Ancient Runes is for Dummies

Written by AlexL61

Author's Note: Not epilogue compliant. This story is about Harry and Daphne Potter (formerly Greengrass)'s relationship at Hogwarts. I shed the overly common "Ice Princess" Daphne for a more fun-loving and bubbly Daphne, hope you enjoy.

Harry Potter was suddenly woken up by a cry coming from the down the hall. He slowly rolled out of bed, trying to keep from waking Daphne. That obviously failed as she started moving and stretching.

"Is it mornin' already?", she muttered as she laid her head face down on Harry's pillow.

"It's four thirty in the morning Honey. James is just crying, go back to sleep…" Harry responded as he placed a kiss on her forehead and slid the rest of the way out of the bed.

Daphne smiled softly as Harry kissed her head, "Alright… Night…" she responded as she slipped back into her slumber.

Now, you might be wondering how Harry Potter, the Man-Who-Won and Savior of the British Wizarding World, ended up in love with Daphne Greengrass. Well, it all goes back to a moment a few weeks after the first task in fourth year…

"Anyway Hermione, I just need some help understanding the Egyptian Runes. I don't get them…" a girly voice said as Harry rounded the corner into the hallway in front of the Library from his Charms class.

"Okay, Daphne. I can help… Are you sure the Slytherins will be okay with you getting help from me?" Hermione asked, obviously concerned for the blonde-haired girl who Harry now knew as Daphne. He kept walking towards them as they were talking, Hermione saw him and waved.

"Don't worry about it, I just need a good grade on the next exam. As long as I don't marry a muggleborn, my parents don't care who I study with." She smiled, "Anyway, got to go. Wednesday at 8 in the library?"

"Sounds good, see you then!" Hermione responded. Harry watched as Daphne smiled brightly at the muggleborn witch and turned right towards him to walk back to the Slytherin dorms.

As she passed him, she smiled again as she pushed some of her hair that had fallen in front of her eyes behind her ear, "Hiya, Harry. You did great at the first task." She didn't wait for a response, but kept walking with a slight spring in her step.

Harry turned to watch as she walked off and turned the corner. He turned back to his friend, "Hermione, who was that? She's really pretty." he asked.

"That was Daphne Greengrass, Harry. She's a Slytherin in our year." Hermione rolled her eyes, "You would think you would know people in your own year." She cuffed the back of his head and they both walked into the library to work on some charms homework…

"I'm telling you Harry, she'll say no." Hermione said as she sat in the Library with Harry, waiting to Daphne to arrive for their tutoring session. Over the past five weeks, Harry had decided that he needed to widen his friend group beyond just Ron and Hermione. So, in pursuit of that, he had decided to attend the tutoring sessions with Daphne. Not that he paid attention or anything, to be honest he just did his Transfiguration homework while Hermione rambled on about this rune or that rune, but he wanted to get to know Daphne.

"But what if she says yes? She shouldn't have a date yet, they just announced it yesterday." Harry asked, shifting his eyes towards the door to the library. Harry had gotten to know Daphne pretty well. It started out as just him asking her questions about Transfiguration, something he found out she loved. Then he would ask questions about her family, finding out her sister Astoria was a few years younger than her was also a Slytherin. Her parents were from the neutral Greengrass house but her Grandfather had given some money to Lord Voldemort when he was just a revolutionary rather than a mass murderer. She wasn't ashamed of it, but rather would say that, 'That's what all the purebloods did. He wanted more power for us, why would be against that?' Maybe she was right…

"Then you have a date to the Yule Ball. But she's going to say no." Hermione stated matter of factly. While Harry had become better friends with Daphne and she would laugh and giggle at his jokes, Hermione just didn't believe that Daphne wasn't just being her regular bubbly self. Hermione really didn't know anything about relationships or even girls for that matter, so she couldn't really tell if Daphne was flirting or not.

"Shhhh. She's coming." Harry whispered to Hermione as the large doors to the library opened, letting through a short, blonde-haired beauty named Daphne Greengrass. She quickly scanned the room before spotting Harry and Hermione. She smiled a small smile before waving, to which Harry returned emphatically. She giggled and made her way over to the table.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I've been having boys stop me in the halls for HOURS!" Daphne said exasperated, "They just don't get it that I'm not just some pretty face…"

"Too right." Hermione said, shifting her eyes to Harry who had taken to looking at his Transfiguration book, trying not to look guilty or anything, "Do you have a date yet?"

"Nope, I don't really want to go if I'm just going to be arm candy. You know?" Daphne said, looking at both Hermione and Harry, "Either of you have a date yet?"

Harry's eyes shot up at that last comment, "Well, I was hoping that youwouldgowithmeDaphne."

Daphne scrunched her eyes at what Harry had just asked, "Pardon?"

'Great, botched it.' Harry thought, he fumbled with his words for a second before looking at Hermione for help.

Hermione rolled her eyes before trying to help, "He wants to know if you will go with him…"

"oh." Daphne said in a small voice, "uhhhhh. You're a Half-blood, right?"

'Great, she's gonna turn me down because I'm not a pureblood…' Harry thought as he nodded in the affirmative to her question.

"Great! I'll go with you on one condition! My Daddy is on the Board of Directors for Hogwarts and is coming this weekend. You have to meet him!" Daphne said as she ruffed his hair, "You were worried I was going to say no because you're a half-blood, weren't you?"

"Kind of. I mean, you're a pureblood Slytherin so I just thought…" Harry said, he was excited to go now but…

"I'm not Malfoy, Harry." She smiled, "My Dad doesn't like Muggleborns, no offense Hermione, but I don't only look at blood status." Hermione slightly frowned but Daphne didn't notice, "Thanks for inviting me Harry."

"I'm glad you too found dates to the ball, but we need to work on Ancient Runes." Hermione said as she cleared her throat. Daphne turned back to her tutor and put on a polite smile before continuing their tutoring.

"Ah, Mister Potter. I have heard much about you from my Daughter", Christopher Greengrass said as he walked up behind Harry, who was waiting for Daphne. He extended his hand to the raven-haired boy who had jumped slightly and turned around, "Is it true you defeated a Basilisk in your second year?"

Harry quickly took the man's hand, shaking it with a firm enough grip to not look weak, "Yes sir, I found the Chamber of Secrets after a student was kidnapped and taken down there."

"Fascinating, you'll have to tell me more over lunch Mr. Potter." Christopher smiled as he talked, "I believe Daphne will be accompanying us to "The Ivy", a muggle restaurant near Diagon Alley. I have heard from my wife that they have good food there, though I have never been myself."

"Sounds good, Lord Greengrass." Harry said with a curt nod.

"No need for the Lord shite son, that's my father. Oh, almost forgot, he will be joining us as well. Not to interrogate you", Christopher laughed getting a chuckle from Harry as well, "He just wants to see Daphne. And here comes the beauty herself!"

The dinner went well, with Lord and Mr. Greengrass asking Harry all about his time at Hogwarts and Harry telling them his stories animatedly. By the time it was over, Lord Greengrass was questioning whether Dumbledore should oversee children, though he kept his concerns to himself.

The weeks before the Ball flew by and soon it was Christmas day, with the dance quickly approaching. Harry was standing near the door to the Great Hall, anxiously waiting for his date to arrive. He had managed to keep who he was taking to the Ball a secret, but everyone knew it wasn't a Gryffindor. Ron had asked four girls before getting Pavarti Patil to go with him. He had wanted Harry to go with Padma, but Harry said he already had a date, which surprised Ron who had decided Harry was hopeless with girls.

As Harry stood there, he checked his watch again, "Five minutes late… Where is she?" Harry muttered to himself and he fidgeted with the watch. Daphne was almost never late to anything, beyond Potions where she was late everyday. Snape never said anything though, quickly eying her from the front of the classroom.

As he thought about that Greasy Git of a Potions Professor, Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, "Mr. Potter, I do hope you have a date? I will be extremely disappointed if you do not."

"I do, Professor. She's just a little late." Harry said, almost unsure of his own words. Professor McGonagall just nodded at returned to waiting. They waited a few more minutes before they heard the clicks of running heels.

Harry stood there as the clicks got closer and closer before they turned and saw a jogging blonde turn the corner, "I'm so sorry I'm late, my dad called me on my mirror and I had to talk to him." She smiled as Harry as he just looked dumbstruck at her.

"Wow Daphne, you look beautiful." Harry said as Ron stared at his best mate's date.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Harry." She winked at him as she extended her arm for him to grab. As they joined arms, Professor McGonagall just smiled at them.

"Glad you finally showed up, Ms. Greengrass. I was afraid I might have to dance with Mr. Potter." Harry looked at her scandalized but Daphne just laughed. As they were lead into the hall to have the first dance, a muffled, "HE WENT WITH A SLYTHERIN! THEY'RE EVIL!" could have been heard from Ron but luckily Harry was too busy worrying about looking stupid while dancing.

When they reached the dance floor, Daphne shifted to his front and looked at Harry expectantly. When he stood there confused, she slowly smiled and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, "Put your right hand in the crook of my back and left had in my right hand, Harry." He did as she asked and they slowly began dancing to the first song. When Harry stepped on one of her feet, she shifted her body and whispered, "Stop looking at your feet Harry, close your eyes."

Harry once again followed her advice and soon she was leading them around the dance floor. As they were dancing, Daphne lowered her head onto Harry's shoulder. If Harry was paying more attention to his surroundings and not so much the smell of Daphne's hair, he would have felt Daphne pushing some of her magic into him causing him to be able to match her in dancing skill. As they danced across the floor of the Great Hall, they melted into each other. With Daphne slithering her hands up around Harry's neck while Harry's hands found the middle of her back.

They swayed to the songs, both totally enraptured by each other. Deep blue eyes meeting sparkling green, they watched each other. As the songs changed, they continued to look at each other, completely oblivious to their surroundings. After the fifth song, Daphne stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him. It wasn't a deep kiss or anything, but a quick peek like she wasn't sure how he would react. Harry's eyes almost bugged out of his head, but he quickly regained his composure. He snaked on of his hands behind her head and brought her lips back to his. It was much deeper and meaningful than the first one, but it was cut short by a scream from that familiar red head.

"HARRY! THAT SNAKE IS KISSING YOU!" Ron yelled from his seat at the table, garnering the attention of most of the people in the Great Hall.

"Obviously, Ronald. Maybe if you paid your date any attention, she might want to give you one." Daphne shot back with a sneer on her face, "Why don't you go back to wallowing in your poverty, Weasley."

Harry looked at his date in surprise, 'She has a wicked temper' he thought.

"Harry, say something to her! She just insulted me! I'm your best mate!" Ron shouted, trying to bring Harry into the Gryffindor/Slytherin spat.

"Why don't you leave Harry alone and let me get back to kissing him eh Ronald?" Daphne said as she batted her eyes at Harry before politely smiling at Ron. Ron just stood there, mouth gaping like a fish. He scuttled from the room, leaving the Patil twin alone at the table, looking quite peeved. "Now, back to the important stuff" she said as she brought his face down to hers once again…

"I'm telling you Daphne, we should go back to Harry's DA group." Tracey Davis said as they walked along the Black Lake, "We are going to fail our O.W.L.s if we don't get some practice in. I thought you would have already joined, with you dating him and all."

"He's being a prat and won't tell that Chang chick to stop giving him googly eyes, so I stopped going." Daphne responded, kicking a pebble into the lake causing the black sheen to ripple. She had been a hostage for rescue under it a mere seven months ago, but that didn't change her opinion of water like it had for Gabrielle Delacour.

"Daphne, we both know ignoring him isn't going to solve your problems. Just go talk with him." Tracey said, taking a seat on the ground under a large elm tree. She motioned for Daphne to sit next to her, "Just tell him that you need him to talk to Cho. Either that or you'll talk to her and hex her".

Daphne smiled sadly and nodded to her friend's comments. She thought for a moment before looking at the petite watch Harry had given her for her birthday, it read 7:40pm. She rushed off to the Room of Requirement where Harry should still be. The DA only ended a few minutes ago…

When she arrived, Harry was pushed up against the wall with his hands trying to push Cho Chang off and stop her from kissing him. "Get off of him Chang!" Daphne yelled as she ran up to her and ripped her off of him. "Get your own boyfriend cunt! Leave or I'll hex you!" Chang just ran from the room, crying.

Harry looked at her with shock and embarrassment, "She jumped on me! I tried pushing her off…"

"I told you ya Bastard, that she was trying to get in your pants! But nooooo, Daphne is just paranoid!" Daphne raged as her slight Scottish accent showed through her usual calm and collected voice.

"What can I say? I thought that she knew I had a girlfriend, Daphne! Maybe if you came to DA we could actually have fun together!" Harry shouted, suddenly angry at his girlfriend.

"Oh, so this is what it's about? Not coming to your DA meetings eh? Tracey and I were planning on starting coming again, but seeing as you would rather cheat on me at them!" Daphne continued to rage, throwing hands around to animate her anger.

"She. Kissed. Me. Daph. I would never cheat on you!" Harry said, "I realize it's hard for you to come to DA meetings with Umbitch breathing down your neck, but I never see you anymore!"

"What am I supposed to do Harry?" Daphne said quietly, staring at him, "You can't come over for holidays or during the summers, you can't find time to come to the library anymore even with your Quidditch ban, you can't even find time to meet me for HOGSMEADE WEEKENDS! *she paused and sighed* Harry, do you really want to be dating me?" Daphne sniffled after the very last comment, trying not to cry, "If you don't, I can take it. I'm a big girl."

"Daph. I love you, I would never leave you. I've just been so busy with detentions and everything… I'm sorry if you feel I don't care about you. How about I come over for Christmas? I'm sure your dad can arrange it…" Harry said as he brought her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"I love you too, Harry", Daphne whispered into his neck, a slight smile creeping onto her lips.

"HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!" cried Voldemort as his Death Eaters slowly entered the courtyard of the Castle, with Hagrid carrying his body.

"NOOOO! YOU BASTARD!" Daphne yelled as she ran towards Hagrid, trying to get to her now dead boyfriend. Hermione and Tracey grabbed her, preventing her from getting any closer to the ever-growing numbers of Death Eaters.

"Stupid girl!" Voldemort said as he shot a silencing spell at her, cutting off her rant, "Harry Potter is dead. From this day forth, you must put your faith, in me…"

Voldemort turned back to the assembled Death Eaters and shouted, "Harry Potter is Dead!" eliciting laughs from himself and the group. He turned back to the gathered students, "A now is the time to declare yourself! Come forward and join us!"

A few moments went by before Draco Malfoy made his way down to Voldemort and his parents standing behind him, "What a bastard. I'll make sure you die first Malfoy!" Daphne screamed, causing Voldemort to silence her once again.

As he silenced her, Harry rolled out of the arms of Hagrid onto the ground. He soon stood up and sprinted into the damaged ramparts with Voldemort trying to kill him all the while…

Daphne was tending to the wounded in the Great Hall when the cheers rang through the halls of the castle. She and the others weren't sure if they were the celebrations of the Death Eaters or the students, but they readied their wands towards the door. Suddenly, the doors flew open and a raven-haired, green eyed boy, no man, was standing there. He quickly scanned the room before locking eyes with a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty. He was suddenly at an almost dead sprint towards her with her running towards him as well. They meet in the middle with Harry picking her up and spinning her as she kissed him deeply.

"I thought you said Slytherins don't run, Daph?" Harry asked as he set her down, her arms still hugging him as tight as her muscles would allow.

"Only into your arms, Harry. Only into your arms." Daphne responded, "Harry, what are you doing?"

Harry, who had just spent the past two days in Hell fighting Death Eaters and an evil Dark Lord, was now on one knee in front of a Slytherin, "Daphne, I wouldn't be the man I am if you hadn't asked Hermione for tutoring in Ancient Runes. I spent the past year watching you on my map, hoping I could just spent one minute looking into your eyes. Well, now I've got you. Will you marry me?"

Daphne had her hands over her mouth, covering her shock and surprise, "On one condition, I have to ask Daddy…"

James Sirius Potter, first born son of Harry and Daphne Potter, cried into Potter Manor as Harry made his way down the hall to him. As he entered the room and picked up his son, Harry tried to sooth him with humming and bouncing to no anvil. As the boy continued to cry, Harry heard his wife make her way down the hallway as well. Hoping he could maybe pass the baby off to her, he turned expectantly towards the door. He was surprised to see Daphne holding his Elder wand, inscribing a rune into the door.

"Is that an Egyptian rune?" Harry asked, "What's it do?"

"You would know if you paid any attention to Hermione during our study sessions, but I guess you just thought Ancient Runes were for Dummies." Daphne said as she powered the rune and closed the door…

'Silencing ward, sneaky'