Chapter Text
December 19, 1998
Monday Morning
Tracey had gone home first, Daphne had been second and only a few minutes after their friend, and Delphini had been the last of the girl to leave Hogwarts; all, Harry included, were given special access to McGonagall's Floo for the sake of privacy as well as security, thus making their lives a lot easier… and vaguely awkward on account of the dozens of portraits that kept their eyes on the four teenagers as they waited for their designated times to leave.
Security at home and across the country was still fairly high even if the war had been over for quite some time. Kingsley was wrapped up in politics and removing those who sought the creation of further problems in their society whilst the Aurors, his greatest ally and strongest base of support, were still tied down with stamping out corruption as well as finding those who meant to escape justice.
Harry was truly the freest of them all and that wouldn't last too much longer before the end of his school life came about. As soon as that happened, he, Daphne and probably Delphini as well would all end up working together at the Ministry. If he could get the pair of them to work together with him whilst he acted as the Deputy Minister, thus helping Kingsley, that would be the greatest of all happenings, not only for his sanity but for the newly reformed government too.
Finally, Harry's time to leave came and so he used the floo without an ounce of hesitation, He truly didn't mean to spend any extra time in Hogwarts if he didn't have to even if the school was the place that he loved more than any other — there was too much of a good thing, but more than that, it was time to see his family and celebrate the grandest time of the year.
Christmas! Christmas meant more to him than any other holiday thanks to the Weasleys and the kindness of Muggles that he had met throughout his younger days. The Christmas season, as it was called, carried with it the nicest memories he possessed and the greatest spirit of the people.
He was excited to see it come about this year even if it wouldn't be the Weasleys for a change. As long as he wasn't alone, that was a win and Merlin, he'd have to be locked up if he'd spend any vacation alone in that dull home; Andromeda and Teddy livened the place up, but Delphini and those she stayed with would add to the sense of family it would have, Daphne, Tracey, the Weasleys… when all of them came over for Christmas day, it would be the greatest, most awkward day of his life.
He couldn't wait.
Harry shook his head and looked around the empty office that would very shortly be filled with paperwork and stress. It was done very tastefully and the chair was comfortable, very comfortable, he knew from experience just how easy it was to fall asleep whilst sitting on it. That time hadn't come quite yet though, and so with a brushing off of his shirt, he made to leave through the larger wooden doors that led into the office.
Funnily enough, the more he thought about it, those doors had likely been used more for leaving than they had for entering on account of the Floo. Before, when he had been doing nothing but sit at home as his mind was plagued by nightmares and ghosts, he hadn't dared to step foot inside of the office. Now, it wasn't half as intimidating or a quarter as horrible as his mind had reminded him of.
"Is that Harry Potter I hear?" Came the voice of Andromeda as soon as he stepped out of the office, the heavy doors audibly closing and echoing through much of the second floor.
Harry grinned at the sound of the older woman's voice and called back out to her, through the typically quiet home — Teddy had to be asleep and in his room, he realised whilst doing so, it was the only time the woman would yell even before he had left for his return to Hogwarts.
"It is," he said as he turned towards the source of her voice and started towards it. "Where are you?"
Andromeda didn't immediately answer his question, but when she did, it sounded as if she was right beside him… that would make sense too, considering she quite literally was right beside him once she'd opened the door that led to the bathroom. Her hair looked vaguely damp, likely the effect of a quickly-cast drying charm and the dress she wore looked like it was hastily put on; she was fresh out from a wash, he'd made her rush, but that meant she was just as excited to see him as he was of her.
"Welcome home," Andromeda said to him when they looked at one another, her arms encasing him in a large hug as she drew him into her body. "We've missed you, Teddy and I. I know I speak for both of us when I say that we can't wait for this year to be finished and for you to be living with us full-time once more."
Harry snorted at her words, smiling when they pulled away from their hug even if he had one of the largest smirks he'd sported on his face in quite some time. "Of course, you'd say you speak for the both of you, Teddy hasn't said his first word just yet… has he?"
"Not yet, but it'll happen soon, He's always babbling incoherently, it's only a matter of time before a real word comes out," Andromeda patted him on the back a few times, her hands roaming around as if she was testing out that he was actually real before they abruptly stopped and one of her hands grasped his. "He was only just put to bed, so why don't we catch up in the kitchen over some tea and breakfast?"
That sounded excellent to Harry, he was still starving after all, but as they started their journey down the stairs he couldn't help but rib the older woman just a bit on account of what she'd just said.
"He doesn't fall asleep for you like he does for good old Godfather Harry now, does he?" Harry couldn't hide the grin or the faint smugness that he spoke with, and in response, Andromeda raised a brow at him even as she 'accidentally' poked him between the ribs with the tip of her elbow.
"Unfortunately, he does not," she said to him after that accidental hit. "Teddy's just as stubborn as my Nymphadora was. You'll be handling his nightly duties all by yourself whilst you're here, now that you mention it. Don't worry, I'm sure it won't keep you from all of those witches you plan on bringing over — I dare say I speak from experience when I mention that such a thing can be attractive, even to witches as young as they are in comparison to one as old as I."
Harry snorted. "You're not old yet, Andromeda. Muggles would say you look thirty years old, it's only Magicals that'll be wrong about your age," they descended the final step and turned towards the kitchen, where already Harry could smell the beautiful familiar cooking of Kreacher and the other elves that Andy had insisted they purchase. "Just like Hogwarts."
His final few words were said off-handedly just like any other remark was, but Andromeda took that moment to grin at him as they took their seats and she started right in on a topic he had hoped she'd avoid. In reality, he should have known better if she was writing to Delphini's family and Delphini herself. In fact, he briefly wondered if she had even written one letter to Daphne or Tracey before ruling that out. If she had done either of the two girls, Tracey would have let it slip.
Maybe Delphini had even told her as much. She could be wickedly smart and perceptive when she wasn't hitting on him.
She's sort of like a sane Vane the more I think about it, only with a bit of Daphne and a sprinkle of Hermione… I guess she's actually not all that Vane-like in the first place, actually. Merlin, today's been a weirder day than I thought.
Harry shook his head and motioned for Andromeda to say what she'd previously said, again, citing issues with sleep last night. The look that she sent him in response was one that had him blushing even if there wasn't any reason to and only then did he realise the stories that Dora had told him were likely all true.
"I had asked about your friends at Hogwarts," Andromeda started before she took a long sip of her water, her eyes staring at him from over the glass with no small degree of teasing in them as she drew out his torture; still, eventually, she stopped drinking and picked up whence she'd left off. "I hear you're very familiar with three witches and familiar with many others beyond those three. Would you like to tell me who those three would be so that I can be sure I got the invitations and letters ordered correctly?"
"You've written letters?" Harry asked back, blinking rapidly as he looked around the room as if the letters would randomly happen to be in the kitchen.
"There's no need to worry, I've not sent but one and that one was to Delphini, a relative of ours — I'll never cease communicating with her," Andromeda's tone left no room for discussion not that he could ever bring himself to 'ban' Delphini from either of their lives and then the woman continued. "The others that I wrote are upstairs and in my room. One was addressed to the Greengrass family and the other to a lesser-known family that I'll admit I'm not overly familiar with. They were the Davis', I believe, a fairly recent house with a large majority of its members being placed in Slytherin."
At least she didn't tell me that she formally invited Vane or her family over. That would have been the end of my days, I reckon.
"Delphini, Daphne and Tracey are my three closest friends at Hogwarts — Neville and Luna had to withdraw, Ron and Hermione didn't come back for the year and most of the others… I think you'll like all three of them," Harry hadn't finished where he had initially gone, and so he decided to alter the course mid-sentence, finishing lamely with a comment about the three girls he had begun to care very deeply for.
Andromeda didn't seem any more in favour of going where he'd left off than he was and so she raised both eyebrows in response to his comment about her liking the three girls. "They're all born from powerful stock and possess good family names," she said with a shrug, as if that didn't matter to her and she was only reciting words that had been overheard time and time again. "If you enjoy their company, I'm sure I will too — I still can't help but imagine what the drivel that calls themselves 'journalists' will think when they see that your greatest companions are all witches from Slytherin. It'll be most amusing, I'm sure."
Harry let his head fall to the table. He hadn't thought of that even if he didn't care for their opinions… it would still make their lives outside of Hogwarts harder with how many Vane's likely existed in the world.
"Don't worry about it," Andromeda said, correctly guessing where his mind had gone. "They're not but flys on the wall to you, Harry. Now tell me of the three girls that have grown so close to you. What are they like and how did they come to be so dear to you?"
That was something he could very easily do, and so he did right up until the Floo in the parlour room went off.
"Who would that be?" Harry asked curiously as he made to sit up, unsure of just who would be visiting so early in the day.
Andromeda cast a glance at him. "I suppose I forgot to mention just when I would be having my niece over in that letter. Ah well, you're quite fond of her so I've learned, so it shouldn't be too troublesome if now was the time she meant to visit, now would it?"
Harry blinked a few times as the words registered to him; Delphini was visiting, a fact that he had known for quite some time, but her visit was starting right this second. That didn't make too much sense to Harry, not when he was well enough aware just how much time they spent together at Hogwarts — evidently, she wasn't quite finished with her attempts to date him.
Now that he thought about it, Daphne was still flirtatious as ever and more than willing to do whatever he asked so long as it wasn't crossing the line that had established itself between them.
"Let's go," Harry said finally, shaking himself free from his thinking as he made towards the parlour room with Andromeda right beside him, her arm entertwined with one of his. Before too much longer passed them by, they were in the room and their guest was seated on a floral-covered chair.
Delphini was the picture of politeness with both her posture and shy, reserved look shot at the pair. Her dress was more girlish than was usual of her too, and when she stole one of her glances, he thought he saw more make-up on her face than ever he could recall. He didn't think this was solely a tactic aimed at him any longer, more likely, it was meant to set up a good first impression with Andromeda.
He could tell it'd worked based on the look Andromeda was giving the younger witch. Andromeda looked reserved, conflicted and most of all, like she couldn't truly believe the girl she had been conversing with was real. It couldn't help how Bellatrix-like Delphini looked, what with her wavy hair, porcelain features and sharp facial structure. Had he not known, he reckoned Delphini could even pass as a daughter of Andromeda, such was the two womens resemblance.
"It's very nice to finally meet you, Missus Tonks," Delphini finally said, her voice incredibly shy-sounding as her eyes flickered up long enough for her to speak before they sought the floor out once more.
Andromeda made a noise and took a few steps forward before she paused. When she did, she clasped her hands together, twisted them a few times as if there was a towel between them, and then she started forward again with her arms outstretched. Within seconds, the older woman was beside the younger one and she had pulled the girl up, into her arms. Delphini's initial reaction was to shy away from the contact, but when Andromeda pressed so too did Delphini relent until she was fully enveloped by the older woman.
Harry watched the seconds tick by and at that same time, Delphini's resistance dissipate at a very rapid pace. It had to be ten seconds at the most and like that, the younger girl's arms had come up to pull the older woman tighter against her. The scene was very beautiful, especially with the loss that Andromeda had faced in life and the lie that Delphini had known since her birth.
He reckoned the relationship those two would go on to build would be among the most important in both of their lives. There wouldn't be any doubt in his mind that would rin—
"Hi, Harry," Delphini whispered to him, the girl having broken free of Andromeda as she sought him out for an equally as firm hug. "Thank you again, very much, for allowing me to visit. I never thought I'd be able to see anything from my mother's side of the family and to know that I'm here, standing where she stood when she was once a girl… it's nothing short of astounding. I wish I would've known her better, far better."
Andromeda's face fell at the mention of Bellatrix, but still, she clapped her hands together as she came up beside the younger woman with one of her hands going soothingly to her back. "Bella was a brilliant, iron-willed and strongly spirited girl when she was in her younger days. I wish you could've come to know that version of her, and in a manner of speaking, you will — I'll fetch my photos of her from when we were at Hogwarts. She never was as care free in all of her life past those days."
Delphini looked up and into the eyes of Andromeda as if the older woman had just given her the greatest gift of them all. When she made to speak, no words came free of her mouth and she had all she could do to wave to the older woman as she raced away, deadset on grabbing the aforementioned picture book from her youth.
"Should I show you your room while Andromeda's gone, or would you rather we go to the kitchen and have a snack — the latter's what we were doing up until you got here, so I reckon if you're hungry, there'll be all sorts of food waiting out back for us," Harry said as he moved closer to Delphini, one of his hands grabbing ahold of one of hers as she looked at the door whence Andromeda had left through.
"We could go back to the kitchen, Andromeda would only be a few rooms away," Delphini eventually said. speaking up as she turned to look at him with as warm and beautiful a look as ever as her hand tightened around his. "You'll escort me as if we were back in Hogwarts, won't you?"
He snorted. "As if you'd have to ask," he answered as he started them off whence he'd came only a few minutes earlier. "I'll always do it, even when we're out of Hogwarts and old. You three got me into the habbit of it and I really don't think I'd be able to break it. Not unless there came to be a severe lack of pretty Slytherin witches in my future."
"I don't think you'll have to worry about a 'severe' lack of pretty Slytherin witches in your future. You wouldn't have to worry about that in your chambers or your bedroom here if you don't want to. I'm more than willing to sleep with you, we could even have a cuddle in-front of your fireplace one of these nights while we watch the snow fall outside," Delphini seemed to shiver and she cast those dark, alluring eyes at him.
Merlin, was he a sucker for the eyes a witch could give him; Tracey, Daphne or Delphini, even Fay or Susan, if any of them gave him that look that only witches could master, he'd do just about anything for them. It was horrible, but who could deny a pretty witch a small favour, especially if it led to a good kiss or the chance to hold them close?
He didn't know about most other blokes, but he knew he'd never deny the chance of that happening. Well, not unless the girl was Ginny, but that'd be getting back into problems best left in the past.
"Name the night," Harry said with a shrug. "Except for tonight, before you say tonight. I'd like a good long sleep in my own bed instead of the one back at Hogwarts. Reckon I'll be up at least a dozen times too since I know I can do whatever I'd like now that I'm back home… would you care to join me around one or two in the morning for another snack raid?"
"Tomorrow night, and yes, visit me whenever you wake up in the midst of the night. I'm sure with our minds combined, we could find a quicker way to pass the time," Delphini smiled victoriously when he gave off a light chuckle, and pressing her luck, she stood on the tips of her toes to press a light kiss against his lips before she tore away from him with a playful look on her face. "I'll race you to the kitchen, first one there gets to decide the rest of our date tomorrow!"
He huffed when she burst through the door behind her. Leave it to the Slytherin to start that competition… one foot from the door and after kissing him right on the lips. They never played fair, never.
December 24, 1998
Saturday Morning
Harry and Delphini would go on to spend the next five days together. She would politely decline the two attempts he made for her to return home, instead saying to him that she thought of her time with him and Andromeda as perhaps some of the most important of her life. When she spoke words such as those, he couldn't find it in him to make up an excuse or reason for her to leave, and so he didn't.
Together, the two would spend night after night together, just as they'd promised. They would cuddle in-front of the fire as Delphini had wished or spend multiple hours in the kitchen in the dead of night as Harry had said they would. Tales would be shared from their earlier lives and plenty of time would be used for kissing amongst other recreational activities. Even then, with all of that done as the pair had wished, they spared plenty of time for Andromed and little Teddy.
Nothing would ever come between Harry and the little man that had come to look up to him so much despite how young he was. When Delphini introduced herself into his life, the girl being the last of his closest three relatives and family members that the boy would ever know, little Teddy had been insanely happy — it couldn't be understated how much Delphini had come to mean to the little boy in so short a time. She had left an impression on Andromeda from the first time they met, a rather good one at that, might Harry add, but nobody had been in awe of her like Teddy was and Delphini, she took quite the shine to him in turn.
At first, Andromeda had been slightly hesitant in letting the younger girl spend too much time with her daughter's son, but eventually, after watching the two for long enough the first few days, the older woman was beyond happy to have not one, but two willing helpers with her grandson. When Daphne and Tracey came over on Christmas Eve, he reckoned those two would enjoy their time with him just as much… Tracey though, Tracey would have to be watched, less the girl passes him some candy and makes him stay awake for the rest of the night.
That would be horrible and very Tracey-like of her to do. Now, thinking of the other two coming over on Christmas Eve as he was, he blinked himself awake and puffed away the errant strands of Delphini's hair getting into his face, and realised that today was Christmas Eve. It wasn't as far away as it had once been, the time with his family and Delphini had simply made those five days pass him by faster than any had ever done before.
"Delphini," Harry whispered as he gently shook the girl awake, her large night shirt getting caught on his thumb for the briefest of moments; she loved her baggy clothes. "It's just about nine in the morning, Daphne and Tracey will be here before too much longer. You can use my shower, I'll go after you."
In response to his words and the fact that he had woken her up, Delphini grunted and burrowed her face further into his shirt. All of what she had said was uninteligible, she couldn't be bothered to repeat it either, leaving him with her cuddled right up into him and the thirty minutes they had before their friends arrived to tick right on by.
He put his head back down and glanced at the mechanical clock on the wall. Harry would let her sleep for another five minutes, maybe a few extra past that too, but she'd have to get up before too much longer. If she didn't, they'd have to make do with no shower and just a change of clothes before the other girls got here. Once they were here, there wouldn't be any time to themselves until the evening was at its end. Even then, he reckoned they might all just bunk in the parlour room solely for the sake of spending more time together.
That wouldn't be the first time, they'd fallen asleep a few times accidentally in the tower's common room. Those mornings would tend to be fun, if slightly exhausting on account of the lack of sleep they'd get thanks to their other housemates.
He chuckled at Fay's carelessness, remembering how the girl had tripped over a sprawled out Tracey and the morning that had been… he really would miss when Hogwarts was all said and done, but he'd thank it for leading to him making as many friends as he had. The old nightmares he'd used to have, they were well gone now and his mind, well, it felt clearer than it had throughout the entirety of his life.
"We shouldn't tell them that we've slept together, should we?" Delphini asked as the two lounged on one of the couches together, her head resting against his shoulder.
He snorted. "You could tell them, but please do mention that it was only sleeping and with our clothes on. I wouldn't want Tracey getting too immature or Daphne thinking I'd stolen away your virtue," Harry chuckled lightly at the thought, earning a raised eyebrow from Delphini and as such, he said the words that had ran through his mind. "If anything, really, you would be the one stealing my virtue and not the other way around — don't tell me that's a lie either, I reckon you would have jumped me the first month or two we had to know one another if you could've done it without any of the others stumbling in on us."
Delphini narrowed her eyes at him, but the corners of her lips did tick up at his words. "Perhaps the thought had crossed my mind, but we'll never know. You enjoy the soft, romantic approach and it's my first choice too, so we can travel on this love-journey together… I still wonder when you'll tell me to ge-"
The floo roared, and in stepped the first of the two arrivals they were expecting.
"Hi Dap- wait, Tracey, you're first?" Harry blinked and rubbed at his eyes a few times, unsure if what he was currently witnessing was real.
Tracey nodded her head a half-dozen times or more. "Of course! I've been waiting to see how you rich people lived and my family's super jealous that I get to see some old House Black home, so I figured I'd get here as early as I could!" the energetic girl raced over and dove at the pair of them, sprawling out on their laps. "Harry, you're the same as ever — Delphini, you feel thicker… nice!"
Delphini made a sound of disapproval while he blinked at the girl now laying across their laps. "It's been five days, I doubt either of us have or would have changed since you last saw us," he looked closer at Tracey, seeing the girl jitter ever-so-slightly as she started to swing her feet all over the place. "Did you drink coffee again, Tracey?"
Tracey glared up at him, but still she had the nerve to shake her head in the typical indicator of 'no'.
"I would think the answer is yes," Delphini said as she turned to look at him, seemingly unbothered with Tracey seated in her lap as she was. "It's either that or she ate a higher quantity of candy than she usually does. Sugar makes her shake as much as Daphne does when I flirt with you and use those words from Tracey's books."
"They're pretty colourful," Tracey agreed happily as her hands sought out the buttons on Harry's shirt. "Nice material, Harry. I bet you just got this or washed it, right? Smells really fresh, it does, it really does. What'd you use? It smells like a dude, no offence, dude."
Harry opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the Floo sounded off again, revealing the last arrival. Daphne.
She wore very little make-up, but the little that was on her face was as dark black as was possible and her pale features and blue eyes were all the more alluring because of it. Her dress, the thing was black with a white trim and showed off more of her than he figured he'd seen before, but even then, it was still modest as she liked.
"Harry," she greeted, her eyes scanning all three of them as she stepped forward. "Tracey, Delphini — Happy Christmas break, and Happy Yule to you, Delphini."
Delphini returned the kind words and Tracey, she seized the moment as she always did and pushed Harry towards Daphne whilst remaining hot on his heels. Within seconds, the three were in a warm hug and his face was nearly pressed right up against Daphne's. He didn't mind, and the bemused expression she wore said much the same.
"Good morning to you too, Harry," Daphne said with a brow raised as she looked down, where he currently had one of his hands that was stabilising him. "You've gotten far bolder in the five days that've passed since we last saw each other, haven't you?"
He did something right then that he typically wouldn't. He winked at her.