"Good morning, Harry. Are you ready to go?" Dumbledore asked as Harry met him in the Entrance Hall next to the large marble staircase.
"Yes, sir. The sooner we get that prophecy out of there the better, I hate the idea that someone gets hurt guarding it, or that Voldemort could get his hands on it." Harry replied in a low voice.
Dumbledore began to walk towards the large oak doors that opened instantly as he neared them "I agree. I will feel decidedly better once we have procured it and had it destroyed." Harry nodded but did not respond.
They continued their walk down the familiar path that would take them to the edge of Hogwarts' protections and allow them to travel. The day was as cold and grey as could be expected for November in Scotland, but thankfully the rain had not yet started. Harry tightened his cloak around himself to stave off the biting wind that was nipping at his exposed flesh. Dumbledore appeared to notice his movements and wordlessly waved his wand in Harry's direction. Instantly he felt warmer as the wind and cold abated and the warming charm took hold. Harry muttered his thanks, but Dumbledore waved him off.
They continued their walk in relative silence, until they crossed the large gates and the wards that protected the ancient castle. Harry noticed belatedly that Dumbledore had stopped walking and that he had walked two or three paces past him. "Are we not going to be flooing to the ministry sir?"
"I would prefer to apparate Harry, if that's alright with you. The floos will take us into the atrium of the ministry and I would prefer as few people see you as possible. While they are currently working to strip me of my titles, I currently still do possess them, and with them some privileges such as the ability to apparate directly into the ministry as I demonstrated at your trial." Dumbledore explained.
Harry thought that the idea made sense and walked the few steps back to where he was waiting. He took a firm hold of the headmaster's arm and nearly instantly his body felt as if it were being forced through a rubber tube. He attempted to breathe to find that he couldn't. Just as the panic was about to set in, he landed stumbling in a moderately sized office.
The desk was tidy and there was a bookshelf against a wall. A few portraits were snoozing in their frames and a large window showed a beautiful sunny day and Harry briefly wondered whether it was actually sunny in London or if the window was showing a false image. He continued his look around the room and realized in shock that this was Dumbledore's office at the ministry. The only similarity between this office and his office at Hogwarts, and what had given it away, was a small tray of candies on his large desk.
Dumbledore noticed where he was looking and offered him a lemon drop politely. Harry refused.
"I chose to bring us directly into my office." Dumbledore explained after a moment. "It is on the Administrative Wizengamot level and will allow us faster access and better privacy to the department of mysteries as opposed to the atrium. Despite it being a Sunday, I wish to take as few risks as possible."
He walked out of the room and Harry followed. The hallways were deserted as they made their way to the lifts at the end of the corridor. They stepped inside and Dumbledore pressed the number indicating the 9th level from the top.
After a short trip they stepped out of the lifts. Harry was taken aback at the stark difference of this floor compared to the others he had seen. The black-tiled walls were bare, with no windows and no doors, apart from a plain black door at the end of the corridor that led into the Department proper. The darkness was broken only by torches, which glowed with a blue-white light and gave off no warmth. A small flight of steps to the left led to level ten where Harry had been tried earlier this summer.
They walked to the door at the end of the corridor, and it opened for them. Standing on the other side of the door was a sallow skinned wizard who Harry identified as an unspeakable by his robes. His hood was down, and he looked aged with his back hunched and whatever hair remaining on his head growing out in patchy white tufts on the side of his head. He fixed Harry with an unfaltering gaze that made him uncomfortable, but Harry looked right back at him in turn.
Their impromptu staring match was brought to a close when Dumbledore cheerfully greeted the old wizard. "Mr. Bode," He said cheerfully, "it is always a pleasure to see you. Thank you for agreeing to escort us today."
The mans eyes snapped from Harry to Dumbledore and he grunted "Wasn't like I had much choice. When the Chief Warlock asks for somethin' you can't bloody well refuse." He turned and began to lead them further into a large circular room with many doors. As soon as Harry and Dumbledore had stepped into the circular room, the door they entered through slammed shut and the room began to spin at a dizzying pace.
When it stopped spinning, he led them to a seemingly random door and Dumbledore continued their conversation. "I understand, but I am grateful, nonetheless. There are few if any in this department that I trust as much as I trust you."
"Yeah, yeah." Bode muttered "Let's be getting this thrice damned prophecy so I can spend the rest of my afternoon with the grandchildren."
Dumbledore didn't reply and Harry continued to follow the two men. When Bode pushed the door open Harry had to keep his jaw from dropping. The room was filled with shelves that stretched so high Harry could hardly see the tops. There were candles ends of each shelf allowing very little light to shine onto the pathways between and bathing the middles of the shelves in darkness. On the shelves were clear glass orbs, each labeled neatly. Some glowed with a faint light that shifted and writhed in the balls while others had gone dark.
Harry continued to follow the unspeakable, seeing the numbers on the sides of the shelves grow higher. 55, 60, 80, 90. When they reached row 97 Bode took a turn and walked a short distance before stopping "Well there she is lad, if you please." He said indicating to a glowing glass ball.
Harry looked at the ball wearily and noticed that this one was also labeled. It read 'S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter' "C'mon lad, we haven't got all day and you're the only one who can touch it." Bode snapped and Harry broke out of his trance. He reached out his hand and touched the cool glass. It felt like any other glass ball should, but the light inside shifted excitedly at his touch. He lifted it and placed it gingerly in one of his pockets.
"Uh, thank you, sir." Harry said to Bode, and the man grunted in reply, already leading them back out of the hall. They went back through the circular spinning room from which Bode gave them a curt farewell, and finally made their way to Dumbledore's office.
"Are you ready to apparate to Grimmauld, Harry?" Dumbledore asked after a moment.
Harry grabbed his arm firmly "Yes, sir. Let's get rid of this thing."
"So that's the reason why everything happened." Sirius said as they just finished listening to the prophecy contained in the orb. All three of them had already heard the words as Dumbledore had shared it with Harry a week prior and Harry shared it with Sirius the next day, but hearing it again seemed to confirm it, to make it all more real.
Dumbledore nodded sadly. "These words were the reason you lost your best friend and Harry lost his parents." He said sadly. "I will take the orb with me and destroy it at the castle."
"Listen kiddo, I know this is a lot to take in. When you told me last week, I didn't want to believe it either. But it's… it's real and it's so important that you do everything you can to make sure you're ready." Sirius said turning to Harry with an earnest look and the most serious (Harry bit back a smile at the unintended pun) look Harry had ever seen him wear. "We can look through the library and see if there are some books that can help you."
Harry nodded "That would be great, thanks."
Sirius turned back towards Dumbledore, "And you'll make sure that he gets the training he needs to survive this, right?"
"Yes, we will increase the frequency of our training to twice a week and will cover advanced practical magic as well as the history of Voldemort and what we must do to defeat him." The old headmaster answered. "I will depart now and allow you two to enjoy your afternoon. Try not to spend all of your time worrying if you can." He told them kindly.
"An old friend once told me that when all we can focus on is living, that is when we are most likely to miss out on life. Harry I will be waiting for you in the three broomsticks at six this evening, please use the floo from here to go directly there." He said standing and straightening his robes securing the prophecy which he could safely touch now that Harry had given it to him. Sirius agreed that he would have him there on time and walked him over to the fireplace.
With a flash of green he had departed, leaving Harry and his godfather on their own in the old townhouse. "Come on, let's go see Buckbeak while Kreacher finishes getting lunch ready. We can hit the library after that." Sirius said and Harry made his way to the room where Buckbeak was kept and bowed deeply. Once the proud creature bowed back Harry walked over to pet him. The hippogriff nuzzled into Harry's hand and Harry redoubled his efforts, scratching behind his ears.
They had yet to be in there twenty minutes when Kreacher summoned them for lunch muttering all the while about blood traitors and mudbloods, but Sirius seemed to pay him no mind, so Harry didn't either.
The meal was good and soon enough they were seated on dusty old armchairs, browsing through the infamous Black Library. They had been making a pile of books that they thought might help Harry in his fight against Voldemort. Among the topics were advanced offensive and defensive magic, dueling techniques, and some books that explained how to use transfiguration, herbology, and even divination while fighting. Harry was awed to see that most of these books were not even books that could be found in the Hogwarts Library as they had a few spells interspersed throughout them that were considered too dark for children.
Harry and Sirius had kept a light conversation going throughout their time together in the library. Sirius was telling him about his time at Hogwarts and stories of his parents, while Harry had in turn opened up to Sirius about his friends, quidditch, and even his patrols with Daphne among other things. Currently they were talking about the British professional quidditch league which Harry had been keeping up with more this year thanks to Seamus, Ron, and Ginny talking about it nonstop.
Sirius, who had little else to do besides listen to the games on his wireless, was busy talking about why the Falmouth Falcons were his pick to win the cup despite being in fourth place currently when it hit Harry just how badly he wanted this. How badly he wanted a life with him and Sirius living together. A life with Ron and Hermione and Daphne and no more Voldemort hanging over them. His brain stopped for a second as he realized he included Daphne in his list of people closest to him. Why had he done that? Before he could ponder it further, Sirius' voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Harry you there? Hello-"
"Sorry I got lost in thought for a second there. What were you saying?" Sirius gave him a curious look, but mercifully didn't speak on it.
"Harpies versus Magpies this week." He said, "Who do you think will win?"
Harry considered for a moment "The Harpies chaser line is best in the league, but the Magpies have a stronger keeper and seeker. It depends on how long the game goes I'd reckon." Sirius began to voice his agreement and Harry's thoughts once again drifted to thinking that he would do whatever it took to secure a future for those he loved.
Harry had conflicting emotions as he prepared for his patrol with Daphne. Ever since that afternoon two days ago in Sirius' library he had been trying to piece together what it was he felt for her and why she had come up in his thoughts as part of the list of people he wanted to have in his future.
Harry knew he struggled when it came to emotions and feelings, another thing he could blame the Dursley's for he supposed, but he still tried to work through his thoughts. His occlumency actually helped him in this as he was able to clear his mind and focus solely on their interactions with one another.
He remembered the first time they had met at his trial and how she had congratulated him and told him that she didn't believe the nonsense they were attempting to defame him with. He thought back to fourth year and could never recall her waring a 'Potter Stinks' badge either.
Besides that, he couldn't remember much of her. They had very rarely interacted prior and he thought they must have said only a handful of words to one another before this year, but it seemed like he had known her forever.
Their easy banter and time spent together had turned into an easier friendship before Harry could even figure out it was happening, but he was happy it did. Ever since his injury he began to put forth more effort in nurturing that friendship and it had paid dividends. She had quickly become someone he cared about.
In all their time spent together she had been forthright, honest, and unafraid to tell him what she thought, or if he messed up. She didn't fawn over him like half the Hogwarts population still did or look down her nose at him either like the other half. When he was spending time with her, he was simply Harry, something he had previously only felt around the Weasley's Hermione and a few other people like Neville and Luna. It was a welcome change.
She was also very pretty, staggeringly so at times. Her hair was a honey blonde and fell onto her back in beautiful waves when she left it down. Her eyes were an electric blue, and lately had become so expressive showing her joy and anger and concern, as opposed to the cool indifference she wore around others. She was quick witted, and intelligent, and…
Harry's brain snapped as it came to a startling conclusion. He fancied Daphne.
Harry had had crushes in the past, none usually lasted for very long. He had liked Cho last year, but that dissipated quickly when she had gotten together with Cedric. He had thought Fleur was pretty, but any bloke with eyes would say the same thing. He had even had a slight crush on Hermione when he was younger as she was the first person to ever hug him or show him any affection that he could remember. But this felt different somehow. It wasn't just physical attraction, although there was plenty of that as well, he realized.
Harry had been so lost in thought that he didn't realize the time and saw that he was very nearly late to their patrol. Quickly throwing on one of the jumpers that Sirius had given him from his own time at Hogwarts before he had left to live with the Potter's, he ran down to the familiar meeting spot for the prefects.
Daphne was already there, but the other prefects hadn't left yet which meant Harry couldn't be too late. He allowed himself a little internal sigh of relief, as Daphne was rather strict when it came to timeliness. He just caught the end of the report Anthony and Padma were giving before they made their way back to their common rooms.
Harry finally allowed himself to look at Daphne and his breath caught in his throat. She looked just like she always had, but it was as if he were seeing her in a different light for the first time ever. Her hair was up in a loose bun, and she was wearing a very comfortable looking light grey jumper that brightened her blue eyes. The amusement in them served only to brighten them further as she turned to him and said in a haughty tone "I was beginning to prepare your chastisement for being late, but you lucked out Potter."
Harry forced himself to snap out of her gaze and bumped her gently with his shoulder as he walked past her. "If only I knew, I would've come down a few minutes later." He told her cheekily.
"You like to be chastised?" She asked disbelievingly.
"I wouldn't mind it too much if you were the one doing it." He said trying to maintain his false sense of confidence and stave off the heat he could feel rising to his cheeks.
He saw Daphne's own cheeks color lightly and felt a swell of pride. "No wonder you were always arguing with Snape," she said after a moment, "You just liked it when he yelled, didn't you?"
Harry shuddered and Daphne laughed. They began their new practice of sharing stories as they walked. Daphne had gone first and had told him about her grandfather who had passed somewhat recently. Harry could tell this meant a lot to her and figured she must be trying to share something deeper with him, as usually he was the one who's stories were heavier in content.
She explained how he had always been a strong man who loved her and Astoria fiercely, but a random potion brewing accident had caused an exploding cauldron that had taken him away from them in their second year. Harry took her hand in his much the way Hermione did when he would feel sad and gave her a squeeze running his thumb over her knuckles. She stiffened for a brief moment and Harry was just about to pull away from her when she tightened her own grip and held on.
She continued holding his hand for the remainder of her story and explained that with what had been happening at school second year and her grandfather's passing, her parents had pulled her out a month early that year. She was supposed to make up her exams over the summer, but they got cancelled and she had lucked out.
Harry had wanted to tell her a happy story to cheer her up and found that he had frustratingly few of them. Finally, he decided to tell her about the day he had found out magic was real. He tried his best to avoid the details around the Dursleys but had accidentally let slip that his letter was marked to the cupboard under the stairs.
After he had awkwardly explained that his bedroom for the ten years leading up to his Hogwarts letter had been a cupboard Daphne looked murderous, but Harry assured her he was fine and that he had since gotten the second bedroom. He could sense that she wanted to ask more questions but was kind enough to leave the topic alone at his obvious discomfort.
He had then gone on to explain how they had tried to avoid the letters. How Hagrid had given his cousin a pig tail and was beginning to tell her about his first experience in Diagon Alley when they reached the end of their patrols. As they were the last patrols for the evening they simply had to just go back to their common rooms, but Harry could see Daphne wanted to hear more. Rather than let her drag him into an empty classroom again he asked her what she was doing the next evening.
"I was just planning on catching up on Transfiguration with Tracey, why do you ask?"
"I was struggling a bit with this most recent rune set." Harry lied. Runes had actually been coming rather easily to him since Daphne had started assisting him. "I was thinking maybe we could study in the library for a bit and when we finish, I could wrap up this story." He told her, praying he didn't sound too hopeful.
"That sounds great, Harry." She told him with a smile. "it's interesting to hear your perspective on everything considering you practically grew up as a muggleborn."
Harry smiled in return. "I'm glad you find me interesting." He laughed, "How would half five work for you?"
"That should be fine." She replied.
"Great." Harry said confidently, and before that confidence could waver any further, he spoke again. "It's a date."
It was Saturday evening and Daphne was once again preparing for a DA meeting, but today she was putting extra care into her preparation. As she applied mascara to her eyes, she attempted to will her hands to stop shaking, but was unable to do so.
Tracey seemed to pick up on her nervous energy. "Daphne, it'll be fine." She said, her voice exasperated. "Honestly, you're beautiful, smart, funny, and from what you've been telling me he likely feels the same way."
Daphne did not originally plan on telling Tracey what she had in mind for this evening, but her best friend knew her better than anyone else and she had finally caved on Thursday. When Daphne had finally relented and told her that she was planning on staying after the DA meeting tonight to tell Harry how she felt Tracey had squealed so loudly that Madam Pince had very nearly kicked them out of the library.
Daphne had been thinking of this for weeks now if she were being honest, and she had never been very patient to begin with, but like any other teenage girl she had doubts and worries when it came to boys. Maybe Harry was only being nice, maybe he didn't find her attractive, or maybe she was reading into everything too much. Those fears had been all but allayed on their most recent patrol and study date.
Their patrols had continued in much the same way they had the past couple weeks. They had shared stories back and forth and laughed and joked with one another relentlessly. However, this past week it was like something had shifted. Whatever little physical contact they had shared in the past, be it bumping shoulders or the occasional all-to-brief hugs, Daphne had almost always initiated. But at their last patrol Harry had been the one bumping into her and had even grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze when she told him about her grandfather passing.
That could have been marked up to him being more comfortable or friendly with her, but there was also a lot more smiling, and she had started catching him staring which would lead to him quickly averting his gaze and blushing. Daphne's stomach felt as if it had turned into a conservatory for the sheer number of butterflies she had been feeling fluttering inside of it in recent days.
Then on Wednesday they had met in the library for what Harry had termed a date and had breezed through their assignment and studying. Daphne realized quickly that Harry really didn't need the help, but she didn't mention it, and they spent the majority of their time together laughing and talking. Harry had told her about his first time in Diagon Alley, getting his wand and his beautiful snowy owl Hedwig. After a wonderful evening Harry had been the one to initiate a quick hug before telling her he would see her Saturday.
She had decided then that there was no point going in circles and if she was reading the signs correctly, which she was almost sure she was, it would work out wonderfully. That didn't stop her from being nervous however, and try as she might, she could not shake the niggling doubt in the back of her mind.
"Here let me." Tracey spoke snapping her back to the present. She took the mascara wand and applied it on her eyelashes, wiping off some of the makeup where it had smudged onto her eyelid. "There you look great. Now come on, let's just head there a few minutes earlier otherwise you might drive yourself crazy waiting."
Daphne nodded and they made their way down and out of the common room collecting Astoria along the way. The trek from the dungeons up to the seventh floor felt like it took much longer than usual, but simultaneously not long enough.
When they arrived, Hermione was once again there to greet them at the door and allow them entrance. As they walked through the door into the now familiar large room Daphne's eyes immediately shot to the head of Dark unruly hair that was conversing with Thomas and Finnegan. Based off of the Irishman's miming they seemed to be discussing quidditch. Daphne couldn't help but roll her eyes. Now that she had seen him her nerves seemed to calm down and she went and sat in the same seat she had been in the previous week.
She was speaking with Tracey when Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot began making polite conversation with them. She could tell that they were curious about the Slytherin's presence in the group, but enough of them had known that Harry and Daphne had been patrolling together to understand why they had been invited. Still, it was nice to see someone other than the Golden Trio make an effort to get to know them.
More students continued to file in, and Harry finally broke his conversation with his housemates. He glanced around the room, catching Daphne's eyes and giving her the small smile she had grown to adore. She smiled in return and willed the stubborn butterflies in her stomach to still.
As the last of the members walked in Hermione stood and quickly ran through announcements. She thanked everyone for coming before discussing the future schedule for lessons. She then explained how the lesson plans would begin to diverge slightly based on ability and age which the class seemed generally excited for, particularly the older years.
Once she had run through the introduction Harry took over. "Hey everyone, last week we went over the disarming and shield spells, and you all seemed to have a solid grasp on the two before we left. We're going to start today just reviewing and going over the two for a few minutes before transitioning to the reductor curse." Harry told them.
"The reductor curse is usually used to move rubble or blast solid objects into smaller pieces, or even mist if you're strong enough." He told them and the entire class was listening closely, some had even pulled out parchment and quills to take notes. "However, this curse is also used in fighting and can cause significant damage if it so much as clips you. That being said a strong enough protego can stop it but will likely shatter so a protego totalus is better suited for shielding against it because it's stronger and can also be reflexive, keeping your shield intact and sending the spell back to the original caster."
Harry paused for a moment and the class seemed to be hanging on his words waiting for what he would say next. Daphne didn't know previously but had quickly understood that Harry had a quality that drew others to him and made them want to follow him. This was at its most evident when he was teaching.
"The shield spell we'll work on next week, but this week we'll be practicing the reductor curse." He continued. "Because I don't want anyone getting hurt, we can use the dummies or have the room conjure up walls or rubble. The incantation for the spell itself is reducto and to cast it you wave your wand in a left-to-right-to-left downward zig zag. The spell should come off blue."
Harry went over some of the finer intricacies of the spell discussing common mistakes he had found while learning it, and ways to improve accuracy. Throughout the entirety of the lesson, he kept referring to the fundamentals discussing intent, will, and all of the other things they should have always known but were never taught.
Finally, he stood and made his way over to the opposite side of the room and everyone else gathered around him. He demonstrated the spell and just like he explained a jet of a pale almost lightning colored beam of blue light shot out of his wand with devastating power and accuracy striking a dummy in the chest. If it weren't for magic Daphne was sure it would have combusted.
Due to the spells dangerous nature Harry had them all work on their own firing at the dummies, and he encouraged them to help one another. As they started practicing Daphne could see Harry make his rounds once more, helping fix a wand movement with one student, before giving tips on footwork or positioning to another. Daphne was shocked to see that nearly the entire class seemed to have a good grasp on the spell rather quickly and those who didn't were being encouraged and helped along by their friends and classmates.
Daphne also noted with annoyance that Chang was requiring extra attention and assistance and that Harry was obliviously helping her. Tracey in turn noticed her ire and laughed at her but didn't say anything.
When Harry finally made his way to the trio of Slytherins he immediately began to help Astoria clean up her wand movements, and Daphne watched in awe as her third-year sister fired the spell (albeit weakly) and hit the dummy smack in between the legs.
Harry winced before congratulating Astoria who was jumping up and down in joy and encouraged her to keep practicing, then he leant over and said something quietly to her and she immediately brightened, nodding her head enthusiastically and beaming at him.
Daphne looked at him as he made his way over to them and couldn't contain her curiosity "What did you tell her?" She asked.
Harry laughed before responding quietly, "I asked her if she would like to fly with me tomorrow or sometime next week." He answered, and Daphne couldn't help but like him slightly more.
"That's kind of you, you really didn't have to." She replied
Harry shook his head "I'm actually looking forward to it. I hardly get to fly for fun anymore between classes, my lessons with Dumbledore, and this. It'll be a good time and you're welcome to come out as well." He told her.
Daphne agreed and then showed him her reductor curse which Harry complimented before giving her a tip to focus on ending the spell where she wanted it to hit as opposed to starting it there. As he was about to move on to Tracey, Daphne summoned her courage and asked him, "There's something I need to uh… go over with you… after this lesson. If you have the time, of course."
Harry nodded and looked at her quizzically, "Yeah, no problem." He replied and then with a final nod and inquisitive look he began talking with Tracey.
The remainder of the class passed quickly and soon students began to pack up and head out for the evening, attempting to get back to their common rooms before curfew. Daphne hung by with Astoria and Tracey before she eventually sent them on their way when the room was almost empty. Astoria tried to argue, but Tracey mercifully pulled her along and said she would see her later.
When Hermione and Neville, the last two students besides herself and Harry, had finally cleared out. Harry looked to her and began speaking. "Your spell work was really good, Daphne. Even the tip about accuracy was -"
"Shut up, Harry. I don't want to talk about the spell." She said, cutting him off with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh." He said simply, his eyebrows furrowing together in a ridiculously adorable manner as he attempted to think what other reason she would have to stay behind. "What did you need?" He finally asked when he came up with nothing.
Daphne took a deep breath to compose herself. She straightened her shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "When I met you this year, I mean really met you, I was curious about the type of person you were." She told him, jumping into her well-rehearsed speech, while Harry's eyebrows furrowed further in confusion at the unexpected turn the conversation had taken.
"I had heard for four years that you were attention seeking and self-centered, and that you only got by because of blatant favoritism and dumb luck." Harry looked ready to speak but she pushed on "But I noticed quickly that none of that was true."
Daphne took another steadying breath and willed her eyes to remain on Harry's, but the intensity of his own gaze was making it Hard to concentrate. "The person I got to know over the past three months has been caring and kind and funny. I've seen you save lost first years and hold their hands even though you were obviously uncomfortable." She said thinking of little Amy. "And help students just because you want them to be prepared if push comes to shove." She continued gesturing around the classroom.
"You've done all of that and so much more. Throughout this year I've come to really enjoy our time together. All of it, the patrols the studying." She noticed her eyes had made their way down to look at her wringing hands. She forced them back to his face deciding to push ahead.
"When you got hurt, I was so worried and I talked to Tracey, and I think that's when I realized." Harry continued to stare at her intently with an odd look on his face. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that over the past few months I- I've started to think that… I mean to say that when I'm with you I feel like, uh, like I'm happiest, and I don't know if you-"
She saw recognition flash in his eyes as what she was attempting to tell him finally clicked, and he bent his head down cutting her off as his lips found hers in an earnest, but tender embrace. In his haste their teeth clashed briefly, and their noses bumped, but still, the kiss was more perfect than Daphne could have ever imagined. His arms wrapped their way around her waist, pulling her closer to him and electricity jolted from her lips down to her toes and back up again, leaving her tingling and warm.
The butterflies in her stomach erupted in an intense explosion of feelings and sensations she had never experienced before, and just as she was sure she was going to lose herself forever in his lips and the arms snaked around her, he pulled back slightly looking at her and panting. His glasses were crooked on his face and his cheeks were flushed crimson, but that small smile that he seemed to wear only for her was present. His green eyes shone brilliantly with emotion brightening his face, and Daphne's heart soared as she was filled with a contentment and warmth that encompassed her entire being.
"I feel the exact same way." He whispered softly, snapping her out of her reverie.
"I wasn't even able to properly explain how I felt." She huffed in mock annoyance, smiling as she looked at him.
"Exactly." He muttered, and then his lips were on hers again.
AN: They did the thing! Feedback is always appreciated, and I would of course love to hear all your thoughts.
