Title: The Choice
Rating: T
Pairing(s): Harry/Daphne, Harry/Ginny
Warnings: AU
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 999
Summary: Harry has to choose between two girls.
Notes:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Arithmancy Class - Write about a difficult choice that has to be made. (Min. word count 500)
TeddyRemusPotter: Won Round 3 of Pairing of the Week Drabble Competition.
Het Pairing Boot Camp: Prompt Used – Weed
As Many As You Want Competition: Prompts Used – OTP, "The stars are the streetlights of eternity.", invisible, cloak, star, in the library, unpleasantly squishy, mission, pleading, slender, Christmas, Marauders, Hush
Feedback: Yes
It was Christmas break.
Harry wore his cloak to try to keep warm, but it was the wrong one. He really wished he was invisible right now, but unfortunately, he thought he'd be done by now.
He had started his search in the library, but he hadn't found the person he was looking for there and he was giving up on his mission, not until it was completed.
And now he was going outside, to the tree he knew she went to if her mind was occupied. He looked up into the sky as he stepped on a wayward weed. He saw the bright stars and couldn't think of a more beautiful setting for this.
He thought back to the week previous and what brought him to this point.
He had been going back and forth between two girls. Both of them had made their interest in Harry known, and he did have feelings for both. He just had to determine who invoked greater feelings.
Ginny was fiery and passionate. She was pretty and liked Quidditch. She was his best friend's little sister and with her, he could become an official member of the Weasley family.
Daphne was beautiful and sophisticated. She was extremely intelligent. She was already high up socially and came from a family with money, so he knew she wasn't interested in him because of his name or money. She challenged Harry, didn't let him get away with anything.
While Ginny had a crush on him before they even met, Daphne loathed him at their first meeting and her feelings changed over time, making him believe they were genuine and not just because of his boy-who-lived image that the media portrayed. He wasn't so sure where Ginny was concerned.
He knew who he wanted to choose. Although he knew he'd upset a lot of people and might lose his best friend in the process, he couldn't live the life others wanted for him. When Harry took Ginny's hand and her flesh felt unpleasantly squishy, his mind was completely made up and no amount of Ginny's pleading could change it.
"I'm sorry, Ginny. You're wonderful, but..."
"But what?" she asked, tears running down her cheeks.
Harry took a deep breath. "I can't be with you because there's another girl, a girl I care about deeply."
"Do you care about her more than me?"
Harry looked deep into himself. While he didn't mind Ginny's company, he never went out of his way for it. On the other hand, he sought out Daphne, choosing to spend time with her rather than his friends, and he had his answer. "Yes, I do, and I'm sorry. She's the one I want to be with, though."
Harry had thought that was the hard part. He thought he had gotten past the biggest hurdle, but he was wrong. Daphne started avoiding him. He worried why.
He would see Daphne looking between Ginny and him and wondered if she thought Harry chose Ginny. He wouldn't blame her if she did, but he had to find a way to get her alone to tell her his choice.
It was bad enough that Ron refused to talk to him, but he had to deal with Ginny's doe eyes as she sought him out to spend time with him. Having her constantly at his side was no good for his relationship with Daphne, but no matter where Harry went, Ginny was there.
He wanted until the holiday break because he knew the Weasleys were going home for it. He also knew Daphne was staying. In fact, she was the only Slytherin staying.
While Ron was nonexistent in his corner, something Harry understood, Hermione knew about Harry's feelings for Daphne and while she felt bad for Ginny, who was her friend, she wanted Harry to be happy and supported his decision to pursue Daphne.
I wonder if the Marauders were as supportive of my dad as Hermione is of me. Or maybe they were like Ron. Harry shook his head. He couldn't imagine either Sirius or Remus not supporting his dad when it came to winning his mom over, but who knew with Peter.
After what seemed like yoo much walking, he finally made to the tree, the one that overlooked the Black Lake. And just like Harry expected, he saw Daphne's slender form
"Daphne," Harry called as he approached her.
"Hush, I'm enjoying the quiet," she said
"Sorry," he apologized.
There was silence for a couple of minutes before she spoke. "So, missing your little girlfriend while she's away?"
"I knew that was what you thought."
"You're going to tell me I'm wrong? She was going around telling everyone how she's your girlfriend now."
Harry opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "She what? Why did I not hear about this? You know what? Never mind. I'll talk to her when she gets back to school and figure out what she's trying to do. Daphne, I told her there was another girl I like, a girl I wanted to be with."
Daphne finally turned and faced me. "Really? Why didn't you tell me?"
Harry looked at her. "You're kidding me, right? I tried to, but you always seemed to miraculously disappear."
She laughed. "Oh, year. Sorry."
"No problem."
"I was hurt because I thought you'd at least tell me that you didn't want me before telling her you wanted her. I thought you had selfishly ignored my feelings."
"Well, I didn't."
Daphne stepped closer and slipped her much smaller hand into his. "So, you chose me, huh?"
Harry nodded. "I'm warning you. I'm not good at relationships. I have no experience, so you might have to teach me, but I'll do my best to learn fast."
"Good," she breathed and leaned forward, her lips touching his as a hand came up to play with his hair.
And up above, the stars illuminated the eternal night sky, and it gave Harry hope for their future.