With a genuine wide smile, Dan instantly rubbished that idea. "I'm sitting here, drinking a great cup of coffee, and yet I know Emma is close by - and also very happy. You gave us both that ability, so no apology necessary. I'm also watching as the two women in my life become closer than they've ever been, something you also played a large part in - and certainly have my undying gratitude for. I feel like you're saving our lives all over again so there is absolutely nothing to apologise for. I think it might actually help that we will have some experience of what these bracelets do for us before we get around to sitting down and talking about it."
"I see what you mean. Hermione and me kinda dived in at the deep end and had to rely on each other to sink or swim."
"I understand what Emma and I experience is only a fraction of what you share but this is more than enough for us. We all have little things or thoughts that should never see the light of day."
Harry was actually blushing as he answered Dan truthfully. "Hermione and I don't. I'm sitting chatting to her father so of course she's listening in, it's almost like she's sitting here with us. We have no secrets and are having to learn to deal with each other's stray thoughts - it's probably the hardest thing for us to master."
Dan didn't understand so Harry tried to explain. "We all have thoughts or opinions that we would never say out loud. Me just having those thoughts though means Hermione sees them. Throw in both of us are teenagers and you can guess where those thoughts sometimes lead."
A now blushing Harry had even more news for Dan. "Hermione can't believe I just told you that but I want there to be no secrets between us either. I love your daughter very much and intend to be with her for the rest of our lives. Achieving that means more to me than anything else we're doing, and you know how serious we are about the Institute and our other project."
Like any father, Dan had always wondered how he would react when he met his daughter's partner. Not her first crush, or her first boyfriend, but the person she would spend the rest of her life with. Dan was as certain as he could be that person was now sitting across from him - so did the only thing he could think of. He offered Harry his hand and said, "Welcome to the family, son."
Harry gladly took his hand before noticing the concerned look on Dan's face.
"Emma's worried about something…"
Harry was able to offer instant reassurance. "She's worried because Hermione just burst into tears. She's currently reassuring Emma that they are happy tears, and both of us can expect to get hugged to within an inch of our lives when she gets here."
Dan was left shaking his head as he felt Emma's mood change back to the happy one she'd been radiating all morning. Even after such a short time experiencing these bangles, Dan was already certain he never wanted to give this up and go back to the way things had been before. Considering the level of his daughter and Harry's connection, there was no way these two would be parted now. The more he got to know the young wizard sitting across from him, Dan found himself happier at reaching that conclusion. Something was bothering Dan though, and he decided just to ask the question.
"You and Hermione have been thrust into a bond, in itself a massive event, but you both also seem to be lurching from one crises to the next. When do you two get a break? You're both supposed to be on holiday."
Deciding again that honesty was the best policy with someone who would be family one day, Harry let Dan know what his 'normal' summer holiday usually consisted of. "Last summer, after facing a sixty foot basilisk and Voldemort at Hogwarts, I was imprisoned in Privet Drive. My relatives worked me like a slave and I was fed barely enough to keep me alive - and that wasn't even my worse summer. The year before, letters from Hermione and Ron were being blocked - putting doubt into my mind that I had really made friends at Hogwarts. After an incident where magic was used, I was locked in my room as bars were installed on my window. Food, if you could call it that, was passed through a cat flap that had been cut into my bedroom door. My family were determined I wasn't returning to Hogwarts and only having Hedwig locked in there with me got us through that time. Ron and the twins eventually turned up in their father's flying Ford Anglia and pulled those bars off the window."
Harry needed a moment to continue, the emotions were still a bit raw after having experiencing that episode again when Hermione and he shared memories the night they bonded. "Just knowing I'll never be alone again puts me light years ahead of where I was this time last year - hell, any year. Having your daughter in my life is wonderful, sharing this bond with her is easily the best thing that's ever happened to me. Yes we've been busy but this is still by a wide margin the best summer of my life."
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