AN: Many thanks to my great beta readers Verlor and udm17!


Chapter 5 – The Gift of Eris


Harry Potter Catches the Snitch Again – Chudley Cannons Continue Their Roll!

By Boris Chamberlain

Five matches into the season, this time against the Kenmare Kestrels, Harry Potter continues to impress us all. After an exciting neck-and-neck race with oldie Richard O'Neill, it was he who caught the Snitch and led his team to a 210:70 home win, giving the Cannons their best start to the season in 26 years. With five matches, four wins, and a total of 1180:500 points, the Cannons are now ranked fifth in the league. It is, of course, far to soon to make any certain predictions, but perhaps the Cannons, if they continue to play so fabulously, will move into the top four for the first time since 1956. If the Man-Who-Conquered has a hand in it, nothing should come as a surprise to us.

Besides Potter's four Snitch catches, the Cannons owe their hot streak to their new Chaser Daphne Greengrass, who scored five goals in the last match and has now accumulated an impressive twenty-two goals in total. She is, without a doubt, one of the surprises of the season so far, only surpassed by the great Ginny Weasley, newcomer to the third-ranked Holyhead Harpies.

In private, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley are already a couple, but hopefully, the two will soon form the new top duo of the English National Team as well. We are eagerly awaiting the nominations from coach Themis Nika, although anything but a nomination for the two (with Greengrass even three) whizkids would surprise all English supporters. And with players like that on the team, the World Cup may even be more than just a bold dream.


At the end of the year, winter slowly set in in southern England. It got very cold, and every morning the Cannons' training ground would be covered in frost. However, besides the regular snow shoveling duty and defrosting his broom, another occupation took up a large part of Harry's time – autograph sessions!

It seemed that Dorkins wanted to finance the Cannons' budget for the entire season with him alone. Every week he had to appear at promotions, fan meetings, or sales campaigns and smile and sign autographs until the corners of his mouth and his fingers cramped painfully. It was only a small consolation that Daphne kept him company from time to time – apparently, she, too, would be built up as one of the flagship players of the Cannons.

So it happened that, a week before Christmas, after yet another hour-long autograph session and after the last fan had left with their autograph (and numerous fan articles, of course), they both stepped out of the Quidditch shop into the deserted Diagon Alley, silently fluttering snow all around them. It had become dark by now, and Harry's breath froze in front of his mouth. He was about to say goodbye to Daphne and get back to his warm home when she suddenly gave him a strange look.

"Hey, Harry," Daphne then said in a surprisingly shy voice, while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I … I wanted to ask you something because we won't see each other for some time. You know, it's Christmas soon, and Astoria has invited Draco, so I was wondering if you and Ginny might want to come over for Christmas afternoon for some tea and cake ... then I wouldn't be alone with them. Of course, only if you don't already have other plans."

Harry grinned at Daphne. "Yeah, I'd hate to be alone with Draco too," he laughed. "I'll ask Ginny, but right now I think we'll likely join you. Molly, Ginny's mother, has invited us to the big party at the Burrow but we'll only get there in the evening, and we agreed with Andromeda not to visit her and Teddy until the day after."

A lump formed in Harry's throat, as it always did when he thought of his godson and his deceased parents. All of a sudden, he felt Daphne squeeze his hand. He looked up – and straight into her bright green eyes full of compassion.

"Just send me an owl," she said with a warm smile. "I'd be happy."

Harry instinctively returned her smile. "Yeah, me too..." For a moment, there was silence between them before a thought occurred to Harry. "Wait, Daph. Where do you actually live? Somehow I've never asked you that before."

A shadow crossed Daphne's face before she removed her hand from his, pointing onto a dark back alley not far from the Quidditch shop. "Over there," she said. "Third house on the right, fourth floor. Astoria and I moved there after ... after the death of our parents. It's not big, but it's enough for us, especially since I'm mostly alone…"

In Harry, her words kindled a deep sadness – and the wish to make Daphne happy this Christmas. As they said their goodbyes, an idea was already forming in Harry's head. Now all he had to do was ask Ginny...


"Honey," Harry called his girlfriend from the bathroom as he bent over the sink, shaving. "Do we have plans for the afternoon on Christmas Day?"

Ginny stopped combing her hair in front of her dressing table to look at Harry through the open door. "Not yet," she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Daphne invited us for tea and cake. So that she isn't alone with just her sister and Draco. We can stop by before we go to your family, or what do you think?"

Harry felt his girlfriend's gaze on him before she asked in a calm voice, "Greengrass invited you? And since when do you call Malfoy Draco?"

"She invited us both," Harry said, washing the shaving foam off his face. "And Draco – dunno. That's what Daphne calls him. And Ron says he tries really hard at the Auror training."

"Well, if you want to, Harry…"

"So, can I say yes to Daphne?"

Ginny gave a grunt as she continued to comb her hair. If Harry had noticed the look on his girlfriend's face, he might have guessed what hardship he would have to face on Christmas…


The day started wonderfully. After an extensive breakfast in bed – Kreacher had been spoiling them lately – Harry and Ginny stepped into the decorated living room, where numerous gifts wrapped in colored paper were waiting for them under a magnificent Christmas tree. As usual, Harry got a hand-knitted jumper from Mrs. Weasley, this time in the bright orange of the Chudley Cannons, from Hermione a book about the most daring flight maneuvers in Quidditch history – with the note "Please don't copy" – and from Ron a framed photo of the last championship team of the Cannons, as additional motivation, as Ron had noted on a card. And Ginny gave him a collage with pictures of their Quidditch matches together at Hogwarts – even a picture of their first kiss at the victory party after their cup win was there. Grateful, Harry kissed Ginny again right away.

Inside, he was amused that he and Ginny had come up with similar gift ideas. And he was delighted when Ginny smiled as she unwrapped his gift, a golden locket with a picture of them both inside. Even if for a moment it seemed as if her eyes were darting to the cupboard in which he kept the rest of his presents; but the moment was over so quickly that Harry was unsure if he had not imagined it.

From then on, however, it went rapidly downwards. After being strangely silent for the rest of the morning, Ginny had finally retired to their shared bedroom to put on makeup and get dressed – and that had been two hours ago.

Restlessly, Harry paced up and down the hallway. What was taking Ginny so long? They were only invited to tea and cake, not to an audience with the Nymph Queen herself!

"Ginny," he called again while knocking on the door. "We have to go, or we'll be too late!"

And suddenly the door opened. Ginny stepped out, clad in a tight, red dress and high heels, her painted lips shining seductively in the flickering light of the lanterns.

"Nah," she waved off. "Luna won't mind if we are e a few minutes late."

Harry looked puzzled. "Luna?"

"Yes. Well let's go. She wrote to me that she met a cute naturalist in Iceland, and I want to know all about it."

With that, Ginny walked past Harry, who was still staring at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?" he said. "We have to go to Daphne's."

Ginny turned to him, her eyebrow raised. "Greengrass?" she asked. "Why would we?"

Did she hit her head somewhere, Harry wondered, or had the Chocolate Frogs been spoiled this morning? But there was no wound on Ginny's head nor did his girlfriend look like she was sick.

"She invited us," he said. "We talked about it last week. Don't you remember?"

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked as if he'd gone mad. "We never talked about that. And why would I want to visit Greengrass, I don't even know her. Come on, Luna is waiting."

Ginny grabbed his hand, but Harry snatched it away while still staring at her in disbelief. "But … no! We talked about it. I asked you and you agreed…"

"You must be wrong, Harry. Otherwise, I would never have accepted Luna's invitation." Ginny's gaze slid to the bag at Harry's side. "Are these the presents for her? So many…"

Harry slowly shook his head. "No ... these are for Daphne, Astoria, and Draco."

Ginny sighed. "I see," she muttered. "Apparently we didn't coordinate properly and now we have to choose. Not a problem. You can just write a card to Greengrass tomorrow, I'm sure she'll understand."

"No, I can't," Harry said indignantly. "I've promised Daphne and she is expecting us. And you never told me about an invitation from Luna!"

"I don't care that Greengrass is expecting us!" Ginny suddenly shouted in an angry voice. "Luna is our friend! Of course, we'll go to her!"

"But Daphne is also my friend."

"More than Luna? The Luna who fought with us? At the Ministry and Hogwarts? Who was tortured by the Carrows and held by the damn Malfoys? While Greengrass did nothing! Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"She didn't like the Death Eaters either," Harry said but was immediately interrupted by Ginny again.

"Oh, she didn't like them. Well, that really makes her a heroine, doesn't it?! I'll never visit that yellow-bellied sidewinders, and certainly not DRACO FUCKING MALFOY!"

"Ginny…"

"No, Harry! You have to choose. Do you want to come with me to Luna, who has bled and suffered for you, or do you want to see Malfoy and company?!"

Harry sighed. "I promised her, Ginny," he said. "Please understand. I can't just not show up." And he didn't want to cancel on Daphne either, but he kept that to himself.

Ginny's features hardened. "I see," she hissed. "Have fun then, Harry. And I hope Greengrass will like her present."

With that, Ginny turned and hurried down the hall. Harry then heard her storm down the stairs and shortly afterwards the angry slamming of the front door.


Harry tried not to let his dark thoughts show when he walked up the creaky wooden stairs to Daphne's apartment. The paint had long chipped off the railing and the air in the stairwell smelled musty. However, that changed when he finally came to a stop in front of a freshly painted, green door, behind it a delicious cake scent already emerging. Nervously, he knocked.

Only a few seconds later the door was thrown open and Harry looked into Daphne's face, beaming with joy. Her smile, however, gave way to an expression of confusion when she realized he had come alone.

"Harry," she said. "I'm so happy to have you here – but where is Ginny?"

Harry stroked his hair, embarrassed. "Yeah, well ... she got held up, but ... she sends her apologies, but maybe we can make up for it someday ... and she wishes you a Merry Christmas. And so do I."

"Oh..."

Before Daphne could say more, a loud voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

"Now get Harry inside," Astoria called from somewhere in the apartment. "Before he freezes his ass off."

Daphne turned around, shouting back just as loudly, "Watch your language, miss! Otherwise you won't get any presents from Harry!"

"He would never do that to me!"

Harry laughed, and after a moment's hesitation, Daphne joined in too. "Come in then," she said, stepping aside and revealing a narrow hallway. "You can hang your coat there. Right is the living room, just go through. I'll join in just a bit, I have to take a quick look at the cake."

With that, Daphne disappeared into a room on the other side, from which the delicious cake smell was coming from. Harry, on the other hand, entered the living room, which, like everything in the apartment, seemed very small but was comfortably furnished. In front of a metal stove with a blazing fire stood a brown couch and a leather armchair. A thick carpet was in the middle of the room and on the sides sat a few bookshelves, and a picture of a smiling couple in front of a magnificent house was on the wall. On the couch sat Daphne's sister Astoria and Draco Malfoy, both of whom stood up when Harry entered the room.

"Harry!" Astoria exclaimed happily, before giving him a warm hug.

"Hi, Astoria," Harry replied. "I'm also happy to see you. And you're right, of course I've got a present for you."

"Oh, you charmer," laughed Astoria, slapping him playfully on the shoulder.

Then Draco stepped up to him, hand outstretched, a forced smile on his face. "Hello ... Harry," he said hesitantly.

Harry eyed him sharply but saw no scorn or derision in his eyes, so he shook his hand. "Hello, Draco." He hesitated briefly before adding, "How is your mother?"

"Good, good," Draco replied. "How is – um, how is your girlfriend?"

"Good, good."

An awkward silence spread between them before Astoria suddenly started giggling. "Oh, you're hilarious, you two," she laughed.

"Who's hilarious?" Daphne's voice came as she stepped into the living room, directing a teapot, several cups, plates, forks, and a wonderfully fragrant cake covered with chocolate icing to a nearby table.

"Men," Astoria replied with a laugh. "But that's what we love them for, don't we?" And with that, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss Draco on the cheek, whose pale skin turned slightly pink. Harry watched the scene with mixed feelings – on the one hand, Astoria seemed to really like Draco, on the other hand, he couldn't forget Draco's past. But Astoria was a strong-willed young woman, and he had no idea what had happened between them as the world threatened to sink into darkness...

"Be decent, sis," admonished Daphne with a smile as she cut the cake into pieces and poured the tea into the cups. Astoria and Draco sat close together in the armchair so that Harry and Daphne sat next to each other on the sofa.

"Just because you're single doesn't mean I have to live a life of chastity as well," Astoria said, sticking her tongue out at her sister.

Laughing, Harry bit into his piece of cake – it was extremely sweet as if Daphne had ransacked an entire chocolate factory while baking it. How good that he'd always had a thing for chocolate.

"Speaking of which, Jeremy told me that both Jon and Henry asked you out on a date," Harry said. "Apparently broke their hearts when you turned them down."

"Oh, my sister, the heartbreaker," Astoria laughed. "Like at Hogwarts."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "I'm not interested in that, and I don't have the time anyway."

"Right," Harry interjected. "You're always training."

"Draco has a lot to do in Auror training too, but he still makes time for me," Astoria said. "It's all a matter of will."

"Okay, okay, I give up," Daphne replied. "I just don't want to go out with Jon or Henry. Don't get me wrong, they're nice guys, but..."

"...they're not what you need," Draco finished her sentence, while – so inconspicuously that Harry almost didn't notice – squeezing Astoria's hand.

After that, their conversation turned to more innocuous subjects. Astoria told of her school year at Hogwarts, which was shining in new splendor after the horrors of last year, not least due to the efforts of McGonagall as the new headmistress and Hermione as this year's Head Girl. It was nice to hear how the castle corridors, the walls of which had been splattered with blood just seven months ago, now echoed again with laughter. Draco talked about his Auror training; he did not say it explicitly, but what he said – or rather what he did not – indicated that there was still a lot of distrust towards him.

And Harry and Daphne? They both talked a lot about their training and matches; but when the question arose of how Harry felt that the match against Ginny's Harpies wasn't due until the end of the season, Harry quickly changed the subject.

And then it was finally time for the presents.

From Astoria and Draco, Harry got a framed piece of red and gold fabric that looked strangely familiar to him.

"It's from the Quidditch stands at Hogwarts," Draco explained at his questioning look. "Astoria managed to get her hands on it before they cleared away the rubble ... what wasn't burned, that is. We thought it might be a nice keepsake…"

Harry smiled gratefully at his former rival. "Thank you, I appreciate it."

Quidditch also determined the further course of the afternoon. When Harry unwrapped Daphne's present, two leather gloves came to light, Seeker edition.

"I saw that your old ones are pretty worn out," said Daphne. "But you'd probably only notice that if they dropped in the middle of the match." Then she handed him a small envelope on the paper of which little players on brooms were printed, throwing balls at each other. "This is for Ginny," she explained. "It's a voucher. I didn't know what exactly she might need, so she can choose it herself. I would have liked to give it to her myself, but, yeah…"

After putting the envelope in his pocket, Harry now took out his presents. He watched with great joy as Astoria unpacked her assortment of sweets with shining eyes – Daphne had told him that her sister had a huge sweet tooth. Draco, on the other hand, he gave a cloak with various defensive charms for his work.

"Who would have thought you'd ever give me something to make me less likely to be hit," laughed Draco, and his amusement wasn't fake, as was Harry's answer.

"You're on the right side now," he said.

Draco's face darkened at his words, but he nodded resolutely to Harry.

And then it was finally time for Harry's present for Daphne, a moment he had been looking forward to with a pounding heart. Nervously, he watched as her fingers unwrapped the elongated, wand-sized gift. An exceptionally slim broom came to light, with the number 777 emblazoned on its polished wooden handle in golden digits.

"You're giving me a miniature Firebolt?" asked Daphne, amazed.

"Not quite," Harry replied, suppressing a laugh. "It's just shrunk so it's not immediately obvious. Look." And with that, Harry took out his wand and struck it twice on the wood of the small broom, which then returned to its original size. Suddenly, there was a real, full-size Firebolt in Daphne's lap.

The look Daphne now gave him was no longer mere astonishment, but sheer bewilderment. "You ... you gave me a Firebolt?" she stammered, her hands trembling so badly that Harry was afraid she would drop her new broom on the floor.

"Yes, I gave you a Firebolt," Harry replied, and only then did he realize the implications of his words. Such a gift was probably not an everyday occurrence.

Still in disbelief, as if she didn't know if this was all just a dream, Daphne looked back and forth between Harry and the broom in her lap, before suddenly Astoria's amused voice broke the silence.

"What is it, sis?" she said. "Won't you thank Harry?"

Daphne jerked her head up again, her gaze fixed on Harry. For a moment he could see his own reflection in her green irises before she suddenly fell around his neck. The Firebolt rolled out of her lap and was caught by a laughing Astoria.

"Thank you, Harry! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Daphne shouted, and her emotional outburst was so intense that Harry was thrown backwards onto the couch by her, where he now smiled sheepishly, patting Daphne on the back.

"You're welcome," he replied. "I'm glad you like it."

"Like it?" Daphne asked as she pulled away from him. Her face was only inches from his, and Harry felt her breath slide over his lips. "Never… never before has anyone given me such a gift…"

Only then did Daphne seem to notice how close she had come to Harry, because she immediately backed away, a panicked flicker in her eyes. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to–"

"Everything's fine," Harry assured her as he sat up again. "As I said, I'm very glad that you like my present."

"But Harry, it's way too expensive..."

"Don't worry about that. I wanted to make you happy, and I saw how much fun you had when you flew on my Firebolt."

A slight, almost sad smile fell on Daphne's lips. "Thank you, Harry," she said. "That means more to me than you can imagine. But still, you shouldn't have given me something like that…"

Part of Harry, namely his mind, had come to the same conclusion by now, but his heart disagreed. It didn't matter how expensive a gift was, the only thing that mattered was the intentions behind it, didn't it? What was wrong with spreading a little joy in this often cruel world? Was it not precisely in this, in love and friendship, and the value of a single, sincere smile, that the hope of humanity was? What was wrong with wanting to see someone who had quickly become one of his best friends laugh with joy again?

Surely Ginny would see that as well, as soon as she had calmed down a bit...

However, Harry's wish didn't come true. When he returned to Grimmauld Place a few hours later, there was still no sign of Ginny. It was only shortly before they were expected in the Burrow that she suddenly stepped through the front door, her expression stoic.

"Are you ready?" she asked. "Mum is certainly waiting."

"Ginny!" Harry jumped up from the chair he'd been waiting in. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. That was never my intention. What –"

Ginny held up her hand. "We can talk about it later. I just hope Greengrass liked her present."

Harry just nodded; he didn't want to risk another argument.

Ginny also remained silent as they stepped over the doorstep together. And then she clutched his upper arm, and a brief mental effort later they left their house in London, only to appear in front of the Burrow, its windows glowing warmly in the darkness.

Just as Harry was about to knock on the door, it was thrown open, and Harry looked into Mrs. Weasley's beaming face.

"Harry, Ginny," she called joyfully, hugging them warmly. "There you are! We were starting to worry! Come in – oh Harry, how skinny you are! Today you get extra portions, no objections! The others are already waiting in the living room."

Harry laughed. It was nice to be back at the Burrow. "I already ate three pieces of cake today," he said with a grin.

"Also from Greengrass?" Ginny snorted, but before Harry could reply, she had already trudged past him into the living room, where she immediately sat down next to Fleur and Percy's girlfriend Audrey.

Harry sighed before also stepping into the room. There he was greeted by Ron with two butter beers in hand. "Harry, how are – why are you looking so grim? Here, take this." With that, he handed Harry a bottle.

Harry took a long sip while looking at Ginny, who was already deep in conversation with the other two women. Just then, Fleur raised her head and looked in his direction, her brow furrowed.

"I guess I haven't been very smart," he muttered softly.

Ron looked at him carefully. "What did you do?"


"You did WHAT?"

"I gave Daphne a Firebolt," Harry repeated. They had retired to a quiet corner away from the crowd, and Harry had told Ron the day's events.

"Harry, you are ... you are – THE BEST!"

Puzzled, Harry looked at his friend, who continued enthusiastically.

"Now our best Chaser finally has the broom she deserves! Harry, that's fantastic! And don't worry too much about Ginny, it'll be fine. She loves you, and besides, she shouldn't make such a fuss out of it ... but the Firebolt, that gives us completely new possibilities…"


Next Chapter: Sister Love

Release Date: Sunday, 4th July 2021

Preview:

Silence fell between them as they stared at the assembled crowd and the lights on the lake. At some point, however, Daphne turned away from him, looking at the ground.

"You must hate me," she whispered.


AN: Quite frankly, my girlfriend would kill me if I gave such an expensive gift to a (female) work colleague.

BN (udm17): Co-worker? I once got a bollocking from my ex for giving a close friend an expensive gift that caused her gift to be cheaper in her opinion.