Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.
Previous Chapter Summary: Harry enjoys his first Christmas with the Flamels and Dumbledore surprises him with a gift he never could have expected, his father's invisibility cloak. He shares the day with Luna and her father, Sirius and Remus, and runs into Neville with his Gran while at Saint Mungo's where he learns all about Neville's parents.
A/N: So I don't actually have a beta for my story but I do have a friend that reads each chapter once I finish them just to make sure that everything meshes together into a somewhat logical story. Because she does this for me, this chapter is dedicated to her as she specifically requested I write a chapter for the New Years party once I mentioned it instead of just touching on it for a bit like I had planned. She has an obsession with reading about food so I included a bit of that but the rest is just my imagination running a bit wild. Hope you guys enjoy it.
"Daddy, can I have a slumber party with some of my friends from Hogwarts New Years Eve?" Daphne asked her father her first night home as they sat peacefully in the sitting room. After discussing it on the train, the girls had decided that she would be the first to ask since Graceview, the Greengrass manor, was the largest and she wanted them to participate in some of her families New Year traditions.
"Who did you have in mind Petal?" Callum Greengrass asked and took a sip of his favorite after dinner drink, Ghostbrandy. It was made with petal shavings from the Adastreia flower, which resembled bluebells but were pure white in color and only grew atop snowy mountain peaks. The shavings turned the brandy an unnatural milky white color and created a sort of mist within the glass once poured. It was almost ice cold going down but this did not take away from the flavor one bit.
Though she knew that he would certainly have a problem with at least one of her friends, Daphne didn't hesitate in naming everyone, as that would make it seem as if she were trying to get something past him. The fact that she was trying to get something past him was firmly ignored. "Tracey and Blaise of course." She said and her father nodded his approval. "Also, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter."
She chose to slip Hermione's name in right before Harry's in the hopes that her father would focus more on the fact that they would be having the Boy-Who-Lived over to their house and not ask about the one name he didn't recognize. While her father had never jumped onto the whole Death Eater bandwagon during the war, choosing to stay out of the whole affair and protect his family instead, he could still sometimes be a blood snob. She knew it was a bit risky, trying to invite her Muggle-born friend over, but wanted to at least try. Besides, she had a perfect plan on how to deal with him if he refused which had never failed her in the past.
Her hopes were dashed as he tilted his head to the side in thought and enquired. "I don't believe I have ever heard the name Granger before. Are they from out of the country?"
"No, they live in West Sussex."
"Hmm, I don't recall any pure-blood families living in Sussex."
"Well, they aren't exactly pure-blood." She admitted reluctantly.
Her father gave her a piercing look. "Half-blood?"
Daphne shook her head.
"Absolutely not young lady. I will not have a Muggle-born stepping foot in my home, let alone spending any amount of time here."
"You don't even know her dad. Hermione is brilliant with magic and is the top of nearly all of our classes."
"Well that just goes to show how far Hogwarts' educational system has fallen." Callum muttered.
Daphne stood up and placed her hands firmly on her hips as she glared at him. "You know full well Hogwarts has gotten better recently thanks to the Flamels and the new classes they added this year, or you would have shipped me off to Beauxbatons instead."
She was right of course. Despite wanting Daphne and Astoria to attend and graduate from the same school as him and his wife, Callum knew that Hogwarts had steadily been getting worse over the years and was willing to put his feelings aside to do what was best for his daughters. If that meant sending them to France so they could get a better education, then so be it. Thankfully, rumors had started circulating early that summer that the Flamels were going to be teaching at Hogwarts and, not wanting to pass up such an opportunity, he sighed in relief as he tossed the registration forms for Beauxbatons in a folder where they were promptly put from his mind.
"I know how you feel about Muggles Dad and I was hesitant about Hermione at first too but she really is very nice and just the same as you and me as far as having magic goes. Muggle-borns are a part of our world whether some want them to be or not and from talking to the Flamels, I have learned that England is falling far behind in our acceptance of them.
"I am proud of our family but ashamed that we seem to believe ourselves above witches and wizards like Hermione simply because we were lucky enough to be born into a magical family." Daphne wasn't entirely sure where she was going with her impromptu rant but found that she couldn't stop herself, she had been planning a confrontation similar to this ever since she decided to accept Hermione as one of her friends and all of the many arguments she had gone through in her mind seemed to blend together and tumble out of her mouth. "It's that very same pride that makes me want her to meet all of you so she can get to know you."
Callum sat quietly once Daphne was done, thinking over her words, but a lifetime of prejudice against Muggles and Muggle-borns proved to be too difficult to ignore in the end and he said. "I'm afraid my answer is still the same Daphne. You may have your other friends over but I will not welcome a Muggle-born into this house."
Daphne's face morphed into disappointment before quickly switching to a look of fury. "Fine." She spat, spun on her heels, and, without even asking to be excused, stormed out of the room.
Astoria, who had originally been sitting on the sofa next to her sister, looked worriedly between the door which Daphne had left through and her father. She finally chose to look to her mother instead and asked. "May I be excused?"
Elizabeth Greengrass sat in her favorite chair near the fire and switched her attention from her husband to her daughter and gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course dear." She watched her youngest flee the room in pursuit of her sister and looked back to her husband with a deep frown. "Callum—"
"I have said all I mean to on the subject Lizzy and do not care to hear your opinion on the matter." He interrupted, gulping down the last of his brandy, frost billowing out of his mouth as he let out a deep sigh.
"I see. If you'll excuse me." She said as she stood, closing the book she had been reading gently, laying it on the table next to her chair, and leaving without waiting for his reply. Daphne's little speech must have gotten to him more than she had first thought but that was no excuse for his behavior.
Callum ran a hand down his face and sighed again. Now two of his girls were mad at him, just great.
He sat in the silence and flickering firelight for a long while after his wife had left, thinking over the argument. That he should have such troubles over an insignificant Muggle-born child made him angry and resentful against this girl he had never met.
A part of him knew he was being foolish though. Having attended Hogwarts with Muggle-borns himself, he knew that there was no difference, magically speaking, between him and them. Yet his own father's words sprang unbidden into his mind any time he gave it any thought and reminded him that he was above them and that they were unworthy of studying magic.
When his temper finally began to settle, Callum rose from his chair and made his way to his bedroom. Elizabeth was already asleep when he got there so he got ready for bed as quietly as possible in the near darkness, trying his best not to wake her. As he lifted the sheets and slid in beside her, he learned that he needn't have bothered trying to be so stealthy, for as soon as he lay down, she rolled over to face him and he saw that she was still wide awake.
She lay there silently and he could only stare as the moonlight streaming through the window illuminated her honey blonde hair and made her ice blue eyes seem to glow.
"Feeling better?" She asked in almost a whisper despite the fact that they could have a shouting match in here and the girls would hardly be able to hear them.
He nodded his head. "I am sorry I snapped at you. I was just caught a bit off guard with the whole affair."
She smiled slightly. "I suppose I don't blame you. Though I can't say you handled yourself very well."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, while you were firm with your decision and you did not raise your voice, you do not seem to have taken to heart Daphne's argument nor did you explain your reasons for refusing her request."
"My reasons are my own." Callum said, his tone firm. "I am the master of this house and I needn't have to explain myself."
"Need? Perhaps not. But you should explain them to Daphne nonetheless. She is your daughter and obviously feels passionately about you hating a friend of hers that you have never even met."
"She knew perfectly well my views on Muggles and Muggle-borns before she attempted to invite the girl over." He argued.
"Perhaps she was hoping that you care enough about her to overlook your silly prejudices and support her decision to make friends outside of our normal snobbish circle." She countered and watched his eyes flash in anger in the moonlight.
"Silly prejudices?" He growled.
"Yes, silly prejudices." She repeated and grabbed onto his arm to keep him in place when it seemed as if he were going to sit up. "I am sorry my choice of words upsets you Callum but I will not take them back. You know very well that I have never held to such nonsense. Like Daphne, I am proud of both of our family heritages but that does not mean that I have to, let alone want to, look down on others simply because we were born under different circumstances.
"I very much prefer to judge another by their actions. Which is why I dislike your friend Lucius so much. That man is probably responsible for the deaths of many people, both Muggle and Magical alike, yet you have no qualms about inviting him into our home and even allow him to interact with our girls."
"I wouldn't exactly call him a friend." He muttered. Callum did not enjoy Lucius Malfoy's company any more than his wife, as the man seemed to think himself better than the Greengrasses and occasionally made snide remarks on their stance during the war. But with his connections in the Ministry being what they were, Malfoy was a good acquaintance to have.
"My argument still stands. I know it is difficult for you to think about Muggle-borns in a favorable light thanks to your father but I would very much recommend that you do your best to try or you may very well miss out on important events in your daughter's life."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you really think Daphne is going to invite her other friends over if Miss Granger cannot come? No, she will simply go to one of their houses instead when they decide to celebrate any holidays together."
"Not if I don't allow her to she won't." He replied but knew immediately that now he was just being petulant.
Elizabeth gave him a look of such deep sadness and disappointment that it tore at his heart. "I am so very disappointed in you Callum Greengrass. If you can handle the resentment that would come from you keeping Daphne from spending time with her friends then go right ahead but know that I will not support you in any way if that is the path you choose." She said, releasing his arm and moving away from him as if to leave the bed.
Callum reached out immediately and pulled her back to him. She did not resist but he felt her immediately stiffen in his arms so he wrapped them around her and rubbed her back. "I am sorry Lizzy. I did not mean what I said, I was just speaking in anger." He said and let his head drop until it was resting in the crook of her neck.
They lay there quietly for several moments and he slowly felt Elizabeth relax against him. He kissed her neck and apologized again before releasing her and pulling back so he could look into her eyes, which were still a bit guarded. "You really think Daphne would choose to be with her friends rather than us if I do not allow this Hermione Granger to come here?"
"I do. She loves us all very much but she is also very devoted to those she chooses to be her friends and she will not abandon one simply because you dislike her due to her circumstances of birth." She said and reached up to caress his cheek. "You are a good man Callum and I love you very much. I do not want to see your relationship with Daphne deteriorate over something like this. It may seem small and silly to you but it is obviously very important to her."
Callum let out a heavy sigh and rubbed a hand absently up and down Elizabeth's arm as he thought over his predicament. As much as he had wanted a son to carry on the Greengrass name, he would never dream of exchanging either of his girls for anything. From the moment they were born and he held them in his arms for the very first time, both Daphne and Astoria had him wrapped around their little fingers and he wouldn't have it any other way. Daphne, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, reminded him so much of his Elizabeth while Astoria had inherited his dark brown hair and hazel green eyes, though thankfully was nothing like him in personality but rather bubbly and outgoing.
His love for his daughter was now warring with his lifelong and deep-rooted discrimination against Muggles and he didn't like it one bit, since he knew which would ultimately win in the end. At least he would have time to somewhat get used to the idea before this Granger girl came here so that he wouldn't embarrass and anger Daphne with his sneering and snide remarks; his preferred method of showing his disdain when dealing with Muggle-borns.
Elizabeth saw the battle raging within her husband's mind reflected in his eyes and smiled knowing he would cave in the end, as he always did. It was a wonder to her why he even bothered trying anymore. Leaving him to his musings, Elizabeth closed her eyes, wrapped an arm around him, and was soon asleep.
The next morning found Callum up and sitting down at the head of the breakfast table obscenely early for a Saturday, even for him. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, finally drifting off around 3 in the morning, and woke up slightly irritable shortly after 5. Giving it up as a bad job, he rose and got ready for the day, making it downstairs 30 minutes later.
No sooner had he sat down than their head house-elf Twilly popped in beside him in her deep violet robe with the Greengrass crest stitched into the upper left shoulder. "Can I be getting yous a coffee Master Greengrass?"
"Yes and the paperwork I left on my desk in the study yesterday."
She popped away and was back moments later with his coffee just the way he liked it and set it down in front of him along with his requested parchment and a quill. "Would yous be liking breakfast?"
"I will wait for the girls to come down. That will be all for now." He said, dismissing the elf and she disappeared with a small bow.
Callum spent the next hour and a half going over his business reports and was just finishing up when Elizabeth walked into the room to join him, giving him a disapproving look. She hated when he scattered his paperwork all over the table when he had a perfectly good desk in his study but knew that he disliked working in the study early in the morning. It was an old argument of theirs that they didn't bother actually arguing about anymore.
"Good morning love." She said and pressed a kiss to his cheek as she walked past him to take her seat on his right.
"Morning." He mumbled, gathering up his work and snapping his fingers. Twilly popped in again and took the parchment that he handed her without a word before looking to Elizabeth.
"I'll have a cup of tea please Twilly."
"Yes Mistress Elizabeth." Twilly said and was gone for only a moment before reappearing with a full tea service and 3 cups as she knew that Daphne and Astoria would want tea as well when they got there.
"Missy Daphne and Missy Astoria is being almost ready to come down. Would yous like me to be bringing breakfast out now?" Twilly asked.
"That would be great, thank you Twilly." Elizabeth replied and turned to look at Callum as she left, noticing the bags under his eyes.
"Did you get any sleep last night?"
Callum rubbed a hand down his face and drank the last of his coffee before responding. "Not much, I couldn't really get my mind to settle."
Elizabeth knew better than to offer him an energy potion. For the 27 years she had known him, Callum had always hated potions and simply refused to take them unless absolutely necessary. "I was planning on taking the girls Christmas shopping in Shimmer Lane later today. Maybe you could rest while we're gone." Shimmer Lane was the wizarding shopping area located in Glasgow, Scotland and was similar to Diagon Alley but slightly smaller and always less crowded.
The weary man nodded his head but knew that he would probably take the opportunity to do his own shopping in Diagon Alley while they were gone instead of resting. Before anymore could be said, they heard footsteps approaching from beyond the doorway and Daphne and Astoria entered shortly thereafter.
As morning greetings were given, Callum found out just what Daphne's punishment was for his refusal to invite her friend over and he really should have seen it coming. While Astoria greeted him happily with a hug and kiss on the cheek, his eldest daughter made a point to bypass him entirely and greet her mother then sat down in the second chair to his left rather than the first, where she normally sat. He recognized the signs from past occurrences and knew that until she got what she wanted, Daphne would completely ignore his presence as if he weren't even there.
He chose not to comment on it at the moment and simply took a sip of the new cup of coffee Twilly brought him with the breakfast and listened to Astoria excitedly tell them all about the stores she hoped to visit on their shopping trip and trying to guess what Christmas presents they had gotten her while they ate breakfast. Once they were done and the house-elves were taking the dishes, Callum spoke. "Lizzy, would you take Astoria elsewhere so I can speak with Daphne please?"
Elizabeth gave him an encouraging smile as she rose gracefully and motioned for Astoria to follow her and they left the room to a deep silence.
Callum was getting ready to speak to his eldest when he noticed Daphne turning away as if to get up and leave. "Daphne Anne Greengrass!" He thundered.
Daphne froze in her seat before reluctantly turning back around and looking straight ahead while biting her lip. That tone of voice told her exactly who she was dealing with at the moment and she knew quite well that it was one thing to ignore her father, but it was another thing entirely to ignore her Head of House.
Callum's anger at his daughter's blatant snub dissipated and he took a deep breath to steady himself. "Look at me please." He said, his tone softer but no less commanding.
Though she quickly deduced that he was no longer speaking as the Head of House Greengrass, Daphne did as he said and turned to look at him. Having made an effort not to glance his way at all this morning, Daphne noticed for the first time the dark circles under his eyes and how tired he looked.
"First of all, I can understand that you are upset with me over our conversation last night but you are getting too old to childishly ignore me whenever you don't get your own way. Not only do you know how it makes me feel but it is also insulting to me as your father and Head of House and I will not tolerate such behavior in the future. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir." Daphne said after giving it some thought. He was right, she was 11 now and a Slytherin, she should certainly be able to think of more creative ways to get what she wanted.
"Good. Second of all, after much consideration I have decided to allow you to invite all of your friends here for New Years Eve, including Miss Granger."
"Really?" Daphne blurted out, her eyes widening in surprise. She couldn't believe that he had given in so quickly after how against it he obviously was the night before.
"Yes really." Callum paused for a moment, still hesitant to explain to his eldest exactly why he was the way he was, but knew it was something she needed to know. "You don't know this, but your grandfather was very much for pure-blood supremacy and hated Muggles, Muggle-borns, and even most half-bloods. Had he lived to see the war, I have no doubt that he would have chosen to follow You-Know-Who without hesitation."
Daphne was staring at him now, interest burning in her eyes. She knew a lot about the Greengrass history but neither of her parents ever really spoke about her grandfather other than telling her his name and a few impersonal tidbits.
"Growing up, any positive statements uttered in his presence in regards to anybody who wasn't a pure-blood was met with swift and painful punishment. Although, there were plenty of times when he chose to meat out said punishment simply for the sake of it and because he could." At hearing this, Daphne leapt from her seat and ran to hug him. Despite thinking her too old for it, Callum picked her up and settled her on his knee to hold her close. "By the time I was old enough to go off to Hogwarts, I was well on my way to following in my father's footsteps. The only things that stopped me were your mother and my utter hatred for him.
"Lizzy and I met on the train ride there and, even though she was sorted into Hufflepuff and I went to Slytherin, we managed to stay fairly close throughout the years. My father died shortly before my 17th birthday and things got a lot better after that, especially when Lizzy agreed to marry me. I promised myself that I wouldn't turn out like him and that I would never hurt my children the same way he hurt me." Callum explained and tightened his hold on Daphne. "But the teachings that he beat into me remained, always in the back of my mind. I don't hate Muggles and Muggle-borns the way he did but the prejudice is still there."
Tears were spilling down Daphne's face as she listened to her father's story, hearing the sadness in his voice. He always seemed so strong and sure of himself and this was a side of him that she had never experienced before. She understood now why her parents never spoke about her grandfather and she was perfectly fine with that. She didn't want to know anyone that would dare to hurt her father, whether family or not.
"It was really my own stubbornness that saw me never really try to overcome my discriminations as well as the fact that I never felt I had a reason to. However, now that you find yourself with a Muggle-born friend and I'm fairly sure Astoria, with her outgoing personality, will have her fair share when she gets to Hogwarts, then I will try my hardest to get past them. Besides, we have already met the parents of all of your other friends, except Mr. Potter's guardians, and it would be rude of me not to meet Miss Granger's at least once. Though it may take me a couple of months and forcing myself to speak civilly with other Muggle-borns before I'm ready to interact with Muggles." Callum admitted a tad distastefully.
Daphne let out a giggle at that, picturing him trying to start a serious conversation with a Muggle-born witch or wizard, before turning serious and looking up at him. "I'm sorry Daddy. I knew that you disliked Muggle-borns before I asked but I was so focused on wanting to have my friends over that I didn't really care if it made you uncomfortable."
He reached out to wipe the tears from his daughter's face and spoke sincerely as he gave her a soft smile. "You have nothing to apologize for Petal. You have every right to want to invite your friends over, no matter what their background, and I'll do my best to be a gracious host when Miss Granger gets here."
Daphne resolved to tell Hermione to be careful with the way she vocalized anything she found disagreeable during her visit as she knew the girl could sometimes blurt out insulting things regarding how magicals acted not realizing that she was, in fact, being insulting at all. Their long discussion on house-elves sprang to mind and how Hermione had very nearly started a row with Daphne and Tracey when she accused them of owning slaves without thinking, even if it was technically true. It took some time for them to convince the girl the majority of house-elves are treated quite well by the families they served and that going on a rampage at the injustice of having house-elves would probably get her nowhere at the moment. Best to leave stuff like that to when you actually have the clout to get what you want.
While Daphne knew that her paternal grandfather hadn't treated his house-elves very well, her father treated them more like servants and though he was rather dismissive of them, she knew that he was very fond of Twilly. Her mother had convinced him to designate a small room with beds for the ten that they had working in the house and outside on the grounds and she and the girls were always polite to them, garnering their trust and devotion in return.
Callum and Daphne sat for a few more moments in silence taking comfort from each other before Callum reminded her that they were supposed to go shopping and she might want to start getting ready. Daphne gave him a crushing hug before leaving the room to write to her friends that the party would be held at her house and then to find Astoria and her mother.
"Does Master Greengrass be needing anything else?" Twilly asked from off to his right. She had been the only one of the house-elves not to scurry away when he had yelled at Daphne and had remained to clean away the breakfast dishes. They all knew that he would not harm them and he had never commanded them to punish themselves but seeing their master angry was still a bit frightening.
Callum gazed at the little house-elf with a faraway look in his eyes. "Not at the moment Twilly." He finally said, standing and walking out of the room.
Having been taking care of him since the day he was born, especially when his father had hurt him in one way or another, Twilly was utterly devoted to her young master and his family. She hated seeing them argue and was glad that their disagreement had not lasted very long this time as she knew how upset it made him whenever one of his girls was mad at him. Twilly gave a small smile as she popped away and took it upon herself to supply her master with cups of coffee throughout the day whenever she saw him becoming too tired.
OoOoOoO
New Years had finally come and Daphne was as ready as she would ever be for her party. She had made sure to tell everyone that it was comfortable casual dress since nobody but them and her family would be here and she was dressed simply in pale blue robes and the pair of dove shaped hairpins that Harry had gotten her for Christmas. The blonde haired girl gave a smile as she remembered her mother having to come in to choose her robes for her as Daphne had gone through nearly her entire wardrobe and couldn't find anything she wanted to wear despite telling her friends not to worry too much about the way they dressed.
She now stood in the middle of the dining room with her hands on her hips as she inspected the spread of food laid out on the tables placed around the edges of the room.
After some discussion with her mother, she had decided to go with a buffet style dinner, similar to the meals at Hogwarts, for her friends rather than the 7 course meal her parents usually presented for their guests. Daphne thought that her friends would appreciate the more relaxed atmosphere and being able to choose what they wanted to eat.
Boppy had outdone himself in the kitchen, expertly directing the other house-elves designated to assist him in making the dinner, and had made sure to keep in mind Daphne's suggestions as far as what her friends preferred and what they didn't.
The first table housed the hors d'oeuvres; including an assortment of canapés, a tiered tray full of crackers and all different kinds of cheeses, escargot—otherwise Blaise would be absolutely unbearable to be around the rest of the night— and fresh sliced vegetables with a honey curry dipping sauce. Next came the main course with finger sandwiches, buns, roast potatoes, shepherd's pie, and pork pies. The dessert table had ginger newts, cauldron cakes, fruit salad, and Boppy's specialty lemon merengue pie. And lastly was the beverage table; which had pumpkin juice, pumpkin fizz, butterbeer, and bubble juice.
The house-elves had done a good job with the decorations as well she decided as she looked them over with a critical eye. The main colors she had chosen were purple and silver—that these colors just happened to be the colors of her families house was merely coincidence—so as not to seem as if she were attempting to support one Hogwarts house colors over another considering their diverse group. This was her first time throwing a party and Daphne wanted everything to be perfect.
Her father had reluctantly agreed to allow her to use the family silver and so the streamers floating up near the ceiling, the silk tablecloths, and paper birds flittering around the room were deep violet with silver trimmings. There were also small bursts of miniature fireworks going off every few minutes in random places and in an assortment of colors that Twilly had taken upon herself to add to the decor and Daphne had made sure to let the little elf know that she liked them and to thank her for adding them.
The recreation room, where they would spend the rest of their night after dinner playing games and partaking of the first part of her families New Year traditions, was similarly decorated.
As Twilly smoothed out non-existent wrinkles in one of the tablecloths, Daphne snuck a peak at the clock and saw that it was 5:58 PM, nearly time for Tracey to arrive. She rushed to the sitting room, which was where friends of the family were allowed to floo into the house. As was customary with guests arriving by floo for a party, each one would be designated a specific time to come through the floo, usually about three minutes after the one before so as to avoid any collisions.
Just as she passed the threshold leading to the sitting room, seeing that her parents and Astoria were already there, the flames in the fireplace turned green and roared upward for a few seconds before settling back down, revealing Tracey standing within. She stepped expertly out of the flames as Elizabeth vanished the soot off of her, came forward to give her friend a hug, and immediately started talking a mile a minute about the surprise trip to the Irish Wizarding Resort that her parents had sprung on her the day after Christmas.
Over the next 20 or so minutes, Tracey was followed by Blaise, Neville, Susan, Hannah, Hermione, and Harry; the last two stumbling out of the fireplace a bit more ungracefully than the others. As Harry and Hermione were the only ones that hadn't met her family before, Daphne made sure to step forward to introduce them and watched her father with not a little bit of amusement as he kissed the back of Hermione's hand, causing the girl to blush spectacularly while fumbling out her greeting. Harry watched him do this and repeated the gesture with her mother and sister when introduced to them, sending Astoria into a fit of giggles.
Deciding to get it out of the way before they ate, Daphne guided all of them through the large manor and gave them an abridged version of the tour that her mother enjoyed giving the guests that asked. Their ancestor, Alden Greengrass, had purchased the land the Somerset countryside in 1022 and constructed the manor before settling down with his wife Josephine. The manor had been in the family ever since, the heir moving in and taking over the various businesses left behind by the previous head.
She completed the tour by showing them where they would be staying for the night up on the third floor. Her father had cast expansion charms on two of their guest rooms and had the house-elves move enough beds for each of them into the rooms. The guests had left their bags and such in the study as instructed and the house-elves had wasted no time in transporting it upstairs for them. The girls would share one room while the boys would share the one across the hall from them.
Shortly after they reached the ground floor again, the adults left the children as Daphne led them to the dining room so they weren't in the kids way and so they could share a rare dinner to themselves.
"Wow Daphne, this looks great!" Susan said when they walked in.
Daphne gave a pleased smile as the others voiced their approval and gestured for them to go ahead and start serving themselves.
They got into an orderly line and started at the appetizer table. All was going smoothly until Hermione got to the beverage table. "What is this?" She asked, picking up a goblet with a clear liquid in it.
"That's bubble juice," Blaise answered from right behind her.
Hermione brought the cup up and gave it a sniff. "It smells like honeydew."
Blaise nodded his head. "Tastes like it too. It's made from bubble fruit, which grows on the Nedadilla tree. They are about the size of a grapefruit and nearly transparent in color."
"They only grow near rivers and ponds where Naiads reside and it is one of their favorite foods. Nobody is quite sure though, whether the Naiads settle there because of the Nadadilla trees or if the trees grow because the Naiads are there." Neville said from behind Blaise.
"I thought Naiads were only Greek myth." Hermione said and took a tentative sip of the drink, eyes bulging when she breathed out a stream of bubbles.
"Most ancient myths are based on fact. Don't forget that it was only within the last 600 or so years that we started to go into hiding from Muggles. Before that—especially in ancient times— witches and wizards lived almost peacefully with Muggles and even performed magic around them." Blaise said as the bubbles floated upward and then popped, leaving a scent of melon in the air.
Hermione decided to keep the drink and went over to the table to sit near Tracey, with Blaise sitting on her other side a moment later. "I did read about that in some of the history books but its just hard to believe sometimes that a lot of things that I grew up believing were myth are actually real."
"You should check out the books I got on Egyptian magical history while we were in Egypt." Harry said and tried the escargot. Blaise had told him it was his favorite and convinced him to give it a try and so Harry had grabbed a few of the snails to put on his plate. He made a slightly disgusted face as he bit into it, more at the texture than the flavor, and decided that escargot just wasn't for him.
"Oh, I would like that. I bet they'll be really interesting." Hermione replied and smiled in amusement as she watched Harry hold his plate out to Blaise so the dark skinned boy could take the remaining escargot off his plate.
"They are, especially considering Egypt is one of the oldest magical communities in the world. The books even talk about whether the Egyptian gods were really just witches and wizards using their magic to do a lot of the things they were known for." Harry said, giving a cheeky grin when Blaise gave him a disdainful look at his offering but took the escargot nonetheless.
"Do they really think that?" Hannah asked.
Harry nodded, the chapters covering the Egyptian gods were his favorites and he had read them several times. "It makes sense if you think about it. Even the fact that the gods could transform into animals fit since witches and wizards have the ability to become Animagi. I wouldn't be surprised if the Greek and Roman magical history held similar beliefs."
"Could I borrow your book Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Sure. Nick and Nell also got me a book on Brazil for Christmas and you can borrow that one too once I'm done with it."
"I'd like that." She replied.
"Speaking of Christmas." Tracey broke in. "How was everybody's?"
They spent the next hour and a half simply talking all about their various holidays and what each had gotten for Christmas. Daphne had been a bit nervous at letting Astoria join them for dinner but knew that her little sister would have been very upset if she had been excluded. She needn't have worried however since none of her friends seemed to mind Astoria's talkative nature and even made sure to include her in the conversation whenever possible.
Just as they sat back with satisfied sighs after finishing their various desserts, Callum walked into the dining room with Elizabeth on his arm.
"Did you all enjoy your dinner?" Elizabeth asked and smiled when she got a resounding yes from all of the children. "Very good. I believe Twilly has everything ready for us in the recreation room if you would like to follow us there."
"Ready for what Mrs. Greengrass?" Susan enquired as they filed out of the room.
"Please feel free to call me Mrs. Lizzy everyone and I believe Daphne would be better suited to answer your question." Elizabeth said.
All eyes turned to Daphne as they walked into the recreation room and her friends noticed a large round table full of supplies and seats for all 11 of them.
"I thought you guys would like to participate in some of our New Year traditions since you are here." She explained, herding them towards the table and making sure to split them up so that the Greengrasses could sit in between those that had never done this before.
Tracey and Blaise had done this a few times so knew what they were in for but the rest of their friends looked questioningly at Daphne.
"What traditions?" Harry asked and gazed around him. Daphne was sitting to his left and she was followed by Hermione, Callum, Neville, Elizabeth, Hannah, Astoria, Susan, Blaise, and Tracey.
"Well, tonight we are going to be making our own fireworks to set off at midnight but tomorrows is a surprise so you will just have to wait and see for that one."
Hannah was almost bouncing in her seat in excitement and Harry and Neville looked eager to get started on the explosives. The rest of her friends were more restrained in their excitement but there was no doubt that the interest was there.
"Okay, so all of the powders have been mixed, measured, and labeled for safety purposes so all we have to do is choose what kind of firework we want and put it together. They aren't terribly elaborate like some out there but it is fun to see the finished product." Daphne said and began grabbing items off the table and placing them in front of her. "I will go ahead and make one first so you can see how it's done and then we will help you all make your own."
Everyone watched with rapt attention as she grabbed one of the containers, inserted the pre-measured main fuse through a hole in the bottom—which stuck to the bottom and side of the container with a sticking charm—and poured black powder over the fuse, explaining each step as she went along. She placed a paper barrier over the black powder before pouring a grayish powder, which she called the bursting charge and was responsible for causing the firework to explode, on top of that. Another barrier was placed on the bursting charge before she placed the time delay fuse in the middle and made sure it was properly connected to the main fuse. Once done with that, she started on what she considered the fun part, choosing what shape the firework would take once it exploded.
"We have all different kinds of stars, these round pellet looking things, for the effects. Like I said, each bag is pre-measured and labeled with the shape and color so you can choose which ones you want for yourself as well as layer them if you want separate bursts of the same shape but with a different color. I'll do a simple one to show you." Daphne explained and grabbed the stars that would create a blue flower shape and a pink one, poured them both into her container with another barrier to separate them, double checked the fuse one more time, and then wrapped the whole thing in a thin red paper.
"There you have it." She said, setting her finished firework in the middle of the table for everyone to see.
"You made it seem so easy." Neville said incredulously.
Daphne grinned. "Well, I have been doing this since I was about 6 so I've pretty much gotten the hang of it. Tracey actually makes better ones than I do even though she has only done it 2 or 3 times. She really likes the explosions."
Tracey stuck her tongue out at her friend and asked. "Can we start now?"
"Do you guys think you can do it if we help you along?" Daphne asked and made sure that they all nodded in the affirmative before telling them to go ahead and start.
They were well into their little project, the various Greengrasses helping out when needed, when Elizabeth looked over and saw Hermione biting her lip as she scanned the different types of stars on the table. She noticed Daphne helping Harry with his fuse so caught her husband's eye and nodded towards Hermione. Callum gave her an annoyed look but turned to the bushy haired girl in the end.
"Do you need help with something Miss Granger?" He asked.
Daphne's ears perked up at hearing her father speak to her friend for the first time that night other than to say hello and she listened intently while she helped Harry.
Hermione blushed a bit as she looked up at Daphne's father. Once upon a time, before she started at Hogwarts and actually made friends, she preferred spending time with adults rather than children her own age but she couldn't seem to get it together around Callum Greengrass. Maybe it was the fact that he fit the profile of what her mum referred to as tall, dark, and handsome or that even just sitting there making fireworks, he was slightly intimidating. Or maybe it was a combination of the two but she was determined to overcome it.
She took a deep breath and said. "I don't think so sir. I was just trying to choose which effect I wanted but there are so many to choose from. The ones I'm used to are pretty simple and it's hard to believe there are so many different shapes."
"Well magic is heavily involved in the production of our fireworks and like Daphne said, the ones we have here are pretty basic. There are fireworks out there that take the shape of dragons, full sized and with fiery breath included. It's even said that a previous Headmaster by the name of Wulfwin Brayles loved fireworks so much that he created his own that he set off at the end of his last term before he retired. The story says that it shot high into the air and when it exploded, there was a gigantic mirror image of Hogwarts castle floating in the sky for a full minute before it began to crumble and take the shape of the students flying around on broomsticks." Callum explained and smiled slightly at Hermione's look of wonder.
"Wow." Hermione said. "Has anyone ever remade the firework?"
"Unfortunately not. Headmaster Brayles was a bit of a narcissist and when asked for the recipe, refused to give it, stating that he would be the only Headmaster to go out with such a 'bang'."
"Well that wasn't very nice of him." Hermione said.
"No it wasn't. Many Headmasters after him have tried to get the recipe from his portrait but it is just as stubborn as the man himself." Callum said and reached for a bag of stars, which he then handed to Hermione. "You could try this one. It's one of the better ones and takes the shape of a herd of Unicorns that go galloping across the sky once it explodes."
Hermione's eyes lit up at hearing that. "Thank you Mr. Greengrass, I think I will."
Callum turned to his wife with a bit of a triumphant smile and she nodded her head in approval and not a little bit of amusement.
They were about done when Twilly popped in next to Callum, making Hermione jump in surprise.
"I is being sorry for scaring yous Missy Granger." Twilly said.
Hermione stared at the little creature for a few moments before Daphne poked her in the side, causing the girl to jump again. "It's alright. What's your name?"
"I is Twilly Missy." Twilly answered with a nod of her head before turning to Callum. "It is almost being 10 o'clock Master Greengrass."
Callum nodded his head and looked around the table as Twilly popped away again. "Has everyone finished their fireworks?"
"I believe so." Elizabeth answered her husband and took stock of what they had. Daphne had made the most, coming in at 10 fireworks, and was closely followed by the rest of her family; Callum managing to make 8 while Elizabeth and Astoria made 7. Her friends had all gotten at least 3 or 4 except for Tracey, who only had one.
"Oh sweet Merlin, what have you made this time?" Blaise asked his fellow Slytherin with apprehension.
Her firework last year had scared the willies out of all of them when it exploded, raining down shooting stars in every color which exploded upon impacting the ground and transformed into a swarm of rainbow colored butterflies. Callum and Elizabeth could have sworn that they hadn't provided anything that could produce that kind of effect but Tracey seemed to have a way with explosives and a very unique imagination.
"You'll just have to wait and see won't you Zabini." Tracey said with a smirk and jabbed her wand at the firework, changing the paper from red to black. She had chosen one of the largest containers to work with and had spent the entire time perfecting her masterpiece.
They cleaned up the table somewhat and then the adults left the kids to play games and have fun until it was time to start making their way out to the clearing where they would set off the fireworks. Ever since Callum's great-grandfather, Thurstan Greengrass, had nearly set the house on fire with one of his fireworks, setting them off near the manor had been banned by every Head of House after him.
Astoria was asleep on the floor with a blanket pulled over her near the group of chatting girls while Harry, Blaise, and Neville were in a seemingly never-ending exploding snap war when Twilly popped into the room again and told them that it was time to make their way to the clearing. The cards blew up spectacularly in Neville's face as Daphne shook her sister awake. Astoria was up in moments and practically dragging them out of the room to meet up with their parents in the entrance hall.
Getting them all bundled up and making their way to the clearing took about 20 minutes total and they made it with 10 minutes before midnight. They saw a few of the Greengrass house-elves standing on the other side of the clearing, ready to light the fireworks and Tracey rushed over to inform them that the large black one should be lit last.
5 minutes before midnight, Twilly popped in front of them with a tray full of flutes of champagne. The kids got excited until Callum informed them that theirs was non-alcoholic but they took their glasses with enthusiasm nonetheless.
They had just counted down and toasted in the new year when the first firework shot into the sky. It exploded and what looked like a forest filled the night sky for 10 to 15 seconds before it disintegrated and the light coalesced into tiny fairies that came and flew around them before finally bursting with a soft pop.
"That one was mine!" Neville said excitedly as the next firework was launched.
The time it took to go through the various fireworks was a lot shorter than it took to put them together and before they knew they it, they were down to the last one.
"Mines up next." Tracey said and rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
Everyone waited expectantly as it shot up into the sky but nobody was quite ready for the explosion that came. It sounded like thunder and was so loud that it shook the ground beneath them while the lightning bolts that spewed from the center of the explosion arced across the sky, lighting up the countryside for miles around. After about 10 seconds of this, the lightning bolts were sucked back into their center all at once and another explosion rent the air, the resultant light nearly blinding them. When it settled, they could see a gigantic bird like creature made entirely of lightning slowly making its way through the air above them. It had six sets of wings and the head of an eagle and every time it flapped its wings, more bolts of lightning flashed across the sky.
"Bloody hell!" Blaise exclaimed, eyes locked onto the beautiful creature.
Hermione reached over without looking and poked him in the cheek. "Language." She murmured halfheartedly.
"What is it?" Harry asked in awe.
"It's a Thunderbird." Tracey said proudly as she watched the creature begin to fade the further away it got before disappearing entirely. "They are native to North America and can create thunderstorms as they fly."
"How in the world did you manage something like that with what we gave you Tracey?" Elizabeth asked.
Tracey shrugged her shoulders. "After Daphne invited me over to do this the first time I got kind of obsessed and ended up buying a bunch of books on the subject. It's not very hard to figure out the right measurements to change the powders you gave us so I can get the effect I'm looking for. I'm thinking I might pursue the art sometime after school so everyone can enjoy them."
"Maybe you could figure out how to recreate the Hogwarts firework Mr. Greengrass was telling me about. You're obviously really good." Hermione suggested.
Tracey beamed as they began making their way back inside. "Thanks. I just might do that."
OoOoOoO
Waking up the next morning was difficult for all of them but everyone managed to make it down and were sitting around the breakfast table by 9:00 chatting about the events from the night before. Susan was noticeably quiet but her friends had learned the hard way that she was pretty much a walking corpse before her second cup of tea.
They were finishing up their breakfast when Hannah decided to enquire as to what was on the agenda for the day. "So what do you have planned for us today Daphne?"
Daphne gave her a smile and said. "Go get dressed for mildly warm weather to go outside and meet me in the entrance hall. Showing you will be better than telling."
They made it back to the entrance hall in record time, anticipation on all of their faces. Blaise and Tracey because they knew what was in store for them, the rest of their friends because, if today was anything like last night, then they were sure to have loads of fun.
"Follow me." Daphne said and began to lead them towards the back of the house, Astoria skipping ahead of her only to come to a halt when she reached a set of french double doors that looked like they led to the back garden.
Daphne didn't stop as she reached out, turned the handles and pushed the doors open wide, leading them out onto a patio that had teak chairs and tables tastefully situated to give those relaxing on the patio the best view of the grounds beyond.
A beautiful garden lay just outside of the patio's boundary, chock full of all different kinds of flowers imaginable and at its edge was a small 2 foot high wall covered in bright pink and blue morning glories with an archway separating the garden from the large orchard that went on for acres. The most surprising, for those unused to such things, was that there wasn't a snowflake in sight despite it being the dead of winter.
Neville stumbled forward in a sort of daze and knelt down to inspect a large hydrangea bush whose flowers were changing colors from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet before starting the cycle over again; except none of the flowers seemed to be in sequence, causing a dizzying kaleidoscope effect as he watched. "A Rainbow Hydrangea." He said reverently, reaching out a hand to touch one of the flowers.
"I have some extra seeds if you're interested Neville." Elizabeth said from behind him where she stood with her husband. "The last one I harvested seeds from actually provided too many for me to replant and I have yet to harvest this one."
"Really?" Neville asked with excitement as he stood up to face her. "I would love to have them. I still have some money saved up from Christ—"
"Nonsense, I won't accept one Knut from you young man." She said in a firm voice before smiling down at him. "Daphne has told me that you seem to enjoy Herbology as much as I do so I don't mind sharing. I will be sure to get them for you before you leave. Do you have a container to place them in that has preservation charms on it or do I need to give you one?"
"I have one. Harry got me an Apprentice Herbologist storage case for Christmas that I can put them in." Neville said proudly. He was pretty sure Harry hadn't paid too much attention to the different levels of the case that he had gotten him or the differences between them, probably only choosing the one he thought practical without being too outrageously expensive. The cases were created by famed Herbologist Phylida Spore and came in Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Master, and Grandmaster levels; each one capable of holding a progressively larger amount of seeds than the last.
"That was very nice of him, I only have the Novice level case myself, which allows me to hold up to 25 different seeds. I have been trying to convince Callum to get me the Grandmaster one for ages but he hasn't budged." She said this last bit conspiratorially but still loud enough that her husband could hear her, causing him to roll his eyes in amusement as they both knew that she had no real need for a case that would allow her to hold up to 1000 seeds.
Before Neville could reply, Daphne walked up. "Mum, everybody's waiting."
"Sorry love." Elizabeth said and leaned toward Neville. "We'll talk more later. I have some other seeds that I'd be willing to part with as well."
Neville bobbed his head up and down as they followed Daphne to where the rest of their group were standing just beyond the archway.
"This orchard is very lovely." Susan spoke up as she eyed the nearby peach trees.
"Thank you Susan. The Fawley family has been growing and selling fresh fruits for over 60 years, also making and selling jams and jellies from time to time. My older brother wasn't very interested in the family business once he became the Head so passed it onto me shortly after I married. I grew up helping my mother and the house-elves so had no problem accepting the responsibility and Callum had the land cleared and the orchard transferred here for me so I could work close to home." Elizabeth explained, a serene smile gracing her lips as she gazed at her beautiful orchard.
Daphne nodded her head. "She taught Astoria and I how to do the same as we grew up and every new year we come out to pick our own fruits and use them to make jams which we then share amongst ourselves and just spend time as a family. I wanted you guys to join in this year, if you're interested of course."
"Of course. That sounds like so much fun." Susan said with delight and everyone quickly agreed with her.
"Great." Daphne said and made her way over to a small storage box next to the wall. She reached in and pulled out several hand baskets, which she started handing out. "You can choose whichever fruit you like, even more than one if you want to make more than one type of jam. If you aren't sure whether a fruit is ripe or not feel free to ask any one of us and there are small ladders near random trees so if you can't reach just look around for one of them."
She walked forward and made sure they were all paying attention. "As you can see, the fruit trees are here and starting at the beginning on the left you will find pears followed by plums, apples, cherries, peaches, and apricots. Towards the right side of the orchard are the berry bushes which include blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and strawberries and at the end we have the grapes."
When no-one budged she made a shooing gesture with her hand. "Go on then, get picking."
Susan was the first to move, eagerly making her way over to the peaches. She reached up and began to expertly squeeze various ones before finding one she wanted, placing it in her basket then moving onto the next. She was soon followed by her friends as they dispersed to different sections of the orchard.
Callum carried Elizabeth's basket in one hand while she wrapped her arm in his and they walked leisurely towards the plums, listening to the children shouting at each other across the orchard with amused smiles. They were halfway to their destination before they realized that they were being followed. Callum turned them around and they saw Hermione standing there frozen, like a deer caught in a Lumos.
"Were you heading for the pears or the plums?" Elizabeth asked kindly.
Hermione walked the rest of the way towards them. "The pears."
They got moving again and Elizabeth enquired. "Oh, do you like pear jam? I have found that it's our least best seller so I'm simply curious."
"I don't mind it but it's my mum's favorite so I thought I would bring her back a jar if it turned out all right. If that's ok with you that is. I could even pay you for it if you want me to." Hermione said.
"That won't be necessary Hermione. Each batch should make at least 4 jars of jam and I doubt we could all eat that much so I had planned on letting you all take home any leftovers anyway."
"Oh, well thank you."
"You are very welcome. Now, pear jam is Callum's favorite too and he is an expert at picking pears so if you would like some assistance I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping you." Elizabeth suggested and felt her husband stiffen slightly.
Hermione bit her lip and flushed. "Um… I don't want to impose. If you tell me what to look for I'm sure I'll be ok."
Callum stepped forward and handed Elizabeth her basket. "No imposition at all Miss Granger, I need to get some pears anyway and I certainly don't mind assisting you." He said, pulling his wand and summoning a basket for himself.
"Thank you sir and you can just call me Hermione."
"Very well Hermione." Callum said and held his arm out to her. "Shall we?"
Hermione's face went completely red as she took his arm and Callum turned to give Elizabeth a look that said that he had accepted her challenge. She gave him a bit of a smirk in return, amused at how easy he was to manipulate sometimes, and made her way into the nearest row of plum trees.
It was nearing 11:30 when they were done picking their fruits and Daphne wasted no time in leading them all back up to the house and straight to their large kitchen so they could get started. The elves had set up separate work stations for each of them around the large island in the middle of the kitchen as well as made sure all of the things they would need were sitting in the middle within easy reach of everyone.
Not really one for cooking or baking, Callum ducked out after escorting Elizabeth into the room and made his way to his study to catch up on some parchment work he had been neglecting in favor of spending time with his girls over the holidays. He was feeling proud of himself with how he had handled Miss Granger last night and today. The girl was certainly talkative once you got her going and curious beyond all reason but Callum could tell that she was very bright as well. If her parents were similar then he held out hope that meeting them wouldn't be as bad as he kept imagining it would be.
In the kitchen, Daphne let her mother take over showing her friends how to make their various jams since she was better at this part than her daughter was.
"Ok you all, if you look to your left you will see a stack of cards. Each card has the generic ingredients that go into the jam you will be making, all you have to do is find the one that is associated with the fruit that you chose." Elizabeth said and looked around as they started shuffling through the cards to find the right ones. She was happy to see they had all chosen different fruits as that would give them more variety when they sat down to share them. "You will notice that I said generic ingredients, this is because you don't have to follow the recipe exactly and may choose to spice up your jam with additional ingredients if you wish. If you want to do this but aren't sure what might go best then please don't hesitate to ask me."
"Now, the first thing we are going to do is prepare the fruit. Your baskets had a cleaning charm on them that automatically cleaned the fruits as soon as you put them in so you don't have to worry about that…" She continued on in this way, explaining as well as walking them through the process of making their jams and there was continuous chatter and laughter from the children as they worked.
It didn't take Elizabeth long to realize that Susan seemed to be very comfortable in the kitchen as she had been working by herself without instruction and even helped Hannah and Hermione from time to time if they were having difficulties. She also noticed that the red-haired girl had only chosen peaches to work with but seemed to have gotten twice as many and had doubled up her recipe.
At noon, Boppy popped in and began making a light lunch of finger foods that they could eat quickly so they could get back to work and that would tide everyone over until it came time for the jam tasting. The children dug into the food happily but ate standing up and mostly in silence, anxious to get back to their work.
It only took another hour for them all to finish and Elizabeth walked around to examine each jar and place a label on them. When she got to Susan and her 8 jars, she asked. "Not that I mind but can I ask why you made so much Susan?"
Susan shuffled a bit and said. "Peach is my mum's, Auntie Amy's, and my favorite so I was hoping I could take some home."
"Of course you can. You all can take home any leftovers you might have." Elizabeth said, giving them a smile. "Twilly."
Twilly popped in right in front of her.
"Could you go let Callum know that we are ready and make sure everything is set up out on the patio please?" The little elf bowed and popped away as Elizabeth turned to the group. "I thought it would be nice to sit outside, especially since all of my Climate Control Charms make it feel quite nice out."
The kids agreed and, at her instruction, grabbed one jar each of their jams to take outside with them. When they stepped through the open doors they saw that the house-elves had rearranged the patio chairs around a large round table. Callum joined them and they made their way to the table; eyeing the plates, small spoons, glasses of milk and tea, and massive amounts of small pieces of lightly toasted bread sitting in the middle of the table.
"We have found that this is the best way to taste each jam without getting full too quickly." Elizabeth explained as Callum pushed her seat in for her before sitting down to her left. "I would like to take this moment to thank you all for coming over to spend New Years with us and being so willing to participate in our little traditions. I am also glad that I finally got to meet all of my daughter's friends, she speaks of you constantly in her letters home."
"Muuuum." Daphne whined from her seat next to her sister and Harry, elbowing him lightly when he snickered.
Elizabeth smiled and started placing a spoon in all of the jars. "That's all I'll say Petal, I promise. Now, let's get started shall we?"
They happily dug in at that, everyone chatting and expressing their approval of each jam as they tasted it.
Elizabeth was nearly through tasting all the different ones that they had made when she got to Susan's peach jam. Her eyes widened at the explosion of different spices that hit her tongue, balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the peaches and sugar. She could see with just a glance that she wasn't the only one that had found the shy girl's jam so good. "Susan, this is delicious. May I ask what spices you used?"
Susan went slightly pink at the attention she was getting. "Um… a cinnamon stick, fresh ground cardamom and nutmeg, and a star anise."
"You seem to know your way around the kitchen. Do you bake or cook a lot?"
"Yes, my mum made me help her cook when I was younger and as I got older I found I really enjoyed it so she lets me try new recipes and different cuisines whenever I feel like it. She and Auntie Amy have told me I'm good enough to make a career out of it if I wanted but I think they were just saying that to make me feel nice." Susan admitted.
Elizabeth ate another piece of bread with the peach jam on it and nearly moaned in bliss. "I don't think they were just saying that Susan. If your cooking is anything like this I would say they were being very truthful."
"Thank you Mrs. Lizzy." Susan said and ducked her head so they couldn't see her pleased smile.
Hannah beamed at her friend since she knew how much Susan enjoyed cooking, especially for other people, but the girl never really had much confidence in herself and her abilities. Susan had mentioned on occasion how wonderful it would be to open her own restaurant someday but Hannah knew that without support from others she may never go through with it, which would be a shame.
Everyone that had tried the jam nodded their agreement while those that hadn't, reached for it so they could see what the fuss was about and couldn't agree more with Elizabeth's assessment.
"That was absolutely brilliant." Harry said, eyeing his nearly empty jar of strawberry jam with pride as he sat back in his seat to let his full stomach settle. It turned out that all the cooking the Dursleys had forced him to do throughout the years had come in handy.
"It really was." Hermione agreed and resolved to keep how much sugar she had consumed in just this sitting from her parents. Despite some of them never having cooked before, all of the jams turned out well, even Blaise's slightly spicy apricot jam, and she had eaten way too much.
Hannah rubbed her belly and groaned. "I can't believe you get to do this every year. I'm so jealous."
"Well you would all be welcome to join us in the future. I think having more people made the whole event more enjoyable." Callum spoke up and took a sip of the coffee Twilly had brought him.
"Callum is right. Feel free to join us whenever you like, just let Daphne or one of us know ahead of time so we can prepare." Elizabeth said and turned to Neville. "I believe I promised you some plant seeds Neville. Would you like to accompany me to my greenhouse to get them?"
Neville had stuffed himself silly but eagerly jumped up at the prospect of getting more seeds to put in his case. "Yes ma'am."
"What time is it Daddy?" Daphne asked her father as Neville and her mother left.
Callum pulled his pocket watch out and checked the time. "It is 3:15."
Daphne looked disappointed at hearing that. "It's almost time for you guys to leave."
"Don't worry Daph, we head back to school on Sunday so it won't be too long before we see each other again." Blaise said, absently twirling his wand through his fingers. He hated not being allowed to do magic over the holidays after months of practicing.
"I know, it's just been fun having you all here." Daphne sighed. "I'm glad you got to come."
"So are we. Thank you for inviting us." Hermione said and all of their friends nodded in agreement.
Neville and Elizabeth came back once they were done in the greenhouse and she shooed them into the house to make sure that they had packed all of their belongings. Boppy had packed up all of their extra jams for them and the kids found the boxes sitting neatly next to their individual bags when they entered their rooms.
The time finally came for the group of friends to leave so Daphne and her family led them back to the sitting room where they all said goodbye before beginning to go through the floo one by one. Hermione and Harry went one after the other again because Hermione was going with him to the Flamels, who would make sure that she got home ok.
When Hannah stepped through and disappeared with a wave Daphne turned to her family and gave them each a hug, making sure to give her father an extra squeeze. "Thank you for letting me have them all over and for being nice to all of them." This last part was directed more towards her father than anyone else and he knew it.
"You're welcome Petal and we meant what we said, they are more than welcome to come visit again. All of them." Callum said and smiled down at her.
"Thanks Daddy." She responded and gave him another hug before making her way towards her room. Astoria was quick to follow her big sister and the parents could hear her gushing all the way up the stairs about what excellent friends Daphne had.
A/N 2: I am obviously not an expert on fireworks or making jam but I did do some research on both so as not to sound like a complete imbecile and I hope I at least got some things right.