The outcome of the second task seemed to put everyone in Hogwarts in a much better mood. Harry, of course, knew that like most of the changes at his school this one was most likely temporary as well but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy not being an outcast for a few days. Even so, Harry was beginning to get a much better idea of who truly cared about him and who was just doing whatever was popular at that particular point in time. The one person who Harry didn't understand was oddly enough one that until recently had been the easiest to understand: Draco Malfoy. He no longer went out of his way to antagonize Harry, preferring instead to avoid him and pretend he didn't exist. It was another situation Harry was happy to let continue.
Rita Skeeter had continued to write about him, although her favorite topic was no longer calling him a dark lord but claiming that he was angry at Viktor Krum for stealing Hermione away from him. Apparently she had forgotten that Daphne was supposed to be his 'dark lady' even though she was the one who first suggested it. He was getting very tired of dealing with the troublesome reporter but there was, for the moment anyway, little he could do about it. The wizarding world did not have laws against slander or libel. A man who had been insulted was expected to challenge his insulter to a duel and settle the conflict that way. However Harry couldn't do that without looking like a bad guy so instead he was waiting to see what information Daphne's father could come up with to use against Skeeter.
Hermione and Daphne were both eager to restart the training they had temporarily stopped so that Harry could prepare for the second task, but he insisted that he be given time to relax. The stress of the year was finally starting to catch up with him and he needed some way to get past it. It turned out that spending time alone with his new girlfriend was the best therapy he could ask for. They didn't use magic and sometimes they barely even spoke to each other, but her reassuring presence was exactly what he needed. Daphne seemed to realize this and happily complied.
On one such night a few weeks after the second task Harry and Daphne were sitting outside in the shade of a giant oak tree. The winter cold had finally broken, melting the snow that had covered the grounds and signaling that spring was rapidly approaching. Harry and Daphne were not the only ones taking advantage of the relatively warm weather by coming outside, in fact it seemed like half of the school was somewhere on the grounds happy to finally be outside enjoying a pleasant day. Harry sat on the ground with his back propped against the trunk of the ancient tree while Daphne lay curled against him with her head resting comfortably on his lap. They were watching a group of third years play with a fanged frisbee which snarled and bit at whoever was closest to the amusement of everyone else. The frisbees were technically not allowed at Hogwarts, but Harry had already seen two professors pass by and say nothing about it including Professor Sprout. He guessed they were as happy as the students to be out of the castle.
"Harry." Daphne said softly, trying to get his attention. It was the first either of them had spoken in almost thirty minutes and it took Harry a moment to realize his girlfriend was trying to talk to him.
"Yeah?" he replied, looking down at her. Daphne had turned so that she could get a better look at him.
"What do you think you'll do once we get out of here?" she asked.
"Depends on what you mean by that. Do you mean once we get up from this tree, or once we leave for the summer, or after we graduate?"
"Either of the last two I guess."
"This summer it will be back to the Dursley's, like always." Harry stopped and frowned a little. Daphne knew he did not like his relatives, but she didn't know exactly how horribly they had treated him. It wasn't that he was trying to hide it from her, just the topic always made him uncomfortable. "Hopefully I won't have to stay long, Sirius said he was working on a place for me to stay over the summer. I used to spend part of the summer at the Burrow, that's what the Weasley's call their house, but I guess that probably won't happen this year."
"Ron still hasn't apologized, huh?"
"No. The sad part is that I know he has realized he was wrong to do what he did, he's just too stubborn to admit it. He was a good friend once, before all of this." Harry added sadly.
"Maybe he will come around, maybe not. Most people don't keep the same friends forever you know. They grow apart and become different people. It's not anyone's fault really, it's just the way things happen."
Harry nodded slightly in agreement. "I know, but Ron was the first friend I ever made except for Hagrid. It's hard to just let that go."
"I asked what you were going to do because my father wanted me to invite you to spend part of the summer at our house." Daphne said, smiling at Harry's shocked reaction.
"Is that really a good idea?" Harry asked uncertainly.
"What? Do you not want to see me over the summer? I see how it is, probably have some muggle girl already lined up for a summer fling." Daphne responded, acting like she was hurt.
"No! Nothing like that! I'm just worried your parents won't like me."
"Believe it or not you have already made a good impression, even on Astoria. Don't worry so much about it, just be yourself and you will do fine." she advised. "So is that a yes then?"
"I will try my best, but sometimes what I do over the summer isn't really up to me." Daphne nodded and accepted his answer.
"What about the other part, what you want to do after Hogwarts?" she asked curiously.
"I've never really thought about it honestly. I think I spend too much time just trying to survive to worry about the distant future all the time. Maybe I'll play professional Quidditch. Everyone seems to think that I'm good enough to make it, although after seeing Krum play at the World Cup last summer I know I'm not anywhere close to as good as he is. The only other thing that interests me is becoming an Auror."
"Really? You want to spend the rest of your life fighting evil wizards?" she asked, surprised by his answer.
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