The sleepover at Greengrass Manor had turned into a social event. Amelia, Augusta Longbottom, the Abbotts, and Xenophilius Lovegood were invited for dinner at the manor. Once they arrived, they found that Tracey’s parents and Mrs Zabini were also there.
Amelia dressed for dinner in one of the spare bedrooms. She called Galdin to bring the presents that Harry had given. Susan was summoned to be inspected and receive her bracelets.
“Harry must have known, or he guessed. Lady Greengrass and Mrs Zabini will wear some pretty high-class jewellery. It’s a surprise that Lord and Lady Greengrass would dine en famille. Did you hear from Daphne that they were in the habit of having their guests and all the children together at dinner?”
Susan laughed. “We never talked about our home life. I think Daphne and Astoria have their meals with their parents and guests. They didn’t seem surprised.”
“Well! I’m surprised. Traditional families would have children and teenagers corralled somewhere far from the adults.” Amelia checked Susan one last time. “You’re beautiful, Susan. Let’s go to dinner.”
-ooOOoo-
Harry was introduced to Mrs Sabrina Zabini, who showed an intense interest in him. Blaise hovered nearby and kept intervening to head off his mother’s questioning Harry. She extracted some information about Harry’s banishment to Azkaban and his being tutored by the Death Eaters and Sirius Black.
Cyrus Greengrass intervened and conducted Sabrina Zabini to her place at the dinner table. Cyrus Greengrass took his place at the head of the table; Augusta Longbottom was on his right side; Tracey was seated next to Augusta Longbottom. Then the seating order was Henry Abbott, Blaise Zabini, Amelia Bones, Luna Lovegood, Jane Abbott, and Hannah Abbott, with Olivia Greengrass at the other end of the table from Cyrus. On Olivia Greengrass’ right side was Astoria Greengrass, Xenophilius Lovegood, Susan Bones, Sabrina Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, Mary Davis, Harry, and Eric Davis next to Neville, who was seated next to Cyrus Greengrass.
The seating order was fixed; Cyrus and Olivia politely guided their guests to their places. Harry could not see any sense in the way they were seated.
The first course was served. This was the beginning of a formal dinner that Harry had only read about in the etiquette book Amelia made him study. Between courses, conversations started between the guests. No one was left out. Harry started to see a pattern. Augusta Longbottom was seated next to the lord of the manor. However, she was not to exchange more than a few words with Lord Greengrass. Tracey Davis and Henry Abbott took turns to distract the Longbottom regent with questions about Wizengamot politics and traditional society. Blaise Zabini talked to Amelia Bones and was more engaged than Harry had ever seen him. Jane Abbott talked to Luna Lovegood and seemed to be keeping up with Luna’s unique brand of conversation.
Hannah was the least confident of the Alliance and was happy to be seated beside her mother. Lady Greengrass did not let her fade into the background and talked to her for the entire evening. Hannah responded happily.
On the other side of the table, Astoria Greengrass, the youngest child at the table, talked to Xenophilius Lovegood, and they seemed to have a fascinating conversation. Susan and Daphne took turns keeping Sabrina Zabini distracted.
Tracey Davis's parents sat on either side of Harry. They were both Unspeakables, and they wanted to know everything about him.
Harry managed to keep up with Neville's conversations. Cyrus Greengrass started talking to Neville about plants. He knew about Neville’s interests, and Cyrus Greengrass wanted to know more about Neville. Cyrus drew Neville out of his awed state. Despite being the heir of an ancient house, Neville was not confident about talking to one of the country's richest and most powerful men. Neville discovered that Cyrus Greengrass was an expert in herbology. That was no accident; Greengrass Potions was Europe's most successful potion supplier. The ingredients for almost every potion were plant-based.
Harry heard more than a few hints from Cyrus Greengrass that he would be interested in better commercial ties between his companies and the herb gardens on the Longbottom estates. Neville's opinion of himself and his future climbed sharply upwards. This evening was in stark contrast to the hostile doom-shrouded atmosphere at Hogwarts.
After dinner, the younger guests were shown to their rooms. Conversations were continued amongst the adults until late in the evening.
When they arrived that day, Daphne and Astoria showed the Alliance and the Escort around Greengrass Manor. The estate was on high ground, resulting in colder-than-average temperatures in December and January. The lake had frozen, but there was no snow. Before he slept that night, Harry took out his pine twig wand and held it up for several minutes. He looked out the window and nodded in a satisfied way. It was now snowing as far as he could see.
The next day dawned bright and clear. The children engaged in snowball fights before breakfast. After breakfast, Daphne and Astoria gave skating exhibitions on the lake. Lord and Lady Greengrass showed off their ice dancing routines. The magical children had not seen such muggle activities.
After lunch, a sleigh was pushed out from the back of the stables. Lord Greengrass drove the sleigh around the estate with a load of delighted children. The horse made the sleigh bells on her harness jingle.
Hannah laughed. “This is like a song my mother sings at Christmas. I’ve never heard it sung except by muggles.”
Susan shouted. “SING IT, HANNAH! You can sing. I’ve heard you.”
Hannah sang,
Jingle bells, jingle bells234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2sFrn8BZw
Jingle all the way234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfa9qusX52
Oh, what fun it is to ride234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRhHGRyjIv
In a one-horse open sleigh.
Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRiCVY6mBK
Jingle all the way234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zgaawPJSg
Oh, what fun it is to ride234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRxoqA1uVQ
In a one-horse open sleigh
Dashing through the snow234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3FfK6Ngas
In a one-horse open sleigh234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ew7oXVNHE
O'er the fields we go234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCWEKcg1Lq
Laughing all the way
Bells on Bobtail ring234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLMwTkYSjY
Making spirits bright234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnid8NJ2eS
Oh, what fun it is to sing234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5qDe4g1t1
A sleighing song tonight
Jingle bells, jingle bells234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZawgzEGa5
Jingle all the way234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHkbw7dSuY
Oh, what fun it is to ride234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo06VU5X1yA
In a one-horse open sleigh
Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9ptonAOhZ
Jingle all the way234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RJrcCqJX5
Oh, what fun it is to ride234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyY6edxWpMM
In a one-horse open sleigh.
The magical children listened and sang along with Hannah many times.
Harry approached Cyrus Greengrass while trudging back to the house after the sleigh rides.
“Neville is much more like his old self. He is much happier than I thought he would ever be. The last weeks at Hogwarts have been horrible for him. You did that, didn’t you.”
Cyrus laughed. “I might have helped.”
Harry walked on for a few seconds. “I didn’t know what to say to him. I couldn’t help him. How did you learn to do that?”
Cyrus became serious. “I have had to learn the hard way. I try to talk to people, and sometimes I can persuade them to overcome their problems. Sometimes, I can’t. I have been working on this art for thirty years. Some people call it leadership. I don’t. It’s not a skill that you can learn. Part of it might be a natural gift, but I just try to encourage people. It’s something that I do. That is all.”
Harry had another question. “What do you do? How did you get to where you are now?”
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! You don’t want much, do you, Harry? You will only be satisfied when you know all my secrets. Well done!”
Harry’s cheeks turned pink.
“You’re embarrassed! How wonderful! I have it on reliable authority that you never show emotion or feeling. I know this is because of the dreadful conditions you survived in for the last nine years. Please don’t get upset about my laughter. I am happy that I got you to show some feelings. I will answer you. You deserve an answer.”
Cyrus Greengrass watched Harry for a second and then started his story.
“When I was born, my family was well off and comfortable. We were not wealthy. My father had an ancient title given to my ancestor by the King of France. We owned farmlands which we rented out, and we had a business making potions. Greengrass Potions made simple potions using ancient methods which were well known. We had no secret formulas.
I went to school and did well at potions but was fascinated by herbology. As I learned more about potions, I realized that the better the ingredients, the better the potion. Some potion ingredients are sourced from animals, but most are plant-based.
When I graduated, I asked my father to let me work at Greengrass Potions. I had a plan. I asked to be put in charge of buying ingredients. I investigated all of our suppliers and their farming methods. I worked out who supplied the best quality product and encouraged them to grow more and improve their crops. I didn’t have any secrets. I found the people who did the best job and encouraged them to do more. Greengrass Potions' reputation for good quality grew from then on. The company grew, and we diversified.
That is the plan that I still use today. As I talked to more people, I found that they would talk to me and tell me things that they didn’t say to other people. I gradually built a network of friends who keep me informed about everything that matters.
I know I have a reputation as a spymaster. But I don’t employ spies to discover the secrets of the rich and powerful. I have friends who talk to me, and they are nearly all friends in low places. They see what is happening very clearly. If I have a secret, it is that I listen. That is it.”
Harry thought for a while. He decided to take a risk. “I make friends with little people. They tell me things that other people don’t know. I am a Legilimens, but I don’t use that on people. I use it on things like lizards. I can see their memories, and they tell me what is happening around the castle.”
There was a short silence. “Which means that you are a parseltongue.”
Harry shrugged. “Yes. Is that a problem?”
“From what Daphne has told me about you, no, it isn’t. Parseltongue is a hereditary ability; it is rare in this country but not in others. In India, for instance, parseltongue healers are respected. You may find that you have an Indian ancestor.”
-ooOOoo-
“I think you should tell him all about Quirrell and Voldemort. We haven’t seen or heard a hint about Voldemort since Fluffy finished off Quirrell. Greengrass might have contacts who can watch out for him.”
“OK, Tom, I will tell him.”
-ooOOoo-
Breakfast on the next day at Greengrass Manor was happy, and the talk around the table was bright. Harry felt someone looking at him. Luna Lovegood was sitting at the table and not joining the general chatter. Harry moved to the empty space beside her.
“Luna, is something bothering you?”
“Yes, Mage Potter. I have a message for you.”
Harry stared at Luna. He expressed his thoughts before he could stop himself.
“UH-OH!”
-ooOOoo-
The Lovegood family tree was a mysterious thing. Attempts by some family members to trace their ancestry were one-sided. Some family lines were clear and old. The Lovegoods were ancient. The paternal lines could be traced to ages before the Roman invasion of Britain.
The ancestry of the Lovegood wives was not known in wizarding genealogy. Also, there were very few daughters in Lovegood families. Luna was a rarity.
The most common stories told by the Lovegoods themselves were that Lovegood wives were fae who chose to become human after falling in love with a Lovegood man. The wives had no memories of their fae lives, and the fae created memories of their human lives before finding their husbands. Lovegood daughters had mysterious connections to the fae. The daughters could see and converse with the fae and bring messages from them.
Harry was not convinced by any of the fae stories. He thought the Lovegood wives were nearly all muggle-born, so they didn’t appear in any wizarding genealogy. However, Luna did see ‘things’ around people which she called nargles and wrackspurts. She also had inner sight. Harry and Luna carried on a private correspondence in their journals. They did not broadcast their messages. Far too often, Luna had warned about events at Hogwarts before they happened.
-ooOOoo-
“I’m sorry, Luna. That slipped out. Can you tell me, or do you want to write it in your journal?”
“I can tell you, Harry.”
Luna looked at Harry and then sighed.
Luna whispered. “The message is ‘Wait for Hermione’.”
Harry stared at Luna.
Luna gave a shy smile. “That’s all.”
“Good, Luna, that’s very good. I will wait.”
-ooOOoo-
Harry had some more work to do. Tom had urged him to tell Cyrus about Voldemort. Harry didn’t know where to begin. He decided to also reveal more of his abilities with Occlumency and Legilimency to explain what he would reveal.
Harry found Cyrus Greengrass sitting at his library desk. The library was also his home office. Harry waited at the open door. He had suddenly lost confidence and didn’t know how to approach the lord.
Cyrus didn’t look up from the letter he was reading. “Yes, Harry! What can I do for you?”
“Sir! Is this a convenient time? I want to talk to you about a private thing.”
Cyrus beckoned Harry in and moved to an armchair by the fire. He waved Harry to the armchair opposite him. Harry heard the library door shut behind him.
Cyrus smiled at Harry. “What’s on your mind, Harry?”
Harry gave Cyrus a short account of how he learned Occlumency and Legilimency. Cyrus was already aware of Harry’s abilities. Daphne had reported everything that she had learned about Harry to her father.
The story then advanced to Harry’s meetings with Professor Quirrell. Harry carefully did not mention having Tom as an uninvited guest. Harry told of the discovery of the parasitical Voldemort living on Quirrell. Harry said that the Dark Lord’s presence was sensed using passive Legilimency and his heat-sensing sight. The fact that it was Tom who recognized the shade of his former self was not mentioned.
The Philosopher’s Stone was then described, and Harry told of his letters to and from Nicholas Flamel. It was obvious to Cyrus that Voldemort was after the stone. Quirrell's final fate and Voldemort's disappearance ended Harry’s story.
“This is all very disturbing, Harry. However, it is not a surprise. From the instant that the Ministry announced Voldemort’s death, I guessed that he was not dead. I will only accept the news of his death when solid evidence of his dead body exists. There has been nothing since that night. I expect that Voldemort has been lurking and trying to find a way to regain a living body.
The Philosopher’s Stone may have been a way to do it. What did Nicholas have to say about that possibility?”
Harry sighed. “He said it was possible. That is if Voldemort got possession of a real Philosopher’s Stone.”
“Ha! So the stone at Hogwarts was a fake, is that right?”
“Yes, Nicholas said he would never give anything of value to Albus Dumbledore to keep for him. Dumbledore was one of Nicholas’ students, but Nicholas doesn’t trust him. Nicholas has written to me since then, and I have kept him up to date with what Dumbledore has been doing.”
Cyrus stared into the fire for a few minutes.
“I will put out a request to watch for any sign of him. The tell-tale signs will be unexplained deaths and disappearances. I will not make a big thing about it, but I will find him. What do we do when we track him down?”
“Nicholas has some ideas. I don’t have any insights, and I’m sure Dumbledore doesn’t. If he had been able to trap Voldemort, there would have been a very dangerous stand-off. There is no proven way to destroy a shade like Voldemort’s present form. Perhaps a trustworthy Unspeakable might look into it.”
“Like Eric Davis, my thoughts as well,” Cyrus replied.
“Do you want me to put you in touch with Nicholas?” Harry asked.
“If you could, that would be helpful. I would like to get Eric involved as well. Eric will jump at the chance of meeting Nicholas Flamel, as I will.”
Harry said. “A lord and an Unspeakable would be more believable than a Hogwarts firstie.”
Cyrus shook his head. “Amelia told me this, any conversation with you ends this way. I am talking to you as though you are a senior Unspeakable. You have had an amazing education, and your natural ability is undimmed, despite the dreadful conditions that you lived in.”
Harry made no response.
“There is something which you should know, Harry. I wasn’t going to talk about this, but my hand is being forced. Dumbledore’s strange behaviour is being driven by an outside influence. He is a very secretive manipulator. There is a secret that he knows which is driving him. He thinks that only he knows the real secret and that some of the secret was leaked to Voldemort.
What he doesn’t know is that I know the real secret. The secret was hidden in the Department of Mysteries. An Unspeakable found the secret during his regular duties. He gave it to me so that I could help you. The Unspeakables have a low opinion of Dumbledore, and the feeling is mutual.
The secret is that you, Harry, have been marked as the one to defeat Voldemort. This explains most of Dumbledore’s odd attitude concerning you. The secret was given to Dumbledore as a prophecy. Dumbledore and Voldemort are obsessed with prophecies and think it is an iron-clad prediction of the future.
The Unspeakables and I have a different view. Prophecies are false from the moment that they have been spoken. Anyone who hears a prophecy of doom and disaster should immediately take the attitude, ‘That’s not right! I’m not going to sit around and let that happen! I’m going to do everything I can to stop it.’
So, the prophecy will fail. Prophecies are given to motivate people to get to work and stop disasters from happening. Of course, that means that keeping prophecies secret is wrong. They should be made public with the warning that how we behave can change the future and make the prophecy wrong.
I have told Daphne to start building a team to support you. So far, they haven’t needed to hear why apart from me telling her that you are special. You have started building your Alliance. Keep going with that, Harry. I don’t know how this will end, but cutting yourself off is the wrong thing to do.
Do you want me to tell them more?”
Harry waited for Tom to respond. No response came.
After a pause, Harry replied. “I have been told some of that prophecy by other people. I think Daphne, Neville and Susan need to know something about it. I trust them to tell the people who need to know.”
Lord Greengrass nodded.
“I wish there was some way of giving you a normal childhood, Harry. But, I’m afraid it is all too late for that.”
Lord Greengrass smiled. “Daphne mentioned some occasions when there was very peculiar, localised weather at Hogwarts. Then, we have had a foot of snow here at the manor for the last two nights. I checked around the local farms this morning. The snow ended five miles from the manor in every direction. The children loved it. Daphne knows you don’t want too much attention, but I think you will get more invitations to stay at Christmas in the future.”
-ooOOoo-
An owl found Harry as he was packing to leave Greengrass Manor. The message was from Amelia. It was a message that Harry expected. Amelia reported that St Mungo’s healers would not give Sirius a good report. Sirius could not be tried to have his name cleared as he was mentally unstable. Sirius still behaved as though he was a teenager, and he was demanding to be sent back to Hogwarts. He also constantly talked about joining James in a campaign to make the Slytherins' life miserable.
Amelia asked Harry to come with her to investigate Blackmoor Park, the vast estate the Black family owned in Yorkshire. The main house at Blackmoor Park was a hunting lodge. Sirius loved living there when he was younger. There were hundreds of acres of grounds where magical activity such as broom flying would not be seen. He could live there if someone could be found to look after Sirius and prevent him from escaping.
234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGXhHZ8YSG
