215Author's Note: Hello, thank you for reading my story. I have never read a Harry/Daphne story before but after listening to some friends about how fun they could be, I got to thinking of my own. So, here's to hoping that my idea is different from the trappings of common tropes.
The first chapter is a short introduction, a prologue of sorts. The meeting of eyes.
I own none of the rights, nor make money, nor gain fame, or anything else from Harry Potter.
Cheers.
Chapter 1: Like to Like
The night sky twinkled merrily with an array of stars, casting an unearthly glow upon the massive lake and castle before them. Harry Potter scratched the back of his head thoughtfully before stepping unsteadily onto the rickety row boat from the pier he had been standing on. The wood creaked underfoot and water surged between the planks, only to quickly recede back as his weight settled.
Ron Weasley hopped in gamely and sat beside him unceremoniously, as though being ferried across a dark lake towards a castle at night was a familiar occurrence. Trying not to advertise his uncertainty, Harry peered around at the assemblage of students.
A girl his age stood on the pier chewing her lip, eyes flickering hither and thither as though cataloguing everything before her. They gleamed oddly in the dim lighting, their unnatural glow catching his attention. Her eyes, on closer inspection, were not a simple green like his own. They were imbued with a certain fire, a yellowish tint that caused the hair on the back of his neck to raise when they passed over his own form briefly.
Abruptly, a wrinkle appeared on her brow as though her brain was fixed in mighty focus. Curly black tresses tumbled wildly down her back like Medusa's snake-hair, unruly and long. Those intense eyes swung back his way and her pinched brow furrowed further.
They stared at one another. Blinked. And then both looked pointedly away.
But as the first year students made their way across the dark waters under wispy moonlight, Harry couldn't help but search for the girl again. Something about her seemed lost, as though uncertain of her place here. A resonance, something clumsier than understanding, had passed between their brief eye contact.
He knew what it was to not belong. Could recognize it in a kindred soul. A strange sort of comfort was gleaned from the knowledge that he wasn't alone in his trepidation.
His searching eyes touched on her again, huddled against the wood of her own rowboat, eyes roving once more. Her hands twisted wildly in her lap, fingers contorting in odd ways.
She sat alone, even as the boats around them became crowded, noisy affairs. Harry wondered if that would have been his fate as well, had Ron not stumbled into his train compartment. Briefly, he contemplated asking Ron to move to her boat, but the consideration was extinguished at Hagrid's great bellow that signaled their journey's beginning.
He lost sight of the girl as they crossed the black waters, his attention ensnared by the majesty of the castle and the mysterious future that awaited him. He did not know what to expect of this new, magical life. But he felt certain it could not be worse than the drudgery and pain that awaited him back at the Dursleys.
A quiet awe stole over him, his earlier uncertainty fading to a low hum. Ron jabbered good-naturedly at his side, but Harry could only hear small phrases and words, his attention so fixated on the powerful ramparts before him.
Only after the students disembarked did he think to look for the girl again. He glanced surreptitiously about the motley group in his vicinity but couldn't locate the gleaming eyes that had so ensnared him.
It was only later that night that he saw her again, while simultaneously learning her name, thanks to a raggedy hat's exclamation.
Daphne Greengrass was promptly placed in Slytherin after a few moments deliberation and, just as she had been on the rowboat, placed herself at the back of the table, alone.