Chapter 8 - The Party - Part One
Harry tried to comb his hair flat in the bathroom mirror, but he was having no luck. He'd borrowed one of Sirius's best sets of robes to attend the party, a midnight blue, almost black set that was faintly pearlescent and shimmered slightly as you walked. Everything was perfect, Tonks had brought Daphne's gift yesterday, which was exactly as he'd wanted, Sirius had resized his t-shirt and swimming shorts and they fit great. He'd even woken up yesterday and an extremely worrying zit that had popped up last week had disappeared, but right now - Why. Wouldn't. His. Fucking. Hair. Go DOWN!?
He flung the comb hopelessly into the sink and heard Sirius chuckle behind him.
"You know, your Dad was exactly the same when he got his first Hogsmeade date with your Mum. I swear he almost decided to shave the whole thing off if Moony hadn't told him it would make him look like speccy egg."
Harry snorted, Sirius always had a knack for putting him at ease.
"You look fine, Harry. Daphne's not gonna know what hit her." he'd said.
On Sirius' advice, Harry only had a light breakfast, as swimming while completely stuffed apparently wasn't the best idea. Twenty minutes later, he was standing in front of the fireplace, waiting for it to hit ten o'clock, jittery with nerves. Sirius was sitting in his usual armchair, just smirking at Harry pacing back and forth while he read the day's Daily Prophet.
"Oh God, Sirius, what if I fuck this up?" Harry said, quickly messing up whatever progress he'd to make on his hair.
"What if you don't?" Sirius replied with a grin, not looking up from the paper.
Harry nodded to himself as he paced. Yeah, he could do this. It was only a girl, a really cute girl. No, a beautiful, independent, smart girl with a good family who could help him take his place in society and bring honour to his parents' and the House of Slytherin's legacies. Fuck.
"Look, you're getting that early, you're going to get a chance to talk before anyone else even gets there. It'll give you a kind of dominance already when they turn up and you're already there, especially to the ones who turn up bang on eleven thirty and noticed you were invited to be there beforehand. Don't stress, if you can handle Fudge, you can handle this. Easy."
"Thanks," Harry replied, trying to let Sirius' pep talk have more impact than it had.
Sirius placed the newspaper down on his lap. "Got everything? Trunks? Shirt? Present?" he asked,
"Yeah," Harry answered with a shaky exhale.
The clock on the mantelpiece started to chime. It was ten a.m.
"Off you go then, have a good time, don't do anything I wouldn't do," Sirius said with a smirk. Harry rolled his eyes, took a handful of Floo powder from the little ceramic pot and stepped into the fireplace.
"Bye then," Harry said with a nervous smile. He threw the powder into the fireplace and when the flames flashed into a brilliant green, he stepped into them.
"The Greenest of Grass," he said.
*Whoosh*
Unfortunately, this time Harry didn't manage to keep his balance on his exit from the fireplace at Greengrass Manor. Instead went hurtling across a cream marble floor and when he skidded to a sudden stop, all he could see was a pair of pink high heels planted at the base of a pale green fabric armchair. Then, the voice attached to those heels giggled.
"I bet you're glad no one else saw that," Astoria said.
Harry looked up to see the youngest Greengrass sitting in front of a chessboard, wearing a set of pale pink robes and a smirk. Harry scrambled to his feet quickly and had just about managed to straighten his robes when a voice came from his right.
"What did you say, Tori?" the voice said, it was a woman's and was quickly followed by its owner. She was a willowy, very pretty woman with mid-length straight, chestnut-brown hair and bright, piercing blue eyes. She wore a light grey summer dress and heels that made her legs look like they went on and on and Harry could definitely tell where Daphne got her looks from.
"Ah, Lord Slytherin-Potter, thank you so much for coming, I'm Ellanore." She gave a small curtsy after speaking and looked quickly over Astoria, who, getting the hint, got up from her seat and did the same.
"Daphne, Cyrus dear, Lord Slytherin-Potter is here," she called to the room where she'd just been. Several seconds later Harry heard two pairs of footsteps approaching and they arrived quickly, one after the other. Cyrus, the blonde, moustached man came first and wore very formal black robes similar to the ones Harry'd seen him wear at the Ministry.
Daphne looked as unbelievable as ever, in pale lilac robes and purple Converse trainers. Her hair had been loosely curled to perfection and fell slightly higher than normal, hitting just above the curvature of her chest. It was surreal, seeing her standing there in front of him again as he traced the way her slender neck led up to her soft but pointed jawline and small delicate ears. She watched him with a look he'd never seen her use before and the way her incredible eyes felt like they were piercing right through him…It was intoxicating, Harry had to stop himself from staring and forced himself to bring his back to the whole group where he took in their happy, welcoming expressions.
"Hello everyone," Harry said, "Thank you so much for inviting me.,this place is lovely."
And it was. The reception area in which Harry had landed was beautiful. Cream, marble floors were accented by mint green curtained windows, doors and skirting boards. A long, sweeping half-spiral staircase was finished with a polished metal balustrade that displayed a beautiful intricate swirling pattern and led up to a mystery of rooms beyond. Delicate pale-brown antique furniture was dotted around the room and held an array of vases, bowls and flowers.
"We're glad you think so, Lord Slytherin-Potter," Cyrus replied. He bowed then as Daphne curtsied.
Then, Harry bowed back to Cyrus.
"You don't need to do that," Cyrus said, holding his hand up, "You're Great Seven, you're higher than us."
"No, Lord Greengrass. I do. At least this first time while we're alone. While I may technically be higher in terms of hierarchy, I bow to your experience. You've got years in the game, you're known as someone trustworthy, yet not to be trifled with and you've raised a lovely and well-respected family. I've got a lot to learn from you."
"Thank you, my Lord." Lord Greengrass replied with a smile.
"Call me Harry, everyone."
"Then call my wife and me by our first names as well: Cyrus and Ellanore. I believe you're already on first-name terms with Daphne and Astoria."
"I am," Harry replied smiling at Daphne. For the first time that day, their eyes met and both of them immediately tried to play down the tingling feeling that grew in the pit of their stomachs.
"Shall, we retire to the kitchen?" Ellanore suggested with a twinkle in her eye. They all quickly assented and Harry followed them into a large well well-kept magical kitchen complete with a tiled floor and dark grey granite worktops. Along one wall was a large glass French double door, and in the centre stood an island unit that was a solid block of the same dark granite and surrounded six tall metal and black leather stools. As they approached, Ellanore sat down first and the rest swiftly followed suit. She waved her wand and five tall glasses smoothly floated down onto the unit from some nearby shelves, followed by a large glass pitcher of ice-cold lemonade, which started pouring its contents into the glasses one by one. Cyrus passed everyone a glass of the pale yellow liquid and Harry took a sip. It was delicious and sweet but very tart.
"First of all, Harry," the eldest Greengrass said, "Like I said in my letter I wanted to invite you here early to properly thank you in person for what you did in the hospital wing at the end of the last term at Hogwarts. Safe to say we weren't exactly happy with Astoria discussing the family curse with you, but I trust you of all people will know the value of keeping secrets."
"I do. And don't worry about it, I'm just glad I was there." Harry replied. He dreaded to think of what would've happened if he hadn't been,
"Us as well. I was very impressed to hear my husband's account of what happened in the Wizengamot, Harry. I hear you handled yourself very well. Do you have any other surprises planned for the session tomorrow?"
"Ohhhhhh yes." Harry replied with a devious grin that made Astoria look at Daphne in amusement, "Safe to say I won't have any problems, but I'll keep my cards close to my chest for now, wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."
"Very well," Cyrus said with an amused smirk of empathy around how he had felt in days before one of his won plans had come to fruition, "But if there's anything we can help with, just ask, life debt or not."
"Thanks for that, by the way," Daphne said, with a gracious but neutral expression. She was trying to keep her proper mask on. At least now in front of her father, she would play the part of a dutiful daughter.
"You're very welcome," Harry replied, meeting her gaze but then finding it difficult when trying not to stare at her eyes for too long.
"But that doesn't mean we don't still owe you," Cyrus said, matter-of-factly. Harry was glad for the distraction.
"No, you don't." Harry answered, now looking at Cyrus with a very serious expression to try and show him that he meant every word, "I only did what any other good person would've done."
"Thank you," Cyrus said, allowing himself a genuine smile.
"Harry, did you bring trunks?" Astoria asked excitedly, "It's a pool party, remember?"
"I did indeed," Harry replied, patting his pocket, "They're shrunk."
"Oh dear," Ellanore replied with a smirk, "I hope you won't have too much on show,"
Everyone laughed. Astoria cackled a little too madly, in fact, but it was nice to see her in such high spirits and everyone there found it heartwarming to see it.
"You've got quite a bit of time until the rest of the guests start arriving, why don't you and Daphne go for a walk? Maybe go and visit the Leucrottas?"
Harry had no idea what a Leucrotta was but Daphne said "Yes, Father", so getting the hint that the family conversation was over he got to his feet as she did and followed her back into their reception, out the front door and then into the grounds.
"Wow, it's pretty warm out here, you picked a great day for it," Harry said as they stepped out onto a gravel path. Pretty warm was a bit of an understatement; it was absolutely baking hot outside, and Harry was grateful for the cooling charm that Sirius had cast in anticipation of the day's weather. After all, they hadn't known when he'd be expected to change into their muggle wear, or if they were expected to arrive in wizard clothes, but Harry didn't think it would be a great idea to meet with Cyrus Greengrass for the first time outside the Wizengamot in only a t-shirt, flip-flops and shorts.
"We did indeed," Daphne answered leading him onto a gravel path that took them to the precipice of a large, gentle hill to the left. At the bottom, a little ways away from them stood a small wooden barn.
They walked in silence for a minute, Harry feeling incredibly awkward, not knowing what the hell to say, all the while a question was burning in Daphne's mind. Crunch, crunch, crunch, went the sound of the gravel path under their feet. Daphne felt the sun beaming down on her, glancing at Harry's beautiful robes out of the corner of her eye, but still, he didn't talk. Well, what did she expect him to say? She wasn't being a paragon of conversation herself, but still, the question loomed over her.
Crunch.
When was he gonna tell her?
Crunch.
Was he gonna tell her?
Crunch.
Oh, Merlin, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Why have you suddenly gotten…bigger?" she asked, nonchalantly, like it wasn't a painfully obvious question.
"Ah yes, that. I'm surprised you're parents didn't ask to be honest," said Harry, "I had…a growth spurt."
She snorted, "A growth spurt? Well, you had a pretty big one."
"Family business," he replied.
Damn, she had wondered, but she wasn't complaining about the change. Not one bit. She'd already found him attractive before but when she'd walked in to greet him in their atrium earlier her chest felt like it had nearly done a backflip. His shoulders looked so broad, his jawline had somehow got more defined and now he just held himself with so much more confidence.
"Fair enough, I won't pry."
"You can a bit, but just…not about that."
"Okay?" Daphne asked. What did she expect him to ask her? They'd gotten off the path now and had stepped onto freshly cut grass.
Harry was amazed that he could see for miles. Off in the distance, he could see a small village to one side, and to the other was a thick area of deciduous woodland that went up the valley side so far and over the horizon that it looked like it went on forever. As idyllic as the scenery was he felt distinctly aware that they weren't talking. What should he say? He couldn't spend the entire time not talking to her, but she made him feel so nervous. Did she not know how mind-numbingly beautiful she was? "Oh sod it," he thought, "Better say something."
"What I mean is… I mean that I want to get to know you and…I would…I mean you and your family seem really nice and…even if I didn't think you were pretty, you know, …you're also really smart and - "
So he did fancy her then, he'd all but confirmed it to her just then, but did she want to get involved with him? As hot as she found him, he was Harry Potter. No, scratch that, Harry Slytherin-Potter now, he was bound to have girls lining up to bed him.
"So's Granger," Daphne replied, looking up at him. Might as well get this question out of the way, she thought.
"Oh she is," Harry replied. "But I've never thought about her that way. Never thought about any girls in that way before, to be honest."
"What way?" Daphne asked with a smirk. Harry groaned inwardly as she put him on the spot, but no, wasn't being this nervous a kind of weakness? He wouldn't abide it. There was no way she would be attracted to nervous Harry. Mentally, he slapped himself. "Relax, Potter."
"I'd like to get to know you, like I said. Not like "officially", I'm not fishing for a contract or anything, but… look…"
He stopped on the spot, and she turned to look at him. Why did the wind have to ruffle his adorable hair like that? How was she meant to concentrate on thinking properly about this?
Harry on the other hand was in a similar position, his stomach floating as he smelled the aroma of Daphne's signature perfume that he'd first smelled properly in the library.
"Like I said I'd like to get to know you. Not officially, I'm not fishing for a contract or anything, but… look. I can see the love your family seems to have for each other, even at first glance. Love in your heart for family shows me you're a good person, and I know you don't fall for any of that blood purity nonsense. I'd just…it would be cool to know you more, at least as friends."
Daphne was struggling now to keep her well-schooled, neutral facial expression from turning into a frown. She needed to keep control of her emotions, but she couldn't deny she was a little disappointed. She wasn't going to try to connect with him, to consider opening up to him as a potential boyfriend if he didn't want to do the same.
"Just as friends? With no opportunity for more?" she asked.
"Not if you didn't want that" Harry replied.
She smiled and said "Good answer." It was the best thing he could've said if she was honest. He was showing her that was he a boy who wouldn't try to push her into anything.
They started walking again, the light breeze nearly disappearing now.
"How are you Lord Slytherin, by the way? I checked the family tree, you're not related to Slytherin by blood, your tree never goes anywhere near."
.
"I can't tell you, even if you accidentally let it slip, it might be dangerous."
She was the one who stopped first this time, and she whipped out her wand.
"I, Daphne Selene Greengrass, swear on my life and magic that I will never reveal any secrets that Harry James Slytherin-Potter reveals to me today. So mote it be!"
The light from her wand that had glowed from her wand flashed with the vow's completion. Harry was stunned.
"Wow," Harry said quietly, "Daphne you didn't need to do that."
"What can I say?" Daphne replied with a cheeky grin as she started them off both walking again; they were nearly there now, "I'm just curious!"
"I thought you couldn't do magic outside of school," Harry said.
"You can if you're within wards like we have here, the Ministry can't access the Trace."
"Cool, I wonder if where I'm living I can do that too-"
.
"Oh Merlin just tell me already!" she blurted out.
"Alright, Little Miss Impatient," Harry replied with a grin, "I had my ascension…in the Chamber of Secrets."
Daphne's entrancing eye shot wider in recognition. "So you were the heir of Slytherin!"
"Not quite"
"I don't understand."
They'd gotten to the barn now. Harry had thought it was a barn anyway, but once Daphne had led them through a small open door to the side, Harry realised it was instead a large stable, separated into eight different stalls. Two were empty of any animals and were filled with various bags of animal food and tools for looking after. They walked in a little further in and Harry was still working on where to start his explanation when he finally found out what a Leucrotta was. At first glance, he thought it looked like somewhere between a moose and a deer, but then its antlers were much bigger than any deer he'd ever seen; and its mouth, its mouth was huge. He was sure if it tried it could swallow him in one who. What's more, there were six of the things! He had to admit though, that with their overblown facial features, they were adorable to look at.
Daphne showed him the right way to pet them and they were strolling back towards the other end of the barn to fetch a large, shovel-like utensil with which to feed them when Harry finally figured out where to start. He decided to tell her pretty much everything about their second year at Hogwarts, from his perspective anyway. Of course, he didn't say anything about Ginny's involvement and only briefly skipped over the description of how the diary had worked, but he told her how he'd been hearing whispers in the walls, his trip into the forbidden forest with Ron, and how Hermione had been petrified but somehow still managed to work out that the creature was a basilisk. She hadn't been surprised by the big reveal that Lockhart was a fraud and told him that she'd been winding Tracey up all year that year about the ridiculous crush her friend had had on him from their very first lesson. It was difficult for Harry to tell when Daphne was more shocked though, when he told her about how the entrance to the Chamber was in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom or when the shade that came from the Diary revealed himself as Lord Voldemort.
"So what did you do then?" Daphne asked, clutching onto one of the metal bars of the stable, on tenterhooks. Harry was a wonderful storyteller.
"Well, he called for the basilisk and it came slithering out of the mouth of this great big sculpture of Salazar Slytherin's head. He told me Dumbledore had been driven from the castle by the mere memory of him and I just said that Dumbledore would never be gone while those that remain were loyal to him. Later on, Dumbledore told me it was this display of loyalty for him that meant Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix turned up carrying the Sorting Hat.
"What, his phoenix? Out of nowhere? And what could the Sorting Hat do, bore it to death with another overly long poem?"
Harry chuckled at her joke, but continued,
"Yep, I literally thought I was done for when Fawkes flew in and pecked the Basilisk's eyes out, which was amazing because it meant I could now look at the damn thing without getting instantly killed. And then, somehow from the sorting hat I pulled the sword of Godric Gryffindor."
Daphne laughed and with an eye-roll, she said, "Of course you did, Gryffindor Golden Boy. Go on."
"Anyway, I spent most of my time running away from it, it could still smell and hear me, see? But it cornered me against the sculpture of Slytherin. I found myself climbing madly up it a second later trying to get away from its fangs and I somehow managed to get to the top without getting eaten. The problem was, then I had nowhere to go. It went to bite me and with its mouth open I stabbed upwards through its mouth and into its brain and it died. I clambered back down the statue but it was really hard work because it had left a great big dirty fang in my arm."
"What?" Daphne spluttered, "How?! How are you not dead?"
"Fawkes cried into the wound and healed me. Phoenix tears have healing powers. It took a few days for me to feel better completely but it allowed me to come around enough to take the fang, stab the diary with it and the shade-thing just died."
"So… do you have a scar?"
"Oh yeah, here" Harry replied, and stepping towards where she leaned against the railing he uncovered the scar on his arm to show her.
"That is ridiculously cool," she said, cupping the underside of his forearm with one hand while gentling tracing the outline of where the fang had entered him with another.
"Thanks," Harry said with a smile. He looked at her, and she at him and they suddenly realised how intimate their position was. Nervously Daphne dropped his arm and they both quickly stepped away from each other.
"So…" Harry continued, in an effort to move on from that moment and sheepishly reaching up and scratching the back of his head, "Without revealing too much, this year after Voldemort nearly killed me at the end the of tournament I was thinking about things that could give me an edge next and wondered if Voldemort had found or left anything down there the first time. I found a Chamber within the chamber, met the portrait of Slytherin and he named me Slytherin, he had worked some magic into his portrait to give him the ability to name whoever he liked as he had no heirs. Turns out the basilisk wasn't to hurt muggleborns, but a guard to protect his library and heirloom."
"Wait…he wasn't against muggleborns?"
"Nope just wanted them all away from their families in those times because so many were getting hunted down for witchcraft."
"Wow," Daphne said, stunned into sitting down on a hay bale. "That changes everything we know about his history.
"I'd prefer to keep it a secret for now. Keeps the mystery about me alive, you know, am I secretly evil and/or all-powerful."
"Ha, well I appreciate you telling me," Daphne replied. "I feel like I should tell you something now."
Harry sat down next to her on the bale of hay, "You don't need to," he said.
"I want to though, you've just revealed so much and told me a story that was like... I don't know you how aren't a babbling nutcase after going through something like that."
"Okay, so tell me something about you," Harry suggested with a smile. He sat right next to her, looking into her eyes, noticing how long her eyelashes were. She wasn't even wearing makeup!
"I…I don't know what to say." Daphne replied. What could she say? What should she say? She didn't have any stories like that. He'd defeated a basilisk, he was…intimidating. Not in a scary way, but in a way that made her heart race. Internally she berated herself. A boy had never made her feel like this before.
"Hmm, why don't we ask three questions each and we both try to answer them if we can."
"Okay," Daphne replied with a captivating, eye-reaching smile, "Why don't you go first?"
"Erm…How do you feel about Draco Malfoy?"
"Well…" she started, looking at the floor, trying to gather her opinion, "He's a bit of a bigoted dickhead, but Astoria likes him. She says she sees a softer side of him or something."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I've seen it too, to be honest. He's really quite gentle with her, and from what Astoria says it doesn't seem like he a hundred percent agrees with his father's ideas and maybe just parrots them for his approval."
"Daddy issues, not surprised, but that's interesting. I'll be honest I've only just started thinking about the reasons why people behave the way they do, I just sorta took them at face value. I agree though, he's a smarmy git."
As she showed him how they mixed a special type of antler-growing nutrient into the Leucrotta's water, Harry told her briefly about when he'd met Draco in Madam Malkins followed by their interaction on the train when Goyle got bit on the finger by Scabbers.
"What, so you might've been in Slytherin if Draco hadn't completely put you off us?"
"Yep, the Hat offered me to go there and everything."
"That's mental, Tracey's never gonna believe it…okay, it's my turn…errrrrm…What was your life like before you came to Hogwarts?"
Harry's breath hitched. He should've been ready for that question.
"I was raised by my aunt and uncle who were muggles," he said. "They didn't like magic."
"Oh, I thought Dumbledore placed you in a magical family or something."
"Nope."
"So what were they like? Your aunt and uncle I mean."
"Not nice.."Harry trailed off looking down self-consciously, "I'd rather not talk about it."
"That's okay," Daphne said, frowning at first but schooling her expression into an encouraging smile. It was a sensitive subject and while her mind raced at the implications, she knew it would be stupid not to drop it right now.
"What about you?" Harry said, "Your family seems lovely."
"They are," Daphne said, pouring a large bucket of the freshly mixed nutrient into a large stone trough, "I had a lot of resentment growing up because I had to have a lot of tutoring on being an Heir and the Greengrass position in the world and how I had to act the perfect picture of this Pureblood Princess at all times."
"That must've felt really trapping, like you couldn't be who you were."
"Kind of. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to do my family honour and everything, and we all love each other but at the same time, I always knew it was highly likely I'd be forced into an arranged marriage with some Lord who wouldn't let me be my own person and expect me to stay at home, look pretty and pump out babies. And trust me, that's the vast majority of Purebloods these days."
"I can't believe someone would do that to someone, why would anyone think they can control what their wife should do with their life? Isn't it mean to be a partnership?"
Daphne looked at him, gauging him. "So you wouldn't wanna do that? Just parade your beautiful wife around on your arm at parties? Just have her be a trophy?"
"Nah," Harry said, waving her off like she was being ridiculous, "I'd like to be proud of my wife for what she does not what she looks like. Can't she be a trophy because she's accomplished at what she does for her career? If she'd beautiful it's just a bonus."
"She can," Daphne said, then exhaled heavily and smiled, subconsciously twirling a ringlet of hair in her fingers. Her neutral mask was quickly becoming a thing of the past, and she didn't care.
Harry looked into her ice-blue doe- eyes, his heart pounding. He took in the flawlessness of her skin, her full lips and the delicateness of her manicured finger as it threaded through her golden hair. They both got lost for a second before Daphne spoke again.
"Okay, I've got a question," she said, and then almost thinking better of it, said quietly. "Do you think you can beat him?"
She was impressed by the way he wasn't fazed by the question and replied immediately.
"I'm not sure, but I'm going to try. Dumbledore thinks the reason I survived when I was one was because of the intrinsic magic of my mother's love when she sacrificed herself, seems to think love is the antithesis of Voldemort's hate. I don't think it will be as cut and dry as dying for my loved ones though. I'm training as hard as I can and in the end, when I fight him I will have something Voldemort will never have - love. Something to fight for.
"Love? Are you seeing anyone?" Daphne asked. Almost knowing it was a stupid question but at the moment she really didn't like the fact that for the first time in her life, a completely unfamiliar pang of jealousy had welled up inside her.
"No, not yet. For now, it's the love of my friends and the Weasley family, the home I've found in the Wizarding World when things weren't that great with my muggle relatives. The Weasleys adopted me, and they've been wonderful to me. I just wish I had a family of my own. You know I haven't had a hug from a family member since I was one? Hell, my first hug was from Hermione of all people."
"What, when you were eleven? Goodness." Daphne looked sadly at him, and Harry was inwardly beating himself up for taking the conversation in that direction. Way to ruin the happy mood, Potter.
"You know," Daphne said, putting a hand on his arm."I don't know how you aren't just full of so much hatred for the world, especially now with what the Ministry is saying."
"It's just Fudge, he's too scared," Harry replied. It wasn't like he didn't understand why, as unlikeable as Fudge was. Voldemort was terrifying.
"Can you blame him? His wife was murdered by Death Eaters in the last war."
"I didn't know that," Harry replied in surprise. It certainly put into perspective why Fudge had been acting the way that he had.
Daphne came to a decision. "Right, stand up, Harry," she said, getting to her feet again.
"Okayyy?" Harry sounded but did as he asked. She stepped closer to him, looking him in the face with a demure smile, all the while trying to ignore the butterflies.
"Look, for everything you've been through, and for how much you've helped with Astoria, I -"
And then she took another step closer and wrapped her arms around his waist in a soft and warm embrace. She came up to just below Harry's chin and the moment he realised that the amazing perfume she'd been wearing must've just been her shampoo he instinctively brought his arms around her shoulders. Her body felt amazing against him. Even though he wished their robes weren't getting in the way, he could still faintly feel the shape of her. He couldn't help but wonder what it must've been like for Daphne growing up, no wonder she'd developed the reputation she'd had. All her life she'd had to be a picture of perfection, and while he loved the visually pleasing part of her of course he was amazed by the way that she hadn't lost herself and become incredibly twisted and bitter at the constant thought of what she must've seen as her inevitable fate. Somehow, underneath she'd kept that kind and loving part of her and hadn't descended into a cold, heartless bitch, at least to those who took the time to get to know her. She was a pure soul. It was present in the way she tended to the animals, the way she affectionately stroked the chin of her favourite Leucrotta, Alan and still giggled at the stupid name she'd given him even though she'd had him since she was ten.
Daphne could've almost shuddered with the way his strong arms felt around her as she lay the side of her head on his chest. It was almost overwhelming just thinking about him now, about the things he's told just her, about the way he'd just walked over and offered help to her and Tracey in the library with no ulterior motive at all, and about the way he'd worked so damn hard to keep Astoria alive that he'd lost consciousness that day. Would she have been mad if he had claimed her as compensation for the life debt? Now she wasn't so sure.
She wanted to stay there forever, but the little voice in her head said it wouldn't be right and so she started she pulled away. But then, she felt strangely empty, without him there now, and he must've felt the same because they still loosely kept arms around each other. And they stood there for a minute, just holding each other, but each far too nervous to have any sort of prologue look at each other.
"Harry, if…" she started again, daring to look up at him now "When what happened with Astoria happens again, will you come back and help with the ropes? They just get stronger every time and…we need your help."
The look in his eyes as they met hers turned from kind to determined in a second.
"I'll be there, Daph," he said quietly.
'Daph?" she replied at the nickname, tilting her head sideways.
"You don't like it? Sorry,"
"Only Tracey and Astoria call me that, but you can I guess, I kinda like it."
"Okay…" Harry replied. The conversation had seemed to come to a natural stop. What did he say next, should he complement her or something?
"You er.…you look really nice today." In his head, he slapped himself once more for that one.
"Thanks, I'm not actually ready yet. My hair is as you can tell but Tracey begged me to come over early so she could do my make-up and choose my dress. Major control freak."
"She seems lovely though."
"She is."
"Oh, and I should give you this. Happy very early 19th birthday."
He released one arm from around her shoulder and pulled a small red, carefully wrapped box from his pocket, about the size of a large envelope.
"Harry, you didn't need to," Daphne replied, gently taking the present.
"I wanted to, but please don't open it right now. I've never gotten a girl a present before. There's a little letter inside telling you what it is."
"Okay, well…thank you," she said beaming up at him, looking into his impossibly green eyes, and then down to his lips.
Should she?
She thought maybe she should
.
She leaned closer and Harry's eyes went wider. Heart thumping, he reached the arm back around her, his hand just touched the small of her back before -
"Daphne!" Ellanore's voice called via what must've been a sonorous charm, "Tracey's here!"
Both of them let out a large sigh as the tension dissipated before bursting out into laughter.
Daphne thought he looked ever so cute when he blushed like that.
"Come on," she said, standing now with a more regretful sigh at what they'd just missed out on, she started leading him back towards the doorway "You can have a chat with Dad or something."
Harry marvelled at how tiny Daphne's hand felt in his as she led him back up to the main house.