"Not with a half-blood"
Chapter Twelve: It's better this wayDaphne was woken up by a poke from Harry, she blinked and opened her eyes properly. He was already up "Oy. wake up, work to do" he said softly.
"Mmmph!" she groaned. It was some atrocious early hour. He was a morning person, and that was worse than marrying a half-blood.
Harry got back into bed and called Kreacher "Kreacher, breakfast in bed today" he said. His feet were cold too. Ugh!
Kreacher disappeared silently.
Harry put his head down, and fell asleep. He got into bed with me and fell asleep. In the morning.
Daphne eyed poking-man. She wondered about waiting five minutes then poking him again. Serve him right. She went to the loo instead. He had warmed the seat. Hmm. He has his uses.
Kreacher turned up quite a bit later with breakfast trays. Daphne pointed silently and got the tray and investigated. Cooked breakfast, and letters and tea.
She made tea for herself, and Harry – his, she warming charmed. His black, one sugar would wait. He'd warmed the loo seat.
She was all four extremely delicious rashers of bacon and an egg into breakfast, reading tenant letters, before Harry sat up, futilely tried to make his hair look less slept in, then asked "Anything important?" and yawned. And his hair was definitely bed hair. Try not to smirk at his bed hair.
"Minor issues from Black Books, and a few tenants making requests. Nothing that can't wait for the week. We've got an army of weasels to herd" said Daphne casually.
Harry looked in his breakfast tray, under a lid on the tray "The bacon's all gone" he said. Daphne resisted the urge to snigger.
"Well, there WAS bacon, earlier" said Daphne, with a small smile.
Harry had scrambled eggs and the lonely kipper. And his cup of tea.
"Breakfast in bed's not bad" observed Harry. Being woken up before the sun is properly up is.
"Are you going to sleep all day?" asked Daphne, looking down her nose at him a little.
"I've already got up and warmed the bathroom" said Harry "You go when you're done with breakfast, then I'll need to get dressed. Daphne blinked. He wanted her to leave.
"I have seen you naked" said Daphne dismissively. Her lips felt a little dry. She licked them.
"Well, I have seen you naked too." said Harry "But I'm thinking more about some comfortable socks, and some more clothes that I don't mind ruining." Most of his old clothes were unfit to use as rags.
Daphne got out of the bed and rooted around in Harry's dresser, fairly sure which drawer held what, and got out a horrible top and an even worse pair of jeans "These are horrible, and barely fit. Ruin these." said Daphne, and swept out of the room in her nightgown to investigate the loo again, then went to her room to dress. Being mistress of all your survey has its perks.
As she washed her face, she considered what she wanted to do to the Riddle house, and Harry's muggle cleaning potions seemed like a good start. And… not jeans, there were a lot of male Weasleys, and while Mr Weasley senior was probably harmless, she didn't want to show off her derrière to them, so a dress. Maybe with potions, one loo might not look vile. She put on the black sack-dress she'd last worn when she found out she was stuck marrying him, and apparated to the kitchen.
And Harry was talking to Kreacher, who was obeying. Not that he didn't, but Kreacher did like her a lot better than Harry.
"Dress?" asked Harry.
"I don't want to wreck my jeans, and I don't need Weasleys eyeing my derrière." said Daphne. "I want more of the porcelain cleaner. And gloves."
"Noted" said Harry "I want to grab a few things before we go." Had his mouth twitched with amusement?
"Tesco?" asked Daphne.
"Tesco." Harry agreed. The alleyway near Tesco by apparation.
Harry picked out a dish mop, some washing liquid and Daphne grabbed some more high-tech porcelain cleaning products, and to Harry's obvious discomfort, three packs of pink rubber gloves. The colour was dreadful, but the alternative was yellow. They were for washing up, supposedly, but Harry had already told her ages ago about them being for using chemistry with. Harry took Daphne out of Tesco, down a side street, and they apparated to the kitchen of the Riddle house.
Harry unpacked and really explored the kitchen , playing with odd muggle furniture along the back wall. One looked like a drum with legs, and the other a metal cupboard.
"What are those?" asked Daphne "A Metal cupboard?"
"Clothes dryer" explained Harry "Old and… I wouldn't risk it. That's… a clothes washer. An old one. They're like self-stirring cauldrons for clothes. That one's ancient. Modern ones are automatic. The clothes come out… clean but damp. Some dry the clothes too."
"So they're a bit rubbish" said Daphne dismissively. The muggle studies books had mentioned automatic mangles. Nothing you couldn't do miles easier with charms.
"I think… I dunno. Kreacher might come later. He's worried we'll abandon him" said Harry awkwardly. Oh. The elf would want to stay at its locus. Bother, having a house elf was convenient.
"Oh" said Daphne "Our elf is like family…. Our Greengrass elf. Kreacher's …."
"Old and weird" said Harry "He was always like this, according to Andromeda."
"Well, go open the doors for the Weasleys." said Daphne. Free labour after all.
"We'll have to put up more protections. Salvio Hexia at least. Has to wait till the walls are done." said Harry. He was quite paranoid really. Embedding hex-protections in the walls.
"After lunch" said Daphne. "I'll get some more booze out. They really can drink."
"They're free labour." said Harry "lets not stint."
"Stint?" said Daphne "Since when did you say stint?" Had he taken up reading actual books?
"You're rubbing off on me?" suggested Harry, and he winked. As if.
"You keep working me this hard, and you might see that again on your birthday" said Daphne, with a raised eyebrow. Honestly I was so tired last night I didn't feel like it at all.
Harry went red in the face, and left to open some doors. He was so easily flustered.
The Weasleys brought more food than before, and Harry hurriedly scourgify'ed the abandoned refrigerator; which had at least been empty. Turned back on, it buzzed and started to cool.
"It's old and rubbish, but it's like a charmed cold-room" explained Harry "New ones are better."
Mrs Weasley was looking at the kitchen sink, and firing spells at it. Daphne put on some gloves, opened the most brightly coloured porcelain treatment, pushed gently past Mrs Weasley, and rubbed some onto the sink with a patent-cloth of some device from Tesco. The green stain-lines under the taps faded quickly.
"Muggle products. They have quite good line of potions for stained porcelain. It's completely restored all of Grimmauld without wasting money on replacements" said Daphne. Mrs Weasley scoffed.
Daphne went to the nearest toilet, and a few spells as a warm-up, dried it out, and the potion made the porcelain bowl quite white.
Mrs Weasley took that as a challenge and started casting cleaning charms wordlessly, mostly with just a jab. Having seen her free labour take off, Daphne went to the upstairs en-suite that was off what would definitely be her room, and started work cleaning. There was no point having an en-suite too filthy to use. The parlour furniture needed to move, as the rug there was savable. And the beds needed to move so the wall could be cleaned… lots of furniture moving. Mostly pushing, a little levitation and a lot of muscle. It was at least some exercise.
And Mrs Weasley eventually tried to use the chemicals on the second upstairs bathroom, and her robes were almost immediately had whitish spots.
"Mrs Weasley" said Daphne "Do be careful with the chemicals. Its has marked your dress."
Mrs Weasley looked down at her dress "What the hades!" she exclaimed "How do the muggles cope with this stuff, it can't be safe!"
"I'm wearing gloves for a reason" said Daphne. Not mentioning that Harry didn't bother with gloves.
Mrs Weasley pursed her lips "It is quite effective. Do you think there will be some left over?"
"I expect so" said Daphne. "We can get you some more, should you wish."
And Mrs Weasley apparated off and put on some pink rubber gloves.
The three ensuites clean, they went back to the kitchen to deal with the laundry sink in a room out the back, and eventually Harry scuffled into the kitchen, covered in little bits of weeds and a thin film of dust. "That muggle cleaning potion of yours is the very devil on clothes" said Mrs Weasley, whose robe had even more white patches. ."Though, it's cleaned up the bathrooms a treat." Daphne resisted the urge to roll her eyes, though the black sack was bleached in spots. It was after all, a sack dress, so who cared.
The house was surprisingly clean by the end of the afternoon light. Though all the linens and mattresses needed replaced, and Daphne had exhausted her repertoire of spells on the few salvageable rugs.
The Weasleys, and Fleur particularly had gone from room to room, cleaning with spells. Fleur had made lists of things she felt needed special attention; she gave Daphne the list as she left, kissing Daphne on the cheek. Victiore was a little dear. And she and Teddy would be so cute together. Not that I'm planning on them having and arranged marriage. Merlin no.
Harry apparated off for a few moments, reappearing with a crack the shook the windows "I've set you a bath running" said Harry.
Daphne tested washing charms in the sink. Mrs Weasley made it look easy, but also boring. Making things clean one at a time was simple enough, but going faster sloshed hot soapy water about.
Harry went down the hallway somewhere.
Daphne went down to see, and he was vanishing things from the hall bedroom, that was already clean "Harry, enough. It's been scourgified to death. Let it go."
"That… traitor touched it" said Harry, vanishing an innocent bedside table. He could get so moody.
"Well, past-time to go home and go to sleep" said Daphne "We've got so much to do with tenants this week. Some of the newer leases need renewed." Not the older ones, they would hang around like a bad smell forever.
Once they got home to Grimmauld, Harry looked at her face "Time for bed" he said, and he said it in such a matter-of-fact way, without a hint of suggestiveness. Just… that it was time for bed. A big warm bed with well, warm feet from his warm legs.
Daphne apparated to her room and got changed for bed, dressing robe and slippers. Grimmauld place was always cold, except for summer, when it was too hot.
Daphne got into her side of his bed, the one with a pillow that wasn't like a bally brick, and shifted about to get comfortable. Harry picked up his pyjamas and ducked out, returning in grey flannel, and closing the door, slipping into bed, and turning out the light. His glasses clattered on the bedside table. Daphne wondered if she'd die from overwork, and drifted off to sleep.
She woke to the sensation of her back getting slowly cold. She opened her eyes and the bedroom was lighting up from slivers of light from all three windows, and the bedroom door was open. A door closed nearby. Then the sound of distant water running. She rolled onto her back and her left foot found a nice warm patch, cooling. Her left hand found a warm patch. He must have just left.
Harry returned several minutes later, clean-shaven and his hair in, for him, some semblance of order, and opened the curtains. Sunlight lit the room properly.
"Breakfast in bed?" asked Harry. Daphne, feeling sore from dragging furniture about, wiggled her toes.
"I'll take that as a yes then" he said drily, and got back into bed, and picked up a book from the bedside table. "Kreacher!" he called, and the pop was instant.
"Master?" croaked Kreacher, bowing low.
"Kreacher, breakfast in bed." said Daphne. "Tea first." She lay, still not having sat up, and waited for the tea-tray. Harry put it on his lap.
"Milk, two sugars?" said Harry.
"mmm" Daphne agreed.
Once the tea had drawn, Daphne pulled herself up the bed and sat up, and took the tea Harry handed her. It was actually agood blend.
"We have tenants to see." said Daphne. "New leases to negotiate."
"I've never been good at negotiating" said Harry.
"Just pretend you're watching Weasley and Granger fight" quipped Daphne.
"Uh" grunted Harry. It was tempting to look, to see if he had smiled at her joke. She risked a quick sideways glance. He seemed sulky more than amused.
The breakfast tray arrived by the time her tea was gone, and she left it to Harry and used the loo.
When she checked, there was only one rasher of bacon left. She flicked her eyes over and Harry had… a little glint in his eyes. Swine.
Once breakfast was over Daphne said "Harry, dear, do wear a good robe… and not the silly shoes. We want the tenants to feel obliged to pay more and argue less. Just look intimidating."
Harry had turned is head to look at her and had his eyebrows up in what was almost certainly a sarcastic mood. "Intimidating?"
"The sort of look you have at Yule at my parents." said Daphne. His eyes practically glinted, and his lips flickered in a slight smile.
"Mind out of the gutter Husband." said Daphne, and he smiled and chuckled. As if.
The dark robes with green embroidery and a string of black pearls to match her wedding ring, and she looked sufficiently severe, she put her hair up in a bun, and pinned on a very traditional pointed hat, with brim, of course. She lifted her eyebrows to her reflection in the peer-glass.
"You look very well dear" said the mirror. Daphne put on buttoned boots – she could look shorter than Harry, she wanted him to be clear that no hanky would be pankied. This was a work week.
Four days of tenants meetings later and Harry was clearly bored out of his mind, but the tenants were intimidated into near silence, just because he was tall and dark in black robes with black trim, and had slightly hollow cheekbones. They were probably confusing sulky bored Harry with 'about to destroy dark-lord Harry' If there had been sausage rolls, she had no doubt he would have been scoffing them, with every possible sauce combination.
They got home to Grimmauld from the mornings meetings, and Daphne bustled off towards her room to get changed, taking the stairs to get some exercise at all.
"You needn't change" called out Harry "We're just going out this afternoon for more meetings anyway" he conceded.
Daphne turned her head and eyed him. He looked… well he looked very handsome and well-dressed. And vaguely guilty.
Lunch was, for all that they were dressed for business was fairly informal; as informal as lunch at a twenty yard long table can be. Kreacher had made soup and cheese on toast. Oxtail.
Harry looked at Daphne over his soup "Well, you're a great negotiator" he conceded "I'd have got irate by now."
"You're being very… important" said Daphne "By saying nothing and looking serious, we get a big advantage."
"I'm bored out of my mind" admitted Harry. It was obvious.
"As long as you don't fall asleep or yawn, nobody will know" said Daphne, with a slight smile.
That night, Harry sank into his bed and seemed to settle in immediately. Daphne lay and waited for the bed to carry her off to dreamland. A bed that smelt of Harry's cologne and Harry.
"Night Harry." she said sleepily.
"Nox" cast Harry, kissed her on the head and rolled over to sleep.
Daphne lay, frozen still in the bed for ages. He'd kissed my head. Like he was actually fond of me or something, and then he just… went to sleep.
Eventually Daphne fell asleep.
Daphne woke up to find the warm blanket she'd snuggled into had suddenly moved. She groaned in dismay and rolled over.
A bit later there was a banging sound, like the plumbing. She opened one eye – the bedroom, Harry's room was partly lit and smelt of Harry. And she had a cold back. One arm felt for the covers – which were there. She reached behind her –and the bed behind her was a little colder. He'd got out of bed, she supposed. And suddenly realised she wanted the loo rather urgently. She got up, dragged on her dressing gown, shoved her slippers on and went for the fourth floor bathroom.
Harry was holding his toothbrush in his mouth and staring at nothing.
"Get Out" she said, and Harry left, closing the door, and she could find relief.
She left via the hall, to get some exercise this week at all.
Harry was standing in the hall in his pyjamas holding his toothbrush like a wand at sixth guard.
She went back to bed, and warming charmed her feet, and called Kreacher.
Harry ate quietly, and Daphne could concentrate on the mail. Some of the tenants had written wanting to reschedule. They looked like ones that were in arrears, so they could bally well turn up on time.
Daphne got up "Off to dress muggle for the day" she said.
"Don't" said Harry, "You don't have to dress any particular way. If you're more comfortable in a robe, wear a damn robe. I'm going to wear those jeans you hoped I'd destroy, and go see the Riddle house."
"I want to go see to the study" said Daphne.
"Fine, I'll be bringing some tools; some doors need adjusted" said Harry.
Daphne wore the rather worse-for-wear sack dress, and trainers. There was nobody to see.
The office at Little Hangleton had drawers and drawers of records. And 'Uncle Tom' or his friends had mostly ignored it, except that everything was covered in dusty grime. Blown in from the walls decomposing, one assumed.
There was a filing system of a kind. Neatly labelled hanging dividers in tall drawers. Like a proper filing cabinet, but lacking even the most basic space expansion charms.
The floor did have piles of paper trash, a mangled muggle blotter and an odd instrument like the telephone in the pub at Appleby, but in black, and very heavy, and not on the wall. There were strange wires wrapped in decomposing cloth around the telephone.
Daphne summoned empty beer-crates to hold old records, labelled them and emptied the shelves (mostly by vanishing) and the drawers (mostly into the crates). The old records should be a useful guide to budgeting for the muggle part of the household. And besides, historical records.
By lunchtime, the crates were full of records, ready to go to the attic, the shelves clean and the room usable as an office.
It lacked decoration, but a painting of Buttercup would be ideal.
Daphne found Harry in the kitchen, briefed him on the office, and the high-points of the new budget.
"We need lunch" said Daphne firmly.
"Let's go to the pub" said Harry "Your dress is practically a muggle dress."
"The pub?" asked Daphne. He must mean the one in the village.
"It's just down in the village." said Harry, and he cast a few cleaning charms on Daphne.
Then he charmed her dress. She looked down, and wonder-of-wonders, he'd chosen her lady-of-the manor dress, and got it pretty much right."Nice illusion" she said.
The pub was called the Strangled Lark, and had a grisly picture of a lark being strangled on its signboard. Harry opened the door for Daphne and let her into a dimly lit pub. It had tables and chairs, and a short bar along the back wall. Daphne suffered a brief moment of uncertainty. It looked so much like the Crown and Cushion in Appleby. Well, if the Crown had never bought new furniture.
In the front right corner of the pub, a jukebox softly played something old.
The tables were mismatched and battered, the chairs a little battered. A dartboard had pride of place on one pock-marked wall. Along one side of the room was a row of booths. It wasn't that different to say, the Three Broomsticks, there was even a fireplace. Which was out. On the wall near the door was a small vending machine for something.
A tall yokel in an apron with facial hair stepped out from one end of the back of the bar and stood behind the bar. "Ello" he said. "Ainsworth, Ted Ainsworth. Welcome to the Strangled Lark."
"Harry Potter, my wife Daphne. We've just taken over the old Riddle house." said Harry.
Ted Ainsworth, bartender looked surprised by that "The old Riddle house, that's been boarded up… my whole life, I see you've been cleaning. That'll take a while."
"Since the fifties, yes" said Harry "My cousin Tom Riddle inherited, and he died a year or so ago."
"Tom Riddle? There was a Tom Riddle lived there, I was told. Died there too."
"That was Cousin Tom's father" said Harry "What's for lunch?" He just glossed over that.
"Pies, crisps, we've got some Cottage pie, but that'll be a little while to warm up" said Ted.
"Microwaved is fine. Probably" said Harry looking at Daphne "Something to drink?"
"Cider. A pint of cider" said Daphne. Mmm cider.
"A pint then" said Ted with a moments' hesitation, pulling a glass out and setting it under a spout and pulling on one of several levers. "And for you?"
"Ginger beer?" asked Harry hopefully.
"Hard or soft?" asked Ted. "We've got some old-fashioned stone crock stuff if that's your thing?"
"Oh yes" said Harry. "A pint of that."
"You're both not driving for a while; the Cider's got a bit of a kick and the Hard ginger beer… well it's not Scumpy, but it's stronger'n beer."
"You've got Scumpy?" asked Daphne. Scumpy! Oh that would be a treat. But not if there was work to do, and not without a bed to fall into, and well-made hangover cure potion.
"Not officially…it's homemade" said Ted. Oh goody. The good stuff.
"Of course" said Daphne, and she noticed Harry was looking like a shaved monkey again. "Harry, Scumpy… it's like cider decided to go be a spirit." A delicious delicious spirit.
"It's under-proof" said the bartender "And I'd rather you didn't go telling people. It's a local drop, no revenue. I assume you two are moving in up there?" Oh dear. We've been here five minutes and the local pub is not paying the revenue. How… well Jameson at the Crown wasn't quite this… rural.
"It's nicer than our townhouse" said Daphne "For all that it's a bit… weathered."
"There was some queer business a few years back with the old grounds-keeper dying" said Ted, putting the pint glass of cider in front of Daphne.
"Cousin Tom and his friends" said Harry "Tom's idea of fun generally had someone dying." Harry concluded, in a derisive tone.
Ainsworth's eyes widened. Time to defuse the situation, thought Daphne.
"Oh don't worry. Harry stopped Cousin Tom." said Daphne. "He'd decided Harry needed to die, like his parents. Tom killed them too."
Ted Ainsworth gave Daphne a searching look. Honestly, he ignored The Revenue, how prissy was he?
"All above board. Harry got a medal for it, I think. Before my time; though we did go to the same School. Harry was a legacy, of course" said Daphne in an aristocratic tone.
"Oh." said Ted.
"These days I do property maintenance for the rentals I inherited from my godfather" said Harry "Go kick that shepherds pie off will you Ted?" And that was weirdly like Harry acting like he had any sort of social class whatsoever.
Ted Ainsworth raised a finger "Your ginger beer in a moment" he said and went round the end of the back shelves to the back of the pub. He came back in mere moments "You're in luck, Irene's had today's in the AGA, it's still hot; she's going to dish it up. Now, for that ginger beer. The pint glass was filled with slightly cloudy ginger coloured liquid from a stone crock.
Ted put the glass in front of Harry "Take it slowly… it's a bit peppery" he advised.
"How much?" asked Harry.
Ted pushed buttons on a modern, electricity till, and said "Nine pounds, fifty." Muggles had weird money.
Harry fished out his wallet, found a note and handed it over. "Do you take card?" asked Harry.Oh, like Harrods. That would be convenient.
Daphne left for a booth. It looked more comfortable, and the privacy charm would be easier.
Harry finished paying and came over and sat.
Daphne took a sip of the cider, which was okay. "A bit different to the pub at home, but okay" she said. With the wand in her dress pocket, she cast a subtle little muting charm.
Harry sipped the ginger beer "Oh" he croaked "hot."
"Hot?" asked Daphne "Do tell?" she asked.
Harry slid the glass over and Daphne cautiously took a sip, then a bigger one. Scrummy spicy goodness. I could get so smashed on this.But not today.
"Not bad at all." she said "Two and you'll be legless" she noted.
"I'm not much of a drinker" admitted Harry.
"One of your more redeeming characteristics" said Daphne, sipping her – rather good – cider.
"So cider?" asked Harry.
"Appleby; lots of apples. Lots of cider." said Daphne. "The local pub… well it's mixed" she said quietly "More cider than butterbeer. Weak stuff for kids. Strong for adults."
Daphne felt nostalgic "And daughters of important families who insisted." she said, and added "Summer after fourth year, we all got silly on it. Mother was not amused then we all turned up home squiffy."
"Well, I was never allowed out to get up to no good. My cousin Dudley did all that with his gang" said Harry.
"Another redeeming characteristic" said Daphne. "What's microwave?" she asked. Harry and Ted clearly knew, but it made no sense.
"Muggle thing like warming charms" said Harry softly "Sometimes uneven."
"Oh, is that all" said Daphne, and sipped cider. I've missed cider. The groundskeeper had been murdered.Wait, groundskeeper!
"Where did the grounds-keeper live?" asked Daphne.
"There's a little cottage on the grounds" said Harry.
"And you haven't checked it out?" asked Daphne.
"Er, no" said Harry, suddenly looking like a Gryffindor quidditch player again.
"Repelling charms on the way home" said Daphne "That's the sort of place local children would break into for fun." The Arrows clubroom got broken into once in a while.
"Did you and Astoria get up to no good" asked Harry casually.
"Of course not. But we heard about one of the empty houses in Appleby getting broken into." said Daphne. We were far too well-behaved for that. And mummy knows all. I suspect mummy can scry.
The cottage pie was quite good. But rather filling, and potatoes.
Daphne looked at her three-quarters empty plate "I'll stop before I get fat" she said.
"You're looking peaky" said Harry "Eat up?"
"You've been working me like a house elf; what do you expect" said Daphne. Today was not the day to explain her diet to him.
"Eat up, and a good days work" said Harry "I'll take you to Chez Black for dinner. I hear the service is quiet and the cooking edible."
"At least it's economical" said Daphne. "Are you going to sell that car for a hundred thousand pounds now?" she asked.
"I was thinking about keeping it. Mr Weasley is amazing with cars. The Anglia was big enough for all the Weasleys; it should have only fit four" Harry said more quietly "And flew, and went invisible. I think that sounds quite convenient. It had a space expanded boot."
"A boot? Like a portkey?" asked Daphne. A flying car with a portkey? Sounds dangerous.
"The bit on the back. A cupboard of sorts. Five school trunks, no problem" said Harry.
"That sounds… awkward, for the head of the misuse of muggle artefacts office" said Daphne, feeling stupid for not knowing what a boot was.
"I think… law enforcement's not his true calling" said Harry, with a slight smile. Daphne resisted the urge to snort.
"Well I hope while he's fixing the car we don't need him at Black Books." said Daphne.
The walk back to the house on the hill was pleasant.
Harry went off to fix sticking doors, and doors that didn't close properly.
Daphne went back to clearing out the office. The crates of records she levitated out to the kitchen.
Harry was fussing over the back door. "You realise when we go to open some windows, there will be endless problems" said Daphne.
"Well, it's a bit cold for that yet. I'll put those in the attic?" asked Harry.
"I suppose" said Daphne.
Harry, levitated them and walked off. Daphne started cleaning out cupboards. There were very old muggle cooking tools in some.
Harry apparated back to the kitchen a little later.
"I found something" said Harry.
"What?" asked Daphne, still wiping out the cupboard.
"The trunks and suitcases are all full of old clothes." said Harry "Unless you want fifty to ninety-year-old muggle clothes, we've got a lot to get rid of."
"We can sell that to muggle old clothes shops" said Daphne. "There must be poor muggles, just like we've got Weasleys."
"Well, too tired, lets go home, eat and go to bed" said Harry.
"And will you kiss my hair goodnight?" asked Daphne. He was being a bit weird.
"I could probably manage to kiss you properly." said Harry "It's nice waking up in a warm bed."
"Don't get ideas" said Daphne, wishing she was in bed already. Would it be rude to ask for dinner in bed?
"Too tired" said Harry with a laugh "Lets go eat." Oh thank merlin, he wasn't angling for … that.
Harry and Daphne apparated home to Grimmauld place.
Kreacher greeted Harry and Daphne at the front door, and supper was waiting for them. Which was more solicitous than usual.
After a surprisingly elaborate supper they apparated off to bed.
Harry did kiss Daphne's cheek before turning out the light.
"Cheek?" asked Daphne "You're slipping."
Harry kissed her again on the lips. And his lips were so soft and the kiss was… it was good. But so tired.
Then next morning Daphne woke up lying on a warm… she looked down. She was lying on Harry's chest, and his arm was lying on her back, rather warm. And she needed the loo rather urgently. She wiggled backwards out of his hold and he didn't even wake up.
After breakfast in the dining room. Daphne went to see Buttercup, who was a little cross with her, and rode her out, and really missed riding. Buttercup was mollified by an extra-long brushing. Mummy had tea waiting for her, and it was nice to talk to mummy again. The tenants hadn't sent anything too dreadful, so Daphne apparated off to the Riddle house and made notes for rugs, and left that on Harry's desk before lunch. Astoria swam with her that afternoon, and the woolly swimwear was wholly unsuitable to rest in afterwards. Perhaps some muggle swimwear. Fluer's outfit for example.
Days and days, well nights and nights of sleeping with a Harry who had taken to kissing her before sleep, Daphne felt her monthly coming by lunchtime. Cramps, and she took pain potions immediately.
After dinner, he came past the office and kissed her hand, fairly ironically. "Well, time for bed" he said, still holding her hand.
"I'm sleeping in my own bed, covered in hot water bottles" she said "Not to knock you, but I'm after more comfort than a sleeping Harry Potter gives. And I think I'll be getting up in the night a bit too."
It was a rotten night. Stupid cramps woke her up, and the loo was cold.
And some monster knocked on her door before the sun was properly up.
"Go away" groaned Daphne.
Harry came in, wearing his dreadful grey pyjamas.
"Hot water bottles?" asked Harry.
"Mmmfp!" grunted Daphne.
Harry conjured one, filled it, heated it up and put it carefully into the bed where Daphne snatched it. "Thanks" she said, tiredly. It helped.
"Bad again this month?" asked Harry.
"Duh" was all he deserved.
"We could go to St Mungos, they might be able to do something for you. Find a potion that works… something. Anything." said Harry.
Daphne opened her eyes and looked over at Harry "You actually care, don't you?" she asked. He had a pained look on his face.
"Yes" said Harry "You're my wife, and a good friend, I'll warm up the bathroom. Do you want a bath?"
"Oh Merlin no. It's dreadful. It goes red. No thanks" said Daphne.
He left and returned a bit later.
Daphne was surprised when Harry got into her bed and kissed her hair gently. "Kreacher's making breakfast, we'll go to St Mungos afterwards."
"The dining room" said Daphne. She groaned.
"Breakfast in bed here" said Harry "You're wrung out, and I slept badly. The bed was far too empty and not warm enough."
"You missed me?" she asked blearily.
"I missed you." admitted Harry "You make the bed smell nice, you know."
"Not today" said Daphne. Wind and … other things.
Harry patted her shoulder in a sympathetic way.
Breakfast arrived silently. A cooked breakfast. Harry lifted the lid and eyed a pile of rashers. The smell made her a bit nauseous.
"Oh I couldn't stomach bacon today" said Daphne.
"Well, I'll eat some and give Salazar the leftovers on the way to the floo" said Harry cheerily.
"That bird is a menace" said Daphne.
They ate, and Harry did eat a lot of the bacon. Fortunately, the kipper seemed particularly good today.
After breakfast, Daphne got out of bed and pulled on her robe, stumbling to the bathroom. After a quick clean, she put on casual but comfy robes. It was tempting to wear trainers, but she had to maintain some standards. And not look too dwarfed by him.
He knocked.
Daphne put on some foundation and went out, and he was actually sensibly dressed.
He held her hand "Want a lift to the fireplace?" Harry asked.
"If I didn't feel so bad, I'd appreciate being pampered" Daphne replied.
They vanished into crushing nothingness, and reappeared by the kitchen fireplace.
Kreacher was doing the breakfast dishes.
"Kreacher, We're going to St Mungos. Daphne feels poorly. Have lunch... soup, something ready for us" said Harry.
"Yes Master" said Kreacher with a surprising little bow.
Harry cast a pinch of floo Powder into the big fireplace and called out "St Mungos" and stepped though with Daphne. The usual tumbling green awfulness, but they Harry stepped out firmly, Daphne hanging on his arm. He fell down and dragged Daphne over. She got up, disgusted. "You are the very worst person to ever floo" she said. It was definitely a curse of some sort.
The Welcome witch hastened to Harry and Daphne "Oh, it's you… Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter-Black" said Harry "My Wife, Daphne is unwell."
"I'm having a really bad period" said Daphne very bluntly.
The welcome witch's eyebrows shot up.
"She can hardly sleep. We need to see a specialist and get her a better potion or something" said Harry, sounding quite… agitated. About her?
"Oh" said the Welcome witch. "I'll um… get someone to come."
She hurried to her podium and scribbled on a parchment, and charmed it to turn into a paper aeroplane and fly off.
"Um Mister Potter, Mrs Potter… take a seat" said the Welcome Witch.
"MR Black, Mrs Black" snapped Harry. "Just to make this clear."
He'd never called himself Mr Black before.
"What's got into you" asked Daphne.
"I hate hospitals, I hate the whole Harry Potter, the boy who lived thing. I practically had my own bed in the infirmary at Hogwarts." said Harry stiffly. "But mostly… I hate hospitals."
"Mmmmm" said Daphne, and she sat, and had sodding cramps.
A little while later a green robed healer ; an older woman with grey-brown hair came in "Mrs Potter?"
"Here" said Harry quickly. "And it's Mrs Black. Just as I'm Mr Potter-Black" sad Harry.
"Oh yes" said the older woman "We'll go to a room. Will you need Mr ...Black?"
"Not unless you can't give me something for this" said Daphne "Then he's back on conjuring hot water bottle duty."
The older healer smiled slightly at that "Take a seat, Mr Black. There are magazines."
Daphne followed the healer down the hall a long way, into an office.
"Please sit" said the healer "I'm Healer Gallowglass. Your cover slip says a bad monthly?"
"I haven't been able to sleep" admitted Daphne. "Cramps."
"And is this uncommon?" asked Healer Gallowglass.
"It's been this way since I became a woman" said Daphne.
"Well, that's probably long enough to be sure you need a different potion" said Healer Gallowglass. "Your husband is… quite influential. You will get St Mungos best efforts."
"He's oddly concerned" said Daphne.
"I have heard … that your marriage was not a love match" said Healer Gallowglass.
"My parents signed a contract during the war. The Malfoys were expecting to collect the Black inheritance, and therefore me." said Daphne.
"And Harry Potter-Black decided to keep you" said Healer Gallowglass "And cares enough to drag you to St Mungos. Are you… sexually active?"
"Barely" said Daphne, and she frowned at Healer Gallowglass.
"Well, do you have any reproductive issues apart from the monthlies?" asked Healer Gallowglass.
"Not really" asked Daphne.
"Right. Now, are you using any potions right now?"
"Contraceptive potion – a maidens-choice my mother makes." said Daphne.
"It would be … simpler if I could take a blood sample. I'll destroy it in front of you."
Daphne sighed and nodded, the charmed crystal vial healer Gallowglass had held had bit her wrist. It stung. Healer Gallowglass cast some spells on the vial with her blood sample, then incinerated it.
"Well, that was interesting but unhelpful" said Healer Gallowglass "May I cast some diagnostic charms on your abdomen?"
Daphne nodded.
The healer cast a few charms and frowned "Are you English?" she asked.
"Of course I am" said Daphne. How dare she!
"It's just… pureblood witches in England typically don't have the sort of erm, uterine thickening you have."
"Meaning what?" asked Daphne, feeling more irritated right now than at any time in the last few months.
"Fertility problems are … fairly common in the sacred twenty-eight" said Healer Gallowglass.
"I am the heiress of the Greengrass name" said Daphne, breathing through her nose.
"Is your erm, pedigree entirely English?"
"Well no, my grandmother was a Bathory, from Hungary." said Daphne.
"Oh." said Healer Gallowglass, and she looked thoughtful.
"Do you mean to say that my pains are due to … fertility?" asked Daphne.
"The uterine lining thickens, then sloughs. This is a very common witches issue." said Healer Gallowglass. "On the bright side, I know just the right potion for you."
"I would like a prescription then" asked Daphne.
"I will prescribe a potion that may help your monthlies, though it may cause - and I wish to stress this, totally reversible problems conceiving. When you want to, merely stop taking the potion" Healer Gallowglass looked thoughtful.
"Why doesn't everyone just take it then" asked Daphne.
"Ah" said Healer Gallowglass "Well, it can cause permanent difficulties conceiving for witches with… less healthy blood than yours."
"Healthy blood?" asked Daphne, incredulous.
"The sacred-twenty-eight mostly marry themselves, it has caused some issues" Healer Gallowglass looked away from Daphne.
"My mothers family are from overseas. So was Harry's grandmother." said Daphne. Not mentioning his mother's family tree. Ever.
Healer Gallowglass opened a tome from the shelf, flicked through many pages, and found a page, and cast a charm to copy it, which she wrote a note on the bottom of, then signed "Get this potion made by an apothecary." she said.
"Temporarily" said Daphne. You'd better mean temporarily.
"Just stay away from Knockturn Alley apothecaries, then yes" said Healer Gallowglass. "Don't take too many other potions with it."
"Pain potions?" asked Daphne.
"Nothing stronger than a pain-reducing draught"
"Fine" said Daphne, and she stood up, and winced. Stupid uterus.
Healer Gallowglass lifted her eyebrows and cast a charm on Daphne and the pain eased. "That will give you temporary relief, but it's a difficult charm, because it requires medical training to visualise the correct result." But my pain is much reduced. Daphne nodded politely to Healer Gallowglass.
Who cast another charm and suddenly Daphne felt less bloated. "That one is a bit fraught, not a good idea to cast it outside a hospital" said Healer Gallowglass "kidneys can fail from it."
"Thank you for that" said Daphne. And I'm not dying. She left Gallowglass's office and went to the waiting room , where Harry was engrossed in a home design magazine.
"Harry" she said.
Harry looked up "Sorry, got absorbed." he said hastily, tossed the magazine into the pile, and stood.
"We need to drop by an apothecary and get a special prescription made up" said Daphne.
"Are you okay now?" asked Harry his eyes boring into her, his left leg jiggling.
"I've had some charms, I'm feeling better, but the potion will help more" said Daphne. His leg stopped jiggling.
"Great" said Harry, and he went to the fireplace.
The Apothecary wanted to thank "The Great Harry Potter." Whose face became quite pinched.
"I am here with my wife to get a medical potion ordered" said Harry "Can we stuck to business."
Daphne reluctantly gave the apothecary the script, which they glanced at, did a double take and suddenly changed in demeanour "Terribly Sorry" they said "I'll get this started, where should it be delivered?"
"Twelve Grimmauld Place" said Harry.
When they got out of the shop Daphne asked "What's got into you?"
"I… I just want to get my wife a potion, so she can feel better, and he wanted to waste time with bullshit" said Harry, putting an arm around Daphne "We're going to the front stoop."
Daphne allowed Harry to side-along her, and realised as they apparated onto the stop that he'd worn his cologne. And was warm and strong and… would bally well be conjuring some bally hot water bottles tout de suite.
Once they got inside, Harry asked "Side along , your room?"
Daphne nodded.
Harry swept her into his arms, and side-along apparated her to her room as well. If felt rather like daddy apparating her as a small child. But warmer and smelling of Harry.
"I'll have Kreacher bring lunch to the drawing room. Get into your warm soft clothes and rest on the couch. I'll be back with conjured hot water bottles." said Harry.
Daphne sat on one of her parlour chairs and tried to ignore her discomfort. "I'm tired. I'll have a little rest first."
"Okay, I'll be waiting for you in the drawing room" said Harry, and appeared off with a sharp crack. The room seemed suddenly larger and much emptier.
Daphne dragged herself to the loo, cast well-practised cleaning charms and went to her room to get out the warm soft muggle stuff. Once she had them on, she mused that 'Sarah the assistant had been entirely correct, they were superior on days like this.' Daphne put on her slippers, and went to the drawing room, to find Harry in a cardigan and trousers, sitting on the sofa, reading an ancient tome, his glasses glinting in the morning light, his eyes intent. You could mistake him for an intelligent, rather homebody man, He looked up, and smiled momentarily. Daphne sat on the couch, and pushed her feet under his leg – as expected his legs were nice and warm.
"Kreacher!" Harry called out harshly "Lunch in the Drawing room. Mistress is very tired."
Daphne tried not to snort at Harry Potter acting like a head of some dignified old family. He had clearly watched her family events carefully, for all that he seemed to be just sulking at them, to be able to act so like daddy or grandfather.
She wrestled the cushions into a comfortable position and felt quite sleepy – that charm had really helped. She rested her eyes for a moment.
The sound of Kreacher's croaking voice woke her, but she was too tired to open her eyes.
"– is Mistress going to die?" asked Kreacher.
"Mistress is in discomfort and could not sleep well. That is all" said Harry, rather sharply. "We'd both miss her if she died, Kreacher." he added, much more softly.
Daphne opened her eyes and regarded Harry, who had not moved in however long, and Kreacher, who was grovelling in front of the couch.
"Would you" said Daphne "I'm… quite touched". Harry looked over, evidently surprised that she'd awoken. Kreacher vanished, but behind him, on the coffee table was a tray of lunch for two.
"I'm going to write to your sister. She can come and visit" said Harry. That was… quite good of him. Having Tori around would be nice right now. And he would doubtless call himself an insatiable beast when asked about their use of contraceptives. The joke had worn threadbare over the last few months.
"And you're going to claim to be insatiable?" said Daphne "You've no appreciable sex drive."
"I'm hardly going to demand sex. We're not … " said Harry, turned to face her, and waving his hands to indicate something inarticulable. Inatriculable to Harry. A normal person would use words.
"You're quite a decent lover" said Daphne "Shame you're never interested."
"What am I supposed to do?" asked Harry "Nuzzle your ear in bed?" he added sarcastically.
Daphne sighed "That's not likely is it?" she asked. It didn't sound… that terrible. A little physical affection would be nice. Once in a while. Not just at birthdays and holidays.
Harry got up and by the sound of his feet, went to the library. The distant crack of disapparation a few minutes later suggested he'd gone to send it. Daphne took a soup-bowl onto her lap.
Harry appeared with a crack "I … I suspect Salazar might not have the sweetest temper" said Harry. "He bites you, he bites me, he bites Kreacher. I asked Kreacher if he tormented the owl... and he…. "
"He said what?" asked Daphne. If the owl was bigger, she'd suggest eating it.
"He evaded the question" admitted Harry, looking like a shaved monkey.
Daphne gave a small snort. "Harry Potter, outsmarted by a house elf."
"Oh... about that" said Harry; and he gave a comparison of the cost of a servant versus a house elf. He'd read it in a magazine at the Hospital.
"That's… atrocious" said Daphne, the bally McGinty's had driven the cost of house-elves so high, that human staff were cheaper.
"Well, it would be handy at Riddle house" said Harry.
"That name needs to change. Potter house?" asked Daphne.
"I suppose. The locals will call it Riddle house forever."
"The locals probably have sex with livestock" said Daphne. "Ainsworth looks like he sneaks up on horses."
Harry snorted. "He does not" said Harry. "You're from a small village too."
"I'm from a manor, outside a small village" corrected Daphne. Appleby was practically Paris compared to Little Hangleton.
Harry ate lunch, and handed her a second course, then got absorbed in the huge old and rather dark book he'd been reading.
Daphne finished the plate and lay back, trying to rest. Discomfort slowly increased.
Daphne's accursed organs twinged with pain. "Harry!" Daphne interrupted Harry firmly.
"Yes?" asked Harry, looking over at Daphne.
"Another hot water bottle please" she asked.
Harry conjured one up, filled and heated it. It was quite satisfactory.
Nearly half an hour alter, Tori swooped into the room wearing casual robes.
"Daphne dear?" asked Astoria. "Harry's letter said you'd been at St Mungos?"
"Awful period, I couldn't sleep. Harry dragged me off to St Mungos, they've done some charms, and there's a new potion coming by owl, should help" explained Daphne, without sitting up.
"And Harry dragged you to St Mungos?" asked Astoria "Harry's taking good care of you then?"
"Husbanding my resources" said Harry, and got shoved with her right foot for making such a terrible pun.
"Look, when Daphne can't sleep at all, it's time to go see a healer, much as I hate Hospitals." said Harry.
Harry gave Astoria a look "You look like you could do with a lie-down" he said, and drawing his wand, levitated the other couch around so that it faced the couch Daphne was in "Lie down and have a rest yourself" said Harry, conjuring another blanket.
"He's better than a house elf" said Astoria, slipping off her boots with a flick of her wand and lying down. He was much more expensive than a house-elf. Eighty-five thousand, though he was a bargain at that price.
"Tori, are you all right?" asked Daphne.
Astoria jerked her head at Harry. Daphne sighed "Harry's my husband Tori. He's family" she said. Time for him to find out. Even if he would probably call her and daddy liars.
"I... had a bad patch… ended yesterday" admitted Astoria "I'm taking the solution, I'm fine. Though I wouldn't mind a snack?"
Harry conjured a table and called Kreacher who was excited to make morning tea for "Mrs Malfoy."
"Daphne" asked Harry seriously "Can I ask why Astoria's not well?" And he was being so bally polite. It was disconcerting. Maybe just because she was so tired.
"You may" said Daphne politely.
"And?" asked Harry.
"I… I have a blood malediction. It runs in the family. I take a girding solution, I do tire easily, but I… I can do most things." admitted Astoria, a bit embarrassed.
"And Daphne? Do you have this?" asked Harry softly and slowly. He did not turn and glare at her.
"No Harry, just bad period pain" said Daphne "And no, any children wouldn't have it either."
"And I assume your family have tried everything, and nobody can cure it?" asked Harry.
"Well, obviously" said Astoria "Can we not talk about it" she snapped.
"I've got something in mind" said Harry, and got up, and went to the library and came back with a fat bundle of very old scrolls.
Harry sat down and started leafing thought his bundle of scrolls.
"Harry, what are you doing?" asked Daphne, curiously.
Harry put the scroll down and concentrated "Parseltounge healing spellsss" said Harry carefully.
Daphne nodded.
"If your family never went to India for a cure, there's a chance a Parseltounge healing spell might help" said Harry. "Salazar Slytherin collected ssome." Harry continued, starting to lisp.
Do you think there's a chance?" asked Astoria cautiously.
"I've never used any, so I don't know if they're that good. A book about Parseltounge said Parseltounge healers are well respected in India, so maybe it works well" said Harry.
"We can always take a trip" said Daphne firmly. Once again, he had ridiculously deep knowledge of one esoteric, dark part of magic. India was only a portkey trip away, even if they didn't like Britons.
Harry leafed through spells, and set one aside.
"What's that?" asked Daphne.
Harry turned and hissed at her, his tongue a snakes tongue "Heshehshehshshehehhehe shshaha". Daphne looked at him aghast. Ew.
Harry stared into her eyes for a time and said "A spell for women's troubles. Might be worth trying out." His gaze was… disconcerting. The way his mouth changed shape, inhuman.
Daphne frowned "We're looking for a spell for Astoria, not me. Get back to work" she said, resisting the urge to point at the scrolls.
"He gets stuck in Parseltounge when he reads spells" said Astoria. "It's terribly creepy."
"He means well" replied Daphne, shivering in horror at his dark magic. Ugh. He was probably going to fill the house with snakes at some point, start doing blood sacrifices. Malfoy had possibly been less revolting. Even given what Pansy said.
"I felt that" said Harry, reading scrolls.
"Harry dear, don't speak when you're reading Parseltounge spells" said Daphne. "It comes out in Parseltounge." And he should understand the meaning of using dear. Tori shot her a look with both eyebrows up. She clearly had guessed their code.
Daphne lay and watched as Harry kept reading through the bundle, until he came to one scroll and set it aside too.
"You found something?" asked Daphne.
Harry looked over at the teapot and biscuits.
He waved his hand and wandlessly summoned a biscuit into his hand. He bit into it. He did that without a wand. That's insanely difficult. Like bally Fiona the seamstress.
"Would you like some tea Harry?" asked Daphne.
Harry nodded, munching biscuit.
"Oh, you're still reading. Thank you for not hissing" said Daphne. Daphne drew her wand and made him tea, and floated it over. And he was showing off doing wandless magic. Proving he was superior. Arsehole.
Harry took his cup of tea and sipped, reading the scroll in silence. He looked almost harmless, well – apart from being tall, strong cheekbones, wiry shoulders and the unusually coloured eyes and the bed-hair. Okay not very harmless. At least Witch Weekly don't have good photos of him. Shirtless.Or in jeans and a tight t-shirt.
He put the teacup down on the floor and turned and stared at Daphne for a while, which was a little disconcerting, then he spoke up "I think this spell might help. It will take a while to learn, but …."
"Oh just try casting it off the scroll" said Daphne, how could he complain about difficulty when he summoned biscuits without a wand.
Harry picked up the other scroll and hissed and hissed and waved his wand; finally tapping Daphne on the knee with his wand. And the pain in her abdomen faded.
Daphne blinked at Harry "What was that?" she asked.
"Um... I thought might help… and it was a lot simpler" said Harry. But there was a building pressure in her womanhood… oh god.
Daphne got up "Excuse me Tori: I need to go to the loo" she said and dashed off, to have a horrific, but intensely relieving long trip to the loo. Afterwards, she felt utterly normal, if… very tired.
After washing thoroughly, she gathered herself to go see Harry in the drawing room.
Harry was casting something long, that involved a lot of hissing, at Astoria.
"Harry dear, please copy that scroll and keep a copy somewhere safe. If you ever lose it I will cut your bits off" said Daphne politely, with a slight smile.
Astoria looked at Daphne aghast "What!"
"I feel fine, just tired" said Daphne "I did have an unpleasant few minutes on the loo… but I feel cured, for now."
"I'll be dropping by for that charm" said Astoria pointedly.
"He seems a lot more useful all of a sudden" said Daphne, basking in not being in pain, and leaning back.
Harry handed Daphne a scroll and pointed at it twice, while reading the other, longer scroll. Oh this was the spell that had done that. Rather a useful scroll. And he was performing a dumb-show rather than hiss at her. He was, Daphne supposed, sensitive about that.
"He's stuck." said Astoria "And you've got him so under your finger he just chooses not to speak instead of accidentally hissing. I can only imagine what – " Harry interrupted Astoria's slander by MERLINS BALLS! Firing a stinging hex with his bare finger, silently.
Tori yelped, and started on the couch.
"Wordless, wandless light stinging hexes" said Daphne "Isn't he resourceful?" she asked casually. HAH! Could your husband do that, I THINK NOT!
Astoria rubbed her arm. "I'm terribly Sorry Mr Potter-Black" said Astoria.
Harry waved his hand downwards. He really was excessively forgiving.
Finally, Harry with lots of hissing and weird wand movements, cast a spell on Astoria.
Astoria waited then asked "Was I supposed to feel something?" she asked, frowning.
"Well, if you cast a diagnostic spell" asked Daphne, one eyebrow going up.
Harry shrugged and stared Daphne in the eyes for far longer than was decent. Daphne was barely able to hold his gaze as her cheeks warmed up.
"Ahem… I don't know any diagnostic spells" admitted Harry. In English.
"Well… is there one in the roll?" asked Daphne. Harry looked like he'd never thought of that. She closed her eyes. Not yelling at him. I really am not doing that. May be I'll have a little rest.
Something poked her foot to wake her. "Mph!" she grunted, and opened her eyes, and Harry was looking at her.
"Is that normal?" asked Harry, pointing at a glowing ghostly duplicate of the sleeping Astoria, largely white, but with a spider-web of red in the chest, where a heart and lungs might be.
"Its… in her heart and lungs and … is that blood vessels?" asked Daphne.
"I don't know" said Harry "I'm not a healer. I'd guess so."
"Well, what does someone healthy look like?" asked Daphne.
Harry cast the spell slowly at Daphne, and clearly having to start again twice.
Finally, a ghostly Daphne appeared a foot above her on the couch, with a faint redness in her abdomen, and a few specks of red in her fingers.
"Are your fingers okay?" asked Harry.
"It's nothing" said Daphne "Just you know… working the calculator a lot."
"You're going to a healer about that" said Harry firmly.
"Give a wizard a diagnostic spell and every little thing is a problem. Cast one on yourself!" said Daphne defensively.
Harry took an age, and hissed loudly over and over during his many obvious failures.
The glowing image of Harry had black blotches on his arm and head, and in his right arm.
"Why have you got black blotches on your arm and head" she asked. If Red is for Toris's curse… what the hell comes up as Black!
"Cursed scars" said Harry blandly, As if that didn't matter. And his skeleton had white lines across his bones all over the place.
"And there's traces of black in your blood vessels, it's worse in your arm" said Daphne.
Harry looked up "Oh., that'll be the damage from the basilisk venom" he said casually.
"And all those what I assume are broken bones?" asked Daphne getting up and looking at Harry's glowing diagnostic image carefully.
"Oh... well I've had a tough life" admitted Harry. Breaks in both arms, fingers, ribs, his skull, obviously, his spine, his legs, his toes!
"There's no bone on you that isn't slightly damaged." said Daphne "How many terrible adventures have you really had?"
Harry looked up at his ghostly outline. He waved his wand and the glowing Harry vanished, and he eyed her ghostly Daphne.
"You're getting better?" asked Harry. Changing the topic. Fine, not with Tori sleeping on the other couch.
"That spell... you're casting it monthly" said Daphne.
Harry cancelled the charm on Daphne as well, and turned to look at Astoria. He eyed her for a bit, then waved his wand, and no more ghostly Astoria either.
"Harry, cast the spell on Astoria again" asked Daphne.
Harry recast the charm and a floating Astoria reappeared. He craned his head, then hissed something dreadful. "shshshshshhshshshaaaassshshhh"
"In English Harry" said Daphne sternly.
Harry looked Daphne in the eyes for a bit then spoke up "It's fainter this time" he said. Oh.. the looking in my eyes thing is to get back to English. He's not … staring on purpose. Well… not for that reason.
"I hope it's true" said Daphne. "I really hope it's true" she said. Would it really work?
Harry took the three scrolls he'd used and went off to the library. Some time later he returned holding a parchment, and picked up the bundle.
"Harry" said Daphne, "Perhaps if you made an index of which medical spells you have, that would be useful?"
Harry absent-mindedly handed Daphne the parchment. Which was covered in scribbles.
"Harry, your penmanship is terrible, and it's all scribbled!" she said.
"Well, apart from it being in parseltounge, I suppose that's true" said Harry, exceedingly sarcastically.
"It's a shame there are no parselmouths who are healers in England" said Daphne.
"Well, I could learn some healing, I suppose" said Harry.
"After you get a NEWT in potions" said Daphne.
"Well, our children will maybe be parselmouths" said Harry "They might be interested in healing?"
He'd used a plural.
Astoria must have woken up, as she said "Oh... you two talking about children. How many? How long before Daphne swells up like a balloon?"
"No" said Harry "Not having that discussion with you." said Harry to Astoria. "That is a discussion for Daphne and I, later, in private." Well that was hardly foreboding at all.
"How are you feeling Tori?" asked Daphne.
"You have comfortable couches." said Astoria "Isn't it nearly lunchtime?"
Harry graciously side-alonged both witches to lunch. Being coddled was nice.
Kreacher had made poached fish.
Tori ate seconds, and was waving a half-eaten buttered bread bun "I feel hungry" she said.
She was such a pig.
Harry made eye contact with Daphne who replied with a slight shrug.
Daphne spoke up "Tori, you pretty much fell asleep after the spell was cast...and woke up hungry. Maybe it's doing something?"
"Daphne, I've had all sorts of treatments… and falling asleep and being hungry is pretty common. Not that anything's ever done more than… well stave it off" said Tori.
Harry cleared his throat "Astoria, I'm sorry. I didn't understand you had a chronic illness. Feel free to drop by anytime. If the floo is locked I would advise going to perhaps your parents." He sounded more… reasonable than was reasonable.
"You lock your Floo?" asked Tori.
"Occasionally" said Harry. "Which reminds me… we need to get … Potter house on the floo network." Potter house, well there were worse names. Peverell house, for example. That would attract conspiracy theorists.
"I'll write a letter to the floo network authority" said Daphne politely.
"Well I'm making a catalogue of medical spells tonight" said Harry.
Tori sighed, she was clearly not looking forward to being bored.
"I'll only be a minute or two" said Daphne "We could… play chess by the fireplace?"
Astoria perked up "That would be nice, I'll owl my elf."
The letter sent, her fingers healed, she wondered if Harry would actually complain if Salazar was killed. The white owl leaving out the kitchen window was a vicious monster.
Tori was looking in the sideboard drawers when Daphne apparated back into the drawing room.
"There is a chess-set in the rightmost drawer" said Daphne, and she levitated the couches to be both by the fire, and a small table for the chessboard.
"Kreacher!" she called out.
Kreacher appeared with a pop.
"Some chocolates, then ensure the fires are set in our rooms. We're playing chess."
The table was so close they could lie down and play. Being Mistress of all you survey has its perks.
Daphne took Black. It seemed appropriate. Tori started with an attempt at a fools mate.
A plate of chocolates silently appeared.
Tori took one and scoffed it. "Not bad" she commented.
Daphne played chess with Tori and ate chocolates while the fire kept the room warm.
Astoria had made a fairly interesting move, and that required some thinking about. Oh. Mate in three. Daphne moved her queen. And may have smiled.
Tori was distracted, looking over at the door "Harry" she exclaimed.
Daphne looked over at the doorway, and Harry was leaning on the door-jamb, watching them play, looking tall and dark and handsome with a crooked smile on his face.
"Oh there you are" she said. He looked quite placid now.
Harry smiled properly "You looked very relaxed" replied Harry.
"That spell of yours is a wonder" said Daphne, and she smiled back at Harry. It was a gift from Salazar Slytherin himself.
Harry rolled his eyes for some reason, and Astoria sighed.
Harry rolled his eyes for some reason, and Tori sighed. Maybe she'd spotted the coming mate?
Daphne looked over at the chessboard "Hmm" she said. Tori had moved her queen-side castle.
Harry sat on one of the lounge-chairs to watch the game, leaning forward. He was some distance away.
"Do you play?" asked Tori.
"I spent years losing to Ron" said Harry "I hadn't played before Hogwarts."
"Daphne is he any good?" asked Astoria.
"I've never played chess with my husband" said Daphne archly. "But he is good."
Harry blushed. And he is ridiculously easy to fluster.
After Astoria lost by two pieces, Harry conjured a wooden chair and started a game with Daphne. He took white.
His first move was quite conventional.
Daphne started for a queens mate. And Harry made a perfect counter without a moments hesitation.
Daphne frowned "Where did you learn that?" she asked.
"Second year, losing to Ron" explained Harry blithely.
Harry eventually lost by one piece. And that had been a quite difficult victory. He was annoyingly good at chess.
"When did you last play?" asked Daphne.
"Autumn ninety-seven" said Harry.
Daphne frowned at Harry that was an oddly precise statement.
Daphne ate the last piece of chocolate and said "I'm getting ready for bed. Astoria… if you're feeling off, stay the night; at least you'll have humans around to help if you fall ill."
"Thanks Daphne" said Tori sounding tired. And she'd had supper.
Harry got up and vanished his conjured chair "I'll go warm some beds" he said. "Astoria, you're in your usual room?"
"I suppose" she replied.
Harry apparated away with a loud crack. A succession of cracks sounded out from the stairwell, as if he was chain-apparating about or something equally dangerous.
Daphne put the room back to normal, and Tori walked to her rooms. Daphne decided to follow her idea.
The bathroom was warm. Her bedroom was warm. The loo was also warm a bit later. Daphne put on a nightgown and reached into her bed. Which was like an ice-cube. Subtle.
She found Harry in his bathroom.
"Everywhere I went, except my bed was warm" said Daphne. Harry walked to his bed and got in.
"I didn't sleep well without you here" said Harry bluntly "Go on, get in."
Daphne got in, and he kissed her cheek "good night" he said. And that felt like actual mild affection.
Daphne woke to a cooling bed, and abdominal bloating. In both cases, a Harry Potter would help.
And Harry reappeared, shaved, after the pipes in the wall made a racket.
By the time he got back Daphne was awake and waiting for him.
"You need to cast that spell again" said Daphne "But give me a moment… I want to be ready to dash to the loo."
Daphne got out of bed and put on her dressing gown, and looked at Harry..
"Okay, cast that spell" she said.
Harry apparated away and returned almost instantly, holding the copied scroll. Daphne left hastily for the loo. The effects were grotesque but the result was near total relief. She decided to have a shower, it would save time after breakfast.
When she slid back into bed, it was nice and warm. "Thank you" she said to Harry, who was reading his scroll.
Harry called for Kreacher and a tray of cooked breakfast arrived fairly promptly. Harry being awake and in the room meant the bacon had to be shared out fairly evenly.
Fortified by bacon and two cups of tea, Daphne went for a soft-boiled egg with toast. Harry had decided on scrambled eggs. Daphne wondered what Kreacher did with the leftovers. Presumably he ate them.
Tori burst into Harry's bedroom in the robes she'd been wearing yesterday.
"I can't find…." said Astoria, and she stared Daphne in the face. Daphne lowered her toast soldier.
"Right here" mumbled Harry.
"Yes Astoria?" asked Daphne casually.
"You're… you're in bed with – " said Tori. It wasn't like they were doing anything but eating breakfast.
"My Husband, yes. Breakfast in bed is quite pleasant" said Daphne. Tori was being mildly annoying.
Harry had some tea. And today he had milk. But he often drank it black. Daphne looked back at Tori, who was standing looking quite agitated.
"Kreacher can make you a tray, or you can have breakfast in the dining room, if you wish" said Daphne. The irony was almost as delicious as the bacon.
"But you're..." said Tori.
"He keeps the bed warm, and I like his cologne" said Daphne. "I am allowed to have some small affection in my life, you know."
Astoria put her hands on her hips "My fiancée died in prison" she said grumpily "Because he decided to pay My Mother in law out for well… your contract." she complained, and beetled her brows unattractively.
"Draco died in prison for being a Death Eater, given the job of killing Dumbledore, and letting Death Eaters and a werewolf into the school. People died, were maimed for life." said Harry "I think Azkaban in too cruel, and prisoners should be treated like human beings… but I'm just Harry Potter, the man who won the war. I don't actually have the power to change Azkaban."
Astoria left, presumably to get a tray. Daphne suspected it might be the leftovers.
"Harry, that was quite rude" said Daphne. "And If you could be bothered with politics, you probably could change Azkaban" she added.
"I have my family's terrible finances to take care of, and my family." said Harry "I'm sorry for snapping at Astoria but… Draco… I didn't want him to die, but he was a Death Eater, and while he never killed anyone with his own hands… He did let the killers in." Again, he was far too forgiving.
"She needs to get over him, find a good man and ahem… unwind a bit" said Daphne. Tori needed a boyfriend, if only to keep her amused.
"Please, dear, don't discuss your sister's need of a bonk" joked Harry "I'm trying to eat."
Daphne shot Harry a stern look. He had not right to act all … husbandy.
-==0==-
Harry over dinner mentioned that he had undone Georges muggle-repelling charms and redone them on just the gates and doors. The next day, by lunch, he'd gone to the Strangled Lark to telephone the telephone company. To replace the telephone. And paid with the card Gringotts had supplied. Which was quite clever of him.
A white van arrived a few days later, and when they left, an hour later, there was a telephone and a pair of massive soft-cover tomes in the office. Harry almost immediately used the 'telephone directory' to find a central heating repair company, who he booked in to come and look at the heating. The Riddle house was warm anyway, but getting it checked seemed… sensible.
Being able to just call people with a telephone and pay with the Gringotts card was very convenient.
A more battered white van came days later, and the old man in a blue one-piece suit made the exact same sort of tooth-sucking noises any old repair-wizard would make, as he looked at the boiler and the heating system.
"You don't get them like that anymore" said the muggle. His suit had an oval patch sewn on with 'Deane' written on it.
Harry nodded "It's from the thirties, we believe" he said.
"Older than my granddad" said the muggle. "Well, Mr Black, it's working, but getting parts will be impossible. If it breaks, we'll be making mend, and grafting on newer parts."
"Would it be more cost-effective to replace the system outright" asked Daphne.
"Well no. That'll set you back ten, fifteen thousand pounds at least." said the muggle.
Three thousand galleons to replace. And not counting removing the old system. Which being iron would be … even getting Harry to do it, expensive or time-consuming.
"Then there's the asbestos" said the muggle "Now you haven't disturbed anything, but the insulation will likely be asbestos, and that will be a few ponys to pull out."
"Ponys?" asked Daphne.
"Two thousand pounds at least." said the muggle.
"What is the part most likely to fail?" asked Daphne.
"The blower fan. There's no pump, its thermo-siphon, which is just as well, a pump that old'd be dead by now."
"Is the blower likely to fail?" asked Daphne.
"I've never seen one that old. Still, built solid, to last, and as it still works at all, probably outlast all of us." said the muggle cheerily.
That evening Daphne looked up how to enchant something to make a permanent gentle breeze.
The morning routine had a diversion to get measurements of all the beds at Riddle house.
Harry came back at next lunch with an ever-spinning top, and a conjured fan.
Which was stupid, and contrived and… already worked. Harry smiled broadly. Smug, self-satisfied git.
"How did you come up with that?" asked Daphne.
"I flooed to Weasley Wheezes and asked George." said Harry blandly. He'd used a tame evil genius.
"After lunch we're going shopping, Diagon Alley" said Daphne. Harry exhaled loudly and stared at his plate.
"Do we have to?" he asked.
"Do you want any say in bedding purchases?" asked Daphne. "You, for example like hard pillows. I would only buy soft ones."
After lunch, Daphne put on a chic but black robe, sensible boots, and a hat, and waited in the kitchen.
Harry apparated into the kitchen a bit later wearing a dark green robe with black trim. Which suited him inordinately well. He'd put Sleekeazeys in his hair.
"Your hair?"
"I'm going to get photographed. I might as well not look like a complete berk" said Harry, and suddenly his face smoothed out, lost most of its expression and he looked quite haughty- that might just be the cheekbones. Dark colours and his expressionless face… he looked very sure of himself. If Draco Malfoy had seen, he would have made a stupid remark and probably got hexed, thought Daphne.
Daphne went and dashed floo-powder in and stepped off into the floo network to the "Leaky Cauldron!" Which was fairly busy. She got clear of the fireplace, and kept moving… and as she'd suspected, Harry came through and nearly fell over. "It's Daphne Black!" said some witch. Daphne tried to ignore her.
Daphne cleaned Harry's robes off – he clearly had never learned the spell.
"Harry Potter!" exclaimed someone else, more loudly, and suddenly they were crowded with people trying to shake Harry's hand, talk to him and basically making nuisances of themselves. Harry's face lost some of its expressionlessness, and Daphne was fairly sure he was annoyed.
It took some time to get into Diagon Alley, and reporters and photographers had gathered on the other side of the arch.
"Harry!" said Rita Skeeter loudly "We've missed you!" She was wearing that dreadful poisonous green hide robe again.
"I haven't" said Harry drily.
"And you're here with your wife" said Rita Skeeter "Trying to quash the rumours that you're getting divorced?"
Daphne's hand itched.
"Rita, I promise I'll give you an in-depth tell-all-interview the day I get divorced" said Harry.
Rita Skeeter's face lit up.
"Today is not that day" said Daphne.
"Tomorrow's not looking good either" quipped Harry.
"Well you did do divination dear" said Daphne. She glanced over at his face. A momentary twitch of his right eye. He'd either tried to wink very quickly or that had stung.
"Harry Potter!" said the owner of Fluff and Nonsense; a solid looking black haired witch in tasteful cream robes with blue trim. It was a good bedding store even if it had a bad name. "The man who won!" they added.
"Potter-Black, but good to know you saw the Prophet back in ninety-eight" said Harry. "We're here for bedding." He could be so sarcastic. Daphne resisted the urge to smile.
"And mattresses, and pillows and cushions." added Daphne.
"Well, nothing but the best for you sir" said the witch, and Harry lifted his hand.
"Actually, not the very best. We're trying to keep to a budget." said Harry. Exceedingly sarcastic.
...
"And pillows" said Harry "The squashiest, softest pillows you've got."
The shopkeeper-witch ran out the back and returned holding and armload of pillows.
"These are stuffed with vicuna wool" said the owner "The softest practical pillow"
"Great. Three of those, and three hard ones." said Harry.
"Hard ones?"
"Hard enough to sleep on without drowning" said Harry. And he smirked at Daphne.
"Dear" said Daphne. I will get my own back on you. Somehow.
Beds, Harry tested with one hand. "Too soft – firmer."
It was already too hard. The problem, though Daphne was that having one shared bed at Riddle house meant having to compromise on how hard the bed was, and Potter liked it hard.
Somehow Harry managed to drag the process of buying bedding and linens out to take days. It was not helped by the shop being crowded with people and reporters trying to see Harry, and Diagon Ally thronging with people. Harry's reclusive habits seemed quite reasonable after a day.
He sat at dinner and ate, ignoring Witch weekly, who'd owled them a comped copy with Harry and herself on the cover. In Diagon Alley, actually just trying to buy some bally cushions.
They went to bed and Daphne looked at Harry, who WAS wearing his nice green pyjamas. That draped nicely over his chest. She stroked his arm – purely to check the fabric. Silky cologne smelling Harry Potter-Black. Her womanhood warmed. Well… they were married.
Daphne nuzzled his ear "Husband" she said. Harry looked over at her. She fluttered her eyelashes.
"Oh" said Harry. Daphne pulled off her nightie, and Harry slipped down the bed…
He really was attentive once he got interested.
The next night, he nuzzled Daphne's ear. "Again?" she said.
By Saturday Daphne finally said "What? Every day?"
"Well, why not?" asked Harry softly.
"Hmmm" said Daphne.
Harry kissed her, snogged her, tugged her nightie and started to suckle her.
"Oh you beast" gasped Daphne. The insatiable beast then groped her buttocks, and gnawed on her neck tendons. "ohhh…" Rather well.
Daphne woke up feeling very warm, a little sore in places and … very well shagged. Potter smouldered at her over their breakfast trays. And he needed to stop doing that.
"Sore… later" she said to Harry. He winked salaciously.
Daphne rode Buttercup gently, not wanting to canter today. Some more stretching exercises seemed necessary. Buttercup, bless her, leaned against her while being curried.
"Who's my best horse. Yes you are" cooed Daphne unselfconciously.
As she walked about the Grimmauld place, she sang little bits of this and that. And found she could sing as she worked on the tenants complaints lists. Harry went past casually, and stopped to kiss her hand so suggestively her knickers were probably marked. "Shoo" she said "Working!" He winked. Again. Daphne blushed.
And he was wearing jeans as he walked away. Mmmm. Off to read scrolls. The head of Slytherin could slither in tonight.
Tori turned up by (suspiciously) nearly morning tea.
"Daphne, singing?" she said from the hallway.
"Well, I'm feeling pretty pleased" said Daphne loudly.
"Oh, have you found another source of income?" asked Tori curiously.
"I've certainly done that" said Daphne. "But I'm not renting out Harry" she added, and cast a privacy charm, and then a door-closer.
"What?" asked Tori.
"Harry's very good…." said Daphne "Very attentive." Had I purred that? No, I'm not… boy crazy.
Tori's eyes widened. She looked so bally dramatic with all that eyeliner.
"Has he… got you… to" Tori.
"Of course." said Daphne "There are books, and with communication, partners can learn to stimulate one another to… heights of passion."
"Communication?"
"Tell the boy what feels good, Honestly Tori, are you stupid? If he does something that feels good, tell him, bad, tell him quick so he can stop and do something else. And …. if you like certain things, be up-front about it. Trust me, there's no value in lying quietly and hoping for a pleasant time."
"I haven't got anyone!" complained Tori, sitting at Daphne's desk.
"Well don't be so fussy." said Daphne.
"You can talk! He's good-looking!" said Tori. "If a bit thin."
Daphne felt a flush of irritation with her sister. Who thought that HER husband was good-looking. Well he WAS, but he was also Hers, so Tori could sod off. "There are good-looking wizards about. Half-bloods Tori, there are more of them, and they're not inbred cretins" she said. Though Tori had fancied Malfoy so she did like them a bit inbred. Possibly a bit stupid.
"I don't care about – " started Tori and someone knocked on the door-jamb.
Daphne got up and went to the door , opened it a bit "Yes?" she asked.
"Just thinking about dear Astoria… she should invite Justin Finch-Fletchly to tea. Wealthy, well brought up, decent wizard… not a Death Eater" said Harry. And he made eye-contact. Such an interesting colour. Finch-Fletchly though….the tall muggle-born Hufflepuff with the dancing rats. On the upside, he had quite polished manners, could sing and play the violin. On the down-side, a ginger. And muggle-born. Which was more… cultural difference problems like Harry had brought with him. But he'd tried. Daphne could not hold in her small smile.
Astoria twisted in her chair "Isn't he…. A muggle-born?" she asked.
"Rich, magical, aristocratic" said Harry "I understand muggle-born might be a big stretch... but apart from that one time when he thought I tried to kill him, he's been a nice bloke." said Harry, and that deadpan way he had. Daphne rolled her eyes in amusement. He was such a droll comedian.
"Is this a joke?" asked Astoria.
"Not really" said Harry "Have tea somewhere neutral and talk to him?"
"What the hell has got into Potter?" asked Astoria. "He's trying to set me up with… muggleborns."
"He likes them" said Daphne "And I think he's getting fond of you. You do grow on people, you know."
"Like a fungus" said Harry drily.
"He called me dear Astoria" said Astoria "Which I think was sarcasm" she said quickly.
"When I call you dearest, you're happy" said Daphne. "Clearly, he loves me the most."
"Certainly the most often" said Harry, with a wink. Daphne glared at Harry. Keep away from my sister.
"Astoria, how are you feeling?" asked Harry.
"Fine, thank you for asking" said Astoria brusquely. "Can't you find got find some filth to fall into?"
"Sadly not today. Learning spells" said Harry. "Please stay for lunch" he concluded and left. Slytherin's chair scraped on the floor of the library soon afterwards.
He got finished whatever he was doing in time for lunch, and apparated down without putting on a robe.
Harry sat at the head of the table, Daphne tilting her head. Astoria sitting quietly.
"Learning the diagnostic, charm, practising the weakness of the blood spell. I have all that Basilisk venom damage." explained Harry.
"And no robe?" asked Astoria.
"We're trying to be more relaxed with each other" said Daphne. "Makes life nicer."
"And he can cast a period pain spell that works" said Astoria.
"Well, yes" said Daphne. "The only wizard in Britain who can cast that one."
"So have you managed to repair the damage from the Basilisk venom?" asked Daphne casually.
"I expect not, it's almost cursed" said Harry. "I'll wait till I'm not sitting with your sister before casting it. She doesn't need to see my anatomy." Oh he could learn. From one glare. How… good.
"Your lap is concealed by the table." said Daphne. It was not that big.
Harry cast the diagnostic charm and looked at his ephemeral arm. It was certainly less spiderwebbed with damage than before. "It's helped" Harry conceded. He cast the spell on Astoria, and looked at her ghostly form, clearly ignoring her breasts. Which were smaller anyway.
"I'll cast the spell again this afternoon. Once or twice a day, and we'll see how you go" said Harry.
"He's actually managing to cure me. We've had this damn curse for centuries, and he can cure it" said Astoria. "I am so lucky to have you as a brother-in-law, Potter."
"Potter-Black" said Harry drily. "Now you owe me a favour. Go have morning tea with Finch-Fletchly."
Astoria left after dinner.
"Harry, that was really controlling. Getting Astoria into your debt then forcing her to go have morning tea with a muggle-born" said Daphne, lying in bed.
"Trying to cure my sister-in-law, then stop her complaining about being so bloody lonely" said Harry, in his silky pyjamas.
"You're not going to… to force her to marry Harry Potter are you?" asked Daphne finally. That would be humiliating, and her hands felt like making claws at the thought of it.
"One Greengrass is enough for me, dear" said Harry, and kissed her forehead. Oh. He had no interest in that. But he was staring into her eyes. Smokily.
"Oh, tonight?" asked Daphne.
"In the morning?" asked Harry.
Well that sounded acceptable. "Hmm" she said, and plumped her pillow and settled down.
Harry had warmed the room before she woke, and the loo, and her slippers. Almost like he wanted her feet to be warm. And then they snogged… and Harry…. pleasured her… twice, then... well His lap was quite delightful to ride on. He lay on the bed and looked up at her mistily "Good morning" he said huskily.
"It has been" purred Daphne. Perhaps wiggling a little.
"Easy girl!" said Harry "I need a break from being ridden like a horse."
"It's not that big" quipped Daphne. Harry snorted. "Breakfast?" he asked. Was he asking about… that?
Daphne lifted her eyebrows. "Tea and a cooked breakfast? Personally I'm quite hungry." said Harry.
Oh, he Wasn't.
They put bedclothes on and Harry called Kreacher while Daphne used the bathroom.
And he shared out the bacon evenly.
Harry leaned back on his pillows after emptying his plate. He looked… placid.
"You're looking very content, Harry?" asked Daphne.
"Um… feeling quite content" admitted Harry.
Daphne braved the mail salver. Bad news of course.
"Some more repairs on the Summersby house; the one in Chepstowe" said Daphne, leafing though letters.
"The boiler?" asked Harry.
"How did you guess?" asked Daphne.
"Mrs Summersby mentioned it was running out in the mornings" said Harry.
"They have how many children?"
"Four, Well she said it was running out" said Harry. "Repair-wizard job unfortunately."
"Bother" said Daphne.
-==0==-
Harry groaned as his head hit the pillow that night.
"What's wrong Harry?" asked Daphne.
"The Summersby's only pay a hundred galleons a year. We paid that to the repair-wizard today." he said. "We're making no profit this year from them."
Daphne said calmly "We just got unlucky with the boiler. We're nearly at the stage of being able to send a repair-wizard to look at all the boilers, and replace them before they break. That will be a lot cheaper. This is just deferred maintenance cutting into profits. It will pass." It had happened before with daddy.
"You're very good at this" said Harry.
"I have been doing it since I was fifteen" said Daphne "And watching father for years before that."
Harry sat up and kissed Daphne on the hair "Thanks. You're really confident, I appreciate it."
"Ahem?" asked Daphne, looking questioning.
"Oh, I was just… kissing you goodnight" said Harry.
"Oh, twice is too much for me to hope for" said Daphne. Well, technically four times, but it was the principle of the thing.
"I'm feeling a bit tired out from it all today" said Harry.
"Your problem" said Daphne gently "is that you're a moper."
"I suppose, it would cheer me up" replied Harry, kissing Daphne's neck thoughtfully.
"You think?" said Daphne, lifting an eyebrow. Then he bit her tendon and it all got a bit warm and blurry and…
Four times was not immodest. And five had Daphne stretching lazily and smiling at a sweaty, lean, wiry, and importantly naked Harry.
"I really am sleepy" said Harry "Are you sufficiently shagged?"
Daphne smirked.
"You are a very dangerous witch. Daphne Black" said Harry huskily. "I could end up very fond of you."
Daphne snuggled into the bed and closed her eyes. Harry pulled up the bed-covers, kissed her nose, and put out the lights.
Father was still getting socks, thought Daphne as she drifted off to sleep.
