08/03/21 EDIT. Oooga booga me dum monke brain no match color rite.
The summer before her fifth year at Hogwarts, Daphne Greengrass spent nearly every day near her window reading in her new favorite chair, drinking a muggle beverage made from lemons and sugar, and watching her shirtless neighbor work from dawn to dusk on various flowers and hedges in the blazing summer heat.
Life was truly good at #6 Privet Drive.
The move was a bit unexpected on the Greengrass family. One day Lucius Malfoy came to visit for tea and announced the return of The Dark Lord, recommending the Greengrass family kneel in fealty if Lord Greengrass wished for his wife and daughters to remain unharmed.
So doing the only rationalnthing, the very next day Cyrus Greengrass immediately went and purchased a safe house in the middle of a nondescript muggle neighborhood in Surrey county, then sent his two daughters and wife to stay there while spreading the cover story they were out of the country vacationing on unplotted family property in Greece.
After all, what possible reason would The Dark Lord have to look for a wizard in a muggle neighborhood called Little Whinging?
It was day three before they caught a glimpse of their neighbors, specifically when Astoria walked into her room with a full blush and spoke in a voice as grave as granite, "Sister, you need to see this," before pointing at the window, then walking down the hall like a zombie. The intrigue was more than enough to rouse her out of her chair and over to the window looking out towards Number Four Privet Drive.
And to her utter bewilderment, Harry Potter was trimming a row of pristinely arranged flowers, sweat gleaming across his body, highlighting every detail of his thin but muscled figure.
The Greengrass sister had become closer than ever, Cassandra Greengrass though with a smile. Ever since they had gone into hiding in this little muggle neighborhood, the two sister had been nearly inseparable, spending hours at a time in Daphne's room behind closed doors, more than likely gossiping about boys based off their giggles she had heard from the room. She had been nervous at first, leaving their countryside estate for a muggle suburb, but after seeing the bonding between her two girls, she decided it was worth it. And besides, the social circles of muggles was so... Fascinating! She had instantly became the go-to for gossip, with her experience outmaneuvering all manner of political and business rivals... And the little sprinkle of passive leglimance didn't hurt anything. Apparently, her neighbors - The Dursleys, she reminded herself - were a good source of entertainment, with at least one or two unfortunate events happening each summer, and they had apparently had taken in their orphaned nephew, who was a juvenile delinquent of some form. Amanda, the forty something year old woman down in number fifteen suspected he was suffering from trauma as the rumor had it that his parents died as a result of drunk driving, with him somehow surviving the ordeal. She wasn't entirely sure what driving was, but managed to piece most of it together. However, Julia - the younger woman in number three - had nothing but praise for the boy saying he was quiet but well mannered and preferred to keep to himself.
She had decided that she would have to schedule a dinner with them sometime. Apparently the head of house was a rather successful businessman himself, managing an entire department selling some muggle tool that runs off that controlled lightning thing that somehow powered the house, but trapped in a small box instead of one of the odd ropes she normally dealt with whenever her or one of the girls accidentally unplugged an appliance. She then decided to inquire into any potential business ventures on the subject at a later date. The small box that warmed up bread place inside was amazingly useful. And living with minimum to no magic was actually kind of fun, in a rustic way.
Muggle life wasn't too terrible, she decided.
Both Greengrass sisters were glued to the window trying and failing to formulate thoughts.
"It's actually kind of brilliant, right?"
"Well, I mean... Maybe?"
"But how does it make sense?"
"What if... No, that can't be right."
"Dumbledore?"
"Probably..."
"I mean, he is odd enough. Brilliant, but odd."
"At least we know we are safe. If The Dark Lord wouldn't think to look for Harry Potter in Little Whinging, Surrey, surely nobody will find us. And if they do show up, Dumbledore probably has people on standby to help Potter. Probably has wards all over the neighborhood that will detect dark magic."
"Probably to detect the Dark Mark..." Astoria trailed off as Harry bent over to pull the cord on some device, stretching the tight lean muscles in his laterals and upper back as he did. It seemed as if Potter was doing some landscaping to the house. Well, there were weirder and worse hobbies for teenage boys to have, and it must be a good workout, she guessed. Plus, it was nice to watch... for as uncouth as the activity was for the heiresses to partake in
"So," Astoria started with a trickle of hesitation in her voice. "Sister's Secret?"
Daphne just nodded in silence, not tearing her eyes off boy in the yard next to hers. "Definitely."
The summer passed by slow and easy, with Daphne discovering there was a nearby library free to the public within walking distance of her house. It still baffled her, the concept of a library open to anyone, and not solely dedicated to family secrets and ancient history texts. She particularly took a liking to fantasy novels, and was surprised at the comparison between the works of Tolkien and the rise of Herpo the Foul and his obsession with magic rings and soul magic. So here she sat, reading a copy of 'The Two Towers', letting the slight breeze hit her through her window, when she heard the oddest noise she had ever heard.
Harry Potter was having a relatively decent summer. He got to avoid his relatives by doing outside work, was starting to develop a tan, and had recently traded Dudley an old radio for a portion of the stash of wizarding chocolates to help put the edge off the forced diet the Dursleys were on. Over the years he had hidden quite the stash of Dudley's old toys, including a few CD's in great condition, so he had quite the selection to choose from as he worked outside. And the best part, he didn't even have to worry about his relatives, as Dudley was off with his gang, Vernon was at work, and Petunia was off to gossip about the new neighbors.
So with a smile he put in a disk labeled 'Paranoid'.
She wasn't sure what to make of the rough droning and sirens and the low thumping notes at first, thinking it drug on way too long to make any since, until the singing started.
It was rough. It was dark. It was nasty. It was rebellious and beautiful - and Daphne loved all of it.
And apparently so did Harry, because his work that day seemed to proceed with extra gusto.
When Astoria came by, she could hardly stand the loud thrashing noises and the man's shrill vocals, and left almost immediately.
But to Daphne, the muggle music was exotic, dangerous and intoxicating. So she sat and listened.
It had been three and a half hours listening to various songs from her window. The artists had changed three times, and each was as exhilarating as the last - she particularly liked the one where the guy sang about not forgiving people and roaming places, then not stepping on stuff. Hours had passed before she knew it and her mother came home with an announcement.
"Daphne! Astoria! Come downstairs, we are going over to the neighbors for dinner tonight!"
Sheer panic was all the Greengrass sisters felt when the walked over to number four, carrying a bottle of wine from their family vineyard, and a house elf cooked cake for desert. They had both decided it was best to play dumb when their mother discovered that Potter was living next door, else they might face the consequences of withholding vital information. Cassandra just figured the nervousness was from their first time as formal dinner guests with muggles, a concept that frightened her as well, although she would never admit it. After all, they were only muggles, so how scary could they really be?
They walked down the pavement, crossing the expertly groomed shrubbery that divided the property line, and it was as if the butterflies in their stomachs were multiplying exponentially, albeit for completely different reasons.
The paces to the door quickly diminished, and soon, Cassandra Greengrass raised her hand to politely knock on the front door of their neighbor's house.
"I'm warning you now boy, no funny business like the last time with the Masons! If I even suspect you're up to that freakishness I will lock you out of the house for a month, and you will have to find your own food and bed!" Vernon Dursley had a meaty fist wrapped around Harry Potter's shoulder, while pointing a large sausage like finger at his face in a threatening manner.
It was a speech Harry had heard multiple times, and could recite by heart if he wanted to, however this time was different as he was actually being allowed to eat with the family at the table. Apparently it would have been abnormal for him to not be at dinner, since the neighbors had already known the Dursleys had taken in a troubled orphaned nephew. But to Harry, all it meant is that he was going to get a proper portion of food for the night, and for that, he would gladly put up with his Uncle Vernon's demands.
"Now when they get here, you will greet them out the door invite them in, and show them to the sitting room before making yourself scarce and setting the table, is that understood!" The large man bellowed his orders, only letting go of the boy after receiving a nod of confirmation. He had been left in order to make sure Dudley was wearing his best outfit which, to the amusement of Harry who was used to hand me downs, was about two sizes too large due to the strict diet his cousin was on.
He decided to pass the time by sitting on the stairs staring at the door waiting, trying to make himself as invisible as possible to his relatives, which worked surprisingly well. Then he heard a series of three curt knocks on the door, stood, and went to greet the guests.
They all were dressed in expensive dresses and jewelry that positively oozed 'High Society' in a way that Harry think of what a he imagined Malfoy's mother would have worn. All three women had tanned skin, a shade of light bronze that spoke of Mediterranean heritage, with the oldest woman - clearly the mother - and youngest girl sharing jet black hair. However, the older of the two sisters stuck out to Harry the most, with cool sapphire eyes and golden blonde hair pulled into a neat bun behind her regal face. Internally he thought to himself she was probably the most magical looking muggle he'd ever seen.
"Ah... Hello, Mr... uh young man." It was the first time he'd ever had a wizard treat him like a total stranger, not that he even knew it. "We are your new neighbors! My name is Cassandra Greengrass and these are my daughters, Daphne and Astoria."
"Hello Mrs. Greengrass, I'm Harry. This way, please." He spoke with a small yet polite smile that reminded her of a butler in it's mannerisms.
It was one of the weirdest dinners ever, all wizards involved though - albeit for different reasons. The air was civil and polite between the neighbors, but not entirely friendly after the five minute mark. Escaped none of the guest's notice that Harry Potter was being treated as a common house elf, and it didn't sit well with them. Sure, they didn't lock him around or outright order him to serve the dinner, but it was heavily implied this was a daily occurrence with his fluid and practiced actions as he went through the motions of a manservant. Daphne noticed the odd subdued look on his face, while Harry noticed to odd glances his way by the guests, and none of the Dursleys noticed anything wrong at all.
"And where does your nephew go to for his schooling? Anywhere as prestigious as this Smeltings place? My daughters had attended the most exquisite private institution up north, and it will be a struggle to find a replacement this summer." Cassandra spoke with an aura of natural charismatic importance, targeted to make their hosts doubt their importance in the dinner tables' social hierarchy. "Their father wanted to send them abroad to France or Greece, but I wouldn't have it. The estate on Lemnos hasn't been occupied in many years, since my grandfather headed the family at least. The property will probably take an entire landscaping crew to renovate the grounds, as I believe only the employee housing have been used recently. The grapes must be picked, even half the world away. After all, the produce keeps getting better it seems," She gave her wine glass a swirl and a gentle sip. "Oh but enough about my family. Harry, dear, you must enjoy yard work quite a bit, seeing as the hard work you put into the lovely yard! Would you be interested in a summer job helping attend to our house? We shall pay of course, and I'm sure your aunt and uncle would love to not have to worry about your summer allowance, after all." Only Daphne was able to noticed the hidden malice in her mother's eyes as she glanced at the Dursleys, but everyone felt the temperature in the room seem to drop a few degrees.
"Uh... Of course! He would be happy to assist!" Petunia spoke with the hint of nervousness in her composure, not being able to pinpoint why she felt compelled to give up her personal unpaid gardener to the new upstart in the Privet Drive social circles.
"Excellent! You must come over sometime, Mr. Potter. Say, tomorrow around 7 in the morning? We can discuss details, if you want the job."
The rest of the dinner went just about the same, passive aggressive politeness from the Greengrasses. At one point, Astoria spoke of her dream to become a historical scholar, giving a short recap of her most recent light reading of a tome of recalling the exploits of Alexander The Great's expansion into Egypt that had been in the family library - disregarding the fact it was written from his top advisor on magical warfare - demonstrating her fluency and mastery of the ancient and modern Greek scripts.
But when Daphne was asked about her plans for the future instead of mentioning her planned life of entering politics and running her family's import business, she simply said glanced at Harry and said "I'm going to facilitate an uprising against the two-tiered justice and economic systems by enacting radical changes to the government."
Try as she might, prim and proper pureblood Daphne Greengrass couldn't bring herself to say 'Fuck the System" just yet.
The dinner went rather smooth, Harry thought. Awkward at moments, but still smooth. And the greatest part was he was now employed for the summer! The hint of freedom was enough to make him completely not care about any oddities with Petunia willing letting him slip on his chores to have an honest to God paying job. He had awoke at 5 in the morning to cook breakfast for his family, snagging half a piece of toast for himself, then showered and put on his lawn clothes, a pair of basketball shorts and one of Dudley's old heavy tshirt and his worn out trainers, then quietly slipped out of the house to trim the hedges on the border of #4 and #6 Privet Drive. Soon, the light kicked on in the top floor window in #6, and his blonde haired neighbor, Daphne he recalled, stepped into view wearing a loose fitting t-shirt and opened the window audibly sighing in content as the cool morning air hit her face shortly before disappearing from view to presumably to prepare for the day and grab breakfast.
After 5 minutes of trimming, and 25 of enjoying the cool morning breeze, Harry saw her once again, taking a seat with a cup and a book. He quietly studied her for a minute, taking in her features in detail for the first time. At the dinner he had avoided meeting anyone's eyes to please his uncle's wishes for him to be as invisible as possible, so he took the time to examine his new neighbor. She was a girl of average height with golden blonde hair reaching slightly below her shoulders - currently pulled into a loose bun with haphazard bangs framing a strong jawline and defined cheekbones - with the most striking sapphire blue eyes he had ever seen. Her skin was nearly flawless, a lighter shade of a mediterranean olive tone, scattered with light freckles, barely visible at all. She sat like a proper lady, back straight and one hand in her lap with the other holding the book open. She was incredibly beautiful on a level all her own, yet familiar in a way he couldn't quite put his finger on. She reminded him of Fleur in the sort of way that those only of the one percent of the gene pool did - an air of casual perfection in every aspect of her being.
Slowly he stood up with a smile and went to grab the waterhose to get a drink, then water the flowers lining the hedgerow.
My (late) submission to the Haphne Summer 2021 event on the Harry/Daphne discord server. Are you a degenerate that obsesses over a character mentioned once? Do you fight over the hair color of a girl that has no real description besides one scene in a series of eight movies?
JOIN NOW! Discord . gg / pKSdvJQvhU
We are close to 1000 members on discord, and would like to meet the goal by the end of August.
Service Guarantees Haphne-Ship. Enlist today.
This is going to be a multi chapter fic with tons of fluff and laughs. Infrequent updates, however. Work is killing me right now.