Chapter 7: Learning and Understanding Part II


Disclaimer:I do not own the source material from which I have derived this story. Much like when I was young and built tall structures with Legos, I did not own the company, but I did enjoy making things from their building blocks.

Author's Note: This will be a short A/N. For everyone who has been taking the time to give me helpful comments, review, and PM's thank you.

For those who have questioned whether the naming of the goblins in this story is biased towards them, how about you actually let me get to involving them more and explaining their history and culture before you start giving me a lecture.

Specific flashbacks will be in Italics.

5/2018: Chapter edited for content.


Chapter 7: Learning and Understanding II

Part 1: Harry in Thought

August 21, 1994 Late evening, Greengrass Home, Visiting Lord's Quarters

Harry was sat on his bed in the Visiting Lord's Quarters of the Greengrass family home. He had taken the last few hours of his day to try and relax before the Will reading he had asked to be set for the following day.

His week inside the Greengrass home had been interesting to say the least. He had learned a good amount about the Noble Families, The Nation of Gringotts and its People, the Granger and Greengrass families, and, most surprisingly, himself. And while it had been good, he had also been discouraged by the fact that his wand still refused to respond to him anymore.

Monday had been odd for him, of course, after his behavior the day before. Both his blow up at Helen and Sera, then his reaction after Helen pointed out his scar was so faded.

Hermione, in particular, had been very questioning when he had met her and Daphne in the library before breakfast. In hindsight he should have expected that Hermione would eventually work out that he had been rather odd during their little lesson about the Wizarding Noble system on Sunday; not to mention after he had seen them in his euphoric state of giddiness. Though he did not tell her about the scar, he was not sure then, but he may have wanted that to be the surprise it had eventually been for his best friend.

She had also sussed out that something had happened between him and her and Daphne's mother by the way the two witches had looked when they had passed them on the way to the shared quarters of Daphne and Astoria. That had, of course, led to him explaining the entire situation to the two, and profusely apologizing to the girls for his actions towards their families.

Daphne had been the first one to laugh at his hurried apology for his actions. She had immediately followed it up with the statement that she had expected the combined attention from the mother's was grating his nerves. She had then explained that as long as her mother had seen no need to be angry with him, she certainly could not hold it against him for being honest about how he had felt.

Hermione had offered her own sentiments which mirrored Daphne's with the exception that she had wished Harry would have said something to her.

After breakfast that morning, which had been the first he allowed himself to enjoy fully, he had found himself on another walk with Cyrus and Richard. The talk that day had been on explaining the proper etiquette in regards to addressing the People during any meeting Harry would be attending in the future. Cyrus had, of course, said it would take practice for Harry to understand everything, but made sure to quiz him throughout the week. "This will be your first real introduction to the actual members of the People you will deal with possibly. First impressions mean a great deal to them." He had said.

The rest of his Monday had been spent in the study of his quarters with Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, Crookshanks and Hedwig keeping him company as he read more into the genealogy of his family tree. He had unfortunately found out that he was related to Draco, but was extremely ecstatic that Sirius was actually his cousin as well. His own Grandmother had been Sirius' great aunt! His action of hopping up from the comfortable desk chair had led him to being sprawled out on the equally comfortable rug grasping his side in pain; which then led to him being hovered over for the rest of the afternoon by both mothers and their daughters. Of course his nightly potion had thankfully helped relieve him of the immediate throbbing for a peaceful night.

Tuesday had left him a bit flustered as well given the amount of time he spent with Hermione and Daphne leaning closely over his shoulder as they pointed out sections of importance in the introductory text of the Study of Ancient Runes. He had simply asked them to explain the very basics of the subject for him to understand the project they had spent part of the early morning bickering over. The next instant Daphne had placed her hand on his shoulder while Hermione had slid the aforementioned text in front of him. In truth Harry had actually liked the way the two had described the underlying theory behind the uses of runes; especially the usefulness of them on brooms such as his Firebolt. But he also had to deal with the very uncomfortable surge in his pulse whenever Hermione leaned over enough to come in contact with his upper back; Daphne had either been more conscientious of her movements, or kept her hand touching his shoulder as a gage to where he was in the lavish desk-chair.

Beyond that though Tuesday had been quite enjoyable for Harry as he began to learn the basics of Ancient Runes, and about the two daughters of House Greengrass.

In just a few hours it was quite easy for him to tell that while Daphne and Astoria were very similar in many respects, they were also quite different.

Both had extremely keen minds with tongues that were sharper than any knife. He had witnessed a slight disagreement between the two about Astoria not finishing her final homeschooling essay from their mother. The back and forth between the two had been at a speed he feared only Hermione could have kept up with on most occasions. That at the end of the row both seemed amused with the entire situation left him even more thrown; especially when they explained it was just how they had always been with one another.

He also noticed that the two had a gentler side to their relationship as when Astoria had settled in to actually finish the offending essay Daphne had easily switched from her explanation of runes to him to explaining the small mistakes Astoria had made in her first draft.

It was quite clear to see that the two were very much Cyrus' daughters in Harry's mind. They both had a simple way of explaining things in their most basic form, and a similar way of deconstructing high-worded pomp that appeared on some of the pages of his Nobility texts.

Similarly it was easy to see the grace both of them held and the quiet way of lending support that was indicative of their mother as Harry had come to see her.

There were of course differences. Astoria seemed to have a nearly endless wont for new questions, and immediately after need the answers to those questions. She was not just intelligent, but curious to a fault. She had initially been very quiet around him on the first few days, but after his first walk with Cyrus and Richard she had nearly been nonstop in her questions. Not that Harry had minded because she was very self-assertive in both asking and answering, which led to her questions ending up more being asked to herself than the initial person she was talking with. She wound up being quite amusing to watch as she directly started a question to someone specific and halfway through it was easy to see that she was asking herself more than the other person.

Daphne on the other hand was less talkative. She of course spoke at great length to her sister, Hermione, and Harry about the subjects they discussed, but there was a difference in her mannerisms. Everything was attached to the schoolwork; it was hard to pick out the things that excited her as neither her voice nor her body language gave hints as to her emotions. Even when describing her thoughts on classes and Hogwarts in general to her sister she was somewhat fluid, hard to pin down. Harry could tell that she and Hermione had a great deal of bonding between them in the way they would switch text to read the section the other had pointed out; without a single word passing between them. But even in the instances of actual casual conversation between his best friend and Daphne it was hard to actually get a sense of the girl.

Her mystique did take a hit when Hermione and Astoria had stepped out in search of a tome Hermione had left in the girl's quarters.


"Potter…Harry, sorry." Daphne had said.

Harry had looked up from petting Crookshanks. "Yes?" He had wondered why her voice had taken on that slightly clipped tone he had heard from her the few times he had actually heard her speak at school.

"I just wished to say out loud how much I appreciated your understanding and congeniality of Hermione and mine's friendship." She had met his eyes with her usual passive mask partially set on her face; a sight he had not seen since St. Mungos.

"Oh," Harry had said lamely, "I don't see why I would've had a problem with it, especially now Daphne." He offered as the girl relaxed slightly.

"Still it was very kind of you, as I know it would have caused trouble for Hermione. I'm quite certain who she would have chosen if you had not been so kind." Daphne's tone had quickly stuck him as almost timbering on emotional. And in fact he had noticed that same wobbly quality to her chin that he had seen in St. Mungos as well; the moment before he had asked her to stay in his room.

"Well that doesn't matter!" Harry had offered in his best cheerful voice, hoping that it would be enough to settle the very thick tension that had settled in the room at her last comment. When Daphne's shoulders had relaxed from their stiff position he felt an odd need to open himself up to the girl. "I'm quite happy that Hermione met you to be honest, not just because of everything that's happened for me," Harry had felt as if own voice would warble if he did not get his own thoughts out quickly, "I mean you took care of her last year. Something I certainly didn't do; despite all the times Hermione has taken care of me. So let's just say I would never want to damage her friendship with you for my own personal insecurities."

"Thank you…Harry." Daphne had said with a somewhat wobbly smile.

Harry had quickly nodded his head and cleared his throat before looking down at his book as Astoria and Hermione opened the door to his quarter's study.


That little window into Daphne had relaxed Harry a bit more around her, and he had to admit that once again his overly observant best friend had taken notice. She had taken a moment to hug him the instant he had decided to call it night. The hug she had given him lasted longer than he was used to; at least longer than the others she gave him when he was not in a hospital bed.

Wednesday had been fun that would be the only way Harry would have described it normally. Hermione had offered other words for him when he had explained his day to her in the afternoon. Specifically she had offered cathartic, relaxing, invigorating, and life-affirming to start his explaining of the events.

He of course had sat down to his favorite breakfast at Greengrass Hill; a spicy plate of Spanish sausages, two runny eggs, a mountain of incredibly delicious bread with some sort of farmer's cheese with herbs, and lightly fried tomatoes.

Then Richard had disappeared from their morning walk speaking of some project he had started the day before.

Cyrus had then set about quizzing Harry on his etiquette when dealing with the People. Right after though Cyrus had led him to the furthest edge of the beach, past where they had sat during their first walk, and pointed to Richard who carried a large pipe with a hose and some sort of mechanism on the back of it.


"What is that?" Harry had asked as he eyed Richard warily.

"It's a potato gun!" Richard had offered excitedly as he lifted the item in the air with a triumphant grin on his face.

"A potato gun?" Harry had quirked an eyebrow as he glanced to Cyrus who gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"Oh come on lad, don't tell me you've never heard of a potato gun." Richard had said as he approached them.

Harry had given a non-committal tilt of his head and shrug of his shoulders.

Richard had then scoffed and given them the basic understanding of the device before he demonstrated the proper way to handle it as he fired a misshapen potato at one of the large pieces of driftwood along the beachfront.

Cyrus had quickly taken to the device as the men reverted back to Harry's age in temperament.

Richard had handed the device to Harry and loaded another spud into the barrel, but before Harry could fire Richard asked him a question.

"What's something you've always hated doing Harry?"

Harry turned his head to the man as he removed his finger from the trigger, "What do you mean sir?"

"First off, it's okay to call me Richard," Then man had gently reminded, "I've always hated mowing our grass…I know why I need to do it, but I just hate going through the whole process of pulling the mower out, making sure the lines are right…it's just a whole to-do over something I'm going to have to do again within two weeks whenever spring sets in." The man had given an exhausted eye-roll at the thought of the process.

Harry had nodded, "I mean," He considered his words, "I used to have to pull the weeds out of Aunt Petunia's garden," He looked down the beach as he said, "the roses always gashed me no matter how careful I was, and it was never just right for her."

"Did they not give you gloves to wear?" Richard had asked.

Harry had simply shaken his head. He could not have been sure, as he had not looked back to either of the men, but he was positive the two had shared a short look and silent conversation before Richard spoke again.

"I want you to think about weeding that garden Harry," The man stood behind him, but far out of the way of the end of the potato gun, "think about weeding that garden and aim at the large log with the hole in its center."

Harry had done as Richard asked; he imagined the sting of the thorns pulling and tearing flesh, the salty tang of the drops of sweat that would inadvertently make their way to his tongue, the feel of the sunburn he would have the next day, and the effort he would have to make to remove the dirt stains from the clothes he would again have to wear to school on Monday. And then he had fired that first potato, hitting dead-center the hole in the large piece of driftwood.

He had eventually realized what the two men were doing, but the more he fired the potato gun the less he cared about the sneaky trick. He had decided to enjoy what was happening. He did not need to cry, he did not need to really talk about his time at the Dursley's, and he just needed to have his fun then and there...and another potato.


By the time they had (very tardily) shown up for lunch the wives of the two men looked torn on how to remonstrate their husbands for keeping Harry out so long, and for getting him so worked up in the process. But Harry had been able to take some of the heat from the two women by expressing how much fun the entire thing had been. Though Richard had promised that the potato gun was safely taken apart and was thoroughly shot of its propellant.

The afternoon had been a slight change as he had sat with Sera and Helen as Sera prepared a few potions. She had even asked him to take care of some of the prep work involving the ingredients, though he surmised afterwards that it had actually been a lesson on how to improve his abysmal skills in understanding the proper care of ingredients. She had slowly taught him that certain ingredients had to be handled certain ways and that the knife skills he had learned from cooking would only be helpful for certain potions ingredients. Interspersed throughout the lesson though he had learned quite a few other things; such as Hermione's favorite comfort foods, Daphne's secret toffee addiction, the easiest way to cheer up Astoria, the quickest way to have Richard singing your praises, and the simplest way to have a debate with Cyrus.

Nighttime had brought Tamlin telling another story to Harry, this one had been a bit more fairytale-ish than the others. Yet Harry had still been captivated up until the potion had finally taken him to sleep.

The start of his Thursday had been good as well, yet Harry had had the sinking suspicion that his agreement to a haircut and sizing would come back to him; which it had.

As soon as they had finished breakfast Harry found himself in his quarter's study with his arms being lifted, turned, and placed at his side as Tamlin used a magical measuring tape on him as he stood in only his underpants and socks! Luckily everyone else had minded his privacy.

Then as quickly as Tamlin had handed off the measurements to Clippy to take to Madame Malkin's, Harry found himself clothed and sitting in a very comfortable chair with both mothers looking at him critically. Before the two were able to get too far into the ways they believed his hair would look best, Harry took to heart what they had said on Sunday and asked if Cyrus and Richard could be the ones to help him with deciding. The women had thankfully understood why he had asked for the men.

Richard had joked about thinking Harry would look good with a military-cut, Harry was grateful he was getting used to the man's sense of humor. Cyrus had offered his opinion on something that would be stylish, but also easily kept and held an air of Harry's new station.

Despite Harry's protest that his hair would not be easy to manage Tamlin set about cutting his hair. The elf had thankfully told Harry exactly everything he was doing as he did it, and soothed Harry's worry when he felt the elf removing a large amount of hair from the back and sides of his head.

After Tamlin had finished his clipping he had tilted Harry's head back into a conjured basin to wash Harry's hair in some sort of potion that Sera had made for him.

By the time the elf had sat Harry up and styled his hair Clippy had popped back in with the clothing that Harry would be wearing to the will reading.

Before he was allowed to change into his new robes to test the fit the mothers had come back into the room and goggled at him slightly. Harry had been confused until they allowed him to finally go change.

The instant he stepped into his bathroom he saw what Tamlin had done. His hair, while not exactly tame, was leaps and bounds better than it had ever looked in his life. Sure the length was much shorter than he was used to, but his scar was barely there. And of course he would probably never be able to put an actual part in his hair as Tamlin had wanted to, but at that moment he almost looked like the old photos of his father. He knew he looked like his dad, but with the coiffed tumbled look to his hair he could possibly pass for his dad.

The clothes were not something he would normally wear, but he had to admit that they were comfortable and that they did complete the image of him as some sort of young heir. They were not the loose school robes he was accustomed to, much tighter around his upper body and loose below his waistline. The black of the material was oddly warming to him in a way, as was the fine grey leather belt around his waist. The gold filigree image of bundled feathers over his left shoulder was unknown to him, but he did enjoy the look of it. As much as he hated to admit it they were in a similar style as the cut of the clothing Snape wore under his outer robes. But it did feel good to have clothing that fit him so well, and made him stand straight as he gazed at himself in the mirror.

His reaction had been muted compared to the gasps from Sera and Helen. Richard and Cyrus had given silent eye rolls before nodding approvingly as the woman helped button and straighten the material on him. Hedwig had even given a hoot to him as he passed her. When he had asked where the girls were he had been told that they were to be the final vote on the outfit.

Sure enough as soon as he had walked into the library and descended the stairs he had found himself with a slack-jawed Hermione, a surprised-but-no-jaw-dropped Daphne, and a giggling Astoria. Of the three Astoria had been the first to voice her approval as she circled him nodding her head in an all-too-serious fashion. Daphne had complimented him on the coloring of the outfit as well as it's cut, she had stated that his haircut was 'most-suitable for your bone structure', and then she had mimicked her sister in circling him; an act that left him feeling odd in a way that Astoria's trip around him had not. Hermione had been the quietest, surprisingly; she had simply come up to him and told him how the outfit flattered him as she fussed with a piece of lint that seemed refused to leave his right shoulder. She had simply said that his haircut was much more handsome than the way he usually kept it. She had also refused to keep eye contact with him.

Dinner that night had been lively for the most part; Harry assumed it was because he himself had quite a bit of energy bottled up at the thought of seeing Sirius and Remus the next day. Tamlin and Clippy had outdone themselves with festive dishes from the south of France in honor of the stories Helen had taken to telling them about the Granger Family vacations to the Riviera. Harry had found himself drawn to the pile of seafood; most of the shellfish he had enjoyed were his first taste of their kind.

The night had been long for Harry as the hours had started to slowly move by, until a knock at the study door revealed Hermione.


"Harry?" She had moved into the room closing the door behind her, "Are you okay?"

Harry had thought about telling her that he was fine, but imagined that an answer of he was 'fine' to Hermione would be tempting a verbal thrashing.

"I'm worried," He had answered honestly, "I'm also scared…I mean what will Sirius look like tomorrow?" He looked to her.

"He'll look much better than he did last term Harry!" Hermione had answered with a certainty that had him almost shocked, "He'll be fine because he would not have asked my parents and the Greengrass family to look after you if he was not honestly planning on fulfilling his role to you! Sirius may have been ill, but I can't think he would go to all of this trouble if he didn't plan on making sure you and he would be a family Harry." She had moved to stand next to him at the window. "You, Sirius, and most likely Remus will be sat together around a fire at Christmas next year, if not this year. There will be dinners, holidays, everything…," Hermione's voice had tightened at that word, and Harry could see she was doing her best to not cry, "everything you've ever deserved Harry. I could see it last year, Harry he wants and needs a family just as much as you, and I'll bet he's gained more weight than you have in this time. He won't be skin and bones; he won't have that horrid tint to his skin." She had reached over to him and pulled him into a hug, one that Harry knew was to hide the fact that she had lost control of her tears.

The hug had been long, but Harry knew that both of them had needed it in more ways than one.

"I'm just so happy for you Harry! You'll…" Hermione had finally pulled away from him and stopped mid-sentence as she stared at him.

Harry had thought she had been meeting his eyes, but as he looked at her he noticed her eyes were fixed an inch or two above his, "Hermione?"

"Your scar?" She had whispered out, "Harry your scar is…is gone!"

Harry had almost forgotten about the fading of his scar amidst the rush of emotions he had been dealing with that day. But in the middle of his thoughts he had remembered that the last statement was a testament to why Hermione was his friend. She had not noticed the scar was so faded, and when she finally did he could tell she felt the same sense of relief and amazement that he had. Her voice had carried the same wonder he had been floating on all of Sunday night.

"Yeah, it's faded a bit hasn't it?" He had smiled as suddenly Hermione had hugged him again and forced him to tell her when it had happened, or at least when he had noticed.


Harry smiled as he remembered the way his best friend had left the Visiting Lord's Quarter's study with a bright smile on her face. And then he figured that maybe Sirius would understand what it had meant to him as well; he also wondered if Remus would understand given the man's history.

Harry then smiled as he settled into bed and waited for Tamlin to bring his potion and possibly another story before he went to sleep.


Part 2 Hermione in Perspective.

August 21, 1994 Late evening, Greengrass Home, Daphne & Astoria's Quarters, Hermione's Bed

Hermione was quite sure she was still smiling like an idiot as she tried to cover her face.

Daphne, no doubt, would most likely be throwing a pillow at her soon if her giggling persisted. But Hermione found herself unable to be anything other than euphorically giddy for her best male friend.

She did her best to smother the near-Lavender sound escaping from her mouth as she moved her hands down to her heart and willed it to slow down. 'Oh Harry,' She thought, 'everything is going to be okay…it really is.'

She just could not believe how everything had gone since the Quidditch World Cup.

Of course she remembered everything about the World Cup; every single second from the moment they had come upon Harry and Astoria, and every moment they were in St. Mungos.

She especially remembered the look on her parents faces when she had explained what happened; the way her father had almost looked close to anger when she told them of another instance of her life being in danger.

Then of course she remembered her explosion at the Headmaster. How in a few short seconds she had finally let out how much anger she had slowly built up at everyone she had considered to be protectors in the wizarding world. She knew they were only people, and people make mistakes; yet mistakes should never span nearly fourteen years.

Perhaps it was her friendship with Daphne that had finally forced her to really examine Harry's life. The way her Slytherin friend had looked after the clipped explanation of Sirius' escape had actually scared Hermione.

Then she had seen Harry bleeding and drained of color in Mr. Weasley's arms, and every belief she had built up around the good people of the Wizarding world had come crashing down. The Headmaster had fallen the most considering his high pedestal.

But then all her worries had stopped the moment Daphne had smiled at her and tilted her head to Harry's bed in St. Mungos.

From the moment she had seen Harry looking at her everything had moved at break-neck speed.

She had been ecstatic that he had understood her friendship with Daphne. That he had offered his own tentative friendship with her had Hermione in a state of near-hyperventilating joy.

Of course there had been a few down moments; namely the moment she had hugged him and felt the very obvious shift to scar tissue on his back. Luckily she had been able to hold herself back from crying and settle on just hugging him. Then Ronald had decided to ruin a perfectly nice visit to the Weasley family by being a bigoted, small-minded prat. Merlin, she hated how much she was angry with Ronald. He was her friend, and she knew his reaction to Daphne was in some way warranted as she had hid their friendship...and yet how quickly he had gone to vitriolic anger annoyed her unendingly. But Harry had taken him to task, apparently, something that had left Hermione smiling. She would have to speak to him soon, even if it took all her patience to do so.

As soon as she had learned about Sirius' grand prank/masterful stroke of genius/plan she had to forcibly restrain herself from attempting to apparate into Gringotts and hugging the old dog to death. That the man had taken care of Harry's life from that point with such precision left her rethinking the usefulness of a mischievous side to one's personality. And that he had actually considered her own well-being by suggesting the Greengrass family take up her magical guardianship had been the cherry on the vanilla sundae.

Then in a whirlwind she had found herself, Harry, her parents, and Crookshanks settled into the Greengrass Family home for the remainder of the summer. She was sure that her parent's more loyal patients would be miffed at dealing with her honorary aunts and uncles at the surgery, but this was more than she could have asked for all things considered.

It was quite easy for her to see the tension Harry had been carrying since they had arrived. Over the week it had eased, and she had actually been a bit jealous that it had been her father and Cyrus Greengrass that seemed to relax him the most.

She had understood why he had gravitated towards them, most likely a similar reason to why he had been so drawn to Professor Lupin the year before. It had taken a sit down with the collective parents while Harry had been resting after his walk on Monday for her to understand the actual reason Harry had been so distant.

Her heart had actually ached that Harry was not able to use his Holly wand. But she was happy that Cyrus Greengrass had been able to fully explain the situation to her, and Harry.

Though she had been slightly tickled that her mother had responded so crudely to Harry it had been something she was used to growing up; her mother forgetting that she was supposed to be a responsible adult.


"Mother you didn't!" She had exclaimed.

"I would say Harry's face was quite priceless." Sera Greengrass had said as she sipped her tea.

"I would imagine so." Daphne had concurred as she mirrored her mother.

"Oh darling, it was perfectly okay. Harry accepted our apology and we accepted his." Helen Granger had said to her, "Though I'm surprised he didn't tell you when he explained the entire situation." Hermione did not like the little cheshire-grin on her mother's face. "I mean I thought the boy told you almost everything."

Hermione had shut her mouth and knew that Daphne had moved her cup to cover her smile. She could not deny that she most probably had developed quite a blush at her mother's statement.

"Harry is my best friend," she had sputtered out, "we share quite a lot about our lives…but I assume he just did not want to repeat what you said as Astoria was in the room." Hermione had nodded her head quickly, and was quite thankful that Astoria had been whisked away by her father, Cyrus, for some reason earlier in their little tea party.

"I personally believe that it was due to either his own embarrassment or quite possibly that he is just honorable enough to keep the specifics of what was said between the involved parties." Sera Greengrass had offered diplomatically.

Hermione had quickly agreed with the statuesque mother of her best female friend, but her own mother had simply kept the grin on her face.

"I think the most important thing is that Harry obviously agreed to our mothers' terms." Daphne had offered looking directly at Hermione.

And in her head, beyond her mother's initial wording, Hermione allowed the rest of what had passed clicked. Harry had accepted hugs from both women, he had actually been giddy since that moment actually, and most importantly he had been walking around the Greengrass home with a real smile.


She had spent the rest of Monday in the very warm study of the Visiting Lord's Quarters with them quite happy to be delving even further in the Nobility structure of the Wizarding world and learning about the basics of The Nation of Gringotts.

Of course on Tuesday when she and Astoria had returned from retrieving her reference text on the founding of the Ministry for Magic she had noticed the way Harry and Daphne had resolutely avoided eye contact with one another or her.

And later when she had asked Daphne, the girl had just said that she had spoken privately with Harry and that it was a discussion best kept between them. That answer had left Hermione deciding to drop the subject as she knew if Daphne was uncomfortable about the conversation Harry would have been almost impossible to crack.

Of course everything had gone back to seemingly normal the next day when her father, Cyrus Greengrass, and Harry had come back from their walk carrying something she had seen once before. She could not believe her father had actually made such a dangerous device and had allowed Harry to use it given his injuries, but she also could not deny that the two fathers' plan had Harry freed of so much of the weight that had been on his shoulders. His grin had been far too similar to when he and the Twins would come in from quidditch practice.

Daphne had taken to teasing her unmercifully at how she had been hovering close to Harry over the week. But Wednesday had found Daphne being suspiciously quiet about every time Hermione stepped up to Harry to help him with her and Daphne's push for him to learn a bit about Arithmancy. She did notice that while he had been interested in the subject, it was quite obvious that Runes were something Harry understood more easily. It had taken a quiet talk with Daphne before she relented that Harry might be more apt to consider taking that as a class instead of both subjects as Hermione had been secretly hoping for with the lessons.

That night had also seen her mother asking for her to join her in her parents' quarters to enjoy their hot springs.


"Isn't this just lovely?" Her mother had asked as they settled into the steaming pool.

"Absolutely brilliant." Hermione had murmured as she enjoyed her latest dip into the magical addition to the Greengrass home; she had been coaxed into enjoying it the first night by the Greengrass sisters.

"You wouldn't believe the wonders its doing for your father's knee; well this and that potion." Her mother had said with a lazy smile. "Plus it is an incredibly romantic way to relax."

"Mother…don't." Hermione had said with a strict warning in her voice. She was getting used to her mother's insistent need to try and broach subjects of intimacy and romance. But that did not mean she enjoyed them.

"Honestly Hermione, there is nothing wrong with us discussing the finer points of our sexuality and romance. I did not say anything specific about your father." Her mother had said with a huff, "I'm just saying that this is a very relaxing place to sit back and enjoy the company of a loved one."

"Mother please," Hermione had said rolling her eyes.

"Oh darling," her mother had shook her head, "fine I will drop this subject partially."

"Partially?"

"Yes, I will stop alluding to any intimacy between your father and I," Hermione had to take a deep breath at that, "and instead I will ask you to think about the way you've been around Harry lately."

Hermione had felt very confused by that, "What do you mean? I've been acting the same way I always do around Harry." Hermione looked to her mother again, "I've not done anything different then how we are at school."

Her mum had then smiled and dropped, "That may be, but you are not the same girl you were last school term." Her mum looked pointedly at the top of the water where Hermione had been experiencing more buoyancy on certain parts of her anatomy than normal. "It may be more than a bit confusing for Harry when you're leaning over him or reaching over his shoulder to point at something than it was last year during school sweetie."

Hermione quickly crossed her arms over the developments she had found herself with during the early summer months.

"Those school robes and jumpers may be good at hiding your growth, but Harry is not used to seeing you in your normal summer attire sweetie." Her mum had slid over to her and wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder. "Sweetheart, I'm not trying to embarrass you; I just want you to be more mindful of the fact that you are not such a little girl anymore. And that while it is natural for you to grow in such ways it is also important to be mindful of your body when around others. Especially your friend who may be dealing with his own developments."

Hermione had quickly nodded her head and smiled to her mum.

"Though I'm quite certain Harry doesn't mind those little accidental brushings from your new additions." Her mum had cheekily said.

"Oh mum, honestly!"


Despite her mum's attempts to embarrass her, Hermione did have to admit that she had not considered that need to be more mindful of her body around Harry of all people.

Daphne had been sympathetic to her when she had told her when she had readied for bed that night, but also she had said she noticed the same thing with a wry grin.

Then on early that day of Thursday she had found Daphne, Astoria, and herself firmly told that they were to spend the morning in the library. She had vociferously objected only to find her father using the excuse that Harry needed a bit of time for personal business. It had been a lame brushoff but she knew when not to test her father.

And it had been a nice morning, besides the worry and constant checks to the upper floor entrance.

She had especially liked having a bit of alone time with the two Greengrass girls to discuss first year classes from her perspective. She believed she had given a thorough account on the expectations from all professors, but she did have to concede to Daphne's point that Hermione's first year was a bit extraordinary.

Their talk had ceased when lunch neared though. The boy that had descended the stairs was her best friend, but he was not the she had seen the day before. The fitted-robe and coiffed hair were nice, but the thing that had changed the most was the set of Harry's shoulders. His back was straight, head was held moderately high, and his face (his unbearably handsome face) was slightly panicked as Astoria circled him smiling. There was svelteness to his frame that was far from the skinniness that she had been used to seeing on him. In all honesty she felt the click in her head at processing that Harry quite possibly could fill the shoes of some Noble Title on the way he looked alone. There was an inherent regal-ness to him at that moment that Draco Malfoy would have given his magic for.

To say that she had found herself feeling odd around him the rest of that day would be an understatement. Though she was proud that she had been able to relax enough to treat him like 'her' Harry, and not some new version (She was particularly happy that he had changed into some normal clothing).

Though that of course had changed again earlier in the night when she had made to check on him and how he was feeling about the will reading. It had been emotional for him she knew, but then she had seen it…or more succinctly she had seen what used to be a darkened scar now faded into a thin line. The brilliant sense of joy that had left her with had been intoxicating.

Harry would not have to deal with the stigma of that mark anymore, he would not find himself constantly being asked to see it, he would not hide his face under a mass of wild black hair, and most important he would not have that awful reminder of losing his parents every time he looked in the mirror.

To say that she had floated her way into her bed in Daphne's room would be an apropos description in her mind. And then she had quite breathlessly told Daphne the reason for her light-as-air attitude, something the other girl obviously understood…yet the full weight also did not hit her. Hermione just knew that Daphne would understand, she would make sure her two best friends were as close as she was to them; if for no other reason than she wanted to share this lightness with Daphne.


Part 3: Daphne in Consternation

August 21, 1994 Late evening, Greengrass Home, Daphne & Astoria's Quarters, Daphne's Bed

Daphne had found Hermione's current state of uncharacteristic 'girly-ness' to be both funny and a bit annoying. She absolutely loved her friendship with the girl, but having a giggling mess in close proximity was not why she had approached Hermione. She figured the girl would be immune to these sorts of outbreaks, and to Daphne's horror she had found herself nearly joining in with the revelry of the news concerning Harry Potter.

If she were being honest with herself Daphne had to admit that her not being able to control her usual reactions were becoming habit around the guest in her family home. Actually she had noticed that trend since the end of the last school term.

She should have been more cognizant of this change; especially after the long looks from her father during her explanation of the events surrounding Hermione and Harry at school. He had been very quiet as he watched her, none of his usual questions, and it should have unnerved her when all he did was listen.

Then, of course, Grandfather had only been there for the early part of their holidays, but he had been acting strange as well when she had reiterated the story to him at her father's behest. Sure they had listened carefully and made a point to research everything they could about the problems surrounding Harry. But there had also been shared glances after looking at her, and it infuriated her.

All to soon she had found herself at the World Cup and hating it as she had not been able sneak away to meet with Hermione.

Then the attack had happened and any compunction she had about keeping her emotions in check were thrown off the broom when she had caught sight of Astoria covered in blood and in Harry Potter's arms.

Astoria saying that the blood was not hers had left Daphne able to breathe until she realized who the blood had come from, and then she had been forced to watch as Hermione fought to reach her collapsed best friend.

Inside St. Mungos it had been just as bad for her as she watched Hermione shuffled between her parents.

The only breaks in her attention to Hermione had been when Mr. Weasley had come to check on Astoria and her father; something that she had to admit she would not have expected. But it did remind her that not all Weasleys were a lazy buffoon like the youngest son. And then there had been the moment her sister had gone to hug Hermione, at that she may have shifted to dab at her eyes.

Then had come Hermione's brilliant tear down of their Headmaster. She had screamed things she had not said to Daphne about Potter's homelife, and Daphne had easily seen the looks on her parents' faces contort from confusion to a quick anger.

She had spent the better part of the next day with her best friend in a bubble of crying, being comforted by their parents, and waiting in Harry's room.

As soon as Daphne had looked up and seen Harry Potter's eyes open it had been a double-edged sword as she was sure that meant her time with Hermione had come to an end, but then he had asked her to stay. And then he had been curious and accepting about their friendship. She should have known that she was done with keeping her controlled face around them from that moment.

And then everything had wound up in the oddest of ways. Sirius Black had placed her parents as Guardians to Harry Potter, and Hermione as well. Then she had caught a small sight of scars along Harry Potter's back, and the gravity of what her father had agreed to settled into her mind. They were all coming to her home, and she had been ecstatic and a bit confused.

She had been worried of course when she realized that it was not some ploy by her father to curry favor with the apparent new Lord Black in her chat with him in the Library.


"Is there a reason you are not helping your mother and sister in giving a tour to our guests Daphne?" Her father's voice had tipped his hand.

"You know why I've stayed behind father." Daphne had replied, "What is the real reason you've agreed to be magical guardian for Hermione and Harry?"

Her father had looked to her with a smirk, "I promise you I am just fulfilling the debt that was incurred by my carelessness."

"Harry asked nothing of our family." Daphne said, "I gave him the choice, and he did not wont for anything father."

"Oh yes Harry," Her father had quirked an eyebrow as he slowly enunciated Harry's name and she had blushed at her slip in formality, "may not have asked, but his godfather did. And to be honest I was fine with the request."

"Then what about Hermione?" She had quickly asked before he could work his way out of answering her questions.

"She is your friend!" Her father had elevated his voice slightly, "Now Daphne I know you may be feeling protective of the girl, but you do not need that worry around me!" He had sat with a huff, "You were the one who came to me worried, my daughter, I was given the option of safeguarding the only friend you have ever expressed an interest in inviting to our home…and then I was requested to give sanctuary to the young heir that you were just expressing immense worry over not a month ago."

"Father, I understand," She had started.

"No, you do not," He had whispered back harshly, but softened his face directly after, "and neither do I to be honest." He had sighed, "There are a great many games afoot, and I feel like our family was just asked to watch the prize. Lord Black has asked this of us, and it will fulfill the Life-Debt. That is all that truly matters in the end."

Daphne had watched her father for a few more moments before she quickly asked, "Is there anything else Father?"

"We have been offered to align our banner with that of House Black the moment Sirius Black's trial is over." Her father had said with a drained voice. "And the possibility of the same with House Potter once young Harry is educated on the matter."

Daphne had felt her heart jump to her throat as she nodded and hurried along to catch up with her Mother and Sister in showing Hermione and Helen Granger around the home.

Their House? Greengrass' aligned with both Potter and Black? That would give their family so much protection from the likes of Malfoy and that bunch that their simple shield of neutrality had never offered.


Then there had been the admittedly funny incident involving Harry's odd interaction with her mother and Helen Granger. She had found the entire situation quite hilarious especially Hermione's reaction to her mother's way of telling the poor boy that he would have to get used to a bit of doting.

She had been a bit frightened at the thought that Harry would have to go without a wand until they were able to make their way to Ollivander's, but she also knew that it was a somewhat common occurrence given her father's own story of his need of a new wand when he was young.

Of course she had been thrilled to be able to be the one teaching Hermione and Harry about the Noble houses and the proper decorum when interacting with the People of Gringotts. She was also quite glad that her father was so involved in educating Harry as well; if there was someone for Harry to learn from it was definitely her father.

And despite her best efforts; the little talk she had with Harry about his quick acceptance of her and Hermione's friendship had left her unable to keep her emotions in check the rest of that day.

The whole incident with Richard Granger making the 'potato-gun' had left her tickled and a bit miffed that she had not been able to see how the device worked (Astoria was very vocal about her own disappointment at being unable to fire it).

Then there had been the afternoon seated in the library with strict orders to not leave until Harry arrived for their vote on his outfit for the will reading that would take place the next day.

And when he had descended the stairwell to reach the bottom floor Daphne had felt a bit of a flush in her tummy. She had known that Harry Potter was handsome, but at that moment she understood the old adage that nobility was in the blood. Not that she felt it was a fancy or any nonsense, just that she could understand why someone would have such for him.

He had appeared with so much more confidence even with the timid expression on his face. That Tamlin had been able to make the boy's hair sit with some sort of controlled nature was a testament to her family's elf. Then the outfit had completely sold the statuesque young heir that Daphne was confident was buried deep in his bones. She could see him eventually taking his Lordship and standing tall in the Wizengamot with his opponents wary of him; and that all the knowledge he would have at that time would come from her father was a plus.

She had been able to control herself a better than Hermione the rest of that day, but it was quite easy to see that Hermione was most certainly confused by the groomed nature of her best friend.

While Hermione had disappeared to go check on Harry, Daphne had taken the time to sit with her sister.


"Harry is quite handsome." Astoria had said as Daphne worked on brushing the girl's hair.

"Yes he is," Daphne had said absentmindedly as she kept up her motions.

"Do you suppose he'll get a girlfriend this year?" Astoria's voice had a mischievous edge to it that Daphne found irritating.

"I don't know." She had said as she pulled a little roughly on a kink in her sister's hair.

"Ow!" Astoria let out as she tried to pull from Daphne's grasp, "I was only joking Daphne," her sister had let out as she settle down, "besides its not as if you fancy him right?"

"Of course I don't fancy him!" Daphne had exclaimed, "He is a perfectly nice young man, if a bit misinformed and too trusting. But I do not wish anything from him except possibly friendship."

"Are you sure?" Her sister's voice had really started to annoy Daphne, "because I'm sure Hermione would be okay if you did…as long as you gave her fair warning so it was a proper competition." Her sister had started howling laughing at her 'oh-so-funny' joke.

Daphne had put the hairbrush down and turned her sister to look at her, "Astoria, I do not fancy Harry. And if Hermione does, then I would be happy for her. Because even though he is dense as a tree at times, I'm quite sure he would realize the potential happiness they could have together. But that is neither here nor there as we are only fourteen years old, and you are only eleven. We shouldn't be worried about such things." Daphne gave a sharp nod of her head at her speech.

Then Astoria had blown a raspberry at her, "It's still fun to talk about."


Directly after this Hermione had come into Daphne's room nearly floating off the floor and Astoria had made kissing noises as she quickly exited the room.

Daphne shook her head as she noticed Hermione had finally settled down. She did wonder what the will reading of the Potters would bring the next day, and more importantly she wondered if she would get to meet the new Lord Black. She felt she more than likely owed the man a thank you for his actions as they had unequivocally made her end of summer holidays much more interesting.


A/N: Next time we will see the actual Will Reading, a bit of time for Padfoot, Moony, and Harry to enjoy each other's company, and a few wrongs righted. And for those who are curious, they will be on the Express heading back to Hogwarts after these next two chapters.