The Greengrass Family

Chapter 32. The Greengrass Family

"Harry. I don't want you to heal him. I don't want him to heal. If I wanted him to, I would have already lifted my spell."

A moment of silence ensued after that utterance. It was a bit strange hearing her anger bleeding through her voice. In the last few days, Harry had gleefully tried her patience, annoying her and proudly breaking her stoic persona, but even then he hadn't managed to wrench out such vitriol from the woman.

He hid his satisfaction at getting the truth out of her and acted clueless, asking dubiously, "What do you mean?"

She stared at him with narrowed blue eyes, before heaving a sigh. "Follow me."

Saying that she stepped out of the training room.

Harry walked behind her as they hurried out of the bedroom.

She swept into the room next to hers.

The first thing Harry saw after ambling into that room, was a large canopied bed against the opposite wall. Like any room of the Greengrass manor, the walls were coloured pristine white, even the ceiling.

They both stopped at the bed on which a man was resting. Harry recognised the face easily, having just seen it last night in his dream. But where in the dream, Tim Greengrass had been hale and healthy, here he looked like an ancient mummy.

His dark blonde hair had turned grey, fringing around his wrinkled forehead like dirty unwanted weeds. His face was unsightly, with the way his wrinkled paper-thin skin clung to the skull. He had lost most of his weight and muscles and now looked like an ancient being a breath away from death.

Harry didn't know his exact age, but he was sure that Tim Greengrass shouldn't be 300 years old. But that's how he appeared. An old man too deep in throes of death and yet stubbornly clinging to life.

"I need your promise, Harry. That you will keep this to yourself." She began, standing beside him and glowering down at her husband.

Harry swung his arm at his side, grabbing her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers, and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Of course, aunty."

She offered him a small relieved smile, tugging his hand and pulling him toward the sofa which lay on the other side of the room.

They settled down side-by-side, her hand still in his, the warmth of which provided her the courage to unveil one of the darkest secrets she held in the deepest part of her heart. She shifted a little, turning towards him, facing him.

Without any preamble, she blurted out the truth. A weight lifted off her shoulders as soon as she began, and words eagerly gushed out of her. "I have cursed my husband. It wasn't the Death Eaters who did this to him, it was me. My curse keeps him in a torturous prolonged sleep, in which he is tormented eternally with pain and despair. For the last twelve years, I have imprisoned him in his mind, enjoying the deterioration of his body, basking in the destruction of his spirit. Yes, I am the one who has orphaned my daughters for my revenge, who has kept their father away from them due to her selfish desire. I know that you must think I am a cruel villain."

Her hard voice was filled with anger and self-deprecation as she looked down at her lap, at their joined hands.

Harry shook his head at her assumption. "I'm just confused. I won't judge you until I know everything."

Proserpina nodded, taking strength from his assurance and looking up into his bright emerald eyes. "What you need to know, Harry, is that everything you have heard about him is false. A lie I have told everyone to save my family from becoming another Malfoys or Notts. In truth, Tim was never against Voldemort. In fact, he was the Dark Lord's most fanatic provider. Not having the courage to be marked and take part in raids, he helped Voldemort in other ways. You see, the Greengrass family is the most ancient bloodline in Britain, the oldest family, and has gathered riches far beyond mortal comprehension. Tim used this money to propagate Voldemort's campaign.

"Voldemort himself has tainted this manor by his frequent visits. I had to meet him many times with a smile and act like a good hostess. I would go as far as to say that Tim was Voldemort's most important ally after his Inner Circle. Because of that, he was aware of the Dark Lord's many plans. But unlike Tim, I wasn't happy with the way the world was changing. I had muggle-born friends who I wanted to save. Even my best friends, Alice and Lily, were fighting on the other side. I couldn't in good conscience just sit back and see them get hurt.

"So, I began leaking information to them, hoping to save them from all the traps the Death Eaters had spread in a desperate attempt to catch them. Lily was already infamous as the Crimson Witch by then. And I really was proud of how my friends ruthlessly dealt with their enemies. Unlike the Order of Phoenix, the foursome of Lily, Alice, James, and Frank didn't take prisoners, knowing that the Ministry was corrupted and wouldn't be able to hold them. They instead chose to utterly destroy them and make examples out of them. The four became well-known for their brutal ways. As a result, a deathly fear settled over the hearts of Death Eaters.

"It was magnificent. It was truly satisfying to see those animals get their comeuppance. And so I continued my contribution in turning the momentum of the war which had been earlier in Voldemort's favour. Unfortunately, I was caught soon and a team of Death Eaters was sent to kill us, including Tim. They didn't know that my husband was unaware of my secret actions. They thought that the Greengrass family as a whole had turned their backs on Voldemort. During the deadly fight, my betrayal came to light and Tim decided to abandon his family to save his own hide. I don't know why, but I was surprised and hurt by it. While Tim had always been a snobby and arrogant person, the one who supported Voldemort fanatically, he never treated me wrong. And although I never loved him, I cared for him. I still had hope for him to change.

"But his abandonment snuffed that hope and I cursed him after I survived the Death Eater's raid. From then on, Tim is put under the curse, suffering for betraying me, and for letting me down. I could have killed him and freed him from his misery. I could have freed myself from this hatred. But I could never bring myself to do it, always ending up thinking that he needs to suffer some more. So, now you know why I can't let you heal him. Tim deserves to suffer. He is not some crippled hero. He doesn't need healing, he needs punishment."

Harry couldn't help but shiver at her cruel tone. Her face was taut with tension as she snarled viciously. She really could hold a grudge. Even Harry would have lost his anger and killed Tim Greengrass if he was in her place. It was telling that Proseprina Greengrass' anger could burn for more than a decade and yet her hatred was still strong enough to keep the fire going. He didn't know whether to be impressed or concerned about her mindset. Not that he had any moral high ground to think of her as mental when he himself had killed thousands.

"I think you should kill him soon, aunty. Daphne and Astoria need a conclusion if they ever want to move on." Harry said after a minute. He knew that the sisters must be bothered by their father's 'tragic' condition even if they didn't show it. They both must dream about a what-if scenario where their father wasn't 'injured' in the war.

Hearing his response, her anger disappeared quickly and her eyes brimmed with endless sorrow.

She acknowledged his point by squeezing his hand. "I know. I should have killed him a long time ago and busted Daphne's dream of healing him. I think it is my fault how she turned out. How Astoria turned out."

"What are you talking about?" He immediately asked, perturbed by her ominous statement.

Tears spilled down her cheeks and she pressed her quivering lips in a thin line, not wanting to cry in front of him. "My daughters are broken, Harry. They both hate this half-family where their father is present only in name. They hate the looming shadow of his pending doom. That's the reason why Astoria is so obsessed with you. She wants her happily ever after, where she would have a true family. All Astoria wants is an unbroken family, unlike this one. And she sees you as her answer to her desire. A cure for her disease. I don't think she is even consciously aware of it.

"But Daphne, on the other hand, is obsessed with power. She hates feeling powerless, and not being able to protect her friends and family. Not able to heal her father. She wants absolute power and freedom. With the help of which she can save everyone. She fears losing me or Astoria, is afraid that a time will come when her loved ones would be taken away from her and she wouldn't be able to do anything because she is weak. She seeks power to chase away this constant fear. And I am the cause of all this misery. Only If I had killed Tim that day, then my sweet little girls wouldn't have turned out like this."

She cried softly, as she was drowned in the regrets of her lonely life.

Harry pulled her close and hugged her, grimacing at what he had heard. It made perfect sense in hindsight. It pointed out the reason for the girls' quirks.

Proserpina clung to him, burying her face in his chest and weeping silently, wishing she had let go of her anger and started fresh with her daughters. She wished she could go back in time and slap some sense into herself.

How happy her family would have been if she had chosen differently?

That question had always hammered against her conscience.

"It's alright, aunty. You still have time. It's not too late." He mumbled gently, rubbing his palm over her back.

It took her a minute to calm down. She wiped her face and looked up at him. "Thank you for listening and not judging, Harry."

He smiled down at her, patting her back. "No problem. You are family."

She returned his smile and brushed her lips on his cheek fondly before getting on her feet. She resolutely walked up to the bed and unholstered her wand.

Harry's eyes widened in disbelief as she pointed her wand down at her husband. He instinctively jumped out of the sofa when he heard, "Avada Kedavra!"

He ran up to her and stared at the dead body. "Really? Are you mad? You can't just kill him without any planning! What'll you say to the others!"

She shot him a smirk and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry your little head over that, Harry. I have everything under control. Now disappear, so I can act like a grieving widow and inform Astoria about her father's demise."

"What about Daphne?"

Her confident face crumbled and she bit her lip anxiously. "She is not here and I don't have any way to contact her. We'll wait for her before burying Tim."

"Would you, at last, tell me what she is doing?"

"Daphne is chasing ghosts, Harry. She had gotten into her head that the myth that had been passed down in the Greengrass family is true. She went away to find the Queen Mother and ascend to her true form." Proserpina said half-exasperatedly and half-worriedly.

"What myth?" asked Harry.

"The myth of the Greengrass family being the descendants of the last elf, Illiniya. Daphne thinks that she can find the resting place of the moon goddess, Elune, and convince her to grant powers and turn her into an elf."

Harry was left flabbergasted by the revelation. It must be a joke, it has to be, he thought. It was just too bizarre to be true. And the way Proserpina herself was scowling, told him that she too wasn't buying into this.

"So Daphne has gone on a wild-goose chase? And you didn't stop her?"

"I tried. But Daphne never listens to anyone when she decides something. She is too stubborn. It was better to give her my blessing than to shut her in the room. She would have run away even without my permission anyway, so there was no stopping her. I thought she would return soon once she realised her foolishness." Proserpina sighed tiredly.

Harry could see that happening. Daphne was exactly like that. Too bullheaded to listen to anyone once she decided something to be true.

He could teleport to her and bring her home, but that would just brew animosity between them. She would yell at him for not believing in her, for becoming an obstacle in her path. She would just rage and not talk to him for months. He knew that from experience. Just like her mother, Daphne too held grudges for too long. Still, he couldn't just leave her.

"I'll bring her if she doesn't come back on her own before the day is over." Harry said reluctantly.

Proserpina gave him a sceptical look. "And how will you do that?"

Harry began to say something before he clammed up. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't just say that he had given Daphne a silver necklace through which he could track her. It sounded so stalkerish.

"Harry?" She prompted suspiciously.

"I gifted her an enchanted silver necklace which would protect her against all magical attacks and would teleport her to Potter Manor if she ever gets injured. I can track her through the necklace. I can teleport to her directly." He decided to go with the truth.

She gaped at him, at his ludicrous claim. "A necklace to protect against all magical attacks? How did you acquire that?"

"I didn't. I made it. Damn, another secret lost." Harry chuckled awkwardly.

Proserpina smothered the urge to question his ability. She didn't know him completely. She wasn't in the know of all his secrets. She didn't have the authority to slam down his claim. If he had the power to teleport and to perfectly heal, then he might also have the power to create overpowered enchantments.

"But why did you give her such a necklace?"

"She is in Slytherin. I don't trust any of the snakes. It was my way to protect her. I should also give one to Tracey on the off chance that she isn't in Daphne's company during Hogwarts." Harry muttered thoughtfully, not revealing the incident where Daphne had been attacked. If she hadn't told her mother, then he wouldn't either.

Proserpina wasn't convinced by the excuse, but let it go. She would have a stern talk with her daughter once she comes back and would hear it from her.

But she was convinced of his desire to safeguard Daphne and couldn't contain her gratitude. She threw her arms around him and drew him in a scorching kiss, flushing her body against his and pressing her breasts on his chest.

Harry was surprised for a second before he grabbed around her waist and reciprocated the kiss, locking his lips with hers and meeting her tongue. He shuddered as she draped her body over his and pressed her hips against his crotch.

Was he aware that there was a dead body in the room? That he was snogging the wife of a recently departed man?

Yes, he was. And it just inflamed his lust. It just fueled the heat within.

He was thinking of bending her over her husband's dead body and fuck her from behind when she suddenly pushed him away once he got aggressively handsy, once he slipped his hand through the slit of her dress and fondled her pussy.

"Go home, Harry. I hope you liked the reward in return for sharing another secret with me." She panted, wiping the dampness from her mouth.

Harry was having a hard time controlling himself as he saw the burning lust in her gleaming blue eyes, as he stared at her plunging neckline, at her heaving chest, just a tug away from spilling her tits.

He shook his head and grinned "Okay, I'll go home now. But how about a goodbye kiss?"

She rolled her eyes and stepped forward. She cupped his face tenderly and placed a sweet brief kiss on his lips. Before he could deepen it or grope and squeeze her arse, she shoved him away with a smirk. "Goodbye!"

Harry would love to wipe that smirk off her face and choke her on his cock while she stared up at him wantonly.

Soon.

That desire would come true soon.

He offered her a smile and mumbled a goodbye before teleporting home.

~xXxXx~

Harry immediately went to Iris' room after he came back home. He needed to tell her what he had learnt. There was no use hiding anything from her anyway, better to tell her now or she would pout at him for keeping secrets.

Iris was sitting on the bed with her back propped against the headboard and had her legs sprawled in front of her. The spellbook, which their mother had given her, was opened on her thighs.

She was so engrossed in reading it that she didn't notice her brother's arrival. Harry couldn't help but smile at the adorable focused look on her face. There was something about her that made her more special than anyone else. He couldn't place where he got that feeling from.

He leaned against the threshold and stared at her, giving her enough time to realise that she wasn't alone in the room anymore.

Meanwhile, without even any conscious thought, his eyes raked her figure.

She had her beautiful red hair tied in a messy bun and had opted to wear a simple black camisole and cute pink cotton shorts. And the choice in her clothes left enough skin for him to admire. Her hands and shoulders were bare, and so were the legs from down her mid-thighs.

All in all, she looked quite pretty, as usual.

After a minute trickled by and she still didn't call him, Harry decided to announce his presence. "Iris."

She didn't look up from the book and huffed exasperatedly, turning to the next page. "Harry. How long are you going to just stand there and ogle me?"

He chuckled, figuring out that she had known about his arrival from the beginning. He joined her in the bed and sat beside her, peering down at the book. "You still reading it?"

"What do you think?" She asked in a dry tone which already declared him stupid. He grinned impishly, pushing the book off her lap and replacing it with his head.

"Harry!"

"What? I got jealous of that book occupying so much of your time. And it lounging in your lap was the last straw." He said jovially, looking up at her from his position. She pinched her nose in annoyance, but couldn't quite stop her lips from turning up.

"So, what do you want?" She asked fondly, not deeming to hide her smile anymore. She absently twirled her finger in his hair, wrapping the black locks around it.

"Can't I just visit my cute little sister for fun?" He prodded her patience with an infuriating grin, adjusting his head and getting comfortable in her lap.

She scowled and yanked his hair.

"Ouch! Iris!"

"That's what you get for barging into my room and taking away my peace. Also, I'd like to think that I'm not your cute sister from now on, but your sexy sister. And I'm definitely not going to repeat for the billionth time that we are twins."

Harry snickered like a five-year-old at her outburst.

"So mature." Iris harrumphed.

"Hey, about that sexy sister part? Was that a hint? Are you horny? Do you need me to go down on you again? Don't be shy. I like licking you down there." He prompted, raising his arm to cup her breast through the camisole, gently squeezing it.

Iris made a throaty moan and blushed at the indecent sound. She quickly slapped his hand away. "Later, you horny dog. Now tell me what you wanted to talk about."

Harry pouted but relented. It wasn't as if she denied him. She just postponed it. Maybe she wouldn't mind using her mouth this time. They could even do the classic sixty-nine, he mused.

"Ow!" He hissed.

Iris stopped pinching his cheek when he came out of his reverie and shot him an innocent smile. "Stop getting distracted by your dirty thoughts, brother. Or I will pinch your dick next time."

He chuckled uncomfortably and decided to heed her warning. He was a bit pent-up. Maybe not just a bit. He chose to blame his aunt for this. She was the one who made him horny with her surprise snogging session. The least she could have done was offer him relief.

Shaking his head, Harry narrated what he had learnt from his aunt. Iris' amused smile disappeared as she heard all about it. In the end, she was left momentarily speechless. Not knowing what to say or think.

"Fuck!" She groaned.

"Fuck!" Harry repeated.

"What are your thoughts, Iris?" He asked after a while, sitting up and moving beside her, and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

Iris sighed, leaning into him. "I don't know what to say. While I think she is in the right for wanting revenge on Uncle Tim, I can't say he was the one who started this mess."

"What do you mean?"

"What I'm saying is that she betrayed Uncle Tim first. How is she going to justify that?"

"But he was a supporter of Voldemort. He was in the wrong. I think that justifies her choice to turn on him." Harry defended Proserpina.

Iris nudged his chin and shook her head. "It doesn't work like that, Harry. He was her husband. He was her family. She wasn't supposed to betray him in the first place. Let's take us for example, if we were in their position, I would never betray you. I wouldn't help the enemies even if you turn evil and take over the world. Because you're my family. The one who I love the most. I would rather let the world burn than lose your confidence."

Harry's smile couldn't convey the warmth in his heart. So he decided to give her a long loving kiss while he caressed her face. It still wasn't enough, but he hoped that she felt what he was feeling. This giddy rhythm in his soul, this urge to grin clownishly. This desire to kiss every single inch of her skin. He hoped that she felt that too.

"I don't think you understand, Iris. Unlike you and me, there was no love between them. It was an arranged marriage. You can't equate their bond with ours. We are different. Our love is way stronger and deeper than theirs." He mumbled once they parted.

"I see." She nodded, realising how unrealistic it was to think that those two could love each other like them.

A sudden yearning washed over her and she pushed him down on his back. Harry gave her a quizzical look but followed her lead.

Just as she was going to pull down his trousers and grab his erection, a voice broke through her haze of lust.

"Harry! Iris! Come down!" Their mother yelled from downstairs.

"Your timing sucks, Iris. Now I'll have to hide my boner while mum tells us about how uncle Tim died." Harry grouched, sliding down the bed and adjusting his shaft.

Iris giggled, hiding her disappointment. She really wanted to touch him. Oh well, they would do it afterwards.

It was a relief that their mother had calmed down and wasn't keeping an eye on them like the Orwellian government anymore. If she did then there definitely wouldn't have been an 'afterwards'.

Iris was thankful for that.

Of course, the twins weren't going to break their promise to their mother, but they were totally going to stretch the limit of that vow. No sex doesn't always have to mean no fun.

~xXxXx~

Harry and Iris entered the sombre atmosphere of the living room.

Lily was standing in front of the fireplace, hugging an inconsolable Astoria who kept crying. She looked at them over Astoria's head and said, "Tim Greengrass passed away."

Astoria quickly pried away from Lily's arms and sidled up to Harry. She looked at him with such sorrow that it made him feel guilty for taking part in Tim Greengrass' killing. However indirect that was.

He sighed softly at seeing her teary face and pulled her in his arms, tucking her head under his chin. She wrapped her own hands around his waist crushingly and burrowed her face as deep as she could in his chest.

"It'll be fine, Tori." He mumbled, not knowing what else to say. He felt Iris leaning her head on his shoulder and bringing her arms to hug Astoria.

In response, Astoria's grip tightened around him.

They stayed that way for a minute but Astoria didn't let go.

"Tori, do you want to go home? Do you need me to come?"

She shook her head in his chest. "I don't want to go home."

"Okay, let's go to my room then." He declared, moving towards the door.

Lily offered him a proud smile. "Good. I'll inform Proserpina that Tori won't return home for a few hours."

The twins led her out. But making Astoria walk was like pulling her through quicksand.

Seeing no other option, Harry picked her up in bridal carry, getting a short hysterical giggle from the younger girl before she hid her face in his neck, which didn't exactly help to ease the tense situation.

Harry looked at Iris in question, who just shrugged, none the wiser.

The trio walked up the stairs and into his room. Where he tried to lay Astoria down on the bed. But the little tyke didn't want to let him go. Harry awkwardly climbed up the bed and lay on his side with her clinging to him like a monkey. Iris too got into the bed and hugged her from behind, sandwiching her between them.

Astoria stiffened for a moment before relaxing and closing her eyes.

The twins tried to make her talk, but she stubbornly kept her silence.

Half an hour later, she was fast asleep, mumbling something in her sleep and rubbing her face on his chest, wiping all the tears and snot on his t-shirt.

He laughed silently and shared an amused look with his sister. He placed an affectionate kiss on Astoria's head and closed his own eyes, not minding a short rest.

Before his consciousness could bleed into dreamland, his mother's distressed scream woke him up from his half-asleep state. "Harry!"

Thankfully, Astoria was still dozing, too gone to be disturbed. He untangled himself from her stubborn limbs and hurried down to the living room after silently conveying to Iris to stay with her.

He stepped into the living room to find his mother hovering over the unconscious body of Daphne.

There was already a pool of blood gathered under her.

He ignored the pungent smell and the dread that wormed into him. He kneeled beside her, wincing at the many punctured holes throughout her torso. She was riddled with many grievous wounds and was on the edge of death. Her breath came as short and sharp gasps.

He picked her up, smearing blood all over his clothes, and activated his perk.

[Healing Pocket]

A square black hole opened up before him on the ground like a casket.

Knowing what to do next, he placed Daphne down into the dimensional hole and stepped back, letting it close up.

~xXxXx~

OMAKE

The trio walked up the stairs and into his room. Where he tried to lay Astoria down on the bed. But the little tyke didn't want to let him go. Harry awkwardly climbed up the bed and lay on his side with her clinging to him like a monkey. Iris too got into the bed and hugged her from behind, sandwiching her between them.

A minute after that, Astoria asked in a strange voice, "Harry, is that a boner?"

She cupped his crotch before slipping her hands into his pants and looking at him with innocent blue eyes. Only the uptick of her lips told him that she knew what she was doing.

The deviant.

Well, at least she was distracted now.