Daphne Greengrass, for reasons she won't say aloud, absolutely can't help herself but make Harry Potter flustered. She can't help but love it, live for it, as she secretly made a point of trying to do so as often as she could.
It all started in their first year. It was on the Hogwarts Express when they had bumped into each other while looking for an empty compartment. Neither knew who the other was, but they had decided to share an available compartment anyway.
He had apologized profusely for bumping in to her, and she had just simply waved it off.
"It's no big deal. I'm surprised this train gets packed at all. You'd think they'd put an extension charm in here considering the amount of students that attend Hogwarts every year." She explained.
His confused countenance, if it was anything to go by, told her that he had never heard of an extension charm, and she had mentally assumed he was a muggleborn.
"Excuse me if I'm being too forward, but are you by any chance a muggleborn?" she questioned, silently praying she hadn't come off as too forward or harsh.
"Oh no, I'm half-blood…I think." He slowly said replied unsurely. "I'm not entirely sure, I never really knew my parents. I was raised by my muggle aunt and uncle." He simply replied.
This intrigued Daphne; how could he not know his blood status? She was practically reminded of hers everywhere she went, surely every person on this train would know their blood status at the very least. "What's your name? Mine is Daphne Greengrass."
"Harry Potter." He replied.
Had she not been trained to control her emotions and facial expressions, her face would have shown complete shock. This was Harry Potter? She had heard stories of him growing up, how he had survived being killed, and had defeated You-Know-Who. She started to appraise him; her stare so piercing it was as if she was looking directly into his soul.
He suddenly cleared his throat, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Is there something wrong?" a faint blush appearing on his face.
Daphne was quickly brought out of her reverie, and fought the urge to blush from embarrassment. She took note of his flustered appearance, and couldn't help but think of how…adorable, he looked right now.
"No, nothing. I apologize for staring. It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled, and offered her hand up to shake his.
From then on she knew what she wanted: to be close to him. Regardless of blood status or whether they get sorted into different houses. She would see this through, if only to see this adorable boy again.
From that point on, Harry and Daphne had become good friends. And while they were indeed sorted into separate houses, they never failed to try and make time to see each other. Every time they met up, she made a point of getting to know him as much as she could. Over the course of their friendship, she learned that he was a rather quiet boy, but given the right situation, he could be very brave and courageous. He was also fiercely loyal and protective of his friends, coming to their defense whenever Malfoy decided to badger them.
But the most important thing she noticed, however, was that he flustered very easily.
In their second year, the entire student body had somehow convinced themselves that he was the Heir of Slytherin. She had scoffed at the idea. Harry? Gryffindor's Golden Boy? The Heir of Slytherin? Daphne would sooner deny she was a pure blooded witch before she started believing that.
"I don't understand why people would think I'm the Heir of Slytherin! I'm not even in Slytherin House! Just because I'm always there when something bad happens that suddenly makes me suspect. It's absolutely mental!" He threw his hands up in frustration, and sighed heavily as he hung his head.
Daphne was worried, trying to figure out how to cheer him up. Looking at his eyes, an idea suddenly came to her. Maybe a joke would bring her dear friend out of his funk.
"It's probably your eyes." She said matter-of-factly.
"My eyes?" he questioned, his face turning slightly flushed.
She fought the urge to smirk in satisfaction. "Yes, your eyes." She suddenly went serious and looked wide-eyed into his eyes, trying hard to mask her amusement. "Twin emeralds, so deep, so piercing, you can't help but be entranced by them. And before you know it…" She froze, and crumpled in a heap next to him in a mock-petrified state.
Unable to hold back anymore, she immediately burst out laughing where she lay, and felt a sense of accomplishment when he joined in, shaking his head and lightly chuckling.
"Alright, lay off it now." He chuckled, extending his hand out to her to pick her up. She grabbed his hand and was hoisted up, only for her to realize he was still holding her.
She looked up into his eyes, and couldn't help but find them entrancing. "It's true though," She started without thinking, "about your eyes. I swear I could get lost in them forever." She held back the urge to blush, and instead was immediately amused when she saw how flustered he became. He suddenly found the ground to be very interesting, a small smile on his face, accompanied with a slight blush of his own.
She always knew he was handsome, but seeing him flustered was something else for her entirely, and she loved it.
The sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the corridors, as Daphne quickly rushed to the infirmary. When she saw him falling from his broom during the quidditch match, her heart had all but stopped. She silently thanked Professor Dumbledore for saving him before he could hit the ground, while silently cursing whatever higher power existed that allowed Dementors to enter the pitch during the match.
Entering the infirmary, she found that his fellow housemates had already beaten her there: Granger, the three Weasley brothers, Longbottom, and Finnegan. Looking to the infirmary bed they surrounded, she was flooded with relief to see that Harry had regained consciousness. It took all of her willpower to be patient as his housemates talked to him, before eventually leaving the infirmary to allow him to rest. Granger was the only one to acknowledge her, giving her a slight nod as she passed her. She quickly made a beeline for her best friend before sitting down in the chair next to his bed.
Noticing that he hadn't acknowledged her presence yet, she made a move for his hand, grasping it gently with her own. This had successfully roused his attention, and made quick work of assuring her that he was okay.
"Thanks for coming to support me. I know the game was supposed to be against Slytherin, but it means a lot to me that you still made a point to watch." He spoke in a soft tone.
"You know better than I do that I'd come out to watch you play. When have I missed any of your matches?" She replied playfully. While it was a game against Hufflepuff, Daphne made a point to watch every one of his games to support him, even going so far as to wear red on some his matches, regardless of whom he was playing against.
"Still, I just wanted to say thanks." His attention moved from her face to their handholding, and a faint blush crept to his cheeks.
Daphne had figured out her best friend's feelings for her at the beginning of the year. She had caught him one night during dinner just staring at her from the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall before quickly averting his gaze, a faint blush present on his cheeks. He repeated this action throughout the entire dinnertime before they were all told to turn in for the night. Since then, she never grew tired of seeing him so flustered during their meal times, and secretly reveled in the fact that she had that kind of power over him.
Decidedly wanting to push his fluster further, she started idly caressing small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb, before slowly bringing his hand up to her lips, kissing the small cut that was present there.
That had sealed the deal, as his faint blush quickly grew to be more intense.
With a playful smirk on her face, Daphne inwardly sighed, content with her work. While she did feel a little guilty of taking advantage of her best friend's feelings towards her just to get him flustered, she knew deep down that they were in no way not reciprocated.
If anything, she had fancied him first, and his fluster is what made her fall in love with him even more.
By the time the holidays rolled in, it was no secret that Harry would be attending the Yule Ball with Daphne. The previous years following up to the festive event has only seen them grow closer, and people had started to wonder when they would finally get together as a couple.
Standing at the entrance to the Great Hall, Harry was shifting uncomfortably while making minor adjustments to his dress robes. His back was towards the corridor leading to the Dungeons, and so he had not noticed her entering the foyer. She quickly made her way over to him without bringing too much attention to herself, and once she was close enough, cleared her throat to catch his attention.
"Good evening, Mr. Potter." She greeted, amusement evident in her tone.
The moment he turned around and saw her, his whole face had lit up like a Christmas tree. His blush was intense as he stared at her, eyes wide and jaw on the floor.
Oh she was definitely going to enjoy this night.
She leisurely sauntered over to him and placed a single finger under his chin, lifting his jaw up to close his mouth. "Careful now, wouldn't want any flies getting in there do we?" she smirked, once again reveling in just how much she had an effect on her handsome date.
Moving slightly away, she twirled around once, her gown billowing around her. "Like what you see Harry?" She teasingly asked.
It took him a while to regain his composure, and Daphne couldn't help but giggle at his expense.
"Daph, you- you're…" He was completely and utterly speechless, and Daphne couldn't help but slightly blush at his lack of words.
Giggling, she stepped closer to him and whispered in his ear, "You're quite dashing yourself, Mister Triwizard Champion." She emphasized his title in a sultry voice, and for added effect, blew lightly into his ear. She couldn't help but enjoy herself seeing his blush return as he lightly shuddered under her presence.
Satisfied with the reaction he elicited, she took his arm just as Professor McGonagall called them and the other champions into the Great Hall.
For the rest of the Ball, Daphne took every opportunity to make him squirm.
During dinner he failed to notice some of his food had stuck itself to the corner of his mouth, and she had been quick to jump at the opportunity presented to her.
"Harry, you've got some food on your face." She told him. Before he could do anything about it, however, she quickly shifted in her seat towards him and wiped it off with her finger. As he was about offer her his thanks, she casually popped the tip of her now food-covered finger into her mouth to clean it, making sure to make a light sucking sound before removing the digit from her mouth.
"Delicious, as expected." She said suggestively, a playful smirk making its way onto her face. For added measure she gave him a wink, and couldn't hold herself from lightly giggling as he tried to unsuccessfully return to concentrate on eating, now completely flustered.
As dinner drew to a close, the time came for the Champions to open the dance floor. Harry graciously led his best friend to the dance floor, and placed his hands in the correct positions. A waltz started playing, and the Champions had begun their dance. Daphne had made sure to teach Harry how to dance prior to the Ball, and was impressed her raven-haired partner was able to pick up the movements rather quickly, albeit he still had to look down to his feet every now and again.
Daphne couldn't help but slightly giggle as she watched her best friend focus intently on trying not to step on her feet. Every now and then, she'd purposely put her foot in a slightly different position, making him step on her toes and causing him to slightly flush in embarrassment, before mumbling his apologies.
"Don't worry Harry, you're doing a fantastic job." She reassured him, and he had visibly relaxed a bit as he let out a shaky breath. Daphne could care less how many times he stepped on her feet; as long as she could catch a glimpse of his faint rosy cheeks every time he did so, she was perfectly fine with it.
They continued to dance until other couples started joining the dance floor, and Harry took it as his cue to stop dancing.
Daphne, however, had something else in mind. She quickly took hold of his hands once they moved away from holding her, and put them back on her body.
"Let's dance a little more, please?" She quietly asked him, and he hesitantly acquiesced.
Swaying together once more to the music in the middle of the Great Hall, Daphne couldn't help but enjoy herself. She looked up to his gorgeous emerald eyes, and immediately got lost in them. She thought about how their friendship had started in the train, how she'd endeavored to keep in touch with him just because of her childish crush towards him. She remembered how it grew to be something more as they spent more time together, how she grew to loved his gorgeous green eyes in their second year, how she'd gone to all of his quidditch matches to support him, and most especially, all the times she'd made him flustered and how she just found him so irresistible every time. She was in love with him, there's no denying it. It was at this moment that she decided she would finally do something about it.
And she knew exactly how to do it.
"Daph, are you all right?" he inquired, concern evident in his voice.
"I'm feeling fantastic, actually. Why do you ask?" She playfully asked him. Oh she was going to enjoy every second of this.
"You were just staring at me, so I thought something was wrong."
"Oh. No, nothing is wrong, I guess I was just thinking is all." Hook.
A flash of relief crossed his face as he chuckled slightly. "That must have been some pretty intense thinking."
"I guess you could say that." Line.
His relief was then immediately replaced with one of curiosity. "What were you thinking about?"
Sinker.
"Oh, you know…" She looked away, feigning shyness, before looking deep into his eyes, a playful smirk immediately finding its way onto her face.
"How beautiful our future children will be."
And before he could even finish registering what she'd just said, she closed her eyes and immediately closed the gap between them, pushing her lips to his.
Almost immediately, she felt as if time came to a complete stop, and that everyone in the world had magically disappeared, with only the two of them existing. Her brain was moving at the speed of light, as her mind quickly came to the conclusion of just how amazing it felt kissing him.
Breaking away from their kiss, she found that his face was brilliantly lit up, to the point where his blush had reached his ears.
She couldn't help but start giggling, before moving to rest her forehead against his.
"I love you Harry." She finally said to him.
Still blushing, he smiled a brilliant smile, and couldn't help but look into her eyes as he said the words he'd wanted to say to her since the beginning of their third year.
"And I love you, Daphne." He said.
She couldn't help but feel elated and whole, as her favorite blush remained present on his handsome face for the rest of the night.
AN: Apologies for any grammatical errors, and thank you for reading.