Daphne awoke with a flinch. Merlin's Beard, she didn't even remember closing her eyes.
She looked for Harry, expecting to see him sat across from her, but found the room empty. And… a blanket over her shoulders? How long had she been asleep?
The blanket covering her was a thick and itchy one, but when she lifted off herself up she soon found herself missing it. A cold had leaked into the kitchen that was the kind you felt deep in your bones. She stretched her back out, arching it across the chair and making her spine crack and pop a few times. That was the second worst sleep she'd had in her life, but by far one of the deepest. It felt like she'd only zoned out for a split second and was now right back there, mid-conversation, anxiety and all. Her stress levels may have been through the roof recently, but she was never the type to doze off by accident. Much less while so significantly out of her comfort zone.
But the room was startlingly still now. It was dark outside, which meant it must have been early or late - being winter didn't give her any indication either way. She could do with Harry right now, as she was in no rush to see Professor Lupin again or... Tonks? Was her name? And while Sirius seemed harmless but, his past preceded him in her eyes.
Then, a sweet smell began to fill her nose. She looked to her right and saw a steaming cup of tea stood beside her. It was that close she'd almost knocked it off when removing the blanket.
So someone else was still up, then?
"Lady Greengrass is awake!"
Daphne flinched again, this time realising what it had been that woke her up. On second inspection, she saw an elderly house elf waddling back into the room.
"I do hope she enjoys the morning cup of tea that Kreacher has prepared for her!"
Harry did mention briefly that his godfather had a house elf, now that she thought back on it. She brought the cup up to her lips and was pleased to find it still had some warmth, and quickly gulped down a few swigs of it.
"It is an honour for the House of Black to play host to a fellow member of the Sacred-Twenty Eight! Master Black allows all sorts through it's door, it is such a nice change to have a guest of certified quality!"
She smiled into her cup.
It wasn't often these days she was recognised with the respect she deserved, and this house was certainly the last place she expected to encounter it.
"Kreacher…" she repeated, "that's your name?"
The house elf nodded eagerly.
"Yes, m'lady! Could I get you anything else?"
Daphne chewed the inside of her lip for a moment, considering the opportunity before her.
"You could tell me about Master Black, please."
Kreacher nodded again, this time waddling away from her as he resumed his kitchen duties.
"Of course, well Kreacher is devoted to all members of the House of Black! Including, to his disdain… " he voice turned usually sour as he slowed down, "... Master Sirius. His rebellious and traitorous nature is responsibility for a stain on the Black family name."
She observed the house elf curiously. That was quite unlike the way she'd ever heard one of them talk about their owners.
"The murders?" she asked.
Kreacher shook its head.
"No… no… Master Sirius was innocent of that crime, but guilty of many others."
She hadn't heard the specifics of Sirius's recent trail, but she had heard enough to understand he had been exacerbated of all previously convicted crimes. Still, she had grown up on stories of the infamous killer, Sirius Black, it was difficult to see him as anything other than that.
"Others?" she repeated his word.
A nasty scowl overtook the house elf's face.
"Blood treachery... Fraternising with Muggles and mudbloods... Long has passed since the glory days of the once noble House of Black... Long since we were on par with the likes of Greengrass and Malfoy."
The way it spoke was with quite an old fashioned soul, which was contrary to the way Harry spoke and believed. Was this really his house elf? She struggled to imagine the two ever getting along together. A moment more of consideration passed before she decided to follow that up.
"What do you know of the Greengrass family, Kreacher?"
It's mood suddenly did a one-eighty and the house elf looked wide-eyed and energetic at her again.
"Oh! It is Kreacher's first-cousin-twice-removed, that serves them! Kreacher has long been envious of her! A family that holds such a reputation in the magical community is a rare sight indeed these days! Lord Greengrass' favour is often sort after by other Houses!"
Daphne smiled at him, but it was anything but well-intended. It was somewhat nice to hear an opinion from someone who inhabited the same world as her, but didn't actually mean her any harm.
It brought with it a nostalgic of days gone by back, back before she decided to ruin her life.
"That's still what they think of us, then?" she asked weakly.
The elf looked quizzically back at her.
"Kreacher begs your pardon, m'lady?"
Daphne took another swig from her cup of tea, taking time to reminisce the memory.
"There's barely any of us left now. Dad always wanted a son to continue his legacy... He needed a son. But, he never got one and now when Astoria and I get married off and he passes away, the House of Greengrass will die with him. We're the last of our kind as well. He blames himself for it… and I suspect that I do too, you know?"
A solemn moment lingered in the air between them.
"But still, it's nice to know the cracks aren't showing yet. He shall be most pleased."
When she finally looked back at the house elf, the expression it carried was a conflicted one, somewhere between sympathetic and confused. Whatever the feeling, it was obvious Kreacher wasn't happy with her statement.
She smiled back at him.
"This tea is lovely, Kreacher. I shall make sure to mention to your hospitality to your masters."
That snapped him from his trance. Kreacher nodded graciously to her and took back to organising the kitchen around them.
"Kreacher lives to serve The Noble and Most Ancient, House of Black..."
"Quite. Tell me, is Master Potter awake?"
"I believe he has begun to stir, m'lady! Shall Kreacher fetch him for you?"
So it was morning, then. Truly, how had she allowed her guard down like that?
"If you would, please."
"Right away, m'lady!"
The house elf moved quickly towards the door, but she called out to him one last time.
"Also, Kreacher?"
He looked back at her.
"M'lady?"
"Nobody is to know I'm here. You shan't mention my presence to anyone. Winky, especially."
Thankfully, the house elf smiled again and then gave her a makeshift salute.
"Understood, M'lady!"
She watched as he resumed his course and quickly scurried from the kitchen.
Daphne smiled to herself. What a funny little creature he was.
Old fashioned mindsets like his were on the decline these days. Probably for the best, true, but it couldn't be ignored the nostalgia it brought her. High-class dinner parties arranged by her father, back when they still used to receive visitors, and day-trips out to visit the Ministry. Kreacher seemed older than Winky was by a few centuries, but he was far more energetic than any elf she had met before. He almost reminded her of her grandfather… if relating a nobleman to a house elf wasn't extremely insulting.
She moved to take another swig of her brew, but suddenly, there was a thumping sound.
Heavy footsteps. Rushing in her direction.
A cold wave washed over her and familiar fear began to rise in her. It sounded way too big and heavy to be a house elf. Someone was coming for her.
Her hand instinctively moved to the sleeve where she kept her wand.
"Hey - good morning!" Harry announced loudly as he entered the room.
She breathed out.
"Sorry about leaving you down here! Sirius didn't want us to move you - I think he was saying that mostly for Lupin and Tonks' benefit since they're still a bit unsure of you - they're still upstairs actually - I'm sure once you get to talk to them prope-"
She struck a hand sharply through the air.
"Please do be quiet, I've just woke up."
His mind seemed to catch up with his mouth and he fell quiet, but still smiling at her brightly.
"I'm… really sorry about last night," he started again, slower. "It was completely on me, I should have thought ahead... It never occurred to me your mark would set off the wards."
She soon found that she was smiling thinly back at him.
"Look… so long as they don't tell anybody I'm here, then... I don't care."
To casually dismiss being held in a headlock and shamed in front of a room of people wasn't in her nature, but truth be told, his enthusiasm never failed to cheer her up.
Her face had fully healed over and, although maybe it was just the good cup of tea sitting in her stomach, Daphne truly felt the most stable she had done in months.
Right now it was just her and Harry, the way she liked it. The way it was meant to be. This was the grounds she needed to be on, and it was on these grounds that she would build her comeback on. The two of them spending holidays together was what she fantasied about last Christmas, but now that fantasy was her reality. Just like when they first started seeing each other, the world around them didn't matter anymore. What happened to get her here didn't matter, just that she was here.
Harry seemed to notice her sudden jubilant expression. Her eyes followed him as he moved around the kitchen table to the opposite side.
"You want some breakfast?" he asked.
"What do you have?"
He clicked open a kitchen cabinet and took a look inside.
"Some toast… spaghetti hoops? Tomato soup?"
Daphne laughed at him.
"Is that it?"
Then she caught on to how rude that wording was and made to amend herself.
"Ah, sorry…" she raised her hand, awkwardly, "I'm just used to… My house is a bit bigger than this. Toast would be fine, thank you."
Harry chuckled at her comment and returned behind the cupboard door, but she couldn't shake the feeling he was more bothered by her words than he'd let on. She deflated sightly in her seat, cursing herself. Of course she would find some way to throw a spanner into the works.
"We're... out of bread."
A giggle erupted from her throat before she had a chance to stop it. She slapped a hand over her mouth and turned to look at him. Apology written across her face, she opened her mouth, fully ready apologise and beg him for forgiveness.
"I didn't mean to - I just - !"
To her surprise, he was staring back at her with the kind of googly eyes she'd seen Astoria wear around the Quidditch team.
"You are so cute."
Her stomach plummeted.
She turned away from him instantly. A hot fuzz rushed to her cheeks.
He'd spoken so forcibly, like he was stating a solid and hard fact. An aurora of dizziness swirled around her and it took a few moments of cooling off before she was able to face him again. That smile only lasted a second longer, before she forced it to drain from her face.
She breathed calmly.
"Thank you, Harry."
He was now fiddling with something, a kind of large muggle-looking box. It made a fizzing noise for a second before it settled into something more comprehensible. Gentle rock music now filled the room, doing well to break apart the heavy stillness.
"There's a corner shop at the end of the road, I can nip out and be dead quick?"
"Would it not be easier to just send Kreacher to go? So you won't have to brave the weather?"
Harry gave a loud, tired sigh.
"Oh, christ… I didn't know you'd met him. I'm sorry for whatever he's said, he's a little prick. I'll get Sirius to have a word."
She frowned at him quite suddenly.
"He was quite lovely, actually. Prepared me this cup of tea. He said it was an honour to have me in the household, even."
He gave a slow and unpleasant laugh, chewing his bottom lip.
"That jammy bastard…"
He held that expression a minute longer before jumping to action.
"I'll only be two seconds, though. Let me just grab a coat."
She sucked in an undecided breath.
The idea of being alone in this house with the people she'd met last night didn't sit too well with her, even if it were just for a few moments. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, it was more… she wanted… she didn't want…
Okay, no. She just didn't like them.
Nor did she have any reason to, either, with the way they treated her.
"Potter…" she groaned aloud before falling quiet.
She was unable to make her case any further without feeling like a nuisance, so instead just took to looking meekly at him.
He caught the dip in her tone and arched his eyebrow.
"What, don't you want to be left on your own?"
She scoffed loudly at him.
"Don't be absurd!"
She didn't want to be left alone with those people, big difference, but he could go to Tartarus if he thought he was going to hear her admit that.
He put his hands up defensively.
"Right, sorry! So you are okay staying while I nip out dead quick, then?"
She let out a low breath, wincing as she struggled.
"I mean... I could come with you. But, only if you'd like me to…?"
When he didn't answer immediately, she turned to him.
He was grinning back at her. Daphne's face twisted and molded like she'd just smelled something foul.
Well, he was certainly feeling brave today.
"What's that look on your face?"
She worded it like a threat, but his smile didn't falter.
"Nothing! I'm gonna grab my jacket, you need one?"
Her face remained stone and unchanged. With her answer clear, he nodded cheerfully.
"I'll get you one."
His was quick to exit the room, but not without her hearing him laugh to himself.
She still couldn't figure out if she was head-over-heels for him or if he wound her up more than Tracey did. In all likelihood, it was probably a mixture of both.
She stood up and cracked her back, resulting in a series of satisfying pops, then finally took her jacket off from yesterday and draped it across her chair. Properly looking around her surroundings for the first time, she wasn't too pleased with what she saw. Not messy, per say. There were no dishes that need doing or dirty washing littered about, but the years had plainly not been kind to the house. Black mold sparsely covered the ceiling and more than a few cracks had formed in the window that looked out to the garden. Even the Christmas decorations in the room were minimal, she had to strain to see them.
She wasn't trying to be rude, but it definitely wasn't the kind of place she imagined Harry living.
She made her way over to her kitchen window and tugged open the curtains. It wasn't as dark out as she had thought, they were just buried deep into a suburban neighbourhood. She could just about make out a white sky above the roofs of neighbouring houses. She looked down at the large plastic box positioned under her window. Only when she got closer did she recognise it as a stereo. It was quite different to the one's she'd seen in muggle studies - bigger for starters, and with none of the usual dials on the front of it. Instead it had illuminated display words and numbers - did all muggles have an affinity for making their things glow?
Behind her, she felt Harry reenter the room.
"What song is this?" she asked him.
"We Will Rock You. It's by Queen."
"The Queen sang this?"
She turned to him, where he was staring quizzically back at her. Her looked as though he'd just heard a joke he didn't understand.
"Queen's the name of a band… Freddie Mercury sang it."
"Ah…"
She was an idiot.
Harry laughed and fortunately for him, she was able to see the humorous side of it.
The two shared a chuckle at her expense, but as he handed her an old leather coat she felt that happiness drain out of her. It took a second of eye contact between them before she agreed to put it on. It was probably for the best that she didn't look like herself while staying here, but that compromise was a very long way away from an ugly leather jacket that looked five times too big for her.
It was a pity, really, she had a gorgeous Kneazle-fur jacket at hers that she loved the way she looked in. It was thin on the waist and arms but chunky on the collars and cuffs, where the fur was. It'd go a long way to impress Harry, since she really lived up to the name Ice Queen while wearing it.
Begrudgingly, she wrestled her way into the jacket. When she put her arms down her hands disappeared entirely into the sleeves. Again, she digressed.
"Am I going to be okay to leave the wards?"
It took a second for him to answer, she presumed he was considering the question himself.
"You should be… They've not put any news ones on, so I can't imagine why you wouldn't be, anyway. Might have to watch out coming back inside, though."
They ventured into the same corridor from last night and over to the main door. Again, Harry took the lead and opened it, as he pulled it open a barrage of whiteness overtook her vision. He lead the way out and she followed closely by his side. Fortunately, the big jacket did actually do its job at keeping the cold out. Together they reached the end of the garden path and Harry allowed them out onto the street. She trailed behind, hands behind her back as she was content to watch the world around them.
Despite the snowy blanket that covered the city, the sun above London shone brightly in the sky. The street was alive with activity around them: a group of muggle children dragging sledges behind them, vehicles carefully moving along the gritted roads and tightly wrapped couples walking arm-in-arm down the pavement. It was a serene scene, almost a-kin to something seen on the front of a Christmas card.
A smile progressively found its way onto her face. Through everything that had been going on lately, she'd forgotten what it was like to enjoy Christmas.
"This is a muggle neighbourhood?"
Harry nodded his head, moving his hands to his pockets. At this revelation, she took the cheeky opportunity to interlock her arm with his, just like they used to do. It wouldn't do much to reinforce the idea they were no longer together, but it was Christmas and she was feeling more than a little adventurous. He seized up instantly at the contact - she didn't know why, as they'd done this exact position countless times before - but thought it was cute all the same.
Now this.
This was the life she had earned for herself.
Little over an hour later, when the door to Grimmauld Place closed again, it was met instantly by a stampede of footprints.
"False alarm…" Tonks scowled down the corridor at them, "...they're back."
Harry smiled sheepishly at her. He brought the bread up in front of them as a peace offering, but she wasn't impressed. She sulked her way back to the living room, where her spot was replaced a moment later by a dishevelled-looking Lupin.
"Harry, I'm trying really hard to make Tonks on board with this. I could certainly use a little help, please. Don't go wandering off like that."
Lupin was being polite, but even he could tell he was annoyed. Again, he was unable to offer anything more than a guilt-ridden smile. He and Daphne might have taken a little bit longer than necessary to find the corner shop and get the bread, if he was being perfectly honest with himself.
"We thought you guys were asleep, sorry."
Lupin shook his head, exhaling.
"Well… a note would have gone a long way, Harry…"
He then looked like he noticed Daphne for the first time and promptly changed his attitude, smiling politely at her.
"And how do you do, Miss Greengrass? I'm sorry our reintroduction was not on the best of terms last night."
Daphne strode forward, her head high.
"I'm grateful for the accommodation you all have provided me with, Professor Lupin."
Lupin smiled impressively her, giving a small laugh.
"Now, now… I haven't been a Professor for a long time. Come on in, Sirius is preparing some breakfast."
After almost two years of knowing her, it still did Harry's head-in how she was able to jump so seamlessly from the Daphne he knew to the Ice Queen persona others knew her as. Lupin lead the way and after wrestling back out of their winter coats, they followed suit behind him. As they moved through the corridors, Daphne closed in on his side.
"You told me there was nothing in for breakfast?"
Turns out he was about to be eating his words, and a lot more than that.
As they re-entered the kitchen they'd been in not an hour ago, but it was suddenly full to the brim with a Hogwarts Feast-level breakfast platter. Mountains of pancakes, racks of toast and freshly grilled fry-up spread across the table. She moved to take her seat, he remained glued to the spot.
"I have... no idea... where this stuff came from."
The door behind him reopened and Tonks shuffled in. Harry made action to let onto her, but she moved immediately past and took to finding herself a seat at the table. A seat directly opposite side of Daphne, he observed.
Kreacher waddled his way into the room behind her, an unusual chipper skip in his step.
"Lady Greengrass deserves nothing but the best! Kreacher has prepared for her a breakfast fit for a Queen!"
He eyeballed the house elf.
"It smells wonderful, Kreacher, thank you," Daphne answered for him.
"Little bastard never makes me this much..."
Contrary to her words, Harry noticed, Tonks was having no problem in helping herself to the food on the table.
Alarm bells were going off in his head. Somehow her sitting opposite Daphne didn't strike him as good-willed attempt to make friends. Wanting to defuse whatever situation he could easily see boil, he was quick to take a seat beside them. Daphne seemed wholly unphased as she began to politely help herself to the food laid out before them.
"Alright kids!"
Mercifully, Sirius entered the room a second later and was quick to take his plate and begin shovelling food onto it.
"Mooney was just sayin' about the snow, how reckons going up the 'low for sledging later?"
Lupin followed slowly behind, looking a lot more aware and as like he was avoiding getting too close to Tonks and Daphne. Sirius protectively took a place beside Daphne, while Lupin sat settled down beside Tonks. It wasn't a very welcoming image and the tension was thick enough to be cut by a knife, but again, Daphne didn't seem like she had noticed. That, or more likely, she was refusing to allow herself be intimidated. Probably much more of the latter, now he considered it.
"I did not say that, Sirius. I simply remarked it was brilliant weather for it. I don't know how old you think we are... or how young, I should say," Lupin said with a smile.
Sirius waved him off.
"Ahh I've still got a few years left in me yet! What do you say, Harry? Up for a sledging trip later?"
It hardly seemed appropriate given the time, but he couldn't help the smile that came to his face imagining Lupin on a sledge, never mind Daphne.
"Sure, I guess. I'm up for whatever."
Daphne took a loud sip of her drink beside him.
"I've never been sledding before. Would you teach me how?"
"Lucky for you, you're not leaving the house."
His eyes slowly descended on Tonks, who was twirling some bacon around on her fork, unimpressed. He held his breath for a moment, hoping Daphne wouldn't rise to it.
"So… we picked up some bread for you, Sirius!" he broke the silence that had set in.
His godfather smiled eagerly back at him, a string of bacon dangling from his mouth.
"Ah, good on you mate, cheers!"
"Took you an hour to get some bread, did it?" she muttered again.
Harry glanced around the room. Daphne and Sirius looked completely oblivious to her attitude, helping themselves to the food, while Lupin was the only other one who appeared to understand the thin ice surrounding the kitchen was resting on.
"I showed Daphne around the block a bit, as well... She doesn't get to visit many muggle cities."
Tonks nodded miserably.
"Showing the enemy our hideout, that's cool."
Lupin looked like he desperately wanted to say something, but even when Harry shot him a look that begged him to, the ex-professor remained reluctantly quiet. Then Daphne let out a slow breath, a sound which triggered Harry, as he knew exactly what was coming next.
She lifted her head up from her breakfast, stone-faced.
"I am trying to eat my breakfast. I was invited here as a guest. If you have a problem with that, I am more than happy for us to go outside and settle it between ourselves?"
Tonks leaned across the table, glowering at her.
"More than happily, Princess."
Lupin coughed roughly into his fist, rounding the attention his way.
"There will be no duelling this close to Christmas, thank you very much!"
Tonks groaned obnoxiously.
"Remus, when is Snape getting here with the veritaserum?"
"This evening, I believe. Around five o'clock."
She shot Daphne a glare that told the room that wait was too long for her. Daphne remained, as always, enchantingly unphased. Harry, determined as ever to split this up, leaned to her side.
"Do you just want to eat this in the drawing room?" he whispered.
It was just the first thing that came into his mind, that suggestion. He knew it wasn't like her to back down from a fight. Nor was it in her nature to take any insults from anyone, but he prayed the time they'd just spent together was fresh enough in her head to affect her decision making.
Reluctantly, and much to the delight of the lads in the room, Daphne conceded.
"... fine."
She did not sound happy with that one bit. She snatched her plate off the table and pushed her chair back, loudly scraping it across the kitchen tiles. Harry made haste to scramble his things and go after her, flashing Lupin an apologetic look.
"You kids leave the door open now, ya hear!" Sirius cheered merrily after them, forcibly oblivious.
Before the two of them had even properly began to climb the staircase, he could already hear the sounds of Tonks being scolded behind them.
"Just upstairs and to your left!"
Harry was talking to her, but had the feeling she wasn't listening.
"How well do you know that woman?"
"What, Tonks?"
She nodded.
"I don't know… Kinda well, I guess?" he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Known her for a few years now. She's usually quite a laugh."
Daphne turned her nose up.
"What kind of a woman is so threatened by a teenager? Very quite insecure for her age, isn't she?"
He didn't answer.
She stomped for a few more paces before he was able to gain the lead and navigate them to the drawing room. Once inside he decided to hell with Sirius, and made sure the door was securely shut before putting his plate down on the table.
"What is this - ?!"
Daphne had taken particular interest in the room around them, and Harry didn't blame her either. Around this time last year he'd found this room for the first time as well.
Surrounding them was the large, painted portrait of Sirius' family. This was a room he didn't like being in, as it brought images of the kindest man he knew going through a life not unlike the one he lived at the Dursleys, but it was also one of the nicer ones in the house.
As her eye-line traced the family tree, he could see a familiar discomfort on her face.
"This was Sirius' family," he explained.
She was sporting a face on her that he couldn't quite describe. Her food lay, now completely forgotten beside her, as she looked fallen somewhere between disgusted and surprised. It took her a few silent seconds of eyeing the wall before she eventually responded to him.
"W have a similar portrait at the Woodhouse. It hasn't been updated in years, I believe Astoria still needs to be added. But it's not like this, this is… Harry, striking a face from a family tree is an incredibly dishonourable act… to do it so many times…"
Daphne turned to stare back at him, a sullen expression.
"What happened to them all?"
He let out a long and sobering breath, not entirely knowing how to answer that.
"They all disagreed, I guess... Sirius's mother was mental. She's the one that did all that. Him and Tonks' mother got disowned for associating with… well… you know..."
His words petered out but the implication still rang clear. Daphne shook her head, her eyes moving back on the tapestry.
"Despicable."
Harry watched her from the corner of his eye. Truth be told, he'd been waiting specifically to show her this room. He felt he would do a lot for her. Quite what it would do, he didn't know yet. She brought herself off the table and moved closer to the wall. He watched as her hand traced along the branches of the family tree. He suddenly wasn't much interest in his food either.
"It's families like this that are as much a part of the problem as cross breeding is."
He cocked his eyebrow at her, unsure.
"What'd you mean?"
Since she'd spotted the portrait, Harry felt like he was the third wheel. There was a lot going on behind her eyes. He wanted to push her properly about it, but reluctantly, something kept stopping him. Her hand reached the end of a branch, stopping over Sirius's scorched off face, where it lingered.
"They're so willing to throw their own under the bus just to make themselves feel better…" she scrunched up her nose in disgust, "Because of that, there's barely any of us left. What they claim they want is to keep the bloodlines clean, yet they're the reason they're shrinking."
"I meant what'd you say about crossbreeding?"
She paused.
"It doesn't matter."
It did matter. But she'd talk when she was ready. It wasn't his place to push, he had to keep reminding himself.
"Pray my father doesn't get any ideas... if he saw this, I don't think he'd think twice about striking mother from it."
Something perked alive inside he.
"Tracey mentioned something about your mum. She said she was muggleborn?"
Her eyes sank away from the wall and fell on him once more. She didn't look as apprehensive as she imagined he would. In his head, he came up with the answer why she never mentioned her mum was ashamed of her for whatever reason, but that wasn't the face she wore on her now. Instead she was looking vaguely aloof, as though he had just reminded her of something from long ago.
"Did she? Mmhmm. She's not supposed to tell people about that. I'll be having words."
Again, the general softness she spoke with almost gave him the impression that he was listening in on a conversation not directed at him.
"Yes, my mother was muggle-born placed in Gryffindor," she continued. "My father was in Slytherin, so they disliked each other out of principal. At this point, of course, he was nowhere near as into the dark arts as my uncle and his friends were. He was only concerned around himself, which was probably why he slept around so much in his youth. Anyway, my mother was engaged to one of his friends and they had Tracey together. Unfortunately, she and my father were also having an affair, and I was born shortly after."
Harry could see why she hadn't explained her history before, that was certainly a lot to take in. So her mum was sleeping with two best friends at the same time? And he thought his drama was bad.
Daphne brought herself back to their table and set her bottom against the rim of it.
"I went to live with daddy on his estate, while mother stayed with Tracey's father, although at this point the wedding had obviously been called off. Then, to make matters worse he was also found out to be a Death Eater as well. Broke mothers heart. When him, my aunt and uncle all got sent to Azkaban, it left my parents with a choice between retaliation or choosing the family... As you can probably deduce, they chose differently."
A muggleborn torn between two Death Eater's? Harry's eyes nearly boggled from his head. Her mother was probably a very interesting woman to be around.
"What about your other sister? Astoria?" he asked her.
She looked at him. She was wearing a new expression on her face that, surprisingly, he hadn't seen before. Had she just aged thirty years right before him? The way she looked speaking about all of this was akin to a grandparent reminiscing their younger days.
"Well, daddy never could never keep a woman more than a few years. Astoria's only my half sister, just as Tracey is. He knocked another girl up and then when he refused to marry her, she in turn, refused to raise a baby on her own. Quite rightly so I'd say, as well. So even though I don't technically have any full siblings, Astoria was raised as my little sister. Ironically, daddy only ever wanted a son, yet he ended up with two daughters that he never asked for."
Harry felt his face drop, and he made no efforts to lift it back up. He never had liked the sound of Benedict Greengrass, but now he had an all new reason not to. Daphne noticed the spike in his mood.
"Don't misread me, he still loves us. He has unusual ways of showing it, granted, but he wants what's best for me. Unfortunately he's an old-fashioned bigot and our ideas of whats best often cause us to clash. His heart is in the right place... just sometimes I wonder if that is enough."
She brought her head up in a sudden jerk, looking as though she'd just emerged from underwater.
"I do apologise," she looked away suddenly, "... I can't imagine you want to hear about any of this."
It caught him off guard. His mouth bobbed open and close on the spot for a minute before he could formulate a worthy response.
"No, no, it's alright. It's interesting," he nodded at her, "You don't really talk about your family much."
Daphne pulled a dry, thin smile.
"For good reason, I assure you. The Greengrass name is held in high prestige, but the whole thing is simply a facade for the dysfunctional family that we really are. We don't even have contact with my grandfather anymore. Father forced him out of the estate so he could take on the title of lord. Last I saw him I probably wasn't more than a second year."
Since she had returned to the table the two of them had been moving gradually closer to one another. Or more accurately, Daphne had been the one sinking closer and closer into his side. It wasn't him overthinking that, either, she was definitely moving in on him. He had barely moved and now they stood rubbing shoulders. It was enough contact for Harry to feel himself getting flustered and self-conscious over it.
"I mean, you know me…" he laughed awkwardly, "... I don't really have much contact with my family either."
A sudden snort erupted from her - not unlike the one from earlier - and just like the one from earlier, she looked to regret it instantly. Fear overtook her face and she covered her mouth with both her hands, apologetically.
"I shouldn't laugh at that! That's awful! I'm so sorry."
He just smiled back at her.
Truly, there was nothing more cute than when she slipped up like that like. He didn't know why she didn't enjoy laughing, or maybe she just didn't like doing it in front of people? It was the only part of her Ice Queen persona that she maintained around him. But in the end, that just made it all the more special when he got to see it.
He moved suddenly. He wasn't thinking about it, just acting on impulse. He pulled the arm she was leaning on free and stepped back, causing her to gently fall against his chest. He then brought his arms around her waist - her thin, doll-like waist - and secured them around her.
He felt her seize up at the contact. That familiar, bubbling sensation started inside him again. She felt so little when in his arms. This powerful witch was all his. A warmth spread through his heart, into his stomach and then everywhere else. In her own due course, she nuzzled her head against his.
She didn't like being hugged without her consent, he knew that. But yet, she wasn't fighting him on it. What was the difference between now and at the start of term, when she pushed him away? Had he finally figured her out, maybe? Both times he had simply done what he felt was right at the time, since that was the foundation they built their relationship on, after-all. No, he knew the difference now.
The difference was her. It was a different Daphne, she was changing and he could see it by the day.
"Harry…"
"Yeah?"
A moment passed between them where nothing but the rising and falling of their breaths in sync was present.
"Nothing… doesn't matter."
Her tone told him otherwise. He gently pulled his arms tighter around her waist.
"No, what is it?"
More seconds ticked over. She didn't respond. He wished he could see her face, so he could read her expression. He wanted to know what she was feeling.
"D-do you…think that…"
She sounded unsure. She never sounded unsure. Her whole personality was built around being right about everything and any given time.
A noisy shuffling followed by loud bang snapped the two from their trance. Sirius opened the door, smiling in on them eagerly.
"Not interrupting anything, am I?"
Daphne pulled against his arms. As much as he wished to hold on, reluctantly he allowed his grip of her to slip. She moved a few inches away from him, looking embarrassed.
Harry glowered back at Sirius.
"What's up?"
"You know piano, Daffy?"
She perked up at the mention of her name and nodded politely.
"Of course."
Sirius cackled and gestured for them to come his way.
"Sick, come on!"
She'd been so close to giving in. It had felt so right at the time. But didn't it always?
This was wrong. She couldn't go back down that rabbit hole again. She knew when she agreed to come here that her intentions were not pure, but she was on thin ice now. If she gave in then she would endanger everyone. The best thing that she could do for both of them was making sure that them wasn't a thing. That was the only way to save him.
"How'd you know she could play the piano?" Harry asked from ahead.
"She comes from a hoity-toity family, doesn't she? She can probably play just about anything! Isn't that right, daffy?"
She pushed a sharp breath out her nose. If she wasn't so amused by her family being described as hoity-toity, she'd probably have been concerned about Sirius picking the same name for her that Tracey used.
"Piano, violin and flute, " she answered matter-of-factually, "Father had me learning from a young age."
He lead them out into a larger room, similar to the one they'd just been in but minus the portrait adorning the walls. What did grab her attention, however, was the antique grand piano against the window.
"Don't know Fairytale of New York, do ya?"
She settled down onto the seat before it and took about checking the tuning of the keys.
"It's not one I am familiar with, but if you have the sheet music I could certainly give it a try?"
Sirius waved off her and strung himself over the piano, looking not unlike a cat stretching out it's back.
"Ahhh, it's a muggle one, didn't expect you to. You just play what you like!"
"We Will Rock You by the Queen, by any chance?"
Daphne bit down on her lip, hardening her lips to prevent a smile. She looked back at Harry with heat in her cheeks. He grinned harder.
"Go on sweetness," Sirius gestured to the piano again, "Give us what you got."
The tuning definitely wasn't the best - like most things in this house, it must have been a few years since someone used it - but she could definitely make do. With any luck the out of tune keys could disguise the fact that she hadn't practised in little over two years now.
After taking a second to settle on what to play, she slowly began to rattle out the keys for an older song, early 18th century if she remembered correctly - and muggle in origin. She couldn't remember the name but the movement memory came naturally to her. Professor Flitwick had taught her the lyrics as well, but there was no force on this earth that could make her sing in front of people, even if it was in front of the man she intended on spending her future with.
She missed a key. A loud obnoxious sound rang through the room, spoiling the memory. She made haste to correct her melody. She still hadn't fully recovered from her hug with Harry, that was it. Today had come with a few moments like that but this had been the one that got to her.
She did so love it when he was forceful. That was an awful thing for her to be attracted to, she knew, but she wasn't about to deny the effect it had on her.
But spending her future with him? When did that happen? They had been through a lot together, of course, but the rest of her life was a very long time. Was he really the man she wanted to settle down with? She wanted a peaceful life far away from the conflict and politics of war, she couldn't really have picked someone further away from that. He said he wanted to help her, but that was a far cry from a marriage proposal.
Then again, she could still feel his arms around her waist. The feeling it brought her, among many things, was a feeling she knew was worth fighting for.
When she brought her head up from the keys she found he had left the room. She looked quizzically at Sirius.
"He's, ehh… just nipped for a word with Tonks. Shouldn't worry! Carry on, by all means!"
She nodded gratefully at him. He grinned at her and moved around to the back of the piano. She didn't know quite how she had imagined Sirius Black originally, nor how she pictured him after he was found innocent, but the crazy fun uncle definitely wasn't what she had in mind.
"I come from a family of Death Eaters too, you know! Harry's shown you the mess of the portrait, I take it?"
She was still trying to settle her emotions down. Her mind was practically alive with fantasies and feelings, it took her a second to formulate herself into giving a response.
"He did. I am very sorry that happened to you."
"Oh, no, don't be! I'm certainly not. Without it, I wouldn't have realised how much more there is to life than just caring about what your bloody dead relatives think."
She hadn't stopped playing the piano, but as his words, she did definitely slow her rhythm on the keys.
"I... can definitely understand where that's coming from."
Sirius cackled warmly under his breath. She peaked a curious eyebrow at him. This man truly was like Tracey, just aged up and gender swapped.
"I was sixteen years old when I ran away from this place. Do you know where I went?"
She shook her head.
"I went to the Potters. Harry's dad - James - he was my best mate. Always there for me, through thick and thin. And when I took my leap of faith, it was him on the other side to catch me. They've always been good at that - the Potters - don't you think?"
Was he comparing them? Was the implication there that Harry and her were the James and Sirius of their generation? The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black was beginning to bare a striking amount of similarities to the House of Greengrass, now she considered it.
It's why the house had been steadily unnerving her all day. She could see herself here. She could see her family. When Harry showed her the Black family portrait, she saw nothing but her own future staring back at her. If you went into the Greengrass Woodhouse today, it'd probably look to an outsider the way Grimmauld Place looked to her. Harry had even commented on how empty it felt during his short visit last year. The difference was, here every room was full and lived. Tonks and Professor Lupin didn't live here, they were visiting. Daphne didn't have that. Her aunt and uncle were dead, her mother and Tracey weren't welcome in their house, so there were no visitors. There was the occasional visit from a clan of Death Eaters, sure. But even since she was a girl, things had never felt homely.
Not like they did here, where even she, as an unwelcome outsider, could see that.
There was definitely a comparison to be drawn, but it would be one in Black's favour. They had faced the situation she was spiralling towards and they'd come back from it with their humanity intact. Was there even going to be anything left of the Greengrass's soon other than a big and empty house?
Daphne chose her next words carefully.
"Harry has certainly done a lot for me. He helped me see how little control I had over my own life." she breathed, "And once I realise that I, well, I never wanted to go back to it."
The older man gave an all too-knowing smile, and in that moment, she felt her trust in him skyrocket.
"He's a great lad. Really. He's got a good heart in his chest. I'm glad someone else sees it. And I hope that... Maybe… he can do for you the same things that James did for me."
Her fingers had nearly completed the carol, moving on autoplay, but now she had to think hard about her next movements as she approached the melodies end.
Oh, how she wished it didn't have to end.
