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Daphne was well aware of her lack of cooking skills, despite her proficiency in potion brewing. She found this quite frustrating and decided that something needed to be done. Harry was a wonderful young man who always sought Daphne's happiness. He understood her in a way that no one else could. Although Harry would occasionally socialize with her friends, Daphne was not particularly close with any of his, much to her occasional regret. Nevertheless, she sometimes asked Ron or Neville about what Harry would enjoy for a surprise, or ideas for vacations he would like. As for Hermione, Daphne knew that she and Harry had a very strong relationship, but she was not sure why Hermione was still reluctant about Harry and Daphne's relationship, so she never asked her much about him. Daphne believed that Harry also knew the reason, but he did not bother to say anything.
Today was a significant day for Daphne as it was July 31st, Harry's birthday. She had decided to do something different this year, something she had never done before, hoping her skill in potions would come through to save the day. In the minimalist kitchen of her flat, Daphne stood in front of a pot with a spatula in hand, stirring the ingredients she had put in it. She wasn't sure if the smell was good enough, but she knew she needed to taste it. It was cooking, after all, not potion brewing. However, after tasting it, she was taken aback by the horrible taste - so salty and bitter at the same time. She spat everything into the faucet and washed her tongue with water. Daphne grabbed a grape-flavored candy from one of the many tins she had stashed around her apartment, desperate to get the salt flavor out of her mouth. After turning off the stove, she tried to remember what she had done wrong that made her cooking fail.
“I thought I followed the right steps, but why is it so salty and bitter? What went wrong?” Daphne scratched her head as she walked to the dining table to grab the recipe book. She looked at it with a sour look and then opened it page by page until she found what she was looking for. She read it again lazily.
“Three teaspoons of salt, then marinate it for a few minutes until the spice seeps in...” she stopped reading when she realized what went wrong with her half-cooked food earlier.
“Shit!” Daphne cursed. She remembered that she added three tablespoons instead of three teaspoons. She rubbed her face in frustration and threw the book away.
“Why is it harder than making a potion?! It's not that different!” She muttered in frustration as her hair became a mess. Daphne sat in the loveseat and lay down to refresh her mind. Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling, but her mind wandered everywhere, thinking about what she should do now. She did not want to upset Harry by not doing her best for his birthday. Dinner in fancy restaurants was too mainstream, and Daphne wanted to spend time with him, just the two of them - which is why she had insisted a week ago that Harry should come to her flat on his birthday, dressed in his most comfortable clothes. She had not anticipated that her plan to cook for him would end in disaster. Her eyes then fell on the kitchen, which looked like it had been through a car bombing in a war zone. Daphne took a deep breath and forced herself to clean up the mess.
“Come on, Daphne, you can do it! Clean it up before Harry arrives!” Daphne said, encouraging herself.
With all her energy, Daphne cleaned up the mess with her wand, repeatedly saying, “Scourgify!” Through a combination of multiple vanishing and blasting charms, she eventually managed to clean up the scene of the culinary crime. She did not want Harry to know what had just happened. Then suddenly her eyes were stuck to the clock in the wall. The hour hand was on 3:00 p.m. and she stared in horror at the realization that her efforts that day had been wasted.
“Shit! Shit!" she cursed. "What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?" she repeated while walking in a circle, panicking. Suddenly, she stopped, walked to the cabinet, and took her phone, along with the food delivery phone book.
"Right, it's the right thing to do, Daphne. Screw trying to cook to impress him!" she said to herself reluctantly while clicking on a restaurant's phone number and ordering food for the two of them. Relieved that the main problem was solved, Daphne continued to clean her house, her movements increasingly frantic. But then suddenly, the doorbell rang.
"The courier came so fast," she thought. "It hasn't even been 10 minutes yet." Daphne went straight to open the door. What she saw was not the courier, but the man she had been waiting for all day. His emerald green eyes gleamed brilliantly, and his wide smile made Daphne's heart flutter.
When Daphne greeted Harry, she looked disheveled, wrinkled, and dull due to her failed attempt at cooking. Harry chuckled at Daphne's less-than-perfect appearance, and she felt her cheeks flush at the sound of his voice.
"Hi Daph, may I come in?" he said, still grinning widely. Daphne nodded and stepped aside to let him in.
"I... I didn't expect you to come this early. I thought we agreed on 5 o'clock. It's only 3:30, you know," Daphne stammered. Her fiancé had arrived earlier than expected! Harry made a thoughtful face, teasing her as he often did.
"Harry!" she scolded, but he giggled again and kissed her on the lips.
"What can I say? I can't wait for my party tonight, and you look so adorable," he winked at her before walking to the kitchen. Daphne blushed at his compliment. After recovering from his praise, she remembered to follow him and tried to stop him from going into the kitchen.
"Harry, please don't go to the kitchen. I can bring the bag you brought," Daphne stumbled over her words when she saw his expression. "It's not what you think," she said nervously.
"I brought food for both of us, you know. I cooked it myself," he said, swinging the food bag he was carrying. He beamed at her.
"Yeah, I can see that. I also ordered something," Daphne grinned at him before looking down at her toes. She felt so embarrassed. "Because, well, my attempt to cook failed," she said softly.
"Daph, you know you don't have to do that for me, right?" he said as he approached her. She looked nervous from being caught.
"But I want to do something for you. It's your birthday, and you always do things for me," she replied, still looking down at her toes. She felt like crying. Her eyes were almost teary. Harry took her chin and lifted it slowly so she could look at him. The two of them gazed at each other.
"Thank you, Daph. I appreciate all the effort you put in today for me, but just seeing you, being with you, and knowing that you're always there for me makes me happy," Daphne's vision blurred, and she hugged Harry tightly.
"Ooh Daph... it's my birthday today, why are you the one who's crying? And where's the cake?" he teased and received a gentle smack from Daphne.
"Jerk!" She paused and gave a loving smile to her fiance. "Happy birthday, Harry!" She beamed at him before kissing him and hugging him tightly once again.
**Thanks for read!**