The Survivors

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

She could not even bring herself to cry as she sat on the couch at Harry's apartment. She had been keyed into the wards just a week before, and the man arrived within minutes after Daphne did. The sight he took in made the aurors heart heavy. The young healer that had saved his life months before had her head buried in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking in such a way he could tell the girl was sobbing softly.

Harry approached the girl carefully announcing his arrival, "Daphne? What's going on?"

The young woman shook her head trying to find words to tell the man what happened, but nothing came to her right away. After several long moments of silence Harry took a seat next to Daphne, and wrapped an arm around the girl bringing her tightly to his body, whispering quietly, "I can't help if you don't tell me what happened? Is this about your mom's vote today?"

She immediately shook her head, but managed to choke out, "That was what started it all, but then something else happened."

Harry kept his arm around her comfortingly, "You know you don't have to talk about it. We could just eat ice cream, and let you cry it out."

This made the girl let out a sobbing laugh as she wiped at her eyes gently, "Of all the people in the world that I would want to talk about this with you are one of the few that would understand. I just...I am still coming to terms with what I learned."

Harry patiently sat with her, leaving his arm around the distraught young woman waiting for her to speak, "I should have done more in the War."

This made Harry frown immediately, and after a long silence he commented, "You fought in the final battle when we needed you the most. That is all we could've ever asked for. Anymore and you may not have been here with me today."

Frustrated, the healer separated from the man to look him in the eye, "I should have been with you all from the beginning."

Harry shook his head, putting a soft hand on her cheek, "Daphne we won the war, and we all lost a lot of people along the way. Any additions to the group would have meant more people would have died. We were lucky this many of us survived. Besides it would've been social suicide to befriend us while you were wearing those hideous green robes."

The girl chuckled through the tears again at his words, "As if that ugly Gryffindor red was any better?"

"Don't even try to deny that your color scheme was terrible." The man said with a laugh.

The two fell into another more comfortable silence, and Daphne seemed to at least be able to refrain from sobbing. She stared at the wall that had the newspapers on the wall in Harry's apartment and sighed, "How different life could've been without Voldemort...You could've grown up with parents. Been the greatest Quidditch Player to ever play the game. I could've had my father watch me graduate, and watch me take the position I dreamed of as a little girl. He would've seen me cure the blood curse. We would have been happy."

The young woman stood on her feet now pacing around the apartment as Harry watched her carefully, She seemed content to walk about the place under the watchful eyes of the young man that sought her affection. She wore a contemplative look on her face when she stopped in front of the article that declared Harry the Head of Department Magical Law Enforcement and asked in a whisper, "Do you think we would've met? Became friends?"

She heard him stand, and shortly after she felt his arms go around her waist, and returned her whisper with his own close to her ear, "I believe so. You say I would've been some great Quidditch player well I have to admit I was pretty accident prone in my competition days. I don't doubt I would've found myself in your ward one way or another with my life in your hands."