"No, he is not tactful, yet have you ever noticed that there are people who do things which are most indelicate, and yet, at the same time, beautiful?"
― E.M. Forster, A Room with a View
August 26th, 2011
At Henry's request, his mum accompanied him and Katherine to the grounds so he could introduce her to Hagrid. Katherine was in awe of him, just like he knew she would be. Hagrid offered to show them around the grounds while his mum was preparing for the start of term, and after much begging on both his and Katherine's parts, she relented.
They were near the lake now. Hagrid was describing the giant squid and other creatures that could be found in its depths when a centaur appeared around a bend in the tree line. Katherine pointed in amazement.
"Hagrid, is that a centaur?" At this, he turned and appeared flummoxed.
"Yeah, that'll be Firenze. You two wait here, and I'll see if he's up for company," the kids exchanged glances as Hagrid walked toward the centaur.
They decided to sit at the lake's edge, keeping an eye on Hagrid and Firenze's interaction but chatting with one another.
"Have you noticed the past couple of days our parents are... I don't know. It seems like they are avoidi-" Katherine cut him off before he could finish his thought.
"Yes! They have... I think maybe our plan is working, and they aren't sure about their feelings yet. You saw how they were when we walked in on them in your mum's study the night of her release party. My dad can be really stubborn, so we'll just have to keep pushing him in the right direction."
Henry nodded solemnly. His mum was stubborn too, he knew. He just wanted to see her happy, and he knew Katherine's dad had made her that way. She always brightened when he entered a room, and he was very good at reading his mum's cues at this point.
"Flowers!"
He looked confused and jumped a bit at her raised voice, "Huh?"
"We can pick flowers and start leaving them in the room," he understood where she was going with this.
"So my mum thinks they're from him!" He grinned, "That's brilliant, but what if she asks him about them?"
Katherine shrugged, "Maybe she'll think he's lying, especially since no one else would admit to it."
At this point, Hagrid was waving for them to come over; they stood at once and began running across the field to the line of trees to meet a centaur for the first time.
Henry had convinced Hagrid to take them over to the greenhouses, where they found his Uncle Neville pruning flowers. Katherine was ecstatic as Neville allowed them to choose what flowers they would like cut, especially after Henry questioned him on the meanings and uses of nearly every plant in the garden.
"Henry be careful, your dad will have me in if you start to take after me with a love for plants," Neville smiled as Henry questioned him on the meaning of the next row of shrubs.
"He already deals with me not taking after him for liking quidditch, so he'll live... what do these mean?" He gestured at flowers that Katherine believed represented several blue Pygmy puffs clustered on stems.
"The blue hydrangeas represent apologies and understanding," he paused, and Katherine already knew what Henry's next question would be, so she spoke before he did.
"And the other colours?"
Neville laughed, "White represents purity and sometimes vanity, pink is all about romance and true feelings, and purple shows pride and royalty."
YOU ARE READING
By Chance to Intention
Fanfic12 years have passed since the war ended. Hermione Granger is now a divorced mother of a 10-year-old son, working from home as an author. Severus Snape has secluded himself in the muggle world with his 9-year-old daughter. When their children's path...
