Harry Potter: Another Chance

Chapter 436: Daphne’s Decision

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 436: Daphne's Decision

"Why so soon?!" Daphne exclaimed. "I thought that maybe…" She hoped it was still a few years away, at least.

"I cannot risk another Convergence occurring. The next one could be the last." Harry had already explained the basics of it so she would understand how dangerous it was to wait any longer.

"But the Dark Lord is no longer here… how could another one occur?" She asked.

"But I am here," he told her. "I am the main cause of all this. Now that the world is free from Voldemort's threat… I could ruin everything, just because I wanted to stay a bit longer. I can't do that."

Daphne could tell how determined he was by a simple glance at his eyes. Nothing she said was going to change his mind.

"You knew this day was going to come," Harry reminded her of the conversation they already had.

"I… I know." Daphne had to push her Occlumency to keep her emotions under control. "Have you told your family?"

Harry shook his head. "I was planning on telling them the day before or so. If I tell them now, they'll waste all their time trying to find an alternative way to solve this thing."

"Maybe th—"

"No." Harry interrupted her immediately with a firm tone. "I already looked into it. And so did Dumbledore and Professor Silverbell. There is no way the three of us could have missed something that my family could figure out in this short amount of time."

Daphne stood up with a flushed face. "So that's it, then?" She yelled.

"You're going to die just like that? After everything we went through?!"

Her occlumency shields were unable to contain the rush of emotions she was feeling right now.

"Daphne...calm down. " Harry spoke in a soothing tone. "This is the only way for everyone to have a future. Is a small sacrifice for the greater go-"

"Don't give me that!. I don't want to hear it!" She rushed out of his room.

Even if he wanted to, Harry was unable to follow her.

His magic had recovered from the exhaustion, but his muscles and bones had been severely damaged under all the pressure he put them through.

Even with the medicine he had been given, it would take him another week before he could walk.

He saw Daphne slam the door on her way out and could hear her run through the corridor and away from his room.

"This is also why I don't want to tell them…" Harry sighed. He would really like to not have this conversation again with his parents.

In the four years he had lived in this world, he had grown attached to this version of his family. After all, it was the only version he knew.

But even when he learned that he could not remain here forever, he still felt happy to have met them.

Now that his mission was over, he had no more qualms about leaving this world.

"Okay, maybe I do have just one…" He heard a cracking noise and felt Daphne's magical signature disappear. "Sorry, Daphne…"

The door opened, and a panicked Dobby came inside, soon followed by Mipsy and Holly.

"Master Potter Harry, sir, is in danger!" Dobby exclaimed while looking around for threats.

"Danger?!" Holly pulled out her toy wand and waved it around.

"Master Harry, are you okay?" Mipsy asked. "We heard a loud commotion."

'I can't wait to get out of this bed…' Harry thought. He had hoped for some peace at home, but that obviously was not happening.

<><><><><><><><><><>

Knock, knock

"Come in," Lily Potter said when she heard someone knock on the door of her office.

It had only been a few days since she began teaching Potions, but she had already received a large number of visits.

Apparently, a lot of students had doubts about the subject but hadn't dared to ask Professor Snape, so their questions had been accumulating.

"Daphne?" She was surprised to see who was visiting her this time.

The blonde girl was one of the best Potions students in the entire school, so it was unlikely she had any doubts about the homework she had given.

"Sorry to bother you, but we need to talk about something important." Daphne's expression was more serious than usual.

She had been thinking about this the entire weekend, but now she had finally made a decision and there was no time to waste.

Lily smiled. "You never bother me. And you're also my first visit from Slytherin. I have the feeling the rest of the house is avoiding me."

Daphne stared at her for a moment. "That's because they are…"

"Why, though? Is it because I'm a Gryffindor?" Lily asked.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Daphne stopped before her desk. "It's because you're Harry's mother."

"Are they… afraid of him?" Lily asked.

"Of course. To be fair, most seniors were already somewhat afraid of him, even before what happened that day, but… the Slytherins have more reason for that. Most of their families had ties with the Dark Lord. The war may be over, but…"

"I'm sure that most of them were forced to help that monster. Harry would never hurt them without reason." Lily frowned. She didn't like people seeing her son as if he were a dangerous wild beast who would attack for no reason.

"I know that as well as you, but most don't really understand Harry that well...he is not exactly very open about himself. They just know what he can do with his magic, and that scares them," Daphne explained.

"That's…"

"Forget it," Daphne told her. "You cannot change the way they think. Eventually, they'll realize…"

"Right…" Lily stared at her for a moment. "You know, Daphne, you're very mature for your age. When I talk with you, I sometimes forget how young you are."

"Mm… thank you?" She wasn't sure if Lily meant it as a compliment or if she was just saying she was strange.

"Oh, but… you came here because you needed to talk about something, right? You said it was important. Please, sit down and tell me."

Daphne nodded and sat in front of Lily. "There is something I need."

"Sure, what is it? If there's anything I can do for you, I'll be happy to help," Lily responded with a warm smile.

"A while ago, I visited your family library. You were reading an ancient book that contained some rituals."

"Ah, I remember that one. We found it inside the family vault," Lily said. "Wait… you're not planning on performing a ritual, right? Those are very dangerous."

"Trust me… I know," Daphne said. "But there's one in particular that I need from there. It's called the 'Eternal Bond Ritual.'"

"Eternal Bond?..." Lily racked her brain, trying to recall the contents of that ritual. "That was a soul-binding ritual of sorts."

"Yes… I want to use it."

Lily's face grew serious. "I'm assuming you intend to use it with Harry."

A ritual like that was only meant to be used by older couples, where one of them might die at any moment, but they wanted their souls to remain together until the end.

In a way, it was similar to how Voldemort had tied his soul to the mortal realm, but this ritual required something the Dark Lord could never possess… love.

Lily knew that her son and Daphne had grown very close, but Harry and Daphne were still so young, and neither of them was in imminent danger of dying.

"If you're worried about Harry's condition, I assure you th—"

"It's not his condition that worries me." Daphne interrupted her, already knowing what Lily was thinking.

"Then what is it? What could you possibly need a ritual like that for?. Unless you can give me a valid reason, I cannot lend you that book." Lily's tone was firm.

Daphne leaned back in her chair. She had already reckoned that the conversation would end up here and had prepared herself for it.

"I hope you don't have any appointments because this is going to take a while to explain."