Daphne's plan #4

Chapter #4: A pleasant surprise.

Harry sighed, he got caught by Hermione, Daphne and her sister were waiting for him in the balcony, surprisingly, he was having fun with both girls, so, he decided to talk with Hermione to get over with whatever thing she was going to tell him.

- You caught me! – Harry said with a fake smile at his friend his hands were also in the air as a sign of "surrender", she just laughed.

- I’m surprised to see you here… Surprisingly, you’re studying too much lately – Hermione said with a hint of sarcasm and Harry just rolled his eyes.

- Is it that bad that I want to raise my grades a little? I need them to get into the Auror academy, you know… - Harry said, a little disappointed in the little faith his friend had on him.

Hermione just let out a soft laugh as she looked at her friend.

- I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with entering into the Auror academy… You don’t even need it, you have other things to worry about like managing your great fortune – Hermione smirked at him and Harry just sighed.

The green-eyed man remained in his place for a while, and Hermione just sighed before she approached him to put one hand on his shoulder.

- I saw you when you entered, you came here with some interesting people, uh? – Hermione mumbled as she looked at the balcony where Harry was sitting before, she caught a glimpse of Astoria and Daphne Greengrass, they seemed eager to see Harry once again.

Harry just nodded, he didn’t want to say anything that could lead him into a misunderstanding.

- Seriously Harry… I know that you’re trying your best to take care of that situation… But you need to act fast to claim your inheritances, those girls aren’t bad candidates for the post – Hermione spoke softly to her friend who was surprised by the way she was talking - Seriously... You need a break, forget about the Aurors for some time and take a rest, you already did too much for the world, now it's your time to enjoy your life - Hermione smiled softly at him.

The green eyed-man was surprised by his friend's attitude but he quickly shook his head.

- I-Let’s not rush Hermione… We came here because they wanted to thank me for what I did in the morning… Don’t get things wrong... Oh, I should get back with them or they will get impatient – Harry said before raising the things he asked Rosmerta.

A few moments later and he was already back with Daphne and Astoria, both girls were startled by his presence but they smiled at him.

- I’m sorry girls… Some friends saw me and they wanted me to join their tables but… I wasn’t going to leave you here alone – Harry said with a soft smile.

- Is that so? You should join them if you want – Daphne suggested not really believing her words.

- No, that’s okay I see them every day it would be totally disrespectful to ditch you just to go after them, don’t worry… I’m having a great time together with you two – Harry admitted with a soft smile that made both girls blush and feel happy.

It seems like the green-eyed man wasn’t with them just because he thought he was obligated or something like that, he was enjoying their company the sisters swore to each other that they were going to do their best to entertain him and repeat this once again.

- Actually, I’m kind of surprised that we hadn’t talked more you know? It’s obvious that we’re from different houses but it seems like you and your family had always taken a neutral position in this rivalry – Harry told the sisters and they nodded.

- Yes, our parents rarely trust someone, so, to avoid the disappointment of not being accepted by our parents we decided to not bond with any student… We have nothing against Griffindor… Well, besides the luck of having you as their seeker, there’s no other thing that we can envy from Griffindor – Daphne smiled at Harry after she said that and he laughed.

- You flatter me… In any other circumstances I would have told you that you shouldn’t envy our team because of me but… Having Malfoy as a seeker… That sounds like hell honestly – Harry and the sisters laughed.

- Thankfully times changed… After the war, everyone seems to have another mindset – Astoria spoke and Daphne and Harry nodded at the same time.

- A war really makes you appreciate your life, you know? It makes you think about things that are really important – Harry said with a serious expression.

Talking about the war, made things take a serious turn, they were in silence, enjoying their butterbeers, but Daphne and Astoria wanted to talk more with Harry, they wanted to know more about him.

- We’re trying to learn more… You know? – Daphne managed to say, trying to get some conversation from the green eyes man.

Harry was a little confused by those words.

- I mean… We’ve been raised following certain traditions that we believed all our lives were the only truth, but… After the war we’re trying to understand more the different kinds of wizards that live here, we’re trying to understand the muggle world too – Daphne didn’t know how she managed to think about that, but those words sounded good so she used them.

Harry was surprised to hear her talk like that, he smiled at the sisters and nodded.

- That’s amazing girls, you’re one step ahead of the rest of your peers, they seem to be still stuck in the past, despite everything that happened the last summer – Harry raised his cup and the three of them clashed their cups before taking a sip from their butterbeer.

After they drank from their cups, Harry felt more confident talking with both girls.

- Well, I guess I should take part in this too, as the savior of the wizarding world there’s a huge responsibility on my shoulders, I want to meet all the needs and I want to meet all different kinds of wizards too, so, talking so calmly with someone from Slytherin is kind of… Refreshing – Harry admitted and the girls laughed – That’s why I want to know more about you – He said with a soft smile and both girls were surprised to hear those words.

Of all the things Harry could say, this was the last one they expected to hear, the sisters looked at each other before whispering something to each other as they saw Harry taking another sip from his butterbeer, they nodded as they stared at each other’s eyes before they clarified their voice.

- Well, my name is Daphe Venus Greengrass, I’ve lived all my life here in Britain, my family is one of the ancient families and is one of the “founder” families of the wizarding Britain – She mumbled – I just turned nineteen a few weeks ago… I love pasta, exercising but I also love to do other activities, like math, painting, singing, I even play the piano thanks to the many lessons I have received through the years from my tutors, I try to be honest most of the time and I like to be responsible in all the stuff I do so later I don’t have to worry about things that I could’ve prevented – Daphne confessed with a soft smile to Harry.

- Wow… That’s a lot of things, honestly, I’m glad to hear from you… The people from your house are always referring to you as the “ice queen” or other names like that, but I honestly thought that there was more behind that serious expression – Harry with a soft smile.

- Oh, is that so? How did you know? – Daphne was curious right now, he had awoken something inside her and she wasn’t going to let him go so easily.

- Well… I had to do the same things as I grew up with my muggle relatives – He confessed in a melancholic tone.

Daphne and Astoria were surprised to hear him talk like that, It seems like he had it rough as he grew up, that kind of behavior was to be expected from the children of the pureblood and important families, not from someone raised in the muggle world, it seems like they had more things in common with muggles than they thought.

- But… Why? – Astoria tried her best to hide her sadness to hear that.

Both girls had a wrong idea about Harry Potter’s childhood, both believed in the stories that were on the children’s books, telling them stories about a heroic Harry Potter saving everyone from armageddon or saving maidens across the world from dragons.

- Well… It’s kind of weird you know? My relatives didn’t want me there and I felt the same towards them… But I had no other choice, I thought that my destiny was to be with them until I had the proper age, I needed them to survive – Harry sighed – But it didn’t matter what I tried, it didn’t make them happy, and every time I did something good, they were angry because I surpassed my cousin… So, to avoid getting scolded and even locked in my room, I decided to hide the "real" me… I decided to be silent most of the time, to hide how I really felt to protect myself… That helped me to survive through the years… Until the Hogwarts letter arrived – Harry confessed with a smile on his face as he remembered those days.

He remembered that time he had to fight his fat uncle to get a card and he even remembered the day Hagrid rescued him.

- Look at me… That conversation brought a lot of stuff from the past… And I wasn’t even the main focus of our conversation… We were talking about you – Harry said to the sisters – Thankfully I have already know more about Daphne’s life, but, what about you Astoria? – Asked Harry surprising the younger sister who had difficulties processing words on her head.

Astoria blushed as she looked at the savior of the wizarding world, she was thinking about what to say, but most importantly, she was trying to relax and get her mind colder than it was right now.

- Oh yes… My name is Astoria Jade Greengrass… I’m eighteen and just like my sister, I’ve lived in Britain my whole life, I love magical creatures and magical plants, they’re my life and I’m happy every time I’m around them, but only with small plants and small creatures… I like being alive, so I try to get as far as possible from big plants and creatures – Confessed the younger sister and Harry laughed softly – I also love reading as long as it’s not school material, of course, to be honest, I’m so bad with things related to school… But I always try my best, I like being positive in every situation, is better to try and fail than wonder all your life what would have happened – Confessed the younger sister, and Harry nodded the whole time.

He was surprised about everything she told him.

- That’s a lot from someone that rarely talks! – Harry said, amazed at the many abilities that both sisters possessed.

- Well, that’s actually one consequence of our behavior… If we don’t talk with anyone then, we will have more time to think about school, projects, inventing stuff… Etcetera... That's the way our parents raised us – Daphne told him and he nodded, that made sense to him.

They drank once again from their cups and they were in silence once again enjoying their drinks, Daphne was thinking if she was too cold while talking to Harry and Astoria wanted to keep talking with the green-eyed man but she felt a little helpless, she wasn’t used to making plans, her sister was the one who always planned what to do, but Harry was something else, he managed to destroy their plan to make him do all the talk and for them to just answer his questions, but suddenly, an idea came to Astoria’s head.

- Why don’t we ask questions to each other? Each one of us will ask a question and then answer it and the other occupants of the table will do the same! – Astoria suggested.

Harry and Daphne were surprised after hearing those words, they analyzed the situation and surprisingly their way of thinking was almost the same, they nodded at Astoria’s suggestion, it didn’t sound so bad.

- Yay, amazing… Let’s do this! – Astoria cheered happily and Harry couldn’t help but smile at the younger woman’s attitude – Okay… Favorite subject? Mine’s Potions! – Said Astoria and they followed her next.

- Defense against the dark arts – This was Harry.

- Arithmancy – Daphne was the one this time.

- Great… Your turn Daphne! – Said the younger sister to the older one.

Daphne clarified her voice and remained thoughtful as she tried to think about a good question.

- Favorite spell? – Mine’s Lumos, always helps me to study when I have a test the next day – Confessed Daphne.

- Vita volta! It always makes the plants that are almost dead come back to life, it’s a wonderful spell! – Astoria said happily.

- Well… That’s a hard question but, it’d say that… Patronus, yes, that will do – Harry answered.

Both sisters looked at him, they were curious to know why from all the spells, he chose that one.

- And why is your favorite Harry? -. Asked Daphne with obvious curiosity.

- Well… It has saved me a lot of times before, but most importantly, it helped me during our third year – Confessed Harry as he chuckled uncomfortably.

Both girls’ eyes widened, they couldn’t believe that they were hearing.

- Wow… Did you master the Patronus spell, in our third year? That’s impressive – Daphne said and she was being honest.

Harry didn’t know but the younger woman had a way with her words, each one of them has different meanings, Harry didn’t know but the fact that he impressed Daphne was something amazing as Daphne was rarely impressed, she wasn’t easy to impress and Harry just did it casually without planning it.

- As I said before… Our third year was awful for me with those dementors moving everywhere in the castle – Harry sighed – I had to find a way to protect myself, thankfully professor Lupin helped me – Harry was now feeling a little happier as he explained that.

The girls were surprised, but Astoria wanted to continue with the game, she wanted Harry to ask them something.

- Come on Harry… It’s your turn, tell us what you have in mind – Astoria tried to make him talk and the raven-haired man remained thoughtful – I want you to be rough Harry… Don’t even think about going too soft with us! – Astoria’s words could lead to a misunderstanding in the wrong ears.

But Harry decided to ignore those worries and concentrate on what Astoria was telling him to do, he started to think and tried to find a good question for the situation, and then, a weird idea came into his head, he smirked before he spoke.

- Are you in a relationship right now? My answer is no, I’m single! – Harry said with a grin on his face.

Both sisters were taken by surprise by this sudden change of mood, now Harry was the one who was leading them and he seemed unstoppable, both girls were blushing and felt a little embarrassed, and that made Harry felt more confident.

- No, I’m single – Both sisters said at the same time.

That was a huge surprise for Harry, they were beautiful and smart at the same time, it was hard for him to believe that such a pair of beautiful and smart sisters were alone, but still, he admired that they were brave enough, to be honest with him to talk about these things.

They enjoyed the rest of the evening and continued questioning the other, for Harry this was something weird to experience, he felt happy that he accepted coming with them, he was planning to study all evening without resting just like Hermione suggested he has been doing lately, he was glad he ignored his responsible side, right now, the only thing that worried him was not having enough time with the sisters.