Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition - Season 11, Round 4

Team: Holyhead Harpies

Position: Keeper

Word Count: 2,167

Prompt: Emily's Bridge, Stowe, Vermont: Write about the end of a romance changing someone for the worse.

Summary: Daphne spends her afterlife watching people come and go on a bridge, as well as a budding romance of old friends...

Warning: Mild death scene. Heartbreak.

All these feelings have poisoned my soul

Daphne had always lived her life without regrets. She did everything with purpose and never put off anything she wanted to do. So when she died, she hadn't expected to linger as she had. But then again, she also hadn't expected to die at the hands of the person she loved with every fibre of her being.

To be fair, they had been at war, and he hadn't expected her to oppose Voldemort's views.

She laughed to herself as she floated on the roof of a footbridge, a light tinkling sound that was nothing like her laugh when she was alive. It made some of the passersby shiver unexpectedly. She only laughed because in life she had always feared to say Voldemort's name – probably the only thing she feared – and now in death she would shout it all the livelong day if it meant she could move on.

Instead, she spent her time in various positions around the bridge that had witnessed her death. A little wooden thing that sat over a stream and was the final one to cross before you entered Hogsmeade. Some stopped to speak to Daphne, to say hello; they were usually her old classmates. Some – mainly the current students of Hogwarts – would scurry over the bridge quickly, averting their gaze.

The upside was she often went unnoticed when she remained on the roof and was able to do one of her favourite things she enjoyed when she was alive; people watch. And that was how she watched a strange little love story unfold between two people she once knew.

XXX

It appeared to start on a cool but sunny day. The kind of day where spring was in full swing and summer was almost upon them, bringing hope and happy memories to be made.

Daphne hovered in a prone position on the roof, watching the wispy clouds dissipate the higher the sun went into the sky. She listened to the footsteps of someone crossing the bridge beneath, heavy and confident in their stride.

"Blaise," a distant female voice called.

The footsteps stopped.

Daphne flipped over to push her face through the roof. She'd only ever heard of one Blaise and was pleased to see the familiar face of her housemate. He was still as handsome as he was in school. In fact, age suited him, but then that was usually the case for men. He still had a full head of hair, kept short and neat, but he now sported a short beard, also kept short and neat.

Before Daphne could float down to say hello, another set of footsteps hit the bridge. She glanced to the other end to see another familiar face; Padma Patil. She held something out to Blaise, slightly out of breath. "You dropped your gloves," she said heavily, coming to a stop before him.

"Oh." Blaise frowned, his hands going to the pockets of his expensive-looking trench coat, dark blue and sleek. He never had been one for wearing robes. Then he really looked at the woman before him, nearly as tall as him, curvy and with beautifully dark hair that was woven into a thick plait hanging over one shoulder. "Padma?"

Daphne watched as Padma's big brown eyes lit up with delight that he'd remembered her name. She stepped close, the gloves still being held out to him. "How've you been, Blaise?"

Blaise shrugged a shoulder indifferently as he took the gloves. Daphne rolled her eyes, he was still a man of few words.

"How are you?" he finally asked after he'd finished putting his gloves on.

She matched his shrug, with a hint of a smirk at the corner of her lips.

Daphne returned her gaze to Blaise, knowing that he always liked someone who didn't take themselves too seriously. Just as she thought, she found him struggling to stop his own smirk.

"If you're not rushing off anywhere, do you want to grab a drink? Catch up?" Padma asked.

Catch up, Daphne thought absently as she watched them walk back towards Hogsmeade. Had they once been an item in school and she didn't know? Blaise was always one to boast, but clearly not about Padma Patil.

XXX

It was… well, Daphne didn't know how long it was before she saw Padma and Blaise again. Hanging around a bridge with only the seasons to judge where you were in the year, it was hard to keep track of time.

She saw them walking up towards the bridge, coming away from Hogsmeade, as she hovered above the railing, kicking her legs back and forth, much like she used to when she was alive, but without the pain of the wood rail digging in. She wasn't sure why, but she swiftly went up to the roof, wanting to hear what they had to say to each other when they thought no one was listening.

Padma had her arm linked through Blaise's, while he had his hands in his trouser pockets. The body language said they were very much an item now.

"I have to go to Paris with work for a few weeks. Do you think you'll be able to visit?" Blaise asked as they reached the bridge.

"I don't see why not," Padma answered as Daphne dipped her face through the slates of the roof. She was looking at Blaise with pure joy written across her face. "I've always meant to visit, but never…" The joy dipped as she trailed off.

Blaise stopped, making Padma stop and face him. When she had stopped looking directly at him, Blaise lifted her chin with one crooked finger. "It's okay to keep living. Wouldn't you have wanted that for Parvati if it was reversed?"

She sighed heavily, pushing his hand away gently but not moving away. "It still feels like I've lost half of me."

Blaise gave her a sad smile, dipping to kiss her chastely on the lips. "Maybe one day I'll be able to fill just a little bit of that void."

Padma smiled but it wasn't quite reaching her eyes. "I like that you want to try."

And off they walked at that, Blaise's arm now around Padma's shoulders.

She knew Lavender Brown hadn't made it, but Parvati as well? Daphne flipped over so she lay looking at the summery blue sky, no clouds to watch, and sighed at how much the war had cost her school year. They'd only been children.

XXX

It was nearly Christmas before Daphne saw them again. She only knew because someone had decorated the bridge with tinsel and it kept singing carols as someone crossed the bridge. During this time, footsteps were always in groups, with excited chatter, but it was a solo pair of steps, strong and confident, that made Daphne peek through the roof.

There was Blaise, coming to a stop at the centre of the bridge, and leant his elbows on the railing. He looked down at the stream, barely making a noise as it trailed towards the Black Lake at Hogwarts. The Christmas carol came to a stop when no further movement took place.

Just as Daphne was finally going to say hello, she heard a familiar voice and stayed put.

"Blaise?" Padma called, coming from Hogsmeade. "Why are we meeting here?" she asked. As she stepped on the bridge, the carol started up again.

Blaise tutted as he flicked his hand at the tinsel, silencing it with ease as he stood straight. Daphne knew that look on his face. She'd only seen it once before. She looked at Padma, who was looking at him expectantly, with no idea what this look meant. Then a frown started to appear on her features when he still hadn't said anything.

Daphne almost gasped when she saw him get down on one knee. She thought he was going to declare his love for her, but clearly they were long past that. Good for you, she silently cheered for Blaise. All he'd ever wanted in life was to love someone and be with them forever. He wanted to be so far removed from his mother, that he guarded his heart carefully.

Blaise opened his mouth as he started to bring the dark blue velvet box forward.

"No, Blaise," Padma said firmly.

"What?" Blaise blinked hard.

Daphne was grateful he'd spoken loudly at the same time she'd said the word too.

"Get up. Stop making a fool of yourself," Padma hissed, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was nearby. "I can't believe you thought this is where this was going. It was meant to be some fun."

Blaise stood up quickly, pocketing the box into his trench coat pocket. "Fun?" he asked, his voice sharp.

Uh-oh. Daphne had only ever heard that tone once too. Don't, Blaise. Walk away, she pleaded silently, unsure why she could bring herself to interrupt them.

"Blaise," Padma said with a huff of disbelief, "why would I marry you?"

His almond shaped eyes narrowed, danger in his eyes. "You've done this on purpose?"

"Oh, not this. But this is better," she admitted. "You're part of the reason everyone I loved is gone. Maybe now you'll know what it feels like to have a broken heart."

Daphne closed her eyes, not that it made a difference. She could still see the flash of green, the memory of her own death running through her mind. She looked at the scene before her in time to see Blaise push Padma's body through the gap of the railings at the bottom and into the stream with a light splash. He looked over the railing as the stream did little to hide her body. He flicked his wand, transforming Padma into a large rock.

Floating down to stand by him, Daphne sighed. "Blaise, what have you done?"

He didn't even flinch at her appearance, nor did he look at Daphne. It was like he'd known she was there the entire time. Maybe he knew she'd never moved on. "I gave her my heart," he said quietly.

"There would have been someone else more deserving. You can't walk away from this," she said, matching his quiet voice. "She was wrong. I know you, Blaise."

"And even after I tried to do the right thing, I've still become my mother." He finally looked at Daphne, tears gathering. "She always said love was a game for fools."

"No, Blaise. Padma was hurting and she was wrong." Daphne wanted to hug him, touch him, anything to pull him back to humanity.

"And what was your reason, Daphne?"

"Are you blaming me for this behaviour? Because I chose to do the right thing?"

"Because you were leaving me behind!"

"It didn't mean I stopped loving you, Blaise!"

A blast of cold pushed off Daphne, making him shiver uncontrollably. He stared at her, realisation dawning. Then it was gone as quickly as it came. His face was a mask of steel without a thread of emotion in his beautiful eyes.

"Is this how you're going to live the rest of your life? Removing anyone that even gets close to your heart?" she asked – no, demanded. She hadn't done anything wrong when she'd ended their relationship. When he didn't give her an answer she continued, "I'd rather have this shell of an existence than live a life like yours."

"You ruined me," he whispered.

"You ruined yourself," she snapped.

Blaise stormed off the bridge, not giving Daphne another look as he left.

"What happened?" a tinkling voice asked from behind Daphne.

She slowly turned to find Padma stood before her, translucent and confused.

"Oh, Padma. Why did you do it?"

Padma turned to look at the bridge, the memory leading up to her death coming back to her. Then she looked past Daphne, Blaise's figure barely visible. When she looked at Daphne, recognising her, Padma's eyes widened fractionally. "It was Draco," she said.

"Draco? Astoria's Draco? My brother-in-law Draco?" Daphne didn't need the answer, but she had to ask for it.

Padma nodded. "He found out we were together and he was obsessed with splitting us up. Kept telling me that if I didn't end it, he would end Blaise. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to hurt Blaise, but I didn't want him to die either."

Glassy blue tears slipped down Padma's pale cheeks. Daphne sighed. She should never have told her sister about her death. Blaise's mother was right; love was a fool's game. In every sense.

All it did was hurt and damage people, then circle back around to do it all over again.