The conception of two people living together for twenty-five years without having a cross word suggests a lack of spirit only to be admired in sheep.
~ Alan Patrick Herbert
Sunday, July 15th ~ Afternoon
Harry was in a mischievous mood and Daphne was the only target to take it out on since Dobby had taken off early that morning. Putting the guest list down for the surprise bachelor party they were throwing for Remus on the kitchen table, he looked over at his wife and grinned while taking a seat.
"Do you think one female exotic dancer is enough to embarrass the socks off of Remus or do you think we should get two? Maybe one of each, since Draco will be there would be better?"
Every girl needs a little reassurance once in awhile.
Sunday, June 24th ~*~ Early Morning
Normally Daphne was the last to wake up, especially on a Sunday when she chose to sleep in on her day off. But this morning something woke her early.
Whatever it was - dream, bird call or something else all together - was quickly forgotten as she made herself comfortable cuddled against Harry's side, the slight bump of the baby making it harder to fit against him like she used to.
Her frown was barely visible in the pre-dawn light. In her mind, she understood that the changes occurring in her body were necessary for the baby, and the baby was definitely something she wanted, but Daphne had always had issues with her weight and couldn't help wondering if Harry would still want her when she got fat. What if she couldn't get the baby weight off right away? What if it never came off? Draco would never let her hear the end of it, that she was certain of.
"Harry? Are you sleeping?" She knew Harry was still asleep, and the polite thing to do would be go back to sleep and talk to him in the morning, but Daphne wanted to talk about it now.
Some times there are sacrifices to be made.
Wednesday, June 13th ~*~ Afternoon
Daphne said her goodbyes to Anne Perks, and stepped away from the woman's hospital bed.
After hearing what had happened on Monday, she'd wanted to visit the two people that had gotten hurt. Guilt had eaten at her for the last few days even though she hadn't had any part in what had happened when Bellatrix died, but that didn't stop her from wanting to see for herself that Anne and Snape would eventually be alright.
Dealing with her guilt over Bellatrix's death would take much more, she knew.
She stopped to lean against her husband for a moment, seeking a bit of comfort and strength, before moving on to find Snape.
Covered in bandages and looking even paler than normal, he was propped up against some pillows in his bed, arguing with his Healer. That, more than anything else could have, served to reassure her.
I got my mob scene in my eyes
You can ignore the voices of the people,
This is the beginning.
They say no consequence.
This is the beginning of the end.
Monday, June 11 :: Morning
"This is to be a precision operation. Secure the area, retrieve Lestrange and bring her back to Azkaban for interrogation."
Scrimgeour steepled his hands and looked across his desk at the hand-picked group of Aurors listening attentively to every one of his words.
Kingsley Shacklebolt wasn't among them. The Minister had wanted disciplined, obedient officers on this mission, and while he respected the Head of the Auror Office, Scrimgeour didn't trust Shacklebolt to see what was best in this case.
For instance, Kingsley would probably think it necessary to inform the Hogsmeade office of what was about to go down in their town, and that couldn't be allowed.
And so it begins.
Sunday, June 10th - Early Afternoon
Bill Apparated to Glen Hollow, one arm full of the carefully wrapped package, the other wrapped firmly around Tonks for a Side-Along Apparation.
Little had he known back when Tonks had told him about Longbottom's suspected fate - so that he could be ready in case Ginny needed comforting or a big brother's hold to keep her from going after someone for revenge - that he would be end up in the thick of everything.
"Remember, officially, I was just doing a favor for a friend when I agreed to look it over. Harry didn't go through Gringotts, and they could have my job if they thought I was doing paid, freelance work. If you weren't you, Nymph, I wouldn't even have told you what I found because it's Potter's, not mine, but this is big and - Oh, crap, this is big, isn't it?"
He knocked on the door once more, hoping the Potters were home and that someone would answer soon enough. The package was giving him the creeps, making the short hairs on his neck stand on end.
