A few days later was 24th December and the Greengrass Yule dinner. It was rather clear that Harry was nervous, something that Sirius was enjoying teasing him about very much. They were to leave for Greengrass manor at seven and Harry and Sirius were waiting in the living room for the women to finish getting ready.
"What are you so nervous about pup?" Sirius asked.
"Well this is my first time actually having to be Lord Potter in the presence of other Lords. I just don't want to make any mistakes." Harry replied.
"I'm sure you will be fine. Besides, you really only need to be Lord Potter for the introductions. After that you can be Harry again." Sirius said trying to relax his godson.
"Yeah I suppose you're right." Harry said with a half smile.
"Well don't you two look handsome." Came Amelia's voice from the door of the lounge they were sitting in. Harry was wearing smart black dress robes with silver accents and the Potter crest in silver on the right of his chest, a dark green dress shirt with a black tie and silver waistcoat. Sirius was dressed very similarly with the same dress robes however with the Black crest and accents in gold. He wore a plain white dress shirt with a burgundy tie and waistcoat. Both of them having everything made out of extremely expensive acromantula silk.
"Thank you my dear, you and Susan look rather fine yourselves." Sirius replied. Amelia was wearing a long, flowing dress in the same burgundy as Sirius' tie and waistcoat, while Susan was wearing a similar looking dress in a dark blue.
"Thank you Sirius, I need to enjoy dressing up while I can, I won't be able to fit into this dress in a few months." Amelia said with a smile as the four of them walked to the entrance hall of Black manor, towards the fireplace.
"You look like you're trying to impress someone Harry." Amelia said with a little smirk.
"I have no idea what you're talking about Amy." Harry replied seriously. At this, Sirius and Amelia shared a knowing look but didn't say anything else.
After casting a 'tempus' Sirius turned to them, "Right, that's seven, let's go." He grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it in calling out "Greengrass manor" causing the fire to flash green and the group walked into the flames.
As they family emerged from the fireplace in Greengrass manor, they were met by Cyrus Greengrass dressed in a smart set of dress robes. He
"Ah Sirius, right on time." He said shaking his hand, "And a pleasure to see you as always Amelia." He continued kissing her hand.
"Good evening Cyrus." Amelia replied as Sirius smiled.
"My family are in the main living room with the Longbottoms and the Granger family. Rather nice muggles I must say." Cyrus said to the group. "Millie here will escort you." He finished gesturing to a house elf stood off to the side.
"Thank you Cyrus." Sirius replied as he began to walk.
"Good evening Harry, good evening Susan. Thank you very much for coming. I know Daphne and Tori will appreciate having a few more people their own age here tonight." He said to the two.
"Thank you for the invitation sir." Susan said.
"Please call me Cyrus dear. Calling me sir makes me feel ever so old." He said with a chuckle. Susan nodded and smiled at this.
"I must say it's nice to have a little more company at Yule." Harry said.
"I fully agree Harry, now I'm afraid you must excuse me as the others will be arriving shortly." Cyrus smiled and nodded as Harry and Susan followed Sirius and Amelia to the living room.
As they walked into the living room, they saw a nervous looking Neville, probably due to the fact he was in a room surrounded with so many women. Neville was accompanied by his grandmother. From what Sirius had told him, Augusta Longbottom was someone you didn't trifle with. She was a feared member of the Wizengamot, known for her powerful speeches. Neville had mentioned that she was very firm but also protective of her family, especially since the incapacitation of her son and daughter-in-law.
Although her choice in headwear was rather odd.
Across from them was the Grangers, Hermione had mentioned that both of her parents were dentists and were relatively well off (although they were most likely the least wealthy family to be in attendance that evening). Hermione was a mix of her parents, her mother had very similar looking hair and body frame as Hermione, while she got a lot of her facial features, as well as her eyes from her father. They were sat talking amiably with Augusta Longbottom and Elizabeth Greengrass. While the children were having a conversation of their own.
Elizabeth saw them arrive and stood up and said,
"Ah good evening Sirius, Amelia so good to see you."
The adults smiled and went forward to introduce themselves to the Grangers.
"Harry, Susan, lovely to see you." Elizabeth said.
"Nice to see you too Elizabeth." Harry replied smiling.
"It's nice to be here." Susan added.
Harry then noticed Augusta Longbottom looking at him and decided to introduce himself properly.
"It's an honour to finally meet you Lady Longbottom, Lord Hadrian Potter at your service." Harry said with a small bow.
"It's nice to finally see you again Lord Potter, it has been a very long time." She said with a small smile.
"Please call me Hadrian or Harry, whichever you prefer. I understand my parents were very close to your son and daughter-in-law, I am so very sorry for what happened to them." Harry said sadly.
"Thank you Harry, seeing you now, I know your parents would have been very proud of the young man you're becoming." She replied. Harry smiled and bowed his head. Then as Susan introduced herself to Augusta, Harry moved to the Grangers.
"Mr and Mrs Granger, a pleasure to meet you. Harry Potter, I must say you have done a fine job raising Hermione, she is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met." Harry said with a smile while shaking their hands.
"Thank you Mr Potter, it is nice to meet you as well. Thank you, we are very proud of our daughter and we're glad she has made such nice friends." Mr Granger replied.
While the introductions were being made, Hermione watched on confused.
"Why's Harry acting so different than usual?" She whispered to Daphne.
"Because, at least for the start of the night he isn't just Harry. He is having to be Lord Potter and this is the way a Lord should conduct themselves, being polite and courteous to his new acquaintances." Daphne explained. "You'll see it again when Blaise and Tracey arrive." She finished. Just then Harry approached them.
"Good evening ladies and Neville. A pleasure to see you all as always." He said before kissing the hand of Daphne, Hermione and Astoria before shaking Neville's.
"I like this Harry, can we keep him and not have the other one back." Hermione stage whispered to Daphne causing both of them to giggle.
"I'm afraid not, once all introductions are completed I'm sorry to say you shall be stuck with regular Harry." Harry said with is regular half smile.
At this moment, Cyrus entered the room with the Davis and Zabinis. There was then another round of introductions.
"Lord and Lady Davis, a pleasure to meet you, Hadrian Potter, at your service." Harry said shaking Lord Davis' hand and placing kiss on the hand of Lady Davis.
"Lord Potter, a pleasure it is indeed. My name is Anthony and this is my wife Sophia. Of course you already know Tracey and this is our son Hugo." Anthony Davis finished gesturing to a boy Harry guessed to be about seven.
"Please call me Harry or Hadrian then Anthony, I must say you have raised a wonderful daughter. She has been a good friend since we started Hogwarts." Harry said eliciting proud smiles from the elder Davis'. Harry then moved over to Blaise and his mother.
"Lady Zabini, a pleasure to meet you. Hadrian Potter, at your service." Harry said kissing her hand.
"Lord Potter, please call me Rosa. Blaise has mentioned you often. He says you have been a good friend and roommate." She said smiling.
"Thank you Rosa, Blaise has also been a great friend and roommate. And please, call me Hadrian or Harry." Harry replied with a smile.
When everyone was acquainted, Millie the house elf popped in to inform everyone that dinner was ready to eat.
Hermione for some reason seemed a little angry however. "You condone slavery?" She asked incredulously to her friends.
"Not exactly Hermione." Daphne said
"But that elf just called your father master." Hermione interrupted.
"Hermione, a house elf needs a master to survive. The elf's magic comes from its master, without one, the elf would lose its magic and eventually die. It's a kind of sim biotic relationship. They use our magic to survive and so they serve us." Harry explained.
"Oh, sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that." Hermione said sounding a little abashed.
"It's alright Hermione, we all make mistakes." Susan said smiling.
The group entered the large dining room to see a long table through the middle of the room fully set for everyone. The group subconsciously split, the adults to one end of the table and the children to the other. This was so the two different age groups could talk and not have overlapping and confusing conversations. Harry was one of the last to enter the dining room and saw he'd been left the end of the table, facing all the way down to Cyrus at the other end. Needless to say, this was a little intimidating and he knew Sirius would say something about it. On one side of him was Susan and the other was Daphne. Harry could feel Cyrus' appraising eye on him, so Harry simply smiled and sat in his spot with as much confidence as he could possibly muster.
"Oh look at you at the head of the table." Susan said in a teasing voice.
"I'm only sat here because it was the only place left." Harry replied calmly.
"Yeah right, we all know you're the de facto leader of our group. It's where you belong Harry." Daphne said with a smile.
"If you say so." He replied with a smile to his friend.
As the meal progresses, the most interesting thing to Harry was seeing the interactions between the adults. Especially the ones involving the Grangers, which to his delight were all very amiable conversations. It was somewhat clear that they were nervous about their daughter being a witch and coming into this world, however, coming to this dinner appeared to reassure them that their daughter was safe and there were good people in the wizarding world.
During the meal, Harry's mind began to wander. He began thinking back to a conversation he had with some older Slytherins about Quirrell.
"He never used to have the stutter you know? Apparently he ran afoul of a clan of vampires in Albania over the summer and they caused some damage." Said a 5th year named Marcus Flint. Harry and Flint both shared a love of quidditch so got on very well. In fact Harry had already made good friends with the majority of the Slytherin quidditch team since he planned to join in second year.
"And the turban, that's new as well. I'm not sure why though." Said Montague.
"I wonder what he's hiding under it." Said Bletchley.
"Something doesn't add up." Harry said.
"What do you mean Harry?" Flint asked.
"Well, he's not really showing many of the telltale signs of being the victim of a vampire attack, also, I've seen him staring at me every so often and I don't know why. Plus, why was he in the dungeons in the first place on Halloween when the troll got in? Something about him doesn't seem right. I've got an idea to find out what though, but I'll need your help and you'll need to put aside your grievances and work with the Weasley twins to help me do it." Harry said with a sly smile.
This conversation took place just before they left for Yule and when they returned for the next term, their plan would go into effect.
Harry was shaken from his memory by Daphne saying his name.
"Harry are you even listening to me?" He heard her say.
"Sorry Daphne, got lost in my own thoughts for a minute there." He replied smiling.
"What a surprise." She said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
It was at this point when desert was served, Harry got his favourite, treacle tart. At this moment however, he heard Sirius clear his throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, there's something I would like to say." He started, causing everyone to quiet, "Firstly, I'd like to thank the Greengrass family for hosting us this evening, I think I speak for us all when I say it's been a very enjoyable meal. I'd also like to say that it's been nice to see many of you again and a pleasure to make new acquaintances. It has been far too long since I've seen my old school friends. Now then, in the last ten years, I've come to see my niece and nephew as my own children, raising them has been the best thing in my life. Now they're growing up however, things are changing. Both Amelia and I agreed that we would miss it and so we made some plans. I am proud to announce that we are expecting a child." Sirius finished with a huge grin. There were happy faces and congratulations all around after the announcement, Harry simply sat back in his chair smiling, watching everyone talk about the new revelation. Daphne however noticed this.
"I thought you'd be happy for them." She said confused.
"I'm thrilled for them, they were amazing raising me and Susan so they deserve their own child." Harry said smiling.
"Then why aren't you up there congratulating them?" She asked.
"Because they told me and Susan the other day when we got home from king's cross." Harry said with an amused grin.
"Oh, sorry." Daphne replied a little abashed.
"Don't worry about it." Harry said with a smile. "Daphne do you mind if I ask you something?" He asked.
"Sure Harry." She replied.
"What's happening with Malfoy?"
"My father said he'd never force me into a marriage with him, but Lord Malfoy just won't give up on the idea. I know he just wants to get his hands on the Greengrass business and fortune." Daphne said sadly.
"Is there nothing you can do?"
"Not really. Unless I'm already betrothed to someone else, Malfoy and his father can continue to try."
This gave Harry an interesting idea, but didn't know if it was a good idea or not.
The rest of the evening went by calmly, once everyone had congratulated Sirius and Amelia, the adults fell back into conversation. While the kids spoke about the homework they still needed to do with almost everyone asking Harry for help. Soon, one by one, the families began to leave. The Grangers were the first as they needed to floo to the leaky cauldron and then make it home from there. The next to go was Neville and his grandmother, Harry had found a definite ally in Lady Longbottom, she would be very helpful if Harry ever had any Wizengamot problems. Next to go was Blaise and his mum, followed shortly by the Davis family. Then it was just the Greengrasses and Harry and his family. Sirius and Amelia were saying their final goodbyes to their old friends as Harry and Susan both received a hug from Daphne and said goodbye to Tori. Then Harry went over to Cyrus and Elizabeth to say goodbye, however he quickly asked Cyrus if he could speak to him quickly.
"Cyrus, I've noticed over the last few months and heard from Daphne that the Malfoys are becoming a nuisance." Harry stated.
"They have indeed, Lucius can't let go of the fact I won't sign off on a marriage contract between Daphne and Draco." Cyrus replied a little irritated.
"Well Cyrus, I don't know how you will feel about it but I have a possible solution." Harry said.
"Oh really? I'm all ears Harry." Cyrus answered a little intrigued.
"Well, me and Daphne have become very good friends in the few short months we've known each other. I was thinking that depending on the state of our friendship come the summer, would it not be beneficial for all involved for a marriage contract between Daphne and myself?" Harry said very clearly and with as much confidence as he could.
"While I agree that is much better option Harry, I have no intention of pushing Daphne into a marriage she will not be happy with." Cyrus said in the hope of hearing an acceptable response from Harry.
"I wouldn't want you to Cyrus. I'm simply suggesting, when summer arrives and if we are still close friends, talk to Daphne about the idea and see what she says. I just don't want her to be harassed by Malfoy for the next six years at school." Harry replied. This made Cyrus smile.
"You know Harry, the response you just gave me gives me all the information I need. I will bring this up to Daphne in the summer and see what happens." Cyrus said.
"Very well Cyrus, in that case I believe it is time we head off. Happy Yuletide." Harry said as he shook Cyrus's hand. Harry, along with his family then left via the floo back to Black manor. Leaving everyone with a lot to think about.
The next day, Harry woke up and went for his run and had a shower before heading downstairs.
"Happy Yuletide everyone." He said as he walked into the parlour seeing Remus was also present. A chorus of replies was heard as Harry sat down to eat breakfast. After breakfast had been finished, the five of them made their way to the living room to exchange gifts. It was a great day all in all for Harry. Amelia got him a full set of dragon hide protective clothes, charmed so they would grow with him. Susan got him a new bag for school with bottomless and weightless charms placed on it. Remus gave Harry a book in rare magical creatures as he knew Harry was fascinated by them. Sirius however gave him something that he couldn't have expected.
"Harry, I probably should have given you this before you went to Hogwarts but alas here we are." Sirius handed Harry a package which he opened to find what looked like some sort of cape or cloak made out of a silky, silvery material.
"What is it Sirius?" Harry asked.
"That Harry, is something that has been passed down the generations of Potters and now is rightfully yours. That is an invisibility cloak, it was your father's, his father's and his father's before him. We got up to a lot of mischief with it at school, however, use it well and be careful Harry." Sirius explained.
"Thank you Sirius." Harry said with tears almost falling from his eyes.
'Oh this will help tremendously' Harry thought, 'you're in trouble now Quirrell'.
Meanwhile, at Greengrass manor, the family had just finished opening their gifts when Astoria noticed there was one more. She went over to look at it and see who it was for.
"Daphne, there's another one for you." She said handing the small rectangular box to her sister. Curious, Daphne tore off the wrapping to see what was very clearly a jewellery box. She opened it and gasped at what she saw. Her mother then came over, curious as to her daughter's reaction but also gasped when she saw the beautiful necklace.
It had a gold chain,. Gold strands, along with another set encrusted with six small diamonds on each, the gold and diamond strands reached out almost forming wings, in the middle was a gorgeous, large emerald, the colour of which reminded Daphne of a certain person's eyes.
Daphne noticed a small note that her mother hadn't, it read:
I know we said no gifts but I couldn't resist
Don't get mad please
Happy Yuletide
You know who
While she hated the fact Harry had clearly spent a lot of money on this, she couldn't be mad because of how beautiful the necklace was. She would just need to have a talk with Harry when they go back to school.
Sorry this one took a little longer than usual to come out. I was struggling on what I wanted to happen. Plus I've been planning ahead in the story a bit so future chapters don't take as long.
Thanks for the support, more feedback always appreciated.
Daphne's necklace since I'm bad at describing jewellery: