HPWW311-320
Chapter 311
In his own mind, though, he was trying to figure out
what to tell his master, Voldemort. He was completely
unprepared for the very close cast from behind. A
compulsion charm to try and get as much information
as he could, while also determining he had not yet
collected enough and being reticent to share the
information he'd already collected.
After thinking about packing it up for the day once
darkness began to creep in, he unwittingly changed
his mind and resettled himself to wait a few hours
more.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
As arranged, Neville flooed to the Granger Residence
the next morning as breakfast was winding down.
Though he'd eaten that morning, already, he claimed
he was 'up' for a second, though smaller, serving.
When Harry turned a curious look on him the boy
blushed a little and said, "I eat early so I can spend
time in the greenhouses. Plus, I... left room for
Dobby's cooking." The last bit said with a bit of a
mumble.
Harry laughed and said, "No need to be embarrassed
about it, Neville. I happen to have it on good authority
the aurors are now fighting for a placement on my
protection detail, just so they get the opportunity to
sample Dobby's cooking."
"And yours, Harry," said Monica. "You're an even
better cook than he is."
While Harry blushed at the praise, still not used to it,
Dobby also heard and was both pleased for his master
and determined to better his culinary skills to beat
said master.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Before heading out to go shopping, though, Harry had
to take Neville upstairs to properly outfit him in
mugglewear. Hermione had determined that what he
was wearing didn't quite 'make the grade', as far as
she was concerned.
It wasn't until he realised he now 'outmassed' his
friend, though, that Harry discovered the other boy
would now easily fit into the clothes he purchased
only a little over a week ago and he'd just outgrown.
A quick adjustment of size and Neville looked every
inch the muggle. He was dressed in dark grey slacks,
black loafers and belt, a white T-shirt as an undershirt
and a black shirt. Over that went a white/grey/black
patterned cardigan and a configured knee length dark
grey overcoat with black gloves that an auror
configured for him out of transfiguring an old waist
length brown coat he was wearing.
Harry was wearing dark brown loafers and slacks with
dark brown belt, together with a dark yellow shirt over
a white T-shirt similar to Neville. Then over that went a
tanned jumper and his own overcoat, of a similar style
to Neville, with brown gloves.
When they came back downstairs, with Neville feeling
a little self-conscious, Monica beamed a wide grin at
them both. "Looking good, you two." That relaxed the
boy, as he smiled back.
When Hermione came down she was wearing an overthe-knee length dress in a floral pattern on light blue,
with heavy stockings on her legs. On her feet she
wore a closed-toe semi-high heeled shoe of a
burgundy, which matched one of the main colours of
the flowers and her purse. Her overcoat was black;
but, one of the aurors colour-changed it to a dark
burgundy to match her shoes and purse.
"Very nice," smiled Monica, giving a nod of
satisfaction looking at the three of them. "Now; where
are you planning on going to shop?"
"I... really didn't have much of an idea," admitted
Hermione.
Harry immediately said, "Harrods."
He didn't see the look of surprise on the Grangers'
faces as he'd already turned to the aurors and said, "I
suggest a portkey to the Leaky Cauldron and a taxi to
the store from there."
"Close," smiled the senior female auror; Charlotte
Watkins, again. "Portkey to the Leaky is right, but we'll
have a Ministerial car waiting for us outside the
muggle-side doors of the pub to take us where we
need to go. It's already been arranged."
"We rank a Ministerial car?" asked Neville.
"One's now semi-permanently assigned to the Potter
Protection Detail, just for these sort of issues," she
replied. "Madam Bones organised it."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Once final checks were done - with the aurors
reminding them, once again, not to try to lose them
and be mindful of where they were at all times - the
three, with their two aurors, headed out to the portkey
point just inside the front gate and portkeyed away.
The aurors both had their wands out and ready as the
portkey was voice-activated.
As soon as they landed in the Leaky's portkey point,
the aurors immediately hustled them all out the front
door and onto the street. The car was sitting there
with its engine running and the driver behind the
wheel, waiting. The car had matching car width back
seats that faced one another east/west.
Charlotte, hustled them in and, once they were settled,
said to the driver, "Harrods, I believe."
"Yes, Ma'am," the driver immediately replied before
indicating to pull away from the curb.
From where he was sitting on the passenger-side of
the backseat that faced forward - Charlotte sat in the
back seat opposite facing him, ready to step out first
once they got there - Neville's head was swivelling
this way and that trying to take it all in.
"Not been out into the muggle world, at all, Neville?"
asked Hermione.
"No," he replied. "Gran never wanted to, so I never got
a chance to go... come."
"Then this'll be an eye-opening experience for you,"
she said.
"It already is," he grinned back.
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Chapter 312
After a fifteen minute drive that took them almost right
past the palace then beyond, the driver pulled up
outside of Harrods on Brompton Road. Both Harry
and Hermione were relieved that Neville was not so
much swivelling his head all about the place trying to
look at everything at the same time, any more.
When the car came to a stop in a cab 'drop' zone, the
driver half turned about and quietly said, "We're here."
And indicated the store with a flick of his fingers."
With Charlotte leading and the other auror bringing up
the rear, the three teens moved into the store.
Once inside, Hermione asked, "Where to, first?"
"Ladies section," Harry immediately replied. "I
promised you I'd buy you some nice muggle clothes
and this is the best place for it."
After Hermione gave him a look, she then gave a huff
and said, "Fine. Then we're off to the men's section.
You're getting a whole new wardrobe, whether you like
it or not. And, while we're there, we can do something
permanent about Neville's muggle wardrobe, too."
That was something Harry had expected so he wasn't
so much worried about it. He'd already figured that'd
be Hermione's immediate 'retaliation'.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After spending quite a bit of time in both the ladies'
and mens' sections of the store, the five then moved
to one of the in-store restaurants for lunch. They
didn't have to worry about bags, because Harry had
also paid for the lot to be delivered to Hermione's
home address.
Next, Harry suggested they go to the electronics
section, so Neville could get a good look at just what
'marvels' the muggles used in their everyday life.
They almost had to drag the boy out after an hour
because it was clear he was shocked almost
senseless from what he'd seen. Thankfully, Hermione
was a quiet and patient teacher for him, going over
just what everything did and how they were used in
the home, in business and in everyday life.
As they still had time, to please the boy they also went
into the gardening section of the store. Again, he was
stunned. He had no idea there were things like
portable greenhouses available. And the automated
watering systems clearly had the boy trying to figure
out how to use them in a wizarding home or business.
Harry took one look at Neville's focus on the
demonstration model of a quite commonly known and
used black poly-pipe home-build reticulation system
that he surreptitiously bought the boy an expanded
'starter' pack that did not include electronics. This one
just screwed onto a garden tap using a garden hose
connection. He even added a few rolls of fifty metre
each 12mm tubing, a 10m roll of 6mm tubing, plus
extra anchors, connectors of each size, 'T's, elbows
and various sprinklers to plug into the system. The
order would be added to the delivery order coming to
Hermione's home the next morning.
However, after a stop for afternoon tea because
Harry's stomach was growling again, they finally went
to the delivery section and organised for all the
purchases to be delivered the next day.
"We'll floo you with what we've purchased for you
after it all arrives, Neville," said Hermione, just as they
were walking out.
"This 'Home Delivery Service' idea is a marvellous
concept," said the boy. "I wonder why we don't have
similar in the wizarding world."
"House elves, Neville," said Harry. "They make the
idea somewhat pointless."
Nodding, Neville hopped into the car, which they'd
only had to wait for a few minutes for it to arrive.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Once back at the Leaky and they were once again
climbing out of the car, Hermione asked, "Do we have
time to go to Madam Malkins before we have to be
back at my place?"
When neither boy, or the aurors, said 'No', Hermione
gave a firm nod and said, "Then we can use the time
left to go into the Alley. I want to pick up a couple of
modern books on nobility in the wizarding world and
Harry, now that he seems to have finished growing so
fast, needs to build up his wizardingwear."
When Harry looked about to disagree, she frowned
back and said, "You also need to replace your
Hogwarts robes, Harry."
Right then Harry knew he'd lost. She was right; he did
need to replace his Hogwarts robes.
After 'delivering' the two boys to Madam Malkins and
'demanding' the store-witches outfit Harry in new
Hogwarts robes and more casual wear robes, she took
off for Flourish and Blotts.
Surprising Harry, Charlotte stayed with them while the
male and a junior auror who'd joined them had to take
off to try and keep up with Hermione.
Once Harry was properly outfitted with a very much
expanded wizarding wardrobe, with the witches
declaring how much he was 'growing like a weed', he
also made sure Neville's wardrobe was suitable.
When Hermione still hadn't made it back, they went
down to Flourish and Blotts to look for her.
She was standing at a shelf scanning through a large
pile of books and trying to decide which ones she
should get.
Harry just rolled his eyes, sighed, scooped them all up
and took them to the counter to pay for them.
Stunned, Hermione was a few seconds before she had
to hurry to catch up, just as Harry was paying for
them.
"Harry!" she exclaimed, when he took off with all 'her'
books.
Once she caught up at the counter, she grumped, "I
didn't need all of them, Harry."
"But you wanted all of them," he said. "As it's easily
within my ability to grant it, I simply bought them all."
When it looked like Hermione couldn't make up her
mind whether to be angry or happy, Neville just
snorted in amusement.
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Chapter 313
Hermione glared at him for a moment while Harry
finalised the purchase.
Harry then turned back with the shrunken package
and said, "There; done. Let's get out of here."
"Thank you," said Charlotte. "I don't like the idea
you're here without proper protection and
undisguised."
Harry smirked back and said, "Look at me. I look so
much different than I looked only a few weeks ago that
anyone who 'knows' me, now won't recognise me."
"You still have the glasses and the scar, Lord Potter,"
she disagreed.
"For now," he muttered.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
When they finally arrived by portkey back at the
Granger residence, Harry tried to immediately head for
the kitchen to stake his claim at cooking for that night.
As he'd already started, Dobby was having none of it.
"Damn it!" grumped Harry.
"Master Harry needs to change," said Dobby. "Master
Harry be havings a very busy day and needs to tell the
Grangys about it. Master Harry should relax."
"I should fire you and throw your mangy arse out into
the street in Knockturn Alley," Harry barked. "There,
you'll be reduced to begging hags to allow you to
clean their shoes of dog turds with your tongue!"
"Master Harry be sayings the nicest things," chirped
the elf. "Master Harry be such a wonderful master!"
Stumped for a comeback, it was a moment before
Harry just again barked, "Damn it!" And stomped from
the kitchen.
As he walked into the parlour, where Monica was
relaxing with paperwork spread on the coffee table
before her, she said, "Leave Dobby alone, Harry. He's
doing a good job."
"He's taking mine!" he grumped. "And he knows it,
too; the scrawny little―"
Snapping her eyes to him she snapped back, "Harry."
Taking a deep breath he let it out in a long sigh. Then
said, "Sorry."
She gave a nod back before turning her attention back
to her papers. "He's right, though. You need to
change; or, at least get rid of the coat, gloves and
jumper."
Neville, who was still there and was snickering, stood
and said, "I'd best get home. My parents will be
waiting and wondering how my day went."
Harry gave a firm nod back and said, "I'll walk with
you to the floo."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After reminding the boy he and Hermione would see
to his purchases being sent over once they were
delivered to the Granger residence, Harry saw the boy
off before returning inside and going up to his room to
shed himself of layers.
After disrobing of the coat, gloves and jumper, he then
went ahead and removed the rest down to his boxers
and socks before redressing in jeans, collared T-shirt
and light jumper. On his feet he just donned trainers
with Velcro fasteners.
As he came out, he was just in time to meet up with
Hermione, who was coming down from her room
wearing similar. On her, though, he thought it looked
much better.
As they were walking down the stairs he asked, "How
do you get into those jeans, Love? They look as if
they're painted on."
Smiling at the unintentional compliment, she replied,
"With practice, Love."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Through dinner, the two teens took turns explaining
their day to the Granger parents.
"Twice, there, I thought we broke him," said Harry. "He
was so stunned by what he'd seen I thought it might
have been a toss up whether he was going to faint or
run screaming in terror."
"He wasn't that bad," smiled Hermione. "He was
surprised, though. By the end of it, however, he
started to be able to handle it better."
"That's why you recommended a swing through
Diagon, wasn't it?" he asked her. However, it was
more a statement than a question.
Surprised, she replied, "Yes, actually. But, I did want
to see you increase your wizarding wardrobe to go
along with your muggle wardrobe. And you did need
to replace your Hogwarts' wardrobe. Plus, yes, I also
did want to pick up those books. Alice and Adeline
both recommended them.
"Alice, from a half-blood's perspective and first being
'elevated' to the role of a Lady Presumptive, when she
became betrothed to Frank. And, Adeline, from a
pureblood perspective, who grew up her whole life in
a Noble House."
"Nice," he nodded. "But, if you need any more and
know the titles, let me know. I can easily send Dobby
in to purchase them for you."
She nodded and said, "I'd forgotten about that; Dobby
being able to go in, I mean."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
That evening, Croaker walked into the Knight's
Shadow team bullpen and said, "A problem has
arisen. A known Death Eater, the Axe, has begun to
stake out the White Knight's hidey-hole."
"Damn!" said one. "Anything being done about it?"
"Eagle's managed to tag him with a compulsion charm
that has him thinking he hasn't collected enough
information yet, plus another that compulses him not
to speak about what he knows until he does have
enough information."
One of the others, Crow, gave a snort and said,
"That's clever. We'll have to make note of that idea. It
could come in handy in the future."
Owl asked, "Is the Axe 'sanctioned'?"
He meant, was deemed to be killed if that's what it
took to ensure his silence.
"No," replied Croaker. "Instead, we're going to put a
tracker rune on him the next time he turns up."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Their purchases from Harrods arrived almost right on
the time the store told them they'd be delivered, a few
minutes after 11.00am.
After accepting the delivery, paying the driver a tip for
his professionalism and closing the door again as the
man retreated up the front path, Harry called Dobby to
take the clothes and other goods and put them in his
and Hermione's rooms. "Once you've done that, can
you take the stuff for Neville over to Longbottom Hall
for me, with my compliments?"
"Of course, Master Harry," replied the elf.
Once Dobby had popped away, Harry bolted for the
kitchen.
If he knew the elf as he thought he did, he would not
just take the clothes upstairs, but would also remove
them of tags and the like, probably given them a wash,
re-press them and put them away.
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Chapter 314
That gave Harry some time to get into the kitchen and
prepare lunch.
Chuckling to himself, he was quick to start whipping
something up for the household.
He had no idea Dobby had popped in invisibly just as
Harry got started, looked at his master with
exasperation and silently popped away again. Dobby
would let his master 'win' this one, just to keep the
game interesting for him.
The elf returned to the kitchen half an hour later to the
sight of Harry humming some muggle tune while
happily working.
"Master Harry being a bad master," he declared.
Harry just happily blew him a raspberry and kept
working. "Better luck next time, sawn off!"
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
When MacNair turned up on the same lawn the next
evening, he had no idea that, moments after he
arrived, he was stunned, had a tiny rune stone with a
tracker rune engraved on it 'surgically' inserted into
the skin in the hollow at the base of the back of his
skull, taken back to the exact place he'd been
stunned, woken, obliviated of the whole event and left.
The Unspeakable who did it, Kite, just continued to
watch him to both make sure he didn't figure out he'd
been discovered and obliviated, or didn't do anything
stupid as it related to the Grangers and the White
Knight.
He also had the information the White Knight was
living there, which he'd only the previous evening
managed to confirm, obliviated from his mind, too.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
The next morning was the day of Harry's surgery.
He'd at first had a restless night. But, unbeknownst to
him, Dobby had been alerted to his master's distress
in the middle of the night and had popped in to cast
an elven calming charm on him. It had worked.
Therefore, when Harry arose at 7.00am, he'd felt the
most rested he'd felt in he didn't know when.
Of course, due to the surgery he couldn't eat that
morning. So, was thankful the potions were no longer
still pressing him to eat.
Dobby had even thought he'd done something wrong
when Harry wouldn't eat the breakfast he'd lovingly
prepared for him."
"I can't eat, my friend," Harry gently explained.
"Muggle surgery requires the patient to be, as they
call it, 'Nil By Mouth' for up to eight hours before the
surgery is due to start. As mine is only a few hours
away, I'm already under doctor's orders not to eat."
He'd no sooner finished explaining things to the elf
when the Grangers came down. Even Hermione was
down early.
"While you folks eat, I'm going to be in my room,
reading," he told them. "Let me know when Andi
arrives, please."
"Will do, Harry," said Hermione.
It was only a half hour before Hermione knocked on
his door.
He looked up, saw her and asked, "She's here?"
"Sure is," she replied. "Ready to go?"
"Yup," he replied, rising from the chair at his desk and
picking up an overnight bag.
Hermione frowned at it and said, "You're not staying
overnight, Harry. You're coming out this afternoon."
"Very occasionally there are complications, Love," he
explained. "As such, I'll be prepared for that." And
jiggled the bag he was a carrying a little.
Hermione gave a sigh, but nodded in agreement.
Bracing herself up again, she firmly said, "Come on.
They're waiting for us downstairs."
Because of Andi also attending, Harry thought they
might be portkeying there. However, they actually
drove in the two Granger cars. The aurors had firmly
stated they weren't being left behind.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Andi and Doctor Dolittle had the surgery timed down
just right. An hour after Harry arrived and was
'checked-in', he was on a hospital bed and being
wheeled into surgery under the affects of a medication
that made him slightly drowsy and carefree about the
whole thing. He was even 'singing', if it could actually
be called that seeing as how off-key he was,
something by Monty Python called 'I'm a Lumberjack';
which he kept stopping as he had a short giggling fit.
Two hours later he was waking up in a recovery room
with Tonks and the Grangers around him. Sirius had
also turned up by then and was there and waiting for
his godson to wake.
As he woke he felt the pressure on his forehead and
began to reach up for it. Obviously they were prepared
for it as, as soon as his hand began to rise, Hermione
grabbed it and held it away from his head. "Don't
touch it, Harry."
Groggy, it took him a while to start to put the pieces
together again.
Finally, he asked for a mouthful of water, which he got,
before he asked, "How'd it go?"
"Successfully," Andi was happy to reply. "The... dark
miasma... was all removed, as expected, and Doctor
Dolittle was able to connect the remaining tissue
together with microsurgery.
"You're going to feel tight across your forehead until I
can apply magical healing to you once we get you
back t the Grangers'. So, don't touch it until I'm done."
Harry nodded and relaxed, still quite groggy.
Thankfully, there were no complications and Harry
was released into Andi's and the Grangers' care late
that afternoon.
The biggest surprise for Harry was it wasn't until he
was getting dressed again that he realised he wasn't
wearing his glasses. The removal of the Horcrux had
also removed his need to wear them.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
As soon as they were able to get back to the
Grangers', again in the cars, Andi carefully removed
the bandages and plaster, laid him down on a
conjured healer's examination table, stunned him,
vanished the stitching and used her wand to heal the
again gaping wound - removing the stitches had
allowed it to open up.
Doing it her way meant new skin formed to replace the
skin that was excised in the surgery, so Harry didn't
end up with a constant feeling of tightness across his
forehead as his body adjusted to the near half inch
wide missing section of dermis.
After the skin was regrown she immediately checked
to see if the area still emanated dark energy,
signifying the Horcrux was still there - it didn't. With a
sigh of relief she quietly informed Sirius, "Harry's
definitely now free of the... item."
Once he was awake again, the only requirement she
had for him was to use scar reduction cream on the
site for the next week to ensure the new skin, which
was still a little pink, didn't leave a new scar. She also
promised there would be no sign of it before he and
Hermione returned to Hogwarts.
"Just so long as you remember to apply the cream
twice a day between now and then," she'd warned.
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Chapter 315
Hermione was almost bouncing in jittery happiness
for him. "Without your scar or glasses, together with
your new fit build, there's going to be many who aren't
going to recognise you, any more."
Sirius said, "Hermione's right. The only true signs
you're Harry Potter now are your messy black hair and
your green eyes. The only thing you can do about
your hair is to use Sleak-Ezy through it. And all that
can be done about your eyes is the wearing of
coloured contacts.
"Don't you dare!" said Hermione. "While I might like to
see an improvement in his hair, I happen to love the
colour of his eyes."
Harry grinned and said, "I had thought about contacts.
But, I'd have only gone that route if I still had to wear
glasses. Since I do no longer, I'm not going to wear
contacts, either."
Since the parents were present, Hermione satisfied
herself with a quick kiss to the lips and not the full
snogging she wanted to give him.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
For the rest of the day, Harry recovered more and
more from the surgery. However, he was getting
frustrated by how much Dobby was trying to 'mother'
him.
With an annoyed sigh after the devoted little elf tried
to hand off on him his third cup of hot chocolate in the
past four hours, he had to tell the little guy, "Dobby,
I'm fiiiiine. All they needed to do was cut a section of
skin out of my forehead and stitch the resultant cut
back together.
"Once I got back here, cousin Andi even healed that
small wound. It's not as if I've had a leg blown off, or
something."
Dobby calmly heard him out and then said, "Dobby
understands. However, Dobby be cooking dinner
tonight. Master Harry still bes a bit wobbly-wonky on
his feetsies." And popped away before Harry could
disagree.
Hermione snickered and said, "Oh, let him have this
one, Harry. If I remember correctly, you did take 'his'
chance to prepare lunch yesterday."
Grumpily, he asked, "And all the times he's taken mine
for dinner?"
"So, he's up a few," she grinned. "Let it be. Besides,
he's right. Doctor Dolittle said you weren't to operate
any heavy machinery, drive, or anything like that for at
least the first twenty four hours. In other words, things
that take constant concentration to do safely. I think
we can include 'cooking' anything as being on that
list."
With a sigh he muttered, "Damn it."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Even as early as the next morning there was marked
improvement in Harry's rapidly healing wound. The
deep redness and swelling had already faded some,
with the swelling almost completely gone already.
As Harry walked into the dinette, a little later than
usual as Wendell and Monica were already up,
Wendell stood to cut him off just before he could sit.
He took one close look at the healing wound and said,
"That's amazing. It gives all the appearance of more
than a week having passed since the surgery and it's
been less than a full day."
"That's magical healing for you," said Harry, as he sat
down at the dinette to eat.
"Are you planning on going anywhere, today?" asked
Monica.
"No," he replied. "I prepared for there to be
complications from the surgery and that I'd be longer
than I thought I would be. So, I had thought I'd
possibly still be in hospital, at the moment. I'm glad
I'm not, but it also means today has nothing
prearranged."
Wendell ordered, "Keep it that way. While using
magical healing techniques have rapidly increased the
rate of healing you're going through, you were still in
surgery yesterday. It can take anywhere up to a few
days for the drugs you were on to be fully cleansed
from your system."
And that's exactly the sort of day Harry enjoyed.
Hermione rose a short time later and then he and her
spent the time watching some television up to lunch.
The afternoon was then spent writing letters to a few
of their friends. Hermione was now also writing to
Adeline and Alice, as they had suggested she do if
she had any questions relating to the information
contained in those books Harry had recently
purchased for her.
On receiving a letter back by HEED from Alice,
Hermione told him, "Alice suggests I spend time next
summer at Longbottom Hall going through specialist
etiquette lessons with her and Adeline."
"Live there, or floo back and forth?" he asked.
"Floo back and forth, I think," she replied. "I mean, it's
near instantaneous travel, isn't it?"
He nodded and said, "Once I check the Potter manor
to ensure for myself it's alright, I think I'll plan on
living there next summer. If you want, I can make sure
the floo is connected and operational so you can
come and go as you please."
Hermione turned a smirk on him and asked, "Harry,
are you asking me to come and live with you?"
Not panicked or otherwise upset by the idea or
question, he calmly replied, "I'm asking you to come
and spend time with me during your summer break.
How long you stay there, or whether you just visit for
the occasional day or stay longer, is entirely your
choice."
As it was a quiet day for the Granger household and
no parties or the like were going to be attended by
them, no one was too tired to wait up for the
changeover to 1995 at midnight. They even watched
the BBC televised special that showed footage of
crowds of people in Trafalgar Square and similar large
open areas, as they counted down the time.
However, the entire household was a-bed by 12.30pm,
at the latest.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
The next day Harry still woke at his usual time, even
though he'd been up late. However, he was the only
one. The Grangers did not come down until just after
9.00am and Hermione was down about fifteen minutes
later.
Harry had already eaten, but was drinking a tea while
reading the Daily Prophet, as the others joined him.
Once Hermione was down, Monica asked, "What are
you plans for today?"
Harry waited a moment before he said, "I think it's
high time I paid a visit to the Potter manor. I don't
know why I've kept putting it off, but... it's time I go."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 316
That had Hermione perk up in subdued excitement.
"Can I come, too?"
"Yes, of course," he replied. But, before she could
suddenly leap to her feet and demand to go right there
and then, he quickly added, "However, it's best I go on
my own to start with. I need to see if the wards are still
set to a war footing or not."
With a sigh of disappointment she asked, "How long
will that take?"
"No idea," he replied. "However, it shouldn't take me
long to grant access to you, your parents and our
auror shadows. Depending on how much effort is
required, I should be no more than... half an hour? I
really don't know."
"Then, as you've finished your breakfast, how about
you go now?" she asked.
He smirked at her and asked, "Eager to see your
future home, are you?"
While she spluttered in half-denial half-laughter Harry
could see that Wendell didn't react at all to his remark.
It seems the man had finally accepted his little
'princess' was definitely going to marry him; it was
only a question of 'when'.
When she tried to scowl back, Harry just grinned even
wider.
"Fine!" she harrumphed "Yes, I'm eager to see where
you and I are eventually going to live."
"I understand," he nodded. Quickly rising, he said,
"No time like the present, then."
As he walked off to track down an auror to let them
know where he was going, Monica looked to her
daughter and said, "Don't expect some grand
mansion, love. Not every princess gets to live in a
palace."
"Actually," she said, "That's what I am expecting. I've
seen the Potter family documents relating to the
manor. From what I've read, the place is going to be
huge."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After convincing the Senior Auror who had leadership
of his auror detail that morning that he had to go
alone to start with, Harry tossed floo powder within
the fireplace and barked, "Pottermore!".
He was worried the connection wouldn't connect, but
it did. As soon as it did he then barked the password,
"Ex pura cordis!" (Latin: Pure of heart) And stepped
through.
As he was not concentrating too much on the travel
through the floo, he hesitated a moment before he
exited when he arrived at the other end. And realised
he'd simply stepped out.
'Hunh!' he thought. 'That's all there is to it? Just
hesitate a moment before stepping out?' And sighed.
A moment later and a house elf wearing a grey
Japanese keikogi - incorrectly, but commonly called, a
'gi' -with a gold belt tied about his waist and a Potter
crest embroidered in matching grey silk styled on his
left breast popped in right in front of him. It stood in
an aggressive stance about twenty feet away and with
its hands raised to attack.
"Why you be―?" it started to demand before it froze
in shock for a moment. Then it suddenly dropped all
aggressiveness, popped forward and began jumping
up and down in front of him. "Little Master Harry!
Little Master Harry!" it practically shouted in obvious
glee.
After seeing how the Longbottom elves reacted to
discovering Frank and Alice were awake, the
behaviour of the elf did not surprise him. Just as it did
not surprise him when the elf suddenly snapped its
fingers and four more elves popped in, also capering
about and shouting, "Little Master Harry is back! Little
Master Harry has returned!"
He gave them a few moments before he calmly said,
"Alright, that's enough."
Instantly, all five stopped and turned to look at him. All
five were showing both happiness and near adoration
in their expressions.
Harry held up his ring and said, "I, Lord Harrison
James Potter, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient
House of Potter, hereby lay claim to this abode,
Pottermore, the Seat of the Noble and Most Ancient
House of Potter. As I say, so let it be written."
Immediately there was a flash of magic from his ring.
It was quickly followed by a slight golden glow
coming from all five elves for a moment. They all
beamed smiles back at him.
Looking down at the elves he then noticed that, while
they all appeared to be dressed identically, there was
one difference. Different to the first, who wore a gold
belt, the others all wore a dark grey belt.
'Rankings?' he thought.
Looking to the first, he said, "I take it you're in charge
of the elf population of the manor?"
"Yes, Master Harry," it immediately and
enthusiastically replied. "I be The Jeeves, Willy." He
then indicated the other four and said, "This be Betsy,
Raggy, Tally and Pinty." Indicating them in the same
order he said, "They be Ladies elf, Guest's elf,
Ground's elf and Lower floor's elf. I be The Jeeves. I
be... Major Domo."
"Excellent," said Harry. "First things first, I need to
adjust the wards so some guests of mine can come
through."
Willy gave a firm nod, snapped his fingers having the
other elves all pop away again and said to Harry,
"Willy will lead you to ward stone." Then he began to
trot away.
Of course, Harry with his much longer legs, only
needed to walk with a slightly lengthened stride to
keep up.
Once down in the basement, Willy showed him what
he needed to do to access the ward keystone, then
what he needed to do to change the wards and helped
Harry do it.
As he'd expected, the war wards were up and active.
He first scaled back and turned off the lethal wards,
then adjusted the non-lethal wards concerning
'intruders' to immediately immobilise and stun. Next,
he added the full name of Hermione as a 'resident';
and Wendell, Monica, Sirius, Remus, Frank, Alice,
Neville, Ted, Andi and 'Call-Me-Tonks' went into the
permanent 'guest' list - with Dumbledore, whose name
was down as a permanent guest, removed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 317
That then allowed him to reset the permanent wards
with a new password, as well.
Into the temporary guest book he made sure the book
was clear of all other names before adding the full
names of the current auror detachment.
He knew he'd have to keep a separate list of full
names of those he suspected would often or
sometimes visit set with the book, so he wouldn't
have to ask them for their full names in future. That
would be the names of the Alliance members.
When he asked Willy about another related matter, the
little elf told him there was a book only available to the
Head of the House, which could apply to the lethal
wards in cases of blood feuds and the like.
He immediately asked for it and the elf indicated the
hidden niche in the brickwork next to the stone. "It's
in there, Master."
Drawing it out, Harry saw there were quite the number
of names actively listed within. He recognised all of
them to be who he suspected as Death Eaters. One
was Snape. However, on thinking about it, he realised
he knew a few names that weren't there; so went
ahead and added them. Tom Riddle, Lucius Malfoy,
Peter Pettigrew, Walden MacNair, Corban Yaxley,
Bartemius Crouch Jr and Igor Karkaroff all joined the
list of names that included all three LeStranges, Avery,
Dolohov and others.
Once done he closed the book and followed Willy's
directions on how to activate the book's changes.
Finally, with all the changes he needed to do now
done, he closed back up the hidden chamber wherein
rested the stone and made his way back up to the
main floor.
"Alright, Willy,' he said, once back in the welcoming
parlour. "I need to go back to the Granger residence to
round up my betrothed, her family and a couple of
aurors who have it in their heads I need to be babysat.
I'll be back soon."
"Very well, Master Harry," said the elf. "I'll let the
others know."
As soon as Harry disappeared back through the floo,
Willy called the others back and instructed them to
begin to get the Manor ready. "Master Harry be
bringing guests!" he declared. "Clean, clean, clean!
Raggy be helpings Pinty be preparing lunchies; and
Tally be helpings Betsy be cleanings!"
Happily, the five all popped away to work.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Stepping back out of the floo in the Doghouse, this
time remembering to pause the moment before
stepping out, Harry was happy he didn't so much as
even stagger.
"Yessss!" he happily declared.
The auror waiting for him grinned and said, "I see
you've figured it out."
"Yup!" he then declared. " Alright, time to go round up
the troops."
He'd only just exited the little building to find
Hermione hurrying down from the back door.
As soon as she reached him she started rapidly
asking questions like her days of old. "Thank God
you're safe! Is it still there? Did you have trouble with
the wards? What's it like? Is it as big as the
Longbottoms'; or bigger or smaller? Are there
elves―"
"Hermione! Stop!" he barked.
That immediately shut her up and made her blush.
"Sorry!" she squeaked, looking down and away.
With a sigh of frustration and acceptance, he
instructed, "Come back up and inside and we'll round
everyone up. As I hope you'll all join me to go and
have a better look, you're going to find that you'll be
able to answer most of your questions simply by
looking for yourself."
"Umm... yeah," she said. "Sorry!"
Harry lead the way back up to the house and inside.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Once everyone was rounded up, the whole household
except one auror who'd remain behind, trooped down
to the Doghouse.
Once inside, he reminded them, "Alright. The floo
address is 'Pottermore'. And the new current
password is 'Rule Britannia'. Everyone got that?"
When no one disagreed he tossed in a dash of floo
powder and was away a few moments later. Again, he
gave the short pause at the end before almost nimbly
stepping out.
Pleased with his efforts in having finally figured out
'the secret' to floo travel, he stepped away just in time
for the first auror to step through. Then, in quick
succession, came Hermione, Wendell, Monica and the
second auror.
That's also when Willy popped in.
Looking to the elf, Harry said, "Good. You're here."
"Of course, Master Harry," replied the elf.
"We have one more to join us," he told it. "I have a
personal elf and I'd like to bring him over. Is that
alright with you?"
"Of course, Master Harry," replied Willy. "Will he also
be the new Jeeves?"
"No," replied Harry. "You remain Major Domo of
Pottermore, if that's alright with you."
"Of course, Master Harry."
"He'll be my personal elf, who will also return with me
to Hogwarts in a few days."
"Very well, Master Harry," replied the elf.
With a grin back, Harry suddenly commanded,
"Dobby!"
Dobby arrived with the slightest of cracks a few
moments later. "Yes, Master Harry, Sir?"
Indicating Willy, Harry said, "Dobby, this is Willy. He is
Major Domo of Pottermore and otherwise known as
The Jeeves. He has four other elves under his
leadership."
Turning to Willy to indicate Dobby he said, "This is
Dobby. He is my personal elf and tends to go where I
go."
Turning back to Dobby as both elves were looking
each other over, Harry said, "Dobby, for ease of
identity, I want you to dress the same as the other
Potter elves here; but... I want you to have a silver
belt, rather than the gold one Willy wears, or the grey
ones the other elves wear. The silver is to show you to
be my personal elf. Is that alright with you?"
"Of course, Master Harry, Sir!" Dobby immediately and
happily replied. A snap of his fingers and he was
wearing just as Harry described.
Turning back to Willy he said, "Sorry, I should have
asked first. I take it the gold belt, rather than a grey
belt, is because of your position in the Potter
household?"
"Yes, Master Harry," replied Willy.
"No one else wears a silver belt?"
"No, Master Harry."
"Excellent," he declared clapping his hands together
and rubbing them. "Alright, you two. Willy... would you
mind introducing Dobby to the other Potter elves and
bringing him up to date with the House of Potter and
what his role within the household will be?"
"Of course not, Master Harry."
A moment later, both elves popped away.
Spinning back to the rest, except the aurors, they
were watching him with amusement. The aurors had
already begun to move through the manor, casting as
they went.
Wendell chuckled and said, "That was great to watch.
You have skills in leadership."
Hermione asked, "How many elves are there, Harry?"
"Here, excluding Dobby? Five," he replied. "I still have
no idea how many there are in total."
Suddenly, he realised he'd forgotten something, or
simply hadn't until then realised it. Giving his fingers
a snap he declared, "I've forgotten something. Wait a
bit."
Looking off to the side he called, "Ummm... Betsy?"
The little female elf he'd been introduced to by Willy
earlier popped in. "Yes, Master Harry," she asked.
Indicating Hermione he said, "Betsy, this is Lady
Presumptive Hermione Jean Granger, magical ward of
Lord Sirius Orion Black of the Noble and Most Ancient
House of Black - and my betrothed."
Looking at Hermione, he was grinning and said,
"Hermione? Betsy. Ladies elf of Pottermore. Your
personal elf."
While Hermione stood there gaping like a stunned fish
at him, he heard Monica snickering in amusement
slightly off to one side.
Betsy, meanwhile, dropped into a curtsey - proving, as
Harry suspected, she was female - and carefully said
to Hermione, "Mistress Herm-my-oh-nee."
Spending a few seconds glancing in shock between
Harry and Betsy, Hermione finally fixed a glare on
Harry and barked, "Harrison James Potter!"
Harry just burst out laughing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 318
Once Hermione had managed to calm down from
finding out she now had her own personal elf - 'And
wasn't Harrison James 'Naffing' Potter going to be
paying for that little surprise, later,' thought Hermione
- Harry called on Willy to give them a tour of the
manor.
What they discovered was the manor couldn't really
be compared with Longbottom Hall as the two were
different types of buildings. Where Longbottom Hall
had an attic, a resident's floor, a main floor and a
basement, all on a larger footprint; Pottermore had a
half-attic quarter-owlery quarter-astronomy cum sun
deck, a resident's floor, a guest's floor, the main floor
and a half-basement quarter-potions lab quarterduelling piste floor, on a smaller footprint. The main
floor also had a 'single floor wing' where the ceiling
was about one and a half floors higher than normal;
which held a ballroom cum reception room, formal
dining room and formal office for the Head of House.
One thing that was immediately apparent, even in the
welcoming parlour, everything was 'high class high
quality'. From the quality of the ceiling fixtures all the
way down to the flooring, everything screamed 'old
money'; and a lot of it.
While it didn't mean all that much to Harry, as money
was not something he placed high value in, it was
clear the Grangers were stunned by what they saw;
even Hermione.
While walking from one room to another with
Hermione's arm tucked in his elbow, from behind he
heard Wendell mutter to Monica, "This all must have
cost a bloody fortune!"
He heard Monica just as quietly reply, "It's only
occurring to you, now, that your daughter is marrying
into old money?"
He didn't hear the rest.
During the tour - while the Grangers were taking a
careful look through the Head of House's, Harry's,
office - Harry had to quietly tell Willy not to take them
to the library until last. The elf complied.
The library ended up being across two floors that split
with an internal stair passing up through an open
stairwell in the middle of the room. It could be
accessed through matching double doors from both
the main floor and the guest's floor.
It was huge; far bigger, by the sounds of it, than even
the one at Grimmauld Place. But, according to
Hermione, on about par with the one at Longbottom
Hall.
When Hermione looked about to dash in and start
taking books, Harry had to grab her and remind her he
didn't know which books she could and could not
touch yet.
"I'll have Willy make sure all the 'Potter's Only' and
otherwise cursed books are moved to the second
floor," he said. "That way, you'll know you'll be safe to
touch the books on this floor until I can do something
about the curses on the others."
With a sigh of frustration, Hermione nodded and said,
"Thank you, Harry."
Once the tour inside was done, Willy took them
outside to look at the grounds. They were extensive.
Out the back, Harry noticed a Quidditch pitch in the
distance and, indicating it, asked Willy, "Is that mine?"
"Yes, Master Harry," he replied. "Master James's
grandfather, Master Fleamont, put it in."
"My lands extend all the way out there?"
"And quite a ways beyond, Master Harry," he replied.
"Pottermore sits on over one hundred acres."
Harry frowned and said, "That's a lot. What is done
with it all?"
"Most of the land has been left as nature intended,
Master Harry," replied the elf. "Only the middle twenty
acres or so has been cultured. Even then, it's only the
inside seven acres that is actually maintained. That is,
the land down to and including the Quidditch pitch
and the lands around the manor that have been turned
to gardens.
"For generations, the Potter family has refused to do
anything with the rest of the land, as they want it to
act as a natural barrier to the encroaching muggles."
Harry nodded and muttered, "Makes sense. I think I'll
keep with that concept."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Back inside and Willy escorted them to the
informal/breakfast table just off the kitchen.
He indicated the table of eight and said, "Pinty and
Raggy have prepared a lunch for you all. We hope
you'll stay to enjoy it before leaving again."
Glancing to the Grangers, who didn't seem to have a
choice either way, Harry shrugged and said, "Why not.
Would you mind letting our two aurors know they
should come in here for lunch? As you suspected,
we'll leave again shortly afterwards."
As Harry was about to sit to the side, Willy almost
pushed him to the head of the table. "Master Harry as
Lord must be sittings at the head of the table."
As Harry started to comply, he turned back to see
Betsy doing the same with Hermione, forcing her to
the other end. "Sorry," he said. "I'll accede to your
wishes; but, only this once.
"I'll sit at the head of the table for formal events, but
not for informal things such as this. Alright?"
"Yes, Master Harry. Of course, Master Harry," replied
the elf.
Once they were all sitting, with even the aurors being
somewhat unwilling to refuse the elves, lunch was
served. And it was a veritable feast.
Apparently, Dobby had already advised the Potter
elves - other Potter elves - of both Harry's and the
Grangers' preferences for food. There was very little
that didn't meet the criteria.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
By early to mid afternoon they'd left Pottermore and
returned to the Granger residence. As soon as they
did, Harry was heading up to gather writing equipment
so he could write notes to be delivered to Sirius,
Remus, Andi and Ted about the floo address and
password for Pottermore.
However, before he had a chance to do so, Wendell
asked him to join him in his office.
Walking in, Wendell indicated the occasional chairs
for Harry to sit in one while he sat in the other.
Once he was comfortable, Harry could see his future
father-in-bond was thinking about what he wanted to
say and was thinking of the right words to say it.
Harry just waited the man out, as he knew he needed
the time. That, at least, he could empathise.
"Lord Potter―" he eventually said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 319
"Harry," he immediately came back with.
Wendell seemed a little uncomfortable, but disagreed.
"Not for this," he said before pausing again. "It wasn't
until Monica and I were walking through your home,
seeing the quality and sheer size of it, that it really
occurred to me just how rich you actually are.
"Sure, being told is one thing. But, actually seeing
the... produce... of that... Well, I can say I now
completely understand."
"You know that the money I have―" started Harry, but
was stopped when Wendell raised his hand in a stop
gesture.
"Monica and I understand that, Harry," he nodded.
"However, you and Hermione are not Sonny and Cher.
Your love cannot and would not sustain you."
Harry gave a snort of amusement, which Wendell
acknowledged with a slight grin, but his face
immediately went back to a serious expression.
"Seeing that... home of yours," he continued,
"Showed Monica and I that you'll be able to provide
for our little princess far beyond what we will."
"Only monetarily," said Harry. "You provide her so
much more, simply by being her parents and giving
her your love."
Wendell nodded and said, "It's nice of you to say so.
However, it is easy for us to see that you love her just
as deeply as we. So that's a, how would you put it? A
wash?"
Harry only nodded back.
"I know it's a personal question, Harry. But, could you
give me some idea of just how wealthy you are?"
Harry immediately asked back, "Financially, you
mean?"
When Wendell nodded, Harry replied, "I don't know
the total amount because I've never really wanted to
know. However, interest- and disbursement-wise from
investments, I think the Potter accounts bring in about
three hundred thousand Galleons per quarter; or,
about one point two million galleons per year. At
today's exchange rate, that's about six point four
million pounds per year.
"At the moment I have Ted and the goblins looking for
further investment opportunities; because, very little
changes have occurred over the past fifteen years and
the gold has been collecting dust in the family vaults.
Gold, just sitting there, is doing no one any good.
"As I told Hermione - when she first discovered just
how much, in general, I'm worth and she nearly
suffered a panic attack on learning of it - money is not
all that important to me as anything more than
something I can use to hand to someone to get them
to hand me something I want. Unlike people like the
Malfoys, I don't keep score based on the bottom
number of the balance sheet. I keep score by how
much good I can do for someone else, when it's in my
power to do so."
"Altruism at its finest," muttered Wendell.
Harry said, "Hermione calls it 'my saving people
thing'."
Wendell sat back and looked at Harry a bit more
shrewdly, "Is your... wealth... one of the reasons you
feel you're going to get pressured to take on
concubines?"
"Take on concubines; no," he disagreed. "And it's not
about my wealth, either. It's about my House - a Noble
and Most Ancient one. Money only matters in this
when it comes to taking care of the needs of the
concubine if the Concubine Bond Agreement
becomes a contract.
"As I said before, concubinage in wizarding Britain is
about bloodlines. The advantages, to the Alliance in
this regard, is that we can use the protections built
into the laws regarding concubinage to protect the
witches concerned.
"A witch under a Concubine Bond Agreement or
Contract... or Betrothal Agreement or Contract... is 'off
the market', so to speak. Further, the concerned witch
falls under the protections of both their own House
and the House of their contracted groom.
"It's only for that protection I'm even willing to... listen
to others on the matter. If they tried to force me to
actually take on concubines; that is, actual contracts;
I'd tell them all to go shove it sideways."
Wendell gave a little snort of amusement and seemed
to think for a while.
Finally, he asked, "So your only interest is to protect
them."
"Yes," Harry simply replied.
"If your only concern is to protect these girls and not
to take advantage of them, then I think you should
consider hearing out what they want to say."
Harry gave his own snort of amusement and said, "Up
until about a year ago, I never thought I'd hear the
father of any prospective bride of mine ever say
something like that."
"A year ago?" asked Wendell.
"That's when I first learned about concubinage and
how it might relate to my house."
Wendell smirked and returned, "And, I never thought
I'd ever say such a thing to my prospective son-inlaw."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After his meeting with Wendell, Harry continued with
his intent to gather writing equipment to write his
notes. He took it all down to the dinette.
He'd no sooner sat and began to write when he was
joined by Hermione. She asked, "May I ask what you
and Daddy talked about?"
"Concubine bond agreements," he replied. "He, too,
thinks I can use them to protect the unattached
heiresses of the Alliance."
"Daddy said that?" she asked, clearly shocked.
"He did," he smirked.
"Wow," she quietly exclaimed.
He just grinned back before returning to his writing.
"And, you're writing..." she asked.
"I'm writing notes with information about Pottermore
to Sirius, Remus, Ted and Andi," he replied. "I'm
letting them all know they're now listed as permanent
guests and giving them both the floo address and
password.
"I also intend to write Luna Lovegood a note to let her
know, if she'd like, to join Neville in a compartment
with him on the Hogwarts Express. But, I'm not telling
her it'll be for her protection on the train. And I'll be
including that information in the letter I send Neville."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 320
"Can I ask why?" she asked.
"You can," he replied. "Regarding Luna is, I think,
obvious. For the former, it's so they don't have to ask
permission to visit, to give them somewhere they can
go if they need to go somewhere due to their home
being under attack or something; and letting them
know, in a roundabout way, my level of trust in each of
them.
"Being added to a Head of House's home wards is
considered an honour."
"What about the wards here?" she asked.
"Those sort of wards can't be erected here because
it's a muggle home," he explained. "You have muggles
visit, such as door-to-door solicitors. If they then get
bounced or otherwise harmed because of those sort
of wards, it's a breach of the Statute of Secrecy.
"That's why I had various intent-based wards erected.
And, even then, they had to be very specific. The ones
that are on here are keyed to block those intending
only physical or magical harm. It means, though,
those with intent to swindle or otherwise rip off your
parents will still be able to get through if they push."
"What about Dumbledore?" she asked. "If his only
intent is to take you away, why can't he get through?"
"Because that one's a specific anti-Dumbledore ward
keyed to his magical signature. However, if he sends
someone else to come and try to take me away... I just
don't know what will happen. If their intent is just to
take me away to another place of safety, they should
still be able to take me away. What I'm counting on is,
if they were to try and push it when I refuse, the intentbased wards will deal with them."
"Sounds like a very complicated balancing act," she
said.
He smiled and said, "It is."
Hermione seemed to run out of questions and then
offered him help writing the notes.
"They won't take long," he said. "However, you're
welcome to proof-read them, if you want."
She accepted and she did.
Harry sent them off using HEED before going into the
kitchen and making an early start on dinner.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
The next morning, the Saturday, Andi came over with
Sirius immediately after breakfast to give Harry
another check on his fading scar.
Taking Harry apart from everyone else, she scanned it
and said, "Still no sign of that dark miasma. It looks
like we got rid of it. I'll need to document that solution
and write a report for the Saint Mungo's medical
board.
"While many might be averse towards muggle healing
solutions, there's no doubt it was the muggle surgery
that allowed us to get rid of it where wizarding
solutions didn't, couldn't and wouldn't work."
What none of them knew was that the Unspeakables
had been monitoring the operation and, as soon as
the epidermis/dermis matter had been removed, at
their first opportunity they surreptitiously removed it
and whizzed it off to Level 9 at the Ministry and their
own people. They both confirmed it contained the soul
fragment of Tom Riddle and were present when the
material broke down enough for it to no longer be
viable to sustain the soul fragment - and watched it
die.
"I'm just glad it's gone," he said. "I hadn't realised it
until this morning, but for the past two nights I've had
the best sleep I've ever had.
"I don't know if that's finding out I had a Horcrux and
it's gone; or, it's because the Horcrux was negatively
affecting my sleep."
"I'd say the latter," she agreed. "Either that, or the
dark energy emanating from the scar is what was
causing you restless sleep.
"I'll also be coming over on Monday evening to give
you a last check before you head for Hogwarts. Then
I'll send a copy of your medical file to Journeyman
Healer Peter Robinson, the new medi-wizard of
Hogwarts, so he has a copy of your records. I'll be
asking him to report to me how well the new scar
heals, so I can add it to my report."
"Normally, I'd be upset with you about using my fame,
or something," he said. "However, since this seems to
have worked and there's a good chance it can be used
to help children not be so afflicted, I guess I can go
along with it."
She smiled and said, "Don't worry, Harry. "You're
referred to in the report as 'Patient TX12'. I've only a
need to verbally tell the Board who the patient is. It's
never written down. That would be a breach of healerpatient confidentiality and I would be placing my
magic at risk."
Sirius, who was listening in, said, "For your
information, Pup, I'm Patient TX11 and Remus is
Patient TX13."
He immediately turned to Andi and said, "Don't worry,
Andi; it was Remus who told me he was TX13 when I
mentioned you designated me TX11. It wasn't then
hard to figure out Harry, here, was TX12."
Harry looked to Andi and asked, "I take it there were
ten others you've applied experimental healing
techniques on before we came along?"
She smiled and said, "I can neither confirm, nor deny,
that."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Once Andi and Sirius had left again, Hermione
dragged Harry up to his room and sat him on the chair
while she sat on the side of his bed.
"You... want to tell me something you don't want your
parents to hear?" he asked, once they were settled.
Hermione nibbled on her bottom lip for a few
moments before she blushed and asked, "I wanted to
know how far you've managed to get through that
book Sirius gave you. We haven't talked about it since
well before Christmas and... well... you haven't come
and talked to me about it―"
Blushing and looking away he mumbled, "I've finished
it."
"You have?" she asked, pleased. "Why didn't you tell
me?"
"Because it's an uncomfortable subject?" he asked
right back.
"Oh," she softly replied.
She seemed to think for another long moment and
said, "Well, since you've finished it and we're talking
about it now... is there anything you wanted to know?
That is... is there anything you think I can clarify for
you... or, just explain better?"
"I..." he immediately started to reply before he
suddenly stopped. "No... No, I don't think there is."
He then seemed to think about it before he said,
"Actually, yeah, maybe. However, I don't want to talk
about it here. Can we wait until we're not under your
parents' roof?"
"You want to wait until we're back at Hogwarts?" she
asked. When Harry nodded in response she said,
"Alright. We can do that."
"Thank you," he sighed.
When she rose and looked about to leave, Harry
noticed she looked a little hurt. Without even thinking
about it, he reached out, grabbed her about the waist
and pulled her onto his lap.
When she gave a little squeak of surprise as she
landed and turned to look at him in shock, he quickly
kissed her long and hard. It took her only moments to
respond and kiss him just as firmly back.