Muggle Days

Pinegrew Manor – 31st of July

He had been awake for more than an hour – reading. Yes, reading, voluntarily, and even with pleasure. Hermione would certainly faint should he tell her about it. Harry smiled as he thought about his best friend. Ron would always be his 'best mate', the boy he loved to spend time with, speak about Quidditch, girls and doing all those boyish things. But it was Hermione he thought about most often. How she had been his most loyal friend, always eager to help with homework, adventures, or simply to stop him from brooding or allow him forget a nightmare. She was the sister he never had and he was her little brother – her sometimes annoying little brother, he grinned.

In a few minutes he would leave his room and go down for breakfast. He had been at Pinegrew Manor for two weeks now, and these days already represented the best holydays he ever had, irrespective of …

His relationship with Daphne hadn't improved very much. She still hated him, or at least seemed to feel annoyed to have him around. That she spent time with him was only thanks to Roxanne and her pouting. Harry cackled – he couldn't help it. He had never expected to see a full-grown woman able to pout like that. And it broke any resistance Daphne was able to muster. She groaned, she growled, but in the end she complied with her mother's wishes.

The days had followed the same schedule so far: breakfast together at eight, thereafter four hours of intensive learning, partially with Roxanne but mostly alone. At 1 PM they had lunch and woe betide you if you weren't in time with clean hands at the table. At least he was allowed to sit at the table with the rest of family and not somewhere apart like it had been with the Dursleys. And the meals were absolutely delicious. The afternoon they spent in Muggle London, and it was these hours that Harry would always remember the most later.

Going to Harrods, Roxanne had kept her word and restrained from buying overdressed clothes. Instead they went for jeans, t-shirts and a number of practical shoes inclusive two pairs of boots for winter time. It had been the first time he saw Daphne in some of those Muggle clothes and he had struggled not to ogle her too openly, not being very successful in it and certainly lowering her opinion about him another step. It wasn't only with him at least. She really didn't seem to like ogling. Why did she have to be so damned beautiful? Last year he had started to have a little crush on Cho Chang, the Asian Ravenclaw seeker. She was one year older than Harry and certainly very attractive. But Daphne… Harry sighed.

When Roxanne learned that Harry was more or less clueless about London – the Dursleys had seldom gone there and he had never been part of those trips – she decided to correct this 'terrific culture lap'. Since then they had visited the Tower, gone by Buckingham Palace and Downing Street and even toured the wax museum of Madam Tussauds. There he experienced a completely different side of Daphne. Obviously it hadn't been her first visit to London, and equally obviously she liked to harass someone with her knowledge. And Harry proved to be a patient victim to her babbling, causing more than one happy but hidden smile on Roxanne's lips.

Like her way of studying, this babbling, this urge to shout her knowledge with a speed of one hundreds mile an hour, was something that reminded him intensively of Hermione. Harry had spent more than one hour comparing both girls. He was quite sure that Daphne wasn't en par with Hermione in pure intellect – but who was? But they shared this habit of structured working and losing themselves in books. And the plans – Harry had blinked unbelieving several times as he noticed the multi-colored working plans Daphne had created for her lessons. He had examined – under the confused stare of Daphne – the plans until he was sure that the words weren't written in Hermione's handwriting.

Daphne never spoke about her marks in Hogwarts aside from a 'they were adequate' but from what he saw he expected her to be an overall 'E' student at least with some 'O' thrown within. He had to ask Hermione. Certainly she would know. In their common lessons she always behaved like she would expect him not to be a very clever student – with reason he had to admit – and made quite a show of her astonishment if he was able to grasp something quickly. But she had always been willing to help and patiently explain, and Harry was quite certain that after these weeks he was prepared for the next year better than ever before. It still wasn't like he would like it to be, but there were moments he felt improvement. He still had hope.

.

The clock stroke eight and Harry left his place leaving the book behind on the table and went down. He heard Roxanne and Daphne speaking with another woman. He knew that Astoria wouldn't be there, spending the rest of the summer break with the Malfoys. When he had asked whether she was Draco's girlfriend, Daphne had answered along the line and a bit vague 'something like that'. Her face had reminded Harry of a very sour lemon.

Thinking about Astoria and Draco, Harry grimaced a bit. He would see them in three weeks again, to his immense grief. Daphne would celebrate her fourteenth birthday with a large garden party and invite all those 'very important people' he hated so much. Since he heard about that 'happy event' Harry thought about asking Roxanne to exempt him from the torture. He would prefer the Burrow to some garden party every day.

Birthday! Today was his own fourteenth birthday – the insight hit him suddenly and he hesitated for a moment. How could he forget? He had written to Hermione and Ron about a delayed party. They wanted to party when he went to the Burrows at the end of the summer break – something he had agreed upon with Roxanne. Harry had seen how reluctantly she thought about his parting in a few weeks. She really liked to have him around – an emotion he shared, as he came to like her in his time at Pinegrew Manor.

As he entered the breakfast room at last, he noticed a woman around sixty and instantly remembered the picture in Daphne's room. He knew from Roxanne that Daphne had created those paintings herself and while she certainly wasn't a Picasso, she clearly had a grasp for those details that made a person recognizable. For a second his eyes went to Balou. The tomcat had conquered the greatest part of the manor and while Roxanne still maintained her opinion to be a 'dog person' he had caught her – and to his astonishment Daphne – quite often fondling the happy tomcat or offering him treats.

"Harry," Roxanne greeted him and waved him at her side. "Let me introduce you to Lady Agatha Pinegrew, my dear mother. Mother, this is my godson Harry Potter."

Harry bowed slightly as he had learned. Roxanne had started to teach him "good behavior" and – yuck! – dancing, uttering her opinion that a young gentleman needed to know those things. Daphne hadn't even tried to suppress her amusement about the connection Harry-gentleman but had helped in the lessons nonetheless.

Now she watched as if Harry was trying to steal something important from her as he exchanged a handshake with Lady Agatha. The lady seemed to be in a surprisingly good shape and her handgrip was quite firm. Her eyes – the same troubling grey her daughter and granddaughter shared – examined him intensely but not unfriendly. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Potter. I hope your stay at Pinegrew Manor has been pleasant so far."

.

Lady Agatha put her napkin on the table and smiled at Harry. "I think now it is time for the presents, don't you think so?" Seeing the shocked face of Harry she continued quite cheerfully: "You didn't really expect we would forget about that? But I hope you forgive us for not singing a birthday song. Singing is a talent our family has never been granted and we don't want to pain your ears with our shrieking voices."

Harry could only nod weakly and stare as Roxanne started to put some presents on the table, an illustrated book about London among them and vouchers for Gladrags Wizardwear and Honeydukes.

Her voice a bit sad Lady Agatha put a picture book on the table. "I never had much contact to your parents but I thought that you would perhaps like to know more about James' mother. Your grandmother Cathryn had been a Ravenclaw like me and …" She brushed away a few tears and opened the book, pointing towards the pictures, explaining, showing, reliving those bygone days. To his surprise his grandmother didn't share his unruly black hair. Instead she had a long curly brown mane and from the pictures he got the impression that she had been quite a hoyden. On more than one picture he saw a younger Agatha, standing at Cathryn's side, linking arms or hugging, smiling. "She had been a very intelligent girl and quite lively. If you want I could tell you about her later." Agatha continued in a whisper: "but some of our adventure stories aren't meant for the ears of my daughter." Harry smiled happily and nodded.

But it was Daphne's present that surprised him the most. He would have expected something Hermione-like, perhaps a lesson planner, quills or a magical alarm clock but the size and form made it quite clear that this package would contain nothing like that. With trembling hands he carefully opened the package and found a sketch block, charcoals and a small book: "Sketching for Dummies". Harry grinned. In addition there was a portfolio with two dozen finished drawings from Daphne. The first one he recognized instantly. He had already adored the aquarelle in Daphne's room belonging to this drawing.

It showed Hermione, sitting in her favorite spot in the library, an old and worn chair near an even more used table, encompassed by books, parchment and paper in front of her and in her hands – Harry stared: Hogwarts a History. Harry had seen her sitting like this hundreds of times and even the expression of her face was correct, this mix of awe and compassion. Slowly and carefully Harry viewed every single sketch. There was one showing the black lake at dawn. Another one caused him to smile: Fred and George Weasley, sitting together, planning their next prank. Luna, sitting at Ginny's sickbed – he remembered quite well that moment at the end of the second year. Minerva, jumping from her pedestal as a cat, transforming in the air to land gracefully as a full-grown woman. But especially interesting was the one about the Patil twins. It showed a single girl with two sides fused into one person. Easy he was able to tell which half was meant to be the more airheaded Parvati and which showed the more serious Padma.

He was utterly speechless and only startled as Daphne asked with a hint of sorrow in her voice: "You don't like it?"

Very carefully – like he feared to break it – Harry put the portfolio down and answered with a raspy voice: "It is … wonderful. The best birthday present I ever got." Daphne relaxed a bit only to stiffen as Harry suddenly hugged her heartily. "Thank you, Daphne, thank you so much."

"You're welcome," she said a bit constrained. "But could you please … I can't breathe."

Instantly he released her and stepped back, his face blushing even more than Daphne's. "Sorry."

.

"And where are we going now?" Harry asked not the first time, the answer no more helping than before. "You'll see."

After planning a birthday picnic for the afternoon and a light trip on the Thames in the evening they had left Pinegrew Manor. Now they sat in Roxanne's Bentley again, crossing Surrey and Harry only knew that 'it was time for a family tradition'. He had no idea about the destination and Agatha's questions about his fondness of flying didn't help much. At last they stopped on something looking like a Western Ranch. Harry nearly expected Ben Cartwright to greet them as they went to the largest building.

Just before they entered Roxanne stopped them. "Mother, we nearly forgot something." She pointed towards Harry's pants and shoes. Agatha's smile and Daphne's grin didn't much to soothe Harry, especially as Roxanne started to cast spells in his direction. Looking down he saw his pants changed into something weird with leather on the inside and the outside a bit stand-away. Instead of simple shoes he now wore knee-high boots crafted from soft leather.

A sound startled him, something he hadn't heard before and he needed some moments to realize that it was the sound of Daphne's laughter. It was the first time she really laughed – not smirked, sneered or something like that, but really laughed heartily and quite friendly to add. Harry realized that he liked that sound much more than her usual reactions.

.

Harry was dozing in the Bentley as they reached Pinegrew Manor deep in the night. He still felt his thighs ache. Despite Roxanne being able to exchange the thoroughbred stallion Daphne had chosen for him into a much calmer mare and going easy on his first riding lesson, Harry had been relieved as Lady Agatha had announced that it was time for the picnic. Overlooking the hills and orchards of Surrey they had spent more than an hour at that place, enjoying all the delicacies Ciddy had prepared for them.

Agatha had told of her in-law Ana, born in Toledo, Spain, and married to her nephew. From her telling Ana had always been a very stubborn woman and unwilling to comply with all those things that were expected from a 'fine young lady'. Instead she brought some traditions to the Pinegrew family that at least the women of the family liked to follow. Riding horses was one of those traditions. Harry wasn't sure about his fondness of riding, but he had to admit that all three Pinegrew women cut a fine figure on horseback. That he had the back of Daphne up and down the whole time while they rode at a trot clear in sight didn't help to ease the experience or to concentrate on the task at hand.

Later, as promised, they went to the Thames and enjoyed the sight of London at dusk, the sun slowly setting and one by one lights being turned on. He already was more than a bit sleepy – contrary to Lady Agatha who seemed to really relish the day – as they reached the pier again.

Weary he opened his eyes as the Bentley stopped and Daphne – not very gently – shook his shoulder. Yawning he left the car and slowly followed the family. As he entered the house he nearly missed the words of Ciddy as she greeted Roxanne: "You have a guest, milady. He has been waiting for you for quite some time."

The door to the library was open and Harry paled as he saw Headmaster Dumbledore waiting there, his normally twinkling eyes exchanged for a very angry expression. On a sign of a suddenly very tense Roxanne, Lady Agatha ushered Harry and Daphne to the stairs.

How much would he like to hear what they had to say to each other? While he ascended the stairs Roxanne closed the door behind her, shutting him out. It would only be another moment someone was eager to make a decision about him without asking him first. Would Dumbledore allow him to stay here? Would he send him back to the Dursleys? With a start Harry realized that he didn't want to go back, that he wanted to stay here … with Roxanne, with Agatha … and with Daphne.