The Grass is Greener With A Greengrass

Summary: Harry Potter's life changes when new neighbors move in next door.

Not Your Average Nine-Year-Olds

Daphne Greengrass looked like any other nine-year-old in Little Whinging. She was fashioned with her hair neatly pulled back in two braids behind a white headband, a soft pink and black tie-dye tank top, cute jean shorts with little flowers stitched into the front and back, and an anklet with a few wooden charms hanging from it. Her sandals were cast to the side while she chased her sister around their front yard, playing in the sprinkler.

Yes, Daphne looked like any other nine-year-old, but she was not your average nine-year-old. In fact, none of the Greengrasses were normal or average. The Greengrasses were witches.

Petunia Dursley despised anyone who wasn't normal. And the Dursley household particularly despised witches.

Daphne was smart. She had realized that the lady next door who looked remarkably similar to a giraffe or horse, that Mrs. Dursley the horse-looking-lady-next-door did not particularly like her or her family. What's more, her sister, who was almost unbelievably obtuse when it came to picking up on things, had also noticed that Mrs. Dursley did not seem to like them. And that she looked like a horse. Or a giraffe.

But Daphne and her family had planned on this being their final relocation, where they would remain, hidden in secrecy, until either Daphne's father died or something happened to threaten their security at number 2 Privet Drive. And Petunia was quite taken with their neat and tidy family, their near-perfect manners, and polite responses. The woman was finding it very hard to pinpoint what exactly felt so… weird about the Greengrasses. Then again, what was a household without a husband around? Not that Daphne knew what a question like that was asking, but she did eavesdrop on Mrs. Dursley asking another neighbor about it earlier in the day.

So when Daphne, with her polite manners and excitement in meeting a neighbor her age, first saw the orphan nephew next door that Petunia only mentioned briefly and without naming, she immediately pointed him out to her sister. "I think that's him," she whispered, tackling the other girl to the ground under the bushes.

"Daphn—" Astoria tried, muffled and gagged by Daphne's hand over her mouth.

"Shh!" she hushed, pointing forward and letting go of her sister. "Look, that's the Dursley's nephew. Wow, he looks nothing like his brute of a cousin."

Astoria spied with her from under the bushes. They watched as a possibly-too-small boy walked over to the shed in the backyard. "Is that a rope he has tied around him instead of a belt?" Astoria's little voice asked.

"Yeah…" Daphne said, frowning. The Dursleys didn't seem like they were poor muggles. She thought that the husband even had a particularly expensive and new car in their drive. And Dudley certainly wasn't dressed in such a way. Why was he dressed so oddly and made to wear rope instead of a belt?

Astoria giggled and Daphne shoved her. "Be nice," she chided. "It's not nice to laugh at people."

They made enough noise to get the small boy's attention. He was pulling a lawnmower behind him and stopped, setting it down and walking uncertainly over to the bushes.

Daphne quickly scrambled up to her feet, brushing the dirt and leaves from her and trying to smooth her clothes down. Astoria mimicked her actions, both of them walking to a thin spot between two bushes where the boy was standing.

"Hi!" Astoria practically yelled, bouncing up and down. Daphne elbowed her and smiled a strained smile at him, holding out her hand. "Hello, I'm Daphne and this is my sister Astoria. We're your new next-door neighbors."

He nodded and shuffled his feet, still looking down at them. Daphne saw him look at the hand and watched as he took a deep breath before straightening up and holding his head up to look at her directly. "Hi," he said in a quiet voice. It sounded gruff like he hadn't used it in a while. He cleared his throat and smiled at Daphne, taking her hand. "Hi, I'm Harry Potter."

"You're- Merlin! Muuuuuuum!" Daphne couldn't contain her own surprise and didn't have the reaction speed to stop an incredibly excited Astoria from running screaming into their home.

"Oh!" Was all she could manage. She saw Harry was looking at her strangely and she blushed deeper than she ever thought she had ever blushed before. She shook her head, getting a hold of herself and mentally berating herself for being at all starstruck. "Sorry. Sorry about that, she's, well, she's annoying," Daphne said, laughing awkwardly. "You're um, you're really Harry Potter?" She asked him.

Harry gave her a funny look. "Yeah… Are you really Daphne Greengrass?"

Daphne blinked. "Well, yes, but I mean, you're Harry Potter!" When he continued looking at her funny, she felt herself start to ramble. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean… Look, we're witches, we're magical too. Sorry, I know you've never met us, why would you think your new neighbors were magical in this muggle neighborhood," she chuckled, amazed that she couldn't just seem to stop bloody talking. Her mortification knew no bounds. His eyes were getting wider and wider, and she mistook his confusion for horror. "Wow. Can we just restart?"

"What? No, what do you mean, magic? Witches, you're a… what?"

Daphne's jaw dropped. "Magic… Do you not know about… Merlin!" A panicked look came over Daphne. She wasn't sure how to handle this. "Well… I mean, yes, but I mean, you can't tell anyone. In fact, please don't even tell your aunt or uncle, muggles, you know, normal average people without magic, they can't know we're magical. It's illegal. There are laws and stuff… you really don't know about magic?"

Harry's green eyes were huge. Daphne saw his scar peeking out behind his fringe but thought it might be rude to be caught looking, so she watched his face change and tried to figure out what to do. "But… I'm… Me…" He looked at her again. "And what do you mean I'm magical? And why do you seem to know who I am?"

Daphne couldn't help herself. She laughed. It wasn't a mean laugh, it was just an exasperated is-this-actually-happening type of laugh. "What?! Seriously. Wow, yeah, for starters, you and I aren't your average nine-year-olds," she began. Then she reached out and grabbed the hand she had just let go of. She pulled him along toward her house, ignoring his protests, and pleads to go take care of the lawn. "Mum will handle it for you. Don't worry about it. There's too much to talk about now that the cats out of the bag, Harry." Then she smiled at him. "To think, my next-door neighbor and best friend is Harry Potter!"

Harry smiled at her then and stopped in his tracks. "F-Friend?" he asked her, hopefully.

Daphne just grinned back.