"No one had ever made anything quite like it before, and its effects were astonishing. All of a sudden even the wildest hair was manageable, and it even stimulated hair growth, so being bald as a wizard was suddenly a choice you made, as opposed to something that would happen naturally. Haven't you noticed that there aren't very many bald wizards?" Daphne asked.
"I guess I hadn't thought about it, I guess the only one I can think of is Filch, and he's not a wizard is he?" Harry thought, going through his mental list of wizards.
"Yes, he chooses to look like that, although why I have no idea." Daphne said with a bit of a smile. "Although he would look pretty funny with thicker hair, imagine if it was all big and puffy."
The thought of Filch with an afro sent a laugh through Harry, and Daphne joined him. Somehow, without him noticing, Daphne had managed to pull his anxiety away from him. He was just enjoying his time here with her.
"So, how'd you decide the order I'm going on my dates then? I'm assuming it wasn't random." Harry asked, interested to hear her thought process.
"Oh, now you want to talk about the other girls." Daphne playfully rolled her eyes as Harry's face dropped. "I'm only kidding, I actually really wanted to talk about it, I thought I was being really clever." Daphne said. "Padma went first because not only did she not get a chance to this summer, but I knew she would be the easiest one of us for you to get comfortable with for your first date. You, Hermione, and Padma click in a way the rest of us are working towards. Hermione though would have been too nervous herself to get out of her own way for you to have fun together, that's why she's going last out of those of us here in Hogsmeade, hopefully you'll be confident enough in what you're doing to guide her. I went second because I knew that I would be your… most difficult date. I love you dearly, and I know you care for me a lot, but I'm not blind to the fact that I'm the hardest one of us for you to connect with."
Harry was a bit stumped by that… was that true? It was certainly true that Daphne was the one he had the least in common with, at least on a macro level. Padma and Hermione were both fish out of water in the English wizarding world like he was, Hermione and he being muggle raised, and Padma being from a different country made a lot of standard practices here a tad off. Susan and Harry had also found a bond over having lost their parents at such a young age, that kind of shared trauma had been an anchor point that their relationship built on, and the Basilisk incident last year had built on that. Luna and Harry had also clicked in a weird way. They were both bizarre out of the box thinkers, and seemed to just exist on the same wavelength. Several Sphinx club members swore that Luna and Harry could have entire conversations without ever speaking a word to each other. Looking at Daphne though, there wasn't that same type of connection. Harry did love her, he knew that, he couldn't place the feelings he had towards her in any other emotion, and it was the most like what he felt for the other girls, and not like the kind of love he felt for Neville or Lavender. What brought them together though? Harry pondered before it clicked.
"That's why I love you though." Harry said, looking into her eyes for a moment. "You're challenging, you don't let me get away with anything, challenge me on every decision and make me look at myself in a new light. I love all the other girls very much, but I find it hard to believe that any of them would put up as much of a fight with me about something than you would. You're my opposite in that regard, and that makes you my complement. The pair of us are greater than the sum of the two parts."
"How do you always know just what to say to make me grin like a schoolgirl?" Daphne asked, leaning even deeper on him. "I should probably be a little upset by that, but just the thought of being special like that… well it just makes me so happy I can't control it. If I could do disillusionment charms you'd be struggling for air right now."
"I swear you're insatiable." Harry said, wrapping his arm around her.
"Only because you don't give it out enough." She responded back, a brief ting echoing between their wands. "Boo. Time's up. You've got to go to Susan now. Have a good time for me! Also, potion now."
Harry took her advice and drank the wiggenweld potion. Fatigue he hadn't noticed he had accumulated vanished, and he felt calmer, though still very alert. "What?" Harry asked, the question escaping his lips without him actually giving it any thought.
"Bit of a calming potion laced in it. Can't brew that one but Madam Pomfrey was happy to give me a tiny bit when I explained what it was for. Can't have you be horribly anxious during your dates now can we?" Daphne smirked, before pushing him out. "Now go! Go! I've got to eat three pounds of chocolate and I can't have you watch me do that!"
Harry stepped out of Honeydukes and looks around. Where was he expected to meet Susan? Daphne hadn't told him, and he certainly didn't know. Someone tapped on his shoulder.