Chapter 102 - Advice on Love and Seduction

"You're not paying attention girl." Andromeda chided and pulled the book out of her hands and she ġrȯȧnėd in frustration.

"Take a break Daphne. You might be reading right now which was the only reason I'm letting you get away without any punishment but I don't want to see you getting distracted while making potions. You very well know how volatile some of the potions can get."

She gave Andromeda a short nod and her mentor sighed and took her to the corner of the room and sat her down on a chair before sitting in front of her.

"What is it?" Andromeda asked and she sighed and brought her head down in defeat.

"Come on. Tell me why you're so distracted these days Daphne."

"I… I don't know…"

"What is it Daphne?" Andromeda asked gently "Is there some problem in your house. Tell me and I'll do my best to help you."

She sighed at those words once again and said "Harry doesn't notice me."

"Harry doesn't notice you? What do you even mean by that?"

"He… I…" Daphne bit her lips and finally shouted "I want him to notice me."

"You want him to notice you?" Andromeda asked incredously and Daphne wondered if she had made a mistake by opening up to her mentor but she had already started so she might as well get it out of her heart.

"Yes." She admitted. "And I want him to notice me. Like how a boy notices a girl."

"You want him to… Daphne, aren't you a bit young for all of this."

She frowned at those words because of how much truth those words held.

And in this case, the bird was unfortunately not her but Hermione.

In fact, by the was that Harry treats her, she sometimes wondered if he even realized that she was a girl and not a boy.

"I am." Sh admitted to her mentor "But Pansy Parkinson already had her hands all over Draco Malfoy."

"You want Draco Malfoy?" Andromeda asked with mock horror and Daphne threw a cushion at her mentor.

"No. I don't want that git. I want Harry." She shouted but then realized how childish that sounded and blushed.

"Daphne, you do realize that just because Pansy Parkinson sticks to Draco like a leech doesn't mean that they'll get married right?"

"Yes." She admitted. Despite all the love that Pansy shows for Draco, it would only take a word from her father and the pureblood girl could end up marrying Crabbe Jr instead.

She shuddered at that thought.

Marrying someone like Crabbe and Goyle would be a form of lifelong punishment in and of itself.

"Daphne. Why do you want to be noticed by Harry anyway?" Andromeda asked.

Daphne frowned at that question. Wasn't it self explanatory.

"He's powerful." Daphne said "And intelligent. And rich. And ambitious. And driven." And he has already invented an artifact that would change the face of the Wizarding world.

"Why would any girl not want to be noticed by someone like that?" sh asked in return and her mentor gave an exasperated sigh.

"No. I meant that do you like him. Like how a girl is supposed to like a boy."

Daphne thought about that for a moment. Yes, Harry had the potential to become a great or even greater than Albus Dumbledore in the future. But did she liked him like how a girl is supposed to like a boy.

"Aren't I too young to think about such things." He replied and got a light smack on her head for her cheek.

"You know that's not what I meant." The mentor said "I want to know if you can see yourself with him in the future. If you got together with him, then what role will you both play in each other's lives. Will be even be happy if such a thing happened?"

Andromeda's questions brought her up short and Daphne stopped and seriously pondered over that question for a long moment.

"Can she see herself with him in the future?"

"Well, she could if she tried. But she knew that she was going to be a potions mistress and he… he would be some sort of inventor or who knows what. He was too unpredictable for her to guess what he wanted from his life."

Hermione had told her that Harry wanted to understand magic but that didn't really told her anything about him.

And for a moment, she wondered if they ever got together, will he even have time for her.

Why was she even pondering about such things. It's not like her husband would care about her that much if she married with some random Pureblood idiot.

But really, could she see herself with Harry.

When she thought about it a bit more then she realized that Hermione and Harry were indeed much more compatible than her and Harry.

If she had to make a comparison then she would say that Harry and Hermione got along like water and juice while she and Harry got along like water and dirt.

The dirt might dissolve into water over a long period of time and after a lot of hard work but would it even be worth it.

She frowned at that thought.

Was she really destined to lose Harry to that bushy haired girl.

Few pureblood girls ever got to marry for happiness.

They were betrothed by their parents at a young age and then got married to some other pure blood house in order to bring more prestige, wealth and connection to her family.

Where did the happiness part even came from?

But then she remembered who she was talking to.

Andromeda Tonks nee Black

Someone who braved against numerous dangers and married someone because of love.

Love.

The thought was foreign to her.

Could she really love someone for love.

"I don't know Andromeda." She replied sadly after a long time.

Talking with her mentor had confused her even more and she was now really wondering the wisdom of her choice.

"It's alright Daphne." Andromeda smiled and pulled her in a hug and she froze.

The last time anyone had hugged her like this was before…

…Before her mother died.

She choked at that thought as unbidden tears formed in her eyes.

"It's alright. You're young right now and have a lot of time in your hand to think about such things." Andromeda said and rubbed her back and she broke into sobs.

"Personally, I don't think that you could go wrong by choosing Harry but at the end of the day the choice will be yours and yours only. And I expect you to think about it for some time before you come to a decision. Alright?" Andromeda asked.

"Alright." She managed to reply in between sobs and the buried herself even deeper in the hug.

She had wanted this for years.

She smiled a little and thanked Harry in her heart for providing her with such a kind mentor.

At this point, she knew that whatever her choice would be, she would always be there to support Harry no matter what.