Title: Hook, Line, and Sinker

Author: GrapeSmshr

Rated: G to PG-13, depending on the chapter

Coupling: HP/DM slashy goodness

Updates: every Friday. If you want a reminder, leave me your e-mail addy in a review.

Summary: H/D *slash* Everyone loves the holidays because love blooms. Each chapter is a different holiday in which Harry and Draco find romance. Third holiday: Valentine's Day!

A/N: I've read some really cute Valentine's Day fics. It was a bit difficult coming up with an idea that hasn't been used before, but I think I pulled it off. This part is one huge piece of fluff. Enjoy!

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Holiday 3: Valentine's Day

Rated: G

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"It's the latest from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!"

Harry Potter eyed Ron Weasley with a mixture of amusement, skepticism, and more than slight hesitation. Harry knew how the minds of Fred and George Weasley worked, and he wasn't too keen on being a guinea pig to test their products--literally. One of their experimental sweets had turned Ron and him into guinea pigs. It had taken the twins almost an hour to figure out how to change them back. Harry shuddered just thinking about it.

"Harry?" Ron poked Harry in the side, erasing his spaced-out expression. "I know what you're thinking, but these have been tested." At Harry's disbelieving look, Ron sighed and continued, "You can ask Ginny. These are safe."

Upon hearing this, Harry relaxed some. He knew Ginny was just as wary of the twins' joke products as he and Ron were, so if she approved, then he would trust that Ron wasn't offering him something that would turn him into a giant flobberworm or something of the like. "All right, you've sparked my curiosity. What did they make now?"

"These." Ron tossed a small bag to Harry, who expertly caught it. "Heart's Desires."

Harry looked over the package. It was white, with pink and red hearts all over it. In the bag was what looked like Muggle conversation hearts. Turning curiously to his friend, he asked, "What's so special about a bunch of Muggle candy hearts?"

"They're bewitched is what. There's a place on the bag for the name of the person you want to give them to, and the hearts have a spell that can read your feelings toward that person. Then the hearts, which are blank, get writing on them that convey those feelings. Here, watch."

Ron held up a bag in which the hearts were blank. With his quill, he quickly scrawled the name 'Harry Potter' on the bag, then gave it to Harry.

Holding up the bag, Harry was amazed as writing appeared on the little hearts. "Harry's my best friend," Harry read from one. A yellow heart next to it said, "Braver than anyone." Harry grinned at this, turning the bag over. As he read another heart, he frowned. "No fashion sense?" he asked, looking up at Ron's guilty face.

"Hehe, must've been a messed up bag," Ron said as he hastily grabbed it back. "I really think Fred and George outdid themselves with these."

"They did," Harry agreed. "But these aren't exactly joke candies, so why are they making them?"

Waving his hand with a flourish, Ron explained, "They know that Valentine's Day is one of the most popular holidays here at school, and they figured they could make some money. Bloody brilliant, if you ask me."

There was no arguing with that. Harry knew just how crazy everyone got around the holiday. A candy that could tell the feelings of people too flustered or shy to do so themselves would no doubt be a hit. "They'd make tons of money from these," Harry thought aloud.

"That's what they're counting on," Ron said. "And since Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I'm going to go and try to sell as many of these as possible. Since you're my best friend, I'll let you have a couple. How many do you want?" He started pulling bags out of a large box sitting next to him on his bed.

"I'll just keep this one, thanks," Harry held up the bag Ron had given him.

Ron stared at him a moment, then shrugged. "Suit yourself." He dropped the bags back in the box and hoisted it up. "I'm off to make some money." He disappeared out of the dorm.

Absently flipping the bag over and over in his hands, Harry knew there was only one name he would write on the bag of candies. Even then, he wasn't sure he'd have the courage to give the hearts to said person. After all, it wasn't every day that a person fell in love with his sworn enemy of almost seven years.

With a burst of determination, Harry grabbed a quill, dipped it in his inkwell, and on the bag wrote the name 'Draco Malfoy' in bold calligraphy. Before he had a chance to see what the hearts said, he heard laughter and footsteps pounding up the stairs. Harry quickly tossed the candy into his book bag and lay back against his pillows with his arms folded under his head, trying to make it look like he wasn't up to anything suspicious.

"Fred and George did it again," Seamus Finnigan announced in delight as he entered the dorm, followed by Dean Thomas. Each were carrying a good half-dozen bags and grinning from ear to ear. "A candy that can express your innermost feelings. Oh, the possibilities..." His bright eyes had an evil glint.

First the twins, then Seamus? Harry was almost afraid to ask, but curiosity got the best of him. "Possibilities? For what?"

"Just wait until Potions tomorrow. Then you'll know what I'm talking about." Seamus rubbed his hands together in anticipation of the upcoming day.

Knowing that the Irish teen would divulge no more information than that, Harry decided to let the matter rest. Besides, the next day was almost upon them, and he had no choice but to wait. Bidding his two Housemates goodnight, Harry closed the curtain around his bed and settled in for the night.

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It was obvious that Valentine's Day was upon them. The Great Hall was decorated with hearts in various shades of pink and red, and confetti fell from the ceiling but never touched the ground. Everywhere one looked, couples could be seen holding hands, sharing kisses, and squealing over gifts, especially Heart's Desires. It seemed Fred and George really had known what students would buy, and buy they did. Ron had sold every last one of the bags that he had been sent.

Well, almost every one. Harry's bag was still tucked securely in his school bag amongst his books and other items. He wasn't about to let it out of his sigh.

Which was why it was currently flying behind him as he made a mad dash for the kitchens. For whatever reason, he had slept in and didn't make it to breakfast. He wanted to grab something to eat really fast before Potions. Tickling the green pear in the fruit painting, it shrieked in laughter before turning into a handle. Opening the painting in door-like fashion, Harry hurried in. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one in a hurry because as soon as the painting slammed behind him, he slammed into Dobby. The force sent him sprawling, along with the contents of his school bag.

"Harry Potter!" Dobby gasped as he picked himself up off the floor. "Dobby is sorry, Harry Potter! Dobby is not watching where he is walking--"

"It's all right, Dobby," Harry interrupted the blubbering house-elf. He was on his knees, picking up his books, scrolls of parchment, and scattered quills. Securing his bag on his shoulder again, Harry stood and said to Dobby, "I actually came down here to get something to eat really fast."

Eyes lighting up, Dobby stepped forward. "What would Harry Potter like? Porridge and strawberries? Or perhaps mince pies?"

Laughing, Harry held up a hand. "I was actually thinking along the lines of a muffin."

"Muffins?" Dobby squeaked, and several other house-elves rushed forward with platters of the tiny pastries.

"Uh, thank you." Harry grabbed a couple of muffins off one of the platters. The house-elves bowed and then scampered off again. "I better get to class. Thanks, Dobby."

"So long, Harry Potter. Come and visit Dobby soon!" Dobby called as Harry waved at him before disappearing out the door.

Munching on the muffins as he ran, Harry managed to make it to Potions on time. He plopped down in his seat next to Ron, taking out his notes and book before tossing his bag to the floor.

"Where were you, mate? You missed breakfast," Ron asked Harry.

"That's because someone let me sleep in," Harry answered in annoyance.

Before Ron could reply, the door burst open and in walked Professor Snape. His usual scowl looked more scowly this morning, and Harry wondered back to what Seamus had said the night before.

"These," Snape said in a low, calculating voice, "were left on my desk earlier." He was clutching a bag of Heart's Desires. "I will not tell you what they read, but let me assure you that I *will* find out who the guilty party is and see to it that they are properly punished." As he finished, his eyes landed on Harry as they narrowed in contempt.

Harry glared back until Snape finally turned away, then he glanced back at Seamus, who looked over at him and winked.

Turning to his desk to get his notes, Snape noticed another bag of candies waiting for him. "Ah, another student to be punished," he growled maliciously as he grabbed the bag. "Let's see what these say." Picking a random heart, he read aloud without thinking, "Snape is extremely sexy."

There was a pause before laughter rang out all over the classroom. A couple of students threw out catcalls, much to Snape's horror. "Quiet!" he bellowed, effectively shutting the class up. Cheeks burning, he yelled, "Finish the potions you started yesterday! And no talking!"

Exchanging amused glances, Harry and Ron got to work on their potion.

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Heaving a sigh, Draco Malfoy trudged down the deserted hallway towards the kitchens. He really couldn't stand eating another meal in the Great Hall, not with all those annoyingly happy couples and cutesy decorations. That's why he decided to eat lunch by himself. At least this way he'd be able to keep his food down.

All right, so he was a little bitter. He had spent every Valentine's Day of his life alone, and, quite frankly, he was sick of it. Even gorgeous bad boy evil types deserved love. Except Draco found himself in such a horribly ironic situation. He had a thing for his bitter enemy.

So maybe 'thing' wasn't the right word. Every time said person walked into a room, Draco's heart lit up like an overdressed Christmas tree. However, being a Malfoy meant showing no emotions, so he didn't. Oh, how he sometimes hated his proper upbringing.

Letting himself into the kitchens, he was greeted by a group of eager house-elves, who just as eagerly gave him a plate heaped with food and ushered him over to a table off to the side. With a shrug, Draco sat down and began to eat. But before the fork could even reach his mouth, his feet lightly kicked something, making a crinkling noise. Setting the fork back down, Draco reached under the table and wrapped his hand around the object he had kicked. Upon inspecting it, he saw that it was a bag of those candies everyone was giving out.

He himself was currently toting a bag of them around. He'd never stoop so low as to buy one from Weasley. No, he had bought one off of Pansy, who had asked him who he planned on giving it to. After repeatedly dodging the question, he finally took to ignoring her until she went away. Honestly, it wasn't her business to know what he was going to do with the candies.

Speaking of minding one's business... Draco's eyes scanned the bag. There was writing on the candies, so the bag was a gift for someone. Flipping the bag over, his eyes fell on the name of the recipient. When he found his own name staring back at him, he almost dropped the bag in shock. Someone was planning on giving him candies? He wondered what they said. Bringing the bag closer to his face, he read out loud, "I love you." Eyes wide, he read another one, then another, and another, until he was positive that they all said the same thing, and they did.

Someone loved him?

But who? Surely no one knew he would be in the kitchens, so the person must have dropped the bag by accident. Flagging over a house-elf, he asked him, "Do you know who dropped these?" he motioned to the candies.

"I is never seeing that before," the house-elf answered apologetically.

"Does anyone know?"

"I is hearing Dobby is running into a student this morning."

"Dobby, huh? Where is he?"

Shaking his head vigorously, the house-elf said, "Dobby is cleaning rooms with the rest of breakfast crew. He is not being back before dinner." He bowed before running off.

How helpful that was. It seemed Draco would have to figure out by himself who had dropped the candies. He really was impatient and didn't want to wait until dinner to question Dobby.

Leaving the kitchens, he was suddenly struck with a horrifying thought. What if the candies were from some fifth-year Hufflepuff? Or even worse, a Gryffindor? But then the rational part of his brain kicked in as he reasoned that Hufflepuffs were much too thick to figure out how to get into the kitchens. The Gryffindors, on the other hand...

Stopping in his tracks, he realized that the only Gryffindors he had ever run into in the kitchens was the wonder trio. That thought almost sent him into hyperventilation. What if it was one of them?

He was fully convinced that it was. He didn't know why, but it was just a feeling he got. Studying the bag intently, Draco's eyes narrowed. The handwriting belonged to a male, most likely; the scrawl was pretty messy. Oh, Merlin. He knew it would never be from the Weasel, so that just left... He knew he had to be right about it, he just knew it.

Heart thumping madly in his chest, he contemplated what he had to do. Well, if he wanted answers, he knew who he'd have to interrogate. So he set out to find one Hermione Granger.

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Plopping himself down on the top step of the entranceway, Harry thanked Merlin that his friends hadn't wanted to eat lunch. He really wasn't looking forward to another meal in the Valentine's-coated Great Hall. All of the decorations were making him nauseous. Or maybe the thoughts he kept having about a certain blonde-haired someone were what churned his stomach. What if he gave Draco the bag of candies? What if he told the Slytherin how he felt?

He would be laughed at, most likely, with being hexed into oblivion following in a close second. No, those candies would stay within the confines of his school bag.

There was only one problem: he couldn't find them!

Rummaging frantically through his bag, Harry found no trace of the candies. Pulling out his books and scrolls, he prayed that it was just lodged in a corner or buried under something. It wasn't.

Mind reeling furiously, Harry went through his day, trying to think of when he could have possibly the bag. He had had his things with him all day, starting with breakfast.

That was it! The candies must still be in the kitchens! Piling everything back into his school bag, he threw it over his shoulder and ran at breakneck speed to the kitchens.

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Entering the library, Draco spotted Hermione at a table way in the back. Luckily, she was sitting all by herself, which meant he could interrogate her freely without having to get rid of anyone.

Crossing the room, he stopped in front of the chair directly across from her. "Mind if I join you?" Not waiting for an answer, he sat down.

"Can I help you with something, Malfoy?" Hermione asked. The question wasn't laced with anger or even loathing, but he could sense suspicion. That was understandable. He'd be scared if she *wasn't* suspicious.

"Actually, you can. Do you have any of these?" he held up the bag of Heart's Desires.

"Don't tell me you're selling those," she said incredulously. "Because if you are, I'll tell you right now that I don't want any. I already have some."

"So... you didn't lose any?"

She eyed him warily, still wondering where this conversation was leading. "No, I didn't lose any. Why?"

"No reason." At least, no reason he cared to share with her. He just wanted to make sure she hadn't dropped them. And since she was such a horrible liar, he knew that she was telling the truth. One down...

"Do you know where Potter was during breakfast?" That morning he had noted Harry's absence; how could he not, when it was a daily ritual for his gaze to meander over to the Gryffindor table in search of the Boy Wonder?

"You noticed that Harry wasn't there?" Hermione's lips quirked in amusement. That was almost as funny as Snape's expression after he had read those hearts she had left for him. Almost.

Scowling at her, Draco answered snottily, "A good wizard always knows the whereabouts of his enemies."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione humored him. "He overslept and grabbed some breakfast in the kitchens before Potions."

Draco had to fight to keep the grin off of his face. He was right! Harry had been the one to drop the candies! That meant...

"Do you know where Potter is right now?"

"Why?" she demanded more than a little sharply. She was fiercely protective of Harry. Even if he was in love with Draco, she still didn't quite know what to make of the blonde. And she'd be damned if she let her best friend be hurt.

Growling in frustration, Draco burst out, "Please, Granger, just tell me where he is! I need to talk to him."

Hermione was completely floored. Not only did Draco Malfoy say please, to her, even, but he also used her surname instead of an insult. He must desperately want to talk to Harry. Hermione had a feeling she knew what he wanted to say, too. Always the observer, she had noticed the fleeting glances and less hostile attitudes coming from the Slytherin when he was around Harry. Well, who was she to stand in the way of a potential romance? "I believe he said something about the Astronomy tower."

The Astronomy tower? He'd have to hurry, then, so he could catch up with the Gryffindor before they both had to go to class. "Thanks," he said absently to Hermione, who had already turned back to her schoolwork.

Shocked, Hermione snapped her head up to stare at Draco, but he was already gone.

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Sitting miserably on a bench in the Astronomy tower, Harry cursed his luck. He had rushed to the kitchens only to find the candies gone. Much to his horror, he found out from a house-elf that Draco had found the bag of candies he had lost. Out of all of the people in the school, why was Draco the one to be there? Really, what were the odds?

He did have a brief fleeting hope that nothing would come of it, that Draco would just let it be. But then he snapped back to reality. Never in a million years would the blonde just leave a bag of candies anonymously addressed to him, bearing Harry's innermost feelings about him. What exactly did those hearts say, anyway?

Head in his hands, Harry wondered how long he would have to wait before something happened.

"Potter."

Apparently not very long.

Slowly raising his head, eyes revealing nothing, Harry met the blonde's gaze. "Malfoy," he acknowledged coolly. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, actually. Granger tipped me off to your whereabouts." Draco took a step closer so that he was only mere feet from the Gryffindor. He suddenly found himself very nervous, and for good reason. He was about to risk making a fool of himself in front of the person who held so much power over him.

"Why were you looking for me?"

Draco paused at the question. Harry knew! He knew that Draco had found the candies. Draco could tell by the inflection in his voice. Well, that should make it easier to get a confession out of him.

Or so he thought.

"Are you a fan of candies?" Draco asked casually, almost as casually as he would have asked the time. But there was too much at stake here for casualty.

Harry stiffened at the question, eyes on the floor. So Draco had found out. He wasn't surprised. Shocked and dismayed, absolutely. But surprised, no. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to remain calm. "Aren't most people?" he retorted a bit more sharply than intended.

Not put out by Harry's tone, Draco answered, "Yes, most people are. But are you a fan of these?" He held up the bag of Heart's Desires, his name facing out so that Harry could see that it was indeed the bag he had lost just that morning. "Because I am," he continued, "especially of this bag in particular. Do you know why?"

"Do I care?" Harry shot back, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.

"Oh, I think so. This bag is from somebody special, someone whom you might know. Can you guess who that somebody is?"

Finally Harry could take the teasing no longer. He was already about to fall apart. He didn't need the extra insults mixed in. "I don't have time for this." He crossed the room, ready to bolt out of there.

Draco panicked. This was not how it was supposed to go! He knew he should have just gotten straight to the point! And now Harry was leaving. He had to do something, and fast. Just as Harry's hand touched the doorknob, Draco blurted out, "I love you!"

Hand freezing in its place, Harry slowly turned around until he was once again facing Draco. "What did you say?" he asked disbelievingly, eyes not blinking.

Recovering quickly, Draco said, "I was just reading the saying on these hearts that were addressed to me." Judging from the look of surprise on Harry's face, Draco surmised that the Gryffindor hadn't looked at what was on the hearts after he had written Draco's name on the bag. When he received no answer, he knew he had to do something before Harry tried leaving again.

It was then that he made an executive decision. He would cast away all reservations, all hesitation, and just do what he should have done in the first place.

Reaching into his pocket, Draco pulled out a compact quill and the bag of Heart's Desires he had bought off Pansy. He held up the bag so that Harry could see the hearts were blank. Then he wrote something on it and tossed it to Harry.

Taking a deep breath, Harry stared down at his name that had been written in elegant scrawl. His heart stopped as he watched words appear on the hearts. It was the same phrase over and over again, on all of the tiny candies. Eyes turning to Draco, he murmured, "I love you, too."

"What?"

"Candies," Harry explained as he stepped back into the room until he was standing directly in front of Draco. He dropped both bags to the floor at their feet.

"Is that really what the--"

"Haven't the candies talked enough?" Harry interrupted before grabbing the front of Draco's robes and pulling him into a kiss. As Draco melted against him, he allowed his fingers to tangle themselves in the tiny wisps of blonde hair at the nape of Draco's neck. Pulling the blonde unto an even tighter embrace, Harry's kiss spoke for the candies.

He finally pulled away, lips swollen and cheeks flushed. He knew what the candies said, but he really wanted to hear a confirmation. "Do you really love me back?"

"Do candies lie?" Draco countered, smiling mischievously.

"Mmm, not ours." Harry's lips ghosted over Draco's. "A heart's desire never does."

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A little OOC, I know, but it was just too cute an idea. I had to! Besides, who doesn't enjoy a nice piece of OOC fluff every now and then, right? That's what I thought! Please review! I love my reviews and sprinkle them over peppermint cookies! Until next week!