AN: Hey guys! Welcome back for another week! More dates! Sorry if you're hoping for some actual story progression, you won't find any here. I wanted some fluff, so you're getting some fluff! One more fluffy chapter next week and then we'll be back to action probably. If you're at Causeacon 2023 this weekend, come check my two panels! I'm doing Fandom Jeopardy and Fanfiction 101.
Making his way to Honeyduke's a new sense of anxiety washed over Harry. Padma had made him forget his anxieties about their date fairly quickly, she had a way of always doing that. Daphne however, was significantly more anxiety inducing. Harry liked that about her though, she challenged him in ways that Padma or Susan didn't and that gave her a spark uniquely her own though. Their prior date over the summer, a trip to a muggle cinema to see some movie Harry couldn't even remember had mostly been an excuse for her to snog him senseless, something Harry hadn't minded at all. Such actions though certainly wouldn't be happening today. Hogsmeade was far too public, and as much as Harry hated it, he was a celebrity. Snogging Daphne in the middle of Hogsmeade square would certainly make headlines in Witch Weekly should it happen, although Harry worried that him going on these dates at all might be enough to get him there.
Harry was taken out of his thoughts by a tap on his shoulder. He had been so caught up in his own head that he hadn't noticed he had arrived at Honeyduke's, and that Daphne had already found him. She was wearing a rather lovely black dress, patterned with a light grey tartan. She smiled at him before speaking. "Alright loverboy, my turn. Now, why are we here?" Daphne waved her hand towards the confectionary shop.
"Your insatiable sweet tooth? Also maybe chocolate frog cards?" Harry asked, looking at her. "I'm happy to be here for both, although Hermione would be very upset if I didn't say your teeth were going to rot out of your head."
"Oh hardee har har." Daphne faux laughed, before falling into a real one. "Yeah, that would be what Hermione would say. But yes, my sweet tooth is why we are here. I want to show you some of my favorites that we haven't really been able to get at Hogwarts."
"Then lead the way." Harry said, taking his blonde girlfriend's hand.
Honeydukes was as chaotic and high energy as he imagined a candy shop full of adolescents would be. While everyone here was thirteen or older, far from the little kids who would be most excited by a candy store, sweet tooths were exceptionally common among Hogwarts students. Harry briefly wondered if that fact was how a dedicated candy store such as this managed to keep itself afloat in a village as relatively small as Hogsmeade. Daphne pulled Harry to a small booth at the back, that had a small basket of sweets already set-up.
"Got this prepped while you were with Padma, wouldn't be very fun if we spent our date time waiting in line to buy something." Daphne said, as she squeezed into the seat beside him. "What did you and Padma do?"
"Oh, we went to a music shop just down the street, talked a bit about music, and she told me she could play a sitar." Harry said, his nerves pooling up again. She had asked, but… should he be talking about another girl while with her? The Hermione thing earlier was a poke that would have been made even if Hermione and Harry were just friends, which wasn't the case, but was probably still excusable. His date with Padma though? That was different.
"Oh, I bet that was fun. No big surprises from me though, you already know my sweet tooth is more powerful than any wizard." Daphne said, unwrapping a sweet and popping it into her mouth. "Try these, they're Cherry Overflows, they spray your entire mouth full of cherry juice three times before they stop."
Harry took the offered treat and put it in his mouth. Sure enough, as soon as it hit his tongue, it started spewing out sweet cherry juice that filled his mouth. As he swallowed the first mouthful, a second started, and Harry realized the treat had stuck itself to his tongue to prevent being swallowed. After the third burst though, the candy let go of his tongue and made it's final descent down his throat along with the sweet red liquid it provided. "I don't think I will ever fully get wizarding candy."
"I suppose it is a bit strange compared to your muggle candies. Although I do love those Reese's Pieces you bought for me at the cinema. Perhaps not quite as exciting as a chocolate frog, but much tastier." Daphne said, cuddling up to him. "You don't need to be nervous, you know. I get that I can be a bit much to handle, but that's because I like pushing you. It's fun, but I do it because I love you. You made me so happy at my debut, I knew you were the one. That's why I was okay with making this schedule. You made me feel special, and I know Susan felt the same way. Now you can get to do that with all of us."
"Thanks, I just worry about doing right by all of you. I mean, I know it's more normalized in the wizarding world for this multiple partners thing, but growing up muggle this is kind of scandalous." Harry said.
"I know, honestly it's a bit scandalous in our world too, you're a particularly special case though, the Potters were influential to say the least. Many high powered wizards, both magically and politically were Potters, even though before you the last noteworthy Potter was your grandfather Fleamont, who created 'Sleakeasy's Hair Potion', which is more or less the be-all and end-all of hair care products for witches and wizards." Daphne said.
"A hair potion? That's particularly noteworthy?" Harry asked, a bit confused. Hair care was something a lot of people did have to worry about, but muggle methods had always seemed fine in that regard.
"No one had ever made anything quite like it before, and its effects were astonishing. All of a sudden even the wildest hair was manageable, and it even stimulated hair growth, so being bald as a wizard was suddenly a choice you made, as opposed to something that would happen naturally. Haven't you noticed that there aren't very many bald wizards?" Daphne asked.
"I guess I hadn't thought about it, I guess the only one I can think of is Filch, and he's not a wizard is he?" Harry thought, going through his mental list of wizards.
"Yes, he chooses to look like that, although why I have no idea." Daphne said with a bit of a smile. "Although he would look pretty funny with thicker hair, imagine if it was all big and puffy."
The thought of Filch with an afro sent a laugh through Harry, and Daphne joined him. Somehow, without him noticing, Daphne had managed to pull his anxiety away from him. He was just enjoying his time here with her.
"So, how'd you decide the order I'm going on my dates then? I'm assuming it wasn't random." Harry asked, interested to hear her thought process.
"Oh, now you want to talk about the other girls." Daphne playfully rolled her eyes as Harry's face dropped. "I'm only kidding, I actually really wanted to talk about it, I thought I was being really clever." Daphne said. "Padma went first because not only did she not get a chance to this summer, but I knew she would be the easiest one of us for you to get comfortable with for your first date. You, Hermione, and Padma click in a way the rest of us are working towards. Hermione though would have been too nervous herself to get out of her own way for you to have fun together, that's why she's going last out of those of us here in Hogsmeade, hopefully you'll be confident enough in what you're doing to guide her. I went second because I knew that I would be your… most difficult date. I love you dearly, and I know you care for me a lot, but I'm not blind to the fact that I'm the hardest one of us for you to connect with."
Harry was a bit stumped by that… was that true? It was certainly true that Daphne was the one he had the least in common with, at least on a macro level. Padma and Hermione were both fish out of water in the English wizarding world like he was, Hermione and he being muggle raised, and Padma being from a different country made a lot of standard practices here a tad off. Susan and Harry had also found a bond over having lost their parents at such a young age, that kind of shared trauma had been an anchor point that their relationship built on, and the Basilisk incident last year had built on that. Luna and Harry had also clicked in a weird way. They were both bizarre out of the box thinkers, and seemed to just exist on the same wavelength. Several Sphinx club members swore that Luna and Harry could have entire conversations without ever speaking a word to each other. Looking at Daphne though, there wasn't that same type of connection. Harry did love her, he knew that, he couldn't place the feelings he had towards her in any other emotion, and it was the most like what he felt for the other girls, and not like the kind of love he felt for Neville or Lavender. What brought them together though? Harry pondered before it clicked.
"That's why I love you though." Harry said, looking into her eyes for a moment. "You're challenging, you don't let me get away with anything, challenge me on every decision and make me look at myself in a new light. I love all the other girls very much, but I find it hard to believe that any of them would put up as much of a fight with me about something than you would. You're my opposite in that regard, and that makes you my complement. The pair of us are greater than the sum of the two parts."
"How do you always know just what to say to make me grin like a schoolgirl?" Daphne asked, leaning even deeper on him. "I should probably be a little upset by that, but just the thought of being special like that… well it just makes me so happy I can't control it. If I could do disillusionment charms you'd be struggling for air right now."
"I swear you're insatiable." Harry said, wrapping his arm around her.
"Only because you don't give it out enough." She responded back, a brief ting echoing between their wands. "Boo. Time's up. You've got to go to Susan now. Have a good time for me! Also, potion now."
Harry took her advice and drank the wiggenweld potion. Fatigue he hadn't noticed he had accumulated vanished, and he felt calmer, though still very alert. "What?" Harry asked, the question escaping his lips without him actually giving it any thought.
"Bit of a calming potion laced in it. Can't brew that one but Madam Pomfrey was happy to give me a tiny bit when I explained what it was for. Can't have you be horribly anxious during your dates now can we?" Daphne smirked, before pushing him out. "Now go! Go! I've got to eat three pounds of chocolate and I can't have you watch me do that!"
Harry stepped out of Honeydukes and looks around. Where was he expected to meet Susan? Daphne hadn't told him, and he certainly didn't know. Someone tapped on his shoulder.
Turning around, Harry looked into the eyes of his red-headed Hufflepuff girlfriend, who was currently wearing a yellow sweater that Harry thought complemented her very nicely. "My turn now Harry, I think." She said, her voice smaller than normal.
"So it is, where do you want to go?" Harry asked, reaching down and taking her hand. It felt nice.
"Well, I'm not one for the big shops here, well, maybe the bookstore, but Hermione called dibs there, that's where you'll be going for her date if you didn't know." Harry rolled his eyes a bit, that did sound like Hermione. "There's a nice park with a duck pond just down the street, how about we sit on one of the benches?" Susan said, smiling at him.
"Lead the way then, this is your date." Harry said, letting her take him to the park she mentioned.
"It's our date actually, no good if you don't enjoy it too." She said.
The small park in Hogsmeade was quiet, although it seemed several other couples had also found their spaces around the place. Some sat on picnic blankets or underneath trees, and a few others tossed a quaffle back and forth between themselves. Susan and Harry managed to find a nice stone bench overlooking the duck pond, which true to its name did have several ducks floating in it.
"It's really pretty here isn't it?" Susan asked, squeezing his hand a bit.
"It is, although you look better in my eyes." Harry said. The line had worked a bit better in his head than out loud probably. He meant it, but coming from a bumbling 13 year old… well there's a reason HE wasn't James Bond.
Susan giggled a bit before squeezing his hand. "Nice try, I appreciate it though. Do you like the sweater? I know it's a bit weird to wear the house colors during away time, but I think it looks nice."
"It suits you really well, you look very lovely in it." Harry said, no attempts to be smooth this time. He probably didn't need that with Susan, she always seemed to just want someone to be genuine, he could oblige.
"I'm glad, although I'm sure no small part of your view comes from my… sweater puppies I believe I've heard Dean Thomas call them?" Susan said, giving him a small smirk. Harry had been doing his best not to stare, but she was right, at least partially. Susan had really blossomed over the past year, and if the few pictures he had seen of her mother were anything to go by, would continue to do so. She likely had the biggest breasts of their year, although Lavender was in close contention. Harry didn't like admitting that he did notice, but he was only human.
"I… I guess." Harry stammered out, causing Susan to laugh.
"Yes! I got one! Take that Padma and Daphne, you're not the only ones to make Harry go beet red!" Susan said, throwing her arms around him and hugging him. "Sorry to pick on you Harry, I just had to. Honestly, I'm glad you noticed, its at least something to keep me in contention with the other girls."
In contention with the other girls? What did she mean by that? "What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused. It's not like the girls needed to compete for his attention, they had it pretty much all the time.
"Well, I'm not as pretty as Daphne or Padma, not as smart as Hermione, or as fun as Luna. Compared to them, all I've really got going for me is these." Susan said.
"Don't say that, you're every bit as pretty as Daphne and Padma, every bit as smart as Hermione, and every bit as fun as Luna. Even if that wasn't the case, it's not like those are the only thing that matters. You don't have anything to worry about. I find you plenty attractive, with or without your… sweater puppies." Harry flushed deeply at saying that. If it would make Susan feel better though? It was worth it.
"Oh! Oh, you. Come here." Susan almost squeaked, before pulling him into a deep kiss. Harry was very surprised by this. Daphne and Padma were the forward ones, but even Hermione was more likely to initiate a kiss than Susan of all people.
"Not that I didn't enjoy that, but what was that about?" Harry asked, trying to straighten up his shirt a bit.
"I'm sure you know, even if I don't want to say it. There is something else I do want to say though, and it's another thanks for saving me last year." Susan said, leaning back against him.
"I thought we've been over that there's really no need to thank me. You would have done the same for me if you had to." Harry said, wrapping his arms around the redhead. She felt good there.
"Doesn't matter. You were my hero. I love you Harry, I loved you before that, and I sure as hell love you after it. It's just nice to be saved, I got to fulfill every little girl's dream of being saved from a monster by a dashing knight." Susan said.
"I wouldn't call myself dashing or a knight." Harry said.
"I would. Sir Harry of House Potter, saved the Lady Susan of House Bones from the evil wizard Riddle and his giant Basilisk of terror." Susan said, laughing a bit.
The pair sat in silence for a moment, enjoying each other's company as the cool Scotland breeze floated through the air. Harry noticed a small patch of flowers growing just out of arms reach, so he got up and picked one. It was a yellow chrysanthemum, something Harry only knew from Neville's constant raving about plants that can grow in Scotland during this time of year. Returning to Susan, he placed it in her hair, its bright color complementing the fiery orange of her hair.
"Oh, thank you Harry." Susan said, beaming at him. It was a spur of the moment thing, and maybe a tad silly, but the smile had made it worth it. "Did I ever tell you how I felt when we first started being together?"
"Not that I can think of really. Honestly I'm still not overly sure how everything fell into place with that. You all kind of just decided you were dating me. I'm not complaining, but I wasn't very… involved with that process." Harry said, scratching his cheek a bit. He had just kind of smiled and nodded when they had told him what was happening. He liked them too much to question it.
"I guess you didn't really. Sorry. Anyway, I'd of course had a crush on the Boy-Who-Lived as a little girl, we all did. I had pretty much grown out of that though long before we started at Hogwarts. Meeting you though did make me think you were awfully cute, and it helped you were nice. Hannah had mentioned how nice you had seemed on the train, and since we had that common ground in our parents, she thought we might be good friends. As we started the Sphinx Club and I got to know you, well… I started to fall pretty hard." Susan said, chuckling a bit at herself.
"I was convinced I didn't really stand a chance though. You were joined at the hip with Padma and Hermione, so I was convinced one of those two were going to snatch you up eventually. I was content being your friend though, because that's still a good place to be. First year came and went, you gave us that scare with Quirrell, and we moved on. Second year comes and then the diary happened." She stopped for a second, and sighed.
"I was lost, and writing in the diary, well outside of the terrible stuff it was having me do, well it was nice. Someone who I could confide in who literally couldn't tell anyone was comforting, so I talked about how much I liked you. Looking back at it now, knowing that the Dark Lord, or at least some version of him, had to listen to a preteen girl gush about the boy she likes is pretty funny." Another laugh came out of her, and she continued. "We were dealing with that, and then we had the whole Heir of Slytherin thing later, so I didn't have a lot of time to process my feelings. Then you kissed Padma. Honestly, I was a little heartbroken and jealous when I first heard about it. If she had kissed you, I would just have thought 'Oh well, she beat me too it' but you initiating it, well that stung a bit. Then Daphne said she was interested in you too, then with her, Hermione and Luna, I knew if I didn't at least put my name out there I'd never have a chance. So I did, even with everything going on I knew that if I could just be with you… well everything would work itself out. I of course knew about the multiple marriage for lines thing, but I hadn't ever really thought it would be something you would do, or even that I would be considered for it. Daphne pushing for it though, and your acceptance of it… well I had hope again. Now look at us, having a quiet date on a park bench in Hogsmeade. I'm ecstatic, I can't wait to see what else we'll do." Susan said, turning around and looking back up at him.
They stared into each other's eyes for a beat, before they leaned in and kissed again. Susan was emotionally drained after that, Harry knew she had to be, so Harry was content to just hold her in his arms for a bit.
A small ting emanated between their wands, and Susan groaned. "My time's over already? Boo." She said, turning back to look at him. "Thanks for the lovely time Harry. I'll see you back at the castle, go meet Hermione at the bookstore." She gave him another quick kiss before getting up and dusting herself off. Harry gave her another quick hug and a kiss, before he set off back to the main street of Hogsmeade, and to the bookshop where his first friend was waiting for him.