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A/N
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Just a small one-shot that came up in my mind. I might turn into a multi-chapter story but that's for another time.
Summary: The Yule Ball was the biggest stress reliever that Harry would get after being admitted into the blasted Triwizard Tournament. But, he could never ask out the girl he wanted to, simply because of the opinion of other people. Hermione was worried about her best friend and decided to take drastic action.
Now, the whole story will be canon compliant with a slight canon divergence from GoF. Dumbledore survived the ordeal with Malfoy, there were no Horcruxes, and the final battle against Voldemort took place in Harry's seventh year which he attended. Obviously, this is not epilogue compliant.
Rating: This one-shot will be a 'T' rating with slightly coarse language and some sexual stuff but not so much.
I hope you enjoy this one-shot and if you have ideas for others feel free to PM me. I'm mostly swamped right now, but I can sneak in some short one-shots rather than the lengthy chapters of my current stories.
Pairings: Harry Potter/Daphne Greengrass
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The Threat of a Godfather's Teasing
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25 December 1994, 9:30 P.M. - Great Hall of Hogwarts
For the umpteenth time on the beautiful evening of Christmas when the Yule Ball was taking place in a highly decorated Great Hall, Harry James Potter let out a sigh and bumped his head against the table he was sitting on. His female best friend, Hermione Granger was about to snap as she observed him.
Her date, Viktor Krum was currently dancing with his date, Parvati Patil. She was a nice, sweet girl but a little too giggly for him. But that wasn't the only problem. Oh no, far from it. The problem was dancing a few feet away from him.
In her vibrant red ball gown, with her raven black hair tied in a greek style bun (probably inspiration from her name), Daphne Ophelia Greengrass, the most beautiful girl in the school (at least according to him and most of the boys), was dancing with her best friend, Tracey Davis.
While their postures of dancing did not indicate any romantic interest (but if she were to swing that way, Harry knew he was better off killing himself), it had a sense of familiarity. Probably, because they were good friends but some people were not as observative as him.
He longed to see the high cheekbones, the sharp jawline and those vibrant violet eyes that would flare with magic every time someone tried something unbecoming towards her. Harry longed to touch her face, to kiss her but he simply knew that he could not, simply because she was a Slytherin.
While he couldn't give a rat's arse about the House relations if it were anyone else than Mr Ferret, he knew that she was better off without associating with him. He attracted danger and he damn well knew it. He let out another sigh and that's when Hermione snapped in a very un-Hermione way.
"Ok, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
Harry was not sure what surprised him, the swearing or the outburst.
He shifted on his seat a bit as he let out a nervous chuckle, "What are you talking about, Hermione?"
Hermione glared at him, "Don't give me that, Harry James Potter."
'Shit, she's middle naming me. Oh, this is not going to end well.' Harry thought to himself.
"I am one of your best friends and while Ron has the emotional range of a table… no, a teaspoon, I do not. So, you will tell me what this is about or I swear to Merlin you will never see the sun shine again."
Harry gulped a bit before replying in an almost neutral tone, "It's nothing. I'm fine."
If possible, Hermione's glare turned even harsher. He raised his hands in a placating manner before he hesitantly spoke up.
"Well, you see I wanted to go to this Ball with…"
"Cho?"
Harry scowled at the thought of the clearly stuck up girl. He glances just once at a girl with interest and they assume he had a crush on her.
Seeing Harry's scowl, Hermione raised her hands in surrender before she said, "Fine. Just trying to speed things along. Continue."
"Thank you. Now, I will not tell you her name because you will rib me mercilessly if you knew and that's why we will refer to her as Raven. Okay?"
Hermione nodded.
"Ok. See, I really like Raven but I can't just approach her because first of all, there's the impending doom of a straight 'no', and if we get past that, there' s the whole "what will the others think? Is it right or not? That load of crap. Thirdly, I attract danger and because I like her so much I can't simply put her into dangerous situations."
Hermione was a smart girl and when she saw Harry's line of sight, she could see only three girls there and she was pretty sure who he was talking about but she decided to take the long approach instead of the guns blazing one.
"Ok. Let's counter those ridiculous points, shall we? Getting shot down by Raven will simply allow you to move on from the crush when you realise that she isn't interested but how will you know if she's interested when you don't even ask her? Second of all, since when do you give a crap about the others. The third point, I am seriously going to curse into oblivion if you keep bringing up that dangerous thing. I have a simple point, your 'saving-people' thing. Plus, if I was the girl I would like to be given a chance to decide if I want to be involved with someone."
"I… I don't know, 'Mione."
Hermione huffed a bit, "Fine, describe her to me. I'm not asking for the name, just tell me what you like about her."
"Well, she's very beautiful. She's scarily smart, just a tad smidge lower than you. She has the cold and aloof attitude she presents to others but I know that's just a layer of protection against those who really irritate her. And her eyes, dammit her eyes. Her eyes are the best thing I've ever laid my eyes on."
Hermione was smirking by that point. She now successfully knew who Harry was talking about and she wanted to laugh hysterically at the way Harry described the Greengrass Heiress. Not days ago, with a similar look on her face, Daphne Greengrass had talked about Harry to her.
"Now, I want you to at least dance with her. No protesting. Your little talk about Raven has told all I need to know about, so if you don't go ask her for a dance, I'm going to write all this to Sirius and we all know how he's going to react to this don't we?" She asked with a sweet smile which caused Harry to pale rapidly.
"I'm going to say this again. You 're brilliant but bring down that viciousness just a tad smidge."
She looked at him with a dangerous glint in her eye which caused him to stand up abruptly and take a few deep breaths before he started walking to his death. He did not know how he would dance but he would go with the thing he trusted the most.
His instincts and Gryffindor bravery.
Daphne Greengrass was irritated. This Yule Ball was not going how she had planned. She had sent small smiles and secretive glances at the one boy who held her interest but nooo, he could not or would not acknowledge any of them.
All the boys who wanted to dance with her wanted to have their way with her but her reputation caused them to back off, and thus, she found herself dancing with her best friend, Tracey Davis.
Daphne let out a sigh which caused a blonde chunk of hair to bump into her forehead.
"Stop sighing. It feels like I'm not dancing well." Tracey glared at her with her baby blue eyes that were so not right for glaring. She held in some giggles, it would not do good to giggle in public. Her reputation could take a huge hit, what with her being all giggly.
"It's not that. It's just…."
"It's Potter, isn't it?" She asked out of the blue which caused the reddening of her cheeks.
"Yes. I just don't know what to do!'
Tracey smirked, "Well, I think you should turn around."
Daphne looked at her questioningly as Tracey slid out of her grip and went towards the table which held the drinks before she turned around. She saw him approaching her with a nervous look on his face. His emerald green robes with a silver trimming looked exactly like the colours of the Slytherin House but she couldn't care less. His emerald green eyes held her stare not dropping further than her face. At that moment, she knew that her interest was justified.
He cleared his throat, "Miss Greengrass, may I have this dance?"
Daphne put up her mask to control her raging emotions, "Of course, Mr Potter."
A new muggle song began to play in the background as his hands slid around her waist but not straying below it and his right hand grasped her left. From that moment, the world around her was lost to her and Harry.
I am not the only traveller
Who has not repaid his debt
I've been searching for a trail to follow again
Take me back to the night we met
They started swaying on a particular spot as the song started. Harry whispered to her, "You can drop it, you know?"
Daphne's left eyebrow rose in question, "Drop what?"
He gave her a lopsided smirk that she knew he had gotten from his father if the stories of her mother were to be believed, 'Your "Ice-Queen" mask." She could practically feel the air quotes in the air.
"I don't like that moniker and I don't have a mask."
"The moniker I agree with. My moniker is the most idiotic one I've ever seen and about the mask. Please. I've seen you with Tracey. You're acting completely different right now."
Daphne almost squeaked in response as she realised that he had paid attention to her so closely that he had seen through her when she was with Tracey.
And then I can tell myself
What the hell I'm supposed to do
And then I can tell myself
Not to ride along with you
"And why should I act as I act with her? I don't really know you." She asked as he twirled her around and they began exploring other parts of the dance floor.
He looked deep into her violet eyes and she braced herself for a legilimency attack but it never came. She would not have put it past him but she felt as if he was looking directly into her soul.
He pulled her outwards and twirled back into him as her back came to his chest and he whispered in her ear, "Maybe because I want to get to know the real you."
I had all and then most of you
Some and now none of you
Take me back to the night we met
I don't know what I'm supposed to do
Haunted by the ghost of you
Oh, take me back to the night we met
She would have snogged him right then and there had it not been for the crowd. His reactions to her questions were what she wanted in the man who would sweep her off her feet.
"Are you sure? You might not like what you see." She shot back as he dipped her to the ground.
"If I get to know the real you then it's all worth it."
"What if I want to know who Harry Potter really is, then what?"
"A very Slytherin approach, Greengrass but I have to say if you see who I really am, you will most certainly not like what you see."
"I'm willing to take the risk." He raised an eyebrow as he shifted his dancing posture just a bit and continued dancing with her.
When the night was full of terrors
And your eyes were filled with tears
When you had not touched me yet
Oh, take me back to the night we met
"I'm broken and dangerous Greengrass, I really am. Do you think you can take that?" He sighed as they swayed around.
"You might be dangerous but I'm willing to take that bet and Potter, if you're the definition of broken then, you and I aren't so different." She looked him in the eye as she lifted her head. While she was at an impressive height of 5'8'', Harry had filled out since last year and training for the Tournament had made him almost 5'9''. He was not the scrawny first year she had first observed.
I had all and then most of you
Some and now none of you
Take me back to the night we met
I don't know what I'm supposed to do
Haunted by the ghost of you
Take me back to the night we met
He whispered in a very quiet voice as he was ensnared by the beautiful violet eyes of Daphne Greengrass, "I don't think we are." Her breath caught in her throat as she heard his whisper and slight huskiness in his voice.
He leaned in and his lips met her rosy and soft lips as he kissed her with all his emotion. Daphne's hand snaked around his neck as she kissed him and both his arms found their way around her waist. They didn't know it, but everyone had stopped dancing as they saw the Gryffindor Golden Boy and Slytherin Ice Queen kiss each other, publicly.
Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling madly as he saw the one boy who he had wronged love with all his heart and pushed back the darkness that was within him. McGonagall wiped her eyes with a handkerchief as she saw the son of her two favourite students with a girl. He had suffered but he found some happiness in life.
Tracey Davis and Hermione Granger were grinning like Cheshire cats as they saw their best friends kissing each other in the middle of the Great Hall, oblivious to the world. Hermione raised a glass of the drink she was having in Tracey's direction as the girl repeated the action.
The two split apart slightly panting for breath as they grinned at each other.
"And Potter, if you keep snogging me like that, call me Daphne."
Harry gave her a lopsided grin, "Only if you call me, Harry."
25 December 2094, 9:30 P.M. - Godric's Hollow
A man with grey hair and a slight grey beard stared intently with his emerald green eyes which had dimmed slightly, at a tombstone which was located beside the church in the place where the man would have grown up if not for the Snake-faced bastard he had killed in his seventh year.
Daphne Ophelia Greengrass-Potter
(21 April 1980 - 24 June 2048)
A loving wife, a loving mother and a saviour to all those injured.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
"Hey, Daph. I'm here again. I miss you so much, my sweet Daphne." The man had unshed tears in his eyes as he silently conjured a chair from thin air.
"Everyone's great here, you know. Michael married Sue and Ernie's granddaughter and she's pregnant. His father, our first son, remember, James, is currently handling the post of Head of the DMLE, while Albus, well, Albus is off gallivanting with Scorpius, still. Merlin knows when they'll think of settling down at a single place. They're eighty for Merlin's sake. This prolonged period of existence sure is a hindrance to my plans for a big family living under a single roof, don't you think? Lily, well, Lily you remember married 'Mione's son, Hugo and man have they been reproducing like bunnies."
A single tear streaked down his cheek, "I miss you, Daph. I miss you so much. I don't know how long I can take this. Dumbledore's gone, McGonagall's also gone. Hagrid, Molly, Arthur and so many others have gone. Why am I still here, why can't I just go back to you?"
"Because, your time is not here, my love." When he heard the soft voice of his deceased wife he whipped around violently as he laid his eyes on her on the spectral form of his wife, dressed like the day she died.
"Damn, Resurrection stone." He muttered but was shocked as he felt the cool touch on his cheek.
He looked up and saw himself staring into the violet eyes he had loved from when they were fourteen.
"Not the Resurrection Stone, Harry. Death kind of owed you and well, I cashed in on the favour to see you on our hundredth anniversary."
Harry smiled sadly as he remembered the day on Yule when his biggest worry had been a half-blood gallivanting as a pureblood.
"All it took was the threat of a Godfather's teasing." She said as her face adorned a Cheshire cat-like grin.
Harry pouted a bit, "I told you that in confidence and you promised never to tease about that."
Daphne kissed him chastely on the lips and that was all he had wanted. A last kiss from the woman he loved as she departed to the afterlife.
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A/N
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Slightly sad ending but I had fun writing this one-shot. I'm open to requests for one-shots. Just PM me and for whatever Harry Potter one-shot or a pairing you want to see. The song is 'The Night We Met' by Lord Huron and Phoebe Bridgers.
Harry Potter's fortieth birthday is approaching, so you can expect a one-shot or a chapter leading to a multi-chapter story on my profile.
I hope you enjoyed it and remember to hit the favourite and the follow button. Remember to leave your comments and suggestions in the end as well. Toodles!
Published: 25 July 2020
MasterChaos1