Harry Potter: The Saviour's Awakening

He then looked at Daphne and whispered, "Close your eyes."

When Daphne reluctantly complied, she felt Harry gently take her hand and lead her inside. She could feel a light, cool breeze but knew that it was the magic of the room that created it. Harry carefully guided her down several steps and she was made to sit on something. She was getting restless, so before she could open her eyes, Harry conjured a blindfold and slid it over her eyes.

"Harry!" whined Daphne. "Come on! What's this about?"

"You'll see," he said, sounding amused.

Daphne couldn't hear anything either but knew there were probably silencing charms in place. Finally, Harry removed the blindfold with a wave of his hand. Her eyes took time to adjust to the dim lighting. They seemed to be on a small boat, but it was closed on all sides, so she couldn't see what was going on outside.

"Where are we?" she asked, confused.

Harry simply smiled and flicked his wand, making the roof of the boat disappear. Daphne gasped.

They were in the middle of a calm lake at night. There was a full moon with stars and constellations seen in the clear night sky above. Mountain peaks could be seen in the distance and she could see forest cover on the distant banks of the lake too. The boat swayed slightly in the water. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

"How did you know?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

"You told me," said Harry, smiling slightly. "You told me that you had dreamt about such a place once and that you always remembered it. I saw flashes of it when I was teaching you Occlumency about two months ago. You said that if you ever were to come across a place like this, you would wish to spend your birthday there."

"You remembered?" she asked, not taking her glistening eyes off Harry's face.

He simply smiled as he reached for a bag. She watched him assemble everything needed. A small vanilla cake, her favourite, was being held in his hands, with one of those fancy flower candles on it.

"Happy birthday, Daphne," he whispered, just as it turned midnight.

Tears flowed down Daphne's cheeks as she croaked out a thank you. Harry smiled as he took a small piece of cake and fed it to her, just as his godfather had instructed him to do. Daphne, in turn, took a piece of cake and fed it to him as well.

"Look up," he muttered, pointing to the sky. When she looked at the night sky, she gasped as several fancy fireworks exploded in the air, bathing the sky in beautiful colours. One of the fireworks exploded, forming the words, ' Happy Birthday Daphne ' in the sky.

"Thank you, Harry," she whispered, wiping her tears away. "Thank you so much. You didn't have to go to such lengths to impress me, you know."

"You may be my fiancée, Daphne, but you're also my first and only friend," he shrugged. "I just wanted to thank you for that and, well, apologise for you being trapped with me because of the betrothal contract. It wasn't your fault that I'm the last Potter."

"I don't mind being engaged to you," smiled Daphne, her cheeks colouring, a hint of awkwardness creeping through. "In fact, I think it's the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Really? You're not mad that you will be forced to marry me?"

"I was angry, yes, but so were you. But I'm not anymore. Over the past several months, you've become my best friend, Harry. Sure, I've known Tracy for a couple of years, but she's very social while I'm not; at least not outside the family, but I don't mind having you as my best friend. Forced into it or not, I'm happy ."

"Me too," said Harry quietly. There was tense silence for a minute, the air filled with uncertainty, which he broke by saying, "I - ahem - I have a present for you. I hope you like it."

He took out a long, slender velvet box and gave it to Daphne. She accepted it and opened it carefully and gasped when she saw what was inside.

"It's a locket similar to mine," said Harry, pointing to the one hanging from around his neck outside his shirt, "with a bevvy of protective charms on it, some of which are not exactly legal. Open it."

Daphne opened the locket and saw that on one side was a picture of her with her parents and Astoria, while on the other was a picture of her and Harry taken during the Yule Ball at Greengrass Manor. She moved closer and hugged him tightly, not being able to convey her thanks with mere words. Harry stiffened in panic and realising this, Daphne pulled away, giving him his space.

"So, whose idea was this?" she asked teasingly.

Harry's green eyes sparkled with amusement, but he didn't see the point in lying to her. "My godfather suggested I do this," he acknowledged. "I'd simply wanted to give you a present and leave it at that, but he insisted that I make it special, and since I had no idea how to proceed, he helped me with it. The gift was completely my idea, though."

"Well, I appreciate it," said Daphne, smiling brightly at him. "Thanks, Harry."

A hint of a shy, pleased smile formed on Harry's lips, forcing him to look away, his face flushed with happiness. He couldn't fully understand the strange emotions that he was experiencing, but whatever it was, it felt good.

They stayed there for an hour, enjoying the beautiful scenery, each secretly glancing at the other when the other wasn't looking. Neither was willing to admit it, but Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass were slowly beginning to develop feelings for each other.