Christmas day starts bright and early in Gryffindor tower; the 4th year dorms filled with excitable chatter from an ungodly hour driven by Ron.
"Harry, get up presents!" Ron calls, throwing a pillow in the general direction of Harry's bed.
"Merlin can you shut up?" Seamus groans, burying himself further into his bed. His answer received in the form of a pillow to the head from Ron. "Alright, bloody hell Ron."
Harry sits up wiping the sleep from his eyes, the blurry pile at the foot of his bed immediately drawing his attention. A particular present wrapped in a familiar sky-blue starkly standing out from the rest.
"Morning Ron, how early is it this year?" Harry asks as he reaches for his glasses and slides them onto his face.
"It's almost eight, far too late if you ask me."
"Good thing we're not asking you isn't it?" Dean says as he opens his eyes, with Neville supplying an irritated grunt at being woken up so early before copping a ball of wrapping paper to the head.
"Oi! Harry who's the blue one from?" Ron asks upon seeing Harry staring at the package in his hands.
"Yeah Harry, is that one from your secret ball partner?" Seamus adds prompting Harry to hurriedly place the package in his trunk and leave to take a shower, a light red tinge smattering his cheeks. The erupting laughter from his dorm mates follows him into the bathroom.
"How is Daphne?" Ron calls through the door.
"Greengrass? Blimey, Harry! A Slytherin?" Seamus asks as Harry emits a drawn-out groan and drops his head against the mirror.
"Now really, how unnecessary," the mirror admonishes.
"Oh Daphne," Tracey calls in a sing-song voice.
"It's not even eight Tracey let me sleep," Daphne mumbles in response, her voice muffled by her pillow.
"Now now dearest, I wonder who this is from?" Tracey asks waving a red parcel around. "Red wrapping paper, indecipherable handwriting…ahhh…the one and only Mr. Potter," Tracey whispers directly into Daphne's ear.
"Give me that!" Daphne shouts as her head shoots up resulting in a tangled mess of blankets and limbs falling to the floor with a thump.
"I'm not giving in that easy!" Tracey retorts, cackling as Daphne scrambles to untangle herself on the floor, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Shut up you two, none of us want to hear you going on at eight in the morning," Pansy says from her bed on the other side of the dorm.
"We listen to you go on and on about dearest Draco so suck it up," Tracey returns over her shoulder. "Oh look at you -" Tracey gasps as Daphne finally untangles herself and sits up against her bed "- I've never seen you blush more! I need a camera."
"You will do no such thing, now give me that," Daphne growls, thrusting her hand out towards Tracey.
"Oh what a scene," Astoria says as she glides through the doorway, patting Daphne's head on her way over to Tracey. "Is that Harry's present?"
"HARRY! HARRY POTTER!" Pansy screeches.
"Ohhh shut up," Astoria pleads slamming her hands over her ears.
"Bloody hell," Daphne groans.
Harry sits on his bed that night, bottle green dress-robes on and hair as flat as it'll get. In his hands a sky-blue package still unopened from earlier that day.
"Blimey Harry, look at me!" Ron says, snapping Harry's attention away from the package in his hands towards himself. Draped in lacy dress-robes that wouldn't look out of place on a curtain rod.
"You'll be fine Ron, you don't even have a date it doesn't matter," Harry says returning his attention to the package in his hands, turning it over again and again.
"All good for you to say isn't it? You're going with a Slytherin!" Ron retorts, stomping his way to the bathroom and slamming the door shut.
Harry shakes his head, focusing once again on the loopy script adorning the wrapping paper. Slowly he tears the paper off, revealing the backside of a picture frame. Turning the frame around unveils a picture of Harry and Daphne during one of their numerous practice sessions, twirling around the floor of an abandoned classroom. Harry places the photo in his trunk, gently covering it with a Weasley jumper trying to ignore the flush he's sure is covering his neck.
Casting a quick tempus Harry realises the time and begins to make his way out of the dorms and towards the entrance hall. The familiar stomach twisting sensation he now associates with Daphne returning in full force.
"Daphne, you looked in the mirror five minutes ago! You haven't changed since then, come on we'll be late at this rate," Tracey says, taking Daphne's arm and dragging her out the bathroom.
"I just want it to be -" Daphne begins before being cut off by an excitable Astoria.
"Wow! Who are you and what did you do to Daphne?" Astoria says, raking her eyes over Daphne's navy-blue ball gown, her hair done up in an elaborate french braid and a silver infinity necklace adorning her neck. "Is that what Harry's present was?"
"Yeah -" Daphne says, running her hands over the charm "- its sweet don't you think?"
"Yes yes very sweet Daphne, now come on you don't want to be late for old Harry do you?" Tracey asks taking Daphne's arm again.
"Honestly Tracey, we don't need to be there for another 15 minutes!" Daphne says as Tracey drags her out of the common room.
"Oh I know," Tracey replies grinning widely.
"I hate it when you look at me like that," Daphne grumbles, allowing Tracey to lead her around the final corner before the entrance hall.
"Oh, you're one lucky girl," Tracey sighs upon seeing Harry waiting in the entrance hall.
"Daphne," Harry says as she crosses the hall towards him, ignoring the multitude of curious stares. "You're beautiful."
"You're not too bad yourself," Daphne says, brushing her hands across the shoulders of his robes.
"Oooh very chic Harry, I'll leave you two to it," Tracey says as she turns to leave, grinning widely and ruffling Harry's hair. "She likes it better messy, oh look at Malfoy! This is glorious."
Sure enough the jaw of Draco Malfoy, along with many other's, was currently wide open. The entire hall stunned into silence at the image of Daphne Greengrass on the arm of the Chosen One. At least, until Astoria breaks it.
"Get em' Daphne!" Astoria yells breaking the oppressive silence blanketing the hall causing furious whispers to break out in its stead.
"I do wish she would learn to shut up sometimes," Daphne sighs, turning her attention to Harry. "Are you feeling ok? You look a bit flushed."
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, you really do look beautiful," Harry mumbles, scratching the back of his neck.
"Thank you Ha-" Daphne begins.
"Champions! Champions over here please!" Professor McGonagall calls, drowning out Daphne's reply.
"Guess we should go over," Harry says, weakly gesturing towards Professor McGonagall.
"Alright Mr. Tri-Wizard Champion," Daphne replies, looping her arm through Harry's as they make their way over.
"Mr. Potter, you and Miss Greengrass at the back please," Professor McGonagall says as they approach the other champions already arranged in an orderly line. "When the doors open please proceed through and towards the head table, from there dinner will be served before you will open the ball, any questions? Excellent please remain here until then."
"Harry," the girl on Victor's arm says as she turns around.
"Hermione? Bloody Hell," Harry says, eyes widening as he recognises the girl in the periwinkle-blue gown.
"Those robes look really good on you Harry, you look beautiful as well Daphne," Hermione replies, too excited to admonish Harry's language.
"Thank you Hermione, that dress complements you really well," Daphne replies, any further conversation cut-off by the opening of the doors.
"Here goes nothing," Harry mumbles under his breath as he leads Daphne over the threshold.
The great hall had been completely transformed for the event. The walls made to look like ice with conjured snow falling lightly through the air; a variety of round tables had been set-up in place of the regular house tables adorned with ice white table cloths and golden place settings. The centre piece a large dance floor the champions were currently moving across to thunderous applause, and in Daphne's and Harry's case, pointed fingers and hushed whispers.
Harry releases a sigh upon reaching the sanctity of the head-table, quickly pulling a seat out for Daphne as far from Percy Weasley as possible and across from Dumbledore before taking a seat himself next to Hermione, Victor on her other side across from Fleur and Roger Davies. From his seat Harry has an unobstructed view of the hall, taking note of Ron sitting with Seamus and Dean glaring daggers at an unaware Hermione and Malfoy sitting with Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle glaring daggers at an unconcerned Daphne. Two waving figures catch Harry's attention from the table next to Malfoy, Tracey and Astoria.
"Isn't Astoria too young to be here," Harry whispers, nudging Daphne and nodding his head in their direction.
"Tracey decided to be Astoria's date so she could go once they found out we were going together," Daphne replies with a sigh.
Any further musing on annoying friends and invasive sisters is cut off as Dumbledore, after inspecting his menu, loudly proclaims "Pork chops."
The rest of the hall quickly follows suite and soon Daphne and Harry are occupied with eating their dinner. Harry's leg progressively bouncing faster as the meal wears on. Soon the place settings vanish and Dumbledore motions for the champions to stand, his twinkling eyes lingering on Harry for a second longer then the rest.
"Just imagine we're back in the classroom," Daphne whispers, taking Harry's sweaty hand and placing it on her waist. "You're going to do fine."
A slow waltz begins to play and Harry leads Daphne around the floor, counting under his breath and glancing at his feet every so often.
"Harry, look at my eyes, you'll do much better," Daphne says, drawing Harry's attention away from his feet. "Have I ever told you how wonderful your eyes are?"
"N..no, you haven't," Harry stammers.
"Well I guess this is the first time of many," Daphne replies.
"Many?" Harry asks as the song begins to wind down.
"Later," Daphne replies, forcing Harry to lead her as the next song begins and the dance floor is quickly filled.
Many songs pass with Harry and Daphne still dancing. Daphne not allowing for Harry to leave her side, even as a rather public screaming match begins between Ron and Hermione.
"It's not your responsibility, you're not their parent," Daphne says, looping her arm through Harry's as they leave the dance floor for the first time.
"I can't help it, they're my friends," Harry replies, allowing Daphne to lead him through the crowd towards the door.
"Let's go outside for a bit, I want some air," Daphne says as they pass through the doorway into the garden. Conjured rose bushes twinkle with the light from a thousand fairies, bathing the night in an unearthly glow. Daphne continues to lead Harry through the garden towards a parapet overlooking the Black Lake, sitting down on a worn stone bench.
"Isn't it beautiful Harry?" Daphne asks, looking up at the swirling night sky.
"I've never really looked up," Harry admits following Daphne's gaze.
"I used to think it was the most wonderful thing ever," Daphne says, gently taking Harry's hand.
"Used to?" Harry asks, redirecting his gaze onto Daphne's face. Strands of hair loosened by hours of dancing fluttering in the breeze.
"Yeah, the whole scale of it, kind of incomprehensible. You know that muggles have figured out how big it really is?" Daphne says, continuing to gaze upwards.
"Yeah, my relative are muggles," Harry replies, letting his gaze wonder around the garden.
"Have you heard of the Garden of Eden then?" Daphne asks, meeting Harry's eyes with her own.
"Yeah, I got taught about it at muggle school," Harry replies.
"What did you think of it?" Daphne asks, gently squeezing Harry's hand.
"I don't know, I never really thought about it," Harry replies, squeezing Daphne's hand in turn.
"I think it's a beautiful story," Daphne says. "I heard a poem once, about Eden,
If you were the serpent,
the temptation incarnate.
If you asked the question,
Honeybee, isn't the apple sweet?
I'd eat the apple for you.
Gladly walking the path to hell.
Knowing that, for a brief moment.
I held heaven in my hands.
I'd burn myself on your flame,
cut myself on your page. For
your fiction is realer than real.
Beautiful isn't it?"
"I guess, I've never really been one for poetry," Harry replies.
"I don't think that's the best part of the poem though," Daphne says, returning her attention to the night sky. "I think this is the best part,
The great expanse of space,
beyond human comprehension.
Yet a drop in the ocean,
to the depth of your eyes.
There's just something about eyes." Daphne says, moving her gaze to meet Harry's.
"Is there?" Harry asks.
"Yeah, there is," Daphne says, leaning in and gently meeting Harry's lips with her own.
There are many ways people describe first (or second) kisses, fireworks, firewhiskey, et cetera. But for Daphne, she would liken this one to sailing among the stars surrounded by swirling stardust as old as time itself. In this moment Daphne knew that nothing could compare to this, nothing could compare to Harry. Unknown to Daphne, Harry believes the same. Slowly they pull apart, both releasing a blissful sigh.
"Harry," Daphne says, running her hand along his jaw.
"Daphne," Harry replies, placing his hand over hers. "You are incredible."
"Harry, I want to ask you something. Would you eat the apple for me?"
"For you, I'd do anything."
Author's Note:
The reception for this story has been beyond anything I ever imagined. To have hundreds of people read something I wrote has been an incredible experience and a great motivator for publishing this next chapter so quickly. The poem featured in Daphne's dialogue is actually an excerpt from one I wrote titled 'Eden' inspired partially by the Hozier song 'From Eden', I thought it fit what I was trying to go for so I put it in. I hope to have the final chapter of this story up sooner rather than later but year 12 exam revision is starting to kick into high gear next week so I'll have to see how she goes. Hopefully within the next few weeks this story should be complete. Thank you all for reading it's been a wonderful experience so far writing this first fic after reading many over the last year, I look forward to writing more in the future.