A Summer Exchange
Harry and Daphne
Chapter Six.
Harry stumbled as the portkey dropped him off outside Daphne's family home; Greengrass Gardens. Looking around he realised they were surrounded by valleys on one side and what appeared to be a forest on the other side, neither of which gave him any indication as to where about in the country he was, the only thing he knew was it was beautiful. Looking up at the impressive visage of the manor, Harry nervously swallowed before making his way up to the door where a small house elf was patiently waiting for him.
"Welcome to Greengrass Gardens," a soft feminine voice said as Harry appeared in the doorway. Looking in he could see Madame Greengrass walking towards him with a warm, welcoming smile on her face. "I'm afraid the girls are out with their father at the moment," she said as she shook his hand warmly. "But I'll show you where you'll be staying and leave you to settle in before dinner. Oh, this is Binky, she'll be your own personal house-elf while you're staying here, so if you ever need anything just call her and she'll be right there," Madam Greengrass said as she led Harry up the grand sweeping staircase to the first floor.
"Thank you for having me for the next couple of weeks," Harry said as he followed her along the plush hallway.
"Oh, nonsense, we're happy to have you," Madam Greengrass said. "Besides, with all the tales Daphne and Astoria have told us when they come home from school over the years, we couldn't wait to finally meet you. Plus Daphne has been singing your praises after her three weeks in your home," she told him as she led them to Harry's guest room. "Well this is you. I hope you enjoy your time with us Harry," she said with a smile before turning and leaving Harry to unpack and get settled.
"Does sir need anything?" Binky asked, her words clear, unlike Dobby and Winky.
"No thank you. I think I'll just unpack and relax a little. I'll call you if I need anything," Harry told her with a polite smile, letting out an exhausted sigh when he was finally left alone. Looking around the plush room, with its expensive fittings, Harry couldn't help but think with slight amusement, 'Well at least we're not sharing a room', before he got to work unpacking his trunk.
After a couple of hours of relaxing in his room, staring out into the vast gardens of the Greengrass estate, Harry's solitude was eventually disturbed by the knocking of the door and the arrival of Daphne. "Mother said you'd arrived," she said when he opened the door for her. "Sorry I wasn't here to greet you; we'd been visiting Millie, she just got back from her exchange. Anyway, what are you doing up here on your own? Come on, I'll show you around," she offered with a smile, leading Harry from the room.
"We've only got the two floors, quite modest compared to most family homes. To the far left, that's mother and father's rooms. The dower rooms are over there too, but they're using them as an extended wardrobe at the moment," Daphne told him, motioning to the left side of the manor, but making no indication that she was going to actually take him to that side of the manor. "On the other side of the staircase is all guest rooms, but they're slightly smaller than the ones on this side. This is the bathroom for this side, there's another immediately opposite," she showed him, indicating to the door opposite them on the hallway.
"Two bathrooms for eight bedrooms. What do you do when you've got six guests?" Harry asked, curious, thinking it would be both amusing and a slight let down to que up in the plush hallway in order to use the bathroom.
"The family bedrooms all have en-suites so really it's really one bathroom for three guest rooms. We rarely have guests stay what with floo powder and apparation so it's never really been an issue," she explained to him as she moved them into the right-hand wing. "This is my room if you ever need to find me I'll usually be in here," she said opening the door and allowing him inside. "Astoria is just at the opposite end of the little hallway outside."
Walking across to the opposite wall, Harry paid little attention to the massive bed on the far wall, or the vanity and desk tucked into opposite corners of the room. He merely walked around the chaise and small sofa, he finally arrived at the other side of the room, where the wall seemed to be replaced by three expansive windows, allowing him a perfect view out over the grounds.
He thought he had a great view from his own room, but the view that Daphne was lucky enough to wake up to was fabulous. From Daphne's room, he had a clear view over the gardens; the manicured flowerbeds leading down to the small fountain and pond. To the right-hand side there was a miniature maze that he imagined both Daphne and Astoria would have spent hours chasing each other in when they were young and beyond that, the kitchen garden and green houses' that fed the family throughout the year. And right out in the distance, the edge of a forest that seemed to hug the left side of the estate.
The grounds were breath taking.
"Come on, I'll show you the ground floor," Daphne said, pulling him away from the view and leading him downstairs. Once they reached the foyer she led him to the left side of the manor and began pointing out what room was what. "That's the formal sitting room, or basically where mother takes the people who visit that she doesn't like. This is the formal dining room," she told him, throwing open the doors to a room that encompassed the entire length of the left wing, large sections of wall once again being replaced by vast windows making the room seem much more open, three large chandeliers hanging above the vast table in the centre of the room. "We rarely throw large enough parties to warrant such a room anymore. I think the last time we had enough guests to fill up this table was my parents wedding reception. This is a little entertainment room, just music and games. No I don't get it either," she added with a smile when she saw Harry's confused face as he looked around the small room. "This is the ballroom, again don't really know why we haven't got rid of it," she said with a shrug as they walked through the large room and back into the foyer before heading to the right wing of the manor.
"How long have the Greengrass' been here?" Harry asked.
"I want to say since the early 1800's but I'm not too sure. Astoria could tell you, she's a wiz with our family history. Okay, the right wing is more family rooms so if you ever need any of us then this is where we're more likely to be. This is the family dining room; all meals will be in here. This is the sitting room, on most nights we'll come in here and talk or play games. This is my absolute favourite room, the library," she told him throwing open the door. With floor to ceiling bookcases surrounding the walls, and with the fire burning gently as it was at that moment, Harry could easily see how Daphne could curl up into one of the over-sized plush chairs and loose herself in a book. The entire room had an incredibly comforting feel to it. "Those doors lead to the sitting room," Daphne informed him pointing to two doors next to them. "That door leads to father's study. He's not here at the moment and while he wants you to feel at home while you're here, he has asked me to tell you not to go in there without permission. It's the same rule for all us," she told him with a smile before walking towards one of the oversized chairs and collapsing into its soft cushions. "So that's it. What do you think?" she asked him, curious to know what he thought of her home.
"It's amazing," Harry told her as he too sat down, practically falling inside the soft cushions. "If I'm brutally honest, I thought you'd live somewhere really extravagant where each member of the family had a completely separate section of the manor to themselves. But this is homely, only on a larger scale," he admitted, almost looking bashful for his disparaging thoughts.
Daphne laughed, obviously amused with his embarrassment. "Believe it or not, our house is probably in the best condition for its size and age out of all of our classmates. And it's surprisingly modest. I mean, Pansy's house had four wings and there's only three people living there. It's mental. So, what would you like to do while you're here with us?" she asked him.
"I don't really know. What do you and your sister usually do during the summer?" Harry asked.
"Usually we go away. Mother's family is originally from Belgium so we have a house just outside Brussels and stay there for a couple of weeks," she told him with a shrug. Before they could discuss the second half of the summer however, Binky the house-elf popped in and announced the lunch was ready, bringing the conversation to an end for the time being.
Summer with the Greengrass' start! This is actually the longest chapter so far and it's all because I've tried to describe all the Greengrass house (I've even drawn it out, corridors and all just so I can navigate it properly). I should point out that describing places is not a strong suit of mine, but I've done my best.
As always, let me know what you think and be on the look out for chapter 7.