The rest of the day was uneventful. Harry kept expecting trouble from the other students because of Daphne, or to Daphne. It never happened.
He had no idea that, any trouble that had almost instantly begun to develop, was immediately snuffed out again by Ron's actions and the result of that.
A lot of the students had either forgotten that Harry had warned them he was not the meek and mild child they thought him to be and would, therefore, be a push over; or thought him lying. That incident brought it all home again and proved he wasn't.
When the Weasley boy found out he was supposedly in mortal peril at that point, one look at Harry's face confirmed for them the truth of that belief. No one doubted he was prepared to kill even his supposed ex-friend in protecting those he thought were his.
After the last class for the day, DADA for Harry and Hermione and Charms for Daphne, the three returned to their apartment to drop off school bags and satchels and prepare for assignments.
As they re-congregated in the living room, Harry asked Daphne, "Come sit on the sofa for a minute, please."
When her expression suddenly snapped closed with Occlumency shields going up, Harry chose to ignore it. He knew he had her trust, but also knew that trust wasn't unlimited yet. She still had her moments and wished he could have saved her from those that caused her to react like this.
Sitting at one end he sat half-twisted so Daphne could sit counter to him at the other end, looking back. She did.
After she sat and made herself comfortable, he said, "Thank you. Now, I want you to know... in your heart... that you are not a prisoner here. I want you to know you can come and go as you please. All I ask is that, since I'm now responsible for your care and safety, you let either Hermione or myself know where you're supposed to be going and when you're supposed to be back.
"So, if you... for instance... decide right now you want to go and visit Tracey down in the Slytherin dorms? You just need to say something along the lines of, 'Harry, I'm going down to Slytherin to talk to Tracey. I should be back by dinner.' Alright?"
As Harry explained Daphne's eyes widened a little at a time until it was clear she was quite surprised. Instead of replying she simply nodded. He didn't know, but suspected, it was because she was trying to hold back breaking down again.
"Good," he firmly said. "I just needed to know you knew that. Thank you for hearing me out.
"Now," he said, rising, "I've got assignments to do."
As he rose, so did Daphne. He was about to turn away to go make a start on his assignments when Daphne took the two steps to him, grabbed him and kissed him. "Thank you," she quietly said.
Then she quickly hurried away.
Surprised at what just happened, he turned to Hermione to see her smiling back at him.
"Don't seem so surprised, Harry," she said. "Daphne has... had... all these ideas of how she'd be treated under a CBA and it was far, far worse than how you're treating her."
With a slight scowl he said, "That would be wrong."
"Yes, it would," she agreed. "However, I'm led to believe her belief is often not far from the reality."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Daphne didn't choose to go to the Slytherin dorms, after all. Instead, she told both, "I need to give it at least a few days for all the idiots to figure out my concubinage is not a joke or a scam. It's real.
"I think I should give it until the weekend. And Tracey agrees."
"In that case, you should think about inviting her up here," said Hermione.
Harry nodded and said, "Concubinage with me does not mean you have to say goodbye to your friends or family."
"That's a good point," said Hermione. "You should also think of inviting Astoria up here, so she can see for herself you're alright."
"You're... alright with that?" Daphne softly asked Harry.
"Of course," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't think to mention it to you before. I just thought it was a 'given'.
Seeing her surprise he added, "I'll say it again, Daphne; you are not a slave. You are a witch, free to do what she wants. I just need to be informed, for safety issues, not asked permission of.
"Read the agreement again, if you need. There is nothing in it that requires you to obey me or be subservient to me. Even me saying I need to be informed of your movements is only a firm request."
As they were sitting around the coffee table doing assignments, Daphne had set her quill down to stare back for a few moments before she said, "Again, thank you. It never occurred to me about Stori. You're right that I should talk to her. She'll be worried."
"Then talk to her, dear girl," he firmly said.
She firmed up and replied, "I will. I'll invite her for after dinner."
"Good," he returned.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Daphne had sent her sister a note via Betsy. And, as expected, the younger girl joined them as they headed back to the apartment from dinner.
Harry was amused that she kept looking at him with expression changing between, awe, fear, anger and a few others. He knew why. He just smiled back.
In reverse order, he thought Astoria to be angry with him he had 'taken' her sister from her, afraid he'd do her harm and probably surprised he wasn't doing it already.
When they entered the apartment, Daphne immediately dragged her into her room for about twenty minutes before they both returned to the living room.
Astoria then marched up to Harry, dragged him to his feet and hugged him. "Thank you for looking after my sister," she firmly said.
"You're welcome," he smiled back.
When she pulled away and joined her sister on one of the other sofas he told her about what he promised her father concerning her.
"I know," she replied. "Father told me."
"You're not upset with that?" he asked.
"No," she smiled. "I was worried that, with Daphne no longer in the dorms, I might have been at greater risk. I made sure the word has now been spread I'm under your personal protection. That should keep me safe."
He firmly told her, "If anyone bothers you... that way... you are to immediately let me know, alright?"
"I will," she smiled.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Astoria returned to the Slytherin dorms in plenty of time to make sure she wasn't caught out after curfew. He even again had Dobby tail her while invisible, just to make sure she didn't come to harm.
When Daphne had overheard part of the orders whispered to Dobby, she smiled at him in gratitude.
When Hermione went to bed early, he caught the end of a quick silent conversation between her and Daphne. Hermione seemed to be firm about something and gave Daphne a single nod before she walked to her room, walked in and closed the door.
Harry just took his time packing things away.
Once done, he set it aside, turned to Daphne, smiled and said, "Well, I'm for bed."
She hesitated only a moment before she quietly asked, "Can we talk for a bit, please?"
As he was starting to stand up, he immediately aborted that and sat back down, turning his whole attention to her. "Of course," he said, as if it was obvious. Then waited for her to get her thoughts together.
It was a few moments before she began. She was also looking down when she did.
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