| INTIMACY | - HPxTMR

Chapter 4 [The Beginning]

Before writing this chapter, I read https://archiveofourown.org/works/32551186 and It made me sob. The ending is so bittersweet, and every time I expected it to get better, It just got sadder. Have a box of tissues with you if you read it :( - 13/04/22

Also, I edited this whilst half asleep, so any comments correcting something are greatly appreciated. Actually, any comments are appreciated ^-^ -24/04/22

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16th July 1997- [Around 8:00 am]

The roses turned out to be poison-free, so Harry allowed them to stay, although he had them moved downstairs to the front room, to brighten it up a little. He had the feeling that it was the room he'd be spending the most time in, with all the socialisation he was expected to do as a Noble.

It had changed since the day before, his trinkets giving the room a more personal touch and making it feel more relaxing to be in. The pillows Harry and his mother had sewn together were propped up on the window seat, the previously bare bookcase next to it now containing a few books and the potted plants Sirius and Remus had forced him to take now stood by the door.

He ate his breakfast in the front room, a lavish meal full of foods he'd only ever seen served at the dinner table. There were slices of bread from a myriad of loaves, and a cheese board with a shocking amount of variety. The fruits, 'a typical breakfast food' Harry thought to himself, were an exotic and unusual selection, such as the Dragonfruit sat nearest to his plate. He disliked most of them. There was even a platter of thinly sliced meats such as turkey, ham and beef. He picked at the meal, unused to such excess.

Harry frowned. He didn't have to eat this. He was the head of this part of the castle, he could eat what he wanted at meal times. " Anya, please prepare me some pancakes. I'd like to have some with my strawberries. Oh, and cream."

" Yes, master. I will inform Maia."

" Maia?"

" The Cook, master. She is one of the maids the palace has assigned to your care."

" Ah, thank you." Harry saw one of the new maids frown slightly out of the corner of his eye, and lean in to whisper to the maid working next to her. They gossiped to each other with disapproving glances sent his way, and Harry noted that he'd have to watch what he did around them. He tapped his fingers slightly as he sat there in silence, feeling too exposed to eat.

" Master, your pancakes."

" Thank you, Anya." He smiled, less genuinely than before, and handed her a few Galleons, which she took without a word. He knew that he'd find them added to his pouch later on.

After breakfast, Harry decided that it was time to explore the rest of his quarters, as he had yet to see the back room properly or even step into the kitchen. He started with the kitchen, which was behind the door on the left side of the room. It was a quiet place, with only a singular maid inside. He presumed this was 'Maia'. She was a tanned woman with curly hair and a bright smile that she flashed at him as she rose from her bow.

" Master, what can I get for you?" Her accent was similar to Fleur Delacour's, so distinctive that Harry assumed she was from France. Maia made her way to the fridge as she waited for a response, opening the doors with a searching look.

" I was just having a look around, there's no need to make anything else." He smiled, circling the marble island in the middle. It was white, like every surface in the kitchen, including even the cooker. Harry supposed that it would be easier to spot any mess, but at the expense of causing a headache.