Shit guys. I told myself I wouldn't write this until I was at least 5 more chapters into Crazy Life. However, the idea is festering in my skull and won't go away. So here we are.
I've been a long time consumer of Haphne in the HP fanfic community, with Harry and Fleur being my second favorite. However, I've only seen a few where Daphne is a spoiled pureblood princess. In those, I've had a few gripes with how shit plays out, mostly because my being demisexual means I'm annoyed if she doesn't go meet to feels to romance to sex. If this delicate formula is interrupted, then I don't enjoy them as much.
The basis for Daphne in this fic will be Eri Sawachika from School Rumble, who is (in my opimion) one of the best written female characters in any medium in terms of character complexity and development.
This will essentially be a series of connected one shots, of the fluffy and funny variety. Hope you enjoy. The first is in the first year.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Unlike most authors who just shove an OC down your throat a few chapters in, I gave you the option to skip those chapters, though I don't recommend it, because I think it's an enjoyable read and they'll eventually encounter each other briefly. But whatever. If you don't like it, then don't read it. I write this to make myself happy, and if it makes you happy too, great! If not, then that's out of my hands.
Chapter 1: I don't like you or anything!
Harry Potter didn't often think of himself as anything but a freak. Up until recently, he'd thought he was some sort of unwanted child of two irresponsible adults. Yeah...turns out his relatives were just the worst kind of people. However, the revelation that he was a wizard, in an oddly expositional fashion from the rather large teddy bear of a person named Hagrid, was monumental. No longer was he the boy whose parents were dead nobodies! Now he was the boy whose parents were dead somebodies!
If Harry stopped to really think about it, he might have been slightly concerned by that sort of logic, but who cared?! He was a wizard, baby! As it happened, he was currently shopping in the hub of Diagon Alley for his school supplies. Turns out, wizarding school supplies were very different. For starters, he could pick a pet to bring with him. He figured a snake would be the coolest choice, since he could talk to them and all. Yeah, turns out, that wasn't exactly a common trait in the wizarding world, but since he was apparently something of a celebrity, he was able to get away it. His snake, whom he had dubbed Mr. Slithers, was now wrapped around his shoulders, because Harry was 'sssssuper warm"
And so, Harry and Mr. Slithers next found themselves waiting for robe measurements in Madame Malkin's, a wizarding tailor. However, they were not the only ones. Inside, was a regal looking girl with piercing blue eyes and blonde hair which was tied into two pig tails that clung to the side of her head. She glanced at him, but said nothing.
"I don't like her." Came Mr. Slither's snakey voice.
"Don't be rude, Mr. Slithers. She could be very nice." This caused the girl to squeak in fright, pulling away slightly from him and his snake. She pointed an accusatory finger at him.
"D-Did you just talk to that snake?" She asked shakily, clearly unsure of what to make of this.
"Um, yes I did. His name is Mr. Slithers. He was saying ...nice things about you." She glanced at him suspiciously, clearly not buying it.
"What did he say?" She asked in a dangerous tone, one that hinted at pain should she not like Harry's answer.
"He...said you have really pretty hair," Harry paused, before continuing "I told him I thought your eyes were much more pretty in comparison." The girl flushed beet red at that, and proceeded to huff angrily, before turning her attention on the wall.
"I thank you for the compliment. What is your name?" She asked in a quiet tone minutes later.
"It's...Harry, Harry Potter." He spoke nervously. The girl immediately refocused her gaze on him, mouth slightly agape.
'THIS IS THE BOY MY FAMILY BETROTHED ME TO?!' She wailed to herself internally. She had not been pleased to find out her grandparents had come to an agreement with Harry's about a betrothal contract. Nothing ironclad, but they had wished a healthy bond between their two houses. It had been desired to come into effect after her parent's generation, because Potter's father was supposedly smitten with some muggleborn. However, before her thoughts could continue, she became acutely aware of Harry being in her face.
"Are you okay? You went pale as a ghost for a moment."
"I am fine, it is not trouble! I am Daphne Isabella Greengrass! I am sure your are charmed to finally make my acquaintance." She spoke haughtily, knowing that he would realize how lucky he was to be her betrothed.
"It's nice to meet you, Daphne. I actually only discovered this world a few hours ago. My relatives hate magic, so it's nice to meet somemone my own age here."
Internally, Daphne was perturbed by the fact her betrothed was not kissing the ground she was walking on, or showering her with praise. Surely his relatives were smart enough to suck up to him? He was the heir to a massive fortune after all, and they had to have known about the contract.
Daphne was going to speak, but Madame Malkins chose that moment to reappear with Daphne's clothes, and ushered the girl out of the store. It happened so quickly that Daphne only realized after she'd reunited with her parent's that she hadn't gotten a chance to tell Harry they were to be married.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
4 months later...
Harry was wandering around the castle aimlessly. He'd gotten separated from his new friends Ron and Hermione. He was currently on one of the second floor corridors, idly taking in the sights with Mr. Slithers, who was wrapped around his neck for warmth, as the snake detested being away from 'hissss ssspace heater'. At any rate, if Harry didn't find something to do soon, he was going to have to do homework with Hermione which was not a fun prospect. The castle itself was still chilly from the winter cold, January's icy temperatures still permeating throughout the castle despite the innate warming charms placed throughout the school. As he rounded a corner, he was grabbed from behind and yanked into an empty classroom.
'Welp, this is how I die, I guess.' Harry thought drolly. The door shut behind him, and he heard soft footsteps walk from behind him and into his field of vision. The annoyed visage of Daphne Greengrass stared at him, her blonde hair still in their twintail style, and her look of annoyance slowly shifted into one of haughty indifference. This just made Harry more confused, as he didn't know what he'd done to annoy the somewhat hostile and arrogant girl.
"Um, hello Daphne. What can I do for you today?" He spoke somewhat hesitantly. She could be one of those stalkers he read about in some of Hermione's story books. "You're not going to murder me...right?"
Whatever she expected him to say, that was not it. Her mouth hung agape and her blue eyes widened. "W-What?! No! I needed to talk to you, that's all." She spoke hastily, starting to appear slightly flustered. Harry took a moment to observe the girl. She wore the typical Hogwarts uniform, with the Slytherin colors proudly displayed on her robes, which were impeccably taken care of. All in all, she was a drastic contrast to his own disheveled appearance, with clothes that didn't fit, old glasses, and an untamed mop of black hair.
Daphne coughed, to either cover up her embarrassment at him taking in her appearance, or to regain his attention. Harry shook his head, deciding to humor this...pushy girl.
"Well, you certainly grabbed my attention. What do you need, Daphne?" He asked patiently, though he felt Mr. Slithers idly glance between the two of them for some reason, before the snake decided they were both stupid and went back to sleep. Daphne got flustered at his manner of address.
"S-so forward! I did not give you leave to address me by my first name, Potter!" She stammered out, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Oh. Sorry. My relatives didn't really teach me social do's and don'ts, so I didn't mean to offend you." He apologized quickly, though he wasn't sure why she seemed to be upset.
"I-it is no trouble, Potter. It is not like we were oddly pleased or anything! You may address us as such...if you want..." She spoke emphatically at first, but grew quieter near the end. She was fidgeting, and was she...blushing? This girl was definitely weird, and Harry wasn't sure how to handle her.
"Um...okay...Daphne?" At her nod, Harry continued, "What did you need to talk to me about?"
At this, Daphne's face got redder, and the fidgeting intensified.
"W-well, as you know, our grandparents drew up a contract for us before we were even born, so I was wondering how you wished to proceed."
Harry's confusion doubled, "Contract for what?"
"M-Marriage, you fool! We are betrothed!" Daphne's face went from pretty red to nuclear as she said it, though whether it was from anger or embarrassment was unclear. Her statement was what got Harry's attention though. In fact, she derailed his entire thought process pretty effectively.
"We're...to be married? And I'm assuming that you don't wish to be?" He asked without giving her a chance to really interject, "Okay, that's fine. I wouldn't want to be engaged to me either. You're a pretty girl, and I'm boring old me. So I'm assuming you and your family want to call it off?"
Daphne opened her mouth to say something, but paused. Surely Harry would not pass over being betrothed to someone of her station so easily right? Was he making fun of her?! She would show him!
"You think to make fun of me!? Do you think you are better than us, Potter?!" She spoke angrily at him, much to his confusion.
"Um, no? I just realize you probably come from royalty or something, and we're only betrothed because I somehow destroyed a dark lord as a baby, which is why you hate me. I'm sure you'd rather fall in love with someone worthy of your station right?"
Daphne was once more given pause. Okay, he clearly wasn't making fun of her. But she did not understand why he was so adamant that he was unworthy. Did he not realize he was practically royalty himself!
"W-we hate you for different reasons! Do not presume to know our thoughts!" She stammered out, before she coughed to regain her composure. "I suppose I could do worse, though." Harry was now just confused.
"Why would you want to stay betrothed if you hate me?"
"That's- We-!" Before she could convey her thoughts, the chime rang through the corridors alerting students that it was time for the next class period. Harry looked at her, and gave a rather apologetic smile.
"We can talk this over more later okay?" He paused, weighing his next words carefully so as not to offend the girl. "If you want, after we discuss it more I will write to Gringott's to dissolve the contract. See you later!"
Before Daphne could say anything else, he had run off. Without her giving him leave to do so!
"Grrr...I'll show you, Potter! You shall beg for my hand in marriage before this is done!"
To be continued...
So this is a little side project. I may be spreading myself thin, but I became a huge fan of how Yojimbro told his amusing romance stories for the Naruto fandom, so I wanted to try my hand at one for one of my favorite pairings ever. If you liked the style of romcom, check out his stuff! They're as fluffy as they are amusing. The format will mostly be oneshots with slight deviations from canon set in each year per chatper. That's about it. Until next time guys! Raizen out.