Chapter Text
Now there's a woman who'd make a great wife, Harry thought, glancing idly at Daphne Greengrass.
She was tall, attractive, and single. She carried herself regally, was intelligent in a quiet sort of way, and had impeccable manners. She'd already been notable at Hogwarts, but in the few years since, had blossomed into a veritable beauty.
Harry was quite the eligible bachelor himself, but his busy work schedule kept him serially single, and the recent chain of marriages between several of his friends kept him serially desperate. He wanted to settle down himself one day, but he knew for now that was an impossibility.
He sighed and returned his attention to the workplace gift exchange event.
"Next up is…Christopher Leeman!"
His boss, the head of the DMLE, waved the little piece of parchment he had just drawn from a Santa hat around in the air, and the young auror walked up to fetch his gift. There was a table full of them, and Christopher selected one of the larger ones.
"I'll take this one!" he declared.
Everyone urged him to open it in front of them, curious what was in such a large box, and he carefully transferred the heavy package from the table to the floor. He ripped the wrapping paper off, and a professional set of quidditch balls was revealed.
There was a curious murmur around the room – it was a nice gift, but one that was realistically a little too expensive for a casual workplace gift exchange.
"Ah…" The head of the DMLE scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "And who's this one from?"
From the back of the room, Daphne Greengrass raised her hand.
"It's mine, sir."
"And…you're okay with giving this away?"
"Of course, sir. That's why I bought it."
The man stared at her for only a second longer before putting his hands together and smiling.
"Well, I guess it's your lucky day, eh?" he said, slapping Christopher gently on the back. The auror nodded enthusiastically and shot Daphne both a blush and a grateful smile. He played in an amateur quidditch league, and the gift likely couldn't have gone to a better person. Christopher magically shrunk the case of balls and brought it back with him to his seat, still shooting Daphne furtive glances.
Meanwhile, the head of the DMLE started fishing around in the hat again. He smiled as he read the next name from the parchment.
"What luck!" he said. "Next up is Daphne Greengrass!"
Everyone clapped cordially as the young woman stood from her seat and approached the table of gifts. She wasn't an auror, but worked in another department of the DMLE that Harry wasn't too familiar with. He'd seen her around the office occasionally, but wasn't sure exactly what she did.
"On the back of the gift you just gave, let's hope you get something good yourself, eh?"
Daphne nodded politely to the boss and approached the table. She scouted around for a second before selecting the smallest box she could find, which Harry immediately recognized as his own. He had completely forgotten about this event until the last minute, and had incidentally asked Kreacher to find him an appropriate gift only a few hours ago. He was rather disappointed by how small the package ended up being, but hadn't had time to go find another. He just hoped whatever it was didn't make Harry seem like a miser.
"Are you sure that's the one you want?"
Daphne nodded again. "My apartment is quite small, after all."
There were a few laughs from around the room even though she didn't seem to be joking, and she daintily undid the ribbon on the tiny box. Everyone awaited the reveal with bated breath, wondering both what was in such a minuscule package and what the girl would get in return for her generous gift.
Daphne froze as she peered inside.
"What is it?" someone called from the back of the room. "I can't see!"
Slowly, Daphne reached into the box and pulled a small object out.
"It's an engagement ring," she said, and the beautiful diamond atop it sparkled in the dim light of the room.
Immediately, several men and women started squealing in delight. Many people glanced around suspiciously, including the head, until eventually he seemed to catch on and spoke up with a sly smile.
"And who's this gift from?" he asked.
Harry was deeply ashamed that he had been the cause of this little disturbance, but he also didn't want the blame to fall on anyone else. It would be awkward, but he was sure everyone would understand if he explained it was just an inappropriate prank from his old house elf.
"That's mine, sir," he said, standing from his seat.
Daphne's eyes widened as she turned to look at Harry, and there was suddenly a lot more squealing. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and Harry realized he might have chosen the wrong words to speak first.
"I…I don't know what to say," Daphne murmured, looking between Harry and the ring. The room was quiet with anticipation, and every single eye was on them.
"You don't have to say anything." Harry's palms were starting to sweat as he wondered where to begin. "Um, the thing is…"
"Yes."
Harry blinked, and so did everyone else in the room.
"What?"
"Yes," Daphne repeated. "I do."
Harry blinked again. Surely he was mishearing her.
"You what?"
"I'll marry you."
For a brief, happy moment, Harry thought she was joking. But her eyes were set and determined, and her conviction was clear as she placed the ring on her finger.
The room suddenly burst into thunderous applause, cheers, hoots and hollers as Daphne raised her bejeweled hand into the air. Several girls rushed up to her to offer their congratulations, and Harry heard several directed at himself as well. His stomach slowly sank as he realized what a few seconds of hesitation had just cost him.
"Good on you, lad," an older auror said from behind him, giving him a slap on the back. "But what were you going to do if the lass picked a different box?"
An alternate reality flashed past Harry's eyes. One where Christopher had picked the smallest box instead of the largest one. Would that have been better, or worse? He wasn't sure.
"I don't know…" he admitted honestly.
At the end of several tumultuous minutes in which both Harry and Daphne were separately congratulated by everyone in the room, the girl was finally free to return her gaze to Harry. Her cheeks reddened again, and she walked gracefully over towards him.
"Good evening, Harry," she said.
"Er…hi."
A part of him was still desperately clinging onto the hope that she was joking. They had never exchanged more than a sentence between them, and hardly knew anything about each other except for their names. His apparent 'proposal' was no more than her coincidentally opening a box which literally anyone at the party could have picked. He wasn't sure in what world that sequence of events could've caused such a colossal misunderstanding, but he supposed he was living in it.
"Listen, Daphne…" he began. He needed to tell her the truth before this situation got any messier. "I-"
"I never thought anyone would be willing to love me," she said, her eyes open and honest. "I know we don't know each other too well yet, but I'm looking forward to getting to know you throughout the rest of my life. I know you'll treat me well, and I promise to extend the same kindness towards you."
"Er…right."
The girl was dead serious, and Harry knew this was his last opportunity to jump ship; possibly forever.
"Are you okay, Harry? Your face is getting red."
On the other hand, she really was quite pretty from up close.
"I'm fine," he replied. "Just…thinking."
As he thought about it, Harry realized he had been lamenting his lack of a wife – and Daphne's suitability for such a position – only minutes before. Maybe this disaster was actually an opportunity? The girl was pretty, kind, and intelligent. More importantly, she actually seemed to like him. What more could he possibly want?
"Thinking about what?" she asked.
Harry made his decision and stood.
"Thinking about all the possibilities of our future together,” he said. “Are you free tonight so we can discuss them?"
The girl's eyes widened, and her smile slowly grew to match it. It was a radiant thing to witness, and Harry felt his hesitations about marrying a girl he hardly knew melt away.
"Yes!" she replied excitedly. "I can't wait!" A moment later, she blinked and cast another glance at the gift table. "Oh. But you haven't gotten your present yet..."
Harry signalled to his boss that he was going to leave early, and the man nodded knowingly. He smiled at Harry and gave him a discreet thumbs up.
"I think I already got mine," Harry replied.