Our two enemy worlds - A Harry Potter Romance

Chapter twenty-four : Hermione's warning (Harry pov)

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    The wind was blowing hard that day. The water of the black lake, pushed by the wind, formed ripples on the surface that made it seem like small waves. This sight reminded Harry of the first time he had been to the beach. It was the summer of 1989. When he was only eight, his cousin Dudley had asked, or rather demanded, that he spend the day at the seaside with some of his friends to celebrate his birthday. Still too young to be left alone at home for a whole day, and with no friends to stay with for the weekend, the Dursleys had finally decided to let him accompany them. Surprisingly, Harry had had a pleasant morning. Standing by the sea, his pockets filled with shells from the beach, he let his feet sink into the sand as the water from the waves covered his ankles. He had filled his lungs with the salty coastal air and simply enjoyed the moment for what it was. Well, that was before Dudley and his mates had had enough of destroying other children's sandcastles. His gang had found it much more amusing to play tricks on him. Watching him carefully drink from his bottle, they burst out laughing when Harry, realising that his water had a horrible salty taste, spat it out. "Go and have your fun further away," grumbled Uncle Vernon as Harry tried to escape from Dudley, he and his friends chasing after him and throwing dead jellyfish in his face.

    But it had been his turn to be hilarious when, thanks to magic he now knew, Dudley had found himself waist-deep in sand that had suddenly become quicksand. Of course, once everyone had gone home, Harry had been blamed for the mishap and, once again, had ended up locked in his cupboard under the stairs for the rest of the weekend.

    Today, he was glad to be able to look back on those lonely days as being behind him for good. Indeed, since he had entered Hogwarts and learned to use magic, the Dursleys, apart from the incident with the bars in his window the summer before his second year, had not dared to punish him in that way. But the thing Harry was most grateful for at the moment was the people around him. No matter how difficult and challenging his years at Hogwarts had been, this place and the friends he had made here would always be his true home. And it was also where he had found Daphne. Daphne Greengrass was his girlfriend. Every time he thought about it, it seemed so unreal. And yet, when she turned to smile at him, her hair twirling around her face, Harry felt a very real sensation: happiness.

"I've found the perfect stone !" she exclaimed, proudly displaying a pebble she had just picked up.

   Facing the lake again, she thoughtfully bent at an angle before throwing the flat stone at the surface of the lake with a precise gesture. Thrown with agility, it must have bounced at least six or seven times before disappearing into the depths of the black water.

"Impressive," he said, while Daphne looked a little proud.

"Astoria and I compete hard every summer to get a better score than last time," Daphne assured him. "The lake really is one of the best things about the Manor. In winter, we can skate on the ice. In spring, you can watch the baby Clabberts emerge from the water. They have a sort of pustule on their foreheads, which lights up when they feel in danger. They can even sometimes be seen glowing at night in the woods. Did you know that some wizards use them to ... well, anyway," she concluded, as if aware that her passion for magical creatures might not be of such great interest to others. My favourite time to enjoy them is in summer. The water is very pleasant and you can swim in it. I've spent hours exploring its nooks and crannies thanks to the Bubble-Head Charm. Maybe one day we could both swim there!"

    Daphne had said this with such enthusiasm and spontaneity that Harry couldn't help but smile back. She had mentioned the possibility of him coming to the lake with her as if it were only natural, as if it were the next logical step. Was the idea that one day Harry might visit her a naïve wish, or was it something he could hope for ? The young wizard imagined himself walking through the doorway of Greengrass Manor. Welcomed by Daphne's mother in the living room after shaking hands with her father, they would have had tea and a chat. Perhaps Daphne would have invited him into her room to show him her favourite book. Harry found himself visualizing what her room might look like. Surely it must be full of plants and drawing pencils. However, he was well aware that this scenario was unlikely to come true in the near future. To tell the truth, he hadn't yet dared ask Daphne any questions about her family or what she must think of him. Yet it wasn't hard to guess what people like his parents must think of someone like him, especially these days.