Chapter 98

And there it was, a very small opening. Harry was leaving himself deliberately vulnerable, allowing Nathaniel Greengrass an opening to make a bid at seizing control over The-Boy-Who-Lived along the with fortune of the Potter family by utilizing Daphne's growing relationship with him. It was a large enough opening that there was no way the Head of the House of Greengrass could not recognize it for what it was, but small enough that Harry's words would sound more like an accidental slip of the tongue then because of any sort of childish naivety or purposeful maneuvering.

Now all that was left was to see if the Lord Greengrass would take the bait.

For several long seconds, nothing was said. No noise came from within the study except for the soft breathing of Harry and the man before him. Even then, the noise sounded incredibly harsh to Harry's enhanced sense of hearing.

Harry could feel his heart thumping a painful beat in his chest as the silence dragged on. He tried not to let it show, but as this disquieting silence continued, his nervousness began to increase.

Perhaps it had not been a good idea to use this particular line. Andromeda had warned him that Nathaniel Greengrass was not the kind of person to underestimate him for any reason. Maybe it would have been better if they had thought up another avenue of attack.

"Very well," Nathaniel Greengrass spoke out at last. "As it is already known that you and Daphne are closely acquainted, I will allow this relationship to continue." Harry almost twitched at the word 'relationship'. The way he had spoken it almost made it seem like he and Daphne were dating.

Which was preposterous of course. Sure, Daphne was the most beautiful girl he knew that was his age, and they were very close. In fact, thinking on it, he was probably closer to Daphne than he was any of his other friends at Hogwarts.

But dating? Harry might be going through puberty, but he wasn't sure he was ready to even think about dating. There were still far too many things for him to accomplish before he thought about having romantic relations with someone.

"Thank you, my Lord Greengrass," Harry did not let any of thoughts on the matter of relationships and romance be known as he inclined his head respectfully.

If Nathaniel Greengrass saw his gesture, he did not show it.

"Alfred."

A soft crack and the house elf that had first directed Harry to this room appeared.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"Get Daphne and bring her here."

"At once, My Lord."

The house elf, Alfred, disappeared with another soft crack, leaving Harry alone with the Head of the Greengrass family.

It was a most uncomfortable silence. Several times, Harry had actually thought about making conversation, if only to keep the silence from going on, but each time he thought about doing so, he shut the idea down immediately after wards.

He felt like a coward. It had been so easy to talk with this man before, during the New Year Gala he had spoken with Nathaniel Greengrass at length and not been bothered at all. But here, in Lord Greengrass' own Manor, the imposing and dead looking family head was a truly frightful figure to behold.

Which may be why Harry was feeling so tense. The New Year Gala had been a public setting. There was a certain amount of politeness that was expected from people when they were in public, especially during such a formal event like a ball. Even if he had wanted to, Nathaniel was forced to remain polite and conversational towards Harry lest people scorn and slander his reputation for being rude to The-Boy-Who-Lived.

Still, even knowing why Harry was feeling much more nervous now did not change how ashamed he was to feel that way at all. How could he prove himself as the strongest wizard to have ever existed if he was afraid of a single man?

Harry supposed he should just be glad that his carefully constructed facade had not broken already. He was using every Occlumency technique he knew to discreetly keep his mind clear of all thoughts. It was working so far, but Harry did not delude himself into thinking he would last forever. If that house elf did not hurry up soon, Harry feared he might actually crack.

A knock came at the door. Harry only just managed to keep himself from revealing how relieved he was.

"My Lord, your daughters are here."

The frown that appeared on Nathaniel Greengrass' face did not bode well for anyone.

"Send them in."

Harry did not turned around as he heard the door open, knowing that doing so would have been a breach in decorum. Nor did he look when he heard a gasp come from behind him despite his curiosity.

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