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February 25, 1995
Harry blinked his eyes open as birdsong and sunlight greeted him. He didn't have to guess where he was, for the bed, the sheets and the other images the room filled his eyes with were well-known to him by this point in his life. He was in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, and if that was the case, he had survived.
That should have been a given by now after all he had gone through, sure, but that far under the water's surface and without his oxygen all the while there were sharks, merfolk and other creatures… his hopes hadn't been very high. It wouldn't be too absurd to say that he didn't think he really had any chances. He knew as well as all of the others how the tournament could end. There were many, many champions throughout history that had been killed competing.
"Keep blinking, it lets me know you're alive."
That's not Daphne.
"Tracey?" Harry questioned as he turned towards the source of the voice, confused at the girl's presence and the lack of Daphne's. "What're you doing here?"
He leaned up then. The sheets fell away, revealing the typical hospital shirt that was as comfortable as ever, and when he did, he immediately felt light-headed. He hadn't thought he would feel this out of it after everything he'd done, but in hindsight, he supposed he should have thought there was no chance he'd get out free of any problems after the choice he'd made. When he realised his arms, legs, eyes; everything vital really, still worked and were with him, he reclined back into the soft mattress below.
"Sorry — I was going to answer immediately, but you looked like you were enjoying life. That's probably a good choice too considering she's pretty cross with you," Tracey whistled and winced, shaking her head at Harry.
"Daphne?"
"Who else?" Tracey said back to him with a snort. "You saved her, saved the others along with Cedric and Krum, made sure Cedric got out with everybody, went back for Krum… oh yeah, we heard the entire story from the other two blokes. They're really proud of you and thankful. But enough of all that nonsense, right? Daphne — she's as likely to curse you to death as she is to snog you to death."
Harry couldn't fight the little smile that came to his face. "I could think of worse ways to die than having her snog me to death."
"Better hope you can come up with some sappy romance stuff then, huh? If you don't, I bet she'll murder you, maybe take a leg or something… oh that'd be so romantic. Could you imagine if she kept you in this bed forever, until you're both out of Hogwarts just so she can make sure you're safe?" Tracey sighed and clutched a book to her chest that he hadn't noticed earlier.
Great. Another one of her 'romance' books. If what she just said is in the premise of one of them, I'm going to be staying away from her from now on. The last thing I need is Daphne getting her head filled with that so—
"Oh, right. I nearly forgot. I was meant to go and get her when you woke up so she could speak with you. Cedric, Krum and the Frenchie all wanted to check in on you too, but if I were you, I'd give Daphne the first few hours… or day… or days," Tracey's looks turned serious as she finally made her way to her feet. It was odd for her, but when he noticed, he leaned forward and gave her his undivided attention so that he could hear exactly what she wanted to tell him; and it wasn't what he had expected to hear from her when she spoke after a few moment's pause. "Daphne was real worried. She knows you're a good person, and that's one of the reasons she really likes you. Don't be too mad at her if she's mad at you, okay? It's how she is when she cares about somebody."
Harry nodded once, lest he makes himself dizzy from doing that too much. "I won't get mad at her. It was all for her and the others, after all," he smiled down at the sheets when he recalled Daphne and how much she meant to him in such a short amount of time. It was incredibly funny too, considering he had nearly avoided going with her ."Mostly for her — don't tell the others though, alright?"
Tracey nodded after an 'aww' came from her, and with a parting kiss on the cheek, she skipped away from his bed and out of the Hospital Ward entirely, leaving him with his thoughts and the silence that reigned in her absence.
Everybody made it. Tracey said they were all waiting for me to wake up so that we could speak, and unless something mad happens between now and the next few hours, that means they're all fine. Daphne, the others. They were all fine, and all of the magic we studied together, it paid off in the very end.
Harry fell back into bed and let the comfort of the sheets and mattress take him. Daphne would be here before too long, and before that time came, he would make sure he got a little more rest. He still felt dizzy, incredibly tired and a bit strange in an indescribable way. Why that was, he hadn't a clue but truth be told, it would all be better when he was surrounded by his friends.
His family.
Harry heard the door to the Hospital Ward open, and immediately, the echoing sound of two pairs of footsteps as they grew ever closer to his private little section of the Hospital Ward. One set of steps sounded uneven and odd, the other was expedient and far louder; it didn't take a genius to figure out which was Tracey and which was Daphne based on how they walked alone.
Sure enough, when the quicker of the two reached the curtains that separated the various beds from one another, Daphne burst through them and came to a stop at the foot of his bed, where she immediately climbed onto the mattress and hugged him. She didn't speak, she didn't cry, she didn't get angry with him or anything else; she simply hugged him.
That went on and on even when Tracey came through the curtains. It was only after a few minutes, maybe even five minutes, when Daphne finally pulled away from him and looked him in the eyes. They were as blue as he remembered, and she was as beautiful as ever. It made him feel at ease and infinitely better to see her breathing of her own accord and with her eyes open and looking at him. He hadn't realised how much he had hated seeing her immobile, unconscious and below water until he saw her again since that time.
"You could have died," Daphne said quietly. There was definitely an undertone that was annoyed, angry or some combination of emotions that weren't exactly positive, but even then, she didn't yell at him or get angry with him. She simply stated a fact.
"I wanted to make sure you and everybody else wouldn't," he said back to her lamely, blinking a few times when her upper lip twitched.
Daphne took in a deep breath. She stayed above him and by his side, he could tell the thought hadn't occurred to her for her to climb off of the bed. She may not be spiteful or what have you, but figured something that Tracey said would come true; she might not allow him out of her presence save for the more important or most personal matters.
"That was very noble of you," Daphne started, her voice calm and her words slow as she spoke. "Next time and I know with you, there will be a next time, I would suggest that you and the others try and work as a team rather than each of you going for your heroic moment — there's no need for anybody to be left behind or risk their lives when you're all wizards and witches of renown and skill, isn't that right?"
He felt his cheeks heat up a bit at her compliment and opted to remain silent, answering by way of a nod of his head.
"You'll be free come evening, maybe sooner. I suppose Madame Pomfrey will want to keep you for observation before she releases you into my care," Daphne moved her hair from out of her eyes and scooched him slightly over to the side before she pulled out her wand, extended the bed — sheets and all — and finally, tucked herself into his side. "I'll be staying here with you until that time comes."
"I don't think she'd be very fond of us sleeping together in here," Harry said even as he moved his right arm under Daphne's head and used his left to hold her close.
"Madame Pomfrey is aware that we'll not be doing anything inappropriate. I already cleared this much with her on account of our relationship and the good it would do for the both of us if we could be close to one another until you're free to leave… I may have also told her that, with me here and cuddling with you that you'll take your medicine without any fuss for the remainder of the year. She's very convinced you'll return at least one more time," Daphne smiled cutely up at him, and slowly, and very gently, she kissed his lips.
Their kiss was fleeting and over in all but an instant, but he could practically feel the tension leave his body at her little gesture of affection. It was as needed as she had been for him to get better. He wasn't sure how that worked, maybe it was something along the lines of 'the power of love' that Tracey alwa—
Nah. She's barmy. Daphne's beautiful, and kind, and she means more to me than anything else. It's only normal that her being here after everything we've just gone through would make me feel happier.
"You're thinking. You always get that faraway look in your eyes when you do so, and you stop playing with the errant strands of my hair that brush against your hand," Daphne burrowed further into his chest until her eyes were peering up at him from beneath a combination of her eyelashes, eyelids and the baggy shirt that adorned him. "Is something the matter?"
He shook his head. "No."
"Do you want to try that again?" she asked teasingly, an edge of seriousness just managing to cut through her jovial tone.
"I was just thinking that…forget it, it sounds dumb. I'm glad you're here, Daphne. I'm glad you're alright too," Harry kissed the top of her head and exhaled, more tension, the remainder or the lion's share of the remainder now out of his body.
"I'm glad to be here, and I'm beyond relieved that you're fine. I would've been incredibly cross with you if something serious happened. It took me literal years to get you to be mine, you're aware of that, aren't you?" Daphne's tone sounded bratty or princessy, either word fit and in response, he chuckled.
"You know, Tracey used that exact word; cross," Harry ran his left hand down to her side, where he knew she was ticklish. "I suppose I should make it up to you and do what we'd usually do, huh?"
Daphne's eyes flashed. "If you'd dare."
"I da—"
There was a frustrated noise and the stomp of a foot that interrupted Harry, and immediately, both he and Daphne raised their heads to look at the source of it. There wasn't any reason to, the two had simply forgotten their guest and that guest spoke aloud her frustration as their eyes settled on her person.
"Come on, can't you two just kiss already? These games are really cute and all, but I'm here for the payoff and I'm not leavin' until I get it," Tracey crossed her arms and fixed them both with her most 'intimidating' look that she could manage.
Harry wasn't surprised in the slightest when Daphne began to reach for her wand again, and in response, Tracey's eyes went wide, and then she darted back through the curtain. Rarely had he seen the girl move that fast… though he supposed, in all honesty, he still didn't know her all that well.
"She's horrible," Daphne said with a huff.
At that, he chuckled once more. "I think she's starting to grow on me. I'll have to meet your little sister for a proper meal one of these days too. If Tracey's that interesting, I can only imagine how the rest of your family and friends are."
"Don't be too excited. My father's a very strict man and my little sister is his Princess. Anything that Astoria wants, she gets — now, you, medicine and rest. I promised Madame Pomfrey that I'd ensure all went well and as it should, she even went so far as to leave the potions nearby on the tray that Tracey was meant to move closer," Daphne finished with a wave of one finger towards the aforementioned cart, and in response, Harry groaned.
Merlin, he hated all of those medical potions. They never tasted good and they were always a struggle to get down.
"Fine. If she let you stay and all of this, I suppose I can do that," he said with a huff as Daphne began to pull the first vial from the tray and over to him.
If this was the price for her company, he'd gladly pay it.
When he woke up from his impromptu nap post-potions with Daphne, the first thing he noticed was how warm he felt. It wasn't the same as when he first rose that morning or early afternoon, instead, he felt content and surpassed the level of comfort he had thought was amazing earlier on.
"Finally awake?" came the sweet, soft voice of the aforementioned girl as he felt one of her hands playing with his unkempt hair.
He nodded and pulled her closer, gently and without aggravating any of his troubled muscles or brain. "I could get used to falling asleep like that."
"Like what?"
"With you," was Harry's simple response. There wasn't anything more that needed to be said in his mind. Daphne was here and with him, and that alone meant more than he reckoned she would ever truly come to know.
He felt her smile against his shirt. "Ever the charmer, aren't you?" she asked teasingly. "I wish it was you that asked me out. I can only imagine how that would have gone."
"It wouldn't have — me, asking you out?" he guffawed and shook his head. "Please. Before you approached me, I didn't reckon I'd ever have a chance with you so why would I have bothered?"
Daphne blinked at him in surprise. "You?" she asked before shaking her head and scoffing at him. "You forget yourself. I don't mean your titles or what any of the others call you, I mean your manners, and how polite you are… you're truly one of the kindest people I've ever had the pleasure to know."
"But we didn't really know each other, did we?" Harry asked as he brushed the sleep from out of his eyes and reached for his glasses.
"I don't need to personally know you to know of you. You should know well enough by now that anything you do however minute it might seem to you, is viewed under a microscope by all of our peers and the Hogwarts staff," Daphne finished and as she did, she started to smile.
He didn't understand why that was and so he asked her. "What is it?"
"I thought about the repercussions if others were to hear that I slept in the same bed as you even if it was nought but a nap in the Hospital Wing," she told him as she finally made to move away from him and crawl off from the bed.
"Yeah? What do you think they'll say?" Harry asked, worried for her reputation and especially if Madame Pomfrey would have something to add should the rumours be particularly bad; he wasn't sure how they'd spread in the first place if it was only the two of them and Tracey, but to be fair, Hogwarts wasn't exactly renowned for its privacy.
"Nothing horrible save for your favourite small band of friends. That's of no concern to me. If I wish for Malfoy and the others to back off, per se, then I'll send word to my parents and have them speak with his. By and large, what it will accomplish is letting other witches know that you're truly invested in me," Daphne sounded extremely pleased when she finished, and before he could say anything in response to that, he found himself looking at her two hands, each with a vial in its grasp. "Enough talk about anybody else. Let's have these final potions given so that we can get you out of here — I'm sure all of the others will be very happy to speak with you."
"You're lucky you're cute. I wouldn't take these otherwise," Harry said teasingly as he took the first vial and raised it to his mouth.
Daphne raised one brow at him, and midway through drinking the aforementioned potion, she spoke. "You're lucky you're my boyfriend. If you wouldn't have caved by now, I might just have had to do something drastic, as Tracey had said to do months and months ago."
He stayed silent and dutifully drank the second potion; the last thing he needed was Daphne doing anything that Tracey put into her mind. No, that would end horribly for him.
Merlin, was he curious though.
His talks with Cedric, Krum and Fleur had gone close to how he had thought they might when he had finally been cleared from the Hospital Wing.
Cedric, ever the dutiful friend and good guy that he was, had started off their conversation by enquiring about Harry's health and well-being in a very general sense. The other boy had been very worried about him even if he had been told that everything was alright; he said that he worried about all his friends whensoever they were in any type of bad situation.
Harry didn't doubt that for a moment. Once Harry assured the older boy that he was, indeed, fine, the two of them went on to discuss the task. Cedric had told Harry how he had seen his signal and how it had been just enough for Cedric to send the others up so that he could dive down and aid the other two boys. If he hadn't done that, if he hadn't risked himself just as much as Krum and Harry had, Cedric said that he wouldn't have been able to look at himself the same. At the end of their conversation and nearly thirty minutes later, the older boy had told Harry to be more careful and less brave. He was the youngest, and as such, if they were to work together again, it should be him that prioritizes his safety over the others.
As a good friend might do, Harry told Cedric that he would make sure he'd be more careful in the future. He had told Daphne much the same even if that wasn't exactly something he would change. Truly, it was as if it was some form of an innate part of his being; how could he ever let anybody go if they were in trouble and he was in a position to help them?
He couldn't.
Krum and Fleur also spoke with him at length, and their words were very similar to that of Cedric and Daphne; they wanted him to be safe, they respected and admired him greatly for what he had risked and his actions, and finally, they told him that they would aid him whensoever they could in return for his assistance — Harry pointed out to Krum that it was the older boy who made a riskier move before he had, and in return, Krum stubbornly refused.
In his own words; "I did what any man would do, and you did the same."
The respect was absurd, and in return, Ha—
"If it isn't the manliest wizard at Hogwarts! Hi, you cute, taken bloke!"
Harry closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and finally, exhaled. Tracey's energy was unparalleled. There would never be another person that could match it, of that, he was absolutely convinced.
"Hi, Tracey… where's Daphne?" Harry looked around for her and furrowed his brows when she was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't like her to be late even if Tracey had invited herself along on their Hogsmeade date, at least for the first few stops.
"Oh, she's not quite finished. You know how she is by now, don't you? There can't be anything wrong with her. Everything has to be perfect — I guess that isn't really an answer, is it?" Tracey paused, shifted her weight to one foot and huffed to herself with a shake of her head, and then she continued. "Her hair wasn't quite how she liked it, and if that wasn't being picky enough, she said that she didn't like the outfit she had picked."
"I never asked, but after all of this, I'm a little curious. Was she like this when she asked me out, or was she a bit different?" Harry looked closely at Tracey for her response, for he knew without a doubt that the girl couldn't lie to save her life. He may not have known her for very long, and there was still a lot that he didn't know about her, but that had been made glaringly obvious very early on.
"Uhuh. It was way worse though. You should have seen her… Morgana, I wish I took a few photos," Tracey's eyes went wide as if she'd just discovered some sort of new, wonderful secret, but when she spoke next, the words out of her mouth weren't what he had been expecting. "Oh! If I had a Muggle camera, I could record how much she paces and how often she changes her mind. It would be so funny for you to see… I think she might just kill me if I did that though."
If that hadn't been the perfect moment for Daphne to appear, Harry wasn't sure one would ever come; alas, perfection was within reach.
"I might just kill you if you did what, Tracey?" came the voice of Daphne as she rounded the corner and entered the courtyard where Harry had been standing with Tracey.
'If I used a Muggle camera to record how you are before you see Harry. I was actually telling him about how you were before he said yes to going to the Yule… that's mean. There's no need to pull your wand on a girl like that," Tracey raised her hands and smiled wide, her teeth on display and her tongue sticking out from between her lips.
Harry couldn't help but shake his head at her antics. She might just be mad, but Merlin, life would be so much more boring without her around, and potentially slightly more peaceful. The trade wasn't worth it though. He'd much rather have somebody as interesting as her over some boring traditional witch or wizard.
She's sort of like a Slytherin Ron, just girly and smarter.
"Now that she's been dealt with, why don't we enter the wagon that takes us down to Hogsmeade so that we can enjoy a nice, filling breakfast?" Daphne didn't wait for a reply as she made her way over to Harry, where she looped her arm through his and lead him over to the aforementioned mode of transportation. "Ever the gentleman," she said when he helped her up.
"Can I borrow your gentleman, ma'am?" Tracey asked from behind Harry, and while Daphne was situating herself on the back left seat of the cabin.
Daphne sat down and ensured that her seat was comfortable, and once that was finished, she regarded Tracey through a pair of narrowed eyes. "If you try and squeeze his rear, I'll smother you in your sleep — other than that, yes, he can help you up."
"Please, I wouldn't grab his arse, I'd be more apt to push him to you and watch you do it. You forget that I'm like one of those things that go to the underside of sharks. I dunno what they're called and all that, but whenever you kiss him, it's like I get a kiss, only without the messy wetness that comes after it or the being out of breath. It's pretty grand. Thanks, Harry!" Tracey's lattermost words were said well after she had climbed up and onto her seat on the right, but she had a 'point' to make to Daphne, however weird and amusing it was.
"Parasite isn't wholly incorrect when talking about you, but I suppose you're my parasite," Daphne said with a roll of her eyes as she tried — and failed — to hide a smile. "Come on, Harry. I have a nice safe seat for you right next to me. Don't worry, there aren't any witches in here that'll ask you to the Yule Ball or bug you for a date."
Tracey laughed. "Because you got him!"
"That was the joke," Daphne deadpanned with a sigh.
Yup, Harry thought to himself as he chuckled quietly whilst the two got into it with one another. Today's going to be wicked, I can already tell. No offence to Tracey either, but I can't wait for a bit of alone time with Daph. We don't get a ton of time to go to Hogsmeade, and Merlin, there's so much I want to do with her here and all of those foreign shops open.
He had studied up too. There were nearly a dozen shops that had come and opened for the duration of the school year, and based on their popularity with Hogwarts students, there would likely be one or two that decided to stick around well after the foreigners departed back whence they called home.
The French chocolate shop, La Fudgerie… there was little else to say other than that he wished, very badly, for them to stick around. He was certain that Daphne and Tracey would wish much the same once he took them by it and got them whatsoever they wished for.
That should definitely score him some brownie points. Pun intended.
"Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast!" Tracey chanted as their group of three approached Daphne's choice for that morning's meal.
"Have you been here before, Harry, or are the rumours true?" Daphne asked without paying much attention to Tracey as they grew ever closer to the traditional English-looking diner.
He shook his head. "I haven't been here before, no, and what rumours are you talking about? Actually, why are there so many but I'm never able to hear about them?"
"You have to know where to look, I can teach you," Daphne said placatingly with a small smile and a bit of red coming to her cheeks when she moved closer to him. "I may have wanted to learn about your favourite foods and eateries, and so I might have enquired with those that would know about you moreso than I about where you typically ate, where you haven't and so on in the hopes that I could surprise you, eventually, with a very nice place."
Tracey chose that moment to pipe up. "Wait. Was that when you went to that Bell girl?"
"Katie Bell? Huh. I didn't know she knew all that much about me," Harry commented as they finally made it to the door, where he opened it for the two ladies in his company and earned himself a kiss on the cheek from both, and surprisingly, a fleeting hand on his rear as Daphne moved past him; her outrageous blush and the wink she gave him was incredibly endearing.
Once inside, the trio didn't wait very long for a seat to open up and shortly thereafter, they were sat at a very comfortable booth.
"So, what do you think the next task is going to be about? Do you have any hints like the last one where I got her into a bath with you?" Tracey asked as soon as they were seated and their drinks were ordered.
"Do you have to say that so loudly?" Daphne whispered aggressively, her eyes regarding the many other patrons in the restaurant, none of whom seemed to mind them all that much attention after the first thirty seconds or so of staring at Harry; he imagined a few of them would eventually come over to speak with him, that wouldn't be all that surprising.
"What? It's not like you were naked," Tracey said with a wave of her hand as she leaned closer to Harry. "After today, if you're fine with it, I could help you like Daphne was. I remember how worried she was about you and I can't let her be sad, so we can't waste any time, isn't that right?"
Daphne and Harry each blinked at Tracey. That… wasn't remotely like her.
"I suppose, yeah, we could get to work starting tomorrow," Harry eventually said, still slightly confused at this sudden shift in Tracey's demeanour.
"Let's leave the talk about the tasks for tomorrow then," Daphne said, speaking up with a forced smile on her face. "Today's meant to be light-hearted and relaxing."
It would be too. With the two of them alongside Harry and more friends eventually joining them, it would be one of the greatest days of his year.
He hoped it wouldn't become one of the greatest of his life, but the thought of that task coming before too much longer was hanging over his head and it wouldn't be forgotten. It refused to be.