CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
The Kiss
July 31st, 1980

          Daphne had gotten a letter late at night and by the owl and the writing, she assumed it was from Lily and James. In it, they took the time to update their friends on their situation and also notify them that Harry Potter had taken his first breath on July 31st. From their description, he had dark hair like his father but straight like his mother and had blue eyes. James had also added that he was a very smiling baby.

Parts of Daphne couldn't help but wonder if it could have been theirs if she had stayed with them, perhaps she could have been a mum. But, she hurried to shake those thoughts away from her mind because it felt awfully wrong to think that way since she was engaged to Fabian. Besides, she would never cheat on him.

Her lips curled upwards as she thought of the moment Fabian read the letter; he had smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, then kissed her cheek saying he could not wait for the moment they would be the ones telling their friends about their baby. It sounded so pure and so precious that she somehow cherished the moment. It was proof that Fabian was good to her and would do anything for her.

Sadly, Fabian had to join Gideon for a secret mission that he refused to talk about. All he did was kiss her one last time and tell her he loved her wholly. So, Daphne found herself alone at the flat but she didn't want to stay inside so she found herself getting ready to join Remus Lupin. He had finally come back from his secret mission and she had hurried herself to ask him if he was alright with having drinks with her, of course he replied that he was looking forward to it.

Escaping her flat, she took a minute to breathe in the air and enjoyed how pure it felt. They had agreed to meet not too far from Diagon Alley, it was a bar known for being frequented by wizards. Sure, it was not Diagon Alley or the Leaky Cauldron but it would do no bad to change the scenery for once.

As usual, she was five minutes early because her father always taught her that no one could ever be too early so she had gotten used to arriving five minutes early every single time. To her surprise, Remus was already there, sitting at a table as he sipped his drink.

"Well, how rude of you to start off without me," Daphne exclaimed behind him as he jumped at the familiar voice. A blush crept on his cheek as if he had been caught red-handed.

He pushed the glass away, "Godric, sorry," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "I have been here for quite a long time actually. It is getting suffocating back at the flat with Sirius being on my heels every single second of the day," he then admitted with a sigh.

Daphne pouted sadly, "Oh, poor you," she said, knowing that after these long missions, all he wanted to do was sleep. "Though, you must understand him, Remus. He hates when you go away and leave a note."

"Ouch, that is the loving cousin talking right now. Not my loving friend," he told her as she snorted, taking off her coat and giving him a hug.

"Don't be ridiculous, Remus," Daphne whispered as she pulled away from him. "I can be both, can't I?" He nodded, watching her as she sat in front of him. "So, how have you been?"

Remus shrugged, "I should be the one asking the question. How are you? I mean–so many things happened. Sirius tried to tell me but I could barely catch up."

"I am doing better," Daphne admitted. "And I have to thank Fabian for that."

He smiled a bit, "He's really good to you, isn't he?"

"Oh, more than you could ever know," Daphne answered. "After Evan's death, he was just here for me and that was all I needed. I have to admit that Sirius helped quite a lot."

Remus released a soft breath, his hands wrapped around the glass, "I never thought I'd say that but you're good to him–Sirius, I mean. He talks about you all the time and thank you for being here for him too."

Daphne shrugged, waved a careless hand at him, "It's nothing, really."

"But it is."

"No, he is family and I have never given up on him. He just needed to realise that," she told him softly as she took the time to call the waiter and order the same drink as Sirius. "Is there alcohol in your drink?"

Remus snorted, nodding, "Plenty of it."

"Brilliant," she paused for a moment as silence fell over the pair of friends. "Have you met Harry yet?"

"I did. He is the most bubbly baby I have ever seen," Remus admitted with a snort. "He is mostly James' copycat but he has Lily's eyes."

"I love babies," Daphne confessed. "I always thought I didn't want kids on my own but ever since Fabian and all those babies around us, well I really want one."

"That is a baby fever, that is," he chuckled as she let out a quick laugh. "Why don't you try, then?"

Daphne shrugged as she thanked the waiter for the drink before answering, "We barely talked about it with Fabian and besides I am not sure it is the right time for me to have a baby."

"Bullocks! Your mum fancies Fabian, I'm sure she wouldn't be against the idea of having a grandchild."

"You're probably right," she said, taking a sip of her glass and her eyes widened at the alcohol as Remus shrugged, as if he was telling her I told you. "Salazar, it is strong!"

Just as he was about to answer, a familiar frame approached the table and Daphne squinted her eyes lightly before recognising Rebecca Goyle. She had not changed in the slightest, perhaps her hair had gotten longer but nothing more than that.

"Look who it is! Daphne Rosier, pinch me!" She exclaimed loudly as Daphne stood up to give her a hug. "Salazar, I have missed you."

"Me too, Becca."

Rebecca turned her head to greet Remus and a smile drew on her face, "Oh, look at the shabby man. Lupin, is it?"

Remus Lupin seemed unphased as he nodded his head, "Right. Goyle?"

"Touché," she replied, focusing back on Daphne. "I didn't know you were friends with him."

Daphne shrugged, "He is Sirius's boyfriend and a great friend of mine. What can I tell you?"

"You are full of surprises, lovely Daph. How have you been?"

"Good."

Rebecca hummed, "I am sorry I couldn't be here for Evan's funeral. I was stuck in France."

Daphne didn't truly care that Rebecca was not here, she hadn't realised who had taken the time to attend and who had not been here, "It's fine, Becca. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I am meeting with Bart."

The mention of Barty Crouch Jr. struck something within Daphne as she recalled the conversation she had with Evan back on Christmas Eve. It had been obvious to her that the two shared more than a friendship, despite them never acknowledging it. When they talked about it, Evan was obviously suffering from the lack of communication. All of a sudden, she felt the urge to talk to Barty or even see him so she found herself staring at the door, waiting for him to walk through it.

"Would it be okay if I speak to him for a moment?" Daphne asked Rebecca.

Rebecca frowned but nodded, "Sure. He should be here soon."

It was as if Rebecca had summoned him; the door flew open as a tall man walked in. Daphne rose on her feet, heading to Barty. He seemed shocked as she reached for his forearm to pull him closer. If he was completely honest, he didn't think he would see her anymore since they had drifted apart and Evan was dead.

"Oh, Daph," he breathed out, locking his eyes on her features.

"Hello, Bart," Daphne smiled gently. Barty's lips started quivering and she felt her heart sink as she watched the boy in front of her on the verge of crying. "I know, Bart. I know," she whispered, taking him in her arms.

"I miss him, Daph," he said, his voice shaking as he tried to keep it as normal as he could. "And there are so many things I wish I would have said to him–or done."

"Bart," she cooed in a motherly manner, like she used to do with her little brother. "He knows all of that. He knows."

"Does he, really?"

Daphne nodded, "He does, alright?"

"I'm sorry."

Pulling away, she laid a hand on his cheek, "You don't have to apologise, Bart," she told him as he shook his head, not agreeing with her. "Whatever happened between you two, it was meant to, okay? But do not think, even once, that Evan died not loving you."

"It's just that–we hadn't talked in so long and..."

Daphne cut him off, preventing him from talking more, "Trust me, Bart. Someone I love dearly told me that there is nothing I–we could have done to change what happened."

"Right," he released a shaky breath. "You're right."

She nudged him softly, "Of course I am, you bloody idiot."

Barty snorted despite the tears that threatened to leave his eyes. After that, they said goodbye to each other and Barty promised to reach out to her soon. By the end of the afternoon and after a long needed conversation with Remus, it was time for Daphne to go back to her place as she assumed Fabian and Gideon would be back. So, with a kiss on Remus's cheek, she headed towards her flat in hope to talk to Fabian about starting a family.

The idea had been pacing back and forth in her mind ever since she had gotten that letter this morning, and she knew Fabian wouldn't be against it. On the contrary, Fabian dreamt of holding his first born in his arms and having children of his own.

Pushing the front door, she frowned, no one was home yet. Stripping from her tight clothes to something more comfortable, she sat alone in her living room, clutching her cup of tea. She had a foreboding that something bad would happen but she couldn't put a finger on it yet.

As the floor behind creaked, she turned around to see Dumbledore. He stood before her, his sombre expression matching the weight of his upcoming message. His presence was enough to send shivers down Daphne's spine.

"Miss Rosier," He started, his voice gentle but his eyes betrayed him as they held a depth of sadness. "I am truly sorry to be the bearer of more tragic tidings. Gideon and Fabian have been found dead."

Daphne felt her throat close as she reached for air, her cup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces and everything around her turned dark. The words echoed in her mind, each syllable was a piercing dagger that thrusted more and more in her heart. That War was slowly killing Daphne and she didn't know how much she could take. All she was able to see was the puddle of tea that was staining the floor.

Her thoughts swirled as she could still feel Dumbledore's presence, watching her crumble down. How could this be? How could Fate be so cruel and snatch her away from the remaining threads of what she called family?

As tears continued to flow, Daphne thought of this morning where he had kissed her hard and she wondered if he knew he would probably be dead by noon. If someone would have told Daphne that she would share a last kiss with Fabian, she would have laughed to their face because life had taken so much away from her–why would they need to take Fabian away too?

"I'm sorry," she whispered once she had found some straight to get up. "Thank you for coming."

"There is no need to thank me, Miss Rosier," Dumbledore answered. "You must remember that we are at war and it is perfectly normal to lose the ones we love."

Daphne snorted sadly, "Is it? Is it normal to lose all I lost?"

Dumbledore gave her a shrug, "It is destiny. It was written all along, Miss Rosier. There is no denying in your strength to hold on after all you have lost but I am sure that you are aware that nothing could have changed the present."

Daphne hummed, not up to having a debate with her old Headmaster, "Will I be able to bury them?"

"Surely, Miss Rosier."

"Thank you."

With that Dumbledore left her alone. Grabbing a bag, she threw as much clothes as she could in it and grabbed her kneazle before heading to the only place she knew she had to go–The Burrow. Daphne's feet never felt so heavy, she anticipated the moment she would have to face Molly and the children. When she reached the front door, she could hear Molly's weeping and she concluded that Dumbledore had gone to their house first. After a moment, she brought her knuckles to the wooden door and waited for someone to let her in.

"Oh, Daphne," he said, his tone filled with sadness. His first instinct was to wrap his arms around her and hold her close as she cried in his chest. "I am so sorry," he whispered, comforting her as if she was a real member of their family.

Daphne ended up staying at the Burrow until the funeral. The funeral had taken three days after, it was the most beautiful funeral she had attended. She had cried throughout the whole moment and when she didn't, she was fidgeting with her engagement ring as if it was going to bring him back.

Three years ago, Daphne thought she had doomed herself to a life of pure distraught and chaos but James Potter and Fabian Prewett had made it so much better, now she didn't know what to think or how to continue her life without him.

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authors note, so... don't hate me. it is the LAST sad chapter i swear to god, nothing bad is going to happen after that—wait no, i'm lying. next chapter is bad but then IT IS FINE AND HAPPY