A/N:

Hi, new chapter! Sorry for the wait, I was finishing up my other fic. Now that it's done, updates for this story should come more regularly.

Idea credits list at the end :)

Thanks as always for reading!

Possible Emotion Detected: Nervousness

Simulating Physiological Response…

Daphne's gears started to shake and jitter as she walked off the Hogwarts Express and onto the platform in King's Cross Station.

It was a long weekend in the wizarding world, and many students were taking the opportunity to head home to their families, as it would be their last opportunity for an extended visit before Christmas. In Daphne's case, she had received an invitation from her boyfriend to spend the first day with his family, who were apparently very anxious to meet her.

"What if they do not like me?" Daphne asked, her flat intonation belying the anxiety she could feel within her.

Harry took her hand in his as they walked and gave it a comforting little squeeze. "Don't worry about it too much – they're going to love you."

"What if they do not?" Daphne insisted. "Will they force you to break up with me? Or prevent me from coming into contact with you ever again?"

Harry shook his head. "Definitely not. I promise you they'll think you're great, but even if they don't, they would never impose on my personal life like that."

Possible Emotion Detected: Relief

"That is reassuring to hear, but I would still like their blessing if possible. I can ask my father to prepare a dowry, or complete any set of challenges to display my suitability as a partner. I can also provide magical proof of my virg-"

"Daphne," Harry interrupted, turning to look at his girlfriend.

"Yes?"

"You're seriously overthinking this. I also think you might be a bit confused; none of those things have been relevant to society for at least a hundred years."

Daphne tilted her head. "Are you sure? I was doing research last night."

"What were your sources?" he asked skeptically.

"Romance novels."

"Ah."

"So I will not have to hunt and kill a Nundu barehanded and present its hide to your mother as a symbol of my devotion towards you?"

Harry gawked at the girl. "What romance novel was that!? Actually, nevermind – it doesn't matter. You won't have to do any of that. My family is perfectly normal, and just want to meet my first girlfriend for the first time. Just be yourself and everything will be fine."

Daphne paused.

Printing Thought Sequence: What does he mean by 'first' girlfriend? Is he planning on having more?

Harry noted the girl's slight change in movements, and corrected himself. "And by first girlfriend, I mean I'm hoping you'll be my last as well."

Daphne unpaused.

Printing Thought Sequence: Phew.

James and Lily Potter stood around in the living room, waiting for Harry and his girlfriend to arrive.

"Well this is fun!" Sirius Black announced from where he was spread out across the couch. "Harry's first girlfriend, huh?"

The two adults looked at Sirius.

"Remind us why you're here again?" Lily asked crossly.

The man on her couch smiled back at her. "What? My godson bringing home a girl for the very first time? I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Lily sighed, and James just shrugged. He had accidentally let slip to Sirius that Harry was having his girlfriend over today, and knew that nothing he could do or say after that would keep the man away.

From the corner of the room, Remus Lupin spoke up. "And for the record, I'm only here to make sure he doesn't cause too much trouble," he said, nodding towards Sirius.

Lily shook her head resignedly. All three of the remaining 'Marauders' in my living room to greet Harry's girlfriend? The poor girl…

Thinking about the final Marauder not present today, Lily said a quick and silent prayer for Peter. He had lost his life in that very house fifteen years ago, using his last breath to warn her and James about the impending attack and giving them enough time to prepare themselves. In the end, Pettigrew was the true unsung hero in the downfall of Voldemort, and not a day went by where all four of them didn't feel the sting of his absence.

"So what do we know about this girl?" Sirius asked, taking his feet off the couch and pouring himself a glass of something Lily had been saving for a special occasion. "Is she a cutie?"

Lily scowled at him. "Harry thinks she's cute, and that's all that matters. According to his letters, she's a perfectly nice girl who's getting remarkable grades in all of her classes. She even received a special award from the Ministry of Magic for getting the highest score ever recorded on her O.W.L. exams last year."

Sirius made a face. "Eugh! She sounds like a nerd."

"And what's wrong with nerds?" James asked coldly.

Sirius shrunk away from James' glower. He had temporarily forgotten that his best friend's wife was a bit of a self-proclaimed nerd herself.

"Er, nothing, of course!"

"There's nothing wrong with being academically-oriented," Lily said severely. "And if you want to meet Harry's girlfriend, you'd better be on your best behavior. I will not have you saying anything that might offend her while she's in our home."

Sirius nodded, leaning back on the couch with an innocent smile on his face.

Before long, the doorbell rang.

"The nerd is here!" Sirius called jovially, shooting up to his feet as Lily went to the door. "I'll take brains over beauty anyway, yes sir-"

Sirius quieted rather quickly as the door opened and Harry walked into the house; trailing a few steps behind him was an absolutely stunning blonde girl that looked like she just stepped off the cover of Witch Weekly.

"Oh, hi guys," Harry said, noticing Sirius and Remus before turning to his parents. "Mom, Dad. This is my girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass."

From behind him, Daphne bowed a little bit towards the gathered adults. "Thank you for having me over. It is very nice to finally meet you."

Lily forced a smile on her face through the shock; the girl was much prettier than she had been expecting.

"I'm Lily Potter," she said, introducing herself to Daphne. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Why don't you have a seat with Harry and we'll go prepare some drinks for you?"

As Harry and Daphne settled into chairs in the living room, Lily shared a covert look with her husband. Gesturing to their friends, they began to lead them out of the room and towards the kitchen.

"Oh, come on," Sirius protested from the couch. "You don't need four people to make drinks! I want to stay and-"

Sirius was cut off as Lily grabbed his arm and dragged him away with her.

When they made it to the kitchen and were out of earshot from Harry, they all shared a glance.

"Well, good for Harry!" Sirius proclaimed with a smile. "She's smart and a looker."

The other three looked meaningfully at him, and Sirius raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What? You don't like her? She looks like she came out of a muggle skincare commercial!"

Lily sighed. "That's exactly what we're worried about," she explained.

Throughout their lives, Lily and James had always been concerned that the Potter fame and legacy would follow their kids as they grew up and tried to make friends. Harry in particular, as he was both present at the time of Voldemort's defeat, and had even been iconically scarred on his forehead by a piece of broken glass in the process. So, even if it was unlikely, the possibility of Harry's girlfriend being attracted to his fame and fortune rather than who he was as a person was on all of their minds.

Remus nodded. "It's something to be wary of, as parents in your situation."

"Hold on a minute," Sirius said, starting to get a little upset. "You think she's too much of a catch for Harry to pull on his own?"

"That's not what we're saying at all," James assured him, shaking his head. "Just something for us to be aware of, in case there are any other…signs."

Sirius harrumphed in disapproval. His godson was perfect, and it was only fitting that his godson's girlfriend would be perfect as well. Absolutely nothing was out of order here, as far as he was concerned.

Harry looked at the four adults suspiciously as they returned from 'preparing drinks' with a few glasses of water in their hands. Before he could say anything though, his mom spoke up first.

"Harry, your siblings are over at the playground by the elementary school. Why don't you go pick them up?"

Still a little suspicious, he shrugged. "Okay…? Come on Daphne, I'll show you-"

"I'm sure Daphne's tired from the walk over to our house," Lily interrupted. "We'll stay here and get ourselves introduced before the kids get back and this place becomes too rowdy for any civilized conversation."

Harry was about to protest, but a look from his mom silenced him. He had learned over the years that Lily Potter was not a witch to be argued with.

"Alright, fine," he said, looking over at his girlfriend, who stared back at him expressionlessly. "I'll be back in a few."

Daphne nodded, and Harry took off at a brisk walk out of the door.

Possible Emotion Detected: Anxiety

Printing Thought Sequence: Regardless of what Harry said, it feels as though his mother is about to ask me to hunt and kill a Nundu barehanded.

Daphne watched anxiously as Lily Potter sat down across from her on the couch in the living room, the other three men choosing separate chairs in the vicinity.

"I'm Lily," she repeated as they settled. "This is my husband James, and our friends Sirius and Remus."

"Hello Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus," Daphne said, nodding at all of the adults in turn as she committed their names and faces to her memory card.

"So," Lily started, trying to be casual. "Tell us a bit about yourself."

"..."

Printing Thought Sequence: Harry was wrong. This is, in fact, just like the romance novels. His mother wishes to ascertain my quality of character before she approves of our pairing.

Despite everything, Daphne was mostly correct about Lily's intentions.

Printing Thought Sequence: Do not worry, Harry. I will impress your parents, and they will bless our courtship.

Unfortunately, the romance novels had skewed Daphne's idea of what a modern parent may find impressive.

"I conform to most modern beauty standards, am in good physical shape and have impeccable health records. I have never before been wed, and my experience in matters both romantic and sexual are limited strictly to Harry. Though I cannot scientifically say I come from good breeding, my parents are successful in the magical and muggle worlds alike, and the Greengrass family has a good reputation politically with no notable controversies in the past several generations. I am proficient in household chores such as cooking and cleaning, require very little sleep, and am fluent in over thirty languages. Do you have any questions so far?"

The adults just stared at her, slack-jawed.

After a moment, Sirius spoke up, being the first to recover his wits. "Parlay voos Fronsays?" he asked in a crude imitation of the French language.

"Oui. Je viens avec les langues les plus courantes préinstallées. Je peux aussi comprendre presque tous les types de accent, même les Québécois."

Sirius smiled and clapped. He had no clue what she had just said, but his original instinct that she was a good match for Harry was only further validated at her display of linguistic talent.

Collecting herself, Lily blinked away the surprise from the girl's earlier outpouring of personal information, some of which she really didn't need to know.

"That's…very nice, Daphne," she managed. "But I was asking more along the lines of your interests. As in, do you have any hobbies?"

Daphne nodded precisely. "My primary interest is Harry. I spend over 79% of my time speaking to, being with, or otherwise thinking about him."

The adults looked at her a bit oddly.

Except for Sirius.

"Ah, young love will do that to a girl," he nodded sagely. "What do you spend the other 31% of your time doing?"

Daphne turned to look at the man. "I occasionally study, rest, read, or speak to my other friend."

"Friend? You only have one?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "I have recently been informed that a boyfriend and a sister do not count as friends, so I currently only have one."

Lily adjusted her seat on the couch, trying and failing to recover her mental balance. "Okay…do you have any goals for the future?"

"In the long term, I would like to be married to Harry. In the short term, I am trying to get him to engage in coitus with me."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Good for you!" Sirius declared, smiling. "Nothing wrong with taking the lead as long as you're being respectful of his boundaries."

Daphne waited patiently as the adults left the room to prepare drinks again. It felt slightly odd to her that they would do such a thing when the glasses of water from earlier still remained untouched, but admittedly she had no point of reference for conventional human hospitality.

"Now what's wrong?" Sirius asked impatiently once they had gotten back to the kitchen. "She clearly really likes Harry!"

The three others looked at him incredulously.

"Sirius, you have to admit," Lupin started. "She seems a little…singularly focused on Harry."

"Oh, come on!" Sirius exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "First you think she doesn't like Harry, and now you think she likes him too much?"

"It's not just that," Lily argued. "Don't you feel something…off about her? I mean, just listen to some of the things she said!"

"I've never heard a teenager say 'coitus' before," James added. "And the way she doesn't show any facial expressions…it's almost inhuman."

Sirius waved his hand dismissively. "Sure, she's a little blunt, and she doesn't emote much. But she's a sixteen year old girl who hardly has any friends, and she's meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time – she's probably just nervous! Besides, it doesn't help that you sent Harry off so you could practically interrogate the poor thing while she was alone. She must be terrified!"

James and Lily exchanged sheepish glances, and even Lupin looked a little ashamed of himself.

Eventually, Lily let out a long sigh. "I guess you're right," she admitted. "Maybe we're being overly critical of her. Harry's a smart boy, and I'm sure he's able to choose the right kind of company without our help…"

"And she does seem like a nice girl," James appended. "I think she just caught us off guard a bit…"

"And it's quite possible she feels the need to keep mentioning Harry since his parents are present," Remus acknowledged, retracting his earlier statement. "I'm sure she has plenty of other things going on in her life besides him."

Sirius nodded, satisfied that he had changed their minds a bit. "You'll see – I have a good feeling about this Daphne girl. Now let's get back to the living room and try to start a more mild conversation."

"Sorry about that Daphne," Lily smiled apologetically, setting another glass of water down next to her first one. "We take hydration very seriously in this family."

The three men raised an eyebrow at Lily's paltry excuse for their absence, but otherwise held their tongues.

"That is very commendable," Daphne replied politely. "Water makes up approximately 60% of the human body, and is essential for the proper function and protection of its systems, organs, and tissues. Prolonged dehydration is known to cause joint and muscle pain, and in some cases can even lead to mild cognitive impairment. Recent studies also suggest that an adequate level of hydration is important for managing weight and preventing skin disorders."

The three men took long sips from their cups, each suddenly developing a small anxiety that they weren't drinking enough water.

"Wow," Lily replied, impressed. "You're very knowledgeable. Harry tells me you get the best grades in the year as well?"

"That is correct."

"It can't be easy to stay ahead of everyone like that," Lily said, trying to keep the conversation going. "Harry's told us there are some really smart students in your year, like Hermione and that Patil girl."

"No, it is quite easy for me."

"Ah."

While Daphne's words may have come across as arrogant, something in her bearing made it clear to everyone in the room that she was not bragging, but rather simply stating a fact.

Leaning forward in his chair, Remus got involved in the discussion. "So are you planning on pursuing higher education after Hogwarts? Not that you necessarily should, but with your grades, I'm sure you could get accepted wherever you wanted to."

"I have yet to decide," Daphne replied honestly. "I believe my postgraduate plans will depend on Harry."

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"If Harry wishes for me to assume the role of a traditional housewife, then I will stay home and manage the matters of our family; as I previously stated, I am highly competent at such things. Contrarily, if he does not wish to work, I will instead become a career-oriented woman capable of supporting the both of us with my paycheck."

Lily, James, and Remus stared blankly at her.

"You're very versatile," Sirius nodded, impressed. "That kind of flexibility is rare in someone your age."

"Thank you."

"Daphne," Lily spoke eventually. "Do you not have any ambitions of your own? As in, anything you want to do that doesn't involve Harry?"

"Everything I want to do involves Harry," Daphne answered simply. "I cannot compute isolated ambitions as I cannot project my life into a vacuum that does not include him."

No one had anything to say in response to that for a few seconds.

"Let's pretend that Harry has no opinions, and will remain by your side regardless of what you do," Remus suggested helpfully. "In that case, what do you think you would end up doing?"

Daphne spent a moment running simulations in her cerebral processor. At present, she was attending Hogwarts, and excelling unprecedentedly in all of her classes. Logically, a normal human in her position would continue down the educational path, and would most likely enter a highly competitive career program upon graduation. Naturally, she would then get to the top, complete the program with innumerable honors and accolades, and then…

"I surmise I would have no choice but to become the Minister for Magic," Daphne concluded.

Back in the kitchen again, Sirius was starting to get frustrated. "Lily, it's rude if we keep leaving Daphne alone in the living room!"

James winced. "Honey, Sirius has a point."

Lily took a deep breath. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but…I don't think she's a regular human girl."

"Well, of course not," Sirius replied, confused. "She's a witch."

"No, that's not what I mean," Lily said. "I think…she might be something different entirely."

James gasped. "She's a wizard?"

Sirius shook his head incredulously. "Such a cute girl couldn't be a guy…"

Before Sirius could remember the times he had made such a statement and been wrong, Lily interjected impatiently. "You're all missing my point! What I'm trying to say is that I don't think she's a human."

"You mean like a veela?" Remus asked. "She's certainly beautiful enough, but I don't think any of us felt the typical allure."

"Maybe not a veela, but something like that," Lily confirmed. "She's just so different; I can't quite explain it, but I get the feeling she's…not like us."

Remus frowned. "It's possible. But even then, what would it matter? The magical world is filled with a diverse number of near-human beings, and Daphne really does seem like a nice girl."

Everyone winced, remembering that they were in fact in the presence of a 'non-human' themselves.

"I didn't mean it like that," Lily tried to explain. "Of course we're accepting of all different magical beings. It's just..."

As Lily trailed off, Sirius took the opportunity to speak. "Listen. I know it's tough for you, seeing your first child get into their first romantic relationship, but you're going to have to get used to it. You have eight separate kids with eight separate lives, and you'll drive yourself absolutely mad if you do this for every single one of their partners."

"Sirius is right," James said. "It would be one thing if we thought she was bad for Harry, but in this case she really does seem like a sweet girl. She's just a bit…"

"Unique," Remus supplied helpfully, to which James nodded.

Lily sighed. Ultimately, she had to admit her husband and his friends were correct. She had been fiercely protective of all her children since her first was born over sixteen years ago, and she had taken up the role of 'mother hen' with a passion. Now that Harry was getting into his first relationship, she was probably just having a hard time laying off when she really should be. Because while Daphne was certainly 'unique', as Remus had put it, she was clearly also a nice girl who loved Harry a whole lot.

"You're right," Lily said eventually. "I've been unfair to Daphne. Again. I can't be overparenting all of our kids like this forever; it's something I'll be working on in the future."

James smiled. Despite Lily's stubbornness, her ability to admit to her faults and work on them was one of the traits he loved the most about her.

"We'll be working on it together," he said, putting an arm around her.

"Great!" Sirius clapped, rolling his eyes. "Now that we've finished growing as people, can we get back to the living room? The poor girl probably thinks we've abandoned her."

Daphne was calmly sipping one of her glasses of water in Harry's living room when calamity struck.

At the exact moment the adults returned from the kitchen with a few more waters in hand, the front door opened and a horde of kids flooded in excitedly.

"Where's the girlfriend!?"

"Girlfriend! Girlfriend!"

"Ooh! She's so pretty!"

As the children fluttered around the room, Lily quickly gathered them up.

"Alright everyone, go wash up first and I'll get started on lunch. Daphne will still be here when you get back."

Reluctantly, the kids allowed James to lead them upstairs so they could clean themselves up before being properly introduced to Harry's girlfriend.

"So," Harry said, taking off his coat and settling down next to Daphne. "How did it go over here while I was gone?"

"It was pleasant," she replied. "Your parents and their friends were inquisitive, but otherwise kind to me. Though I must admit, I have never seen anyone quite so fixated on preparing beverages as your mother."

Harry furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what that could possibly mean, but eventually gave up. "So meeting my parents wasn't as bad as your novels made you think it would be?"

"No. Although I still feel as though your mother might ask me for a Nundu hide at some point."

Harry laughed. "She can be intimidating sometimes; I think it's a product of the times they grew up in. Anyway, you better prepare yourself, because the real challenge is yet to come."

"And what is that?" Daphne asked.

"You still have to meet my siblings."

For convenience, Harry had his brothers and sisters line up so he could introduce them to Daphne one at a time.

"This is Alex," he started, gesturing to a dark-skinned boy several years their junior. "He's in his second year at Durmstrang, but he's home for the weekend just like us."

"Hi," Alex mumbled, avoiding Daphne's gaze.

"It is nice to meet you Alex," she replied.

The boy blushed and scurried away.

"He's a bit shy," Harry explained. "Especially with girls."

Two giggling girls - who only started to giggle harder as they watched Alex run off into the kitchen - were introduced next.

"I'm Jasmine!" the one with curly black hair said.

"I'm Melody!" the blonde one said.

"How did you get so pretty?" they asked in unison.

Daphne briefly returned their greetings and continued on to answer the question. "My appearance is the result of meticulous design by my mother, who took both functionality and aesthetics into account during my creation."

The two girls giggled some more, and even the adults cracked a smile at Daphne's little joke.

Harry shuffled awkwardly, knowing full well that no part of Daphne had been 'joking' just then.

"They've already started learning a bit of magic, and they'll be deciding which school to go to next year," he said, returning everyone's attention back to the two girls in front of him.

"I want to go to Hogwarts," Jasmine said.

"So do I," Melody added.

Daphne nodded. "It is a good school."

As the two girls giggled and headed off to go sit by the television set in the corner, Harry pointed out two younger boys to Daphne. "That's Peter and Gilbert. Their attention spans…aren't so good."

Apparently, they had gotten bored of waiting for their turn to meet Daphne, and had started to climb on top of the furniture, jumping off of tables and pretending to defeat villains.

"They are very spirited," Daphne remarked. "It is not a bad thing."

"Certainly not," Harry agreed. "But they can be a handful sometimes."

Finally, a little boy and a little girl walked up to them. "Last but not least, this is Zach and Tiffany," Harry said. "They're my youngest siblings, but they're also my favorites," he added in a stage whisper.

The two kids laughed, and Harry wiped a little bit of drool off Tiffany's mouth with his thumb.

"Hewwo Daffy," Zach said, extending his hand in a very charming invitation for a handshake.

"It is very nice to meet you Zach," Daphne replied, shaking his hand. "And you as well, Tiffany."

Tiffany smiled blankly back at Daphne. Imitating an action that she had seen Harry do several times before with the younger students at school, Daphne patted the small girl on the head. She was immediately rewarded for her efforts by a huge smile from the girl, and a meaningful one from Harry as well.

"Well, that's all of my siblings," Harry said as they all moved off to separate parts of the room. "Almost all of them, anyway. My biological sister, Allison, is on a camping trip with her friends from Beauxbatons, so you'll have to meet her another time."

"It is a large family," Daphne observed. "But it is very welcoming."

"I'm glad you feel that way," he replied honestly. "Part of me was afraid you'd find it overwhelming."

"Not at all. It is a joy to meet the people who are important to the person that I love."

Harry smiled, and unbeknownst to him, the adults who were quietly listening to their conversation from across the room smiled as well.

After lunch, Harry watched fondly as his girlfriend played with his siblings.

"Can you do my hair next?" Melody asked Daphne, who was already doing Jasmine's hair up in an incredibly intricate braid.

"There is no need to wait," Daphne replied as she worked. "I only need one hand for each of you."

Everyone watched in awestruck entertainment as Daphne simultaneously did both girl's hair in completely different but equally professional-looking styles, the fingers of each hand moving rapidly and precisely.

"Daphne's really talented," Sirius said from where he and Harry were sitting on the couch. "Is she interested in becoming a stylist?"

Harry shook his head. "I doubt it. She probably just read a book on hair styling techniques once."

"Really?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows. "That's all it takes for her to master something?"

"Pretty much. Her memory is almost flawless and she picks up concepts really quickly – there's a reason she does so well in school."

Lily and James nodded, impressed. While Lily still had her hesitations about the girl, she couldn't deny that Daphne was unequivocally special. Besides, the way she worked so patiently with the kids did help assuage some of her worries about her eldest son's girlfriend.

Once Daphne was finished with the girls' hair - which they squealed in delight at when they looked in the mirror - Zach walked up to where Daphne sat on the floor, a crayon drawing clenched tightly in his hands.

"Daffy, I dwew you a dinosaw."

Daphne gently took the paper from the little boy's outstretched hands and stared at it intensely.

Printing Thought Sequence: What exactly is this supposed to be? I do not know of any dinosaurs that look like this.

"This is incredible, Zach," she replied flatly. "Your drawing most closely resembles the dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, the 'Tsintaosaurus'. Would you like to hear some fun facts about the Tsintaosaurus?"

Zach blinked a few times and nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Existing approximately 77 million years ago, the Tsintaosaurus hails from China; the first fossil from this particular dinosaur was uncovered in Tsingtao, hence the name. The Tsintaosaurus congregated in groups along the edges of lakes, and had large tails to assist them with swimming. These herbivorous creatures had a distinctive crest on their head which was likely used to attract mates, and paleontologists believe they would have produced distinctive sounds due to the presence of resonators in their tubular cavities."

Zach stared up at Daphne. He was too young to fully understand most of what she had just said, but he was old enough to realize he had finally met someone that loved dinosaurs as much as he did.

"You can keep my dwawing," Zach offered.

Possible Emotion Detected: Happiness

Printing Thought Sequence: This drawing is horrible, but somehow I am happy to have received it…is this why Harry loves children so much?

"Thank you very much," Daphne intoned, folding the paper carefully and putting it into her pocket. "Do you have a favorite dinosaur, Zach?"

Zach thought for a while before answering. "T-Wex," he said eventually.

Daphne nodded and took a piece of paper and a crayon from the ground near her. Scribbling for less than a minute, she handed Zach back a near-photorealistic drawing of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Zach's eyes bugged out when he saw the drawing, and he looked between it and Daphne in shock and amazement.

"Can I has it?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course. I drew this dinosaur for you, as a way of showing my thanks for the one you gave me."

Zach smiled and ran around the living room giddily, showing his new favorite drawing to everyone he could find.

"I didn't even know you could draw like that using crayons…" James said from the couch as Zach presented the drawing to them.

The other adults nodded in assent, slightly unsettled at the artistic proficiency Daphne displayed with a crayon.

Harry, on the other hand, didn't appear particularly surprised.

"I take it she read a book on crayon drawing once too?" Lily asked her son.

Harry shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"...Is there anything she can't do?"

"Well, she can't swim, and she's also not great with jokes."

Sirius smiled. "Hey, so I have her beat in two whole categories!"

A little while later, after Daphne had returned home, Harry's mom pulled him aside to speak to him privately.

"What's up, mom?" Harry started, noting the serious expression on her face. "Is something the matter?"

"Do you know about Daphne?" she replied, cutting straight to the chase.

Harry froze. "Do you know about Daphne?" he asked incredulously.

Had his mother already figured out that his girlfriend was a robot?

Seeing the boy's reaction, Lily sighed in relief. "No, and I don't need to. I just wanted to be sure that you did."

"What do you mean?"

"I know Daphne isn't strictly human, Harry – I think we all saw that today. And that's fine with us, of course, and we won't pry for information. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't…under the illusion that she was something that she isn't."

Harry fidgeted uncomfortably, and contemplated lying to his mom for a second before giving up. "No, I know about her. And to be fair, she usually hides her nature a bit better than she did today…I think she just really wanted to impress you guys, and ended up slipping a bit."

His mom sighed again, but this time in shame. "That may have been partially our fault," Lily admitted. "We - mostly me - might have put a little bit too much pressure on her earlier. But for what it's worth, I saw how she was with you and the kids today and I really do think she's a good girl for you. We all do."

Harry smiled. "I'm happy to hear that."

"But there is something we have to talk about."

"And what's that…?"

"Well, your girlfriend said some…interesting things earlier, and I think it's time we and your father have a little chat."

"A chat about what…?"

"Well, you know," Lily started awkwardly. "How witches and wizards…differ, physically, and the things teenagers might get up to when their hormones begin to act up-"

Without hesitation, Harry picked a direction and darted out of the room. There was absolutely no way he was going to have 'the talk' with his parents when he was already sixteen. The shame would kill him.

A/N:

Thanks for reading this chapter, and let me know if you liked it. I feel like there were so many ways I could have gone with this meeting, so I'm not entirely confident I chose the right one. Alas, the show must go on!

As always, feel free to let me know what you'd like to see in the future.

Idea Credits:

CrowMADDER: Lily acts like a mother hen and sends Harry off for a chore while she tries to figure out Daphne's intentions with Harry. Sirius is there because it's funny (HB: there were many requests for Daphne to meet Harry's parents, but this is the one that got me inspired the most :) )

Freudentraene: Daphne has no choice but to become the Minister for Magic (HB: I didn't have time to really tackle what Harry and Daphne want to do after Hogwarts in this chapter, but it should be covered in the next one :) )

P.S. - If you have any ideas for a date between Harry and Robo-Daphne, let me know ;)