Chapter 10 – Knop objects
Harry had thought he was really ready for the next time he traveled by magical means. His inner ear thought that was awful presumptuous of the wizard and decided to let Harry know who was really in control of special transports. Harry stumbled out of the portkey travel and knocked over an older house elf who was wearing one of the Potter family crests on his tunic.
The house elf was less than amused. He was almost scowling as he regained his feet and straightened up his tunic on his pudgy frame. He didn't even offer to help Harry regain his feet. "Most wizards are proficient in magical forms of transport by the time they reach your age, your honor. If your parents would like, I could try to tutor you on how to do that properly if I can manage any free time. I am a very busy elf."
Harry froze up as the elf mentioned his parents. He face got a set to it that Hermione had only seen once back during their first year; the time Harry had conjured up a thunderstorm to chase Malfoy during their initial flying lesson. Hermione hoped the house elf wouldn't be too damaged by a similar encounter.
Ginny helped Harry to his feet but was surprised by the wink he gave her. Brushing off his pants, Harry turned to the house elf and managed small bow. "My apologies for my clumsiness then. I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."
The elf huffed as if it was below him to explain things to the three children in front of him. "My name is Knop; I'm the head house elf in charge of all the operations here at Potter Manor. I have been serving the Potter family in an exemplary manner for four generations."
'And may not live to serve a fifth' thought Ginny privately. The elf with the bad attitude was hanging himself and she wondered how long Harry would continue this version of an interview.
"So this is Potter Manor? I only heard about this a short time ago."
"Where did you think you were going to end up? Has your portkey been damaged or did you just appear here by accident?"
'Oh, this is getting interesting' Hermione thought. 'I wonder what Harry is thinking?'
'Just having some sport. Rettus's descriptions didn't do Knop justice.'
"Our house elf sent us along. He must have been mistaken the destination. We were talking about Harry Potter a while ago and he must have thought we wanted to meet him. Is he about anywhere?"
"No. Lord Potter and his wives are expected to arrive sometime today to inspect the estate. You will not be able to see him; you aren't exactly presentable in your current attire to be presented to his lordship."
Ginny stepped forward and Harry saw a dangerous look in her eye. "Are you saying we are dressed too commonly to be able to even wish the lord congratulations on his new marital status?"
"I would not say that but I'm sure there will be a grand ball that the new lord and his ladies will host to introduce themselves to the wizarding world. Perhaps if you give me your names before you leave, I could persuade Lord Potter to send you invitations."
Ginny knew that would never happen and the house elf was trying to brush them off. Hermione saw Harry grimace at the mention of a grand party and wondered how he had held his tongue for so long against this self-important creature. She did nudge his side however when she saw Rettus and Llasol come down the nearby stairway to stand behind Knop.
Their arrival did not go unnoticed by Knop. He turned away from the group of three humans without even a word of apology. "What are you two doing here in the main hall? If you have finished moving the lord and ladies belongings, you should be back at your normal stations."
Harry coughed and winked at Rettus and fingered the pin on his collar. Rettus smiled and he and Llasol brushed by Knop who looked ready to erupt in anger at their actions.
Rettus smiled up at the grinning trio and dipped his head briefly. "Harry, we've put all your trunks in the master suite and Hedwig is sitting in his cage out on the balcony. Crookshanks, however, has decided to start exploring the manor without you."
Knop didn't believe his long grey ears. "Rettus, you didn't answer me!"
All three humans turned as one to glare at the house elf.
"He answers to Harry" Ginny said.
"You know, Harry. As in – Harry … Potter!"
Knop stared up at the boy and two girls he had been verbally sparring with. And promptly fainted! Hermione and Ginny almost fell over laughing at the reaction of the house elf but Rettus and Llasol turned to pick up the fallen Knop.
"Hold on that" Harry said. "He can stay there for a bit. He is a very busy elf you know; he could probably use a nap."
"Whatever you say, Mi'lord. Obviously Knop didn't expect you to look like…"
"A nobody with questionable clothes" supplied Hermione.
Harry shook his head sadly at the unconscious elf. "I'm afraid I going to be a horrible disappointment to Knop. Oh well. Rettus how many house elves work now at Potter Manor?"
"About twenty if you count the elves that are charged with the upkeep of the other homes on the grounds."
"We have other homes?"
"There are three houses of differing sizes to serve as guest quarters for extended visitor stays. That's beside the other six bedrooms here in the main house."
Ginny's voice shook a little as she asked the next question. "How big is Potter Manor?"
"The house or everything?"
"Everything."
"About 3 kilometers square or two miles as the old measures went. And totally hidden."
"That's about 1400 acres or 3500 hectares" whispered Hermione who had quickly done the rough math. "That's huge – almost Hogwarts and Hogsmeade together huge!"
"Wow!"
Harry was stunned at the size of the holding and all he was responsible for. "Rettus, could you and Llasol go fetch everyone and come back here in… fifteen minutes? I think we all would like to meet everyone and have a quick word with them."
Both house elves nodded and disappeared with a small pop. Harry, Hermione and Ginny took the silence to take a good look around the main hall.
It seemed they had ported to the main entrance to the manor. An impressively sized and gilded oaken door was behind them. There was a double stairway in front of them that curved up to a second floor landing. Hallways led away like spokes of a wheel on the ground floor with one directly ahead going under the staircases. The grey and white marble tiled floor seemed both elegant and homey. There were vases of flowers on a couple of tables across the hallway and Harry enjoyed the scent that filled up the entranceway.
Hermione glanced upward and then jumped sideways with a start. Harry and Ginny looked up to see a sight that filled them both with a sense of nostalgia and trepidation. A giant chandelier of brass and crystal hung over their heads – almost identical in fact to the one that had almost crushed both girls at Ollivander's wand shop when they first met Hermione.
"That will be changed before the week is out Hermione." Both girls smiled at Harry's promise but he did notice that neither wanted to be directly under it as they wandered around the main hall of Potter Manor.
There were a lot of windows in the main hall that would let sunshine in during sunny days. Harry hoped the rest of the rooms were similarly lit; it would be a nice contrast to Hogwarts with its dark hallways and frequent torches. Harry and the girls peered down a few of the hallways but other than seeing what looked like a long dining room table, they couldn't see what was in other rooms. Ginny wanted to explore but Harry said it could wait until after they talked to their staff. Harry shook his head as he said that; he just couldn't quite grasp that he was responsible for another twenty lives now.
A faint groan alerted the three that Knop was coming around so Harry and the girls walked back besides the recumbent house elf. Harry held out a hand to help Knop to his feet but he had barely stood up when the house elf shook his head and was back on his knees again.
"Lord Potter, my abject apologies. I was not…you don't look... I didn't mean to insult you or your wives. I am so sorry for my actions. I will talk to Llasol and Rettus about their improper familiarity as soon as I can."
"No, you won't. We have given them permission to talk to us that way so they have done nothing wrong. But you will listen for now as we talk to the rest of the staff. Is that understood?"
Knop mutely nodded and his eyes got wide as other house elves began popping in or walking in to the main hall. Harry and the girls waited until Rettus said that everyone was finally present. Harry climbed up one of the stairways to the seventh step and then turned to look out over the small crowd. He smiled once and beckoned for Ginny and Hermione to join him. Once they were beside him he smiled at the staring crowd and began to speak.
"Hello my name is Harry Potter and some or all of you may have been here when I was a baby. I apologize but I have no remembrance of anybody or anything about Potter Manor so I hope you all won't mind helping me. I am still uncomfortable with all this formality with this new position I have so I would ask that you don't usually address me as Lord Potter. Or kneel to me and my wives. Ginny and Hermione here are of like mind so we shall stay informal for the most part. I'm sure there will be times when formality is called for but it will only hopefully be when we are entertaining guests of the adult variety."
"I have no idea of how to run a household and only a little experience with house elves. Please have some patience with my ignorance and inexperience."
Harry paused to take a breath and there came a little buzz of conversation from the assembled house elves. Harry looked arpund and held up a hand to call for quiet. "Who attended my mother and father when they were here?"
A silence met his question and Harry turned to look at Knop. "Valey who attended both your mother and grandmothers passed away. She was most despondent on the death of your mother and just shut herself off. I attended your father when he let me. He was a most independent master."
"As I will probably be too. I've even been known to get up and fix my own breakfast." A ripple of shock went through the faces of most of the house elves but Hermione turned to Harry with a silent question. He nodded and Hermione raised her voice a little.
"Llasol?"
"Yes, Lady Hermione?"
"Our new position comes with a lot of new duties and responsibilities. Would you mind helping to look after two human females who don't have much knowledge of this whole new situation?"
"I would be honored to be your new maid miladies."
Harry spoke up at Llasol's quick answer. "You'll have to agree with the terms I am giving all the house elves here. One galleon a month pay and one day off every month."
Protests erupted from a variety of mouths, including the most vocal one - Knop. Harry held up both his hands to quiet the voices. "This is NOT designed to be a punishment for any of you. You have served this manor and the Potter family for many years and should have some reward for your loyalty and dedication. I could increase it to 4 galleons a month and two days off if you don't like that offer."
Everyone shouted out that the choice was unfair and that they performed their duties without need for compensation. Harry nodded finally at the grumbling acceptance of his prior offer from all the house elves. He smiled and saw a few answering smiles from some of the crowd.
"Hermione, Ginny and I will be wandering around the manor and the grounds for the next few weeks with the intent to meet and talk to all of you. You may all go back to what you were doing but you can also come up and introduce yourselves and let us know what your duties and problems may be."
About half the house elves immediately vanished but the others shuffled forward a little curiously to meet the new lord and ladies of the house. Harry glanced at the girls and walked down to the second stair and sat; the girls immediately came down and sat beside him. The house elves were amazed that Harry had come down to their level to speak to them.
It took about thirty minutes for the elves to come and talk to the three of them. Harry ordered again that no one should have to kneel before any of them and Harry saw a small look of disapproval cross Knop's visage. Harry noticed that the female half of the elves spoke only a few words to Harry but seemed fascinated by the appearance and smiles of Ginny and Hermione. Harry found he could talk about most of the duties the male house elves had but admitted he didn't know everything about some things. The elf in charge of the stables, Tride, seemed the most enthusiastic in meeting the young lord and his ladies.
Harry didn't know if Knop gave some hidden signal or it was a mutual decision but the remaining house elves stood back at one point and just bowed to the figures on the stairs before disappearing.
Harry and his wives stood up and looked around. Turning to Knop Harry tried a little diplomacy. "I'm sorry for the shock Knop. We are probably not going to be like any of the lords or ladies that you have served before and we definitely will have a word or two about your manners. But for now how about a tour of the manor proper?"
"Whatever you desire Lord… Harry. Oh, this is most improper. Would you like to see the upstairs or the downstairs first?"
"Downstairs would be appreciated but let's leave the library for last. We may lose Hermione there for the rest of the day."
"Lord Potter may be spanked for saying that" Hermione answered. Knop's eyes grew wide as he thought he heard a threat made to the lord of the house.
Harry and Ginny blew raspberries at her and didn't notice that Knop shuddered visibly at their action. He did however point to one of the corridors and started describing the layout of the manor as the three adolescents began following him.
Xxxx xxxx
Ginny was totally and truly overwhelmed. It had started when she saw the dining room that was bigger than any two floors of the Burrow. It had only gotten worse the more she saw of the entire ground level of the manor. The library was the exception but the study, the ballroom, the huge living room and all the other areas had added to her stress and feelings of inadequacy.
Harry had noted her growing level of panic and just asked Knop to lead them to the master suite when they finished the tour of the first floor. Llasol was busy putting away their things when they arrived and Harry asked for some privacy from her and Knop. They withdrew and Harry and Hermione walked Ginny to the bed and they all sat down for a talk.
"I'm not sure I can do this Harry. I don't know if I can be Lady Potter or Countess Fife or any of those other half dozen titles you have now. I just don't know what to do with all…" Ginny wave her hand around at the luxurious bedchamber. "…this."
Hermione knew some of what Ginny was feeling. The sudden reality of not only wealth but responsibilities and having house elves at their beck and call was intimidating. Nobody could have prepared her (or any of them) for anything like this. It just wasn't in any of her plans as she boarded the train for Hogwarts for the first time. Parents took a lifetime to teach their children how to grow up and be adults. This situation had been handed to them through a bunch of rare and unique circumstances that nobody ever expected. And Harry hadn't had the benefit of even his parents love and experience. Hermione got horribly sad as she was the one that felt the absence of James and Lily Potter for her husband.
Seeing that Hermione was starting to get depressed as she thought about things, Harry reached out and drew her into the hug he had with Ginny. He held them tight and just tried to let them feel how much he loved them. A couple of minutes passed and the girls finally calmed down a little. "I'm not expecting you to be the Ladies Potter or any other of those other distinguisessnesses." Ginny chuckled as Harry horribly mangled whatever word he had tried to say.
"I'm still Harry and you are still Hermione and Ginny. Nonnie and Vixen. And the most beautiful women that I get to share my life with from now on. That's all I want; the three of us being a family. The titles are for those people out there, not us."
"We'll learn about all this formal falderal along the way and I'm already sorry that I'll probably end up embarrassing myself or you as we learn. As far as I'm aware of we are going back to school in the fall and maybe there are some classes we can take to help us. I don't know. I do know I'm going to be asking a lot of questions from the people I do know and trust. Neville is supposed to be taking over his house someday. He and his grandmother have been helping me. Maybe she would agree to help the two of you."
Ginny rubbed her red eyes and straightened up a little. "I'm not sure Mum would be able to help us much but Dad might be able to point us to some people who could talk to us."
"Don't sell your mother short Gin. I'm sure she would like to help us out in any way she can. Assuming she doesn't disown you outright for being corrupted by me."
"I am not a tart or loose woman. And you didn't corrupt me. I'm legally married; the Ministry even said so."
"And we'll face your Mum together about that. Hermione do you really think your parents are going to be okay with us being together?"
Hermione thought for a couple of seconds and then smiled. "Mom will be okay as long as we see her on a regular basis. You may have to renew your promise to Dad about my virtue."
Harry shrugged. "I will swear a wizard's oath to both your parents if that's what it takes. There are adults that will help us out. Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Remus Lupin. It may take some time but we'll get this right."
Ginny leaned up and gave Harry a kiss to his cheek. "Thanks. You always know what to say to make me feel better."
"So are you both okay now?"
Both girls nodded and Harry took a glance at his watch. There was still an hour or two before the supper hour and he called out for Llasol. The house elf popped into the bedroom and just stood waiting for some instructions. Harry just smiled at the new maid and she smiled shyly back. "Thanks for starting the unpacking Llasol. Would you ask whoever is in charge of such things that we'd like to eat around six? And it doesn't have to be anything formal or fancy. And spread the word, please, that our arrangement from Griffin's Lair is going to be continued here. If there is a privacy ward on the door, we are not to be disturbed. Make sure that you tell Knop first and tell him we have our own schedule of things."
Llasol grinned and curtseyed. "I will be very happy to tell him that the lord and his ladies are entertaining themselves." Llasol giggled once and promptly disappeared.
"Harry James Potter. What do you think you are doing? Do you know what Llasol is going to be telling everyone?"
"No and I don't care. You can inform your maid later that a little discretion goes a long way. We have this nice big bed and you said you both felt better. I thought I would check that."
Ginny smiled and reached for Hermione's hand. "Dibs on the bathroom then." The two girls hopped off the bed and headed for the open doorway to the bathroom. They stopped when they got there and called out for Harry to come look.
Harry had already kicked off his trainers and padded over in his stockings to look over Ginny and Hermione's shoulders. The master bath was easily twice the size and ornateness of the facility they had at Griffin's Lair. There were a couple of toilets and the glass-enclosed shower looked to be about five foot square and had four of five shower heads instead of just the one they had previously. A huge sunken tub had about a dozen different faucets that would let a variety of different scents, bubbles and water into it. Harry saw that the double sinks were set in a mirrored wall.
The girls squealed at the sight and then turned and pushed Harry back. "We'll be just a few minutes, Jamie."
Harry chuckled and thought maybe the two of them would get used to some of the difficulties of being Mrs. Potter a little faster than others. He took a look around the room and went to the French doors and opened them. The balcony that was outside the bedroom was about 15 foot long and 8 feet deep and there was a small table with four chairs and a few benches. Harry went to the table and opened up the door to Hedwig's cage. The snow owl quickly hopped out of her cage and flew to Harry's shoulder.
"This will be our home for most of the summer girl. There's nowhere near the competition here for food as at the Lair. So go fly if you want, there's plenty of land here and I probably won't be sending you out with any messages until at least tomorrow."
Hedwig picked at her master's locks and rubbed her head against his cheek before she launched herself up and away from the manor. Harry watched her for a few seconds as she beat her wings toward the nearest stand of trees. Harry watched her go and just enjoyed the ease and grace that his familiar had flying.
A soft couple of footsteps behind him let Harry know that Hermione and Ginny had returned and were joining him outside. Hermione came up and clung to his arm while Ginny came to his other side and put an arm around his waist. The three took a good look at the view from the rear of their new home.
A small glen was laid out in front of them and the three pointed out the various places and things that they wanted to go take a look at. A pretty elaboratr flower garden attracted Ginny's attention first. A barn with some fences and corrals took about a quarter of the hillside across from them and Harry saw a few horses grazing in one of the pastures. Some wide trails led away from the barn and Harry hoped that Hermione wouldn't mind giving him and Ginny some pointers as they had never ridden before.
The flat part of the valley held a Quidditch pitch and both Harry and Ginny thought of her brothers coming and playing games like they had at the Burrow. Hopefully the promise of that might help ease the awkwardness that was soon coming on to visit them. Hermione nudged Harry and pointed to a nearby round pool that was surrounded by a ten foot high hedge of cedar trees. 'Looks like a great place for some skinny dipping Jamie.'
'Yes but what would Knop think of the newest Lord then?'
Harry broke out laughing as he imagined the look of horror that might appear on the head elf's face. He turned his head to kiss Hermione and then squeezed Ginny in a place that brought a wide smile to her face. "This looks like such a good place to end the day at. Just the three of us out here watching the stars appear or the moon come up."
"Can we go flying tomorrow and take a good look at all this Harry?"
"I'm sure we can Ginny; I'd like to see as much as we can and maybe find a quiet place or two for the three of us. This really is our new home now. I just couldn't imagine what it would be like to actually be here. I hope you two like it so far."
'We do Jamie but we'll have to test the bed first to form a good opinion.'
Harry allowed the girls to lead him back into the bedroom but he went to freshen up himself first after casting the privacy wards. When he returned the girls had drawn the curtains on the windows to make the setting a little more romantic. They were still dressed and Harry held his breath as he waited for the number to come up.
It was something that Ginny dreamed up to add a little suspense, fun, or anticipation to their bedroom time. The two girls decided between themselves and then let Harry know what he was supposed to do. One was the nod for him to undress the others; two was two people undressing the third and three was everyone undressing themselves. Harry was the one to add four- a race to get naked first with the first one finished determining the rest of the activities or positioning. Hermione had added five – getting naked while the other two tried to slow the others down. That had been so much fun as everyone tried to prevent the others from undressing while they got undressed. It always ended up with one hand doing one thing and the other trying to do the opposite. Harry was glad seeing the normally more reserved Hermione relax and having fun.
"We thought we'd test your coordination Jamie. One - with both of us at the same time."
Harry smiled and looked at the challenge and smiles on the girls faces. "Okay, up on the edge of the bed then."
Both girls hopped up and sat on the bed with their legs dangling off. Harry came over and kissed the both of them before he handed his glasses to Ginny. He knelt down on both knees and picked up one foot for each girl. He untied one shoe each with a hand, loosened it and slipped it off their feet. He tossed the two over his shoulders and slipped the index fingers of his hands into the top of two socked feet and pulled them down and off the girls' feet. That left the two girls with one naked foot apiece. Harry ran his fingers across the sensitive soles of each girl's foot and then licked up and across a couple of naked ankles. Harry saw Hermione shiver and incredibly saw some goosebumps run across the top of Ginny's foot and then up her leg.
Harry repeated the process with the girls other feet and soon had both of them barefoot. He stood up and held out his hands and both girls came down and stood before him. Hermione's breathing was a little rapid and Ginny winked at him before leaning into him. Harry kissed a nose of each girl in turn and then started working on their tops. Hermione had a button down blouse but Ginny had worn a pullover sweater today. Harry's right hand started working on unfastening Hermione's buttons but he ran his left hand up the inside of Ginny's sweater. He massaged her stomach a little before bunching up the sweater and raising it over her head. He was watching his hand on Hermione's buttons but when Ginny's eyes were covered by the sweater, he released it and tweaked both her nipples rapidly before finishing the job of removing it. Ginny shook her finger warningly at Harry but he could see she was really enjoying the way Harry was paying attention to both her and Hermione.
Ginny turned sideways to watch Harry slip Hermione's top off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. Still with one hand for each girl. Harry massaged two breasts and let his hands drop slowly to the top of their slacks. Harry watch as both Hermione and Ginny sucked in their stomachs ever so slightly to let him get a good grasp of the top buttons that held their waistbands closed. Each button was unfastened and Harry kissed each girl lovingly before grasping the two zippers and lowering them.
Both girls smiled as Harry's hand pushed their pants down. Harry, in turned, exclaimed in surprise as he moved his hands around to each girls bum. Neither one was wearing knickers. Harry gazed at the devilish looks the girls had. "What? We already knew you can lower our knickers with one hand."
Harry grinned and leaned in to pick up both girls enough to get them clear of their trousers. He let them down and stood back to look at both Hermione and Ginny. Ginny had a cream colored bra on but Hermione's was brown with white lace trim.
Pressing his hands together until the knuckles cracked, Harry stared at his wives and licked his lips. Ginny cracked first and just shrugged out of her last bit of covering. "I concede." She went back on the bed and watched what Hermione was going to do. Hermione stared at Harry for a couple of seconds but then spun with a small cry and tried to run away. The seekers reflexes acted immediately and he hooked two fingers into the back of her bra.
Hermione's own momentum and turn caused the bra to become unhooked and Harry caught it with one hand before it hit the ground. Hermione turned back and saw what Harry was holding and started blushing. She walked back and hugged her husband. "You win."
Harry picked up Hermione's chin. "That doesn't mean that you lost Nonnie. I thought we were just having some fun?"
The brown haired girl's eyes were practically twinkling as she smiled back at Harry. "The fun hasn't even begun yet Jamie."
A cheery voice raised a question from the bed. "How come there's two naked people in this room when there should be three?"
Harry, with Nonnie's help, began to solve the puzzle that Vixen posed. A minute later, three naked people were tumbling and kissing on the bed.
Xxxx xxxx
Supper was wonderful but the three Potters felt a little uncomfortable sitting at the very long formal dining room table. Harry pushed away the saucer that had held a piece of blueberry pie and turned and looked at Knop. The major domo had been watching them eat supper and his presence was starting to grate on the three of them.
"Knop?"
"Yes, Lord Potter?"
Harry mentally counted to ten before he started speaking again. "Who's your second in charge?"
"No one is second in charge. There is no need for anyone else."
"Hmm." Harry stared for a minute at the house elf. "Would you write down a list and a description of all your duties for me? I just want to make sure I understand what job you are doing."
"Very well sir. When would you like this?"
"The morning would be fine Knop. In fact, we don't require you for the rest of the evening. Why don't you retire but let Rettus know we'd like to see him."
"Rettus?"
"I have a small errand for him to run. Nothing that would require your involvement."
"Very well. Good evening Lord Potter, Ladies Potter." Knop bowed and disappeared with a small pop. Harry heard the sighs of relief that came from Hermione and Ginny. He shook his head and was about to speak when Rettus suddenly appeared at the side of the table.
"You sent for me milord?"
"Yes, I have a small errand for you to run. If you don't have anything else to do."
"No. There's nothing that takes priority over your wishes Lord Harry."
"Thank you Rettus. We'd like you to go back to Hogwarts and go to the headmaster's office. Hermione and Ginny's family will probably be there. Just tell everyone that we are all safe and doing well. Extend an invitation to everyone there, the Granger and Weasley families to come visit us the day after tomorrow."
"Don't forget Luna and Tonks" Ginny added.
"We'd like Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin and Auror Tonks to come also if it's possible." Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Please give this wedding announcement to Headmaster Dumbledore and only to him please."
"Anything else Lord Harry?"
"No, I don't think so Rettus. Thank you for doing this for us."
Hermione cleared her throat and Rettus turned toward her. "Do you have a minute Rettus?"
"Always for you Lady Hermione."
"I guess it's just a bit of curiosity on my part. Have any of the other house elves made any comments or asked questions about the three of us?"
"A few have approached me to see if you all were sincere in your actions and words this morning. I told them that you were. Most are happy that there is a new master and mistresses here."
'Harry? Could you do something about the terminology please?'
"Rettus, could you inform everyone that Ginny and Hermione would rather be referred to as ladies rather than mistresses. That term has a bad meaning in the muggle world."
"Certainly. My apologies Lady Ginny, Lady Hermione if I have offended you by accident."
"It's okay Rettus; we just rather not hear that designation again is all."
"By your leave then."
Harry nodded and Rettus disappeared suddenly. Harry held up his hand and cocked his ear. He held that pose for a minute and then relaxed. "Guess we're too far away."
"For what Harry?"
"The sound of Mrs. Weasley either hitting the floor or raising the roof at the news that her daughter is now married."
Ginny and Hermione laughed at the explanation but Harry was very worried about the next family meeting. He picked up the dishes that were still on the table. "Let's go see if we can find the kitchen."
A few twists, wrong turns and closed doors finally led the three to the big kitchen. Two house elves, named Luff and Algeg, were shocked to see their new heads of house calmly walk into the kitchen and ask directions to the sink. They were very insistent about relieving Harry and the others of the dirty dishes. Harry grudgingly let go of the stack he was carrying but asked which elf had fixed their supper.
Luff shyly said that she was the one to do that and was surprised when all three thanked her. Harry asked her if she was the regular cook and seemed pleased when she said yes. Harry apologized to both the elves but said that they were expecting family visitors in two days and they might have to fix lunch or supper for up to fifteen additional guests. The two elves said that they hadn't fixed meals for that large a party for a number of years but it wouldn't be a problem.
The girls and Harry went back upstairs. Hermione summoned Llasol and asked her if she would give them a tour of the rest of the second floor. It was almost an hour later that the three finished looking at the other eight bedrooms and other facilities.
Harry shocked his wives and Llasol when he asked the house elf to prepare the two rooms adjacent to the master bedroom for occupancy by Ginny and Hermione. He drew both complaining ladies into a hug and said that he would explain. They grudgingly held off hurting him while he did that.
**** For the delivery of the invitation and the reaction to the wedding announcement please reread Chapter 71 of Honestly Harry – The Founders Chambers. I'd repost it here but I think everyone is waiting for Molly and the others to visit so I'll get to that next. Captain Compass