Chapter 9 - The Party - Part Two
As they got a bit closer to the windows, Daphne released Harry's hand, for fear of her Dad thinking she was taking things a bit fast, but it turned out that Cyrus had left the property. Ellanore told them that Tracey was already up in Daphne's bedroom, so Daphne went up to join her to finish getting ready, while Ellanore invited Harry back into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
"So, Cyrus has left then," Harry said as the attractive Lady Greengrass poured him a mug of the steaming brown liquid, "I hope everything's alright."
"Oh yes, he said he just wanted to go and check our stocks, but between you and me I think he just made himself scarce so he wouldn't have to see his daughters frolicking about in their bikinis with boys he didn't know," Ellanore replied with an amused smile.
Harry looked into his coffee and took a sip. He stared into it for a moment. As lovely as Ellanore seemed, he didn't know what to say to her. It was a bit awkward. Should he probe around any common interests? Should he gush about Daphne and how she made him both enticed with how smart and passionate she was and simultaneously made him want to rip her clothes off and do a variety of things to her that he'd either read in textbooks or that the guys had bantered about in the common room? Yeah, that was a bad idea. He was at a loss. Luckily, Ellanore spoke up first.
"I just wanted to say thank you again for your help with Astoria, Harry," she said, stirring her drink.
"You don't need to keep thanking me," Harry answered, trying to show her he meant it.
"I don't feel like I can ever stop thanking you," she replied with a happy chuckle. "Not just for saving her life but for removing the life debt. Astoria told me she'd even explained to you that we would've had no choice but to give you Daphne's hand in marriage had you asked for it. When we'd first found out how you saved Astoria's life, we thought that a request for marriage was exactly what was going to happen. After all, we've heard a lot about the kind of attention some of the boys have been giving her in school. I know my daughter is beautiful, but from what I've heard the boys in your year would think you a bit mad for not asking for Daphne's hand."
"Oh they definitely would, and she is beautiful, and she seems so driven and smart. I just don't agree with it, forcing two people to wed" Harry said, taking a sugar cube and dropping it into his cup, "Arranged marriages in the muggle world are something we read of in history books about times more than a century ago when women were essentially sold off like cattle."
"That's exactly what Daphne thinks about the whole thing but Cyrus and I had an arranged marriage and we grew to love each other."
"Ah, but are you the exception, or the rule?" Harry challenged.
Ellanore took a sip of her coffee and frowned in thought before continuing.
"I guess we are the exception," she said, "I'm very lucky in that regard. A bit of advice, though, I'd be careful about who you advise about what traditions you're against. Your last display at the Wizengamot has placed you firmly in with our grey, middle-ground peers. If you talk too openly about what you don't like, people may think you are more light-sided, pushing for change with no real thought. It's up to you though, of course."
"Oh..kayyy," Harry said, stretching the word while he thought, "Thank you for your advice. So if I did want to discuss traditions with people of your faction or on the more traditionalist side, I'm guessing I'd need to demonstrate understanding of any practice and only suggest a change if I could show I'd given the change enough thought on any impacts. A lot more work, but a lot more pragmatic."
"Exactly," she replied. They both knew he needed no real acknowledgement there, he was just using her as a sounding, but she was happy to help.
"So, just as a thought exercise, arranged marriages are less about money and more about forging beneficial alliances through family magic, right? What if there were a way to let the spouses keep that without the exchange of gold while letting witches and wizards who aren't within the Wizengamot to also merge their family magics they might've created? There's never been any new families in the Wizengamot, and as horrible as it sounds, if by some cataclysmic event it happened, there should be a way to create more."
"It doesn't solve the problem of the feeling of being sold off like cattle, such a change would mean marriages would likely still be arranged to occur between Houses with strong family magic, like the Wizengamot, but it would preserve the integrity of the Wizegamot itself. While we're talking about it, I might as well explain how it works. When the two families make a contract and agree on a quantity of gold to be transferred, on an agreed date in the days before the wedding the agreed amount is transferred between the families' vaults and passes beneath seals at every Gringotts entrance. Members of the same family have the same seal. Any time gold passes a vault door its seal creates a kind of magic signature that the Goblins capture, interpret and bind into the seal of receipt that they add to their documentation. It's the reason why we no know now that Sirius Black never had a trial, thanks to you. The presence of these two seals is an essential part of how the contract works. At the wedding, the bride and groom each touch their wands to their family's seal on the contract before the ceremony and when they make their vow at the altar the magic of the contract merges the two seals as one. The magic that takes place in the ceremony recognises the two individuals within their families have come together. It's this which allows the other family to get past the "locks" on certain family tomes and to cast spells that magic requires a House member's correct magical signature to cast, with magic now recognising the new spouse as part of the family."
"I see, thank you for explaining that to me."
"No problem, I can see why many would be against changing it. It's something that generations will have used and has been proven to work. I'm guessing I'd have to somehow come up with an even better way to change it and fully assess any issues before even thinking to suggest. Ugh, there's so much I don't know."
"Well, we're always happy to help, life debt or not. We do still owe you though, no matter what you say. Daphne was very pleased, she's been dreading having a betrothal contract and an arranged marriage all her life, and while it's unfortunately inevitable, we're glad that you declining the life debt meant we'd have more time to figure out the best options for her."
Harry felt a ball of disappointment sink in him like a lead balloon. Did that mean they'd ruled him out, then? He had no choice but to ask.
"And what if I wanted to, er - court Daphne? Would that be okay?"
Ellanore looked at him appraisingly now, the same ice-blue eyes as Daphne, studying him. She finished the last of her coffee before speaking.
"Harry, from what I've heard about you, not in the "Prophet" mind, you're growing up to be a very respectable wizard. I know Fudge is full of it, and that the Dark Lord has returned, but if you continue to show the same level of thought and respect as you have to our ideals as you have been then Cyrus and I wouldn't be opposed to you dating Daphne, though it's her choice of course."
"Er…thank you." he said, not able to keep the blooming off his face."
"Now, I want you to behave today as if you have no care in the world. When, not if, word gets back to the Dark Lord via Draco, we'll say to the Malfoys that the Greengrasses aren't naive and they know that if they were to choose a side, Daphne potentially being able to get information may be valuable."
Harry hadn't thought about that. Were the Greengrasses under pressure to join the Dark Lord? Would they join him? Was this a bad idea?
Ellanore saw the look of worry on Harry's face and quickly jumped in to stop it.
"We're not mind you, ever, going to join him, but the neutral image is something we need to maintain until Death Eaters come calling. This time we will have to put our eggs in your side's basket, even if it might put us in danger. I'll be damned if my family is going to follow a man who goes around murdering innocent folk for no good reason."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief.
"I understand, I won't lie you had me in a bit of a panic there. I know some of the people I live with had some…let's say had some not-so-nice things to say about me coming here."
Ellanore waved her hand at him, brushing him off and picking up their mugs she walked across the kitchen to place them in the nearby sink.
"Bah," she said, "The light side is just pissed because they want to fight without killing and don't like how we don't automatically vote "yes" on their proposals, and so because they think not voting yes to those ill-conceived changes is immoral, they brand us as dark sometimes. The clever ones know better, like Augusta Longbottom of course, but unfortunately, there isn't a great deal of critical thinking in the Wizarding World."
"I see," Harry said.
"Now, why don't you go and get changed, have you got a T-shirt as well as swimming shorts?"
"Yeah."
"I imagine Daphne will be back down soon enough, though she can be awful at getting ready for things on time. There's a bathroom just behind me to the left, once you're done just relax on the patio, the table is set for snacks and drinks so just grab what you like. We've got you all set for the whole night, don't tell Daphne but Cyrus organised a couple of fireworks for later"
"Thanks. Will do." Harry replied with a grin and went off to get changed.
"What, so let me get this straight, you won't tell me anything he told you because you made a vow to gain his trust, but your conversation was enough for you to actually try and kiss the guy? When have you ever done that?!"
Daphne had been in her bedroom for nearly twenty-five minutes now and she was nearly ready. With a cute little black dress on that wasn't too revealing up top but showed a good amount of leg, she was currently sitting at her dressing table, painstakingly applying her makeup while her best friend Tracey, who was decked out in a blue and white flowery summer dress, was busy spelling various ribbons to tie up her hair.
"Never, Trace," Daphne admitted, "I haven't kissed anyone since the Yule Ball, but I wish you could know some of the things he told me, some of the things he's done and…He said he would want his wife to actually be her own person and then he also showed me some actual vulnerability. What guy does that? And then, when I hugged him to say thank you for saving Astoria, having his strong arms wrapped around me it just felt so -"
"Wait, strong arms? This is Harry we're talking about, yeah?"
"Hohhh yeah," Daphne said, with a sound that let Tracey know she had no idea of what she'd seen, "I won't spoil the surprise, but he's not skinny Harry Potter anymore, he's stronger, not just in body, but the way he just…is. I was definitely gonna kiss him if you hadn't turned up, early I might add, and ruined the damn moment!"
"Ha, sorry about that," Tracey replied, "Sounds like someone's smitten."
"No, I'm not." Daphne answered defensively, though her speed of response highlighted her denial, "He's just the first boy I've ever met who I think might actually make a good boyfriend."
"So you say, but you didn't see your expression when you walked in here. Did he get you anything for your birthday?"
"Yeah, but he asked me to not open it in front of him," she replied, holding up the small red gift from Harry before placing it back down on the far corner of her dressing table.
"Are you gonna open it, or what?" Tracey asked impatiently.
"Shouldn't I wait for my birthday?"
Tracey finished examining herself in Daphne's floor-length mirror and turned around to face her.
"Are you telling me you think you can wait that long to see what it is?"
Tracey knew her well, too well considering this one sentence quickly stripped her of any resolve to wait.
"But maybe it would be nice to have something to open on my birthday," she said, weakly.
"Oh you know you're gonna open it so just open it." Tracey snapped with a grin.
"Okay." Daphne agreed. She put down her make-up brush, slid the present back over to herself and gently unwrapped the shimmering scarlet paper. The initial unwrapping didn't reveal much, just a sleek black jewellery box with swirling gold writing that said "Llewelyn Jewellers and Co."
Recognising the name of the jewellers, the best in Diagon Alley, made Daphne's hands start to shake. Tracey was by her side and they looked at each other with wide-eyed mutual understanding. Tentatively, Daphne lifted the lid and opened it to reveal a small envelope covering its contents. She put that one side to reveal…a necklace.
"Daphne, is that goblin silver?" Tracey asked, even though both of them knew that it was by the way the metal faintly shone a rainbow of colours in the light.
Daphne gently picked up the small silver pendant and delicate silver chain and held it up for Tracey to see.
"It's beautiful," Daphne said, examining it closely.
"It's a lily," Tracey said curiously, "Why a lily?"
Daphne let out a little gasp of recognition, "His mother was called Lily. Her love for him…" she started, trailing off as she remembered her vow. Instead, in her head she repeated the whole sentence: "Her love for him saved his life."
"It's beautiful, Daph, he has great taste. Wait, is it a locket? Look, there's a little hinge."
Examining it further, Daphne spotted a tiny button on one side. Holding the locket steady, she gave it a click and the lily swung forward. On the right side on a flat silver backplate, were engraved the words "We protect our own, with love. H.J.S.P.''. On the left, nestled into the underside of the flower itself was a small, almost impossibly black stone.
"There are tiny gold runes all over it. What do you think it does?" Tracey asked.
"I dunno," Daphne said, still staring at the thing. "Oh wait, there's a letter."
She handed the delicate necklace to Tracey and picked up the envelope that had come in the box. Unfolding it almost frantically she nearly tore the letter out of the packet as she sat back down by her dressing table to read.
"Daphne,
Happy Birthday.
I hope you realise the meaning of the flower I've chosen for your present. If you don't, Lily was my mother's name, and she gave her life for mine. With this piece of jewellery, just like with yourself, as beautiful as the flower is, what's more important is what's inside. In the locket is a miniaturised version of a ritual stone. Wear it whenever you're around raw ambient magic and the stone will capture it from the environment and store it for later use. It can hold a large quantity of magic and should fill very quickly within Hogwarts. The stone will allow you, three times, to channel the stored magic into a semi-permanent ward, or a single, channelled spell, like if you wanted to use the Incarcerous spell on pesky younger sister, for example. Just hold the tip of your wand to the stone for five seconds to activate it and the magic of your next spell will come from the stone, not yourself. I never had any time with my family, but I'm glad I can provide some more time for you to spend with yours.
Love, Harry."
By the time Daphne had finished the letter, tears were streaming down her face.
"What is it, Daph?"
She let out a relieved, happy, grateful, disbelieving laugh amidst freefalling tears as she handed Tracey the letter to read. By the end, she was crying as well.
"Oh my God," Tracey said with a happy chuckle at her best friend's good fortune, "I didn't know something like this even existed. But I tell you what, Daph, if Harry buys presents like that just for your nineteenth birthday If you don't marry this guy then I will!"
Daphne half ignored her jibe and was just staring lovingly at the locket, tears still in her eyes, unable to keep the smile on her face.
"You know what this means, don't you?" asked Tracey. Daphne didn't respond right away, she was too busy staring at her lily.
"What?"
"You know what this means, don't you?"
"You know how great you look in your new bikini. And once you've got your kick off you'll be the sexiest belle of the ball. But if you're going to catch Harry for certain, ensure "Big Tits Bones" never even had a chance, we're gonna need to find you a more… eye-catching dress. Let's make him like putty in the palms of your hands."
Daphne looked over at her best friend and smiled deviously.
Harry quickly got changed in the bathroom before looking himself over in the mirror. His head was spinning with the day's events so far. Ellanore had pretty much given her permission for him to date Daphne and after what had happened in the stable, it felt like a real possibility, he just hoped the gift he'd given her hadn't been too much. Thinking back, his heart skipped at the moment when they were about to kiss for the first time. His whole body had been tingling with anticipation, but then Tracey had arrived to ruin it. Drat.
He headed out of the bathroom in his muggle clothes, through the now-empty kitchen and its French double doors that had now been left open. It seemed the house was perched on top of a plateau, allowing a view of picturesque English countryside for miles around. He'd stepped onto a large patio, tiled with terracotta in a hexagonal pattern. To his right was a large square oak table, with four benches big enough to fit four people each.
Upon the table, which was shadowed by a large, square, cream parasol, were several bowls of various snacks, including crisps (or potato chips) cocktail sausages, boxes of chocolate frogs, Every-Flavour beans, Fizzing Whizbees, chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin pasties. There were three large pitchers of various drinks including the lemonade he'd had earlier, a bowl of punch, an array of glasses and a box filled with ice that was fully stocked with bottles of butterbeer. A little way away from the table there were four large wooden deckchairs with cream upholstery and small tables in between. A large barbecue stood nearby, looking like it had been recently cleaned but it hadn't been turned on yet.
When Harry looked to his right, a little further away from the property and seating area was a large swimming pool, complete with a diving board, more deckchairs and a separate hot tub. The hot tub and pool were built into fine wooden decking and around their borders were several glass circles, clearly lights that would come on at nighttime.
Harry sat at the table and grabbed a bottle of butterbeer. He sat for around fifteen minutes, wondering what he would say when people got here. Who would come first?
The answer soon came when he heard voices coming from the kitchen. A moment later, out stepped Astoria and Draco Malfoy, who looked distinctly uncomfortable in a pair of navy swimming shorts and a pale blue dress shirt.
"So can you be nice?" Harry heard Astoria day as they exited the doors, and then their eyes all met. Harry got to his feet.
"Heir Malfoy," Harry said, with an acknowledging nod.
"Lord Slytherin-Potter," Draco said coolly, before making a very stiff bow. He then looked down at himself. Harry thought Draco must be feeling distinctly uncomfortable in muggle clothes and he knew Draco must've hated having to bow to him. He remembered what Daphne had said in the stables, about Draco having a good side. It wouldn't be good to show any animosity here. Could he break the ice somehow?
"You look good, Heir Malfoy," Harry said. Draco seemed to instantly take it the wrong way and he opened his mouth in a sneer but Harry quickly spoke further.
"I mean it. I bet you don't feel comfortable in muggle clothes, but the shirt looks smart and the whole outfit is fitting for your House's noble standing."
"I…" Draco started, stunned, "Thank you, I think."
"See," Astoria said with an encouraging smile, "You can be nice."
"We can be," Harry said, smiling in turn, "Look, Heir Malfoy, I know we've never been friends, and we may never fully see eye-to-eye, but I'm learning more and more about my position and as someone who has a lot of knowledge about the…pureblood area of the wizarding world, well let's just say you're better prepared for your Lordship than I will be for a long time. In the future, we might be of benefit to each other. If you want, we can start again, either just for today or even when we're back at school. Call me Harry, when you want to."
Draco stood there in shock. He hasn't been expecting his sworn enemy to say that. When Astoria had said Potter was here he'd been expecting it to dissolve quickly into insults, but Harry had been civil, friendly even. He'd had an olive branch extended to him, but should he take it? Wouldn't it be good to be at least on civil terms with the Lord of Slytherin? The Dark Lord might ask questions of him, but Harry would know that so what was the harm?
"Astoria seems to like you," Draco said with a shrug, "Though I guess you know I'm going to have to report to my father how today went."
"You can just tell him we acted cordially to each other and both showed respect to the other's positions." Harry said, and in then a stage whisper, said "You don't need to tell him we had fun."
Draco allowed himself to match Harry's small smile.
"Alright, Harry," he said, "Call me Draco."
And then they did something both of them never thought they'd do, they shook hands. Astoria was beaming.
It was at that exact moment Neville Longbottom, full of apprehension at having been invited to such a party, walked onto the patio and saw Harry shaking hands with Draco Malfoy of all people. He gave a sideways look at the unusual situation, but the handshake ended and both of them sat down opposite each other at what looked like a wonderfully laden table. He walked over and sat on the bench to the left of his fellow Gryffindor.
"Hiya, Harry, how's it going?" Neville asked.
"Great, thanks, buddy. You?"
"I'm good."
"I didn't expect to see you here today, Heir Longbottom." Draco drawled.
"Well, I am, Heir Malfoy, can we be cordial?" Neville asked evenly.
"Of course," Draco said, glancing at Astoria staring at him, "Harry here even suggested we have fun!"
" "Harry", eh?" Neville remarked.
"Until he calls me a jumped-up Pureblood, yeah," replied Draco with a smirk.
"That's until you act like one, Draco."
Harry says with a grin.
"What about a jumped-up Funblood instead?" Astoria suggested, making everyone laugh.
"Sounds like a plan," Draco said.
Next came Pansy, Millicent, Blaise and Tracey. Neville, catching Harry's eye, mouthed "We stand." and Harry got to his feet with the others to greet their fellow guests.
One by one, each of the new people to the group made their way over to him, said "Good to see you Lord Slytherin." and either bowed or curtsied, to which Harry replied, "Good to see you as well."
Tracey was the last to approach him, in a flat blue and white summer dress. She made the customary curtsy, but instead said "Hiya Harry, it's nice to see you here," completely ignoring the curious looks that were shot at her when using Harry's first name from the other Slytherins.
"Hiya Tracey," Harry replied, "I like your dress."
She smiled, but that turned into a cheeky smirk as she said "You'll like Daph's more. She'll be here in a few, she's just bringing through the last of the guests. Ah, here they are now."
Finally, came Susan and Hannah strolling over towards him. Harry had to admit that Susan looked good, in a Hufflepuff yellow summer dress with ruffled sleeves and a low neckline that accentuated her figure. He caught a glimpse of Terry Boot as well, who was talking to someone just inside the doorway, but he could only make out a vague colour of red from the distance they were at.
Susan and Hannah then took up his attention. Susan was very forward, grinning as almost she skipped towards him, said "Hi", and then hugged him tightly, crushing her generous cleavage onto his chest before she and Hannah both gave the customary greeting towards him.
Next came Terry, and when Harry heard Lord Slytherin-Potter for another time and had to suffer yet another bow, he was just done with it. He was all for being shown the proper respect, but he had to say something. He turned to the group who were all still on their feet and mingling around the table.
"Guys, everyone," he said, getting the group's attention.
"Look, Mister big shot politician's making an announcement already," Tracey said, inciting a chorus of laughter.
"No announcement," Harry said to them, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "I just wanted to say that today's event was made for both an early party for Daphne and an opportunity for us to get to know each other. With luck, many of us will find ourselves sitting in the Wizengamot together one day. I'd like to start my political relationships on good terms. So for today, if you want, you can all call me Harry, I don't want any of that bowing and curtseying, you've all known me or known of me for years. Today, let us just be students having a good time."
"I can get behind that." a familiar voice said behind him. Harry turned, and he couldn't help it, but his jaw dropped.
Daphne was standing in front of him in the most beautiful gown that he'd ever seen. It would've been something that had fit in at the yule ball, but Harry thought she looked like a supermodel. She was dressed all in scarlet, in a form-fitting dress with spaghetti straps and an almost criminally low-dipping sweetheart neckline. Below the swell of her generous breasts, her form slimmed down into a tiny waist, but then the dress kicked out around her wide hips, the fabric coming loose as it went to just above the floor. A slit in the fabric that went all the way up to her mid-thigh revealed a creamy, slender and well-toned leg, decorated with a delicate silver ankle bracelet and strappy high stilettos in the same colour as the dress.
Her face was made up exquisitely, with light brown eyeshadow, eyeliner, just a hint of blush and sinfully red lipstick. As he took in her very kissable-looking lips, he noticed a glint of shimmering silver and saw that she was wearing his gift, the finely detailed lily hung beautifully on her slender neck.
She couldn't help the half-lipped smirk on her face at Harry's reaction. He stood there, stunned as she proudly sauntered past him and addressed the group.
"Harry's right. I'm not Heir Greengrass today, I'm just Daphne."
"And I'm Neville."
"Why don't we agree to just use each other's first names? All of us," Astoria asked.
"I'm game," said Blaise.
"Me too," said Susan, followed by rest giving their agreement together.
The group's agreement to be a little bit naughty and not conform to the rules shattered the ice and brought an excited atmosphere of anticipation, to which Pansy cried, "Woohoo, let's get pissed!"
"It's just light alcohol in the punch, Pansy, and Mitsy, our house elf will be checking for spiking." Daphne corrected, "Though if you managed to bring something like I know you did, we could probably get away with having some a bit later."
"Hooray!" Pansy cheered and gave her friend a big hug.
With the ice broken and all introductions over with, Harry sat back down at the table and grabbed another butterbeer, trying not to look at Daphne too much for fear of staring. Staring, unfortunately, was something Terry Boot was doing quite obviously while the girls all dragged Daphne quite far away from the table and they formed a sort of huddle. Harry seriously did not like the lecherous way Terry was looking at Daphne at all, even though with how incredible she looked, Harry couldn't blame him. He tried to ignore feelings about the Boot Heir's gaze by spending some time talking to Neville, whose muggle outfit was more akin to muggle gardening wear than an outfit he could go swimming in. They talked about the upcoming trial and drank butterbeer together, while Terry, Blaise and Draco laid out on the deckchairs nearby with glasses of lemonade.
With Harry focusing on his conversation with Neville, Harry didn't notice the sneaky looks towards him and the giggles that were erupting from the girls as they huddled together, but their half-whispered conversation was all about him.
"Have you seen how much he's grown since the end of term though? It's insane." exclaimed Susan, "He looks like a seventh-year!"
"Do you think it's something to do with becoming Lord of Slytherin?" Hannah whispered excitedly.
"Must be," said Pansy "Don't see how anything else fits."
"Well he fits that plain white t-shirt alright, his arms look great." said Tracey, causing further giggles as she caught Daphne's "I told you so" look.
"Do you think he'd be able to pick me up?" asked Astoria.
"Oh easy," said Millicent, "I bet he could pick you up and throw you around like a rag doll."
"He can pick me up and throw me around like a rag doll," said Susan. Everyone laughed, apart from Daphne, and Tracey who gave Daphne a little warning look at the obvious declaration of competition.
"Well, we still can't get with him guys," said Millicent, "You-know-who's after him, it would be dangerous, the Dark Lord will kill him sooner or later and you don't want to be connected to him in that way when he does."
"Yeah, but I could have a bit of fun with him before he carks it," said Pansy with a mischievous, giggle-inducing look.
"If he carks it," Daphne said, almost angry at the casual way Millicent was suggesting that it was obvious that Harry would meet his demise.
"You don't really think he stands a chance, do you?" said Millicent, incredulously.
"Let's see," Daphne started raising a hand ready to count Harry's feats off on her fingers, "He beat the most powerful Dark Lord as a baby. He beat a mountain troll at eleven. He was at the centre of what happened with the Chamber of Secrets and received a special award for services to the school. He won the Triwizard tournament against Three adults. He escaped again from the Dark Lord at the end of last term. He's now Lord of not only House Potter but House Slytherin, which is famed for having access to some of the most powerful family magics ever seen. He also trounced Fudge in the Wizengamot on his first appearance after a trial that proved he could cast a Patronus charm -"
The majority of the girls seemed to be coming around to her way of thinking, judging by their expressions, but Pansy interrupted her.
"He's not powerful enough to cast a proper, corporeal one though. I bet he can only cast the wispy one."
"Why don't we ask him?" Tracey suggested, "With the wards, we can use spells here."
"He's not a performing house elf, Trace," replied Daphne, glaring.
"I'll ask him," Astoria declared excitedly, but before Daphne could stop her, her dear sister had already gone.
While this conversation was developing, Harry and Neville quickly moved their conversation on.
Neville told Harry that the only reason he came today was because he knew Harry would be coming too, and that he was surprised Harry did, what with Draco being here. Terry, who was now seated with them at the table nodded in agreement.
"Draco is just what his father made him, Nev," Harry said, quietly enough so Draco and Blaise on the deckchairs couldn't hear him, "But he doesn't spend all year with Daddy Lucius. I think some of the good might be seeping in. Look at the way he is watching Astoria."
"Wow, you think he likes her? Who knew Heir Malfoy had a softer side?" Terry remarked quietly.
"I dunno." Harry answered, keeping his volume low, "It sounds weird, but today he's shown he can be reasonable, I just don't think he's really "bad" bad. Just brought up on some stupid ideas. We should challenge his ideas, but respectfully."
"But what do we say?" Neville whispered.
Harry took a swig of butterbeer, then said. "Nothing yet, let everyone chill out for a bit."
"Hey Harry!' Astoria nearly shouted, bounding over from the girls towards him.
"What?" Harry responded cheekily and just as obnoxiously loudly.
"Will you show us your Patronus?" she asked excitedly.
"Is that a euphemism?" Terry said, breaking into sniggers.
"Ew no," Astoria responded, looking at him that there was something wrong with him before turning back to Harry.
"Pleeeeeaaase," she said, shaking him by the arm, "The girls and I wanna see it."
"He can't cast a full one. We all saw it at the Quidditch match," called Blaise from his deckchair.
"I can actually" Harry corrected.
"Pfft, prove it." was Blaise's response.
"Will you prove it? Pleeeease?" she begged, shaking his arm again.
"Astoria, I don't wanna be a show-off. It's not my party."
"I wouldn't mind seeing one," said Terry, "If you can do it."
"Me neither," said Neville, "Never seen one for real."
"But the other guys might not like it. I don't wanna be a show-off."
Astoria looked at Draco with puppy dog eyes, he'd obviously been eavesdropping on the conversation in between handfuls of mixed nuts.
"Fine."
"Yaaaaay!" Astoria cried as Harry stood up.
"Now I hope you're watching 'cause I'm only gonna do this once," he said to her.
The girls had all turned towards him.
Raising his wand, he filled himself with the feeling of love he'd felt after his visit to the Chamber of Secrets to prep for the trial when he'd found out Sirius was still awake and waiting for him, and pronounced "Expecto Patronum."
The silvery spell streamed from his wand and Prongs quickly materialised, glowing brightly despite the bright sun and filling the patio with a feeling of happiness and love. After the initial "ooooh" the girls stared at Harry in awe as the ethereal stag cantered a lap around the whole party.
"Told you he was powerful," Daphne said lowly to Pansy, and Tracey gave her a smirk.
Soon after, the rest of the girls all joined them at the big table. Susan had darted ahead of the pack and sat down right next to Harry. Tracey, watching this, stood next to the entrance to their bench on the other side and then moved out of the way for Daphne to sit on his other side. Daphne loved her best friend sometimes.
As Daphne sat down next to him, she greeted him with bubbly "Hi!", and reached forward for a butterbeer.
"Hi you," Harry replied with a grin, "You look amazing."
"Thanks," she replied, blushing.
"That's a lovely necklace," Harry remarked as if he'd never seen it before, "Who got it for you?"
"Oh, just one of my admirers," she replied with a twinkle in her eyes, "He's devilishly handsome."
Harry blushed and was too taken aback by her response to think of a snappy enough retort. Her attention was quickly taken away by Terry, who had slid up his bench to sit diagonally next to her. Harry was polite and didn't want to show any jealousy, so he listened into a conversation Tracey was having about how ridiculous the amount of homework they'd been given this year was. The group spent a while all talking, drinking and eating together, before Astoria mentioned showing some of them the Leucrottas in the stables, and she, Pansy, Millicent and Hannah set off to go and visit them.
With several of the girls gone, the conversation turned to politics.
"What will you do now, Harry, now that the House of Slytherin is gonna be on the light side of the room?" Susan asked.
"It's not," Harry replied, frowning at her assumption.
"What do you mean? You are on the side of the light, aren't you?"
"Where I sit will be in the front row, centre," he replied.
"But, that's where the greys sit!"
"It is," Harry said.
Susan fluttered her eyelashes at him and sent him a sultry smile. "So you haven't given it much thought then, there are lots of benefits to being on the light side," she said, putting a hand on his leg.
Daphne thought that if she were a veela she might burn this girl to cinders, but couldn't help but grin to herself as Harry immediately and gingerly lifted Susan's hand from his leg and placed it back on her lap.
Terry then came back in from the bathroom and sat where he had before.
"Hey, Daphne," he said, with his winningest smile, "Do you wanna go for a walk? You could show me the house."
"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, tartly.
"This conversation is boring, come on," he said exaggeratedly, "Come on, I can tell you all about the new broom my Dad got me when he got more shares in Nimbus -"
"I'm not. Interested," she said with an icy tone.
"Oh come on," Terry said again. He wasn't getting the message and he was doing Harry's head in.
"She said she's not interested, Terry," said Harry, sharply. "Take the hint."
He took a glance at Daphne who flashed an appreciative smile. Terry folded his arms and went in a huff for a while.
"As I was saying, I have thought about it, Susan. I've decided that as the head of a house known for its keeping of traditions, I don't understand a lot of them enough to make a judgement about how I feel about them, like how family magics work for example."
"A very mature response," commented Daphne.
"Ah, but when you do, surely you will wanna make changes," Susan said plainly.
"No changes are needed," Blaise responded almost aggressively.
"Yes," chimed in Draco, "They're perfect the way they are."
"I think it's naive to think that society can't be improved," said Daphne.
"Exactly. Even Voldemort wants to improve it in his own way" said Neville.
Neville's fearlessness in brazenly saying the Dark Lord's name surprised Harry, but the utterance of it brought shudders through the rest of the group.
"It's just a name guys and you lot were barely even born in the last war."
"It's just something that's part of society now, we can't stop it. It's part of us." Susan said, shrugging.
"Of course you can. Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Harry replied, channelling Hermione. "If you're already afraid of an evil man's name, what chance do we have?"
"You say he's evil," said Draco, leaning forward to grab a chocolate frog, "My father says otherwise. He believes that muggleborns stole our magic and it should be taken from them by force."
"Yeaaaah, but they didn't though," said Neville, like it stupidly obvious, "Be real."
"How didn't they?" said Draco, his well-honed sneer now beginning to enter the conversation.
"What do you guys know about genetics?" Harry said.
"What?" said Susan.
"Like how muggle clone plants and stuff? Neville asked.
"Okay, so genetics is the thing that decides inheritance," Harry explained, "It's how you might have your Dad's colour hair, Draco, or Susan has the same brown eyes as her aunt. Muggles have worked out that through microscopes - the opposite of telescopes, they can see things far smaller than our eyes - that when…jeez, I can't believe I'm going to talk about this kinda stuff.
When a man and a woman have sex and they succeed in making a baby the man's seed and what they call a woman's ovum meet inside the woman's body they combine.
Now each sperm, that's one of millions of tiny "seeds" inside the man's "seed' and in each ovum - which the woman gets a new one every month - contains half the information that's needed to decide the baby's characteristics. The bit of information that decides a given feature is called a gene. This could be something as basic as hair colour, bone density, height, intelligence, everything.
Take Mr and Mrs Weasley, the information given by them in their children's conception always says 'red hair." because they both have red hair and so every one of their children is born with it. Daphne's Mum and Dad have blue and brown eyes respectively. Astoria has brown ones while Daphne's are blue. Now sometimes, a deciding gene will have more of an influence than the other; my Dad had black, untameable hair, but if I look at photos of my ancestors, even though their spouses often had different types of hair, the men always had the same as mine.
"Makes sense enough," says Susan, "You're so clever, Harry."
Daphne gritted her teeth but said nothing.
"But what does that have to do with muggleborns?" Draco asked.
"Well, you see, on some occasions, quite often, features that haven't been seen for generations in a family pop up occasionally. Sometimes it happens randomly, a mutation that no one yet knows why it happened. Sometimes though, a new parent's ancestor had a given feature but had a less influential version of the gene, therefore it hadn't shown up in that new parent's characteristics at their birth but was still present in their seed, and when the gene that they give in their part of the conception happens to still be stronger than the gene the other gives, the age-old characteristic shows up. It's incredibly likely this is what happens with whether or not you have magic. Two magical parents are nearly 100 percent likely to have a magical child, but with muggleborns -
"So, then why would two children of a pureblood and a muggleborn like you still have magic?" Blaise interrupted.
"Magic is powerful, if it is present in the seed, it's likely it is usually strong and therefore inherited," replied Harry.
"So you think muggleborns get magic as a random mutation, or it's from a long-lost relative?" asked Draco.
It makes sense, as much as I hate to admit it." said Blaise.
"For you maybe." replied the Malfoy Heir, "How is it you even know so much cutting-edge muggle science? Is it even that well known?"
"It's something that I learned in muggle school at ten, that's when everyone is taught it. Head into London and go to a muggle shop called WHSmith and ask for a year 6 science textbook and you'll see what I mean. It's that well understood by muggles, Draco, it's an intrinsic part of their understanding of the world. They've been working on genetics for years. Recently the top muggle scientists even managed to use their knowledge to create exact copies of animals called clones in a lab. The sheep were completely, down to the base level. More identical than identical twins."
"I can't believe it," said Blaise, leaning back in shock. "How isn't this well known in the wizarding world? This would completely change how we understand magic!"
"So…Muggleborns are born with magic through no fault of their own…they don't force us to give them our blood or anything? asked Draco, clearly struggling to process what he'd learned.
"No," answered Harry.
"Would that even work?" asked Daphne.
"No," Harry repeated, "Muggles don't have blood replenishment potions so loads of them donate their blood every three months, which is taken to a storage facility so it can be pushed into muggles who are bleeding out through tiny pipes, but it doesn't change their characteristics whatsoever."
"That's so gross," said Terry.
"It's pretty interesting, said Daphne, I'm impressed, Harry."
"Thanks," he replied, shooting a smile at her that made her catch her breath before he continued, "But yeah Draco, no one steals magic, even muggleborns have bouts of accidental magic. Loads of the muggleborns in Gryffindor talk about it as it was such a big deal to their families at the time."
"It's true," said Susan, "Auntie says it's the main part of Obliviators' jobs."
"But then why is no one talking about this?" asked Blaise, almost angrily, his new perspective clearly getting him frustrated with the state of things.
"Lots of people want to keep the status quo, it's safe," said Neville, "I bet loads of them do know about it when you talk about it now, Harry. Admitting muggles know more about some things than we do is scary, especially to a lot of the Wizengamot. People fear things they don't understand, so they just don't talk about it."
"I… I have to talk to Father about this," said Draco, who was struggling to know what to think.
"Don't Draco," Harry said, suddenly and very seriously.
"What, why?" Draco replied.
"What do you think might happen if the Dark Lord got wind that you had questions about his ideals?"
Draco gulped.
"It's okay," Harry said, trying to be comforting, "I'm not gonna tell you everything your father believes is wrong, I'm sure he believes in many traditions that have a good reason behind them, but you're becoming your own man. If we're to be colleagues one day, I'd like my colleague to be a man who makes up his own mind about the world by making his own effort to understand it, not just from what his Dad has told him."
"My…that's what my mum was saying," Draco said, clearly just now fully processing the meaning of her words.
"There you go then," Harry said, sitting back and draining his drink. All that talking had made him very thirsty.
The conversation then moved on to Quidditch, and once Draco had finished just staring into space trying to process his newly shaken worldview, he told Harry that he'd be practising all summer and that there was no way Harry would be able to beat him if he wasn't on a Firebolt. At Neville's insistent that he could, Harry agreed to facilitate a bet between them. They would get a week to get used to each other's brooms before the Gryffindor vs Slytherin game and then fly them against each other. Ten galleons were placed on the winner. Terry, Susan and Daphne all decided to get in on the action as well.
Terry, insistent on trying to impress Daphne, proudly told them all about his new Nimbus Two Thousand and Five and offered her to take a ride on it when they were back at Hogwarts. He was swiftly declined, much to Harry's delight, but then Terry proceeded to boast further about his father's shares in Nimbus and how he could get anyone a better deal on a broom like his if they were on good terms with him or his father.
After a while more chatting, mostly about the different teachers, Harry decided to change the subject.
"So Neville," Harry said, smirking while running a finger around the lip of what was his fourth nearly empty Butterbeer bottle, "What do you think about Tracey?"
"What about her?" Neville asked, confused.
"You said you wouldn't!" said Daphne with a glare, though the smirk she gave proved there was no real anger.
"Did I?" Harry said, grinning and waggling his eyebrows, "I'm sure I said, "I promise I definitely won't not never keep quiet about it.""
Daphne snorted.
"Quiet about what?" Neville asked, clearly getting frustrated.
"Oh, just tell you that Tracey fancies you, that's all," Harry answered with a tone of nonchalance."
"What?" Neville spluttered, "No she doesn't!"
"Yeah, Neville, she does." confirmed Daphne, "In fact, she said she saw you in Herbology and liked how good you were with your hands."
She and Harry grinned at each other's antics while Neville blushed massively.
"Should…should I talk to her?" he stuttered, clearly now very nervous.
"Well, do you like her?" Blaise asked.
"I mean her smile is really pretty but I don't know her all that well."
"You should go for it Neville," Draco said, "She's having trouble getting a boyfriend among the purebloods in our house, even though she's as good as one."
"Wow, she'll be happy you said that," said Daphne.
Draco simply smiled and nodded.
"Why not get to know her? Harry suggested, "Ask her to go for a walk or something. What's the worst that can happen, you don't like each other and you're in no different position than when you started?"
"I guess."
"Hey guys!" shouted Hannah.
The other girls were walking back around the gravel path from the stables and were entering the patio area, towards the tables.
"Heyyyy! said Daphne, "How were my babies?"
"So frickin cute!" Hannah declared excitedly.
"I know right?" Daphne replied with a grin.
"Can we go in the pool yet?" Pansy asked, "It's so fuckin hot in that stuffy old stable and it's not much better out here."
"Whenever you want," Daphne said.
"Awesome," said Millicent.
"Just head in back via the kitchen, there's bathrooms on the right." directed Daphne, pointing to the house.
"No need, I've got mine on under my dress," said Pansy.
"Me too," said Astoria.
"Me three," said Susan.
"I guess we all had the same idea then," Tracey said, "Any of you guys coming in?"
That decision was already made up for them when they saw that some of the girls had already started taking off their dresses. Tracey made sure that she was standing right in front of Neville when she pulled hers off over her head to reveal a sky-blue bikini on her very toned, athletic frame. At the girls' display, most of the boys were stunned, having never seen any girl's body up close before, and now here they were looking at several. Neville, Blaise, and Terry shot to the first quickly after the shock had worn off and quickly took off their shirts.
Harry was waiting for Daphne, to if she was going in before he made a decision so didn't move just yet. It was then that Susan came to his side and stood right next to him. Twisting to her side, she unzipped a zip and then shimmied the yellow dress down her body to reveal her large breasts in a flattering white bodysuit. Harry could do nothing but stare.
"Wow, Susan, your boobs are amazing!" Millicent said.
She blushed at the compliment before smiling and glancing at Harry.
"What, these old things?" she said, grasping her breasts and giving them a jiggle that had the boys mesmerised. Harry couldn't look away, Susan's boobs were legendary at Hogwarts and now there they were less than a metre from his face.
Daphne was fuming. She should've known Susan would pull something like this, she'd been flirting with and surreptitiously touching Harry all day so far. Now she had Harry nearly hypnotised by her admittedly fantastic breasts, and who could blame him? Daphne gritted her teeth and tried to ignore it.
"She's just having a bit of a flirt, it's fine Daphne. He got you the necklace, remember?" she told herself, but then the redhead glanced towards her and had the gall to send her a wink. That was it. Daphne had had enough.
"So, that's how she's gonna play it is she?" she whispered under her breath, forming an idea, "Two can play at that game."
"Harry?" Daphne called, airily. To Harry's credit, he pulled his gaze away from Susan and looked towards her. "Can you come in with me and help get the towels?" Daphne asked, "Some of the girls might want to lay down on the sunbeds when they get out of the pool."
"Sure," Harry said, getting to his feet straight away. Susan reluctantly moved out of the way, but she was happy about the fact he took one last glance at her breasts as he walked past.
Harry followed Daphne inside the house, admiring the way her hips swayed atop her long legs that looked even longer in her stilettos. As he passed through the doors into the house, he was glad for a quick reprieve from the heat, and as he leaned against the cool dark granite island, Daphne simply said "One sec" and nipped down a little passageway off the kitchen he hadn't been down yet. Less than a minute later she reappeared carrying a stack of white fluffy towels for the group, placing them on a small table near the doorway, about a metre away from where Harry was standing.
She looked at him with her piercing, ever-so-blue eyes and stood still for a moment, gauging him. An enticing small bite at the corner of her scarlet lips was the only indication she gave him of what was to come. She marched forward, heels clacking on the tiled floor as she strode towards him, pushed his back against the worktop and then reaching a hand up and into his hair to pull his head down towards her, kissed him fiercely.
Harry almost felt like he couldn't breathe from the new sensations as their lips touched passionately, but he instantly responded in kind, wrapping his arms around her waist as she massaged his lips with her own. But then, she pulled away, almost as quickly as she came and Harry was left with his jaw wide open again as Daphne made a wonderfully musical giggle.
"Daph, that was…" Harry responded breathlessly.
"Amazing? Wonderful? Everything, you'd hope it would be?" Daphne answered, teasingly.
"My first kiss."
Her cheeky smile became warm "And was it everything you wanted?"
"Better," he admitted, with a blush. Daphne's heart sang. She was having the best day, and maybe it could get even better.
"Do you wanna go in the pool with me?" she asked, eyes bright with joy and exhilaration at what else might be to come.
"Definitely," Harry replied, nodding fervently like an excited puppy. It made Daphne feel wonderful and his enthusiasm made her giggle.
"Well then," Daphne said, her expression now a sultry smile, three slow clacking steps towards him raising the tension once more, "You're gonna need to help me out of this dress."
