Jealousy - Part Three

This chapter was written by Dorothea Greengrass who enjoyed Jealousy and wanted to add a bonus scene. I have her permission to attach it to the story. Enjoy.

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The timer on his wand started Harry out of his sleep.

He kept is eyes shut until he had fought his way to full consciousness. As always, Daphne had overheard the signal. She was snuggled up close to him, her head on his left shoulder, and her hand on his chest.

He opened his eyes and blinked.

The sun was already high in the sky on this beautiful early summer morning. They hadn't closed the curtains in front of the bedroom window last night, and a broad strip of light fell on their bed. The light caught in the ring on Daphne's left hand and sent bright sparkles across his chest and the bedclothes.

A broad smile appeared on Harry's face as warmth engulfed him.

She had said yes!

They were going to get married; they were going to have the family they had dreamt of together so often when they talked in front of the fireplace in the living room of their small cottage.

He lowered his head and dropped a kiss on Daphne's golden hair to wake her up.

Daphne stirred and raised her head. Her wonderful eyes beamed at him.

"G'mornin', sweetpea."

She rolled away from him, fumbled for her wand on the bedside table, and cast a silent Breath Refreshing Charm on both of them.

His stomach fluttered. So she wanted to play this morning?

She snuggled against him and cast him a blinding smile. "Are you up to another celebration?" Her hand slid down his chest, slipped under the covers and travelled further south until it came to rest on his fully alert member. She chuckled. "Oh yes, you are."

"Cheeky little minx!" With a playful growl he flipped her on her back, buried his head at the crook of her neck and nibbled the sensitive skin there, just as she liked it. He raised his head. "I'll teach you to mess around with me."

Her smile became mischievous. "Please, do." She slung her arms and legs around him and pulled him close.

Harry lost himself in the depth of her eyes.

'I love you.'

'I love you, too.'

His mouth descended on hers, and the next moment they tumbled down the familiar sweet path of their passion.

Of course they had to hurry to make it for work on time.

Daphne slipped into a pair of tight fitting jeans and a comfortable sweater and twisted her hair into a messy bun at the top of her head. "Meet me for lunch?" she asked, a hairpin between her teeth.

"Don't I always when I'm not on out of house duty?" He gave the knot of the tie that belonged to his Auror uniform a finishing tug, bent towards her, and kissed her cheek. "You've got a date, Mrs-soon-to-be-Potter."

A delighted smile appeared on her face, and she cast the ring on her hand a loving look. "I can't wait to tell Lisa and Jerry our news! They are the last of my friends to know."

Warmth flushed through Harry, and he suppressed a bark of laughter. Hah, he'd give a thousand Galleons to see the git's face when Daphne told him. Too bad he wouldn't be there to relish his disappointed expression.

Wouldn't he?

His hand rested on the outside of the hidden pocket of his robes that held his Invisibility Cloak, and the warmth inside of him intensified. A man who owned a heirloom like that owned the world.

Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but at least he could follow his fiancée - his FIANCÉE! - when she told the git of their engagement.

Daphne pressed a kiss on his cheek. "See you at lunch break." She grabbed her purse and rushed out of the house towards their private Apparition point in the dunes.

He walked through the hallway towards the living room and threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace. Green flames went up. "Atrium of the Ministry of Magic," he shouted and stepped into the flames.

The next moment he spun through the system of interconnected fireplaces in a dizzying ride, and swore when soot got into his yes. That had been a mistake, now he had soot in his mouth on top of that.

At last the Floo spat him out of one of the many fireplaces in the atrium of the ministry. By some miracle he kept his equilibrium and hurried to clear the path for the next traveller who shot out of the Floo. He'd once not been fast enough and been kicked off his feet, much to Daphne's amusement.

Where was Daphne? While he pulled out his wand under the cover of his Invisibility Cloak and cleaned his hair, mouth and robes with a silent spell, he scanned the rows of wizards and witches who waited in line at the security checkpoint to get into the ministry. She stood close to the front, and he slid next to her with as little noise as possible.

Daphne didn't notice. He passed the security checkpoint together with her. Thank Merlin he was an Auror, so his wand was cleared permanently. After all, Aurors couldn't wait in line when they brought in captured suspects.

He followed Daphne towards the hidden door to the staircase next to the elevators. She hated the erratic movement of the elevators and preferred to walk instead. Climbing the stairs also gave her a good workout each day and made her arse look good, she claimed. Harry eyed her swaying hips and behind.

She had a point there.

At last they reached Daphne's office. He made it into the room just before Daphne closed the door, and pressed himself against a bare stretch of wall next to the door.

'Good morning,' Daphne said.

The git looked up from his file and gave her a wistful smile. 'Good morning, Daphne.' He lowered his head over his work again.

Lisa turned around from the filing cabinet. 'Morning, Daph.' Her eyes fell on Daphne's messy bun, and a delighted smile spread over her face. 'I see you took my advice to heart. Guess I don't have to ask you how your weekend was?'

'The best ever!' Daphne held out her left hand towards her.

Lisa gaped with bulging eyes.

'Oh sweet Merlin, Daphne!' Her hand flew to her mouth, and the next moment she rushed over to Daphne to squeeze her in a tight hug. 'Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!'

Jerry's head flew up. 'What?' He stared at the two giggling witches in confusion.

'Harry finally popped the question, you moron,' Lisa shouted, while Daphne held out her left hand to him in blissful happiness.

All colour drained from the git's face as he stared at the ring on Daphne's hand.

Warmth ignited in Harry's stomach and spread through his whole body. He smirked under his cloak. Hah, that would show the git!

Jerry gulped, got up and walked towards Daphne. He took her right hand and bowed over it. 'My heartfelt congratulations to your upcoming nuptials, Miss Greengrass.'

'Thank you, Jerry.'

Was there a trace of uneasiness in Daphne's voice?

'Huh, aren't we formal this morning.' Lisa broke the awkward moment.

Good girl!

Jerry went back to his desk and hunched over his file again, his head bent low.

Lisa gave Daphne another hug. 'Tell me everything! Was he romantic? Did he take you to a fancy resort and deck out the room with candles and roses?'

Daphne giggled and slipped behind her desk. 'Lisa, Harry and I don't do romantic. We probably would have laughed our arses off had he done something like that. Although I guess it didn't go like he had planned.' Another giggle escaped her.

'That sounds intriguing.' Lisa raised a questioning eyebrow.

'Well, Harry hid the ring in his shoe, however, with a young and curious puppy in the house that adores everything Harry that's not the safest place to keep something. Ellie found the box, thought it a great new chewing toy and took it in her mouth. I only saw she had something in her mouth she shouldn't have and ordered her to let go. The next moment the box fell into my hand.'

Lisa threw her head back and roared with laughter. 'That's priceless!'

'Yeah, it's definitely a story I'm going to tell our children and grandchildren.'

'I imagine.' Lisa also sat down behind her desk, propped up her elbows, and rested her chin in the palms of her hands, ready for a comfortable office chat. 'When did the momentous moment happen?'

'Friday, when I came home, in our backyard.'

'That's not very romantic, indeed.' Lisa scrunched up her nose. 'Did you at least celebrate after that?' She wriggled her eyebrows at Daphne.

Daphne shook her head with an indulgent smile. 'You'll never change, will you? Harry and I spent Friday night alone and made plans. On Saturday evening we invited our family and close friends to tell them the news and have a bit of a celebration.'

'That sounds nice. Who was there?'

'My parents and sister, of course, Harry's godson and his grandmother, Tracey and Blaise, Ron and Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys, spouses, fiancées and boyfriends included, all in all about twenty people.'

Lisa gave her a warm smile. 'That sounds like fun. And how are the plans for the magical wedding of the century? It's going to be a big affair, I guess. After all, you're marrying the Man-Who-Conquered, Britain's greatest living hero.'

Daphne frowned and shook her head. 'No, Lisa, you don't understand. I'm not marrying the Man-Who-Conquered, I'm marrying just Harry. Neither Harry nor I care much about grandeur. We're getting married, that's the important thing. The rest is just… decoration.'

Harry's heart swelled, and he suppressed the urge to throw off his cloak, rush over to Daphne and kiss her senseless. There was a reason he loved her so much.

Lisa blinked. 'Then, what plans did you make over the weekend if not for your wedding?'

'We were looking for houses.'

'Houses?' Lisa's voice as well as her eyebrows went up a notch.

Daphne's cheeks pinked. She looked just adorable. 'Well, if everything goes as we planned, our cottage is soon going to be too small.'

'Wow, are you trying to break a new record? Engagement, wedding, family planning - you two don't like wasting time, don't you?'

Jerry shoved back his chair and murmured something about visiting the restroom. His eyes didn't meet those of either girl. He didn't bother to shut the door behind himself, and Harry followed him out of the room.

The colour still hadn't returned into Jerry's face, and Harry could have sworn there was a faint trace of sweat over his upper lip.

Instead to the restroom, Jerry went to the emergency staircase at the end of the hallway.

Harry managed to slip through the door behind him, thanks to the Suspension Charm that prevented the doors to bang shut if anyone forgot to close them.

Jerry walked down the stairs to the next landing with heavy steps and halted. His breath was laboured, and he stared at the greyish wall ahead of him without seeming to see anything.

Long seconds passed.

Jerry jerked up his fist and smashed it into the wall.

The sound of the impact echoed through the staircase, and Harry winced. Ouch, that had to hurt like something!

A small yelp escaped Jerry's mouth, he shook his hand, then sat down on the upmost step of the second set of stairs that led down to the next storey, and buried his head in the palms of his hands.

Harry took a last, long look at his wannabe-rival.

Warmth spread in his stomach, and he smirked once again. Served the git right, it was good to see him go through some of the desperation he had caused him.

He'd seen enough.

The smirk still on his face, Harry turned around and tiptoed back to the door that led into the hallway. As soon as the door had closed behind him, he threw off his Invisibility Cloak and walked into the direction of the Auror Department, a jaunty little tune on his lips.

It felt just great to be Harry Potter.

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Next story update will be the "Day After" which will be added to On A Night Like This.