Written for:

Hogwarts: Secret Santa
Written for Lyrrie (Herochick007)
Pairings: a Christmassy Draco/Ginny and Harry/Daphne

Ruined Plans

Ginny stared at the mistletoe with a happy smile on her face.

"Please, tell me you're not hanging that up," Draco groaned.

Ginny glared at her fiancée. "Why not? It's the one tradition that wizards and muggles have in common, and since pure-bloods, half-bloods, and muggle-borns will all be attending our Christmas party, it would be nice if there's something that's recognizable to everyone."

The explanation seemed perfectly logical, and if it came from anyone else, Draco might believe it, but he saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Yeah right. What's the real reason you want to hang it up?"

Ginny grinned impishly. "You know me so well."

"I do," Draco agreed. "So who are you trying to play matchmaker with?"

"We have two friends who always talk to each other at never got together. One friend thinks the guy is too good for her. And the other friend is hopelessly shy when it comes to talking to a girl he likes and never makes the first move. I'm hoping a little mistletoe could help move things along. Is that so wrong?"

Draco rolled his eyes. Now he knew which friends she was trying to get together. "Gin, if Harry and Daphne want to get together, they'll get together on their own. They don't need your help."

"Oh yes, they do," she argued, nodding her head emphatically. "You know Harry. I love him to death, but he's horrible when he likes a girl. I remember how he acted around Cho. And even Luna, who is one of the easiest going girls there are. He needs help. As for Daphne, I've caught her staring at Harry. I asked her what she was waiting for, and her words were 'he'll never like me.' She practically admitted to liking him, but she won't do anything about it. They need my help."

"And what if you're wrong about them? What if they start dating, and it goes badly, and they can't even be friends afterward because of it? That will be your fault. If they're going to get together, let them do it naturally, so if they break up, they don't blame you. Stay out of it."

Ginny placed the mistletoe on the nearby table. "I can't."

"Gin, I know you still feel guilty about breaking Harry's heart when we first got together, but you can't keep beating yourself up over it. However it happened, we fell in love, and Harry never said one bad word about it when we got together, despite the fact that he had told you a week before that he wanted the two of you to try again."

"I know," Ginny whispered. "And he was so great about it. Even when Ron called me a cheating slut, Harry stood up for me and told Ron to shove it, defended my honor by saying that we weren't together anymore and I had every right to be with Draco if that was who I wanted. And when Ron called me a traitor, sleeping with the enemy, Harry actually punched him, and still, they haven't talked, in almost a year. That's why I need to do this. Harry has been so loyal to me, and he deserves happiness. He deserves someone that will love him for him and not just use him for fame. He deserves someone that will respect him and be his equal, someone that will push him, but also know when to back down, and just be his ally. Someone that he can depend on. Someone that won't run away if things get hard."

Draco wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist, rubbing her stomach through her dark green long-sleeved shirt. "And you think that person is Daphne?"

Ginny nodded. "I do, but Harry will never make a move. He doesn't think he's worthy of normality and love. And Daphne thinks Harry is too good for her. Too brave and too golden. This can be their chance, and if I have to meddle to make it happen, I will meddle."

Draco brushed her long red hair aside and pressed a soft kiss the column of neck exposed. "If it blows up in your face, I deserve the right to say, 'I told you so.'"

"Deal," Ginny said, her mind whirling with possibilities.

X

Harry noticed right away when she walked into the room. Her very presence seemed to command attention. His heartbeat picked up speed. She looked so pretty tonight. Her long auburn hair was tied into a loose braid. It wasn't the typical elegant hairstyle most pure-blood witches favored, but that was why Harry liked it so much. She seemed to break out of the mold. Her pale blue eyes seemed to sparkle as her gaze perused the room. And when she saw him, she stopped and stared at him, her head tilted to the side.

He took a deep breath, steadying his ever-growing nerves before he walked over to her. "Hello, Daphne."

Daphne nodded slightly, her lips quirked in a small, but somehow, indifferent smile. "Harry. Are you having fun?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess. I'm not one for parties of course, but at least there are no cameras."

Daphne laughed slightly. "Well, yes, Draco sure has matured. If it was five years ago, there would have been at least one camera. Ginny has been good for him; she seems to have humbled him." She seemed to think about it for a moment before she shook her head. "Well, maybe humbled isn't a good word for Draco, but he definitely isn't as much of an egotistical jerk that he was in Hogwarts."

Harry remembered some of Ginny's insults and chuckled. "Yes, Ginny has a cutthroat tongue, and I'm sure it stabbed at Draco's ego more than once, before and after they got together."

Daphne smiled. "So, are you here with anyone, or are you by yourself, like usual?"

"By myself. Hermione said she'd come with me, but I know Severus was planning a romantic night for the two of them, and I didn't want to get in the way." Harry shook his head. He still found it hard to believe that he was being considerate, and was almost friends, with Severus Snape, one of the most hated professors in Hogwarts. Times sure had changed.

"I didn't mean if you came with a friend. I was talking about a romantic partner."

Harry blushed, averting his eyes. He knew who he wanted to ask, but he couldn't exactly admit it to his object of affection. Why was she even asking? Did she care? Or was it simple curiosity. Women were so perplexing! "No, not here with anyone."

"Oh, I'm not either. I almost came with Theo, but…"

Harry stared at her with she trailed off. Everyone knew that Theo Nott wanted Daphne, and he had been trying to win her over. Had he finally succeeded? "And?" he prodded, his heart in his throat at the thought of losing her before he even had her.

"And I decided it would be too cruel. I mean, I like Theo. He's my friend, but that's all I see him as. And I know how he feels. If I came to the party with him, it would be leading him on, and I can't do that to him even though I don't want to be here alone."

"Oh," Harry nodded. "That's nice. He might be hurt now, but I think it would hurt a lot more if he got his hopes up and then they came crashing down around him." He paused, staring at her. Her eyes seemed to look anywhere but him. "So, you told me who you didn't come with and why, but is there someone you wanted to come with?"

Daphne looked at him. "Yeah, there was, but he hasn't asked me out, and I don't have Gryffindor courage to make the first move." Her gaze was penetrating, as if she was looking into his very soul, urging him to see something.

Harry blinked, trying to understand what she was saying without actually saying it. His stomach was in knots, and his brain was working overdrive. He gulped and decided to take a bit of a chance. "Really? Because I really like this girl. I went to school with her for six years, but we never spoke two words to each other because we were in different houses. And unlike some of her other housemates, she didn't go out of her way to make me angry or suspicious. In fact, we never spoke until after the war when my ex-girlfriend and her sister's ex-boyfriend started dating. She's beautiful, smart, loyal, and I know she's funny when she's relaxed. She's pretty awesome actually."

Daphne blushed. "Really? Then why haven't you told this girl that you like her? You're the big, brave Gryffindor, aren't you?"

"I can face Voldemort, but put me in front of a girl I like, and I run for the hills. I know it's kind of pathetic."

Daphne took his hand. "I don't think it's pathetic. I actually think it's kind of cute."

"Just want I want to be. Cute."

She stepped closer. "There are worse things to be than cute."

Harry's gaze drifted down to her lips, almost memorized by how they glistened with whatever lip gloss she put on them. "Yeah, worse things to be," he muttered, his eyes riveted as her tongue came out to swipe against her bottom lip in nervousness.

"So, how about we both find a little bravery and go after who we want?"

Harry's eyes went up to her eyes, and there was a look of utmost seriousness in her gaze. "Yeah, it's time to find my inner lion, like Hermione and Ginny, would say."

"And maybe I have an inner lion that I can find, despite my house."

Harry bent his head, his moving closer to her as her eyes fluttered closed in anticipation.

X

Ginny's arms were crossed over her chest, her foot tapping a ferocious pace as she glared at the newly minted couple kissing near the entryway.

Draco looked from Ginny to the pair that was lost in their own world. "Uh, what's wrong?"

"Their kissing," she hissed, her lips curled into a snarl.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Draco carefully asked, very much aware that Ginny might lash out at him if he didn't tread carefully. "I mean, you wanted to get them together."

"Exactly. I wanted to get them together. I had it all planned out. How I was going to get them under the mistletoe and everything! And they go and get together by themselves! How fair is that!" she screamed, uncaring of the partygoers that were looking at her as if she was a lunatic. "All my plans! Ruined!"

Draco bit his bottom lip. He knew if he laughed, Ginny might skin him alive. He noticed Theo looking at Daphne and Harry with sadness. And then he noticed Luna watching Theo in interest. He nudged Ginny, silently apologizing to the Slytherin and Ravenclaw that he was about to unleash Ginny on.

"What?" Ginny asked, a dangerous lift to her voice.

"Look." He pointed at Theo, and then he pointed at Luna. "I think they could use your matchmaking expertise."

And suddenly, Ginny was all smiles again. "You're a genius."

Draco sighed and massaged the back of his neck as Ginny almost skipped over to Luna. He had a feeling being married to Ginny was going to give him whiplash when it came to keeping up with her emotions.

(word count: 1,924)