Author's Note: The chapter title is taken from the Matchbox Twenty song. I am putting a tissue warning on this chapter, per the directions of my wonderful beta, Arnel. She apparently got choked up several times. I loved hearing everyone's theories on what was important in the last chapter. Without giving too much away, only one of you was right. I know several of you have been with me for years, and are aware of my medical situation. While the cancer has not returned, I have been given a very serious new diagnosis. While I am hopeful it will not affect my ability to write, I will be undergoing several more tests and will be entering the hospital sometime in the next month. If I will not be able to maintain the Monday & Thursday posting schedule, I will make you aware. Thanks to all of you who have been thinking and praying for me. I truly believe it's helped. Enough about me, on with the chapter. MNF
Chapter 10:
Hand Me Down
Wednesday, September 2, 1998
Harry POV:
After watching Ginny climb aboard the pale blue- grey flying coach yesterday morning, and then watching it disappear into the cloudless sky, I felt empty. Before she'd left I'd given her a compact mirror inside an abalone shell which was charmed to communicate with the square one in my pocket. I knew my Dad and Sirius had had a set, so they could talk when they were in different detentions, but my half had been destroyed in my anger. The spell was in one of my father's first journals and I knew I would need a way to speak with my girl while she was away. To proactively prevent his whining, I'd made Ron and Hermione a set as well, although mine was charmed to speak with Hermione's as well. I wasn't going to tell Ron, but I did need to talk with her, too. There were things I'd only speak about with Hermione.
I hadn't slept well when I arrived back to London that night. Ron was here, but he was moping and whining and I suggested he might be happier back at the Burrow, which didn't endear me to him. He went to bed surly and unpleasant. I cracked open a bottle of Stag's Surprise and read into the early morning hours. I finally settle down just after three. My seven o'clock alarm was quite unwelcome.
I Apparated to the alley behind MMB 1 at a quarter to eight and was pleasantly surprised to find Kate, Walter and Seph already there, waiting for me. A sign was hanging up over the company logo stating "Welcome New Brewmaster Trainee, Harry!" and when I approached the desk, Kate came out from behind it, hugged me and helped me into a white robe like the ones Gin and I had worn on the tour. My name was stitched onto the breast pocket with the title "Brewmaster" beneath.
"You ready to start your education, Harry?" Walter asked.
"I am, sir. I've read over the brew manuals Seph left with me." I said, my enthusiasm at my new career bubbling to the surface.
"Excellent, come this way then young man, and we'll get started," he stated before he turned and went toward the dressing room before the brew room.
"Have a good day, Harry," Kate said with another hug. "I'll see you at lunchtime. I baked some biscuits for you." She reminded me so much of Mrs. Weasley and her on-going campaign to get me to gain weight. She'd be happy to know she had an ally.
"That sounds great. Thanks, Kate," I told her, which earned me another squeeze. Seph reached for my hand.
"There's a lot to learn, but you're a bright boy, don't let yourself get overwhelmed by it all. Ask Walter your questions, he will always answer you truthfully and concisely. We'd rather have a million questions now than an error later. When you're done, come find me. I have a few more photo albums I found in Eliza's things this weekend. She won't know I took them, but I think you'll enjoy seeing what's inside," she told me. There was a sadness in her eyes when she spoke about Eliza which hurt me to see. If I stopped and considered it, I was unable to fathom how hard it must be for Seph to get up everyday and live her life, knowing everyone she loved was gone. Even with everything and everyone I'd lost, I still had Ginny and her family and Hermione. Maybe we could adopt Seph?
"Sounds good, I'll see you later?" I asked.
"I'm spending the day here, interviewing some folks for the floor for this plant. Several of the folks working here are privy to the enhancements to the brews at MMB 2 due to family circumstances," she said quietly and it took me a moment to understand she meant they were from magical families. "They relocated here after the explosion at the plant. I need them to go back, which means I need to hire here. I'd be interested in any names you have of people who'd be looking for a job at MMB 2, either on the floor or in the tap room."
"I make a list today and leave it for you," I promised. There were a few friends who I definitely knew were looking for work and who'd be great at this.
"Excellent, well, have a good morning, see you at noon," she said before she walked across the lobby to the office suite and I followed Walter. We donned our caps and booties before walking into the brew room.
"Before I start you on the process of brewing beer, I need you to understand the ingredients of beer," Walter told me. "Come out back here," he directed, leading me to a door I'd missed when we toured last week. It was off the back wall, and when he opened it we were inside a small warehouse. There were items set out on a long table, along with two chairs.
"Sit," he directed and I did as I was told. "I just wanted to tell you, before we started today, how special both your Mum and Dad were to me. I was there the day your Dad was born, and your grandfather just about climbed on the roof and crowed with happiness. He and Rosalyn had tried to have a baby for so many years, they'd just about given up on ever having a child of their own when your dad came along. Arthur made sure your dad knew everything: how to ride a horse, how to farm, how to read and do math, how to track with stars at night. Your dad was bright and picked up anything someone was willing to teach him. When he brought your Mum home the first time, well, we all knew she was the one. They were good people, Harry. I can see in you so much of them. Be proud to be James and Lily Potter's boy," he told me.
"I am, sir, I am."
"Good, alright then, to work," he commanded and I nodded.
"Okay, beer is made by steeping grains, adding yeast to ferment the grain drink and then flavored when fermentation is complete and the yeast is dead. Whatever grains are used - and it's not only malted barley, mind ya - that list is called the grain bill. What I want you to do is learn about all the grains we use here, get familiar with their smells, their tastes when they're both dry and wet, cold and hot; because that's what will provide the distinctive flavors our finished beer has," he explained.
I spent my morning with my nose in small cans of grains, some of them surprising: wormwood, berries, dried heather flowers as well as more conventional grains like wheat, rice, oats, and rye. Then we started in on the barley, all seven different varieties which were used in different beers here. Right away I could taste sweetness in some while others were far more bitter.
"How am I ever going to keep all these straight?" I asked, bewildered.
"It gets easier with time," Walter promised. "Your nose will immediately know what flavors will be produced based on the smell of them. Let me ask you, do you know when your Ginny walks into a room, even if your back is turned?" I smiled and nodded. "And why is that?"
"Because I recognize the perfume which is simply her. She smells like fresh mown grass, and Quaffle leather and lilacs in spring," I explained.
"There you have it, you know it's her. Eventually, you'll know which grains you have, even with your eyes closed. You'll also be able to tell if they're good or not with one whiff," he promised, and I wanted to believe, but I was overwhelmed at this point. We broke for lunch, and went to sample Kate's cookies along with some beef stew Seph had made.
The afternoon was all about how the different grains we had studied in the morning smelled, tasted and reacted when either heated or cooled, wet or dry, roasted or not. By the time four o'clock rolled around, my head felt like it was one of the slurries I had been studying. Walter said I had done well, but I simply felt exhausted. I bid him goodbye in the changing room, removing my hat, booties and lab coat - something Walter taught me the name of - and moved to the offices.
Seph was seated on the sofa in her office, studying a picture. She looked as though she'd been crying. As I approached, I recognize Sirius holding Seph as they danced in the Great Hall. They were both in formal robes, and the look on his face I recognized. I'd seen it in Mr. Weasley's face, Bill's face, Ron's face and I was sure this was how I looked at Ginny. It surprised me. I cleared my throat not to startle her. Seph shifted her head and quickly swatted the tears away from her cheeks and eyelashes.
"When was it taken?" I asked, referring to the picture.
"The Spring Student Ball our fifth year," she answered. "He'd pestered me for weeks to attend with him. I finally gave in out of desperation; everyone else was paired up at the time."
"What do you mean?" I asked as I moved to sit in the overstuffed chair across from her.
"Your Mum had agreed to go with your Dad. They were so smitten with each other, but she made him earn her love," she explained with a crooked smile and far-away look in her eyes. "Sibéal and Remus were going out with each other, casually, for the whole year. It was a miracle she ever made him relaxed enough to do it, but she did. Eliza and Peter had been a couple for well over a year by then. It left Sirius and me as the odd ones out. Since I didn't want to lead anyone else on, I finally relented and went with him."
"What do you mean, 'lead someone on'? Was it like with the Pureblood dance thing?"
Seph sighed. "In a way," she started. "There were boys who were interested in me, but because my marriage was to be set, I never paid any of them any attention. It wouldn't be fair. I couldn't let someone fall in love with me, or worse have me fall in love with them. To live your life married to one person, your heart with another, it seemed a horrific existence to me. I never expected I would ..." Her voice broke as she trailed off. I felt horrible for her, so I changed the subject.
"So you and Dad were friends when you were little, right?" She nodded her answer. "Tell me something about him when you were kids." Her face brightened as she remembered, pushing the tears aside.
"Your Dad wanted a sister or a brother in the worst way, but it just wasn't going to be. We all tried to convince him it wasn't so great, but James wanted another Potter child to play with, to take care of, you know?" I nodded. I loved what the Weasley's had and wished it was mine, too. "I was the youngest of seven girls and to be honest, I was forgotten a lot growing up. I was the apple of my father's eye, but he wasn't home much, his career often took him away on long trips. I think my sisters saw me as a nuisance," she confided.
"One day, we must have been six or seven, we were at your Dad's house. I don't know why we were there, but we all were: the Potter's, the Black's, the Cinnéidigh's, the Longbottom's, the Malfoy's, the Prewett's, the Bones's, my whole family and just well, everyone. I spoke with a lisp when I was small, and some of the kids liked to tease me about it. Sirius's cousin, Bella, she was merciless in her teasing. She was a vile little girl. How anyone was surprised she grew up to be what she was is beyond me." I could imagine Bella as a child, and suspected she made Draco seem as harmless as Neville.
"I wanted to play princess, except I didn't say it that way. I said pwincwess. Everyone started laughing at me, and I ran off. I didn't want anyone to see me crying. My sister, Philly, told me your Dad yelled at them all, telling them it wasn't nice to pick on someone for something they couldn't control. After that, he ran to find me. I had jumped the creek behind the Potter's garden and was sitting on a rock not far away. He took me back to the house by a secret path and snuck me in the back door, so I wouldn't have to see anyone." Her smile grew as her eyelids fluttered, somewhere between open and closed, looking as though she were watching a movie of the day.
"He whistled for Sirius, they had their own dumb whistle code, never did teach it to the rest of us. Anyway, James went to find his Mum and ask her to find me a princess costume. She took me up to her room and Transfigured one of her cocktail dresses into the perfect princess dress. Meanwhile, James dressed himself all in grey and Sirius dressed in James' clothes, but his were all green. Your Dad was going to be the knight in shining armor while Sirius was the dragon he needed to slay to save me. He had bunk beds in his room and I climbed to the top one, as if I were in the tower. We played all afternoon, he slaying the dragon and saving me." Seph took in a shuddering breath before looking at me, fresh tears falling down her face.
"That's one of my favorite memories of him. After that, he sort of adopted me. I was his little sister, even though I was a few months older. He tried so hard to save me later. They all did, but it was your dad who tried anything and everything he could think of," she explained.
I wasn't sure what to say. I loved the story, I loved the idea of him wanting to protect her, someone who still seemed so broken, even as she strove to live her life and keep something he cared about running. She shook her head briefly, and then closed the book and handed it to me.
"Here, enjoy. There's lots of photos from our school years in there, as well as the other one on the desk there," she pointed toward her desk where an identical album sat. "Their engagement pictures are in there, as well as some from your Mum's hen night. As wild as our night might appear, it was tame compared to the stories of your Dad's stag." I laughed trying to imagine Seph ever letting lose.
"Thanks, I'm sure I will. I'm going to head home now, it's been a long day," I explained and she nodded, still not moving. Her face had slid back into the placid mask I saw most days, but her eyes betrayed her. They were overflowing with sorrow.