Chapter 60: Like Dumbledore?
If you want to read ahead by 10 chapters from her you can visit my Patre-on.
[P] [A] [T] [R] [E] [O] [N]
https://www.patreon.com/Yggdrasil_Loki
-----------
At that prompt, Harry got to his feet with a smile. He extended a hand to Daphne. "Would you care to dance, Miss Greengrass?"
She matched his expression. "Of course, Mr Potter." Harry decided not to correct that he was, in fact, Lord Potter. Not everyone had as good a memory as Loki.
His hand holding Daphne's, Harry led her out to the middle of the dance floor.
"I do hope you know how to dance," said Daphne.
The music began to play, and Harry's lips twisted up into a smirk. He allowed Loki to push himself to the forefront of his mind. "Trust me, I do." He placed one hand on her waist, and the dance began.
It could have only lasted for three minutes, but Harry decided to ensure that he was the centre of attention.
So when the dance finished, Daphne was left reddened with exertion and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. The crowd applauded and Harry glanced across the hall to where he had seen Malfoy sitting.
It had turned out that there had been some truth concerning his prior guess about Malfoy being envious, and the boy's expression was now twisted into one of anger as he ignored Pansy Parkinson, his date, who was trying to make him get up and dance.
With a smirk, Harry winked at Malfoy and turned back to Daphne. She was staring at him with something that appeared to be a mixture of awe and lust, or so he chose to think.
He decided it would be much more effective if he were a bit taller, rather than almost the same height. Nonetheless, he carried his plan out, leaning forward and kissing her upon the lips.
A strangled gasp emitted from Loki. 'Why the hell would you do that?' Obviously, he either hadn't been listening to Harry's thoughts, or simply hadn't had time to react to them.
Harry pulled back from the kiss, smiling at Daphne before walking over to a table. 'Oh, relax,' he said. 'Everyone thinks I'm doing it to make Malfoy jealous, and Daphne thinks I faked that to conceal my secret alliance with Slytherin.'
'And what, exactly, are the upsides?' Loki's tone was as exasperated as it had ever been.
Harry kept walking. 'Well, it will make Malfoy and Maria jealous, which will be amusing.' He hummed in thought. 'It will make Daphne like me more…'
'I doubt it; you're an awful kisser.'
'Oh, Loki,' Harry practically simpered. 'You flatter me. I know I'm fantastic at everything I do, but I highly doubt that Daphne is that filled with awe.' He paused. 'Na, she probably is.'
Loki sighed. 'You just did it because you're a spontaneous idiot.'
'No!' Harry exclaimed indignantly. '...Well, sometimes.'
'What've you done with Harry?' Loki demanded. 'No child raised by me would ever admit their flaws.'
'I don't see it as a flaw,' Harry said, now finally reaching his destination. 'It just makes me...eccentric.'
'Like Dumbledore?'
'I'll have you know he's a powerful, but also insane and manipulative wizard - not weird.' He sat down in his chair. 'So yes, like me,' he said.
Loki sighed. 'Of course.' Now he sounded rather resigned.
Harry gave a mental shrug. "Hi, Maria. How's your evening been so far?"
She was a shade of red matching that which Malfoy currently was, from which Harry concluded she was rather jealous.
Her angry expression only helped to confirm that.
A Mafia princess probably should've had a better level of control over her facial expressions, but he supposed that she was inexperienced.
"Just fine," she said. Her tone was so forced that Harry almost laughed. A Mafia princess probably should've also had better control of their tone.
Maria was really bad at manipulation - worse than Daphne, even. "How has yours been?"
He smiled. "Absolutely fine thanks, though it's far from over. Would you care to dance?"
Maria's eye twitched, and Harry resisted the urge to snigger.
The Great Lake sat in front of Harry, glistening in the afternoon sunlight and quite frankly undeserving of its name. Its diameter could be half a mile at most, which wasn't exactly his definition of "grand." It would, however, make it easier for him to complete the Second Task.
He glanced back over his shoulder at the crowd, once again noting Daphne's absence. While he was preparing for the task, it hadn't taken him and Loki long to guess that they wouldn't, in fact, be stealing his money and throw it in the lake.
No, the closeness of the Yule Ball had brought them to the conclusion that they would be taking the person they perceived the champion would miss most.
And now, with all of the champions' partners from the Yule Ball - except for Fleur's, though she hadn't exactly seemed smitten within him - missing, their theory was near confirmed.
Was Harry worried? Certainly not. For all he cared, Daphne could drown; if he wanted to win the task, however, he couldn't let that happen - and he wanted to win.
In all truthfulness, the task had been terribly planned. All of the action would take place under the lake, so the audience wouldn't see any of it. Harry supposed it was more about the atmosphere, but that too was stupid.
Who went to a gladiator match and remained excited when they heard the battle would take place out of sight in the changing room?
It being underwater presented a whole new level of challenge for Harry. After all, how was one supposed to showboat when no one could see them?
He had planned accordingly, and was fairly sure that, once again, his performance would be the most impressive, even if it did not earn the most points.
A supernaturally loud cough suddenly sounded over the ever-lasting chatter of the crowd. Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. "Champions! Please prepare to enter the lake!"
Harry had been spinning his wand between his fingers, and now pointed it at himself, vanishing his earlier-conjured clothes.
Underneath, he still wore his enchanted clothes, though had charmed them to appear more like a wetsuit; not a difficult task when they already greatly resembled one.
-----------
If you want to read ahead by 10 chapters from her you can visit my Patre-on.
[P] [A] [T] [R] [E] [O] [N]
https://www.patreon.com/Yggdrasil_Loki