Hogwarts had another busy day. You could see various students busily pacing in and out of the library, occupied with research of various topics - either out of their own interest, or for sole driving force of ‘homework assignments’.
Library was the only place in Hogwarts where it was mandatory to stay silent - no matter the time of the day. Surely, some brave souls broke this rule a few times, which resulted in reduction of points, painful book sorting and arrangement detentions or even temporary bans from entering the place for weeks if not months!
Currently in a more secluded corner of a library, one lone Harry Potter stood, hidden behind his invisibility cloak - it was one of the best places he could find for his practice. From this particular place in between the bookshelves he could oversee most of the popular spots in the library - a perfect place to train his legilimency skills!
Sure, the great hall would have been better, but the only times students were crammed in there was during eating hours - and during that time one annoying professor with a magical eye was also present. One eye that could see through his cloak disguise…
Initially he could only spend an hour daily there like this - only barely able to catch some surface thoughts of some of the students, before having to call it a day as he would get a headache of sorts - the same kind he experienced from long hours of surfing muggle minds, albeit much faster.
Having read the book Albus lent him he now knew that this was a sign to stop and let his mind rest and recover, stronger this time - similarly like a muscle, as muggles like saying - ‘no pain, no gain’. Of course continuing past the pain more than a few minutes would just lead to negative results in the long term - at least that is what the book authors wrote about.
Now a few weeks have passed since he initially found this secluded place in the library - he could stay there for hours if he wanted to, and most students' minds were open for him to see - well except occasional students that actually had some occlumency shields in place. Which were not much, really - a quarter of Slytherin students, mostly upper years. A surprising large number of Ravenclaws - but most of them had very weak shields - they likely learned occlumency just for mind organisation and memory enchantment perks. And of course, a few dozen purebloods from other houses, coming from older families who still kept the tradition - like Susan Bones.
The boy felt he could actually breach through them if he wanted to - yet he also felt the students would become aware as well…
That is why he started from the weakest ones instead - Ravenclaws, gradually working up, always halting his mind reading attempts in case he felt it might be noticeable. It was a really weird feeling to know if they would notice or not - it was only thanks to the book Albus lent him that he could understand this information from his magical senses.
The small book was a treasure trove of knowledge - if during the summer he was struggling to enter wizard minds without a wand…. The book explained everything in detail - little things that seemed unimportant - like looking straight in the eyes of the person made the mind much easier to access.
The minds of the students were more similar than any other day - a bunch of worries regarding the upcoming Yule ball tonight. Harry had to admit - he too had a lot of worries for the event tonight.
The boy paused his mind reading activities as he realised that it was time to go - he felt there was not much else to be gained there in terms of his mind reading skills. Perhaps it was time he found something harder in regards to that, as for now he had a chess match with Ron Weasley awaiting him, before finally getting ready for the Yule dance - Harry smirked, he finally managed to beat the red-head boy a few times last week - ever since then, they were having more and more chess matches, to the insistence of his friend who seemed somehow upset at his loss, yet happy at the opportunity to improve his own skills. Chess was one of those areas Ron Weasley simply excelled, beyond his peers.
Daphne was wearing a brand new black dress with green and red accents of colour - green was one of the colours representing Slytherin, while red was one of Gryffindor colours. Yet together they looked good, as well as giving christmas vibes.
Her long hair was left mostly loose, just a few small braids were made to make it even more beautiful.
Daphne inhaled a fresh lavender scent in her nose - it was especially noticeable as she just washed her hair earlier today. She then looked more into the mirror, making sure her makeup was in place - it made her face look smoother and somewhat cuter with all the added creams and powders, her eyes were especially attention grabbing as she took Tracey’s advice and gave herself longer eyelashes and applied some colouring to the corners of her eyes.
The girl licked her lips as she admired her own reflection - she was not a narcist, yet now she had to agree - she looked simply amazing today. Still she needed one more confidence booster.
Venturing outside her room she knocked on her friend's door.
*Creak* - the door let out a creaking noise - which happened quite often, the castle was quite old after all - and Daphne’s best friend was seen through the doorway. She too wore a dress and had applied some light make-up - similar to the various pureblood balls the girls attended together in the past. Even without finding a partner she deemed ‘worthy’ to come with her, Tracey expected to at least dance a bit, if not just enjoy the feast.
Daphne spent a few moments simply admiring her friend’s attire - it looked like she put more effort than during pureblood balls - of course, dancing with people your age that were nice to chat with was a more pleasant experience than dancing with pureblood snobs - which most purebloods unfortunately were.
Tracey herself was gaping looking at Daphne - who knew her friend could get… that beautiful?
“Tracey! How do I look? Did I forget anything you taught me?” - Daphne eventually broke the silence.
The girl finally snapped out of her daze, then smirking she gave double thumbs up to Daphne - “If Potter still rejects you, just come to me, I would totally go out with you”
Laughter resounded in the corridor as the girls chatted and moved closer towards the ball, before temporarily parting ways - champions and their partners did need to make a separate entrance after all.
Harry Potter was climbing down the stairs together with Ron Weasley. He wore a stylish black suit, with lines of green and red embedded in it. He also had a red rose in his hand. Besides him Ron Weasley was in a suit… which looked like it was another of hand-me downs.
Both boys' hair was quite a mess - Ron’s as he was lazy to fix it, and Harrys was somehow always that way - when he was young and his aunt Petunia fixed his hair - it always returned to its messy appearance shortly. Surprisingly the same thing happened even now, when he no longer did accidental magic.
After inquiring with Sirius all he got was a joke-like response - that it’s the Potter family curse - apparently his fathers hair was the same… And so were his grandfathers.
He washed it, so no greasy shine could be seen - and that was the extent of what he could do for his hair.
“What’s taking Hermione so long?” - Ron’s voice was a bit upset - perhaps due to his partner's absence, or more likely, due to the fact that Harry beat him at chess again today.
“Just give her time, I am sure she is busy, prettying up just for you” - Ron’s face got a shade closer to his hair. As Victor did not ask Hermione out this time, Ron asked her first - as he did not find anyone willing to go with him before that. Thankfully Harry hinted at the correct manner of asking beforehand, and to the surprise of the red-head Hermione agreed.
Harry was amusingly awaiting Weasley's reaction when he saw Hermione after she took the time to pretty-up - it was entertaining to see last time - now, perhaps it would be even more interesting as Ron was paired up with her.
The black haired boy took a short pause as he just remembered something - “Ron, you do know how to dance, don’t you?”
Weasley looked at the floor, hiding his embarrassment - “My mother taught me waltz… I do not know anything else”
Harry let out a sigh - he did spend hours learning various popular dances in the Room of Requirements - it provided dancing dummies with just a thought. Surely he was only required to dance waltz as a champion - but who said he did not want to dance something else as well? And what if Daphne wanted some other dance? Luckily he had memories of the previous Yule - hence he could learn only the dances that fit the music being played.
“You should have learned more Ron…. There are so many wonderful dances besides waltz - like have you heard about tango?”
“No, what is that?”
After Harry patiently explained the wonders of various popular dances, the pair was already in front of the classroom door - one with a paper ‘champions only’ on it.
“See you inside Harry” - Ron turned towards the remaining corridor leading to the place other students were already gathering. A reflection of food could already be seen reflected in his eyes - surely that would keep the boy occupied no matter how long Hermione took to dress up.
“Yeah, see you Ron.” - Harry took a deep breath and opened the doors to head inside.
Daphne was impatiently waiting - Victor and Fleur as well as Cho and Cedric were already practising their dance moves - and Harry was not there yet!
Well she did arrive quite a bit early…
The sound of the door opening brought her hope as after turning around she saw Harry. It took a minute for the duo to admire each other before they broke the silence.
“Hello Daphne, you look amazing today” - the boy extended his arm, presenting the rose to her.
“Hello Harry, you look great too” - Daphne took the rose, breathed in its fresh scent and started tying it up in her hair. - “Thank you for the flower, it’s beautiful”.
*creak* - the door opened once again and all eyes turned towards it - all the champions were already here, so perhaps it was time to go? And as expected professor McGonagall entered the room.
“I see you’re all finally here. Good! It’s time to start!” - she gestured towards the wall where a familiar door could be seen - the one that led to the Yule dance floor.
Harry smiled, extended his hand one more time and took Daphne’s one in it, while placing his other hand on her back. It was the same like their practice dances they had once in a while. Albeit Daphne looked simply stunning today! Harry breathed in some pleasant lavender scent as he pushed his thoughts aside - he should focus on the dance now! At least now while all the eyes of the school were to be on him.
Looking at Daphne’s expression he realised she was obviously using occlumency to keep her emotions suppressed and show a polite smile. Harry decided to do the same - at least for the initial dance.
Soon all champions passed through the door and as announcements ended, the dance finally began.
It was a short dance, yet quite attention grabbing - as others could only watch - this dance being the opening to the ball. Harry and Daphne did not converse - not too comfortable doing so with all this attention - thankfully Fleur and Victor were grabbing even more attention than them - a Slytherin and Gryffindor pair which was quite unusual.
Shortly the music temporarily stopped and champions could catch some rest while other pairs came to the dance floor. Harry could see Hermione and Ron walking there as well - he regretted that he missed seeing Ron’s initial reaction, yet was still amused seeing him still stealing glances at Hermione from time to time.
Turning to his partner he noticed she now had more emotions in her face - her occlumency for emotions control was now undone, he asked her - “want to dance some more Daph? Or should we move to get some snacks, or something to drink?”
The girl blushed - but it was hard to tell as her make up already made her cheeks rosier. “Let’s dance… We can always chat later, and surely you did not come here to eat, did you?”
Harry laughed as he led her by her arm, back towards the dance floor - “Of course not”.
The pair waltzed in perfect harmony, even as the music changed - losing track of time, somehow forgetting all the others around them, just enjoying the moment with each other.
Their dances changed with music, until eventually coming to a stop - it was a tune Daphne did not know. Not only her - most of the people left the dance floor, only some muggle-borns or half-bloods remaining.
“Harry, I don’t know this one…”
The boy just arched an eyebrow at his partner - “You don’t know tango Daph? No worries, I can take the lead. I think you would like this one”
Daphne could somehow feel the gazes of some other girls - perhaps they wanted to dance with Harry as well… Yet she was selfish and wanted to monopolise him. Knowing Harry was skilled in all the previous dances she knew she could trust him with this unfamiliar one for her as well.
“We can try… But you will have to lead me along until I learn the moves”
Harry nodded and moved closer to her - the girl blushed, wanting to ask what is this all about, but looking around she saw few remaining pairs doing the same - tango it seemed brought the pair of dancers even closer together she realised.
As the dance picked up speed she was thankful Harry was handling it so well - she did not know what she should do, yet the boy pushed her the correct way, he warned her beforehand for the few moments she was supposed to be out of balance - only for the boy to catch her back in a passionate embrace. Her blush reddened as their bodies got quite close during the dance - the girl had to admit - it was her favourite dance so far tonight.
It did not take long for her to pick up the moves and soon the duo gracefully danced in perfect synchronisation.
After the dance the pair finally took a short break - a quick snack and some small talk with their friends, before re-entering the dance floor. Unknowingly to both of them their friends were already sending glances their way. If before they had a suspicion there was something going on between the two, now they were certain. Yet the two in question were seemingly blind and deaf to anyone else besides each other this evening.
As the time passed Daphne’s legs were too sore to dance further - unlike Harry she did not spend a few hours daily in intense combat training activities. She let out a sigh - she had fun, it was time to do what she decided she would do today - either win over her crush, or go back to her room crying.
The current dance, was thankfully a slowly paced waltz - perfect dance for some chatting, the girl looked up to Harry, her green eyes sparkling from all the christmas decoration nearby, unknowingly the yule log was also above the pairs heads.
“Harry, I have been wanting to tell you this for a long time now…. I like you, in fact, I have liked you for quite some time now” - the girl took a deep breath - “will you be my boyfriend?”
Harry stopped mid-dance, absent-mindedly Daphne stepped on his foot but neither of them minded that, the girl was waiting for an answer, and Harry was trying hard to resist. Inwardly he knew it was a bad idea - after the loop ends this relationship would end as well… surely he could replicate all the events that led to it if he ever escaped the loop… No when he finally escaped - he did die to dementors and to Dumbledore quite a few times - there was no easy way out it seemed.
He knew he would regret it dearly when his Slytherin friend forgot all their memories together - repeating the events just felt… weird - as if he was scripted, as if it was fake. And as his voice conveyed his mood somewhat when talking - it was hard to tell if it was possible to replicate events so precisely…
And yet looking at the beautiful blonde haired girl, looking into her green glistering eyes, he just couldn’t find it in him to break her heart…. Deep down he knew - he wished to experience this as well - he too felt the same way. He cursed inwardly - consequences be damned - he would try this out anyway.
“Yes I will, will you be my girlfriend, Daph?”
“Yes!” - The girl's eyes glistened as a few tears went out - those were tears of joy as the girl hugged the boy and planted a deep kiss on his lips.
The pair stood glued like this for quite some time, until a passing professor nudged them in the shoulder. Quickly separating with beet red faces, they turned around - there was a professor Flitwick, wobbling around with a dreamy look on his face - clearly he took a bit too much of that ‘punch’ the twins might have spiced with alcohol or who knows what weird things they put in there, or perhaps professor drank too much firewhiskey?.
The professor took another greedy gulp, before addressing the newly established pair - “It is good to see you two so close, ahh youth! But be mindful there are quite young folks here” - he glanced to the side where a young boy blushingly turned around - Harry quickly recognized it was one of the new first year Hufflepuffs. The young boy just took his fourth year sister as a pair, just to gain entrance to the event.
Flitwick chuckled - “No worries, you are not the first I had to separate, others got even further before I came closer! Now if you want to continue your activities, find some more… discreet place” - he winked at them - “And happy Yule!”
Harry and Daphne exchanged a glance before starting a laugh and heading out of the hall - drunk Flitwick was… kind of weird. But he made a good point.
After some searching the pair realised that most ‘popular’ places were already used. Various well-known ‘empty’ classrooms were already occupied. Even the famously large broom closet was occupied - and by none other than Draco Malfoy!
Daphne was looking at Marauder's Map while cursing her new boyfriend - “Why did you never tell me you had something like this? You know the embarrassment we would have avoided! How am I going to face Draco and Pansy after this?”
Harry laughed remembering the encounter - “It’s their fault for not locking the door on a broom closet of all things - and for ignoring the knock on the door” - he chuckled even more - “who knows, perhaps they were… wanting to be found?”
Daphne rolled her eyes, but a similar smile could be seen on her face - she too found the situation hilarious - turning back on the map she sighed - “It seems there are no good places - well unless you want to get caught by Filch or patrolling prefect… I heard not all are kind when catching couples past curfew….” - her cheeks reddened as her heart beat sped up - she still got too excited for this that yes, she and Harry were dating now!.
Harry smiled - “What if I told you, there’s one very nice room not on this map?”
Daphne looked sceptical - “You mean tunnel to Hosgmede? I doubt that place would have any hotels or the like open - it’s curfew time in five minutes!” - she was quite downcast, sure very happy Harry accepted her, yet she wanted at least more kisses for today - all they did was that one minute one in the hall - she blushed remembering it was not empty at the time and clearly people are gonna talk about it the next day - Gryffindor and Slytherin, quite an odd pairing that was. All this searching for an empty place turned out to be a waste of time… Why Hogwarts had to have those stupid house system rules? If not that she could just invite Harry over to her own single room in Slytherin…. Her blush reddened even more as she imagined what might happen there inside…
Harry pointed on a place on the map - she recognized it to be corridor on seventh floor - “it’s here”
She looked confusedly at her boyfriend - “I remember this place, it's near the astronomy classroom - there’s literally nothing here! Past the wall is outside the castle - certainly not enough space for a secret room!”
“Don’t you trust me, Daph?”
“I do! But… fine let’s go” - she send an unamused glance his way - “if we get caught during this its on you”
The ascend towards the seventh floor was quicker than expected - she initially thought she would have to share some common shortcuts passed through generations in Slytherin house, but Harry already knew them all! He even knew some fancy shortcuts she never knew existed!
Eventually they arrived near the wall with a picture of a man who taught trolls how to dance. Daphne looked at the time - it was nearly curfew! Looking at the map she already saw Filch ascending to this floor - the man likely decided to begin his patrol here tonight, while Harry… was seemingly walking in circles?
“Harry! We need to hide, Filch is coming!”
She turned around to run to the nearest staircase, yet paused mid-step - there was a door on the wall she had not seen before, one that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Harry opened the door and motioned for his girlfriend - “I present you, the Room of Requirements”
Daphne no longer hesitated, she rushed inside the new room, and then washed in fascination as the door simply… disappeared in the wall.
Looking around she noticed the room was quite empty - there was literally nothing inside… if there was at least a table she could transfigure a bed or something…
Noticing his girlfriend's lack of enthusiasm, Harry waved his hand around - “You see, it’s called the room of requirements… as It makes things you want appear inside - with some exceptions”
Daphne watched with fascination as a spacious bed appeared, some lit candles, various decorations around the room, even a wooden puppet that played a violin.
Daphne’s eyes widened, that's right the sound! - “Harry the sound!” - she quietly muttered - Filch should be in the corridor right now!
“No sound escapes this room after the door is closed… I would know, you see I have been training for the tournament here for quite some time now. And as you might have seen during the first task, the spells I trained in are quite loud.”
Her worries relieved the girl sitting on the bed, brushing its surface - it was very comfortable to the touch, a smooth material similar to silk, or was it silk?
With reddening cheeks she faced Harry who just plopped down beside her- “I guess… we can resume our kissing session then?”
There was no need to reply as their lips connected once again. This time there was no one to interrupt them. And they had a long night ahead.
The morning arrived as Daphne lazily opened her eyes, there was a brief confusion in them as she surveyed the unfamiliar environment - before remembering last night's events. Her cheeks reddened as she glanced to the side where Harry laid - the boy was already awake, just looking at her in admiration.
“Morning, sleepyhead!”
“Morning, Harry” - Daphne’s cheeks blushed even more - she wondered how her face looked while she was asleep?
She stretched her limbs - her legs were especially sore today - perhaps she really did dance too much last night…
The girl got up and left the bed, then tried using the room as Harry told her last night - imagined her casual clothes, a dressing curtain, and after turning around it was here!
While she was changing she noticed Harry was reading a book on the couch while drinking what looked to be orange juice.
Now fully clothed in her casual weekend attire, she sat down near him and arched her brow - “where did you get the juice? I Thought magic is not capable of creating actual food?”
Harry put a bookmark inside, as he faced his girlfriend - “that is correct, Daph, but you see this is juice from Hogwarts kitchen - while the room cannot create food, it can take it from anywhere in school” - noticing her eyes glittering he imagined a dining table to appear in front of them, full of regular Hogwarts breakfast options - “If you want something more specific, I am afraid we would have to go to the kitchens and ask the elves for that”
Daphne’s eyes sparkled as she surveyed the food - this room really was so convenient! She thanked her boyfriend for the food and joined him in eating. Today’s menu was pancakes, syrup, toast and sandwiches, along with orange and pumpkin juice.
The pair was starving - they spent quite a lot of energy last night. After the meal they cozied up together and enjoyed each other's warmth along with some kisses.
Eventually Harry broke the silence - “Daphne, what do you want to do today?”
The girl seemed to ponder for some time, before replying - “Yesterday you told me you use this room to train, now I am curious as to what you actually do here? Will you show me around?”
She did not need to hear his response as the room itself suddenly expanded. She could see a part of it that looked like it was made for rituals? As well as multiple other areas, a few with some dummies, some with armour suits just waiting for combat. There was also a large bookshelf that looked suspiciously similar to the forbidden section…
There was even a section for potion making, yet only a sparse selection of ingredients on the nearby shelf.
Seemingly noticing his girlfriend's fleeting emotions Harry added - “If you want I have a lot of ingredients in my pocket trunk - unfortunately the room does not seem to be able to steal ingredients from professor’s Snape’s stash… It only picks up the abandoned ones elves put it inside when cleaning“
Daphne chuckled, before nodding - “that would be great! I know just the potion to help me relieve the pain from yesterday…” - remembering last night, Harry’s cheeks also reddened.
The girl got up and got to work. Harry’s pocket trunk was neatly organised so she did not take long for her to find what she was looking for.
Soon Daphne made and drank the potion and could truly relax while Harry explained all the ‘stations’ in the room and what he used them for. He was surprised to learn that Daphne knew a few rituals as well - they were apparently being taught internally in Slytherin, at least for older pureblood families by upperclassmen.
Daphne herself decided to join the training Harry was doing - having such a secluded corner isolated from the whole school was wonderful for the girl - she could finally try brewing some of the potions she wanted to create, only stopping in fear of blowing up her dorm room, her house or worse - professor’s Snape’s classroom.
While making existing potions was as simple as following a recipe, inventing new ones is quite a challenge - never mind just selecting the ingredients, even the order one put them in could result in completely different potions!
She also realised that perhaps getting some combat practice in would not be a bad idea - her parents did insist she takes a dualling class in Green alley sometime in the next few years - as in their opinion any respectful witch or wizard should be capable of self-defence.
Still after looking at Harry’s struggle with the armoured suits and elemental magic, she knew it was way out of her league - thankfully the room spawned a few duelling manuals and what looked to be junior auror training dummies - which seemed to fit her current skill set better.
Harry even asked her for help in legillimency training - he still did not tell her about the dark lord's soul stuck in his forehead - he did not want to make her worry needlessly, it's not that she could do anything about it…
Daphne was quite surprised, but she knew the boy was quite talented in the mind arts - at least in occlumency - hence she agreed. It was a mutual trust between the two - if Harry succeeded he would see some of her memories, yet if he failed some fragments would pass on to her.
The practice was going quite well - Daphne initially thought she had nothing to hide, but Harry somehow managed to read her childhood memory. It certainly was a shock seeing her little self eat soap with a happy smile. She had certainly forgotten this ever happened!
On the other hand memories from Harry were… not that happy. As he was still learning he failed a lot. More times than he succeeded.
She had seen him face off Basilisk in the chamber of secrets, she had seen him abused by some very fat muggle - Dudley. She had seen him act like a house elves for his uncle and aunt…
She even stopped commenting about those events as she saw it made Harry uncomfortable - apparently every time he failed and she saw his memory it was not always replayed for him as well - only occasionally. And from his expression she could see it was painful for him to recall them, hence she refrained from more comments, unless it was a happy memory - the girl smiled, still remembering that time Harry became a bird in the great hall.
Yet there was a weird memory among them. Where Harry looked across the great lake - to a swarm of dementors overtaking… another Harry Potter. And that Harry Potter turning towards the boy with an evil gaze. Daphne shuddered, it even seemed it was looking at her not Harry in the memory! Still, it must have been a nightmare, she brushed her thoughts aside as she raised her shields once again as her practice with her boyfriend continued.
They trained for a few hours more, until it was near lunchtime - which they decided to attend. If they both skipped not only breakfast but lunch as well it was bound to cause issues later on, making it harder to meet up at the Room of Requirements.
Surely their curious friends might have checked half the school looking for them by now! Their relationship status was bound to leak after that kiss in the Yule - they both agreed there was no point in hiding that.
They left the room and the door disappeared behind them, before they walked down the sets of stairs towards the great hall. Their hands clasped together, fingers interlocked and hearts beating in sync.
