[HP] The pros and cons of home arrest #11

Chapter #11: Things are changing.

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“Are you okay there Daphne?” Asked Harry as he saw the blonde woman struggling to keep a plant perfectly standing in a hole she had just dug.

The blonde suddenly turned back to look at him, the time was around the evening and the two of them were wearing blue jeans and white shirts that had dirt on them, after all, they had been working in the garden since early in the morning, she had to go through her usual routine as a prisoner but now that she completed her daily punishment and after getting supper, instead of going to sleep, she decided to work on her dream garden.

Of course, Harry wasn’t going to let her do everything, so, he was with her all the time while working in the garden, not only this was an opportunity to keep a watch on her but it was also an opportunity for him to not get too bored, the place looked like a mess even though it’s been more than a week since they started.

The grass was gone and all the bad herbs too, the place now looked empty but it wasn’t a wasteland anymore, the previous soil had been replaced with a healthier and richer soil, thankfully Neville managed to get them a lot of pots of plants that they wanted to put on the garden, also, he got them some nutritious soil, there was no trace of magic on the soil and that was going to make the garden blossom beautifully.

Daphne wanted a lot of things, first of all, she wanted some comfy chairs and a table that could be either for guests or for her to use in case she wanted to spend some time by herself to think or maybe just for reading, there were lots of possibilities, but the point was that she wanted a nice place to have fun and Harry was coordinating this project with her mother, so, she didn’t have to worry about the expenses, after all, there was no law that could impede the family from remodeling the exterior of the house.

As long as they don’t touch anything from the interiors everything will be okay, and even if they tried to do something like that, the Aurors will arrive as soon as they touch anything because for now, the interiors of the house are property of the ministry, so, as long as they don’t do anything on the inside there won't be any problems for them.

Thanks to her mother financing the project, he managed to get a few expensive but comfortable chairs and a table made with rare magical materials that would protect them from environmental changes like rain and snow, not even the sun would be a nuisance in case she wanted to spend time here.

She also wanted a big pond, a fountain, and a small river but also, she wanted an automatic watering system, but the most important thing is that she wanted a lot of flowers in the garden of different colors, she wanted especially tulips in the middle of the grass and she wanted some carnivorous plants near the pond, but Harry told her that it would be better to get the muggle variety of carnivorous plants not the magical ones or else the plant could eat anyone who dares to get closer to it.

They spent the last few days cleaning the garden and replacing the soil, and all that work that had to be done manually, they wanted to ease the magical usage as much as they could because if they wanted the garden to look natural and not so artificial they had to it traditionally, but right now they were focusing on placing the tulips in the middle of where the grass was going to be, however, Daphne is still learning, after all, she has always done things in the magical way, so, this was a new experience for her.

“Okay, keep it like that,” Harry said before he put some water in the hole where the plant was placed and Daphne was a little surprised by that action.

“Why are you putting water now? Shouldn't that be after the base of the plan is fully covered with soil?” Asked the blonde as she tried to keep a black tulip stable.

“I don’t know, I’ve always done it like that ever since forever and it has worked for me since then, right now we’re doing this in the muggle way because I’ve always heard old ladies saying that there are people that are good with plants, people whose hands can help to grow them while there are other people that no matter what they do they fail miserably,” Harry explained as he covered the plant with some soil that was nearby.

“Wow, it’s just like magic…Some people use it to help other people while some of us…Well, some individuals use it to harm other people,” Daphne said in a serious tone as she saw herself reflected in the last sentence.

“Yes, exactly, I don’t know how true that myth is that some people are better when it comes to growing plants but as far as I know my uncles never complained about my work, and trust me, they were very demanding,” Harry said as he sighed before got on his feet.

He suddenly extended his hand to the blonde and she couldn’t help but stare at his face as he smiled at her, and she couldn’t help but blush after he did that. This has been a common thing since they started working in the garden, their interactions have become more and more interesting, to say the least.

There are smiles, touches between them, smirks, and giggles, for some reason they have gotten closer, well, Daphne knows the reason, she knows the garden is the reason why they’ve recently bonded and she doesn’t know how to feel about it, but if there’s one thing that’s for sure is that she doesn't dislike this situation.

She suddenly grabbed his hand and smiled as he got on his feet even though he would have loved to continue staring at her deep ocean blue eyes. The Auror couldn’t help but feel like this for the last few days, he knew it was foolish of him to behave like that but it had been a long time since he had become closer with a person of the opposite sex who wasn’t a usual friend.

He has noticed the gazes, the change of attitude, the familiarity, and many other things that have made them get closer and he knows he’s not only helping her because he pities her, he would never go as far to do this for someone he was supposed to guard, no, there was a more deep reason for him to act like this…He has denied it for a long time but he was starting to feel attraction towards Daphne Greengrass.

That was a very bad thing because he was supposed to guard her, putting aside the fact that it was against the rules for a guard to engage himself in a relationship with the prisoner as there’s a huge conflict of interest, he feels like he would be using his power position in a very inappropriate way even if she wanted him too.

That’s the last thing he wanted, he didn't want to use his position to be with her, so, for now, he decided to remain calm and control himself because even if he could act on his feelings, there was the possibility of her just being nice and not feeling something towards him, so, it was better for him to control his feelings before he does something stupid.

He quickly shook his thoughts off and grabbed a watering can and he was about to water the plant they just covered with soil, however, seeing the curious expression on Daphne’s face made him smile, so, he gave her the watering device and he suddenly nodded at her so she could do it but he was surprised to see she was completely causing a tempest on the water.

“Wait!” He said with a worried tone and suddenly without thinking, he grabbed the blonde’s hand and stopped her. “That was too much water…Let’s do it slowly, we don’t want that strong water to get rid of the soil we used to cover the plant, right?” Harry asked with a calm expression as he slowly watered the plant.

Daphne’s face was completely red and she was having lots of trouble concentrating, but she listened to what he said diligently, still, that doesn’t mean she wasn’t embarrassed but surprisingly, she managed to get a clear idea of what she had to do and suddenly, Harry stopped her from continuing.

“I guess that’s enough, so—” Harry was saying so cheerfully until he realized something.

He was holding her hand and after he saw the blonde’s face, he realized it made sense for her to look so embarrassed, he was in the same state as her after all, he knew he should let go of her hand, he knew it was improper for a simple guard like him to touch her like that, but still, he was finding it too hard to let go of her hand.

But the most surprising thing is that Daphne didn’t seem too eager to let him go too.