Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Beta'd by my lovely wife.

Word Count - 1957

Riot and Wonder

11

He knew he shouldn't be wandering, but the Invisibility Cloak was forever calling to him, insisting he needed to be out exploring. Who needed sleep when there were adventures to be had?

He trotted up the many stairs of the Astronomy Tower. He loved to stare up at the moon from the open tower.

Finding a spot that was protected from the light winds, he tucked the cloak around himself. It always amused him that if someone were to stumble upon him, all they'd see would be his floating head. So lost in thought, he didn't realise it had actually happened until he heard a squeak of fright.

Turning, he saw a blonde girl he recognised from his classes.

Greengrass. Daphne Greengrass.

Pulling away the cloak so she could see he wasn't just a floating head, he waited for the ridicule to start. He expected it from the Slytherin's now, it seemed that they hated him simply because he dared to exist - not unlike his relatives.

Surprisingly, she didn't say anything. She stared at him for a long moment before she sat down beside him, her own eyes trained on the moon.

He didn't know how long they sat there, but he eventually relaxed back against the wall.

The companionship was nice, he decided.

When he got up to leave, hoping that he was tired enough to get some sleep before morning, he offered her a tentative smile.

She simply raised her eyebrow at him and said, "Nice cloak."

12

The second night back at Hogwarts found Harry once more at the top of the Astronomy Tower. He'd been itching to go the night before, but with the way they'd arrived at Hogwarts, he didn't want to chance being sent home.

"I wondered if you'd be here."

He smiled at Daphne when she sat down beside him. Over the course of the second half of their first year, it had become a regular occurrence for them to run into each other on the tower.

He nodded.

"So, tell me what happened," she demanded, offering him a piece of chocolate.

She'd told him that she fetched chocolate to quell the midnight hunger, but he wondered if she fetched it because it always made him smile.

He took it and shrugged. "I'm sure you've heard the rumours."

"Well, yeah, but you didn't actually fly a car to Hogwarts."

His silence answered for him, and after a moment, she was choking on her laughter.

"You're a riot, Harry Potter."

…

"I thought you might stop coming," he said quietly when he arrived to find her waiting on him. "You know, with me being so evil and all."

"You haven't got an evil bone in your body," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Ignore the plebians."

Oddly, while his friends' reassurances hadn't made him feel better, hearing it from Daphne did.

…

"Granger, will she be okay?"

Harry nodded, surprised that Daphne had asked. He didn't think she cared. When he voiced this, she'd looked at him for a long moment.

"I don't particularly care about Granger," she admitted with a shrug. "But you do and that makes her important."

13

"I heard about what happened on the train. You okay?"

He nodded, staring out onto the grounds. He wasn't sure if it was his stupid reaction to the Dementors or if it actually felt colder than it usually did on the tower.

"Nobody likes Dementors Potter, don't take it so hard. My mother has the same reaction as you did and she's a grown woman."

He nodded again, and she sighed, sitting a little bit closer to him than normal.

He took comfort from the warmth.

…

"What's that?"

"A map," he replied with a grin. "Come look."

"The Marauders Map," she recited, looking over the moving dots. "Wow. Where did you get that?"

His smile widened. "As if I'm going to tell you that."

"You'll have to let me borrow it sometime," she said, tracing over it once more. "Imagine the mischief I could get up to with that."

Rolling his eyes, he nudged her shoulder with his own. "As if you need any help for that."

…

"So, Sirius Black, huh?"

"I'm not being rude, Daph, I don't really want to talk about it."

She nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Okay. But don't think for a second that I'm not onto you, Potter. You know how he escaped, and that hippogriff too. Draco won't stop bloody moaning about it."

Harry laughed, feeling lighter than he had all year.

14

His head was aching, an unrelenting throb of pain in his temple. He'd almost decided not to make the journey up to the tower, but he knew Daphne would be waiting for him, and he didn't want to let her down.

"You look like shit."

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Thanks."

She nodded. "You're welcome, Champ."

He groaned, his head falling back against the wall with a thump, which only made it hurt more.

"Weasley still being a dick?"

He nodded. "Yep. The Prophet today didn't help."

"Did he never learn that you don't believe everything you read?"

Harry shrugged. "I think he wants to believe it, because then it means he wasn't in the wrong."

She shook her head. "He's supposed to be your best friend. I don't understand why he doesn't believe you. I was on the other side of the hall and I could tell by your face that you hadn't put your name in. Besides which, it's just not you."

Harry sighed. "You know me better than my best friends, Daph, obviously. I'm not sure what that says about them, or me."

…

She was frantic when he finally managed to drag himself up the stairs. She grabbed him by the arms, checking him over for injuries, all the while lecturing him for being an idiot.

"If that was the first task, what the bloody hell are they going to throw at you next? Merlin's knickers, Harry, you could've died! How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," he promised her, squeezing her hand.

"I'm leaning towards blind panic, myself," she replied, resting her head against his shoulder.

Steeling herself, she looked up to meet his eyes. "You're not allowed to die, Potter. Promise me you won't."

He couldn't, he realised, because he didn't want to lie to her. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he sighed.

"I promise to try my best not to."

…

She didn't have any words to take the look off his face, so she hugged him and let him cry.

15.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

…

"I'm sorry."

She nodded, not looking at him.

"Daph, please. I am sorry. I just… I don't know. There's a lot."

"I've always been there for you," she told him quietly. "And yet, shit gets hard and you forget that."

"I know you have, I've always known that. I guess… I was scared that you'd turn on me too."

"When have I ever?"

"I know. I know, and I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, could see the apology in his eyes and she sighed. "I'm never this soft with anyone else, Potter. Be honoured."

"Honoured and grateful," he agreed, sitting down beside her. She put her book on his knee.

"Read to me," she demanded, leaning against him and closing her eyes.

He knew better than to refuse.

…

He didn't have to say anything. He never did with her. They sat in silence, their hands linked together.

"How did it happen?"

"The veil," he murmured, swallowing hand. "There was no chance of saving him. He was just… gone."

"I'm sorry."

He nodded. "Yeah."

"You'll be okay this summer, Harry. And… I'll be here. When we get back."

He kissed the side of her head. "Yeah, I know."

16

"In ten years, I guarantee I will be your second wife."

He laughed, looking down at her. "What happens to the first one?"

She smiled wickedly. "Nothing you can prove."

He shook his head. "I don't know, Daph. I might just cut the first wife out altogether. Seems like I'd be doing her a kindness anyway."

With a serene smile and a sparkle in her eyes, she nodded. "Probably."

…

"So… Ginny Weasley?"

He nodded, staring up at the moon. "Yeah."

"Has the chest monster eased up?" she asked, teasingly.

He rolled his eyes. "I never should've told you about that. You're never going to let me live it down, are you?"

She grinned. "Probably not."

He shook his head.

"I didn't expect you to be up here," she admitted, standing beside him. "Now that you've got yourself a girlfriend."

He frowned at her. "Daph, I might be dating her, but you're still the most important person in my life. Please tell me you know that?"

"Don't be a sap, Potter."

His arm slid automatically around her shoulders. "You're an idiot if you ever doubted that."

"And we both know I'm not an idiot," she agreed quietly.

...

"You're not coming back, are you?"

"Can't get anything past you, can I?"

"Oh, Harry," she murmured, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's all going to shit."

"Already gone, Daph. I hoped… I don't know what I hoped. I'll miss you."

"I could come with you?" she offered, knowing his answer even as he shook his head.

"I wouldn't be able to concentrate with you there," he admitted. "Damn, you're capable I know, more capable than me, but… I'd be so scared of you getting hurt."

She smiled. "I have to look after Astoria. I don't want her getting caught up in it."

He squeezed her. "Look after Astoria, and please, keep yourself safe. I don't… I can't not have you to come back to."

He kissed her temple. "I love you."

She didn't return his words, but they both knew that she would mean it if she did. She couldn't say them to him though, because it felt too much like goodbye.

She'd tell him when they were safe.

She'd tell him when he'd won.

…

17.

"I thought I might find you here."

He smiled tiredly at her, holding his arms out. She could see the longing in his eyes and she knew it was reflected in hers. She'd craved his presence so much over the past year that having him here now felt almost unreal.

"It's over," he whispered into her hair. "It's actually over."

He sounded disbelieving and relieved at the same time, and she smiled into his chest. It was understandable. She didn't know what he'd been through over the last year, but whatever it was, she was sure it hadn't been easy.

"I missed you," she murmured.

"I missed you too. I'm glad you're okay, I worried about you."

"You had the map."

He looked down to see her grinning at him, and he nodded sheepishly. "I kept an eye on you," he admitted. "It helped to relax me."

"Stalker."

He shrugged. "I needed to know you were safe."

Snuggling into his chest, she closed her eyes and revelled in the fact that they were in fact, both safe and both alive. She'd never admitted to herself just how slim those odds were.

…

24

"I told you I was going to cut out the first wife," he murmured in her ear as they danced together.

"I'm glad," she admitted. "I really didn't want to become a murderer before I was thirty."

He laughed, spinning them around. "So after you're thirty, it's fine?"

She shrugged, grinning at him. "You better behave so you don't find out."

Shaking his head, he pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Daphne Potter, you are a wonder."

Written for;

Creativity Month - HarryDaphne - P15 - "In ten years, I guarantee I will be your second wife." / "What happens to the first one?" / "Nothing you can prove."

Character Appreciation - 3. Marauders Map

Showtime - 6. We Both Reached For The Gun - Understandable

Buttons - D2. "Don't believe everything you read."

TV Show of the Month - Rupert Giles - Book / Lecturing / "I'm leaning towards blind panic, myself."

Sophie's Shelf - 1. Hunger, Longing, Crave, Throb, Unrelenting, Frantic.

Caffeine Awareness - 25. Mocha - Chocolate

Scavenger Hunt - 20. Fanon Pairing