CHAPTER SEVEN
Home Sweet Home!
April 10th, 1978

     Evan, Barty, Snape, Rebecca and Daphne were all in the common room, they had managed to get the most comfortable sofas in front of the fire place and were now all eating sweets that Rebecca's mum had sent. It was one of those times where Daphne didn't despise the house she was in; well, thinking about it she never truly hated Slytherin—the stereotype about it, yes, but other than that they were fine. It really felt like a second family.

"He wants all of us in?" Barty repeated slowly and unsure. "Like all of us?"

Daphne cleared her throat, wishing Regulus was there to talk about it, "Well, he asked me to bring back a list of students who would like to join," she explained again. "You don't have to, Barty."

"No, no, I want to," he replied immediately, straightening in his seat. "Write my name, Rosier," he added confidently.

"When will we be given the mark?" Snape queried.

Daphne sighed and shrugged, "I have no idea, Sev," she replied truthfully. "I reckon you will get it at the end of the year. I am not entirely sure."

"Why not earlier?"

Rebecca snorted, "Are you stupid?"

"Because we don't want a bunch of death eaters strolling into the corridors, do we?" Daphne chirped in, holding her pen as she stared at Barty's last name. "Is your dad going to be alright with this?"

"He doesn't have to know," he answered, lighting a cigarette. "Or do you plan on telling my dear Father?"

"It's not my job to do so, Barty," she chuckled, then glanced back up at Severus. "Am I writing your last name or not?"

"Yes, please," he whispered, shifting his attention back to the fireplace in front of them.

"Write my name too," Evan chirped, even though they already had this conversation before.

Daphne shook her head, "We're not having that conversation again, Ev," she muttered, writing Severus' last name then folding the parchment.

Daphne had taken all afternoon to gather some small groups she had heard were interested, the list was rather long, she had to admit it. Some students had questions and some just wanted their names to be on the list, Daphne had done the two either way—answered the questions when she could, and write the names as fast as she could.

"Your name is not going on that list," she added, noticing he wasn't answering. "Not when I am the one writing it."

"Well, I demand for my name to be on there," he said casually. "You can't do anything about it, Daph."

"Oh, I can and I will," she told him, rising on her feet. "If you want to join, you will talk about it with mum and dad. I'm sure they will know what to do with your stupid self."

"Fucking hell," he breathed out, storming out of the room under everyone's eyes. "I will just ask Reg."

Daphne sighed loudly, "I know you are all eager to receive the mark, but in the meantime prove yourself. Are we clear?"

"How?"

"Whatever you can do to make good impression," she explained lowly. "I am warning you. No young children. It is ridiculous to do so, take on someone your own size, okay?"

Severus and Barty both nodded their heads, starting a conversation of their own while Rebecca and Daphne strolled back to their bedroom. Thank Salazar, they were only two in the room because she couldn't see herself sharing it with more girls. They both plopped on their own bed, letting out a long and tired sigh before Rebecca turned to face Daphne.

"Hey, Daph?" She whispered lowly. "Do you think I can put my name on the list? Does the Dark Lord accept women?"

"Why wouldn't he? It would be a bit sexist, don't you think?" She chuckled as Rebecca did the same. "I mean he accepted me, so I don't see why he wouldn't accept you. And, you're a Goyle."

"Yeah, you're right," she muttered.

Daphne prompted herself on her elbows and watched her best friend, "Do you want to? Being a follower isn't always the better thing to do, Becca," she explained softly. "You can still believe in his cause and not be a death eater."

"Can I?" Her face lighted up as she nibbled at her lower lip.

"Of course you can," she reassured smiling. "I won't write your name on it unless you ask me to, I swear."

Rebecca ended up kissing Daphne's cheek on her way to the bathroom and thanked her softly before closing the door behind her, leaving Daphne alone in the dark with her oil lamp as the only source of light in the bedroom. Daphne didn't wait for her friend to return from the shower, instead she changed her clothes rapidly and fell asleep as fast as she could. Maybe she would dream tonight? To her own surprise, she hadn't had any in ages actually—she couldn't remember the last time she was haunted by memories, because they were more like souvenirs than made-up nightmares. Like reliving some of her worst moments.

Knowing she would be back home...yes, home. It kind of helped to ease her nerves to know that she would see her parents again—though, they were annoying most of the times, they were her parents and she'd love them endlessly. But before she could think about them more, Daphne had fallen into a deep slumber.

Where was she? It was dark and moist, drops echoed through the place and all of sudden she felt a wave of coldness hit her. Where the fuck was she?

"Lucius, this is not right," Narcissa's voice rang through her ears. "You can't just hold my cousin in the dungeon because of what she did!"

The Malfoy dungeon. She had seen it a few times, on rare occasions really. Lucius Malfoy had hurried himself to pull her out of this place rapidly, afraid Bacchus would go after him if he knew where he had taken his daughter.

"She...she is a traitor!" He shouted, way too loud for her own liking. "She is in love with that Potter," he spat. "And, may I add that she had been friend with a Mudblood!"

"And you genuinely think keeping her and him in the dungeon will help?!"

Him?

"Who's here?" She queried, hearing a soft breath behind her back and she almost instantly turned on her heels to check. "Where's my fucking wand?" She muttered, patting her pockets in hope to find it.

"Took them away," a familiar voice answered and her eyes widened.

The other him was, in fact, James Potter. This was not happening, for Circe's sake.

"We fought, though," he chuckled, coughing not too long after. "You were bloody brilliant."

Daphne took minutes before pulling herself back together, and she finally lunged herself towards his body who was against the wall. She was close enough to see his face, he was really there and looked pretty rough. Holding his face between her hands, she scrutinised every inch of it—he had a pretty bad cut on his cheekbone, seemed paler than ever and if it was possible, his eyes had lost a little life. Was it? Possible?

"Hey," she breathed out, sitting next to him. "You're going to be okay, James," she whispered, noticing how heavy his eyes were getting. "Do you think you are strong enough to stay with me? Stay awake, yeah?"

"I don't know, I will try. For you," he answered truthfully.

Daphne jolted awake, gasping for air as she felt the familiar sweat at the back of her neck from when she used to have nightmares. Except that this time, she could feel tears on both of her cheeks, was she crying? She wasn't crying in her nightmare...Or maybe she just hadn't felt it, too busy to check on James.

James.

She reached forward to grab the notebook on her nightstand, ever since she had gifted the other one to James, she had let hers on her nightstand in case she'd need to write in it. She held her pen firmly as she started writing.

Hey, are you awake?

Waiting seconds, she bit her lower lip before watching the ink appearing.

What is going on? Are you in trouble?

He was too good for this world and definitely made to be in Gryffindor. She suppressed a chuckle and wrote back.

Had a nightmare. Just missed you x

Can we meet, then? Don't need to answer, I'll just stare at the map like the creepy boyfriend that I am.

With a wide smile, she rose on her feet, and grabbed the sweater that was on her chair before throwing it over her head. Daphne grabbed her wand and headed outside, instantly shivering at how cold the dungeon felt. The dungeon. No, she couldn't think about it again—for her own sake. As she walked through the hallways, she felt someone grab her by the waist and before she could squeal, she was in a cupboard.

"Really? A bloody cupboard, Potter?"

James' head emerged from underneath the cloak, and smirked at her, "I love it when you get angry at me, and use my last name," he teased and she shoved him away playfully.

"Are you going to sneak me underneath your cloak, then?"

"Well," he released a breath, leaning down to kiss her rapidly. "There's a first to everything, so yes. Miss Rosier, will you do me the honour of accepting to be under the cloak with I, Mister Potter?"

"You asked so nicely," she pouted and James fought the urge to kiss her lips until she couldn't breathe. "Okay."

"Put yourself in front of me," he told her as she did so, and he managed to throw the cloak on them both. "Now, you can put yourself back next to me. I only did that because usually we struggle to get under it," he explained softly as they walked side by side.

It felt nice, to walk by his side in the castle without having to worry about anyone's eyes.

"What time is it?" Daphne queried as they started walking up the stairs to the seventh floor. "I fell asleep quite early and—"

"Two? Maybe three?" He said, cutting her off. "I was awake. I had a really bad feeling, I couldn't shake it."

Daphne sighed, "Do you think it was relied to me having a nightmare?"

James shrugged before replying, "I have no idea."

They finally reached the Room of Requirement, and it was as if the room had been waiting for them...the door was already there, ready to be pushed by James. As soon as they were inside, Daphne let out a sigh of relief and smiled as his two arms circled her waist, his head on her shoulder.

"What was your nightmare about?" He asked softly, kissing her neck. "You can tell me," he added, feeling her stiffen at the mention of it.

Daphne sighed softly, feeling his thick curls tickle the side of her neck, "I was loosing you," she admitted, swallowing hard. "You were in a bad shape, James and—"

"Shh," he shushed her sweetly, trailing kisses up her neck. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"I know," she told him. "But...but, it looked so real and..." She stopped for a second, and took a deep breathe. "And I thought you were going to die."

A small sob escaped her lips and she immediately put her hand over her mouth, as if it was going to stop it from happening. James turned her around so she could face him, his hands rested on her waist. He didn't speak, instead he looked at her, and Daphne realised that he was allowing her to stare at him, let her sink in that he was still there, perfectly healthy.

"I love you," he finally told her after a few minutes, he put a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. "You, Daphne Rosier, are the best thing that happened to me."

"You don't mean that," she chuckled, pushing herself out of his grasp. "I can't be it."

"What do you mean?" He questioned, frowning. "You're it. I know you don't think the way I do but later, when all of this," he gestured around them. "Will be over. We will be together, Daph."

She wanted to say no, you're wrong but she couldn't bring herself to deny the only ounce of happiness she could have. Cruel of her, right? Perhaps, a little selfish too. Cruel and selfish to let him think that they would have their happily ever after.

Instead, she gave him a soft smile and pressed a kiss to his lips. I love you, I want to stay with you forever, it said and James seemed to melt right into it. Daphne pulled away and wondered if she'd ever feel this happy in the future, maybe? Who knew?

"How did you get this little scar?" She whispered, finger grazing on his eyebrow.

James chuckled, "I had decided to not wear my glasses, I thought they weren't so cool," he explained. "Sirius was my guide for the whole week and one day, I just fell down the bloody stairs."

"Was it because you weren't wearing your glasses?"

"Absolutely not!" He exclaimed, gasping. "I missed a step, which can happen to anyone with or without glasses," he huffed. "Besides, I wear them now."

"Thank Circe," Daphne laughed as he frowned. "You're basically blind without them, James."

"That is not true," he argued. "My eyesight is not horrible, you know," he told her, shaking his head.

When he opened his mouth to argue again, Daphne leant in and kissed him again. It was slow and soft, almost as though she was channeling her worries through it and, James must had felt it because he reached forward and pulled her into his lap. His arms circled her middle, holding her close to him as she pressed chaste kisses on his mouth, taking breaks here and there to stare at his red lips.

She reached for his hand and moved it under her t-shirt until he was grazing the scar on her rib, "This scar," she breathed out. "It was because of my father. He got drunk and mad. Evan had broken one of our grandmother's vase and he was too young to be hurt, so I took the blame."

James lifted her shirt, ignoring the bare chest, mainly because he didn't care, "Are you sure you weren't meant to be in Gryffindor? That is being brave, that is," he whispered against her skin, pressing his wet lips on the scar.

Daphne chuckled, "The Hat did think of it," she confessed.

James hummed, fingers touching another scar, "How about this one?"

"Bellatrix," she replied. "Hit me with a nasty jinx...I reckon she was mad at me for standing up to her," she chuckled bitterly. "Mum did yell at her until she didn't have a voice anymore."

"Blimey," he exclaimed, nibbling at his lower lip. "It's not right, are you aware of that?"

"Trust me, I know that most of my family lost the plot already," she told him with a small smile yet sad. "I love you."

"Come home with me?" He blurted. "For the holidays, I mean. You can meet Mum and Dad, they'll love you and you can make up with Sirius. Oh, and we can play Quidditch," he ranted. "My house elf is called Winky, she's a sweetheart."

"James, I can't," she replied. "Maybe during the summer, eh?"

James seemed more delighted by the proposition and nodded eagerly. If only he knew...Daphne and James wouldn't exist by summer, he wouldn't see her the same he did, and definitely wouldn't love her the same. And Daphne was fine with that, at least she thought she was? She had accepted it a long time ago now.

"Alright, yeah," he answered. "Do you think we can owl each other during the holidays?"

"Er, yes. I don't see why not," she replied.

Since she had started Hogwarts, Amalthea had gifted her an owl, she named her Feather and thankfully, none of her relatives used her or checked her letters. She had never really thought of exchanging letters with James, the last break they had, she had been stressed and hadn't talked with anyone except from the people residing in her own house.

"My owl's name is Feather," she added, letting her hands run down his arms. "She's maroon and extremely smart. She also adores treats...the small ones that you can buy in Diagon Alley."

James smiled sweetly, "Noted, Captain," he gave her a firm nod as she rolled her eyes, hitting his chest playfully. "Oi!"

"'M sorry," she laughed. "Stop calling me captain, it is bloody weird. Only my team can do that."

"I like it," he shrugged.

She smirked, "Kinky."

He let out a breathy chuckle, hiding his face in the crock of her neck and kissed it sweetly. Instead of sleeping, James would find others scars and ask her about it, while Daphne questioned him about his childhood. She was eager...so eager to know the man she loved, and she'd have to lose one day.

The next morning, Daphne had kissed James slowly and lovingly to say goodbye. James hated goodbyes, he'd say see you soon instead, something that made her laugh a bit. They parted ways around seven, knowing half of the castle would be awake soon and also realising that they had both yet to pack their trucks. The journey back was the longest, she spent it half asleep with her head on Evan's shoulder as he chatted with Pandora, Regulus and Barty.

Going out of the train, she noticed James in the corner of the eyes, he was waving eagerly at his parents and she allowed her eyes to drift on them. His mum, Euphemia, was exactly how she had pictured her—blonde hair, wide smile, soft features. Then, his dad, Fleamont, had messy brown hair yet better than James, he held a straight posture but embraced his son...no, sons into a tight embrace before ruffling their hair earning loud complains. James looked exactly the same as his father, yet had his mother attitude and little mimics.

"Daphne," Narcissa greeted her with a smile, which was unusual coming from her. "Evan," she added a little more firmly. "Your parents are currently busy, they asked me to take you home. Is it alright?"

"Doesn't look like we have a choice, do we?" Evan replied and, Daphne noted that he was still a bit mad at her for refusing to put his name on the list.

Narcissa straightened and barely threw him a look, "Drop the attitude, little cousin. I don't have the time to deal with it," she told him. "Daphne, Aunt Amalthea has told us you were having an amazing year at school."

"That is right," Daphne replied, smiling softly. It somehow warmed her heart to know that Narcissa was trying to get to know her better; sure they had grown up together but still, sometimes it felt like they were two worlds apart. "We've won most of Quidditch matches, I've been doing surprisingly good in Herbology."

"Such a Hufflepuff subject," she snorted as they walked out of the train station. "Do you think the Headmaster would allow me to come see you for one of your match? I miss the sport terribly," she confessed.

Daphne grinned, "I'll ask him as soon as we get back," she promised. "Oh, Regulus and I started thinking of what you've asked."

"Brilliant. Anything I should be aware of?"

She sighed, "It could take a little longer than I excepted, but you will have it before summer. If we do finish it earlier, you will meet us in Hogsmade. How about that?"

"Perfect. That's perfect," she repeated. "Thank you for doing this."

"Don't thank me, Cissa," she told her, reaching for her shoulder. "You are family after all."

The witch nodded gratefully then focused on Evan, who until now was doing nothing but trailing behind his cousin, "What about you, Evan? How is it?"

Evan seemed happy to see that she was paying attention to him, and started ranting about Care of Magical Creatures and Potions. Narcissa nodded her head throughout the whole rant, sometimes she'd make some comments about how the teacher used to do when she was still there. Evan would laugh, cuss and excuse himself rapidly before agreeing with whoever she was tearing down.

"Are you both ready?" She queried as they reached the Apparition point.

Evan snorted, "To what? Apparate back home?" He asked and she hummed. "We've done it thousands of times, Narcissa."

"Pardon me for caring," she rolled her eyes and grabbed both of their hands.

They heard a loud crack and stumbled in front of their porch, Daphne released a breath and offered an unsure smile to her brother.

"Home sweet home..."

—————
authors note, daphne and james being the cutest EVERRR. i'm dying... i love them so much and i dont think words can even explain it correctly.

thank you so much for 8k+ reads and 500+ reads, it means the world to me and i LOVE seeing that you enjoy it as much as i do ❤️❤️❤️