Daphne woke up first the next morning. She was very confused, she didn't recognise where she was or who this boy sleeping on her was. Fortunately for Harry she was not one to wake up violently, she soon remembered falling asleep holding Harry.
She remembered how broken he had looked the night before and how vulnerable he was. She felt something for him, something that she couldn't really explain.
Now he looked peaceful and content. Daphne slowly and carefully laid Harry's head down on one of the pillows from the bed. She quietly got up and went back to her own room. It was barley morning at least according to her. Daphne usually woke up late during the summer, sometime around noon.
When she got into her dark grey and blue bed she looked out the window that was next to her nightstand and saw just the faint bit of light creeping over the horizon. "Uhg." She said to herself as she removed her clothes and slipped on a light t-shirt and her purple and green pajamas that she always wore and got into bed.
As she laid in bed she thought about how comfortable and how nice it was to sleep with someone else. She could still feel the warmth from holding on to Harry. His body was like a furnace and it was wonderful. She would have to evaluate herself when she woke up because clearly she was delusional. Daphne Greengrass was not ready to be interested in boys, let alone the boy that was now living with them.
Several hours later Daphne woke up again this time covered in sweat and panting really heavy. She had been having a crazy dream about Harry Potter. She quickly jumped out of bed and ran into her bathroom and splashed cold water all over her face. "It was just a dream Daphne… Just a dream…" She said rushed and in a panic.
She slowly trudged back to bed and climbed on the covers as the sheets were soaked in her sweat. She looked over at the magical charmed clock that was on her nightstand. It wasn't even 11 yet. "UGHH!" She uttered to self as she slammed her head into one of the pillows.
Just then she heard a knock at her door. "Daphne, Tracy will be here in twenty minutes and I don't hear the shower running!" Her mother yelled through the doorway.
"UGGGH MOM I HATE YOU!" She yelled at the closed door.
Aurora smiled from the otherside of the door. That was the usual morning greeting she remembered. Her daughter was always a pain in the ass to deal with in the morning. She pitied any man that would eventually end up with her. "Twenty minutes young lady!" She yelled back as she heard the shower turn on finally.
"I HATE YOU!" Daphne screamed loudly through two doors. Aurora laughed softly as she walked down the hallway.
Astoria unlike her sister usually woke up fairly early as she liked to walk with her Father to the Park before work and feed a group of squirrels and birds. Astoria really cared deeply for all animals but especially the cute ones.
Aurora walked by Harry's room thinking she should let him sleep a bit more but something inside her said that she should check on the boy. She knocked twice on the door.
"Harry is Mrs.. Greengrass are you awake?"
Several seconds later the door opened. "Yes ma'am." He said begrudgingly.
She giggled, "Oh Harry I don't want to hear that ma'am stuff, Mrs. Greengrass or Mom works for me." She smiled.
"Yes Mrs. Greengrass."
"Harry, did I wake you up?"
"Nope, I woke up about an hour ago." he said through a yawn.
"Why didn't you come down for breakfast?" Aurora asked honestly shocked that he wasn't driven by hunger like most boys his age.
"I didn't know that was a thing…" he said somewhat afraid of what her response might be.
Aurora Greengrass's eyes fell, this boy had truly been abused and taken advantage of for his entire life. She was not about to let that continue. "Harry you listen to me. I am going to try and put this the best that I can." She said quickly and then took a calming breath. "We are not the Dursleys, it's probably best to assume that anything that happened there won't happen living with us." She said with a smile.
Harry nodded, "Ok…"
"Why don't you shower up and then come downstairs for some lunch. I figured we could go shopping for some clothes and things that you like." She said gently pushing him towards the bathroom that was in his room.
All of the bedrooms in the house had their own private bathrooms, they weren't all that extravagant but they got the job done.
"Ok, but Mrs. Greengrass." Harry said opening the door that he had never open before, "I've never been shopping before except for a few times in Diagon Alley mostly for school supplies."
Aurora got real excited, "Don't you worry too much. Shopping is one of my favorite things in the entire world. We'll go get you some clothes that YOU like and that fit you. Now hurry up before Daphne takes all the hot water." She pushed him into the bathroom and shut the door and walked down stairs.
She and Harry would go shopping later while Tracey and Daphne hung out around the house. Astoria was going to hang out with some of her classmates at a cafe just down the street. Daniel was off at work and hopefully with any luck able to get someone that knew Harry a bit more come over and help them understand more about what happened over his life.
About fifteen minutes later Daphne walked down the stairs and into the dining room where her mother was seated reading the Daily Prophet. "Morning Daphne, how was your night?" She eyed her daughter suspiciously.
"Wonderful." She said with anger and loathing.
"Your dad and I noticed that you and Harry fell asleep together." This caused Daphne to blush and quickly stuff her face with some toast that was on the table.
"You know I think it's rather nice that felt so comfortable with him." Her face turned sad. "If what that boy said is true then he's really had a terrible life…" She said while mincing up a piece of toast with her knife.
"Yeah… I got the feeling that he was telling the truth. I looked into his eyes last night and I saw nothing there. It was like there was no light or happiness at all... " She said a bit depressed. Then she remembered how warm and nice it was for him to sleep on her and she blushed again.
Her mother noticed the quick change in her daughter and smiled. 'Maybe there's hope for her after all.'
Moments later Harry walked into the dining room wearing the best robes he owned which were his school clothes. "Good Morning" He said as he walked over and sat next to Daphne.
Daphne first smiled and then when their eyes met as he walked across the room, Daphne got butterflies in her stomach and it felt really good. Her cheeks turned a bit red and she felt really warm.
Daphne realized this quickly and took a big gulp from her water glass that refilled itself after she placed it back on the table, to try and hide the redness that had spread across her face.
'When did I start blushing because a boy walks in the room.' She thought to herself.
Harry didn't notice anything and simply just sat down at the table and began spreading butter over some of the toast that had just appeared in front of him.
"Morning Harry" Daphne finally said as she put the glass down and cleared her throat.
Harry turned to her a warm smile on his face. "I am sorry about last night…" he now sounded a bit sad like he had done something that he wasn't supposed to.
Daphne was taken aback she never thought in a million years that a boy would apologize to her, for helping him get through what most would call a panic attack. She however made eye contact with his big green eyes and saw it for the first time. A fire burning ever so softly behind them, and it was so entrancing. It was like the fire lit up his face in just the right way that made Daphne go jelly legged.
Daphne stared for a few seconds before shaking herself from her daydream, "Please it was nothing." She said trying to establish the Ice Queen persona. "You were in need of someone to hold you and I was happy to oblige." She smiled at Harry which made him relax quite a bit.
Aurora sat off to the side and watched this entire encounter eagerly. She was now fairly certain that her daughter might now have a crush on Harry Potter and it pleased her to no end.
Just then a loud bell went off. "What's that!" Harry said jumping out of his seat and pulling his wand out.
Aurora again laughed, "Oh Harry, that's just the alarm to let us know that someone is trying to use our Floo." She did however take great notice to how fast Harry reacted. The boy clearly had very quick reflexes, she wondered if Harry played Quidditch. "That'll be Tracy." she said looking at Daphne.
"Excuse me." Daphne said while brushing off some bread crumbs from her jeans and walked towards the den.
Daphne walked over to the fireplace and there was a grey orb affixed to the mantle. She punched in a series of numbers and the Floo quickly roared to life.
Moments later Tracy Davis emerged from the Floo. She was exactly the same height as Daphne and very similarly proportioned, except she had brown hair and quite a bit more freckles. She also was a bit darker than Daphne, but most were.
"Daph! What took you so long?!" She said punching her best friend in the shoulder.
"I had to excuse myself from breakfast, Harry Potter is hear and didn't want to be rude…" She said with a slight blush.
"Harry Potter! You have Harry Potter as your house guest and you didn't tell me. Wait why are you blushing!" Tracy said with great excitement.
"I am not blushing!" Daphne retorted angrily.
"Oh you fancy the Boy-Who-Lived." Tracy said her eyes going big and pointing a finger at Daphne.
"What about me?" Harry said slightly confused.
Tracy spun around and was greeted by the sight of Harry standing a few feet in front of her.
Daphne dashed forward in between the two, "Tracy was just asking why you were staying with us." trying not to get into it with her best friend in front of Harry.
"Oh" Harry replied, "Well turns out Mrs. Greengrass is my Godmother and when Sirius Black died a few weeks ago she became my new magical guardian." He said with a smile.
"Harry I am so sorry about you Godfather. My mom and and Mr. Black were good friends for a while back in school. She'll be devastated to find out he died."
"Not as much as me…" Harry said under his breath.
"What was that?" Tracy asked stepping forward and putting a hand on his shoulder. She had always found Harry Potter to be quite attractive, however her being a Slytherin and him being a Gryffindor made it very difficult for her to ever do anything about it. However with the new knowledge that he was Aurora Greengrass's godson might make him now available.
Daphne quickly saw what her best friend was trying to do and intervened, "Come along Tracy, We have a lot to talk about and Harry and mom are going shopping." She said scornfully as she dragged Tracy away up to her room.
"Nice to meet you again Tracy." He said with a friendly smile and waved at her.
"I'll see you a bit later Harry." She replied and winked at him, which cause him to blush a little bit.
Aurora Greengrass walked into the foyer where Harry was standing, "Ready to go Harry?"
"Yes Mrs. Greengrass I guess so." he replied as he shrugged his shoulders.
The two of them walked into the den and Mrs. Greengrass punched in a series of numbers on the orb on the left.
"What's that thing?" Harry asked curious as to what it might be.
"It's a lock that we use to keep our Floo safe. We don't have the house on any of the major Floo Networks as we don't think it's safe. So in order to go anywhere outside of the few places we most frequent we have to use a code to access it." Mrs. Greengrass said with a smile.
"Can I get my own code?" He asked innocently.
She eyed the boy carefully. "Sure, but we have to have someone come set it up. We'll have to make an appointment with Gringotts to send a cursebreaker over." She lied. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to let the boy roam free. She and Daniel talked for a long time last night about what the boy had said. They both decided they were in over their heads and needed some advice. So until they knew more she had to stall his freedom.
"Ok…" Harry said a bit depressed. He very much would have liked the ability to go visit his friends when he wanted to, but at least he'd be getting his own code soon. Then he'd be able to go visit with Neville and Seamus and Hermione.
The Floo came to life and Mrs. Greengrass grabbed a handful of Floo powder, "We are going to Oxford Street, you do know how to use a Floo right?" She asked remembering that he was raised in a muggle house.
"Yeah I've used it a few times when I stayed at the Weasleys." He took a handful of powder.
"Oxford Street." She said and then walked through the green flames. Harry followed quickly behind her.
Back upstairs Daphne and Tracy were both getting into their pajamas as they usually did when they hung out and both sat on Daphne's bed.
"So what's with you and Potter?" Tracy asked as she laid down on Daphne's bed head resting on her hand.
Daphne blushed slightly, "Nothing's going on with me and Harry." She shot back defensively.
"Oh really…." Tracy smiled mischievously. "Then why are you as red as a Gryffindor."
"He just got her yesterday. Apparently mom and his mom were real good friends." Daphne said to her best friend hoping that she might see reason.
"Uh huh, and?"
"He's living with us now. Mom's now his Godmother and only remaining Guardian." Daphne said folding some of her clothes that had been brought up by Trixie.
"Yeah we get that, but why are you blushing so hard for the Boy-Who-Lived." Daphne hated how once Tracy got an idea in her head she just hammered it home.
"Look Trace, you have no idea what that boy has been through. He's nothing like the stories at school." She said laying down on her back with he head resting on her pillows.
Tracy examined her friend trying to parse her last sentence. "What do you mean, he's nothing like the stories at school?"
"He's had a really rough life. For one he just saw his godfather get murdered in his arms a few weeks ago. I mean how would you feel if you had your father killed in front of you." Daphne said while sitting up.
"Horrible, but does that mean that the stories are true?" Tracy asked as she began to pull some nail polish out of her bag.
Daphne opened a drawer in her night stand and pulled out a little blue bottle of nail polish as well. One of their two favorites things to do while hanging out was to paint each others nails.
"I don't know about all of them but im certain that Harry fought against V...Voldemort." She stuttered the word which forced a gasp from Tracy.
"Your mom would kill you." She said with a grin.
"Well Harry yelled at mom and stormed away from the dinner table last night saying that if we are afraid to use the name then he's already won." Daphne said uncorking the bottle. "Toes or Fingers first?"
"Toes, I mean that makes sense. Voldemort's biggest weapon in the first war was Fear. Fear that Death Eaters would show up at your door at any time without reason." Tracy sat with her back against the wall with a pocket mirror floating in front of her while she was adjusting her hair and makeup.
"Well after that explosion at the table he came up to his room and just started crying." Daphne said as she began to apply a primer coat onto Tracys toes.
"Crying?! Are you kidding me?" Tracy started to laugh.
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Daphne shot back quickly and defensively.
Tracy was shocked by her friends quick escalation, "Ok… ok… not so funny…"
"Tracy you have no idea what I saw in his eyes when I came up here to check on him. Nothing, nothing at all. It was like a dementor came in a sucked all the happiness and joy out of him. He just sat there curled in the tiny ball crying."
Tracy couldn't believe it, Harry Potter was a broken man, "Your lying…" She said unbelievably.
"No I'm not. I went and sat with him for a while and eventually he fell asleep on me…" Daphne blushed a bit, "Well we kinda both feel asleep on each other…"
"OH MY GOD!" Tracy said jumping on her knees forgetting that Daphne had already primed her toes. "You slept with Harry Potter? How was it?! Did you do anything?!"
"Tracy!" Daphne yelled, "Yes I slept with Harry Potter but there was nothing more than that. No Sex for fucks sakes i'm only fifteen and im pretty sure he's only fourteen. But it was kinda nice." She said as a rare smile creeped across Daphne's face.
"I KNEW IT!" Tracy yelled again as she sat back on her bum. "You have a thing for Harry Potter."
"So what? He's basically like my step-brother now." Daphne rationed.
"No he's not, He's your mother Godson. There is nothing against dating your mother's Godson."
"Maybe… we'll see."
"I mean if you don't want him, can I have him?" Tracy asked playfully.
"Tracy!" Daphne said shooting her best friend a look that said I could kill you.
"Fine fine but you get until end of the summer if you haven't made a move I will." She was now picturing herself walking through Hogwarts and Harry would walk by and pull her into an empty broom closet and snog the life out her.
"You know Tracy sometimes you scare me." She said with a smile.
Tracy through a pillow at her and they both started laughing. "You wouldn't have it any other way."
They spent the rest of the afternoon talking gossip and doing each others nails.
Sometime around five Aurora and Harry arrived home with Trixie in tow. "We are home." Mrs. Greengrass yelled from the den.
"Tracy and I are out back mom." Came a call from the back of the house.
Mrs. Greengrass smiled, "Harry will you go find out if the girls are hungry, I'll help Trixie take these clothes up."
"Yes Mrs. Greengrass." He said as he walked into the backyard.
It was a nice afternoon and the two girls were laying outside on two lounge chairs. Daphne was wearing a bright green bikini with a light blue see through coverall and Tracy was wearing a crimson red bikini and a bright orange towel.
Harry walked over to where the girls were sitting, "Daphne, Tracy…" He wasn't able to finish the sentence before his face turned bright red.
"Hey Harry." Tracy said while sitting up slightly. She immediately noticed his embarrassment as he quickly turned around. Which spurred a giggle from Tracy.
Daphne merely shook her head at her friends antics. "How was your day at the mall Harry?" Daphne asked.
Harry turned his head to the side so they would be able to hear him, "It was fun, I've never been shopping before. It's kinda nice to get to pick your own clothes." He was smiling a bit and felt much better today than he did yesterday.
Tracy stood up and stretched slightly. She could have swore she saw Harry getting a quick peek at her which gave her an idea. "Hey, Harry why don't you come sit with us for a bit. Dinner shouldn't be for a few more hours and there's still a little bit of sun left."
Harry jumped slightly and turned back around to face away from the girls, "Huh? Me? Sit with you girls? Nah I think i'll just…"
"Nonsense Harry. Its summer enjoy yourself a little." Tracy patted the towel on the chair next to her.
Daphne was now giggling to herself which caused Harry to get even more red. "I don't know, I mean I don't want to ruin you great afternoon." Harry said shuffling his feet slightly. Truthfully the idea sounded amazing. What fourteen year old boy wouldn't want to spend time outside in the sun with two amazingly beautiful girls.
"Harry come on. It'll be fun." Tracy insisted.
"Fine…" Harry said reluctantly even though every instinct he had told him that he should run inside. "I need to go get my swim trunks."
Tracy saw right through his plan, he would pretend to go inside needing to get his swim trunks and then never return. "No you don't, Trixie!" Tracy called out happily.
The little elf appeared right in front of her, "Mistress Tracy called me?"
Tracy happily acknowledged the elf, "Harry here needs his swim trunks and a fresh towel if you could please." Tracy knew that Trixie liked being thanked for her services. She had been the Greengrass house elf for almost fifty years. Daphne's mom attempted to free the elf just before Daphne was born but the elf insisted that she wanted to work for the Greengrass family.
Trixie smiled, "Right away." She snapped her fingers and Harry was now wearing a dark blue and gold pair of swim trunks and a loose fitting grey and white shirt while holding a bright red towel.
"Waoh" Harry said shocked that he was no longer wearing school robes.
"Thanks Trixie!" Tracy said happily.
"Yous welcome Mistress Tracy." The elf replied with a bright grin and then popped away.
Daphne just watched and laughed some more at her friends machinations. She loved Tracy she was the perfect opposite to her. Forward, crass, lewd and all the while a completely loyal best friend.
Harry sighed and walked over to the chair that was next to Tracy. He laid his towel down at the foot at of the chair and took his shirt off and laid it at the top of the chair.
Both Tracy and Daphne were stunned open mouth at the sheer number of scars and bruises on the boys back.
"Harry what happened?" Daphne asked as she stood up quickly and walked over to Harry.
"Huh?" Harry turned around and noticed that the girls were staring at his scars. "Oh thats from when my Uncle Vernon use to beat me with his belt when I would forget to take out the trash."
As Harry turned around the two girls saw even more scars all over the boy's body of all varying shapes, sizes and colors.
Daphne quickly reached out and gave a Harry a huge hug. Which was shocking for everyone there.
Harry didnt move for a moment but then wrapped his arms around Daphne. Her skin was so warm and soft, and her hands felt like little needles shooting tingling sensations where she was holding him.
Daphne soon realized how the situation looked. She was hugging Harry wearing nothing but a bikini and he was wearing nothing but a pair of swim shorts. The thought was quickly pushed from her mind as she felt his strong arms wrap around her, and suddenly nothing else in the world matter.
The world around her fell away and there standing before her was Harry Potter staring into her soul with those bright green eyes. That little flame she saw earlier in the day was not a roaring fire and it was heating her up like a firecracker.
She quickly pulled away and stood awkwardly in front of Harry, "Sorry!" Daphne said quickly.
Harry's face was bright red, "It's ok…. I kinda liked it…" He said timidly which cause Daphne to turn red as well.
Tracy was laughing her ass off watching the entire thing. She did feel bad for Harry because of all the pain and terrible things that he had gone through to get all those scars. However one of them stood out to her, and as Daphne walked back to her seat and covered herself again.
"Harry, Where did you get that one?" Tracy asked point at the one on his arm that looked the most fresh and had a slightly different color to it.
"Two weeks ago. I am pretty sure Wormtail used my blood to resurrect Voldemort." Harry said laying down in the chair.
Tracy didn't register what he said at first then a few moments later both girls sat up and said, "WHAT?!"
"Yeah, after I grabbed the Triwizard cup I was portkeyed to a graveyard where Wormtail and several other Death Eaters including Lucius Malfoy did some kind of ritual to get Voldemort back his body."
Tracy and Daphne were left dumbfounded.
Harry continued on, "After he regained his body he told me that fate had decided that one of us had to die."
Daphne shook from her stare, "What do you mean he said fate had decided that one of you had to die."
Harry sat up finally, "Just that." as he turned to face Daphne the sun peeked out through the cloud it was hiding behind and as it hit Daphne's face it lit her up with a gold aura. Harry was transfixed.
He just stared for a moment while Tracy quickly regained her composure. "Hey Potter, like what you see?"
Daphne reached out and hit her friend in the arm. "OWW What was that for?" Tracy replied while laughing.
"He made it sound like I was destined to die by his hand. In fact once the Priori Incantatem started he ordered his followed to not help him even though he was struggling."
Daphne looked down, "Is that when you saw your parents?" She asked timidly.
"Yeah…" Harry said somewhat sad yet somewhat happy because he was reliving the moment again in his head.
"Daphne, Tracy, Harry dinners ready in ten minutes." came a call from the Mrs. Greengrass from inside the house.
Harry sighed, "I mean at least I got to finally know what my parents were like…" Harry said as he was packing up his towel and putting his shirt back on. He left the two girls to gather their things together.
Daphne's heart had cracked a little bit more today. She was certain that Tracy was right, she was falling for Harry.
Tracy watched as she saw her friend working through emotions she knew Daphne had never felt before, "I take it I wont get that chance with Potter." She said with a giggle.
Daphne lashed out playfully with her towel. "Shut up!" She said sharply but with a smile and bright red cheeks.
They all went inside and had a nice dinner, Daniel Greengrass was particularly interested in hearing about Harry's trip to Oxford street. So Harry and Mrs. Greengrass told everyone at the table about all the places they went.
Harry had even been able to get some stuff for his room. Stuff that he could call his own, Harry was beginning to feel like a member of the Greengrass family.
After dinner Daniel asked Harry to come join him in his study, to which Harry nodded and followed him.
Daniel walked over to a small silver carafe and poured himself some Brandy in a small glass with one ice sphere.
"Harry have you ever had Brandy?" He asked the boy who sat down in the large chair across from him. The study wasn't very big maybe twenty by thirty feet but it was covered floor to ceiling with books. What caught Harry's eye was that some of the shelves had a dull blue glow around them.
"No Mr. Greengrass, can't say that I have." Harry was eyeing one of those shelves. He couldn't make out any of the titles but figured they must be pretty rare books. He could feel the magic from the barrier and figured that they were protected for a reason.
"Would you like a taste?" He offered the boy his glass.
"Not tonight." Harry replied with a smile and politely waving his hand.
Daniel nodded and sat down in his big comfy leather chair. "Harry I want to ask you a few things. But before I do I want to tell you something. Ever since Aurora and I got married and we had Daphne, I've always wanted a son. Not because I care about passing down the Greengrass name, that will still go to Daphne, but because there are things that I've always wanted to do."
Harry looked at the man and vaguely understood what he was saying.
"I also want to tell you that I view you as the son Aurora and I never had, if thats ok with you?" He asked the boy scared of what his answer might be. He'd only known Harry for two days but he wanted to make sure that just because Aurora was his godmother didn't mean that he cared any less for Harry than she did.
"I don't know…" Harry said while kicking his feet and looking at the floor.
Daniel sighed, "Its ok you don't have to decide right now. Just know that Aurora and I love you and care very much about you."
Harry looked up and saw in the man's eyes that he wasn't lying to trying to trick him. Daniel Greengrass honestly cared very deeply for him. "Ok."
"Good" Daniel said sharply and with some spunk, "Now that that's out of the way I wanted to talk to you a little bit about your life before coming here." Daniel had to make sure he was going very slowly with this as he didn't want to pressure him into another panic attack.
"What do you want to know?" Harry asked somewhat annoyed. Everyone always wanted to know everything about him. Did his parents really die saving him from the Killing curse. Did he really find the Chamber of Secrets blah blah blah. Harry hated it. He just wanted to be a normal fourteen year old boy.
"Well to be frank, everything. You are part of this family for better or worse and I need to know if there are things I should be concerned with." He said it so plainly and with earnest care in his voice that Harry was compelled to believe him.
"Well let see.." And so Harry told Daniel Greengrass almost everything that had happened to him over his life. From his tale about recovering the Philosopher's Stone, to rescuing Ginny Weasley from the Basilisk inside the Chamber of Secrets to his performance in the Triwizard Tournament. He made sure to mention each and every time he and Voldemort had fought and how he seemed to have this obsession with finding and killing the boy himself. Harry even mentioned that Daphne thought it was strange as well.
After several hours Daniel excused Harry from the study and went to go find his wife. She was sitting in the Den reading a book. "What wrong dear?" She asked her husband who looked like he had a really bad day.
"Well I think we just got moved from being on the sidelines to be starters in the new War against Voldemort." He said with a bit of despair. He proceeded to recount all of the things Harry had told him over the past two hours.
All the while Daphne sat in her room reading the book that Tracy had found for her, she heard a faint noise coming from the wall that she and Harry share.
She walked over to the wall and as she got closer she could here the unmistakable sound of someone crying. She frowned and walked out the door and down the hallway.
It was generally known throughout the house that if you wanted privacy that you only had to close your door however Harry's door was still wide open.
When Daphne walked in the doorway she saw him curled up in the same spot he was the day before. Except this time he seeming to be holding something a thin piece of paper.
"Harry can I come in." Daphne asked softly.
Harry looked up and she could see the tears welling up in his eyes, however there was still that fire burning deep inside them. "Yeah, sure come in." he said with the hiccups.
Daphne was in her Pajamas and walked over and sat down on the floor next to Harry. She wrapped a arm around his neck and he fell onto her. His head resting on her shoulder. It was nice, Daphne felt as though Harry was comforted by her being there.
He quickly stopped cry and handed her the picture that he was holding. "It's the only one I have."
It was a picture of Harry's parents holding him in front of the fountain at Hogwarts, he must have just been born because he was so little. They were both dancing and swaying back and forth with huge bright smiles. It was clear to anyone that saw the picture that they were a very happy, loving family.
"They look so happy." Daphne said a smile creeping onto her face.
Harry liked the few times he had seen Daphne smile, it made him feel all warm inside. He sat up and turned to face Daphne. "I feel terrible because I probably have put your family in danger. Your dad an I talked for several hours tonight about it and he thinks things are going to get worse."
Daphne was shaken from her moment of bliss, "Oh… I mean that all lines up from what I can tell. I've been seeing all sorts of weird things happening in Slytherin, specifically in regards to those children of so called Ex-Death Eaters. Not to mention an increase in attack on muggleborns and muggles."
Muggleborns! Harry shot up straight, "Oh crap!" He jumped up and rushed over to his desk.
"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly
"Hermione's a muggleborn and known to be one of my best friends. If anyone is a target its her." Harry said quickly
"Granger? She's a muggleborn?" Daphne asked with a bit of venom. Harry nodded, Hermione was always her number one competition in really everything. They were always fighting for top of the class in every subject except Defense. Which Harry always seemed to be miles ahead of everyone, and at least now she understood why.
Daphne watched as Harry scribbled out a letter and rolled it tightly. He walked quickly over to Hedwig's perch. "Hey girl can you do me a favor?" He said with love.
She trilled lightly and nipped at his finger that was holding the letter. "Yup, I need you to take this to Hermione ok?" Daphne could tell the boy really loved his owl.
He tied the note and just as he finished the great white owl rose from the perch and flew out into the night. He breathed a sigh and sat down on the side of his bed. "Hopefully nothing happens and she's alright." Harry was worried and Daphne saw it.
It made Daphne a bit worried, because she was beginning to like Harry, but if he had feelings for Granger then he would pick her any day of the week over Daphne. She swallowed hard and knew that she had to know before she got invested any further into this crush.
"Say Harry, what's with you and Granger?"
Harry looked interestingly at Daphne then grew slightly confused. "I don't know what you mean..."
"I mean is she your girlfriend or just a really good friend?"
Before Harry could respond a silvery blue Otter burst through the window and stopped in front of Harry.
Daphne jumped a bit and said, "What is that?" in a high pitched tone.
Harry reached out and touched it, "A Patronus."
"Death Eaters just Apparated to my house. Going to try and get my parents and I out." Came a very scared voice of Hermione.
"FUCK!" Harry screamed he grabbed his wand and the thin jacket that was nearby. He turned around quickly, his mind racing a mile a minute. "Daphne we need to get to Hermione's house immediately." He turned to look for Daphne but she had just run out the door and down the hall.
As Harry ran to his doorway he saw Daphne walking out of her room holding her wand and putting on a light sweater. "Lets go, we'll tell dad and maybe he can get help."
Harry nodded and the two teens both ran downstairs and sprinted into the den where Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass were cuddled up on the couch making out.
"Mr. Greengrass!" Harry yelled as they ran into the room.
The two adults fumbled to sit up as they were both startled by the loud noise. "What is it Harry?" He said noticing the two teens ready to go somewhere.
"I just got a patronus from my best friend that Death Eaters just arrived at her house. My friend is a muggleborn and her parents have no way to defend themselves." Harry said as quickly as he could.
Daniel didn't even waste a second. He jumped off the couch and ran into his study to grab his wand. "Aurora let the Order know what's going on! I am going to go with Harry to find his friend before she's killed."
"I am going too!" Daphne said as strongly and forcefully as she could.
"Sweetie I appreciate your-"
"Mr. Greengrass, we don't time for this, PLEASE!" Harry said urgently trying to get them out of the house."
He eyed the boy for a split second before deciding that it was the best use of time to let them both come along, as three wizards would be better than two versus an unknown number of Death Eaters.
"Fine but stay with Harry and do EVERYTHING I SAY NO QUESTIONS!" He yelled as he led them both into the den where the Floo was.
"Yes Dad. Yes Sir" Daphne and Harry replied.
As they entered the room Daniel turned to Harry, "Is her house on the Floo or do we have to Apparate?"
"Apparate, 1128 Pelling Drive, Cambridge." Harry said definitively.
Daniel nodded and held out his arm. "Grab ahold."
Harry did immediately and gave Daphne a reassuring smile. She was relieved that he was smiling. She tried to return a smile even though she was terrified. She grabbed hold of her dad's arm. As she did she felt her insides twist in on themselves and felt like her entire body was being forced through a small tube.
A few moments later they all appeared right outside a small neighborhood and house 1128 was right in front of them.
Before either of them had a chance to do anything other than look around they heard three loud bangs in rapid succession. Several moments later another round of three bangs.
Harry saw several flashes of light and the sound of a window breaking. He rushed wand first towards the house.
"HARRY!" Daniel screamed and ran right after him albeit a bit slower and several steps behind. Daphne was quick to follow.
Harry burst through the front door and saw Nathaniel Granger leaning heavily on one leg, standing at the base of the stairs. All of the lights were out in the house and he could see a trail of blood running from the kitchen to where he was currently crouching.
Nathaniel was a tall, well-built man in his mid-forties. He had big strong arms and long thick legs. He was currently holding a handgun and pressed up against the wall.
He turned and pointed the gun at Harry as he burst through the door. "Harry." He said softly and slightly above a whisper.
Harry ran over and slid across the ground to get out of the open, scraping his leg on some of the broken table bits that had apparently been exploded moments before.
"What's going on?" he asked quickly.
Nathaniel grimaced, "The girls are upstairs, Hermione said that help should be coming soon. Luckily Hermione detected the men in black before they entered the house or we'd all be dead. I think I killed one of them but the other three-"
A light blue curse flew down the hallway towards the door where Daniel Greengrass had just entered. He quickly deflected the spell into the wall.
What proceeded was a barrage of spells down the hallway all aimed at Daniel, who was doing his best to stave off the onslaught. The man was a gifted Auror and had been in quite a few exchanges with Death Eaters. However, he was outnumbered two to one and thus had to play defense until the odds changed.
Harry slowly crept around the other side of the stairs and saw a man in black doing the same. Harry yelled, "REDUCTO" as his cutting curse soared across the room and hit the man in his chest. He heard a loud scream.
The man quickly returned fire with a cutting curse of his own and so the duel between Harry and the masked Death Eater began.
Daphne took this opportunity to rush through the door and over to Nathaniel, "Are you able to walk?" She said quiet scared.
"Yeah…" He said through another grimace of pain.
"Here let me." Daphne said as she waved her wand, "Ferula" The large gash along Mr. Grangers leg was sealed however he had still lost quite a bit of blood.
"Thanks", he said standing up and checking his magazine. He had seven more shots and was not about to let anything happen to his family.
Daphne's attention was drawn to her left as she heard a cry from Harry, who had been hit by a cutting curse across his left forearm. She gasped as she saw him stand up like it was nothing and fired off a chain of spells so fast that it made her head spin. Seconds later she saw him stand up straight and sigh, clearly he had been able to take down his opponent.
He then fell to one knee and she rushed over to him. "Harry!" She said loudly.
"I am fine…" He said standing back up. He too was favoring one leg over the other.
They both heard three more loud bangs followed by a dull thud. "TAKE THAT YOU FILTHY DIRTBAG!" Nathaniel's voice echoed throughout the house.
Harry chuckled slightly which caused Daphne to jump. Seconds later Hermione came running downstairs wand ready, and as she saw Daniel she pointed her wand at him. "Who are you?"
Daniel could tell that she had already cast a non-verbal protego spell and was seconds away from a stupefy given the light at the tip of her wand.
"I am Daniel Greengrass, I am here with Harry and my daughter." Daniel said not lowering his wand and staring up at the girl on the stairs. Daniel had taken some hits during his duel with the two Death eaters but for the most part was fine. He would have a huge headache in a bit and he'd be sore all over his chest tomorrow.
Hermione relaxed and lowered her wand to her hip, walking calmly downstairs and looking around, "Dad? Harry?" she called out frantically.
"Right here sweetie" came the very masculine voice of her father.
"Hermione!?" Came Harry's voice as he hobbled into the living room.
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, "Are they all gone?" she asked.
"I got one over here, he's dead for sure." Harry said as he had severed the man's head.
"I managed to hit two of them several times in the kitchen." Nathaniel said limping over to the couch and sitting down.
"Good then thats all of them, I killed the fourth one in the hallway." Daniel Greengrass said walking over to kitchen and counting all four bodies.
Andrea Granger walked downstairs timidly, "Is it safe now?" she asked.
"Yes dear." Nathaniel called with a hint of pain in his voice.
Daphne walked in and knelt in front of Hermione's father. "Let me take a look at you." She cast a simple diagnostic spell that her mother had taught her.
"You have a broken leg and two broken ribs."
Hermione walked over to the girl that she was sure she had seen before. "Thank you for helping… You're Daphne, Daphne Greengrass." She was confused as to why she would be responding to her call for help.
Harry walked over, "It's a long story that I won't get into now." Harry said trying to stave off the horde of questions that would be going through his best friend's head.
Hermione, knowing that Harry was brushing her off till things wound down, agreed; however, she would be pressing for details later.
Second later the power returned to the house as the magical signatures dissipated. Daniel walked over to Nathaniel. "My name is Daniel Greengrass, and this is my daughter Daphne, are you alright?"
Nathaniel hobbled to his feet, "Nathaniel Granger, Staff Sergeant of the British Royal Navy." He said with a salute.
Daniel returned the salute and both men shared a hearty laugh. "I'll be fine, might have to call in sick a few days." he said jokingly.
Just then several soft pops were heard from outside. Everyone in the room immediately reacted by either pointing a wand or a gun at the door. Except for Andrea, who hit the floor.
Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick walked in the door, wands drawn and shields blazing. "What on earth is going on here?" Minerva said loudly.
"We have it under control Minerva." Daniel said as he walked over.
She looked around at the destruction that had reigned over the Grangers house. She noticed the trio of students off to the side looking nervously towards their professor.
"Potter? Greengrass? What are you doing here?"
"It's a long story Professor. One that I'd prefer to only tell once." Harry said in a bit of pain.
Minerva looked at Harry and saw some of his injuries, "Are you ok, Potter?"
"Yeah, I am fine just a few scratches nothing serious."
Daphne was amazed at the response. They had received Hermione's Patronus only ten minutes ago, and in that time they were able to get to her house, deal with the four Death Eaters, and make sure that no one was hurt.
Harry asked the question moments before either of the two witches could, "What is this?" He directed to his head of house.
Minerva smiled, "The Order of the Phoenix." she said proudly. "Daniel I think it best we get everyone out of here, in case they decide to come back."
Daniel stood up. "I agree, let's all meet back at my house and we can debrief." He turned towards Nathaniel. "Sir I want you and your wife to take my hand."
Mr. Granger nodded and his wife walked over. "It's gonna be ok sweetie." he said reassuring his wife.
They quickly apparated away.
Minerva walked over to the three teens and held out her arm. "Come along, quickly now." The three of them grabbed her arm together and were spun away into the foyer of Greengrass Manor.
Astoria and Aurora greeted them with hugs. "Daphne are you alright?" Her mother said rushing over to her.
"I am fine mom." She said a bit annoyed. "It's Harry you should worry about."
She turned from worried to frantic, "Harry! What happened?" She was waving her wand up and down the boy casting various diagnostic charms.
"I'll be fine, however I would love to sit down." He said through a grimace.
Mrs. Greengrass lead him over to a couch in the living room while Hermione lead her father over to the one next to Harry.
Mrs. Greengrass turned to Hermione, "I don't think we've met yet." She said politely.
"Oh" Hermione responded. "I'm Hermione Granger and these are my parents Nathaniel and Andrea." She said with a smile and slight curtsy.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all, I wish it were under better circumstances." She said frowning slightly. "My name is Aurora Greengrass, I am Harry's godmother and Daphne's mother."
Hermione's jaw opened slowly and stayed that way for several moments. Harry chuckled slightly. "Here it comes…" He said leaning over to whisper in Daphne's ear.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" She screamed.
"Yup there it is." he said softly, "Yes Hermione?"
"WHAT. THE. LITTERAL. FUCK." she said each word ever so slowly and with much anger.
The adults in the room were startled backwards, most of them by the volume at which Hermione was able to produce, others at the fact that the normally well mannered witch had just sworn. "Please calm down Hermione."
"No I do not think I will!" She said marching across the room and getting in his face, wand pointing at the ceiling inches from his nose.
Aurora made a move to intervene when Daniel put a soothing hand on her shoulder and gently shook his head.
"I don't hear from you in two weeks. You disappear from your Aunts house. Death Eaters attack my house and when you arrive and save us." She turned towards Daniel and lowered her voice and flashed a quick smile. "Thank you by the way." Then quickly turned back to Harry, "Only to find out that you've moved into the Greengrass's and have a godmother which you've never mentioned to me EVER!" She was now panting heavily.
Harry nodded casually, "That about sums it up." He smiled genuinely at Hermione. "I found out two days ago that Mrs. Greengrass is my Godmother appointed by my parents. She found out two weeks ago when Sirius died."
"Oh…" She said somewhat ashamed of herself. She turned towards Mrs. Greengrass, "Sorry I yelled and frightened everyone…"
Aurora laughed, "Its ok dear, I can tell you really care for Harry. I would be worried too if a similar thing happened to Lily or Pandora." She patted Hermione on the back.
Daniel gave her a look that said the adults needed to talk and she nodded back at him, "Why don't you kids go into the dining room and I'll get Trixie to make you all something to eat.
Harry smiled, "Thanks Mrs. Greengrass."
Harry and Daphne led Hermione into the kitchen while Astoria followed closely behind.
They all sat down as Trixie walked in with a plate of danish and four cups of cocoa.
Harry sat across from Hermione and next to Daphne, "So where do you want to start?" Harry asked his friend.
"First off, I want to know why you have not returned any of my letters." Hermione demanded bitterly.
"Because I haven't received any letters from you. I was going to ask you the same thing, I've sent you three letters so far since I got back to the Dursleys." Harry responded.
"That's strange I sent you one the day we got back from the train station." Hermione said somewhat sadly.
Daphne spoke up, "Someone is probably blocking all of Harry's mail or intercepting it."
"I bet it's Dumbledore." Harry said bitterly. "He's usually the one behind all the privacy and plans keeping me safe."
"That's quite likely." Daphne responded. "From what I've overheard from my mom, Dumbledore put up quite a fight to prevent you from being allowed to stay here."
"Why would Dumbledore do that? I thought he was trying to make your life better Harry." Hermione said worried about her best friend.
"That's just how he operates Hermione." Harry spat back. "Actually I was just sending you a letter warning you to be careful as you and I are known to be friends and with Voldemort's return I figured that you might be high on his target list being muggleborn." Harry said a bit disappointed.
"Yeah I was able to piece that one together the day we got back. That was the reason I put up the detection charms around the house." Hermione was grateful she did because it seemed like those charms were the only things that kept them all alive.
"You did a good thing Granger. I bet those charms saved all your lives." Daphne said slightly envious of the witch's ability to prepare. "By the way Granger, when did you learn to do a Patronus charm like that?"
She smiled brightly at Daphne, "Harry taught me this past year." She said proudly.
"You know how to do one too?" Daphne said somewhat loudly as she turned and punched Harry lightly in the shoulder.
"Oww, yeah Professor Lupin taught me in my third year after the Dementor attacked me on the train. Apparently it's a tricky charm to master for most witches and wizards." Harry grinned at Daphne.
"Well when we get back to school you're going to have to teach my how to cast a Patronus and how to do that thing where you cast spells super fast." She said authoritatively.
Harry smiled, "I can try, but you'd have better luck asking our new Defense teacher as I am a pretty lousy teacher." he said blushing slightly which Hermione noticed and smiled.
"Nonsense Harry, you're a great teacher. Just because I wasn't able to get how to chain spells, that you learned from Flitwick, doesn't mean that you're a bad teacher." Hermione answered.
"I'll give it a try I guess." He shrugged.
Hermione then turned to Daphne, "Daphne what do you know about the Order of the Phoenix?"
Daphne replied honestly, "I know that my mom and dad were in it, and that's it. I've heard my mom mention the name a few times but never have been able to figure who or what it is." Daphne too had been curious to find out more about it, and it seems that she might get her wish.
Aurora Greengrass walked into the dining room at that moment. "Children listen up, the Grangers are going to stay here until we can set up a safehouse for them until they can return home."
Hermione was a bit sad that she wouldn't be able to return home as she had liked, however if she had to be stuck someone new, at least it was with Harry.
"Thank you Mrs. Greengrass." Hermione said politely.
"Oh Hermione, it is no problem at all. Any friend of Harry's is welcome here anytime. Hermione your parents are going to take the spare bedroom downstairs and Daphne you're going to have to stay either with your sister or with Harry as I am giving Hermione your room."
Daphne had just made a face to protest when Hermione spoke up, "You don't have to do that Mrs. Greengrass. I can happily sleep on the couch in the living room." She said trying to avoid upsetting Daphne.
"Nah, its ok. You can have my room for tonight Hermione, I'll sleep on the couch if I have to." Harry said trying to be a good friend.
"Thanks Harry, you really don't have to." Hermione said unsure of whether Harry's offer was real or not.
"Hermione, I insist." He said giving her a look that told her to drop it.
"Good now all of you get ready for bed, It's been a long night for everyone and try and get some sleep. Hup hup off to bed." She ushered them out of the dining room.
"Daphne come here please." she said plainly before she walked up stairs.
"Yes mom?"
"Would you mind if Harry stayed in your room tonight? I am worried that he might have a rough night tonight." She gave her daughter a worried look. "He's really taken a liking towards you and if i'm not mistaken you've taken a bit of a liking towards him…" She said teasingly while poking her daughter in the stomach.
"Momm" Daphne grunted out.
"Fine fine, but in all seriousness, You seem to be able to help calm him down the most. If your not comfortable…"
"No no that's fine." Daphne said quickly not wanting to get into it with her mom. "I'll ask him when I get upstairs."
Her mother sighed, "Thank you, I'll have Trixie make up a spare bed for him." Daphne smiled and began walking up stairs, "Daphne." her mom called out. "I love you sweetheart."
"Love you too mom." she said with a bit of embarrassment and marched upstairs.
She found Harry and Hermione in his room. He was showing her around, "Don't worry about messing stuff up, I'll clean it after you leave." he was rushing around the room putting some of the stuff he had out in its proper place.
Hermione walked over and gave Harry a friendly hug, "Thanks for being there for me."
Harry returned the hug in a friendly way, Daphne noticed it was less personal than the hugs she had gotten from him. "Were you scared?" Harry asked softly.
"Yeah…" Hermione returned
"It's gonna be ok Hermione. I won't let them hurt you or your family." He said sincerely
"I know. I just wish it wasn't happening that's all." she was crying a bit. "I wish I could do more, i'm not as strong as you are."
Harry rubbed her back softly, "You are plenty strong Hermione you know more spells than anyone in our year and likely in the year above us as well. You just need to have confidence, we can work on that when we get back to Hogwarts." His reassurance worked as Hermione stopped crying.
"Ok, but I am holding you to that promise Harry Potter." She said giving him a playful scorn.
"You got it." Harry replied with a chuckle.
Daphne watched the entire thing and got the answer to the question she had asked earlier. It was blatantly obvious that Harry cared deeply for Hermione and vice versa, but not in the I love you and want to have kids with you sort of way. More so in the brother and sister sort of way, which was good news for Daphne.
"Granger." Daphne called out from the doorway.
The two of them turned a face the blonde witch, "Yes?"
"I brought you some pajamas and some clothes for tomorrow. They should be close to your size if you need just call Trixie she's pretty good with altering clothes." Daphne said while handing Hermione a small stack of clothes and toothbrush.
"Thanks Daphne." Hermione took the small stack and place it on the bed.
"Night Hermione." Harry said walking out of the room.
"Good night Harry, Good night Daphne thanks again for letting me stay here." She waved at the two.
Daphne waved back, "Sleep well Granger."
As Daphne closed the door she turned to Harry, "So how about instead of sleeping on the horrible couch you come stay in my room for tonight?" She said blushing slightly.
Harry smiled, "Are you asking this or your mother?" Harry giggled.
Daphne frowned, "She's your mother too you know, and no. I am asking."
Harry smiled, "I know… but don't tell her I said that yet. Sure if your offering." he nodded.
"Just don't complain about the smell or the mess. I haven't had much time to clean my room after Tracy left." She led him into her room, which to her credit wasn't as bad as she made it out to be.
Daphne's room was much more decorated than Harry's. She had all kinds of posters of bands and famous muggles all over it. There was a large pile of stuffed animals in the corner that looked like had been started when Daphne as real little.
Trixie had set up a small full size bed next to Daphne's and had put sheets and a blanket on top.
"Nice." Harry said looking around. "I can see why you stay in here a lot." He said smiling and enjoying Daphne's taste in colors and artwork.
Daphne walked over to her closet and took off her sweater. "Thanks." She began to change into her night clothes when she realized that Harry was staring at her.
She was wearing only her dark green bra and a pair of grey shorts that came well above her knees. "What you staring at?!" She said sternly.
"Huh, oh." Harry's face got red however he didn't turn away. "You just look really beautiful." He said with a smile and his eyes told her that he really meant it.
Daphne blushed and climbed into her bed. "Thanks." She reached for the large white T-shirt and threw it over her head. It reached below her shorts. It was more of a gown than a t-shirt.
Harry shook his head to stop from staring. He had a big smile on his face as he pulled back the sheets of his bed. "I am sorry for staring." he said sincerely as he took off his shirt and sweats.
Daphne again was saddened by all the scars all over his back and front, however she noticed that Harry was quite well built. He had an incredibly tone body which she figured was a result of his training from the Tournament.
"You know Harry, your not too bad looking yourself." She teased trying to suppress her own excitement.
"Oh really?" Harry said posing slightly in front of his bed. "You like what you see." He said mischievously.
Daphne blushed hard and rolled over to face the wall away from Harry, "Now you sound like Tracy."
"Except way less cute." Harry said also turning away from Daphne.
Daphne smiled to herself and also hated herself. Here she was flirting and falling hard for Harry Potter.
"Good night Daphne." Harry said softly and with a lot of emotion.
This caused Daphne's stomach to turn in knots "Goodnight Harry, sleep well." She said just as softly. God she was in trouble, this boy in a matter of two days had turned Daphne Greengrass's frozen heart to mush.
The two teens were both asleep in minutes and both with bright smiles from ear to ear.