The Greengrass family lived in a modest home close to a small town in Cheshire. The property didn't have large amounts of land, but the scenery around it was picturesque, and the house looked welcoming to Harry when he was apparated to the front gate by Marie Greengrass.

"Come along, Harry. The first time you arrive you have to be led across the boundary of our property by either myself or my husband." She told him as she led him forward and through the gates with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you again for inviting me, ma'am." He told her, looking around the front garden, which was well-kept but relatively spartan. Clearly, even with a name like Greengrass, none of them were too interested in gardening. 'Makes sense with how Daphne is in Herbology' Harry thought to himself with a smile.

"Call me Marie, Harry. You'll be here for the next three weeks, it seems silly to be so formal." She told him as he was led through the front door and into the foyer. He was only a little surprised to find the inside of the home was larger than it appeared.

"Expansion charms?" He asked as the door opened again behind him.

"Many, Harry. Let's go into the living room so we can meet you properly." Came the voice of Daniel Greengrass, who had just arrived with his daughters in tow.

Daphne smiled at him brightly, hooking her arm with his as they walked, both of them completely missing the knowing glances shared by the Greengrass parents and the smirk making its way onto Astoria's face, plans rapidly forming in her brain.

Once they had arrived in the living room, Harry found that the room was homely and warm, with two couches and an armchair grouped close to a large fireplace and atop the mantlepiece were pictures of the family, either together or on their own. In one corner of the room was a grand piano (Harry wondered who it was that played), and taking up the entire wall opposite the fireplace was an enormous bookcase. Clearly, Daphne got her love of reading from at least one of her parents.

"Come on, Harry. This one is my settee." Daphne said, throwing a look over her shoulder at her sister and leading him to the settee on the left. Astoria just stuck her tongue out at her back.

Her father settled into the armchair facing the fire, whilst Marie and Astoria took up the settee opposite Harry and Daphne. They all relaxed into their seats, making themselves comfortable, and Harry was delighted to see none of the airs and graces he would have expected from a Pureblood family (or the Dursleys).

"So sweetie, tell us everything, letters don't do stories justice. How are your classes going?" Marie asked eagerly, and the rest of the family all fixed their attention on the two of them, causing Harry to fidget slightly.

"They're great...well, some of them are. Others are a little disappointing." Daphne reported, frowning slightly.

"Really? Which ones are which?" Daniel asked, a frown of his own forming.

"Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy and Flying classes are good, Herbology is okay - Professor Sprout is nice but I don't really like the class, Potions is good when we're brewing but Snape ruins it, but History and Defence are awful." Daphne reported, nose wrinkling as she thought about the latter two subjects.

"I see, what about you Harry?" Marie asked him, including him in the conversation, and they all turned their attention to him.

"Err, pretty much what Daphne said, but I like Herbology a little better. At least we've learned a few spells in Defence now, but they're mainly lectures." Harry answered, feeling awkward at the attention, but felt better when Daphne took hold of his hand. The rest of the family all noticed this but didn't comment.

"And Snape, how is he treating you? Has he got any better?" Marie asked, eyes glinting dangerously.

The two shared a look and Daphne answered, frustration evident in her voice. "Not really, he doesn't insult Harry all the time after that first lesson, but he makes it clear that he hates him, and me for being his friend, and after the fight in the common room he doesn't even come near our cauldron anymore. Not like he was even grading us before that, anyway." Daphne ranted, blowing out a huff once she had finished. She had been really looking forward to Potions.

Daniel and Marie shared a little look with each other as they considered her words, whilst Astoria looked like she was imagining what it would be like when she started Hogwarts and had Snape for a teacher if the worried look on her face was any indication.

Daniel leaned forward. "And Slytherin? I know your letters have said things have improved, but we weren't happy to hear you'd been hurt in a scuffle." He asked, feeling a little guilty that he'd wanted his daughter to follow him there so badly now he'd heard how things were.

Harry looked at Daphne quickly, but the little shake of his head stopped her from speaking, and she responded. "They've been better, people leave us alone now which we're both happy about." She told them in a light voice, which Harry backed up by nodding firmly.

Marie smiled at her daughter. "Oh, sweetie, I've missed you. It's always fun to see you forget that your father and I were Aurors." She told her, smile widening at the alarmed look on Daphne's face. "Don't think I didn't see that little interaction. So, would you like to tell us what really happened? Snape told us that you had a small cut after a fight with a year mate, and your letter to us said much the same, but perhaps there is more to the tale?" She asked sweetly, sharing an amused look with her husband.

Astoria looked like she was in heaven. Usually, it was her that was in trouble. She only wished she had a hot chocolate to enjoy while she watched this.

Harry didn't know where to look, eventually settling on pretending to inspect the bookcase, whilst Daphne spluttered. "It was just a fight, Mum, and I got hurt a little bit by a cutting curse, but Harry defended me and I didn't even get in trouble."

"I believe you, Daphne." Daniel told her, eyes alight with amusement.

"Thanks, Dad-" Daphne started, but her mum spoke over her.

"Well, in that case, we can watch the memory can't we?" Marie said lightly. "After all, you did get hurt sweetie, we just want to see how it happened so we can teach you how to not let it happen again, right Dan?" She finished, looking over to her husband, who smiled at his wife's tactics.

"That's-"

"A brilliant idea, love, just a sec, I'll go and get the Pensieve." Daniel said over his daughter's protestations, jumping to his feet and leaving to retrieve the Pensieve from his study.

Daphne deflated, looking at Harry apologetically. He patted her leg consolingly, not sure what else to do.

Astoria smiled joyfully. "Isn't Christmas just the most wonderful time of year?"

As it turned out, they all ended up viewing the memory together. Daphne, because she had yet to see it and was resigned to her fate, Harry to support Daphne, and Astoria because her parents knew better than to leave her alone whilst everyone else was occupied.

The memory, taken from Harry as he was the one present for the aftermath in the Headmaster's office, began during the memorial for Hermione Granger ("You need the context", Daphne had explained), and showed everything from when they had arrived back in the common room until they were reunited outside of the hospital wing. Nobody spoke until they had left the Pensieve and returned to their seats.

"Right...okay. First things first, what did you learn from this?" Daniel asked flatly, staring into the fire opposite him, whilst his wife was studying Harry closely, who squirmed under the attention.

"I shouldn't have turned my back on an enemy." Daphne stated firmly.

"Not to let Daphne get hurt again." Harry said quietly.

"I can start a fight with whoever I want and get Harry to defend me." Astoria chirped cheerfully.

"Shut up, Tori." Three voices sounded at the unrepentant girl, who just smiled cheekily at Harry.

"Well, I'll be speaking to Dumbledore about this, we should have been informed of the severity." Marie fumed, before looking to Daphne. "And you are certain that things have calmed down, there haven't been any more incidents?"

"No, Mum, they're all too scared of Harry now." Daphne said tiredly.

"I can imagine, I certainly would have been after that display," Daniel said, finally looking away from the fire after he'd gathered his thoughts. "Speaking of, will you come and help me take the Pensieve back, Harry?" He said to the boy, who was startled.

"Err, sure, sir." He responded, giving Daphne a confused look which she just shrugged at, though her eyes were worried.

Astoria exploded. "What?! I've been trying to get in your study all my life and he's been here all of ten minutes-"

Marie clamped a hand over her daughter's mouth, who didn't let that stop her as continued to rant into her mother's palm. "Don't take too long, Dan, I want to make a start on dinner soon."

"Of course love, come on Harry." The man said, rising to his feet and picking the Pensieve up.

Harry followed along behind the man as he walked from the room, giving a final look back at Daphne who looked very concerned now.

Was his stay with the Greengrass family about to end before it had really begun?

Daniel Greengrass' study was a spacious room that reminded Harry strongly of Professor McGonagall's office. On the left hand wall was another large bookcase, though of the titles he could see from his glance at it he realised why these books weren't available in the living room. On the right, rather than a wall, was a window that showed the view of the small forest beside their home.

But the most interesting thing to Harry was the wall behind the man's desk. On it were hundreds of clippings from The Daily Prophet, and Harry was able to read a few of them as he took the seat the man indicated to him on the other side of the desk when he had taken his own chair after placing the Pensieve on its stand. 'WAKEFIELD WEREWOLF APPREHENDED!' 'TERROR PLOT DISCOVERED!' 'KENNETH DAWLISH FOUND! KIDNAPPED BOY RETURNED TO FAMILY!'

Daniel saw where the boy was looking, swiveling his chair to take in the wall behind him. "My old cases from my Auror days, Harry." He said, waving his hand to encompass the wall.

"You solved all of these, sir?" Harry asked, awed.

"I did, these aren't all of the ones I worked on, just the ones that made it into the prophet. I became an Auror in 1969, after I left Hogwarts, and I was damn good at my job, Harry." The man told him in a proud voice, eyes looking from each clipping and smiling in remembrance.

"You loved it, sir." Harry stated more than asked, the look on the man's face making it clear.

Daniel turned from the wall to regard Harry. "Ever since I was a young boy I wanted to be an Auror. There was a children's book I had as a kid about an Auror, who caught all the bad guys and protected people, and I wanted to be just like him. I worked hard at school, and when I joined the department I worked even harder, and yes, Harry, I loved it, and I miss it." He told the boy, before his eyes focused on the wall behind Harry. "But the love I had for my job pales in comparison to what replaced it."

Harry turned, and for the first time he saw the wall behind him that held the door they had entered through.

On it, were hundreds of moving, magical photographs of the Greengrass family. Harry could see Daphne as a baby held in her father's arms, a pregnant Marie standing next to him. He could see Astoria blowing out candles on a cake with "7" written on it in blue icing, Daphne standing beside her clapping happily. He could see Daniel and Marie beside each other, Daniel in fancy dress robes and Marie in a beautiful dress, and realised this must be their wedding day.

Daniel came to stand beside him, his eyes warmly taking in the photographs. "I love my family more than anything else in this world, Harry. They are my strength and my biggest weakness. I'd do anything to keep them from harm."

Harry looked from the wall to the man beside him, who was now was regarding him seriously. "You have protected my daughter when I could not, and I cannot thank you enough."

Harry was stunned as the man smiled widely and gratefully at him, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. "What you did for her, what you've done for her ever since you met her, I cannot put into words how much it means to me and my wife."

Harry shook his head slightly. "You aren't angry with me? She got hurt because of me, if I hadn't been there-"

"It would have been much worse. Without you there, if you hadn't been her friend, she would have been alone, and perhaps she would have been hurt sooner, and worse. And now, the other students likely won't even think of touching her when she is under your protection." Daniel told him firmly, eyes warm as they looked at him. "When Daphne sent us the letter telling us that she was worried about you, that she didn't want to leave you at Hogwarts alone, there was no question in our minds that we would offer you the chance to come home with her for the holidays. She's never had a friend before, and I know how much that hurt her, so we wanted to meet you and see if you were as wonderful as she claimed. I see now that she was telling us the truth."

Harry blinked, stunned. This was not how he was expecting the conversation to go when he had first entered the room.

Daniel laughed. "I'm sorry if you were worried, Harry, but my wife and I wanted to scare Daphne a little, we don't appreciate her not telling us what really happened. Maybe this will teach her a lesson."

Harry smiled a little at the man, realising what he had done. "She won't be happy with you, sir."

"I'll live with that, now let's go, my wife will have started making dinner. And just call me Daniel, or Dan, whatever you prefer." Daniel told him, leading him from the room and back down the hallway. "Oh, can you not tell Astoria what is in my study? She's been trying for years to get in, thinks it's full of exciting and mysterious things, and it'll be a shame to disappoint her before she's worked out a way inside. She still doesn't know that Daphne has been going in there since she was three."

Harry laughed, agreeing to the man's request, and felt something warm in his chest. He wondered if his own father would have been like Daniel Greengrass, and hoped he would have been.

They found the living room empty when they returned, but a short search discovered the three Greengrass females in the kitchen. Marie was stirring a cooking pot, whilst Daphne chopped onions next to her. Astoria was sitting at the kitchen table, wrapped up in ropes and fuming.

Daniel laughed as he caught sight of his youngest, announcing their presence. "What did she do this time?"

"She tried to cut Daphne's hair off with a steak knife." Marie said in a long-suffering voice.

"I just thought Harry might like her with shorter hair, that's all." Astoria said sweetly, smirking at her sister's back.

Harry gave her a bewildered look as Daphne closed her eyes and started muttering to herself, knuckles white as she gripped her knife harder.

"Don't kill your sister, don't kill your sister, don't kill your sister..."

Dinner was a lively affair, conversations flowing around the table, and Harry was enjoying his first meal of Spaghetti Bolognese, which Marie had told them she learned how to cook from a house-elf her family had owned when she was a girl, and watching the Greengrass family interact with each other, smiling to himself. They included him in the conversations as much as they could with both parents asking him for his input as much as they did their own children, but Harry was content to simply observe.

This was what a family should be like, he thought.

It was during dessert when Daniel had spoken about Daphne and Harry showing them what spells they had learned the next day that Harry found himself speaking for the first time without having been asked a question first.

"How can we do that? We're not allowed to do spells outside of Hogwarts." Harry had asked, looking between Daniel and Marie.

Marie looked sheepish. "Ah, the Trace. The thing is, the Trace only really works in muggle areas. It sends out an alert if magic has been used, and that it was performed by an underage witch or wizard, but it won't work here because the Ministry will just assume it was Dan or myself who did it."

Harry nodded, understanding, but Daphne was incensed. "I had my wand for nearly a year before I started Hogwarts! Why is this the first I'm hearing this?"

Daniel smirked at his daughter. "What, and ruin the special moment when you get to school and can use magic for the first time? How could I ever take that from my princess."

"You both know I'm still here, right?" Astoria piped up, and her parents looked at her, and then at each other.

"We'll just take her wand away once she's got it," Daniel said to his wife.

"Probably for the best, who knows what carnage she'll cause." Marie agreed, ignoring the outraged look on Astoria's face.

"Remember what happened when you showed her how to make a Drowsiness Potion?" Daphne jumped in, smiling innocently across the table at her sister.

"We were asleep for a whole day because of that." Daniel said, glaring at his wife.

"How was I to know she'd lace all of our food with it?" Marie returned, throwing up her arms.

"She really did that?" Harry asked, making Daphne nod.

"She wanted everyone out of the way for her latest attempt at breaking into the study. Of course, it didn't go so well for her, did it, sweet sister?" Daphne said, grinning at Astoria, who crossed her arms and harrumphed.

"What happened?" Harry asked, smiling at the interplay.

"She got herself knocked out by the protections twenty minutes in, so when the potion wore off I had to revive her after I found her sprawled in the hallway." Marie recounted with a shake of her head.

Whilst Astoria scowled, Daniel spoke to Harry. "We've gotten off track, but if you're willing we would love to see how you're both getting on with your spells, and I can show you both a few new ones you might find useful."

They both nodded their assent, happy at the offer. "That would be great, thank you," Harry told him, smiling.

"And I can do some Potions work with you, show you what that man has been missing." Marie joined in, already mentally making a list in her head.

"Then I can show you Daphne's baby photos." Astoria piped up happily.

"I will hurt you, Tori." Daphne growled, hand shooting into her robes for her wand, and Harry gulped. It was probably best that he didn't tell her he'd already seen some of them. She had been a very cute baby.

"We'll have a better idea of what to do when your term reports arrive tomorrow." Daniel said as he began to clear away the dishes.

"Term reports?" Harry asked, having not heard anything about them before.

"Yes, at the end of each term - that is, Christmas, Easter and Summer, your teachers each make a report of your progress in your classes and your behaviour. Dumbledore suggested that it would be best for yours to come here, I hope you don't mind?" Marie told him, worried that he might be upset.

Harry just smiled happily as he nodded, the warm feeling in his chest returning. It was nice to have people who actually cared about how school was going for him.

That night, after Harry had been shown the guest bedroom that would be his for the next three weeks (it was next to Daniel and Marie's room and across from Daphne's), he was lying in bed and thinking about how the day had gone. He thought the Greengrass' were all wonderful, even Astoria who made him laugh with her antics, but he felt sad that he didn't have this for himself and then immediately felt guilty for feeling jealous of Daphne.

Someone knocked on his door, and after he shouted that it was okay for them to come in, Marie walked in, shutting the door behind her.

"Hello, Harry, I just wanted to see how you were settling in." She said, coming over to his bed and sitting down at the end.

"It's great, you have a lovely home. Thank you for letting me stay with you, ma-Marie." He told her, quickly correcting himself and calling her by her name.

She smiled warmly at him. "And you're definitely fine with us reading your report? We can send it to your family if you would like?" She offered, but was alarmed when Harry quickly shook his head.

"No no, it's okay, I don't have a family." He denied, and it was the truth. The Dursleys weren't his family, they were just related to him, and he was determined that he would never see any of them again.

"I see. I did wonder why Dumbledore suggested we receive yours..." Marie mumbled to herself, but shook her head and looked back at him with a smile.

"Is there anything special you'd like for breakfast?" She asked him kindly.

"No, I usually just have whatever Daphne's having, you don't have to go to any effort for me." Harry told her, shaking his head.

Something flashed in Marie's eyes but she just nodded, still smiling at him. "Not a problem, Harry. If you need anything at all, Dan and I are right next door." Harry nodded, and the woman rose, and only faltered for a moment before she stepped closer to him, laying a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Goodnight, dear. Sleep well." She said to him before walking over to the door and extinguishing the lamps in his room.

"Goodnight Marie, and thank you again." He called back to her, wriggling in the bed to get comfortable enough to sleep.

The door opened suddenly, and Astoria darted into his room.

"Psst, Harry, I need you to-OOMPH!" Astoria started before colliding with Marie, who she hadn't seen in the darkness.

"-have a good night's sleep. Hello, Mum, what are you doing here?"

As it turned out, Harry did sleep soundly and was well-rested when he awoke the next morning. He stayed in his room, however, unsure what time the family usually woke up and started the day.

Taking his wand from the bedside the table, he decided to check the time. Under his breath, he murmured the incantation 'Tempus', and smoke billowed from the tip of his wand, letters forming in the smoke and telling him it was 'Early'.

"Well, that's useless." Harry said to himself, rolling his eyes.

Deciding to get a shower in the ensuite, he rolled out of bed and began padding over to the adjoining room when his door opened.

"Harry? Are you up?" Daphne asked, head poking into the room.

"Yeah, I'm up, what time is it?" He asked, glad that she was here, and waving his wand to light a few of the lamps in the room. Immediately, he averted his eyes at seeing Daphne in her pyjamas and slippers.

"Six o'clock, I think. I'm still on Hogwarts time - what's wrong? Why did you look away from me?" She demanded, crossing her arms.

"Y-you're, you know, like that." He stammered, waving a hand in her general direction whilst still looking firmly away.

"...I don't follow." She answered, looking down at herself. "What's the problem?"

"You aren't dressed, I shouldn't be seeing you like this." Harry said, finally turning to her and giving her a funny look.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, silly me, here was me thinking I was wearing clothes, but apparently I've wandered into your room stark naked, what a ditz I am."

"It's not proper." Harry stated, and she shook her head at him.

"Who says? Harry, this is home, we're all going to be in our pyjamas at breakfast. Well, that's what we usually do, maybe Mum and Dad will get dressed because you're here. Besides, it's not like you can see anything." Daphne said, frustrated.

'Honestly, what's he going to be like when I'm older and more...developed'

"If you're sure..." Harry said, uncertain but taking her word for it. The Dursleys were always wearing their clothes at breakfast, and had said that it wasn't right for people not to be dressed once they'd left their bedrooms.

"Of course I'm sure. So come on, what did Dad say to you?" She asked him, going and sitting on his bed. Harry joined her hesitantly, ignoring the roll of her eyes when he sat as far away from her as possible, but obligingly told her what her Dad had said.

"I'll get him back for that. I was a little worried too, but I shouldn't have been. Dad's lovely, like I said." She told him once she'd finished, surreptitiously scooting a little closer to him.

Harry didn't notice as he answered. "He is, they all are. You have a great family." He told her sincerely, only feeling a little jealous.

"Yeah, they're great, even Astoria but don't tell her I said that." She ordered sternly, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.

"Noted. Do you-do you think I should show them my magic? You know, when we show them what spells we've learned." Harry asked, unsure if he should or not.

Daphne hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I think so, they're both brilliant with a wand and they can show you some good stuff. And...if You-Know-Who is really going to come back one day, you'll need someone to teach you things we haven't learned already in class, or from the library."

"And you think your parents will?" Harry said, seeing the logic.

"Definitely, and you can probably duel one or both of them. That'd be fun to watch." She said, smirking at the thought. "And...we should tell them anyway, about You-Know-Who I mean. If he comes back..." She said, unable to finish the thought.

"Your family will be in danger." Harry finished, understanding. Voldemort, and his Death Eaters, won't have forgotten about Daniel and Marie Greengrass and how they had fought against them during the last war.

"Yeah, they'll need to be prepared." Daphne nodded, and it was settled. They'd tell her parents, and they might be able to help Harry more than she was able to at the moment.

Daphne suddenly smiled widely, eyes glinting. "Harry, do me a favour and don't tell them about your magic until after we ask one of them to duel you. Actually, make sure it's my Dad you fight."

"Why?" Harry said suspiciously, wondering what she was planning.

"Revenge for yesterday." She told him, bouncing in place as she anticipated seeing her Dad be surprised by Harry.

Harry just rolled his eyes.

At breakfast, as Daphne predicted, the family were still in their sleepwear, though both Daniel and Marie wore dressing gowns as they ate lazily. Daniel was reading the morning paper, whilst Marie was chatting to Astoria about the shopping trip to Diagon Alley that was apparently planned for tomorrow.

It was during this period that two owls flew in through the open kitchen window, each dropping a letter directly in front of Daniel (one went into the bowl of cornflakes he had been picking at), and flying back out.

"Damned bird." He muttered, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the letter and murmuring "Tergeo". The milk was siphoned off the letter, and Daniel began to open it, throwing the other to his wife.

"I've got Daphne's report" He said, perusing its contents. Marie did the same with Harry's, and when they had both finished they swapped and read the other. Finally, when they were finished, they passed the reports to the two children. Harry read his report, nervous about what his teachers thought of him.

AUTUMN TERM REPORT - HARRY JAMES POTTER - SLYTHERIN

ASTRONOMY - PROFESSOR AURORA SINISTRA

Harry is very well-behaved in my class and does his work without complaint, and shows great enthusiasm for the practical side of the subject. His assignments have all been completed on time and performed adequately, but it is clear his enjoyment is for the practical and not theoretical side of the subject. Nevertheless, I believe Harry can achieve an Exceeds Expectation and possibly an Outstanding on his end-of-year examinations.

CHARMS - PROFESSOR FILIUS FLITWICK

Harry is vastly exceeding all expectations in my subject and is always the first to complete a spell (on the first attempt!), and his theoretical work is completed on time and to a very high level. I am very proud of all Harry has done in my class thus far, he causes no problems and is very helpful to his desk-partner Miss Greengrass. I would recommend that Harry be assigned more advanced work, as I worry that he may become stifled as he goes unchallenged. I would be more than happy to offer my expertise to Harry if he would like more lessons in the evenings or weekends, he need only ask. There is no doubt in my mind that Harry will achieve an Outstanding on his final exams, and I believe he will go far in the subject.

DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS - PROFESSOR QUIRINUS QUIRREL

Mr. Potter is quiet in my class and oftentimes appears troubled and I wonder if perhaps there may be something about the subject that he dislikes. He has done very well learning the spells assigned and his homework is always handed in promptly and shows great understanding, so I would like to see more enthusiasm during class from him. If there are any issues that Mr. Potter has with my class, I would like him to know that my door is always open to him. I would predict that Mr. Potter will achieve an Outstanding in his final exams and confess that I would be disappointed if he did not.

HERBOLOGY - PROFESSOR POMONA SPROUT

Harry is a lovely young man and shows great skill in my class, seeming to me as if he has been doing it all his life. He seems very happy during practical work and always listens to instructions attentively, though I would like it if his partner Miss Greengrass did a little more of the work, though you should be proud that Harry is willing to take on more workload, his work ethic would be right at home in my House! His assignments are well-written and show a thorough understanding of the subject and he has yet to be late handing any in. I believe Harry will receive an Outstanding on his final exams, as long as he keeps up the good work! Well done, Harry!

HISTORY OF MAGIC - PROFESSOR CUTHBERT BINNS (dictated)

Perkins is a good student, from his assignments I would make an estimation of an Acceptable if not Exceeds Expectations on his exams.

POTIONS - PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE

Potter is a surly and rude student and worst of all allows his partner to complete the assigned work alone and tries to take credit for it. His homework is shoddy at best and shows very little understanding of the delicate art that is Potion making. Potter will be lucky to receive any better than a Troll on his examinations as he will no longer be able to cheat off of the work of others.

TRANSFIGURATION - PROFESSOR MINERVA MCGONAGALL

The Headmaster has informed me that your report is being sent to the Greengrass family, with whom you are staying during the holidays. Therefore, I have taken the liberty to write my report directly to you.

You know full well how talented you are in the subject and my hope is that you will take on more advanced work, though I understand your reasonings as to why you do not wish to do so. If this is to change in the future, my offer still stands, and I would mirror the comments of Professor Flitwick and set aside time after classes or on the weekends if you would like extra lessons.

You will receive an Outstanding on your end-of-year examinations or you will be in detention for the entirety of the next school year.

Usually, your Head of House would provide an overall assessment of your conduct during the term, but under the circumstances, the Headmaster thought it wise if I did so on his behalf. You have been a model student thus far, the unpleasantness of early November notwithstanding, and I am very proud of the comments you have received from my fellow Professors. Do not worry about Professor Snape, I will be having words with him.

Merry Christmas, Harry

Overall, Harry was very happy with his report, with the exception of Binns and Snape, and smiled happily at the final words from his favourite Professor. Looking next to him, he saw Daphne re-reading her report with a satisfied smile. Once she had finished, she silently offered hers for him to read and the two swapped. Daphne's read much the same as his own, though Binns had called her Miss Green, and her Herbology report asked for her to do a bit more work. It was a very good report in Harry's opinion, and once they had finished they both looked to Daniel and Marie who were watching them both with wide smiles.

"Oh, sweetie, we're so proud of you! And Harry, you've done brilliantly!" Marie told them, her smile all teeth.

"Yes, we're both very proud. Don't listen to what the Death Eater says, you're both working at an Outstanding level in Potions, or so Marie tells me." Daniel told them warmly as he looked at both of them.

Harry started. "Snape was a Death Eater?" Daphne gasped next to him.

"Sorry, Harry, I didn't tell you, I forget that you don't know some things." She told him, looking apologetic. "He was a Death Eater, but when the war was over Dumbledore claimed he had been his spy, so he was never trialed."

"Is that true?" He asked Daniel and Marie, looking between them.

"He was definitely a Death Eater, it came out in the paper when he was mentioned in a few of the trials, but was he a spy? I don't see why Dumbledore would say it if he wasn't." Marie told him, scowling.

"If he was, he was a terrible one, we Aurors certainly never knew what was happening until calls would come in that somewhere was being attacked." Daniel added with a dark look, remembering the war.

Daphne and Harry shared a look. "Actually, there's something we want to tell you...about You-Know-Who." Daphne said to her parents, who both looked alarmed. "Maybe we should all get dressed and meet back in the living room? It's kind of a long conversation."

Daniel and Marie looked at each other, having a silent conversation, before nodding, Marie herding Astoria from the room to go and get dressed. Daniel remained for a moment, giving them both a serious look.

"Is it bad?" He asked, and they both nodded. "Does Astoria need to be there?"

"Probably, Dad. It'll affect us all." Daphne told him, and her father accepted it with a nod, and they all left to go back to their rooms and change.

Harry found he was the first one to arrive back in the living room, and as he sat on the settee he worried his lip as he thought about how to go about telling the rest of Daphne's family the news.

Maybe Daphne should be the one to tell them, she'd know how to let them know in the best way.

Once all were gathered in the living room, Daphne began their story, trying very hard to be delicate and understanding.

"So, you know how You-Know-Who is supposed to be dead?" Her parents nodded. "Apparently he's not."

They stared at her.

"Explain." Marie demanded, eyes hard.

Harry took over. "I might be able to explain it a bit better. Over the summer, Dumbledore told me that though everyone thought I'd killed him back in 1981, he didn't believe he was dead, just...defeated, his power broken. He thinks that one day, he'll come back. I asked him after he said that his followers attacked people still, that they all believed they could revive him."

"The Longbottoms." Daniel murmured, looking at his wife.

"Dumbledore is certain that he's not gone, and I think he's right. It doesn't make any sense that a baby would be able to defeat him, so I need to be ready for when he does come back because he'll come for me, try to kill me again." Harry told them gently.

"You'll be the one to kill him." Daphne said to him firmly.

"What do you mean you'll kill him?" Marie asked incredulously, eyes wide.

"I-the Headmaster told me that he'd likely try to kill me again, because I'm the one who beat him last time. That I'd be proof that he can lose, that he's not unbeatable. And...I want to be the one to kill him. He took everything from me, he ruined my life and the life I could have had. I won't accept anything less than being the one to end him." Harry told them, eyes blazing as he thought about the man who had killed his parents.

"Merlin. This can't be true, it just can't. And Harry, you're just a kid, you can't be the one to fight that madman!" Daniel said through shuddering breaths. The thought that he could return...it was unthinkable. The war they had fought would be fought again.

"I know, Dad, but what if it is true? Isn't it better that we know it's a possibility so we can be prepared?" Daphne reasoned, understanding the fear her parents were showing.

Marie looked at her husband, swallowing heavily. "Dan...what if he's right. What if Dumbledore is right and he comes back? Dan, the kids.." She pleaded, tears beginning to form. Beside her, Astoria leaned into her mother's side, terrified at what she'd heard. She hadn't even been born when the man was at large, but she knew how bad it would be if he were to come back.

"We'll move, we'll leave the country, he won't get us or the kids." Daniel responded, eyes darting around the room as he made plans. They settled on Harry and he spoke again. "That means you as well, we'll take you too, we'll keep you safe."

Harry smiled bitterly at the man, touched but knowing that wasn't an option. "I'm sorry, sir, but I won't leave. If he comes back, I'll be waiting."

"And I won't leave him." Daphne vowed, refusing to accept anything different.

Daniel stared at him. "Harry, you don't understand. He was...terrfying, he's the most powerful dark wizard there's ever been, you'll be killed. I know you're talented, we all saw that in the memory, but you can't stand up to him."

It was Daphne who responded, scowling. "Fight him, then. Fight with Harry, and you'll see."

Daniel shook his head, wondering what on earth had gotten into his daughter. "Daphne-"

She cut him off sharply. "You wanted to see what we learned, let him show you. Let him show you why Harry will win, why Harry will be the one to kill him. I know he will, Dad." She said passionately, willing her father to listen.

Daniel shared a look with Marie, who just shrugged helplessly.

He sighed. "If this is what it takes to get you to see reason, then very well. I will fight Harry."

Daphne jumped to her feet, pulling Harry to his own. "Come on then, no time like the present, we can use your training room." She said firmly, to which her Dad just nodded, resigned.

Daphne led the group from the room and through the corridor her father's study was in, still clutching Harry's arm. At the end of the corridor was a room that had always been off-limits to both herself and Astoria, the training room her parents used to stay in shape.

When they arrived, the door was unlocked by a wave of her mother's wand, and she led them inside. There, they could see a large, wide-open space and a row of training dummies on one wall, but other than that the room was completely empty.

Marie led them all over to the dummies. "I will erect a protective barrier that will stop any errant spells from harming the three of us whilst we watch you both." She conjured three chairs in front of the dummies and turned to her youngest. "Do I need to use a sticking charm or will you stay in your seat?"

Astoria nodded. "I'll stay in my seat. I've never seen either of you fight before."

Marie nodded, and Harry and Daniel moved away so that they would not be inside the protections. Soon, a blue, shimmering shield appeared, running from floor to ceiling and the entire width of the room. Marie tapped the protective shield once with her wand, and the blue sheen vanished, leaving the shield completely see-through.

Daniel moved over to the far wall, leaving Harry standing with his back to the three Greengrass women. "Do you know the rules of dueling, Harry?" He asked, pulling his wand from his robes.

Harry went to answer in the negative but Daphne's voice rang out from behind him. "I said fight him, not duel."

Daniel looked to the ceiling with a shake of his head and let out a deep breath. "Yes, but we still need to establish rules. Nothing lethal, obviously, and nothing either myself or your mother cannot heal." He let out another breath and muttered to himself "I cannot believe I'm about to fight a first-year..."

"Harry, make sure you win." Daphne said firmly from behind him.

Harry nodded, pulling out his wand, and reached out with his magic, trying to gauge how powerful Daphne's father was. He was impressed to find him around the same level of power as Professor McGonagall, who was the only one of his teachers he had felt with his magic. He was more impressed when he felt Marie behind him, however, as she was more powerful than both her husband and the Transfiguration Professor, though her magic felt very similar to Professor McGonagall's, and he idly wondered if they were somehow related before he shook his head and switched his focus back to the man in front of him.

He wasn't confident that he could win this, he remembered the spells the older Slytherins had sent at him last month and how they had nearly broken through his shield, and he knew the man before him was much more powerful than any of them. But Daphne had told him to win, so he would try his very best.

Both parents felt the wave of power wash over them, but it was only Marie who was able to lean down and whisper to her daughter beside her. "What was that?"

"That was Harry. He's feeling how powerful Dad is." Daphne told her.

"He can do that?" She asked disbelievingly. She'd never heard of anything like it.

"And more." Daphne bragged on behalf of her friend but could say no more as the fight had begun.

Daniel had felt the power as it passed him, wondering what it was, but shook his head, deciding he could find out later. He had a fight to win, and it was he who sent the first spell.

"Petrificus Totalus"

The full body-bind shot towards Harry, who moved to the side as it passed him by and rang out with a gong as it smashed into the protective shield behind him, but had no time to return fire as a tripping jinx and a stinging hex followed it in quick succession, meaning Harry had to dart from left to right to avoid them both.

Harry wondered why the man had sent such simple spells at him, knowing he had seen that Harry was capable of non-verbal magic already, and decided that he was likely testing him. Perhaps he needed to impress the man.

The non-verbal body-bind flew rapidly from his wand toward Daniel, whose eyes widened as he deftly stepped to the side to avoid it. He knew Harry was a prodigy, anyone who had seen the memory would, and knew he was capable of non-verbal casting, but it was still a surprise to see from one so young. He smiled slightly to himself and nodded at the boy.

"Impressive, Harry." He called out as he sent an Incarcerous Jinx toward the boy, who destroyed the conjured ropes with a quick Incendio.

Harry didn't respond, instead choosing to fire another Incendio at the man, whose eyes widened at the size of the flame that threatened to incinerate him.

Time to take the kid gloves off.

A stunner, a full body-bind and another stunner were all dodged by Harry, who responded with a disarming charm and a jelly-legs curse which Daniel blocked with a shield, and then he truly began to let loose on the boy.

Stunner, disarming spell, another stunner, an exploding curse and a tripping jinx all flew at Harry quickly, and he was finally forced to raise his own shield. Daniel didn't let up and quickly began to pound spell after spell at it, seeing the cracks start to form.

Harry had been good, but he was still only a first-year.

Marie watched and was impressed with what she had seen, but she could see that Harry's defeat was soon imminent. He had potential, so much potential, but it had been foolish for her daughter to think he could beat Daniel.

Beside her, Daphne watched intently, wondering why Harry was holding back so much. "Come on, Harry." She said softly to herself.

Harry felt his shield start to break down and poured a bit more power into it to hold it. He could see the man before him firing spell after spell, and he had been waiting for him to tire, but Daniel had been an Auror of the highest quality and had evidently kept up with his training all these years.

He had to try something different.

He waited, and when he saw a disarming charm sail toward him, he dropped his shield at the last possible moment, making Daniel believe he had broken through, and the spell slammed into his chest, his phoenix wand flying across the room toward his triumphant opponent.

He heard Daphne exclaim in surprise behind him, he saw Daniel's wand hand lower as his other lifted to catch Harry's wand, and he struck.

A stunner flew at the man from Harry's left hand as his right hand summoned his wand back to his palm.

The stunning spell smashed into the wide-eyed Daniel Greengrass' chest, the shield charm he had been about to cast dying on his lips. He flew backward towards the far wall and landed in a heap, unmoving.

Harry caught his wand in his right hand, breathing heavily.

He had won.

Well, here's Chapter 9. As most of you will know, I just tend to write and see what happens, but even I'm surprised that this chapter is basically all the span of one day. Who knows how many this will have before I get to where I know the story will end.

So, to help out my international readers, I'll give you some translations for stuff, I'll try and list them all but if there are any others I'll put them in an author's note. The Greengrass family live in Cheshire, which is in the north of England for anyone unaware, and so their dialect will reflect that.

Settee - Sofa/Couch

Living Room - Lounge

They're the two I remember right now, let me know if you need any more translating.

This was fun to write, it's good to get a bit more characterisation for the Greengrass family. Hopefully, how I'm picturing them in my head is being shown, but we'll have a lot more of them so it'll become clear.

The report thing has always been my headcanon, I think it was CoS where Lucius Malfoy said something to Draco that made me think they got updates from teachers, and it makes sense to me. Harry's report was fun to write and I was going to do Daphne's as well but it would have been pretty much the same thing. For anyone interested, she's beating him in Potions, History and Astronomy.

So, the fight at the end.

Yes, if Daniel Greengrass knew what Harry was capable of, he'd have mopped the floor with him, but he didn't know everything and didn't know about the wandless magic or that Harry has read ahead and can cast spells beyond first/second year. The wandless stunner surprised the hell out of him when he thought he'd already won. That's why Daphne specified a fight, and not a duel, so that her Dad couldn't make the rule that losing your wand means he's won.

Harry's power level has been kept purposefully vague (to him) but he has no training and experience other than casting spells with Daphne in one of their bedrooms. Both of them would kick his arse in an actual fight where they're going all out, as I said in the last chapter about Voldemort, power isn't everything. This was Harry's second real fight after the one in the common room, he'll have to learn how to fight properly and what his strengths are.

Hopefully you all enjoyed this, and holy shit at the time of posting this there are 337 of you following this story and that is madness.

Thank you all.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think, do you like Daniel, Marie and Astoria?

What do you think will happen?

Enjoy.