Marie removed the protections with a slow wave of her wand, staring at the crumpled form of her husband. As soon as she did Daphne jumped from her seat and dived into Harry's arms, squealing in happiness.
Beside her, Astoria looked up at Mother, as shocked as she was. "D-did that just happen?"
Marie could only shake her head as she rose and ambled slowly toward Daniel in a daze.
She couldn't believe what she'd just seen, what an eleven-year-old boy had just done to her husband. And, judging from the pleased smile on her eldest daughter's face, she fully expected that this would happen. This had been no fluke.
Pulling her wand, she pointed it at Daniel with a muttered 'Rennervate', but her husband's eyes remained closed and his body still. Frowning, she cast the reviving spell again, but still, her husband did not stir.
"Dan? Rennervate!" Nothing. "What's happening, why won't he wake up?" She called to her daughter and the boy whose chest she was currently trying to burrow into.
Harry broke away from Daphne to walk over to Marie and her fallen husband, not quite managing to extract his arm from her grip and thus pulling her along, Astoria ambling behind them slowly.
"He won't wake. It was a stunner, he should be waking up. Rennervate!" Harry and Daphne saw for themselves that the spell was failing to rouse Daniel, and could see the panic rising in Marie, her wand shaking with each unsuccessful attempt.
"Harry, you try it." Daphne told him, having a suspicion of what had happened.
Harry nodded and pointed his wand at the man. "Rennervate."
Daniel opened his eyes suddenly, jerking as he woke with the last memory he had, a jet of red light heading directly for him, running through his mind. His breathing was frantic as he sat up and looked around, seeing his entire family crowded around him.
He looked directly at Harry. "You sneaky little bugger." He told him, shaking his head as he was pulled to his feet by his wife, who had a relieved smile on her face.
"I couldn't wake you, Dan, Harry had to do it." She told him, disbelief at everything she had both seen and heard today evident in her voice.
"Really?" Daniel asked her, considering. He was in shock himself that he had lost, but his mind raced as he began to make plans.
"Harry, you're not too tired from our fight are you?" He asked the boy, who shook his head. Figures. "Do you mind casting some spells for me at those dummies over there?"
Harry nodded his assent, and Dan led him over to the figures until he faced one in the centre. "Okay Harry, can you cast the strongest Diffindo you can at it? Like you did to the Malfoy boy, but with as much power as you can. Really concentrate, imagine it's You-Know-Who or someone you hate standing before you." Daniel told him, stepping back in anticipation.
The rest of the family gathered behind Harry as he stood, watching as his wand flashed and his spell flew at the dummy, aiming for the chest area. Together, they watched as a wide, deep gouge was carved into the dummy and blood erupted from the wound.
"Sorry, Harry, I should have warned you. These dummies are incredibly life-like, when you are learning or practicing a spell you need to know how much damage you will cause if you use it on another person." Daniel told him, staring at the results of Harry's spell.
"Be a good boy, Harry, and try not to do that to either of us the next time we duel you." Marie said faintly behind him, eyes wide as saucers.
"So you'll train him?" Daphne asked, crossing her arms and looking between her parents.
Daniel looked at his wife and saw the gleam in her eyes. It had been many years since either of them had trained another, had had an apprentice to show how to fight and how to survive.
Marie answered, conviction clear in her voice. "We'll train him. And Harry," She said looking him in the eyes. "We'll make sure you win. We'll make sure you will be ready so that you can beat him."
Daphne beamed at Harry, who smiled back at her with relief and excitement on his face
Astoria finally looked away from the dummy and the blood pooling beneath it and turned to her parents with the best pleading expression she could muster.
"Can we keep him?"
The family found themselves back in the living room, all sitting in their now usual seats. Marie had made them all large mugs of hot chocolate, though none of the children were aware that she had added an extra ingredient (firewhisky) to Daniel's and her own. Merlin knew they needed it. The fire crackled in the background as they all gathered their thoughts.
It was Marie who spoke quietly, hazel eyes gentle as she looked at the two children opposite her. "Harry, can you answer some questions for us so we can understand better?"
Harry nodded, trying to relax in his seat. "Of course, what is it you'd like to know?"
"Can I marry you?" Astoria blurted, immediately receiving two glares from her parents and one murderous look from her sister. She didn't seem to care and just sipped her hot chocolate with a smirk.
Daphne pulled her wand, holding it in her hand as she rested it on her lap, eyes glaring at her sister. "One more, Tori, one more and I'll remove your mouth." She threatened her sister, who just gave her an innocent look in response
"We'd like to know how it is that you can do wandless magic, first of all." Daniel said, eyes flittering between his daughters as he prepared himself to possibly intervene.
"Well...apparently I was born already really powerful, and then I...didn't have the best of childhoods, and the Headmaster thinks I had to use my magic all the time to make things easier for me so my control is second nature." Harry told them quickly, trying to gloss over his treatment at the Dursleys. He had had no such issues telling Dumbledore, McGonagall or Daphne, but for some reason the thought of telling the Greengrass' worried him.
Daphne noticed his reticence and gave him a questioning look, but he ignored it as Marie followed up on Daniel's question. "How did you find out you could do it?"
"I found out by accident, really, but when I did I thought back to all the other strange things that had happened, and then I began to experiment with it. Because I didn't know about the wizarding world, I didn't have a wand or books, so I just did whatever I could think of." Harry told them.
"He taught himself how to apparate and he fixed his eyesight." Daphne cut in, providing more information that Harry was leaving out.
Both parents raised their eyes, but Daniel had a small smile on his face. "From anyone else, I'd doubt the truth of it, but somehow I can believe it of you, Harry." He told the boy sincerely. "And when you got to Hogwarts?"
"I was...upset, that people couldn't do what I could do, but Daphne put me right." He said, turning to smile at the girl next to him. "I'm not upset anymore, it's a good thing that I can do what I can, I just need to not rely on it."
Marie nodded, happy at his self-assessment. "Correct, and we'll make sure that you have the skill and experience to back up your power. But, before you fought Dan, there was a wave of power that we all felt. What was that? Daphne said that you were feeling for how powerful Dan is, but I've never heard of anything like that." She asked with a small frown, and a glance at her husband told her he was similarly confused.
"Professor Dumbledore taught me how to sense magic. At first, it was with my hand and I had to guess what spells or enchantments were on an object, but when I could do that he asked that I spread my magic outside of my body and sense things further away."
"Can you describe it for me?" Marie asked him, trying to keep the awe from her voice.
"It's like a sphere, it starts from within me and slowly spreads out and I get sensations of what's around me, like how powerful something is, if there are charms or transfigurations in place, but sometimes I sense things I don't recognise because I haven't encountered them yet." He told her honestly, thinking of what sensing things around him with his magic felt like. "I can feel how powerful someone is, and I can compare it to how strong I know others are, but it was only Daphne where I could sense more." He continued with a hint of confusion in his tone.
"How so?" Daniel asked, intrigued.
"Like...I could sense that she was a good person, and she felt...warm? It was like being hugged when I sensed her, and something else but I haven't worked it out yet." Harry reported, and the flush on his cheeks made clear that he was embarrassed. Beside him, Daphne smiled to herself, still happy that she was the one he could sense more from.
"Interesting." Marie said lightly, sharing a knowing look with her husband. "How often do you use this ability? Earlier was the first time I felt it."
"Not often, it's overwhelming, especially when we're in Hogwarts because there's so much going on. It's like being assaulted constantly by lots of different things wanting your attention." Harry told her, remembering the only time he'd used his power in the Great Hall and immediately regretted it.
"So who have you sensed other than ourselves?" Daniel asked, interested to know where he ranked on the scale despite himself.
"Dumbledore was the first, and he was...unbelievable, really. I thought it was ridiculous how powerful he is the first time I sensed him, but then when I sensed Professor McGonagall it was even more amazing because it showed just how much stronger he is than even her." Harry told them, shaking his head as he thought about the Headmaster.
"And us? Where do we fit?" Daniel asked again, leaning forward.
"Erm, Marie is next after the Headmaster," Harry said, looking at the woman who had a satisfied smile on her face. "You felt very similar to her though, are you related?" He asked the woman who shook her head. She frowned for a moment in thought before the expression cleared and she smiled to herself.
Daniel coughed to regain Harry's attention. "How about me?"
"I think you and Professor McGonagall are about equal with each other, really." Harry told Daniel, who sat back in his chair and shrugged. He'd take being on McGonagall's level, he knew how powerful she was.
"What about me and Daphne?" Astoria asked, eyeing her sister who had yet to stop pointing her wand at her as she rested it on her leg.
"I didn't really get a sense of you two, your Mum kind of drowned you both out and I didn't focus on you." Harry reported.
"Well, go on then, who's stronger?" Astoria demanded, ignoring the snort and roll of the eyes from her sister.
Harry sighed, but dutifully the sphere of magic began to expand from within him, first encompassing Daphne and then Astoria. "Daphne is stronger." He said, and Astoria pouted.
"Astoria she's almost two years older than you, this shouldn't be a surprise." Marie scolded her daughter lightly, whilst shooting a glare at Daphne which wiped the smug look from her face quickly.
"Fine, the second I turn seventeen you're scanning us both again." Astoria decided for him, crossing her arms and daring him to argue. He did not.
"And how far ahead have you studied? At least fourth-year I'm guessing if you can perform a stunning spell." Daniel asked, smiling wryly as he remembered the surprise he had felt when Harry had cast the spell at him.
"I've read all the Standard Book of Spells grades, but some of the spells I couldn't do because I'd have to cast them on Daphne," Harry said to Daniel and Marie's nods.
"Well, we'll be working through them with you. Do you have a copy of the Book of Spells by Miranda Goshawk?" Marie asked him, and when Harry shook his head she got up and walked over to the bookcase wall, searching for a moment before returning with a thick tome, and handing it to him.
Harry looked at the book, Daphne leaning over beside him also. Opening it and flipping to the table of contents, he saw many useful spells listed, recognising some including the stunning spell, but others he hadn't heard of before.
"There is a copy of this book in the Restricted Section at Hogwarts." Daniel told them, and the two shared a look with each other.
"We've been in there a few times but we've never found this," Daphne told them, which then resulted in a short explanation of Harry's cloak and how it was able to bypass protections and enchantments. None of them noticed the triumphant gleam in Astoria's eyes when she heard this information.
"Have a read through it, study it, and we'll go through them in the training room." Marie told them, which was what Harry and Daphne did for the remainder of the day, sat closely together on what was now their settee.
Whilst they were in the living room, Harry discovered that it was Marie who could play the piano, though it had an enchantment upon it where it could record and remember a song played upon it, so when they wanted to listen to some music they were able to do so without Marie having to play for them.
That is what happened whilst the family, and Harry, sat together, listening to a recording of Marie playing a song that Harry didn't recognise. Harry and Daphne were studying the Book of Spells, whispering excitedly to each other and discussing uses for the spells held within, whilst Daniel played chess with Astoria and tried hard not to get upset when his daughter continuously trounced him. Marie herself read a book, but more often than not found herself watching the two opposite her and seeing the closeness and affection for each other.
Marie decided that either she or her husband would be having a long conversation with Albus Dumbledore as soon as possible.
As it turned out it was indeed Marie Greengrass who flooed into the Headmaster's Office that evening, Daniel agreeing to distract the three children by taking them back into the training room and showing them some spells.
"I confess that I expected we would be meeting at some point, Madam Greengrass, though I did not expect it to be so soon. Is there something amiss?" The old man asked by way of greeting, having already agreed to allow either of the elder Greengrass' to floo into his office during the Christmas period.
Marie went over to the chair opposite him and sat down without asking for permission. "There are many things amiss, Dumbledore. You will be answering some questions for me, and quickly so I can return to my husband and children." She told him, staring hard across the desk at the man. Dumbledore inclined his head slightly toward her, preparing himself for an inquisition and permitting her to begin.
"Harry told us a little of his life, his life before Hogwarts. He didn't go into detail, but I suspect it wasn't simply 'not great', was it? What happened to him?" She asked him in a firm voice.
Dumbledore nodded sadly. "It was not pleasant for young Harry, but if he did not go into detail I will not betray his trust. It is his story to tell."
Marie nodded, accepting it. "And his magic, the things he can do, you believe they are a result of his...upbringing? I need to know, Dumbledore, so I can help him. Whoever he was with, they have affected him. Badly."
Dumbledore leaned back slightly, considering the woman before him. Hesitantly, he met her eyes and began to probe her mind, but his light Legilimency attempt was quickly mentally slapped aside.
Marie seethed. "You'd better have a good explanation for that." She growled, forcing herself not to pull her wand.
Dumbledore raised an apologetic hand. "Forgive me, I merely wanted to see if you were capable of protecting any information I may provide. I cannot risk others discovering what I have and putting young Harry at risk."
Marie stared at him with narrowed eyes before nodding her head shortly. "Very well, it wouldn't have hurt you to ask though. Go ahead, test my shields."
Dumbledore gave her a thankful nod, removing a thin white wand from his sleeve and whispering the incantation.
Marie immediately felt the powerful mental assault on her mind and tried desperately to reinforce her shields. She could feel the man searching for what she knew of Harry Potter and any memories pertaining to him, and so she threw memories into the path of his probe that would tell him nothing, a short walk she had taken as a girl when she had first seen a wood sprite, the day she had purchased her wand from Ollivanders, her memory of sitting her History of Magic OWL and trying not to fall asleep. Her head throbbed as the man searched through her mind, and she had no idea how long it was until she felt the man's presence in her mind recede.
Marie rubbed her temples once the mental assault had ended, groaning softly. "Well?" She asked shortly.
Dumbledore smiled at her. "Your shields are some of the best I have seen, Madam Greengrass. I will answer anything you wish to know, though I would ask that certain things are not revealed to Harry at this time, not until he himself learns how to protect the information."
Marie nodded her agreement, waving an impatient hand at him. "Get on with it, then. Why can Harry do what he can?"
Dumbledore steepled his fingers, looking to the far wall as he thought. "I believe," he began slowly. "that it is a multitude of different reasons that explains why Harry is so special. Firstly, he is the son of James and Lily Potter, and they were both very powerful and talented individuals. I know you did not know them personally, but I am sure you have heard of their skill." Marie nodded, and he continued. "Harry was extraordinary even as an infant, and the few times I had the pleasure of spending any amount of time with him, he amazed me with the level of magic he was already showing. Then, after their deaths, Harry was sent to live with his muggle family."
Marie interrupted him. "He has no family, he told me himself."
Dumbledore sighed but nodded. "A sentiment I can understand, knowing what I do. Nevertheless, it was his mother's sister and her family that I entrusted to care for Harry and to raise him as their own. As I am sure you can surmise, it did not go as I or anyone else would have wished. Harry was not treated kindly, and it is my hypothesis that he was forced to use his magic daily, almost constantly, in order to protect his person. The continuous use of his magic, from such a young age, resulted in Harry having immaculate control over his abilities and explains how he is capable of such feats as wandless magic. If you ask his Professors, they will tell you that Harry will perform a spell as soon as he learns it as he does not need to completely understand what it is he is doing, his magic simply acts on his intent."
Marie nodded again, seeing how his explanation made sense, and felt something deathly cold grip her heart when she heard more about Harry's upbringing. She noticed something else on the Headmaster's face. "There's more, isn't there? What aren't you telling me?"
Dumbledore met her eyes and spoke softly, though his gaze was deathly serious. "Before Harry was born, on Halloween 1979, I was interviewing a prospective candidate for the vacant Divination teaching post, and during that interview, the candidate was the vessel for a true prophecy. A prophecy pertaining to Harry."
Marie swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. "What did it say?" She asked weakly. Her condition did not improve when Dumbledore recited the prophecy that had caused the attack and the murder of James and Lily Potter and the attempt from You-Know-Who on Harry's life.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
Marie was numb as Dumbledore continued gently. "I believe, after discovering Harry's abilities, that the prophecy is true, and it will come down to Harry or Voldemort killing the other. Voldemort will accept nothing less and, as you must be aware of by now, neither will Harry."
"Is he? Is he his equal?" Marie asked quickly, thinking hard. Harry was unbelievable, she knew that now, but would it be enough?
Dumbledore smiled widely at her. "The prophecy decreed that one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord, one he would himself acknowledge as his equal, would be born. Yes, Harry is his equal. In fact, I would suspect that Harry will surpass Voldemort in the coming years."
Marie gaped at him. "You think Harry will be more powerful than him? And so soon?"
Dumbledore nodded seriously. "I was his teacher when he attended this very school, when he was still known as Tom Riddle, and he was the most gifted, talented and powerful student to have walked these halls during my time - that is, until Harry arrived."
Marie shook he head slightly. "How powerful is he, right now?"
"He is more powerful than he knows. He is raw and has no training to speak of, but he can already do things that I myself could not." Dumbledore told her with a small smile.
Marie smiled ruefully. "He beat my husband this morning."
"Truly? I am sure your husband was merely caught off guard, as I remember he was a formidable wizard in his own right." Dumbledore offered kindly, and Marie simply nodded at his words.
"That thing he can do, sensing magic around him, he told me you taught him that?" Marie queried, interested to know exactly what it was.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, I taught him how. I never expected him to be able to do what he can, however."
"Because it's difficult?" She asked, frowning.
"Yes, it is exceedingly difficult, which is why I can only do what I first taught him, that is, to sense magic with my hand by holding it closely to an object to study it. When I asked him if he could expand it further, I did so merely to satisfy my own curiosity, not truly believing it was possible. Yet, I should not have been surprised that he could. Harry is remarkable."
"Are you saying that the sphere sensing thing he can do, he can do because you told him to on a whim? And he just did it?" Marie asked incredulously.
"As I said, Harry is remarkable. You cannot imagine my surprise when he began to describe what he could feel, including my wand and how it felt, which were upon my person more than seven feet away. I have never met anyone who could do what he can, the most I have seen is a similar talent as my own." He told her, smiling widely at his student's abilities.
They were silent for minutes as they both sat in thought until Marie finally spoke. "My husband and I have promised to train him. He told us that You-Know-Who will return, that you told him that he'll return, and he swears that he will kill him if he does."
Dumbledore looked grave as he responded. "As much as it pains me that Harry has sworn to end the life of another at such a young age, he is the only one that can. I am delighted to hear that you will offer him your expertise, he will need it for the day he will face Voldemort."
"Why did you tell me all of this? Why did you trust me?" Marie asked, and Dumbledore gave her a blinding smile.
"I have my reasons, of which the most pertinent is that I know that you will not betray him, because you and your husband have suffered more from the evil that is Lord Voldemort than almost any others."
Marie swallowed, nodding. "Very well, but before I leave and return to my family, there is one other small matter, Headmaster." Marie said in a light tone, and Dumbledore waved her on magnanimously.
"Would you be so kind as to point me in the direction of Severus Snape?"
Marie stalked through the corridors of Hogwarts, ignoring the waves upon waves of nostalgia that she felt as places she recognised and the memories associated with them flitted through her mind, but soon enough she was in the dungeons and standing opposite the door she had been assured led to the office of her children's Head of House.
Checking with her wand briefly for any protections that would deny her access and finding none, she blew the door open with a wave of her wand and immediately disarmed the man who had angrily risen to his feet from behind his desk, who had managed to pull his wand at her entry but was unable to defend himself in time and bound his torso and arms in thick, conjured ropes that were much tighter than necessary, causing him to fall back into his seat.
"What is the meaning of this?!" He demanded, spittle flying from his mouth as he wriggled in place, trying to free himself.
Marie ignored him to inspect the thick black wand of the Potions Master, eyeing it with faint disgust. "How many people has this killed, I wonder?"
"No more than your own." Snape sneered, giving up on his attempt to escape and affixing her with a hateful glare.
"The only things I killed were not people, Snape, they were monsters." She told him sweetly, twirling his wand in her fingers. "But my apologies, I'm sure they were your friends and it must be very hard for you to be reminded of their deaths."
"What do you want? The Headmaster-" Snape started angrily but he was cut off immediately.
"The Headmaster is fully aware I am here, Snape. You and I are going to have a little chat, and you will listen to what I have to say because you will not enjoy the consequences if you do not." Marie interrupted coldly, walking slowly towards him.
She stepped around the desk and leaned on the front of it, directly in front of him. "You will cease your abhorrent behaviour toward my children and you will act in a professional manner toward them. You will no longer ignore their efforts and you will grade them as you would the children of your Death Eater friends, which means fairly. If they require assistance you will offer it as any other teacher would, and you will not belittle, insult or threaten them again, am I clear?" She said, leaning forward menacingly.
"You have one child at Hogwarts, Greengrass." Snape spat, glaring at her, but his expression soon changed when he found his own wand pressed harshly against his throat.
"Think again. Heed my words, because if you do not, the very next time you leave this castle I will hunt you down." Marie threatened, eyes deathly serious as they bore into his own. She stepped back, throwing his wand on his desk, and began to walk from the office, before calling back to the still-bound man and offering a final piece of advice.
"Remember, I kill monsters, not men. Decide which one you want to be from now on, Severus Snape."
When their time in the training room had come to an end, Harry and Daphne both delighted at the spells that had been taught, it was to find a cheerful Marie Greengrass singing to herself as she was cooking dinner in the kitchen.
"What's gotten into Mum?" Astoria asked, taking her seat at the table and raising an eyebrow at her mother.
"I'm just happy, dear, am I not allowed to be?" Marie asked over her shoulder whilst she chopped some carrots.
"Not when it means you sing, I've told you time and time again that you cannot sing," Astoria responded in a long-suffering voice, ignoring the glare from Marie.
Daphne and Daniel joined her at the table, but Harry walked over to her and asked if she needed any help.
"No, it's fine dear, I can manage." She said, smiling at him caringly, and so Harry joined the rest of the Greengrass family at the table.
The Sunday roast was excellent, and the conversation was much the same, though this time Harry joined in more frequently, feeling a greater level of comfort amongst the family. Both Daniel and Marie noticed this and smiled secretly at each other.
That night, Marie came into his room again to say goodnight, but he was nonplussed when, just before shutting the door, she asked him a strange question.
"Just out of interest, Harry, what's your favourite colour?" She'd called, and Harry had been confused, but when he thought about it there was only one colour it could possibly be.
"Blue, deep blue, like...erm-" He'd answered, but found he unable to explain why it was his favourite colour and the exact shade, but Marie assured him she knew what the right colour was and left without explaining why she'd needed to know.
It was past midnight when Harry woke, bleary-eyed, but immediately he heard a voice very close to his bed, and he reacted purely on instinct, his hand shooting out as he cried 'Stupefy!' in a panic.
A body dropped heavily on the floor, and running footsteps could be heard before Daniel and Marie burst through his door having heard Harry's shout, lighting the lamps in his room immediately and, as one, they all noticed and looked in silence at the body lying next to Harry's bed.
Daphne, woken by the sound of her parents stampeding out of their room, yawned as she walked slowly into Harry's room. "What's all the noise? What is-" She broke off, cackling with glee, for she too had seen what the others had.
Knocked out on the floor next to Harry's bed, his invisibility cloak half-pulled out of his trunk and clutched in her hand, was Astoria.
They arrived in Diagon Alley the next morning, flooing into The Leaky Cauldron where Tom gave Harry a hearty greeting. Astoria had a magical leash attached to her wrist and connected to her mother's, ensuring she couldn't move any further away than six feet from her and sneak off anywhere. Harry might have thought it harsh, but he'd actually met Astoria and fully agreed with the decision.
The longing looks she was throwing in the direction of Knockturn Alley the entire day was telling enough of her intentions.
It was decided that, for the first part of the trip, Harry and Daphne would be with Daniel whilst the tethered Astoria would go with Marie, and they would switch around during the day so that the family could all buy each other presents without the intended recipient knowing what was bought. Harry was happy with the arrangement as he knew he would be buying gifts for them all as a thank-you for letting him stay with them.
"Dad doesn't usually come out, I think he's here because you're with us," Daphne whispered to him as Daniel led them to Gringotts so Harry could take some spending money out. They had tried to pay for Harry's gifts but he had adamantly refused.
Again, Harry received a strange question when he had been in Quality Quidditch Supplies with Marie who, whilst buying Daphne some flying gloves for use during their lessons, had asked him if he had a favourite Quidditch team. Harry had said no, and she had just nodded, but he was sure he could hear her muttering to herself "No posters then." Harry found himself admiring the Nimbus Two-Thousand in the shop window, but baulked at the price and quickly moved on.
It was when he had been in Eeylops Owl Emporium with Astoria and Daniel, who had taken over the leashing spell, that Harry was asked another strange question, but this time by Daniel.
"Do you have any animals you really like, Harry?" He said lightly, as if the question was innocuous.
"Erm, a few, I always liked big cats and Tigers were my favourite animals growing up, but I suppose Phoenixes are my favourite now." Harry had replied, but he was less suspicious this time because they were in a shop that sold animals.
Harry had wanted to buy Daphne an owl that she could use at school to send letters back, as well as because she was nuts about animals, and Astoria had immediately pointed to a beautiful snowy owl that she instantly said was perfect for her sister. Harry had paid for the owl and Daniel had told the man at the counter that it was a Christmas present, so Daniel handed the man a letter from his robes and asked for it to be sent early on Christmas morning back to him so that Daphne wouldn't have her present ruined. It was a good thing too, as Astoria was incessantly trying to name the owl on her sister's behalf.
Somehow, Harry thought that Daphne would be a bit more inventive than "Snow White"
It was while they were on the way out of the shop that Harry noticed the snake tank and wandered over.
"Hello." He said cheerfully to the five snakes gathered in the tank, and as one they had all raised their heads and stared at him. Or at least, it looked like staring, Harry wasn't completely sure if snakes even had eyelids.
"A speaker! Save us speaker, take us with you to a warm place!" The largest snake, which Harry was sure was a cobra, had pleaded.
"Sorry, my school doesn't allow snakes." Harry told them sadly, but Daniel's hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around quickly before he could say any more.
"Harry, you're a Parselmouth?!" Daniel whispered frantically to him, eyes boring into his.
"A what?" Harry asked, having never heard of it before.
"You can speak to snakes?" Daniel asked in a shaky voice, breaking eye contact to look around the shop and make sure nobody could hear.
"Yeah, I mean, I've done it before in the summer, and just then, but can't everyone do that?" Harry questioned, wondering what the problem was.
"No, they can't, but let's not talk about it here, when we get home I'll explain it," Daniel said, steering Harry from the shop and whispering orders to Astoria to keep her mouth shut about it.
When they did get back to the Greengrass' home, each laden with shrunken packages that they quickly took to their rooms, they were once again gathered in the living room for a serious discussion.
"What is it, Dan?" Marie asked her husband, wondering why he had been acting so strangely.
"Harry can speak Parseltongue." Daniel said without preamble.
Every eye swiveled to Harry, who looked around with worry.
"Is that a bad thing?" He asked, turning to Daphne who was watching him with wide eyes.
"It...it has a bad reputation, mainly because of You-Know-Who." She told him as gently as she could. "He could speak Parseltongue, and a lot of people associate it with him, or Salazar Slytherin, and we both know what people think about Slytherin."
Harry closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "Brilliant."
Marie leaned forward, calling softly to him. "Harry, look at me dear. He could speak it, but that doesn't make it bad." She told him emphatically, sharing a look with her husband.
"Harry, I didn't react the way I did because I think it's a bad thing, but a lot of people think it is because of its reputation. Does anyone else know that you're a Parselmouth?" He asked.
Harry shook his head. "I didn't even know I was. I've never told anyone, because I thought it might be a wizard thing." He said, leaning back in his seat and staring at the ceiling.
"Nah, just a Harry thing," Astoria said, and for once it was the right thing to say, as Harry began laughing at what she'd said, much of the tension within him being released.
"You'll just have to keep it quiet, Harry, so people don't think you're a dark wizard because of it." Daphne told him, and Harry nodded his agreement. People already didn't like him as it was, if they found out he shared an ability associated with Voldemort, they'd probably try to get him thrown in Azkaban.
Soon, the conversation moved on to other things, and whilst Astoria badgered every individual person into telling her what they had gotten her, Marie Greengrass thought back to what the Headmaster had told her yesterday.
'And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal'
Christmas Day came quickly, and Harry felt that his time thus far with the Greengrass family was the best time of his life so far. Daniel and Marie were amazing people, both kind and warm toward him and always made him feel as if he were part of the family even though he was only a guest, and Astoria made him laugh a lot and she seemed to like him well enough, even if she was merciless when trying to teach him how to play chess.
Together, they decorated the living room and the Christmas tree, listening to music from the piano and telling family stories to Harry. Apparently, Astoria was actually improving with age, which amazed Harry as he couldn't imagine her being more trouble than she currently was.
Daniel and Marie continued to teach him how to fight, showing him new spells, and they were both brilliant teachers in his opinion, but they were strict and made certain that they expected him to always put his best effort into it. They reminded him of Professor McGonagall during these sessions, and it just made Harry even more fond of the couple. Marie also began showing Daphne and him more Potions, the most recent of which being the Exstimulo Potion, which boosted the drinker's spell power. Marie suggested that Harry didn't drink that one in case he accidentally killed one of them in their next training session. She also began letting him help her with the cooking whilst the other three did their own thing, and the time spent with the woman was very enjoyable to him. She confessed that it was nice to have his help, as she usually had to force her daughters into doing so.
But the best thing about it was that he still got to spend every day with Daphne. She continued to come into his room in the morning and by now Harry had stopped caring about her not being fully dressed, having gotten used to the fact that the Greengrass family cared little about such things.
But today was Christmas Day, and Daphne had no opportunity to visit him this morning because the entire house was woken up at around four in the morning by Astoria, who had gone to the kitchen and returned to the upstairs landing banging two pots together.
"Up! Get up! I want my presents!" Hurricane Astoria shouted as she marched up and down the corridor impatiently. "UP! I swear to Merlin if you lazy ba-"
"ASTORIA!"
And so, they were all once more gathered in the living room, hot chocolate in hand, music playing in the background and the warm fire crackling. Harry, Daphne and Astoria had each carried their presents for everyone else into the room with them, but apparently, they weren't allowed to open them yet.
Across from him, he could see Astoria vibrating violently in place, and, as Harry could feel through the settee beneath him, so was Daphne.
"What? I like Christmas too." She defended after he'd given her a look.
He'd caught Daniel's eye, and he had nodded surreptitiously to Marie, who also looked like she was vibrating slightly. Well, that cleared up where they got it from.
Daniel looked around at each person, the length of which was directly parallel to how excited they looked, meaning Astoria's lasted for nearly a minute before she threatened to scratch his eyes out. After that, he finally pulled out his wand and soon five large sacks were summoned into the room, coming to a stop before each person, which, to his surprise, included Harry.
He stared down at the sack in front of him. "What's this?"
"They're your presents from Marie and I." Daniel told him as the rest of the family tore into the sacks and began pulling out gifts.
"You got me presents?" Harry asked flatly, and everyone stopped to look at him.
"Well, of course, it's Christmas Harry." Marie told him as if she were talking about the weather.
"Harry?" Daphne asked, frowning.
"I...thought it was just you who was buying me a present." Harry told her, his voice still shocked.
"Oh," Daphne whispered, realising what was wrong. "No, everyone's got you stuff. These big sacks are the ones just off Mum and Dad for us kids and each other, we went to Diagon Alley mainly for us to buy presents for everyone."
Harry couldn't believe it, his sack of presents was as big as everyone else's was.
Harry swallowed heavily and looked at Daniel, who had an encouraging smile, and Marie, whose eyes were watery as she smiled gently at him. "Thank you." He said thickly and reached down into his sack to pull out his first present.
He found a book called Quidditch Through the Ages, which Daniel told him would help him choose a favourite team, and dug into the next which was a massive box of chocolate frogs. Further in, he found more potions ingredients ("With our extra work, you'll run out" Marie had told him), a dragon-hide wand holster which he could strap to his arm which he would definitely be practicing with later, a black jumper with a red phoenix adorning the front (he smiled at Daniel after he saw that one, who gave him a wink in response) and a whole heap of new robes for everyday wear. He smiled gratefully at them when he'd seen those, he hadn't thought anything of just wearing his Hogwarts robes all the time.
Then, he found a present that made him gasp. It was a magical photograph of himself and Daphne hugging in the corridor outside the hospital wing.
"How did you get this?" Daphne asked her mum happily, and Harry saw that she had received the same gift.
"You can take photos when watching memories in a Pensieve." Marie told them, smiling softly at both of them.
For Harry, it was the best present he'd ever had.
It was toward the bottom of the sack that he found strange presents, though. He found a gold nameplate, his name written on the front in bold lettering, and then a large pot of refillable blue paint (which was the exact same shade as Daphne's eyes, he noted with a blush), and finally, a shrunken bookcase. As odd as he found these gifts, he was still very thankful to the couple who told him it was no bother at all.
All of the children completely missed the nervous smiles the couple gave each other.
Finally, it was time for the kids to hand out their presents, and it was decided unanimously that Astoria would go first because no one wanted to have to prevent a murder attempt on Christmas morning. From Daphne, she had received a book called The Rise of Evil that Daphne suggested would soon have a section dedicated to her as well as a large box of chocolates. From Harry, she found herself the delighted owner of a brand new chess set that actually bled when they were hit. He had spotted it and thought that whilst it was right up Astoria's alley it was a bit inappropriate, but Marie had just cursed under her breath and said that she wished she had been the one to spot it first, and so Harry was able to buy it for her without guilt.
Then, it was Daphne's turn, and from her sister, she was baffled to receive a large, thick, plain stick. Astoria had simply suggested that she'd probably need it soon and said nothing more, but luckily for her continued health had gotten her a real present, which turned out to be a book called The Unicorns and Me, which was a book written by a wizard who had decided to try and live with a herd of Unicorns for a year.
She turned to Harry to receive her present from him, but after a shared worried look with Daniel, he was forced to admit that it hadn't arrived yet.
"Sorry, Daph," He said to her sadly. "It was supposed to arrive this morning but..."
"It's okay, Harry, really, after my birthday you don't need to get me anything for like three years." Daphne smiled at him, only feeling a little upset inside.
So then it was Harry's turn, and from Astoria, he received a book called The Wizards Guide to Wooing Your Witch, "It's part of a series" She said, winking at him and shooting her glaring sister an innocent smile, and a written offer to purchase his Invisibility Cloak for 30 Galleons and one hug whenever he wished, which he had to sadly decline. Luckily, she had also given him a large box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, which meant that Harry was perfectly happy.
Then, they all heard a hoot, and out of the window, Harry could see the snowy owl flying around the garden and waiting to be let in. Daniel did so, plucking the letter from its talons, and the owl flew over to Harry's shoulder.
"Aww, look at her! She's gorgeous!" Daphne said adoringly, reaching out to stroke the owl.
"And she's yours. Merry Christmas, Daphne." Harry said, shrugging his shoulder up and down so the owl would get the hint and go over to its owner.
Luckily, the owl did so and landed on Daphne's outstretched arm. She stroked her lovingly, but her face was looking straight at Harry, eyes beaming with happiness. "I hate you, Harry. You're too good at getting me presents."
"You need to name her." He told her, and she looked thoughtful.
"I'll think of something." She assured him.
"Snow White!" Astoria shouted.
"Absolutely not." Daphne responded immediately with a disgusted look. "You still haven't opened your present from me, Harry."
Harry started and picked up the present Daphne had previously handed him, seeing it was long and thin, about the length of his forearm.
"Oh, yeah, you need to unshrink it." She told him in a strange voice, and he gave her a questioning look as he did.
The present ballooned in size until it was plainly obvious that it was-
"A broom?! You got me a broom?" Harry said incredulously
"Don't sound so happy about it, Harry," Daphne said with a fond shake of her head. "Go on and open it properly."
Harry did, tearing off the wrapping paper, and saw the Nimbus Two-Thousand broom he had been admiring in Quality Quidditch Supplies lying innocuously across his lap. Harry turned to Daphne with wide eyes.
"You got me a Nimbus." He said flatly.
"I got you a Nimbus." She responded in the same tone.
"And you complained that my present on your birthday cost a fortune." Harry said to her, a smile growing on his face despite himself.
"Now we're even." Daphne answered, returning his smile, delighted at how happy he was. He really did love Flying class and would definitely want to continue the activity next year.
"Ahem, there's one more present for you, Harry." Daniel said, coughing to get his attention and holding out the envelope that Daphne's owl had brought with her.
Harry took it from him, looking down and seeing his own name written on the envelope, and gave Daniel a confused look. The man just nodded at the letter, encouraging him to open it.
Whilst he did, Daniel and Marie glanced at him, hoping that it would be well-received.
Inside was an official-looking form, and upon closer inspection he found that it was a muggle form rather than a wizarding one. Nevertheless, he began to read, but froze when he got to the bottom.
"Harry?" Daphne asked, leaning over to read the letter herself. Harry didn't notice because he was too busy staring at the letter in his hands.
"What? What is it?" Astoria asked from her seat, her mother's hand clamped on her shoulder to stop her from going over and reading the letter herself.
"These-these are..." Daphne stammered, heart-stopping as she read the letter. "These are Change of Guardianship forms."
"We know its sudden, and it can only be done on the muggle side, but we want you, Harry. You're a part of our family now, and this will just give us the chance to make it official so no one can take you from us." Daniel told him quickly, as Harry had still not come out of his catatonic state. Marie teared-up slightly as she looked at him, wondering if they'd been wrong and he wouldn't want to stay with them.
"They're not signed yet, not by us, but Dumbledore got in touch with your relatives and they signed their side, but say the word and we'll sign them right now," Daniel told him gently.
Harry swallowed as he listened to what they were saying. "You want me?" He asked in a broken voice, and beside him, Daphne grabbed onto his hand and squeezed it hard.
Marie rose and walked quickly over to him, crouching down in front of him. "Of course! Harry, these forms don't really matter, we were going to ask you anyway if you wanted to come and live with us, these just make it so that no one can take you away. This is your home now, that is, if you want it to be?"
All Harry could do is nod, and he found that tears were rolling down his face. His mind flashed back to the last time he had cried, over a year ago now, when he had been locked in the cupboard under the stairs in Privet Drive and the feeling of loneliness, of not belonging, overwhelmed him.
This time, he was crying because none of that mattered anymore.
He had a home now.
And here's chapter 10. It's the longest chapter so far, but I wanted to get the Christmas section done.
I was really in two minds about the guardianship thing, it was always going to happen but I didn't know whether to do it now, at Christmas, or have Harry come to the Greengrass' for Easter and they'd just fully decorated his room while he'd been gone, but as I was writing it it started to make more sense to do it now, especially after Marie's talk with Dumbledore and Snape - at that point, she was already thinking of Harry as her kid, which might seem fast but tbh the Weasley's kind of were in canon so I don't care.
The Dumbledore scene - I can already see the reviews telling me it is OOC for him to tell Marie everything, but, as it says in the chapter, he has his reasons (which means I do and they'll become apparent later)
The Marie and Snape scene has been my favourite scene to write of this entire thing so far. Do you think Snape will listen to her?
And my god it was hard to think of what gifts they'd all buy each other, I'm probably going to skip that going forward because it won't be as important after the first time.
I think Astoria might be my favourite character to write lines and stuff for. Just as a bit of information, Astoria is 10 here, but her birthday is August 2nd so she'll be going to Hogwarts for the next school year. What house do you think she'll end up in? I mean, I already know which one it is, but take a guess anyway.
And yeah, that's Hedwig, I have no idea if she'll be called that but I'm leaning towards probably not.
As always, thank you all for following, favouriting and reviewing, I started this story for myself and my own enjoyment writing it but the support from you all just makes me want to get chapters out for you even more.
Enjoy.