(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Thirty

Daphne wakes to voices in her bedroom. That's not out of the ordinary, Jeremy and Elena have been know to do it. More so in the past. But this is different. This time is very different. These are not her siblings' voices. They're British for starters. And older. She turns and sits up to find that Tinker and Sirius are whispering to one another at the end of her bed. Maybe arguing about something but trying to be quiet about it. They have failed spectacularly in that regard, though they didn't wake her. Daphne swallows a little. This isn't good. Her eyes widen as she stares at the two of them. It's not that she doesn't know who they are. She is very much aware of who they are and their relationship to her. Harry showed her enough photos and talked about them in great detail. But they shouldn't be here. She's never seen them as ghosts, they shouldn't be tethered to her here. They should be on the Other Side. They both stop when they notice that she's awake and watching them. Tinker waves her fingers and smiles sadly at her before she hugs to Sirius' arm. They are both hoping for a good reaction here.

"Remy" Sirius greets. "Do you...do you know who we are?" Daphne hums and then nods.

"Yeah" She whispers. "Yeah, you're...Sirius Black...and Tinker Bell....my parents....birth parents" Tinker smiles softly and nods. But then Sirius is suddenly a dog and Tinker is flying out of the way of Elena who lets herself into the room. But she can't see either of them. Padfoot jumps onto Daphne's bed to stay out of the way. "By all means, Elena, let yourself in" Daphne comments as she rubs her head. It's unfair because Elena's done nothing wrong, just everything about this day is already sucky and it's only just started. Elena looks at her weirdly. It's never been an issue before. Daphne shakes her head. It's not Elena's fault. It's the sudden appearance of her dead parents in her bedroom that is. "Ignore me, I didn't sleep very well" Elena moves to Daphne's little dressing table and rummages through her nail polish collection. "How's the hand?" Daphne asks, Elena holds up her hand, the bandage gone, the paste gone and the burn healed.

"That stuff was amazing, Daph" Elena tells her. "Magic..." She lets out a sigh. "Kind of jealous you're a witch you know....I mean..."

"Yeah, it's a hoot" Daphne comments dryly. Elena picks up a dark blue nail polish and then turns to Daphne.

"I thought you liked being a witch" Elena reminds her.

"I do" Daphne assures her. "It's nothing..." Elena doesn't buy it though. Something is bothering Daphne. "Tired" Daphne repeats and Elena nods a little but still doesn't believe it. Elena holds up the nail polish and Daphne nods, reassuring her that she can borrow it. Daphne will talk to her when she's ready and pushing her to do so won't help. Elena leaves, closing the door behind her and then Sirius and Tinker sit on either side of her. Daphne hangs her head as tears slide down her cheeks. She never thought she'd get something like this. A moment like this with them. They are dead and gone and she never thought she's see them in front of her. Yet here they are. Turns out, that maybe she is feeling their absence a lot more than she thought. Sirius touches her shoulder, pressing his forehead to the side of her head as Tinker takes her hand. It does nothing to comfort Daphne, instead, she bursts into tears.

.........

Daphne's alone in her bedroom now, dealing with her dead parents is exhausting and they've thankfully given her a moment to get dressed and to process her emotions. She doesn't. Not very well. How can she process seeing them? When she came to terms with them being dead and that she'd never get to have a relationship with them. Her phone rings on her bedside table and she glances at it but leaves it unanswered. Whoever it is can wait. She stands and grabs her jumper from the bed to pull it on. She opens her bedroom door to find Tinker on the otherside waiting for her, her wings fluttering behind her. Daphne lets out a breath.

"Do you have any questions?" Tinker asks her. "You can ask us anything...."

"I have many questions" Daphne answers. "But none I want to actually ask..." She closes her bedroom door behind her. "You know....I've heard stories, for years now...about you...and him. Everyone else.....they got some part of you...and I got nothing...."

"We left you with the Gilberts to protect you" Tinker defends herself. "With what you are" Daphne shoots Tinker a firm look that makes it very clear that she doesn't want to talk about what she is.

"I'm sure you did" Daphne counters. "But that doesn't make me feel any better about it" She then shakes her head. "Let's just find a way to send you back" She whispers and walks away. Tinker closes her eyes and then hangs her head.

..........

Damon taps his phone into his hand, trying not to let the fact Daphne didn't pick up worry him. Considering his morning being tied down, spit-roasted and almost set on fire. Something is clearly going on. He then taps the phone against his head. Running after her is not going to be a subtle way for him to tell her that he cares about her, that he's worried. But if she is in trouble then she might just need his help. He closes his eyes before he makes up his mind.

A/N - I kind of have a plot idea that I could see working at some point, not sure when though, probably at a much later point (Season 5 onward). Daphne and Damon have already talked about it, but in HP vampires can procreate, and in my head, I see it with the HP witches (with their pure magic). A vampire-pure witch turns up claiming to be Damon's daughter. She's done her research and knows her stuff so they start to believe that she really really could be his kid. (Maybe she's recruited and educated by Katherine. Maybe she is actually Damon's daughter.) Damon would actually get a little attached before some magical DNA test can be done. I see her not really being Damon's kid, but it would be a way for Damon to realise that he does want kids of his own and that he does see that happening with Daphne.