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The Most Beautiful Witch Chapter 10
🕑 Added 2023-11-13 16:59:01 +0000 UTCAN: All characters have been aged up, so Hogwarts starts at 17. This is a commission for an anonymous user!
PAGE BREAK
Anastasia wasn’t there to see them back off to Hogwarts. Truthfully, Harry wasn’t sure if any of them wanted her there even if she offered to go.
The last few days of the Easter Break had been awkward to say the least; Anastasia kept trying to act like nothing was wrong, Daphne and Astoria maintained their mutual solidarity against their mum and refused to go along with her wishes any more, and Cyrus kept looking to Harry to somehow resolve this dilemma on his own. Harry did nothing to help fix the problems that Anastasia—and, to a lesser degree, Cyrus—had caused and instead spent the rest of his break spending quality time with Astoria and Daphne.
It had been lovely to finally see the two sisters getting along like sisters should. Still, it came with its own awkward moments where it seemed like neither of them were quite sure how to act around each other. It was usually up to Harry to step in then and get them back on the same page, but he didn’t mind in the slightest. He took every chance he had to have the three of them fly peacefully over the Greengrass lands, have a picnic out in the gardens, or even have a good old fashioned water balloon fight—something he’d dreamt of doing ever since he was a kid and had to sit aside and watch Dudley and his friends play in the street on hot summer days.
But now the break had come to a close, and it was time to return to Hogwarts.
Kings Cross Station was as busy as ever when Cyrus apparated the three of them there. He had a sour look on his face, undoubtedly a result of Anastasia making her displeasure around the whole situation known to him. Still, he saw the girls off with a hug and Harry with a handshake before he hurriedly apparated away.
“Think mum’s gonna kill him when he gets back?” Astoria asked aloud, still looking at the spot her dad vanished from.
“I’d give it even odds,” Daphne joked back, though her expression didn’t give away that she was joking. It had taken Harry a while to figure out when she was joking and when she wasn’t. Her lips never gave it away; it was her eyes that you had to look at. You could see a little sparkle in them, almost like what Dumbledore had, whenever she was having fun or finding something funny.
“Were they arguing again last night?” Astoria asked as she went to pick up her trunk, but Harry stepped over and grabbed it before she could.
“I’ve got it,” he smiled at her.
Astoria beamed up at him but then turned to look at Daphne, who was carrying her trunk. Suddenly, her pleased look turned into an expecting one, and it only took Harry a moment to catch on as to what she wanted.
“Err,” Harry said as he shuffled his and Astoria’s trunks awkwardly in front of him. He quickly pulled out his wand and shrunk the two trunks before tossing them in his pocket. “Can I take your trunk for you, Daphne?”
“Of course,” came the cultured reply that made it sound like she was doing him a favour by offering him up her trunk.
Harry repeated the same spell and stowed Daphne’s trunk in his robes too. Then, the three of them stepped onto the Hogwarts Express.
“Mum and dad were arguing again, Astoria,” Daphne confirmed as they started walking down the corridor in search of an empty compartment. “They were up pretty late. Their privacy charms obscured their exact words, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to guess that it’s about us.”
Astoria bit back a sigh. “They’ll just have to learn to deal with it. I’m sick of listening to a woman who won’t even show me any respect.”
Harry slipped his arm around Astoria and squeezed her against his side in a show of support.
“If we really wanted to, we could always leave,” Daphne pointed out. “We’re both adults, and our vaults have enough in them to let us each buy a house of our own.”
“Maybe that could be a last resort,” Astoria replied with a pained expression on her face.
It was clear that she didn’t exactly want to leave her home unless she was forced to, regardless of what her mother did. Harry supposed that there was enough space for Astoria to avoid her mother all day if she really wanted to, which might be for the best if Anastasia was unwilling to change.
“It might be something that comes up sooner rather than later,” Daphne added with a backwards glance over her shoulder at Astoria and Harry. “I’ve just cancelled our summer trip through Europe to visit all of the pure-blood families mum and dad wanted me to meet with.”
“You what?!” Astoria exclaimed, leaping out of Harry’s arm and rushing to her sister’s side.
“I figured enough was enough,” Daphne replied nervously, biting her lip. “I didn’t… I mean, I thought we talked about—”
“Of course, and my opinion is still the same as it was before,” Astoria quickly assured her, sending Harry a furtive glance out of the corner of her eyes. “But I’m just surprised is all. I know that you wanted to help me be free of mum and dad’s influence, but…”
“Our talk in the garden helped me put things into perspective,” Daphne explained, looking relieved at Astoria’s words. “I don’t want to be married off to someone I don’t love.”
Astoria hugged Daphne without either of them stopping walking forward, but Harry was left feeling a little out of the loop. What talk had they had in the garden? And what did Astoria’s opinion have anything to do with it? He almost wanted to ask, but he thought better of it given the clearly tender moment Astoria and Daphne were sharing.
“We’ll figure something out,” Astoria murmured in Daphne’s ear.
“My godfather has a place,” Harry suddenly spoke up, drawing both of their attentions back to him. “If either of you needs a place to stay, you’re welcome with us.”
Astoria beamed at him. “Thanks, Harry.”
Daphne smiled at him too. Without the shadow of her parents looming over her, it was nice to see Daphne back to her usual self that he had gotten to know before the break. She would never be as expressive or boisterous as Astoria could be, but the joy in her smile was no less genuine.
“Finally,” Astoria sighed dramatically as peered through the small window into a cabin. “We must have gone through half of the train by now.”
She yanked open the door and stepped inside. Daphne followed close behind her, leaving Harry as the last one in. He closed the door behind him and pulled out the three trunks from his pocket before he reverted them back to their normal sizes and slid them up high in the luggage racks above their head.
As he did this, he noticed that Daphne and Astoria sat on opposite sides of the compartment from each other. They were both by the window, sitting directly across from each other, and both of them were looking at him expectantly.
When Harry got the last bit of luggage sorted, he turned and looked back at both of them. “There’s only one of me, you know,” he joked lightly.
“That’s alright,” Astoria smiled encouragingly at him.
“Just sit beside whoever you want to,” Daphne nodded.
This felt like a trap, especially with the innocent, gentle smiles on their lips. Harry couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched by two lionesses on the plains who were just waiting to pounce on their prey.
But, really, it wasn’t much of a choice for him in the end.
Harry slipped into the seat beside Astoria, and she instantly moulded herself to his side. “Good choice,” she winked at him.
“I agree,” Daphne agreed from the other side.
Harry looked between the two of them suspiciously. “Is this another test? Like the one from before the break?”
Astoria giggled. “Why? Would it seem more like it was if both of us were wearing lingerie?”
“Mine’s in my trunk, and I know that Astoria has hers too,” Daphne pointed out. “We could get changed into them if you’d like.”
She posed her last sentence like a question, and it confirmed for Harry that this was some type of game they were playing with him.
Harry opened his mouth to fire back with a cheeky joke that would have made his godfather proud, only to stop himself at the last second.
What was going on here?
They were both flirting with him, clearly, but that didn’t make any sense. Back on the day when Daphne and Astoria argued with their mum, Harry had talked with Daphne afterwards. There had been an implicit understanding between the two of them that there was a spark there, but neither of them were willing to act on it. But now it seemed like Daphne was willing to.
The problem was that Harry wasn’t sure if it was real flirting or not. Surely Astoria wouldn’t put up with Daphne flirting with him so openly in front of her face like this, right? But if Daphne was just joking around, that seemed completely out of character for her. Harry hadn’t missed the way Daphne’s voice had hitched or the unshed tears in her eyes when they’d talked before, and it didn’t seem like it would be possible for her to make such a drastic switch to getting over him so quickly like this.
So what was going on?
Before he could do more than begin to think about the situation, Daphne got to her feet, walked over to Harry’s other side, and sat down. Then, just like Astoria, she snuggled right up against his side.
Harry could feel his cheeks turning red unwillingly as both women pressed the sides of their breasts against his arms. Their heads rested on his shoulders, and they were both looking up at him through their eyelashes.
Then, Astoria glared at Daphne and suddenly flipped one leg over top of Harry’s. She straddled his thigh, pressing her breasts against his chest and leaning in closer to his mouth without exactly making a move to kiss him.
Finally, Harry couldn’t take it anymore.
“What the hell is going on?” He exclaimed.
Rather than answer him, Astoria and Daphne both burst out into a fit of giggles and gave him a little space.
“Sorry, Harry,” Astoria said, not sounding sorry in the slightest as she sat back down next to him. “It was just a little joke.”
“Was it?” Harry asked, raising a questioning eyebrow in her direction.
Astoria just smiled coyly and avoided answering the question as she shifted the topic off to something lighter.
Despite the discussion shifting away from what had just happened, it didn’t leave Harry’s mind. Their conversation shifted back towards Hogwarts, the upcoming Third Task, and the end-of-year exams. Harry chatted along happily, chiming in with jokes and the like throughout the entire train ride, but he became hyper aware of all of the little looks and touches both women were giving him. They were never so bold again, but they occasionally made subtle comments or little jokes that he felt were directly designed to try to make him blush.
By the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade, Harry felt thoroughly perplexed by the entire situation.
PAGE BREAK
Daphne knew that Harry was going to be one of the first students in Defence Against the Dark Arts today. Despite her frequent misgivings about the quality of professors they’d had, Daphne would definitively say that Mad-Eye Moody was easily the best. Sure, Professor Lupin had incredible knowledge about the various dark creatures that inhabited the world, but his wandwork was nowhere near the ability of Moody’s.
It was one of the things that excited Daphne about Defence class: she was learning from a professor who seemed genuinely capable in the subject. It was like his real-world experience as an Auror bled into what he taught, making everything seem so much more practical and exciting.
Perhaps it was why she liked studying with Harry so much. His wandwork was magnificent, and she was able to learn a lot from him. He was like Moody in that way, only Harry was far more encouraging, witty, and handsome.
Although he normally wasn’t early to any of his classes, Defence was different for Harry. Daphne saw the genuine joy in his eyes every time Moody announced yet another practical lesson, and Harry was always sure to have the perfect seat to soak in everything that was happening in front of him. He even went so far as to make Daphne move to sit beside him closer to the middle of the room after he started sitting with her in class.
Sure enough, Daphne was the sixth person to arrive in the classroom today, and Harry was already in his usual spot. He had his books, quill and ink, and wand out on his desk. He looked cute as he bounced his leg restlessly, waiting for class to start.
Feeling a little smirk come across her lips, Daphne subtly drew her wand and cast a subtle Animation Charm on a broken quill that had been left abandoned on the desk behind Harry. The quill suddenly stood up straight and swam through the air like a fish towards Harry’s left shoulder. The quill tapped him twice, making Harry look at it.
Daphne slyly slid into the empty chair on Harry’s right. “Over here.”
Harry nearly jumped in his chair and his head snapped around to face her. He was looking at her strangely, like there was something on the tip of his tongue that he wanted to shout but couldn’t.
“What’s got you looking like you just drank a Forgetfulness Potion?” Daphne teased him lightly.
Suddenly, everything seemed to click in Harry’s eyes and that confident look came across his face. Daphne always found the way he looked at her like that incredibly sexy. It was like he could see right through all of her little games and masks and know her true thoughts and feelings.
“That quill was your work, I take it?” Harry said amusedly.
“Perhaps,” Daphne replied evasively. “If it wasn’t me though, then you’d better watch your back better. Someone did a good job of sneaking up on you. You know what Moody always says.”
“Constant vigilance,” Harry rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Yeah, I think I’ve got burned into my brain by now.”
“If you did, Potter, then Greengrass wouldn’t have been able to sneak up on you so easily like that!” Moody snapped as he walked into the room. His cane clacked on the floor as he hurried to his desk. “That’ll be five points for Slytherin, and five points from Gryffindor. Next time, keep a better watch on your surroundings!”
Harry glowered at Daphne, but she merely basked in the glory of getting one over on him.
“You do realise that this means war,” Harry told her.
“I know,” Daphne grinned.
“And I won’t hold back.”
Daphne shrugged in reply like she didn’t think much of any attempt he could put forth. “You know what they say: all’s fair in love and war.”
She made sure to inflect her words in just the right way that it was impossible for Harry to miss the meaning behind him. She thought that he’d caught onto the game back on the Hogwarts Express when she and Astoria had pretty much made their intentions clearly known, but obviously he either hadn’t pieced it together or he was holding himself back.
Part of her still felt a little bit awkward about flirting with him so shamelessly in front of Astoria. After everything that happened with their mum, Daphne didn’t want Astoria to think that she was trying to steal Harry away from her. She supposed that she was lucky that Astoria seemed so understanding and willing to give things a chance.
Even if she’d never be Harry’s number one woman, Daphne’s heart told her that he could still find a place in his heart for her. She hoped that he could, at least. After having gotten to know Harry, she couldn’t imagine having any other man in her life besides him. How was he supposed to find room for her when he had her brilliant, beautiful, amazing sister already?
Defeatism wasn’t going to win the day though. Daphne knew that falling into a pit of despair would stop her dreams before they could even begin to take flight. She had to be fearless and try to win Harry over genuinely. If it was meant to be, then love would blossom between them. If not, then at least they both had Astoria to help them through this mess.
“It certainly is,” Harry replied, looking lost in his own thoughts.
Daphne bit her lip. This was as good a chance as any to start making her moves.
“You know, I was thinking that we could start up our study sessions again,” Daphne said cautiously, watching Harry closely to gauge his response.
“That’d be great,” Harry smiled at her. “It’ll give me a few extra chances to get some revenge for today.”
Daphne chuckled lightly at Harry’s words. “Astoria also invited me to join your study group for the Third Task.”
“Even better!” Harry exclaimed. “We can study for the Third Task and do our Defence work at the same time.”
“Actually, I was hoping we could keep our study sessions just between the two of us,” Daphne replied smoothly. “I wouldn’t want to disrupt Astoria’s studying.”
“Oh, yeah, okay,” Harry agreed, but Daphne could definitely tell that something was wrong.
Was he worried about being one-on-one with her in private? Daphne wanted to curse her mum for ever bringing up her feelings towards Harry in the first place. He’d been comfortable enough around her while Astoria was there too, so she’d figured that he’d just been able to move past the awkwardness, but there was clearly something still there lingering.
Should she push on? Make her intentions more overt?
No, she decided. Harry was looking a little bit more skittish about the study session idea now, and she didn’t want to blow it all up before it could even begin.
Maybe this subtle plan that she and Astoria had agreed too wasn’t the right move. Maybe being direct with their intentions would be the better approach.
But these words couldn’t come from her. Astoria was the one who needed to explain everything.
Daphne could only wait and hope that things worked out the way she dreamed they would.
All she wanted was to curl up in a ball with Harry’s strong, comforting arms around her. She wanted to feel his lips against hers, the way his hands would feel against her porcelain skin, the sensation of their bodies being joined together, and the feeling of pure bliss that they could find in each other’s arms.
Daphne knew that she was asking for a lot here, both from Harry and Astoria, but she knew that there was no other man in the world who could compete with Harry Potter.
PAGE BREAK
Harry awoke in the middle of the night to something moving around on his bed. He immediately sat up straight, ready to fight whatever was attacking him, only to find Astoria’s grinning face suddenly illuminated as the tip of her wand glowed a gentle yellow.
“Oh, this isn’t the bathroom,” she joked.
Harry couldn’t help the snort that escaped his nostrils at Astoria’s stupid joke. “You’re an idiot.”
“And yet you still love me,” Astoria grinned as she flopped down onto the bed beside Harry, resting her head against his pillow. “What does that say about you?”
“That I’m a fool in love,” Harry chuckled and laid back down.
He’d missed the nights of Astoria sneaking into his dorm room. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure how she managed to get up here in the first place, and any time he asked, Astoria would just grin and tell him that a witch had to have a few secrets of her own. It didn’t really matter anyway; all that mattered was that she was with him now.
Harry breathed in, relishing in Astoria’s scent. She liked to wear this floral perfume that smelled of lavender, orchids, vanilla, and a subtle medley of spices that drew him in. He loved it because the scent would still last on his pillow for a day or two after she’d stayed over. It was a wonderfully comforting scent.
“You’re my fool though,” Astoria smiled at him. “So that helps things.”
“Speaking of being a fool,” Harry trailed off, wondering if this was the right time to bring things up. Holding onto his thoughts wouldn’t do him any good, but he didn’t want to ruin the first peaceful night they could have together after a couple of weeks of stress. Though, he supposed it wouldn’t really be peaceful if his mind was stuck on other things the entire time. “Is something going on with you and Daphne?”
Astoria didn’t seem surprised by the question. However, she did seem a little uncertain as to how to answer. He could see her mind turning and twisting as it tried to come up with a proper explanation, which only served to worry Harry further.
“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he assured her, trying to clamp down on the growing anxiety in the pit of his stomach.
Suddenly, Astoria just blurted it all out. “I know you like Daphne and she likes you too and I’m okay with sharing but it’s all so new and real and strange and we don’t know how to bring this up with you and—”
Harry stopped her by literally putting his hand over her mouth. Astoria stopped babbling on and just stared at him, waiting for some type of response.
Truthfully, Harry didn’t know whether to laugh, yell, shut down, or just dive in head first to this craziness.
“You want to share me with Daphne?” He asked her seriously.
Astoria nodded her head with no hesitation whatsoever.
“Okay,” Harry said as he rubbed at his temples. “I’m gonna need you to explain this a bit more to me. Because last I knew, you blew up on your mum for suggesting that I get together with Daphne instead of you.”
“That’s still off the cards,” Astoria pointed out. “There’s no way that I’d ever give you up, not even to Daphne. I love you with all of my heart, but so does Daphne.”
“She and I aren’t together though,” Harry replied.
“Not right now,” Astoria said tentatively. “But she and I talked about it, and I told her that I’m okay with the two of you being together on the side. I’ve made it clear that you’re my boyfriend and we’re going to be together forever if I can help it, but Daphne loves you and I know that you’re attracted to her too.”
Harry opened his mouth to deny it, but Astoria beat him to the punch.
“Don’t lie,” she told him kindly. “I’m not mad or anything. You’ve shown time and time again that you’ve chosen me over anyone else, and that means the world to me. It’s also why I feel secure enough to let this happen.”
Harry bit the inside of his cheek. “So, what? You want me to hook up with Daphne?”
“If that’s what the two of you want,” Astoria answered encouragingly. “Or if you want to take things slow, go on dates, snog by the Black Lake, or whatever else you want.”
“But what does that mean for us?” Harry asked her, feeling a pang in his heart. “I’d never want to put you second or to make you feel like you’re not enough for me.”
“Then you’d better make sure that you don’t put me second,” Astoria cracked a small smile. “You’re not the type of guy to run off with a new girl. We’ll still be the same as we have been. We’ll go out on dates, shag until we collapse from exhaustion, and love and care for each other just the same as always. The only difference will be that Daphne will be around sometimes to fill in the gaps.”
Harry exhaled loudly. This was a lot to try to take in, but it did explain quite a bit. Between the train ride and the general flirtation in class, Harry had begun to fear that something nefarious was going on.
“Daphne knows that she won’t ever be able to supplant me in your heart, and she’s okay with that,” Astoria told him. “She just wants to be with someone who genuinely cares about her and will treat her right. I know that you’ll do both. I won’t lie and say that it’ll always be easy to balance this change to our relationship, but we’re all invested in making it work. We all love each other, and I know that none of us will try to hurt each other. But we won’t go through with this if you’re uncomfortable with it.”
He was uncomfortable with it. It was hard for him to picture himself being with anyone else besides Astoria, but it wasn’t really like Astoria was going away. She’d still be there by his side throughout it all. The only change would be that Daphne would be in Astoria’s place sometimes.
Harry closed his eyes and tried to imagine it. Even though he’d tried to forget, he could still remember just how gorgeous Daphne had looked in her lingerie that day she’d ambushed him as a test. A part of him had wanted to give into her at that moment, but he’d refused because Astoria was too important to him. But what if Astoria had given him her permission that day? What would have happened between him and Daphne?
As his imagination began to run wild, he started to stiffen in his pyjamas.
Harry opened his eyes and looked down at Astoria’s smiling face.
“Well?” She prompted him.
“You honestly want this?” He asked.
“I do,” Astoria confirmed sincerely. “Daphne deserves to be loved just as much as I do. Besides, you know how Daphne likes to watch us together?”
Harry nodded, his cheeks tinging pink at the memories of Daphne watching him and Astoria have sex.
Astoria leaned in close to his ear and whispered to him. “I think I might like watching the two of you too.”
Harry met her gaze, leaned forward, and kissed her. “Okay,” he whispered back. “Let’s give this a shot.”
Comments
jp9901
Both? Both. Both is fine!
Erinnyes
Well handled. I was worried that the not just talking phase was going to drag out well past its welcome, but you did a very solid job with it. Great work.
