We Met In The Shadows.

Stars Above The Castle

Harry had been initially perplexed as to why Daphne wouldn’t want to claim credit for killing a Basilisk. It was a magical creature capable of unfathomable destruction, yet she had managed to down it within seconds, even in such a high-stress situation. Her ability to think quickly while in danger definitely deserved recognition, but Daphne had simply refused. When he had tried to coax her, she had simply said, “I don’t want anyone to know I was there.”

Looking back, Harry understood why Daphne had been so reluctant to have herself associated with him. She was a Slytherin and he was a Gryffindor. Their houses had a rivalry as old as Hogwarts itself, not to mention Daphne’s status as a Pureblood while Harry himself had been the reason for Voldemort’s downfall not once but twice. It wouldn’t bode well for either of them if the entire school knew of their friendship. Harry was unsure of Ron and Hermione’s thoughts on this as well, which was why he hadn’t told them about Daphne yet.

Ginny did know about their friendship, she had woken up shortly after Harry was healed by the Phoenix tears. Her reaction, however… was unexpected, to say the least. Harry had been prepared to explain everything to the redhead, but Ginny had been over the moon when she found out he was friends with Daphne. She had given her word that she wouldn’t tell a soul about them, when Harry had asked her to.

In spite of that, even Ginny was unwilling to take credit for killing the second Basilisk.

“YOU saved ME, and want ME to take credit for it? Absolutely not!”

Seeing how shaken the ordeal had left her, Harry and Daphne had decided not to push the issue. After grabbing the Diary of Tom Riddle, which was now destroyed thanks to Daphne, they had exited the Chamber together. Daphne left the two as soon as they were out of the bathroom shooting both of them (surprisingly) a soft smile.

Fawkes had led them to McGonagall’s office where they had been surprised by the presence of the Weasleys. After the whole debacle of Mrs. Weasley sobbing and grasping at both Harry and Ginny, Harry had been free to recount the story to the occupants in the office.

Dumbledore had seemed impressed that Harry had saved Ginny by killing one, err… two Basilisks.

Once Ginny had been excused and the Weasleys left to accompany her to the Hospital Wing, Dumbledore had smiled reassuringly at him and told him that he would receive a Special Award for Service to the School alongwith two hundred points for Gryffindor, Harry turning red at the praise.

As Harry and Dumbledore had finished their discussion regarding Voldemort and Harry had just been about to leave, the door burst open with such force that it actually bounced off the wall. In the doorway stood Lucius Malfoy with a thunderous expression on his face. Most surprising was the presence of Dobby who was cowering under his arm.

“Back again, are you?” he had sneered, voice cold as ice. “I do hope you’ve caught the culprit then. In case you wish to remain in your position, that is.”

As Dumbledore had broken the news, Malfoy had turned pale as a sheet (even paler than he originally was, to Harry’s amazement) and then rapidly purple with rage as he insinuated that Malfoy had bribed or threatened the families of the board governors in return for their signatures.  Meanwhile, Dobby had clued Harry in on the reason behind how Ginny had come into possession of that Diary in the first place.

Harry was still reeling from how he’d managed to trick Lucius Malfoy into freeing Dobby, who had proceeded to burst into tears and frantically thank him.

Now after having appropriately reunited with Hermione and Hagrid, he had quickly snuck away so that he could meet with Daphne and tell her all that had happened. Honestly, he had been daydreaming during the entire Grand Feast despite the general cheer in the air, with all the victims awake and exams having been cancelled.

Earlier that day before separating, they had decided to meet in Myrtle’s bathroom once again at night to discuss what the consequences would be.

Quietly, he shrugged off the Invisibility Cloak as he caught sight of Daphne having a conversation with Myrtle, though it seemed rather one-sided. With some amusement, he noted that Myrtle had gone into another rant about her death while Daphne looked distressed, even more than when she’d faced the Basilisk from what little he could see.

~

“You’re telling me, Dumbledore gave you two hundred points for breaking a direct rule?! And well, saving a life, probably multiple I suppose, but that’s nothing special, really,” Daphne rolled her eyes. “Maybe I should’ve taken the credit after all,” she muttered.

Harry giggled at her antics, watching amusedly as she flopped onto the Cloak, using it as a blanket. “Yeah, maybe. I thought you were too high and classy to ever lie on the ground, Ms. Greengrass. What changed?” he teased, poking at her arm.

“What changed is that I’m bloody tired, Potter,” she huffed, throwing an arm over her eyes, not before rolling her eyes once again, making sure he noticed it. I’m afraid her eyes are gonna get stuck like that one day.

“Well, I guess I should get going then, huh?” He sighed, mildly curious as to how she would react as he lightly tugged at the Cloak beneath her. Immediately, Daphne clung onto his arm tightly and tugged him down beside her and began laughing as landed with a surprised ‘oomf’.

Her laughter sent him into laughter of his own and they softly gasped for air as their sudden fits of humour ended as soon as they began. She has a really pretty laugh, infectious too. I want to hear more, he thought as he watched her wipe away tears from her eyes. From this close of a distance, he could count the little dots framing her face perfectly.

She has freckles, he realised, startling. Extremely light ones, but freckles nonetheless.

As he continued watching, enamoured, Daphne finally noticed, grinning slyly at him.

“What, Potter? See something you like?” she teased, reaching up a hand to cup his cheek softly.

Still awestruck by his realisation, he admitted, “Maybe I do. What about it?”

Completing the innocent question, he leaned into the hand, gripping at the hand with his own, noting embarrassedly as Daphne steadily flushed a gentle pink, seemingly caught off-guard.

As they grinned shyly at each other, Daphne opened her mouth to say something when they were interrupted by a loud screech. “Are you guys flirting?! IN MY BATHROOM?! Oh, you guys are so cruel! I’m dead so I can’t even get a boyfriend and here I am, witnessing young love! And that too, non-consensually!” wailed a familiar voice, Myrtle.

Startled, they caught each other’s eyes and began giggling and began the process of leaving when it became clear that Myrtle wouldn’t stop her tirade anytime soon.

Outside, Daphne leaned up and gave him a light peck on the cheek as she whispered, “Thanks for the compliment, sweetheart.”

Touching the warm spot on his cheek, he watched dizzily as Daphne waved goodbye to him and silently walked off, without a glance backwards. He watched her go, unaware of how he was grinning like a loon, completely ignoring what Myrtle continued ranting about.

Sighing, he turned and slipped on the Invisibility Cloak, enjoying the ache in his face from laughing and smiling so much. The stars seemingly twinkled in the night sky, as Harry sprinted back towards the Gryffindor tower.

I’m looking forward to next year so much.

- a/n -

daphne, killing a basilisk: this is fine.

also daphne, hearing a ghost talk about its death: this is not fine.