Chapter 16: Fallout Part 4. Settling In and the Final Days of Summer.
Harry dodged the swipe from Astoria once more. She couldn't catch him, he was much too quick and sure on his feet. Harry stuck his tongue out and with a quick step-step, ruffled Astoria's hair again. Astoria growled in frustration, choosing to go with a ranged approach now and throwing the first pillow she could reach at the cheeky boy.
"That'll teach you to tease me!" Harry taunted, as he knocked the pillow out of the air with one of his own. Astoria threw another and it too was blocked. Harry idly doubted that this is what the Hufflepuffs had intended when they gifted the pillows and blankets to him but he couldn't deny the fun he was having.
"Haha!" Harry cheered as yet another pillow was blocked. It was a ploy though and in the moment that he had lost vision of the girl she had ducked behind the couch to sneak around and attack from a new direction. Harry grunted as the pillow smacked his face and he stumbled slightly. He bumped into a potted plant on an end table and it fell to the floor with a crash, breaking. Astoria laughed at her triumph and her assault doubled. Harry dodged and parried, throwing back pillows of his own in an all out war with the young girl. Both of them were laughing when Daphne stepped into the room.
"What in Merlin's name is going on in here? Stop it this instant!" Daphne's cool and commanding voice cut through the boisterous activity and Harry and Astoria both froze. Harry was standing on the couch, having chosen the higher ground to try and break Astoria's defenses from where she had hastily built a pillow fort behind one of the armchairs. Dirt was everywhere from the broken potted plant and not a single pillow was where it had started.
Daphne cocked an eyebrow at Harry and Astoria, sending a 'you know better than this' look that was not misunderstood. "Dolly! Dobby!"
The two Elves popped into the room and gasped at the mess. "I order you NOT to clean this up. Harry and Astoria felt fit to make this mess so they can clean it up, with no magical assistance. Am I understood?"
Daphne was clearly talking to the Elves but the message was directed to Harry and Astoria. Behave yourselves like the Lord and young lady that you are, or face my wrath. Harry gulped. He knew he could override the order. But the sharp look that Daphne was sending him had an almost 'Try your luck, Potter' vibe that he picked up loud and clear. Daphne waited for the Elves to nod their heads at the order when it was clear Harry wasn't going to fight it. Then she walked out of the room. Harry climbed down from the couch and started to put the pillows back in order. Astoria broke out from under her pillow fort and went to help him.
Harry placed a pillow onto the armchair. Did it go there? Maybe.
Everything was silent until Astoria hit Harry over the head with a pillow, saying in a hushed tone "Look what you did, stupid"
"Stupid?" Harry hit her back with a pillow he had been about to put on one of the couch, replying in the same tone "You started it!"
Astoria hit him again, "No I didn't! You did"
"Stop that!" Daphne's voice echoed down the stairs. How had she known?
Astoria and Harry called a truce and started sweeping up the dirt from the potted plant.
***Break***
Cornelius Fudge was a proud man. Not too smart, kind of politically savvy, honestly a bit of a pushover if the bribe was right, but proud. So when the Special Edition of the Daily Prophet made it onto his desk he was rightfully proud. After Harry's Press Conference Cornelius had seen reports of the boy all over the various news outlets. Everyone wanted a piece of the boy. Requests for interviews had been ignored. Attempts to visit the boy's home had been thwarted. Nothing seemed able to bring the boy out into the public's eye. Then the boy went and did this. Challenged a Lord of the Wizengamot, a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and won in such a spectacular way.
Cornelius was supposed to be the one, dammit. The one who took young Harry under his wing, confidante and mentor. Instead the boy amazed Wizarding Britain with dazzling skill and selfless chivalry. Who didn't love the story of a young Hero standing up for good? Lord Greengrass had blundered when the man had made such a public spectacle. And on one of Diagon Alley's most crowded days. The boy, the victor, had shown the magical citizens exactly what they wanted out of the Boy-Who-Lived. A Hero of Justice. The Iron Mage. So Cornelius had commissioned Rita Skeeter to put out a Special Edition of the Prophet. The woman's talents for taking what would have been a glorious moment for Harry Potter and tarnishing it were incredible. The pudgy man had thought that that would be enough to draw Harry out, pleading for Cornelius to make it right. But no, it had not.
***Break***
Harry led the girl's out the front door, finally giving them the grand tour. They had seen bits and pieces but Harry wanted them to know where they were living now and what sort of place Potter Manor truly was.. He decided to start outside.
"There's the fountain, the Gryphon is a symbol for House Potter featured on the Coat of Arms. The hedges have some benches throughout, and are holly bushes so they bloom in spring and early summer if you want to walk the gardens at any point. The 14 marble pillars are in homage to the past generations since the Potter family was formed." Astoria took a moment to stick her hand in the fountain water, the sparkling spray surprisingly cold. She rushed back as Harry took them to the left and around the House.
"Over here is the Quidditch Pitch, my personal indulgence. Daphne you've already seen it but I'm not sure how much flying you do Astoria" Harry prompted the younger girl, who looked away for a moment.
"I've never been on a broom honestly…" She lamented the lost opportunities her upbringing and sickness brought onto her. Harry glanced at Daphne who declined to comment but was looking at her sister with a sad look.
"Well, if you're up for it, I'm sure we can find time for a lesson or two. There's also the Flying Class for first years that should let you know whether you enjoy it or not" Harry said casually as he walked.
Astoria gasped and her head whipped around to look at him, "You'd let me fly?" she asked in disbelief.
"Sure, why not?" Harry asked, confused.
"I… I don't know" Astoria responded lamely, and looked down again. Harry hand patted her on the shoulder in understanding and they continued walking. Harry picked up where he left off.
"The shed there has some Nimbus 2001s, but if you're looking to try out flying we can pick up a Cleansweep or an easier model for first-timers when we go to Diagon." Harry ignored Astoria's look of surprise at the idea of Harry buying her a broom, instead bringing them around to the back of the house. Here he stopped and looked over his grounds. Man, he loved this place.
He took a deep breath of the fresh air. It was around 5 PM, so the day was a little later but the air was cooling down nicely and some stubborn summer flowers were throwing their scent into the light wind. "Down the way there is my Forge and Tannery"
At this, both girls were confused. Daphne had noted the presence of the buildings during the party but hadn't gone to observe what they were at any point and Harry hadn't bothered to tell anyone. The statement needed a comment though, and it came from Astoria, "Why do you have a Forge and what is a Tannery?"
Harry chuckled, knowing that his hobbies probably looked strange to most wizards and witches. "I have them both because it's fun, I enjoy them. And a Tannery is used to treat animal hides and turn it into leather."
Astoria looked at him like he was crazy. Forging was fun? Every story book she had read that had a forge usually involved the blacksmith being this big, burly, brute who had crazy strength from the strenuous activity. No book described it as fun. Daphne too, had a look in her eyes. Her mind was on the arms that had wrapped around her earlier. Was blacksmithing what had given Harry such definition in his arms?
Deciding to press on Harry continued walking, "Down there is the dock. Do try to be safe if you go swimming, get Dobby or Dolly to keep an eye out. The boat there is the Jet" The name they had given the boat during the birthday party had stuck and Harry had had it painted onto the side as if the small boat was some sort of fancy vessel, "If you take it out onto the water, just be sure to tie it back up when you're done or get Dobby to help you."
"Over there is my mechanic's shed" Harry looked at the building critically. It was a hideous pink color. Damn it Dobby.
"Why is it pink? And what is a mechnick." Astoria asked as she took in the, admittedly ugly, building.
Harry sighed. He knew why it was pink. Because Dobby decided that having Daphne walk in on him was not enough payback for kicking the Elf out of the kitchen. Harry knew he should have specified the color when he had told Dobby to paint it.
"It's pink because Dobby thinks he's a funny Elf who is BANNED FROM THE KITCHEN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE" Harry yelled to the house. There was a faint cry of outrage from inside.
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head and praying for the patience to put up with Dobby sometimes. Astoria giggled at the image.
"Anyways, pink travesty put aside for now. A mechanic is a term for a Muggle who fixes or maintains Muggle machinery" Harry said, using completely foreign words for the two girls.
"Mah-Sheen-ary" Astoria tried out the weird word. "What's that?"
Deciding that the best way to teach them was to show them. He still had a work-in-progress project in there anyways "I'll show you. Come on"
They walked to the shed where Harry pulled a key out of thin air and opened the padlock. The sliding door was pushed, and revealed… a big lump of metal. Or at least that's what it looked like to Daphne and Astoria.
"What the heck is that thing?" Astoria asked as she walked up to it. It was larger than her upper body, suspended by chains, and had a staggering amount of pieces to look at, each one having some unknown and alien purpose.
"That is an engine. It uses petrol to propel vehicles for muggles. I want to tune it up and try out different ways for charms to be applied to it." Harry said, looking at the engine. It had been one of his earlier purchases but he hadn't yet had a chance to do much with it. Maybe next summer.
"It uses a pet troll? How?" Again Astoria's inquisitive nature showed itself. She was learning so much! To think Muggles used Trolls for transportation! How fascinating.
Harry knew if he kept talking about it, admittedly not knowing much himself, the talk could last for hours with Astoria's penchant for questions. Instead he stepped over to the workbench and grabbed 2 books. One was a manual for the engine, showing the construction and how the pieces fit together. The other was a dictionary of sorts that explained some of the terminology of mechanical work. He flipped through the dictionary and found petrol before handing the open book as well as the other book underneath to Astoria who immediately started reading while they walked. Daphne smiled at Harry, understanding at sometimes being unable to keep up with Astoria's curiosity was apparent on the older girl's face.
"You read those, and we can talk more about it later. Let's head inside though. We still need to pick what rooms you 2 want." Harry said as he realized that despite being in the home for over 24 hours the 2 girls had still not actually 'moved in'.
***Break***
"This one! This one!" Astoria cried out. She had run up and down the hallway looking at all the rooms before coming to one at the far end of the house, next to Harry's own Master Bedroom. It was different from the rest, though each room was a little unique in the construction, but this one was immediately her favorite. The windows were large and dominated the walls, giving the room a bright natural lighting. The wall opposite the door was also curved so it afforded a gorgeous view of the lake and quidditch pitch as well as the streams in the distance.
Daphne stepped into the room at her sister's cry and was immediately jealous. Not in a way that would have made the older girl try and stop her sister from having the room but because she had to admit the view was quite nice. Harry nodded, he could see why the girl wanted the room. It didn't stand up to his Master Bedroom but it was larger than most of the other rooms.
"Great. Dolly! Dobby! Let's get Astoria's clothes and things set up in the room. Give the room a good once over, and" Harry turned to the girl who was almost pressing her face into the glass of the windows "What color do you want?"
Astoria turned to Harry. "Color? What do you mean?"
Harry was reminded of the Greengrass manor. Everything had been white. Every single wall. Did that mean that even the rooms upstairs were white? He was confused, but Daphne interjected, "Father always said that color was a distraction. He firmly maintained that the rooms remain white"
What? Harry thought to himself. No paint? No personalization? That certainly fit the image Harry had of the man. He turned to Astoria suddenly understanding. All of his guest bedrooms were white as well, along with all of the rooms the girl had seen so far, having no real need for anything else since they were impersonal and Harry hadn't felt the need yet. But now this room was Astoria's and would therefore be a reflection of the girl but she obviously didn't understand that.
"Come on, I want to show you something" Harry again chose the showing over the teaching route. He stepped out of the room and opened the door to his left, to his own room. Daphne blushed slightly, remembering the sight from that morning. It went unnoticed. Astoria bounded after him, clearly curious.
"Oh wow!" Astoria cry came, and drew Daphne into the Master Bedroom as well.
The room was large, larger even than Astoria's chosen one. It was dimmer, with less windows, but it was painted a warm crimson color with thin gold stripes. Forever the Gryffindor Daphne thought to herself. The bedspread of the large 4 poster bed was a thick comforter that was also red and gold. The carpet was plusher than the carpet in the hallway, and Daphne probably would have wanted to dig her toes into it if she wasn't wearing proper house slippers.
"This is so cool!" Astoria noted the large terrarium where Kijani was basking under a glowing red rune. The terrarium was a 300 gallon tank set into the wall and was filled with shrubbery and branches for the young Boomslang to move around in. Harry had offered for the snake to have free reign of the yard but the Boomslang had enjoyed the comfort given to him by having his own environment away from pesky birds of prey.
"Do you like snakes?" Harry asked as he stepped up to join the girl. There was a slot on the wall where Harry could reach in when he wanted to and he pulled Kijani out, the snake giving only a small protest to Harry at being disturbed from his basking. Harry held the snake up and rubbed him under the chin the way Kijani liked as an apology.
"I don't know, I've never held one," Astoria admitted, looking at the snake warily. Daphne almost protested at Harry's clear intention to hand her sister an extremely venomous snake before reminding herself that Harry could talk to the animals and wouldn't let anything happen to Astoria. His next words reflected that.
"Do you want to hold him? He won't bite. Also he says that you have really pretty hair" Harry softly stroked the snake's scales.
"You can speak to snakes?" Astoria asked, wondering what that was like.
"You didn't know? Yes, I'm a Parseltongue. Kijani here is my familiar" Harry's hands danced through the air as he let Kijani slither through them, the act a practiced dance with the 2.
"Sure, I'll hold him" Astoria said once her courage built up enough to try. Harry helped her hold the now 2 foot snake properly and wrapped the tail lightly around the girl's wrist, taking care both for Astoria's and Kijani's sake.
"Wow…" Astoria breathed as she observed the snake up close. Kijani's scales looked green and black at first glance but there was just a hint of blue around the edges. "You're so pretty"
Kijani preened under the praise, and wiggled slightly making the girl jump a bit. Carefully, Astoria's fingers ran down the snakes spine, feeling the scales. "Wow…" Astoria said once more at how surprisingly soft the scales were.
After a moment, she handed the snake back to Harry who put Kijani back under the Heat rune. The snake curled up almost instantly and resumed the basking that they had interrupted.
"Can you thank him for me?" Astoria asked, a little curious what Parseltongue sounded like.
"You sure? I've been told that Parseltongue can sound a bit… unsettling" Harry warned her. She nodded.
Harry's hissing still made Astoria jump a bit, but it was also very fascinating. "Neat!" she exclaimed.
Harry grinned in response and then gestured around the room, "So this is my room, obviously. I chose red and gold because Gryffindors rule and" Harry made Daphne jump as well by nudging the quiet girl with his foot, "Slytherins drool."
"Slytherin is the better house and you know it," Daphne responded coolly.
"In your dreams." Harry joked before continuing, missing Astoria's smile at the exchange, "Now, you can choose any colors you want for your rooms. Just try to be reasonable or Dobby might paint it something else behind your back"
Both girls this time giggled at the reminder of the pink shed before Astoria finally decided, "Blue… and… purple."
"Blue and purple, huh? I think we can work with that." Harry nodded to Dobby who popped away.
They walked out of the room and Daphne turned left, to the room opposite Astoria's. The room had a bit more lighting, and Daphne cast a critical eye around. She was tempted by the room, as it was close to Astoria's and also, she admitted only to herself, Harry's. East facing like she preferred, but not too many windows. It would do.
"I'll take this one" Daphne stated, walking further into it. The closet was an okay size when Daphne walked into it but she would have preferred bigger. Harry must have noticed her expression because he stepped into the admittedly small room with her.
Daphne's eyes got huge, he was so close! But Harry didn't seem to notice as his wand waved around and the room expanded a few feet.
Charms Skill has increased! It is now 57!
Harry turned to Daphne, only just now realizing they were about a foot apart. He cleared his throat and ignored the faint vanilla of Daphne's perfume. "Is that big enough? You looked like you weren't happy with it"
Daphne used the extra room to take a small step back, and shot a warning look at Astoria who was peeking into the closet with a Chesire cat grin.
"Maybe 3 more feet that way. And another foot this way" Daphne indicated, and Harry's wand waved confidently in the air. Daphne was always impressed with how Harry looked when he cast, like he was absolutely sure what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it. The room expanded once more and with a little more tweaking they got it to where Daphne wanted it.
"Me next!" Astoria grabbed Harry by the hand and pulled the boy into her room, where she only too happily squeezed into her own closet with him. Astoria couldn't let Daphne have all the fun, now could she?
***Break***
Harry led them back downstairs to finish up the tour of the house, showing an excited Astoria the pool. It took both Harry and Daphne a full minute to convince the girl, who didn't even know how to swim, not to jump into the water fully clothed. From there it was Daphne's turn to be interested as they inspected the Loom room, another area of his house that Harry had spent far too little time in in favor of other things. Daphne, who counted cross-stitching as a genuine hobby, was intrigued by the idea of more serious threadwork and promised to herself to come back to the room and some point and inspect it more closely.
Then they went into the basement that Daphne had no idea was even part of the house, and checked out the Dueling Room.
"Oooo" Astoria said as she looked around. The room was maybe 40 feet, with windows alongside the wall. Harry had expanded the room a lot once his Charm Skill allowed for the spell, and had added a small section to the room where a training dummy resided next to a wall of wooden practice swords for Harry to use.
"This place is neat. You practice spells here?" Astoria asked from where she was waving around one of the wooden swords. Daphne plucked the sword from the girl's hands, fearing injury, and Astoria pouted.
"Of course. That wall, there with the targets, is charmed to absorb spells and feed the wards, as long as I don't use anything too powerful." Harry walked around the room, thinking of Madeline who knew that Harry was heading off to boarding school soon. He was going to miss their morning runs during term.
"Can I see?" Astoria asked, curious. She hadn't seen much magic yet in her life, typically only the spells involved in her treatment along with minor stuff her father had done in his daily life.
Harry debated for a moment before shrugging, deciding there was no harm in it. "Sure. You two stand there."
Daphne was interested as well, and joined Astoria in the spot that Harry had directed them to. Harry took a deep breath, wand in hand. He set the targets to move, wowing Astoria once more, before settling into his preferred stance. Then like a pouncing lion Harry burst into movement, deciding to go all out which he hadn't had a chance to since the duel and practically doubling his Dueling Skill. Impedimenta, Expelliarmus, Diffindo, Flipendo, Incendio, Aquamenti, every spell that Harry had in his arsenal, minus the Dark ones, was thrown from Harry's wand with terrifying speed. And the targets glowed gold, as they were charmed to do when the bull's eye was hit. Getting swept up in the moment, thrilled by his own progress, Harry wandlessly summoned one of the wooden swords from the wall, catching it with ease. Harry whipped the sword through the air striking at imagined enemies as he took confident steps down the platform toward the wall, dance-like in his movements and wand still firing spells. Both hands were a blur of independent yet coordinated movement until finally Harry reached the end of the platform where he whisked the wand away with a thought, brought the sword over his head with both hands, and threw it end over end. The sword whistled through the air as Harry hopped off the end of the platform. Despite being a wooden sword he had thrown it with all of his considerable might and watched, satisfied, as it embedded itself in the center of the furthest target.
Harry let out a sigh of satisfaction, grinning to himself at how far he had come, and turned towards the girls. Astoria was open-mouthed staring at Harry. Daphne was more proper than that but still was wide-eyed and impressed. Harry was definitely a force to be reckoned with and it was clear why her father had lost to the young Lord.
"That was bloody wicked!" Astoria laughed.
"Tori! Language!" Daphne chided, but couldn't deny the truth of Astoria's words.
Harry grinned confidently as he walked up to them, not even winded Daphne noted. "Thank you Astoria"
Daphne shot Harry a warning look at indulging improper language and was shocked when the boy stuck his tongue out at her, still high on endorphins from his exertion. Astoria giggled and stepped next to Harry and also stuck her tongue out.
Scoffing at their improper behavior, she walked gracefully from the room nose in the air. Harry and Astoria discretely shared a high five and followed the older girl. They checked out the Potion Lab next, the only other room in the basement besides the wine-cellar neither of which interested the girls much.
***Break***
The trio had eaten a wonderful dinner after the tour, prepared by Harry much to Dobby's chagrin who couldn't even enter the kitchen with Harry's ban order in place. Harry had chosen to go with a roast, with baked potatoes and asparagus and a fresh salad with a raspberry vinaigrette Harry whipped up easily. They had all retired to their rooms which were beginning to show signs of personality from them all, Daphne going with a green and silver combination in homage to Slytherin and to annoy Harry, just a bit.
Now they were once again in the breakfast nook watching Harry goof off in the kitchen. Astoria laughed and Daphne smiled faintly at Harry who was dazzling them by juggling eggs. Badly. Luckily he was doing it over the flat top so would just vanish the shell when he missed one. The sizzling eggs were accompanying toast, bacon, and a heavy helping of cheese. Those sandwiches for Harry and Astoria, the girl having a much bigger appetite than her small frame let on. For Daphne Harry flipped a crepe skillfully, which he then filled with a light coating of cream cheese and blueberries, strawberries, and rolled up. Over the top and at Daphne's nod of permission he did a light dusting of powdered sugar.
Astoria loved Harry's cooking, so different from what she was used to. She had chosen breakfast sandwiches because that was what Dolly always made for her, but Harry's were sooo much better. Sorry Dolly. Balto snacked happily on his breakfast, Harry having made the dog some pancakes with more dog-friendly ingredients.
Today was the day, Astoria thought to herself. They were going to Diagon Alley just after breakfast. Harry and Daphne had chosen the earlier hour in the hopes that the Alley wouldn't be quite so crowded. They all finished up their respective breakfasts and Harry let Balto out into the backyard where he had Dobby working diligently on a doghouse. The pooch was well-trained enough to not run away, and his wards ensured that nothing the dog couldn't handle would make its way onto the grounds. Astoria gave Balto a big kiss on the happy dog's forehead before letting Balto bolt towards the lake. Water! They both watched just long enough to laugh as Balto took a running jump off of the dock and made a loud splash.
***Break***
Astoria looked around in wonder. There was so much to see! So many people! Noises, smells, new and foreign sights. All of it battled to win the girl's attention and it was only Daphne's firm grip of her hand that kept the fascinated girl from running off.
"Where to first? Robes? Wands? Potions materials?" Harry asked as his eyes looked around for danger or other worrisome things. The Alley wasn't packed, but it was busy and it was also his first public appearance since the duel.
"Robes, I should think," Daphne said. It was customary to leave the wand for last and Tori deserved the full observance of the traditional First Year Diagon trip.
Harry nodded and led them through the crowd. Daphne kept close behind with Astoria, so as not to get bumped into or separated. They soon made it to Twilfitt and Tattings and stepped inside. Daphne looked around both quizzically and worriedly, hand on her coin purse. She had thought they were going to Madam Malkin's, and worried at the budget increase.
Harry talked for a moment with Matron Twilfitt and soon Astoria was up on the small stage in front of the mirrors. Harry then walked over to Daphne who had her coin purse out and was counting. The girl had a frustrated look on her face when Harry's hand was gently placed on top of her own.
"Daphne." Was all Harry said, and she looked up slightly angry.
"I don't have enough for this, why aren't we at Madam Malkin's?" Daphne hissed at him, embarrassed at herself.
"You're not paying," Harry said gently.
"What? I always pay for my and Astoria's clothes." Daphne said, confused. Then it hit her who she was with. "Oh…"
Harry nodded at the girl, who had forgotten that Harry was now their Head of House. He was also very clearly not Lord Greengrass, who had made Daphne spend her mother's inheritance her entire young life in an attempt to run the money out and make Daphne even more beholden to the man. It was an unfamiliar feeling, being provided for financially, and the kindness of the gesture warred against Daphne's fierce independence.
"But…" Daphne started to say.
"You're not paying." Harry repeated, "And that's just all there is to it."
Daphne nodded. Then she noticed Harry's hand which was still on Daphne's own and pulled her's away, clearing her throat. If she wasn't going to pay she was going to at least help the girl choose the best cuts. Daphne walked away to join Astoria, hiding her slight blush at her hand's lingering warmth from Harry's contact. Harry shook his head, and walked over as well.
***Break***
With Astoria now outfitted with a few school robes, as well as a few new things the girl had picked out when Harry had let her have free reign in the store, they walked to Flourish and Blott's and the first sign of trouble in the day.
It was as they were breaking through a large cluster of people, that Harry saw them. Oiled, blonde hair. Matching sneers at being surrounded by peasants and filth. Lucius and Draco Malfoy made their disdain for the mundanes around them clear. Harry audibly groaned at the sight of them, but prayed that his new hair would still be unfamiliar enough to let them slip by. But Draco was a Slytherin, and well acquainted with his yearmates, and so did not miss the appearance of Daphne Greengrass.
"Oi! Greengrass! Didn't expect to see you so soon! I thought you'd still be stuck in Potter's bed!" Draco called out, laughing at his own joke. Lucius merely watched, eyes cold, and observed the girl that Draco had drawn attention to. Proper clothes, good posture, pleasing features. Lucius had seen her many times at the yearly galas but Lord Greengrass had declined every marriage contract Lucius has presented the man, Lucius trying to secure the girl for his Draco. Now she was soiled by the Half-Blood Potter. Worthless.
Daphne was well-used to Draco's vulgarities and aimed a disdainful, detached look at the boy, "Heir Malfoy so good to see you well. I had worried that Crabbe and Goyle had ruined you this summer, growing boys and all that"
Harry couldn't help it, he guffawed at the crude yet refined insult which drew the attention of the Malfoys. "Think something's funny do you Potter? I almost didn't recognize you with that red hair. Your little Weasley tag-alongs finally adopt you?" Draco turned his ire to his nemesis, face aflame at the words of the elder Greengrass daughter.
Astoria watched in rapt fascination, having never heard her sister use such language or innuendo before. Who was this pompous hot-head?
"That's Lord Potter to you, Heir Malfoy" Harry said clearly, any humor he had from Daphne's insult of the boy long gone once Draco insulted the Weasleys.
"Oh? Lord Potter? Greengrass has you trained well, I see. My apologies, Lord Potter" Draco dipped into a low, mocking bow to match his tone.
Lucius took the moment to chime in with a greeting, his upbringing making his greeting and accompanying miniscule bow short and crisp but his disdain was still obvious. "Lord Potter, Heir Greengrass."
In the face of Lucius' propriety Harry took a small bow, and Daphne a curtsy. They faced off for a moment, a small crowd gathering around when people caught the name Lord Potter.
"If you'll excuse us," Harry politely said, wanting to avoid a scene, and walked toward the bookstore with Daphne and Astoria.
Draco's desire to have the last word and showboat to a crowd sparked the need to speak up once more. Laughing, the boy mocked, "Leaving so soon, Lord Potter? I was hoping you'd share some of your good fortune with the rest of us, you know, pass her around a bit"
Harry froze at the callous taunt. Pass her around a bit? In a fury, Harry whirled around. Daphne's hand settled on his arm, though, and Daphne shook her head. Draco Malfoy was hardly worth the effort.
Astoria though, had no such qualms, and walked right up to the boy before smacking Draco across the face. Furiously, Astoria pointed a finger at Draco. "You watch your mouth!"
Draco appeared shocked at being assaulted by the tiny girl. His hand held his face where her handprint slowly started showing up with a bright red. Lucius stared down at Astoria, enraged, and he started to reach down at her, punishment clear in his eyes.
Harry, however, showed up behind the girl and placed his hands on Astoria's shoulders. "Watch yourself, Lord Malfoy," he warned.
Lucius withdrew the hand. Silver eyes faced green, and a small battle of wills was fought. Lucius clearly wanted to punish Astoria for her actions, while Harry wanted to punish Draco for his words. The choices Harry was presenting for Lord Malfoy were clear. Either walk away now, or Harry would be fighting a second duel.
Forever one to favor discretion, Lucius placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Come, Draco. Our business here is done." and they walked past Harry.
Harry led Astoria over to Daphne, hands still on her shoulders as the girl shook in rage. "I don't like that brat." She said heatedly and Harry chuckled.
"Neither do I," Harry said, letting Daphne once more take charge of Astoria.
The crowd dispersed once they realized that Harry wouldn't be fighting today, and the bookstore quickly restored the girl's positive attitude as she led Daphne all over the store. She had her schoolbooks as well as a few others together in less time than Harry had thought, and Harry stopped chatting with the friendly store owner long enough to pay the man.
Malfoys were long forgotten for the girl as they left the bookstore and Harry and Daphne watched her carefully as the girl ran ahead to check out Quality Quidditch Supplies where the window was featuring, yet again, a Firebolt.
"Are you okay? Malfoy's an ass on a good day." Harry asked Daphne, who smiled at his checking in and nodded.
The sight of the broom reminded Astoria of Harry's offer to teach her, and she turned around to aim puppy-dog eyes at Harry. "Can I get one?"
Harry laughed as he walked up to Astoria with his long strides, "A Firebolt? No. Absolutely not. That's way too advanced for someone who hasn't even flown yet, not to mention expensive. I have 14 Nimbus's and 1 Firebolt and I'll let you guess which cost more. Come on, let's get you a… Cleansweep 6" Harry's arm went around the small girl's shoulders easily and he led Astoria into the store.
Daphne smiled at the wholesome exchange, walking a little faster to catch up with them and entering the store as well. She knew that Harry probably was exaggerating a bit at the price, but she appreciated that while he was willing to provide for them, even springing for nice clothes for Astoria which was a rarity for the young girl who had gotten many of Daphne's hand-me-downs, he wasn't going to be buying them every little thing they asked for. She watched Harry as the boy led Astoria around the store, details about the various models easily flowing forth at Astoria's many questions. They eventually decided on a Cleansweep 4 and a Cleansweep 7. One to learn on, one to grow into. Sturdy models, but not the nicest ones on offer.
With that they exited the broomstore and headed to the Apothecary. Harry went in alone with Astoria, as Daphne didn't want to see the place again. Harry understood and left the girl to sit on the bench outside the store.
It was here that Daphne saw her. Tracey. The girl was walking towards Daphne, headed to the Apothecary alongside her father, Lord Davis. A rush of thoughts went through Daphne's head. It took the girl but a moment to notice Daphne sitting there in front of the Apothecary and Tracey froze. Then in a rush, Tracey made her way over to Daphne.
"Daph!" Tracey cried, relieved to see her friend.
She stopped, just in front of Daphne, at Daphne's words, "Heir Davis."
Tears tickled Tracey's eyes at the polite greeting. "I see that you are in good health. That's great!" Tracey pressed on.
Daphne nodded stiffly, "Thank you. Lord Potter has been most gracious to us in his treatment of Astoria and I thus far."
Tracey nodded at the words, unsure of what to say. Lord Davis finally caught up to his daughter. "Daphne! So great to see you so well." The man started.
The bell above the door of the Apothecary tinkled, announcing the departure of Harry and Astoria. "Those beetle eyes were so gross! We have to use those?" Astoria spoke, clearly continuing a conversation they had been having inside.
Harry's chuckle died in his throat as he pulled up short at the sight of Tracey and Lord Davis. A range of emotions played over his face for a split second before settling into an easy, if slightly empty, grin. "Lord Davis, I see you are still in good health since I last saw you. Heir Davis, a pleasure" Harry bowed slightly.
Tracey's eyes watered as her best friend and ex-boyfriend stood in front of her, Daphne having risen and coming to her sister's side. The hurt was just under the surface for them but they were keeping it together. She would too. "Lord Potter, a pleasure to see you as well." She lied.
Astoria looked up at Tracey with an odd look. The young girl was remembering the trip into the Pensieve, and seeing Tracey walk out on Harry like that. But Tracey was also Astoria's closest thing to a friend besides Daphne, having interacted with the older girl on multiple occasions and even gossiping about Harry not so long ago. Astoria curtsied with Daphne politely, right foot behind her left, knees bent just so, just like Daphne had taught her.
"Astoria, so lovely to see you. You must be so excited for your First Year at Hogwarts. Lord Potter, a pleasure, I hope these 2 hadn't been too much trouble for you" Lord Davis stated, bowing to both the girls, and Harry, at their polite greeting. The father placed a comforting hand on the daughter's shoulder.
"None at all, Lord Davis. We were just on our way to pick up Astoria's wand" Harry replied evenly.
"Oh, such an exciting moment! Well I won't keep you any longer" Lord Davis politely excused them and the two groups started to walk past one another.
They almost made it, until Tracey's hand shot out and grabbed Daphne's, pulling the blonde girl around to face the brunette. Tracey's eyes were still watery but she was able to say, "I'm sorry. To both of you." She looked at Harry.
It was lame, but Tracey couldn't manage much more in the face of their proper manners. Daphne eyed the girl with an even look, before she nodded once but pulled her hand away. Tracey watched as they walked away, the tears starting to fall.
Harry tried his best to fight the urge to turn around, and prevailed. Instead he spoke to Daphne. "You don't have to treat her so. I have no intentions of bringing your friendship to an end."
Daphne regarded the Lord for just a moment as they walked, Astoria looking up at them both, "I know. But I'm not quite ready for that. We'll get our chance to talk at the School, privately" was all Daphne had to say about it.
Harry nodded and looked down in surprise as Astoria held his hand, smiling cheekily "She's stupid for letting you go. I'll be your date for the first Hogsmeade weekend if you'd like, Harry"
Harry laughed at the audacity of Astoria's joke, the laughter breaking the tension. Daphne cracked a smile at her sister's antics. Harry's hand held Astoria's as they walked.
Ollivander's wand shop was as cluttered and eerie as ever. Harry looked around when they walked in, remembering just a couple years ago when he had gotten his faithful companion, "Holly, Eleven Inches, with a Phoenix tail feather core. Nice and supple."
Astoria let out a cry of fright at the slightly raspy voice, Garrick Ollivander having once again successfully snuck up on a new customer. Daphne hadn't flinched, and neither had Harry, both having experienced the eccentricities of the man before.
"And Pine, 10 inches, with Unicorn hair. Rigid, but with a surprising flexibility" This Ollivander aimed at Daphne, Harry noting the interesting combination.
"Good to see your memory is as sharp as ever, Mr. Ollivander" Harry said to the man.
"Quite right. The little details escape me sometimes but I remember every wand I've ever created, as you know Mr. Potter. And this must be the younger Greengrass, hello dear" Ollivander walked through the shelves of his shop, Astoria already trying to swat away the measuring tape that was dancing around her.
And thus began Garrick Ollivander's greatest love in life, of finding the wand that best suited the witch or wizard. He pulled a few boxes off the bottom rack and walked over to the counter. Astoria waved them around for just a moment each, with varying results.
"Hmm" Ollivander chose some from the far racks, top shelf. Maybe something a bit older? A few more boxes were discarded almost immediately after Astoria touched them.
Unpredictable, and challenging, something that Ollivander loved in a customer. Perhaps something with a bit more personality. He went to the back of his shop and came back with only a single box.
"Try this one." Ollivander said, and presented the wand to the girl.
Astoria's fingers gripped the wand and BANG Ollivander was blasted backwards, crashing through a shelf. Harry and Daphne looked on, aghast. Harry moved to help the man but stopped when Ollivander started laughing.
"I think the wand has chosen. That's the one for you, no doubt about it." The old man stood up and dusted himself off as if nothing ever happened. After a wave of his wand it looked like nothing had.
"Dogwood, 12 and a half inches, with Dragon Heart-string. Snappy in its flexibility. A feisty wand, to be sure." Ollivander stepped up to the counter and Harry dropped the 7 Galleons into his hand. "Look out for that one, Mr. Potter, she's going to be a handful"
As they left Harry wondered if Ollivander meant the wand, or Astoria.
***Break***
Cornelius Fudge Apparrated into Diagon. Lucius had said the boy was here, Cornelius just hoped he was in time. He ignored the waves from some of his supporters, searching around. There!
"Mr. Potter! Hello!" Cornelius huffed a bit, having almost jogged over to the trio he saw leaving the wand shop.
"Ah, Minister. Please, there was no need to rush." Harry asked, slipping easily into a jovial mood. "Allow me to introduce the Heiress Greengrass and her younger sister Astoria"
Both the girls curtsied politely at the still slightly out of breath man. Cornelius stood up straight and tipped his hat to them all, "A pleasure, girls, as always. Will I be seeing you both this year at the gala?"
"Oh, you've met before?" Harry cut in, surprised.
"Of course. Though Astoria, here, only once. Daphne has been a frequent attendee of our Christmas balls for years now." Cornelius explained.
"I am not sure what our plans will be this year, Minister. We are still dealing with some personal matters that may affect our attendance this year" Daphne said to the man, not sure of Harry's viewpoint on the social event.
"Of course, of course. How rude of me. Now, tell me Astoria, are you excited for your upcoming first year? I know I was when I first got my wand" Cornelius spoke to Astoria, almost… babying the girl, Harry noticed.
That was what made Harry aware of what the politician was doing. The man was subtly asking how the daughters were taking the results of Harry's new Wardship of them both, and prying for details of how he could best use it. Harry's mood darkened. And Harry couldn't really step in because it would look, oh so subtly, like he was asking for the Minister's help.
Diplomacy Skill has increased! It is now 28!
Sense Intention Skill has increased! It is now 33!
Shrewd, Mr. Fudge, Harry told himself. But 2 could play that game, and like a mask had been pulled onto his face Harry looked as if something had just dawned on him and he cut into the small talk, "Oh! Minister, I've been meaning to ask. Since the term is so close and I've had such a busy summer, I've been unable to attend any Wizengamot meetings. Were you ever able to convene the Wizengamot about the Order of Merlin?"
Harry remembered Arthur's words about Fudge's annoyance about Harry demanding Ron Weasley receive any ward Harry received. Cornelius grimaced for a moment but responded jovially, "Yes, in fact I have! The ceremony for you and Ronald is set to happen this Friday, just before you all set off to Hogwarts. Thanks for reminding me!"
"Donald, you mean." Harry responded with a smile.
Lying Skill has increased! It is now 13!
"Yes, yes Donald sorry. Arthur has so many boys it's hard to keep up sometimes" Cornelius laughed.
"So true. But I must ask, was there something that you needed? You rushed over here so quickly I thought something had arisen. If not, we really must be going." Harry decided to hurry this along.
Etiquette Skill has increased! It is now 35!
Cornelius thumbed his bowler in annoyance at the dismissal. Harry might as well have said 'either come up with another excuse to keep talking or go away'. There wasn't anything Cornelius could come up with that would keep them there any longer so he said his goodbyes, almost stomping on his way back to the Apparition point.
"Well played, Lord Potter, thank you for that" Daphne said, having grown tired of the man almost as soon as he had said hello.
Harry grinned, knowing that he had played Fudge but had slipped nothing by the astute girl. They walked together to the Leaky to use the Floo as the Portkey point was in the same direction as the still stomping Cornelius Fudge.
***Break***
Astoria wanted to throw up, but her close proximity to Harry gave her the strength to hold it in. The young girl had travelled by Floo less times than she had fingers and could honestly say that she hated the method. Portkey's weren't great but they were much better than the dizzying spinning of Floo Travel. Harry had luckily offered to ride with her, when in the Leaky the girl admitted that she didn't have much experience with the method of travel. So the girl had happily accepted Harry's arms around her, until she remembered that the travel made her extremely nauseous.
It came to an end just in time, and once in the sitting room Astoria dashed to the bathroom. Daphne flared out of the fireplace to a confused Harry who was trying to figure out why Astoria had run off. Daphne helpfully supplied the reason, "Floo Travel makes Tori puke. You're lucky you didn't get any on you, I've already learned my lesson."
Harry glared at the girl as she sassily walked by, the picture of elegance, "Well you could have warned me"
Daphne headed upstairs and called back, "But where would the fun be in that, Milord?"