Irony

by Camillus Seth

Harry was taken on a summer trip to Belgium by the Dursleys because of Uncle Vernon but ended up enjoying it very much thanks to a very special someone.

Irony

"What do you mean that you are taking me?!"

Harry's words fell on deaf ears as his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon kept running around Number 4, looking for things to pack. Beside Harry, Dudley stood dumbly, eating fries with his fat hands.

Rolling his eyes, Dudley said to Harry in a bossy tone, "We did not want to take you but not taking you with us would not be normal."

Harry, ignoring how Dudley sounded like Hermione when she talked about studying, asked, "Why are we even going to Belgium?"

His cousin shrugged and ate another chip. He said, waving his hand around, "Something about a business meeting, important non-freakish stuff, you know?"

"Uh, right . . ."

Aunt Petunia chose that moment to stop packing stuff and telling Harry to go to his room and pack enough normal clothes for a week, then realized that she hadn't given him any normal clothes that fit him. Scowling at this, she told Uncle Vernon, "We need to buy the boy some clothes."

Uncle Vernon stopped what he was doing and squinted his eyes at Harry, trying to figure out if he didn't accidentally bewitch his wife, and then grunted to her, "Just get some cheap stuff."

Overjoyed that his relatives were taking Harry on a trip and that they were buying him clothes for the first time as well, he couldn't sleep till late that night. When sleep finally came, Harry didn't notice that his room was shining brighter in moonlight than it should be.
_

Waking up next morning, Harry sent a letter to Hermione, explaining that he would not be in contact during the summer. He then wrote a longer but similar letter to Ron:

Ron,

My folks are taking me out of the country on holiday this summer! It's bloody crazy, like Dumbledore came and fed them some potions, you wouldn't believe how nice they are being.

Anyway, I told Hermione that I completed my summer assignments (I haven't, do not tell her or I will tell her you failed History this year) and that I will not be able to reach you both since I am, you know, far away. Mate, it's like I am the one going to Egypt instead of you, or like I am going to France instead of Hermione, I guess.

Take care, and can you please take care of Hedwig too? I don't think my relatives will let me take her with us. Reply as soon as you can or I will ask Hagrid, 'kay?

Harry

Satisfied, Harry sent the snowy owl out of his window, chuckling as she dramatically opened her wings and flew away into the distance.

He, then, looked at his room and sighed. Somehow, his school trunk fell open last night and his books were littered across the floor. Maybe Harry had tripped on it but due to being tired from cooking dinner, he had fallen asleep without noticing it.

While cleaning his room, Harry noticed a word written on a parchment in graceful cursive handwriting: Harry Potter.

Did he write it? Maybe he had accidentally nicked some fangirl's piece (Who else would write his name?) at Hogwarts because Harry did not write like this neatly, his handwriting was far more . . . casual. Yeah, casual, that sounded right. Ron and Hermione don't write like this as well, Ron's scribbles can tell how impatient he is and Hermione's handwriting with a quill is like how Harry would assume his Transiguration Professor McGonagall wrote when she was young.

How old is McGonagall anyway? Something like in her late forties maybe, she does have black hair so she cannot be that old.

Shaking his head, Harry sighed and left his room to make breakfast for the Dursleys, thinking about how old his teachers are is not important in the slightest.

. . . Professor Snape is as old as his dad, James Potter, right?
_

Listening to Dudley speak about food on airplane for the entire car ride to the airport at five in the morning annoyed Harry. Fortunately, it also annoyed Uncle Vernon so much that Aunt Petunia had to scold her precious Ickle Diddykins, "Dudders, please be quiet, you know that Daddy is driving, right? How about you try to sleep in the car until we reach, okay?"

It may look really polite but Dudley looked like he had been slapped for the first time, so he glared angrily at his cousin like it was Harry's fault. Then, the pig lookalike decided that he was too bored and asked, "Potter, do you want to play a game?"

'Please no Harry Hunting in the car!' Harry thought, alarmed, but was proven wrong, which, hey, he will gladly accept anytime if the alternate was Dudley trying to punch him.

The two cousins competitively played 'I spy', trying to give each other harder and harder clues. Since this was the first time that the two even tried to play with each other, Dudley and Harry unconsciously joked with each other more than once, then fell silent quickly as they realised who they were laughing with.

Everyone couldn't be happier when Uncle Vernon finally parked the car at the airport, the tension in the atmosphere disappearing as everyone fell into the busy routine of taking out the luggage ("Boy, come on, you and I will be taking the stuff. Don't mess up this time or I will hit you."), stumbling through security ("I will gladly swap my weight with you, kid," a jolly guard commented as he checked Harry), and then finally, they sat to relax before their flight arrived.

Aunt Petunia sighed as she and Dudley drank some juice, she commented wistfully, "I used to travel a lot outside the country every summer before I married your daddy, Dudders, it always feels so nice."

Uncle Vernon added with a grin, "Petunia! Do not forget how I took you to Paris right after our wedding."

Aunt Petunia smiled at her husband and replied, "How could I? It was wonderful, dear."

Dudley interrupted the conversation, "Mum, can I have some more chips?"

Aunt Petunia let out a sigh and turned to Harry, she said sternly as she opened her purse, "Get some chips for Dudders," and then continued in a more hesitant tone, "Get a little bit for yourself too."

A little stunned, Harry nodded quickly and then nervously took the money from her. Is this how a normal family does things?
_

While coming back with the food, Harry noticed a reflection in the nearby glass: a black and white shadow of something, or someone, perhaps. Curious, he attempted to follow it but only caught sight of a feminine figure until he spotted a family, a young girl trailing behind her parents. Did he see this family? No, the girl appeared too young for Hogwarts; she couldn't have cast such a shadow. Perhaps it was her mother's, but Harry doubted that was the correct explanation.

Lost in thought, Harry returned to the Dursleys, handing the chips to Dudley. He observed the young girl's family joining them in the boarding area (or whatever it was called; Harry wasn't sure) until the plane arrived. Then, chaos erupted as people rushed to board.

Aunt Petunia adeptly managed the situation, ensuring that Harry and his relatives were seated before anyone else.

The airplane ride was mostly spent sleeping for the Dursleys while Harry stayed up and read one of Dudley's old comic books, it was actually really nice.

The plane landed almost as quickly as it started to Harry. Well, not really, but it was quick enough that Uncle Vernon kept grumbling to himself about not being able to catch up on his sleep. It made sense, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia barely got a wink of sleep.

Harry didn't say that the flight took almost two hours, much more than it should have and quietly followed his relatives off the plane.

After reaching Brussels, the first thing that happened was lunch and then Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, Dudley and Harry tried to fit themselves and their (the Dursleys') luggage into the one small taxi that Uncle Vernon had found. Of course, Aunt Petunia kept muttering about her makeup for the entire drive but she stopped that after a few annoyed looks from the driver.

The hotel they were staying at was not that big and not that expensive, but it looked classy as hell. The welcome staff was very friendly (one of them even winked at Harry!) and helped with everything. Uncle Vernon's happy moustache twitch was something that Harry never thought he would see, but the reception did. They probably wouldn't get extra money (Aunt Petunia never lets extra money be spent anywhere) but they would get a good review.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had decided that there would be two rooms, one for themselves and one for Dudley and Harry. Of course, this meant that the black-haired boy would be sleeping on the floor in Dudley's room ("How can precious Dudders even try to share the bed with the freak!?") and no one would tell the staff about this.

One surprising thing did happen as after supper, Uncle Vernon said to Harry before turning in and getting himself up to full sleep, "Boy, my business associates want to meet my full family. I wouldn't want them to meet you, of course, but they knew I have a nephew somehow. So, don't mess this up for me, you hear that?"

Harry had nodded quickly, as if even a moment of slowness would have caused the most painful death.
_

Harry was walking through a park near the hotel alone, the Dursleys, despite getting kinder to Harry through this summer, were still the same deep down as they ditched him to go to a museum.

Roaming around, he whistled to a bird and the sparrow chirped as it sat on his index finger. The bespectacled boy smiled at the little thing.

"Oh, that's so cute!"

Harry looked up and for a moment, he lost sense of all reality around him. The girl before him was absolutely gorgeous. She had fair skin that shined in the sun, like it was ethereal, and her lips were as red as blood. Her sapphire blue eyes shined as she looked at him and Harry could see his reflection in them, smiling back at her.

The sparrow flew to his shoulder and chirped loudly, bringing him back to reality. Harry gave a goofy grin to the pretty girl and asked the first thing on his mind, "Do you like birds?"

She grinned at him, "Do I?"

Harry chuckled excitedly, transferring the bird from his shoulder to his index finger again. He whistled to it again and the bird chirped back. Then, he brought the sparrow closer the girl and said to her, smiling, "Say 'hi'."

"Oh, hello, little one!" The blonde's hair shifted in the non-existent breeze and the bird looked straight ahead.

The sparrow looked back at Harry and then chirped, before flying away. The girl frowned and said, a little dejected, "I guess I scared it."

Harry felt bad for her and tried to comfort her, "Well, we can find another bird in the park."

The girl perked up and the duo walked through the park, looking less for birds and more talking to each other about each other. When he left at sunset, he kept thinking to himself that she looked quite familiar for some reason.
_

"Sir, this is my wife, Petunia," Uncle Vernon introduced Harry's aunt to his business associates, then turned to his son and continued, putting an arm around his almost non-existent neck, "This is my son, Duddley, he has got quite the character."

Duddley smiled up at the balding man, who smiled back a little more genuinely and warmly.

Uncle Vernon's smile quivered before turning to look at Harry, he said less happily, "This is my nephew, Harry Potter. Do say hello to our guests, b- my boy."

Harry almost choked on laughter as he heard Uncle Vernon struggling to be nice to his nephew. Then, he looked at the man and presented a hand to him. He grinned and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you, Mister Greengrass."

Mr. Greengrass was a man that was a bit older than Uncle Vernon with brown hair that were starting to turn grey. He was quite lanky and tall, just like Ron, and had a stylish goatee. He looked down his pristine glasses and smiled at the black-haired boy, "It is quite an honour, Harry. Please, call me Cyrus."

Then, he turned to the Dursleys and continued, "All of you as well, I would love it if you do that."

Uncle Vernon's smile widened.

Cyrus Greengrass opened the door behind him and said, "Please, enter and I will have you meet my lovely wife and daughter. My eldest, David, has left to continue his education regarding healing abroad, so I fear that he will not be able to join us today."

Aunt Petunia chuckled and told the balding man, "Oh, it is nothing, Cyrus, I am sure he will be a great doctor."

Mr. Greengrass grinned and his blue eyes twinkled, just like Dumbledore's when the old Headmaster talked to Harry, and said, "Ah, of course, he will, he is my son. Now, please follow me."

Inside the room, two people sat on an expensive table with expensive jewellery. Mr. Greengrass smiled, guided everyone to a seat and then sat at the head of the table, opposite to Uncle Vernon. Harry smiled at Mrs. Greengrass, who happened to be sitting next to him. The woman smiled back.

Mrs. Greengrass was a stunningly beautiful blonde woman with warm brown eyes. She looked like a professional actress who was told to act like Mrs. Weasley. Her every movement looked scripted and perfect, which unnerved Harry a little.

Mr. Greengrass gestured towards his daughter, sitting opposite to Mrs. Greengrass and next to Dudley, and said, "This is my precious and only daughter, Astoria, she will be attending the boarding school I did this year."

The Dursleys' eye twitched at the mention of boarding school as a collective, but then Uncle Vernon recovered and said quickly, "I hope you have a fun time, Astoria."

The blonde girl with blue eyes, who seemed very similar to the girl he had seen at the airport in the boarding area, smiled widely and chirped, "Thank you, Mister!"

Mr. Greengrass then introduced his wife as Aquilla, before some small talk began between the adults. Dudley drank some water, and Astoria and Harry sat awkwardly in silence.

Then, the dinner began.

Harry bumped into someone as he cycled through the streets of Brussels, it had cost him a lot of his muggle money but the air surrounding him as he pedalled was worth the cost.

The man was old but muscled, he had scars on his body and a big moustache. He growled at Harry and barked angrily in Dutch.

"C'mon, mister, don't do that!" A feminine voice cried.

The man looked at the girl angrily and then seemed to pale, he then left immediately without a word to Harry or the girl.

Harry looked at his saviour and grinned as he recognised her, he thanked her and asked happily, "Seen any birds, miss?"

The girl shook her head rapidly and then said, smiling, "I saw a big frog!"

Harry laughed and said, "I bet it was big."

The blonde grinned, she then shook his hand, and her cool skin making him shiver in the heat of the afternoon. She said, "Daphne. We forgot to tell each other names last time."

"Wait, really?" Harry gasped and then slapped his forehead, he then introduced himself, "My name's Harry Potter."

The girl's eyes glinted happily and asked cheerfully, "Heyyyy, Harry? You know how you are cycling?"

The black-haired boy looked at her, a little confused, and nodded. Daphne leaned in closer and asked, "I don't have money, so can I ride with you?"

Harry ended up renting a twin bike from a warm shopkeeper for the entire afternoon for himself and Daphne, spending all his muggle cash in one go.
_

Daphne was waiting for Harry as he left Dudley to his eating.

The Boy-who-lived sighed and looked up at the sky as he sat in the chair in front of the blonde. He asked her, "Do you feel like you do not belong sometimes?"

Harry and Daphne had been seeing each other for weeks now, their friendship had gotten to the stage where they can talk about their problems like this.

Daphne seemed to think and then said softly, "I know, Harry. Sometimes, family is the only place where you do not belong."

The wizard sighed again and continued, "When they brought me on this trip, I thought we would finally get along and it seemed like we did for a lot of the time but then, they shout and called me a freak over small things. It's confusing."

Daphne stood up and gave Harry a hug, then sat back in her chair.

"Thanks, Daphne, I needed that."

She smiled back.
_

Roaming with Daphne again, Harry fought the urge to tell her he is a wizard. He tried to tell himself that he cannot even prove it during the summer as a way to stop himself.

She is a muggle, Harry cannot legally tell her about magic.

Daphne smiled at Harry, making his heart flutter, and he smiled back.
_

Harry looked in the mirror and said, "I am just fourteen, this is just a crush, it will go away. I have dealt with a crush on Cho Chang, it will go away. She is a muggle, I am a wizard. She may be English but I go to school in Scotland, it will never work."

"What are ya talking about, Potter?"

The thin boy looked back and saw Dudley entering the bathroom with a can of soda in his hand. Harry said quickly, "Nothing."

Dudley smirked and asked, "Is it girl problems, freak?"

Harry growled and responded, "You listened to me talking to myself, didn't you, pig?"

The smirk on the face of the fat lard grew. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Harry snarled, "Sure, you don't."

The blonde boy sighed and said, "Look, Potter, I hate you for life, and you don't like me either, but it looks like you got a girl you like. As a handsome man, I have a lot of experiences with them and they are as strong and weak as us. She is innocent of your freakishness, so tell her that you will just be summer friends and no need to contact you again, it will be better than breaking her heart."

Harry looked back at his cousin in shock, dumbfounded about the advice. It may have been still calling him a freak but it was still advice. He asked, curious and suspicious about it, "Why are you telling me this?"

Dudley smiled wisely and responded, "Dad always tells me that family is the most important thing in the world. You may not be normal, you may be a freak, and I don't want to be related to you, but you and I, we share the same blood. This blood may be thinner than water but God bless this tie between us. Go get her, tiger."

Then, the fat fourteen-year-old blonde left his hated cousin, drinking his drink amicably all the while.

Harry muttered, "What the fuck?!"
_

"Daphne."

"Harry."

They were sitting on the stairs of an abandoned house in the late evening. The streets were getting less and less busy. Harry told Daphne with a small smile, "It's going to rain."

The blonde responded with a grin, "I like dancing in the rain."

Harry chuckled and said, "Of course, you do."

They sat there in silence and then Daphne started humming to a song to herself, she then said, "You are leaving."

He found himself surprised and then closed his eyes, forcing himself not to tear up. Despite only being in his life for a few weeks, not even more than a month, Daphne had cemented a place in his heart as the most special person in his life, more than even a certain brunette and redhead, his best friends.

Hell, Ron had saved Harry from the Dursleys back when they were twelve, while also letting him stay at the Burrow in his own room. Yet, he didn't feel as close to him as he did to the blonde in front of him.

Ron was funny and caring and kind, but he was also careless, inconsiderate of others' feelings, always a little jealous of his best mate's fame, and also a braggart in certain situations, like when he told everyone about Sirius breaking into the Gryffindor Tower that one time.

Hermione, on the other hand, was as similar to Ron as she was dissimilar to him. She was always loyal to Harry, even more than their redhead friend at times, she was also protective of him, like when she told McGonagall about the Firebolt last year, and the brunette was also one of the only reasons Harry studied.

Despite that, she treated Harry like he was a baby and she was the adult. She was still as arrogant about her knowledge as ever and looked down on other people when they told her that they would rather not study. She also held an unhealthy amount of obsession towards authority, which was fair but also, so annoying at times. Especially when she defended Professor Snape, or Gilderoy fucking Lockhart.

Unlike them, Daphne was more.

More caring, more fun and more . . . loving.

She was beautiful, more in a soft and casual type of way than in a supermodel kind of way, and cute, more than even Cho seemed to him, now that Harry thought about it.

She always spoke a little oddly, like she was talking out of a history show, and always had the same confused but cute look when he used the slangs he heard Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas or even Dudley speak. Harry sometimes thought if she was from a small village in the countryside but then forgot about that as he thought of her eyes.

Her blue eyes were so cold but so exciting. They reflected her personality more than Harry when he spoke to her. A little detached from reality but so excited about life in general. He liked it when they shined in the light a lot.

When Daphne smiled at Harry, he can always feel blood rush to his face and his cheeks burn, his legs felt weak and he could barely speak. When he spoke to her, it was like the world didn't matter, like all the problems he had were just . . . not real anymore.

He will miss her.

During his internal rant, she waited for him to speak and sat up straighter when he started to talk.

Harry took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I am leaving."

She spoke back softly, "We will not see each other again."

Despite his feelings on the matter and the lump in his throat, he felt himself nodded. Harry said in a voice that was a little more than a whisper, "I am sorry."

Daphne stood up, her body seemed a little grey, devoid of colour, as if her sadness overtook her. Then, she smiled sadly and closed in on Harry.

The kiss was short and sweet.

"Just like our friendship," Daphne whispered softly, like she had the same thoughts as him.

Harry said nothing but hugged her.

She hugged back.

The rain fell.
_

The flight back from Brussels to London, then the drive from the airport to Privet Drive was a huge blur for Harry, he didn't speak much, nor did he do much else but think about Daphne.

The young wizard touched his lips, they were still cold from the kiss. Daphne's blood-red lips had been cold, like her skin, but at the time, and even now, Harry's heart felt warm and tingly whenever he thought about it.

Lately, he would think about Daphne and sometimes mutter about it to himself, wondering if he will ever see her again.

Is this true love? Harry didn't know, but he knew it was more than a crush. At fourteen years of age, the Boy-who-lived knew that he was too young for love, but couldn't help but dream sometimes that it was real.

But alas, time waited for no one, even the dreamers, and summer came to an ended. It was time for Hogwarts.
_

She was wearing Slytherin robes and looking around with a bright smile on her face. The name 'Daphne Greengrass' was stitched under the snake emblem on her robes. Harry didn't think he would see her again, but now, here she is.

"Daphne," Harry muttered quietly as soon as he entered the Great Hall for the feast and she was there, sitting as majestically as she always did, her posture straight and her blue eyes darting around.

Daphne is here.

Ron looked at Harry and asked, "Did you say something?"

Harry quickly shook his head and tried to listen to Professor Dumbledore's speech. He couldn't.

Why is Daphne here?

Harry kept glancing at Daphne throughout dinner, she was sitting at the Slytherin table, but talking to no one at all. Did she always sit with them? Harry shook his head; of course, she did, she is a Slytherin.

Daphne is a witch. The statement kept echoing in Harry's mind. Will she even talk to him? Had she recognised him in Belgium because of him being the Boy-Who-Lived?

After dinner, Harry separated from Ron and Hermione, telling them he was roaming in the Entrance Hall and that he wasn't tired yet. Hermione gave him a look that said that he better be up at time tomorrow while Ron shrugged and accepted Harry's words. Harry wanted to talk to Daphne immediately; will she still want him?

Daphne was still in the Great Hall, alone, but nobody at the Slytherin Table bothered to tell her that the feast had ended. Is she being bullied in her House?

Harry shook his head and took a step towards her, then hesitated. He took a deep breath and kept staring at her.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?"

Harry turned around in shock to see Astoria Greengrass, daughter of the man that had business with Uncle Vernon, and the young girl he saw at the airport. From her robes, she was a Slytherin too.

"You are a witch too?!" Harry blurted out before he can stop himself.

Astoria looked at him for a second and then giggled to herself, she then said, "You are absolutely oblivious, aren't you, Potter? I just got Sorted today."

"Oh."

"Of course, you were looking at Daphne, weren't you?"

Harry looked back at Daphne and said nervously, "N-no, I was just talking to my friends, that's all. Yeah, nothing else." Oh Merlin, is this little girl smirking at him?

"I bet you didn't even hear about the Triwizard Tournament."

Harry asked the blonde curiously, "What is the Tri-whatever Tournament?"

Astoria shook her head in amusement and looked at Daphne, she repeated her earlier words, "She is beautiful, isn't she?"

Harry saw Daphne playing with her robes and remembered how she looked in the park when he met first met her. She looked as beautiful as a unicorn. Harry breathed out, "Very."

Astoria sighed and said sadly, "You are the first person outside our family that she has talked to."

"What?! Wait, you are related to her?"

Astoria gave a 'Are you really that stupid?' look that Snape and Hermione gave him, then turned and looked at Daphne and said to Harry, "Yeah."

"How is that even possible? What about the Professors? She must have spoken to them for lessons at the very least," Harry couldn't imagine Daphne, the girl who gave him a lesson on ballroom dancing as a 'little' chat, was this quiet at Hogwarts.

"Look carefully, Harry."

"What do you mean, Greengrass?"

Daphne sat up and saw Harry talking to Astoria, a radiant smile crossing across her face. Then, Harry saw it. Daphne was flickering, as if she was phasing in and out of reality, like a-

"A ghost."

Astoria confirmed with a nod as she waved to Daphne.

Harry closed his eyes and asked, "When?"

Astoria looked at him.
_

Daphne Greengrass spun around, full of life. Today, she will be leaving the Greengrass Manor for her fourth year at Hogwarts. Maybe this year she will be able to convince her crush to look at her. Oh, when will he look at her as she looked at him?

She giggled to herself but stopped as she heard a knock at her door. Perhaps it is her mother coming to check on her.

"Daphne, come quickly!" Daphne's suspicion came true as she recognised the feminine voice. The blonde teenager smiled and called, "I will be arriving shortly, mother. Do not worry yourself!"

And the Greengrass heiress did arrive shorty for her last meal at her house before she left for school. Her parents, David and Sophia, were waiting for her with her younger brother, Gareth, smiling at her. This will be his first year at Hogwarts, so exciting!

Daphne hopes that Gareth is in Slytherin, just like her.

Mother smiled at her daughter and said, "Come, sit with us, dear."

Father folded the copy of 'Evening Prophet' that he had been reading and removed his spectacles. He smiled at his only daughter and joked poorly, "We were wondering if you had somehow forgot we existed, dear!"

Gareth sighed and said, "Dad, that one was bad."

"Oh, come now, my boy, it isn't even the worst one," Father beamed at his youngest child.

Daphne took her chair and chirped, "Sad thing is that that is not even a lie", which made both her mother and brother laugh along with her. Her father looked quite hurt but Daphne could see that he was amused as well.

Mother told Daphne and Gareth to properly finish their supper, Daphne pouted at that, she didn't want to be quick today.

Soon, the food was finish, despite Daphne's best efforts at delaying. Father laughed amusingly and tried to make another joke when Mother sighed and exclaimed, "Oh Daphne, why do you always have to delay eating?"

Gareth then said, "Don't worry, Mother, I will make sure she eats properly at Hogwarts."

Daphne giggle at that but then pouted mockingly, she asked, "Brother, why do you have to be such a little goody two shoes?"

Gareth straightened his posture and exclaimed childishly, "I want to a Prefect at Hogwarts and then Head Boy, I have to be disciplined!"

Mother chuckled and said, "Oh, you will be, my dear, just you wait!"

Suddenly, as Daphne was about to say something else, she felt dizzy. Daphne clutched the table with one hand and held her forehead. She looked around the table and saw that her family was looking at her in worry.

Father asked quietly, "Are you alright, my dear?"

Daphne wanted to nod but then vomited. Then, she felt faint as she noticed that she had thrown out blood. She smiled at her family as her vision started to blur and then-

"Daphne!"

Daphne knew no more.
_

Harry looked at Daphne, who was now talking with Fat Friar excitedly, noticing how colourless her form looked in the candle light. In the sunlight of Belgium, Daphne had been shining prettily but here, in the Scottish moonlight, he could see that was just the ethereal glow of a ghost.

He looked at Astoria and asked, "What happened to her so suddenly?"

The first-year Slytherin looked a little hesitant but answered anyway, "The Blood Malediction Curse. My family was cursed by an ancient and powerful warlock some centuries back with it. It makes the victim's magic choke them and then, it makes them throw up all their blood."

Harry felt angry hearing that, someone powerful had cursed someone's innocent family, it reminded the boy of Snape bullying him because of his father. He asked, "Is there a cure?"

The alive blonde shook her head and said, "There is, but the victims usually die before anybody can even figure out that there is a curse involved. Also, the cure is meant to be administered over a dozen appointments which is, well, useless for something that happens like the Curse."

Harry sighed and looked at Daphne, her blood-red lips now took a whole another meaning now.

Harry touched his lips, remembering the kiss, and then asked Astoria, "You mentioned that she had a crush on someone, can you tell me who that person is?"

Astoria dragged him to a portrait in answer to his question. It was a sleeping man with a short white beard. He was balding but his grey hair still looked like they styled. The plaque under it read: Henry 'Harry' Potter, The Butcher of Walpurgis.

Astoria whispered, "Your great-grandfather, you look just like him."

Harry looked back at Daphne, walking to him, and asked the blonde first-year one final question, "Can you tell me if she even knows she is a ghost?"

Astoria shook her head and answered, "She thinks you are your ancestor, probably. I think she subconsciously knows she is a ghost but doesn't want to face the reality."

Harry nodded in response and looked at Daphne, her blue eyes shining, reflecting his image to him. He walked to her and said, "Small world, isn't it?"

Daphne smiled and nodded.

Closing his eyes, Harry stepped forward and kissed Daphne on her cold lips, ignoring the gasp of surprise from Astoria. He knew since he met Daphne that she was a special person, but even after coming to know, he knew couldn't leave her behind.

It was plain irony, the Boy-who-lived, one who should have died, and the Girl-who-died, one who shouldn't have died. It was a game of fate and destiny, a dance Harry hated so much but couldn't stop himself from dancing to. Looking into those blue eyes, he knew he couldn't stop himself anymore.

Breaking the kiss, Harry said, "I love you."