‘Portrait, portrait on the wall, who is the fairest of you all?’
Daisy had just blurted this out, without really meaning to, as she was waiting for Headmistress Granger in her office.
Professor Granger had summoned her, for some yet unknown reason, and had then been called away and had told her to wait, but that had been ages ago and now Daisy was bored.
Hence the offhand idle question thrown out into the universe.
She had not expected all the portraits to start talking to her all at once at various volumes and with varying tones of indignation.
Daisy had completely forgotten that portraits could listen and talk.
Bugger, she had not meant any disrespect with her question. In fact it was not even a real question.
She had just been bored and said the only thing that had come to her mind while staring at the endless rows of portraits on the wall. Maybe she had been a bit too fond of that fairytale when she was younger.
The portraits were still shouting at her and Daisy tried to hide behind Professor Granger’s chair.
‘Silencio,’ one of the portraits finally shouted and surprisingly all the portraits fell silent. The white haired wizard with the long beard and kind eyes behind half-moon glasses followed his earlier command by a softer spoken word that sounded like ‘muffliato’.
‘Sorry about that’, he said kindly. ‘Sometimes we portraits forget that to those who look at us, we are mere pictures on the wall. We forget that we are no longer there in reality, even though we still follow everything that goes on within our vision and hear everything, unless someone casts a ‘muffliato’ charm, of course. Professor Granger oftentimes forgets to do that, much to my amusement, so please don’t remind her. There is so little to amuse me these days.’
Daisy smiled at the kind man, whom she had never met before, but recognised from Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco’s descriptions.
‘Hello Professor,’ she said shyly. 'My name is Daisy. Harry Potter is my uncle and godfather also. I believe you know him.’
‘Indeed, I do’, the portrait said, ‘indeed, I do.’ And then he sighed and fell silent after that.
Daisy waited to see if Professor Dumbledore was going to say anything more, but he seemed to be lost in thought.
Funny old man, Daisy mused and went back to looking around the headmistress’ office.
It always felt weird to call her Professor Granger, when she was in school, but Aunt Hermione when she met her in her Uncle Harry’s place.
When some more time had passed and the headmistress still hadn’t returned, she addressed Dumbledore’s portrait again.
‘Professor,’ she said, ‘what was my Uncle like, when you first met him?’
‘Well, I suppose he was like any other small child. Sucking his thumb and crying for his mummy and daddy, when he was not.’
‘Not sucking his thumb, I mean’, he added when he noticed her confused look.
Daisy continued to stare at him blankly. Was this supposed to be the greatest wizard of all time? Surely he knew that was not what she meant.
‘Oh, you mean what was Harry like as a student here at Hogwarts?’ Dumbledore said eventually.
‘Harry was an inquisitive child’, Dumbledore continued. ‘Having been raised by people who were very much opposed to anything magical, no offence to your grandparents, Dear, Harry was like a sponge trying to soak up everything remotely magical. He could not get enough of the wizarding world. I think he was half expecting that his owl could speak, when Hagrid bought it for him, but speaking animals are just the stuff of fairytales, I’m afraid. It’s amazing how Muggles often confuse these things. No offence, Dear. And when he discovered he could fly, another whole new world opened up for him. On a broom of course, not actual flying like that pet owl of his. Thank goodness he had your current headmistress to keep him on the straight and narrow when it came to the actual school curriculum and to instil some work ethic into him, otherwise he would have spent his whole life on the Quidditch pitch. He was bright enough, of course, but not very focused and easily distracted. Of course there were plenty of things to distract him. He seemed to be a magnet for trouble and being the Boy Who Lived certainly didn’t make it easier for him. I suppose I also contributed to some of those distractions.’
A sad look came over the old man’s face, as if a cloud had just blocked out the sun.
‘He was a delightful young man with a heart of gold, a fierce sense of loyalty and braver than Godric Gryffindor himself.’
Daisy felt enormously proud when she heard her uncle being described that way.
‘I’m glad I am taking after him’, she said, blushing shyly. ‘Being a witch, I mean, and not a Muggle like my mum and dad.’
‘I am going to try out for the Gryffindor team this term and hopefully I will be their next seeker. I love flying and Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco have already shown me lots of tricks, and…’
‘Uncle Draco?,’ the portrait interrupted her. ‘Professor Granger kept that little nugget to herself’, he grinned. ‘How is that fair-haired Slytherin doing these days?’
‘Gorgeous, as ever,’ Daisy blushed. Just because her uncle was gay, did not mean that she could not admire his physique. He just happened to be the best looking male, she had ever encountered.
‘They are going to have a baby. Hopefully not until the Summer, when I am back home. I would hate to miss the new arrival,’ she gushed.
‘You sure know how to keep surprising an old man,’ Dumbledore laughed.
‘Wonderful news on all fronts. It always saddened me to see those two boys at eachother’s throats for all the years they attended Hogwarts together.’
Now it was Daisy’s turn to gasp in surprise.
‘At eachother’s throats?’, she repeated, ‘but they are the most devoted couple I have ever met?’
‘Well, they weren’t when they were in school. They were rivals on the Quidditch pitch, for starters and the son of a Death Eater was always going to find it difficult to see eye to eye with the Boy Who Lived, especially the son of one of Lord Voldemort’s most devoted followers. The Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry didn’t help either and Harry’s fame infuriated Draco, who craved that sort of admiration, as a kid. But I am glad that they found a way to overcome their differences,’ the old man smiled.
‘That they most definitely did,’ laughed Daisy, as she fondly remembered her two favourite uncles waving her off at Platform 9 3/4 not that long ago, Harry’s arm around his partner’s waist, as Draco gently stroked his back to stop Harry from crying. Or the last time she surprised them and stepped out of the fireplace, just as Harry was talking to Draco’s pregnant belly about how their little miracle would most certainly be one hell of a seeker, given their parentage. Yep, they definitely overcame their differences alright, and Daisy was still grinning from ear to ear, as a very flustered headmistress returned to the office, apologising profusely for the unexpected delay.