirk on his face.
"Then may I play with her majesty, I believe she deserves an honest opponent," Theodor Nott came behind her.
The two looked at him as he was waiting for a reply from Daphne. Blaize raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "She's all yours."
"Unfortunately, you will play with her majesty another time, Nott," Draco Malfoy said, smirking to Theodore as he stepped into the conversation.
Daphne quirked an eyebrow. Draco barely talked to her, not even when Pansy was not around, so needless to say, Daphne was a bit surprised.
"And may I ask why?" Theo asked.
"Because Dumbledore wants to see her in his office now," Draco explained, bored.
The three stared at him blankly. Blaize turned to her with a quizzical expression, but she just shrugged her shoulder in confusion.
She left for the headmaster's office with a dozen questions popping up in her mind, a bit apprehensive as to what Dumbledore might want from her.
He had never summoned her before, and now he was doing it this late in the evening! She felt anxious, an ache bubbling in her chest, and only the sounds of her footfalls broke the silence of the corridors.
She took a deep breath and said the password to the Stoney statue, who started moving as she announced her presence.
"Come in, Miss Greengrass," said Dumbledore. He was sitting at his large ornate desk when she stepped into the commodious room.
The old man stood up to greet her and said there was someone who wanted to see her. A man came in gracefully, and it was Cyrus!
He muttered a civil rejoinder, and Albus Dumbledore decided to give the two some privacy. Once he left, she turned to Cyrus.
"Father, what a pleasant surprise," she greeted respectfully, her head down to the man as she felt a coldness filling her. She shrugged it off.
Cyrus smiled warmly at her. "How is my favourite daughter?" he asked in a relaxed tone.
"As long as you're fine, so am I."
He nodded. "Good, good."
After a few silent moments were shared between the two in the office, Daphne decided to speak. "I hope I didn't cause any trouble that might have precipitated your visit?"
He shook his head. "No, my girl, if I am correct, I believe you're going to run out of your medicine soon, so I wanted to bring you a new supply. Seeing you and how you are doing is a welcome sidebar to that," he said calmly as he took out of his pocket a bottle and a little pouch and handed them to her.
"May the Gods protect you and keep you above our head. Thank you for your generosity, your kindness is a beacon for us, I shall forever be in your debt." She bowed, thanking him, while he only smiled with fatuous superiority and nodded.
Dumbledore entered the office again. "Forgive me, I haven't interrupted anything, I believe?"
"Oh no! not at all, friend…I'm about to depart anyway but I would like my daughter to walk me out, if she pleases?"
"It would be my pleasure, father. Excuse us, headmaster… Have a good day," she said gracefully to the professor. He nodded back at her.
After a long walk in the corridor, her mind was somewhere else: with Harry, worried about him. Today was his first day as a tutor... 'I hope you're alright,' she prayed.
"I believe we will part here, my girl," Cyrus said, turning to her.
She smiled at him and bade him a good day. He beamed and kissed her on the forehead, but once he turned to leave, they saw Astoria staring at them from afar as she walked in their direction.
Daphne's lips parted as Astoria was a few inches away now.
"My brightest star Astoria, you're getting brighter with each day. Be good," Cyrus cleared his throat as he caressed with his palm Astoria's cheek, leaving the two alone afterwards.
Daphne turned to Astoria. She wanted to apologise, as she hadn't known of Cyrus's visit, but the other girl had already walked away, her lips pressed in a thin line. Daphne felt guilty: Cyrus didn't acknowledge his real daughter...
Harry was standing in the cold shower, aware of every drop of water running down his body and letting his muscles relax. He must admit, his body was changing; even quidditch hadn't changed his physical appearance like this. He finished and went to search his map for Daphne. 'Perfect,' he muttered when he spotted her and went to the astronomy Tower.
"Hello, dear," Harry announced his presence to his wife in a mocking tone. She was daydreaming as she looked from the balcony, staring at the little bag of pills in her hands. She didn't realise Harry was beside her until he patted her shoulder, which made her jump, frowning and almost dropping the bag. He caught her by the waist. She saluted him and went back to gazing at the Lake.
"How was your day?" she asked him.
"Good, very good… woah, you braided your hair today, beautiful!" exclaimed Harry cheerfully as he leaned on the ledge beside her.
Her eyes heavied. "Liar."
"What! Easy there, tiger, stop accusing me, you really look beautiful, I think this is the first time I've seen you change it. Anyway, my owl has just recovered. I'm super happy and for the record, I succeeded in my first DA meeting." He told her of what had happened to him with a brighter face, and she only managed to smile back at him. He was happy somehow, which made her relieved.
"Good for you to have an elf, be nice to him, Harry."
"Of course I will, who do you take me for? By the way, do you need one?"
"What!?" she asked bluntly. Harry only shrugged and told her of Winky.
She thought for a second, then agreed.
Harry summoned the two elves and asked Winky if she wanted to have a master. The little elf seemed to have sprung back to life at his words.
Daphne smiled at them and introduced herself. "Hello there. Listen, Winky, there will be rules if you want to serve me, okay, little one? First, I am no slave owner so you'll have your rights and salary. Second, you will wear nice and clean clothes, and so will you, Dobby," she pointed at the elves. Winky was only nodding but the explanation seemed lost on Dobby, so Harry intervened and explained that the two were to serve him and Daphne only if they wanted to. The elves agreed happily.
Daphne cleared her throat. "As I was saying, this includes you too, Dobby, so listen. The third and most important thing is Loyalty. I need it from both of you. Do not ever betray us or tell anyone of what we do or say, do you hear me? Harry may be nice and have mercy but I do not when it comes to Loyalty, okay?"
Harry glanced at Daphne. He was about to say something but just then, the elves clapped their hands in happiness. Daphne smiled brightly and warmly at them and gave each a welcoming warm hug. That really surprised Harry.
After letting go of the two, she looked at Winky. "As for you, no more drinking unless I let you, got it?"
"Absolutely, madam!"
She waved at the two so they were dismissed.
Harry admitted he was impressed. She smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "If I hadn't frightened them a bit, she wouldn't have agreed to stop drinking, sorry," she muttered, wrapping her arms around his waist.
After that night, Daphne had become too soft with him and expressed her feelings easily, which made him happy. He wrapped his arm around her waist, encouraging the hug. As he leaned to kiss her, she looked up.
"You will pay their salary, by the way," she said in a monotone voice.
His eyes heavied down. " You really know how to ruin a mood, don't you?"
She hummed playfully and leaned up to kiss his cheek, then walked past him.
"Already leaving?" Harry laughed.
"Sorry, I've got prior engagements. Good luck, professor."
Harry's face turned red at that. He grasped her by the wrist. "Wait. There's something I need you to do for me," he spoke, looking her in the eye.
She shook her head in wonder.
Harry cornered her, and she felt the heat in the air because of his closeness to her. Sure, she loved to hug him and kiss him, but when he did it so suddenly, it always surprised her, and this was one of those times. She gulped. When he leant down to her, she expected a kiss, so she just closed her eyes instinctively, but his lips didn't touch hers; instead, she felt them brushing against her ear. Upon opening her eyes, she started to feel something weirder than usual. Her lower body heated like fire, the feeling of tension and even itching around her pelvic region. She pressed her legs together and rubbed them with one another, trying to fight that feeling. What was it? She tried to understand; was this what the girls called 'sexual arousal'? No, it couldn't be. She laughed at her ideas as she tried to focus when she heard words coming out of Harry's lips in a low voice.
"Find out what Malfoy and Parkinson are up to with Umbridge," he whispered.
'Wait, what!?" Daphne turned to him, but he was already walking away from her.
That feeling that was conquering her disappeared as well. He turned to her, smirking. 'Two can play this game, sweetheart,' he thought, waving goodbye as he left the tower.
Did he just retaliate for her ruining the mood previously?
She let out a sarcastic laugh. 'How Slytherin of him,' she muttered, then calmed, thinking of that feeling again. Overall emotional excitement and longing, inability to focus on other matters-so this was what excitement and sexual desire in a relationship were like. She went to the edge of the tower and glanced at the black lake.
'Find out what Malfoy and Parkinson are up to with Umbridge.' She wondered at his words and let out a sigh.
Umbridge office.
"I DON'T CARE, JUST DO SOMETHING! I DON'T HAVE TIME, WE DON'T HAVE TIME!" The Minister of magic shouted hysterically at the woman through the flames of the fireplace.
She was shivering in her place.
"I'm doing my best, nothing is working," she replied with a haunted face.
Fudge's nose wrinkled from her statement. He shrugged. "Dolores, this will be your last warning, use your skills," he threatened, ending the discussion.
Dolores stood up from her place to leave the office with a pale face. To her personal chamber she went and stared at her reflection in the mirror. 'What should I do?'
The tears started to fall from her eyes. This was the first time the minister had yelled at her and he never did, at anyone...
And now he had scolded her, all because of that stupid old man and his Potter boy. Her blood boiled in anger.
"No one, no one does this to me and goes on in peace," she said to her reflection in the mirror. Whipping her tears away, she fixed her makeup and smiled proudly at herself.
She had assigned Malfoy and Parkinson alongside Filch to spy on everyone in Potter's friend circle and made sure to play on their nerves so that she had an excuse to send them to detention, but somehow they managed to save themselves each time despite all the decrees she passed.
Daphne spent the next few days trying to find out what Harry had asked her to. Since he was busy with the DA and working out as he had finally decided not to argue with her, she offered to work on his essays lest he should stretch himself too thin, and Harry jumped from happiness as if she had told him that his favourite quidditch team had won the cup. He hugged her tightly and kissed every corner in her face.
And so finally the two were back to work in harmony, forgetting about their silly arguments.
Hermione found a way for the DA to communicate without attracting the wrong eyes to them.
Though everything was getting better for the couple, Daphne felt Harry was not at his best, only showing his best facade to her lest she should worry too much.
"Is there something I need to know?" she pleaded, her voice and eyes dripping with sadness.
Harry smiled and caressed her cheek with his thumb, kissing her under her lower eyelashes. It would sound daft if he told her about those nightmares; he would look weak-that was what he supposed she would think of him…
"No, just tired," he lied.
She hugged him, saying to stop the training then. He laughed at this sensitive side of her manifesting itself and patted her head as if she were some little kid whose candy had just fallen on the ground.
"The match between our houses has probably just started, want to watch it?" Harry changed the subject. Even though they were living on a flaming chessboard, they were still fifteen years old.
She gathered herself.
"Won't that hurt you, since you're out of the team now?" she asked him as he was walking toward the exit of the greenhouse.
Harry missed a step and a wave of realisation hit him: he couldn't even play his favourite game anymore.
"It may...but this is Ron's first match, I don't want him to feel that I'm resentful or something. I'll go cheer on my best mate," he admitted confidently with a bright childish smile.
"Then I'll pray that the lions will hunt down the snakes."
"Are you betraying your own house!?" Harry asked in awe.
"My husband's is my only one," claimed the blonde girl, her arms clasping behind her back.
Harry smiled fondly at her and left, joining his friends on the benches, who were in red and gold outfits, supporting their team, while she joined her housemates. As she was passing through the corridors to the field, she ran into Malfoy and the team as they were leaving to the pitch.
Draco bowed his head politely to her. "My queen, come to see me win?" he said, smirking.
Daphne smiled at him and laid her eyes on the rest of the team.
"To see all of you win. Don't defile our house's founder's name, gentlemen and Pansy," she replied back in kind with a plastered-on fake smile.
Draco smiled widely at her and bowed his head, then left with the rest of the team while she headed to the stands.
Harry for the first time felt weird where he was sitting. It was different sitting there than zapping on a broom in the air. He saw his team entering the pitch, marching in a single line with brooms in their hands while the Slytherins were waiting for them. Harry was becoming deaf of the roaring sound of the crowd's singing and cheering, so he decided to do the same as well and stood up to cheer.
The game started and the two teams were all wound up to win the cup.
Ron had truly gotten better, doing his best, and so were the others. 'Damn,' the desire to play was rising in Harry.
"And it's Johnson, Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me —"
"JORDAN!" yelled Professor McGonagall.
Everyone laughed at the comment Lee had just said.
"Feels a bit weird, doesn't it?" Hermione said from the corner of her mouth to Harry, who was up, cheering the Gryffindors on. He looked down at her with confusion.
"That you're here with me, instead of–" she said without finishing her sentence.
Harry sat down, eating a sausage…
"No, it's just —I can't believe that we look like that from here," he said, laughing hard at the scene in front of him.
The snakes were mocking Ron with the stupidest song ever, which made Harry's eyes and ears turn red from anger.
"Dean, hand me that speaker," Harry said to Dean Thomas, and so he did.
He stood up on his seat.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione asked him firmly to behave.
"Just follow my lead, Hermione, okay?" Harry replied to her with raised brows. He started to hit with his right leg the ground twice, then clapped his hands twice, and repeated the gesture. With a smirk, Hermione only muttered, "Oh my gosh!" and joined him up, copying his moves. The crowds stood silenced at the duo. Dean, Neville, Ginny, and even Luna did follow him, wondering what he was up to. He pulled the speaker up towards his lips.
"Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise
Playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday
You got mud on your face, you big disgrace
Kicking your can all over the place, singin'
We will, we will rock you
We will, we will rock you!" Harry sang, and Hermione joined him. If he couldn't play, didn't mean he couldn't cheer.
And so the rest of his friends joined, and so far the Gryffindors, the muggle-borns, and half-bloods were the first to join as they knew the song.
Daphne was sitting on the other side. 'Unbelievable,' she licked her lips and kept biting her lower lip, trying to fight the smile. This was totally unexpected of him.
Queen of all the bands and on the stands as well.
The Slytherins around her were quiet. They were defeated as the song's lyrics echoed across the field.
"I cannot believe you just did that," Hermione leaned to him, smiling as the roaring around them mixed with the claps.
"Well, my dearest Hermione, sometimes magic comes even from the muggles, that's what Queen would say."
She laughed, delighted, with him and slapped his shoulder.
'Take this, Malfoy,' Harry eyed Draco.
After an intense spell during which both teams were neck and neck, something caught Harry's attention, so he asked Hermione to hand him her field glasses.
He looked to the professors' cabinet, not to just see Malfoy as usual but also another man with grey hair, wearing a long black tuxedo. He was talking to Malfoy and smiling.
"Hermione, who is that with Malfoy?"
"I don't know. Wait, if my memory serves me right, he is part of wizangamot."
Neville accidentally overheard their exchange and stared at the cabinet.
"That's lord Cyrus Greengrass, Harry!" he said.
Harry's eyes widened at the name. 'Cyrus!? He's here, why is he here?' he took the field glasses back from Hermione, apologising profusely, and studied the man.
He didn't know why he felt his blood boil suddenly, but this man was trapping Daphne, and he was friendly with Malfoy. This didn't look good.
"Neville, what do you know about him?" Harry asked, still staring at the cabinet.
"Well, he is really a remarkable man in society and his word is the law. He prefers to stay away from the public's eye and straddles the fence. Grandmother invited him once to a fancy dinner. He was a gentleman and accepted her invitation alongside his wife and youngest daughter Astoria. And he is very generous," Neville mumbled.
"Daphne Greengrass is his eldest daughter, isn't she?" Hermione asked him curiously.
"Yeah, but she is a really taciturn person. I don't remember her attending any gathering or event, unlike Astoria."
Harry was just listening in silence to what Neville was saying. So Cyrus didn't even allow her to attend any gatherings as well-another reason to hate the man.
"Do you think he is a death eater?" Hermione whispered in Harry's ear.
He didn't know what to say. It was a possibility but a far-fetched one. This man didn't look easy, unlike Lucius Malfoy. Occupied by his thoughts, Harry heard the terrified cries of the people around him. When he looked, he saw his house captain struggling to control her broom. His brown knitted, 'What is going on?'
Angelina was trying so hard but the broom refused to move. Busy with the that, she didn't see the Bludger coming towards her and fell off her broom.
Harry's instinct led him to look at the staff cabinet and at the pinky toad in particular. He could sense her smiling evilly and wickedly. 'Did she just..?'
The match, fortunately, ended with Gryffindor winning: Angelina was holding the snitch when she got hit.
Harry and his friends went straight to the hospital wing to visit the captain, who had apparently broken her right arm, left leg, and neck.
All the teammates were around her while she was furious.
"You okay, cap?" Harry called from behind.
"How do I look, Potter, McGonagall will kill me, what would Wood say? I failed at my first match as captain," she whined of embarrassment.
He sat at the edge of the bed where her healthy leg lay. "Don't say that, cap, you were great, right, you lot?" he asked around for more encouraging words. Everyone nodded.
"Stop being such a cutie, Potter!" she exclaimed, smirking through the pain, and everyone laughed.
"Well, it seems we can't manage a day without you, Harry. If you hadn't cheered us on and lifted Ron's spirit, we would have lost," Katie commented, but Harry shrugged it off.
"What are you all doing here, Go! I haven't finished treating her yet," Pomfrey rushed into the crowd, kicking them out, but Angelina stopped them.
"As Bell said, Potter, we can't manage, not with me here... So… Be our substitute captain until I recover."
"But, I left, I can't, I-"
"Yeah, yeah, this is an exception, you're back and No is not accepted," Angelina interrupted him.
Harry was silent and nodded to the girl…
The team forgot about their pathetic loss the moment Professor MacGonagel approved his return happily. Ron hugged him, almost crushing every bone he had.
"Man! You have no idea how boring games are without you!"
Everyone laughed loudly as they walked down the corridors.
"Katie is right. It seems the game can't let you go," George said, coming to his side.
The news reached everyone in Hogwarts, and Harry received a small note from Daphne through Winky. "Welcome Back," it said. He smiled at it: she knew how to be romantic in her own ways, that girl.
The bathroom of Slytherin's Girls dorm
Pansy had just finished showering. After their defeat, none of the team felt like chatting, and Professor Snape scolded them.
She startled as she saw Millicent Bulsrtrood come up to her as she was undoing her night mask. Pansy could see her from the mirror. "What!" she yelled, irritation filling her.
Millicent smirked at her as she approached the black-haired girl.
"I don't know how to tell you, Pans, you are still affected by your loss, maybe another time," she said, passing her.
Pansy could feel her face flush. She turned and grasped Millicent by her arm harshly. "Speak, NOW!"
Millicent narrowed her eyes, taking her arms away from Pansy's, and closed the bathroom door just to make sure no one entered, then cast a Muffiliato around them.
"Fine, don't tell anyone you heard this from me..but the Malfoy heir is no longer in your claws," Millicent said.
Pansy's eyes widened, and she froze in her place. Her towel was slipping off her when she returned to reality and wrapped it around her body tightly.
"What did you just say?"
Millicent let out a sigh. "What you heard. Lord Malfoy's eyes are on someone else's daughter… Mother met with Narcissa Malfoy last week and as I understood, she's interested in another girl."
"WHO?"
"Well, umm...Greengrass!" she said quickly and ran away, leaving Pansy alone.
Even though Pansy and Daphne didn't talk much, there had been a respected friendship between the two ever since the first year, and something like this wasn't like Daphne.
'It can't be,' Pansy took a step back and put a hand on her heart, and the other on the sink, trying to keep herself up. She felt her whole world crashing down. 'This can't be real, Daphne won't do it, not to me,' she kept saying to herself.
The next night Harry headed to the chamber of secrets for his usual secret training.
"Oh, ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the one and only 'Queen Potter'," Daphne said teasingly.
He laughed and walked on gracefully, chin up and chest out.
"Thank you, thank you," he said like a singer saluting his fans and opened the chamber to let the lady in first.
"How do you know about Queen?" he asked curiously.
"Eva is a big fan of Queen, The Beatles, and Abba."
Harry was amazed. He had been under the impression that purebloods didn't really know a lot about muggles and here his wife knew some muggle artist.
"So you guys listen to muggle music, I'm impressed. Who do you like?"
She thought for a second.
"Queen's songs are good, but I prefer Abba's, and oh, there's this singer Dalida, I love her songs so much I've memorised all the lyrics. I don't know too much but those are my favourites besides the classics," she eyed him with a smile.
"Can you imagine, I used to sing Abba's songs with Eva and Laya, then Osman heard us and joined us with Eros. Oh Gosh, it was like pretending to be in some kind of band," she said, trying to fight the laugh.
"Nooo, this is hard to imagine," Harry tried his best to picture it but couldn't.
"Then don't 'cause it's really embarrassing," she said, her face turning red as she laughed.
"There is this Carla member of the knights, she once recorded it on tape and blackmailed Osman with it just so that she could go out with him, and we were dragged into the mess too. Berz punished all of us for a whole week, and his punishments are the worst, cruciatus is mercy compared to them," she told him, smiling.
"Oh God, and how old were you?" he said, fighting the laugh, curiously.
"Eleven," she snapped, laughing.
Daphne was really delighted as she recalled those funny days. She liked his company; it was a relief to talk to someone without the facades she used to wear all the time. If Harry hadn't shown up in her life, those facades would have swallowed her and the real her would have been lost, but Harry had brought her back. Rhaenys Aumelia Phopine was alive because of him and only him.
Harry was happy for her. She smiled a lot when she was with him and so did he around her. He couldn't lie to her when she asked: she always knew what was wrong with him and always tried to cheer him up. Even though her training was living hell, he was happy. With her, he could be Harry, just Harry, not the boy who lived and not part of the golden trio.
After an hour of working out, while Daphne was lying on her stomach reading a book, Harry called her but she didn't hear. Hemione would definitely love to befriend her: she and the books were an endless love story. The long skirt she was wearing went higher to her knees as she dangled her feet in the air while reading.
Cute. If he had a camera, he might take a picture of it. He couldn't help but march toward her, tickling her feet. She jumped up. "Harry! Stop!"
"Finally, she remembered she's not alone here," Harry narrowed his eyes.
Her eyes went to him. "What?"
"Don't you get tired of the books all the time? You give me difficult tasks all the time to work out in the name of power while you lie over here. I'm bored of the same exercises," he blurted out like a spoiled kid, reminding her that there were other things to do.
"I like to learn, my lord," she mocked him, knowing that he hated when she called him like that as she stood up, fixing her skirt.
"You're right, let me see," she sighed and turned to hold her book. Then she did something unexpected.
Daphne tossed the book at Harry. He barely dodged it since it had caught him off-guard.
"What the hell? Did you lose your mind?" Harry said, fixing his glasses.
"Nope," she said steeply. She rested an elbow on her palm as she massaged her lower lip with her thumb, eyes measuring him from his feet up to his head, in deep thought. Harry felt her eyes burn a hole in his body, like she was stripping him down with her gaze. He felt awkward and tried to back away.
She smirked and closed her eyes.
"Well then, Winky!" she summoned her new elf.
"Yes, madam," Winky bowed her head.
"Bring me my favourite black trousers."
Harry raised his eyebrow in confusion when the elf came back with black trousers.
"Turn around so I can change," she ordered him
Harry sighed and turned as he could hear her clothes hit the ground. "And don't try to peek!" she warned him.
"Fiiiiiine," he said, closing his eyes. He could feel his ears turning red: she was stark naked a few inches away from him.
'Idiot, don't get excited, you piece of shit, calm down CALM DOWN!' he warned his body.
"Done!" she exclaimed.
Harry turned to see her in a tight muggle sports outfit: yoga pants with a deep v muscle tank top where you could see a full-coverage sports bra under it. She had good curves; he had never actually realised it because she always wore long skirts and dresses that hid her body curves.
Harry's mouth opened slightly as he stared at her.
"Eyes up, pervert," she snapped him out of it. Harry was red; he hadn't realised he had been staring at her for long with an open mouth.
"Sorry, but why did you dress like that?" he blurted out with knitted brows, regretting it immediately.
She smiled, shaking her head at him. "Task n°2: physical defence. You study magical duelling with the DA. With me, you will learn how to fight in combat. True, I have a weakness when it comes to magic but I still can master physical defence arts," she said, lumbering up.
Harry let out a hysterical laugh. She eyed him suspiciously, then punched him in a flash in his stomach.
Harry fell to his knees, hugging his stomach.
She stood at his head and raised a brow. "Don't underestimate minor things, Harry, you don't know what you can get. After all, I was raised amongst military men, remember," she said, smirking at him.
"You little..." he said, standing up.
"Ready at three, don't hold back," she said, fixing herself in a combat position. He did the same and nodded.
"One, two, three!" she announced and ran toward him, giving him a high punch. Harry dodge it. Quidditch had taught him how to dodge a Crazy Bludger so it was easy to dodge his wife's punches.
At breakfast, the owls flew in, hovered above the heads of Hogwarts students, and started dropping letters and packages to their respective recipients. To Harry's surprise, a small package fell in front of him; his and his friends' eyes went wide as they thought it was from Sirius. There was a small note stuck onto it:
' your request, E '
XOXO
"E!? Who's E, Harry?" Ron wondered so loudly that the students sitting the closest to them heard him.
"My my, can't believe her, of all times now she remembered me, my lovely auntie Petunia, in my childhood I used to call her etumia, hahahaha..."
He started to hate himself for lying to his friends as they bluntly believed whatever he said; he really did.
Taking the package and leaving in a hurry the hall, he threw his invisible cloak over himself while he was on his way, waiting in a dark corner of the dungeons. He's been using it a lot this year. He started to hear the laughs of a group of girls coming towards him.
In a matter of seconds, he sprinted, throwing his hand out like a fisherman's hook.
To ensure that no one was paying attention, he put his hand over the 'fish's' mouth so as not to make a fuss while her eyes stared at him with a mixture of surprise and anger.
When he dropped his hand, she whispered in an angry voice, "Have you lost your mind? Never do it again."
He pushed the package to her chest and attempted to leave without even talking to her.
Daphne read the note and smiled slyly, "I see, you don't even want to talk to me."
He stopped mid-way, not even nodding or replying to her. He'd been a bit bad-tempered lately owing to the nightmares, and she was not making it easy for him.
"It was just a few kicks, you'll be better than me sooner than you think," she said, marching toward him, and let her lips move directly to his neck to give him a slight kiss. He shivered for a second under her touch but didn't want her to notice. She smirked widely at that gesture.
Daphne realised that back in the astronomy tower, when he had cornered her with his body, he had turned in her something that had been off, waiting for him. Her magic wanted to claim his but she had held it back that night, trying to resist the temptation of his charm, which had soon enticed her. He may not have realised this, but she was the female and the eve of this marriage. If she was a wife, she needed to learn the art of seduction and love, so she decided to master it for him only, while waiting for the day he decided to claim her. She kept herself busy with books when she was around him while training, and it was not a passion, even though she used to say that to herself constantly; this was nothing more than a desire, a duty of marriage.
"What did Eva send you," he interrupted her thoughts.
"Ah, curious Lion," she teased him, purring into his ear. He was annoyed.
She let him go, with a sigh of surrender moving away from him.
"If you need to know, it was Italian undergarments," she said, leaving him with pink cheeks and looking away.
A/N
So my dear readers…
What do you think of this chapter?
I was listening to Queen during the Quidditch scene lol and I thought that it would be cool for Harry to use something muggle to cheer Ron
I hope you liked it cause honestly, as I kept thinking for days about their training methods, I hope it's good.
Unfortunately, the beta that used to help me had previous engagements and it won't be able to help me anymore so I'm without it from now on…
If any of you is interested to help me I will be so delighted, I wish from the deepest of my heart to find one sooner than ever to continue the story...
Cause English isn't my first language and I don't want my readers to have a hard time reading…
29 reviews made me happy bad or good reviews it always cheers me up and I thank everyone that reads my story, it encourages me to write more
stay safe
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO